“All
the Windwracked Stars” by Elizabeth Bear. In the comments
section on some article about how to write female characters, someone said EB
wrote crap male characters, and I wanted to see. The main male character here
was a prostitute, so probably not a good gauge. For the first hundred pages or
so, there was nothing wrong with this book, but I would have enjoyed it more if
it had been what I’d wanted to read at the time. After that, I was totally
engaged. The climax didn’t descend into confusion, which made me really happy.
“Blue
Lily, Lily Blue” by Maggie Stiefvater. Yes, it was this that I
wanted to be reading. I couldn’t request it since my library card had expired.
What are they afraid of? Why does this only seem to happen to me? I love these
books. Now I have to wait for the fourth? In the fall?
“California
Bones” by Greg Van Eekhout. The magic system sounded fascinating in
the reviews. I’d read Norse Code and thought it kind of collapsed into a frenzy
at the end. This one held up better. A fun, quick read about cannibalism!
“Lavinia”
by Ursula K. Le Guin. This was a delight. The ending was perfect.
The main (POV) character is mentioned in passing really in the Aenead by
Virgil, and she talks about “my poet” throughout, which really worked.