Review: House of Pleasure by Deborah Court

House of Pleasure by Deborah Court

Summary: When Jane Eden inherits an old Victorian mansion on the outskirts of Boston, she has no idea what secrets it harbors. She soon discovers that it's a magic house, fulfilling all the sexual fantasies of its female residents. Losing herself in sensual dreams that take her to exotic places and delightful historical eras, she never considers what will happen if she ever loses her heart. 

Luke Thomas is Hollywood's most celebrated action-hero, used to swooning fans falling all over him. One day he meets a beautiful woman in a park who doesn't seem to be interested in him at all. It's a challenge he just can't resist. His desire to see her again transports him to Jane's house, and he gets lost in the arms of a lover who drives him into a frenzy of boundless pleasure. But will he gain her love when the prize is higher than she's willing to pay?

Review: A quick, smutty read with little else. 

This was a bit longer than a short story, but despite the added length, there was very little actual story. Just a lot of sex. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading about sex, but I need some build up, some tension associated with it. The sex was quite hot and fun to read about. Why are authors so afraid to name female body parts? I don't want to hear terms like hot love channel. And I didn't get why loved blossomed between Jane and Eden that quickly. They had sex, a number of times, but there was no explanation besides an "instant" connection, which could have been attributed to the magic of the house. 

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys smut and doesn't need a story.

Review: The Devil's Waltz by Anne Stuart

The Devil's Waltz by Anne Stuart

Summary: Penniless heiress Annelise Kempton is hired by a rich widower merchant to execute his daughter's successful debut and help her snare a titled husband. The notorious Viscount Christian Montcalm is in debt, but determined to win over Annelise.

Review: A thoroughly enjoyable romance with a slow seduction and a happy ending.

After looking at books similar to this one, it seems like the spinster/rake romance is a common one. This was my first encounter with it (I haven't read much romance yet) so perhaps I enjoyed it more than I would have if I had read other books with a similar plot. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a tad annoying that the main female character constantly listed her faults even though the main male character finds so just damn attractive. And of course the womanizing rake falls in love with only one woman.

I really liked both Annelise and Christian. They were both stubborn, but are not afraid to come to terms with their feelings. Christian was delightfully bad, but not too bad. The interaction between Annelise and Christian was delightful. Chipple is a bit too evil to believe and although I suppose there are man out there like that, I think his evil was used a plot device. I liked the romance that developed between Annelise and Christian and that it actually took some time to develop. The ending was a bit too happy for my tastes, but it was still very satisfying. 

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this to fans of historical romance, especially Regency romance. 

Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Summary: When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody's doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls' lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

Review: A dystopian novel with a hard to believe premise and decent characters.

I know that we have to swallow a lot of unbelievable premises in dystopian fiction, but some are more unbelievable than others. What I find more important than the premise is how well the premise is executed. I always hold all dystopian novels up to 1984, which might be unfair, but 1984 is one of my favorite novels so I do it anyways. I can certainly believe a virus that made everyone over 18 infertile, but I could not take the whole culture that came around because of it seriously. The slang didn't help either. It should either been taken out or toned down. A glossary would have been nice too.

The characters were extreme opposites of each other and I felt like they were plot devices used by the author to show how different the two cultures were and how they would clash. There was a lot of stupidity and blindly following by both characters, especially Harmony, but they do manage to come into their own beliefs by the end of the book. Since the book is told in 1st person by both twins, I find it hard to believe that the duplicity of the one twin wouldn't have entered her thoughts. I am interested to read the second book and see how everything develops between the twins.

Rating:







Recommendation: I would recommend this book to fans of young adult dystopian fiction who don't mind a rather wacky premise.

Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Summary: In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one except the "thing" inside her. 

When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch... 

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits. Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret. 

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help-and finally be a part of something, finally fit in. 

But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on, even if it seems no one believes her.

Review: A decent steampunk adventure with evil robots and a just a smidge of romance.

I liked the idea of the Jekyll/Hyde aspect of the main character. It was a bit jarring at first the difference between the two sides of Finley's character even though I knew what was wrong with her. I honestly didn't feel much for her character or the rest of the characters. I saw them as a group of oh so special teenagers who trying to fight the bad guy and save the day. There wasn't much depth to the characters. My favorite character was Jack Dandy and I wish he had been in the book more. I will admit that I found the romance between Sam and Emily sweet.

Ok, I do not need to know what everyone is wearing every time they show up wearing a new outfit. It's unnecessary. And how many special gadgets/abilities do these oh so special teenagers have or will have in the future? Why did it take so long for Griffin to finally help Finley when it could have done it much sooner? And I saw the plot twist coming from many miles away. The story was certainly action packed, but the action can't do much to help it. I had been hoping for a more interesting resolution to why machines have started to attack people and who the Machinist actually was. The book wraps up the story, but does end on a cliffhanger. I'll give the second book a shot.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to fans of young adult steampunk and possibly steampunk in general if you are a huge fan.

Review: Crimson Groves by Ashley Robertson

Crimson Groves by Ashley Robertson

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for a review. 

Summary: Intense and suspenseful with a twist of romance. Abigail Tate was a normal human girl. Until the day Bronx the vampire barges into her life and turns her against her will. Held captive while forced to deal with never ending cravings for blood, Abby prays for a way to escape. Only when an opportunity arises, it's with the aid of an innocent human named Tyler—except vampires are forbidden to interact with the unbitten. But Abby quickly learns this human has secrets of his own...secrets that can either help her or get her killed. Only Abby discovers that she was the one with the biggest secret of them all.

Review: A vampire story that started out strong, but weakened in the last two thirds of the novel. Despite that, Crimson Groves still managed to entertain. 
I really liked Abby and thought she was a very realistic character. She did do a bit too much crying for my liking, but she was always trying her best to get out of the situation she found herself in. Also, she listened to her mind instead her body a good deal of the time, especially with Tyler. It was refreshing that she saw Bronx for who he is and didn't fall in love with him (no Stockholm syndrome here). I found the whole situation with Bronx so unfair (but life isn't fair) and I was glad when she was able to escape with Tyler. 

The book lost steam after that point. It was a good deal of Abby trying to find information, find blood donors, and trying to resist falling for Tyler. If humans aren't supposed to know about vampires then how do they find blood donors? Aren't they afraid they will blab? I liked the idea of vampires with magic. It is a bit cliche how special Abby is, although she does happen to be a unique blend. The ending was satisfactory and opens up the possibility for a second book. I do want to know what will happen to Abby, Tyler, and Stone in the next book (if there is one).

Rating:







Recommendation: I would recommend this to fans of vampire/supernatural fiction who are sick of the same old vampire fiction.

Review: Goodbye Milky Way: An Earth in Jeopardy Adventure by Dan Makaon

Goodbye Milky Way: An Earth in Jeopardy Adventure by Dan Makaon

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.

Summary: Tom is a freelance project manager with a reputation for getting results for corporations and governments. But he’s never been up against a challenge like this. The earthquake that triggered the Asian tsunami did more than kill 283,000 people. It caused a shift in the axial tilt of the Earth. But what could have caused such a powerful earthquake and its unusual tectonic activity? An eclectic group of scientists, calling themselves the Star-Slayer Team, calculates that the cause of the quake emanates from the depths of space, threatening all of mankind with extinction. Tom leads a harrowing expedition to Antarctica and discovers an ancient secret that can help save mankind. He joins the Star-Slayer Team and leads massive and dangerous construction projects in Ecuador and on the Moon. Assisted by Aieda, a powerful and sophisticated computer, the team has only seven years to develop the mechanism that will save the Earth and the Moon. With Einstein-like intelligence, and even adopting a female persona, Aieda believes her new theory governing gravity and space-time will save humanity. But can she be trusted?

Review: A very action packed science fiction adventure that had a few faults.

I must admit that when I first started this book, I wasn't sure how much I would actually enjoy it. The premise of the book sounded interesting, but the actual development of the plot was hard to believe. Everything fell into place so quickly and there were a large number of resources available and people so willing to help. I am not denying that all those people could have come together eventually, but it went way too quickly in the book. Another aspect of this book that I didn't like were the characters. They felt stilted and two dimensional. Also, I don't need descriptions of all their actions, especially the most bland. I can infer that they performed certain actions. 

But despite all that, I did enjoy this book. As I mentioned before, it was very action packed so the reader could never stay bored. As the project progressed, there were many attacks and you never knew what would come next and where. I liked the characters better as time went one although there still was that describe everything aspect going on. This book had plenty of physics, mainly astrophysics, which I love so I enjoyed that part of the book. I liked comparing my knowledge of physics and current theories to what the characters in the book mention. The ending was a little unexpected and I can't help but wonder what else got affected.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to fans of science fiction with a lot of action and/or science. 

Review: The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

Summary: It is winter, 1553. Pursued by the Inquisition, Hannah Green, a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl, is forced to flee Spain with her father. But Hannah is no ordinary refugee. Her gift of "Sight," the ability to foresee the future, is priceless in the troubled times of the Tudor court. Hannah is adopted by the glamorous Robert Dudley, the charismatic son of King Edward's protector, who brings her to court as a "holy fool" for Queen Mary and, ultimately, Queen Elizabeth. Hired as a fool but working as a spy; promised in wedlock but in love with her master; endangered by the laws against heresy, treason, and witchcraft, Hannah must choose between the safe life of a commoner and the dangerous intrigues of the royal family that are inextricably bound up in her own yearnings and desires. 

Review: My least favorite in her Tudor series due to the book being told from the viewpoint of a character I didn't much care for.

I know authors historical fiction can and do twist history to their purposes and almost all dialogue will have to be created, but I like my historical fiction to be as close to history as possible and if not, I want it to be entertaining. I am not sure if there were women fools, but I didn't mind the idea. I, unfortunately, did not like the character of Hannah. She is a 20th century woman thrown back to the 16th century. There was a large disconnect between her beliefs and the time period. It was too much of a contrast. Hannah makes a lot stupid and foolish decisions that only bring her pain and dismay. She felt too high and mighty for my liking. 

Her character felt merely like a plot device to show the lives of Elizabeth and Mary. I highly doubt a fool would have been taken into such high confidences and even if the queen and princess felt friendly to her, I doubt they would see easily share their feelings and thoughts. I did enjoy the changing contrast between Elizabeth and Mary, but I did not feel that a fool character had to be invented to show that contrast. 

Rating: 






Recommendation: I would only recommend this book to people who will read anything they can about Elizabeth or Mary or people who have read her other Tudor novels.