Fun with Blogger...

So I upgraded to the new Blogger. Please bear with me as I play around. I haven't done much with the blog and I'm having this whole New Year's burst of energy and I want to snaz it up a bit. Why are people suddenly coming up as "anonymous"? Because they haven't upgraded yet? Oh well, bound to be annoyances.

I finished Man in a Million by Jessica Bird. It was ok. I try to judge categories a little differently, because they tend to leave me a bit disappointed. I think that the format puts some limitations on what an author can do, so I try to keep that in mind. This one started off strong, then lost steam as it went along. Spike Moriarty is a tattooed chef with a dark past. Madeline "Mad Dog" Maguire is an Amazonian professional sailor, with plenty of confidence in her athletic skills,and not so much in the personal and social arena. They met in Bird's previous title, From the First, and are extremely attracted to each other. Ms. Bird/Ward does the mental lusting thing extremely well. So often it is cringe or vomit inducing, but I was squeeing for these two to get it on already.

But when they did, it wasn't as hot as I was expecting. There is a contrived, rather stupid "big misunderstanding." Mad has very low self esteem, due to years of emotional abuse and manipulation by her family. I imagine that this is supposed to make it more understandable that she would jump so quickly to a ridiculous conclusion, but I couldn't help being annoyed and frustrated.

Also (and I admit this is a hot button for me), Mad is described as never eating, to the point where she doesn't menstruate. On the last page, Spike suggests that she should eat more often. I don't know if the author was intimating that this is normal for a female athlete, rather than a sign of an eating disorder, but coupled with the other evidence of Mad's poor self-image, I found it troubling. I wish that Spike had suggested therapy along with food. I wouldn't have minded if Mad's eating issues had been presented as an issue for them to deal with, but I was not comfortable with the way it was just a throwaway thing. But maybe that's just me. Eh, so I'm giving this one a C. I'll read future Bird works, but I'll just have to keep in mind that they're no Black Dagger Brotherhood. Heh.

Finally, and perhaps I'm the last to know because I live in a cave, there are two upcoming television shows that may be of interest. The Sci-Fi Channel is doing a television series based on the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Entertainment Weekly gave it a mediocre review, but I'll still give it a try. Also Masterpiece Theatre (PBS), is showing a new miniseries of Jane Eyre, for those who care (meaning me). It looks goooood. Alas, I believe that they are both on this Sunday, so I think I'll be choosing Jane over Harry.