Liu, Marjorie M. - Tiger Eye

[oyceter]

Despite several people reccing Liu to me, I've been avoiding her books after reading a snippet of one (Red Heart of Jade, I think) and being completely weirded out by the Taipei in it.

Dela Reese buys a strange puzzle box in a Beijing street market; the next thing she knows, she's surrounded by flashy golden lights and a seven-foot tall guy with a lot of weapons is demanding to know what her command is. When he learns that she doesn't want anyone killed or conquered, we get:

"If you did not bring me here to kill or fight, then I was summoned to pleasure your body." He looked like he would rather impale himself face-first on a bed of nails.

Not quite what I had envisioned, and thoroughly welcome!

My general impression of the recent paranormal trend is that they tend to be more sexually explicit and have better worldbuilding, but to my surprise, this book's strengths lie in the snappy dialogue and the characters. Not that the sex is bad, and the worldbuilding is pretty neat, but I am so glad to have a romance in which the characters actually feel like they're falling in love, not insta-lust.

Anyway, Hari (aforementioned seven-foot tall shapeshifter guy from the box) and Dela soon discover that not one, but two groups of people are out to kill Dela. Oh, also, Dela has psychic powers, namely, an affinity for metal, as does most of her family and the detective agency her family founded. To my surprise, Dela not only protests that she's capable of taking care of herself, most of the time she follows through. She's smart, funny, down-to-earth, and also wary. Hari's also a surprise -- rather than being the alpha male intent on seduction, he's fairly shy and hurt after being basically tortured and enslaved for two thousand years. My favorite part of the book was watching the two of them gradually get to know each other and trust each other; there's a sweetness about Hari that's particularly charming, especially when juxtaposed with Dela's practicality.

Some of the prose descriptions in the beginning were a little too purple for me, but Liu soon gets into Hari and Dela's voices, and that's when she really begins to shine. I haven't laughed so much while reading a romance for quite some time.

We later get to meet some of Dela's friends from Dirk & Steele, the detective agency cum hideout for other psychically-powered pepole. Normally, I would resent meeting all these people who were clearly going to star in the next books, but instead of giving me endless descriptions on how testosterone-ladden, gorgeous and broad-shouldered the men are, Liu focuses on their dialogue and personalities. For once, I'm actually excited to be reading the next books in the series because I want to know more about the characters (I have slight crushes on Dean for his total guy-ness and Eddie because he is cute and "ma'am"'s Dela).

In terms of gender politics, the only thing that really bugged me was that I wanted more women in Dirk & Steele. That's more a minor complaint, though; we get to meet one of Dela's female friends, and there are several powerful women in the background, including the co-founder of Dirk & Steele. In terms of race politics, I do wish that there were Chinese main characters, given the early setting in Beijing and a later subplot. While the inclusion of the Chinese mafia as villains in a book with a mostly white cast would normally bug me, I am not as irritated, given that Liu's later books do seem to star an Asian character (or more?). I'm particularly looking forward to the one that's set in Africa, starring an actual black man! Not specifically targeted as an African-American romance! (To clarify: I have no problem with African-American romances, but am irked that the trend of Exotified Ethnicities a la Harlequin Presents somehow always skips over black men.)

In conclusion: I am very happily surprised. This isn't just a good paranormal, it's a good romance and a fun read, period. I'm also extremely glad ladyjax persuaded me to buy the next book in the series last week and that I have the third one sitting around somewhere (Dean! In Taiwan! AWESOME!).

Comments

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

They are ultra special. They deserve the crown of ultra specialness.

And I read the the uber ridiculous Black Dagger Brotherhood!

[oyceter]

Hrm, is this a good special? I am somewhat doubtful given the tale of the dreadlocks.

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

No, this is not a good special. Not when it comes to the Kenyon books. I'm impressed that Megan is still able to read them as I bailed after the atrocity she references.

[oyceter]

Bwahaha, ok, I will avoid and skirt around the trainwreck!

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

The Tale of Dreadlocks is from another one of her series. With were animals. Which is the bad kind of special. The Dark Hunters are the good kind of special assuming you like interchangeable alpha males with long flowing hair and tattoos on their hip from a pissy OOC Artemis. Oh and New Orleans. Gotta love New Orleans.