Jenn Dugan read and liked Erika's review of The Alchemist:

"This book is so pompous and preachy. It is the kind of book that stupid people read so they can say they read it and then look "smart" because of it. The repetition of catch-phrases throughout the entire text became sadly humorous as the pa...more This book is so pompous and preachy. It is the kind of book that stupid people read so they can say they read it and then look "smart" because of it. The repetition of catch-phrases throughout the entire text became sadly humorous as the pages went on and the ending moral was trite and obvious, and not necessarily one I agree with. Oh, and the book comes off sexist too.

Paulo Coelho, simplicity does not equal profundity. A third grader could write this story and probably better too.(less) "

Jenn Dugan read and liked Rhapsody's review of Dark Elves 1: Taken:

"So I'm giving it 4 stars, but with the stipulation that it's 4-stars for erotica. Diana and Gala, a pair of mercenaries in an alternate, medieval world, venture into a cursed mountain range tracking a man who stole from them. They're captured by th...more So I'm giving it 4 stars, but with the stipulation that it's 4-stars for erotica. Diana and Gala, a pair of mercenaries in an alternate, medieval world, venture into a cursed mountain range tracking a man who stole from them. They're captured by the creatures who live in the mountains, a race that was created by a goddess for sex. The race has no females, but they keep their species alive by kidnapping human women and turning them. There's a mate concept here, where each creature is only fertile with his "truemate."

I usually hate erotica, but this one worked for me, mainly because for once I could forgive the heroine's attraction to the man/men she supposedly hated. I mean, they're a supernatural race of males created for sex. Who wouldn't be attracted? I can't respect a heroine in a contemporary novel softening up for some guy just because he's handsome and suave, but when it comes to the point where even his sweat is an aphrodisiac, I sort of feel like, "OK, I can accept this since it really isn't an issue of willpower." Also, despite everything, she was never really disrespected. The race just was what it was, and they were honest about it. There was also something refreshing about all the creative sex (male-to-male, bondage, sodomy, etc.). I know that sounds weird, but again, it just seemed more honest to me than a lot of erotica that tries to be hardcore and stuff without ever risking anything truly taboo.(less) "

Jenn Dugan read and liked Melissa's review of Let the Right One In: A Novel:

"Let the Right One In contains an amazing story that gets lost among a lot of unamazing stories. The main plot--boy meets vampire--is wonderful. Oskar and Eli have what I can imagine is one of the more realistic vampire/human relationships. It's not s...more Let the Right One In contains an amazing story that gets lost among a lot of unamazing stories. The main plot--boy meets vampire--is wonderful. Oskar and Eli have what I can imagine is one of the more realistic vampire/human relationships. It's not sugar-coated, but it still manages to warm your heart every once in a while. The mixture of coming-of-age sweetness and nightmarish horror is so natural and believable.

Unfortunately, though, this one practically perfect storyline ends up diluted, losing a little of its power because there's so much stuff going on, trying to distract you away. Almost every minor character has his or her own subplot, and I ended up feeling bogged down with all of it, hoping we'd get back to Oskar and Eli sometime soon. No subplot is nearly as interesting or compelling as the main plot, and most of the time, the subplots aren't even necessary. I haven't seen the movie, but from what I've heard, some of these subplots get trimmed down, and I kind of wish they had been trimmed down in the novel, too.

In the end, I wasn't quite patient enough to enjoy this novel fully, but I still found the relationship between Oskar and Eli to be compelling enough to keep me going through a lot of other, less-compelling subplots. (less) "