Kelly N. (kellybelle) reviewed The Red Heart of Jade (Dirk & Steele, Bk 3) on + 122 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Two people seperated for 20 years by magic and then are re-united and must seek the truth that may kill them or unleash power the world does not want or need!
Great book and a wonderful love story!
Great book and a wonderful love story!
Helpful Score: 1
Another great book in the Dirk & Steel series. Ex-cop and calirvoyant, Dean was sent with his shapeshifter partner to investigate a series of murders in Taipei. He finds a friend/love (Mirabelle) who he had thought dead and they both become hunted by another paranormal being.
Helpful Score: 1
Liu became one of my favorite authors as soon as I began reading her first book, Tiger Eye. She is a relatively new author, all of whose books so far involve characters who work for Dirk & Steele, an undercover paranormal organization / detective agency. Supporting characters in Liu's books frequently turn up or have previously been in primary roles in other books in the Dirk & Steele series. One reviewer didn't like that. I had no problem with it. It was nice to learn more about the other characters and their back stories. Maggie Shayne does the same thing with vampire characters in her Twilight series. Most of Liu's paranormals are shape changers or have psychic abilities. In this book, more than her others, she throws in more of her own brand of magic and mythology.
Fast paced. Likable characters. A story that sucks you in right away and is hard to put down. Liu doesn't write "bodice rippers," but there's plenty of romance. It's a good book, but my least favorite of the 6 in the series so far.
Fast paced. Likable characters. A story that sucks you in right away and is hard to put down. Liu doesn't write "bodice rippers," but there's plenty of romance. It's a good book, but my least favorite of the 6 in the series so far.
Chelsea S. (PengQueen) reviewed The Red Heart of Jade (Dirk & Steele, Bk 3) on + 114 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is the third book in Marjorie M. Liu's Dirk and Steele Romance series. All said and done, I rate it at 3 stars--my lowest rating for any of her books so far. While this was still a well written and engaging story, it was not quite as fantastic as the other two.
Dean and Miri were childhood friends seperated at age sixteen by a tragedy that lead each to believe that the other was dead. Twenty years later they are brought back together by unusual circumstances--a series of firey deaths and the discovery of a rare and mysterious artifact. Miri and Dean fall in love all over again even as they are hunted and threatened.
Like the previous two books, this book had wonderfully exotic setting. Like any good fantasy, it combines legend and adventure with real human problems and emotion. Dean is a tough, corky guy with a lot of character and humor. Miri takes awhile to warm up to, she's not quite as well written, but she makes a decent match for Dean just the same.
The romance was adequate. Not fantastic, because not much time is actually spent on just building the relationship. In fact that is the main problem of the book. Also, the plot is very convoluted and complicated. I have to admit I had a little trouble making sense of it all and in the end, I'm still not satisfied that the author got the full picture across. So while I still recommend Liu as an excellent paranormal romance author, and this book as part of a great series, this one wasn't my favorite.
Dean and Miri were childhood friends seperated at age sixteen by a tragedy that lead each to believe that the other was dead. Twenty years later they are brought back together by unusual circumstances--a series of firey deaths and the discovery of a rare and mysterious artifact. Miri and Dean fall in love all over again even as they are hunted and threatened.
Like the previous two books, this book had wonderfully exotic setting. Like any good fantasy, it combines legend and adventure with real human problems and emotion. Dean is a tough, corky guy with a lot of character and humor. Miri takes awhile to warm up to, she's not quite as well written, but she makes a decent match for Dean just the same.
The romance was adequate. Not fantastic, because not much time is actually spent on just building the relationship. In fact that is the main problem of the book. Also, the plot is very convoluted and complicated. I have to admit I had a little trouble making sense of it all and in the end, I'm still not satisfied that the author got the full picture across. So while I still recommend Liu as an excellent paranormal romance author, and this book as part of a great series, this one wasn't my favorite.
Pamela H. (writerprh) - , reviewed The Red Heart of Jade (Dirk & Steele, Bk 3) on + 20 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I really liked series 1 and 2. This one left me scratching my head. I don't want to give away the plot line, so let me say . . . it read like a bridge book. I couldn't get too excited about the heroine either. Still recommend Liu though.