I struggled with this until nearly the half-way mark, considering quitting a couple of times. I'm used to slow starts from Reynolds' solo books but this one wasn't so much slow as terribly disjointed, making it difficult to get involved with the story. Abrupt leaps in the passage of time with very little apparent connective tissue stopped it feeling much like a novel at all and had me wondering if a "story suite" (as Le Guin would call it) of shorts would have been a better idea. The second half works more like a traditional novel narrative and allowed me to connect more to characters and see what all the preceding vignettes were for, thus rescuing the book for me.

I haven't read any Baxter prior to this but I can see the influence of Reynolds all over it.

Very disjointed.

This is a sequel to a book I haven't read...by two authors who weren't involved in the original.

Sasha Ivanov was born to be wild. A vampire party girl, she stalks the L.A. clubs at night. Dancing. Drinking. Indulging her darkest appetites. Never sated, she’s always looking for more: more danger, more excitement, more blood. But when she enters a supernatural fight club—and is tethered to her mortal enemy—Sasha realizes she’s playing the most dangerous game of all…Ewan Brún was born to kill vampires. A powerful berserker and unbeaten champion, he doesn’t need a weapon to be deadly. He is the weapon. But when his soul becomes captive to the most beautiful vampire he’s ever seen, he is all but powerless. He cannot resist Sasha—and cannot fight his desires. Is their love strong enough to defeat the gathering forces of darkness that threatens to destroy them both?

I really liked this book. The author did a great job of mixing hot sex scenes, an unwanted pairing and an eventual love. I loved watching Ewan slowly finding his heart and Sasha accepting her feelings. I highly recommend.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Non-fiction book for Feb 2019 My Book Box.

If anyone writes more beautifully about Paris than John Baxter, I’ve yet to read them.
This book is supposedly about Paris throughout the year. It loosely follows this (there are some jumps in season, time, and place) as well as a brief history of the Revolution’s desire to change the calenderer.

It is best to think of this book as part memoir of seasons of his life in Paris, as well as seasons of Paris. Each chapter is like a meditation.

There are interesting little factoids that pop up. Like France’s obsession with sanitation. Or how names use to be chosen for French children. There is a wonderful bit about April, Paris, and music. There are observations like, “More so in France than anywhere else in the world, political survival turns on a gesture” (207).

There are parts of the book that are somewhat, well strange. It’s not the comparison between Baxter’s Australia or California. Those parts are interesting. It’s just sometimes, it almost feels like he is oversharing. There is a bit too much about his sexual relationships. Don’t get me wrong, the details aren’t overly graphic, and the first relationship is actually beautifully described. However, he does seem to think of Paris, in part, as terms of women he has relationships with. (Most importantly, it should be fairly noted, his wife and daughter. He dedicates the book to both, and they do seem to be the loves of his life. The two non-marriage relationships occur prior to the marriage). So, we also get details about his relationship with a German woman. There also is a weird bit about an Aussie’s man’s junk. Which comes out of left field. I’m not really sure why that was there.

Still, it is a beautiful book about Paris. You should read it.