Book review: Live Wire by Lora Leigh

Author: Lora Leigh 
Rating: 4 stars


Blurb (from Goodreads) :

"Meet Captain Jordan Malone. For years he has been a silent warrior and guardian, operating independent of government protocol or oversight, leading his team of Elite Ops agents to fight against terror at all costs. A legend in the field, Jordan’s true identity has remained a mystery even to his own men...until now.
Tehya Talamosi, codename Enigma, is a force to be reckoned with A woman this striking spells nothing but trouble for Jordan. Armed with killer secrets-and body to die for-she’ll bring Jordan to his knees as they both take on the most deadly mission they have ever faced. Because this time, it’s personal..."

 Today I am sad. I'm always sad when a series ends, when I know there probably won't be another story to wait for, another glimpse to the characters I love with all my heart. And no matter how many times you reread that series, it's not the same as the first time, when you were waiting and counting days till the publishing date of the newest book or when you spent countless hours on the author's forum, trying to see if there are new details, new hints or even rumors about the upcoming books.

I tried to avoid reading Live Wire as soon as I got it for these reasons. For six years Lora Leigh's fans have waited for this particular book, for big, bad Jordan Malone to finally find his match, his soul-mate. I have a feeling that maybe we were all hoping that the end would never come. And yet here it is.

Jordan Malone, a.k.a. Live Wire, always seemed untouchable, detached, almost cold. He was always the logical one, the one with all the plans, the one who had an answer for everything and the one who didn't mind stepping on a few toes if that got the job done. He never believed that love could last a lifetime, considering that love was just another name for lust.If in the other books from the Elite Ops. series I thought he was a cynical bastard, his story confirmed it. But he also is a very good friend, one that would risk his own life to help the ones he cares about.

Tehya Talamosi is the daughter of a terrorist. We first met her in Killer Secrets as the young girl trying to escape the fate that awaited her if her father ever found her alive. I liked her character very much and I always hoped that she would be the one who ended up with Jordan. I like way she evolved from the first time we met her. She's more confident, more daring than before.

I like the fact that we get to see the other guys too. I was a tad disappointed at first because the scenes with the others were few and short, but I think the ending scene made up for that. I like seeing all the couples being brought together and I think it was a good ending, even though bittersweet.

I also noticed that there were a few loose ends and that makes me hope for a new series tied to this one, but I'll just have to wait and see.

I didn't like was the editing. I hope maybe St. Martins will do a better job at editing in the future, because there were times when it was seriously annoying. Though I'll probably reread the book again and again, no matter the editing errors, because I loved the story.

I hope Lora Leigh will once again surprise us with a spin-off, a newer version of the Elite Ops. series and I hope it will happen soon. But if that never happens, I'm glad to have read this series. It was a very good one.

Sorry folks

Between friends visiting me and personal problems, I haven't had much time to post around here. The last weeks have been really weird and such. But now I'm back and I have tons of reviews to write. I'll give you a sneak peak on what you can read here next week.

On Monday I'll review Lora Leigh's latest  book, Live Wire 

 On Tuesday I'll review Marc Levy's Premier Jour. 

On Wednesday I'll be reviewing Kresley Cole's A Hunger Like No Other

On Friday I'll review Brendan Connell's Metrophilias

 

So that's it for next week. Have a great weekend!

Book Review: Three meters above the sky by Federico Moccia

Author: Federico Moccia
Original Title: Tre metri sopra il cielo
Country: Italy
Rating: 5 stars


Background:

Last year in October, I saw a commercial on a Spanish television to an upcoming movie about two teenagers with different backgrounds and social statuses that fall in love with each other and the obstacles they come across. Now I've seen a lot of movies on this subject and it seemed like just another Romeo and Juliet story. Until I saw the guy's bike. When I saw that motorcycle I knew I had to find out more about the movie. And that's how I found out that it was actually made after an Italian book. I also found out that it had an Italian adaptation and a book and movie sequel. I decided to read the book after I saw the Italian movie on Monday.

My review:

The book's central characters are Babi and Step.

Roberta "Babi" Gervasi is a seventeen year old girl who's about to graduate high-school. Babi is the typical good girl from the upper middle class: she's always dressed properly, she has an acceptable boyfriend, she only hangs out with people with the same social status, she goes to a private school. The only wild spot in her life is her best friend, Pallina. Babi tries really hard to be the girl that her mother, Raffaella, wants her to be, even though part of her hates it.

When she meets Stefano "Step" Mancini, she sees him as the exact opposite of what proper means:  he doesn't come from a wealthy family, he's had troubles with the law, he doesn't have a degree, he doesn't have a job, he likes to party a lot, he's getting into fights whenever he feels like it, he likes illegal races.

At the same time though, Step is the one that makes Babi feel loved for who she really is, not for who she's supposed to be. He gives her the chance to be herself without judging her, even though she's not doing the same thing for him. She isn't able to accept the differences between them and she always tries to change him, make him "proper", acceptable.

The death of Step's best friend and Pallina's boyfriend, Pollo, changes everything. Pallina is suffering a lot and she finds it very difficult to be around Step, who reminds her too much of her lover. Babi and Pallina don't have much to say to each other anymore and that makes their friendship become weaker and weaker. Step suffers a lot because he considers himself guilty for the death of his friend.

Six months after the death Pollo, Babi tells Step that she's seeing another guy. Realizing that he lost her, Step decides to leave the country and go to the US to try and move on.

I thought the book was very good. And I liked the change it brought to the whole "first love" subject. Even though it might seem predictable, because you know that Babi will fall in love with Step and you also know that their love won't last because of their differences, it was still enjoyable.

I didn't like the fact that Pollo dies, because I think his love story was one that was meant to last a long time and because he was a fun character, a softer Step. Also, I  hoped that by the end of the book, Babi would become acting like a grown-up. But I guess that she thought that bad things happen when you're not acting properly and she got too close to tragedy and that scared her. And it made her fully embrace the lifestyle that was acceptable for her mother and for the people with the same social status as her.


I think it was a very good book, especially for a debut and I think I might try some of his other works.

Book around the world Reading challenge

Last week, while I was at a bookshop near my house I realized I was into a "I don't know what to read" phase. I know what I have to read and what I want to read. But it's one of those phases when nothing appeals to you. So in order to escape this weird step I decided to try something new, something I've never did before: a world tour in books. I decided to read books written by authors that I've never tried before, from different countries/cultures.


So I started searching on the internet and I found this blog that holds a challenge like the one I had in mind. I may not be able to "visit" the whole world this year, but I think it's a start. It's sort of a "never-ending" challenge.

I'm going to post a list of the books I've read and their authors and countries of origin as I read them.

This week's stop was Italy. I had a lot of fun. I'll be posting the review later in the day.

What about you? What do you do when you enter a phase like this and what's your method to get out of it?

1. Italy - Three meters above the sky - Federico Moccia
2. France - Premier Jour - Marc Levy
3. Russia - Casual - Oksana Robski

Book Review: Diagnosis Death by Richard L. Mabry

Source: NetGalley

Rating: 4 cups

Blurb (from Abingdon Press):


When her comatose husband died in the ICU while on life support, the whispers about Dr. Elena Gardner began. Another death during her training puts her under suspicion. When the pattern is repeated in the hospital where she is attempting to start over, the whispers turn into a shout: “mercy killing.” What is the dark secret that keeps Allison’s lips sealed when she should be defending herself?

Despite her move to a new city, the midnight phone calls that started after her husband’s death follow Elena. Who is the woman who sobs out, “I know what you did?” What does she mean by “You’ll pay?” And what can Elena do to prevent it?

Two physicians, widowers themselves, offer support, telling Elena they know what she is going through after the death of her husband. But do they? And is it safe to trust either of them with her secret? 

 I just finished reading this book about half an hour ago and I must say I was impressed. Before I did the request for this book at NetGalley I asked myself a million questions about it. I was afraid this was some ER/House M.D. medical drama. I am really sorry I believed that. While it is a medical drama, it's also a mystery novel.

At the center of this novel is Elena Gardner. She is a few weeks before she completes her residency and will be able to start her own practice. Her husband, Mark, died a few months before due to a stroke, after being for two weeks in a coma. She's a very complex character. She's a very good doctor and she knows how to interact with both patients and their families. I also liked that she admitted her mistakes, when she made them. I think that in makes her look more...let's say human. Instead of the "I can never get it wrong" attitude that some doctors have, she realized she did a mistake and she accepted it. I liked that very much.

You can also tell that she really loved her husband and that his death was something that was really hard for her to deal with. She's almost scared to move on with her life, feeling that "her sense of security died with her husband".

Her "shoulder to cry on" is David. They met in the resident school and they've been very good friends ever since. He's the one that knows her better than anyone and the person she goes to when she needs an advice, a friendly face or just someone to eat dinner with. He also has very strong  feelings for her, but I think he waited for a sign that she was ready for his feelings. I think her decision to accept to move to Dainger was his sign and he finally tells her how he feels.

I really liked how the author managed to keep the mystery up until the last 30 pages or so of the book. I really didn't guess who the killer/stalker was. I liked that a lot and also the fact that it wasn't predictable to me.

What I didn't particularly like was the fact that the novel was a little slow at first. It didn't really bother me, I was just anxious I guess.

I liked the book and the author's writing style. And since I learned it's the third book in the series Prescription for Trouble I think I'll go hunting for the other books to read them.

WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently reading:

   Diagnosis Death by Richard L. Mabry

Recently Read:

A Werewolf in Manhattan by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Going to read:

Against the Fire by Kat Martin