Tag Archives: Paranormal romance

Dark Protector

Book Review of Dark Protector (Paladins of Darkness #1), by Alexis Morgan

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Last year, I found several autographed Alexis Morgan books at a second-hand store. They were signed “To Mom and Dad.” I was totally taken with the mystery of how these books came to be at a charity shop, so I bought them and made them my own.

This is not one of those books. It turns out that they were the second, third and fifth in the Paladins of Darkness series. (I bet there had been a copy of this one too, but either someone had already bought it or it was just lost in the thousands of books available.) I bought this one, Dark Protector off Amazon so that I could read the three signed ones I’d already bought.

Generally, regardless of what I might or might not think of the books, I love the mystery around them.

Description from Goodreads:
Devlin Bane: Born a Paladin, he is a member of an ancient band of warriors locked in a centuries-old war against evil.

His destiny: To die over and over again to protect mankind from the Others, only to be revived each time by his mortal Handler.

But his fierce strength and courage cannot save him from gradually becoming one of the monsters he was born to destroy.

Dr. Laurel Young, who has spent years training to become a Handler, must remain detached from her patients. But each time she revives the darkly compelling Devlin Bane, he claims a little more of her soul and incites in her desires that grow wilder and wilder — even as he inches closer to losing his humanity.

As the war against the Others grows more desperate, Laurel and Devlin can’t help but give in to the fierce hunger that’s sizzled between them for so long. Now they’ll face the ultimate battle together — to save a dark, passionate love that goes against every rule as they join forces to fight an enemy who is closer than they ever imagined….

Review:
Soooo, this was not good. But not good in a the-genre-has-grown-up sort of way. This book is from 2006 and just like bodice rippers are out of style in the romance genre, I think the sort of plotting in this book has gone out of style in the paranormal romance genre. We readers just expect so much more now than a thinly defined Other enemy of paranormal origin, a characterless alpha hero and a sweet little thing heroine. Maybe this would have been enough when there weren’t a lot of other PNR books around, but not anymore.

The enemies from across the ill-defined border are literally just called Others and the reader learn almost nothing about them except that they’re evil in some way that effects the environment. But even this little bit of information is compromised at the end and maybe wrong. (A “twist” I saw coming from the beginning.) The hero has no history or character beyond alpha-asshole warrior man. The heroine has a little more, but not much. The romance is instant, except that they’ve known one another for three years. So, I still have no idea why they suddenly had this sudden, irresistible attraction to one another. And the book has a bad case of sex=love. They have sex and suddenly they’re in love. The villain? Totally obvious (as is the bigger villain that is carrying over to the series). [Spoiler] If you are told the bad guy is a guard and only one guard in the whole book shows up more than once and is given a name, that’s the bad guy.

All in all, the mechanical writing and editing is fine. This was apparently Morgan’s first book and there are tons now, so I’m willing to give her another chance, maybe with something a little more recent. Plus, I do have three more Paladin of Darkness books to read.

White Hot

Review of White Hot (Hidden Legacy #2), by Ilona Andrews

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I borrowed White Hot, by Ilona Andrews, from my local library. I reviewed the first one last in 2015.

Description from Goodreads:
Nevada Baylor has a unique and secret skill—she knows when people are lying—and she’s used that magic (along with plain, hard work) to keep her colorful and close-knit family’s detective agency afloat. But her new case pits her against the shadowy forces that almost destroyed the city of Houston once before, bringing Nevada back into contact with Connor “Mad” Rogan.

Rogan is a billionaire Prime—the highest rank of magic user—and as unreadable as ever, despite Nevada’s “talent.” But there’s no hiding the sparks between them. Now that the stakes are even higher, both professionally and personally, and their foes are unimaginably powerful, Rogan and Nevada will find that nothing burns like ice …

Review:
Can I start by saying that I think this series has some of the most off-putting covers ever? I really hate them and they really don’t represent the tone of the books? Do yourself a favor and don’t judge the books based on them. Ok, having said that, moving on.

It’s been a while since I read the first in this series, Burn For Me, and I admit that I’d forgotten a lot of the details. I was still able to catch up and follow the story well enough. However, I seem to remember loving the characters a lot more than I did here. I mean, I liked them, but with all the action and running around and killing people and blowing things up, I don’t really feel like the story slowed down and gave me much time to get to know them again.

One of the things I like most about Ilona Andrews is their ability to write alpha males who are all alpha, but still able and willing to support and encourage their kick-butt partners (not to mention the strong females). You get that here in much the same way you do the Kate Daniels books and that’s what keeps me coming back. No doubt I’ll be finishing this series out too.

Lastly, I appreciate that there is a pleasantly diverse cast in the Hidden Legacy universe.

Woe for a Faerie

Book Review of Woe for a Faerie: Keepers of New York, by B. Brumley

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I picked up Woe For a Faerie, by B. Brumley, from Amazon. I believe it is a perma-freebie.

Description from Goodreads:

Woe for a Faerie 

I never had a choice…
Until I made one and woke up naked in the middle of Central Park.
Wingless.
The cost of retribution gouged between my shoulder blades.
Now I’ve got to choose between Jason, the priest who’s hiding something, and Arún, the off-world Fae that believes I’m his prophesied queen.
Mortality was supposed to be easy.

 Wings Over New York 

I’ve lived in this city for almost a year now, and I’ve happily settled into my wing-free reality.
Lately, my biggest worry is meeting my new in-laws.
When a cop dies and an old foe returns, Jason and Arún join forces to hunt the feathered shifter that’s killing people in Central Park, and I’m sucked into another supernatural tug-of-war.
Only, this time, I’m terrified that I’m going to lose the one I love.

Review:

Slightly spoilerish, but doesn’t give anything away you won’t guess immediately on reading the book.

What the hell did I just read? Part one was all dark and gothic and over-wrought, but in part two the same character turned into a bubbly, happy, pretty-pretty princess who wears bright dresses and worries about her makeup. Seriously, what the hell, is consistency not a thing anymore?

Part two starts with her being in love and married to a ‘man’ that she didn’t even wholly trust at the end of part one. How did that happen? Don’t know, it was off page in an 8 month gap between part one and two. Characters are introduced to die pointlessly. (And I personally believe you shouldn’t kill a title character, so I’m outraged at that too.) At 70%, the side characters finally show up and the team of keepers comes up for the first time. 70% people, that’s far far too late.

I’ve finished the book but still have no idea about the world. Paranormals exist and I think maybe people know about then, but I’m not at all sure. I don’t know a time frame, I don’t know the limits of the world, I don’t know much of anything, really. I don’t know the big players or minor factions. I don’t know the technology level. Despite the existence of angels, I don’t know the religious connection. I don’t know how or why Woe is different to other angels. I don’t know anything.

Then there was the fact that within the first 4% of the book we’re told of 3 females raped. I say females, instead of women, because two of them were children. And they’re 50 years apart, so they aren’t even related events. Is rape really the only thing the author could come up with to show us readers that the world sucks and that the main character is frustrated with it? Really?

In the beginning, despite all the horribly purple writing, Woe (who’s name is never explained) looks like she might turn into something strong and independent. But she happily gives all that up to be a wifey. And you know what? That distinct personality change happens off-page. No idea why or how it happens. It’s in that 8 month gap I mentioned. But it’s a huge change. She does not read as the same character from part one to two. Not at all!

And do you know what all this culminates into? After being an angel, giving it up to be mortal, the book hinting that Woe will be a warrior of some sort, do you know what the big climax is? A freakin’ baby. So, we’re safely back in cliched, established gender expectations. She’s preggers, so she’s a real woman now. Disgustingly disappointing. These gender tropes are littered in the book, everything from the woman (though angels are androgynous, read genderless, she’s apparently still female) longing for a baby she can’t have, to the woman fighting for the right to make her won decisions, to her constant sexuality, to rape, to attempted prostitution, to falling in love with literally the first man she meets, to giving it all up for marriage, to accepting colors in her wardrobe because her husband likes them, to being concerned with her appearance, to finally getting her baby. It’s all too cliched for words.

Mechanically, the writing is pretty good and it’s even fairly well edited. But man, I’m dropping this like it’s hot and running in the other direction.