Category: C reviews (Page 7 of 20)

Edge by Tiffinie Helmer, narrated by Mia Chiaromonte

February 4, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I was provided with a review copy by Audible Studios.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) He’s lost his edge….

Photojournalist Cache Calder lives to chase a great story. He’s just returned from the Middle East after surviving a suicide bombing that left him injured and grief-stricken. The last thing he wants is to travel to the wilds of Alaska on a “Where Is She Now” Assignment. But when his editor informs him that his subject is former kidnapping victim, Amelia Bennett who jump-started his career 20 years earlier, he packs his bags.

She lives on the Edge….

Mel Bennett’s carefully maintained control unravels the moment she meets Cache Calder. Attraction flares for the man who seems to really “know” her. No one at the Edge of Reason Lodge is aware she was the young teenager who’d survived one of the most publicized kidnappings in recent history, and she wants it to stay that way. But she starts to question her heart and her sanity when unexplained incidents begin to happen and a deadly threat returns to finish what he’d started so long ago.

Trigger Warning: Rape (of a child, off page. NOT detailed, but mentioned in the story).

What worked for me (and what didn’t): First, let me say that I’m really glad I listened to this one because, at least in Australia, we pronounce “Cache” with a long “a” (ie Cay-sh) and I just don’t think I could have coped with a hero named after a place you hide things. Thankfully the narrator pronounced the name in the American way so I heard “Cash” which is just fine as a hero name! (*laughs at self*)

I’ve been a fan of romantic suspense for a long time. Perhaps because I love it so much, I have become very picky about it. I don’t mind a heightened reality but I want the world building to be consistent. I prefer more romance than suspense, or at least an even balance, rather than the other way around and I’m becoming averse to “torture porn”. I had high hopes for this book from a new-to-me author (and narrator as it happens). While parts of the book didn’t work for me that well, I did enjoy it and, in terms of the mix of romance and suspense, I think the book got it about right. Continue reading

What a Wallflower Wants by Maya Rodale, narrated by Carolyn Morris

January 17, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I heard about this book on a DBSA Podcast so I bought it. I didn’t share the view of the two Smart Bitches who read and loved it. I can’t tell how much of that exactly was due to the audio format but I think if I’d read the book it still would not have been a resounding success, even though I’m sure I’d have liked it better. As it was, it was just okay for me.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Miss Prudence Merryweather Payton has a secret.

Everyone knows that she’s the only graduate from her finishing school to remain unwed on her fourth season—but no one knows why. With her romantic illusions shattered after being compromised against her will, Prudence accepts a proposal even though her betrothed is not exactly a knight in shining armor. When he cowardly pushes her out of their stagecoach to divert a highwayman, she vows never to trust another man again.

John Roark, Viscount Castleton, is nobody’s hero.

He’s a blue-eyed charmer with a mysterious past and ambitious plans for his future—that do not include a wife. When he finds himself stranded at a country inn with a captivating young woman, a delicate dance of seduction ensues. He knows he should keep his distance. And he definitely shouldn’t start falling in love with her.

When Prudence’s dark past comes back to haunt her, John must protect her—even though he risks revealing his own secrets that could destroy his future.

Trigger Warning: Sexual assault

What worked for me (and what didn’t): There’s a thing that happens sometimes when a book is “translated” into the audio format. There are things which don’t work as well aurally as they do visually. What A Wallflower Wants is a perfect example of when something doesn’t translate well to audio. It has a somewhat unusual structure. At the end of some chapters (but not all, let’s not worry about consistency) there is a section which I’ve seen (because a friend screen-capped a couple of pages and tweeted them to me) is in italics. It has a section break before it and it is clearly out of phase with the rest of the story. Even so, there is no time/date stamp above it. It is apparent that these events take place a few days into the future – eventually the book catches up with itself. They are always in John’s POV. This is made even more odd because when Prudence has a flashback they are always marked with a date/time to orient the listener (for example, “Four years ago”). It is only these odd little sections from the future which aren’t so marked. On audio they come out of the blue. There is no aural representation that we are moving into the future and that the section is not in phase with the rest of the story. It took me a while to work out what was going on. At first I thought it was a flashback but that didn’t make sense the more I listened. Eventually I asked on Twitter and my guess was confirmed. When I’m listening, I have only my ears to orient me to the physics of the story. I can’t easily skip around sections like I can in a paperback or a digital file and I can’t see the visual cues on the page. I can’t see the italics. This story flips about quite a bit – in fact, there was one part where I’d accidentally left my iPod running and I missed a couple of chapters and when I started listening again I didn’t immediately realise my mistake – I thought it was just the book messing with me again. (I did realise after a while and went back and listened to the bits I’d missed).

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

December 3, 2014 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: Various friends of mine have been telling me I need to read this book. I was warned about possible ugly-crying and an emotional wringer. It seems to be a much beloved book. I bought it a while ago and finally decided to actually read it. From a quick survey of my Twitter friends, it seems I’m a bit of an outlier. So, YMMV. A LOT.

Warning: This book has been out a while so I feel less guilty about spoilers. What I most want to talk about is very spoilerish. So, ALL THE SPOILER WARNINGS. If you haven’t read Jellicoe Road and you want to, don’t read this review. It’s a very plotty book and while the structure of it didn’t always work for me, I think it probably works best not knowing all that much going in. (It is “safe” for romance readers to read.) I also think that if you haven’t read the book you won’t get a lot of out the discussion below and it could colour your view because I have Things. To. Say.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) I’m dreaming of the boy in the tree. I tell him stories. About the Jellicoe School and the Townies and the Cadets from a school in Sydney. I tell him about the war between us for territory. And I tell him about Hannah, who lives in the unfinished house by the river. Hannah, who is too young to be hiding away from the world. Hannah, who found me on the Jellicoe Road six years ago.

Taylor is leader of the boarders at the Jellicoe School. She has to keep the upper hand in the territory wars and deal with Jonah Griggs – the enigmatic leader of the cadets, and someone she thought she would never see again.

And now Hannah, the person Taylor had come to rely on, has disappeared. Taylor’s only clue is a manuscript about five kids who lived in Jellicoe eighteen years ago. She needs to find out more, but this means confronting her own story, making sense of her strange, recurring dream, and finding her mother – who abandoned her on the Jellicoe Road.

BUY IT:
AMAZON KOBO BOOK DEPOSITORY

I’m putting the entire review under the jump because: SPOILERS

When the Lights Go Down by Amy Jo Cousins

November 18, 2014 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a review copy from the author. It’s part of the Harlequin E Contemporary Boxset Volume 3.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Opposites attract, but then what?

Maxie Tyler is Chicago’s toughest stage manager. Her latest gig is just the break she needs, and she’s not going to let anyone get in her way. Not even the producer with dreamy blue eyes and bespoke suits that fit him perfectly in all the right places.

A successful venture capitalist, Nick Drake is used to calling the shots. He doesn’t care about art unless it turns a profit. This show might prove to be a good investment, but he’s not sure if Maxie Tyler will. Her need to control every detail of the show makes him nervous. So does the fact that they can’t seem to keep their hands off each other.

Scandal and disaster threaten her career, his reputation, and the success of the play. Two people accustomed to being in control will have to trust each other if the show will, indeed, go on. And they’ll have to trust their feelings if their passion is going to last after the last curtain goes down and the lights go up.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I was waffling a bit with what to read next – my reading mood was undefined and that never helps anyone. So I started a couple books, just read the first page or so to see whether it might be “the one” for that day. When I opened When The Lights Go Down, I found myself swiping to the next page and the next and so on until I realised I was 30 pages in. Given I was feeling kind of “meh” and had an Outlander Wedding hangover (this review has been in the queue for a while), that was a substantial feat.
Continue reading

October Round Up

November 2, 2014 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Frozen by Meljean Brook – C The author kindly provided a review copy of this self-published paranormal novella. I have great respect for her writing and some of my friends adore her books so I didn’t even really care what the book was about. That may have been a mistake – but then again, I’m not sure the blurb could have helped me out here.

Olivia Martin is a civil engineer working for Gullbrandr Engineering. On her way to spend Christmas with her family outside of Denver, she is asked to drop off some important papers by the CEO, to his son, Erik Gullbrandr, who is staying at their country property. Olivia and Erik first met some time ago and there were sparks of attraction and one very steamy kiss. Erik shut things down very quickly. Olivia thought initially this was because they were working together but after the project was finished, she asked him on a date and he turned her down flat. Subsequently, Olivia’s company was bought out by Erik’s father’s company and they have been no more than colleagues. Olivia still nurses a crush on him – she admires and likes him and though he could be “the One”. She never understood the reason for his rejection.

Erik is horrified and enraged to see Olivia at his castle (it really is, with a portcullis and everything). It turns out there’s a curse, he’s a paranormal being and on the winter solstice (2 days hence) he will lose control and fuck Olivia whether she wants it or not. Something about Olivia has triggered the curse and Erik has been trying to keep away from her ever since. Continue reading

Taking Control by Jen Frederick

September 22, 2014 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: One of my blogger friends had a review copy and, with the permission of the author, she shared it with me.

ETA April 2015: At the time I accepted/read the book and wrote the review, I didn’t know Jen Frederick was also Jane Litte from Dear Author. No Jen Frederick books have been reviewed by me, anywhere, since I became aware of this and, given my existing relationship with Jane, I will not be reviewing any more of her books. I will continue to update my personal Goodreads account with all the books I read as per usual but, consistent with my review policy, there won’t be further formal reviews of Jen Frederick’s work.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) I thought I needed only one thing in my life–the money and power to crush one man. But the moment I laid eyes on Victoria Corielli, my thirst for revenge was replaced by my craving for her.

No rule would keep me away; no obstacle too large to overcome. Not her will, not our differing social positions, not my infamous past. When she lost everything, I helped her pick up the pieces. When she trusted me with everything, she sealed her fate.

I’ve convinced Victoria she can put her heart in my hands. Now I have to protect it–from her shady stepfather and my business rivals, from enemies known and hidden. I’ll do anything to keep her. And I might have to prove it, because now Victoria”s risking more than her heart to be with me; she’s risking her life.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): After finishing Losing Control earlier this year, I was looking forward to the second and final part of the story, especially because I heard it was from Ian’s POV. (The book does have some sections from Tiny’s perspective but most of it is from Ian’s.) However there were times I felt a bit “be careful what you wish for”. It was apparent from the first book that Ian Kerr is a very alpha billionaire who goes after what he wants and always gets it. Being in Tiny’s perspective made his alpha-ness a little easier to take. There were some occasions in this book where he crossed the line from commanding/demanding to creeper.