Comments on: REVIEW: Beyond the Rain by Jess Granger

By: Lorenda

Lorenda — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:47:49 +0000

Just an FYI on this one – it is now available on Kindle.

By: Jess Granger » Blog Archive » More Review Links

Jess Granger » Blog Archive » More Review Links — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:12:27 +0000

[...] a roundup of the latest reviews, and the review from Dear Author [...]

By: Aoife

Aoife — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:26:40 +0000

I just finished this last night. I read Beyond the Rain in one sitting, and enjoyed some parts of it very much. However, for a book that is priced at $15.00, rightly or wrongly, I expect just a bit more finesse in the world-building, more polished dialogue, greater consistency in characterisation, and a smidge more complexity in the plot. Beyond the Rain felt a little shallow to me, in that sense, like SF-F-very-very-lite. I like some of Linnea Sinclair’s work a lot, but, this didn’t seem to have the same depth of either world-building or emotion. Honestly, at this price, I wouldn’t be much inclined to try the next book in this series, unless my library had it.

By: Cybercliper

Cybercliper — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:45:30 +0000

Thanks for the review. This one has been on my radar for a while now, so I think I’ll take the plunge and give it a shot. I love Science Fiction / Fantasy Romance and there hasn’t been a lot put out there recently. I’ve just discovered Linnea Sinclair, Catherine Spangler, and Stobie Piel – mostly older work, a few well placed sex scenes, nothing I’d classify as erotic, but still very good romantic reads with, I think, good world building.

By: Diana Peterfreund

Diana Peterfreund — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:20:29 +0000

I read an excerpt from this a long time ago and was very intrigued. The hormone harvesting of the Byralen, in particular, reminded me a lot of BRIGHTNESS FALLS FROM THE AIR by James Tiptree Jr. (Alice Sheldon), which I loved as a teen.

By: Agent Z.

Agent Z. — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:27:21 +0000

I like my SFR with a healthy dose of world building, so this book sounds like my cuppa. A good review from someone who is not a fan of SFR? I believe I’ll be shelling out the bucks.

By: Lisa Paitz Spindler

Lisa Paitz Spindler — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:09:06 +0000

Thanks for clearing that up, Jane. I’m looking forward to more SFR reviews in the future.

By: Jane

Jane — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:07:56 +0000

@Lisa Paitz Spindler: My sentence wasn't very articulate, was it? I was saying that I wasn't just recommending Beyond the Rain because it was a SFR but its being a SFR did influence my decision. There isn't a lot of SFR being published so I want to be supportive of something different when it comes along. It's trade and it's a B- grade so it got a provisional recommendation.

By: Jane

Jane — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:04:30 +0000

@DS: This book really does lack in good dialogue. It’s one of the downfalls and part of the reason I think that the pacing seems so slow. I thought the worldbuilding was really quite good and that the heroine was the warrior while hero was the nuturer/gatherer.

If you feel that the excerpt isn’t to your taste, I don’t know that the writing would work for you (thank goodness for excerpts, huh?). I don’t read a lot of SFR because it’s either very dense or very boring or both but this was interesting to me.

The second book in the series sounds more traditional with the alpha male hero rearing his head.

By: Lisa Paitz Spindler

Lisa Paitz Spindler — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:04:03 +0000

I didn't have Beyond the Rain as a recommended read this month just becauseit was a science fiction romance but it did play a part.

Why would a book being science fiction romance be an automatic disqualifier for a recommended read? Also, Beyond the Rain was actually an August recommended read: http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2009/08/06/dear-author-recommends-for-august-2/

Maybe I’m just not following what you’re saying here, but overall I’m so very glad to see DA reviewing science fiction romance.

By: DS

DS — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:56:41 +0000

If this ever hits Kindle where I can download a sample I’ll at least check it out. I trust your opinion on writing, Jane, but it sounds a little too much like Linnea Sinclair. Her books are hit and miss with me, I’ve really liked a couple and the rest I couldn’t finish.

I read the excerpt on the author’s blog and the opening dialogue sounded like sf parody, In fact I couldn’t help thinking what would have been said about it had it appeared on your First Page feature. Maybe I should ask– is this meant to be funny? ( I’d don’t mean the Amazon/Azralen bit).

I am glad you mentioned the stripes on the hero. I originally thought the cover showed sunlight coming through a window blind on his back.

By: Jody W.

Jody W. — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:41:55 +0000

I love romances that are heavy on the worldbuilding! Can’t wait to read this one. I’m going to wait a bit and see if an electronic version comes out but I’ll probably break down and get the trade pb before long.

By: Heather Massey

Heather Massey — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:00:55 +0000

Thanks for the review, Jane!

I really enjoyed how this story opened. I thought the author did a great job of mixing action with the worldbuilding in the opening chapters. Like Katiebabs, I expected more sex scenes and I was pleasantly surprised that there were not.

It’s a fun read, and I think this is a good book to start with if you’ve never read a science fiction romance before.

This is an accessible science fiction romance

I think part of the reason for that is Soren’s biological makeup. He’s exploited via invasive scientific procedures. I enjoy stories where a character is a science fictional element (e.g., cyborgs). Then that element can really come alive as opposed to a bunch of dry technobabble.

By: RStewie

RStewie — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:51:34 +0000

After successfully downloading the various softwares needed to read eBooks on my laptop, I’m sad to see this isn’t available in epub. It sounds like a great read, and I’m very interested in getting my hands on it.

I guess I’ll have to drive into town to check out the bookstore for it, instead.

By: katiebabs

katiebabs — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:45:03 +0000

I really enjoyed Granger’s book. I think fans of Linnea Sinclair or Ann Aguirre will want to pick this up. I assumed it would be heavy on the erotic. Even though the sex scenes are too much on that end, I did like the build up of attraction between the two characters and the world building.

By: Rob Charron

Rob Charron — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:01:46 +0000

Hi :)
Thanks for a great review Jane.
All the best,
twitter: @RKCharron
xoxo