Book Review: Virgin River by Robyn Carr

Virgin River by Robyn Carr
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

1.5 stars.

Gah.

Books like this are the reason that everyone thinks romance novels are sappy, mediocre, clichéd, annoying stories full of he-men, obnoxious heroines, magic penises, magical babies, pregnant ladies, magic pregnant ladies, cute little towns, the majesty of nature and any other trite turn of phrase you can think of.

I picked this up as it had many positive reviews here and in general seems to be considered a classic modern contemporary. But no. I'm actually amazed at all the good press this book has. It's slow, cumbersome, the story never goes anywhere, the writing is mediocre and I never once felt connected to either of the main characters.

Aside from all of the tropes and romance novel clichés in this, it was just generally not that good. But slightly over halfway through it I sat there wondering, when is something going to happen?!

Our heroine, Mel, is whiny, annoying and a generally exasperating character. I understand that she is a grieving widow, but really, I couldn't feel bad for her or mourn with her. The choices she makes and her actions are laughable, and her attitude was not "spunky" or "quirky," but rather tiresome and rude.

Our hero, whose name started with a J (whose name I have already forgotten (Jake?). There were an obscene number of J names in this book), is a proto-typical alpha-male ex-marine he-man character. He can build things, paint things, buys flowers, owns a bar, washes the linens, has heart-to-heart talks with teenage boys, invests his money and just generally can do absolutely anything. He was B-O-R-I-N-G.

In fact, they both were. This entire book was. The secondary characters all came from the classic book Stereotypical Secondary Characters R' Us (the Country Living Edition).

I'm only giving this 1.5 stars because the writing was somewhat passable. And I've certainly also read worse things.

Disappointing. And I was really looking forward to discovering a new contemporary author with a long backlist. No such luck here.



View all my reviews

Book Review: The Search by Nora Roberts

The Search by Nora Roberts

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This is the first Nora Roberts' book I've ever read. I picked it up because it's a Romantic/Suspense (which I love), it involves dogs (which I love) and it had an overwhelmingly good review on both Goodreads and All About Romance.

If this is considered a good Nora Roberts book, then I don't think I'll be picking up anymore.

The basic story is of Fiona, a woman who escaped from a serial killer 10 years earlier, even though that killer managed to kill her fiance, and who has now moved to the islands in upstate Washington to create a new life for herself training dogs. Simon is a surly wood-worker who has recently moved to the islands himself. The issue? A copy-cat serial killer has recently started killing and Fiona may be on his list of victims.

Neither of our main characters are particularly likable. Both Fiona and Simon are prickly and obtuse characters. As much as I liked some of their banter, overall I didn't like either of them, and thus didn't really care too much about their lives or their romance.

And what about the romance? There isn't much. Simon seems puzzled by his attraction to Fiona, whom he considers to be not as "beautiful" as his usual taste. Fiona is, understandably, emotionally withdrawn and hides herself in her work with dogs and with her search-and-rescue team. Yet, when Simon drops in she tells him all about her past and her fears without any qualms.

Their relationship seems more grounded in the great sex they seem to have rather than any kind of emotional connection. Obviously Ms. Roberts is going for realism in a relationship in this novel, and that is all well and good, except it's not the reason I like reading romance novels.

Some of the emotional exposition Fiona is always rambling on about also drove me nuts. Firstly; no one says things like that. And very few people even think things like that through all the way. And secondly; there are too many of them and they slow down the dialogue.

A good novel should show you the characters' feelings and emotions, not tell you point-blank about them. And then continue to hit you over the head with them some more.

The mystery? Not bad. The overall plot device has been used before and isn't a bad one, yet here I just found it to be heavy-handed and caused the book to become more dense than it was. I ended up skipping the pages that were from the serial killer's point of view because by the end of the book there were too many of them and they really didn't add anything to the story.

The exposition of our main characters about this serial killer read like a poorly-written episode of Criminal Minds - and added nothing to either the book or their characterizations.

Some of the secondary characters were entertaining and well written, and the dogs are great, but a good pet/sidekick does not a good book make.

Frankly it took me almost a month to read this book, and I kept putting it down to read things in between. A good suspense novel shouldn't allow you to do that. By the time I neared the end I decided to finish it simply to have finished it, and not because I particularly wanted to.


Why only 2 stars instead of 1? Because despite all my complaints it is a well-written book. But not good enough for me to recommend.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh

Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

What can I say about this book - other than WOW! I started it and finished it in one day (at 2am) because I couldn't put it down. And then could barely stop for dinner. 4.5 stars out of 5.

If you are a fan of Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series already then you will love this book. If you have not read any of the psy-changeling books before I'm not sure I would recommend you starting with this one. Not because Singh doesn't ground and explain her world well (she does), but mainly because the characters in this novel are ones we have seen and followed over the course of many books so far, and finally getting to see their side of the story is what makes this novel so wonderful. Truly, I would recommend starting with Slave to Sensation, the first book in this series.
Kiss of Snow is book #10 in the Psy-Changeling Series, but they don't need to be read in order, Singh builds her world well and it is easy enough to follow as a new reader.

The shadow war between the Psy Council and the changelings is heating up, with more intrigue, action and altercations in this book. Hawke, the SnowDancer pack leader and alpha is busy trying to keep his wolves safe. However, he is constantly tormented by his attraction for Sienna Lauren, a Psy defector who has been living with SnowDancer for years now. Problematically in this relationship is both Hawke and Sienna's inability to truly trust their emotions and take action on their feelings.

Sienna has this problem because she still holds to part of the Silence protocol because of her Cardinal abilities and also partially because emotions are still new to her. The few mentions of the love Sienna has for the sensual sensory pleasures of food are a very poignant reminder of just how limiting Silence is, and how far Sienna has come since defecting.

Hawke has a few issues with this developing relationship. First and foremost is the fact that he is the pack leader and his pack will always come first. But equally troublesome is his inability to see Sienna as a woman, instead he sees her as the young girl she was when she first came to the pack. Also an issue is Hawke's past and we do learn more about it in Kiss of Snow.

This is a great read. Not only are we dealing with two characters that readers have come to love over previous novels, but they are both equally compelling and complex characters in their own right. Their relationship feels real and true to the characters. Their journey towards each other feels real, tangible and authentic.

The side stories of Walker Lauren and the healer Lara, as well as the continuing relationships of Indigo and Drew, Judd and Brenna, Mercy and Riley and, of course, Lucas and Sascha are an added bonus and a snapshot into the fabulous world that Signh has created with these novels. The slices we see of Sienna interacting with her brother Toby and the other children in the den are sweet and touching. They underscore the true horror of Silence and also how far all of the Lauren's have come.

Kiss of Snow will grab you from the start and not let go, the emotional arc of our two protagonists, the stories that surround them, the intrigue, action and politics, all are stellar and combine to create a wonderful novel. Singh has created a unique and magical world, one that exists not so far off from ours, but with a vibrancy and distinctness that is rare among urban fantasy and romance novels. She is an extraordinary writer, and now I will have to simply wait and see what other fabulous things she has in store for her readers in the future!

(Book 4 of the Guildhunter series, Archangel's Blade , is slated to be released in September, so I don't need to wait too long!)



View all my reviews

Book Review: The Mad Bad Duke by Jennifer Ashley

The Mad, Bad Duke by Jennifer Ashley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Jennifer Ashley's writing. Although you can clearly see how her writing style has shifted and become more complex in her newer works it does not effect the whimsical writing style and story lines of her earlier books.

Meagan Tavistock is a simple country girl who gets caught in between a love spell and Grand Duke of Nvengaria, Alexander. Intrigues, magic and spies abound in this book, but it never loses sight of the main point- the romance between Meagan and Alexander.

Sweet, touching, entertaining and smoking hot, this is one of my favorite romances to reread when I'm in the mood for an uplifting story.

Well done Ms. Ashley!

View all my reviews

Book Review: Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh

Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Overall this was a fabulous read. A pleasant surprise from the usual paranormals out there, and Nalini Singh even manged to make angels an acceptable category of hunk.

Well paced, well written and an unique and interesting world parallel to ours, but with some major differences, is where book one of Singh's new series takes place.

I've really enjoyed her other Psy-Changeling series, so I was more than willing to give her new world a try.

This is a world with Vampires, Angels, Archangels and "Hunters" that hunt the rouge vampires at the behests of the angels.

Elena is our main character, she is the prototypical "spunky" alpha-female. Sometimes she was a bit too spunky for me. When faced with an archangel that most of the city fears sometimes reticence is the better part of valor. And mouthing off to an immortal is not the brightest thing to do.

Raphael, the Archangel, is suitably hunky, arrogant and typically alpha-male. Yet, Singh manages to make him human enough that we can like and empathize with him anyway. I quite like Raphael. He is protective of his people, merciful yet equally harsh.

Together they make quite a pair while they hunt down a rogue archangel set to take out New York City. Although I had some issues with the characterization of both our characters, I felt the romance between our two leads was a bit strained at time- less of a romance and more lust - but I think that books 2 and 3 of the series should expand that relationship adequately.

I won't give away any of the plot, as it was fast paced and quite interesting, but suffice it to say I really enjoyed this book. A solid, solid entry into the paranormal market, and I can't wait to start reading the second one!
View all my reviews