September 17: Closer to Home by Mercedes Lackey. By way of comfort reading. — Goodness, I didn’t remember it was Romeo and Juliet meets Red Wedding! At that point I didn’t even care about most of the people any more (the protagonists, the silly-goose girl, and the tough clever lady, yes; all the feuding nobles, no). At least the silly-goose girl was spared from being shamed and fostered to the tough clever lady, and someone managed to rescue the innocent little dog. The only thing I really don’t get is why the crown princess is wearing mourning dress at the end: none of the people who died were from her family (fortunately)!
Rather spectacular DNF: The Fire’s Stone by Tanya Huff. Picked it up on recommendation from a friend who assured me it had no vampires (the main reason that I haven’t read anything by Tanya Huff until now). The body count is high, and the means of achieving that body count often more gruesome than I like. One protagonist is likeable, but met another at 7% and he’s a thoroughly unpleasant person. After a spot of torture (by that unpleasant person’s even more unpleasant siblings) I’m putting it aside for now. May try again when I’m less fragile from real life.
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