J.R. Ward: Lover Unleashed

• ISBN-13: 9780451235114
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
• Publication date: 11/1/2011
• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Pages: 576

A fighter by nature, a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of the Chosen female, Payne is cut from the same warrior cloth as her brother. And that's before human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello gets sucked into her dangerous world. Although he's never believed in things that go bump in the night - like vampires - he's more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks him as her own. But as the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and the vampire worlds collide...just as a centuries-old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.

 This one felt a little rushed, guys. I think this was due in part to two things: one, we've already been introduced to the two main players. Payne and Manny. We know their circumstances. Two, Ward has recently been really into starting romance storylines early, long before she reaches the pairing's main book. For example, we've been dealing with Qhuinn and Blay and their angst for the last few books now. Don't get me wrong - I love Qhuay and their angst. I can't wait to read their book. But a lot of time is spent in the novels leading up to theirs focusing on their issues. Which then takes away from the main pairing.
 In this novel, Wrath accidentally breaks Payne's back in a sparring match. Big whoops. V's mate, Jane, can't do much to help her, so they call in her specialist friend and former potential flame - Dr. Manuel Manello. Kind of a terrible name. He's shocked to find Jane alive (sort of) but as is the way in Ward's wacky world, he sees Payne and it's instant love. Or lust. Or a combination of both. V is naturally over-protective, and he's going through his own crap with Jane and his own mental space as well, which also takes time away from Payne and Manny, but hey. Necessary evil. I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say everyone gets their pretty happy ending.
 We also have introductions to the Band of Bastards, Xcor's drama, and some murder-y goodness, which I hear is really set up for a Fallen Angels novel. So there's a lot going on.
 Overall: C+
 Quite a few times, the drama felt contrived. I didn't feel enough time was dedicated the ostensible main couple. BUT we did get a lot of new information and set up for future books. And it was, as always, entertaining. Probably my least favorite thus far, though.

Richard Castle: Storm Front

• ISBN-13: 9781401324902
• Publisher: Hyperion
• Publication date: 5/21/2013
• Pages: 320

From Tokyo, to London, to Johannesburg, high-level bankers are being gruesomely tortured and murdered. The killer, caught in a fleeting glimpse on a surveillance camera, has been described as a psychopath with an eye patch. And that means Gregor Volkov, Derrick Storm's old nemesis, has returned. Desperate to figure out who Volkov is working for and why, the CIA calls on the one man who can match Volkov's strength and cunning - Derrick Storm.
 With the help of a beautiful and mysterious foreign agent - with whom Storm is becoming romantically and professionally entangled - he discovers that Volkov's treachery has embroiled a wealthy hedge-fund manager and a U.S. senator. In a heated race against time, Storm chases Volkov's shadow from Paris, to the lair of a computer genius in Iowa, to the streets of Manhattan, then through a bullet-riddled car chase on the New Jersey Turnpike. In the process, Storm uncovers a plot that could destroy the global economy - unleashing untold chaos - which only he can stop.

 Hello, friends. I have been long away.
 I have a good reason, I swear. I entered grad school in the fall and it's been absolutely insane. I finished one book the first week that school started and haven't had time to read for pleasure since. That is a killer. But I made my fabulous return, so no worries.
 I make my stupendous return with Storm Front by Richard Castle. But wait, isn't Richard Castle a fictional character played on Castle by the effervescent Nathan Fillion? Why, yes, gentle reader, it is. Hyperion has been releasing tie-in books with the TV show written and designed as if they were really written by Castle himself. Having read the first of the Nikki Heat series, I have to say that the writing in the first full novel of the Derrick Storm books (first and possibly only? I don't know) was not quite up to par. It got better the more the story wraps you up, but I noticed two chapters being with "He could only be described as..." which is a) amateur and b) repetitive. And that was upsetting. A few other typos as well which I am apparently becoming hypersensitive to.
 The story was fun and a wild ride, but it wasn't surprising. In fact, halfway through the book you knew who the culprit was and actually...I kind of liked him. Which was the intent, I'm sure. The villain was delusional, which was a delight, but not really. I liked my bad guys to be actually cunning, not just super violent and wildly unrealistic in their expectations. There was a Chinese agent that was absolutely fun as well. All in all, actually, the characters were great, even if only a little background was given. Always humorously delivered, they were fleshed out enough to get an idea of who they were and their role to play, however brief, and to give you a little chuckle.
 Derrick Storm himself was James Bond and Jason Bourne all rolled up into one fantastical package. He could only be described as ruggedly handsome, you see. He had gadgets out the wazoo and the ability to throw a molotov cocktail into a hole in the windshield of a moving vehicle while hanging out of the window of a Jag missing its two back tires. And if that's not a super agent, then I don't know what is. Despite the fact that he's not really an agent.
 It was also fun to see that while the characters in Nikki Heat are the thinly veiled characters from the show, the characters in the Storm novels have the names of the characters in the show but play different roles. If you didn't know it was a tie-in, this would probably smack you in the face with it. Which does create a conundrum since Castle supposedly wrote the Storm novels before he met the NYPD team. Come on, Hyperion, enough with the games. Step up your accuracy game.
 Overall: B
 Major points for being a quick read and a good time, but minus points for being kind of juvenile. It did do a good job of explaining the economic aspect of the world-ending investigation, which I would not have gotten if a five year old couldn't understand it. So good job, "Castle."