Mini-Comments

Here is another mini-comments post, where I write a few sentences about some recent reads that haven't been great and that I don't have much to say. Thus, to just leave a little recognition of the stories, here goes.

We're the D'Artigo Sisters: Half-human, half-Faerie, we're savvy--and sexy--operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. But our mixed-blood heritage short-circuits our talents at all the wrong times. My sister Delilah shapeshifts into a tabby cat whenever she's stressed. Menolly's a vampire who's still trying to get the hang of being undead. And me? I'm Camille--a wicked-good witch. Except my magic is as unpredictable as the weather, which my enemies are about to find out the hard way...
At the Wayfarer Inn, a portal to Otherworld and the local hangout for humans and beasties alike, our fellow operative, Jocko, has been murdered. Every clue points to Shadow Wing, the soul-munching, badass leader of the Subterranean Realms. He's made it clear that he aims to raze humankind to the ground, turning both Earth and Otherworld into his private playground. Our assignment: keep Shadow Wing and his minions from creeping into Earth via the Wayfarer. The demons figure they're in like Flynn. After all, with only my bumbling sisters and me standing in the way, how can they miss? But we've got a secret for them: Faulty wiring or not, nobody kicks ass like the D'Artigo girls...
 

Comment: I had this book to read for years, since 2011 if I'm not mistaken, and I hoped this would be an intriguing urban fantasy tale. 

This is the story of Camille, the oldest of three sisters, who has the powers of a witch. For several reasons - some attempted to be explained in the story - Camille isn't the best witch ever and that makes her efforts not go so well in her job as an investigator for the supernatural world she belongs to. But now a friend is dead and someone needs to know what happened before others are killed too...

Again, I'm certain had I read this years ago, the style and details would have been amazing to go through but now I just felt the plot too predictable and quickly able to be solved but the huge amount of unnecessary filling was too much. I soon lost interest, I couldn't have much patience for such a poorly written story (in my opinion) and my lack of interest in the characters. Next year I plan on beginning the art of not finish a novel and this would be a good candidate for certain, considering my lack of enthusiasm while reading...

Grade: 3/10 

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Reginald Mason is wealthy, refined, and, by all accounts, a gentleman. However, he is not a gentleman by title, a factor that pains him and his father within the Regency society that upholds

station over all else. That is, until an opportunity for social advancement arises, namely, Lady Annabelle Ashton. Daughter of the Earl of Havercroft, a neighbor and enemy of the Mason family, Annabelle finds herself disgraced by a scandal, one that has left her branded as damaged goods. Besmirched by shame, the earl is only too happy to marry Annabelle off to anyone willing to have her. Though Reginald Mason, Senior, wishes to use Annabelle to propel his family up the social ladder, his son does not wish to marry her, preferring instead to live the wild, single life he is accustomed to. With this, Reginald Senior serves his son an ultimatum: marry Annabelle, or make do without family funds. Having no choice, Reginald consents, and enters into a hostile engagement in which the prospective bride and groom are openly antagonistic, each one resenting the other for their current state of affairs while their respective fathers revel in their suffering. So begins an intoxicating tale rife with dark secrets, deception, and the trials of love-a story in which very little is as it seems. 

Comment: I was quite eager to read this novella by Mary Balogh because I certainly like the different class trope and I was eager to see how the couple would get along.

Annabelle was caught in a scandal and now it seems the only possibility for her reputation is a marriage to her father's vulgar but rich neighbor's son. The son, Reginald is rumored to be a gambler and a dandy so the two don't really like the idea of marrying the other but for two such headstrong people, they meekly accept their fate as a way to obey their parents after the fame each one got...

I confess I didn't like neither main character until the very end of the book. There's a reason for that for the author planned on an amazing surprise and I confess until a certain point I didn't imagine it at all, but all things considered, especially the apparent behavior in the beginning, I just couldn't really enjoy the whole story. 

To explain this would mean to give a spoiler but let's just say the title gave me, once more!, a wrong impression about what I'd read about (it seems to be my curse to be mislead by titles and/or blurbs), so I failed to enjoy this as much as other surprised readers did. Still, a good enough read overall.

Grade: 6/10