[Book Review] The Naturals

The Naturals

By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

November 5, 2013

Young-Adult, Mystery, Thriller

The premise and book description were interesting. These were what drew me in. I love serial killer books, have been a long time fan of Criminal Minds, devoured The Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay (all seven books) with gusto, and even breezed through the Dexter TV series (all eight seasons of it). This is the reason why I gave this book 4 stars.

The protagonist is likable enough, even though she could be a little too ideal. Sometimes, she's a bit bland, or mundane, but when she starts doing her thing, that's what sets her apart from all others. I would have loved to see her with more layers of personality though.

The serial killer aspect was a nice twist. I totally did not predict who was aiming for Cassie until it was revealed. I had a gut feeling it was within the group, but I had no way of knowing if it was one of the teens in the program, or not. This added to my enjoyment of the story.

I also like how being a teenager complicated things for the major characters. There were personalities clashing, hormones raging, and emotions flaring between the teenage game-players. This is even aside from the attractions that were slowly building up between characters. Admittedly, I belong to #TeamDean on this one.

What bothered me though, was the reason why these teenagers had these preternatural abilities. Are they really just THAT talented? Why? Genetics, maybe? Bio-lab experiments? What's the cause for these abilities? I need a credible and plausible back story for this.

All in all, I really enjoyed the mystery-thriller bit. #TeamDean all the way!

LINKS: Goodreads // Amazon // Barnes & Noble

[Book Review] Sugar Babies

Sugar Babies

by Mickey Corrigan

November 4, 2013

Champagne Books

Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Suspense

Links:

Goodreads // Amazon

A sugar daddy can make your money woes disappear overnight. But for sugar babies, life is like a chocolate covered time bomb: sweet on the outside, deadly on the inside. 

Young, beautiful, and hungry, Maire, Esme and Niki want what every woman wants: love, work, safe shelter, the bills paid off, a diamond-studded Rolex, and a two-bedroom condo with an ocean view. Working as sugar babies seems to be the only way to make this happen. But the sugar life is more dangerous than they thought. 

Maire O’Rourke is too hot to handle herself properly. She tends to wear too tight clothes and too much make-up, but she’s got more than sex on her mind. She’s already landed one of the richest sugar daddies in Coconut City, a tropical paradise boasting more lonely men per multimillion dollar estate than just about anywhere else. 

Sweet Esme Grant is a buxom blonde with a rough and tumble lover she’s left behind somewhere in hill country. She’s come to Coconut City in order to find herself a sugar daddy, a rich older man willing to fund her, along with her hometown boyfriend and their Mayberry-gone-bad dreams. 

Niki Stephanopoulos, a dark, iconoclastic artist enrolled in a teaching certification program at Coconut College, struggles with depression fueled by guilt. She is embarrassed by her dependence on her family for the money she needs to survive. But she feels even worse after sleeping with her sexy, much older landlord when she’s short the rent. 

Welcome to the secret lives of sugar babies. On the first day of the month, Maire, Esme and Niki struggle with overdue bills and sexy beaus. Readers can join them as they figure out ways to pay the rent, make decent love to indecent men, and stay upright on the rough road to happiness. Sugar Babies is a modern-day romance, a blue martini with a nasty twist. An intoxicating mystery steeped in social satire, the story of Esme, Niki and Maire is an all-American morality tale. 

Three beautiful young women: place your order now.

[Book Review] The Lotus Palace

The Lotus Palace

By Jeannie Lin

August 27, 2013

Halerquin HQN

Historical, Mystery, Romance

Links:

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It is a time of celebration in the Pingkang Li, where imperial scholars and bureaucrats mingle with beautiful courtesans. At the center is the Lotus Palace, home of the most exquisite courtesans in China...
Maidservant Yue-ying is not one of those beauties. Street-smart and practical, she's content to live in the shadow of her infamous mistress—until she meets the aristocratic playboy Bai Huang.

Bai Huang lives in a privileged world Yue-ying can barely imagine, yet alone share, but as they are thrown together in an attempt to solve a deadly mystery, they both start to dream of a different life. Yet Bai Huang's position means that all she could ever be to him is his concubine—will she sacrifice her pride to follow her heart?

[Book Review] The Last Kiss Good-bye

The Last Kiss Good-bye

by Karen Robards

August 13, 2013

Ballantine Books

Mystery, Suspense, Paranormal Romance

Links:

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Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Stone has dedicated her career as a psychiatrist to exploring the darkest territory of all: the hearts and minds of serial killers. It’s a job she’s uniquely suited for, thanks to the secret talent that gives her an uncanny edge—Charlie can see dead people, whose tormented spirits cry out to her for the justice only she can provide. This blessing—or curse—gives Charlie the power to hunt down and catch madmen and murderers. It’s also turned her love life upside down by drawing her into a hopelessly passionate relationship with the lingering ghost of charismatic bad boy Michael Garland. 

But there’s little time for romance with her supernatural suitor when murder comes pounding at Charlie’s door in the form of a terrified young woman fleeing a homicidal maniac. Saving her life places Charlie squarely in the cross-hairs of a sadistic predator nicknamed “the Gingerbread Man,” notorious for manipulating his victims like pawns in a deadly chess game. And now the queen this psychopath’s bent on capturing is Charlie. Refusal to play will only put more innocent lives in danger. Matching wits with this cunningly twisted opponent will require all of Charlie’s training and expert skills. But even with her devilish “guardian angel”—not to mention her favorite flesh-and-blood Fed, Tony Bartoli—watching her beautiful back, the Gingerbread Man’s horrifying grin might be the last thing Charlie ever sees.

[Book Review] Club Monstrosity

Title: Club Monstrosity
Author: Jesse Peterson
Date Published: April 29, 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster - Pocket Star
Source: ARC
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery
Rating: ★★★★★

Links:
Goodreads
Barnes & Noble

Book Information:

Natalie’s one of Frankenstein’s creations and works in a New York City morgue. So of course she needs therapy. She and her friends—er, fellow monsters—have formed the world’s most exclusive, most dysfunctional support group. What could go wrong? 

Undetected in the modern world and under pressure to stay that way, Natalie Grey, Dracula, Bob the Blob, and others (including the fetching wolfman Alec) meet regularly to talk about the pressures of being infamous in the Big Apple. Topics include how long it’s been since their last sighting, how their “story” creates stereotypes they can’t fulfill, and—gasp—sometimes even their feelings. 

But when their pervy Invisible Man, Ellis, is killed in a manner reminiscent of the H.G. Wells novel, it’s clear someone’s discovered their existence and is down for some monster busting.

Led by Natalie—and definitely not helped by Hyde’s bloodthirsty tendencies—the members of Monstofelldosis Anonymous band together for security and a little sleuthing. And maybe—maybe—if they don’t end up dead, they’ll end up friends somewhere along the way.

Review:

This book features a crazy mix of loveable monsters in the heart of New York City!

There is a reason why monsters such as vampires, zombies and werewolves are still the subject of so many books and movies - they're the classics! And in this awesome book, author Jesse Peterson brought our favorite monsters together!

Story-wise, I love the fact that this book focused more on the monsters themselves rather than the romance aspect between Natalie and Alec. Through their MFD (Monstofelldosis Anonymous), these monsters meet up once a week to discuss how they cope up with the modern world. They also discuss their close encounters with humans. 

As if coping up with the modern world while trying to hide their real identities wasn't hard enough, someone starts killing the monsters one by one. And the M.O. is to kill each monster according to how they died in their respective stories. Personally, I think this was a really clever plot-device. It definitely got the monsters in a lurch and brought out their personalities.

I also like the fact that this book humanized the monsters. They were given each given distinct personalities from each other. This, aside from their general identity as monsters, made them all the more lovable, in my opinion. 

And then of course, there's the heroine, Natalie. I love the fact that she has her own frailty. Despite being a monster, Natalie is a totally relatable character. Her insecurity comes in the form of her scars and disjointed body parts. Body-image issues are quite common, so this really hit the spot. In addition to the mystery aspect of this story, I also appreciate that Natalie was able to find love.

All in all, this book effectively combines a mystery-romance combo, with lovable and endearing characters! 

[Book Review] The Very Secret Weapon

Title: The Very Secret Weapon
Author: Tillman Gillson
Date Published: December 1, 2008
Publisher: BASCOM Hill
Source: ARC
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mystery
Rating: ★★★★★

Links:
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Amazon
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Book Information:

Alex is as knowledgeable about Jimmy Choo, Chanel, Hermes, and Christian Dior as she is about Glock and Sig Sauer. Come along on a breathtaking race through a world of glamour and danger with a truly new kind of covert agent. She is a woman who not only loves her work but also has fully enjoyed a relationship free life until she meets a virile, mercenary who adds a great deal to her sex life and ropes her into love.  


''...This one's going to be trouble...'' 

Alex had this first impression when she met Simon Hewitt. As one of her country's very secret weapons, Alex has survived many difficult situations, often exercising her ''terminal abilities'' to eliminate threats to national security. She does it all while maintaining her facade of a chic Washington widow whose prime concerns seem to be shopping and socializing.

But this was one of a very few times when a man has threatened her life of romantic freedom and independence. While jetting around the world to be with this new lover, Alex finds herself up against the Russian Mafia, high priced assassins, and Arab terrorists.

Review:
Imagine a female James Bond and you get Alex - fashionable, sassy and more than capable of intel-gathering.

From the get-go, I had the impression that this book will be filled with adrenaline-pumping fight scenes against mafia groups, terrorists and the lot as most spy books do. However, as soon as I started reading, the action scenes came waaaay later because they were placed within the last quarter of the book.

First of all, this book is largely contemporary romance. Majority of the book alternated between Alex' intel-gathering and her growing relationship with Simon Hewitt. Oh, and shopping designer clothes and bags, too.  Their favorite shop is Hermes.

Story-wise, there wasn't really anything ground-breaking. In fact, the story is simple enough: a spy whose cover is being a socialite widow finds love in a man who shares the same trade as she does. She generally avoids relationships but is surprised to have found someone stable and completely compatible with her in the person of Simon Hewitt.

Character-wise, nothing ground-breaking either. I appreciate Alex, but she has that unrealistic quality in her. Simon, too. Truthfully, the characters didn't really grow on me. I only finished reading the book for the sole reason that it would be a waste to put it down.

Oh, and one thing that really bothered me when I was reading are the dialogues. They sound too stiff and formal. Sure, Simon could sound formal because he's British, but even Alex sounds too stiff, too.

All in all, this book gives a lot of details on how actual intel-gathering is done by covert agents. It's informative because the Author, as I found out from her Bio, worked for the CIA. But then again, while the book did have its highlights, it just didn't work for me.

[Book Review] Dance of Shadows

Title: Dance of Shadows
Author: Yelena Black
Date Published: February 12, 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Source: ARC
Genre: Young-Adult, Paranormal, Mystery, Horror
Rating: ★★★★★

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

About the Novel:

Dancing with someone is an act of trust. Elegant and intimate; you're close enough to kiss, close enough to feel your partner's heartbeat. But for Vanessa, dance is deadly – and she must be very careful who she trusts... 

Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister's shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames...  

Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Justin, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed...

Review:
After the many contemporary romances that I've read, I was hungry for a bit of mystery-thriller combo, so I leafed through my TBR pile and found Dance of Shadows.

I'm more of a singer than a dancer, but I have to admit that I like watching ballet. There's just something mesmerizing about watching the fluid and graceful movements of a ballerina that makes it hard for me to tear my eyes off. Plus, from what I know of ballet, it's a kind of craft that masks the pain to show only what's beautiful and ethereal through movements, so I was curious to read about the hardships of ballet students in Yelena Black's Dance of Shadows. It also doesn't hurt that it has a mystery vibe going on for it.

First things first! Let us take a second to admire the beautiful poster! LOL.

Now, we go to the review proper. Heh.

Story-wise, I'd have to say that incorporating a ritual dance in ballet is something unexpected. Nonetheless, it was a great plot-device. Everything started out great, but half-way through the story, I don't know what happened. And I really think that this story had something going on for it, I just don't know why there was a downhill.

As for the characters, well, let's just say they became a little too stereotypical. Vanessa, the wide-eyed freshman to an elite ballet school. Zep, the mysterious and gorgeous upperclassman, and Justin, the guy who seemed to have an agenda of his own but stalks Vanessa for some unknown reason.

Oh, and I'll just have to say that the love line in this story is absolutely incorrigible. It's one thing to have a crush and be infatuated, and it's another to be in love. I really cringed at the part where Vanessa's whole world just seemed to revolve around Zep aside from ballet, even though he's always missing in action. And how can she be in love with someone she barely even knows?

All in all, this one is a lengthy story which started out great but slowly fizzled out.

[Book Review] Red Zone

Title: Red Zone
Author: Sherri Hayes
Date Published: February 7, 2013
Source: ARC
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mystery
Rating: ★★★★★ 


Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble


About the Book:

After a case ended badly for Rebecca Carson, she’s losing her mind sitting around her apartment waiting on her superiors to allow her to return to work. Since she was a teenager, the only thing she’d ever wanted was to join the FBI. Now that dream was in danger. 

Gage Daniels has made a pretty good life for himself. A nice house. A career he loves. As a professional football player, he’s used to getting almost everything he’d ever want with just the snap of his fingers. This includes women. A well-timed smile is usually all it takes to attract the opposite sex, especially in Nashville.  

When a stalker threatens Gage, the team owner calls an old friend, Rebecca’s ex-partner Travis Hansen, to help protect his star quarterback and find the person responsible. Hansen offers Rebecca the job, and she jumps at the chance. It’s work, and it will get her out of her apartment. How bad can it be? 

Posing as Gage’s girlfriend, however, isn’t as easy as it seems. The man is relentless. Rebecca must work to protect Gage while staving off his advances. She’s there to do a job, nothing more. The last thing she wants is to be another notch on a hotshot athlete’s belt. 

As the stalker continues to up the ante, Rebecca finds it harder and harder to keep her distance from Nashville’s star quarterback. He isn’t what she expected in one of the city’s most notorious playboys. Now all she has to do is keep him safe until they can find his stalker, and hope she doesn’t lose her heart in the process.

Review:
A suspenseful and equally romantic touch-down for author Sherri Hayes!

In this romance novel, the two main characters are just about as different as night and day. Gage Daniel is a professional football player and a major philanderer to boot. Vanessa Carson, on the other hand, is a serious and uptight FBI agent. Who would have ever thought that they'd end up playing as a couple?

First off, this is a story where the guy has the burden of proof to tip the scale in his favor and make the heroine fall in love with him. Gage Daniel's history with women certainly doesn't make that easy, and the fact that a crazy stalker of his has been keeping tabs on just about every woman he takes in his arms is downright creepy. Good thing Vanessa Carson is an FBI agent. The stalker, she could handle. The falling in love part? Doubtful. Sure, she might be attracted to him, too, but that doesn't guarantee that she'll fall for his charm without putting up a fight.

I like Vanessa despite the fact that she's too uptight and serious. Truth is, I appreciate her dedication to her job as an FBI agent. As an older sister myself, I also appreciate how she stands as a pillar of support to her younger sister. She's certainly a character who has gone through so much, so you can't blame her for being the way she is. Vanessa has so many things hidden underneath the surface that only the most annoying man could probably annoy her to show a little bit of herself. Hn. Good thing Gage Daniels is very annoying.

Gage Daniels on the other hand, is an entirely different business. On the surface, everybody only sees the hot-shot player both inside and outside the field. Very few people get the chance to see just what kind of man he's made of. And even fewer women get the chance to stay long enough to get to know who he really is. I like how Gage is a man of so many contradicting traits. It gives him depth as a character.

Story-wise, the whole plot is nothing elaborate really, but the story-telling is engrossing. The attraction between the two characters was almost tangible. Also, I liked it every time Gage pestered Vanessa out of pure amusement. The banter between them is certainly entertaining.

All in all, this one is a no-fuss, quick-reads romance story that's sure to get the reader get by on uneventful days. It has just enough suspense to keep you guessing and more than enough romance to keep you reading.

[Book Review] City of Dark Magic

Title: City of Dark Magic
Author: Magnus Flyte
Date Published: November 27, 2012
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical
Source: ARC from Publisher
Rating: 3/5

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

About the Book:

Once a city of enormous wealth and culture, Prague was home to emperors, alchemists, astronomers, and, as it’s whispered, hell portals. When music student Sarah Weston lands a summer job at Prague Castle cataloging Beethoven’s manuscripts, she has no idea how dangerous her life is about to become. Prague is a threshold, Sarah is warned, and it is steeped in blood. 

Soon after Sarah arrives, strange things begin to happen. She learns that her mentor, who was working at the castle, may not have committed suicide after all. Could his cryptic notes be warnings? As Sarah parses his clues about Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved,” she manages to get arrested, to have tantric sex in a public fountain, and to discover a time-warping drug. She also catches the attention of a four-hundred-year-old dwarf, the handsome Prince Max, and a powerful U.S. senator with secrets she will do anything to hide. 

City of Dark Magic could be called a rom-com paranormal suspense novel—or it could simply be called one of the most entertaining novels of the year.

Review:
First of all, I have to honestly say that the cover is too pretty to pass up and the title is a little bit misleading. At first glance, I thought that this book would be predominantly paranormal-romance since the title has the word magic in it, but I was wrong on so many levels.

The Good.

The mystery bit was really engaging. I love Sarah Weston’s back story, and how ordinary she was up until she received an invitation to work closely on a private collection in Prague. And I love how the lives of so many individuals were tied up because of a series of events in Prague throughout history.

I also appreciate how they incorporated Beethoven’s life and music into the whole thing. It made the story a lot more colorful, in my opinion.

I also love Poli because she’s one very amazing child prodigy. Although sometimes, I do hate the fact that Poli sounds so mature for her age; too mature, in fact.

Nico/Jepp is also memorable. He is one of the characters bringing about the fantasy bit in this story and I love how he’s portrayed as someone very capable regardless of his size.

The Bad.

This story has too many things going on in it, it’s crazy!

First off, the writing is inconsistent all throughout. While I love some parts of the story, there are those parts that seem totally irrelevant at all. For example, the sex-scenes were incorporated into the story just because it can be. No other reason. Sure, Sarah and Max has to be portrayed as having developed feelings of love for each other, but to start things off in a quickie in a very dark comfort room was NOT the way to do it. In fact, all the sex scenes in this story only made Sarah look like a cheap skank who loves too much sex.

Second, like I said, too many things going on. While I do love me some really engaging mystery, the combination of Beethoven, a former CIA operative turned Senator, a quest for the Golden Fleece, a mysterious sensory-enhancing drug, alchemy and that good old family squabble for fortune is just too overwhelming. Oh, and did I mention that hell-holes or magical portals are also included, plus immortal dwarfs and dead bodies dropping everywhere? Yes. Like I said, too much of too many things all at once.

Third, the romance between Sarah and Max felt forced. While I do concede that no two people can go through so much without developing a bond with each other, I just felt that Max and Sarah should have been given more time to sort out what they actually feel for each other, rather than to throw them into various mysterious situations.

My Rating.

I give this story three stars because it was engaging. It’s overwhelming, but otherwise, it was really engaging.

[Book Review] The Killing Dance

Title: The Killing Dance
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Date Published: April 4, 2006
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Mystery
Source: Purchased Copy
Rating: 4/5

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
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About the Book:

Dating both a vampire and a werewolf isn't easy. But just to complicate Anita's already messy life, someone has put a price on her head. Love cannot save her this time, so she turns to Edward, hitman extraordinaire, for help. But finding the person behind the threat won't be easy, because as both a vampire hunter and zombie reanimator, Anita has made a lot of enemies-both human and otherwise.

Review: 
Whenever I need an engrossing read to momentarily escape the boredom that is the real world, I stick to my favorites, and a Laurell K. Hamilton book is certainly one.

As always, the book is well-written and the suspense is maintained throughout the story. Aside from the mystery bit, the shift to erotica was a little bit disturbing at times, especially those happening to the bad guys, but nothing majorly off-putting. The mystery and action bits were enough to keep me reading throughout the night.

As for the characters, Jean Claude is consistent in being the cunning bastard that he is, and that is what I liked about him. Consistency. That, and his momentary bouts of humanity when it came to Anita. The thing is, Jean Claude perfectly depicts how intelligent people (in this case, a vampire) can become mindless idiots when it comes to love and all that romantic whatchamacallits. And it also doesn’t hurt much that Anita always stresses just how beautiful he is.

Richard, on the other hand, seems too humane. In contrast to Jean Claude, Richard holds on to his morals like a lifeline. He wouldn’t kill even if it meant providing security for the people/creatures that depend on him. Choosing not to kill even though he has the power and the motivation to do so is admirable, but when villains are being a huge pain in the ass, personally I’d move for the kill.

And of course, Anita Blake, the kick-ass heroine of the story. She is a huge contradiction all on her own. I love that she knows her own frailty – the fact that she’s a human surrounded by vampires and were-folks that are all much stronger than her. It keeps her guarded and always alert when it comes to danger. That also explains why survival is quite high on her priority.

However, I don’t like the fact that she doesn’t know what she really wants! First, between Jean Claude and Richard. When Jean Claude gave her the freedom to choose, she should’ve chosen who she really wanted to be with. Right from the start of the book, she had been on Team Richard! I was on Team Richard, too, by the way. But instead of choosing and making up her mind, she didn’t! She just had to see how Richard looked when he changed, only to get so disturbed and end up making a half-assed decision to sleep with Jean Claude, which ultimately defined her choice between the two. Yep, even if she kept on saying how much she loathed the cunning bastard that is Jean Claude, she ended up choosing him anyway. And this was mainly because she can’t accept all of Richard even though he already sacrificed so much for her. This made me realize that maybe, Anita didn’t really love Richard wholeheartedly. Personally, I believe Richard deserves someone better.

Anyways, although I’m not that satisfied with the storyline, the book did keep me engrossed and I highly enjoyed the fight scenes, so yes, I give this book four stars.