In attempt not to read Dante's Inferno for a book club, I started reading this. What made the first book a cute, fun read made this one redundant. Somewhere along the way, I started liking the side characters better then the heroine, Heather Wells. This is the second book in the Heather Wells mystery story. The main plot is about finding out who killed Lindsay, a popular cheerleader on campus.
I figured out who did it pretty fast, but was in denial thinking it couldn't be that obvious. It was that obvious. I think the main problem I had with the character is at heart, Meg Cabot is a children's author. She doesn't make the transition to adult fiction very well. I felt like I was being talked down to the entire book. When she started bashing the Greek system (and she admits at the end she doesn't know any one who was in a fraternity or sorority, it was just to much for me to take. I still can't decide if these mysteries are meant for adults, or teenagers..they just seem to be a bit graphic for teens, but what do I know?
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Ecstasy: the shadowdwellers, book 1
I grabbed this book one Friday night when I needed a romance to lose myself in. Jacquelyn Frank did not disappoint. If you are in the mood for a steamy (and I mean steamy) romance, then look no further then this book.
Esctasy is the first book of a new series called shadowdwellers. It tells the story of Trace, who is a Shadowdweller vizier for the twin monarchs, and Ashla Townsend, a human healer who gets trapped in the world of the shadowdwellers when she falls into a coma after getting being involved in a car accident.
This is a story about conquering fears, finding love and learning to trust again.
When Ashla finds herself alone in an empty New York city she's not sure what to think. She wonders along until one day she spots two men fighting with swords. Much to their surprise, she can see them. When Trace is injured by the fight, Ashla takes heals him.
The author goes into a lot of detail about the shades of gray area where Ashla is, and how much time shadow dwellers can spend there. Along the way there is a plot discovered to get rid of the current twin monarchs, of whom Trace works for. Trace and Ashla work together to find out who is behind the plot against the monarchs life, fall in love and have some very hot love scenes.
For those familiar with Ms. Franks writing, disappointment might be in store for you. There is just one brief appearance by a character from her other books. As a new reader to her, I enjoyed this part of the new series. Too often, the storyline and characters of the new world are forgotten because the author is so concerned about bringing in past storylines.
While this wasn't one of my favorite books, I am looking forward to the next Shadowdweller book and reading some of her older stuff. :)
When Ashla finds herself alone in an empty New York city she's not sure what to think. She wonders along until one day she spots two men fighting with swords. Much to their surprise, she can see them. When Trace is injured by the fight, Ashla takes heals him.
The author goes into a lot of detail about the shades of gray area where Ashla is, and how much time shadow dwellers can spend there. Along the way there is a plot discovered to get rid of the current twin monarchs, of whom Trace works for. Trace and Ashla work together to find out who is behind the plot against the monarchs life, fall in love and have some very hot love scenes.
For those familiar with Ms. Franks writing, disappointment might be in store for you. There is just one brief appearance by a character from her other books. As a new reader to her, I enjoyed this part of the new series. Too often, the storyline and characters of the new world are forgotten because the author is so concerned about bringing in past storylines.
While this wasn't one of my favorite books, I am looking forward to the next Shadowdweller book and reading some of her older stuff. :)
Enchantment by Christiana Skye
Enchantment is the first book in the Draycott Legacy by Christina Skye. This book has recently been republished by Harlequin and I fell for the new cover. I had forgotten that I had read this book years ago until I started reading it and went: "this story sounds familiar..." That being said, I wasn't disappointed with this first story in the book.
Plot: Kacey Mallory is an American who is an art expert. She's come to Draycott Abbey in England at the request of Viscount Draycott to see if a painting by Whistler is authentic or a forgery, but she gets more then she bargained for.
There is the evil Triad Lord who is after Nicholas, Lord Draycott. He believes that Nicholas has something of his and will stop at nothing to get it returned to him. There is also the castle ghost, the former Lord Draycott who helps the two remember the love they once shared in another life. While the two stories are different, they blend together wonderfully.
Review: This is what paranormal romance is all about! It brings the past and present together without leaving the reader confused. Both story lines merge together and this is one novella that I wished was a full length book. The mysterious lovable ghost with his ghost cat are a wonderful side story and I found myself loving both of them. This is a quick read that won't leave you disappointed.
Plot: Kacey Mallory is an American who is an art expert. She's come to Draycott Abbey in England at the request of Viscount Draycott to see if a painting by Whistler is authentic or a forgery, but she gets more then she bargained for.
There is the evil Triad Lord who is after Nicholas, Lord Draycott. He believes that Nicholas has something of his and will stop at nothing to get it returned to him. There is also the castle ghost, the former Lord Draycott who helps the two remember the love they once shared in another life. While the two stories are different, they blend together wonderfully.
Review: This is what paranormal romance is all about! It brings the past and present together without leaving the reader confused. Both story lines merge together and this is one novella that I wished was a full length book. The mysterious lovable ghost with his ghost cat are a wonderful side story and I found myself loving both of them. This is a quick read that won't leave you disappointed.
Tempted Tigress by Jade Lee
The Plot: This is set in China during the late 1890s. Anna Thompson is an Opium runner in China and gets caught by the Emperor's Enforcer. He is about to do her in for running opium, but spares her life. They are both on the run from different people, and the book explores how Anna became an Opium runner, and how Zhi-Gang, (The Enforcer) became the way they are. Both have learned not to trust anyone.
My review: I have a bad habit of starting to read the last book in a series first. I believe this is the second to last book in the series. Edited: It's the last book in the series, not the second to last. Thanks Heidenkind. :) I thought Burning Tigress was much better, and this one just seemed rushed to me. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it. However, don't take my word on it-this was nominated for a Rita Romance award for best book in the historical fiction category in 2008, so obviously I'm in the minority on not "feeling" this one.
Kiss of Fire
Kiss of Fire by Deborah Cooke
Plot: Sara Keegan is a top notch Ace accountant who takes over her Aunt Magdas New Age bookstore when she dies. (I say top notch Ace accountant because it's repeated over and over and over again in the book until you want to scream.)
She doesn't believe in anything paranormal until she's saved from a mugging by Quinn Tyrrell-who just happens to be a dragon and shapeshifts right before her eyes. Quinn realizes that Sara is his destiny, and must protect her at all costs.
Subplot: There is a battle going on in the dragon world between the pyr and the slayers. (Good dragons vs. Evil dragons.) The pry control the four elements and fight against the slayers who are all about seeing the human race vanquished.
My Review: While this book took me forever to read and was painfully slow at times, I ended up enjoying it. I think this book was slow because she was creating the beginning of a series. The main problem I had with the book was while I liked the hero, I didn't really like the heroine much. The author kept repeating stupid facts about her to make the reader realize how non into the supernatural she was and how hard it was for her to believe that Quinn was a dragon.
The thing that bothered me most was that the story takes place over a period of three days, and the ending as it was meant to, didn't really conclude anything. It left you wanting more of the story. I'm actually looking forward to reading book two.
Plot: Sara Keegan is a top notch Ace accountant who takes over her Aunt Magdas New Age bookstore when she dies. (I say top notch Ace accountant because it's repeated over and over and over again in the book until you want to scream.)
She doesn't believe in anything paranormal until she's saved from a mugging by Quinn Tyrrell-who just happens to be a dragon and shapeshifts right before her eyes. Quinn realizes that Sara is his destiny, and must protect her at all costs.
Subplot: There is a battle going on in the dragon world between the pyr and the slayers. (Good dragons vs. Evil dragons.) The pry control the four elements and fight against the slayers who are all about seeing the human race vanquished.
My Review: While this book took me forever to read and was painfully slow at times, I ended up enjoying it. I think this book was slow because she was creating the beginning of a series. The main problem I had with the book was while I liked the hero, I didn't really like the heroine much. The author kept repeating stupid facts about her to make the reader realize how non into the supernatural she was and how hard it was for her to believe that Quinn was a dragon.
The thing that bothered me most was that the story takes place over a period of three days, and the ending as it was meant to, didn't really conclude anything. It left you wanting more of the story. I'm actually looking forward to reading book two.
The Constant Princess and The Boleyn Inheritance
Let me begin by saying that I loved both of these books!
The Constant Princess tells the Story of Katherine Of Aragon. It tells the story in complete first person, and starts out when she was the Infanta of Spain. What I enjoyed most about this book is that it gave details about her life before coming to England, and what it was like to be the daughter of the King and Queen of Spain. I just wish this book had been longer. It was concentrated a lot on her early life with her parents, Aurther and Henry when he was younger. I wish it had gone into details about her life in exile from the court.
The Boleyn Inheritance is the story of Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Jane Boleyn. I wasn't sure if I would like this book, because in the Other Boleyn Girl, I hated Jane Boleyn, and thought why should she get her own story? After reading how her life was intertwined with so many Queens of England, I can see why her story was told. This book was probably my favorite book in the entire series. It was once again written in first person, and the problem I have with telling the story of three different characters is that most of the time I only like one. The stories blend togehter really well, and I found myself wanting more of each one.
Ms. Gregory said she wanted to tell the story of Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard because out of all of Henry the VIIIs wives, these were the two that were written the least about, but the public feels like they knows a lot about them. I had no idea how young Katherine was when she came to the throne~I couldn't imagine being 15 and married to some who was 46 and such a tyrant.
I highly recommend all the books in this series! However, I don't recommend reading them before bed. All the beheading gives way to really weird dreams!
The Constant Princess tells the Story of Katherine Of Aragon. It tells the story in complete first person, and starts out when she was the Infanta of Spain. What I enjoyed most about this book is that it gave details about her life before coming to England, and what it was like to be the daughter of the King and Queen of Spain. I just wish this book had been longer. It was concentrated a lot on her early life with her parents, Aurther and Henry when he was younger. I wish it had gone into details about her life in exile from the court.
The Boleyn Inheritance is the story of Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Jane Boleyn. I wasn't sure if I would like this book, because in the Other Boleyn Girl, I hated Jane Boleyn, and thought why should she get her own story? After reading how her life was intertwined with so many Queens of England, I can see why her story was told. This book was probably my favorite book in the entire series. It was once again written in first person, and the problem I have with telling the story of three different characters is that most of the time I only like one. The stories blend togehter really well, and I found myself wanting more of each one.
Ms. Gregory said she wanted to tell the story of Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard because out of all of Henry the VIIIs wives, these were the two that were written the least about, but the public feels like they knows a lot about them. I had no idea how young Katherine was when she came to the throne~I couldn't imagine being 15 and married to some who was 46 and such a tyrant.
I highly recommend all the books in this series! However, I don't recommend reading them before bed. All the beheading gives way to really weird dreams!
Monday, May 11, 2009
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