Review: The Wild Road by Marjorie Liu

Title: The Wild Road

Author: Marjorie M. Liu

Published: July 2008

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Stand Alone/Series: Dirk & Steele 8 (see author site for complete list)

From the Author Site: Lannes is one of a dying race born to protect mankind. And while most see a beautiful man, this illusion is nothing but a prison. But when he finds a woman covered in blood, with no memory or past, he will be drawn into a mystery that makes him question all he knows.

Hero: Lannes Hannelore, gargoyle and mage. I really couldn't connect with him. He's too goody-goody for me. No rough edges, no brooding, no bad habits... all around a really nice guy. Even his inside voice was boy scout good *yawn*. I get that he's a protector and has a driving need to protect but he needed attitude! He just wasn't that interesting. I like my men feisty and bad! Gimme some mood!

Heroine: Lethe aka Alice, but nameless for the nearly half the book. Why are all the weird heroines named Alice? Okay so she wasn't as weird as Alice from Demon Bound. But she was still a bit strange to me. First she doesn't know anything about herself but still remembers trivial things like art, geography and weapons. And it looks like everyone is out to kill her, except Lannes. She might fit in the too-stupid-to-live category.

Review: Lots and lots of "huh?". Usually I like Marjoire's stuff (okay maybe not The Last Twilight), but there's only so much that could be believable even with my imagination. Take the first scene with hero and heroine... she's covered in blood and trying to steal his car and what does he do? Approaches her and takes her to his elderly friend's house without a fuss, except maybe her repeated telling him that she is bad news. And it kept going from there. Unbelievable scene after another.

Even so I liked it. But it was not a page turner or something that kept me interested for long periods. I found I could put it aside and do other things (like read another book! *gasp*) and not completely driven to finish the book. Which was nice for a change. I found that I really do like eating with both hands and looking around while doing so. An interesting change of pace.

The story I want is Koni's! What an interesting character, lots of mood with him. And of course there is Roland (agoraphobic clairvoyant director of Dirk & Steel) and Rictor (what is Rictor besides immortal anyway? the mystery that is Rictor continues).

As for the overall storyline, it seems to be directionless. Where is Marjorie taking all this? I find I like series with an overall story arc, the endless series are getting a bit too much. I want to see progression. I want to think that there will be a big finale somewhere in the future even if it never gets there. I would like a sense of it.

Keeper?: Yes, because I have the rest of the series.

Recommendation: If you've read the rest of the series, your bound to like it.

Rating: 3.5