Julie Wetzel

Ends on a cliffhanger.

This book started out a solid five stars. I loved reading the strange interactions between Vicky and her boss, Darien. Such an odd, intriguing pair. The story moved with lots of momentum, the nature of Vicky and Darien's relationship being the drive. I kept wondering when she would find out Darien was a vampire, and I kept wondering when Darien would bite her.

Around the 73% mark, Vicky meets a bunch of people from the vampire counsel, who gave me the impression of a show more bunch of misfit circus freaks. I groaned as the novel dropped down to four stars. By this point, I am waiting for the third act of the novel to punch up the pace, but it morphs into Vicky and her friends going to several night clubs. Vicky is so blasé about this new world her boss is a part of. I excepted a bit more drama.

So, still wondering when the climax is going to happen, I'm really nervous when I am at 90% and then 98% and nothing big happens. That's when I frown and realize this is one of those cliffhanger novels. The big excitement at the end wasn't dramatic enough for me. A major letdown.

What I really wanted to see was more passion coming from Darien. He was a bit flat. Things kept happening to Vicky, and he seemed way too calm about them. He needed more inner turmoil going on. More deepness and brooding to balance Vicky's sheer innocence.

The cool thing about this novel that the author did well was the omniscient point of view. I loved seeing something from Darien's thoughts and then jumping back to Vicky's in a seamless fashion. Not too many omniscient point of views are done well, but this one worked great.

This novel is Reader Rated for ages 14 for brief non-sexual nudity. show less

I found this book to be very unique. The little details about dragons, their colors and brooding were interesting. The voice thing really threw me for a loop. It was an odd birth defect that made things so much more complicated. The author spent so much time explaining dragons that the world & character building were a bit lacking. Still not bad. I did enjoy the story and its uniqueness. Will I read book 2? Maybe.

I thought that this was surprisingly good read. I was expecting some explicit sex scenes because the setting is in Italy and a lot of international romance novels tend to be filled with drinking and sex. (Warning: There is quite a bit of drinking.)

The story opens up in a restaurant where Ani is out celebrating with friends. In the upper scale restaurant, she sees her boyfriend/college professor out with another woman---who turns out to be his wife. It's quite a shock for her. She had been show more given the impression that he was a bachelor.

Moving on--she goes to Italy and meets two men who both adore her. What's a girl to do? Ani really isn't in a position to "trust" men right now. In a sense, I feel that she's still reeling from her heartbreak. But she's willing to "have fun" because she's only going to be there for a short time. The memories of an international romance or two may be just the thing she needs.... show less

This was only my second book by this author, and I loved it as much as the first one I read, Juliette and the Monday ManDates. I found All the Way to Heaven a delightful love story. Ms. Doughty doesn't take you to heaven, but maybe the next best thing. The way she describes Italy, the olive gardens, balconies, sunsets, the pastries and even the wine, you can almost see, smell and taste it. It was like taking a mini vacation right from my own backyard. I would highly recommend this to anyone show more who has a love for travel, especially Tuscany. show less