Category Archives: Book Review

Me, Myself, and Why? by MaryJanice Davidson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was different…I’ve read MJD in the past and found her Undead series to be lite and whimsey for the most part (I mean, a Vampire addicted to shoes)…in this new series, she takes on an individual with mental health issues (multiple personalities) who is also a federal agent.

Overall I enjoyed the book (although I listened as an audiobook) and might consider picking up another one in the series in the future. However, this isn’t one that you can listen to or read if you are easily distracted, because some chapters will stop mid-sentence as another of Cadance’s personalities makes an appearance. I’ve never met anyone with MPD, so don’t know if this is how it happens – but I hope not, because I felt sorry for Cadence in some of the situations she found herself in at times.

Click here to purchase Me, Myself and Why? (Amazon)

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Out of Africa by Karen Blixen
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I’m sure others liked it, but it just didn’t do anything for me. Seemed very disjointed and not cohesive…oh well

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Succubus Revealed by Richelle Mead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is bittersweet in so many ways. I realized as I finished listening to it on the commute home tonight, that there is no more Georgina and Seth. Over the course of the last five books, plus this one, i’ve come to enjoy them, and while I might have bitched and moaned in previous reviews about their behavior – there is something about them, that is so life like (well, as much as a succubus can be 😉 )

For most people who have been following the series, the conclusion probably came as no surprise and looking back through the previous books you can see hints that the author dropped to lead you to this final climax. But how we finally got there was the ride of a life-time. I don’t remember the last time when I physically sat in my car for almost fifteen minutes after getting to work, because I HAD to hear what happened next. There were times where I laughed and many more where I nearly cried.

One thing that really drew me to this installment in the series was the development of the secondary characters. Sure, G&S were there in all their glory, but it was the smaller people who have appeared in all the other books and it was finally in this one that I came to know them more like people and less like characters on a page: the Mortensen girls (Morgan and Makenna especially); Peter and Cody; Hugh (the imp that he is) and the new characters that were introduced – Seth’s mom and brother (although I definately had a few WTF moments with Ian at times).

I’ll look back on these books in the future (and who knows, maybe even fit in a re-listen) and hope that Ms. Mead will eventually take up back to the world of Georgina and Seth, be it Seattle, or wherever they might. Even just a visit would be nice. I want to know what happened to Roman (if we ever will) and find more out about Carter – maybe the next person he is there to save will be the basis of another series (pretty please). All I can say is that Ms. Mead is definately going on my auto buy list in the future (at least for her adult titles – YA i’m not so sure about yet). Luckily, I still have her Dark Swan series to check out.

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Retribution by Sherrilyn Kenyon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

most like a 1.5 than 2 stars…about the only saving grace was the fact that I got it from the library and didn’t fork out any money for it…

so from the previous book (No Mercy) a whole new cast of characters were introduced, but were any of them followed up here…nope…instead we find ourselves in Las Vegas with Sundown – now, i’ve been waiting for Sundown’s book since he was introduced in Zarek’s, but this was just a disappointment. There wasn’t even really the normal mythology undertones that are in her previous books, but rather a whole new cast of characters in native american myths and legends…

save your money and get it from the library. if i keep reading any of her books, that is the only way i’ll be doing it – but this one might just have been bad enough to stop me from reading her again

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Kismet by Monica Burns
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

like someone mentioned in another review, its been a long time since i’ve read a sheik romance – I stopped reading them several years ago because they were just ehhh…so I was pleasantly surprised when I picked this one up. I loved the sexual tension between the two main characters and that fact that the heroine was a courtesan and had taken control of her own sexual future made her appealing, especially considering that its a historical. The setting in Morocco made it visually appealing, I felt, at several times, I was in the desert with the Bedouin.

My only tiny nitpick comment was in one part where the author used some arabic in greetings and made a mistake – I don’t know a lot of arabic, but the part that was incorrect was one of the first things that we learnt and it has stuck in my head since. That being said, I will def. be looking for more booksby Ms Burns in the future – in particular, to see if there are any featuring Allega’s friend who gets married in the first part of the book, and Sheheen’s cousin, Charles who plays a pivotal role in this one to see if he gets his HEA eventually.

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Broken Rules by Jade Buchanan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book reviewed for The Romance Reviews – original review can be found here – The Romance Reviews – Broken Rules

Can your first love be your true love?

Returning home after ten years of being away, Jonah is unsure of what he will find following the death of his mother. His best friend growing up, Neil, is there to provide him with support through the tough time he is going through, but could there possibly be something more between the two of them? Jonah has always felt something for Neil, but is unsure whether it is reciprocated. But now he is going to find out.

This was the first book that I have read by Jade Buchanan and it definitely won’t be the last. I was intrigued about the premise from just reading the description. I have to admit that I’m always a sucker for the first time love, returning home type story…I guess it’s that fairytale dream of always finding your true love, or in the words of one of my favorite movies, “Twu Wuv” (The Princess Bride).

Jonah was a character that I felt like I could connect with. While I am not in the same situation that he found himself in, I did leave home at about the same age as him and have only been back once in the last twelve years and he is returning home for the first time in ten years. Then there is Neil, Jonah’s best friend growing up, they were the kind of friend that you wish your son or daughter could have in life, until Jonah left town. Now he is back, a Police diver and looking to re-establish his friendship and maybe more with Jonah.

But like with all romance novels, there has to be a source of conflict, for Jonah and Neil, it is the fact that they’re on the opposite side of Canada to each other. Jonah has his work as a social worker and Neil is limited in his location by where there are diving units. It’s a good thing that this is the first book in a trilogy because I can’t wait to see what happens between the two of them in later books.

I’d give this book 4 out of 5 stars, but will be on the look-out for more books by Ms. Buchanan in the future.

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Almost A Spinster by Jenna Petersen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wasn’t sure i was going to write a review of this until someone just left me a comment asking what I thought and it gave me a chance to sit down and thing. I liked the stories to an extent don’t get me wrong. But I had a hard time with the believability of them – yeah, you laugh, because i do read a lot of romance, but these ones just seemed to be missing something. I never really got the feeling that each couple fell in love with the other – I think if the author had broken them up into 3 longer stories and developed the characters and situations a bit more they would have been better reads. That isn’t however going to stop me from reading stuff by Ms. Petersen in the future – I’m intrigued enough by her writing style to do just that.

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Sandpipers’ Secrets by Jade Archer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit, i’m normally not a fan of books where a couple is adding a third into an already established relationship because I always feel like I am missing something. And I felt the same way through the beginning of Sandpiper’s Secrets – but about halfway through the story picked up and I really enjoyed it. Will definately interested in reading another in the series – maybe with Raven (the guy at the end), hopefully he will find his HEA 😉

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Body Surfing by Anita Shreve
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

more like one and a half…if it hadn’t been a challenge book I probably would have DNF’d it…thankfully, it only cost me $4 on the hardback sale shelf at borders vice full prince…

I had many issues with it – the first being that there was wayyy to much about the authors political views showing through…I really hate it when I start to read a book and there is a section complaining about a certain section or person in the government…it seemed obvious that she also hadn’t done a lot of research about certain aspects. While some might think its not a big deal, there is one part where she makes the statement about someone deciding the run the Boston marathon on a whim (umm, yeah, right…its a competative race to get into and you have to have a certain time in a previous marathon to qualify) and then like 15 pages later, she makes a comment that the same person is barely a runner…say huh?? did I miss something somewhere…

aside from that, the prose just seemed really awkwardly written like it jumped back and forth between first and third person…a good editor was definately needed…

this was my first by Ms Shreve and it will probably be my last

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