Review: Chimera by Rob Thurman

Seriously feel like my blogging mojo is coming back! I mean, those incubation times are just great :) So, guess what? I have a review up at Breezing Through! Wooohooo! It's Chimera by Rob Thurman which you can find here, and with it, I'm a step closer to catching up on all my reviews :) Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up in the next few weeks :)


Chimera by Rob Thurman
published by New American Library in June 2010

Ten years ago, Stefan Korsak’s younger brother was kidnapped. No one knew who took Lukas, or why. He was simply gone. But not a day has passed that Stefan hasn’t thought about him. As a rising figure in the Russian Mafia, Stefan has finally found him.

But when he rescues Lukas, Stefan must confront a terrible truth – his brother is no longer his brother. He is a killer. Trained, brainwashed, and genetically transformed into a flesh-and-blood machine with only one purpose: assassination. Now those who created him will do anything to reclaim him.

As Stefan grows closer to his brother, he realizes that saving Lukas may be easier than surviving him...

Review: The Wish List by Gabi Stevens

Okay, I've decided to get back my blogging mojo :) The rush at work is about to slow down :) We're going back to my project and that means a lot more of incubation times. Woohoo! Hopefully, my will will be enough LOL.

First review to go!


The Wish List by Gabi Stevens
published by Tor in April 2010

Kristin Montgomery is more than a little shocked when her aunts inform her they're fairy godmothers. Worse, after dropping that bombshell they hand her a wand and head off on a world cruise. Now Kristin's uncomplicated life as a CPA in San Diego has disappeared like magic and she not only has to deal with her burgeoning magical powers, but also a reluctant-and distractingly sexy-magical arbiter.

Tennyson Ritter is a historian. A scholar by choice, he is yanked from his studies to act as arbiter for the newly chosen fairy godmother. He doesn't want to waste his time with a woman who doesn't know anything about magic or the magical world, but soon the beguiling Kristin draws him away from his books and into her life.

But before Kristin can hone her skills and pass the tests necessary to fully claim her powers, she and Tennyson must work together to defend the world - both magical and human - against those that would claim her powers for their own.

Genre: paranormal romance
Series: Time of Transition trilogy, Book #1

The Story: Kristin Montgomery has just turned 27 and is informed by her three aunts that she's a fairy godmother coming into her powers. It is the Time of Transition which means things are changing in the magical world such as fairy godmothers retiring and new ones taking up the job.

Kristin is a Rare One - someone with magical powers coming from two normal humans - and is literally trusted into the magical world. Her aunts leave on vacation, leaving her in the hand of her arbiter, Tennyson Ritter. Tennyson is a historian wizard and has been put in charge of her training and will ultimately decide whether she is qualified for the position. This is a lot to take in for a CPA. Add in a mysterious Frenchman, the death of one of the most respected wizards and a revenge conspiracy... Kristin and Tennyson are in way over their heads.

My Opinion: Lately, I've been in the mood for paranormals with characters other than vampires and shapeshifters. The Wish List fit the bill and it looked fun and fluffy, plus it was published by Tor :) So I decided to give it a try.

I have to say, I really liked the premises of this book. I thought the idea of fairy godmothers was refreshing and fun. Unfortunately, I don't think Ms Stevens carried it out to its full potential and a lot of it had to do with the story/pacing.

The characters were okay. Kristin is a CPA who is suddenly dropped in a world she had no idea existed. Of course, there is some denial at first, but then she tries to adjust and adapt. Kristin pretty much has the typical reaction of other characters in the same situation. What was nice is that the action picked up quickly and Kristin was open-minded enough, so the mourning of her old life was kept to a minimum. Truth is though, I actually liked Tennyson a bit more. He's the grumpy hero type and is definitively not charming LOL. A bit too direct and honest, but still a nice guy :)

The story was okay; in fact, it was actually pretty interesting. Basically, several decades ago, a bad fairy godmother was imprisoned because she wanted to take over the mortal world. While imprisoned, she manipulated one of the guards and it resulted in a son being born. Time of transition comes around every 70 years (I think) and is the time period where the magic world is the most susceptible to change... Thus, the bad guy plans his attack and ultimately wants to release his mother so they can overtake the world. Muahaha :P In order to do so, he needs to corrupt the new fairy godmothers and thus, sets out to woo Kristin. Actually sounds like there's potential right? The problem though is that it was not executed to its full potential. I think the biggest reason why is that Ms Stevens did a poor job at blending everything together: the world building, the action and the romance. There was a lot of world building information to convey and she did so throughout the book, but not smoothly enough. The biggest thorn though was the romance. Sparks fly between Tennyson and Kristin, but it was more a cat and dog interaction. You know, the kind where the H/H don't like each other, but can't help being attracted to each other? That wasn't bad in itself, but my issue is that Kristin and Tennyson fell in bed together very quickly and early in the book... It pretty much felt like Ms Stevens got them together as quickly as possible so she could focus on the revenge conspiracy and the action. You know, getting it out of the way. Sure, there were some quibbles between Kristin and Tennyson during the rest of the story that passed as a relationship, but in the end, it just wasn't romantic enough and fulfilling. I did like the slight twist at the end though regarding home which is foreshadowing a very happy ending... but for now, it seems like we'll see more of Kristin and Tennyson in the future books.

Overall, I thought the book was a bit bland. The wow factor just wasn't there. It's really unfortunate, because the premises and ideas were good, but the writing simply didn't measure up :( The voice was engaging, but I guess what I'm saying is The Wish List wasn't smooth enough... still had too many rough edges to it.

My Grade: After reading it, I gave it a B-. Upon writing this review though, I feel it's more of a C. So I'm going to average it out to C+.  There are obvious flaws to The Wish List; however, it was interesting enough to keep me reading and to want to try the next book in trilogy coming out next year.

Hauling Sunday VII

My plan this week-end was to relax: read and blog basically LOL. Turns out, I went on an impromptu visit with my sister to my uncle and his family in Quebec City. I had a great time - it's always fun to hang out with family :) However, that means little reading and no blogging... Sigh, that means my Monthly Reads post is going to be very late again. Ah well.

At least, I'll be on time for this post :P Very limit, but still on time :) Here are my purchases for the week, thanks for a "Buy 2, get the 3rd free" promo from Chapters/Indigo! Yay!

Looks like this week, I was in a romantic suspense mood :P

Deadly Fear by Cynthia Eden - I've been hearing a lot of good about Ms Eden and so, I wanted to give her a try. I'm a bit burned out on paranormal romance, so I elected to go with this one :)

Dangerous Desires and Desperate Deeds by Dee Davis - Like I said, I was in a romantic suspense kick. I already got Dark Deceptions and I thought "why not?" Better be prepared in case I love Dark Deceptions :)

Her Last Chance by Michele Albert - I have the first two or three books in this series, but still haven't read them. This one caught my attention because it's an ex-cop vs a FBI agent :) Rivalry can be a very good premise... and very hot as well :P

The Reckoners by Doranna Durgin - Looks like part paranormal, part urban fantasy, part sci-fi. My choice is based a bit on the fact that the publisher is Tor and it sounds different :)

Shadows at Midnight by Elizabeth Jennings - I read Pursuit and enjoyed it a lot. Looking forward to this new release :)

Overall, a pretty good week buying-wise :) I almost picked up Veil of Night by Linda Howard as well on Friday... but I stopped myself (I was at the bookstore, literally with the book in hand - it wasn't easy!).I really like the premise of it, it sounds to me liked a grounded story. However, I'm just not sure it's worth the HC price. So I'm going to be patient *gasp* and wait for reviews... so please people, hurry up! :)

My poor, unlucky book...

Remember this post? Well guess what happened yesterday?

It's been very humid in the past few days and yesterday was just a killer. So after work, I picked up my sister who was downtown for some shopping. Our rendez-vous place? Chapters :P I wanted to see whether they had Veil of Night by Linda Howard out yet, but I think it's a strict date release. Anyway, I ended up buying some drinks at Starbucks, because of the heat... Unfortunately for us, we got there during the rush, so it took about 10 minutes.

We're walking back to the car and I handed my drink, a green tea frappuccino, so I could get in the car freely. I slammed the door closed... and splash, there was this explosion of liquid!! Turns out, my sister put her and my drinks on the roof of the car so she could open her door, and when I closed mine, it fell ^_^; Her door was open so a lot of it got into the car... on the passenger seat, but some even splashed me... and my book which was between the seats. Guess which book it was? Yep, The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan ^_^; Sigh, poor book. This is the second time it's getting some green tea frappuccino on ^_^; Talk about luck, right?

I went back to Chapters to get some napkins and throw our empty cups... and since the rush was over, I bought the drinks again LOL. This time though, we were very careful getting in the car. My sister felt so bad, but hey, it's my fault too. I don't know why I gave her my drink as I still got one hand free... and I knew she had the drinks on the roof ^_^; Ah well, stuff happens. However, I think for The Red Pyramid's security, I should not have a green tea frappuccino again when I read it LOL.

Review: Welcome to Harmony by Jodi Thomas

I've realized that I've been complaining a lot about the job and I'm really sorry to bore you all with that ^_^; Instead of letting it beat me down though, I'm really going to try to put my stuff together and find my mojo again :D

Here is a review I've been meaning to write for a long time. I hope you all enjoy it :)

Welcome to Harmony by Jodi Thomas
published by Berkley in June 2010

Sixteen-year-old runaway Reagan has always wanted a place to belong. She's never had a real home of her own, but maybe she can borrow someone else's. At least for a little while...

At the nursing home where Reagan works, Miss Beverly Truman's fond memories of Harmony, Texas, seem to fill an empty space inside the girl. After Miss Beverly passes away, Reagan travels to Harmony, pretending to be the woman's granddaughter, and is taken into the home of Beverly's surviving brother.

Still, Reagan is afraid to trust the gruff kindness shown to her by Jeremiah Truman and the warm friendship offered by another teenager named Noah, who dreams of being a rodeo star. She keeps her distance from Noah's sister, Alex McAllen, who's the town sheriff and busy with her own stormy relationship with volunteer fire chief Hank Matheson.

But when prairie fires threaten Harmony, Reagan learns the true meaning of family, friends, and home...

Genre: contemporary romance
Series: Harmony, Book #1

The Story: The book is pretty much as described in the back blurb. Reagan is 16 with no family and no roots, but she longs for some. She had a friendship with Beverly Truman who shared the stories of her hometown with Reagan and after Beverly's death, Reagan decides to go to Harmony to find a home. Everyone ends up believing that she's a Truman and thus, she goes and lives with Jeremiah Truman, a lonely, gruff, difficult old man.

While Reagan makes herself at home, readers discover the little town of Harmony. Back in the days, there were three family founders: the Truman, the McAllen and the Matheson. All three families are still there, interacting with each other...

My Opinion: I fell in love with Ms Thomas writing after reading Twisted Creek (review here and here). I just loved that book, there was something about it... something very soothing :P After that, I devoured all of Ms Thomas contemporary books :)

I was so glad to hear about Welcome to Harmony. I was very much looking forward to it, especially as it got very good reviews from Holly and Tracy. Unfortunately, Welcome to Harmony didn't wow me as it did them. I wanted to love it so much... In the end, I still enjoyed it, but I thought something was missing. I think it has a lot to do with the fact this is the first book in a continuous trilogy. I'm guessing that perhaps if I read the three books one after the other instead of waiting, I would enjoy it a lot more.

Welcome to Harmony is not a contemporary romance per se. There is romance, but it's not the focus. Instead, Welcome to Harmony is all about the readers embarking on a journey to discover the town, its inhabitants and their relationships. A bit à la Debbie Macomber and Robyn Carr... but Ms Thomas brings in something different with her writing and voice. I feel like all the storylines meshed better.

I really liked Reagan. I thought she was a very brave girl, going after what she wanted... and she was willing to work for it, to make it work. I enjoyed her budding friendship with Noah and I'm really looking forward to see where it's going to lead. Noah was simply a sweet boy with dreams of his own :)

My favorite part of the story was Reagan's relationship with Jeremiah. Everyone considers him as a bitter, difficult man... but in truth, I think he's just lonely. Life hasn't been easy for him and when Reagan comes along, he doesn't ask her too many questions and just takes her under his wing. I loved those kind of relationships, because it proves that you make your own family. It is also always so touching to see a young person bond with an older one.

I'd say my least favorite part of the story was the relationship between Hank and Alex. I didn't like the way Alex acted out... It has to do with her older brother's death and yes, it hit her hard... but I don't know. Hank was a great guy and lucky for her, he never gave up on her. Poor man though, surrounded by women LOL. Loved his relationship with his niece, it was very telling... but I think he needs to be more strict with the others - his mom, aunts and sisters.

There is one last storyline involving Tyler, the funeral home director. I thought his storyline was very interesting. How life goes by something without you realizing it and there you are, 40 years old and all alone. I do hope it will work out for him. Sigh.

With Welcome to Harmony, Ms Thomas created a very interesting world and attaching characters. I liked how realistic it felt, although some aspects made me feel uncomfortable. Harmony is a small town and so, making a living can be difficult at time. Like Hank and Jeremiah, depending on their lands... and with fires raging, they can lose everything in a second. They live a very hard-working life... It usually doesn't hit you as much when the characters are professionals with careers... I mean, yes, they are broke, but you know they'll rebound. However, when people depend on lands and what they hunt... it's more difficult. So yes, I liked how realistic it was, but at the same time, I couldn't help but worrying about them and their future ^_^; I guess it says something about Ms Thomas writing :)

My Grade: B. Overall, I thought Welcome to Harmony was a solid opening to the trilogy. It was all about the town, its people and their interactions and Ms Thomas did a great job. I'm really looking forward to the next two books (Somewhere Along the Way is coming out in November). It didn't wow me liked I wanted, but I don't think it has anything to do with the world building or writing, but everything to do with it being the first book of a trilogy. While it ended on a positive note, you know there is a lot more to come... Sometimes, it doesn't matter when you read the next book in a series, but other time... it's better to read them all at once and that's how I felt about Welcome to Harmony.

Re-Read Challenge 2010: July!

Time is really flying ^_^; I know I say this almost every month, I seriously cannot believe that July is over yet. Do you know what this mean?!? That the summer is almost over! It's really heart-breaking :(

I've been mentioning a contest/draw for the past two months and I never got around to put my stuff together. I'm really, really, really sorry ^_^; I don't mean not to keep my words, but all I can come up with is that work is killing me. Sucking all my energy like a vampire. Sigh. So I apologize ^_^; As soon as I find my motivation and energy again... I'll do something huge, probably because I'm going to be so damn happy about it.

In the meantime, this is the end of the month and so it means Re-Read Challenge. Tell you the truth, I didn't do a re-read this month. It really goes with my mood, seriously ^_^; The month started out great for me, but in the middle, I kind of hit a wall and it took me forever to just read a category romance. How pathetic is that? I was afraid of slipping into Slumpville, so I didn't force the re-read. I'll try to make it up though. While I didn't make it, others did... want to know who? :P


Miss Moonlight: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Hilcia: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Leslie: Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Hauling Sunday VI

Sigh, last week started out awful and got me really down :( Luckily, it ended it on a good note, except for the fact that it's a long week-end and I had to work yesterday and will be in tomorrow. Sigh. Definitively time to look for a new job.

I have lots of posts to write, being the end of the month and hopefully, I'll get it done :P Blogland has been kind of quiet, but hey, I haven't been at the peak of my game either... so not a complaint, just an observation :) I'm really hoping to get back into the game soon. It's just that work is killing me.

I did a quick stop at the bookstore this week :) Had to hand in my new list to James for August and September. Seriously, is it me or the rest of the year has very little releases?!? While I was the bookstore, I picked up

Burning Up is an anthology and I want because of Nalini Singh and Meljean Brook. This also is the start of Ms Brook's new steampunk romance series :P

Hot Finish by Erin McCarthy - Third book in the Fast Track series featuring Ryder and Suzanne :P I've been curious about them :P

The good news was that both these were paperback releases. That was a surprise, because I was expecting both to be trade-size for some reasons. Well in any case, my wallet was pretty happy :)

All right, well there's another sale at the bookstore, this time buy 2, get the 3rd free :P So I'm heading there right now to cheer myself up :) Then, I'll come home to work on reviews, new releases, re-read  challenge posts... and my CV ^_^;

Hope you're having a good week-end :P