The Couple Next Door: Shari Lapena

“HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR?  OR YOUR HUSBAND?  OR EVEN—YOURSELF?  PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF ALMOST ANYTHING…

“A twisty roller-coaster ride of lies, betrayal, and the secrets between husbands and wives…  How far would you go—if pushed to your limit?

“Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all—a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora.  But one hot summer night they were invited to a dinner party next door, and a terrible crime is committed.  Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents.  But the truth is a much more complicated story.

“Inside the Contis’ curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds.  Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something.  Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they’ve kept for years.

“What follows is the never-racking unraveling of a family—a chilling tale of deceptions, duplicity, and unfaithfulness that will keep you breathless until the final shocking twist.”

Here’s the last of my delayed reviews!  Hopefully I do a little bit better the rest of the year.  This one comes courtesy of a recommendation from a friend of mine.  She told me she had a hard time putting this book down so, naturally, that piqued my interest.  It took me a while to finally get my hands on it and I’m pretty happy that I did.

What starts out as a seemingly insignificant night out turns into a family’s worst nightmare.  Anne and Marco Conti live in a beautiful townhouse and seem to have everything they could hope for.  Anne comes from a great deal of money.  She left her job in an art gallery to be a stay-at-home mom to her beautiful new daughter, Cora.  Her husband, Marco, runs his own business.  One evening, they’re invited to a dinner party by their immediate next door neighbors.  They contemplate canceling when their babysitter backs out, but Marco convinces Anne that they’ll only be next door – in reality, just on the other side of the wall from Cora.  They take the baby monitor and check on Cora every half hour.  When they finally return home in the wee hours of the morning, something doesn’t seem right.  The unthinkable has happened:  Anne discovers Cora is missing from her crib.

From the start, the Contis are a source of great suspicion.  The lead detective has seen his share of missing children and strongly believes the Contis are involved in some way.  Clues like a loosened lightbulb in a backyard motion-detecting spotlight, a silent car seen driving down the alley at the perfect time, and Anne’s diagnosis of postpartum depression all serve to cast doubt upon Marco, Anne, and their story.  The media vilifies them as horrible parents who left their infant unattended – that they got what was coming to them – while their marriage falls on rocky ground as Anne wonders what really happened to her missing daughter.  Could someone they know be involved?  What could their motivation be?  If it’s money, they’re willing to offer up any amount to have their daughter back.  However, when the ransom is paid and Cora still isn’t returned, they realize something much darker and more complex is taking place.

What ensues is a story filled with all the great twists and turns of a successful tale of lies, suspense, and hidden motives.  This book will make you question your own morals and ask yourself just how far you would be willing to go to save your family.  This story really does beg the question of how well you really know your neighbors, the people you consider friends, and even the members of your own family.

A captivating read, this book was very difficult for me to put down.  I found the pacing quite well done and the story, exciting.  I definitely recommend this book to lovers of mystery and suspense.  It has a twisted, complicated plot that will keep you guessing and fascinated right up until the very end.

Happy reading!

Bad Attitude (BAD, Book One): Sherrilyn Kenyon

“NAME:  Steele

“CODENAME:  Azrael—“Angel of Death”—because he goes places where even angels fear to tread

“SPECIALTY:  One shot, one kill

“WEAKNESSES:  Women in high heels, freedom under siege, and eBay

“PROFILE:  Prefers to work alone—except in the bedroom

“MISSION:  Kill the bad guy, save the world, and hopefully end up with the girl

“New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon has created a major buzz with her stories about the sexy heroes of the Bureau of American Defense.  Now, she presents her first full-length novel featuring the agents of BAD—a story of unforgettable characters and heart-stopping romantic suspense.

“BAD agent Sydney Westbrook must find the perfect sniper for a risky counter-terrorism mission.  The assignment is simple:  find and kill a hired assassin before he kills a high-profile world leader during a peace conference on American soil.  JD Steele, a trained military sniper whose attitude problem landed him in prison, seems a good candidate for the job since he doesn’t have many other options.  But it turns out Steele doesn’t take orders easily—not even when they come from an intriguing agent who has his number down pat.  As they’re dragged deep into a secret world of freelance killers, Sydney begins to discover the man of honor and passion hidden beneath Steele’s arrogant façade.  It’s a man even Steele didn’t know he could be.  But how can he fulfill his duties when doing so will risk the life of the only woman he’s ever really cared for?”

I’ve been reading a lot of new (to me) authors lately and I wanted a fun read by an old favorite.  I couldn’t locate the next book in Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series (yes, I’m still pacing myself and slowly re-reading that series), so I thought I’d start something new.  I’ve seen a few of her BAD (Bureau of American Defense) books here and there at bookstores, online, and at the local library.  Anyone who glances at my reading history knows I lean away from “modern romances,” especially ones set in the United States.  Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series is a bit of an exception because it contains so many historical and paranormal aspects that it breaks me out of the norm.  BAD is borderline.  It is a modern series surrounding a secret branch of American agents who have access to incredible technology, possess amazing abilities and talents, and come from varied backgrounds.  At the heart of it, these agents are still just people.  Still, I wanted to give this series a shot.  This book is supposed to be the first in the BAD series, but I quickly got the sense that I was missing something.  It was mentioned that two agents were on vacation together, which gave me the impression that theirs was, perhaps, a novella or short story that I hadn’t yet read.  I noted on FantasticFiction.com that there is a collection of stories for this series, but it’s not listed first in the reading order.  Maybe this solves my issue?  I don’t think my enjoyment suffered because I felt like I wasn’t reading the stories in order, but the perfectionist in me doesn’t like doing this (even by accident).

We’re introduced to Steele when he’s still overseas.  His best friend and spotter has just been killed and he’s struggling to come to terms with the loss, as well as the pain and anger everyone else is taking out on him, the survivor.  It isn’t until later that he discovers that his CO (commanding officer) is covering up the mission and shoddy intelligence he used to send Steele and Brian out into danger.  The CO blames them for getting lost and making foolish decisions, ending in the loss of Brian’s life.  Steele, blinded by anger and pain, does something very stupid in retaliation and, in turn, he winds up tried and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison back in the States.  This results in his military-oriented family disowning him and Steele finds himself more alone than ever.

Two years into his sentence, he’s approached by a strange man and two women.  There’s something very different about the trio and his training instantly tells him that these are no ordinary individuals.  Their mannerisms and controlled expressions tell him they’re well trained and a part of something very dangerous.  The kicker is that they want to draft him into a very dangerous mission, dangling the carrot of freedom and an expunged record if he complies and succeeds.  Clearly there’s only one choice for Steele to make.

We quickly learn the intricacies of the secret agency, BAD, and the hidden role it plays in the security of the United States.  Headquartered in Nashville, TN, they have access to the entire country, seemingly limitless technological resources, and licenses to do things other agencies would deem unsavory.  They’re comprised of past criminals, loose cannons, and those who struggle with following the rules and rigid authority.  It’s the perfect environment for Steele.

Other than his talent and his past, Steele was chosen for this mission because he was also approached by APS, another secret agency BAD has been attempting to infiltrate, but has yet been unsuccessful.  They need Steele to pretend to accept the position at APS in order to uncover top secret information and, perhaps, prevent another World War.  This, of course, lands both Steele and Sydney in more danger than BAD predicted.  They soon find themselves on the run in a life-or-death game of cat and mouse.  Only if they survive do they stand a chance of stopping an assassination that could cause history to repeat itself.

Steele was a good, typical “Kenyon” male lead:  He’s angry, tortured, has a rocky past, and doesn’t care for distractions or interferences.  She has an amazing knack for creating male leads who seem like antiheroes, but they eventually discover that they have it in them to be real heroes (very, very few of them remain antiheros – I can probably list them off using the fingers on only one hand).  Their dark and twisty natures are always well-developed and unique.  I hadn’t read a book of hers where the male lead was once in the (modern) military and I definitely appreciated all of the research she so obviously did.  I felt like I understood the mentality and the world that shaped them.  In Steele’s case, it was his entire history that helped make him the man he was when he met Sydney.  By far my favorite part of his character was his “bad attitude.”  (Don’t you love it when a title comes into play in a review?!  No?  Maybe that’s just me.)  His sarcasm was extreme and I loved how he went out of his way to annoy absolutely everyone.  His attitude was bad to the max.  It’s easy to create a male lead with a generic “bad” attitude, but Kenyon tweaked him enough through mannerisms and comments that he was unique.  I do have some criticisms about him.  The first part of the synopsis indicates he’s a fan of eBay – I didn’t see this once in the book, though it would have been an amusing quirk.  I’ve learned from snippets here and there (not just this book) that snipers do not, in fact, work alone.  They have a spotter and work very, very closely with them.  They form a unique, tight bond born of trust and danger.  To say that Steele prefers to work alone wouldn’t be entirely accurate.  A sniper doesn’t really work alone.  Now, if this is intended to say that he never means to take another spotter/partner because it means risking someone else’s life, then this might be more accurate.

Sydney, on the other hand, was less unique.  We’re immediately introduced to her as a slightly curvier, heavier, shorter Angelina Jolie lookalike.  I don’t really care for such blatant comparisons – it makes the characters feel less unique and more based off of impressions of a real person known by everyone.  Granted, it makes it easier to picture a character by giving them a blatant lookalike, but I find it less fun and it actually hurts my sense of imagination.  Personally, I then picture the actress/actor’s mannerisms and speech patterns I’ve seen during interviews or events or even as they act in films.  Maybe I’m the only one who has an issue with this, or maybe I’m just being picky.  I’m not used to Kenyon making such blatant comparisons and I usually find her characters to be much more unique.  This is probably why I didn’t find Sydney to be overly interesting.  She had a decent backstory and reason for wanting to be a part of BAD, but that was about it.  She, herself, had a bad attitude and I didn’t feel like the reason was explained particularly well (over and above her reason for refusing to date coworkers anymore).  I did like her banter with Steele – they seemed well-equipped to go toe-to-toe again and again and again.  I kind of wanted to see her (quite literally) kick his butt because she probably could have, but it was not to be.  In the past, there hasn’t really been an issue with Kenyon writing physically and mentally powerful women who can (and do) kick men’s butts, but I wonder why she didn’t really use that here.  It seemed like a bit of a missed opportunity for this plot.

As far as the romance goes (because this is, at its heart, still a romance novel), I found it less believable than in Kenyon’s Dark Hunter books.  The scenarios are similar:  man and woman are thrust together under dire circumstances, they learn to work together as a well-matched team, they save the world and fall in love in the process.  However, while I get that Steele has been celibate for a long time, I don’t quite understand how he “clicked” with Sydney.  He could have been attracted to her, but I would have felt more convinced had he chosen to “scratch his itch” rather than hold off.  He didn’t know Sydney; by all accounts, she could have never given in to his crude advances, why wait?  On the flipside, I was more convinced by the progression of Sydney’s growing feelings for Steele.  Her sympathy felt genuine even if her weakness for him did not.

Overall, this is a very different type of plot and brand of storytelling than Kenyon’s wildly popular Dark Hunter books – and there’s a reason those are so much more well-loved.  Kenyon’s genius lies in the way she can craft whole underworlds and histories, fantastic characters and captivating otherworldly plots.  BAD does this to a small degree, but I don’t find it as successful.  I still finished reading this book in less than 24-hours, so that has to say something.  I still enjoyed it.  Had I read this before becoming such a fan of the Dark Hunter books, then perhaps I would have been more enamored.  Echoes of Kenyon’s talent ring throughout – especially in her secondary characters (for those of you who know the world of her Dark-Hunters, then you’ll understand what I mean when I say there are shades of Acheron complexity in BAD’s director, John Q. Public; I also eagerly await reading his story…because he so clearly has one coming).  There was a nice spark between Steele and Sydney, even if I didn’t always find it the most believable.  They did have chemistry.  The fast-paced plot and interesting story kept me very interested and I enjoyed reading this in (almost) one sitting.  Even if I’m not in love with the series thus far, Kenyon remains one of my favorite authors.

A Simple Favor: Darcey Bell

"A Simple Favor is a feverish and expertly plotted tale of psychological suspense--a twisting free fall filled with betrayals and reversals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.  Darcey Bell exposes the dark underbelly of female friendship in this taut, unsettling, and completely absorbing story that holds you in its grip until the final page.


"It starts with a simple favor--an ordinary kindness mothers do for one another.  When glamorous Emily asks Stephanie to pick up her son after school, Stephanie happily says yes.  Emily has a life that would make any woman jealous. She is the perfect mother with a dazzling career working for a famous fashion designer in Manhattan.  Stephanie, a widow with a son in kindergarten, lonely in their Connecticut suburb, turns to her daily blog for connection and validation.  Stephanie imagines Emily to be her new confidante and is shocked when Emily suddenly disappears without a trace, leaving her son and husband with no warning.


"Stephanie knows something is terribly wrong.  Unable to keep away from the grieving family, she soon finds herself entangled with Sean, Emily's handsome, reticent British husband.  But she can't ignore the nagging feeling that he's not being honest with her about Emily's disappearance.  Is Stephanie imagining things?  How well did she really know her 'best' friend?

"Stephanie begins to see that nothing--not friendship, love, or even an ordinary favor--is as simple as it seems."

My friend and I wanted to see the film adaptation of this book when it came out a short while ago, but we never got around do it.  When I finally saw a copy of the original book on the shelf at my local library, I knew it was something I had to check out.  The promos made the book look deliciously twist and suspenseful.  After beginning my journey into this book, I was not disappointed.

We open with Stephanie's blog posts -- a blog she writes to reach out and connect with other moms out in the world, for kinship, validation, and friendship (whether or not she even truly realizes the last).  She and her son, Miles, make their lonely way through life after the death of Stephanie's husband, Davis, and her brother, Chris, in a tragic car accident.  Stephanie, perhaps, doesn't realize how lonely she really is until she finds what she believes to be a true and honest friend in Emily, the mother of her son's favorite playmate in school.  They bond over shared secrets and wine, as well as the challenges of raising sons in their Connecticut suburb after leaving the bustle of New York.  Stephanie is very quickly enamored of Emily and her lifestyle, her seeming perfection and elegance.  Having no one else to turn to, Stephanie quickly turns to her blog when Emily doesn't show to pick up her son from Stephanie's house after school one evening.  At first, Stephanie believes she may have misheard Emily or perhaps Emily's emergency had pulled her away for longer than anticipated.  It's only when Emily's continued unresponsiveness and days pass that Stephanie's concern blossoms into true fear.  She reaches out to Emily's husband, Sean, while he's on a business trip overseas.  At first, Sean's lack of concern and knowledge of Emily's hectic schedule makes Stephanie feel like a worrier.  It isn't until Sean returns to the States and Emily still hasn't returned that the two of them find a shared bond over their fear for Emily's safety.  Where had she gone?  Why had she left?  Was she still alive?  As more and more evidence is uncovered, more questions seem to pop up rather than answers.  What happened to Emily?  These questions seem to be answered...but there were far too many pages left in the book for this to be tied up in a nice, neat little package -- I always find this terrifying; when everything seems to work out, but then there is too much book left for this to actually be the case.  What on earth can the author have in store for me?!  This was absolutely the case with A Simple Favor.

The many twists and turns of this dark and suspenseful story kept me guessing.  I was so sure I knew what was coming right from the very beginning, but I admit that I changed my guess several times over until the truth was finally revealed.  The complex plot and multifaceted characters made for a psychological thriller that was difficult to put down; the tension never really abated.  The first lines of the book ring true throughout:  no one tells the truth and everyone has secrets.  Sometimes even the most innocuous of individuals have the deepest, darkest secrets of all.  Can you ever really, truly know someone?  This book definitely plays off of insecurities about opening up to one another, and the possibilities that people we hold dear are not actually who they seem to be.

At first the narration bounces back and forth between Stephanie's blog and her point of view (which is far more honest and revealing than her public online posts).  This is the first clue that there is a lot more to all of the characters than we see.  Gradually, more is revealed about Stephanie's past and she's not the perfect woman/mother she portrays on her blog -- then again, is anyone really as perfect as the profess to be on social media?  We realize the depth of her relationship with Emily and why Stephanie felt the two of them were so close.  This sets up the tension surrounding Emily's disappearance quite well.

Eventually, we become privy to the points of view of a couple of the other characters.  This adds even more depth and complexity to the plot.  What secrets have these characters kept?  Are they even telling us, the readers, the truth?  What are they choosing to omit and how much will it impact the story?

This is a book that will well and truly keep you on the edge of your seat.  I finished it in the matter of a few days and found it difficult to stop reading.  There are so many violent turns and rapid twists that I couldn't see what was coming at me around the next bend.  This is the mark of a good suspenseful psychological thriller, is it not?  The characters had layer upon layer of personality and secrets.  It was nearly impossible to trust any of them, even when you really wanted to do so.  I was captured right from the start and drawn into this mysterious world of secrets, lies, and questions.

I'm definitely even more interested in seeing the film adaptation of this book.  I wonder how true to its dark nature they will keep.  From what few previews I've seen, I think the casting was done well, given the descriptions in the book.

I recommend this for those of you who like darker psychological thrillers.  Fans of Gone Girl will really enjoy this one as it makes you question reality and the reliability of the very characters themselves.

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes: The True Story of New York City's Greatest Female Detective and the 1917 Missing Girl Case That Captivated a Nation: Brad Ricca

“IN 1917, ON THE DAY BEFORE VALENTINE’S DAY, EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD RUTH CRUGER DISAPPEARED. WHEN THE POLICE GAVE UP, A MYSTERIOUS WOMAN IN BLACK VOWED TO FIND HER…

“Mrs. Sherlock Holmestells the true story of Grace Humiston, the detective and lawyer who turned her back on New York society life to become one of the nation’s greatest crime fighters during an era when women were rarely involved with investigations.  After agreeing to take the sensational Cruger case, Grace and her partner, the hardboiled detective Julius J. Kron, navigated a dangerous web of secret boyfriends, twofaced cops, underground tunnels, rumors of white slavery, and a mysterious pale man, in a desperate race against time.

“Grace’s motto ‘Justice for those of limited means’ led her to strange cases all over the world. From defending an innocent giant on death row to investigating an island in Arkansas with a terrible secret, from warring halls of Congress to a crumbling medieval tower in Italy, Grace solved crimes in between shopping at Bergdorf Goodman and being marked for death by the sinister Black Hand.  Grace was appointed the first female U.S. district attorney in history and the first female consulting detective to the New York Police Department.  Despite her many successes in social justice, at the height of her powers Grace began to see chilling connections in the cases she solved, leading to a final showdown with her most fearsome adversary of all.

“Mrs. Sherlock Holmesis the first-ever narrative biography of this singular woman the press nicknamed after fiction’s greatest detective.  Her poignant story reveals important clues about the relationship between missing girls, the media, and the real truth of crime stories.  The great mystery of Grace’s life—and the haunting twist ending of the book—is how one woman could become so famous only to disappear from history completely.”

As the year draws to a close I realize there has gradually become a sad gap in my reading materials.  There was a loss in my family that hit very, very close to home and I fear that put a rather large dampener on my desire and will to immerse myself in reading -- no matter how escapist I normally find this activity to be.  It's been a little over three weeks now and I'm just beginning to get back into some of my normal habits (less the interruptions of the holidays) in time to try to finish a few more books before the year ends.  I still want to try to keep my tally up (even if I don't think I'll achieve my goal to complete the 2018 reading challenge I began a little bit late into the year)!

This book was yet another Pinterest find; however, I didn't realize it was nonfiction until I went to go pick it up at my local library and the catalog sent me to the nonfiction section (thank you all those years working as a nonfiction page at my local library for helping make my search through the Dewey Decimal System painless).  I've been on a bit of a "Sherlock Holmes" kick in my reading and television watching, so this book naturally caught my eye as I was scrolling through my feed.  A female Sherlock?  Set in early Twentieth Century New York?  I was intrigued.  When I discovered this was actually a work of nonfiction, I was still interested, if a little bit unsure.  I must admit that my occasional fascination with true crime shows were what made me end up borrowing this book.  The few reviews I did skim indicated that, while this book was a work of nonfiction, it read more like fiction.  This was spot-on.  Ricca's writing is vivid with details and he crafts settings like one would expect from a work of fiction.  This serves to transport the reader rather than talk "at" the reader, which is sometimes the greatest pitfall of nonfiction.  Instead of feeling like I was reading a transcribed lecture, the book was filled with captivating details.

I found the tenacity, ingenuity, and creativity of Mrs. Grace Humiston to be remarkable and truly underscored the assertion that she is America’s female Sherlock Holmes.  I was impressed with the way in which she approached her cases and refused to accept the obvious simply because it was the easiest explanation.

I do have some criticism for this work.  The introduction with the bit about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s visit to America with his wife, while interesting, added little-to-nothing to the actual plot and story (other than to try to create a stronger connection between Grace and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most infamous literary creation).  I expected it to come back into play in some fashion, but it really did not.  The readers were then introduced to the mystery of the missing girl, Ruth Cruger.  Even the title of the book indicates that this is going to be the focus of the book…however, Ruth’s story is quickly shoved into the background in favor of accounts of Grace’s investigations into the white slave trade in America.  While interesting – and while I eventually saw the possible connections to Ruth’s disappearance – I felt like it really took over the book.  This wasn’t what I was expecting.  The sheer amount of research and cases and investigations probably could have amounted to their own separate book.  It felt like there was a long span of time before Ruth’s case came back into play and this slowed down my reading.  I was expecting to read about a fascinating “gone girl” case, but it steered more toward the white slavery angle and then abruptly turned back to Ruth.  I can see why this information was included, but felt it could have been abbreviated for the sake of sticking true to the book’s subtitle.  Honestly, I don’t think I would have minded this as much had the subtitle not led me to believe that we’d be focusing on Ruth’s case.  It was all interesting information and, had I gone into this book believing this was a biography about Mrs. Humiston, then I would have felt differently.

The research that went into this book was superb.  All of the details and cases, the investigations and hearings, the interviews and tactics were recounted spectacularly.  I mentioned earlier that this book reads more like a work of fiction than nonfiction and that is why I feel it was successful.  It could have so easily turned into a flat biography or read like some sort of dry account of a case (or several), but it didn’t.  The anecdotes and dialogue along with the meticulous research brought Mrs. Humiston’s story to life.  I truly believe she’s a hero for all that she did for investigative work and law in early Twentieth Century America, but I’m ashamed that she’s been almost entirely forgotten, relegated to obscure knowledge and history.  She deserves to be known for all that she uncovered and accomplished—as well as for her seemingly limitless bravery and dogged determination to truly do what was right, even at a personal cost.

If you like true crime murder mystery shows (think anything on the Investigation Discovery channel or some “Dateline” specials), then this book is right up your alley.  The writing style makes it a relatively smooth read and the subject matter is captivating.  While I had some critiques for some of the (what I felt to be) excess information, I don’t think it’s necessarily detrimental to the book.  It remains well-written and covers a very interesting topic.

The Queen of Hearts: Kimmery Martin

"A debut novel set against a background of hospital rounds and life-or-death decisions that pulses with humor and empathy as it explores THE HEART'S CAPACITY FOR FORGIVENESS...


"Zadie Anson and Emma Colley have been best friends since their early twenties, when they first began navigating serious romantic relationships amid the intensity of medical school.  Now they're happily married wives and mothers with successful careers -- Zadie as a pediatric cardiologist and Emma as a trauma surgeon.  Their lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, are chaotic but fulfilling, until the return of a former colleague unearths a secret one of them has been harboring for years.


"As chief resident, Nick Xenokostas was the center of Zadie's life -- both professionally and personally -- throughout the tragic chain of events during her third year of medical school that she has long since put behind her.  Nick's unexpected reappearance at a time of new professional crisis shocks both women into a deeper look at the difficult choices they made at the beginning of their careers.  As it becomes evident that Emma must have known more than she revealed about the circumstances that nearly derailed both their lives, Zadie starts to question everything she thought she knew about her closest friend."


This book took me nearly a month to finish (as evidenced by my relatively long hiatus posting reviews on here), and this does not really bode well for a stellar review.  I will cushion this statement with the truth that I’ve been dealing with health issues and some personal/familial tragedy, so I’ve simply been unable to force myself to read all that much.  Granted, a brilliant book can be an escape from the rigors and draining nature of the real world, but the medical nature of this sotry had some rather poor timing in my personal life – this is, of course, not really the book’s fault.  I was initially drawn to it via yet another Pinterest search.  This was also a new release at my local library and all the pieces just seemed to fall into place.

I began reading The Queen of Hearts very shortly after I finished the book I reviewed just prior to this one.  I was immediately sucked into the fast-paced worlds of Zadie and Emma.  One of the biggest draws for me was the happy realization that it was set in Charlotte, North Carolina – where I happened to live for a year while attending college.  It’s always very entertaining to run across places with which you’re familiar; it breathes a special kind of life into a book.  An added bonus is that my uncle was a doctor in Charlotte as well, so I was familiar with the hospital and lives of these surgeons (I’ve yet to ask him if he’d ever worked with Dr. Kimmery Martin, the author).

The first part of the book had excellent pacing.  I was introduced to Zadie and Emma, the interesting nature of their friendship, and the very different lives they lead.  The pacing does change and I think that was part of my problem.  It began to feel a bit choppy.  Eventually, the story bounces back and forth from intense present events to the pivotal time in 1999 when Zadie and Emma were still medical students and tragedy struck.  They learned what it is like to be a doctor, and they also learned how to cope with their own mistakes and suffer through unexpected loss.  This use of perspective  – bouncing not only in time and space, but also between Zadie and Emma – sometimes got a bit more confusing than was pleasant.  There was a concerted effort to create a stark differentiation between the bubbly, scattered Zadie and ice queen Emma, but it fell short.  I lost their unique voices a few times in their different sections and had to go back to remind myself whose perspective I was reading.

The dark secret was, I thought, handled fairly  well.  Snippet after snippet was revealed, making me think, “There it is…  No, this has to be it!” several times.  When the real secret does finally come to light (in its entirety), it truly was deep and dark…and I can understand why she (I won’t tell you which “she”) did her best to cover it up all this time.  I must also admit that everything following the admission of the complete truth felt a bit rushed – literally the entire book led up to this moment and it wound up finishing before I got any real satisfaction from experiencing the aftermath.  The friendship between Zadie and Emma was so time-tested and the secret so powerful that I was left feeling a bit hollow at the end – the “resolution” felt a bit unrealistic to me.  This might come off as not making much sense, but I cannot give too much away without revealing huge plot twists (and I certainly don’t want to ruin those for you).  All said, I think I would have liked the “big reveal” to happen sooner, or to have more time to watch the characters absorb the truth.  The ending was tied up a little too quickly and neatly for my personal taste.

The medical aspects of this book – their lives as medical students and careers following some twenty years later – read a lot like “Grey’s Anatomy”.  If you’re a fan of medical dramas (complete will on-call room booty-calls), then you’ll enjoy this book.  I am a fan of “Grey’s” (especially the older seasons), so this was no trial for me.  In fact, it was part of the draw of this book.  So many people not directly in the medical field don’t realize what doctors – especially surgeons – go through on their path to their ultimate career.  It’s a life filled with exhaustion, stress, loss, triumphs, pain, and mental strain.  Reading about this from an author who is also a doctor was refreshing and very realistic.  I would be very interested to know just how many of the patients Zadie and Emma encounter in this book were borrowed from real-life experiences of Dr. Martin and her colleagues.

While I liked parts of this book, the rapid shifts in time and perspective sometimes left me a little bit lost.  Even with the impending revelation of the deep, dark secret, the latter half of the book dragged much more than the beginning did.  As I mentioned before, this was partly due to my own inability to focus, but I won’t take all of the blame here.  I think part of it was the writing style and then some of it was the addition of unnecessary details – especially in some of Zadie’s medical school flashbacks as they pertained to her group of friends.  I can see what Martin was attempting to achieve (again, sort of like the close-knit misfit group in “Grey’s Anatomy”), but I didn’t feel that it always necessarily added something.  Some passages could have been used for an entirely different book.  The ending of the story wasn’t as satisfying as I was hoping.  I liked the characters’ personalities and some of my favorite scenes were those between Zadie and Emma with their respective husbands; however, the voices sometimes blended together with all of the bouncing around.  Is this book worth trying out?  I would say so.  Do I give it a glowing recommendation?  Not necessarily.  There’s nothing terribly wrong with it, I just wasn’t as sucked in as I would have liked to have been.  I'm not totally sold by the forgiveness at the story's conclusion, but perhaps there's something to be said for the power of Zadie and Emma's relationship.

Happy reading!

I Was Anastasia: Ariel Lawhon

"In an enthralling new feat of historical suspense, Ariel Lawhon unravels the extraordinary twists and turns in Anna Anderson's 50-year battle to be recognized as Anastasia Romanov.  Is she the Russian Grand Duchess or the thief of another woman's legacy?

"Countless others have rendered their verdict.  Now it is your turn.

"Russia, July 17, 1918:  Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia where they face a merciless firing squad.  None survive.  At least that is what the executioners have always claimed.

"Germany, February 17, 1920:  A young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Anastasia Romanov is pulled shivering and senseless from a canal in Berlin.  Refusing to explain her presence in the freezing water, she is taken to the hospital where an examination reveals that her body is riddled with countless, horrific scars.  When she finally does speak, this frightened, mysterious woman claims to be the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia.

"Her detractors, convinced that the young woman is only after the immense Romanov fortune, insist on calling her by a different name:  Anna Anderson.  As rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre, old enemies and new threats are awakened.  With a brilliantly crafted dual narrative structure, Lawhon wades into the most psychologically complex and emotionally compelling territory yet:  the nature of identity itself."

This is the book I started reading at the tail end of my vacation (it was also the last one I'd brought with me, so I am sort of grateful that I didn't fly right through it or I would have been lost).  Once again, I have Pinterest to thank for my reading material.  The algorithm it uses to come up with recommendations really is very impressive; more often than not, it seems to be able to really pick up on what my tastes gear toward and come up with books I may not have chosen for myself, but would more than likely enjoy.  This book popped up a number of times (even after I pinned it) and I came across it at my local library, so it felt a bit like fate.

I've always been fascinated with European history (more so British history than anything else) and there's just something captivating and tragic about the Romanovs.  I even enrolled in a Russian history course during my undergraduate studies (which was amazing, by the way -- in part because I was also able to learn quite a bit about the country from which most of my family originates:  Lithuania) and I found it absolutely fascinating, especially when it came to the revolution.  I grew up watching the animated film Anastasia (one of my cousins is even named "Anastasia"), so I have always been around the story of the Grand Duchess and her ill-fated family -- even in my British history studies because her mother was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.  It was not until somewhat more recently that I was exposed to the story of Anna Anderson, the real-life woman who claimed to be THE Anastasia.  Every so often (thank you, internet, for tracking my history...), an article will pop up in my Facebook feed about Anna and her grand claims and mysterious background.  I won't give away what I have learned from these articles, but, rather, will stick to the context of this book.




I'm currently about a third of the way through this book.  It has a very unique narrative style, bouncing back and forth from Anna to Anastasia.  It transcends the decades in less than chronological order (at least for Anna) and it can be difficult to follow at times, but it is so very much worth it.  The intricacies and nuances I've been able to catch thus far are captivating.  We begin with an unnamed narrator cautioning us that conveying her story will only pass along its burden, though we continue onwards regardless.  This is followed by Anna making a last-ditch effort to remain in America before her visa expires and it is after this that the meandering hallways of Anna's memories are revealed.  We are given the distinct impression that she's a credible narrator because of the details she provides and the lengths to which she's been willing to go -- the sacrifices she's been willing to make -- in order to prove her identity.  We see how other people have tried to use her, either for monetary or notoriety gain; how she has been touted as a lost princess or sneered at as an imposter.




However, I think my favorite parts thus far have been Anastasia's point of view.  The Romanovs are often portrayed as spoiled and aloof -- totally out of touch with reality and the things they should have handled as the Russian royal family -- and I'm not disputing that they were not; however, it has been very interesting to read a different perspective.  Told from Anastasia's point of view, these sections offer a very intimate look into the Romanov family and behind closed doors.  Their confusion and fear were palpable entities during their downfall and subsequent transportation to Siberia.  You feel sympathy for a family which is, more often than not, shown to be completely detached from reality.  The details Anastasia is able to capture, her determination and will are astounding for someone so young and in such a dire situation.  It's all written beautifully and it really immerses you in this world of turmoil and upheaval experienced by Anastasia and her family.


I'm looking forward to seeing how all of this progresses.




***


I'm now 2/3 of the way through this book and the tension is definitely heating up.  The narrative style is so successful and captivating, with Anna and Anastasia's perspectives playing out with different narrators and their timelines creeping ever closer.  I find myself speeding through because I want to get to the point where their stories/timelines collide.  What will we discover?  What is the truth?  In a backwards fashion, we learn how Anna came to be in America, all of the times she'd been exploited or vilified, how she'd come to survive off of her infamy.  How the surviving Romanov family members had attempted to buy her off and why they did so.  With Anastasia, we witness the treatment of the imperial family under the revolutionaries and then the Bolsheviks.  We see how they were taken down more than a few notches (perhaps several hundred notches, to be honest) in an effort to rub their noses in reality.  The subtle ways in which they'd been sheltered, even in captivity.  There's even a little bit of sweet romance between some of the captors and captives.  Anastasia's first-person perspective portions remain my favorite parts of this book.  Her personality is spunky and her will to survive is admirable.  History tells us that the story does not end well for the Romanovs, but I'm still looking forward to seeing what the last part of the book has to offer, and I consider this a great feat of writing.


***


I finished this book a few days ago and I'm happy to finally get around to finish my review.  Completing a book in a matter of a few days is no great feat for me (in fact, this one actually took me a bit longer than normal because of my hectic schedule and trying to get back into the swing of things after vacation), but I do consider it notable when there are specific reasons that I simply cannot put a book down.  While the book, as a whole, is extremely interesting and captivating, the latter half is so brimming with suspense that you're practically salivating for more.  You HAVE to know if Anna is Anastasia.  So many times over I thought I'd had the plot figured out; I believed I'd discovered Lawhon's aim.  I was wrong so many times over.  The beauty of this style of writing (with two perspectives beginning decades apart and then creeping inexorably closer, gradually building the tension while it reveals tidbits of information and carefully omitting others) is that you know where the story ends up, you're just not sure how it got there.  And, in this particular story, that makes all the difference in the world.  This style is what makes this book unique and such a fascinating read.  It could have just been yet another historical fiction providing hope for those who believe that, surely, someone must have survived what history can only categorize as a massacre of the royal family.  The writing is so poignant and it resonated so deeply with me that I was completely absorbed in the story (woe to my husband who kept trying to interrupt the last few chapters despite the fact that I told him I just wanted to finish my book...).


Anastasia's portions of the story remained my favorite, though I do think that Anna's became even more interesting as the story progressed.  The impact of the surviving Romanov family members upon her life was of particular interest to me -- their desperation to quell Anna's claims and collect the Romanov inheritance.  I thought the way in which Lawhon managed to get the readers to sympathize with Anna while retaining the sense of mystery and uncertainty about her was artful.  There were a couple of Anna's portions which dragged on just a bit; however, having finished the book, I can say that pretty much every single detail was required to further the reader's belief/disbelief.  One must take this book as a whole rather than two separate stories which happen to be contained in the same book.  There are nuances and details woven with such care throughout, creating an epic interconnected story.


Anastasia's perspective was dramatic and vivid.  Having completed that aforementioned Russian history course, I'm familiar with the ways in which the Romanovs were treated after their fall from grace.  Yes, they were a royal family vastly out of touch with reality, but does any human being really deserve to be punished thusly?  Anastasia's companionship with Tomas provided much-needed tenderness in her dark, disparaging world and I found the details to be very sweet.  The book had the potential to become far too heavy without this.


Overall, this was a fascinating read with a unique structure to it, which, I felt, makes it so successful.  It definitely helps if you know and understand a little bit of Russian history to truly appreciate why the revolt took place, but it's not necessary to know everything since Lawhon does such a good job of explaining it as the story goes along.  I definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of historical fiction or is looking for a book with a different setup than your run-of-the-mill chronological timeframe.  As the information above indicates, this book really is a psychological journey.


***Side Note:  I discovered that Lawhon is another Nashville author -- another happy coincidence.  I ended up (unintentionally) taking books by two different Nashville authors on my trip to that city.

Twilight Desires (Morgan Creek, Book Three): Amanda Ashley

“Sofia Ravenwood was once fascinated by vampires—their seductive power, their inhuman strength, their dark desires.  Then one of them attached her family, and she threw out her goth attire and vowed to keep clear of her enemies. Until she heard about Ethan Parrish:  a sweet, sizzling-hot former college football player, turned into a vampire against his will.

 

“Wandering the deserted streets of Morgan Creek, Wyoming, Ethan’s sure he’ll be alone forever—a monster like him deserves nothing else.  Then beautiful, complicated Sofia agrees to meet him, fangs and all.  The need she ignites in him is more than just the pulse of her blood or the scent of her skin.  But he’s not the only bloodsucker desperate to make her his own…”

 

Here we are!  This is Ashley’s third and newest installment in her Morgan Creek series.  *In the name of full disclosure, I did receive an advanced copy of this book directly from the author, herself, in exchange for my honest review.*  The book’s official release date was August 28, 2018 (though the cover of the copy in my possession states it'll be available in September of 2018), but, knowing I review books and have reviewed her books in the past, Ashley reached out to me and kindly offered to send an advanced uncorrected proof to me.  I, of course, was happy to read it.  I did, however, first need to read the preceding two books in this series!  If you’ve read those recent reviews, then you’ll know I had some mixed feelings.  I liked some of the characters and really appreciated the uniqueness of the plot surrounding the location of Morgan Creek, itself, but some things didn’t strike me as outstanding.  I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what this book has to offer.  We were introduced to both Sofia and Ethan in the second book in the series (Sofia is Micah’s younger sister and Ethan is Holly’s cousin) – more so Sofia than Ethan.  From what I already know about them, Sofia is a bit of a spitfire and Ethan has no qualms about giving Saintcrow, his sire, any attitude or lip.  I’m looking forward to seeing how Ethan’s dynamic plays out with the other vampires in Morgan Creek – especially because he’s always believed in vampires and hated them so much – and I’m really hoping we continue to see Sofia’s attitude and spunk.  I have felt that the biggest thing this series has been lacking is a really unique, standout female lead; I’m really hoping Sofia can accomplish this task.




***




I'm about 75 pages into this book after starting it last night.  It's a much easier read and I like the pace of the story; I think Ethan's confusion and frustration coming to terms with his new life as a vampire is well-written.  So far, Sofia does seem better developed than the other female leads I've encountered and I hope it continues.  It feels like she really does have a life of her own and, while some of her attitudes and behavior is a bit immature, I think it suits her age well (she is, after all, only 19).  Ethan has an attitude and a bit of a death wish.  I like seeing a change in him when he's around Sofia.


However...Sofia has a feels "her heart swell with love" 31 pages into the story...thirty...one...pages...(Ashley 31).  I found it unbelievable and unrealistic, especially because she and Ethan had only met a couple of times at that point.  It almost makes me wonder if that was a hiccup in the writing because there haven't been any mentions since then.  One other hiccup is the fact that Ethan keeps taking her to bars and out for drinks (she likes tequila sunrises)...but she's only 19.  I am not upset over the fact that she's underage-drinking, I just can't quite figure out how it's so easy for her to get a drink absolutely everywhere they go.  Ethan hasn't even considered that it might be more difficult to take a 19-year-old out to a bar.  Granted, Ethan does most of the ordering, but no fake ID has been mentioned and no one's bothered to card her.  It's just a little too easy, almost as if we (conveniently) forgot how old she actually is.




Some moments have felt a bit scattered and contradictory.  POTENTIAL SPOILERS:  The scene where Mateo uses a human henchman to kidnap Sofia seems a bit random and ill-planned; on top of the fact that I'm not really sure why he had Sofia locked in a basement while he fed on another woman he'd kidnapped.  It seemed like a lot of trouble for not a lot of real reason.  The biggest issue I've taken thus far is with Ethan's very irrational, mercurial mood in Chapter 10.  I get being upset because Sofia hasn't called; however, he'd just had a wonderfully productive planning meeting about the changes he wants to make to Morgan Creek.  He seemed to be getting exactly what he wanted.  From one sentence to the next, Ethan transforms into a self-loathing, suicidal maniac willing to do whatever it takes to get Saintcrow to come and put him out of his misery.  It felt very sudden and I actually had to put the book down and wonder, "What the heck just happened here?"  We'll see how this progresses.




One other little plot hole I feel the need to mention:  Earlier in this review, I state that Ethan always hated vampires.  This statement stemmed from Holly's statement in book two that, when Ethan was a child, he always used to carry around objects to ward off vampires.  Last night when I was reading, Ethan indicated that he'd never really believed in vampires.  Hm.




***


I finished this book just over a week ago; however, I was in an airport on my way out of state (sans computer), so I didn’t get a chance to finish my review on this until this morning.  I ended up liking Ethan a good amount and I liked Sophia more than I’ve liked other female leads in this series.  I particularly liked the conflict between Ethan and Sophia’s older, rightfully-protective brother (and vampire), Micah.

I do have to say that I found the romance to be a bit hasty.  (***Minor spoiler:  I found the marriage between Ethan and Sophia to be pretty rushed.  I get excitement and all that, but it was borderline unbelievable.  I found their attraction to feel more natural than their actual love, if that makes any sense.***)  However, I liked their banter and the sparks between them.  I think their romance felt the most realistic to me of all of the three books I’ve read in this series.

There was a decent villain in this book in the form of a vampire who wanted to bring Morgan Creek back to its “glory days” when wandering humans were kept captive by a coven of vampires.  However, I kept waiting for more like-minded vampires to join in the fight and give Ethan and Saintcrow a better run for their money (on top of the fact that I expected Saintcrow to call upon Micah when the proverbial shit really hit the fan and Kadie went missing.  It felt strange that a vampire so in love with his mate wouldn’t call upon every single resource at his disposal when it came down to it.  Who cares of Micah and Holly were on what would technically be their second honeymoon (they went to New York first at the end of their book)?  That felt a bit odd to me.)  These like-minded vampires were hinted at and I kept waiting for something to happen with them, but it never did.  The greater threat came into play with the introduction of another supernatural being:  a witch.  There were a couple of them in this book and I would say (from my relatively limited knowledge) that they were pretty “purist” as well, which sticks nicely with the rest of Ashley’s writing.  Even though there was more tension in this book with the variety of conflicts and some decent “bad guys,” I still found myself longing for the big knock-down, drag-out battle scene.  I know if I were Saintcrow, I’d want revenge in the worst way.  Nothing would be able to stop my desire for blood; my own safety be damned.  The way this was handled made him seem a bit more fragile than one would expect from a master vampire.  I feel like I’m spending quite a bit of time on Saintcrow in this review and he’s not even the male lead.  I think this is because the series really does revolve around him.  Another reason is probably because I like him more now than I did in even his own book.  I feel like I really got to see the charm, wit, and acerbic sense of humor/sarcasm that I didn’t quite get to experience earlier.  I love it when characters develop and Saintcrow has done so.  ***Minor spoiler:  Also, the whole walking in sunlight thing was VERY convenient and I’m not too sure I cared for it.  The rest of Ashley’s vampires are very “purist” and that’s something I truly respect, so perhaps this is what rubbed me the wrong way.  I may have forgiven it for Saintcrow, but as soon as Ethan was allowed to do so, that killed it for me.  What goes hand-in-hand with this is my opinion that Saintcrow seemed overly generous with his master vampire mojo.  He let Micah drink from him, thereby instilling in him heightened powers; he drained Ethan again and let him drink, affording him additional powers and abilities (like walking in sunlight).  I feel like these were things that he should have kept very close to the chest, regardless of circumstances or who the other vampires were.  These abilities are what allow him to be so powerful, to lord his strengths over other vampires and maintain control over his domain.  Eternity is a long time and, should Micah or Ethan ever decide to turn their backs on him, they would now present a greater threat.  Something to think about.

***

Overall, I think this book was my favorite of the series.  Ethan gives Micha a run for my favorite male lead in the series.  I think Micah has a better sense of humor, but Ethan has a much better “tortured, angst-ridden, moody male” vibe about him.  I liked Ethan’s head-butting with Saintcrow, but (as previously mentioned) some of the interactions felt a bit forced or nonsensical (as in, they weren’t quite what I was expecting or they didn’t quite fit with Ethan’s emotional state).  I enjoyed the development of Saintcrow, but this proves how the series really does focus on the male leads.  Kadie and Holly really fell to the wayside in this book.  I expected a lot more from Holly as a secondary character, especially because she was the one who helped hook up Ethan and Sophia.  Instead, when it came time for Ethan and Micah to meet, she really took a big leap into the background.  I thought her rapport with Sophia (and as a calming, rational person in Micah’s life…or death, if you’re a stickler for semantics) would go a long way toward developing the plot and conflict, but it didn’t really.  I’m curious to see if other vampires from Morgan Creek will crop up in future books.  Jokes were made that the rest of Micah and Sophia’s family should be turned into vampires since they’ve already gotten a good start, but I don’t know if I expect this to be an actual hint to future stories.

I’m honored that Ashley chose to send me an advanced copy of this book to review.  I’m always thrilled whenever an author reaches out to me and I’m more than happy to contribute my own (tiny) voice to the conversation.  I recommend this book to vampire romance purists out there.  While the romance is a bit tamer than I’m used to, I think this presents a good alternative to those who find other authors a bit too “raunchy.”  There is romance; there are quality classic vampires.  If this is what you’re looking for, then Ashley’s writing is right up your alley.  I had my criticisms for each of the books in this series, but I tend to write much more in-depth reviews when I know an author will see it.  I would want the breadth and depth from anyone who was reviewing my own writing, so I feel like I’m doing a service to the writing community.  I found aspects which could have been expanded upon and some things I felt worked well.  The underlying plot of Morgan Creek is unique, interesting, and creative.  There is a ton of potential here for even more books in the series.

Happy reading!

Twilight Dreams (Morgan Creek, Book Two): Amanda Ashley

"Holly Parrish has never met anyone like Micah Ravenwood:  his dark eyes, his movie-star smile, the indefinable way he looks at her.  Even when she thought he was no more than another client for her investment firm, her lust overpowered her logic.

"But she never expected this attraction to whisk her from her busy southern California life to a silent and eerie ghost town in Wyoming.  Only vampires call the deserted place home--and one of them is Micah.  He says he's brought her to Morgan Creek for her safety, that vicious creatures are hunting her.  But how can Holly trust him?  One look and she can see the need barely restrained behind Micah's polite words.  The heat of his kiss, the pleasure of his touch--none of it can tell her whether he wants her as his lover--or his prey..."






I'm about 50 pages in and I think I already like this book more than I liked the first in this series.  I feel like this is due in large part to the fact that I have already seen a great deal more from Micah's perspective than we did Saintcrow's.  We met Micha in the first book and, given our first "meeting," I wasn't certain how much I would like him as a hero of his own story.  He actually feels more developed with a solid backstory.  Knowing what we do of his family and history (especially having a good percentage of the story told from his point of view thus far) I feel like I care about him more already.  I sympathize more with him; hopefully the trend continues.






Holly is still pretty generic.  She is pretty, smart, does her chores every Saturday, and loves to eat.  So far, she doesn't differ very much from Kadie (other than her career) and she's still pretty generic.  I hope she develops more as the story goes on.






We've also been introduced to some villains already, which is nice.  I like starting a book off with an undercurrent of conflict; it makes for a better story and a more intense read.  I think, perhaps, this is some of what the first book in this series was missing.  Granted, Saintcrow and the rest of the vampires in Morgan Creek are technically the villains, but we don't get an external villain until much, much later in the book.  This is probably why it felt like the story (and Kadie's conversations and conflict with Saintcrow) kept going in circles.  There had to be something to keep the story moving until an external villain could be introduced.  I like the villains thus far and I'm looking forward to the inevitable clash.






I'm hoping for a bit more of an explanation as to why Holly (who works solely in a formal business world) would be meeting a prospective new employee at a goth club.  It feels a bit unbelievable and REALLY unprofessional on his part.  Maybe it was a trap?  I'm hoping to find out more as I continue onward.






***




I still prefer the development of Micah's character to Saintcrow's.  I feel the sympathy toward him that was missing for me in the first book of this series.  I care about him more.  He feels more tortured, perhaps because, in some ways, he's still coming to terms with his vampire existence.  Holly, on the other hand, feels very similar to Kadie (i.e. generic).  They have the same reaction and mentality toward vampires (which I suppose is reasonable), the same obsession with food, and no real defining hobbies or traits (personality or physical) that set them apart or make them unique from a caricature of what, perhaps, someone expects a modern woman to be.  Take away their physical descriptions and professions...and they're basically the same woman.  They're both virgins (there's nothing wrong with this, but I'm definitely noticing a trend:  the men are very possessive, the women are innocent virgins, there's a lot of steamy kissing, and the sex usually winds up very vanilla (nothing but missionary) -- man, does this last one make me sound like a kink, but I promise I'm not).  Neither of them really seems to have a defining history or past.  Both of them occupy themselves the same ways (nothing more than movies and books).  Their scenes always seem to start with or involve food (usually overly-descriptive, mass quantities of food).




I still like the fact that this book has more tangible villains; it makes for a more exciting read.  Even if Holly is falling a bit flat for me, I think the plot is moving well and it doesn't feel as "trapped in a cycle" as Kadie and Saintcrow's book did.




***


Well, I finished this book last night and I can safely say that I did end up liking it more than I did the first in the series.  Kadie and Saintcrow played large roles in this sequel and, I can say with definitiveness now, that Kadie remains rather underdeveloped (as does the relationship between Kadie and Saintcrow).  Saintcrow did gain a little bit more individuality in this book (which is surprising because he was not the male lead), so it made him a bit more interesting.


I did end up liking Micah a great deal more than Saintcrow in the first book.  As a male lead, Micah was better developed, more individualized, and had a much better-explained backstory.  This is probably due in large part because he's such a young vampire that he still has living human relatives.  It helped show what he was like as a human and gave me a much better sense of who he was as a character.  (Now, I'm not saying that the only reason Saintcrow was underdeveloped was because he had no living human relatives...there are a lot of ways he could have become more well-rounded.)  He was witty and his personality suited his age.  I understood his attraction to Holly a bit better than I did Saintcrow's to Kadie, but it still fell a little bit short.  I'm stuck asking the same question:  What makes these women so damn unique?  They may be attractive and resistant to their vampiric charms, but that could be any one of hundreds, if not thousands, of women.  We see very little of Holly's family life (until the very end of the book) and nothing of her friends.  I felt like there was a big feud being hinted at when Holly mentioned that he father was a believer in vampires and hated them with a passion, but it never came to fruition.  Holly remained pretty flat, never quite setting herself apart from any other female lead in a vampire romance novel.  She loves the man; she is put off by the vampire; and she doesn't long for eternal life, but will accept it if it means she never has to leave the man she loves.  (Possibly a minor spoiler:  This is just a side note and I may be reading too much into this, but I REALLY cannot imagine any modern twenty-something picking fingertip veils for her bridesmaids...  This choice shattered the illusion for me because it felt really dated.)


I still had a few issues with the flow of the dialogue and there were some repetitive phrases, words, and conversations that simply struck me the wrong way.  This probably won't bother others as much, but I wanted to at least mention it.


I did mention before that I liked the fact that there were more tangible villains in this book.  It turns out that there were a few (we're introduced to another later in the book) and this made for a more dynamic plot.  However, I admit that the "big fight scenes" felt a little bit anticlimactic.  The action was fairly glossed over.  I didn't feel like I was watching an intense battle, rather hearing a quick account of what took place.


The last few chapters did set up the protagonists and villain for the third book in this series, which is scheduled to be released in a few weeks (and of which I also received an advanced copy in return for my honest review).  If these few chapters were any indication, we're in for our most combative male lead yet.  I am pretty certain I know who his female counterpart will be and I hope she matures and becomes a better-developed female lead than we've seen previously.


Overall, I liked this book more than the first in this series.  I appreciate that Morgan Creek is like the vampires' base -- their haven -- and I look forward to seeing how this continues and what becomes of the town now that there's no one to take care of it.  What will Saintcrow decide to do with it?  The story has potential, I just hope we get to see a more dynamic female lead.

As Twilight Falls (Morgan Creek, Book One): Amanda Ashley

"Photographing ghost towns across the American West, Kadie Andrews takes a wrong turn and ends up in Morgan Creek--a spot that isn't on the map.  It's a quaint little place, but there's something off about its complacent residents.  And when twilight falls, it takes on a truly sinister air...

"Unable to run, or to find any way out, Kadie finds herself a prisoner, hunted for her blood.  Still more disturbing, her spirit and beauty have captured the attention of master vampire Rylan Saintcrow.  When he looks into her eyes, she can see his hunger.  When he takes her in his arms, she can feel his power.  When he presses his lips against hers, she can taste his need.  Saintcrow may be the most compelling creature she's ever imagined, but Kadie knows in her heart that he is also a man.  A man who needs a woman.  To want him, desire him, crave him.  To be his willing prisoner--for all eternity..."








I haven't read anything by Amanda Ashley in quite some time, but she reached out to me and asked if I would be willing to review her newest book, the third installment in this Morgan Creek series.  My answer was, of course, yes!  She sent me an advanced copy of Twilight Desires a month or two ago and I've only just now gotten my hands on the first two books in the series.  It certainly wouldn't do to read them out of order!  I'm only a few chapters into As Twilight Falls and I've only just now realized how long it has actually been since I read a true vampire romance novel.  I don't quite count Sherrilyn Kenyon in this "true vampire" genre because her Dark-Hunters aren't actually vampires at all, they are just the beings off of which the legends were created.  When I say "true vampire," I mean Anne Rice-style or Stoker-style vampire (and the Twilight Saga doesn't count, not that I've ever even picked up those books).  These are vampires who don't stray far -- if at all -- from the traditional vampiric mythology.  There's something to be said for traditionalism and I can appreciate both sides of this spectrum:  authors who take the myth and use it for their craft; and authors who take the myth, turn it on its ear, and create something wholly unique at the risk of not actually creating a vampire at all.  Ashley is more of a traditionalist, which is something to be respected.






So far, I find the premise of Morgan Creek to be pretty intriguing.  Like I mentioned, it's still very early in the book; everything is still being developed and I still haven't learned all that much about the characters or their motivation.  I'm looking forward to continuing onward.






***




Thus far, I'm liking the premise of the town of Morgan Creek, but I do have a lot of questions and I'm looking forward to finding the answers.  I've also just met Saintcrow and I really would love to see more of his point of view.  Thus far, we've focused a great deal on Kadie and I need to really care about a male lead in order to become invested in a book. Granted, I'm still very early on in my reading, but I look forward to what's coming.  For that matter, I want to know more about Kadie.  I'm not very invested in her yet, either.  I know very, very little about her personality or her background.  I realize that a lot of writing is going toward setting up the odd, isolated town of Morgan Creek and having Kadie come to terms with the fact that vampires do exist, but I'm looking forward to finding out what make Kadie so special -- what draws Saintcrow to her?




***


I'm now a little bit more than halfway through this book.  I still like the premise of Morgan Creek -- the fact that it's a hidden vampire haven headed by a powerful master vampire.  I think Ashley put a lot of thought and care into creating a livable, believable (as far as vampire storylines go) scenario.  I really have to admit that I'm still not in love with either of the leading characters.  What makes them special?  Kadie has no really special defining characteristics or even a fantastic personality and, as far as female leads go, I'm struggling a bit with her.  The fact that she's a photographer seems to be the most interesting thing about her, though there is VERY little evidence of this in her day-to-day life.  I feel like someone who has dedicated her life to this art would look at the world through a different lens (pun intended); having her see the beauty in certain things, appreciate her surroundings or something, would lend her character a bit more interest.  For that matter, the rest of her character is pretty run-of-the-mill.  She likes shopping, chocolate, and overeating (and there seems to be a heavy emphasis placed on exactly what the characters eat at every single meal, which becomes a little bit repetitive...especially when characters like Kadie eat large quantities at a time).  She doesn't have any flaws as far as I can tell -- nothing that makes her feel more realistic.  I have yet to see what makes her so fascinating and attractive to Saintcrow.  I'm also really not sold on Kadie's internal and external dialogues.  She flashes back and forth between wanting Saintcrow and hating him with such rapidity that it's difficult to invest in.  I can understand the fact that Ashley is trying to show that Kadie is at war with herself, but having the same conversation again and again makes the story drag.  I long to see her develop more as a character.




As far as Saintcrow goes, I really want to see more of his point of view.  In the 216 pages that I've read, I doubt there have been anywhere near 50 pages from his perspective.  I'm definitely used to a more even balance and I've found this balance necessary when writing for this genre.  As unsold as I am on Kadie, I'm almost even less invested in Saintcrow.  He has SO MUCH POTENTIAL!  He could be so interesting, so tortured; instead, he seems almost robotic.  His attraction to Kadie and his love for her feel a bit flat.  Desire, I can see, but only on the most basic of levels because he's male and she's an attractive female.  As for why she's the first woman he's loved in 900 years...I don't quite know why.  He does mention that he's not sure what draws him to her, but this ends up feeling like a little bit of a cop-out.  Sure, he's dark, mysterious, sexy, and dangerous...but what beyond these things makes him a well-crafted male lead?  I'm uncertain at this point.  I hope to discover something in his past that makes him fearful of love (other than that he is a vampire and unwilling to put himself at risk).  I want to know why and how Kadie has changed him so much.  As Saintcrow's world starts to fall down around him, I hope to see more depth and range from both him and Kadie.




***


Alright!  I finished this book late last night.  The ending was tied up in a very neat little bow (like most books in the romance genre).  I was able to predict some of the things that happened...well, most of them, to be honest.  Some things were better explained than others and I found a few minor plot holes (things that probably should have been caught by an editor).  I don't know if they became more numerous toward the end of the book, but there were a few sprinkled throughout and I definitely noticed them more toward the end.  They weren't horrible or glaring, but they were definitely present (i.e. Saintcrow was able to enter a house into which he'd not previously been invited; someone Kadie was VERY close to was told by Saintcrow that she was aware he was a vampire, but when this person questioned her, he behaved shocked that she knew...and I'm certain it wasn't an act; a fledgling vampire who had NO training or instruction somehow knew about the complex blood bond between Kadie and Saintcrow, as well has how to use it, etc.).  In addition to this, there were so many repetitive conversations, internal dialogue, and phrases (i.e. "sickening thud" was used a few times within a paragraph of each other and there are a lot more adjectives which could have been used; the scenes with Kadie's mother have some repetitive phrases and the conversations felt rather trite; and if a man had an English accent it was always a "slight English accent").  These struck me the hardest and "bothered" me.  I realize what was trying to be conveyed -- Kadie's indecision and vacillation between whether or not to trust and love Saintcrow -- but it left the characters feeling flat.  Not to mention I don't feel like the attraction between the two main characters was ever fully formed.  I never saw what made Kadie so special.  I did see a little bit more of what attracted her to Saintcrow, but it rarely went past the physical.  I think part of the issue is what I mentioned before:  We see SO LITTLE from Saintcrow's perspective that he felt underdeveloped.  Other than being a vampire, I saw almost nothing that made him unique or really a stand-out male lead.  He had no flaws.  Sure, we see some very minor snippets of his past, but many of them are in Kadie's dreams, so we can't really be certain how much she imagined and how much Saintcrow put there.


Reading back through the progression of this review (because I actually had the time and patience to review as I read (thanks RAIR method!) and I can see how badly I wanted/needed more development and uniqueness to the main characters from the very beginning.  I still very much enjoyed the premise of Morgan Creek.  This Venus Fly Trap-like sanctuary for vampires was really creative and I don't think I've ever encountered anything like it before.  Unfortunately, the character development fell a bit flat for me.  There was so much potential to create unique and exciting characters, but they ended up coming up short.  I'm about to start the second book in this series, so we'll see if being introduced to the male lead in this first book helps the depth of the characterization.