I've only read Shelly Laurenston's story but will eventually read the other. I loved Eggie and Darla together!I've only read Shelly Laurenston's story but will eventually read the other. I loved Eggie and Darla together!...more
I have loved many of the books that I’ve read, but it has been a long time since I can remember being as flat out delighted as I was when reading I have loved many of the books that I’ve read, but it has been a long time since I can remember being as flat out delighted as I was when reading this book. I finished it and just wanted to squeeze it to me and bask in its awesomeness. (Not quite comfortable when it’s an ebook you’re reading) It was so frickin’ adorable!
Ainsworth and Prudence have a…unique start to their relationship. One night, while out enjoying himself on the town, the duke is nabbed and drugged by Prudence’s well-meaning servants in order to bring to life a revenge she’s spent years plotting. Of course, Prudence would have never gone through with the plan on her own, but since her servants/friends already had him there, why not? Is it her fault that the title recently changed hands and they didn’t realize it until it was too late? Surely he won’t be that upset about the tattoo they forced on him. And if he is…well, he was drugged and won’t remember them, right? Right?!?
Of course, they’re not that lucky. Ainsworth does not take it at all well. He can’t exactly go to the police and start a manhunt because then he would have to admit what happened, but he has no plans of letting this go. It drives him nuts that he doesn’t know why someone did this to him, but he will find them no matter how long it takes and he will have his revenge. Luckily for him he remembers some things from that night, despite being drugged, and he has the clue (of sorts) that Prudence couldn’t resist leaving with him out of guilt.
You can see why I was sucked into this story, can’t you? How unique and fun! I absolutely loved the writing style used. The tone is completely matter-of-fact, but it is so matter-of-factly absurd that you can’t help but giggle. Hilarious events are treated as completely rational and each little absurdity adds up to a wonderfully fun romp of a story. This book reminded me so much of the air of fun that I find when reading a Loretta Chase or Kate Noble story. I prize that quality so I’m thankful I’ve found another author that can deliver.
I loved watching Ainsworth and Prudence fall in love. The shenanigans they got up to had me in stitches but the genuine friendship and love that developed is really what invested me in them. There was such genuine care between them, despite being an unlikely pair on the surface. I also loved that the story spanned such a significant time span. I rarely get that in the HR’s of today so that was appreciated. The last story I can remember reading that, like this, had a good chunk of time covered was Wulf’s story, Slightly Dangerous, by Mary Balogh. Why is that so rare nowadays?
A misunderstanding and inability (or refusal) to communicate crops up toward the end of the book, which might irk some, but for me it just added a layer of further fun to an already delightful courtship. Watching Ainsworth bumble around love and having his friends come to investigate the situation made the whole thing that much better. I didn’t quite understand the motivation of Prudence’s brother and his wife, but that was such a small niggle that it barely bothered me. Who cares about her brother and sister-in-law when the rest of the characters fix your attention so firmly their way? I read the sneak peek for the author’s next book with Ainsworth’s friend, Lord Clun, and it looks F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. I wish it were already out!
The writing was solid (which I greatly appreciate in a debut author), the characters intelligent, and the dialogue witty. Honestly, this book hit all my sweet spots and has me wishing the author had a backlist for me to glom. If you’re on the fence about this one, consider this: it’s only $2.99 for the ebook right now. How can you go wrong? That’s one heck of a deal for a story this delightful.
Favorite Quote:
”Over and over, I’ve bared my soul to her.”
“You told her you loved her?” Percy persisted.
“Not precisely in those words, Percy,” the duke snapped. “Why must you harp on that!”
This book came to my attention and I bought it for exactly one reason: I was told it was similar to Shelly Laurenston's style. Sold! It did*4.5 Stars*
This book came to my attention and I bought it for exactly one reason: I was told it was similar to Shelly Laurenston's style. Sold! It didn't hurt that it was only a $0.99 investment, either. :) And luckily the recommender was correct. It did read like Shelly Laurenston. Yay! Another author to feed my need for immature humor and outrageous antics. :D
This book was, quite simply, hilarious. The start was a little clunky for me, but it quickly smoothed out and settled into a fast paced, cute read that had me giggling often. The hero, Jason, strongly reminds me of Mitch from Laurenston's Pride series. He's rude, arrogant, fun loving, and quite obsessed with food. He can eat and eat and eat and it always turns into the biggest production. He has good friends who know him for the lovable ass he is and who mock and tease him mercilessly about his delusions toward his relationship with the heroine.
His delusion consists of the fact that he doesn't like-like Haley. When he intimidates or scares off the men interested in her, it's only for her benefit. What else could a wingman do but help her out? When he stares at her ass, it's only natural. It's like having a best friend and a show in one. Nothing personal. The fact that he needs her more than she needs him doesn't even ping on his radar. He's in Jason-land and nothing is rocking that boat.
"I don't know how Haley put up with you for the last few weeks. I would have killed you by now."
"Haley worships me," he said with a snort.
"Yeah, okay," Brad said, laughing. "That's why she dates other men and screws you over just to laugh at you."
"Exactly."
Brad looked over at him. "You are a seriously fucked up man, aren't you?"
Of course, Haley is much more self aware than Jason. She comes to realize that they're in an intimate non-relationship, but it eventually drives her nuts that it's not intimate enough. She doesn't want to ruin the friendship that they do have, so she doesn't make a huge issue out of it, but she yearns for a real relationship instead of the weird ass friendship they have going.
I'm not going to go into much more detail than that, but it was great. The author slowly built up a convincing friendship between Haley and Jason and slid them toward a real relationship so smoothly that the reader didn't even blink. It all just fit perfectly.
Toward the end we got into a bit of drama that had the characters doing things that bounced the "victim" tag back and forth between them. It felt like it got a bit away from the author, but it also provided the opportunity for more hilarious scenes like,
"This is kidnapping!" she sputtered in disbelief.
"No, it's not."
"Yes, it is!"
"Nope."
"What the hell would you call it?" she demanded, snatching his soda from him and finishing it off.
"A romantic getaway?"
so it was hard to be too bothered. :) The epilogue was sweet--too sweet for me--but I know some people enjoy that sort of thing. All in all, this was a great read. I can't wait to try something else by this author.
Favorite Quote:
Megan's eyes narrowed on her. "You're really his girlfriend?"
"Yes."
"This isn't just some sick game he's playing?"
"Uh, no...is there something wrong?" She was really starting to feel self-conscious.
"Nothing other than you are the first woman he's ever brought home and you'll have to forgive me if I seem a little surprised. For a moment there I though hell had frozen over."
I thought this premise was absolutely marvelous. It’s just so rare to see something like it! The hero and heroine are already married when *3.5 Stars*
I thought this premise was absolutely marvelous. It’s just so rare to see something like it! The hero and heroine are already married when the story begins—and they’re happy to boot. The heroine, Evelyn, was a spy before her marriage—although she hasn’t admitted that to her husband. She plans to one day, but she’s thinking more along the lines of confessing when he’s on his death bed. She gets contacted by her old organization and is compelled to help them on another case. She doesn’t want to, because she’s happy and doesn’t want to risk her marriage, but they make her an offer she can’t refuse. What follows is an amusing tale of Evelyn trying to complete the tasks assigned to her while her husband starts to suspect the worst.
Victoria Alexander has an engaging writing style that easily pulls the reader in. I started reading and was immediately charmed. The characters were so fun and the situation was so funny. Evelyn and her husband are always honest with each other, about the present at least ;), so when Adrian notices that she seems distracted and that she has been visiting places that she didn’t mention to him, he finds himself becoming worried. He has been feeling rather restless lately, himself, so he worries that she is experiencing the same thing. Her occasional mentions of him not being very adventurous have him nervous that she might start searching for that adventure with someone else. Evelyn is, of course, completely clueless about his worries. This leads to a hilarious story with some rather farcical situations.
Evelyn and Adrian are great together. They don’t have a very passionate feel to their relationship, but you can feel the love and affection between them whenever they’re together. Although they’re both happy and in love, Adrian has always felt a slight insecurity about Evelyn’s reasons for marrying him. Was she as in love as he was, or was he just convenient? His insecurity leads him into some awkward situations that are embarrassing for him, but hilarious for the reader. He has the unfortunate habit of making a bad situation worse by developing an even more convoluted plan to fix the original bad plan. His friend, Max—loved him!—might see it’s a bad idea, but Adrian’s determined to do things his way. Occasionally I had to shake my head. Love must have made him stupid. Lol.
I really enjoyed the book, but as the story progressed I started to become less and less amused by the lies and omissions. I still giggled over the funny scenes, but underneath that I started to become dissatisfied with the way Evelyn couldn’t keep a good mad going. I know that she loves Adrian, but I wanted her to stand up for herself and mean it when she said she was angry. It seemed like she became angry only because she wanted him to apologize and cajole her out of her temper. That left me with the feeling that he never actually had to atone for his wrongdoings. I don’t even think he was actually sorry. The fact that he kept layering deceit on top of deceit, all while tricking her, irritated me. I liked his character and understood that he got a little too caught up in his plots, but that doesn’t change the fact that what he did was wrong. I wouldn’t have minded so much if Evelyn had responded differently. My dissatisfaction with this aspect dropped my grade significantly.
Sprinkled through the book there was a cute secondary romance. They were tied in with the spy thing, so it never took away from the main romance. It actually provided a fuller picture of the spy plot and everyone’s connection to the organization. Plus, they were just adorable together. I liked that Max was the one who found himself dissatisfied with the relationship they had. He wanted to sleep with her through the night and wake with her in the morning. So sweet… It was fun watching him try to convince his lady that they should enter into something more permanent.
Although I had my issues with this book, I still thought it was a blast to read. The humor was perfect and I found myself grinning frequently. I can’t wait to see what will come next in this series.
Favorite Quote:
"However, if we are to be friends, you should know I have few scruples, my morals are questionable, and I am quite selfish."
"What a ringing endorsement for friendship."
"But I am unfailingly loyal to my friends. I am a friend you can always count on for very nearly anything."
Evelyn cast her a skeptical glance. "I thought you didn't have any friends?"
"That's why." Beryl sighed. "Unfailing loyalty takes a great deal out of me."
"Friends do not steal their friends' cooks." Evelyn's eyes narrowed. "Or their husbands."
"Yet another argument for friendship because otherwise, make no mistake, I would have your husband in a minute if the opportunity presented itself."
I have to admit defeat and give up on this one. I haven’t enjoyed it and am tired of struggling to become interested. I gave it a good go and mad*DNF*
I have to admit defeat and give up on this one. I haven’t enjoyed it and am tired of struggling to become interested. I gave it a good go and made it to page 176, but I don’t think it’s going to get any better.
The hero, James, comes to visit his fiancée, Louisa, and ends up getting to spend some time with her stepsister, Julia, while he waits for Louisa to come greet him. He is completely swept away by Julia and is chagrined to realize that he is so attracted to his fiancée’s sister. (This is by page 8, by the way) Julia’s charms seemed to be comprised of her nonstop chatter—which tends to border on socially unacceptable since she blurts out whatever is on her mind—and her appetite. This girl eats and eats and eats, sometimes even getting a third plate! The hero finds it adorable how flustered she gets after looking at her plate and realizing she’s ate it all. She also loves to have her younger sisters and brothers around (and kids in general), which seems indicate that she’s nicer and more down to earth than any other woman in the book. I mean, who else would take the time to crouch down and talk to the hero’s nieces on their level? Who else would go to a dinner party and ask that the children be allowed to stay so she can play with them? <--sarcasm
Julia drives a lot of the zanier aspects of the book. The other characters, except James and Julia’s aunt, tend to fade into the background, acting the straight man to Julia’s schtick. I think the author was going for something cute and funny, à la Katie MacAlister’s Noble Intentions, but it didn’t work for me. There has to be something more than just ridiculous situations and silly characters to make something funny. It just came off as irritating and ridiculous to me. If you read a sample of this book and find it funny, you’ll probably end up enjoying this more a lot more than I did. I could see what the author was trying to do, but for me it fell flat. The first chapter was incredibly silly and cutesy and that, unfortunately, set the tone for the rest of the book.
One thing I found confusing about the book was the way the tone seemed to change. One second it would be silly and the next it would seem like the author was trying to inject some seriousness as she had James struggle with his attraction to Julia and his determination to marry Louisa. The two tones didn’t mesh very well together, unfortunately. They felt out of place next to each other. One thing I appreciated about James was that his attraction to Julia stayed mostly internal. He was very friendly with her and occasionally slipped up by staring at her, but for the most part he didn’t reveal his interest to her whole family. The same could not be said for Julia. She would run up for a hug and then remember herself at the last minute and turn it into a curtsey, making the situation extremely awkward. She would push her sister to spend time with him and volunteer herself to go along as Louisa’s support, strictly to spend time with him. Way to be a crap sister.
Of course this was all made okay by the fact that Louisa was extremely disinterested in marrying. She snapped up James’s offer (I’m not sure why) in no time flat, but resisted any sort of affection from him and didn’t want to set a date for the wedding. You may think she had some compelling reason to resist him. Maybe a man she was pining for? Maybe she was pushed into accepting his offer? Nope. She just didn’t want to get married and leave home. She wanted to stay with her parents and books. That’s why it seems so odd that she would accept James’s offer so quickly. Maybe if the characters would have had more depth it would have been easier to understand some of their actions.
So, obviously this book was not for me. My advice for you is to try a sample. See if her humor works for you. If it does, snatch it up, because you'll probably enjoy this. But if it doesn’t, I recommend giving this a pass.
P.S. I liked the chapter titles the author included. They reminded me of the Parasol Protectorate books.
Every time I pick up a Shelly Laurenston, I know I’m going to laugh. I am so in love with her world of arrogant, over the top shifters. They delight iEvery time I pick up a Shelly Laurenston, I know I’m going to laugh. I am so in love with her world of arrogant, over the top shifters. They delight in violent behavior and irritating others. They have no shame and are completely at home in their lust. Really, what’s not to love? Especially when you throw in a large dose of immature humor. ;)
Going into this book, I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it quite as much as I have some of the other ones in the series since Cella is friends with Dee-Ann, the heroine of Big Bad Beast, who I did not like very much. I didn’t get to see that much of Cella in BBB, but I was afraid that she would be similar to Dee-Ann since they were friends. Luckily that wasn’t the case. In fact, Dee-Ann and Cella are the kind of friends where it’s hard to tell if they actually like each other or not. They grate on each other and get into honest to God fist fights. At one point Cella tells Crush
”Don’t try to understand our friendship,” she said to Crush without looking up from her paper. “Just accept it.”
and I think that’s good advice. Actually, that’s good advice for a lot of the friendships in this series. :)
I’ve seen Crush infrequently during the series but I never knew much about him beyond the fact that he’s a polar bear. It was so fun getting to know him! He was so orderly and resistant to change, and his obsession with hockey was downright adorable—especially because the players he worshipped did not include Cella, much to her irritation. Poor Crush finds himself moved to the special shifter division of the police and partnered with Dez, from The Mane Event, much to his despair—like I said, the poor guy doesn’t like change. His chemistry with Dez is great and it was fun getting to see them snipe at each other. Plus, it gave us a nice chance to discover some previously unknown information. Who knew that polar bears would become so angry over being offered a honey bun? :P
After waking up naked with Crush in the beginning of the book (a hilarious scene), Cella becomes determined to loosen him up. Just like any cat with a secret attachment, she delights in annoying Crush and burdening him with her presence. She torments him in front of his coworkers and likes to tell everyone that they’re dating, even when they’re not.
”Why don’t you just say you don’t know how to deal with a nice guy?”
“I know I don’t know how to deal with a nice guy. That’s why I’ve been torturing the man every time I’ve seen him. But I don’t feel like torturing him at the moment. I feel like shooting him in the head.”
“Do you ever have small emotions, Cella? Little ones? That don’t involve either sex or death?”
“I’m a tiger. I’m either fucking or killing something. I can’t be all sitting up in a tree, lounging around like you people.”
But that’s just Cella for you. She just slowly works her way under your skin until one day you realize you’re in love with her. Of course, sometimes it takes a while to get to that point. Until then you’re just stuck being put into awkward situations and being conned into pretending to be her boyfriend.
I absolutely loved how completely unimpressed Crush was by Cella’s antics. He was flustered and befuddled at times, but for the most part he regarded her as something he was determined to escape.
"I'm trying to figure out if you're just a dick or if you're really an uptight, overthinking good guy?"
"How about I make the decision for you."
Crush stepped around her and walked out, determined to get away from this insane feline. And, as the door closed behind him, Crush heard her bark, "Well I guess it's just you being a dick then, huh?"
It was fun watching him be so relentlessly cornered. His irritation with her also gave us a nice opportunity to watch their friendship slowly develop before they did anything about their attraction. Speaking of friendships, we also got to see Novikov (from Beast Behaving Badly) get a friend. Shocker, I know. :D Novikov and Crush’s unlikely friendship was one of my favorite parts of the book. It was just so unexpected and adorably awkward. I mean, Novikov is not the easiest guy to get along with, yet both Crush and Cella do. That right there tells me that they were made for each other.
The only thing that kept this from being an A book was the suspense portions of the book. I didn't really care about those parts and was more interested in getting back to the humor and drama of the other characters. But that's just me. I'd rather just read about the antics of the shifters without all the rest of it getting in the way. Maybe that's why I loved The Beast in Him so much. Regardless, I had a blast reading the book and can't wait for the next one.
Favorite Quote:
"KZS is made up of cats. In general, we're a lazy species. So we don't do what you'd call actual"--she made air quotes with her fingers--"'investigations'."
"Then what do you do?"
"Someone says, 'I'm thinking they're a problem'...and then they send one of us in to eliminate the problem."
Scowling, the bear demanded, "You do that for every situation? Even nonlethal ones?"
"Oh, God, no! Of course not. If you just irritate us, then we just come to your house and pee all over everything." She shrugged. "Sometimes shit in your shoes." When the bear only stared at her with his mouth open, Cella quickly added, "Not me, though. I've never done that. Not ever. Because it's...it's..." She thought a moment. "It's 'morally' wrong." She smiled, proud of herself for remembering the phrase.
"Did you just air quote morally?"
Not sure how to answer that, she said, "Just for clarity?" Probably would have sounded more believable without making it a question, but God, the bear had so many damn rules! How was she supposed to keep track of so many damn rules?
Looking for angst? Looking for brooding characters who have a hard time letting themselves be happy? Looking for a shy heroine who hasn’t e*4.5 Stars*
Looking for angst? Looking for brooding characters who have a hard time letting themselves be happy? Looking for a shy heroine who hasn’t enjoyed sex to date and needs to be shown the power of the mighty orgasm? If you answered yes to any of those, it’s probably best to keep on walking, because this book is completely unlike any of those things. It is light and happy and is filled with farcical situations that had me laughing out loud. I know that whenever I pick up an Alexander there’s a good chance that I’ll get a dose of happy. This was no exception. I closed the book grinning from ear to ear.
Veronica is that rarely seen Romance heroine who actually loved her previous husband and enjoyed sex. She enjoyed it so much that three years later she is starting to feel the lack. She doesn’t want to bounce around from lover to lover, but she’s not interested in marriage again. She didn’t have a bad first marriage, but she knows that she has grown from that girl she used to be and has become too independent to easily give up the reins. So what’s a girl to do in a situation like this? Well, her solution is to become the mistress of a man of her choosing—leaving out the money part of the equation. She wants all the benefits of a husband without actually having one.
Sebastian finds himself in quite an opposite position. He has been off exploring and adventuring for years, but now that the time to decide his inheritance is approaching he finds himself in search of the trappings of a responsible man. He buys a house—because all serious, responsible men own houses—and finds himself starting to lean toward finding a wife as well. He’s been quite the ladies man to date, but he’s ready for a new stage in his life. He sets his sights on Veronica just as she sets her sights on him. It’s their bad luck that they’re at cross purposes.
Veronica and Sebastian are pretty happy people and their upbeat attitude makes it easy to fall into their characters. That’s not to say that they don’t have insecurities and regrets, because they do. They just don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on it and angsting. When one of them does something stupid or they end up miscommunicating and getting angry, they’re able to solve their issues pretty easily. They are at heart quite logical and are more willing to look for the best in each other rather than the worst.
There are quite a few friends and family members running around this book, complicating Veronica and Sebastian’s lives with the best of intentions. Although many of them weren’t focused on exclusively, I still felt that I got to know them well. Obviously, the two best friends, Portia and Sinclair, had more of a focus on them, but I never felt slighted on the rest. They all managed to make their mark in one way or another.
The humor in this book doesn’t come from one liners, although there is some of that, so much as it does from the hysterical situations they find themselves in. Their Christmas getaway descends into a farce of epic proportions. It was hilarious to watch them panic and scramble to try to manage the situation, all the while being broadsided by another wrench in the gears. I loved that Veronica and Sebastian’s scheming to manipulate each other into falling in line with their plans never had a malicious vibe to it. Just like most everything else, it had an edge of humor to it that made it fun to watch.
The only thing that didn’t work for me about this book was believing when the characters fell in love with each other. It was way too soon, especially on the hero’s part. I could clearly see, as I read on, why they would fall for each other and how absolutely perfect they seemed together, but that was after they had already had the I’m in love realization in their minds. It wasn’t a huge thing for me since the rest of the book was so fun, but it bothered me. I would have preferred there be some kind of realization that the beginning emotions were puppy love and the end emotions that the puppy love grew into were the real deal. I guess we’re still doing well if that’s my only complaint. ;)
Favorite Quotes:
Sebastian is a man of courage and intelligence and, for the most part, honesty. He's certainly not perfect--"
Someone, Sebastian wasn't sure who, choked back a laugh.
"--but then few of us are. I wouldn't want a man who was perfect. I would certainly not fare well in comparison. And yes, he can be most annoying, and he is certainly one of the most arrogant--"
Sebastian leaned toward her and lowered his voice. "Are you defending me?"
"Yes, darling, I am," she said firmly.
"Interesting way to go about it,"Diana murmured.
"I say seduce her, seduce her tonight. Break the door down if you have to. Tell her all those things you said to me about her. You will love her more tomorrow than today and how you want to die with her hand in yours--which is an excellent line, by the way, that I fully intend to borrow when the time comes."
This was a fun read. It had a light suspense plot running through the background, but overall its tone was light and fun. Thanks, Tammy, for the rec!
TThis was a fun read. It had a light suspense plot running through the background, but overall its tone was light and fun. Thanks, Tammy, for the rec!
The hero and heroine of the book used to be childhood friends, but then things went a little far on prom night and their friendship ended. The hero, Matt, was completely uncomfortable with introducing sex into their relationship (although the heroine was all for it) and decided to deal with the issue by ignoring it. Unfortunately, that meant that he ignored the heroine, Carly, too, so it's no stretch to see that it spelled the end of their friendship.
Years later Carly is back in town and back to square one with Matt in no time at all. She's still pissed at him, which is demonstrated by hilariously childish snipes and outbursts, but he insists that they are still friends. Their interactions together made me laugh. Carly was childish and resentful, but it worked because the book had such a lighthearted tone to it. I thought it was hilarious how they kept repeating the same kiss-and-run pattern again and again.
There were quite a few times that I winced over Matt's obliviousness. He was determined to keep Carly in the friend zone and uncomfortable anytime sexual attraction came into the mix, leading him to be harshly honest with her. I didn't blame him at all for his stance, but his delivery and the casual way it beat down Carly's ego was ouch-worthy.
I liked the way everything resolved, but I needed more time spent in Matt's pov to be completely convinced of his turn around in regards to his feelings toward Carly.
Favorite Quote:
"Listen, I know what I saw, and what I saw was hot." Sandra made a big production out of pretending to fan herself with her hand. "I practically melted where I stood."
"Give it a rest, Sandra, will you please?" Carly asked tiredly.
"Then you went and kicked him. Honey, men in general don't like that. Not unless they're kinky, that is. Is the that hunky sheriff kinky? 'Cause I want him if he is."
"What on earth did you say to him? And what did he say back? I've spent the last twenty minutes trying to get a straight answer out of him.
*4.5 Stars*
"What on earth did you say to him? And what did he say back? I've spent the last twenty minutes trying to get a straight answer out of him."
"Miss Crane, do you even speak German?" Jason asked, surprised.
"Of course I speak German," she said, affronted.
"Really?" Jason asked coolly. "Which dialect?"
She opened her mouth and closed it, like a fish. "At least I can read German very well." And then, after a moment, "Renaissance German."
Jason rolled his eyes but firmly withheld from giving in to his great desire to hang his head in his hands.
And so commences the adventure that changes the lives of both the protagonists. Winn is a woman of ambition—as Jason later says—who is on a mission to prove herself to the Historical Society. Jason, in the midst of trying to do “what comes next” (aka get married), stumbles into helping her along the way. He didn’t ask to come along in the beginning—indeed, he was quite furious to find himself in that situation—but he soon found himself enjoying the adventure, and spending time with Winn.
I’ve only read one book by Kate Noble before. It was The Summer of You, and Jason was featured heavily in that book. Unfortunately, he was not nearly the charming creature we saw gracing these pages. He was immature, spoiled, and rather whiny. With that memory of him, I wasn’t quite sure how I’d like a whole book devoted to him. Surprisingly, I loved this one even more than the last. Jason was completely unlike his past self, although I’m pleased the author didn’t ignore his past behavior and brought it up a couple times.
I love the style Noble writes in. The whole time I was reading, I kept thinking of Loretta Chase. They both have an informal, friendly way of telling a story with fun characters and clever turns of phrase. The friendly asides told to the reader, and the almost madcap nature of the situations Jason and Winn found themselves in, had me utterly charmed. I smiled through most of the book and sighed happily through the rest.
This book was not intensely sexual or seductive, but it was completely romantic. The slow nature of the romance between Winn and Jason was perfectly played. They took no special notice of each other’s charms in the beginning, but slowly, as their friendship deepened, they started to see each other in another light.
"Where the hell had his brain been? It was the ale, he decided. Strong Bavarian beer, the undoing of better men than he, had clouded his brain and had him thinking things he shouldn't. That, combined with the hard labor he had performed for hours that afternoon, had weakened his resolve. After all, it was very hard to think of Winn as a little sparrow who he could tuck under his arm and who needed his help and protection (whether she admitted it or not) when taking far too much notice of her breasts."
The emphasis on the smallest of touches and the lingering eye contact between them was so lovely. We got to watch the characters get to know each other slowly over the book, without any intrusive forced attraction thrown in too soon. The slow development made it so that by the time you got to the sex scenes, you couldn’t imagine them not being together. I finished this book confident in the fact that Jason and Winn fit like two puzzle pieces, and that no one else in the world would have made them as happy as they were together.
I found Jason the more open of the two, but I could understand Winn’s resistance to letting herself get attached. They both were almost passive characters in their own life, but Jason’s was by his own choosing while Winn’s was purely involuntary. Jason’s changes through the book are more apparent and happen earlier because he doesn’t run in terror from entanglement. He wasn’t looking for love (even though he was committed to marrying), but he didn’t fight it when he fell into it. Winn’s fall was a little rougher, but I actually appreciated the change of pace from the usual romance.
The only real complaint I had was the inclusion of Sarah in the plot. I honestly couldn’t see how she added to the story at all. The entanglement she became involved in at the end seemed rather off-key to the rest of the story. Some might say that it was included to illustrate Jason’s decent back into passivity, but I would argue that there were many other ways to show this, and they all probably would have felt more natural to the man he had become than that. To be quite blunt, she seemed to be included only as a lame way of introducing the next book’s main lead. If she hadn’t played that part in the plot my grade would have been a straight 5.
Favorite Quote:
"She giggled--Winn Crane giggled! Like the coquettish child she hadn't known how to be, and for the briefest of moments, Jason was completely certain his heart had stopped beating. Just a second, frozen still the world around them lost, and the only thing that occupied it was Winn's happy, girlish laugh.
So. This is trouble, he thought, his body slowly catching up to the rest of life. Slowly drifting down into someone's laugh, until you realize you're stuck."
Yet another fun episode in the Lords of the Underworld series. I’ve noticed that word crops up almost every time I write a review for one of ShowalterYet another fun episode in the Lords of the Underworld series. I’ve noticed that word crops up almost every time I write a review for one of Showalter’s books—fun. The characters are always so funny, and even when they don’t get along, their dislike of each other always includes funny situations and verbal sparring.
I was a little uncertain of Kaia and Strider as a couple. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to have one of the protagonists have a sexual history with the other protagonist’s friend, but the author actually pulled it off pretty well. Strider was bothered by it, yes, but he eventually got over it and he never tried to “forgive” her, because he knew there was really nothing for him to forgive. I also thought the reason for a big part of his reluctance to be with her made a lot of sense. I never thought about what it would mean for a competitive guy like him to come after “the sexorcist.” I imagine anyone would have anxiety about that.
The setup for putting Strider and Kaia in close proximity was pretty weak, but once they were stuck in each other’s company it wasn’t too hard to ignore that and move on. The harpy games were exciting on their own, so throwing in a little extra heat with Kaia and Strider made it even better. The harpies were one of my favorite parts of the book! They were all so bloodthirsty and off the wall that any scene with them in it—which was most of them—really popped. The violence and heckling between them reminded me of the valkyries in Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series and Shelly Laurenston’s characters in her Pride series. In other words, they were a riot.
I was surprised to hear the backstory on Kaia. I felt bad for her having such a rough life based on that one incident. Especially when they were blaming the wrong person! I was a little surprised she was so emo about her mom not being proud of her, though. How long has it been? Shouldn’t you be over this by now? Either way, her determination to be better was endearing and it was sad to see her be underestimated by those closest to her.
Kaia and Strider were great together. They were both cocky as hell and enjoyed their constant challenges, although Kaia had a tendency to use his inability to refuse a challenge against him when she wanted to get her way. Honestly, I have a sneaking suspicion that no one else out there would put up with their egos so it’s lucky they found each other. ;)
We get to see some of the side characters, but the author kept them from taking over, which has been a complaint of mine in the past. William and Kane get some page time and it seems like there will be an interesting storyline developing with them from the events we see here. We also got a peek at Legion and how she’s doing. I was really surprised with how she seemed in this book. Is it possible that I might actually one day like her now that she seems so different??? That would be pretty shocking. We also got to see more of Sabin and Gwen, which thrilled me because I really enjoyed their story. Plus, more Paris. His storyline really seems to be heating up. I haven’t had much interest in him in the past, but he seems to be getting a darker edge and a bitterness about his demon that quite intrigues me.
I enjoyed most of this book but it was not quite as action filled as most of the other ones, so I felt like I was spinning my wheels quite a few times. It slowed the pacing down and occasionally caused my attention to wander. Luckily the rest of the book pleased me enough that this was not a huge issue. I’m really looking forward to the next entry in the series.
Favorite Quote:
That damn kiss had ruined everything. Had he kept his tongue to himself, he could have continued thinking of Kaia as a friend and only a friend. Now, he just wanted to convince her that blow jobs were a mandatory part of their arrangement.
No one is more surprised than I to hear that I didn't enjoy this book that much. I didn't dislike it, but overall I was pretty meh about it.
I found No one is more surprised than I to hear that I didn't enjoy this book that much. I didn't dislike it, but overall I was pretty meh about it.
I found myself pretty bored by the relationship between Dee-Ann and Ric. Usually Laurenston creates a nice blend of crazy characters, wacky events, crude humor, and sexy situations. That seemed to be lacking here. We still got a little of all of that, but it felt dialed back instead of her usual in-your-face style.
One of the funnier aspects of this series is the crazy interactions the main characters have with friends and family. They are rarely solitary creatures. I think that was one of the things that threw me the most about Dee. She was feared by most and didn’t really like a lot of people, so she didn’t have those ties. There were funny scenes with friends, like when they went away for Fourth of July weekend, but those weren’t as frequent as I would have liked.
I really liked the history between them that we were shown in the beginning of the book. It was adorable and so perfect for them both. It also really helped explain Ric’s reaction to Dee when he didn’t know her that well, back in Lock’s book, The Mane Squeeze. I didn’t dislike Dee and Ric together, but I didn’t feel the attraction the way I wanted to. I felt it on Ric’s part, but Dee’s attraction to him in the beginning was a little too subtle for me.
If you think about it, Dee wasn’t that dissimilar to a lot of the other female characters we’ve seen from Laurenston. She’s doesn’t bother herself to put others first and she sometimes takes a malicious glee in hurting people that irritate her. I’ve had that combo work for me many times before, but with Dee something was missing. Her personality was just a little too cold for me and I found her pretty irritating. If I had to hear her daddy’s stupid saying one more time I might have snapped! I did appreciate her personality when it came to a scene with Ronnie Lee, though. Her honest bafflement about them being considered friends, and Ronnie’s reaction to it, tickled me pink, because I still don’t like Ronnie.
Ric was a fun character, but his perfect contentment with his lot in life and his ho-hum reaction to certain family problems made him a tad bland. I thought his approach to getting Dee into his life was really smart, though. I guess it pays to be a sneaky Van Holtz so you can play the vulnerable male and lure the unsuspecting Smith She-Wolf into being the aggressor. I really liked getting to see the Van Holtz pack again. Stein seemed like an interesting character and I laughed over Niles Van Holtz’s pity and exasperation when he heard that Ric was hooking up with Dee.
Although I didn’t love this book, I still strongly recommend this author. I love her as Shelly Laurenston and I love her as G.A. Aiken. Her books have crude, inappropriate humor and slightly psychotic characters with the occasional hair trigger temper. In other words, they’re just my type. I have never had an author consistently make me laugh as much as Laurenston has, and it’s something that keeps me coming back time and time again. Her books are crazy and over the top, and I wouldn’t have them any other way.
Favorite Quote:
"And why would you suggest that?"
"Let's just say your strengths aren't in that particular area."
"I am damn good at interviews."
"No. You're good at interrogations. Interviews are not your strong suit."
Hilarious as always. Mitch and Sissy were awesome together. I was nervous about reading this one since I was not Sissy Mae's biggest fan after hearingHilarious as always. Mitch and Sissy were awesome together. I was nervous about reading this one since I was not Sissy Mae's biggest fan after hearing about her in Bobby Ray's book. Everyone was right, she's mellowed a lot and she's much nicer in her own book.
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