Characters That Keep Pushing Each Other Away
359336
An easy, fun read. There's a faultless, innocent heroine just trying to do her best, and a super rich, buff, and accepting love interest... Also a great cast of supporting characters - the smart-as-a-whip escort friend, the evil-mother-in-law, the trashy mom who will do anything to get more money out of her escort daughter, the cold-but-professional escort agency owner...

My only irritation was how the two main characters kept running away from each other. "You're fired." "I quit." "No, I quit." The guy has to retrieve the girl from her horrible studio apartment like three times because she keeps going back there. At one point he says: "This is getting old" and I felt the same. Wish there'd been more natural plot twists-and-turns instead of "You're so sexy and perfect that I can't stand it - I'm going back to/I'm telling you to leave and go back to/ the crappy studio apartment! Wait, I've changed my mind...I'll have my driver take me back to your slummin' it part of town to beg forgiveness!"
2304763
This book is just ok. There is a disconnect in the authors writing which makes the book seem to contradict itself, the characters who profess great feelings for each other one moment are running away showing opposite emotions the next. Also the authors writing style makes you know you're reading a book, not loosing yourself into it at all. I won't be reading the next books in this series.
3239824
The villain in this series is such a pervasive dark force that he casts an uncomfortable pall of gloom and doom over the entire story. Even though the reader trusts  that good will ultimately triumph, the evil being's watchfulness is really creepy, and  the togetherness of the disparate group opposing it/him is really a stretch. I'm sure that the final part of the trilogy will see  Fin and his magical lady love Branna coming together again, hopefully once and for all, but I can't say I'm looking forward to all the gory details about the injuries inflicted as they try to defeat the evil being that drives this plot. Love the metaphysics, but really dislike the shock and violence that more appropriately belong in the world of Eve Dallas.
4035366
A promising book one, but the constant bickering, stabbings and fighting between the main two characters soon became unbearable.  The older gargoyles stole the limelight from Serena and Tristan.
753237
Thirteenth century England.  Milisant Crispin is unhappy with the fact that a contract has been signed and that an arrangement to wed Wulfric de Thorpe, Earl of Shefford, will have to take place soon.  The earl is also upset with the fact that he is to wed a hellion.  They have both been avoiding the inevitable for years, but it is time to take the arrangement into motion.  Milisant hates Wulfric.  He had killed her falcon when she was a child.  Not only that, but she'd almost ended up lame-legged because of him.  He is a brute, and she doesn't want to marry a brute, especially one who intends to lord over her.  She has an independent spirit, and her one grievance is that she hadn't been born a man.  Why do women have no right?  Why do they have to depend upon men for everything?  Wulfric is not looking forward to meeting the little devil who had threatened him with a wild falcon when they were little.  When he meets her again, he is surprised to find a docile, sweet and willing woman instead of the rascal he had expected.  Unfortunately, the docile girl is Jhoan, Milisant's twin sister, and Milisant is as bad as she had been as a child.  But when someone threatens her life, making it clear that they want to stop their joining, Wulfric does whatever possible to protect her, and feelings ensue between them.

Joining and its characters did not draw me in.  Milisant is an annoying heroine.  She has no feelings for Wulfric throughout the novel.  Then, in the last hundred or so pages, she loves him?  That is my main problem with this novel.  We are told that they fall in love.  There is little sexual and romantic tension between them throughout the novel.  I cared nothing for these characters.  They are one-dimensional, so are the villains and secondary characters.  Milisant isn't as compelling as the heroine in Heart of Thunder, which I loved, and Wulfric is so underdeveloped it's ridiculous.  Milisant is too much of a feminist in a time where feminism hadn't been hinted, much less discussed.  Yes, I believe women with independent spirits in those times cursed their gender, but come on!  All in all, Joining is a one-star read.  Johanna Lindsey has the ability to create a good language in whatever time setting she chooses, but this one fell flat and uninspired.  I have bought a few of her novels.  Here's hoping that the others are better than this.
2065050
This series has all the trappings of high fantasy that I enjoy, which is why I made it to book 2. The protagonist however feels misogynistic and I can't get past the dialogue that began in the first book and seems to continue into the sequel. I'd love to find out how the series rounds out, but the communication between the characters is making me uncomfortable so I've decided to table the series - which is something I never do.
3580628
The people are always yelling at each other....
3724043
Assassins is book 6 in the tribulation force and my least favorite next to Apollyon. I'm not a big Ray fan, and in this one my respect for the character dropped another few yards. I just didn't *care* for how Ray treated Leah, or his endless whining and self-recrimination every time he strays from the path- especially when he continued to do it. How he treated Ray, Beau, and Hattie was annoying, and now we expect this same middle-aged pilot to become an Assassin? Please.

This series has an interesting premise. But you pretty much figure that the main characters will live:  Ray, Chloe, Buck and little Kenny and all other characters are cannon fodder. I can't count how many secondary characters were slain in this one and somehow the 'core group' seems to get away scott free.

Also, the authors are showing their sexist roots by enforcing the image that women are either: hookers or wives and home-makers.  Why is the idea that Hattie be an assassin any less realistic than a middle-aged pilot? Why does Leah cook and clean the house and Chloe take care of the baby and play a good wifey while the 'boy's are out dueling with the anti-christ,' when both women are more than capable of doing more? Why does it appear Ray is  trolling for wife number 3 in end-times?

The authors have a good series here, but characterization, dialogue is just not their strong point. 3 stars.
902588
Really enjoying this book. Seems almost too much going on for just a small batch of continuous characters though. Every time the characters get out of one dilemma, another is SO close behind.
4273110
The darkness is coming and there is nothing that can stop it.  This book is about characters who have been warriors in the past and just want to have peace.  There is no conclusion here, just an episode.  It is so dark that I don't want to read any more.
4748678
I love this series - it's unique, extraordinarily well-written, hysterically funny at times ("Who are the blogs?"), and quietly builds the world of the Lore to weave each story together and set up future books. Of all of these wonderful books, I could do without this one. My least favorite of the Immortal heroes, Garreth is abusively controlling throughout the book, relentlessly stalking Lucia, forcing his way into her bedroom, shower, and quests, constantly ripping off her clothes, shoving her down, and touching her over her objections, and actually raping her in two different scenes. She keeps forgiving him, "melting" rather than continuing to fight his physical advances - a typical response of women in abusive situations, not an excuse for him to behave that way ("she wanted it" is neither a moral nor legal defense). After bitching at her throughout the book for running away from him, he completely ignores her wishes, interferes in her final quest, gets in her way during a fight, gets her captured and nearly killed, and then goes crazy and runs away. This guy is a selfish, high-maintenance creep, and Lucia accepts it because he gives her stuff and asserts that she is his. It's a common dynamic in our ordinary, non-supernatural lives, but she's a thousand-year-old immortal warrior - she can't hold the line? She should send him back to the kitchen and order a Sebastian instead.
465981
I enjoy the characters in these books however it is frustrating that this genre continues to release them in such short volumes.  It is doubtful I will purchase any further books written in this style.
1732938
The supporting characters in this series are so unlikable that I decided to stop reading the third book about half way through. During the first two books the author build up a cadre of supporting characters and during the third they split up into individual story lines. Those characters just can't hold their own lines and reading their stories just became too painful.
2208209
I have really enjoyed all the other books in this series.  However, this book tackles 3 different main sets of character all operating in various parts of the world.  My problem with this is the author very abruptly changes from one scene to the next, no preamble and sometimes not even a complete chapter before going somewhere else with another set of characters.  Author also has to remind you over and over and over and over again about some of the characters traits and back ground like they are being introduced us a new character and we didn't just read about them 30-40 pages ago.  Sincerely hope the next one is better but can't recommend this book though I highly enjoyed the other books leading up to this one.
3678027
The story is decent, but the main character seems a little inconsistent. I was never quite sure if the author wants her to be a heroine or a victim, but there were a lot of pieces of the story that didn't fit all the way. I personally don't care enough for the characters to want to read the series.
1479329
First let me say I love this series and will continue to read it, with that being said; secondly this book is pretty good as far as plot, however I am getting a little tired of our heroes just face rolling every repeated enemy over and over again .
244871
I really love this series even as I find it frustrating. None of the heroes particularly act like heroes except the one who is occasionally sociopathic. Book ended in a rough spot.