Really four and a half stars
583491
Takes some adjustment. Overall a great time saver.
1482845
This is just a nice book, and very well-written.  About halfway through I realized how much I was enjoying my time with it.

It is written in present tense, and I always find that somewhat jarring and hard to relax into.  And I'm not a huge fan of paranormal elements, although they are light. What there is here, I found a little bit too undefined-- I would have liked more of a hint as to whether I'm supposed to take them in the spiritual realm or the alien realm.  There's also a bit too much coincidence in the story and some things are too easy, but it all works.

But overall, I fell in with the characters.  I found them easy to be with.  It isn't a straightforward romance plot (although there would be nothing wrong with that).  The story meanders a bit, but it's a pleasant journey.

And I will mention again that the writing is excellent.  Easy to read and I was never taken out of the story by terrible sentences.  Four and a half stars.
4325519
I think this book is the strongest so far in the series as far as Toby's interactions with the other characters are portrayed. The magic system seems to be more coherent and actually have some rules- something that troubled me in the first couple of novels here.

Too, Toby has grown as a character- and that's very welcome.

The plot was... OK. It held together pretty well, apart from the vaguenes s about the Changeling's Choice: supposedly it's inevitable death if they choose human, and yet... maybe not. Huh? And it means they inevitably lose one of their parents... except when it doesn't. These are examples of some of the Rules of faery that are supposed to be extremely rigid, except people are getting around them all the time- at least if they are well-connected (a bit too much like Real Life, that!).

Nonetheless, it was a very enjoyable novel, and I look forward to the next. Which hopefully won't have quite as much COFFEE in it.
755468
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and their back stories, which is really important to me. I wish I could keep reading about their lives.

I only gave it four stars because a couple of things bugged me. I know the author is British but Oliver isn't and when he said things that were too British it took something away. Also, a couple of things about New York weren't quite right and that bugged me, too. Pretty minor things but I enjoyed the story so much I just wanted it to be perfect!
105044
I think most hard SF fans will find a lot to like in this book, especially in the first half. It opens very strong, and the parts that make up the first two included books, stay that way. I do think it starts to lose steam a little bit after that, but by then you should be hooked by the story and should be at least somewhat invested in the characters.
It covers two generations of people, and should appeal to all age ranges.
There is a lot of unlikely love at first sight kind of thing done here, but I suspect that may not have been as big of an issue when these were first published as separate pieces.

Possibly my biggest criticism comes from some of the more emotionally unlikely dialogue. Subtext becomes text way too often, and people have conversations about deep and complex feelings, that just don't happen in the real world, or at least not as presented. (Although some of those of us who are more emotionally stunted, would certainly prefer that they did.:))
I also think that some of the female characters are consistently written, and react a bit to stereo-typically in stressful situations.

There are obviously some little editorial issues here and there (misspellings, wrong words, etc.), but the Book is well written, and the first person (multiple characters) perspective serves well here.
2531476
If I could give this another half-star I would. 4-1/2 stars. I rarely give five-stars. A book has to really, really blow me away, and the more books I read, the harder it is to give five stars. But this one comes close.

I won't give you a plot summary, you can find that out from other reviews, and the official publisher's outline. I liked this book because both the hero and the heroine are "damaged" emotionally. How they find each other (again) is how the story goes. There's action and adventure and the romance. It seems, however, these two "knew" each other in the biblical way earlier in their lives.

It's a Christian fiction book, and Kristen Heitzmann did a great job of not being preachy, but she also makes her standards clear through the flawed characters of the book.

When I first saw the title, I was concerned it was part of the vampire series, but it's not, thank goodness. If you read the book, you'll know why it's called that. The hero has PTSD, and the heroine married the wrong guy. Why did she run away from her marriage back to her hometown and re-connect with the fireman she had first loved. That's the question.

I also liked, because the book is a little longer, the fact that, even when the heroine is "available" - she doesn't just jump into the fireman's arms. But it's a romance too, so you know they will, it's only a matter of when and how. That's the story. Not gonna give it away. I liked It a lot.
1679720
I liked Chainfire--I didn't love it, but I liked it. Well, I liked big stretches of Naked Empire, too, even when I wasn't expecting to. The non-preachy bits and the bits with Cara added to the story with Jennsen that I hope will pay off somewhere in the future. Chainfire, too, adds to the story--this time continuing from Faith of the Fallen, which is a superior book in almost every way to this one. However, seeing the characters from Altur'Rang again (especially Victor and Ishaq) was a treat, and Nicci has grown on me since her Death's Mistress days. The plot, while somewhat slight compared to other SoT novels, does have some heft: what's happened to Kahlan? Has she been killed, or wiped from existence?

This is an important question, and the characters grapple with it convincingly. Those who find Richard whiny and hopeless must've read a different book; I was surprised his distraction over Kahlan wasn't worse, and in the end it doesn't make him fail. The brief glimpses of Kahlan and the scenes in Agaden Reach with Shota are very dramatic moments, and the blood beast of Jagang is an interesting creature with a lot of possibilities. The main issue with Chainfire is that a lot of the best ideas are only hinted at, not developed or acted on--maybe that will happen in Phantom?

I enjoyed this novel and will continue the series. It's not Faith of the Fallen, but it's not bad, either.
827988
This is a book worthy of four and a half stars, from an acclaimed author.
The storyline is well drawn, the characters develop in a well rounded way and the knowledge shown of psychiatric problems is very interesting to the layman.
I shall certainly read more of Sebastian Faulks and await the opportunity with enthusiasm.
4722770
I'm rounding up a bit.

In some respects, this is one of my favorites of Roni Loren's novels, which are among my favorite romance novels. The relationships work wonderfully, and the main characters are appealing and intriguing. It's also satisfying to see all three of them evolve in the course of the story. There is suspense on both the emotional and the plot level, and the plot is well constructed. As for the erotic aspects, Loren consistently manages to use blunt language (no Fifty Shades coyness) without coming across as crude, and while maintaining emotional intensity.

My one quibble: there may have been one too many boy-it's-a-small-world complications, and that one kept me waiting, to a distracting extent, for the other shoe to drop. I did hope that Loren would not handle this element in too obvious a way, and she fulfilled that hope.
3931
I don't know too many authors who can pull off a book that is almost half flashbacks, AND told from so many points of view. Im not normally crazy about either, but it works for me here.

Defiant could apply to both the hero and heroine of the main story of the book. Navy SEAL John Nilsson defies his superiors and risks his career. And Meg continually defies John and everyone else to stick to her plan.

For being a smart woman, Meg did some really dumb stuff. And it took a little too long for Meg to finally trust John and work WITH him instead of against him. And some of Johns devotion was almost out of the realm of believability. But the building sexual tension was so well done (including history/flashback) that I was willing to forgive these small transgressions. :-)

As for the side stories: theres a spicy one with two of Johns cohorts that really doesnt impact this story. It was a distraction (although a rather, ahem, interesting one). And the sub-theme with the grandmothers love storywell, I thought for sure that was going to be a tear-jerker but it ended with an HEA, which was more satisfying. And thank goodness the daughter didn't die in the end (oops, sorry - spoiler alert - but you probably guessed that already) because that would have pissed me off!
2943979
While I recommend this book, it wasn't quite what it could have been.  I don't want to fault the writer, because she has heart and she has skill.  You probably know the plot from the other reviews.  Vivian, who we are told at book's end is based on a real person, is living her life in an iron lung as a result of polio.  We are drawn into her life and while Holly who is taking care of her is also sharply drawn, Vivian is the one we truly love and are sympathetic with.  If the book were wholly from her viewpoint, I believe I would have given it five stars.

Holly is also a very real character.  But her story doesn't produce the emotional tug that Vivian's does.

Be that as it may, I actually recommend this highly.  It's an easy enough read and you will likely remember both characters long after reading the book.  You may however find yourself skimming a bit of Holly's story.

I wish I could honestly score this higher than three.  I do urge you to read the book because at the very least, it is a good Summer read.  I expect great things from this author and while I can't give this a better rating, the author has the ability and even if she doesn't rise higher in her next book, this is one you'll remember reading.
115795
I gave this book four stars as I liked it, though I had some trepidation doing so. I'll explain why in a bit.

Neason Blaecleah had a great night with minister Benjamin Brody. He may not have known it at the time, but he found his "legend" (the legend is that each Blaecleah has one person in the world they'll always love and there could never be another). Benjamin realized it on some level too, but he's a very dominant person and feared Neason was too strong-willed and Benjamin really wants a submissive mate. So he never followed up with Neason. Neason, in trying to recreate the bliss he had with Benjamin, engaged in some risky submissive and masochistic behavior that was seriously hurting him. When it came to head and Benjamin was called in to try to get him to stop this behavior, Neason ran, got into an accident, and lost his sight. Fully withdrawn now, Benjamin takes him in to break Neason, make him his submissive, and drag him back into the world again.

And that's where I had a problem. I couldn't get past the part that Benjamin only wanted Neason when Neason was broken and would be forced to rely on Benjamin. He was incredibly selfish, even telling Neason's brothers that he'd help but that when he was done, Benjamin would virtually own Neason and Neason would be dependent on him for everything, and that everyone would have to fully yield 100% to what Benjamin decides for Neason. If he truly cared for Neason, he would have dated him before the accident, not ignore him until Neason was a broken man who would have no choice but to turn to him. I have a hard time getting past that part.

In spite of that, I'm giving it four stars because the characters are well-developed, even if one is a total jerk and the other is apparently too blind to see that. The pacing is good and even though I hated what was happening, I found it a very compelling read.
2852088
While I didn't think this album was as good as some of the band's previous works, I thought it was a very solid album. I couldn't quite give it five stars, so I gave it 4. It really deserves a 4 and a half though. Lots of good songs. I wasn't disappointed with it.
410619
Pretty damn good, not epic, but pretty damn good.
3828581
Good story, great characters, some surprises in this novel.
2188087
While slightly more "alive" than After Dark, much of the book felt like a skeleton vetsion of what it could have been.

That said, I really loved it. Not on the level of Windup Bird or Kafka, but still a deeply engaging story. And for me, I didn't realize its true value until its final page. Something about its ending is haunting, and tragic, and happy, and beautiful all at the same time.

It's like a love interest you don't value until she's gone forever. Stirring and worthwhile, for sure.
4027500
After serving a decade in prison for the murder of two young women, Tobias Sartorius returns to his small village to pick up the pieces.  Of course, things are never that easy and the book quickly takes a nasty turn.  We get more violence including the murder of Tobias's mother, another disappearance, and a town closing ranks to protect its citizens.

Tobias is an interesting character, and his actions are pretty believable even if some of us wouldn't be so magnanimous in his shoes.  The police pair involved in solving crimes throughout the novel are both likable and have some depth, which is a welcome change from the stock characters we see in many such novels.  The action moves quickly, and there is no shortage of it.  This could have been a five-star title if not for a few factors:

- As another post mentioned, it seems very unlikely that Tobias would suffer another perfectly-timed blackout, just as he had 11 years ago, with no explanation.
- A girl who looks exactly like one of the murdered girls happens to move to this small village shortly before Tobias comes home.
- The story skips around more often than it should, and a couple of these storylines (a possible affair, for instance) really add very little.

I also found the translation to be slightly messy, but not enough to hurt the book.  Looking past the bad title and some of the problems I listed above, this is an excellent and enjoyable read.