End of Series Review: The House of Steele

 

The House of Steele

by Addison Fox
Book #3:  The Rome Affair | Goodreads | Rating: 2.5 Stars
Book #4:  The Manhattan Encounter | Goodreads | Rating: 3.0 Stars

See Also: June 2017 Packaged Thoughts // includes short reviews for:

• Book #1: The Paris Assignment | Goodreads | Rating: 3.0 Stars
• Book #2: The London Deception | Goodreads | Rating: 4.0 Stars

Overall Series Average Rating: 3.125 Stars  >>>  3.0 Stars

The House of Steele series is enjoyable.  I'd say that it's a great set of books to pass the time... though that might pretty much be it.  The writing style is smooth and progressive, the outlining of the stories are fast-paced, and characters are interesting up to a point.

And, in some strange fashion, the siblings and their significant others all seem to make better side characters than they did main characters.  Is that strange?  For instance, I find that I liked Campbell and his weird quirks a lot more in the last book, The Manhattan Encounter, as the computer geek younger brother, rather than when he was the main character of his own book, The Paris Assignment--wherein he was the broody computer geek with a hot bod.  Maybe seeing the characters from a different perspective...?

Anyway, as with the first two books, I decided to package away the last two books into a duo review... if only because I really don't have much to say other than some random rumblings.

But, once again, The House of Steele series is an enjoyable one.

Two security experts must work too closely for comfort in Addison Fox's The Rome Affair.

Jack Andrews has once again snatched a covetable job from the House of Steele.  But now that the assignment has gotten complicated, he must call upon the last person he wants to ask for help: Kensington Steele.  Jack never flinches at danger, but working side by side with his fascinating, sexy competitor might be more than he can handle.

When the assignment brings them to the Italian vineyard of a corrupt diplomat, Kensington vows to keep things professional, even if working as a team fans the flames of their mutual desire.  But once a murderer begins stalking them, they realize getting close may be the only way they'll survive….

Entertaining, but not really all that memorable, The Rome Affair actually had some potential to be loved by yours truly.  After all, our main couple finds themselves in an undercover assignment together, and at times need to pretend to be enamored with each other.  Of course, with the insta-lust, this isn't a problem for them--typical of any and all contemporary romances, doncha know.

Anyway, I've stated it before, there are a lot of things that rankle me in romances, and one of the top things is when our main male character declares, in all his arrogance, that he and his leading lady will end up having sex at some point, no matter how many times the main female character denies that this will happen, and gives him all sorts of back off signals.

Exhibit A:

"This is a ridiculous conversation.  Only I choose whom I share my bed with."  Her words were flat but the clear notes of irritation sparked underneath each syllable.

"Then you know damn well the next man you share it with is going to be me."

It dearly rankles me, because, despite Kensington's contrary tone at times, she puts it this way:

The statement that she'd share his bed as if it were a fait accompli.  Or worse, as if she had no choice in the matter.

Which is what's significant to me.  The men in these romances announce their intentions, and leave no room for discussion or argument.  Um... maybe actually make sure the woman is willing first?

I get that this is supposed to be some sort of weird, attractive, bad boy slash caveman thing that a lot of woman love--the thing about decisive and assertive men and all--but I, personally, would actually be quite put off by a man who thinks he's already got a sure thing by just saying so.  Which is why this is one of my top most disliked types of romances.  It may not be a physical forcing of sex onto another individual, but it certainly reeks of disrespecting the others' wishes.

Which is why, despite the book being fast-paced and enjoyable to an extent, The Rome Affair didn't do it for me.  And also, unfortunately, as I already stated, the book isn't really all that memorable, and maybe even a little over-dramatic with it's ending.

Booklikes-opoly

I read this book for Booklikes-opoly in Summer 2017.

Roll #15: (See Also: Memorial Day Weekend Extra Roll Activities)
Book title begins with a letter found in the word 'Frontier.'

Page Count:  284
Cash Award: +$3.00

Bank increased to $70.00 with this read.

Will the mighty Steele fall?

He'd faced down madmen with guns, hunted thieves and jumped off buildings for fun.  So why is Liam Steele at his wit's end when Dr. Isabella Magnini needs his protection?  The brilliant and beautiful scientist's work is revolutionary, and someone wants to keep her insights secret—no matter what it costs.

When the House of Steele comes together to protect Isabella, Liam realizes just how isolated he's truly become.  And as he and Isabella dodge bullets, fires and even an invasion, he knows he's in more danger than ever.  Because how will he ever let her go?

In all honesty, I'm going to have to admit that there really wasn't anything all that memorable about The Manhattan Encounter.  Enjoyable and exciting as it was, I'm finding it hard to recall anything I liked about this book, outside of the short, peaceful interlude of the entire House of Steele siblings and their significant others having a good ol' time just harping at each other during dinners and lunches.

But otherwise, the book itself was actually kind of lackluster, in spite of all the sci-fi-lite scientific work that Dr. Isabella Magnini presents to us, and in spite of all the deaths and explosions.  Yes.  There were deaths, explosions, bullets flying, and a fire... and still, not that exciting.  Maybe because the book was trying way too hard to give off a feeling of urgency or danger to our MC doctor.

The romance was serviceable, in terms of a romantic suspense love story.  Liam is a grade A jackass at the beginning, but he readjusts his attitude when he realizes that he's being unfair to Isabella.  And Isabella is pretty much that almost absentminded professor type of science person, but still encompasses the characteristic traits of a typical romance novel heroine.

At the very least, she's a facts-based person, and will admit to her own short-failings, but will also stand up against any undeserved criticism from the people around her.  I would have liked to explore more about her life and her back story, honestly, since it was peppered with so much tragedy.

The ending ties up the book nicely, and I DO like, as stated above, how this last book brings all the Steele siblings into the picture, with their significant others, to work a case that was obviously meant to be a BIG DRAMATIC final book in the House of Steele series.  Of course, while events felt big and dramatic, I'm not sure I picked up that vibe, really.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed myself.  I breezed through the book.  I've finished the series.

And I'm still going to continue reading books by Addison Fox.

Booklikes-opoly

I read this book for Booklikes-opoly in Summer 2017.

Roll #21:
This book is set in a city (two cities, even) with a subway, and has one scene of travel by air.

Page Count:  283
Cash Award:  +$6.00

Bank increased to $115 with this read.

Packaged Thoughts June 2017: All the Books I Will Not Review Individually

There will always be those books that I absolutely would love to express an opinion on, but for one reason or another, it never actually happens.  In which case, I introduce my new feature, the "Packaged Thoughts" bundle reviews, wherein I will talk about a few random books I wanted to talk about, but just didn't really know what to say in an actual review.  (Although chances are, I'll ramble enough material for a full blown review anyway once I get to typing.  So bear with me.)

There will be two of these posts each year, one posted on June 1 to celebrate my birthday, and one posted on December 25 to celebrate Christmas.  My gift to myself and the reading community!

Thank you all for reading!

The Search
by Nora Roberts
Rating:  3.5 Stars

Truth be told, I really, really enjoyed this book a lot.  It had a lot of elements I absolutely enjoyed: the Search and Rescue aspect, the huddle of doggies in every chapter and every page, the slow burn of a sweet little relationship between our couple, the non-standard type of character that our heroine, Fiona, was presented as...

There were so many reasons to love this book.

Simply put, I feel that the only reason I gave The Search a rather mediocre rating is probably because of the disconnect I felt with the main story line.  There was an almost distinct division between the contemporary portions of the book and the suspense portions of the book, and rather than melding together smoothly, the contemporary portions sometimes made you forget that there's a killer lurking in the background.

Also, there were times that Simon came off as kind of a jerk, but then he'd turn around and be a nice guy, so I wasn't sure what to make of him.

I read this book for Romance Bingo 2017, using it for the Free Space (Love).

Tempted Into Danger (ICE: Black Ops Defenders, #1)
by Melissa Cutler
Rating:  4.0 Stars 

Tempted Into Danger was fast-paced and pretty exciting!  I especially liked the first half involving a brief survivalist side plot as Vanessa and Diego trudge through the jungles of Panama to escape danger.  The rest of the book's criminal conspiracy plot ended up feeling a bit tedious, but was a quick read through nonetheless.  I also loved that Vanessa was the nerdy, brainy type with a love for formulas and computers and stuff.

I listened to the audio book version of Tempted into Danger, narrated by Holly Fielding--while it wasn't terrible, it also wasn't my best experience with an audio book narrator, so I will probably just read the print versions for the rest of the trilogy.

I read this for Romance Bingo 2017 for the Interracial Couple square.  Diego is stated to be Puerto Rican; Vanessa is American.

Schoolgirl
by DAZAI Osamu
Rating:  3.0 Stars


The last time I read a human drama genre type story, I didn't know how to review it.  And the truth is, the reason I don't read these types of books is because I don't know how to review them.  As someone who's life experiences have always been pretty boring, I can't say that I can relate to a lot of the things that writers share, depicted in their literary works that make them so memorable.  And I'm probably the last person in the world who is eligible to realize how insightful one's artistic creations are--which is why I simply read what I like, or read what I find interesting.

Truth be told, the writing in Schoolgirl is beautifully done, with a touch of whimsy.  I read some of the other reviews, and some have stated that Schoolgirl is actually a depiction of Dazai-sensei's own thoughts and feelings, his doubts, his sadness, his own stream of conscience, that described his mindset while growing up.

Schoolgirl is surprising to me, to be honest.  Having read another work by Dazai-sensei, No Longer Human, I actually wasn't sure how to feel about it aside from bored and confused.  But Schoolgirl is hard for me to determine as some parts of it are inspirational, while some are a little hard to keep your attention on.  The content is actually a lot more mature than I had expected of a young girl, except that it is written in an almost juvenile voice, with the dramatics of a teenager.

I'm not even sure how old this Schoolgirl is supposed to be.

Booklikes-opoly

I read this book for Booklikes-opoly this 2017 Summer.

Roll #4:  (See Also:  Fourth Roll Activities)
This book takes place in Japan.

Page Count: 50
Cash Award: +$1.00

Bank Increased to $27.00 with this read.

The Paris Assignment (The House of Steele, #1)

by Addison Fox

Rating:  3.0 Stars

As enjoyable as The Paris Assignment was, this book is simply a romance novel with a suspense plot included, where a beautiful man and a beautiful woman, with some unique characteristics of the author's choosing (geeky computer skills in this one), are thrown together under circumstances, then fall in lust almost immediately, quickly followed up by deeper feelings. Meanwhile, stuff happens in the background.

It's a great, short, fluff piece to devour; and because Addison Fox presents it as such an enjoyable, well-written read, I don't find too much to complain about it.  There were the obligatory romance inclusions: insta-lust, the "you're the only one for me" speech, intimacy at the most inconvenient moments, the obligatory "greatest night of my life" sex scene and morning-after, obligatory angst... and then some.  Maybe some rapid-fire scenes that didn't really make much sense occurs.

Overall a great read.

Booklikes-opoly

I read The Paris Assignment for Boolikes-opoly this 2017 Summer.

Roll #2: (See Also: Second Roll Book: Decision Made)
This book involves overseas travel from New York to Paris.

Page Count:  284
Cash Award:  +$3.00

Bank was increased to $26.00 with this read.

The London Deception (House of Steele, #2)

by Addison Fox

Rating:  4.0 Stars

The London Deception was not too different from my experience reading The Paris Assignment, but I'll admit that I did enjoy it immensely more.  I'm thinking it might have to do more with the characters--I found Finn and Rowan a lot more enjoyable, and their chemistry a lot more palpable than I had found from Campbell and Abby.

Secondly, I have a thing for archaeology, and all the talk about Egypt and going on a dig, and amazing, scholarly historical findings perked my interest more than just another romantic suspense plot hidden in a romance.  I also liked the way the relationship between Rowan and Finn was handled, even if there were a lot of things that came as a frustration to me at certain points.  Nonetheless, from their first meeting as misguided youths, to their subsequent reunion, and then how their relationship grew deeper with each new secret revealed, I thought it was all a nice touch.

A great read, even if I don't really have much else to say about it.

Booklikes-opoly

I read The London Deception for Booklikes-opoly this 2017 Summer.

Roll #11:
This book was published in 2013.

Page Count:  282
Cash Award:  +$3.00

Bank was increased to $56.00 with this read.

Carnal Innocence

by Nora Roberts

Rating:  3.5 Stars

I suppose every author has hits and misses.  I'm not entirely sure what this one was.  On one hand, it was written very well, with all the charm and attractiveness of a southern gentleman.  On the other hand, the book was slow going, like a lazy, hot, summer afternoon... except not as peaceful.

A lot goes on in Carnal Innocence, and if not for the fact that everyone in the book kept talking about the serial murder, you might have forgotten that there was an investigation going on at all.  There were also so many domestic situations, and so many random, banal, day-to-day anecdotes that were exactly like all of this book's small town people's way of having a conversation--by always taking the scenic route before getting to the point.

Truth be told, I found it hard to determine how I really felt about this book, because I like my crime thrillers suspenseful, straight-forward, and exciting.  By all rights, something this slow, and so full of side tangents, and detailing everything from family history to yesterday's gossip wouldn't have held very well for me as a crime thriller.

But somehow, I actually DID find myself enjoying it.  Even if I didn't really care for the characters all that much, though I WILL admit that Caroline is likable, as the sensible and strong type of heroine, though in a subtle way.  Tucker's old-fashioned manly behaviors tended to get on my last nerves, especially when he got overly pushy about butting into Caroline's life.

Truth be told, I always cringe whenever the main male character says things to the effect of, "It's not if we'll end up in bed together, it's when."  Or, "You know we'll end up having sex.  Count on it."  Such arrogance!  And even after the heroine states, on several occasions that it'll never happen, she has no intentions of sleeping with said arrogant prick.  And, honestly, in this day and age, in the real world, also could be considered sexual harassment...

And then the romance felt so lukewarm, though, I wasn't even sure it was really there.

At least there was Useless, the little adorable puppy that Caroline managed to get attached to.  Puppies DO make lots of things better!

Booklikes-opoly

I read this book for Booklikes-opoly this 2017 Summer.

Roll #13:
The authors name fits criteria; initials found in the name 'Tarzan.'

Page Count:  402
Cash Award:  +$5.00

Bank was increased to $61.00 with this read.

Thoughts: Baby It's Cold Outside

Baby It's Cold Outside

by Addison Fox
Book 1 of Alaskan Nights

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  4.0 Stars


Baby It’s Cold Outside is another one of those light-hearted and fun clichéd romances all packaged up into something delightfully sweet, cute, and fun.  While the love story itself wasn’t the most unique story-line in the world (perky, misunderstood girl with a heart of gold meets broody, commitment-phobic male with misguided notions of his life), the presentation of the story itself was fabulously entertaining.

It’s not Lucky Harbor-like nonsensical humor, but it’s got the same elements of friendship-bonding, family love, warm character interactions, and a bevy of character development that make it hard NOT to fall in love with the all the people in the entire small town of Indigo, Alaska.

Small town romances, I’ve noticed often hit your sentimentality where it’s most effective--at least it does for me.


The Story:
Sloan McKinley is the oft talked about thirty-three year old daughter of Winifred McKinley--she runs in social circles, was raised in the high society fashion, and thinks twice about her appearance and image before she goes into the public.  But after a terrible bout of match-making gone wrong thanks to her mother, who is desperate to have her daughter married off, Sloan receives an S.O.S. from her best friend, Grier Thompson.  Grier is in Indigo, Alaska sorting out the legalities of an estate inheritance from a father she never knew, and in the midst of it all, there’s a sullen half-sister who isn’t making things easy for her.

In a moment of desire to escape her high society New York life for a short time, Sloan agrees to fly up to Indigo to support her best friend, and maybe find some room to breathe away from her mother.  What Sloan didn’t expect to do, however, was slowly develop an attachment to the small town of Indigo and all of its occupants.  Least of all, she hadn’t expected to find instant attraction and a growing sense of love for the town’s lawyer, Walker Montgomery.

Also, there’s something of a small town bachelorette competition in an attempt to marry off all of Indigo’s bachelors.  Or something like that.


My Thoughts:
Baby It’s Cold Outside was fun.  It was fun, and it was cute, and it was sweet, and I found myself reading through the entire thing quite quickly, if only because I found it very enjoyable.  And fun.  I compare it to a Jill Shalvis work if only because I had just finished reading the first three books of Lucky Harbor in 2015--another small town romance type of story following three half-sisters and their love interests, and a whole town full of people you can’t help but fall in love with despite and in spite of all their weird antics.

To be totally honest, it’s hard NOT to see parallels in every Contemporary Romance set in a small town with a staple set of quirky characters.  So I mean no offense by making comparisons, but they just happen to pop up in my mind.

In this case, Indigo is a small town of eight hundred and twelve (something repeated quite often), with its own unique residents with their own unique personalities that are quite attention-grabbing all on their own.

The moment Sloan arrives into town, she meets and quickly befriends Avery Marks, a girl working at the hotel she is staying at who doesn’t hesitate to whip out the finest wine for a girls’ night bonding fest.  I love how easily and readily Sloan and Grier become attached to Avery, placing her as the third in this fast-developing best friendship.

Casting aside her former persona from New York, Sloan quickly jumps into the fray of Indigo’s population, making friends left and right without reserves, not caring that her mother would have disapproved of a lot of the things she does and intends to do… such as compete in the little bachelorette competition (which includes skeet shooting and Iditarod racing).

And like any other romance novel ever written, it doesn’t take long for Sloan and Walker to find each other and start up a courting dance of sorts, building that sexual tension until it erupts into a big steamy, explosion of great sex and multiple orgasms (am I all allowed to use this word in a public forum?).

Meanwhile, we also get to see some side stories of other couples including: Grier and Mick (their complicated relationship will be fleshed out in the next book), Avery and Roman (their even more complicated history will be hashed out in the third book), and Jack and Jess who get a subtle side story and their own quiet Happily Ever After™. Other couples are also hinted at throughout the book, but they aren’t the main focus, which DOES help make the cheese factor of the book a little easier to handle--not that there was a lot of cheese, but the story COULD have gone in that direction, what with Couple Curtain Calls and that sort of thing.


Final Thoughts:
Baby It’s Cold Outside is one of those books I’d read for the pure pleasure of seeing human interaction and heart-warming romance.  While Sloan does a lot of developing throughout the book, it doesn’t escape my attention that there wasn’t much for Sloan to develop from in the first place.  She’s a great person with very insignificant flaws of city girl expectations upon arrival in Indigo.  But her flaws are very quickly set aside as she shows her ability to step back and rethink her expectations and pre-judgments, or think through a situation before putting her foot in her mouth.

You can’t help NOT liking her because she’s so perfect, but at the same time not entirely a Mary Sue.

I’m slightly disappointed, however, that her relationship conflicts with her mother weren’t really expanded upon.  Then again, with Walker and HIS broody Daddy Issues™, I suppose there was no need for more delving into others’ parental conflicts.

Anyway...

On the other hand, I’m interested in the complicated history behind Avery and Roman--a little bit of a "First Love Gone Bad During Their Youth" type of story that will take place in the third Alaskan Nights book.  And just as well, I’m kind of interested to see where Grier’s life takes her as well--if it’s one character who has a bit of growing to do, seems like it would be her.

Again, this is a very well-written, heart-warming romance that is both enjoyable and fun. And I couldn’t help but feel the coldness of Indigo’s climate as I read the entire book during our own winter season in the States.  This would have made a pretty good holiday time read, honestly, and I’m glad I could make some time for it.

***

2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• Bookish Resolutions Challenge -- New to Me Author #2

---

This review was originally posted at Ani's Book Abyss / BookLikes in January 2016.

---

BL-opoly | Second Roll Book: Decision Made!

My second roll for Booklikes-opoly netted the above task square, of which I had some trouble figuring out which book I wanted to read.

But I've decided that we are going to Paris!

It actually sounds a bit more fabulous than it probably is, since we're not REALLY going to Paris.  And also, this book was kind of chosen because I had to rule out other books for one reason or another.  NOT that I'm not interested in The Paris Assignment; I wouldn't have bought it otherwise.  But my other two "first" picks ended up sort of disqualifying for overseas travel for reasons.

Anyway, I always have a bunch of books that I try to find opportunities to start reading, and The Paris Assignment is one of those books.  And what better timing!  Addison Fox is an author I've read before and have enjoyed, so I hope that I will enjoy this book and series as well.

As it is, I'm probably not going to finish this book in time for the next odd day to roll again, so my next dice roll will more than likely take place on Friday, the 21st.

Cheers!