A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING
924665
HAVE LOVED MS. BRAUN'S BOOKS FOR MANY YEARS BUT OVER THE PAST 3 - 4 YEARS HAVE FELT AS THOUGH SOMEONE ELSE MIGHT BE GHOSTWRITING FOR HER.  THIS PAST OFFERING WAS SO UNTRUE TO HER CHARACTER, POLLY DUNCAN, IT SEEMS UNLIKELY MS. BRAUN HAD MUCH INPUT INTO THE STORY LINE.
2624242
While I loved the first two books in the series, I have to admit I was a little disappointed by this entry. Saintcrow has a lovely feel of futuristic UF in her books & it reminds me of some of the old pulp books I'd find at thrift stores as a kid. This book just doesn't entirely capture the feel of the first two. I'll give a warning- there may be some spoilerish stuff in this review.

The third book finds Danny recovering from not only the psychic trauma from the previous case, but also doing some grieving over Jace. When Danny finds that Lucifer has been calling after her & wanting Danny to become his Right Hand as well as wanting her to hunt some escaped demons, some of the results cause Danny to seriously think about her current situation as well as her relationship with Japh.

This following part is sort of spoilerish. Ok. I can understand the problems in Danny & Japh's relationship. Neither of them know what it's like to be the other, so it's like two people trying to talk in two different languages & come to an agreement. So it's understandable that at some point they were due to have issues about what needs to be told & what doesn't. But did it have to be stretched out for so long in the book? Japh spends a good chunk of the book not telling Danny anything, even when things are trying to kill her. It's like "Oh, you have to hunt these 4 demons down & you're Lucifer's Right Hand for 7 years, but I'm going to lock you up for that time because of reasons I'm not really going to tell you, but rest assured that you're in lots of danger". A little of that is ok & perfectly understandable, but come on... after a while of reading it, it becomes a little repetitive. Danny just wasn't herself in this book. Even from the beginning of the book she was acting foolish. When you've got things chasing after you, trying to trick you & kill you, do you put on a bracelet that just magically appeared next to you on a ferry? Granted, the bracelet isn't doing anything bad to her, but come on... the Danny I know would've been a little more cautious about putting it on without any prior knowledge of what it could do to her. Assuming Japh sent it to you is a little out of character. In any case, too much time was spent on Danny being hurt & mistrusting Japh. After a while I just wanted to scream "Enough already! Move the plot forward!"

But even so, the book wasn't bad. It just seemed like it was a novella stretched out to book length. There's still promise, though. This book seemed to be a turning point for the series, so hopefully the next book will be a little better.
1642865
I was a little disappointed. After reading two other of her novels I was looking forward to this. Didn't seem to have the love and warmth of the others.
3880641
While I liked the characters and story, they weren't as well done as in her other book, Shielder. Part of the reason was the addition of too many bed scenes. I prefer romantic tension without graphic description, which ruins it.
I admire characters with self restraint, otherwise lust becomes so commonplace as to be boring. They're so intimate with no intention of committing to one another 3/4 of the way into the plot, so how is that different from visiting the good old pleasure domes?
Anyway, I'm a little disappointed in this one. For some great romance along with integrity, try Beyond Broken or V is for Virgin, or Vain.
1323923
I have read many books by this author (no matter what pen name she is writing under.)  This one just wasn't at the level of the others that I've read.  I was a little disappointed in it.
3211192
I think her writing was great in the other books; this one was a little disappointing. The other books had me captivated at the very beginning, on this one I had to keep reading for a while to try to feel connected to the characters. The characters weren't very real, as I do not see a good connection between the 2 main characters, the connection seemed unnatural and unreal.the story's time development was short and unrealistic
Other than that,it was nice to read the guest appearance of older characters.
3147436
I loved the first two books and was really looking forward to reading this book. I was slightly disappointed since I thought this book was a lot weaker than it's predecessors. I thought the author sort of rushed to finish this sequel and the plot was no where as interesting as the first two and seemed somewhat muddled. The ending was rather anticlimactic and didn't do justice to the storyline.
1747440
I really like the show & was excited for the book to come out so I could order it.  However, I purchased the book either the day it came out or the day after, & I'm only about 4 - 5 chapters into the book.  That's partly because of time constraints, and partly because it hasn't grabbed my attention to the point of "I just can't put it down".  Overall it's been an "okay" book, but a little disappointing and not quite as good as I had hoped.  Some of the details are interesting, but I think part of the reason that it's not quite as good as I expected is the writing style.  Hopefully as I read more, I can add more positive comments to this review because I do love the family and all that they stand for.
3584039
I loved the first book - The Dalai Lama's Cat  - and was disappointed in this one.  I still like the characters but just didn't find the same depth of lessons and learning that were in the first book.  Maybe all the good ideas were used up in the first book.
3959992
don't get me wrong... i loved imadoki! it was such a cute series and this author rocks (ive read some ceres and all 17 (since the 18th isn't out) of fushigi yugi)...

but this last one was a little disappointment i was expecting as much excitment as the rest.  Even though it did tie up some loose-ends to the story it was short like half if not even of the book. the other 1/3 was a little pre-quel. then something off the subject/series write in. didn't seem i got my money worth for it being the  CONCLUSION. ya know
2032427
I'm not sure quite what I was expecting from this book, nor why it didn't quite live up to it, but I finished it somewhat disappointed. I did want to see a picture of her "spinning stick", and I think it was included but half-covered by other objects in the photo.
4385794
I enjoyed the book but was a little disappointed as I felt it was not as good as her previous books.
2143523
After finishing the second book I was looking forward to more adventure and excitement between Rome and Calloway and their conflicting issues in their relationship. I was somewhat disappointed with the flow of the story. I hope the fourth book goes back to dealing with Hank (he needs to pay for his actions against Rome) and that there is more tension between Calloway and Rome and their lifestyle preferences. This installment was just a little too "vanilla".
2078591
I really liked the first book in this series, but I was disappointed with this book. There was not enough action and at certain points it was actually boring. What I liked about the book was somewhat lacking in this book. I did not feel as connected to the characters. I hope the next one is better.
3104703
A Patterson fan from way back, I must admit to some disappointment in this novel.  The characters evoke the Patterson characters of old only to a degree.  There is something missing.  The plot is equally intriguing, involved, and exotic; but, the resolution just does not meet his usually high standards.  The evolution of the plot is at times boring and the description  wanting.  I was disappointed but I am going to give him another chance.
1157535
I was disappointed in this book. I had enjoyed the others in this series but this one just wasn't as good. I don't know if this is because it was set in the US, if elements seemed rather implausible, if there were too many competing story lines, some of which seemed rather unnecessary - all of these issues contributed to my lack of enjoyment of this book. I finished the book because I was curious how it would end but I am not nearly as excited about the next one.

Of course there has to be a certain amount of suspension of disbelief with books like this but it was needed much too often in this book. The author was certainly trying to make some social statements but that wasn't really what I was looking for in this series. I also felt that the author was rather lazy in tying up some plot lines that I felt remain unresolved. I wish I had waited until this book was available from the library rather than having bought it.
2541317
Im very excited when I got this book but I'm a little disappointed when I flipped through it. The illustrations were not as many as the first and second book, and they were more focused on little things such as a teacup, decrotations along the pages, etc rather than the bigger scenes. Also I believe one portrait of Snape has already been shown in book 1. Although some scenes near the end were quite stunning but I feel overall Jim Kay can put more illustrations for the scenes.