Random Romance Sunday: The Shadow Of Vietnam

The Book: Midway Between You And Me by Rogenna Brewer

The Particulars: Harlequin SuperRomance #1070, July 2002, Out of Print

The Blurb:

She doesn't love a man in uniform.

Professor Tam Nguyen knows that most women dream of a handsome, broad-shouldered military man. But she can never forget that the man who abandoned her pregnant mother in the middle of a war zone wore a uniform.

Of course, that's before she meets Lieutenant Bowie Prince and gets to know the man behind the uniform. Once he sets out to change her mind, she finds him hard to resist. Until she discovers he holds the key to her father's identity....

Is It In Wendy's TBR?: Nope, but I have read this one!

Any Reviews?: The Romance Reader (Judi, who was one of my favorite reviewers) gave this one 4 Hearts (equivalent to a B grade)

"These are very personal observations on the nature of what is and isn’t romantic, and this is certainly a genre in which the lines of acceptability between fantasy and reality can shift wildly, depending on the writer’s skill and the reader’s preferences and sensitivities. Those readers who like lots of gritty authenticity will enjoy this story even more than I did. For everyone else, I can still recommend it as an absorbing read; just be warned that you may not always find it a comfortable one."

RT gave this one 3 Stars:

"Tam's parents' relationship, seen in flashbacks, creates an unusual framework for romance. However, Rogenna Brewer's MIDWAY BETWEEN YOU AND ME (3) is too ambitious, tackling drug smuggling, kidnapping and the Vietnam War."

Anything Else?: I read this one years ago (as in, I was still living in Michigan years ago), and remember liking it quite a bit. I know I picked it up thanks to the TRR review, and it did not disappoint. That being said, I tend to really like "gritty" in my romances, and I suspect that's why this one worked so well for me. Brewer tackles some issues here (namely Tam's American GI father having an affair with her teenage mother!) that will obviously be harder sells for some readers.

This one didn't hit my Keeper Stash, and dang if I can give you specific reasons why now. But I do remember it being a solid read - and if you like military-type romances, and are open to some of the tougher subjects the author tackles? This one is worth hunting down at your local UBS. Alas, this is one of Harlequin's backlist titles that hasn't been digitized.

As for Ms. Brewer herself? Her last book came out in 2008, but according to her web site, she's sold a new title to HSR and it's due to her editor in late July. No word on a release date as of yet.

On The Road And Batmobile News

I have a short (teeny) wee lil' column up over at Access Romance Readers Gab about (what else?) beach reading. Or vacation reads. Whatever. Just in time for the "unofficial" start of summer - Memorial Day weekend. Why not stop on over and tell the world what sorts of books you like to read while you're lounging on the beach, or by the pool?

Speaking of Memorial Day weekend, today was Day #1 of the Staycation My Man and I decided to treat ourselves too. It's a Staycation mostly because we couldn't agree on "going away somewhere." Plus, it's honestly better for us to just veg out and soak up some relaxation time. Wonder how much reading I'll get done? If today's any indication? Yeah, probably not so much.

In other exciting news, that strange noise I heard coming from the Batmobile rear brakes? Yeah, turned out to be nothing. Thank the good Lord above. And the best part was my mechanic did the inspection at absolutely no charge. That might have something to do with the sheer amount of dollars we've dropped on the place over the years though. Just a hunch anyway. Either way, I'll take it.

The Real Little Miss Crabby Pants

There she is. Regular Bat Cave followers will recognize Little Miss Crabby Pants, the cranky lil' girl whose photo gets displayed when I'm particularly unthrilled about something. I wish I could say I know who she is - I don't. I found her while trolling around the site I use for image hosting, and since she bears a striking resemblance to my mother's side of the family, I sort of adopted her as my own.

Plus, that dress she's wearing tickles me.

Well, Lil' Sis is quite fond of Little Miss Crabby Pants, and told me the other day she had plans to snap a photo of my baby niece, Cecelia, when she's in full blown cranky, I'm-so-not-happy mode. This is what greeted me when I checked my e-mail last night:

Oooooh, someone is NOT happy with life! Lil' Sis told me that when she makes this disgusted face, my niece also makes a snorting noise. Which actually ruins the effect she's shooting for, since Lil' Sis ends up laughing at her.

No doubt Cecelia will eventually spend years in therapy because her Mommy laughed at her when she made snorting noises as an almost 2-month old.

And holy cow, is that kid porking out! I'm going to start calling her Porky McChubbikins.

A Wealth Of Bloggie Goodness

I really feel like I've been struggling lately when it comes to making this blog marginally interesting. It doesn't help matters that I have 7+ years worth of archives, and when I go tip-toeing through them I discover many of the fantastic posts I used to write. I don't know if I'm just getting old, or I was never all that interesting to begin with and I've been deluding myself all these years.

Yeah, let's go with that one. It sounds about right. Heh.

Actually, what it probably comes down too is being spread a little thin in Real Life. Lots to read, lots of tears to shed at work (our (so far) proposed materials budget for next fiscal year = not good) and I really need to hammer out the details of my presentation for the upcoming Librarians Day at RWA this summer (oh, and meet with Tessa about that. She probably needs to be in the loop since we're on the panel together. Oy!)

So, in lieu, of me having anything interesting to say, I thought I'd steal mention a few of the interesting blog posts I ran up against this morning while trolling through my Google Reader. Unlike myself, some of y'all are on a tear!

• Author HelenKay Dimon asks if you (the reader) would like her to post sensuality ratings for her books on her web site. My gut feeling is that "casual" readers would like them, but for diehards like myself - chances are we already "know" what type of sensuality we're going to get when we pick up a Brava vs. a Harlequin Intrigue. Or maybe only I know that because I'm a freak and it's my "job" to know that.

• Author Susan Wiggs posted that the reprint edition of The Hostage hits bookstores today and she ::gasp:: highlights the review I did for TRR way back in the day. Dang, I used to write really good reviews. I'm not sure what happened.... ETA: Actually the author jumped the gun, and so did I. Heh. Laydown date is actually June 29. Der.

• SarahT has afterglow thanks to her shiny, new e-reader, and asks other readers if their book buying habits have changed since "going digital."

• Scandalous true confession! KristieJ doesn't like booksignings! I say we show up at her house brandishing pitchforks and torches. Mwahahahahaha!

• Author Lynne Connolly gets her Ranty McRant on over at TGTBTU about Harlequin Presents heroines who wear "designer" clothes.

• Amy had a really crap day yesterday, blogs about it, and also declares that reading the latest Virginia Henley book is like "finding an old friend." Hey, haven't we all been there? We pick up a book by an author we used to lurve back in the day, and rediscover them all over again. Sheer bliss.

• And finally, courtesy of Meghan, a YouTube clip of Betty White, who will be playing a librarian (!) on the ABC show, The Middle. Like Meghan mentioned, I'm not sure how many librarians still use circulation cards, but this is Betty White. Betty is so bad-ass that if she still wants to use cards, who are we to argue?

In other news, I drove in to work this morning only to hear my rear car brakes squeaking (ugh, I'm no mechanic, but even I know that ain't good). I'm taking it to the shop tomorrow and hopefully it won't cause my credit card to weep for mercy. Also, while I just had quite a bit of time away from work thanks to the Super Librarian Parental Units visiting, My Man is in desperate need of a break. So, we're both taking some extended time off to take advantage of Memorial Day weekend. We're sticking close to home, and have high hopes that by the time Monday rolls around we'll both still be alive. Ahhhh, togetherness....

Random Romance Sunday: Gambling Hotness

The Book: Blackjack's Lady by Cheryl Biggs

The Particulars: Historical romance, Kensington Zebra, 1999, Out of Print

The Blurb:

HE WAS HER WILD CARD...
As the feisty owner of the Silver Goose Saloon, Samantha was the best woman card player on the Mississippi. But ever since she'd been falsely accused of cheating, she vowed never to gamble again-that is until a poker-faced devil from her past threatened to reveal her true identity. Now Samantha was ready to risk all in the game of her life, but she hadn't counted on Blackjack Reid Sinclaire's striking blue eyes following her every move from across the table. Could she stake her heart on a player who might have an ace up his sleeve?

SHE WAS HIS QUEEN OF HEARTS...
Blackjack Reid Sinclaire had come to Natchez with one burning desire-to get revenge on Cord Rydelle, Samantha's partner at the saloon and the man responsible for killing his true love. Believing rumors that Samantha was Cord's mistress, Reid was determined to destroy his old enemy by seducing the redheaded temptress. But when he entered a game of cards against her, he soon discovered the tables were turned. He'd fallen for Samantha, and now he would gamble body and soul to win her...

Is It In Wendy's TBR?: Nope. Just goes to show I don't own every western romance ever published.

Any Reviews?: The only reviews I could find were three Amazon customer reviews - two of which were scathing and the other one from a reader who declared it "wasn't that bad." I tend to patently ignore all Amazon customer reviews, but far be it from me to keep the wealth away from Bat Cave readers.

Anything Else?: I'll be honest, I'm shallow and posted this one for the yummy hotness that is the cover. The back cover blurb makes the plot (and characters) sound like a hot mess, but dang - that cover = yummers!

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Zombie Club

As a librarian (a good one, I might add) I don't believe in telling people what they should read. People should read what they want. My livelihood depends on people reading, even if I might personally think they're reading crap. One thing you learn pretty quickly in this profession (or should - some librarians are clueless, and I don't claim them as my brethren), is that crap is in the eye of the beholder. And frankly, if I didn't learn that on the job, I would have learned it over the course of reviewing books all these years. So while I've seen other bloggers froth at the mouth over the Monster Mash-Up trend, I've pretty much just chalked it up to that....a trend. Hey, if it gets people to read - I'm not about to scoff. Frankly, I hate it when people scoff at my romance novel reading, so I'm not about to turn hypocrite and scoff at their....whatever they read. That being said, I did come across a new book today that even stopped me in my tracks. For about half a minute anyway....

Paul Is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion by Alan Goldsher will be released by a division of Simon & Schuster on June 22.

Gird your loins, here's the publisher's promo:

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S TIME TO REALLY MEET THE BEATLES.

For John Lennon, a young, idealistic zombie guitarist with dreams of global domination, Liverpool seems the ideal place to form a band that could take over the world. In an inspired act, Lennon kills and reanimates local rocker Paul McCartney, kicking off an unstoppable partnership. With the addition of newly zombified guitarist George Harrison and drummer/Seventh Level Ninja Lord Ringo Starr, the Beatles soon cut a swath of bloody good music and bloody violent mayhem across Europe, America, and the entire planet.

In this searing oral history, discover how the Fab Four climbed to the Toppermost of the Poppermost while stealing the hearts, ears, and brains of smitten teenage girls. Learn the tale behind a spiritual journey that resulted in the dismemberment of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Marvel at the seemingly indestructible quartet’s survival of a fierce attack by Eighth Level Ninja Lord Yoko Ono. And find out how the boys escaped eternal death at the hands of England’s greatest zombie hunter, Mick Jagger.

Through all this, one mystery remains: Can the Beatles sublimate their hunger for gray matter, remain on top of the charts, and stay together for all eternity? After all, three of the Fab Four are zombies, and zombies live forever. . . .

Oohhhhhhkay then.

As someone who literally grew up with The Beatles (Dad started his daughters on The Fab Four right around the time Mom started us on solid food), I'm not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, if The Beatles were zombies, that would mean John Lennon and George Harrison could still be walking the Earth. Of course they'd also be tackling people in the streets of London and eating their brains.....

Hmmmmmm

Anyway, the advance reviews I've seen are generally positive although, once again, the winner of the Best Review Ever Award goes to Kirkus, who declared:

"Goldsher turns in a classic rags-to-riches tale of aspiration and success that would do Horatio Alger proud, punctuated by no end of gore. Slight but fun. A little misguided, though, since everyone knows the Rolling Stones are the walking undead."

Heh.

And for the record, yes, I did order a couple of copies for work. And yes, I'm aware that makes me part of the problem. Somebody, somewhere is going to want to read this. Or else they'll stumble across it on the shelves and be so flabbergasted they won't be able to help themselves. Either way, we'll get the circulation stat - and we librarians love our stats. Dorks that we are.

TBR Challenge: Reunited....and it feels so obnoxious

The Book: A Convenient Proposition by Cindy Gerard

The Particulars: Silhouette Desire #1734, 2006, Out of Print

Why Was It In The Bat Cave TBR?: I stumbled across this one at a used bookstore, the back cover copy tickled my fancy, and I bought it.

The Review: Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Shallie Malone left tiny Sundown, Montana after high school and hasn't looked back since. Well, until now. Alone, and pregnant, she gets the itch to go back home. Once there, she literally runs into Brett "Mac" McDonald. They were best friends growing up, and Mac has always nursed a bit of a crush on her. He's very happy to see her back home, and before you can say reunion, these two are shacking up together. But what will happen when Mac learns the truth about Shallie and her unborn baby?

This book gets off on the wrong foot right away thanks to our heroine. Shallie is coming home to Montana because she was forced to resign from her kindergarten teaching job in Small Town, Georgia after they found out she was unmarried and knocked up. At which point I flipped to the copyright page to make sure the date read 2006, as opposed to 1956. Can people in small towns be assholes? OK, yeah. But this one strained, especially since the author kept telling me that Shallie's belly was still "flat." And then like all the annoying brain-dead romance heroines that have come before her, Shallie does nothing about being fired. Why? Because as she tells Mac:

"I know I could fight it. And I'd probably win. The truth is, I don't want to fight. I don't want to go back there."

Of course not! It makes so much more sense to run back to your home town (where you have no family whatsoever) and wait for a white knight to swoop in and fix all your problems for you. Because, you know, you wouldn't want to be proactive about not only your future, but your unborn child's future as well. Seriously, it's stupid like this that gives category romance a bad name.

As if this weren't enough to make my eyes bleed, the author then clues the reader in on the Baby Daddy. Her boyfriend started smacking her around, so Shallie leaves him. Smart girl, right? Well, actually no. Feeling unloved and unattractive, she goes out one night with some girlfriends and hops into bed with the first attractive man who pays her a compliment. Except, oopsie he's a married man! A married man who apparently has read Tiger Woods' Guide On How To Cheat On Your Wife because he didn't use a condom (I'm assuming here since birth control, failed or successful, is never mentioned). He has sex with Shallie once and she gets pregnant. How many women are in this guy's past? I spent the rest of the novel wondering how many venereal diseases could be swimming around in the heroine's blood stream. Not to mention his poor, unsuspecting wife. I sure hope that woman has good health insurance...

The hero seems like a nice enough guy - but he's very much too good to be true. He's handsome, he's charming, he can cook, he has a big fancy house and a vacation cabin in the woods, he keeps feeding the heroine decadent chocolate desserts etc. etc. etc. Frankly, the only thing I could find wrong with him is that he kept calling Shallie by the annoying pet name of "short stack." Certainly I'm all about the Beta hero, but after a while this guy got to be too much, even for me. Is there such a thing as Mary Sue heroes?

Of course the fact that Shallie doesn't come right out and tell Mac that her unborn baby is the product of an adulterous affair (even if she didn't know the sperm donor was married) blows up in her face when inexplicably the Asshole Ex Who Used To Smack Her Around decides to show up and informs Mac that he ain't the Baby Daddy - some other mystery man is.

::headdesk, headdesk, headdesk::

Not even two of my favorite tropes (friends-to-lovers and marriage of convenience) were enough to save this book for me. At which point you're probably wondering why I kept reading and didn't DNF it. I honestly have no idea. I blame it on the fact that it's a Silhouette Desire and therefore only clocks in at 185 pages. On the bright side though, it's now out of my TBR Mountain Range.

Final Grade = D-