Fragile by Shiloh Walker

This is the book that spawned Broken. And it is a very twisted read. (And nowhere near as good as the slightly similar Obsession by Sharon Cullen...who needs to publish a new story soon please.)

Surely the heroine Devon was purposefully written as a serial victim. And really I couldn't see why such bad bad things keep happening to her. Even I questioned what was going on with her hallucinating about 'nasty' Luke. I couldn't make sense of it.

But. She also has good stuff happen. Being adopted by the Mannings, loving Luke, steady job, kicking her habit. Despite the description of Devon I thought she was one of those beautiful people who don't actually realise how pretty they are. Readers need to know she is seriously molested by more than one psycho during the course of the story. She is at her weakest when she doesn't know what is happening to her mind...that's when she kicks Luke out. But essentially she is a strong person...although what's the point of being strong when so much rubbish happens to her.

I hadn't a clue what was going on with Quinn or how he happened to show up just in time to save Luke and Devon. That was never really explained. The philosophy of Devon's life is to rely on luck to sort things out. Although she doesn't seem to realise that. It was great to read as the relationship developed between Luke and Devon. There's plenty of hot scenes between the pair of them. The story ends very abruptly...I think what happened was that the novel ended in the bedroom and then someone in the crit group probably whined 'But what about that poor guy Quinn?' and so we got the final scene between the three of them which goes absolutely nowhere.

Geez. Poor Danielle. I bet no follow-up book is written about her. That's what comes of being friends with a serial victim.

When I originally read the review of Fragile on Amazon I did actually reject it because I could guess just what Devon's 'troubled youth' entailed...going by the number of that type of book on the best-seller lists. But I was suckered into buying Fragile by reading Broken and I had forgotten what I read about Fragile.

Although the descriptions of Devon's underage-abuse are thankfully sparse I didn't really enjoy reading about how disrespectfully she was treated by Curtis and Tony. I think I would have preferred it if Devon had been more of a devious fighter...and had managed to prevent at least one of those 3 nasty incidents from taking place..(the one with Curtis preferably because then maybe the completely innocent Danielle might not have been hurt so bad.) She should also have recognised a crap shrink for what she was. She should have told Luke the name of Tim's Dad and what she knew about his background. And. The times Devon felt afraid to go into her own house, that's when she should have rung Luke and suggested they move into his condo. If the nightmares had continued then she could have suspected him. Having said all that I have to ask 'What good was Luke in the story?' Cos all he actually did was ring the cops when Curtis was already dead anyway. And so we come to the important question. Is Devon addicted to being a victim? And is that what drives Luke to her? Many times during the course of the story he admits he's an adrenaline junkie. If Luke had really cared he would have advised Devon to 'Carry A Weapon At All Times.'

Also. I have no idea about what was going on with Quinn, Luke and Tony's Unit. Or why Tony went crazy. Read totally like opsec paranoia to me.

In the final analysis the novel was a bit strong (and indecipherable) for me. In fact I wish I hadn't read it. But many other readers will probably be very impressed with the story.

I first read a book like this from one of my favorite male authors. Now deceased. It was like he came to hate most of the characters he had spent about 10 years creating and fleshing out. And so towards the end of his life he just wrote about bad things happening to them. For me its like watching someone bully helpless people. Not very edifying at all. So in the end, I know exactly who to blame for what kept happening to Devon. Shame On You!

p.s. I know I sound completely crazy. But it's a genuine heartfelt protest.

Broken by Shiloh Walker

Well...What I say is this. In a story full of characters with names like Quinn, Don, Sara and James, why introduce a character who is basically raped and beaten to death and call her Elena. Her only function is to highlight Quinn's supposed inability to express his emotions to people he wants to care about. But that's just me and my opinion...in my capacity as CEO of the Society for the Protection of Minor Characters.

Basically I suppose this is Quinn's story. His main parent for most of his youth was a drunk, foul-mouthed mother. So it's understandable that he's not really confident in making relationships. I suppose. But. Something that Quinn does have is a wonderful fairy godmother. So when his mom dies he is whisked off to a rich rancher Dad. And then at the end of the story (spoiler alert) incredibly the main bad-guy dies by his own hand, so Quinn gets his girl. Lucky ol' Quinn.

For me the trouble with the story was Sara. And how the reader is led to believe that she is an abused wife. Because then it would seem that Sara is having a relationship with a new guy Quinn when she hasn't resolved the poisonous relationship with her abusive guy. And she's certainly picked what looks like another controller in Quinn. He programs her cell phone number into his cell without telling her; he shows up at her place of work when she hasn't actually told him where she works.

Despite all that I ended up feeling sorry for Quinn. Because I would say that Sam is not a good relationship for him. Sam is in fact pretending to be Sara to lay a false trail for Sara's abusive husband. There is no way the mindset of the sister of a marital abuse victim would in any way be the same as that of the abuse victim herself. But that is what the reader is lead to believe. Or so it seemed to me. It was just ridiculous that after all his threats, James decided to take his own life and so leave everyone free to carry on happily ever after. (With Sara being the ultra-rich widow seeing how she was still married to James at the time of his death.) Sam totally played Quinn and she should have been made to grovel some. I don't remember coming across a heroine who absolutely refuses to trust the hero with any relevant information at all.

From almost the beginning this book totally read like it was the minor character follow-up of a successful novel. Good luck to Quinn as he watches the lovely Sam change back into a blimp now that she doesn't have to run anymore. Actually he'll probably be very happy with such a completely normal relationship.

What I enjoyed most about the story was that the main characters worked blue-collar jobs and that Quinn thought in terms of his (and Sam's) future when he took that high-paying job.

Not to be compared to Tate and Matt in Lauren Dane's novel ....Chase. But an interesting read anyhow.

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Not a good read.

Why. Because it features quite a nasty human experimentation sub-plot which adds an unexpected and unwelcome gore/horror element. Because it introduces stuff which turn out to be completely irrelevant. Like the parasol. And the octopus device. Because the heroine, Alexia spends a lot of time complaining about the dark color of her skin. But that is also an irrelevancy. Endless pages are spent describing the interior decorations of each house Alexia visits. Totally irrelevant. Giving many characters silly names doesn't constitute wit either.

And not least because it is set in a kind of alternative reality in Victorian times where everything but the kitchen sink, including the presence of Queen Victoria herself, is thrown into the plot. Lots of things made no sense. How could all those vampires and werewolves be captured so easily by the scientists? I couldn't detect anything alpha about Maccon. Often he read as little more than a buffoon. Just why did Alexia stay with a family who denied her a coming-out season because of her color?

Unfortunately the romance is weak. By the third book in the series the heroine has left her husband. But actually the heroine herself is a passive pain. She's one of those (inexplicably popular recently) hero types who relies on people around her to save her and get hurt. She does very little herself. Other than 'be special.' And be hypercritical of herself and most of the other females in the story. I kept waiting for Alexia to 'solve the mystery.' But it's the minor characters who do all that. Completely off-book. Instead the reader is forced to read page after page of out-dated pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo.Also. For some reason I've developed an instinctive dislike of happy-clappy servants who just love their masters. There's a whole gaggle of them in this book.

The novel is 'steam-punk' and so so clever it's up its own end. Waste of time really.

How Can This Be?!

When last I trawled the internet for news of Loose Ends by Tara Janzen the publish date was August 2010.

Now I read that the date has been put back to January 2011!!!!

That is completely ridiculous.

Why put out one date and then change it to another one that is over six months later?

Skin Game by Ava Gray

I absolutely loved this story. From chapter 2 onwards. Can you believe it?

It's the story of a romance between an grifter and a killer for hire. You would think that both these types were much too cynical to, ahem, 'fall in love' but that is exactly what happens. And I totally believed in the romance as it unfolded. Because when either one of the main couple, Kyra Marie and Reyes feels rejected or ignored by the other, they feel miserable and want to cry. I even accepted the totally ridiculous paranormal thread that runs throughout the novel. Can you believe at a couple of points in the story I had to take a tea-break because the tension was getting to me! There are of course secondary characters, Foster and Mia and I was even interested in how they were doing. I thought the bad guy, Serrano was a nasty piece of work. Yes. There's a lot of shooting and killing in the story. But it doesn't happen to innocent bystanders...just criminals.

Much of the novel is basically a road trip where the main couple learn stuff about each other...even though neither is exactly the talkative type. Get this. The hero, Reyes, like Kade in Shades of Midnight, also has some issues with a deadbeat Dad. But he has worked through them in an entirely realistic way. Kyra on the other hand still looks at her own crappy father with rose-tinted glasses. But at the end of the novel even she consciously lets go of the ties she still had to her life with her Dad. Reyes talked about 'Dad's who put their own pleasure before the welfare of their kids.' I loved all that. (Mainly because I see many Moms who do exactly the same thing.) And then there's a throwaway line about the 'Pretty Woman' movie. Condemning it for making prostitution seem like a fairy-tale. I loved that too.

Geez. The heroine, Kyra. Has. Never. Been. To. School. I absolutely loved her character and attitude. Geez. She actually read through much of 'A Hundred Years of Solitude.' I also loved how she treats Reyes once she discovers he's been lying his head off to her. Make no mistake though. Everyone in the novel. Has Money.

What didn't ring true was how she was going to trust her millions to her friend Mia. I was also quite amazed how much killing Kyra does without any kind of hesitation.

tbh. There were some gaping plot holes. I didn't really understand why Serrano took Snow to Switzerland, killed him, and then think no-one would suspect him. Also. I didn't really understand how Kyra relieved Serrano of all that money. She said she only did one-night stands; does that mean she had a non-biblical relationship with Serrano. Is that really likely?

btw. I suspected I would like this story as I read the scene where Kyra checks into a dive motel and examines the water jug for signs of meth cooking. I just love cool refs in contemporary romances.

Best read of the year so far.

p.s. I have now read some of the other reviews of this novel. One of the reasons I am not bothered by Kyra's and Reye's moral justifications of who they victimise is that, well, they are both hardened criminals. Their real mantra, which is also touched upon in the novel, is 'Dont Get Caught.' Everything else is just padding to keep up their self-esteem which is basically what you need when you do what they do and have the crappy upbringings they both had. New readers might like to know that Kyra literally stomps Serrano to death. And Reyes doesn't bat an eyelid...her actions absolutely do not even register on his moral compass.

It goes without saying that I have never met people like Kyra and Reyes. But I have met many people who just think (and behave) differently from the norm. You just have to accept them for what they are. Non-criminals. If either Kyra or Reyes ever appeared in court. You just know it would (deservedly) be LWOP for both. Minimum. But the story isn't about reality. Anyway, I liked the tableau it presented of criminals killing other criminals and cheating other bullies. Far far better than the morals on view in Stephanie Rowe's Chill; where criminals saying 'sorry' is acceptable when innocent people have been hurt.

The Golden Season by Connie Brockway

This is one of those romances where the main couple, Lydia and Ned, spend a lot of time apart. And too many pages are spent describing the lives of supposedly minor characters. I got tired of reading about Emma Cod’s kleptomania, Sarah’s slutting or Childe Smythe’s longing to be accepted by society.

The thing was. I could see the plot development a mile off. Lydia and Ned fall in love. One of them finds out the other has no money and calls off the romance. But in the end true love conquers all. The trouble was. Half way through the book and still nothing had happened. Ned was still wasting his time over his lame-brain cousins. And Lydia was just seeing Childe Smythe in a more sympathetic light. Also one or both of the main couple needed to do some serious grovelling for placing social position and wealth above happiness. And I know, with this author, that isn’t going to happen.

I’m almost ashamed to admit…dnf…lightweight and boring.

Shades of Midnight by Lara Adrian

Another novel set in Alaska again featuring a bush pilot…but this time it’s the heroine, Alexandra.

This is the latest in a series about good vampires fighting bad vampires. Yup, it’s a bit Blade-ish. And like all the others in the series, quite elitist with lots of ‘master-slave’ elements as depicted in the ‘Rogue-Minion’ relationships.

tbh I thought the story was perfectly acceptable. But nothing special either. In fact. For me it came very close to being boring. I read it in about a day and a half. It contains some hot love scenes. But from the story point of view the guys get all the action.

Some things kept me from fully liking the plot. The heroine, Alex, admits she fell into bed in a New York minute with the local cop who had a sideline in dealing because she was feeling sorry for herself. But then she seems to take an age making up her mind about doing the deed with the good guy because she ‘knows nothing about him.’ That got on my nerves. Her dithering just held up the story. Then. The hero Kade seems to have gained the impression that his Dad belittled him throughout most of his childhood and teenage years. But all the Dad has to do is apologise and give a reason for his behaviour and all is forgiven by Kade. Huh? Kade doesn’t feel anger toward his Dad?? A bit of tough love by Dad toward the older brother might have saved his life. And Kade doesn’t tell him that?! Relationship issues that are glossed over tend to reappear later on…with evil effect.

The best part for me was when Teagan made an appearance. And please god, that creep, Harvard will turn into a traitor not just another member of the Order.