Thursday, June 17, 2010

Mini-Impressions: Straight from the Hip & Hot on Her Heels by Susan Mallery

Here are a some Mini-Impressions from my latest reads. I would like to thank both Nath and Tabitha for sending me all four books in this series. :)

Straight from the Hip (Titan Sisters Series, Book 3) by Susan Mallery

First, I read Straight from the Hip, the third book in the Titan Sisters contemporary romance series by Susan Mallery. This was an okay read, but still not great. This is Izzy's story, the dare devil in the family. She was partially blinded during an explosion while working on an oil rig during the last book and is now dealing with the blindness. She wallows for a good part of the book in self-pity and seems to be afraid of everything, something that is surprisingly not like the Izzy we had seen in previous books. The hero in this book is sexy, but guilt-ridden, doesn't think he deserves to be loved and is on a self-punishing trip. A woe-is-me pair. 

Again as in the other books, the dialogue is good in this story and I like the way Mallery writes, but I have a problem liking the characters. Evil brother Garth was still the most intriguing character in this book and I couldn't help but hope that he would stay that way. Grade C

Hot on Her Heels (Titan Sisters Series, Book 4) by Susan Mallery

I decided to just finish the Titan Sisters series by Susan Mallery since I already had the book and went on to read Hot on Her Heels. This is Garth's story, the evil half-brother who has been making every one's life miserable throughout the whole series, and Dana the sisters' girlfriend. This is where Garth and the sisters resolve the conflicts, particularly the "daddy" issues that have been plaguing them all. 

In my opinion this is the best book of the whole series. I really liked Dana. She is tough and direct and even though she had a crappy, abusive childhood, she didn't spend the whole book whining about it or feeling sorry for herself. I also really liked Garth and that was a surprise since he was the villain for most of this series. He is still a cold customer, but an interesting one with different dimensions to him. I like that he's sexy and while he's now likable, he doesn't really lose all his edge. Good ending to an otherwise mediocre series. Grade B

Visit Susan Mallery here

8 comments:

  1. The 4th book sounds good just for the evil half-brother who's been making everyone's life miserable. LOL

    I can't remember if I've read anything by Mallery. Might check her out when I need a new contemp author. Thanks for the minis Hils. :)

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  2. Leslie the 4th book was the best read for me. :)

    I liked Mallery's writing and I'll be checking out some of her other books -- stand alones, etc-- to see if I want to continue reading her books. These were my first by her.

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  3. Glad you got to enjoy at least one of the books! Lol.

    I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to like Garth in his book because I didn't think I would from his evilness portrayed in the sisters stories...I find it funny -- and makes him more likeable -- when he panics when his sisters gang up on him. Lol!

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  4. Tabitha, thanks again for the books! I enjoyed reading a "new-to-me" writer. :) And, I definitely liked the way Mallery writes -- she keeps you reading.

    She did a great job of with Garth's character! I wasn't sure how that was going to turn out, but it really worked. I loved what happened between Garth and his sisters in the book. *g* And Dana was great -- she was another character I wasn't sure about that turned out to be wonderful. :)

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  5. Hot on Her Heels was definitively the best book in the series, no contest :) and as a whole, it was a good book as well :) Loved Dana and Garth. In part, I think because they understood each other so well LOL.

    In Straight from the Hip, I wished Izzy has not recovered her sight. It would have been more interesting if she had remained blind. I can understand why Izzy would wallow. Losing your eyesight is a tough, but you're right... It was out of character for Izzy. Ah well.

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  6. Nath, you're so right. Hot on Her Heels was absolutely the best of the series. It was well rounded, character and storywise.

    Straight from the Hip *sigh*... it's not the fact that she was upset about being blind, it was her fear and attitude over everything. It was not like Izzy at all... the surgery, for goodness sakes... that's something our Izzy wouldn't have thought about twice. Your idea about her staying blind is a good one, though, it would have made things interesting.
    As you say... ah well. :D

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  7. I think it's because the eye surgery makes it so final. There's still a chance as long as she doesn't do the surgery... but if the surgery doesn't work, then even your hope is gone.

    You're right though, the Izzy in this book didn't seem to be the same one we've seen... but blindness is really scary ^_^; In a way, you can't fault her in my opinion.

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  8. Too true, too true, nath.. scary. :D

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