Shiver Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater

 

I read the Shiver Trilogy because my nine year old daughter asked me if she could read it, and I thought it might be a bit too old for her.

I expected to like the story, as it seems fairly popular. However, I wasn't really all that impressed.

As I was reading Shiver, I kept wanting her to get on with the story. It rambles and swerves and goes off on side tangents and it just didn't work for me. At the end of the book, there is a good chance I'd have not gone onto the second if I weren't reading this for my daughter. Though, to be honest, by the end of the book I'd already decided that I would rather she wait a few years to read it.

Linger was a much better book, and I began to get more involved in the characters.  It still had slow moments, but all in all, I enjoyed Linger.

And then comes Forever. I mostly enjoyed Forever, right up until the last twenty percent or so.  It was predictable, I knew how the author was going to play it, almost exactly.  It felt like a cheap way for her to create as much drama around the final events as possible, to be honest.

But I didn't expect her to weasel out of an ending the way she did. She didn't give us a satisfactory ending. At all. She left pretty much everything up in the air, which made me wish I hadn't started the series at all.

What did I tell me daughter? I don't believe in censoring books (with exceptions, she's not reading my erotica books, but she doesn't have access to them, so she doesn't realize she's being censored). Hmmm, let me try this again: If my daughter's friends are reading a book then I have a choice of letting her read it and keeping the conversation open so I can get my two cents worth in about the sensitive bits, or censoring it and letting her friends tell her about it (and there is no telling which parts they will feel are the juicy bits), or risking that she'll borrow it from a friend and read it and then won't be able to ask me questions because she wasn't supposed to have read it. So I told her the truth -- it's not that great of a series, it moves slow, and I didn't like the way it ended at all. I told her she can read it if she wants, but that I don't really think she'll like it. I warned her that if she decides to read it, that the girl and the boy sleep together and do a lot more than just kiss, but I also assured her that it doesn't detail more than the kisses, it just lets us know they do more. She's chosen not to read it, for now.

For the other parents deciding if they want their child to read this, here are some details -- minor spoilers, but they won't spoil the basic plot.  Her parents aren't around much, they seem to be the flighty creative sort, so she's left to her own devices much of the time. The boy sleeps with her, in her bed, every night for more than a month, but nothing much happens for a long time. He is ultra careful around her, and we find out later it's because he doesn't want her to see him as an "animal", so he doesn't want to give in to those urges. They do have sex in the first book though, and then they have an argument about it the next day, where he accuses her of having sex with him just to get even with her parents. She didn't, and she is hurt by the accusation.  Throughout the series we are only told when they have sex a few times, the rest of the time their sleeping together is more about intimacy and closeness than about sexual energy. However, when they can't sleep together, they often can't sleep without the other. Protection is only mentioned when they get caught and her mother asks if they used protection and she says they did. On the good side, education and school and learning is given high marks. Both kids are responsible about where their life is heading, and responsible for taking care of their friends.  The sex and kissing isn't a huge part of it, and for the most part it shows kids who are making plans for the rest of their life, and being very responsible as they attempt to maneuver their way through the challenges thrown at them in the books.

She is seventeen and he is eighteen, so I'm not sure how they got away with allowing a minor to have sex.

As for the writing elements:

• The plot had so much potential, but sadly wasn't really actualized.
• Pacing was horrible.
• Prose and dialogue were mostly okay.
• Character development was very well done. Perhaps too much in places.
• World-building was exceptionally well done.

• Book Rating: Shiver: 5 of 10
• Book Rating: Linger: 9 of 10
• Book Rating: Forever: 6 of 10
• Series Rating: 6 of 10

I would feel comfortable with my daughter reading this around 13 or after, I think. Before then, I will allow it, since at least two of her friends have read (or are reading) it, but I don't think it's a good book for her age. Still, my mom censoring my books didn't work, and I doubt it will work for my daughter, either. So I prefer to keep communication open, and that means allowing it and talking about it as she reads it. I am thankful she chose not to read it, though.

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Review: Explosive Eighteen (Stephanie Plum series) by Janet Evanovich

 

Explosive Eighteen continues to tease us along in the Ranger vs Morelli lust triangle.

The beginning of the book is particularly annoying, as we are strung long, not knowing who she went on vacation with, or what happened.

Once we get beyond that and find out what happened, I have to wish the story had been made into a book. I think it would have been a much better story than the one we were given. The basic plot wasn't that bad, it was the execution of the plot, and the silly shenanigans getting there, that were the problem.

One good thing though - Stephanie manages to rescue herself in an amazing fashion, without being rescued by either of her guys. I'll add a star to my review for that one fact alone.

As for the writing elements:

• The plot was wasn't so bad, but as I said before, the execution of it pretty much sucked.
• Pacing was fine in places and drug out in places.
• Prose and dialogue were typical latter-Plum. Sometimes I wonder if Janet Evanovich is still writing these, as those first eight or nine books were executed so much better.
• Character development continues to stagnate. 

There were a few pluses in Explosive Eighteen. I've already mentioned that Stephanie manages to save herself once. She also seems to have a better handle on her own self esteem, and she's getting a bit better at planning and executing when it comes to catching FTA's. Not that she's good at it yet, she still has to screw up at least once with each person, but she's better at figuring out what went wrong and correcting for it. She's also not as hung up on whether or not she's a slut as she once was. That was annoying, I'm glad it's mostly stopped. There was an annoying bit about her being a slut if she slept in the nude (since all of her pajamas were dirty), though.

What I'm leading up to is the part where I figure out a rating, and I'm thinking it's going to be a six of ten. I keep reading the series because I keep thinking that eventually there will have to be a resolution.   I'm keeping the series at a 7, but that's mainly because the first nine or so books are so good.

• Book Rating: Explosive Eighteen: 6 of 10
• Series Rating: 7 of 10

One for the Money, the movie, is due out in theaters in January, here is the trailer:




 

Stephanie Plus Series
One for the Money (1994)
Two for the Dough (1996)
Three to Get Deadly (1997)
Four to Score (1998)
High Five (1999)
Hot Six (2000)
Seven Up (2001)
Hard Eight (2002)
Visions of Sugar Plums (2003) (don't bother)
To the Nines (2003)
Ten Big Ones (2004)
Eleven on Top (2005)
Twelve Sharp (2006)
Plum Lovin' (2007) (don't bother)
Lean Mean Thirteen (2007)
Plum Lucky (January 2008) (don't bother)
Fearless Fourteen (June 2008)
Plum Spooky (January 2009)
Finger Lickin' Fifteen (June 2009)
Sizzling Sixteen (June 2010) 
Smokin' Seventeen (July 2011)
Explosive Eighteen (November 2011)


Diesel Series
1. Wicked Appetite
2. Wicked Business (June 19, 2012)

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Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 11) by Charlaine Harris

With only a few books left in the series, I was a bit disappointed with  Dead Reckoning. I was expecting the remaining books to be heavy hitters, but this one felt like more of a filler.

We do get some interesting information, though some of it doesn't seem to to fit with previous books. Which is another problem all together.

I complained in the past book, Dead in the Family, that I wasn't happy with Sookie and Eric together. that they aren't working well together. I had hoped that situation would be resolved without stretching it out too much, but apparently we're going to have to suffer for a while before the situation resolves.

I also complained that I felt that Dead in the Family felt like a set up book, a book setting us up for the next book. We've now had two set up books in a row.

Honestly, it feels a bit like Charlaine Harris is done with these characters. Like her heart isn't in it anymore.

Here's the blurb:

With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his "child" Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows...

As for the writing elements - the plot was okay but predictable, pacing was mostly okay, prose was beautiful but the dialogue pulled me out of the story a few times. Character development was very well done in earlier books but I think Charlaine Harris is just resting on what has already been done now, so I'll have to give it low marks for this book. World-building has also been superbly well done in the past but I don't think we had anything to add to it in Dead Reckoning.

This series has been a 10 of 10 for me up until now, but I'm moving it back to a 9 of 10 with this book. Two books scoring a 6 of 10 in a row... I don't see how I can keep the series at a 10.

• Book Rating: Dead Reckoning: 6 of 10
• Series Rating: 9 of 10

And now for some slightly spoiler-ish discussion:

I believe I saw some things that are setting us up for the end of the series. I think we're being led to believe that Sookie's HEA is going to be Sam. I do think Sam is a good friend, but I'm just not sure I can see the two of them being together and being left alone by the rest of the supernatural community. Sookie is going to have to end up with someone powerful in order to be left alone. Well, unless she becomes powerful in her own right... but is she really smart enough to handle being powerful? She's still pretty gullible at times, though at least she's finally realizing it when she is. I think we also saw a hint that her HEA might end up being a fairy. Can she meet someone and fall in love quickly enough with only a few books left? I'm not convinced. And why is Hunter being given so much attention? How is Charlaine Harris going to use this little boy? Do we see shades of Keri Arthur here? (Select the spoiler text to view it.)

1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas&
3. Club Dead
4. Dead to the World
5. Dead as a Doornail
6. Definitely Dead
7. All Together Dead
8. From Dead to Worse
9. Dead and Gone
10. Dead in the family
11. Dead Reckoning

  .

Master of None by Sonya Bateman

 

I've found a couple of great new series by reading debut novels. In order for new authors to be published these days, most of the time they've got to be really exceptional. With Master of None we have a nice concept, and something a bit different -- Djinn instead of vampires and werewolves. Unfortunately, it didn't really work for me. For one thing, there were inconsistencies - in the beginning it's possible to magic up some beer and cigarettes, but later on it's impossible to magic up some water, because all you can do is create illusion, turning dirt into water would still make it taste like dirt. Well, if that's the case then how did the beer taste like beer? Too many times the rules of magic just seemed to fit the plot at the time, and not the rules as previously explained.

Here's the blurb:

ONE UNLUCKY THIEF. ONE UNLIKELY GENIE. ONE VERY ODD COUPLE.Gavyn Donatti is the world’s unluckiest thief. Just ask all the partners he’s lost over the years. And when he misplaces an irreplaceable item he was hired to steal for his ruthless employer, Trevor—well, his latest bungle just might be his last. But then his luck finally turns: right when Trevor’s thugs have him cornered, a djinn, otherwise known as a genie, appears to save him.Unfortunately, this genie—who goes by the very non-magical name of “Ian”—is more Hellboy than dream girl. An overgrown and extremely surly man who seems to hate Donatti on the spot, he may call Donatti master, but he isn’t interested in granting three wishes. He informs Donatti that he is bound to help the thief fulfill his life’s purpose, and then he will be free. The problem is that neither Donatti nor Ian has any idea what exactly that purpose is.At first Donatti’s too concerned with his own survival to look a gift genie in the mouth, but when his ex-girlfriend Jazz and her young son get drawn into the crossfire, the stakes skyrocket. And when Ian reveals that he has an agenda of his own—with both Donatti and the murderous Trevor at the center of it—Donatti will have to become the man he never knew he could be, or the entire world could pay the price. . . .

While the concept was good, there were two times in Master of None where I seriously considered putting the book down and not finishing it. I did finish it, and I can see that it's a good set-up for the series to follow, but I have no interest in reading any of the rest of the series.

The plot was very good, the pacing was terrible, the prose was well done, dialogue was well done, character development was good (though again, there were inconsistencies that bothered me), world building was exceptional in concept but the continuity issues were a problem.

Book Rating: Master of None: 6 of 10

Master of None qualifies as another book in the Debut Urban Fantasy Challenge I'm participating in.

Masters of the Shadowlands - Books 3 and 4 by Cherise Sinclair

 
Book three of the Masters of the Shadowlands series is Breaking Free, and book four is Lean on Me. When I reviewed the first two books of this series, I gave them a 9 of 10. And, I called those two books "BDSM Lite".

The first two books in this series worked for me because of the D/s, not because of the BD or SM elements. Unfortunately, an entire series of broken submissives who need to be "fixed" by a club full of near perfect über-doms... four such books back to back is a bit much, and the third and fourth books just didn't work as well for me.Once you know the formula, all of the books in the series are basically the same - insert different names and different psychoses or hangups, and you've got them all, in a nutshell.

Here is the blurb for Breaking Free:

A sadistic husband left Beth scarred, inside and out. Only at the Shadowlands BDSM club does she feel like a woman. But her fears limit her to Doms who won't overwhelm her--the very ones who cannot arouse her. The Master of the Shadowlands gives her an ultimatum: accept the Dom he assigns or lose her membership. The last thing Beth wants is a ruthless, powerful Dom, but that's just what she gets.

Asked to take on a problem sub, Nolan sees the issue immediately--although truly submissive, the little redhead is too scared to relinquish control and her Doms have let her get away with it. That will change right now.

As Master Nolan takes Beth under command, compelling her submission, she's terrified, but the experienced Dom brings her pleasure, not pain. His only demand is that she never lie to him. Under his capable hands, her body comes alive, and she begins to heal. As he pushes her limits, she learns to trust…and then to love. And she realizes he is beginning to care for her in return.

But now her cruel husband has found her, and Master Nolan discovers she's been lying and lying and lying.

And the blurb for Lean on Me:

Andrea wants to submit, but not to just any so-called Dom. He has to be tougher than the slum-bred bullies she grew up with. She’d given up finding a true Dom when her friend finagles her a place as a trainee in an exclusive BDSM club with the powerful Shadowlands Masters. Andrea’s thrilled...and terrified.

Forced to accept an unknown submissive into his carefully run trainee program, Master Cullen is furious. Not only is the young woman new to BDSM, but she’s unsuited to her role--armoured in leather like a Domme, she’s more liable to punch a Dom than kneel. He decides to push her right back out the door. But as he ruthlessly intimidates her, punishes her, then comforts her, his glimpses of the woman inside the emotional armour intrigue him and her utter surrender captures his heart.

Although Master Cullen is famous for his unfettered lifestyle, Andrea believes he might be interested in her, until she discovers he’s not just a bartender--he’s a cop. Maybe he’d overlook her past brush with the law, but when another trainee accuses her of stealing money, Andrea's sure she’s lost the Master she wanted with all her heart.

For me, I'm going to have to give both of these books a 6 of 10. And I can't call these books realistic BDSM, either. Not because the BDSM is so far fetched (it is not), but because the relationship is too.... too... it just wouldn't happen that way.  The Doms are, can't say Mary Sue for them... Marty Stu, I guess. A good BDSM relationship is about communication, not about the Dom just knowing what is wrong without any communication.

As for story elements: plot in both books is good, pacing has issues but isn't horrible, prose and dialogue were very well done, and character development is also very well done.

Book Rating: 6 of 10

Cherise Sinclair is a good storyteller, and I feel bad about rating these books a 6 of 10. But that's how I feel about them, it's what I must put out there if I am to be honest. Others, those newer to the ideas of BDSM, would probably rate them higher. Perhaps that is Ms. Sinclair's intended audience.


Kindle:
1. Club Shadowlands
2. Dark Citadel
3. Breaking Free
4. Lean on Me

Print:
* Masters of the Shadowlands (contains Club Shadowlands and Dark Citadel)
* Breaking Free

Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich

 

Where do I start? I suppose I should start by saying that I once loved the Stephanie Plum series, and I think I'm only hanging on because I so want Stephanie to get together with Ranger, and I'm afraid I'll miss it.

But I'm beginning to face the fact that Ms. Evanovich is just going to keep Stephanie in stasis, as is, forever. She's as much as told us this, there was once a question on her site about how much Stephanie has aged, and she says Stephanie is like Homer Simpson, she stays the same age forever.

I want characters in a series to grow and learn and change, and that's not happening here. Sizzling Sixteen was slightly different than previous books, as the main plot in this book was in saving Vinnie, and there wasn't a lot of bounty hunting. And Connie got involved, which should have given us lots of laughs (remember when they kidnapped the bad guy and took him to the coast to 'rough him up' and none of them could do it?). Unfortunately, even bringing Connie in didn't help. I laughed one time in Sizzling Sixteen, and it was more of a chuckle than a laugh.

There were a few good moments, all involving Ranger, and I'll put them behind spoiler text for those who don't want to be spoiled.

Ranger admits he loves Stephanie, he's a little more touchy feely with her than he has been in the past, and there are a few kisses. But I seriously think this is just teaser fare, designed to get us to buy the next book. We end the book with even more ambivalence than usual between which guy she may end up choosing. (Select the spoiler text to view it.)

Here's the blurb:

Trenton, New Jersey, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has inherited a “lucky” bottle from her Uncle Pip. Problem is, Uncle Pip didn’t specify if the bottle brought good luck or bad luck....

BAD LUCK:
Vinnie, of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, has run up a gambling debt of $786,000 with mobster
Bobby Sunflower and is being held until the cash can be produced. Nobody else will pay to get Vinnie back, leaving it up to Stephanie, office manager Connie, and file clerk Lula to raise the money if they want to save their jobs.

GOOD LUCK:
Being in the business of tracking down people, Stephanie, Lula, and Connie have an advantage in finding Vinnie. If they can rescue him, it will buy them some time to raise the cash.

BAD LUCK:
Finding a safe place to hide Vinnie turns out to be harder than raising $786,000. Vinnie’s messing up local stoner Walter “Moon Man” Dunphy's vibe and making Stephanie question genetics.

GOOD LUCK:
Between a bonds office yard sale that has the entire Burg turning out, a plan that makes Mooner’s Hobbit-Con look sane, and Uncle Pip’s mysterious bottle, they just might raise enough money to save Vinnie and the business from ruin.

BAD LUCK:
Saving Vincent Plum Bail Bonds means Stephanie can keep being a bounty hunter. In Trenton, this involves hunting down a man wanted for polygamy, a Turnpike toilet paper bandit, and a drug dealer with a pet alligator named Mr. Jingles.

GOOD LUCK:
The job of bounty hunter comes with perks in the guise of Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, and the dark and dangerous, Ranger. With any luck at all, Uncle Pip’s lucky bottle will have Stephanie getting lucky---the only question is . . . with whom?

Sizzling Sixteen . . . so hot, the pages might spontaneously combust!

Oh, the lucky bottle thing? That part was just silly.

As for my usual rundown... the plot is shaky at best, the dialogue is good, pacing has some problems, and there is no character development because we've known these characters a long time.The characters don't grow, they don't change, there is no further development. Nada. Zilch.

It takes a lot of skill to create a book that makes you laugh out loud until you cry - one that makes you lightheaded from lack of oxygen because you're laughing too hard to pull enough oxygen into your body. Janet Evanovich has that talent and that skill. She did it for a long time and I fell in love with her writing, and with her characters. But it's been a long time since I've seen it in the Plum series. There is a fine line between funny and silly, and a few of the last four or five books have gone past silly and into ridiculous. Sizzling Sixteen didn't head completely into ridiculous, so it was a little better than some of the more recent books, but it's still a far cry from the early books. And that's too bad.

I'm giving Sizzing Sixteen a 6 of 10, and I'm dropping the series down to 6 of 10.





One For the Money (1994)
Two For the Dough (1996)
Three to Get Deadly (1997)
Four to Score (1998)
High Five (1999)
Hot Six (2000)
Seven Up (2001)
Hard Eight (2002)
Visions of Sugar Plums (2003) (don't bother)
To the Nines (2003)
Ten Big Ones (2004)
Eleven on Top (2005)
Twelve Sharp (2006)
Plum Lovin' (2007) (don't bother)
Lean Mean Thirteen (2007)
Plum Lucky (January 2008) (don't bother)
Fearless Fourteen (June 2008)
Plum Spooky (January 2009)
Finger Lickin' Fifteen (June 2009)
Sizzling Sixteen (June 2010)

Review: Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 10) by Charlaine Harris

 

I've looked forward to Dead in the Family, anxiously awaited it's release. And now that I've read it, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with it. No, not just a bit disappointed - I'm a lot disappointed.

This was supposed to be Eric and Sookie finally together, where they are really together. The real Eric, not a cursed Eric. There should have been fireworks, but there weren't. Eric and Sookie were (I hate to say this) kind of boring together.

As for the plot... there wasn't really a big plot. There were lots of little plots running around, but no major plot line to tie everything together.

Another problem, and this isn't so much Charlaine Harris' fault as it is the writers of True Blood... but we've now got one set of characters in the TV show and another in the book. Tara is completely different (to put it mildly). And Sam's family history is completely different. Eric's maker is different. There's a lot more, but those things jarred me out of the book as I was reading it.

Dead in the Family felt like we are being set up for the next book. It didn't feel like a book all on it's own. So much that was unresolved from Dead and Gone is still unresolved.

I'm giving Dead in the Family a 6 of 10. I'm tempted to lower the series to a 9 of 10, but I will keep it at a 10 of 10 for now. If the next book is of the same caliber and quality as this one though, the series will probably drop to an 8 of 10.

Book Rating: Dead in the Family: 6 of 10
Series Rating: Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire: 10 of 10

And now for a spoilerish talk. I don't think Sookie and Eric are going to have a HEA. Not unless Sookie is going to be turned, and I don't see that happening, for some reason. I think Sookie's HEA (should the series ever end) is more likely to be Sam. They've been good friends for so long, and he's always there for her, no matter who she's dating or what is happening. My opinion is that the reason the Sookie/Eric dynamic was so boring is because we aren't supposed to like them together. Or that's what I'm trying to convince myself, because after all of the fireworks to get them together, this was a great big dud. (Select the spoiler text to view it.)

1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas&
3. Club Dead
4. Dead to the World
5. Dead as a Doornail
6. Definitely Dead
7. All Together Dead
8. From Dead to Worse
9. Dead and Gone
10. Dead in the family

Chaos Bites (Phoenix Chronicles, Book 4) by Lori Handeland

 

I'm conflicted about this series. I like the characters, I mostly like the worldbuilding. I've talked about pacing issues in the past, but I'm pleased to say that the pacing was mostly okay in Chaos Bites.

But (you knew there was a but coming, right?) I've ranted before about cliffhangers, haven't I? And there are a lot of cliffhangers at the end of this book. I'm not talking "unanswered questions" here. I'm saying that the main plot of the book wasn't resolved. Several plots, actually. Major issues. More of a cliffhanger than "Who shot JR". This felt like the first half of a book, not an entire book. And that's really too bad, because I liked Chaos Bites, right up until the point that I realized that none of the plots of the book were going to be resolved.

Here's the blurb:

It’s not the end of the world—yet. But Doomsday once again lies in wait for demon-slayer Elizabeth Phoenix. Several weeks ago she had no choice but to kill a man she loved. Sawyer was a witch and shape-shifter, a sorcerer of incredible strength. And now he’s started to invade her dreams…in the most dangerous and sensuous ways imaginable.

Through her nighttime visits with Sawyer, Liz has acquired a new set of paranormal powers. She has also received a special new gift in the form of Sawyer’s baby. Now nothing is as it seems as Liz combs through the chaos of her new life while trying to outrun death at every turn. She’s going to need all the help she can get—even if that means dealing with her embittered ex-lover Jimmy Sanducci. He may be the only one left she can trust…since every other demon on earth is hell-bent on her destruction.

I'm giving Chaos Bites a 6 of 10. If the plots had been wrapped up it would have been a 9 of 10.

Lori Handeland's site says the next book will be called Demons at the Gates and is due out in 2011. I'm assuming that means we'll have to wait about another year for it. If the next book were due out in three or four months then I might have given Chaos Bites a 7 instead of a 6. Still annoying, but not so bad since there would already be hype about the next book, and not long to wait for the rest of the storyline.

I wasn't sure if I'd continue with the series after Doomsday can Wait, and I almost didn't. I will likely wait for some reviews of Demons at the Gates before I decide whether to read it or not. I like most of the characters and I'm interested in what happens to them, but I don't need the frustration of cliffhangers without promise of the next book any time soon. Books in the Urban Fantasy genre are read for enjoyment and escape, not frustration. Authors can resolve the plots in their individual books and still have multi-book arcs stretching through the series that keep people anticipating what may happen next. The key is that an author needs to resolve the main plot in each book.

Book Rating: Chaos Bites: 6 of 10
Series Rating: Phoenix Chronicles: 6 of 10

1. Any Given Doomsday
2. Doomsday Can Wait
3. Apocalypse Happens
4. Chaos Bites
5. Demons at the Gates

Werewolf Smackdown (Felix Gomez Book 5) by Mario Acevedo

 

The Felix Gomez series has been entertaining, but it has not been one of my favorite series. It's been a mostly enjoyable read, but not to the extent of being something I have to read as soon as it comes out. So when Werewolf Smackdown came out, it wasn't a book I was willing to pay full price for. I waited to find it used at a good price to read it, and I'm really glad I didn't pay full price for it.

I like Felix well enough, but I'm not attached to him. And there really aren't any secondary characters that stick around long enough to become attached to, either. The worldbuilding is interesting, the plots aren't bad, and there is enough action to keep me from putting the book down for good. But the books don't really stand out for me.

Felix has grown and changed a decent amount since the first book. He's learned a lot about the world of supernaturals, and he's come into his own power. But I think it's time for him to do more than that. He seems to be at a point where he's spinning his wheels now.

Here's the blurb:

WEREWOLF SMACKDOWN puts undead PI Felix Gomez right in the middle of a supernatural battle for power, one that will wake the ghosts of Charleston and could destroy both human and undead if he’s not careful. A civil war is brewing between rival werewolf factions and Gomez will do anything he can to ensure this conflict doesn’t turn into an all out battle that will make the supernatural underworld explode. But between that, the sudden reappearance of an ex-girlfriend, and several other vampires trying to take off his head, this is one rumble even a vampire detective may not be able to handle.

I'm giving Werewolf Smackdown a 6 of 10. I've given the series a 7 of 10 in the past, and I'll keep the series rating as is.

Book Rating: Werewolf Smackdown: 6 of 10
Series Rating: Felix Gomez: 7 of 10




1. The Nymphos of Rocky Flats
2. X-Rated Bloodsuckers
3. The Undead Kama Sutra
4. Jailbait Zombie
5. Werewolf Smackdown