Sunday, March 31, 2013

In Death Series Reading Challenge: March 2013

Interested in joining the Challenge? Anyone is welcome to join in at any time of the year at wherever in the series you currently are. See the sign up post HERE and join the fun!

First I have to ask.. did anyone notice that I didn't post an In Death post in February? It was the first month since starting this challenge in January 2010 that I didn't post a monthly discussion post. I remembered late in February.. but since I still hadn't read a book, so I kind of didn't feel like posting. I'm back this month, however, because guess what?!? Yep! I finally read an In Death book this month. Phew! So glad I got over that hiatus. I hope to stay on track from here on out. I really want to finish this challenge once and for all in 2013.

Did you read any In Death series books this month?

CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS: Link up any In Death posts you made this month here. If you made a post on your blog, whether it be a review or commentary, please grab the link to your post and link it up with Mr.Linky below so we can find each other's latest In Death posts easily. You can also just use the link to your goodreads or other virtual bookshelf as well.

BOOK REVIEW:


Promises In Death by J.D. Robb
Book #28

Promises was a really great installment to this series. I liked the crime story and police procedural in this one .. the crime of which hits close to home for Eve's team. The victim is a fellow cop who also happens to be the lover of chief medical examiner, Li Morris. It turns out the victim has a roundabout connection to Eve & Roarke's past so that makes things pretty interesting as the story unveils. I liked the little twists and turns that popped up in the investigation but even more so, I adored the personal story going on in this one, namely the bridal shower the women are hosting for their friend Louise. Hilariously fun and endearing. Of course, it was also lovely seeing Eve comfort Morris in his time of grief. In fact, I got choked up and shed a tear or two not once, not twice but thrice! Okay so to those of you know me may think doesn't mean much because I'm often brought to tears reading a book, but three times is still a lot even for me.      GRADE: B+

SERIES DISCUSSION:
Eve and Roarke have both made a lot of progress expanding their circle of friends in the two years they've been married and things are coming a little more naturally to them regarding these relationships. I think Eve in particular, has finally come to consider some of her closest friends the closest thing to family she's ever had. I loved this realization for Eve. It reminds me of the sentiment about the best families being the ones you pick yourself. For those with broken families, I believe this is the absolute truth. Can you relate to this new sense of family that Eve and Roarke are experiencing? In other words, do you have a friend or friends who are like family to you?

Don't forget to link up any of your In Death posts below!



10 comments:

  1. I just read the latest one, Calculated In Death, last week. I still love this series. And I thought this last one was very good. You're getting, there, Christine! One of these days you'll be all caught up :)

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  2. So glad you're still enjoying the series so much, Phyl. I'm looking forward to the day when I'm waiting for the newest release to hit the bookshelves. I will get there!

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  3. I did! I read New York to Dallas. Yay me! It was good. I'm glad I took a break from the series. Now I'm looking forward to jumping back in :-)

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  4. Well, dang it all. I thought my review of Witness in Death happened in March, but I see now that it was posted in (the missing) February. grrr

    I re-read Survivor again, though (by far my favorite, though there are a couple more up there)

    I enjoy the family aspect of the books a lot, it's one of the major reasons I still enjoy them even when other aspects (such as repeating plot points or shaky continuity re: technology (see Fantasy in Death)) bug me. We can see that extended family and the tangle of friendships, and occasionally how baffled Eve is by them. And yet, more and more, how her first impulse is to protect those she loves.

    And who can not love Morris? I know I did cry more than a few times while reading Promises (and still do on re-reads). Ms Roberts/JD Robb can convey emotional devastation incredibly well, doesn't she?

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  5. *blink* what happened to my comment? Is blogger eating it because I linked to my February In Death review?

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  6. I remember that being an especially tender book in this series. I read New York to Dallas recently and really enjoyed it.

    Joy's Book Blog

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  7. Promises in Death was a good one indeed! Glad you enjoyed it :) And it was nice, because it hit really close to home.

    Hmmm, as for your discussion question. Not really, at least, not now. I'm very close to my friends, but at most, they are best friends, not like family. I think part of it is because my extended family and my nuclear family are not close. So it's hard to tell.

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  8. Lori ... YAY!! So glad to hear you read an In Death book! I hope this gets you on track to catch up to Nora. ;)

    azteclady ... I found your comment in my spam box. Shame on blogger!
    I'd like to link up your February book review here if you don't mind, since I skipped a post last month. I think Survivor is my favorite book so far and Naked has a special place, of course. Someday I'll be in the mode to re-read some of the earlier books. YES! Ms. Roberts/Robb does excellent work writing emotional devastation in a very natural and relatable way.

    Joy .. Tender is a great descriptor of Promises! So you're almost caught up in this series! Thumbs up. ;)

    nath ... I think the books in which the crime crosses into the personal aspects of this series are the best ones.
    Interesting conjecture about the 'friends like family' feeling or lack thereof.

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  9. Thanks for the link, Christine--I wasn't sure it was appropriate (wrong month and all).

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  10. No problem, azteclady. It's totally appropriate. I'm extremely lax about all this stuff. :)

    By the way, how is it that I had NO IDEA about your wordpress blog?! I thought you blogged only with Karen. I haven't had time to snoop around, but I will!

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