I have a backlog of books to review, so I’m resorting to mini reviews for the books I read in November which haven’t yet been reviewed. The first two mini reviews are of Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols and To Desire a Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt.
Going Too Far (2009) by Jennifer Echols Genre: YA
Blurb: All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far…and almost doesn’t make it back.
John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won’t soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won’t be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge—and over…
My Take: This is a really sweet story. If it hadn’t been for a couple of jarring incidents, my grade would have been a lot higher. Meg and John work well as a couple and I thought their HEA (or HEA for now) was realistic. I found myself disconcerted by the fact the Meg failed to recognize John when he arrested her, even though they’d been in school together since elementary school. In fact, Meg mistakes him for a 40-year-old! This was a definite WTF moment for me. I could sort of accept her assuming he was a few years older than he actually was when he was wearing his uniform. But 20 years older? I don’t think so. There was another incredible incident which occurred towards the end of the book, but if I explained what it was, it would be a major spoiler. To sum up: I liked the story and I really wanted to love the book. If I could erase the incidents I mentioned from the story, I’m certain I would have been left with a much more positive impression of the book.
My Grade: C+
To Desire a Devil (2009) by Elizabeth Hoyt
Blurb: Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl’s heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago?
Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle’s home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh—and luring her into his bed.
Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud’s savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice’s love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title—even if it means sacrificing her innocence?
My Take: I was so looking forward to this book and I was dismayed that it failed to live up to my expectations. I struggled to finish the story and only persevered because I’d read the previous three in the quartet. Reynaud’s character had so much potential but he acted like an ass for much of the book. I quite liked Beatrice but I wasn’t convinced that Reynaud was the man to make her happy. The conclusion to the mystery surrounding the Spinner’s Falls Massacre was also a let-down. I think Elizabeth Hoyt is a talented author who can do so much better than this book.
My Grade: C
{ 6 comments }
I’m so curious about Going Too Far.
Sorry to hear you were disappointed by Ms. Hoyt’s book.
When Meg thought John was 40, I cracked up. But I think she saw him that way because of the way he was acting at first and she didn’t want to see who the guy really was because she was very selfish in her thinking. I adore John though. Nom.
To Desire a Devil was a big let down for me. I still can’t get over the part where Aubyn and Beatrice are having sex and she thinks he looks like a demon incubus.
I have trouble recognizing anyone from my grade school-high school days, so I don’t think that would bother me. As for the age thing… well, that is kinda weird. But people are always asking me what grade I’m in, so yeah, I guess it can happen.
Oh dear, I have TO SEDUCE A SINNER next on my reading pile and have anticipated this book ever since I found out Reynaud was to be the hero. I have been seeing more disappointed reviewers than happy ones and am sorry to hear that the book didn’t live up to your expectations…I wonder what my take on it will be.
Agree with your take on the Hoyt book — what was really disappointing (well, to my pocketbook LOL) was that I bought it and a friend sent it to me. I just didn’t care for the characters that much, thought the ending was meh (the tie-up to the mystery), didn’t care to re-visit characters from earlier books. She is going from really want to read to maybe.
NOT making a comparison but I really like her first series, especially the first. I’m enjoying my first book by Tessa Dare. I’m super busy so I can’t read it quickly — perhaps that a blessing. There’s Only One Thing That Bugs Me and it’s her habit of Capitalizing Important Thoughts. Really, it happens once a chapter and it’s beginning to feel like that Yellow Corvair Magdalenb blogged about. Guess I’m roundabout saying I hope Dare doesn’t write too fast … it can kill not the muse but the reading end of the muse. I appreciate Jo Beverley for writing fairly slowly (one book a year). There’s only one Nora/JD I guess!
@SusiSunshine I’m definitely interested in hearing your take on Gone Too Far.
@katiebabs The demon incubus part was a definite WTF moment!
@heidenkind Maybe I’m strange in that case. I tend to remember faces and I’m pretty sure I could come up with an accurate list of my classmates. It is annoying as there are a few I’d much rather forget!
@Pearl Hope you enjoy it better than I did!
@Janet W I was wondering what you’d think of To Desire a Devil. Sorry to hear it didn’t work for you, either.
I know authors have repeatedly denied that they’re pressured to write faster by their editors, but most romance authors these days publish at least two books per year. At the very least, I’m assuming the market and financial considerations oblige them to write quickly. I think there are very few writers who can churn out material at this pace and maintain a high standard. Some can keep things fresh by writing in a couple of different genres, but this doesn’t work for every writer.
Just thinking about a few authors who don’t adhere to a two-books-or-more per year schedule: Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Julia Quinn, Jo Goodman, Pamela Clare. SEP and Quinn are reliable NYT bestsellers. Perhaps they have more clout with publishers than other writers, or maybe they don’t have the financial pressure to write more than one book per year. Actually…isn’t SEP on more of a book-every-two-years schedule? Jo Goodman – no idea why she sticks to one book per year. Pamela Clare has been very open about being a slow, meticulous writer, plus she has a full-time job.