Book Binge

WTF Cover Saturday (16)

2013-05-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Normally, we feature romance novel covers each Saturday or at the very least, adult book covers. But this week, we're bringing you some children book titles that make you do a double take. Say what?

So for your viewing pleasure...check out this week's goodies (you're getting two):

Excuse me while I laugh my ass off. When you cook with pooh, this happens:

Don't say you never learned anything here at Book Binge. ;P

What Are You Reading? (156)

2013-05-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Rowena: It's been a really busy week for me, reading wise. I read all of my book club books and I read Own the Wind: A Chaos novel by Kristen Ashley. It was my very first Kristen Ashley book and Holly's goal was achieved. I will be starting every single Kristen Ashley book just as soon as I can and I won't be reading anything else until I finish them too. *sigh*. So this weekend, I'll be reading The Gamble by Kristen Ashley.

Holly:I'm currently reading The Fire Inside by Kristen Ashley. I can't decide how I feel about it.

I also read Cover Me this week, our book club pick for the month. I'll be discussing that with Rowena later today in the comments of the Book Club post.

What are you reading?

Guest Review: How To Tame Your Duke by Juliana Gray.

2013-05-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Judith's review of How To Tame Your Duke by Juliana Gray.

England, 1888. Quiet and scholarly Princess Emilie has always avoided adventure, until she’s forced to disguise herself as a tutor in the household of the imposing Duke of Ashland, a former soldier disfigured in battle and abandoned by his wife. When chance draws her into a secret liaison with the duke, Emilie can’t resist the opportunity to learn what lies behind his forbidding mask, and find out what adventure really means...

The duke never imagines that his son’s tutor and his mysterious golden-haired beauty are one and the same. But when the true identity of his lover is laid bare, Moreland must face the demons in his past in order to safeguard both his lady—and his heart.

It has been said that " . . . it's not what you know, but who you know." Nothing was more true during the Napoleonic Era and the years after, when Western Europe was still recovering from war, rife with political secrets for the overthrow of one kingdom or another, and was a hotbed of espionage. England was also awash with spies and former spies, with those who secretly king and country undercover and whose knowledge of the dirty inner workings of government agencies could either be a blessing or a curse. For the three princesses whose stories comprise this new trilogy of historical romance novels, knowing an uncle whose influence reached to the farthest reaches of the British Isles was for them a life-saving factor. Emilie and her sisters were caught in the sights of those who would take their lives in order to change the course of history in their home country after the death of their parents. Now they are relying on their British uncle to find a way to keep them safe.

This is a very unusual story setting--a foreign, half-English princess who is masquerading as a male scholar and tutor for a man whose war injuries have warped his perception of himself and his loved ones, allowed it to drive him into seclusion. This situation is perfect for keeping a princess hidden in plain sight, so to speak, but as all good stories do, this one never allows the characters to have an easy time of it. It brings together two individuals who are hiding, for different reasons obviously, but both must find a way to live in a more normal setting while preserving their very lives. Add in an attraction that just wouldn't go away and a youngster who is bent on doing his own thing, and you have a complicated, somewhat political romance novel that is full of human weakness and angst, fear, emotional ups and downs, mixed in with family loyalty and people who stand by one another no matter the stresses involved.

I have read other works by this author and have found her to be a very good writer, one who does her research and knows the historical context well as well as demonstrating an ease with the historical romance genre. She also makes this former English teacher's heart glad in that she uses correct tenses and puts sentences together beautifully. ( Incidentally, one of my pet peeves is reading the past tense of kneel as kneeled when my English text always taught it was knelt. ) It is an entertaining read for those of us who enjoy a bit of suspense and mystery solving mixed in with their love affairs, and it is fun to watch the duke gradually unravel the identity of his tutor. There are surprises here and some resolution to the crises that made for lots of interest right up to the end. The story is sensual and certainly has a pervasive sexual tension throughout without being gratuitous and with sex scenes purely for the sake of putting sex scenes in the book to increase sales.

All in all, it was a fine piece of writing that I am happy to recommend to lovers of historical romance fiction. Not to be missed, IMHO. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr J's Book Place.

This book is available from Berkley Sensation. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

Review: True by Erin McCarthy.

2013-05-16T14:00:00.001-07:00

Rowena's review of True by Erin McCarthy.

Hero: Tyler Mann
Heroine: Rory Macintosh

When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.

Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t…

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost…

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when opening this book, since I've heard conflicting things about this book. Some really liked it, some couldn't get into it and some didn't like it. I was a little slow to warm up to getting this book read because of those conflicting reports but now that I've gone ahead and read it for myself, I wasn't too disappointed in the reading experience.

This book follows Rory and Tyler on their journeys to finding themselves and coming together as a couple. They're both in college and they're both going through different issues but I really liked the both of them, together. I didn't not like them apart but I thought that together, they were pretty fantastic.

It was kind of heartbreaking, getting to know Tyler and seeing into his background. Seeing the person that he was and the issues that he faced on a daily basis. To come out of all of that as a genuinely good person, I really liked. In fact, Tyler was probably my favorite part of this entire book. His life was raw and it was real and he wasn't perfect but he made do with what he had and he tried every day to make life a little better for his brothers, who were stuck with his no-good mother. I really liked that Rory embraced Tyler's family and wanted to do her part in helping U and Easton have a bit more sunshine then they were used to.

As much as I liked this book, there were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way. Like, when we first meet Rory- she's almost raped while she's waiting for her two friends to finish getting their bang on with their friends (Tyler was one of the guys that was getting laid by Rory's friend and roommate which bothered some of my friends but not me.) and when Tyler steps in to save Rory, he tells the friends what happened and they get all pissed off on Rory's behalf (as they should) but when Rory wants to go home, they don't go with her. They're like, "Oh, well I'm going to crash here but you go home and get some rest." WTF? Rory is visibly still shaken up about what happened and they're sending her home...ALONE? What's wrong with them? Over the course of the book, there's no denying that her friends love her and want what's best for her but they're completely selfish and it was hard for me to like them. Which should be interesting, considering the next book in this series is Jessica's book...with Tyler's brother? Interesting, indeed.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but it didn't come without it's share of frustrations. I'm not at all mad that I read this book but it's not my favorite read either. Still, I liked it enough to still be interested in reading the next book.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

This book is available from InterMix. You can buy it here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

Book Club: Cover Me by Catherine Mann.

2013-05-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's book club time and this month we'll be discussing COVER ME by Catherine Mann.

COVER ME is the first book in Catherine Mann's Elite Force series. It features Pararescueman Wade Rocha and Sunny Foster. Wade jumps in to rescue a group of hikers that have lost their way, only to meet up with Sunny Foster who does not need his help...only she does. Just not in the way that she thought she'd need help.

Check out the blurb:

It should have been a simple mission...

Pararescueman Wade Rocha fast ropes from the back of a helicopter into a blizzard to save a climber stranded on an Aleutian Island, but Sunny Foster insists she can take care of herself just fine...

But when it comes to passion, nothing is ever simple...

With the snowstorm kicking into overdrive, Sunny and Wade hunker down in a cave and barely resist the urge to keep each other warm... until they discover the frozen remains of a horrific crime... Unable to trust the local police force, Sunny and Wade investigate, while their irresistible passion for each other gets them more and more dangerously entangled..

There is much to discuss so let's get right to it, shall we?

What did you think? Did you like it or no?
What did you think about Wade and Sunny? Did they work for you?
What about the secondary love story between Flynn and Misty?
What are you thinking about Phoenix, Sunny and Misty's brother?
What were your favorites of the book? Scene? Quote? Character?
What about your not so favorite parts of the book? Share them with us.

Is there anything else you'd like to discuss? Bring it up in the comments and we'll discuss it right along with you. We'll be adding our thoughts there as well. This is just the set up post. See you in the comments!

-Rowena & Holly

Review: Lord of Wicked Intentions by Lorraine Heath.

2013-05-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Rowena's review of Lord of Wicked Intentions (Lost Lords of Pembrook #3) by Lorraine Heath.

Hero: Lord Rafe Easton
Heroine: Miss Evelyn Chambers

Lord Rafe Eason may be of noble blood, but survival taught him to rely only on himself and to love no one. Yet when he sets his eyes on Miss Evelyn Chambers, and earl's illegitimate daughter, he is determined to have her, if only as his mistress.

After her father's death, Evelyn Chambers never imagined she would be sold to the highest bidder, yet circumstances give her little choice except to accept the lord's indecent proposal. Rafe is wealthy, as well as ruthless. Yet his coldness belies deep passion and deeper secrets. If she must be his, Evelyn intends to lay bare everything the Lord of Pembrook is hiding. But dark discoveries threaten to destroy them both until unexpected love guides the last lost lord home.

This was the final book in the Lost Lords of Pembrook trilogy. Rafe is the last Easton brother to get his happy ending and I've got to say that Rafe is my favorite Easton brother. Throughout the series, we see how distant he's made himself from his brothers. We see that he holds a whole lot of what happened to him against both of his brothers but in those previous books, we don't know why...until this book.

Rafe has really built an empire for himself. He's one of the most dangerous men in London because he's made his business to be. He's not the weakling that his brothers left behind all those years ago and he's built a wall around himself to protect him from lesser things, like feelings. Feelings gave you weakness and Rafe was anything but weak. And when Evelyn comes into his life, things are irrevocably changed.

Evelyn is an illegimate child of an Earl and when he dies, her half brother feeds her to the wolves. Literally. He puts her up on the block to be purchased as someone's mistress and she's up there smiling, thinking that she's going to snare herself a husband. It's not until she lands herself at Rafe's house that things become crystal clear to her and then the humiliation sets in.

Watching both Rafe and Evelyn grow closer was such a great way to spend a few hours. I really enjoyed this story and I really enjoyed seeing Rafe come to terms with his brothers, what happened in the past and finally looking toward the future. The romance between him and Evelyn was slow to build but I loved it. I loved seeing Rafe thaw out over the course of the book and I really loved seeing Evelyn come into her own. She came so far from the beginning when she's a sobbing mess being turned away from the home that had been hers ever since she could remember.

I loved seeing the Easton brothers in action together. I loved seeing them come together for Rafe after seeing them band together for the other two brothers. I loved seeing that even though so much time had passed, both Sebastian and Tristan were a force to be reckoned with and even though their relationship was strained, they came out in force for Rafe. This was such a great book, a fantastic romance that I definitely recommend this one. I'm kind of sad that this series is done, I'll miss these characters!

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

Guest Review: Wildflower by Virginia Brown

2013-05-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Judith's review of Wildflower by Virginia Brown.

Colorado Kate -- as notorious for her lovers as she was for her robberies. No man had ever taken her prisoner and if she had her way, no one ever would. But when she found herself looking into the relentless black eyes of infamous gunslinger Jake Lassiter, Caitlin knew her luck had run out. There was no mercy in his chiseled face, no softness in his rock hard body. Despite her reputation she had never known a man, and she was stunned by the wave of desire that rose within her at Jake's heated caress. The green-eyed renegade was desperate to escape, but flames of passion held her body captive and left her yearning for the dangerous touch of the dark and ruthless lawman!

He's a legendary gunslinger working for the powerful business baron she intends to bring down. When he takes her captive, desire makes a prisoner of them both.

Behold . . . a re-released version of a novel that made its initial appearance twenty years ago, complete with a beautiful new cover--much better than the old cover, IMHO. What's more gorgeous than a ripped cowboy, anyway.

So we have this a brother and sister--both leaders of a notorious gang of train robbers, taking silver shipments that come from only one mine--the one that was originally owned by their dad and mom and which was stolen from them when the present owner shot and killed them while these two siblings (just little kids at the time) watched helplessly. Now they are grown and determined to do their best to bring this greedy evil man down. Neither Kate nor her brother planned on being bested by a wiley gunslinger turned bounty hunter for the very man they hated. And as their situation goes "south," the sort-of relationship of Kate and Jake begins. Jake is not really a very nice person, and having an outlaw woman in his custody, not realizing that she is a complete sexual innocent, means that readers will endure a scene or two that is unsavory but totally historically real. Rape was seldom considered a crime law enforcement officers often being as cruel and without conscience as the outlaws where women were concerned. The Old West was definitely not kind to any female of any age. It was not a good time to be born a female. Yet as this adversarial relationship continues on, the deeper layers of both these people are revealed. I have to say that it is always satisfying to realize that there really are good guys that are far smarter than seemingly clever law breakers.

This novel is really well-written and as the story progresses it is not the kind of crisis resolution that one would expect. In fact, I was fairly certain that this was going to be one of those stories that didn't turn out very well at all. Yet I was surprised pleasantly and as I went back to familiarize myself with aspects of the story, I was pleased at how the author developed the characters, at the hidden layers of Jake's personality and background that were brought to light, and at the struggles and triumphs as Kate faces herself, her own demons, and her need to really grow beyond her grief and pain.

Twenty years have not dimmed the sheen on this fine novel and I am delighted that the publishers decided to make it available to readers again. It's well-worth the effort to read and appreciate. I find that I am especially glad when I see publishers re-releasing treasures that deserve to be appreciated by new audiences, and I think this book it one of those. I had moments when I was uncomfortable with the actions of Jake and some of the other characters, but when thinking further on these, I realized that the Old West was a very unfriendly place, an environment where disrespect, greed, irresponsibility, and gratuitous violence thrived. I recommend this novel, but also add the recommendation that the reader keep a careful eye on the historical context. I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr J's Book Place.

This book is available from Belle Books. You can buy it here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

Review: Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare.

2013-05-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Rowena's review of Any Duchess Will Do (Spindle Cove #4) by Tessa Dare.

Hero: Lord Griffin York
Heroine: Miss Pauline Simms

What’s a duke to do, when the girl who’s perfectly wrong becomes the woman he can’t live without?

Griffin York, the Duke of Halford, has no desire to wed this season—or any season—but his diabolical mother abducts him to “Spinster Cove” and insists he select a bride from the ladies in residence. Griff decides to teach her a lesson that will end the marriage debate forever. He chooses the serving girl.

Overworked and struggling, Pauline Simms doesn’t dream about dukes. All she wants is to hang up her barmaid apron and open a bookshop. That dream becomes a possibility when an arrogant, sinfully attractive duke offers her a small fortune for a week’s employment. Her duties are simple: submit to his mother’s “duchess training”… and fail miserably.

But in London, Pauline isn’t a miserable failure. She’s a brave, quick-witted, beguiling failure—a woman who ignites Griff’s desire and soothes the darkness in his soul. Keeping Pauline by his side won’t be easy. Even if Society could accept a serving girl duchess—can a roguish duke convince a serving girl to trust him with her heart?

I am really loving the Spindle Cove series. The characters, the stories, the romance, it's all been such a fantastic reading experience that I kind of don't want it to end. Tessa Dare has done an incredible job of bringing these characters to life that every time I see a new book coming out, I do a little happy dance.

This story follows Pauline Simms, the barmaid from the Bull and Blossom. Pauline is a hardworking young woman who dreams of opening up her own rotating library for the women that come to Spindle Cove on vacation. She wants to be able to provide for her sister and when an offer comes in the form of a handsome Duke, she's hard pressed to not accept.

The Duke of Halford's mother is in the business of matchmaking. She wants grandchildren and since he's not showing any kind of interest in finding himself a wife to give her those grandchildren, she takes things into her own hands. She kidnaps him and takes him to Spindle Cove where there are many women who will take him. All he has to do is pick one. Well, Griff chooses Pauline. The barmaid. If his mother can turn the sugar speckled woman into a Duchess in one weeks time then he'll marry her. Not even a little bit disgusted at his choice, the Duchess knows that she's got her work cut out for her.

Pauline goes along with the whole scheme because the Duke of Halford has promised her 1,000 pounds to do everything she can to put a wrench in his mother's plans. The duke tells his mother that she has one week to turn Pauline into a raving success and if she's acceptable, he'll marry her.

I thought this was a great addition to an already fantastic series of books. I really enjoyed getting to know Pauline and I thought that Griff was a great match for her. I loved seeing him fall in love with Pauline and seeing the two of them battle their separate issues and come together in the end. I kept wondering how the heck Dare was going to bring these two together since he's a Duke and she's a freaking barmaid but the way that she wrote it made sense to me and I enjoyed it. The majority of this book took place in London, away from Spindle Cove so I missed a lot of the charm that can only be found in Spindle Cove but still, this was a great story.

I enjoyed getting to know Pauline outside of the Bull and Blossom and I really came to love Griff. He was pictured as cold and unfeeling when he was anything but. Both of their stories made my heart hurt. Hurt for Griff with his Mary and hurt for Pauline because of her home life. I'm already looking forward to the next Spindle Cove book, I so love these characters.

Grade: 4.25 out of 5

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

Guest Review: The Right Bride by Jennifer Ryan

2013-05-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

Judith's review of The Right Bride (The Hunted #3) by Jennifer Ryan

High-powered businessman Cameron Shaw doesn't believe in love—until he falls head over heels for beautiful, passionate, and intensely private Martina. She's perfect in so many ways, immediately bonding with his little girl. Martina could be his future bride and a delightful stepmother … if only Cameron weren't blinded by his belief that Shelly, the gold-digging woman he's promised to marry, is pregnant with his child.

No matter how much his friends protest his upcoming marriage to Shelly, Cameron knows he has a duty to his children, so he's determined to see it through.

Will he find out in time that Shelly's lying and Marti's the one who's actually carrying his child? It'll come down to the day of his wedding. After choosing Shelly over Marti at every turn, will he convince Marti she's his world and the only woman he wants?

He's wealthy and powerful, at the top of his game and in the peak of his prowess as a man, yet he is lonely and always on the look-out for a woman who is a dead ringer for his dead wife. Well, much to his detriment, he finds her but soon learns she is nothing like his dead wife on the inside. Just as he gets ready to jettison her from his life, she announces she is pregnant, as much to rope him into marriage and give her access to his millions, as to cover up the discovery of her bulimia. Cameron Shaw is a tough negotiator and known throughout the international business community as a man who can hold his own. But in the face of Shelley's announcement, he reverts into this silly, insecure, unreasonable, less-than-thoughtful man who lets her get away with anything. He's essentially led around by the nose and won't believe any of his friends when they point out that fact.

Enter Marti, a woman who is a world-class artist in her own right, a popular children's author, and one of the directors of her own international business enterprise, but Cameron only knows her as simply Marti. His daughter loves her, states clearly and loudly that she wants Marti as a mother, but Cameron just seems to have gone deaf. And this three-way struggle: Marti's love and desire to be a part of Cameron and Emma's life and how that crashes into Shelley's golden dreams of wealth, power and position plus Cameron's seeming inability to see truth about either of these women is at the core of this story. It is a story that winds its way all the way through the novel and each time one of these characters crashes into the other it appears to become even more hopeless. Emma, the five-year-old daughter is caught in the middle.

Here's my problem: on the one hand I am saying to myself, "Can't Cameron simply take Shelley in hand and force her to pee on a pregnancy test stick? Wouldn't it seem to be the first question anyone would ask in today's world? Yet Cameron seems content to take Shelly's word for everything. On the other hand, it is evident that Cameron is being chased around by a whole household of demons, at least emotionally speaking. There's his mother's refusal to tell him his father's identity. He battles anger over an incomplete family structure all the time. There's the guilt over his wife's death, as if by getting her pregnant he killed her. There's the guilt over raising Emma in an incomplete family, something he is hoping to remedy with the woman who claims to be pregnant with his child. So is he one of "the Hunted Ones?" It would seems he is not only "hunted" but haunted as well..

I don't like it when really intelligent people act like they are brain dead, and I really get angry when good people perpetrate unbelievable hurt on others for some pretty silly reasons. Yet in this book the reader will see lots of that and unfortunately fiction/art imitates life. So on the one hand I get really angry and impatient with Cameron for his thoughtless actions and words, but on the other hand, I know that he is being eaten alive by his old angers and guilt. And all in all, maybe that's the point of the novel. In the end, do we often perpetrate so much hurt against those we care about thoughtlessly by letting our insecurities drive us down life's path? It's worth considering. Many will become tired of Cameron's wavering loyalties, his stubborn choices and hurtful way of handling issues as well as the people in his world. But again it begs the question of whether or not this fictional situation resembles reality far more often than we suppose.

Jennifer Ryan is a darn good writer and reading her work is a pleasure. This story bothered me a lot, but I give it a 4 out of 5 rating because I think it poses some important questions and forced me to consider how my thoughtless actions and words can bring so much pain in the lives of those important to me. It's a book well worth reading. But it isn't fluff nor is it an easy story to process.

I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.

The Series:

You can read more from Judith at Dr J's Book Place.

This book is available from Avon Impulse. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

Review: Cowboy Take Me Away by Jane Graves.

2013-05-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Rowena's review of Cowboy Take Me Away (Rainbow Valley #1) by Jane Graves.

Hero: Luke Dawson
Heroine: Shannon North

FIRST LOVE BURNS HOTTER

Rainbow Valley, Texas, has always been a refuge for animals, and Shannon North, director of the local shelter, intends to keep it that way. But with donations drying up and more pets in need of a loving home than ever before, Shannon's beginning to fear she's not the savior the shelter needs. When a tall, dark, and handsome cowboy from her past comes to the rescue, she knows that accepting his help may come with a high price: her heart.

THE SECOND TIME AROUND

Bad boy Luke Dawson shook the dust from this little town off his boots years ago. He walked away from everything...except the memory of the one night of passion he shared with Shannon. Now, a few wins away from becoming the world bull-riding champion, Luke's headed for fame and fortune. But then a crisis calls him back to Rainbow Valley, and Luke is reunited with the good girl who stole--and broke--his heart. As their rekindled relationship deepens into desire, old secrets resurface, and Luke must choose between the future he's always dreamed of and the only woman he's ever loved.

I've read a couple of books by Jane Graves and I really enjoyed them so when I started this book, I had high expectations. I was expecting more of the same but this was different. Instead of taking place in the city, this took place in a small town and while I did enjoy it, it's not my favorite from this author.

This story follows Luke Dawson back to Rainbow Valley where he's there to bury his old man. There's no love lost between Luke and his father and there wasn't anyone in attendance for his father's funeral and Luke was a-okay with that. There were only two people that he thought cared for him in that town and as the funeral is coming to an end, one of those two people showed up. The other person broke his heart and was the main reason why he skipped town when he was 18. She didn't show to the funeral either.

Shannon North remembers Luke Dawson as the one guy in the entire world that could make her breathless from just a look. He was the only guy that ever meant anything to her and she missed him when she left. Now, she's kind of/sort of seeing this dentist guy that is nice but doesn't make her feel anything more than ...nice. And when Luke Dawson comes storming back into her life, she knows that things are about to get shaken up.

Luke gets hurt while in Rainbow Valley so he needs to stick close to physical therapy and that means staying in Rainbow Valley longer than he thought he would. Being back isn't doing him any favors since everyone still thinks he's that badboy who terrorized everyone and everything in his teen years but he's changed. He's grown up and he's not that same pissed off little boy and this was the part of the book that I really liked. I liked seeing everyone's opinion of him change during his time back in Rainbow Valley and I really liked seeing Shannon finally stand up to her Mom. That was a long time coming.

But I guess for me, the book started off slow and I spent a great deal of time waiting for things to pick up. And they just kind of plopped along, getting a sigh out of me every once in a while. I mean, while I liked the characters and the story while I was reading it, none of them really jumped out at me and grabbed me by the throat and made me love the heck out of them. I wanted to and when the book ended, I thought it was good but that's about it. It was a good story with good characters but it wasn't my favorite book by Graves. I liked it well enough to be curious about the next book though. Mark Cordero gets his own book and that one seems pretty interesting so I will be checking it out.

Grade: 3 out of 5

This book is available from Forever. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.