Gulp. But thank you SciFi author John Scalzi. Really. This was good for me.
1.0 out of 5 stars Could the hero be any more unlikable????
I do love a great regency/historical book. That being said, I dislike more than I like. I guess I am particular. But one thing that has to be strong in any book is a desire to finish! And one needs to be interested in the characters. Sebastian Alexander is perhaps one of the most unlikable hero's (and I use that term loosely) I have ever read. Sure, handsome, but there was really not a facet of his personality that came across as likeable so unless our feisty spinster Olivia has a martyr complex, why be interested? And yes, Sebastian spent 12 years at sea but geeze, sorry, having zero manners does not make that much sense. I found him creepy is his coldness. And the murder mystery just did not hold my attention.
Warning Buy USED, not NEW !
By A Customer
I was so disappointed in this book! I had high hopes after reading the author's first work - Lord Ruin. It truly was a jewel. However, she falls so far off the mark with this one, that I cannot in good conscience even justify the expense of buying the novel new. I feel cheated out of a good story and six bucks! The book is 352 pages and the only sex scene occurres somewhere on page 330...that should give you a fair example of what you're getting...pages and pages of endless dialogue. The plot meanders so far off the path that by the end you are left reading in disbelief as the author tries to neatly solve the murder mystery and send the hero and heroine off to happy-ever-after land. It just doesn't work on so many levels. The heroine is likable but the hero is not - because readers never get to know him. And while switching the point of view from male to female is a trait of this author, this time around she did not use it to advantage. In all, I would say buy it used, you'll be less likely to be disappointed.
1.0 out of 5 stars Not really crimson, more puce
What can I say about this book? It was a tragedy. I have enjoyed all of the other Crimson City books, but Jewel's addition left a bad taste in my mouth.
From the first pages of the book I found it to be choppy, and disjointed. This sensation was partly created by the author's overuse of simple sentences, which produce the choppy effect, as opposed to complex sentences which contain clauses and conjunctions and, when used occasionally, enhance the flow. The book also lacked any solid descriptive writing, which left the book with no sense of time or place to ground the reader. The plot was forced. Events either happened too quickly, with no foreshadowing, or they dragged on too long, further adding to the disorientation on the part of the reader.
The dialogue was quite bad. If the heroine had said, "Yeah right," as her snappy comeback one more time I think I might have actually torn that page from the book. Granted, the trite responses and complete lack of wit on the part of the heroine is more realistic in a crisis, however if I wanted to hear realistic dialogue, I would eavesdrop on teenagers in a mall, not purchase a romance novel.
The characters were shallow, and lacking in any discernable motivation. The heroine was motivated by the kidnapping of her daughter, but I could not quite feel that her emotions were real because she seemed so false, like a prop on a stage. The vampire was a stock character from a vast repertoire of vampire romances available today, the demon appeared out of nowhere too late in the book to actually make sense, the only truly frightening villain is killed too quickly, and the heroine's daughter has approximately one appearance.
This book was a waste of my money and my time.
1.0 out of 5 stars barf
This is quite possible the worst book I've ever read. The plot is horrible, the characters shallow and there is an icky feeling that you are actually reading a bad Jerry Springer episode. The only characters I liked were the daughter and her pet. The bad guy is hate her/love her and dies way to easy. The good guy doesn't care that it was less than a day and a half since she was forced in mind if not body to "mate" with the bad guy before he "mates" with her. The whole thing ends with guess who the daddy is for her new baby. The only thing missing to make this story any more tacky is a dna test and a chair throwing fight. I recommend this book if you need a door stop or perhaps some kindling. To bad zero stars isn't an option!
1.0 out of 5 stars Seeing Red!
I was so angry with this book! I didn't even finish it I was so disgusted. I took it back the day after I bought it. As much as I love this series, this book was a total stink. I loved the first three books but this one just made me beyond mad. Not to disrespect the writer's style in any way, but did Carolyn Jewel even contact the other writers or read the other books before she did this book? It had hardly nothing at all to do with the other books except that it had vampires and demons in it. Another thing, I couldn't keep up with her. It was like trying to keep up with a jackrabbit with a hawk on its tail. I know the writer has a love for detail. That much is apparent. I can understand giving the man and woman a conlift, but what in the name of Grimm was she trying to do? There was nothing romantic or appealing about this book, not even the vampire stud-muffin she falls for, much less her demon life mate that basically rapes her and leaves her for dead. Which I have to say was a mockery to the paranormal romance connisour. There is nothing romantic about rape in any form, be it mock rape, mind rape or other. I could see it in a S&M erotica novel, but not in a novel like this. Trust me, I wasn't plesantly surprised.
The characters were shallow, trite and dry with no life,(even with all the detail, which I felt was nothing but filler for a lifeless book) no virve or anything. The only thing interesting that happens in this book is that the daughter, Holly, gets kidnapped. Yeah, the main character is a cop, but after knowing Eve Dallas in J.D Robb's 'In Death' series, she's a still-wet-behind-the ears rookie.
Respectfully, better luck next time Carolyn.
posted by Carolyn @ 4/30/2008 06:07:00 PM Permalink
Tomorrow morning we head 120 miles southeast to Ripon CA for more soccer. If my son's team wins, we stay the night for another game Sunday. If not, we come home Saturday. I have my GPS and am hardly stressed at all with respect to the once-certainty of getting lost. I'm having a hard time calculating when to leave because I no longer need to factor in getting lost. Strange. Very strange. I have the laptop ready to go in case I have some afternoon and evening time.
Labels: bookmarks, reviews, writing
posted by Carolyn @ 1/19/2007 07:05:00 PM Permalink
Liz Maverick
Jennifer Ashley
Sandy Schawb
Patti O'Shea
Marjorie M. Liu
Megan Frampton
Kristin Nelson
Miss Snark
Dystel & Goderich
The Rejecter
Evil Editor