Monthly Archives: May 2016

Blood Moon challenge

Blood Moon Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

I’m actually writing this well after the completion of the challenge (and I’m going to back-date it to fit where it should have been). This challenge faltered, in the end, because I couldn’t find one of the books I thought I owned and one of the last books I set out to read I DNFed early because it turned out not to be the start of the series, despite being labeled book one. I think maybe I never closed it out because I meant to come back and finish those last books, but over time it just kind of fell off my radar.

I set out to read the following books:

Below you will find links to the review posts (and in one case the rant that I posted in place of a review.

Book Review of Blood Moons (The Blood Series #1), by Alianne Donnelly

Book Review of Blood Moon (Moonstruck #1), by Silver James

Book Review of Blood Moon, by Aimee Ash

Book Review of Surrender (Blood Moon #1), by Evie Ryan

Book Review of Fever (Blood Moon Rising #1), by Lola Taylor

Why can’t book one mean book one anymore?

The Whitechapel Demon

Book Review of The Whitechapel Demon (The Adventures Of The Royal Occultist #1), Joshua Reynolds

The Whitechapel DemonI picked up a copy of Josh ReynoldsThe Whitechapel Demon from Amazon when it was free.

Description from Goodreads:
Formed during the reign of Elizabeth I, the post of the Royal Occultist was created to safeguard the British Empire against threats occult, otherworldly, infernal and divine. 

It is now 1920, and the title and offices have fallen to Charles St. Cyprian. Accompanied by his apprentice Ebe Gallowglass, they defend the battered empire from the forces of darkness.

In the wake of a séance gone wrong, a monstrous killer is summoned from the depths of nightmare by a deadly murder-cult. The entity hunts its prey with inhuman tenacity even as its worshippers stop at nothing to bring the entity into its full power… It’s up to St. Cyprian and Gallowglass to stop the bloodthirsty horror before another notch is added to its gory tally, but will they become the next victims of the horror guised as London’s most famous killer?

Review:
I quite enjoyed that, but since it’s a holiday here you get an abbreviated review.

Things I liked:

  • Interesting characters
  • smooth, humorous dialogue
  • two male/female partnerships that didn’t involve romance (that’s possible you know)
  • incidental inclusion of LGBT individuals (ok, a gay man, but it’s a start)

Things I didn’t like:

  • the villains were too slapstick
  • the era-speak and witticisms in the face of danger went over the top
  • the evil entity was defeated too easily
  • too many easy, throw-away deaths
  • needed a tad more editing

Book Review of The Nobleman and the Spy, by Bonnie Dee & Summer Devon

The Nobleman and the SpyI bought a copy of The Nobleman and the Spy, by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon.

Description from Goodreads:
They once faced each other on a battlefield. Now soldier-turned-spy Jonathan Reese must keep watch over the man he’s never forgotten. A close encounter reveals Karl von Binder, the count’s son, also recalls the day he spared Jonathan’s life. Sparks fly between the former enemies and Jonathan begins to lose perspective on his mission. He knows he must maintain distance because the heat he encounters in Karl’s touch stirs him far too deeply for his own good. He can’t keep away–especially when he suspects someone is trying to kill the nobleman.

The spy becomes a protector as Jonathan guards the man he’s begun to care for. Together the men try to puzzle out who would benefit from Karl’s death—and how much they’re willing to trust each other when a torrid sexual fling threatens to become an affair of the heart.

Review:
I enjoyed this as a nice bit of erotic fluff. The problem was I didn’t expect it to be erotic fluff, but political intrigue and/or historical romance. As it turned out, the mystery and political machinations were all just decorations for the sex. To me, almost everything that happened happened in order to change the location for a new sex environment. That made the plot feel very shallow indeed. Plus, that first sexual encounter was extremely unbelievable.

What’s more, I felt the relationship was almost instant and moved from lust to love equally as fast. These men were putting their lives in each-other’s hands, over people they’d known for years, based on practically nothing—a passing on a battlefield years earlier. Similarly, while I liked both characters, I didn’t feel I knew them well. I didn’t understand the need for the subtle dom/sub aspect of the relationship. It was wholly non-contextual. And the ending felt rushed. So, while I didn’t dislike it, in fact, I enjoyed the ride, I wasn’t overly impressed.