Re-Read: Through a Crimson Veil by Patti O'Shea

Amazing the things you can do when you wake up early enough. Plus, when you type quick enough :P Showering, blogging, answering emails, going through my Google Reader... reviewing :P The only thing I don't think I'll have time to do is commenting, but I'll catch up on that once I'm back home.

In the meantime, here is my re-read for this month: Through a Crimson Veil by Patti O'Shea. This is part of the multi-authors Crimson City series published by Dorchester and Through a Crimson Veil can definitively be read as a standalone.


Through a Crimson Veil by Patti O'Shea

published by Dorchester Love Spell in October 2005

Los Angeles. Once, it was the City of Angels. Now, it’s Crimson City, whose inhabitants know nothing of Heaven. The tentative peace between the species—werewolf, vampire, human—teeters on the brink of collapse. Sides are being chosen. Yet the peril is greater than any imagine. There is a power here that longs for release, an ancient darkness held captive too long. Below, beneath, beyond, it seethes. And there are those who would see it freed.

Mika herself seeks freedom. She’s come to Crimson City looking for the key. But that key’s keeper is a killer, an outsider, a mercenary with a poisoned past. To her kind, he has meant only death. No matter that Conor McCabe’s pale green eyes hold a hint of lust, the glint of a bond never to be broken; the path ahead lies in shadow. In a city like this, death can come by fire or fang, by claw or kiss. And the moment of truth must come…

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Crimson City, Book #3 (I think)

The Story: Mika is a half-demon from a weak branch (i.e. not very powerful, not very dark) - who can manipulate air and is very playful. As a half-demon, she has the ability of crossing the veil that separates the human and demon worlds while other demons have to be summoned. Because of this particularity, Mika is asked by the Council to fullfill a mission... Mika has every intention of refusing it, until she sees the picture of Conor McCabe, a fellow half-demon and her vishtau mate. Being a half-demon, she never really expected to have a vishtau mate (soulmate). However, how can she go around his back and complete the mission while gaining his trust? Add in a few very evil demons and a pair of hitmen who are after Conor... and it gets very interesting.

My Opinion: I really enjoyed this book the first time around. It was my first Patti O'Shea book and it really got my attention and put Ms O'Shea on my favorite author radar. I pretty much enjoyed everything: the writing which is engaging, the characters - I like Mika's playful side and Conor gruffy one; it's a bit the "happy-go-lucky heroine thawing up the stuffy hero" theme that I enjoy so much, there was also plenty of action and it was hot :) So seriously, what's not to like about this book?

This is not my first re-read of the book and it won't be my last either. What grabs me everytime is how much I like the characters :) Like I said, Mika is fun and she likes to push Conor's buttons. As soon as she meets him, she gets protective of him and tries to help him any way she can. The most important is that she helps him accepting his demon side. As for Conor, he doesn't know about the vishtau bond, but he can't help but being attracted to Mika and go all protective on her. They really complement each other very well... And seriously, I really have a thing for characters who sacrifice themselves for the other LOL. In a way, it's just so romantic right?

Ms O'Shea also has a writing style that suits me a lot. Even if the plot is not as engaging, her writing just pulls me in. It's fast and to the point. Ms O'Shea also puts a lot of scenes, time and efforts to build up the connection and chemistry between the H/H. She does have the perfect balance between the action and the characterization.

Of course, the story is a bit less exciting on re-reads because you already know what's going to happen... but that's what happens with the action-packed book :) But I really enjoy it every time I re-visit Mika and Conor :) They're just great :D

My Grade: B+

Review: Crazy for You by Kate Angell

Hello everyone! How are you doing? I've been behind on my blogging and reviewing, but I hope that all will go back to normal now :) I'm starting my new job in a couple of hours :) Can you imagine? A few weeks ago, I was working from 6.30am to 3pm and that meant waking up at 5.30am... now it's 8am and I'm still at home :) I don't know how my schedule is going to be yet, but I know I can get a couple more hours of sleep :) Yay!

Anyway, that's beside the point. Today, I officially start going back on track for blogging and reviewing. Vacations are over and the Olympics as well :( - by the way, I can't imagine how well this worked out LOL :) I've been reading, blog-hopping and commenting... no reasons I can't blog and review as well :) So let's start with Crazy for You by Kate Angell :) It took me a while to get my hands on this book and in the end, it was total disappointment :(


Crazy for You by Kate Angell
published by Love Spell Dorchester in April 2005

Crazy

From the moment she spotted his hamburger-and-french-fry emblazoned boxers with the word supersized on them, Bree knew Sexton St. Croix was trouble. Here was a man with just one thing on his mind, but Sex had hired her to do a job and she'd let nothing get in her way. Not even a sudden insatiable craving for fast food, the hotter the better.

For You

Sexton St. Croix had a big problem. His luxury ocean liner was haunted - by the ghost of an unflappable flapper named Daisy. Now, in an effort to persuade Daisy to "cheese it," he'd opened the ship to a veritable psychic circus. With every type of paranormal phony swarming the decks, he was counting on Bree's "clairsentience" to save his bacon. Her exquisitely sensitive fingers could detect the emotional vibrations of an 80-year-old love triangle and the unsolved murder that had resulted, while her tender touch unlocked secrets in his own heart. Here, at last, was the woman to convince the pleasure-before-promises playboy of the virtues of good, old-fashioned romance.

Genre: contemporary romance, psychics, ghost
Series: none

The Story: Surprisingly, the blurb with all its references to fast food summarizes well the story :)

My Opinion: I've been a fan of Ms Angell ever since I read her baseball Boys of the Summer series. Ever since, I've tried to collect her backlist, thus Crazy for You. Personally, I thought the blurb was very cute with its fast food references and so I thought the book would be really enjoyable... I guess that's why I'm so disappointed in the end.

Actually, Crazy for You is not that bad. As a whole, the storyline is pretty good. Through Bree's visions, we see what happened 80 years ago and how Daisy the ghost fell in love with Sexton's ancestor. That part was pretty good and I was introduced to a period/character that I didn't know very well - the flapper. The premises weren't bad at all either. Sexton wants to get rid of the ghost and therefore invites a bunch of psychics. Where I thought the book sunk is the romance, the characters and all the sex innuendos.

First the romance. I didn't feel the chemistry between Bree and Sexton. Other than lust and her being hard to get, I don't know why Sexton was so into Bree. I like Bree for holding off as long as she did... but yeah, their chemistry wasn't great. I also didn't like how Sexton hired Bree to get rid of the ghost, but wouldn't believe in her abilities and what she saw. His pre-judgment of Daisy was annoying.

Secondly, I thought the characters lacked depth. It's one thing to see them on the boat, but what about outside of the boat? How are they? There were some brief mentions about Bree's life, but it doesn't cover it all. I mean, she's clairvoyant, so how does she deals with it? What do they both do in their everyday life? It made Bree and Sexton less realistic to me. At the end, Ms Angell tries to salvage Sexton's image to the readers by making him more than a playboy. Although it was a good idea, Ms Angell should have emphasized more on that part in my opinion, drops more hints.

Finally, the sexual innuendos. I don't mind sexual tension and all and I think that Ms Angell tried to do this in a comic way... however, I thought that all the sexual innuendos made the book a bit vulgar. It didn't work well. Maybe if they'd been less comical and a bit more classy? I know this is supposed to be a fun book, but still... For example, guess what Sexton likes to be called? Of course, Sex. It's just little thing... Perhaps some people enjoys this kind of innuendos, but not me.

The secondary characters were okay and completed the pictures. The one that I enjoyed most was Daisy :) She was really fun to read. As I said, the whole storyline is quite good and I did laugh here and there. Not totally a bad book, but not one that wowed me.

My Grade: C. In the end, I think that Ms Angell was trying to hard to write a book that was both sexy and funny that it felt forced... and so I ended up disappointed because I've seen her doing sexy and funny and this wasn't.

Review: Squeeze Play and Curve Ball by Kate Angell

I've recently discovered this author while I was looking for something funny to read. While her books aren't that funny and even if I have some issues with them, they are quite enjoyable and fun to read.


Squeeze Play by Kate Angell
published by Love Spell in June 2006

Risk Kincaid has just won the World Series with the Rogues from Richmond. Now, he's going back to his hometown of Frostproof where he's going to spend a month; first for the charity event organized by another baseball player and his childhood friend, Aaron Grayson, but also to spend time with Jacy Grayson. Jacy is a sassy and spirited woman who owns a coffee shop... and Risk thinks he is her rebound lover... Basically, Risk and Jacy became an item soon before Risk left to start his pro career and knowing the demands, he didn't want to commit to Jacy, but promised her he would be always there when she needed him most, i.e. when her heart got broken - which is how they first got together.

Genre: Contemporary romance, Sport romance (baseball)
Series: The Richmond Rogues series, Book #1

Why I got this book? I got and read Curve Ball first and enjoyed it... so I decided to get this one too.

My first impression: I enjoyed this book. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but it was quick and fun. My only problem with this book is there were three storylines: 1) Risk and Jacy, 2) Zen (another baseball player) and Stevie and 3) Aaron and Natalie, and we get to follow all three in the same book. In this one, it does work because all three players are here for the same reason and the book spans a short period of time... however, I'd rather follow only the main characters and their sex scenes, instead of all three couples.

The Characters: I really enjoyed all the characters except for Natalie and Aaron. Risk and Jacy were just perfect together... Risk is the mature ball player who's been a pro long enough and the fast and edgy life is no longer appealing. Instead, he wants to make his relationship with Jacy official. I think he came across as everything to the reader - lover, big brother and friend, as well as handsome and sexy man :) I like his protective and jealous side :) Jacy was fun. She's lively, likes colors and changes... think of new-age outside, without the new-age thinking. She knows Risk is a public face with a lot of groupies, but she's confident in herself, enough not to panic and run away. She's also building her courage to tell Risk the truth - that she loves him... and that all those break-ups she had were with imaginary boyfriends, and all she wanted was Risk.

As I said, we also follow Zen and Stevie's relationship and Aaron and Natalie. I liked Zen and Stevie... Zen was the serious type, the one that doesn't simply see the outside appearance of a person. Very logical man who falls in love - always fun :) Stevie always thought she would marry Aaron, but then get dumped without notice when Aaron announced his engagement to the very rich and spoiled Natalie. It doesn't help that Stevie has gained quite a lot of weight in the past year, ever since Aaron has been distancing himself from her. I liked Stevie, she was genuine... of course, she took the break-up hard, but Zen was there for her and she quickly got over him... Aaron and Natalie were my least favorite couple... basically, I think they are fake and phony and that Aaron is very stupid. I also didn't believe in Natalie's love for Aaron at the end. We're also introduced to the Bat Pack, three young ball players with a lot of powers... their job was to provide the comedy relief and they delivered :D

I guess that's pretty much it. I think that everything tied in quite well - the characters, their relationships to each other and the events/what is happening. Like I said, I just simply didn't like Aaron and Natalie and the fact that all three couples had sex scenes. I don't know, I prefer to follow one couple... I don't mind the knowledge of them having sex, but don't like to read about it. Of course, I don't think that everyone will mind that :P

Grade: B


Curve Ball by Kate Angell

published by Love Spell in August 2007

The Bat Pack are the bad boys of baseball and have always live fast and hard, but all this comes to an end when they actually fight with their new star pitcher on Media Day, just before the start of the season. As a result, they are being benched for 13 matches... and all have to find how to spend that time...

Genre: Contemporary romance, Sport romance (baseball)
Series: The Richmond Rogues, book #2

Why I got this book? I was looking for something funny. Someone recommend this to me at the used bookstore.

My first impressions: For some reason, I really liked this book... probably for the characters. I don't think that most of you will find it as enjoyable as much as I did. Again, we follow 3 couples. The three main guys were introduced in Squeeze Play, but I read that book afterwards... Unfortunately, I don't think that the author did as good as a job in this book intertwining the three relationships with the events. I guess it would have been better if each player had their own book, but all three books happened at the same time... understand what I mean?

1) Psycho (Cody McMillan) and Keely Douglas (his decorator): Psycho is the crazy one, the dangerous one, the one no one can predict... he's also a confirm nudist. In Squeeze Play, he was a funny PITA, but he comes across much more dangerous in this book. I liked him... as Keely says, "Mr. McMillan says and does what he pleases. He doesn't give a damn. That fascinates ppl." I totally agree :) As for Keely, she's the poor girl, fed up of small job and trying out as a decorator. It's kind of unbelievable that she pulled it off, but aside from that, I liked her. I guess because she can stand on her own and even say no to Psycho, without being too ass-kicking... Personally, I think they were my favorite couple... there's just something about Psycho :)

2) Romeo (Jesse Bellisaro) and Emerson Kent (a sport reporter): Romeo is the playboy, the one with way too many women buzzing around him. Emerson is a sport reporter and she intrigues Romeo, mainly by not falling at his feet. Basically, I don't have much to say about them, because I think this one was the most boring out of all three couples and their story was the most cliché...

3) Chaser (Chase Tallan) and Jen Reid: Jen is Chaser childhood friend and neighbour. Basically, they're still living next to each other and after a surprise kiss, sparks fly and they realized that the person they've been looking for was there all along. Seriously, who doesn't like the whole best friends turn lovers plot? The only problem was this was way, way, way too short. We were introduced to them, they kiss and then, didn't appear for awhile. Then, went on a couple of blind dates and realized that they want to be together, had sex and then, we didn't see them anymore, at all! I mean, come on... why write their story then?

So obviously, there were some problems; however, the book wasn't all that bad. The characters were fun and I enjoyed seeing professional players outside of sports. All the charity activities they participate in and their interaction, that I liked. Still, I'd have like them to have all their own books.

Grade: B-

ps. Anyone has read Ms Angell's previous books? They are not sport books, so I don't know if I'll enjoy them as much... so I want others' opinion :)