DNF: Duet

Reviewed by Shelly
 

Having moved from Boston to Manhattan in search of new life and possibly love, twenty eight year-old Duet seems to define her entire existence by the two vaginas she’s born with. This story promised seduction, mystery and self-discovery. I didn’t get that.

Duet, who tells people she was named that because of her parents love music, is a bit of a slut while she’s searching for someone who would accept her and her two hoo-has. However, she has sex with guys on the first date and wonders why she can’t find someone who would love her for herself. I’m sorry to say that even with one hoo-ha, you can’t do that and expect the guy to come back at ya with a – ‘can’t wait to get to know you better’. I though I saw promise when she meets financier Oskar, but she performs oral sex on/for (either or, pick one) him the first on the first date. Hmmm, that’s what you do when looking for that special someone right? Ummm, that’s not all – after she’s done doing him, he turns to her and asks if she wants a drink. Say WHAT?!?

Seriously, I could not for the life of me get into reading this story past page 53 (of 225 ePub version). I wanted to just take Duet and literally beat the shit out of her. I’m not one to give up on a book, because God knows I’ve read some not-great books but I just couldn’t keep reading.

Happy reading folks!

Rating: DNF

Click to purchase: Amazon

Duet

by Jacqueline Wally & Stephen K Haber

Release Date: April 26, 2012

DNF: Sweet Talk

Reviewed by Allison
 

Olivia MacKenzie is an IRS agent with an agenda – to prove her father’s a crook who steals people’s investments & ruins people’s lives. When she inadvertently gets caught up in an FBI investigation while doing research on who else might be involved in his schemes, she meets Grayson Kincaid, sexy FBI agent. The two have instant attraction & even though they end up entangled in a case together, eventually they become entangled in bed. But, Olivia has quite the list of enemies that she is constantly fighting against, so the question is will she live long enough to see where it goes?

Unfortunately, as much as I love the cover, I could not finish this book. I made it about halfway through.

I normally LOVE romantic suspense, so I was really excited to try this book not only because I was in the mood for some action but to try a new prolific author such as Ms. Garwood. However, I found the dialogue stale, the story was boring, the timeline was too staggered & while I could see myself learning to like the characters, they, too, fell flat.

I’ve heard good things about Garwood’s historical romances, so I may try one of those but it’s not high on my to-read list.

Rating: DNF

*ARC Provided by NetGalley

Click to purchase: Amazon

Sweet Talk

by Julie Garwood

Release Date: August 7, 2012

Publisher: Penguin

DNF: Darkness Falling

Life is too short to force yourself to keep reading.  

I requested Darkness Falling from NetGalley because I liked the premise: Four people inside a radio station find they may be the only normal people left alive after a strange bright light turns the rest of the town in pod-people zombies. I like zombies. But well-over 100 pages in, imagine my surprise when I have yet to see the walking undead. What I did see was nothing like the blurb... except the white light.

The story actually follows about nine or 10 people, scattered in or around Denver. Three are in a plane when the rest of the crew and passengers disappear. My mind went straight to The Langoliers and never left. There is the obvious dismay and confusion that follows, then more of the same once they get the plane to the ground. At the same time, we see the event from the perspective of a serial killer, a schizophrenic and the promised radio station crowd, respectively. It is incredibly drawn out. We get a lot of characterization, which can be a good thing, but it was just too much. 

I was most annoyed by the exact same revelations over and over again, such as "Why would people close the doors behind them?" when everyone is trying to figure out where the town went. You know what? I would never ask that question, yet the folks in the book did, over and over and over. Another annoyance: a movie or literary reference every five seconds. One or twice could create some common ground between the characters and the audience, but we're talking like 50 different references. 

So, back to the zombie thing... I'm more than a 1/3 of the way into the book and I start questioning myself about whether this was really a zombie book after all. So I go to Goodreads and discover two things: 1) While the zombies do eventually make an appearance, the book is basically the set up installment for the series, with no resolution; and 2) It was originally released in 2002... part 2 didn't come out until six years later and there is still no word on number 3. So I sat there thinking to myself, why on earth would I keep reading this book?  Then I turned off my nook.  Like I said, life is too short, even if giving up on a book makes me feel like a failure.

*After posting this review, a reader shared the following information with me: "Parts 1 and 2 that you mention were originally published as limited edition novellas, and they are included as *part* of Darkness Falling. Darkness Falling is essentially novellas 1 and 2 rewritten with additional material. The second novel in the trilogy is due in September 2012, and the third volume a year later."  Thank you, Stevie J, for correcting my error.

**ARC Provided by NetGalley

Darkness Falling

by Peter Cowther

Release Date: September 27, 2011

Publisher: Angry Robot

Original Release Date: September 1, 2002

DNF: Dark Legacy

Reviewed by Jen
 

Did Not Finish.

In all fairness, I'm not sure I should write a review on this book, since I didn't finish it. However, I feel like I must warn people who might be thinking of buying it.  The premise sounded really good: girl tortured psychically by her comatose twin, as a relationship brews with the handsome doctor determined to keep her sane.  Throw in some covert agencies, mind control, and bam! Awesome story, right? Wrong.

First of all, we're dealing with so many bouncing POV's, it's hard to keep straight who we're talking about.  Most of the time, I found myself struggling just to figure out whether Maddie is controlling her own mind or Sarah is.  Then, I tried to wade through the murk of Sarah's experiment-induced dreamscape. There are ravens and metaphoric weapons that turn into real weapons and there's a mysterious Brotherhood and some unidentified bad-guys... and it's really just a train wreck.  And to make matters worse, the dream-program is actually called a "Dream Weaver." So on top of the headache I got reading this, I'm now subjected to bad 70's stoner music stuck in my head for the duration of the night. 

So, no, I won't be making it past page 103. And I won't be reading the sequel.  I'm sorry, but this was not for me.

*ARC Provided by NetGalley