To hate it when an apparently promising urban fantasy novel turns into fucking and eating?

[slightlyglitterpaned]

Had this happen twice, so that's enough to dub it a new genre: apparently urban fantasy with some interesting world building and strong female protagonist, suddenly takes a complete side exit from plot and characterisation into a detailed recitation of every fucking meal our heroine eats (lovingly prepared or ordered for her by the Dark Brooding Hero), and every fucking fuck, again administered by said Brooding Hero.

To add insult to injury female protagonist then must immediately drop any vestiges of self respect because Boyfriend wants to be Boss Man, because that's just how he rolls, darling.

Meanwhile I'm sitting there thinking "at some point they must get back to the actual story, right?" Wrong.

[Fatmomma99]

Game of Throne influence, innit!

ITV are doing it soon.

[slightlyglitterpaned]

Is it? Have only seen one episode of it, I get the impression everyone dies in that. With much gore & maximum cruelty.

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

You can't have such an epic grouse without telling us the name of the culprit author?!

[slightlyglitterpaned]

It's "Sorcerer's Fuck Luck" by Katherine Kerr. I thought I was fairly safe with her as I'd enjoyed a previous series. Not this one, read on to the grim end expecting some sudden reveal to make it worth it.

The other one was Deborah Harkness - A Thingy of Witches. Well, not a Thingy but after gems like the supernaturally strong Hero using his mega hunky Vampire strength to....crack chestnuts with his bare hands - I've kinda tried to block it out of my memory.

[ValiantMouse]

Try Karen Chance's books. :) I really like them- they're not the typical sappy UF that's so popular now.

Or hang on a few months until I finish editing my UF (not a vampire nor werewolf in sight) novel. :)

[Hovis2001]

I was about to ask if you has Deborah Harkness in mind.

YANBU at all. I have put interesting-looking books down in the shop when I read the blurb and they go "fascinating, developed female character with valuable skill... everything changes when she meets the love of her life!" You can novels about male protagonists without their solitary dramatic driving factor being romance, why not for female ones?!

[Hovis2001]

*had!

[kungfupannda]

Katherine Kerr has written something else? I assumed she'd taken early retirement after that epic slog to finish the Deverry series.

Pity it sounds a bit rubbish!

[dementedma]

Are the fucks good? Misses point completely but becomes vaguely interested in book

[OTheHugeManatee]

I didn't even get to the end of the free sample on my Kindle with that Deborah Harkness book, the prose was so mediocre.

[MrRobot]

A few years ago I started reading a book series, I can't remember what they are called now but it was about a young American woman who discovered that she was part Fae and she toddled over to Ireland to investigate her sisters murder. It started off really promising but by the third or fourth book the True Blood influence started shining through and there started to be a lot of sex and stiff nipples etc, I gave up reading them after that.

[Pythonesque]

Thanks for the warning, she's an author I tend to look out for and will know to give that one a miss!

[Enjolrass]

I love UF. But this does annoy me.

I read the Dante Valentine novels and was disappointed for these reasons.

[Wristy]

Oh Jesus, stay well clear of the Anita Blake books!!!!
Number 1 starts off promising but it quickly descends into the kind of shite you're talking about.

[LBOCS2]

As does Keri Arthur.

I still love Kelley Armstrong though. Even though it's trash.

[futureme]

I really liked Discovery of Witches! I have the third one to reaed but have completely lost track of who all the different relatives and side characters are so need a cheat sheet before I can read it.

[slightlyglitterpaned]

"fascinating, developed female character with valuable skill... everything changes when she meets the love of her life!"

Hovis that sounds soo familiar. It's not a good romance or a good fantasy (good romance requires something a bit beyond heroine occasionally thinking "What, you cancelled all my credit cards without even asking me? Oh well, never mind I guess Nordic heroes are supposed to sound like they belong in a MN relationships thread."

I mean, I read urban fantasy because I like seeing how authors weave their magic systems into the modern world and make it sound plausible, not because I want lascivious descriptions of how the hero cooks a mean steak and this is sufficient to cause radical personality change in Mary Sue as she discovers that The Hot Hot Lurving of a Bad Bad Man/Supernatural entity is sufficient to make her brain fall out of the back of her head.

[slightlyglitterpaned]

dementedma I was too annoyed by them to really tell but they were quite detailed. I'm afraid I was just sitting there muttering "and how does telling us you switched to doggy style for the second go advance the plot or characterisation dammit? More runes please!"

I mean, nothing wrong with a book that's all about a good wallow in lascivious descriptions of shagging, eating, physical pleasures etc - it's just bloody annoying when the first chapter appeared to be promising a very different sort of book. Especially as it means I can't rely on the Kindle sample to figure out if it's my kind of book.

Valiant Thanks! Halfway through first Karen Chance book now... Let me know about your UF

[weeblueberry]

Women like sex and food = successful book!! Apparently...

[lucysnowe]

Not urban fantasy, but I find Robin McKinley good for writing books that have a love interest but focus mostly on the development of the heroine. Generally speaking her relationship with her horse/dog/cat/guinea pig is the most important one :)

[RhiWrites]

Try one of mine? ;)

[BeautyQueenFromMars]

If it's a kindle book you're reading, you can buy & download the book, and then return it for a refund, as long as you do it within 2 or 3 days of purchasing said book. Gives you a chance to check out more of the book, with the option to get your money back if it's really not your thing.

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

I find Jim Butcher's Dresden Files fun for UF but it's a male lead, though Murphy is a pretty kick ass female character in that universe :o

[slightlyglitterpaned]

BeautyQueen - I thought I could only return if I hadn't read it? That's worth checking out, thanks.

Rhiwrites - fancy telling us what your books are?

I really like Robin McKinley (she has done some UF - Sunshine is fucking awesome), and Dresden Files (another MN rec). Karen Chance is looking similarly promising to Dresden Files, so far.

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

Mmmmm Pritkin!

Ahem. Sorry!