I think I would have rated it higher if only the first book wasn't so good and this one felt like a tad of a letdown... Still an exciting *** 3.39 ***
I think I would have rated it higher if only the first book wasn't so good and this one felt like a tad of a letdown... Still an exciting series! ...more
This was a horrifying experience, but Joe Ledger, the most macho man I have ever read about outside of a shifter book, is the American Spe*** 4.44 ***
This was a horrifying experience, but Joe Ledger, the most macho man I have ever read about outside of a shifter book, is the American Special Forces hero on steroids, dealing with a hiper-terrorist plots carried out by most evilest of evil extreme terrorists! And this description isn't even adequate...
This was fun. I like the way these authors write and I enjoy the universe, but I have to agree with the general consensus - this is Die Ha*** 3.75 **"
This was fun. I like the way these authors write and I enjoy the universe, but I have to agree with the general consensus - this is Die Hard in Space, or Space Die Hard, as Cal from Space Team would say...more
Let's get this clear from the start - this is a testosterone laden, flag-waving, over-the-top, completely unrealistic, fictional macho-man he*** 4 ***
Let's get this clear from the start - this is a testosterone laden, flag-waving, over-the-top, completely unrealistic, fictional macho-man heroes riddled, summer mega block-buster type of series and if you are going to start reading it knowing that, and still find things to be offended by, then it is on you. This series, and this second book in particular, is full of every possible trope about an American government agency fighting covertly against evil you could ever imagine. We have genetic experiments, evil Nazis, racial cleansing, plotting to destroy the current world order, evil twins, assassins, attack on the government, abuse, hunting innocent beings, evil scientists, more genetic experiments... Anything that can come to your head in that premise, it is in here for sure. It almost seems like the author was trying to see how many of the action tropes he could possibly fit in the same book, and still sell it. Well, I think he pulls it off because he is not apologetic about in the least, and because as absurd as the whole thing is, the characters are still likable and you find yourself rooting for them... If there is one thing I would have liked for the author to do, it would be for at least the scientist who is on the side of the good guys, to actually be a good guy! Maybe because of the times we are living in, but I am starting to get very sensitive about this negative campaign against all things sciency! In my personal experience, the folks who devote their lives to the sciences, are some of the smartest, most dedicated to the betterment of the human experience people, and they are way underpaid for the amount of schooling, education and dedication they have to go through, and the repetitious, exhausting work they have to do day in and day out, just to be able to advance their science. Most of them are well aware that what happens to their research ultimately depends on who is willing to pay for it, thus they rarely have any say of if or how their work comes outside of a lab... I hate that in the recent 4 years all those people have been vilified and their work taken as some shady conspiracy against the rest of "us"... You might be unhappy with Big Pharma, but they are not the people who actually come up with new medications and treatments. They are the dealers, the pushers, the price setters... The people who actually work on the medications are so far removed from pricing and marketing, that it might be another planet. So, even if we are OK with the Evil Scientists who are on the side of the bad guys, I do have an issue with the good guys having an Evil Scientist of their own. It just comes off as if all scientists are evil... It is the farthest from the truth trope I wish we could get rid of...
Otherwise, the book is perfect for what it is - an action romp of good guys pummeling the bad guys and almost, almost winning... There are always seeds of EVIL left for the next time, of course ...more
Joe Ledger is a Baltimore cop who takes his job very seriously. He kills a guy during a raid and the last thing he expects is to have to kill him a seJoe Ledger is a Baltimore cop who takes his job very seriously. He kills a guy during a raid and the last thing he expects is to have to kill him a second time that day, when the dude somehow reanimates as a Zombie! But zombies aren't real, right? Well, apparently they are and someone is using a pathogen to induce the condition and use it as a weapon against the general public in the USA. There are some religious fanatics, some of those for whom money is their G-d, and some political fiends thrown into the mix with a new governmental agency created to deal with the more bizarre threats to the Homeland Security. DMS is Joe's new employer and Mr. Church is the boss, a true bad-ass and a shady character, who is definitely better as an ally than an enemy. And of course, there is a lady, but she is not in distress and knows how to hold her own.
This was exciting and well written, a bit on the testosterone side, but good for what it is. I am looking forward to keeping on kicking some ass with those no nonsense and well armed new members of the DMS...more
Another fun read with the Abtastic Abs Geishas and some alien barbarians!
Hahaha! I needed a little break from my long and more ambitious *** 3.40 ***
Another fun read with the Abtastic Abs Geishas and some alien barbarians!
Hahaha! I needed a little break from my long and more ambitious reads, so this series came to mind. And as always, it was the somewhat mindless and very offensive to the more feministic sensibilities alien Barbaric culture, which was so politically incorrect, that had me laughing with its inappropriateness. Boy, have romances changed since the early 90's!
The first book in the series was all about the mother of the main heroin of this book. Sha was an outlander who landed on an isolated planet and fell in love with a Barbarian warrior 👑. Now their daughter is all grown up and is looking for a life-mate, who preferably is not a warrior, since she is determined to have a more sensible man. All around her the barbarians she had been surrounded by all of her life, were not going to cut it. No warrior would ever admit to loving a woman and this is exactly what she wants. Also, she is not a fan of any of the traditional punishments the warriors routinely performed on their women when they displeased or disobeyed them. There is at least an aspiration of a budding feminist in her😀. But that is as far as we get with the dreams of a modern, assertive and free woman. The reality that follows is anything but...
Warning! ⚠ This is not for the easily offended and women who find obedience, spanking, and other forms of punishment or control by a strong Alpha Male for his little woman!!! Yes, this is a Sci-fi Barbarian Romance, so don't go into it expecting something sensible! This is absolutely absurd, but I still got a kick out of it and am not ashamed to say it 😀. We do need to be reminded that we can still be silly, particularly in a world full of tragedy and fear. This is the way I find to escape from the impotent feeling that nothing I think or do makes any difference in my reality, and gives me just enough of a brake in order to recharge my battery and keep on chugging along... Don't judge - the only thing I might be guilty of is bad taste of 😈😇😎
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and many more wonderful books to come!...more
A buddy read with the The Abtastic Ab Loving Geishas, because at times we get all romantic and stuff:):):)
When I was just a little speck of *** 4 ***
A buddy read with the The Abtastic Ab Loving Geishas, because at times we get all romantic and stuff:):):)
When I was just a little speck of a human, I shared a bedroom with my baby brother and my older than G-d gypsy grandmother. The bane of my existence, that is my brother of course, was very small and had a baby cradle, but my grandma and I shared a double bed. I loved the evenings when we would go to bed at the same time, because I knew I would get a story about the wars through which she and the grandfather I had never met had lived. Before spy movies and action thrillers, my grandma filled my head with the stories of resistance against the Nazis, about the time when Greece took Bulgarian lands from around the Aegean Sea and she and her husband, with a baby on their hands, had to uproot once again and move to a new city and start all over again... Many thought of my granny as a seer, a fortune teller, even a country-raised psychologist, but to me she was the woman with the thousand stories, always new and fresh, and so very exciting, knowing that I come from a family of rebels, of brave and honorable dreamers, never mind that the results of those dreams were not always what they had hoped for....
Granny had a way of telling a story, and this book, the whole thing, reminded me of her and her tales, which she would tell me every evening until she was gone... I think the strong emotions the book provoked in me were most influenced by the ark of the two older men who remembered the time they spend in France during WW2, behind enemy lines, and the woman who stole their hearts. It was way to similar to those late night stories grandma loved to tell.
"...“Yes, it was Joe’s story, but it was his story, too. It was his life, his secrets, his failures. His grief. Nearly sixty years of running from himself, from all his pain, all his heartache, and here he was. Still here. Still aching.”..."
The book has three story arcs. The main one is about Tom Paoletti and Kelly Ashton. Tom is a Navy SEAL (yay SEALs!!!) and is going home after a head injury for about a month. Home is where his Great Uncle Joe is, and that is in a town near Boston, where he is the grounds keeper of the estate of his rich war buddy Charles Ashton. Joe and Charles made it back home together after WW2 and have been best friends ever since. Dr. Kelly Ashtom is Charles's doughtier and only child, who has come back home to take care of her dying father. It just so happens that Tom and Kelly had always had a thing for each-other, just never got it on. Now they are older, have had some life behind them, and are very weary of starting anything with anyone... They were the sexy-sizzling times couple.
"...“You can't choose who you love, Kelly, but you can waste it. Why on earth would anyone want to waste it?”..."
While contemplating his waning life, Charles remembers the time he was hiding in Paris, a place where he met Joe, in a house belonging to the French resistance fighter Cybele, a tragic figure full of contrasting passions and making an impression on the two young Americans, which will stay with them for life. This is the arc which had me an emotional wreck, I was so fascinated with the two old guys and the way the love for this woman kept them together until the end. It was beautiful, and painful, and wrong, but so very strong and right in all the ways that mattered!!! I couldn't wait for the little moments we got to learn everything about this arc! This was the love triangle in flashbacks arc.
"...“Joe had been a good-looking man, too, but Charles had had a magical air about him. He still had it, even at eighty. Even back when he was drinking and at his most cruel and verbally abusive, even then, the spark didn’t quite go out.”..."
As I said, it was ugly and harsh at times, but very poignant!
The sweet, although at times dumb-teenage-ridiculous couple arc was about Mallory Paoletti, Tom's 18 year old niece, and a geeky, but gentle, talented and very persistent artist, the 20 years old college student David. David steels your heart, want it or not! He is just adorable and I hope Mallory deserves him, because she was a total judgmental ass when they first met. They are the sweet, new love arc.
"...“As long as I’ve got a book, it doesn’t matter where I am. I can instantly be a million miles away, in a completely different place, on a different planet even. I can be someone else, you know? When it gets too complicated to be myself.”..."
Amen, brother! This is the reason most of us are book addicts:):):)
So, these three stories coalesce around a possible terrorist bombing plan, which is a bit of a second thought as far as the plot is concerned. It becomes a catalyst for the characters to move forward with their life choices, but it was not what the book was truly about. It is a romance, character driven and old school, and I would recommend it to all who love romance in all of its forms. I personally would love to continue with the series:)
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and many wonderful books to come!!! ...more
A Buddy read with my friend Jo @ The Abtastic Ab Loving Geishas, despite not having hot man-abs on the cover...
Well, another Navy Seal Al*** 3.65 ***
A Buddy read with my friend Jo @ The Abtastic Ab Loving Geishas, despite not having hot man-abs on the cover...
Well, another Navy Seal Alpha Dude story of falling in love and doing whatever possible to get the girl of his dreams to accept his love... This time it was John Nilsson and the widowed mother of a 10 year old girl, Meg. The first time they have met was at a foreign country where she helped him pull a stunt which could have endangered people's lives. In that instance, she had noticed how likable and trustworthy he is, and if she had not been married, albeit to a cheating bastard, she might have considered some flirting with the somewhat younger and quite charming American soldier. This time around he is called up from a training exercise and shockingly, is told that his old friend Meg has taken the Kazbekistany ambassador at gunpoint as a hostage and he is the only person she is willing to negotiate with. The whole SEAL team 16, aka The Troubleshooters, travels with him and kind of like the Musketeers, they are all for one and one for all.
"...“What the hell was she doing on the nonhostage side of a handgun?” ..."
Meg is in trouble and has made it even worse, but she is ready to do whatever she has to in order to keep her doughtier and grandma, who have been kidnapped by terrorists, alive. She is pushed to the edge and the only person she could think trusting enough to keep her girl safe is John. She has never even imagined herself holding hostages, and despair is her constant companion.
Meanwhile, Grandma Eve is keeping her great-granddaughter occupied with the story of her first love during WWII in England, distracting the little girl from the terror she is experiencing while being held by the Kazbekistany terrorists. But the girl is not the only one captivated by the story of love and war. Their big burly jailer is also riveted and this gives some hope to the old lady, that he might show at least a little bit of kindness... The story of Eve and Ralph includes the battle of Dunkirk and I loved every second of that tale. They were my favorite of the all together three love arcs that were addressed in this book. I loved the way Eve was introduced to us:
"..."A faceful of wrinkles, sagging breasts, thin gray hair, loose skin, brittle bones, failing memory—wah-hoo! Let’s have a party! She hadn’t minded so much while her husband was alive. He’d always managed to make her feel twenty years old and impossibly beautiful. But he’d been gone for two years now, and for two years, all she’d felt was old."..."
The main couple, Meg and John, drove me insane at times. Through the whole book Meg was acting like a maniac, which is somewhat understandable, since the lives of her and her loved ones were in immediate danger. However, she trusted John enough to call on him, but not enough to let him do what he does best and actually help her. Her fatalistic view of the situation and her inability to see the big picture was hurtful to both of them and could have ended in many tragic ways... Thank goodness John was a professional and cared enough about her to still give her choices, where I might have just hit her over the head with a brick and done what needed to be done, her opinion and feelings be damned!
"..."“Fuck sorry!” he shouted. He was actually shouting at her. He was livid. “Sorry doesn’t cut it when the bullshit you’ve been shoveling is way up past your head. You were just using us. You were using me. You know, Meg, when it comes to getting fucked by you, I would have preferred finishing what we started three years ago.”"..."
The third couple consisted of now FBI agent Alyssa Locke and another member of the SEAL team 16, Sam/Houston/Roger, who have a love-hate vibe, which results in some sizzling sexual tension. Pity neither one of them knows what to do with it and they end up acting like fourth-graders pummeling each-other with insults and ending up hurting each-other's feelings. They are a team I could really get behind though. We will see where the author leads us with them.
Overall, this was a very engaging read with plenty of drama and love, but there were little things that bugged me, mostly phrases some of the characters threw around, which made them seem petty and shallow, as well as made wide assumptions of others, which bordered on bigotry... The fact that it was true on all sides, did not made it more pleasant, but I guess we are supposed to accept that as part of the soldier's life... I will continue with the series, but I hope it gets better than this book...
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and my you always find what you need in the pages of a good book!!! ...more
A buddy read with the KA addicts at the BB&B attic!!!
It has been two weeks since my last KA book and I had been jonezing for my doze! KA *** 3.85 ***
A buddy read with the KA addicts at the BB&B attic!!!
It has been two weeks since my last KA book and I had been jonezing for my doze! KA delivered as always. This book would be considered a second chance contemporary romance, and is a bit more subdued than the rest of her books, but apart from an explosion, it contained the usual damaged female with a good heart, the alpha male, who in this case happen NOT to be a jerk, a crazy murderous stalker, gunshots and the always mandatory kidnapping. It would not be a KA book without it:-)
This book is one of those that make me want to grab the editing machete and slice off at least 100-150 pages of details, which though helping with setting the mood of the very small town, feel redundant and superfluous at times... But even with them, KA can still wrap you up in her stories with the elusive magic that is all her own. It is a solid beginning for the Burg Series.
I liked Colt, but Fab was not my favorite female lead by KA. She was too needy to be strong, which I think we were supposed to percive her as. However, the plot was solid, the secondary characters had depth, and we got what we always expect from this author - a teary, but syrupy sweet Happily Ever After:-) As long as she keeps delivering those, I am a fan for life!
If you like an adult contemporary romance with some justice delivered to some bad people, this is the book for you! Not for the very young readers, a bit too much S&V.
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may you never run out of good books!!!...more
A buddy read with the rest of the KA addicts in BBB!
Another book to add to my descent into Kristen Ashley book addiction...
This time it i*** 3.55 ***
A buddy read with the rest of the KA addicts in BBB!
Another book to add to my descent into Kristen Ashley book addiction...
This time it is Jet M, an average girl, with average looks, living her average life... until Eddie Chavez enters the café where she works in the daytime (her night job is in a titi club). He is way above average looking, has liquid chocolate eyes, has the physique of a superhero, and is a vice cop. Did I mention he is Houut??? It so happens that Jet has a bit of a phobia when if comes to hot guys in her vicinity, and usually becomes a babbling idiot. She gets so painfully shy with the hot Hispanic cop, that it is easier for her to let him think she is a racist than to actually talk with him...
The café where Jet works is part of a used book shop owned by Indy!!!! And you know that only means fun, Rock and Roll, and plenty of mayhem!!! And shootings, and Tex being as crazy as ever, and a flock of Houut guys as part of the Rock Chicks package:-)
Given all that, we are treated with another fun contemporary romance in which scene we feel like we belong already, since Indy and Ally's families are ours since the events of the first book. I liked the secondary characters a bit more than the leads, but that has to do with Jet's terrible self-esteem and Eddie's super controlling ways. There were moments when I wanted to strangle him - I could never live with a man like him, no matter how hot!!
I am still going to read the rest of her books and am looking forward to doing so with my girls!!! Let's support our KA habit together'-)...more
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