Little Miss Crabby Pants Explains Why Print And NY Aren't Dead Just Yet

This is a blog post I've been cooking on for a while, and one that I had to let percolate before I went off half-cocked with a full head of steam.  Why?  Because it's bound to bring out the self-publishing trolls.

You all know the ones I'm talking about.

I should preface this post by saying that I am a librarian, and librarians do not, generally, hate self-published writers.  It's just we've been on the front-lines for a very looooooong time.  Back in The Dark Ages before self-publishing was The New Black.  Fielding calls and visits from people who looked, and smelled, like the Unabomber and were "publishing" various "manifestos" in their basements.  There's still a crap-ton of dreck out there in the self-publishing world, but it's no longer just a territory for the crazy, delusional, and all-out kooky - although yes, they're still there.  So yeah, if you ever run up against a librarian who turns up their nose at self-publishing?  That would be why.  We have battle scars that the Knights Templar can only dream about.

Here's my problem though: If I hear one more thing about how digital is taking over the universe, print books are going to be obsolete tomorrow, that publishers are on their last legs, I'm going to punch the misguided soul who utters it in my presence right in their face.  And here's why:

If self-publishing is so super-gee-whiz fantastic why are so many self-published authors willing to sign deals with traditional New York publishers?

Yeah, riddle me that.

Bella Andre has signed a deal with Harlequin to release her originally self-and-digital-only-published Sullivan's series in print.  "New Adult" writers Cora Carmack and Tammara Webber have inked deals.  There's Amanda Hocking (of course) and the mother of all self-published authors jumping ship to traditional New York?  Yeah, E.L. James.

And these are just the folks I thought of off the top of my head without breaking out my Google-Fu.

So if self-publishing is so great and writers can make oodles of money that they get to keep all to themselves and don't have to share any of it with an Evil Publisher - why ink these deals with traditional publishers?

I'll tell you why: Expanding Your Reach.

Or in simpler terms, it's All About The Distribution Baby.

Because if the nightmare that is Fifty Shades taught us anything it's that print is nowhere near dead.  That series sold crazy tons of copies in print.  And no matter how much a segment of the self-publishing community likes to rail against Evil Publishers?  There's not a one of those folks that wouldn't cough up a kidney if Random House came knocking on their door promising them Crazy E.L. James Numbers.

Fifty Shades taught us not everybody is reading digital.  No really, they aren't.  These readers (active or casual) also aren't necessarily spending their free time online, mindlessly trolling Amazon, blogs, whatever looking for that next great undiscovered self-published author.

Shocking, I know.

You know where these people are?  Other places.  Oh, like WalMart and Target and Costco.  And even though there are less places to distribute books these days?  Yeah, publishers can still distribute the hell out of them (not only to brick and mortar outlets, but online ones as well).  I want to meet the first self-published author who cracks the WalMart nut as a self-published author.  Because that person?  That person will truly have changed the face of the publishing industry as we currently know it.

Here's what I think: I think self-publishing is very quickly morphing into a marketing gimmick.  A strategy that publishers can use to feed the hype machine.  To exploit the human tendency to love an underdog.  See!  E.L. James is just like you and me!  And she wrote this book!  And published it herself!  You go girl!  Publishers just need to sit back, wait to see what books are generating a modicum of buzz, swoop in, sign the deal, and they've got built-in, ready-made PR.

It's genius.

And for the self-published author?  I think we've already seen that they don't necessarily need to write a well-written book (zing).  They just need to write the book that generates enough of a buzz to get some publisher's attention.  Are the days of toiling on craft and working your ass off going the way of the dinosaur?  I don't think that will ever entirely go out of vogue, but I do think we'll see more Lottery Ticket Mentality creeping in to self-publishing.  "Let me play these numbers, throw up a digital version on Amazon and see what happens...."

Which, for the self-published author who truly feels that self-publishing is the right choice for them and genuinely feels that traditional NY isn't their scene (and yes these writers do exist)?  Yeah, I feel sorry for them already, because I totally can see this Lottery Ticket thing becoming really annoying really quickly (assuming my theory has any merit whatsoever).

So yeah, Little Miss Crabby Pants is just about full up on the whole Publishers = Evil Goliath, Self-Published Writers = Shining White Knight David.  Until I start reading about droves of authors telling New York to go screw themselves, which I don't see happening anytime remotely soon, I refuse to believe traditional publishing as we know it has boarded the Titanic.

Because.....they haven't.

Oh sure, they'll continue to engage in practices that piss me off (Hello, Digital Content Practices For Public Libraries) - but they do these things because, for right now, they can.  There is no incentive to change (well, until Barnes & Noble goes belly-up and then maybe they'll start being nicer to libraries since, you know, WE DISPLAY AND HAND SELL THEIR PRODUCTS).

But yeah, color me skeptical that self-publishing is going to take down the Evil Traditional Publishing Empire.  Unless New York Publishing has a vulnerable exhaust port I'm unaware of.....

I Want My Bromance

Dear Justified,
I have been patient long enough.  We are now four episodes into the new season and I have yet to get one single, measly scene with these two together.  In the same room.  Speaking dialogue to each other.

This is a problem.  This is not good.  More Boyd and Raylan together, less everything else.

Sincerely,
Me

Wendy Talks Her Way Around The Hype Machine

Liz has a great post over at her blog called Social Reading, Up and Down which covers (among other topics) the circle-jerk that is the promotional echo chamber that can occur among the online romance reading community.  The phenomenon where seemingly everybody in your circle (and even those on the outside fringes) seem to be reading and squee'ing about the same book and/or author. I love hype and excitement when it comes from a genuine place (KristieJ is The Master of this), while I'll admit to getting more than a little annoyed with people who blindly squeee! about something without giving me any back-up as to WHY they're squee'ing. 

But I'll be honest - when it comes to the hype machine I'm not overly concerned with those readers I encounter online.  Why?  Because these folks are R-E-A-D-E-R-S.  They constantly read.  They finish a book, they immediately pick up a new one.  I wouldn't classify anything about their reading habits as "casual."

Where hype does tend to concern me is with "casual" readers.  People who aren't active readers in a sense, but pick up a book to read every once in a blue moon.  These are the folks who I consider the bread-and-butter of the hype machine when the media gets a hold of something.  While active readers sometimes get sucked in, I know just as many who turn up their nose and wade back into their TBR piles.  However casual readers are more likely to think, "Well everybody is talking about it and reading it, so it must be good - and golly, I haven't read a book in a while, so I'll try it."

I always worry that we're losing these potential active readers.  No really, I do.  Because try as I might, the mystery of what gets hyped completely baffles me most of the time - and this is coming from a librarian.  Dudes, trust me - I'm really looking for the why and sometimes I come up with a half-baked reason, but it still doesn't explain the mysteriousness of word-of-mouth half the time.

Let's take The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson.  After endless years of hype, I finally listened to the first book, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, on audio.  I have seen the American movie version and this is one instance were I can honestly say - the movie is better.  Even factoring in that the movie changes some key elements (oh, like the ending) - David Fincher and whomever the screenwriter was really made that story better.  How?  They cut out all the crap.  Oh Lord, the excessive amounts of crap in that book!  Endless talking!  Pacing as slow as mud!  I'm no editor but if I had had the print version in front of me I would have likely run out of red ink.  Bloated and with a tendency to "tell" - it kept me reasonably engaged enough to try the second book on audio, which I DNF'ed after five or six CDs because it wasn't going anywhere.  Also, the characters were starting to defy logic.  Oh sure, Lisbeth Salandar, the girl who the authorities think is mentally challenged and unable to care for herself shot that couple gangland execution style.  You can stop looking at the owner of the licensed firearm that was used in the murders because you know - he's only an intelligent man (a lawyer) with a history of gun-club membership and a reputation for being an excellent shot.  Yeah, it must have been the idiot girl who you all think has a basement level IQ!

(I barely tolerate stupid people in real life, I can't spend my leisure time reading about them.....)

I have no idea why that trilogy was popular.  None.  It's fat.  It's bloated.  And good Lord, people give me crap about the suspense novels I love being misogynistic and promoting violence against women?  The one thing the Larrson books taught me?  Never visit Sweden.  Ever.  (Kidding Swedes.  I'm only kidding!).  I'm half convinced this series got popular for the sole reason that the author is dead.

But one thing I will give the Larsson trilogy - as a library, we had just as much demand for the later books in the series as we did for the first one.  I can't say the same for the ultimate example of hype, the Fifty Shades trilogy by E.L. James.  Part of this is that a lot of readers I've come into contact with had no idea there were other books after the first one.  Then there is the other reason I suspect: they hated the first one, or in some cases didn't even finish it, and had no desire to continue.  For the 600+ holds I had on the first book, the next two installments only peaked around 200.

I have not read Fifty Shades, and I'll be blunt - I'm not going to.  I know enough about the first book to know it will make me very angry.  And I generally refuse to read books that I know, going into them, are going to make me angry.  Have you heard about my giant TBR pile?  Life is too short.  However, that did not stop Lil' Sis from taking the plunge.  Our conversations about the first book can best be summed up in the following sentence:

Wendy......why?  Why?!?!?!?!  Why, why, why, why, why, why, why?!?!?!?!?!?!?

There also was liberal use of the F-bomb.  Which honestly made for very funny text messages from her while she was reading.  My favorites?

Yeah, almost done now.  Sooooo much talking.  Ugh.  Just f*ck please. 

and......

She f*cking cries through the whole damn book!

Lil' Sis (who has enjoyed other erotic romance authors and a smattering of romantic suspense) ultimately chalked up the experience to reading a "poorly written romance."  She has a pregnant friend who says her current condition is because of these books and I suspect my sister is planning an intervention as I type this. 

So two examples of books/series that got hype that I have a hard time figuring out why.  I suspect the Fifty Shades phenomenon tapped into a segment of readers who didn't know erotic writing existed.  Or those readers who sniff at romance, but happily will lap up poorly written tripe if you slap monochrome cover art on it.

Which makes me sound snobby and elitist, but it's hard to keep a sense of humor about stuff like this when people either 1) Squee! about Fifty Shades, then look disdainfully at my Harlequin Romance or 2) Use Fifty Shades as an example for all of Romancelandia (See?  This book sucks - ergo all romance novels must suck!).

Wow, this has turned into a rant, which was not my intention going into this.  Seriously, at the end of the day, I think people should just find books they like to read regardless of what anybody else thinks.  So yeah, if you liked Stieg Larrson and sleep with Fifty under your pillow?  More power to you.  It doesn't matter what I think.  It matters what you think.  It matters that those books spoke to you in some way that meant something to you.  Sometimes hype is good for this.  Hype can introduce you to something you love.  The flip-side of this coin though?  Hype can be detrimental.  It can make you feel clueless for not loving something that seemingly the whole world is entranced by.  Active readers are active, therefore have that ability to shrug their shoulders, dismiss the experience and move on.  But what about those casual readers? 

For all the readers erotic romance gained in the Fifty Shades hype, did we end up losing just as many?

Sweet Home Chicago

Disclaimer: The author won RWA's Librarian Of The Year award in 2010 and I know her.  We aren't BFFs or exchange Christmas cards, but we are, what I would consider, "professional colleagues."  We're also presenting together at Librarians Day at RWA 2013 in Atlanta.

I don't think readers are getting worn out on small town contemporary romances so much as they're getting sick of bland, tasteless, wallpaper.  World-building gets harped on a lot when talking about paranormal or historical romances, and yet not very many people talk about it with straight contemporaries.  This is what Jennifer Lohmann's debut romance, Reservations For Two, has in spades.  This a big city-set (Chicago) romance with a small town feel and it has an excellent sense of place. 

Chef Tilly Milek has come home to Chicago after a few years away to open her own restaurant.  Having grown up working in her family's Polish restaurant, Tilly's idea is to make Babka a bit more of an upscale eatery.  Her mother's restaurant is where you go to get Polish home cooking during the week, Babka is where you take your date on Saturday night.  It's been a lot of hard work, and there have been a few bumps along the way, including a scathing review by a mysterious food critic on one of Chicagoland's most widely read blogs.

The food critic in question is Dan Meier who freelances for the blog run by some of his college buddies.  His editor ran the post because he knew it would generate buzz, while there are others on staff who feel Dan wasn't fair.  For one thing, he typically eats at a restaurant on three separate occasions before writing his reviews.  He only dined at Babka once, and while his over-salted food is a legitimate critique, other events of that evening were beyond Tilly's control.  Dan's critical colleague essentially orders him to attend a demonstration Tilly is putting on at the Taste Of Chicago festival.  We all know where this is going right?  They "meet cute" at a hot dog stand and before Dan finds how who the mystery woman is, he's smitten.

The story pretty much follows the course that Dan behaved like a jackass, Tilly doesn't know who he really is, and he has to figure out how to make things right with her without sending his professional integrity down the toilet.  There's also the matter of some hijinks occurring at Tilly's restaurant - is someone trying to sabotage her personal dream?

There are other elements at play as well.  Dan has a strained relationship with his father, who expects him to wake up one morning and start running the family business.  It's because of this strained relationship that he may have jumped the gun with Tilly's review just a wee bit.  Tilly lost a brother, her father and an uncle in a tragic car accident, but is still close with her mother and two surviving siblings (Sequel Bait Ahoy!).  She hasn't dated since moving back to Chicago, what with her hectic work schedule and getting a new business off the ground.  I did wonder at times why she didn't knee Dan in his kielbasa 'n pierogi - but as the reader we see Tilly struggle with Dan The Unfair Reviewer vs. Dan The Really Nice Guy She Met At A Hot Dog Stand.

The author infuses this story with a deep love of Chicago, everything from the food, festivals, music and most importantly - the baseball (the Cubs and White Sox are their own religion).  She also takes a big city locale and gives it a small town feel by writing about an ethnic community (Polish) without falling into any unpleasant, insulting stereotypes.  It gives this book a lovely neighborhood feel, but gives Tilly and Dan a whole city of sights, sounds, and tastes to play around in.  The way the author writes about the setting, food, and the importance of both in her characters' lives is very well done.

There were some debut author-isms, mostly in the form of pacing issues for me.  I found the first couple of chapters a little uneven, especially when the guys that Dan works with at the blog were introduced.  But once our couple meets, and especially after Dan's Big Secret gets spilled, the story really starts cooking and the pages flew by.

This was a very strong debut with some nice originality to it.  I'm looking forward to the next two books in the series which will feature Tilly's siblings.

Final Grade = B

Note: This is a February release from Harlequin SuperRomance.  It is currently on sale at their web site in both print and digital formats.  It will appear at other retail outlets in February.

Addicted To....Cough Drops?

I was one of the lucky ones who enjoyed a long holiday weekend thanks to Martin Luther King Jr.  So what did Wendy do over her glorious, decadent three days off in a row?

I was sick. 

With the head cold from Hell. 

Which means I basically whined a lot, lazed about, and read.  I got a lot of reading done actually.  One book in particular was part of a last minute post I threw together for Heroes & Heartbreakers.

You can head on over there right now in fact, and read my "exclusive" (that might be overstating it just a wee bit) first look of Charlotte Stein's new erotic romance, Addicted.  It's got a frustrated librarian heroine in need of several orgasms, and a macho studly love machine hero who is hiding a big ol' secret past.  Oh, and it's funny.  What could possibly be better than all that?

Sinful Virgins And Murderers Afoot

I'm in the throes of "homework reading" for my library's upcoming literary event, although Anna Randol is an author I've had filed away under "I really need to get caught up on review obligations so I can try one of her books" since her debut novel appeared back in early 2012.  Sins Of A Virgin came out last fall and is the start of a trilogy.  I'll admit it, reading the back cover blurb, seeing the title, my eyes may have rolled back in my head just a wee bit.  Oh silly, silly Wendy.  Getting thwarted again by preconceived notions and your own prejudices.  I am so glad I read this story, it is by far one of the nicest reading surprises I've encountered in a long time.

The story opens with Madeline Valdan and her two compatriots getting unceremoniously dismissed by their employer.  All saved from the gallows, there were trained up and used as spies during England's war with Napoleon.  Napoleon now being defeated, their services no longer required, they're given a pat on the head, a pardon for past sins, and a one-time pension check that is paltry to say the least.  Madeline knows what it's like to grow up in the midst of poverty, as a woman with limited (OK, no) options at the mercy of others.  So she decides to take that meager government pittance and use it to secure a bigger score.  She's going to play the coquette, a scandalous whore who turns out is.....a virgin?  And she's going to auction off that virginity to the highest bidder.  She's sexy, charming, a virgin and nothing like their wives.  Yeah, the men of the ton start lining up to make their wagers.

Entering into this fray is a Bow Street Runner, Gabriel Huntford.  Born on the wrong side of the blanket, his mission the last several years is to find his twin sister's murderer.  There's been another murder in London, similar in modus operandi to his sister's, and now his superior is yanking him off the case (he's too close dontcha know) to guard Madeline Valdan.  Madeline is anything but stupid.  She knows appearance is everything, and having a watch-dog gives the impression that she has something to protect.  Also she wants to make sure that the men bidding on her have the means to pay, and she needs someone to look into their financials.  Gabriel is all set to tell her to bugger off when he gets a look at the bidding ledger.  Some of the names listed there are some of his prime suspects in his sister's murder.

I read a female spy novel last year for the TBR Challenge by an author who excelled at prose, but whose characterization of the heroine I found utterly unsatisfying.  Randol's prose doesn't sing like that author's does, but oh, her creation of Madeline hits all the right notes with me.  This woman.....this woman is a spy.  She's calculating, manipulative, and a cynic.  She's the kind of person who immediately sizes up an entire room of people.  She's the sort who never has her back to a door, always knows the nearest escape routes, and can tell you who is the immediate threat and who is the slobbering puppy dog not worth her concern.  She uses any and all weapons at her disposal, her charm, her abilities at seduction, even a good knock on the head with a heavy object.  She can save herself, but likes working with a team - and matching her with a hero like Gabriel really allows her to shine.  I also loved her dichotomy.  The question very early on is how could this woman possibly still be a virgin?  Hell, is she even a virgin at all?  The way the author addresses that mystery is one I found satisfying, and actually believable (go figure).

Gabriel is your classic wounded hero with an ax to grind and a mission driving him forward.  His sister's death not only haunts him for the obvious reasons, but also for those last moments they spent together - the words he said to her that he now regrets.  He should have listened.  Why didn't he listen?  He resents the hell out of being forced on Madeline's assignment, but he's smart enough to know that it's the closest he's going to get to having access to so many on his suspect list.  Because after all?  You simply cannot storm into a peer's home and start questioning the man.  It simply isn't done.

The suspense angle here is very solid.  Besides the identity of the murderer, someone starts threatening Madeline and her life is endangered more than once.  I had the murderer pretty well pegged, but the author does a lovely job of putting in twists, turns, red herrings, to keep you happily moving along in the story.  The romance here does take time.  Madeline isn't the sort to pour her guts out to anybody, even a handsome anybody like Gabriel.  Likewise, Gabriel is a professional investigator, he's not going to spill his guts to Madeline even though he deduces pretty quickly that she's not just a pretty, flirtatious face.  There's way more to her story than she's letting on, and he knows it.

I really enjoyed this story immensely.  I loved the characters, it kept me entertained, it was just an all around fun read.  With countless spy stories populating the romance landscape, this one was a nice treat - a breath of fresh air thanks to the author's characterization of the heroine.  I liked that she was smart, resourceful, and strong.  That she could unravel herself from sticky situations, but wasn't such a lone wolf that she couldn't see the benefit of team work.  Really, a very good show indeed.

Final Grade = B+

TBR Challenge 2013: The Things That Make Me Give In

The Book: The Things That Make Me Give In by Charlotte Stein

The Particulars: Erotica single author anthology, Black Lace, 2010, In Print

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I was so blown away by Stein's short story in the multi-author anthology Obsessed: Erotic Romance For Women that I immediately went looking for more of her work.  This anthology was already on my wish list, so I bought it brand-spankin'-new.

The Review:  After reading and loving Restraint last November, I've been itching to go on a Stein binge - but alas, pesky review books waiting for me.  Luckily this anthology worked well with this month's TBR Challenge theme, so I could kill two birds as it were.  Read more Stein and complete my January challenge to read "short."  This anthology features 15 short stories that read like vignettes.  Yeah, if you're looking for deep character development, it just doesn't happen here.  Stein introduces her characters via their sexual identities, and given the short word count on all of these stories that's essentially as far as the reader gets to know them.  This sort of thing works for me as an erotica reader, although admittedly I can understand how it won't for others.  Here's a brief rundown of what's featured between the covers....

Because I Made You So features a female college student and a male professor who teaches a course on Romantic Literature.  She starts spinning fantasies, jotting down a purple-prose-bodice-ripper style story featuring herself and her professor as the "hero."  And naturally, she ends up turning it in to fulfill a class assignment.  Gee, wonder what will happen next?  A really sexy story that nicely tweaks old school romance conventions.

Spying is a voyeuristic story featuring a heroine who ends up spying on the hero in the building next door.  They enter into a "relationship" of sorts, putting on shows for one another.  A solid voyeuristic story, but albeit, kinda sad.  I felt sorry for these two people at the end.  They seemed incapable of moving forward.  Melancholy erotica.

Lessons is a role reversal story featuring a smarty-smart heroine tutoring two big dumb jocks.  I can see some readers having issues with the heroine "using" the two guys, and essentially not thinking very highly of them - but I liked it.  I like when erotica explores role reversals, and allows the heroines to be "just as bad" as the heroes.  On that score, this one works.

Yes/ is the first story in a duet featuring a married couple.  As per an agreement, the heroine gets a day where she's calling the shots.  Whatever she wants to do in bed?  Yeah, the hero does it.  Spicy, sexy, featuring a dominant heroine who is dominant without being tricked out in latex and leather.

Dirty Disgusting You features an unsatisfied married woman who enters into an affair with a friend of her hubby's.  Hubby ain't interested in her, BFF very much is - and the two men couldn't be more opposite from each other.  The woman screwing around with a guy who is "beneath" her is a theme Stein has explored before, and this story manages to be funny, sexy and sad all at the same time.  It also features this epic line, where the heroine describes her life while "dropping off files" to the BFF as a favor to hubby (which is how the affair begins): "I often drop things off.  This is my life - files, dry cleaning, my dignity."

Her Father Disapproves features a heroine hot for one of her father's associates, and now that they're all at Daddy's country house together?  Yeah, she's going to take the bull by the horns.  This is another story that is sexy and funny (she's pushing, he's resisting), although the ending strained a little for me.

For You is a really interesting, brave story that as a nurse's daughter I found really captivating.  Heroine is a nurse.  Hero is a patient, essentially near death hoping his number is called for a transplant.  He starts telling her naughty stories, and while she knows she shouldn't - she can't help listening.  Another story that was sweet and sad at the same time.  Might be my favorite in the anthology.

Just Be Good features a porn plot but is still interesting in the aspect that the heroine is in the driver's seat.  Starla is probably late teens and likes to get caught smoking pot by the local law.  There's a new sheriff in town that she's really hoping will punish her - uh, repeatedly.  The fly in the ointment?  The sheriff is a wee bit Beta and needs some coaxing....

Phoned In features a couple who have a "phone friendship," until one day when the heroine starts reading the hero naughty stories she's writing for a magazine.  A bit like the earlier Spying story in the respect that this one is kind of sad.  It features two people who seem afraid or incapable of having a tangible "in person" relationship.  However, unlike Spying, this one ended on a more hopeful note for me.

/Yes finds our married couple back in action, this time with the hero calling the shots.  His plan is to get the heroine really, really worked up.  A nice bookend story that compliments the couples' earlier appearance.

Sometime Soon is another story that is borderline sad.  "Plain" heroine gets her rocks off with a "grease monkey" mechanic.  She likes the whole use-me-baby-dirty-girl thing, and he's more than happy to oblige.  Again we have a heroine really going after what she wants, and taking control of her fantasies and sexuality.  It's the ending here.....it gives me pause.  It makes me worry that maybe she has "issues."

Different On The Inside is about a heroine who hangs out with a yuppie sort of crowd but doesn't really fit in.  It's while she's away with "the group" for a weekend that she has encounter with the hero, a slightly awkward geeky sort who totally has her pegged.  Lucky for them that someone in the group suggests a rousing game of hide and seek. 

All Ways is by far the most romantic story in the bunch.  Former military hero comes home damaged goods and reunites with the heroine, who was a girl he messed around with slash dated in high school.  Sexy, yet tender.  Also, it's very sweet in parts.  Could easily see a story of this nature being developed into a full-length erotic romance.

Toby Hood Tastes Candy was the weirdest story in the bunch, and probably my least favorite.  Hero is going to his grandmother's house when his car breaks down.  He encounters the heroine in the woods, and then later....in grandma's bed.  I suspect the author was shooting for Twisted Fairy Tale, but it just was a little too odd for me.

The Things That Make Me Give In is a meditation on the part of the narrator, looking back at past lover's and recalling what it was about each of them that made her "give in."  That moment when she knew, "Yes, I'm going to have sex with you."  Very good writing, but yes - very much a meditation.  There's not a lot of meat and potatoes to this particular story, but it does an excellent job of exploring one woman's sexual past.

A lot of folks who don't read erotica often say (incorrectly) that it's nothing more than sex.  It's not a "real story" - it's smut on the page.  In this instance, yes all of Stein's stories are very heavy on the sex, but that's pretty much the point.  It's about exploring sexual identity and fantasy.  It's about women who, even if they might be playing a submissive role in some cases, are "in charge" of their sexuality.  Every woman in this anthology is calling the shots, in some form or another.  Which at the end of the day?  Is pretty much why I read erotica.  It flips a feminist switch for me.  I also loved that Stein managed to convey many different moods here - funny, sexy, sad, sweet, it's all over the map.  While my enjoyment level for each story varied anywhere from "OK" (C) to really, really good (B+) - as a whole this anthology was extremely well done, well thought out, interesting and challenging.  Damn, Stein is talented.

Final Grade = B

Going Off The Rails On The Baby Train

Not that many (OK, any) writers ask for my opinion, but my advice is always write the best book you can at that moment in time and for the love of all that is holy - don't think about readers.  Which seems like odd advice coming from, well, a reader - but let me explain.  Readers are nut jobs.  No, we are.  We can't help it.  We all have our own personal baggage and try as we might that baggage has a tendency to creep into our reading experiences.  It just does.  You know, unless you're a Terminator and can keep your emotions out of the equation.  Which all explains why, as much as I've enjoyed Soraya Lane's books in the past, that The Soldier's Sweetheart didn't work as well for me.  The heroine got on my last hot nerve, and yep - it's pretty much all about Wendy's baggage.

Nate Calhoun has come home.  He joined the Army, was recruited to Special Forces, and is back home, discharged, thanks to an injury that left him with a bum leg and a friend dead.  His time in Afghanistan, the mission that went bad, still haunt him deeply, and now he's home with a bunch of well-meaning family who want to help but are actually just making things worse.  Entering into the fray is former sweetheart Sarah Anderson.  They were a couple all through high school, and she stood by his side when he joined the Army.  However Nate ultimately broke her heart and Sarah went running into the arms of another man.  Uh, another man who is now divorcing her because he knocked up another woman.

This starts out as a solid reunion story with a wounded hero and a heroine who won't back down just because he's 1) wounded 2) surly and 3) claims he wants to be left alone.  There's a nice cast of secondary characters (thanks to the fact that this is part of The Larkville Legacy continuity series) that round out the action, spurring the couple forward, but never intruding on the new romance with any of their We're Now Happy Kissie-Face Couples nonsense.

Where things go south for me is with the heroine and the execution of her baggage.  I admire the fact that Sarah keeps pushing Nate, trying to get him to open up and share his feelings.  However what got really annoying is that while she's pushing him to spill the beans, she's not telling him anything about what's bothering her.  And what is bothering her?  The fact that she's infertile and that it ultimately helped kill her marriage.  Yes folks, Biology Is The Only Way rears it's ugly head.

Look, ladies - I get it.  I really do.  Infertility is a heartbreaking issue that effects millions of women.  It can be devastating.  I get that.  I really, really do.  But repeat after me: Your Ability Or Inability To Be A Baby Making Factory Is Not The End All Be All Of Your Life.  It isn't.  You can be a great person and never be pregnant.  Likewise you can be a raging asshole and give birth to a dozen babies.  I would like to think that, as a woman, I am more than my uterus.  But hey, that's me.

I also really, really began to resent that just because she couldn't get knocked up that Sarah felt her life was somehow over.  That she could never have a family.  There are moments when she does think to herself about adoption or becoming a foster parent but then she says shit like this that just pisses me off:

"Because she might have to come to terms with not being a biological parent one day, but it didn't mean Nate should have to make that compromise."

and....

"But you still want to be a dad, Nate.  You might say no now, but I've seen the way you are with Brady.  I know you, and you're going to make someone a great husband and be a great father one day.  Of your own biological children."

OMG YOU STUPID BITCH!  HE CAN STILL BE A FATHER AND BE WITH YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't be rational about this folks.  I just can't.  Growing up, I had friends who were adopted.  I have friends, as an adult, who have adopted.  My own frackin' niece is adopted.  Those children are not loved any less because they aren't "biological children" of their parents.  When my sister looks at my niece she sees her daughter.  She does NOT see some consolation prize just because my sister didn't have the easiest time getting pregnant.

Breathe Wendy, breathe.  That's a girl....

So where does this leave us?  Well, with Nate carrying the story for me.  This guy, ::dreamy sigh::.  You know what his reaction to Sarah's baggage is?  He basically doesn't give a damn.  He cares insomuch as it upsets him that it upsets her so much.  That her asshole ex made it a deal breaker.  But the fact that she's never going to be pregnant isn't an issue for him.  He loves her (God knows why), and yes - wants a family - but he isn't such an asshole (unlike her) that he doesn't know there are other ways to achieve that particular goal.

So yeah.  I'm not sure how to grade this one.  As much as she pissed me off, a D grade doesn't seem to fit.  I haven't been in a slump but my reading has been slower than usual lately, and I inhaled this story.  Also, if you take out the Biology Crap, the rest of this story works for me.  And, you know, I'm a big enough person to admit that I have "issues" with this sort of thing.  Lane isn't the first author to toss something like this into a book and Wendy Goes All Hulk Smash, nor will she be the last.  Final answer?  Mileage is going to vary because what bugs me, isn't necessarily going to bug every reader on the planet.

Final Grade = C

Reminder: TBR Challenge For January

For those of you participating in the 2013 TBR Challenge, this is a reminder that your "commentary" is due on Wednesday, January 16.

The theme this month is We Love Short Shorts! (Short stories, novellas, or category romance).  The idea is to ease ourselves into this yearly challenge by tackling a small, bite-size read.  However, remember, that the themes are totally and completely optional.  If you are one of those readers that loathes "reading short" and every book in your TBR is at least 300+ pages long?  Hey, no problem!  The themes aren't important - it's the act of reading something, anything!, that has been lying neglected in your TBR pile.

And hey, look at that - it's only January!  And it's certainly never too late to sign up for the challenge.  Details and more information can be found here.  You'll also find a list of the current participants, should you wish to follow along.

Looking For Love Out West

Looking to make some changes in 2013?  A little self-improvement?  Maybe a change in career?  Maybe hoping for a rebirth in your personal life?  Hey, how about becoming a mail-order bride!  Before you take the plunge though, you'll want to read my new column over at the RT Book Reviews Daily Blog.  You'll find lots of helpful tips and advice courtesy of some romance heroines who learned the hard way that being a mail-order bride isn't necessarily filled with non-stop wine and roses.

So You Think You Want To Be A Mail-Order Bride.....

Bat Cave Shenanigans For 2013

It's been a while since I've done a State Of The Bat Cave Address, and 2013 is shaping up to be a busy year for yours truly.  Here's a few of the things that will be occupying my life over the next 12 months:

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I was, once again, roped into helping with my library's annual literary event.  After five years of labor on the endeavor, I begged off in 2012 mostly because I really, really needed a break.  This turned out to be smart move on my part, since at the time of the begging off I had no idea I was about to be transferred.  I basically had to learn how to do my job again.  Same job, but more responsibilities = Wendy has to figure out how she's going to squeeze it all in without doing Jello shots at the reference desk.  It took me a good three months to stop driving myself crazy, and it took me a full twelve months to feel comfortably "in a groove." I have to be honest though, even my "groove" is a day-to-day thing.

However when planning began for 2013's event, I was once again roped in - which basically meant planning the romance panel.  Oh, and moderating said panel.  Which means, oh yeah I actually need to do "homework reading" and stuff.  The authors that will be featured on "my" romance panel this year are none other than Jill Sorenson, Anna Randol and Jillian Stone.  I think this is going to be a fabulous panel, and you can expect reviews for books by these authors in the coming months.  And hey - if you live in southern California, why not consider attending our event? The all-day affair will be Saturday, April 6 and costs $60.  Books will be sold separately on site, but cost does include a continental breakfast and lunch.

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RWA hasn't opened registration yet, but I'll be attending the conference in Atlanta this summer.  It's also looking like I'll be speaking at Librarians Day again this year - because everybody just loves to hear me blather on about various nonsense apparently.  Details are still be ironed out, but it looks like I'll be on a panel to discuss library programming and the romance genre - uh, see the above paragraphs to figure out what I'll be bringing to the table......

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In more RWA news, the Orange County chapter is reviving their Book Buyers Best contest for 2013.  This is a published authors contest, and I have been a first round judge in previous years - reading mostly category romance, historical romance and a smattering of romantic suspense.  This year, because obviously they have lost their collective minds, they asked me to be the "Top Pick Judge."  What does this mean?  Basically I read the finalists, the highest vote receivers, in each of the ten categories.  Then it's my job to pick the overall winner, or the Top Pick. 

My reading load will be hefty, but I'm really looking forward to it.  I tend to approach contest judging a little differently from reviewing.  These days my personal taste comes into reviewing books here at my blog.  If I'm burnt-out on BDSM, I'm going to say so in one of my reviews.  However even I can recognize when a BDSM plot is "done well" - and acknowledge whether or not a story is "done well" for a particular sub genre.  A lot of it boils down to execution, story construction etc.  I always tell people that it's a rare book that I loathe soooooo much that I would refuse to recommend it to anybody.  Dude, stick around books and reading long enough (especially fiction) and you quickly realize there's an audience for everything - no matter how warped you might think it is.

Look for me to talk about my judging experience, and hopefully the books I'll be reading, later in the year.  I'll likely resort to constructing some sort of "wrap up" post to go live well after OCCRWA makes their official announcement(s).

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The final task I would love to accomplish this year is to tackle my Mammoth TBR Pile From Hell.  This is going to take some work however, mostly in the form of pulling books, reading several pages, and then deciding whether it should stay or go.  I have no clue how I'm going to carve out time for this, when I'm going to have to spend a good chunk of this year reading books (yeah, see all the above paragraphs).  What it might boil down to is randomly pulling a few books every week and setting a deadline (Dear Wendy: look at these by date X).  This might turn out to be one of those best-laid-plans-of-mice-and-men dealies, but seriously, my TBR is beyond ridiculous.  My collection of category romance alone is enough to crush a small child in the event of a modest earthquake......

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So, what are your plans for 2013?  Anyone have any resolutions (reading or otherwise) they're working on?  Travel?  Fun?  More work?

I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet

On the surface, Aftershock by Jill Sorenson is what I would call a romantic thriller.  It's not really romantic suspense, since there's not exactly any mystery to unravel.  It's much more in the thriller vein - you know all the players, you know the immediate danger, it's essentially an action movie in book format.  But when I dig deeper, I am struck by how forward-thinking, gutsy and daring this story is.  I think back to when I first started reading romance, almost 15 years ago, and I think about what naysayers of the genre always claim: that romance is predictable, never-changing, and a rehash of the same story over and over again.  To which I say, read this book.  There is no way in holy hell this story would have been touched by any major publisher 15 years ago - let alone Harlequin, who is often (wrongly in my opinion) maligned as a stale, shriveled-up, aging spinster.

To anybody who has ever given me crap for what I like to read, THIS is a romance novel.  No really, it is.  No lyin' and no foolin'.

Lauren Boyer is a paramedic in San Diego, California.  She was engaged to be married, until she found out her hospital resident fiance had a thing for pretty young nurses.  She's now riding shotgun in an ambulance, with her partner, working on the weekend when she was supposed to be having her bachelorette party in Las Vegas.  She doesn't have a lot of time to deal on her pity party though, as while they're not-cruising down a gridlocked freeway (girlfriend, I know just how you feel), an 8.5 earthquake hits, effectively collapsing the freeway, various overpasses and what-not, killing hundreds, and leaving wounded survivors.  Lauren is one of those survivors, and as the only medical personnel trapped in rubble with seriously wounded patients, she's got her work cut out for her.

Among the survivors are a grandfather, his young granddaughter, a pretty massively pregnant teenager, two critically wounded patients, and the hero - Garrett Wright.  An Iraqi war veteran, Garrett's life after his discharge from the Army has been anything but smooth.  He's  wounded man, a haunted man, a man who has made mistakes that he deeply regrets.  Now he has somehow managed to survive a massive earthquake, and he's trapped with survivors who need his protection.  Now, more than ever really, since it turns out there are more survivors.  Um, yeah - there was a prison transport bus not-cruising down the same freeway as well.

I really want to sing the praises of this story and the author's bravery and willingness to think outside the box, but it's hard to do that while remaining spoiler free.  It's just....really gutsy the choices she makes.  It's not Lauren so much, rather everybody else around her - including the hero.  It's the very fabric of who he is, the various secrets he is hiding, that add up to some very interesting risks.  I also liked how the author literally blends various genres, this story essentially being a mix of dystopian fiction, grisly thriller and romance novel.  It's a mix that will certainly not work for all readers (massive earthquake + freeway collapse + trapped under mountain of rubble + violent convicts now somewhat "free" = lots of decomposing dead bodies, serious injuries, various bodily fluids, limited food and water supply, danger and violence), but I found it very intriguing.  I also liked that in the single title format the author has the freedom to create an interesting blend of secondary characters to operate in this "new" universe that Laura and Garrett find themselves in.

The best thing I can say about this book is that it's like an action movie.  The worst thing I can say about this book is that it's like an action movie.  Look, action movies are fun.  A lot of us really like them.  But when we go into watch one, we know that there are certain things we're likely not going to get.  Oh, like deep, introspective character angst and development.  By the end of the story I felt like I did "know" both Lauren and Garrett, but it takes the whole book to get to that point.  Also, there's the question of whether or not readers will buy-in to the love story.  I did - but you can certainly make the argument that being in a critical situation, like they were, could muddle things up.

At the end of the day I found this an exciting, engrossing read - even the gory bits.  I loved the risks the author took with her characters and plots.  I loved the way it ended even though I was really sad to let these characters go.  To have them walk out of my life.  Which is honestly one of the higher compliments I can give any book.  There's a second book in the works featuring one of the secondary characters, and here's hoping that there will be a third as well (this one is begging to be a trilogy!).  One of the more exciting stories I've read in a long time.  It misses my highest mark because I'm unlikely to reread it, but really - this is a great way to start off 2013.

Final Grade = B+

Year In Review 2012: TBR Challenge Reads

This year marked the third year I completed, and second year I hosted, the TBR Challenge.  This reading challenge has been kicking around online for a good number of years, and since I need all the help I can get with my TBR, I took over hosting duties in 2011 when Keishon decided she wanted to "retire."  Since I do host, I do my darnedest to complete the challenge every month.  Also, while I tell the participants that the themes are optional, since I'm the host I try to stick with them every month.  Honestly, with as large as my TBR is, finding something (anything!) to fit the themes isn't exactly a tall order.

Here's a rehash of what I read, the great, the good, and the not-so-good.

Title links will take you to full reviews.

January - Category romance - Family At Stake by Molly O'Keefe (2006), Grade = B-

• Classic, angsty, reunited friends-to-lovers story within the Harlequin SuperRomance universe.  The romance is good, but it was the other plot elements that I was actually the most invested in.

February - Recommended Read (something recommended by a fellow reader)  - Conor's Way by Laura Lee Guhrke (1996), Grade = A

• A real keeper of a read, an American-set historical romance featuring a wounded Irish hero and a spinster southern belle heroine.

March - Series Catch-Up (pick a book from a series you're behind on) - Nobody's Hero by Carrie Alexander (2008), Grade = B-

• A cute SuperRomance featuring a single mom, wounded cop hero, and a plucky young girl obsessed with Trixie Belden books.  It was a pleasant G-rated read, but the romance was a little thin in spots (and no, not because of the "no sex" thing.....)

April - New-To-You Author   - The Edge of Night by Jill Sorenson (2011), Grade = B

• A really good romantic suspense book featuring a clean-cut cop and a heroine from the wrong side of the tracks. 

May - Old School (Publication date prior to 2000)  - Jackson Rule by Dinah McCall (1996), Grade = D+

• A smooth writing style couldn't carry this contemporary romance that was completely devoid of anything resembling reality.

June - Western (Contemporary or historical) - High Country Bride by Jillian Hart (2008), Grade = C+

• A readable inspirational historical western romance with Hart's trademark angst.  Unfortunately I found myself worn down by the exceedingly tolerant heroine who never got angry about anything.

July - How Did This Get Here? (a book you can't remember how/why you put in your TBR!) or Free Pick  - The Lightkeeper's Woman by Mary Burton (2004), Grade = B-

• Typical Burton historical read for me.  Which is to say that it was pleasant while I was reading it, but I don't have a lot of recall with it.  One minor bugaboo on this one is a hero who doesn't open a box he inherits from the heroine's dead father until the end of the book (cripes I hate when characters do things like that - it's just not believable!)

August - Steamy reads (Erotic romance, erotica, something spicy!) - Sweet Temptation by Maya Banks (2010), Grade = D

• BDSM.  'Nuf said.  OK, maybe not - I feel a rant coming on.....  Character motivation that defied logic.  Female characters in danger from a crazed stalker who have time to get together and gab about how amazing their sex lives are.  A hero who can't have a "relationship" with the heroine because she's his dead BFF's "little sister" - but it's totally kosher to have "just sex" with her and arrange a gang-bang for her with three other guys.  Ack! And a whole passel of men who kept calling the women in the story "baby," "honey," "sweetie," or "Angel."  It was condescending as hell and I kept hoping the crazed stalker would show up with an Uzi.  Breathe Wendy, breathe.....

September - Other genre besides romance - The More The Terrier by Linda O. Johnston (2011), Grade = C

• A cozy mystery that got lost under the "hook."  I don't care about the heroine's work as an animal rescuer!  I care about who killed the dead person!

October - Paranormal or romantic suspense - The Missing Twin by Rita Herron (2011), Grade = D-

• A mess of a read.  Paranormal elements with absolutely no subtlety.  A suspense thread that didn't make any sense.  And cliches!  Oh Lord the cliches! (The hero is Native American SO OF COURSE he has a "sixth sense", a teeth-grinding plot moppet etc. etc. etc.).

November - All About The Hype (a book that created such chatter that it was inescapable) - The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne (2008), Grade = C

• Wonderful writing, but a plot device regarding the heroine that didn't work for me and the double standard in her actions compared to the hero's when they're both spies?  Yeah, it bothered me.

December - Holiday themes - Home For Christmas by Carrie Weaver (2005), Grade = B-

• A nice SuperRomance read with just the right amount of "Christmas stuff" thrown in the mix.  A heroine who meets her match with a hero who, in theory, should be totally ill-suited for her.

One A (yippee!) and five B (double yippee!) is very, very good.  But ugh, the other six months?  Filled up with three C and three D.  Given the sheer number of books I have in my TBR, those grades are probably a reasonable spread - but still?  Nobody likes to think about the potential dud reads they have lurking in their TBR pile.  On the bright side, all these books are now read, out of the TBR, and no longer contributing to my crushing TBR Guilt.  Which, after all, is really the goal of this challenge for me.

I am once again hosting the challenge for 2013, and I really cannot stress enough how much I enjoy the gig.  I think all romance readers share the common goal of taming their respective TBR piles.  This challenge is a fun, easy way to force your hand into actually, uh - doing something about the "problem."  Would you like to sign on for 2013?  More details can be found here, and you can either drop me an e-mail or leave me a comment on this post.

And so ends my recap(s) of my reading year that was 2012.  Now, on to 2013!

Year In Review 2012: The Honorable Mentions

Rounding out the good reads I encountered in 2012 is this batch of what I'm calling Honorable Mentions.  To devise this list, I went back through the books I rated a B or B+ and jotted down the titles that jumped out at me.  Sometimes a book gets a B because it's a good, solid read that I enjoy while I'm reading it - but it doesn't necessarily "stick" with me months after the fact.  These were the titles that "stuck" as I was cruising through my spreadsheet.

Title links will take you to full reviews

Edge Of Night by Jill Sorenson (2011) - Romantic suspense

•  I don't read a ton of romantic suspense mostly because I recognize I can be hypercritical of the genre.  This book by Sorenson was a really good read.  It had a solid suspense thread, interesting characters, and enough grisly bits to keep me flipping the pages.  I also really appreciated that she wrote a Southern California setting in a factual, recognizable way.  Yes folks, there are ::gasp:: characters who aren't white in this book (including the heroine)!

Unexpected Family by Molly O'Keefe (2012) - Contemporary category romance

•  Talking about O'Keefe's single titles was the new black last year, so I'm tossing this one in not only because I really liked it - but to remind everybody that she also writes really good category romances too!  This is book two in a duet, and it was great to revisit the characters I fell in love with over the course of book one.  Sassy heroine hiding a secret, an overwhelmed hero who inherits the care of his three nephews and is failing in the Super Surrogate Dad department, and a lovely secondary romance featuring an older couple.

Forward Passes by Jami Davenport (2012 - digital only) - Contemporary romance

• Damn, I'm really hooked on this series featuring a fictional Seattle-based American football team.  This second book features the team's star quarterback, a hero who has built his reputation around the fact that he's seemingly a cocky asshole.  Although turns out our bad boy really has a mushy, vulnerable soft side.  He's paired up with a heroine who has a notoriously unpleasant track record with "jock" men.  The author is working on a third book in this series - can't wait!

Kill You Twice by Chelsea Cain (2012) - Suspense

•  Fifth book in the suspense series featuring a female serial killer and her twisted relationship with a homicide detective.  Cain is a spare writer, which is honestly how I like my suspense reads these days (God, I'm beginning to loathe "filler") and the back-story tidbits she teases out about Gretchen over the course of this story were really great.  Also loved Claire and Henry in this book, although I swear Archie made a "relationship" choice in this book that has me questioning his sanity.

The Gin Lovers (serial - Part I &II, III, IV, V, VI) by Jamie Brenner (2012) - Note: print version of entire serial due out in February 2013 - Historical soap opera with some eroticism fiction

• OK, so I might have started screaming as I finished the final installment of this serial, but up until that point I was hooked on this sudsy soap opera set in New York City in the 1920s.  Jazz music, Prohibition, an unhappy society wife, a unfaithful husband harboring a Big Secret, and a reckless flapper sister-in-law.  In hindsight, and time to adjust to the way the serial "ended" - I realize that this really was one of my more memorable reads of the year.  I really, really, really wish romance publishers would get on board with early 20th century settings.  It's an amazing time period not only in history, but specifically women's history.  (And yes, I realize that World War I was a downer - but I'm talking social history folks....)

And those were some more memorable reads I encountered in 2012.  My final Year In Review post will be a recap of my TBR Challenge reading, with another chance to remind you all that it's never too late to sign up for the challenge in 2013!

Year In Review 2012: The A Reads

I'm notoriously finicky with A grades.  Books that get an "A" rating from yours truly have to have what I call an "A-Ha!" moment in them.  That moment in the story that knocks the wind out of me, makes me marvel at the author's storytelling abilities, and just all around sucks me in.  I also tend to only slap A grades on books that I want to take with me to my grave and/or reread one day.  You know, in the event that I ever get through my TBR (Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!). Here are the six books that got either A or A- grades from me last year.  Oh, and no - I don't believe in A+.  Scrooge that I am.

Title links will take you to full reviews

Conor's Way by Laura Lee Guhrke (1996) - Historical romance

•  KristieJ has been nagging me forever to read this book, and I finally did this year as part of the TBR Challenge.  Not my favorite of Guhrke's early work, but still so very good.  Adored the wounded Irish hero and the slightly faded Southern belle heroine determined to hang on to the family farm in the aftermath of the Civil War. 

We'll Always Have Paris by Jessica Hart (2012) - Contemporary category romance

•  Jessica Hart writes fun books.  Bubbly, light-hearted, almost chick-lit-in-tone books, although she has a sneaky way of introducing doses of emotional angst into her stories.  Stuffed shirt hero meets his match in eccentric, free-spirited heroine.  Will it change the world?  OK, probably not.  But it's a fun, satisfying read and the very definition of why so many of us read romance.

Restraint by Charlotte Stein (2012) - Romantic erotica short story digital-only

• In a year that saw me getting bloody well sick of BDSM and annoyed with seemingly every erotic writer on the planet jumping on that bandwagon, this short story by Stein was a wonderful reminder of WHY I read erotic-anything.  In short?  It's about the heroine stupid.  Great heroine.  A hero who is the antithesis of the current Horny Wounded Mommy-Didn't-Love-Him Billionaire Dom trend.  Whatever Stein is selling, y'all need to be buying it.

Foxfire Bride by Maggie Osborne (2004) - Historical romance

• There's just something about the way Maggie Osborne wrote historical westerns, even when I'm not enamored with a particular book (yes, I've DNF'ed Maggie Osborne).  This one?  Was a very solid, very good read then WHAMO!  It hit me like a ton of bricks how amazing this road romance was.  How fantastic the characters were.  How invested I was to the point where I actually CRIED over the ending.  I pulled this book out of the TBR during a low-ebb in my reading, and it was just what the doctor ordered.

The Rebel Rancher by Donna Alward (2012) - Contemporary category romance

•  This is a very good story, but I'll be honest - part of the my A- grade on this one was given to reward Alward for writing such satisfying, angsty Harlequin Romances.  She's very, very good in that line.  I've read over half a dozen of her books and have never graded her below a B-.  With this story, I admired the way she took plot devices that I normally loathe, incorporated them into this story, and made me BELIEVE in them.  In other words?  They worked for this story.  For these specific, particular characters: A wounded hero who has been acting his way through life to hide who he truly is, and a heroine picking up the pieces after an abusive relationship.

The Space Between Us by Megan Hart (2012) - Romantic erotic fiction

•  I saw more than a few "um, it was OK I guess" reviews for this one, but once again Hart's characters knocked the wind right out of my sails.  She writes SUCH amazing, believable, full-realized characters.  I believe these people really exist.  In a lot of cases, I want to meet these people.  Hell, if only to give them a hug.  Hart isn't a whiz-bang thrill-ride sort of plotter, and this story of a aimless 20-something who enters into a menage relationship with a married couple is certainly very quietly plotted.  But damn, it packs a punch.  If I were a fiction writer I think I would make myself a Lil' Megan Hart voodoo doll just out of sheer jealousy.

And that's it for the A grades!  Honestly, six of them in the same year is pretty dang good for me.  Next up?  The honorable mentions!

Year In Review 2012: The Numbers

For the last several years I've done Year In Review posts here at the blog, rehashing my previous year in reading.  I'm a bit of a nutter, so I tend to spread out the fun over several posts.  Because why read one post about what I read last year when you can read three or four!  To kick things off, I'm going to look back at the numbers.  I started reviewing and blogging in a world before GoodReads, so I still employ a fairly simple spreadsheet method for keeping track.  Here are some of the highlights just looking at the numbers:

In 2012 I read 100 books.  Exactly.  Uh sort of.  I did count novellas and short stories as "books."  And OK, I counted DNFs that I spent a fair amount of time on (if I slogged through 1/3 of it then did some skimming ahead, I counted it).  My Man thinks this is "cheating."  I think it's my blog and I can do what I want.  So yippee!  I hit 100 books this year!  In comparison?  I read 95 books in 2011, 94 in 2010 and 95 in 2009.  The takeaway here is that Wendy is pretty consistent.

Here's a look at my assigned grades for 2012 compared to 2011:

A = 6 (2 in 2011)
B = 54 (54 in 2011)
C = 24 (23 in 2011)
D = 10 (11 in 2011)
F = 1 (0 in 2011)
DNF = 5 (5 in 2011)

So what does this tell us?  I suck as a Mean Girl Reviewer.  At any moment The Mythical Horde Of Mean Girl Reviewers are going to show up on the Bat Cave doorstep brandishing pitchforks demanding my membership card and secret decoder ring.  OK, not really - but it's fun to think about.  No, it just further illustrates that I'm really consistent.  I've long said that the bulk of my reading lands somewhere in the Good (B) to OK (C) range, and these numbers back that up.

As far as publication dates went, I did pretty good this year spreading things around, although per usual new releases won the war:

1985 (2 books), 1996 (2 books), 2004 (2 books), 2005 (1 book), 2006 (1 book), 2008 (3 books), 2010 (2 books), 2011 (8 books), 2012 (79 books).

Even with the TBR Challenge, I really need to do a better job of reading older releases throughout the course of the year.  Not sure how to do this though unless I decide to cut back on my "reviewing obligations."

So what did I read this past year?  I tend to "tag" my books, and this system of mine has always been a bit of a mess.  I tend to tag books with multiple labels, and I'm not always consistent with them - so take these numbers with a grain of salt!

American-set historical = 2
Contemporary = 40
Erotic Romance = 13
Gay Romance or M/M = 1
Erotica = 6
Novella / Short Stories = 19
Series or Category Romance = 30
Western = 9
Anthology = 1
Medieval = 3
China = 1
Regency = 12
Inspirational = 4
Historical Fiction = 1
Mystery / Suspense = 4
Non-Fiction = 1
Romantic Suspense = 4
Serialization = 6

The publishers I read this year are actually more eclectic than I suspected!  Here are the publishers I read last year:

Aphrodisia, Avon, Ballantine, Bantam, Berkley, Burroughs, Cleis, Harpercollins, Kensington, Loveswept, Minotaur, Pocket, Sourcebooks, St. Martin's, xCite, Self-Published.  In the Harlequin family I read: Carina Press, Desire, Historical, Undone, Intrique, Presents, HQN, Romance, SuperRomance, Temptation, Kimani, Love Inspired Historical, Mira and Spice Briefs.

Whew!

Rounding out 2012 in numbers are my review totals.  I reviewed 97 books this year, either on this blog, over at TGTBTU or as First Looks at Heroes & Heartbreakers.  Of the three books I didn't review?  All DNFs.  In all cases they were books I just couldn't warrant devoting an entire blog post to.  Although I did mention them in my monthly wrap-up posts with a quick blurb on why they didn't work for me.

And that, my friends, is a look at my reading year according to the numbers.  Further posts will follow highlighting what I read for the TBR Challenge in 2012, along with the good stuff I read last year.  There will be no post on my "worst" or "disappointing" reads for the year - because, blech, I have no desire to relive the bad and ugly.  Once was more than enough.....

The Month That Was December 2012

Lemon Drop: Under my umbrella...ella, ella, ay, ay, ay....

Me: Oh Lord, make it stop!

Lemon Drop: It's Rihanna Auntie Wendy!  You need to get hip with the new school yo.

Me: Can't you sing Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head?  That's a nice song.  A nice song that doesn't send Auntie Wendy shrieking into the other room.

Lemon Drop: Sure I could, if you want to hear Old Lady Music ::sniff::

Me: I'm going to ignore that, but only because your Hello Kitty umbrella is almost as cute as you are.

Lemon Drop: Never!

Me: I'm sorry, I shouldn't have even suggested such a travesty.  Anyhoodle, how about I tell you what I read last month?  December means Auntie Wendy is busy, so I read a lot of short books this month, including several short stories.

Title links go to full reviews.

The Rules of Engagement by Ally Blake - Harlequin Presents, 2012, Grade = D

• Commitment-phobe heroine has fling with hero, develops feelings, and then when he finds out she has three broken engagements it all blows up in her face.  Really, really thin conflict made this a slog of a read for me.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Hero With Money And Parent Issues, Heroine With Daddy Issues, Commitment-Phobia, Wise-Crackin' BFF.

Front Page Affair by Mira Lyn Kelly - Harlequin Presents, 2011, Grade = B

• Old money heroine agrees to help new money hero out of a jam by pretending they've been having a secret torrid affair for the benefit of the snooping paparazzi.  The fly in the ointment?  She's had a monster crush on him since they were kids.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Friends To Lovers, New Money Hero, Old Money Heroine, Disapproving Family

The Lady Who Broke The Rules by Marguerite Kaye - Historical romance, Harlequin, 2012, Part of Series, Grade = B

• Disgraced daughter of a Duke finds herself attracted to an American businessman who also happens to be a freed slave.  A very tricky set-up, with very tricky characters, which I thought the author handled very well.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Disgraced Heroine, Asshole Ex, Neglectful Father, Battle Ax Aunt, Merchant Hero (The Horror!)

Home For Christmas by Carrie Weaver - Harlequin SuperRomance, 2005, Part of Series, Grade = B-

• Single mother heroine looking for a fresh start is dismayed to find herself attracted to a man who is all wrong for her - a thrice-married single father to a surly teenage daughter.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Heroine Done Wrong, Plot Moppet Tot, Playboy Hero, Surly Teenager, Single Dad, Single Mom

Woman In A Sheikh's World by Sarah Morgan - Harlequin Presents, 2012, Part of Series, Grade = B

• Heroine has to plan a party for her former lover (the sheikh) and his virgin bride.  She's not over him and thinks once he's married she'll be able to move on.  Then he shows up on her doorstep with the announcement that his bride has run away.  Uh oh.  Two headstrong characters that need to learn to put their pride aside in the name of finding happiness.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Busy Business Lady Heroine, Sheikh Hero, Don't Rein Me In!, Runaway Bride

Lady of Shame by Ann Lethbridge - Historical romance, Harlequin, 2012, Part of Series, Grade = B+

• Disgraced younger sister of a Duke returns home with her daughter only to fall in love with the resident chef.  Lovely story, really enjoyed it.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Disgraced Widow Heroine, One Kidlet, Working Class Hero, Big Secret

Maid Until Midnight by Joanne Rock - Historical romance short story ebook, Harlequin Historical Undone, 2012, Grade = C+

• Nice, steamy medieval story that features a hero who kidnaps his intended bride after her father welshes on the deal.  Liked the characters, but felt certain aspects of the story were too "big" for the short word count.

To Undo A Lady by Christine Merrill - Historical romance short story ebook, Harlequin Historical Undone, 2012, Grade = D

• Heroine on the run lands at a theater where the hero is looking for a new actress to replace the ungrateful wench that just up and left him.  Really loved the setting of this one, but the author takes a risk to resolve the conflict that just didn't work for me.

His Wicked Christmas Wager by Annie Burrows - Historical romance short story ebook, Harlequin Historical Undone, 2012, Grade = B-

• Heroine enters into wager with hero in order to get him to come to the wedding of her sister and his brother.  The problem?  Yeah, she broke his wee lil' heart years ago and he's a mite bitter.  Good, but wished it were a little bit longer.  Review forthcoming at TGTBTU.

An Illicit Temptation by Jeannie Lin - Historical romance short story ebook, Harlequin Historical Undone, 2012, Grade = B

•  Heroine masquerading as a princess falls for the man charged with taking her to her intended groom's homeland safely.  A tie-in to Lin's full-length My Fair Concubine, a very solid short story.  Review forthcoming at TGTBTU.

Letting Go by Sarah McCarty - Erotic romance short story ebook, Spice Briefs, 2012 reprint from 2007, Grade = D

• Oh joy, another BDSM story.  NOT!  A heroine I seriously wanted to maim.  Or shoot.  Or just beat over the head with some good ol' fashioned blunt force trauma.  Review forthcoming at TGTBTU.

Lemon Drop: Short stories?  Isn't that like cheating?

Me: You've been talking to your Uncle again.  Hey, it got me to 100 books read on the year.  My blog.  My record keeping.  My rules.

Lemon Drop: Geez, okay, okay.  Mental note: never call Auntie Wendy old and never question her record keeping, no matter how dubious it is.....

Me: Now you're learning.....