My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
Soul Screamers, #1
My rating: ★★½



I feel duped :(

I was so excited for this book and this series because the prequel novellita Ms. Vincent wrote, My Soul to Lose, was simply awesome. Unfortunately,however, I found this book is a let-down.

Through a series of events, Kaylee finds out when she is 16 that she is a bean sidhe (known to the rest of us as banshee). She sees when people are about to die and wails/screams/sings for their souls. As if that were not enough big news to swallow, girls around her school begin to drop dead when it is obviously not their time to go. She has to find out why and put a stop to it.

The good: Firstly, the cover is amazing! I love it! More importantly, Rachel Vincent's world is so unique. I think it is so cool that she wove her tale around banshees instead of werewolves(although they are cute) or vampires (ick!). So she gets points for originality, lol. She also is a really good storyteller and kept me interested in where she was taking the story. I didn't see the ending coming at all (but I am not one of those who ever does) - the twist was really good.

Tod was a cool character, and along with Uncle Brendon the nicest/best/most likeable people in the book. It's a pity the series is not about Tod :( I'd take him over Nash and his idiocy any day.

The bad: I did feel that some scenes (well, one in particular) were just filler/plot movers. The conclusions Kaylee jumped to were ridiculous - there was no rhyme or reason to them, other than as a plot device for the big reveal (aka she is a banshee). I'm sorry, but 16-year-olds are not that dim. I felt it was unnecessary drama.

The side characters were not interesting (Sophie, Emma), and kind of annoying.

The ugly The main characters are nothing to write home about. In fact, as the story progressed more and more I found my dislike for Kaylee and Nash growing. Kaylee is rude, self-serving, obnoxious, TSTL (many times), idiotic...as you can see, my dislike for her grew from mild to rather strong by the end.

Nash is not much better. I know from reading the blurbs on the other books in the series that Tod is his brother. I could not believe how crass Nash was in how he treated Tod, especially given the relationship. A thousand strikes against him for that one. Also selfish. NO.

Kaylee's dad wins the award for selfishosity. I had no sympathy for is story arc. At all. Or maybe I am the one who's coldhearted and unsympathetic. :/

Basically, the long and short of it is this: a good story was ruined by idiot characters.

Will I continue with the series? Yes, because I enjoy Ms. Vincent's writing. Will I complete the series? I don't know. Depends on how I feel about Kaylee and Nash as I read more books.

Do I recommend this book? Yes, but with misgivings.



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My Soul to Lose, by Rachel Vincent

Soul Screamers #0.5
My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent

My rating: ★★★★★


This novellita is available for free on goodreads.com. You can just scurry over there, and download it. It's a really quick read, I promise. And it is well worth it! You can access it here

Ms. Vincent is a first-time author for me, and I'm really glad I got this book. I like the cover a lot too. It's a really short piece - only about 53 pages, and what a 53 pages it was!

I was completely intrigued the entire time I was reading it.

Kaylee knows she can't scream because something bad will happen. The one time she does scream, it's so horrific she ends up in a psychiatric facility. One inmate there seems to know what she is, but Kaylee herself doesn't know (or doesn't seem to know).

I want to know what Kaylee is. It sounds to me like she's a banshee, or a siren (in which case, it would have been so much fun if her name was Lorelei, lol) but I can't be sure because Ms. Vincent doesn't let on. Either way, it's a interesting concept for an urban fantasy novel, and I am excited about starting this series.

This book is such a great teaser novella(is it even long enough to be called that?)I am going to look for the first book in this series pronto!

This is how teaser novellitas should be done, lol.

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When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James

My rating: ★★★★★

All the people whose reviews I trust raved about this book. Well, i just finished it and...

Wow. I have nothing useful to add to the other glowing reviews except that this book is A-MAZING! It was so much fun to read and I am in awe of Ms. James' talent. It's a simple enough tale - a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Only this time, instead of a literal beast Ms. James gives us a hero "Beast" who's fashioned after Dr. House: a brilliant doctor who behaves like a beast. Cue in the awesome snark. To me the heroine perfectly mirrored Belle in the original fairy tale - beautiful and wickedly smart. Put the Beauty and the Beast together and you have an awesome story that is rollicking fun.

FUNFUFUNFUNFUN!I can't tell you how much fun I had reading this book. It was almost like watching a particularly brilliant episode of House on TV, lol. Amid all the fun, Ms. James also manages to tell a very touching love story. Several scenes tugged at my heartstrings and tear ducts (but I firmly resisted the urge to cry, lol).

I can find absolutely nothing wrong with this book and everything right with it. Pure awesomeness.



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Griffin's Daughter

Griffin's Daughter by Leslie Ann Moore

My rating: ★
DNF

I got this book when it was a freebie from Kindle. It's the first of three books. I bought it because the premise sounded interesting, and that is the only good thing I can find to say about this book.

Quite frankly the writing was atrocious - full of tell-instead-of-show, really verbose, and bogged down with details. The dialogue was insipid. The characters are annoying and all of them TSTL

oOne of the reviews I read summed it up perfectly: this book can be best described with the world 'almost.' It was almost a very good book (the premise is really interesting), but sadly, what was produced was a very bad book.

In no way shape or form do I recommend this book. I gave up on reading it after a while because I couldn't take it anymore.

Run AWAY from this book!
(I guess it's obvious I won't be reading the other books in the series).



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The Man She Loves to Hate, by Kelly Hunter

The Man She Loves To Hate by Kelly Hunter

My rating: ★★★★

The rave reviews are right. This book is quite unlike most HPs Ive read in that it was dark, heavy stuff. And it is excellent.

Ms. Hunter writes great, fully-fleshed characters. I loved both Jolie and Cole, especially Cole (He's MINE, Lulu, you can't have him!) And she is a fantastic storyteller.

But here's my catch: I hate, hate, hate adultery stories, and I'm rather extreme in my dislike of them. There are very few cases in which I think it is justified, and this book was not one of them. It was not the main point in the story, but it did play a significant enough role that I took it into consideration and it marred my enjoyment somewhat.

So although I will enthusiastically go looking for more of Ms. Hunter's books, and although this is probably one of the top 10 HPs I've read, I won't be putting it on my keeper shelf, and I won't be rereading it. I guess Lulu wins Cole after all, :-(



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Unclaimed, by Courtney Milan

Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

My rating: ★★★ and three quarters

This book is my introduction to Courtney Milan's work and I am very impressed. Even so, I found it hard to decide what rating to give this book. Sometimes it felt like a 5-star book, others a 4-star book, and then sometimes a 3-star book. So I think I am going to settle on 3.75 stars.

Ms. Milan's writing is excellent, especially at the beginning. Sometimes I would stop to read passages over again just because I liked them and thought they were beautiful.

In the years that followed, she'd learned that the glittering finery was a trap, that the soiree was not endless.It eroded you, piece by irrevocable piece. it made a mockery of love, and if you did not look after your heart with ferocious care, you'd find. bit by bit, that you'd traded it for silk ribbons and baubles on gold chains.

Other times I would stop to read a line because it made me laugh or giggle, little gems like

There's no need to sound so surprised. I'm chaste, not dead.

I was entertained for 425 pages. Whenever I felt my interest waning, something would come up that would throw me right back in again. None of the scenes were 'filler scenes.' More importantly, the characters were not TSTL - oh yes, and they actually made decisions like they were mature, thinking adults. One thing I really loved was that anytime I thought a scene was being set up for a 'big misunderstanding' type scenario, Ms. Milan would turn the tables on me and have the hero and heroine talk and work it out like they were sensible people. I loved that!

My main problem, and the reason why this book is not rated five stars is the premise. I think it's an original premise but one that Ms. Milan doesn't quite manage to pull off (for me). Jessica is an undercover courtesan (lol!) with a mission: seduce Sir Mark, get proof of it, and make it public, so as to ruin his reputation. She has her (very good reasons) for doing it. Along the way she falls in love, and how can you ruin the man you love? That is the conundrum.

Sir Mark is one of, if not the most eligible bachelor in London; and his reputation is unparalleled and his character is of renown. What is he renowned for? His virtue. That is where my problem comes in. I just don't buy the whole male chastity angle. It is not that I don't believe that some believed in and practiced chastity in those times, it is just that I simply cannot believe that a man would write about it (who was not deeply religious and/or affiliated with a church, like Charles Wesley or somebody) and furthermore that he would gain a huge following of men/young boys who then tried to emulate him. I can't believe it, and I couldn't suspend belief long enough that it didn't factor into my enjoyment of the story. (I hope this is not a spoiler) It bothered me quite a bit, so I took one star off for that.

The other (minor) issue I had with the book was that at times Mark was perfectly imperfect (don't you just love that when it happens?), but once a while I'd read a passage that left me feeling that he was a bit too perfect. The other male characters in the book were but a foil for him, making him seem a lot like the saint/paragon that he claimed he wasn't. But that's really minor, so I only took of 0.25 stars for that, lol.

All in all, I would most definitely recommend it. It is very well-written and it was interesting. I don't know what more you could ask from a book. And I will also most definitely be scoping out more of Ms. Milan's work.

PS: This book is part of a series and I had no trouble following, even though I haven't read the other books.
*I received this ebook free from Netgalley. It had no influence on my review/rating*



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The Royal Wedding Night, by Day Leclaire

The Royal Wedding Night by Day Leclaire

My rating: ★★


Smh. This is my second book by Ms. Leclaire, and I am not inclined to read any more of her work.



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Caretti's Forced Bride, by Jennie Lucas

Caretti's Forced Bride (Wedlocked!) by Jennie Lucas

My rating: ★★★★

I haven't read a single book by Ms. Lucas that I haven't liked. This one is also gold. Her writing, as usual, is very evocative and draws you into the story. This book was filled with a whole bunch of angst, even more than her usual; it made for great tension and holding interest while reading :)

Paolo is the hero of our tale, and what a yummy hero he is! Very likable, right from the get-go, and I found myself rooting for him immediately. And it stayed that way till the very end.

So, we have a good story and a great hero. Why four stars instead of five?

1) The heroine. Isabelle is the worst of Ms. Lucas' heroines that I've read so far. From the beginning. I did not like how rude she was to Paolo, especially when she was asking a favor! A favor, mind you! I could immediately see where her story arc was going and I hated it (and her) right there and then. I just don't think it is in any way acceptable not to tell a man he has fathered a child, unless that man is an excessively violent, internationally wanted criminal with ties to the mafia and all the major underground mobs, and who happens to hate children. . So I thought it was unacceptable what she did. And then she did it again! Her internal struggles did not help. Reading what was going on in her mind made me dislike her even more. She did not appear noble and martyr-ish to me at all, which is probably the angle Ms. Lucas was going for. It failed big-time. Girl is just a self-serving individual masquerading as a martyr.

2) Alexander's transformation into king was kinda weird. Eleven-year-old boys simply do not talk like that, even if they've just been crowned king.

So yes, this is what kept me from loving it completely. I sincerely wish Paolo had dumped Isabella and gotten himself someone who was worthy of him. Ooh - what I wouldn't give to see an HP that ended like this!

But, yeah, I would recommend it. The writing is excellent.



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The Prince's Mistress, by Day Leclaire

The Prince's Mistress by Day Leclaire

My rating: ★★


This is my first book by Ms Leclaire, and I liked her writing. I did not, however, like the story. It started out well enough,and then continued ok, with some ups and downs here and there. The climax though, made me angry, and that's why this book is rated two stars.
Juliana gets mad at Prince Lander because her brother had made Lander agree to marry her for some deal. Lander tries to explain to Juliana that he liked her even before the deal, and that the only reason he'd agreed was because a) he liked her a lot and b) his country NEEDED this deal to survive. Juliana walks out on him I mean, how stupid is that? And then later she thinks of him as the man she loves. Really? So that's how people prove their love? By upping and leaving?

The whole reason for the conflict was stupid, IMO. Lander had shown often enough by his actions that he loved her. I don't get why people will take words over actions. There is a reason they say action speaks louder than words. Yeah. Juliana messed it up for me. I kinda wished Lander had divorced her and found another person who was smarter than that Juliana. Ick!

That being said, I did like Ms. Leclaire's writing style, and a few revelations in this book made me interested enough to want to read the other books in this series if I come across them (I think it is a trilogy, but I am not sure).



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Fired Up, by Jayne Anne Krentz

Dreamlight Trilogy #1
Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz

My rating: ★★★

This the first book in the Dreamlight trilogy, which is part of the Arcane society novels.
I liked the main characters a lot. Jack Winters and Chloe Harper were well-rounded and interesting. The supporting cast was not too interesting, and neither was the plot. To be frank, I couldn't get into the whole dream psi thing. This is one novel whose paranormal element seemed kind of silly  (I mean, dreamlight? really?). That kinda made the whole plot a joke to me. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book, because I thought the characters were well-written. I did like the novel, and I would read the other books in the trilogy. But that's only if they come my way somehow. I won't go out looking for them.



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Soulless, by Gail Carriger

Soulless by Gail Carriger

My rating: ★★★★½


The entire time I was reading it, I couldn't stop thinking about limericks. That's what this book is - a limerick: something absurd and fanciful, which is created masterfully and results in a work that is utterly delightful. Right from the get-go, I thoroughly enjoyed wading through the story.

The book is essentially about Alexia, a soulless person in a London filled with soul-full beings. Normal humans have the requisite amount of soul, while supernaturals (vampires, werewolves, etc) have an overabundance of soul. Of course, since this is a romantic fantasy, it is also about Alexia finding love with the local werewolf Alpha, Lord Maccon.

Lord Maccon, Professor Lyall and Alexia were a joy to read about, and consistently kept me laughing. Some of the side characters are also interesting, namely the flamboyant Lord Akeldama and Alexia's friend Ivy.

By far the best thing about this book is the writing. Absurd fun!
It is definitely well worth a read.



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Heart of the Highland Wolf, by Terry Spear

Heart of the Highland Wolf by Terry Spear

My rating: ★★★½


The Good

1. Ms. Spear's writing and mythology. She has an interesting take on werewolves that always makes for fun reading.
2. The story is rather engaging (in parts).
3. The hero and his brothers are quite nice men and werewolves, too.

The Bad
1. The heroine. Julia is likable only in small doses. Read about her for too long and she becomes entitled, bitchy and inconsiderate. In short doses she can be thought of as spunky and funny.
2. The plot can be slow at times.
3. The conflict between Ian and Basil was meh at best. not too interesting.

It was a good read, although it wasn't the best I've read from Ms. Spear. Not bad at all for a kindle freebie.



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This Fierce Splendor, by Iris Johansen

This Fierce Splendor: by Iris Johansen

My rating: ★★½



Elspeth comes in search of Dominic Delaney, seeking his assistance to find the fabled city Kantalan. This is the story of the journey which Elspeth and Dominic undertake, assisted by a cast of characters. And oh yes, it's also the story of their love.

This is my first Loveswept romance, and I must say I wanted to like this book, I truly did. But I did not. There were so many things wrong with it that I felt it never realized its full potential.

For one, I felt the prologue was overwrought. The rest of the book was like a roller coaster - great moments, then dull moments, then moments where you're like WTH?, and then the cycle starts all over again. Inconsistent, that's the word I want - it was inconsistent. I didn't enjoy that.

The characters were also a roller coaster for me. One moment I empathized with them, the next moment I was annoyed with them, the next moment I was disgusted; and then straight back to empathy. That also didn't work for me either.

In the end I came to dislike them, especially Silver. I found her hateful and rude and not endearing at all. And rather prejudiced. You know, being prejudiced does not gain a character empathy even when she's being prejudiced against people who were prejudiced against her.

This book had all the makings of a good story,and it could have been one, but the characters were not very likable and the story was not always engaging. I did end up skimming major portions of the book just because I could not resonate with the writing or the characters - I guess that counts as DNF territory. Womp.


*I received this book from Netgalley*


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A Mistress for the Taking (Mistress to a Millionaire), by Annie West

A Mistress for the Taking (Mistress to a Millionaire) by Annie West

My rating: ★★★★★


This book is not without its problems, but it is AWESOME!
The hero and heroine are probably one of the top five in HP H/h I've had the pleasure of reading.
For one thing, they are THINKING, SENSIBLE people.
Loved it.
Then again, I am not surprised. Ms. West writes great heroes and heroines.
Keeper.



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The Billionaire's Marriage Bargain, by Carole Mortimer

The Billionaire's Marriage Bargain by Carole Mortimer

My rating: ★


I don't know how these heroes who are such egotistical idiots get made out to be billionaires. Anyone that stupid could hardly make 1 thousand, let alone a billion. And if by some weird stroke of luck he did make that much money...well, a FOOL and his money are soon parted.

Both the hero and heroine are fools of the highest degree.
Don't waste your time!



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Kiss of Snow, by Nalini Singh

Psy-Changeling, #10
Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh

My rating: ★★★★★

I'm not going to go into plot details because other reviewers have done that better than I could have.

I think this might just be my favorite of the whole series, right up there with play of passion. It is not just because Hawke is my absolute favorite character (how can you NOT love the hotness that is Hawke?).

See, Kiss of Snow isn't perfect. At all. In fact it has a lot wrong with it. for example the story (Sienna and Hawke's) was fast. I felt like i didn't have time to savor it. And there were a lot of things going on in the story at the same time, making it feel choppy and episodic.

But the things that were wrong with the book were also what made it special. In many ways this book isabout precious moments, cherished moments, moments stolen from busy, chaotic, choppy days.

It was about the little moments that made up Sienna and Hawke's courtship; it was about finding precious moments to nurture love in the midst of upheaval.

It was about moments with friends, and about family bonds, friendship bonds, loyalty, love... all in busy times, moments stolen from the day.

It was about the ties that bind.

At the beginning I wasn't sure this was going to be my favorite book. but it's definitely in my top 3 of this series. I LOVE it! the many moments Hawke and Sienna had and the last 25% of the story made up for everything else.

And Hawke is a man after my own heart. he is simply awesome (anyone that says different is a huge liar, lol) and one of my favorite heroes in fiction. One of the things I love most about his character is how flawed he is. Unlike many of the heroes in this series, he is hugely flawed, with real flaws too (none of the "noble, admirable" flaws crap).He is not at all perfect, and in many ways Sienna is more 'perfect' than he is. I immensely enjoyed learning what made him tick, his history and his imperfections too.

Sienna is awesome. Many times i forgot she was only 19. She is much more mature than any 19 yo (she is more like Indigo than Evie) and more than a match for Hawke. She could hold her own against him. She's a force to be reckoned with in her own right. And I LOVED their love story, if that's not obvious by now. I also really enjoyed seeing how much-loved Hawke is, how much his pack loves and admires him, and just how much of himself he gives to his pack, how much he loves them, how hard he works to deserve their love and admiration. I only wish there has been more time to spend with Hawke and Sienna and the SnowDancer pack.

The interactions of the Lauren family were also great to see (Toby and Marlee need their own book, hehe). Kiss of Snow is not your most perfect story out there, but it is an amazing love story and well worth the wait (I see you amazon.com, making me wait till past three am to get my hands on this book).

Now all that is left is to make Hawke a daddy!!!!

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Mine to Possess, by Nalini Singh

Psy-Changeling, #4
Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh

My rating: ★★½


It was aight. Just barely. I took 2 stars off for Talin and a 1/2 star off for DarkRiver :D

Ms. Singh writes excellently as always, but the heroine blew hot and cold way too much and DarkRiver doesn't interest me too much, so.....

It was aight. My least favorite so far.



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The Iron Duke, by Meljean Brook

The Iron Seas #1
The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook
★★★½

I don't quite know how to feel about the Iron Duke.

I really enjoyed Ms. Brook's writing style,the genre (steampunk) is new to me, and her premise was fascinating. Having said all of that...

The plot was kinda confusing for me to follow. We have a parallel world which I did not fully understand. I still can't quite picture the horde in my mind and it took several chapters for me to figure out who a bugger was. There were also several scenes that I read that I couldn't quite 'see' with my mind's eye, so it felt like I was just reading words instead of following the story.

This is supposed to be a romance (no?) but there was a mystery that formed a significant part of the plot - I enjoyed the bits I could understand. Even though I read the book, I still am not clear how exactly they pieced the clues together....yeah.

Rhys, the title character ,is the hero (duh) and a well-written one at that. (What is it with authors writing really good heroes and slightly less-good heroines?)He was a man of honor, although it was a peculiar sort of honor. I liked his characterization. He has an interesting backstory which I felt could have been explored more. In any case, the details Ms. Brook gave of his past was not enough to satisfy me, nor was it enough for me to be able to see why/how Rhys grew into the man we know as the Iron Duke.

Mina the heroine was...less well-written than Rhys, but she was one of the better heroines I've read: not simpering, not an idiot, not harsh-masquerading-as-badass. Her backstory was heartbreaking. She was the preoduct of a mating frenzy where her mother had presumably mated with a horde. Unfortunately she was born with horde features,a constant reminder to the people of England what they'd suffered at the hands of the horde; so she went through life a pariah, with people spitting at her in the streets, etc. She was also the reason I almost cried reading this book.

But sister-girl could be annoying at times. No, Rhys is not obligated to pay the ransom for all of the boys taken captive by the pirate ship! And a good deal of the misunderstanding she and Rhys had could have been avoided if she'd just opened her mouth and said something instead of being a martyr.

I enjoyed immersing myself in the world Ms. Brook has created: the mystery and the romance were engaging enough - but there were several things that detracted from it for me, especially the murkiness of the plot ( others may not have been confused, but several times I was confused ) But I'm glad I read this one. And I'll continue with the series.
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Dragon Bound, by Thea Harrison

Elder Races #1
Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

My rating: ★★★★★

THIS BOOK!

LOVED IT!

Well, not so much the first half - that was just meh. The writing was good, but I just could not get into it. Pia was annoying, but Dragos (insert besotted smile here) was cute from the very beginning.

The second half however, is gold, pure gold. I could not stop giggling while i was reading it. it was funny and sweet and cute.

Pia was actually a very worthy heroine. She was kick-ass, smart, funny, and snarky while still managing to be gentle, and sweet and cute (those three words again). You don't get a winning combination like that often. I thought she was annoying in the beginning, but she's truly charming. I take back everything bad i said about Pia, lol. My one pet peeve is that I HATED it when she called Dragos "Big Guy". The heck? All this great writing and Thea Harrison couldn't come up with a better pet name for Dragos? smh.

Dragos is one of the best heroes I've had the pleasure of reading in a while. He is your typical "alpha-male",take-charge, gruff, dangerous, primal, untamed, wild... alla that good stuff, and he is at the same time endearing and sweet. I mean, how many 'uber-male, he-man-type' heroes do you know of who have no trouble saying "sorry" and meaning it? (I can't tell you how much I loved it when he offered sincere apologies to Rune and Pia). Right from when I read about him, I loved him.

The plot:
Like I said before, it dragged in the first half, but man, oh man was I sucked in during the second half. Many times I found myself going back to read the pages I'd complained were dragging, lol.

when i remembered getting to the end that Pia and Dragos had only known each other a week or two, I was actually surprised. I felt like we had been with them ages, watching them grow with each other, so I must say that their love story worked very, very well for me.

The supporting cast was great: Tricks was cute, but Rune and Graydon were my favorites. I liked Rune immediately I read about him, but Graydon took a while. I fell head over heals for him the moment he said "that was goddamn balletic, Pia" on the excercise mat, after she'd thrown Rune down. I mean, how cool is that? Who says "balletic" - I HAD to love Graydon after that. I hope he gets a book (I know Rune and Tricks get theirs).

In a way, I wish the next books were not going to focus on other characters, I'd have loved to see more of Dragos and Pia. They're that cool.

I will be waiting to read the other books. But this book is gold. It is lovely, funny, witty, charming...all the superlatives you can think of. Well the last 50% anyway. Skip the first half if you can :D

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Storm's Heart, by Thea Harrison

Elder Races #2
Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison
 ★★½


(Disclaimer: if it seems ranty, please note that i was hungry and sleep-deprived (and possibly moody) when i set out to write this review :O)

In a nutshell: Tricks has to leave the Wyr to go off and become the Dark Fae Queen. Tiago is sent with her for her protection. Things happen. Tricks (now known by her real name, Niniane) and Tiago fall in love. More stuff happens.Then comes their Happily ever after.

The characters:
Tiago in one word: brutish. and rude. and crabby. and always running roughshod over things/people. All the time, and mostly for no (justifiable) reason. He is all the things we hate about so-called alpha male heroes, with none of the endearing qualities that makes us gloss over forgive their worst faults. I did not like him at all. The only scene where he made me smile was when he was thoughtful enough not only send for clothes for Niniane, but also to request some chocolates and magazines and earrings for her. That was sweet. There were also a few moments here and there when he was not a complete jackass. The rest of the time, he was plain unlikeable; crude also(it was NOT sexy). I felt his behavior was inexcusable, being old and primal be damned. Heck, Dragos is even older and more primal, but he happened to be endearing. Tiago is not. Irksome is what he was. Running around like a petulant child throwing tantrums when things don't go his way and just generally being a pain (ick!) I did not think he deserved Rune's friendship, nor Dragos, nor any of the Wyr. What he mostly deserved was to have some sense and manners chuck-norris-roundhouse-kicked into him.

Niniane in one word: Hmm - I don't quite know a good one. Mebbe simpering(?) I saw a different Niniane than we had met before in Dragon Bound, when she was Tricks. Tricks was funny and spunky and take-charge; Niniane was flaky, tantrum-prone, and rather shallow (not a good combo). In short, she was a ninny (hah! I amuse myself, lol). For me she was not a very empathetic character. Even the extenuating circumstances could not garner sympathy. I was more like "get it together woman and get serious. you effing have a job to do, do it!" Actually, i wish they had another candidate for queen, because I don't think Niniane has what it takes, nor did I get the feeling she would be a good queen (ie what the Dark Fae need, not one who is liked/loved by 200% of the people, which seemed her primary purpose in life). And oh yes - it really bugged me that all it took for Niniane to start doubting the Wyr (read: Dragos and the sentinels) was a few statements from Carling. Really? No matter how stressed you are, you do NOT doubt the people who have taken you in, treated you as family, and protected you when your own wanted to kill you -people who gave you safe haven for what, TWO HUNDRED YEARS?! and ESPECIALLY when the seeds of doubt are being sown by someone you a) don't trust/know that well, and b) who would have a stake in you not getting along with said people who took you in. I would think by now you know without a shadow of a doubt that they got your back. But no. we doubt them and then chalk it all to stress. smh.

The secondary characters: Dragos and Pia made me smile the scant times they were on; Rune was cute as always. Aryal I found slightly more endearing in this one than in Dragon Bound. So in a sense, it was only the old supporting cast that I enjoyed seeing. None of the new characters were memorable/people i think i would enjoy/care reading about some more. Carling I didn't like one bit (why oh why is she going to be my darling Rune's mate?), nor Arethusa or whatever her name is. Just... no.

The Plot: The "love" between Niniane and Tiago didn't do it for me. Additionally, I ended up skimming rather large portions of this book because I found it hard to keep interested in the Dark Fae elements and the "mystery" aspect - ie, who was interested in killing Niniane. Heck, I wanted to kill Niniane. And Tiago. Most especially Tiago.

Ms. Harrison's quirky and fun writing is what ultimately makes this book likeable.

But I was sorely disappointed with the story and even more so with the characters. I will not be re-reading this one. I will be continuing with the series, because the writing is good, and I love Rune, so I gotta read his book :).


Favorite Quotes:

"I know. I'm sorry. I was scared too. I was so scared. Thank you for coming after me. Thank you so much for finding me" - Niniane to Tiago.

"I will have every part of you, until I live with you underneath your skin" - Tiago to Niniane


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Jemima's Secret, by Lynne Graham

Jemima's Secret by Lynne Graham

My rating: ★

I put this book as DNF because i finally gave up and skimmed large portions of it.

The heroine and hero were both idiots.

the writing was atrocious and completely not something you would expect of Lynne Graham.

Do not walk- run AWAY from this book.

Epic FAIL.



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