I should have known the mayo had gone south. I mean, my tuna fish sandwich last night didn't taste entirely right. The Boyfriend said, "Well did you smell the mayo?" I said, "Yeah, it smelled like mayo." How was I supposed to know it was starting to get funky? So I'm not at work, having spent my morning in the bathroom.
Ah well, this too shall pass. At least I had a very good book to keep me company. And stand back....it was a Chick Lit novel. I know! I can't believe I loved it either!
(Now before you start sending hateful comments, I have nothing against Chick Lit. It's just it very, very rarely works for me unless it's blended with another genre - mainly mystery. So to find a highly enjoyable straight Chick Lit novel, let alone one that's a keeper, is sort of like Wendy's Version Of The Holy Grail)
Anyway, it's Ex And The Single Girl by Lani Diane Rich - who won the RITA this summer for Best First Novel and who I had never heard of. Not surprising since she writes romantic comedy and Chick Lit - two sub genres that I have a bumpy past with. Anyway, Ex is super fantastic, and I know it's $12.95 and under 300 pages - but dagnabit, it's worth a library run.
Portia Fallon has been dumped, on Valentine's Day no less. Peter didn't even have the decency to break up to her face. No he scribbled a hasty goodbye on the title page of his well-reviewed but poor selling literary novel. So for the last several months Portia has been moping, not working on her dissertation, drinking a lot of chardonnay, eating Cheetos and watching Pride & Prejudice over and over and over.....
Then her mother calls. Mags says she's hurt her back. Please come home and help us run the family bookstore. The "us" being Mags, Vera (aunt) and Bev (grandma). Portia doesn't want to go home. Then she looks in a mirror and realizes she's about one step away from becoming a Crazy Cat Lady. So she sublets her Syracuse apartment and makes the drive to Truly, Georgia.
Slight problem on her arrival though. Mags isn't hurt. The back is fine. No, the Miz Fallons have merely conspired to get Portia home so she can get laid. They even have the perfect candidate for a Flyer (Miz Fallons term for "Rebound Man"). He's sexy British spy novelist, Ian Beckett - who just happens to be in town working on his latest novel.
I really enjoyed this book on several levels. The writing is crisp and breezy, the dialogue sparkling and the characters endearingly eccentric. However, it is ultimately the emotional exploration and romance that sells me on this story. Rich writes funny very well, and it would have been very easy for her to stick with funny and not have Portia really examine her life. To figure out the mess she's in, Portia must confront the family curse (Penis Teflon - the fact that no man "sticks" to a Miz Fallon) and really look not only within herself but at the women who raised her.
The romance is sweet because Ian is slightly befuddled by the Miz Fallons, but never lets on. You can just tell they charm the dickens out of him even if they are a bit "barmy" (crazy). He and Portia are soon enjoying a lovely friendship and repartee when the Peter situation rears up. What's nice here is that Rich doesn't populate her story with any villains. No, even the guy you think is "bad" is allowed to be a "real" person. This makes Portia's decision and choices all the more complex.
As readers of this blog have undoubtedly noted, I've been a bit whiny about the books I've read lately. They've been "OK" but not "good" let alone "great." The problem was I wasn't reading anything that had a real emotional undercurrent. Nothing where the characters really had to think and work to achieve a happily-ever-after. Portia had to work, and because she did, even if she didn't get a traditional happily-ever-after I knew she would be just fine. In fact, I'd take that to the bank.
A really excellent novel. Highly recommended indeed and only my third "keeper" of the year. What can I say? I'm stingy
About The Bat Cave
Monday, November 28, 2005
Saturday, November 26, 2005
And Now For Something Completely Different
First things first, part two of my joint Romancing The Blog column is up. Go forth! Read! Leave comments!
Good news on the historical sub genre front thanks to those zany folks over at Harlequin. I practically leapt off my sofa when I read the following on page 10 of the January issue of Romantic Times:
The HH line continues to be one of my favorites, so I was hugely relieved when Harlequin reconsidered their original plan to discontinue the line in retail markets. Now I learn that they plan to publish some different locales! Hooray!
What I've always loved about the line is that it continues to publish a variety. Every month you don't see just one setting. They regularly publish medievals, Regencies, westerns and other American settings. Unlike other historical publishers (cough, cough Avon), you won't find one setting for all their books coming out on any given month.
And now they're broadening their horizons even more. I'm so happy I could squeal.
Squeeeeeeee!
Good news on the historical sub genre front thanks to those zany folks over at Harlequin. I practically leapt off my sofa when I read the following on page 10 of the January issue of Romantic Times:
"The struggling Harlequin Historical line seemed to be on a deathwatch in mid-2005. Harlequin even issued a release stating it would stop acquiring for the line. But the company changed its mind in early fall, and thankfully for fans, the line will continue with some improvements, according to Senior Editor Linda Fildew. 'When we took the decision to keep faith with what still remains a popular genre in North America, we realized we would need to refocus Harlequin Historical.' For 2006, that means new locales and time periods, like 19th-century Nova Scotia, Regency Malta and ancient Rome." (emphasis mine).
The HH line continues to be one of my favorites, so I was hugely relieved when Harlequin reconsidered their original plan to discontinue the line in retail markets. Now I learn that they plan to publish some different locales! Hooray!
What I've always loved about the line is that it continues to publish a variety. Every month you don't see just one setting. They regularly publish medievals, Regencies, westerns and other American settings. Unlike other historical publishers (cough, cough Avon), you won't find one setting for all their books coming out on any given month.
And now they're broadening their horizons even more. I'm so happy I could squeal.
Squeeeeeeee!
Friday, November 25, 2005
It's Always About Sex With You
Go forth! Read my new column up at Romancing The Blog!
OK, actually it's not exclusively mine. It's a joint column with Alyssa, AngieW and Nicole - and it's a two-parter (so check back tomorrow).
Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. This was the first year I prepared dinner all by myself, and we didn't get food poisoning. It's a Thanksgiving miracle!
Now to get through the leftovers....
OK, actually it's not exclusively mine. It's a joint column with Alyssa, AngieW and Nicole - and it's a two-parter (so check back tomorrow).
Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. This was the first year I prepared dinner all by myself, and we didn't get food poisoning. It's a Thanksgiving miracle!
Now to get through the leftovers....
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Losing My Sense Of Humor
It's like this - if I don't read a good book soon I may become a danger to myself and others. Seriously. I'm not asking for the moon here. It doesn't have to be a great book. Just entertaining. And it really shouldn't annoy me on any level. Is that too much to ask?
I was seriously stoked when I learned that Lethal by Shari Shattuck had a publication date (June 2005). And while it languished in my TBR for several months (hey, I have books to review ya know!), I got to it fairly quickly given that my usual M.O. is too leave books lying around for years.
Talk about a major disappointment.
I adored this author's debut, Loaded. I loved that it had a crime noir atmosphere (as in "gritty"), and it featured a strong, not always likeable, female protagonist. I also found the suspense thread to be quite good, as it put our lead character in a bit of peril.
Lethal features none of these things.
There's a small shred of "gritty" left, but it's shoved off into the corner. The heroine, once strong and independent, morphs into whiny and spoiled during stretches and the suspense thread blows monkey chunks.
Some of this might constitute spoilers - so you've been warned.
Callaway "Cally" Wilde is shopping in Little Toyko during her lunch break from jury duty. That's when she spies a thug harrassing a pretty Japanese girl and rides to the rescue. The pretty Japanese girl, Aya, is a medical student who finds herself being harrassed by Very Bad Men. So Cally and her boyfriend, Detective Evan Paley, agree to help her.
I think I've read too many mystery novels, because when an author does things even slightly half-assed it jumps out from the page at me. The suspense thread here remains entirely too convoluted for too long. Between Aya's "guardian" (OK, sugar daddy), a South American drug lord, and Aya's "little sister" the whole thing spins drunkenly out of control. Plus, Cally is so damn stubborn she fails to see what the reader knows immediately - that Aya is not only not telling her the whole truth but she's also playing her like a fiddle.
Frankly the Cally in Loaded was much smarter than that. Given that Lethal takes place only 8 months later in time, I wonder what happened? Did Cally take to snorting coke again? Did she get dropped on her head? Is all the incredible sex with Evan killing off brain cells?
I was pretty much annoyed by this whole book until the ending. The final chapter is rather good, and advances the Cally/Evan relationship quite nicely. But other than that? Meh.
I was seriously stoked when I learned that Lethal by Shari Shattuck had a publication date (June 2005). And while it languished in my TBR for several months (hey, I have books to review ya know!), I got to it fairly quickly given that my usual M.O. is too leave books lying around for years.
Talk about a major disappointment.
I adored this author's debut, Loaded. I loved that it had a crime noir atmosphere (as in "gritty"), and it featured a strong, not always likeable, female protagonist. I also found the suspense thread to be quite good, as it put our lead character in a bit of peril.
Lethal features none of these things.
There's a small shred of "gritty" left, but it's shoved off into the corner. The heroine, once strong and independent, morphs into whiny and spoiled during stretches and the suspense thread blows monkey chunks.
Some of this might constitute spoilers - so you've been warned.
Callaway "Cally" Wilde is shopping in Little Toyko during her lunch break from jury duty. That's when she spies a thug harrassing a pretty Japanese girl and rides to the rescue. The pretty Japanese girl, Aya, is a medical student who finds herself being harrassed by Very Bad Men. So Cally and her boyfriend, Detective Evan Paley, agree to help her.
I think I've read too many mystery novels, because when an author does things even slightly half-assed it jumps out from the page at me. The suspense thread here remains entirely too convoluted for too long. Between Aya's "guardian" (OK, sugar daddy), a South American drug lord, and Aya's "little sister" the whole thing spins drunkenly out of control. Plus, Cally is so damn stubborn she fails to see what the reader knows immediately - that Aya is not only not telling her the whole truth but she's also playing her like a fiddle.
Frankly the Cally in Loaded was much smarter than that. Given that Lethal takes place only 8 months later in time, I wonder what happened? Did Cally take to snorting coke again? Did she get dropped on her head? Is all the incredible sex with Evan killing off brain cells?
I was pretty much annoyed by this whole book until the ending. The final chapter is rather good, and advances the Cally/Evan relationship quite nicely. But other than that? Meh.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Am I Talking Here?
I swear I don't make this stuff up.
We just had a patron come into the library that needed to use the computer. After flashing us his picture ID, we went to issue him a card. Guess what? He's already in the system.
"Do you have a card that looks like this (holding up an example) at home sir?"
"Yes I do."
OK, so since he needs to use the Internet I offer to let him on using a guest pass.
"Do you need to print anything sir?"
"No, I just need to get on this web site."
"OK, because you cannot print using a guest pass."
So I sign him on to an open computer. Guess what? He has no clue how to use the Internet. So one of my librarians offers to help him. Guess what? Apparantly this web site he wants on is "secret."
Sometimes I think libraries should come equipped with that robot from Lost In Space who will stand at the front door and spin around saying "danger danger" when someone "not right" crosses the threshold. I wonder if I could convince my boss of the expense...
Anyway my librarian finds what he wants (an entry form) and I overhear her say - "OK, this is how you print."
That's when I say, "Librarian's name, he cannot print - he's using a guest pass."
My librarian then suggests he goes to Kinkos to print up the form because, suprise suprise, he needs to fax the entry form (a service my library doesn't offer). He then explains he can't do that since he has no money. Nevermind that the contest he wants to enter has a $1000 entry fee.
He leaves in a huff.
Some days I wonder how I've made it this far without keeping a bottle of Jack in my bottom desk drawer.
We just had a patron come into the library that needed to use the computer. After flashing us his picture ID, we went to issue him a card. Guess what? He's already in the system.
"Do you have a card that looks like this (holding up an example) at home sir?"
"Yes I do."
OK, so since he needs to use the Internet I offer to let him on using a guest pass.
"Do you need to print anything sir?"
"No, I just need to get on this web site."
"OK, because you cannot print using a guest pass."
So I sign him on to an open computer. Guess what? He has no clue how to use the Internet. So one of my librarians offers to help him. Guess what? Apparantly this web site he wants on is "secret."
Sometimes I think libraries should come equipped with that robot from Lost In Space who will stand at the front door and spin around saying "danger danger" when someone "not right" crosses the threshold. I wonder if I could convince my boss of the expense...
Anyway my librarian finds what he wants (an entry form) and I overhear her say - "OK, this is how you print."
That's when I say, "Librarian's name, he cannot print - he's using a guest pass."
My librarian then suggests he goes to Kinkos to print up the form because, suprise suprise, he needs to fax the entry form (a service my library doesn't offer). He then explains he can't do that since he has no money. Nevermind that the contest he wants to enter has a $1000 entry fee.
He leaves in a huff.
Some days I wonder how I've made it this far without keeping a bottle of Jack in my bottom desk drawer.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
That's Hot!
Seriously I cannot believe I'm up this early on a Sunday (it's 6AM where I am). That's what I get for polishing off a bottle of wine last night, by myself. First I woke up with acid reflux, then I had weird dreams, then I woke up hung over.I have to remember I'm not 21 anymore.
Anyway, I was web surfing last night and came across a really hot cover. From Ellora's Cave no less. Normally I find EC covers deplorable. They either "look" like small press covers (as in, gawd awful) or there's entirely too much beef cake for my liking. But this cover? Hot. Really flippin' hot.
I love corset covers though. For one thing, I think they scream "historical!" and for another they're sexy as all hell. Of course I'm not real anxious to start wearing them myself - but it's easy to see why they were the height of fashion for so many years. This chick will have no problem landing herself a man if she parades around like that! And one can assume that because she's in an EC book, she'll get her man. Heck, probably lots of men.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Brain Candy
The boyfriend is currently watching boxing. And while I adore Floyd Mayweather Jr. (he's from Michigan, plus he's really pretty), I'm just not much of a fan of the sport. Too many dirty politics, corrupt promoters and the mob have a tendency to turn me off.
So I thought I'd do a drive by blogging on Ecstasy by Nicole Jordan, which I wrapped up Friday night.
I'm not sure what it is about Jordan's books, but I tend to read them really fast. I'm not sure if it's her writing style, her tendency towards multiple sex scenes, or what - but it's like her books are brain candy. Ecstasy was pretty good, but it's one of those books that could have used closer attention in the editing process.
Raven Kendrick is a bastard. Her mother had the nerve to fall in love with a married man and get pregnant. To avoid scandal, she then married another - a man who despised her and never let Raven forget the origins of her birth. On her deathbed, Raven's mother made her daughter promise to marry a title and take her rightful place in London society.
Raven is all set to marry a duke, when Sean Lasseter kidnaps her. Having spurned his advances, and for the mere fact that he's nutso, Sean then drugs her and ties her up in his brother's gambling hell. Kell Lasseter learns of what has happened and rescues Raven. Um, sort of.
Raven is in a bad way. She has stood a duke up at the alter and her reputation is in tatters. Compouding this is the reputation of her rescuer - for it is rumored that Kell murdered his uncle. However, with no other option, Raven accepts a marriage proposal from Kell in order to salvage some sort of life for herself among London society.
Most of this story works. Raven is spirited and independent, having been raised in the Carribbean. However she's deadly serious about doing right by her mother's memory - that means marrying up and not falling in love. Her mother falling in love is what brought her family to ruins, and Raven isn't about to make that mistake.
Kell is desperately trying to forget his hard scrabble childhood - but London won't let him. Not only is he rumored to be a murderer, he's also Irish - which in most eyes is the worse sin. To top this off, his younger brother is a mess. Kell cannot forget that he promised his mother to take care of Sean, and that he failed miserably.
What doesn't work? This story really drags in spots. It's about 100 pages too long. And while the sex is hot stuff (whoa doggie), it bogs down the latter half of the book. Jordan also has a tendency to get repetitive when it comes to the characters' internal angst.
Still it was a quick guilty pleasure read - ideal for vacation or a day at the beach. And here in California, every day is a day at the beach...
So I thought I'd do a drive by blogging on Ecstasy by Nicole Jordan, which I wrapped up Friday night.
I'm not sure what it is about Jordan's books, but I tend to read them really fast. I'm not sure if it's her writing style, her tendency towards multiple sex scenes, or what - but it's like her books are brain candy. Ecstasy was pretty good, but it's one of those books that could have used closer attention in the editing process.
Raven Kendrick is a bastard. Her mother had the nerve to fall in love with a married man and get pregnant. To avoid scandal, she then married another - a man who despised her and never let Raven forget the origins of her birth. On her deathbed, Raven's mother made her daughter promise to marry a title and take her rightful place in London society.
Raven is all set to marry a duke, when Sean Lasseter kidnaps her. Having spurned his advances, and for the mere fact that he's nutso, Sean then drugs her and ties her up in his brother's gambling hell. Kell Lasseter learns of what has happened and rescues Raven. Um, sort of.
Raven is in a bad way. She has stood a duke up at the alter and her reputation is in tatters. Compouding this is the reputation of her rescuer - for it is rumored that Kell murdered his uncle. However, with no other option, Raven accepts a marriage proposal from Kell in order to salvage some sort of life for herself among London society.
Most of this story works. Raven is spirited and independent, having been raised in the Carribbean. However she's deadly serious about doing right by her mother's memory - that means marrying up and not falling in love. Her mother falling in love is what brought her family to ruins, and Raven isn't about to make that mistake.
Kell is desperately trying to forget his hard scrabble childhood - but London won't let him. Not only is he rumored to be a murderer, he's also Irish - which in most eyes is the worse sin. To top this off, his younger brother is a mess. Kell cannot forget that he promised his mother to take care of Sean, and that he failed miserably.
What doesn't work? This story really drags in spots. It's about 100 pages too long. And while the sex is hot stuff (whoa doggie), it bogs down the latter half of the book. Jordan also has a tendency to get repetitive when it comes to the characters' internal angst.
Still it was a quick guilty pleasure read - ideal for vacation or a day at the beach. And here in California, every day is a day at the beach...
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
3 Heart Hell
TRR reviews book on a scale of 1-5 hearts. I reserve one heart rating for pure dreck. Those books that make me want to shoot myself, ram my head against a wall, or *shudder* do house work instead of read. Five heart books are those super-fantastic books that I don't want to end. I'm quite stingy with these. In fact, I didn't review one five heart book in all of 2004, and have only granted that status once in 2005 (Prairie Wife by Cheryl St. John for those of you keeping score).
Three heart books are the worst to write reviews for. Those are the "average" books. The books that are pleasant reads, but have problems that are hard to overlook. I just turned in a review for my 3rd three heart book in a row. I'm starting to get punchy.
I'm feeling guilty about this, but The Texan's Reward by Jodi Thomas was that third book. Don't get me wrong, it's a pleasant read, has a nice style and a large cast of interesting characters. Too bad there's barely a romance to speak of.
Jacob Dalton is a Texas Ranger who has spent most of his adult life rescuing an orphan girl nicknamed "Two Bits" from one scrap or another. Well "Two Bits" is now grown up, a woman thanks to puberty and schooling back east. Nell Smith now has the ability to kick Jacob's libido into gear.
Crippled in an ambush, and bound to a wheelchair, Nell decides she needs to get married. She needs a husband to help her oversee the ranches she inherited. When Jacob gets wind of her fool plan (she's taken out newspaper ads!), he rides back into town and proposes to her.
Nell is not real hot over this proposal. She does love Jacob - too much to tie him down to marriage with a cripple. He deserves a woman who can give him everything - a settled life and children.
What works here? Well Thomas can write and she has a way with characters. Nell has a habit of taking in strays, and her home across the tracks is soon stuffed to the rafters.
What doesn't work? Um, where's the romance? When Jacob and Nell aren't arguing about marrying, they're dealing with external conflict. This includes missing gold, a train robbery and the secondary cast. In fact, Jacob spends a large portion of the novel away on Texas Ranger business. There is no courtship here. There is no wooing. A couple of tender interludes do not a romance make.
The Texan's Reward is a spin-off of Thomas' Wife Lottery series (all of which are still in my TBR thanks). From what I can figure, fans of the series were really looking forward to this book and I'm sorry to report that the romance is rather lackluster.
Still I've read much, much, much worse. It's just a shame this wasn't better. It has a lot of potential, but it just never quite hits the jackpot.
Three heart books are the worst to write reviews for. Those are the "average" books. The books that are pleasant reads, but have problems that are hard to overlook. I just turned in a review for my 3rd three heart book in a row. I'm starting to get punchy.
I'm feeling guilty about this, but The Texan's Reward by Jodi Thomas was that third book. Don't get me wrong, it's a pleasant read, has a nice style and a large cast of interesting characters. Too bad there's barely a romance to speak of.
Jacob Dalton is a Texas Ranger who has spent most of his adult life rescuing an orphan girl nicknamed "Two Bits" from one scrap or another. Well "Two Bits" is now grown up, a woman thanks to puberty and schooling back east. Nell Smith now has the ability to kick Jacob's libido into gear.
Crippled in an ambush, and bound to a wheelchair, Nell decides she needs to get married. She needs a husband to help her oversee the ranches she inherited. When Jacob gets wind of her fool plan (she's taken out newspaper ads!), he rides back into town and proposes to her.
Nell is not real hot over this proposal. She does love Jacob - too much to tie him down to marriage with a cripple. He deserves a woman who can give him everything - a settled life and children.
What works here? Well Thomas can write and she has a way with characters. Nell has a habit of taking in strays, and her home across the tracks is soon stuffed to the rafters.
What doesn't work? Um, where's the romance? When Jacob and Nell aren't arguing about marrying, they're dealing with external conflict. This includes missing gold, a train robbery and the secondary cast. In fact, Jacob spends a large portion of the novel away on Texas Ranger business. There is no courtship here. There is no wooing. A couple of tender interludes do not a romance make.
The Texan's Reward is a spin-off of Thomas' Wife Lottery series (all of which are still in my TBR thanks). From what I can figure, fans of the series were really looking forward to this book and I'm sorry to report that the romance is rather lackluster.
Still I've read much, much, much worse. It's just a shame this wasn't better. It has a lot of potential, but it just never quite hits the jackpot.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Another So-So Read
I wrapped up Fool's Gold by Jennifer Skully this weekend and had the exact same reaction to it as I did to In Deep Voodoo by Stephanie Bond. It was a fun, light read - but dang if it didn't have problems. This time it was the conflict.
Simone Chandler went bust when the dotcom bubble burst, so she decides to relocate to dusty Goldstone, Nevada to lick her wounds. She lives in a trailer (it has a foundation thankyouverymuch) and writes Internet erotica for a living. People pay Simone to spin fantasies for them.
Tyler "Brax" Braxton is a sheriff of a small northern California town and desperately needs a vacation. He travels to Goldstone at his sister's request because her marriage is on the rocks. Maggie suspects her husband, Carl, is having an affair.
Brax soon meets Simone and is very intrigued. Not to mention very, very horny. But Simone has apparantly been corresponding with Carl via e-mail. Could it be Simone that Carl is diddling behind his wife's back?
What doesn't work? Well pretty much all the conflict. Why Simone just doesn't come out and tell Brax why she's writing Carl e-mail is anyone's guess. Her reasoning is incredibly weak, especially when coupled with the fact that she's a very good friend of Maggie's.
Also, Simone has a domineering mother that she's incapable of standing up to - until - yeah you guessed it - she hooks up with Brax and he's given her incredible orgasms. I'm sorry, but the feminist in me really cringed over this. Couple this with the fact that Maggie has a sexual hang-up and my eyes began rolling in the back of my head. What's Maggie's problem? She's a screamer in bed and her former fiance was apparantly embarrassed by it.
OK, first off - what man is turned off by an exuberant woman in bed? Maybe I'm hanging out with a bunch of deviants (which is possible) but most men I've known in my life are all about women having a grand old time. The more vocal the better. Heck, it makes them feel like they're doing it right!
And poor Simone - having so many vocal and powerful orgasms. Poor baby! Most women I know would give a limb (or a kidney) to have that problem.
Maybe I'm an old fuddy duddy (extremely possible), but these sorts of sexual hang-ups that authors give heroines tend to piss me off more than anything else. I figure by the time a woman hits 30 she should at least have some sort of clue.
Sorry about that. Sometimes my ranting gets away from me.
However the mystery works well - as long as the reader ignores everything HQN puts on the cover. Note to whomever writes back cover copy - when the murder doesn't happen until halfway through the book, it is poor form to disclose who the victim is on the back cover copy! This story would have worked a lot better with that element of surprise.
And spoiler to follow: the title itself blows the whole mystery angle, although luckily the author doesn't tip her hand to early.
So what works? I liked the characters - all of them. Despite the conflict they have to work with, they all seem like nice people. I also enjoyed the mystery angle once the author got around to serving it up on a platter - which takes the first half of the book.
So I'm recommending this one with qualifications. It's a solid vacation book should you be stuck at an airport this holiday season - but don't expect anything too deep.
Simone Chandler went bust when the dotcom bubble burst, so she decides to relocate to dusty Goldstone, Nevada to lick her wounds. She lives in a trailer (it has a foundation thankyouverymuch) and writes Internet erotica for a living. People pay Simone to spin fantasies for them.
Tyler "Brax" Braxton is a sheriff of a small northern California town and desperately needs a vacation. He travels to Goldstone at his sister's request because her marriage is on the rocks. Maggie suspects her husband, Carl, is having an affair.
Brax soon meets Simone and is very intrigued. Not to mention very, very horny. But Simone has apparantly been corresponding with Carl via e-mail. Could it be Simone that Carl is diddling behind his wife's back?
What doesn't work? Well pretty much all the conflict. Why Simone just doesn't come out and tell Brax why she's writing Carl e-mail is anyone's guess. Her reasoning is incredibly weak, especially when coupled with the fact that she's a very good friend of Maggie's.
Also, Simone has a domineering mother that she's incapable of standing up to - until - yeah you guessed it - she hooks up with Brax and he's given her incredible orgasms. I'm sorry, but the feminist in me really cringed over this. Couple this with the fact that Maggie has a sexual hang-up and my eyes began rolling in the back of my head. What's Maggie's problem? She's a screamer in bed and her former fiance was apparantly embarrassed by it.
OK, first off - what man is turned off by an exuberant woman in bed? Maybe I'm hanging out with a bunch of deviants (which is possible) but most men I've known in my life are all about women having a grand old time. The more vocal the better. Heck, it makes them feel like they're doing it right!
And poor Simone - having so many vocal and powerful orgasms. Poor baby! Most women I know would give a limb (or a kidney) to have that problem.
Maybe I'm an old fuddy duddy (extremely possible), but these sorts of sexual hang-ups that authors give heroines tend to piss me off more than anything else. I figure by the time a woman hits 30 she should at least have some sort of clue.
Sorry about that. Sometimes my ranting gets away from me.
However the mystery works well - as long as the reader ignores everything HQN puts on the cover. Note to whomever writes back cover copy - when the murder doesn't happen until halfway through the book, it is poor form to disclose who the victim is on the back cover copy! This story would have worked a lot better with that element of surprise.
And spoiler to follow: the title itself blows the whole mystery angle, although luckily the author doesn't tip her hand to early.
So what works? I liked the characters - all of them. Despite the conflict they have to work with, they all seem like nice people. I also enjoyed the mystery angle once the author got around to serving it up on a platter - which takes the first half of the book.
So I'm recommending this one with qualifications. It's a solid vacation book should you be stuck at an airport this holiday season - but don't expect anything too deep.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Miracle Worker
I just had an Internet user (I know, you're all surprised here), get snippy with me and one of my librarians because a web site she wanted to use wasn't loading.
Exacerbating this issue was that she was on the web site earlier and it was working fine.
I assured her I have no control over web sites. I can't fix them. If I could Blogger would always work wonderfully and my Yahoo mail would never freak out.
To prove to her that I really couldn't fix this problem I resorted to moving her to a different computer - and you guessed it - the web site didn't work on that machine either.
My clerk told me I should have said, "If you get your own computer at home the web site will always work."
Now why didn't I think of that?
Exacerbating this issue was that she was on the web site earlier and it was working fine.
I assured her I have no control over web sites. I can't fix them. If I could Blogger would always work wonderfully and my Yahoo mail would never freak out.
To prove to her that I really couldn't fix this problem I resorted to moving her to a different computer - and you guessed it - the web site didn't work on that machine either.
My clerk told me I should have said, "If you get your own computer at home the web site will always work."
Now why didn't I think of that?
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Ambassador Wendy
Who knew talking about romance novels would make me so darn popular?
I gave my romance novel presentation for the second time yesterday - this time to a group of librarians from different libraries within the county where I work (not just my library system). I was a big hit - again. Most of the comments I heard were, "What a lovely overview! Now I know at least a little bit." Or "I wish we had one of these for every genre."
I might end up giving this talk up to 3 more times. The head of children's services where I work wants me to talk to the children's librarians plus, there's talk of me giving this presentation to our library paraprofessionals (those people who help aid librarians but do not have a library science degree). Also, one of the librarians at yesterday's meeting expressed interest in me speaking at her library. A coup since they aren't within the library system where I work.
So what have I been discussing? Well I give a basic overview of the genre (What is a romance? Why are they sneered at? etc.), discuss the sub genres (historical, paranormal, contemporary, romantica etc.), what's hot right now, what's not right now, then a brief discussion on the RWA conference and the online romance community.
So far the favorite part of this presentation has been when I explain what TSTL stands for. That usually draws a big laugh. I also provide a list of handy web sites and even plug some area bookstores that are "romance friendly."
In other public speaking news - I'm without a children's librarian for the next two days. That means I had to do preschool storytime today (the kids must have had bags of sugar for breakfast) and a school visit of 60 grade schoolers tomorrow (I'm thinking of shooting myself this afternoon).
I gave my romance novel presentation for the second time yesterday - this time to a group of librarians from different libraries within the county where I work (not just my library system). I was a big hit - again. Most of the comments I heard were, "What a lovely overview! Now I know at least a little bit." Or "I wish we had one of these for every genre."
I might end up giving this talk up to 3 more times. The head of children's services where I work wants me to talk to the children's librarians plus, there's talk of me giving this presentation to our library paraprofessionals (those people who help aid librarians but do not have a library science degree). Also, one of the librarians at yesterday's meeting expressed interest in me speaking at her library. A coup since they aren't within the library system where I work.
So what have I been discussing? Well I give a basic overview of the genre (What is a romance? Why are they sneered at? etc.), discuss the sub genres (historical, paranormal, contemporary, romantica etc.), what's hot right now, what's not right now, then a brief discussion on the RWA conference and the online romance community.
So far the favorite part of this presentation has been when I explain what TSTL stands for. That usually draws a big laugh. I also provide a list of handy web sites and even plug some area bookstores that are "romance friendly."
In other public speaking news - I'm without a children's librarian for the next two days. That means I had to do preschool storytime today (the kids must have had bags of sugar for breakfast) and a school visit of 60 grade schoolers tomorrow (I'm thinking of shooting myself this afternoon).
Monday, November 7, 2005
Romance? I Know It When I Read It
I wrapped up a fairly good book this weekend. Unfortunately, I had to write a review for it. Why unfortunately? Because I felt the book was mis-marketed and will likely miss it's target audience. I'm sorry - it just wasn't much of a romance. However, it was an entertaining cozy mystery. What's a reviewer to do? Bail out and assign it an "average" rating and explain exactly what the book is in the body of the review.
The mystery reader in me really liked In Deep Voodoo by Stephanie Bond. The heroine, Penny Francisco, has just learned her divorce is final. She got to keep her health food store, and her cheating husband, Deke, got to keep the rambling Victorian house she lovingly restored. Now the town floozy she caught him in bed with is painting her house pink. Pink!
Penny's friends feel she needs to move on, so they figure throwing her a "happy divorce" party is just trick. Everyone brings gag gifts, anonymously of course, and with the annual Voodoo Festival going on in tiny Mojo, Louisiana it seems inevitable that someone would give Penny a voodoo doll dressed up like Deke. So Penny drives a pin through the doll's chest all in good fun - only to discover Deke dead in his home office a couple of hours later. Yep, stabbed in the chest.
Penny is prime suspect #1 - not because the police believe in voodoo, but because there is a ton of circumstantial evidence. Riding to Penny's rescue is B.J. Beaumont - a private investigator out of New Orleans, who just happens to be in town looking for a missing teen.
What works? OK, I like Penny. What woman alive hasn't either been the woman scorned or known the woman scorned? I also loved the menagerie of secondary characters. There are a lot here, and they all add to the story. In fact, Bond is setting this book up as the first in a series about quirky Mojo.
What doesn't work? The romance. For one thing, B.J. and Penny exchange about 3 sentences in the first 100 pages. It's not until Deke is dead that they spend any sort of time together, and even then it's to save Penny's bacon. Also, the story takes place in less than a week - so I'm all about believing the lust here, but the "I love yous" are a bit hard to swallow. Still, Bond doesn't make the mistake of having Penny pregnant with triplets and blissfully married in the epilogue. Thank gawd!
So I recommend this one with qualifications. If you're looking for a bang-up romance, this probably isn't going to do it for you. However, if you like lighter mysteries with lots of quirky characters and local color - then have at it! In Deep Voodoo works very well on that score. So well in fact that I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, which is supposed to be out sometime in 2006.
The mystery reader in me really liked In Deep Voodoo by Stephanie Bond. The heroine, Penny Francisco, has just learned her divorce is final. She got to keep her health food store, and her cheating husband, Deke, got to keep the rambling Victorian house she lovingly restored. Now the town floozy she caught him in bed with is painting her house pink. Pink!
Penny's friends feel she needs to move on, so they figure throwing her a "happy divorce" party is just trick. Everyone brings gag gifts, anonymously of course, and with the annual Voodoo Festival going on in tiny Mojo, Louisiana it seems inevitable that someone would give Penny a voodoo doll dressed up like Deke. So Penny drives a pin through the doll's chest all in good fun - only to discover Deke dead in his home office a couple of hours later. Yep, stabbed in the chest.
Penny is prime suspect #1 - not because the police believe in voodoo, but because there is a ton of circumstantial evidence. Riding to Penny's rescue is B.J. Beaumont - a private investigator out of New Orleans, who just happens to be in town looking for a missing teen.
What works? OK, I like Penny. What woman alive hasn't either been the woman scorned or known the woman scorned? I also loved the menagerie of secondary characters. There are a lot here, and they all add to the story. In fact, Bond is setting this book up as the first in a series about quirky Mojo.
What doesn't work? The romance. For one thing, B.J. and Penny exchange about 3 sentences in the first 100 pages. It's not until Deke is dead that they spend any sort of time together, and even then it's to save Penny's bacon. Also, the story takes place in less than a week - so I'm all about believing the lust here, but the "I love yous" are a bit hard to swallow. Still, Bond doesn't make the mistake of having Penny pregnant with triplets and blissfully married in the epilogue. Thank gawd!
So I recommend this one with qualifications. If you're looking for a bang-up romance, this probably isn't going to do it for you. However, if you like lighter mysteries with lots of quirky characters and local color - then have at it! In Deep Voodoo works very well on that score. So well in fact that I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, which is supposed to be out sometime in 2006.
Thursday, November 3, 2005
OK, You Can Shut Up Now
It's a dangerous thing to stand Wendy up in front of a room and ask her to talk about romance novels. But that's what I was asked to do today, and I think it went fairly well.
I did a presentation at a meeting this morning for all of the library system's adult services librarians. It was basically a general reader's advisory talk about romances. So I covered things like all the sub genres, nifty web sites, and how librarians could help/cater to romance readers who use the library.
I never know how my attempts at public speaking will go. I tried to keep the presentation lively (especially during the romantica/erotica discussion!), and tried to address issues that several readers have mentioned to me in the past. Most importantly I hammered home that reader's advisory is about finding a book the patron will enjoy - not a book the librarian will enjoy. So if the librarian thinks all romance is tripe (which it isn't of course), they should still treat the patron with respect and not sneer at them.
Thankyouverymuch.
Did everyone love my presentation? Well probably not - but the people who enjoyed it really seemed to enjoy it. The head of the department in particular was quite enthusiastic, and she tends to read non-fiction exclusively. In fact, she so enjoyed it she's looking into taking my dog and pony show on the road. I might be giving this exact same talk next week at a different library function.
Stay tuned.
I did a presentation at a meeting this morning for all of the library system's adult services librarians. It was basically a general reader's advisory talk about romances. So I covered things like all the sub genres, nifty web sites, and how librarians could help/cater to romance readers who use the library.
I never know how my attempts at public speaking will go. I tried to keep the presentation lively (especially during the romantica/erotica discussion!), and tried to address issues that several readers have mentioned to me in the past. Most importantly I hammered home that reader's advisory is about finding a book the patron will enjoy - not a book the librarian will enjoy. So if the librarian thinks all romance is tripe (which it isn't of course), they should still treat the patron with respect and not sneer at them.
Thankyouverymuch.
Did everyone love my presentation? Well probably not - but the people who enjoyed it really seemed to enjoy it. The head of the department in particular was quite enthusiastic, and she tends to read non-fiction exclusively. In fact, she so enjoyed it she's looking into taking my dog and pony show on the road. I might be giving this exact same talk next week at a different library function.
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
Wendy, Librarian Queen Of The Universe!
I got really good news yesterday. Not only did I get a very nice annual evaluation from my boss, she also gave me a very nice raise. So hopefully I'll start seeing a little extra on my paychecks by the end of the month.
In other news, my employer didn't reimburse me for my trip to Reno for RWA back in July - but they let me go on company time. This meant I didn't have to dip into my own stash of vacation time. The catch being that I would have do a presentation upon my return for all of the adult services librarians. Guess what I'm doing on Thursday?
I'm all set to go. I whipped up a PowerPoint presentation, got a handy list of web sites together and even rounded up some giveaways. RWA sent me some stuff (rulers, buttons, bookmarks), plus I'll be giving away from autographed books I got in Reno.
I'm rather looking forward to it. Finally a chance to educate other librarians and show off my romance geek tendencies!
In other news, my employer didn't reimburse me for my trip to Reno for RWA back in July - but they let me go on company time. This meant I didn't have to dip into my own stash of vacation time. The catch being that I would have do a presentation upon my return for all of the adult services librarians. Guess what I'm doing on Thursday?
I'm all set to go. I whipped up a PowerPoint presentation, got a handy list of web sites together and even rounded up some giveaways. RWA sent me some stuff (rulers, buttons, bookmarks), plus I'll be giving away from autographed books I got in Reno.
I'm rather looking forward to it. Finally a chance to educate other librarians and show off my romance geek tendencies!
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