Sparkles review

Posted : 11 months, 1 week ago on 7 November 2007 08:41 (A review of Sparkles)

If you're a fan of Danielle Steele, this is pretty much along the same lines and I don't think you'd be disappointed. It was a good story, had a good pace and I was entertained. I just didn't think it was a particularly moving story and I found the characters ridiculously old-fashioned. I'm not sure if this how exceedingly rich people are, but more than once I had to remind myself that the nove lwas set in the 21st century, and not in the early 1900s. It was just odd and that irked me more than once.

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Fashionistas (Red Dress Ink) review

Posted : 11 months, 2 weeks ago on 29 October 2007 06:08 (A review of Fashionistas (Red Dress Ink))

Entertaining and quirky... much better than "Devil Wears Prada" as this novel actually had a plot that progressed.

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Killer on the Road review

Posted : 11 months, 2 weeks ago on 29 October 2007 06:04 (A review of Killer on the Road)

Violent and gruesome... yet somehow I couldn't' put it down. This has made me more interested in Ellroy's work than his best-sellers probably could have.

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Lie by Moonlight review

Posted : 11 months, 3 weeks ago on 24 October 2007 07:13 (A review of Lie by Moonlight)

Pretty typical, schmaltzy romance novel. If you're a fan of Jayne Ann Krentz, this will just be like the rest of her novels for you.

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Then Again review

Posted : 11 months, 3 weeks ago on 22 October 2007 03:01 (A review of Then Again)

Good book and an interesting read, but it triuthfully didn't leave me much to think about afterwards. The ending was rather shocking, but it seemed so incongruous with the rest of the novel that it felt like I had jumped into a different story where that kind of ending might have been plausible.

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Stray (Werecats, Book 1) review

Posted : 12 months ago on 16 October 2007 11:21 (A review of Stray (Werecats, Book 1))

I find myself completely torn regarding this novel. I liked it, and simultaneously was stunned to realize that I had already read it. The first time though, it was called "Bitten" and for some reason the author's name was written as Kelley Armstrong. Okay, so there are some very significant differences between the novels (bitten vs birth as a were, for example, and one is a cat while the other is a wolf), but there there are so many similarities I was surprised to find Armstrong's praise for the novel on the back cover. Perhaps she liked it so much because she felt like she was reading her own work.

Both novels feature strong females who choose to distance themselves from their were pasts, despite the disapproval from family. Both of their pasts feature strong and persistent males whom each protagonist believes they've gotten over and have moved on to new partners. These male love interests are also both strays with violent pasts that were taken into the family and trained despite the outcries of the were communities in both novels. Naturally, when issues with strays or rogues forces these heroines to return home, they both discover that their feelings for the male protagonists are still quite prevalent, forcing them to confront those feelings once again. I won't mention whether or not they get back together, but the novels do mirror each other. Oh, and did I forget to mention that both of these females are rare and valuable as the were species don't breed very many females?

As a fan of Armstrong, it can be understandable why I was taken aback at Vincent's seeming lack of imagination. But, with all that being said, I did like the novel and did enjoy reading it. Vincent is a great writer and there's nothing awkward about the novel. With Faythe and Marc, as well as the their entire support system, Vincent has created characters you can't help but really like. You get swept up in their story and actually care how it ends.

What the author has really managed to do is convince me to stick around for the next novel. I'd like to see these characters grow and their story to continue. I'd also like to see if she can hold her own in a genre that is becoming increasingly difficult to be original... but one should at least try!

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Smoke and Mirrors (The Smoke Trilogy, Book 2) review

Posted : 12 months ago on 16 October 2007 10:59 (A review of Smoke and Mirrors (The Smoke Trilogy, Book 2))

Great take on the classic ghost and haunted house stories. Of the three novels in the series so far, this one is probably my favourite. huff throws in these great homages to haunted houses, makes fun of them and throws in a couple of twists of her own. Throughout the whole thing she keeps her wonderful sense of humour and sarcasm amidst all the gore and horror.

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Smoke and Shadows (The Smoke Trilogy, Book 1) review

Posted : 1 year ago on 10 October 2007 02:56 (A review of Smoke and Shadows (The Smoke Trilogy, Book 1))

I'm not sure whether it's because I read it first or if it is a better story, but I find I enjoyed "Smoke and Ashes" more than this novel. That being said, it is definitely great huff writing, same wit and humour with great strong characters. I think she developed Tony so well that you don't even feel the loss of Vicki or that Henry seems to just make cameo appearances. It's should also be kept in mind that this series is also much newer (and therefore more modern) than the Nelson series, which really helps to enhance the appeal.

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Many Bloody Returns review

Posted : 1 year ago on 3 October 2007 03:31 (A review of Many Bloody Returns)

Vampires and birthdays. Interesting mix, but it makes for some really great short stories. A lot of my favourite supernatural authors are featured, but I was a little sad that Charlaine Harris' story was so short (probably because I'm such a big Sookie fan). Good collection, and there's a couple of authors I've never read from before but that have now sparked an interest.

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Smoke and Ashes review

Posted : 1 year ago on 1 October 2007 11:41 (A review of Smoke and Ashes)

Another great piece of work by Huff. It's always so pleasant to read her novels, with just the right amount of action, sarcasm and foreplay! :P It's great to see more of Henry and Tony, while not being repetitive or covering some of the same ground as their previous stories.

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