Ruthless Game

Feb 012012

The Ghostwalkers are an elite team of men and women who have been physically, psychically and genetically enhanced, often without their consent.

On a Mission to rescue hostages in Mexico, the last thing Ghostwalker Kane Cannon expects to find is Rose Patterson – former Ghostwalker, fugitive and pregnant with his child.

Forced into a breeding program by Dr Whitney, Rose escaped with the help of Kane after she was impregnated by him. Now Kane has found her, he is not going to let her or his unborn child disappear again – despite the fact that Rose seems to trust nothing and no-one.

I discovered this series about 6 weeks ago, read them in order and Ruthless game is the ninth in the Ghostwalker series (not that they are difficult to put down or anything!!!) It would be so easy for the books to become repetitive and indeed there is a formula to all the books (which works well), but Christine Feehan manages to keep the story in each book fresh and I do not feel like I am reading the same stories at all. The plot surrounding Dr Whitney unravels a bit more with each book and is as integral to the series as the individual Ghostwalkers.

This book moves along at a faster pace than some of the others and while the relationship between the main characters is obviously the focus of the story, there is a lot more involvement with the rest of the team and much more action. I feel like I have got to know all the team members rather than just the main characters and cannot wait until their stories come out. As with the other books, the male lead is smoking hot and the sex scenes are even hotter.

I do not want to spoil it by giving too much away but at the end of the book we do start to get some idea of what the next generation of Ghostwalkers will be like.

If you have not read any of this series yet, do! Start from the beginning however, because although the story could be read as a stand alone, the reader may become confused by the underlying plot threads. Reading the series in order has definitely made it much more enjoyable and I am eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Book Information

Fever

Jul 202011

Hidden in the jungles of Borneo live a race of creatures; neither human nor leopard but something in between.  Able to shift to either form, they live in empathy with the rainforest and its numerous inhabitants, serving as protectors and guardians against poachers and bandits.

Fever is two stories brought together in one volume.  I’ve not read much by Christine Feehan so far and this is the first of the Leopard People books.

The Awakening is a nine chapter story establishing the setting for the series and it was entertaining enough, although the male lead did bug me a little by being too overbearing.  It was a decent introduction to the setting and I liked the concept but it suffered for being so short.  I think if there had been more time to get to know the character of Brandt, he would have come across much better and not felt so suffocating.

Wild Rain is the longer Novella and was a much better read.  There was time to build empathy with the characters of Rachael and Rio, explore their background, even if most of it was shrouded in secrecy until they were able to open up to each other.  Of course that doesn’t happen until after quite a lot of sex and bonding.  I did come to like them, enough that I cared about what happened to them.

The plot was a little contrived but it was interesting and again I liked the concept Feehan has created with this series and the Leopard People.  The pace was smooth, I didn’t feel it was dragging at all and even though most of the novella takes place in one location due to an injury, it didn’t get boring.

As a book, it didn’t light me on fire.  I felt that the characters were quite formulaic and it didn’t quite engage me to the levels that other authors in this genre have but it was an enjoyable enough read that I am interested in reading the next book in the series.

No great shakes but enjoyable nonetheless.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Book Information

Dark Curse

Oct 122009

As a child, trapped and tormented in a labyrinthe of ice caves, imprisoned and fed on by her father and grandfather, Lara Calladine saved her sanity by talking to her aunts, great dragons who were also imprisoned, encased in ice.  It was their sacrifice that allowed her to escape and find a life for herself away from those who tortured her so.  Now she returns, haunted by the memories that she isn’t quite convinced were real.  Half-Mage, half-Carpathian she wants to reclaim her heritage and her childhood.  Meeting the arrogant, dangerous and virile Nicolas De La Cruz was definitely not amongst her plans and especially not being his lifemate.

This is the first book by Christine Feehan I have read and I have to say my initial impressions were not good.  I found it hard to get past how incredibly mysogynistic and chauvenistic the male characters were.  I found it offputting and felt it was just an excuse for them to finally meet their soulmates after centuries of loneliness and then suddenly after being that way for hundreds of years would be a changed man, loving and giving and treat the female character as an equal.  I’m not sure what the underlying message was supposed to be, and it bugged me.

Having got that out of the way, the story was engaging, the characters interesting and the whole Carpathian society and ‘world’ is rich and diverse.  The plot was quite intricate leading to greater empathy with the major characters and a better understanding of their way of life and perhaps why the male Carpathians are the chauvenists they are.

There are quite a few steamy scenes which I felt were modern in setting but quite old fashioned in description and that does make it a change from your average paranormal romance.  It’s not a bad thing, just different and succeeded in creating an emotive experience for me as the reader.

The pace was good in general although there were a few parts where it felt slow.   I found myself wanting it to move along which it invariably did and I was swept up into the story again.

All in all it was well written and engaging, just the chauvenism I found hard to get past and while that won’t stop me reading more by Christine Feehan (this being the 17th in the series so I have a way to go once I read Book 1!), I will be expecting it next time.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Book Information

Coming Soon!

Sep 292009

With my back issues slowing me down, I’ve gotten behind in reviews, so here are a few things to look forward to now I am back in action (no pun intended unless you found it funny in which case it was completely intentional!).

Reviews in process :

Red-Headed Stepchild – Jaye Wells
Midnight Alley (Morganville Vampires book 3) – Rachel Caine

Waiting to be read and reviewed :

A Princess of Landover – Terry Brooks
Heat Stroke (Weather Warden book 2) – Rachel Caine
Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires book 4) – Rachel Caine
Dark Curse (Carpathian) – Christine Feehan
Blood Noir (Anita Blake 15) – Laurell K. Hamilton
Born of Night (The League book 1) – Sherrilyn Kenyon
206 Bones – Kathy Reichs
Covet – J.R. Ward

And now to lose myself in fantastical worlds, more soon :)

© 2011 Grete Evans A blog of myths, romance, fantasy and thrills. Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha