The American Heiress by Roxanne Dent

I normally don't review works available for sale from Ravenous Romance on this blog because I keep this one for non-erotic works, but The American Heiress was more of a sweet romance to me than an erotic romance, so I've chosen to review it here. I bought this title for 99 cents as part of the Ravenous Romance 1 year anniversary sale this past December, and it was one of the first ebook titles I bought in a big batch that I read in December of 2009.

This book very much reminded me of a Regency romance with the London setting, the balls, fancy gowns, uses of chaperons etc. I like picking up a Regency every once in awhile to remind me that there's more out there than murder mysteries and fantasy.

Dent does a good job of keeping her characters consistent. The only thing I didn't like about The American Heiress was that I wasn't sure if I was rooting for the protagonist to fall in love with Miles or Lord Stratford. It took me a long time to figure out which one I was supposed to be rooting for.

I can't say I was very shocked or surprised by how this novel ended, but Regency romance are usually a little more predictable than murder mysteries with the happily ever after type endings and the conventions of the sub-genre in general.

I give this one 4 stars **** and would read another Roxanne Dent title again. I enjoyed the novel.

A Thousand Bones by P.J. Parrish

A Thousand Bones by P.J. Parrish is the story of Joette Frye's early career as a police office when she worked in Echo Bay, MI. Louis Kincaid makes a very small appearance in the beginning and end of this novel, though almost all the action takes place years before she met Louis.

I made the mistake of reading this one after reading South of Hell, so I was a little confused because I didn't realize until later that they were released in the opposite order. The confusion wasn't enough to make me not understand this story. The plot was very much self contained, and had I plucked it from the middle of the series without any knowledge of Louis or Joe, I would have still thought it was a really good book.

The pacing of this one wasn't quite as fast as some of the others. I read A Thousand Bones in four days. I was still gripped by the plot, but the first half of the book took a lot more setup than the others I've read by Parrish so far.

I still give this one 5 stars ***** because the plot was very well done as was the characterization. Even though I didn't always agree with the characters' choices, I found myself liking Joe more and more by the end.

My one criticism is that I was confused by having a character named Mike and one named Mack. They're distinct enough names, but since they both have an M and a K in them, I found myself rereading a few random paragraphs trying to figure out what was happening because my mind was reading one name when the other name was actually written on the page.

South of Hell by P.J. Parrish

South of Hell by P.J. Parrish was a delight to read. Louis Kincaid and his girlfriend, Joette Frye, work together to solve a complex crime, a cold case, in Ann Arbor, MI. I got to see a new side to Louis Kincaid that I rather enjoyed as well as read a murder mystery that contained the perfect balance of the paranormal.

Usually I have a few reservations about mixing paranormal and murder mysteries, but I completely bought this plot. The book was spooky. It crossed the paranormal into reality in such a way that I found myself wondering, What if something like this really happened? I couldn't completely dismiss Amy's knowledge of the past and of her mother.

I liked the complexity of the characters. All of them, from Jake to Louis, Joe, Amy, and Louis' daughter were three dimensional to me. I couldn't get enough. I read this book in under a day also, because there was more than a need to know how it ended. I needed to know how it began.

I give this one 5 stars. *****.

Cherry Bomb by J.A. Konrath

Cherry Bomb is the latest in the Jack Daniels series by J.A. Konrath. Like the previous books, it is fast-paced and action packed.

The tone of this book is much darker than the other books. I don't believe in spoilers, so I won't mention why, but I will say that Jack Daniels in many ways is a changed woman in Cherry Bomb.

I give this one 3 1/2 stars ***1/2 because I like that Jack is flawed, but I thought she was a little too flawed in Cherry Bomb. I wanted the good guys to win in the right way, and Jack, Phin, and Harry go about the action of this book in a way that reminded me more of a vigil ante than the hero I'm used to.

I still read this one in under two days, I still recommend it, but I hope that the next book in the series is a little less dark. I liked the old Jack better.

One thing I did like was the scene where Jack's mother was on the cruise ship. That part brightened the mood a little for me.

I also wasn't sure I wanted to root for Jack and Phin to hook up. Part of their relationship felt really right, and other aspects of it felt totally wrong. I still haven't made up my mind yet.

Fuzzy Navel by J.A. Konrath

Fuzzy Navel by J.A. Konrath is the next book in the Jack Daniels series. Of all the books in the series, this was the one I enjoyed the most. The speed was break neck; the action was well written, and the characters all got a chance to interact throughout the scenes.

I read this book in under one day. I actually threw the book on the floor when I finished because the end made me want more. Konrath leaves the reader hanging at the end of this one. I could wait to read the next book in the series, Cherry Bomb. I had to know the outcome of the action from Fuzzy Navel. Like the other books in the series, there was an except at the end from the next book, but it didn't hold any clues to what I wanted to know.

I was on the edge of my seat during the entire book. I give this one 5 stars ***** because it was one of the best page turners I have ever read.

Dirty Martini by J.A. Konrath

Dirty Martini by J.A. Konrath is the fourth book in the Jack Daniels series. Jack has to catch a poisoner before he kills thousands of people in the greater Chicago area. The killer is so effective at his work that Jack sees many of the people closest to her die in horrible ways.

I wanted to give this book 5 stars. Up until the final few chapters, I would have given it 5 stars, hands down. Of the first four books in the series, this was the one I read the quickest. I digested the entire thing in under 6 hours. I was riveted by the killer and couldn't wait to figure out how Jack would catch him.

I thought the methods the killer used were the most unique of the first four Jack Daniels books, and the characters more human. I liked that I finally got to see more of Jack and Herb's humanity.

What makes me give this one 3 stars *** is that the end was too tidy. I lost my suspension of disbelief. My inner voice kept screaming at me in the final 3-4 chapters that it was too far out in left field for Jack to be able to survive all the things she was going through.

I wasn't deterred from continuing to read other books in the series.

Rusty Nail by J.A. Konrath

Rusty Nail by J.A. Konrath is the third book in the Jack Daniels series. Jack has to figure out the clues of the Gingerbread Man's family to figure out who the Killer(s) is/are. Her partner, Herb Benedict, returns to being his normal self. (Herb was a bit of a jerk in Bloody Mary). I was glad Herb was more likable in Rusty Nail.

It took me a really long time to figure out why this one was titled Rusty Nail, but after finishing the entire novel, the title made sense. Mr. Friskers, Jack's cat, plays a nice role in this book too. I was glad Konrath kept Mr. Friskers as an active character.

I give this one five stars ***** for several reasons.

I finished the book in under a day because I had to know how it ended.

I liked that Konrath was able to mix the darker characters of the Kork family with the humor I was used to from Whisky Sour and Bloody Mary. I think Konrath struck a nice balance between giving the reader a dark, funny, and twisted plot.

Harry McGlade makes another appearance in Rusty Nail. He plays what I felt was a large role in this novel. I don't know why, but I like Harry better than even Jack. He's an annoying SOB, but I like him anyway.