Audio Review: Celebrity In Death

Celebrity in Death
J. D. Robb
Mystery/Suspense
In Death/book 34
Putnam/February 21, 2012

*SPOILERS FOR PREVIOUS BOOKS*

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is no party girl, but she's managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity-packed bash celebrating The Icove Agenda, a film based on one of her famous cases. It's a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks almost like her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing the actress who plays Peabody drowned in the lap pool on the roof of the director's luxury building.

Talented but rude, and widely disliked, K. T. Harris had made an embarrassing scene during dinner. Now she's at the center of a crime scene?and Eve is more than ready to get out of her high heels and strap on her holster, to step into the role she was born to play: cop.

An odd thing happened when I got the hardcover edition from the library a couple of months ago.  I couldn't read it.  You see, I have listened to almost all of the In Death books.  I have read a few but when I first started the series it already had well over 20+ books.  After reading the first few books I realized the only way I had any chance of catching up was listening to the audiobooks, which it turns out I loved.  Susan Erickson is the narrator and as I have mentioned before, she does an amazing job of capturing the different character voices.   So while this book was released months ago, it has taken me and the library a while to get the audiobook but once I did I was reluctant to stop.  


It's like seeing double.  That's what happens when Hollywood takes over New York City and Lt. Eve Dallas' turf.   Eve isn't happy about the media attention and a little freaked at seeing her "twin".  Peabody, as you can imagine, thinks the whole thing is mag.  I love seeing the two diverse reactions to people and events these partners have.   And when Peabody gets a little walk-on part in the movie, look out!  She's over the moon excited and Dallas can't help but roll her eyes but you know deep inside she's happy for Peabody. 

Is it fair to say the series has become a little formulaic?  To a certain degree, yes.  We know Dallas and Peabody will catch a case.  We know there most likely will be some danger involved for one or both of them.  We know Roarke will take time away from his empire to play his role of Expert, civilian.  We know Dallas will give Summerset hell just for the fun of it.  We know the well developed secondary characters will make their contribution.  And we know the candy thief will continue to evade Dallas' traps.  The main reason I continue reading this series is for the characters.  I have come to love them, respect many and just enjoy the heck out of them.   The murder and suspense surrounding the solving of the case(s) is secondary to the enjoyment of catching up with characters who feel like old friends.  So maybe that's why I have come to expect less of the mystery aspect of the series.  This time. I was pleasantly surprised. 

The death of Peabody's look-a-like is not take as hard as you might think.  Sad to say, the actress playing Peabody was not well liked.  It is taken serious by Dallas and Peabody who are, a little freaked when they see what at first looks like dead Peabody.  McNab's reaction is very emotional and Robb does well bringing those emotions through on the page.  Dallas, as always, stands for the victim regardless of whether she actually liked the victim.   The road to finding the murder was interesting and surprising.  Interesting in that I didn't catch on to the who as quickly as usual.  Surprising in the backstory of the killer.  Robb continues to keep the killers in this series from falling into the typical murderer mold. 

I said I read this series first for the characters and that is very true when it comes to my favorite secondary character Detective Delia Peabody.  I am loving the way Peabody and her cohab Detective Ian McNab's relationship is evolving.  Their relationship fits the time period where humans are living a lot longer and therefore have no need to rush into the traditional path of marriage, babies etc. but can adjust to their roles as a couple.  On the surface they seem like such an odd pair, Peabody with her Free-ager upbringing and beliefs and McNab with his outrageous fashion sense and "hey dude" attitude.  But these two can be serious and know when to put their cop faces on.  I love when they put their cop faces on!

Celebrity in Death does focus on the procedural and solving of the murder but it also has much focus on those evolving relationships that I love so much.  Some of the dialog does become repetitive between Dallas and Roarke, same arguments but we do see a little shift as Dallas acknowledges she can't continue to use Roarke as her go-to guy when she wants something done quickly.  She has the NYPSD at her disposal and must go to them first, even if they take longer for results. 

All in all this is another compelling addition to the series.  The smart characters, witty dialogue and extensively developed characters and relationships are the strengths of this incredible series. 

Rating: B+

Audio Review: The Next Always

The Next Always
Nora Roberts
Contemporary Romance
With Paranormal Elements
Inn Boonsboro Trilogy/Book 1
Brilliance Audio/November 1, 2011

SOME SPOILERS

From the Inside Cover ~

The historic hotel in BoonsBoro has endured war and peace, changing hands, even rumored hauntings. Now it’s getting a major facelift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. As the architect of the family, Beckett’s social life consists mostly of talking shop over pizza and beer. But there’s another project he’s got his eye on: the girl he’s been waiting to kiss since he was sixteen.

After losing her husband and returning to her hometown, Clare Brewster soon settles into her life as the mother of three young sons while running the town's bookstore. Though busy and with little time for romance, Clare is drawn across the street by Beckett's transformation of the old inn, wanting to take a closer look...at both the building and the man behind it.

With the grand opening inching closer, Beckett is happy to give Clare a private tour - one room at a time, in between blueprint meetings and kindergarten pickups. It's no first date, bu these stolen moments are the beginning of something that could arouse the secret yearning that resides in Clare's independent heart - and open the door to the extraordinary adventure of what comes next...

After reading and loving Ms. Roberta' Bride Quartet, I was looking forward to her newest contemporary series. I'm not sure if it's because the Bride Quartet's main focus was on the four women or if the setting of the was more enjoyable, probably a combination of the two. Either way, I didn't enjoy the trip to Boonsboro nearly as much as I thought I would.

All the talk around town is about the Montgomery brothers and the restoration of the famous inn. It's the inn and it's restoration that is a major focus of of the story. There is a romance between Beckett and Clare but it didn't feel like the central focus of the story. It was more of the restoration, the town and it's characters revolved around the romance. It is understandable that Clare and Beckett don't have an abundance of alone time. Clare has three boys to raise on her own and Beckett is busy with the inn. I liked both characters as well as the secondary characters but felt the inn and the town took too much time away from the romance.

The are two sub-plots running through the story. The first, which didn't work for me, was that of a stalker. It felt very much out of place in this closeknit community. I could see if there was another man competing for Clare's attention but creepy stalker dude just didn't fit in with the idyllic portrait of Boonsboro. He felt like he was transplanted from another book, say a J.D. Robb novel.

The other out-of-place character was that of the resident ghost at Inn Boonsboro. Beckett developed a relationship with the ghost right along with his relationship with Clare. Had the ghost been corporeal, maybe Clare would have had some competition. LOL The ghost angle didn't bother me but the way Becket talked to her did feel odd. He just didn't come across as a guy who would carry on conversations with a ghost.

I did like the time that Beckett and Clare spent together. Clare's boys are her life and the way Beckett becomes a part of that life felt very real. It wasn't easy getting all three boys to accept him without questioning what his place was in their lives. Beckett had to work for it, as it should be. We also see the relationship Beckett has with his two brothers, Ryder and Owen. It's evident they are the other heroes in this trilogy and we also meet their heroines. I liked the three brothers with their joking, teasing and obvious love for each other. Not sure how I feel about the pairings but we'll have to see.

The Next Always was a pleasant listen. While I didn't end up crazy in love with it, I did enjoy parts of it and will return to Boonsboro for the next Montgomery brother's story.

Rating: B-

Inn Boonsboro Series

The Next Always
The Last Boyfriend (May 2012)
The Perfect Hope (November 2012)

Audio Review: Attachments: A Novel

Attachments: A Novel
Rainbow Rowell
Contemporary
Dutton/April 14, 2011

From Goodreads ~

Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their office email. But the women still spend all day sending each other messages, gossiping about their coworkers at the newspaper and baring their personal lives like an open book. Jennifer tells Beth everything she can’t seem to tell her husband about her anxieties over starting a family. And Beth tells Jennifer everything, period.

When Lincoln applied to be an Internet security officer, he thought it was a big opportunity. He hardly imagined he’d be sifting through other people’s inboxes like some sort of electronic Peeping Tom. Lincoln is supposed to turn people in for misusing company email, but he can’t quite bring himself to crack down on Beth and Jennifer. He can’t help but be entertained – and captivated – by their stories.

But by the time Lincoln realizes he’s falling for Beth, it’s way too late for him to ever introduce himself. What would he say to her? “Hi, I’m the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you.” After a series of close encounters and missed connections, Lincoln decides it’s time to muster the courage to follow his heart… he can’t see exactly where it’s leading him.

Written with whip-smart precision and charm, Attachments is a strikingly clever and deeply romantic debut that is sure to earn a place in the hearts of readers alongside such memorable novels by Jennifer Weiner, Claire Cook, and Marian Keyes.

After reading Ames' review of Attachments: A Novel, I knew I wanted to check out this quirky novel. It turns out the library had it in both print and audio download. Since the print version required me to request it, I decided to go with the audio. You know how we'll say "I couldn't put it down" when referring to a good book? Well, in this case I couldn't stop listening. It was amusing, sweet, cute and even had a few sad moments. It also felt very real. As if you could add -'Based on a true story' to the title. I think it could make for a good date night movie too!

The story is told in the point of view of Lincoln and through the emails of Jennifer and Beth. At first I wasn't sure how this would work as far as the flow of the story. Would it be jarring to move from emails to Lincoln's current POV? It turns out it worked just fine with the emails about Jennifer and Beth giving plenty of insight into their lives and letting the reader get to know these two friends. It didn't feel like Lincoln was being a peeping Tom or invasive when it came to reading the emails. Heck, I would have had a hard time not reading them had I been in his shoes.

As Lincoln continues to read the women's emails, we get to know what Lincoln's home and social life are like. Oh, boy is this guy stuck in a never ending cycle of D & D and mama's home cooking. Lincoln wants to escape, you can feel it, but he doesn't know how and needs that push to make him take the jump. Lincoln is an intelligent man but unsure of how to use that intelligence. He's been doing the same thing for years and has a difficult time getting out of his comfort zone. Reading the emails puts him out of that zone and into a whole other world of women and relationships. He sees it as if from an observation room but as time passes, he wants to experience it.

The emails between Jennifer and Beth are far longer than any emails I ever sent at work. They know they emails are monitored but don't really care, figuring they're monitored for illegal activity and not women discussing sex, weddings, babies and men. You can tell they have a close relationship based on how personal the emails are. They give advice, comfort, cheer and a good does of reality when it's needed. They were very funny, with both women giving those quick jabs of sarcasm that only good friends know how to give with out truly pissing you off.

There were a few points when the dialogue between Lincoln and his friends and family became repetitive with "he said" and "she said". At those points I was looking forward to getting back to the emails. Lincoln does come off as a bit of a wimp in the beginning and I would have liked to give him a kick in the ass for being so complacent with his life.

It may not feel like a traditional romance novel, and it's not. But there is a romance in there, it's just buried under the need for both parties to come to the point where they're ready for a romance. I do think that if you are hoping for a lot of romance, this isn't it. It's much more about Lincoln discovering what he wants to do with his life and taking the steps to make it happen. Him falling in love with a woman through her emails, which are not even to him, is secondary.

On a personal note: I could relate to so much of what happens in this book. It takes place in 1999/2000 when people were worried about the computers crashing and the end of the world as we know it. (thanks REM) I worked in the IT department at the time and it was very anti-climatic when nothing happened. LOL There's talk about games like D & D (Dungeons & Dragons)which my husband still has his dice and Axis and Allies which we also still have. (We really are geeks!) There's also mention of Pikachu who I just happen to do a very good impression of. :)

Attachments is a humorous look at life with well developed characters and an interesting plot. It's definitely worth the listen or read.

Rating: A-

Audiobook Review: Delicious

Delicious
Susan Mallery
Contemporary Romance
Buchanans/Book 1
Harlequin/February 1, 2006 (mmp)

From Goodreads ~

Menu

Appetizer
Cal Buchanan needs a top-flight chef to take over his failing Seattle restaurant, The Waterfront. He can afford to hire the best in town -- the only problem is that the best happens to be his ex-wife, Penny Jordan.

Entree
Penny really needs this opportunity, but she doesn't need the distraction of working with her ex. She's sworn off romance -- she's even having a baby on her own. But before she knows it, the heat is on . . . and the attraction between her and Cal moves from a low simmer to a full boil!

Dessert
The rest should be easy as pie, but a secret from Cal's past could spoil everything. Maybe it's true that too many cooks spoil the broth -- or maybe two is enough to make it irresistible.

I generally don't review audiobooks simply because I usually don't have a print copy to refer to while writing the review. And since my memory isn't always great and I'm often reading more than one book at a time, the need to check details happens. This time I'm going strictly from memory so consider yourself warned. :)

This is one of those second chance at love romances although through much of the story I wasn't sure the heroine should give the hero a second chance. Penny and Cal fell in love, married and had a good life or so Penny thought. Then things started to unravel and Penny walked out, thinking that would jar Cal out of his apathy. But Cal let her go. Penny still doesn't know what caused Cal to shutdown and give up but she's moved on with her life, building a good career as a chef. Now she's back in Cal's life and she's determined to make their working relationship work.

Cal Buchanan is in desperate need of a chef and the only one that will do is his ex. Lucky for him she doesn't hold a grudge and is will to work for him, on her terms. I liked Penny from the start. She knows what she wants and stands her ground with Cal, not accepting anything less than what she wants in the negotiations of her contract. Cal, well... the more I got to know him, the less I liked him. This dude had secrets up the wazoo!

The romance between Penny and Cal is slow to pick in because neither wants to pick it up. They both want a strictly working relationship and a short one at that. Cal has only agreed to the job of manager for four months, then it's back to his own business, a chain of coffee shops called 'The Daily Grind'. Penny's fine with that, figuring she can handle being around Cal for a few months. It was interesting because really, in the beginning, they both meant what they said. They didn't want to get involved again. But as they spend more time together and find that they still care about each other. The physical attraction is still there and they eventually act on it. It came as no surprise that they got together, what I did like is that Penny didn't get all crazy stupid in love. She still had her own agenda and her baby was priority number 1. Cal was busy still keeping secrets and thinking he knew what was best for everyone. Ugh!

The three remaining Buchanan siblings throw more complications into the mix in the form of marital problems, a ladies man and a war veteran. I liked the three siblings more than I liked Cal, which bodes well for the rest of the books in the series. I also liked that they still had decent relationships with Penny and didn't hold it against her for walking out on Cal.

So the question is - does our hero redeem himself by the end? Is he worthy of a second chance with Penny? This is a romance, so in the end Penny thought "Yes", Cal was worthy. Me, I'm not so sure. There was groveling and an argument could be made with the 'old habits are hard to break' theory. But Cal kept disappointing me with his constant need to protect everyone he loves by keeping secrets. Sure, he comes clean in the end but that was due more to circumstances and others finding out than to him simply revealing what he had kept hidden.

This would have worked better for me had the hero not got on my nerves so much. There were times when I found myself actually hoping they didn't get back together which is just silly since it is a romance. In the end, I still felt that Penny deserved better. I did like the setting of the restaurant - all the foodie lingo and the chaotic atmosphere of a busy restaurant. I also liked what I read about the siblings enough to continue with the series. I'm just hoping Cal's brothers Walker and Reid, are far less annoying.

Rating: C+

Books in this series ~

Delicious
Irresistible
Sizzling
Tempting

January Reads...

The year started off with a bang reading wise. I'm once again keeping track of books read (including audio books), in Excel. We'll see how long it lasts. :)

While I love listening to music, I always have an audio book going too. What I've found is that I enjoy re-listening to audio books as well as listening to the audio books of previously read books. Brockmann's Troubleshooter series and Robb's In Death series are two that I enjoy repeat listens. It's like visiting with old friends. :)

Last month found me listening to Elizabeth Hoyt's Wicked Intentions. I read the book when it came out and decided to refresh my memory by listening to the audio book before reading the next release, Notorious Pleasures. Let me say narrator, Ashford MacNab, did a beautiful job making the book come alive.

I won't be including the repeats in the monthly listing.

Audio Books

Source = City and County Library websites. If you are interested in trying audio books I would strongly suggest checking out your local library website. If you have access to a metro library system and even some of the smaller systems, you should be able to download audio files to your computer and side load to an mp3 player using OverDrive Media.

1. At Graves End/Jeaniene Frost/Urban Fantasy/B+
2. First Lady/Susan Elizabeth Phillips/Contemporary Romance/B+
3. Silver Springs/Carolyn Lampman/Historical Romance/B
4. Glitter Baby/Susan Elizabeth Phillips/Contemporary Fiction/B

The Numbers

Contemporary Romance ~ 2
Historical Romance ~ 1
Urban Fantasy ~ 1

B+ ~ 2
B ~ 2

I have to mention how much fun it was to "hear" Bones from Jeaniene Frost's series. The narrator, Tavia Gilbert, makes me chuckle, in a good way, when I hear his lyrical accent.

Also, listening to First Lady reminded how much I miss hearing Anna Fields' voice. She is truly missed.

Print/Electronic Books

1. Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman/Lorraine Heath/Historical Romance/A
2. The Iron Queen /Julie Kagawa/Young Adult (Fantasy)/A
3. Whisper Falls/Toni Blake/Contemporary Romance/A-
4. The Chief /Monica McCarty/Historical Romance/A-
5. Sugar Creek/Toni Blake/Contemporary Romance/B+
6. The Spymaster's Lady/Joanna Bourne/Historical Romance (Suspense)/B+*
7. The Hawk /Monica McCarty/Historical Romance/B+
8. Call Me Irrisistible/Susan Elizabeth Phillips/Contemporary Romance/B+
9. Dreamveil/Lynn Viehl/PNR/B+
10. A Bride in the Bargain/Deeanne Gist/Historical Romance (Inspirational)/B
11. Thread of Fear/Laura Griffin/Romantic Suspense/B
12. Marry Me /Jo Goodman/Historical Romance (Western)/B
13. No Place to Run/Maya Banks/Romantic Suspense/B-
14. Maybe This Time/Jennifer Crusie/Contemporary Romance (PNR elements)/B-
15. The Lawman/Patricia Potter/Historical Romance (Western)/C+
16. An Independent Wife/Linda Howard/Contemporary Romance/D
17. Rough Cut/Mari Carr/Erotic Romance/DNF**

Titles in red link to my review. I hope to get the remaining 5 titles reviewed.

* The Spymaster's Lady started as an audio book but I got impatient and switched to my print copy. :)

**Rough Cut was a free novella for the nook©. Couldn't get into it.

The Numbers

Historical ~ 7
Contemporary ~ 5
Romantic Suspense ~ 2
Paranormal Romance ~ 1
Young Adult ~ 1

A ~ 2
A - ~ 2
B+ ~ 5
B ~ 3
B- ~ 2
C+ ~ 1
D ~ 1
DNF ~ 1

In case you're curious ~

Ten of the print books were library books.
Four were E-books.
Three were from my TBR pile.

Only a few duds but mostly a very good month number wise and grade wise. I'm going to be pragmatic about this and explain it away as a fluke. The number of historical romances surprised me. I think it's been years since I read that many in a month. So how was your reading month?

Photo Courtesy of Antarctic Photo Library

The Voice In My Head...

Is a man's voice. My current audio book is Nora Roberts' Blood Brothers. And while I'm enjoying the story I can't help but chuckle whenever a female character speaks. It's read by a man and when he does a woman's voice I get flashes of Monty Python going through my head. Or the church lady from SNL. His rendition of Layla, who is from New York City, is particularly funny. As for the male voices, those he does well, giving them enough variance that I can tell them apart. In particular he does a wonderful, deep voiced Cal. The female voices don't bother me enough to stop listening ~ the plot is too interesting. So I simply concentrate on the words instead of the voice.

Over this past summer I listed to Karen Marie Moning's Darkfever and Bloodfever audio books. They were read by a woman and she did a wonderful job of Mac's voice. For me she hit it dead on. But Barrons voice was another story. There were times that he sounded like an angry old leprechaun.


Anyone else listen to audio books and find some of the voices just don't fit the characters? I would imagine it's hard to sound like the opposite sex but I almost think I would rather not have them try than to give what sounds like an SNL skit.