Monday, April 13, 2009

Review: If You Dare by Kresley Cole

Title: If You Dare
Series: MacCarrick Brothers
Author: Kresley Cole
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: April 26, 2005
Publisher: Pocket
ISBN: 1416540946
ISBN-13: 9781416540946

CAN HE EXACT A REVENGE?

High in the Pyrenees, a band of mercenaries led by Courtland MacCarrick wages war for General Reynaldo Pascal. When Court turns on the evil general, Pascal orders him killed but Court narrowly escapes and exacts revenge by kidnapping Pascal's exquisite Castilian fiancee.

CAN SHE DENY HER PASSIONS?

Lady Annalia Tristan Llorente despises her towering, barbaric captor almost as much as she does Pascal. Her inexplicable attraction to the Highlander only fuels her fury. But nothing will stop her from returning to Pascal—for if she doesn't wed him, she signs her brother's death warrant, as well as her own.

CAN THERE BE LOVE BETWEEN THEM?

From the moment Court discovers that Anna's prim facade masks a fiery, brave lass, his heart's ensnared, and he dares to defy the curse that has shadowed his lif<—to walk with death or walk alone. But Pascal vows that he'll hunt the two, never stopping until he's destroyed them both.


My rating:

I hated the heroine in this one. Hated her! She was the worst heroine I've read about so far. Prejudiced, haughty, opinionated...The only saving grace was the obvious love she held for her brother, willing to do anything to save him, although that one safely landed her in the TSTL pile.

The entire book was a bit silly, if you ask me. The heroine kept ending up in one mess after another, and for a person so "educated" and of "so elevated rank", she didn't appear to have any brain cells at all.
The hero was your typical monosyllabic, acerbic, towering, glowering etc. brute, but unlike the rest of his hero-mates out there, he was a bit more on the Neanderthal side of the block, topped with complete lack of social capabilities and utter inability to act as a normal human being. When brutes such as him meet their intended they tend to soften and develop some communication skills, beside conking the woman with a club, but Court was as much of a brute after he met her than he was before.

The plot was all over the place, as well. After the initial perilous situation wore off, all the later attempts at rekindling the suspense provided more of a comic relief than anything else. For such skilled and ruthless assassins those Rechazados did a really lousy job if you ask me.
And then, there's the curse. Judging by the prologue I was sure I'd get a gripping historical paranormal romance, instead the blasted curse was only mentioned sporadically and when it was the only thing that explained some stupidity the hero did or said.

And I hoped the first book (actually a novella) was a fluke about me not being able to relate to the characters. I was completely detached from Court and Annalia as well, not to mention their romance...The author could've done a good service to her readers if she didn't make her such a idiotic virgin (I hate when that happens - a virgin, yes, but why ignorant as well?) and him such an overbearing ass.

The only thing that saved this book for me were the few, yet satisfying, humorous passages. They made me laugh - out loud - and that's always a good thing.



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