Recent Reads - some good, some not so good

Red Hot Cajun by Sandra Hill.
This is the third book I’ve read in her Cajun series about the Leduc family and my least favourite. I passed on the one about the sister. Somehow a story about a “big haired flamboyant hairdresser who had been married four times just didn’t appeal to me. Call me a snob. Don’t get me wrong, Red hot Cajun wasn’t bad; it had its funny moments, but my favourite still remains The Love Potion. I found the lead characters remarkably immature for their supposed ages Rene, the hero and environmentalist was supposed to be 36 and acted about 26 and Velerie Breaux, a lawyer and court TV reporter was supposed to be 34 and acted about 20. I wasn’t impressed that at her age she was still so controlled by her family. And Tante Lulu just got on my nerves after 3 books.
Grade – 3 out of 5

Depth Perception – Linda Castillo
I had read some good things about Linda Castillo on different boards and when I saw this in the store decided to give it a try. Oddly enough, it was another book that took place in Louisiana Bayou. It couldn’t have been more different in tone though. This is quite dark and quite grim. Nat Jennings was in the house when her son and husband were murdered and she was almost killed herself. After spending 2 ½ years in a comma, she awakes and realizes she has strange visions. She goes back to the town where her family was murdered and tries to enlist the help of Nick Bastille. He has just been released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit. While he was in prison, his beloved son died and he is now trying to put back the pieces of his life. Despite the subject matter, I thought this was a well written suspense with two very damaged characters. I will definitely be reading more of her books.
Grade 4 out of 5

Run No More by Catherine Mulvaney
This is another book I bought after the buzz about it on the internet but I didn’t like it as much as others. Yes the heroine was a strong capable heroine and the hero was quite decent despite being a cat burglar but the biggest obstacle I just couldn’t overcome was the 40 year age difference. I thought that while Tasya Flynn truly did love Ian MacPherson, it was more of an abuse victim would have for her rescuer, kind of unbalanced. ***** SPOILER***** When she went back in time and they were closer in age, it was too late for me to believe in their love story. Add to that the propensity of both of them to want to kill themselves, especially Ian and I just didn’t care for this book nearly as much as other people have.
Grade 2 out of 5

One Night in Texas by Jane Sullivan
This is a Harlequin series book, one of the final Temptation Line (I know this because it says Collector’s Edition on the cover). I thought this one was a very good book. This is the third book I’ve read by Jane Sullivan and I thought all three were great. She also writes single titles under the name Jane Graves and except for the truly horrific wallbanger Wild at Heart I’ve also liked her singles titles. Alyssa Ballard, the heroine is the manager of an exclusive line of upscale apartment buildings. Six months ago she had spent a wonderful and decadent week with Derek Stone until at the end of the week he walks out of her life with only a brief note and she realizes everything he told her was a lie. He re-enters her life in a whirlwind just as suddenly and she is left to decide if she dares to risk her heart again. Yea, this book has a number of clichés, but still Ms. Sullivan manages to give both the hero and the heroine quite a bit of character development in the shortened series format. I finished this book in less than a day and sometimes that’s just what I want to do with a book. I hope with the end of the Temptation line, Jane Sullivan still continues to write for Harlequin since whatever I have read has been very good.
Grade 4 out of 5