Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

 

*Rating* 2.0
*Genre* Romance, Slap-Stick comedy, Series that just won’t end, 3-way relationships.

*Review ~ DEFINITE Spoilers Follow!*

Here is all you need to know about Explosive Eighteen. Stephanie goes to Hawaii after receiving free airline tickets. She, of course, ends up going alone since Morelli has to work and can’t seem to find the time to get off and she is confused over her relationship with Ranger.

When she gets there, she runs into a major skip trace named The Rug whom she and Ranger have been searching for. A quick call to Ranger--who gets on the next plane to Hawaii---and they end up playing husband and wife in order to get the trace.

One thing leads to another and Morelli shows up after mysteriously finding the time off to go to Hawaii where Ranger and he beat each other silly. There is, of course, the question of the white tan line on her ring finger that everyone badgers her about until she spills the beans and states emphatically that NO she is not married, but, she could possibly be pregnant after an incident with her birth control pills while in Hawaii.

The question is obvious for all those to read: Is the baby Rangers?

Then, while returning home to New Jersey, SP discovers an envelope and a picture in her purse which she subsequently tosses in the trash at her parent’s home. SP is then harassed by two thugs, a hairdresser named Brenda, and a Somali terrorist who all want the damn photo. The FBI, meanwhile, are portrayed as characters straight out of a comedy routine who can’t tie their own shoes because of budget cuts.

In the end, SP captures a major trace; ends up battered, bruised, and her hair a different color after another skip feels it necessary to do a major overhaul. She goes from swearing off men including Ranger, to well, let’s just say possibly pregnant and with Morelli after giving HIM a so called love potion.

*Things you can take away from this series*
1. Vinnie is still an annoying dirt bag who is now owned by his wife after previous affairs and stupidity. He ends up in so much trouble because he is a loser who needs to be put out of his misery.
2. Connie is still the bail bond’s office manager and still dealing with Vinnie’s crap. She is the so called brains behind Plum Bail Bonds since both SP and Lula can’t go one day without causing problems.
3. Lula is still annoying as hell and can’t stop eating for 30 seconds. She finds so called love with a Shrek wannabe and later ends up dumping him after believing that she really drank a love potion. Lula has no purpose other than comic relief. She shoots people without thinking. She wears Ho approved outfits and is supposed to be the file clerk for the Bail bond office but I don’t remember her actually doing her job. She tags along with SP as her bond assistant instead.
4. Grandma Muzur is still going to funerals and calling hours to see what the deceased person looks like. She also carriers an unlicensed gun in her purse, and is now bowling!
5. SP mother and father…haven’t changed one iota over the course of 18 books and I don’t expect they will.

Fate's Edge by Ilona Andrews

 

23 year old Audrey Callahan thought she had left the life of a grafter behind to become a very capable freelance investigator for Milano Investigations. She has closed out 14 cases within 5 months and is finally given a full time job that has benefits and a steady paycheck. Even though some people think she is too pretty, and her hair is blazing red, she is better than other full time investigators Milano employs.

Audrey lives in an area called the Edge. It is located between the Broken (the modern world) and the Weird (where magic is prevalent). Her constant friend is Ling the Merciless (raccoon) who she rescued when it was a baby. She seems to be enjoying her life without any interference from her family.

Unfortunately for Audrey, her scum bag father Seamus who thinks nothing of his only daughter, comes begging for help in getting her brother Alex into drug rehab. This is the same brother who once sold her into slavery because he needed the money for his drug addiction. Audrey agrees to help her father with one last job with the understanding that after this, she will never ever see them again.

**Audrey is a very likable and honest character who gets stuck in a really bad situation and yet, shows remarkable ability to come out on top when the going gets rough. Even though there are clear sparks and attraction between her and Kaldar Mar—Andrews allows the relationship to grow slowly. I love the playful interaction as well as the stinging one liners on both sides of the conversation mostly while Audrey is keeping Kaldar at arms’ length.

Kaldar Mar is a smuggler, his families’ relationship expert in bringing people together in marriage, a thief and a spy who now works for the Mirror under Nancy Virai. He decided to go to work for the Mirror after his family was slaughtered by the Hand (See Bayou Moon for further information.) Virai’s instructions to Kaldar are clear: Find the person(s) responsible for breaking into the Pyramid of Ptah in West Egypt, and retrieve the diffuser belts they stole and bring them back to her before the Mirror can catch up with them.

Kaldar is the cousin of Cerise Mar who was also last seen in Bayou Moon with her husband William the changeling. Cerise does make a brief appearance in this story as well and appears that she is also working for the Mirror as part of a two person team.

*Kaldar is an okay character for me. From the moment he meets Audrey, he spends pretty much his entire time trying to convince her to go to bed with him, and later to marry him. Audrey is forced to push him away more times than not and later rescue him from the villain. Kaldar’s one goal remains incomplete: the final elimination of the person who killed his father and family.

For 12 year old Jack (Changeling) and 14 year old George (Necromancer) who we first met in the book On the Edge, they are tired of being treated as second class citizens. It has been 4 years since they left the Edge with their sister Rose to go and live with Declan Camarine as the step sons of a blueblood. Jack constantly gets into fights, while George pretty much owns the school and has a charming effect on the girls in his school.

Not surprisingly, when they are given the slightest opportunity to escape on their own journey and adventure without their sister along for the ride, they grab it and end up with Kaldar, Audrey, and Kaldar’s nephew Gaston in chasing after the diffuser belts. Later, George is given a choice by the head of the Mirror which it appears he will be taking, and Jack’s actions end up saving the group from the Hands Hounds.

Declan, Rose, William and Cerise, the stars of the two previous installments, also make brief and unremarkable appearances in this story.

The villain of the story is Helena d’Amry. Helen is Spider’s (the person who was responsible for killing the Mar family and father) niece as well as a hound and Marquise of Amry and Tuann. Helena’s mission is to kill or capture Kaldar and bring his body, or blood back to her uncle so he can once again walk.

Although this book was an enjoyable installment to the series itself, I am not sold on the ending of this book. It seemed all contrived, and wrapped up too loosely while leaving too many questions left unanswered. Could it be that it was the intention of leaving it open so that all 6 main characters collectively gang together to thwart the evil Hand?

Naturally, as with the first two books of the series, there is romance and of course, the main couple ends up together and working for the Mirror against the Hand.

Book #4 has not been titled yet, but has a tentative release date of December 2012.

The Book of Blood & Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Robin Wasserman's The Book of Blood and Shadow is told in the first POV by Nora Kane who is a student at Chapman Prep. Nora ended up participating in this experiment as a way to escape classes and to get her mind off her very unhappy home life and the loss of her older brother to absolutely stupidity on his part.

Nora and her friends Chris Moore, Adriane Ames, as well as research assistant Max Lewis who is Chris’s roommate, are all working with Professor Anton Hoffpauer to translate the Voynich Manuscript when things slowly begin to unravel leaving no one untouched by the manuscripts wake and devastation.

In the process of translating the manuscript, Nora becomes entranced by Elizabeth Jane Weston’s story as well as her memoirs describing the so called Lumen Dei that was said to have existed during the time frame of 1598-1600. The so called Lumen Dei is said to give the user the promise of untold power, of sacred answers, of god like abilities, and is sad to be able to end the world as we know it.

*Side Note* Weston, it seems, was an actual person who lived during the 16th century. Her story has been confirmed as being real by Wasserman’s own research which is shown in the back of the book. The Voynich Manuscript is real as well. The only part that isn’t real or factual, are the secret societies that are introduced. This is not unlike Dan Brown’s contention that the Catholic Church is the root of all that is evil in the world today, and they have control over societies like the Free Masons and Opus Dei.

Things slowly begin to spiral out of control for Nora and friends when Chris is found murdered in his home, Adriane is discovered catatonic, and Max goes missing and is presumed to be Chris’s killer. After Nora is warned by her professor NOT to allow herself to be lead into harm’s way--Nora and Adriane end up in Prague where they discover even more mysteries and danger.

For me, Nora reminds me of Robert Langdon in the Da Vinci Code in her ability to translate and follow the leads from the death of her best friend, to betrayal by her so called lover, to her near death experience in Prague. Brown should be humored in realizing that another author saw his writing as worthy of being emulated and not threated that Wasserman used Teenagers, instead of adults as her main characters.

This could also be consider as sort of a Historical Fiction in that Wasserman  uses actual settings and history in order to tell her story. I truly believe that the city of Prague is an interesting city and needs to be explored more by new, as well as established authors. There is so much history that there for the taking.

The Book of Blood and Shadow will find a niche in the world once it is released and enough people have read the reviews that precede the published date of April 10, 2012.

*ARC Recvd 01/14/2012* Expected publication: April 10th 2012 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Title: The Book of Blood & Shadow
Author: Robin Wasserman
Release Date: April 10, 2012
Genres:  YA Fantasy & Mystery

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Jonathan Maberry’s Rot & Ruin (Benny Imura, #1) is a post-apocalyptic story told in the first POV by 15 year old Benny Imura. 14 years ago Benny’s parents ended up part of the zombie apocalypse on what is called First Night.

6 billion people died over the course of short period of time. Those lucky enough to survive made their way to various communities like Mountainside where when you turn 15, you are required to have a job or your rations will be cut in half.

According to Benny, nobody knows that really happened that caused the zombies to be created. Was it a virus mutated from radiation from outer space? Or, was it created by the Chinese like the Avian Flu that caused people to turn into zombies?

At the beginning, I really truly didn't care for Benny and his seemingly hatred towards his older brother Tom or his refusal to join the family business of quieting zombies when we’re first introduced.

Instead of turning to Tom and asking him for help in learning the family trade, he instead tried a plethora of jobs that he didn’t last long at and let misinformation guide the way he treats his only alive relative. He was more interested in hanging around with his buddies Morgie, Chong, and Nix than doing anything productive with his life.

Benny’s anger towards Tom goes back 14 years to when Tom took Benny and ran away from their parents after they were infected and turned into zoms. All Benny understood at the time was that Tom was a coward who ran away, and he doesn’t deserve his respect. Later, after the real truth comes about what Tom does, and how he goes about quieting zombies, Benny actually learns to respect his older brother and ends up bonding in a real emotional way.

Tom was the character I most wanted to know about. Tom was 20 on First Night and in the police academy about ready to graduate. Tom spends his time in what is called the Rot and Ruin where you basically take your life in your hands when you travel outside the gates of Mountainside to hunt down zombies. Tom’s job is simple; find a family member who has been turned into a zombie, and quiet him/her with respect.

Tom has secrets as well. Nobody really knows what he does when he is in the Rot and Ruin. The plus for Tom is that he has awesome fighting abilities with his samurai sword and a code of ethics that makes him above the rest of the so called bounty hunters scum like Charlie and the Hammer.

It is Tom who not only protects and ensures Benny is taken care of, but Nix Riley and her mother Jenny as well.
By the end of the book, Benny had come a long way and grew up really fast after events forced his hands, and he was forced into running from several bounty hunters he had once respected. He also goes above the call of duty when his friend Nix is taken away by Charlie and the Hammer.

Nix Riley is another character that was really truly interesting to learn more about her and what happens when she is forced to deal with the loss of her mother and the doom of fighting for her life against zoms in an arena setting.

The last character that was really strange, yet likable was the Lost Girl named Lilah. Lilah has lived alone in the Rot & Run and is one of those characters that you know you just want to know more about. You want to know how in the hell a girl her age was able to survive alone without any help for so long.

Definitely a different take on the whole zombie apocalypse and one that I absolutely recommend to my friends, and followers alike.

Part # 2 Dust & Decay released August 30, 2011
Part # 3 Flesh & Bone will be released September 11, 2012 

Title: Rot & Ruin
Author: Jonathan Mallory
Release Date: September 14, 2011
Genres:  YA Dystopian & Post-Apocalyptic

Review: Run From Fear by Jami Alden

In Jami Alden’s “Run from Fear,” Talia Vega and Jack Brooks take turns in the spotlight. Both characters were last heard from in the story Beg for Mercy where both characters were left for dead. If you haven’t read it, no worries, you get hit over the head plenty of times to be reminded of what happened.

Talia Vega is now living in Palo Alto, California where her 18 year old sister Rosario goes to school at Stanford. After nearly dying at the hands of Nate Brewster, aka the Slasher, Talia went into hiding and moved away from Seattle. Once known as David Maxwell’s mistress, or whore, Talia is now working as a bar manager for Suzette's Bistro while helping her sister through college.

Talia isn’t a character I can get behind or cheer for. She’s a cold fish and really makes me want to shake her and tell her to get over herself and let others help her. She lashes out at the wrong person after she discovers that he has spent his own money in order to protect her and Rosario from further harm. For a person who spends all her free time training against being hurt again, it’s all for naught.

Jack Brooks works for Gemini Securities as a security consultant but Talia has never been out of his mind. The last time we saw Jack, he was nearly one of Nate’s victims after allowing him to sneak up on him, and take Talia.
Jack eventually set up a special scholarship for Rosario at Stanford, and also was instrumental in getting Talia her job at Suzette’s because he failed to protect her from Nate Brewster and his attempt to kill her and Megan Flynn.

Jack is also one of the good guys. He gives plenty of money to organizations that help and treat battered woman and kids. Jack’s past is fraught with being the son of an abusive asshat and a mother who just didn’t find a way to say stop to the beatings she took.

For me, Jack is the story behind this book. He is fiercely loyal and protective of both Rosario and Talia. He spends his own money not only to upgrade Talia’s security at her home, but to ensure that Grayson-Mitchell stays away from Talia. He is willing to give up his job in order to remain by their sides and ensure they are allowed time to heal and be happy.

As with the previous installment Hide from Evil, there is no mystery as to who the killer is or what he wants. We learn right off the bat that the bad guy of the story is a psycho copycat serial killer named Eugene Kuusik. Gene, as he is called, has an obsession with Nate Brewster and his methods of torturing women. His obsession is crystal clear: Talia Vega and not allowing her to escape his wrath.

For me, this story wasn't as good as the first two books. There was way too much sexual tension between Talia and Jack. Talia dances around too much emotionally and pushes away the one person that loves her as much as life itself. When they do get together, Alden spends way too much time conversationally between the two characters instead of just allowing the characters to explore each other sexually.

I would offer that the first 2/3 of this book was pretty damn boring. The last 1/3 was okay but expected since we already knew who the killer/rapist/serial asshat was and what would eventually happen. Alden truly does believe in HEA's and doesn't leave her characters hanging in the end.

I would totally recommend Beg for Mercy if you are looking for an example of Alden’s writing.

*ARC recvd 01/30/2012 via Netgalley.com  ~ Releases March 1, 2012.

Title: Run From Fear
Author: Jami Alden
Release Date: March 1, 2012
Genres: Romance

In My Mailbox 02/11/2012

In my Mailbox is a meme hosted by  The Story Siren, that features books I’ve received, and purchased during the current week.

Currently Reading 02/11/2012