Monday, August 31, 2009

Beyond Compare

Author: Candace Camp


Kyria Moreland is an unconventional girl in an unconventional family. The whole Moreland clan is made up of scholars, except for Kyria who designs jewelry and her older brother Reed who's considered normal and runs the family estates. When her sister Olivia's wedding to a silver magnate brings Rafe McIntyre to their home, Kyria finds herself truly fascinated by a man for the first time. She's had many admirers and enjoys flirting, but no one has made her feel the way Mr. McIntyre does just by being in the room. She knows better than to fall in love with him. He's a charming flirt and she can see right off that he isn't the type to marry and settle down. The arrival of a mysterious artifact delivered by a man who is killed at their door step brings about a frightening and dangerous chain of events that draw Kyria and Rafe closer and closer together.

Rafe McIntyre was once a southern gentleman, but gave that all up to fight for the Union during the civil war. He did what he thought was right, but it cost him his family and his fiance. Now he's a partner in a silver mine and something of a charming rogue. He doesn't mind a bit of flirting, but he never intends to let himself love again no matter how temping he finds Lady Kyria. If she wasn't in danger, and if he wasn't feeling so damned protective of her, he'd get away from her before she really got under his skin. Unfortunately fate seems bent on presenting him with situations where only his will to do the honorable thing keeps their passion in check.

I really loved Rafe. He was fun and charming and he put up with an incredible amount of stuff from Kyria. Most men of his time wouldn't have taken Kyria along on the "adventures" they had to undertake while trying to solve the mystery of the artifact. She made these info gathering forays more difficult because, not only did their plans have to be more complicated to keep her undetected, Rafe had to split his focus between finding what he came for and protecting Kyria. Not to mention that he held back during interrogations for her sake. He probably would have had the mystery solved in a quarter of the time if Kyria hadn't been in his way. He was suspicious of the villain earlier on, but because Kyria had him all mixed up, he ignored his instincts. Kyria did that thing I hate where a character thinks that being independent and strong means making dumb decisions and not letting anyone talk you out of them. She kept waiting for Rafe to say she couldn't do something so that she could be disappointed in him for treating her like some weak woman. She was so hell bent on being in the middle of things and proving how smart and independent she was that she never stopped to think that she was making things harder for Rafe or anyone else involved. Pretty self-centered IMHO. The artifact and it's story were interesting. The mystery, well, about the same time Rafe was feeling an inkling of suspicious about the villain I had already decided who the villain was and I was not wrong. I loved Con and Alex.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Getting Rid of Bradley

Author: Jennifer Crusie

Detective Zachery Warren is afraid to grow old. He's a man of action who goes with his gut and makes split second decisions. For a man like him getting old means slowing down and slowing down means death. Detective Anthony is Zach's partner and the thinker of the duo. He's afraid that Zach is going to burn out, but isn't sure how to keep it from happening. Zach is too busy trying to catch Bradley to worry about any of this navel psychobabble that his partner is so fond of. When a tip about Bradley leads them to a diner where they overhear a couple of attractive women talking about getting rid of Bradley as they walk out, Zach's sure they've caught the break they've been waiting for. The partner's split up to follow the women, but Zach's barely manages to get the woman's attention when someone shoots at them. Zach's not the most popular guy with everyone, but he's pretty sure she's the target and it's possible that Bradley might be trying to get rid of her.

Lucy Savage is a physics teacher who loves logic and making well thought out practical decisions. The one time she made a spontaneous decision resulted in marriage to Bradley, whom she's just divorced. Now she's got this cop on her doorstep, who looks more like a criminal than an officer of the law, telling her that her dull uptight ex-husband is a criminal and that someone may be trying to kill her. She doesn't believe it, of course, because it's illogical that someone would want to shoot at her. She feels she's been proven correct when it turns out that the criminal he's looking for is not her ex, Bradley Porter, but a man named John Bradley. Sure the signs that someone has been trying to break in to her house are a bit disturbing, but it's a far cry from attempted murder. Unfortunately, the car bomb is not. This, coupled with a yearbook linking both Bradleys, leads Zach to move in with Lucy for protection and to find what someone wants from Lucy's house.


I really liked Zach. He very clearly had issues and he fought his attraction to Lucy, but once he decided to fall he did it all out. Lucy was really cute, I really like nerdy characters, but she had some serious TSTL moments that were just ridiculous. I hate it when a character decides they're going to be free or independent and then proceed to make the most boneheaded decisions all in the name of this new resolution and, of course, if anyone dares to cut up about whatever idiocy they've committed they're filled with righteous indignation and anger towards the person they perceive as trying to stifle or control them. It's annoying and makes me think less of the character, especially when that character is supposed to be smart, like Lucy is. Some might say that it's simply a lack of street smarts on her part, but I think anyone with half a brain would think it a bad idea to go out for a solo morning jog when a cop has told you to stay indoors because someone has tried to break in to your home repeatedly and might possibly be trying to kill you. Then to go out alone again just to get your hair done without so much as calling someone to let them know where you are going to be after someone sets of a bomb in your car? This coupled with the fact that she refused to leave her home for her own protection, even after a bomb is set off in the house, really made me want to slap some sense in to her. I like this book, but I don't love Lucy ... or at least I don't love her bad choices..

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Truly Madly Yours

Author: Rachel Gibson

Nick Allegrezza is the illegitimate son of the mayor in a small town. His father took advantage of his mother when she was a grieving widow and left her with a child he refused to acknowledge. He's grown up hating his father for not wanting him and for marrying a woman, adopting her daughter and giving her everything that should have been his. He grew up a bit of a trouble maker, often picking on the mayor's adopted daughter, Delaney, but eventually became a successful business man and almost legendary ladies man. He's not averse to a one night stand and never lets a woman get the impression that she's special in any way. Now that his father is dying with no heir in the picture, he's trying to get Nick to to all sorts of things, but Nick's not having any of it. When the old man finally dies, he leaves Nick some great properties and the only thing Nick has to do to get them is not get sleep with Delaney Shaw for a year. Like he'd let Delaney twist him up like that and hang him out to dry again like she did all those years ago.

Delaney Shaw left Truly, Idaho shortly after her 18th birthday under a cloud of rumors. After a fight with her adopted father, Henry Shaw, Delaney decided to be free and reckless for once. A decision that wound up with her naked on a beach with Nick Allegrezza, the guy who'd fascinated her since they were children. She could never figure him out. One minute he was sweet and in the next he was cruel. On this one night he was sweeter than he'd ever been, but when Henry discovers them and tells her Nick is only using her to get back at him all Delaney can see is that Nick isn't denying it. So she leaves town and severs all contact with Henry and Truly, Idaho. When Henry dies, Delaney comes back to be with her mother through the funeral and for the reading of the will. Henry, however, has other plans. He leaves Delaney half of everything he owns, assets that add up to millions, if she will stay in Truly for a whole year from the reading of the will. How can she walk away from that when it could bring her dreams of opening her own business to life? Surely she can stand living in Truly for a year! All she has to do is keep below the local gossip's radar and avoid Nick Allegrezza for a year. Shouldn't be a problem considering he seems to harbor some grudge against her. He's got some nerve, considering she was the injured party all those years go.

Both these characters drove me nuts! Delaney remembers him saying something to her during the incident in their youth, but she didn't know what it was because she was in a panic over being found with Nick by Henry, yet all those years later when he says that he told her he'd take care of her, she is completely disbelieving. I understood how, at the time, she reacted the way she did. She'd made herself vulnerable to Nick and usually that's when he turns around and does something to hurt her. The situation with Henry was upsetting and she was looking for some reassurance from Nick and he didn't give it to her. I also understood Nick's reaction. Here he is, finally, with the girl he's wanted for the longest time and suddenly she's acting like it's the worse thing that's ever happened to her. Then Henry, whom he hates, tells Delaney that Nick's just using her and she acts like she believes him. She hurt his pride and she chose his enemy over him. What drove me nuts is that as adults, they were still hung up on this incident! Neither of them seemed to be able to look at the situation through adult eyes and accept that maybe they were both to blame for what went down. If they hadn't had all that history, and been all about each other since they were kids, I wouldn't have bough that they could be in love because all their adult interactions seemed to center around sex. They were either fighting attraction, flirting, involved in pre-sexual activities, having sex, being jealous or arguing. The characters annoyed me to the point that I had to force myself not to skim. I'm not saying there weren't enjoyable parts, but it definitely is not one of my favorite books by Rachel Gibson.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Take Chance on Me

Author: Susan Donovan

Thomas Tobin is a lawyer who works as part of a murder-for-hire task force. He's proud of the work he does, but seeing the bad side of humanity day in and day out is starting to wear him out. He too often finds himself looking for the dark side to every person he meets. It doesn't help that his fiance dumped him when a rugby accident left him unlikely to ever father children. Now his team's best informant,Scott Slick , is dead and Thomas is feeling guilty over coercing him to continue as an informant. After all, if Slick had quit when he wanted to he might not be dead. It's that guilt which leads Thomas to take home Slick's dog Hairy, a Chinese Crested. After only two weeks Thomas is at wits end with Hairy's behavioral problems and seeks help from a veterinary psychologist. If only he didn't find her so attractive he'd be a whole lot happier.

Emma Jenkins is an animal behaviorist and all around good person. Ever since she divorced her husband, a fellow animal behaviorist and partner in her practice, she's had her hands full keeping her clinic afloat and raising her best friend's daughter. Then there's her ex-husband coming around trying to get money from her and acting so strangely. She doesn't have time to date and she certainly doesn't have time to be distracted by someone who blows hot and cold like Thomas Tobin. He wears expensive suits, but his face and body scream bad boy and one minute he's drawing her closer and the next he's pushing her away. She wants nothing to do with him, not even as a client, but when Thomas suspects that Hairy's behavior might lead to catching a murderer how can she say no?

I was with Emma on her opinion of Thomas and his two-step. I liked that she wasn't afraid to confront Thomas about it too. She didn't take crap from him and I love that in a heroine. Thomas was a bit of a wanker at times. When he started looking for Emma's "dark side"I could kind of understand it. In his line of work it would be easy to expect the worse out of people, but he was letting it turn him in to a misogynist. This is evidenced later when he starts riffing on how women mess a man up and how often the men he sees in his line of work are there because some woman has them all twisted up. I get that his fiance dumped him at the worse possible moment, but that wasn't what hit him so hard, It was the news about his malfunctioning equipment and the end of his plans for the wife, kids and white picket fence thing. He was letting it make him bitter. I hated that because of those issues he gave Emma such a hard time. The things he said to her towards the end of the book were horrible. I get why he said them, what with always expecting the worse of people and his damaged equipment, but had I been Emma, I don't think I could have forgiven him quite so easily. He wasn't a bad guy. There were spots where I liked him a lot and felt sympathetic towards him. It was just during his bonehead moments that he bugged me. I really loved Hairy and that he had his own occasional POV in the story.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Tell Me Lies

Author: Jennifer Crusie

Maddie Faraday grew up in Frog Point, a small town of where everyone knows everyone and who your people are is as important that who you are. All her life Maddie has been a "good girl" and done what was expected. She married Brent, her high school sweet heart, she stays home to raise their daughter while her husband is part owner of a very successful construction company. Maddie should be happy, but ever since Brent cheated on her a few years back, she just can't seem to get that loving feeling back. In fact, she's pretty sure she hates Brent at this point and the only reason she's still married to him is their daughter, Emily. When she finds a pair of black crotchless panties stuffed in seat of his car she decides she's had enough. She's going to end their marriage once and for all. She just hopes he can do it without causing too much of a scandal. The last thing she needs to hear right now is that the boy who's car she climbed in the back seat of the one night in high school she's decided not to be a good girl is back in town.

C.L. Sturgis was given up by his mother and taken in by his aunt and uncle in Frog Point. No one in town expected any good from him on account of who his mother was. He was always getting in trouble whether he actually did something wrong or not, so why not just be the bad boy they all thought he was? When he was in 5th grade, Maddie Martindale was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, and when she tried to defend him to a teacher he was hit with the biggest crush, but since he and Maddie were worlds apart he never even had a chance to be her friend. In high school, when Brent cheated on her and Maddie decided to get back at Brent by climbing in the back seat of his car, C.L. found himself once again crushing on Maddie. Unfortunately they call them crushes for a reason and the next day in school Maddie crushed him by walking away and pretending nothing had ever happened between them. She got back together with Brent and C.L. was left to move on. Now, a successful accountant with a good job in a big city, he's back in town to help his ex-wife and take down Brent. He did not expect that seeing Maddie would bring back that ridiculous crush he's had on her all his young life. He also did not expect Brent to turn up dead and Maddie to be the prime suspect.


I absolutely loved C.L., but Maddie and her constant worrying over what people were going to think drove me up the wall. I'd hazard to say that most men wouldn't have stuck around and put up with all conditions Maddie put on their relationship, no to mention the way she was all over him one minute and telling him to stay away the next. She couldn't make up her mind what she wanted and even when she did, it took her forever to find the damned backbone to go after it. Once she decided to be free and forget what the town thought, she made one crazy decision after the other just because she could. Her daughter, Emily, was well written. She knew she was being lied to and she didn't take it lying down. I was more impressed with her than I was her mother. Maddie's best friend Treva needed to be slapped. When Maddie's life is going crazy Treva decides it's the best time to start venting her life long resentments about Maddie always being good and perfect. And this is your best friend?

Monday, August 24, 2009

True Love and Other Disasters

Author: Rachel Gibson

Tyson Savage lives to win the Stanley Cup. His old man is a hockey legend in Canada, but even he never got his name on the cup and Ty is determined to see that his is. When Virgil Duffy, the owner of the Seattle Chinooks, offers him good money to join a team with a good shot at the cup, he leaves Vancouver in favor of Seattle. Who cares if the entire country think him a traitor? He's not letting anyone or anything get in his way.

Faith Duffy is a trophy wife and not shamed of it. So what if people think she seduced a man 50 years her senior to get her hands on his cash? All her life she's done what she had to in order to survive and she's not going to apologize for that. She's gone from stripper, to playmate, to the wife of Virgil Duffy, a multimillionaire who expect nothing more from her than that she make him look good in public and be a friendly companion in private.

When Virgil dies, leaving Faith his hockey team, Ty is greatly concerned about his shot at the cup. In fact, most of the team is concerned about what sort of trouble being owned by a gold digging bimbo with no knowledge of hockey could cause the team. For her part, Faith doesn't want the team and is perfectly willing to sell it Landon Duffy, Virgil's awful son. The team thinks this is a fine idea until rumors surface that Landon plans to move the team. When Landon tries to humiliate Faith about her past in front of the team, not only does he cement the teams negative impressions of him, but he angers Faith enough that she decides to keep the team.

From the first time she travels with the team to an away game, Faith feels the sparks between Ty and herself. As his boss and a woman that is determined to keep her old party girl persona in check, she's sure she needs to keep her distance from Ty Savage. Unfortunately, he's feeling them too and though he knows getting involved with the team owner is the worse idea possible, he can't seem to stay away. With Landon lurking in the wings trying to get his hands on the team, Faith's ex-stripper mom and Ty's dad sneaking around together and the playoffs in full swing, can either of them afford to fall in love?


I really liked this one. I enjoyed both the lead characters, but I think what really made this book for me was Faith. There aren't many heroines in romance who have a past like hers and aren't either trying to hide it or feeling guilty/bad about it. I think that's what I found refreshing about Faith. Her mom was a stripper and a party girl who changed men like most people change their clothes. Faith was following in her footsteps until she was discovered by Hef and became a playmate. When she married Virgil, she molded herself in to a good society wife for him, leaving behind the party girl. She became what he needed her to be. When he died and left her a wealthy widow she was free to finally find out who she was or could become. Through out all that, she refused to apologize for her past or to be made to feel ashamed. I thought that was pretty damned kick ass. And Ty! Once he realized that Faith was special to him he didn't try to weigh which was more important to him, hockey or Faith. H knew what he wanted and id what he had to get it. It was Faith who wanted things between them kept secret because she worried so much about the team and his career. She was just sure Ty would never choose her when it came down to it that she kept trying to put distance between them. Luckily, Ty didn't put up with much of that nonsense.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Hard and Fast

Fast Track Series - Book 2

Author: Erin McCarthy


Imogen Wilson was raised in the world of academia. She's a grad student majoring in sociology. Her professor/mentor/friend is married to a race car driver. It's during a trip to the track with that Imogen meets Nikki Howard, a woman bent on marrying a driver. When she sees Nikki's dating manual "How to Marry a Race Car Driver in Six Easy Steps" she thinks she's found the subject of her thesis. The plan? Read the manual and use the techniques on several drivers and see if such manuals actually work.

Ty McCordle loves fast women and faster cars. He lives for speed. Racing is all he's ever wanted to do. It's also all he fears he's qualified to do. A severe case of dyslexia has kept Ty from learning to read. He's gotten where he is by his wits and talent behind the wheel. Very few people know about his illiteracy and that's the way he likes it. When he meets Imogen he finds himself both attracted and intimidated.

Imogen knows she can't use Ty as a test subject for her thesis because she's very attracted to him and doubts her ability to keep from becoming emotionally attached. She feels this is a bad idea because she's nothing like the flashy, built girls Ty usually goes for. Ty, however, has set his sights on her and she doesn't stand a chance. She knows she'll probably get hurt when Ty moves on, but she can't resist him. Ty's never felt jealousy over a woman before, but when he finds out that Imogen plans to flirt with other drivers and then that one of the drivers on his own team has been asking her out, he's forced to admit to himself, and to her, that he wants her all to himself. Imogene's been swept off her feet, but her logical mind is telling her there's too much she doesn't know about Ty and that's got her running scared. Can Ty convince her he's really in it for the long haul?


Imogen's character had to be my favorite of the bunch. She was cute, smart, and socially awkward ... all things I love in a romance character. I really wanted to love Ty, but I didn't feel much of a connection to the character. I guess, like Imogene, I didn't feel like I knew enough about Ty. There wasn't as much depth to him as there was to Imogen. It greatly annoyed me that a man that smart, and with the kind of resourced he had, didn't try to find a way to learn to read. There is plenty of info out there about dyslexia, plenty of programs designed to help people with dyslexia to learn, that he had to have known there were ways for him to overcome his issue. His illiteracy was such a sore point for him. yet he did nothing to change it. Then there were the horrible things he said to Imogen. One of the things I love best about romances is the HEA. Sometimes I don't feel a couple should have one, like when either the hero or the heroine does something that they should not be forgiven for or haven't made up for. I'm not saying that happened with this book, but I did feel that Ty got off a bit lightly. All in all, I enjoyed this book and am really looking forward to the next book. I really want to know what Ryder did, or Susan thinks he did, that ended their marriage and how they can come back from it.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

One With The Night

Companion Series - Book 5

Author: Susan Squires

Jane Blundell was infected with vampirism in her father's laboratory because of a broken vial. Her father nursed her through the turning by infecting blood and feeding it to her. Since then he has dedicated his life to finding a cure. She has dedicated her life to being the son he never had, trying her hardest to make him proud of her. She knows nothing of being a vampire and when her father's life is threatened, she figures it's time to remedy that. When Callan Kilkenny comes looking for the cure, willingly volunteering himself as the dr.'s test subject, Jane begins to feel all manner of things she's never felt before. She's both excited to explore these new sensations and afraid of what they could mean. She finds herself falling for Kilkenny, but afraid to make herself vulnerable and losing control.

Callan Kilkenny was a "Charming Irish Rogue" until he ran afoul of Asharti, a very powerful female vampire with a penchant for compulsion, sexual torture and a fondness for breaking men's spirits. She made him a vampire so that there would be no risk of him dying before she's completely broken him. Set free by her death, he is unsure if he can ever get back to who he used to be. As a vampire he can not commit suicide, his companion won't allow it, and so he wanders around trying to do small good deeds where he can to counteract the terrible things he did under Asharti's command. When he begins to hear rumors about a possible cure, he sees his chance to become human again or die trying, either would be fine by him. He knows he's in trouble the moment he meets Jane. He's been celibate since Asharti, afraid that he's become twisted by his experiences with her, but Jane tempts him to the breaking point. He plans to avoid her as much as possible, but between her father throwing them together on herb gathering outings and Jane's curiosity about vampires, he hasn't got a chance of resisting her.

The stakes become deadlier when a trio of powerful vampires, led by Elyta Zaroff, come from the vampire's ruling council. Elyta says they want to protect the dr and help him find the cure. Although suspicious, they really have no choice but to let Elyta and her crew stay on. It soon becomes clear that Elyta's motives are less than pure, both for the cure and towars Callan. When she reveals to Callan that it was she who taught Asharti everything she knew, he knows that she'll kill them all as soon as she has no further use for them. The only way to save Jane, whom he's fallen in love with, is to make a deal with the devil. One that will ensure Jane will never love him and see him in the same form of slavery that nearly broke him before. He's gladly do it for Jane, but when she finds out what's really going on she puts and end to the deal and Callan is forced to come up with a long shot plan to save them both from their protectors and the vampires who want to destroy the cure and anyone associated with it.


While this book can be read as a stand alone, you'll be much more clear on a few things if you read the other books in the series first. Both the main characters were great. I felt terrible for Callan. In previous books we've been shown the effects of Asharti's twisted games on people's minds, but Callan is the first one who though himself truly evil because of the choices she coerced him in to making. Jane occasionally gave thought to a possible future with Callan, but since he never said anything about having feelings for her she kept thinking herself a fool. Callan wouldn't let himself dream. He didn't believe there was any way that she could love a creature like him. They were both afraid to speak. Jane sometimes frustrated me earlier on with her unwillingness to step outside the role she'd set for herself. Repressing any urges and expressions that didn't fit with what she thought was proper for a scientific minded individual. Callan was more frustrating at times, but I found it hard to really blame him because of what he went through. I mean, it had only been a couple of years since Asharti's death. Anyone who survived something like that would have some major issues to work through. Hell, some they might never be able to work through. Didn't stop me from wanting to pull my hair now and then. I've read the series up to this book and plan to pick up the next two soon. I better move quick because the eighth book, Time For Eternity, is due out at the beginning of September.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Fast Women

Author: Jennifer Crusie

Eleanor "Nell" Dysart is trying to rebuild her life after her divorce from her husband of 20+ years. A year and a half later he's married to a younger woman who's taking over her role in the insurance agency they built together and Nell starts to realize that she's spent a year and a half in a numb sort of haze. Now she's gotten a job as a secretary for McKenna Investigations on a recommendation from her former brother-in-law and her life is suddenly livelier than it's ever been. She's almost slept with a client's husband, had a one night stand with Riley McKenna (one of her bosses), wrecked her ex-husband's office, forced the embezzling ex-secretary to give back the money, stolen a dog and that's just her first week there! The only problem with the job is her boss, Gabe McKenna, and his my-way-or-the-highway attitude. All she wants to do is make the office look nice and keep things running smoothly, but he fights her at every turn and she's be lying if she said it didn't make her kind of hot.

Gabe McKenna likes things the way they are and he does not like change. When he agrees to give Nell a temporary job as a favor to an important client, he knows she's going to be trouble, but how much damage can she do in 6 weeks? Unfortunately, while wreaking havoc in his office, Nell's discovered that the secretary she was temping for has been forging company checks and stealing from petty cash. He's going to have to take her on permanently despite the fact that he's had to talk her out of legal trouble twice and she's broken all three of the companies rules in her first week there! He doesn't need this on top of the week from hell he's been having. His ex-wife, whom he's been sleeping with despite the fact that they've been divorced for 10 years, has cut him off and decided to see the world. His 19 year old daughter wants to trek through Europe instead of going to college, which he's already paid for the first semester of. Their top client is being blackmailed, possibly by their ex-secretary, and Gabe's own father may have helped cover up a murder. Now she's renovating his office and changing everything against his wishes. If only his life would go back to the way it used to be before Nell walked through his door. If Nell would only stop trying to run his business. If he could only decide whether to strangle her or kiss her.


This is one of my favorite Crusie books. Not my absolute favorite, but it's up there. It's because Gabe and Riley McKenna are such great characters. They're both really good guys and watching them struggle with the ladies they were for was enjoyable. I wasn't crazy about Nell. My beef with Nell was that she kept trying to turn Gabe in to her ex-husband. She hated her ex-husband for being weak, for letting her run everything while pretending he was doing it all and she was just incidental to their success. She projected the issues she had with her ex on to Gabe. She was hired as a secretary, but she changed everything about the office to suit her despite his objections and then then she got angry when he didn't appreciate it. If she had pulled the crap she did on anyone else she would have been fired that first week. She didn't know how to just be an employee and then she started sleeping with Gabe and because of the patterns she's developed with her ex, she thought that gave her say in the business. She kept comparing Gabe to her ex despite the fact that they were nothing alike, something even her best friends kept pointing out, and she put the blame for their conflict on Gabe and his stubborn attitude when she was sooooooo in the wrong. I liked her friend Suze much better and I loved the interplay between her and Riley. I'm definitely rooting for them. I would also love to know what happened with Margie.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

My Hero ... A Contest Entry

I'm reading Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling Series and this was originally written for a contest she was hosting to celebrate the release of Mine to Posses. (I did not win.)

(Re-posted from my old blogger)

The subject of this contest is our favorite romance hero/es and why we love them. I would have to say that of all the heroes out there my absolute favorites are the tortured alphas. They aren’t always the nicest guys around, but they’ve got their reasons for it. Whether it’s a loveless/abusive upbringing, betrayal or the death of a loved one these guys have had their hearts broken and are going to make sure no one does it again. The world sees them as aloof, cold or even down right heartless beasts and they sometimes go out of their was to prove them right. Then the one meant for them comes into their life and they fall in love ... kicking and screaming the whole way down. Some realize the danger right away and do their best to drive their heroine away, some mistake it for something else and don’t see it coming till it wallops them right upside the head, while others want the love, but don’t know how to go about winning it or keeping it. I know I’m not alone in this because there are several series, many supernatural romance, where all the heroes are tortured in one way or another.

My favorite of these fellows is hard to choose. Off the top of my head, I’d have to say Sebastian, Lord Dain, from Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels. His father was a cold man who cared more for his estate than anything else. After losing his wife and two young children to illness he chose to marry a young Italian lady who’s noble family had money. He found her to passionate for his taste and, after she gave him an heir, he stopped having “relations” with her. This led to a very tense and unhappy home life for our very young hero. It did not help that he took after his mother’s family in both looks and temperament. He was a sensitive young boy who was very aware that he didn’t look like others and that his father was ever disappointed in him. His mother disappears when his is just 8 years old and all his father will tell him is that his mother is Jezebel. He hates his mother for abandoning him and begins to develop his mistrust of the female species. The fact that his mother would abandon him drives it home in his mind that even a mother could feel no love for someone like him. He is promptly hustled off to school where he is picked on and taunted. He fights back and earns the respect of the bullies and is then determined to be the worst of lot. His first experience with a woman , a whore, at the age of 13 teaches him that with enough money people will deny you nothing and sets out to become as rich as humanly possible.

As an adult Dain has achieved everything he's set out to. He's rich, he's feared, and he lives life on his terms. Knowing that his father prizes his family’s title and reputation, Dain has set out to be the biggest blot on the family name that he can be. He spends his time drinking, gambling and whoring, when he’s not collecting antiques and works of art or making loads of money. His one foray into decent society led him into the hands of a gold digger and he then swore off anything to do with women who are not professionals at all cost. He avoids ladies like the plague. He believes himself ugly, evil, and unlovable and has built a shell around himself that is all those things and unapologetic about it.

Through his fall we get to see inside him, which is what draws me most about this type of hero's story line. There is a part of Dain that is still that lonely little boy who's only ever wanted to be loved and shown affection. While he falls in love we get to see him learn to accept that part of himself and learn that he can love and is worthy of being loved. Really, though, my favorite parts are the times where his lady shows him some affection and he is so socked and thrown off balance that he goes into a bit of a tailspin. Those are the moments that touch me most because those are the moments his character seems most realistic to me. Damn, I think I'm going to have to go read it again now!

Others I am partial to off the top of my head are: Zsadist (J.R. Ward’s Lover Awakened), Asterius (P.C. Cast’s Goddess of the Rose), Hades (P.C. Cast’s Goddess of Spring), Connor McCabe (Patti O’Shea’s Through a Crimson Veil), and Zarek (Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dance with the Devil).

Monday, August 17, 2009

The Bride Finder

Author: Susan Carroll

(Re-posted from my old blogger)

Anatole St. Legere is a clairvoyant and telekinetic, which he sees as a curse. As a child his mother was freaked out by his abilities and wanted nothing to do with him. Then one day he tried to cheer her by picking her a bouquet of flowers. Since she didn't want him near, he floated the flowers to her. She lost it and threw a glass vase at the poor boy and traumatized him for life. Lately he has been seeing visions of a flame haired woman who will bring about his death. So when he sends out the Bride Finder, who is the only one who can choose a bride for a St. Legere man without his being cursed to a life of misery and early death, he asks him for a simple, sturdy, placid woman with anything but red hair. The Bride finder, Reverend Septimus Fitzleger, finds the bride that is fated for Anatole. Unfortunately for Anatole she is a dainty noble woman with flaming red hair.

Madeline Breton arrives at Anatole's castle expecting a warm welcome from the Prince Charming that Reverend Fitzleger led her to believe she was going to marry. When her party shows up at his gloomy castle she finds that, not only is he not at home, but his people won't let her in. She's worn his miniature around her neck, the portrait of a 15 year old Anatole that made him look like some soulful poetic prince, and dreamed of meeting him, but the man she meets large, rugged and rough. He rides in and mistakenly grabs up her maid, whom is everything Anatole asked for, and is then heartily disappointed when he realizes Madeline is his bride. Though she is a bit frightened of him, and feels terribly rejected by him, she chooses to make the best of things and sets herself to be a good wife to him.

Anatole finds himself in a though situation. He marries his wife and pledges himself to her for eternity, a vow that is magically enforced for the men of his family, and while he's feeling the pull that St. Legere men are supposed to feel toward their mates, his new bride seems not to be feeling the great passion that St. Legere brides are supposed to feel. He spends most of the story wooing his bride, or learning to, and trying to keep her in the dark about his "gifts" and the family ghost, Prospero.

There is also some drama in the way of a possibly evil cousin and the family's ancient rivals, the Mortmains, whom everyone thought wiped out.


I really loved this story, partly, I think, because I could relate so well to Anatole. I really felt for Anatole who felt like he was an unlovable freak thanks to his mother, with some help from his father, and who thought that his new redheaded bride would be the death of him, literally. He felt his gifts were curses and was at odds with Prospero, his ghostly ancestor who really only wanted his descendants to find love and happiness. I love watching him learn how to win over his new wife, which would have cost him less effort had he not been so obviously disappointed at the sight of her upon their first meeting, and come to terms with himself. I liked that Madeline did not give up easily on Anatole and that she helped him accept his gifts and make peace with Prospero. She helped him realize that his mother was messed up and that just because she couldn't deal with him it didn't mean that he was unlovable or wrongly made.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down

Anthology

(Re-posted from my old blogger)

Captivated By You - Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Rhea Stevenson is pretty hot, but she's also a by the book girl, and a little uptight. She's secretly crazy about Ace, one of her fellow Bureau of American Defense (B.A.D.) agents. Since he's a womanizer and she's set on following the "no office romance" rule, she acts as if she hates him and gives him the cold shoulder/evil eye every chance she gets. Unfortunately she's been assigned to work a case with him that has her posing as a dominatrix at an exclusive club to catch a terrorist.

Ace Krux has got it bad for Rhea, but she hates him and he doesn't know why. Fortunately he's maneuvered her into working a case with him that will involve her in skimpy outfits practicing her dominatrix skills on him. He's hoping that his charm and their near nudity will result in a little action. His prayers are answered and things heat up pretty quickly between them after she ties him down. Only now Ace isn't so sure he likes the idea of sending her into a room alone with a terrorist.


The characters weren't terribly well developed, but we did catch small glimpses into what made them who they are, and that made the romance more believable. I like the lengths that Ace was willing to go to in order to keep Rhea safe.


Promise Me Forever - Author: Melanie George

Ten years ago Savannah Harper and Donovan Jerricho were crazy in love, but with his pro-football career taking off there was a lot of strain on their relationship and when a misunderstanding causes Donovan to believe that Savannah has slept with one of his friend, they break up and Donovan leaves town without looking back. Savannah is pregnant, a fact that Donovan knows nothing about, and never will if she has anything to say about it. Now Savannah, a single mom to a precocious little girl, has finally agreed to marry Jake, her boyfriend of two years. Only, a few days before her wedding, Donovan Jerricho blows back into town stirring up feelings she thought were dead. They are both angry and bitter about the past, but can't help feeling that pull towards each other. Donovan learns the truth about that old misunderstanding and realizes that he made a big mistake and threw away the only woman he ever loved, but can he convince her of that before she ties the knot? He just might if she gave him had the chance, but since she won't he resorts to drastic measures and kidnaps her and plans to hold her hostage in their old love nest until she hears him out. And when will she tell him that Reese is his daughter?


I'm not sure how I felt about this story. He resorted to kidnapping, which was just plain creepy, but he couldn't find it in him to actually hold her against her will. It bothered me that Savannah was willing to marry Jake after she realized that she still loved Donovan and that she loved him more than Jake. It bothers me that such a sweet stand up sort of guy would marry someone who didn't love him wholeheartedly and slept with her ex shortly before the wedding. Seriously, doc, have a little self-respect! Nice is one thing, doormat is something else all together! I hated that Savannah didn't have the guts to let Donovan know that he had a child and that she didn't tell her kid who her father was.


Hunter's Right - Author: Jaid Black

Corporal Ronda Tipton, U.S Army, is excited about her new assignment. She's going to be stationed at a research base in the Arctic. Unfortunately, her helicopter crashes somewhere in the Arctic Circle and she is the only survivor. Hoping that she was somewhere near the base when the chopper crashed, she heads out on foot. When she finds what appears to be a door in the side of a mountain, she thinks her prayers have been answered. She soon finds that she was mistaken as she stumbles upon the hidden Viking civilization of New Sweden that has thrived underground for hundreds of years. She is discovered and chased by giant Viking men. She nearly escapes, but is caught by Lord Nikolas Ericsson, a cousin to the King and a revolutionary. He believes she is a military spy and questions her about how she came to New Sweden. When he learns she is telling the truth about the accident, she is sent off the the bride auctions. The auctions were once a respected tradition, but the Kings corruption has turned it into something of a sex slave auction where the men fondle the women who are brought before them naked and shackled. When it's Ronda's turn up on the block she takes serious offense to being manhandled and uses her martial skills to smack down the offenders and get free. Just as all hell is breaking loose Nikolas claims Hunter's Right, the law that says a man may keep a woman he has captured. Nikolas did not intend to marry until after the revolution, but not only did Ronda make him hot, she was a fighter and he hated to see her punished or handed over to one of the Kings vile friends. Ronda believes she must escape and find the base so that she can inform the military of what is going in this secret world, but she soon finds herself drawn to Nikolas. Will she choose freedom or love?

The sexual stuff is hot ... sizzling hot, thought the whole chains and aphrodisiacs stuff kind of weirded me out. I really enjoyed the characters and though the whole women as property thing doesn't appeal to me overly much, I found myself very intrigued by their world and most especially that prophecy of theirs. I've read the novellas and Deep, Dark & Dangerous which were set in New Sweden and I have to say, I'm looking forward to more.
(Author's website lists a book titled Big, Bad & Brutal that was supposed to be out 2008, but I don't know what's happened with that. )

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Anyone but You

Author: Jennifer Cruise

(Re-posted from my old blogger)

Nina Askew married a professional man and put her career on hold for him. She had an expensive house and an upscale lifestyle. Then she got fed up with the married life, living for someone else and having all her decisions made for her. So, now, six months after her divorce, she's sold the big house, moved into a cozy apartment, and started working as an editor again. Only Nina just turned forty and isn't dealing well with it. All she needs is a perky little puppy to cheer her up and keep her company. Enter Fred, part basset hound, part beagle, and on his last day of life. He's not a puppy and he's not perky, but Nina just can't leave him behind knowing she's his last chance. Neither Nina or Fred are too sure about each other at first, but it doesn't take Nina long to figure out that Fred was just what she needed.

Dr. Alex Moore, the thirty year old hottie who's apartment is right below Nina's, has just broken up with Debbie, another in a long line of girlfriends looking to marry a doctor and create a happy family. The problem is Alex doesn't want a family. His family is a dysfunctional disaster. Everyone's a dr, his dad's an alcoholic cardiologist, his stepmom is an recovering speed addict thoracic surgeon, his often engaged half-sister is an oncologist, and his serial dating semi-alcoholic half-brother is a gynecologist and they're putting pressure on him to specialize instead of working in the ER, where he's happy. Then Fred pops in his window and he meets Nina. There's an instant attraction that neither of them is too keen to explore right away. After a failed date, where Nina comes to the rescue, Alex decides he'd really like to get to know Nina better. So he invites himself up to her apartment to watch movies. This becomes a routine and they become fast friends. Unfortunately for Alex, he wants a whole lot more. He's afraid if he makes a move he'll lose what he has with Nina because he's pretty sure Nina sees him as an immature kid. Now he's rethinking his whole career. He's thinking of taking his dad up on a cardiology position so that he'll have money and Nina will see he's getting somewhere. But is that what Nina really wants?

Nina's determined to keep her relationship with Alex strictly platonic. Sure, she thinks about him a lot and wonders what it would be like to be with him, but she doesn't see it going anywhere. Alex is young enough to want marriage and a family, while she's been there, done that, and not going back again. She's also not to keen on showing her forty year old body off to a thirty year old man who's used to dating twenty year olds. When Alex makes his move, Nina decides to go for it, but is he looking for more than she's got to give?

I'll lead off by saying that I liked both lead characters a lot. They seemed very real and like they were good people. I really loved Alex, even when he went a little crazy there and you kind of wanted to smack him upside the head so that he's just snap out of it. He was just so cute ... him and his Daffy Duck shorts. His brother Max was also highly lovable and I hope to see him hook up with Nina's friend Charity in another book. They seemed to hate each other on sight, but I think there might be something there. Nina was great, but I though the whole Incredibra issue was flat out ridiculous! I'm thirty and have had a couple of kids (three now), so the girls aren't where they used to be, but to get that uptight over having your lover see you naked? If you can't stand for them to see you sans clothing, then you probably aren't ready to be sleeping with them. Her insecurities were a little overplayed, I think. She just mentioned her forty year old body one too many times for me.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Love is Blind

Author: Lynsay Sands

(Re-posted from my old blogger)

Lady Clarissa Cambray is near sighted and blind as a bat without her glasses. So what does her "helpful" stepmother do? Basically tells her that "Guys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses." and when Clarissa insists on wearing them stepmommy dearest breaks them. She then sets Clarissa loose on the ton where she repeatedly causes disasters, like dropping food on herself, tripping, stomping on toes, mistaking people's laps for tables and burning their "piffles" with hot tea, and then she sets one suitor's wig on fire. This leads to stepmommy making her sit and do absolutely nothing during parties. She's miserable, she's bored and she's very aware that the ton laughs at her and calls her Clumsy Clarissa behind their fans. She doesn't know that they think she won't wear glasses for the sake of vanity.

Enter the Earl of Mowbray. Adrian Montfort, once thought one of the handsomest men of the ton and quite the rakehell, returned from the war a then years ago with a scar down the side of his face that had the young ladies swooning to prove their delicacy. That and a run in with one twisted lady, who pretended to like him when she just wanted to bed a freak, had our hero rusticating for a decade. Now he's back in town and still feeling the freak. His cousin, having been a victim of one of Clarissa's nearsighted accidents, warns him to steer clear, but Adrian is intrigued. The though of spending some time with a woman who might not cringe at the prospect of talking to him, much less dancing, holds a lot of appeal. He soon finds himself laughing and smiling more in a few minutes with Clarissa than he has in the last ten years. They both know right off that they'd like to spend more time together, but, of course, stepmom doesn't want them to get together. Adrian, not being someone to let something he wants slip away, enlists his family to help sneak her out to meet him. They're only too happy to do it since Adrian seems so happy and hopeful.

Some strange "accidents" have been happening to Clarissa and after finding her floating face down in a fountain with a bump on her head, having been lured out to the garden by a false note, Adrian suspects someone is trying to kill her. He waits outside her window so he can sneak in and talk to her about these accidents, but once he's in her bedroom, things take a turn for the naughty. When a fire breaks out right outside Clarissa's bedroom, Adrian gets her out the second story window and down to the ground, where the servants find them in less than perfectly clothed condition. Adrian asks for her hand and wedding plans are under way. There's just a few of things bothering our couple. Adrian is afraid that when she gets her glasses back she'll be disgusted by the sight of him and hate him. He's also worried about who might be trying to kill his wife-to-be. Clarissa is afraid that when he sees her with her glasses he'll think her ugly and she'll lose any chance that he might love her.

I'll come out right up front and state that I have a weakness for Lynsay Sands. It's just something about the way she writes her heroines. They're not what most people would consider perfect, but they end up being just that for our heroes. I know that her historicals have modern language in them and it tends to catch your eye when you're reading, but for some reason, it doesn't really bother me. I know the plot isn't spectacularly original, but I still found it enjoyable. The writing was definitely there and I really wanted Adrian to be happy at the ending of it all. I really liked his character. It was nice to see a hero who wasn't all alpha and swashbucklish. I'm a sucker for a hero who doesn't know what a great catch he is and is a bit insecure in his wooing. I see the alpha type much more often, so this type of her is a bit of a treat for me. I think Clarissa level of insecurity about her glasses was a bit overdone. I mean she was afraid the guy would suddenly think her ugly and not the least bit lovable because of a pair of glasses. If he's so shallow that a removable pair of glasses turns him off you permanently, then he is not a man you want to marry. I mean, if the glasses put him off that badly, what'll happen when she gains ten or fifteen pound? What about her body after she's had a kid or two? Know what I'm saying?

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The Deal

I'll be re-posting something from my old blogger every day. That means there will be an old post showing up every day until August 18th. After that I will be posting new content until I start slacking again. I've already got one new post scheduled and another new draft waiting to be finished. I've also got two old drafts that I started ages ago and never finished. I'll try to get those done and scheduled to post soon. I'm hoping that with this cushion of old posts I'll be able to leisurely post up new content and so not get so behind that I stop posting again any time soon. We'll see.

Tall, Dark & Dead

Author: Tate Hallaway

(Re-posted from my old blogger)

The Order of Eustice is the Vatican's anti-witch hit squad. Yes, they take "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." very literally. Garnet Lacey was part of a coven until the one day she showed up late. She walks in expecting to get ribbed for being late and instead finds her entire coven dead and the Vatican's Order performing Last Rites. In a moment of rage she calls Lilith to her and becomes the goddesses avatar. She slaughters the Order's hit squad and, with the help of her vampire ex-boyfriend, hides the bodies. She leaves town and settles in . She's running an occult store and masquerading as a goth. Then one day Sebastian Von Traum walks into her life and it's trouble all over again.

Sebastian is dead, has been for years. He was an alchemist and became a vampire by drinking a potion. He's not your average vampire either. He can walk in the daylight, but he's got one major problem. After all these years the potion is failing and unless he can work the kinks out in his potion, he may end up dead for good. To top it off, the Order is after Sebastian. Seems they think that little potion of his might come in handy and though they don't usually hunt vampires, they're willing to make an exception, since he's also an alchemist. Garnet's ex-boyfriend vamp comes into town, confusing things between Garnet and Sebastian. Then there is Matyas, Sebastian's post-death damphyr son who's working with the order to bring down his father. Let us not forget Lilith, who's still inside Garnet and looking to take control over Garnet's body permanently. Can she and Sebastian work together to stay alive or will the forces aligned against them be too much for a failing vampire and a solitary witch?

I liked it, I really did, but Garnet got on my nerves with her feeding issues. I mean, come on, if you're going to date a vampire you will either have to provide sustenance or not be uptight about them getting it elsewhere. Either deal with that or stop dating guys that need to feed off other people! Sebastian was interesting, but I didn't feel like we got to know him much. I know we got a lot of info on him, but it was like reading a list of facts about someone. You know? No personal connection. I kind of liked Matyas. I know he was sort of supposed to be one of the bad guys and he tended to be a jerk, but he had good reasons for feeling the way he did and doing the things he did. He was wrong, yeah, but I couldn't dislike him for it. I felt bad for Phillip too. He comes to Garnet because he's hit hard times, and because he still has feelings for her, only to find her hooked up with a day walking vampire who fed off her when she wouldn't let him. As if that weren't enough, the poor guy is having to basically prostitute himself, he's in such dire straights. The ending left a lot of things open, so I'm thinking we're being set up for a series, a trilogy at least. I don't know how I feel about that. I love series books but I hate it when the individual books in the series are left too open ended. Leaves me unsatisfied and not too sure if I want more. Give me some kind of resolution on something!

(I never have read the rest of this series and have no real interest in doing so. I may pick it up at a future date, but I doubt it.)

Monday, August 10, 2009

Heaven In Your Eyes

Author: Judi McCoy

(Re-posted from my old blogger)

Anne McAllister is married to an uptight controlling jerk. They met in college, where Annie was a criminal justice major with plans of joining law enforcement. All that went out the window when she married Tom. She became his living Barbie doll. Wore her hair the way he wanted, wore the clothes he chose, ate what he ordered for her and basically lived her life to please him. Just as Anne is getting fed up and ready to shake things up Tom dies. Tom somehow manages not to go to Hell or Purgatory, but gets a chance to redeem himself by helping Annie find true love. You see, Annie was supposed to go on to law enforcement training, where she would have met her soul mate, Andrew Falcone, and had a HEA ... only that didn't happen because she met and married Tom before she ever made it that far. So Tom will have to hop into another body, a la Heaven Can Wait, and help Annie find the perfect man for her.

Fast forward six years after Tom's death and Annie's is now a U.S. Marshal and working her first Assignment with the Witness Protection Program. Her charge is one Dominic Viglioni, a mob guy turned informant, who doesn't have long to live. After putting the moves on Annie, during a one-on-one game of hoops, Viglioni is shot by rogue marshals and Tom moves in. They go on the run and soon after Annie, and Tom, figure out that Dominic Viglioni is no snitch. He's an undercover agent trying to draw out dirty marshals and his real name? Yup, you guessed it! Andrew Falcone. So now Tom, who's got pieces of Falcone's personality and memories floating around in his head, is trying to protect Annie until they catch the bad guys. Unfortunately, spending so much time together is proving a hard temptation for Tom to fight. He's finding he likes this new Annie a lot better than the one he tried to make her into. How can he find her a husband when he's falling in love with her all over again? Meanwhile, Annie's terribly attracted to Flacone and a little weirded out by some of his familiar habits. Will she find happiness with her ex in her soul mates body or will the bad guys kill them before she has a chance to find out?

I dunno, I really enjoyed Judi McCoy's Wanted books and the Goddess series was a fun read, but I just can't like Tom enough to want to see him happy with Annie ... and I'm feeling really bad for Andrew Falcone. Yeah, he was a good guy and went to heaven when he died, but come on! Because Tom's guiding angel didn't do her job Falcone got cheated out of connecting with his soul mate, a loving marriage, kids and the many more years of life he would have lived had he been married and not taken that fatal assignment! WTH?! I hate to bring my spiritual beliefs in to it, but I think soul mates are connected beyond death and that they will find eachother again. So the fact that Falcone's soul mate is now in love with some guy who seems to have taken on some of his characteristics, just sucks bananas. He deserved better. Tom? Yeah, his parents sucked. I get that. It still doesn't change the fact that he made his wife miserable for years. Many people have crappy childhoods without making other people's lives hell because of it. So this guy is a miserable prick and treats his wife like crap and the consequences of that are what? A hot new body, many years of life after his expiration date, and a second chance at the marriage he screwed up the first time around? Hello?! Does no one else have a problem with this? And, Annie? Why the hell would she even consider hooking up with a guy that reminds her so much of a man that made her life miserable? She wasted so much of her life on this man who treated her horribly before getting the nerve up to make a change. So now she's going to go for a man that exhibits some of the same traits/habits? Seriously?

The writing was there, and there were some good scenes, but I just couldn't get past my issue with the characters to really enjoy the book.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Winter Moon

Anthology

(Re-posted from my old blogger)

Moontide - Author: Mercedes Lackey

I tried to read a Mercedes Lackey book several years ago and for some reason I just couldn't get into it. The writing just didn't hold me. So I put the book down unfinished and put her in the Authors I Can't Read category. Then a while back I saw The Fairy Godmother and decided to go ahead and give it a read. I really enjoyed it and One Good Knight. This novella, Moontide, is set in the same world of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, but does not involve Tradition.

Moira na Ferson, was sent away at a young age to foster with the King's sister, Countess Vrenable by her father, Lord Ferson of Highclere. The intent was that she be taught to be a proper lady and learn the running of a keep, but Countess Vrenable teaches a select few of her charges so much more. The countess is in charge of the Grey Ladies, a group of young ladies who are trained to be everything a lady should be, but are also trained spies and assassins. Moira has been invited to become a Grey Lady, but before she can complete her training, her father calls her back home, where Moira suspects he intends to marry her off. Before Moira leaves Viridian Manor the countess informs her that her father is suspected of treason. Moira, having had no real love for her father, readily agrees to be Countess Vrenable's eyes and ears. Once she returns to Highclere, she begins to see how right the countess' suspicions are. Her father seems to be planning to marry her off to an enemy prince and they make many sly comments about ships sinking in the storms that frequent Highclere. Here father's new Fool seems very interested in all the goings on, but is he a spy for the King or is he working for her father and the prince? Could trusting him see her married to the prince and imprisoned in his harem or will it lead to salvation?

For some reason, of all the characters in this story, the Fool was my favorite. I would have liked to have seen some of the story from his point of view. We were told about his wit, but never got a chance to see it. I liked how Moira handles the whole confrontation with the prince ... well, the aftermath ... and the spying really. It's a lot more realistic than having her be blase about it, as if it's something she does all the time. And really, no matter how much you train or prepare for a situation, you aren't really ready for the reality until it's there in your face.

I'm thinking I might try to branch out ... maybe check out the Obsidian Trilogy?


The Heart of The Moon - Author: Tanith Lee

Clirando is a warrior woman, strong and honorable, who's happy with her life. And why not? She's the leader of her band of warriors, of which her best friend from childhood, Araitha, is a part of and she's got an attractive lover, Thestus. Things couldn't be better, that is, until the night lighting strikes the Temple of the Maiden and, in the scramble to save the roof, she discovers that Araitha and Thestus are having an affair. She challenges them both in battle and wins. They are both shamed and must leave the town of Amnos, but before her ship sails Araitha visits Clirando for a parting shot. She curses Clirando to be filled with emptiness, to find joy in nothing and to sleeplessness, that she may find no rest. Clirando shrugs off the curse and goes on with her life. Until she hears that the ship Araitha was on has sunk. Suddenly she can not sleep, she finds joy in nothing, and there is a burning emptiness inside of her. Clirando and her band are called to go to Moon Isle for the Seven Nights, a festival to honor the moon being full for seven full days. Strange things happen on this island, and sometimes people don't return. The first night there her band sets up camp and Clirando takes the watch, but the impossible happens, she falls asleep. When she wakes up, her band is gone and there is no sign of where they could be. Clirando sets off to find a village or some sign of her girls, but she finds odd creatures who follow her and haunt her with their strange cries. In her trek through the forest she meets Zemetrios, a fellow traveler also looking for a village who wants to share her fire and travel with her. Is he who he says he is? He has a past more painful than hers, which he shares with her. Is he telling the truth or is this some trick. Can she trust him in this place full of ghosts and illusions when those closest to her have betrayed her?

I can't think of a thing that I've read of Tanith Lee's that I did not like. This novella was no exception. I liked that his was about a journey of self-discovery and forgiveness. Both Clirando and Zemetrios had to go a long way to deal with their ghosts and to accept themselves as they were. And I liked that Zemetrios' issues weren't easily settled.


Banshee Cries - Author: C.E. Murphy

This story was described as 1.5 in "The Walker Papers" series. I didn't read Urban Shaman, though it is on my TBR list, so I felt that I was always a bit behind on the story. It wasn't that I couldn't follow the story, but I did feel that a lot of the interpersonal stuff was really lost on me.

I won't give a summary bit about the story because there's so much back story that I'm just missing. I don't feel comfortable doing it.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Secret Society Girl: An Ivy League Novel

Author: Diana Peterfreund

(Re-posted from my old blogger)

Prestigious Eli University is chock full of not-so-secret secret societies. Amy Haskel, junior and editor of the Lit Mag, is looking forward to being "tapped" by Quill & Ink, where all good little Lit Mag editors go, apparently. Only instead of Quill & Ink she gets tapped by Rose & Grave, a 177 year old society rumored to be akin to the Illuminati. This strikes our Amy as being more than slightly surreal. Rose & Grave are the elite, the rich and the powerful, who choose only the best and the brightest ... oh, yeah, and they're a "boy's club". So why are they interested in a girl from a middle-class background looking to become a magazine editor while secretly dreaming of writing the next Great American Novel? Amy isn't sure, but in an odd go-with-the-flow moment, she decides to accept their offer and join up. The initiation is beyond surreal, but almost instantly she begins to feel a bond with her fellow "Diggers" and is looking forward to learning all about her new brothers ... and sisters. It seems that Amy, Bugaboo to her fellow Diggers, along with 5 other women, are the first taps to include women. A revolutionary move for Rose & Grave. One that leads to some heartache for our Amy and her fellow Diggers. It seems that the board of trustees that runs the money behind Rose & Grave, made up of alumni Diggers, disagrees with the decision to tap women. Unbeknownst to the new taps, the senior class who tapped them, knowingly went against the board. Even though the seniors, being the active members, are supposed to be running things the board stages a sort of coup. They lock up the society's tomb (read: club house), cut off access to funding, and invalidate the membership of both the taps and the senior class. When they don't take it lying down, the old boys start wrecking their future careers and reputations, causing our girl Amy to lose her upcoming internship. At this point Amy's thinking it's all more trouble than it's worth. She's having problems with her room mate and her boyfriend over it and now the old boys are threatening to start wrecking her parents careers too. Will she quit Rose & Grave while she's got the chance or will she stick with it until the very possibly bitter end?

I just finished this today, so it's till pretty fresh in my mind. There were a few moments where I mentally shouted "Just shut your trap and keep it shut!" at our girl Amy during the whole initiation process. Mostly because she knew they were trying to mess with her head and yet she played right into it with all the carrying on. I just wanted her to suck it up, you know? Overall, I have to say that I liked this book. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. You see, I found her best friend secretive and annoying, her friend-with-bennies turned boyfriend, Ben, was way too good for her in the beginning and then goes all wrong when she's finally getting her act together. I found the dreaded Clarissa (Angel) much more to my liking than Amy's friend ... that's a commentary on her friend, not Clarissa ... even though she gets her shit together too when all is said and done. Demetria (Thorndike) was a little to much for me at times. She was a somewhat stereotypical "Afrocentric activist lesbian" chick with her kente cloth. The sub-plot with the spurned chick who was going to out one of the Diggers was a little weird, but I like how Amy handled it. And that's really what won me over, Amy. She wasn't the overdone sassy chick who always had something smart to say, though she did pull that off nicely in her taps interview. She was very real. She wasn't ridiculously stoic, or constantly practical. Sometimes she frustrated me with her actions and choices and sometimes she had me right there with her. She was someone that I wouldn't mind getting to know, if she were a real person, and sometimes that's more than you can say for a leading character.

Bah!

I would like to note that I'm not über fond of any of the templates for blogger, unfortunately xml is like my kryptonite. I'd have to get a dummies book just to edit my blogger template. That or do some serious searching on the interwebs for tuts, which I'm not willing to invest the time in just now. I suppose I could go back to classic, that was pretty simple to edit. Only problem with that is that I'd then have to do all new graphics, cause I wouldn't want it plain, and I'm too tired and grumpy to even think about that right now. Maybe later.

AHA!

Found the stuff I posted on my now dead blogger and will be reposting them here. They will be old, but oh, well!

Celebrate the Category

Celebrate the Category

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