100 Book Quotes - #19

“There is absolutely no need to ring an incredibly loud bell at this end when you want to talk to me! I'm crazy, not deaf! You know I don't like loud noises. Or squirrels..."

~ "The Spy Who Haunted Me" by Simon R. Green

Book #53

"Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson #7)" by Patricia Briggs

Rating: ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣

I bawled like a little kid. I couldn't believe that Briggs did that, that she killed off that character. Why? Just... WHY?! I cried so hard my head started hurting. She really knows how to tug at your emotions. I remember that the ending of the first book made me cry just as hard...

I really liked this book, I liked that Kyle and Tad played much bigger parts than ever before. Kyle and Warren have always been my favorite couple in the series. I root for them like crazy. My second favorite couple was... well, the one that was destroyed in this book, hence my tears. Seriously, authors shouldn't do that to their readers!

Still, as much as I loved the book, I couldn't give it five stars because it felt too wordy in some places, like the characters' thoughts ran in circles. But it was definitely better than the previous one because the pack was much more involved in what was happening.

Graceland Renewed

I don't know if anyone on my flist is watching Graceland but it was renewed for S2: link. Congrats if you are fan.

Leverage 201-203

I like that S2 - at least so far - seems to focus more on the "kids", that Eliot, Hardison and Parker get more room to shine. And that the writers are trying to shuffle the "pairings" a bit. For example, in the first 3 episodes, we got some great scenes with Eliot and Sophie - during S1, we didn't see these two even talk properly. And then there are other tidbits, like Eliot's teaching Parker how to fight. Things like that make the show feel... broader, deeper, richer. And I love it. Basically, there have always been only 2 things I didn't like about this show: Nate's drinking and the Nate/Sophie shipping drama. When the show steers clear of that, it's excellent.

One thing I noticed - and it was also mentioned in the audio commentaries - was Eliot's attitude towards violence and abuse. The writers insisted that the fans got it wrong, that Eliot hadn't been abused as a kid, that he just hated senseless violence and violent people. Well, their intentions aside, no one who has had a happy childhood and became a well-adjusted person has an attitude as hard set as Eliot. He sees it as normal to take one for the team, he considers it a part of his job to let the bad guys beat him bloody for the sake of the team. If that's not the point of view of a deeply troubled person with issues, then I don't know what is. I guess it's once more the case of showing A while saying B...