Any Given Doomsday

While the author and the novel are both well meaning, the execution, plot, and characters of this novel leave plenty to be desired. It reads like a copy of a copy of most of the common paranormal romance tropes out there, without offering up anything original or new for readers to sink their teeth into. It's typical of the genre, without being interesting in the slightest.

The plot panders on and doesn't do anything that any reader would find remotely surprising, and there is not one moment of genuine tension or suspense.

The protagonist is a rather erratic narrator who's voice is, like the novel, a copy of a copy of all the other (and much better) snarky, wisecracking heroines of the genre. She takes time out of her own life-or-death show more situations to sigh longingly and contemplate how crazy her life is or how she feels about her ex-flame. Not only that, but the protagonist quickly checks all the Mary Sue check boxes without having any redeeming or enjoyable qualities. She has the prerequisite tragic past, the (supposedly) smoldering chemistry with any good looking guy around, and unlikely skills that she has no reason to have, not to mention that the universe (of course!) revolves around her for no good reason.

Not only that, but more interesting characters are left to be a background. The character of Ruthie - who actually would be interesting to read about, as a woman of color in a mostly white neighborhood trying to raise foster children with supernatural powers and dealing with her own place in a war of good and evil - doesn't even get to be alive in the novel. She's only there as part of the Mary Sue show, which is sad.

The writer also has fundamental problems with understanding the use of expositions and introductions of characters. Throwing a random name the readers have never seen before into a conversation or scene with absolutely no explanation made me believe that the writer had actually changed one of the characters' names mid-scene and the copyeditor had missed it.

This is to say nothing of the magical turquoise necklace that the heroine always wears and which saves her, but doesn't show up around her neck until the beginning of chapter 12, and isn't mentioned in the previous 11 chapters, despite the fact that we even have seen where the protagonist and her ex-lover are stripping each other clothes' off.

The narrators reactions to her powers, to her "destiny" (*eyeroll*, they all have destinies, don't they?), to her ex-flame being a Dhampir were inconsistent, unbelievable and frankly frustrating.

Copy editing isn't this novel's problem. Content editing is. I think one should take hints from the fact that the author thanks her editor for being her cheerleader, and that the "Dear Reader" letter on the back of the book cites that the author got into the urban fantasy/paranormal romance game via Laurell K. Hamilton should warn you. Taking nothing away from Ms. Hamilton, but reading a copy of a copy of a copy of Anita Blake is the last thing I have time for.

There were no moments in this novel which were sexy, scary, or funny, as the author promises. The main character is not like me or anyone I know (and not in any positive way).

I wouldn't recommend this book even for plane flights or beach reading, it's not even that good. If you really are hankering for a good paranormal romance, go elsewhere. This book will only make you want to throw it across the room. show less

Elizabeth (Liz) Phoenix is a bartender, ex-cop and psychic. One day she has a bad feeling and rushes over to her ex-foster mother's house to find Ruthie (the foster mother) lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor. Ruthie manages a few dying words, grabs Liz and Liz gets an instant migraine and blacks out. Turns out Ruthie was leader of the good guys in a big old Biblical fight against evil, and she has transferred her power to Liz. Liz has to figure out what's going on, get some training in using her new abilities, and then fight the good fight, all while coping with a hot ex-boyfriend who may (or may not) have killed Ruthie, a hot but amoral Navajo shape shifter, berserkers, werewolves, vampires, etc. There's lots of sex show more (consensual and non) but it seems curiously bloodless (especially since vampires are involved in some of it). Liz is raped a few times but it doesn't seem to bother her much. In fact, she seems to like it. That bugged me some. As the narrator, she's the best developed character, but she's pretty unbelievably perfect - beautiful, sexy, athletic and develops useful super-powers. Jimmy (ex-boyfriend) and Sawyer (amoral Navajo witch) are absolute cardboard. With penises. I also thought the ending was a bit rushed and the resolution suspiciously easy.

I do have to say that the book was a decent page-turner. I would suggest it for someone who wants an undemanding, fast vacation read that they can chuck if they need room in the suitcase for more souvenirs. I won't be going out of my way to read the rest of the series, but if I run across them at the library, I might pick them up. Sometimes my brain just wants junk food. show less

Any Given Doomsday is a supernatural mystery/romance about Elizabeth Phoenix. Elizabeth has psychic abilities - when she touches objects or people she has visions about them. When her foster mother Ruthie is murdered, Elizabeth also inherits Ruthie's visions of monsters, and the responsibility for sending Demon Killers out to kill them and thus protect humanity. The book starts off fairly well, but it really goes downhill. I don't usually like to give away too much of the plot, but I have a huge problem with a couple of things that happen in the book that I have to mention. First, Elizabeth goes to see her former teacher to learn how to use the abilities she's inherited. He drugs her and has sex with her. She's angry at first and show more accuses him of raping her, but when he explains that he used drugs to lower her inhibitions because he didn't want to waste time convincing her to have consensual sex, she decides she doesn't mind. Next, Elizabeth is lured into a trap by her half-vampire ex-boyfriend Jimmy, who has been taken over by his vampire side and wants her as his sex slave. He holds her captive and rapes her repeatedly over the course of several weeks. I find it really disturbing that there are several detailed scenes in which Elizabeth enjoys being raped. After Jimmy gets his vampire side under control, Elizabeth seems completely unperturbed by being held prisoner and raped repeatedly, and has sex with Jimmy so he won't feel bad about what he's done. The romanticized view of sexual violence presented in this book is incredibly disturbing. I don't know why any writer, especially a woman, would write about rape as if it's sexy and fun, and I don't know why anyone would want to read this. My copy went straight into the recycling bin. If you like supernatural mysteries, avoid this series and read Jim Butcher's excellent Dresden Files series (which begins with Storm Front) or Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan books (which begins with Dead Witch Walking) show less

The title of this should really be "Any Given Cliche."

First off, I hate a book that is obviously written as a springboard for a series, and that's all this is. It's the sci-fi equivalent of a beach read - a little action, some hot sex scenes, but all put down as a foundation for more books. The whole premise is the time-worn "our heroine has special powers that she never knew about and now the person who should have helped her is gone." [yawn]

The thing that really bothered me about this book is the way that Elizabeth, an empath, has to acquire her powers: by having sex with her...associate? colleague? fellow demon killer? There is something that really gets to me, this idea that in order to complete herself, in order to reach her full show more potential, she has to have sex with some powerful man...and then she takes on his powers. It really riles up my inner feminist.

Now, I am all in favor of some hot sex with a buff, tattooed shape shifter, but if he has to drug her and then convince her that he had to force her into sex so that he could "open her up" to her inner powers? That just leaves a bad taste. Sure, it's an easy plot device for getting your characters in the sack (and I am all in favor of that), but there's still something very distasteful about it. show less

I am an avid paranormal romance and since some reviews have put this book towards it - - paranormal erotica. I have a particular love for fast reads with a bit of heat. I was immensely pleased with this fast paced storyline that had all the ingredients for a pleasant before bed paranormal snack. What are the necessary ingredients to cook up a good paranormal snack?

1. Characters I can care about. Check and check. Though for me not the ones you might expect. The main character Liz struck that balance for me between being independent and needful. As the female lead she's a good one for me. Sawyer was exactly what I want in a bad-boy character lots of mystery and just enough "good" to be fully redeemable in the end. The character of Jimmy show more fell a little flat for me though and I'll be glad if he takes a second seat for awhile in the next book.

2. Believable interludes. For the most part check.
Let's face it if you are going to have sex scenes they have to work. And if you are going to have a paranormal bedtime snack of a book they better be there. Let's also acknowledge that the primary target audience is most likely female so they have to be believable from a female perspective. Not possible people! Just believable as in character A could totally want to have a tryst with character B. Again Sawyer's character worked for me here but not so much with Jimmy. Could be I'm just not into the character Jimmy at all so I'll be honest with that bias.

3. Wrap it up nicely but leave me something to look forward to! Check.
The story line wraps nicely for the moment. The characters who survived are "safe" but then there is that hook for the next book. Perfect! Bonus here was that there was preview for the next book. Even better now I know I'm for sure going to pick up the next book.

All in all this was a great paranormal bedtime snack for me and I plan to catch the next book in this series. Handeland makes the cut as an author I'll watch in order to catch her new material as its published. show less

I received this book as part of Early Reviewers and I was excited to read it. I have enjoyed this author's previous works and was glad to see she had started a new series. But then. Oh, the premise is interesting. For awhile. And Handeland addresses one of my pet peeves about women who suddenly find themselves with power and then do absolutely nothing to educate themselves about it. At least the main character in this book doesn't do that, though she does pull a Luke Skywalker.

[Spoiler Alert]

But, seriously? We are supposed to buy that the only way Lizabeth can "learn" is by having sex with men and "absorbs" their powers? What a long way we have come where women must use their sexuality and have sex with men to gain men's powers. show more

Handeland does an excellent job of conveying hopelessness, despair, and demented sexuality. It's impossible to feel that the sex scenes are erotic as most of the sex is coerced except, then, boom! we are supposed to believe Lizabeth is "empowered" and chooses to have sex with the rapists.

And once and for all: "Oriental" refers to things and "Asian" refers to people.

The book lost a star because of a preponderance of religious zealotry and heterosexism that undermine the plot. show less

Warning: This review contains spoilers, but since you shouldn't waste your time reading this book anyhow, spoilers aren't necessarily bad.

What a shitty, predictable book. Yes, we get it, you're a Buffy fan who thinks everything is better with more (bordering-on-rape yet predictable and droll) sex. This book is littered with inconsistencies (e.g., she put down the hat, but when did she pick it up?) and what I can only assume is supposed to be sarcastic humor. Just because you think it would work in a script doesn't mean it'll read well at all in a first-person novel. Lame lame lame. There are lots of good vampires+sex+other-fantasy novels out there with strong lead female characters; this book is just a poor wannabe version of those. show more Furthermore, aside from being generally offensive and dripping in stupid stereotypes, the main character is an insult to women (she's in love with an abusive asshole for no apparent reason, she likes to insist "no no no" before agreeing to have so-called "erotic" sex, and she doesn't do a single smart or independent thing during the entire damn book). Don't waste your time or money. show less