That One Time I Finished a Serial and Liked It: The Kraken King, Parts V-VIII by Meljean Brook

Last month I was over at Dear Author guest reviewing the first half of Meljean Brook’s first serial, The Kranken King, and today I’m guest reviewing the second and final half.

Reading this serial was an interesting, choppy experience. I received surprise ARC’s of the first four installments back in May, but I didn’t get the two final parts until last week. So I did get to read the serial as a serial, but not in the way it was intended (although obviously there’s no right or wrong ways to approach a serial). This didn’t really affect my enjoyment because I really liked each part, so not knowing when or if I would be getting early review copies only increased my anticipation. I’m very happy with the final product, and I feel like it was money well spent (I pre-ordered all the parts months ago), but as much as I loved TKK, I haven’t changed my mind about serials, even though I’m more willing to read them as serials (as opposed to just waiting to read all the parts at once), so I guess there’s that.

I hope you enjoy my vague, gushing, slightly repetitive review. And if you decide to try the book, come back and let me know how you liked it!

General Thoughts on Some Current Reads

Today I don’t have a proper review ready, but I do have things to say about the books I’ve been reading, so you get four mini-reviews for the price of one.

***** 

Claiming the Duchess by Sherry Thomas

Romance has the bad habit of using prequel novellas as samples, which usually backfires because novellas aren’t easy to write and they end up working as samples of bad writing. But I like Ms. Thomas’ books, so I was more than happy to read this prequel novella.

I really liked most of it, but the short length really hurt the story, because at its core there’s an act of deception and betrayal that needed more than one paragraph for the climax and ending to be satisfying and to do justice to a heroine that deserved much better. On top of that, the novella (or short story) ends around the 50% mark and the rest is promotional material, so having the book unexpectedly end when you think there’s still half of it to go, doesn’t make for the best reading experience.

Review: Love, in English by Karina Halle

Note and spoiler warning: This is the longest review I’ve ever written, so here’s the TL;DR version: Love, In English gets a NOPE in every language. If you still feel like reading the review, keep in mind that there are visible and unannounced spoilers all over it.

I’ve heard so many great things about Ms. Halle’s books that it was hard for me to resist her first standalone Contemporary Romance.

Our heroine is Vera, a 23-year-old student who decides to spend the summer teaching conversational English in Spain. The program, which looks a lot like a retreat, is a great deal because she gets to stay in a fabulous hotel and all she has to do is spend the day speaking English with people who are mostly fluent. There is a lot of partying and sex, so it’s not the most professional environment ever, but it’s a good forced-proximity setup to justify our main characters falling in love.

The first day, Vera meets 38-year-old former soccer superstar, Mateo. She is very attracted to him and the feelings are mutual, but Mateo is married and has a young daughter, so she fights the feelings as best she can. However, the more time they spend together, the more they like each other and it’s no surprise when they fall in love. Actually, it is a surprise, because these two have nothing in common. Although he is going through an early midlife crisis and she is reckless, immature and has managed to convince herself that she’s a lonely, tormented soul, so I guess their eventual affair makes some sense, but not in the way it was intended.

Review: Play by Kylie Scott

Last year, Kylie Scott’s New Adult novel, Lick, was Romland’s (or maybe Twitter’s) “it” book for about five seconds. I quite liked it, even though the premise was over the top and it seemed to be one of those New Adult titles that are only NA because the heroine is young and, well, the NA label sells. But I saw a lot of potential in Ms. Scott’s writing, so I was excited to learn that she was releasing a sequel. Unfortunately, this new book came with all the issues and none of the fun.

Anne’s money problems go from bad to worse after her evil roommate disappears, leaving her with no way to pay the rent. I’m not surprised the roommate is evil, because with one exception, all the non-sequel-bait women are evil, something you can tell because they are into sex and skimpy clothes. But I digress. Back to the main plot, poor Anne is desperate and trying to find a solution to her problem, when she conveniently meets the hero, Mal.

It’s Not Me, It’s You: The Chocolate Temptation by Laura Florand

If you know me, you might have noticed that I’ve been unsuccessfully trying to like Ms. Florand’s books for over a year. But I keep reading them because I recognize her talent, so I always pick up the next book with high hopes and expectations (although I haven't read them all). I say this because when an author fails to impress repeatedly, chances are it will happen again, so reading another book may seem pointless and even a bit unfair. But my experience with this book was negative in a way that extends beyond my inability to connect with the author’s voice and stories, and I feel the need to vent and warn you all.

Our heroine is Sarah Lin, a pastry chef apprenticing at one of the most exclusive and famous restaurants in Paris. This place is so prestigious that it has not one, but two renowned pastry chefs working at the kitchen, the second of which, Patrick, is directly in charge of teaching Sarah. He also happens to be thoroughly infatuated with her.

Review: Cake by Lauren Dane

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley

Cake is Lauren Dane’s contribution to the Cosmo Red-Hot Reads collection. These books are a partnership between Cosmopolitan magazine and Harlequin, so that’s where the “Cosmo” part comes from. Unfortunately, this one didn’t include ridiculous sex advice.

Wren is an art student who works as a messenger in order to pay the bills. She often delivers packages to tormented artist, Gregori Ivanov, and they have developed an easy friendship. She also has a massive crush on him because he has tattoos, a Mohawk, an accent and lots of attitude (and now you know what made me read the book). But his evil ex-wife left him traumatized and afraid of commitment, which means that it’s up to Wren to get what she wants because this dude is too busy being predictable to do much else.

When Good Authors Happen to Bad Tropes: Uncommon Passion by Anne Calhoun

This cover is so misleading I can't even.
Who reads this book and says: "Hey,
let's give it a Military Romantic
Suspense cover"?
And why is he shirtless?
And why is this caption so long?

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

This is going to be long, so I’m skipping the introduction and going straight to the book.

Uncommon Passion tells the story of Rachel, a woman who recently left the constrictions of a closed religious community to experience life on her own terms. She works at a farm and dreams of becoming a veterinary technician. Sex and dating are some of the experiences she wants to build in order to re-shape her life and gain power and control over it. But she’s not interested in anything serious; all she wants is to lose her virginity. That’s how she ends at a bachelor auction paying a stranger to go out on a date with her. The only reason she bids for him is because she senses something in him (and by “senses something” I mean that he gives her the Sex Eye, which is like the Evil Eye but hornier). Needless to say, they go out on a date, have sex, have sex, have sex, have sex (this is a 320-page Erotic Romance, after all) some emotional stuff happens and then live happily ever after.

Except that it’s nowhere near as easy.

An Illustrated Review: Guardian Demon by Meljean Brook

Source: A review copy was provided by the author. 

Warning: One spoiler for the previous books and one somewhat vague spoiler of something that happens in the first chapter of this one.

As you guys know (because I keep telling you), this is my favorite series, and the final book, Guardian Demon, was one of my most anticipated book of, well, ever. So it's a bittersweet moment for me, because as much as I enjoyed the book, saying goodbye to a beloved series is never easy. The good news is that I read the book in May, so I’ve had time to get over the book hangover, and this review won’t be a blubbering mess.

Remember how Nath and I wrote a post filled with theories about the book? Well, it turns out that we suck at guessing, because of all our theories the only one we kind of got right was this one:

Review: Flirting with Disaster by Ruthie Knox

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Flirting with Disaster is the third book in the Camelot series, and it brings closure and a happy ending to Katie, the last Clark sibling. The previous book was a bit of a mixed bag, but this new installment worked much better for me, even if some of the same issues remained.

Katie is a people pleaser. She followed her husband to Alaska so that he could make his dreams come true, and in the process she lost herself and put her life on hold. So when her husband left her with nothing, she came back to her hometown completely defeated. Her brother gave her a job, which helped her get her life back on track, but she remains a work in progress.

Sean is back in town to sort his recently deceased mother’s affairs. It’s a deceivingly easy task, because although all he has to do is get rid of her clothes and sell her house, he’s also forced to confront the bad memories of a mother who was less-than stellar. He’s really bad at dealing with his baggage, though, and really good at ignoring them and hoping they will go away, which is why he’s staying in town far longer than planned.

Review: Down London Road by Samantha Young

A few months ago, everyone was talking about a self-published book titled On Dublin Street (or at least everyone on my little corner of the blogosphere). The book became a huge success and soon was acquired by Penguin. I thought it was a compelling story, but not a unique or innovative one.  The sequel was still on my radar, though, and it became a must-read when I realized that the heroine would be the sexually forward, gold-digging friend from On Dublin Street.

Jo is a bartender whose goal in life is to marry a rich guy. Her current boyfriend certainly fits the requirements, so she pampers him and does everything he wants, even if that means not being herself. But before you get excited thinking that we’re finally getting a heroine that completely breaks the mold, I should tell you that the reason why she acts that way is because she has to take care of her teenage brother and their abusive, alcoholic mother. So nope, she’s not materialistic or self-absorbed; she’s just damaged and filled with a bunch of secret pains. Of course she is.

Review: Never a Hero by Marie Sexton

Source: A review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Never a Hero is the fifth book in the Tucker Spring series, which is the M/M Romance version of a small-town Contemporary. I have only read one of the previous books in the series (coincidentally co-written by Sexton); an experience that wasn’t entirely successful. And much like that one other book, this one ended up being a bit of a mixed bag.

The main character is Owen, a reclusive, insecure man who has serious mommy issues. He is deeply self-conscious about his congenitally amputated arm, his stutter and his sexuality. But when charming, outgoing Nick moves downstairs, Owen’s life radically changes, not only because of the instant attraction that flares between them, but because Nick helps him become more comfortable in his own skin. The rest is way too spoilery to tell. But there is a painful secret and lots of issues. Lots!

In which I Use a Bunch of Arrows to Illustrate the Plot of K.A. Mitchell's No Souvenirs

It's the 3rd book in the series,
but stands alone perfectly well.

I just hit an unexpected —and unwelcome—reading slump, so I decided to re-read a few favorite books. No Souvenirs is a story I loved the first time I read it and that I've been meaning to revisit. The second time around was just as good, but with one pretty big exception: this book is drowning in sex.

A story filled with sex scenes isn't necessarily bad, and in this book many of those scenes were effective and necessary. The two main characters are very bad at communicating, so their relationship develops and grows through the sex. Not only that, but there's an attempt (not entirely successful) to use sex as a way to explore and reflect the power dynamics that take place outside of the bedroom. It is a good example of how in Erotic Romance the sex can, and should be, used to tell the story (or at least part of it). However, at one point I started skimming, because it soon became clear that every scene in the book was immediately followed by sex.

Review: After Hours by Cara McKenna

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley

I think this is the first time I review one of Cara McKenna’s book, but it’s certainly not the first time I read one. And it was about time I told you about this fantastic author. If you like Erotic Romance and Erotica, you should be reading McKenna’s books. She pushes boundaries, deals with realistic characters and situations, and writes about a variety of relationships and sex.

In After Hours we meet Erin. Circumstances forced her into a caregiver position, and she took that experience and ended up becoming a nurse. When her sister gets in trouble, she is, once again, forced into the position of having to take care of someone. So she moves to a new town and gets a job at the local psychiatric hospital where she meets Kelly, one of the handlers.

Review: Big Boy by Ruthie Knox

Note: I won the Strangers on a Train series in a giveaway, so the book was free, but this wasn't a review request. The other novellas are Thank You for Riding by Meg Maguire, Ticket Home by Serena Bell, Back on Track by Donna Cummings and Tight Quarters by Samantha Hunter.

I read this short novella in one sitting, and when I was done, I went back and read it again. First time I've ever done that. Big Boy wasn't just good in terms of storytelling and overall quality; it also hit all the right buttons and resonated with me as a reader in general and for personal reasons in particular.

Mandy is one of those heroines who inherited an orphan. She loves the toddler, but the situation isn't perfect, and it sure as hell isn't happy. Her life turned into the chaos that comes with a small child. There’s also pain, grief and loneliness. Motherhood wasn't something she wanted and she has to deal with frustration, fear and feelings of inadequacy.

Review: How to Misbehave by Ruthie Knox

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Last year when we were doing our genre tropes and themes wish list for 2013, one of the items everyone wanted to see more of were regular characters and blue collar heroes. This novella has one, and it’s no wonder we’re so thirsty for similar characters, because it was wonderful.

Amber lives and works in Camelot, a small Midwestern college town. She has lived there he whole life and even went to a local conservative college. The title and blurb make it clear that she’s a good girl tired of being good, and that hers is the story of the virgin and the bad boy. Except that it’s a lot more than that; beginning with the fact that nice girls who don’t want to be that nice, can manage to have sex --as bad as it may be-- on their own and long before the hero comes to their rescue. So Amber isn't a virgin, but does have a big set of longings and desires, one of which comes in the form of the hero, Tony.

Review: Crazy Thing Called Love by Molly O’Keefe

Update: there seems to be a confusion with some comments, so I want to clarify that this is a review, NOT a giveaway.


Update 2: Spoilers ahead. They don't ruin the book, but do give away one big plot development. 

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through Edelweiss.

As you guys know, I’m a fan of Ms. O’Keefe’s books and I really liked her single title debut, Can’t Buy Me Love. I was apprehensive about the second book, which turned out to be just as good. So now we’re here with the conclusion of the series, and a new take on romance, relationships and old genre tropes.

Crazy Thing Called Love is about second chances; not only at love, but in life, family and work. It’s the story of Maddy and Billy -- high school sweethearts who married very young and got divorced almost immediately, not because they didn't love each other, but because they weren't mature enough to deal with what life put in their way, in this case, fame and glory.

Review: Aftershock by Jill Sorenson

Source: a review copy was provided by the author.

This year Romantic Suspense has been lackluster, and with a few notable exceptions, I feel like it needs an infusion of new and innovative ideas. Jill Sorenson is one of those exceptions. Her stories may not be new, but they certainly are refreshing, and Aftershock takes it a bit further into the novelty territory. It’s not a perfect book, but I’m glad to see an author taking risks in a sub-genre that has become a bit stale. 

I can’t tell much about the story without spoiling it, but the basic premise is that there’s devastating earthquake in San Diego, and a group of people get trapped under a collapsed highway. They barely have water, half of them are injured, and not all of them are good guys. Lauren, our heroine, is an EMT, and the hero, Garrett, a former Marine. They have a lot to worry about, yet find the time to fall in love.

Review: More Than Words by Karla Doyle

I discovered this book thanks to Liz’s cone of shame post (don’t click on that link, though, too many tempting books). When I saw dirty Scrabble and rock star hero, I was sold. I mean, how many of you stopped reading this to go and buy the book? The lure of the dirty Scrabble is irresistible and I’m weak. So I got it, and loved it until about the middle mark, then I didn’t love it as much. Here’s why:

Calli was assaulted two years ago, and now suffers a paralyzing fear to go outside once it’s dark. She spends the days working on her sex shop, and the nights doing nothing. But one day she logs into an online game of Scrabble designed to meet people and even flirt. She ends up playing a great game with a charming man name Travis. But when he decides to meet her, things get a bit tricky. But just a bit, and that’s part of the problem.

Review: A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal by Meredith Duran

I’m on a Historical Romance kick for the first time in years, and I plan to take advantage of it for as long as it lasts. So I will be reviewing all the Historicals I read. I feel like I’m catching up on some highly praised stories and authors that I missed when they first were published. So you probably will be seeing some favorites. 

A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal served as a reminder of how great the sub-genre is. I bought it after Mean Fat Old Bat reviewed it. She is an experienced reader who just recently discovered the genre, so her take on Romance is fresh and interesting.

Our heroine is Nell. She’s very poor, works at a factory under inhuman conditions and has an evil stepbrother who wants to whore her out. But she knows how to read and is very proud, so regardless of how desperate she is, she won’t compromise her honor. And she’s quite desperate; her mother is dying and needs a doctor, but there’s no money to pay for one. Her mother tells Nell to search for Lord Rushden, her real father. She’s surprised to hear the news, but ends up writing to him, begging for his help. But when her mother dies without any response from the Lord, Nell decides to kill him. What she doesn’t know is that Lord Rushden died months ago, and the new bearer of the title is a distant relative with a black reputation who’s just as desperate for money as she is.

When Contemporary Romance Goes Wrong: Some DNF Reviews

Source: Review copies of the books were provided by the publisher through NetGalley. 

What follows is a list of some books I've been struggling to finish for the past few months. One is by a new-to-me author, while the rest are from authors I enjoy and series I love. The thing they have in common is how disappointing they were, and that all of them are Contemporary Romances. Instead of writing individual posts for each, I've decided to list them here because life is too short to waste it on bad books, and I already spent too much time on these.