Rating: - Good but not as engrossing as other books in the series
I think Rad has mined the last gold from these characters. I'm glad she tied up most of the loose ends, but if there is another book, I think it will be one book too many. I found myself thinking that the protective arm of the Secret Service is seldom called to fire their guns in this country (much less every six months). The problem with writing fiction that parallels contemporary happenings is that it is difficult to do it without treading on reality and putting some of what we wish will/had happpened in the fiction. It is another good read, but I'm glad the series seems to be at an end. Yes, I know that there are other stories that could be told because she has so many characters that we care about, but for the nonce they should be allowed to live their lives in our imaginations and not on the printed page.
One question: How did Ellen Grant (first two books) morph into Ellen Marks in this book? If she took her husband's name or went back to her maiden name a nit-picker like me would like to know.
Rating: - Good Read
I am truly an avid reader and love Radclyffe as much as the next lesbian, but this series is starting to wear on me. I mean come on how much physical abuse, i.e being shot etc. can Cam take book after book and how much action can the reader be made to read. I am getting to the point where it is hard for me to believe the story line anymore. It is starting to get too far fetched for me to believe. I really do enjoy Radclyffe's ability to write in the here and now, but this series has been there and done that and I really think she needs to wrap it up soon.
Rating: - Very good & exciting book
I love this book.
Great love scenes and a lot of action.
Cam & Blair are amazing as always.
also, the new characters are fun & hot.
Great read!
Rating: - A decent book that doesn't quite live up to the rest, but with fun moments and some action interspersed with the romance
This book was fine. Probably the weakest so far in the series, but decent. I don't begrudge the time I spent with it at all, and fans of Cam and Blair will want to read it, if only to experience the next step on their journey. I long for the depth of the early days of the relationship, though.
Honestly, it's a testament to the strength of the characters that Radclyffe creates that I'm still interested in them and their friends. Particularly as I often get impatient with books that spend too much time on secondary characters, and not enough on the main protagonists, as this series has tended towards.
And there is a lot about their friends in this book. We get regular insight into, or at least spend time with, the relationships of Stark & Savard and Diane & Valerie. And we get the introduction of Dana Barnett, a reporter the White House orders embedded with Blair's team in order to cover her upcoming nuptials. And the return of Emory, who bonded with the team in Boston during an attempt on Blair's life. Dana is a really interesting character, in my opinion, at least as far as providing an outsider's perspective on Cam and Blair, and I enjoyed having Emory fleshed out a bit more. I couldn't help but think Emory and Dana should just get their own book, though.
The romance was top notch, for all that, with a couple of significant moments between our protagonists, and some sweet moments for the other characters. But there was a ton of build-up to the possibilities in the final confrontation, and even though I really like how it was resolved from the character-implication side of things, I feel like it kind of developed and died out very quickly. It was almost anticlimactic, and less cleverly plotted and foiled than I'm accustomed to with this series.
So it was a fun read, but no new ground was really broken, and I think it could have been plotted out a little more tightly. And as I said, with all of these interesting characters, sometimes you feel they should just have their own stories told, rather than taking time and focus away from Cam and Blair. Still, if/when another book comes out in this series I'll certainly jump right back in and buy it right away, anyway, and fondly remember the best times and character insights provided, while hoping for more.
Rating: - Who are these people?
I agree with another reviewer who said that from the opening page, the tone was set. However, that's where my agreement ends. The novel starts with Blair complaining about the noise being made while workers fix her apartment complex. Considering that the damage to the complex "happened" during 9/11, one would think Blair would be very grateful that she is alive to hear the noise being made. But no, not our spoiled little bi.....er...princess. But that does set the tone. More complaining from Blair about how difficult her life is, how much she needs Cameron to be safe, etc.
As if that isn't bad enough, the book focuses almost entirely on Dr. Emory Constantine (sp?) who was introduced in "Honor Reclaimed" I believe. It also introduces Dana somethingorother, a reporter who is hired to follow Blair around while she prepares for her wedding. Once they meet, Emory and Dana take center stage, and the main characters that are supposed to be in this series are pushed to the side. Nothing new is divulged about them.
Emory makes it clear from the beginning that she doesn't like reporters and doesn't trust them. Dana hopes Emory will learn to trust her, and yet every single opportunity Dana has to prove she is trustworthy is wasted. The story comes first and she doesn't pretend otherwise. She is not a likeable character at all, and yet Emory falls for her, pushing aside years and years of distrust and pain, and pretty much ignoring Dana's serious character flaws. I admit, Emory wasn't one of my favorite characters, but I never got the sense that she was desperate for someone, but clearly she must be to fall for Dana.
Valerie and Diane are my two favorite characters and they are hardly present at all. When they are present, nothing happens. Valerie is a big mystery and the most fascinating character, and yet she is pretty much ignored. And I am convinced that there is a book between this one and "Honor Under Siege" that I must have missed. Valerie started out as a high class call girl, then became an art dealer and then a CIA Agent. Throughout all her various personas, she was very feminine and elegant and sophisticated. Now, she is dark and deadly???!!!!! Uhm.....help, somebody! Tell me the name of the book that explains this transition please. It doesn't make any sense the way she is portrayed in this book.
Can we have one of these books where Cameron doesn't get blown up/shot/whatever? She really isn't very good at her job. I agree with another reviewer about the so-called climax. It was laughable. For the last two books, Radclyffe has been beating it into the reader's heads that Matheson is a fanatic who will not stop until Blair is dead, but luckily for everyone involved, his grand plan magically changed. Why? Because it would have been so very easy to kill Blair, and we can't have that. So let's take the easy/lazy way out and come up with a ridiculous new plan that is guaranteed to fail. Oh yes, that should work. Not.
This book is by far the worst of all them. It shouldn't even count as being in the "Honor" series, since the author has lost her honor by short changing her fans with the piece of drivel. Don't waste you time.
- Good but not as engrossing as other books in the series
- Good Read
- Very good & exciting book
- Who are these people?