Christina T.

• Rated 2 stars

“Too many characters not enough resolution. I would recommend this to someone who has read the other Carpathian books and liked them. This is a book that brings back all the couples from previous books so cannot be read as a stand alone.”

Christina T. wrote this review Friday, July 23, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“ I really really enjoyed this book. Not one usually for super steamy... I tend to cringe a little when the storyline contains an enormous amount of sex because in many cases the more sex the less actual romance the book contains. I love when a book makes me go Awwww but hate when a book makes me go Ewwwwww. With that said Gentlemen was really good. Yes there was a lot of sex but in this case the storyline supported the sex and the sex supported the storyline. Succubi are all about sex. It's how they live. It's how they survive. It worked for this book. Although there were little to no romance in this book I didn't find myself getting pissed because of the lack of it. Like I said, the book had an interesting storyline and it worked.

Jackie is a very good character who was thrown into the succubi world with no intro or anything. She struggles with who she has become and tries to fight it...she hates the thought of having to be a slut. The men in her life are ooo laaa laaa. Noah is a fallen angel. Zane is a vampire. Out of the two I have found my new obsession with Zane. A bad boy to the max. Perhaps with a heart...maybe not. His character is what I am looking forward to reading about in the next book.

Over all this might have been a 5 star read if it weren't the fact that Jackie's vampire master, when changing her left her in a dumpster in an icky alley. I don't think this was resolved well. If it were me I would definitely hold a grudge against the master. He left her in a dumpster!!! I wouldn't forgive that easily. She seemed to have forgotten in towards the end. Oh well. Still a 4.5 star read. Can't wait to get to the next one.”

Christina T. wrote this review Friday, March 5, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 4 stars

“Most of the way through the book I was so absorbed in it that I though for sure it was a 5 star book. The last 50 pages or so, unfortunately, dropped the book to 4. Still a good book, bordering on very good. While written 20+ years ago it does have a slight dated feel but definitely not too bad. Things that were "accepted" in the 80's in romance books are not the norm now. For example, a rape scene. Many modern romances do have rapes in the books but back in the day the rape was usually a whole Luke and Laura from General Hospital thing instead of today's rape scenes being about the heroine being raped and the hero coming to her emotional or physical rescue. I really had to take the book for what it was back in the 80's and try not to compare it to my today standards.

This alone was not why I rated the book a 4 instead of a 5. I really liked Victoria. She was strong, intelligent and witty. I loved Jason (tortured hero anyone?) and completely understood his actions. Together I though they were fantastic friends. I could see Tory's influence in Jason and could see him opening up to Tory and experiencing fun and laughter that his life had been missing. Then something would happen and set him back to square one. After seening this pattern happen through a good chunk of the book I was pretty surprised that towards the end, it was if a switch was flipped and he had some kind of life altering epiphany which I felt I had missed. Oh there was an epiphany, but his about face came before ti. Of course he declares his love for Tory but then says to her that he has loved her since she arrived at his doorstep. Yet no declariation of him admitting he was a shit and the reason why (maybe scared?). His background, which had been explained previously, was to just expain away his being an ass with no inner reflection on his part. Totally 80's.
These things might smack of a very low rating but honestly most of the book was just fabulous. I would encourage others to try this book unless of course rape scenes makes them too squeemish.

”

Christina T. wrote this review Friday, February 19, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Susan Elizabeth Phillips has been a favorite among romance readers for years and I have found myself looking into the pool trying to decide if I should jump or just dip my toe in when it comes to her writing. After reading this book I have decided to put on my goggles, plug my nose and jump.

This book was fabulous.

Description compliments of shelfari....

A Desperate Young Mother Rachel Stone's bad luck has taken a turn for the worse. With an empty wallet, a car's that's spilling smoke, and a five-year-old son to support, she's come home to a town that hates her. But this determined young widow with a scandalous past has learned how to be a fighter. And she'll do anything to keep her child safe -- even take on. . .
A man With No Heart Gabe Bonner wants to be left alone, especially by the beautiful outcast who's invaded his property. She has a ton of attitude, a talent for trouble, and a child who brings back bad memories. Yet Rachel's feisty spirit might just be heaven-sent to save a tough, stubborn man.
Dare To Dream--Welcome to Salvation, North Carolina -- where a man who's forgotten what tenderness means meets a woman with nothing to lose. here two endearing lovers will set off on a funny, touching journey of the heart. . .to a place where dreams just might come true.

My thoughts....

I judge a great romance by how well I connect to the characters and if the story can play my emotions like a violin. This book does both.

Rachel is a character that you are able to laugh with, feel outrage for, and just plain old like. You can put yourself into her place and feel her desperation and pride, her love of her son and her need to stand with her head held high and her back straight.

Gabe is a little bit of a mystery at first. He appears angry and mean. Constantly snapping at Rachel and her young son. But he has a painful past that has made him the shell of a man that Rachel meets upon her arrival back in Salvation. It is this past which helps us readers understand who he was and who he has become.

These types of characters are what makes Phillips's books so wonderful. They are complex and interesting and guaranteed to keep the reading wanting to find out more.

Aside from the fantastic characters the storyline was also terrific. I don't want to get into too many details because I don't want to spoil anything for other readers but just know that if you have read Phillips's other books (Kiss an Angel in particular) and liked them, you will love this book.”

Christina T. wrote this review Thursday, February 11, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“I really loved this book. Not quite enough to bestow a 5 star rating on it but enough to run right out and get the second in the series.

Jane is a super smart librarian who starts her day off(and the book) with getting fired from the library by the uni-brow sporting dictator she calls her boss. While wallowing in self pity at a local bar, spending her severance package (a gift certificate for potato skins at said bar) she meets a hottie named Gabriel. After way too many Mudslides and vicious circle ranting she leaves the bar to head home only to become the victim of a random hunting accident. Where, to save her life, Gabriel turns her into a vampire. And so she begins her undead life...on a day that turned out to be the worst day of her...well...alive life.

Jane is by far one of my favorite characters that I have read about in a while. Her humor is a blend of wit and sarcasm peppered with healthy doses of classic literature quotes. Each chapter opens up with a quote from The Guide for the Newly Undead. Which I found extremely informative even though I am not undead. A fact that I am pretty thankful for because Molly Harper's undead community sounds a little like high school. Not some place I would willingly go but it is fun to read about as long as it is happening to someone else.

Harper's secondary characters are also very interesting. Aunt Jettie is a ghost that "haunts" Jane's house, the house that Aunt Jettie willed to Jane despite the rest of the family. Dick is the ex-best friend of Gabriel who likes to torment him by hanging out with Jane making lewed and inappropriate comments to her. Zeb is Jane's best friend who tries to deal with Jane's turning by attending a 12 step program for family and friends of the undead.

I would very much recommend this to anyone who likes humorous paranormal books like MaryJanice Davidson, Kimberly Raye, or Lyndsay Sands.”

Christina T. wrote this review Thursday, February 4, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“When I picked this book up I honestly didn't know what to expect. I was looking for a book published before 1999 to read for a reading group I am involved in and this was the first book I came across. I was very surprised by how much I liked this book.

Serena finds Richard when she is 16 and asks him to teach her how to use her budding powers as a Wizard. Richard does so and through the next decade or so she stays with him as a pupil only. Through the years Richard keeps a respectful distance from Serena even into adulthood.

As an adult she tends to be a little spontaneous when it comes to her magic and not disciplined as Richard has taught her. When her actions intrigue a news reporter things start to get hairy. What Serena doesn't know is that the Wizard Council is made up of men and only men. Women are prohibited from becoming Wizards and are stripped of all powers when they start to develope.

Since Richard is breaking all the rules to train Serena his life is also at risk so he decides that the only thing to do is to travel through time to go back to the very beginning. To the start of why women were banned from magic and why the men were so afraid of a woman with power.

So that is what Richard and Serena do. They create a magic time traveling spell and off to Atlantis they go. Oh, and they fall in love along the way.

I loved this book. Although it was written well over a decade ago it didn't feel completely dated to me. I tend to not care much for time travel books either but this one was very thought out. It doesn't rely on someone falling into a time traveling rabbit hole or an object when touched sending the subject back in time which to tell the truth never really made a lot of sense to me. This book often had the characters reminding each other that they were there to change one part of the history of Wizardry and nothing else as to not create issues with ancestors and such.

I loved the "history" of Atlantis that Hooper created. Richard and Serena were one the island around the time it was being destroyed.

As far as the romance goes I think it was pretty average. I didn't think the this part of the book was what stood out to me but I was ok with that. I tend to not really read a Kay Hooper book for the romance anyway. I love her paranormal woo-woo stuff and this is a book that you should check out, especially if you like to read books with magic in them.

A little warning though. The book opens with a rape scene. Some might find this type of situation not their cuppa.

”

Christina T. wrote this review Friday, January 29, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“Although I found this books to but somewhat cute it was middle of the road for me. I couldn't find anything that really stood out to me as spectacular nor did I find anything horrible about this book.

I found the two main characters to be unremarkable but did like some of the secondary characters. I loved Jack's gramps and really liked Jamie's cross dressing psychic. I really liked that they made more then one appearance with in the book and I think that is what brought my opinion of this book from a standard 3 Star rating up to 3.5 stars.

I have read several of McCarthy's books and found this one to be weaker then the others and would recommend borrowing this one from the public library or getting it used. I would also recommend that if you are new to Erin McCarthy books you should not start with this one but one of her other ones.”

Christina T. wrote this review Friday, November 27, 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“After reading the first in this trilogy I knew that I was in for a treat with the next two books. I am happy to say Roberts delivered an excellent continuation of the Concannon sisters' stories. Sometimes the second book of a trilogy tends to be fluff and filler but I did not get that at all with Bri's story.

I thought that Brianna might be a little mousy and timid to hold her own in a full length book but her character developed nicely into a woman to recon with. Her interaction with her sister Maggie and her mother was wonderful. I was really able to connect with her even though I have nothing in common with her.

Grayson was a very interesting character also. I really enjoyed the process he took while writing his book. From the walks through the Irish countryside to him locking himself in his room for a week at a time to write....all were fascinating to me.

I thought that this book was better then the first probably because we got to see a little more about what made Bri and Maggies mother tick. I even found myself not hating her as much toward the end of the book. I wouldn't have thought that was possible since after reading the first book I found her to be a horrible person and glad she was fictitious and no one really had to deal with her.

I really liked how Roberts helped me "see" what Ireland was like in the first book and in Born In Ice she now showed me what an Irish Winter was like. It sounded bone cold and wet and not at all charming but she somehow still made me want to visit.

My rating for this book is 4.5 Stars. I would recommend that anyone who has not read this book/trilogy do so, sooner ”

Christina T. wrote this review Friday, November 27, 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Oh my Goodness! I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved this book. After reading 2 of SEP's books and finding them so-so I was beginning to wonder what all her hype was about. After reading this book I know now.

Phillips has an uncanny ability to take a lady who should, by all accounts, be someone the reader can't like and turn her into someone who the reader is standing up whooping for in record time.

Daisy is just this heroine. I didn't want to like her at first. Rich, spoiled, not too bright and annoying was how she started out in this book. I quickly found out that there was a lot more to Daisy then that. I found myself smiling at her antics and fuming when someone treated her with an unkindness.

Alex was the strong alpha male that I really felt was a mystery through most of the book. It wasn't until over half way through the book that I really got to know him and realize that he also wasn't what he seemed either.

Together Daisy and Alex make for an excellent romantic duo. They were completely opposites of each other but yet complimented each other very well. I am now looking forward to more books by Phillips and hoping that the next book I read will have characters like these that stay with me months after finishing their book.

My rating is a total 5 Stars. I would recommend any fan of contemporary romance to go out and get this book and read it. You might want to hang on to the book because you will probably want to re-read it over and over.
”

Christina T. wrote this review Friday, November 27, 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“Synopsis with thanks from Shelfari...

Strange, twisted carvings and hideous gargoyles adorned the palazzo of the great Scarletti family. But a still more fearful secret lurked within its storm-tossed turrets. For every bride who entered its forbidding walls was doomed to leave in a casket. . . . Mystical and unfettered, Nicoletta had no terror of ancient curses and no fear of being chosen as Don Scarletti's bride - until she looked into his dark, mesmerizing eyes.

My Thoughts...

Having been a fan of Christine Feehan for many years I have had this book sitting on my shelf for ages always passing it over for one of her Carpathian books or her Ghostwalker books. I still don't know why I was apprehensive of picking this one up. It does have that Feehan feel to it. There is a bit of paranormal woven into the story which I liked quite a bit.

The gothic theme was also intriguing. A dark forboding castle, a young innocent carefree maiden, a brooding attractive man that lives with a curse on him and his family are just a few things that I found quite entertaining.

I didn't care for the fact that the "curse" was not actually a curse. It was more of certain situations that kept occurring over the period of a couple decades. It was more of gossip about those Scarletti's being cursed then an actual curse. With the addition of paranormal aspects I kind of expected an actual curse. Trivial? Probably.

Also the book seemed to drag a bit. Whenever Giovanni or someone else would start talking about their political problems with Spain or where ever I ended up getting a little bored and skipped several paragraphs.

Overall, I think this is an OK book from this author. I don't think it is her best, nor is it her worst. I give this book an even 3 Stars but would recommend that a fan of Feehan should give this one a go but if you are new to Feehan I would maybe skip this one and go for one of her Ghostwalker books instead.”

Christina T. wrote this review Thursday, August 20, 2009. ( reply | permalink )