CBR IV Review #21 - Dunaway's Crossing by Nancy Brandon

This was a free book that I got through the Kindle store.  Mostly, the books I come across for free are terrible.  No offense intended to the authors - they are trying, bless them.  And it's fucking hard to write a book.  But some of them I can't even get far enough into to review (ie In Deep Shitake - do NOT pick that up, it is absolutely terrible).  This was the rare exception - a book I got for free that I would have paid for.

Dunaway's Crossing takes place in rural Georgia during the influenza outbreak of 1918-1919.  Bea Dot, escaping an abusive marriage for awhile, goes to stay with her pregnant cousin Netta.  However, before she can get there, the flu breaks out, provoking Netta's husband to send the women out of town.  Local man (and WWI vet) Will Dunaway takes the women to his home/store, the titular Dunaway's Crossing, to stay and wait out the outbreak in safety. Neither woman is really prepared for this style of living, especially not highborn lady Bea Dot, but they must learn to play the hand that life has dealt them.  Netta's due day approaches; Bea Dot knows her husband will be furious at her lack of return; and Will and Bea Dot start to find themselves feeling things that both know could lead to problems.  In the meantime, in town, people are dropping like flies and no one seems to know how to stop it.

This was a great little piece of historical fiction, which is a genre I have a weakness for when done well (I spent a year reading almost nothing but historical fiction based on Tudor England and LOVED it).  This novel does a lovely job of really transporting you back to that time and place and feeling the fear and exhaustion of everyone involved.  The descriptions of the ill are unpleasant, but not too disturbing, at least not for me.  I could feel the Georgia heat in the air when Bea Dot arrived in Pineview, and Netta's discomfort in her pregnancy.  It was really immersive for me.

I also loved the characters and their relationships.  I rooted for Bea Dot to succeed and get out of her hell hole of a marriage - I wanted her husband, Ben, dead from the start (he opens the book with violence towards her which spurs her trip to visit her cousin).  I loved that Bea Dot and Netta, who have some water under their bridge, managed to love each other and drive each other crazy at the same time.  It felt honest.  And Will and Bea Dot's relationship, especially given the extreme circumstances, felt real to me, too. 

I figured out Bea Dot's secret early on, but it was still sad to read about later.  And if you are a person who cannot abide stories that involve the abuse of women, this is one you might want to skip - poor Bea Dot has to endure a number of unspeakable things. 

I'd definitely recommend picking this one up (it's now listed at $0.99, or free for Prime members) and look forward to seeing what else Ms. Brandon comes up with in the future.

CBR IV Review #20 - The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts

Last Nora Roberts review for a bit, I promise! Not that it matters - it's my cannon after all, but still.  I need to shake things up!

This is the second book in the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy, which, honestly, serves as a way to advertise the totally kickass inn that Nora Roberts owns, as well as the area surrounding it.  However, it's successful, as I enjoy the stories AND want to go stay there - so good work Roberts!

This volume focuses on the relationship between Owen and Avery.  Owen is the most organized of the Montgomery brothers - Type A to the bone.  Avery is less organized in her personal life, but has to be fairly detail oriented to balance everything she has going, which includes running Vesta, the killer pizza joint across the street from the Inn Boonsboro (which we get to see open in this one!).  Avery and Owen have a history, as they "dated" as kids, and both have harbored feelings for each other for years.  In addition to entering a new business partnership over the course of this book, they also pursue a romantic relationship, which is complicated by Avery's emotional baggage. 

Avery's story takes a leaf out of Vision in White with mommy issues.  Mac's mom may not have walked out on them, but she was slutty and emotionally destructive, and her damage hurts Mac's ability to truly give herself to a relationship.  Avery's mom walked out on her and her father when Avery was 12.  It's left her feeling she's likely to fail in romance like she did, and she's afraid of hurting Owen.  Not a shock that they overcome this.

Extra bonus material on this is the progression of Lizzy's story.  Lizzy is the ghost at the Inn, who saved Clare in the last volume by warning Beckett that she was in danger.  Owen manages to actually see Lizzy in this one, and Lizzy gives Clare something of hers near the end.  They start to establish who Lizzy is, who she is waiting for, and how she is connected to the people present.

I'm interested to see how everything wraps in the next story, which will be about Hope and Ryder.  That's due out in November, so expect to see a review of that before the cannon wraps!

CBR IV Review #17,18,19 - The Key Trilogy by Nora Roberts

“Do you know what happens when you always look before you leap?" She reached out and touched his hand before hurrying toward the door. "You hardly ever make the jump.”- Key of Light

Yes, I know.  Another Nora Roberts' trilogy. Deal.  My life has been filled with busy, occupying things, good and bad, and reading her books is like curling up on the couch under a warm blanket with some tea - it's comforting, easy and relaxing.  And there's only one more Roberts' review (of the newest volume in a trilogy she's yet to finish) coming up on my slate.  I read it after this series, and then moved on to other things.  So there.  :-)

The Key Trilogy is the story of three women in rural PA who are ask to complete a quest.  Malory, Dana and Zoe, who have never met, find themselves the guests of a mysterious couple who live up on Warrior's Peak.  Rowena and Pitte, two gods thrown down to our world as punishment, task the women with finding three keys to unlock a box containing the souls of three sister demigoddesses who were imprisoned there by an evil sorcerer god named Kane.  There is monetary incentive, which is important, since all three women find themselves in a state of personal disaster - each is on the brink of losing their jobs, or have just lost one.  So the excitement and the money spur all three to sign up, despite the consequences - should they fail, they will each lose a year of their lives.  In the process, the three women not only bond with each other, but become business partners, creating a triple threat business called Indulgence, which is part art gallery (for Malory), part book shop (for Dana), and part salon/spa (for Zoe).

First up, in Key of Light, is Malory, the artist.  Each book chronicles each woman's search for the key, their bond with a goddess (one of art, one of knowledge, one of courage - and who resemble the women, as indicated by paintings that become significant to plot), and, of course, their romantic entanglements.  It's not Roberts if there isn't romance, and the pairings are set up in this volume.  There are the three women tasked with the challenge, and three men who are best friends and connected to two of the three girls before the events of the books take place.  Malory works in a Gallery, since she never had the talent to create art herself, but certainly knows how to value it.  She falls for Dana's step brother, Flynn, and their relationship is essential to locating and acquiring her key.

Key of Knowledge is all about Dana, and mostly about her troubled past with author Jordan Hawke.  He left her without hardly a word after his mother died, and she still holds a grudge.  But like with Malory, addressing her feelings for Jordan (and vice versa) is essential to her journey for the key.

The final volume, Key of Valor, is about Zoe, the single mom.  She has a LOT more going on in terms of depth of story.  Zoe comes from a trailer park in West Virginia, and is a young single mother who made her own way in the world when the baby's father refused to be involved.  She's a powerful character, accustomed to doing everything herself, and as such, getting regular help from Brad, the third of the men, is hard for her.  She has to overcome a great deal to get to her key, and ends up being the most active in destroying Kane for good before they release the demigoddess's souls.

I enjoyed all of these, but Zoe's story was by far my favorite.  Her relationship with her son, Simon, is beautiful.  And her character is so dense and interesting.  Her obstacles when it came to both the key and to accepting Brad's advances (and help in general) were complicated and real.  She felt the most fleshed out of all three women, though obviously she benefited by being the last - I had two other books to get a basic knowledge of her and the world they lived in before delving into her story.

I also loved the relationships between everyone.  It was such a happy group of friends, who really created their own family.  I think it's very true that as adults, we have different family than who we are born into.  The older you get, the more you start making your own family out of the important people in your life, and that's especially true here.  Does it all happen a little faster in the books than in reality?  Sure, but it's fiction.  That doesn't diminish the sincerity of the feeling between everyone.  And the dialogue is written in such a way that I had no trouble believing the men had always been friends, while the women were still finding their footing.

Overall, another great read!

CBR IV Review #14,15,16 - The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts

“Know what you want, work to get it, then value it once you have it.” - Morrigan's Cross

“We make destiny with every turn, every choice.”- Valley of Silence

Well, this was a fantastic follow up to the mediocre Irish Hearts series, as this series was FANTASTIC.  I had no idea that Roberts wrote any fantasy until I stumbled across this trilogy.  I was hesitant - could she actually write in that genre, keep her romance roots, and have it all work?  I have to tell you, resoundingly, yes.  I loved this series, and I'm not ashamed to say so.

The first book, Morrigan's Cross begins our journey.  Starting in the 12th century, Roberts introduces the first member of our circle - Hoyt the Sorcerer.  The books follow the battle between the Circle of Six - the sorcerer, the witch, the one who is lost, the warrior, the scholar and the one of many forms - and the vampire Lilith, who is determined to eliminate the human race and end all worlds.  The book opens with a confrontation between Hoyt and Lilith, who had turned his twin brother Cian (pronounced Key-Ahn) into a vampire.  After marking Lilith and tossing his vampire twin off of a cliff in a fight, Hoyt is approached by the Goddess Morrigan (who is a figure in Celtic lore) and set on a mission to gather the Circle together and prepare to do battle with Lilith and her army.  Hoyt is sent through the Dance of the Gods (a real thing as well - Stonehenge is set up the same way as dances in Ireland are) to the future.  There he begins to gather his circle together, starting with his lost brother, who has spent the past thousand years becoming successful and emotionally shut off.  They meet up with Glenna, the witch, and travel together with Cian's friend, King, to Ireland to begin their training.  Cian had purchased the estate where the men grew up, and that is their base of operations for this, and half of the next, book.  It is based in Ireland where they meet the rest of their circle.  Blair, the warrior, is clearly based on Buffy and has been a demon hunter all her life.  She also happens to be a descendent of Hoyt and Cian's sister, Nola.  Larkin, the one of many forms, and Moira, the scholar, are both from another world called Geall, which is based on Ireland and is the site of the final battle against Lilith.

The second and third books outline more training, more bonding, and the big conflict between the sides of good and evil. And naturally, all three books feature a love story.  If you didn't see there was a circle of six and immediately assume that they'd pair off in two's, you haven't read enough Roberts' books yet.  The pairings are logical enough, and I won't spoil it for you by explaining how successful or not they are.  They are well developed - I felt like none of their relationships came out of the blue, and everyone brought their own baggage to the table.  In addition, I enjoyed the way the impending death and doom loomed over them.  Many people find the big good in situations like that, and I loved that they kept remembering to enjoy the simple, happy things, because otherwise what were they fighting to save?  I'm not sure I ever really felt panicked about them making it through - Roberts isn't George RR Martin, after all - but it didn't make their battles and less fraught with tension.

I am in love with all of these characters, even the bad guys.  Every member of the circle of six felt well developed, and I felt such empathy with them.  I saw myself a little in each of the women, and I got what compelled each of them about their men and about their challenges.  I also enjoyed interspersing the viewpoint of the villains of the piece.  We got some insight into Lilith, her lover Lora, and her "son" Davey.  I liked having three dimensional villains that, while I still despised, I was able to understand a little.  They react to each other in ways I could connect with, and that made it more compelling to watch them battle.  I still wanted them to lose, and get their asses soundly kicked, but it's more satisfying to have that happen with characters I get rather than just a caricature of a bad guy.

I don't want to spoil how things develop in the series, because it's truly lovely.  Is it the best vampire fiction out there?  No.  But it's a damn fun ride, with characters you will love.  Definitely recommended reading!

CBR IV Review #11,12,13 - Irish Hearts Trilogy by Nora Roberts

Normally I start off with quotes, but I had a hard time locating them, and I read this series over a month ago, so I'll be damned if I remember any.  So tough.  Life is hard.  ;-)  And yes, this is yet another Nora Roberts series.  The next review?  Also of a Nora Roberts series.  The one after that?  Will probably also be a Nora Roberts series. I've had a lot going on lately (bed bugs, getting married, honeymoon, finding a new place to live) and as such, I've needed some really easy reading.  It doesn't get easier than this.  The thing I like most about Roberts it that I can read these without having to work too hard, but at the same time, there's enough there for me to not get bored.  She's great at writing characters I find myself committed to, and that's what really hooks me into a book.

That being said...it's important to note that this series starts with the first book of Roberts' career, and it shows.  The writing is stiff, there is only one sex scene to each (which anyone who reads her regularly will find surprising) and the story moves at an odd pace.  Everything seems to rush together at the end, and that wasn't really satisfying for me.  Roberts also seems to have a penchant, in this series anyway, for putting each of her female leads through something traumatic.  Adelia faces attempted rape, Erin is kidnapped and held hostage, Keeley is beaten.  Cut these women a break!  Also, being Irish does not make them simple.  I get that Erin and Adelia, coming from small town farm country in Ireland (and in the 80s at that) would have had less access to modern conveniences, but Jesus Mary and Joseph do they sound like retards when they are wandering about the US seeing all our crazy tech.  Like cars.  It was frustrating.

You'll notice I'm lumping all three reviews together here, and not really outlining the plots of any - that's because I don't feel like wasting the time.  Roberts has written more than 209 novels (so sayeth Wikipedia, so grain of salt), so it seems silly to waste time elaborating on my feelings on the only trilogy of hers that I have no feelings on.  I can't say I hated them, but they didn't inspire me to give a shit about them either.  Easily skippable - move on to some of her other, better works (of which there are many reviews on this blog - she's my go-to for fluff writing).

CBR IV Review #10 - Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James

“This is a man in need. His fear is naked and obvious, but he's lost. . . Somewhere in his darkness.
His eyes wide and bleak and tortured. I can soothe him. Join him briefly in the darkness and bring him into the light.”

A DISCLAIMER: This review is of a piece of erotic fiction.  As such, discussion of the sex is relevant and necessary to the review.  If this makes you uncomfortable, skip this one.

Fifty Shades of Grey is, technically, a fan fiction inspired erotic novel.  It horrified me to find out, halfway through this book (which is when the rest of the popular book scene caught up with me) that this book was started as Twilight fanfiction.  I hate Twilight.  A lot.  However, the resemblance to those books is practically non-existent.  I know many people compared the two lead characters to Bella and Edward, but I think that is so far beyond a stretch that it borders on the absurd.  Regardless.

This book is the story of virginal, innocent, recent college grad (she graduates in the course of the book) Anastasia Steele, and multi-billionaire Christian Grey.  The two cross paths when Ana interviews Christian on behalf of her sick roommate, Kate, and their sexual chemistry is evident from the start.  Christian makes a point of putting himself into Ana's life, and eventually the two start an incredibly complicated relationship.  The reason for this complication is Christian's sexual appetite.  He's a Dom, in the most classic sense of the term, and he likes to contract his submissives.  Ana, however, is not exactly great at being submissive, and sex is new to her in the first place.  The two develop something much more significant than a sexual relationship, even though the progression terrifies Ana.

A lot of people objected to this book because of the nature of their sexual relationship.  It's so very easy to cry "abusive asshole" about a Dom if you don't understand the lifestyle (and this book does a very good job of explaining things well, so I don't know how you come away with that impression, but whatever).  The submissive is the one with the real power in a BDSM relationship - they have the power to set parameters, to call a safeword and stop things at any given moment.  The Dom has all the apparent power in the moment, but there has to be a real trust and understanding between both participants for this kind of relationship to function.  Christian works very hard to make sure that Ana has this, even when she gets in her own way and doesn't tell him things.

The sex itself is reasonably well written.  The author seems to have an issue with using genital terminology, which got old fast, but the activities were well enough described.  I find it interesting that Ana never had any marks on her wrist from the times she was bound - or at least not ones that lasted long enough for anyone to notice.  Maybe she has stronger skin.  I HATED every damned reference to her inner goddess, as well as the incredible overuse of the phrase "Oh my."  They are lazy writing tools, employed every time the author couldn't think of something more compelling to say.  I don't need an "inner goddess" in Ana's head to understand her confusion in being turned on by things that a lot of society thinks are "wrong" or "dirty."  Discovering you are kinky is sometimes hard to come to terms with, and I like that it was a struggle for her.

Two other big complaints before I get to another compliment.  First, there is NO FUCKING WAY anyone is as clueless in the world as Ana.  Not having a computer (since she can use her roommate's) I can maybe accept.  Not having an EMAIL ADDRESS?  As a college student?  Impossible.  Every single student of every single college is given one of those these days.  I HATE when books do well on some details and totally blow it on the simple things like this.  I also have some trouble believing, at 22, that she's never been drunk or been kissed (mostly the combination of the two, for someone who doesn't have religious or cultural reasons to avoid it).  But that email address thing killed me.

Other complaint - that ending is THE WORST.  I hate hate hate when the first volume of a trilogy cannot stand on its own, and this has an ending where nothing actually resolves.  You're left with miserable main characters and no resolution - it feels like you go back to square one and then it just ends.  I don't know if I want to read the next book, and making it so I HAVE to makes me want to even less.  End volume 2 on a cliff-hanger - by then you usually have a committed audience.  But let volume one stand on its own two feet.  That ending was a cheap shot.

My last comment will be a compliment because I like to end on a high note if I can.  Christian and Ana, and even Kate, are characters I got attached to, and that surprised me.  A lot of erotic fiction barely fleshes out the characters, so you are reading strictly for the enjoyment of the sexual content.  This had a relationship I was invested in.  I wanted Ana to be honest with Christian, and vice versa.  I wanted them to explore their emotional needs as well as the carnal, and really get somewhere.  I kept picking the book back up to see how they developed, and that is always a good thing.

Like I said, I don't know if I'll pick up the next two volumes of this trilogy, but this is a pretty good read if you're into erotica, or want a little voyeuristic view into a BDSM relationship.

CBR IV Review #9 - Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

“I just want it to go back to the way it was."
"It'll never go back to the way it was, Frankie. But you have to make sure it goes forward.”

This book came to my from my BFF, who is a school librarian.  She reads a lot of YA lit for her job and passes some of the better stuff off to me.  For example, she introduced me to the greatness that is The Hunger Games (I reviewed them last year, for those new to this blog that I think no one is reading anyway!).  So when I saw this in the stack of books she was trying to find a new home for, I grabbed it up.  I'm glad that I did.

Saving Francesca is the story of a teenage girl in Australia.  It takes place during two terms of her Year 11, which includes attending a new school and dealing with her mother's depression (this is not a spoiler - it's on the back cover summary).  Frankie's new school is only recently integrated, and they haven't done a great job of making the girls feel welcome.  In addition, Frankie's group of friends from her old school all moved on to a different school, so she's left with some girls that she doesn't really know and trying to find her way and mostly keep her head down.

One of the most important people in Frankie's life is her mother, Mia, a whirlwind of energy and of being your own person.  Frankie has seen this as overbearing in the past, wanting to blend in rather than stand out.  But over the course of the book she starts to see the wisdom in the things Mia always told her.  Part of this is due to the sudden lack of Mia in her life.  One morning she simply does not get out of bed, and she stays that way for quite some time.  As Frankie and her family deal with her mother's problem (or, for much of the book, DON'T deal with it), Frankie starts letting herself become the woman she's meant to be.  She makes friends she didn't expect, find a crush she doesn't want, and starts to really find herself as a person, not just part of a crowd.

This is a really wonderful book on a lot of levels.  First, I love the message it sends to young women.  Frankie is an incredibly normal girl - she wants to blend in, she defines herself by what her friends say, she fights with her mom, she thinks the boys in her school are ridiculous.  But circumstances force her to really develop her own personality independent of those things, and to find the people who let her be who she really is.  Her journey felt very real.  By the end of the book you get the idea that, while there will still be times that she backslides, she's really trying to blazer her own trail.

I also liked the honesty with which they handled Mia's illness.  Depression is something I'm intimately familiar with, and I spent a lot of the book wondering what her catalyst was, and what warning signs the family had missed.  And they address both, in their own good time.  It takes awhile to find out those things, so while I wanted to know immediately, it made sense to not reveal it until Frankie figured it out.  And I love that while Mia makes progress, she doesn't end the book healed.  That kind of depression doesn't go away, but becomes something you learn to live with (some days better than others).  If suddenly it had been a "hey, she's all better now, yay!" ending, I would have been disappointed.  There's hope there, but it's obvious that it won't be an easy road.

This book is peppered with delightful characters, and even though you don't get to know them well (the narrator is Frankie, so we're limited to her perspective) you get a real sense of who they are and what they're like.  I wanted to hang out with Frankie and her friends, and I love being able to connect that way with characters.

Definitely a book I'd recommend, especially if you love YA lit!