Sunday, March 18, 2012

The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice

2 STARS

The Wolf Gift Chronicles - Book 1

I'd stopped reading Anne Rice a while ago and I'll be honest, the only reason I bought this was because she announced that her MC was inspired by Matt Bomer, the star of White Collar of whom she is greatly enamored. Turns out that he's one of my favorites too, so how could I not read this? :) 

Anyway, that's why I went back to Rice. *sigh* 

I don't know if she's still thinking that she's too good for an editor, but BOY, this book could have used some help. I found little of the storytelling and action that drew me to Interview With a Vampire and many of it's successors. And it could have been SO interesting! 

I liked her werewolf premise, I liked her characters - what we saw of them. She built a wonderful cast and then under-utilised the vast majority of them. Yes, we need to delve into the motivations and thoughts of Reuben, the MC, but I really wanted to see more of the Pack (for want of a better word) which really only gets established in the last 4 (of 40) chapters. Maybe she's hedging for a sequel? 

All in all, I was looking for more of a story than a character study and sadly, I feel like I got the latter.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Mariner's Luck by Kirby Crow

3 STARS

Scarlet and the White Wolf - Book 2

First off, I must reiterate that I nearly pitched the e-reader across the room at the way this book ended. Seriously, I think it might have been better all around if the author had put all 3 books of the series together in one volume. This, volume 2, is a short, quick read and the ending comes so abruptly that I was annoyed. I see no reason for the split at all and I'm hesitant to think it was done because of greed. 

That being said, I enjoyed this installment of Scarlet and Liall's adventures. I enjoyed the dance of attraction on the ship, although I was a bit dismayed at Scarlet's um... virginal innocence? He didn't come across that way in the first book. It was almost too much. I found myself wanting him to discuss more things with Liall, though. More about how he felt about the sex acts after what he'd seen in the bhorus (I think that's how it's spelled.)houses. 

The other part that I thought should have had more attention paid to it, was Scarlet's part in the defense of the ship when it was attacked by the 'pirates'. At the very least, his reaction to using his talent should have been noted by someone. All in all, this is an enjoyable series, but had the author taken more time with everything - character building, world building, plotting etc... it could truly be a great series. There is no doubt that I'll get/read the third book - it's just starting to get good, after all!!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Between Sinners and Saints by Marie Sexton

5 STARS

This was a terrific book. I had expected it to be good, it's had great ratings and from what I've heard, positive reviews, but I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Damned thing made me cry!!

It didn't take long for me to fall for both the main characters, Levi and Jaime. They became very real for me very quickly. Both damaged and hurt in their own way, coping - barely - as they get through day after day. I loved their journey, their friendship, their growing trust and their love story. It took some time to grow and blossom and that worked really well for me. I really was enthralled from beginning to end. 

Every sex scene seemed hotter than the last, and more needed than the last, if that makes sense. :) God, even Levi just taking Jaime's hand at one point was hotter than hot! And Levi's family. They were REAL, every last one of them! And they all have faults. Every last character in this book has faults and they're all so human! The only one who's perfect is Dolly, the dog! :) 

There were so many tender, lovely moments that touched my heart. And some funny ones too. And heart-breaking moments. I will admit to being rather ambivalent about the religion angle at first, but the author weaves her tale so well, weaves the Mormon into the fabric of the story so that it fits perfectly and provides reason and motivation and even some education. I was brought up Roman Catholic (lapsed now) and while the two religions are very different, the way of life was very familiar to me. I understood Levi SO well and loved every time he would explain things to Jaime. And the last thing I loved about this book was that Jaime is a redhead! YES! A ginger MC!! *two thumbs up*

Yeah, I loved it to bits! And I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. :)

Thank you, Heidi C! It was your review and rating that sealed the deal for me and determined that I had to read this book. :)