Tag Archives: Blackstone Publishing

any given doomsday

Book Review: Any Given Doomsday, by Lori Handeland

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I’m going to be harshly honest here. I’m currently reading a book I’m not particularly enjoying, but am determined to finish. When this is the case, I usually start a second book to alternate. I read a bit of the book I’m chipping away at and then some (or all) of another book, then more of the challenging book, etc. However, as occasionally happens, I’m not particularly liking the secondary book right now either. But I’m not going to let myself start a third! So, I found an excuse to download an audio book instead [semantics, I know]. I borrowed Any Given Doomsday, by Lori Handeland, through Hoopla.

any given doomsday

Elizabeth Phoenix once used her unique skills as a psychic to help in the Milwaukee Police Department’s fight against injustice. But when Liz’s foster mother is found viciously murdered–and Liz is discovered unconscious at the scene–her only memory of the crime comes in the form of terrifying dreams … of creatures more horrific than anything Liz has seen in real life. What do these visions mean? And what in the world do they have to do with her former lover, Jimmy Sanducci?

While the police question Jimmy in the murder, Jimmy opens Liz’s eyes to a supernatural war that has raged since the dawn of time in which innocent people are hunted by malevolent beings disguised as humans. Only a chosen few have the ability to fight their evil, and Jimmy believes Liz is among them. Now, with her senses heightened, new feelings are rising within Liz–ones that re-ignite her dangerous attraction to Jimmy. But Jimmy has a secret that will rock Liz to her core … and put the survival of the human race in peril.

I really wanted to like this and I thought, in the beginning, that I would. It started out strong, after all. But, in the end, I wasn’t impressed. The writing is fine. The narrator did a good job. I didn’t notice any editing mishaps. But I found I just didn’t like the book…or really any of the characters outside of Liz (and I barely liked her).

To anyone who has read the Anita Blake novels and remember how they went from strong urban fantasy to paranormal soft porn, this book will feel familiar. I have no problem with Liz having sex. I don’t even mind that it’s with two men or that it’s not always for joy or love, but to accomplish a goal. Or that the whole plot has been set up so that she has to have lots of sex with lots of people.

What I disliked was BOTH the men she’s loving. I disliked them on principal. I disliked how they treated her. I disliked her when she was with them. The sex was super rapey…was rape. And the whole plot line is turning itself inside out to show how special she is and how everyone wants her…her special body.

The only thing that really kept me reading was to find out why a man who so obviously loved her desperately would cheat on her (in the past). But that was never addressed, not really or satisfactorily. Plus, she just up and decided to ignore it. This might have been necessary, but I wanted some closure on the issue.

I don’t think I’ll continue with the series, but might not write Handeland off as an author to read.

Edit: I realize this whole post makes me sound really negative. I promise I’m not. LOL

any given doomsday

Other Reviews:

I’m trying this new thing where I link other reviews of books I read, for comparison’s sake. I’m not sure this will be a permanent feature. But here are a few for now.

http://goodbadandunread.com/2008/10/30/review-any-given-doomsday-by-lori-handeland/

REVIEW: Any Given Doomsday (Phoenix Chronicles-Volume I) by Lori Handeland

Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland

Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland

 

 

Review of The Absinthe Earl (The Faery Rehistory #1), by Sharon Lynn Fisher

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I borrowed a copy of The Absinthe Earl (by Sharon Lynn Fisher) from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:

They crossed centuries to find each other. Their love will shatter worlds.

Miss Ada Quicksilver, a student of London’s Lovelace Academy for Promising Young Women, is spending her holiday in Ireland to pursue her anthropological study of fairies. She visits Dublin’s absinthe bars to investigate a supposed association between the bittersweet spirit and fairy sightings.

One night a handsome Irishman approaches her, introducing himself as Edward Donoghue. Edward takes absinthe to relieve his sleepwalking, and she is eager to hear whether he has experience with fairies. Instead, she discovers that he’s the earl of Meath, and that he will soon visit a mysterious ruin at Newgrange on the orders of his cousin, the beautiful, half-mad Queen Isolde. On learning about Ada’s area of study, he invites her to accompany him.

Ada is torn between a sensible fear of becoming entangled with the clearly troubled gentleman and her compelling desire to ease his suffering. Finally she accepts his invitation, and they arrive in time for the winter solstice. That night, the secret of Edward’s affliction is revealed: he is, in fact, a lord in two worlds and can no longer suppress his shadow self.

Little does either of them realize that their blossoming friendship and slowly kindling passion will lead to discoveries that wrench open a door sealed for centuries, throwing them into a war that will change Ireland forever

Review:

Meh. It wasn’t bad, but I also thought it was fairly shallow. Everyone was just so darned nice all the time that I felt very little tension. Yes, there was the whole Ireland/Faerie war bit. But even it was essentially just dropped on the reader. It was never given the buildup it needed to give it the importance it needed. Lastly, I hated that D & C were not given their chance, even if only once. I felt like the reader was denied satisfaction. But I also doubt D would give up so easily. [That is left purposefully vague to avoid spoilers.]

The writing itself was fine, however. And other than some over-formality, the dialogue flowed well enough and I had no issue with the editing.

All in all, an OK read. I’d pick up another of Fisher’s book. But I’m not rushing out to buy them either.

Book Review of Hell Divers (I, II & III), by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

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I won a copy of Hell Divers II (by Nicholas Sansbury Smith) through Goodreads. But I didn’t want to read it until I’d read the first one. So, I borrowed an audio version of Hell Divers through Hoopla and then I just sort of kept going until I reached Hell Divers III, whew I stopped. 

Hell Divers:

I went into this skeptical. I expected a lot of male bravado and that too often equals toxicity. But I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it was still a little heavy on the importance of a man’s duty and the stabilizing influence of family (even if family was usually just the tragedy that spurn men to action and fairly cardboard in actuality). But there was also some depth to the story. I appreciated the difference in perspective of the upper-deckers and the lower-deckers, and how having a limited perspective (especially if you don’t know it is limited) can be dangerous, even to the righteous.

I did find the suspension of dis-belief necessary to believe a whole mutated species developed and bred widely enough to infect at least two distant cities without anyone noticing or ever encountering them a little hard to come by. If Hell Divers have the brief life expectancy they’re said to have, then they must dive relatively frequently.

All in all, I enjoyed it and don’t dread reading book two. And R. C. Bray did a nice job with the narration. He occasionally sounded a little machine-like, as if he was imitating a computer or robot, but not too often. I look forward to book II.

Ghosts:

I didn’t appreciate this second book as much as the first. I thought the characters’ motivations more cliched and the characters themselves not as interesting. Plus, Xavier is barely in it.

Having said all that, I did still like it. I’m still invested in the story and one of my questions from book one was partially addressed, how the Sirens evolved so quickly. I have no complaints about Bray’s narration and all in all, I’m up for book three.

Deliverence:

I wouldn’t say this was bad. It was structurally and editorially sound. However, I found the characters’ motivations even shallower than in book two. And I commented on how much more cliched I found the motivations in book two than in book one. So, we’re pretty far down the relatable, investment scale by book three here. Honestly, I was just plain bored with it. Unlike the first book, there was nothing new or interesting here. I don’t feel any pressing need to continue the series. Bray still did fine with the narration though.