Author: Nina Croft
Title: Break Out (Blood Hunter series book #1)
Genre: Science fiction / paranormal romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
ISBN: 9781937044046
The Romance Author's Verdict: 3/5 Stars
Blurb:
Irreverent. Irresponsible. Insatiable. Who says immortals can't have any fun?
The year is 3048, Earth is no longer habitable, and man has fled to the stars where they’ve discovered the secret of immortality—Meridian. Unfortunately, the radioactive mineral is exorbitantly expensive and only available to a select few. A new class comprised of the super rich and immortal soon evolves. The Collective, as they’re called, rule the universe.
Two-thousand-year-old Ricardo Sanchez, vampire and rogue pilot of the space cruiser, El Cazador, can’t resist two things: gorgeous women and impossible jobs. When beautiful Skylar Rossaria approaches him to break a prisoner out of the Collective’s maximum security prison on Trakis One, Rico jumps at the chance. Being hunted by the Collective has never been so dangerous–or so fun.
I wanted this book to be fantastic. I wanted it to blow me away. The cover is to die for. Plus someone took two of my favorite genres and mushed them together. Vampires in space? Come on, how could that not be brilliant? This book had raving 5 star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. When I finished reading the last page, I wondered what on earth all those people could have been taking to think Break Out deserved a five star review.
Okay, maybe that sounds a bit harsh, maybe I just set my expectations too high when I saw this book compared to the likes of Sherrilyn Kenyon's League series or Ann Aguirre's Grimspace, both of which I love. I'm sorry to say, Break Out doesn't quite live up to either of those titles.
Rico is a vampire, but he's about as cliche as vampires come. Skylar is meant to be a tough warrior-type woman, but to me it felt like she was all talk and no action. The sci-fi aspect felt flimsy at best and there wasn't enough depth with either character to get me involved in the story. I felt like both character's point of view were interchangeable, there wasn't a real 'voice' to differentiate one from the other, leaving them both seeming a bit cardboard.
I think part of the issue in terms of that was because the writing style was very narrative. There was a lot of telling, not showing going on, more than I can ever remember reading in a published book before. If I had of been judging this as a competition entry, or critiquing it, I would have been highlighting passages worth of telling and suggesting the author refine their skill when it came to that particular craft.
However, all that being said, I want to give Ms. Croft the benefit of doubt, because she has books published with Harlequin's Nocturne line. Maybe she was just having a bad day at the office when she wrote this book. So I am going to have a look over her books and pick something else to read.
Its not the worst thing I've ever read, its just lacking depth. If you want a story about vampires in space and don't get your exceptions too high like I did, if you're after a light romp (because the sex scenes were pretty good, I'll give Ms Croft that) then Break Out is an easy afternoon's read.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Review: Glass Houses by Rachel Caine
Author: Rachel Caine
Title: Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires, book #1)
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Publisher: NAL Jam (Imprint of Berkley)
ISBN: 9780451219947
The Romance Author's Verdict: 4/5 Stars
Blurb:
From the author of the popular Weather Warden series comes the debut of an exciting new series set in Morganville, Texas, where you would be well advised to avoid being out after dark.
College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life, but they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.
After I finished reading this book, I couldn't decide whether or not I liked it. One thing is for sure, I wasn't impressed with the ending. The book didn't finish, it just stopped. Okay, I understand how that might entice your readers into picking up the second book, but I found it annoying and unsatisfying.
It also took me a bit to get into this book, I couldn't connect with Claire. I didn't understand her motivations in wanting to stay in college, within striking distance of those who wanted to seriously hurt her, though her reasons for needing to stay in town did become clearer later on.
This book was an interesting read, which is why I gave it four stars, but you can probably tell from this review I'm still conflicted over it. All of the main characters were interesting and I enjoyed learning their stories and even the threads revealed that will no doubt be dealt with in later books. I also enjoyed the hint of romance, which obviously has the potential to become something big later on.
On the other hand, it is also just another take on teenagers and vampires, I didn't find anything to set it too far apart from other teen-vamp adventures. One other point, I found the writing kept me disconnected from the characters. Much of the writing was very narrative, when I wanted (like usual) to get into the dark depths of the character's thoughts and feelings.
Overall, its not a bad read, which is why I gave it four stars. If you want another teen-vamp romp, and light writing you won't get too sucked into, then the Morganville Vampire books fit the bill. I haven't decided whether or not I'll read any more in the series. If I do, it will be more out of an interest to see if the writing and characters develop any farther, than wanting to know what's going to happen story-wise.
Title: Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires, book #1)
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Publisher: NAL Jam (Imprint of Berkley)
ISBN: 9780451219947
The Romance Author's Verdict: 4/5 Stars
Blurb:
From the author of the popular Weather Warden series comes the debut of an exciting new series set in Morganville, Texas, where you would be well advised to avoid being out after dark.
College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life, but they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.
After I finished reading this book, I couldn't decide whether or not I liked it. One thing is for sure, I wasn't impressed with the ending. The book didn't finish, it just stopped. Okay, I understand how that might entice your readers into picking up the second book, but I found it annoying and unsatisfying.
It also took me a bit to get into this book, I couldn't connect with Claire. I didn't understand her motivations in wanting to stay in college, within striking distance of those who wanted to seriously hurt her, though her reasons for needing to stay in town did become clearer later on.
This book was an interesting read, which is why I gave it four stars, but you can probably tell from this review I'm still conflicted over it. All of the main characters were interesting and I enjoyed learning their stories and even the threads revealed that will no doubt be dealt with in later books. I also enjoyed the hint of romance, which obviously has the potential to become something big later on.
On the other hand, it is also just another take on teenagers and vampires, I didn't find anything to set it too far apart from other teen-vamp adventures. One other point, I found the writing kept me disconnected from the characters. Much of the writing was very narrative, when I wanted (like usual) to get into the dark depths of the character's thoughts and feelings.
Overall, its not a bad read, which is why I gave it four stars. If you want another teen-vamp romp, and light writing you won't get too sucked into, then the Morganville Vampire books fit the bill. I haven't decided whether or not I'll read any more in the series. If I do, it will be more out of an interest to see if the writing and characters develop any farther, than wanting to know what's going to happen story-wise.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Review: How I Met My Countess by Elizabeth Boyle
Author: Elizabeth Boyle
Title: How I Met My Countess (book #6 in the Bachelor Chronicles)
Genre: Regency Historical Romance
Publisher: Avon (Imprint of HarperCollins)
ISBN: 978-0-06-178349-4
The Romance Author's Verdict: 5/5 Stars
Blurb:
The Earl of Clifton intended one day to find the perfect countess ...
. . . then he met Lucy. The improper daughter of an infamous spy, Lucy Ellyson saved Clifton's life and taught him everything he needed to know about serving his country . . . even how to fall in love. He vowed he would come back and make her his unlikely countess, but the war kept them apart for too long, and when he finally returned, she'd vanished.
Lucy hadn't gone far—living a new life in the heart of Mayfair. But proper Society hasn't taught her how to mend her scandalous ways, and when Clifton happens upon her, she's landed in the sort of trouble that only a hasty marriage can solve. He's more than willing to be the hero she taught him to be and make her his countess, but all too quickly, secrets from their past threaten the passionate love that ignites them both . . .
The day is yet to come when I am disappointed in an Elizabeth Boyle book. Its no small wonder to be able to pick up a book by an author and know without a doubt that you'll be sitting up late at night, frantically flicking pages, just to find out what happens next.
I will admit, this book started off a little slow. When we were introduced to the hero and heroine, the Earl of Clifton, and Lucy Ellyson-cum-Lady Standon, I felt a little in the dark. They had a past together and their accidental meeting on the street was full of innuendo about things I didn't quite get. Then in the following chapter, we flash back seven years earlier. At this point, despite my obvious love of Ms. Boyle's work, I found myself worried. Was this going to be one of those back-and-forth kind of stories that leave me with a headache from trying to remember where and when I should be?
Of course, I shouldn't have worried. From that point the story stays in chronological order leading back to the chance meeting in the street and then tying everything together quite cleverly.The little hooks and hints Ms. Boyle masterfully drops into the story keeps you guessing right up to the last few chapters. And even once you have mostly worked out the entire story, you still find yourself hurrying through the pages to get to the unavoidable confrontation, just to see how the characters are going to react.
As always, Ms Boyle has written a fabulous historical romance, and I'll be going on to read Mad About the Duke as soon as I can get my hands on it.
If you love a historical romance with something a bit extra; espionage and adventure, then you need to read Elizabeth Boyle. You'll never be disappointed by one of her books.
Title: How I Met My Countess (book #6 in the Bachelor Chronicles)
Genre: Regency Historical Romance
Publisher: Avon (Imprint of HarperCollins)
ISBN: 978-0-06-178349-4
The Romance Author's Verdict: 5/5 Stars
Blurb:
The Earl of Clifton intended one day to find the perfect countess ...
. . . then he met Lucy. The improper daughter of an infamous spy, Lucy Ellyson saved Clifton's life and taught him everything he needed to know about serving his country . . . even how to fall in love. He vowed he would come back and make her his unlikely countess, but the war kept them apart for too long, and when he finally returned, she'd vanished.
Lucy hadn't gone far—living a new life in the heart of Mayfair. But proper Society hasn't taught her how to mend her scandalous ways, and when Clifton happens upon her, she's landed in the sort of trouble that only a hasty marriage can solve. He's more than willing to be the hero she taught him to be and make her his countess, but all too quickly, secrets from their past threaten the passionate love that ignites them both . . .
The day is yet to come when I am disappointed in an Elizabeth Boyle book. Its no small wonder to be able to pick up a book by an author and know without a doubt that you'll be sitting up late at night, frantically flicking pages, just to find out what happens next.
I will admit, this book started off a little slow. When we were introduced to the hero and heroine, the Earl of Clifton, and Lucy Ellyson-cum-Lady Standon, I felt a little in the dark. They had a past together and their accidental meeting on the street was full of innuendo about things I didn't quite get. Then in the following chapter, we flash back seven years earlier. At this point, despite my obvious love of Ms. Boyle's work, I found myself worried. Was this going to be one of those back-and-forth kind of stories that leave me with a headache from trying to remember where and when I should be?
Of course, I shouldn't have worried. From that point the story stays in chronological order leading back to the chance meeting in the street and then tying everything together quite cleverly.The little hooks and hints Ms. Boyle masterfully drops into the story keeps you guessing right up to the last few chapters. And even once you have mostly worked out the entire story, you still find yourself hurrying through the pages to get to the unavoidable confrontation, just to see how the characters are going to react.
As always, Ms Boyle has written a fabulous historical romance, and I'll be going on to read Mad About the Duke as soon as I can get my hands on it.
If you love a historical romance with something a bit extra; espionage and adventure, then you need to read Elizabeth Boyle. You'll never be disappointed by one of her books.
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