Finished Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward. This is the third book in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

This book focuses on Zsadist, the vampire with a bad attitude and plenty of bite. But Zsadist has plenty of reason to be angry — he was kidnapped as a child and kept as a blood slave for a hundred years. He was also sexually abused. But Zsadist is on a mission — to find Bella, a female vampire who was abducted several weeks ago. When he finds her is when the real fireworks start, especially since her captor will do anything to get Bella back.

Zsadist and Bella were both very strong characters dealing with some tough circumstances. I can see why this book is the favorite of so many of Ward’s fans, and I think Bella is one of her better developed heroines. There really was a lot to like about their relationship and how they helped each other become stronger and better. I especially liked Zsadist learning to read so he could live up to Bella and her high place in vampire society.

But one thing bugged me — the whole possessive vampire male thing. The idea that once a male bonds with his female, he’ll do anything to keep her with him — even beat on his friends. Ugh. I just don’t think that’s sexy (or even healthy). Along with the whole pre-destined soul-mate plot device, biological possessiveness is something else I just don’t like in world building.

Still, this one is probably my favorite of the series. So, thumbs up.

Up next: Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward.

Finished Black Ice by Anne Stuart. This is the first book in her Ice series, about the operatives of The Committee, a group of spies who’ll do anything it takes to keep the world safe.

In this one, Chloe Underwood is a young American woman living in Paris and working as a children’s book translator. Eager to make some extra money, she takes a weekend gig translating for a group of grocery store owners. Except, of course, they’re not really grocery store owners, but international arms dealers. Among the bad guys is Bastien Touissant, an undercover agent for The Committee who is weary of his double life. Soon, Bastien and Chloe are on the run from the arms dealers and The Committee.

I haven’t read much romantic suspense, but I’d heard a lot about Stuart’s books and decided to give her a try. I really enjoyed this one. Stuart has a sparse, lean writing style that was powerful but still easy to read. Her descriptions were lovely turns of phrases, and her dialogue was sharp and witty. Overall, her writing was just excellent.

My only real quibble was Chloe and Bastien. There were things I didn’t like about their characters. Chloe was just too naive for me. C’mon Chloe, you’re in your twenties living in Paris. You had the gumption to move away from your parents. You think you’d be a little more worldly, too. (Weak female characters are a pet peeve of mine).

And Bastien … he’s definitely not hero material (at least not in the beginning). He seduces Chloe to get information out of her and saves her on a whim, not because he feels some moral or loving obligation to do so. A definite turn-off for me. And I didn’t think he improved much during the course of the book. I just never felt like he really loved Chloe.

If Chloe has been a lot smarter and if Bastien had been a little less of a jerk, this one would have been a great read for me. Still, it was really good, and I’ve asked Santa for the next two books for Christmas. 😉

So, thumbs up.

Up next: Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward.

Finished Hit Man by Lawrence Block.

This is the first book in Block’s series about John Keller, a professional hit man. To Keller, killing people is just like any other job, and it doesn’t bother him too much. He just happens to leave New York eight or ten times a year to go help people quit breathing. Along the way, he goes into therapy, gets and loses a dog, gets and loses a live-in girlfriend, and starts collecting stamps.

The book was enjoyable, but it felt more like a series of short stories strung together rather than a cohesive novel. You could really read every chapter like it was its own seperate story. There wasn’t a lot of plot threads to tie the whole thing together, and I didn’t feel like Keller really had to overcome anything in the end. 

For that reason, I’m going to have to give it a thumbs down. But I will mention that the second book in the series, Hit List, is much more cohesive and much better.

Up next: Black Ice by Anne Stuart