Review: Fish & Chips and Divide & Conquer

Fish & Chips by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

Blurb

There’s a certain challenge in reviewing novels of a book series back to back. How do I say the same things and still keep the review fresh and interesting to read? Because obviously, the problems I had in the first two book of the Cut & Run series about FBI special agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett, still exist in the third instalment. 

The repetition, it’s still there. Not as strong as in the beginning or even in the second book, mind you, but it exists. In the third book, however, it focuses more on catching up the reader after a longer pause between published books than rehashing the same thoughts, themes and events within the book. Although, that does happen too. 

The adverbs and everything that reminds me of bad fanfiction writing, are still there. The fact that I occasionally laughed or snorted at funny lines or incidents, doesn’t change the fact that dialogue tags include unnecessary words ending with -ly. This infection isn’t limited to dialogue tags either, but it fades better within the body text. 

Plot advancement continues to happen in short paragraphs used to tell the reader (more like recap) what has happened. Apart from a handful of discussions and scenes that unsurprisingly also centre around the two main characters and their assumed character and relationship development, majority of this book is spent in scenes mirroring Ty’s and Zane’s behaviour around each other.  

As for the hairline thin plot thread holding this book together that was marginally better done here than in the first book, and significantly improved upon the second—which is hardly a surprise considering that Sticks & Stones had no plot at all.

So what do I talk about, after that quick refresher? 

About the reason why I keep reading, of course—the characters of course.

That however will prove to be a challenge. I already listed a number of reasons on a Goodreads comment for my earlier review and it’s difficult to talk about the subject without repeating myself. 

I shall try.

From the start, Ty and Zane had that not unique kind of chemistry and banter interaction that I find appealing. They’re not mushy, but snarky and rather caustic. They don’t get along in the very beginning, but like the men they are, they only connect after having bruised and maimed each other—as if having others to do that them wasn’t enough. Trust is earned.

Then there’s a disconnect. 

Between books one and two something happens and the characterisations are altered significantly. Where Zane was the one more in touch with his feelings in Cut & Run, in Sticks & Stones it’s suddenly Ty. Ty also has his momentary relapse to childhood behaviour patterns, which should be familiar to every adult ever visited his or her parents after a long absence. In Fish & Chips Zane very clearly regresses to a state more fitting his history revealed in the first book, whereas Ty ends up embracing his submissive side. 

It’s almost like the authors started writing two different characters, went back and changed few history details, and only after having submitted the first manuscript for publication realised they needed to change how the characters acted too. The altered details matter very little if the motivations springing from them don’t ring true. I read Fish & Chips as an desperate attempt to correct the course away from those rocky shores laid out in the first book and towards deeper, safer waters.

I only wish Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux had skipped publishing their practice run and waited for their first actual sailing trip.

As things stand now, between books three and four, I have a very hazy picture of the characterisations the authors are trying to convey. I suspect it would be easier to accept what I’m told, had I skipped the first book and started the series from Sticks & Stones. However, with the absence of actual plot I can’t recommend this option for anyone else either.

Three stars for the sheer grace of not annoying me as much as the previous two.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Series: Cut & Run #3

Pages: 314 (paperback)

Publisher:    Dreamspinner Press

ISBN: 9781615812271

Published:         December 6th 2010

Source: NetGalley

Divide & Conquer

Blurb

No. I’m not going to go through with the list again. Let’s just say that I have issues with the quality and style of writing Urban & Roux produce and leave it at that. 

Or let’s not. 

I must mention the utter lack of medical research. It’s like they didn’t even try. Admittedly I’m not a medical professional, but there are characters in this book that are supposed to be and they’re not acting like they are. There’s a very serious situation where Zane loses his sight. No one knows whether the loss is temporary or permanent, but the doctors just shrug: 

“You don’t want to stay in the hospital do you?”

They just discharge him without providing him with the information or contact numbers for people who help newly blinded people to cope with their situation. There’s not a phone call or a quick talk, there’s nothing. You’d think the doctor or a nurse would at least put Zane in touch with someone regardless how resistant he might be. 

Also, the family. Where is Zane’s family? The doctor asks. Texas, Ty answers, but no one contacts them. Oh, Zane doesn’t want to talk to his family?  Okay then. These people, the hospital staff or the FBI, don’t know that Ty and Zane are a couple. They act like it’s normal for work partners to stay at each other’s homes for prolonged periods of times instead of making tentative plans for the day after tomorrow when Zane’s home and his partner at work like he’s supposed to be. 

Except Ty’s not at work. He’s conveniently sent home to not be a target. A target in a federal building, which you would think has better security measures than just letting random bombers walk in through the front door. 

As for the so called mystery, it’s getting annoying being thrown at these clues in such a casual manner. I do understand that the authors are trying to foreshadow things to come, but the problem with this is that they are relying on clues very much entwined with the characterisations. And those clues, aspects of these characters, aren’t necessarily in line with what has been told about them in the previous books. Like Ty’s latent OCD. Ty’s always been observant but Zane was the detail orientated. Except when it fits the plot. 

This is where you ask ”what plot?” and I nod knowingly. The one where the whole point was to provide convenient circumstances for Zane to finally say the I love you, to Ty. As opposed to the serial killer hellbent on their destruction. 

Whatever. Two stars and the book is hanging on to that second star by tooth and nail. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Series: Cut & Run #4

Pages: 320 (paperback)

Publisher:        Dreamspinner Press

ISBN: 9781615817160

Published:        October 14th 2011

Source: NetGalley

Review: Sticks & Stones - Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

Sticks & Stones

Six months after nearly losing their lives to a serial killer in New York City, FBI Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett are suffering through something almost as frightening: the monotony of desk duty. When they're ordered to take a vacation for the good of everyone's sanity, Ty bites the bullet and takes Zane home with him to West Virginia, hoping the peace and quiet of the mountains will give them the chance to explore the explosive attraction they've so far been unable to reconcile with their professional partnership. Ty and Zane, along with Ty's father and brother, head up into the Appalachian mountains for a nice, relaxing hike deep into the woods... where no one will hear them scream. They find themselves facing danger from all directions: unpredictable weather, the unrelenting mountains, wild animals, fellow hikers with nothing to lose, and the most terrifying challenge of all. Each other.

What can I say about Sticks & Stones? Not much that hasn’t already been said (by me) about Cut & Run. 

I was still cursing the adverbs and the repetition, although, the latter was greatly improved (read: greatly diminished) in this second part of the series. And as before, the characters are the story. There’s something around the 30% mark that could be interpreted as a hint of a plot, but it never develops into anything and fizzles out long before the end of the novel. 

To the list of authors’ sins we get to add infodump. Ty’s family is introduced in such a manner that the only impressions left are vague caricatural characterisations, one with a shovel, another with a limp, and a third with a cooking addiction. 

I’m still hoping for a better, more precise writing from this author duo. For example, there’s a scene where Ty and Zane spend a night in Ty’s old room and I was confused by the state of the door. Was it shut with a click, or was it left open to act as a deterrent for gay sex? Also, who was wearing which shoes? I could infer more details from the additional commentary, but only after spending a few minutes turning back the pages trying to find the right answer. 

These weren’t my only issues with the continuity within the book and the series so far. This time Zane took back the I love you he said in Cut & Run and Ty’s characterisation morphed from slightly unstable to properly insane without any real forewarning or foreshadowing. I guess the signs could have been there, but the imprecise writing undermined the effort.

My other issues include the questions when did “marine” become a magic word and why did the blissfully absent cockcommentary from book one have to be introduced here? 

Also it was fun (not really) reading how the men had a quickie with all their injuries and enjoyed unbridled and spontaneous kissing with a broken nose without a single complaint or a wince. No, the wince came after when he accidentally tried wrinkling his nose. 

In Sticks & Stones we also get to hear from Ty’s brother and father, but I was left wondering why. As nice as it was to have someone observe Ty’s and Zane’s unconscious cuddling, there really wasn’t a point to these point of views. Of course those paragraphs could have been wasted in background information or mental monologues in the middle of an action scene, so I’m not complaining too loudly.

There are lots of cute moments between Ty and Zane that unfortunately can’t carry this plotless story even if we do learn Beaumont’s real name.

2 stars

 I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Series: Cut & Run #2

Pages: 322 (paperback)

Publisher:        Dreamspinner Press

Published:       January 25th 2010

Source: NetGalley

Review. Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

A series of murders in New York City has stymied the police and FBI alike, and they suspect the culprit is a single killer sending an indecipherable message. But when the two federal agents assigned to the investigation are taken out, the FBI takes a more personal interest in the case.


Special Agent Ty Grady is pulled out of undercover work after his case blows up in his face. He's cocky, abrasive, and indisputably the best at what he does. But when he's paired with Special Agent Zane Garrett, it's hate at first sight. Garrett is the perfect image of an agent: serious, sober, and focused, which makes their partnership a classic cliché: total opposites, good cop-bad cop, the odd couple. They both know immediately that their partnership will pose more of an obstacle than the lack of evidence left by the murderer.


Practically before their special assignment starts, the murderer strikes again — this time at them. Now on the run, trying to track down a man who has focused on killing his pursuers, Grady and Garrett will have to figure out how to work together before they become two more notches in the murderer's knife.

While reading this book I had quite a few thoughts circling in my mind, but of those the most prominent three were:

1. Gods, save me from the adverbs. 

2. Gods, save me from the repetition. I’ll forget the adverbs as long as the repetition ends NOW.

3. This isn’t a character driven story, because the characters are the story. 

Now, there’s nothing wrong with a character centric book, but. 

There’s hardly any plot. Scratch that. There’s no plot. There’s barely a framework for a murder mystery and an awkward excuse to bring two men together and have them fall in love against all odds and their life experience up until that point. 

Ty G. and Zane G. (Grady and Garrett respectively) fall into each others arms repeatedly in scenes that can only be described as fantasy fulfilment. They take turns disrobing in front of each other and getting conveniently hurt to allow the other to touch them in a caring manner.  And of course this leads to unresolved sexual tension which quickly becomes resolved. 

Too quickly. Their relationship progresses too fast, which is a considerable achievement considering the over all length of the book. My NetGalley copy showed closer to 400 hundred Kindle pages than 300 and half of those could have easily been left on the cutting room floor without any significant loss to the plot. Er. My mistake: -without any significant loss to the character and relationship arcs. 

One of my Kindle notes says: 

”They’re od’ing on deux ex machina plot point encounters.”

The success of this book hinges on the readers connection to the characters. 

As a long time soap opera viewer I’m a sucker prone to suffering through horrible plot lines just to see my favourite characters stumble from one ill-advised adventure to another.

But I’m also a mystery and crime novel fan and whodunnits have made my heart skip ever since I picked up my first Agatha Christie Novel. And in this, too, the novel fails.

Almost all plot advancement mystery partition of the story is done in short paragraphs telling what had happened with the case and the world around them. The foreshadowing is done with a heavy hand and the culprit is clear pretty much from the beginning. At the time it felt like some relevant information like Zane’s wedding ring is withheld until the last minute.

I also have other small complaints like the fact that I’m not sure how accurate the hospital scenes are or like someone on Twitter said: New York is a city that should be a character. It’s not in Cut & Run and that shows the lack of actual research on the authors’ part. 

There’s a lot criticism in this review, so why is the rating two stars instead of one? 

That’s easy. I’m picturing Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki as Ty and Zane. 

Wonder why exactly that is.

2 stars

 I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Series: Cut & Run #1

Pages: 348 (paperback)

Publisher:        Dreamspinner Press

Published:         September 1st 2008

Source: NetGalley