What sets me apart...

So how's everyone's holidays going? Mine is all right... Perhaps not very festive, but I'm resting, reading and eating. What more can I ask? Although I'm at work right now at the moment... but then, lots of incubation times, so I'm not working very hard... hehe. Also having fun watching the Top Gear special in Vietnam :D

Anyway, so guess what I'm going to review today? Two books...

Into the Fire by Suzanne Brockmann and Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

LOL, I can feel some of the disbelief the bloggers who know me well feel :P LOL... Okay, so here's the deal... Most of the time, I agree with blogland and enjoy the same authors that everyone loves... Robyn Carr, Jennifer Crusie, Nora Roberts and etc. However, there are a few authors that are really hugely popular with long-standing series whose books I just don't enjoy... Among them, Suzanne Brockmann and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I tried and tried, but just don't seem to enjoy them as much as my fellow bloggers.

So why try again? Well two of my favorite bloggers have recently reviewed Into the Fire - Ames and Jill. So when I saw it at the library, I picked it up... As for Heaven, Texas... Again, Jill has reviewed it not too long ago and she got quite a lot of comments from bloggers who all seem to enjoy it immensely, so I picked it up at the library as well. See, my library is not totally hopeless... ^_^;

So here is what I thought of both books...


Into the Fire by Suzanne Brockmann
published by Random House in July 2008 (HC)

Vinh Murphy–ex-Marine and onetime operative for the elite security firm Troubleshooters Incorporated–has been MIA ever since his wife, Angelina, was caught in a crossfire and killed during what should have been a routine bodyguard assignment. Overcome with grief, Murphy blames the neo-Nazi group known as the Freedom Network for her death. Now, years later, Freedom Network leader Tim Ebersole has been murdered–and the FBI suspects Murphy may have pulled the trigger. To prevent further bloodshed, Murphy’s friends at Troubleshooters scramble to find him and convince him to surrender peacefully.

Murphy himself can’t be sure what he did or didn’t do during the years he spent mourning and lost in an alcohol-induced fog. He does know he occasionally sought solace from Hannah Whitfield, a former police officer and the very friend who’d introduced him to his beloved late wife.

But Hannah, still grappling with the deafness that resulted from an injury sustained while on duty, was fighting her own battles. For years Hannah had feelings for Murphy, and one painful night their suffering brought them together in a way neither expected–and both regretted.

Murphy is ready to rejoin the living. As always, he finds himself knocking on Hannah’s door, and as always, his longtime friend welcomes him back into her home. Yet even as Murphy slowly rebuilds his splintered life, he continues to fight his growing feelings for Hannah.

Then he learns of Ebersole’s murder and comes to believe that the Freedom Network has targeted him–and Hannah–to avenge their leader’s death to violence. Now Murphy must face the terrifying prospect of losing another woman he loves.

As the Troubleshooters desperately search for him, Murphy races toward a deadly confrontation with the Freedom Network and ultimate choice: surrender his life in hopes that Hannah will be spared, or risk everything to salvage whatever future they may have together.

Genre: romantic suspense, army/Navy
Series: Troubleshooters, book #13

I won't go too much into the story, because 1) it's really a complex story and 2) the back blurb probably does a better job than I would.

My Opinion: So what did I think of Into the Fire? Quite frankly, I had difficulty following everything that happened. I have read a few books in the series, here and there, the last one being Into the Storm, and I was a bit confused. Lots of the early characters are mentioned but don't appear and then, there's this whole new cast... It feels like I was reading Troubleshooters - the New Generation, LOL :)

Again, Ms Brockmann continues to have many plot lines at the same time... however, it didn't annoy me as much as the other books. I was most interested in Murphy and Hannah's romance and to some degree, Izzy. Didn't care much about the Troubleshooters/ex-CIA agents business.

I liked Murphy and Hannah. What happened to them was quite tragic - Murphy losing his wife and Hannah's car accident which affected her life greatly. The fact that both were in love with each other years ago, but never moved toward each other, letting life lead them in other directions... that was quite sad. I'm glad they had a second chance. Although I liked both characters, I felt like we didn't have enough background on either, especially Hannah. Where were her parents? Why was she raised by her uncle? In addition, I felt like their relationship was quite rushed due to the other plot lines. It was also stupid from Murphy not to admit his feelings for Hannah... after all they went through. What if he never had the chances to talk to her afterwards? What if she died before he could tell her that he loved her and that he lied previously? He would have felt guilty the rest of his life and regret it so much. Finally, I thought that Ms Brockmann didn't handle the pacing quite well. As I said, Murphy and Hannah's relationship felt rushed... I felt they didn't spend enough time together really talking... there weren't many sweet moments either. I think that would help.

As for Izzy... he was a great character and I have to agree with Ames and Jill... He deserves better than 18 y.o. Eden. I mean, perhaps if Eden was more mature then their relationship and interaction would have work better.... However, that's not the case. Eden's life is screwed up... and Izzy is left picking up the pieces and trying to put them together. It felt more like he was baby-sitting Eden than "having a relationship" with her.

All in all, the book was okay. I didn't dislike it as much as the previous books I've read, but I didn't fall in love with the series. I'm not going to grade this book though, because I think it would be unfair. Me coming in the middle of the series where it's obvious that I should have read some other books beforehand to enjoy it more.


Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
published by Avon in April 1995

Come heck or high water, Gracie Snow is determined to drag the legendary ex-jock Bobby Tom Denton back home to Heaven, Texas, to begin shooting his first motion picture. Despite his dazzling good looks and killer charm, Bobby Tom has reservations about being a movie star -- and no plans to cooperate with a prim and bossy Ohio wallflower whom he can't get off his mind or out of his life. Instead, the hell-raising playboy decides to make her over from plain Jane to Texas wildcat.

But nothing's more dangerous than a wildcat with an angel's heart in a town too small for a bad boy to hide. And all hell breaks loose when two unforgettable people discover love, laughter, passion -- and a match that can only be made in Heaven.

Genre: contemporary romance
Series: Chicago Stars, Book #2

Again, I'm going to skip the story summary. I don't feel like I could do a good job.

My Opinion: Okay, I'm going to admit, I did skip a bit of this book. I skip the part where Grace went to Bobby Tom's house during a party and was mistaken for a strip-teaser... then, I did skip bits here and there, but I don't think it affected my understanding of the book... and the reason I skip parts? Bobby Tom.

For the life of me, I just couldn't stand Bobby Tom. I thought he was immature, arrogant and condescending. Yes, he did have some layers to him, but not enough for me to like him. Gosh, I know he was a jock, but seriously!! I couldn't find anything in him to like. The last scene where he screams at Grace after she's refused his proposal... that was just ugly and hurtful. I don't get why Grace didn't make him grovel more... (well, okay, he did break out of jail, but I still think she forgave him way too easily).

The rest of the book didn't have much of an impact on me. I felt meh reading this. I didn't relate to Grace, didn't find the subplot about Bobby Tom's mother and the bad guy in town very interesting either.

Overall, didn't really like this book and again, I won't be rushing to read the rest of the series :(

My Grade: Better than a DNF, but meh... didn't like it much... so, hmmm, D. Of course, that's just me and there's tons of people out there who loved this book :)

Into the Storm

Hello everyone,

sorry for the lack of updates lately... but it should pick up again soon :) US Open just finished, (Maria Sharapova just won against my fave Justine Henin-Hardenne... NOOOOOOOOO!!!) Anyway, that means I'll have more time to read. In addition, I just finished my internship for my master degree :D That means that I'll be more free, even if I'm starting a new job Monday. The new job doesn't require me to think too much, so more time to read. Altho I still have a seminar and thesis to prepare for the winter, I'm going to take a short break :) So youppi! more reading! I have a couple of books in my TBR pile to finish, so I'll try to do that ;) Meanwhile, I read Ames' review of Into the Storm and got curious so I bought the book (yes, bought... I'm impulsive, what can I say?) and here's what I think of it.

I don't want to grade this book, because it wouldn't be a fair grading to the book... So here we go:

Into the Storm by Suzanne Brockmann

I can't muster the same enthusiasm for this book as Ames and I did try a lot. I like the review Ames gave, but I had a lot of difficulty to get into the book. My first problem is the number of characters. I haven't read all the books by Ms Brockmann and so I lack a lot of background and details... and believe me, you'll need all of them, so her books are really not stand-alone, but that, I knew already. By the way, if you really want a synopsis or an idea of what's happening in the book, I'm directing you to Ames' review.

So about the story, I thought a lot happened and nothing at the same time. Contradictory? Yeah, that's howI feel about this book. I mean, it's not like NOTHING NOTHING happened, it seemed a bit forced. They do special training, simulations and it's like a game between them... The readers are aware of the bad evil guy, but not the Troubleshooters or SEALS... It seems the evil guy was added just to have something happening at the end. To put some pressure, some feeling of danger. If she'd taken another route, I think the book would still be as entertaining. If you're not going to run or track the evil guy, by the way, this guy was really, really evil, then why have him in it at all? So yeah, the plot was okay, but nothing really catchy.

If the book was to win my heart, it would be for the relationships in the books. However, it got me more confused than anything else. Jenkins wasn't a bad hero, but he wasn't all that appealing. I'll give thumbs up to Lindsey tho :) however, I think that she should have dealt with her doubts about her origins earlier... but then again, if her father didn't, why would she? I also wonder why in most of the Troubleshooters/SEALS books, why can't the relationships be more straightforward? why always put obstacles in the way.... because most of the time, Ms Brockmann put HUGE obstacles in the way. Anyway... Dave, Decker and Sophia... my god, what a love triangle. Personally, I'm rooting for Dave and Sophia, but I doubt my wishes are going to come true. So yeah, I thought there was too many relationships problem going on: Lindsey+Jerkins, the love triangle btw Dave, Decker and Sophia, by the way, what's up with all the men hitting on Sophia? and Izzy and Tracy... too many characters, again, Ms Brockmann is setting up her future stories that we might or might not read in her next novel.

Basically, my opinion on the Troubleshooters/SEALS books stand: I'm not a fan. I tried reading Into the Night as well... boy, not my favorite either and it started well, but it just went downhill. So if you're a fan of the Troubleshooters/SEALS, you'll probably enjoy this book. If you're new to Ms Brockmann books, you might want to read them in order to enjoy them better.

ps - One thing I really liked, altho I wish Ms Brockmann would have expanded on it, Mallory and Sully got married :D by the way, do they appear in any of the other books?

Recent reads - take 3

Okay, so the first time I tried to write this post I gave up... but then, I decided to start over, because the whole point of starting this blog was to share the books I read with the others and so far, I didn't really do it... so I started writing it up and then, lost electricity ^^; so hopefully, this time, it'll go up.

So, yes, I want to talk a bit about the books I've read lately, but I don't know in which format. I'm not the best writer nor am I the most coherent either... so yeah, I'm not the best reviewer and there's so many good reviewers in the romance blog land that I don't know if I can measure up (okay, I know it's not a contest, but...) I don't know if I should add the book blurb or not or whether I should write up a synopsis or just give my opinions... and talking about opinions, I don't express myself real well either, so... maybe I should just answer some questions. One review style I really like is Sandie's... so perhaps I'll try something similar to her...

But let's put everything aside and onto the recent reads now :D

Suzanne Brockmann is an author I'm not sure whether I like or not. I've read very few books of hers and so far, I've never been compelled to buy her backlist... Sure, I was a bit curious about some of her books and characters, because all her books are part of a series, but each time I thought of buying one of her book, I could stop myself. Even after reading 3 books this week-end, I'm still unsure...

The Unsung Hero : 3.5/5

This was a good book; however, there were too many sub-plots. I mean, if an author can squeeze 3 storylines in one book, then to me, it means that she didn't have enough material and had to scramble to come up with a full novel.

Tom and Kelly: They are the main characters and they're okay. It was nice that for once, the guy realized that he was in love with her first. What annoyed me was that Kelly was in love with Tom, but she didn't want to... she's afraid of marriage... but why?!? Personally, if it has been only their storyline, I would have bumped the grade down to 2.

Joe and Charles: Joe is Tom's great-uncle and Charles is Kelly's father and these two men have been best friends for almost 60 years... since WWII. I luv grumpy old men :P In novels, I've always loved how grumpy old men could soften to become reluctant sweet grandpa... not that it happens in this book, but still. Anyway, back to the book: both men were part of the 55th regiment and soon, it will be their regiment reunion (55 yrs. after WWII) and Joe will be celebrated as the Hero of Baldwin's Bridge town; however, he doesn't want to. Then, Joe is asked to be interviewed by a writer who wants to write the story of the 55th regiment. This create tension between the two best friends as Joe has agreed but Charles doesn't want him to talk. Basically, the story of this sub-plot is what really happened during WWII and who is the real Hero of Baldwin's Bridge.

Mallory and David: Mallory is Tom's niece and she's 18 years old. David, 20, is an artist who's working for the summer in Baldwin's Bridge and looking for a model for his new graphic novel's character. Mallory is somewhat of a rebel, but at the same time, she's sweet. She refuses to go to college because 1) her mom doesn't have enough money and 2) what will happen to her mom once she leaves? Then, she meets David who she considers a geek, but a nice geek. Anyway, story short, both fall in love with each other and it's so sweet! Both characters are sweet, but the most important is that they discovered what was inside :)

The Defiant Hero: 2/5

Basically, this book is not a keeper. I still haven't finished it, but I know... Anyway, here's the blurb:

The United States refuses to negotiate with terrorists." Meg Moore remembered the warning from her job as a translator in a European embassy.

Those same words will spell out a death sentence for her daughter and grandmother who have been kidnapped by a lethal group called the Extremists. Meg will do anything to meet their unspeakable demands; anything—even kill—to save her child.

When Navy SEAL Lieutenant, junior grade, John Nilsson is summoned to Washington, D.C., by the FBI to help negotiate a hostage situation, the last person he expects to see holding a foreign ambassador at gunpoint is Meg. He hasn''t seen her in years, but he''s never forgotten how it feels to hold her in his arms. John could lose his career if he helps her escape. She will lose her life if he doesn't...

The whole story is confusing to me and I'm not sure what to think of Meg. She kinds of double-cross John, but still, he stands by her side and is ready to sacrifice his military career for her. Quite noble... which is why Meg annoys me. Just accepts his help! Don't try to do it on your own, because seriously, what's your chance of succeeding? She involved him by asking him to be the negociator, then she throws him away again and again. Just doesn't make sense to me.

I have to say that I like the grandmother, Eve, plotline tho.... While Eve is being held as hostage with Amy, Meg's daughter, she re-tells the story of how she fell in love with her husband, Ralph, to little Amy. That's story is quite sweet.

Then, what annoys me in this book is Sam and Alyssa's relationship - is this your book? No... so how come you have more sex than the main characters? and how come all you do is have sex instead of doing something a bit more constructive? So yeah, Suzanne Brockmann tries to set up her next book, but they take too much place. They steal the screen time of the main characters and worse, their story is not settle yet.

Gone Too Far: 2/5

This is Alyssa and Sam's story which I understand, fans have been waiting for a long time. They first appeared in The Unsung Hero and some other books afterwards as well. I didn't read the books between The Defiant Hero and Gone Too Far, so I'm missing some parts of their story and that is something I don't like. I don't usually care reading random books in series, because I know that I'm only missing some bits of their story such as how they were introduced. However, in this case, I'm missing big gaps and I think it's something that the author shouldn't have done.

Personally, I wasn't that interested in Sam and Alyssa once I started reading the book, altho I've been quite curious about them since I read Hot Target a few months ago. So this was a major disappointment. Even the presence of Tom and Kelly from The Unsung Hero couldn't help me like the book... and the last storyline - Max and Gina - didn't make sense to me, cos once again, I was missing too many gaps from other books.

In a few words, Suzanne Brockmann's books are definitively not stand-alone books. You really need to read them all... and in my opinion, the intrigue kind of takes the backseats... and the characters are a bit unreasonable to my taste.

Charming the Prince: 2.5/5

Quite frankly, I didn't like the book. I think it's the main idea of the book that I dislike. Lord Bannor comes back from France after the war and must now take care of his 12 children - yes, 12. He can't... he can't bear them, they're too much for him. So he asks his steward to find a wife that will be a mother to his children.

Appears Willow - who's been taking care of her 6 half-siblings + i don't know how many step-siblings. She sees Lord Bannor proposal as an escape route, tired of taking care of her siblings that her step-mom keep popping out... however, becoming Lord Bannor's wife is not much better.

Then, you have Lord Bannor that finds his wife beautiful, but he doesn't want to bed her, because he doesn't want more children (his family line is very potent). At first, Willow is hurt by Lord Bannor seemingly indifference, then she understands. So she goes to the village's whore to seek for advices... urgh.

At first, I really pitited Willow. I mean, she was like Cinderella, except that her father wasn't dead: she was treated poorly by everyone, she had to do everything, etc. Then, when she finally escapes her faith, she ends up as Lord Bannor's bride with tons of children to take care of. Hello, Lord Bannor, wouldn't it have been easier to hire a few more nurse to take care of them. Having a talk with your children instead of ignoring them would have help also. Then, Willow seeking the village whore(Netta) was a bit extreme ^^; Wasn't there any older lady, someone who could have given her advice? Was Netta the last woman on Earth?

Other things I didn't like in the book was: Lord Bannor's son romance. Desmond is 12 years old and he's falling in love with Beatrice, 14, who is Willow's step-sister. Isn't that a tad to precocious? At least, make both 16, 17... that's a bit bearable. I like to see two young people fall in love, but this was really too young for me. Then, Stefan, another of Willow's step-sibling, this time, closer to her age, leecherous attitude. I mean, Stefan has been demeaning Willow ever since his mom married Willow's father, ever since he stepped into the castle. I guess, as they grew, Stefan has been lusting after Willow and looking for a way to take advantage of her. But then, sending his little sister Beatrice to seduce Lord Bannor so the man wouldn't marry Willow and that Stefan would get her was a bit ridiculous. Add to that the kidnapping scheme... really...

So didn't like the book... and the 2.5/5 is because they were some funny moments that made me laugh. Teresa Medeiros thus join Suzanne Brockmann in the category - do I like this author or not? So far, I've read After Midnight - her regency/vampire series - which didn't entice me at all and Yours Until Dawn which was quite good. So I guess I'm going to have to read more books to have a good opinion.