Review: Dangerous Passion by Lisa Marie Rice

Dangerous Passion by Lisa Marie Rice

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Blah blah blah. First off, this book was not as well edited as the previously two. There was a lot of repetitive language. Secondly, the heroine is very, very passive. She meets the hero, literally, in a hail of bullets and proceeds to turn over all control over her own life. No railing against fate, no recriminations, no 'let me at least pick out my own damn clothes,' nothing. She's perfectly content to remain trapped within four walls, painting, while the hero arranges everything. She doesn't even express an opinion about the food. It's all 'la la la, I love you, I shall go wherever you lead, la la la.' She does ask the hero at one point if he's a drug dealer. I could never be with a drug dealer, she says. No, he doesn't sell drugs. He sells weapons instead. You know the bad guy we saw in Dangerous Secrets? The hero is a kinder, more user-friendly, version. What. The. F!

The hero was very well-developed and very distinct, mainly because he was the driving force behind the plot. I actually liked him, despite his very clear anti-hero status, but next to the heroine's wispiness, he came off like a bit of a chauvinist. I feel like his feelings for the heroine were so intense that if she'd pushed at all or asked for anything, he would've made it happen, so long as it didn't compromise her safety.

Thirdly, the book felt very open-ended. There was a mole on the hero's staff and he was never punished for his betrayal. The author made a point of telling us how there was one 'servant' that the hero trusted above anyone else and then we never see them again. Even the Big Bad's downfall was, if you'll forgive the spoilerish pun, remote. There really was no closure on anything.

This would have easily been a four star book if the heroine acted like an actual person rather than a poseable sex toy. With regards to the series as a whole, I would definitely recommend the first two books. It's not even really a series as the books are basically stand-alones and don't appear to be connected at all. As far as Dangerous Passion goes, I'd give it a pass and jump right into the Protectors trilogy (starting with Into the Crossfire, which is actually inter-connected.

Review: Hot Secrets: A Dangerous Lover Novella by Lisa Marie Rice

Hot Secrets: A Dangerous Lover Novella by Lisa Marie Rice

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I got this via NetGalley. I've only ever read one of Rice's books before, Hotter than Wildfire. When I saw this, I thought it was related to that series so I requested it, but it actually goes with the Dangerous trilogy.

First off, while the file read 58 pages, the story itself is only 30 pages. This is an Avon Impulse title so it's $3.99 and I don't think any 30 pages of new content is worth that price. The quality of the story is excellent, but I wouldn't recommend paying more than $1.99 for it. The other 28 pages are excerpts for the three Dangerous books.

This book accomplishes its purpose, however, as my immediate reaction was to check my local library for Dangerous Lover, the first book featuring these characters. It grabbed me right away and I was immediately invested, despite not having any knowledge of the back-story. The story packs a lot of punch for only 30 pages and I liked how smart the heroine was. I don't think it really functions as an epilogue, but Hot Secrets gives a glimpse of the characters' lives during their happily ever after and assures the readers they are still being the people we grew to love.

Bottom line, I'm definitely going to get my hands on this trilogy and I would definitely recommend this book as a quick read, but I'd wait for a coupon.

Review: In Christofides' Keeping by Abby Green

In Christofides' Keeping by Abby Green

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I feel that if I'm going to rate a book below three stars, then I need to explain why I rated it that way. Especially since this one is freaking nominated for an award.

I hate to keep re-using the phrase 'soap opera in a can,' but I can't think of anything else that describes how I feel about these books. The very best secret child reveal I've ever read was in Lauren Dane's Never Enough. In that book, the hero and heroine handled the situation mostly like adults and they always had the best interest of the child in mind.

By contrast, while she did have some basis for keeping the baby's existence a secret from the hero, the heroine, Gypsy, annoyed the ever-living shit out of me. Your child should come first. You get fired from your job, the job that's keeping food in your child's mouth and a roof over her head, because the hero's sudden reappearance makes you wibbly. Woman up. The hero, who is very wealthy by the way, tracks you down in the ghetto where you are living (with no heat!) and wants to move you to a better neighborhood, but you fight him on it because of your stupid pride. Woman up. Even if you believe you can cover your child's immediate needs, what about college? What happens if she gets sick? At least in Maya Banks's Wanted by Her Lost Love, the heroine kept the check the hero threw at her, just in case she needed it.

I'm not saying Gypsy should've rolled over and let Rico call the shots. She could have laid down some ground rules, like demanding a separate residence or child support or something. In fact, I feel like the whole book could have been solved with a two-hour couple's therapy session and a lot of 'How does it make you feel when your partner...' questions. It seemed like every freaking time Rico tried to initiate an adult discussion, Gypsy threw a hissy fit. WOMAN UP!

Also, because I am me and a champion nit-picker, the fact that Rico was able to whisk Gypsy and the baby to Greece without nary a word about passports didn't sit right. I would have thought that, even with private jets, you had to have some kind of documentation. Especially in today's day and age.

*sigh* I don't know. I've read categories that I've liked so I don't think it's entirely just me, but now I'm a little scared to read the other nominees.



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Monthly Tally: November 2011

I did a little bit of re-reading this month, but I actually read a lot of new to me books and authors. Laurann Dohner, for example, was an author that was recommended to me via GoodReads and I read five of her e-books. Dohner's New Species does bear a marked resemblance to Lora Leigh's Breed series, but Dohner gives it more of an animalistic spin. I would continue reading the series if Ellora's Cave didn't make them so damned expensive. In addition, I read Maya Banks's Highland trilogy and got caught up on her Sweet series. November was also picture book months so I tried to catch up on my picture book TBRs. I only read eight of 'em, so clearly, I wasn't very successful.

However, two of them were particularly good. My favorite was E-mergency. The premise is that the letter E fell down the stairs and became injured. The other letters band together to cover for E so it can rest. The book was extraordinarily clever and filled with visual puns. It's not something I would recommend for a story-time, but I'd buy it for a young child learning their letters. The Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn by Robert Burleigh, on the other hand, I read aloud to myself in my best Southern accent. Huckleberry narrates Twain's life in homespun language. It gives a basic overview of Twain's life and I'd put it at elementary school level.

The best adult book of the month was Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams. It's a post-apocalyptic novel that I thought was entirely plausible. It wasn't very romance-y, but then it's hard to work in the beginnings of happily ever after when humanity is trying to rebuild civilization. Still, the writing was sharp, the characters were unique, and the action moved along at a nice clip. Just a spoiler for those who get squicked at the idea of animal cruelty, the dogs will be fine.

The worst book of the month was Suzanne Enoch's A Beginner's Guide to Rakes. As I said in my GoodReads review, I normally enjoy Enoch's books, but I just couldn't get behind the heroine. At all. I guess I prefer my heroines to not appear to be quite so cold and calculating, at least in historicals.

Category Totals

Romance: 46
Picture Books: 8
Children's Nonfic: 1
Nonfiction: 2
Science Fiction: 2
Young Adult: 1
Urban Fantasy: 2

Review: Enchanted Again by Robin D. Owens

It is well known by those who follow me on my personal twitter that I have a deep love for Robin D. Owens's books. If I had to rank my top three favorite authors, it'd probably be Nalini Singh, Robin D. Owens and then Shelly Laurenston. So trust me when I say that I am incapable of giving this book anything below four stars. Because, honestly, it probably deserves three. Maybe even lower.

It hurts me to write that.

I liked the first book, Enchanted No More, I did! This is the feedback I sent to our buyer at the time:

 I  almost don't want it to be published so that it stays mine forever. I am trying to come up with words to adequately describe it, but I'm failing miserably. It's much better than the Llandra series and reminds me of that feeling I get when I watch the Harry Potter movies or the Dresden Files or Being Human. Like, the magic's really real. I _believe_. So great.

I can even tell you exactly where I was when I started reading Enchanted No More. I was in the horrifically dusty annex, on a lunch break from compiling an inventory of ancient periodicals, huddled over my iPad, eating a Subway's tuna on whole wheat.

Maybe my expectations were too high? I don't know.

In any case, something went horribly awry in Enchanted Again. All I can tell you is that it happened somewhere in the middle of the book and probably involved the hero. I wish I could point to some specific thing and be all 'Oh, if only Owens had fixed that,' but I can't. It was more like a gradual realization that the book was going off the rails. If this had been any other author than Owens, I likely wouldn't have finished it.

If you haven't read Enchanted No More, don't bother with this one because while it's only loosely connected to the first book, the assumption is made you already understand the rules behind this world. I liked the brownies, but the hero came off as kinda child-ish and sometimes I just wanted to grab the heroine by the shoulders & shake her.

I will read the third book when it comes out because it's Robin D. Owens, but I will probably be a little scared. And that makes me sad.

Review: Sweet Inspiration

Sweet Inspiration by Penny Watson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I bought this on Carolyn Crane's recommendation and, well, it was disappointing. Not disappointing in the 'Why did I spend money on this?' way, but more in the 'God, there's so much squandered potential' way.

It's a really interesting premise. To describe it in a nutshell, Santa has five sons and Sweet Inspiration is the story of the oldest. Nicholas Klaus is in line to be the next 'Santa Claus,' but his passion is baking. While on vacation before the Christmas rush, he comes across Lucy's bakery and her delicious cookies. There's an immediate attraction between them, one thing leads to another, and Lucy, without her express consent, gets whisked to the North Pole. At this point, she still doesn't know that the whole Santa Claus thing is real (except for the flying reindeer, apparently). She's in for a rude awakening when she wakes up and, as punishment for bringing Lucy to the North Pole without permission, Nicholas has to give up baking and step into Santa's boots.

The elves were hysterical. I could totally buy how Watson set up the North Pole and how she integrates it into our reality. I really liked the other brothers and I would read their stories if I came across them. Santa and Mrs. Klaus were a little two-dimensional. The only thing I can remember about them right now is that Mrs. Klaus can't cook and Santa is buff. The main problem for me was Lucy and Nicholas. Nicholas was a borderline ass most of the time and Lucy had that Disney princess feel to her. She accepts her changed circumstances with equanimity and barely gives two thoughts to what it will be like to leave her life behind. The elves all love her, of course, much like the Seven Dwarfs fawned over Snow White. I guess I wanted her to be more 'real.' I wanted her to react like any sane person would react after finding themselves in a fairy tale: lots of deep breathing and kicking Nicholas out of his kitchen so she can bake. I don't have the book in front of me at the moment, but I'm not even sure if we really find out with Mrs. Klaus does. I think there was a throwaway line about how she keeps everything running, like she liaisons between all the different departments, but it's not like anyone gave Lucy enough information to make an informed choice.

It was just frustrating to read because this could have been really, really great and instead it falls squarely into the 'meh' category. I have a feeling that this is Watson's debut and with a good beta reader or editor, her writing would have sparkled. Here's hoping the next book in the series, Sweet Magik, lives up to Watson's potential.



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Review: The Next Always

The Next Always by Nora Roberts

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



When I first found out that Nora Roberts was creating her own Inn, I checked out the website. That was probably back in 2009. Now, I have a pretty good memory for words and, while the website copy has changed slightly, portions of The Next Always felt like they were lifted straight from the website's room descriptions. I also knew that Turn the Page bookstore, that the heroine owns in the book, is an actual place where Roberts does her Maryland signings. I took another look at the website before writing this, and it looks like Vesta, the restaurant where one of the secondary characters (likely a heroine of a future book) works, is also exists in reality.

So here's my verdict. If you know nothing about Nora Roberts except that she writes books you like, you will probably really enjoy The Next Always. At its core, it's a sweet story about family, community, and the hopefulness of love. However, if you have already heard of BoonsBoro, MD and checked out a website or two, The Next Always will seem like a commercial in book format. It's weird because I doubt Roberts is hurting for money and if she wants to drive traffic to the inn, lower the room rates! In this day and age, it's a lucky person who can spend $300 after taxes for one night's stay.

While I adore the J.D. Robb books, for me, in recent years, nothing Roberts has published under her own name has been able to top the Irish books (Born in Fire, Jewels of the Sun, Irish Thoroughbred, etc.). I've read everything she's put out, but the last book I actually bought was Blood Brothers in 2007. I keep hoping that she'll go back to Ireland, but, in the meantime, I'm looking forward to Celebrity in Death!



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