The Devil's Fire by Sara Bell

3 STARS

Kings. Oh, my LORD, there were a lot of kings in this book! And that underlines my big beef with The Devil's Fire - not enough time and effort spent on the world-building. This could have been a fantastic read, especially for a fantasy aficionado, but all the fantastic elements were either glossed-over or even totally ignored. 

What's the deal with these powers, for instance. The book IS titled The Devil's Fire and I expected more about the actual fire power that the whole plot hinged upon. Maybe drawing some parallels between the power and the relationship between Alric and Gareth? I would have liked a little more time spent on how their relationship changed from its initial antagonism to one of love. 

I would have liked the few female characters to be more diverse, something more than sisters, queens, nannies. I would have liked more fleshing out of the villain as well, more backstory, more actual information as to why both Alric and Gareth hated and indeed, feared him. I would have appreciated more insight into Alric and Gareth as well. I felt as if their portrayals were rather superficial, that there was a lot of interesting stuff coming together to make them the men they are, but we weren't getting to see it. I found Alric to be a little um... femified? There were times when he read like 'the woman in the relationship' and I hated that. Yes, he was younger, more sensitive, more introspective, but a man can be all that and not lose his mannishness. This happened mostly in the parts where Gareth was so totally intent on protecting him for anything and everything. (Dude, he can call fire, he's pretty powerful in his own right!) 

This could have been a really good book, an epic even, but it reads like a first novel where the author hasn't really developed a mastery of her craft yet. A decent read, but dammit, I wanted more MEAT to it. :) And there were just FAR too many kings running around. All in all, I think a professional editor could have helped a lot, because Sara Bell has some wonderful ideas, they just need... substance. :)

Scarlet & the White Wolf by Kirby Crow

3 STARS

Scarlet & the White Wolf - Book 1

That's it? 

*shakes e-reader to see if anything falls out* 

Seriously, that's IT? :/ Damn, that's disappointing. I was really starting to get into this book and root for the characters and suddenly - it finished. 

Yes, I know it's the first book in a series, but honestly, it felt more like a Part One of what should be the first book in a series. (I'm trying not to feel a little manipulated.) We met the characters, got a feel for the world in which they live, saw glimpses and glimmers of their personalities, had more than a few questions thrown our way (precious few, if any, answered, BTW.) - and then... that was it.

I was really starting to enjoy the characters. Scarlet and Liall have their mysteries and by the end of the book we're starting to see many of the more subtle parts of their personalities - beyond big, bad Northern guy and small, pretty, young guy with the 'special powers'. I also found myself wanting to know more about secondary characters Peysho and Kio and hope we'll be seeing more of them in books to come.

The world-building was decently done, but again, seeing as this felt like only the first quarter of a good, juicy book, it felt incomplete. (The one thing I miss about e-books is either the lack of maps for these worlds or if there IS one, the inability just to flip easily to it for reference) I would have given this book at least 4 stars, maybe even 5, if it didn't feel like I was deliberately left dangling in the worst of ways. 

I will move on to Volume #2, because I'm intrigued by the characters and the writing itself was quite good. I just hope I don't feel the same manipulation at the end of it. :/

Bear, Otter, and the Kid by T.J. Klune

3 STARS

Damn. Looks like this is an uncredited rip-off of the movie, Shelter, hell the movie blurb is pretty much the book blurb. *sigh*

I have waffled back and forth on this, because I've not seen the movie, but the blurb is just too close for MY comfort, so I'm keeping the 3 stars I originally gave it along with this caveat. 

So... Bear, Otter and the Kid. One of the most popular books of the past year. Everyone loved it. Well, I kinda wish we had the ability to award half stars, because this at times was a 3 1/2 star book for me. Young love, gay for you, love conquers all - it was all here. 

Of the title characters, I loved Otter and I loved the Kid - Bear, not so much. I wanted to smack him far too many times for me to love him. Good Lord, talk about getting in your own way! Sheesh! I think he was just a little TOO ... whatever he was supposed to be - neurotic, damaged, paranoid. And a lot of it was the same stuff over and over. Not a great student, our Bear. :) In retrospect, maybe giving a couple of Bear's flaws to Otter might have been a good thing. I found myself wishing that Bear would pick one metaphor for his inner feelings and stick with it - be it the ocean or the earthquakes. (I really liked the whole bathtub for safety thing.) I also wished he'd stop hitting us over the head with them so often. Introspection is good, but too much of it just makes the character seem selfish, self-absorbed and not sympathetic at all - at least to me. 

That being said, I did enjoy the actual scenes between the characters. Bear and Otter were sweetly sexy and hot. Bear and Tyson were adorable and made me laugh out loud more than once. Creed, Anna, Mrs. Paquin - I enjoyed their appearances as well. I think that was the strongest part of the book for me - the characters interacting. 

The huge stumbling block that was thrown in for the last quarter of the book seemed unnecessary to me. I think the conflict between the characters could have carried us through to the end and the 'twist' felt a little like 'deus ex machina' to me. I still don't get the motivation behind that one character's actions.

I did enjoy the choice to write the book using the 1st person POV and present tense. It was different and refreshing for the most part and the author did it quite well. :) If I'm honest, Bear, Otter and the Kid felt like to me as if the author was trying to write their own story in Amy Lane's Promises series and for me, it doesn't quite measure up. Would I recommend it? Yes, I would. Would I read something else by T.J. Klune? Yes, I would. 

**review edited after discussion about the plagiarism issue**

Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling

4 STARS

Nightrunner - Book 1

Lovely! Why did I wait so long to read this?

It was a very, very enjoyable tale with engaging characters set in a familiar yet unique world filled with adventures. There was a real 'getting to know you' vibe about the book, which is natural, I suppose, seeing as it's the first in a series. :) 

I love Alec and Serengil and Micum and... well, I loved the whole cast of characters. *LOL* The only thing that brought this down from a 5 star for me was the abrupt, cliff-hanger-like ending. Maybe because I felt it was the wrong character to wrap things up with? Maybe. All I know is, I cursed out loud. *LOL*

There is one thing that annoys me terribly with e-books, and that's the terrible formatting for scene changes and "skipping lines" to indicate passage of time or a change of POV. Not the author's fault AT ALL, but it is a bit of a pain and pulls you out of the story at times. But, yes, I MUST read the next book and the next and so on... I Love these boys!!!

Truth in the Dark by Amy Lane

5 STARS

Amy does it again! Writes a tale that is at once wonderful and fantastic and touching and sad and happy and sexy and REAL!

I thought I knew exactly how this was going to play out by the time I was barely a couple of pages in, but that wasn't a problem at all because I adore the way Amy writes and how she creates real, lovely, flawed, endearing characters - and my God, the angry, cranky, grumpy Knife is a wonderful character, even when he's learning not to be so angry and cranky (I think he'll always be somewhat grumpy.). 

So on I read, enjoying the tale immensely, and then came the wee twist, the most very important thing that I never suspected in the least. (I'll not give it away.) And I burst into tears. Hell, I'm tearing up now, just remembering that scene/reveal. Oh, it was so heart-breakingly beautiful! GUH! So freakin' amazing, this author!

I would be remiss if I didn't also comment on the terrific love scenes. Yeah, they were a bit more than sex scenes. :) They were sexy and hot, affectionate, loving, desperate when they needed to be desperate - they were perfect! Yeah, so I kinda loved it - A LOT!!

Fish & Chips by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

4 STARS

Cut & Run - Book 3

It's Ty and Zane for heaven's sake! Of course I loved it! :) Especially the last couple of chapters. 

The only reason that I've given this 4 stars instead of 5 is because I was confused about the case. It never really made sense to me other than a being a vehicle for the charade that Ty and Zane were forced to create. But as always, the action was great, the dialogue real, the sex hot and yummy and when the boys stumble into being romantic, well, I loved it. :) 

The secondary characters were nicely fleshed out and I really wish I could have seen more of the Italian couple. The tango scene? Well, I'm a big Dancing With The Stars fan and I may have done a little bit of squeeing. :) Ty and Zane remain one of my favorite pairings as are Madeleine and Abigail. I will totally recommend them anytime, anywhere.

Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville

4 STARS

This book would have rated 5 stars from me but for one thing. The dialogue of one of the two main characters. 

The author writes D's dialogue as him having an accent... what one might consider an unschooled accent. Coulda... have ta... would a... cain't... It was extremely distracting and actually made things more difficult to read. I had to go back and read lines two, sometimes three times. In my opinion, the author had absolutely no need to lay it on so thick. Pick one or two words to establish that the character has a distinctive way of speaking and go with that. Were this a simple secondary or background character, it wouldn't be a problem, but not for one of the main guys!

That being said, the book was a great read. I loved both characters and how the author fleshed them out. I really appreciated that Jack couldn't just pooh-pooh away D's past, and I really enjoyed the fact that it took almost forever for D to open up to Jack. The story itself was good, the plot worked for me, a little far-fetched at times, but hey, I read Tom Clancy too. :) I could have done without that last case of D's, but I guess if the author is setting us up for a sequel, there needed to be a hook. It was kind of gruesome though. The romance was good and the sex scenes were steamingly hot. 

Will I read more of Jane Seville's work? You betcha! Will I recommend Zero at the Bone? You betcha! Like I said, almost a 5 star read!

It's Not Shakespeare by Amy Lane

4 STARS

Amy Lane has yet to let me down! 

I totally enjoyed this story, totally enjoyed the two MCs, totally enjoyed the few secondary characters we got to know - the only thing WRONG with it was that it was too short. I wanted more of James and Raphael... okay... Jimmy and Rafi. :) I want to know how they settle into their relationship, how they reconcile their differences and make it all work in the day-to-day. And Marlowe... damn, who wouldn't want more Marlowe??? :) I feel like we've only seen the first leg of this couple's journey and I hunger for more. 

Indeed, this was a delightful read!

Dance With Me by Heidi Cullinan

5 STARS

Oh man, this was wonderful!! I had to read this because it spoke of ballroom dancing and, well, ballroom dancing and Dancing With The Stars is one of my most favorite things ever. So I gave it to me as a birthday present. :)

I love Laurie. To bits. What a gem of a flawed genius of a man. I love Ed only a little bit, a wee bit less. Yes, I do play favorites. *LOL* I thought their love story was full and real and true and it didn't happen overnight, they grew into it. Grew into their need for each other - and it's a perfect, healthy, lovely need. Body and mind and soul. The intimate scenes are deadly hot and steamy and even just a kiss holds the ability to sweep the reader away. And the secondary characters are fully fleshed out real people. The parents, the friends, the students and business partners. Even those who just stepped on the stage felt true to me. (I would love to know more of Duon's story. *g*)

Heidi Cullinan is a lovely writer. She drew me in, made me love and care for her chararcters - all of them, made me see the locations and feel the atmospheres. I was there. If I only have one complaint it's this - I have the epub format of the book and the one problem is that the spacing between the changes of scene within the chapters are not obvious. Where I would expect what I would call a double line skip, there is none and I found myself pulled out of the rhythm of the story at the confusing POV transition. But you know, that's a pretty small problem to have. :)

A definite recommend and a definite reread!!!

The Winter Courtship Rituals of Fur-Bearing Critters by Amy Lane

5 STARS

Knitting Series - Book 1

THIS has to be one of the most adorably fun stories I have ever read! And I want to know more about all of them! Rance, Ben, Ariadne, Aiden and Jeremy - EVERYONE! Absolutely delightful!