Weekend Reads

I'm always mildly comforted when I see news stories like this one. It's nice to know the US hasn't cornered the market on perverts using the public library.

In other news, I wrapped up some reading this weekend. First up was my first ever Silhouette Bombshell read, Exception To The Rule by Doranna Durgin. I'm sorry to say I didn't think much of it, mainly because I found the backstory sloppy as hell.

The heroine, Kimmer Reed, works for the Hunter Agency. What is the Hunter Agency? Well that's a mighty good question since the author never spells it out. One gets the impression they're some sort of private sector bodyguard/spy organization. Anywho, her boss orders her to backwoods Pennsylvania to guard a computer geek who discovered a flaw in a laser-guided missile system. Or something.

Anyway, Kimmer isn't real keen on taking the assignment since she grew up in the area and her childhood was unpleasant. Further complicating the issue is that the computer geek has her own bodyguard - her sexy cousin Rio (a name that only exists in Romance Novel Land). But Kimmer is under strict orders to protect them from afar and not disclose the Hunter Agency's involvement.

I had a real hard time with this book, mainly due to the total lack of information on the Hunter Agency. It's hard to care much about the heroine's job when there isn't enough background available to flesh it out. This lack of explanation isn't helped by the fact that Kimmer's identity is really wrapped up in her job.

As for romance? Eh. Kimmer and Rio spend too much time apart for me to really "see" a romance developing of any sort. But they're good people separately, so I'm willing to overlook this. I also enjoyed Kimmer's character, as she can take care of herself and doesn't need the man to ride to her rescue. Kimmer's past is rife with possibilities as well, further exhibited by the existence of a Beyond The Rules, a September 2005 release and the second book in the Kimmer series.

I should also finish a non-fiction book on my lunch break today - Heavy Words, Lightly Thrown by Chris Roberts. This is a fun little book about the history of various nursery rhymes. Trust me, I've begun thinking of the term "goose bumps" in a whole new light (here's a hint, it has to do with ladies of the evening persuasion).

There's lots of neat-o British history here, as most nursery rhymes hail from the time of Henry VIII and the Stuarts. My only quibble is that the author assumes a lot. I have a degree in British history, but admittedly those wacky Stuarts confuse me sometimes (I can never keep all the pretenders and uprisings straight). So the average American might be flummoxed at times. Still, the author provides a glossary of British-isms for us dumb Americans, so that helps some. Also, he's a librarian and could surely use the added income - so I hope this book sells like hot cats. At the very least check to see if your local library has a copy. It's very entertaining in parts - especially when the author admits that Americans must have a sense of humor to adopt "Yankee Doodle" as their own.