The Book Girl

From the back of the book:

IF ONLY A BROKEN HEART WERE ALL SHE HAD TO DEAL WITH…

But there are Viking ghosts, gods, werebeings, and one sexy-as-sin vampire on Francesca’s case. And her biggest trouble is spelled with a capital L – for Loki, the trickster god who made good on his promised revenge by abducting her mother.

But when Fran arrives at GothFaire to save her mother, things go from bad to worse. Her immortal ex, Benedikt, is there, full of secrets…and with a new girlfriend. Fran must battle not only a power-hungry group that wishes to dominate both the immortal and mortal worlds, but the woman who claimed Ben’s heart. Shape-shifters, vikings, and a town filled with deranged opera fans. It’s a good thing Fran’s no ordinary mortal…

Fran and Ben are characters from Katie MacAlister’s YA series. I loved the YA books and was very excited to see Fran and Ben again. However, the book fell flat. Fran still behaved like the teenager she was in the YA books even though 5 years had passed. Also, I felt like the plot of the book – Fran’s hunt for Loki and her mother – went nowhere. While she does find them, we don’t know why her mother was being held and whether Fran can banish Loki. I’m hoping that this is the set-up for another novel, because there was no real ending to IN THE COMPANY OF VAMPIRES. The romance between Ben and Fran is the only thing that seems decided at the end of the book. I was hoping for more out of this story than I got. I will say that IN THE COMPANY OF VAMPIRES has parts that are very sexy and parts that were very funny. Even though I don’t feel like the story was complete it was an entertaining read.

the book girl gives IN THE COMPANY OF VAMPIRES a 3/5

to find the book:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

From the back of the book:

HELL HATH NO FURY…

Fate has led Eden Riley to becomes a “psychic consultant” to the police, even though her abilities are unreliable at best. Those paranormal powers are about to get her into a jam she couldn’t have predicted: After her hunky police detective partner guns down a serial killer in front of her, Eden realizes that she’s quite literally no longer alone. A voice in her head introduces himself as Darrak. He’s a demon. But not in a bad way!

…LIKE A WOMAN POSSESSED.

Darrak lost his original body three hundred years ago, thanks to a witch’s curse. This is the first time he’s ever been able to speak directly to a host, plus there’s a bonus: Eden’s psychic energy helps him to take form during daylight hours. He wants to use this chance to find a way to break his curse – finally. Otherwise, Eden’s going to have to learn to live with this sexy demon…like it or not.

BUT SHE THINKS SHE MIGHT LIKE IT.

THE DEMON IN ME is a light paranormal story. It isn’t really a romance, but there are some romantic moments. I can’t wait to see what develops between the characters in the rest of the series. Darrak is a hoot. There were so many times I laughed out loud while reading this book. My husband kept asking me what was so funny. The premise of this book is very different. I loved the two characters in one body. It sets up a lot of funny (an not-so-funny) moments. Eden is a little flat and I hope that as the series progresses she becomes more 3 dimensional. I liked Eden, I just felt that she was overshadowed by Darrak and Ben. Ben, the hunky cop, didn’t get enough page time either. I was interested in learning more about him and hope that we will in other books. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was what happens between Eden and Ben and the path Ben follows. I wanted more of Eden trying to date Ben while Darrak is in her smarting off about Ben. All in all this book was just meh, but I can see the great potential for the series and can’t wait to read the next book.

the book girl gives THE DEMON IN ME a 3/5

to find the book:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

From the book jacket:

Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper.

But her bosses are making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn’t believe in them,

Not that Meena isn’t familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you’re going to die. (Not that you’re going to believe her. No one ever does.)

But not even Meena’s precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets – then makes the mistake of falling in love with – Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side. It’s a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, Lucien’s already dead. Maybe that’s why he’s the first guy Meena’s ever met whom she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena’s always been able to see everyone else’s future, she’s never been able look into her own.

And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future…

If she even has one.

I haven’t read a Meg Cabot book since the last Heather Wells book, but Insatiable sounded to good to pass up. I really enjoyed the story, but Meena was a little annoying at times. She is also a little too pessimistic for my taste – although it does fit the character perfectly. Alaric and Lucien are both quite fun and I never could decide who I wanted Meena to end up with. I was a little sad when the book ended, because we don’t find out if Meena gets her happily ever after or not. I can’t wait for the next book so I can find out what happens to Meena, Alaric, and Lucien.

the book girl gives INSATIABLE a 4/5

to find the book:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

From the back of the book:

Art historian Campbell Stratford is about to make a name for herself with her scandalously sexy tell-all “fictographies” of famous seventeenth-century artists, but she’s more intimately familiar with her subjects than her eager readers can imagine. Thanks to a time portal she accidentally discovered, she has caused quite a stir in the Great Beyond. To save their reputations, the Guild protecting dead artists convinces playboy Peter Lely, portraitist to the king, to sabotage Cam’s latest project. A few hours posing on Sir Peter’s modeling chaise leads to a night of seductive passion – then Cam returns home and discovers his betrayal. But before she can turn her angry pen on her lover, Sir Peter makes a surprise visit to the future and transforms Cam’s twenty-first-century life into chaos of classic proportions…

FLIRTING WITH FOREVER is a fun read, but didn’t quite measure up to SEDUCING MR. DARCY for me. I think my problem with the book was that the explanation for the time jump. In the previous books the heroine had just been transported, there was no real explanation as to why or how. In FLIRTING WITH FOREVER we are taught about “time tubes” and how once in the afterlife we are born into new lives. The explanation robbed me of some of the fantasy - even though “time tubes” aren’t real. I did, however, really enjoy the romance between Peter and Cam. The chemistry between the two is off the charts and the descriptions of how they are pulled to each other are some of the best I’ve read. The scene where he is painting her and she is thinking about a lover, Peter, is amazing. I can’t wait for the next book by Gwyn Cready. She is definitely on my auto-buy list.

The book girl gives FLIRTING WITH FOREVER a 5/5 for the romance, and a 3/5 for the “time tubes”

to find the book:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble