Movie Review: One for the Money

I was wary of this movie as the casting of the main characters were announced but knew I'd end up watching it. My sis and I are fans of the books and wanted to see how it would translate to the big screen. Unfortunately, it didn't hold up too well.

Katherine Heigl brings Stephanie Plum – the popular heroine of Janet Evanovich’s worldwide best-selling sixteen-book mystery series – to vibrant life in Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment’s “One for the Money.”

A proud, born-and-bred Jersey girl, Stephanie Plum’s got plenty of attitude, even if she’s been out of work for the last six months and just lost her car to a debt collector. Desperate for some fast cash, Stephanie turns to her last resort: convincing her sleazy cousin to give her a job at his bail bonding company… as a recovery agent. True, she doesn’t even own a pair of handcuffs and her weapon of choice is pepper spray, but that doesn’t stop Stephanie from taking on Vinny’s biggest bail-jumper: former vice cop and murder suspect Joe Morelli – yup, the same sexy, irresistible Joe Morelli who seduced and dumped her back in high school.

Nabbing Morelli would be satisfying payback – and a hefty payday – but as Stephanie learns the ins and outs of becoming a recovery agent from Ranger, a hunky colleague who’s the best in the business, she also realizes the case against Morelli isn’t airtight. Add to the mix her meddling family, a potentially homicidal boxer, witnesses who keep dying and the problem of all those flying sparks when she finds Morelli himself… well, suddenly Stephanie’s new job isn’t nearly as easy as she thought.

The movie starts out ok with a few laughs provided by Steph's mom and Grandma Mazur around the family dinner table. We find out Steph's been unemployed for 6 months and her Grandma lets her know of a possible opening at Steph's cousin Vinnie's bailbonds office. Then it kind of slowly moves along and it seems like forever til we get another laugh. Part of the time I was distracted by Steph's frizzy hairstyle. Finally she pulls it back into a low ponytail and it was less distracting. However, Steph's overly spray-tanned chest was another matter. It kind of varied from looking like she was sweating all the time to looking sunburned. Anyway, Steph ends up working for Vinnie and takes over some cases from another bondsman who is out due to an appendectomy. One of the cases turns out to be Joe Morelli. Steph and Joe have a history - she lost her virginity to him back in high school and he never called her again. Apparently Steph then hit him with her car, breaking his leg, so they're really not on good terms at the moment. When Joe finds out Steph is the bond agent trying to bring him in, all he can do is laugh since he doesn't think she's tough enough for the job.

Enter Ranger, an experienced bounty-hunter who's looking to expand into the private security business. Book version Ranger is the ultimate man of mystery. He's Batman-Superman-Sexyman all rolled into one. In the movie, he's Extra Friendly and Helpful Man. Seriously, he meets up with Stephanie since she's new to the bounty-hunter scene and he gives her some tips about the case and guns and shooting. But he's too damn friendly and talkative and smiley and...ok I'll stop. He doesn't even manage to say, "Babe" sexily.

I really didn't think Heigl could pull off the humor of the Stephanie Plum character but in the end she did a better job than I thought. I also had doubts about the guy playing Morelli since he totally didn't fit my idea of him from the books but I felt like he and Heigl had decent enough chemistry that it worked well enough. Unfortunately, I didn't think there was much chemistry between Steph and Ranger in the movie whereas in the books, Steph would have smoke coming out her ears if Ranger even whispered, "Babe". But....to be fair, I think Ranger is so built up in the books that anyone playing him in a movie wouldn't live up to him.

I thought the movie did improve during the second half where Steph started doing some more investigative work to find the witnesses to the crime that everyone thinks Morelli committed. We also see her going out to capture other people who skipped their court date so she could make some quick money to pay her bills. Some of those secondary characters had funny moments. Then there was a weird little chunk where the movie took a more serious tone and it felt very out of place.

Anyway, while I think the 2nd half was a definite improvement over the 1st half of the movie (and what made this a C- rather than a D), I would recommend renting it or waiting for a TV airing rather than seeing it in the theater. Unless you want to go to the theater, then by all means go for it because while the movie was a C- for me, the popcorn was A+.

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Julie James – Something About You

My intro to Julie James' work was her second novel, Practice Makes Perfect. I loved J.D. and Peyton's story and looked forward to reading more from the author. I've been meaning to read her debut novel, Just the Sexiest Man Alive, but somewhere along the way it got lost in the TBR pile shuffle. But soon, Ms. James' third novel was on the horizon and I picked it up and forgot all about the TBR pile - as they say, out of sight, out of mind. I started SAY on a Sunday afternoon but only got a couple chapters in before I experienced life interruptus and regrettably had to set it down. I didn't pick it back up until the following Saturday where I was up into the late hours reading all about Jack and Cameron. For me, who usually takes 2-3 weeks to finish a book, it was an excellent sign.

FATE HAS THROWN TWO SWORN ENEMIES. . .

Of all the hotel rooms rented by all the adulterous politicians in Chicago, female Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde had to choose the one next to 1308, where some hot-and-heavy lovemaking ends in bloodshed. And of all the FBI agents in Illinois, it had to be Special Agent Jack Pallas who gets assigned to this high-profile homicide. The same Jack Pallas who still blames Cameron for a botched crackdown three years ago—and nearly ruining his career…

. . .INTO EACH OTHER’S ARMS

Work with Cameron Lynde? Are they kidding? Maybe, Jack thinks, this is some kind of welcome-back prank after his stint away from Chicago. But it’s no joke: the pair is going to have to put their rocky past behind them and focus on the case at hand. That is, if they can cut back on the razor-sharp jibes—and smother the flame of their sizzling-hot sexual tension…

The book opens with the heroine, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde, unknowingly hearing a crime in the hotel room next to hers. It turns out a U.S. Senator is mixed up in the crime and with Cameron being the main witness, the FBI is brought in and thus we meet the hero, Special Agent Jack Pallas. These two worked together in the past and things were going pretty smoothly until something happened with a case, heated words were said, misunderstandings ensued and both parted ways thinking ill of the other. Now, with their paths crossing some 3 years later, there is still anger between the two but also the underlying attraction they never had a chance to explore. This provides for some seriously hot tension between the two main characters.

The dialogue in the book is very believable and most importantly relatable. Cameron joking around with some of the cops (Officer Man-Boy) or those on her protective watch telling stories about conversations they had with her. Then there's Jack's partner, Wilkins, as well as Cameron's two best friends, Collin and Amy, who also provide some comic relief. One part that made me laugh was when Wilkins is asked to look in Cameron's purse for her house keys.

He reached past Cameron and tossed her purse over the seat. “See if you can find her keys,” he told Wilkins.
“Are you kidding? What if she wakes up and sees me rummaging around in there? You don’t touch the purse. The purse is sacrosanct.”

I found it funny because there have been 3 separate occasions when a male friend or relative asked me for something and I told them it was in my purse and to go ahead and grab it from the side pocket or the inner zipper. They brought my purse to me every time, even if I was in another room and my purse was in the room they were in. I never thought it was a "thing" but it appears to be some unspoken guy code.:p

Another thing I enjoyed is the romance quirk that Ms. James puts into her books. I completely forgot to mention the one she uses in Practice Makes Perfect when I reviewed that book but it was one of my favorite parts. In PMP, some of the characters talked about the "grand gesture". I won't give away what the quirk is in SAY but it's another cute aspect of the author's writing.

Aside from the funny, is the sexy. The chemistry between Jack and Cameron is smokin' hot. One of my favorite scenes is the motorcycle scene.

Before they took off—since these could very possibly be her last words—she flipped up the helmet visor and leaned forward to speak over the bike’s engine. “Don’t do anything crazy. I’m the maid of honor in my friend Amy’s wedding, and she’ll kill me if I have to be wheeled down the aisle in a body cast. Plus I got these new four-inch heels just for the occasion and they will not go well with crutches.”
She flipped the visor down.
Jack spun around in his seat and flipped the visor back open. “Don’t worry—since it’s your first time, I’ll be extra gentle.” With a wink, he flipped the visor shut.
She flipped the visor back open. “Nice innuendo. Am I supposed to be charmed by—”
Jack reached around and cut her off by flipping the visor shut again. “Sorry, no more talking, it distracts the driver.”
From behind the helmet, Cameron clamped her mouth in frustration. If he killed them both on the stupid bike, it was really going to piss her off that she didn’t at least get the last word in.

They start out with some light and fun banter but soon things take a slightly different turn. You'll have to read the book to find out ;)

There are so many good things I could talk about but I'll go ahead and wrap it up with the other major part of the book, solving the crime. There were moments when the chapter changed to the criminal stuff and I wanted it to keep going with Jack and Cameron or the other characters. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't like the suspense part of the book, it's just that the romance and humorous parts were very, very good. One thing about the suspense that I really liked was the fact that we, the readers, are shown early on who the criminal is and the plot is watching as the main characters try to figure it out. But overall, this was an excellent read and I look forward to reading book #4.

Speaking of book #4, there is an excerpt in the back of SAY but I did not read it. It's like putting chocolate in front of me and saying, "Sorry you can't eat it until next year". That's just plain cruel :D So…I won't read a word of the next book until I know the whole thing is available.

Final Grade:

Around The Net:

Babbling About Books, And More!: B
Dear Author: A-
Read React Review
closetwriter: Keeper
Book Binge: 4.75 out of 5
Thrifty Reader: A
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: A-
The Romance Reader: 4 hearts
Petit Fours and Hot Tamales: 5 out of 5
The Book Smugglers: 7 out of 10
Mrs Giggles: 85 out of 100

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JR Ward - BDB 03 - Lover Awakened

The Challenge: The beginning of this book wasn't as hard to get into as the last. It still had some funky opening dialogue but I pushed through and made it over the first hump fairly easily. Later though, when switching to text, it took A LOT for me to ignore Ward's gems like ahvenge, cohntehst, ghardian and sehclusion. Seriously, I wonder how she decides which words get that extra special attention. Things that make you go WTF…er…hmmmm.

Format and Setting: I listened to about 1/3 of it in audio when I could at work but it's long so I switched to reading the rest of it here, there, everywhere.

The Music: The official rapper name dropped was Mystikal. For me, I'd say the song for this book in general would be Lady Gaga's Bad Romance

…. I want your ugly
I want your disease
I want your everything
As long as it’s free
I want your love
Love love love
I want your love…

The Couple: Zsadist and Bella

The Surprise: I liked this book…for the most part.

A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion—until he rescues a beautiful aristocrat from the evil Lessening Society.

Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for one another begins to overtake them both, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now, Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past, and find a future with her…

Zsadist was one of the characters that stood out for me in books 1 and 2 so I was glad his story was next in the series. Z was made out to be the loner with a past so horrific that even the other members of the Brotherhood appeared wary of him. So why did someone like that stick out to me? Because we also caught glimpses of a caring soul and I wanted to see more of that side. In Lover Awakened, Zsadist is awakened to true emotions, true security, true personal growth and of course, true love.

This story continues the plot of Bella's kidnapping by the lessers, which occurred towards the end of book 2. It opens up with Z and the Brotherhood looking for her and when she is found early in the story, we see more of the softer side of Z as he cares of her during her recuperation. We also learn more of what happened to him when he was a blood slave. Learning what Z endured in his past absolutely explains the scared and wounded person he is now. In his eyes, he is dirty and unworthy and anyone who tries to get close to him will be tainted. As Z and Bella spend more time together, it was sweet to see him sort of blossoming emotionally. He would tell Bella why something was difficult for him to accept and sometimes they were able to work through the issue but most of the time, Z still felt he wasn't good enough for Bella. She tried to convince him that he was neither dirty nor unworthy of her love but in the end, the only one who could change Z's outlook was Z. That's what I thought was great about this book. Z ended up making decisions and taking actions that showed he finally believed he was worth having more in his life. When compared to the previous two books, I'd say Bella and Zsadist's is my favorite.

Another thing I enjoyed was learning more about Zsadist and his twin brother Phury's history. Phury takes a trip down memory lane and we see how Z was taken from their family and became a blood slave. We learn how long Phury searched for his brother and what he sacrificed to rescue him. I felt such compassion for both brothers and Phury became another stand out character for me. I really felt for him because he started to fall for Bella too but she chose Z and he had to stand by and watch their happy ending. He sealed the deal for me towards the end when he sacrificed himself again for his brother…I look forward to reading his book.

Phury knelt beside him and stroked his face. "I've only ever had you to live for. If you die I have nothing. I'm utterly lost. And you are needed here."

Zsadist tried to reach out, but couldn't lift his arms as Phury stood up.

"God, Z, I keep thinking this tragedy of ours is going to be over. But it just keeps going, doesn't it?"

Zsadist blacked out to the sound of his twin's boots heading from the room.

One of my favorite things is still the moments of solidarity between the Brothers. There's a scene when a change in Z's physical appearance is noticed and the Brothers are all there for the surprising revelation.

Z jacked his head up. "Why?"

"He didn't give a reason—" Tohr's eyes narrowed on Z's face. "Oh… my God."

The others in the room glanced over, and there were a couple of low gasps. Then the Brotherhood and Butch just stared at him.

"What the fuck are you looking at?"

Phury pointed to the antique mirror hanging on the wall next to the double doors. "See for yourself."

Zsadist marched across the room, ready to give them all hell. Bella was what mattered—

His mouth went lax at his reflection. With a shaky hand he reached out to the eyes in the old-fashioned leaded glass. His irises were no longer black. They were yellow. Just like his twin's.

"Phury?" he said softly. "Phury… what's happened to me?"

As the male came up behind him, the brother's face appeared right beside Z's. And then Wrath's dark reflection showed up in the mirror, all long hair and sunglasses. Then Rhage's star-fallen beauty. And Vishous's Sox cap. And Tohrment's brush cut. And Butch's busted nose.

One by one they reached out and touched him, their big hands landing gently on his shoulders.

"Welcome back, my brother," Phury whispered.

Zsadist stared at the males who were behind him. And had the oddest thought that if he were to let himself go limp and fall backward… they would catch him.

We also meet another character, Bella's brother Rehvenge, who seems like an interesting addition. There's a little twist at the end, that I admit I didn't see coming, and I'm curious to see how he plays into the rest of the series.

Now for the lessers, the baby powder smelling adversaries of the vampires. In earlier books I never found them very threatening but this book seemed to step up the action. I'm still waiting for my epic Lord of the Rings Battle at Helms Deep type fight but so far things are heading in the right direction. In this book there's the creepy and obsessive stalkerish lesser holding Bella captive and refers to her as his wife. He was so loony tunes over her that he even ignored his duties as fore-lesser to find her. When he finally gets a lead on her location, he sets in motion something that I really, really, really hated in this book.

If you haven't read any of these books and are planning to, I suggest you skip over the next section.

*SPOILER RANT ALERT* Scroll mouse over to read.

Crazy stalker dude that kidnapped Bella ends up killing Wellsie!!! Why, why, why?!?! Aside from Zsadist, Tohr was the other character that stood out for me in the previous books. I wanted to see how he and Wellsie's future turned out since she was pregnant. I wanted them to have their happy ending. The scene where the Brotherhood comes to tell Tohr what happened is heartbreaking but after that, there's practically nothing else. We see John's mourning but there are only a couple mentions of Tohr still being missing. C'mon, dammit. In previous books, Wellsie was there for Brotherhood dinners and she took John in when they found him. I know they couldn't do the formal Fade ceremony because Tohr was gone, but damn someone shed a tear for her. Someone talk about her and what she may have meant to them. Someone do more to try and find Tohr.

*END SPOILER RANT*

While Bella and Z's story has been my favorite so far, there are still things that bug me.

1. Of course there's the funky slang. I can't tell you how annoying it is to hear/read about the "shitkickers" or "What's doing?" or "How's doing?" For the love of all that's grammatical, can I please get a complete sentence?
2. When Z remembers back to what he endured as a blood slave there were several uncomfortable moments for me. I understand the need to show us what he went through but some of the frequent and detailed descriptions were uncomfortable to read.
3. Coming back to the present, Bella goes into her needing period.
   
   

   needing period(n.) Female vampire's time of fertility, generally lasting for two days and accompanied by intense sexual cravings. Occurs approximately five years after a female's transition and then once a decade thereafter. All males respond to some degree if they are around a female in her need. It can be a dangerous time, with conflicts and fights breaking out between competing males, particularly if the female is not mated.
   

    This is too close to animals in heat and weirded me out. Seriously, every male in the house started sportin' wood and since it was daytime, those without female mates in-house were shit out of luck. They had to turn to alcohol, red smoke or "self-love" to get through the needing period. During this time, Bella and Z started their sex-a-thon. It was all just very, very bizarre.
   
   
   

As for grading this book, the portions with Bella and Z's romance and Z and Phury's interactions would be a B- but the rest would be a C-. What to do, what to do? I'll go ahead and give it the higher one.

Final Grade:

ETA: 01/21/2010 - Made minor changes to review for clarity of thought, spelling/formatting issues and overall cohesiveness as original review was written while I was super tired and therefore did not re-read it thoroughly before hitting Publish Post :D


Around The Net:
Loves Vampires: 5 out of 5 stars
A Journey of Books: A
Dear Author: A-
Romantic Times: 4.5 out of 5 stars
The Hope Chest: 5 out of 5 stars
The Romance Reader: 4 out of 5 hearts

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Keri Arthur - Bound to Shadows (Riley Jenson Guardian Book #08)

Yet another series I'm a fan of and after the last book I was eager to see what Riley would be facing in her personal life. As fans of the series know Riley Jenson and her twin brother Rhoan are half vampire and half werewolf. The wolves in this tale have one soul mate they go through life hoping to find. The connection between wolf soul mates is so strong that more often than not, if one dies their soul mate dies with them. The big question Riley faces is can a person with two souls have two soul mates? She's been in a committed relationship with the zexy vampire Quinn but they always knew one day she would find her wolf soul mate. How would they deal with that when it happened? This book gives us some of the answers.

Part vampire, part werewolf, Riley Jenson knows what can happen when vamps don’t play well with others. But she’s never seen anything like this: a series of brutal murders surrounding the latest hot spot for vampire-human hookups—and the victims aren’t just killed, they’re beheaded. Now Riley is launching into action, toying with a seductive—and highly suspicious—club owner, and finding herself in the middle of another mystery: women being killed one by one, without a trace of violence.

For Riley, solving multiple cases—in a world going mad with human and vampire passions—would have been tough enough. Instead she has two jealous lovers on her hands: Kye Murphy, the amber-eyed werewolf who makes Riley’s wolf blood howl—and Quinn, the cool, elegant vamp who has over a thousand years’ experience at fulfilling women’s desires. While she’s busy juggling these two sexy beasts, Riley’s detective work takes a stunningly violent turn. Finding a murderer is now a matter of life and death. Especially since the killer has long since found her . . .

At the end of the previous book Riley finally finds her soul mate; too bad he's more foe than friend. I thought making Riley's soul mate someone she despises was an interesting twist by Ms. Arthur so I was anxious to see how things would turn out in this book. I thought Riley and Kye would eventually work things out which would cause problems between Riley and Quinn and that would be the big to-do in this book. Instead, the animosity continues to grow between Riley and Kye and they fight against the soul mate connection while also occasionally giving in to the physical pull of their bodies (hot and hard sex up against the door jamb anyone?).

As for Rhoan, he's already found his soul mate in Leander and is finally taking a big step towards a more committed relationship: he and Leander want to have a baby. Leander's sister is willing to carry the baby and they ask Riley to donate an egg so the baby will be a part of the Jenson clan too. This is a huge deal for Riley because above all else, her heart's desire has been to have a baby. With things that happened to her in the past, she is unable to carry one. I can't wait to see where Ms. Arthur takes this story line.

We also got to see more of Riley's friend Dia, a woman/clone Riley helped in the past, and Dia's daughter Risa. We find out Risa's father was one of the same creatures Quinn used to be before he became a vampire. Dia asks for Quinn's help with mentoring Risa since the young girl's powers are growing every day. Dia is also psychic and Riley goes to her for some advice about her future and the whole soul mate situation. There's also more of Kade, the were-stallion (*snickers*) who has a corral of mares and new colts to look after. Kade is also a co-worker of Riley's and is the funny sidekick type character. It was nice to have Kade and Riley working together on solving the latest crimes.

I have to say I really, really, really disliked Kye. He's a cold-hearted, selfish and cocky son-of-a-bitch with a dash of crazy. At first I thought he would change because of Riley but as things progressed I started to sense something really wasn't right with him. In the end, we found out what he was really up to. I felt sorry that after all this time and hope, this is the soul mate Riley ended up with. I wondered how Ms. Arthur would resolve this horrible situation and what she did was shocking. Not just what happened with Kye (which looking back on the series, I can see it was heading that way) but what happened with Kade. I was not feeling that particular bit at all.

With that said, I can't wait to read book 9 which is the series finale.

Final Grade:

Around The Net:

Steph Su Reads: 2.5 out of 5
Leontine's Book Realm: 4 out of 5 stars
Romantic Times: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Carolyn Jewel - Scandal

Scandal has a bit of a different start to it compared to the romances I've read in the past. We meet the hero, Banallt, who is just arriving with his friend John Mercer to John's home where John's sister, Sophie, also resides. We find out right away that Banallt is there to win Sophie's heart. Sophie and Banallt have met in the past, when both were married to others, but they struck up a friendship that apparently has turned to love on Banallt's side. He expresses his intent to marry her and I was extremely interested in finding out what exactly happened in the past to make this man almost desperate in his pursuit. Great way to draw the reader in!

The earl of Banallt is no stranger to scandal. But when he meets Sophie Evans, the young wife of a fellow libertine, even he is shocked by his reaction. This unconventional and intelligent woman proves to be far more than an amusing distraction-- she threatens to drive him to distraction. Unlike the women who usually fall at Banallt's feet, and into his bed, Sophie refuses to be seduced. And soon Banallt desires her more than ever-- and for more than an illicit affair.

Years later, the widowed Sophie is free, and Banallt is determined to win the woman he still loves. Unfortunately, she doesn't believe his declaration of love and chivalrous offer of marriage-- her heart has already been broken by her scoundrel of a husband. And yet, Sophie is tempted to indulge in the torrid affair she's always fantasized about. Caught between her logical mind and her long-denied desire, Sophie must thwart Banallt's seduction-- or risk being consumed by the one man she should avoid at all costs...

The chapters flow seamlessly back and forth in time from Sophie and Banallt's past to their present day interactions. We learn that Banallt was a friend of Sophie's husband, Tommy. One night Tommy comes home drunk, passes out in his and Sophie's bed and leaves her to deal with the two strangers in the hallway. The strangers are Banallt and one of his many mistresses. A servant shows the mistress to a guest room and Sophie shows Banallt to a separate guest room. This is where he first makes a pass at her but Sophie is faithful to her husband and slaps Banallt in the face. What a nice first meeting, eh?

Back to the present, both Sophie and Banallt's spouses have passed away so both are free to pursue new relationships. Unfortunately Sophie is too wounded from her past marriage and Tommy's infidelities to trust another man, let alone Banallt. Considering Banallt and Tommy were fans of good ol' debauchery, she has every right to be wary. But something has happened and Banallt is a changed man. He has given up the rake's life and wants to build a life with Sophie. The only problem is convincing her that he will be faithful.

During all this, John is the typical protective brother and warns Banallt away from Sophie. He knows the hurt Sophie suffered during her marriage and with Banallt's reputation he only wants to protect his sister from future harm. John is also rising in his political career and through him Sophie meets a couple of men who also seem to be interested in courting her. There is also a secondary budding romance between John and Banallt's cousin's daughter that I found very sweet.

I read Scandal in two sittings which is very rare for me because of time constraints but I found myself eager to see how it would end. Which brings me to the not so good stuff: there I was minding my own business, happily reading along when something unexpected happened. I am not lying when I tell you my good reading mood was broken when this incident happened. Complete bummer! There were also a few issues I was confused about and since I was in the last days of my NaNoReadMo challenge I didn’t do as much re-reading as I normally would when needing clarification. First, Sophie and Banallt sometimes referenced how horrible Banallt was on the final day they saw each other. I thought he had revealed Sophie's secret occupation but I have since re-read that portion of the book and know it was him making another pass at her. The second issue is what exactly made Banallt decide to turn his life around. I've re-read more of the book and still unsure if there was an actual event that changed his life. Was it the loss of his wife? There is someone else from Banallt's past and I thought it was the loss of that person but that also happened back when he knew Sophie. I thought something major happened to him since their last meeting and that was the reason for the redeemed man.

Aside from that confusion and the incident that bummed me out, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the glimpses (outside of the chapters set in the past) we got of Sophie and Banallt's close friendship like when Sophie sees the painting in Banallt's home and tells him it is as beautiful as he had told her. I love how she knows his little quirks like always tugging on his cravat. My all time favorite line in the book is Banallt describing Sophie when they're in the carriage. I've read a few romances where the heroine isn't the conventional beauty yet has that certain something that attracts the hero but I've never read it described better than this:

He leaned back so that he had a better view of her face. She was one of those women, he’d long ago decided, whose appeal did not lie in repose, but in action, in the change of expression, the quick, intelligent eyes.

I LOVE this description! "…whose appeal did not lie in repose, but in action, in the change of expression…" It is absolutely true. Someone's personality and spirit can definitely shine through one's expression and bring absolute beauty to it no matter what their physical appearance may be.

I've had this book in my TBR pile for a while and am so glad to have finally read it. My new challenge will be figuring out which Carolyn Jewel book to read next.

Final Grade:
A very high

Around The Net:

The Book Binge: 4.5 out of 5
Dear Author: A-
Love Romance Passion: 4 - 4.5 stars out of 5
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: B+
All About Romance: B+
Romantic Times: 4 stars out of 5
The Book Smugglers: 9 out of 10
Romance Novel TV: 5+ stars

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Karen Marie Moning - Dreamfever (Fever Book #04)

I'm a fan of this series and was eager to start this book since the cliffhanger ending in the previous one. The ending where Dublin is under attack and Mac is being raped by three Unseelie Princes and the Lord Master who is believed to have killed Mac's sister Alina. When I finished book 3 I was a bit stunned by the ending and there was some speculation that maybe the destruction of Dublin and Mac's rape were some kind of dream since the next book was titled Dreamfever. Anyone who has read this book can confirm it's not a dream.

MacKayla Lane lies naked on the cold stone floor of a church, at the mercy of the erotic Fae master she once swore to kill. Far from home, unable to control her sexual hungers, MacKayla is now fully under the Lord Master's spell. In the New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning's stunning new novel, the walls between human and Fae worlds have come crashing down. And as Mac fights for survival on Dublin's battle-scarred streets, she will embark on the darkest-and most erotically charged-adventure of her life.

He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister's murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac's every thought-and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust.

As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V'lane vie for her body and soul, as she rallies the sidhe-seers to fight an impossible battle, and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac's greatest enemy delivers a final challenge...

It's an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth-about herself, and about the world she thought she knew.

This book picks up right where book 3 left off. Mac is being raped and losing everything that makes her Mac. With each forced orgasm by the sex Fae princes, she loses a memory of her childhood, a memory of her sister, a dream she had for her future. She is turned Pri-ya, which means she becomes nothing but a sexual being, living, breathing and needing sex above all else. When the princes are done with her, they move her outside the church they found her in and that's where Dani, a young sidhe-seer Mac befriends, finds her and with her superspeed ability, is able to get Mac back to the sidhe-seer compound.

At the compound is where the sexy Barrons (of unknown origins) arrives, with eight other men who appear to be of the same unknown creation, and takes the pri-ya'd Mac away to try and save her. No one has ever come back from being turned pri-ya but we can't have the heroine of the book out for the count, can we? Thus begins a months-long battle for Mac's former self with Barrons leading the way. He repeatedly reminds her of things from her life: her sister Alina, her parents, the bookstore they worked in, her anger towards him. Oh and throw in some sexing during it all because she is pri-ya after all and Barrons apparently couldn't restrain her somehow but gave in to giving her some sex along with the information about her life. Three words for ya: "Say my name." I was hoping these two would hook up eventually but I didn't want it to occur that way. Then, with the exception of one argument (I think), the aftermath of what happened isn't really addressed. Why not, Ms. Moning?

One thing we do find out about the recovered Mac is that she is no longer vulnerable to the sex Fae's pull. V'lane (the friendly sex fae?) who has a soft spot for Mac always had to dull his powers when in her presence but he meets with her unguarded and she feels absolutely nothing. So, like with some illnesses where your body builds up an immunity to the strain, Mac apparently built up an immunity to the powers that had invaded her so ruthlessly in the beginning of the book. How will this aid in the search for the Sinsar Dubh?

There are parts of this book that I found confusing as all hell like the four stones and especially the mirrors. I started to get the idea of the stones when Christian was telling Mac about the history of the stones' creation but the whole idea of the mirrors being re-routed, I have no fecking clue. Don't even ask me about the Hall of Mirrors. Yet the rest of the story is so freaking awesome that I can over look these issues. Things Mac believed to be true are now under question. Did the Lord Master kill Alina? Is Barrons really one of the good guys? Why didn't her parents tell her and Alina the truth? We're also left with so many new questions like who are the other eight men in Barrons crew? What's up with Ryodan's little nightclub? Who was the fourth rapist? Who was the beast at the end? (pssst…….click here for some crackpot theories underway on goodreads.com – reader beware: spoilers ahoy!)

Dani especially stood out for me and I found that I really enjoyed it when the pov changed to hers. Another thing I enjoyed was the interaction between Mac and Dani. Dani looks up to Mac as an older sister and Mac begins to see their relationship echoing that of hers and Alina. They also work together to figure out solutions to the craziness going on around them rather than sitting around waiting on Barrons or V'lane to save the day.

I think one of the biggest draws of this series for me is the fact that there is a finite amount of books in it. Book #5, Shadowfever, is to be the grand finale of the Fever Series. Ms Moning definitely knows how to leave us hanging and wanting more and this series is one of the few that I always look out for come release day.

The following is from an email I sent Mistress just after completing the book. I believe it sums up my thoughts on the book and most especially the cliffhanger ending:

OMG! WTF! Just finished Dreamfever. Dammit should not have read this til last book was out. As Dani would say, Feckin A!!!!!!!

Final Grade:

ETA: Audio book details

I've listened to the entire series on audio and this book changes narrator from Joyce Bean (books 1-3) to Natalie Ross and Phil Gigante. It took some getting used to but I quickly adjusted and enjoyed the new narration. Mr. Gigante's deep bass comes across a bit monotone but at times is wonderful at enhancing certain phrases *cough*Say My Name*cough*. Mist wasn't a fan of the narration change and set the audio aside for the text version.

Around The Net:

Romance Rookie: A
Lurve A La Mode: 2.5 to 3 scoops out of 5
Review Stream: 10
Romantic Times: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Maggie Stiefvater - Shiver

This was another audio book listen and in all honesty, I would have set it aside if it had not been one of my NaNoReadMo challenge books. Nothing like a public pledge to get the reading mojo going! When I started Shiver, I got the same "it's taking too long to get going" vibe I did when I tried Twilight. Unlike Twilight, though, I actually finished this book. Who knows, I may join a Twilight challenge someday and finish it then but, um, don't hold your breath. ;)

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human... until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

We're introduced to Grace, a girl being attacked by wolves, before a certain yellow-eyed wolf challenges the attackers and gets them to back down. Six years later we meet a boy named Sam, working in a local bookstore that just happens to have yellow eyes. A wolf with yellow eyes? A boy with yellow eyes? It couldn't be, could it? Why yes, yes it can. Wolf = Boy. “It's elementary, my dear Watson.”

Anyway…what makes this werewolf story different from all the rest is the fact that the transformation from man to wolf, and vice versa, has nothing to do with the moon. The transition for these wolves is based on the temperature. When the temp drops in the winter, they turn into wolves. When it heats up during summer, they change back to humans. Also, they only get a certain amount of changes before they become a wolf, permanently. The number of changes varies for each person and that's one thing that bugged me. How can it be so random for each person? And why not move to a place that's always warm? This question is brought up in the book but the answer is kind of effed up too. There's just no rhyme or reason to it. It just…IS. I don't like that. I want to know the what's, how's and why's.

I found Sam and Grace's growing relationship to be sweet but it felt like forever before the story picked up and got interesting. Grace's parents were beyond clueless and selfish, never once taking a real interest in their daughter's life. If they had, they would've noticed the dude sleeping in her room. Things finally picked up for me when another girl, Isabel, approached Grace for help regarding her brother Jack. Jack was killed earlier in the book by the wolves yet Isabel tells Grace she has recently seen her brother. Things slow down again because Grace denies knowing anything about the wolves and she and Sam continue their budding relationship. One thing that stood out for me early on was the fact that Grace was bitten by a wolf in the beginning of the book yet she never turned into one. This is what I held onto for a lot of the book – I wanted to know why, Why, WHY?!?! The subject finally came up in the book and I hoped they would take the information to Beck (Sam's mentor/father-figure/fellow wolf-man) so they could really look into her situation and what made it unique. Instead, Grace and Sam talk about it for a little bit and then don't really do anything about it. HELLO!!! She was somehow cured! Get thee to a lab for some analysis, STAT!

In the end, it does turn out that something about when Grace was bitten gives the Scooby Doo gang an idea about finding a cure, but there's one major problem: the temperature is dropping and Sam is facing his final change. This is where things really get good. I applaud the audio book version during this part because the section where they're looking for Sam, and Isabel is checking the sheds on her family's property had me pausing all else as I waited for the outcome. The rest of the book from this point had my full attention. The part in the car just after the accident…heartbreaking!

So, while the beginning and middle were a little slow for me, the final stretch of the book was good enough for me to look back and say I'm glad I read it.

Final Grade:

Around The Net:

Chick Lit Teens: 5/5
The Book Butterfly: 5/5
The Book Smugglers: 5/10
Dear Author: B-
Babbling About Books, and More: B+
My Friend Amy: 4/5

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Janet Evanovich - Finger Lickin' Fifteen

It's hard to believe I am still with a series 15 books in because I normally fizzle out around book 7. The Stephanie Plum series was always light and fun reading so it never bothered me how Stephanie was up to her usual antics or that she was still floating back and forth between staying with Morelli and having some fun with Ranger. There was a time when I read each book as soon as it came out but it was six months before I picked this one up. Sadly, there was good reason for that delay.

UNBUCKLE YOUR BELT AND PULL UP A CHAIR. IT'S THE SPICIEST, SAUCIEST, MOST RIB-STICKING PLUM YET.

Recipe for disaster:
Celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle comes to Trenton to participate in a barbecue cook-off and loses his head --literally.

Throw in some spice:
Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she’ll talk to is Trenton cop, Joe Morelli.

Pump up the heat:
Chipotle’s sponsor is offering a million dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers.

Stir the pot:
Lula recruits bounty hunter Stephanie Plum to help her find the killers and collect the moolah.

Add a secret ingredient:
Stephanie Plum’s Grandma Mazur. Enough said.

Bring to a boil:
Stephanie Plum is working overtime tracking felons for the bonds office at night and snooping for security expert Carlos Manoso, A.K.A. Ranger, during the day. Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, solve Ranger’s problems and not jump his bones?

Warning:
Habanero hot. So good you’ll want seconds.

Yeah, yeah, yeah Stephanie is out hunting a skip and the usual stuff happens like the guy getting away, cars blowing up, Ranger helping her out, Joe Morelli warning her away from him….basically a little bit from books 1-14 mixed together and repackaged with different secondary character names. The main difference of this book is that Lula is the main focus. She is a witness to a crime so has to hide out from the people looking to silence her. Where does she hide? Well at Stephanie's place of course! This arrangement doesn't work too well for either of them so Stephanie ends up staying at Ranger's place for a while.

I've listened to most of this series on audio and for some reason Lula has always been a bit annoying. It may be how the narrator voices her but I usually end up wondering how Stephanie can put up with some of her quirks. So with Lula being the focus of this book, I was rather annoyed for most of it. It just seemed like everything she or Stephanie did was the most stupid thing anyone could do when someone is looking to kill them. I won't even go into the ridiculousness of Stephanie in the hot dog suit at the end.

Another thing that bugged me was the fact that Stephanie never got it on with Ranger. While working at Range Man AND staying in Ranger's apartment, she had ample opportunity to be up in his Bvlgari goodness but she declined each and every time. The way I look at it, if she's not with Morelli why not have some fun with Ranger? Maybe that's why I'm still with the series. There's that small hope that she will have another fling with Ranger. At the same time, as much as I want that to happen, I can only see Stephanie ending up with Morelli.

Confession: I received Ms. Evanovich's latest newsletter which revealed the next book will be titled Sizzling Sixteen. Guess who will be reading it? Yes, me. Even though this book bugged me I still find them light, easy and fast reads (listens?). It won't be a "dash to the store on release day" deal, but I'll pick it up eventually.

My wish: end the Stephanie Plum series with Stephanie and Joe getting their happily ever after and spin-off Ranger to a Range Man series. My favorite book is #12 where the main focus was Ranger and finding his daughter. We could follow him in his bad ass bounty hunter/security expert exploits where he meets an equally bad ass female hunter/secret agent/uber spy and they have a Mr. and Mrs. Smith type relationship. That would be hot.

Final Grade:

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The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

A happily ever after ending!

On the second day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

Two wedding bells,

And a happily ever after ending!

On the third day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

Three costume balls,

Two wedding bells,

And a happily ever after ending!

On the fourth day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

Four castled halls,

Three costume balls,

Two wedding bells,

And a happily ever after ending!

On the fifth day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

Five......consecutive.....climaxes.

Four castled halls,

Three costume balls,

Two wedding bells,

And a happily ever after ending!

On the sixth day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

Six maids deflowered,

Five......consecutive.....climaxes.

Four castled halls,

Three costume balls,

Two wedding bells,

And a happily ever after ending!

On the seventh day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

Seven secret meetings,

Six maids deflowered,

Five......consecutive.....climaxes.

Four castled halls,

Three costume balls,

Two wedding bells,

And a happily ever after ending!

On the eighth day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

Eight couples courting,

Seven secret meetings,

Six maids deflowered,

Five......consecutive.....climaxes.

Four castled halls,

Three costume balls,

Two wedding bells,

And a happily ever after ending!

On the ninth day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

Nine rogues reforming,

Eight couples courting,

Seven secret meetings,

Six maids deflowered,

Five......consecutive.....climaxes.

Four castled halls,

Three costume balls,

Two wedding bells,

And a happily ever after ending!

On the tenth day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

Ten rakes a-flirting,

Nine rogues reforming,

Eight couples courting,

Seven secret meetings,

Six maids deflowered,

Five......consecutive.....climaxes.

Four castled halls,

Three costume balls,

Two wedding bells,

And a happily ever after ending!

On the eleventh day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

Eleven werewolves howling,

Ten rakes a-flirting,

Nine rogues reforming,

Eight couples courting,

Seven secret meetings,

Six maids deflowered,

Five......consecutive.....climaxes.

Four castled halls,

Three costume balls,

Two wedding bells,

And a happily ever after ending!

On the twelfth day of Christmas,

my to-be-read pile sent to me

Twelve vampires biting,

Eleven werewolves howling,

Ten rakes a-flirting,

Nine rogues reforming,

Eight couples courting,

Seven secret meetings,

Six maids deflowered,

Five......consecutive.....climaxes.

Four castled halls,

Three costume balls,

Two wedding bells,

And a happily ever after ending!

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NaNoReadMo 2009 Results

Due to life's wily ways I haven’t been able to post my results until now. Drum roll please…..….. SUCCESS!!! I am so happy to be able to say I completed the challenge. Yes, I finished book #5 at 9:30pm on Nov 30th but that counts just the same ;)

I'm glad I participated and hope everyone did well in both the NaNoReadMo and NaNoWriteMo challenges.

My challenge for this month will be to review all 5 books.

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Madeline Hunter - By Possession

Every time I read a book I tell myself to write down the page numbers with passages that moved me in some way so I can quote it in the review. Of course, I never do. I usually don't regret it because I can remember certain phrases and do a search in the ebook or if it's a print book, I can recall the placement of the phrase (e.g. last paragraph on a left-sided page) and place in the book (e.g. 1st third of book) and find it that way. This time; however, there was so much richness in the story I can't even recall the specific moments I wanted to point out. Bummer for me, but a great sign for this book! I've often heard the term "meaty" in reference to stories but never gave it anything more than a passing thought until reading this book. I totally get it now.

A Common Lady

For years she had thought he was dead. Yet when Addis de Valence strode into Moira Falkner's cottage, there was no mistaking the sharp planes of his face, and the scar she herself had helped to heal. The young squire who had once been her hero was now her lord, a hardened man who returned to claim the son she had raised as her own. But Moira couldn't deny that Addis roused a passion she never thought to feel-and a perilous hope for a future that could never be....

An Uncommon Love

Addis returned from the Crusades to find his lands usurped by his stepbrother, and his country on the brink of rebellion. Determined to reclaim his birthright, Addis could not afford to be distracted by a woman-even one as tempting as Moira. Yet the only living part of his contented past lay in Moira-and his desire for her was more dangerous than his deadly battles with the king's men. By law, Moira belonged to him...but possessing her heart might be far more difficult.

Addis de Valence, Claire and Moira grew up in the same household. Addis was a few years older and when they came of age, he was betrothed to Claire. There was no love between them but duty called for the marriage. Afterwards, Addis goes away to battle and soon word comes of his death. Claire also dies leaving a son, Brian, and since Moira was her companion through most her life, she hides and cares for Addis' heir. When Addis shockingly returns a few years later, he takes Brian elsewhere for safekeeping and proceeds with plans to regain his lands - lands that were given over to his step-brother, Simon, after the death of Addis' father.

With Brian gone and her heart broken, Moira feels there is nothing left for her and decides to leave. She is stopped on the road by 3 men who attack her but is soon rescued by Addis. He decides he will not return Moira home but take her with him on his journey. It is during these travels that we witness the growing love between Addis and Moira. Unfortunately, it is an impossible situation because of their stations in life: he is a baron, she a serf. In truth, though, Moira is a free woman. Her mother was a serf who was also Patrick de Valance's (Addis' father) mistress. Upon his deathbed he gave Moira's mother and herself their freedom. When Addis returns, he only has Moira's word on the matter because the witnesses to this deathbed proclamation are no longer present at the holding. He is too intrigued with her to let her go and so he claims she is still a bondwoman and the price of her freedom is set so ridiculously high, he is sure she will be unable to pay it. Thus he keeps her bound to him unjustly. I had issue with this because for a time after the Crusades, Addis himself lived as a slave. Knowing what that life meant, how could he make Moira suffer the same fate? Those moments when he held his ownership over her were the moments I disliked him. Then in the next breath we would see how much she meant to him and how much hope she brought him and it was easy to see why he went to such desperate measures to keep her near.

Throughout the book, Addis is constantly struggling with the duties of his birth and the longing of his heart. There is a point where he speaks of feeling he has two souls waging war against each other yet when he is with Moira, he is complete and at peace. Moira struggles with the longing of her heart but also the power of her pride as that is all she truly has since she is still a bondwoman. She saw the life her mother led and heard the names the villagers called her behind her back. No matter how much she loves Addis, she refuses to follow her mother's path. She fights off the attraction as much as she can for most of the book but there are times when she allows herself to live in that moment and not worry about all the burdens they carry.

As I neared the end of the book I had to remind myself that this is a romance and a HEA is coming up. It really was down to the wire. I think that may be the only other issue I had with By Possession. With so many things weighing them down that never truly left their shoulders even in the intimate moments, I would have loved seeing more of Addis and Moira's unburdened happiness. A few more pages that showed them finally enjoying a complete union, a union made in freedom.  

Bookslut Highlights:
*No absurd denials. Heroine knows she'll probably give in after a few kisses from the hero.

*Flashbacks that show the history of the h/h.

*Comedic moment when hero realizes profession of secondary character who is a possible love interest for heroine.

*The 'other man' was not made out to be a bad guy

*Several instances of the word phallus

*Kidnapping scenario with hero ignoring all laid out plans to go rescue the damsel in distress

*True lurve of the soul-deep variety

Final Grade:

Clutching the book to my chest now as I bask in the afterglow. Exceptional…brilliant, even. I strongly recommend. You can thank me later.


 

Around The Net:
 The Romance Reader: 4 stars
All About Romance: B+
Romantic Times: 4.5 starts

ETA: highlights

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Reading Challenge November 2009

Yesterday, on Twitter, I came across a link to a reading challenge by Mandy from She-Reads. NaNoReadMo will run parallel to NaNoWriMo which challenges its participants to write 50K words in the month of November. For those of us who aren't writerly-inclined, we can show support for writers by reading more this month. With life and work obligations, my own reading has fallen to barely 1 book a month. NaNoReadMo is asking us to read 5 books in November. I'm already a day behind but that's ok, I used yesterday to look through my TBR pile and decide on my 5 books. I switched out the books so many times I'm going to post the latest compilation so I can't change them anymore. These are the 5 books I WILL read for the month of November:

Keri Arthur - Bound to Shadows Carolyn Jewel - Scandal Maggie Stiefvater - Shiver Karen Marie Moning - Dreamfever Janet Evanovich - Finger Lickin' Fifteen

Good luck to all the writers participating in NaNoWriMo and to my fellow readers who will embark on the NaNoReadMo challenge. As Nike says: Just Do It!

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JR Ward – BDB 02 – Lover Eternal

The Challenge: Trying to get past page 1. Seriously – I couldn't get past this page for a week. I've since realized it's probably because the page starts out with dialogue and we all know how much I love the dialogue *end sarcasm*. Now, the challenge is writing my review.  

The Setting: My room  

The Music: Jay-Z bumpin from the speakers j/k  

The Couple: Rhage (aka Hollywood, Hal E. Wood) and Mary Luce  

The Surprise: The book was dedicated to me. What, you doubt me? Read 'em and weep people. Read 'em and weep:

Dedicated to: You. In the beginning, we didn't hit it off, did we?

See, told ya so. JR Ward obviously had Vishous prognosticate my reaction to book one, Dark Lover.

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover—for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. Her faith in miracles was lost years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves…

Mary and Rhage's story starts out pretty good. I found it to be an easier read, once I got past page one, than the first book. We see how hard it's been for Rhage to live with his beast and we meet Mary who's had a rough life. She took care of her sick mother and watched helplessly as she faded away into death. Mary also battled leukemia and after two years of remission, may now have a recurrence. I was very interested in these two until everything got repetitive. Here's a summary:

Mary: I'm plain, why is Hal (aka Rhage) with me?

Rhage: Your voice, it's so soothing yet it also makes me hot.

Mary: He's only being nice because Bella told him I'm sick.

Rhage: You're so beautiful and you make me all tingly in my special places. Wait, even in my non-special places.

Mary: Stop pitying me. You're way out of my league.

Rhage: But I'm so hard for you. Oh no! I'm also dangerous for you. See how my teal eyes glow for you. My secret beast wants out and will probably eat you.

Mary: Hmm….his teal eyes are glowing but that doesn't bother me at all because glowing teal eyes are oh so normal. Oh and I'm wet for you, but you're just being kind to the unattractive girl. See you even pull away from me because I disgust you.

Rhage: I love you! Stay here with me in my room. You're my girl now and forever.

Mary: What? You don't even know me, I don't know you. We may be practically sexin' it like monkeys but you, Mr. Hottie McNaughty, cannot love me, Ms. Demure Insecure.

Rhage: How can you think me so unworthy? I only want to love and take care of you.

Yada, yada, yada. Shampoo, rinse and repeat a couple dozen times with some breaks for kissing, fondling and feeding (food not blood) because apparently it means a whole lot in the vamp world to feed another. Whatever….moving on.

There was one part that I really liked in the first half. It's when Rhage is reflecting on the burden the beast has been on him. I really feel for him here:

God, he was tired of being stuck inside his body, managing its demands, trying not to fall into a brutal oblivion. Sure, his stunner of a face and the strength were all fine and good. But he would have traded both to a scrawny, ugly mo'fo, if it would have gotten him some peace. Hell, he couldn't even remember what serenity was like. He couldn't even remember who he was.

The disintegration of himself had started up pretty quick. After only a couple of years into the curse, he'd stopped hop-ing for any true relief and simply tried to get by without hurting anyone. That was when he'd started to die on the inside, and now, over a hundred years later, he was mostly numb, nothing more than glossy window dressing and empty charm.

Early on in the book, we meet a young man named John Matthews who Mary befriends despite his stalkerish behavior. She also introduces John to her neighbor Bella, who happens to be a civilian vampire. John is mute but of course Mary, in all her holy goodness, knows sign language. While chatting/signing with John, Mary and Bella discover he is an orphan. He is also wearing a bracelet he made that has symbols he dreamt about. Guess what those symbols are? They're old school vamp talk and Bella just happens to read OSVT. The following is what she discovers after reading the symbols. It is also the point at which I set the book down and laughed:

Putting her hands on her hips, she stared at the floor. What the hell was she going to do? When she'd searched John's conscious mind, she'd found nothing about his race, his people, his traditions. The boy didn't know a thing, had no idea who he really was or what he was going to turn into. And he honestly didn't know what those symbols meant.

She did. They spelled out TEHRROR in the Old Language. A warrior's name.

Seriously? TEHRROR? Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

*picks book back up and continues reading*

So apparently John Matthews is destined to be one of the Brotherhood. I love how Tohr is with him. Again, Tohr is one of my faves from the books and I can't wait to read more about him and Wellsie.

There's also a part where Rhage cheats on Mary. She knows where he's going (and why) and I see why he did it but after all his sweetness towards her, he lost many points in my book.

After Mary finally admits her feelings for Rhage things go a little smoother. There's still a lot of repetitiveness but I was less annoyed by then. There's a part where Rhage realizes that his beast wants to sex it up with Mary too, and she agrees to let him. So they proceed and I won't lie, that scene was kinda creepy. It had nothing to do with the chains (they had to chain Rhage so the beast wouldn't hurt Mary) but with the actual thought of some alien-like creature up in there too…CREEPY!

The Lessers are snoozeville for me. I don't see them as any real threat except to Johnson and Johnson, the makers of baby powder. Have nothing else to say about them.

One of the things I really like about the BDB world is the brotherhood aspect. I like the solidarity they show towards Rhage after his punishment for breaking the Brotherhood's rules. I LOVE the scene afterwards with Zsadist at Rhage's bedside chanting or praying for him. I wished for more scenes of the brothers together WITHOUT the slang. That would have made a huge difference for me! I also wanted more interaction between the ladies. When Mary first arrives, Beth is there for a brief second and Wellsie is mainly in scenes with Tohr. At the very least, I would have expected Beth to befriend Mary since she was living there. She could have provided some advice on dealing with the brothers considering she was fairly new to the group as well.

I did get a little bored towards the end with the exception of the scenes with Bella and Phury, then Bella and Zsadist. It really got me interested in learning more about both brothers. I liked Bella because she was upfront, she straight up told Z she was attracted to him and wanted to sleep with him. You.Go.Girl. Very refreshing after all Mary's wishy-washy ways. We also learned earlier that Bella has a brother named Rehvenge, probably a future member of the brotherhood.

The ending wasn’t unexpected but rather a bit unsatisfying. I seriously thought the path they were taking was heartbreakingly beautiful. Don't get me wrong, I wanted a happy ending and knew there would be a twist but didn't think it would be that. Since the rule was Rhage couldn't go to the new Mary, I thought somehow the new Mary would cross paths with him and they would rebuild their relationship. I actually would have preferred it that way. Anyway……

I still have my issues with JR Ward's writing (the names, the slang, the caveman talk - see link above for the list in my review of the first book) but I have to admit the little peeks she provides on the other brothers are enough to catch and hold my attention. My faves are still Zsadist and Tohrment. I want to learn more about what happened in Z's past and I want to see what happens with Tohr, Wellsie and their baby. I also, want to see how they help John Matthews since they pretty much adopted him. I even want to see what's up with Phury and why the celibacy. Oh yeah, not to mention V and his awesome yet burden laden gift of prognostication.

In short, these books are mind-crack and I have succumbed. Well played, Ms. Ward. Well played. I still need recovery time from each book so I'll see you in another 3 months when I read the next one.

Final Grade:

Liked the premise of this book but aspects of its execution were WEAK. Enjoyed it enough to continue riding the series/author out at my own leisurely pace. Beyond the hype, this book is fine for a fluffy, generic read and has more of a library rental/swap quality rather than a keeper for my personal bookshelf

Around The Net:
A Journey of Books: A+
The Romance Reader: 3 Stars
Love Vampires: 5 Stars
Dear Author: B
The Hope Chest Reviews: 4 Stars
Romantic Times: 4 ½ Stars

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