Review: ARCHANGEL'S BLADE

Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh
Book 4 of the Guild Hunter series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: paperback

About Archangel's Blade:

The severed head marked by a distinctive tattoo on its cheek should have been a Guild case, but dark instincts honed over hundreds of years of life compel the vampire Dmitri to take control. There is something twisted about this death, something that whispers of centuries long past...but Dmitri's need to discover the truth is nothing to the vicious strength of his response to the hunter assigned to decipher the tattoo.

Savaged in a brutal attack that almost killed her, Honor is nowhere near ready to come face to face with the seductive vampire who is an archangel's right hand, and who wears his cruelty as boldly as his lethal sensuality...the same vampire who has been her secret obsession since the day she was old enough to understand the inexplicable, violent emotions he aroused in her.

As desire turns into a dangerous compulsion that might destroy them both, it becomes clear the past will not stay buried. Something is hunting...and it will not stop until it brings a blood-soaked nightmare to life once more...

Source: Info in the About Archangel's Blade was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8074967-archangel-s-blade on 20/03/2013.

Review:

I am a touchy-feely kind of reader, that is why I never stopped buying print books despite the proliferation and advantages of ebooks. I appreciate the convenience that ebooks offer, but I would always go back to print books whenever I can. So, to a reader like me, cover arts plays a significant role in my reading habit. And I have to comment on the UK cover of this book. The wing tattoo on the back design was appropriate for the first three books in this series because those books' focus were Raphael and Elena, however it missed by a wide mile with this book. Some of the likely excuses which would probably get spouted are that, art departments wanted to make the series look the same, etc., etc. However, I think they need to adapt and make the book a bit more consistent instead of any other excuse that they could think up. Or maybe they ought to take lessons from the US art department. Speaking of which, the model in the US cover is buffed and all but, for some reason I imagined Dmitri as a stocky man. Maybe more like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Dwayne The Rock Johnson... Wider in the shoulders from farming or something...

I wasn't really looking forward to reading this book because I already gotten used to reading all about Raphael and Elena in this series with Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3. And now all of a sudden they are secondary characters and the story focuses on a new couple, one of which is a completely new character. I was kind of not looking forward to that. But I was in between good books (IBGB) kind of funk, so this book got read. I shouldn't have worried too much because Nalini Singh brought into this book the same masterful story telling quality that I have come to love with this author! Nalini Singh made me like Dmitri and Honor despite my initial resistance. You gotta give an author a lot of kudos for that 'coz that takes talent! However I felt like the ending was a bit too dramatic and drawn-out. It wasn't a let down, don't get me wrong, I just felt that with this author she could have done a better job of it. Despite that, I enjoyed this book given that this is a Nalini Singh work and would definitely be reading the next book in this series!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = UK: 2 / US: 4.5
Pace =
Plot = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Guild Hunter series:

WW28: DEATH BLOWS

WW28 book offering: Death Blows by DD Barant

Saladin Acquitaine was more than just a geologist with a talent for finding diamonds - he was one of the Bravo Brigade.

Mysteries slowly unfolding but sprouting more questions than answers for our sassy FBI crazy profiler, or was that profiler for crazies...

About Death Blows:

FBI profiler Jace Valchek was pulled into this parallel realm to hunt for Aristotle Stoker, a human serial killer who preys on vampires and werewolves. Now she works for the National Security Agency of the Unnatural States of America - and her boss is a vampire.

At a bizarre crime scene, Jace finds a bloodsucker murdered by magic, fried to the bone and dressed in the costume of the comic book hero the Flash - a character who isn't supposed to exist here. Comic books have been outlawed for their powers, including crossover spells like the one that transported Jace to this world. Soon, she's following a trail of dead bodies into the sinister underworld of black-market comics - where a deranged madman gives new meaning to the term "super-villain."

Source: Info in the About Death Blows was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6781162-death-blows on 26/10/2012.

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous - WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

Review: TREACHERY IN DEATH

Treachery In Death by JD Robb
Book 32 of the In Death series
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
Genre: police investigation, crime fiction
Format: hardback & audiobook

About Treachery In Death:

In the latest from the #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon, Eve Dallas tracks down those who break the law — including the ones sworn to uphold it.

Detective Eve Dallas and her partner, Peabody, are following up on a senseless crime — an elderly grocery owner killed by three stoned punks for nothing more than kicks and snacks. This is Peabody's first case as primary detective — good thing she learned from the master.

But Peabody soon stumbles upon a trickier situation. After a hard workout, she's all alone in the locker room when the gym door clatters open; and — while hiding inside a shower stall trying not to make a sound — she overhears two fellow officers, Garnet and Oberman, arguing. It doesn't take long to realize they're both crooked — guilty not just of corruption but of murder. Now Peabody, Eve, and Eve's husband, Roarke, are trying to get the hard evidence they need to bring the dirty cops down — knowing all the while that the two are willing to kill to keep their secret.

Source: Info in the About Treachery In Death was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8315872-treachery-in-death on 12/08/2012.

Review:

Book 32 down the line... what can I say about this book which I haven't already said in reviews of previous books in the In Death saga... this book carried the same good story telling quality which hooked readers around the world to this series, including me. The same gritty murder suspense. Same kick-ass attitude of the main protagonist.... This book also reminds me of another In Death series installment, Interlude In Death. These two books are not the only ones which tackled the dirty cop issues and it's beginning to feel like the theme is getting recycled once too many. It is starting to worry me because it tends to lean towards giving the series a "same old, same old" feel which makes me abandon a series. I like this series, so I sincerely hope that JD Robb would find a way to avoid that "same old, same old" pit fall.

And I just gotta share with you the bestest best scene I love in this book... a scene which remained in my head long after I've finished reading the book... of little baby Bella manipulating a kiss out of Lt. Eve Dallas... I could just see those big baby blue eyes laying low a hard-assed cop for a biscuit... is just so so precious!! I think scenes like this, is one of the reasons that got a sucker like me hooked to this series.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 2
Pace = N/A (13 hrs and 14 mins audiobook)
Plot = 4.5
Narrator = 4

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Thank you to the RCT Library for letting me borrow this book!!

FTC Disclosure:
The hardback edition of this book was borrowed from the library. The audiobook was purchased with personal funds. No money received for this review.

Review: CODE

Code by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs
Book 3 of the Virals series
Read by Cristin Milioti
Genre: YA science fiction thriller
Format: hardback & audiobook

About Code:

The Virals are put to the ultimate test when they find a geocache containing an ornate puzzle box. Shelton decodes the cipher inside, only to find more tantalizing clues left by "The Gamemaster." A second, greater geocache is within reach — if the Virals are up to the challenge.

But the hunt takes a dark turn when Tory locates the other box — a fake bomb, along with a sinister proposal from The Gamemaster. Now, the real game has begun: another bomb is out there — a real one — and the clock is ticking.

Source: Info in the About Code was taken from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7744611-code on 11/03/2013.

Review:

I know I promised that I would not buy this book until it got cheap in the secondhand market... well, the library beat the secondhand market to it. I placed my request for this book at the library not so long ago. Then the library emailed me that the book is ready for pick up! I wasn't expecting it to be so soon since I was, what, tenth in the queue of requests, or something?? I wasn't sure whether that was a good or a bad sign. Did people read this book that quickly? Or did not want the book after all and so I was bumped up the queue? But for some reason it went faster than anticipated. So there I was reading Code after all. Besides, after reading Deadly Decisions, Tory is not as stupid as Dr. Temperance Brennan. Heck, compared to Brennan, Tory barely registers on the richter scale of stupidity! However the stupid vibes is still annoying as hell! I was also not very impressed with the plot in this book. It depended on the characters acting stupid to create the story's dilemma so that the Virals can show off and save the world. Pretty weak plot. I hope they would improve on the plot and the stupid factor because this series has a beautiful and really soound world building!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3
Character development = 3
Story itself = 2.5
Ending = 4
World building = 4
Cover art = 2
Pace = N/A (10 hrs and 48 mins of listening time)
Plot = 2.5
Narrator = 4

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries


Thank you to RCT Libaray for the lending me the hardback copy of this book.

FTC Disclosure:
The hardback copy was borrowed from the library. The audiobook edition was purchased with private funds. No money received for this review.