Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh

Holy crumb it took me forever to read this book.

My bad.

Or maybe it was the messy first half that had me scrambling.

I have to be honest and say I would have 'quit' this book much earlier if someone hadn't posted a small excerpt of Raphael and Elena's love scene. Seriously, I was reading to get to that scene and when it finally showed up?

Meh.

Cindy Blurb: Elena is a Hunter-Born which means she's like a hound dog and can sniff out vampires and track them. Why would this be something needed?

Not for the reason you are thinking of.

See there are angels in this world and they create vampires whenever the mood strikes them but these vamps have contracts with the angels that last the first hundred years. Well, I guess that's an awful long time so vamps run off and the angels need to have them back. Angels can't track I guess.

Then there are archangels. I guess they are the really powerful mofos. Raphael is one of these (there are 10) and he has a job that only Elena can help him with. Elena, not being a fan of super authority is fearful of the archangel (as everyone should be) and there is a dance between them.

There are secrets, immortals who have lost their humanity and a world that feels seriously off kilter.

Here's what I can tell you about this book. The first half needed to be cut or seriously edited. See Elena is a hunter and is contracted for a job that's pretty important in the 'holy crap end of the world' kind of way. Now it could be just me but if someone told me that I had to track a super killer cause he could end humanity as I knew it, I would probably buckle down and get my head in the game.

This doesn't happen.

Instead, Elena hides from Raphael cause he's scary and the reader is introduced to a bunch of people. Then Raphael finds Elena and the reader meets a bunch more people who are vampires and angels and archangels. There was a scene I have yet to understand in the grand scheme of the story. Raphael takes Elena to see vamps and humans intermingle. WTF?

How am I as a reader suppose to worry about the 'Big Bad' that's coming if the characters in the story are acting like nothing big is happening.

The spine of the book reads 'Urban Fantasy Romance' and yes, this is urban fantasy but it was schlocky and slow in the beginning. Actually, for most of the book, questions that I had were left unanswered. Why are there angels? Where did they come from? Why are 'hunters' born? The reason for why there are vampires is answered in the last few chapters.

Everything else?

Don't know.

Do Elena and Raphael fall in love? Apparently. But it's one of those stories where I don't get why they fall in love.

When the 'Big Bad' does finally show up on the scene I didn't care.

There was this sense by the vamps and angels that humans were expendable.

You know, just there. This feeling never leaves the story so when human characters besides Elena showed up it was like watching little ants on the scene. All I kept thinking was ' you have no way to protect yourself and you are only alive because you're not a nuisance'. For me, if you build up immortals to such great heights then what shot does a human have?

Immortals in most stories have a weakness and now I know why. If there is no weakness, if they can't be killed by anything other than their own kind, what's the point?

This one is tough to grade. I would have stopped reading if I hadn't already had a sneak peek at an excerpt, after I got to that scene I didn't want to finish the book but because I'm stomping out a slump I knew I had to finish it. The last few chapters were the best because there were some answers and stuff actually happens but is it a case of too little too late?

Okay, C-

I considered a D but after thinking about it D books make me crazy mad and this story just left me feeling nothing but meh.

That said, I love the Psy books and will definitely be buying the next one in July. This series though? I think I'll be reading reviews of the next one before making a decision.

Go here to read Rosario's review which as always, will tell you much more eloquently what this book is about.

I haven't read any other reviews yet so I'm off to see what others thought. I did glance through Rosario's review when I thought to myself 'where's the plot?' and yes, she mentions this in her review.

One Little Sin by Liz Carlyle

Well, it took a full moon cycle but I finally finished this book. I have to say I am glad that I forced myself to sit down and finish it because I was considering just moving on but I'll get to that.

Cindy Blurb: Okay, this is more of a thumbnail sketch because the story is really quite basic. You have Alasdair MacLachlan who is a manwhore but you know, not the paid kind, just the 'can't keep it in his pants' kind and he is wholly unrepentant. Frankly, I don't find this attractive in a man who is 36 years old but hey, it's the opening scene and I'm hoping for some serious character growth. After all, I don't wish to follow the hero from bed, to hayloft to whatever other droll place he can think to have sex.

The heroine is one Esmee Hamilton who bursts into Alasdair's life toting her two year old half sister who is Alasdair's bastard daughter. *re-reads sentence to see if all relationships are straight* Yep.

Alasdair in some drunken state knocked up Esmee's mom (Esmee's 22) who was a married woman who enjoyed some tupping on the side. Since her mother died and her step-father knew that the two year old girl wasn't his, he threw them out of his house. The only place Esmee can go is to the actual father of the child to get him to step up while she moves on to be a governess.

Alasdair, in shock, asks Esmee to remain as Sorcha's governess and she exacts a huge settlement and wishing to remain with her sister, takes the job.

What happens from there is not rocket science. Right down to the noble sacrifice of the hero sending the heroine away to make a better life with someone else. The whole thing is quite familiar except for the little girl who was not only a pain in the arse to read about but was also an 'ick' factor for me. C'mon, the H/H get together and there are some serious ramifications to the family tree.

For me I would say this book rates as a C- in enjoyment but probably more of a B- in execution. By this I mean the story is well written, and the heroine at least is very likable. The hero isn't bad either and maybe that is what rubbed me wrong. Alasdair was boring and we all know I like my men with a little dark meat. Being a rampant sperm donor doesn't make you dark, just an oversexed manchild.

By the end of the story, and I mean the end, the 'ick' factor is taken away but by then, I just didn't care whether these two would put a crimp in the family tree. The H/H certainly didn't care about the health of their potentially nut bearing family tree so why would I as the reader worry about their future kids? So the ending was just meh.

Just as a note, I read to the 3/4 mark before putting the book down for a good 4 or 5 days. Like I said above, there were no surprises here so I had no incentive to finish the story. I decided tonight that I could at least skim to the end because I know that not finishing books can bring on a slump and I so don't have time for that! I did skim it for the most part (I'm a newbie) and am pretty proud of myself for having finished the book. *pats self on back*

That said, I don't think I will read the rest of this series until I try the 'Devil' series. That one seems to be the series that readers like so Carlyle gets one more chance from me and let me tell you that is a record!

Beauty Like The Night

Beauty Like the Night written by Liz Carlyle was published in 2000. I feel like this book could have come from the 80s!

Backblurb from Amazon.com

The daughter of London's wickedest widow, Helene de Severs has struggled to overcome her heritage. Renowned within Europe's emerging psychiatric field, Helene has a gift for healing children. When fate sends her back to England, the country she left in disgrace, Helene is confident she has learned to govern her own reckless emotions.
Ruthlessly, Treyhern has dragged his notorious family from the brink of ruin. But a disastrous marriage has left him with a traumatized child, and his rebellious brother is just one step ahead of the bailiffs. When his dissolute father drops dead while debauching the governess, Treyhern's infamous temper is truly tested.
But the forceful earl means to straighten everyone out -- as soon as he has hired a reputable governess. Yet the moment she steps from his carriage, Treyhern's cold reserve is melted by a rush of desire he had long thought dead. With her elegant clothing and mountain of luggage, the woman is not who he expected. Or is she? Sometimes the workings of the mind are as dangerous as those of the heart. And soon, danger is truly everywhere...

You may recall that my first problem with the book was that there was a child in it. Well, the child is in it so very little that she was no longer the problem.

Helene and Cam were torn apart 10 years before the story when Helene's mother, Cam's father's paramour, discovers them in an unfortunate position. Helen's mother knew pressing for marriage would not work so she had Cam's father pay for an education for Helene. Cam, apparently had no knowledge of this.

So 10 years later, Helene is hired as a governess for a girl who will not speak and who most people fear is simple. Helene has garnered a reputation over the years as a healer of children and thus, she comes back into Cam's life as the young girl is his daughter.

Any reader who has read romances as long as I have will know every trick this book pulls out. I have read this story one too many times and the problems that plague these characters are all well trod. It may have been a fun little escape into a well known area except for a disturbing thought pattern by the hero.

It was at the half way point in this story that I realized there was something well off about the so called hero in this book. These two people had been allowed to run wild with each other and when they were teenagers everything changed. The problem was that Cam, as well as Helene, blamed Helene's passionate nature for turning Cam into a raving sex pervert. Helene at many points tells herself that Cam could not be blamed for losing control with her because she pushed him beyond his limits. Cam also notes how Helene's passionate nature can drive any man to believe that she should be his.

WTF!?

I began to feel like I was reading the thoughts of a rapist. A man who would look outside himself for the reasons that he could not 'maintain control' of his actions. For a man who was supposed to be responsible in every way, it was disconcerting to see him blame all of his failures on Helene. That Helene decides she pushes his buttons makes the reader feel like they are in the head of a co-dependent. Someone who needs to explain why their mate is so hateful.

Not that anything truly hateful happens or for that matter that a rape happens. It was just disconcerting to be inside these people's heads.

So here is my problem and I'll use spoiler tricks which means if you want to know you will have to highlight the area to see the words.

I *knew* that Helene had to be a virgin. She had to be. Why? Because there was no way Cam would have been able to deal with it if she hadn't been. He thinks about how she had to have been with other men, that her passionate way would have led her astray. I knew this device was coming because I could see no other way around it. Not only that, after the deed is done Cam asks her why she didn't tell him. She is perceptive enough to say 'Would you have believed me?' He answers 'yes' while internally hoping that he would have. I wished in that instance that I could physically harm this guy. Dude, you would never, ever, ever have believed her and God forbid she had actually met anyone and had a discreet affair because you would have lorded it over her for the rest of your Happily Ever After lives!! Not only that, Cam tells her how he never stopped loving her and she mentions how he had obviously found other women to bed. Cam says yes, but it left him wanting. Oh, well then, that don't count. You can screw whoever, whenever you want and not have to worry that your heroine will be a jealous pig. Blech!!

So this book didn't make me gag out loud or anything but it has made me gun shy of reading more Carlyle. I think I will read a more recent story but with a title of One Little Sin I am worried that there may be more instances of heroines blaming themselves and heroes who are too happy to flay them with their faults. Yetch.

The only character that I felt curious about was Cam's brother Bentham (because he was a bigger mess than Cam) and even then, I'm not sure I want to read his story if there was ever one printed.

I'm going with a C- for this book. I kept reading because I was waiting for the club to come down on the hero's head. Carlyle is a good writer but if I read another one of her books that is so stereotypically an 80's romance I won't be reading another!

Humble Apology? C-

So it turns out that a book that is truly racking my nerves can suddenly pull me in and have me laughing. Yep, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan actually got better! Did it get worse before it got better, yes, yes it did and I was all set to put it down and pick up Kim Harrison's book Dead Witch Walking which I have started (and was really enjoying) but stopped in order to do Keishon's challenge.

When I sat down this morning weary and tired I picked up STM thinking it would help me get to sleep. I blew past my latest bedtime of 8am and ended up reading the book until the very end. Hello 11am! To bad it was raining. (I swear there is a conspiracy to keep me on a nocturnal schedule because lately if I stay up to see the sun, it bloody well rains!)

Once Becky hit New York the book became fun (actually Manhattan). Yes, there were many times where I was cringing and like another poster mentioned tagging along on someone else's shopping spree is not all that fab but, I just knew there was going to be a back swing. When the swing came it was great and even though most of what Becky did to get out of debt is improbable at least the author didn't throw in a rescue fantasy.

As a side note: Apparently calling someone a cow in Britain is quite shameful so I wanted to check with Maili and make sure she isn't really mad at me for the Ewan McGregor pictures. I'll take them down - really!! Maili, are you there?

I should say that I wouldn't recognize a designer anything if it bit me. Not a clue what half Becky's prattle was except that I know what Manolo Blahniks are because of Sex and The City. So I'm going to see if I can find pictures of the clothes and crap that she bought so we can see what all the fuss is about ;)

Manolo Blahnik from the Design Museum - Okay, I admit if I was thin and all that I would seriously be impressed by these strappy, fancy pieces of art. But then I came across these which I wouldn't give you ten bucks for! These which look like a 1980s flashback. And I'm sorry but these would have me rolling in the aisle at a tenth of the price. As to what I do like, these are cute but I couldn't afford them.

Okay, you can't get past a page without hitting the name Prada so let's take a look. Ooohh, these are pretty but you better have the best calves in the world! These however scare the beejeezes out of me ;) Hmm, cute bag here but look at the price, I couldn't afford it at 90% off! As to this, they are kidding right? I've seen more sophisticated bags at a local mall for under a hundred dollars. It's gotta be the name.

Ah, yes, I remember something about Miu Miu. (I can't seem to get anything on the official sites except their name and a picture - apparently they can sense the unstylish ;) - will someone let me know if they get anything more than I did, maybe there is a secret internet code I need to get in) O. M. G. Okay, not even if I am dead! Ah, pretty sure I had a purse just like this in the 80s.

Oops, I just went to look up the infamous Denny and George scarf and guess what? Kinsella made the designer up! (Last question at the bottom of the page) *sheepish wince*.

I think that's enough of looking at things I can't possibly afford but maybe I will search out a few of the other designers she mentions and look up their clothes and paste it here. For fun. Oh, alright, I'm trying not to think of the drywalling, painting, trimming and crap we have to get done in the next few weeks at the reno house and I am trying to stay away from the news channels. Hey, procrastination is the *gazing off into space* yeah, I'm out.

Just for Fun: New York City Map - The billboards on the enter are phenomenal. I think I would be overwhelmed in a ... NY minute ;) if I ever visited the city.