I’m not the only author thinking about James Bond these days. HelenKay Dimon has posted info on the new Bond novel, Devil May Care, and a link to where you can read an excerpt. Check it out! 

So the blog is still in the different format from the rest of my Web site. And I wanted to ask folks what they thought about it before I attempt to fix it.

Do you guys prefer this blog format? Or do you like the old version where it matches the rest of the Web site and has links back to the other parts of the site? Which one is easier to read?

Please leave your thoughts in the comments. :ww:

Finished Running Blind by Lee Child. This is the fourth book in his popular series about ex-military policeman Jack Reacher. (Can you tell I’m trying to get caught up on this series this summer?)

In this one, Reacher’s having a quiet dinner in New York before driving home — where he’s taken into custody by the FBI. Someone is murdering women in the military who were sexually harrassed — and Reacher knew some of the victims. The FBI basically blackmails Reacher into helping them search for the killer by threatening his girlfriend, Jodie. Reacher’s not happy about it, but he doesn’t have a choice. So he goes along with the FBI and decides to help them find the killer.

I can always count on Child for a good read that’s part mystery, part thriller. Running Blind doesn’t disappoint. This is another quick-paced, tightly plotted read. I wouldn’t have guessed who the killer was at all if I hadn’t peeked at the last chapter. But how Reacher figures it out is still really cool. Instead of using the FBI profile, he relies on himself — and his own common sense.

That being said, the only quibble I have with the book is that perhaps Reacher is too perfect a character. Too strong, too smart, too ingenuis. Nobody lays a finger on him in this one, and he wiggles out from underneath the FBI with little effort. Even James Bond got the crap beat out of him on occasion or was betrayed by someone he thought was a friend. Not Reacher. He never seems to make a mistake. It’s fun to read, but the implausibility of it pulled me out of the story from time to time.

Also, Child makes the FBI out to be a malevolent organization that’s only interested in protecting itself — no matter what. The lengths they go to to control Reacher and try to make him out as the killer at the end are frightening. I hope the bureau doesn’t really operate that way in real life. Shiver.

But overall, thumbs up.

Up next: Ill Wind by Rachel Caine.

Books in my TBR pile: About 13.

I spotted this yesterday at TV Guide. It’s the trailer for the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. I still don’t like that title, but the trailer is really cool. Check it out for yourself here.

Is it wrong to admit how giddy this makes me? Or the fact I’m counting down the days to Nov. 7 (the release date)?

Nah.

Finished Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur. This is the first book in her Guardian series. I’ve heard a lot of people buzzing about Arthur (and someone, I think Chasity, recommended her on the blog) so I decided to try her book.

Riley Jensen is a half-vampire, half-werewolf in Australia who works for the Directorate of Other Races as an assistant, instead of being a full-fledged guardian like her twin brother Rhoan. But when Rhoan goes missing, Riley sets out to find him. Coming to her aid is the sexy vampire Quinn. But there’s more to Rhoan’s disappearance than meets the eye, and soon Riley is trying to shut down an illegal cloning operation and deal with her squabbling werewolf lovers and her attraction to Quinn.

The world building is interesting and well-done in this book. You don’t see many books set in Australia, and I really liked the descriptions of the country (although I wish there had been more of them.) I also liked some of the secondary characters, particularly Riley’s vampire boss Jack, who sees her potential and wants her to become a guardian. (Riley protests through the whole book that she doesn’t want the job, but then proceeds to act exactly like a guardian. That got annoying after a while).

But I had some major problems with this book. Mainly, the whole werewolf culture. The wolves suffer from moon heat once a month, and their bodies compel them to mate. Most of the wolves have multiple lovers to help them deal with this, and Riley is no exception. She has two lovers at the beginning of the book, and she also sleeps with Quinn several times as well. Not my cup of tea, but I could accept that.

But what got me was the end of the book. At one point, Riley is basically being raped by one of her former lovers. Her mind knows this, but her body is still enjoying it because of the moon heat. She’s being raped, and she’s actually leaning into the guy’s touch, needing more. Ugh. Not for me.

Also, several times during the book, Riley mentions that she hopes she finds her soulmate soon. It made me wonder whether or not she would continue with the multiple lovers after she does find her soulmate. Does anyone know if that’s explained in later books? Just curious. Because it seems to me the purpose of a soulmate is to be exclusive. But maybe I’m wrong.

Overall, I thought Riley was a pretty cool character. She’s strong, confident, and not afraid to do what needs to be done. But I also thought she missed some obvious clues and made some dumb choices. For example, one of her lovers gives her some champagne, and then Riley promptly passes out. But later, it doesn’t seem to occur to her that she’s been drugged — and then she goes back to meet and have sex with the guy again.

Also, the reader never discovers who the big bad guy is who’s pulling the strings on the cloning operation. We’re just told it’s someone Riley knows. That also annoyed me a little bit. I would have liked more info on who it was.

One of the folks in my book group has read several of the Guardian books, and we talked about Full Moon Rising. While my friend enjoys the series, she summed it up by saying, “I like it, but it doesn’t seem like Riley gets a lot done because she always has to stop and have sex.” I think that’s a fair summary.

There are things I liked about this book. The Austrialian setting, the world building, Riley’s strength and confidence. But I have to give it a thumbs down because of the rape scene. I just don’t like books where women are victimized like that. 

Up next: Running Blind by Lee Child.

Books in to TBR pile: About 14.

What about you guys? Anyone read anything good over the holiday weekend?