Category Archives: books/book review

Book Review of Trust (Running With Alphas #1), by Viola Rivard

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Running With AlphasI picked up a copy of Viola Rivard‘s Trust: Running With Alphas from Amazon when it was free. It is part of my Alpha reading challenge.

Description from Goodreads:
Just when she thinks her life can’t get any worse, Taylor meets alpha wolf Alder – the most caring, gallant, and handsome man on the planet. On the run from the police, there’s no way she could possibly get involved with him. But somehow she does anyway.

Alder seems to be convinced that the two of them are going to live happily ever after in his mountain territory. But between looming pack wars, her dicey past, and his twin brother – the most obnoxious, sadistic, and handsome man on the planet – Taylor has a feeling that her new life among werewolves may be just as complicated as her human one.

Review:

This was surprisingly cute, which was a bit of a shock when I was expecting trashy erotica. But no complaints on that front. I have a soft spot for big alphas who shepherd, tend and fret over their mates, trying to feed them and such. Alder is just such a shifter, so he was a winner for me. I liked Taylor too, but Alder carried the book for me.

I did think the plot was a little shaky. You never find out the details of what Taylor is running from and I don’t get the feeling we ever will. It’s just a frame to hang the romance on. The characters were pretty shallow. The chemistry between the two wasn’t really shown. The mishap with Hale was predictable, there is a cliched female enemy and it’s a cliffhanger. But all in all, I was more pleased than I expected to be.

Book Review of The Unwilling Warlord, by Lawrence Watt-Evans

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The Unwilling War LordI assume I bought a copy of The Unwilling Warlord (by Lawrence Watt-Evans) at some point. But I could be wrong. I’m not entirely sure where this paperback copy came from. Maybe it was my husbands or a guest left it here at some point. Either way, it was on my shelf. And as I’m trying to clear some room for new books I went ahead and read it.

Description from Goodreads:
When the foreigners confronted Sterren in Ethshar of the Spices he was uneasy; when they all but abducted him, taking him to an obscure kingdom in the south, he knew he was in a terrible predicament. 

A predicament some might actually find appealing — he was by heredity the Ninth Warlord of Semma, least of the small kingdoms; he was a noble, and his rank afforded him material privileges, even in a place as insignificant and obscure as Semma. 

But the office also carried certain terrible responsibilities: he was to win the war the stupid King had stirred up by his arrogance. Two larger and stronger Kingdoms were preparing to invade Semma. 

And if the country lost, the first thing likely to be forfeit was the life of the Warlord. 

And if it won . . . if it won, the fate and shape of Ethshar would change forever. 

For deep in the south there are secrets of magic not even Sterren can imagine. 

Review:
This is one of those books that I’ve had on my shelf so long that I don’t even know where it came from. I also didn’t know it was third in a series when I picked it up to read. Maybe I was missing some things, but it seemed like I was able to follow it without problem. And it was amusing. It’s basically about a guy who finds himself in a series of ridiculous situations and finds his way out of them. The problem was that even though I chuckled regularly, I never found myself overly interested in it. It never quite reached the point of exciting. So, I basically thought it was ok.

Book Review of The Nymphos of Rocky Flats (Felix Gomez #1), by Mario Acevedo

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The Nymphos of Rocky FlatsI bought a copy of The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, by Mario Acevedo.

Description from Goodreads:
The first and only vampire book to be declassified by the federal government . . .

Felix Gomez went to Iraq a soldier. He came back a vampire.

Now he finds himself pulled into a web of intrigue when an old friend prompts him to investigate an outbreak of nymphomania at the secret government facilities in Rocky Flats. He’ll find out the cause of all these horny women or die trying! But first he must contend with shadowy government agents, Eastern European vampire hunters, and women who just want his body . . .

Skewering sexual myths, conspiracy fables, and government bureaucracy, The Nymphos of Rocky Flats reveals the bizarre world of the undead with a humorous slant and a fresh twist.

Review:
This book had an interesting premise and with its protagonist who’s seeking redemption, it could have been a really good read. Unfortunately, it took the ridiculous and salacious track instead of the serious one. There was, for example, no reason for the outbreak to be nymphomania other than to be lascivious and hardi-har-har, like a teenage boy. When someone pushed a button causing a periscope to drop into his office, I pretty much just gave up on this one. I finished it, but just to finish it at that point. I think I would have preferred the nymphos to be straight up erotic over the poking fun angle it took.

Despite being an unimpressive hero, every woman in the book came on to him. His internal monologue was annoying. The plot was scattered and disjointed and none of the characters were particularly well developed.

It’s not horrible. The army bit in the beginning was very good. I appreciated that Felix was a POC and that not everyone was rigidly straight, but I wasn’t all that impressed either.