Review: I liked it slightly more than I remember liking the first one
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 3, 2014
*NOTE: I received a complimentary review copy of this story.*Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.Rating: 8/10PROS:- The characters are intelligent, but they’re also realistically weak and flawed. They seem plausible to me, not like caricatures.- The plot here is a logical continuation of the book before, but this felt nothing like a rehash to me.- Harvey makes me chuckle. Not only is he cute and flamboyant, but he also has a way with words. This is one of my favorite comments: “If a colony of wild artists went on a rampage at Goodwill, it would look just like this.”- Part of the story takes place in Hungary, which I know almost nothing about. Those parts seemed well-researched, and I found them fascinating.CONS:- There are some passages that are intentionally chock full of corny lines, one after another, and I found them mostly groan-worthy.- Every now and then, the writing has bits that could have been tightened. Here’s an example (paraphrased/edited because of foul language): “the furrows on his forehead grew deeper and deeper. ‘Son of a [ditch]. Let’s get him, Angel. I’m ready to go Mossad on this mother[ducker’s] [rear].’ Harvey was now righteously [p’d] off.” It’s obvious from the furrows on the forehead and the angry words that Harvey is angry; we don’t need to be told that he is.Overall comments: I read Spirit Sanguine a while ago--I’d guess it’s been at least a year--so my recall of it is hazy at best. But I purposely avoided refreshing my memory. Harper gives enough little clues here and there to remind readers what the overall situation is and how the characters all relate to one another, and I had a slightly better impression after this volume than I had after the last one, which I liked pretty well to begin with. I think this is a fun series.