Author: Cindy Gerard
Title: Whisper No Lies (3rd book in the BOIs series)
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Pocket Star Books Romance (Imprint of Simon & Schuster Inc)
ISBN:978-1-4165-6675-5
The Romance Author's Verdict: 4/5 Stars
AN INDECENT PROPOSAL...
When a high roller at the Vegas casino where Crystal Debrowski manages security makes a scandalous proposition, she flat-out refuses, especially given rumors of his shady overseas connections. But then counterfeit bills mysteriously flood the gaming tables, and her reputation — and her life — are on the line.
REVEALS A SIMMERING DESIRE...
Despite his big, flirty grin, Texas heartbreaker Johnny Duane Reed can't get sassy Crystal off his mind. When she is abducted by an international crime lord with a threatening obsession, Reed enlists his Black Ops, Inc. team to pursue a dangerous mission to rescue her.
...WITH DEADLY CONSEQUENCES.
Between Crystal and Johnny burns a scorching flame, but as they battle her relentless abductor, they uncover a malicious arms trafficking and white slavery ring. Together, they must destroy the tyrant's wicked enterprises or face his reign of terror themselves....
I've got to be in the right mood to pick up a Cindy Gerard book. I know she's a New York Times Bestselling Author, but I've found her to be a bit hit and miss. I read the first book in the Black Ops Inc, or BOIs series, Show No Mercy, and thought "meh". It was okay, but wasn't going to make me rush out and read the next one. In fact I skipped the second one, Take No Prisoners, and went straight to this one for the simple fact that out of all the BOI team members, I really liked Johnny Reed and Whisper No Lies is his book.
This was a simple, quick read. The facts are straight forward, the characters easy to understand and there's enough action to keep you engaged. I think these elements are why Ms. Gerard is a NYT Bestseller. Johnny didn't disappoint. His journey of falling for Crystal and then coming to grips with it was very well done. Likewise, Crystal's own challenges, both physical and mental, made for a contrast at some points, but also sometimes mirrored Johnny's struggles. I don't remember reading another book where both characters were coming to terms with commitment issues for different reasons and Ms Gerard handled this really well.
So if you like an action packed romantic suspense and an easy read you don't have to put too much effort into thinking about, then Whisper No Lies hits all the right marks.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Review: Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison
Author: Thea Harrison
Title: Dragon Bound
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Berkley Sensation (Penguin Group)
ISBN: 978-0-425-24150-9
The Romance Author's Verdict: 4/5 Stars
Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their Dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful–and passionate—of the Elder Races.
As the most feared and respected of the wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they’ve ignited in one another.
Ms Harrison's writing is new and unique, a voice that I think will become brilliant in its uniqueness, much the same way authors like JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, or Kresley Cole did. The book is mostly written in third person, but every so often a paragraph or two, or sometimes just a sentence, was delivered in first person. Initially, I couldn't decide if I like this style or not, but as the book continued on, I could see that with Ms Harrison's voice, it was working quite well.
The only thing I couldn't agree with was the 'head-hopping.' I'm not a fan of changing character point of view midway through a scene and then even changing back a few paragraphs later. I know some publishers and agents will reject a manuscript written in such a way, so I find it interesting that Ms. Harrison has broken some of the current 'rules', yet found success anyway.
Style aside, I'm now very interested to read the next few books in the series. I imagine that if Ms Harrison has really honed and strengthened this unique voice, then the books will only get better.
In terms of the story, I was a bit dubious about the whole dragon-thing. I've read a few dragon-shifter books, but none of them ever made much of an impression on me. However, Ms Harrison managed to change my mind on the issue. To me, Dragos acted very much in line with a primitive type of dragon nature, which made for an impressive hero.
Character-wise, I couldn't really fault this book. Dragos was the kind of old-school, true alpha male you don't come across very often, but contrary to his nature, he did bend enough to accommodate Pia in his life. On the other side of the relationship, though Pia often doubted herself, in the moments that counted she showed real strength, which I think made her more realistic and believable.
If you enjoy shifters, and real tough alpha males, then I'd definitely recommend this book, you won't be sorry.
Title: Dragon Bound
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Berkley Sensation (Penguin Group)
ISBN: 978-0-425-24150-9
The Romance Author's Verdict: 4/5 Stars
Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their Dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful–and passionate—of the Elder Races.
As the most feared and respected of the wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they’ve ignited in one another.
Ms Harrison's writing is new and unique, a voice that I think will become brilliant in its uniqueness, much the same way authors like JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, or Kresley Cole did. The book is mostly written in third person, but every so often a paragraph or two, or sometimes just a sentence, was delivered in first person. Initially, I couldn't decide if I like this style or not, but as the book continued on, I could see that with Ms Harrison's voice, it was working quite well.
The only thing I couldn't agree with was the 'head-hopping.' I'm not a fan of changing character point of view midway through a scene and then even changing back a few paragraphs later. I know some publishers and agents will reject a manuscript written in such a way, so I find it interesting that Ms. Harrison has broken some of the current 'rules', yet found success anyway.
Style aside, I'm now very interested to read the next few books in the series. I imagine that if Ms Harrison has really honed and strengthened this unique voice, then the books will only get better.
In terms of the story, I was a bit dubious about the whole dragon-thing. I've read a few dragon-shifter books, but none of them ever made much of an impression on me. However, Ms Harrison managed to change my mind on the issue. To me, Dragos acted very much in line with a primitive type of dragon nature, which made for an impressive hero.
Character-wise, I couldn't really fault this book. Dragos was the kind of old-school, true alpha male you don't come across very often, but contrary to his nature, he did bend enough to accommodate Pia in his life. On the other side of the relationship, though Pia often doubted herself, in the moments that counted she showed real strength, which I think made her more realistic and believable.
If you enjoy shifters, and real tough alpha males, then I'd definitely recommend this book, you won't be sorry.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Review (Theirs Not to Reason Why) A Soldier's Duty
Author: Jean Johnson
Title: Theirs Not To Reason Why: A Soldier's Duty
Genre: Science Fiction (military based)
Publisher: ACE Science Fiction (Imprint of Penguin Books)
ISBN: 978-0-441-02063-8
The Romance Author's Verdict: 3/5 stars.
Blurb:
...What if you could see the future? What if you foresaw that, three hundred years from your time, your entire galaxy would be destroyed in an overwhelming invasion? What would you do to stop it, when it would all happen long after you were dead and gone?
These are the questions that Ia must face, and the obstacles she must overcome. Spurred by her teenaged visions of an apocalyptic future, the young heavyworlder woman seeks to set up a series of events, a domino-chain of actions and repercussions that will hopefully stop the coming invaders long after her time has passed. But in order to do so, she must enter the military and engage in a four-front war: an old, barely contained enemy whose twin goals of galactic conquest and lunch terrify all sane sentients; an ancient foe whose technology vastly outstrips anything the Alliance can fling at it; a fanatic, xenophobic religious movement on her homeworld which Ia dares not stop; and her ongoing battle against Time itself.
If Ia fails, the stars and planets of the Milky Way will cease to exist, and so will the countless lives that depend on them. But the odds of her winning the ultimate battle are very, very small, when even the slightest, most innocent-seeming misstep could domino down through time in the wrong way, and doom untold septillions of sentients to a dark and terrifying fall. Bound by the ice of her duty, burned by the fires of her conscience, driven by what she foresees, Ia must become the herald of death herself:
The soldier known as Bloody Mary.
For people who like hard-core military sci-fi, this book will be something they'll love. For me personally, I felt like the focus on military and world building detracted from what could have been a really great story.
The first half of the book was a hard slog, I literally skipped three pages of a conversation about military leadership, four pages that talked about guns and nothing else, another four or five pages on military vehicles, a few pages on different worlds, and a whole bunch of pages where a scene which could have been suspenseful and pithy was dragged out for too long. I tried to stick with it, forcing myself to get through the character's training, to when she got her first posting, expecting the story would become more interesting and easier to read... except it didn't.
I think what let this story down was the female protagonist, Ia. I expected that her character might get a "life lesson" somewhere along the way, but it never came. Everything that got thrown her way, she could see into the future and find ways of handling it. Her character was meant to be only 18 when she joined the military, but right from the start, she acted like a 30 or 40 year old. Okay, I understand she had the weight of the future on her shoulders and had to grow up fast to take on the universe, but people, all people, have self doubt. Even Superman doubted his own abilities to succeed at times. Ia's unflinching self assurance made her character a bit too unbelievable and hard to connect with. Some of her "tough" moments where she "proved" herself to her fellow soldiers felt forced. I can't ever remember reading a book where the character development made me like the character less as the story went on. A disappointment, because the idea behind the story is fantastic. Execution could have been better.
Like I said, people who enjoy hard-core military sci-fi will probably love this. I wanted more angst from the characters to make it believable.
Title: Theirs Not To Reason Why: A Soldier's Duty
Genre: Science Fiction (military based)
Publisher: ACE Science Fiction (Imprint of Penguin Books)
ISBN: 978-0-441-02063-8
The Romance Author's Verdict: 3/5 stars.
Blurb:
...What if you could see the future? What if you foresaw that, three hundred years from your time, your entire galaxy would be destroyed in an overwhelming invasion? What would you do to stop it, when it would all happen long after you were dead and gone?
These are the questions that Ia must face, and the obstacles she must overcome. Spurred by her teenaged visions of an apocalyptic future, the young heavyworlder woman seeks to set up a series of events, a domino-chain of actions and repercussions that will hopefully stop the coming invaders long after her time has passed. But in order to do so, she must enter the military and engage in a four-front war: an old, barely contained enemy whose twin goals of galactic conquest and lunch terrify all sane sentients; an ancient foe whose technology vastly outstrips anything the Alliance can fling at it; a fanatic, xenophobic religious movement on her homeworld which Ia dares not stop; and her ongoing battle against Time itself.
If Ia fails, the stars and planets of the Milky Way will cease to exist, and so will the countless lives that depend on them. But the odds of her winning the ultimate battle are very, very small, when even the slightest, most innocent-seeming misstep could domino down through time in the wrong way, and doom untold septillions of sentients to a dark and terrifying fall. Bound by the ice of her duty, burned by the fires of her conscience, driven by what she foresees, Ia must become the herald of death herself:
The soldier known as Bloody Mary.
For people who like hard-core military sci-fi, this book will be something they'll love. For me personally, I felt like the focus on military and world building detracted from what could have been a really great story.
The first half of the book was a hard slog, I literally skipped three pages of a conversation about military leadership, four pages that talked about guns and nothing else, another four or five pages on military vehicles, a few pages on different worlds, and a whole bunch of pages where a scene which could have been suspenseful and pithy was dragged out for too long. I tried to stick with it, forcing myself to get through the character's training, to when she got her first posting, expecting the story would become more interesting and easier to read... except it didn't.
I think what let this story down was the female protagonist, Ia. I expected that her character might get a "life lesson" somewhere along the way, but it never came. Everything that got thrown her way, she could see into the future and find ways of handling it. Her character was meant to be only 18 when she joined the military, but right from the start, she acted like a 30 or 40 year old. Okay, I understand she had the weight of the future on her shoulders and had to grow up fast to take on the universe, but people, all people, have self doubt. Even Superman doubted his own abilities to succeed at times. Ia's unflinching self assurance made her character a bit too unbelievable and hard to connect with. Some of her "tough" moments where she "proved" herself to her fellow soldiers felt forced. I can't ever remember reading a book where the character development made me like the character less as the story went on. A disappointment, because the idea behind the story is fantastic. Execution could have been better.
Like I said, people who enjoy hard-core military sci-fi will probably love this. I wanted more angst from the characters to make it believable.
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