Review: Wild Darkness by Lauren Dane

Format: Mass Market paperback
Pub Date: November 2013
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Length: 277 plus glossary
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: Received for free at an RT Convention.

Given my current head space post-election, this was probably THE WORST book to read. Really. It's a paranormal romance, sorta, set in the middle of a political war where the US government is considering trying to strip anyone with paranormal characteristics of their citizenship and shipping them off to camps or exterminating them. Hate crimes and bigotry abound.

Yeah. Definitely the wrong book for right now, but I finished it anyway.

This is apparently part of a series, and although I've read plenty of other Lauren Dane books, I hadn't stumbled across these before. The series part is a tad important, because this book drops you pretty much in the middle of everything: political and civil unrest, relationships, etc. The backstory is pretty thin, so it feels like you've missed a bunch of set up. Because you have.

Another weird thing about the book is that the romance is secondary and almost-but-not-quite-fated-mate fast. I mean, we're told the two main characters have known each other awhile, but there is so little page time devoted to the relationship that it just feels odd. Also, the conflict is completely external in the book, so the relationship goes from zero to married by midway through the book. Which is, well, weird.

Review: Blade of the Hunt (Goddess with a Blade Book 3)

Format: ebook
Pub Date: November 2014
Publisher: Carina Press
FTC: Purchased myself

After  I finished reading the first book in this series following RT this year, I read the 2nd one sometime over the summer. Finally, in the middle of my reading funk last month, I read this one. I think it's just what I needed, given that it's not a romance book. It's Urban Fantasy for sure. And it's definitely book number 3 in the series and makes no apologies for it. It's not burdened by a boatload of back story. This book assumes you've read books 1 and 2.

Although I did not like this one as much as I liked the previous two, probably due to the nagging reading funk, I did think it was a solid installment in the series. There's definitely far less noir in this one, which bummed me out a little. I like the almost gumshoe feel of the first book the best. Once we veer into European stuff, it becomes less original. Less edgy, to be honest.

There's far more romance, or at least more discussion of feelings, in this book. We get to see an expanded cast of characters. The action that is present is good, although there's far too little of it. Most of the book is planning and traveling, rather than actually doing anything. It's mired in political maneuvering and interpersonal issues. Which is fine, I guess, but I wanted more boots on the ground action and definitely more creep factor.

My Grade: B-

Review: Goddess with a Blade by Lauren Dane

Format: paperback, ebook
Pub Date: 2011
Publisher: Carina
Length: 296 pages
FTC: Free copy courtesy of the publisher at RT14

 I've read Lauren Dane's erotic romances before, but this is the first paranormal book I've read by her. It's an unusual concept: the title is quite literal. The protagonist is a Vampire Hunter skilled with a blade, but she's also a vessel for a goddess. Basically, the person who cleans up vampire messes (crimes) if the vampires can't take care of it themselves: usually by killing the offending vampire. 

I know lots of people are suffering paranormal fatigue, but I'm not there yet. I tend to lean more towards the Urban Fantasy side than the romance side which probably helps...and this book is definitely one where the romance is a smaller part of the novel. A subplot, even, despite the explicit scenes.

Every UF/Paranormal romance claims to be different. Goddess With a Blade isn't completely original, but it has enough new ideas to seem fresher than the majority of other offerings. The goddess angle is part of it, but this also has echoes of the old hardboiled detective stories...with a twist. It's set in Vegas and the surrounding desert, and instead of dames in trouble, the dame is the one doing the investigating. It has the glamor vs. seediness element you'd expect, but just as you get a handle on the type of book this is, Dane throws you another curveball.

TBR Challenge Review: Mesmerized by Lauren Dane

Format: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Berkley Heat (Penguin)
Pub Date: April 2011
Length: 294 pages
FTC: Purchased myself

The blurb:

Andrei Solace delivers death on silent feet as an assassin for the Phantom Corps. Mercenary Piper Roundtree thought she was over him. But against the backdrop of an impending war, their passion is rekindled. Now the lovers must join forces- in more ways than one-to save the Known Universe before the Imperialist enemy hurls it into irreversible chaos.

I'm a little late today getting this review written because...um...I just finished the book. Which I started today. This month's TBR Challenge theme was "spicy." I picked this book up at the RT Convention signing back in April. (Along with about 50 other books from the signing and convention.)

I'm struggling to give a grade to this book. It was compelling enough to read off and on all day. I didn't feel the urge to walk away from it. But I also felt really disconnected from the two main characters. I didn't plug-in to their emotions in the way I prefer. I'm not sure if it's something about Lauren Dane's voice that didn't click with me or if I was just too hung up on the Star Wars/Star Trek parallels.