Book Review: "Shadow of Night"

Shadow of Night

by Deborah Harkness

 

When Diana and Matthew journey from the present into sixteenth-century England, they realize that their goals of finding the Ashmole 782 and obtaining a teacher for Diana won't be as easy as they initially thought. Soon, they are embroiled with the intrigue and politics of Elizabethan England, and as they begin affecting the past in ways they never imagined, they must use their wits in order to return to the present unscathed. Harkness's second book in her All Souls Trilogy transcends many genres; not only does it have the fantasy/paranormal elements of witches, vampires, and daemons, but it can also be classified as historical fiction as well as romance. Unfortunately, the first half of the book reads slowly due to all the extraordinary details about the era.  Harkness's concept of time travel was also confusing and there are some plot holes that are caused by mixing time travel with vampires.  Nonetheless, Shadow of Night is a fine follow up to Discovery of Witches, especially with the danger and action that is hinted to come in the final book. 

Rating: ★★★

Book Review: "Wicked Business"

Wicked Business  

by Janet Evanovich  

When a man is murdered and thrown off of his balcony, cupcake baker Lizzy Tucker is once again thrown into the race to find a second SALGIA stone before the forces of evil.  This time, Lizzy must help her partner, Diesel, find the Luxuria stone (the stone that embodies lust) before the forces of evil do - mainly Wulf, Diesel's cousin, and Anarchy, a mysterious new villain.  Lizzy and Diesel must use all resources on hand, including Carl the monkey, to decipher the clues and find the stone before Wulf and Anarchy.  Hilarity ensues as they leave behind mayhem and disorder, all while trying to battle their attraction for each other.  Evanovich once again has the reader giggling throughout the book as they try to puzzle out the mystery of the stone along with the characters.  Lizzy and Diesel make a great team, and while the book won't win any literary awards, it's still a lot of fun to read.

Rating: ★★★

Book Review: "The Last Boyfriend

The Last Boyfriend

by Nora Roberts

Goodreads Summary: Owen is the organizer of the Montgomery clan, running the family's construction business with an iron fist - and an even less flexible spreadsheet. And though his brothers bust on his compulsive list-making, the Inn BoonsBoro is about to open right on schedule. The only thing Owen didn't plan for was Avery McTavish

Avery's popular pizza place is right across the street from the inn, giving her a first-hand look at its amazing renovation - and a newfound appreciation for Owen. Since he was her first boyfriend when they were kids, Owen has never been far from Avery's thoughts. But the attraction she's feeling for him now is far from innocent.

As Avery and Owen cautiously take their relationship to another level, the opening of the inn gives the whole town of Boonsboro a reason to celebrate. But Owen's hard work has only begun. Getting Avery to let down her guard is going to take longer than he expected - and so will getting her to realize that her first boyfriend is going to be her last.

Review: The Last Boyfriend is the second book of the Inn Boonsboro trilogy, and while I enjoyed it, it's a very sleepy book with little plot.  The book focuses on the things that happen in life - the holidays, opening of a business, relationships - and it plods along slowly with little to no direction.  While I enjoyed the main characters as well as all the other side characters, this book was definitely one that was devoted to the complexities of a relationship rather than a plot.  Honestly, it was a little bit boring for my taste.  I'm someone who needs a little bit of excitement along with the romance aspect.  The next book, due out later this year, seems promising though, so we'll see.

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Book Review: "The Witness"

The Witness

by Nora Roberts

Goodreads Summary: Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.
 

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems--and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something--and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed. 

Review: For the most part, I always know what to expect with Nora Roberts' romance thrillers.  She has a strong and independent heroine, a strong and reliable hero, and a fairly compelling plotline with unique side characters and love-to-hate villains.  This latest installment had all of that, and a bit more, but was different from her usual romance thrillers.  First, the pacing felt right in place with the setting of the novel, which takes place in the sleepy town of a small town in the Ozarks of Arkansas.  Second, while the villain is present in the novel, it's the secondary villain that is more prominent.  The primary antagonist does not play a huge, direct role in the book after the initial encounter.  I found this interesting since this is different from Roberts' previous books.  Third, and perhaps the reason why I enjoyed this book more than the others, is her heroine, Abigail.  Like all the other heroines in her book, Abigail is strong and independent with a kind and caring nature.  However, unlike her other heroines, Abigail is much more different.  She certainly was very capable, but also had many vulnerabilities.  In other words, she was a puzzle.  I loved her quirkiness and found her absolutely endearing, especially in the way she spoke.  

I was a bit disappointed that Nora Roberts didn't go much into how the witness protection program really works, as well as a bit skeptical about all the things that Abigail could supposedly do.  Abigail's quirky personality made up for it though, so all in all, I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Book Review: "Third Grave Dead Ahead"

Third Grave Dead Ahead

by Darynda Jones

Goodreads Summary: Paranormal private eye. Grim reaper extraordinaire. Whatever. Charley Davidson is back! And she’s drinking copious amounts of caffeine to stay awake because, every time she closes her eyes, she sees him: Reyes Farrow, the parthuman, part-supermodel son of Satan. Yes, she did imprison him for all eternity, but come on. How is she supposed to solve a missing persons case, deal with an ego-driven doctor, calm her curmudgeonly dad, and take on a motorcycle gang hellbent on murder when the devil’s son just won’t give up?

Review: The sassiest and sexiest grim reaper, Charley Davidson, is back in the third book of the series.  With her "bite me" attitude, Charley charges through sleepless days and nights, strange ghosts, and  dangerous biker gangs to find a man who is supposed to be dead and a missing woman with a suspicious husband.  While the book is still humorous and full of adventure, the tone does take a turn for the darker side in this latest installment.  The next book comes out in October, which is too far away.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Book Review: "The Next Always"

The Next Always (Inn Boonsboro #1)

by Nora Roberts

Goodreads Summary:  The historic hotel in Boonsboro has endured war and peace, changing hands, even rumored hauntings. Now it’s getting a major facelift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. Beckett is the architect of the family, and his social life consists mostly of talking shop over pizza and beer. But there’s another project he’s got his eye on: the girl he’s been waiting to kiss since he was fifteen.

Review: I have always been a sucker for romances, and really, no one does romances better than Nora Roberts.  In my opinion, her best books are the ones about the relationships and strong bonds that tie family and friends together.  While all her books highlight those connections, the ones that make it a focus have always been my favorite, and so I was very excited to see her doing the same with her new series.

However, it's not without its flaws.  Like with many of Roberts' books, it suffered from the same mold of characters that you see in almost every book of hers.  The villain was the usual you-love-to-hate-him type, and the main characters were kind of bland.  I was also surprised to see that the mother of the main trio of brothers had a smaller role than I thought she would.  On the plus side, you can tell that Roberts has meticulously researched the work it takes for a contractors to rebuild an old house.  I, for one, really enjoy the little details that highlight the careers that are the focus in her books.

Reading over my review, it sounds like I didn't particularly care for it, but that's not really true.  With a Nora Roberts book, you always know what you're getting.  It's reliable in a way that, even though it's not very exciting, it's familiar, and therefore enjoyable.  Throw in a couple of cold, rainy days, hot cocoa/cider, and a blanket, I was happy as a clam while reading this book. 

Rating: 3/5 - while kind of boring and reuses old character types, I still had fun reading it.

Book Review: "Beauty and the Werewolf"

Beauty and the Werewolf

by Mercedes Lackey

 

Summary: The eldest daughter is often doomed in fairy tales. But Bella— Isabella Beauchamps, daughter of a wealthy merchant—vows to escape the usual pitfalls.  Anxious to avoid the Traditional path, Bella dons a red cloak and ventures into the forbidden forest to consult with "Granny," the local wisewoman.  But on the way home she's attacked by a wolf—who turns out to be a cursed nobleman! Secluded in his castle, Bella is torn between her family and this strange man who creates marvelous inventions and makes her laugh—when he isn't howling at the moon.  Breaking spells is never easy. But a determined beauty, a wizard (after all, he's only an occasional werewolf) and a little godmotherly interference might just be able to bring about a happy ending...

Review: I think if I hadn't read the first few books of Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdom series, I would have enjoyed this book a lot more. Unfortunately, for me, the latest installment in her series was quite disappointing. I'll start out with what I did like: the combination of the tales "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Beauty and the Beast", the reappearance of Godmother Elena (from the first book), and the plucky but slightly manipulative Bella. Here's what I didn't like: the fact that the villain was apparent from the beginning, yet supposedly neither Bella nor the Godmother was able to figure it out until the ending, the uninspired characterization of Sebastian (he was so dull!), and the lackluster romance that developed between Sebastian and Bella (it was probably the most boring romance that I've read in a while).  Overall, I felt that the book wasn't very exciting at all, and while Bella was spunky, she wasn't enough to make up for the rest of the book.

Rating: 2.5/5

Book Review: "A Discovery of Witches"

A Discovery of Witches

by Deborah Harkness

Summary: Sometimes scholars should be more careful: Youthful researcher Diana Bishop briefly consults an medieval alchemical manuscript; then, after jotting down a few notes, sends it back to its prison in the stacks. Unfortunately for Diana, her quick dabbling has unleashed a long suppressed curse—and now only she can break the spell. Carefully researched, this debut novel will appeal to fans of historical novel infused with strong paranormal elements.

Review: I waited for three months on the library's waiting list before getting my hands on this book (and before that, I had been monitoring how long the waiting list was for at least six months to see if it would get shorter!).  Because of the wait, I had very high expectations for this book that unfortunately were not all met.  Ultimately, I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I really enjoyed it. I loved the interactions between Diana and Matthew; their romance was very intense and passionate, and the author was able to express that very well. The book is also very smart too, in that it doesn't try to dumb down any of the plot points. The side characters are also all very well described and written; Harkness was able to make them all unique from one another in a way that really brought them to l     I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I really enjoyed it. I loved the interactions between Diana and Matthew; their romance was very intense and passionate, and the author was able to express that very well. The book is also very smart too, in that it doesn't try to dumb down any of the plot points. The side characters are also all very well described and written; Harkness was able to make them all unique from one another in a way that really brought them to life.

On the other hand, however, there were some things about the book that I really did not like. The book really could have been trimmed down from 500 to 400, maybe even 300 pages. While I enjoyed all the details that brought the characters and the world to life, some details and parts of the book seemed extraneous. Also, there were too many plot lines that Harkness was trying to bring together in one book. It was a bit much for an introductory book in a trilogy. Like another reviewer mentioned, I felt that the book would have been much better if Harkness had an editor that helped trimmed off the excess descriptions and side stories.

Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. I just feel that it could have been better. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to the next book.

Rating: 3/5