Dangerous Games by Keri Arthur (‘Riley Jenson Guardian’ series Book #4)

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - 384 pages - Published: March 27, 2007 - ISBN: 0553589598 - Published By: Dell

 

Dangerous Games

by Keri Arthur

‘Riley Jenson Guardian’ series Book #4

In Melbourne’s urban underworld, there’s a nightclub for every fantasy and desire. But for Riley Jenson, one suck club has become an obsession. Riley, a rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, hasn’t come in pursuit of pleasure but of an unknown killer who’s been using the steamy nightspot as his hunting grounds.

Leave it to Riley to find the only ticket into the heavily guarded club: Jin, a deliciously hot-bodies bartender who might just provide the key to unmasking a killer unlike any other in the Directorate’s experience. Taunted by a former colleague turned rogue, distracted by an ex-lover’s attentions, Riley follows Jin into a realm of pleasure she could never have imagined. And as danger and passion ignite, a shocking mystery begins to unravel – one where Riley herself becomes the ultimate object of desire.

Review: This one had me on my toes. Compared to the first 3, I liked this one way more! She stands up for herself, and kicks ass doing it. I love the innter-conflicts that she fights as well as the physical ones. She rose above what others thought of her, fighting for her life. It had plenty of sex, if not love, it had all the suspense and action I could ask for. Excellent!

Rating: .5

Tempting Evil by Keri Arthur (‘Riley Jenson Guardian’ series Book #3)

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: February 27, 2007 - ISBN: 0553588478 - Published By: Dell

 

Tempting Evil

by Keri Arthur

‘Riley Jenson Guardian’ series Book #3

In a world of sorcery and seduction, the nights bring out the beautiful, the damned, and the desired. Here, Riley Jenson is on her own – half werewolf, half vampire, working for an organization created to police the supernatural races. Trusting her superiors and lovers barely more than she trusts her worst enemies, Riley plays by her own set of rules. Her latest mission: to enter the heavily guarded pleasure palace of a criminal named Deshon Starr – a madman – scientist who’s been messing around in the gene pool for decades.

With two sexy men – a cool, seductive vampire and an irresistibly hot wolf – vying for her attention, Riley must keep focused. Because saving the world from Deshon Starr will mean saving herself – from the trap that’s closing around her.

Review: Another book I couldn’t put down! Arthur is wicked when inventing her characters. Although very imagintive, she describes them so well, you actually see them in your mind, almost to the point that they can be real. When her characters are upset, furious, or just plain mad, you can feel what they feel, the shivers that Riley gets… Riley’s personal life, as well as professional, has taken a new turn, and I can’t wait to find out what those turns will bring her in Book #4!

Rating: .75

Kissing Sin by Keri Arthur (‘Riley Jenson Guardian’ series Book #2)

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - ISBN: 055358846X - Published By: Dell

 

Kissing Sin

by Keri Arthur

‘Riley Jenson Guardian’ series Book #2

From Melbourne’s gleaming skyscrapers to its throbbing nightclubs, Riley Jenson’s world is raging with danger and desire. A drop-dead-gorgeous werewolf–with a touch of vamp coursing in her blood–Riley works for an organization created to police the supernatural races. But when she wakes up naked and bruised in a barren alley, she knows only that she must run for her life.

Within moments Riley collides with the sexiest man she’s ever seen: steely, seductive Kade, who is fighting a life-and-death battle of his own. With old lovers and enemies gathering around her, Riley knows she is being pursued by a new kind of criminal. Because in Riley’s blood is a secret that could create the ultimate warrior–if only she can survive her own dangerous desires….

Review: Just as UNPUTDOWNABLE as the first! The first book kicked the story/series in high-gear, and this book added more to the fact! While most of the characters were the same as the first, there were in no way lacking, the scenery the same and again, lacked in no way. And the twists during this one… holy good god! And after the one thing that happened, I balled my head off, right along with Riley, and we both felt the same way. Arthur grips her reader right from the start, and even with the last sentence of the last paragraph of the last chapter, she doesn’t let up. A definite ‘must read’!

Rating:

Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur (‘Riley Jenson Guardian’ series Book #1)

Format: Mass Market Paperbound 416 Pages - Published: December 26, 2006 - ISBN: 0553588451 - Published By: Spectra

Full Moon Rising

by Keri Arthur

‘Riley Jenson Guardian’ series Book #1

In this exciting debut, author Keri Arthur explodes onto the supernatural scene with a sexy, sensuous tale of intrigue and suspense set in a world where legends walk and the shady paths of the underworld are far more sinister than anyone envisioned.

A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.…

Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful–and delectably naked–vamp who raises her temperature like never before.

In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior–by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind–and just how much it needs her.

Review: UNPUTDOWNABLE !!!  No two ways about it! The setting is in Australia, a completely different place from the norm of where most paranormal romance settings usually take place. The characters are in no way superficial, and she describes the setting so vividly, you could swear you’re in Australia right with the characters! The action was top-notch, the suspense keeps you turning the pages, and the sex scenes… hot, hot, hot!!! They call Keri Arthur a rising star… and after reading Book #1, then #2, I totally agree with that statement. If you’re into paranormal, this is definitely a series you don’t want to miss!

Rating:

HeartSick by Chelsea Cain (‘Archie and Gretchen’ series Book #1)

Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages - Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur; Reprint edition (July 29, 2008) - Language: English - ISBN-10: 0312947151 - ISBN-13: 978-0312947156

HeartSick

by Chelsea Cain

‘Archie and Gretchen’ series Book #1

Love hurts. Sometimes it’s torture.

A Living Nightmare.

Portland detective Archie Sheridan spent years tracking Gretchen Lowell, a beautiful and brutal serial killer. In the end, she was the one who caught him … and tortured him … and then let him go. Why did Gretchen spare Archie’s life and then turn herself in? This is the question that keeps him up all night – and the reason why he has visited Gretchen in prison every week since.

A Deadly Obsession…

Meanwhile, another series of Portland murders has Archie working on a brand-new task force … and heading straight into the line of fire. The local news is covering the case 24/7, and it’s not long before Archie enters a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the killer – and his former captor. But this time, it’s up to Archie to save himself…

HeatSick at Amazon.com

HeartSick at Chapters.ca

HeartSick at Amazon.ca

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Review: A deadly nightmare you can only pray to wake up from…

Archie Sheridan is a detective with the Portland PD. During his rookie year as a detective, eleven years ago, he’d joined the task force that had been set up to capture the serial killer known as The Beauty Killer. For years, they tried to capture the killer, who evaded them, until a beautiful woman came into the picture. She approached the task force, introduced herself as a psychologist, and baited Archie until she kidnapped him, and tortured him. She kills Archie, but, unlike her previous victims, she brought him back, dialed 9-1-1 and turned herself in. And yet, she’s not done torturing Archie, and he knows it.

Two years later, divorced from his wife, refusing to see his kids and addicted to prescription drugs, Archie is asked to head a new task force for a new serial killer, one who kidnaps teenage girls, strangles them, rapes them, douses them with bleach and dumps them in the river. With barely any clues or leads, they are on the hunt for the After School Strangler.

Meanwhile, Susan Ward, feature writer for the Herald, is assigned to follow Archie and write a feature about him. Dogging his heels, Susan sees things most reporters wouldn’t unless they were to stumble upon a body themselves. For Susan, the After School Strangler hits close to home, for, years before, she’d actually gone to one of the murdered teenagers.

And all the while, hunting for a new serial killer, Archie continues his visits with Gretchen in prison every Sunday. The reason? Supposedly because she will give up a body of one of her victims; name and location of burial, but it has to be Archie. Does he go simply for closer to her victims families, or is there something more? Will they catch the After School Strangler before the fourth victim is found dead?

Incredible novel! Throughout the book, we visit Archie’s past, during the time when Gretchen tortures him. The torture is described as such that the reader feels it, and it’s gut-wrenching! She not only does a number on his body, but fractures his mind as well. Gretchen is such the narcissistic psychopath that just listening to the way she talks gives you the shivers while your stomach jumps in revulsion. Archie is very much now a broken person in mind as well as body, for her marks may heal, but they scar, both ways.

Susan, the reporter, is as screwed up as Archie, in a totally different manner. Having lost her father at 15, she rebelled, and hasn’t been the same since.

And while this new serial killer is nowhere as bad as Gretchen, the killer is just as screwed up in the head as she is.

There may not be much action in this novel except at the end, it’s the mind games and past torture that really grip you. You continue reading, as fascinated as you are repulsed, and even though you close the book, thinking there’s no way you can continue reading it, you’ll pick it right back up, wondering what else Gretchen does to Archie, wondering who the new serial killer is. I sooooo can’t wait to get my hands on Sweetheart, book #2 in the series.

Rating:

Bad Penny by Sharon Sala (‘Cat Dupree’ series Book #3)

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages - Publisher: Mira (November 1, 2008) - Language: English - ISBN-10: 0778325962 - ISBN-13: 978-0778325963

 

Bad Penny

by Sharon Sala

‘Cat Dupree’ series Book #3

She doesn’t go looking for trouble … it just finds her

The scar across her neck ties her to the past

     Cat Dupree would love nothing more than to settle down and build a life with fellow bounty hunter Wilson McKay. But Solomon Tutuola – the man who murdered her father and slashed her throat when she was thirteen – haunts her even from the grave.

     An investigator from Mexico is tracking down the person who is responsible for Tutuola’s death – and the trail leads directly to Cat. To add to her bad luck, a junkie with a vendetta is stalking WIlson and is willing to kill anyone who gets in the way of his revenge.

     Desperate to start their future together, Cat and Wilson turn the manhunt around – vowing to do whatever it takes to find freedom from the past and the scars that have damaged them both.

Bad Penny at Amazon.com

Bad Penny at Chapters.ca

Bad Penny at Amazon.ca

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17-Nov-08 to 19-Nov-08

Review: Fast-paced, well written ending to an excellent trilogy!

Sala continues Cat’s story from the last novel. After Wilson’s shooting, they are now back at his parents wranch while he recuperates. Cat never understood how much Wilson actually meant to her until she almost lost him – and neither want to experience it again. Both have agreed to leave their bounty hunting careers behind and start fresh, with a family.

And while Cat doesn’t go looking for trouble, trouble sure finds her. First, she picks up a young hitchhicker with a bleeding nose and a fat lip. Seems she’s been taking abuse by her now ex-boyfriend and was headed for the station to buy a ticket and get out while she still could. However, the ex-boyfriend didn’t agree with that and went looking for her, continuously ramming Cat’s SUV with his truck. Thankfully, the worst were bruises.

A few days later, on the way back with parts for Wilson’s dad, Carter, a storm sweeps in, tornado and all. Cat gets caught up in it, literally. When Wilson goes looking for her in the aftermath, he finds his truck nose first into a pond. Twice he went down and back up, terrified. He can’t get the doors open; the truck is too far in the muck below. On his third attempt, he notices the windshield is gone, and so is Cat. The thought of losing her is unbearable, but he refuses to give up. Outside the pond, he finds a book, then a piece of was once her shirt, then finding Cat as she’s walking to him, completely naked and covered in muck, more bruises and cuts. Seems when the tornado sucked out the windshield of the truck, Cat was sucked out with it. All who hear/see the story believe it was nothing short of a miracle keeping her alive.

You’d think that would be enough – no way! While in the hardware store with Dorothy, Wilson’s mother, a crazy madman wielding a fun bursts in, intent on killing his ex-wife; if he can’t have her, no one can. Cat’s instincts kick into overdrive, knowing that once he shoots his wife, he’ll turn the gun on the rest of them. Pushing Dorothy down, she picks up a shovel and brains him; not once, but twice. The first to bring him down, the second to keep him down.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Franks, the man who shot Wilson is still at large and evading authorities. He’s on a mission – killing Wilson, and he’ll stop at nothing to accomplish it, mowing down anyone who stands in his way.

And while all this is going on, Homicide Detective Luis Montoya in Mexico, has been handed the Solomon Tutuola case; the man who Cat finally caught and killed for revenge in the last book, Cut Throat. He’s on a mission to find Tutuola’s killer. What he wasn’t prepared for was Cat.

This book was incredible, unputdownable, and fantastic! Not once did Cat and Wilson go looking for trouble, but trouble found them; they weren’t working on a case, they weren’t after bad men. All they wanted was to start a life of pure bliss together. But that trouble kept getting in the way. But even with all the trouble, we get good pieces of news along with sighs of happiness for them as well.

The characters are incredible! Cat, still as strong a woman as ever, finally realizing how much she really loves Wilson, and his family. She feels like a part of them, and now that Tutuola has been taking care of and her revenge is now at rest, neither are clouding her feelings anymore, and the love she feels for Wilson is deep and profound, nearly scaring her to death. Wilson, even while recovering from a near-fatal bullet wound, is determined to prove to Cat that she belongs with him and his family, that she deserves to be happy. You feel emotions so profound in this book, you choke up when Cat does. When Wilson thought he lost her after the tornado, the grief is unbearable, even to the reader. Jimmy’s determination to finish what he started is scary as hell. I’m most certainly glad I don’t have anyone like him after me or anyone I know. He gave me the creeps, big time. And even while trying to track down Tutuola’s killer, Detective Montoya has drama of his own in his life, with an upset wife, and the adoption of an 18-month-old baby girl.

Actions scenes left this reader breathless, wondering how many lives Cat actually has. And through it all, you’re rooting on Cat and Wilson. This story was incredible and the perfect ending to a wonderful trilogy. The epilogue had me smiling from the first sentence to the last. I’m so unbelievably glad that Cat has finally found happiness. She and Wilson are perfect for each other.

Rating:

Deadly Harvest by Heather Graham (‘Flynn Brothers’ trilogy Book #2)

  Deadly Harvest by Heather Graham

‘Flynn Brothers’ trilogy Book #2

Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages – Publisher: Mira (November 1, 2008 ) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0778325601 – ISBN-13: 978-0778325604

Back of the Book reads:

A dark legend comes to life

When a young woman is found dead in a field, dressed up as a scarecrow with a slashed grin and a broken neck, the residents of Salem, Massachusetts begin to fear that the infamous Harvest Man is more than just a rumor. But out-of-town cop Jeremy Flynn doesn’t have time for ghost stories. He’s in town on another investigation, looking for a friend’s wife, who mysteriously vanished in a cemetery.

Complicating his efforts is local occult expert Rowenna Cavanaugh, who launches her own investigation, convinced that a horror from the past has crept into the present and is seducing women to their deaths. Jeremy uses logic and solid police work. Rowenna depends on intuition. But they both have the same goal: to stop the abductions and locate the missing women before Rowenna herself falls prey to the Harvest Man’s dark seduction.

Deadly Harvest at Amazon.com

Deadly Harvest at Chapters.ca

Deadly Harvest at Amazon.ca

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8-Nov-08 to 10-Nov-08

Review: A legend/myth brought to life by a madman…

Jeremy Flynn, a serious man who doesn’t believe in what he can’t see or touch, is a private investigator with his brothers’ firm. The middle brother, he was once a police diver but quit when the last straw was when a drunk foster father drove the family into the river, drowning everyone inside. Jeremy had rescued Billy, who had been still alive when found, but pronounced at the hospital DOA. The foster children had all been tied in the back of the van; not belted in, tied. He quit, became a private investigator and began a children’s charity for orphaned and abused children. (You will get a lot of that in Book #1, Deadly Night.)

Rowenna Cavanaugh, good friend of Kendall Montgomery (Book #1 – now Aidan Flynn’s wife,) a bestselling author and world-reknown speaker, is a complete opposite of Jeremy. While he prefers cold hard facts, she prefers to discuss the unknown, the unexplanable. And for some reason, using her intuition, she can somehow imagine herself in someone else’s shoes; feel what the other saw/felt. Completely unexplanable, and don’t know how she does it, she trusts it.

For the last couple of weeks, Jeremy and Rowenna have been on radio and TV talk shows (mostly radio), debating just about everything. Ro felt an attraction to Jeremy when she met him. Jeremy, on the other hand, thought of Rowenna as slightly absurd – how can she possibly believe in the unexplained and so on. But he did respect her for her debating abilities.

On her last night in New Orleans, Jeremy receives a call from his former diving partner and friend, Brad. He and his wife were in Salem, Massachusetts, trying to put their marriage back together after he cheated on his wife, Mary. Mary had forgiven him, much to her parents chagrin, and they had decided to take a vacation to Salem for Halloween. But Mary has disappeared, Brad is the prime suspect, and he’s beside himself, looking and wanting Jeremy’s help. So Jeremy follows Rowenna to Salem, her hometown.

Investigating Mary’s disappearance, Jeremy uses the more conventional way of investigation, while Rowenna uses her intuition and research. Ro, through her dreams and intuition, is convinced that what is known as the Harvest Man is behind it. The Harvest Man was believed to be a myth/legend, but with more research, she discovers that someone is trying to repeat stories of the past. Jeremy doesn’t believe it – can’t believe that a myth is to blame – and that a flesh and blood killer is who they’re searching for – and someone local to boot. No one wants to believe that – and most don’t, until it’s almost too late.

**Incredible second book – better than the first!

I felt a click between Rowenna and Jeremy right from the start, no matter how much Jeremy tried to fight it. Both are hardheaded, and yet still manage to come to the same conclusions, regardless of how they get there. Brad was very believable as a loving husband trying to correct his past wrongs. You feel his angst, his belief that Mary is still alive – he loves her that much. With the author’s descriptions of scenery and characters, you immediately like the place and them and, like the characters, don’t want to believe someone local is being the disappearances and murders – you like them that much.

The mystery is great, and I liked the legend of the Harvest Man. Different from what I’ve read before, I enjoyed the history of Salem. Like some of the characters, you get the chills at some scenes (especially when a suspect is named Tim Richardson, the name of my parents late nextdoor neighbour, LOL!) Steamy love scenes, really great action scenes, excellent mystery all wrapped with beautiful scenery, great characters, and a touch of paranormal make for an excellent read! High recommendations!

Rating:

One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon (‘Dark-Hunter’ series Book #13)

  One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

‘Dark-Hunter’ series Book #13

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages – Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks (November 4, 2008 ) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0312947062 – ISBN-13: 978-0312947064

Back of the Book reads:

In the world of the Dark-Hunters, all hell’s breaking loose…

Stryker has sent word and is gathering his forces.

While the world carries on unawares, Stryker, who leads an army of demons and vampires, is plotting an all-out onslaught against his enemies – which, unfortunately for us, includes the entire human race.

To avenge his sister, Stryker prepares to annihilate the Dark-Hunters. But things go awry when his oldest enemy returns. Enter his ex-wife, Zephyra. Just when he thought nothing could stop him, he’s now embroiled in a centuries-old war with a shrew who gives new meaning to pain.

New battle lines are being drawn as the Dark-Hunters rally for a final showdown on ONE SILENT NIGHT.

One Silent Night at Amazon.com

One Silent Night at Chapters.ca

One Silent Night at Amazon.ca

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7-Nov-08 to 8-Nov-08

Review: Not completely disappointed, but it’s cutting it really close!

Okay, let me begin by saying I’m a huge fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon. I was first introduced to her Dark-Hunter series with Seize the Night, loved it, went back and got the rest of the series and have been following it ever since. Let me continue that by saying: although the story and plot was good, I was disappointed and found the book overpriced.

I paid $8.09 CND for OSN – I have an iRewards card through Chapters. I felt like I was cheated. I opened the book, saw the size of the font and though, WTH! If the font was the usual size, no way would the book be any bigger than maybe 200 pages. That is the size of a Harlequin romance, for crying out loud! A novella! Not impressed with that. Automatically it put me in a frame of mind that didn’t favour the book.

With that said, I’ll jump into it without giving too much away. Kenyon warned that this book is a bridge between the last and the next books. It most certainly is that, but I wasn’t thrilled.

Stryker is the bad guy – plain and simple. He has a happily-ever-after; while that’s not a completely good thing, it’s not a completely bad thing either. That’s not why I picked up OSN. Stryker is forced to take the souls of humans to stay alive: we already knew that. We may not be happy with it, but we understand it. But the whole ‘pitty me, Dad vowed to rape, torture and kill my pregnant wife while I watched so I better leave her to protect her’ BS was just that – a big butt-load of BS. That card shouldn’t have been played. Is it supposed to drag sympathy from the reader? Um, if Zephyra was a nicer person, perhaps, maybe. And that’s a big Maybe!

I hated Zephyra, with a capital ‘H’. The synopsis called her a shrew… oh, she’s much more than that, but unfortunately,  I need to watch my language; I’ve a few names to call her, but I have kids present. I understand why she’d hate Stryker. Should he have told her the entire truth behind why he was leaving her? YES! D’uh. She turned to Artemis, who gave shelter for her and her daughter, Medea. She did what she had to do to keep her daughter and herself alive. Do I commend that? What mother wouldn’t. However, the hell she lived through shouldn’t have been enough to turn her into the cruel b*tch that she now is. Stryker doesn’t do torture, but Zephyra seems to revel in it, especially towards Jared, a Sephiroth. Jared had been offered to Zephyra to keep her from killing a gallu demon. She took custody of him and killed the demon anyway, refusing to be anyone’s slave. She has control over Jared because of a collar previously placed on him, but what I don’t get is her continual torture directed at him. She’s just plain cruel. I can understand cruelty if there’s something behind it. In Jared’s case, from her, there is none. But his traitorous act that pretty much wiped out the rest of his kind is the reason why he’s wearing the collar, that he’s supposed to be tortured for all eternity because of that act, and that act plus the thousands of years of torture has him in the frame of mind that goes along with: I just want to die. If you ask me, that hand is being overplayed. Enough already! Medea seems to be the only one of two in that bunch that has a compassionate bone in her body. I’m curious to see what becomes of her. LOL, wouldn’t it seem fitting if she becomes Nick’s heroine? I liked Davyn, even though he’s one of Stryker’s commanders. While he needs to feed on the souls of humans to stay alive, he is Anglekos: he only steals the souls of evil humans, those who deserve to die; ei: rapists, pedophiles, murderers. The lowest of the low. And strangely enough, he reminds me of my brother, Davin, who may be a big teddy bear but who’d do anything to protect his family.

So, since Stryker doesn’t care if he lives or dies now that everyone he’s ever loved is dead, he does something really stupid so that he can finally get rid of Ash and Nick. And wouldn’t you know it – that act comes back to bite him in the ass. What’s surprising is how Stryker, Ash and Nick join forces to beat back the really, really bad guy, to save the world. And yet, Stryker and Ash, even though they respect each other, are still at an impasse; Stryker’s daimons need to feed on the souls of humans to stay alive, Ash and his Dark-Hunters are protecting human kind. But there’s a curve – daimons are now feeding off gallu demons – and can now walk in daylight. That has me curious to see what’s going to happen and I’ll be continuing the series. And Nick… He is now a Malachai, a supremely powerful creature. And until my curiosity is sated, I will always want to know if Nick and Ash can get passed what happened to Cherise, Nick’s mother.

Now that we have a few glimpses of what’s to come, I can close my review by saying that I am far from satisfied. I have never, in all the DH novels, given any of them lower than a 4 star. This one’s a solid 3, and that seems somehow generous, which is very, very, unlike me.

Rating:

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (‘Twilight’ saga Book #1)

  Twilight  by Stephenie Meyer

‘Twilight’ saga Book #1

Reading level: Young Adult – Paperback: 544 pages – Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers (September 6, 2006) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0316015849 – ISBN-13: 978-0316015844

Back of the Book reads:

About three things I was absolutely positive.

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him – and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be – that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

DEEPLY SEDUCTIVE AND EXTRAORDINARILY SUSPENSEFUL, TWILIGHT IS A LOVE STORY WITH A BITE.

Twilight at Amazon.com

Twilight at Chapters.ca

Twilight at Amazon.ca

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1-Nov-08 to 2-Nov-08

Review: A fun, light read that’s not just for teens!

At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of Bella. As a seventeen-year-old with divorced parents, I thought her quite mature… considering she had pretty much fended for herself and her mother, who is very forgetful and eccentric. And now she’s going to visit her father in his small hometown of Forks, Washington. She doesn’t want to go – she hates it there – but she’s determined.

While she makes friends easily enough, but for some reason becomes fascinated with Edward Cullen. He, and his brothers and sisters, aren’t like the rest of the students, and for some strange reason, he seems to dislike her – extremely. And she can’t figure out what she’s done to be on the receiving end of such dislike. But what she doesn’t know is that Edward is attracted to her as well, and is fighting it; fighting it hard.

As their relationship grows, Bella figures out what Edward really is: a vampire. Does it frighten her? Not in the least. Edward doesn’t frighten her at all. She wants to know more about him and his family, for the more time they spend together, the more she’s falling in love with him. And he is falling in love with her.

But she’s determined to get to know him, and fighting it was futile for Edward. And so, he showed her – everything but feeding. I was kind of glad about that – may have been too soon for a first novel, I think.

It was fun watching their relationship grow. I think my favourite part was in the restaurant, where, no matter how much the waitress flirted, Edward only had eyes and attention for Bella. He reminded me very much of my husband, who does the exact same thing. He takes me to restaurants to spend time with me, away from home and kids, not flirt with the staff. I like that and can’t get enough of it.

I liked the idea of being in Bella’s head while you’re experiencing everything with the main character. You’ll find Edward just as complex as Bella does. The writing is clear and precise, easy to follow (almost a little too easy). However, I think there could have been more…

Bella has Edward and quite a few males in her class drooling over her, even though she doesn’t find herself pretty. I think the author should boost her self-esteem a little. Sure, everyone complains about their looks, but I was kind of getting tired of Bella’s reaction and non-reaction. Edward and his family are portrayed as ‘perfect’. I think the author should have added flaws for them… perfect becomes very boring very quickly and I was getting tired reading about perfect hair, perfect eyes, perfect body, perfect everything. I found that, by the middle of the book, I had to force myself a little too keep going; my attention was wandering. As a bookaholic, that’s not a good thing for me. I need substance, action, a little more intrigue, to keep me going.

Despite that, I thought it a light, fun read. Did I like it? Sure, for what it was. Will I continue with the series? More than likely… I’m curious to see where the series goes.

Rating:

Dark of the Moon by P.J. Parrish (‘Louis Kincaid’ series Book #1)

  Dark of the Moon by P.J. Parrish

‘Louis Kincaid’ series Book #1

Paperback: 432 pages – Publisher: Pinnacle (January 1, 2005) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0786017155 – ISBN-13: 978-0786017157

Back of the Book reads:

THE FIRST LOUIS KINCAID THRILLER!

New York Times bestselling author P.J. Parrish has kept readers riveted with one gripping Louis Kincaid thriller after another. Now see where it all began, as Kincaid investigates murder in a sleepy, secret-ridden southern town where some believe the past is best left behind…

Thirty years ago, a young man mysteriously vanished from rural Black Pool, Mississippi. Now his skeleton has been discovered in a murky swamp, a length of rope entwined in its bones…

Detective Louis Kincaid doesn’t regret having left the hometown that always treated him as an outcast. But nothing could have prepared him for the ominous reaction of the locals when he returns to investigate the decades-old slaying. With a veil of suspicion and terror descending over the quiet streets of Black Pool, Kincaid is about to uncover a trail of blood-chilling evil as he hunts a shadowy killer whose grisly work is far from over…

Dark of the Moon at Amazon.com

Dark of the Moon at Chapters.ca

Dark of the Moon at Amazon.ca

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26-Oct-08 to 29-Oct-08

Review: Incredible!

It’s 1983, and Louis Kincaid has returned to Black Pool, Mississippi, by request, as his mother is dying. Hired as the county detective might have been a step up for him, but Kincaid is half-black, half-white, and had they known that, he most definitely wouldn’t have been hired.

As a skeleton is exposed, Kincaid is on the hunt: he wants to know who it was so that his/her remains can be put to rest. But as Kincaid digs, his investigation goes beyond that: and 30-year-old case of a missing fifteen-year-old black boy is a clue in the right direction, but is it prudent to continue investigating?

The more he digs, the more complicated the case gets, and soon Kincaid is unsure of who he can trust and what he should do. Should he leave it alone and let the past remain where it is, or should he seek justice while everyone is pushing Kincaid to keep his mouth shut.

The book had me intrigued right from the beginning. I mean, you read history books and watch movies and documentaries, but unless you’ve lived it, you don’t really understand why everything was like that back then. I thought the authors did an awesome job bring the past to life, what it was like back then, how people held things against you simply because of the colour of your skin. I’d love to say I’m glad times have changed, but sometimes I don’t know if they’ve changed all that much, or for the better either.

I thought the mystery intriguing and had a very hard time putting the book down. I simply wanted to know why. The why of it all. And while there is one left pretty much unpunished, I felt very much like Kincaid. I’m glad he got to the bottom of it, and I felt bad for everything he’d been put through.

The characters are believable, even if you don’t want them to be; even if you don’t want to imagine that people can be that cruel. And I believe Kincaid was right – had it been any other time, I think he and Abby could have had something. Great mystery, great characters, great action and sequence of events. You could feel the pain the characters live/have lived, and I adore it when an author/authors can do that to a reader. Can’t wait to get my hands on the second in this series!

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