Anne Stuart Trifecta!
Jun. 30th, 2009 12:13 amAhhh Anne Stuart, she of the romance thrillers/romantic suspense books. I wouldnt call her a favorite author or even a very good author (though not a bad one either) But she is undoubtedly a guilty pleasure of mine. Her novels are basically CRACK and you shouldnt be doing it and you know it's not good for you & gonna eat away your brain tissue but YOU CANT STOP. I always go through her novels faster than anyone elses. Dunno what that says about me...no wait of course I do. I have a love of dysfunctional couples and love/hate relationships, something stuart is much more likely to explore than most romance novel authors. Bleh at fluffy romances, bleh I say!
Ice Storm = B+
Of the Stuart novels I've read so far I think I've liked this one most. It's part of Stuart's Ice series which focuses on the lives of various operatives to some shady spy organization called "The Council", this is the fourth novel in the series.
( Get into bed, I can always kill you in the morning ) All in all, Ice storm is a decent read and less dark than Sins and far less irritating than Midnight but still unabashedly unromantic and twisted enough to fulfill anyone's kink for fascination with suffering or an antagonistic couple. and by anyone I do mean me. mmmmm hate!sex.
Ritual Sins = B-
I feel like I shouldnt have liked this story, but I did, quite a bit actually. It was completely fucked up, the power dynamics were skewed, some of the plot developments were right out of a B horror movie or a lifetime tv movie and the hero was anobligatory unapologetic psychotic jackass. but I still had such a blast reading it. It's one of those stories you read where you just turn off your brain and enjoy the very trashy ride.
( Luke, part cult leader, part con man, all pyscho meets Rachel a Very Angry Woman ) Basically Ritual Sins is what it is, a creepy thriller with lots of sexual tension and then actual sex, the plot isnt very intelligent and you probably wont be surprised by most of the twists and turns but it manages to keep from being completely predictable. I managed to finish it in a day or so, a fun fast read. Well fun if your idea of fun is stalkers, murders, cults, conspiracies, evil old ladies, homicidal dwarves and sex in the back of a creepy hearse during a violent thunderstorm. Hey man, I dont knock YOUR interests.
A Rose at Midnight = C-
There is so much that went wrong with this story for me that I'm not even sure I know where to start. It's not even that as a book it was really bad, because it wasnt. Although it was miles away from good. "Midnight" started out with such a fabulously dark and interesting premise, the heroine starts out trying to poison the hero who she blames for the horrible demise of her family. So the heroine who is *gasp* french and had the misfortune to be living in france during the time of the revolution, has to watch helplessly as her aristocratic family is sent to the guillotine. Fucked up right? You bet! So of course I was intrigued.
( Here's where it all goes to shit aka I bitch alot in this review )
Vitriol aside, I will keep reading anne stuart and try to stick to some of her later novels, especially her contemporaries, cause so far those havent been too bad. I will however avoid her historicals like plague for now on. Also I cracked up when the word "cash" was used in this book because uh...I dont think they used that term for money in 19th century England. :x
In un book related news I went to the mall and got myself a dress to wear at my sister's graduation (that my mother insisted I attend, and before anyone gives me the evil eye for being a bad sis and not wanting to attend my lil sister's graduation, let me just say that she doesnt want to go either. We are both hostages! Our mother is forcing us to dress up and converse with stuffy old arab ladies! WILL THE HORRORS NEVER CEASE?) I will take pics of said dress once I actually manage to locate my camera.
Ice Storm = B+
Of the Stuart novels I've read so far I think I've liked this one most. It's part of Stuart's Ice series which focuses on the lives of various operatives to some shady spy organization called "The Council", this is the fourth novel in the series.
Ritual Sins = B-
I feel like I shouldnt have liked this story, but I did, quite a bit actually. It was completely fucked up, the power dynamics were skewed, some of the plot developments were right out of a B horror movie or a lifetime tv movie and the hero was an
A Rose at Midnight = C-
There is so much that went wrong with this story for me that I'm not even sure I know where to start. It's not even that as a book it was really bad, because it wasnt. Although it was miles away from good. "Midnight" started out with such a fabulously dark and interesting premise, the heroine starts out trying to poison the hero who she blames for the horrible demise of her family. So the heroine who is *gasp* french and had the misfortune to be living in france during the time of the revolution, has to watch helplessly as her aristocratic family is sent to the guillotine. Fucked up right? You bet! So of course I was intrigued.
Vitriol aside, I will keep reading anne stuart and try to stick to some of her later novels, especially her contemporaries, cause so far those havent been too bad. I will however avoid her historicals like plague for now on. Also I cracked up when the word "cash" was used in this book because uh...I dont think they used that term for money in 19th century England. :x
In un book related news I went to the mall and got myself a dress to wear at my sister's graduation (that my mother insisted I attend, and before anyone gives me the evil eye for being a bad sis and not wanting to attend my lil sister's graduation, let me just say that she doesnt want to go either. We are both hostages! Our mother is forcing us to dress up and converse with stuffy old arab ladies! WILL THE HORRORS NEVER CEASE?) I will take pics of said dress once I actually manage to locate my camera.