In Death Challenge final post...

First, I would like to thank Christine for hosting the In Death challenge. I've been afraid to start the books because I knew I would get hooked, and I was so right. Darn it. I burned out somewhere around June or July, and then picked back up at the end of November. All in all, I've read up through book 21 since last December. Wow. Only a bazillion more to go :)

Anyway, here are a few short synopses of the 4 I read this month.

Divided in Death

There are plenty enough reviews out there that give the plot summary. So I'll just talk about my reactions. This was a very uncomfortable book, in that Roarke and Eve are again fighting over that which together makes them strong - most especially Roarke's immense love for Eve and his desire to make everything in her world perfect. Which he already does by simply existing, but when he gets a glimpse into her past and learns something rather horrifying (but frankly, not that surprising if we're talking about governments), he is determined to make it right for Eve. Which would involve illegal activity on his part, including murder. He sees no problem with it, but Eve's innate sense of justice won't allow her to sanction it. They spend the entire book at odds, and it's very uncomfortable to read. But uncomfortable does not equal bad, and so I thought this was another excellent and believable entry in the series.


Visions In Death

Despite the drama in this one, the levity and love between Eve and Roarke and the little discoveries Eve makes about friendship make this a stellar entry to the series. Especially since Divided was so tense with no light relief from all that tension. Where this one truly shined was the character arcs and Robb knowing that after all the upheaval in the previous book, we needed to see a united and together Eve and Roarke.


Survivor In Death

I actually cried big fat tears in one scene.

No matter how much softer Eve has gotten, she sticks out like a sore thumb in her inability to be soft with Nixie. She shows her compassion in different ways, and we kmow, as does Nixie, that she is deeply touched and affected. I think Roarke was able to relate to her better simply because a) she's a living breathing female, and b) because he'd had some experience with Marlena and Jenny back in Ireland.

Loved that Eve and Summerset seemed to come to a mutual respect albeit grudgingly given on both sides.

Best LoL moment:

She slid a glance toward him as she uncoded the seal. "You really do want sex."

"I'm still breathing, so that would be yes."

Origin In Death

Possible tiny spoiler at the end of 1st paragraph...

I think what I liked so much about this one was twofold. First, as always, Robb's social commentary is superb. She takes issues that are on the burner today and pumps them up for 50 years in the future. And sometimes the look we get is excellent (gun control, birth control, same-sex marriage and interracial relationships a non-issue) and sometimes it's downright scary, as in this book where the focus is on genetics and cloning.

I also liked the first real peek I recall at the actuality of the Urban Wars, and once again, I felt like this was somewhere I could see our world heading.

Lastly, I liked that this book seemed to settle Eve and Roarke once again, following the upheaval in Divided in Death and the almost wackiness I felt in Visions In Death. Although, they continue to get themselves into situations that stretch their comfort level (family for Thanksgiving), but it shows how they ground each other and how their relationships make them much more willing and able to interact with others on a real basis (though they are still uncomfortable as hell with the idea of family and Eve is still uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a holiday table with anyone!).