Re: Looking Back: RI 2024

On 12/31/24 19:53, Lynn McGuire wrote:

On 12/31/2024 9:05 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

Looking back over the year, and going through the reviews I've
posted, I think the following are my best RI 2024 books.

...

These are in more or less chronological RI order, not rank order.
The Andrews are generally rock-solid, and if I would rather have
more Inn Keeper or Kate books, the HL books are quite good as well:
>
Emerald Blaze: A Hidden Legacy Novel
by Ilona Andrews
https://amzn.to/3SZKfto
>
Unsurprisingly as it's an Andrews, this was the standout of the
month.  Like the "Edge" books, the "Hidden Legacy" books are a bit
more romance-y than the "Kate" books, but not a lot much more so --
there's always plenty of plot and action and very little sex by
current standards.
>
The Hidden Legacy books take place in a world very much like ours
(realistically, too much like ours, in the same way the Marvel
Universe is too much like ours, but that's not the focus here),
except that a couple hundred years ago a serum, since ruthlessly
suppressed, was discovered which gave people (those whom it did not
kill..) something extra.  Call it "magic", or call it "super-powers",
but the gifts largely breed true leading to a semi-overt system of
great houses, Byzantine house politics and marriage alliances all
co-existing, mostly, with a mundane government of nation states and
ordinary humans.
>
The series follows the doings of Clan Baylor, a new house, who make
their living as private investigators, and the books are first-person
narrated by different sisters who are leading the house at the time.
After eldest sister Nevada stepped down (for reasons that weren't
quite what they seemed), the last couple books have been told by
Catalina Baylor, whose Siren powers have kept her from relationships,
as she can never be sure she's not influencing her suitor.  Well,
there was that one time..
>
Currently she has quite a bit on her plate.  Apart from ordinary
investigations like finding stolen therapy monkeys, someone is
suddenly trying to kill Clan Baylor, the Warden of Texas, whose
covert deputy she is, has dumped a potentially world ending murder
investigation on her, the first non-human intelligence has arisen,
and it's not friendly, her evil grandmother is trying to make
Catalina her creature, and you know, that one time?  He'ssss Baaack!
>
As always with the Andrews, there's humor, action, relateable,
grounded, characters, and high stakes.  You don't have to have read
the previous books to enjoy this one, but why wouldn't you?

...
 I am beginning to think that anything by Ilona Andrews is 6 stars out of 5 stars.  Even the Cinderella books (The Edge).  Their books are just consistently good and rereadable (my definition of a 5 star book).
 Lynn
 

Despite your strange ideas, I have to agree with you about
the Illona Amdrews writing tem.
bliss - the hobbler