Interesting storyline, disappointing characters
354191
I enjoyed the book for the most part, it held my attention and I didn't want to put the book down.  I was disappointed in that there wasn't enough character development. All the females in this book are portrayed as weak and all the male characters as controlling.  Even the roommate would run to her boyfriend at the snap of his fingers.  I ended up hating every character in the book.
1299028
"Take Me With You" by Catherine Ryan Hyde has a wonderful storyline that I wanted to like more than I actually did. The premise of matching strangers together on a trip while confined to a small motorhome is great. But for some reason that I can't put my finger on I didn't like the pacing or writing style. The characters are richly developed and interesting and the adventure is stimulating but the constant recriminations and self doubt are a drag. 3 stars!!!
117669
I was drawn into the story and enjoyed the storyline, but I think some of the characters were not well developed. I appreciated it overall and will read more by the author.
409422
I found this book very easy to read, and was intrigued by the concept of the Copper Scroll and following the clues to an ancient secret. It seemed a little like "National Treasure" in that aspect. The unfolding of the mystery was well done.

The story in other aspects was not as well done. There was a little that felt like "24" mixed in, some "Left Behind," and lots of personal drama and dialogue.

I expect the main characters in a book like this to stretch believability, but the husband and wife team are way past believability.

I do recommend the book, and enjoyed reading it. The disappointing elements of this book, however, have made me think it is time to put this series down and move on to something else.
4197093
When I started reading the Legendary Lord my first thoughts were that this was going to be an engaging read with an interesting heroine and hero and it was for the first half of the book and then the story lost my interest because the heroine became less interesting and rather predictable.

Set initially in a comfortable hunting Lodge in Scotland, our heroine Lady Sarah meets the owner of the hunting lodge Christian, Vicount Berkely in less than ideal circumstances. She has run away from a betrothal to a boring but not unkind Marquess.  Sarah is alone in the lodge because she and her chaperone lose their way (she was on her way to her own familys lodge) and her chaperone is injured requiring the hunting lodge caretaker to take her feisty chaperone to a local doctor.

Christian is startled to find the young and beautiful Sarah in his lodge. The two though realize neither one is there for nefarious purposes and they establish a very nice friendship, something that Christian laments as he is always the friend of beautiful women. He wants a wife and family but he is shy and stutters around beautiful women which never happens around Sarah or anyone else in the book for that matter.

Sarah decides she wants to go back to London and be the dutiful daughter but needs to avoid a scandal and Christian needs advice on how to be irresistible to the ladies so they make a bargain to help each other. They both get their wishes and Sarah does get back to London and Christian does become a suave debonair guy.

SPOILER Sarah undergoes a radical personality shift when she returns to London. Where is the girl who ran away from an unwanted marriage, the girl who brandished a sword. She is replaced by a dutiful, dull version of herself who is so stubborn that she is nearly unlikable. People have to do her thinking for her. Also, I had a difficult time believing this girl really suffered from panic attacks. She supposedly cannot breathe when she is engaged but can walk down an aisle without having a major melt down?

Christian is a dream in this story, so kind, thoughtful and considerate of others. He is a gentleman in every sense of the word. In many ways he is too mature for the immature Sarah. By far the most intriguing women in this book were the side characters who were bold and confident. I liked the early Sarah, the Sarah in Scotland but the later one was one who was obstinate and willfully blind to her own feelings and Christians too was not someone that I admired.
2768866
Nothing captures me attention like a good romance where a small town girl snags the elusive, untouchable guy.  Unfortunately, for me, while the girl got the guy, the storyline and the characters fell flat.

Chase Whitfield is an MLB star who sent down to the minor to rehab a knee injury.  Grey Kelleher is the local girl who is one of Chase's biggest fans.  When her sister's drunken rants catch the attention of Chase, Grey discovers that man she has the biggest crush on is not necessarily who she thought he was.

I really wanted to love this story, but I found myself unable to truly connect with the characters.  We spent a lot of time inside each characters head, with their internal monologues, but I needed the interaction with the other characters to discover their personalities and connect with them.  Unfortunately, those inner monologues often came across to me as whiny, petty or selfish, which didn't endear either to them to me.

The storyline jumped along, which didn't help either.  I could see the author trying to move the storyline along, but it was a bit too choppy to me and left me feeling like I was left hanging when we moved forward.

I normally love these type of stories, but the characters and the storyline jumping were a bit too much for me to overcome.
3576046
I really wanted to like this book, and I did like the storyline itself.  But I got very tired of interrupted and unfinished conversations and scenes.  It was beyond frustrating to read, and then the story just ended.  But like I said, it was a good storyline overall, and I did enjoy some of the characters.
1172453
This book is written in a great, easy to read style, but I felt disappointed by the storyline.  I wanted a less predictable narrative, but I really did like the characters and how they related.
870169
I actually thought the story had the potential to be good. In fact, I had high hopes because I always enjoy a plot where the main character has premonitions, like, final destination or somewhat. But sadly, Crash disappointed me.

One of my issues with the story is that I couldn't relate to the main character much less warm up to her. Jules' behavior in regards to her visions and to the cute boy from the opposing family annoyed if not turned me off completely. There was nothing that left a good impression on me and I'm a bit hesitant to start the second book if that's the kind of character I'm going along with. What bugged me most was how repetitive she was at times with the things she said, how silly some of what she did was, and then there's her intense feelings for Sawyer, which I thought were a bit too much and seemed extremely odd. Maybe if he had a stronger voice in the story, which wasn't really possible since it's told only from Jules' perspective. Then I would understand Sawyer more and get an idea of his thoughts for her, but throughout the book it seemed like his feelings weren't as strong as Jules' no matter how unfazed he was supposedly trying to be whenever she approached him around others.

The other characters didn't really stand out to me much either, with the exception of her little sister that seemed more mature than Jules at times, and her brother who appeared more like a non-family member. But those things aside, I wasn't really affected by their presence and hope for further character development as the series continues.

Anything else? The writing was good, very youthful, scenes were decently described, but again, the story could have been stronger. Initially, I went into the book with hopes of unraveling a paranormal and mysterious story, along with enjoying a bittersweet and forbidden romance. I wanted to learn about the main character and understand her family situation and why she was unable to be with the guy she loved. And indeed, the writer gave answers early on, which was good, because that's how fast paced it was, but that aside, the rest of the pages felt flat until the end.

In conclusion, good but needs improvement to be greater. I like how Crash ended and would like to see how the author picks things up in Bang after that reveal. But once again, I reiterate that the first book has me really timid about continuing the journey.
4631431
This is a romance book that is infused with mystery, crime, and a bit of paranormal.  The storyline is the best part - a man claims to have amnesia after an accident, and a woman claims to be his wife.  They are both lying, but only he knows that she is not being truthful.

Both characters have strong backstories and are interesting characters.  I didn't enjoy the female lead as much because she wasn't as strong as she claimed to be - she was a bit inconsistent.

There are funny moments and romantic moments, as well as suspense and a pretty good "who did it".

The writing is what irritated me.  I found it to be very repetitive (the male swore fluently every time he swore, he always put his arms around her shoulders whenever someone else was in their presence, and she likes to moisten and lick her lips every other page).  The author tried to build tension with each character's internal discussion about his/her own lies and speculation about the other.  It actually slowed down the progress of the story and didn't do much.

There are also quite a few editing throughout.

Readers of romance novels will probably enjoy this because it has the classic elements of the unlikely coming together.  There is some gruesome violence, a few intense scenes, but the language is pretty tame.
4517264
An interesting enough storyline and the main characters are likable.  Parts of the plot were predictable while others were not.  I did and did not like this story at the same time.  I rooted for Odrik and Nova to stay together of course, but the predictableness of this story with countless others I've read dulls the impact of it and makes it seem humdrum despite the alienness of the Qetesh people.
4594695
I would rate this 3-1/2 stars, but it had the potential to be a 4 star book. What I liked about the book, which revolved around Holt, the half-brother and (fourth of McKettrick's brothers stories in this series), was that it was well-written, had descriptive and detailed prose and vivid, interesting and diverse characters.  I was disappointed for much of the same reasons -- the story, while well-written, had too many sub-plots.  It was difficult to know what was the "main" story being told.  Nor, was any chemistry whatsoever between Holt and Lorelei, though I kept reading in the hopes that there was a romance to be found.  There was no true dialogue between this hero and heroine, which would have allowed for such a relationship.  In fact, Lorelei had more conversations with Rafe (the brother)than with Holt.

The ending, while "satisfying" was also too good to be true, and felt a bit rushed. After reading pages that takes readers on a long journey, which included broken relationships, cattle drives, reunions and a bit of mystery, I expected more depth to the ending.
1876135
The storyline is great, and I could understands the emotional upheavals of the main characters.  Their interaction does not feel force, but instead they appear to be two individuals who have decided to make the best of a coincidental situation.  In the process, they end up finding each other, in the other person.
However, as the title of my review indicates, I felt that the ending was abrupt (The story itself ends at 74%, on my Kindle Fire).  There seems to be more development needed to tie up the loose ends from the characters' past.  SPOILER ALERT: For example, Heath, the male character is estranged from his family. He makes an attempt to re-connect with his brother, which is illustrated by the author as a promise to meet after the holidays.  But we never see the resolution of this subplot.  In addition, his PTSD, is a main topic of the story and I would have liked if the author had explored it a little further. Kassia, the female character, seems to have a very detached family, and it appears to bother her; but the author chooses not to dig deeper.  The marriage proposal at the end is unexpected at this point in their relationship (in my humble opinion). For those reasons, I only gave 3-stars.
Despite it all I would still recommend as a read because there were some complexities to the protagonists.
3221813
Several characters in this story wrestle with spiritual issues, attempt to discern what is Gods will in various situations, and seek truth, faith, and the peace of God.  Initially, since the story touches on differences in religions and spiritual beliefs, I was hopeful that it would have a powerful message of redemption, a loving presentation of the truth of the Bible, and a clear distinction between the Christianity of the Bible and the heartbreaking errors of belief held by the other religions in the story.
While all three of these hopes were partially realized, I was severely disappointed overall.  First, there was only a very vague and shallow description of redemption in the lives of a couple of the struggling characters, and the peace they received came to them supposedly simply through attending a prayer meeting held by a group of children.  Receiving of the Lords peace and forgiveness is certainly possible to anyone who expresses true repentance of sin!  But since it is a personal matter, it must be dealt with personally - must be taken up by the individual and settled between the Lord and them alone.  This type of scene was not related.  Second, while the Gospel (the fact that Jesus Christ made the atoning sacrifice for mankind by dying on the cross, then rising from the dead, and that faith in Him and belief on Him is the only way a mans or womans sins are covered and they can get to Heaven) was presented/touched on in a couple of places, it was vague and unclear; it was certainly not stressed, though there were several excellent opportunities for the characters to do so, even enhancing the impact of the story.  Third, a clear distinction between the religious beliefs of the characters was just not there.  There were even conversations among the characters, discussing how their religions were different, then stating that they were not so very different from each other.  I found this disturbing.  Either you have the truth, or you do not.  Either you are believing the truth, or you are believing a lie, no matter how sincerely.  And sadly, so many believe lies.
Overall, I felt that the authors stand on the fundamental teachings of Gods Word was shaky, at best.  This is the primary reason I must say that I was disappointed in this book.
There were a few other issues that I personally did not appreciate.  One was that, though intimate immorality was discussed and portrayed as wrong, there were several kisses shared by an unmarried man and woman, and this was treated as if it was fine.  The other was that there were women knights, and women actively involved in battles.  Even the author concedes that this is not historically accurate  traditionally, while women sometimes were trained in self-defense skills or as archers, the men were the knights, the protectors, and the guards for the women and the children precious to them.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.
2563332
This was a so-so read for me. The beginning was interesting enough that I kept going but by the middle of the book I was already losing interest. However, I did push through and finish it. The storyline itself had potential to be great. Unfortunately it fell flat about halfway through. I don't know about everyone else but if I'm reading about centuries old, kick-ass angel guardians, I don't want them to talk like fifteen year old boys. (dude, bro, I got your back...etc) The way the guardians acted (goofing off most of the time like kids) and talked really got on my nerves. And then there was Emma. I think she accepted everything way too fast. It was like it didn't even bother her to learn that angels and evil creatures existed. There was also many mistakes throughout the book, but that didn't bother me as much as the other things did. Overall, it was an okay read that other, younger readers  (I'm in my thirties) may enjoy. I, however will not continue this series despite the fact that I have already purchased the other 3 books. I just don't think I can force myself to read something I've already lost interest in.
1021936
Plot-wise, the storyline could have been interesting and I would have enjoyed it if the characters would have been in the least bit likable.  The female main character has a fatal flaw in that EVERYTHING has to be perfect.  She has been totally thrown by the fact that that she has been unable to conceive.  She is selfish and thinks only about herself.  I can understand some anger/frustration in the scenario but she is just into herself.
  The male main character is a little more likable but is a complete wuss.  He can't seem to make a move on anything unless he has someone supporting him.  When his wife went into her own little head trip he had to get his brother to go with him to deal with things.  Then he ends up over at his somewhat estranged parents and ends up putting his head down on the dinner table and crying because it all just too much to deal with.
  In addition, the ending just sucked.  It just came to this abrupt halt when you thought make this whole mess might be able to be worked out.  Definitely not worth reading and I wish I had not.
1256178
thoroughly enjoyed the storyline. author needs a new editor. grammar, subject/verb agreement, spelling all left a lot to be desired. detracted from the overall enjoyment of the read.