Review True Colors by Clare London

To be perfectly honest I wasn't sure how I would feel about this one. Clare London is a known author to me but not one that I've read much of. I'm not sure why that is, the few books I've read by her have been well written with solid plots and intriguing characters. It's just one of those things I suppose that can't be explained. Anyway...I picked this one up at Dreamspinner Press the other day, http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/currenttitles/truecolors/truecolorsbuynow.htm , because I liked the blurb. It sounded interesting and for the most part it was really sound. I liked the characters of Zeke and Miles and their respective best friends, Carter and Red. Not that they started out as likable. Not at all. Zeke was an irresolute, shiftless drunk and Miles was a remote, cold, and stone faced businessman. It wasn't until you got into the deeper meat of the story that you realized what was going on to make the two this way. Carter and Red helped to show the humanity and good qualities that were hidden behind their facades. The sensual scenes were smoldering and at times I thought they were going to scorch my eyes right out of my head. Very well written with such emotive description that the depth of all that the two could not vocalize was apparent. I liked that both men were masculine men with Zeke having that bit of artistic flair and temperament to spice up the sometimes stiff Miles. They were perfect complements to each other and that made the story a truly good one. The only complaint I had was that there was a bit of drag midway through but it quickly resolved. I'm off to buy more by this author and see what all I've been missing.

Review Like Coffee and Doughnuts by Elle Parker

This is the first time I've read anything by author Elle Parker and I'm glad I gave her a try. I really enjoyed Like Coffee and Doughnuts. Dino Maritini, like his name implies, is an old school Italian-American private investigator. He likes old music, ballroom dancing, and his classic muscle car-Matilda. His best friend is Seth Donnelly, mechanic extraordinaire, brawler, and horndog. He will jump anything willing, man or woman. When the two do a routine repo job it turns into anything but routine. Now there are some seriously bad men after them and things go from bad to worse quickly.

The combination of old fashioned Dino and happy go lucky Seth worked for me. The two were opposites but complimented each other to a tee. When the attraction between them heats up you can't help but feel cautious. I so didn't want Dino to get hurt. He 's one of those guys who keeps his emotions and feelings under tight wraps. Seth comes across as a playboy, albeit an honest one, everyone knows going into it that he is only in it for the fun. So I was rather leery when Seth started doing some serious flirting with Dino versus his heretofore playful banter. I didn't want him to use Dino and destroy a friendship that worked. On the other hand it was quite obvious to me, even if it wasn't to Dino himself, that he had feelings beyond friendship for Seth. I enjoyed the case that they were working on and the banter between the two. There was very little actual sensual scenes but what little bit there was showcased the growing bonds between the two.
This was a very good effort from a newcomer to the field and I look forward to seeing more from Elle Parker in the future. I give it a 4.5 out of 5

Review Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters

Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters is the second book in the Generation Dead series. First off let me say that I love the covers on these books. Very eye catching and once you read the stories you get how fitting and multifaceted they are. It's not often that a cover fits the book but this time they do an excellent job of it. I'll admit that the cover is what drew me to the first book, Generation Dead, but it was the story that hooked me into buying it. I loved the first book. I loved the characters, I loved the idea of the zombie teens, oh excuse me the differently biotic teens. I eagerly awaited the arrival of this story.

I liked this story. I didn't think it was quite as good as the first though. The pacing was a little bit slower and that brought it down a few points for me. I loved seeing things from Adam's POV, it gave an even deeper insight into the life of the differently biotic, or DB kids, and the frustrations that they face in trying to "come back" to an acceptable level. Phobe's confusion about what Adam and Tommy each meant to her was a bit hard to take until I forced myself to remember that she is a teenager. The other characters were around and some insight into the troubles that they face as a new minority was interesting to read about. It seems the more we change the more we stay the same. In the Generation Dead world all the hate and prejudice is now focused on the DB kids and it makes a person think. It shows how much we hate what we dont' understand and the first action is to lash out. Mr. Waters has done an excellent job of teaching with this series and the stories are written in such a way that the lessons learned are effortless. The questions that arise as a result really can mess with a persons head. As parents you profess to love your child more than anything in this world and parents who lose their children to death often say that they would do anything to have them back. But what happens when they do come back? How do you deal with what essentially is a dead person who looks like your child? Where do these people fit into the social structure? Should they have rights? Are they even people anymore? I can't wait for the third book in this series to see if Mr. Waters answers these questions and how he wraps up the cliff hanger ending of Kiss of Life.
There is even a website where you can follow Tommy's blog, just like in the book. Just go to http://www.mysocalledundeath.com

Review Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Oh my, oh my! Where do I start with this one. First I suppose I should warn that there will be spoilers in this reviews. There is no way around it if I want to wail and bemoan everything that upsets me in this book. Now on to the actual review.

Well....I didn't hate it. That's a good thing I suppose. I didn't like it either. I was very disappointed in Dead and Gone as a matter of fact. I'm not sure what happened to Ms. Harris with this one but something did. First, where was the editor or copy editor on this one? Where was the author herself? Does she not remember what her previous characters were named and what they were doing? Hell, it's been a long time since the previous book and 100's of books between and I still remember. Family connections forgotten, names changed, characters just being thrust willy nilly into the mix so that they can be mentioned. Really? Was it necessary for Sookie to feel the desire to go see Tara, a visit that in no way advanced the plot. Oh wait-was there a plot? hmmm....no not really. It was one big mish mash of Sookie running circles in her mind and the obligatory murder mystery in the midst. Lets not forget poor Sookie being damaged to the point that she almost loses her mind. She even says that she doesn't know how she will come back from the damage done to her psychological well being. Yet, in less than 10 pages she has completely come back from that edge of insanity. WTF? Has Ms. Harris decided that she doesn't like Sookie any longer? Is she trying to make readers not like her as well? Because I have to say that I certainly didn't like Sookie in this book. I found her to be cold, callous, and very un-Sookielike. Sure, I understand that after the horrors she has seen she might become a little harder. That's to be expected. No one can endure such sights and remain the sweet innocent. But this was abrupt departure from even the Sookie of the last book. And what is up with the maligning of Eric? Is Bill supposed to be suddenly coming back into the picture? Sookie is unsure of her feelings? Why? She loved Eric when he was the Eric with no memory. It isn't too far of a stretch to imagine that she would still love him even with the blood bond. No, she probably isn't completely over Bill. She never will be, he was her first- everything, it's to be expected that she will always harbor feelings for him. But, she has moved on, had several boyfriends in between. Now on to Quinn. Gee, thanks for popping him in for a totally unnecessary visit and ensuring that all doubts about that relationship being over are settled. I also didn't like how there was almost no story except for the circling, repeating thoughts of woulda, coulda, shoulda coming from Sookie. I felt horrible that something so horrendous happened to Sookie. Not because it was so bad but because I was ready for something, anything to happen by that point that I felt bad for being excited that at least now something was happening.

Okay, now on to what I liked. I liked that Jason was finally coming to realize that Sookie was important to him and that he was growing up a bit. I liked hearing a bit about Eric's back story (even though he was telling her about it in the middle of his bar and in a succinct manner that left no doubt that it was just to appease the fans a bit). I liked that Calvin was finally getting a little love even if I didn't like the woman. Hmmm...what else. I liked visiting with the characters again, being in Merlotte's and Bon Temps. Will I read the next one? Yes, I will. I may not preorder it, i may wait for it to be marked down, but I will buy it and I will read it. I'm not eagerly looking forward to it like I was this one but I'm not ready to give up on the series yet. Everyone deserves a day of phoning it in and that's what this one feels like. I'm chalking it up to having a full plate dealing with all the things stemming from the HBO series. Which totally rocks, bad acting accents aside.