SOA Listening Challege 2011

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Speaking of Audiobook Listing Challenge 2011: Listen to a book released in 2011.

Having never read author Eloisa James before, I bought the audiobook on the strength of several good reviews and after listening to a sample on Audible.com. The sample hinted at the possibility of wry humor and I decided to take the chance. I'm so glad I did. While not a perfect book, When Beauty Tamed the Beast is very cleverly written and thoroughly enjoyable.

Both main characters were strong, but Linnet was a delightful surprise. Her character is quick-witted and sharp-tongued, but not spiteful. She starts out a little shallow, but never mean-spirited. The combination of innocence and jadedness was especially appealing. Piers, based on the irascible Dr. House of Fox network fame, was completely believable as the "beast."



James' secondary characters are no less interesting, giving the book a well-rounded feel.


The conversations in the book were a particularly well done, with plenty of verbal sparring and clever phrasing. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. My only complaint is the anachronisms James decided to include, such as the names of two of Piers' student doctors (Kibbles and Bits) and the line, "What happens in Wales, remains in Wales."


Susan Duerden's character voices, both male and female, were excellent. Her narration of the prose sections was less satisfying, as she tended to deliver the lines in what I would describe as a sing-song, or undulating, fashion. Overall I would still rate her narration a 4* since I quickly got used to her narrating style and her character voices are much better than average.

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TBR Challnge 2011- General

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

TBR Challenge 2011- General Category. I'm cheating on this one just a little. I added to my TBR pile on Jan 11, 2011, 11 days after my self-imposed TBR Challenge cut-off date.

Narrated by Lloyd James.

Everything about this audiobook experience fitted together perfectly, Bujold's writing is masterful and the voice of Lloyd James is perfect for the story.

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SFR Readng Challenge 2011

Moonstruck by Susan Grant

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

SFR Reading Challenge 2011

SFR Group Book of the Month, October 2011


3.5*


Moonstruck started off well, with an interesting storyline and some foreshadowing of trouble ahead for all concerned. With the strong set-up, I expected more than Grant delivered in what followed. Finn and Brit were both interesting characters, but they weren't developed as well as they could have been. The backstories for both characters had so much untapped potential for tension, emotion, and drama. Also, even though their relationship was often sweet (and hot) it was too easy. Many issues beyond their control existed that could have kept them apart, made them work for their happy ending. Instead, an excuse was found to get them together much too quickly. As far as being complex and well-drawn, the secondary story involving Hadley was more interesting.


Moonstruck was definitely science fiction ROMANCE, with the emphasis being the romance, and the sci-fi world-building and plot coming in second. While that sometimes works well, it was a shame with this book since the set-up had the potential to be an edge-of-your seat action read.


On the positive side, even though the story was less complex and developed than I would have liked, it was a solid story with characters worth caring about. Moonstruck is definitely worth reading, and I plan to pick up the second book in the Borderlands series. The Warlord's Daughter


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TBR Challnge 2011- October PNR or Romantic Suspense

Hawken's Heart by Suzanne Brockmann

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

TBR Challenge 2011- Category: September (late: catch up on a series) and October (romantic suspense). The entire Tall Dark and Dangerous series has been on my TBR list for over a year.


3.5*
Good characters, decent plot and moving love story. While not earth-shattering, Hawken's Heart was a great way to spend a rainy day. ;-)


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TBR Challnge 2011- October PNR or Romantic Suspense

Cover of Darkness (Suspense Series, #2) by Kaylea Cross

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


TBR Challenge 2011- October category: PNR or Romantic suspense. This book has been on my TBR list for a year.

After a strong debut novel (Out Of Her League, Kaylea Cross drops the ball with her second installment in her Suspense series. The problems with this novel are too many to list. But to name a few:

~ Too much telling, not enough showing. Let the readers connect some of the dots. We don't need to hear every thought of each character, especially when the thoughts get repetitive.

~ While the first part of the suspense plot was strong (kidnapping and resuce), what followed went from bad to ridiculous. The reader is never given a good reason for Bryn being involved, or for why Dec is there, either. (On loan from the SEALs??)

~ The character of Luke is an SOB, and his actions are reckless and unprofessional.

~ They want to use Bryn as bait, but they follow the terrorist around with her in tow. Bait means you sit and wait for the guy to come to you. Doesn't it seem like the terrorist would get a little suspicious if the woman he once kidnapped and is now trying to kill is following him around?

~ Would anyone take a civilian woman along on an undercover op just in case the terrorist hears she's there and it brings him out of hiding? Really? Think about it. They are in the middle of nowhere. How is he going to hear she's along on a covert op to kill him? And, while they bring her along as bait, they try to keep her hidden.


Bryn acts TSTL a few times, but truly, I can forgive her. Who wouldn't sream and run when people are trying to kill you? It's the idiots who kept dragging her into dangerous situations that needed to be smacked upside the head.

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