A round up...

I wanted to talk about a couple of other books I read while sans computer. I was still in Harlequin mode. These are more impressions or comments than anything else. I'm not going to give letter grades or anything.

*Rising Darkness by Cynthia Cooke--I had read the first in the Dark Enchantments miniseries and enjoyed it, so I picked this one up. It started off with a great Gothic set-up: a British family in a crumbling estate held hostage by a pack of howling demonic wolves. The heroine, Emma McGovern, is the last of a line plagued by a Gypsy curse, and her face has been badly scarred by a wolf attack. Sadly, the book didn't sustain the atmosphere, the suspense or any interest on this readers part. Strictly paranormal romance by the numbers, it featured two bland ciphers (the hero a tormented vampire type) who fall quickly and deeply in love for reasons unknown to them and me. Seriously, I can't remember how it ended, but I remember being annoyed. Ah well. I still bought the next installment, Night Mischief by Nina Bruhns.

*The Farmer Takes a Wife by Barbara Gale--I wanted this story of a Boston doctor who brings new life to a sleepy town and a crabby farmer because it took place in New Hampshire and I love NH. Unfortunately, this book suffered from some of the worst editing ever. Both the hero and heroine's eyes change color, and the heroine's hair color changes several times before settling on Auburn. At one point the heroine suggests talking to the local congressman in Albany (which is the capital of NY, not NH). The hero reflects on his initial meeting with the heroine, recalling a scene which he was not in. He came in after she walked into the gas station. Also much ado was made of the hero's marrying too young and having a child too quickly. But he's 40, and his son was described as 8 or 9. Having a child at 31? Not exactly teenage pregnancy. It made no sense. And now? I know what people mean when they complain about head hopping. I found the pov confusing at several times. Nah, can't rec this one at all.

*A Family of Her Own by Brenda Novak.--I've been reading another book by Novak, and I think that she is a skilled writer who writes interesting and original stories. But the romance (frustratingly to me) always seems to take a backseat. This is about an ex-con auto mechanic named Booker and a "good girl" hairdresser named Katie whose intense affair ends when she runs off for SF with a guy that everyone thinks is a tool. Two years later she returns to Dundee Idaho unwed, alone, penniless and pregnant. Booker is unhappy to see the woman who broke his heart but he ends up taking her in when her family turns her away. There was a lot of focus on Katie growing up and becoming mature and independent, which was a good thing, because I wanted to hate her. Sure, no one approved of Booker, but they didn't like the other guy either. And once they got to SF he got a nose ring and a Robert Smith haircut and became a club kid who sponged off of her. But she stuck it out for two years? And gave him pity sex "one last time"? Whereupon she became one more victim of the dreaded romance novel condom failure rate? Great judgment, Katie. Dump the sexy, mysterious, intense guy who is kind enough to take in the village idiot (no, not Katie, this other guy) for a wannabe hipster tool. I wish there had been some flashbacks or something about Katie and Booker's relationship, so I could see what he saw in her, as well as why she didn't believe that he cared about her. I was also curious about what Booker did time for. Overall, not so bad though, just didn't quite satisfy.

*Driven by Eve Kenin--All is not lost, 'cuz this book was great! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes futuristic/sci fi or who is looking for something other the standard vamp/furry paranormal. Driven is set in a frozen future in which truckers have to bring goods to the various settlements. One particular company controls everything, and is run by a powerful and super nasty guy. There's a tough, kick butt and likeable heroine, Raina who is a great match for the unusual and very hot hero, Wizard. I lurved him, though an HEA with him would not be easy. See some reviews here, here and here. Worth your while. Bev from Bev's Books, if you stop by, I'm recommending this to you. You'll like it!

A Little Love in Space...

So my low-grade cold has turned into a high grade cold. On the up side, I've gotten quite a bit of reading done. On the down side, I'm achy and cranky and almost had a throw-down with the children's librarian because H-Bomb was late for Storytime. Seriously, I'm still fuming a little bit, and that says a lot for her rudeness because usually fuckwittery rolls right off my back.

Now that I'm feeling a little bit better, I've been catching up on all the post RWA blogging. I'm surprised not to see a bit more about the decisions regarding RWA publisher recognition and PAN status(if you are interested, see here for more info). I think it's for the best though, if the people affected the most just ignore it. I doubt it would affect reader purchasing decisions, and epublishers are definitely here to stay. A quick glance at my 2007 list of reads shows that some of my favorites of the year are from E-Pubbed authors (Michelle M. Pillow), or authors who got their start with E-Pubs (Christine Warren, Linnea Sinclair). I've definitely read some mediocre or downright shitty e-published books, but for each one of those, there's a Pillow, or Bonnie Dee, or Joey Hill. And though the past couple of E-books I bought were disappointing, I had a happy surprise with my most recent impulse purchase from Samhain, Starkissed by Lanette Curington.

Now, I would be lying if I said that my attention wasn't piqued by the Poser cover featuring a reptilian alien and a bitchy looking brunette in an awkward embrace. And I would be lying if I said that my interest wasn't further piqued by Samhain's warning: Graphic sex between a human woman and an alien male who is anatomically different from human men! A quick mental inventory suggested that I hadn't read any books with human/alien sex. They're always humanoid. Well, what was I waiting for? I bought it immediately, and then was concerned that I let my prurient interests get the better of my good judgment. But it was good! Quite good!

Starkissed is the story of Leith McClure, a human woman, and J'Qhir, a Zi male. They meet during a trade that is supposed to take place between Leith's family's shipping company and J'Qhir, the Warrior (the protector, really) of his people. Each is surprised to find the other quite interesting, rather than disgusting. After the transaction goes wrong (due to a typically cartoony romance villain who wants REVENGE and is pissed Leith won't let him into her knickers), J'Qhir and Leith are kidnapped and abandoned on an uninhabited planet. The planet is a protected sanctuary of sorts, and so no one ever goes there. As the two try to survive, they find their initial fascination deepening into friendship attraction and more. But can their burgeoning love survive when they are rescued?

This one doesn't skimp on the relationship development. The hero and heroine are not only different species, they come from very different cultures, and it is very interesting to read how they try to understand each other's ways of thinking. J'Qhir's people, the Zi, are a very isolated and insular culture, governed by strict rules. He is a conservative fellow, with a strong sense of duty, honor and responsibility, and his struggle to come to grips with his intense feelings for Leith, so alien (heh) from all he has ever known, is rather charming. Leith is less vivid to me, pretty much a typical young woman, intelligent and a bit impulsive. All in all likeable, except for a few annoying moments toward the end.

Yes, J'Qhir is not human, but rather reptilian. He was different enough that I didn't feel the author was wimping out, but not so much that it was squicky (know what I mean?). The genitalia thing wasn't too creepy or anything. I liked that during the love scenes, they didn't suddenly become porn stars. Leith is a virgin (she's 21), and J'Qhir is very inexperienced, and the sex scenes reflected that, as well as their deepening feelings for each other. It was a natural extension of their intimacy, not just thrown in for the sake of titilation. Leith was a little more forward than might be expected, but it went along with their respective personalities, J'Qhir being a rather cautious fellow, and a product of a repressive environment.

In fact, so much time was spent on them getting to know each other, and getting past their differences, it slowed things during the middle section a bit. Also, as I alluded to before, Leith acts like an ass for a bit towards the end, wanting J'Qhir to read her mind, when he really ain't that type of guy (or critter). Luckily, that doesn't last too long. I would've liked an epilogue or something more at the end, because they had some obstacles facing them, and I wanted to know how it all turned out. Otherwise, this was an unusual and satisfying read, and one I'll be revisiting. A solid B+ for Ms. Curington. I'll be looking to see what else she comes out with.

Oh, and a big ol' thumbs up for Finders Keepers. I may not give it a full review, but it was very good. Linnea Sinclair rocks!

Challenge Roundup

So I'm not so great with the willpower thing. Same reason I don't do diets. Also the same reason (during college) I would find myself swearing up and down that I'd never drink again, only to get stinky that very night. I read a grand total of 4 books out of the 20 on my list. Two others were DNFs, although I would not completely rule out attempting them again. In addition to that, I read three books that were not on the list (my bad), and bought 12 others (my very bad). Ah well, I think the act of listing them will help to keep them on my radar. I think I will be getting to some sooner rather than later though, in particular the Hoyt and Stacey books.

Man, summer is a busy time. I feel very behind on blog-hopping, as well as reading. Alas, lounging by the pool with a fun read is not an option for me. I glance at the other moms enviously as I chase the Destroyer. I think the lifeguard on duty at the kiddie pool cries inside when he sees us coming. No more staring into space, wondering which 7-11 parking lot he's going to hang out at tonight. The Destroyer is going to make him work for his pay as she throws herself under the water, flailing and choking and insisting that she can swim all by herself.

I'm getting excited for Harry Potter time. Both Book #7 and Movie #5. I have to see if my "Republicans for Voldemort" T-shirt still fits. We're doing a program at work, and I got drafted to help run it, since I'm such a geek since I'm full of brilliant ideas. There was a fun article in the local paper about the various theories and what has been debunked and not. Plus, a little crash course for those who don't care (although I can't possibly understand why you wouldn't).

For the past couple of days, Sybil has had the Shomi launch authors guest blogging. I think this line looks very promising. BUT, gotta admit I'm not feeling the covers. I'm not one for anime/manga. Don't have anything against it, but I don't have anything for it, either. The covers are too cutesy, to me. I hope it finds its intended audience, because the blurbs are pretty good. I particularly like the sound of Driven by Eve Kenin, who also writes historical Gothics as Eve Silver. Anybody out there read any of them? I haven't read a good Gothic in a long time. Anyway, go check it out. Sounds different.

One down, nineteen to go...

A two-haiku review of Beyond the Edge by Susan Kearney

Poor Little Rich Girl,
Meets Time Cop from the future,
On a tough mission.

A race against time,
Yet he finds time for sex games,
Hot sex, meh plot.

Comments from the Peanut Gallery: The sex scenes were hot, I'll give you that. Even though this was apparently the first "Extreme Blaze" I was still a bit surprised by the frank exploration of a dominant/submissive relationship. Nothing too freaky-deaky, more of a lie-back-and let-me-pleasure-you-as-I-wish sort of thing. Hot. So hot that I was distracted whenever the book returned to the "plot". It was like, "What are they talking about again?" Seriously, the plot was so wafer thin that I barely paid attention.The heroine, Fallon, was pleasant enough, as was the hero, Kane Kincaid (awkward name), although he remained rather enigmatic, almost to the point of being cardboard. In no way, did I believe these two fell madly in love within the week they were together. Had a rockin' good time, yes, twu wuv, no. Lots of time-travel and future technology clap-trap. One eye-roller (spoilers ahead): Kade came to the present carrying technology that can clean and shave a woman head to toe, body-paint her, and create the iluusion of clothing, but he can't put a condom in his pocket? They're too busy playing psychological sex games to use BC, so Fallon gets pregnant within their handful of days together. Not only that, her condition is detected during a physical exam, within days of conception. Whatever.

Hot Sex+Weak Plot+Not buying the HEA=C-. Not awful, but kinda silly, and slow (when they're not getting it on.

Is that a datalyzer in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

Devonfriend looooves Games of Command!

I usually don't read much Science fiction. I've mentioned it before too. I get sick of the silly fake curse words and words for fizznucking and boy and girl parts, and the stuff about the spaceships makes me dot out. But there's one theme in Science Fiction that always intrigues me, the one of man vs. machine, and where do you draw the line between the two. Think A.I., think Blade Runner, think Battlestar Galactica, hell, even Electric Dreams. The idea of artificial intelligence taking on a life of its own, having emotions, or even a soul, is endlessly fascinating. So I've been waiting for Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair since I was looking for a cyborg romance way back in October, and Bev suggested it. And it didn't disappoint. I devoured this book like it was an order of Chili's Southwestern Eggrolls followed by a piece of Coffee-Heath Bar cheesecake. It may have even snapped me out of my reading funk. I could barely remember what it felt like to be desperate to get back to a book.

I'm not going to attempt much of a synopsis. See Janine's review at Dear Author for more about the plot (and you'll see I agree with her about the book, pretty much). I'm just gonna talk about the main players a bit. First we have Captain Tasha Sebastian, pilot extraordinaire. Sebastian's kind of a rebel, a maverick, if you will, and she's got a secret past that could get her into lot of trouble with her current boss, Admiral Branden Kel-Paten. Her best friend is Dr. Eden Fynn, an empath who is the Chief Medical Officer on the Vaxxar. The two became part of the Vaxxar's crew as part of the Alliance Personnel Integration Program, an effort to unite two formerly warring factions: the United Coalition (which Tasha and Eden had been part of) and the Triad. Thus, Tasha finds herself working very closely with Admiral Kel-Paten, with whom she had had many tense encounters in the past. Kel-Paten, also known as the 'Tin Soldier', is a "biocybe", that is, he has been enhanced with all manner of metals, synthetic materials and implants to make him into a virtual war machine. He can plug into any system, instantly downloading and synthesizing information and actually becomes part of the ship's systems. He is brilliant, but also rigid, linear, and emotionless, which causes him to butt heads with the more unorthodox Tasha on occasion. He practically shadows Tasha, because he doesn't trust her, she suspects. At the beginning of the book, they are trying to survive a developing vortex (and, yes, my eyes were glazing over a bit at this point), and they do, and they come upon a ship containing one Jace Serafino, a freakin' space pirate and telepath. He and Kel-Paten hate each other a lot. Add to the mix a couple of telepathic feline creatures (Furzels) named Tank and Reilly, and a variety of internal and external threats, and what do you have?

[Click on post title for full post]

A recipe for fun, that's what! No joke, I really enjoyed this book. There is a lot going on here and Sinclair juggles the large cast and twisty plot very well. At first I was pretty nervous, with all the barked orders, and discussion of Graslan scales and McAbian readings and whatnot, but then I got sucked into Sinclair's universe, as I might with a paranormal, and I'm pretty sure I was on top of the political stuff, and the terminology. The overall plot kept my interest very well, and I didn't even mind the furzels. I'm not a fan of animal characters (remember I'm a children's librarian, I get inundated with animal heroes), but they were integrated well and used just enough. I didn't even mind their cutesy speak (see the top of the post), because they were not just there to be cute, they were important to the action.

If I liked the overall plot, then I loved the romance and the characters. Especially the Tin Soldier. You see, Branden Kel-Paten doesn't stick to Tasha like glue because he doesn't trust her, but because he's been madly in love with her for years, since they first met. He orchestrated her transfer to the Vaxxar so he could be near her. He's not actually supposed to feel emotions, and the fact that he does could be cause for dismantling him. He is constantly trying to get her to see him as a man rather than a biocybe, but he finds it extremely difficult to banter or flirt and it doesn't help the situation that he has to spike into the ship in front of her. It's like he gets so close to making a connection with Tasha, then can't quite follow through. His struggle to connect with Tasha, and his despair that she would not want to be near him were very memorable. So lovely, though I'm sad he had a space mullet on the cover. At first, I wasn't sure if I would like Tasha. She seemed like the sassy type that I don't really like. [And unfortunately, her real name is Sass, which...long story, but I have bad associations with that word and name.] But she grew on me, and really endeared herself to me with the vulnerability she showed as the book went on, worrying about whether Branden could love her after he found out her secret.

I was not as interested in the romance between Eden Fynn and Jace Serafino. It was more of the instant soulmate type thing. I was anxious to get back to Branden during their bits. But again, they were integral to the overall picture. There was a lot of interesting stuff about who could trust who, and who could trust themselves, for that matter...were memories and emotions reliable or manufactured? I give this one an A-. If you like sci-fi/futuristics, unusual heroes or just anything off the beaten path, give it a go. It has a fast moving plot, a well-relized world, great characters, and compelling romance. It's supposed to be a stand-alone, but I, for one, hope Ms. Sinclair revisits this world.

Inquiry...

Is there a sci/fi/futuristic romance that recently came out that has to do with cyborgs? I feel like I've read a review or two recently, but I can't remember any details. I would just putter around, looking for it, but I've been really busy.

P.S.--Reading Poison Study, really enjoying it.

P.P.S.--Re: the JR Ward kerfuffle of a week or two ago.
There are two posts up at her board, one by Ward, one by the Mods, about respectful and welcoming behavior. Not trying to stir the pot or anything, just letting ya'll know. Either Ward was checking out Smart Bitches, or someone else let her know that it might be a smart thing to do.

P.P.P.S.--Kelley Armstrong has the prologue and first chapter of her new book, No Humans Involved, up at her site, and it's made me more excited for it than I was before. Also, next year, she will be doing a short graphic novella of Elena's first days as a werewolf. Online! Awesome!!

P.P.P.S.--Sorry about the lack of links, but the kids have had it, gotta go.

In Space, No One Can Hear You Moan...

I've never been a fan of reading Science Fiction. That is not to say that I don't like Science Fiction at all. I've actually enjoyed quite a few Sci-Fi movies and tv series (I miss Farscape!), and we watch the Sci-Fi Channel all the time (which isn't exclusively Sci-Fi...do you watch Ghost-Hunters? We want to move to RI and join up!)But for some reason, in reading it, I seem to get thrown off by the space jargon (frell, frak, krek...just say fuck, for fuck's sake), and the science-y stuff seems cheesy or boring. So I was a bit surprised at myself for picking up The Ultimatum by Susan Kearney at the library, but I was intrigued by the back cover blurb.
The Ultimatum has the most,uh, original set-up I've seen in a long time. Dr. Alara Calladar is a brilliant physiologist who specializes in the study of the females of the Endekian race that she belongs to. Due to their genetic programming, Endekian females of childbearing years go through these cycles (the 'Boktai'), where they are absolutely crazed with lust and will have sex with any willing male. It seems that their cells will degenerate and they will DIE if they don't get some "male essence" to regenerate them. Not only that, but the more they do it with a particular guy, their cells become attuned to him (or something), and they become dependent on his man juice to keep them alive. Seriously, doesn't this sound like a porno set-up? Total male fantasy. Apparently, Endekian males are all short and rotund, and they don't treat the ladies well because they know that they'll be getting some no matter how they act, since getting boinked is so necessary to keeping the females alive. But fear not, because this is not a porno, but a romance novel (i.e. female fantasy?), so our heroine will be spared an unhappy marriage to a Ron Jeremy look-alike by the arrival of a hot guy from space. Xander is a Rystani warrior, an enemy race, and he wants Alara to come with him to try and cure some virus or something. But, of course Alara is at the mercy of the Boktai, and they are in outer space...Cue Bamp-chicka-wow-wow porny music...

So I'm not going to write a review, because after much effort, I'm giving up. I only read about 125 pages in a week. A lot of it's my Sci-Fi prejudice. For example, it's not a penis, but a tavis. Tavis Smiley is a fellow with a PBS talk show, at least in the New York metro area. I just can't deal. I really wanted to like this, because of the wonderfully porn-worthy set-up, but I was bored out of my skull. But perhaps it will be some other reader's cup of tea. I couldn't let it go by without mention. Plus, I went to BJ's for a birthday cake this morning and picked up Dead and Loving It by Maryjanice Davidson, although I swore to the heavens I would ILL this after shelling out for two hardcovers and a trade paperback last year, all shitty. She's got a great a genuinely humorous, and snarky voice that really stands out. She's just getting extremely light on substance. But hey, it was 35% off. So yeah space rangers, you're getting tossed aside for obnoxious werewolves and vampires.

Ritual of Proof by Dara Joy

So I was looking at this fun blog and this particular entry, besides being hilarious, made me curious about the book. So I went to Amazon and the huge amount of highly diverging reviews, made me even more curious. As I was off to the library with the kiddies later that morning, I was pleased to find the book in the hardcover version, which, I must note, was quite attractive and tasteful. Anyhoo, this was my first foray into Sci-Fi romance (except for an Ellora's Cave, which was all about the kink really--there are lots of bdsm planets, it seems). And it was...interesting and pretty clever. ROP (as I will call it) takes place on a planet where, it is insinuated, a ship of radical feminists crashed and proceeded to settle a civilization based upon regency romance novels except with the traditional gender roles/balance of power reversed. Hmmm, Yes, Okay. Well, I could buy a group of radical feminists wanting to destroy traditional society and recreate a new one, and I can even buy that they might want to subjugate men, particularly if they were those mean 70's Andrea Dworkin type feminists, but Regency? Please. Why would they recreate a society with such a rigid social hierarchy? I guess they weren't Marxist Feminists, because they sure don't care about social equality. Although, I do find it amusing that the old docs in the archives are romances. Anyway, shall we press on? The plot is the spirited young lady chafing against societal restrictions married off(against her will?) to the strong yet fair aristocrat who can take her in hand. Can they love and live together in harmony? Except of course, the young untried lady is a man and the older, more experienced peer is a woman. Whatever, it was fun. I really did like the hero, Jorlan. I didn't find him wimpy or overly submissive. I thought that Joy did a good job of making him strong, yet still be "the wife." Green, the heroine was a little annoying and arrogant, but then I think that it's my own gender assumptions that made me uncomfortable with her. By the way, the reviews on Amazon are fascinating to read. So many readers were so uncomfortable with this premise. It seems as though romance readers want traditional gender roles and male alphas. In their books, that is. I found this to be an unusual and entertaining read. It does require a strong suspension of disbelief (don't get me started on the "male hymen", that shit must chafe in one's trousers), a tolerance for dumb sci-fi speak (klees, kloos, mack-mock etc.), and a bit of open-mindedness. I must say, despite the intriguing premise, this book didn't say anything to deep about gender. The role reversals were too pat. For a fantasy world in which females rule, and it's a lot more interesting, read the "Blood Jewels" trilogy by Anne Bishop. They are more straight up fantasy, but there is also some romance. And they rock. So , so hard.

P.S. I was curious to see if Joy had placed any other novels in this world so I went to her website. It seems that Ms. Joy is tied up in some sort of litigation with her publisher, unfortunately. But check out this incredible cover. Ha. Cat did get my tongue indeed.