A few weeks ago, I reviewed one of Ravenous Romance's (RR) HSN Promo Package, Ripping the Bodice by Inara Lavey. Last week I did put up my review of RR's Haunted Seduction, but I never really mentioned it, so I am going to re-show it here, along with my review for another RR romance, Dark Desires of the Druids I: Murder & Magick.
Okay, the first of the books I need to review is Haunted Seduction by Morgan James. As far as I am concerned, this story doesn't really get started until Chapter Two. Even though Chapter One introduces the reader to Will, the information offered in this first chapter isn't really necessary to the understanding and enjoyment of the story. In fact, I didn't really get hooked into this story until Chapter Two, which is why I believe this is where the story really begins.The backdrop of this book is an old, abandoned amusement park, but that's not why I like and am talking about this story. It's what I can compare it to that has me talking. As I read this, I kept thinking about that Scooby-Doo episode (animated series) where they were in the haunted amusement park chasing the robot, but this story doesn't have a robot, it just happens to be full of ghosts, oh, and a mannequin too!
What really caught my attention about this story was the hauntingly erotic stereoscope. This scene evokes some very strong and powerful emotional responses. It was creepily erotic and enjoyable to read. The characters are very well-defined and the setting was well-built and well-described. The suspense, tension, and mystery are carried out very well too. It keeps you reading because you must know what happened to these wanderers and why. Plus, you really want to know what's keeping Jaz there? Why is Will real, why hasn't he aged and why couldn't he and Alice get together? There are so many questions that need answering.
If I had to describe this story in a word or phrase, it would be this:
a creepily haunting erotic Scooby-Dooish story. Well done!
Okay, the first of the books I need to review is Haunted Seduction by Morgan James. As far as I am concerned, this story doesn't really get started until Chapter Two. Even though Chapter One introduces the reader to Will, the information offered in this first chapter isn't really necessary to the understanding and enjoyment of the story. In fact, I didn't really get hooked into this story until Chapter Two, which is why I believe this is where the story really begins.
The backdrop of this book is an old, abandoned amusement park, but that's not why I like and am talking about this story. It's what I can compare it to that has me talking. As I read this, I kept thinking about that Scooby-Doo episode (animated series) where they were in the haunted amusement park chasing the robot, but this story doesn't have a robot, it just happens to be full of ghosts, oh, and a mannequin too!
What really caught my attention about this story was the hauntingly erotic stereoscope. This scene evokes some very strong and powerful emotional responses. It was creepily erotic and enjoyable to read. The characters are very well-defined and the setting was well-built and well-described. The suspense, tension, and mystery are carried out very well too. It keeps you reading because you must know what happened to these wanderers and why. Plus, you really want to know what's keeping Jaz there? Why is Will real, why hasn't he aged and why couldn't he and Alice get together? There are so many questions that need answering.
If I had to describe this story in a word or phrase, it would be this:
a creepily haunting erotic Scooby-Dooish story. Well done!
The second book I am reviewing today is Dark Desires of the Druids 1. So far, I've only gotten to page 47 and I haven't been impressed. It's a historical novel set in 1882 England. It is a time of witch trials and purification rituals. Sounds interesting, right? Well, that's what I thought. However, once I started reading, I never became engaged in the story. As much as I wanted to, I found it increasingly difficult the farther I got into the story. But not for the reason of bad writing, exactly. The reason I had difficulty with this story was bad organization. The way the information was given to the reader didn't validate the characters, their actions or reactions to situations very well. The organization and presentation of information about the characters weakens them greatly.
For example, the story opens with the main character Raven Drake, a magick user and a member of polite society, betrothed to one man and having an affair with someone else. Raven is listening to Sir John Corwin's speech about how magick users are bad for society and should be removed. During this time, she begins to long for her lover.
Here's what I take issue with in this scene:
1. The identity of Raven's husband isn't revealed until the third chapter. Because of this fact, the reader gets the mistaken impression that she is betrothed to Corwin. This leads to unnecessary questioning of why she would even let this union take place.
2. She is a magick user (a master one, we find out later), but instead of caring about what Corwin (a known witch hunter) is saying to the people around her, she is focusing on a liaison with her lover. For a high ranking and powerful magicker, this does not seem a logical progression of thoughts. I get it how a woman can feel passionate about a man, but in this scene, Raven is trying to argue on behalf of magickers without giving herself away.
3. This scene has a volatile conclusion, and for that reason, the lusty thoughts make no sense. Either this character is more naive than the author implies or she has no fear of death, and that, I find difficult to believe, especially with her reactions later in the cottage with her lover.
4. The fact that her betrothed, Gareth, isn't there with her. If they are to be what the author later states, the actions displayed by the character of Gareth (his absence from the ball), do not jive with his position. They are supposed to appear to be the power core and yet they aren't seen together at a ball of this nature. Why? The author doesn't do an adequate job of addressing these issues when the questions arise. In fact, 50 pages in and I'm still wondering where her fiance is and why he isn't with her.
Here's where I find more incongruity in the story. The author wants us to believe that Raven does not regret having the affair with Malcolm, yet it is while she is waiting outside the cottage that she thinks of her husband and recalls why they are betrothed and that she does love him.
Huh?
Somehow, if I was ever comfortable with cheating on my husband (which I doubt I ever would be), I don't think I would be wasting thoughts on him. My thoughts would only be about my lover and what I would find in his arms.
The way the story is currently organized and presented hurts the credibility of the characters, it's very hard to like any of them. The idea is to create a sense of mystery and suspense, not irritation and confusion.
Here's what would have made sense:
As she's listening to the hurtful and heinous words that are tumbling out of Corwin's mouth, Raven recalls how she got into this situation, betrothed to one man, but in love with someone else. As she tries to cleverly show the idiocrasy and lunacy of Corwin's statements, Raven recalls the reason for her betrothal, where her husband is at the moment and why he isn't with her. It would also make sense for her to recall the council and her standing within the council and her relationship to Isadore.
Then, after the entire incident is over with, it makes total sense that she would seek out her lover, if her fiance is not present. It is during her walk to the cottage that Raven should recall how she met him, how he attracted her, and how his lovemaking is what makes her return for more.
This story is a decent premise, but just not greatly executed in the beginning to keep a reader interested.
The last of RR's HSN Promo Package, Land of Falling Stars by Keta Diablo, I'll be reading this week and will be posting my review to Goodreads.
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7 Moonbeams (comments):
Hey, Carrie. ~waves~ Hope you're holiday week is going well and is not too crazy.
I've read Dark Desires of the Druids Book 1 and I didn't find it nearly as bad as you did. I admit I was confused in the beginning about who her fiance was and was surprised to learn later that he wasn't anyone at the party.
I agree she should have been more concerned about Corwin since she's a master druid and is responsible for so many people. But rather than finding fault with her obsession over Malcolm, to me it showed how deep she's fallen.
From what I've witnessed with domestic law, women (and even men) do this all the time when they have affairs, they lose sight of all that is (or should be) important in their lives and neglect them and everything around them unravels. So, to me, this obsession Raven has with Malcolm is more based in reality than error.
And her fiance wasn't with her because he was off doing something else for the druid cause, so I didn't have a problem with his absence since he does show up. I didn't think they had to be together all the time, but would have found it unrealistic if they'd been together 24/7 since they each have a role to play in their cause.
It's book 2 that I have such issues with. So, if you're having problems with book 1, I wouldn't recommend reading book 2.
Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
Huggles,
Gracen
Forgot to mention that while this book wasn't my favorite book, I did enjoy it. I'd probably give it 3 out of 5 stars.
Hey Gracen,
Thanks for your input!
Even if her husband wasn't there, even at that time in England, it was unusual for a lady in good standing in society not to have female companions by her all the time, especially at a ball, to help keep the possibility of a compromised reputation out of the realm of possibility. A compromised reputation meant that the woman in question would lose her respectable position in society.
I don't mind if a story goes against the grain of known society, but there really needs to be some sort of justifiable explanation or reasoning for whatever happens that is out of the normal spectrum of societal behavior.
Yep, I'm aware of the societal customs during that time, but not all historical books adhere to this rule strictly in romance books. So, expecting Isabel Roman to strictly adhere to the rule is unfair.
However, she was being "chaperoned" by her friends, Isadore and Lucien (I think that was the names of the brother and sister combo). And Isadore grew more and more irritated with Raven's illicit behavior throughout the book. But while they were her chaperones, they were also fellow witches, so I assumed they gave the "appearance" of chaperones for societal purposes, but that among the druids such customs were not necessary.
I'm not arguing with you over this book. We're each entitled to our own opinions and we all think differently about a book compared to another person. I posted my thoughts just to show how different an opinion could be between two people. But, as I said in my other post, while I enjoyed book 1, I haven't managed to complete book 2. That is frustrating for me.
Oh, I completely get it. Like I said, I don't expect all books to follow the same conventions, but give plausible reasons when they don't.
Like in the movie Shakespeare in Love, there are some points where the Queen of England does some stuff that's not historically accurate or socially inaccurate, they add in language like, "Things really must be off if I'm here talking to you," or something like that. It's sarcasm, but it works to acknowledge to the reader/watcher that the author knows the mistake but is taking creative license.
Maybe it is harsh to expect something like that, but I do like it when the author makes some subtle acknowledgment that they are straying away from normal, accepted, recorded social constraints.
Hi, Carrie. First, I would like to thank you for reading (or starting) my book. I realize the story isn't for everyone, but would like to take a moment to clarify a couple things.
First, Raven is NOT married. Gareth isn't her husband but her fiance. Having her married then cheating is a different story entirely and one I'm not sure I'd do. Here, she's only engaged. Some people may see this as the same thing, but I do not--no vows were given.
Second, I do mention the differences between Druids and regular historical society. It's in Chapter 3 when Raven thinks about Gareth and her engagement with him. Druids can sleep with whomever they please BEFORE marriage. Afterwards, they believe in the sanctity of their vows.
Yes of course she does feel guilt, because she does love Gareth, but it isn't nearly what she feels she should feel if she's to marry him.
Here's the line:
"Under her people’s beliefs, if she wished to have consensual sex with Malcolm until her marriage to Gareth she could."
Gareth isn't mentioned before this chapter because the story isn't about him. It's about Raven and Malcolm and their journey from a purely physical relationship to something more.
Please try to finish the story, there's a wonderful argument between Gareth and Raven about how he finds no fault with sleeping with other women but he condemns her for sleeping with Malcolm.
Gracen--I completely admit that Book 2 is my weakest book. Looking back there are so many things I would have done differently. Not the least of which was NOT following the traditional trilogy arc of the 2nd installment being the one where evil is winning. It's hard to have evil winning so clearly when you have a very powerful master magicker.
However, I do hope you'll give Book 3, Desert and Destiny, a try. It's a return to England and is Gareth's story--how he basically gets over Raven and finds his own happiness.
Please let me know if you do decide to read it. :)
Thank you and Happy Holidays!
Carrie, I completely understand. Sometimes we just want what we want.
Hi, Isabel. Thanks for your comments. I sat down last night and finished book 2. I liked the way you ended it and the final sex scene was hot. I'm not sure what my issue is with this book. I don't have a problem with evil winning, as most of what I write (my current book excluded) deals with dark and evil characters as the hero or heroine. And I certainly understanding wishing you could change aspects of your storyline. I'm in the middle of that with my first book. Fortunately, I've been given the opportunity to revamp it now that the publisher has closed its doors.
Book 2 was written just as good as book 1. And I loved Lucien from the first book and I enjoyed him in this book. I particularly loved James and would have loved to learn more about Takoda. He's a fascinating character, very interesting.
My main issue with book 2 was Morgana. I keep thinking of what my editor told me at one point when editing my book...that readers don't like seeing their heroines with other men. And while I don't have a problem with women being with other men, the way the book opened up and the reasons for Morgana's actions, while callous, I understood them, it still bothered me. Hypocritical, yes, and for that I'm sorry. The scene was well written and I wonder if I allowed that to flavor my opinion of the entire book, but either way I never did truly connect with Morgana. I never empathized with her the way that I wish I would and could have. Maybe it was me and not the storyline at all, but the fact that I never got the chance to sit down uninterrupted with book 2. It wasn't a total loss though, so please don't think that it was. As I mentioned, I love Lucien, and I enjoyed James (would love to see a book with him as the main character) and Takoda (loved, loved his mysteriousness and the haziness of his gifts...super great character there).
I do have plans to read books 3 and 4. I've already purchased them, so book 2 didn't deter me from reading them. I'd definitely recommend this series of books to other readers. And knowing that Gareth is in book 3, that makes me all the more excited to read it, since I loved his character tremendously.
Carrie, I thought I'd mention something that Isabel highlighted. I saw where Raven was torn between Gareth and Malcolm. And I believed she did truly care for Gareth, but their relationship was one of friendship and obligations. She even mentions more than once that she has an obligation to her people to marry him. I wouldn't want to marry someone or have someone marry me if they only felt an "obligation" to do so. There was no passion in their relationship and Raven missed that from her life, but found it in Malcolm. And that was a really great scene where Gareth and Isabel argued about the hypocritical aspects of affairs between men and women.
But, as before, these are just my opinions.
Best of luck with your books, Isabel. And I hope both of you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Above all, be safe!!
~huggles Isabel & Carrie both~
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