Ok, but not up to usual fare
595565
Long time JG reader. This read was ok but in my opinion not up to his legal thriller norm. The plot was slow at times and unlike JG's other books I could always put this one down.
1893734
Overall, the fifth Harry Potter is worth the looong read, but I have to say, I was not as riveted to the book as I was reading the previous four.  I found the story to be a bit uninvolving and uncreative and consequently, not as fascinating.  Harry faces the same sort of trial and tribulations (although in different contexts) as he has in the past, and at times I felt a bit bored just reading "more of the same."  The previous four books were almost like great mystery novels to me ... while the mystery in this book seemed to be very ordinary.  Maybe I'm just getting old, or the movies contaminated me, or after three years of waiting my expectations are now unrealistic, but overall I thought this book was a notch below the rest.  (it could also be that three years later I don't have the girl that introduced me to Harry Potter to share the reading with anymore .. so take that into mind when considering this review!).
238752
I've read a few Dean Koontz novels. This one is not the best. It has the usual cast of characters you will expect in a Koontz story - a cool dog or two, a child in peril, sinister "bad guys", lots of California locations, a "reluctant hero"...oh...and lots of cool firearms.
2772654
It's just ok.... definitely not in same class as John Puller or Jack Reacher... writing was at times to detailed and other times glossed over and asked reader to have to much stretch
620117
Hidden Star was a bit slow to get started and Bailey seemed a bit of a weakling. Cade seemed to be too much of the protector of the "weak little woman with amnesia." The book got better as it went along, but it still not one of Nora Roberts best. There wasn't as much of the paranormal aspect as I assumed there would be--my assumption, not the fault of the author. All in all, just OK, and slightly entertaining.
3406550
As one who has read all of the previous books, this tale is just ok -- nothing special and nothing that would keep me up at night turning pages like the previous stories. Hence, the four star review -- with a one-star deduction for the improbability of wandering into a random town and resolving your inner demons.

The tale, told a parallel track story (one from Jack's childhood and one from the present) provides us with greater insight into Jack Noble's character and motivation as the twin story arcs converge into an ending that appears to be a re-boot into the next novel.

The writing is professional and I do not hesitate to recommend it to readers who follow the main character, Jack Noble. I would not recommend it as a first read (although it can be read as a stand-alone complete work), but suggest you start with earlier books. I most definitely will read the next installment to see if the story gets better.
457760
Like Rankin's last Rebus book, this one seems a bit underwritten, a bit thin. The plot is as convoluted as ever, and when Rebus is on the page, the thing has fire, but overall there's something just a bit not quite up the best of the earlier books. And it seems to leave a lot of things hanging by the end of the book: perhaps he has another one in the pipeline...
4815702
Trigger Mortis wasn't bad, but it sure wasn't great. Ever find yourself compelled to finish a book just because you've started it, and then you end up wishing you could read faster so you could move on to the next book? Happened here. I'm a Bond fanatic and have read every one of Fleming's, Amis', Gardner's, Benson's, Faulks', Deaver's, Boyd's, and now Horowitz's efforts - many multiple times. Trigger Mortis was just OK compared to its predecessors - and one I'll probably not read again. Not exciting, and too politically correct for a book that takes place in the 1950. I wish authors would keep their politics to themselves. It's time for Ian Fleming Publishing to settle on just one good author to carry on, and one era to stick with - the '50s/'60s or modern day. And change up the formula from time to time. The enemy doesn't always have to be some wealthy person with a grudge. I mean really - what happened to SPECTRE? Why not fight modern terrorists, or duel with the Chinese or Russians?
3284688
Douglas Clegg is not my favorite horror author, but I have enjoyed some of his novels.  This one is not on that list.  It seems it is more an exercise in how creative he can be with language and characterization, and less concerned with telling a story.  Many times, I was lost in the narrative...did not know who was doing what or where they were.  The final denouement was a disappointment as well - it took too long to get there, and when I arrived, it was a letdown.  Not Clegg's best.  Pass on it.
1692616
While this wasn't a BAD book per se, it really wasn't up to the standards set by the previous books. Honor was an interesting character, and her connection with Sandu was electric...but something was missing.

Oh yeah, the original series' heroes! If an author wants a book to be a standalone, then tell us. Otherwise don't introduce characters, make us fall in love with them, and then never give those characters a resolution. Christoff and Rue were a fascinating entree to the Drakon and I kept reading these books 60% to find out what happened to them.

Back to Honor. Time travel is always an intriguing topic (I'm a Star Trek fan after all), but the ending of this book left me wanting and confused. It was all a bit rushed.
4640539
It was ok but not up to the standard I've come to expect from this author.  I was a little disappointed.
461381
Meh. Well-written, but just sort of predictable. This one tries to be funny and misses the mark in a few places. I finished it, but won't be checking out the rest of the series.
777516
I must admit this book did not excite me like many of the other novelizations I have read recently. Yes, the Doctor once again saves the world, this time aided by Jamie and Zoe. But the enemy is not particularly well portrayed. The immediate enemy is the Tobias Vaughn, who runs the company International Electromatics. But the real enemy is the largely unseen cybermen. The Doctor's interactions with Vaughn feel somewhat formulatic and the cybermen are lacking in definition. Took me a few days to get through this one as I did not feel the urge to pick it up when I got distracted by something else. Typically theses novelizations can be read in one sitting or are interesting enough that you want to pick them up again as soon as you get the chance.
4722677
I don't know, usually, as I've said in previous reviews of Marsh's mysteries, even the ones that don't seem to be as good prove at least satisfying. Here, this doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe I was just slow, but the plot really didn't seem to run as smoothly as it usually does in her books, which is a shame since the characters are quite well-drawn. A wealthy widow commits suicide at a well-known spa/health hotel. Did she do it because she was angry with her daughter or because she suspected that she herself may have an incurable disease? The question soon becomes, did she commit suicide at all? It's up to Detective Inspector Alleyn and his trusty side-kick, Inspector Fox, to get to the bottom of this grave.
726778
Until I Love Again is just OK.  Although this was the second book in a series, you can read it alone.  I found the story unrealistic at times, and a bit rough around the edges.  It is lacking the fun, softness, and polish of many of the other Amish fiction authors.

The story of Susanna is somewhat typical with one foot in the English world, and one in the Amish.  However, it was a bit unrealistic (and creepy) that an old widower Ernest may push his way to becoming Susanna's husband.  The ending was ok, but again, there are better choices out there.  I have read several of Jerry Eicher's books, and he is not one my favorite Amish fiction writers.  This book was no exception.  It was hard to get through.

I received this book from the publisher for my honest review.  My opinions are my own.
3759708
After reading the "All Together In One Place", I was expecting a lot more from the Tender Ties series.  It's not that they aren't particularly good, they're just not as good as the others of Jane Kirkpatrick's that I've read.  The timelines are a little harder to follow because they sometimes skip ahead months and even years.  Like I said, it's not that these aren't good books, they just aren't quite what I've come to expect from her.
3578165
I purchased the Kindle edition of this book because I really like two of the authors -- Sherrilyn Kenyon & J.R. Ward.  I hoped that the stories by Susan Squires and Dianna Love would be good and would introduce me to 2 new authors in the genre.

Well, overall, this collection of stories is just ok.  Sherrilyn Kenyon's story (Shadow of the Moon) was pretty good -- just a continuation of the Dark Hunter series -- but it didn't have the innovative, nuanced storyline that the other books in the series do.  J. R. Ward's short story (The Story of Son) was interesting, and I agree with other reviews that if you don't care that the plot line and characters are related to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, it's a good, short vampire tale.

Beyond the Night by Susan Squires was pretty good.  The idea of the female heroine being the vampire was great!

The other short story -- Midnight Kiss Goodbye by Dianna Love -- however is the one I found most objectionable.  The writing is fine, but the characterization of the "bad guys" was terrible, because their "badness" was associated with a religion, not their personality traits.  I would have found it more acceptable if Dianna Love had provided a preface stating that there wasn't a true correlation to the gods and goddesses of the Hindu religion, and that the representations were not meant to depict any sort of pejorative representation of the Hindu religion, but she didn't do that.  I won't assume that she really has negative feelings towards the Hindu religion, but it's irresponsible to portray the villains in their tales this way.  Even though readers are smart enough to know what is fact versus fiction, demonizing an entire religion in popular fiction helps keep this type of ignorance and intolerance alive.  Hinduism is a LIVING religion, that people belive in, not a dead one, and I believe she is socially irresponsible for not even acknowledging that.  Her story suffers because of this un-intelligent depiction -- the villains could truly have been villainous and evil if their characterization was written that way -- which would have made for a great tale.  Instead, she relies on making the villians Hindu, thinking that it's exotic and full of imagination and demonic, when it's really just not.

I support the other 3 authors, but would say not to buy this book because I found Dianna Love's story so objectionable.