Dana’s Comments (group member since Mar 12, 2012)

Dana’s comments from the We Read Indie Books RG2E! group.

Kingsley!

Earlier this month, I released my newest book, Malavita , which is a prequel to my existing "Blood and Honor" series about two warring Mafia families in Italy. I'm doing a Goodreads giveaway for the paperback. If you're interested, you can sign up here:

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/55669-malavita

I really enjoyed this book--great action and pacing. I was never bored and enjoyed the exotic settings. I thought the portion in Cameroon was especially well-done. I also liked a lot of the characters.

That said, Pia drove me a wee bit mad at times. Most particularly, her decision to continue using nonlethal weapons against terrorists struck me as illogical, and she managed to get a team member (and later, a non-team member) killed because of it. (I understood their use in a bodyguard/crowd-control situation with lots of innocent bystanders; they made sense in that situation.) And yet, despite the injuries and the death in her team, she refuses to change her mind. I also found it strange that her team, so many of them ex-military, would continue following her after that. None of them struck me as suicidal or stupid, so I couldn't understand the blind obedience after the mission in Cameroon so clearly illustrated that Pia was wrong. To their credit, some of them did object prior to that mission, but then to have *none* of them object again after they were proven right? And Pia herself doesn't seem to wrestle with the question all that much, and I fully expected her to.

So this part of the book drove me a bit bonkers. Other than that, I really enjoyed it and recommend it, and I plan on reading more in the series.

Karysa wrote: "So I know it's already the end of November, and this book was supposed to be discussed in October, but here goes. . .

LOVED IT!!! Writing was excellent, editing was great, story was fun, I felt li..."

Hi Karysa,

Somehow I missed this post when you made it and just now saw your comments on the book. I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much that you're recommending it to family and friends. That means a great deal to me! :)

Regarding how much of the book is fictional and how much is real, I did a lot of research on the Calabrian Mafia and tried to base as much of the story on how the 'Ndrangheta operates in real life as possible. That said, the families and incidents in the book aren't real, though incidents similar to some of those in the book may have occurred in real life. (For example, a number of anti-Mafia judges have been assassinated.) The 'Ndrangheta are very secretive and law enforcement hasn't turned many of them, so I did have to speculate about how various things might be done. That's part of the fun of writing. :)

I have actually been to most of the locations mentioned in the book, so I tried to hew as close to real life in portraying those as possible.

I reviewed this book a while back. Like Nigel, I felt that the beginning was a little slow and could probably have started closer to the action, but once the action moved to Iraq, the story took off, and by the end I was flipping pages so fast my Kindle was whining. And any book that can make me cry is definitely doing something right.

Kameldorn was my favorite character, but it was nice having Jon Anthony juxtaposed against him. Very different men working for the same cause in very different ways, but both approaches were necessary.

I wouldn't be surprised if this book/series was turned into a movie someday.

Like Nigel, I bought it, but haven't had a chance to read it. :( I've been up to my eyeballs in other stuff. I will comment once I do get to it... which hopefully will be within a few weeks.

I'm currently reading "An Eye for Danger" by Christine Fairchild. It's romantic suspense, and I'm quite enjoying it. A war photographer with PTSD stumbles across a murder in progress in Central Park and is taken hostage by one of the suspects. Appearances turn out to be deceiving, and she has to decide whether to trust him.

I really enjoyed how well Stacey worked the setting into the story. I felt like I was at Lake Como (I've been there, and she nailed it). I also thought the action scenes were great, and I especially enjoyed the twists involving the bad guys and the subplot involving Halli's brother and sister. And I loved the little touches, like the "Wet & Wild" t-shirt Trent gave Halli to wear.

Overall, very well done! :) I've recommended it to a lot of people.

Dang, all these books sound great! Here's my nominee:

Fake Kate

Blurb:

Belinda can’t believe it. Her sister Kate finally tries online dating and lines up no less than eight dates!

One of whom knows why Kate has vanished.

To find her, Belinda will have to pretend to be her. Go on her dates, hang out with her friends, fake her entire life.

Only to discover Kate had been faking too, for a very long time...

I liked this book, but since "Rome" was mentioned in the title, I really wanted more of the book to be set there. I liked the characters (Rosie was my fave), and I thought the story really picked up once they went to Rome. While I thought the scenes in England gave a good sense of place, I was disappointed in some of the Rome sequence because I didn't quite feel like I was "there." There were some good scenes during that part that redeemed it though. More attention to setting would have made this book more enjoyable for me. (I love Italy and have been there twice, so I'm very attracted to books that are set there because I like reliving the experience.) I was also a little disappointed that we didn't get to experience any of Nico's reunion with his family. This seemed like a big deal for him, but we don't see the outcome. I hadn't anticipated the twist at the end, and was glad to see Jonathan get his comeuppance. Overall, an enjoyable story, and I liked the teaser for the next book. I love European locales, so I plan to read that one too.

I nominate Only the Innocent by Rachel Abbott. I've been meaning to read this one for a while after I read the prologue and got hooked. Then I got distracted trying to get my next book out, but it's stuck in my head.

Karysa wrote: "Ok, I admit it. I couldn't put the book down.

Liked: This was a good ol' fashioned romance--you're-the-only-one-for-me type. Writing was really clean, descriptive. The attraction between Nic & Lau..."

I loved this book. In fact, I've read it several times. (Full disclosure: I'm Kristine's critique partner.) I especially liked having a movie-star hero fall in love with an ordinary woman. Nic is very, very sexy, Lauren is very relateable, and the chemistry between them is smoking hot! *fanning self*

I also liked the humor in the book (so many of the lines crack me up when the guys are joking with each other) and I loved the secondary characters, who I'm glad are getting their own stories. (Remi's is next, and oh, it's a doozy! If you enjoyed this one, be sure to pick up Deadly Addiction, which just came out. I can't wait for everyone else to read it!)

I also thought the stalker storyline was creepy; even though you know who the stalker is fairly early, the things she does are unsettling and surprising.

Karysa, regarding the scene you mentioned, here's why I think it worked as is: Jake is a bodyguard, not a police officer, so he doesn't have an obligation to call the police; he just needs to protect Lauren. And even though Lauren is pretty darn sure who the stalker is at that point, the grainy photo isn't a lock.

Besides, I took it that she felt (given who the stalker is) that she needed to take the info to Nic so that *he* could decide what to do about it. Granted, Lauren could have called the police. She chose not to. I think if she'd thought the ID was absolutely incontrovertible, she would have.

At any rate, I don't look at this as a plot hole. To me, it's a decision point, and instead of choosing A, Lauren chose B. Even if Lauren or Jake had been police officers, they might have had good reasons for not involving the cops. As long as I find a character's motivations believable, I'm fine with the decisions they make, even if I disagree with them. In this case, I think what Lauren did was plausible given all the other factors. Besides, if Lauren had called the cops in, the ending wouldn't have been as exciting. :)

But, to each her own, right? Not everything is going to work for everybody. At least you enjoyed the rest of it. And don't worry, I'm pretty sure Kaden will be single soon. :)

Dana

Deadly Obsession by Kristine Cayne. She got 4 1/2 stars, Top Pick, from RT Book Reviews. It's a great book!

Darlene wrote: "Dana,

I've never seen that term before. What does YMMV mean?"

Your mileage may vary

Darlene wrote: "Sorry, but I tried to get into this book and just couldn't do it. But I have to admit I just don't like books about vampires. I also felt that after reading the first couple of pages that the fem..."

I thought he did a good job writing a woman, but YMMV. I also love vampire books, so there you go. :)

I've already read it, and I really enjoyed it. I loved the idea of a vampire who's a PI and a mom.