Bob Mayer

Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer are back?!?!?! Hot Damn!

And this is exactly what I hoped for -- great characters, family drama, hijinks, and small town politics. I loved it. Things I particularly loved:

1: Liz setting boundaries with loved ones. This is a beautiful thing to see, and it's modeled in current ways of speech, which I also really appreciate.

2: Liz's peripatetic life also seems very on the nose for young people nowadays (god I feel old) -- working out of her car, freelancing -- I show more wish that wasn't the way things are, but I love that she acquires a fairy godcelebrity.

3: I think the cops should ask Bob to be their marketing manager and trainer. Vince definitely softens my feelings towards them, although the gun scenarios are terrifying. I really appreciate that he flat out talks about not stopping women and minorities unless there's a real safety issue because he knows that they have something to fear.

4: I love the quirks -- Liz's adoration of diners and vintage t-shirts -- so great.

Anyway, delicious, as always. Welcome back! show less

I was never a huge fan of Jennifer Crusie's collaborations with Bob Mayer ([b:Agnes and the Hitman|384457|Agnes and the Hitman (The Organization, #0)|Jennifer Crusie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388277284l/384457._SY75_.jpg|1734360], etc.), but after not hearing from her for more than a decade, I was willing to take whatever I could get. Lavender's Blue features some of the old Crusie magic, with small town Ohio setting, wacky secondary characters, show more rapid-fire dialogue, and an ugly dog. The FMC reluctantly returns to her hometown after 15 years of deliberately avoiding it. Secrets are revealed, new boundaries are established with her alcoholic mother, and someone is murdered (the last part is typical only of the Crusie/Mayer books, not her solo releases).

But sadly, the book didn't make me squee like [b:Bet Me|854757|Bet Me|Jennifer Crusie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316129534l/854757._SY75_.jpg|1616066], [b:Welcome to Temptation|33727|Welcome to Temptation (Dempseys, #1)|Jennifer Crusie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312011677l/33727._SY75_.jpg|2563621], or other Crusie gems. There are too many secondary characters, and I was frequently confused about their relationships to the MCs and relevance to the story. The FMC, Liz Danger, becomes uncomfortably dependent on being rescued from danger by the MMC, who happens to be a policeman. When did Crusie's tough, wisecracking heroines become damsels in distress? For God's sake, her name is Liz Danger - let her live up to it!

The fact that MMC Vince Cooper (chapters written by Mayer) is a cop who shoots out the tires of a teenager's car because he won't stop talking lands a little differently now than it did during Crusie's heyday of the 1990s and early 2000's. Mayer obviously tries to make his policeman more "woke" - Vince states that he doesn't pull over women or minorities unless they are a safety hazard, and his BFF is a beautiful Black woman with whom he served in combat (Sassy Black Friend cliche alert!). He is a little more emotionally open than some of Mayer's previous heroes, but a cop is a cop, and that's a red flag for me. Obviously YMMV.

I will read the rest of the trilogy, because I've missed Crusie's unique voice, but I will feel a bit guilty about doing so. show less

I'm sitting here, metaphorically drumming my fingernails impatiently. I have finished this series and it will be at least three months until the first book in their next outing is published. This is such a good pairing of collaborators. They've got the banter, the attraction, the very odd supporting cast. This is a series that if filmed would create a couple of new action stars.

And because this is the final tale in the trilogy, there's time to flesh out the people of small-town Burney, OH. show more And by focusing on the town the authors have managed a really neat trick: they have shown a society that isn't polarized. Maybe I need to cut back on my news intake, because it feels amazing that political parties are never mentioned. That feels so refreshing. People are still horrible in all the usual ways, but they're horrible because they do horrible things, not because of their opinions on unrelated topics. It's so refreshing to see a small town that's a seething cauldron of greed, lust, and other nice old-fashioned vices.

Also, for those who love this sort of thing, as I do, this one has quite a bit of real estate interest. I wouldn't be surprised to learn HGTV was trying to acquire the rights.

Personal, pre-ordered copy. Because the authors have been wise to mention that is particularly important, and because getting a new book by favorite authors every month is a dream that has languished since the mainline Nancy Drew's stopped publishing eons ago. show less

I received this ebook through LibraryThing Early Reviewers, and I am so happy that I did because I LOVED it!! I honestly could not put it down, and when I wasn't actively reading it, I was thinking about it. I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next, and pondering the philosophical questions it raised about life, death, society and social class.

There's been a lot of young adult books set in dystopian futures of late, and it's not easy to come up with something new and show more different, but Burners really did feel like it had some different ideas, and it felt plausible based on the history that created the dystopian world the characters find themselves in.

It took me a bit of time to get used to the terminology of the world and the type of phrases and talk the characters use. A lot of card game terminologyis used, like The Dealer who is in charge of everything, Dealers who operate at the command of The Dealer and carry out his directives, and the humans in the world are "in play" being given their card on their sixth birthday (Dealing Day), a card which determines not only the date of their death, but also what their purpose will be in life. Those given white cards are The People, the most desirable class to be in. They live carefree lives in which others cater to their needs. Only one out of 100 children will be given a white card on their birthday. Most are given red cards...Burner cards, placed around their necks with numbers that begin to count down the days until their death.

At six years old, Burners are taken to hive wombs to be raised, learning to work from morning till night. They live in small cubicles in a place where they rarely see the sun, much less the stars. Their food is bland and mostly consists of the leftovers that The People don't want or need. It's a miserable life, a life without hope. Their deathdates are the nearest...their lives will end at 25, so they are called Burners who shine brightly because their candle burns at both ends. They do everything quickly, so as not to waste any time, which is so precious. The People, of course, can afford to move slowly, appreciate art and beauty and good food... they have no deathdate counting down.

The book begins when there are only 30 days until Grace's deathdate. But Grace is unusual. She has an identical twin and her twin received a white card on their Dealing Day and has lived as one of The People while Grace has worked her fingers to the bone for little reward. But Grace's sister Millay made a promise that when it was close to Grace's time to die, they would secretly switch lives so that Grace could experience the luxury and joy of living as one of The People for a short time before her life ends for good. Except that things don't go as planned. Unexpected events turn everything upside down and both girls suddenly find themselves "out of play" and on the run from The Dealer and those who work for him. The world outside of their assigned zones is frightening and mysterious filled with Jokers...cannibals who were thrown into the Void due to bad behaviour, or people who chose to fold their cards and go into the Void long before their death, a choice that is open to every person always.

The plot is tight and interesting. When the human world was hit by a devastating virus that quickly began killing off human beings, scientists scrambled to find a way to stop it, and when they could not...they hatched a plan to help mankind survive, if not flourish within the restrictions that the virus had left to deal with...deathdates. The virus remained all around them and within them, within their genes and it was an examination of their genes that established which deathdate category they would fall into... death by 25 (Burners), 50, 75 (those who are enlisted to work for the Dealers and/or work to serve The People, who have no deathdate at all.

In order to deal with the reality of these categories that seemed ingrained in their very cells, a structure of society was re-invented that seemed to make the most sense for everyone involved. Over time, people forget that there had ever been any other type of society. But now the structure is beginning to deteriorate. Less and less babies are being born and the balance is in jeopardy. The twins have something to do with it because they are twins... twins who have cards that are not the same, even though genetically they are identical.

As with many who take power in order to help, and do what they believe is right, the years of power can corrupt and create an aversion to change even when it might time to rethink the original plan. Murder and torture become tools that are justified as necessary in order to main the status quo. As with any rigid belief structure, questions are dangerous and those who have the most knowledge, hold the power. At what point does good become evil? When does salavation become oppression?

A very exciting book! Lots of food for thought and discussion! I can't wait for the sequel to see what happens next! Highly recommended, especially for those who are fans of The Hunger Games and The Divergent series. show less