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Elizabeth (Bizzy1) - Reviews

1 to 20 of 60 - Page:
Afterlight (Dark Ink Chronicles, Bk 1)
Afterlight (Dark Ink Chronicles, Bk 1)
Author: Elle Jasper
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 65
Review Date: 6/25/2011
Helpful Score: 3


Im going to give this one to you straight and to the point. I absolutely think I hated this book. Im not sure that I wanted to finish it. However since I have this strange compulsion to finish everything that I start reading I did end up finishing it. I kept thinking that it would get better I should have known it wouldn't. The writing was amateurish at best it was not what I would expect from someone who writes full time. If this is how her next book is I seriously doubt she will be a full time writer for too much longer.

Ok what I felt through most of the book was boredom it was like Id read it all before in other better books, plus hey I did read it before because she mention things several times during the book. I swear I wanted to strangle the writer after having to read the same thing about walking the dog or going to drink tea. Jesus we get it you walk your dog then go drink your tea with preacher man every day you dont have to mention that in every chapter. It got so tedious trying to read that I wanted to tear the book in half.
To me this book felt like a bad mix of Twilight, Vampire Academy, and Mercedes Thompson series. Twilight because she smelled so good she was in danger of being eaten to death. I spent half the time waiting for Eli to say that she was his brand of heroin!!!!! Sad but true and he got pretty close I remember him saying something about her being like a drug. Then the vampire academy because she kept differentiating between the two types of vampires one being a good kind the other bad she also kept calling them Stragori which was a kicker for me. Then Mercedes Thompson series most likely probably because of the characterization, not because the stories were anything alike just the character seemed familiar. They are both athletic tattooed with long black hair and have snarky personalities who work a lot.
I dont say this lightly but it just felt like she pulled her characters out of other peoples stories renamed them and tweaked a classic paranormal plot line a little. To me nothing about this story was original it just felt too familiar to even be the littlest bit interesting. Maybe Im being to hard maybe Im not but its up to you to decide for yourself.

I think this may have been my first 1 star : (


Angel of Mercy (Mercy Hollings, Bk 2)
Angel of Mercy (Mercy Hollings, Bk 2)
Author: Toni Andrews
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 141
Review Date: 3/10/2010


Ok I wasn't all too happy with the direction mercy took in this book. Its supposed to be a paranormal book which it kind of is with the mind reading and press thats going on. However all that was masked up by mercy trying to do the police's job. If I pick up a book and it has incest or kiddy porn rings in it I think that should be stated somewhere on the cover. Or the fact that mercy was trying to help an abused wife and her child but doesn't really know how bad they suffered. Something like that but nothing was mentioned on the back that let you know what direction the story was going in. There were so many ways and I just didn't happen to like this one at all.

If I wanted to read about sexual abuse of children I would not have picked up a paranormal book. I might have tried a horror story but not paranormal.


Beg For Mercy (Mercy Hollings, Bk 1)
Beg For Mercy (Mercy Hollings, Bk 1)
Author: Toni Andrews
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 165
Review Date: 3/10/2010


I though this was a great start for a paranormal series. Mercy has a special ability to make people do things she wants. I love the characters and the writing. It was an interesting read.


Blood Trinity (Belador, Bk 1)
Blood Trinity (Belador, Bk 1)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dianna Love
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 146
Review Date: 1/8/2011
Helpful Score: 4


I went into this book totally expecting not to like it, but totally loved it. I received this book as a review copy. The day I got it my mom took it home with her since I was reading other stuff. She brought it back the next day and didn't speak very highly of it.

I picked it up that night anyway wanting to find out what she didn't like about it since we usually have the same taste. The story moved at a fast pace and was interesting. In the first chapter youre not quite sure whats going on I kept thinking this can't be the first book but it is. This is what my mom didn't like she thought there was not enough explanation in the beginning.

Youre not quite sure what Evalle Kincaid is you know she is part Belador but not what else is mixed in her blood. She is on the fringe of Belador society treated as an outcast and lucky to not be in a cage. She finds herself being framed for the murder of a young girl and only has a couple of days to solve the murder or she will be caged. There are however more pressing matters also going. Evalle and her fellow warriors must find a stone before it causes a war that will eradicate her people.

What I didnt like was a problem I have with many urban fantasy or paranormal romances. At some point in Evalles life she has been sexually assaulted by a doctor who used to take care of her. Why I ask does the main character have to be sexually abused or raped for her to be a strong character who will never let anyone get them down again. Why cant she just be a kick as Belador because thats who she is. Women can have inner strength without some major life altering event like rape. Shame on your Dianna Love and Sherrilyn Kenyon. She could have been exactly the same person because of the was she was treated by her people without the teenage sexual assault.

Overlooking the past sexual assault I really and truly enjoyed this book. I can't wait to read the next book to find out who Evalle ends up with.


Burning Lamp (Arcane Society, Bk 8) (Dreamlight, Bk 2)
Burning Lamp (Arcane Society, Bk 8) (Dreamlight, Bk 2)
Author: Amanda Quick
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 83
Review Date: 5/12/2011
Helpful Score: 1


I started this series with Fired Up and I'll say that it was a much better book than this. I wasn't to excited through this book it seemed kind of dull to me and a lot of the stuff is repeating information that you recieved in the first book but elaborated on. I'm not sure I would even call this a great historical it seemed that the setting of the story was all that made it a historical there was very little information added about the time and the customs of the time took a back burner to the the small plot.


Cloaked
Cloaked
Author: Alex Flinn
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 12
Review Date: 6/25/2011


Cute, Funny, and Entertaining read. It was a retelling of several fairy tales rolled into one short book. Again Alex writes of people transformed into animals by an evil witch. Jhonny who is who fixes shoes in a big Florida hotel is given a quest by a Princess who is staying at the hotel. Her brother has been turned into a frog and now no one can find him.

So with a cloak that will take him anywhere he wants he sets out to find the frog prince only he's not the only one looking for him.


Cry Mercy (Mercy Hollings, Bk 3)
Cry Mercy (Mercy Hollings, Bk 3)
Author: Toni Andrews
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 63
Review Date: 3/10/2010
Helpful Score: 1


For her first trick Mercy takes down a drug dealer pretty much on her own. Then for the second she takes down a ring of child porn film makers. Ok wasn't happy about that one but oh well. Then for the thrid Mercy book she helps Tino take get out of the gang and yet again kills another person. I'm not sure what I would expect mercy to do next or that I will be tuning in to find out although I am kind of curious what exactly she is.


Dark Embers (Dragon's Heat, Bk 1)
Dark Embers (Dragon's Heat, Bk 1)
Author: Tessa Adams
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
 41
Review Date: 6/25/2011
Helpful Score: 1


I loved this book. It was a rather quick paranormal erotica. It was hot and steamy and had a plot to go along with it. Dylan needs help, he is the king of his dragon clan and they have a huge problem. Members of his clan are becoming sick with an illness and never before in all these years of existence have they been vulnerable to illness. Dylan goes to Phoebe for help with the disease as she is a biochemist working at Harvard on a cure for lupus. Phoebe agrees to go back to New Mexico with him to work on the disease. Phoebe however is not telling Dylan the whole truth she is keeping secrets that she buried long ago. They both feel an uncontrollable desire toward one another but neither one thinks it is right to act on it. It was a great set up of what I'm assuming will become a great series.


Dark Mirror (Dark Mirror, Bk 1)
Dark Mirror (Dark Mirror, Bk 1)
Author: M. J. Putney
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 15
Review Date: 6/25/2011
Helpful Score: 1


This book was a very good start to a new series. The story is a coming of age novel set in England in the 1800's with a special twist there is magic a foot and not everyone is supposed to use it. The English nobles are strictly forbidden to use magic. It has been set that any noble child caught using magic will be sent to Lackland Abbey to be cured and have all magical taint removed from them. Tory (Lady Victoria) the heroine of this book finds out that she has magic and must be sent to Lackland Abbey to have the magic taint removed. Through a stint of events the characters are coming to learn that they may not want their magic to be remove which will pit them against the administration at the abbey and their own families. I think I will very much like to see what exactly come from these characters in the future I will absolutely be tuning in for future books by this author. : )

PS Can't wait to see where the author takes the relationship between Tory an Allard.

Also if you like the Libba Brays Jemma Doyle trilogy you might find yourself liking this also.


Dark Time (Mortal Path, Bk 1)
Dark Time (Mortal Path, Bk 1)
Author: Dakota Banks
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.1/5 Stars.
 67
Review Date: 6/25/2011


I found this book incredibly weird and boring at the same time. The main characters name changed so many times I had trouble keeping track of her. Susannah is a herbal healer in the new world around the times of the witch trials. She is accused of being a witch while pregnant and put on trial where she is condemned to die by fire. She delivers her baby the day before her execution but without help the baby dies. They burn her and then a demon offers her the deal of a lifetime revenge and immortality on its not all its cracked up to be. Hundreds of years later she is unhappy with herself and must do something about it so she goes back on her deal and has to save a life for every one she has taken before she dies. Ok well not a bad story line I thought. However the book skips around from time period to time period introducing all of the characters as we go letting you know how she met them. Which was totally annoying every time I was getting into the story this would happened and Id be about to pull my hair. Plus she seems to just sleep around willy nilly with whomever Im not sure I liked that. I found it hard to get a grip on the story with the time flow though and ended up not enjoying it and the ending what ending!


Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 11)
Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 11)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 393
Review Date: 6/25/2011
Helpful Score: 1


I'm still not sure exactly how I feel about this book I was waiting a while to do my review but I just don't think I want to now. I will say I was very disappointed with the characters in this installment. I felt like Sookies character took 10 giant steps backwards as a person. Seriously how many times do you need to kick someone out before they finally dont come back? I dont blame Eric if he chooses not to stay with Sookie in the next book after her behavior in this book. Her behavior was reminiscent of at 13 year old child it was familiar from her first few book but I thought we had left behind the times of Resending invitations just because you were mad at your vampire lover. But now not only is she doing it to her vampires she is doing it to her friends and family. After having her act to grown up in the past few books this book was just steps and steps backwards. Also is it just me or was Hoyt Fortenberry gay in the first few books. I could be wrong I may need to go back and reread this. Didnt Jason have a friend who was in love with him that either just disappeared or it was Hoyt who is now with Holly?


Death of a Kitchen Diva (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails, Bk 1)
Death of a Kitchen Diva (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails, Bk 1)
Author: Lee Hollis
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 62
Review Date: 3/27/2013
Helpful Score: 1


(Review Also on Amazon & Goodreads)

This was just an ok read for me. I noticed some errors that had me going back to reread paragraphs to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Parts were not descriptive enough to give you a picture of what was going on at that time. Then on the flip side you had the whole column she wrote, and the recipe shoved into the text. Those columns/recipes were really descriptive, and gave you a whole picture of how the decision was made for that recipe. I think the recipes, and columns should have been thrown into the back of the book as an extra they really didn't add to the story.

The story is a cute cozy mystery. Haley a glorified secretary at one of two local papers needs extra cash. Her boss asks her to write the column their "cooking and spirits" section. After her first recipe publishes she finds out that the food columnist at their rival paper is jealous of her new found success at writing, enough so to start a feud the whole town gets to watch. When Karen the rival ends up dead in bowl of clam chowder leaving Haley the main suspect she must now find out who the real killer is. There is also the making of a love triangle which is pretty much over done in every book now a day.

I'm hoping that this series gets better as the story develops so I will be continuing the series.


The Demon Trapper's Daughter (Demon Trappers, Bk 1)
The Demon Trapper's Daughter (Demon Trappers, Bk 1)
Author: Jana Oliver
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 42
Review Date: 6/25/2011
Helpful Score: 1


I got this book as an ARC from Library thing.

I actually found myself really liking this book. I've read some mixed review on this one mostly about riley and the living conditions. I didn't see a problem with riley at all I actually loved her she was funny and interesting. I also didnt have a problem following the story you kind of get thrown in to what if felt was already a story. What I mean by that is there needed to be more backdrops into the world to let you know how the demons were on the earth or if they had been here the whole time but just started attacking people.

Overall I love this book there. I dont think there was cons this book had only pros!


Dexter is Delicious (Dexter, Bk 5)
Dexter is Delicious (Dexter, Bk 5)
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 37
Review Date: 10/11/2010


Dexter Is Delicious was another great novel by Jeff Lindsay. It opens up with the birth of Dexter and Rita's first baby. With the new baby Dexter is not feeing himself there are all new emotions running through him. While Dexter is exploring his new feelings and about the baby Deb's is working 2 missing persons case's that end up being about Cannibals. It is very entertaining and keeps you wondering until the very end about who the bad guys really are. I was so surprised by the end totally taken back and couldn't believe what happened. Now I'm waiting impatiently for the next installment.


Dracula in Love
Dracula in Love
Author: Karen Essex
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 17
Review Date: 10/11/2010


I absolutely loved this new take on the old Dracula tale. It had been so long since I read the original and I didnt quite remember everything in it. But I like the way that Karen Essex put a whole new spin on the book. She too what was already a great supernatural book changed the POV and took it even more into the supernatural world.
I will admit that in the first hundred pages I was not sure that she was going to pull off a very good book. It was written very slow and not much had really happened. Mina had experience a few weird sleepwalking episode but other that there had just been background story development. It was not a bad story up to here but it was slow. So if you dont like slow beginnings I wouldnt suggest this book for you.
If however you love a great overall book this is for you. Somewhere around page 120 I started to get engrossed in the book and couldnt put it down until I found out how Mina knew the Count. If she would really marry John Harker and what was going to happen to the beautiful Lucy. While poor Lucys story is not a happy one I feel that the story as a whole had a happy ending. You are left with the upbeat hopeful need to believe that eventually all wrongs were righted.


Dragon Actually (Dragon Kin, Bk 1)
Dragon Actually (Dragon Kin, Bk 1)
Author: G. A. Aiken
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 250
Review Date: 6/25/2011


This was a very cute and interesting Dragon shifter Book. The plot was good Annwyl is a bastard Princess warrior whos brother is trying to kill her. Her brother has hated her since she was born and tried to kill her many times since childhood. When she got rescued by a rebel army she took charge of them in hopes to get revenge on her brother and to finally see him dead. It never really says what time or place the setting is but to me its a mix of old England and other planet scify. Where ever they are located is a place where magic is abound and there are two suns so it is not earth. There is also no technology and there is mention of castles and dresses so that led me to assume old England especially since some of the names are Welch. It matters not the time or place because the story is great. The characters are interesting and funny. There is also a really cute short story in the end of the book about the Dragons parents which was quite funny also.


Eona (Dragoneye, Bk 2)
Eona (Dragoneye, Bk 2)
Author: Alison Goodman
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 21
Review Date: 5/12/2011


I recieved this as an ARC from Librarything and I have to say after reading EON I was excited to read this next installment but I wasn't as please with it as I was EON. There was much to be left wanted. I'm not saying I didn't like it I'm just saying that I like the first book better. I did like the little romance twist she added it gave the book a very Mulan feel.


Faithful Place (Dublin Murder Squad, Bk 3)
Faithful Place (Dublin Murder Squad, Bk 3)
Author: Tana French
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 97
Review Date: 6/25/2011
Helpful Score: 1


So far my all time favorite Tana French Novel. I absolutely loved this book! Frank Mackey is a very well written in-depth character. He is a depressed gritty detective who can be very comical and manipulative. Frank grew up poor in tenement type housing with a very crazy family. He was in love with Rose Daly down the street and they had a plan to run away to England together only she never showed up. Frank assumes she left without him due to a note found and goes about his life thinking she had betrayed him hoping that some day she would show up. Only to find out 22 years later that she never left the place that night. Great who done it murder mystery with Frenchs usual insight into the human mind. This novel was no exception when it came to her usual style most of the characters have lived hard lives and have ended up a broken fragment of what they could have been. Almost all of her characters need therapy which usual but they have heart and soul. Her characters leap off the pages and come to life you can almost see the whole story playing out.


Fired Up (Arcane Society, Bk 7) (Dreamlight, Bk 1)
Fired Up (Arcane Society, Bk 7) (Dreamlight, Bk 1)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 116
Review Date: 5/12/2011
Helpful Score: 1


It was the first of her books that I read but I found that it was easy to read even though it was part of a longer series. I loved the plot and the pace the book set was good. The characters were cute and interesting. Overall a cute fun read. It's more of a paranormal romance fluff than anything else though. So if your wanting a complicated thought provoking novel this is not it.


Flirt (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Bk 18)
Flirt (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Bk 18)
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 267
Review Date: 2/14/2010


I enjoyed this book however I would not have purchased it. It was more of a short story for an Anita Blake book. The book in total was only about 160 pages. I did like the story line though and it seemed to flow effortlessly. There was no confusin plot line it was straight forward and to the point. Anita Gets herself kidnapped which isn't unusual for her, LOL. The question is how will she survive and what weird things can she get into why she is at her kidnappers mercy. I think the people who dont like the fact that Anita sleeps around with too many men will like the fact that she is trying harder to control herself and is succeding at it. She does however have a slip and has to take a new lover. But there is only one sex scene in the whole book and it was part of the plot. No porn with out a plot. If you love Anita as much as I do this book is a must read. It wont take you that long to read. It reminded me of the length of Micha if that helps out any.


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