Mini-Comments

The following two books were the last I read in 2020. Both were just OK reads and don't inspire me to write that much about them.

 

Bitter Creek is a town on the brink of war.
Lines are being drawn and sides taken as two powerful men gather armies of gunfighters. The
townspeople are helpless and the law worthless. One man has already died in the opening salvo of this land war and an air of fearful anticipation hangs over the town.
Eagle, the half-breed who works at the livery stable, manages to survive by not taking sides, until one day a stranger rides into town. Eagle’s life changes, and he realizes that he can no longer hide with his horses if he wishes to be the man he claims to be...

Comment: This was one of the books which was the longest in the pile. When I first started reading m/m I was quite fond of the author's work but with time, and other things, other styles, this one ended up being average, in comparison. It's not a problem, I still appreciate the author's work but it's true it no longer fascinates me as much as it did. This is a story about a opposites attract couple, during the wild west era and the relationship they develop had to be kept quiet and unassuming. I think the romance wasn't too bad, all things considered, but their personalities weren't as well developed as they could. The plot was confusing without having to be and had several clichés which felt like easy choices instead of natural parts of the story. It was an OK read but to be honest, I don't feel like revisiting the author's work I liked nor do I feel I want to try something else. I'll keep my fond memories of what I liked.

Grade: 5/10

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The Otiosi? As far as Mathew Longstaff knows, they’re just a group of harmless scholars with an eccentric interest in the works of antiquity. When they ask him to travel east, to recover a lost text from Ivan the Terrible’s private library, he can’t think of anything but the reward – home. A return to England and an end to the long years of exile and warfare.
But the Otiosi are on the trail of a greater prize than Longstaff realises – the legendary ‘Devil’s
Library’. And they are not alone. Gregorio Spina, the Pope’s spymaster and Chief Censor, is obsessed with finding the Library. It’s not the accumulated wisdom of centuries he’s after – a swamp of lies and heresy in his opinion – but among the filth, like a diamond at the centre of the Devil’s black heart, Spina believes that God has placed a treasure, a weapon to defeat the Antichrist and pitch his hordes back into hell. Only Longstaff, together with the unpredictable physician, Gaetan Durant, can stop Spina using the Library to plunge Europe into a second Dark Ages. The two adventurers fight their way south, from the snowfields of Muscovy to the sun-baked plains of Italy, where an ageing scholar and his beautiful, young protégé hold the final piece of the puzzle. But is it already too late? Can the four of them take on the might of the Roman Church and hope to win?

Comment: I picked this book at the library because it mentioned the word "library" on the cover and, as probably any other book lover, I'm all for books where libraries are featured or play important roles. I had not heard anything about the author until now, so it would be a surprise all around. The story happens during the 16th century but I felt it was too focused on the social environment of that time in detriment of a mysterious or even quirky plot about the library or the books in it or why they mattered. Not even the main characters felt remarkable because their lives were so restrained by the way they had to behave. I think it would be better if the political and social atmosphere hadn't been such an important part of the story. When it comes to adventures/investigations about books or libraries, other (better to me) titles come to mind. I don't think I'll read more things by the author.

Grade: 5/10