Book Review: A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

Title: A Dirty Job

Author: Christopher Moore

ISBN: 978-0060590284

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pub. Date: 2007

Source: Borrowed

Genre: Humor/ Fantasy/ Paranormal

Pages: 405
Rating: 3 Kisses
Author's Website

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy. A little hapless, somewhat neurotic, sort of a hypochondriac. He's what's known as a Beta Male: the kind of fellow who makes his way through life by being careful and constant -- you know, the one who's always there to pick up the pieces when the girl gets dumped by the bigger/taller/stronger Alpha Male. But Charlie's been lucky. He owns a building in the heart of San Francisco, and runs a secondhand store with the help of a couple of loyal, if marginally insane, employees. He's married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. And she, Rachel, is about to have their first child. Yes, Charlie's doing okay for a Beta. That is, until the day his daughter, Sophie, is born. Just as Charlie -- exhausted from the birth -- turns to go home, he sees a strange man in mint-green golf wear at Rachel's hospital bedside, a man who claims that no one should be able to see him. But see him Charlie does, and from here on out, things get really weird. . . . People start dropping dead around him, giant ravens perch on his building, and it seems that everywhere he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Strange names start appearing on his nightstand notepad, and before he knows it, those people end up dead, too. Yup, it seems that Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new job, an unpleasant but utterly necessary one: Death. It's a dirty job. But hey, somebody's gotta do it. Christopher Moore, the man whose Lamb served up Jesus' "missing years" (with the funny parts left in), and whose Fluke found the deep humor in whale researchers' lives, now shines his comic light on the undiscovered country we all eventually explore -- death and dying -- and the results are hilarious, heartwarming, and a hell of a lot of fun.

My Reveries and Ramblings: A Dirty Job was so funny. Weird. But hilarious. My thoughts pretty much cycled through this: "This is really really weird.....OMG HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....huh???What's going on???......HAHAHAHAHA.....OH SHIT!!! OMG!!! OMGOMGOMG!!!!" and would just continue like that through the whole book. Kind of like how Charlie felt during the book. 
     Besides the writing (which was phenomenal!), my favorite aspect of the book was the characters. They were all so quirky and interesting. Even the obscure characters were intriguing, and so much fun to read. My top three, aside from the zombie-frankenstein-animals, were Charlie, Minty Fresh, and Sophie. Sophie was adorable! I just wanted to pick her up and squeeze her the entire book. Minty Fresh was hilarious! Everything he said pretty much made me laugh. And Charlie, Charlie was so funny and cute. There were quite a few times when Charlie reminded me of my boyfriend (who actually recommended the book to me). Oh, and the ending? Epic. Epic and OMG-what-just-happened worthy.
     I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good laugh and a strange yet exciting story.  

Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Goodreads

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Book Review: Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

                                  Title: Lover Revealed

                                  Author: J.R. Ward
                                Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #4  

                                ISBN:  978-0451412355

                                       Publisher: Signet
                                         Pub. Date: March 6, 2007

                                        Source:  Gift (B-day)

                                  Genre: Paranormal Romance/

                                                              Urban Fantasy

                                  Pages: 480

                                  Rating: 3 Kisses

                                  Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

                                           Excerpt | Website  

Synopsis (from Goodreads.com): In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York there's a war raging between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defender of their race. But now an ally of the Brotherhood is about to encounter his own dark desire... 
Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard living, ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world to engage in the turf war with the lessers. He's got nothing to lose. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. If he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers... 
Fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he's found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls Marissa to bring him back. But even her love may not be enough to save him...

My Reveries and Ramblings: Lover Revealed is Butch and Marissa’s story.  Butch is taken by the lessers very early on in the book after saving a civilian vampire.  He is tortured for information about the brotherhood, but never gives in (Go Butch!).  However, something truly evil is done to Butch before he is left for dead in the middle of nowhere.  After the brotherhood rescues him, they question his fate and allegiance.  Butch is no longer the same “cop.” After healing from his stay with the lessers, he starts to notice some changes: his body is letting off an odd spice scent around Marissa, he is much more aggressive, he can suck lessers into himself, and his blood turns black whenever he destroys the lessers his way. 

            Marissa and Butch’s relationship had so many “aw” moments but there was one thing that seriously annoyed me; when Butch called Marissa “baby,” I cringed.  I really don’t know why that bothered me so much.  Other than that, everything was fine.  Butch wasn’t my favorite character, even in the beginning, and this book didn’t really change that for me.  Although, there were some aspects that really stood out and made me love Ms. Ward’s writing even more. 

            The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is a romance book series (just look at the titles).  The characters in the series have so much depth, not often seen in adult romance novels.  With each book, Ms. Ward astounds me with the way she skillfully balances the passionate love scenes with actual plot.  In Butch’s story, just like Zsadist’s, the central characters grow and change through the story.  Butch starts out insecure in his place in life.  Later in the book, when Butch is telling Marissa about his past he comments, “I’ve always been different from other people, not just in my family but when I was working here on the CPD force, too.  I never fit in…until I met the Brotherhood…I’ve been living on the fringes all my life…(p. 325).”  As the story progresses, the Butch becomes a part of a family, a part of something he never had.  Marissa also finds herself.  Even though Butch and Marissa fought a lot in this book, I think it was appropriate.  Neither were secure with themselves.  After Havers forced independence on Marissa, she started to follow her “Rule Number One: Right or wrong, she made the choices in her life.  No one else did (p. 402).”  Of course, Marissa doesn’t become independent overnight.  In fact, she moves in with the brotherhood.  Slowly, she begins to become her own person.  Her transition from flowing gowns and corsets to pants and turtle necks was very symbolic of her transformation from a push over, aristocrat to a fully independent woman, free of the cage her brother and the glymera had forced her in all her life. 

            Lover Revealed was definitely a huge step forward in the war between the vampires and the lessers.  What happens to Butch changes everything.  The Black Dagger Brotherhood have a whole new deadly weapon in the war.  As the Scribe Virgin said, “Now the new era in the war begins (p. 399).”   

            In this installment, Vishous and John Matthews also share some narration time.  Vishous has to deal with his confusing feelings towards Butch and Marissa.  John Matthews has to come to terms with Wellsie’s death and Tohr’s leaving.  Honestly, I felt bad for Vishous (his book is next!), but not John Matthews.  Seriously, John truly annoys me.  I feel like every time Ms. Ward writes a John Matthews part I have to fight the urge not to skip forward, mostly because all he does is whine!  It’s all poor-weak-me.  I’m not strong enough to beat up Lash.  I’m so weak. Etc. *

While this wasn’t the greatest of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, it definitely is worth the read.  Fair Warning:  like all the BDB books, there are quite a few graphic sex scenes, violence, profanity, and of course blood and gore.  If you haven’t picked these books up yet, then I suggest you buy them…yes, buy them.  They are too amazing not to purchase because you will want to reread them over and over again. 

*note: I’ve actually read up until and part of the way through Lover Mine (John Matthew’s book) and I do like him, much much much better, in that book.
                   

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Previous Black Dagger Brotherhood Reviews:  Dark Lover  |  Lover Eternal | Lover Awakened

Book Review: To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker

Title:  To Catch A Pirate

Author: Jade Parker

ISBN: 978-0439026949

Publisher: Point

Pub. Date: May 2007

Genre: YA/Romance/Adventure/Historical Fiction/Historical Romance

Pages: P-320

Rating: 4 Kisses

Buy:  Amazon | Book Depository

Extras: Author's Website

Synopsis (from Goodreads.com):  Once caught, it’s harder still to let a pirate go.  When Annalisa Townsend’s ship is set upon by pirates in search of her father’s treasure, one of the crew, James Sterling, discovers her in the hold.  When he moves to take her necklace, she begs him not to, as it is all she has left of her mother.  He accepts a kiss in exchange for the necklace.  “A fair trade, m’lady,” he tells her afterward, before disappearing.  A year later, with a forged letter of marque, Annalisa is intent on hunting down the wretched James Sterling and reclaiming her father’s treasure from him.  But now she’s in danger of him stealing something far more vulnerable this time: her heart.

My Ramblings and Reveries:  After the death of her mother, Annalisa Townsend and her father sail to the Caribbean, with a treasure chest filled with some of the King’s gold, to build a new port.  When their ship gets attacked by pirates, the gold is stolen and many lives are lost.  The survivors, including Annalisa and her father, report the attack.  Because they survived, Annalisa’s father is accused of either being a pirate or associating with pirates and is thrown in jail.  Annalisa goes out with her friend, Nathaniel to find the pirate, James Sterling.  He was the very attractive pirate who held her at knifepoint, stole her ring, and kissed her while the pirates were searching the ship.  In fact, he saved her life, by keeping her whereabouts a secret.  Since her father is incarcerated, she wants nothing more than to kill the pirates that forced her into ruin.  Using her dowry, Annalisa finds a ship and crew and begins hunting for the pirate that stole her treasure.

       Annalisa was such a strong character.  For a woman in the 1700s to chase pirates and captain a ship-that’s pretty darn incredible.  James Sterling couldn’t believe she (a woman) was commanding a ship.  Of course, she had Nathaniel’s help; but still.  Grrr....Nathaniel.  I did not like him.  Since this book reminded me so much of the Pirates of the Caribbean (without the supernatural aspect), Nathaniel reminded me of Norington.  James Sterling was just Ahhhh *swoon*.  He was like a combination between Captain Jack Sparrow and Will Turner.  After stealing Annalisa’s kiss and ring he is marooned on an island along with his friend Ferret for betraying his captain.  When he gets off the island he ends up running for his life from a pirate hunter.  When Annalisa finally catches him, she treats him well, or tries to at least.  Nathaniel can see the growing attraction and does not like it.  He does terrible things to James, like beating him.  James is the better man, even though he is a pirate.  Now partnered with James, Annalisa goes out to find the buried treasure. 

       This book was so great.   It had romance, sword fighting, pirates, adventure, and suspense.  I would definitely recommend reading this awesome book.  

Side note: The author is actually Rachel Hawthorne.  She wrote To Catch a Pirate under "Jade Parker."

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