Book Review: Immortal Desires

Immortal Desires is a paranormal romantic suspense by Laura Eno. Deanna Cameron is a modern 20th century woman. After being dumped at the altar, she takes a job at Light Street Corporation. The company, however, is not what it seems. Before long, she finds herself in a castle with a man named Ian Mackay. Sounds rather like a typical Romance. Not really, because now it's the year 1505, not 2012. And her very presence there could cause the end of Mackay clan and the end of Deanna's life.

Deanna Cameron may be hurt after being dumped at the altar, but she's a strong woman - stronger than she would have thought when her world fell apart. I liked that Laura Eno wrote her as someone who could stand up for herself even while trapped in time. And when she finds love, she fights for it. I know nothing about the 16th century, but the people, places and emotions felt believable. It was interesting to learn about that time and place as Deanna Cameron did.

There are a lot of questions in the book. Will she ever get back to 2012? Can she adjust to this new time and place? Will there be a war partly because of her mysterious appearance at the castle? What will Ian MacKay do to her? She is, afterall, a Cameron and the Cameron clan are his enemies.

Immortal Desires is, I believe, the first book in Laura Eno's Well of Souls series. I like meeting new characters and going to places I've never been. Immortal Desires not only took me to a new place, it took me into a new, to me, time period. Deanna Cameron went from a woman losing herself after being dumped to a woman able to stand up for herself and change history.

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I give Immortal Desires a rating of Hel-of-a-Character. 

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FTC Disclaimer: The author, Laura Eno sent me this book. That surprised me, but it did not influence my review. I was influenced by Deanna Cameron's ability to adjust to time travel. One minute she's in the modern world and the next she's in a world without cars, microwaves, television, air conditioning or flushing toilets. I could get by without the microwaves, television and air conditioning. Flushing toilets…I'd have to figure out how to invent those. Cars would be useless since there's no gas in that century. They had horses, though. Problem is, the last time I rode a horse was with a friend in Los Angeles. We rode horses up a trail to the Hollywood sign and back. By the time we got back, my legs were numb. I had to slide off the horse, then I couldn't get up. It's hard to get up, let alone stand when you can't feel your legs. If I get sent back in time, I'd have to have a solar-powered car. And air conditioning. And a solar-powered computer. That's it. Just the essentials.

Book Review: Wide Open

Wide Open by Deborah Coates is a fantasy-suspense book with a tenacious heroine. Sergeant Hallie Michaels is sent home on a ten-day compassionate leave. One day she’s fighting in Afghanistan. The next she’s home to attend the funeral of her sister. But she doesn’t come alone. The ghost of fellow soldier, Eddie Serrano, comes with her. And when she lands, her sister Dell’s ghost joins.

Wide Open is a book with ghosts. But it’s really about whether Hallie can prove the sheriff wrong when he says Dell committed suicide. In fact, almost everyone believes it was suicide. Hallie believes it was murder and she’s got ten days to prove it. The only person who seems willing to stick by her is the deputy sheriff, Boyd.

Bit by bit, Hallie begins to piece together a puzzle of a huge company that claims to make rain from air at will, a strange cult, people willing to kill for riches, and a scared community. And more ghosts. She also begins to wonder how Deputy Sheriff Boyd shows up wherever she goes.

At the beginning of the book, I was taken aback by the ghosts. I wasn’t expecting a ghost book. But I soon realized it’s not a book about ghosts, but about a woman trying to solve her sister’s murder and in the process save a beat-down community, all within a short time and while somehow staying alive so she can go back to Afghanistan and the war. She also has to figure out what secrets Boyd’s hiding and how he always seems to know where she is.

The author, Deborah Coates, brings the people and countryside to life. She makes the reader feel like they know these people. If you’ve ever lived out in the country, you probably do know folk like them.

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I give Wide Open by Deborah Coates a rating of Hel-of-a-Storyteller because she tells a story of magic, death, ghosts, and fighting to survive and makes it all believable.

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FTC Disclaimer: Wide Open was sent to me by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, in New York. This did not influence my review. Frankly, I don’t believe in ghosts. But I know there are people who do believe in ghosts. And while reading a book with ghosts in it, I can suspend my disbelief and enjoying reading a book with a ghost or two or ten in it. I like seeing how authors handle ghosts in books. Coates didn’t write the standard ghosts. They didn’t talk to Hallie or torment her or play tricks on her. They were there, needing her to do something, but not telling her what that something was. I’m glad I don’t see ghosts, although there are times I’d like to have one last talk with some in my family who have died. I do, however, plan to come back and haunt some folk. Uh huh. I have some tricks up my sleeve. Y’all probably think I’m talking about haunting family members, but I’ve come to know a lot of folks on the Internet. Uh huh.

Book Review: City of Ashes

 Last month, I reviewed the first in the Immortal Instruments series, City of Bones. Today, I’m reviewing the second, called City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare.

Since this is a series, we’re back with the protagonist, Clary. She has some of the same cohorts, Simon, Jace, Luke, Magnus, plus some newer cohorts who play a bigger role than they did in the first book, Maia, Isabelle and Valentine.

Clary’s now a full-fledged demon-slayer. Her mother is in a magically-induced coma. Her father, Valentine, is intent on destroying the world, both the world you and I live in and the magical world. Clary’s in love with Jace, except she can’t be because he, it turns out, is her brother. Simon is in love with Clary, except, well, she’s not exactly human, except, well, there’s a big twist in the book, except, well, this is a paranormal/fantasy book so….

Anyway, everyone’s at war with someone. Valentine controls the demon world and will kill everyone, including family, if it means he gets his hands on the Immortal Instruments.

And there you go. City of Ashes has much more action than Book 1. It’s fast-moving with nary a dull moment. As with the first, it has a few too many characters to keep up with, but it was easier this time around since I knew the main players.

Clary has advanced in her skills as a Shadowhunter. I liked seeing her fight and stand toe-to-toe with the others. The alternate world that the faeries, vampires, werewolves, shadowhunters, and others live in is handled well in this book. I could see the differentiation and uniqueness of the various clans.

This book seemed to really focus on those main characters, instead of the “adults” in the two worlds.

The drawback for me was, as with Book 1, there’s so much going on that it’s a bit difficult to keep up. But then, I probably need to read more slowly. But that’s hard to do with the action is fast and often.

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I admit that I’m well-past the target age of this series, which is probably around 16, but I’m still giving City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare a rating of Hel-of-a-Story.

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FTC Disclaimer: This book was loaned to me by an unknown girl who is a friend of my son who read all four books, but was not overly impressed, but then he’s not a teenage girl, so that’s logical. That, however, did not influence my review. I was influenced by the uptick in the action from the first book, and by Clary getting her armor on. She’s now a fighter and can get in the fray with the rest of her friends and hold her own. I like that in a female protagonist. Next time I find a tarantula in the garage, I’m gonna see if she’ll come get it and set it free in the woods.

Book Review: City of Bones

 City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, the first in The Mortal Instruments series, came out in 2007. So here I am, four years later, reading it. The book, and I’m assuming the entire series, is aimed at young teen girls who enjoy paranormal worlds and adventures, and fans of the Twilight series. Here’s the back cover blurb:

When Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with odd markings. This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons -- and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires in line. It’s also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden-haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interesting in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know….

City of Bones has a lot of twists and turns. Clare creates a fully realized alternate world that exists in New York, right alongside the everyday world. This world of vampires, werewolves, demons, Shadowhunters, and more is complex and well thought out. There is so much going on that at times it’s a bit hard to keep up but that’s probably a comment on my aging mind rather than the writing.

The story starts with Clary and her friend Simon at a nightclub. Clary realizes she can see things that Simon can’t. Being the kind of person who steps in to help, she does just that, only to find herself involved in things she shouldn’t be able to see. Once she steps into this world, taking Simon with her, the story revs up the action and revelations.

Despite the fact that I’m a few years past my teens (y’all quit laughing), I enjoyed reading City of Bones.

I give City of Bones by Cassandra Clare a rating of Hel-of-a-Story for teenage girls.

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FTC Disclaimer: I did not buy City of Bones, nor did I check it out of a library, nor did I steal it. None of that influenced my review. My son walked out of his room one morning and set four big books on the table. They sat there for days. Finally, I asked him about them and he told me a girl had lent them to him and he was going to return them. They sat there for days until, finally, I picked up the top one and started reading and kept reading, all 485 pages. I’ve told him he can take the books back to his friend since it will probably take me forever to read them all. Apparently his friend is not in a rush to retrieve them. I suspect there will be movies made from the books. I’ll probably go see them. I think it will help if I see characters on-screen calling her Clary. In my head, I kept calling her Clay. Wouldn’t you? I mean, you’re reading fast and you glide across “Clary.” Wouldn’t you think it said Clay? Wouldn’t you? Okay, that’s probably just me.