Review - Embrace the Night Eternal

Title: Embrace the Night Eternal
Author: Joss Ware
Publishing Date: 2010
Genre: Futuristic
Rating: B
Sensuality: Hot
Book Disclosure: I borrowed a copy from the library.

Embrace the Night Eternal is the second book in the Envy Chronicles. Five men were somehow preserved in a cave for 50 years. Simon Japp was one of those men. As he emerged from the cave, the world he once knew no longer existed. Most of the population died and geographically continents and water shifted. Simon and the other men find themselves in a town called Envy. There Simon meets Sage. He and Sage team up to go undercover in another community as a pretend married couple to learn what they can about Remington Truth. On this mission Simon and Sage battle their attraction for each other.

I enjoyed Embrace the Night Eternal a little more than I did the first book in this series. It had nonstop action from the beginning. I liked that there was more romantic development between Simon and Sage than there was between the characters in the first book. Sage was a very likable character. Simon had a few hang ups with his past that caused him to doubt himself around Sage. Unconfident heroes usually bug me, but Simon didn't dwell on it too much. I think this was due to the fact that there was a lot of action and not a lot of internal monologues, which I really liked.

There was lots of development as far as the overall story arc was concerned. You can tell the author has a definite direction with the series. I also enjoyed the little inserts from the diary that Sage found and how it tied into the community they went to visit. I liked the story and the series. I have plans to continue on with it.

Review - Countdown

Title: Countdown
Author: Michelle Maddox
Publishing Date: 2008
Genre: Futuristic
Rating: A
Sensuality: Hot
Book Disclosure: Free from the RT Book Lovers Convention

Kira wakes up in a cell to find herself handcuffed to a wall. She can't remember how she got there. She isn't alone. A man is also handcuffed to the wall opposite her. Kira soon finds out quick enough that she and Rogan have become unwilling participants in a game called the Countdown. They have to pass six levels by facing certain tasks. The alternative is death.

Countdown had me on the edge of my seat. From the very beginning, the reader is dumped into the middle of the action and it never lets up until the very end. Countdown in unlike any other book I have read. I really enjoyed the unusual premise, where the two lead characters have to perform feats and their very lives depend upon it. The game has six levels which get progressively harder to pass, both morally and physically. If a contestant looses the penalty is death. Kira and Rogan immediately have to learn to trust each other. Even though this book takes place over the course of a few days, the seriousness and intensity allows the two characters to bond more closely in a short period of time and have it be believable.

Countdown is just an exciting heart pounding thrill ride. It really leaves the reader on the edge of their seat. I felt the emotional component was balanced really nicely with the action. The romance never felt forced despite the short time frame in which it developed. I can't say enough about this book. It was an exciting, fun read.

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Review - Undercover

Title: Undercover
Author: Lauren Dane
Publishing Date: December 2008
Genre: Futuristic (Erotic)
Rating: C+
Sensuality: Burning

Sera Ayers walks into her commanding officer's office only to be confronted with a man she vowed to forget, Ash Walker. Their love affair ended abruptly after she found out he was engaged to be married and he wanted to set her up as his mistress. See in this Universe, Ash is from one of the founding families and as one of the first sons he is expected to marry for political ties. Keeping a mistress or two on the side is perfectly acceptable by society's standards. Only Sera has more pride than that and was unable to accept the arrangement. Now ten years later she finds that Ash wants to use her in an undercover operation. She with Ash and his partner Brandt are to infiltrate the Imperialists in an attempt to find a traitor, by posing as two wastrel playboys and their concubine. What first begins as a ploy to fool others turns out to be the real thing between Ash, Brandt and Sera.

As I was reading the first chapter of Undercover, I got a little worried about the heroine of the story. When she makes her first appearance it's a violent and explosive one and these are not characteristics which I find appealing. She is bitter and accusatory towards Ash and with good reason, yet I was praying she wouldn't continue to act this way through the whole story. Fortunately, Sera is one of those characters that once she has expressed her opinion she is able to move on and make the best of a bad situation and so my opinion of her went up several notches.

Usually, a certain amount of disbelief is required when reading a romance between two men and one woman. I felt that Ms. Dane did a good job at explaining why and how the emotional pull between Ash, Brandt and Sera worked. Brandt was needed to sort of smooth out the conflict between Ash and Sera and was the glue that helped hold it all together. However, I do feel that much of the emotional development especially between Brandt and Sera was rushed or happened much to quickly.

While I enjoyed the story and the characters, I felt that the reader was only exposed to it at a superficial level. I wasn't as emotionally connected to the characters as I could have been. The world building itself had lots of potential, but for the most part only scratched the surface. More depth from both the characters and the world building would have made an enjoyable book an outstanding book. I would recommend this book for those readers who enjoy a book more focused on the characters instead of the world building.

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Review - Menagerie

Title: Menagerie
Author: Lara Santiago
Publishing Date: 2008
Genre: Futuristic (Erotic)
Rating: C
Sensuality: Hot

Vanessa Thornhill while out for a jog finds herself planted face first in the dirt as she blacks out. When she comes to, she finds herself sitting a class, aboard a spaceship with a blue alien explaining the rules she must follow for the next few years of her new life. At first she just goes with the flow believing this to be a very vivid dream. Next thing she knows, she is being told how the ratio of women to men is five to one. She will be paired up with a group of men, whom she will have to service sexually. The men's survival depends on it.

Menagerie is a silly, short book that is easily entertaining. There is nothing too deep or meaningful that will come from reading it, but it's a mindless way to pass the time. Vanessa and her entourage of five men are mediocre characters. Each man had a distinct personality as to easily distinguish them from one another. Really for me, only one man stands out from the crowd. Vanessa finds herself playing favorites and she starts to feel extremely guilty about it. I liked this part of the story and how Vanessa has to deal with this issue. It gave the book more of a purpose than just being all about sex. I still would have wished for more exploration of this issue than just the superficial attention it received.

There was a very interesting plot twist at the end of the story that was very creative on the authors part, but again, I would have liked to see it be developed a little more. I wouldn't say there was anything that I didn't enjoy about the story, but it didn't totally knock my socks off either. It was just an average read for me. It was short and easy to read and it entertained me, but it definitely could have used some jazzing up.

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Review - Contact

Title: Contact
Author: Susan Grant
Publishing Date: 2002
Genre: Futuristic
Rating: B
Sensuality: Hot

Jordan Cady is a pilot for United Airlines. While making a quick flight to Hawaii her plane is swallowed up by an unknown alien aircraft. The lead pilot has a heart-attack from the stress and dies, leaving Jordan in charge of almost 300 people that make up the crew and passengers of Flight 58. Kao Vantaar-Moray has been assigned to debrief the survivors from Earth. The alliance patrol ship rescued Flight 58 right before Earth was hit by a comet. It is his job to help the last remaining survivors of Earth assimilate to their new life.

I usually don't read a lot of books in the science fiction category. I don't know why that is, because when I do, I really seem to enjoy myself. Contact was a very enjoyable read. Jordan finds herself in the role of not only Captain, but the leader of the survivors. She steps up the challenge of providing strength that others can rely on to get through this very tough time. Even though she wants to curl up into a ball and mourn the loss of her daughter and her life, she straightens her spine and gets to work.

While working out the details on their new life with Kao, she develops a friendship with him and discovers that Kao is not the cold-hearted, unfeeling man she first assumed him to be. She discovers that she has much in common with him and he helps her battle her grief over her daughter. I really liked that the author showed Kao's growth through out the story. Kao has been through a lot and it was good to see him work though all his problems and fight for what he most desired.

There is a secondary political plot that is also important to the development of the story. It was relatively easy to follow along with and didn't detract from the romance in any way. If anything I wish that more of the story could have been on the survivors assimilating in the new world. The majority of the story took place on the Alliance patrol ship. It would have been nice to see more of the other planets. But keeping things simple worked in the favor of making it more realistic and believable.


This review was part of Avid Book Reader's 2009 TBR Challenge. February's theme was a Desert Isle Keeper (DIK) romance from AAR. You can view a list of other participants here.

Fallen

Title: Fallen
Author: Claire Delacroix
Publishing Date: October 2008
Genre: Futuristic
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Warm

Fallen is the first book in a new trilogy by Claire Delacroix. It is set in a post apocalyptic America in 2099, several years after many cities were bombed with nuclear weapons. A large portion of the world’s population was killed because of these bombs. Another side effect of these bombs was nuclear radiation. The majority of the population was exposed to this radiation causing birth defects in unborn children. People who have side effects due to the radiation are known as shades. They are not considered human and do not have civil rights. They are used for research and slavery. Lilia Desjardins is a shade hunter. She finds shades and brings them to the circus where she works. The circus is the one place where the shades can live a relatively normal life.

Lilia’s estranged husband is killed in a mysterious accident. She suspects that his death was not an accident, but murder. She is convinced that she must uncover the killer and bring the truth about her husband’s murder to light. Lilia has a penchant for finding trouble. When she discovers a body of a shade who had connections to her husband, she reports it to the authorities. She meets Officer Adam Montgomery and together they search for her husband’s killer. Unbeknownst to Lilia, Adam is an Angel who has volunteered to help save humanity. Besides the fact that he is attracted to Lilia, he also believes that she will help him complete his earthly mission.

I just have to say, I really enjoyed this book. There is a lot of emphasis on the futuristic world and how corrupt it has become. The details are very tight and well defined. The book has a very dark vibe to it, and yet there is a tiny ray of light and hope at the center of everything. The characters Adam and Lilia are wonderfully drawn. Lilia is a bleeding heart. She might act tough and gruff, but underneath that steely façade she’s as soft as a marshmallow. Adam is otherworldly and is beginning to understand the appeal of being human. He becomes attached to earth and Lilia and this comes as a complete surprise to him.

Fallen ends more or less with a ‘happy for now’. There are conflicts that still need to be resolved with the big picture. The mystery surrounding Lilia’s husband’s death does get wrapped up. The next book in the trilogy will be Guardian. It won’t be out until October 2009 and features new characters Delilia and Rafe. Ms. Delacroix does state that Lilia and Adam will make an appearance in Guardian.

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Review - Ravyn's Flight

Title: Ravyn’s Flight
Author: Patti O’Shea
Publishing Date: November 2002
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Hot

Ravyn Verdier is a communications specialist and member of the CAT team sent to research the planet Jarved Nine. On this mission something goes horribly wrong. Ravyn left her crew one evening to see if she could get the signal for the Cubs game for her friend and fellow crew member. When she comes back she finds all nineteen members of her crew dead and mutilated with their hearts missing.

Damon Brody the commander of a Spec Ops team sees the emergency beacon from Jarved Nine and goes to investigate. He separates from his team and discovers Ravyn hiding underneath her bed in shock. When they leave the station all five members of his team are dead and mutilated like the others. Damon and Ravyn are the only remaining survivors on the planet. All the communication equipment has been destroyed and they will have to wait for rescue.

Okay, can I just say this book freaked me the f--- out. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good book. It’s just that it was so good that the suspense part of the book scared the crap out of me. Ravyn and Damon are amazing people considering the circumstances. They do what has to be done. Ravyn knows she can’t freak out and has to pull it together if they are going to survive. It takes a lot of strength and determination, which the two of them have in abundance. Even though anyone can see from a mile away at how great these two people are, they don’t know it about themselves. Each has a hang-up, Ravyn thinks she’s a coward and Damon thinks he failed someone years ago. The romance was very believable between Ravyn and Damon. It has a soul mate aspect to it that was very touching.

This was a truely interesting story. I enjoyed the suspense plot even if it was overly horrific. The planet Jarved Nine was very interesting too. I liked reading about the Old City that they hike to seeking shelter from what ever killed everyone. There was a secondary romance involving one of Ravyn’s friends and her brother. I didn’t like their story as much, but it aided in breaking up the desperation of Ravyn and Damon’s situation. This was my first Patty O’Shea novel, but it won’t be my last.

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Review - Driven

Title: Driven
Author: Eve Kenin
Publishing Date: September 2007
Genre: Futuristic
Rating: A-
Sensuality: Hot

Raina Bowen is a truck driver. I know, an unusual occupation for a romance heroine, but trust me, it works. It is 70 or 80 years into the future (I am not sure of the exact year) and the world as we know it no longer exists. There have been a couple of nuclear wars that have wiped out most of the population. Most of which now reside in the barren northern wasteland. Raina is in a race to be the first to deliver goods to Gladow Station. If she succeeds, she will win a nice fat prize of fifty million interdollars, enough to provide safety for her and her sister Beth. She is counting on a man named Wizard to provide her with special passes to allow her access to the only road to Gladow Station. She is waiting to meet this Wizard at a truck stop. Wizard finally does appear, he ends up in a nasty confrontation and Raina comes to his rescue and has to change her plans. Now Wizard and Raina will pair up together to outsmart the bad guys.

Wizard is quite an interesting hero. I have never read one quite like him. At first I wasn’t sure what to make of him. As the story progressed, I found myself falling in love with him just like Raina did. Wizard is genetically enhanced. He was raised in the most inhuman way possible and has no understanding of human emotions. Think of him as a walking and talking computer. Yet he is not a droid; he is completely human. Little by little, as Raina’s humanity surrounds him, he finds himself experiencing emotions. It is very fun to watch him discover feelings such as fear, humor and passion.

Raina is just the opposite of Wizard. She is very emotional, expressive and passionate about everything. She tries to hides a very soft core behind a wall of hard armor. She has been on the run her whole life unable to trust anyone and it is the only was she knows how to protect herself emotionally. She is a very compassionate person but tries so hard not to be. It’s a battle she inevitably looses.

If I had to have a complaint, I would say the villain was one-dimensional. He was very evil, but we don’t know why. I guess evil doesn’t need a reason to be evil, it just is. Driven is not your typical romance novel. At least not the ones I have been reading. If you are tired of the same old thing definitely give this one a try.

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