The one jarring note in this book was the fact that a nurse (more than once) referred to patients as 'vegetables'. That was just wrong. Other than that, I found the romance sweet and I just loved Criminy ( )

I received this unsolicited from Pocket Books and I don't think I've ever been as glad as that moment. Admittedly I was interested in the book from way back when I first saw the cover--while there is an abundance of paranormal romance covers with half-naked men strewn about (many of which find their way to my shelf) I suppose something caught my attention enough that I wanted to check out this book when it came out despite there not being a jot about the actual story on the goodreads page (and being a lazy sort I didn't seek out information). However I returned home from a rather horrid trip to the doctor's to the UPS man delivering a package and I leapt on it like a bludbunny on a Pinkie.

Dawson sets up an intriguing blend of paranormal, fantasy and romance with enough elements of steampunk to have those bits not overshadow the story. I don't think her intention is to label this in the steampunk genre, but rather to incorporate some of the funner elements (such as clockwork animals). The romance is rather more subdued then in a lot of paranormals, with a lot of the emphasis on Letitia learning to accept that love doesn't mean being trapped rather then on Criminy courting her. He flat out tells her in their first meeting that he had been waiting for her and loved her. To him its not so much a 'will she?' and more of a 'I'll eventually prove to her that she does already' situation.

I have to say I really liked the fact that even though Criminy was very determined and steadfast in his declarations he wasn't above telling Letitia that her indecisiveness was hurting him more deeply than she could imagine. Even after the minor inconvenience that was the possible other love interest (I rolled my eyes the entire time) Letitia is reluctant to commit herself one way or the other. She has real world concerns tying her to this world--well mainly her grandmother's condition and her sense of obligation was simply astounding to me. I would like to think I could do that, but I sincerely doubt I could. A recurring theme throughout is that something easy isn't worth having (or that it loses its meaning) and that's a difficult concept for me to accept. I suppose it greatly depends on what you consider 'easy'.

Oh Criminy--flawed, vicious, bludman Criminy Stain. He's insane, which isn't an insult but a statement of fact. I think everyone in that world was insane to some degree and given his occupation (Magician, caravan owner, Gypsy King, showman) it really only could help him. He's not afraid to show that side of himself to Letitia either; he doesn't hide the gruesome reality of his life, nor make excuses for it. He doesn't go out of his way to shove it in her face, but he's very clear about his pride in what he is.

Letitia felt real to me. Felt like a woman broken by the abuse someone she cared for dealt to her. Someone who didn't heal fully and maybe wouldn't have been able to without help. I felt ambiguous about the fact everything always went back to how Jeff (her ex-fiancee) treated her. It made sense, at first, but as she grew to trust certain people and understand them it began feeling frustrating and grating. As if she didn't want to move past that initial feeling. When she wasn't focusing on that so much I really liked her. Liked that she had a quick wit and thought on her feet. She got over a lot of her initial fright and seemed to embrace the world partially.

The less said about Casper the better. I didn't like him. Not that he was badly written, or such. I just didn't like his character. Every time he put the moves on Letitia I was ready to punt his butt to the nearest bludbunny nest. I have a feeling we'll see him again though.

This was a welcome delight to me. It had me enthralled through the better part of the day, had me staying up until 3am to finish the book and write this review and makes me eager to read more from Dawson. Also to find a Criminy of my own, but that's not here or there.

( )

There is a richness to this alternate world that I did not expect. I love it when an author can do that for me. And I am delighted that there are more books in Sang to enjoy! I can't think of a higher compliment. :) ( )

Wanting to try something outside of my usual genres, I wandered over to the romance section of my library. There were many books to choose from, but Wicked as They Come caught my eye with it's absolutely ridiculous cover. And it turned out to be a surprisingly good choice.

Wicked as They Come follows the story of Tish, who steals an old locket from an estate sale, which transports her into an alternate England called Sang, in which vampires, both human and animal, co-exist alongside non-bloodsucking creatures. The locket, enchanted with a magic spell, has brought her to a man looking for his true love, Criminy Stain. The setting is a fascinating mix of steampunk and carnie, with Criminy as the ringmaster of a clockwork carnival of lizard boys, blood-drinking tightrope walkers, and other circus freaks. This was right up my alley as I love anything weird, dark, and whimsical-- in fact, the author's website is called "Whimsydark", a perfect way to describe this book.

I definitely fell in love with Criminy just a little bit. He's the kind of character who is instantly likeable-- he's a man who knows what he wants and takes the steps to get it, but without being dominating or pushy about it. He has a quieter confidence, and though he is master and leader of a circus of strange and somewhat frightening carnies, he also has a gentle side. I liked that he was very sensitive to Tish's feelings and was respectful of her wishes, while at the same time still being quite self-assured that she'll eventually come around. Tish was a decent protagonist too, likeable and sensible enough, if a little forgettable. Still, I thought she and Criminy made a great pair and I enjoyed following them on their adventures.

I like that the story, while being a serious story, doesn't take itself too seriously. The plotline moves at a consistent pace and there is never really a dull moment. Even as the first half of the book is mostly setting up the world, it was still fun to read. The dialogue was well-written and engaging, with witty lines and fun banter between the characters. The author has an engaging style of writing, the words flow together seamlessly and drawing you into the tale. Her descriptions are fairly succinct and not overly flowery, focused more on sketching in all you really need to know and pulling you into the action, rather than giving an immense amount of detail. That is one thing I noticed about Dawson's writing-- she gives you just enough information so that you can understand the worldbuilding and infer some things from the text, but not so much that it slows down the pace of the narrative. I like that she doesn't explain too much; it leaves a bit of mystery about the setting and characters, but the book does not feel incomplete. And that ending! It was wonderfully and cleverly done.

I have no interest in reading the rest of the series but the author is clearly skilled at her craft, and blessed with an incredible imagination. I'd be interested in reading other non-romance-centric things that she writes (and I see that she has a fantasy novel coming out this year under a pen name, which I am quite intrigued by: Wake of Vultures (under the name Lila Bowen). ( )

Yet another book that I did not finish. To tell you the truth I only bought this book because of a hilarious review on Goodreads which contradicted my first thoughts when I first saw the cover and read the blurb. The reviewer said not to hold the cheesy cover against the book and that the book was not cheesy at all but everything she said was wrong.

The book started out okay even though the female lead is the gag-me too good to be real type of woman who is a hospice nurse who in her spare time takes care of her ailing grandmother. She finds a locket at an estate sale and magically finds herself in another world. That is where the story starts to suck big fanged bunnies…or little fanged bunnies like in the tale. She meets a fanged man wearing a top hat, a cross between Willy Wonka and Frank N Furter. He was so outrageous and fantastical that I couldn’t get into him at all.

The story reminded me of Alice in Wonderland which is one of my least favorite stories of all time.
I tried to force myself to read it because I paid good money for it but had to give up after a quarter of the book. It just was too fantastical and cheesy for me.

www.paranormalromanceslut.com ( )