Amy

This book is so good. It's exactly what it's billed as and just awesome. The characters are all great - but I especially love some of the choices that the author made as to ‘twists' in the story. They were good, foreshadowed well and I would have loved to have been taken a little more by surprise of them than I was. But I give him two thumbs way up for the choices that were made.

Also, as a fan of superhero movies, I love the little ‘stinger' at the end of the book, after the credits, if you will. Things have also been set up quite nicely for sequels. (Sequels that I will almost certainly be excited for.)

I really thought I was going to like this book. It sounded like something that could have been turned into a Grant/Hepburn film and that's always a good sign. However...

I did like the two leads, even if I never felt any chemistry from their romance. The secondary plotline was decent, even if it took way too long to become amusing and I never found it as funny as it was probably supposed to be.

The big issue I had though was the writing style. I liked how there were a lot of different people to follow and I never had problems keeping them straight. They shined the most though, when the chapter was about them - like the first few building each of the main characters. Once more people were introduced to the story, the writing became ‘third person omniscient' - which means that at any moment in the story, we would be afforded an inside look at character a, then one paragraph later we would get to see inside the head of person b.

While most (though not all) of this was limited to the main two characters, some of the others got their moment in too.

I don't like this writing style. It reminds me way too much of head hopping - something that actually gives me a headache when over done. This book quite nearly over did it for me. Some people might like it, but I much prefer each character to have their own chapter - or even just a couple of pages, and then switch to someone else, instead of back and forth each paragraph.

It really pains me that I didn't like this book more. I love figure skating and this author obviously does too - and she knows more than the average fan about it, so that's great.

And, the other main reason I read this book is because I heard that Josh isn't an alpha male. He isn't. And I did really like him.

However, Courtney was a lot more indecisive, insecure and weepy than I like my girls to be. And the romance, the way it was done, I just didn't like.

Knowing that the next books follow the same couple, I know I won't be reading any more. Which is a shame because it's not every day I come across a clean figure skating romance.

Even better than the first one! The biggest ‘problem' I had with the first one - really nothing more than a learning curve to get around - was the way the pov would follow different characters throughout a scene. Kind of like movies/shows do. Well, with this book, the perspective only switches - I think - at the beginning of chapters. Which made me very happy.

I love the characters at least as much as the first book and can't wait to see what comes next!

I meant to only listen to half of this today, but it was a lot more fun than I expected and I listened to the whole thing almost non-stop. I'm thinking now that I really want to read a copy of this. The only other Shakespeare play I've read was The Tempest, but I think what I heard said about Shakespeare's plays was right - they need to be performed, not read. I've just got a few lingering questions about what went on, things that I wasn't quite able to follow and - if I'm being truthful - probably wasn't paying quite enough attention to.

“You hear about it all the time: Queens going mad with jealousy and having banished or killed anyone and everyone whom they perceived to be prettier than them; kings not being able to touch anything without turning it into solid gold - which sounds all very well, until you stop to look at it from a practical point of view; princes and princesses who seem to disappear right into thin air...”

This is a very cute little story. It reads a lot like a fairytale. This is both a good thing and...honestly, not so great.

It's good because I love the style. We get to know the people and they're each different - even though it's not a very large cast. The problem is there's a lack of descriptions - just enough that you can follow without getting bogged down which might be good or you might be like me and have wanted a little more.

Also, the book has the habit of not indicating when we've changed point of views. This was actually handled very well, better than I've seen it before, it was still slightly jarring at times. You think you're following one character, but then their path crosses with someone else and - bam - we've changed who we're following.

I did like all three of the main characters though and I thought the ‘twist' was both unexpected and, if you follow carefully, not totally out of the blue.

Also, the brief glimpse of the world building was a lot of fun. I've always been a sucker for those retellings that throw everything in the same world and this one seems to do just that.

I'm definitely interested in reading more of this series.

There's a reason I don't read many mysteries anymore: I always seem to know who the guilty party is long before our sleuth figures it out. While this wasn't the sort of book I would chose for myself, (it was a birthday gift) I did enjoy it. There were a few contradictions, but the people were all likable - which is kind of unusual for mysteries. :)

Anyway, this book would have gotten three stars from me, but I knew who the killer was with 90+ pages to go and was left wanting to skip to the end. I didn't though, but I couldn't believe how long it took our amature detective to put everything together.

Listened to the audiobook.

Overall it was...strange. There were a couple moments - with Jocasta, I think, that I loved. And the ‘Chorus: Strophe - Antistrophe' stuff sounded unbelievably awesome. All in all though, I just thought it was overly dramatic. Maybe it's supposed to be. Don't know.

If I had heard the author's concept for this book being a cross between the X-Men and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen I would have probably felt a lot more secure going into it. However, I didn't. Instead I had heard so many mixed review that I entered this story with a high level of trepidation.

I needn't have worried as I loved this book.

Finley is a very entertaining lead character. Early on in the book her two personalities are fighting for dominance - one of them being very sweet and rather subservient and the other being anything but. I do love the fact that this storyline wasn't dragged out the way I thought it was going to be, especially once I realized that book two follows the same group of people. While I didn't love Finley at first, her personality taking a while to truly grow on me, I really began to adore the girl when her split personality issues started getting resolved. That actually turned her into a very well rounded character - even if it was rather lazy characterization and (for as much as I liked her, I will admit) Finley has something of a Mary-Sue about her.

I look forward to seeing the other characters in the book fleshed out because they were also very fun and I wound up liking every single one of them more than I had expected. First we have Griffin, the leader of our little band of superheroes society misfits. He's a real sweetheart, and it's obvious early on how much he cares for his team. He's also obscenely rich but doesn't act like an entitled bastard. Odd, huh? Then there's Sam, his best friend. He's not the brightest, and tends towards racing into a fight without thinking. And he suffers from being a bit of a hothead. Those are the two guys, along with Finley, that share the narration of the story and I feel that the author did a good job nailing down their voices.

Our other characters consist of: Emily, a young lady that's a mechanical genius - and who, for some reason, reminded me of Kaylee from Firefly. Jack Dandy, a criminal overlord - or is that underlord? - with a habit of butchering the English language. And Jasper, a genuine gun-toting American cowboy that is only a little out-of-place in London. Honestly, as those last three are my personal favorites, I look forward to getting to know more about them and - hopefully - getting inside their heads in the sequels.

The plotline was a mystery/conspiracy that, I will admit, it took the characters way too long to figure out. Add to that the rather cartoonish villain and the book starts feeling more and more like some of those X-Men cartoons from the nineties. Of course, I was never one to watch those cartoons for an amazing plotline, instead focusing on the interplay of the characters as they got along or squabbled. This book works much the same way for me.

While these people were - at least, mostly - friends, that doesn't mean they always get along. It was interesting to see how disagreements would play out and how relationships were formed. As this is a YA novel, there is certainly some romance. Mostly, in this first outing, between two of the supporting characters. While Finley does find herself in a bit of a love triangle, I thought it was handled wonderfully.

You see, Finley actually finds herself more attracted to a different guy depending on which personality of hers is predominate. I'm not sure it would actually work that way, but it's an interesting idea. Everyone involved, from both ‘love interests' to Finley herself, are quite aware of how common it is for the girl to choose the ‘bad boy' type. For bonus points, they also all realize how bad of an idea that usually is. As a reader that has read just enough YA novels to get fed up with the girl choosing the bad boy in the end because he changed for her/she can change him, it was really nice to see allusions to that in this book. I would like to add that there doesn't seem to be much of a love triangle at the end of this book.

I really like the way the world was handled. Instead of being as localized as most English steampunk series are, this one explores the world outside England a little. We have the aforementioned American character as well as a decent amount of Asian influenced clothing. There were even mentions of specific martial arts (Kung Fu (which originates in China) and Jujitsu (which originated with the samurai of feudal Japan) if I remember rightly). Considering how most English steampunk - Victorian era or otherwise - tends to forget that the rest of the world even exists, this was very nice indeed.

Now, as much as I liked this book and as much as I can over look this, there was a minor issue I had. First, Finley. I love the name. I personally have created no less than three characters bearing that name in stories I've started writing. Eventually I will find the perfect fit - even though I think I already have... Anyway, cool name. Awesome name. However, the chances of anyone actually naming their daughter this in c. 1870 is so tiny as to be, basically, nonexistent. It was moderately popular thirty years later as a boys name, but alongside names that can pass as old fashioned - even if they may not be - it seems very anachronistic. While I know that's what steampunk is all about, this was just very odd.

I have this review and more on my blog, Pages of Starlight.

Very silly, easy listen. Not spectacular - but I was looking for something funny and very easy to get into and this fits the bill perfectly. Kind of a parody (or is that a satire?) on the misogynistic, bigoted ‘boy's clubs' of the 1800's. (I'm feeling generous so it gets a four star instead of a three, but it's really somewhere between.)

Rolls eyes

All together now: Progress is bad. Evil, evil, evil. Hold to your traditions. Because progress is bad. (Blerg.)

Though Kettara is awesome and I'd love to read more about her. (Pity that'll probably never happen.) She's the only one of the supporting cast that has any personality and is more than just and idiot that wants progression or one of the righteous that agreeds to hold for tradition.

And, let's not forget the shaman that looks like an oversized gnome (with the oversized nose to match) that talks like a Jamaican, mon. (I do so hate phonetic accents.)

Meh.
I know this isn't a particularly popular opinion, but I just didn't feel this book. I like the idea of a girl dressing as a boy, but that ran rather long, in my opinion. Also, so much of the book was based on misconception and miscommunication - things that I truly hate in romance. Then there was the fact that I never really felt any sparks between the hero and the heroine. Sure, they're both likable, but they seldom interact with each other without those pesky misconceptions. And I really like my couples to talk more. These two were both too quiet. Then there was the fact that the writing style took me by surprise. It was written a lot more like the actual books of this time period than I was expecting and - considering what I really wanted was a simple, sweet romance - this really threw me.

I've been trying for so long to find a good historical spy romance but every book I've come across hasn't worked for me for one reason or another.

This one, though? It's wonderful!

There are so many things I love about this book: the way it ties to the author's previous one, but it isn't necessary to read it first - which, admittedly, I didn't. Because of this, the story starts off immediately. There's no meandering around for the first few chapters.

I also love the two main characters. Jane is great, she's starched and stuck up and, to sell the lie she's perpetrating, must become the exact opposite of that. And she pulls it off wonderfully - leaving everyone thinking that there was something of a coquette to her all along. And Benjamin is...well, honestly, hot. I seldom like the hero in a romance as much as I like him. He plays the part of a dandy, a frivolous man and a bit of a rake with aplomb - but he's really one of the nicest, sweetest guys ever. (Of course, he did mess up things on an epic scale... And the groveling was beautiful.)

What I especially like about their romance is they do know each other before this book starts. I am beyond tired of the hero and heroine meet and there is an intangible ‘something' there from the start. While Jane and Benjamin aren't friends, they do have a passing acquaintance and I love how that played out - especially with them having to change their opinions of each other.

The plot involves French spies, secret dossiers and it is just delightfully old-fashioned spy-y.

I will say, this book does tackle some pretty weighty, horrific topics - such as rape, abuse, assault...let's just go with the heading of ‘violence against women' shall we - so be warned. Although none of this is played out on screen, except for one quickly foiled rape attempt, it is in several characters backstory.

However, the way so many of the women refuse to be victims and determine to overcome, it left me almost empowered. So many of the women faced terrible things, but they refused to be cowed.

DNF - 9%

Why?

This book started off wonderfully. I love the idea of superheroes on a reality show. It's just something that I love and the start of this book was a ton of fun. Then I get ‘Failstate' returning to being a ‘normal' human. This seems to be a case of ‘poor boy. His mother is either a ‘sniper or snubber' to him and LOVES his big brother.' Case in point. “So, any sign of Benjamin?” being her first words to Failstate and “How'd the study session go, sweetie?” to Ben.

I have several problems with this, but let's just say, it's not what I want to read.

So the book was already loosing me before I started chapter three. Then I was treated to Failstate doing an internet search of the hot girl in the competition, Lux, and deal with the following:

I opened up the first gallery and clicked past the group photos. There she was, standing by herself, her smile radiant. I leaned forward to drink in every detail...Only to lean back, my discomfort growing, but not from the necklace. I was cyber stalking someone, and it didn't feel right. Why couldn't I just go to Hogtown tomorrow night and meet her, get to know her that way?The picture was answer enough. Luxurious chestnut hair, which seemed impossibly long, cascaded down past her shoulders. I considered scrolling the picture down to see more of her form, but stopped myself. I knew how tight her costume was.

So, it's totally okay you're cyberstalking someone because she's hot? Jackass.

All issues I had with the first book were solved in this one and I find myself loving this series. Can't wait for the sequel!

All the romantic teen angst that was mostly absent the last three books has built up and hit this one full force. About the only thing here that I like is that most of these romances haven't worked out. At all. It's nice to see that instead of ‘true love/destined to be together' kind of stuff.

On the plot side of things, this is probably my favorite plot since the first book. I like the aliens and I like the choices and decisions that have to be made. Very cool stuff.

While for the most part the story was light and sweet, there is a problem I had. Dan constantly says/thinks that he's being patient, waiting for Graham to want to have sex with him. In one chapter Dan thinks something along the lines of ‘the next step is Graham's' - which was something I liked and appreciated. But then the very next chapter, they have a conversation that leads to sex. And, honestly, I felt that NOTHING about that conversation indicated Graham was ready/wanting sex. More than anything, it felt like the author was given until a certain page in the book to get the guys in bed together and she suddenly realized that she hadn't gotten them there yet so, let's just shoehorn it in.

Rolls eyes I like you,see, that's why I'm going to remain all distant and broody and emotionally unavailable. (Ooh, and don't forget, act totally highhanded because you're just a pampered, prim miss that totally should hide below decks where there's no danger.)

Bleh.

Except for the main guy (see above) and de facto love interest, the story was fairly fun if very forgettable. Clara I could almost like, but then she interacts with the main guy and comes off sounding either simpering or angry all the time. The Captain Duke (no, seriously, he's NEVER called anything else) has that brooding I don't really like you but I'm secretly in love after talking to you for five minutes so I'm going to act like a jerk down pat. It was light on steampunk, but there were airship pirates, if you can deal with the insipid characters.

What I loved about this book is how, this time, much of the conflict comes from the crew. Sure, there's a little of the usual ‘danger from outside' - but I LOVE the way the ships like one giant pressure cooker.

(And I gotta admit, I do like the person that was causing most of the problems and hope they play a part in the rest of the story.)

I like James quite a bit and Daniel is such a prize. A few small issues here and there: a few editing typos - most distracting the use of Daniel's name a couple of times when the author actually meant James - and the odd fact that neither guy is described at all. However, my big issue is the fact that for a good portion of the book - at least thirty percent - James and Daniel are actually nowhere near each other. I understand why that had to be, and it did help to progress their relationship but as someone that reads romances for the lingering touches and the affectionate glances, this was disappointing. (Especially when I thought they were going to be sleuthing together. I mean, they kind of were, but only in the most tangential sense.) Though, I will admit, the household managing that went on at the end almost brought my rating back up to four stars because I LOVE books that let the servants in on the secret.

I was hoping for



Or even



And instead got



With a side of



Honestly, this book reminds me of nothing as much as an Agatha Christie mystery. Which, honestly, isn't bad because I used to be a big fan of her mysteries. But, while I did enjoy the book, - and was super happy the sleuth wasn't a total buffoon and figured out the mystery only a little slower than I did - I was just wanting more adventure and good humored frights. (I must say though that I did quite like the romance because of the baggage that each person brought into it and the baggage they accumulated along the way.)

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, Elias and Augustus are usually sweet together. I like the fact that they are both inexperienced and they learn together. I didn't like the fact that one of the sex scenes turned into some strange, undiscussed BDSM thing. One of the men told the other to stay quiet and if he spoke, he'd stop. Then he proceeded to spank the other. Yeah... I don't know where that came from but it sure was uncomfortable.

Which is kind of a running theme: uncomfortable. There is something of a love triangle in here and one of the guys - thankfully not the real love interest - is a rapist. Okay, so he doesn't TECHNICALLY rape anyone, (if, that is, you're one of those people that only thinks rape is penetration - which I'm not) but he at least sexually assaults the main guy and doesn't stop when he's told to stop. (It's only through outside intervention that he doesn't rape the other.) And that's something else: A big deal is made of Elias wanting to be independent, but he's set up as a victim often. First he is robbed of, literally, the clothes off his back and walks naked through town. Three times. He goes to a man that, he admits, frightens him, to have sex with him so the man will quit holding his sister under house arrest/as bait.

His father beats him and ‘he can't see it coming' because HE'S BLIND. Yeah. Seriously, that little detail is not mentioned anywhere in the synopsis - which is very misleading in and of itself. I do like the banter, but it's a lot cruder than I was expecting. In fact, the entire book is cruder than I was expecting. There's little plot and what's there only crops up in the last twenty percent. It feels like plotlines were just dropped. At times the writing feels jumpy in a way I can't really describe. (I think it's a side effect of skipping so much time.)

Huh. Maybe I don't have as mixed feelings about this book as I thought I did. It don't earn a one star because when Elias and Augustus are cute, they are CUTE and because the first half made me laugh like crazy more than once.

While I usually have no problems with Ruby Lionsdrake's (AKA: Lindsay Buroker) writing, this story left me feeling very uncomfortable. While I really liked Azarov and his blundering do-good-ness and I had to admire Ying and her determination...not all was well.

While Ying decries loudly and repeatedly that she doesn't need nor want help, she really does want it and as is made painfully obvious later, needs it desperately. Of course. Well, Azarov needs a reason to get involved. I could overlook that (I mean, really, why would a woman be able to accomplish anything on her own. [/sarcasm] Excuses for the bitterness, please.) except for one major issue: In her plan to seek revenge, she's setting herself up to be raped. She admits it. She admits that she probably won't have the chance to kill the guy before he rapes her. Repeatedly, perhaps. (Likely, in fact. With some torture thrown in for good measure too, if I'm reading him right. Including the possibility of a sedative. What fun.) And she still doesn't try for another plan. She goes along blithely as though rape isn't really a big deal. As though because she's aware of this, it's not really rape.

And how about the fact that a few hours (maybe) after she was in a severe fight - and beat up pretty badly - with a guy intent on raping her, she's initiating sex with another guy. I can't say it wouldn't happen, what with the way people respond to different things, but I've read this sort of stuff before and I've never bought it. To me, if someone is nearly raped, the last thing they're going to want is sex.

(I can't believe how poorly this was handled and now I'm wondering if the attempted rape and forced arousal in The Assassin's Salvation was handled as well as I remember it being.)

Well that was...disappointing. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the two guys, Jake and Mari, but...that was about all I liked.

So, a detective story where the detectives have special powers? I was hoping for something like Angel Martinez's Offbeat Crimes series where there's romance and mystery and either one could carry the story. Instead, in this book, it starts off as a mystery and quickly turns into a...well, sex heavy romance. Seriously, I have a couple of huge pet peeves when it comes to romance, and this book hit one of them: After the first time the couple has sex, they cannot be alone together thereafter without having sex.

For me, I'm going okay, what do you guys have in common? (Besides sex.) What do you talk about? (Besides sex.) What do you like about each other? (Besides sex.) There were so many sex scenes in this book that I was wound up being bored when they cropped up and halfheartedly reading my way through them. Beyond that, it felt like there were dangling plot ends that needed to be tied up. Now, I'm not expecting a big bow, but I don't like it when so many threads are left dangling. Also, the guys tripped over the solution to the case. Almost literally. I mean, really. Finally, I've not checked to see if any of the other books in this series follow Jake and Mari but, as a romance, the end was somewhat less than satisfying for me. Yeah, they are together, maybe a HEA but I read it more like a HFN with all the conversations that these two still need to have and how they solve every disagreement with sex. No, not having make-up sex after they talk, but going from arguing to sexing with no pause in between and then everything is peachy until the next argument. (If the series continues with these two, this had better cause problems down the road, because healthy it is not.)

“What would you do if I said I was gay? Or bisexual, actually since, as you pointed out, I've dated women in the past?”

I'm seriously going to hug Jason now. The fact is, I adore most of these people. Jason and Ryder are lovely people, Emily and Connor are both the best friends a person could have and one of the best secondary couples ever, John, Mark and Landon are all so perceptive and accepting.

However, while I was all set to give this book five stars in the first half, the second half was way too sappy for me and knocked it down a star. Then came - once again - the last two-three chapters. Not only did I get an engagement, I then got their wedding *shudder* and finally they adopted a girl. Beyond that, I'm pretty sure that by the end of the book nearly everyone was paired off. Liam had a girlfriend, Mark had a girlfriend, Landon and Jessie were dating, Alexander had a girlfriend... (At least one of the four was engaged, too. Yay. [/sarcasm]) In fact, Nic was the only one that wasn't explicitly stated as being in a relationship. If there's one thing I hate (okay, there's a lot more, but I seriously hate this) it's when everyone in a damn story had to be coupled off. Urg.