Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Minis: Linnea Sinclair, Jennifer Crusie, Josh Lanyon

I haven't been reading as much in October as I did in September, but so far the books I've read have been highly enjoyable. Here are Minis on three of them.

Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair

The universe isn’t what it used to be. With the new Alliance between the Triad and the United Coalition, Captain Tasha “Sass” Sebastian finds herself serving under her former nemesis, biocybe Admiral Branden Kel-Paten–and doing her best to hide a deadly past. But when an injured mercenary winds up in their ship’s sick bay–and in the hands of her best friend, Dr. Eden Fynn–Sass’s efforts may be wasted.

Wanted rebel Jace Serafino has information that could expose all of Sass’s secrets, tear the fragile Alliance apart–and end Sass’s career if Kel-Paten discovers them. But the biocybe has something to hide as well, something once thought impossible for his kind to possess: feelings . . . for Sass. Soon it’s clear that their prisoner could bring down everything they once believed was worth dying for–and everything they now have to live for.
I loved Games of Command. I stayed up until 2:00 am reading it and finished it off the following morning! It's a Sinclair ride, that's for sure... Kel-Paten, the hero, had me at HELLO. That biocybe is just the sweetest thing I've seen as a romantic scifi hero in a long time. I sighed and melted when our heroine Tasha read his personal logs (that's all I'll say about that). Tasha's a classic Sinclair heroine -- she's tough and takes no prisoners, she doesn't fall easily but when she falls, she falls. I enjoyed all the action and the secondary characters, Jace Serafino and Dr. Eden Fynn (who are actually quite central), are also arresting.

Games of Command was definitely a winner for me. I was not disappointed in the plot or characterization. The pacing is excellent -- the action keeps the story moving along -- and the romance, while slow on the build-up, was satisfying. Kel-Paten's yearning for Tasha made that part of the story both sweet and angsty. I loved the slow way Sinclair developed trust between Tasha and Brendan, plus their interaction and dialogue just got better as the story progressed. The final outcome to the overall storyarc was quite complex with twists and turns from beginning to end. Grade: A

Visit Linnea Sinclair here.


Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie

Tess Newhart knows her ex-boyfriend Nick Jamieson isn't the right guy for her. He's caviar and champagne; she's take-out Chinese pot stickers. He's an uptight Republican lawyer; she was raised in a commune. He wants to get ahead in business; she just wants…him. But there's no way Tess will play second fiddle to his job.

Yet somehow she finds herself agreeing to play his fiancée on a weekend business trip that could make or break Nick's career. And while he's trying to convince Tess that he needs her in his respectable world, Tess is doing her best to keep her opinions to herself and her hands off Nick.

I couldn't wait to read Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie, a gift from Nath. I liked this book. It's the pairing between a yuppy lawyer and a free-thinking, liberal, hippy-like female. The very 80's political style -- even though it was released in the early 90's -- with references to Nancy Reagan and the Quayles dates the story. I loved the whole crazy relationship between these two very different people, with their prejudices against each other, their love and compromises. My favorite scene? The absolutely crazy scene in the restaurant.  I'll continue reading Crusie's backlist and know I'll enjoy it. Grade: Solid B

Visit Jennifer Crusie here.


Somebody Killed His Editor: Holmes & Moriarity (Book 1) by Josh Lanyon

Thanks to an elderly spinster sleuth and her ingenious cat, Christopher Holmes has enjoyed a celebrated career as a bestselling mystery writer. Until now. Sales are down and his new editor is allergic to geriatric gumshoes. On the advice of his agent, he reinvents his fortyish, frumpy, recently dumped self into the sleek, sexy image of a literary lion, and heads for a Northern California writers conference to try and resurrect his career. A career nearly as dead as the body he stumbles over in the woods. In a weirdly déjà vu replay of one of his own novels, he finds himself stranded in an isolated lodge full of frightened women—and not a lawman in sight. Except for J.X. Moriarity, former cop and bestselling novelist. The man with whom he shared a one-night stand—okay, maybe three—long ago. The man who wants to arrest him for murder. A ruthless, stalking killer, or a hot, handsome ex-lover. Which poses the greater danger? It’s elementary, my dear Holmes!
This is a mystery, a good who dunnit with a large cast of characters, but for me the best part of the book was Christopher Holmes. Christopher or Kit, the main character in Somebody Killed His Editor: Holmes & Moriarity, Book 1 is one of those characters that no matter how many bodies he finds, or how bloody the situation, will make you smile. This story is told in first person point of view and I just loved Christopher's voice... talk about a sardonic, sarcastic, insecure man with a flair for drama. I loved his internal dialogue and every single impulsive word that came out of his mouth.

He finds a dead body as soon as he arrives at the conference, winds up meeting J.X. Moriarity, an ex-cop, ex-lover and young(er) "successful" writer, and this mystery caper takes off from there, as does the rather interesting relationship between JX and Kit. We follow Christopher as he becomes the main suspect, uses less than great judgment (has some great TSTL moments), and gets involved without even trying. A favorite quote, and I had many:
"I jumped up and started yelling, "Help! Help!" I never said I was the hero of this story." 
Somebody Killed His Editor was fun, funny, sexy, full of snark, somewhat touching and I loved it! I heard there's a sequel coming out soon and I can't wait to read it. Grade: B+

Visit Josh Lanyon here.

10 comments:

  1. Wasn't Games Of Command great? I wasn't quite as enamored with the secondary romance (Hello? Get back to Kel-Paten already! LOL), but other than that I really enjoyed it. I don't naturally gravitate towards sci-fi romance and I'm not sure why. When my hand is forced, I usually end up enjoying them quite a bit....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wendy, it was! I didn't mind the secondary romance as much... except that yeah! I wanted more Kel-Paten. ;P That's the way I began reading sci-fi romance... enjoying one here and there, and now I just really love them and pick them up whenever I can.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have a feeling Kel-Paten is one of those heroes readers would fight over. :D I really need to read that book and find out!

    ReplyDelete
  4. One of these days I really need to read a Linnea Sinclair book!

    Oh, and in your Jennifer Cruise backlist have you discovered Bet Me? That was the first Jennifer Cruise book I read and still my favourite.

    After reading (and completely adoring :) the Adrien English series I haven't read any more of Josh Lanyon's books. I must be mad :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Leslie, I'm getting that feeling too. I know he's a favorite with me. Goodness what a sweetie!

    Orania, I hope you enjoy Sinclair one of these days. :)

    RE: Crusie. As a matter of fact, I just received Bet Me on the mail this week! So it's in my TBR now. Hope to read it soon. :)

    RE: Lanyon's books. I know what you mean! After reading the AE series and loving it, I was afraid to pick up anything by him too soon. I'm just glad I waited a bit and chose this one. This is a mystery, but different from the AE series, and Kit has a totally different "voice." Great read for me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Argh! Games of Command is one of those books that fell off my radar. Been meaning to read it for ages! Thanks for the reminder. :-)

    Wasn't Somebody Killed His Editor fun? So happy that we'll get book 2 in December!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Renee, I've had Games of Command on my TBR for 2 years on ebook format, and read it after getting in print, lol! I'm SO glad! It's already a Sinclair favorite. I hope you'll enjoy it too. :)

    I enjoyed every minute of Somebody Killed His Editor. I can't wait for that second book. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm glad you enjoyed Strange Bedpersons. It was my first Crusie, so I think it'll always hold a special place in my heart :P

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nath, I really enjoyed this book! I'm really trying to hold myself back from devouring the rest of the backlist you gave me. Between this book and Welcome to Temptation, I know I'll enjoy her writing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Can't wait to hear what you think of Bet Me. And great idea WRT the JL books.

    ReplyDelete

Anonymous Users disallowed due to large influx of spam.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.