Review: At His Request by Silvia Rhodes (At His Request #1)

Publisher - Self Published
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Kindle Freebie

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was okay

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - 26 year old submissive Lara, leads a normal but boring life.
Until...
Lara's online exploits connect her with a guy by the name of "Narcissio."
What Lara doesn't know is that "Narcissio" is actually Padraig Mannix, a very successful Dom.
A brief encounter with Padraig will leave her confused and interested to venture even further.
Padraig will lay obstacles, but... is Lara willing to clear these obstacles in order to cure her curiosity...and "feed" her needs?

My Thoughts - I got this novella as a free download from Amazon, and I have to admit that I wasn't all that impressed with it. This will only be a short review though as it was only a very short novella.

The first problem that I had with this novella is that there isn't really much to either of the main characters. The reader really doesn't get to know much about Lara other than the fact that she works in a bank and that she enjoys being sexually submissive. And that just wasn't enough for me to get any true feeling of the kind of person that she is, so I ended up having real trouble connecting with her. As the whole story is told from Lara's first person point of view, we don't get to know anything about Padraig other than that which he chooses to reveal to her, and he is obviously a "somebody" and he feels the need to protect himself by not giving too much away. Hence his need for a non-disclosure agreement to be signed before anything can happen between them. Sound familiar, anybody?

Plus it was difficult to really pick up on the connection between the two. Apparently, Lara and Padraig had been communicating for quite some time online before they meet near the beginning of the novella. But the author doesn't really cover this very well and so they end up seeming more like strangers. I really didn't feel much between the two of them. I just feel that if this guy is already her Master (which is what she calls him at several points in the story) there should be some kind of deeper connection there, but there isn't. They barely know each other.

Summary - A story that seems to lack any kind of substance or depth of feeling between the two main characters. I had trouble feeling very much at all for the characters, their story or anything at all really. I don't think I'll be carrying on with this series.

Review: Fall Into Him by Evelyn Harper (Fall Into Him #1)

Publisher - Self Published
Publication Date - 25th August 2013
Ebook - 84 pages
Genre - New Adult Romance

Source - Free download from Amazon

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was okay.

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - When Jennifer looks in the mirror, she can barely recognize herself. An abusive relationship transformed a woman with a promising future into a broken soul. For the past three years she has tried desperately to forget her pain, but her wounds still haunt her. She has learned to never give her heart away.

Now, as Jennifer struggles to piece her life back together, she meets one man who could change everything.

Philip Haas is a self-made man who always gets what he wants. He's the epitome of wealth, power, and sex. Despite his incredible wealth and seductive personality, his life has not been as easy as it appears.

When they share a night of passion, more questions than answers arise. Does Philip truly care for her, or is he just using her body?

Just when it seems like the answers are in sight, Philip's past resurfaces to threaten their relationship. Will he overcome his past for Jennifer or will it tear them apart?

My Thoughts - I admit, I downloaded this book because of the absolutely beautiful cover. The fact that it was also free at the time was a huge bonus, although I believe that offer has now ended on Amazon. But I am actually very glad that I didn't have to pay for it as it turned out to be rather disappointing.

Jennifer seems nice enough, but she lacks a lot of spine. I realise that some of this will be due to her previous abusive relationship, but I still found her quite frustrating as a character. The way she rolls over and does everything Philip asks is honestly quite frightening. He is literally a stranger to her, yet she does exactly as he asks with no questions. Also, the abusive ex boyfriend makes an appearance, shows her with his actions that he clearly hasn't changed one little bit, but during a conversation with her pleads that he is a changed man and she is instantly fantasising about a happy ever after with him. I think she just lacks common sense and any kind of instinct for self-preservation.

As for Philip, at first i found him confident, sexy, alluring. I could certainly understand how Jennifer could end up falling for his charms for a one-night stand. But unfortunately  he can be very cold and distant and my initial attraction to him as a character soon disappeared. This novella is all from Jennifer's point of view so the reader doesn't really get to learn anything about Philip, as he never actually reveals anything about himself to Jennifer. Don't get me wrong, i find a little bit of mystery as intriguing as the next girl, but there's a big difference between a little bit of mystery and knowing absolutely nothing about the other person. It meant that I didn't really get to like him and he felt very one-dimensional.

The plot works well and kept my interest, but there was one major downfall... the very abrupt ending. There was no kind of conclusion, no sense of an ending. It just stopped. I realise that this is the first in a trilogy but it should still be treated as a novella in it's own right with a beginning, a middle and an end. I have read two self-published novellas in a row now after not having read any self-published work for a few years and I had the same problem with the previous one. Is this a new trend in the self-publishing world? If so, I'm not sure it's one that I like at all.

Summary - A rather disappointing start to a series with characters that I had a hard time connecting with and an ending that seriously spoiled my enjoyment of the plot. In all honesty I'm not sure I will be reading any more of this series.

Other books in this series:
1. Fall Into Him
2. Fall Into Her
3. Fall Into Forever

Review: Beauty Touched the Beast by Skye Warren (Beauty #1)

Publisher - Self Published
Publication Date - 25th December 2011
Ebook - 26 pages
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Free download from Amazon

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was okay.

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - Erin cleans Mr. Morris's house twice a week, soaking up every moment with the reclusive ex-soldier she secretly loves. Blake Morris knows he's scarred both inside and out and is no good for the beautiful young woman who cleans his house to pay for college. But when Erin walks in on Blake touching himself and moaning her name, all bets are off.

My thoughts - I saw this as a free download on Amazon and thought it looked interesting, so I decided to give it a try. As it was such a short story, this will only be a quick review as well.

I have to admit that my feelings on this one were fairly neutral... I neither really liked it nor disliked it. I think the problem was that it was so short that I found out very little about the characters and I found myself not really caring all that much about what happened to them. I would definitely have liked a little more of an insight into Erin and Blake's characters and their backgrounds. Because so little is learnt about them it was really quite difficult to feel any kind of connection between the two of them, which meant really it was just about the sex. Although I did enjoy the sexual elements in this short story, they were both passionate and loving and they were very sweet together.

Summary - All in all, a very quick read and something to help pleasantly pass a spare few minutes you might have. But don't expect to feel anything too deep for the characters as there just isn't time for that.

Other books in the series:
1. Beauty Touched the Beast
2. Beneath the Beauty
3. Broken Beauty

Review: Come Undone by Madelynne Ellis (Rock Hard #1)

Publisher - Mischief
Publication Date - 29th August 2013
Ebook - 200 pages
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review via NetGalley

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok.

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - When red-hot, Goth-metal band, Black Halo, split live on stage, fate throws Daniella Fosbrook into the path of sexy vocalist Xane Geist. Initially, Xane’s only looking for a ride home, but Dani tempts him in a way a thousand other women haven’t. Determined to explore their heady chemistry and avoid hashing things out with the band, Xane whisks Dani off to Monaco for a steamy weekend.

There, Dani tries her best to hang onto her heart and some clothing, while Xane soon loses both. However, Xane isn’t being entirely honest about the reason for the band’s demise. When the truth comes out, can Dani accept the facts, or will everything come undone.

My Thoughts - When I first saw this book on NetGalley I thought it sounded really good. However, it was not as good as I was hoping. The first problem that I had with this book was the amount of spelling errors in it. At one point the main character's name even changes from Dani to Danny which really confused me for a moment. I just found this problem to be very distracting and it kept on jolting me out of the story.

Also, I didn't really feel as though I connected with the characters, and with Dani in particular. She comes across very much as a doormat and I did find this slightly irritating at some points. Especially when it came to all things sexual with Xane. He is the lead singer of a rock band who has women throwing themselves at him every single day, so he obviously has way more sexual experience than Dani does. But there were at least a couple of moments where she did something that she obviously wasn't sure about just to please him, to the point where I actually felt uncomfortable reading it. He doesn't force her to do anything but I just kept on wanting him to stop things so that she would be spared doing something that she wasn't ready for. It just meant that some of the sex just wasn't as hot as it was supposed to be... and there was a lot of sex. I'd say too much as I felt the story suffered a little for it. I would have preferred it if more time was spent on character development than working through what felt a little like a checklist of sexual scenarios.

And as for Xane, I wasn't really sure I liked him either, although I did like him more than Dani. When we first meet him he is up on stage singing in a concert literally straight after finding out that his girlfriend (who is also a member of the band) has married his best friend (another band member) behind his back... without even having the decency to break up with him first. Understandably he is upset. But he storms off stage deciding he can't be in the group any more with the two people who have betrayed him so badly and runs straight into Dani. And then starts one of the biggest whirlwind romances I have ever read about. Although I think on some level he does care for Dani, it's also obvious that it is way too soon after getting hurt to be thinking about starting another relationship. He ends up coming across as a little desperate and needy, and he needed to take some time to actually grieve the first relationship before starting the next.

The ending was very frustrating for me. Without wanting to give too much away, it's not so much a cliffhanger as it just kind of... stops. Things are far from stable between Dani and Xane at that point due to some issues that have come up between them (but won't say anymore than that for fear of spoiling things) and it just suddenly comes to an end. Things did not feel wrapped up at all and I know that this is the first in the series but I hope that the second book carries on with Xane and Dani's story in order to give them their happily ever after rather than moving onto another couple, otherwise it will feel as though a big portion of the story is missing.

Summary - I had a lot of issues with this book and found some of it to be very frustrating. To be honest, I'm not sure if I will continue reading the rest of the series, although if I do it will be out of curiosity to see if the author does wrap up Dani and Xane's story.

Stand-Alone Sunday Review: Wicked Games by Kelly Lawrence



Here at Once Upon a Series, as the blog name would imply, we love a good series of books. But occasionally we come across a stand-alone novel that has caught our attention and up until now they haven't had a home here. So, we came up with Stand-Alone Sunday... a semi-regular feature here at Once Upon a Series to give a home to all those lonely stand-alone's that we review.

Publisher - Black Lace
Publication Date - 4th July 2013
Hardback - 256 pages
Genre - Erotic Memoir

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was okay

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - 'Looking back, I think I knew I was in trouble the first time I met him. The road he took me down was at once both more liberating than I could have dreamed of, and yet more intense than I could cope with. If the path of love doesn't always run smooth ... then how much more crooked it becomes when mixed with raw desire.'

This is no novel, but the memoir of an intense, exciting and at times unsettling relationship. Alex, for all his charms, is no billionaire playboy, and Kelly is no blushing virgin; rather your typical, overworked teacher who has no time for games, certainly not the wicked games he leads her into. Games that she ends up craving like a drug.

My Thoughts - I was very excited when I received this book for review. I've read quite a lot of Fifty Shades type books and, as this is a memoir, it promised to give the true story behind all the fiction. This caught my attention and I was very intrigued. But, for me, this book wasn't as enjoyable as i'd hoped it would be.

My main problem with the book was the lack of communication between the two main characters, Kelly and Alex. In and of itself I suppose it's a relatively minor gripe to have about a book. But this lack of proper communication was an issue over and over again, and caused so many unnecessary conflicts for the couple that I found myself getting so frustrated I had to put the book down to calm down. I mean, communication is vital in any relationship, but I'd imagine that in a D/s relationship, especially one where one of the people is a complete beginner to the lifestyle, then that ability to communicate goes beyond vital.

Alex and Kelly are actually likeable enough people for the most part, and are both good people, which actually made their one downfall even more frustrating for me. But in a way, that is what kept me turning the pages of Wicked Games. I had to keep reading to find out if these two people that I had grown to like would be able to overcome the obstacles to make things work.

What I did like about this book was that there was a good balance between the sexual elements and the storyline. In quite a lot of the erotic romance books I've read recently, the storyline has been substituted with sex and call me old-fashioned but I quite like a bit of storyline in the books I read. Yes, there is sex in Wicked Games, and those parts are well-written and enjoyable to read, but they didn't overshadow the story.

Summary - A book that held a lot of promise to be very good, and that was good in some ways. But it was just let down by the frustration I felt a lot of the time while reading it.

Review: Forbidden Fruit by Eden Bradley

Publisher - Black Lace
Publication Date - 6th December 2012
Paperback - 320 pages
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - While Mia Curry's university students cram into her class on sexuality, Mia has always kept her own private fantasies carefully under wraps - until now...

Jagger James is everything Mia wants and everything that is taboo: he's young, gorgeous - and a student.

But how can Mia resist?

My thoughts - I recently read another book by this author writing under a different name (Pleasure's Edge by Eve Berlin) which I loved, so I was very excited to be starting this book. But unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy this book as much.

I love this author's style of writing. It's clear and easy to read and it's easy to get swept up in her words. In particular, the sexy times in this book are very very hot. If there is one thing this author knows how to do it's write a sex scene that will leave the reader feeling hot under the collar.

However, my main problem with this book was the ratio of sex to storyline... it was weighted far too heavily on the side of sex, leaving me with a feeling that the little plot that was there was rushed and used only to lead onto the naughty bits. I know that this is an erotic romance and that there will be a lot of sex in it... that's fine by me. But I still want to feel as though I know the characters. I want to feel as though I've connected with the them and that I actually care about what happens to them. But in Forbidden Fruit, that just wasn't the case. As far as I could see, there was a small amount of introductory story, lots of sex and then a very rushed and convenient feeling happy ever after, which I didn't really find all that satisfying.

The story goes backwards and forwards between two couples - Mia Rose and Jagger (teacher and student) and Karalee and Gideon (two other teachers at the same school) and although there is some background given for the main couple, very little is learnt about Karalee and Gideon. In fact I struggled to see why their story was included... other than to allow the author the opportunity to write about more sexy times. Now this is purely a personal gripe, but in Forbidden Fruit, one person in each of the couples has had a partner pass away which isn't a plotline that I particularly enjoy. Having been through that kind of experience myself I just feel that it is difficult for an author to handle that kind of grief effectively and realistically. And in this book, especially in the case of Gideon, it felt as though it was just mentioned in passing as an excuse for fearing commitment rather than actually being used for any real kind of character development.

Summary - Despite the author's writing style and the hot and steamy sexy times in this book, I will admit to having struggled to finish this one. I just didn't connect with the characters and I found it to be pretty unsatisfying overall.

Review: Neferet's Curse by P.C. and Kristin Cast (House of Night Novellas #3)

Publisher - Atom Books
Publication Date - 19th February 2013
Paperback - 160 pages
Genre - YA Urban Fantasy

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - That was the first time I saw it, what I have come to think of as the burning look. It was as if his eyes stared so violently into mine that I feared they would cause me to combust.

I found I could not speak. I only shivered and nodded.

Neferet, the darkly seductive High Priestess at the House of Night, wasn't always a powerful vampyre, but she has always been beautiful. Raised in turn-of-the-century Chicago, her beauty makes her the prey of unwanted attention and abuse, leaving her with scars that will never heal - and a Darkness that will eventually need to find its way out.

So when she is Marked and gains strength, both physical and magickal, she turns her anger into power and looks for a way to regain what was stolen from her.

From victim to High Priestess, beautiful young woman to powerful seductress, Neferet's journey begins...

My Thoughts - I have to admit that I went into this book expecting something completely different to what I got, and as a result I ended up not liking it perhaps as much as I could have done. From the book description I was expecting a story of a girl overcoming a painful past to become a better person. I was expecting a story that at the end was uplifting and gave a positive message to the reader. But this was not the case at all. In fact, I didn't really like the ending at all. It was dark and left a very bitter taste in my mouth for quite a long time after finishing it and this is the main reason that i have given this book such a low rating.

However, the rest of the book wasn't all that bad. I liked Emily (this is Neferet's name when she was a human girl so it is mainly this name that is used throughout the book) quite a lot. She can be very self-absorbed which I found quite irritating at times, but then considering the situation that she is in I think it's understandable, and perhaps even forgivable. At the start of the book, Emily is only fifteen years old and she witnesses the death of her mother during childbirth. After such a traumatic experience, and at such a young age, she is then expected to take over her mother's duties around the house and as a volunteer. Yet she takes on the role and tries her best with all of her new responsibilities, even though it means that she now has no time to spend with her friends and doing the things that she previously enjoyed. Add to this the fact that her father has been drinking a lot since his wife's death and that he is starting to look at Emily in a way that a father shouldn't be looking at his daughter, and you really have to admire the strength that Emily must possess just to be able to get through each day.

I was expecting more of the book to be after Emily is Marked to become a vampyre, perhaps explaining her journey to becoming a High Priestess, but only the first week after she is Marked is included in the story. I know that because this is a novella that the authors are limited as to how much they can include, but I really would have liked to read more about what happened to her after she becomes a vampyre.

Although there are ten books in the House of Night series and Neferet's Curse is the third House of Night Novella, this book actually works really well as a stand-alone. I have only read the first House of Night book, and it was a few years ago so I can't really remember much of it, but I had no trouble following the story. Although that is probably due to the fact that so much of the story is about Emily's life before she is changed so not much knowledge is needed about the paranormal world that is created by the authors.

Summary - Although I liked the main character, this is a very dark story and I found the ending to be disappointing. This is a quick read and I think it would be great for fans of the series, and Neferet in particular. But I'm not sure that it's inspired me to go out and read the rest of the series.

Other books in the series:
1. Dragon's Oath
2. Lenobia's Vow
3. Neferet's Curse

Review: Slow Ride by Lorelei James (Rough Riders #9.5)

Publisher - Samhain Publishing
Publication Date - 9th November 2010
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Free download from Amazon

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok

Book Info - Keely McKay Donohue is enduring the longest wedding reception of her life: her own. The only saving grace is that Jack Donohue is finally hers. Usually her hunky man gives her everything she wants, so why is her groom denying her the one thing she wants right now?

Jack thought his secretive wait-for-the-honeymoon plan was romantic, until he realizes he’s only put Keely in a fighting mood. If he wants to get back on his temperamental bride’s good side, he’d better find a way to sweep his cowgirl off her boots…fast.

Review - This is only going to be a quick review as Slow Ride is a very short read. I saw that this was available as a free download from Amazon and as I had heard a lot of good things about Lorelei James I decided to give it a try. It was an enjoyable read but as it was number 9.5 in the series there are a lot of people mentioned who I assume I would have heard of if I'd read the previous books in the series. They didn't really have much bearing on the story so it's not as if you need to have read the others first, but it does disturb the flow of reading whenever yet another name is mentioned as you end up wondering who that person is rather than concentrating on the story.

Slow Ride starts at Keely and Jack's wedding reception, where Keely is trying her best to get him to, ahem, consumate the marriage then and there. But Jack has a plan to wait until the honeymoon as he wants to start off their married life in a romantic way rather than with a quickie at the reception venue. Unfortunately for both of them, the honeymoon destination is a day's worth of travel away. What ensues is Keely taking every opportunity that she can to seduce Jack. The author manages to build up the sexual tension really well between the two of them and it was a perfect escalation to that moment where Jack takes Keely for the first time as husband and wife.

But the main problem I had with Slow Ride was that it stops before that happens. Just as Jack and Keely are about to finally get it on, after all that teasing and seducing, building up all that tension, the story just stops and the reader is left hanging. It just felt like a little bit of a let down.

Summary - A quick and sexy read that does a great job of building up the sexual tension for the big moment. However, it would have been much better if the reader got to read about that moment rather than being left hanging.

Review: Haven of Obedience by Marina Anderson

Publisher - Sphere
Publication Date - 28th June 2012
Paperback - 336 pages
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Purchased

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok

Book Info - Twenty-something Londoner Natalie Bowen is envied by many, but her personal life is a disaster. Men can't cope with her career success and Natalie thinks she'll never find real happiness.

Then she hears about an exclusive weekend retreat called The Haven, a place that specialises in introducing you to pleasures you could never have imagined. Shocked at the idea, but unable to resist finding out more, Natalie decides it's time to put her fears behind her.

Once at The Haven, Natalie meets the enigmatic and disciplined Simon, a man who is used to getting what he wants. And Natalie may very well have met her match...

My Thoughts - I saw a lot of hype surrounding this book on Twitter around its release date so I was very excited to read this book. Unfortunately though, it did not live up to my expectations at all.

Natalie has booked herself into The Haven as she is fed up of having one failed relationship after the other. The purpose of The Haven is to teach people to completely surrender their control in the bedroom in order to find happiness. Along the way, there are some incredibly hot sex scenes involving pretty much anything you can think of: group sex, exhibitionism, bondage and so on. I will admit to enjoying some of these parts a lot. Also, the authors style of writing was so quick and easy to read I was able to finish this book all in one sitting, even though it was over 300 pages long - something I am never normally able to do.

Well, that's the good part of the review done. Now onto the not-so-good part. The characterisation is severely lacking in this novel. What little we learn about Natalie is all introduced in the first couple of chapters in the book and, to be honest, she comes across as pretty unlikeable. She is spoiled and looks down upon others. Plus, I didn't really feel as though her character grew at all during the course of the book - she just learns how to have great sex whilst still managing to be the same unpleasant person that she was before.

And as for Simon, he was a complete and utter mystery! All we learn about him is that he is a freelance journalist during his working week and that he considers himself to be such an expert in the bedroom that he feels he needs to teach others how to have amazing sex. I would really have liked to get to know him a lot better, to get a better understanding of him, but as the story was told from Natalie's point of view the reader doesn't get to find out much about him.

The romance between the two of them felt rushed and unsatisfactory. As I've already said, Natalie knows very little about Simon so it is difficult to tell why she falls so deeply in love with him so quickly. They spend very little time getting to know each other so, as a consequence, their relationship feels as though it really does all revolve around sex. As Simon gets to have amazing sex with women every weekend at The Haven, and because the story is all told from Natalie's point of view, the reader never gets to see why Natalie is the one woman out of the many that he's met at The Haven to capture his heart.

Summary - If you are looking for a book that will leave you feeling hot under the collar then this is the one for you. However, if you are looking for a believable romance, likeable characters and plot or character development then you may be better off looking elsewhere.

Review: Adorkable by Sarra Manning

Publisher - Atom
Publication Date - 24th May 2012
Paperback - 400 pages
Genre - Young Adult/Contemporary Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok.

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - Welcome to the dorkside. It's going to be a bumpy ride...

Jeane Smith's a blogger, a dreamer, a dare-to-dreamer, a jumble sale queen, CEO of her own lifestyle brand and has half a million followers on Twitter.

Michael Lee's a star of school stage and playing field. A golden boy in a Jack Wills hoodie.

They have nothing in common but a pair of cheating exes. So why can't they stop snogging?

My Thoughts - I was really looking forward to reading this book - I mean, as a blogger myself, what could be more interesting to read about than a teen blogging sensation? But, I ended up having some really mixed feelings about this one. It's not that I hated the book, but I didn't like it much either. If I had to describe my feelings about Ardorkable I would probably use the word 'neutral'.

This story is told from alternating points of view of the two main characters - Jeane and Micheal. I enjoyed the way the story was laid out and it helped to show just what polar opposites these two characters are. The reader often gets each character's thoughts on the same event and at times it was laugh-out-loud funny that they perceived the event in such different ways. These characters really are chalk and cheese. What I did find slightly strange is how when Michael and Jeane are thinking about each other, they use the other character's full name all the time. Not once does Jeane think of Michael as, well, Michael. It is always Michael Lee. I don't know why but this just bugged me a bit whilst reading this book.

Unfortunately, for a large portion of the book, I found Jeane to be pretty unlikeable. She is proud of the fact that she is a dork, this being the reason that she started her blog called Adorkable. But she is so judgemental of everybody around her and thinks that she is so much better than everybody else at her school. She is very prickly towards others and isn't afraid to speak her mind, even if she knows that it will hurt somebody's feelings. But, as Michael, and therefore the reader, get closer to Jeane, it is obvious that this prickly and judgemental demeanour is a protective barrier. At the heart of the matter, Jeane is a lonely girl who just wants to be loved and she becomes a much more mellow and likeable character as she lets Michael into her life.

Michael is an ok character. As with the book as a whole, my feelings towards Michael are pretty neutral. He trys very hard to keep everybody happy but he comes across to the reader as quite bland. The one thing that I did really like about him was the way that he is able to stand up to Jeane, despite the fact that she is a force to be reckoned with. He doesn't change a single thing about the way he dresses or acts, even though he knows that these things go against everything that Jeane stands for.

The storyline in itself wasn't particularly interesting and, for large portions of the book, nothing much really happens other than Jeane and Michael sneaking around behind their friends backs and kissing. Oh, and bickering, a lot! Although I will admit to loving the bickering between the two of them - this in particular was a lot of fun to read. But, and this is a big but, as the story nears its end, Jeane and Michael grow as characters and do a lot of soul searching and I loved the way the story ended. The author even managed to squeeze a tear or two out of me at the end!

Summary - A book that has a lot of potential but it doesn't fully deliver. There are some fun moments that had me laughing out loud but overall it was a pretty average book.

Other reviews of this book:
Fluttering Butterflies / Jess Hearts Books / Missy's Reads and Reviews

This book counts towards the following challenges:
Book #36  for 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

Review: Oakleaf Bearers by John Flanagan (Ranger's Apprentice #4)

Publisher - Corgi Yearling
Publication Date - 5th June 2008
Paperback - 352 pages
Genre - YA Fantasy

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - Just as spring approaches and Will and Evanlyn can finally escape Skandia, Evanlyn is carried off by mysterious horsemen. Will sets out after them, but one boy against six fierce Temujai warriors is impossible odds - even for a Ranger's apprentice. Halt and Horace arrive just in time. But the happiness of their reunion is cut short when Halt realizes these Temujai are only scouts for a massive invasion force. The four Araluans must work together with the Skandians to defeat their invaders - if the Oberjarl will accept their help.

My Thoughts - This is the fourth book that I have read in the Ranger's Apprentice series and, although I am enjoying the series as a whole, this one has been the least enjoyable for me so far. My main problem was that it was just far too focused on war for my liking. I'm not a big fan of books about war and this book is full of talk about strategy and preparation and then, later on in the book, the actual war itself. I found myself getting quite bored with it all and skimming through several pages. However, I noticed that the next book in the series seems to go off in a very different direction so I will still be continuing with the series.

As usual, Flanagan has created a cast of loveable characters who I am really enjoying getting to know as they are growing up and developing their skills. Will went through some tough times in the previous book in the series and Oakleaf Bearers show him getting his strength back and regaining the skills that he learnt previously under Halt's direction before he was held hostage by the Skandians. By the end of the book Will reaches Hero proportions again and I loved seeing his confidence grow along with his abilities as a Ranger.

I love Halt and Horace, and their interactions provide some light relief in an otherwise serious book. Halt loves to tease Horace and, as he is quite innocent and niave, Horace never even realises what Halt is doing. However, I didn't much like Evanlyn in this book. She comes across as spoiled and likes having the attention of both Will and Horace and at times plays them off against each other. This is a new side of Evanlyn that the reader hasn't seen before and I hope that she has matured a little more in the next book in the series.

Summary - This is a book full of great characters but the plot was far too war-orientated for my liking. Not a book for people who, like me, finds war talk boring.

Other books in this series:
1. The Ruins of Gorlan
2. The Burning Bridge
3. The Icebound Land
4. Oakleaf Bearers
5. The Sorcerer in the North
6. The Siege of Macindaw
7. Erak's Ransom
8. The Kings of Clonmel
9. Halt's Peril
10. The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
11. The Lost Stories

Other reviews of this book:
Medieval Bookworm / The Book Reviewer

This book counts towards the following challenges:
Book #26 for 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

Review: The Pack by Jason Starr (Pack #1)

Publisher - Berkley UK
Publication Date - 26th April 2012
Paperback - 368 pages
Genre - Urban Fantasy

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - When Simon Burns is fired from his job without warning, he takes on the role of stay-at-home dad for his three-year-old son. But his reluctance pushes his already strained marriage to the limit. In the nestled playgrounds of the Upper West Side, Simon harbours a simmering rage at his boss's betrayal.

Things take a turn when he meets a tight-knit trio of dads at the playground. They are different from other men Simon has met, stronger and more confident, more at ease with the darker side of life - and soon Simon is lured into their mix. But after a guys' night out gets frighteningly out of hand, Simon feels himself sliding into a new nightmarish reality.

As he experiences disturbing changes in his body and perceptions, he starts to suspect that when the guys welcomed him to their 'pack', they were talking about much more than male bonding...

My Thoughts - When I first heard about this book, I was excited about it and looking forward to reading it. I thought that the whole 'stay-at-home dad' thing was a great new idea for the Urban Fantasy genre and not something that I had come across in fiction before. The premise sounded great and I was looking forward to finding out how being a father affected Simon as he was going through all these changes. But I think I may have got my hopes up a bit too much with this one and I actually found I was pretty disappointed with the book.

My main problem with The Pack is that the author focuses too much on the small details of Simon's life. There is a huge amount of detail about the day-to-day things that a stay-at-home parent does. Not only did I feel that this does not necessarily add much to the story, but I don't particularly want to get bogged down in all that detail either. I am a stay-at-home parent - a lot of what is described in the book are things I experience everyday (except for sprouting fur and fangs and stuff :P) and I don't find it at all exciting to read about. It also means that the plot moves along at a slow pace and the real action doesn't start happening until the last 50 pages or so.

On the whole, I liked the character of Simon. He finds himself out of a job and having to look after his young son on a daily basis. At first he is a bit reluctant - as I think most people would be with such a major life change - but he soon takes it on the chin and makes the most of his time with his son. He is a devoted husband and father and, although he doesn't always get things right, he always does things with the best of intentions. However, I didn't really like his wife Alison at all. She is the type of person who is never happy with her lot in life and unless things are going her way she is prone to the odd temper tantrum. There were a few moments in the book where I felt that Simon would be better off without her.

I really liked the author's style of writing. I have already mentioned that there isn't much action in the book until the end, but even so, I still found the book incredibly easy to read. I think that without the action to drive the reader on, there is the possibility that this book could take a long time to get through but I actually managed to read it over two evenings - very quick by my standards - and I'm impressed that the author was able to pull this off.

My final complaint will have to be a bit vague I'm afraid to avoid leaking any spoilers, but I wasn't very happy with the way the book ended. Although everything is wrapped up nicely - phew, no cliffhangers here - I still felt dissatisfied with the way things turned out. Although I can appreciate that it had to end this way to allow for further books in the series, I just wish everything could have ended differently for Simon.

Summary - A premise that held a lot of promise, but that becomes too bogged down with the details of everyday life. If you are a hard-core werewolf fan then this book may still be worth a try, but if you're looking for edge-of-your-seat excitement then this may not be the book for you.

Other books in this series:
1. The Pack
2. The Craving

Other reviews of this book:
Smexy Books / The Salted Peanut

This book counts towards the following challenges:
Book #27 for 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

Review: Halflings by Heather Burch (Halflings #1)

Before this post kicks off I would just like to say that this is the first review from new Once Upon a Series reviewer, Ally. So please show Ally some love and make her feel welcome in her new little bit of space in the blogosphere :) ~Chrissie~

Publisher - Zondervan
Publication Date - 1st February 2012
Genre - Young Adult/Paranormal Romance

Source - Received from NetGalley

Rating - 2 out of 5 (but edging towards a 3): It was ok

Reviewed by - Ally

Book Info - After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret—and the wings that come with.

A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in a scientist’s dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.

My Thoughts - Having been my first angel book I was practically flying off my chair when I got the chance to read this book, thank you Netgalley and my beautiful beautiful ARC! This book is Action packed and showcases this from the upstart. As if being a teenager wasn’t crazy enough with just human boys, but when love triangles emerge with ANGELS!! Yes angels…ok Halflings, but Angels nonetheless, and being chased by hells little pets, Nikki has more than she’s cut out for. So much for normal *sigh*.

But then again, what’s normal in this world eh? From vampires to angels - unbelievably hot, powerful Angels - who are here to guard you and dog your every step Mace, Raven and Vine (may I take a minute to say how much I adored these “lost boys”). Who are these boys? They are Halflings - half angel and half human; the product of fallen angels and humans, sent by the “higher power” to guard those who are foretold for greatness.

There were a few things about this book which bugged me. Nikki is meant to be a Kick ass girl with a motorcycle and a black belt in Karate, why the hell is she crying and/or fainting all the time. I mean get it together!

Of course there’s a love triangle, what book doesn’t have one nowadays, but a love triangle between 2 brothers? That’s a whole other WORLD of trouble. (Can I just take this time to say *Blech!*) I’m all for being “unique” in your plot and characters, but this seems a bit extreme - can I mention the whole Clare-Jace “are we brother and sister?” debacle from mortal instruments *yuck*, I haven’t been back to that series since.

The thing is despite all this books vices; the slow pace (at points), awkward disjointed moments and well let’s face it Icky factor, it still managed to be a good book.

Nikki is at the centre of a war that’s brewing and she’s going to need all the help she can get, caught between two worlds, two boys and two sides. Falling from grace has never been so fun! However be warned this book ends in a major cliff-hanger and having been the first book in the series there are quite a few loose ends and the plot is somewhat lacking but with the amazing grace (ok, ok I’ll stop with my not so great puns) amazingly hot characters and an intriguing back story this book managed to ensnare me.

Summary - I LOVED the synopsis. I LOVED the cover. I… liked the book. This series seems to be starting off…ok. I love the “lost boys” there’s a sadness that just draws me to them. Unfortunately Nikki just reminds me WAY to much of Bella Swan, and at least Bella did not go parading around as some kick Booty Chick…much. An interesting premise and I’ll wait it out to see if this series has any wings (Ok now I’ll stop!).

Other reviews of this book:
Alexa Loves Books / Confessions of a Bookaholic

Review: Shadow Heir by Richelle Mead (Dark Swan #4)

Publisher - Bantam
Publication Date - 2nd February 2012
Paperback - 400 pages
Genre -  Urban Fantasy

Source - Purchased

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok

Book Info - Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld...

The spell-driven source of the blight isn't the only challenge to Eugenie's instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can't trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can't - or won't - reveal. And as a formidable force rises to also threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon - and risk the ultimate sacrifice...

My Thoughts - Please note, there are some HUGE spoilers for previous books in the series so only read this review if you have already read them. Consider yourselves warned :)

I am a big fan of Richelle Mead and I rate her Dark Swan books as my favourite of all her series'. I have been looking forward to Shadow Heir for a long time to find out how things would end for Eugenie. However, I fear I may have been hyping it up a bit too much in my head as when I finally got to read it, I found myself feeling pretty disappointed.

The first problem I had was the pacing. The other books in the series have all been full of action and moved so along quickly that it was pretty much impossible to put them down. The same could definitely not be said for Shadow Heir. For the first half of the book, Eugenie is hiding in the human world awaiting the birth of her twins. Nothing really happened during this part of the story and I found myself breathing a sigh of relief when the babies were born early as I had hopes that the pacing would finally pick up again. And to a certain extent it does, but not in the way that I have come to expect from previous books in the series, and it still dragged in places.

The second problem I had was that the plot just was not what I wanted it to be. At the end of Iron Crowned, Eugenie is pregnant with Kiyo's children - one of whom will apparently lead the gentry into an invasion of the human world according to a prophecy. Kiyo is dead set that this can't happen and even goes so far as to try and kill Eugenie to prevent the prophecy from coming true. The whole of the Otherworld either wants to see Eugenie dead or will support her whole-heartedly to lead the invasion. I thought that this would be the focus of Shadow Heir. I expected there to be a big showdown between the two factions and I expected something big to happen. As it turned out, this part of the plot just seemed to be brushed over at the end rather than being the main focus. And I felt as though the author only did that to tie up loose ends.

I also found the ending to be disappointing. The author sets it up near the end so that there is an opportunity for a perfect happy ending. However, right at the last second that happy ending is snatched away and I felt very frustrated by that. Don't get me wrong, the ending is a semi-happy one, but it could have been so much better.

The redeeming feature of this book for me was the romance between Eugenie and Dorian. They have been on again/off again during most of the series but in Shadow Heir they are working hard to resolve their issues and what follows is a very sweet and tender romance that leaves no doubt about how they really feel about each other.

Summary - Shadow Heir is a disappointing ending to what has been up until now an amazing series. But the first three books are so amazing that I would still definitely recommend the series to fans of Urban Fantasy.

Other books in the series:
1. Storm Born
2. Thorn Queen
3. Iron Crowned
4. Shadow Heir

Other reviews of this book:
Caught in a FAB Romance / Parajunkee's View / Wicked Lil Pixie

This book counts towards the following challenges:
Book #1 for 2012 Finish the Series Reading Challenge
Book #21 for 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

Review: Virals by Kathy Reichs (Virals #1)

Publisher - Arrow (Young)
Publication Date - 27 Oct 2011
Paperback - 464 pages
Genre - Young Adult/Paranormal

Source - Purchased

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok



Book Info - Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage 'sci-philes' who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their newfound physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot - if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.

Fortunately, they are now more than friends - they're a pack. They are Virals.

My Thoughts - I will admit that I went into this book expecting something entirely different to what it was and I think that this may have something to do with my dissatisfaction with the story. I somehow got the wrong impression that this was a book about a group of kids becoming werewolves. Instead it is about a group of kids who get infected with a virus who then develop some characteristics of a wolf, such as super-sensitive sense of smell/hearing/sight etc. So I kept on waiting and waiting for this major event to happen but when it never did I found myself confused and slightly disappointed. Although my misconception of the book is not at all the authors fault, it did hinder my enjoyment of the book.

Also, I found the pace of the story very slow-going at the start and I found I really had to push myself to continue reading. The first half of the book focuses too heavily on setting the scene and describing the locations and I just felt as though it was too much and my attention kept on wandering.

But once the action did start, I enjoyed the story a lot more and I became a lot more engaged in the story. Also, there were some good twists near the end which meant that the killer's identity was a complete surprise for me.

One of the best parts of the book, for me, were the characters. I really liked Tory - she's brave, intelligent bordering on genius, and not afraid of anything. She is quite awkward socially with the other kids at school though and I liked the vulnerable side that this showed us. Tory's group of friends were all fun to read about too and the group's interactions were realistically portrayed. I loved the closeness that they felt for each other without there being any romantic feelings to complicate matters.

Summary - A good murder mystery that could have done with kicking into gear quite a lot sooner than it did. I loved the characters and, now that I have put myself right on the nature of the changes that have happened to them, I look forward to reading the sequel and finding out about how they learn to cope with these new-found powers.

Other books in this series:
1. Virals
2. Seizure

Other reviews of this book:
Annette's Book Spot / Between the Covers / Book Chick City / Feeling Fictional

This book counts towards the following challenges:
Book #1 for 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

Review: Hellsbane by Paige Cuccaro (Hellsbane #1)

Publisher - Entangled Publishing
Publication Date - 6th December 2011
Genre - Urban Fantasy

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok.

Book Info - Twenty-three-year-old Emma Jane Hellsbane just found out she’s not human - or, at least, not only human. She’s half angel, too, and now Heaven’s got a job for her: round up all the Fallen angels and their red-skinned, horned devil-demon minions and boot their butts back into the abyss. Only problem? The demons and their Fallen masters fight back… and they don’t fight fair.

Luckily for Emma, she can put a stop to the constant threat of having her head hacked off if she figures out which Fallen angel is her father—and then kill him before he kills her. Of course, in the meantime, she’ll have to avoid accidentally seducing her angelic mentor, help an old friend conquer his own Fallen sperm donor, and basically save the world from a cataclysmic divine smack down.

No one said being Heaven’s bounty hunter would be easy. But with a name like Hellsbane, Emma Jane was born for the job.

My Thoughts - I had very high hopes for this book. I had read some good reviews for it and I thought the premise sounded very good, but unfortunately I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Emma is a likeable heroine who is thrown in at the deep end one day when an old friend turns up on her doorstep and she finds out that she is in fact half-human, half-angel. Since making this discovery, Emma has been continually chased by Fallen Angels and their demon henchmen and she copes with all this with her snarky and laid-back attitude to life. Emma's is a fun voice to read and her light-hearted commentary on the events around her made the book easy to read.

However, the story doesn't flow very well and I found it difficult to follow at times. For example, her old friend Tommy is also a nephilim and he is showing her the ropes of her new life. They are just friends who haven't seen each other since high school. Then all of a sudden a couple of weeks have passed and they seem to be more than friends, although this wasn't made very clear. An emotional intimacy was hinted at that made me think there was more between them than friendship, but there was no mention of any physical intimacy. And then, in the blink of an eye, Tommy was out of the story. This whole section was just very disjointed, left me feeling slightly confused and really distracted from my enjoyment of the story.

The other part of the story that I didn't particularly enjoy was the relationship between Emma and Eli. Eli is an angel who is tasked with looking after nephilim as they search for the Fallen angels. They seem to be attracted to each other, but Eli makes it known that he is able to influence other people's feelings and Emma is aware of him doing this to her at times. As a result of this, it's difficult to know how much of the attraction she feels for him is real and how much is forced on her by Eli. The whole situation just left me feeling uncomfortable.

Summary - A great idea for a novel that is written with a fresh, fun voice. However, the story does not flow well and the relationships between the characters are all very confusing. I did not enjoy it enough to feel that I would like to read the next book in the series.

Other reviews of this book:
Bending the Spine / Reading Reality / The Page Turner

Review: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega #2)

Publisher – Orbit
Publication Date – 1st October 2009
Paperback – 304 Pages
Genre – Urban Fantasy
Source – Purchased

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok

Book Info - Anna Latham didn't know how complicated life could get - until she became a werewolf.  And now she's not just part of any pack, but under the direct supervision of Bran, leader of the North American werewolves.  And her mate is his son Charles, the pack enforcer.

With all the advances that have been made in forensics, the werewolves will not be able to hide their existence from humans much longer - and Bran wants their coming out party to be on his terms.  But his European counterparts don't see things the same way.  Anna and Charles are chosen to represent Bran at a key meeting.  But when a French werewolf, one of Bran's most vocal opponents, is found murdered, Charles's reputation shoots him to the top of the suspect list  And among the wolves, there is one penalty for breaking the law: death.  The killer must be found, or Charles will take the fall.

My Thoughts - Hunting Ground carries on a few weeks after the events of Cry Wolf. Although I enjoyed the first book in the series, I did not enjoy this book as much.  Anna and Charles who are newly mated, must attend a conference in Seattle with other werewolf leaders to discuss the fact that the Marrock will soon be announcing their existence to the rest of the world. Because of this a huge portion of the novel is focused on werewolf politics, which meant that there is a lot of talk and no action for the most part and it did become quite confusing and complicated at times. This meant that the story was very slow moving at the start and I didn't find it particularly interesting.

However, it does begin to improve just over halfway through but this may be too late for some readers who might have already given up on the book by this time. I perservered because I am a big fan of Briggs' Mercy Thompson series, but this was the only thing keeping me going through the first half.  The action does begin to pick up when somebody is killed and it becomes clear that Anna is also a target of the murderer. It becomes more than just talk between all the uber-dominant wolves that are gathered and more than a few fangs are bared in the second half of the story. The writing became a lot more like what I expected from the author and it made me feel that I hadn't wasted time ploughing through the first half of the book.

But even the mystery element of the story wasn't great. I managed to work out who was behind the murders way before Charles and Anna did so the ending didn't really hold any surprises for me.

The final thing that didn't sit right with me about Hunting Ground was the relationship between Charles and Anna. Their wolves declared each other as mates in the first book, but I just didn't feel the connection between them which I found frustrating at times. As a result, I had trouble connecting with them.

Summary - Hunting Ground is an ok Urban Fantasy novel. I think that fans of the author would enjoy this book, so long as they persevere with it. If you've never read anything by Patricia Briggs before then I would highly recommend her Mercy Thompson series instead - that is one of the best series' I've come across since I started reading this genre!

Other books in the series:
Alpha & Omega (Novella from the On The Prowl anthology)
1. Cry Wolf
2. Hunting Ground

Other reviews of this book:
Dear Author / Love Vampires / The Book Smugglers

Review: Shadows by Amy Meredith (Dark Touch #1)

Publisher - Red Fox
Publication Date - 1st April 2010
Paperback - 240 pages
Genre - Young Adult/Urban Fantasy

Source - Library

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok

Book Info - Fifteen-year-old Eve Evergold is cute, sassy and enjoying a busy social life. What she doesn’t know yet is that someone close to her is an evil demon that only she has the supernatural power to defeat. She needs to work out who it is – and fast! Because although there’s something very attractive about the dark side… dating a demon? Pure hell!

My Thoughts - Eve and her best friend Jess are written in a believable way, and whilst reading Shadows it is easy to believe that you are reading a story told from the perspective of a fifteen year-old girl. However, I didn’t feel as though their characters were fleshed out well enough. We, as readers, do not really get much of an insight into Jess and Eve, and what we do find out about them gives them the appearance of being spoiled and shallow. This made the two main characters slightly unlikeable and left me unable to really connect with them, which did make the book slightly disappointing for me.

Mal and Luke are both new boys in town and are the topic of much speculation between Eve and Jess. Deepdene is only a small town where everybody knows everybody else, so two new boys arriving at the same time brings a welcome distraction from all the problems around them. Luke is, in the words of Eve and Jess, a ‘player’. Although he has only been in town for a couple of weeks he has already dated a lot of the girls. But when he hears about what Eve is going through, he quickly drops everything to help them find out what is happening in Deepdene. Mal, on the other hand, is dark and mysterious and keeps himself to himself. He is also old-fashioned and rescues Eve on a few occasions, which leads Eve to fall for him pretty quickly. I enjoyed the air of mystery that these two characters brought to the story.

Summary - The premise of the story is interesting and well-written, although pretty predictable at times. It moves along at a fast pace and is written in a style that makes it very easy to read, allowing me to almost finish it in just one sitting. I only wish that Eve and Jess had been easier to connect with and were less two-dimensional. If this had been the case, then Shadows could have been a really enjoyable book.

Other books in the series:
1. Shadows
2. The Hunt
3. Fever
4. Betrayal

Other reviews of this book:
Book Chick City / Feeling Fictional / I Was a Teenage Book Geek / So Many Books, So Little Time

Review: Bad Moon by Todd Ritter (Kat Campbell #2)

Publisher - Minotaur Books
Publication Date - October 2011
Hardback - 368 pages
Genre - Mystery

Source - Received from Kaye Publicity for review

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok

Book Info - On the same night that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, nine-year-old Charlie Olmstead jumped on his bike to see if he could get a better look. It was the last anyone ever saw of him. After Perry Hollow Police Chief Jim Campbell found Charlie's bike caught up above a waterfall, he assumed the worse, and so did everyone else except Charlie's mother.

Years later, Eric Olmstead - and famous author and Charlie's brother - has come back to bury his mother and fulfill her last request: Find his brother. To do so he goes to the current police chief and his former sweetheart Kat Campbell, and it isn't long before they discover that finding Charlie was his mother's secret obsession, and while she never found him she uncovered clues suggesting that he wasn't the only victim.

"Bad Moon", Todd Ritter's excellent follow-up to his acclaimed debut, tells the haunting story of a small town that found lies easier to believe than the truth.

Review - I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Death Notice, so when I was offered a review copy of Bad Moon I jumped at the chance. However, I was slightly disappointed by my second trip into the world of police chief Kat Campbell.

In Bad Moon the author is able to give an amazing insight into how a small town community works and, once again, the characters are all well written. In Perry Hollow, everybody knows everybody else and I loved reading about this connection between all of the characters. Having grown up in a big town where I don't even know my neighbour's name it was refreshing to read about what it is like to live in a completely different type of community.

My main problem with Bad Moon was the pacing. Most of the novel moves along at a very slow pace that just did not make me feel compelled to carry on reading. In fact, at times it felt like quite hard work to carry on making my way through the pages. They are trying to solve a mystery that happened 40 years ago so I didn't feel the drive that was present in the previous book, where Kat and Nick had to find the murderer before he took another victim. It is mentioned a few times that they must try and solve the mystery before the Russians land on the moon otherwise another boy may be taken, but this still didn't bring any sense of urgency to the story.

However, the author really picks up the pace in the last one hundred pages and it became much more like the first book in the series. There are some great twists in the storyline that I didn't see coming and I couldn't put the book down until I had finished reading. I just wish that the whole of the novel could have been written in this same style.

Summary - A mystery that has some very promising elements, but that is let down by the slow pacing. If you have never read anything by this author before then I would recommend that you start with Death Notice, which I enjoyed a lot more than Bad Moon.

Other books in the series:
1. Death Notice
2. Bad Moon

Other reviews of this book: Whilst browsing the internet for other reviews it became immediately apparent that I am the only one who feels this way so please be sure to check out these other, more positive, reviews :)
Genre Go Round Reviews / Jenn's Bookshelves / Lesa's Book Critiques
(If you would like your review of Bad Moon included here, please leave a link in the comments and I will be sure to add it.)

Review: Incubus by Carol Goodman (Fairwick Chronicles #1)

Publisher - Ebury Press
Publication Date - 21st July 2011
Paperback - 480 pages
Genre - Paranormal Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok!

Book Info - Dr. Callie McFay travels to the small college town of Fairwick in New York State for a job interview. Despite it being her second choice she finds herself talked into accepting a job offer from the Folklore Department to teach a class on demons and vampires. She also finds herself drawn to an old house in the woods where Gothic novelist Dahlia LaMotte used to live and buys it on a whim, despite the seeming reluctance of the estate agent to sell it to her.

But on the night of her job interview, she had a very vivid erotic dream about a man made out of shadows and moonlight, and this dream becomes a regular occurrence when she moves into her new home. Callie starts to feel like a heroine in one of the gothic novels she teaches as slowly it dawns on her that things at the college – and in her home – are not what they seem. She learns that her house is supposed to be haunted by LaMotte’s former lover and her new – and rather strange – colleagues tell her an unfamiliar fairy tale about an incubus-demon with a human past who was enchanted by a fairy queen…

My Thoughts - I must admit to having mixed feelings about Incubus. There were some aspects that I really enjoyed but at the same time there were several things that I struggled with. But I will cover the positives first...

Incubus is set in a small town called Fairwick that is home to many types of supernatural creatures. There are incubi, succubi, fairies (including a fairy queen!), witches, vampires and pretty much any other type of creature you could name. The residents of Fairwick all know about the eclectic mix of people living there but most of the students studying at the University are unaware of this. I really enjoyed reading about all of these characters and about their interactions with each other and with the humans that are unaware of their existence.

Apart from characterisation, the author's other main strength is her descriptions of people and places. She uses such vivid descriptions that it is easy to imagine exactly what Callie is seeing and you can imagine yourself there with her. This makes it easy to lose yourself within the pages of this novel.

Now onto the not-so-positive things. I found myself getting quite frustrated with Callie during the first part of the book. She has published a book called 'Sex Lives of the Demon Lovers' and is considered an expert about incubi in gothic literature. However, when she first starts being visited by an incubus herself, Callie has no idea what was going on. I just couldn't see any benefit of her being an expert if it wasn't going to give her some kind of edge when trying to solve the mystery.

The other major flaw for me was that I found the story very predictable. There was not a single plot twist that I had not already guessed at from about the halfway point of the book. This really affected my enjoyment of the book as I did not feel the drive and suspense that will usually drag me into a story and propel me towards the end.

Summary - Incubus is a fairly enjoyable novel that does have a few flaws. However, it sets the scene nicely for the rest of the series and, with the way the end of the book opens up nicely for a sequel, I will still be revisiting the residents of Fairwick when book two is released.

Other books in the series:
1. Incubus
2. The Water Witch

Other reviews of this book:
Blog Critics / Fantasy Book Review / Love Vampires / Novelicious / One More Page
(If you would like your review of Incubus included here, please leave a link in the comments and I will be sure to add it)