Archive for May 23, 2015
Innocence Lost by Patty Jansen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Having finished Crux, then the prequel to this book, Whispering Willows, I was still not ready to go to sleep. So I thought I’d get started on this one. Yet, it was too short to do the job. I mean it did a good job getting me involved in the story and wanting to know more…then it ended. And the worst kind of ending! Yes, a cliffhanger! Argh! I hate those! Just as I finally am invested in the characters and outcome, it ends. The sad part of that trick is that if the next were free or even $.99 I would have grabbed it up and started reading. But this is just beyond my reach right now. By the time I remember that I need to read book two, I won’t care. Especially if it is long enough away to require a reread of book one. Note to self: Don’t do this when publishing my own books!
Now the story itself isn’t about the girl in the prequel, Loesie, though she plays a very pitiful part. I mean, you will pity that poor girl. Rather, it stars Johanna, a girl lucky enough to be a merchant’s daughter and high enough on the status scale to be invited to the ball. But Johanna wants nothing to do with frills and fashion of the day. She wants fun and adventure. Be careful what you wish for? She asks the question, if the aim for a young woman is to be married, why are so few of the married ladies happy. That attitude makes it well worth the read! Johanna is strong and cares about others. Cliffhanger be damned, she is worth learning more about. AND Johanna can ‘hear’ the willows just like Loesie. And she has more opportunities to do something about the warnings.
This is a bit of a cautionary tale about organized religion and reflects our own history of the witch trials. I found Ms. Jansen’s take on the subject refreshing. Again, that makes it worth the read. All in all, I think, if you can afford it, that this is a fun adventure and worth pursuing through the series.
Whispering Willows by Patty Jansen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I wanted to read Patty Jansen’s books in order and found this one to be a prequel to the For Queen and Country series. At least that was my hope. I thought it would be enough to see me from the ending of one book and to the point of well-involved-yet-ready-to-sleep time.
Too short! I don’t like short stories. Mostly because you can’t get involved with the characters. You don’t get enough of what makes them tick. But I did pick up enough to know a little about Loesie. She can hear magick in the willows. She has a gift. That makes her a dangerous person. People have been hung for less. Yet, how can she not pay attention to what the willows say to her. They’ve always been right. It’s the rest of the world that doesn’t get it.
And so this story tells her back story. What is sad is that in the next story she is pitiful and I miss her gumption. I don’t know if this adds enough to the series to make it necessary to read before starting the series. Maybe beyond book one I will see why we needed to get to know her better.
Sadly it wasn’t enough to get me to the sleep realm and I needed to start the book one. This book was free so you can’t say it isn’t worth the price. 🙂 Maybe it is more for you?
Crux by Moira Rogers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
When my husband recommends a book, I grab it up. It will be good. And Crux is proof. Just a side note. When he first mentioned Crux to me, there was another book called Crux by Julie Reece that was also free. I will read that one very soon. I doubt it will be as steamy as this one. How could it be?
This Crux, by the writers who combine their talents and become Moira Rogers, author, has everything! BUT if you don’t like shapeshifters, great romance, complex characters with relationships to a seedier, yet more honest side, or hot steamy (wait, I used that word already), volatile (yeah, that’ll do it!) erotic lovemaking, don’t bother. I can’t remember gratuitous cussing. Maybe I was already enthralled and didn’t notice. Let that be a warning: THIS IS FOR ADULTS! even I might be too young! (LOL. 65!)
The thing is, the young woman is running for her life. No place is safe for her or those she may give her heart to. Someone is out to get her. When she learns why, it still doesn’t explain WHY. So what if she has an inner cougar begging her to shapeshift. That’s not a good reason to kill those who get too close.
By the way, Fifty Shades and the pain be damned. This is what turns me on. It is just as hungry, sexually, but more in the moment and involved.
AND there are witches and seers trying to help the young woman become all she can be while fighting the bad guy.
This book is free. The rest of the series is out of my reach for now, but not impossibly high. Go check it out…if you dare!
Darswords 