The Good: Julie Garwood always makes strong likable characters and these two are no exception. The side characters, such as Gigi and the glimpse of former main characters, is great. I thoroughly enjoyed all the scenes that involved not only Gigi but the previous "stars."
The mystery/suspense was convoluted enough in this one that I finally didn't guess the bad guy before halfway through the novel, which was a first with a Garwood suspense.

The Bad: The synopsis doesn't quite match the book, at least in my humble opinion. So I was misled on what was going to happen where and felt confused for much of the beginning of the book. I spent quite a few chapters wondering if this was the part where she actually delved into the mystery the cover promised.

Secondly, they don't develop a relationship throughout the book, it is just there. Some sort of cosmic connection that manifests itself in overwhelming lust and true love. (yeah that was sarcasm)
I prefer when she actually takes the time to make the people work at their romance and it would have been nice had these two actually spent some time together before deciding they were destined to have really hot sex and a happily-ever-after.

Overall: I enjoyed the read, even when I spent much time confused. Garwood's characters are always interesting with a strong personality and great sense of humor. While I was dissatisfied with some parts of the book I still have to stay it is a good one to read, especially if you have read her other contemporary romantic suspense novels.

Pending Reads:
New:
Playing with Fire - Gena Showalter
Twice as Hot - Gena Showalter
Last Snow - Eric Van Lustbader
Taken - Barbara Freethy
Played - Barbara Freethy
Rainwater - Sandra Brown
The Breath of Allah - Tempest O'Rourke

Re-read:
(none atm)


February's Reads:
Street Game - Christine Feehan [review:pending]
Bed of Roses - Nora Roberts [review:pending]
Warprize - Elizabeth Vaughan [review:none]
Warlord - Elizabeth Vaughan [review:none]
Play Dirty - Sandra Brown [review:none]

March's Reads:
Ecstasy Unveiled - Larissa Ione [review:pending]
Warlord - Angela Knight [review:none]
Bought:Destitute yet Defiant - Sarah Morgan (Harlequin Presents #2902) [review:none]
The Innocent's Surrender - Sara Craven (Harlequin Presents #2903) [review:none]
Marchese's Forgotten Bride - Michelle Reid (Harlequin Presents #2899) [review:none]

The Good: This book explores the story of the current ultimate bad guy in World of Warcraft. It explains his downfall from favored prince to hated leader of the scourge.
I would have to say my favorite parts were the beginning and the end of the story, which is relayed as being his time spent upon the throne of ice. He arises in the end as the Lich King.

The Bad: Much of this story was already known to anyone who has ever played the game of Warcraft (in any form, be it the mmo or the rts). I learned very little, if anything new, about Arthas. He had well established lore long before this book came out, lots of the dialogue in the book existed from the games and was familiar.
The romance aspect with Jaina felt a bit put on, in my opinion. Arthas, as portrayed in this book, is too self-centered and two dimensional to have a relationship with anyone, let alone a "romance" of any type. I honestly felt he had more feeling for his horse than he did for the girl, which it turns out he did. Go figure.
The layout of the story was awkward for me, as well. The sections were labeled as if the story was going to center around that character (female) in his life but it truly didn't and I am not sure why it was even sectioned in the manner it was.

Overall: I would have to say, while I enjoyed the book, I definitely could have lived without reading it as well. It was good but not great. It gave slightly to the already established lore of Arthas, but not a lot. This is one that can filed under the "take it or leave it" listing.

I will be hosting my first contest! Woo whee! So watch up coming posts for an awesome book contest!

The Good: We return the land and times of Lion's Bride, as this is the story of Selene and Kadar. I was thrilled to see that they finally had their own story and book. It was a long time coming, too long.
The return of Vaden as something more than the shadowy figure who haunts Ware was good to see. We learned a bit more about Vaden's past and his current activities. I would love to see him get his own story (hopefully with a bit more polish than this book got).

The Bad: If you haven't read the first book (re-released just before the release of the hardcover edition of this book) you will be confused. There are assumptions made that you know the characters, their back story and the circumstances surrounding these two.
Very little is seen of the original storyline characters, as much of this story takes place outside of Scotland. You get a small glimpse of them and then they are only referred to for the rest of the story.
I was disappointed by the "romance" aspect of this story, as it doesn't seem to come about. We knew they loved each other (they said so) but much of their relationship just seems to "exist." They didn't grow as a couple or even much individually within the story to where you could feel this was a coming of age romance (or any other kind).
The "holy grail" aspect didn't play out very well for me either. Honestly, I can't tell you why, other than it really didn't work for me. It didn't seem to add to the romance of the story but rather try to steal the limelight.
Lastly, the tragedy of the loss of one of the characters was not wrenching at all. While not a main character, he was at least notable and it should have been more heartbreaking to have the death occur, it didn't feel that way to me at all. It came across as purely a plot element with a bit of "oh well, that's too bad."

Overall: I found this to be a bland book. I originally was very excited to see it, but felt let down by the time I got done.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who hasn't read the first, and I certainly wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who hasn't ever read this author - this isn't her best work.
If you have read Lion's Bride, you might want to read this as it continues the journey (somewhat), but otherwise skipping this one wouldn't hurt.

Pending Reads:
New:
Bed of Roses - Nora Roberts
Playing with Fire - Gena Showalter
Twice as Hot - Gena Showalter

Re-read:
(none atm)


January's Reads:
Beauty - Robin McKinley [review:none]
The Maverick - Diane Palmer (Silhoutte Desire #1982)[review:none]
Divine Misdemeanors - Laurell K Hamilton [review:here]
The Treasure - Iris Johansen [review:pending]
Summer of the Storm - Catherine George [review:none]
Lover Avenged - J.R. Ward [review:pending]
Explorer X-Alpha - LM Preston [review:here]
Arthas: Rise of the Lich King - Christie Golden [review:pending]
Sweet Starfire - Jayne Ann Krentz [review:pending]
Twilight Before Christmas - Christine Feehan [review:none]
Sizzle - Julie Garwood [review:pending]
Heart of Darkness - (anthology)Gena Showalter, Maggie Shayne, Susan Krinard [review:none]
Ruthless Magnate, Convenient Wife - Lynne Graham (Harlequin Presents #2892)[review:none]
Bought: The Greek's Baby - Jennie Lucas (Harlequin Presents #2895) [review:none]
The Hellhound King - Lori Devoti (Silhouette Nocturne #82) [review:none]
The Infamous Italian's Secret Baby - Carole Mortimer (Harlequin Presents #2893) [review:none]

The Good: The premise of the story is great, perhaps not wholly original but definitely interesting and a good idea for a read. The characters are engaging and likable, and really liked how they became "something else" during the story.
The dramatic and drastic changes of the appearance, and even to an extent the personalities, of both Aadi and Eirena was interesting. They were vastly different beings, each changing as to be like something that was nearby them when the changes began on site. Giving each different powers, strengths, and challenges.
As the antagonist the corporation has much potential to be either wholly evil or only in part. With the parents being employees, all of the kids have the potential for finding more help from the inside and it begs the question of whose parents knew and didn't care and if or when or even how that aspect will play out for them.


The Bad: The synopsis on the back of the book was a bit too descriptive for me. It felt a little bit like a 10-year-old going "oh and then..." which I didn't find at all helpful for me to be enthusiastic about picking the book up.
I also got confused a little way into the book, and this may be because I sat down and read the entire book in one sitting. I had a bit of a time getting into the meat of the story, but once I got a few chapters in - perhaps 20 - I found myself interested but confused by the events. The time line, while established in the beginning of the book, is never clear on how much time is passing or has passed, but jumps as if they have been doing activities we haven't seen or heard about (or even slightly referred to).
The fighting sequences were too detailed for me as well. I found myself lost when trying to picture whose arm went where and how they were standing. It was hard to follow and I felt it distracted, rather than added, to the whole story.
Lastly, the beginning of the book focuses on all of the characters to a great degree and then only on Aadi and Eirena. Quite a bit of the story is from Aadi's perspective (as a third person, but relative to Aadi) but we spend a lot of time learning about everyone and everything. Then the focus changes to solely Aadi and Eirena and completely excludes the rest, which we had spent so much time learning about. I felt the change was very abrupt and a little disjointed from everything that had gone on previously. I found myself let-down by the total change of venue, from a story about a team to the story about just Aadi and Eirena and wished for either a more direct story about Aadi and Eirena or broader one to stay focused on the team as a whole.

Overall: I liked the book, and enjoyed reading it. I tried not to be overly critical of attitudes and thoughts the characters felt and had because this book is meant for a younger audience and their view on things is much different than my own. And while I am not the book's intended audience, I found I liked the characters and the story and am interested to find out what happens to them in the future.

The Good: A new race of the fey was introduced and it is a good one. Dark and creepy and getting an unholy kick out of the fear he generates in others. We only got a glimpse but the fear dearg is definitely someone I would like to see more of in future stories.

The Bad: Sadly, most of this book falls into this category. This book is so full of fail I have no idea where to start, so I guess we can begin with the outside.
The synopsis is totally misleading, and I mean completely. There is nothing in the book even remotely like what the jacket cover says.
She is supposed to be in the arms of her beloved Frost and Darkness, they played so little of role in this book why even bother to mention them? You wouldn't notice the "beloved" part by how little attention, sex and talking they do in this novel. She, in fact, spends more time dwelling on how Frost's hair doesn't tangle in the wind ( "because the wind likes it") than she does loving Frost.
The mystery is so inconsequential I can't believe she bothered to put it in there. There is no sleuthing to be had in the book, and just like always everything falls very neatly into place so that Merry comes out the good guy and with no effort on her part. If the police could trip over criminals as easily as Merry does then we would have no crimes.
Gilda "the fairy godmother" was barely a byline, I think she got a few paragraphs in which she (Gilda) completely ignores Merry and doesn't even speak to her, seriously. How is that going up against her? Gilda is referenced some, but not overly much and there is only one chapter where the two are actually in each others presence.
The humans and the "dark suspicions of banned magical activities"? One dream with the national guard (or whatever they were in SD)she had healed and it deserves time in the synopsis? I have no idea what she is referring to when it comes to banned magical activities and since I have no clue it must not have been obvious enough for a reader to get.
After you get past the fact that the synopsis has nothing to do with the book, you have very little book left. We have paragraphs describing her eating frosting, describing how hair is loved by the wind and doesn't tangle, and a demi-god having a tantrum like a three-year-old. Main characters in Merry's life are strangely missing or relegated to background characters in this book, and, again, she mentions Merry's being raped but again ignores any implications of it. If you are going to ignore the consequences stop bringing it up and reminding us that you are!
Lastly, I have to complain about Merry being a slut. How can a person who has found her "beloved" and is pregnant by them keep finding new guys to screw? She told her aunt in previous novels that she would be okay with "a half dozen lovers" and the rest could go on their happy way, yet she continually gets into bed with new people. With slavering enthusiasm even. She adds three new lovers to her stables in this book, and ignores her supposedly main men completely. How sad, how very very sad.


Overall: Don't bother. Honestly, hard core fans might enjoy it but beyond that don't bother to pick it up. The book is all fluff, and stupid fluff at that.

Pending Reads:
New:
Bed of Roses - Nora Roberts
Playing with Fire - Gena Showalter
Twice as Hot - Gena Showalter
Street Game - Christine Feehan


Re-read:
(none atm)


January's Reads:
Beauty - Robin McKinley [review:none]
The Maverick - Diane Palmer (Silhoutte Desire #1982)[review:none]
Divine Misdemeanors - Laurell K Hamilton [review:pending]
The Treasure - Iris Johansen [review:pending]
Summer of the Storm - Catherine George [review:none]
Lover Avenged - J.R. Ward [review:pending]
Explorer X-Alpha - LM Preston [review:pending]
Arthas: Rise of the Lich King - Christie Golden [review:pending]
Sweet Starfire - Jayne Ann Krentz [review:pending]
Twilight Before Christmas - Christine Feehan [review:none]

The Good: As I am not fond of her vampire series, I am liking this new sci-fi adventure for Kenyon. The characters have been engaging and mostly likable. The setting is great and leaves a lot of room for more people and places easily. Action, angst and sex all combine in this book to give you a pretty good read.

The heroine was a tough cookie and I liked her spunk, if not her honesty. She was a survivor and I think this book showed much of the adage "best of two bad options." She grew a lot in this book, and while I liked her in the beginning, I liked her much more in the end.
The hero is a guy you could take home to Mom and Dad, he is really that good of a guy. He showed love and compassion and knew how to kick serious butt. (Rock on, Devyn)

The Bad: So far in this series everyone has been lying their heads off. Maybe it is a personal quirk but it really annoys me. Forgiveness has played a major role in her romances so far in this bunch of books, and whether that is because they are older ones where she had to re-write them for the romance audience or this was the original theme I am not sure, but if you aren't looking for flawed heroes/heroines don't pick up the book.
And please, for the love of all that is holy, spell the names normally! It starts off cute but it wears thin really quick to have all of the characters names spelled phonetically.

Overall: I enjoyed the book and will probably invest in the next in the series to see how it continues. I am hoping with the re-writes being completed that we will see more of the universe and more unique planets or races being introduced into the mix.

The Good: I loved the glimpse inside sluagh court, I wish there could have been more. I thought it to be one of the better parts of the book.

And without giving some hefty spoilers the rest of the good stuff will have to wait until you read it yourself. It is there though!

The Bad: There were a few things I personally found irksome in this novel. One is the total lack of response to the rape - from Merry and everyone else. It's starts out "I will kill him for you" but then is completely dropped for... forever. No trauma, no aversion to banging everything that walks, nothing. She can't remember it so obviously it didn't happen. Pathetic.
Secondly, do we have to be talked to like we have NEVER read a single Merry book in every damn book? Please, I know what color their hair is, I know her skin is white and "gosh that looks good on me." For the love of all that is holy I get it, Doyle is BLACK as in crayola crayon black, not Afro-American black. We get it already, shut up and tell a freaking story. [oh I feel better now for having ranted that out]

Overall: If you like the series and you like LKH books then this is a pretty good one. I would recommend it, especially if you have read previous ones in the series. It isn't as good as the start of the series but was one of the better action books, a lot happens in a short time so we don't spend quite so much time hearing about everyone's hair.

Pending Reads:
New:
Bed of Roses - Nora Roberts
Arthas: Rise of the Lich King - Christie Golden
Re-read:
(none atm)


January's Reads:
Beauty - Robin McKinley
The Maverick - Diane Palmer (Silhoutte Desire #1982)
Divine Misdemeanors - Laurell K Hamilton
The Treasure - Iris Johansen
Summer of the Storm - Catherine George

The Good: New characters were brought to the fore, men who were just nameless "out there" guys were introduced. Old characters were prevalent in this story as well and it is always nice to see favorites again. :)
I liked was how it differed greatly from all of the other Darks in the relationship area. Razvan did not run around chest thumping and seemed less "all-powerful" than other Dark series heroes. It was refreshing change from the normal and while I don't expect that to be the new style for these men it was a nice new twist for at least this one book.

The Bad: Everything was "too easy." I felt that quite a bit lately with the series not just this book. Which is a shame as I truly like this author and the story worlds she has created. Trust, love, magical answers... all of it was just handed to the reader on a silver platter, no one worked for much when it came to the back storyline issues that had developed over many books.
I also felt the end of the major antagonist was anti-climatic. It fell flat for me and had a feel of it going "oh well, this is over now" and I was left disappointed by it all.

Overall: I enjoyed the book and would recommend the read, especially to anyone who follows the series. If you have never read the "Dark" series, I would not recommend starting here, but you could restart the series here as this book felt like the end of one of the main plot drivers.