Grand Passion, by Jayne Ann Krentz

On Saturday I didn't feel like reading anything too demanding. I wanted a comfort read, so I reread a JAK, Grand Passion.

Plot summary:

Cleopatra Robbins has imagined the moment when she'll meet the man of her dreams. But when Max Fortune strides into the Robbins' Nest Inn, a devastating sensation sweeps through her. She knows it's him. And he's all wrong!

Head of the giant Curzon Hotel chain, a cynical man whose only passion in life has been for rare works of art, Max is looking for five priceless paintings left to him by his mentor, Jason Curzon. Max takes one long look at Cleo Robbins and feels fierce desire sweep through him...a feeling so powerful that he soon starts helping to fix everything from the plumbing to the fractured lives of the inn's quirky denizens.

Despite their mutual attraction, Max senses that Cleo is hiding something -- and by the time he realizes it's not the paintings, it's almost too late to save her from the danger rising out of her past. As suspense and desire intensify, this delightful duo sweep us toward a dramatic ending in a love story beyond compare...Grand Passion.

It was the perfect choice. I don't care that she's written the same book seemingly hundreds of times, I still enjoy it. A B+.

What can I say? A vulnerable hero, in need of a family who loves him. An intelligent heroine (who owns a small business, of course) who falls in love with him. Then there are the quirky secondary characters, including the New Age people, and the theme (in this case 2, modern painting and Cleo's book, The Mirror). There's also a very light suspense subplot which is the least enjoyable element of the book, but which was so light it didn't bother me much. Just right.

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Sheer Pleasure, by Patricia Rosemoor

Yesterday I read Sheer Pleasure, by Patricia Rosemoor.

Blurb

No question, Annie Wilder's chic new lingerie store inspired sexual fantasies in everybody. Her provocative window displays — full of silks, satins, and oils — sent blood pressure soaring in the hot Chicago neighborhood. It even generated a few mysterious erotic notes. Yet Annie went home every night to bed — alone.

Intrigued landlord Nate Bishop was determined to change that. He wanted to uncover the true Annie even as he uncovered her beautiful body in its fine lingerie. He wanted to make love to her and explore their deepest fantasies together.

So why was this sexy woman suddenly acting so resistant to Nate?

It was an interesting book, although it had some problems... a B-.

It had an edgier feel than most series books; the heroine had some doubts about her feelings for the hero... was actually wary of him at some points. However, this wasn't adequately solved. Her doubts just disappeared because he told her he loved her and the stalker was caught. Her ambiguous feelings about the 2 sides of his personality (Nate and Nathaniel, as she called them) weren't too explored either.

My impression is that this book was too short for the love story and the stalker plot. Both were intriguing (though I guessed who the stalker was almost immediately), but there just wasn't space to develop them well.

Extra points for the urban setting and for the display windows idea. The lingerie / sex-toy shop is way over-used in "erotic" romances, but this one didn't bother me. And very often in these books you just don't see why a certain thing is such a hit, but I can certainly see people checking out Annie's display window regularly to see what's going on. I don't see why it would be picketed, however.

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I finished Sons of the Wolf and I'm not too impressed. I can certainly see why I never felt moved to reread it all these years. It's good, but it's not among BM's best... a B-.

My problem was basically that it was all so obvious. The moment Francis was mentioned, I knew he was going to be the good guy... ergo, Julian would be the villain. But then, I've read and reread my BMs so many times, of course I'm now able to predict her plots. My other problem was with Harriet. She was a bit of a prejudicious prig at times, IMO. Yeah, yeah, historically accurate, blah, blah, blah, I still don't like that. She gets better, though. The ending... hmm. Yeah, it's a HEA, but it was a little unsatisfying.

Oh, and the second will thingie was really stupid. Why would the evil grannie keep the second will hidden for 6 months? I mean, Harriet was supposed to receive it before things were completely settled with Ada, and keep it under wraps until they were. So, it doesn't make sense for her Grandmother to trust her to do this 6 months after her death but not 2 days after it.

I very much enjoyed the gothic feeling in this book, but I would have liked more supernatural stuff. The warewolf thing never gets developed, and the dogs weren't too scary.

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Sons of the Wolf, by Barbara Michaels

I'm now re-reading a Barbara Michaels, Sons of the Wolf. I last read this one 7 years ago, in 1995, so I don't really remember it much. It's one of the very few BMs I haven't reread 4 or 5 times already.

Plot summary:

Ada and Harriet had never met anyone like their new guardian, Mr. Wolfson, and his two mysterious sons, Julian and Francis. But Harriet soon discovered that evil ran rampant through Abbey Manor and the surrounding moors--especially in the moonlight.

Posted later...

I finished Sons of the Wolf and I'm not too impressed. I can certainly see why I never felt moved to reread it all these years. It's good, but it's not among BM's best... a B-.

My problem was basically that it was all so obvious. The moment Francis was mentioned, I knew he was going to be the good guy... ergo, Julian would be the villain. But then, I've read and reread my BMs so many times, of course I'm now able to predict her plots. My other problem was with Harriet. She was a bit of a prejudicious prig at times, IMO. Yeah, yeah, historically accurate, blah, blah, blah, I still don't like that. She gets better, though. The ending... hmm. Yeah, it's a HEA, but it was a little unsatisfying.

Oh, and the second will thingie was really stupid. Why would the evil grannie keep the second will hidden for 6 months? I mean, Harriet was supposed to receive it before things were completely settled with Ada, and keep it under wraps until they were. So, it doesn't make sense for her Grandmother to trust her to do this 6 months after her death but not 2 days after it.

I very much enjoyed the gothic feeling in this book, but I would have liked more supernatural stuff. The warewolf thing never gets developed, and the dogs weren't too scary.

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Bewitched, by Heather Cullman

On Sunday, I read Heather Cullman's Bewitched.

Plot summary:

Once the most sought-after bachelor in England, Michael Vane, Duke of Sherrington, now lives in isolation at his dark, brooding mansion on the moors. Ever since the strange illness that nearly took his life, Michael has suffered debilitating seizures that leave him weak, and far worse, a madman in the eyes of the ton. As no respectable lady will have him, Michael has accepted his hermitage, oblivious of his distant cousin�s devious plan to have him declared insane.

But his grandmother has other plans to save Michael from a fate worse than death, and preserve the duchy for the rightful heir. She plans to wed her dearest friend�s granddaughter to Michael. The dowagers devise a plan for the American heiress to wed Michael when she arrives in England.

Though Michael is opposed to the marriage from the start, his grandmother has a few tricks up her sleeve and convinces Michael that marrying Emily is his only option. Thrice-betrothed, Emily knows the curse that haunts her will prevent her from ever finding and marrying for love, and thus she consents to her grandmother�s wishes, never expecting to find love on the isolated moors of Dartmoor.

But Emily and Michael find a love that transcends all else as it heals wounded souls and hearts, conquering the inner demons that would keep them enslaved within the darkness of a world without hope.

This was a lot like the last Cullman I read, in that it had some things that were so great that I wanted to love it, but I couldn't because it had too many flaws.

First, I loved that it was so romantic. We have a very simple plot here: no villains, no real trouble, but 2 people falling in love and trying to deal with Michael's illness. The thing about Michael's cousins trying to declare him insane just disappears after being used as a plot device for getting them married, but I didn't miss it. Michael and Emily become friends first, friends! This is so uncommon in romance novels, and then they fall in love, platonic love, and just throw verbal flowers at each other for pages on end. Incredibly enough, not too boring. ;-) And Michael was a wonderful wounded hero. No stupid "my momma didn't love me, so I fuck everything in skirts" excuse for his bitterness, the guy really did have reasons to be a bastard but didn't choose to be one.

The problem is, the novel has to have some conflict, and Cullman, apparently not believing Michael's illness to be enough, throws in some lame stuff about a curse and magic. This lowered the book a full point for me. I thought Emily was stupid when she started blathering about the curse, but when I came to the scene in the stone circle, with spirits floating about, I thought the book was stupid. The only thing I liked about all this was Magellan the goat. He reminded me of my cat O'Neill (I'll have to remember to post his pic!).

I also had a problem with Michael's reasons for not wanting to consumate the marriage. He was going to have a seizure some day or another, and Emily was going to see it. Better to have it now and not dread it for months. But it made for a really hot first (and only) love scene.

All in all, a B+. A real keeper which wasn't because of the stupid magic stuff.

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I also finished The Ape Who Guards The Balance, and it was also a B+. Good, but not one of my favourite Amelias.

The plot itself is good, no problem with that: it's pretty much standard Amelia (we do see Sethos again here, though, which is fun!). It's darker (the horrible murders!!), but ok. My problem is that the "Ramses pining for Nefret" is getting to be a bit too much, too drawn out. I love the two of them, and I think they'll be great together, but enough already!! I hope the next book is the one where something finally gets resolved.

Another thing I'm a bit sick of is all the foreshadowing. Especially when sometimes the "horrible event" which is foreshadowed isn't all that horrible, so you've got all bothered by something which doesn't live up to its billing. The horrible thing that does happen, however, comes out of the blue.

In a way, this one reminds me of the 4th Harry Potter. The characters are growing up, and in some ways their charmed existence is not so charmed any more.

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No posting this last weekend, I was too busy napping and reading. I also went to work very early Friday morning, so I was home by 2 PM. Ergo: long weekend!!

The first I finished was Sweet Starfire. It was a B+. This wasn't really a book with a villain (the only possible villain is dispatched without much trouble halfway through, but an adventure book. I usually prefer character driven books, but I do enjoy adventure books (Suzanne Brockmann's, or Laura Leone's great Fever Dreams, for instance).

As always in JAK's books, the world the book is set on is fascinating, and the characters are very well done. Teague is the perfect gamma hero, and I loved the way Cidra discovers exactly what she's capable of. I can't stop thinking, though, that I'd love to live like a Harmonic... all that serenity and peace... yeah, I'm boring. ;-)

This is also a great road romance. Cidra and Teague are together pretty much all the time, so the romance is strongly developed. There is a separation in the end, but the reader doesn't see it, so it didn't bother me much.

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The Ape Who Guards The Balance, by Elizabeth Peters (Amelia Peabody #10)

The second one is number 10 in the Amelia Peabody Series, by Elizabeth Peters. The title's The Ape Who Guards the Balance.

It's interesting how so many books in this series all have an animal in the title:

• Nº 1 - Crocodile on the Sandbank
• Nº 4 - Lion in the Valley
• Nº 6 - The Last Camel Died at Noon
• Nº 7 - The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog
• Nº 8 - The Hippopotamus Pool
• Nº 9 - Seeing a Large Cat
• Nº 10 - The Ape Who Guards the Balance
• Nº 11 - The Falcon at the Portal

Plot summary:

The Ape Who Guards the Balance begins in 1907 in England where Amelia is attending a suffragettes' rally outside the home of Mr. Geoffrey Romer of the House of Commons. It seems Romer is one of the few remaining private collectors of Egyptian antiquities, and a series of bizarre events at the protest soon embroil Amelia in grave personal danger. Suspecting that the Master Criminal, Sethos, is behind their problems, the Emerson Peabodys hasten to Egypt to continue their studies in the Valley of Kings where they soon acquire a papyrus of the Book of the Dead. As with past seasons, however, their archaeological expedition is interrupted. The murdered body of a woman is found in the Nile. Ramses, Radcliffe, and Amelia all have their theories as to the origin of the crime, but their own lives might soon be at stake if the cult of Thoth and their ancient book is, indeed, involved.

Posted later...

I also finished The Ape Who Guards The Balance, and it was also a B+. Good, but not one of my favourite Amelias.

The plot itself is good, no problem with that: it's pretty much standard Amelia (we do see Sethos again here, though, which is fun!). It's darker (the horrible murders!!), but ok. My problem is that the "Ramses pining for Nefret" is getting to be a bit too much, too drawn out. I love the two of them, and I think they'll be great together, but enough already!! I hope the next book is the one where something finally gets resolved.

Another thing I'm a bit sick of is all the foreshadowing. Especially when sometimes the "horrible event" which is foreshadowed isn't all that horrible, so you've got all bothered by something which doesn't live up to its billing. The horrible thing that does happen, however, comes out of the blue.

In a way, this one reminds me of the 4th Harry Potter. The characters are growing up, and in some ways their charmed existence is not so charmed any more.

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Sweet Starfire, by Jayne Ann Krentz

I've started 2 books. The first is another by JAK, one of her futuristics: Sweet Starfire. It's a reread.

Plot summary:

Welcome to the futuristic world of Lovelady, where humans are divided into two types - Harmonics and Wolves. Harmonics live a serene life, elevating their knowledge and dwelling on a higher plane where emotions and instincts have no control or power. Wolves . . . everything a Harmonic is not.

Enter Cidra Rainforest: a Wolf reared as a Harmonic in the serene community of Clementia, desperate to find the ancient key to taking to last step to becoming a full Harmonic.

Meet Teague Severance: a true Wolf from Port Valentine, a renegade mail carrier who lives for making the package arrive on time.

What happens when these two meet? Interstellar sparks! Cidra hires on as Teague's assistant in exchange for a trip to Renaissance, the neighboring planet, to begin her quest for the Harmonic holy grail . . . a legend and most likely unreal. But life with a renegade doesn't always turn out like one plans. Cidra finds herself along with Teague in the dangerous jungle of Renaissance and must learn to survive by wits and instinct, not exactly easy for a trained Harmonic.

Posted later...

No posting this last weekend, I was too busy napping and reading. I also went to work very early Friday morning, so I was home by 2 PM. Ergo: long weekend!!

The first I finished was Sweet Starfire. It was a B+. This wasn't really a book with a villain (the only possible villain is dispatched without much trouble halfway through, but an adventure book. I usually prefer character driven books, but I do enjoy adventure books (Suzanne Brockmann's, or Laura Leone's great Fever Dreams, for instance).

As always in JAK's books, the world the book is set on is fascinating, and the characters are very well done. Teague is the perfect gamma hero, and I loved the way Cidra discovers exactly what she's capable of. I can't stop thinking, though, that I'd love to live like a Harmonic... all that serenity and peace... yeah, I'm boring. ;-)

This is also a great road romance. Cidra and Teague are together pretty much all the time, so the romance is strongly developed. There is a separation in the end, but the reader doesn't see it, so it didn't bother me much.

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Summer in Eclipse Bay, by Jayne Ann Krentz

Yesterday I devoured Jayne Ann Krentz's latest: Summer in Eclipse Bay. While I'm afraid this is not as good as her best, it's still a very nice, comfortable book. I'd give it a grade of B.

Plot summary:

"Word gets around fast in Eclipse Bay. Nick Harte should know --- his family's legendary feud with the Madisons fueled the local gossip mill for years before finally cooling off. But people are still talking--and rumor has it Nick's involved with someone new...

Art gallery owner Octavia Brightwell doesn't take chances--especially on handsome, charming men. But that's only part of the reason why she turned Nick down six times before--finally--agreeing to a date. Octavia's related to the woman who sparked the long-running family feud--and fears that falling hard for Nick would only ignite the flames again. Octavia knows her family's past is best kept hidden. But her secret isn't safe in Eclipse Bay--and neither is her heart...

As I said, this one works great as a comfort read. It has a light, well-crafted mystery, nice, likeable characters, quirky secondary characters (loved the Heralds and Mean Eugene and Dickhead Dwayne), lots of interactions between the characters, a nice little romance... nothing too exciting, but it hit the spot. The romance still feels a little toned-down, compared to what it used to be in her best books, but at least Nick and Octavia have much more chemistry than the protagonists in some of her latest books.

The setting was pretty nice, though it would have been more understandable that they would want to stay there if the town hadn't had so many judgemental hypocrites. But then, Octavia ends up in the Hart family, so she won't have to suffer the scorn!

Incredibly enough, I adored Carson, Nick's son. I usually detest the children in romance novels (such saccharine, precious brats!), but he was a real dear. I very much enjoyed Nick's relationship with him, especially how he treated his son as a real person.

I had a little problem understanding what was going on with the Claudia issue because I'd only read Eclipse Bay (the first in the series; this one's the third) and I'd done so quite a few months ago. I would have appreciated some reminders about what the feud had been all about. I still don't remember exactly what Claudia was to Sullivan and Mitch.

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Topaz Dreams was a very interesting book. I loved the world it was set in, very inventive. Just one niggle: it's labeled wrong. It's not a futuristic; it's set in the present (or, actually, 10 years in the past, since it was written in 1992) but there is supposed to be another world in the center of the Earth. They should have labeled it sci-fi romance.

The romance is good, basically because it has 2 likeable characters, who have lots of chemistry. I especially liked that Falcon was supposed to be a virgin, so we had a more experienced heroine. Stephanie was also really strong, though she was a bit too quick to resign herself to being separated from Falcon. At one point, near the end, I was afraid Campbell was going to pull a Body Electric on me and have Falcon get more experience with other woman before he returned to Steve. Luckily, he didn't!

The bad points here were 2: First, the villain was much too over-the-top. Plus, we spent way too much time seeing his POV. Second, the prequel was given a bit too much space here, and Campbell revealed exactly what had happened and how all the problems were solved. No need for me to read it, then.

A grade of B+.

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Topaz Dreams, by Marilyn Campbell

I started a futuristic today: Topaz Dreams, by Marilyn Campbell. I don't remember why I bought it, probably because of a comment in a message board, but I've just read Mrs. Giggles's review and it sounds great.

Plot summary:

Denying his emotions for fear that they will compromise his strength, empath Falcon searches for a ring that threatens his futuristic world and encounters independent Stephanie Barbanell, who is searching for a missing scientist.

Posted later...

Topaz Dreams was a very interesting book. I loved the world it was set in, very inventive. Just one niggle: it's labeled wrong. It's not a futuristic; it's set in the present (or, actually, 10 years in the past, since it was written in 1992) but there is supposed to be another world in the center of the Earth. They should have labeled it sci-fi romance.

The romance is good, basically because it has 2 likeable characters, who have lots of chemistry. I especially liked that Falcon was supposed to be a virgin, so we had a more experienced heroine. Stephanie was also really strong, though she was a bit too quick to resign herself to being separated from Falcon. At one point, near the end, I was afraid Campbell was going to pull a Body Electric on me and have Falcon get more experience with other woman before he returned to Steve. Luckily, he didn't!

The bad points here were 2: First, the villain was much too over-the-top. Plus, we spent way too much time seeing his POV. Second, the prequel was given a bit too much space here, and Campbell revealed exactly what had happened and how all the problems were solved. No need for me to read it, then.

A grade of B+.

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Death in the Andamans was very good, a B+. What was good and what was bad?:

• The setting and atmosphere were probably the best thing here. I just loved this. The island seemed like paradise at the beginning, but during the storm it helped create an oppresive atmosphere, reflecting the characters' mood. And the house was great, I'd love to visit it. Also, for the first time, I found the little diagram of the house useful. I'm usually hopelessly confused, but in this case it was great to understand who was where and where they could go in and out.
• The language was very enjoyable, especially Charles'. It might be considered a little too precious, but I was in the right mood for witty banter. Plus, it added to the flavour of the book.
• The mystery was very neat and well-constructed. Not a loose thread to be seen when the book was over. I also loved how Nick and Copper and Charles and Valerie got together to investigate.
• Very well-drawn characters. I could really see them in my mind, and predict how they would react. Even the murderer never really acted out-of-character. The only exception, strangely enough, was Copper. The protagonist, no less! She seemed a bit wishy-washy. She did show intelligence during the investigation, but she sounded a little too young and immature for my taste, and so was her romance with Nick.
• There was a paternalistic, superior attitude towards the natives apparent throughout the book, and I disliked this. It was all very pro-colonialism. One has to remember, though, that this book was written in the '30s, so this is quite understandable.
• The conclusion was a little too drawn-out. At one point, after we know almost everything, they get together to go over it once more and this was really repetitious.
• I liked that there were more POVs here than in other MM Kaye books. I especially liked seeing Nick's, mainly because I'm not too fond of the mysterious hero

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I've finished both books. The first one was Her Perfect Stranger (of course I finished it first! it was much shorter). Unfortunately, it wasn't very good, about a C+.

As it often happens, because I choose books very carefully, I liked the concept but not the execution. My biggest problem with it was that Corrine acted so out-of-character in most of her dealings with Mike. From all we knew about her, she was a very rational and professional woman and her career seemed to support that. But she acted terribly stupid and unprofessional when forced to work with Mike.

Maybe the author thought this was the only way to create conflict, but I don't think it was. The reaction I would've expected from Corrine, when confronted with having to work with her one-night-stand, would have been to talk to him very calmly, something along the lines of what a small world it is, and what a bad idea it would be to endanger their work by pursuing a relationship right then. Then they would have tried to work together, learned to like each other, and would have started having a difficult time keeping their hands off each other. But no, she had to act like a twit and allow her emotions to control her.

And Mike didn't behave very well either. All that touching on the job, trying to make her uncomfortable, and how he kept grabbing her all the time. He was harassing her, IMO. She should have stopped it (she was his boss, for crying out loud!), yes, but he shouldn't have done it in the first place.

Finally, I didn't believe these 2 had fallen in love. They didn't know each other, because the image they had of the other was completely false, if we believe the character painted by their actions was the true one.

I did enjoy the setting, and the fact that the heroine had a real career (BTW, what's up with her getting pregnant 3 months after the end of the book... right after the mission? Hated that!), plus, the love scenes were very hot and Corrine and Mike did have chemistry. A real shame about all the bad stuff.

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Her Perfect Stranger, by Jill Shalvis

The other one is Her Perfect Stranger, by Jill Shalvis. It sounds interesting, both the stuff about the space program and the story about a one-night-stand which ends up not being one.

Plot summary:

One wretched night while a storm rages in Huntsville, Alabama, a woman seeks refuge in a hotel pub. The man watches her temper with amusement. She's drenched, filled with fire, passion and rage. When the power goes out, he offers her his room for the night. It seems like the perfect opportunity for two perfect strangers to share their passion. Their connection is electric, but when morning comes, the woman is gone.

Mike shipped in from his assignment in Russia to accept a pilot position in a space shuttle mission. He is stunned to learn that his commander is Corrine Atkinson, the perfect stranger of the night before. And he is hurt that her cold demeanor in no way acknowledges the connection they made. His bitter disappointment leaves him determined to break through Corrine's formidable defenses.

Posted later...

I've finished both books. The first one was Her Perfect Stranger (of course I finished it first! it was much shorter). Unfortunately, it wasn't very good, about a C+.

As it often happens, because I choose books very carefully, I liked the concept but not the execution. My biggest problem with it was that Corrine acted so out-of-character in most of her dealings with Mike. From all we knew about her, she was a very rational and professional woman and her career seemed to support that. But she acted terribly stupid and unprofessional when forced to work with Mike.

Maybe the author thought this was the only way to create conflict, but I don't think it was. The reaction I would've expected from Corrine, when confronted with having to work with her one-night-stand, would have been to talk to him very calmly, something along the lines of what a small world it is, and what a bad idea it would be to endanger their work by pursuing a relationship right then. Then they would have tried to work together, learned to like each other, and would have started having a difficult time keeping their hands off each other. But no, she had to act like a twit and allow her emotions to control her.

And Mike didn't behave very well either. All that touching on the job, trying to make her uncomfortable, and how he kept grabbing her all the time. He was harassing her, IMO. She should have stopped it (she was his boss, for crying out loud!), yes, but he shouldn't have done it in the first place.

Finally, I didn't believe these 2 had fallen in love. They didn't know each other, because the image they had of the other was completely false, if we believe the character painted by their actions was the true one.

I did enjoy the setting, and the fact that the heroine had a real career (BTW, what's up with her getting pregnant 3 months after the end of the book... right after the mission? Hated that!), plus, the love scenes were very hot and Corrine and Mike did have chemistry. A real shame about all the bad stuff.

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Death in the Andamans, by MM Kaye

I've started to read 2 books. The first is Death in the Andamans, by MM Kaye. Her book are great, especially the exotic settings. One actually feels as though one is right there.

Plot summary:

The enchanting islands in the Indian Ocean beckoned irresistibly . . .

Through Copper Randal soon discovers that paradise has a darker side. A sense of foreboding hangs in the hot stillness among the mango trees and coconut palms. But neither she, nor her friend Valerie, stepdaughter of the Islands' Chief Commissioner, could have anticipated the sinister climax to the picnic after the hurricane struck.

One of their party is resumed drowned, then another mysteriously murdered. Stormbound and marooned on tiny Ross Island, with no links to police or doctor, Copper and her friends turn detective . . .

Posted later...

Death in the Andamans was very good, a B+. What was good and what was bad?:

• The setting and atmosphere were probably the best thing here. I just loved this. The island seemed like paradise at the beginning, but during the storm it helped create an oppresive atmosphere, reflecting the characters' mood. And the house was great, I'd love to visit it. Also, for the first time, I found the little diagram of the house useful. I'm usually hopelessly confused, but in this case it was great to understand who was where and where they could go in and out.
• The language was very enjoyable, especially Charles'. It might be considered a little too precious, but I was in the right mood for witty banter. Plus, it added to the flavour of the book.
• The mystery was very neat and well-constructed. Not a loose thread to be seen when the book was over. I also loved how Nick and Copper and Charles and Valerie got together to investigate.
• Very well-drawn characters. I could really see them in my mind, and predict how they would react. Even the murderer never really acted out-of-character. The only exception, strangely enough, was Copper. The protagonist, no less! She seemed a bit wishy-washy. She did show intelligence during the investigation, but she sounded a little too young and immature for my taste, and so was her romance with Nick.
• There was a paternalistic, superior attitude towards the natives apparent throughout the book, and I disliked this. It was all very pro-colonialism. One has to remember, though, that this book was written in the '30s, so this is quite understandable.
• The conclusion was a little too drawn-out. At one point, after we know almost everything, they get together to go over it once more and this was really repetitious.
• I liked that there were more POVs here than in other MM Kaye books. I especially liked seeing Nick's, mainly because I'm not too fond of the mysterious hero

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Between the Lines, by Jayne Ann Krentz

I also read an old Jayne Ann Krentz yesterday: Between the Lines.

Plot summary:

Amber has been seriously hurt by a flaming hot affair with famous racing driver Roarke Kelley. She flees Southern California to Bellevue, and takes an office assistant's job with Cormick Grayson. After all that flaming passion she finds his placid good nature a relief, and accepts an offer of marriage. She tells everyone she's very "content" with her lot.

But, of course, Gray has hidden depths. He isn't the passionless, boring husband she expected. He's "a lover to die for" and he'd wanted her from the start. And he knows how to bide his time. When Roarke comes after Amber again, and when the business deal goes wrong and two second rate punks threaten them, Amber finds he knows how to handle a gun as well.

It was good, a B. Even if it was written in 1987, it's not at all dated. Yes, Gray orders her around a bit at one point, which I didn't like, but he's no alpha jerk.

Oh, and, though maybe I shouldn't confess it, in this case I loved the plot of a guy instantly falling for a woman and doing whatever it takes to have her, even tricking her into marriage. I usually just get mad, but JAK has me liking it here.

The Roarke Kelley thing was great in concept, but not so good in execution. I think I would have liked Gray to feel a little more jealousy, to suffer a bit.

As always, JAK uses a theme (I don't know if that's the correct name. I mean she always has an element, which can extraneous to the plot, which she uses for metaphors, etc. ), in this case the poetry of Sherborn Ulysses Twitchell. I had great fun with this; it was really, really awful. Thought the thing about Amber being Honoria was stupid.

What I didn't get was what the point of having the 2 threatening punks was. Boring. It looks like she just decided she had to have a confrontation at gunpoint for the book to work so she inserted these 2. But, other than that, fun book.

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I completey forgot to post yesterday. I finished Seeing a Large Cat and read another book.

The Peters book was lovely. A B+. It was just like visiting old friends, but seeing they are growing up and changing for the better. This book introduces another point of view into the series, through the so-called Manuscript H. In it, we can see the actions of Ramses, Nefret and David, including what they don't tell Amelia. I loved these parts, and I wished there were more of them. Actually, my favourite scene in the book takes place in a Manuscript H portion: when Ramses confesses his feelings for Nefret to David. Awww! I immediately went back and reread it all twice. I can't wait for Ramses and Nefret to get together, but I think that doesn't happen for 2 more books. :-( OMG! I'm turning into one of those 'shippers Mrs. Giggles complains about!

Another good thing about Manuscript H is how it gently pokes fun at Amelia, by showing us what people really think about some of the things she does. It's interesting, because before we had only her point of view. Sometimes you could read between the lines and see what people thought (stuff that Amelia didn't realize, supposedly), but I like this device.

The mystery stuff was fun too, but a bit obvious. I think I guessed it too easily, maybe because I read this one a few years ago, so I subconsciously remembered a bit? Not much, though: I must have had this one mixed up with another one, because I was completely sure I remembered that Dolly wasn't really the Colonel's daughter, but an actress hired to play that role. I wonder what book that one comes from!

The only thing I didn't like here was the ending... a foreshadowing, I think it's called. Peters' uses this a lot, but while it works when you're halfway through a book, when you have time for whatever bad thing is coming to happen and then to be solved, this was practically the final line. The only use it had was to end the book in a depressing note. I closed it and sighed, sadly.

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I've just finished The Veiled Web. I'd rate it a B+.

It's a very good book, one which made me just stop and think many times, about issues like AI, interfaith marriages, etc. Unfortunately, I don't think a book like this one, where Islam plays such an important role, could be published today in the US.

What fascinated me the most in this book were the 2 issues I mentioned. I adored the sections where Lucia is working with Zaki, and where they explore the web. I kept thinking I want this technology, especially the Jazari suit.

Lucia and Rashid's relationship was also enthralling. This is the complete opposite of those Harlequin sheik books, where the hero is just like an USian CEO, only a bit more arrogant and possessive. Asaro doesn't confine herself to superficial characterization of her protagonists. Both are drawn in depth, especially exploring the role of religion in their lives. I found it interesting that even though I'm nothing like either of them, both rang true to me.

I'll explain. Rashid might be very nice and all, but I don't think I could fall in love with him. This is someone who would really prefer for his wife to live secluded all my life in a harem, and just compromises because he knows she wouldn't be happy that way. Maybe I'm being idealistic, but it'd make me uncomfortable to be with someone whose deepest wish is something that implies he thinks women are inferior to men. Yes, he knows that's not so and acts accordingly, but deep down, he's sexist. And Lucia was a bit too accepting of the restrictions placed on her, IMO. I guess I would be more like Rashid's first wife, Brigid, and refuse to even consider wearing a head scarf and veil.

The thing is, I liked the story even if I felt that way, because I understood what made these people tick and why they acted the way they did. So, I could root for them. They weren't stereotypes, or cardboard. They were people to me, even Zaki, and I wanted them to be happy.

What didn't work for me in this book was the whole kidnapping plot. It felt extraneous, and I wish Asaro had thought of another plot device to get Lucia and Rashid together.

But that's actually a small section of the book, and I very much enjoyed the rest.

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I was checking out the new reviews at AAR, and I ran across the one of Allison Kent's latest: The Sweetest Taboo. Now, I'd love to buy this, both because it sounds great (really modern characters, who have the kind of relationships with their friends that I do with mine) and because Kent has a very nice and classy on-line personality. However, Kent, along with Theresa Weir and Robin Schone, is one of the authors I don't buy anymore because of their writing style. (Other authors' styles bother me too, like Julie Garwood, but I have other reasons for not buying them apart of their styles).

Why I don't like Schone's style is pretty obvious, since everyone keeps complaining about the short, choppy sentences and the gloomy tone (also too bad, because she's on aarlist and seems really nice), but I haven't met anyone who's bothered by Kent and Weir's. I don't know if I can explain what my probem is in Kent's case. Basically, I get lost when I read her, and I'm never sure of what exactly is going on. Things seem to happen for no reason, and I can never figure out why her characters react in a certain way. I've never heard of anyone who feels the same way I do, so I guess it's just that her style doesn't click with me.

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