Tag Archives: challenges

Agent I1 Tristan

Book Review: Agent I1: Tristan (The D.I.R.E. Agency #1), by Joni Hahn

Leave a reply

Agent I1

I downloaded Joni Hahn‘s Agent I1: Tristan (The D.I.R.E. Agency #1) from the Amazon free list. At the time of posting, it is still free.

Description from Goodreads:
Credentials:
• Second generation Former Navy SEAL
• DIRE’s top agent
Enhancements:
• Teleportation
• Invisibility

Raised in the art of warfare, Former Navy SEAL, Tristan Jacobs, has always been a force to reckon with. Now that D.I.R.E. has successfully implemented his scientific enhancements, he’s a walking weapon. Unstoppable, as long as he stays focused. No relationships.

When ex-BUD/S teammate, Aidan Monroe, interrupts his long-awaited sabbatical to call in a favor, Tristan reluctantly fills the simple request: take out his sister’s fiancé.

One problem: Rachel Monroe – smokin’ hot, kind-hearted, and in desperate need of a protector. After the best sex of his life, Tristan’s afraid unstoppable is just a memory. Knowing Aidan’s temper, Tristan could be, too.

Rachel Monroe had a plan to help her mother. Her brother ruined everything when his gorgeous, super-agent friend teleported her to some forsaken island – and his bed. She’s drawn to him despite the fact he’s a professional agent, much like the people suspected of killing her father. 

Now, his enemies have come to her small town, looking for vengeance. 

Have they found more than they bargained for? Or, does the past have its own retribution in mind?

Review:
Here’s the perfect way to describe the forgetableness of this book. Last night I finished a book and went to bed, with the intention of reviewing it this morning. This morning, I took my Kindle to the gym and started this book while on the stationary bike. When I got home, I reviewed the book I finished last-night and then sat down to look at my Kindle Collections to pick out what to read next, completely forgetting that I had started and read 30% of this book already. It made that little of an impression. When I finally remembered having already started it, I sat down to finish it up.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not necessarily saying it was a bad book. I’m sure we’ve all read those books that we don’t love, but we don’t hate either. They’re like cotton candy—a shot of sweetness that you can only savour for a moment and then leaves very little memory of itself. Yep, that’s what this book was like. 

Seeing the emotionless Tristan become attached to someone was nice. The fact that Rachel wasn’t a complete pushover was appreciable. Her ultra-protective brother was fun. There were plenty of ‘aww’ moments and the sex was pretty mild. 

However, quite a lot of the plot was just skimmed over or just plain unbelievable. For example, I’m still unsure why Aidan called Tristan to guard Rachel in the first place, other than that he disliked her fiancé. That seems a little extreme. As far as I can tell there was no actual risk to Rachel that Aidan would have been trying to protect her against. 

There is also a lot of history between the older generation of characters that isn’t explored. The science isn’t well explained. And the romance is lightning fast. It isn’t insta-love, but within a matter of a day or so Tristan and Rachel fall madly in love and are willing to essentially throw their established lives away to be together. It too seems a bit extreme. 

For a quick, fluffy read, this is worth picking up. If you’re looking for great literature….um, it probably won’t fit the bill. It does actually end, though. Yes, that’s right, no cliffhanger!

waking up dead banner

Book Review of Waking Up Dead, by Margo Bond Collins

Leave a reply

Waking Up DeadAuthor, Margo Bond Collins sent me a copy of her novel Waking Up Dead.

Description from Goodreads:
When Dallas resident Callie Taylor died young, she expected to go to Heaven, or maybe Hell. Instead, she met her fate early thanks to a creep with a knife and a mommy complex. Now she’s witnessed another murder, and she’s not about to let this one go. She’s determined to help solve it before an innocent man goes to prison. And to answer the biggest question of all: why the hell did she wake up in Alabama?

Review:
The cover of this book doesn’t really do it justice, since it doesn’t give you much an idea of what you’re getting into with the story. Except for an attempted rape scene, which obviously isn’t, the whole thing is really cute. If the main character wasn’t a ghost, I’d call this a Cosy Mystery. Is there such thing as a Cosy Supernatural Mystery?

Callie, Ashara and Maw-Maw are all pleasantly sarcastic. Stephen provides a good grounding for the group. The mystery kept me guessing for a long time and the writing is crisp, clean and well edited. I read the whole thing in an evening and enjoyed every moment of it.

I only have one real complaint, but it’s oddly also wrapped up in an uncomfortable compliment. Race plays a role in this novel. America and Americans often walk on eggshells where this is concerned. With our history, it’s hard not to. Even non-racists are often awkwardly aware of their white-privilege and overly conscientious about trying not to do anything to even inadvertently offend someone. Despite best intentions, a lot of the country hasn’t reached the point that they can be comfortably unaware. (It’s questionable that they should be able to, given that we haven’t reached true parity yet.) I love that as a white author Ms. Collins didn’t shy away from the subject or the horrible history of it. But at times Ashara and Maw-Maw’s dialogue felt very much like what it is, written by a white woman in the imagined tone of a black woman. Ashara and Maw-Maw felt too aware of themselves as African American and Callie as white. They reminded Callie, and therefore the reader, of it constantly, compromising its ability to feel natural. Don’t get me wrong, at no time did this feel offensive or as if the author meant any disrespect. It just didn’t feel real either.

All in all, though, I’d highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a cute, feel-good book. If it weren’t early February, I’d call it a great beach read.

 

Into the Darkness

Book Review of Into the Darkness, by K. F. Breene

Leave a reply

Into the Darkness

I grabbed K. F. Breene‘s Into the Darkness from the Amazon Free list. At the time of posting, it was still free.

Description from Goodreads:
I’d always been different. I saw objects in the night where others saw emptiness. Large, human shaped shadows, fierce yet beautiful, melting into the darkness. I collected secrets like other women collected bells; afraid to fully trust lest my oddities be exposed.

Until I saw him. He’d been gliding down the street, unshakable confidence in every step. It wasn’t just that he was breathtakingly handsome with perfect features. Something about him drew me. Sucked my focus to him and then tugged at my body. As his eyes met mine, I was entrapped.

No one had noticed him. He’d been right there, just beyond the light, but only I had perceived.

I had to know if he was real. Or maybe I really was crazy. And even when my secret box was blasted wide open, dangers hurled at me like throwing knives, I couldn’t stop until I unraveled his true identity.

I just had to know.

Review:
I quite enjoyed Into the Darkness. Despite it’s humour, it will likely only appeal to a certain few, though. A number of other reviewers have pointed out that it isn’t a book for the faint of heart. It does include a little guy on guy action, but I think the problem is more the issue of  consensuality. What qualifies as consensual could be a whole sub-theme of this book. There is only one fully, unquestionably consensual sex act in it (and there’s plenty of sex). But there aren’t any flat out rapes either. It’s all a little muddled by manipulated emotions and falsified wants. If you’re sensitive about such things I imagine it would creepy you out. Neither the M/M aspect nor the questionable consent issues bothered me. But they are certainly there.

I should probably say a bit more about sex. Sex is graffiti in this novel. It’s everywhere and largely pointless after a while. If the book had been longer I wouldn’t’ have had an issue with this. But as it’s so short, the redundant sex cut into the time for plot and character development. IMO, the book either needed to be longer or the sex needed to be pared down once the Vampires’ Pheromonal effect was established.

I quite liked Sasha. Often when heroines are mouthy it comes off as forced and/or almost suicidal in their insistence on verbal sparring. Shasha pulls it off though. I enjoyed her defiance. Charles was hilarious and Stefan was a true hardass. I loved the fact that he never went all soft and gooey eyed.

My only true complaints are that the whole thing does get a little ridiculous at times and it’s a serious case of ‘girl with magical power that she doesn’t know she has or how to use, but it still mysteriously manifests itself whenever she needs.’ Well, isn’t that convenient? It’s not particularly believable, even in fantasy, and is also a bit of a personal pet peeve.

On finishing the book I immediately went looking for a sequel. One’s apparently due out in March. I’ll be looking for it. I will note that it’s not a stand alone book. It’s not a super cliffhanger, as are so common now. It ends at a logical point, but none of the threads wrap up. None. If I had realised this ahead of time I probably wouldn’t have picked it up in the first place.