Stacia in Progress

Review Revision 04/12 to add alternate PoV (Dank). GR is not showing a listing for the alternate, so I'm adding it to this review because the story ties to book 1Even though the alternate PoV covered several scenes from Existence, it was not a full length book. Think of this as a highlight reel.It's too bad the entire (original) book wasn't written in Dank's PoV because he was more interesting to read. I can't say that I'm surprised. These days I'm finding myself drawn to male protags because they're able to dial back some of the obsessive intensity without losing the emotion completely. I wasn't 100% sold on Dank's voice as sounding male but I much preferred being inside of his head over being in Pagan's.Dank, you're not half bad...I let my eyes travel down her dress and enjoyed the simple fact that she'd bought it for me. I'd suggested this color. The dress hadn't been bought for the quarterback. The need to growl my approval was overwhelming.This one's a bit spoilerish if you haven't read Existence yet, so read at your own risk. I will say that this one spoiler made me ache for Dank even more than I did.Then I recognized the danger. Her soul was releasing from her body. With each hungry touch from Death she relinquished herself to me. Terror washed over me as I jerked out of her embrace and stepped back. "I can't, Pagan. I want this so damn bad. But I can't." Before she could stop me, I fled.The alternate PoV was a huge improvement over the original book itself but there wasn't enough content for me to want to raise the star rating on my original review. However, it does make me a little more hopeful about book 2.I mentioned in my Existence review that Pagan and Dank have to be some of the worst names ever. On the cover of Existence, you have a couple of glorious models (who happen to be all over the place right now on a multitude of various stock book covers). Aren't they beautiful? Do these people look like a Pagan and a Dank?I didn't think so either. When I think of Pagan and Dank, this is more the image that comes to mind.Who's with me here?Original Review for Existence - 02/122.5 stars. I had a very hard time getting past the names Pagan and Dank. With all the names in the world, this was what we got stuck with? When I read the following sentence in the book, I swear I read the name as Dank Wanker at first (I wish I was kidding) : The soul, my soul, was Dank Walker the rocker? Hmmm...Walker. Let's see - Walker the Rocker. Yes, that's much better. Argh.Before I veer off into a possibly cranky rant about what I didn't like about this book, let me say what I did like. I like stories where Death is an actual character. Who wouldn't want to see Death in action?I liked watching Death's internal struggle when you could tell he wasn't having an easy time letting go of what he knew he needed to. His little possessive growls were kind of sexy.I liked the end, and not because the book itself came to an end and I was ready to be done. I actually liked the plot twist and setup for book 2, even though I guessed what was coming very early on in the story. This book may have not been anything to write home about in the first half, but I found myself having a lot of fun reading the second half. If the next book in the series gets better, I could easily see myself going up a full star or two on the rating. This type of book has a good concept and good bones...we're just drowning a bit in some of the writing that could stand to be taken down a notch.Now on to what I didn't like.The name thing, as witnessed by my opening paragraph.Most of the first half of the book. I didn't connect to any character at all, other than Death (Dank Wanker).The sappiness was done in such a way that it was bordering on cheese. The "you are my reason for existence" spiel was painful to read. I am a huge fan of love stories and romance, so you know something's got to be off when even I'm having to fight wanting to put a fake 'finger gun' to my head and fake 'pull the trigger.'The love duo/triangle/square/WTF is this thing? I am not a hater of love triangles and will not automatically write off a book which has one, but if there's going to be one, it needs to be worth the read. One of the love interests had the appeal of a box of stale cereal. From what I can tell, the triangle might be dead now, so here's hoping. *cross fingers*Case in point about the love triangle - it's probably time to call it quits with one of the people you're hooking up with, when someone is able to observe this :"The emotion he evokes in you is not strong. There is only comfort, not passion, running through your thoughts when he holds you."Believe it or not, even with my complaints about the first half, I did enjoy the second half of the book, even to the point where I'm sincerely (no sarcasm here) looking forward to the next book. Once the story finally got to a point where I was interested, I started to enjoy where it was going. The "looney bin" and following scenes were entertaining to read. We might even get rewarded with some good conflict or fight scenes in book 2 if the end of book 1 is any indication. If so, you might even see me break out a tentative happy dance.Before you decide whether or not to read Existence, I'd first ask what you're looking for in a book. If you prefer your romances more subtle when it comes to declarations of undying devotion, this probably isn't the book for you. Fans of 'true love conquers all' stories will probably enjoy the book. I'd have an easy time recommending this one to a few friends who I know love books which have a protective hero type, or who I know like themes in which love seems to be the driving motivation of why people make the decisions that they do.