Review: Snow Bite, Blood Red

Snow Bite, Blood Red by Jade Astor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I read this believing I would not care for it much. As a general rule I like this author's work but when it comes to well known fairy tales being rewritten, I cringe with distaste. I like my traditional stories left alone and not used or abused. So I rarely read them, knowing my opinion is generally skewed from the get go. I tend to find adaptations of traditional stories written with a heavy hand and the new story becomes a bad mimicry or mockery of the original.

I am much relieved to be able to say that is NOT the case here. I enjoyed this story very much. Yes it is a rewrite of Snow White, but its been done respectfully, tactfully and in many ways more closely to the original Grimm's tale than many of other traditional adaptations of the story. Albion as Snow White is naive and to be honest a bit stupid about the world around him, which the character himself fully admits. King Jasper falls quickly for his young and trusting lover, as the two try to cure the king of his vampirism.

This is a unique and yet completely familiar and utterly captivating adaptation of the story. I would recommend it for all lovers of Snow White, vampires and romances with that perfect fairy tale happily ever after ending. Well Done!



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Review: Return to Destiny

Return to Destiny by Vona Logan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I have to say this was one of the best stories I've read in a long time. A fantasy in fairy tale style. A world where true love and time travel allow us to make corrections to lives lived in error and unhappiness. To see miserable characters who know they've mess up and missed their opportunity for true love and yet desire it so much as to be willing to do almost anything to retrieve that chance, to go back and make right what they did wrong. It swept me away.

This was well thought out and well written. Michael is a strong character and his willingness to recognize his own failings and grow beyond them to do what is necessary to make things right drew me in. I love the fact that these characters were flawed. They aren't perfect men with perfect hair and perfect bodies. They are men with issues, pasts that make them who they are. Wade is loving and caring, but a man in a shell. Afraid to make connections because they've gone bad before. Both men grown and evolve to make things right in this story where love conquers all, even time.

This story was heart wrenching and leaves you with the wonderful warm glow at the end. I'd recommend this to anyone who loves a good romance and a fairy tale ending of happily ever after. Well done and I expect more great stories from this author.



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Review: Best Laid Plans

Best Laid Plans by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



This book has both a lot going for it and a lot wrong with it. It's ripe with errors, both in the story, character name mistakes and in general English.

The author took a chance and has 4 main characters here. This is not a menage but the story of 2 couples as the main central part of the plot line. To be honest its a mess. The whole thing read like 2 separate stories mashed together. You'd have one couple dating then the other couple dating... it was a series of repeats and a total bore.

The brothers, Grayson and Xander, who I'd previously enjoyed as mischievous and energetic male teens are adults in this story. But when they meet their mates they become effeminate and the story becomes disjointed mass of repeating events from each brothers point of view of the same events. The previously strong male characters are now reduced to pansy girls sitting in cars waiting for their mates to open the doors for them and being carried about the room. The sad part is the mates who are being carried were previously bad-ass strong male characters now reduced to chicks with dicks. The sex becomes a rolling set of events between first one couple then the other. The whole thing for me reads very choppy and irritating.

Now for good points. Even though the characters are girly and the romance is more suited to a M/F romance type than a M/M romance, there are moments of clarity. You do have moments where you can empathize with the characters and touch them.

All in all, even though I really did not like this book, I applaud the author for giving it a shot. It's a hard thing to do to run with this many main characters and have everything flow well. I think if the editing would have been stronger and there have been less repetition of events, this may have been an alright story.

I like this series and so I will go on to read the next one and see if things improve.



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