Happy Birthday to Me!

I think a trip to the bookstore is in order! I have decided that the problem is that I'm burned out on paranormals and erotic romances. I need a change to get my mojo going. With that in mind, I went off to the used bookstore (solo!)and took home a bag of Harlequin Romance and Superromance and Silhouette Special Editions. I am currently reading Father Material by Kimberly Van Meter. Not bad, but the heroine's a bit of a pill, so far. It's got one of those "knocked up from a one night stand, now I'm falling in love with my baby daddy" plots. When I read these blurbs, I shudder with distaste, because in my opinion, accidental pregnancies don't often lead to HEAS, but rather to bitterness and recriminations. Even though I'm not usually one of those people, I have to wonder about the message it sends: get knocked up, and the guy will love you and take care of you and your baby forever. Troubling. But day-um, if these stories don't just hit the spot sometimes. I'm sucked in wondering how she's going to tell him, how's he going to react, how, for jiminy's sake, are they going to make it work.

I finished Familiar Stranger by Michele Hauf. Am I becoming a Harlequin Junkie? This was good, very cute. I think the Nocturne line is starting to hit a nice stride. This one had a great heroine and a Jason Statham-like (in my mind anyway) hero. [OT: Did you know that Jason Statham's girlfriend dumped him for Billy Zane? Billy Zane?!] I liked the idea of two factions (The Cadre and P-Cell), who study paranormal entities and take very different approaches to limiting their presence on Earth. I also liked the odd world surrounding the Cadre's base. A bit heavy on the British-isms (cheeky bird, snog etc.), but being an Anglophile, I liked it. The romance seemed a bit rushed, but less so than many categories I've read. I'd give it a B-. Good (and kinda different) characters, interesting worldbuilding, entertaining story. I'll be reading the others. Check out the Dark Enchantments blog. Fun for crazy people like me who like to read about fictional characters as though they are real.

Click on the cut for pictures of me and the kids--
{Edited because I can't figure out the cut on the new layout and the pictures are slowing me down.}