So I'd like to introduce the newest feature on my blog: Week-End's Minis. Earlier this week, I mentioned in the Monthly Reads post that I was toying with the idea of having weekly recaps, simply because my Monthly Reads posts were becoming overwhelming to write. However, the idea just lost its appeal the more I thought about it. My reasoning is I have difficulty being on time with a monthly recap which is, technically, once a month. Now, I'm going to have 4 posts at fixed dates? Sure, they'll be shorter... but I think it'll be more pressure as well ^_^; Plus my reading week vary a lot from one another and a weekly recap is just not me LOL. Instead, I tried to come up with something in-between and I think I did: the Week-End's Minis :)
Basically, the Week-End's Minis will be a weekly post with one to two mini-reviews :) It won't be a weekly recap and it won't be necessarily books that I've read during the week. It'll just be mini-reviews of books I've read and wasn't planning to write a full review for. If I can stick to having a weekly mini-reviews post, then when it'll come to the Monthly Reads post, many of the books will already be reviewed and therefore, the post itself will be shorter and less daunting to write :) And to make things a bit more fun for everyone, I thought I'd let you decide what should be reviewed! :) The plan is that I'll put a poll up on the sidebar of books that I'm considering writing mini-reviews for and you let me know which mini-review you want to read :) The poll will run from Saturday to Wednesday and on the next Saturday, the post will go up. What do you think?
Oh by the way, mini-reviews. You've seen my Monthly Reads posts and you've seen that my "mini" reviews aren't that "mini" LOL. Well it's something I want to work on. The goal of these mini-reviews is really to let you know what worked and what didn't. I have a tendency in my full reviews to go through the characters, the settings, the romance, the storyline, etc. Hopefully, here, it'll all be more concise and focused... but I'm not sure yet how I'm going to do that LOL. So please be patient with me :) And if you have any suggestion, please feel free!!
This week, I didn't have time to make a poll and I really wanted to get started LOL, so I chose the mini-review. But you can start voting for next week! :) Hopefully, this new feature will be an enjoyable one for everyone :)
Whispers in the Dark by Maya Banks
She came to him when he needed her the mostGenre: Romantic suspense, psychics
She came to him at his lowest point. The voice of an angel, a whisper in the dark. She's the only thing that gets Nathan Kelly through his captivity, the endless days of torture and the fear that he'll never return to his family. With her help, he's able to escape. But he isn't truly free, because now she's disappeared and he's left with an all-consuming emptiness as he struggles to pick up the pieces of his life. Did he imagine his angel? Or is she out there, needing his help as he'd once needed hers?
Now he rushes to save her before it's too late
Shea has been on the run from people who will stop at nothing to exploit her unique abilities. She never wanted to drag Nathan, who'd already suffered so much, into danger, but she doesn't have a choice so she reaches out to him for help. Finally face-to-face after having already formed a soul-deep bond in hell, their emotional connection is even more powerful than their telepathic one. Nathan refuses to consider ever letting her go again, but she worries they can never have a life free of the dangers that dog her every step. He'll protect her with his every breath, but can he convince her that they are meant to face these threats together?
Series: KGI, Book #4
What do you need to know about the storyline? The blurb is pretty spot on, the only thing they didn't mention - and wow, they did a great job at writing an accurate blurb and leaving this big detail out - is that the heroine is psychic. From what I've heard, this is the first book in this series that has paranormal elements in it. All the previous books have been straight romantic suspense.
Why this book? This is the first book in the series I've read and it just called to me. It sounded like something I would enjoy :)
So, my thoughts? I'll start with the most obvious for me. I don't mind psychic characters. Actually, I love them when it's well-done... Unfortunately, it wasn't in Whispers in the Dark. Perhaps it's because I've been spoiled with the FBI SCU series by Kay Hooper, but the psychic aspect here just didn't work for me. First, I don't like the idea of manufacturing psychics for military purposes. There is so much we don't know about psychics, the abilities and where it comes from... How can you "breed" psychics? Then, the psychic element was just too unbelievable ^_^; Yes, I know ^_^; When it comes to psychics, I think readers always have to suspend their disbelief a little to enjoy the story and I've done it with no problems in the past. But the thing is, you still want the psychic element to be realistic and it simply wasn't in Whispers in the Dark. I mean, a trans-Atlantic connection? If Shea and Nathan's connection was established prior, then perhaps I've had bought it... but Shea just happened to grasp on Nathan's mind while she was in the US and Nathan, in Afghanistan? In that case, what stops her from hearing any voices in the whole big world? Also, healing someone without touching? That's already stretching it, but healing someone through someone's else connection without any physical anchor? Yeah, no. You just lost me there.
Aside from the psychic element, there was also the romance that went too fast for me. Okay, yes, Shea and Nathan have a connection, but they don't really know each other. Shea calls Nathan for help, he runs to save her and hours after they've met face-to-face for the first time, they're all over each other and having sex. I can buy having feelings for each other, I can buy being protective and possessive... but the sex was pushing it for me. We're not talking one-night stand here, but real, committed sex... and I just felt it was too fast.
So basically, Ms Banks lost me pretty early in the book because of the psychic element... and I ended up skimming through most of the book. Nothing in this book - the story, the romance, the characters or the suspense - was able to grab me and while reading, I just wanted Whispers in the Dark to be done and over. That's not usually a good feeling when you're reading a book. Someone on Goodreads mentioned that the book was boring and too corny and I have to agree wholeheartedly. The only scenes I really enjoyed were the Kelly brothers ribbing each other and even then, I thought it was sometime not with a good timing.
My Grade? E.
All right, it still winded up a bit long LOL. But hey, it's my first attempt! :) What do you think? Does this format work?
