Morbid Romantic

Book Review & Personal Blog

Yes, another batch of my books this month! I swear, the pile is endless, but I love it. I do desperately need a new bookshelf, though.

To Desire a Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt (From publisher)
NOTHING IS MORE INTOXICATING- Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl’s heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago? OR DANGEROUS- Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle’s home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh-and luring her into his bed. THAN SURRENDERING TO A DEVIL. Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud’s savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice’s love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title-even if it means sacrificing her innocence?

Sins of the Flesh by Caridad Pineiro (From publisher)
Caterina Shaw’s days are numbered. Her only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene treatment-a risk she willingly takes. But now Caterina barely recognizes herself. She has new, terrifying powers, an exotic, arresting body-and she’s been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run. Mick Carrera is a mercenary and an expert at capturing elusive, clever prey. Yet the woman he’s hunting down is far from the vicious killer he’s been told to expect: Caterina is wounded, vulnerable, and a startling mystery of medical science. Even more, she’s a beautiful woman whose innocent sensuality tempts Mick to show her exactly how thrilling pleasure can be. The heat that builds between them is irresistible, but surrendering to it could kill them both . . . for a dangerous group is plotting its next move using Caterina as its deadly pawn.

Maximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 1 by James Patterson and NaRae Lee (Won in a contest)
Hiding out in the wilderness of Colorado, Max Ride, 14, and her ragtag family of mutant kids think they&’re safe from the clutches of &The School,& a secret government lab that has erased their memories and turned them into human/bird creations. When Angel, the youngest of them, is kidnapped by the &Erasers&–cruel half-man/half-wolf enforcers for &The School&–Max and several of the kids set off in search of her. Despite outwitting them in several instances, the Erasers are able to intercept them. But all is not as it seems when Max is released from her confinement only to be told the secret of her origin–that she was created to save the world. The story is based on Patterson&’s popular &Maximum Ride& series (Little, Brown), and Lee does a superb job of translating his text into attractive manga-style illustrations. Although the narrative is a bit slow at first, the action quickly picks up and is bound to keep readers turning the pages. Bridging the gap between contemporary YA fiction and manga/manhwa, Maximum Ride is a fine first choice for sci-fi/thriller-heavy collections.

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Won in a contest)
Patterson jumps on the superheroes bandwagon with contributor Ledwidge and delivers the adventures of Daniel X, a superpowered alien whose mission is to defend Earth from more malignant, threatening aliens. In his first adventure, listeners hear the typical origin story (parents killed by the most vile alien on Earth), his early adventures (growing up on his own with amazing powers) and his first real step into manhood (facing off against another alien). The story throws in a few interesting twists, but isn’t particularly dynamic as superhero narratives go. The production is sparsely sprinkled with sound effects, which work quite well and add to the story, but there is a lack of consistency to their execution. However, Milo Ventimiglia makes it worth the listen. His timing and inflection match perfectly with Daniel, the first-person protagonist. He sounds youthful enough to be believable as Daniel and easily transitions to other character voices within the story.

Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson and Ned Rust (Won in a contest)
LIGHTS… All’s quiet in the small town of Holliswood. Television sets, computers, and portable devices are aglow in every home, classroom, and store. Yet not all is perfect. Evil is lurking, just out of sight, behind the screen. CAMERA… Residing in this sleepy town is a villain with more ambition than the world can withstand. Twisted beyond reason, he is dead set on throwing Holliswood into chaos and documenting the destruction of every person in it, including Daniel X. EXTERMINATION… The only person who can stop this made-for-TV tyrant, Daniel must use his extraordinary power to save the town. But this devilish director has assembled an all-star team of his own creation and vows to stage the most spectacular finale the world has ever seen. Can Daniel X stop this deranged outlaw–or will he find himself on the cutting room floor?

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment (The Fugitives 1) by James Patterson (Won in a contest)
A group of genetically enhanced kids who can fly and have other unique talents are on the run from part-human, part-wolf predators called Erasers in this exciting SF thriller that’s not wholly original but is still a compelling read. Max, 14, and her adopted family–Fang and Iggy, both 13, Nudge, 11, Gazzy, 8, and Angel, 6–were all created as experiments in a lab called the School. Jeb, a sympathetic scientist, helped them escape and, since then, they’ve been living on their own. The Erasers have orders to kill them so the world will never find out they exist. Max’s old childhood friend, Ari, now an Eraser leader, tracks them down, kidnaps Angel, and transports her back to the School to live like a lab rat again. The youngsters are forced to use their special talents to rescue her as they attempt to learn about their pasts and their destinies. The novel ends with the promise that this journey will continue in the sequel. As with Patterson’s adult mystery thrillers, in-depth characterization is secondary to the fast-moving plot. The narrative alternates between Max’s first-person point-of-view and that of the others in the third person, but readers don’t get to know Max very well. The only major flaw is that the children sound like adults most of the time.

Maximum Ride: School’s Out- Forever (The Fugitives 2) by James Patterson (Won in a contest)
This book picks up exactly where The Angel Experiment (Little, Brown, 2005) left off. The six genetically engineered bird children have escaped from the wolf-hybrid Erasers again, Max is still hearing The Voice in her head, and she is still reeling from the revelation that Ari, the most persistent of all the Erasers, is dead by her hand and that he might be her brother. From this point forward, there is action, but no distinctive plot. The closest the story line comes to compelling is when the kids are taken in and enrolled in school by a seemingly kind woman who just happens to be a high-ranking FBI agent. It will not shock readers when it is eventually revealed that she has betrayed them. This book is full of as many twists, turns, and conspiracies as an episode of daytime drama. And just like a soap opera, it relies heavily on melodrama until the very end, whereupon readers discover that very little has actually happened. The story is disappointingly anticlimactic and violent. Still, it does have some appeal–the children continually outmaneuver their attackers without permanent damage. Plus, the talking dog they pick up during their adventures is sure to entertain.

Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (The Fugitives 3) by James Patterson (Won in a contest)
The end is near . . . or is it? So reads the tagline of Book 3 of the Maximum Ride series, suggesting that Patterson’s best-selling series for YAs may expand beyond the trilogy originally planned—news that will be greeted enthusiastically by fans of its 14-year-old heroine. Slated for extermination by their scientist creators, rebel-mutant Max and other members of her flock, all of whom possess bird DNA and functioning wings, are on the lam again, their mission to save the world from a eugenics plot. Affection for the dauntless characters and misadventures that build on universal yearnings about sprouting wings and taking flight will hold readers.

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning (The Protectors 1) by James Patterson (Won in a contest)
Maximum Ride is a perfectly normal teenager who just happens to be able to fly, the result of an out-of-control government experiment. Max and the other members of the Flock-six kids who share her remarkable ability-have been asked to aid a group of environmental scientists studying the causes of global warming. The expedition seems like a perfect combination of adventure, activism-and escaping government forces who watch the Flock like a hawk. But even in Antarctica, trapped in the harshest weather on our planet, Maximum Ride is an irresistible target in constant danger. For whoever controls her powers could also control the world . . . Maximum Ride is James Patterson’s greatest character, a heroine who manages to be human and fearless at once. THE FINAL WARNING is an unrelenting new adventure from the writer Time magazine has called “The Man Who Can’t Miss.”

Maximum Ride: Max (The Protectors 2) by James Patterson (Won in a contest)
The fifth entry in Patterson’s all-ages Maximum Ride fantasy/thriller series finds the teenaged title character facing her greatest challenge yet. Max, leading her flock of virtually indestructible part-human/part-bird hybrids, must rescue her human mom, kidnapped by a criminal mastermind with an elaborate plan to wreak worldwide ecological catastrophe. But in order to rescue her, 14-year-old Max and the five younger members of her flock (genetically developed by an environmental group) must team up with the U.S. Navy to determine why millions of fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii. All this, and Max is falling in love, too. Patterson doesn’t spend much time on character development, opting to propel his wild story with quick action scenes, plenty of dialogue and chapters seldom longer than three or four pages; unfortunately, though, life-and-death situations are often solved by implausible plot turns. Max narrates with a precocious, snarky voice, but makes it relatively easy to jump into her complicated tale midstream. Not surprisingly, the open-ended conclusion begs for a follow-up; it’s also little wonder that a movie franchise is in the works.

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