Quickie Review: The Costarella Conquest by Emma Darcy

Author: Emma Darcy

Title: The Costarella Conquest

About the Book: Jake Freedman is biding his time before exacting vengeance on the man who destroyed his family. And if a blind date with Costarella's daughter will keep his bitterest enemy sweet, Jake will don his bespoke Italian suit and mask his cynicism with a killer smile.…

Jake's practiced touch hooks the innocent Laura Costarella into a dangerous affair. But the treacherously tempting Laura is the only conquest Jake's ever desired more than the ruination of the Costarellas.

It seems that, in this case, revenge is a dish best served red-hot!

 

My Thoughts:

Add this to the list of books which would never have been finished did I not desperately need it for a challenge. As it is, I skimmed a good minority of it.

Ridiculous and ridiculously boring. Dull and flat, the story made no sense. The behavior of all the characters was off for the beginning: who badmouths their family and discusses their family's dirty linen in front of a dinner guest you are trying to impress? Then the plot segues into some sort of friends with benefits arrangement that was just....boring. None of the characters interested me. Like I said, but for the challenge this one would have been DNF.

 

Review: Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk

Author: Devon Monk
Title: Magic to the Bone
Series: Allie Beckstrom #1

Everything has a cost. And every act of magic exacts a price from its user - maybe a two-day migraine, or losing the memory of your first kiss. But some people want to use magic without paying, and they Offload the cost onto innocents. When that happens, it falls to a Hound to identify the spell's caster - and Allison Beckstrom's the best there is.

Daughter of a prominent Portland businessman, Allie would rather moonlight as a Hound than accept the family fortune - and the strings that come with it. But when she discovers a little boy dying from a magic Offload that has her father's signature all over it, Allie is thrown into the high-stakes world of corporate espionage and black magic.

Now Allie's out for the truth - and must call upon forces that will challenge everything she knows, change her in ways she could never imagine ... and make her capable of things that powerful people will do anything to control

The strongest emotion I feel after reading this book is disgruntlement (if that's a word at all). Allie Beckstrom's tale started out well enough. We're told she's a hound and can trace magic and magic signatures; she hates her rich dad and avoids him; the rules for the world are being laid down, Allie meets a few interesting people and then her dad is killed. Of course she has to find the whodunit. And that is when everything goes to hell in a handbasket, my friends.

Allie is unforgivably stupid. So stupid that is was kinda insulting to have a character be this clueless. When your dad denies that the signature you traced back to him is his, even though signatures are like DNA; when a truth spell shows he's not lying; when you are told that the signature of the magic that killed your dad is yours even though you didn't kill him, won't you start putting two and two together and realize that your dad was telling the truth and that there is something afoot? And if not then, surely after you meet a guy who tells you in so many words that he impersonated your magic signature, wouldn't you figure it out? When you're wanted by the police and ruthless people in very high places of power and influence for the murder of your dad, is your first and only thought to go to the police and tell them, "but, but, but I'm innocent!"? Exactly.

To be sure, we're all allowed our moments of obtuseness, but when your very life depends on it, you can't afford to be dense. Dense, obtuse people who are fighting for their lives end up dead. Heck, even some of the smart ones don't escape.

So yes, I am not at all impressed with my first book by Ms. Monk. Idiot character and a world that doesn't bring much to the genre. Rachel Vincent's Unbound series is a much more unique take on the idea of Hounds and magical consequences, with characters that don't insult your intelligence, if you're looking for a good time, because this one certainly doesn't deliver one.

I will read the next book in series, though. You know, second chances and all that jazz.

★★

OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:

 

Review: Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas

Author: Lisa Kleypas
Title: Secrets of a Summer Night
Series: Wallflowers #1

"Four young ladies enter London society with one common goal: they must use their feminine wit and wiles to find a husband. So a daring husband-hunting scheme is born." Annabelle Peyton, determined to save her family from disaster, decides to use her beauty and wit to tempt a suitable nobleman into making an offer of marriage. But Annabelle's most intriguing--and persistent--admirer, wealthy, powerful Simon Hunt, has made it clear that while he will introduce her to irresistible pleasure he will not offer marriage. Annabelle is determined to resist his unthinkable proposition . . . but it is impossible in the face of such skillful seduction.
Her friends, looking to help, conspire to entice a more suitable gentleman to offer for Annabelle, for only then will she be safe from Simon--and her own longings. But on one summer night, Annabelle succumbs to Simon's passionate embrace and tempting kisses . . . and she discovers that love is the most dangerous game of all.

A solid 3-star book, I think. I can see the setup for the whole series and who's to be paired of with who. I am excited about some matches and less excited about others. In general I think I like the men more than the ladies. Of the ladies, Evie is my favorite, and my two least favorite are Annabelle and Lillian, the latter being too mercenary and conscience-less for me.

Pertaining to this story, I thought Ms. Kleypas painted a very accurate picture of the poverty-stricken genteel girl, but still, Annabelle was not a very sympathetic character to me. Simon is....okay as a Kleypas hero, but she can and has done far better. The romance was middling to me. The tale was a likable one, but it ended at about 77% with the marriage of the hero and heroine. The remainder of the story was more filler than anything else, really.

All in all a good story for a night's entertainment, but forgettable. Looking forward to the other books, especially Evie's.

★★★

OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:

The Dutiful Wife by Penny Jordan

Author: Penny Jordan
Title: The Dutiful Wife
Publication Date: 11th Jan 2010
Pages: 189
Source: Library

Saul Parenti has always been glad that he's second in line in the Arrezzian monarchy. He can concentrate on his business empire...and the delights of his new wife Giselle... But when his cousin is killed Saul must ascend the throne. Instead of pursuing their own dreams, Saul and Giselle must now make their lives about pomp and protocol. But the secret traumas of Giselle's past have scarred her deeply; she never wants to be a mother – and that leaves her marriage in crisis: because her royal duty is to produce an heir...

THE PARENTI DYNASTY Power, privilege and passion The worlds of big business and royalty unite...

The premise sounded really interesting. I, for one, don't remember the last time I read a HP where the couple were already married and still together and still in love from the very beginning of the story. Unfortunately, the story is interesting only in name; the execution was horrible.

My impression was that the relationship was very unhealthy. What else can you think when any mention of the guy going somewhere on his own for even 5 minutes triggered feeling of "Oh he doesn't love me anymore; oh our marriage is not strong because we are not spending every waking moment together" in the heroine?

Speaking of the hero and heroine, they were both a bit Mary Sue and Gary Stu and quite stupid. A few good slaps of good sense into them would not have been amiss at all. They kept claiming to be in love, but I didn't see it. All I saw was two people acting so formal with each other, and two unhealthy people in an unhealthier relationship.

The treatment of post-partum depression in this book angered me. It was stupid, and not fit to print. Saul was an idiot and Giselle was an even bigger idiot who should have been put in counseling when she was 6 years old.

Not a good HP.

★★

Blood Cross by Faith Hunter

Jane Yellowrock #2
Blood Cross by Faith Hunter

★★½

The first book in this series surprised me into enjoying it and checking out the rest of the books. Unfortunately, this book is a disappointing follow up to the first book.

Jane Yellowrock is still in Louisiana, even after completing her job for the Vampire Council. It seems she has been hired on to do some more work for them: a rogue is making new vampires and must be stopped.

For a long while the story just seemed to be going nowhere, so I went back and checked the synopsis, and it was vague, much like the story itself: there was not much of a sense of the plot moving forward to some sort of culmination. It remained flat until the final few chapters, where it picked up a bit, but by then I couldn't care less about any tensions or happenings that had to be resolved, I just wanted the book to end.

I also found myself returning to my initial assessment of Jane (you know, before the turn of magic that had me change my mind about the first book) as a rather uninteresting character to get to know. The one thing that perked me up was her relationship with "Bruiser", which alas, seems to be fated to either go nowhere or be part of a love triangle/quadrangle.

I was really disappointed in this installment. I think I will go on to read the next book in series to gauge whether the first book was a fluke or if it's truly worth coming along for the ride.

And...the cover is horrible. Womp.

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Firewalker by Allyson James

Firewalker by Allyson James
My rating: ★★
This was a waste of time. The only reason it wasn't a colossal waste of time was that after 40% of the way through, i gave up and skimmed most of it. I am NOT putting this as a DNF because of all the minutes of my life I won't be able to get back.

It was bad. Simply bad. Same inane characters from the first book; a different plot, but also inane all the same. Seriously? EVERY male to meet the main character says she's got balls/spunk? I frankly can't see what is so special about her, except for her penchant of making unbelievably stupid, idiotic acquaintances.

Just bad.

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Duchess in Love by Eloisa James

Duchess in Love by Eloisa James
My rating: ★★

Not her best work.
Eloisa James' writing is good as always, but this time around, here characters were not as good. There was not one of the females that was not witless, frivolous and simpering. They were just not good characters, IMO. None of the males were either.
The plot was boring and I found myself patently uninterested throughout the novel.
I am putting it as DNF because I skimmed major portions of the book.

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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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