The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

This begins shortly after the end of Mistborn, with a new government recently put in place and the people only just adjusting to learning that their god was a lie. Most of the book is split between two overlapping conflicts: Vin and Sazed investigating the history of the First Ruler, the Hero of the Ages, and the Well of Ascencion, and Elend trying to manage the government he put in place, mixed in with a hefty dose of both Vin and Elend worrying over whether or not they’re good enough for the other. My central thought on that is that the world really does need more pairings that are revolutionary minded scholars in love with assassins/bodyguards, and who don’t mind that their girlfriends could kill them with a pinky.

There are also three armies marching on Luthadel, determined to take advantage of the fledgling government, and several new characters. Two of them-Tindwyl, a Terriswoman determined to whip Elend into something more presentable and authoritative, and Allrianne, the seemingly-flaky daughter of one of the invaders who is in love with one of Vin and Elend’s men-address the typical fantasy issue of the heroine being the only non-dead, non-evil woman*. The third, Zane, is an insane Mistborn obsessed with both Vin and Elend, though for different reasons. Thankfully, neither is a sexual obsession. I liked Tindwyl and Allrianne, though I have some issues with Tindwyl’s arc, but grew tired of Zane quickly. I think mostly because “But psychotic killers are INTERESTING!” lost what little appeal it ever had for me some time back.

( spoilers )

Still an interesting story with a world and mythology I love, and good characters. Though I wish the plot had focused more on lost cultures and religions and secret histories and mistaken prophecies, not that I’m not also fond of building new governments under rather bad conditions.

Do not even hint or imply spoilers for the last book of the trilogy.

*Lest anyone misunderstand, I do think it’s progressive for the genre that a relatively high-profile epic fantasy trilogy has a female lead who is the main action and narrative focus, especially without rape in her past or present, but it also highlights other problems, in a way.

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I'm spending the afternoon at the parents doing my laundry, and ended up  helping Mom make muddy buddies/puppy chow.  For those not familiar with this treat, it's basically chex cereal  coated in a mixture of chocolate and peanut butter with a bit of butter, and then coated with powdered sugar.

It is insanely good and rather addictive.  Especially when it's warm and two feet away from you and your job is to do the powdered sugar coating and you're just waiting for the next batch...

(At least Jen, being 8+ months pregnant, had a good excuse for standing there and eating until Myles packed her in the car so they could drive home.)

Slightly Wicked by Mary Balogh

Her family having been all but beggared due to her brother’s debts, Judith Law is being sent to live with her aunt and uncle and be an unpaid companion to her grandmother. Along the way, however, her coach is overturned in an accident, and she accepts a ride to an inn from Rannulf Bedwyn, who comes across the accident. Faced with decades of being a poor relation foisted off on various relatives, Judith lies and claims to be an actress so that she can have an affair with Rannulf, who also lies about his own identity. Later, she’s surprised to learn that the noblewoman her flighty cousin hopes will propose to her is the man she had an affair with.

While reading this, I realized that all four Baloghs I’ve read had plots I typically dislike. There was the fake engagement, then the wife returning from the dead as her husband is about to marry someone else, then the marriage of convenience, and now the relationship that starts with sex and deceit, though it’s acknowledged as mutual deceit from the start, and established as soon as they learn the truth that neither has a leg to stand on, which almost immediately makes the trope far less annoying than usual. Slightly Wicked also has the ever-popular trope of a heroine who is gorgeous by contemporary standards who thinks she’s ugly, but salvages that by not having her realize she’s pretty because a guy thinks she’s hot, but by learning what about her family’s past led them to insult her looks. (I long greatly for her grandmother’s story, just so you know.)

Despite the plot types that I don’t care for, however, I’ve liked all her books, which is always a sign of a good author. Her heroines fit the standard types without being pushovers or “feisty,” and her heroes, so far, are nice no matter how angsty they are, and the Bedwyn men, so far, manage to make authoritative arrogance charming. Judith and Rannulf are less angsty than the other Balogh leads I’ve read about, but that’s ok. The plot, while straightforward, is muddled by the standard tropes such as matchmaking relatives, troublesome siblings, and conniving third parties that make trouble, leaving less time for the character arcs that were more prominent in the other Baloghs I read. Not that it stops the book from being better than most of its kind.

I think Freyja’s book is the next Bedwyn, and I’m a bit concerned about that. Mostly, I’m worried that she’ll be “tamed” (blegh) and I find it hard to imagine someone she’ll be happy with. I also tend to find her attitudes about other women interesting. Society tends to mold both men and women of her class into something that she finds dull and insipid, but allows more room for men to step out of the mold than women, though I don’t think she’s particularly impressed by any men she isn’t related to. I also tend to be amused by her attitude regarding Lauren, because I suspect it has less to do with Lauren marrying the man Freyja wanted to marry, and more to do with the fact that Freyja doesn’t know how to deal with calm, controlled people. They probably remind her too much of Wulfric.