Friday, October 21, 2011

The Dark Enquire (Lady Julia Brisbane book 5)

by Deanna Raybourne.

So much better than book 4!  Lady Julia and Brisbane have settled back in England and into more of a routine where Julia is attempting to help with Brisbane's private enquiry business.  This does not mean she stays out of trouble and follows the rules but they are more open with each other than in book 4 and it's a delight to see.  They still have their fights and misunderstandings but they think about each other more and it shows.

We got to see more into the Roma world that Brisbane comes from as well and that was a delight.  This remains a favorite series of mine but books 1-3 will always be my very favorite, I will probably not re-read the rest of them (not 4 and 5 anyway) as I will the first 3.  They're almost stand alone but I look forward to the next even though I know it will be a while.
Deanna is working on another standalone novel that I am really looking forward to (loved her first - the dead travel fast) and hopefully after that she'll write the next Lady Julia!

Shades of Twilight

by Linda Howard.

After enjoying her first book I decided to find some more, this one is also a southern romance with some mystery mixed in.  We follow the characters from youth through adulthood (jumping through years pretty quickly).  We get a great understanding about what drives the characters and their relationship to each other.

Roanna and Webb are cousins (second cousins which is okay i guess) and when Roanna loses her parents at age 7, Webb is the one constant in her life when she goes to live with her grandmother (where Webb also lives).  Webb is destined to be the heir (it's a very rich and influential family) and destined to marry Roanna's first cousin Jesse who is older than Roanna.
Jump a number of years and Jesse and Webb are married but unhappily so.  Jesse tortures Roanna when she can and Roanna is a tortured soul in general at 17.  Finally after circumstances leave the family torn apart we jump ahead another 10 years I think.

Now there's some mysteries to solve and a relationship between Webb and Roanna that has deteriorated and needs to be built back up.  A very twisty but interesting plot that kept me sucked in.  I really enjoyed this one too!

Midnight Rising (Midnight Breed book 4)

by Lara Adrian.

I couldn't stay away too long!  Back to the Midnight Breed series and we're following Rio (whom had a tragic loss in book 1 and has had a rough time recovering) and Dylan, a reporter who stumbles upon Rio.  This one was good, not as good as the other three, maybe because Dylan had to be abducted and wasn't trusted with the information up front because she was a reporter.  It made for a sketchy start to the book.  However it did get better and the overarching plotline that we've been trying to figure out really became much clearer in this book.  We know what's going on finally but no idea how they'll 'stop' it.

After the Night

by Linda Howard.

A new author to try, she writes southern romances with mysteries mixed in.  Her style seems to be that she follows the characters from a young age, highlighting important points in their lives and moving forward pretty quickly to the 'current' time but giving us a glimpse of what is really behind these characters. 

I found this book very intriguing and had trouble putting it down a few times.  Gray is from an uppercrust family and his father is promiscuous to say the least.  One of the women tied to Gray's father is Faith's mother.  Meanwhile Faith has a serious crush on Gray, idolizing him.  But she's a Devlin and Devlin's are 'garbage' from everyone's point of view.  No one cares that Faith isn't like the rest. 
Jump forward a few years, all of a sudden Gray's father and Faith's mother disappear the same night and their worlds get turned up side down.  The Devlin's get kicked out of town by Gray and Faith will never forget how he looked at her and what he said to her (she's trash).
Jump forward many years and Faith has built a life for herself and has decided she wants to solve the mystery so she goes back to town.  Gray tries to drive her away but she's stronger now and won't back down.  There's a lot of mystery in this one and it really moves along quickly with a few twists and turns.  Again a page turner and had me looking for more by Linda Howard for sure!

Midnight Awakening (Midnight Breed book 3)

by Lara Adrian.

Book 3 follows Tegan, and that's great because you're really wondering about him at this point. He's a tough guy to like from the outside but we get to see inside in this book and a new dimension is added.  Elise also has a past and the story is intriguing that brings them together.  The overall plot line/mystery really makes a lot of progress in this one as we get closer to the unknown evil and make a few resolutions in this one.

Kiss of Crimson (Midnight Breed book 2)

by Lara Adrian.

The second in the series, started out kind of rocky relationship wise but came together well in the end.  I love that it continues with a new warrior of the Breed but you still get to follow the previous characters since they're interconnected.  Dante and Tess' story has a lot of action and also moves along the overall plot quite a bit.  I really enjoy this series!

One Grave At A Time (Nighthuntress book 6)

by Jeanine Frost.

Another Cat and Bones and one of the better ones lately (if you don't count the first few which were the very best). This one focuses on ghosts a bit more, partly because her Uncle Don is now a ghost and partly because the mystery that Cat and Bones are out to 'solve' revolves around a ghost. Action packed and filled with characters we love - it's a great one!