Tatiana read and liked Heather's review of Outlander (Outlander, #1):

"Outlander is a historical romance novel for those who scoff at them for pleasure. Filled with steamy smut, harrowing adventure, romance, time travel and fraught with exquisite detail and historical facts, Outlander packs a powerful punch. It even ...more Outlander is a historical romance novel for those who scoff at them for pleasure. Filled with steamy smut, harrowing adventure, romance, time travel and fraught with exquisite detail and historical facts, Outlander packs a powerful punch. It even has hunky, hard bodied highlander, what more could a girl want?

I have been avoiding Outlander like the plague, deterred by its length, corny cover (truly is it horrid) and my loathing of romance novels. After years of taunting (does anyone else feel taunted by books?) and recommendations from fellow readers insisting that this wasn’t a typical bodice ripper, I gave in and curled up with Outlander. After 6 days of reading two hours a day, I finally finished it. I have to admit, I was impressed. Outlander was worth most of its 853 pages, though there are some that I would prefer to forget.

These characters are expertly woven, the plot moves at a quick, action packed pace and every detail is so intricately described that you feel as though you can see and hear everything as it is experienced. The characters were flawed and real. There was humor, love and some rather, uh, stimulating scenes. With that said, this book was just a wee bit ridiculous. While Claire was intelligent and would have made a worthy heroine in a book set in 1945, she clearly cast herself in the role of saucy wench, making one stupid mistake after another and jeopardizing everyone in the wake of her self destruction. It was so unbelievably frustrating that I wanted to throw my book across the room more than once. Of course I didn’t, because if I had, I would have had to immediately dash across the room, dust it off and apologize for my cruelty.

Luckily Gabaldon struck gold in Jamie, the aforementioned hard bodied hunk. Seriously, where can I get me one of those? This hot highlander has it all, humor, grace, confidence, intelligence and a childish exuberance that is very, very disarming. I was touched by Jamie’s capacity to love openly and honestly in spite of his past plights.

If you are reluctant to read Outlander because you detest romance novels, believe me, I feel your pain. If you don’t want to spend 12 hours of your life reading one book, suck it up, you can still make time to watch Vampire Diaries. This is far from a lighthearted read, quite the contrary, but hopefully by the books' end, you will be glad you embarked on the journey, just as I am.(less) "

Tatiana read and liked Gypsy Ryan's review of The Master and Margarita:

"The devil comes to Moscow in human form, and starts toying with the lives of average people. He impresses them by telling them things he shouldn't know, makes them laugh by telling them how they're going to die (because they think he's nuts, obviousl...more The devil comes to Moscow in human form, and starts toying with the lives of average people. He impresses them by telling them things he shouldn't know, makes them laugh by telling them how they're going to die (because they think he's nuts, obviously), and in general creates havoc and disorder in the lives of people who are already having a hard time, and who would just as soon have a few vodkas and forget the world.

I wasn't as impressed with this book as I thought I would be. It started out well, but then Bulgakov kept changing protagonists. I liked the authenticity of all the characters, but we never get a close enough look at any of them. The point of view keeps focusing on someone different every few pages.

The frequent appearance of the talking black cat annoyed me. I can certainly look past a prop like that and determine for myself if it actually means anything to the plot, but in this case I didn't see any significance. Also, we don't meet Margarita until Book Two, which is nearly two-thirds into the book. By then, I had almost lost interest in following the storyline.

I will say that I really loved the chapters in which Pontius Pilate must give up Jesus for the crucifixion. There were only three of these wonderful chapters, but I was rapt at every word. I've seen Ben-Hur, Jesus Christ Superstar, etc., but this is the first time I've actually read such a literary interpretation of those events. These chapters alone make the book worth reading.

So, five stars for the crucifixion chapters, and two stars for the rest of the book. (less) "

Tatiana read and liked Annabelle's review of Fallen:

"It begins promisingly enough; a slightly creepy and appropriately vague prologue hooks you in. Then the setting takes the shape of a derelict reform school, where Luce is being banished to after a night that ended in death. That was enough to really ...more It begins promisingly enough; a slightly creepy and appropriately vague prologue hooks you in. Then the setting takes the shape of a derelict reform school, where Luce is being banished to after a night that ended in death. That was enough to really spark my interest. A female protagonist with a bad-girl streak? Count me in. Add in the fact that the love interest's first course of action was to flip off said female protagonist and I was getting excited to delve further into this book.
However, it's mostly down hill from there. Soon it's obvious that Luce isn't really much of a bad-girl and more of a "misunderstood"-girl; and one who isn't very interesting or smart for that matter. Most pages are spent pushing and pulling her between two guys who continuously tug her in different directions like a rag doll. Questions abound, but Luce fails to find hardly any answers for herself and the story just seems to drag on and on.
The last fifty pages or so rush through a jumble of information that should have been slowly divulged instead of shoved in the reader's face all at once. This jarring change of pace adds to the confusion of the ending, which seems to be meant to leave you wanting more, but instead feels awkward. The lack of fluidity in the writing distracted from any potential deeper connection to the story or its characters.
There were some twists I didn't see coming and I'll still pick up the sequel, if only to see if I can understand anymore of what was actually occurring in the first, but I will do so wearily.(less) "