Review: Dream Lake by Lisa Kleypas

Zoë Hoffman is as gentle and romantic as they come. When she meets the startling gorgeous Alex Nolan, all her instincts tell her to run. Even Alex tells her to run. But something in him calls to Zoë, and she forces him to take a look at his life with a clear eye, and to open his mind to the possibility that love isn’t for the foolish.
Alex Nolan is as bitter and cynical as they come, he battles his demons with the help of a whiskey bottle, and he lives in his own private hell. And then a ghost shows up. Only Alex can see him, has Alex finally crossed over the threshold to insanity?
The ghost has been existing in the half-light of this world for decades. He doesn’t know who he is, or why he is stuck in the Nolans’ Victorian house. All he knows is that he loved a girl once and that Alex and Zoë hold the key to unlocking the mystery that keeps him trapped here.

Romance is usually not my preferred genre, but one of the ladies in my critique group is writing a romantic suspense novel, and I realized that if I wanted to critique her work well I needed to see what was going on in the world of steamed up windows and happily ever after. The fact that there's a bit of paranormal in this book only served to pique my interest: there is paranormal and there is romance, but the book isn't a paranormal romance, which is already different, considering how popular paranormal romance has been for the last 10 years or so.
Dream Lake is the second novel in the Friday Harbor trilogy but it works well as a stand-alone novel. You learn everything you need to know about the quaint town of Friday Harbor and the people who live there, and you get a fun and sometimes spooky story to go with the picturesque setting. And what a setting it is! My favorite part about Friday Harbor and this book is the Artist Point Bed and Breakfast, which Zoe runs with her cousin Justine. A while back I've actually thought about opening a bed and breakfast/bakery, maybe that's why the idea appealed to me so much. And having the different rooms in the B&B designed to commemorate different artist was just awesome, so much better than flowery wallpaper and doilies. When I finished the book I started looking for what Artist Point might look like and I think I found the perfect place:

(Photo courtesy of Destination360)

The story is a variation on the theme of beauty and the beast: a young woman meets a guy who wouldn't wish himself on anybody, and they change each other's lives. Beauty & the Beast has always been my favorite Disney cartoon, and of course the folkloric iterations of the story that came before it have a special place in my heart, so it's no wonder that as soon as I realized that this is the core story type I was able to guess what would happen between Zoe & Alex. Had it not been for the ghost and his story I might've gotten bored with the book, but wanting to know what was keeping him from moving on made me continue turning the pages. In fact, the ghost and his story stole the spotlight more than once over the course of the book!
While Kleypas' writing didn't always work for me I'll admit that she did an excellent job with character building. All the key players and even the characters we meet for only a short while were multi-dimensional, with either obvious or implied shortcomings, quirks and admirable qualities. It was very easy to like Zoe and root for Alex, even when he was being a complete ass, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was more to Zoe's dad than met the eye.
One of the reasons the writing didn't always work for me is that there is quite a bit of 'telling' in the book where it would've been very easy to 'show' what the characters were going through or what was in their past. Another is that there is plenty of spelled-out minute actions and descriptions that I wasn't convinced were necessary to move the story along. The most distracting however were the sudden switches between point of view and male characters acting, talking and thinking as a woman would. For example, Alex is a construction contractor who can't boil water, I really doubt he would be able to describe a dish using vocabulary fitting for a culinary aficionado. I doubt even more that people who work with certain tools all the time would use full formal names for those tools in casual conversation, I know my husband will never say "the phillips head screwdriver" if "the phillips head" will suffice. I understand that this is a romance novel and it's probably safe to say that half the target audience doesn't know their way around a tool box, but this kind of extensive detail and uncharacteristic powers of description didn't work for me.
As much as mundane scenes didn't always work for me I have to admit that when it came to romantic scenes Kleypas did an excellent job. They were tasteful yet detailed enough to convince me that had the action been happening in a car the windows would've been steamed up, and while there wasn't a 'fade to black' effect the vocabulary and descriptions were neither crude nor gratuitous. I can see why Kleypas is so popular with fans of romance.
While I myself will most likely not be specifically looking for any other books by this author should I happen upon Crystal Grove (the sequel) I will most likely pick it up: the teaser at the end of Dream Lake got me wondering about Zoe's cousin Justine, her witch legacy, and her quest to be able to fall in love.

Review: Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

In all his years of supernatural sleuthing, Harry Dresden has never faced anything like this: the spirit world's gone postal. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone-or something-is purposely stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why? If Harry doesn't figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself.

This was the last book in the Dresden Files omnibus I got from the library and it left me feeling very enthusiastic about the future of the series for a variety of reasons.
First of all, as I mentioned in my review of Fool Moon I was concerned whether the vague tendency of the plot to become formulaic was going to resurface in this book. Fortunately I shouldn't have worried: Mr. Butcher took the story in a completely different direction and every twist felt fresh and exciting. There were no two potions, brand new characters and dynamics were introduced, and the essence of the story steered away from basic crime and into more substantial realms of right and wrong. The only thing that stayed was poor Harry getting beaten up brutally and on a regular basis, apparently when you're a wizard for hire that's a common occurrence. Oh and the self-deprecation. Can't do without that.
If you remember from last week's post I was getting excited about the universe Butcher was beginning to flesh out in Fool Moon with multiple breeds of werewolves, if you will. He pursued that direction in this novel in the most encouraging fashion in his treatment of the vampire underworld. The idea of different courts is not particularly new, but I really enjoyed seeing just how different they are in the Dresden Files universe. For one thing it's just fun, secondly it is another indicator of the range the series is acquiring, and that is always a good thing for a series as long as this one.
I mentioned earlier that in this book the story is leaning towards deeper areas of right and wrong, and what I was talking about is Harry dealing with not just a villain who needs to be stopped or corruption, but with things like faith, love, commitment and what is worth fighting a war over. His partner in the fight against evil in this novel is Michael, the uncompromising Knight of the Cross, who repeatedly prompts Harry to think about all those and on occasion serves as a moral compass for the wizard who often has somewhat different priorities. The best part for me was that there was no drawn-out conversations (there simply wasn't time for them), but rather the good old method of raising subjects and teaching by example. Harry's a smart guy, he can figure it out.
Gradually Butcher has been setting the scene for the big mystery of Harry's past and his parents' deaths, as well as the bargains he's struck with his fairy godmother, and in this novel things are starting to build to a point where the fairy godmother wants what she believes is rightfully hers and Harry is beginning to question things he's believed his entire life, so I think that in the next novel or two we'll see more serious developments in these plot lines, and the family mystery is probably going to take more than a few books to uncover. There's nothing quite like a common thread tying the separate cases together to keep a reader coming back! I know I'll be reserving the next book at the library in short order.

Review: This Side Of The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

With the mysterious disappearance of vampires, rumors abound that a species war is brewing. A zealot is inciting tensions between the vampires and ghouls, and if these two powerful groups clash, innocent mortals could become collateral damage. Now Cat and Bones are forced to seek help from a dangerous "ally" —the ghoul queen of New Orleans herself. But the price of her assistance may prove more treacherous than even the threat of a supernatural war... to say nothing of the repercussions Cat never imagined.

After tackling a heavyweight such as The Book Thief I felt I needed something light to cleanse my reading pallette and another installment of Cat's adventures seemed perfect. From the very first book in the series I've enjoyed Frost's fast-paced storytelling and witty writing, and this book brought all that to the table.
There are several things I like about this series in general and this book in particular, aside from all the humor and scene-stealing secondary characters (Vlad Tepesh is awesome in this series). One is that while the characters are supernatural Frost puts bigger, society-spanning issues in the center of the story and by doing this makes them even more human than she already has by giving them some very human traits and problems - in the past she talked about slave trafficking and spousal abuse, here we have vamp vs. ghoul vs. ghost conflict akin to our racial and political tensions. It's like she's saying "people are the same everywhere, even the undead ones". And when they're not fighting each other and plotting against each other on the world stage they also have the same family and personal problems as we all do.
My other favorite part is Frost's creativity in pulling all sorts of historical facts and people into the story and making them part of it, and doing it very well. Vlad Tepesh aka Dracula made his entrance in the last book with excellent results, now we got a taste of another historical figure (and no, I'm not telling who), I can't wait to see who else will make an entrance in the next book.
Writing is a big part of any book and here Frost lost some points with me because of occasional strange word choice and repetitions of things she's already said (how many times do we need to hear that Bones used to be a gigolo in his human days? One mention per book is plenty, we got it, thanks). I do enjoy the narrative voice though, it's easy and keeps things moving and down to earth, and here it works with the story, which is always a plus.
What I couldn't shrug off as easily is the constant shagging. In graphic detail. Yes, I know people do that. No, I don't need to be holding the proverbial candle every single time they do it, especially if it's going to be that often. Which raises another question: do Cat and Bones really need to be that amourous to advance the plot? I do look forward to reading the next book, I just hope there are fewer bedroom scenes and more actual story.
All in all this is an entertaining and engaging read packed with adventure, laughs and great characters and if that's what you're looking for I think you won't be disappointed. And if you're a romance fan you'll love it even more.

My rating: 4

Review: Cedardale Court by Nathan Lee Christensen

Cedardale Court is a neo-gothic murder mystery with enough fools and old flames to keep you happily mixed up for most of a long weekend. When Canner Connelly and his daughter, Chloe, move in with their Uncle Henry, and a simple drainage problem turns a normal Sunday morning into a slightly darker affair, it's not easy to tell where everyone might end up, or if they'll even make it at all.

When Mr. Christensen e-mailed asking to review his book he had me at "neo-gothic murder mystery". I had no idea what such a novel was and decided this was the perfect time to find out, and let me tell you, I'm glad I did. This book turned out to be a very enjoyable read with great characters, plenty of plot twists, some laughs, engaging writing and a surprise ending.
Christensen's characters are so different and so quirky in their own unique ways that it's hard to pick a favorite. I loved the spunky 10-year-old Chloe, her perpetually paranoid dad who sees his deceased wife's ghost on a regular basis, the good old Uncle Henry, the take-charge detective Birch and even Charlie the cat who gets his own time in the spotlight and adds to the charm. The villains were a total surprise and not just because of their identities. I just never expected them to be quite the kind of people they were, or became, and that made the story more intense.
I really enjoyed Mr. Christensen't writing. It was fun and easy to read, the dialogue felt fresh and realistic and moved right along, and I felt that the voice was perfect for this story. There were some minor spelling issues and grammatical errors in places where editing obviously took place, so I think the book would benefit if someone read it through with a fresh eye and corrected those problem areas.
Cedardale Court was a lot of fun and I would recommend it to those who enjoy an offbeat murder mystery and aren't put off by occasional grammatical or spelling error. I look forward to seeing what Mr. Christensen does with his next book.