BOOK REVIEW: "Naamah's Kiss" by Jacqueline Carey

Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After jumping into Carey's alt-history fantasy world with Phèdre's trilogy and having my mind blow, and then having my heart ripped out of my chest by Imriel's trilogy, I thought it was time to jump into Moirin's trilogy. It begins with NAAMAH'S KISS, about one hundred years since we last left Imriel's happy ending.

The next character, Moirin, is a half Alban (of the Maghuin Dhonn) half D'Angeline girl growing up in solitude with her mother. With this heritage comes some magical skills such as concealment and healing capabilities. I won't dawdle too long a spoiler-free summary - all you need to know is that Moirin's father is a Priest of Naamah, which means Moirin grows up to inherit super sexy abilities. Because it's not a trip in this fantasy world unless the main character is having a crapton of awesome sex from the age of 14 that makes you rethink your own love life.

But, basically, Moirin is charged by the goddess of the Maghuin Dhonn to go out and search for her destiny. This leads her first to Terra D'ange where she meets her father and becomes enveloped in royal and religious intrigue. Later, she follows her destiny to Ch'in (China), where she helps the royal princess and heir rid herself of the literal dragon inside her and stop a civil war that will quickly spill over into the rest of the world. Of course, she is aided by a multitude of friends...and lovers.

This book was a breezy, easy read. The language was the easiest I've encountered from this world yet, and it may have something to do with Moirin being uneducated in comparison to the previous two narrators. Yet her voice almost mimics Phèdre's in her overuse of phrases ("Stone and sea!!" anyone?) and zinging one-liners....literally. One thing that's always bothered me about Carey's writing is her overuse of one-line paragraphs. They were already ridiculous before (and thus completely destroying the effect) but Moirin takes it to a new level where sometimes you'll have three in a row. It goes from eye-roll worthy to sigh-inducing very quickly. Moirin, ~honey~, not everything is really that powerful. I promise.

Most of the reviews I see seem to say that the first half the story was relatively slow and doesn't pick up until Moirin sets off for Ch'in. I felt the opposite. I loved reading about her life in Alba and picking up all sorts of cool things about the Maghuin Dhonn, a people vilified in previous trilogies. I also enjoyed reading about her spiritual encounters once she traveled to Terra D'Ange, and of course, her super hot relationship with Queen Jehanne. Just when I was really getting settled in, however, we're off to Ch'in, and things got boring and predictable real fast. Princess Snow Tiger (ugh, is there reason why she was referred to by her name's translation when nobody else BUT the bad guy was? Her real name, Xue Hu, is very beautiful) had a lot of potential as a kick-ass warrior princess, but instead came off as flat, even when granting how she was raised and Ch'in decorum. The entire storyline from here mimicked that of the previous book, Kushiel's Mercy, all the way down to the impending civil war brought on by a magician looking for world domination. I also was not that impressed with the Western Savior aspect of having to have Moirin, a European, coming in to save the Asians with her Western-Gods sent magic. In the world of the book it was not quite so transparent, but given OUR world implications and seeing that Carey goes out of her way to be meticulous about other cultures in this alt-history, it was a bit much. Even Phèdre was more of a visitor to the African realms in her trilogy as opposed to an instigator of change and saving everybody. It was not the end of the book, but it bugged me a little, nonetheless.

Of course the subplots in these novels revolve around romance. Sometimes, I forgot how young Moirin was. I reckon she was in her mid, possibly late teens towards the end of this tale. And in that time she had a lot of sex, mostly with men. I'm used to that by now, even though I never want see "suckle" used sexually ever. Again. Most of her partners were a part of her sexual awakening, and by the time she met Raphael in Terra D'Ange it turned to plot-related. My favorite relationship to see her in was with Jehanne. I feel like in Phèdre's trilogy we never got to see enough lesbian interaction, even though she was clearly obsessed with Melisandre. (Who was, of course, the villain.) So imagine my chagrin when (view spoiler)[ it suddenly shifted to Bao becoming Moirin's biggest love interest. I thought he was a good character, but their relationship felt incredibly forced. Probably because it literally was forced by a "tonic" potion. It's also reminiscent of Phèdre and Joscelin's dynamic to the point it's not even laughable, but kinda sad. And after the ending when they become bound in their souls,it's obvious the next two books are going to be All About Them and how much they're in love. Gag. Bring back the lesbians. (hide spoiler)] tl;dr hello cliches I can live without.

For all my complaints, however, you'll see I still rated this four stars. I really did enjoy this book for all its faults and could have read it all in one sitting if I could have stopped time to do so. As I said before, it is an easy read - for those who have read the previous trilogies of this world, this will probably be an even easier reader. I never had to reread something to make sure I understood what was going on. The dialogue was smooth, even if repetitive. Moirin is a fine character - I am not as attached to her as I was to Phèdre and Imriel by the end of their first books, but I do not dislike her either. Although I will say I have no particular liking for any other characters, besides perhaps Fainche, Moirin's mother, and Queen Jehanne. I also maintain that Carey is a master storyteller: she leaves no threads unknotted and everything has a purpose. You may wonder for a long time what the purpose of something will BE, but when it comes, you kick yourself for not seeing it sooner. On that end, I am excited for the future books, because she left a loooot of clues that we'll be coming back to Raphael and the fallen gods. (I am so excited, seriously. SERIOUSLY. I will be sorely disappointed if nothing comes from what-happened-before-Moirin-left.)

If you enjoyed the first two trilogies, you will surely enjoy this one too. More, or less, I could not say. Thus far I enjoy it less, but that is still a compliment to Carey's abilities as an author. I have already started the second book and will likely chomp through it like it was chocolate.

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Guest LOL Over @ Author Kathryn O'Halloran's Blog Today!

...As the title says, I'm over at Kathryn's today sharing a totally embarrassing story from my night out at Tokyo's Ni-chome gay neighborhood last spring. It includes me and a bunch of Japanese lesbians possibly making out. POSSIBLY. I make no promises, although they sure did.

While you're there, be sure to check out Kathryn's latest book, "The Bad Girls' Club"!

OUT NOW!: "CHINSEKI." a REN'AI RENSAI SHORT

PLEASE NOTE THAT "CHINSEKI." IS THE DIRECT SEQUEL TO "NANPAKAI."

Just in case the story of "NANPAKAI." wasn't enough, the trio (including new character Jun) are back for more, more, more, this time somewhere a little more private. If you liked "MITSUSHIN." you'll probably like this one too - probably even more so, because confident women, yo!

Check out the blurb!

"After watching her girlfriend seduce a stranger at a nightclub, Reina finds herself in the same stranger’s hotel room only an hour later. Girlfriend Aiko and her new friend seem ready to go for round two, but there’s one thing holding Reina back: this third wheel is more masculine than she’s comfortable with. Will Reina let go of her gendered insecurities and have a good time, or will her new friend’s request for “chinseki,” or “sleeping together,” be too much for her to handle?"

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Weekly Writing Check-In: Big Life Changes Are (Perhaps) Afoot

This past week has been an emotional whirlwind for me. On a lark I started applying to day jobs again, not expecting to get anything. Well, unless things start to go seriously south in more ways than one, it looks like I may be moving up to Portland (a seven hour drive from here in lil' ol Curry County, OR) for a full time job. If that comes to pass, it will mean a lot of changes with my publishing business. Mostly, time. Right now I work about 12 hour days on my publishing business. This is how I am able to put out so much so quickly, because I am CONSTANTLY working. I will go from 12 hour days to 2 hour days. Releases will become sparser.

But on the flip side.

I will no longer have to worry about making money with my releases. I can just write what I want and get it out there. Assuming I have the time and energy to do it.

There are a lot of other feelings involved as well. Nothing I really want to get into here because lol no but tl;dr, I just wanna write all day.

That said, I've got another REN'AI RENSAI SHORT coming out tomorrow, and book 3 is in a couple of weeks! Back to work!

Write 'Em And Forget 'Em: Or, I Almost Never Re-Read My Works

I know I am not alone in this, and yet, it feels weird to talk about. As a published author I am very proud of my achievements and what I've managed to accomplish in over three months - but I have a confession. The moment I hit "Publish" on a work, I will probably never read through it again.

Why?

Heck I don't know. Call it fear.

When I flip through my book downloaded from Amazon to make sure it published in the correct format, or flip through my paperback just to say I can, I almost never let me eyes linger on the words, let alone read them. There's a lot of rationalization for this, but it mostly boils down to I don't want to make any more changes. 

From the time I hit "THE END" on a work, I will read through its entirety about ten times before it's published. This doesn't count all the smaller bits I'll read on their own, or the re-reading I do during the course of writing the first draft. (Yes, I edit as I go. GASP.) I'm also very particular about editing. Even my novelettes I've been publishing in the past month get a lot chopped from them....I believe about one-thousand words is the norm, and that's BEFORE they're sent to outside editing. Up until the last minute before I publish, I will chop off prepositional phrases, flip through a thesaurus because that word is "still not quite right", and flip back and forth between using a name or a pronoun in certain sentences. I know I'm done editing and ready to publish when, not only do I have editor and beta go-ahead, but my editing is no longer moving forward, but sideways. Thus when I flip through a story after it's been published, bought by dozens+ of people, reviewed, shared, etc, I just don't want to face the fact that maybe there's something left to change. 

As artists, we are rarely satisfied with our work. And sometimes we're afraid of what we may see.

I know most of my faults as a writer. I've been seriously writing for about 15 years now. The first novella I published was not the first book I ever wrote...certainly not even in the top 10. Maybe the top 20 of completed novels. I've done my dances of "OH EW I WROTE -THAT?-" over the years So when I re-read, it's not all about cringing and wondering how anyone in the world could possibly give it five stars...but it is a part of it. And as publishers, we're taught that once it's out in the world, it's out. Short of glaring typos and a few minor things (that may add up to big things) on a technical level, I'm a believer that once it's out, it's OUT. No more changes, no more humming, just publish it and work on the next one. Which makes it kind of awkward when I think there's a scene I might want to refresh myself on because it relates to one I am writing.

What about you, other writers? Do you ever go back and re-read your works? Does it make you cringe,even if you wrote it two months ago?

Weekly Writing Check-In: Check out the goodies!

They're here! Friday the UPS man showed up with my VistaPrint orders for business cards (just in time for the writer's conference next month!) and REN'AI RENSAI bookmarks! Take a gander, and please excuse the awful glare on the photo. I took about 10 photos in different locations around my house but that was seriously the best I could get.

The business cards came out totally awesome, even if the paper quality is kinda meh and not glossy. I ended up using one of their premade layouts since it fit my needs perfectly. (Look at those flowers and BUTTERFLIES!) The bookmarks were created from scratch and made three apiece on their postcards. Now, the only issue is that I have no idea how to cut them. The only sharp edges in this house are dull scissors and meh knives. My family is convinced I could just use scissors, but I am also convinced that my family is not thinking this through. I will prevail, though!

In other writing news, not much else is going on except massive editing. Starting Tuesday at the latest I will be pulling 5k days in the hopes of getting the first draft of RR 4 finished in a timely manner. Unless it just pisses me off so much  I go NOPE and work on something else. (It'll be coming out the end of March and should be novella length, so I shoooould have time.)

Regardless, one of my goals this month is to do more MARKETING. Which I hate. I hate marketing. But I need to take a couple hours out of my day I would otherwise be fooling around on message boards to actually market my work. Because like as not it's not selling itself and word of mouth only gets me movie money every month. WHELP. This will be fun.

(Those hot bookmarks though.)

OUT NOW: "NANPAKAI." a REN'AI RENSAI short.

Finally, it's out! The first of a two-part story, "NANPAKAI." is probably my ~raunchiest~ title yet. But still with that romantic twist, of course.

It also introduces a new character, Jun Isoya, who you'll be seeing a LOT more of this upcoming spring! (oooh what does that mean~)

Check out the blurb below!

"As a belated birthday present, Aiko’s girlfriend Reina takes her to the largest lesbian nightclub in town. Rowdy, drunk women aren’t exactly on Aiko’s list of “great birthday gifts” however, until she discovers the club’s dirty little secret - it’s actually a “nanpakai,” or a place for picking up women for some quick, casual fun centered around exhibitionism. With the mission to become a seductress for one night, Aiko sets her sights on an out-of-towner. Will their encounter be the envy of every other woman watching, or will Aiko discover she’s not cut out for the life of a nanpa?"


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