Quickie Reviews

I read 16 books in November, same as last month, and 158 books total for the year. Doesn't look like I will make anywhere near my 2004 total of 197 and 2003 total of 229. I was unemployed for part of 2004 and all of 2003 so I guess that makes sense.

I'm behind on my reviews so I thought I better put some thoughts down on a couple before I completely forget. I'm too lazy to do long reviews so here are some quickies. I was going to put some covers up but I couldn't be bothered. Changed my mind.

Almost Perfect (Julie Ortolon)
KristieJ raved about this author on her blog and since she and I have such similar tastes in books I decided to try this first book in the Perfect Trilogy. Maddie, Christine and Amy were college roommates. In this book Maddie and Joe were high school sweethearts who meet again at a summer camp. Years ago Maddie had rejected Joe's marriage proposal to attend art school. Joe is a former Ranger who had a tough life. I really liked Joe. Even though he still feels hurt by Maddie's rejection, he gives her support and encouragement while she overcomes her fears and attempts to make a name for herself in the Sante Fe art community. Maddie was a bit harder to like and I couldn't understand her initial rejection of Joe. AP was a light and quick read, and I enjoyed it almost as much as Kristie.
My grade: B


Her Body of Work (Marie Donovan)
Very few of the Harlequin Blazes I have read have lived up to the term 'blaze' but this one certainly does! Wow, it's a sizzler. And very well written especially considering this is a debut book for Donovan. Rey is a Chicago sculptor who only works with nude male models. Whew, I want this job. Marco is a Cuban-American with a perfect body who Rey hires to model for her latest commissioned sculpture. The h/h are great believable characters. The steamy, hot sex scenes were excellent and provided a perfect balance to the cold Chicago setting. And the sex scenes were an important component of the h/h's developing relationship. Not just sex for the sake of sex. The backstory involving Joe's job as a DEA agent and the danger from a drug lord provided some suspense but I found the growing relationship between Rey and Marco much more fascinating.
My grade: B

Wild Orchids (Karen Robards)
I was complaining a while back about being cold and had heard that reading a book set in a hot climate can warm you up. So I went looking for something set in a steamy jungle from my TBR and came up with this one. WO is a road/cabin romance that starts out in Cancun, Mexico when Lora is carjacked by Max. I normally love an alpha hero but this guy is an alpha jerk. Way over the top jerk too. He scares her to death when he jumps in her car with his face hidden by a sombrero, kidnaps her and manhandles her when she tries to escape, but the worst part is his repeated threats of rape! You know, I could almost forgive him if he could have groveled or even apologized because he does not actually physically abuse her. But, no! No apologies, no groveling. Heroine is no wimp either, she's a fighter and insists on staying with him when their lives are in danger. So I never understood why she is SOOO hot for him even while he is bullying her or threatening her with rape. I did not fall for that crap. Well, WO warmed me up, partly because of the hot sex scenes and jungle heat, but mostly because it pissed me off. I thought this book which combined two of my favorite themes (jungle and road/cabin romance) would be great but I ended up disappointed. Granted this was an oldie, originally published 1986, so I should probably allow some leeway, but threats of rape turn me off.
My grade: C-


I have a couple more reviews to write but they'll have to wait till later. I'm pooped and going to bed.

Sunday cookie exchange

I'm still trying to finish some book reviews but other things keep getting in my way. My circle meets tonight at 7:00 for our annual cookie exchange. Gaaack, I have to bake 4 dozen Christmas cookies. Crap. When I was a stay-at-home mom this was no problem for me. I baked cookies for the kids all the time. But I rarely bake anymore. I need to come up with an easy Christmas cookie recipe. I have frozen chocolate chip cookie dough but dare not show my face tonight with plain ol' chocolate chip. Bob suggested I bake those and put green and red sprinkles on top :) I'm tempted, but that'd be cheating. ::sigh:: So instead of blogging I need to hunt up a recipe.

Saturday adventures

I went to Costco today and was surprised at how uncrowded it was. Don't get me wrong, it was very busy and as usual I had to park in their far back parking lot but that was only 1/4 full and I found a spot near the front. A couple aisles were very busy but mostly it was smooth sailing. They're big on samples there so I ate my way around from aisle to aisle sampling crackers with brie, granola, Chex mix, chocolate chip cookies, and salad with sesame dressing. As you see, still craving carbs!

While I was there I picked up Nora Robert's Red Lily for only $4.29 (cover price was $7.99). That's almost half off. I was amazed at how few mm paperbacks they had, only a few bestsellers. They used to carry a huge amount of mm paperbacks but I read somewhere that they are only going to carry hardbacks and trade size in the future. That sucks! They have such great prices.

I am currently reading Dark Lover (J. R. Ward) and really loving it. I feel like I'm the last one to read this. All the buzz on the reader blogs was right. Very sensual and dark. I can already tell I will be reading the rest in the series.

I also have Breaking Point (Suzanne Brockmann) book on tape playing in the car. The last few books in the Troubleshooters series have not been that great. This one is #9 in the series and I think I like better than all the books since Out of Control #4. It's Max and Gina's story, with Molly and Jones' story. No WWII story so far of which I am heartily glad. I never enjoyed those, too distracting.

I plan on doing Keishon's TBR challenge for December where we are reading Liz Carlyle. I have two: No True Gentleman and The Devil To Pay. I know that Carlyle's books are sort of connected but I'm not going to let my series mania get to me so I'll plunge right in without worrying about it. Aren't you proud of me?

Also I got my bedroom blinds ordered and they arrived! I originally wanted those sheer horizontal blinds but the cost was incredible. Then I talked to my step mom and she says they are difficult to clean. I was then going to order aluminum blinds but CindyS suggested wood blinds so I went shopping and decided I really liked them. They are actually faux wood blinds, but they look like wood painted white (Levelor color: white sandblasted). I love the way they look. But one problem, they made a mistake on the order and I have to return one of them. I order inside mount on all three, but one came as outside mount. Their customer service dept. isn't open till Monday. ::sigh:: I'm hoping I can get that one exchanged by Christmas. Bob managed to install the other two with a minimum of cussing. Doing stuff like this always brings out the 4-letter words. Normally, he never cusses and hates when I swear.

I'm going to a handbell concert tonight with my girlfriend so I better get a move on.

Lost Book

Damn media mail. I ordered a book (Cry No More by LH) from PBS and it was mailed somewhere around October 21 and I still have not received it ::cries:: That's over 5 weeks ago! PBS gave me back the book credit I used for it. And if it ever shows up I'm supposed to let them know, but it's probably a lost cause. I have read CNM from the library but I wanted one for my keeper shelf.

I never received a book that I ordered from half.com once. Course, that could have been due to a flaky seller. I eventually got my money back but they made me wait two more months.

I also traded away two books on PBS and mailed them about 3 weeks ago. And they still have not been received. Not quite a lost cause yet.

What's wrong with USPS anyway? Maybe some postal employee needed something to read. That I could understand since it was a great book.

Update: And there's a postal rate increase coming too, but I'm not sure how or if media mail will be affected. I'll go over to USPS.com and check it out. OK, here's the scoop. On January 8, 2006 a first class stamp goes from 37 cents to 39 cents and media mail goes up 17 cents from $1.42 to $1.59. That's a 12% increase. So you will no longer be able to use four first class stamps, which is what I have been doing to mail a single book. Four 39 cent stamps is $1.56 so you'll be short by 3 cents. Damn. Spending more money for the privilege of having our books lost. What fun!

Sorry for the bitching and whining.

20 Book Things

Jay came up with this meme idea about our book quirks and then CindyS did it too. It looked like fun so I thought I would try it too but the problem is that I have a bunch of the same quirks as both Jay and CindyS. Oh, what the hell, I can't remember them now anyway. But I may have duplicated some of theirs.

1) I used to dogear pages to mark my place, even on library books (librarians hate this). But I have reformed and haven't done it in about 5 years.

2) I can never find a bookmark when I need one so I end up using grocery receipts or torn off pieces of paper from a newspaper, ad, napkin, kleenex (clean), straw wrapper, sticky note, etc.

3) I have sewn 3 books covers with a ribbon for the bookmark - two for mm paperbacks, and one for trade size and use them all the time. I'm thinking of making a couple more because they are getting worn out. Combines two of my favorite hobbies; reading and sewing.

4) I can read in the car without getting car sick (except on a really windy road - urp - excuse me).

5) I have a hard time visualizing a tall heroine. She starts out tall and after a page, she shrinks down to about 5'4" (funny thing, I'm 5'4"), then whenever the book mentions her height, she shoots up, only to shrink back after a page. This continues through the whole book.

6) I have a hard time visualizing a heroine with slim thighs (see #5). They start out slim then plump up to normal after a page, until their thighs are mentioned again. So it's plump, shrink, plump, shrink, plump ... a losing battle. (Story of my life.)

7) I keep a large Excel spreadsheet listing most of the books I have read, wish to read, and have in my TBR. All of these total over 2400 books. I keep a copy on my PDA (used to torment stalking bookstore owners.) I'm paranoid about losing it so I make a backup copy periodically.

8) When driving in heavy traffic, I read when I stop at stoplights. People sometimes have to honk at me but what the hell, I guess I don't care.

9) I'm very visual so book covers frequently influence my book buying decisions. I bought Goddess of Spring for no other reason than the glitter on the cover. Oooo, pretty.

10) After finishing Linda Howard's An Independent Wife, I tore it into shreds and dropped the tiny pieces into the garbage. Very satisfying.

11) I hate it when characters have names I cannot pronounce. It takes me right out of the story every time the name is mentioned.

12) I like books with pets in them, especially cats.

13) I feel guilty if I don't enjoy a book someone has bought for me as a gift so I force myself to finish it. Even if it's crap.

14) I try to avoid books with a subtle or kisses rating at AAR. I want HOT sex in the books I read (stealing this one from CindyS because it is so true).

15) I love how new books smell (eau de book ink) but I hate how the ink gets all over my fingers.

16) I sometimes buy duplicates of books that I really love to keep one as a spare 'just in case'.

17) I paid $30 for a hard to find collectible book. It's my favorite medieval romance of all time.

18) I have a huge collection of Mary Balogh books I began collecting in the '80s, probably worth a fortune now. I haven't collected the newer books though.

19) I don't have enough book shelves so most of my books are in plastic boxes.

20) Even though I continually try, I still can't break the habit of reading the last page (or chapter) of every book I read.

This was a fun exercise. Anyone else? I need some volunteers here.

Black Friday

Braved the crowds today and went shopping with the daughter at the infamous Bellevue Square Mall and didn't buy a single thing. The daughter wanted to go very badly and practically begged me to go. So I went but I dragged my feet all the way. We took my new car 'cuz husband was washing my old car in the pouring rain to get it ready to sell. Better him than me.

Turned out that the traffic was not as bad as I expected and we found a parking spot fairly quickly which is amazing. The usual jerks who wait till someone comes out to their car, loads their packages and backs out so they can grab their spot, were not in evidence. I hate those people! Just drive on, you idiot, there'll be something further on! You're just too freakin' lazy to have to walk a little further. Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine.

I was glad I went because it was so nice to spend some one-on-one time with my daughter. We get along so well now. And I really appreciate that, since those horrid teenage years when I was the stupidest person on the planet were no fun. She bought some gifts and I bought us lunch at Panda Express. The crowds weren't bad either. We saw no long lines but we did see a few pushy women.

I pulled a book out of my TBR at random today and came up with Karen Robards' Wild Orchids. This book is a real oldie, copyright 1986, and is set in the jungle of Mexico. It's a road/cabin romance. I love both jungle and cabin romances so I'm hoping this one will be good. The hero is very alpha and carjacks the heroine in Cancun. He's very mean to her so far (OK, I admit, I peeked at the ending and it looked good so I'm going to keep reading).

Hope everyone survived Thanksgiving! I'm wishing I had some turkey leftovers, but I made a pot of Taco Soup (Bob's favorite) instead.

Flash from the Past

Oh.My.God. I'm freaking out here. I just ran to the grocery store on my lunch hour to pick up stuff for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow at my brother's. I was standing in line at a check stand when I look up and noticed the checker! AAAAACCKK, it's my old boyfriend from high school! He had quite a bit less hair and quite a bit more belly, so I checked the name badge. Yup, it was him.

So I'm thinking what do I do? I don't like surprises like that. My immediate thought was to change to another checkstand but at that point I was the only one in line and I thought that was too obvious. I know you all think I am chicken and you'd be right. Fortunately, just when I was trying to decide if I should pretend if I knew him or not, the checker next aisle over rescued me and carted my stuff off. While she is ringing up the bill I'm peaking over.. yup, yup, that's him. So I made it out of there without speaking to him.

And the memories are flooding back. He's the guy who showed me how much fun it is to snuggle two in a sleeping bag :) (OK, get you mind out of the gutter, I was only 15, and nothing happened... well, almost. He was a very good kisser ;)

Now that I'm prepared, I think I'll go back next week and say hi (pretending surprise at finding him there). Yeah, I know, I haven't matured much since I was a teenager.

Happy Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving. A national holiday devoted to eating plus a four day week end. I'm very lucky because my family is wonderful. We get along great and we all live within 20 miles of each other. My two sisters, one brother, their spouses, and kids with their girlfriends and boyfriends, and my dad and his girlfriend (love her) will all be there (about 17 of us). We laugh, joke, tease, and torment each other in good fun. After dinner we clean up then sit around the dining room table and play dice, or cards, or a game. The party usually breaks up around midnight when we all cart ourselves and the leftovers home. We all take turns hosting the big dinner and making the turkey, with everyone else chipping in the rest of the food. I'm looking forward to it.

'Hot' reads

The weather here has been foggy and cold for about a week and I can't seem to get warm today. No rain, which is good, but continuously grey and foggy. Anyway, I recently finished two books with 'Hot' in the title . I read somewhere that in the winter you should read books set where it's hot such as the desert or tropical locations because it will make you feel warmer. And alternatively during the summer read books set somewhere cold because it will make you feel cooler. Hmmm, must be psychological, but there may be some truth to that because when I really get wrapped up in a book, I block out my surroundings and practically dive into the pages :). I recently read Nance's Jigsaw set in Northern Michigan in winter with vivid descriptions of snow and frigid temperatures that made me feel chilled.

I picked up Crazy Hot by Tara Janzen because of all the buzz from other bloggers and because I had enjoyed River of Eden by Glenna McReynolds (Janzen's pseudonym). CH was slow starting out. This is the first book in the Special Defense Force (SDF - a secret special ops group) series and a bunch of characters are introduced via a letter in the first chapter. I had to keep paging back and forth to this letter to try to figure out who was who. And the action picks up speed immediately causing me some confusion. But I quickly figured out the characters and plot and it turned into a fun ride. Regan is a palentologist who is searching for her missing grandfather. She drives to Cisco, Utah, looking for Quinn Younger who she is hoping can help her locate him. Regan and Quinn have a past history. They met when they were teenagers and Quinn developed a crush and infatuation for Regan since he accidentally catches her dressing and saw her almost naked. I loved these two characters and the secondary characters as well. And the sex was HOT, loved it. I also liked how the restored turbo charged cars had girl's names and were an integral part of the plot. My car-crazy husband would like this one (if I could get him to actually read a book). Between the hot setting (temperature-wise) and hot sex, this one will warm you up on a cold winter night. My Grade: B

Hot Target is the 8th book in the Brockmann's SEAL Team Sixteen series. This one was pretty good but I'm getting a bit sick of this series. I really want to read Max and Gina's story which I believe is told in the next one, Breaking Point. After that, it's going to take some great reviews and a lot of good buzz for me to pick up the next one. HT is Navy SEAL Cosmo Richter's story with Jane Mercedes Chadwick, a movie producer and takes place while shooting a movie in California. The movie involves the story of a gay WWII hero and Jane's life is being threatened by a radical homophobe. Cosmo is one of Tom Paoletti's team assigned to protect her. I never really warmed up to Jane and Cosmo and thought these characters were a bit flat. HT also features a gay storyline with FBI agent Jules Cassidy, Robin Chadwick (Jane's brother), and Adam (Jules' former lover). I thought this story was fascinating and enjoyed it more than the primary one with Jane and Cosmo. My Grade: B

Maybe the reason I've been so cold today is because I've been reading Her Body of Work by Marie Donovan which is set in Chicago in winter. Brrrrrrr. I think I better find something in my TBR pile set in the Sahara Desert or the Amazon jungle or maybe some tropical island. Oooo, that sounds good. I feel warmer just thinking about it.

Update: Just checked Brockmann's website and Book #10 in the series has a working title of Into the Storm with a tentative release date of December 2006. It's Mark Jenkin's story (whoever he is?). I'm hoping I can stay away from it, but I may need a support group.

Dedication by Janet Mullany

The cover of Dedication is deceiving because, woo doggy, for a traditional regency, this one is H.O.T. And inside the cover you will not find anything like your typical regency. Not only is this one more sensual, the complex plot was very unusual with many different threads running through it. The hero and heroine are more 'mature' than you'll find in other regencies as well; he is 43 and she is 37. To top it off, he is a grandfather who writes gothic romance novels! Finally a book that shows us that 'mature' does not mean dead.

Everything about the H/H was fresh and original. Fabienne Craigmont is a widow and a former refugee from France who has settled in England. She is now acting as a sponsor of emerging young artistic talent in London. As a naive 17-year-old she met and fell in love with Adam Ashworth who seduced her. After a brief affair he betrayed and abandoned her. Fabienne must marry for the sake of her family. Her husband turns out to be a better lover than Adam was the first time around and they have a wonderful sex life. Due to a Big Misunderstanding Adam also feels betrayed and abandoned and returns home after their affair to marry and surprisingly to him falls deeply in love with his wife. Adam is a now a widower and a gentleman farmer who secretly writes wildly popular novels. Adam and Fabienne meet again when Adam has heard that his young godson, Viscount Tillotson, has taken a mistress who is indiscreetly living in the Viscount's home. He rushes to town to knock some sense into his ward only to discover that the mistress is actually a young female artist, Miss Elaine Twyford, who is using the Viscount as a model in her paintings. Elaine's chaperon living in the house with her is none other than Fabienne, Adam's former lover.

I loved both Fabienne and Adam. Fabienne is unapologetically sexual and takes no crap from Adam. Although Adam is a flawed character and does not always behave as a hero should, his cherished memories and deep love for his late wife won me over. It's so unusual to see dead spouses portrayed so warmly and positively.

All the characters were unique and three-dimensional and the dialogue was sharp with a touch of humor. In several places Adam's thoughts were so typically male and I found them especially funny. The pacing of the book was a little uneven due to the many subplots. I didn't like the huge misunderstanding that takes almost the entire book to work its way out. Plus there were additional misunderstandings that develop regarding the identity of 'Mrs. Ravenswood', Adam's nom de plume. The book could have been longer and the ending was a bit abrupt. I read somewhere that this was originally a longer book but due the the shorter requirements of a Signet regency, Mullany had to cut it down. If that's true, I would have liked to have read the original!

If you are looking for something fresh and unconventional in a typical regency, you'll enjoy this one. Years ago I read hundreds of traditional regency romances but only a few stand out in my mind. So it was very exciting to find something original in this genre. Also, with a few exceptions, I prefer more sex in what I read :) If Signet has decided to market sexier regencies to keep this genre afloat, then I'm going to be reading more of them again.

My Grade: B

Girls' Night

I'm going to see the musical Cats tonight with a bunch of my girlfriends (Bob HATES musicals so he won't go with me). I bought 10 tickets to get the discount rate but I still was one person short until last night when I scrounged up one more person. Whew!

I'm looking forward to it. I saw it about 10 years ago in downtown Seattle, but this production is at the local community theatre. Their productions always get rave reviews so I hope it's good. I saw several other musical there and they were wonderful. Cats is a bit of a strange musical to me because as I recall there is no real plot, just cats dancing around and wonderful music (love the finale - Memory).

On the reading front:

I am reading Crazy Hot (Janzen) and was having a hard time getting into it. I found it kind of confusing trying to figure out who was who and what the hell was going on. But I'm on page 146 now and really enjoying it.

I am also reading Hot Target (Brockmann) on tape. I have never read a book with a gay storyline and it's pretty good. And I like Cosmo and Jane too and was happy that the WWII story is very minor compared to previous books. Brockmann needs to give that a rest. I don't want anymore WWII stories.

That's all for now.

Woohoo!!!!

I'm doing the happy dance here!! Just found out two minutes ago that I got a RAISE and a BONUS! It was a complete surprise. I was totally clueless that raises were in the works. Our admin walked into my office, closed the door, handed me my envelope with the good news and told me it was hush-hush because not everyone got bonuses. I have only been working here 7 months.

I just calculated it... the raise is 8.3%. That works out to an extra month's salary per year.

More books! More books!

Oh, wait, I forgot to mention, I think it's already spent. My husband bought me a new (used) car yesterday ::sheepish grin::. You're not going to believe this but he bought it over eBay. It's in California so he is flying down to LA and driving back with it. I think he's completely insane but it has been inspected and he won't hand over the money until he looks it over. He knows cars inside and out so I trust his judgment. It's a little sports car and really I think it's for him, 'cuz he has always wanted one. I don't really care what I drive. Did I mention he already has TWO pickups? So now all our vehicles are actually his vehicles. How did this happen? Anyway, we're going to sell my SUV. This little car is a hard top convertible and I'm a little worried I won't like going from sitting high in the SUV to sitting low in this car. He says if I don't like it he'll sell it and get me something I like.

I'm spoiled rotten!

I'll try to post a picture if I can figure out my digital camera.

The Courtesan by Susan Carroll

I recently mentioned to Rosario that historical romance used to be my favorite romance genre but I have become burned out from all their sameness. I will only read them now if there is something different or special in terms of plot, setting, or characters. The Courtesan is a fabulous book that fits this description perfectly. TC is the second in the sisters of Faire Island trilogy and picks up 3 years after the end of The Dark Queen. Set in Renaissance France in 1575, this book is Gabrielle Cheney's story with prominent appearances by her two sisters, Ariane and Miribelle.

As the story begins, Gabrielle has abandoned her home and her sisters to live in Paris as a courtesan in the royal court. She has recently set her sights on Henry, the Huguenot king of Navarre, who is being held prisoner by Catherine de Medici, known as the dark queen. Life in the royal court is full of intrigue, betrayal and religious politics. Gabrielle is still mourning the loss of Captain Nicholas Remy who was murdered in the St. Bartholomew's Eve bloody massacre three years ago.

Unknown to Gabrielle, Remy has survived, saved by the young thief Martin Le Loup, nicknamed Wolf. Remy has been hiring out his services for the last three years as a mercenary soldier all over Europe in order to earn enough gold to release his king.

All the characters in TC are excellently drawn and three dimensional. I complained about how Catherine de Medici's portrayal in TDQ was a bit over-the-top evil, but in TC she comes across as much more human and realistic, and I almost (but not quite) felt sorry for her. After all, she created her own problems with her abuse of power, manipulations, and black magic. I loved how the secondary stories with Ariane and Renard, and Miri and Simon are not shallow but play an integral part of the whole story.

But the stars of the book, Gabrielle and Remy, are wonderful characters who both felt that their past sins made them damaged goods. It was interesting how Carroll presents the parallel notion of Gabrielle selling her body and Remy selling his services. (Spoiler: The scene where they wash each other before making love for the first time and its symbolism of washing away sins was extremely poignant. And the love scene that follows was beautifully tender and sweet (and hot). ::sigh:: Very romantic. End spoiler)

I laughed a little, cried a little, and I couldn't put it down; all signs that I have a DIK on my hands. The intricate plot was gripping and compelling. I'm a relatively fast reader but on this one I wanted to slow down and savor every word. Gabrielle's past horror and her resulting feelings of self-blame and worthlessness was handled very realistically and not beat into the ground. Wolf, Remy's squire, was an intriguing character and I hope he has his own HEA somehow. Needless to say, I am waiting impatiently for the last book in the series, The Silver Rose, to come out next year in March. (Damn, that's too long from now.)

My Grade: A

The Courtesan stands alone with Gabrielle and Remy's backstory explained well, so don't feel as if you have to go out and read TDQ first. I don't particularly care for witches or magic stories but these subjects were very minor here so I don't consider this book a paranormal at all. The real historical figures that pop in are also secondary to the main characters making TC definitely a romance not historical fiction.

Sugar is eeeevil

This past summer I lost 15 pounds on Weight Watchers and reached my goal weight (again). In September I went in for my yearly (yuk) physical. Dr. C and I chatted about a bunch of stuff. I mentioned that I had just lost 15 pounds and she said "Wow, that's a lot of weight for someone with your small frame. You certainly don't need to lose any more weight." I told her she was my new best friend. What a sweetie she is because let me say I am not small framed and feel I should probably lose 10 to 15 more pounds. But over the years I have come to accept that is not realistic for me. I am very happy now to fit into a size medium. And 10 more pounds won't get rid of the saddlebags. I tried that many years ago and I ended up with no butt and still with those blasted (inherited from mom) saddlebags. And there was no way I could maintain that weight.

Anyway, I remember reading a book a while back (can't remember the name, should have written it down) that mentioned the heroine of 5'6" and 120 pounds was average. Excuse me? Is it just me or am I living on the wrong planet? I hate when I read something like this 'cuz it makes me feel like a fat cow. I'm 5'4" and I will never be close to 120 pounds.

My problem now is sugar. Ever since the middle of October I have been bingeing on carbs, mainly sugar. I mentioned before that I have a mild case of SAD and one of the symptoms is a tendency to binge on carbs. Every year I do this at this time of year and it lasts till about March. Of course, with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, it's a losing battle and too easy to tell myself that I will start over again in the spring. I'm so sick of that. Sugar has become my drug of choice. Someone lock me up (with a bag of books of course). I'm up a few pounds but I still fit in my clothes although I don't think I will for long so I'll be getting my 'fat' clothes back out.

So CindyS reminded me about the SAD lights and I have been actively searching online. I'm going to need two, one for work and one for home. I have my own office at work which is terrific considering my last job (I sat in a server lab - noisy, cold, no personal space, horrible) but I have no window. I don't really expect a SAD light to help me with the bingeing problem, just help with my mood and lack of energy. I'll be back again to Weight Watchers in the spring to lose my winter weight and hope it's not the whole 15 pounds (or more). But if it is, that's OK. I've done it before and I can do it again.

Never Too Much by Lori Foster

Let me get this off my chest right now... this book sucked! Big time. Whew, I feel better now. Foster has a multitude of rabid fans but I'm not one of them as you can tell. I'm not going to waste too much time reviewing this book since I already wasted too much time reading it.

Sierra Murphy owns and runs a landscape business and Ben Badwin owns a motel. That's it. That's about all I can tell you because there was no plot. Stuff happens, blah blah blah... more stuff happens. The characters were mostly flat. A smidge of conflict was provided by Sierra's wacko ex-husband who used to beat her and now wants revenge (for what I don't know) and is stalking her. Ben's perpetual hard-on got tiresome. The only two slightly interesting characters were Sierra's partner Kent and Ben's uptight mother, Brooke. Although Kent is younger than Brooke, he is instantly attracted to her and I liked their story more than Ben and Sierra's story. More stuff happens, some dialogue, ::skim::, blah, blah, ::skim::, nothing happens, oh yeah, they have hot sex, some more dialogue, ::skim::, blah. Ad nausem. The End (thank God).

OK, I can hear you thinking. Why did I start this and more importantly why did I finish it? I received this book as a gift so I wanted to read it in case I am asked about it. I'm a really lousy liar. I wanted to be able to at least say I read it.

My Grade: D-

This was my second Lori Foster and I conclude that this author is not for me. The first book of hers I read was Too Much Temptation which I named as my worst read for 2002 in AAR's yearly poll. As I recall many people named it their favorite book that year. Go figure. I have three other by Foster in my TBR (that'll teach me to glom an author before I have read any by them), and I think they're categories: Caught in the Act, Gabe, and Sawyer. I don't want to inflict any more torture on myself so they're probably going to the UBS.

Can someone explain the cover to me? What's with the pears? There is nothing about pears in the book. Hmm, maybe it's not pears... maybe, it's something else. Or maybe there is something erotic about pears and I'm clueless. Wouldn't be the first time.

Books on tape ( Pros & Cons)

I usually enjoy 'reading' books on tape (BOT) but of course that is not always the best way to 'read' a book. There is something very satisfying about getting cozy in my comfy leather chair with my favorite lap blanket (or two - I get cold in the evenings - even in summer I have my lap blanket on). I have my lamp table handy at my right hand with my beverage of choice and maybe a munchy (light or fat free popcorn is best). Of course, these are ideal conditions for me, but I can read almost anywhere else too (in the kitchen, at a stop light, in a doctor/dentist's waiting room, riding in the car, or generally anytime I have a spare moment). Any purse I buy must have room for a book.

I discovered BOT at the library several years ago when a friend suggested them as a way to pass the time on long drives. My daughter attended WSU in Pullman which is located on the eastern border of Washington. Once a year in April I drove by myself across state to visit her for Mom's Weekend - a 5 hour drive with about half of it across flat monotonous terrain with nothing to see except fields and farms. YAWN! Listening to a BOT has been a lifesaver by keeping me awake and making the trip go by faster. She graduated last May and I'm going to miss those weekend trips.

I have found a few other advantages to reading a BOT rather that a 'normal' book. My library has BOT for the newest HB releases of bestselling authors such as Nora Roberts/JD Robb, Linda Howard, Suzanne Brockmann, JAK, Elizabeth Lowell, SEP, Jennifer Crusie, and Janet Evanovich. The hold list for the latest bestselling HB's can get pretty daunting with anywhere from 200 - 500 holds. But the hold list for a BOT is much shorter, usually less than 40, and I can check it out in a few weeks at most.

Sometimes the BOT reader can make a book more enjoyable, and funnier depending on their voice inflections and accents. C. J. Critt reads most of the Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series and I love her character voices. They're hysterically funny, and I laugh and cackle my way through the whole book. But I suspect that Critt's voices and accents have made these books even funnier than if I had read the HB. Recently I finished Eleven on Top read by someone else, Lorelei King, and only had a couple of chuckles. It was not nearly as enjoyable. Her voice for Grandma Mazer was especially wrong. Critt makes her voice gruff and low (like she has been chain smoking for 30 years) and King gave her a high pitched squeaky voice. Yikes, it was so wrong. And I graded the book lowest of all the previous books in the series (a C). I also like the reader for JD Robb's In Death series. Her voices are very good; except McNab doesn't sound right, too much like a spacey skater-dude. JAK's reader was awful. Maybe that's why I gave up on JAK. So I need to be aware of a reader's influence on my grade of a book.

I have also discovered several disadvantages to BOT. They take longer to finish than if I read the book myself. I'm a fast reader and I don't read every word or 'say' the words in my head. But a BOT reader, of course, reads every word. Another problem for me is that I can't peek at the ending. OK, confession time... I'm an end peeker from way back. I'm trying to reform and I'm getting better but really, I NEED to peek sometimes. Especially if it's a non-romance. And I have had a few nasty surprises. I read Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer (NOT a romance) and hated the ending. It had me fuming and I don't think I would have read it if I had known the ending. I knew beforehand that it wasn't a romance, but it reads like a romance and sort of sucked me in and I started expecting an HEA, but of course I should have known better.

When I listen to BOT in the car on short trips, back and forth to work or running errands, arriving at my destination just when it gets interesting or funny or sexy can cause frustration. I have often sat in the car for 10 minutes or so when I'm in a really good place and can't quit. I was listening to one of Lowell's western romances and arrived home just while one of those really HOT sex scenes was playing. I parked in the garage and turned off the car. Later my son needed to back the car out of the garage and I handed him the keys without thinking anything of it. The next morning I got in, started it up, and the tape with the really HOT sex was still playing at full volume :) I think I must have blushed from the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes. Interesting course in sex education, right? He never said one word and I never brought up the subject. But that Christmas, what does my son get for me? Several books, one of which was labeled on the front: 'an erotic romance novel'. I think he was paying attention :)

Cheryl St. John

Something about Cheryl St. John's books really affect me. If I had to describe them to someone in just a few words, I would say that the theme of all her books seems to focus on the healing power of love and that CSJ shines best when she is writing about wounded characters.

I recently finished The Doctor's Wife and Joe's Wife and enjoyed them both. So I decided to tackle the rest of the CSJ books in my TBR: His Secondhand Wife, Prairie Wife, and The Bounty Hunter. I enjoyed two of them and the other one was only so-so.

His Secondhand Wife was a wonderful book featuring three-dimensional characters. I loved both the H/H. Noah Cutter is emotionally and physically scarred having suffered terrible injuries from barbed wire when he was 13-years old. He is a recluse rarely leaving his ranch in Cooper Creek, Colorado. Katherine was married to his half-brother and finds herself pregnant after he is killed in a brawl. Kate is incredibly strong and never feels sorry for herself. She wants the best for her baby so when Noah offers her a home at his ranch she accepts. I especially love how Kate completely ignores Noah's scars even though he feels he is so hideous and hides behind his long hair and beard. They slowly fall in love and when Noah finally shaves off the beard, it was an emotional moment. CSJ also did a good job of not portraying Noah's step-mother as an evil bitch. While I hated the way she treated Noah, she was not your stereotypical wicked step-mother.

Rosario wrote a terrific review and I agreed with everything she said! So rather than repeating her words I will just provide a link to her review. (Alright, I admit I'm lazy). And I'm giving it the same grade she did. (Thanks for the rec, Rosario!)

My grade: B+


Prairie Wife is the story of a troubled marriage. Jesse and Amy Shelby own a stagecoach station in Nebraska providing food and lodging for travelers. When the story begins they have just lost their 3-year old son in a tragic accident. He woke from a nap, wandered outside, fell in the nearby creek and drowned. A year later Amy and Jesse are having serious problems with their marriage and they are dealing with their loss is very different ways. Amy has shut up her heart and emotions from everyone to protect herself and refuses to grieve. She has completely closed herself off and she won't discuss their loss telling Jesse that she doesn't want to look back on the past and wants to just "move on". Jesse feels he has lost not only his little son but his wife as well and deals with it by climbing into a bottle of whiskey every night. Eventually, he feels his wife no longer loves him and he moves out of her bed. CSJ handled this subject of loss, grief, and guilt so realistically and with incredible emotion.

I realized when I picked up this book that I have been avoiding books with this subject because it hits a little too close to home. Over twenty years ago my sister lost her 10-month old son in a freak accident while he was napping. One of the things everyone told us was that a loss like this can either break up a marriage or make it stronger. Thankfully for my sister and her husband, they were able to work through it and came out stronger. They went on to have two more terrific sons and have the strongest marriage I have ever seen. But they did get some counseling.

Amy and Jesse don't have the luxury of counseling and are trying to deal with their loss as best they can but not succeeding. Events force them to finally confront their feelings and I found it very realistic and emotional considering my sister's experience. Surprisingly, this was one of CSJ's more sensual books with more than one sex scene. But maybe it's not so surprising because lovemaking is an important aspect of marriage that couples have to comfort each other and work through their pain to heal from such a terrible loss (I think I'm sounding like Dr. Phil again here).

My family's experience probably affected my grading of this book but even without that this was a very good book. Now I'm torn whether I should loan this book to my sister. We haven't talked about her loss for many, many years but I suspect it must cause her pain. I know I don't think about it more than once a year, but when I do it makes me weepy just remembering those first days after he was gone. I don't think the loss of a child is something anyone ever gets completely over. She might enjoy this book, but then again, I don't want to upset her. I'll have to think about this some more.

My grade: A-

Crappy Day

I think my SAD (seasonal affected disorder) is kicking in early since it usually doesn't hit me until December. It's dark when I get up and dark when I get home and it's pouring rain. I NEED SUN! I'm starting to binge on carbs and that's a sign that I'm going into hibernation mode and won't come out of it until Spring (I'm part grizzly bear). I'm in a stinky mood as you can tell.

I looked at my blog this morning and the sidebar is missing. WTF? What happened? I'm not in the mood for this. Maybe when I republish it will reappear.

I'm at work and I'm supposed to be typing my weekly status report which I HATE. I have several half-finished blogs on some books but husband has been hogging the computer in the evenings and I have been trying not to blog while at work. So much for good intensions. I have been reading some very good Cheryl St. John books that I want to blog about. Maybe tomorrow. I'll try to be my usual cheerful self then :)

To: My Manager

Subject: Weekly Status

I did a bunch of good shit this week so quit bugging me so I can do some more good shit.

Renee

Recent Reads

I have the reading blahs. I just can't get interested or enthused about anything I've been reading lately. I think the problem is that I recently finished and loved Match Me If You Can so everything else I have started lately has been suffering in comparison. I also started two books (1 erotic historical, 1 romantic suspense) and could not finish either of them so I took them back to the library.

Instead of reading today I have been looking online for blinds for the upstairs bedroom windows. I am the queen of procrastination! The summer before last while I was unemployed I went on a major redecorating binge upstairs with the (very reluctant) help of my husband. I ripped off all the old dark baseboard and aluminum blinds, repainted the bedrooms, and replaced the light switches and electrical outlets (without electrocuting myself), and painted the new baseboards. Bob put in the new baseboards, crown molding, and new six-panel doors. Then we put in some new carpeting. Sounds nice doesn't it? Did you notice I failed to mention anything about new blinds? Well, the thing is (::blushes::) the windows still have sheets on them :) It has been over a year! Ok, ok, I know, I'm a lazy lout. But the ones I want are so expensive so I keep putting it off and Bob (bless his heart) never nags (but really, I bet he doesn't even notice :) Anyway, I'm determined to get them ordered since I have company coming for Christmas.

I checked the price again today (of course, not cheaper). I really want those sheer horizontal blinds, 'cuz they are so beautiful but one window will be $600 and the other almost $800!! Yikes, it's time to get practical and face reality. ::sigh:: So I'm ordering the aluminum blinds (way cheaper). But what color? Those color swatches online just don't help. So it's off to Home Depot to see the actual thing. As you can tell I'm procrastinating again and way off topic.

Here are some books I want to review but I'm feeling too lazy to say much:

One Night of Sin by Gaelen Foley
This regency historical begins with the heroine, Becky Ward, running away from her cousin, the evil Russian prince, and his Cossacks. She falls asleep on a doorstep when Lord Alec Knight happens upon her, takes her home, and she sacrifices her virginity to him so he'll protect her. If any of that plot sounds plausible to you, then you'll love it, but I just couldn't get my mind around it. Hero, Alec, was quite charming and there was good sexual tension for a whole two or three chapters. It was a fast, smooth read but I just didn't buy the Russian prince bit. My Grade: C+


The Lily Brand by Susan Schwab
This book was just too creepy and you know how squeamish I am. Lily is forced by her very insane evil step-mother to pick out a prisoner (an English prisoner of war) in a French jail to take him home as some kind of sexual slave. Chains and torture were involved and I had a hard time with it. This was a debut novel for Schwab and I'm not sure if I'll try her again. My Grade: C


The Marriage Bed by Laura Lee Guhrke
I can see why this is such a controversial book. Adultery is not an easy subject to tackle. I didn't particulary care for either H/H but I found myself asking "Was the story believable and did I buy the HEA?". My answer was yes to the first but maybe to the second. The whole subject made me a bit uncomfortable and was very thought provoking. But, heh I'm not Dr. Phil, so I guess I gave them the benefit of the doubt because I ended up liking it. My Grade: B


Last Girl Dancing by Holly Lisle
I enjoyed this book because of the unusual storyline and the scarred hero. The heroine is a police detective who is part of a team looking for a serial killer that is murdering strippers. She is a former dancer that lost her twin sister who is believed dead. She poses undercover as a stripper in a sleazy strip club. The hero is a former special forces agent who suffered a serious injury to one side of his face and body from an explosion. After his injury he discovers he has psychic abilities and the police are using him to help them catch the killer. I really liked both the H/H and there was great sexual tension. Plus I was very surprised by the identity of the killer. My Grade: B


Every Waking Moment by Brenda Novak
I enjoy Novak's Cold Feet and this one sounded good from AAR 's review. The heroine has been terrorized, brutalized and humiliated by her controlling abusive boyfriend for six years. And they have a five year old son together. It was hard to fathom how someone could remain in the power of some sicko for that long. Maybe I didn't want to believe it or I didn't care about the characters. Whatever. Anyway, I couldn't finish it.


The River Devil by Diana Whiteside
I couldn't finish this one either. The writing style was a little bit stilted but maybe I just wasn't in the mood (it was very erotic). So I took it back to the library but I think I'll give it another try later.





Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich
I think I've reached my limit on Stephanie Plum. Ok, I don't want to hear "I told you so" :) Someone is trying to kill her AGAIN. She blows up several cars AGAIN. And it was not her fault AGAIN. She can't make up her mind between Ranger and Joe STILL. Her whacky antics with Lula gave me a few laughs but I'm ready for a little growth from Stephanie and it's just not happening. I'm not sure I will try the next one or not. Unless I hear that there is something different I'll probably just pass on it. My Grade: C

Tools and Books

OK, true story. My husband loves tools. When he makes his Christmas list every year he gets out his Sears tools catalog and circles the items he wants, dog ears the pages, then turns it over to me. That's it, his list is complete. I'm not kidding!

So the other day he decides he needs a new chainsaw. No, he's not a lumberjack wannabe (hmm, well maybe he is since he has the suspenders and the plaid flannel shirt). He had a gas powered chainsaw that went kaput that had many years of service cutting down and trimming trees and branches. So he sees this electric chainsaw on Amazon.com. He loves ordering stuff from Amazon because they usually have pretty good prices and he doesn't actually have to go into a store. We ordered our wide-screen TV (too big and expensive, but I lost that battle) and our gas barbeque (love it) from them. But he makes me place the orders since he is computer-phobic.

I go to place the order and what do I see in my shopping cart at Amazon?? A Singular Lady by Megan Frampton :) How did that get there? Oh, I know, I put it in my shopping cart a while ago, but I needed a larger order to get free shipping. I hate paying for shipping. So I placed the order for both the chainsaw and book with free shipping. Pretty sneaky, huh?

I really should have ordered more books to take advantage of the free shipping but he was standing there annoying me (you'd think he could click a few buttons by himself). So he has his fetish and I have mine :) But really, his is more expensive.

Match Me If You Can by SEP

Warning: Gushing ahead! I know I'm going to sound like a giddy teenager but I can't help myself. I got Match Me If You Can on CD from the library, popped it into my car's CD player and fell in love with the characters, the witty dialogue, and wonderful humor. Utterly charming! The dialogue just plain sparkled from beginning to end. It looks like I've found another DIK for 2005 because I loved it!

And let me tell you it was pure torture listening to this book in the car because when I got to my destination (running back and forth to work, errands, etc.) I couldn't shut off the CD player. I don't know how many times I got home and sat in my garage for 10 minutes unable to stop listening, worried my husband would come out and find me sitting there and wonder what in hell his crazy wife was doing - ok, he's probably used to it by now. I finally gave up and brought the last 2 CD's in the house and locked myself in the den with my portable CD player ("Honey, don't disturb me, please, while I'm paying bills and balancing the checkbook." yeah right, I sure fooled him :) .

Annabelle Granger inherits her grandmother's matchmaking business ('Matches by Myrna') that she now calls 'Perfect for You.' She is determined to make her business a success and figures the best way to do that is to land wealthy, gorgeous and successful Heath Champion as a client. Heath, nicknamed 'The Python' (stupid name BTW) is a ruthless sports agent (think 'Jerry Maguire') who is looking for a wife and doesn't have the time to look for one on his own. You know the type. He works 24/7 with a cell phone glued to his ear. So he contracts with Annabelle and rival matchmaker, Portia Powers of 'Power Matches', to introduce him to likely candidates. He is looking for the perfect wife which Annabelle describes as "athletic, domestic, gorgeous, brilliant, socially connected, and pathologically submissive." It takes him a long time but he eventually figures out that none of these candidates are as perfect for him as Annabelle.

Annabelle is a wonderfully charming character; red-haired with a big heart and a snappy sarcastic wit. It took me a little while to warm up to Heath but after the 'Princess Party' I fell in love with him. No sappiness there, just pure delight. The gruff exterior hid a heart of marshmallow but it still takes him a while longer to work through his emotional baggage from his childhood to reach an epiphany about Annabelle and what makes the 'perfect match' for him.

I loved the dialogue between Heath and Annabelle and the scenes where they trade insults were sharp and witty and had me laughing out loud which I rarely do. Heath and Annabelle's final confrontation was very emotional and sizzling. The secondary love story between Portia and Heath's 'bodyguard', Bodie, was hot and intense and was excellently done. Phoebe Calebow (from It Had to Be You) plays a prominent role with appearances by other characters from the 'Chicago Stars' series. The real scene stealer is Molly's (This Heart of Mine) little 3-year old daughter, Pip, and her interactions with Heath were priceless. Normally, I'm not too fond of children in romance books but Pip is not too babyish or too precocious and was a perfect foil for Heath's arrogance and she cuts him down to size. I loved the epilogue too.

This was my favorite contemporary of the year. Unfortunately, I had to return the CDs to the library (after replaying the last CD three times). So I want my own copy of this book but I don't usually buy hardback and I can feel a need to re-read coming on. So I can't figure out whether I should just go out and buy the HB or put it on my Christmas list. I have a feeling that I'm not going to last 'til Christmas so I'll probably be making a stop at Borders. I definitely can't wait for the PB :)

My Grade: A

New look

I am sick of the old template so I'm trying out this free template and really like the colors.

After playing with it for a couple of hours adjusting it, I looked up at the walls of my computer room and realized it's the same color as the template's background :) No wonder I liked it so well! It's kind of a latte/coffee/mocha shade.

I used this same color when I painted the living room, family room and hallways. Very warm and comfy feeling. It blended very well with the rest of my color scheme (if you can call it that). I painted one large wall in the kitchen a periwinkle blue (love it). And our bedroom a pretty willow green with white crown moldings.

Bob says: "What's wrong with white walls? White goes with everything."

::sigh::

Getting off topic here. Anyway, I hope I don't get tired of this template for a while.

Jigsaw by Kathleen Nance

A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) is a fascinating subject to me. OK, I admit I'm a little bit of a computer geek. But I also have to admit I absolutely HATED my A.I. class at the UW. I took this class the last quarter of my senior year. It was held at 3:30 in the afternoon (can you say 'naptime') in the basement (no windows) classroom of a brand new building with tiers of cushy seats that swiveled and rocked. As you can guess, I could hardly stay awake. The professor was a brilliant woman but I had spring fever and was extremely anxious to graduate and get the HELL OUT OF THERE. I hated the textbook (must have weighed 15 lbs.), the assignments (written in LISP) and the final class program which I had to demonstrate to the professor (eek). Anyway, I digress.... sorry (just had to rant a bit).

So after that experience, it's surprising to me (and you too probably) that I like this subject. Jigsaw is an excellent title for this fast paced science fiction/romantic suspense about A.I.

Daniel Champlain is an agent for the National Security Agency (NSA) and a computer specialist in cryptography. He is working on a case involving terrorists when he intercepts a message from Lokus, a sort of evil super-hacker, when he comes across a familiar name (Isabella Q). Daniel and Isabella Quintera (Bella) were lovers four years ago. He betrayed her when he exposed her father for falsifying records thereby ruining her career and he hasn't seen her since. Daniel is a dark, intelligent character and I liked the way Nance avoided depicting him as some stereotypical nerd. He heads to Michigan to check on Bella suspecting that she may have something to do with Lokus.

Bella is driving home on extremely icy roads when she is deliberately run off the road by a dark SUV and Daniel rescues her from hypothermia. Because of his past betrayal Bella does not trust him and conceals her AI computer, named 'Fran', that she created from her father's design. She is rightly afraid that Daniel will take Fran away from her for national security reasons. Bella does not want anyone to know about Fran before the Turing Competition where she hopes to redeem her reputation in the eyes of the academic world.

The initial setup of the characters and plot was a bit slow and convoluted but after that ... fasten your seat belts, ladies. The non-stop action kept me on the edge of my seat and I read late into the night because I couldn't put it down. The story was complex, and only a little confusing at times, so you have to pay attention. There were also a couple of good sizzling sex scenes with Bella and Daniel.

I especially enjoyed reading the interactions of h/h with Fran, the A.I. computer with an attitude, and she steals the show in all her scenes. Remember Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey? She was sort of like that only with more personality. Her naivete and humor were well done and she was a great character.

Nance's descriptions of the frigid Northern Michigan weather were so vivid and realistic that, seriously, I had to get out an extra lap blanket and turn up the heat a notch. The computer terminology was not too overwhelming and can be safely ignored if you know nothing about AI or computers. If you like techno thrillers, give this one a try. It was a fun ride and I found it thoroughly entertaining.

My Grade: B

Do I look like a criminal?

I spent a few fun hours yesterday shopping at a couple UBS and Borders. I went into a new UBS that someone had recommended to me. It was fairly large and very messy but that didn't bother me. I started in the romance section when the clerk approached me and asked if I needed help finding anything. Of course, I assured her I was just browsing and she went away for about 2 minutes. Then she came back and noticed that I was using my PDA. I am a notorious list maker and I keep everything on my PDA. So I was looking through my book list when she 'caught' me. Well, the woman wouldn't leave me alone! She kept coming and going every two minutes asking me questions about it, 'what do I have on my list', 'why do I need a list', etc. I had picked up a book and had tucked it under my arm, then put it back when I changed my mind. She must have noticed it, because when she came back two minutes later she asked why I had put the book down!!! Can you believe this?

Well, she was starting to piss me off. I wandered over to sci/fi, then general fiction, and each time she would find me and start asking me questions and talking about what she liked to read. I was trying to ignore her and giving her vague answers. Then she says 'You must be a book scout' in a very accusatory tone. What the hell is that? I think my PDA was really bugging her too. So I asked her what a book scout was and she gave me some vague answer. Finally, I asked where the women's fiction section was and she directed me to a little corner alcove. I'm browsing there kind of hunched down looking for something on the bottom row when I spot HER again, a couple feet away pretending to look out the window!!!! ARGH!! I can't believe this crap.

She was stalking me! She was acting like I was some kind of shoplifter or something and the PDA thing I could tell was really bothering her. At this point I'm trying to figure out how to gracefully exit the store, but I'm the only customer in there. So I grab a book I spotted on a messy pile (Kenyon, I don't even read Kenyon, maybe someone wants it :), paid and sprinted out the door. Come to find out while I was paying for the book that she was the owner of the store! I guess the books were her babies and she was afraid I was going to steal them.

So someone tell me, what is a book scout??

Damn, that store had potential and I let her chase me out! Well, next time I go back (maybe next year) I'm going to put on my kickass self and stand up to that stalker! I'm such a wimp. All I had to say was "Thank you, but if I need any help I'll come find you" or something like that. Or if that doesn't work, I can be rude. Really, when I get pissed off by a clerk I have been known to embarrass the crap out of my kids.

The Dark Queen by Susan Carroll

This was my first Susan Carroll and I really enjoyed reading a different type of historical romance. I have heard many readers complain on various boards about the lack of historical romances set anywhere but in Regency England and I agree with that assessment. While I love regency set novels, so many of them are predictable with the same old plot devices. I recently started one that featured regency spies and I couldn't finish it. Been there, done that, probably a hundred times. One of the reasons I checked this one out was the unusual time and setting.

The Dark Queen is set in Renaissance France in 1572 on the eve of 'Bloody Sunday', the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre and is the first book of a trilogy. Ariane, Gabrielle, and Mirabelle de Cheney are three sisters of Faire Isle who are 'Daughters of the Earth' with special abilities in healing and white magic. The eldest, Ariane, is known as The Lady of Faire Isle and is considered a 'wise woman' by the people of the island. This is a very dangerous time for them as an evil witch hunter is terrorizing women with their special gifts and accusing them of witchcraft.

The comte de Renard is arrogantly determined to marry Ariane, but she wants nothing to do with him. She senses that he is hiding dark secrets. He blackmails her into wearing a magic ring that she can use to summon him. Little by little we learn of his past and his character growth was well done and I grew to like him immensely. Ariane seemed a bit timid at first but her serenity and quiet strength make her a good match for Renard.

When a wounded stranger arrives on Faire Island with evidence against the evil Queen of France, Catherine de Medici, Ariane must call upon Renard to protect her family. The Dark Queen essentially rules France through her weak son. She is rumored to be a witch and practices black magic to destroy her enemies to retain her power. I found her wickedness a little overdone but fascinating. The secondary plots with Gabrielle and Remy, as well as young Mirabelle and Simon were very fully developed and compelling .

The characters are very well drawn and though not deep, the plot was entertaining. Her prose flows smoothly and I finished it quickly considering it was over 500 pages :). The Dark Queen expertly meshes together romance, history, royal intrigue, religious persecution, magic and witchcraft into a very readable book I am looking forward to the next book, The Courtesan, Gabrielle's story. Mirabelle's story is titled The Silver Rose and will be released in March, 2006.

My Grade: B+


Side note: Here I go again about covers...the cover for The Dark Queen was absolutely beautiful combining dark red with a burnished gold dress which gave it a rich and decadent look and feel. Someone should probably nominate it for best cover when the 2005 contest comes around at AAR. Speaking of covers, the other two in the trilogy also have gorgeous covers.

Snow Angel by Mary Balogh

I first read Snow Angel back in 1991 when it was first published and absolutely loved it. Mary Balogh is the queen of the traditional regency and SA went directly into my keeper box (where all my Baloghs eventually landed). A few months ago I decided to re-read some of my old Baloghs to see if they live up to my memories and give them a grade. Unfortunately, SA did not quite match my fond memories, but it still was a very good book. Something about the attitude of the hero completely slipped by me on the first read and really bugged me this time around.

One of my favorite themes is a cabin romance where the h/h are stranded alone together. Rosamund Hunter is a recent widow traveling with her overbearing older brother Dennis. They have an argument and Rosamund demands to be let down from the carriage and walks away in a huff just before a major snowstorm hits the area. Rosamund is a great character; independent, witty and impulsive with a wonderful ability to laugh at herself.

Justin Halliday, the Earl of Wetherby, is traveling in his carriage and comes upon her while she is struggling through the blizzard. He offers her a ride and shelter from the storm. So they are snowbound alone together and wildly attracted to each other. Hmmm, what to do... OK, you know the answer to that!

Rosamund has no intension of ever marrying again. She was married to a much older man and loved him deeply. But when she meets Justin she is curious about passion with a young man. Justin makes it clear right from the beginning that he is about to become engaged and that he intends to be faithful to his betrothed. So they agree to a brief glorious affair. When the snows melt Rosamund returns to her brother's house to help prepare for the visit of the man who is supposed to propose to her niece Annabelle as arranged by both of their families. Of course, it turns out that man is Justin.

She has not been able to forget Justin since their affair and when she sees him again she realizes she's in love with him. Justin is a rather flawed character but I did like him. He is determined to propose to Annabelle if that is her wish. He is still very attracted to Rosamund and even though he realizes he's in love with her, he doggedly continues to court Annabelle, and this really bothered me. He was just too passive in allowing his family to decide his future and never gave the least thought to fighting for Rosamond even when it became obvious that Annabelle was not happy. And yet, he can't keep away from Rosamund and they are caught snuggling together by Joshua, a longtime admirer of Annabelle's.

All the characters were three-dimensional and well-drawn. I especially loved Joshua who nearly 'steals the show' from Justin. Josh acts boldly to grab his own HEA with Annabelle giving Justin finally the opportunity to go after what he wanted all along. The love scenes where pretty warm and sensuous for a trad regency. This was a very short book (about 225 pages) but very deep and emotional and even though I disliked the hero's passive way to the HEA, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

My Grade: B+

Origin In Death by J. D. Robb

Origin in Death is another in this amazing series (over 20 so far) with kickass New York police Lt. Eve Dallas and her fabulously wealthy husband, Roarke. I have read them all and this one is better than some in this series but not the best. I will probably always love Naked in Death more than any others and I have re-read it several times. OID features an excellent murder mystery and I really enjoyed it. I found the scientific elements of cloning and its morality kind of creepy but with the way today's advances in science are headed, highly believable. The usual cast of characters are present including Peabody, McNabb, Feeney, Commander Whitney, Sumerset, (very pregnant) Mavis, Nadine, and Dr. Mira. One particularly memorable scene involved an altercation between Eve and Dr. Mira. They are both extremely strong women, Eve especially so, and Dr. Mira does not back down when she feels she is right. This scene cemented the pseudo-mother/daughter relationship for them.

The mystery is better than usual but though satisfying, the Eve/Roarke relationship is a bit light. The secondary plot centered around Roarke planning a Thanksgiving dinner to which he has invited all his newly discovered relatives from Ireland. It was touching to see Roarke so panicky and unsure of himself and I laughed at Eve's attempts to relate to the youngest members of his family. Eve is so incredibly strong that when she displays pure cowardice (such as when someone tries to hand off a baby to her or Trina wants to give her some kind of cosmetic treatment) you just have to laugh. One of my favorite aspects of this series of books has been the developing relationship between Eve and Roarke and learning more about their pasts, but this was not really in evidence in this book. The ending was exciting and intense and kept me on the edge of my seat, but I felt a little bit gyped. I would have liked to see what happened at that dinner :)

My Grade: B

Stargazer by Colby Hodge

Stargazer is a fun futuristic SF read with lots of non-stop action. Princess Lilly is a telepathic witch from the garden planet of Oasis which provides food for many planets. The neighboring Ravigans whose own planet has been abused for years, cannot raise their own food. They are threatening Oasis so they can plunder its wealth and natural resources. Her uncle, the king of Oasis, sends her on a diplomatic mission to the Interplanetary Senate to enlist their aid in protecting her planet. So she boards a cargo ship disguised from the Ravigans who have surrounded Oasis.

Shaun is a convicted murderer and under sentence to spend the rest of his life underground on a prison planet and being transported frozen in a cryo tube on the same cargo ship. Lilly instantly feels a psychic connection when Shaun's mind reaches out to hers. The ship comes under attack and her protector is killed, so Lilly releases Shaun from his imprisonment and they escape to a nearby planet. Shaun takes on the role of Lilly's protector to the displeasure of her family.

What follows is a rip-roaring adventure and I was thoroughly entertained. There is a bit a mystery about Shaun's birth, his psychic abilities and the scars on his neck that was obvious and I was able to figure them out immediately. The characters were well drawn but not deep, the dialog flowed smoothly, and the psychic bond between H/H was pleasantly satisfying. Shaun's friend Ruben was a fun character and I'm predicting he will get his own book. There were some gladitorial combat scenes that were violent and gory, so avoid or skim those scenes if you are a bit squeamish and you won't be missing anything. If you like space action adventure stories like Star Wars, you'll like this book too.

My Grade: B-

Side note: Don't you think the cover is goofy? His upper half looks overdeveloped compared to his lower half which looks like it's glowing and kind of shrunken. I'm very visual... I can't help these observations... ignore me :)

The Beacon at Alexandria by Gillian Bradshaw

This book review is for Keishon's TBR challenge for September (which I finished barely under the wire). I think I discovered Bradshaw from someone on the AAR message boards quite a while ago (maybe Keishon?). I get tired sometimes of reading regency set historicals so occasionally I want to read a book set in an unusual period in history. The Beacon at Alexandria is a historical fiction set in the years just prior to 378 AD, the date of the battle of Hadrianopolis which signaled the beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire.

Copyright Year: 1986

Synopsis: The story begins in 371 AD and is told in first person by Charis of Epheseus, a young noblewoman from a wealthy family. Charis is a strong, intelligent character and chafes at women's traditional roles. In order to escape marriage to a brutal Roman official, Charis (now called Chariton) disguises herself as a eunuch and flees to Alexandria where she can pursue her dream to study the Hippocratic method of medicine at the famous Museum and become a physician.

This book is a highly entertaining adventure filled with political intrigue, early Christian theology, and little bit of romance near the end. This is a gender disguise novel that was very credible. As a woman one of the questions that I always pops in my head when reading these types of stories is "What does she do about her period?" :) This issue was addressed several times and I found it very interesting and believable. The accounts of medicines, diseases, treatments, food, clothing, slavery, and Roman politics and society are told in lively detail and was fascinating. Bradshaw is a classics scholar and she crams in many historical characters but it never seemed forced. My greatest difficulty was trying to decipher all the Greek and Latin names which all started to sound alike sometimes (e.g. Adamantios, Athanaric, Athanaricus, Athanasios, Amalberga, Alaric, Thorion, Theodoros, Theogenes, Theophilia, etc.)

Chariton meets agent Athanaric and saves his life. Then Athanaric saves her life when she gets involved in dangerous church politics and is forced to flee Alexandria. Still maintaining her disguise she accepts the position of chief physician at a remote army post in Thrace. Eventually, she is captured by the Goths and her gender is revealed. But as their prisoner she continues to care for the sick and wounded until Athanaric rescues her. In the final pages even though they learn of the disastrous battle at Hadrianopolis, the book ends happily when they admit their love for each other and make future plans.

The politics in Alexandria were a bit heavy, but when Chariton is posted to Thrace the book really gets lively and I had a hard time putting it down and read late into the night. This was a great historical adventure story and I recommend it to all history buffs like me.

Your Grade: B+

New author for you? No, I read Render Unto Caesar and loved it (Grade: A).

Would you read more of this author's work? Yes, I was thinking of trying Cleopatra's Heir or The Wolf Hunt.

Happy Dance!!

This is me doing the happy dance when I got the good news about my favorite UBS.

Just got a postcard in the mail. They found a new location near their old one and they are having a grand reopening sale! There's even going to be a ribbon cutting ceremony with the mayor and refreshments and everything. See, that's how cool this store is :)

Crap, I'm behind on writing some book reviews and I'm slogging through them.

Honeymoon Suite by Lynn Michaels

I have read two other books by Lynn Michaels and really enjoyed them. She's one of the few authors who writes with humor that I actually get. The humor and wit is well done in this book, too. But, unfortunately, the hero was not hero material at all. I despised him and his actions made this book a disappointment.

Dory Lambert has had a crush since childhood on the family chauffeur's son, Chase McKay. She and her gorgeous older sister Jill are part of a wealthy banking family living in Missouri. When Dory was fifteen, she caught Chase and Jill groping each other and tattled on them. Chase was hustled away to start college early and Jill is only heartbroken for a short time. Dory (our heroine) grows up and makes her father proud with her intelligence and financial savvy and joins the family business, Lambert Bank and Trust Company. But a scandal rocks the family when a distant relation employed at the bank embezzles millions but the FBI relentlessly focuses their investigations on Dory's father who has disappeared around the same time as the money.

The plot was rather convoluted, but I really liked Dory. She is a very strong character and I enjoyed how she wrestles with her family's financial problems with initiative and creativity to keep them together and retain their beautiful home. Chase (the alleged hero) finally returns home to convince his father, Charles, to retire and ends up insulting Dory badly. He's rich now and offers her money to force Charles to retire. Chase is a real ass and never redeems himself. Dory is still in love with him, but he still has the hots for Jill and constantly pants after her through most of the story. Jill is no picnic either. Although Jill has a secret love interest, she comes up with this plan to marry Chase for his money. She has no intension of consumating the marriage and plans to divorce him quickly. Nice piece of work, huh? So they marry and lo and behold shortly after the ceremony, Chase realizes he's really in love with Dory. Jill gets drunk from the wedding champagne and Chase confronts Dory. She reveals Jill's plot, but he doesn't care. He wants Dory and they have sex (mind you, he's still married, it's the SAME night as the wedding). OK, that sound you're hearing is me screaming and tearing my hair out! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

What follows is not even worth writing about. But I did finish the book because I wanted to see if anything could be redeemed from all this. The writing style is light and fluffy with snappy dialogue and was a very fast read. There are lots of funny, quirky characters I liked too. Michaels makes a stab at redeeming Chase but I just didn't want to buy it. Note to author: adultery in this situation is NOT romantic. I'm not overly moralistic, really. Sometimes an author can make adultery work for me :) Like when the heroine or hero truly believe that their spouse is dead and they proceed to mess around until they find out otherwise. Some readers hate this situation too, but heh it works for me.

It was hard for me to grade this book. The writing style and most of the characters were a plus, but the horrid hero and stupid plot device were a negative.

My Grade: C-

If you want to try a Lynn Michaels book, I recommend Return Engagement and Mother of the Bride. She writes with the same kind of snappy, humorous dialogue and quirkly characters and these books are much more enjoyable.

Books Read - September

I read 18 books in September. My vacation really helped my reading statistics :) Here's my list:

9/5/05 - Crimson City - Maverick - (C)

9/5/05 - Into the Night - Brockmann - (C-)

9/7/05 - Scent of a Woman - Leigh - (B-)

9/9/05 - The Sound of Snow - Kingsley - (C)

9/12/05 - Black Ice - Stuart - (A)

9/14/05 - Killing Time - Howard - (B+)

9/17/05 - A Taste of Crimson - Liu - (B+)

9/18/05 - The Doctor's Wife - St. John - (B)

9/19/05 - Unmasked - Barry - (B-)

9/20/05 - Beast - Ivory - (A-)

9/20/05 - Marry McCabe - Brand - (C-)

9/21/05 - Crazy for You - Crusie - (B+)

9/22/05 - The Trouble With Joe - Richards - (A-)

9/22/05 - Cool Shade - Weir - (A-)

9/23/05 - Libby's London Merchant - (A)

9/24/05 - Miss Chartley's Guided Tour - (B+)

9/27/05 - Dance - Cuevas - (A)

9/30/05 - The Beacon at Alexandria - Bradshaw - (B+)


Total read for 2005 = 127.

Odds and Ends

TAGGED!
Alyssa & Kristie tagged me for this little exercise:
1. Delve into your blog archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions. Ponder it for meaning, subtext or hidden agendas.
5. Tag five people to do the same.

"See for yourself it's amazing !!!"

Well, that's enlightening, isn't it? A run on sentence :) I never claimed to be Hemingway (oh, wasn't he famous for his run on sentences? Maybe not... loved "The Old Man and the Sea").

Anyway, what I was talking about was this artist, Julian Beever, that draws 3D chalk pictures on sidewalks. I'm a very visual person and I thought it was very cool!

http://users.skynet.be/J.Beever/pave.htm

I tag, hmmm....., nobody :)

BONUS!!
(I'm in the mood for exclamation points today :)
We had our fiscal end of the year at work and a big company meeting with accolades and acknowledgements. Everyone got a CASH bonus. I just started working here in April but I got $260 in hard cash. While not a huge amount, I was not expecting anything, so this came as a nice surprise. What to spend it on?? You know the answer to that, right? Books, of course, with maybe a pair of shoes (I need shoes more than books).

Hell, I really don't need to buy any new books, since my TBR mountain is embarrassing. But since when has embarrassment ever stopped me? Off the top of my head, I know I want the L. Valdez's Patience, Roberts' Red Lily, and the next in the Crimson City series. Are there any upcoming books I should consider?


UPDATE ON FAVORITE UBS
I whined a while ago about my favorite UBS being evicted with no place to go. I found out recently that they have found a new location near their current one. Whew, dodged a bullet on that one.

Vacation Book Report - part three (final)

Libby's London Merchant and Miss Chartley's Guided Tour by Carla Kelly (two books in one)
Carla Kelly is a goddess when it comes to writing traditional regency romance. I read One Good Turn (grade: A) first which actually follows Libby's London Merchant but it didn't make any difference. LLM was a wonderful treat as well. Benedict Nesbitt (Nez), Duke of Knaresborough, poses as a London merchant in order to check out the fiancé of his friend. He has an accident in front of her house hoping that she will take him in, which Libby Ames does. Her Uncle Ames has taken his own daughter, Lydia (who is the friend's fiancé) to Brighton. Unfortunately, Nez is severely injured. He is also an alcoholic and Dr. Anthony Cook recognizes the symptoms. Through treatment of his injuries, Nez is forced to dry out and goes through the horrible agonies of withdrawal but Nez comes out of it a changed man. He falls deeply in love with Libby. But Libby is the daughter of a tobacconist and not suitable wife material for him. Dr. Cook is also desperately in love with Libby. I won't give away the ending but the plot has a number of surprise twists. Kelly is a talented author and intertwines the light comedy and dark tragedy so smoothly. Nez, Libby, and Anthony all have deep scars and Anthony's father reveals some ugly secrets. This is an emotional book with many layered characters. I highly recommend it. My Grade: A

Miss Charley's Guided Tour is more comedy than tragedy, but it also has it's dark side. Omega Chartley was abandoned at the altar eight years ago when her fiancé, Matthew Bering, disappears and she is forced to seek a teaching position. She is touring the Cotswolds before starting a new position when she helps a runaway boy, Jamie, escape a Bow Street Runner. Jamie has been abused by his guardian and is looking for his uncle (spoiler: her former fiance, Matthew Bering) to seek refuge with. Both Jamie and Omega are now hiding from the law and they meet some wonderful characters along the way. All the characters here are three-dimensional and memorable including Jamie, Hugh, his foster daughter, Angela, and Timothy, the Bow Street Runner. There are surprises along the way and a mystery to solve before our h/h get their HEA. Kelly's characters are such 'real' people and that's what is so outstanding about her books. My Grade: B+


Dance by Judy Cuevas
I was absolutely blown away by this book! Seriously. Unfortunately, I don't think I have enough words in my vocabulary to properly describe it, but here goes. This book is set in turn of the century Paris. In the previous book, Bliss, Marie du Gard disobeys her autocratic father and leaves Nardi, Sebastien de Saint Villier's brother, at the altar and runs away to America. I LOVED the heroine, Marie, a very independent woman who now produces and directs her own films. Sebastien is a wealthy, stiff-rumped pompous ass and her father's close friend and business partner. Her father's approval and love hinged completely on Marie's obedience and when he doesn't get it, writes her out of his will. Marie deeply feels the rejection of her father. She wants his love and approval desperately, which he has transferred to Sebastien after her failed wedding. Marie is a 'modern' woman and a true non-apologetic feminist. She refuses to sacrifice her principles and independence for her father's love. I liked how Sebastien tried and failed to bully her into his bed and into marriage. She comes to him on her own terms. She's the perfect example of a strong female character that I admire and I want my daughter to read this book. Cuevas keeps her strong throughout and doesn't compromise her independence and strength to get the HEA. Cuevas' writing is superb; evocative and lush. Her words are beautiful and flow with rich sensuality. Yum. I read Bliss years ago and don't remember liking it all that well probably because I couldn't get past Nardi's ether addiction. But I really believe that I have matured as a reader in the last 5 years or so. I can better appreciate Cuevas' deeper, fuller writing. So I'm kicking myself that I returned Bliss to the UBS. I really want to read it again (wow, have you seen the prices for it, apparently it's very hard to find - drat). This one gets my highest accolades. My Grade: A

Well, that's the last of my vacation books. Back to normal (whatever that is :)