What a disappointment
593180
I'll admit I did not get far with this book but quit early on with deep disappointment.  The reviews indicated that this guy knows science!  he's a scientist and super smart! were totally misleading I'm a scientist and the caricature of scientists discussing their nerdery was so stupid and hackneyed.  Scientists admit they are nerdy, but don't sit around discussing it.  I am friends with museum curators and NSF artic researchers and this rings very false to me.  this may be a small point for most readers but for me it bordered on offensive.
4783446
I am glad I am not the only one who is beyond disappointed in this book and the previous Anita and Merry books too.  In this book is as everyone is stating there is no real plot.  The "flirt" story reads as if part of it got lost in the mail on the way to the editor.

Anita picks up yet another stray to add to the batch, no surprise there anymore.  The silver lining on the stray is that she took his free will so he will be incapable of making a decision on his own.  I wonder who is going to be babysitting him?  LKH has an opportunity here.  Will she miss it?

What happened to her moral high ground?  I admired that about Anita.  She is tough, and straightforward but there were times when she really struggled with the right and wrong of a decision.  This time it was "Oh golly I am going to take his freewill.  Oops!" Shrug.  Might as well insert a giggle or two in there.  That is so not Anita.  She would really care that she was forced to make that decision and it would bother her.

Also when we last left Anita she was bunking at Guilty Pleasures with Jean-Claude and Asher and now all of a sudden she is back home with Micah and Nathanial?

LKH left out 50% of the book by not relating what the boys were going through.  What happened exactly to figure out she was in trouble.  Who figured out who the snipers were?  How did they torture them to get the info?  What happened to Damian and Nathaniel when the link was severed?  Didn't Jean-Claude figure it out when he woke up and no one was home on the vamp-link?

It is not just Anita anymore.  The boys have become an essential part of any book. You really can't tell her story without them.

I saw her at a book signing in Portland with a friend and we both left thinking she was disingenuous, uninterested.  Now having read this book I am beginning to think there is a lot to that statement.  She is writing like she's not really interested.

Laurelll what has happened to you?  Where did you go?  Do you truly consider this writing worthy of your previous work?  What about all those stories that have been hanging for years?  The Anita/Nathaniel/Damien triumvirate, the wolf pack, the rats have not been seen is ages.  Even the sex is getting boring!

Skip it and check it out at the library or just get it from your friend.  They will be done with it in 15 to 20 minutes anyway and I doubt they will want it back.
3997901
Against my better judgment, and following my disappointment in the first 2 books in the series (I'd decided not to read the 3rd book) I saw 'pagan stone' on a shopping trip in a warehouse store and since I was having a dry reading spell, decided to pick it up. What a disappointment. The 'best' book in this trilogy was the first one-I agree completely with the reviewers who say this series should have been condensed into 1 book. What a waste of my time and money. Will the real Nora Roberts please stand up? The past couple of years' books have mainly sucked and I keep waiting to see her go back to her great form. I gave up on the 'In death' books way back in the middle of the series when the cut&paste another reviewer mentioned became very tiring for me too. I would recommend skipping this series, but this third book in particular because it certainly is an anticlimax of the worst kind.
898848
Rendell must be tired. Her latest stuff is such a disappointment after the great early novels, especially those written as Barbara Vine--my favorite is "A Fatal Inversion." I'm always  excited when a new Rendell or Vine comes out, but then recently I've been let down. This time  I'm so disappointed  that I don't think I'll bother with the next one. The characters in "Portobello" are thin and undeveloped, the plot is mostly absurd (Eugene's "addiction" to Chocorange is unbelievable and  just plain silly and takes up an inordinate amount of space) and Rendell's capacity for deep psychological suspense and horror is so crippled as to be nonexistent. I only hope her performance in Parliament is more sincere and effective!
3367742
As with many other readers I was anxiously looking forward to this sequel. I can't express enough how disappointing this book was. Totally opposite from the original. Extremely contrived, unrealistic and just plain silly. It didn't even feel like the same author wrote this. Louisa was borderline unlikeable, her family and friends were ridiculous and boring. Mrs. Trainer, Will's mother, doesn't even mildly resemble herself from the first book. Lily's character is ludicrous. She goes from being an awful spoiled troubled teen, to a mature wonderful young lady in the course of like 2 weeks. Come on! This is lazy writing at its best. As if the author who I have always really liked, just felt she had to churn this thing out to satisfy her audience. I tried to understand the five star ratings so many are giving to this book and am just completely baffled. The only thing I can figure out is that people were so in love with the original book they are just not seeing this sequel for the boring, depressing, contrived bit of fluff it is. Sorry but this one is just beyond disappointing.
4701462
It took me some convincing to buy this book seeing as how all the books in this series are so incredibly short; and therefore not really worth the investment. I was so disappointed in this book that I have now vowed never to read another book in this series. As far as I am concerned this was the final book. Never mind the fact that this (again) "short" book is so jam-packed with fillers that it misses a storyline altogether, the direction that Davidson has the series going is not a good one to put it mildly. First she writes about the same background information that not only is present in all the previous books but is reiterated in darn near every chapter in this book. Also the storyline is just plain lazy. Going back in time to answer questions about Tina and Sinclair?? Most other writers do that with novellas! And the upsetting thing is the reader knows all along the purpose of the flashbacks. I just cannot understand (and probably will not since I'm not reading another book) why Davidson chose to go in the direction she's going. I'm terribly upset. Too bad cause it was a nice series.
2103760
This book was a big disappointment to me - I had really been looking forward to and enjoyed other books by this author. I will admit I set a lower bar for this genre, but this didn't even measure up to that.  I thought it was quite boring, which was worsened by the lazy, inconsistent writing.  I would skip this but still recommend her other books.
223328
I pre-ordered this book months ago, after being hooked by the previous two. And I waited until Friday night to read it, savoring it for a time when I could dive right in. Well, so much for that. I couldn't believe the thin story line. A Nathan shocker and a missing Megumi. So what?! And for the author to set us up for another book (or two I hear)...what a sucker I am. As far as I'm concerned, this "series" ended with Reflected In You. I'm going to get rid of this one and never read another book by this author. Really too bad. My residual love for these characters from the prior books are the only reason this one gets 2 stars instead of one.
798372
There was writing throughout! What a disappointment!
2756479
What a waste of time. I finshed the book and still am baffled. If I had read Vero wants to FLY one more time I would have quit reading before I was done. I have always enjoyed Ms. Gardner's books and watching for new releases, I hope this was a one and done flop or Ms. Gardner has lost a fan.
31556
Wow!  What a disappointment this book was.  Thankfully, I borrowed it from the library so I didn't pay anything for it!  Actually, I listened to the CD and stuck with it since I was on a long trip and didn't have anything else available.

I have read nearly all of Ms. Berg's books, and this one was the worst by far.  The characters are stodgy and predictable, as is the dialog, and it's hard to believe anyone under the age of "senior citizen" (I am 49), would find this book intriguing in any way.  The characters are complete stereotypes and their interactions totally unrealistic and downright boring.  To top it off, Ms. Berg's narration sounds tired and not up to the level of a professional reader.  Avoid this book and stick with earlier titles like "The Art of Mending" and "Year of Pleasures" and "We Are All Welcome Here."
1716022
Really a disappointment after the first two of the series.  I was sooo looking forward to it, and sooo disappointed.
3858776
I have read them all and truly loved them until this one. It was the greatest disappointment or my reading life . Tragic how far less this is to the first book . Just really pissed and let down
4617685
I found this book because is is linked to Finney's Time and Again, a book  which is delightful, and after I read all your glowing reviews, I couldn't  wait for The Mirror! What a disappointment. Are we all talking about the  same book?  The plot is shallow, the character's have no depth, there are  unexplained twists. What a disappointment.
1863772
I won't belabor the points.  Others have covered them quite eloquently.  But, I can't stay silent on what proved to be such a disappointing end to this promising series.

The biggest disappointment isn't the plot holes (there are plenty), the ending (which I wouldn't actually have minded if it hadn't felt like it was being done just to manipulate our emotions), or even the ridiulous over the top explanation of the bigger picture and what has really been going on (which really undercut the life and death stakes of the first two books for me).

No.  For me, the biggest problem with this book is the way in which it was written.  Gone is the vivid dystopian society that Roth spent so much time establishing .  Tris seems almost unrecognizable and even worse - thanks to Roth's apparently inability to write characters with distinc voices - Four has turned into the male equivalent of Tris.  If I had a dollar for every time I had to look back at the start of the chapter to see who was talking, I would have earned back not only the price of this book but the entire series.  Note to the author (and the editor):  if you cannot actually write in distinct enough voices to tell the two main characters apart, do not structure the book to have chapters from alternating perspectives.  It is annoying, hard to follow, and does not engender good will.
3596740
Disappointing.  I was expecting some high paced and interesting short thrillers from this group of authors, what I got was not that. I was looking forward to the Deaver vs. Sandford short and was so disappointed when I read it...really boys, that what you came up with???? The reviews at the beginning of each story begins with a short explanation of how the authors characters came together and some information on how they wrote together.  I truly was expecting something great, it was an hour wasted.  Same feeling with Dennis Lehane vs. Michael Connelly.  I really love almost all the authors that were picked for this book, that is why I purchased it.  Very let down.
2772170
I pre-ordered because I was so excited to read the next thing she wrote. What a huge disappointment this is, so slow moving and incredibly boring. I had to force myself to finish it.