Midnight Alley (2007)
Rachel Caine
Rating: 4/5
This series is kind of like a TV series. It has a plot arc per book which is concluded quite quickly, but the main arc isn’t really going anywhere fast.
In this instalment, Claire makes a couple of Really Dumb decisions. Like, horror movie blonde dumb. But I am willing to ignore that, because she also starts to grow up a lot and stands up for herself a lot more.
Everything’s changed for Claire Danvers, with a single signature. Oh, she’s still got her friends, but for how long? Can she tell them the truth about what she’s done to protect them? And now she’s working for a terrifyingly unpredictable vampire with the biggest secret in Morganville… and every trip down Midnight Alley to meet him could be her last…
Finished: Saturday 6/10
Monday, October 8, 2007
Book one-eighty-two: Midnight Alley
Book one-eighty-one: Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry (2007)
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Rating: 2/5
All right, because we get to learn more about Ash. And of course any scene with Simi in it is obviously worthwhile reading.
I thought that it was a bit brief though… the main plot seems a bit rushed. Like she’s just connecting the dots – you know that there is a good chance (like… 100 percent) that the main male and main female character will end up together in the end, but it just feels like Kenyon’s couldn’t be bothered to make you think “hmm, maybe they won’t this time?” and instead just relying on people expectation of what will happen, rather than creating any tension within the plot.
Also, she introduces a whole heap of new characters, not to mention a whole new Parthenon, which is interesting, but don’t ask me what any of their names are…
…the tale of an ex-god in search of revenge, a servant of Artemis out to stop him, deadly enemies at every turn and a plot that may very well end the world. Ever since the moment his godhood was taken by Artemis, Sin has done nothing but plot his revenge. But when he kidnaps a woman he believes to be the goddess, he quickly finds out that she is not Artemis, but her servant, Katra. And instead of capturing her, Katra captures him. She refuses to release him until he promises not to seek vengeance on her mistress. In spite of himself, Sin is intrigued by Katra, who is nothing like the deceitful Artemis. She's fierce and true, but also compassionate and loyal. However, Sin is not the only enemy Artemis has and it quickly becomes apparent that he must help Katra save her mistress... or life as we know it will cease to exist. What's an ex-god to do?
Finished: Tuesday 2/10
Book one-eighty: Where Dreams Begin
Where Dreams Begin (2000)
Lisa Kleypas
Rating: 1/5
The heroine was so annoying. There was no conflict apart from that created by her annoyingness.
Also, the end drags way on past the point where I cared.
Zachary Bronson has built an empire of wealth and power -- now he needs a wife to help secure his position in society...and warm his bed in private. But not just any woman will do for a man whom all of London knows is not a gentleman. Then he unexpectedly swept Lady Holly Taylor into his arms for an unasked for -- but very alluring -- kiss, and suddenly he knew he had found a woman whose fierce passions matched his own.
Lady Holly Taylor was beautiful, generous, and, as a widow, destined to spend her life playing by society's rules, even when they went against her bolder instincts. But Zachary's kiss had aroused her, and though the shocking offer he made didn't include marriage, she was compelled to risk everything and follow him to the place where dreams begin.
Finished: Sunday 30/9
Book one-seventy-nine: Strange Bedpersons
Strange Bedpersons (1994)
Jenny Crusie
Rating: 4/5
There’s never much I can say about a Jennifer Crusie book, except love love love.
And okay, maybe this wasn’t the best I’ve ever read from her, but it was still good.
Tess Newhart knows her ex-boyfriend Nick Jamieson isn't the right guy for her. He's caviar and champagne, she's take-out Chinese pot stickers. He's an uptight Republican lawyer, she was raised in a commune and thinks Cinderella is politically incorrect. He wants to get ahead in business, she just wants . . . him -- only not the social-climbing Nick, but the sweet, caring, unbuttoned-down Nick.
And Nick wants her, too, but there's no way Tess is about to play second fiddle to his obsession to make partner. Yet somehow she finds herself agreeing to play his fiancée for a weekend business trip that could make or break Nick's career. And while he's wrapped up in convincing Tess that he needs her in his respectable world, Tess is doing her best to keep her left-wing opinions to herself and her hands off Nick.
Finished: Saturday 29/9 more...
Book one-seventy-eight: It’s in His Kiss
It’s in His Kiss (2005)
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3.5/5
Very good and very funny.
MEET OUR HERO…
Gareth St. Clair is in a bind. His father, who detests him, is determined to beggar the St. Clair estates and ruin his inheritance. Gareth’s sole bequest is an old family diary, which may or may not contain the secrets of his past… and the key to his future. The problem is--it’s written in Italian, of which Gareth speaks not a word.
MEET OUR HEROINE…
All the ton agreed: there was no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. She’s fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken and according to Gareth, probably best in small doses. But there’s something about her--something charming and vexing--that grabs him and won’t quite let go…
MEET POOR MR. MOZART…
Or don’t. But rest assured, he’s spinning in his grave when Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual--an annually discordant--Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth’s every word seems a dare, and she offers to translate his diary, even though her Italian is slightly less than perfect. But as they delve into the mysterious text, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the diary, but in each other… and that there is nothing as simple--or as complicated--as a single, perfect kiss.
Finished: Saturday 29/9
Book one-seventy-seven: When He Was Wicked
When He Was Wicked (2004)
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3.5/5
I really liked this one. Party, because of all the angst, but mostly because it was still funny.
It’s also nice to see a widow who actually loved the first husband.
After years as London's most notorious rake, Michael Stirling took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell in love so fast and hard that it was a wonder he was able to remain standing.
Unfortunately, she was the one woman he could never have...
Finished: Friday 28/9