I was listing to C.J. Barry (Samantha Graves) on a podcast – will write for wine (it’s still available on iTunes if you are looking for a fun and useful podcast about writing) – and started reading her books. This one was great – that sound like her others weren’t but they were. My only complaint is that her back list (under both names) isn’t available in ebook format. Here’s the link to the book on Amazon.com – I don’t take affiliate fees.

Represented the genre:

This was the first book I read in this genre. I’m not sure whether it’s a paranormal romance or an urban fantasy. Shape shifter romance I guess. I think it represented the romance well and the world building to account for the existence of shape shifters was consistent and believable.

What it did well:

C.J. is very good at suspense. In this book, she balanced the romance and the thriller aspects well. We have high stakes – no spoilers. We have two people at the beginning who have no reason to trust each other and yet, you can tell they are perfect for each other.

What could have been better:

More of her books in e-book format. I am one of the ‘I don’t buy paper books’ people. It’s not a fanatic stance. It’s about not having piles of books around.

Page turning rating:

Hi, I read this one a while ago and I really liked it. Here’s the link to it on Amazon.com I don’t get any fees I did at one point, but I realized that the fees were not worth the effort.

Represented the genre:

Yes, it was set in a well crafted world with quirky and original characters. The stakes were high enough and unique to the world. The relationships were understandable and the author was consistent to the end.

What it did well:

I fell in love with the characters right away. In this genre I think you really need to care about the characters otherwise the magic seems too convenient. I think the set up was also well done. A wizard constrained to a level of proficiency by the rules suddenly finds he’s more powerful than he should be.

What could have been better:

I realize this was supposed to be a light take on the genre, but I found myself not really worried about the characters because the peril seemed a bit too comic. I don’t want to give spoilers but I didn’t really feel like the consequences were dire enough. I know I said the stakes where high enough in the first paragraph, but high stakes according to the world – which was comic.

page turning rating:

I love her books, her postcasts, her blogs. So it’s another rave. I have to admit, I don’t know why I got into this cute and sassy contemporary romance genre, but I find it entertaining and diverting.

Represents the genre

Really well. We have a sassy heroine who’s keeping more than one secret. We have a gruff and kind of off beat hero who is also keeping a secret. The stakes are high and the romance is hot.

What was done well

The humor was my favorite part. It was cheeky and it was sharp and it was done with love. Jennifer Crusie is great at putting two very different people together and taking us on a believable path as their relationship grows into love.

What could be better

I want to say nothing, but that’s not fair to you as the reader. One thing that I noticed in this book is the number of pop culture references. Being specific and using references can bring life to a book, but it can also kill it as time passes. I think because this is one of the older books, it stood out more.

Page turning rating

I read this one a while ago and I hung on to the review because I don’t like to give reviews that aren’t positive. But I decided to publish because I want these reviews to be useful regardless of whether I liked the book or not. After all, you may like it.

Represents the genre

This is a mystery book and I don’t think it did represent the genre well. I don’t recall reading any other Scarpetta books, but I had heard good things. “Better than Kathy Reichs” is what I was told. Well, I didn’t care for the “Bones” books because I didn’t like the relationships. The thing is, this book is not representative of the mystery genre, nor is it representative of the writing advice – show don’t tell. The story is almost completely in the protagonist’s head. So very little happens except thinking. And, everyone else seems to know everything about the mystery and they wait for her to think it through.

It felt like an ‘insiders’ story. People who follow the books will understand it, but if you aren’t in the know you’ll miss any meaning. I wasn’t in the know.

What was done well

It did catch enough of my attention to make me read to the end. The killings were significantly horrible for me to want them to catch and punish the perp.

What could be better

Pacing and orienting a new reader. I needed the story to move faster. I also needed to care about the character they suspected. It was someone who had a long relationship with Kay and I should have had an opinion, but I didn’t.

Page turning rating

This was one of those books that twists your mind and assumptions and throws them back at you. The best ones all come together at the end in a giant wave of ‘OH I SEE’ and the bad ones end with a feeling of “HUH?”. This book was a great book.

Represents the genre

Yes, I think it did. The not so veiled references to the Hollywood big shots doesn’t make this an insiders book. If you watch The Late Late Show, the book is funnier, but it’s funny anyway. Funny, poignant and entertaining.

What was done well

The books starts out weaving two stories, both of which are interesting but it seems they are living in different worlds. Gradually, we figure out that the stories are going to connect, but when they do – there’s a world shift and you aren’t sure how this will work out for the protagonist.

What could be better

This is a personal bug I know, but I hate those ‘meeting God’ sections of books. It always seems too long, or too anvilisious (in case you are unfamiliar with the term, it’s hitting the reader on the head with an anvil to make sure they get it). In this one, Craig kept it short and kept the humor going so it wasn’t too bad.

Page turning rating

Hi, I just finished reading this book on my iPod Touch when my Kobo moved on to the next plane of existence.

Represents the genre.

Well, it’s a witch/vampire urban fantasy. I think ti did represent the genre well. Each had a ‘real world’ type of job and a ‘supernatural’ enemy. The heroine accidentally starts thunder storms when she gets mad. And she has a pair of ravenous ‘bunny’ slippers.

What was done well.

The tension built well, and the stakes are appropriately high. I like the way the witches are kept on their toes by the council. They’ve been banned to the ‘real’ world and every time they do something they shouldn’t the ban gets extended. It started with 100 years and it’s currently been 700 years.

The relationship between our witch and her vampire is strong with a well built conflict. The peripheral characters are all well rounded.

What could be better.

The ending seemed very rushed.  It could have been drawn out longer and been more detailed.

Page turning rating