Cindy Miles

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

The Dark Ink Chronicles is a series that started out edgy and oh so cool featuring a tattooed rocker protagonist, a steamy Southern setting, and a deliciously dangerous love interest. The sequel was a tad disappointing with a much slower pace and not as much character development as I was hoping for. Sadly, EVENTIDE, the latest installment, is even more of a let down.

Where do I start? EVENTIDE feels like a rush job. Not the pacing, which is show more sluggish at best, but it just doesn’t feel like anyone involved with this book cared enough to make it good. Nearly every scene feels mechanical and completely lacking in emotion. When we last saw Riley, she was trying to adapt to her new abilities or Tendencies after surviving a vampire bite. Dark urges and blackouts begin to plague her and she starts to have out of body experiences where she slips into the minds/past of others. She does this a lot. Like half the book is made up of these various out of body scenes. It felt like the entire middle of the book was one long chapter stuck on repeat. Riley would fall asleep, have an out of body experience, Eli would shake her awake and say the exact same thing to her and get all anxious about the changes happening to her, Riley would dismiss his concerns, and then the whole thing would repeat.

When that cycle finally changed, it was almost like the author was trying to completely change her series and set up an entirely new premise for future books involving Riley leaving behind Savannah and her tattoo parlor to join WUP, Worldwide Unexplained Phenomenon in Scotland which is described as a detective/police organization that hunts demons and other evil creatures (you can read a full description about this next book titled BLACK FALLEN on the authors website). It was such a massive departure that I don’t even know what to think. Why not just put this series out of it’s misery and start fresh, as opposed to tearing down and restructuring this one? I don’t get it.

I’ve read other series which stumble and lose steam as they go along, but none more grievous of late than The Dark Ink Chronicles. AFTERLIGHT was a great book, and I highly recommend it as a standalone, but EVERDARK and especially EVENTIDE just didn’t live up to the debut and what should have been a great series.

Sexual Content:
Scenes of sensuality. One sex scene show less

If you enjoyed [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (Twilight, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307515757s/41865.jpg|3212258], this book is for you. Because it's almost an exact copy.
I hated every page of [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (Twilight, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307515757s/41865.jpg|3212258], so I hated this book too.

The plot is almost non-existent, the characters have no merits, no qualities, nothing of interest whatsoever.
The entire book show more revolves around the fact that Eli is a hot guy and Riley really cares about her brother. So what!?
When the author momentarily (MOMENTARILY) forgets about Eli's hotness, she delights us with endless descriptions of Riley's outfits. Really, dear Elle... who cares!?
At least, Riley is a bit smarter than [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (Twilight, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307515757s/41865.jpg|3212258]'s Bella, who (let's say it sincerely) is quite dumb.

Well, bottom line: if you have even a single brain cell left, please don't waste time on this. show less

...sigh... I'm in love.

Each of Cindy Miles books have been a delight to read. Spirited Away made me laugh and turned the endless hours of my husband's chemo into the blink of an eye. Highland Knight kept me on the edge of my seat during blood transfusions. MacGowan's Ghost welcomed us home from six weeks in the hospital. I laughed so loud, so often that my husband snatched the book away the moment I finished and read it himself!

But Thirteen Chances ... WOW ... it blows the others away. Sure show more I laughed, Cindy's amazing at creating that giddy sense of laughter that so often comes with falling in love,but this time my heart literally skipped beats and I found myself forgetting to breathe. Christian and Emma's story is unforgettable. For the first time I'm not thinking "Next please Cindy!" This one I will savor in my heart for a few days and then read it again, and again, and again. show less

Lovely romance of childhood best friends, Matt and Emily, who are reunited years later when both return to the small barrier island of Cassabaw Station where they grew up. Matt has changed a lot, becoming more withdrawn since his time spent in the military. Emily still sees the old Matt deep down inside her childhood best friend, and tries to bring that old Matt back out.

This was such a beautiful friends to lovers romance with two people who were truly meant to be together. Emily was such a show more likable heroine, always seeing the good in everyone. She had such an infectious charm about her that everyone who knew her couldn’t help but like her. The secondary cast of characters, including Matt’s family and the World War II buddies who hung out at Emily’s café, added so much to the story.

The book really came to life not only from its wonderful cast of characters, but also from its vivid descriptions—the floating dock on the river, the marshes, the saw grass, the moss, Emily’s retro café on the boardwalk, the vintage 20’s and 30’s music, and so much more. It made me feel like I was there. The story really built up to an exciting climax. And then topped it all off with a super-cute and sweet epilogue. I enjoyed this book so much. show less