Review: The First Prophet by Kay Hooper

Ohhh, my poor neglected blog! :( Sigh. So what's my latest excuse? Well I've been sick :( Down with a cold... or perhaps the flu, but I think more a cold, since Valentine's Day. Seriously, this has been a rough beginning of 2013 for me. I just can't seem to get into a reading and blogging rhythm. Whenever I start getting into a routine, something will come up and disrupt it. Very annoying. So if you've been wondering where I've been, let just say I've been feeling off...

Anyway, enough whining. For now, I'm just happy I had this review up and I hope I can get on a new streak. Going to try to make it for the TBR challenge tomorrow... but more importantly, I need to blog hop! In the meantime, enjoy this review!

The First Prophet by Kay Hooper
published by Berkley in November 2012

Within the FBI, there exists a team of psychics whose powers cannot be denied. But these agents are feared—by a cabal of conspirators with only one weapon: to blind the psychics to the evils all around them.

Months ago Sarah Gallagher woke from a coma with psychic abilities she couldn’t control. They changed her life and cost her the man she loved. And now, someone is playing games with Sarah’s mind.

It begins with Sarah’s home being destroyed by fire—an act of arson that draws novelist Tucker Mackenzie into Sarah’s confidence. But he has other reasons for pursuing a woman who can see what others can’t. So does a mysterious enemy intent on eliminating Sarah, and everyone she cares about. Because it’s only a matter of time before her visions lead her and Tucker to a secret many will kill to hide. Only then will they begin to discover the scope of a terrifying conspiracy so deep and complex they can trust almost no one.

Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Series: Bishop Files, Book #1

The Story: Tucker Mackenzie is a successful author. Throughout his career, he's been on the look-out for genuine psychics, someone who could answer his questions. His latest search leads him to Sarah Gallagher. Sarah was in an accident a few months ago and after waking up from a coma, started having visions and dreams. She wants to deny her abilities, but after some of her visions have come true, it's hard to.

What Sarah also knows is that she is being watched... and when her house burns down, well it seems they are doing more than watching. Tucker wants to protect Sarah, but she is not sure it is worth as she's seen how it ends. However, when Sarah is shown that the future can actually change, that it is not set in stone, she decides to fight for her life... Except the people after Sarah have a very long reach and wherever Sarah and Tucker run, there seems to be no escape.

Unbeknownst to Sarah and Tucker, there is a group of people trying to help them, to keep the bad people at bay... In a battle of good vs. evil, who will prevail?

My Opinion: It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Ms Hooper, especially her FBI SCU series. To me, Ms Hooper has set the standards when it comes to writing psychics and mysteries involving them. So there were many reasons for me to be excited for The First Prophet, the first installment in a new psychic series. Going in, I really wanted to love it, but unfortunately, the story did not work for me as well as I had hoped.

What I love so much about Ms Hooper's psychics is that her characters usually have belief in their abilities. They are not always comfortable with their abilities because some are more curses than gifts, but they don't doubt. As a result, Ms Hooper's psychics are usually well-adjusted characters... and that's what was missing in The First Prophet. Here, Sarah has just discovered her abilities and doesn't believe in them or at least, doesn't want to. Instead of making use of them, she's afraid of what she can do and see.  I think this was the first time I read a book of Ms Hooper with the main character just becoming a psychic. Usually, it's a secondary character and there's always someone in his/her entourage to make sense of it, to help out... and Sarah didn't even have that as Tucker was a non-psychic and while he's been searching for a genuine psychic, he was still undecided whether they existed or not. The not knowing, the not understanding, the mystic and the denial... those are usually absent in Ms Hooper's books, but they were all here in The First Prophet and for me, they brought down the book and made it like any other psychic novel. And that's the main reason why I didn't enjoy The First Prophet as much as I expected.

Another reason why The First Prophet didn't work as well for me was actually Sarah's abilities towards the end. I don't know exactly where Ms Hooper is heading with this series, but it's clear that Sarah is an important character, that she is the first prophet. As such, she is freaking powerful. We've seen powerful psychics in the FBI SCU series... but some of Sarah's abilities? I don't mind Sarah being powerful, but sigh, Ms Hooper is pushing the believable a little bit.

Otherwise, The First Prophet was interesting. The storyline was quite spooky and the conspiracy, scary. The fact that no matter where Tucker and Sarah ran and hid, they were found and in matter of hours? To imagine that there is such an organized faction out there after you? Very scary. I admit that the lack of names and therefore, not knowing which faction the people, thoughts and action came from, was a bit annoying, but I understand it was to set the tone and that was a definite success LOL. Also, as a whole, The First Prophet was a lot less gory than what I'm used to with Ms Hooper's books which was a pleasant surprise. As for the characters, Sarah and Tucker were nice and likable. There wasn't much development to their characters and I'd say they weren't really the focus of the book either. It feels like Ms Hooper was setting up for the series and given the plot, that was fine. I have to say that once Sarah started believing in her abilities, once she became more self-assured, that's when I started liking her better and it's also when the story picked up :)

My Grade: C. I came in The First Prophet with some expectations of how the story, the characters were going to be and I couldn't look past them, hence all the comparison to previous books and it definitively affected my enjoyment of the book. Still, I found the whole thing quite interesting and I'm really curious to see where the series will go. So not the ideal opening to the series, but I'm definitively picking up the next book :)

Review: Haven by Kay Hooper

LOL, so my plan to keep having posts for the blog is not going so well as I'm getting distracted by TV. I'm most probably going to blog on that later this week :) However, I'm not giving up! So here's my review for Haven by Kay Hooper! Enjoy :)

Haven by Kay Hooper
published by Berkley in July 2012

Emma Rayburn lived a quiet life in the sleepy town of Baron Hollow, North Carolina, until she injured her head in a riding accident. Afterwards, her dreams were full of nameless girls being tortured and murdered, nightmares that didn't seem to have any link with her life...until her estranged sister, Jessie, returned to Baron Hollow. Now an investigator who uses her psychic abilities in her work, Jessie has long been plagued by something that happened to her as a teen girl, before she ran away from Baron Hollow. She's come back to uncover the truth - and to discover the ones responsible for the deed. Could Emma's nightmares be connected to Jessie's quest? But it isn't just the truth at stake - there's an evil that's haunting the present, an evil that has roots in the darkness of the past, and a terrifying violence that neither sister can remember...

Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Series: FBI SCU, Book #13

The Story: Jessie Rayburn left Baron Hollow at the age of 17 and never looked back. No, she didn't leave - she ran away and as fast as she could... but she doesn't remember why. She spent years drifting until she became part of Haven and found a purpose. Haven is the civilian version of the FBI Special Crime Unit (SCU), backed up by the billionaire John Garrett. It consists of private investigators who are also psychics and has more freedom than the FBI. Being a telepath and a weak medium, Jessie fit right in. Unfortunately for her, something is preventing her from using her abilities to their full potential and everyone believes it is linked to her past, the reason she ran away. Not feeling ready, but wanting to move on, Jessie decides to go back to Baron Hollow to face her past.

What is waiting for Jessie in Baron Hollow is her younger sister, Emma... and ghosts. When Jessie's boss learns of the ghosts, she decides to send someone to assist Jessie: enters Nathan Navarro, a fellow investigator in Haven. His unique ability allows him to find dead bodies... and it doesn't take long for him to find one and he's pretty sure there is more. Both Jessie and Nathan can feel a dark presence in Baron Hollow, evil.

Emma is not sure why Jessie came back home. She would like to reconnect with her sister, but Jessie keeps brushing her off, going on expeditions and being distracted and preoccupied. Then, Nathan shows up at her B&B, someone she never expected to see again. Finally, the body is found... and strangely, the woman seemed to have died the same way Emma dreamed and probably at the same time. Ever since she had a riding accident, Emma has been dreaming of women being tortured and dying... What if they weren't dreams?

My Opinion: All right, before you continue on, keep in mind that I'm a huge fan of Ms Hooper, kay? :) Right off the bat, I'm going to tell you that Haven is not the best book in the FBI SCU series. However, I did like it and more importantly, it brings me hope. It brings me hope because it tells me Ms Hooper is back and on the right track :)

So, what I liked about Haven is that we finally find out more about the organization itself. Haven's been mentioned quite a lot in the last couple of books, but it remained kind of elusive. Now, we have clarifications. It's quite interesting how Haven is kind of an extension of the FBI SCU and vice versa. It's also clever because there's a lot less red tape. At the same time, I have to wonder about the risks that some of the PI might run into. Hopefully, most of them are less stubborn than Jessie and accept help and also, gotta trust Maggie and John.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the plot; however, the book was a bit of a frustrating read. A lot of it had to do with Jessie. I didn't like her attitude or how she handled things. It feels some things could have been simplified if only she had taken two seconds to talk to Nathan and Emma. At the same time, it was very in character with her, so I guess ultimately, it works. The past that she was trying to uncover was interesting and there was a nice twist with it which I did not see coming. The serial killer case was not bad, but I wished there had been more physical clues for Nathan and Emma to follow instead of abstract feelings, intuition and clues. I guess what I'm saying is I'd have like a more procedural approach to the case. Although as usual, I feel Ms Hopper handled the psychic aspect of the book really well. Ultimately though, I think the case could have been more interesting and tighter.

I also liked Nathan and Emma's characters. Quite frankly, when I got into the book, it was a bit hard to figure out who was the heroine, Emma or Jessie? They both play big roles in the story. At the end of the day, Emma edged out Jessie - yay! Of the two, I thought Emma was just more likable and more willing also. She was the one who tried to reconnect, she was the one who was more open... I really liked Nathan's character and I'm really hoping that we'll see him in future books. Still, there's a part in me that's a bit dissatisfied. I think for this book to have been better, there need to be more development to both Emma and Nathan. Flesh them out more and have their relationship more established. I liked that the two of them had a connection prior to Haven, but I would have liked it to be explored. Perhaps Ms Hooper has plans for it in the next book. I know Ms Hooper usually writes the FBI SCU series in trilogy and while it usually features new characters, this might be an exception. Anyway, at the end of Haven, I wished I knew Nathan and Emma better. Oh and don't go into Haven thinking this is a romantic suspense book. It is not. Unfortunately, Ms Hooper has made the switch from RS to mystery/thriller a couple of years ago and it looks as if it's going to stay that way... to my eternal regret.

As usual, seeing Hollis was a pleasure :) I like how she's starting to be a really important secondary character. I'm curious to see how her relationship with Reese develops. I'm also curious to see how her abilities have evolved. Another familiar face is Noah Bishop! A FBI SCU book wouldn't be one without him making an appearance. Overall though, I think Ms Hooper kept the familiar faces to a minimum and that's good. Other familiar elements include the bad guy being a serial killer, the psychic abilities helping the case along and all the red herrings. Oh and of course, the cryptiness and goriness of the mystery. When I read Haven, there was definitively a familiar feeling... it was like meeting and talking to a friend you haven't seen in a while :) If you've read the last two trilogies of the FBI SCU series and didn't enjoy the books, you should definitively skip this one. I also

My Grade: I admit not being totally objective with Haven. Had this book been written by any other authors, based on the mystery and the plot, the grade would probably have been lower ^_^; However, what can I say? I'm just so happy there's finally a new book in the FBI SCU series, one of my all-time favorite series, and also to reunite with the familiar writing of Ms Hooper :) Like I said, Haven is not Ms Hooper's strongest book, but she's getting there. B-.

Review: All Seeing Eye by Rob Thurman

All Seeing Eye by Rob Thurman
published by Simon & Schuster in July 2012

Picking up a small pink shoe from the grass forever changed young Jackson Lee’s life. Not only did its presence mean that his sister Tessa was dead—murdered and stuffed in the deep, black water of a narrow well—but the shoe itself told him so.

Tessa’s death triggers an even more horrific family massacre that, combined with this new talent he neither wants nor can handle, throws Jack’s life into a tailspin. The years quickly take him from state homes to the streets to grifting in a seedy carnival, until he finally becomes the cynical All Seeing Eye, psychic-for-hire. At last, Jackson has left his troubled past behind him and found a semblance of peace.

That is, until the government blackmails him. Helping the military contain the aftermath of a bizarre experiment gone violently wrong, everything Jackson knows about himself will change just as suddenly as it did with his little sister’s shoe.

And while change is constant...It’s never for the better.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal, UF
Series: ?

The Story: Jackson Lee's life changed the day he picked up his little sister's favorite pink shoe in a field. In that instant, he became psychic and saw the dead body of five years old Tess floating in the well. Tess' death triggers an horrific family massacre after which Jackson - 14 years old - and Glory, Tess' twin, wounded up in the system. Jackson spent the next two years at Cane Lake County Home for Boys where he met Charlie Allgood - a decent boy who was able to breach Jackson's barriers. However, the two went their separate ways when Charlie turned 18 and could leave the home and when Jackson ran away, deeming he could survive on the street on his own.

At first, Jackson joined a carnival - what better place to be a psychic? Once he was ready, he opened his own business. With one touch of bare skin on a human or an object, Jackson knows everything - past, present, memories, thoughts and feelings. What Jackson loves above all is money, because money doesn't betray you. But when Hector, Charlie's brother, walks in his office and tells him about Charlie's death and demands his cooperation, Jackson knows he cannot walk away. It doesn't matter Hector is forcing Jackson's hand with Glory's latest mess-up, because despite his denial, Charlie was his friend. However, what he is about to embark on is far-fetched... even for a psychic, and when Jackson finds out Charlie was murdered, he doesn't know if he'll survive - after all, who isn't wary of an all seeing psychic?

My Opinion: I didn't know exactly what to expect when I picked up All Seeing Eye. All I knew is that I wanted to give this book a try because I really enjoy Ms Thurman's writing... And I'm glad I followed my guts because All Seeing Eye turned out to be a great read!

One of the reasons All Seeing Eye worked for me is because Ms Thurman stuck to her strengths. She knows what she's good at and what works for her and therefore builds her books around those elements. I think it's smart and in the end, it paid off. So yes, we have a sarcastic hero and the story deals with siblings relationships, but when it's well done, how can you complain? Plus, I think these elements were different enough from her Cal Leandros series and Korsak Brothers series to make All Seeing Eye stands out instead of turning it into a carbon copy. Especially the siblings relationships. I really enjoyed it because it's about brother/sister instead of brother/brother - so very different dynamics, but also because Jackson and Glory are not close at all. Still, you can see how important family is to Jackson and what he's willing to do and sacrifice for it. It was also very touching how he treasured Tess' memories, how he had loved his sister in a big brother way. I think that part was very well done. We also get a glimpse of brother/brother relationship with Hector-Charlie which was nice and different.

I also quite liked Jackson :) I have to admit he does remind me a lot of Cal and Stefan, except he is a red-head! I think that is unavoidable since he is so sarcastic and given his past; however, I felt he was less dark. Yes, he went through something horrific and he is privy to some horrible secrets and sometimes inadvertently see bad stuff, but it's not constant. I also think he was able to put the past to rest better than Stefan did. Anyway, I think he was a good hero and an interesting character and I definitively wouldn't mind to get to know him better and follow more of his adventures :) I have to say, I liked how focused on money he was. Even before the massacre, it was a goal and it was good to see his determination and perseverance. Also, no matter what Jackson says, he is not as tough as he thinks :) I liked that so many people slipped through his wall :P Finally, I have to say, Ms Thurman is a master at writing sarcastic heroes.

Other things that worked for me was the psychic aspect of the book. What I liked was the way Ms Thurman described Jackson's gift - something akin psychometry, how she set up the rules and how she stuck to them. For example, any contact with Jackson bare skin could trigger his ability with people or with objects that had been used for a long time and that's why he preferred to surround himself with new things. Throughout the book, Jackson's gift was consistent in the triggers and the results and that's what I'm looking for when there's a psychic in my book. Ms Thurman also delved into astral projection and once again, it was well-explained and well-done. It was obvious to me that Ms Thurman had a clear vision of the paranormal elements in this book and that really shone through the story and made accepted it without questions. Furthermore, she backed this up with a good and solid plot, an interesting and clever intrigue.

My only complaint about All Seeing Eye was the last part of the book that I found a bit rushed. Oh and also, don't expect any romance in here, because there's none ^_^; Hopefully, this is something Ms Thurman will develop in future books (if they are any). Otherwise, All Seeing Eye was a great read. Also, when it comes to Ms Thurman's books, I always feel like they take me forever to read. Oh don't get me wrong, I love her books and think the stories are great, but it doesn't change the fact that it's slow going... but it wasn't the case with All Seeing Eye. I think the story flowed better and it was more readable than her other books :) I think the trick was there was no real world building as it wasn't necessary and Ms Thurman didn't try to overdo it either. Anyway, whatever she did different, it worked :P

My Grade: B+. I really hope there's going to be more books featuring Jackson and Hector :)

TBR Challenge 2012: True Vision by Joyce Lamb

Ouf, I made it!! Yay! I've been aware of the TBR challenge day was coming and that I needed to write my review, but lately, I'm having difficulty managing my time. I don't know what's happening, where time is going, but it seems I've been quite busy ^_^; My reading and blogging are both going so slow :( I can't wait for both to pick up, but I don't think it'll be any time soon :( Sigh.

So this month, it was my turn to get the theme wrong ^_^; I thought it was "How Did This Get Here? (a book you can't remember how/why you put in your TBR!)" month, but turns out that's in July ^_^; By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late for me to read another book. Lucky for me, the themes are optional LOL. As a result, you get True Vision by Joyce Lamb :)

True Vision by Joyce Lamb
published by Berkley in June 2010

Newspaper reporter Charlie Trudeau is living an ordinary life, until witnessing a fatal hit-and-run accident gives her an intense psychic power she has no clue how to handle—and brings a Chicago police detective to her doorstep...

Noah Lassiter wants nothing more than to find the driver who killed his good friend. But his only lead is the beautiful Charlie Trudeau, who gets prickly when he starts nosing around town. Charlie’s clearly hiding something, but Noah needs her help unraveling the mystery of his friend’s death—even if the electricity between them complicates things.

But the more Noah and Charlie uncover, the more they realize they’re looking for a desperate killer—and the more danger they’re in. And if Charlie can’t gain control over her psychic powers, they may not survive long enough to explore the full sizzling potential of their desire...

Genre: Romantic suspense
Series: True trilogy, Book #1

The Story: Charlie Trudeau is a reporter and is working for the Lake Avalon Gazette, a newspaper owned by her father. She is also very idealist, believing that a reporter's job is to help the population by reporting the truth, bringing down the bad guys.

One night, while Charlie is leaving the office, a woman calls after her. Next thing Charlie knows, she's witnessed a hit and run. It's only when Chicago cop Noah Lassiter shows up that Charlie learns the woman was her cousin on her mother's side. Noah was a good friend of the victim, Laurette. In fact, the two worked together from time to time as Laurette was a psychic who helped him in some investigations... and perhaps, if the stars had aligned, they would have been a couple. When he learns of her death, Noah decides to come down to Florida to push the investigation... and he believes the key is Charlie. However, Charlie is reluctant to offer help. First, she knows nothing of her mother's family and the two women are on bad term. Second, she has to deal with the fall out of her article in the newspaper... She's also being overwhelmed with her empathy power which seemed to have received a boost. Her attraction to Noah is just one added complication she doesn't need at the moment... But she's glad the man has been around after he saved her from a few attempts on her life. Slowly, doubts start to creep in and Charlie and Noah both wonder if Laurette was indeed the target... or was she mistook for someone else?

My Opinion: A few years ago, I was browsing the bookstore, looking for new authors when I stumbled upon Ms Lamb. They had a few things going for them: the covers were pretty and caught my eye, the genre was romantic suspense and you can never have too much RS and the publisher was Berkley, one that I usually enjoy. I decided to go ahead and buy Cold Midnight and True Vision. Hey, at least I read one right away! LOL. And now, True Vision qualifies as my TBR entry :) So win-win, right?

I knew when I picked up True Vision that Charlie was a reporter - one of my pet peeves, but I was hoping it'd be offset by the fact that she was also psychic. Unfortunately, it wasn't. I kind of liked the psychic aspect of True Vision - the way she got flashes - but I was expecting a bit more... and the situation in which Charlie found herself in was a bit weird. Charlie's always been an empath, but her power wasn't that strong until she witnessed her cousin's death. On one hand, she's not new to the power, but on the other one,, she has no clue how to deal with it once it became supercharged... So Charlie finds herself stuck in the middle and never really moved from it. She never learned more about her power and never embraced it :( And what really rubbed me the wrong way was the fact she scoffed at the psychic her grandmother recommended Charlie to go see before her death. Seriously? I hate it when a character's a psychic and doesn't believe in other's powers. As for Charlie being a reporter, sigh, I rest my case. What I can say is that Charlie wasn't as annoying as I expected. It was nice to see someone with conviction and learning that sometimes, what you believe and reality clash and it results in a bad outcome. While Charlie wasn't as annoying, it didn't stop her from having TSTL moments though. There was one particular scene where they suspect someone is after her, but she sneaks out nonetheless to go meet someone at a cafe. They sit outside in the open... The thought of it being a bad idea does cross her mind, but instead of moving inside, she thinks "But if I'm killed, there'll at least be witnesses." Again, seriously?!? So yeah, I find that Charlie was a hard character to like... and to understand.

As for Noah, I liked him better than Charlie, but I didn't get him either. At the beginning of the book, it was mentioned a couple of time how "dark" he was, how he had demons... and that side of him was never really explained - or, I completely missed it. However, I did like he was a good friend and took the trouble to come to Florida to investigate Laurette's death. Also, he had much more sense than Charlie. As for the romance, it was too quick to my taste. I didn't see any connection between the H/H - not enough for them to be in love at the end of the book. I saw attraction and lust, but beyond the physical, I didn't even get why they liked each other ^_^;

Something else that didn't work in True Vision's favor is I felt I was missing a chunk of background story. Charlie's past with Mac, her ex-best friend... and Logan, one of Charlie's cop friends, and Charlie's younger sister Alex. It's kind of funny because Lori read True Colors which is the next book and said in her review: "while I could tell that important things happened in the first book (for example, the h/h - Alex and Logan - already have a well established friendship/almost relationship), I didn't have any difficulty jumping right into this one." Here I am, reading the first book and still feeling puzzled ^_^; I felt the readers never really got a good explanation. Also, there was the relationship between Charlie and her mother that was never really developed nor resolved :(

At the end, what saves this book from being a dud is the suspense and the writing. True Vision wasn't actually thrilling and I was able to guess who was the villain fairly early on, but I kept reading to find out his motives. As for the writing, I enjoy Ms Lamb's voice and style. That'll be the main reason for me to pick up Ms Lamb again :)

My Grade: C-. Basically, True Vision was a passable book for me and I believe my mood, when I read the book, didn't help matters either. While I believe Ms Lamb has a lot of work ahead of her, especially when it comes to characterizations and relationships, I'm most probably going to give her another try because I also believe she has a lot of potential :)

Re-Read: When You Call My Name by Sharon Sala

LOL, I'm trying to sneak in a review for my re-read. I actually re-read quite a few books in November/December... The problem though is that some, I've already reviewed as re-read ^_^; and others, well I've re-read and reviewed other books by the same authors. I'm trying to vary here, but yeah... there's just something about comfort reads and re-reads, ya know... In the end, I finally chose When You Call My Name by Sharon Sala.


When You Call My Name by Sharon Sala
published by Harlequin (Silhouette) in January 1996

Whenever you need me...

She had given him the most precious gift of all -- the gift of life. But something more than a mere blood transfusion linked Wyatt Hatfield to the stranger who had saved him. Something that allowed her to call out to him for help in the stillness of the night -- without ever speaking a word....

And now it was his turn to give. For the connection that linked Wyatt to Glory Dixon was the only hope he had of saving her from danger. And he had to try -- because without ever trying, Glory had become more precious to him than his own life.

Genre: category romance, contemporary romance, psychics
Series: none

The Story: Hmmm, where to start? Actually, the story is quite simple. Glory Dixon has "the sight" and have been sheltered from the normal world by her father and her brother throughout her life. One night, she wakes them up during a blizzard because she needs to be at the hospital... and that is how Wyatt Hatfield survived his injuries from a car accident. Without the blood from a stranger, he would have died.

Fast-forward a year and Wyatt is hearing a voice in his head, asking for help. Thinking that perhaps the voice is due to some brain damage caused by the car accident, Wyatt returns to the little town... where he discovers the voice actually belongs to Glory. He also finds out that Glory's father and brother have been murdered and that Glory is in danger as she was the target... and that someone won't stop till Glory is forever silent.

My Opinion:  I first discovered Ms Sala with Out of the Dark, which was an impulse buy, and became an instant fan. Out of the Dark was such an emotional, gripping read - my heart ached throughout it and I cried so much you cannot imagine. Since then, I've been trying to get my hands on every books with the name of Sharon Sala or Dinah McCall on it... So it's only natural (at least for me) that I got When You Call My Name when it was re-released a few years ago in an omnibus along with Rider on Fire. I remember thinking it was a cute story, but seriously, it didn't leave a deep impression in my mind, because I forgot that I've read it ^_^;

A few weeks ago, I read My Fiercest Heart by Sharon Sala. I was waiting for my sister and I've managed to finish the novella at the bookstore. I really enjoyed it, but because the story was half a category romance book in length,  I didn't buy it. Instead, I went to look online if I couldn't buy an e-version of it... and I came across When You Call My Name. The blurb sounded so interesting that I was really tempted! Lucky for me I don't buy ebooks as fast as I buy print books LOL, because I realized that I actually already owned and read When You Call My Name!! Since I couldn't remember anything of it though, I decided to re-read it.

While re-reading the book, details of the story came back to me. Overall, I thought that the premises had potential. I really liked the idea of two people being able to telepathically communicate after the exchange of blood and the blurb really drew my attention. However, it misled me a little bit. For some reasons, I thought the story would be more about Wyatt looking for the voice, finding Glory. Still, I was okay once I realized it wasn't... I was still engaged by the premises... In the end though, I was disappointed by When You Call My Name. I can't exactly pinpoint what it is about the book that didn't work for me. I can try to guess... one of the reasons that pops up in my mind right away is that it simply didn't measure up to some other of Ms Sala's books. It didn't have the impact, the poignancy that other works of hers have. Emotionally, it really didn't reach me and this is what Ms Sala is good at.

Also, I felt like the book was a bit superficial. Lots of things happened, some related to the murder and some not, but it never went deep inside the characters or the storyline. It's like one thing happened after another to keep the story going, keep the story rolling to the conclusion so Ms Sala didn't have to develop the romance or the characters. Perhaps it's because this was a category romance... I don't know. I thought Ms Sala had some really interesting elements such as Glory being a psychic and all; however, she didn't exploit those elements. Plus, the driving force of the plot, the reason for the murder was a bit far-fetched. Yes, I can understand it... but you still had to suspend disbelief a little.

It's really unfortunate because I liked the characters. Wyatt and Glory were so different and complement each other. The whole romance was very sweet and it was nice to see the two fall for each other. Still, at the end, I don't feel like I really knew or understood Wyatt and Glory :(

My Grade: C-. It pains me to give such a grade,but this was definitively not Ms Sala's best.

Review: Blood Ties by Kay Hooper

Blood Ties was one of my most anticipated books this month and I'm so happy I got it early! However, I was quite busy last week and so decided to wait a little before reading it... Just so I'd have more time to savor it... and it was so worth it! :D


Blood Ties by Kay Hooper
published by Bantam Books in January 2010 (HC)

The elite Special Crimes Unit, the FBI's most controversial and effective team, is a group of mavericks and misfits trained to use their unique psychic abilities to hunt the worst monsters imaginable - human ones. Led by the enigmatic Noah Bishop, the SCU team has earned a reputation for pitting their skills and cunning against killers that other cops fear. But this time Bishop and his agents face an enemy who has them in his sights, a trained sniper with a deadly plan - and more than one ace up his sleeve.

It starts with an unspeakable series of grisly murders across three states, a trail of blood leading, finally, to the small Tennessee town of Serenade. There, two more brutal murders lure the SCU into what may be the ultimate trap.

One of the first investigators on the scene, Special Agent Hollis Templeton is willing to push herself as hard and as far as necessary. Risking more than her life to help and protect her fellow SCU members, Hollis is coping with psychic abilities that are evolving in unprecedented ways, an attraction to the most complex man she's ever known, and a serial murder investigation that has just turned very, very personal.

In her time with the SCU, Hollis has shown an uncanny ability to survive even the most deadly attacks. But what she doesn't count on is that this killer intends to destroy the team from within.

The clock is ticking. The body count is rising. And as Bishop and his agents race to uncover the identity of their true enemy, not even their special senses can warn them just how bloody, and how terrifyingly close, the truth will be.

Genre: Mystery/thriller
Series: Blood trilogy, Book #3 (FBI SCU series, Book #12)

The Story: Wow... where to start? While the back blurb is quite a good summary, the story is so complex that it cannot cover it all... So I'm going to add my two cents.

The FBI Special Crimes Unit is the result of Noah Bishop's hard work, efforts and beliefs. It is an unit composed of psychics who have some sort of control over their gifts which makes them functional. As their gifts provide them a certain edge (not always good), they are the ones sent to chase the worst serial killers... which is what they are doing in Blood Ties.

Chasing after a serial killer who has dumped his horribly tortured victims in three different states, Miranda and 4 other agents - Quentin, Reese, Hollis and Diana, arrive to Serenade, a very little town out of nowhere, where a body matching the M.O. is found. Then, when a second body - one that wasn't supposed to be found, the case is becoming puzzling. Could it really be possible that such a small town would be the home of two deranged killers? However, when a sniper starts taking shots at them and after they dig deeper in the past of all the victims and find out they are all somehow connected to past cases, the agents quickly put two and two together and realize they've walked into a trap and the enemies are literally gunning after them.

Unfortunately, there's no backing out of it. The team has a case to solve and some of them have problems to sort out with their psychic abilities... while Bishop is busy trying to save the future of the SCU.

My Opinion: Okay, so here's the deal with my favorite authors. I don't have a problem being objective about the books in the review, but I tend to be more generous with the grades at the end ^_^; So a "meh" book becomes an "okay" book, an "okay" book becomes a good book and so on... It's just hard to be tough with favorite authors sometimes ^_^; However, I'm working on it. The reason why I'm bringing this up is because I have been a bit too generous with the last few books in the FBI SCU series. Quite frankly, I have been disappointed with them. Some of the stories were confusing, the characters a bit under-developed... It didn't dim my love for this series and at no time did I consider not getting this book; however, in my mind, I did write off Blood Ties and I was ready to move onto the next trilogy, hoping it'd be better.

Well I was a bit too quick in my judgment... because Ms Hooper definitively came back very strong with Blood Ties. Very strong. In my opinion, I'd say Blood Ties has been the best book since Chill of Fear or even Hunting Fear :D So this was a great surprise and made me very happy :D

I think what made this book so good was the fact there was no new H/H. Instead, all the characters that were playing important roles were ones that we have met in past books: Noah and Miranda Bishop, Quentin Hayes and Diana Brisco, Hollis Templeton, Reese DeMarco and etc. This was a good idea because it allowed the readers to catch up with the characters, but also allowed Ms Hooper to focus on the storyline. Blood Ties is definitively a complex story - it's not only about a case to be solved, but also the story arc spanning the whole Blood trilogy and wrapping up some loose ends from previous books as well. I believe if Ms Hooper had
introduced new characters, their development would have been disatisfying and the storyline would have suffered.

Seriously, it was great to re-visit some characters. Finding out what they've been up to, at which stage of life they are. I really enjoyed the camaraderie in the SCU. I think the SCU is really the place where they are the most comfortable, at home. It helps them so much being surrounded by people who don't doubt their gifts and understand it. LOL, the SCU is like a very big family with papa Noah and mama Miranda :P Once again, Hollis has a pretty big role in Blood Ties and her character is really getting interesting. It's also great to see her finally getting a love story :) and I'm sure Ms Hooper has more in store for her. The other character that gets a lot of "screen time" is Diana, who was introduced in Chill of Fear. I really enjoyed catching up with her... While her past has not been as tragic as some of the characters (Hollis), it was still hard and I was wondering how she was coping. To read about her in Blood Ties made it more realistic. Having spent half of her life medicated, in daze, she now has to find out who she really is... that was an interesting part of the story :D

As for the story itself, it was really interesting. I thought it was quite complex and multi-layered. Ms Hooper really did a good job at peeling one layer at the time and revealing all the villains and their motives. There were a lot of "ohhh" and "ahhh" moments, especially concerning the overall story arc. Quite frankly, I didn't think much of the overall story arc, but Ms Hooper really did a good job linking everything... One of my "Ohhh" moment :) I also found the amount of romance in this book satisfying. Of course, it's not as much as in romantic suspense, but compared to the past couple of books, I'm happy. I mean, at the beginning of the series, the first two or three trilogies could have passed for romantic suspense... but not Blood Dreams and Blood Sins. The romance was very minimal, quasi non-existent. While nobody is going to mistake Blood Ties with a romantic suspense, they are some relationships that are going forward :) Again, I think this is due with the fact that most characters were recurring ones.

So yes, I enjoyed the characters and the story and was very satisfied with Blood Ties. I do believe now that I would have enjoyed Blood Dreams and Blood Sins more if I've had read the whole trilogy in a smaller period frame instead of one book a year. There are just so many details that you forget in one year ^_^;

There was also a small section at the end of the books for additional information: mini-bios for the recurring characters as well as the definitions of the psychic abilities. It's pretty much the same information that you can find on Ms Hooper's website. I think it was a good idea to add that section, especially since the SCU and Haven are growing so much and it's a great way to refresh our memory. However, I could have done without the footnotes found throughout Blood Ties, I thought they were distracting ^_^; And personally, I don't think anyone should read Blood Ties without having read a few key books in the series... Then again, I have a pretty good memory, but I know not everyone feels the same.

Finally, a little warning about Ms Hooper's books. The books in the FBI SCU series have a very peculiar style. First, the settings are all very similar - Special Agents of the SCU called to isolated town to investigate on possible serial killer. Then, there are all the psychics abilities and etc. I do think there's very little foreshadowing to the identity of the serial killers at the end and so, I'm not sure everyone is going to find the mystery satisfying. However, all this is part of Ms Hooper's style. In order to enjoy Blood Ties, I believe you need to know her style and enjoy it. Also, I wouldn't pick Blood Ties to star the series. So what I'm trying to say is, if you've read Kay Hooper's FBI SCU series books in the past and enjoyed them, you're going to like Blood Ties. If you haven't liked them, then this is not for you... and if you want to give this series a try, start at the beginning :)

My Grade: B++/A-. This time, I'm not being too generous LOL... and sorry about the long review ^_^;

TBR Day: White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz

Phew, I finished work at 9pm last night... and I was lucky, since I got off and went to pick up my sister. My friend and co-worker S. had to drive the boss around and find a messenger courier place that was still open to mail out the grant application. LOL, warms my heart though that I'm not the only one that does thing at the last minute.

As a reward for staying so late, my boss gave me the morning... but since I had to drive my sister, I still got at the lab early. Well, who cares, I'm going to blog. The hospital has a holiday on Monday (don't ask me what holiday it is ^_^; it just says February holiday) so I'm crossing my fingers that I won't have to come in this week-end and enjoy a LONG week-end.

**Okay, my boss just walked in and said I had the whole week-end to myself!! Wooohooo!!!

All right, enough of my life :) Onto the review now. The new twist in Keishon's TBR challenge is that for each month, there's a theme. This month's theme was DIK books from the AAR site... Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of the DIK in my TBR pile and was too lazy to get the complete list. So I chose to read White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz instead.


White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz
published by Putnam in January 2007

Petite, thirtysomething Clare Lancaster is a Level Ten para-sensitive-and a "human lie detector." Over the years, she's come to accept that someone with her extraordinary talents is likely to have trouble in the relationship department. And she's even resigned herself to the fact that everyone, to one degree or another, hides behind a façade. . . .

And now it seems that meeting the half sister and family whom she never knew until seven months ago was a mistake. Her father summons her from California to play a role in his business empire, and Clare doesn't intend on making the same mistake twice. But after meeting Jake Salter, Archer Lancaster's "financial consultant," Clare is convinced that things aren't what they seem. Salter's careful conversation seems to walk a delicate line between truth and deception, revealing and resisting. Something sparks and sizzles between them-something more than the usual electricity between a man and a woman.

Caught in a dizzying storm of secrets, lies, and half-truths, Jake and Clare will plunge into an investigation that demands every bit of their special gifts-together they must overcome their mutual distrust in order to unravel a web of conspiracy and murder.

Genre: paranormal romance - psychic
Series: Arcane Society, Book #2

The Story: Ugh, I started writing a summary and it turned out to be as generic as the back blurb. Meh. So let's give it another try.

Clare is the product of a one-night stand between the parents. She has just reunited with her father and his family a few months ago when her half-sister needed help. That event basically changed her life, especially when she found the body of her half-sister soon-to-be-ex-husband. Although she was not arrested by the police, she can't stop the gossips and as a result, loses her job and her fiance. Then, she is summoned by her father to Arizona where he offers her a job.

Jake Salter is a J&J agent sent down to Arizona for an undercover investigation. He is looking for a new organization who is looking to improve the Jones formula which would increase their psychic abilities and the presence of a 'human lie detector' could jeopardize the whole mission. However, he can't help being attracted to Clare and the attraction is mutual... After a series of incidents and another dead body, Jake decides to keep an eye on Clare for both professional and personal reasons and realizes that perhaps, he's been on the wrong track for his investigation.

My Opinion: So I've been going through Ms Krentz's backlist, basically focusing on her 90's books... but I decided to give her newer books a try. The reason I've been staying away from them is because of the paranormal touch... However, I admit being curious about how she would incorporate psychic abilities into her stories.

As a whole, I think the story was okay. I liked Clare and Jake and enjoyed their interactions and relationship. I think they match well together, both strong personalities and understand each other because of their very strong psychic abilities. I admire Clare's tenacity - how she wouldn't give up on finding a job and her applications at J&J.

Clare and Jake's personalities are very similar to Ms Krentz's previous H/H. Although I have to say, Jake is more mercenary than others :) If you enjoyed Ms Krentz's H/H in the past, I don't see why you would have a problem with Clare and Jake. As for the overall plot, it was interesting
and kept me turning the pages. The only thing I thought that was unclear was Myra (Clare's father's wife)'s feelings toward Clare.

What did I think about Ms Krentz' s incorportation of psychic abilities? I'm not too sure. While reading White Lies, I kept thinking of Ms Hooper's FBI SCU series. I have to admit, I like Ms Hooper's take better. In White Lies, the characters take psychic abilities for granted in my opinion. They don't really try to look into their abilities... Sure, they work to get control over it, but that's about it. The fact that everyone had psychic abilities to a certain degrees and that they were all registered with the Arcane Society... it was just weird. I mean, they all just went on the Arcane website and look up each other to find their abilities and levels. Also, the psychic abilities are not the usual ones we encounter... I mean, nothing wrong with that... but it was a bit unusual. Everyone seems so well adjusted with their abilities and so on, I guess they were secondary to the storylines.

Overall, a good book and different than most books with psychic main characters... however, I do prefer her straight contemporary romances though :)

My Grade: B

Review: Blood Sins by Kay Hooper

I've been a fan of Kay Hooper and the FBI SCU series ever since I discovered the series while I was doing my undergrad... I loved the books because of the blend of mystery, romance and psychic abilities and Ms Hooper's ways of explaining it.

It is unfortunate that I've started reading Ms Hooper's books after she moved from romance to romance mystery/thriller... thanks god for re-issues/re-prints though :) Although I have to admit, I much prefer her FBI SCU series to her romance books. However, I have been a bit disappointed with her recent entries in the series... I found both Sleeping with Fear and Blood Dreams okay reads... if it was any other authors, it'd be good with me... but since it's Ms Hooper, I expect to be wow-ed.

So what did I think of Blood Sins?

Blood Sins by Kay Hooper
published by Bantam Books in December 2008

Some sins can't be forgiven...
because some sins no one survives.

"New York Times" bestselling author Kay Hooper has touched our darkest fears but none so dark as in her latest thriller. Here's a psychopath who lures his victims with a promise no one can resist... and demands a price no one would knowingly pay.
Young, vulnerable, attractive, Tessa Gray made the perfect victim. Which was why Noah Bishop of the FBI's Special Crimes Unit recruited her to play the role of grieving widow. As the supposed new owner of property coveted by the Church of the Everlasting Sin, she'd be irresistible bait for the reclusive and charismatic Reverend Samuel. His fortified compound in the mountains near Grace, North Carolina, had been the last known residence of two women murdered in ways that defied scientific explanation.

Though hardly as naive or as vulnerable as she appears, Tessa knows she has a lot to learn about using her unique gift. She also knows that Bishop and the SCU have to be desperate to rely on an untried psychic agent in an undercover operation so dangerous. And desperate they are. For the killer they're hunting is the most terrifying they've ever faced and shakes even the most seasoned agents: a soulless megalomaniacal cult leader who can use their own weapons, talents, and tactics against them.

By entering the cult's well-guarded compound, Tessa will be exposing herself to the dark magnetism of a psychopath on an apocalyptic crusade of terror that spares no one, not even the youngest victims. And Samuel has protected himself within a fanatically loyal congregation, many of whom occupy surprising positions of power within the community. Even Grace's chief of police, Sawyer Cavenaugh--a man Tessa will have to trust with her life--may be unable to protect her. Because no one, not even Tessa herself, can guarantee she's strong enough to resist--or powerful enough to battle--a killer who's less than human.

Genre: mystery, thriller
Series: FBI SCU series, Book #11 (Book #2 of the Blood trilogy)

The Story: Blood Sins doesn't pick up right after Blood Dreams stopped; however, it is definitively a continuation. In Blood Dreams, Noah Bishop's team was able to stop a killer, but realized that the killer was only a puppet... in Blood Sins, they are after the puppet master, a sect leader named Adam Deacon Sammuel. Since the authorities have no evidences that Sammuel has been murdering people, Noah Bishop cannot send anyone of his team... however, the resourceful man has turned to the FBI SCU's civil group sister, Haven.

Haven already has someone infiltrates the compound, but when that person is killed, it becomes imperative to the FBI SCU and Haven to stop Sammuel. Hence, they send Tessa Gray as bait.

My Opinin: Okay, so my summary wasn't very good, but it's hard to summarize it, since it's quite complex. First, let me start by saying: there's no romance in this book, at all. Yes, Tessa and the chief of police, Sawyer Cavenaugh, share some attraction, but they hardly know each other, let alone start to build a relationship. I find it unfortunate... I always liked Ms Hooper's blend of romance with her mystery... On the other hand, this makes the book more realistic in my opinion. I mean, the story spans over a couple of day, perhaps not even a week... so any relationship would have been unbelievable.

Secondly, this book is more focused on action and stopping the cult leader, then on the characters. To tell the truth, we hardly get to know Tessa and Sawyer... We know what kind of people they are, why they do what they do and what they think of the case, but we don't go any deeper. To tell the truth, I didn't mind that much... Usually, I think that most of the FBI SCU novels can stand alone; however, Blood Sins was clearly the continuation of Blood Dreams. The goal of this book was to stop Sammuel and it would have been difficult for Ms Hooper to develop both... especially given the length of the book (it was a bit short, coming under 300 pages). As a result, Ms Hooper made a choice, to develop the story... which I guess would explain the lack of development of the characters. In which case, it explains the lack of romance elements. I'm not sure how other readers will take it, but in my case, I didn't mind it.

So how was the story then? I think it was very good and that Ms Hooper did deliver. The readers will definitively be surprised at some of the twists :) I know I was. I thought the story moved at a fast pace, was tightly written and I enjoyed it. I liked the fact that Noah Bishop played a more active role than in the previous books. We also get to see familiar faces such as Quentin Hayes, Hollis and Galen. We also get to catch up with some very old characters - although they don't appear, they are mentioned, and I can't help to think that Ms Hooper is building up for something more :) Those who have been curious about Galen, he plays a more active role too in this book and we get to learn what is his ability (or at least one of them). I also like how Ms Hooper has Hollis as a recurring character... she first appeared as a victim, then a rookie agent... and we've seen her grow and change... I wonder what Ms Hooper has in store for her :)

I'd say that this book is less gory than Blood Dreams, although there is something a bit disturbing... but then again, we're dealing with a cult, so it is to be expected. I also liked how this book was tied to the previous one. When she first started this trilogy, Ms Hooper did indicate that unlike her previous trilogies, the Blood trilogy would have an overall storyline spanning the three books. Ms Hooper also does a good job preparing for the next book, planting questions and preparing a threat for Bishop and the FBI SCU. I'm definitively looking forward to the next book.

Unfortunately, although I enjoyed this book a lot, I have to say, it was not perfect. I've always liked how Ms Hooper was able to explain the psychic abilities - them resulting from electromagnetic energy and so on. I think that Ms Hooper has to be careful in the future, because there's a fine line with psychic abilities and supernatural powers... In this book, Sammuel was able to steal the psychic abilities of others and the description Ms Hooper used made me think of supernatural powers instead... a bit more like X-men and Heroes. I know that the difference is very minime, but still... If someone in the FBI SCU would start being able to control elements or time travelling, it would ruin everything.

Also, there were many unanswered questions left. Some of them were to prepare for the next book and that is fine with me... but others... For example, what was Ruby and Cody's abilities? I think that sometimes, Ms Hooper uses psychic abilities and the paranormal in a way that's convenient for her... sometimes, things happened and they are just attributed to psychic events... and while in the past, she was almost always able to provide an explanation, it wasn't the case in this book... and I think that she has to be careful about that.

My Grade: B+. Overall, I did really enjoy the book, much more than the two last ones. Although the book wasn't perfect and didn't wow me (which is why, it didn't get a higher grade), it allows me to hope for the next one :) Can't wait to see what Ms Hooper has in store for my favorite group of FBI agents ;)

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: Blood Dreams by Kay Hooper

Blood Dreams by Kay Hooper
published by Bantam Books in December 2007

He's the kind of killer we instinctively fear the most. A killer without boundaries, without conscience, without any fear of being caught. And his latest victim is terrifying proof that no one is safe: the daughter of a powerful U.S. senator.

Now, with the national media calling for justice and a grief-stricken father seeking vengeance, Bishop and his FBI Special Crimes Unit find themselves in a unique situation. This time even psychic cops aren't enough to stop evil. Aid comes in the form of a fledgling civilian organization of unorthodox crime stoppers. Operating outside of any government oversight, without sanction or official authority, they are comprised of a membership every bit as talented and eccentric as Bishop's SCU — if not more so. And that is no coincidence. For Bishop helped launch this organization barely two years before.

Dani Justice knows all about monsters. They haunt her nightmares — and her life. But she never expected to find herself doggedly on the trail of a real flesh-and-blood predator so cunning, he's eluded the best law enforcement could send up against him; so deadly, he doesn't hesitate to kill even a senator's daughter. Or a cop.
Dani doesn't want to hunt this killer. She doesn't want to risk the life she's made for herself, or her hard-won peace. But she doesn't have a choice. Because his bloody rampage has hit far too close to home. Because Dani alone commands a weapon powerful enough to destroy him. And because Dani knows something even Bishop doesn't. Dani knows how the hunt ends. It ends in fire. And blood. And death.

What she doesn't know is who will survive.

Genre: thriller, psychics
Series: FBI SCU, book 9 - Blood trilogy (4th trilogy), book 1

The Story: Dani and Paris Justice are twins and psychics. Like many, they wanted to put their abilities to use and thus, have been recruited by Haven. Haven is like the FBI Special Crime Unit (SCU)’s little sister. The organization was Noah Bishop’s idea, because he knew that not all psychics have the mental strength to be a FBI Special Agent. It is led by John Garrett and Maggie Barnes (from Touching Evil) and its purpose is to support the FBI SCU, either psychically or by investigating cases that the FBI SCU cannot… just like this one.

Dani’s dreams are not simple dreams, but visions… and she has the ability to walk in them as well as bringing others with her. However, what she sees often have tragic or sad endings and this has caused Dani to run away from Ventura instead of committing to her long-time friend and lover, Marcus Purcell, now sheriff of Ventura. After years of running, Dani is back in Ventura. On the surface, she is back to support Paris who is going through a painful divorce…In reality, she is back because of a recurring vision – a rare occurrence which emphasizes its significance and importance.

A serial killer has been striking a city (sorry, can’t remember which one, Boston?); however, when his latest victim is a senator’s daughter, the case gets more media attention and becomes very high profile. As a result, all of FBI SCU’s high profile agents are assigned to the case. Although Bishop believes that the hunting ground of the killer has changed to Ventura, the new FBI director is not convinced of the FBI SCU’s reputation and instincts and does not want to risk his career and so insisted that Bishop and his agents remain in the city. Bishop has no other choice than to rely on Haven and Dani’s visions… the problem is that details in Dani’s vision keep changing as the investigation goes further… and Dani is not sure if they’ll be there in time and who’s going to make it.

My Opinion: If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of Kay Hooper and especially, her FBI SCU series. The last book in the series, Sleeping with Fear, was interesting but not as enjoyable as the previous ones. So, I’ve really been looking forward to the start of this new trilogy, especially after reading that Ms Hooper was going for something a bit different. In the previous trilogies, the books were stand alone and all that connected them really was the theme/titles. In this new trilogy, each book has a case that is solved, but there is also a storyline taking place throughout the three books. Add in the fact that the release date of Blood Dreams was pushed from July to December and you had a reader in need of her FBI SCU fix with quite high expectations.

Okay, so what did I think of this book? I liked and enjoyed it, but it wasn’t the best of the series. A warning, the case was extremely gory and chilling so you better read this book with all the lights on and preferably when it’s not storming outside :P A large part of the book consists of the characters investigating the case, coming up with theories, possibilities and profiles, which were all interesting, but as usual the tension builds in, they are time-pressured, etc. and the whole storyline pretty much culminates in the capture of the killer with little clues of his identity throughout the book. I personally don’t mind as I still enjoy the book, but I know it is an issue for some readers. Remember, the FBI SCU deals mostly with serial killers and are called in when there’s little to go on… so I guess it’s become the natural course. So you get fair warning J The book was also a nice balance between the introduction of Haven, the setting for the trilogy and the case itself. In short, there wasn’t a dull moment, but at the same time, I didn’t feel like it was too much (you know what I mean?).

What was unfortunate in Blood Drams however is that I didn’t get to know Dani and Marcus as well as I’d wish to. They are the main characters and do have their story; however, they clearly weren’t the focus. Perhaps it would have been better if there has been less characters; however, they all seemed necessary. Of course, I also have to keep in mind that Blood Dreams is not a romance novel; it’s more like a mystery or thriller and although part of a series, the main characters change from novel to novel. Therefore, it’s understandable that the characters aren’t as “fleshed” out as I’d wished.

Another thing I had difficulty to deal with is how Bishop is viewed in this book. Bishop and Miranda are the pillars of the FBI SCU and often have to take difficult decisions. The agents in the FBI SCU are very loyal to Bishop and although they often wonder, they never really questions Bishop’s authority and decision. It’s another story with Haven, some people do question Bishop’s authority. Why should he be the one pulling the strings… Is it really better to sacrifice one person and save a hundred? I love Bishop and so, it makes me feel uncomfortable that this is brought up… but I guess it only makes the book even more realistic… because it was bound to happen.

For those who wonder, recurring characters in this book include John Garrett, Noah Bishop and Hollis Templeton. There’s also mention of Miranda, Quentin and Maggie Barnes. I wonder when Hollis will have her own book… although I wasn’t a fan of hers at first, I’m starting to really like her and look forward to her own book.

So my verdict? I think it was a good addition to the series and a good start for the trilogy. I enjoyed it; however, I will hope for more in the next book. This is not a romance however, therefore, some of you might want to skip it.

Grade: B

Review: The Survivors by Dinah McCall

All right, so most of you know how much I was anticipating this book, The Survivors by Dinah McCall. I've been a fan of Dinah McCall, aka Sharon Sala. I've first became a fan of Ms Sala after reading Out of the Dark, a very touching story of a woman who was kidnapped by her own mother as a child and brought to a cult where the leader pimped the children to pedophile. Luckily for that woman, she was able to run away with a friend and escape that hell. Meanwhile, her father has been looking for mother and daughter for more than 15 years. Seriously, that book was really good. So I've hunted for Ms Sala's backlist and discovered that she also wrote books under the name of Dinah McCall (why do authors have several pen names?). I really like her style and she has become an auto-buy for me. The Survivors was supposed to come out last year, but for some unknown reason, the release date was pushed back a year... so I really have been waiting for this book for a long time and finally, have bought it and read :D

The Survivors by Dinah McCall (aka Sharon Sala): 3.75/5
published by Mira in March 2007

Ethan O'Ryan has come back from Iraq with a missing eye and a whole lot of scars. After months of recovery, he has come home and the only thing he wants is to see his son of five years old, Johnny, who has been living with his maternal grandparents. A few nights before Christmas, Ethan is woken up by a phone call from his great-grandfather, Thorn, who is asking about Johnny's wellfare because he has a feeling. After a few phone calls, Ethan learns that his in-laws wanted to surprise him and arrive a few days early; however, their plane has crashed in the Appalachians and no survivor is known yet. Unwilling to sit by their phones and wait for news, 4 generations of O'Ryan men (great-grandfather Thornton, grandfather James, father Mike - also the hero, and Ethan) show up at the crash site.

Deborah Sanborn is a psychic. Her gift first presents in a preominition where she saw her father, along with 11 other men, die in a mine collapse, when she was about 6-7 years old. Now 40 years old, she lives away from the others, but not in isolation/reclusion, in the mountain in the familial home and help whenever she can after a premonition. As a result, she heads down to the crash site after "seeing" a woman and a young boy walking away from the plane crash, because she knows she can help locating them. In addition, she feels that they are in danger as a third survivor wants to harm them.

Molly C. survived the plane crash and woke up only to witness the murder of the passenger sitting in front of her, at the hands of his friend. Molly is not the only survivor or witness, as Johnny O'Ryan also saw what happened. Panicked and afraid for their safety, Molly grabs the boy, some blankets and some food and walk away from the plane crash... Upon seeing the tracks of footsteps in the snow, Darren Wilson knows that they are survivors and witnesses and isn't about to let them go so easily... Thus starts his pursuit to eliminate them.

Series: None
Genre: Contemporary, romantic suspense, psychic

Review: I enjoy the book, but I think that deep down inside me, there was some disbelief which is why the book didn't get a better grade. I mean, everything looks so easy that it became a bit unrealistic... or perhaps it's me who's a bit ignorant about life and I believe it's not possible to do, but it is. However, it was still very enjoyable and Ms Sala's narrative voice is smooth as ever.

The Characters - I bet everyone's wondering about the characters, especially the 5 generations of O'Ryan men. I was a bit puzzled at first, cos it's rare you see a great-grandfather alive, but it works. Thornton is in his eighties, James in his sixties, Mike is 45 y.o., Ethan is 20-something and Johnny is 5. By the way, if you're also wondering, Thornton's wife died a decade ago, James' wife has Alzheimer and he had to put her in a care center, Mike divorced twice and Ethan's a widower. So not only do O'Ryan men have children at a young age, they all quite lonely and in addition, all of them went to wars - want me to name them? LOL :P I have to say it was quite interesting to see so many men of a same family, but different generations interact. It also showed how family is important and how they were all there for each other. So yeah, this was a definite plus.

Deborah was also a very interesting character. She's older than most heroine I read and well, it showed by her poise and maturity, but at the same time, she's not a mom or career woman and so, I was able to relate to her and almost forgot she was 40. She's very independant and self-sufficient and strong and I liked that about her. The only thing that bothered me a little was the fact that her psychic abilities weren't really explained - does she see only the future or there something more, does she have some control over them or etc.

Also, sidenote for those who don't like children in their books - give this a try. Johnny does not baby-talk, is not a teenager with a sullen attitude, isn't too cute and isn't perfect. He's a little boy who's lost his mother at a young age, hasn't seen his father for more than a year, just lost his grandparents and witness a murder.

The Story & Writing - As I said before, I thought everything went too smoothly and so, I'm a bit well skeptical that a rescue or search would happen like this. However, the characters and story made up for it - well almost. There was also a lot of expectations and anticipation for this book and although it didn't disappoint me, it didn't surpass my expectations either which is why it didn't get a higher grade. All in all, not the best book by Ms Sala, but not a bad book. As for the writing, well you know I'm biased, so I'm not going to bother :P

The Cover - it's nice and it fits, what else can I ask?

Am I keeping this book? Yes :D

Anything else? I wonder when her next book will come out... and I wonder when she's going to update her website so I get an answer...