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jmc_bksWhereas today is the third Wednesday of the month,
And whereas I am participating in Keishon's TBR challenge,
It is encumbent upon me to post about the books I dug out of the TBR pile.
Title: Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light
Author: Mary Janice Davidson and Anthony Alongi
Publishing info: 2006, YA
Why this one? I’d read the first book of the series, Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace and liked it enough to look for this follow up book. I hadn’t read it yet because...just because.
Did I like it? It was an okay book, although it doesn’t stand well on its own. Much of the background was established in the first book. Although some information is provided about what went on before, it was not very helpful, so a new reader would be confused. Also, this book didn’t feel very well organized in terms of story telling for this particular tale; instead it felt as if a bunch of things were being set up for future books.
Jennifer felt like a teenager to me; beyond whatever her supernatural abilities are (and they seem to accumulate, like Betsy’s), she has the same teenaged stuff going on in her life, in terms of friends, parents, boys, sports, school, etc.
New to me authors? Will I read them again? Not a new to me author. I first read MJD in ebook format; I’ve read all of the Betsy/Undead books to date, and a scattering of her other work. She’s no longer an autobuy author for me, or even a buy author – her books are library books now. In fact, this is the last of her books that I purchased.
Keep or pass on? Pass on. It was a quick, light read, but it didn’t stand out.
Anything else? I think the shallow, sort of flaky voice of the narrator that grew old for me in the Betsy books works much better in a teen narrator and protagonist.
Title: Beyond Breathless
Author: Kathleen O’Reilly
Publishing info: 2007, Harlequin Blaze
Why this one? Because I read and liked KO’s Sex, Straight Up, then remembered that I had an earlier Blaze in the TBR pile.
Did I like it? Yes, I did. Why? It’s all about the characters. I could empathize with Jamie’s ambition and her jaundiced view of the boys club attitude of the finance industry, even as I was frustrated with what I felt was her naïvete about networking and favors. Andrew was an interesting fellow, too. Young, fabulously wealthy, “self-made” bazillionaires** tend to bore me in category romances, because I can’t believe in their business acumen, but O’Reilly did a good job of establishing Andrew’s drive to succeed and his route to that success without making him some kind of insufferable wunderkind. While some of his actions are a little patronizing, I get where they’re coming from – he’s the oldest child and is used to taking care of everyone.
New to me author? Will I read her again? Not new to me, since I’d just read two other categories by O’Reilly. And I will check out her other work.
Keep or pass on? Keeper.
Anything else? The next two books of the series are about Andrew’s brother and sister. I might be interested in picking up the book about the brother but the sister (and mother) got on my last nerve in BB, so her book will be a hard sell for me. (She reminded me of Jennie in The L Word, a fictional character who inspires a virulent dislike unlike any other I’ve ever felt for a fictional character. Mostly because both of them strike me as immature, selfish, unthinking, and dismissive of the privacy of other people.)
**TBH, bazillionaires generally bore me in romance, because they are such undeveloped stock characters. But young ones who shot to success without any background explanation irk me a little bit more.
P.S. I'm borrowing the format for Angie's older TBR challenge, because it is easy to use and I'm lazy.
And whereas I am participating in Keishon's TBR challenge,
It is encumbent upon me to post about the books I dug out of the TBR pile.
Title: Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light
Author: Mary Janice Davidson and Anthony Alongi
Publishing info: 2006, YA
Where can you find weredragons, beaststalkers, and werachnids all in one room? Jennifer Scales's family reunion.
Getting through high school is hard enough. Jennifer Scales has the added pressure of her weredragon life, taking trips to Crescent Lake to morph into a dragon under the constant threat of enemy attack. What's worse, she's also half beaststalker from her Mom's side. Beaststalkers and weredragons are mortal enemies, and tension is growing over some suspicious deaths lately. She must prove to both sides that they can live in harmony, just like her family. Well, most of the time. That is until Jennifer finds out that she has a half-brother with a few too many legs.
Unfortunately he's bent on some payback for a lifetime of abandonment and Jennifer's dad is his number-one target. Her life's starting to look like a daytime talk show. Somehow she will have to convince everyone to get along, before they take matters in their own claws.
Why this one? I’d read the first book of the series, Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace and liked it enough to look for this follow up book. I hadn’t read it yet because...just because.
Did I like it? It was an okay book, although it doesn’t stand well on its own. Much of the background was established in the first book. Although some information is provided about what went on before, it was not very helpful, so a new reader would be confused. Also, this book didn’t feel very well organized in terms of story telling for this particular tale; instead it felt as if a bunch of things were being set up for future books.
Jennifer felt like a teenager to me; beyond whatever her supernatural abilities are (and they seem to accumulate, like Betsy’s), she has the same teenaged stuff going on in her life, in terms of friends, parents, boys, sports, school, etc.
New to me authors? Will I read them again? Not a new to me author. I first read MJD in ebook format; I’ve read all of the Betsy/Undead books to date, and a scattering of her other work. She’s no longer an autobuy author for me, or even a buy author – her books are library books now. In fact, this is the last of her books that I purchased.
Keep or pass on? Pass on. It was a quick, light read, but it didn’t stand out.
Anything else? I think the shallow, sort of flaky voice of the narrator that grew old for me in the Betsy books works much better in a teen narrator and protagonist.
Title: Beyond Breathless
Author: Kathleen O’Reilly
Publishing info: 2007, Harlequin Blaze
Nicknamed "The Porcupine," Jamie McNamara has a tough-as-nails attitude that makes her a force to be reckoned with on Wall Street. So it's a shock even to her when she seduces a sexy investment broker in a Hummer limo on the way to a business meeting. But when her erotic escapade becomes the topic of the "Red Choo Diaries" sex blog and threatens to destroy her steely persona, Jamie realizes a fling isn't always frivolous.
Used to getting what he wants, gorgeous man-about-town Andrew Brooks knows a good thing when he sees it--and he sees and wants Jamie. Her drive and passion have him consumed. He's determined to transform their passionate limo encounter into a long-term merger--and he's prepared to negotiate!
Why this one? Because I read and liked KO’s Sex, Straight Up, then remembered that I had an earlier Blaze in the TBR pile.
Did I like it? Yes, I did. Why? It’s all about the characters. I could empathize with Jamie’s ambition and her jaundiced view of the boys club attitude of the finance industry, even as I was frustrated with what I felt was her naïvete about networking and favors. Andrew was an interesting fellow, too. Young, fabulously wealthy, “self-made” bazillionaires** tend to bore me in category romances, because I can’t believe in their business acumen, but O’Reilly did a good job of establishing Andrew’s drive to succeed and his route to that success without making him some kind of insufferable wunderkind. While some of his actions are a little patronizing, I get where they’re coming from – he’s the oldest child and is used to taking care of everyone.
New to me author? Will I read her again? Not new to me, since I’d just read two other categories by O’Reilly. And I will check out her other work.
Keep or pass on? Keeper.
Anything else? The next two books of the series are about Andrew’s brother and sister. I might be interested in picking up the book about the brother but the sister (and mother) got on my last nerve in BB, so her book will be a hard sell for me. (She reminded me of Jennie in The L Word, a fictional character who inspires a virulent dislike unlike any other I’ve ever felt for a fictional character. Mostly because both of them strike me as immature, selfish, unthinking, and dismissive of the privacy of other people.)
**TBH, bazillionaires generally bore me in romance, because they are such undeveloped stock characters. But young ones who shot to success without any background explanation irk me a little bit more.
P.S. I'm borrowing the format for Angie's older TBR challenge, because it is easy to use and I'm lazy.
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Date: 2008-04-17 12:18 pm (UTC)