i didn't know exactly what to expect from this one. i do remember being really pleased with A Certain Slant of Light though, so i was at least going to know that it would be decent writing at the least. laura whitcomb seems to like the hole spiritual theme, for which i am happy, but at the same time i was waiting to see what kind of original spin she would put on this. maybe i just wasn't in the mood for it?
it starts rather normal, with the introduction of the main character and his role as a fetch, and even the introduction of ana and alexis, the other main characters. we don't really see a purpose until he "falls" though, and even then it is murky at best; the character himself doesn't see what his purpose is, and when i look back through it i'm not even sure there were clues as to what he was supposed to do. if there were clues, i can be sure that it was planned this way from the beginning. as it is, unfortunately, i feel that lots of the plot goings-ons are unplanned, and the pacing isn't exactly breakneck speed either. i found myself getting disinterested from place to place, and the characters alexis and ana, while it must be realistically portrayed, get annoying and insignificant from time to time; they don't actually DO anything.
that isn't to say i didn't enjoy the ride throughout the book, but this one had more underlying faults than her previous book did. the "romance" between calder and ana isn't very realistic to me, and i keep getting the impression that they're children, and so it's somewhat disturbing to me. ana annoyed me with her antics. alexis annoyed me with how spoiled he could be, and nothing to redeem him with. the journey was fun from time to time, like the boat voyage. i wish the characters of the boatkeepers would be introduced more, but she seems to not know what to do with them once they were on the boat. i did enjoy.. umm.. calder's flashbacks from time to time, they seemed dramatic and did have the nostalgic mood down pat. his release of his friend's spirit seemed random to me, but whatever.
aside from being dull, i would still give it a 3/5 for the attempt at putting in historic detail. i say attempt because i really don't know much about the romanov family and the russian revolution, so i can't either praise or dispute it, but the idea to do it to begin with is pretty cool. there were also times when ana seemed really cute, and.. i don't know, calder's process of rediscovering his humanity is pretty nice too.
okay, so fine. i have trouble thinking of praise for anything, but i'm good at complaining. but that the book only has the few complaints from me (that the pacing is dull, the plotlines seem disorganized, and the character's motives are confusing/questionable) means that this book is okay. otherwise i'd make a complete joke of it, which i am not doing. that is why i still give it a 3 out of 5.
done. whew.
this book got a bunch of good reviews from readers on amazon and everywhere else, but the thing is, i hadn't known about the general good opinion until i was already halfway through this. and at the halfpoint when i found out, i was unfortunately still pretty unimpressed. this book had been lying on the top of my TBR pile for a while, mostly because the bf's sister borrowed it out of the library thinking i'd like it, and i really didn't wanna give her late fees. here are some of the reasons why i didn't like it much:
1) the protagonist has confusing morals. one second he has no qualms about murdering a completely innocent woman, sleeps with his girlfriend's apparently teenage sister (he's 50 fucking years old!), and kills needlessly when a situation does not require it. then in another, he's all bleeding heart for children and whatever, he feels guilty about lying/deceiving/betraying his girlfriend, and he follows his friend roger faithfully like a sad puppy. umm.. what?
2) he has to be the dumbest hero i've met yet. all the clues are compiled in such an obvious way from the get-go, i wasn't even sure what the author intended me to do with them. i kept thinking, no way, this has got to way too easy--there has to be another twist to it, right? so, i finish the book expecting this twist, but it never comes. everyone in the book is exactly who you expected them to be. except the main character, cuz i spent most of the book trying to decipher just how dumb he can be. if you're gonna write a dude who's this all-powerful being, i can understand you might want to give him some setbacks--but an unintelligent lead does not inspire any interest in me, as a reader. i just ended up sitting there, finishing the final page, with a stunned look on my face. did i really read this, or did i imagine it? surely no one would've written and published a book like this.
so okay, it does break convention. a lot. i'm willing to cut it plenty of slack for not entertaining me, because, well, i'm looking for some good fantasy for a bit of disconnection from the real world. this story had the potential to be great, but the bits and pieces (including the main character's psyche) are just a giant mess. the characters aren't quite fully formed either, cuz all i see in both tabitha and her sister are bimbos. can women possibly not be described as catty creatures that are easily impressed by the superficial? and eric, this dude--he doesn't even QUESTION why these beautiful women surround him with no other motive than to practically be his slaves. if that's not stupidity to the extreme then i don't know what is.
i might or might not read the next one, but i'll definitely be in no rush. i really hate to disagree with the common opinion, especially when there are so many positive reviews, but in this case i really have to be the party pooper here. maybe it's cuz i'm a girl and i don't find the male heroine appealing or redeeming in any way. who knows. but good for you guys who do like it, and i wish i did too.
first of all, i want to state that there was nothing i was overly fond of on her previous american album, titled 'exodus,' and so i expected likewise of this one. which is why my jaw literally dropped when i started the first track all the way through to finishing the last, because this is so out of her normal style that just when i expect something of the regular variety from her.. well, you get the idea. and so, here goes:
1) On and On. a club track through and through. the beat does feel a bit recycled, but it's completely refreshing to be surprised by utada. it's also good to hear that her vocals (or maybe the mixing) is much improved. the heavy bass makes me want to pop, despite the repetitive verses. i'd be very surprised if she was really the one who produced this track though. 8/10
2) Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - FYI. this made me crack a grin from ear to ear, if only because the merry christmas mr. lawrence sample reminded me so heavily of the asianavenue days. add in the remixed beat and i'm thoroughly bouncing in my chair like a three-year-old on a sugar high. it being a thoroughly well-mixed track, again, only helps its case. as compared to her previous album, the lyrics are nowhere near as cheesy and amateur. there's also something about her diction that's much improved. 8/10
3) Apple and Cinnamon. a more dramatic sound to it with the piano underlay, and the beat adds an interesting mix. i don't really get what the song is about though? the whole apple and cinnamon line just makes me laugh, and i'm not sure that's the intention of the track, judging by the sound of the song. sounds also like this is about a breakup, and i'm just not getting the apple and cinnamon thing. hmm. 7/10
4) Taking My Money Back. okay this track is just silly. the only good part about it is the melody of the opening of the chorus. i'm just not too sure i like this track at all, but maybe it'll grow on me? there's a lot of electrosync sounds in the background, and i suppose that could sound pleasant. this one also has a piano underlay, and i'm beginning to see a bit of a theme going on here. 6/10
5) This One (Crying Like a Child). simply my favorite track of the whole album. a simple guitar riff with a rather simple beat, the sound is remarkably dramatic. this one sort of reminds me of her "deep river" days, especially when the chorus begins and she sings it so heartrendingly. i feel almost like this should've been the promotional single released, especially when the album is named after this track (and for good reason too). the electric guitar that comes in during the little intermission verse makes it sound that much more dramatic too. 9/10
6) Automatic Part II. i had no idea what to expect from a track named after one of her first singles, but i loved the first couple of lines. it's obvious she designed for this to appeal to her long-time american fans, and i get all fangirly just thinking about it. the beat is very simple, but her vocals do show some power, which really makes me happy. i feel like her vocal style really did change, and improve, through this album. other than those points, this is a bit of a drab track if you just listen to the sound and not the lyrics. for the fangirl factor, i give it 8/10
7) Dirty Desire. LMAO i modelled for a friend a couple of days ago and posed to this album as the soundtrack. once this track came up i just burst out laughing and it seriously took me a full 2 minutes to stop. it's certainly interesting to hear her talk with an attitude, since i wouldn't have thought she was capable of it. it's probably as close as she'll come to rapping, but imo it sounds kind of cool. the song in itself isn't all too impressive unfortunately though. 7/10
8) Poppin'. should i expect the pink panther to round the corner now? because that's how this track starts, with the whole detective film sound going. you'd expect flappers and bright red lipstick and bobs from hearing this track. and cigarettes. it's overall a pretty cute track, but after a while it does get a little repetitive. 7.5/10
9) Come Back to Me. this is her single for this album. honestly, it's decent, but it's nothing special, imo, and so i'm not sure what to make of it, because i feel almost obligated to like it simply because i loved the other ballad in this album so much. i feel like this is a song that someone has done before--it's nothing special, not even emotionally moving. if the piano riff was a bit more prominent maybe? oh well, the guy in the video was cute. 7.5/10
10) Me Muero. the beginning sounds like elevator music, lol. i really like the tropical sound she's got going through the track, and the melody sounds really happy-go-lucky. it's really easy music to get all feminist and strutty to, which probably makes absolutely no sense, but is the best i can do to describe this track. in general, it's a really nice track to close with. 8/10
in general, it's one of those albums i'd definitely have on repeat for a while to come. i still can't get over listening to track 5, and it's one of my regular repeats lately. i read somewhere that she admits to having made mistakes with 'exodus' and thinking good, but i also read that she hated the way they portrayed her in the last album? personally, if only her cover for this album was a bit more sexed up, she would definitely sell better. i don't really understand what the deal with the new album cover is, because i really don't like it. the uk version of her exodus album was perfect. when it comes to her image i think they didn't do too badly on her last album, but that's just my opinion. the music for this is definitely notches above exodus though, because her versatility really shines through when she tackles these other genres.
think i might've been expecting too much from this one, but at least it didn't disappoint. i remember nadia stafford somewhat, and her character remains constant, i think. i remember there being more sexual tension between nadia and jack than was in this book though, so i wonder if that'll be coming in in the next installation, which will be who knows how long from now. a year and a bit, probably? i'm pretty much cheering for jack all the way, despite his seemingly dull character. he seems to have a heavier stake in it than quinn, and she seems to lean toward him too.
weird with the age difference, but still cool i guess. the plot in this one was a bit weird. i mean, baby-snatching hitmen? that earned a big WTF from me. i'm sure it's not out of the question in reality, but when i'm reading, i guess it's hard to keep suspending my disbelief. there are tons of different things she could've done with the baby scenario that didn't have anything to do with hitmen, but i guess she figured if the main character was a hitman, she might as well make the villain something like it too. reading this makes me feel like i'm watching another episode of burn notice, except without the whimsical humor. at this point i wouldn't say i'm excited to revisit nadia, but i'm excited to read a conclusion between nadia and jack. the character interactions intrigue me more than the plotlines, which is a good thing too, i guess. i just wish i was excited about both, but this is one of those that i can wait on.
having read this, i guess i can move on to the next kitty book now. maybe. but i wasn't too impressed with the last volume of that either, so i guess it doesn't much matter either way.
aww, i cannot believe how much i missed julia grey.
her little romantic entanglement with brisbane has always been amusing as hell, and she is always so humorously witty. by the conclusion of this book i'm sort of happy, but disappointed as well, because no more tension! the tension makes the romance for me, unless it's me going through it. when i watch other couples, i need tension! and not the bad kind! i like to be kept wondering and teetering on the edge of my seat. hopefully there will be ways to keep that in there, in the next volume.
the mystery.. was not really much of a mystery. well, it was, in that it was twisty and turny, but not enough focus gets put on the mystery itself because we keep wondering about freaking julia and brisbane! so, okay, that's not exactly a valid complaint. and the resolution of the mystery of the two corpses there left me thinking of poe and his house of usher short. especially since that short initially made such an impression upon me thanks to a really great lit professor i had, and the idea behind madness in a family is somewhat similar. i wonder if she drew any inspiration from classics outside of english origin?
you know, it's weird. my language tends to change with the books i read. sometimes my temperament too. this is why i love fiction so much, maybe; i can somehow keep reinventing myself. socializing does that too, but reading isn't as active. it's a personal kind of reinvention, and doesn't take much given you are at all literate, of course.
ANYWAY.
i hear this isn't to be the last book, which somewhat surprises me, because this was ended on such a good note i might really rather it was; but i won't complain, because if i were not to get any more julia grey, i wouldn't know what to do with myself. rachel morgan goes in this category, and cassandra palmer, and georgina kincaid, and rose hathaway. it is a rare good author that can keep characters living in your head long after you've finished having adventures with them. i guess i don't need to elaborate any more on how much i love this series.
oh, but the book itself. in short, it was really good, reminds me more of the first book in the way the mystery was fashioned, but the relationship with brisbane has evolved, of course. i do wish brisbane would take a more active approach at courting julia, if even a little; he seems to the point of coldness sometimes, which can be somewhat irritating. i never thought brisbane was that old either, but this book really hammers that home. i guess the covers are also officially romance now, which is.. pretty, i guess, but at the same time it will be taken less seriously also. but you know, whatev, if it'll sell better, right? i wonder what made her decide that this will be the breaking point between brisbane and julia, because in my humble opinion, that kind of good tension could easily have made to stretch a couple more books. or maybe she has something else set in store for them as a married couple. i don't know?
i guess we'll see in another year then. and in the meantime i should have plenty of new releases to keep me company for a bit anyway. gotta love the library system!
