The Haviland Touch

So, everyone knows I'm a big Kay Hooper fan, right? So when I was browsing a paperback shelf some where, I stumbled across The Haviland Touch and went, "Romance? Intrigue? World-traveling? A couple reuniting after 12 years apart? Sounds great!"

It wasn't too bad. Yeah, they fall back in love (unsurprising), and yeah, they eventually find the missing cross. Woohoo.

He's kind of a really big jerk at the beginning. In fact, I yelled at him (called him a bad name) the first time they see each other again. But he deserved it.

I never really got over that. Yeah, they work their issues out and fall back in love, and he takes off his bitter mask and learns what she's really like...but I still don't really like him.

Plus, he calls her "Sweet" which makes me mad because that's what Alex calls Morgana (from her Thief series), and I hate it when books overlap with stuff like that!

It seems silly, but it's true.

Anyway, 3 snowflakes.

After Caroline

I swear I've been reading! I just haven't blogged about it in a really long time.

Anyway, I just finished After Caroline by Kay Hooper. Now, this one is older and kind of slow. It's when she was just starting out with novels more about mystery than about romance.

Joanna lives in Atlanta as a reference librarian. On July 1st, she gets into a car accident, and while her car is totalled, she emerges without a scrape. But as she is standing outside the car in awe, a tree falls on her car, and she is electrocuted. They revive her, but something weird starts happening.

Joanna is plagued by dreams from a place called Cliffside, and when she finally figures out where it is (Oregon, near Portland), she goes only to find out that she looks just like a woman named Caroline.

Caroline was also in a car accident on July 1st, and Caroline wasn't as lucky as Joanna.

Joanna is absolutely convinced that Caroline wasn't in an accident, and starts to dig into her life. Given the small town, it's easier than it could have been.

This, of course, piques the sheriff's interest in her, and Griffin decides to stick close. As time goes by, Joanna reveals a lot of secrets in this seemingly happy small town, but the most dangerous is about Caroline's last lover.

It was really slow to start out with. The first 100 pages or so, I didn't really care that much. The romance angle (Joanna and Griff) takes for-freaking-ever, and even then it's slightly unbelievable. Scott (Caroline's husband) and Lyssa (who works for him) have a thing, but it's slightly unbelievable too. It seems to be about settling often.

Anyway, it was fine. Not overly stellar, not terrible. Once you get into it, you really want to know who did it, but before then you only kind of care. At least, that's how I felt.

C.J.'s Fate

So, when anyone asks me what I did at home...the easy answers are "read" and "watched movies"

I just finished C.J.'s Fate, and older Kay Hooper. But it stars a librarian! Although the only reason we know that is because it's mentioned...she does absolutely nothing librarian-esque.

Anyway, C.J. is attending a wedding in Aspen. On her very first night, tired of her friends harassing her about not dating, she enlists a stranger to pretend to be her lover. You can see where this is going, right?

Fate (yeah, his name is Fate) falls in love with her immediately, so he decides to woo her and play along. She can't decide if the affection is really him, or the role he's playing.

Eventually, of course, they end up together, but it was fun getting there. Especially when Fate decides to read C.J. poetry in order to woo her. Fun. Not at all demanding, very fluffy, and probably not anything I'm ever going to read again, but I enjoyed it.

Blood Sins

Okay, so before now (and excluding the Thief Series), Kay Hooper has written books that are supernatural stand-alones. I mean, they're all about the in the same vein, but you don't need to read one before the other. Some times they mention the same people, but it's different.

Well, this time, it's not like that. I'm assuming that the third book in this set is going to be...well, more complete, but this one was kinda...weird.

It's shorter. It seems more like an outline than a the real book.

The storyline was fine, but underdeveloped. We never really find out what it is that Cody can do, but it's good. And what's up with the romance thing? Tessa and Sawyer never really get together. They just kind of skirt around it.

But I'm glad they took Samuel out. I'm really hoping that she fleshes that out more next book.

Which won't come out for a year.

I was disappointed. But it was okay.

Hunting Fear

Hunting Fear is another Kay Hooper Bishop/SCU novel.

I like this one. Like the others, it takes place in a small town, stars a psychic (or two...), and revolves around a serial killer. Bonus--about a couple who had been together before and are getting back together. And you wonder why I love these books.

Anyway, in this one, Lucas Jordan is our FBI agent (though Quentin has a secondary role...I love Quentin. He stars in Chill of Fear), and he can sense fear. Samantha Burke tells fortunes in a carnival. But when they find themselves in the same city again (Golden...what kind of city name is that? Probably a real one...), and a kidnapper/murderer on their hands, they have to work together to hunt him down.

Lucas is a little distant...until you find out why (at the almost-very end). Sam is really out there with her feelings, no matter how much she pretends not to be. Jaylene has a terrible name, but they usually call her Jay (Oh...she's Lucas's partner).

Bishop also makes his special appearance, both at the beginning (recruiting Lucas, trying to find Miranda), and at the end (see, our fearless leader really does have everything under control!). Miranda's there at the very very end too.

Anyway, as they're trying to find the victims (the 3 that get kidnapped in this part of the story...apparently the kidnapper has been doing this for 18 months before we come into the picture), Sam and Lucas are also coming to terms with each other...again.

Oh, I did mention that they met 3 years previously on another case, right? Right.

I'm a fan.

If There Be Dragons

What can I say, I'm going through an old romance writers kick. As of recently, I've been reading a lot of old Sandra Brown and Kay Hooper novels.

Most recently was If There Be Dragons by Kay Hooper.

What you need to know: This is straight paranormal romance. By that I mean she (Brooke) is psychic, and the entire story is her getting over her issues so that she can fall in love with Cody.

And, yeah, they both refer to her issues as dragons.

The dialogue is cheesy, the temporary pet wolf is weird, and neither of them are very convincing characters, but it's a cute story. She barely uses her psychic ability, which is sad, but a little expected. I really like KH's mystery series better, if only because they use their gifts.

Anyway. It's cute, though a little trite. It was fine. Not stellar, but I'll probably end up re-reading it again in a year or so.

Out of the Shadows

Out of the Shadows is a paranormal romance/thriller by Kay Hooper. It's part of the FBI/Bishop Special Agent group.

Actually, this is the one starring Bishop, making it one of my favorites.

Anyway, Sheriff Miranda Knight lives in a small town where teens are being murdered. After the third teen has gone missing, she calls in the FBI's new department, one that's a little...unorthodox.

Noah Bishop, Tony Harte, and Dr. Sharon Edwards all come.

The trick? The new department is all psychics, and Bishop is the one in charge.

Of course, Bishop and Miranda have a past...one that makes Miranda the only person left for her little sister Bonnie.

And while a madman is trying to clean-up after his mistakes in this town, Bishop and Miranda are not only trying to find him, but trying to protect Bonnie from him, dealing with a creepy and angry spirit that's haunting all the local Ouija boards, and trying to figure out their relationship (I still think it's creepy when Bishop calls her "love." He's not that kind of guy.)

You can pick up any of these novels and not be too lost (I started with the latest one published at the time, Sleeping With Fear, which continues to be my favorite), though apparently the newest trilogy actually have an overarching story line. So there you go.