Infinity: Chronicles of Nick
I’ll admit, the moment I started reading this and realized the main character “Nick Gautier” was only fourteen, I was apprehensive. We’ve come to know him as one of Kenyon’s crush-worthy adult characters from her “Dark-Hunter” series, and while I knew this story was about Nick as a teen, coming into the Dark-Hunter world, I didn’t realize just how young he’d be. Don’t get me wrong, I love YA novels (young adult novels) and many have proven to be completely absorbing and powerfully addictive (Twilight, Vampire Academy, etc…). In past YA series that I have reviewed, we were essentially dealing with older teens on the cusp of adulthood and let’s be honest, there is a BIG difference between 14 year olds and 17 year olds.
My Book Reviews
Book Review – Dark Challenge by Christine Feehan
Dark Challenge
I just finished book #1 in my “old school” marathon (but it’s actually book #5 in Christine Feehan’s “Dark” series). It was just “okay”.
It started off well enough, but quickly bored me with the repetitive, over-the-top love declarations. I actually found myself skimming through the love scenes (which I usually never do). In fact, even with all the action and drama that I expect and love to read in paranormal romance novels, I “live” for the love scenes and the intense moments (okay, well, I don’t really “live” for them, but you get the picture 😉 ). While I remember really being taken with the love intensity in book one and two (Dark Prince and Dark Desire), this book just didn’t have “it”. My heart never melted, I didn’t find myself re-reading the most intense love scenes (which I usually do), despite the depth at which the author tried to convey the emotions. Every few pages the two main characters practically went into sappy poetic discourses of their undying devotion. Sweet, yes, but come on. It all felt so…old-fashioned.
Book Review – The Vampire and the Virgin by Kerrelyn Sparks
The Vampire and the Virgin
This book was pure sweet candy! I loved it, ate it up, and wished I had more. I was “needing” to cater to my reading “sweet tooth” and Kerrelyn Sparks sure serves it up.
Of course, as with my past experience with this series there was a fair bit of angsty, eye rolling silliness (drama for the sake of drama) but since it had been quite awhile that I’d read Kerrelyn Sparks, I was fine with it. This series was one of my “firsts” and holds a warm place in my heart. I find the author consistent in her writing, and the characters, likable…(and some even lovable…yum!)
Currently Reading (pt 2)…Bullet by Laurell K Hamilton
Bullet
Yup…still reading it…. Guys, I don’t think I’m gonna make it. This will be a first (at least in this genre). I’ve never read a book so slowly in my life. I keep falling asleep (and with this book I don’t even try to struggle to stay awake). I’m literally halfway through the book, and NOTHING exciting has happened.
Everything’s so convoluted, I never really have an exact idea of what’s going on. Maybe cause it’s making me fall asleep. With all the metaphysical stuff and the ardeur, it’s just a big dreamy haze. I can’t grasp any of it. I just can’t relate to any of them. The characters run hot and cold, the whole lot of them. Whiny, bully, emotional wreck, bully (they even physically bully Anita). How can she be attracted to any of them? And personally, Anita has become so unfeeling and prides herself so much in being the “man” in the relationship (she does!!). I guess it’s her way of proving she’s tough amongst so much whiny alpha male. I can’t connect to any of them. They’re all so weird!
Currently Reading…Bullet by Laurell K Hamilton
Bullet (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Book 19)
I’m only a quarter of the way through…maybe a bit more, so I’m gonna give it a chance, but…I dunno about this one. 😐
Anita feels a little different to me, or maybe I’ve changed? As I mentionned to my friend Lily in our book discussion today:
I’m reading Bullet right now…not sure how I feel about it yet. I’m starting to kinda not like Anita…and well all of them.
- Gorgeous almost irresistible Asher‘s being a baby (he feels unwanted and instead of talking it out with those he supposedly loves, starts in with some pretty serious threats)…now THAT’S gonna win some hearts 🙄
- Richard‘s had a change of heart and is suddenly being really cooperative (which is a nice change) but why am I resentful of him anyway? Too little, too late? There was a time in the series when he could do NO wrong…then he just started becoming angrier and plain scary that he just seems broken to me.
- …and Jean Claude the absolute most amazing “real” vampire ever, and yet….he just doesn’t get any attention and doesn’t really say anything about it. While he is important (it seems) to this book, he is almost already backburner-ish – he’s there but not ever angry or emotional. Maybe he never really was, and I just projected emotion onto his character because I liked him so much (one of the first vampires I ever loved LOL!). No wait. I swear He USED to be emotional. He’d get jealous, act indifferent, become angry and threatening and scary but now… none of that. He’s just “perfect”. Never overreacts, always polite and completely accepting of Anita and her needs. Oh come on, man!
- Anita. What can I say? What I hate is I can no longer relate to her. From her extreme public affection with each lover, to their unrealistic overall acceptance of each other (‘cept for Asher – who really only wants JC and is becoming quite resentful of Anita). I mean, I sorta get the “ardeur” thing (well…not really) but whatever – I’ll accept it as an integral part of the series (a side effect of being bonded to the “vampire line” that dominates through their sexuality – something important is bound to happen because of it, right?). And the need to help control her beasts is just so sexually complicated too. But even with her internal musings, she never admits being really in love with any of them. Basically, she loves everyone (equally?) which is almost as bad as loving no one to me. How she acts with her lovers, no real tenderness…no real emotion…no real attachment. Just a bunch of convenient arrangements.
I don’t *feel* any of them anymore. Not even Jean Claude 🙁 Did I ever think this had an aspect of romance in it? I think I keep reading because I’m hoping to connect once again to the characters I’d grown so attached to.