Sunday, March 22, 2009

Gideon****


The second book in the Nightwalker series.


For a thousand years, Gideon has healed his people. And as the oldest surviving male of his race, his wisdom has always been respected without question. But Gideon knows that even he is vulnerable to the powerful, primitive desires that befall his kind during Hallowed moons—and nine years ago that truth was hammered home when he found himself claiming Magdalegna, the Demon King's sister, in a wild embrace. (BN.com)



This series has captivated me. Now it is a romance novel, so don't expect a Tolkien. However its simplicity makes it a fantastic read. The Author's use of imagery is beautifully done. She enthralls all the senses.


The sex is fantastic and written in such a way that makes me read every single word. It is steamy and passionate without being crude. It makes me giggle on the inside. The angst that Frank creates is fantastic. Talk about sexual tension. I love it.


The plot is not overly complex, and does not have too many characters. It primarily follows the two love interests, but Frank does not forget the interactions of others. Some romance novels can become Corney in the dialogue, but Frank makes it realistic.



I give a 4 out of 5.

A Caress Of Twilight **


[In the second book 0f the series], Merry has her hands full: she's desperate to conceive a child and thereby claim the Unseelie throne; she's the target of intrigue from both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts; her newest client is an exiled goddess with a secret that could get them all killed; and a hideous fey force that alarms even her formidable lover-warriors is loose in Los Angeles. (Amazon.com)


So, I gave Merry a second chance, but I was not impressed


I would like to say first that Hamilton's editor needs to be fired! I was absolutely appalled by the lack of structure and misuse of grammar through out the entire book. Now I love it when author's use bad grammar as a way of communicating something important. It drives a certain point across. If that was what she was going for, I did not get it.


Once again Hamilton failed to impress me with her characters. Merry continues to be boring and she lacks any real depth. In addition most of her "Boy Toys" are one dimensional. Ryse is the only one of her Boys that showed any real character and depth. He is corky and fun, but with a very dark side. He has some serious issues. If you were raped and mutilated by goblins, wouldn't you? So far Ryse is my favorite character. Frost comes in second, but there is just not enough of him. Over all I think Hamilton over complicated the series with too many characters all at once. She needs to slow down and concentrate on each one of the current characters. I want to know more about them in depth.


The premises of this series is misleading. The series promotes a private detective, but Merry deals more with the sidhe courts then anything else . The plot of this particular book was boring. There was too much talking and not enough action. The little bit of mystery there was, was quickly solved. There was not enough intrigue.


From what I hear, Merry is supposed to be a sexual creature. She does spend a huge portion of the book having or talking about sex. However, the sex scenes were dry. They are pretty much just "Bing, Bang, Boom" done. There is almost absolutely no passion. Even lust has passion, but I was bored by even that. It also seems like there is almost no emotional development to Merry. She gives emotion away like candy. Just suddenly realizing she was in "love" with Frost just does not cut it. I was like where the hell did she get that from.


I am made no connection with Merry or any of the others. Its makes really hard as a reader to continue being interested. I think Hamilton is trying way too hard to create another Anita and she is failing.


With every thing in mind, I am going to put this seres down for a while. The ladies in my Book club agree and we are going to start another series. I am not throwing this series out the window, but it will be the series I read when I have nothing else. It will be one of those between books.


I give 2 out of 5.