Even more Harlequins...

After my category experience, I thought I'd switch gears a bit, but then I found The Scorsolini Marriage Bargain by Lucy Monroe. Having read and enjoyed the prior title in this series, I decided to give it a go.

Title/Author: The Scorsolini Marriage Bargain by Lucy Monroe
Harlequin Presents
Miniseries/Tagline: Royal Brides/The Scorsolini Princes: Proud rulers and passionate lovers who need convenient wives!
Plot: Troubled marriage/Big misunderstanding
Hero: Principe Claudio Scorsolini, future ruler of Isole dei Rei (where is this country supposed to be?)
Heroine: Therese Scorsolini, convenient wife

Review: Ms. Monroe writes an excellent Harlequin Presents. She really knows how to pack a satisfying romance into this short format. This is a category done right.

Therese Scorsolini has always known that she was chosen to be Claudio's bride because she fit his requirements, rather than because of emotion. That didn't stop her from falling in love with her serious, controlled husband. However, an issue has arisen that Therese knows is a deal breaker. Despite her love for her husband, Therese believes that she will have to divorce him. Claudio realizes that his wife has pulled away from him in the past few months, though he doesn't know why. He finds himself increasingly uneasy and upset, and when his wife asks him for a divorce his worst fears are realized. Could the wife he never loved be leaving him for another man?

Like the Anne Mather of a few posts back, the book involves a troubled marriage, misunderstandings and fertility issues. This one works where that one didn't for a couple of reasons. We are given enough insight into the characters' thoughts and behavior that their actions make sense. Yes, Therese keeps a big secret from her husband, but based on their circumstances, and on his past behavior, I could see why she did. Plus, Monroe doesn't drag stuff out for too long. Just when I was about to say, "enough already", Therese comes clean with Claudio. Claudio was one of my favorite kind of heroes--cool, controlled and confident, but totally stupid where his feelings are concerned. His behavior bordered on boorish for the first part of the book, but just when I was about to write him off as an asshat, he discovers the secret that his wife has been keeping. He feels genuine regret for acting like douchebag, and tries to atone for his actions. These two characters were not the best with the whole emotion thing, and had made a lot of assumptions about each other. Reading about how they started communicating and came to terms with their feelings for each other made for a really satisfying love story. Plus, the chemistry and love scenes were hot!

Of course, it had to end with a pregnancy, but it was the first I've ever read that happened with IVF. That made me happy, because miracle babies bug me. There are lots of couples out there struggling with infertility and I don't like how HEA always seems to equal effortless pregnancy. I give this one an A.

On a high from the Monroe, I pulled another HP from the pile,The Marriage Renewal by Maggie Cox, only to realize that I had almost purchased it a second time. Thank God I didn't, because after a valiant effort, I gave up and skimmed the last 50 pages or so. In this one, five years after walking out on his wife, Tara, and their marriage, Mac Simmmonsen seeks her out to ask for a divorce. He is engaged to marry another woman, but upon seeing Tara again and hearing about the child they lost, promptly changes his mind and breaks it off with the fiancee. But that's okay, because she is French and therefore vain, shallow, and probably smelly. Instead Mac is determined to win his (understandably) skittish wife back. In the end, I just couldn't get past the premise of this one. This guy walks out on his weeping wife, doesn't contact her at all for five years, then upon catching sight of her realizes he still loves her. Dude, you didn't contact her at all for 5 years. Didn't even google her. Didn't even check to see if she had a MySpace page. It's not like he had much of a reaon either. He was just work-obsessed. I felt like he just wanted to get back with her because he knew she had been pregnant, and wanted to be a father. It also seemed like their past issues (his workaholism, and her resentment of his career) would get in the way again. BTW, I'm trying not to think too much about why I keep buying these "troubled marriage" books.

If you find yourself over- or underwhelmed by the array and descriptions of HPs and don't know if you can bring yourself to go there, I highly recommend giving Lucy Monroe a try. And now I'm ready for a change of pace. I'm going to try Blo<Blood Son by Erica Orloff. Trying out Harlequin's new paranormal line. Let's see how it goes.

Happy Birthday, hanrahan!

I would like to send out a birthday request to you, and at the same time try to figure out how to post a video clip to my blog.




It's the Zarf version of "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban. I'm kinda bummed he didn't do something by Celine Dion or "You and Me Against the World" by Helen Reddy (which for all of you who weren't there, was the song my m-i-l chose to dance to with the hubby at my wedding. It was weird). Please ignore the funeral milieu, and focus on the classy black suit and french twist.

You're an inspiration to us all, hanrahan. Hope you had a good day!


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Harlequin Happy...Part deux (Spoilers)

Title/Author: The Bought and Paid For Wife by Bronwyn Jameson
Line: Silhouette Desire
Miniseries/Tagline: The Secret Lives of Society Wives--Some scandals even money can't hide...
Plot: REVENGE!
Hero: Tristan Thorpe--bitter stepson, rich Australian footballer and businessman
Heroine: Vanessa Thorpe--former waitress from Yonkers, trophy wife/widow

Review: So I bought this one because of the title. It must've sounded interesting at the time, but when I pulled it out, I was like, Dang, what were you thinking? Because:

a) A romance heroine cannot really be a golddigger, so she must have a mentally disturbed or developmentally disabled sibling or child to support, and that's why she married a rich old coot.

b) Sex with old men is icky if you're not an old lady, so the marriage must've been platonic. Hubby was the daddy that her alcoholic, jailbird father could never be.

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These chesnuts never get old. Yes, yes they do. I must have been in weird mood the day I bought this one, because golddiggers with hearts of gold? Not my bag. Plus, now I think that I'm psychic. The Bought and Paid For Wife, revolves around Tristan Thorpe, who is contesting his father's will. Twenty years ago, Tristan's father divorced his mother, and they moved to Australia with nothing. And now the old man's left his entire estate to some young chippy? Tristan's going to get his (and his mother's) piece from the father who abandoned him. And if he has to go to Eastwick CT and prove the golddigger's infidelity, so be it. For her part, Vanessa has tried to be as polite as possible to the stepson she has never met, but she's not going to take his crap any more. Of course, sparks will fly and nothing is what it seems.

Sooo...not bad, not great, pretty standard. Yes, indeedy, Mrs. Thorpe, Tristan's Stepmama, who's not really a golddigging slut, has an autistic younger brother who she has taken care of since she was a teenager. Sigh. She also never slept with her late husband. In fact, she is a 29 year old virgin widow. Sigh. I would assume that this extra measure of purity was taken to make up for the extra ick points caused by the possibility of sleeping with a father and son. She didn't just not screw your daddy, she hasn't screwed anyone but you, Tristan! He comes off rather hard and mean, but soon softens under the spell of lust. Vanessa's a bit colder. I don't quite understand why the heroine, Vanessa, was quite so insistent on keeping her brother a secret from everyone she knew, including her closest friends. I guess there wouldn't have been much of a story otherwise. But there was nice chemistry between the two, and it kept me reading.

Also, Jameson did a nice job of interesting me in the other books in the mini-series. Speaking of, which, eHarlequin.com doesn't keep much of a record of its backlist, huh? This book was from 6/06, and I couldn't find it, or any of the others in the mini-series on the site. I also appreciated how the book ended. Often in categories, I'm frustrated by the leap at the end to marriage and babies. It seems too quick for the story given. But in this one, they acknowledged that they were in love, but they still had a lot to work on and learn about each other. I felt like the story of Tristan's upbringing and his mother's possible lies was given short shrift, and it would've added to the story/character development more. Also Jameson's Australian, and her writing did not seem very American, know what I mean? Certain phrasing and usage...just not what an American would say. It didn't bother me really, I found it a bit amusing, just noting it. I'd give this one a C. I enjoyed it, not a keeper.

Now I remember why I cut back on the categories. They always sound good at the time, then I get disappointed.

Harlequin Happy...

My reading mood keeps changing. All of a sudden I decided that I was in the mood for some classic Alpha males and babies of revenge. So I pulled out some Harlequins that I bought awhile ago.

Title/Author: Jack Riordan's Baby by Anne Mather
Line: Harlequin Presents
Miniseries/Tagline: Wedlocked!--Legally Wed, but He's Never Said "I love you!"
Plot: Big Misunderstanding/Troubled Marriage/General Stupidity
Hero: Jack Riordan--hardworking, sexy Irish construction CEO
Heroine: Rachel Riordan--Poor little rich girl wife

Review: Where to begin? Well as our story opens, Rachel is confronted by a woman named Karen Johnson, who claims to be pregnant with Rachel's husband's baby. Rachel is understandably outraged, even though she had known of her estranged husband's affair for the past six months. She awaits her husband's return that evening, and what does she do? Does she throw a wine bottle at his head while ranting about castration and betrayal? No, despite the fact that they haven't shared a room in over two years, she seduces him. In the time honored tradition of idiots everywhere, she is going to get pregnant to keep her man. Excellent. Of course, husband Jack isn't really having an affair, and he is so happy when he finally gets some from his wife, that he's gobsmacked when she accuses him. Karen is actually an evil stalker, and she's going to cause more problems for these two, who have lots of problems already. Misunderstandings and miscommunication abound.

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I haven't read a book that filled me with such irritation and rage in very long time. I freaking hated it. This is supposed to be about a couple whose marriage has been torn apart by repeated miscarriages, an interesting premise to explore, but poorly exceuted here. Unable to share her pain and fearful of getting pregnant again, Rachel pretty much checks out of their marriage. Jack responds by throwing himself into work. Yet we are supposed to believe that these two truly love and lust after each other. Rachel hasn't slept in the same wing as her husband in over two years. She made him sleep in an armchair while visiting his parents, for Chrissakes. Jack is suffering from health problems, but doesn't feel he can confide in his wife. I just had a difficult time getting past the fact that they had let their marriage deteriorate so badly, without any kind of communication or effort. Then some ho says she's pregnant and they suddenly realize how much they love each other? The situation isn't helped by the fact that the characterization is paper-thin. Rachel is a passive, whiny brat, both boring and unpleasant. Jack, far from the chest beating Alpha I expected, just seemed weary and depressed. Understandable perhaps, but not romantic. This was a failure on all levels. It was awkwardly told, there was no chemistry, no heat, no romance. It gets my first ever F. The only thing that made me smile was when evil stalker ho pushed Rachel off the cliff. Everything else in the book I both expected and dreaded. That was a surprise that made me laugh, albeit inappropriately.

Slanted and Enchanted...

Over the past two evenings I devoured Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield. This is a memoir by a music journalist (if you watch any of those countdowns or pop culture shows on VH1, you've probably seen him dissing people on it), in which he details his relationship with his two great loves, music and his late wife Renee Crist. Rob and Renee were a classic case of opposites attracting. They were brought together by their shared love of music. They met at 23, the only two people in a bar to perk up when a Big Star song comes on the jukebox. By 25, they were married, and at 31, Rob was made a widower when Renee suddenly and inexplicably dies of a pulmonary embolism in their apartment.

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I completely adored this book. The majority of the book covers the years 1991-1998 or so, which were my high school and college years. Like Rob, I have a lot of fond music and pop culture memories of the time. It was a time when Seattle was king, you could turn on pop radio and hear bands like Weezer, Elastica, and Belly, hip-hop was awesome and dangerous (Public Enemy! Ice-T!), and a 16 girl could go to sleep, clutching her pillow and dreaming of Trent Reznor, Henry Rollins and Anthony Keidis. Ahem. This book has a lot of musical references, which might be less interesting to those not really interested in music. But it brought back a lot of memories for me, and I think that many of us have our own musical memories; songs and bands that make us think of a particular time, place or person.

I loved the story of his relationship with Renee as well. She sounds like a fantastic person, and you can see how he fell so in love. His tales of being a young music geek in love, a young, scared husband, and finally a young, lost widower were alternately funny and sad. I was truly weepy when reading about his experiences after Renee's death: how he felt like he couldn't listen to music again without her to share it with, how much he hated being single again, his obsession with Jackie O. I'm a married person who is the same age that Rob was when he lost his wife, and man, I can't even imagine.

His writing style is very funny. Here's a passage in which he describes his 13 year old self (p. 28):

The words "douche" and "bag" have never coupled as passionately as they did in the person of my thirteen year old self. My body, my brain, my elbows that stuck out like switchblades, my feet that got tangled in my bike spokes, but most of all my soul--these formed the waterbed where douchitude and bagness made love sweet love with all the feral intensity of Burt Reynolds and Rachel Ward in Sharky's Machine.

Not even sure what that means, but it makes me laugh. This is a fast read, alternately hilarious and touching. I loved Rob, I loved Renee, and I'm happy that he was able to live and find love again. If you miss the nineties, if you love rock, pop and alternative music, or if you like true stories of true love, give it a try. An A for this one.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Note: I think I posted this last year too, but I can't find any Zarf Valentines and haven't the skills to make one. Have a good one, y'all!

Would you like some cheese with your whine?

Oh man, when is she going to get back to talking about smut?

I don't know what's gotten into me, but I just can't let this go. This is the effect that race discussions and extreme pro-lifers have on my brain. The thread on race, romance and publishing at Dear Author has degenrated into a who's black and who's not and who's allowed to say what bitchfest. I see that Jane has had to close the comments. Too bad, but you knew that would happen. Monica Jackson, is abrasive, judgmental and rather sanctimonious, and unfortunately it obscures the point that she is trying to make, which has both merit and truth to it. Oh well, what really interests me is the effect of the niche type marketing on romance readers and writers of all hues.

But I can't resist having some fun with this anonymous comment from one of the threads at Karen Scott's blog:

Anonymous said...

What I want to know is when here in the US are we going to have Austrian history month? Italian history month? Swedish history month? Welsh history month? White people may all have white skin, but our history is surely just as interesting as African history, yes?

Oh man, I love it when Whitey whines about the "special treatment" black folks get. Why no white history month? Why do they get Kwanzaa? Waaahh...My ancestors didn't own slaves, it's not my fault, waaaaahh...puh-leeze.

The above comment reminds me of when you're little and you say, "Mom, there's Mother's Day and there's Father's Day, why isn't there any Kid's Day?" And Mom would say every day is Kid's Day. Not that every day is White People Day, but there are plenty of holidays/festivals/events etc. which celebrate American history. Black History Month is one of these. BHM celebrates African-American History and the contributions made by African-Americans. Anonymous, it doesn't really involve African history, although I suppose that if you went to Africa there would be celebrations of particular countries' histories. Ditto for Austria and Italy.

What I am saying is that if you are an American, African-American history is part of your history. I am of Italian and Irish extraction, my grandparents and their families passed through Ellis Island around the time of the Great Depression. So no, my family did not own slaves, during the time of African slavery in America they were picking potatoes and sharing their shacks with the livestock. So we weren't part of slavery . By the same token, my ancestors weren't around at the birth of the country either. But would I say, "No, I'm not going to learn about or celebrate the Fourth of July or Thanksgiving, because it's not my people. They were Protestants from England and I hear they didn't like Irish Catholics too much." I am an American, the history of the US is my history. That includes a lot of different groups and events. It is up to me and every other American to embrace and learn about what their history and culture entails.

But since Anon asked, shall we take a moment to see what other Ethnic American Celebrations we can enjoy?

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We'll start with the easy ones:

March 17: St. Patrick's Day (Irish-American)--Wear your green or fisherman's sweater and Drink up!
March 19: St Joseph's Day (a saint's feast day celebrated by a lot of Italian-Americans)--Wear red and gorge yourself on sfuzzi and zeppole. Wash it down with wine if you've recovered from St.Patty's.
October: Columbus Day (Italian-Americans)--have a boring parade and try not to think of what we did to the Native Americans.
September 15-October 15: Hispanic Heritage Month--Why did they choose to straddle two months? Who cares, eat up!
April: Asian and Pacific Islander-American month--Try a new cuisine (You can tell that I'm Italian-American, because all of my ideas for celebrating holidays revolve around food)

Some more obscure ones (from Ask Professor Holiday):

February 4: Kosciuszko Day (Polish-American)--Tell offensive jokes and eat some pierogies.
March 29: Swedish Colonial Day (Swedish-American, celebrated in DE)--Go to IKEA!
March 31: Cesar Chavez Day (Mexican-American, celebrated in CA)--Don't eat all day!
September 17: Steuben Day (German-American): Wear Lederhosen! Drink more beer!
June: Puerto-Rican Day: have your own parade! Watch West Side Story! Call people Mami and Papi!

So there you go, anonymous. Plenty of Ethnic cheer for all (though you've got me on the Welsh there). I'm a children's librarian. We live for this shit. We've got a book display ready for every event and occasion. You should see what we did for National Soup Month in January (Come to think of it, no one was bothered by soup getting special attention). Seriously, though, if you or anyone else is offended, do me a favor and drop me a line. I'm chomping at the bit for a fight.

Doin' that race and romance thing...

So there has been quite a bit of discussion about racism in romance the past week or so. As per usual, I was late to the convo, but I've finally caught up and gotten the full picture. Although it got a bit heated here and there, for the most part a lot of really interesting stuff got brought up. Only rarely did the conversation degenerate into idiocy, as when the French chick called all Americans racist because she knew someone who wouldn't let their kid watch "The Cosby Show." To which I say, that's a damn shame, because that? Was an excellent show. Also, I was watching "The O.C." a couple of weeks ago, and there was a smelly French character, ergo, all French people are smelly. Also the words "whitey" and "Negro" came up, I believe. Good times, good times. If you have been living under a rock, or if you don't normally frequent romance-centric blogs and are interested, the threads to which I am referring can be found here, here, and here.

This seems to me to be a three pronged issue:

1: Are AA (yes, this is pretty much a black/white thing I'm going to be talking about here) authors being marginalized by being shelved in AA fiction sections rather than the romance section?

2: Does this type of shelving hurt or help authors? On the one hand, AA readers can easily find AA fiction if that is what they are looking for. On the other, are they being limited from finding a wider audience? (Wait, is this actually part of #1?)

3: Do white/other readers not seek out AA romance? And if so, should they make more of an effort to do so?

Many of these blogosphere dust-ups have me rolling my eyes, but this one got me thinking about my reading habits. A little self-examination never hurt anyone. Also, it made me veddy, veddy curious. Bear with me folks, all kinds of thoughts are percolating here.

How much AA romance have I read? Erm, uh, hmmm...I'm sure I can think of something...

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Well okay, then, there's your answer. Perhaps. I cannot be positive that I haven't read more romance novels by AA authors, I don't pay attention to back cover photos all that much. But I haven't gone out of my way to read romances with AA content, though. Why not? Short answer: laziness. I have seen some AA romance, but they were of the contemporary or category variety, a genre that I am only interested in sometimes. It never occurred to me to look deeper. I am also really shocked by the AA fiction section thingy. I knew that there were AA sections in the bookstore, but I thought that they were more for historical/sociological type stuff. I know that bookstores have different aims than librarians, but this bothered my librarian soul. I feel that some labelling is good, but too much is detrimental to readers and authors (Rant to follow at some point). Is it true that AA romance is shelved separately? I am currently conducting a sociological investigation of bookstores in the 516. Results to follow soon, and strongly worded letters will be written if necessary.

However, this discussion really brought to my attention my lack of knowledge of AA authors. I discovered the following authors through this discussion. All shall be added to my list of authors to seek out:

Seressia Glass
Dyanne Davis
Roslyn Hardy Holcomb
Eve Vaughn (e-published author)
Lena Matthews (e-published author)

[Side Note: I am noting that the last two authors publish with e-publishers, because I feel that is a different situation. The act of browsing for books online at a site like Samhain or EC is very different from doing it in a bookstore. I usually browse by genre or theme. It's easier to find stuff up your alley and make random discoveries. I think the race factor is partcicularly incidental here, because of the different physical dimension. I had heard of them both, I just hadn't been hitting the e-pub sites due to lack of funds. They both do the interracial and the kink thing that I like. Wheee! I've gotta put aside some $$ for e-buys, 'cuz I've also gotta read the new Bonnie Dee.]

The first three authors publish through Genesis Press, an independent Af-Am press, and I can honestly say that I hadn't heard of any of them. I would assume that they are put in the AA fic section. And that just sucks, because if it wasn't for this dust-up they wouldn't have been brought to my attention. Do I feel like it's my duty as a liberal white girl to read AA authors? Not particularly. But we all have our reading preferences. Some of mine are vamps and other things that go bump in the night, uptight heroes, bookish heroines, reunited lovers, younger man/older woman, a bit of BDSM, black woman/white man...the list goes on and on. And these authors have books that fit within these preferences well. Ms. Glass has one about psychics that looks as thought it will be quite good, also some good IRs. Ms. Davis has some interesting ones, including one about a Pakistani med student and a Black nurse. Ms. Holcomb has one about a bookstore owner who gets involved with a Rock Star, which sounds like my teenage fantasy of my future. These books appeal to me not because of the color of the author's skin, but because of their content. However, if they are not shelved in the Romance section, then I probably wouldn't have found them. So yes, this white girl thinks that racism in romance is an issue.

Laziness on my part? Perhaps. But then again, you've never been in the bookstore with the Destroyer. She alternates between winging books at passerby, and sticking them in the stroller basket. I have to remember to check before I leave so I don't get busted for shoplifting. Then when she tires of these pursuits, she starts shrieking. So, yeah, it's a quick in and out. I can't be wandering around too much. But during my bookstore investigation, I'll bring potato chips. That keeps her quiet for awhile.

More to come later...

Sugar Shock...

I've been aware of the works of Catherine Anderson since I became involved with reading romance. Her works seem to be generally enjoyed and well reviewed, but to this cold, cynical bitch, the synopses of her books inspired mixed feelings of revulsion and fascination. Ms. Anderson seems to specialize in saintly, but "damaged" heroines, and equally good, kind and patient heroes. Her love stories are tailor made for such adjectives as tender, poignant, inspiring and other words that give me the heebie-jeebies. At the same time, they also seem quite original, and thus, compelling. At work the other night, I couldn't resist the following blurb, from My Sunshine:

He didn't need anyone—
until one woman brought sunshine into his life...

The New York Times bestselling author delivers her most poignant Coulter family novel yet...

Five years ago, Laura Townsend's life was nearly destroyed when a head injury impaired her ability to use language and forced her to abandon a brilliant career. Despite her difficulties, however, she never lost her vivacious spirit or sunny disposition. Now she has a great new job at an animal clinic—and a handsome new boss who fills her heart with longing. But veterinarian Isaiah Coulter deserves a woman who can meet all his needs. Battling her feelings, Laura decides that sometimes a woman must love a man enough to walk away...

When Isaiah hired Laura, he wasn't expecting her to be such a breath of fresh air. Impressed by her healing touch—and captivated by her dazzling beauty—Isaiah finds himself falling in love. And he'll move heaven and earth to convince Laura that she's the woman he needs...the only one who can bring joy to all his days.

C'mon folks! Brain damage? How could I resist finding out what happened?

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Laura Townsend is a woman of many talents, despite her brain damage. She is gorgeous, kind, she cooks and bakes, she's great at Shabby Chic decorating, she always says grace before meals, and she can talk to animals (well, pretty much). In fact, I do believe that cartoon birds braid her hair in the morning. Gah! Seriously though, although Laura was rather Disney Princess too good to be true, one of the things I liked most about about this book was the treatment of her disability, a type of brain damage called Aphasia. While Laura was all sweetness and sunshine, her problem was treated fairly unsentimentally. Aphasia affects the language centers of one's brain, and I was concerned that Laura would be some kind of ethereal woman-child who spoke like Jodie Foster in that movie. But Laura seemed like an intelligent, self-sufficient woman, who had found means to compensate for her difficulties, and even had a sense of humor about them. Except for the scene where we find out that she is a thirty-one year old virgin. It's not the virgin part that bothers me, because I do know people who waited to have sex, not because of religious convictions, but just because they hadn't found anyone they wanted enough to do that with. Plus, she had had her accident five years ago. It was that she was completely clueless about all things sexual. She didn't think a penis would be thicker than a tampon? Please, she was a scientist. It made her seem stupid, which was unfortunate.

Every once in awhile, my husband makes me this dessert where he sticks Twinkies into a bowl of ice cream, squirts chocolate syrup all over it, and then zaps it in the microwave for ten seconds. I know it's going to make my stomach hurt from all the sweetness, and its going to give me an ice cream headache, but it's just SO GOOD. It's warm and gooey and yummy and makes me feel happy. That's exactly what My Sunshine was like for me. It was so sweet that it made my teeth hurt, and it sometimes had me rolling my eyes, but I absolutely devoured it. The hero, Isaiah Coulter, was a nice guy, a workaholic veterinarian from a large, warm hearted family (this is actually part of a series involving the various Coulter siblings. He was less interesting than Laura, but they were well suited. The story, and their romance, developed at a nice pace, showing the evolution of their feelings for each other.

I could've done without the hammering over and over of just how wonderfully angelic Laura was, and without the long descriptions of the decor. Who cares about her Raggedy Ann dolls, animal knick knacks, and garage sale furniture? From the get go I pegged "the villain", as well as what was going to happen. I thought this external conflict was a bit unnecessary, because there was plenty of juicy internal conflict there, with what Laura's difficulties might mean for their future, could they overcome it all, etc. But the bad guy's breakdown at the end was pretty hilarious, so that was good. It was a lovely, and yes, sweet, love story. I would give this one a solid B. I would've rated it higher, but it was too sugary for my tastes. However, I am very interested in seeking out other Anderson novels. I'll be devouring them until my husband finds me, curled up in the fetal position, rocking back and forth and muttering phrases like "dear heart", "sweetness and sunshine," and "puppies and flowers." It will take repeated viewings of "Sid and Nancy" and "The Royal Tenenbaums" and chain smoking a pack of Camel Lights while listening to Smiths albums to bring me back to my old self. But I suspect it will all be worth it.

That's it!

It's official! The Office, and specifically Jim and Pam, are killing me!! Something better happen soon. Anything!

And my computer's acting up.

Review of my first Catherine Anderson coming soon.


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Get in the Way Back Machine

When I was in High School, I was sick all the time. ALL THE TIME. I had two extended bouts with mono, and in between I was plagued with constant sinus infections. During this period of time I read a lot. While I was home alone, I developed the habit of picking through my mother's stash of Romance keepers. There were several that stood out in my mind, and when my parents moved last summer, it provided me with a great opportunity to make off with some of them. I've been meaning to re-read to see if my 31 year old self likes the same stuff my 16 year old self did. But I haven't had the time until now. Seriously unable to stick with any book (check out my pathetic tally to the right), I thought that one of these old categories would be a quick read.

As it turns out, Laura Leone (now writing primarily as Laura Resnick, has written a number of well-received romances (including the man-whore book Fallen From Grace, which I've been intending to read.) The old favorite I picked out was Guilty Secrets, a Silhouette Desire originally published in 1990, and now out of print.

Guilty Secrets revolves around Leah MacCargar, a History graduate student who returns home for the summer to the Ithaca, New York home of Verbena MacCargar, the aunt who raised her. Leah is dismayed to find that her aunt, a noted Medievalist, has chosen a most unsuitable writing partner for her next publishing endeavor. Adam Jordan, who has taken up residence in the rambling home, is an author of what Leah considers to be flashy, lowbrow, "pop" history. Though he is handsome, sexy and charming, Leah disdainfully doubts his intellectual capabilities and academic credentials. Fiercely protective of her aunt, Leah sets out to get rid of the man she perceives to be a threat to her eccentric aunt's reputation and career. However, her interactions with Adam will ultimately cause her to question her long held beliefs.

["Read More!" is not working. Please click on the post title for the full post.]



This book held up quite well fifteen years later. Leone writes with a light, sure, intelligent touch. I enjoyed the accademic setting. This book is full of wacky hijinks. You've got eccentric family members, a menagerie of weird pets, pretentious academics, mysterious men in badly tailored suits and new age gurus running amok. Instead of being corny or hamfisted however, GS is witty and amusing throughout. The characters are great, particularly the hero. Adam is a well rounded character, charming, sexy and very intelligent. Unfortunately, Leah is another story. She is an unabashed intellectual snob who passes incredibly uninformed judgments upon Adam. At one point, he thinks to himself that the reasons she resists their attraction are "...superficial, pretentious, insubstantial and snobbish...." This isn't a bad description of the character herself, which dampened my enjoyment somewhat. But the couple's chemistry is sparkling, their interactions are fun, and Adam always gets the last word. As Leah comes to realize the folly of her ways, she becomes more likeable, and I definitely rooted for their HEA. Leone did a good job of showing their growing respect for each other, as well as their increasing attraction.

All in all, my teenage self had pretty good taste. Although I was left with the feeling that things got wrapped up a bit neatly and quickly (which I often feel with category romance), overall this was a funny, fast read with believable love story and fully realized characters. It's one of the best categories I've ever read, and I'd give it a B+. A look over Ms. Leone's website suggest that culture clashes and wit are a specialty of hers. A number of her titles are available in electronic format, and I'll definitely be checking them out in the future.

The Best Mess up ever...

I bet I know what ya'll were doing yesterday. Watching 12 back to back episodes of "Ghost Hunters." No, that was just me? Well, at least I know who won the Super Bowl. It was a team named after an animal. I thought Prince rocked (of course), although he forgot to take out his curlers and do-rag.

Several days ago, C2 alerted me to the delightfully grown up Daniel Radcliffe, who is starring in "Equus" in London. But when I popped over to Best Week Ever, hoping for some new Zarf-age, I found something hilarious instead. I guess we all mess up sometimes.

You must see this: Harry Potter as you've never seen him before. I can't believe this made it on to CNN.

Hockey Meme

I'm on a roll tonight! Go typey-me!

TPTB over at SportSquee! have taken it upon themslves to tag me. I'm warning you, although I have been to a hockey game or two in my life, I know nothing about hockey. But I'm going to give it the old college try.

Without further ado, it's the "If I Were a Hockey Player" meme!




Team: New York Islanders
Uniform number: 2
Position: Defenseman (I can be very defensive)
Nickname: DG, Mookie

Dream linemates: Margee's former life coach, Mario, Wayne Gretzky (he plays hockey, right?)
Rounding out the PP [what's a PP?]: Brendan Witt, that guy whose name is Satan (but it's not pronounced the way you think) and Mookie Wilson
Job: handing out Juice Boxes and GoGurts, walking on people's backs
Signature move: the post-goal, Michael Jackson inspired, victory dance on skates

Strengths: rage at the world, flexibility
Weaknesses: the tendency to zone out at sporting events and to get distracted by the fun plastic beer bottles (and the beer within)
Injury Problems: Achy shoulder caused by heavy diaper bag and hunching over laptop
Equipment: You should see my equipment (sheah, that's what he said)

Nemesis: The Rangers. Even I know that, as a Long Islander, the Rangers are my enemy.
Scandal involvment: Punching the Geico gekko in the face, hijacking the Zamboni machine.

Who I'd face in the Stanley Cup Finals: Toronto Maple Leafs (When in doubt, pick on Canada. :))
What I'd do with the Stanley Cup after our victory: Eat Ben and Jerry's Karamel Sutra out of it, then wash it and give it to the Destroyer to wear as a hat.
Would the media love me or hate me: Hate me, because, really I probably wouldn't be too good at hockey.

I'm tagging anyone who wants to take a stab!

Pain in my ass...

I spent many, many hours last weekend attempting to get the expandable post thingy to work, because I do realize that the sight of my long winded posts can be off-putting. But when I click on the "Read More!", nothing happens. But if you click on the post title, you can see the full post. At some point I shall attempt to fix.

Gina is my homegirl...

So I've definitely been having a case of the "it's not you, it's me"s (tm KristieJ). I was having trouble getting into a book, not because it's bad, but because it just wasn't fitting my mood. I was looking forward to something grabbing me the way Demon Angel did, but it just wasn't happening. Definitely the January blahs. What to do? I pondered. Aha, time to call on an old standby. Paging Ms. Brockmann.

So I committed a breach of personal protocol, and read Breaking Point, even though I was going out of order. I needed to get some resolution on Max and Gina. I first fell in love with Max and Gina in Over The Edge. Max Bhagat was the unflappable FBI agent and ace hostage negotiator. Gina Vitagliano was the Italian-American college student from East Meadow New, York (right next store to me! Strong Island in the house!) stuck in the cockpit with the terrorists. They communicated via radio, and Max was eventually able to save Gina, but not before she was beaten and gang raped by the terrorists. While Max was forced to listen and watch. Their relationship developed over the course of the books, a mix of animal attraction and deep emotional connection mixed with a large dose of Max's guilt over his "failure" to save her, as well as his weirdness over their almost 20 year age difference. Eventually, Gina has it up to here with Max's shit, and takes off for Africa. Breaking Point begins when Gina's name appears on a list of casualities in a German terrorist attack. Jules Cassidy (He's gay. Did you know he was gay? Well, he is and don't ever forget it.) is the lucky stiff who gets to break the news to Max. And away we go!

Now let me just say, one of my favorite types of romance hero is the uptight, controlled guy who underneath it all seethes with passion. Well, Max takes it a step further. He is eaten up by passion with Gina, but he is thrown into a tailspin by what he perceives as any weakness or failure. In short, he is a mess. As I mentioned before, Max needed some therapy toute suite. What's so bad about a beautiful, intelligent, strong, nubile babe adoring you? Stop it! As for Gina, she's great. I find many of Brockmann's heroines somewhat... emasculating, but Gina's someone I'd hang out with. She's strong and down to earth, and sees through Max's facade to the mess underneath, but adores him anyway. However, she's not a doormat or a martyr, so when she's had enough of Max's crap, Gina decides to cut her losses. We see the deterioration of their relationship through flashbacks, as Max travels to Europe and then to Indonesia
to find out what happened to her. (Spoiler: she's not dead. But I bet you already guessed that).

I enjoyed this one, it definitely had me from the get go. It was interesting, emotional and hot. Although, as per usual for me, my interest in the "action-y" bits started to flag towards the end, so I started to skim to get back to the emotional bits. Max and Gina had as much chemistry as ever, and a very satisfying reunion. And I'll definitely be picking up Out of Control to get the full story on the secondary couple, do-gooder Molly and man-of-many-aliases Grady, because they were hot too. My main complaints were the fact that I started to get bored of the action, that Max and Gina were apart for too long for my tastes and that Max was such an annoying bitch sometimes.

Plus, enough already with Jules. I do live in a blue state and all, but I find it hard to believe that no one can react to Jules without discomfort and homophobia. For God's sake, "Will and Grace" was on for, like, 8 years. They're here, they're queer, aren't some people getting used to it at least? It's just so heavy handed, the way everyone's like, "Yikes, he's gay!" But then they decide he's not so bad after all, even though he's GAY. Love Jules though. Give him a man, already. Actually, I'm reading Hot Target next. I read Suze's dedication to her son, and it made me verklempt. No joke. Keep it up Brockmann, and I'll be your bitch forever. A B for this one.

Speak of the Devil...

Just as I was thinking about forcing my sister to read a romance novel, I popped on over to her blog (which is very funny, btw), and lookee! The group blog that she is a part of Hockey's Ladies of Greatness had an interview with Deirdre Martin, who writes hockey-centric romance. Anyone like sports romance out there? Those SEP ones I like (and I was going to make Margee read one). I also read See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson. Anything else good out there?

Things on my Mind...

*Jane Eyre (the new BBC version)--I watched the second and final part on Sunday night. I've been thinking a lot about whether I liked it or not. I feel they took some liberties in this retelling, but in the end that's all right with me. The first part, with the young Jane and at the Lowood school was highly condensed. But the Jane/Rochester stuff is more interesting anyway. I thought that the actress who played Jane looked the part perfectly, but had a limited range of expression. I've been pondering the portrayal of Rochester by Toby Stephens (who is Maggie Smith's son, by the way). At first I was like, eh. He didn't fit my expectations. But in the end, I thought he was very good. As a young'un, I found R. to be terribly brooding and romantic. But age, maturity and Women's Studies classes led me to realize that actually, he's pretty much a dick. I thought that Stephens expressed R.'s inner turmoil and conscience well. Not so much about his wife (Who's definitely the bad guy and deserved to be locked in the attic. Snerk.), but about what he was doing to Jane. It wasn't all just sexy, tortured guy. I really did enjoy this (and they had GREAT chemistry). I'd like to see it again.

*Misleading movie commercials--This just pisses me off.Blood and Chocolate, which recently came out, is based upon a YA novel written by Annette Curtis Klause. I loved this book and re-read it not long ago. It's a shame that Klause doesn't have more books published, because B&C and The Silver Kiss were both quite good. However, the trailer implies that the story has been drastically changed. The setting has been moved, and the characters aged. Plus,the human guy that Vivian dates has been turned into a hero, while Gabriel gets the evil treatment. Meh. Indeed, a quick skim of the IMDB comments suggests that fans of the book should stay away. I was startled by the commercials for Bridge to Terabithia, based on the Newbery Award winning novel by the fabulous Katherine Paterson, which seem to present it as a fantasy. Very different from what I remember. So I popped on over to IMDB. As of yesterday, there was only one comment. The review suggests that the movie is, in fact, true to the book, which is a moving story dealing with themes like friendship, being an outsider, bullying, and death. The fantasy scenes are only a tiny part of the movie. Although the review was quite positive, I gotta wonder if parents expecting something Harry Potter-esque might be in store for some serious discussions that they weren't planning on when they chose the movie.

*Guest reviewers wanted--So I want to do something where someone who has never read a romance novel (chick lit doesn't count) before reviews a book of my choosing. I'll provide the book, you provide the honest opinion. Volunteers are welcome. I have a couple of victims in mind, so they may as well volunteer now before I come after them. I'm thinking a little hockey or football romance to start. Hmmm, Margee?

Demon Angel by Meljean Brook

Demon Angel by Meljean Brook has been making quite a splash in the blogospere lately, perhaps not surprisingly. since Ms. Brook is an active blogger herself. A lot of people have reviewed this one. I was looking forward to reading this one since I first saw it at Sybil's. I actually stopped reading the reviews because I didn't want to spoil myself. So,now it's my turn to take a stab at reviewing this one, which is the author's first published full length novel, I believe.

The Story (My apologies to the author if I’ve left anything out. This is a dense story, and I mean that in a good way): Demon Angel begins in thirteenth century England, where seventeen year old, newly knighted Hugh meets the demon Lilith as she wreaks havoc near the estate of his liege lord. They are immediately drawn to each other, as Lilith torments Hugh, and he is alternately attracted and disturbed by her. Once Lilith’s machinations result in Hugh’s death, she finds that she is unable to complete the ritual that will send his soul to Hell. Instead, she turns him over to Michael (as in the Archangel), the head of the Guardians. The Guardians are men and women who have been given angelic powers in order to protect humans (and their souls) against demons. Over the next eight hundred years, Hugh and Lilith cross paths repeatedly as they carry out their respective roles. They are adversaries, but their relationship is tempered by their strong attraction and respect for each other. Part One ends in 1991, when Hugh, dillusioned and disenchanted with his afterlife, decides to Fall. In a last ditch attempt to save Lilith’s soul, he stabs her through the heart. The second part of the book resumes in 2007, where Hugh has become an English professor in San Francisco. When one of his students is killed in a ritual murder, Hugh is brought face to face with someone he thought he’d never see again: Lilith, now FBI agent Lily Milton. She has changed a bit, but she still serves Lucifer, and he still wants one thing from her: Hugh’s death.

[Ok, I tried to make that as succinct as possible while still getting the point across.]

The Good: I loved Part One. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but I’m a geek for medieval stuff. One of the fascinating things about the Middle Ages was people’s overwhelming concern for their souls, and their absolute belief in the demonic. There are many narratives of people’s encounters with demons. So I liked the idea that demons actually were fucking with people and setting up their downfall. As I mentioned, the “universe” of demons, Guardians (and vampires and nosferatu) created here was a dense one, with a lot of rules and backstory. I thought it was developed well—fit within the story (not “info-dump”-y), and I came to understand everything. I just found it to be a fascinating world. And I loved the development of Hugh and Lilith’s relationship throughout their encounters over the years.

But I think that Brook’s particular strength is characterization. Man, Hugh and Lilith were freaking awesome characters! Hugh was very strong, and a warrior, but also singularly kind and compassionate. Although he is very concerned with saving souls (especially Lilith’s), he is not self-righteous. He’s got a good sense of humor and I loved how he just got Lilith and accepted and loved her for who she was. Lilith was a very strong, kick ass heroine, and not in that annoying, aren’t-I-so-sassy-and-petulant way. She was a demon (actually, half-demon/half-human), but she wasn’t evil. Lilith enjoys meting out her brand of justice to those she thinks deserves it, but she can’t quite stomach some of the other demon stuff. And hey, I’m sure that lots of us have a streak where we wouldn’t mind if rapists, molesters and murderers got damned to hell. And her vulnerability where Hugh is concerned…these two just rocked! They were fully fleshed out characters, rather than types, with a really interesting (and HOT), well-developed relationship. They are just drawn to each other from the start, they really get each other, and their feelings deepen over time. There is always that sense that they genuinely like and respect each other. Plus, there are a lot of great secondary characters, from Sir Pup the hellhound to Colin Ames-Beaumont the vampire (“’But I’m extraordinarily handsome.’”).

The Bad: I have read that some people felt that there were problems with pacing. I have to admit, after Hugh and Lilith got together, the last hundred pages or so lost a lot of momentum for me. The whole mystery/action subplot just wasn’t as interesting to me as the character/relationship stuff. I wanted to know how everything would get resolved, and how they would get their HEA, but my attention flagged here and there. I hesitate to blame it all on the writing though, because I’ve been exhausted this week. I think it’s a combo of the cold and the fact that the Destroyer’s getting her two year molars. She’s been a whack-a-doodle this week. My husband actually called me at work on Thursday to beg me to come home. Who would’ve thought that a man with multiple tattoos, two Harleys and a black belt in Karate could be reduced to a quivering mass by someone who’s two and half feet tall and 24 pounds? Wimp. She is a hellcat though. I think that Lilith would like her.

The Verdict: This would perhaps vary according to reader taste, but for me, the great character and relationship development, and the world building, definitely trump the slow final act. I am looking forward to future stories by Ms. Brook. I hope she has many great ideas, characters and relationships in store for readers. I’m giving this one an A-. Her next one, Demon Moon, features Colin (yay!) and Savitri Murray, who was also in DA. She’s getting a pre-emptive thumbs up for me for an Indian heroine. I don’t think I’ve read an Indian heroine in a romance since The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye, many, many years ago.

P.S. Sorry for the long ass post. I seem to be unable to make the expandable posts anymore. Also,at Dear Author, Demon Angel is the book club selection. Now that I finished the book, I'm off to take a look.

Other interesting things...

...though perhaps not as interesting as possibly murderous transgendered rock stars who love lesbians.

I wasn't going to reveal the subject of my whiny DNF post, but to give readers fair warning: it was Dark Whispers by Samantha Garver. Although I did give up on it, I found a review at AAR today, that I very much agreed with. The reviewer, Leigh Thomas had many of the same concerns that I did, and her assessment of the hero and heroine were spot on. I'll be looking to see if anyone else takes this one on, and what they think. It's unfortunate, because I would've liked to pimp a new author, and it was a fun idea.

Anyone watch Jane Eyre on Masterpiece Theater? I love this story,ever since I saw an old BBC miniseries of it (with Timothy Dalton) when I was 14. I loved Rochester, although now, in my old age, I want to smack him around a bit. Is it me or is this version a little, well, sexier than the novel? Not that there was any actual sex, but Jane and Rochester seemed a little flirty to me. I'm not a stickler though, and I enjoyed it plenty. I'm looking forward to next Sunday and Rochester's betrayal. I thought Jane was particularly well cast.

Best of Both Worlds...

Chicks with dicks!!!



A couple of weeks ago, I was at my parents' house on a lunch break, and All My Children was on. Bianca (AMC's resident lesbian) is talking to her sister about her attraction to a man. I'm like, "What the Hell? They're turning Bianca straight?" Mom's like, "I don't know. The guy's name is Zarf, and he's a rock star, and wears eye makeup." And I'm like, "What, is he Ziggy Stardust? Is he from Melmac?" And then Zarf shows up in a black dress, a slightly adrogynous but distinctly male figure with a very affected accent. What in the name of all that is holy? Day-um. If anything could start me watching soaps again, it's trannies with smudged eyeliner.

Apparently, Zarf was introduced as female rock star "Zoe." Then he came clean about being a man. Then he fell in love with Bianca, and realized that he's a lesbian in a man's body. Bianca's pissed at him now, although he's going to get gender reassignment surgery, and you'd think she'd be happy about girl parts. And half the town thinks he's a serial killer, or something. I don't know. It's all very confusing and over the top, but fascinating. Even though I'm obsessed with Zarf, I don't get to watch it every day. He's handsome, but somewhat creepy, which is unfortunate. I think it's the accent, a faux British lockjaw thing. It makes him particularly bizarre, so I don't know if I'm rooting for him and Bianca.

I'm just amazed that AMC went there. For those not in the know, AMC has a reputation for dramatizing social issues. They had AIDS and homosexual storylines way before it was dealt with on prime time. And Bianca, the lesbian, gets way more play than any gay character on prime time network tv. I mean romances and love triangles and the whole bit (though being a soap opera, they never end well.) But will they really go through with a man becoming a woman? I don't know. All I know is, it makes for some hee-larious tv. Apparently, I'm not the only one. I was looking for a picture to post, and apparently VH1's Best Week Ever blog is doing a daily Zarf Clip. You must check out her big breakdown.

p.s. I couldn't find a single pic of Zarf in a dress or the Silence of the Lambs bathrobe. What a shame!

I give up...

I spent many hours Thursday evening and Friday, trying to get my wireless connection fixed. That problem seems to be resolved, but now when I click on many of the links on my sidebar, I get a "Bad Request Error 400" sign. It appears to be Blogger sites only that are giving me this message. However, if I go to, say, Dear Author, I can acess the sites from there. I've run spyware programs and looked for information on fixing this problem. It is suggested that it may have something to do with the server. So I spent a fruitless half hour on the phone with a customer service rep who had never heard of Blogger. I'm out of patience.

But I am curious. If someone is dropping by, please take a moment to click on "Romance Reading Mom" or "Ramblings on Romance". I want to know if this is a computer related or site related problem. If you can access these sites through my sidebar, let me know. And of course, if you have any idea how to fix this problem, please let me know. Thanks much. Have a good Sunday.

The Great DNF Debate

I have a really hard time giving up on books. I feel like I owe it to myself to finish after investing a certain amount of time. And the author put her/his time and effort into it, shouldn't I finish it so that I can form an opinion based upon the entire work? Plus, what if I give up and it turns out that I missed something really good? Like, if I had only continued reading for ten more pages, the whole thing would have turned around. I have issues. But if all those concerns aren't enough, I also spent money on the book, dammit!!

I am currently reading a book that I was looking forward to, and had really hoped to enjoy, for a number of reasons. But it's slow going, I admit. I'm putting it down or falling asleep a lot. I knew I was in trouble when I picked up the book this evening and sighed deeply when I saw how much I had left.

There are several glaring problems with this book, which are growing increasingly distracting. The first is a problem I believe is associated with the phenomenon of the "wallpaper historical." I am completely confused about when this book takes place. It must be some time during the nineteenth century. One of the main characters is a Bow Street Runner (early Victorian?). Men wear tricorn hats, stockings and breeches (Regency? Georgian?) The behavior is very anachronistic. Everyone is awfully informal, calling each other by the first name. The heroine is charming and witty, but her winking, eyebrow waggling, and constant facetious/funny/provocative comments seem like they might cause consternation in others. In the last chapter I read, a group of characters trooped off to a tavern, where scantily clad men and women dance like extras in "Dirty Dancing." There is a talent contest, where a titled lady gets up and sings in front of the entire tavern. The heroine then dresses up like a man, and gets up on stage and sings a very suggestive song, aimed at the hero (who she has kissed once). Maybe I'm just clueless, but I'm confused and getting irritated.

Plus, there are editing/sloppiness issues. Everyone is scowling all the time. Characters' eyelids draw together (one more than one occasion), which gave me a disturbing mental image until I realized that what the author meant was that their eyebrows had drawn togther. The heroine is described as "uncommonly tall". How tall is she, you might ask? At one point she is described as being two feet taller than a man, at another point she is one foot taller than another male character. Even if we place these men at a petite 5'3", that's one freakin' tall woman.

I'm the kind of reader who can forgive all kinds of errors and absurdity, for the sake of an intriguing and entertaining love story. Alas, that doesn't seem to be the case either. I know I'm rambling here, but I had to get this off my chest. When is it time to give up on a book? I keep hoping it's going to get better, but instead I'm getting caught up in and distracted by the issues. Should I cut my losses? My head says yes, but my heart says, "Keep going, give it chance." It seems like a lot of work, though.

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.

New Books for Me!

I had gotten a Barnes & Noble gift card for 50 dollars and I hadn't made it to the store yet. So I decided to take a little field trip. I didn't think that there was too much out that I wanted. But I ended up buying five books and two magazines, YogaLife and Everyday with Rachael Ray. I bought the Rachael Ray mag before, and the articles were interesting, but way too much Ray Ray. I don't hate her, but seeing that doofy grin too much definitely makes you want to smack it off.

Anyhoo, I was quite proud of myself for trying out some new authors and not sticking within the same old, same old. On the other hand, I don'tknow anything about a couple of them, so I hope they don't suck.

I bought (linking because I have no idea how to upload pics without them being fuzzy):

A Man in a Million by Jessica Bird--This one, by J.R. Ward's alter ego, I was planning on buying. I read the previous one, From the First, and thought it was just ok. But I've got a soft spot for tattooed former bad boys, and it sounds a bit corny, but appealing.

Demon Angel by Meljean Brook-- I also went shopping thinking I'd pick this one up. It's been getting good buzz, and I'm just happy to see a paranormal that's not about vampires or wolves. And I don't think that there are any fated mates.

Midnight Eyes by Sarah Brophy-- I was kinda planning on this one too. I usually don't like medievals, but I decided it was time to try again, and the blurb sounds interesting. Plus, it was 3.99

Dark Whispers by Samantha Garver-- This one was an impulse buy. This appears to be the second release by this author, who also doesn't have website. I picked it up because it was 4.99, and then the cover blurb got me. It sounds kinda Gothic-y, and there aren't enough Gothics these days.

Twilight Magic by Shari Anton--Another impulse buy from a new to me author, although she has a number of books out. Another medieval, I picked it up due to the cover, read the back and decided I needed it. Hopefully it wasn't a mistake.

So...contemporaries, medievals, demons, ghosts, psychics...I'm switching it up a bit after the VampFest that was the fall. Does anyone know anything about these, particularly the last two? Next I have to make a list of the crap that I didn't buy, but think that I may need sometime in the future.

Things I've Seen...

I've actually watched two movies in the last week!

*The Wicker Man, starring Nicolas Cage. This is a remake of a seventies film which starred Edward Woodward, and the original supposed to be much better. But I've never seen it, so that didn't really concern me. It was an interesting movie, slow at times, but different than most of what seems to be out there these days. It's about a policeman who goes to a small island colony in the Pacific Northwest. What he finds there is very strange. There were some strong actresses in small roles (Ellen Burstyn, Frances Conroy from Six Feet Under, Molly Parker from Deadwood, Diane Delano). But the female lead, an actress I had never seen before, was beautiful, but incredibly wooden. It was kind of jarring every time she came onscreen.

*The Covenant, starring a bunch of young good-looking men I've never seen before. The husband brought this home for me. Sometimes he makes strange choices on my behalf, but this looked promising enough. There were a bunch of hot, shirtless young men on the back of the case, and it was about young sorcerors in Ipswich, MA. It started out promisingly enough, with an (unconscious?) homage to The Lost Boys. I was looking forward to some cheesy fun. But the story was very poorly told. I suspect the movie was edited to within an inch of its life. The narrative took big leaps, so that it didn't make too much sense. Things seemed to happen with no reason. Except for a note at the beginning, the boys' powers and their origin were never explained. The Covenant of the title was given only a cursory mention about 2/3 in. I don't really know the what or why of it. If it's the title it should be explained. And the villain and his motives? Just dumb. This was a disappointment. One note: one of the actors, Taylor Kitsch, was quite pretty. And he's over 21. I checked, so I don't have to feel guilty over ogling.

Things I've Read...

*Fear the Darkness by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I got this online short story from Nath. Worthwhile for completeness, for those of us who enjoy that sort of thing. Pretty much more Nick angsting/bitching. Bleh. I'm sure he'll be redeemed and all, but at this point I could give a rat's ass. The excerpt for her next release, The Dream Hunter, didn't particularly excite, either. But I popped on over to her website, and I did do a little dance when I discovered that Ash's book will be out at the end of the year. I'm still excited for it, but there's so much build-up, I can't see how it won't disappoint.

*New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. Another winner. One might think that one would not like this book, given that Bella and Edward are apart for 3/4 of the book, Bella was in a lot of emotional pain, and she grows close to another guy, Jacob. But the angst was good angst. I felt awful for Bella, but I felt for her. It wasn't just whining (I'm looking at you, Nick) And I really liked Jacob. There. I said it. I actually kind of wished it was more of a triangle. All I am saying is oy, the break up scene, and the scenes after Bella and Edward see each other again. Must be read several times.

*Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning. A decent read, not stunning but I'll be looking for the next one at the library (August 2007). I think that half the books I read as a teenager had a young woman travelling to a foreign country to investigate a mystery regarding her family and meet an enigmatic stranger. I have an affinity for that type of thing. Plus I'm a sucker for Ireland and the Fae. There were two issues that I hope go away. First off, this a recounting of events that happened to the narrator, MacKayla Lane. So "Mac" seems to feel the need to say something like "Little did I know..." or "If I had only known then..." or some other hokey foreshadowing phrase, at the beginning and end of each chapter. Y'know, the kind of thing that screams "DUN, DUN, DUN! Ruh-roh, some bad shit's about to happen." Heavy handed and lame. Next problem is the main male character. His name is Jericho Barrons, and for some reason, I have taken a violent dislike to that name. And I don't like him much either. It's too early to tell if he's the hero of the series, and I kinda hope he turns out to be a bad guy. He crosses the line from enigmatic to dickhead. Actually, I have a theory about who he'll turn out to be, so hopefully I'll stick with the series long enough to find out if I'm right.

Best of 2006...

Some other stuff...

Best Non-J.R. Ward Vampire Book:

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. A very engrossing read. Anyone who likes stories about teenagers or vampires would like this one. Worth a try even if you don't like vampires.I just finished New Moon, and I can't wait until Eclipse.

Best E-book:

Bone Deep by Bonnie Dee. I debated whether or not to make a separate category for this one, because I don't want to make it seem as though e-book are somehow different or less than print romance. I just wanted to mention more books. All jokes about crappy covers aside, one only has to visit an EPublishing site like Samhain, Ellora's Cave, or Liquid Silver to see that some of the most interesting and unusual stuff is being published in electronic format. Whenever I drop by, I always want to read so many of them. Damn my tight budget! [Will review for free books!] Tatooed guy from the carnival! Forties setting! You won't be seeing Avon publishing something like that anytime soon. I just loved this one. It was very sweet, yet very sexy. I think I might re-read it tonight. P.S. Great Cover.

Best guilty, guilty pleasure:

Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Abandon reality, all ye who enter here. The hero is a "tigard" (a mix of of tiger and a leopard), the heroine is a wimpy law student/senator's daughter. Since this is an SK, they have cartoonishly nasty parents. There are also cartoonishly nasty preppies named Todd and Blaine, a trip back to 1981, and a general disregard for rules set up by Kenyon in previous books. Even for the over the top Dark Hunter series, this one was over the top. I used to wait for one of this author's releases with baited breath (reality be damned is my motto), but her output has been increasingly disappointing, and I find myself increasingly uninterested in reading. But although I found UTN a bit ridiculous, it was fun and sexy, and very readable. I think this might be due to the absence of Ash. I actually love Ash, but his story has started to overshadow that of the primary characters in some of the more recent books. Hopefully, things will get back on track this year, and thanks to Nath, I have a new online Kenyon story to read.

Well that's all for now. Off to console the family over the Jets loss. Hopefully 2007 will be full of good, and so bad it's good reads.

Best of 2006...

Best Romantic Suspense/Best Contemporary/Best pre-2006 read

Killing several categories with one stone! I don't read much straight up comtemporary romance or romantic suspense, but on this blog I've made no secret of my love for my new(ish) discoveries, Tara Janzen and Suzanne Brockmann. I read the first four of Janzen's "Crazy" series back to back, in a frenzy. Pure over the top, escapist, fun. My favorite of the series so far has been Crazy Cool. Christian "Superman" Hawkins was an awesome hero, and his appearances in subsequent books only confirm his greatness. I didn't expect to like Katya Dekker (poor little rich girls bug), and I didn't like the idea that he had gone to jail because of her. But this story of lovers reunited delivered on all fronts: sweet romance, hot sexin' and wild action. Some of the others books were a little flawed, but this one totally hit the mark. As I'm typing this I'm thinking that I really want to give it a re-read.

What else can I say about Suzanne Brockmann? Her characterizations can be flawed, and some of the details might be a bit ridiculous, but when you mix it altogether, it just plain rocks. Brockmann is fun to read and different. You run across characters that you don't really find in romance. Although my glom got derailed by a sudden interest in reading vampire books, I'm sure I'll pick it up again in 2007. It's kinda nice, 'cuz I still have a bunch to look forward to. My favorites so far are: Over the Edge and Gone Too Far.

Best of 2006...

Historical Style!


I didn't read a lot of memorable historicals this year, so this was an easy one to pick. Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas was a great read. Kleypas is a very reliable author, in my opinion. Even her mediocre books are very readable. I think she's just good at creating chemistry between her characters, and also at creating memorable heroes. Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent is a fabulous rake--witty, cynical and naughty, without any tiresome torturedness. He just was who he was, unapologetically, and what he was was delicious. It's a toss up between him and Derek Craven, for real. I enjoyed the stuttering, mousy Evie Jenner too, although she wasn't quite as vividly drawn. The Virgin and the Rake has been done, done, done to death, but this was a nice take on the story. The gaming club setting was a nice callback to Dreaming of You, and I loved the secondary character Cam Rohan, who will be the hero of Kleypas' next historical.

Ahhh, Loretta Chase! Another very reliable author. I just wish she published more often. Her books are distinguished by great characterizations, and sparkling dialogue, and Lord Perfect was no exception. I liked the proper hero (Benedict Carsington) and the unsuitable heroine (Bathsheba Wingate), which is a reversal from the usual. This was a fun road romance. I love how Chase creates these very contained characters who fall ridiculously in love. It turns them into idiots and they don't know why. And it always works.

There has been a lot of discussion about the state of the historical. There are certainly a lot of mediocre ones out there. It just seems like they keep retreading the same plots, character types, and settings over and over again. But books like these remind me that a good historical romance can be the greatest escape there is. There's nothing like a world of wealth and beauty, with gorgeous men, balls and ladies' maids, to take you away from your concerns and daily grind.

Best of 2006...

Paranormal edition!





Overall, I must say, 2006 was not quite the reading year that 2005 was for me. I read a lot of books that I was "whatever" about, and a number that were outright disappointments. This week, I'd like to highlight some of my favorites of the past year. Let's begin with the paranormals. The romance market has absolutely been glutted with paranormals, as everybody and their mother tries their take on the vampire legends. In a genre that has quickly become hackneyed and cliched, J.R. Ward's books stand out. The premise is not particularly original (leather-clad vampire warriors), but the execution is so vivid that you can't help but get caught up in the world. I think the characterization is a particular strength. Thus far, Ward has created heroes (and potential heroes) who are not only vividly drawn, but quite distinct from each other. They're not all just grumpy, broody guys whose parents were mean to them or whatever. I enjoyed both Lover Eternal and Lover Awakened a lot. Have already re-read both a number of times. I loved both heroes, and I liked that the stories were so different from each other in tone. Ward's world is telescoping at a nice rate, so that I'm actually intrigued and interested. It must be said that Butch and Marissa are the characters I find least interesting, but I'm very excited (like dance in my seat excited) for their book, Lover Revealed, just for the return to the world of the BDB. Then again, I didn't think I'd like Rhage's book that much, but it's my favorite so far, so who knows?

In short, bring on the stupid spellings and names, and the annoying slang! Ms. Ward makes it work. Slap my ass and call me a fangirl.

Happy New Year!

Hope this post finds everyone well and curled up on the couch, recovering from last night's festivities. Here at the house of Germs, we are watching "The Honeymooners" and continuing to avoid cleaning up the post-Christmas mess. Everytime I try to start putting things away, I turn around and they're all back out again.

So over at Romancing The Blog, a brave columnist has decided to take on the the very original, never addressed topic of mean bloggers, with their nasty 'slash and burn' reviews. As usual, I was late to read this, and by the time I did, all that needed to be said had been said. This particular posting seemed particularly obnoxious. So I just need to say one more thing. Or two.

I discovered reader blogs by accident when I was looking for an author website. I was amazed to find intelligent, funny writing about something I loved, and that I was kind of embarrassed about loving. I didn't know anybody besides my mom who read romances, and nobody thought too much of them. Then I decided to give the blogging thing a try myself. I thought it was a way to exercise my writing muscles, and to get out my thoughts about the great and not so great. Because I do actually find romance novels fascinating on a number of levels. As I kept writing, I found that I really enjoyed it. And it was one of the few outlets that I have, as a mostly stay at home mother. Silly as it may sound, it was something that was just about me, about something I enjoy. It had nothing to do with family, home or dog. I really enjoyed reading other's interesting, funny, and yes, snarky thoughts on books and whatever else crossed their minds. And as I started to face some personal difficulties, the blogosphere was an easy escape for me.

So I raise a toast (of chamomile tea) to you, reader/reviewer bloggers, for sharing your thoughts and love of this genre, and inspiring me to do the same. Here's to a new year of memorable reading. I look forward to seeing what you all have to say!