October 4, 2012

The Month That Was September 2012

 Lemon Drop: Miggy, Miggy, Miggy can't you see, sometimes your bat just hypnotizes me....

Me: Your Mommy needs to lay off the hip-hop.

Lemon Drop: Nevah Auntie Wendy!  Mommy and I are keeping it real up in the izzle!

Me: Ahem, so why are you singing slugger?

Lemon Drop: Geez Auntie Wendy, Miguel Cabrera winning the Triple Crown!  I thought only horses got Triple Crowns but then Papaw explained it to me.  That's pretty cool, Miggy getting three crowns!

Me: Well while we're basking in the glow of a Tigers player doing something good, why don't I tell you about what I read last month.  Quite a bit of quantity here, although quality was all over the place.

Death Of A Neighborhood Witch by Laura Levine - Cozy mystery, Kensington, Part of series, 2012, Grade = B
  • A nice installment in what is currently my favorite cozy mystery series.  Plenty of sitcom style antics, a decent mystery thread, but I'm disappointed that one of my favorite secondary characters seems to be morphing into an asshole.
Last To Die by Tess Gerritsen - Suspense, Ballantine, Part of series, 2012, Grade = B
  • I wasn't totally enthralled with the suspense thread in Gerritsen's latest, but it's still very solid.  Also the Rizzoli family "stuff" is simply fantastic in this book.  Can't wait for the next one!
The Gin Lovers #1-#6 by Jamie Brenner - Digital historical serial novel, St. Martin's, 2012, Grade = No Idea Yet
  • A soapy, sudsy six-part serial novel set in 1920s, Prohibition era, New York City.  I positively devoured all of the installments and was breathlessly hooked - until Part 6.  I wasn't terribly happy with the last installment and I'm still sorting out my feelings on the matter.  Reviews will be forthcoming starting Monday, October 8 when the first two installments hit digital book retail outlets.
The Siren by Tiffany Reisz - Contemporary BDSM erotica, Mira, Part of series, 2012, Grade = C
  • Good writing and....good writing.  I didn't care for any of the characters save one lonely lil' secondary character who got his wee heart stomped on by the heroine, who I wanted to bitch-slap.  I felt the book was overly long (I mentally edited quite a bit of it) and I'm so sick of BDSM already.  I mean, I'm really over it.
Because of You by Jessica Scott - Digital contemporary romance, Loveswept, 2011, Grade = B
  • A very solid category romance featuring a well-done military theme.  Was a tad annoyed that some of the secondary characters are left twisting in the breeze, and there were a few "debut novelist" lumps in the writing - but very promising.
The More The Terrier by Linda O. Johnston - Cozy mystery, Berkley, Part of series, 2011, Grade = C
  • My TBR Challenge read for the month.  A cozy mystery where the mystery got lost within the "hook."  I want the dead body and the crime solving - I don't need to hear all about the heroine's job as an animal rescuer.
Planning for Love by Christi Barth - Digital contemporary romance, Carina, 2012, Grade = DNF
  • I got a third of the way in and had to stop because I was so frickin' bored!  The author takes a third of the book to set up the back cover blurb!  And then the heroine ends up falling for the hero even though after a one-night stand he essentially torpedoes her entire belief system (she believes in love and marriage, he thinks it's a bunch of horse hooey and basically calls her an idiot - my hero! Not!).  Exhibit A on why I stick with category romance when I want my contemporary fix.  I would have cut out the entire first 80 pages of this book!
A Lady's Lesson In Seduction by Barbara Monajem - Digital historical romance short story, Harlequin Historical Undone, 2012, Grade = B-
  • I had some quibbles about the hero and his mother, but honestly this was a very charming, holiday-themed read.  If you're a sucker for Christmas stories and don't mind reading short?  Download this one for Christmas Eve, says me.
Lemon Drop: Hey, wait a minute.  If Miguel Cabrera gets three crowns how come I don't have any!

Me: Have you led Major League Baseball in batting average, homeruns and RBIs?

Lemon Drop: Well, no - but I'm cute dagnabit!  And honestly I'm the only reason people read your blog Auntie Wendy.  That right there deserves at least two crowns.

Me: You know it's a shame you have such self-esteem issues.  Your Mommy might want to work on that.

Lemon Drop: Tell me about it Auntie Wendy.  Mommy is still under the impression that the world doesn't entirely revolve around me.  As her big sister maybe you should talk to her about that.

Me: Oh brother.

4 comments:

nath said...

Hey Wendy!

Quite a nice month!! You make me want to try the Laura Levine series :) But do you think I have to start from the beginning? LOL.

It was on the news about the triple crown! So just wondering, usually, say he ended the season with the best average at bat... does that mean he'd get only one crown? But in this case, he got all three? :P It's good that he played yesterday. On my way home, there were talks about perhaps benching him, so he doesn't lose the triple crown.

And LOL, Wendy. Lemon Drop is only one reason why we follow the blog :) We love you too :P

Brie said...

I just want to say: Take that Alex Rodriguez!

Your niece is adorable.

Tracy S said...

Congrats on a Tiger's player winning the Triple Crown!!Took it down to the wire too (with the home run part of it)!

Wendy said...

Nath: I think you can read the Levine series out of order (they're very "day in the life") - but I would suggest the earlier books in the series, which I've enjoyed more. I liked this new one OK, but not as much as some of those earlier books.

Brie: LOL! Yeah, take that A-Rod! You smell and nobody likes you!

Tracy: I was most worried about Josh Hamilton, honestly. Miggy was running away with RBIs, and I wasn't quite as sweaty over batting average. But Hamilton? In that Texas ballpark? Yeesh.