Review: Harlot

There was no way I was not going to read Harlot by Victoria Dahl.  A historical western about a heroine who is a whore?  How can Wendy NOT read this?!?  I didn't so much read it as inhale it.  While it wasn't everything I hoped it would be, it was still pretty darn good.  Albeit I recognize that it won't be a story for everyone.  You know, for reasons.

Caleb Hightower left Colorado to make his fortune in California.  The plan is to scratch together enough funds to marry the girl of his dreams, Jessica Willoughby.  Jessica's is a doctor's daughter and Caleb views her as more angel than as young woman.  What she sees in the likes of him, he'll never know.  Finally, after two years away from home, he's back.  Only to discover that his dream girl is now the town whore.

Well - sort of. 

After Jessica's father passed away she was left with the mountain that was his debts.  Correspondence from Caleb was so spotty, and due to behind-the-scene shenanigans from the villain, Jessica firmly believed he had abandoned her.  So she struck a bargain to keep a roof over her head and when she spurns the wrong man - word gets out that Jessica is making a living on her back.  Caleb shows up at her rundown farmhouse, says some awful things, but knowing that her taxes are soon due - Jessica makes another deal with the devil.  She knows Caleb wants to "punish" her - but damn, the taxes are due.  She'll give him a week and he'll give her $25.

This is one of those stories where I can immediately dissect why others probably won't like it.  For one thing, it's a novella.  I actually think the novella length works well for this story.  Yes, I would have liked more background about Caleb's father - but honestly?  The nature of the conflict (basically the evil-doing's of the villain) would have gotten tiresome in a full-length story.  I've seen other reviews about not connecting with the characters (code for, in my opinion, thin character development) - but I didn't have the same reaction.  I suspect because Dahl does a dynamite job with heartbreak and dialogue.  I felt like I knew these characters and gods my heart broke for both of them.

Which leads us to Caleb.  I suspect some readers will actively dislike him.  He says some pretty awful things to Jessica.  I wanted to slap him silly at moments, but I also understood his pain.  This is a man who literally built up Jessica to an ideal.  She's on a very high pedestal - one she certainly didn't ask to be placed on.  And when she falls from that pedestal, Caleb reacts poorly.  Now, is this her fault?  No.  It's Caleb's for idealizing "the ideal" - which stems from the belief that he's "not good enough" for her.  Hence the whole going to California thing.

What made this story work so well for me was the angst and the dialogue.  Our black moment comes in the form of Jessica putting her foot down.  There's a Big Ol' Confrontation between her and Caleb to spur us towards the finish line and it's a doozy.  I wanted to jump up out of my seat and cheer for this heroine.  It was Everything.  And the best part?  Caleb has his own Come to Jesus Moment.

My one solid quibble with this story stems entirely from my own dashed expectations.  I wanted a story about a heroine who was a whore.  As in, living above a saloon, multiple "clients" whore.  That's not Jessica.  Yes, she trades sexual favors for security - but it's not like she's taking in clients on a nightly basis (to go into greater detail boarders Spoiler Territory).  Is this splitting hairs?  Probably.  But my feeling is if you're going to write a romance novel with a whore heroine - why not go whole hog?  Although I'm a big enough person to realize this is all in Wendy's head and I just need to get over it.

It's not going to be for everyone, but it was for me.  I thought Dahl handled the time period well, the messy conflict, and made the happy ending actually believable (a tall order with a story of this nature).  Also, it was a "gritty western" - which is Wendy Catnip.  I know the contemporaries are doing well for her, but I hope Dahl has more westerns up her sleeve.

Final Grade = A-

Chit Chat and Various Book Ramblings

It's been a while since I've done one of these updates.  Couple that with some books I want to mention that I don't have a lot to say about and general holiday brain-melt, here we are.  So what's going on with me?

+++++

First, the big news - that Big Ol' Leadership Management Class Thing that I did for work?  Yeah, it's now done.  I survived 15 weeks, a group project (20 page written report + presentation), and had "graduation" last week.  Let me tell you how glad I am that's over.  Yes, it was a great experience, I learned stuff, and it looks shiny on Ye Olde Resume but....still.  I'm glad it's over.

+++++

In other news?  Star Wars.  Meh.  Look, I'll go see it.  Eventually.  But I have not been excited about this thing since it was first announced.  Now James Bond?  Spectre?  I was twirling around in circles....months ahead of time.  Maybe they need to put Han Solo in a tux and shove a martini in his hand?  I'd feel like I was missing out but....meh. 

+++++

I've gotten through some mystery/suspense reading and audiobook listening of late.  Chalk this up to buying a new car last year (built-in bluetooth!!!) and finally getting around to downloading the Overdrive app on my new phone which has WAY more memory than old phone.

I listened to Black Irish by Stephan Talty, mostly because the Buffalo, New York setting intrigued.  I went to college in Buffalo and lived there for almost six years.  Verdict?  Meh.  It was OK.  Mostly it was a Buffalo I didn't recognize (hey, I lived there almost 20 years ago and I was a college student pretty much "isolated" to campus life).  You know what this read like?  Like Talty wants to do for Buffalo what Dennis Lehane did for Boston.  It's on the gory side, so be warned, and while I didn't love it - I also didn't hate it.  It was also a fast listen.  I'll try the next book in the series.

On Keishon's recommendation I'm currently listening to The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo.  I'm glad she warned me about the slow start.  There's a lot of set-up and it seems to be all over the place.  I'm thinking I'm finally at the point where we're going to settle in for a more "linear" story - and think it will likely pick up for me now.  The Scandinavian crime "thing"  has largely eluded me - but I've been meaning to try Nesbo for a while and he's one of Keishon's favorites - so here I am.

Over the weekend I read The Sundown Speech by Loren D. Estleman, which is the 25th (!) book in his Amos Walker, Detroit PI series.  This was another OK read.  Estleman originally published it in a local paper as a serial about 10 years ago, expanded it, and now we have a book.  Amos is in Ann Arbor this time out so we have crunchy granola clients and a villain too smart for his own good.  It's not a book I would recommend to someone new to the series (Estleman's style is better suited for the darker noir world of rundown Detroit), but I read it in two gulps so....what am I complaining about again?

In the romance world, I tried but ultimately failed to listen to Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren.  As most of you already know, this book sprang to life out of fan-fiction and that actually isn't my complaint about it.  It also has a boss/secretary trope which, as we all know, Wendy loves despite knowing better.  No, the problem was I loathed these people.  Seriously.  The hero is an asshat and the heroine's body keeps "betraying her."  Seriously, those words are used in the text.  Her body "betrays her."  That's a romance writing tic that just needs to die a thousand burning deaths already.

Anyway, he's a jerk - keeps ripping her panties off - and even though she's a smart-mouth and fires back at him a lot - we still have Ye Olde Betraying Body thing.  I just couldn't see wasting my time on two characters that I literally loathed.  I've DNF'ed books for a lot less.

On the bright side?  While I normally have a hard time with romance on audio (it's a quirk - I have issues with someone "reading" me sex scenes), the narrator here (Grace Grant) was really quite good.  If you like romance on audio, you might want to look her up (my brief search turned up narrating for Christina Lauren, Lisa Renee Jones and Colleen Hoover).

+++++

I'm hoping to squeeze out a couple more reads before the end of the year - which is time to remind folks that if you're waiting with bated breath for my Best of 2015 list?  Keep waiting until early January.  Outside of mentioning a mere three titles as part of H&H's round-ups - I always wait until the new year arrives.  Because, you know, I could read something awesome-sauce on December 31.

+++++

If blogging doesn't happen again this week (and you know, it might not) - I hope that everyone has a nice, relaxing holiday.  Ho ho ho!

DNF Review: A Cowboy's Christmas Reunion

Outside of adhering to genre expectations (so for romance - the happy ending), I often say that authors should not think of trying to "please readers" when writing a story.  That way lies madness.  Why?

Because readers are nut-jobs.

We have likes, dislikes, baggage, and sometimes we're just being a colossal pain in the behind and decide we want to nit-pick everything to death.

Case in point?  A Cowboy's Christmas Reunion by Sasha Summers - which I downloaded from NetGally because 1) Christmas 2) American line, which I like and 3) new-to-me author and I believe this is her Harlequin debut.

I got to the 50% point and decided life was too short for me to keep reading about these people.  In the grand scheme of things was the book overly offensive?  Not really.  I've seen other reviews that have ranged from middling (Meh, it was OK) to positive.  But man, this couple just rubbed me the wrong way from start to the 50% point.  I thought maybe I was just being overly picky - and you know what?  Maybe I am.  I thought, Wendy - it's a category, just finish it.  But then I realized that the thought of continuing sent about as much excitement through my veins as say....a root canal.  And you know, my TBR.  Life's too short.

Josie Stephens parents are divorced.  Mommy goes through husbands like Kleenex and Josie finally settles in Tiny Texas Hometown with Daddy, who runs a bakery and offers stability.  She hates it - of course - even though Daddy is Father of the Year.  She can't wait to leave Tiny Texas Hometown and make her way in the world.  But she does have a high school sweetheart - Hunter Boone.  But not even Twu Wuv can keep her from heading to art school in New Mexico.  She doesn't look back (she stops calling him, stops writing, basically drops off the planet) and then gets all butt-hurt when Hunter - likely all lonely and bereft gets drunk one night, has a one night stand, gets the gal pregnant and marries her.

So now it's 10 years later and Josie is home because Daddy took a tumble, although blessedly did not break his hip.  She hates being home and naturally Hunter comes sniffing around because god knows why.  He's divorced now - although Josie doesn't know that right off the bat.  Why?  Because she told Daddy "Don't ever talk to me about Hunter!!!!!!" so he never told his daughter the marriage fizzled.  Never mind she also still has a supposed BFF in town.  Ugh.  Anyway, Hunter's ex is tarred and feathered as a tramp who HATTTTTTEEEEEEEDDDDD Josie.  Gee, wonder why?  Ex is a horrible tramp who divorced her husband who didn't love her, left her son behind and hit the rodeo circuit to be some sort of cross between competitor and buckle bunny - because OF COURSE SHE IS!  Before I quit this book she calls Hunter at one point and basically is all coy and coquettish and comes on to him - because OF COURSE SHE DOES!!!!

Hunter's kid naturally hates Josie because the Evil, Slutty Ex told him a whole bunch of lies.  Never mind that Mommy is never around and Hunter if Father of the Year - the kid hates Josie.  Anyway, Hunter's still got it bad so he keeps sniffing around Josie.  Josie is still all "I hate this town and ooooh Hunter broke my heart so bad and I can't trust him!!!!"

And Wendy began alternating between fantasizing about Supposedly Evil Slutty Ex running them over with a pick-up truck and musing if I had enough vodka on hand in the Bat Cave.

Have I read worse?  Yes, I have.  But there was something about this story that just rubbed me every which way that was wrong.  It was a super, intense dislike to the point where I suspect I could be overreacting.  Or maybe I seriously just need a vacation. 

There's a bunchy of cutesy small town shenanigans in play and OF COURSE Hunter has a whole parcel of hunky brothers who will inevitably get romances down the road.  There wasn't a single person in this story I wanted to read about or spend any time with and yes, I know it's a category by a new-to-me author but.....

I just couldn't anymore.

Final Grade = DNF

#TBRChallenge 2015: A Christmas Waltz

The Book: A Christmas Waltz by Jane Goodger

The Particulars: Historical romance, Kensington Zebra, 2010, Third book in trilogy, In Print

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?:  I'm a sucker for Christmas books and westerns.  I also liked the sound of the blurb. 

The Review: This is a perfect example of the right book finding me at the right time.  Oh there are faults. Plenty of them.  I see and acknowledge the faults.  But at the moment I was reading this book on a lazy Saturday afternoon/evening?  I didn't really give a good gosh darn about any of those faults.  I was swept up into the story.

Lady Amelia Wellesley fell in love with Carson Kitteridge when his Wild West Show toured England.  He told her wonderful stories about his hometown in Texas, his rambling ranch, how he loved her and wanted to marry her.  He even asked her brother, an earl, for her hand in marriage.  He tells her he will send for her once he's back home in Texas and Amelia waits for a letter that, you guessed it, never comes.  Desperately in love, and correspondence delivery not always being reliable, she decides to come to Texas anyway.  Surely Carson will be ever so happy to see her!  However the reality of the situation is that Carson lied about everything.  Small Forks, Texas is nothing like he described, he has no ranch, seemingly no source of income and his older brother is certainly no moronic simpleton that Carson has to protect and take care of.

Dr. Boone Kitteridge has spent his whole life cleaning up after Carson and marveling at how seemingly intelligent women fall for his brother's smooth talking brand of malarkey.  But when Lady Amelia shows up, so pretty she makes his eyes hurt, he vows to not bail out Carson this time.  What he can't seem to do though is keep himself from falling for Amelia - a development that has Boone totally flummoxed as he's - well, he's terrible with women.  No experience, lacking all the charm his brother has, and carrying a mountain of "I'm unworthy" baggage thanks to a father who beat the crap out of him while doting on Carson.  Boone was essentially raised by the man who ran the general store, and while that man was good to him - let's just say affection was in short supply.  So falling for Amelia is something that Boone is not only ill-prepared for, but it also scares him spitless.

What we have here is a romance heroine who reminds us all that women, for as awesome as we are, can be completely and totally stupid when it comes to men.  Carson lied about everything to Amelia because, you guessed it, he wanted to get under her skirts.  To that end he simply told her everything that she wanted to hear.  She realizes fairly quickly just what a liar Carson is, but it takes a little bit longer for her heart to catch up to that fact.  She fancied herself in love, and that's not something a naïve young women gets over in a hurry.  However as Carson digs himself deeper into his hole, Amelia begins to see Boone in a new light - especially when circumstances arise that keep her from immediately returning to England.

This book can be read as a stand-alone, although past characters (namely Amelia's brother and sister-in-law from A Christmas Scandal) do play a healthy role in the latter half.  As much as I liked this story, and in fact inhaled it, it's not without problems.  Namely Amelia who fluctuates from too-stupid-to-live (making the trip to Texas and not realizing before then that Carson was a smooth-talking lothario), naïve and frankly self-absorbed (she says some things to Boone that damn near broke my heart).  Boone is classic wounded, Beta hero (virgin hero alert!) but by the end I wanted to shake him senseless and scream, "Talk to her damn you! Talk to her!!!!"  Yeah, yeah, his incredibly crappy childhood - but by the end all of the conflict stems from both characters being unwilling to just admit to the other how they truly feel. 

There's also a moment in the story were something Very, Very Bad happens to a secondary character - and while I understood why that choice was made from a plot standpoint - it's going to bother some readers.  It just....will.  And while I'm at it - this has got to be the most Un-Christmasy romance ever written.  Basically?  There is no Christmas until the final chapters when the couple finds themselves attending a Christmas Ball.  Good for those readers who dislike holiday romances - maybe not-so-grand for those of us who love holiday romances.

So mileage is going to vary on this one.  I can see all the issues with it, but for whatever nebulous reason of the moment - none of those issues bothered me all that much.  I think it's because that during a year when my reading mojo has been MIA, reading a book in a day is the equivalent to stumbling across a unicorn in my backyard.  I got sucked in.  I fell for Boone.  I liked Amelia (warts and all) and I wanted them to get together in the end.  Which, of course, they do.

Final Grade = B

Reminder: #TBRChallenge for December

For those of you participating in the 2015 TBR Challenge, this is a reminder that your commentary is "due" on Wednesday, December 16.  This month's theme is Holiday Reads.  This is the yearly punishment that all TBR Challengers endure because Wendy cannot say no to a Christmas read.  This theme isn't just Christmas though!  Any holiday will do (Valentine's Day, New Year's, Thanksgiving - if you can dig it up in your TBR all holidays count!).  But what if you're a Holiday-Hater?  Hey, no problem!  Remember - the themes are totally optional and are not required.  It's not about the themes but reading something (anything!) out of your TBR.

This marks the final month of the 2015 TBR Challenge.  Where oh where did the time go?  If you've had fun participating and/or following along this past year - why not consider signing up for the 2016? 

Review: Scotland For Christmas

I love Christmas romances and tend to horde unreasonable amounts of them.  Case in point, Scotland for Christmas by Cathryn Parry which came out this time last year.  Authors this is how it works for me - send me an ARC and you are guaranteed a blip in your backlist numbers 12 months after release date. 

Jacob Ross is a Secret Service Agent who is eyeing a promotion to Presidential Protection Detail.  The fly in the ointment?  He has to get cleared by the department shrink, and she seems to think he has unresolved "issues" from his biological father's death.  Jake didn't know the man.  His parents divorced when he was barely a toddler - Dad stayed in Scotland, Mom moved to the US, remarried and Jake was adopted by his step-father.  His bio-dad was a police officer and was killed in the line of duty rescuing a businessman's niece and nephew from kidnappers.  Jake's Mom refuses to talk about it and she's such a precious fragile snowflake that Jake went into protection mode instead of demanding answers.  Needless to say when he went into law enforcement she darn near hit the roof.

But our guy needs answers if he wants to convince the department shrink and for that he needs to find a way to get close to John Sage - the businessman.  A friend of his gets him closer than he's been before - he hires him out to drive Isabel Sage, another of John's nieces, to a family wedding in Vermont.  John will also be at the wedding and Jake sees his window of opportunity.

Isabel Sage is keeping a low profile and attending college in New York.  She's hoping that earning a degree will help convince Uncle John to name her his successor of the family business.  Right now it looks like cousin Malcolm (he of kidnapping fame) has the inside edge and Isabel is determined to do her dead father proud (and wouldn't you know it - there's a death bed promise involved).  Isabel's wound so tight I'm half surprised she's not pooping diamonds - but stuff begins to happen after she meets her temporary driver/bodyguard Jacob.  For one thing her boyfriend dumps her, and for another?  She genuinely likes Jacob.  But what will happen when his Big Secret comes to light?

This is one of those SuperRomances that infuse a wee touch of mystery into the plot and it makes for a compelling read.  The kidnapping and aftermath of the rescue is literally haunting every character in this story.  Isabel was young when it happened, and her parents shielded her from most of the details - but just as Jacob's family hasn't "dealt with it" - neither has the Sage family.  Malcolm, although now happily married, doesn't discuss it and his sister, Rhiannon, is a reclusive agoraphobic.  Uncle John has practically hunkered down in a state of security driven paranoia and spends a good chunk of the story investigating people who he thinks might be doing harm to the family business. 

As much as I love Family Secret plots (I blame too many Gothics as an impressionable teen), they have one immediate drawback.  Which is to say you spend the whole novel wondering why the protagonists don't shake family members until their teeth rattle demanding the truth.  That happens a lot here.  Jacob's Mom was just....ugh.  Suck it up cupcake and tell your damn son the damn truth he deserves!  But instead she's treated like a fragile snowflake who will crumble at the first sign of crossed-eyes.  Same thing with Uncle John.  He's no fragile snowflake - he's just a manipulative ass.  Instead of being all like, "Sure son, I'll tell you what happened to your old man" - it's all "do this, do that, and maybe I'll let you come to Scotland for Christmas and maybe then I'll tell you what you want to know."

I started wondering if Scotland has their own Freedom of Information Act...

Anyhoodle....

That's not to say I didn't enjoy this story.  I really did.  The romance between Jacob and Isabel is a nice, slow build and the mystery is compelling.  I also liked how the author wrapped it all up in the end.  Jacob gets a really good scene with his Mom and the author does a good job of setting up the next book in the series (already out, naturally).  I haven't read nearly the number of SuperRomances this year as I have in years past and this was a good reminder that I'm overdue for a binge.  Oh, and Parry is now officially on my radar.

Final Grade = B

Deal Alert: Some Favorite Historical Westerns

I don't have the time or inclination to do "deal" alerts on the blog because - well - I just don't.  But these two crossed my path yesterday and are too awesome to not shout about from the rooftops. 

Please Note: I have no clue how long these deals are going to last, so don't let moss grow and all that.

Seduced by Molly O'Keefe is currently free.  O'Keefe is best known for her contemporary romances, and this is not only her first historical western, but the first in a series.  It's what I would call a long novella - probably somewhere around 150 pages and it's pretty great from start to finish.  It reminded me quite a bit of the grittier western milieu that Maggie Osborne used to work in.

I reviewed this one back when it was first published in 2014, and it was a very strong B+ read.

The entire Rock Creek Six series by Lori Handeland and Linda Winstead Jones is now available in a box set and only 99 cents!!!!  I read these back when they were first published (early 2000s) pre-blogging days (so prior to 2003) and it was one of my first binge-reads. 

Originally published by Kensinton's now-defunct Ballad line, I was assigned book three in the series, Rico, to review while I was with The Romance Reader.  I enjoyed it quite a bit (a B read), and naturally ran out and bought the remaining five books - inhaling all of them in a matter of a couple of days.  The premise of the series is that it follows six men who fought in the Civil War together and now that the war is over?  They travel west and hire themselves out as "guns for hire."  One of the heroines hires the whole lot of them to clean up her tiny, lawless town.

I'll be frank - I need to reread these to see how well they hold up, but I loved the whole series ten years ago.  The books are packaged in the box set in reading order.  The first book, Reese, was probably my least favorite (I rated it a B- at the time) - while the final two, Nate (which was nominated for a RITA) and Cash were my favorites.  These are full-length novels (300+ pages) and the whole series, packaged in reading order, in one box set for 99 cents?!  Heck, I own all of these in print and bought this just on the mere principle of the thing.

Happy downloading and hopefully happy reading.  If you do give these a whirl, I hope you end up enjoying them as much as I did.