dreams of pirate ships and patty hearst

First, apropos of nothing, I managed to take a spill when I went out for a walk this afternoon, and now my entire right side feels like it was beaten. Ouch. I'm so very graceful, yo.

Book of the day was Nora Roberts' Dance of the Gods - the second in the new trilogy. You'll recall, possibly, that I wasn't overly impressed with Morrigan's Cross. I'm happy to report that I like this one much better. It's still not the best of Nora's work, not by a long shot, but this was a much more engaging book. Possibly because Blair and Larkin somehow ended up being much more engaging characters than Glenna and Hoyt were. Well, Blair was, anyway. Larkin seemed a cipher in a lot of parts - a fantasy man, or a Gary Stu if you're feeling uncharitable. But, he was a well-written fantasy man; Nora made him very sexy and appealing, which always goes a long way in a romance novel. ;) So, that worked for me!

Blair, though - she makes me laugh, because I had the thought while I was reading (not an original one, I realized, as northatlantic pointed it out after reading the first book) that I've seen her character before, very recently. Vampire/demon hunter, uber tough and stoic, quick tongue and even quicker trigger finger, issues with a father that doesn't appreciate her, with a brother who happily escaped the hunting life for a normal one? You want your gender-bent Dean Winchester, Nora's got her right here. Heh.

But, anyway. Very happy that this book is better than the last - makes it worth holding on to read the last one. I think the last one has the potential to be the best, to me, anyway - Moira and Cian have been the most interesting interpersonal dynamic all along. So, it'll be worth my $7 come November!

Edited to add, as long as I'm doing mini-reviews, a recommendation for P.C. Cast's Goddess of the Rose. I read that one on the plane to San Diego, and was highly entertained. Her dedication is to everyone else who was disappointed when the Beast turned into a handsome prince, and sure enough, this is a sexy, cool modern retelling of Beauty & the Beast, where the Beast doesn't necessarily have to be fully human for the heroine to have her happily ever after. I'm definitely interested in checking out Cast's other Goddess books now. If fairy tales are your thing, you could do much, much worse!