Review: All U Can Eat

It really wasn't ALL I could eat.......



All U Can Eat by Emma Holly

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
The sex was kind of hot. The rest of the story was kind of dull. That is the way a lot of these books run, so it wasn't much of a surprise. It gets three stars because the hot/dull ratio wasn't so large. They actually ran about even.



Would I rec this book to anyone? Maybe. It depends on the person and what they're looking for. If they're looking for mindless entertainment that doesn't suck, then sure, I would throw this out as a rec. With qualifications.


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Review: Breaking Point

Breaking Point by Suzanne Brockmann

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Okay, Okay. I'm a Max fan. I'm a Jules fan. I'm a Gina fan. So why wasn't this a 5 star book?



Yeah, I don't know either. It just wasn't. The book was good, don't get me wrong. Parts of it were extraordinary, actually. The plot was great, although the reasoning behind it was a little weak for me. I didn't buy it after a certain point.



The action was great, although it was a little too unlikely.



Jules as Max was wonderful. More than meets the eye, definitely. He can be just as Max-esque as Max, and how wonderful was that to see! Sweetie. First rate, truly.



Gina....you know, I usually have nothing but good to say about Vitagliano. But, there were times in here, towards the end of the book, where I wanted to smack her upside her head. Maybe that's how you know you truly care....



Loved the flashback scenes. What an incredibly effective way to tell that story.



Secondary characters: Okay, I absolutely LOVE Gina's brothers. At least the one who keeps trying to get Jules to see the uh.....wisdom of Catherine Zeta Jones. Seriously? Love it. Jones and Molly? Yeah, they were all right.



After all the waiting for Max-n-Gina, I wish it wouldn't have been quite so angsty. But, it was, and that was no surprise.


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Review: Hot Target

Hot Target by Suzanne Brockmann

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book would have been a solid "three stars" if not for Jules Cassidy.



That said, it wasn't a bad book, not really. But, it was definitely disappointing after Flashpoint. Readers who were coming at the series as it was written would probably have been happy to see the series regulars they had come to know. I can sympathize with that, certainly. But, everything in Flashpoint was so engaging, and this book lacked that.....except for Jules Cassidy.



I liked Cosmo, of course. I thought he was fantastic. Most people who know me won't be surprised by that. Jane was all right. I wasn't bowled over by her, but I also didn't want to bash her with a sharp rock. She was okay. Robin/Adam/Jules triangle was the most interesting part of this story, and it doesn't end the way you expect. Of course it doesn't. Brockmann is the master of the long and drawn out. Ten years from now, maybe there will be a resolution!



The big bad in this book turns out to be a group called Freedom Network. I wasn't impressed by them, and the way it was written seemed a little too "Lifetime Movie of the Week" for me to be excited about it. It could be that she was just sowing the seeds for further books, and looking for a semi reasonable plot to get Cosmo and Jane together. Great. I can appreciate that. And the fact that she is Suzanne Brockmann means that the characters can carry a book when the plot sucks is a bit disappointing.



It wasn't her best book, that's all I'm saying. But, on the other hand, it was a book you can NOT miss, if you're in this series. Too much happens, including a truly heartbreaking development, for it to be passed over.


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Review: Flashpoint

Flashpoint by Suzanne Brockmann

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a fantastic entry into the Troubleshooters series. I was a little apprehensive about this one because the characters were unfamiliar. I could see, if you were waiting a year between books, how this one might throw you off. But, new characters rock. Jimmy Nash is one of the more fascinating characters in this series. I wish there was time to explore his background more. A lot of it was left opaque simply because the book was about his future, not his past. But, oh, how interesting his past seems to have been!



Tess....well, there were parts of her story that seemed a little hard to believe. But, overall, she was also very engaging. There were times when you wanted to throw her overboard (even though she wasn't on a ship) but whenever she argued, it seemed like her position was the most sensible one. Funny that.



Decker, Murphy, Dave, and the rest of the supporting cast all have real work to do, and have real character development. As usual, Brockmann is just setting up for them having "their own" book in the future.



Very few flaws in this book. Also, a good one to start if you're new to the series. Best to start at the beginning, naturally, but this is also a good entry point if the beginning isn't possible.


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Don't act up.

So, there is a big time publishing house that is putting "behavior" clauses into the contracts of their authors of juvenile books. If you behave in a certain way, blah blah blah. Actually, here is the actual text, picked up from another book blog:

"If you act or behave in a way which damages your reputation as a person suitable to work with or be associated with children, and consequently the market for or value of the work is seriously diminished, and we may (at our option) take any of the following actions: Delay publication / Renegotiate advance / Terminate the agreement."

Come on, now. I would ask: what will they think of next, but I'm afraid to know.


In other Brit book news, there was this story about Random House changing "twat" to "twit" in a children's book.