Katie JenningsCritiques

Nothing that wrong with it, just not my cup of tea.

This was book #1 in the Vasser Legacy series. The story was good although predictable and the writing was average. The ending was not complete--meaning if you don't read the next in the series you won't find out the conclusion to the main story. Because of that, I won't be reading anymore in the series. I think that is a cheap shot--there are better ways to get people to read your book series. 360 pages

I really enjoyed this family saga. Grant/Quinn were really the heart of the story for me & the characters I most invested in. The close runners up are Madison & Kennedy. Madison & her relationship with Cyrus is deliciously twisted & I look forward to seeing where Madison's allegiance to him takes her in the next installment of the series. I'm quite interested in Kennedy mostly because she is so little mentioned in comparison to the other siblings but is often mentioned to be most like the ill-fated Win. Charlene is still very one-dimensional for me but she has potential. I honestly never became invested in Linc/Lynette. Linc is fairly flat as a character as a counter to his brother Grant & Lynette is always referred to as a "girl" not a woman (as the other women in the story are) so I had some difficulty seeing her as a woman involved with a 27-28 year old man. Their angst was all related to her parents & felt like over-wrought teenage drama. I wasn't sure what the author was trying to convey (was it ingenue vitality & innocence because she's a prima ballerina or some "just legal" status?) but it just felt off in the telling.

The murder mystery (or murders, really) are a compelling angle of the story & even if the details to the triple homicide seemed a bit pat, I liked it. Grant being the "elder statesman" sibling at 28 was only working for me because of the way he is portrayed (even if it still felt like a stretch). I was flat out appalled that Madison had been keeping Cyrus' secret for 17 or so years because it clearly worked out to her being told when she was barely 10 years-old. I felt it was far afield but I'm taking it as just another facet of their twisted relationship. More than anything, I just want to see what the knowledge of the circumstance will bring out in the characters next. Ideally, these characters would be older to add some credibility to the plot points but I was able to bypass that in the characterizations. More than anything, I just want to see what the knowledge of the circumstance will bring out in the characters next. And finally, who left Madison that note at the end? I can't wait to find out & what the Queen will do when she finds out.

I am torn on this one. I very much enjoyed the first book When Empires Fall. It was sometimes over the top & fun. Rise of the Notorious was exceedingly overwrought & not as much fun.

Where to begin… Grant. Grant was easily my favorite character in the first book & I really liked his PA/girlfriend Quinn. This time around they were both getting on my nerves. Grant went from a guy who worked too much to some simpering twit who seriously did nothing for most of the story. For all the adroitness he displayed in the first book, he was utterly useless here. He wasn’t much help to Madision in figuring out what was going on, he wasn’t running the hotel any longer & I am hard pressed to know exactly what he was doing that was leaving him so harried in general that he needed doting on. He did acquire a bit of Linc’s unprovoked jerkdom in the way he spoke Quinn and it wasn’t charming or terribly interesting for very long. I think it was supposed to show some sort of alpha powerful thing but it came across as eye roll worthy. And Quinn, who I’d found charming in the first book became so annoying with her sage wisdom & advice that I wanted her to go away or just be quiet. Truly, I cheered when she was in a car accident because I thought that would improve both characters, even if it meant the death of one of them. It didn’t, by the way.

Linc & Lynette didn’t even make my “like” list in the first book but I was open to them improving. Linc amped up the overbearing jerk (who often wasn’t very nice to Lynette) & still wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box so he wasn’t very much help, to anyone, but offered lots of bluster, impassioned declarations without logic or reason & often showed his bitchface in response to perceived offense. Lynette, who seemed more like an adult here than in the first book, still didn’t have much to offer. She was simply the love interest with the disapproving father. And no, the thread weaved to make her father integral to the mystery of who is trying to take down the Vassars didn’t improve her lot. The best I can say about them is that they were often together so as I read, it killed two birds with one stone.

Madison. Oh Mads, were did we go wrong? What happened? That’s very much what Wyatt was asking for much of the story with regard to Madison & frankly, so was I. Madison was fabulous the first go round but she’s very much changed here. Firstly, most of her time is taken up with her unfinished relationship with ex-husband Wyatt, who, if I’m honest, I didn’t find all that compelling the first time around. Though, I was still interested in what happened in Vegas that ended them. That’s a primary question asked very early on in this book & Wyatt has a secret to tell that is heavily hinted at throughout. I really cared, so it was a good thread in that it kept me reading. That it’s not told until just past the 80% mark & fully revealed around 88% would make you think it’s huge, like Cyrus’ secret in book one. It’s not.

Madison, for her part, wasn’t nearly as interesting this time around & she didn’t DO anything much either. She often talked about doing something but there was nary a sign of it. I’m hard pressed to see why she & her brothers are notorious as they didn’t do anything but talk to each other a lot. They’re riding the coattails of Cyrus’ notoriety & his deeds. I expected more of Madison but it seemed like she was supposed to be likable here & have some sort of inner conflict, be misunderstood & really have deep pure love for her family in her heart (not like the pawn pieces she viewed them as in the first book) & really nothing of Cyrus in her no matter her obsessive devotion to him or the close tutelage. Basically, things that were nary hinted as being who she was in the first book. She went from interesting to what is offered here & I don’t know why. I never believed this change & honestly, kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Madision to give a wink to the reader or have some internal dialog that would show she was playing this whole scene & none were the wiser. It never happened. So. That’s that.

Kennedy was the only character that I can say I still truly enjoyed from the first book. She factored in a bit more here & I won’t spoil it, but ultimately, she’s used as a plot point & that was a shame. She was written well and could have been so much more but alas, that wasn’t her purpose in the end. Charlene, the mother of the Vassar brood, was a plot point here as well & that she was the answer to a very important question from book one regarding the most sympathetic character in the story & virtually off the canvass & given about two sentences in resolution almost prompted me to toss my Kindle. It was an epic letdown to a great story thread.

*insert sigh* This kept me reading, so points for that. I needed resolution & there’s something to be said for being compelled to stay with a book even when things feel off in the telling, false or forced. Perhaps that was because the set up in book one was so good that I had expectation. I should have checked my expectations at the cover. The story the author wanted to tell differed from the story I thought she was going to tell. That’s on me. To its credit, all the threads were tied up even if I thought the bows were too tidy & flimsy. Points for that. I don’t know if I’m glad I read it or not. Supposing that ambivalence is of course better than dislike, I’ll say this was about a three star read for me.

5.0 out of 5 stars Family feud with a twist, June 15, 2013
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This review is from: When Empires Fall (A Vasser Legacy Novel) (Kindle Edition)
This is a great read! Money, murder, power, and greed. It has it all. It's a story that spans several generations of a family who own a high end hotel empire, but the main story is about the New York part of the family. Four siblings who are dealing with relationships, a socialite mother, a grandfather who murdered his own father to gain power, plus a self-destructive dad.

Jennings character development and story arc is excellent. You find yourself in visual contact with each character, either urging them onward or telling them to get a life. This is a character driven story with many individuals, but you won't be confused. Each character has been laid out in full flesh and bone, unique personalities and motives. "When Empires Fall" is not a disappointment. I give it 5 stars

Loved it. I have not read fantasy books for years but the Dryad Quartet series is the third set I have read in 2012 now. This book was slow to get into, mostly because I was trying to get my head around all of the characters in Euphora and understand the workings of their superpower. I have just finished book 3 of this series and believe that Capri and Rian have remained my favourite couple so far.

Mmm, Jax that is all I am saying.

Not sure it can get better than a Fiery red head serving up demon on a platter!

Katie Jennings has out done herself again on the second installment of The Dryad Quartet, Firefight in Darkness! Once again we are brought back to the world of Euphora, but only for a short while. Blythe’s journey will take her on a dangerous adventure to earth, where she literally hunts down the demons of her past. Once Blythe finds out that the creature who has been ruining lives on Euphora (the lives of people she loves) is her relative, she knows she must be the one to find him and take him down.

Not only is this creature the evil love child of her Grandmother, but he is half demon, half Dryad, and that makes for a dangerous mixture. Thea, Mother Nature herself and creator of Euphora, hires a bounty hunter to help find the demon before he can cause more damage. But Blythe won’t take no for an answer. She sets off on her own, armed with nothing more than determination. Eventually Blythe and the bounty hunter team up to win the dangerous battle against the demon…..and a love starts to blossom. But, as it turns out, the Bounty hunter is not the only one with his eye on Blythe.

In book one of The Dryad Quartet the main character was Capri, a shy, sweet, kind hearted girl who struggles to uncover the mystery behind her mother’s death. In this book, we meet her best friend (and polar opposite) Blythe. Blythe had to be my favorite part of the book! She is so strong and hard on the outside and yet manages to capture the reader’s heart and show her soft side. Not only is she a bit of a smart-ass, which makes for some humorous dialog, but she has a fire inside of her that leads to a steamy love affair.

My second favorite part was reading the Diary of Blythe’s grandmother and understanding why she decided to abandon her son on Euphora and shack up with a demon….was she wrongly accused? Blythe must struggle through many internal battles on her journey, and finally allows herself to open up….an enjoyable experience for the reader. Please add this book to your “To-Read” shelf today!

Read the full review here: http://shadowkissedcassie.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-firelight-in-darkness-by-k...

Breath of Air took my breath away!

Capri has lived without a family for as long as she can remember. Growing up in an orphanage has been hard and now on the day of her eighteenth birthday she wishes she had a family to celebrate it with more than ever. Capri has always been a little different. Although keeping her special talents a secret, manipulating a small breeze and controlling birds has always been in her blood.

Now, finally Capri can start to uncover the truth when she meets Liam, a water Dryad who sees her for what she really is and takes her to her true home, Euphora. Euphora is where all the Dryads, amongst others, live and work. They have the very important job of keeping the world in balance and welcome Capri with open arms.

Finally having a pace to call home and being reunited with her father is amazing, but Capri is still haunted by the dreams of the day her mother died and she was taken. She knows she can never rest until she finds her mother’s killer…..but bringing up the past is more dangerous than she thought.

Jennings has created a world unlike any I have read about. Euphora is magical but has the very important purpose of keeping the earth running smoothly. I have never read a book about Dryads and it is not a secret that I love when a new character is thrown at me….something other than vampires and weres.

Capri is one of the purest souls I have ever seen. Although she has had a hard life she is so kind and sweet but not to the point of annoyance. Soon we start to see a young love blossom and the author did an amazing job of keeping the romance steady throughout the book instead of your classic “They see each other and fall madly in love” synario….fast pace puppy love can get a little sickening although entertaining. Capri’s romance evolves and she doesn’t know her true heart’s desire until closer to the end of the book. All the while a riveting murder mystery is being uncovered.

By the end of the book I wanted more of Euphora….and jumped straight into the next book in the quartet. I loved this story and hope you add it to your “To-Read” shelf today!

Read the full review here: http://shadowkissedcassie.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-and-giveaway-bogo-ebook-pr...