Missing deadlines...

I'm not going to make either of my challenges this month. I'm bummed. And in fact, looking back, I realize I only did one review all month, and it was the buddy review of Hot Pursuit on Sept 2. Holy cow!

I read several categories this month, just no oomph or time to review them. Sorry, KMont!

And Nath - I didn't reread anything this month. My bad!

Excuse time? Well, we had a really big web build that I was testing for 2 weeks of this month. I was working 11 hours a day, 2 weeks straight. Then... the Jewish holidays. Then a rocking get-together with the SoCal Bloggers (w00t!). Then... my oldest tweaked his back during football and we spent last night in the ER when (wait for it) I could have been home writing reviews. (Yeah, that's it. Blame it on the gimpinator!). The ER doc thinks he might have herniated a disc or have sciatica. Geez! We'll go to his own doctor tomorrow to find out, and then likely on to a sports med guy after that.

Sigh. Why didn't he listen when I told him that nice Jewish boys don't play football?

Anyway, bottom line is that I haven't been reviewing, or even reading much. I have been buying, though. (Bad, bad Lori). I buy when I feel stressed - what can I say? Here's what I've gotten in the last week or so...













Now I just need to read them!! What have you all been reading? Help me out!

Burn by Linda Howard

Title: Burn
Author: Linda Howard

Type: Romantic Suspense
Published: 2009

Blurb: Money certainly changes Jenner Redwine’s life when she wins a lottery jackpot. But it also costs her plenty: Her father rips her off and disappears, her fortune-hunting boyfriend soon becomes her ex, and friends-turned-freeloaders give her the cold shoulder when she stops paying for everything.

Flush with new money, Jenner can’t imagine ever finding a place in the world of the wealthy. Seven years later, though, she’s rubbing elbows with the rich, despite the fact she still feels like a party crasher. Luckily she finds an ally–and a guide to the rarefied realm of privilege–in shy, kind-hearted heiress Sydney Hazlett, who quickly becomes Jenner’s confidante and surrogate sister.

When Sydney invites Jenner on a charity cruise aboard a luxury liner, Jenner reluctantly agrees. But while she’s expecting–and dreading–two weeks of masquerade balls, art auctions, and preening glitterati, what she gets is more like a Hitchcock movie than a Love Boat episode. Taken hostage by a menacing stranger, Jenner must cooperate in a mysterious cloak-and-dagger scheme–or else. With nowhere to run, and with Sydney’s life as well as her own at risk, Jenner is drawn into a game of dizzying intrigue and harrowing danger. But as her panic gives way to exhilaration, and fear of her captor turns to fascination, Jennerrediscovers feelings she hasn’t had in years–and realizes she’s found a life worth living. If she survives.

Why: Howard accounts for a couple of my pivotal reading moments. Hers were the first mercenary bad men heroes that stole my breath (All The Queen's Men) and, in Cry No More, Howard snuck by my ban on story arcs featuring children and sucker punched me right in my emotional gut. She had me, both times.

Not so much anymore. Her recent titles have lacked the same edginess, the same brutal choices. In their place I've found straight-up (read simple) contemporaries with some fairly bland characters. After reading Burn, I suspect even Howard finds them bland, with not much to say and little on their mind.

Thoughts: Of all Burn's characters, the heroine, Jenner, carried the most flesh and bone. We learn a good deal from her--privy to her life on the job and among friends and family early in the book--as opposed to learning about her from author info dumps. That fleshing out is short-lived however when Howard essentially summarizes her life post-lottery winnings. Howard tells us that Jenner runs in priveleged circles now and enjoys snorkeling, parasailing and an assortment of self-indulgent classes on cooking, knitting and whatnot. Howard also tells us that Jenner has found a friend in sweet but sheltered Sydney, a naive princess born to this rich set. When Sydney's life is threatened, it is Howard's assertion that Jenner is protective enough of Sydney to comply with their kidnapper's demands that propels the story forward. Whether the reader believes it or not. As there were few scenes and little dialogue between these two, I took Howard at her word and read on.

Conversely, the hero, Cael, comes into the story via author info dump and gets to wait until later to show himself to readers. I hung in there long enough to appreciate his humor--firsthand thankfully--and his physical presence. Neither of which, unfortunately, grabbed me. I did enjoy a handful of scenes between him and Jenner, but just when I was looking forward to getting back to their stateroom for more banter, Howard would fast forward to the next day or shift focus to other characters and never come back to this place in time. I swear it was like she didn't care; like the romance didn't grab her either.

The remaining characters--villain aside--make up Cael's "team." Not much more detail than that and Howard doesn't spend any more time hanging flesh on them than she does Cael and Jenner. Disappointing. Particularly when I'm a reader easily snagged into a good police procedural or military op storyline, characterization be damned. This team's surveillance of the villain wasn't all that interesting and none of these folks ever really felt in danger. Heck, when Cael and Jenner are caught following the villain, their dispatch of the bodyguard warranted only a few paragraphs. Howard didn't deign it necessary for Cael to involve his team nor did she give Jenner enough words to deal with her actions. Like I said, I really, really can't help but think Howard was bored, as uninterested in this story as I was when I read it.

As for the action, I'll admit that my reading could hardly even be called skimming by the time we got there. So I can't honestly say how it was executed. I did look through it all for moments between hero and heroine, but nothing grabbed me. Not even the moments I found with Cael and Jenner.

So my disappointment was complete. And no fault of my own. It wasn't a mood thing or a lack of time or a tiring of romantic suspense or...anything. This one just fell flat for me. I got as far as I did only because this was a Linda Howard book--and she ranks for me--and because Nath's post last week sent me in search of a typical Howard alpha (and for a brief time, I found at least an outline of him).

Howard has a new title (Ice) out (already) in November. It's premise sounds much more promising and I'm off to see if my library has it on order. Burn may have disappointed, but I'm no where near ready to give up on Howard yet.

Happy birthday to CJ!

Wishing Carolyn (and by default, CJ, Little CJ and even Miss Doreen) a very happy birthday! Looks like she already got an amazing present. If you haven't checked out her new cover, it's made up of all sorts of awesome! Gorgeous, no?



Coming out at the end of March, 2010. Make sure to check out her blog, The Thrillionth Page, for more info.

Happy birthday, my friend!

L'Shana Tovah Tikateivu v'Tikateimu

I'd like to wish everyone a beautiful new year.

Tonight begins Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year - 5770. L'Shana Tovah Tikateivu means may you be inscribed for a good year.

On Yom Kippur, next Monday, the 28th, the Day of Atonement, we say L'Shana Tovah Tikateimu - may you be sealed for a good year.

One of my kids' favorite traditions is the blowing of the shofar, or the ram's horn, during synagogue. Why do we do it? Here's some explanations, courtesy of AskMoses.com (yes, there really is an Ask Moses.com - what will they think of next?):
There are many meanings to the Shofar-blowing. In fact, the leading Jewish sage in the tenth century CE, Saddia Gaon, listed ten major ones, each with a scriptural basis. Rabbi Saddia explained that the sound of the shofar should call to mind: 1) the creation of the world; 2) the beginning of the new year; 3) the Mt. Sinai experience; 4) the inspiring words of the prophets; 5) the destruction of the Holy Temples; and 6) the Binding of Isaac, when his father was prepared to offer him as a sacrifice. It should also arouse and increase in us 7) fear and awe of G-d Almighty; 8) fear and awe of the Day of Judgment; 9) belief in the future ingathering of the exiles and ultimate redemption through Moshiach, and inspire our yearning for it; and 10) belief in the future Resurrection of the Dead.

Maimonidies explains that it is a call for Teshuvah, awaking us from our spiritual slumber and reminding us to return to G-d's ways. Another common explanation is that the Shofar-blowing is symbolic of a coronation, and on Rosh Hashanah we invoke G-d's desire to be our King again for the new year.

Keep in mind that while all of these are true and excellent interpretations, and are good to have in mind before or during the actual moments of the shofar-blowing, we cannot single out one of them or even all of them collectively as the real reason why the shofar is blown on Rosh Hashanah. The ultimate reason is quite simple; G-d instructed in the Torah that the shofar should be blown “on the first day of the seventh month.”

Frankly, my kids just think it sounds really cool. And the cantor lets them come up after the service and try it themselves.

There's your Jewish education for this year - more than you ever wanted to know, I'm sure :)

It's customary on Rosh Hashanah to eat apples and honey together (if you haven't tried it - yum!). So I wish everyone a sweet, healthy, beautiful new year. You all make my life rich and wonderful. May it be inscribed and sealed.

Bookwatch: those sexy men in (and out) of uniform

Yup - everyone is posting about the new Kleypas and the new Tessa Dare, and the new Kathryn Smith (Woo-freakin-hoo - it's an historical, not a paranormal!!). I'm totally looking forward to all of these. But I just realized that two of my favorite authors have books coming out next month as well.

The next Black Ops from Cindy Gerard, and the next Bullet Catchers from Roxanne St. Claire are coming out (yup - 2 Bullet Catchers, back-to-back!)

A RACE FOR SURVIVAL . . .

Bold, blond Defense Intelligence officer B. J. Chase isn’t exactly thrilled when she’s summoned from personal leave to investigate an alarming national security breach—until the suspicious death of a government official blows her covert mission sky high.

TURNS INTO A HEART-POUNDING ADVENTURE . . .

Gorgeous Black Ops bad boy Raphael Mendoza always feared his family’s dark history would haunt him. But he never expected it might hold the key to dismantling a rogue weapons system. Now with cool B.J. Chase posing as his hot babe fiancée, he returns to his uncle in Colombia to convince him he can be trusted with the family’s dirtiest business secrets.

. . . AND IGNITES A PASSIONATE FIRE.

Carrying out a deception among ruthless killers brings Rafe and B.J. too close to ignore the heat between them. Now, they must work together as the closest of partners as the countdown to international catastrophe closes in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bullet Catcher and former Navy SEAL Constantine Xenakis has infiltrated a dive ship to discover who's plundering priceless gems from a legendary sunken Spanish galleon. When he catches Lizzie Dare red-handed in the locked treasure room, her story of a stolen ancestral legacy convinces him to work with the sexy thief instead of turning her in -- and not just because he wants to find the real culprit. Lizzie is willing to risk everything to save the Bombay Blue Diamonds from her sworn enemy, even if that means giving in to an irresistible desire to get closer to her accomplice. But when passion hits them like a rogue wave and danger surrounds them like a school of hungry sharks, their adventure on the high seas turns treacherous...and deadly.

Top 10 Reviews - Mine

The schizo in me will admit that I came to this post by way of:

1) Recognizing that I truly enjoy the Re-read Challenge posts every month, even though I'm not a re-reader.

2) Browsing the Starred items in my reader, clicked through on the Bloggiesta stuff, then through to a post on cleaning up your blog reader. Humpf, thought I just did that. Read about this tool in Google Reader called "Trends." And Wow, there were a lot of inactive blogs in there--blogs with no activity since 2006, 07 and 08. It was like finding hidden dead weight--a turn-on for a girl who keeps even her Sent email folder tidy and trim.

3) Was recently researching best method for saving and burning my son's journal blog to CD (and from there I'm researching how to convert it to book format--those fab photobooks from Snapfish got me started down this path)...anyhow, this and finding those old, dead blogs in my reader made me think back...made me realize that while I read my son's journal again and again, I absolutely never re-read my old posts here. Which makes sense of course, cuz I'm not a re-reader.

4) Finally, looking at more of the Bloggiesta stuff, I found an article on writing rainy-day posts, to hold in reserve for when you're less than prolific. I don't care about that much, but I did like their ideas for such posts--one of which was the List Post--quick and easy.

And there you have it, the thought process behind this list post of my favorite reviews from this blog:

In no particular order:

1) Midnight Rose by Shelby Reed

2) Black Ice by Anne Stuart

3) Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

4) Dreaming Of You by Lisa Kleypas

5) Dirty by Megan Hart

6) Virtually His by Gennita Low

7) Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries by Ashley Gardner

8) The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne

9) Demon Angel by Meljean Brook

10) Seraphim by Shelby Reed

These were all powerful reads for me. Of course since most of my reading stems from blogger reviews, most of you will have already read them, LOL. But some of you? Maybe not. If you haven't picked one or more up, I'd highly, highly recommend all of em.

And some observations...

Next month, I Just Finished Reading will be 4 years old. Holy Cow.

And isn't it funny how your tastes and opinions change?

And this has never been just a review site, LOL. I found quite a few posts featuring my son in here.

And thank God for Lori!

Is it wrong...

Is it wrong to feel relief when a trip through my blogroll yields no new titles for my TBR list? The list is already soooooo long.

And this tangent thought is going to sound just awful, but every once in awhile, I actually think--just for a second--that a hysterectomy might be a preferable alternative to embolization (uterine fibroids). Only because I'd have six weeks of recovery time to blast through that TBR list. Gasp. Terrible thought, eh? When I've done nothing but research and lobby my doctor for the keep-all-your-hormonal-parts embolization option that features far, far less recovery time. Ah well.

I am reading, so not all is lost yet. I finished my ARC of Virtually Hers by Gennita Low--a genuine, PR-be-damned F'ing Fabulous review is forthcoming. Will likely be one of my 09 Wow reads. I also read Elisabeth Naughton's Stolen Fury--good read but I must say that if I had read it piecemeal, I would not have enjoyed it nearly as much. Not sure it would have held my extended interest. As it turned out, I was left all by myself for six hours, with nothing to do but read--so I enjoyed this book in one sitting.

Followed that one with Cindy Gerard's Show No Mercy. Another good one and I'm looking forward to the next in this series when I am back in the RS mood. For now, I've reverted to historical again--reading Scandal by Carolyn Jewel. Unfortunately, my lunch hours have been booked, my weekend action-filled and my nights spent propping up a wheezing, coughing, allergy-suffering boy who can only find sleep sitting up. So I'm maybe 50 pages into it after 5 days. Feels dark so far, which is right up my alley.

Speaking of dark and alleys, I had a downright fearful few moments at the quarter car wash yesterday. Here, in my safe, rural small town. I'm still feeling angry and unsettled. In a nutshell, left work, picked up my son, stopped at the car wash to remove dirtbike track dust and grime from my new, gently used truck (yay for me on that part). As I pulled in, a guy pulling a trailer was pulling out. G and I washed our truck and pulled it around to the vacuum cleaners. G is using the chamois to dry the truck while I vacuum. Suddenly, this guy is standing right there with my son, vacuum machine blasting out all sound. He shouts to me, asks me if I have a cell phone cuz he locked his keys in his truck. Sure, I hand him my phone. Look over to the car wash stalls and see the same trailer I saw leave earlier. So it's the same guy, back again. Why would that be I wonder. I move G to my side and around to the other side of our truck. One eye on the guy, one eye on my surroundings, vacuuming blindly. Interesting, the guy is standing a foot from the vacuum machine talking on my cell phone. No way in hell he can hear even himself. Sees me watching him and he steps away from the machine and starts talking more loudly. And in the next second, smiles, walks my phone over and takes off on foot, presumably to meet someone bringing him spare keys. Needless to say we left immediately.

And I wondered throughout the evening what kind of info he could have taken off my phone and whether or not he used it to make a drug deal and I'll be visited by cops soon. Vivid imagination to go with my anger and a jarring reminder to keep my guard up, always. Jerk. Pretty sure I won't be taking G with me again.

Of course, as dirty as he gets on the dirtbike track, maybe I should use the quarter car wash sprayer on him. Cool shot, eh? Found this in my email inbox this morning--taken and sent by a friend from the track. G is going to love it cuz it's proof that he "got air." LOL

Stray thoughts...

Thinking we need to update our header to reflect our shift from strictly reader reviews to reviews + personal commentary. Of course while we're at it, we could update our blog list too. That has to be out-of-date, LOL.

Or maybe not. Sometime over the last year, my own blog list--in my reader--grew big. It grew bigger and faster than my kid's feet. Mostly the result of all those blog awards out there, wherein the award recipient passes it on to his/her favorite blogs. I harvested plenty of new blogs to follow from those lists.

But with over a thousand unread posts in my reader--at any given time, I had pull out my snippers. I was ruthless and it is entirely possible that my newly trimmed blog list matches my old list in the right sidebar here. Returning to my roots so to speak.

What did I cut? Well, not to stir anybody's soup, I'll admit to cutting out all that industry stuff. I read blogs for fun. And for book recs. The industry posts weren't yielding new-to-me authors or titles, so...SNIP. As I'm still ebook reader-less, at least til Christmas (of this year I think), I had to SNIP all those technology-heavy blogs too. Useful, but just not to me. I also had to SNIP a ton of author blogs. Insightul stuff about the writing process and publishing game but, as I'm not a writer, it's just not applicable. Not a TV-watcher either, so yup, those more-TV-than-books blogs had to go too.

What else? Oh, some genre-driven stuff. Neither M/M nor Y/A make my own preferred genre list, so I unsubscribed from blogs that primarily feature either one. I do have a handful of titles, in both, on my TBR list, but am not yet in need of new release updates, etc. Ditto for much of the urban fantasy stuff. I've read and LOVED a couple of these authors but, the less reading time I have the more apt I am to reach for my tried-and-true--historicals, RS and crack-like paranormals.

Quick question, what is speculative fiction?

Oh, and since I had a wee small crush on my son's college-age sports camp counselor this summer...do you think Y/A may appeal to me more than I was thinking?

But then again, my reluctance to paint my toenails metallic blue reminds me again that, really, I'm too old for this stuff. Isn't blue a toenail color for the young? I think so. I'm convinced I'd feel ridiculous walking around with pretty blue toenails. At my age.

Where was I? Oh, and speaking of my tried-and-true, I'm reading an ARC right now. Gennita Low's Virtually Hers. It's no secret I'm a fan. It's no secret that I'd shamelessly plug her titles anywhere. And you may as well brace yourself, cuz I'll be doing exactly that as her Virtually Hers release date approaches--October 6, 2009 from Samhain Publishing. Feel free to pass it on and on and on.


Anyway, so I'm reading Virtually Hers. And losing myself in Jed and Elena. Totally captivated, caught between wanting to know right-this-instant what happens next and wanting the book to last and last and last. I'm even finding myself with that deer-in-the-headlights sensation--stunned into stillness everytime gray-eyed Jed takes the page. I'm grateful for that, cuz it's been awhile. Which leads me to...

Last month, I read Meredith Duran's Bound By Your Touch. Wow. Wow. Wow. Couldn't put it down. Immediately picked up Written On Your Skin. Couldn't wait to pick it up. But then my (good) life interupted and it took me nearly two weeks to read it. I know this particular hero was right up my alley. I know he was. But yet, I didn't get pulled under. I didn't get stunned, frozen to the page like Jed commands. So was it just not as strong as BBYT or VHers? Honestly? I am convinced that it is because I read WOYS bit by little bit, as time permitted. I'm certain it felt disjointed only because my reading time was disjointed--lots and lots of stops and starts. An absolute shame.

Seriously, I have GOT to find a different slot of time for reading. Right now, I'm getting some time in around 5 AM. So far so good--if you don't count the cat. She seems to think this is an ideal slot for just-us-girls time. Unless of course she can find other fun. Like today, rousting and chasing a mouse about the basement. Where I work out each morning. You know, like on the floor, doing sit-ups and such. Trust me. There's no amount of header tweaking that will allow for this kind of post here.

Just. Trust me.

Library Loot - week of Sept 2

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries! This week, Mr. Linky is at Marg's place.

So, I returned Hot Pursuit, Malice, and The Bridegroom, but I still have Outlander for another week. If nobody else has it requested, I may renew it and see if I can work up the oomph to read it. I tried to start it, but it didn't grab me right away. I know - go figure!

But, through the wonders of ILL, (cause I've mentioned, oh about a million times how bad my own county library system sucks), I got a book I've had my eye on for a while.

The Nude by Dorothy McFalls

I first learned of this book from the Week of Romance emails from Romance Designs. They highlight a book with a different excerpt for a week. I love it, and I've discovered many books I never would have heard of otherwise. You can sign up here if you don't get these already.)

Hot Pursuit by Suzanne Brockmann: A Buddy Review

We had so much fun buddy reviewing Dark of Night that we decided to do it again when Hot Pursuit came out. Last time Jen started us off. This time it was Lori. Please note that there are spoilers here.


Lori: In DoN, I thought Dan was a total prick. Although he improved a little, he didn't develop a whole lot. Still pretty immature and not doing much to improve my image of him as an adolescent (and not in the good way we usually like our Brockmann heroes). I'm very glad that Brockmann didn't have Jenn wimp out and wind their story up in this book. He has some learning to do. Even after all this time, and after Eden left, he's still hating in Izzy. Get over that. He acknowledged that she was immature. So what's up with the hating? Still, there were glimpses of a great guy under all of the assholishness. So what is it? Don't blame me? Blame my upbringing? Or is he just a dick? I realize I'm being too hard on Dan. I did grow to like him, and liked Dan and Jenn together, and then Brockmann pulled the rug out from under me at the end. Damn her.

JB: I was totally on-the-fence here. On the one side, it felt off. Wasn't sure if that stemmed from my general dislike of weight issues for the heroine or from his childish martyrdom. Had it not been for their intelligence and humor, both would have gotten on my nerves after awhile. On the other side, Dan proved Brockmann-worthy vulnerable and heroic. Honestly, if it hadn't been for that one scene--his talk with Izzy, overheard by Jenn--I would have landed softly (not solidly, but softly) on the good side of the fence. That scene either proved him an ass or Brockmann a poor writer (tossing him out of character). I'm guessing we'd all agree it ain't the latter. Unfortunately, it may be awhile--potentially never--before Brockmann grows him up.

Lori: Izzy, Izzy, Izzy. When will you learn? Eden is SO not the girl for you. Find yourself a nice girl. One who gets you. Having said that, I would bet anything that Brockmann will stir the pot tremendously and pair him up with Eden. You thought Dave/Sophia/Decker/Tracy caused a hulabaloo? Just wait. I wanted to see him say what the fuck and go for it with Maria.

JB: Uhhh, LOL. Izzy is my boy and I did NOT want him anywhere near Maria. We didn't really get to know her, and what little we did see I did not like. At all. Crying over Eden? Yeah, I didn't like that so much either--although I'm pretty sure I liked Eden more than you did last go round. We'll see. And hope against hope that Brockmann gives him his in the next (last one for awhile) installment. He matured a bit more here though, don't ya think?

Lori: Yes, in some respects he seems more mature. Recognizing he's a married man and not taking what Maria offers. But in others, I'm not so sure. Truly believing himself in love with Eden after she took off like that? I suppose it's possible. And he handled himself with aplomb when Dan had his nightmare. He does remain one of my favorites.

Lori: The Dentist. A better villain than the last one, who was so poor that I can't even recall. It's a different line for her to take than in other books where we usually have some sort of terrorist villain.

JB: Strong villain, yes. I prefer the non-civilian type, so to speak. But this guy was good and creepy.

Lori: Jules and Robin. I do like seeing them. It's been suggested that they've simply become Brockmann's mouthpiece for her political views. While I agree that she certainly uses them for this purpose, I think they still have a love story to tell. Although I think that Robin was pretty damn dull in this one. Relegated to babysitter for most of the book, although he did serve as an occasional sounding board for Sam and Jules.

JB: Their love continues to amaze me. I think you're right--they still have a love story to tell. Between them and between them and friends Sam and Alyssa. Natural, genuine affection here and it still grabs. I completely disagree with the mouthpiece-for-political-views thing. She covers ground there, sure, but it is in the same adlib, hip speak her characters wield everywhere else. Feels more like it-is-what-it-is than preaching.

Lori: Sam and Alyssa. I loved seeing them again. Love how time has mellowed their relationship. Yet they still love each other passionately. Loved the references to sex in the first year following baby - the quickies, the frustrations. Anyone with kids can relate. Loved seeing Alyssa's struggle between hardass professional, nursing mother, and loving wife. And watching Sam give up control to her as the team leader - he's come a long way, baby.

JB: I think I enjoyed Sam and Alyssa more in the last one, LOL. Here, Alyssa is shouldering more and it's harder to watch. Particularly so because we do it from Sam's viewpoint so often. Brockmann certainly underscored the vulnerability they share. Powerful, emotional stuff. Balanced of course with humor, respect and that remaining bit of the knuckle-dragger in him. She kept me on the edge of my seat, but made me laugh a few times too.

Lori: I liked seeing more of Sam's POV in this one, although I will say that he really has done almost a 180 in character, don't you think? While I like his development as a father and husband, he's lost quite a bit of the "Sam-ness" that made so many out there love him. With, yes, a little bit of the knuckle-dragger remaining.

JB: Overall, I enjoyed the multiple threads and time spent in the general company of many. Still find myself longing for the old days though--more centric storylines, maybe offset by flashbacks or a mirror somewhere else in time. I'm not much of a re-reader, but I'm tempted to go back and experience those early days. Maybe even catch a glimpse of some these SEALS when they were but babes, LOL.

Lori: I agree - and I think I'm starting to sound like a broken record. I miss them out in the field, being proactive rather than reacting to a situation happening to one of their team. Make sense? And I miss the WW2 storylines. (Even moreso after reading Ames' re-read review of Over the Edge). Lord how I miss those. More and more as these books go forward. I think all the characters seem to have lost some of their edge and... SEALness?... in favor of forwarding continuing story arcs. And yes, I realize that the majority of the characters aren't SEALs anymore, or aren't acting in official SEAL capacity, but you can't take the SEAL out of the man, IMO.

What about you? What did you think of this one? And what do you think of Brockmann's note at the end that there will only be one more Troubleshooters book? Happy about that? Sad? Relieved? (and no Holly, you may NOT answer that question.)