On Acheron

Alright, so I bought the audiobook: Acheron, by Sherilynn Kenyon. I was attached to my iPod for three days. I've never read any of the Dark Hunter Series (or a lot of romance), so I'm a bit out of the circle of friends, but I think it's fairly stand alone, quite addictive, and not overly graphic like some romance novels can get.

First, I really enjoyed how this book was laid out. The first part of it is told through journal entries written by Acheron's sister. Then there is a section told through Acheron's eyes. Suddenly, history skips forward 11 thousand years and Acheron is faced with a situation that could reveal the past that the reader has just learned about. I loved how dark and moody it was, (at least in the beginning).

I admittedly preferred the first two sections over the last. It may just be me and my major preference for fantasy, but I find too many ways that urban fantasy can come off as cheesy. Sure, you can connect with it more, but I didn't like the change in tone. It just felt like the story turned from dark and serious to just another cheesy paranormal romance. I know that's Kenyon's market, but I thought some of the scenes in the final section just ruined it.

It made me cringe psychologically when Acheron walked in on Tori, Pam, and Lisa singing Fergalicious. There wasn't anything in the first two sections that made me smile and I was laughing at the stupidity in the final section. I realize this could be a way to show that Acheron has assembled some sort of enjoyable life and it lends gravity to the idea that his sister's journals might ruin that. It's just a personal thing, I guess. I didn't hate section three, it was enjoyable in it's own right. I just preferred sections one and two more.

That, and I noticed a lack of variety in character reactions. It started to sound a little repetitive. I'm not sure if that's just because I listened to it. Perhaps I wouldn't have picked up the addictive use of "cock" if I were reading instead of listening.

Other than that, I really enjoyed Acheron. Acheron is such a dark, moody character and you really get to know what a horrible past he's had and why he wants to keep it a secret. I definitely read the book for him!

Shop Talk

Yeah, so I'm still waiting for my lovely final editors to send me my corrections. I'm a total of seven chapters edited! Get excited! No really, I mean it. I'm getting really good feedback from my final editors. Both good and bad, the combination of which doesn't leave me in a writhing mess on the floor. I'm actually liking the slower pace. I'm not feeling overwhelmed and my creativity was gone through the roof.

Want proof? Last week I wrote over a hundred pages in the Blood Heritage series. Good stuff, dark stuff, the kind of stuff I was talking about writing. The kind of stuff that won't need me to go in and do intensive surgery later on. Famous last words?

I've also been buying stuff. It has to happen sometime.

Bottom line is: The mechanic that I went to a couple months ago told me I needed to get Y replaced on my car and it would cost X. After saving X amount of money up to fix Y, I took my car to a different mechanic. The new mechanic can't find anything wrong with Y, but there is something wrong with the muffler. I have a lifetime warranty on the muffler (thank Monroe for that). And my once six hundred-something job came down to less than three.

The bottom line is that Moore's lies to their customers and Monroe is awesome!

So, I got some extra money. I bought new shoes. Steel toed workin' girl oxfords that will protect my toes from falling archive boxes and collapsible bagel walls. I heart Doc Martens. I also purchased Sherilynn Kenyon's audio-book version of Acheron on clearance. I'm excited to have it on my iPod at work and in the car. I also got a new helmet for riding the Harley. I went for my first ride yesterday and my butt officially hurts.

And my car is fixed...with enough left over for a new windshield. I'm very happy today, can you tell?