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Romance Review – Ruthless Game

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

We are posting new book reviews each week.  Mondays will be Mystery books.  Wednesdays will be Romance and Fridays will be Fantasy. 

Ruthless Game by Christine Feehan

Ghostwalker series – Book 9

Review written by Cindy F. (frazerc)

Another great entry in Feehan’s action paranormal series about the Ghostwalkers. This one centers on Kane, a member of Ghostwalker Team 3 [urban combat specialists based in San Francisco] whose story started in the last book, Street Game.

I really like the concept behind Team 3 – they are a self-made family who found each other as kids on the streets who had some psychic powers. Whitney [the brilliant but evil mastermind behind the GhostWalkers] enhanced them even further but they are still family.

Rose has never known a family. She was bought from an orphanage by Whitney, enhanced, raised as a soldier at the same time he was destroying her self esteem, and thrown into a ‘breeding program’ against her will – which is where she met Kane, the soldier selected to ‘breed’ her. [This occurs in book 5, Deadly Game.] Kane ‘outs’ the breeding program and helps her [and others] escape.

Switch to book 9, eight months later. Team 3 has been sent in to perform a hostage rescue based on information provided by an unknown informant. Kane is ordered to check out the informant – who turns out to be Rose. He has been desperately seeking Rose since they parted, sure she was pregnant with his baby. He wants the baby and even more, he wants her. He wants the chance to court her, to have her CHOOSE him, for them to be together, for them to be part of his family…

There’s a lot of sizzle in the book but not much sex – Rose is either VERY pregnant, delivering, or recovering from the birth of the baby [followed by him recovering from very serious wounds] through much of the book. But they spend a lot of time thinking and talking about it…

There’s a lot of action. First in the hostage rescue where they are cut off and have to escape on their own, and then as the two of them are escaping two sets of bad guys [Whitney’s troops and drug cartel members] – new born baby in tow. Plus an attempted snatch and an attempted hit in San Francisco which help Rose understand what it means to be part of a team, even more, what it means to be part of a family…

It has a great ‘happily ever after’ and some great ‘tease’ information for future books: Hot chemistry between Javier and Rhiannon, super babies…

Could it be read as a stand-alone? Yes. Do I recommend it? No, you’ll miss a lot of the ‘family’ nuances and characters. The books directly involved in this storyline are 5, 8 and 9… But I recommend reading them all in order. Yes, really.

GhostWalkers

1. Shadow Game

2. Mind Game

3. Night Game

4. Conspiracy Game

5. Deadly Game

6. Predatory Game

7. Murder Game

8. Street Game

9. Ruthless Game

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Mystery Monday is here!

Monday, February 21st, 2011

Each Monday, we will post a new review of a Mystery book.  If you love to read a good “whodunit”, don’t forget to check back here each Monday. 

The Dain Curse by Dashiell Hammett

The Dain Curse

Written by Matt B.  (BuffaloSavage)

The Dain Curse stars The Nameless Detective who investigates for the Continental Op PI agency.  Set in San Francisco in the late 1920s, The Dain Curse starts in a standard way but gets wacky fast. The Nameless Detective investigates a diamond theft from the house of scientist Edgar Leggett. Ho-hum. But out of the blue Legget ends up dead. Revealed are family secrets, which make the miserable California families of Ross Macdonald seem like “Leave it to Beaver.”

 Hammett presents the rest of the novel in three distinct episodes. Reading the installments reminds us that they first appeared in the pulp magazine Black Mask over four issues prior to the publication of the novel. The serial origin works against the story hanging together in one piece. The action seems disjointed and occurs in too many different places. New characters keep popping up. The dialogue is more talky than curt and clipped as noir should be.

Although Hammett himself thought the melodramatic action was too much and thought the novel weak, for my money, the main attraction is its sheer over the top-ness. Even after the depraved family secrets of the first chapter, the action gets wilder and crazier. Hammett’s peculiar San Francisco brings to mind bizarre high jinks in Chester Himes’ Harlem.

Two more redeeming points. In a passage we don’t expect in mystery, Hammett briefly uses the stream of consciousness technique.  He uses the noir theme of the tension between perception and reality (pretty is as wicked does) and the difficulty of getting a bead on reality due to limitations of our knowledge, feeling, and intuition. He explored those themes more effectively in his next novel, The Maltese Falcon.

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Dear Librarian: Refund Credit, Book Reviews, No images,

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Dear Librarian-  I sent a book I shouldn’t have sent, I admit it. It had writing in it and I didn’t really pay attention to that when I posted it.  So the other member complained and I realized I hadn’t checked the book for writing before posting it!  I’ll be more careful next time and I won’t ever post another book that doesn’t meet the club criteria again.  I refunded her credit using the Give Refund button on the problem swap in my transaction archive, but she says I didn’t refund!  How can I prove that I did?  – Repentant in Rehoboth

Dear Hobey,

We’re glad to hear that you have learned the error of your ways. 🙂  You can tell this member that she can look in her Credit Registry (by clicking credits at the top of any page on the site) to see the credit you gave her.  And if you have to refund (or if someone refunds to you) in the future, this will be easier – an email will be sent when the Give Refund button is used, to tell the member that the refund was given.

For anyone reading who doesn’t know where the Give Refund button is – it is on the Request Details page on every completed outgoing transaction in your Transaction Archive.   Go to My Account > Transaction Archive  and click Request Details on any book you sent that was received (whether or not it was marked received with a problem).  You will see the Give Refund button at the top of the Request Details page.

Dear Librarian – I ran across a Book Review that was great.  The reviewer said EXACTLY what i think about the book.   Now I want to know what that reviewer thinks about other books.  But there’s no link on the review to show me that member’s other reviews.  Why not?  – Disappointed in Denver

Dear Denny,

If the link is not there it means that either (1) this member has not reviewed any other books or (2) the member has the option for “show other members my list of reviews” set to Private or Buddies Only in his or her privacy controls.

We know this is disappointing!  You should check his or her profile, if that is public, to see what books are on the Bookshelf and Wish List there, and check out your similarity index to this member.  You can invite him or her to be a Buddy, since you liked that review so much.  If she or he allows Buddies to see his or her review list, then you will have the “inside scoop”!

Dear Librarian – Something is seriously wrong with PBS when I try to get on from my work computer.  There aren’t any images and it’s just a bunch of text on white background.   It works fine from my computer at home.  What’s up and how do I fix it? – Officeworker in Orlando

Dear Lando,

Your office’s computer system must be set to block unfamiliar domains.  We have images stored in a number of places, and your work system must be refusing to let those domains be accessed to show you the site properly.  If it is OK for you to access PaperBackSwap from work, you should ask your IT person to unblock the following domains:

www.paperbackswap.com
secure.paperbackswap.com
a.pbsstatic.com
b.pbsstatic.com
ca.pbsstatic.com
cb.pbsstatic.com
cc.pbsstatic.com
yui.yahooapis.com
cd.pbsstatic.com

These are the domains that host the site’s images, among other things.  It is safe to allow access to these domains.

We add new subdomains when necessary to balance the workload across our servers, so this list can change over time, which is why accessing PBS from a very strict location such as a workplace or a school may pose difficulties intermittently.

We hope your boss is OK with letting you use the site during work hours, but if not, PaperBackSwap is always there for you when you get home!

COMING SOON:

  • Audio Author Interviews
  • More ways to find you your next favorite book!
  • Here are some more “new” themed books to browse…

New Moon Moon Bk 7All New PeopleI'm Not the New MeNew Day RisingA New LuNew GirlsBraveNew CardiffA New DayA New LeafThe New WomanAnnie's New Life

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Posted in Book Recommendations, Dear Librarian, Press & Media | No Comments »

News: PBS Gift Certificates, Daily Digest, Reviews

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

One for me, and one for you… If you gave  PBS Gift Certificates this holiday, don’t forget to tell the lucky recipients to enter your PBS Nickname (or the email address you use for your PBS account) when registering, so that you get your referral credit!  Referred accounts must be the first for the household to be eligible for referral credit, of course, and referral credit is granted when the new member has completed registration, including posting the first 10 books.

Are you in the loop? If you don’t get the Daily Digest, you may be missing out on books you would love to read!   The Daily Digest is a daily email that shows you the books posted during the previous day, in the genres you have selected.   We’ve upgraded the feature so that now, only currently-available books are shown to you by default (no more disappointment seeing books other people have already ordered by the time you get the email), and the new, easy-on-the-eyes format includes book descriptions. It’s a great way to start each day – browsing for books with your morning coffee.  Read more about the Daily Digest and subscribe today!

Be a person of influence. Every reader knows the thrill of reading a wonderful book, and wanting to share that feeling with other readers.  It’s easy to spread the news with the club by writing Book Reviews.  Take a few minutes and review a few books every day – review the books on your Bookshelf or Books I’ve Read list, or books you’ve read that you see while browsing your Daily Digest or Books Posted Today page.  Members tell us all the time how much book reviews help them decide whether or not to request a book.  And now, a list of your reviews is linked from any review you have written. So if you read a review you agree with, you should check out that member’s other reviews by clicking the “see all reviews by this member” link…it’s a terrific way to find your next great read!

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Posted in New Features & Improvements, Newsletter | No Comments »

Features: Newsletter – August 2008

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

Separated at Birth? New feature. You can now see how similar you are to your Buddies, with the new Similarity Index!  When you go to your Buddy List you will see a notation beside every Buddy that says Similarity: xx%.   Your similarity is based largely on whether or not you and that Buddy like the same books, and the Index accuracy will depend on whether or not you and your Buddies have star-rated your books and selected your favorite genres on your Member Homepage.  If you want to boost the accuracy of your Similarity Index, apply star ratings to books.  If your Buddies also do this, you will see your similarity indices adjust.  We have a lot of fun new features in mind, based on this index…and every book you rate gets us closer to being able to tackle those projects!  Read more about the Similarity Index here.

Renewed Review page. Upgraded feature. The Review page interface has been spiffed up, so when you choose to review a book you can Tag it at the same time, and you will now be able to apply a star rating right from the Review page (in fact that will be required)!  Recent reviews will be spotlighted on the Member Homepage now.

Push a Book.  New feature. You can now suggest a book to a Buddy that she or he might like to read. The Suggest option is available from the dropdown menu under More Options on the Book Details page.   You can see all the books that have been suggested to you in a new My Lists item in the menu under My Account; you can order from there (this will order from the suggester, if the book is on the suggester’s bookshelf when you click the Order this Book button on the suggestion), and you can also click “Not Interested” to remove any item from the list.  Check it out!  Read more about the Suggest a Book feature here.

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What’s New? Newsletter – June 2007

Friday, June 8th, 2007

This month, it’s more like what’s NOT new. What’s NOT new is that membership and the library of available books continue to grow, and posting and sending books (and as always, reading, reading, reading!) continue apace at PBS. New features on the site introduced last month include:

FABIL (Find a Book I’ll Like), which offers book recommendations based on books you have rated as having enjoyed, books you have indicated interest in by putting them on your Wish List, and books your Buddies have liked. Book Recommendations was one of the most-requested new features on the PBS Survey in March; we are really happy with the way FABIL turned out! You can get to this feature under My Lists, in My Account. Be sure to rate the books you have read (using the 5-star rating scale), to help FABIL make recommendations to you!

Rating Member Reviews. Now there is a thumbs up/thumbs down choice on every Member Review (on the Book Details page, or in the list of Recent Member Reviews accessed under Search in the toolbar at the top of any page on the site). You can also see what other members have thought of YOUR reviews (how many have clicked thumbs-up after reading a review you wrote) by looking at your reviews linked from your PBS Profile. If anyone has rated your review, it will show in a legend on the review itself: “6 of 7 members found this review helpful” means that 6 people clicked thumbs-up, and one clicked thumbs-down on that review. You can review books from your Bookshelf (click Write Review to the right of any book), or by clicking the down-arrow button on the right of any Book Details page, and choosing “Write Review” from the options. As always, Reviews must NOT include any information about a particular copy of a book. We hear over and over again from members that reviews are often the deciding factor when they are considering requesting a book. Let your “voice” be heard!

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TIPS & TRICKS: Newsletter – March 2007

Friday, March 2nd, 2007

Words into Music, Music into Words. You can turn your CDs into books, and vice versa, all with a few clicks! If you have an account at both PBS and SwapaCD, you can easily transfer credits between the sites. Get your Wish List book using a credit from your SwapaCD account. Get that CD you want by sending out a book. It’s very easy to do from your SwapaCD account page. Just log into SwapaCD and click on Transfer Credits in the right menu. You can transfer credits in either direction (from SwapaCD to PBS, or from PBS to SwapaCD), whenever you like.

Reviews work! How many times have you read a Member Review of a book in the database on PBS, and were convinced by what you read to request the book? Member Reviews pique browsers’ interest. After all, the publisher’s description will always be glowing. Hearing what real readers think about the book can be much more powerful. So provide Book Reviews for the books on your bookshelf! If the PBS database happens to lack a book description for an ISBN, a review is even more crucial: your review may be the ONLY information PBS has about your book. You can read about how to post and edit reviews in the Help Center item “How do I post/edit my review of a book?” (This can be found under the “Posting Books” heading.) Remember, a Member Review must NOT contain descriptions of a particular copy’s condition. Member Reviews are your chance to give your impressions about a book’s content, and Reviews stay attached to the book listing in the database—they do not follow any particular copy of a book.

Automated Postal Centers. If your PO has one of these, they can be a real time-saver. Even if your package weighs over a pound, there is no need to wait in line. You can use the automated postal center to weigh your package (there is usually a table of Media Mail rates on the machine, but you might want to print out the one from the Help Center item “How much does it cost to mail a book?” under the heading Sending a Book” just in case and take it with you). Then you can choose “print stamps” and enter whatever denomination you want (say, $2.21 for your book weighing more than a pound that you plan to send with PBS Delivery Confirmation). You can pay with your debit or credit card, and you can print out any number of postage “stamps”. If your package fits in the bin next to the Automated Postal Center, you can drop it in. Because your postage has been paid for by credit/debit card, it can be tracked to you, and this satisifies the National Security precautions for packages over a pound. If your local PO has one of the automated centers, check it out! Some of them are located in PO lobbies, and are available 24 hours a day. We are not postal authorities, so we don’t know all the ins and outs about these machines—but we have used them and we love them! You can find out more about them at your local PO, at usps.com, or ask our resident USPS expert Steve (Coffee) in the Questions About USPS Discussion Forum on PBS.

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