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Review of Melanie Walker’s Bliss (The Custos)

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BlissI grabbed a copy of Bliss (The Custos #1), by Melanie Walker from the Amazon free list.

Description from Goodreads:
London Chase has set her mind to a new start as far from Texas as she can get but lands in Vegas under the protection of a sexy but deadly Vampire, Cacius Troy. Her Father and a brother she has never met are looking for London dead or alive and are willing to stop at nothing to bring her back to Texas. Her blood holds the key to unleashing Bliss on a nation not prepared for its affects. Now she must choose between the growing passions and love for her Vampire savior, or the Father she always wanted to please.

In the fight for London, Cacius falls deeply in love with the spoiled rich girl and one night of passion ignites a fight to the death to save her from their clutches. He has never gone into a battle with so much at risk knowing her life is on the line Cacius will fight dirty and cause hell itself to tremble if anything or anyone gets in his way.

Passion will unfold as danger thickens and forces Cacius and London to face their biggest fears and trust one another to the death, or un-death as it may be.

The streets of Vegas are no stranger to sin, but when a drug intended to change the life of rape victims lands in the hands of the Vampires. All bets are off.

Review: **Spoiler Alert**
This book had potential. There was a point in the beginning when I thought I might really like it. But that time passed, and I was never able to reclaim it. I’ll grant that Cash was both manly and open about his feelings. It’s a heady mix. I found him an appealing leading man.

London was also a strong female lead.  I liked that about her. But while I appreciate that she had a mind to give Cash a piece of, she was practically psychotic about it. She flipped from docile to furious with almost no provocation, often then childishly acting out on impulse. For example, taking unknown drugs provided by a known enemy, who was already making sexual overtures and suggesting the drug would make her ‘want to party’ and then, not surprisingly, turning into a panting, nymphomaniac, porno princess; all simply because Cash had said not to, in what she perceived to be too authoritative a tone. That’s pretty much approaching ‘too stupid to live’ territory. What did she expect to happen? Plus, the whole begging every man present to fuck her was just about too tacky for words. Though Cash’s response to it all was pretty good, that’s about when I really gave up trying to like this book, but I hung in there and finished it. 

I did like the side characters—Preacher, Leucious, Bastion. I think I even liked where the plot was going. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like it ever really got there. It got completely sidetracked by London and Cash’s deluge of self-affirmations. I lost count of how many times they told themselves (and each other) they loved the other, or how sure they NOW were that he or she was THE ONE, or how perfect the other was, or how sexy, or how dirty (in the good way), etc. It was ENDLESS, as was the sex.  I like a good erotic scene as much as the next reader, but the sex definitely got in the way of the story here. What’s more, by the end, London was orgasming, literally, on command. It started to feel mechanical—push the button, cue the orgasm. Not sexy anymore. 

By the final climactic scene, I’d pretty much forgotten what they were fighting for, and the easy win didn’t reestablish it in my mind. The Custos just pretty much walked in and walked out again. That easy. It was a real lost opportunity. 

Lastly, editing: OMG, I have to talk about editing. But I also have to admit to a certain amount of confusion. You see, I downloaded my copy of this book way back in April (2013). The Amazon description currently reads, “This version was edited professionally and updated to Kindle on 7/27/13. Any errors remaining in the book are mine alone.”

So, though my version predates the re-edit, it SHOULD have been updated by Amazon. However, the book I’ve just read is possibly the worst edited, self-published book I’ve ever seen. It was full of typos, homophones, incorrect or missing punctuation, inconsistent tense, and just randomness. For example, every time the word ‘next’ was used, it was capitalized. No idea why. Worst of all, though, was the skull-razing constant use of ‘I seen’ instead of ‘I saw.’ I mean, even the most basic automatic grammar check should have caught that. So, I’m left wondering if the problem was that my copy was never updated for some reason or, heaven forbid, it was the ‘corrected’ version. I just don’t know. I suspect the former. It would make a whole heck of a lot more sense. But I have no way of verifying it beyond checking for pending updates, which my account says there aren’t any.

So, though I know others seem to really like this story, and I’ll admit that there were some funny bits, the heavy-handed attempt at emotional manipulation and excessive sex-talk (by which I mean characters who talk about what they’re doing as much as actually doing it), and the virtually abandoned plot left me struggling to make it to the last page. 

Eternal Samurai

Book Review of Eternal Samurai, by B.D. Heywood

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Eternal Samurai

I picked up B.D. Heywood’s erotic, M/M novel Eternal Samurai from the Amazon free list.

Description from Goodreads:
Tatsu Kurosaki Cobb, the last of an ancient samurai house, will not stop until he takes the head of the vampire that butchered his family. But his vow of revenge means he gives up on any hope for that once-and-forever love. Then he crosses swords with Saito Arisada, second-in-command of Seattle’s vampires and the most beautiful creature Tatsu has ever seen. The sexual chemistry between them is pure, hard, and undeniable. Unable to accept Arisada might be the killer, Tatsu begins a dangerous game. A game driven by the all-consuming thirst for blood that will force them to the extremes of love and hate.

Fukushū, vengeance. It is all that has sustained Saito Arisada for eight-hundred years. Sōhei monk turned vampire, he has searched for the returned soul of his lover who betrayed him and the Temple of Mii-dera. Arisada believes in only one thing—taking the head of the traitor. Yet, when Arisada sees that soul shining from Tatsu’s emerald eyes, his hatred shatters. He wants Tatsu in his arms and in his bed and in his heart. But Arisada’s samurai code of honor demands nothing less than Tatsu’s death. How can Arisada kill his unmei no hito—his soulmate?

From a bloody battlefield of feudal Japan to a world where humans and vampires fight for survival, Arisada and Tatsu must choose. At stake is not only love but honor.

Review:
I really quite enjoyed that, but I suspect it will have a rather small core audience. Because what it reminds me of more than anything else is a Yaoi manga. This despite it being a literary novel instead of a graphic novel. It just feels like yaoi in that strange, nebulous way of mental association.

You see, just as most fans of PNR or Urban Fantasy or even regular American M/M romance novels can often sketch out the basic shape of the plot most common to their genre of choice, this one follows yaoi’s established format in fairly recognisable ways. But you see, I like Yaoi, so I wasn’t at all put off by the similarities.

The association was undoubtably helped along by Heywood’s liberal use of Japanese terminology. No doubt my closet manga addiction and the two years I spent studying the Japanese language (which doesn’t get you very far, BTW) helped me out here. I suspect some readers would have appreciated that help, because though I knew enough to be able to pronounce the words and recognise all of the ritualised terminology (seppeku, kinbaku, kaishakunin, etc), some of the curses and a couple of the normal words (like daisuki), it felt like there were an awful lot more than was necessary. It tended to clutter the narrative at times, even when quickly followed by an English translation (which most, but not all were). If all those extra words had felt completely foreign, instead of just kind of foreign, they might have really grated on me.

Some of the English language did grate on me, if I’m honest, mostly during the extremely long sex scenes. You see these aren’t hearts and flowers, gentle, clean exploits. It’s often rough, dirty and … well, I probably can’t say realistic. It’s obviously not, but I thought the fact that things smelled, chafed, hurt, bled, and so on lent a real(ish) feel to it all. And while I appreciated this aspect of the story, some of the terminology used to create that same impression left me wanting–phrases like, piss slit or the liberal use of spunk–once or twice, fine, but over and over…not so much.

What I liked most in this story, and one more thing that reminded me of Yaoi, was Saito’s long standing, unquestioning, whole-hearted love for his unmei no hito (soulmate), regardless of the body it resides in. He pined for him for 800 years for gods sake. That’s what I call dedication and I found it to be one of the only sweet things about the story. Almost everything else had an edge of some sort.

rurouni_kenshin_by_kuraiakuOn a side note, while probably not purposeful on the author’s part, because of the red hair and scarred cheek I couldn’t help visualising Saito Arisada as Rurouni Kenshin. I found this a little distracting.

All-in-all however, while not without faults and inconsistencies, I enjoyed the read and would be up for trying another of Heywood’s works.

Book Review of Tigris Eden’s Enslaved in Shadows & Burned in Shadows

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Enslaved in ShadowsI picked up Tigris Eden‘s Enslaved in Shadows (Shadow Unit, #1) from the Amazon free list. I then bought the sequel, Burned in Shadows.

Description of book one:
A man’s Past leads to his Future……

Agent Stone of the Shadow Unit’s job is simple, most days. Work in the Shadows, police his own Kind.

When an unwanted assignment turns out to be his darkest fantasy from the past, Draven can’t help but be conflicted by the memories of the past and his responsibilities in the future. But his decision has been made.

The Heart of a woman is Tested……..

Jes can’t let the tall dark agent back into her life.
How can she trust any man after what she’s endured. Years of abuse have broken her down and she doesn’t have room for more. The man she turns to for help hasn’t abused her physically but he’s tormented her emotionally. A past betrayal left her scarred, but also brought her life.

Can she accept him into her heart and trust him again?

One will survive and adapt, the other will realize hearts can be mended even if it’s a bit too late.

The road to forgiveness sometimes only brings more pain. Unexpected events set their lives on two separate tracks leading to one outcome. Lives will be changed and an emotional battle to save their souls will leave them both trapped and enslaved in their need for one another.

Review of book one:
I’m of two minds, having finished this book. On one hand, I found myself really irritated with the book in general and the cliffhanger ending in particular. On the other hand, I apparently liked it since I was willing to go out and buy the sequel. The latter probably trumps the former.

To address that first issue, what annoyed me the most was the fact that the whole thing is just so darned wordy. What I mean is that Ms. Eden often takes pages and pages to say what could have been accomplished in two sentences. And while this sometimes worked really well, painting a vivid mental picture and setting the scene for the characters to shine in (and they often do), at other times I found myself thinking, ‘Oh. My. God. Have we really not moved on yet?’ Unfortunately this latter thought struck me more often than I would like to admit.

This excess verbiage also means that, even though the book is 232 pages long, very little seems to happen. Even less once you factor in the fact that half the book is sex scenes. This is to be expected, of course, so mentioning it isn’t a complaint. But it leaves the plot to consist of essentially a one-night stand, a meeting, a car trip, a kidnapping, a rescue, and a cliffhanger. That’s not much for 200+ pages.

As I said, I did go out and purchase book two…or open up my laptop and click ‘buy now.’ So there were obviously things about the book I liked too. Most notably I liked Royce and Ronin, who Burned in Shadows is focused on. Their mystique was intriguing and I want to know more about them.

I liked the way Eden made Draven’s over-bearing, alpha nature feel almost like more of a cultural misunderstanding between him and Jes than anything else. From a werewolf’s perspective it was obvious that their situation would work out and that Jes would come around in time. She has to, she’s his mate and therefore biologically unable to do otherwise. From a human perspective however, he had no right to do some of the things he did and take those choices from her, regardless of what the end result would be.

I liked seeing Draven come completely unglued over his woman and adjust to the idea of a child. I liked the banter between the members of the Shadow Unit and the mystery of their species. All-in-all I liked the general world Eden created here. I could have done with a little more world-building, so that I had a firmer grasp of it though.

Burned in ShadowsDescription of book two:
Royce Zarides has accepted his hand dealt by fate. He’s loved and left far too many women. In the bedroom that is. But one kiss from Belinda Raine Ignis was all it took for his eyes to open. Is she really the woman meant for him and his brother Ronin? Or will history only repeat itself? That’s the million dollar question he doesn’t want to answer.

Ronin does not believe that Belinda is for him and his brother. But one night with her isn’t enough. Even when he sees her for who and what she really is, Ronin still has a hard time expressing his emotions where Belinda is concerned, and time is running out now that she’s to ascend to the status of Matria of the Phoenix Enclave.

Belinda (Bells) Ignis is good at ignoring men. She’s had her share of heartache. Jilted at the altar by her first love, she’s sworn all men off for good. Her mother and Matria of her community has other plans in mind, as well as the Zarides brothers. When faced with the heated glances of Ronin and the smooth tongue of Royce, what’s a girl to do?

The clock is ticking down for certain members of the Shadow Unit. Draven assumed dead, leaves a sour taste in every ones mouth. Jes’ new found abilities make for a great addition to the team. But when things seem to settle, they only get worse, as the team sets out to discover the origins of Mr. Black and the notorious Red Sun Organization. Secrets are uncovered and deals are made that result in a deadly blow to all involved.

Review of book two:
You ever read a sequel and then wish you hadn’t, so that it could have retained it’s potential awesomeness a little longer? Yeah, that’s how I feel about this book. It could have been pretty good, but I finished it on a disappointed sigh.

First off, who was the book about–Jes and Draven or Bells, Ronin and Royce? The description says  the latter trio, but at least half the book is dedicated to Jes and Draven’s continuing drama and that left Bells, Ronin and Royce feeling like mere side characters, especially Bells. She seemed like little more than a puppet for the brothers to lust after. I didn’t feel like I knew her at all and barely knew the brothers any better, mostly because all the actual action is dedicated to Jes and Draven. Bells, Ronin and Royce’s ‘action’ is almost all bedroom play. How much personality can you glean from how well someone performs Cunnilius?

Problematically, despite being the second book dedicated to Jes and Draven, I didn’t know either of them in this book either. I realise characters have to grow and change for a story to progress, but Jes and Draven seemed like…no, they were different people. They took different names, different speech patterns, different attitudes, different abilities, and different behaviours. There was nothing recognisable about them.

What’s more, I didn’t like the new them. Granted, that’s understandable with Draven/Black. He turned into a baddie for a while (though I’m baffled about how). But Jes/Zea just mysteriously changed. I’m still waiting on a little clarity on that issue. And Zea was just too much to believe. She suddenly developed unbelievable powers. She became so powerful that the Shadow Unit accepted her as a member and within 6 weeks was sending her on serious undercover assignments. Really, does this organisation not have any training requirements or standardised entry requirements? How very convenient.

My biggest complaint however has to be the ending. I have no idea how or why the situation suddenly resolved itself. No one seemed to do anything to save the day, but somehow everyone was rescued. 

Lastly, the book needs an editor, especially one who can address the to vs. too, passed vs. pasted, and comma placement issues. I noticed a few errors in book one, but this second book is riddled with them. It’s also often really unclear who is speaking or even thinking. I often mention editing in reviews, but I’m actually generally pretty forgiving of it. I considered giving up on this one at one point. 

I’m not trying to be mean here. Eden has developed an interesting world. I still liked all the different species interactions and the way they each held their cards close to their chest. I liked how they ragged on eachother, but still got the job done. I’m sure there will be those out there who will love the book. I’m thrilled for them. I want to see every story find it’s perfect audience. Unfortunately I’m not it for this book.