The Lost Duke of Wyndham, Julia Quinn

Jack Audley has been a highwayman, a soldier, and he has always been a rogue. What he is not, and never wanted to be, is a peer of the realm. But when he is recognised as the long-lost son of the House of Wyndham, his carefree life is over. And if his birth proves to be legitimate, then he will find himself with the one title he never wanted: Duke of Wyndham.

Grace Eversleigh has spent the last five years toiling as the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham. It is a thankless job, with very little break from the routine...until Jack Audley lands in her life, all rakish smiles and debonair charm. He is not a man who takes no for an answer, and when she is in his arms, she's not a woman who wants to say no. But if he is the true duke, then he is the one man she can never have…

This is the first Julia Quinn book I have read that I didn't like. Which was surprising to me because I have loved (to the extreme of ordering UK editions for their pretty cover art) all her other books I've read thus far. So this one was a let down.

I never cared about or believed the characters in this story. It was just tedious to keep reading. The weird thing to me is that I am usually willing to overlook characters with modern attitudes in historical fiction or crazy plot lines if the writer makes me care enough or believe in the characters. Julia Quinn has been so consistently entertaining to me that I was surprised I didn't like this one.

I will definitely be passing on the companion story to this one. In the mean time I think I'm stuck waiting for my box of Bridgerton books to arrive from England! And I am so impatient about things like this!

Evernight, Claudia Gray

I really should have known better when I saw that LJ Smith was providing the author blurb on the back of this book. And I don't mean that in a snarky way. The Vampire Diaries is just not up my alley so it would stand to reason that this series would not impress me either.

And in the end I have mixed feelings. I definitely like this better than The Vampire Diaries. I do plan to keep reading the series but I was frustrated with a lot in this book. And I'm frustrated with my life at the moment so I don't have the energy to write that much about fictional frustrations. The short version is I was irritated by Bianca a lot of the time, I wasn't feeling the romance, and hello crazy unsupported plot twists! I wholeheartedly agree with the following reviews:

"I wasn't disappointed, but I wasn't blown away by this tale of a teenage girl who is dragged to Evernight Academy, a gothic boarding school, by her parents when they take positions as teachers there. Bianca, the main character and narrator of the book, wasn't a particular deep, insightful, or unique character. It is pity that the book is from her point-of-view. The author tries to pull off a surprise twist in the middle of novel, but instead of being a shocking revelation my reaction was more "uh, okay, that really doesn't work with what's happened already in the novel." It was not a good reaction. "

"I truly did enjoy the story. I just don't think it's realistic that Bianca as POV wouldn't mention her secret (which wasn't a secret, but everyday life to her). First person puts you inside the character's head, and for Bianca to mysteriously not talk about a major part of her life for half the book then talk about it without a thought in the next half is awkward. Either the reader should have known with her from the beginning, or she should have discovered the truth in the book with us. "

"Basically, I felt like the beginning went one direction and then when the twist came, it veered another direction completely, and the two parts, together, were incomprehensible." - Review X

I don't think I loved the rest of the book as much as Reviewer X but I did keep reading while I mermaided out. And I was mildly entertained. Where I disagree is in her "rant" about Twilight. I get that not all vampire books are made in Edward's image (and that reviewers don't need to compare everything to Twilight) but I have to say that, for me, Twilight holds up to rereadings. I am consistently entertained by it and I don't know (or want to know) what that says about me. I really cannot imagine rereading Evernight. So there, you win SMeyer!

Lead Me On, Victoria Dahl

Primal attraction is a big red flag to prim and proper office manager, Jane Morgan. After a rough childhood with a mother who liked her men in prison jumpsuit orange, Jane changed her name, her look and her taste for bad boys. So why is she lusting for William Chase with his tattoo-covered biceps, steel-toed boots and unadulterated sex appeal? The man blows things up for a living!

She gives herself one explosive, fantasy-filled night with Chase. The next day, it’s back to plain Jane and safe men.But when her beloved brother becomes a murder suspect, and her lawyer ex-boyfriend won’t help, Jane turns to Chase. And she discovers a man who’s been around the block knows a thing or two about uncovering all kinds of truths.

I bought this in yet another January depression fueled spree over the weekend and have to say I was disappointed with it. I didn't realize that it was one of those romance novels. The kind where you turn what feels like 10 pages and the characters are still infornicato. I liked the main character, Jane, but this just isn't the type of book for me. Also the cover is cute.

Cry Wolf, Patricia Briggs

"Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate."

This book was kind of a let down for me. I have never read any of this genre of supernatural/fantasy/romance with glowing cover art before but I read some reviews that made me think I would be into this kind of thing. I also was excited because I love finding new series to read and this author is quite prolific.

This book cover did make me feel a little bit like the kids Sue Sylvester was thinking of when she described: "invisibles and the kids playing live-action-druids-and-troll-out-in-the-forest — bottom floor.” That is who I have always judgmentally imagined read books with covers like this one.

I enjoyed reading the first half of the book but then I just got a little bogged down and disinterested in the wolf pack politics. I also was really only interested in the romance plot line between Anna and Charles so I definitely tuned out for the rest of the drama. I'm kind of bummed because I had already checked out the next book and now I don't even want to read it. It's not that it was so bad I just feel very neutral towards the story.

Shadowland, Alyson Noel

I don't have much to say about this book. It reminds me a little bit of The Vampire Diaries series which in my particular case is not a compliment. I was only able to soldier on reading this tedious story because I am a stickler for closure and I thought this was the 3rd book in a trilogy. So to be irritated throughout the entire thing only to have an ending that leaves the main characters in a situation almost identical to the one they were in on the first page followed by a full page letting me know I can purchase the next volume in the series next summer.... Yeah, I was more than annoyed. But now I have crossed over to an irritated place that will not waste my money on the next book in a weak moment. I will patiently wait for someone on wikipedia to let me know what finally happens to Ever & Damen. Meh, indeed.

And I am loving all the negative Amazon reviews that sum up my feelings quite nicely.

Never Cry Werewolf, Heather Davis

This was a cute little story that I read in about 45 minutes. It is very, very light. It was entertaining but completely forgettable- not in an annoying way though. It just didn't have much to it. But somehow I wasn't really bothered by that. So not much to say about it either.

Dark of the Moon, Rachel Hawthorne

I still maintain that the first book in this trilogy was the strongest... it is just on a different level of quality than this one & book #2. I did enjoy this story but it was definitely a high-fluff bordering on meh read for me. I think that Kayla's story in book #1 is so much more intense because there is an element of mystery and suspense about her new friends... once you know the secret its harder to care quite so much.

The part of me that is having a hard time handling stress & tension lately was relieved that there wasn't any major angsty heart fail going on once the big reveal happened in this one. It was kind of refreshing that Connor didn't care once he knew...

Mediterrean Holiday

This is some intense fluff even for me. Which is saying something pretty big.

A few years ago I spent an ill-advised day watching a marathon of Footballers Wives on BBC America. It was so bad but I just couldn't look away (yay, cliches!). And that is an entire day of my life that I will never get back. And a memory of a hermaphrodite baby that has always stuck with me.This is the book that I imagine one of the wags would stuff into her bag on her way to a private island vacation and then get bored with and stop reading. But I am not a wag and I persisted in finishing it anyway.

I do love fluff but this one just went too far. I read stuff like this to relax and turn my brain off at the end of the day but that is impossible for me to do when the book is this silly.

Word Gets Around, Lisa Wingate

I've been reading a lot but not writing about any of the books until today. I honestly can't remember much about this one. It's a cute story but not as compelling as the Tracie Peterson stories I read earlier this summer. I do have another book by Lisa Wingate so maybe I'll give that a try.

Full Moon, Rachel Hawthorne

This is the next book in Rachel Hawthorne's trilogy and it left me underwhelmed. I loved Moonlight and couldn't stop thinking about it for days. This one had a much more predictable plot and less believable characters. I never for one instant doubted who the heroine would pick in the love triangle which makes it a little tedious to read. Hopefully the last one will be back on par with the first story. The first story would be an awesome movie and is worth reading again. I can't say the same for Full Moon.

Magic Study, Maria V. Snyder

The first book in this trilogy was much stronger than this. That's not really saying much because the first book was pretty meh itself. I kept reading this one because I wanted Yelena (by the way what is up with her name?) to get with her man. Which she did after discovering her many impressive powers and saving the world with her superiority. The last book is not easy to find and I might just leave it with this one. These stories really remind me of the LJ Smith Vampire Diaries neverending story with a heroine who just needs to look within herself to save the day. I also felt like the magic stuff in these books was never really consistent or explained. It is hard to buy into a story about a magical world when the rules are inconsistent. I also didn't like the CSI: Magical Society bent that this story took with the disturbing crimes.

The Demon's Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan

Today was my first official day of summer! I spent it in my favorite way: sleeping in, reading a book in the bathtub for 2 hours, playing the piano, and visiting with friends (Brit & Kim). I knew I wanted to read something light and potentially silly after being so overwhelmed (in an impressed by the book but brought down by the subject matter kind of way) by Columbine and this book fit the bill. It was mildly entertaining and I definitely wanted to keep reading (& did) but I was never that impressed. I liked Alan but I spent the whole book wondering why Nick was the narrator. There are some spoilery reasons why it couldn't be Alan but the whole thing just left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. Meh

Deadly Little Secret, Laurie Faria Stolarz

This is a change for me. I've read a lot of books this year that had the kind of cover art that forces you to remove the dust jacket in order to read in public but that were actually on some really well written books that I enjoyed. With this one, it's the opposite. I knew nothing about this story and probably wouldn't have picked it up if the cover hadn't been so pretty. I love the colors and the feel of the dust jacket.

And at first I liked the story. It's suspenseful and mysterious. I kept reading and trying to figure out who the villain was but about half way in I just didn't care. The characters are pretty flat and once the big reveal came I just shrugged my shoulders. I think this is the kind of story that would have felt really intense and deep if I had read it when I was 13. But now having the wisdom and experience that comes with adulthood (gained by viewing bajillions of Lifetime: Television for Women events that feature stalkers) I just couldn't be bothered. So I now have a new blog category: meh.

In honor of Gnorah, who is too busy to read my blog (how sad for her!), I have the following:

Homer: Kids, how would you like to go... to Blockoland!
Bart & Lisa: Meh.
Homer: But the TV. gave the impression that--
Bart: We said "meh".
Lisa: M-E-H. Meh.

So the lesson is that book covers are able to deceive for good (like with Going Too Far) and ill (like today). This cover was concealing 2 dimensional characters, a stalker trope, a Twilightesque van out of control almost hitting girl but girl saved by mysterious stranger with powers scene (& a biology lab partners scenario complete with mixed signals (I think they might even give our heroine whiplash) and a boy who doesn't trust himself to touch the girl he secretly loooooooooooooves!). It got lamer for the ending which, of course, leaves the romance not happening because there is a series planned (shocker!) and they need to drag it out.

In conclusion, meh.