Review: Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle

Title: Kissing Shakespeare
Author: Pamela Mingle
Series: Standalone
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars

352 pages
Expected publication August 14th by Random House
ARC received through Netgalley

Goodreads | Author | Publisher | Amazon | Book Depository

I started this book when I was in the mood for a quick, light romance. Something that makes you warm and fuzzy inside. Judging from the cover I was at the right place for that with Kissing Shakespeare.

Young want-to-be actress Miranda gets whipped away to Tudor times by a fellow player, Stephen Langford. Here she gets the mission to seduce Shakespeare, who is in his teens. If she doesn't succeed, all of his work might be lost.

The cover of Kissing Shakespeare is very misleading. It's very sweet, with the pink and delicate title and flower in the girl's hair. It's absolutely nothing like the story. During the late 16th century, Queen Elizabeth had started war against everyone from the "old faith". Protestantism was the state religion now, and Catholics were prosecuted. Especially Jesuits were wanted.

Kissing Shakespeare suffered from this background. It's so dark and angst-filled. At one point a man is burned alive. Not in much detail, but it happens. This was not what I was expecting in this book. The whole mission of seducing Shakespeare isn't romantic or swoony at all. It's a duty, and one Miranda is reluctant to fulfil. There is very little seducing going on, it's just a few stolen moments, but nothing that makes it feel special.

Shakespeare himself was a rather bland character. This was one of my major disappointments. He is one of the most popular people in human history, but he could have just been a boy next door. He is an actor - shouldn't he at least be a bit eccentric? I felt there was a lot more effort put in other characters like Stephen, and it felt just wrong that Shakespeare takes a secondary role in a story like this.

But I could have lived with all these faults. There is just one problem that I could not get around while reading this book: it has one of the biggest plot holes I have ever seen. There is absolutely no reason at all why history would go on a different course. Why is there a problem? What happened that history all of a sudden changes? It's not that there are different dimensions. No mention of a time traveller that messed up. This whole story is built on absolutely nothing. There were a few explanations that tried to cover up this problem, but nothing satisfactory. The whole time travel is shamelessly under explained. And the worst thing is that main character Miranda doesn't even question it.

The story itself isn't that bad. There is a lot of spying around, making assumptions, and romance. Only in my opinion it was with the wrong person. Read with caution.

Blurb

Miranda has Shakespeare in her blood: she hopes one day to become a Shakespearean actor like her famous parents. At least, she does until her disastrous performance in her school's staging of The Taming of the Shrew. Humiliated, Miranda skips the opening-night party. All she wants to do is hide.

Fellow cast member, Stephen Langford, has other plans for Miranda. When he steps out of the backstage shadows and asks if she'd like to meet Shakespeare, Miranda thinks he's a total nutcase. But before she can object, Stephen whisks her back to 16th century England—the world Stephen's really from. He wants Miranda use her acting talents and modern-day charms on the young Will Shakespeare. Without her help, Stephen claims, the world will lost its greatest playwright.

Miranda isn't convinced she's the girl for the job. Why would Shakespeare care about her? And just who is this infuriating time traveler, Stephen Langford? Reluctantly, she agrees to help, knowing that it's her only chance of getting back to the present and her "real" life. What Miranda doesn't bargain for is finding true love . . . with no acting required.

Other reviews you might be interested in

• Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (3/5 Stars)
• Review: The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry (4/5 Stars)
• Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (4/5 Stars)
• Review: Ripper by Amy Carrol Reeves (4/5 Stars)

Review: Fire Baptized by Kenya Wright

Fire Baptized by Kenya Wright
(Habitat #1)

2.5 out of 5 stars

Published by Dragonfairy Press
Review copy received through the author

You know the feeling when every single person you know loved a book, but you don't? And you wonder why people don't see it? That is how I feel about Fire Baptized.

Supernaturals are being forced to live in cages the size of small cities. Here they live in poverty and suppression. But things are even worse if you are a Mixbreed. They are second-class citizens, even in the Habitat. When she witnesses a gruesome murder on the way home, Lanore is determined to find the killer. But then he starts targeting people around her, and the killings get more personal.

The best way to describe Fire Baptized is an Anita Blake novel merged with a dystopian with social suppression themes. Think pre-orgy Anita Blake here. It's graphic urban-fantasy. There is a high level of gore and sex scenes that leave very little to imagination. I wouldn't recommend this for the sensitive reader. But for those of you who like it gritty - you might like this.

I admire the idea behind the story. It's different from what we're used to. There are Shifters, Vampires, Fairies, Pixies, Half-Demons and Witches; about every supernatural creature you can think of. They live in a caged city, cut off from the world. It's a highly original concept, and I just wish the execution was better.

The thing is, when you make this fantastic world with countless creatures that inhabit it and even make a whole religion for them, I want details. I want to know who built the cage. How does it look. What kinds of supernaturals are there, and what are their powers. When did supernaturals come out of the closet, so to speak? My main problem with Fire Baptized is that these details aren't there. There are pixies flying around, but I don't even know what they look like. Trolls make an appearance, but I have no idea whether they're black, green or orange. I get that you have to avoid info-dumps in books, especially in genres like urban-fantasy, but I sense a new phenomenon here. I'm calling it info-voids.

One of the biggest info-voids is why the supernaturals are even in a cage. Who put them there? Didn't they put up a fight or something? It mustn't be easy to put witches inside of a cage. The elements that make this story unique are just hinted on. Too much information is bad for a story, and it bogs it down. But too little makes it senseless.

Another thing that bothers me is inconsistencies. At one point in the novel, a law is mentioned that says vampires can't grow older than the age of a hundred. A few chapters later, we meet some vampires that are about two hundred years old. Maybe there is an explanation for this, but it isn't mentioned in the book.

My biggest annoyance in the book is the language Ms Wright has created. I think it's admirable to create your own language; I think it's great that Rebels speak some kind of dialect. You can even call it Lib Lib if you want to. What I don't like is that the Rebels talk like Yoda on a trip to Jamaica. As an illustration, I will quote some of the Lib Lib sentences spoken by a Rebel.

"Me no like this place already," Nona complained. "It's full of oppressors. We sit in the front."

"Me understand, but he can't harm you. You're Zulu's breeder."

And this is a response from heroine Lanore.

"Rest your... um, mouth, Nona," I said, straining to think of the few Lib Lib phrases I knew. "Him good."

I'm willing to believe in magic. But I am not willing to believe that this person cannot understand basic English. She SPEAKS basic English, only like a three-year-old. It just wasn't credible at all and turned into something that annoyed me every time it came up.

If you like stubborn (not necessarily smart) heroines, love triangles, alpha males with rock hard abs, gruesome murders and grown-up bullying, I think you might like Fire Baptized. It really isn't a bad book, and a lot of people have enjoyed and will keep to enjoy it. As of now I am the only person here on Goodreads not to like it that much. Try it, and see for yourself.

Blurb

Since the 1970s humans have forced supernaturals to live in caged cities. Silver brands embedded in their foreheads identify them by species: a full moon for Vampires, a crescent moon for Shifters, a pair of wings for Fairies, and the list goes on, for each supernatural species has been tagged and categorized by humans.

Lanore Vesta is marked with a silver X, the brand of Mixbreeds, second-class citizens shunned by society. She stays to herself, revealing her ability to create fire only during emergencies. All she wants to do is graduate college and stop having to steal to survive. But when she stumbles upon a murder in progress, she catches the attention of a supernatural killer. Now all she wants is to stop finding dead bodies in her apartment.

Enlisting help from her Were-cheetah ex-boyfriend MeShack and a new mysterious friend named Zulu, she is steered through the habitat’s raunchy nightlife. But their presence sometimes proves to be more burden than help, as they fight for her attention.

While the corpses pile up, and the scent of blood fills the air, Lanore is left wondering: will she find the psycho or die trying?

Other reviews you might be interested in

• Review: Demon's Fall by Karalynn Lee (2/5 Stars)
• Review: Broken by Kelley Armstrong (4/5 Stars)
• Review: Stone Kissed by Keri Stevens (2/5 Stars)
• Review: The Killing Dance by Laurell K Hamilton (4/5 Stars)

More links

• Author page
• Press
• Goodreads

Review: Stray by Rachel Vincent

Stray by Rachel Vincent
(Shifters #1)

2.5 out of 5 stars

Published by Mira

Stray really was one big meh for me. There was nothing that really stood out. Yes, I know, I haven't read about werecats before. Yet, these cats live together in a system that reminds a lot of the werewolf hierarchy like in Bitten. Main character Faythe was a little bit too ignorant for my taste. She has one hell of a strange view on the world. She constantly boasts around that she's so tough, she's not weak, she can handle anything! Yet when anyone tells her bad news (yes, it was horrible news, but still) she faints. Yeah. You're so tough.

The romance was more lust than love. I know they were supposed to have this history together, but I don't see the attraction. He is so idiotically possessive, while Faythe seems to rebel against anyone that wants to protect her. I have no idea how she can love Mr. I-beat-the-crap-out-of-a-guy-because-he-touched-you-once.

Except that this book lends itself well for ranting, I don't really see how this book stands out from the gigantic amount of urban-fantasy books out there. It's way too long (a massive 600+ pages) for a story that starts to pick up around halfway. When the action finally arrived I did like it though. The writing in itself is not bad at all, and it was quite enjoyable.

There are some scenes that crossed the fine line of my comfort zone. There was sexual assault and graphic torture. What stung me most was that the torture was performed by the "good guys". I'm sorry, I just can't live with that. I feel like we should be warned or something. You can't see from the cover or the blurb that this book has such violent aspects.

Not a big fan of this one, especially because I couldn't agree with the heroine at all. I have heard that the series does get better with every book, and though Faythe won't win a science quiz, she does gain some more common sense. I think I will read the next book in the series, but I definitely won't be rushing to get it.

Blurb

There are only eight breeding female werecats left...

And I'm one of them.

I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds.
Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked.
I'd been warned about Strays -- werecats without a Pride, constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female, and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared. 

This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back... for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever -- and whoever -- I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays -- 'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them...

Review: A Treasure Worth Seeking by Sandra Brown

A Treasure Worth Seeking by Sandra Brown

2.5 out of 5 stars

I received this book through Firstreads

I'm not sure how to review this book without sounding condescending. It's not my intention to either insult the authors of books like this, or people who enjoy reading them.

That being clarified, this books reads like a daydream fantasy. Something you make up when you're staring out of the window on a long train trip, or during your lunch break when you're having a boring day at work. I have conjured thousands of stories like this, and while they are entertaining, in the end you know they don't make sense at all. This book makes absolutely no sense.

The story starts with the adopted Erin O'Shea looking for her lost brother. When she arrives in San Franscisco unannounced (of course you wouldn't call before hopping on a multiple hours flight) it turns out her brother is suspect of stealing a huge amount of money from the bank he works. Then the story is one string of events, the second even less plausible than the first.

What struck me as odd was the dysfunctional relationship Erin and Lance have. They understand absolutely nothing about each other. One second everything is all sweet words and tender touches and a second later they are in some kind of fight without any inducement. And somewhere in the middle of that on-off thing they draw the conclusion that they love each other. Huh?

You cannot love someone unconditionally when you have just met this person. Yes, you can be in love, but that is something else entirely. Love needs a foundation, a basis on which it can be built. And I just can't stand it when characters in books just decide from one moment to the other they "love" someone. Love is more than that, and it deserves to be treated more carefully.

This book is like a written form of a television soap series. It is entertaining, and a way to escape reality. Only I prefer to escape into a world were there are vampires or dragons or zombies, not into a world where virgins get swiped of their feet by special agents. I can see why these books are popular. They are easy to read and fast paced, without themes that require deep thought. And I repeat, there is nothing wrong with this book, or any other book of this kind. They are just not for me.

Blurb

After years of searching for the brother she'd never known, Erin O'Shea had finally found his San Francisco address. She stood on the doorstep, unaware that she was about to walk into a shocking drama of family lies - and to meet an intriguing, infuriating man who would change her life. Lance...He was a G-man for the government's toughest cases - like the big-money scam involving Erin's long-lost brother. But although Lance was immediately attracted to her, he never dreamed that his feelings would drive him to break every rule in the book - and put his career and even Erin's future on the line.