Engelskuss (Gilde der Jäger, #1) in Challenge: 50 Books

Oct 31, 2010 Christine rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, abandoned

The only reason I read 3/4 of this book was that it was a book club pick. It was absolutely, insanely, and profoundly melodramatic. Everything in it was so over the top that at times it was laughable (in a MST3K kind of way). Elena itched to go for her knife or her gun so many times I thought she needed some kind of ointment.

And let's not even get started on the sex. Not romance, mind you, but sex. I don't mind sex. I read romance novels frequently and won't deny that I thoroughly enjoy reading The only reason I read 3/4 of this book was that it was a book club pick. It was absolutely, insanely, and profoundly melodramatic. Everything in it was so over the top that at times it was laughable (in a MST3K kind of way). Elena itched to go for her knife or her gun so many times I thought she needed some kind of ointment.

And let's not even get started on the sex. Not romance, mind you, but sex. I don't mind sex. I read romance novels frequently and won't deny that I thoroughly enjoy reading about other people's intimate moments. But this...well, it really comes down to the melodrama I mentioned before. Every page dripped with wet panties (seriously, the girl needed to buy a lingerie shop to keep her stocked up).

I understand what this was supposed to be -- dark, dangerous, extremely powerful man and strong, independent, willful, always up for a fight woman. It's a dynamic that makes women flock to the bookstores. It's even one that I enjoy (though it is overdone). I'm not a lightweight when it comes to romance or sex and am not afraid of it, but this was painful. Every page dripped with exaggerated lust, the quantity and the intensity of it completely killing any chance of evoking real feelings. The crass comments didn't help, either.

Elena herself made no sense to me. She's the sort of brazen heroine who likes to poke dragons in the eye for no apparent reason. Yes, brassy heroes and heroines who stand up for themselves and the people they love are fun to read about, but why stir up the pot for no reason? That's just stupid. Elena starts going off on everyting Rafael has to say before he's really done or said anything particularly offensive. I remember one point when all he did was tell her to come with him and she's seething that he treats her like a puppy -- um, no, he's treating you like he's your boss, which he is. And, apparently, he's some kind of powerful leader, though his role in this alternate world didn't come clear in the portion of the book that I read.

Speaking of which, the world building didn't work for me, either. So there have been these angels running things for millenium, but basically, everything's the same except there's this tower in the middle of New York City and vampires are running around doing the angels' bidding. Really? Maybe I missed some of the finer points. It wouldn't take much, since so much of the book was devoted to descriptions of sex instead of laying any groundwork for the world, so I really didn't have a clear picture of it in my mind.

I know I've gone off on this book a bit and maybe I'm overreacting. I think, had it been toned down about ten notches, there might have been something salvageable in there, but as it is, it was just unbelievable and way over the top.

I don't recommend this book to anyone.
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