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]