Nalini Singh: Angels' Blood

Angels' Blood: D
Elena Deveraux & Raphael
Paranormal: angels, vampires


Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she's the best—but she doesn't know if she's good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear—failure is not an option...even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other…and pull her to the razor's edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn't destroy her, succumbing to Raphael's seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break… (author's website)


When I think of Ms. Nalini Singh, I think of Slave to Sensation, the first of the Psy-Changeling series and the book that shot her into authordom. I loved that book. Loved it. I thought it was innovative and that it featured such a wonderful love story.

Unfortunately... Angels' Blood was nothing like that. I mean, I want to like this book because I like Ms. Singh, but truth be told, I couldn't take the story seriously.

I think the first disconnect I felt with the story was because our hero, Raphael, is an archangel. Yes, the strongest and mightiest being, who has control over vampires, but still, he is an angel. He is goodly and drop-dead-gorgeous with blazing blue eyes and perfect, perfect features, but .... I didn't know angels had sex. I just couldn't get over this fact. When there was heavy "sexual tension" in the air, all I could think was, but... but! He has huge wings sprouting out of his back! I don't care if they're beautiful and covered with angel pixie dust... he has wings!

Then again, what makes it normal to read about vampires (dead, immortal beings with animal-like fangs protruding from one's mouth) and not about angels? That, I can't really tell you. Regardless, I was still weirded out.

The hunt for the rogue archangel was good enough. The new fantasy world that Ms. Singh created was readable enough.

It was the characterization that I found to be lacking, especially between Elena and Raphael. Minus the sexual attraction and lust they had between them, I couldn't really say much about either without sounding like a cliched mess: Elena is fierce. Raphael is deadly and cold.

Perhaps there are only so many ways for character traits to be written, but really, the art of writing is in how these traits are shown, and Ms. Singh has failed to justly portray each character.

Bottom line: Skip.

Catherine Anderson: Morning Light

Morning Light: D
contemp
Loni MacEwen & Clint Harrigan

Crusty Clint Harrigan (of the same Harrigan clan as Anderson's Sun Kissed), is, at 37, a Catholic cowboy who's sworn off romance. The arrival of a cute Catholic clairvoyant in his hometown of Crystal Falls, Ore., challenges his resolve and his skepticism. Seer Loni Kendra MacEwen, still a virgin at 31, is shocked when she bumps into Clint at the grocery store. He's the dream cowboy she's had visions of her whole life, and she has recently connected those visions to visions of Trevor, an endangered boy who (along with his protective Saint Bernard) was lost in the Shoshone Wilderness Area after a river accident killed his mom and stepdad, an Oregon senator. Loni tells a resistant Clint he's the only one who can save Trevor, and soon the hunt is on... (amazon)

As a prelude to this especially snarky entry: I like Catherine Anderson... for the most part. I find that she writes about real characters, people who go through real hardships (not ones like, "I was unloved as a child so now I'm a heartless jerk."). Her traumatized and troubled characters are believable. I feel for them.

Buuuut...

This book wasn't fun to read.

I will surely go to hell for this - sorry, God!- but the main reason I disliked this book was because of the constant references to religion and the Catholic faith. Being a believer, I personally have nothing against Christianity or the Catholic faith. However, it grated on my nerves that the hero and heroine talked about their faith all the time. I understand that topics like that require a lengthy and a hefty discussion. But that doesn't mean I want to read all about it.

By the halfway mark, I wanted to pound on something (insert *headdesk*).

I mean, if (when??? oh drats, I'm getting old..) I am looking for a prospective husband, religion would be a huge (and quite possibly, the only) factor. But ...but .... the constant praying on rosary beads, feeling touched about how each person kneeled to pray, the fact that she's a virgin at 31 (they might have just danced to VIRGIN! VIRGIN! VIRGIN!), the decision to not do the hanky-panky, then doing the hanky-panky (losing control), then talking about talking to Father Mike (Matt?) in confession for repentance... goodness gracious!

Clint, dude. I get you. You're Catholic, you're ethically and morally upright. You're a good citizen. But for the love of God, let's get over that and talk about something else... yes? No? Oh.........dammit..

The book is a hefty one at 422 pgs aaand I wasn't too interested after the halfway point. But I made myself finish... I need to develop more perseverance in finishing books (though I'm pretty good about it most of the time)

Anyway, most of the book is spent looking for Clint's newfound son (what is up with fathers being in the dark about their children? Females: horrible decision you made!), who is lost in the Oregon wilderness after a bad rafting accident. Loni, a psychic person of some sort, sees this, contacts Clint and tells him he needs to search for his son.

Clint clearly thinks Loni is crazy since he doesn't even have a son. (He is soon surprised.)

Loni and Clint go trek through the wilderness together to search for the lost boy. They fall in love. They have epic discussions about their faith. Then they start talking about other things.

Pros in reading this story: I learned a lot about navigating my way through the woods, should I ever get lost.

Cons: their faith! It might have been better if they were both hedonists.

Bottom line: Not worth your read, though Clint is a hunky rancher.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips: This Heart of Mine

This Heart of Mine: D
Chicago Stars #5

Molly Somerville & Kevin Tucker

Ever since she was a teenager, children's book author Molly Somerville has been infatuated with handsome Kevin Tucker, quarterback for her sister's Chicago Stars football team. Unfortunately, Kevin doesn't know she's alive until one fateful weekend when they're marooned together at the family vacation cabin. When Molly gets carried away by her creative imagination and compromises Kevin, the results are disastrous and before the dust settles, Kevin's in trouble with his boss, Molly's in deep trouble with her emotions, and both of them are in danger of losing their hearts… (amazon)

Ms. Phillips. I swear, sometimes you’re a freaking genius and at other times, you’re a complete loony! This book was horrid. Absolutely horrible. It’s a good thing I’d read Match Me If You Can (which is wonderful, comedic, and completely lovable) before reading this and Dream A Little Dream, or else I would have stopped reading your stories.

Let me start off my complete bash by saying that I loved Kevin Tucker. What a dreamboat. However, I didn’t love Molly. In fact, I thought she was a complete loser and not good enough for Kevin in the least .

Even thinking back on the book now (I must have read it a good five months ago), I still don’t understand as to how Kevin “fell in love” with Molly. If this is what happens in real life, I ought to be able to snag Leonardo Di Caprio or Tom Brady in a snap.

Molly has been in lurve with Kevin since forever. The only problem is… Kevin doesn’t know she exists because he’s a gorgeous, athletic, charming, and completely dreamy sounding hunk. Molly is a kind-of-weird, strangely compulsive woman who is antsy with her life. She is quiet and bookish (and there’s nothing wrong with that), but she’s made to sound so unattractive.

So when Molly has the chance to be with Kevin, she takes the ball and runs with it. Literally.

I really can’t explain my disgust with Molly without a few minor spoilers. (highlight with mouse for spoiler)

*spoiler*

Let me tell you that I personally believe that sex has to be consensual – all the freaking time. And what Molly does is pretty idiotic and stupid and retarded and dumb and stupid. ...Have I said stupid?

She, in her idiocy, does really stupid things, and then cannot man up to face problems that life throws at her. She whines, gets depressed, mopes, and is all-around stupid. Please. For someone so smart, you’re really not.

*end spoiler*

Magically, Kevin turns out to be a really understanding guy because if Molly did to me what she did to him, I would have punched her… really hard.

Molly is stressed with life and can’t handle her problems, so Kevin takes it upon himself to go to the campground (?) that his parents used to own. It’s at the camp that Kevin has a concussion and realizes that Molly is the woman for him.

After reading all of the Stars books (this was my last), I see how Phillips has taken ideas from books and recycled them. Nothing in the book surprised me (although it would have been later books that I would have been un-surprised at if I had read in order), the ‘romance’ between the characters were laughable.

However, Phillips does a great job with secondary characters, and their stories. I cannot remember the characters’ names, but the older couple had a really strong connection, and I loved reading their story. It’s probably what got me through this book.

In all, don’t read this unless you want to see a really pitiable heroine and a flawed, incomprehensible relationship. It is, by far, the weakest of the Chicago Star books. Sorry Kevin, even you couldn’t make this book make sense.

Penny McCall: Tag You're It!

Wow, it's been a while. I won't lie to you, life in general has been kicking my ass and to my dismay, I've got like 5 books read in the past two and a half months. It was pretty miserable existence.

I'm back with a review... and unfortunately, the book sucked.





Tag, You're It! : D
Alexandra Scott & FBI Agent Tag Donovan


FBI Agent Tag Donovan isn't your typical hero – oh, he has a bit of a tortured past, and despite his sarcastic wit and laid-back attitude he's making no secret of the fact that his number one priority is finding the man who killed his partner and left Tag fighting for his life. And he'll do whatever it takes to get justice, including using a completely innocent woman.

Alexandra Scott was just minding her own business, studying mountain lions in the Colorado Rockies and keeping her distance from the rest of humanity. It's not that she has anything against other people, she just likes being alone more. What she doesn't like is having an FBI agent tossed out of a low-flying plane and into her life. She’s really not thrilled that he's trying to charm – or trick - her into looking for an infamous buried treasure left over from Colorado's gold rush days. In fact, she’s not too fond of Tag at all – and he’s equally wary of her, because, after all, he wasn’t dropped on her by accident..



Look carefully. That :D is not a smiley face. It's a colon, then the grade that I chose to give this book.

It's just too bad because the title of the book was what caught my eye. The hero's name is Tag - hence the "Tag, you're it!" pun-ish statement (would that be a pun?...hm..). The heroine's name is sexy and flows well.

But other than the names of the h/h, what are some other attributes that make for a good read?

I'd say, plot, suspense (if it is a "romantic suspense"), chemistry, and all-around readability...and I'd say that this books fails in just about all of the categories. I did get through the book and didn't want to write hate mail to the author for wasting a good three hours of my life, but I did have that bitter aftertaste in my mouth. More of, 'What a shitty read. If this can get published, I'm sure I can write type something up blindfolded with my toes and have that get published too.'

The plot wasn’t interesting – something to do with a treasure hunt, which of course, has the potential to be interesting and exciting, however, this story was convoluted with the various motives of characters getting in the way of the main plot, whether it be the romance or the suspense (and it ended up focusing on neither.)

In short, Alexandra and Tag are on a wild goose chase to look for a chest of gold somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Tag is searching for it because the person he is working for (who doesn’t know Tag is an FBI Agent) wants him to; Tag is going along with the plan because he thinks that his “boss” has the answers to who killed his partner during an operation.

Tag is ordered to bring Alexandra into the hunt, but is unsure as to why. There is another team who is searching for the treasure: this team is the “enemy” of Tag and Alex, but have been sent by Tag’s boss as well (confused yet?)

Tag realizes that this treasure holds deep significance when he realizes his boss sent out two separate teams to search for it and when he finds out that his boss has also sent guards to watch Tag and Alex.

It turns out that the treasure hunt is a scheme formulated by Alexandra’s ex-fiance, Bennet Harper. Furious that he was spurned by Alex, he brings her into the hunt. Harper had been investing large amounts of money of the wealthy (Alex’s former social circle). However, he has been steadily losing his investor’s money and building a bad reputation. In order to remedy this, he tells his investors that there is hidden treasure, gets money for investments, sends search teams to “search” for the treasure, and later, planned to tell them that Tag and Alex ran off with the money.

By the time I reached the real plot of the story, I was uninterested and bored, just about skimming pages to finish.

There was an aspect I did like: I liked that the ending mirrored the very beginning; clever way to show closure.

However, the story isn’t worth reading just for that. No romance, no suspense. Just three hundred and twenty-six pages of boredom.

Julie Garwood: Saving Grace

Saving Grace: D

Julie Garwood: Saving Grace

When Lady Johanna learned that she was a widow, she vowed she would never marry again. Only sixteen, she possessed a strength of will that impressed all who looked past her golden-haired beauty. Yet when King John demanded that she remarry – and selected a bridegroom for her – it seemed she must acquiesce, until her beloved foster brother suggested she wed his friend, the handsome Scottish warrior Gabriel MacBain.

At first Johanna was shy, but as Gabriel tenderly revealed the splendid pleasures they would share, she came to suspect that he was falling in love with her gruff new husband. And it was soon apparent to the entire Highlands clam that their brusque, gallant laird had surrendered his heart completely. But now a desperate royal intrigue threatened to tear her from his side – and to destroy the man whose love meant more to her than she had ever dreamed!

There was nothing really wrong with this book, more of that there is nothing interesting to really talk about. This read felt unoriginal and like Ms. Garwood’s other historicals.

Checklist for unoriginal historical:

-Sweet, innocent, good-hearted, unrealistically patient heroine

-Gruff but internally sweet, fierce but tender, masochistic and egotistic but loving Scottish leader as hero

-Weird deranged madman as the arch nemesis of heroine (and therefore eternal enemy of hero)

-Other insignificant events that show that hero loves heroine

I liked that Johanna learned to stand up against her fears (aka arch nemesis) but the read itself was boring and the ending anticlimactic.

Maybe I’m getting old and bitter – jaded from life and hard to please. Heh.

Tara Janzen: Crazy Love

Crazy Love: D
Not enough love.


Crazy Love is the fifth installment of the Steele Street/ Crazy series; the one with the badass Special Defense Force officers running around with their cool, million-horsepower cars.

As much as I tried to love Dylan and Skeeter's story, I just couldn't. I love Dylan and Skeeter separately, but them together? It just doesn't mesh right.

Dylan is back from an Indonesian island, Sumba, and has completed his mission (swiping $17 million from the warlord Hamzah Negara) but was captured and tortured before he escaped.

His latest mission is to swipe the top-secret Godwin files from a government official's home in Washington D.C.

Problem is, Creed is married and has yet to return from his ginormously long honeymoon, Hawkins' wife, Katya, is expecting their first child, Kid is gone... there is no one but Skeeter Bang to fill in as his partner.

This is something that Dylan is (honorably) vehemently opposed to because he is madly in love with her. However, knowing their age difference, not wanting to put her in danger, and not wanting to be in her presence for that long, he crosses her off from his list. However, one thing leads to another, and surprise! Baby Bang is accompanying him to D.C.

It's in D.C. that Dylan and Skeeter realize that Negara's assassins are also in town (coincidence? I think not!). Reason: Negara is pissed that Dylan made off with $17mil of his money and Tony Royce, a former FBI agent who lost his job and blames Dylan, wants revenge. Perfect!

Skeeter and Dylan attempt to retrieve the files, get ambushed, escape, and realize their love for each other in a run-down limo. Then things happen, they return, and they're in love.

Oh yea, the FNG (fucking new guy), Travis and his "love" is introduced. Actually, it's more of Travis flies in to provide back-up for Skeeter and Dylan, is picked up by SDF's leader's (General "Buck" Grant) assistant, Gillian, and have a one-night-stand in her car in a parking lot.

Lame-o.

As I've stated before, when I think of Dylan and Skeeter together, I think JAILBAIT!! I also think, "bleh" because their story just fails to draw me in.

And when I think of Trav-Trav, I think "blech." Maybe it's because Gillian is older than Travis (he's attracted to older women) and perhaps it's because they've already consummated their relationship. I don't buy that they're in love and I probably won't be won over in Trav's book, Crazy Sweet.

However, I do love Skeeter because she is so outrageous, a bit like Nikki.

Here is a description of her:
She was outrageous, the cosmic opposite of invisible. Her pink sweater was sleeveless, practically Day-Glo, and absolutely, positively laminated to her body. Her black leather miniskirt hugged her hips like a second skin. She had Chinese tattoos inked into the upper part of her right arm. Underneath her black tights, a lightning-bolt tattoo streaked up her leg from her ankle and shot over her hip, up under her arm, up around her back, and down over the top of her shoulder. He'd never seen the whole thing, couldn't see it now, but he knew it was there. She had that perfectly silky, perfectly straight, perfectly maddening platinum blond ponytail that went all the way to her butt, and every day she managed to work a little chain mail into her outfit. Today it was her belt and a knife sheath. Add the mirrored sunglasses and the ball cap and she was nothing short of a piece of work.

A piece of work with a button nose and the softest, most perfect skin he'd ever seen on a woman. She was built like a centerfold, dressed like a Goth princess, and had the face of a cherub. Every time he looked at her, he felt like the world's biggest fool.

Great, huh? She is awesome!

Dylan is hot, too.
But together, there's just not enough love.

Skip this one; you won't regret it.

Tara Janzen: Crazy Wild

Crazy Wild, nothing to go wild for: D


The Special Defense Force (SDF) is called in when suspected terrorist Dominika Starkova conceals the whereabouts of a nuclear warhead missile from several buyers whose interests are at best hostile to the U.S. Creed Rivera, surfer and pickpocket turned SDF agent, is assigned to find her and bring her in. But Dominika is actually librarian Cordelia "Cody" Stark from Wichita, who wanted to meet her real father, whose legacy to her was knowledge of the bomb's whereabouts. The CIA is also looking for Cody and trying to get SDF to back off, so the plot changes moment by moment from Creed and Cody's insane escape from the library, pursued by terrorists, the Denver police, and the CIA. Ultimately, the bad guys get theirs, and Creed and Cody become passionate lovers before she is arrested.


Sadly enough, Janzen is unable to make me go wild for Creed and Cody – her implausible plot turns out to be… implausible and the story is somewhat of a drag.

When I first picked Crazy Wild up, I didn’t care about Creed. Who’s Creed? Oh yea, that guy who was working with JT and got beaten up. I put down the book still not caring about Creed.

Creed has returned, after having witnessed the death of JT and is (logically) tormented. He is therefore given an “easy” job of looking after Cody, or Dominika, a supposed terrorist who knows the location of a hidden nuclear bomb.

They venture the streets of Denver and go through the attacks of multiple terrorist attacks, all of whom want to know the location of the bomb.

Things happen, people shoot at each other, Creed and Cody “fall in love,” people get caught, terrorists lose and the good people win… etc etc etc.

The romance is non-existent and after running through the streets with Cody and Creed (three hundred and something pages worth of running through and adventuring), I didn’t find their attraction believable and I didn’t find their romance to be romantic. While Janzen might have been able to pull this off for another couple, it didn’t work here.

Furthermore, the story introduced the to-be couple – Skeeter and Dylan, and as much as I love Dylan and Skeeter separately, when I read of them having feelings for each other, I get the heebie-jeebies and immediately think, “JAILBAIT!” I’m interested to see how Janzen pulls it off (or doesn’t).

Conclusion: Not worth a read. Who cares about them? Not I!