Half Past Midnight

Title ~ Half Past Midnight
Author ~ Jeff Brackett
Publisher ~ Telemachus Press
Published ~ 9 December 2011
Genre ~ Post-Apocalyptic

My Rating ~ 5 out of 5

Leeland Dawcett is a machinist in his family-owned shop and is working a Saturday with his dad when it happens…Doomsday. Leeland is a survivalist and has done his best to be ready for this occasion. He needs to protect his family, pack up their supplies and get the heck out of Houston before the city gets a big heaping helping of nuclear bombs. So begins the story of a man and his family trying to survive the unthinkable.

I am one of the most stingy of people to give out a rating of 5. A book really has to be well-written or at least grab me and my imagination and not let go even when I’m done reading it. This story does both.

Well-written, smooth-flowing, excellent plot and compelling. I kept thinking throughout the story: Would I, could I be able to do that? What would I do here? What if…? The characters were compelling and you wanted them to survive. So many situations to survive and sometimes it was with skill, sometimes it was luck, many times it was plain hard work. Sometimes, they didn’t, so you mourned and moved on.

Leeland is a reluctant hero. Someone we root on when he’s scared out of his mind and someone we want to smack when he downplays his importance to everyone around him. He’s the Everyman/Everywoman forced into an uncommon situation and who we hope can survive and inspire others to do the same. Because the world isn’t the same anymore and we need everyone if we’re to survive and prosper.

My only complaint and it’s a small one, is I would’ve liked to known how the rest of the United States was fairing. Other than one news bulletin we don’t really learn anything about anyone else in the US or the world. The story centers around one small town, but it would’ve been nice to get occasional news about the rest of humanity.

*Red Adept provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Beauty

Beauty
   (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, #20.5)
   ~ Laurell K. Hamilton
Publisher ~ Penguin Publishing
Published ~ 8 May 2012

My Rating ~ 2.5 out of 5

This enovella is a scene that was deleted from the upcoming Anita Blake book, Kiss the Dead. It involves my favorite Master of the City, Jean-Claude, my favorite PITA vampire, Asher, and my favorite kick ass vampire/monster hunter, zombie raiser, U.S. Marshal Anita Blake. Sorry Edward, but you’re a close second. It takes place after Anita gets back from a crime scene and she’s going to take a bath with Jean-Claude and Asher. Need I say that there will be sex involved? Of course not. Did I not just say Jean-Claude, Asher and bath in the same sentence? Who wouldn’t want some of that?

This short is not much different than her usual novels. LKH has a tendency to be repetitious with certain favorite words and phrases, so it gets tedious at times to read. The scene (enovella) itself is not horrible, but then again it’s not great either. Unfortunately, I’ve read much worse than this, so I was able to read it with very little pain to my brain. It took me approximately 10 minutes to read and that includes interruptions by my kids asking for spelling help during homework time.

Now, I will not deduct in my review for the price of this short because as far as I’m aware the publisher, not the author, sets the price of a book. I will say this: as short as this was it should’ve been offered as a freebie to her loyal fans on her website. As well as the excerpt from Kiss the Dead which I didn’t even read because I want to read it when the entire book is out. Shame on Penguin for exploiting people! I would have found it acceptable to pay .99, but $2.99 is beyond ridiculous for this amount of text.

Ok. I am not one of those fans who doesn’t like (or approve of) all the sex in the books. I don’t mind the sex at all. I read books with far more sex in them than all of the Anita books put together. There is also nothing wrong with the way Anita’s life is evolving (though I’d love to see more crime fighting and zombie raising.) However, the sex scenes have repetitive words and phrases and are, for the most part, boring because of it. They need an infusion of freshness and different imagery. And maybe a thesaurus would be nice.

I also don’t mind shorts that are just a sex scene. Or shorts that have no real plot to them. To me they’re like a tasty snack. There doesn’t need to be a ‘plot’ for a snack. It’s just a snack, not a meal! Maybe if people would think of it as a snapshot of a moment in time then they wouldn’t get their panties in a twist about the ‘no plot’ part of this short, or any short for that matter.

Anyway, this story didn’t suck big hairy sweaty donkey balls, but it wasn’t a monumental toe-curling, lethargy-producing, all-over-the-body-tingling orgasm either. It was ‘eh’ and I don’t think I got my money’s worth so I’m returning it.

Touch of a Rogue

Touch of a Rogue
   (Touch of Seduction, #2)
   ~ Mia Marlowe
Publisher ~ Brava
Published ~ 28 February 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Lady Julianne Tyndale, the Countess of Cambourne, needs to hire Jacob Preston for two things: to prove her husband didn’t kill himself and to find the mysterious sixth and final dagger in a matching set. Financial security is her goal because if she can find the sixth dagger she can sell the set to a buyer for a great sum of money and live comfortably in her widowhood. She has no intention of giving up her independence for a man.

Jacob Preston doesn’t bandy about that he has a special ability. He can hear metals. They call to him and tell him things which can be pretty handy, but it’s more of a curse. The ability to hear metals means he’s constantly bombarded by them and usually dealing with nasty headaches. Until he meets Julianne. When he uses his ability and comes away with a screaming headache, somehow her touch takes away the pain. Plus, she’s one hot lady and, surprising himself,  the rogue finds himself thinking of settling down. First he has to find the blasted dagger then he needs to convince Julianne that he’s worth giving up her widowhood. Let the hunt(s) begin.

This second book in the Touch of Seduction series does not disappoint. Smooth-flowing, interesting characters, great plot, excellent villain and smoking sex scenes, I enjoyed every minute of it. I look forward to Book 3 Touch of a Scoundrel. Book 1 was gems, book 2 metals…I wonder what it will be in book 3?

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Deadly Trust

Deadly Trust
   ~ Barbara Phinney
Publisher ~ Barbara Phinney
Published ~ 5 July 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Anna LaBonte wakes up in her vacation cabin and has a gut feeling her bastard of a husband, Serge, is dead. He’s not in the cabin, her car is gone and she doesn’t know where he is or why he left. She only knows that he’s dead and she’s finally free. The only problem is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police think she offed her husband and all the circumstantial evidence is pointing directly at her.

Brent Stirling is on vacation in the cabin next door. He doesn’t believe she killed her husband, so even though his friends are telling him to distance himself from Anna, the non-grieving murderess, he decides to help her figure out who killed Serge. Can they find enough evidence to prove her innocence before the cop with the perfect record slam dunks Anna straight to jail? Let the hunt begin.

Well-written with great characters I had a hard time putting this story down since I wanted to know who the killer was. Not that Serge was any great loss, but without suspects, for a time I even suspected Anna of doing the deed. She’d have had plenty of sympathy from me if she had though. What a jerk that guy was. Anyway, I enjoyed reading about two people with pain and scars, healing and getting on with their lives. I look forward to reading more by Barbara Phinney.

*The author provided a copy of this story for me to review. Please see disclaimer page.

Bond of Darkness

Bond of Darkness (Texas Vampires, #3)
   ~ Diane Whiteside
Publisher ~ Berkley
Published ~ 7 October 2008

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

The conclusion of the Vampires of Texas trilogy is told from the perspectives of vampire Ethan Templeton and Texas Ranger Stephanie ‘Steve’ Darling. Ethan and Steve have been lovers off and on for 15 years. When the war between Celeste and Don Rafael heats up Steve starts putting pieces together and realizes many of the deaths of young women across Texas have been caused by a vampire. Is her lover the serial killer? Or are there more vampires out there? She has a duty to uphold the law, but if it’s her lover will she be able to bring him in? There’s only one way to find out the truth. She has to confront Ethan. Will she survive?

I loved this conclusion to the series. This book was almost entirely in the present day. Only the beginning back tracked a bit into the early 1900s. Told mostly from Ethan’s and Steve’s perspective we get a different view of events as they happened in the other books.

Many people complained it was confusing or irritating because the story had already been told, but I like seeing a story from another character’s (or characters’) pov. I was able to get a greater grasp on what was happening, so it was a fuller and richer experience for me. I’m sad the story (the trilogy) has ended.

The Darkest Lie

The Darkest Lie
   (Lords of the Underworld, #6)
   ~ Gena Showalter
Publisher ~ HQN
Published ~ 2 July 2010

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Gideon is the immortal keeper of the Demon of Lies. He can only speak lies because if he speaks the truth then he suffers unbearable pain and takes days to recover. Not an enjoyable pastime. How frustrating must it be to speak only in lies and never be understood by anyone except his friends, the other immortals who are keepers of demons? According to Gideon, it’s very frustrating and it’s irritating for his friends to listen to him and try to decipher his Gideon-speak.

Even more frustrating is his love life. When he says, ‘Don’t tell me what you like,’ he really wants to know what a woman likes, but she thinks he doesn’t want to know, so she stays silent while he tries to guess. Not much of an ego boost. Until Scarlet, the keeper of the Demon of Nightmares, is captured and she tells him he is her husband. He doesn’t remember getting married, so now he has a mystery to solve, one that involves the incredibly sexy Scarlet who may or may not be his wife. While he’s off doing that his friends are off on their own missions and the war between the Lords of the Underworld and the Hunters heats up even further.

Another homerun in the Lords of the Underworld series. We have Gideon’s mystery to figure out, Aeron, William and Amun’s trek to Hell to rescue Legion, Strider’s capture of a female Hunter, Sienna’s progress after being forced to house the demon of Wrath and the appearances of various others seen in the previous books to see. I’m looking forward to continuing a series I love.

Curses! A F***ed Up Fairy Tale

Curses! A F***ed Up Fairy Tale
   ~ J.A. Kazimer
Publisher ~ Kensington
Published ~ 1 March 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

RJ is a fairy tale villain. Except the Union has cursed him for a screw up and now everything he does is not villainous at all. Oh, no. Everything he does, no matter how villainous he tries to be, turns out to be nice. It’s enough to make a bad villain cry.

RJ has been cursed for six days and it’s driving him crazy. He wants to get back to villainy, but the Union thinks he needs a little more time, maybe even a vacation. Then he comes home to find a pretty, sexy and ravenous woman in his favorite chair. She inhales his dinner and asks him to help her solve what she believes is the murder of her stepsister, Cindy. As in Cinderella. Yep. Cindy was pushed in front of a bus and Asia wants to know who did it. Because of the curse, RJ can’t say ‘No.’ and besides he’s hoping to score with the pretty, sexy woman, so off they go to the Kingdom of Maledetto to find themselves a murderer.

Amusing and irreverent this is not a story you want to read to the kiddies. No, no, no. This is for grown ups. The fun I had reading it is probably only slight compared to the fun I imagine was had in the writing of it. Perverting fairy tales. Why didn’t I think of that?! I look forward to reading Book 2!

*The publisher provided a copy of this book for me to review. Please see disclaimer page.

Touch Me in the Dark

Touch Me in the Dark
   ~ Jacqueline Diamond
Publisher ~ Triskelion (original)
             ~ K. Loren Wilson (digital)
Published ~ 1 June 2007 (original)
              ~ 9 October 2010 (digital)

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Sharon Mahoney and her son Greg have moved back to California from New York after her husband/his father died unexpectedly from a heart attack and then Sharon is laid off from the school where she teaches. Her sister lands her a job at a school in California and even finds her a place to rent, so Sharon and Greg pack up their minivan and travel across the country to the start of a new life.

The old house with the apartment for rent is old, creepy and even has a resident ghost, the man who was accused of killing the current owner’s sister. The sister, Jody, still lives there and her great-nephew, Ian Fanning, lives there, too. The last couple living there is a distant cousin and her husband. Strange things are said to happen in the house and Sharon and Greg see some really weird things themselves. Who is the ghost and what is he/she trying to tell the people living there? Will the anniversary of the murder, fast approaching, bring another death or will the cycle be broken?

This was a great story. Well-written and smooth-flowing with well-fleshed characters and an interesting plot I couldn’t wait to find out how it all played out. This was my first read of Jacqueline Diamond, but it won’t be my last.

*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

The Laundress of Silver Lake

The Laundress of Silver Lake
   ~ Julie Jansen
Publisher ~ Untreed Reads
Published ~ 19 December 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Josephine Fritzkiev was an exceptional laundress in Silver Lake, but one day in 2270 the entire population vaporized in a solar flare. Forever lost were Josephine’s laundering secrets, but sightings of her persisted. People went to Silver Lake to search for proof that she was still alive and to maybe discover her whitening secret, but they never returned. Avrid went to Silver Lake on a magazine assignment, determined to get to the bottom of the story of Josephine, but found more than he bargained for.

This short story was a quick, delightfully weird read. Avrid’s experience at Silver Lake was surreal and the secret of how Josephine got everything so white…well, I won’t give that away. ;)

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page. 

Cereal Killer

Cereal Killer
   ~ Suzanne Berube Rorhus
Published ~ Untreed Reads
Published ~ 24 October 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Elizabeth Hart is an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and the object of her fantasies is her next door neighbor Officer Andrew Baird. Whenever the Prosecutor’s Office accepted a plea or didn’t prosecute at all, Andrew would prank Elizabeth. Elizabeth doesn’t want pranks. She wants a naked, sweaty, lust-filled Andrew. Who wouldn’t? She just has to get him to stop thinking about their ten-year age gap before she goes crazy.

Wonderful! More of a romance than a mystery though there is a crime to solve. Short, quick, delightful to read. The characters were interesting, the writing smooth and the pranks funny. In fact, I had to write some of them down for possible future use. Shhh! Don’t tell anyone! :D

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Rainie's Lake

Rainie's Lake
   ~ Brenda Woody, Steve Tindle
Publisher ~ BLT Innovations LLC
Published ~ 15 January 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Dylan Bishop is an art instructor and, since it’s fall break, he decides to take a long overdue vacation at a picturesque lake where he plans to fish, relax, sketch and fish some more. He didn’t plan on falling in love.

This was an excellent story! Well-written with interesting characters, a great plot and wonderful descriptions. It’s a short story, so it’s a quick read and it flowed so smoothly that before I knew it I was finished. I loved the twist at the end! *lips are zipped*

*The authors provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Fever

Fever (Phoenix Rising, #1)
   ~ Joan Swan
Publisher ~ Brava
Published ~ 28 February 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Dr. Alyssa Foster is a radiologist at St. Jude’s hospital. She’s competing with another doctor for a new position at the hospital and has two weeks to prove she’s the better choice when her life gets turned upside down by a prisoner taking her hostage in his bid for his escape.

Teague Creek is in prison for murder. He plans his escape and the radiologist is his key to making the whole plan work. He complains of pain so he can be sent to the hospital for scans and takes the doctor hostage, makes his escape with another prisoner, trades her for someone he loves and heads for the border. A fairly simple and straightforward plan, right? Only, his plans go every which way but right. The only thing he accomplishes is his escape. After that, well, Murphy’s Law takes over for the beleaguered Teague and the adventure begins.

Excellent read! Well-written, excellent plot, interesting well-developed characters and smooth-flowing. I had a hard time putting the book down. I can’t wait to read the stories for the other characters in this series.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Killer Flies

Killer Flies
   ~ William D. Hicks
Publisher ~ Untreed Reads
                ~ The Sixth Sense (original)
Published ~ 11 January 2012
                ~ March 1998 (original)

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Dr. John Pankow has created a new breed of…fly. Yes, I said fly. Of everything out there to genetically engineer he did it to the pesky, irritating, ugly, disgusting fly. Has he made them less pesky? No. Less irritating? No. Prettier? No. Less disgusting? No. He’s made them into killers. For the Army. However, he can’t control them. They’re flies. They don’t listen to reason and they can’t be bribed with treats. They don’t care if they attack the enemy or our soldiers.

Dr. Pankow wants to destroy them because if they are let loose on the world it would be bad. Like, crossing the streams bad. However, the Army in its infinite wisdom wants more testing, so the kill order is not issued. Damn Army. Pankow should’ve worked with the Marines. Of course, my prejudice might be showing a tiny bit. We all know how this is going to end and it’s not going to be pretty.

This is a short, quick, well-written read with an interesting plot. I grew up on a farm. Lots of flies. Everywhere. The thought of killer flies? Makes me shudder and not in a good way. Why couldn’t this be about genetically engineered bunnies? Oh, wait…that reminds me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Nothing is sacred!

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Blood and Bullets

Blood and Bullets
   (Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter, #1)
   ~ James R. Tuck
Publisher ~ Kensington
Published ~ 7 February 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Deacon Chalk is a monster hunter. No, he doesn’t have a show on Animal Planet or Discovery Channel. He is an Occult Bounty Hunter and ever since a Nephilim killed his family, turning his life upside down, he’s been open for business. His first job was killing the Nephilim and for five years he’s been successful at his job.  You can hire him to hunt down a monster and he’ll get the job done or die trying. And he’s not afraid to die because when he does he can be with his family again. The only thing is he’s kinda hard to kill. When he was hunting down the Nephilim he rescued an Angel and during that rescue he died only to have her save him with her essence. So…now he’s more than human, hard to kill and hates the monsters. Let the extermination begin.

Fast-moving with a good plot and well-fleshed characters I very much enjoyed this first book in the Deacon Chalk series. The world building was smooth and the world is interesting. Very reminiscent of Anita Blake and I love that series. Yes, I still do even though it’s a very different series today than when it started. Anyway, it is like Anita Blake yet not. I liked this different angle of how the real world isn’t what we thought it was. There really are monsters and they don’t hang out under the bed. At least, none that I’ve noticed yet in the series. The monsters are out there mixing with the humans and almost all of them are up to no good.

I can’t wait to read more of this series. I love fast-paced books that sweep me along with them and refuse to let me put them down.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Reviewer Etiquette Controversy

There seems to be a lot of talk lately on Goodreads about book reviewers and etiquette for reviews.

I am not a professional blogger or reviewer. I blog only about books or book-related things. I don't claim to be an expert of any kind. My reviews are just my opinion. Therefore when I review a book I say what I liked and/or disliked about a book whether it is writing-style, concept, plot, dialogue, sex scenes, characters or technical issues.

Some people say that reviews shouldn't have negative things said about the book. Some people say that technical issues shouldn't be included. Why the hell not? As a potential reader I want to know these things and make the decision for myself whether to go ahead anyway or skip it. Believe me, I have seen a bad review (or reviews) and read a book anyway simply because it looked interesting. One person’s pile of shit might be another person’s compost pile, so I never take someone’s word as gospel and mine shouldn’t be taken that way either. Way back in 1985, my very first boss, Jim Verioti, said to me, ‘Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.’ I can’t remember what or who we were talking about, but that saying has stuck with me all these years.

I have seen some very malicious and spiteful reviews and I have seen some very sycophantic reviews. Neither of those types of reviews help the author nor do they help potential readers decide on whether to read a book. At least, they don't for me. Malicious ranting reviews are ridiculous and make the reviewer look like a raving lunatic. When I run across a review by someone like that I never read another review by that person. The same goes for sycophantic reviews. Long detailed ass kissing has no place in a review.

I am not a person who picks apart technical issues. If I were then I wouldn’t agree to review Uncorrected Proofs, but I do read them. There are many editorial issues I can overlook, but if the errors occur continually throughout the entire book then there is something wrong. When a book goes to the final print and out to the public and it isn’t as shipshape as it should be then I will mention it. Why? Because it detracts from the enjoyment of the story and sours my reading experience. Many of my reader friends don’t like being ‘pulled out’ of a story by technical issues, so that’s something they’ll want to know. Some friends are like me and aren’t bothered by most issues, but some friends don’t like any technical issues at all. It’s up to me to give the info and up to them to decide whether to proceed.

I am one person amongst 7 billion+ people on this planet. My opinion is not all that important in the grand scheme of things. I know this and you should, too. For those who follow my blog/reviews and like the same types of books as I do then I suppose I can influence them. However, I’m not out to influence anyone. Really, I’m not. Unless I expressly say, ‘You HAVE to read this book! It is the most awesome example of literature out there!’ then my reviews are just my thoughts and opinion. By the way, I would never write those two sentences even if I thought the book was awesome. I can be most enthusiastic about a book I found excellent, but that doesn’t mean anyone else will find it as awesome-sauce as I did. That’s why my blog header says to pick up a book I’ve read and judge it for yourself. I pick up books I think are interesting. Unfortunately, I don’t love everything I read. I know! It disappoints me, too.

Now that I’ve stirred the hornet’s nest I’m going back to one of the things I do best: Reading.

  

New Blood

New Blood (Vampire in the City, #1)
    ~ Donna Ansari
Publisher ~ Donna Ansari
Published ~ 30 September 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Emma Hammond is just a woman living and working in New York when one night on her way home from work she’s hit by a car and wakes up in the apartment of a vampire. Alex Thompson felt he owed her since she had saved his life the night before, so when he saw her get hit and knew she would die he changed her. Good thing for Emma he was there at the right time. Or was he? Emma finds nothing is as it seems and her life is turned upside down in more ways than one as she tries to cope with being the newly undead.

A most excellent read! It proceeded smoothly, the twisty turny plot was disguised as straightforward, but delivered a few sneaky punches when you weren’t expecting them. The characters were interesting and Emma was a no nonsense, take it in stride yet humorous main character. All-in-all an entertaining way to spend the afternoon. I look forward to reading Book 2, Wild Blood.

*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.