A Decade Of Sheer Librarian Awesomeness

February 28, 2003.  A day that shall live in infamy!

Or maybe just a day that shall live in narcissistic mediocrity.

Either way, it was ten years ago today that I took leave of my senses, put together a few strings of copied HTML code with some chewing gum and chicken wire, and started this blog - which even back then had the glorious name of The Misadventures Of Super Librarian.  I rambled a lot in the early days, flitting from topic to topic, not really having a strong focus with my blogging.  These days I think there's too much "pressure" to have a focus - which always makes me feel sorry for newer bloggers.  It was kind of fun to muck around on my own, fumble around in the dark like a teenage boy with his first girlfriend in the back seat of his father's car, basically throwing up things on my own Internet wall to see what would stick (and for how long).  I have ten years of "content" on this blog now.  Ten years of posts that are not very good, are sort of OK, and others that are so frackin' amazing I wonder what good drugs I was on so I could repeat the cocktail.

I started this blog in Michigan, moved to California, and it's seen me through ups and downs in both my professional and personal life.  This blog has kept me relatively sane and it gave me something that was wholly mine.  It gave me an outlet.  It gave me a "place" before social media really took off (I'm not counting MySpace because holy mother of God, MySpace was a dumpster fire).  And to this day it's a little shocking to me that this blog, this thing I started on a lark because hey, Rosario and Laurie are doing it, so why can't I do it too?, has turned into something that has given me way more than I ever really put into it.

I came home from work last week, feeling a little - out of sorts I guess.  My Man was already home from his day job, and I sat next to him, put my head on his shoulder and said something along the lines of "I'm still a good librarian....."  He said to me, "Hell Wendy, you were Librarian Of The Year - that's all anybody should ever need to know to realize you're a 'good librarian'."  

This blog got me Librarian Of The Year.  It really did.  I may have gotten it on my own eventually.  I reviewed over at The Romance Reader from 1999-2007.  Over the years I've worked with several authors on library-related to-dos.  But really, it was this blog.  It's how anybody within the romance spectrum who knows me?  Yeah, knows me.  It's also how and why I've had some great opportunities come my way over the years.  I'm always a little tickled when anybody asks me to be a part of something - another blog, a project, a speaking opportunity.  Usually my first reaction after dumbfounded flattery is, "Seriously, have they read the mess that is my blog?"  

The kicker?  They have.  And they still ask me.

Honestly, it's a kick in the pants is what it is.  But you know what?  As great as a lot of that stuff has been, the best part about blogging has been the people I've met - either online or in person - over the last ten years.  I have met so many awesome women.  Friendships that I never would have made otherwise if it weren't for this bizarre hobby of mine of blathering online about romance novels.  I've met awesome people from all over the country and even some readers from all over the world.  We shared our mutual love of westerns and category romance and smart erotica.  We went on rants about too-stupid-to-live heroines and whatever bizarre plot conflict pet peeves we have.  This blog opened up a whole other world for me.  This blog showed me other women, out there, who were, on one hand, like me but on the other?  Maybe very, very different.  I've met people who I suspect are my long lost twin and other people where we have zero in common - outside of romance novels.  And I love every single one of you. 

I started this blog on a lark and I'd still probably blog even if people stopped reading it tomorrow.  But you know what?  This blog is a helluva lot more fun because you're all here, with me, and we're all sharing in something that we truly love - romance novels.  Yes critics, "silly," "fluffy," "trite," romance novels.  And you know what?  We didn't ask you anyway, and I'm still a "good librarian."

I toyed with the idea of doing something "special" to "honor" (however dubious it may be....) the occasion of my blog's tenth birthday.  In the end, I got nothing.  So instead I thought it would be fun to open up the floor for comments.  Regulars, lurkers, newbies, swing on by - leave a comment.  Share something with us all.  When you started reading this blog, where you like to hang out online, hell - maybe you've read a great book lately?  Ladies, you have the floor.....

TBR Challenge 2013: When Grown-Ups Fall In Love

The Book: Promoted: to Wife and Mother by Jessica Hart

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin Romance, 2008, Out of Print, Available Digitally

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?:  After reading and enjoying some other Jessica Hart book I reviewed (We'll Always Have Paris?), Janet picked up this book as a follow-up read, really enjoyed it, and then sent it on to me to share the wealth.  Janet is officially my favorite person for the next few days.  The rest of y'all need to stand in line.

The Review:  OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG, this was such a good book.  SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!  Such a good book!  I even got choked up at one point.  Seriously, SUCH a good book!

Ahem.  Where was I?  Oh yes.....

Perdita James is at one of those uselessly boring "leadership seminars" because the guy who just bought the company she works for thinks it will be "good" for the employees.  All she can think about it is how it's a massive waste of her time (girlfriend, I totally feel you).  Now she's sitting off in a corner by herself because after some stupidly pointless personality quiz she finds out she's a peacock.  A peacock!  Not a dolphin or an owl like everybody else.  No, a peacock!  But turns out she's not alone because up walks a fairly handsome man, although not in a classical sort of way.  No, he's not a peacock, he's the only panther in the room.  They get to talking, Perdita's mouth gets away from her, and before you can say insert foot - she finds out he's Edward Merrick.  Ed Merrick, her new boss.  Oopsie daisy!

What follows is an attraction that neither can explain but both try to deny because there are "complications" in their lives.  Ed is a widower with three teenage children and he has just uprooted his family from lively London to the staid country-like existence of Ellsborough - which you can imagine the teenagers are just thrilled about! /end sarcasm.  Perdita moved back to her hometown after her father passed away unexpectedly and her mother's health started taking a shocking turn toward dementia.  She also is just getting over a spectacularly failed relationship with a man she deeply loved - a man who was a single father and whose responsibilities to his family constantly left Perdita out in the cold.

There is so much I liked about this book, and so many subtle risks that the author takes, that I'm probably not going to do it justice in this review.  In most other books, Perdita would be a villain.  She's head-strong, driven, has "sharp-edges," organized and always stylishly put together.  In contrast, Ed's deceased wife (whom he loved deeply) was gentle, kind, and sacrificing, with a classic beauty that meant she didn't have to try too hard.  Perdita is nothing like his wife, and at first Ed isn't all that sure he likes her even if he is drawn to her.  It's hard to not be drawn to Perdita - she's the kind of woman that people notice when she walks into a bar.

Naturally, as self-assured as Perdita is, she has her hidden vulnerabilities.  Her last relationship really did a number on her, and then there is her mother, who was prickly at the best of times, and now with her health declining she's become a real challenge.  There's a moment in the latter half of the story, where Perdita is taking care of her mother, a small household crisis occurs, and she's so totally overwhelmed that I got choked up for her.  She's a 40-year-old woman who is overwhelmed and alone - with no one to help her share her burden.  She's also resigned herself to the fact that she's more than likely going to be alone for the rest of her life, because how many men in her age bracket have time for a relationship?  And if they do?  They're probably not great relationship material.

What drives this story forward is how is the author going to get these two people together when they both have so much already on their individual plates.  With Ed's kids and Perdita's mother, plus their full-time jobs - will they find a way to a happy ending?  Of course, this being a Harlequin Romance, we know they do.  That said, while I didn't find this ending abrupt, it's certainly not a Sunshine Happy Puppy Dogs Kitty Cats Rainbow sort of ending.  Oh, our couple gets together, but realistically we know that their relationship together is going to be a work in progress.  It just is.  There's too much "real life" stuff floating in their orbit.  So don't expect Happy Happy Skipping In A Meadow ending.  Expect a We Love Each Other Need To Be Together We'll Figure It All Out With Understanding And Compromise ending.  Which you know, is how life and relationships really are.  The best part?  I have no doubt that while Perdita will do her fair share of compromising, so will Ed.  One of those magical stories where I close the book, sigh deeply, and truly feel that these two people are on the very same page.  Together.

Final Grade = A

Reminder: TBR Challenge For February

For those of you participating in the 2013 TBR Challenge, this is a reminder that your "commentary" is due on Wednesday, February 20.

The theme this month is Recommended Read.  A book that landed in your TBR because it was recommended to you by somebody.  Wowzers, I think we all have something (or a lot of somethings!) like that lying around in our TBRs, but in case not?  Remember, that the themes are totally and completely optional.  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 February!  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.

Victoria's Secret

Anybody who talks about books online (OK, let's use the "R" word - reviews books online....) will tell you that reviews for not-so-good books are easy to write.  For me, personally, the chance to vent is a cathartic experience.  Reviews for books you loved can be a little more difficult to write, since it's sometimes hard to articulate why you loved it so much, but it's still a joy to write them and gush about something that deeply affected you.  Now books that are OK?  Yeah, those are the killers.  Sometimes a book isn't lighting your world on fire, but it's readable and you cannot really pinpoint anything terribly wrong with it.  That's kind of what my reaction was to Undone By The Duke by Michelle Willingham, the first book in a Regency quartet for Amazon Montlake.  For a long time this book was a pleasant read that was a little too easy for me to put down and walk away from.  It wasn't until the final third of the story when things picked up for me, and by then I wasn't terribly happy with the hero.

Victoria Andrews is the oldest of four sisters and for the last five years has been a recluse at her family's home in Scotland.  When the family moved from England, Victoria became separated from them, having spent several days lost in the Scottish wilderness.  It's an episode that has effected her so deeply that she simply cannot leave the house.  In the 19th century this affliction is kept a secret, for fear that she'll be committed to some god-awful institution, but as the 21st century reader we know that Victoria suffers from anxiety, panic attacks, and agoraphobia.

Her father is on the continent fighting in the war, which leaves her mother as head of the household.  Things are very precarious financially, so much so that Victoria has secretly been sewing gowns and selling them to a dressmaker in London through a middleman (a family "friend" of sorts).  While sewing a dress for her younger sister, Victoria hits on the idea that dagnabit - corsets are made out of really uncomfortable materials!  Using some scraps she has lying around, she makes up a sample and imagine her shock when it brings in a lot more money than any of her gowns ever did.  With her mother packing up her three sisters for a visit to London (to hopefully find husbands for two of them), Victoria uses the time alone to work on her new ideas.  Then a gravely wounded man shows up on her doorstep and spins her orderly world into chaos.

The man in question is Jonathan Nottoway, who is in Scotland to look over some property he got from the odious Earl of Strathland in exchange for settling a gambling debt.  Unlucky for Jonathan is the fact that the Earl has made a habit of terrorizing the locals, evicting them from the land.  So when an obviously English guy shows up on what is known to be the Earl's land?  A boy thinks he's Strathland and shoots him in the leg.  He makes his way to Victoria's house where, even though she's terrified and unchaperoned, she stitches him up and nurses him back to health.  All the while not knowing he's a Duke, with a capital D.

What follows is Jonathan becoming smitten - in part because he has a White Knight Complex (two words = Daddy Issues) and Victoria's vulnerability plucks at his heart-strings.  Also for once in his life here's a woman who has no clue who he is.  She thinks he's just some ordinary guy.  They get to know each other without the Duke thing hanging over either of their heads, and Jonathan, who is used to females and their mothers practically stripping naked in front of him, this is a welcome respite indeed.

There are several things about this book I really enjoyed.  I liked that Victoria's enterprise for making money for the struggling family isn't just carelessly tossed off.  It's a big hairy deal that a gently born woman, even if she's the daughter of a lowly baron (and a newly minted one at that!), would sew and sell anything - let alone women's unmentionables!  The threat of scandal!  The family would be completely ruined!  I also liked that Willingham sets a nice stage, giving us moments told in points-of-view of Victoria's sisters and, especially, her mother, Beatrice.  While her husband has been fighting in Spain, it's been up to Beatrice to keep the family and finances together....and it has not been going well.  On top of that, while they weren't a love match, her husband and her did grow fond of each other and had a happy marriage - until recently.  The cracks are forming, the distance has grown, and she's trying to hide the fact from everybody that she's completely overwhelmed.

What didn't work so well is that we have a Hot And Cold Running Duke.  The first half of this novel, when he's hiding his Dukedom, he's a lighter person.  Teasing Victoria, working to help her overcome her fears.  In the latter half?  Yeah, he's kind of an asshole.  Especially since he blatantly ends up railroading Victoria.  Interestingly enough, I found I liked this asshole-ish Duke a bit better.  He's got darker edges, the Daddy Issues come completely to the forefront, and it spurs Victoria forward to conquering her own fears.  Our girl might start out a mouse, but she begins to grow a backbone.

So yeah, it's a bit of a mixed bag here.  There's nothing in this story that annoyed or made my angry - but it never really elevated itself above pleasantness either.  I'll likely read the follow-up books featuring Victoria's sisters, especially since I suspect two of them are going to get non-titled heroes.  However I'm not so impatient for them that I'm performing animal sacrifices and dancing naked under a full moon in the hopes that will make the author write them faster.

(Dear PETA: totally kidding about the animals.  Dear Innocent Eyeballs: totally kidding about the dancing naked thing too.)

Final Grade = C+

Sold To The Enemy

When it comes to explaining the appeal of category romance I have a whole speech (most librarians have a "whole speech" about something - 'tis what we do).  I've regurgitated the highlights on this blog quite often over the years, but the take-away can often be condensed down to this simple fact:

When you read a good category romance, it's the purest form of the genre.

There's also the magic of finding an author who writes the format well, which is what Sarah Morgan does.  She's really smart with category.  She takes classic themes and tropes, populates them with interesting characters, and then peels her conflict back slowly, like an onion.  She's very good at what I call the "slow reveal," and Sold To The Enemy is no exception.

Selene Antaxos has spent all of her young twenty-something years living on an isolated, inhospitable Greek island with her terrorized mother and a monster for a father.  Selene's one goal is to get both her and her mother off the island and away from her father, who perpetuates the myth that they're a "perfect family," while secretly behind closed doors he smacks them around.  While her father is off the island visiting one of his many mistresses, Selene disguises herself, thwarts his security team, and lands on Stefan Ziakas doorstep.  Stefan is rich, powerful, and many years ago was nice to Selene at a party she attended with her father (you know, to perpetuate the whole "happy family" thing).  Her father's reach is so far that she knows if she wants to get her business proposal off the ground that she must go to someone who isn't under her father's thumb - and that's Stefan.  The two men loathe each other.

Stefans' not really sure what to think with Selene shows up at his office unannounced, but he does pick up on the fact that she's sexy and sweet, wrapped up in one forbidden delectable package.  What driven Greek tycoon can possibly resist that?  Sparks fly, Selene cuts loose, and a good time is had by all until reality intrudes with the harsh light of day.  Stefan may have just unwittingly unraveled Selene's carefully constructed escape plan for her and her mother.  Oopsie!

On the surface what we have here is your classic young, fresh-faced, virginal (naturally) heroine paired up with the ruthless, worldly tycoon.  This story is a staple in romance and the Presents universe, but Morgan takes it and infuses it with some fresh ideas.  Selene may be young and virginal, but she's got gumption.  You'd have to have gumption to defy her father, and she's smart enough to realize that if she wants to escape him, and save her mother, that she's going to need money, which means needing help.  Stefan has a long-standing reason for hating Selene's father that dates back to his childhood.  What I liked about him is that he uses his brain.  He does make assumptions about Selene and he does think he knows what's going on.  However when things go to hell, and he's alone thinking back on the turn of events - it hits him.  Selene's got a secret, and he's going to swoop in to rescue her.

A Rescue Fantasy is at the heart of this story, and you need a hero like Stefan to believably thwart a man as powerful as Selene's father.  What I really liked is that Selene is constantly pushing back.  She doesn't want to escape one prison only to walk into another, and she doesn't entirely trust Stefan.  Plus it quickly becomes apparent to her that Stefan is a man who is incapable of dealing with emotions and being honest about them.  She's spent her whole life tip-toeing around her father, saying one thing, meaning another.  She's not about to enter into a relationship with a man where she has to tip-toe around her feelings for him just because she might say words like "love" or "forever" and scare the bejesus out of him.

As quickly as this story read, and as much as I liked the main couple, I did have quibbles.  For someone who has been ruled over with an iron fist for roughly some 22 years, Selene's relentless optimism was a little hard to swallow.  Honestly she was a little too well-adjusted, which seemed odd given her monster of a father and a mother who was more wraith-like shadow than woman.  And speaking of Dear Old Mom, that aspect of the story could have used some help, although admittedly a big road block in the way is the category format itself.  Morgan does what she can with it, and certainly writing Stefan as fabulously wealthy with power and resources helps to grease the wheels.

However, quibbles aside,  it's still a good story with classic themes and a fairy tale twist.  If you like Presents, this one is a good one.  And heck, if you think you don't like Presents?  This is still a good one.

Final Grade = B-

The Month That Was January 2013

Me: That's a pretty sweet ride you got right there Lemon Drop!

Lemon Drop: Sometimes I like to kick it old school Auntie Wendy, plus these old pick-up trucks are awesome!

Me: Couldn't agree with you more.  They're pretty cool looking and nothing beats a classic

Lemon Drop: It's also the easiest way to snag a cowboy!  Cowboys love pick-up trucks!

Me: A sure sign you've been spending too much time on this blog!  Moving along before your Daddy kills me, I started off the new year kind of slow in reading quantity, but man - I had a great month filled with some quality reads.  Here's hoping the rest of 2013 is like this!

Title links will take you to full reviews.

Aftershock by Jill Sorenson - Romantic suspense, 2012, HQN, Grade = B+

• A humdinger of a romantic thriller that was high on action, characters in peril, and the unpleasantness that will surely follow if The Big One (as in earthquake!) ever hits southern California.  I loved every moment of this book, and am so happy it's the first in a trilogy.

The Things That Make Me Give In by Charlotte Stein - Erotica short stories, 2009, Black Lace, Grade = B

• My TBR Challenge read of the month was this single-author erotica anthology by Stein.  While every story wasn't a winner for me, I really appreciated seeing all the different tones and emotions she explored in this one anthology.  If you're hooked on Stein, this a great one to get your hands on.

The Soldier's Sweetheart by Soraya Lane - Contemporary romance, 2013, Harlequin Romance, Grade = C

• When Lane works for me, she really works for me.  When she doesn't, you get this book.  I liked everything about this story except for the way the heroine dealt with and felt about her infertility issues.  Admittedly a hot button for me.

Sins of a Virgin by Anna Randol - Historical romance, 2012, Avon, Grade = B+

• I read a lot of good books this month, but this one may be the winner just because it was such a pleasant surprise!  Heroine who used to be a spy for England is turned loose after the war and decides to auction off her virginity in the name of financial security.  Hero is a Bow Street Runner hired to investigate on her behalf, but is really using her auction as an excuse to hunt down his twin sister's murderer.  First book in a trilogy, a good story helped along by a really great heroine.

Addicted by Charlotte Stein - Erotic romance ebook, 2013, Pocket, Grade = B+

• A last-minute addition to my reading month when I was asked by Heroes & Heartbreakers to provide a "First Look."  Librarian heroine with limited sexual experiences (most of them not very good!) falls into bed with a man-whore she meets at a "sexual self-help" group.  Funny, challenging, different, a nice change of pace from the asshole billionaires who seem to be overrunning erotic romance of late.

Reservations for Two by Jennifer Lohmann - Contemporary romance, 2013, Harlequin Superromance, Grade = B

• A solid debut romance featuring a chef heroine and food writer hero.  Great use of setting, beautiful neighborhood "big city" feel, and a great family dynamic that sets up the next two books in the series.

Lemon Drop: You know Auntie Wendy, maybe I am a little young to be thinking about cowboys....

Me: Your father and your Papaw will surely be relieved to hear that.  You're not even in kindergarten yet.

Lemon Drop: Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking.  A classic old pick-up truck like this one?  Surely I could snag myself one of those ranching or oil-tycoon types like you read about in Harlequin Desires!  They'd see the classic truck as an investment, plus I'm hella cute!  Win, win!

Me: Oh brother.  Maybe I need to lay off the cowboys and start reviewing more Dr. Seuss or something.  You're too young to be this corrupted.....

The Relevant Elephant In The Room

The Misadventures Of Super Librarian (affectionately known as "The Bat Cave" or "This Blog") has a pretty big blogiversary coming up.  In between moments of the insanity that is my job, my personal life, and a head cold that just won't go away already, I've taken to pondering how I want to mark the occasion.  Should I have a contest?  Should I just write a celebratory blog post?  Should I invest in a tiara and take to Twitter demanding that everyone finally acknowledge the awesome trend-setting prowess that is The Bat Cave?

Don't worry, I'm kidding on that last one.  But it does bring up an interesting point.....

Feeding off Liz's earlier post on social media, and mine on hype, Brie joined into the fray with her own post on the subject - also tying in the concepts of book discoverability, the prevalence of eARCs, and the homogenization of the romance blogosphere.  It hit me somewhere in the middle of reading the comments on Brie's post.  I finally get it.  I really think I've found the answer.  

We're not all concerned about hype, overexposure, discoverability or even the ever popular topic of ARCs and who gets them.  Nope.  We're concerned with the question of relevancy.

Maybe it's because I have this huge stinkin' blogiversary hanging over my head, but sometimes I wonder, why do I even bother?  Am I still relevant in the realm of the online romance community?  For that matter, was I ever relevant?  What makes me think I'm so special that anyone would give a flying crap what I think about....well, anything?

Now before anyone accuses me of fishing for compliments (Oh noes Wendy!  We like you!  We really, really like you!), the point of this post is to say that maybe - just maybe - we're concerned about hype only when we're not feeding into it.  Ask yourself this:

"If I'm not reading and reviewing books by Author A does that automatically make me irrelevant?"

or 

"If I am not crushin' and lovin' on Book X, does that automatically mean I'm not one of the cool kids?"

Now some of you are going to read this and think I'm so full of crap that My Man should put Roto-Rooter on speed dial.  But I really think I'm on to something here.  Maybe it's my online longevity (I've been kicking around in one form or another since 1999), maybe it's because I remember the blogging "good old days" when, if you got one measly comment a week on your blog you felt like you were a rock star.  I took to blogging because I wasn't cool.  Hell, I've never been cool.  Which doesn't exactly make me elite, since having met so many romance bloggers over the years I can honestly say.....

None of us are cool.

Sorry to shatter that illusion, but dude - we totally aren't.

Oh sure, some of us think we're cool.  But trust me on this - we're not.  We're so totally not.

At the end of the day, even though we might publicly state that we started blogging for various reasons, when it comes down to brass tacks?  We, all of us, were looking for a place to belong.  And blogging, especially individually run blogs like this one, are at their core extremely narcissistic   This is The Bat Cave and It Is All About Wendy.  If I didn't want it to be all about me I would have hired on a team of reviewers about six years ago (at least).  I want people to come here and like my blog.  But I also want them to come here and like me.  And if I'm not reading Author A or Book X - those books and authors that everybody else is talking about except me?  Does this mean I'm not relevant?  Does this mean that nobody likes me?  

Yeah, maybe hype, overexposure, and social media aren't the issues we should be talking about.  Maybe we all need to acknowledge that, deep down, this phenomenon reminds us all that we aren't cool.  And sure, a lot of us will admit that when it comes to the outside world?  We're totally OK with not being cool.  But what about in our own community?  What about in The Great Kingdom Of Romance Novel Land?  Don't we all want to be cool there?  Of course we do.  Here's the thing though - we already are.  Because every voice, no matter the author or book being discussed, is a "cool" voice.  Because hot damn, it's a voice talking about books.  And to book nerds like us?  Nothing is cooler.

When Little Scotland Yard Runs Amok

Warning: This review contains minor spoilers.

I'm in the midst of "homework reading" for my library's annual literary event, and so far it's been a pleasant endeavor.  I often say that when doing "homework reading" of this nature, it is totally incidental if I personally "like" the book(s) or not.  I just need to be able to talk about them with other readers, and know enough to communicate with the author about said books.  But honestly, this whole thing is a lot more pleasant when I do like the books - and A Dangerous Liaison With Detective Lewis by Jillian Stone is a book I really wanted to like.  Alas, it ended up being a slog of a read for me and I skimmed large chunks of it.

Raphael "Rafe" Lewis is a detective for Scotland Yard and is called to the House Of Commons where the severed head and feet of a murdered MP are found.  Said MP was a self-made industrialist and Rafe's boss is wondering if this new crime has any connection to the "accidental" death of another industrialist up in Scotland a few days prior.  He sends Rafe up there to snoop around and to protect the heiress, Fanny Greyville-Nugent, who has publicly stated she plans to carry on her father's work.  The fly in the ointment?  Rafe and Fanny were childhood sweethearts, were actually engaged to be marry, Rafe broke her heart, and she called the whole thing off.

This is the second book in Stone's The Gentlemen Of Scotland Yard series and it stands alone very well.  The Victorian setting has a certain panache to it and I loved that she made the industrial revolution aspects of the era (which were very, very important and can sometimes be glossed over in Victorian historical romances!) such an integral part of the plot.

What didn't work so well for me?  Everything else.  Which is a major problem since first and foremost, this is a romance novel.  When I not only don't care about the main couple, but am at turns either bored or annoyed by them?  It doesn't go well.

Fanny and Rafe were torn apart by a misunderstanding perpetrated by a weaselly third party.  Honestly, given that they were extremely close childhood friends, and later sweethearts?  It takes surprisingly little to upend the apple cart.  And what does Rafe do in response to all of this?  He goes out for a night on the town and oopsie-daisy!  His dick falls into another woman.  He heads back to Scotland for, of all things, an engagement party, sucks on Fanny's face, then when her father catches them in this compromising position, Rafe confesses he's....well....already married.  Yeah, when his dick fell into that other woman?  She, naturally, got knocked up.  Fanny calls off the engagement and Rafe is now persona non-grata among the Greyville-Nugents and his own family.

I mean, really?!

To Fanny's credit, she realizes Rafe is there to protect her so even though she can't stand the sight of him, she doesn't fight him too much on that score.  The problem is she doesn't fight him at all.  There's a lot of banter.  She makes her anger known, somewhat.  But he charms and wheedles and my eyes roll back in my head.  Why Fanny doesn't just say, "Look, I know I need you to protect me but if you flirt with me, make eyes at me, or lay on the charm I'm going to find the nearest derringer and shoot off your Little Scotland Yard."

There's a lot of running around Scotland, and then running around England, all the while trying to uncover the plot of who is murdering prominent industrialists.  This was a halfway decent story, and one I was interested in - it just was helmed by a romantic couple that didn't work for me.  At all.  I have plans to read one more book in this series in the name of "homework reading."  Here's hoping that in the next go-around I get both an enjoyable plot and characters in the same book.

Final Grade = D+

It's Why I Hit The Wine.....Hard

Another Super Bowl come and gone and while the game on the field was exciting (although Baltimore had no business letting San Francisco back in that game!) - it's time for me to render my verdict on the commercials.

Yeah, they were terrible.  I mean, I always expect GoDaddy to be horrendous, but it was slim pickins' this year and the only two ads I liked got blown through in the same commercial break!

My favorite was probably the Audi high school prom commercial since it relies heavily on a universal truth: Every Dorky High School Kid Dreams Of Doing This.  My only quibbles?  The kid isn't dorky enough (seriously, he needs to look like he belongs on the chess club) and the girl needed to show up at his house afterward.  Either way, this is a romance novel flashback scene in a high school reunion story if ever I saw one. Authors, are you taking notes?

 

And in second place? M&M's. Because, I can totally relate to being one of these girls. You know, just not as hot. But my Mom thinks I'm special and she says I have a great personality....

Is It Baseball Season Yet?

OK, so it's Super Bowl weekend.

Since I have no pony in this particular race all I can say is a somewhat sarcastically WooHoo, hope the commercials don't suck and oh yeah - could you stop hogging all the Buffalo wings?

But who cares about football when pitchers and catchers report to spring training in a little over a week, and Opening Day is a mere two months away?  While we all take a moment to ponder that impending bit of happiness, check out this awesome T-shirt!  This is the kind of stuff my blogging friends e-mail to me.  Thanks Ames!

Yeah, I totally bought one.  Expect it to be rocked at RWA in Atlanta.....