Books 44, 45, and 46

44) The Host by Stephenie Meyer. As any reader of Twilight knows, Stephenie Meyer knows how to write sexual tension and passion, and does it extremely well. This book had some great instances of that- but not enough. The idea of this book was very creative, but the plot got a bit tedious at times. It was definitely a page-turner; I couldn't wait to keep reading it. But, at the same time, I felt like I kept waiting for something more exciting to happen.

45) The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig. I had a hard time rating this book, so let me lay out the pros and cons. Cons: Plot is a little dull compared to some other recent books I've read. I mean, it takes place out in Nowhere, Montana- so there's not a lot going on. Pros: Perhaps part of the book's appeal is that despite the lack of real excitement, I definitely loved the characters enough that I wanted to keep reading. Which leads me to... Pro: The characters were awesome. I feel like I know them, and the book wasn't that long. I really loved the narrator Paul, and his brothers, his father, and of course Rose and Morrie. Pro: Speaking of Morrie, one of the best parts of this book was how it made me think back about all the amazing teachers I've had in my life and how truly important they are. I loved Morrie the teacher, which brings me to.... **spoiler here** Con: The ending? Here I loved Rose and Morrie the whole book, and well, they just don't turn out to be as good of people as you think they are. I think that kind of ruined the respect I had for Morrie as the teacher. Also... Con: I'm not sure I got what Paul was saying on the last page. I read it like 3 times but I'm still not sure what happened.

46) Ride the Wind by Lucia St. Clair Robson. I'm a little torn on this book between 3 and 4 stars. Part of me LOVED it. I'm a fan of historical fiction and this story about the last few decades of the "free" Comanches is something I was unfamiliar with. The plot was quite fascinating and I liked the Wanderer/Nadua love story. On the other hand, the first half of the book was markedly better than the second half. The second half was full of cliches,e.g., "We're in love and our two awesome horses had TWINS that look just like their parents". Cheesy. And certain things were totally rushed (one of the main character's friend is killed towards the end with hardly a mention). It also seemed to move a lot slower for me in the second half. Something I'm not sure about- the violence in this book. I'm not sure when I last read something with such potent images of rape, torture, killing. Now, don't get me wrong- I think these portrayals were necessary in the context of the story, but... yowza. Makes me glad I didn't live in Texas back then!