Amazon discontinued the ability to create images using their SiteStripe feature and in their infinite wisdom broke all previously created images on 12/31/23. Many blogs used this feature, including this one. Expect my archives to be a hot mess of broken book cover images until I can slowly comb through 20 years of archives to make corrections.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

The Month That Was October 2012

Me: Good heavens Miss Sakamoto, you're beautiful!

Lemon Drop: Just. Keep. Smiling.

Me: I don't believe it!  There she goes again!  She's tidied up and I can't find anything!

Lemon Drop:   Just. Keep. Smiling.  Daddy can't help it that he's a nerd.....

Me:  Science!

Lemon Drop:  Although why he feels the need to rope me into his geekdom I have no idea....

Me:  Hang on Lemon Drop! I'll save you!  Your Auntie Wendy is here to talk to you about books!  Books that don't have any equations in them!

Title links go to full reviews.

Deception by Kris Kennedy - Historical medieval romance, 2012, Pocket, Grade = C
  •  A heavy medieval romance with lots of intricate plotting and language.  I would highly recommend this for hardcore medieval fans, while more casual medieval readers (like myself) may find it a bit too much.
The Space Between Us by Megan Hart - Erotica, 2012, Mira, Grade = A-
  •  A quietly plotted erotica novel about a aimless 20-something who enters into a menage relationship with a married couple.  Dynamite characters and enough emotional angst to rip your guts out.  I've seen a lot of "ho-hum" reviews for this one, but damn - I loved it.
Undeniable by Alison Kent - Contemporary erotic romance, 2012, Berkley, Grade = C-
  • Hero who behaves like a selfish jackass because "Daddy doesn't love him."  A heroine who keeps giving the poor little rich boy a free pass because he's dreamy, has a big penis, and is good in bed.  Great small-town, community setting though, and a secondary romance I enjoyed.
Until There Was You by Jessica Scott - Contemporary romance ebook, 2012, Loveswept, Grade = C
  • An adversarial romance where I couldn't figure out how they became adversaries in the first place.  Also the heroine's continual denial over a friend's drinking problem bordered on reckless stupidity.  
An Invitation to Pleasure by Marguerite Kaye - Historical romance short story ebook, 2012, Harlequin Historical Undone, Grade = B-
  •  A hero looking for revenge against an inept commanding officer finds himself smitten with the man's betrothed.  A few years later, she's widowed and he invites her to spend the holidays with him in Scotland.
The Navy SEAL's Promise by Soraya Lane - Contemporary romance novella ebook, 2012, Self-Published, Grade = B
  •  Army Corporal heroine is trying to get home for Christmas when a blizzard gets in the way.  Enter stage left, the widower Navy SEAL hero who promises to do everything he can to make sure she doesn't break her promise to her little boy.  A sweet, sexy holiday novella with a lovely ending.
The Missing Twin by Rita Herron - Paranormal romantic suspense, Harlequin Intrigue, 2011, Grade = D-
  •  A Native American hero with a sixth sense, a plot moppet little girl, and paranormal elements that are like a sledgehammer to your frontal lobe doomed this book for me. 
Relentless Pursuit by Sara Orwig - Contemporary romance, 2012, Harlequin Desire, Grade = F
  •  Repetitive, boring conflict, a heroine who keeps saying no while her body screams yes, an oily hero whose dialogue was ripped off from a Pepe Le Pew cartoon, and sequel-baiting with all subtlety of a chainsaw.  I just saw this book was nominated for an RT Book Reviews award and all I could think was, "Really?  Are they high?!?!?!?!"
Not Young, Still Restless by Jeanne Cooper - Non-fiction biography, 2012, Harper, Grade = B
  • Biography of Mrs. Katherine Chancellor on the daytime soap opera, The Young And The Restless.  A great read for fans.
Lemon Drop: Wait a minute....who the heck is Miss Sakamoto?

Me: Never mind....

12 comments:

Lori said...

Oh my gosh! She looks so grown up!

JamiSings said...

Don't worry, dear Lemondrop, my daddy is a PhD chemist and tried to get me all sciency too. But except for a love of science fiction, he failed.

willaful said...

I also thought The Space Between Us was excellent. One of her best. Though I haven't read that many yet.

Phyl said...

What Lori said! She's gorgeous.

I have the Jessica Scott book and I'm looking forward to reading it, although yours isn't the only C review that I've seen.

Wendy said...

Lori: It's scary sometimes. Especially if I make the mistake of back-tracking on my blog and see those early "Month In Review" posts I did with her....

Jami: My BIL is already saving tuition money for MIT. Every time Lemon Drop does something dippy that every 2-year-old does (like run into walls!) my sister says, "Yep, MIT material ALL THE WAY!"

Willaful: I saw a lot of "Meh" reviews for it, and I just ADORED it. Hart's strength, as a writer, IMHO are her characters. She writes such wonderfully "real" characters. I always feel like I know them by the end of it, and with The Space Between Us, I wanted to walk down the street and have Tesla make me a tea latte :)

Phyl: It's not as solid as her debut (IMHO) - and while I had issues with it, I still think she's doing very interesting things within the landscape of military romance. I'm looking forward to her next book.

Dee said...

Where did you find this t shirt? This would make an awesome present!

Dee

Sheri said...

Dee - we bought it at The Tech Museum in San Jose. But I bet you could find it online.

Wendy said...

Sheri: Hey, I was going to text you with that question. Sorry, I had to turn off Anonymous comments because I was getting so much darn spam!

Dee: And there you go! The Tech Museum does have a "store" on their web site (http://www.thetech.org/) although I didn't see that particular t-shirt listed there :(

Ruth (CO) said...

Just bought Christmas stories from above...love the holiday stories.

Merry Christmas, Ruth (CO)

nath said...

She's soooo cute, Wendy!! Love the longer hair on her and that smile, blinding! LOL, go Daddy!!

By the way, i gotta second, Who's Miss Sakamoto?

Mixed month, huh? Some good reads, but some bad ones as well. Guess they balance each other out :)

Wendy said...

Ruth: I am a total sucker for Christmas romances. It's a serious addiction I tells ya :)

Nath: ::shaking my head:: That's our Nathie. The baby of the bunch :) Miss Sakamoto is part of the lyrics to a one-hit wonder from the 1980s - She Blinded Me With Science by Thomas Dolby. In fact I'm pretty much just spouting lyrics from that song in this post :)

nath said...

LOL, well you know Wendy, I was never into retro stuff :P So if it's not current... yep, going to go over my head :P