Review: Guardians of Stone

Guardians of Stone
Guardians of Stone by Anita Clenney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When my dog immediately ate the cover of this book, I thought it was a bad sign. Thankfully I was wrong and Guardians of Stone is a really fun, entertaining, and sexy foray into a new series and new author for me. I’m actually lamenting the loss of the cover because it’s hard to convince people to try a new book with teeth marks on the spine; no really, the dog LOVED it too. The review quote on the back is a perfect descriptor as “a cross between Indiana Jones and Stephanie Plum.” The book is nicely balanced with relic action scenes – searching catacomb bones for an ancient box amid deadly booby traps – and a romantic triangle between the female lead and two equally gorgeous and grumpy men. It’s a bit of a stretch so readers have to be willing to buy into the premise and suspend disbelief but it’s worth it with sharp writing, good dialogue, sensible if familiar characters, and an overall interesting plot that keeps the action moving and readers interested. Continue reading

Review: Your Biggest FAN

Your Biggest FAN
Your Biggest FAN by Missy Welsh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I tend to like Missy Welsh’s books because they focus on younger men, just figuring themselves out. These characters tend to have inherent immaturity, due to their age, but that gives them charm and likability. They’re not perfect but struggling to be happy with who they are. Your Biggest Fan is along those lines this time with a closeted jock that happens to like cross-dressing and a self-professed “hairy Greek” that is a bit of a nosey troublemaker. Together the sparks fly and all issues are resolved pretty easily. The plot is nice and attempts some real depth but the shorter space means just about any issue or conflict is very easily resolved. This keeps the tone and pace easy and light and negates the weighty topics that are actually addressed. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but the resolutions are particularly cheery and light. Continue reading

Review: Sweet Talk

Sweet Talk
Sweet Talk by Julie Garwood
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Julie Garwood book but I have a whole shelf of them so I figured I’d check out her newest contemporary book. Sweet Talk is just that, almost nauseatingly so. I found the characters way too perfect. Everyone is gorgeous, kind, charitable to a ridiculous degree, and all with genius level intellects. The bad guys are bad without any real reason but tend to make near comical mistakes while the good guys are so perfect and caring I kept rolling my eyes at them. Flaws of any kind don’t exist in this fantasy land. On the up side the plot is decent and I actually liked many of the concepts of the book, the writing just couldn’t quite flesh them out well enough. Continue reading

Review: What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter, and Me

What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter, and Me
What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter, and Me by Rielle Hunter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I went into this with an open mind. I didn’t follow the media scrutiny of their affair that closely so I only knew the basic facts – they had an affair resulting in a kid that he denied while lying about her constantly. I was curious what she would present as “her” side. Continue reading

Review: Hard Tail

Hard Tail
Hard Tail by J.L. Merrow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

JL Merrow usually works pretty well for me with her smooth writing, great wit, and adorable characters. Hard Tail is no departure from that and feels like a solid comfort read that fits well with the author’s backlist. The situation is interesting with some good and obvious research thrown in. I think the external tension drew out a bit too long and in a very predictable way. Due to this some sections of the book seem to drone on while others flew by easily giving an uneven pace. Despite this the nice guy characters and cute chemistry should be enough to win over fans of the author. Continue reading

Review: SuburbaNights

SuburbaNights
SuburbaNights by Eric Arvin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I quite like Eric Arvin’s over the top parody Jasper Lane series but each one isn’t quite as good as the last. The first book in the series is truly original, unique and laugh out loud funny at every turn. Subsequent books, this one included, feel less original and more of the same. I didn’t laugh out loud once while reading the third book, mostly because I expected and am accustomed to the ridiculous and farcical actions of the various cast. It’s not unexpected or even surprising as parody is the norm here. That said, it’s an amusing and entertaining read even if less focused than previous books. Continue reading

Review: Gambling Men: The Novel

Gambling Men: The Novel
Gambling Men: The Novel by Amy Lane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m a fan of Amy Lane’s work and this is a good example of her writing and I enjoyed it. However, having said that, I think the story is very safe for the author and entirely expected. So much so that while I could appreciate certain technical aspects of the book and writing, overall I found the story repetitive and ho-hum. Part of this could be from my fatigue with my favorite authors, who seem to put out the same book over and over with minor differences, so I’ll try to separate my personal issues from the merits of the writing. For Lane fans I think most will enjoy this but die hard fans will have read this basic story many times over. Continue reading