I had wanted to read this book for so long, so when I finally go around to reading it I had high hopes. Most of which were met, but I felt there were some things that were just lacking.
I was very impressed with how he wove Lincoln and the civil war in with the vampires. That I thought was almost a stroke of genius. Quite impressive. The way that the author was able to weave in things that actually happened with his interpretation of what happened, seamlessly. It was hard to tell what was true and what was made up, which made the book very good.
However, a few things made me pause, for instance the ending. Without giving it away, I will say this, it was very abrupt. The beginning chapter or two is all about the author. You become very involved in his life. And when he loses his family and home to his obsession about the Lincoln letters, you feel for him, care about him, and want to know what happens to him. But after those initial chapters there is nothing, nada, not one word about the author. I thought the ending could have used a small wrap up with the author.
The second problem I had was that the book is told as if the author had a vampire bring him the letters and tell him to write it as a story, which is interesting and fun. However, because of that there are several places in the book where you have no clue what voice the book is writing from. Is it the author's POV, Lincoln's POV or someone else's. Case in point, there is a part where you hear how someone else in the story is feeling. Which becomes confusing if you think about the fact that this is suppose to be being told from Lincoln's POV. However, Lincoln could never know the man's inner thoughts. But if you remember the very beginning of the book, where the author was asked to write the book by a vampire, you can assume that the "thoughts" of the other character were a part the author just made up. But it pulls you out of the story.
There are a few other things, but I won't go into them. Suffice it to say, I liked it, didn't love it, wouldn't read it again.
Blood Rights (House of Comarré) by Kristen Painter was an interesting, yet frustrating read. The world building and mythology behind the book were wonderful. The invention of the blood slaves bought and owned by Vampires was intriguing. I enjoyed the fact that the blood slaves were not mere donors who had no more skill then to be good in bed. Painter did a great job at making them formidable fighters and quite intelligent as well.
I enjoyed the main male character Mal. He was every part the brooding, lonely male Vampire in need of some companionship and understanding. Outcast from his society because of his previous crimes, I found it an interesting twist that he is living on a ship in port, as opposed to a fallen into ruin house. I also liked that he was not rich as King Midas. Those two elements brought a very updated feeling to the story. His desire for Chrysabelle and his torture for not feeling he deserved her, was genuine. His not wanting to get involved as a means of self preservation, also genuine. All in all, I like Mal. He is the one I cared most about and wanted to see a happy ending for.
Chrysabelle is a decent female, though confusing at times by her words and behavior. Torn between moving forward and wanting to go back, I found it hard to decide if I liked her or not. At times she wants Mal to feed from her, and at others she says he sees he as just food. She refuses to let go of her traditions, though she clearly wants to become her own person. That worked in the first book. It worked a bit in the second book. But by the third book, all I could think was, "Come on now, move on!"
The villain Tatiana I thought was a good yet predictable character. You don't find out till the end who she really is, but you see it coming hundreds of pages earlier. She is selfish and self serving. Goes through men like clothing, and thinks of no one but herself. Sounds like most stereotypical Vampire women.
I must say. I read the first three books in the series, thinking they were the only three books in the series. They got a bit strange in the last two, with the love triangle not working well , in my opinion. I read all three books, through the stripping off of Chryabelle's sacred symbols that make her blood pure, to her finding a way to get them put back on. Through a ghost who is dead, but not dead when she wants to have sex with her shifter boyfriend. A villain who loses but then becomes more powerful. And backwater witches who manage to do an amazing magical feat, which they are truly not powerful enough to do, only so that I could see Chrysabelle and Mal do more than a little light kiss once and again. To no avail.
I do understand wanting to write a complex relationship and draw out the "will they, won't they" factor as long as possible, to build the moment. However, this book was listed in the Romance section of Amazon. And in my opinion, it falls very flat on it's face. There is little to no romance after the first book.
So, my opinion is, the world building is great. The curses and the abilities of the different Vampire houses were very cool and well thought out. The first book was good enough to make me read more, but the books go down hill from there. If you are looking for a romance, look somewhere else. If you are looking for a new take on things, feel free to read this series. For me, I won't be buying the fourth novel in the series, because frankly, I no longer care.
Okay! My first book review on my blog.
Easy - Tammara Webber
Synopsis-
A girl who believes trust can be misplaced, promises are made to be broken, and loyalty is an illusion. A boy who believes truth is relative, lies can mask unbearable pain, and guilt is eternal. Will what they find in each other validate their conclusions, or disprove them all?
When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.
Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night--but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.
When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.
Review -
Let me start by saying I looked at this book for over a month before I finally said, Hey! It's 4.00 in kindle edition, what are you really out if it sucks? I waited a month too long to buy it! The book was great.
The assault scene was hard for me, as someone who went through the aftermaths with a friend who had been assaulted. That said, I though the author did a good job with it.
I found the story plot normal, guy loves high school sweetheart, she drops her dreams to follow him, he drops her to sow his oats. But that is where the basics end with this book. The new love interest Lucas is such a well written sympathetic bad boy that all you want is for Jacqueline and Lucas to get together.
I found the twists and development of their love story refreshing and sweet. And the heartbreaking back story to Lucas was not what I was expecting, but very well written.
I give this easy day read 4 out of 5 stars and would read it again and again!
No comments:
Post a Comment