Monthly Archives: November 2018

Review: Leverage in Death

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Review: Leverage in DeathLeverage in Death (In Death, #47) by J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #47
Published by St. Martin's Press on September 4, 2018
Genres: Futuristic, Mystery
Pages: 385
Goodreads
four-half-stars

FINAL DECISION: Eve is surrounded by her supporting cast and this one really worked for me. Books where Eve and Roarke get to work together are always better in my opinion. This one is really about Eve and those around her with an intriguing mystery.

THE STORY: A man walks into a conference room wearing a suicide vest and kills his colleagues. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is called to the scene and soon discovers that there is more than a disgruntled employee involved. Someone held his wife and child hostage to compel is actions. To discover who and what was the motive, Eve gets some help from her husband Roarke.

OPINION: I really enjoyed this book. Honestly, the “mystery” wasn’t as intense as others in the series, but this book really sold the relationships in the series well. There is good stuff with Eve and Roarke, Eve and Peabody, Eve and Nadine. The book also closes off some of the lingering storylines in the series.

I did like the mystery even though it felt less important to this book than in others. The crimes were pretty dramatic and the motives and methods intriguing and murky. That I really enjoyed.

But my favorite part of this book is that we get to see Eve and Roarke working together. I read these books because I love seeing these two together and I liked this book so much more because the two of them spent most of the story interacting with one another.

WORTH MENTIONING: Sometimes I am shocked into thinking of how little time has passed in the In Death world. The Oscars where the Icove movie is nominated is just happening.

CONNECTED BOOKS: LEVERAGE IN DEATH is the forty-seventh book in the In Death series. The mystery here is self-contained but a reader is tossed immediately into the characters with no re-introduction for new readers.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

four-half-stars

Review: When Strangers Marry

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Review: When Strangers MarryWhen Strangers Marry (Vallerands, #1) by Lisa Kleypas
Series: Vallerands #1
Published by Avon on August 1, 2002
Genres: Historical
Pages: 390
Goodreads
three-half-stars

FINAL DECISION: Certainly not as complex as Kleypas’s more recent works, I enjoyed the main characters: the innocent heroine who is strong and doesn’t cower from the hero and the hero who has a bad reputation but quickly falls for the heroine.

THE STORY: Lysette Kersaint is being forced by her stepfather to marry a man who repulses her. Instead, Lysette decides to take her future in her own hands and escape. But her flight puts her in the path of Maximilien Vallerands. Max decides to use Lysette for revenge against her prospective bridegroom. Lysette, however, has no intention of allowing Max to use her.

OPINION: This book was mixed for me. The story certainly isn’t particularly complex and the characters don’t have a tremendous amount of depth to them, but I really liked the characters.

Lysette is young, but she quickly shows strength and determination and the ability to manage Max who is fifteen years her senior. And the relationship between Lysette and Max is one of the nicest of Kleypas’s books. These two like one another almost from the beginning — and not the sexual liking, but rather the two have an emotional and intellectual connection from early on in this book. I really liked how these characters interacted with one another. I would have expected the older and more experienced Max to crush the young Lysette, but instead their relationship is a combination of her strength and his caring for her enough to include her opinions in his considerations.

If a reader is looking for an equivalent of Kleypas’s later works, there is apt to be disappointment, but I enjoyed this book on its own terms.

WORTH MENTIONING: I really loved the different time period and location. This book takes place in Louisiana at the turn of the 19th century. The book uses Aaron Burr’s post-Hamilton duel history in the Louisiana territories which led to him being tried for treason as the historical underpinning for this story.

CONNECTED BOOKS: WHEN STRANGERS MARRY is the first book in the Vallerands series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3.5 stars.

three-half-stars

Review: Drums of Autumn

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Review: Drums of AutumnDrums of Autumn (Outlander, #4) by Diana Gabaldon
Series: Outlander #4
Published by Delta on August 7, 2001
Genres: Historical, Time Travel
Pages: 880
Goodreads
four-half-stars

FINAL DECISION: I ended up enjoying the story of Claire and Jamie establishing themselves in the American colonies. This feels like a transitional book getting all the characters in the right place and time, but I enjoyed the personal stories of Claire and Jamie and Brianna and Roger.

THE STORY: This book begins after the events of VOYAGER. Jamie and Claire have ended up in the colonies and begin building a new life together there as the settlers begin to have conflicts with the native inhabitants. In the future, Brianna has to deal with the loss of her mother. She and Roger also rekindle their romance but the discovery of a clipping announcing the death of Jamie and Claire due to a house fire forces Brianna and Roger to make a decision.

OPINION: While this book is filled, as all Outlander books, with various adventures, what attracted me most to this book was the personal relationship between Claire and Jamie. Here, the two are building a life together for the first time. The boring, daily details of life — cooking, cleaning, preparing the land — are what the two have to deal with (punctuated by various adventures). For the first time, the two have to learn to live together after so many years apart. This book feels like a settled and romantic couple which I really loved. In the daily living, true love is shown. And for the first time, there is no question that Jamie and Claire will be together throughout the book.

What I really didn’t expect was how much I would love the story of Brianna and Roger. With Claire and Jamie on a less extreme emotional path, the torch of young love is passed to Brianna and Roger. I ended up loving both of these characters and I look forward to seeing their relationship develop.

As the series has progressed, I’ve become more acquainted with the historical events which form the pillars of the stories where these characters exist and with each book, I have enjoyed the historical parts more. Perhaps because we have moved into more familiar territory for me, I found the historical events and tidbits here fascinating.

As with all the books in this series, parts of the story are resolved and then parts are left for future books.

WORTH MENTIONING: The book depicts a graphic rape.

CONNECTED BOOKS: DRUMS OF AUTUMN is the fourth book in the OUTLANDER series. The book assumes knowledge from the previous books and therefore the books should be read in order.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

four-half-stars