#16 Grimspace

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre, 312 pages.

I really enjoyed this book, even if it took me a little while to get used to the point of view. I rarely read first person books, and this is the only first person present tense book I remember reading all the way through.

Once I got used to it the book was really good.

It's on the SF side of the SFR rainbow.

The SF is great. The plot and world are complex. The characters are multi-layered, even the background characters.

This is dark book. The heroine and hero are flawed, dark and tortured souls. Theirs is not a happy, sunny world. It's a universe willingly conquered by a greedy and unscrupulous Corporation who don't really give a crap about anyone.

What did I love about Grimspace besides the sf? The plot was twisty, and I loved how the Romance was handled differently than many of the romantic books I've read. They didn't keep thinking of each other in bed or thinking of how the other looks. I don't even know exactly what the hero looks like after reading the whole book. I know enough to know he's handsome, but not gorgeous.

The physical attraction was shown in unique ways. She catches him staring at a tiny sliver of skin peeking under her shirt. She stares when he's not looking. He watches out for her even though she misinterprets what he's doing. They start to reach out and touch the other and stop. Little things build up to bigger things.

It was just different. I thought there was chemistry. Both of these people are so screwed up it's as if the other is the only one they could ever really be with.

If you want a sweet, light, happy story without a lot of heavy issues pick a different book and choose this one when you feel like a little rain and grit, with a HFN of course.

This is book 1 of 4 (so far). I've already asked for the other three for my birthday.

Next? I think I'll finish my Car Book: Dushau by Jacqueline Litchenberg. I know, I said I was reading the next in the 2176 series, but I was craving a bit more SF and Dushau definitely starts out that way.

New Car Book? I don't know yet.