A lot of Background, A little more dry than previous Thoene series
355273
The thing I like most about the Thoene's writing is also the most aggravating at times. They bring so much detail and character development to their stories, that I can bank on the first 50 pages being really slow. Luckily, once I've gotten past the background information and character development, the rest of the book flies by and I can't seem to put it down.

When Jesus Wept brings the story of Lazarus to life, and through a fictional account of Lazarus's background, allows you to feel connected to him through his journey as a vineyard owner to being the center of one of Jesus's most famous miracles--raising him from the dead. One of my favorite parts of the book was how the Thoene's used vineyard allegories and comparisons when describing Jesus's miracles and mission. The book was very interesting, and I like how they brought characters and incidents in from some of their previous books so it felt very pulled together.

Jesus Wept was different from some of the other Thoene books in terms of action. Their series that are set in the early state of Israel (Palestine in 1947-1948), and Germany and Austria in the 1930s are filled with action, tense scenarios, and adventure. Jesus Wept is more dialogue and character building for what I'm assuming will be the rest of the series. It did a good job portraying Jesus as human while still presenting Him as the fullness of God, and I enjoyed how they described Jesus's miracle of the Water into Wine at the wedding, using some of the background information on vineyards and wine making the Thoene's had presented in the early pages when introducing us to Lazarus.

In summary, I enjoyed this book, but I wouldn't say this was my favorite series thus far. I would have liked to have seen more action, and there were obviously some creative liberties taken in describing how they imagined Jesus and His followers.

**I was provided a copy of this book from the publisher for review. All reviews and opinions are my own.
900658
I found myself losing interest several times, especially with Leofur's inner dialogue and I am a HUGE TB fan, kind of disappointed in this last one to finish out the series.  The first two were so much more developed and interesting.  And I'll admit I was a bit distracted/surprised by the Druid/Seer couple, what the heck?  Didn't add to the story at all,  was it really necessary? Abrupt ending as if he couldn't think of what else to write.  Sorry.
2941343
I love Bodie Thoene's writing, but I was a little disappointed in both Jerusalem Scrolls and Stones of Jerusalem in that these novels go back in time to the time when Jesus was on earth.  I was hoping to have more about characters that we have learned to love in her previous novels taking place in the year 1948.  So we are kind of left hanging as to the outcome of the struggles of the newly formed state of Israel.  But these stories are also very good reading.
3211668
I've thoroughly enjoyed the earlier Raine books and was looking forward to this one.  Unfortunately, I have to agree with one of the earlier reviewers that there is way to much exposition of the earlier books.  I realize that there has to be some backstory covered for people new to the series or who didn't re-read the earlier books, but I think the book could have been 50 pages shorter and still summarized earlier events.  It got to the point where I was just skimming large sections of the first half of the book because there wasn't anything going on other than backstory (I almost put it down and started something else, never a good sign).  After the first half, things did get better though, and I still look forward to the next installment!
1513507
While this book is entertaining and interesting, it felt like a decent step down from the previous entries in the series. There just isn't a whole lot that happens here and when the book ends it feels like it never truly got any momentum going underneath it. Unlike the other books, there aren't a ton of interesting characters here either. Some of your favorites, of course, return and contribute to the story but many others are unfortunately absent and it really takes away from the story as a whole. Uhtred is as strong and compelling as ever but he alone cant make the book stand up. On the whole, this feels like more of a stepping stone than anything else. Not really a story by itself, more like an interlude. But its enough to keep my interest in the series and I guess thats enough and to be fair, the previous books in the series were fantastic and are a difficult measure to live up to.
3097275
It is a good story but it does feel a bit tacked on to the other three novels. The main character is different and the author definitely tries to resolve some open ended questions from the main trilogy. I think it might have worked better as a shorter epilogue from Tally's POV, than a whole new story. Or maybe more of a supplemental world building book about all the newer cultures previously unexplored or under explored. It wasn't a bad story, though.
4414754
I've recently re-read right through Cindy Dees' Medusa series whilst laid up in bed with a cold. These books are good company, giving you an insight into life in the Special Forces and some romances with them. I discovered that the last book in the series was now published and so bought a copy so I could read the full set. I was disappointed.

Katrina Kim has always been rather lower-key than the other characters in the Medusa series. A small Korean woman, a sniper, someone particularly good at hand-to-hand combat, someone who has had a bad experience with men in the past. This was all gleaned from the previous books and in this book some of those aspects are further developed (although no mention is made of the man trouble). However I didn't feel that I knew very much more about her by the end of the book (apart from a few facts about how she grew up), and I didn't also feel particularly well acquainted with the hero, Jeff Steiger.

In this story Kat is sent to work with Steiger to investigate some art thefts. As usual with these books she has to prove her worth as a Special Forces operator before Jeff accepts her. As before the other Medusas (with their men, all of whom we met in previous books) put in an appearance. There's the usual information about Special Forces and the US military in general. There's also a link to H.O.T. Watch which I gather is another series by Cindy Dees (indeed this book was branded as H.O.T. Watch and not the Medusa Project).

So that's the background to this book. Unfortunately it's also the foreground really as not much else happens. The art thief investigation is interesting in places but I felt that far too much emphasis was placed on the coup de foudre where our hero falls instantly for the heroine, and she for him. Lots of talk about marriage and children but little actual character development. There were a lot of improbabilities (as often in these books) but the biggest issue for me was that the art thefts weren't actually solved, it felt like the book finished a chapter too early.

I have enjoyed the others in this book and felt that the characters were good matches for their love interests. However I found this story too superficial and lacking depth and I wasn't particularly impressed by either Kim or Jeff whose main attributes seemed to be physical appearance and the ability to sense one another's emotions. Overall this was a disappointing read.
3025024
This book felt shorter than the previous books in the series (my only complaint, just about!).

There was a lot of plot happening in a short time - only one day in the Unseelie sithen and less than that in the outside world, due to some magical time-bending - and some favourite characters didn't get much 'screen time' because of that. On the other hand, we were introduced to new characters, given glimpses of character developments in some of the old characters and given a lot of background that explained some past myteries and opened up a lot of speculation about what may be happening in the future.

Taken as a single novel, it might be hard to pick up what's happening, and why you should care about the characters, but read as part of the series, this book really makes me want to read the next one - I MUST KNOW what happens next!!
2879953
I'd  read the first and third books in the series before this, which is the second, and liked them much better.  I found this one very hard to follow, and rather dry. I also objected to the treatment of the progagonist's girlfriend, who only appears on the phone, and in an adversarial relationship. I was rather disappointed in this book.
3234367
This is a follow-on to Professor Lloyd's book "Early Greek Science from Thales to Aristotle".  It contains chapters of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, Hellenic Mathematics, Hellenic Astronomy, Hellenic Biology and Medicine,  Applied Mechanics and Technology, Ptolemy, Galen and The Decline of Ancient Science.  I found this book much more focused than his previous one on early Greek science, but it was equally dry.  I particularly liked the section on technology, but the others are also good; good but dry.  I was a little disappointed by the Ptolemy chapter because I was expecting a more in-depth treatment of the Ptolemaic system.

I have mentioned twice that I felt that the book was dry, by this I mean that it was slow reading and not as interesting as I had hoped.  Nonetheless, I am giving the book 4 stars.  While dry, the book contains a lot of very interesting information and was worth the time that I spent on with it.
4791269
This book, though slow, is still slightly better than the rushed and cramped third book.  The authors seem to spend a lot of time on inconsequential events and then rush past those that are important (as one reads on).  The repetitive story arc where the army seeks the shadowed elves becomes mundane and several times I almost stopped reading.

It also amazes me how the authors seemingly fit years of events into a trilogy spanning little more than one year.  An enjoyable series but not quite up to the standard of Brooks, Eddings, or Weis & Hickman.
3056755
I love this series, but though this book started good, it seemed to be a little all over the place; like the writer (who I adore) was trying to go back and tie up a lot of loose ends. And one point I felt like we had transitioned from the main story line to another. But, it did keep to the theme of all the books and it did answer a lot of questions. When you read this, stay focused.
4762003
I am a huuuuuge fan of Charlaine Harris and the Sookie Stackhouse series. I was excitedly anticipating the release of book 10 - Dead in the Family. Unfortunately, this book was a bit of a let-down compared to the last 9 of the series.

This book is less intricate with the details of the characters and their lives. The dramatic points in the story are much too quickly resolved, leaving the reader with a very anticlimactic aftertaste. There are several missteps in the storylines of the past books, not to mention several typos.

This book just seemed to be missing the charismatic spark and excitement that Charlaine Harris so geniusly entwines into her writing. I'm not sure what happened with this book apart from the last 9 AMAZING books of the series. Perhaps the erupting popularity of HBO's True Blood has the writer pressed by deadlines, fans, what-have-you.

At any rate, the book is still a great read. The follow-up of the building relationship between Eric and Sookie satisfies the cliffhanger from book 9, as well as the relationships between Sookie and some of her family members. It was a good book, just not what I expected.
1349082
Merit's story is finally starting to pick up the pace again, but it feels like it's been dragging on too long. I'm almost glad to find out there is only 1 book left in the series, because the last few books have felt like filler, and this one isn't much different. There is so much to love about this series, and I'll happily read the next book, but I could have probably skipped this one and not noticed. A bit of a let down.
4688583
I am enjoying this series, more than I really expected, actually.  However, I don't feel this third book measured up to the first two.  It was much more sensational and yet didn't seem to have as much of a storyline as the others did.  It felt like a "filler" book, to take you from book 2 to a book 4, without as much substance as the previous books.
343611
Meh. I really enjoyed book 1 in this series, but book 2 was more of a brief rehash of that book with a new chapter on subliminals. I had hoped the author would have provided examples of combining the two (like he did in the first book with EFT and switchwords), but it didn't happen.

if this is the only book you read on switchwords, it may not be the best intro for them.
1917401
I still like this series, and this book, but there are definitely some fall backs starting with this book.

First off, some of the things that happen in this book seems almost rushed and thrown together. A lot of big story lines happen all at once in this, and it's a bit too much, and handled a bit sloppy, and it makes this book seem less thought out than the others to date.

***Slight Spoilers***

Also, the whole thing with Quinn. I like Quinn a lot, but that's not why I dislike what happened between him and Sookie. The way Sookie handled things was totally out of character in previous books, as well as books after this one. Which seems a bit unfair to Quinn.

I still like this book, I just don't like the poorer choices in how things were handled and thought out, which makes it flow less smoothly with the series than the other books.

Still enjoyed it overall though, and still love this series as a whole. :-)