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Willow Tate #4
Life Guards in the Hamptons
SOMETHING'S FOUL IN PAUMANOK HARBOR.
Graphic novelist Willow Tate has never wanted supernatural powers. But if you're from the little Long Island town of Paumanok Harbor you don't always have a choice. Still, she's managed to survive a giant red troll, night mare horses, and fire-setting bugs. This time it's a creature from Unity who needs her help. And it doesn't hurt that handsome veterinarian Matt Spenser is ready and willing to assist Willow in her efforts...
Graphic novelist Willow Tate has never wanted supernatural powers. But if you're from the little Long Island town of Paumanok Harbor you don't always have a choice. Still, she's managed to survive a giant red troll, night mare horses, and fire-setting bugs. This time it's a creature from Unity who needs her help. And it doesn't hurt that handsome veterinarian Matt Spenser is ready and willing to assist Willow in her efforts...
308 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 2012
73 people want to read
About the author
Celia Jerome
6 books25 followersCelia Jerome lives in Paumanok Harbor near the tip of Long Island, New York. She believes in magic, yard sales, and small dogs.
Source: http://www.celiajerome.com/AboutCelia...
Source: http://www.celiajerome.com/AboutCelia...
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 20, 2020
i don't think i have ever had less to say about a book.
i read this under circumstances pretty much guaranteed to distract me from the book, but the book wasn't doing me any favors as far as trying to hold my attention, so we both contributed to our failure.
oh, by the way - i haven't written a book review in days and days, and i have nothing substantive to say about this book, so if you are one of these people who are going to attack me for "not writing about the book," you can pretty much stop reading here and feel secure in your assessment of me as a reviewer. this is just going to be my "welcome back to goodreads" easing back into review. later, i will be re-reviewing a different book,and it will be all about the book, and you guys can go wander over there if you want. this space is going to just be "karen's journey with this book"
so.
this is another punishment from the bodice-rippers group. but this one i brought upon myself. i was in charge of selecting the books for the monthly poll. i tried to cast a wide net, to please the rippers. i chose an mma-themed romance, one with a clone, a self-pub mythological romance, a fantasy/romance genre blend, and one which was supposed to be the absolute worst romance ever written. and this.
this one caught my eye because i misread the back-cover copy and i thought the love-interest was a sea god, and having always had a little crush on poseidon, i was intrigued.
but it is not about love with a sea-god. sea-god is the enemy. and it isn't sexy poseidon, anyway.
so here are the book's contributions to our failures:
- it is the fourth in a series.perhaps i missed something in the earlier books that would have led to a more loving relationship with this book, but - oops.
- the protagonist is just another weight-conscious female who has many many men interested in her, but she is having commitment issues and pushing away the one she really likes because of silly logistics.
- boring writing. how can a town full of people with magical powers be boring, you ask? well, it is.
- "cannot" and "do not." this bothers me. contractions are nice! your character is a graphic illustrator for the teen market, dresses sloppily and eats cream puffs and cake pretty much constantly. she's not a stuffy person. this is just a jarring tic, to me.
my contributions to the book's failure:
- i was on vacation when i read this. not fun relaxing vacation - i do not have those. but weird stressful lonely vacation. so frequently when it was reading time, i was distracted/tipsy/exhausted. i tried reading this by the pool and instead became fascinated by this giant grasshopper and concerned for its safety. i tried reading this in my hotel room and was concerned about strange noises and ghosts and where that other door led. i tried reading this outside and was distracted by the novelty of incoming texts and professional failures.i was tired, so tired. i was lonesome.
but i really believe that i could have been compelled to forget all of that if the book were more engaging. it was just fluff to me.
i wish i had something more interesting to say about it, but i don't, because it was never interesting enough to say anything about.
sorry, bitches...
come to my blog!
i read this under circumstances pretty much guaranteed to distract me from the book, but the book wasn't doing me any favors as far as trying to hold my attention, so we both contributed to our failure.
oh, by the way - i haven't written a book review in days and days, and i have nothing substantive to say about this book, so if you are one of these people who are going to attack me for "not writing about the book," you can pretty much stop reading here and feel secure in your assessment of me as a reviewer. this is just going to be my "welcome back to goodreads" easing back into review. later, i will be re-reviewing a different book,and it will be all about the book, and you guys can go wander over there if you want. this space is going to just be "karen's journey with this book"
so.
this is another punishment from the bodice-rippers group. but this one i brought upon myself. i was in charge of selecting the books for the monthly poll. i tried to cast a wide net, to please the rippers. i chose an mma-themed romance, one with a clone, a self-pub mythological romance, a fantasy/romance genre blend, and one which was supposed to be the absolute worst romance ever written. and this.
this one caught my eye because i misread the back-cover copy and i thought the love-interest was a sea god, and having always had a little crush on poseidon, i was intrigued.
but it is not about love with a sea-god. sea-god is the enemy. and it isn't sexy poseidon, anyway.
so here are the book's contributions to our failures:
- it is the fourth in a series.perhaps i missed something in the earlier books that would have led to a more loving relationship with this book, but - oops.
- the protagonist is just another weight-conscious female who has many many men interested in her, but she is having commitment issues and pushing away the one she really likes because of silly logistics.
- boring writing. how can a town full of people with magical powers be boring, you ask? well, it is.
- "cannot" and "do not." this bothers me. contractions are nice! your character is a graphic illustrator for the teen market, dresses sloppily and eats cream puffs and cake pretty much constantly. she's not a stuffy person. this is just a jarring tic, to me.
my contributions to the book's failure:
- i was on vacation when i read this. not fun relaxing vacation - i do not have those. but weird stressful lonely vacation. so frequently when it was reading time, i was distracted/tipsy/exhausted. i tried reading this by the pool and instead became fascinated by this giant grasshopper and concerned for its safety. i tried reading this in my hotel room and was concerned about strange noises and ghosts and where that other door led. i tried reading this outside and was distracted by the novelty of incoming texts and professional failures.i was tired, so tired. i was lonesome.
but i really believe that i could have been compelled to forget all of that if the book were more engaging. it was just fluff to me.
i wish i had something more interesting to say about it, but i don't, because it was never interesting enough to say anything about.
sorry, bitches...
come to my blog!
November 23, 2020
I think my favorite character in this book was the Professor. Oey was a bit too sweet. I'm not sure how I feel about Willow settling down with one man.
When will Susan learn that she's really a bad judge of character when it comes to men? I don't know how she does with women since she's only ever seen with family members and men.
It's hard to believe that Little Red has survived this long.
When will Susan learn that she's really a bad judge of character when it comes to men? I don't know how she does with women since she's only ever seen with family members and men.
It's hard to believe that Little Red has survived this long.
April 17, 2014
Please note this is book 4 in the series, I didn't read book 3 FIREWORKS IN THE HAMPTONS, so I'm going into this a little behind the times.
Once again we return to the world of Willow Tate, graphic novelist by choice and Visualizer against her better judgment. Weird things are happening in the Hamptons and Paumanok Harbor in particular, as a string of crimes, rare bird sightings and dolphins giving the heave-ho to surfers. The locals blame Willow for it, despite the fact she doesn't have anything to do with it (which is surprising in and of itself), but that's hard to believe when the events seem to be chronicled in her latest book.
One of the reasons I originally enjoyed this series was because Willow seemed so...interesting. Even before she got a handle on her Visualizer powers, Willow was creative and chaotic. Stuff I can relate to and was happy to read about. As the series has progressed however much of Willow's creativity has been channeled into making sure things don't go haywire. When anything you draw can come to life, or more accurately in most case be drawn to you by magic, it’s hard to want to draw for fun you know?
I want to mention this because it’s partially why I didn't pick up book 3--Jerome has this odd penchant for ending the book with action half-finished. Not like a cliff-hanger per say, more like those old cartoons that would end with 'Stay tuned for the next thrilling adventure!'. For the casual reader this probably isn't a problem, but as a voracious reader it feels silly since if I like book I'll definitely pick up the next one.
As seems to be typical for this series Willow gets herself yet another love interest (or two) and she's surprised by this (though I don't know why since there's been at least half a dozen interested guys in this series), but the romance doesn't overshadow the plot. Jerome is a pseudonym for romance author Barbara Metzger, an author I admire greatly for her historical romances. However I've become less enchanted with her urban fantasy series.
Honestly while it’s refreshing to read a UF that doesn't involve vampires, shifters or the Fae being hunky warriors with long ears I've fallen less in love with Willow and her not always smart decision making skills. This was enjoyable, but nothing too exciting.
Once again we return to the world of Willow Tate, graphic novelist by choice and Visualizer against her better judgment. Weird things are happening in the Hamptons and Paumanok Harbor in particular, as a string of crimes, rare bird sightings and dolphins giving the heave-ho to surfers. The locals blame Willow for it, despite the fact she doesn't have anything to do with it (which is surprising in and of itself), but that's hard to believe when the events seem to be chronicled in her latest book.
One of the reasons I originally enjoyed this series was because Willow seemed so...interesting. Even before she got a handle on her Visualizer powers, Willow was creative and chaotic. Stuff I can relate to and was happy to read about. As the series has progressed however much of Willow's creativity has been channeled into making sure things don't go haywire. When anything you draw can come to life, or more accurately in most case be drawn to you by magic, it’s hard to want to draw for fun you know?
I want to mention this because it’s partially why I didn't pick up book 3--Jerome has this odd penchant for ending the book with action half-finished. Not like a cliff-hanger per say, more like those old cartoons that would end with 'Stay tuned for the next thrilling adventure!'. For the casual reader this probably isn't a problem, but as a voracious reader it feels silly since if I like book I'll definitely pick up the next one.
As seems to be typical for this series Willow gets herself yet another love interest (or two) and she's surprised by this (though I don't know why since there's been at least half a dozen interested guys in this series), but the romance doesn't overshadow the plot. Jerome is a pseudonym for romance author Barbara Metzger, an author I admire greatly for her historical romances. However I've become less enchanted with her urban fantasy series.
Honestly while it’s refreshing to read a UF that doesn't involve vampires, shifters or the Fae being hunky warriors with long ears I've fallen less in love with Willow and her not always smart decision making skills. This was enjoyable, but nothing too exciting.
August 6, 2016
(NOTE: For anyone keeping track of my read durations, I feel obliged to point out that this series is not as tough to get through as those long read times may make it seem. In fact, they're pretty quick "beach read" books; I've just been swamped with both work and doing some writing of my own, which has left much less brain space for reading.)
Anyway, this penultimate book in the series is really more like the first half of a double-length finale. While each book has built on the previous volumes and concluded a love story arc, this one leaves the romance unresolved - in much the same way the first book did, actually. I'm presently about a third of the way into the last book, and it's very much a continuation of this one in terms of plot and romance. The threat stems directly from the previous book's events, and the love interest is the same as before. (In fact, books 3-5 make sort of a trilogy in those respects, but book 3 is more "detachable" than books 4-5.)
Anyway, this penultimate book in the series is really more like the first half of a double-length finale. While each book has built on the previous volumes and concluded a love story arc, this one leaves the romance unresolved - in much the same way the first book did, actually. I'm presently about a third of the way into the last book, and it's very much a continuation of this one in terms of plot and romance. The threat stems directly from the previous book's events, and the love interest is the same as before. (In fact, books 3-5 make sort of a trilogy in those respects, but book 3 is more "detachable" than books 4-5.)
May 22, 2015
Willow Tate is a successful graphic artist whose drawings seem literally to come alive. When a cruise ship is wrecked by a rogue wave bearing a strong likeness to an elemental in one of her stories"," matters get out of hand. Then there's the rare bird that isn't from this world at all"," and a spate of robberies in the Paumanok neighborhood. To top it off"," Willow's having doubts about her on/off romance with the local vet.When all your friends and relatives are psychic"," it's really difficult to keep secrets"," so Willow gets all kinds of help. That she doesn't want…This comic novel is filled with wry humor that kept me giggling from one page to the next.
November 2, 2012
I love this series. It is written in such a fun way, much different than typical stories. It is written in first person, but in the way that you can get the character's personality from the way it is written as from the descriptions used in the book...read more
November 16, 2015
I like Willow and the community she lives in; not great story telling, but fun and an enjoyable weekend read.
July 9, 2012
I love this series it is so fun! This book was especially good, I really enjoyed it. Can't wait for the next one :)
July 29, 2012
Not my favorite in this series. Not sure where I want the series to go, but it seems slow this time around. I do enjoy The House as an interesting addition.
August 31, 2012
Definitely fluff, but very good fluff of it's kind. Between Harry, Jayné, Cal and the evening news amongst other things, I needed a good bit of fluff.
March 27, 2015
Loved this book! I am happy to see Willow growing and maturing. Where does Jerome get these ideas? Keep them coming:)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews