Descent Into Dust

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A good old-fashioned gothic Victorian novel!!! The characters are well-drawn and likable, the setting is dark and atmospheric, and the writing is very good. There was definite chemistry between Emma and Valerian, and although their romance is slow and doesn't go very far in this book I found their attraction to be believable.

There are vampires in the story, but they are of the creepy evil "Dracula" kind and not of the "romantic vampire hero" variety. Compared to many more recent vampire novels this one is pretty much "Back to Basics" --- meaning that the author stuck mostly to the myth created by Bram Stoker instead of inventing her own.

Why only 4 stars? Because, well ... there were a few moments in the story where that which happened (or which was being said) didn't seem very plausible to me. It wasn't enough to really annoy me, and it didn't take anything away from my overall enjoyment of the book, but I just don't feel that this is a 5 star book.

Still, I really liked "Descent into Dust" and am looking forward to reading the sequel.

How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf, 1

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When I started this book I told myself that I would just take a little peek. Read a chapter or two and then finsh the other two books that I had already started. BUT ... (and you knew there would be a "But" coming, right?) ... once I had started reading "How to flirt with a naked werewolf" I just couldn't stop anymore.

I immediately liked Mo, and I quickly fell in love with the cast of likable and quirky characters that make up the citizens of Grundy, Alaska. And let's not forget Mo's parents who are ... well ... let's just say they aren't quite like any normal parents I know ... ;o)

Molly Harper is just very good at creating wonderful and memorable characters as well as writing witty and funny dialogue.

As for the story --- imagine an episode of the tv show "Men in Trees" - but with the addition of werewolves and a little mystery. Total comfort food, and funny as hell! I'm not kidding --- Molly Harper made me laugh so much with this book that my sides actually hurt.

Is the story realistic? Well, not really. But then I don't expect "realistic" from a book that has the words "naked" and "werewolf" in the title ... ;o)

I for one really enjoyed "How to flirt with a naked werewolf", and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series!!!

P.S.: Molly Harper's "Nice Girls" series (about reluctant new vampire Jane Jameson) is really good, too!!!

Clockwork Angel / Chroniken der Schattenjäger Bd.1 (English edition)

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Definitely not as good as the "Mortal Instruments" books, but it was okay and I'm curious to see how the story will play out ...

The characters --- well, Tessa is too one-dimensional as a character considering that she's the heroine of the story ... hopefully Ms. Clare will flesh her out a bit more in the next book. Will is just mean --- while Jace from the "Mortal Instruments" books could be arrogant and infuriating as well, he was at heart a good guy. But Will? Sorry, there isn't much to redeem him.

One character I really liked was Jem --- what a sweet guy ... :o)

The romance between Tessa and Will doesn't ring true at all --- there is actually more chemistry between her and Jem and I know that is something a lot of people have commented on, so it'll be interesting to see whether the author will pursue the Tessa/Will story, or whether she might change it towards Tessa/Jem ...

Illuminations, 1 Audio-CD

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Da ist es nun --- das neue Album von Josh Groban! Hat sich das lange Warten gelohnt? In einem Wort ... NEIN.

Für mich ist "Illluminations" wirklich eine riesige Enttäuschung. Ich habe mir die Limited Edition über Josh's Website vorbestellt, und gestern (zum Verkaufsstart in den USA) bereits vorab einen Link zum Digital Download erhalten. Natürlich habe ich das ganze Album gleich auf meinen iPod kopiert, und mich dann ganz gespannt zurückgelehnt um die neuen Songs zu geniessen.

Bereits nach den ersten Liedern wurde mir klar dass dieses Album ganz anders sein würde als z. B. "Closer" und "Awake". Nun kann Veränderung ja durchaus positiv sein, aber in diesem Fall ist dem leider nicht so.

Ein Teil der Songs hört sich an als wären sie einem mittelmässigen Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical entsprungen ... der Rest klingt seeeehr klassisch. Und damit meine ich nicht klassisch im Sinne mancher Songs von den "Closer" und "Awake" Alben (auch darauf waren ja so einige eher klassisch klingende Songs, und die haben mir wirklich gut gefallen), sondern klassisch im Sinne von "So langweilig dass man dabei einschläft". Die Musik plätschert halt so ohne jegliche Höhen oder Tiefen vor sich hin, und man hat bei manchen Songs irgendwie das Gefühl dass Josh's Stimme im Orchester untergeht.

Ich weiss dass man Songs (oder Alben) manchmal erst ein paar Mal hören muss bevor sie einem wirklich gefallen, und aus diesem Grund habe ich mir "Illuminations" inzwischen mehrfach angehört. Leider hat das nichts an der Tatsache geändert dass dieses Album wirklich sehr enttäuschend ist --- es gibt nicht mal ein einziges Lied welches mir wirklich gefällt!

Ich LIEBE Josh's vorherige Alben, aber was "Illuminations" angeht kann ich nur sagen dass ich kaum glauben kann dass ich dafür Geld ausgegeben habe ... :o(

Zwei Sterne für Josh's immer noch fantastische Stimme, und die paar halbwegs akzeptablen Songs auf der CD, aber mehr ist hier nicht drin!

1 von 1 Kunden fanden diese Rezension hilfreich.

Fever

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"Fever" is the first entry in Christinen Feehan's Leopard People series, and contains both the short story "The Awakening" and the complete novel "Wild Rain".

I enjoyed both stories very much! Ms. Feehan's writing is fluid, beautiful and very compelling, and I loved her setting --- the rainforest of Borneo. It's such a different setting compared to other books in this genre, and the way she writes makes you feel like you are actually in the rainforest. You'll hear the cries of the birds and monkeys and the patter of rain on the leaves.

"The Awakening" is basically the introduction to the world of the Leopard People. It's a beautiful and very sensual story, and I really liked it. In fact, I wouldn't have minded if it had been a bit longer!

"Wild Rain" is also a wonderful and very well-written story. Rachael and Rio are really interesting characters, and I liked their interaction with each other. There was such a sweetness to them as a couple.

A word of warning for the faint of heart --- these are probably the hottest stories I have ever read, and they both contain a lot of very explicit love scenes. Normally I would call a book like this oversexed, but oddly enough I didn't mind at all with this one. That's probably because those scenes are written in a way that is beautiful and sensual, and never coarse or offensive

Black Hills\Lockruf der Gefahr, englische Ausgabe

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Gosh, I don't know how Nora Roberts does it, but she still manages to write one great book after the next ...

Out of the 20 or so books I have read by her yet (I only discovered her books a year ago) this is possibly the best --- I absolutely loved it, and finished it in 3 days!

The characters are great - both the lead and supporting characters. The story is set mostly in a wildlife refuge in the Black Hills of South Dakota --- not your usual setting for a book, and definitely very interesting. That's something I really like about Mrs. Roberts's books --- she always makes sure to use different geographical settings (Alaska, Wyoming, Tennessee, South Dakota and many more) and themes (from the repercussions of traumatic events or family secrets to such things as house-flipping or now wildlife conservation).

"Black Hills" is superbly written and engaging ... there's a beautiful romance (actually, more than one), there's suspense right until the end ... a definite winner ... :o)

If you liked "Angels Fall" or "Northern Lights" then you're going to love "Black Hills"!!!

Blue Moon

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Ich bin kürzlich über dieses Buch gestolpert, und habe mir ehrlich gesagt nicht sehr viel davon erwartet ... Umso mehr war ich dann überrascht dass "Blue Moon" wirklich ein richtig tolles Buch ist ...

In der letzten Zeit habe ich so einige Autorinnen aus dem "Paranormal Romance" Genre ausprobiert --- die meisten davon (Laurell K. Hamilton, Christine Feehan, Lynsay Sands, Karen Chance, etc.) habe ich recht schnell wieder aufgegeben da deren Bücher einfach grottenschlecht geschrieben waren. Nur die Bücher von Jeaniene Frost und Lara Adrian fand ich gut ... bis jetzt - nun kommt auch noch Lori Handeland dazu.

"Blue Moon" ist toll (und mit einer ordentlichen Prise Sarkasmus) geschrieben, die Charaktere sind klasse, und die Story ist nie vorhersehbar und spannend bis zum Ende! Ich freue mich schon darauf die weiteren Bücher der "Night Creature"-Reihe zu lesen ... :o)