Books that Bring You Back

Over the past few years, I've been mostly reading mysteries and chick lit with an occassional foray into romance. Although SF/F was my first love, I just couldn't find anything to sink my teeth into. I guess part of it was the idea that I had to read the higher concept books. Books that I don't enjoy reading, but everyone says is either fantastic or mind blowing. I know it's a stupid thing. You should always read what you love. So I think that's why I stepped away from SF/F for a while.

But the other day, I was at Borders and saw that they had a buy two and get one free deal. It was one a couple of SF/F books. So I picked up a couple of them, one of which was Patricia Briggs' Blood Bound.

Even before I'd stepped away from the genre, I'd long since been jaded by the plethora of books involving vampires. So I don't know what made me pick it up. I usually read the first few pages to see if I liked it and I did. It turned out that I liked it so much that I bought the previous book, Moon Called and the sequel, Iron Kissed. I'm reading one upstairs and the other downstairs. Hey, I started in the middle. Reading them together won't reveal anything I don't already know.

I like this series because the character is strong and vulnerable without being sappy and angsty. A lot of heroines to me have faux strength. The author says she's strong willed and independent, but everything she does makes me cringe because she's not only submissive, but very dependent on an alpha male.

Not this heroine though. She may be confused and in a love triangle, but she's not letting them lead her into something. She's trying to figure it out herself and she's making it very clear to them that she doesn't want to get into a relationship with any of them.

She also manages to kill werewolves and vampires too, but she's not a bounty hunter or a slayer. She's a mechanic who happens to have incredible things happen to her.

I like the character a lot, which also shows the power of how a character can pull you into a story. I don't want the books to end because I know there aren't any new one's waiting for me on the bookshelves. But I'm glad that I picked this one up. I feel like I'm returning to the genre again and I'm enjoying it immensely.

Do you feel blah about the genre sometimes? What brought you back? Or are you staying away still?