Crystal Cove (Friday Harbor, #4) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jan 12, 2012 Lisa Kay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: challenge-nbrc-tower, 2013-rlftci-group-challenge, auto-buy-author, authors-k, authors-l, m-audible-dot-com, genre-romance-contemporary, reviewed-by-me, zzcover-pink, zzcover-purple

Images of Friday Harbor, Washington.
[image error]
[image error]
★★★★☆ (This is a review of the audiobook.) Oh! I’m so relieved. I read a couple of negative and hesitant reviews (although not about the audiobook) of the latest release in Lisa Kleypas’ Friday Harbor series, Crystal Cove. Let me reassure you; I loved this one also.

Tanya Eby returns to narrating this enchanting series and does a nice job. I realize most women can’t do the sexy baritone I hear in my head for all my heroes; nevertheless Images of Friday Harbor, Washington.
[image error]
[image error]
★★★★☆ (This is a review of the audiobook.) Oh! I’m so relieved. I read a couple of negative and hesitant reviews (although not about the audiobook) of the latest release in Lisa Kleypas’ Friday Harbor series, Crystal Cove. Let me reassure you; I loved this one also.

Tanya Eby returns to narrating this enchanting series and does a nice job. I realize most women can’t do the sexy baritone I hear in my head for all my heroes; nevertheless, there was something I just did not particularly like about her delivery for gaming millionaire Jason Black. It was as if she was pushing the sound too far back in her throat, making it come out almost “doofus-like,” if that makes sense.

I also think, now that my fears are alleviated, I’d enjoy this one much more on a second listen. I did really like Ms. Eby’s voice for the hexed Justine Hoffman, the lovely proprietor of an inn in Friday Harbor, so kudos to her. I kind of shrugged off the southern accents for some of the characters; I thought TB made them sound a bit too ignorant, but I tolerated them.

This one wasn’t my favorite in this wonderful series; however, I did enjoy it. Justine finds out there was a spell cast on her, so that none of her romantic relationships work out. While not as adorable as her partner, Zoe, she is no less deserving of love. Jason is an intriguing male, but he didn’t hold the devastating allure and power that Ms. Kleypas usually provides in her males. There are certainly more than a few scenes in this book that made me smile, and the BDSM scenario that I worried so much about was fine.

This one is more Paranormal Romance than Magical Realism that the previous books in the Friday Harbor series fall into; however, it was light, not heavy-handed, and flowed easily. It was nice to see Ms. Kleypas stretch her writing prowess into this area. I did have one or two little quibbles with plot points, but nothing major. Still, as I said, I should probable read it again to see if I feel differently about it, now that I know all is alright with Mr. Black’s kinky preferences in my version of Romancelandia.

By the Way: There is an Abridged version, that is only 5 hours and 42 minutes instead of the Unabridged version at 8 hours and 52 minutes, which is the one I heard.

...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Dec 19, 2012 D.G. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, reviewed, magical-realism, paranormal

Check out this review and others at badassbookreviews.com

Lisa Kleypas has been one of my favorite authors for a long, long time. I don’t think she walks on air and I’ve certainly not loved everything she’s written but I can’t remember the last time I was so disappointed by one of her books. While reading Crystal Cove, I was in disbelief that a writer known for her romantic love stories and great character/plot development would write a book with an insta-love trope and plot holes the size of tan Check out this review and others at badassbookreviews.com

Lisa Kleypas has been one of my favorite authors for a long, long time. I don’t think she walks on air and I’ve certainly not loved everything she’s written but I can’t remember the last time I was so disappointed by one of her books. While reading Crystal Cove, I was in disbelief that a writer known for her romantic love stories and great character/plot development would write a book with an insta-love trope and plot holes the size of tanks. I ended up rating it 3 stars (barely) because the denouement was surprising, even if it was a tad convenient.

At the beginning of Crystal Cove, Justine finds out she’s been cursed against heartbreak and as such, she can’t fall in love. As a natural born witch, she decides to break the curse, even though she hasn’t had any training and has been warned not to even look at a particular spell in the book she owns. (Because warning people not do something is a sure-fire way to make sure they don’t do it.)

Jason shows up in Friday Harbor with the apparent purpose to close a business deal. However, he has other (nefarious) plans in mind, involving Justine. She has something he wants and he will stop at nothing to get it.

After Justine breaks the curse, they both feel this pull that tells them that they are meant for each other, forever and ever. Even though Jason came up as sort of creepy and manipulative in their first two encounters, Justine is quickly bedazzled by who knows what. But they find out that breaking the curse has terrible consequences for them both – this is of course, ANOTHER curse, called the witch’s bane.

The witch’s bane makes absolutely no sense. Natural Selection tells us that anything that makes a species difficult to reproduce will result in extinction so I didn’t get why there were so many witches around. Also, it seems this curse doesn’t apply to same sex couples. (A man hating curse!) The witches make a show of being close to nature so it was unbelievable that a precept of their covenant perverted the cycle of creation.

The whole witchcraft angle was really weird. They didn’t seem to be any purpose to them besides doing parlor tricks. All their supposed power demanded a price but they really didn’t do anything of importance. All they did was talk pagan and eat organic. What’s the point of being a witch if that’s all they did!

I had so many other issues with Crystal Cove. Jason’s problem, which was super convoluted and strange; how Justine seemed to know next to nothing about witchcraft even though she grew up with a witch for a mother; why she owned such a powerful book of spells when she wasn’t a practicing witch, how said book was supposedly tied to the owner but how other witches were able to use it; how Justine’s estranged mother makes only one appearance to conveniently play the villain. I could go and on.

One of the few intriguing parts of the book was Jason’s Japanese ancestry. This was the one thing about him that seemed real because it permeated different aspects of his personality. Otherwise, I really didn’t care for the caricature of the brilliant but recluse billionaire.

If this series continues with the witches’ angle, I’ll stop reading it. Not because I have anything against witches or magic (I read pretty much everything) but because the premise is just too flawed in my eyes. Books I read need to make sense in some level, and when they don’t, I just have to let them go. ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2013 Lisarenee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, nbrc-2013-b-reading-challenge, nbrc-tower-team-b-challenge-shelf

My synopsis:
"Are emotions like that even possible?" she asked. "I mean, even though you and Alex are in love..."--she gestured with the book---" real life can't be like this, right?

Zoe's face turned pink as she replied. "Sometimes real life is even better, but in all the little things. The way he touches your face, or covers you with a blanket when you're taking a nap, or puts a Post-it note on the fridge to remind you about your dentist appointment. I think those things glue a relationship toge ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 20, 2012 Gisela rated it liked it

Shelves: paranormal-romance, double-decker-challenge, z2014

It's the weakest book in the series, I liked both characters but their romance felt rushed. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 11, 2013 SandyC added it · review of another edition

I'm not sure if my low rating of this book is due to the book itself or because I'm really not that keen on contemporary romance. I liked Justine much better in the earlier books in the series; she seemed like a much stronger character; in fact, the character in this book appears to be entirely different. Jason is devious, underhanded and condescending. I'm not sure why these two fall in love. Also, Kleypas inserts a Fifty Shades of Crystal Cove scene that really doesn't make any sense. I have r ...more

Like · see review

Apr 22, 2013 lia rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance

It's about a witch and a soulless man. The story is mild and sugary sweet. The conflict is almost zero and the result is predictable.

I really wished Lisa Kleypas stop meddling in this genre and go back to historical romance which is her strongest suits or hell, even go back to plain old contemporary romance. This hocus pocus genre is clearly not her forte. ...more

Like · see review