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katyanaish's review against another edition
3.0
***3.5***
I'm not liking this series as much as I want to.
The stories are good, for the most part. But there are a couple critical problems that are really keeping me from being as invested as I feel like I could be in the characters.
I don't have a lot of tolerance for heroes that, three books in, are still denying reality. Frankly, I was over this in book 2. For her to still struggle with being a skeptic, at this point, makes her seem ridiculous. She's seen so much extraordinary, clearly supernatural, stuff that it is just unbelievable. As in, I don't believe it. And so it feels forced and unnatural, just to create friction. In other words: bullshit.
For the record, this is equally true of Morrison, but I'll get to that later.
Joanne is REALLY slow on the uptake. The universe seems to send her flashing neon signs when something is wrong, and she doesn't get it. I think the reader understands what is going on, in both book 2 and book 3, about 150 pages before Joanne does. It makes for an incredibly frustrating read. One I kept putting down, out of irritation.
Joanne has a ridiculous martyr complex. I know this is a UF trend, but it is one that I consistently hate. It's fine - it's good - for the hero to take responsibility for stuff they fucked up. It's practically required for them to show compassion and help fix things they didn't fuck up. That's pretty much the definition of heroism. But Joanne puts everything on herself. To me, this is most unforgivable when it comes to the events of book 2. And she's still flogging herself about those things. Are you fucking kidding me? Yes, Joanne was slow on the uptake, but you know what? She was faster on the uptake than the entire fucking coven of people that manipulated her into a situation she didn't understand, and forced her to do ludicrous things without explanation. Yes, she takes a hit for setting her own judgment aside, but the vast, vast, vast majority of the responsibility for that situation is on them. They never once even explained a working to her before they just expected her to do shit. It was so unethical that I frankly pretty much hated book 2, and the entire group of secondary characters introduced in that book.
Taking responsibility for the actions of everyone around you is not only idiotic, it is unbelievably arrogant. Are you a god now, Joanne? Do you have omniscient control over everyone and all the shitty decisions they make? No? Well then shut the fuck up about how all of this is your fault, already. Own up to what you did do, and let the rest of it go.
I don't like Morrison. Like, at all. At. All. The way he treats her is so incredibly douchebaggy that it flabbergasts me. Also led to massive frustration, and me walking away from the book several times. He doesn't get to treat her abilities like a foul, unclean curse, and then show up at her house demanding she drop everything and do them. He doesn't act like a boss, he acts like an OWNER. A slave owner. And he can fuck right off. I seriously, seriously, dislike him. Even worse is that, while ordering her to handle whatever mysterious shit is going on, he then disregards all of her input on it. You can't have it both ways, fucktard. She's either handling it - in which case quit fucking around and pay attention to what she says - or she's not, and you can fucking come up with the solution yourself.
I'm hoping that the way this book ends means that he's out. Permanently. And we don't have to deal with him and his emotional, manipulative, asinine bullshit anymore.
I'm not sure why I'm even interested in reading onward, as, again, I'm not as onboard with these books as I'd like to be. I guess it's because I do like the bones of the story, and I'd like to see how it plays. I just don't know how much more I can do if the characters don't stop being so ridiculous.
Maybe we could just drop everyone else, and do a story about Gary, Billy and Mel. I'd be so down for that.
I'm not liking this series as much as I want to.
The stories are good, for the most part. But there are a couple critical problems that are really keeping me from being as invested as I feel like I could be in the characters.
I don't have a lot of tolerance for heroes that, three books in, are still denying reality. Frankly, I was over this in book 2. For her to still struggle with being a skeptic, at this point, makes her seem ridiculous. She's seen so much extraordinary, clearly supernatural, stuff that it is just unbelievable. As in, I don't believe it. And so it feels forced and unnatural, just to create friction. In other words: bullshit.
For the record, this is equally true of Morrison, but I'll get to that later.
Joanne is REALLY slow on the uptake. The universe seems to send her flashing neon signs when something is wrong, and she doesn't get it. I think the reader understands what is going on, in both book 2 and book 3, about 150 pages before Joanne does. It makes for an incredibly frustrating read. One I kept putting down, out of irritation.
Joanne has a ridiculous martyr complex. I know this is a UF trend, but it is one that I consistently hate. It's fine - it's good - for the hero to take responsibility for stuff they fucked up. It's practically required for them to show compassion and help fix things they didn't fuck up. That's pretty much the definition of heroism. But Joanne puts everything on herself. To me, this is most unforgivable when it comes to the events of book 2. And she's still flogging herself about those things. Are you fucking kidding me? Yes, Joanne was slow on the uptake, but you know what? She was faster on the uptake than the entire fucking coven of people that manipulated her into a situation she didn't understand, and forced her to do ludicrous things without explanation. Yes, she takes a hit for setting her own judgment aside, but the vast, vast, vast majority of the responsibility for that situation is on them. They never once even explained a working to her before they just expected her to do shit. It was so unethical that I frankly pretty much hated book 2, and the entire group of secondary characters introduced in that book.
Taking responsibility for the actions of everyone around you is not only idiotic, it is unbelievably arrogant. Are you a god now, Joanne? Do you have omniscient control over everyone and all the shitty decisions they make? No? Well then shut the fuck up about how all of this is your fault, already. Own up to what you did do, and let the rest of it go.
I don't like Morrison. Like, at all. At. All. The way he treats her is so incredibly douchebaggy that it flabbergasts me. Also led to massive frustration, and me walking away from the book several times. He doesn't get to treat her abilities like a foul, unclean curse, and then show up at her house demanding she drop everything and do them. He doesn't act like a boss, he acts like an OWNER. A slave owner. And he can fuck right off. I seriously, seriously, dislike him. Even worse is that, while ordering her to handle whatever mysterious shit is going on, he then disregards all of her input on it. You can't have it both ways, fucktard. She's either handling it - in which case quit fucking around and pay attention to what she says - or she's not, and you can fucking come up with the solution yourself.
I'm hoping that the way this book ends means that he's out. Permanently. And we don't have to deal with him and his emotional, manipulative, asinine bullshit anymore.
I'm not sure why I'm even interested in reading onward, as, again, I'm not as onboard with these books as I'd like to be. I guess it's because I do like the bones of the story, and I'd like to see how it plays. I just don't know how much more I can do if the characters don't stop being so ridiculous.
Maybe we could just drop everyone else, and do a story about Gary, Billy and Mel. I'd be so down for that.
rvmama's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the characters. Found the out-of-body, other world stuff a bit overwhelming, hence only 4 stars.
mamap's review against another edition
3.0
a little over the top with the whole astral plane, dream world, navajo gods, sleeping sickness, etc. lots of truth and hard choices. like the fact that we all have to learn to live with the choices we make. language.
veronica87's review against another edition
3.0
This third book in the Walker Papers series sees Joanne starting to take her shamanic abilities and responsibilties more seriously. She's also making a stab at a normal social life even as she, finally!, comes to a realization about what she feels for her boss, Captain Morrison. And all this while trying to figure out what or who is causing people all over Seattle, including some very good friends, to fall into a deep sleep.
I continue to enjoy this series, particularly the characters. I appreciate that Joanne doesn't always know what she's doing and that she's not averse to admitting that out loud. She's got some great friends in Gary, her cross-dressing fellow law enforcement officer, Billy, and his wife, Melinda. Captain Morrison continues to be an object of her affection, admiration, and respect. Joanne's relationship with him hits new ground in this installment as certain things are necessarily laid out in the open. That doesn't mean that anything is possible however because he's still her boss and some things may not be meant to be. That ending...gah! I still hold out hope for them though. I just think that the author is slowly laying the needed groundwork. I am typically a fan of the slow burn relationships as opposed to stories where the lead couple is already having sex within two chapters of meeting each other. That said, I wish that the situation between Joanne and Morrison was moving along just a bit faster BUT, I do understand why it's not so.
I still wish that Joanne spent a little more time in the real world and less page time traipsing through the spirit realm but at this point, given her specific abilities, that's not likely to change. I confess to not always following exactly what's going on in the spirit world but I think that's more due to my own lack of visualization talents rather than to a failure on the author's descriptive writing ability. I'm reading more for the characters now than for the magic elements anyway so I guess it works out.
Now I just have to wait for the rest of the series to arrive in the mail. The series will be coming to a close next year when the final two books come out (#8 and #9), in January and December. 2013.
I continue to enjoy this series, particularly the characters. I appreciate that Joanne doesn't always know what she's doing and that she's not averse to admitting that out loud. She's got some great friends in Gary, her cross-dressing fellow law enforcement officer, Billy, and his wife, Melinda. Captain Morrison continues to be an object of her affection, admiration, and respect. Joanne's relationship with him hits new ground in this installment as certain things are necessarily laid out in the open. That doesn't mean that anything is possible however because he's still her boss and some things may not be meant to be. That ending...gah! I still hold out hope for them though. I just think that the author is slowly laying the needed groundwork. I am typically a fan of the slow burn relationships as opposed to stories where the lead couple is already having sex within two chapters of meeting each other. That said, I wish that the situation between Joanne and Morrison was moving along just a bit faster BUT, I do understand why it's not so.
I still wish that Joanne spent a little more time in the real world and less page time traipsing through the spirit realm but at this point, given her specific abilities, that's not likely to change. I confess to not always following exactly what's going on in the spirit world but I think that's more due to my own lack of visualization talents rather than to a failure on the author's descriptive writing ability. I'm reading more for the characters now than for the magic elements anyway so I guess it works out.
Now I just have to wait for the rest of the series to arrive in the mail. The series will be coming to a close next year when the final two books come out (#8 and #9), in January and December. 2013.
hgranger's review against another edition
2.0
I want Joanne to be incredible and interesting because there are so few Native American urban fantasy heroes. I want her to kick butt and take control of her world and destiny. Instead she is self-absorbed, repetitive, insecure, and somehow despite being a woman manages to be incredibly misogynistic. Stop it Murphy! This character has potential to be so much more! Enough with the dreamy blah blah dead zone sequences of boredom and self-hatred. More action, less "I got pregnant, I have to hate myself." More use of and exploration of her powers, less ogling any and all men (including but not limited to: her boss, her co-worker, her 75 year old friend, both present and past, and several gods and demons....)
I may read one more in hopes of a series improvement and if that doesn't happen, I'm giving up. Get it together Siobhan!
I may read one more in hopes of a series improvement and if that doesn't happen, I'm giving up. Get it together Siobhan!
lynseyisreading's review against another edition
4.0
From the opening scene of this book, when Joanne wakes to discover she has the world's worst hangover...and a strange guy in her bed, I just knew I was going to enjoy this more than the first book. It made me realise what was lacking last time, actually, and that was that everything just plodded along too nicely, there was nothing that happened that really ruffled Jo's feathers, but I enjoyed the fact that from the very first paragraph in this book, she was already thoroughly discombobulated.
Now, ideally it would be Captain Morrison she found in her bed, because, let's face it, those two are so gonna get it on eventually. But sadly, no, it was a perfect stranger. One who plays an interesting part in the book and I enjoyed a lot of the scenes with him.
The mystery part of this story was also a lot stronger and easier to follow than the last book. Whether that is affected by my growing understanding of Joanne's magic or whether it was just better is up for your own interpretation...Maybe a bit of both.
As you can see from the blurb, people are falling asleep and not waking up. Joanne, using her ability to touch people's minds when they are asleep or unconscious, determines that it is not a natural sleep. There is some kind of magic, like a dark blanket, holding them to sleep. When someone Joanne cares about is affected, she is determined to get to the bottom of it.
All of this was handled brilliantly, and I really enjoyed this aspect of the story. What I also enjoyed was learning more about Joanne and what happened to her up until she was around 15 and how those events may have helped shape the Joanne we are growing to know and love today.
There was also some progress in the relationship (can I even get away with calling it that?) between Jo and Michael Morrison, her boss. But don't get too excited. Progress is this instance could easily just mean not driving each other insane for five whole minutes, so don't expect anything too spectacular, but there is at least a thawing starting to happen...I think.
Looking forward to the next one!
Now, ideally it would be Captain Morrison she found in her bed, because, let's face it, those two are so gonna get it on eventually. But sadly, no, it was a perfect stranger. One who plays an interesting part in the book and I enjoyed a lot of the scenes with him.
The mystery part of this story was also a lot stronger and easier to follow than the last book. Whether that is affected by my growing understanding of Joanne's magic or whether it was just better is up for your own interpretation...Maybe a bit of both.
As you can see from the blurb, people are falling asleep and not waking up. Joanne, using her ability to touch people's minds when they are asleep or unconscious, determines that it is not a natural sleep. There is some kind of magic, like a dark blanket, holding them to sleep. When someone Joanne cares about is affected, she is determined to get to the bottom of it.
All of this was handled brilliantly, and I really enjoyed this aspect of the story. What I also enjoyed was learning more about Joanne and what happened to her up until she was around 15 and how those events may have helped shape the Joanne we are growing to know and love today.
There was also some progress in the relationship (can I even get away with calling it that?) between Jo and Michael Morrison, her boss. But don't get too excited. Progress is this instance could easily just mean not driving each other insane for five whole minutes, so don't expect anything too spectacular, but there is at least a thawing starting to happen...I think.
Looking forward to the next one!
zeezeemama11's review against another edition
4.0
im hooked on this shaman series, and am impatiently waiting for the next. if you have yet to experience this series do not start with this one start at the beginning. coyote dreams was an explanation book and was not nearly as action pacted or satisfying as her previous novels.
amyiw's review against another edition
3.0
Another 3 1/2,
I've been in the good but not very good category for a while. This could have been very good but I was disappointed in the TSTL moments, not getting the baddie, and how one of the relationships ended. , After finishing and thinking, I still feel like I cannot bump it up though it was pretty good, just not very good.
30%- This started really well. We are constantly wondering who Mark is, who is his sister really. I'm not sure if the dreams are making it so she doesn't question it enough.
55%- Still really good but a little too much dream scaping that leads to not understanding the problem but more of Joane's life.
82%- TSTL argh and she is an awful fighter, yet a police officer? This might be a little too psychedelic for me.
I've been in the good but not very good category for a while. This could have been very good but I was disappointed in the TSTL moments, not getting the baddie, and how one of the relationships ended. ,
Spoiler
She has been pushing the Morrison love angle and when it finally comes front and center, kills it. Well we know it is for the time being but it was really disappointing.30%- This started really well. We are constantly wondering who Mark is, who is his sister really. I'm not sure if the dreams are making it so she doesn't question it enough.
55%- Still really good but a little too much dream scaping that leads to not understanding the problem but more of Joane's life.
82%- TSTL argh and she is an awful fighter, yet a police officer? This might be a little too psychedelic for me.
rachelking's review against another edition
3.0
I never am sure how to evaluate the books in this series, because I understand so little of what is occurring. Joanne is the type of character who lives moment to moment, and still comes out smelling like roses. In the first book, this didn't feel like it would work for me, but now I'm quite used to it. The irony is that what used to surprise me so unexpectedly had quite ceased to have that sort of effect.
The plus side to all of this is that Joanne no longer seems to be fighting her shamanic role as much and is excepting who she is and what she can do. Even her boss seems to be adapting to the idea, which can be quite hilarious at times. The chemistry between them is as visible as lightning, but for some reason neither one wants to act on it, which is frustrating to no end for me.
I was really hopeful through most of the book that the new male element was as good as he seemed, because he was perfect for Joanne in so many ways. The way her life changed on a dime did not seem to phase him, and neither did her shamanic duties. It was like he had this secret knowledge that he knew exactly what she needed, and it was the hottie standing in his shoes. Alas, these things are always too good to be true.
I enjoyed the focus on sleep and dreaming that this book had, it was a more unpredictable element for Joanne to work with and it made her expand her limits and comfort zone. This also allowed her to venture into her boss's mental garden, which was both surprising and exciting and added a new layer to their evolving relationship.
I was not really satisfied with the ending, but the great thing about series is that this still has the potential to change. I look forward to the next book in the series, Walking Dead (The Walker Papers, Book 4).
The plus side to all of this is that Joanne no longer seems to be fighting her shamanic role as much and is excepting who she is and what she can do. Even her boss seems to be adapting to the idea, which can be quite hilarious at times. The chemistry between them is as visible as lightning, but for some reason neither one wants to act on it, which is frustrating to no end for me.
I was really hopeful through most of the book that the new male element was as good as he seemed, because he was perfect for Joanne in so many ways. The way her life changed on a dime did not seem to phase him, and neither did her shamanic duties. It was like he had this secret knowledge that he knew exactly what she needed, and it was the hottie standing in his shoes. Alas, these things are always too good to be true.
I enjoyed the focus on sleep and dreaming that this book had, it was a more unpredictable element for Joanne to work with and it made her expand her limits and comfort zone. This also allowed her to venture into her boss's mental garden, which was both surprising and exciting and added a new layer to their evolving relationship.
I was not really satisfied with the ending, but the great thing about series is that this still has the potential to change. I look forward to the next book in the series, Walking Dead (The Walker Papers, Book 4).