Gee, Thanks Mom

Courtesy of my mother, who took the time to clip it out of the newspaper and send this to me. Gee, thanks for the depression Mom. What will I get for Christmas?

Credit: cartoonist David Fitzsimmons

Uncle Stevie, YA Fiction, Wacky Book Titles, Hype and Obsessions

It dawned on me this morning that since I tend to not post on weekends (uh, hardly ever), that I better get with the blog filler to bridge the gap until Monday.  Hang on to your hats!

+++++

Via Shelf Awareness, this little gem from Uncle Stevie (uh, Stephen King) about finding a book about "how kids really are" in the adult fiction section of his local bookmobile when he was a wee lad.  This brought home for me how far the whole concept of "young adult fiction" has truly come.  I'm firmly in the Gen-X camp, so I'm hardly ready for a walker and bingo nights yet, but even my choices were limited to Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High (seriously, just shoot me), and those tragic teen "romances" where the heroine has some mysterious illness and the popular jock-strap who falls in love with her holds her hand and cries copious tears as she lies on her death bed.

Seriously, dang kids don't know how good they have it these days.  And yes, I did walk five miles to school, up hill, both ways, in blinding snow storms, with no shoes.  Why do you ask?

+++++

From the Huffington Post, the 15 Most Ridiculous Book Titles Ever.  Be Bold With Bananas?  Uh, OK then.

+++++

So I finally read a copy of (apparently) everybody's favorite parody book, Go The F To Sleep.  This would be another perfect example of how much I deplore "hype." 

Basically it's about a parent who is annoyed that their precious snowflake won't go to sleep and the F Bomb is dropped on every single page.

Yeah, I don't get it people.

Now the reason I don't "get" it might have everything to do with the fact that I have a Gone Fishin' sign hanging over my ovaries.  Or maybe I just didn't think it was all that funny.  Or maybe I just expected something "more" after reading all the frackin' hype about this stupid book all over the Internet.

Or maybe I'm just bitter that I didn't think of it first and it's not me currently rolling around naked in a giant pile of money? 

Let's go with that last one.

+++++

Next on my reading tap is Obsessed: Erotic Romance For Woman, an anthology from Cleis Press edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel.  I agreed to review this one on the basis that I like shorts and Portia Da Costa contributed a story.  I haven't actually read any of these stories yet (lunch break, today), but I did get through Caridad Pineiro's introduction last night before bed, and she wrote something that really struck me:

"Daring women are present in each story of this anthology.  They are daring because each of them is wiling to explore their needs and find ways to satisfy them.  They are women who are up to the challenge and open to new possibilities."

Yeah, that.  That right there is the reason I fell in love with erotica so hard, and so fast, shortly after rediscovering the romance genre.  Back when the idea of "erotic romance" was so new that the very formation of the Kensington Brava line (and later Harlequin Blaze) was seen as the downfall of the genre as a whole, and sure to bring certain ruin upon all of our heads.

And while some were throwing themselves in the streets, wailing and pulling out their hair - the whole time I had to resist the urge to drink wine straight from the bottle and dance naked around a bonfire.  If even half of these stories hit me the same way that snippet of the introduction did, oh happy day indeed.

Stay tuned.

Beau Brummell Can Suck It

Oh look, a new post from yours truly over at Heroes & Heartbreakers!  I suspect my editor over there was ready to send out a search party.  Or else a mass of angry villagers carrying torches and pitchforks....

Anywho....

Today's topic du jour is all about my mad lurve for Harlequin Historical.  Go on over and take a gander!

Unusual Historical Spotlight: America, Medievals, France, Restoration England, And China

Before the Dawn by Denise A. Agnew

What You Need To Know: Publication date June 28, 2011, digital only

Description:

A fallen woman must decide to stay down, or rise and fight…
Elijah McKinnon has been found innocent of a heinous murder, but it doesn’t erase the hellish years in prison he endured. He boards the train to Pittsburgh a changed man, certain he will never feel free until he’s wreaked revenge on the brother who ruined his life.

The passenger who catches his eye is intriguing, but he’s seen her kind before. The kind who puts on airs—and looks down on Irishmen. Still, he can’t seem to stop himself from stepping between her and a pack of ruthless cads.

Mary Jane Lawson is grateful for the handsome stranger’s help, but her journey has a higher purpose: to rise above her shattered reputation and declare her independence, come flood or famine. Propriety says she should refuse Elijah’s suggestion they pose as husband and wife—for her own protection, of course. Her practical side says it won’t hurt to pretend, just this once.

Come nightfall, though, their little charade must be carried all the way to shared sleeping quarters, where their vulnerabilities become painfully clear. And when danger past and present threatens, trusting each other becomes a matter of life and death.

What Makes It Unusual: American-set!  An Irish hero!  A "fallen" heroine!  ::swoon::

To Touch the Knight by Lindsay Townsend

What You Need To Know: Publication date July 1, 2011

Description:

As a pestilence sweeps medieval England, a low-born woman has only the sharpness of her wits—and the courage of her heart…

Edith of Warren Hemlet plays a dangerous game. At the knights’ tourneys across the land, among the lords and ladies, she is a strange foreign princess. But in the privacy of her tent with the other survivors of her village, she is but a smith’s widow with a silver tongue. They are well-fed, but if discovered, the punishment is death. And one knight—fierce, arrogant, and perilously appealing—is becoming far too attentive…

Sir Ranulf of Fredenwyke cares little for tourneys: playing for ladies’ favors, when his own lady is dead; feasting, while commoners starve; “friendly” combat, when he has seen real war. Still, one lady captivates him—mysterious in her veils and silks, intoxicating with her exotic scents and bold glances. Yet something in her eyes reminds him of home…and draws him irresistibly to learn her secrets…

What Makes It Unusual: Medieval England, and OMG - The Black Death!


Silence in the Mist by Leah Marie Brown

What You Need To Know: Publication date July 7, 2011, mostly digital, but it looks like print-on-demand paperback is an option.

Description:

After bloodthirsty revolutionaries murder her family, Françoise Despres vows to avenge their deaths and fight the violent mob destroying her beloved France by becoming a spy for the counter-revolutionary cause. She knows great success, silently slipping between the shadows to carry secret messages that thwart her foes. But she never expected to come up against Sebastien de Bréze, a daring, clever cavalry officer in the revolutionary army and master spy hunter. Who will win this dangerous game of cat and mouse?

When Sebastien discovers the spy he has captured is actually a wily, elusive young woman cloaked in men’s garb and shrouded in secrets, he finds himself intrigued and titillated. But the crafty woman slips through his grasp and soon he finds himself chasing her through France. Undaunted, he makes it his mission to recapture Françoise Despres, body and soul.

What Makes It Unusual: The French Revolution.

The King's Mistress by Sandy Blair

What You Need To Know: Publication date July 26, 2011, digital only

Description:

The long way home could be the shortest road to ruin.
The king of Scotland is in a snit. Which means Britt MacKinnon, proud captain of the king’s guard, has an onerous task: fetch Alexander’s favorite paramour back to the royal bed—now. Never mind that the crown should be about the business of getting a legitimate heir. Especially since England’s Edward I would love nothing more than to seize an empty Scottish throne.

When the handsome soldier appears on her doorstep, Geneen Armstrong has to think quickly. Her twin lies abed in her cottage, pregnant with the king’s bastard. If the barren queen learns the truth, the foolish girl’s life won’t be worth a farthing.

She must somehow transform her graceless, plain-spoken self into her vivacious, talented sister. Then, after the court is convinced she carries no child, use her herbal knowledge to sour the king’s taste for her sister’s company—for good.

By the time Britt realizes this unusually articulate, ungodly stubborn woman is the wrong woman, tendrils of attraction have already tightened into a bond. A bond that will be tested when the king’s unexpected death puts Scotland’s very destiny at stake—and unleashes an ever-tangling web of court intrigues, secrets...and lies.

What Makes It Unusual:  13th century Scotland.

The King's Courtesan by Judith James

What You Need To Know: Publication date August 23, 2011, not sure if this is part of a series.  Anyone know? I've been informed that this is loosely connected to Libertine's Kiss.

Description:

Her body is the battleground

Sensuous, beautiful and determined, Hope Matthews is a favored mistress of the king. Her many charms have helped her rise from the gutter to the king's bed. But with the new queen's impending arrival, her nights in the royal chamber— and her hopes for security—will swiftly come to an end.

His honor a distant memory

Haunted by his past, hardened by the recent civil war, Captain Robert Nichols lives only for revenge. When told he must marry the king's courtesan to provide a cover for their affair, he's faced with a new low. Both are pawns of a great man, but married to their dreams of independence, their clash is inevitable. Can these two wounded souls realize the answer to all their dreams might lie in each other's arms?

What Makes It Unusual: Restoration England.

The Dragon and the Pearl by Jeannie Lin

What You Need To Know: Publication date September 20, 2011, book two in series

Description:

The Most Beautiful Courtesan of Them All…

Former Emperor’s consort Ling Suyin is renowned for her beauty; the ultimate seductress. Now she lives quietly alone–until the most ruthless warlord in the region comes and steals her away…

Li Tao lives life by the sword, and is trapped in the treacherous, lethal world of politics. The alluring Ling Suyin is at the center of the web. He must uncover her mystery without falling under her spell–yet her innocence calls out to him. How cruel if she, of all women, can entrance the man behind the legend…

What Makes It Unusual: 8th century China

• This is just a small sampling of upcoming and recently released titles.  Have you read any promising unusual historicals of late?

Picking The Bones Clean

After I attend RWA, it always takes me a couple of months to set foot in a bookstore again.  Conference tends to be an orgy of booky-goodness, and believe it or not - I tend to hit my saturation point.  Couple that with my normal state of TBR Anxiety, and it's pretty easy for me to stay out of a bookstore for a little while.

But with the news that Borders is closing for good, and the fact that I still needed to buy Collide by Megan Hart - I decided to hit the now closest, but not for long, Borders, the next town over.

I want to make this clear.  I went on Saturday afternoon.  The Going Out Of Business signs were hung on Friday.  People, the place looked like a cloud of locusts had rolled into town, and set up camp over the building.  It was chaos.  Romance novels in the mystery section.  Biographies in the romance section.  People had just swooped in like carpetbaggers, randomly picked up stuff, and then just as randomly set it down wherever the hell they saw fit (and by people - I mean shoppers, not employees).

I'll be honest, it was depressing.  Really, really depressing.  The Borders that used to exist around the corner from where I live, was one of the stores that was closed during the first wave.  It took a couple of weeks for that store to get in this state.  Now that the whole company is almost done circling the drain?  Yeah, 24 hours to look like something the cat dragged in. That tiny, orderly part of my librarian brain was screaming inside.  My skin started to itch.

I wish I had bribed My Man to come with me, if only to hold a spot in the checkout line while I took my time browsing.  I spent 30 minutes, just standing in line to hand over my credit card.  Now given the sheer volume of people there, and the 6 cashiers they had working?  30 minutes of me waiting is actually fairly impressive.  They were moving things along.

Still, I was a bit of a curmudgeon.  I know I was there, just like everyone else, picking the flesh off the dead carcass, but it's always sad to see the locusts descend after the fact.  After the business is kaput and no amount of consumer money throwing around is going to save it.  Plus just looking at my TBR pile should tell anyone that it wasn't my fault that Borders went under.

It's....depressing.  Because at the end of the day, as much as I think the Internet is awesome-sauce, as great and convenient as I think ebooks are, I'll be brutally honest: Nothing, absolutely nothing in the digital universe, has been able to duplicate that Browsing Experience for me.  That feeling of walking into any bookstore or library, seeing actual physical "stuff" on the shelves, and running my fingers over spine labels as my eyes skim across book titles.

If you can live without this, I say bully for you.  For me though, that browsing flips a big ol' nostalgia switch for me.  It's how I fell in love with reading.  When I got old enough, my Mom would let me ride my bike to the local public library.  Once there, I had no idea what I was looking for half the time.  I would just go to the general fiction stacks and let my fingers do the walking.  People, this is how I started reading Mary Higgins Clark, Marcia Muller, Barbara Michaels, Sue Grafton, Lilian Jackson Braun, and Nancy Drew.  I generally did not get book recommendations.  I browsed.  I tried stuff.  If I liked it?  Great.  If I didn't?  Back to the drawing board.  This is certainly a more hit or miss method to finding a "good" read - but you know what?  It's certainly adventurous.  And now I have one less outlet for my adventurous side.  Because once I got actual disposable income?  I did a big chunk of my browsing in bookstores.

Bugger.

Someone pass the cheese to go with my whine.

The Governess And The Sheikh

Marguerite Kaye continues on with Arabian sheikh's with her second full-length release, The Governess And The Sheikh.  This book is connected to last month's release, Innocent In The Sheikh's Harem through the heroines, who are sisters.  Like her older sister, Celia, Cassandra will also be wed off to further her diplomat father's influence.  However, unlike Celia, Cassie is more of a romantic, not nearly as diplomatic, and is prone to speaking before thinking.  And she's going to be a governess to a sheikh's daughter?  Yeah, this should be interesting....

Lady Cassandra Armstrong is the second daughter of a British diplomat and the "pretty" one.  In fact, Cassie is a real beauty.  She somehow manages to convince her father to let her choose her own husband, and she ends up choosing badly.  After she's jilted, she convinces Daddy to let her visit her older sister, now married to a sheikh, in Arabia.  Celia cannot stand to see the normally vibrant Cassie in such a state, so she proposes she become the governess for a neighboring sheikh, Prince Jamil al-Nazarri.  A widower, Jamil has an unruly eight-year-old daughter who has chased away more than one governess.  Cassie, loathe to go back to England and Daddy's snooty new wife (blah!), agrees to the challenge.

Jamil's plan to hire a proper English lady to be his daughter's governess is met with resistance among his advisers, who are all about "tradition."  However, those traditions have failed to bring his daughter to heel, so he's willing to buck convention.  He's hoping for a unattractive spinster, and instead he gets Cassie.  Uh oh.  Temptation from an Englishwoman is the last thing he needs, especially with his advisers pushing him towards remarrying.  But he's willing to give Cassie a shot, even if he thinks her theory on why his daughter is a hoyden (she's desperate for his attention) is patently absurd.

Let's start with the good - namely the hero and heroine.  Jamil is your prototypical Alpha hero without any of those nasty over-the-top asshole traits.  He's a sheikh.  He's used to his word being law and gospel.  He speaks, people listen, and nobody disobeys.  However, he does listen to what Cassie has to say, even if he thinks she's full of it.  There's no forced seduction nonsense.  He also admits his mistakes when he finally sees the error of his ways.  It does take him a long time to admit his true feelings for Cassie, but this is a guy who essentially was raised to believe that showing emotion = major sign of weakness.  It's easy to cut him some slack even when, as the 21st century reader, I think he's being a colossally clueless idiot. 

Cassie is beautiful, charming, sweet, and isn't afraid to speak her mind.  I liked that when she did get feisty, and did argue with Jamil, that she was always reasoned.  She never got overly emotional.  She didn't stamp her feet and pout like an insolent brat.  I also liked that she never backed down from a challenge, and that even though she claimed that she was done with love, she didn't close herself off to it.

What didn't work so well for me in this story was the writing style.  A little too much telling over showing creeps in on a fairly regular basis, and this kept me at arms length from the developing romance.  However this is one of those instances where it gets better during the second half, and things really begin to heat up.  By then I was invested in the saga of When Will Jamil Stop Being An Idiot And Realize He's In Love.

I know this will probably sound really odd to a lot of romance readers, but the one aspect of this story that really disappointed me was Jamil's daughter, Linah.  I know most readers tend to complain when child characters overpower the romance, but here?  I wanted a lot more Linah; to have her more fully fleshed out.  She never elevates herself above being a vessel, or a convenient plot device.  In fact, it takes a while for her to even have some dialogue after Cassie arrives in her orbit.  Since a big chunk of the conflict centers around Jamil's aloofness towards emotion, his loveless and cold childhood, and how that is effecting his relationship with his daughter?  Yeah, a more fully realized Linah would have been a major strength.  As it is, she seemed like an afterthought.  A way to throw hero and heroine together, and nothing more.

However, these aspects aside, I did enjoy this story.  Not as much as the first book, but it was a pleasant diversion and I still read it in one sitting.  Hey, that's not all bad folks - especially coming from a slow reader.  It didn't light my world on fire, but it kept me entertained, and it keeps the author on my radar. 

Final Grade = C+

TBR Challenge 2011: Wendy Makes Fangirls Cry

The Book: With This Ring by Carla Kelly

The Particulars: Traditional Regency romance, Signet, 1997, Out of Print, HTFGFRPO (hard to find and going for ridiculous prices online).

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: When I started reading romance, I was told I had to read Carla Kelly.  So like a diligent little worker bee, I set on the mission to collect some of her titles (most of them out of print, even back then), without paying exorbitant prices.  I believe I got this one in a book swap with a fellow reader? 

The Review:  Danger, Danger Thar Be Spoilers Ahoy!

Lydia Perkins is Cinderella.  Her mother is Romance Novel Land Horrible Mother Of The Year.  Her younger sister, Kitty, is a vacuous, brain-dead, selfish ninny - but golly, she sure is purdy!  Which is why the family is in London - to land Kitty a man.  She's way too much of a "prize" to marry some pimply-faced vicar's son in Devon! 

In a bid to get Kitty noticed, Mama suggests the girls go to St. Barnabas to "minister" to the wounded soldiers, just returned from Toulouse.  And by minister, I mean - stare and gawk.  It's apparently the fashionable thing to do, and geez, you can't expect the high-falutin' members of the ton to get their hands dirty tending to common, coarse soldiers.  I mean, like ewwwww!  It's at the church that Lydia runs up against Major Sam Perkins.

Sam needs a wife.  See, he made one up while he was off at war so that his tight-fisted aunt (who is quite wealthy) would cough up some dough to repair his crumbling estate (our Major happens to be an Earl).  Well, one of his subordinates took to the plan and ran with it.  Seems this fictitious wife wrote regular letters home to dear old Auntie and Mama.  Oh, and they also have a fictitious child.  Having survived the war, Sam's now in a pickle.  It doesn't take a genius to see a marriage of convenience looming dead ahead.

Per usual, Kelly writes with a clear-eyed honesty that reminds me of how well the Regency era can work in a romance when it's done right.  And by "right" - I mean with some actual history attached to it.  I also really appreciate her willingness to give me some of the riff-raff.  I can only read about so many Dukes before my eyes roll back in my head.  And while her hero here is an Earl, he's a blue-collar sort.

I liked Lydia quite a bit.  Her family walks all over her, but I enjoyed her little barbs, her smart-ass commentary, even if it did fly right over her dippy sister's head.  I also liked that she was willing to stand up for what is right, even when it means putting herself in the path of what could be certain doom.  She's forthright, she's hard working, and years of emotional abuse have left her own sense of self-worth worn down to the nub.

What doesn't work so well for me in this story is Sam.  He was certainly dashing and charming enough, for the first half - and then he slides right down hill.  He's been lying to his family, and expects Lydia to go along for the ride - which means living under an assumed name, living a lie, for the rest of her life (or at least until Auntie kicks the bucket).  Oh and since a child was also invented in this farce, that just means they'll have to swing by an orphanage and land themselves a tot.  OK, honestly?!   ::major eyeroll::

As eye-rolling inducing as all that was, that wasn't even the worst of it.  On their way to his home in Northumberland, they're attacked by bandits.  Sam, already wounded from the war, is laid-up when a surgeon needs to tend to him.  While he's still lucid, does Sam tell his lovely wife that they're actually in a town where one of his subordinates lives?  That this man's family would give them lodging - for free.  Not to mention loan them funds until they could access their own?  Oh no, of course not!  So Lydia is out of mind pinching pennies to pay the doctor and innkeeper, even resorting into going into business for herself (as a barber of all things!) and selling her hair!  She even contemplates pawning her wedding ring (which I would have done just on principle).  The author tries to sell this to me by showing that Lydia gains some self-worth.  Lydia now knows that she can do anything she sets her mind to and that her idiot family was wrong about her.  Gee, wasn't that so great of the hero?   "Helping" his wife learn that she has value?  And all the while I'm thinking:

What a Major Asshat.

Sigh.  So what I'm left with is a heroine I rather like and a hero who doesn't deserve her.  I do continue to enjoy Kelly's depiction of this era, along with her snappy dialogue.  But in this case?  The parts never came together in a satisfying whole for me.  Bugger that.

Final Grade = C

Other reviews:
The Romance Reader (5 Hearts or an A)
All About Romance (A)
Jennie's B(ook)log (6 out of 10)
GoodReads (average 4.12 stars)

The Month That Was June 2011

Me: Hey, hey Lemon Drop!

Lemon Drop:  ::dead silence::

Me: How's it going sweetheart?

Lemon Drop:  ::crickets chirping::

Me: Oh silly child, it's going to take more than the silent treatment for me to shut-up.  Well, while you decide if you're going to tell me what's wrong - let me talk about the books I read last month.  Even with RWA going on, I managed to read 11 books in June!  Sort of.  One of these was a DNF.

Lemon Drop: ::shrug::

Title links will take you to full reviews.

The Sheikh's Impetuous Love Slave by Marguerite Kaye - Historical romance digital short story, Harlequin Historical Undone, 2011, Grade = B

• Heroine survives a shipwreck, only to be rescued by men who roll her up in a carpet and deliver her to their sheik.  Sexy times, naturally, abound.  A nice sexy short story.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet:  Sheikh Ahoy!, Captive!

More Than Words by Carly Phillips, Donna Hill & Jill Shalvis - Contemporary romance anthology, Harlequin, 2011, Grade = B

• Latest anthology honoring Harlequin's More Than Words recipients.  A nice blend of "issues" and romance, and a great way to highlight community-active and driven women. 

Get A Clue by Jill Shalvis - Contemporary romantic suspense, Brava, 2005, Grade = DNF

• After really enjoying the Shalvis entry in the More Than Words anthology, I decided to pull this one out for my TBR Challenge read.  After 50 pages, I threw in the towel.  It managed to set off every single one of my Danger, Danger Wacky Hijinks Ahoy! alarm bells.  I so wasn't in the mood.

Billion Dollar Baby Bargain by Tessa Radley - Contemporary romance, Silhouette Desire, 2009, Grade = D+

• Billionaire hero and the heroine who loathes him find themselves sharing joint custody of an infant after their BFFs die in a car accident.  Would have been an ideal Guilty Pleasure read for me if not for the strong focus on the baby's paternity.  Blah.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Billionaire Hero, Adversaries!, Baby Ahoy!, Insta-Parents

What's A Housekeeper To Do? by Jennie Adams - Contemporary romance, Harlequin Romance, 2011, Grade = D

• Heroine forced out of family nest, takes job working for a writer hero with a looming deadline.  OK hero paired with a bland, vanilla heroine who needed to get herself a life - not a romance.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Wounded (Literally) Hero, Big Secret, Family

Fourth And Goal by Jami Davenport - Digital contemporary erotic romance, Loose ID, 2011, Grade = B+

• NFL wide receiver in major career slump hires heroine as a property caretaker.  The fly in the ointment?  They grew up best friends, ruined it by having a hot one night stand, oh - and she thinks he's responsible for the career troubles her Dear Old Dad is having.  Hot, Sexy Nookie, coupled with a wonderful emotional depth.  It'll steam up your glasses and pull the ol' heart-strings.

Innocent In Sheikh's Harem by Marguerite Kaye - Historical romance, Harlequin Historical, 2011, Grade = B

• When her husband is murdered by bandits, the heroine is rescued by the sheikh that they were traveling through Arabia to meet on a diplomatic mission.  Lush, exotic setting to go along with the lush, exotic sexy times.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Sheik Ahoy!, Virgin Widow, Sequel-Baitin' Sister 

Her Fantasy by Saskia Walker - Erotic romance digital short story, Spice Briefs, 2011, Grade = B+

• Warm for each other's form, hero decides to help heroine fulfill one of her sexual fantasies.  Guess which one.  What I loved about this short story?  It's a romance, oh and there's an actual story here.    Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Office romance, Menage a trois

Portrait Of Seduction by Carrie Lofty - Digital historical romance, Carina Press, 2011, Grade = B+

• A forgery painting heroine, and a bastard son playing spy for his aristocratic brother find themselves navigating political intrigue in Napoleon era Salzburg.  A wonderful forbidden love-style plot, coupled with fantastic world-building. 

Choke Hold by Christa Faust - Crime fiction, Hard Case Crime, 2011, Grade = No Frickin' Clue

• Sequel to Money Shot, featuring former porn star, turned vigilante, Angel Dare.  When her past finds her in a run-down desert diner, Angel finds herself protecting a young hot-head UFC fighter as a favor to his father, her former lover.  Releasing in October, I'm still mulling over my review.  In short?  I'm massively conflicted.  It's a strong book, well-written, page-turning even - but damn, it's even darker than Money Shot, and there are elements in this story that really pissed me off.

Should've Been A Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson - Contemporary romance, Harlequin Blaze, 2011, Grade = D 

• After hooking up at his sister's wedding, hero finds himself face-to-face with the heroine, who helped soothe his wounded ego after his divorce.  After getting through Choke Hold, I seriously needed a "sexy and fun" read, so I picked up this Blaze.  Sadly, what I got was conflict with the heft of wet tissue paper, coupled with series-itis (this is fourth book in a series - and yes, I've read the first three.  That somehow made it worse for me.  Blah.). 

Me: So, are you ready to tell Auntie Wendy what's wrong?

Lemon Drop: Ahem, I read your acceptance speech Auntie Wendy.  There's Mommy, Auntie Big Sis, even Memaw and Papaw.  No Lemon Drop.  That sucks worse than diaper rash Auntie Wendy.

Me: Ahhh, so that's it.  You're upset that I didn't mention you in my speech.  Look sweetie, you know I love you - but in all fairness Mommy, Big Sis, Memaw and Papaw have put up with me a lot longer than you have.  Plus, you'll notice I didn't mention your cousins, The Fairy Princess and The Flash, either.

Lemon Drop:  ::sniff:: I guess.....

Me: Tell you what, next time I win a Librarian Of The Year award, I promise I'll mention you.

Lemon Drop:  You better.

Reminder: TBR Challenge For July

For those of you participating in the 2011 TBR Challenge, a reminder that your commentary is "due" on Wednesday, July 20. 

This month's theme is Fairy Tales (Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella etc.).  Contemporary, historical, paranormal, it's all good!  Remember, the themes are completely and totally optional.  If mucking around in fairy tale land doesn't interest you, or there's nothing lying around in your TBR that fits, please go off the beaten path.  The themes aren't as important as digging something (anything!) out of your TBR Pile.

It's also not too late to sign-up.  If you are interested in doing so, or just want to learn more about the challenge, please see the information page.

You Mean It's Not All About Me?

The glue that seems to hold the Harlequin Romance line together is the whole "light on sensuality" thing.  It's either "just kisses" or "behind closed doors."  Other than that?  The rest of it is up for grabs.  Points-of-view, modern, traditional, fluffy, flirty, sassy etc. etc. etc. 

What I've noticed about Donna Alward's books is that she seems to go for angst.  I happen to like angst, but what I've really appreciated about the small sampling of her books I've read thus far?  It's all highly believable angst.  This stuff could happen in real life.  Case in point, the baggage both hero and heroine are lugging around in A Family For The Rugged Rancher (I know, I know - dippy title.)

Luke Evans needs help.  His two younger sisters have gone off, married, started families of their own - which means he's the one running the family ranch by himself.  Harvest is coming up, and he's overwhelmed.  What he needs is a housekeeper.  Someone to cook, clean, do his laundry, since he's working sun-up to sun-down out in the fields.  Since one of his sister's is nagging the hardest, he leaves it up to her.  She hires an agency to do the looking, and they choose Emily Northcott.  The fly in the ointment?  He didn't know she was coming, and that she'd have 5-year-old son, Sam, in tow.

Emily's now a single mother thanks to her husband deciding one day that a wife and kid were holding him back.  The savings account is shrinking and she needs this job.  It was a mutual decision by her and Scum Bag Ex that she'd stay home with Sam.  Well now it's 5 years later, he's gone, and she's finding it difficult to find work with a 5-year gap in her job history.  Being a housekeeper wasn't exactly her life's ambition, but she's taking the boat that's most sea-worthy. 

Luke has closed himself off emotionally - so much so that his reaction to Sam makes Emily suspect that he just doesn't like kids.  He raised his younger sisters, he took on the responsibility of the family farm, all because he had to.  And it's the reason that he had to that haunts him.  He doesn't want anyone he loves to be faced with the kind of choices he's had to make, to witness what he's had to witness.

This is, in some ways, a hard book for me to grade.  First, there are some stumbling blocks here that may annoy some readers.  Emily did take her Scum Bag Ex to court, but he's still not coughing up the child support, and she's...not doing anything about it.  I will say the author gives a slightly more credible reason for this than most, but this tends to be a hot button for a lot of readers, regardless of the reasoning.  I was able to roll with it, mostly because I know jack about the Canadian courts (this story takes place in the Alberta province).

Also, Emily is a very traditional heroine.  She liked being a staying home Mom.  She has no regrets.  But she does spend a good chunk of this story cooking and cleaning.  But hey, that's her job.  And frankly, I admired her for taking this job because she needed one, and it made the most sense considering her work history (or lack thereof).  Her ex made her feel worthless, like what she did had no value, so she's determined to right the ship and gain some self-worth.  She also has her son to think of.

Luke is all gruff exterior, but is really a scared, lonely man.  His "logic" behind why he's shunning any romantic entanglements is slightly cracked however.  I could almost understand it if he were an only child, but he has two sisters who have married, had kids etc.  So what's working for them, can't work for him?  Now this being said?  The author writes all this conflict well enough that I could see where both Emily and Luke were coming from.  To a certain extent, I think we can say I understood them.  If I were their "real life" friend?  I'd tell them both they were being stupid - but I could "see" why they felt the way they did about certain things.  Look, this is a major gray area when talking books.  Either you buy into it, or you don't.  And I bought in.  Take that for what it's worth.

At the end of the day, I appreciated that that author gave me an angsty read without being over-the-top.  The themes in this story are pretty universal.  Shouldering responsibilities, taking care of your family, feelings of self-worth - these are all things readers can understand and get behind.  It's the matter of how well we connect with the characters that can determine how successful the story is for us.  And with this one?  I connected.  Certainly, there are things I would have done differently had this all been happening to me, personally.  There is advice I would have given to these characters.  But you know what?  I wasn't a character in the story, and it wasn't about me.  It was about them.

Final Grade = B-

Monkey Kings And Pawn Stars

I've been on a reading tear recently, mostly because in typical Wendy fashion, I've overextended myself on review obligations.  Which means if I want to read something I haven't "required" myself to read, I need to get on it, and quickly.  Two recent I Want To Read That So I Need To Find The Time Books aren't romances, and I thought it would be fun to talk about them together.

Tess Gerritsen is one of two authors I buy in hard cover, on release day.  Typically, for me, suspense series tend to ebb and flow.  I love some books, like others, and there are usually a couple I'm not so wild about.  Gerritsen is no exception, although I will say her last several have been very, very good reads for me.  The Silent Girl, the 9th book in the series, finds homicide detective, Jane Rizzoli, and medical examiner, Dr. Maura Isles investigating a brutal slaying in Boston's Chinatown.  When primate hairs are found on the victim, Jane finds herself plunged into the Chinese fable/legend of the Monkey King.

This was a good, solid entry to the series.  Jane is still Jane, Maura is still reeling from the aftermath of the last book, and the mystery is compelling, not to mention every loose thread is wrapped up.  Two things I really appreciate about Gerritsen's series is that she allows her characters to "grow" without morphing them into pod people, and that you can tell she got her start writing category romance (for Harlequin Intrigue).  I never feel like I'm slogging through a bunch of unimportant "filler" in a Gerritsen book.  Every word has it's place, every moment is there for a reason.  No drudging through verbal diarrhea to get to the goods.  More please.

Final Grade = B

My Man and I are addicted to Pawn Stars, a reality show on the History Channel here in the States.  We stumbled across it totally by accident, and got hooked after one show.  The show centers around a family-owned pawn shop in Las Vegas.  Since they aren't corporate, the Harrisons can deal in the off-beat and slightly odd-ball - like a 15th century samurai sword, a lottery ticket signed by George Washington, and original battle plans from the invasion of Iwo Jima.  After years of hard work, the business was a success, then TV happened.  License To Pawn: Deals, Steals and My Life at the Gold & Silver is mostly told from Rick Harrison's point of view - although the other personalities on the show, The Old Man, Big Hoss, and Chumlee, do get their own chapters.

My Man read this while I was at RWA, in about 2 sittings.  Let it be noted that as much as I love the guy - My Man ain't much of a reader.  He can read.  He has read.  But it's not his leisure activity of choice.  He called the book "fluffy."  I'm not sure I totally agree - but it is a super quick read.  I'm not sure it's going to appeal to anyone who hasn't seen (and enjoyed) the TV show, but if you're a fan?  It was interesting, if only to get some of the back-story.  And whoa doggie, it's quite a back-story.  These guys have led some....uh interesting lives.  Honestly, it's amazing Big Hoss isn't dead.  Chumlee isn't as dippy on the printed page as he is on the show, and Rick and The Old Man love the hustle.  I'm not sure I'd run out and plunk down hard cover prices for this book - but as a library read?  As a book that My Man actually read, and happily?  Good stuff.  Do you have a reluctant reader in your life who loves the show?  Yeah, this one is a no-brainer, slam-dunk.

Grade = B

When Johnny Doesn't Come Marching Home

Nothing flips my switch harder than a romance novel about grown-ups.  Soldier On Her Doorstep by Soraya Lane isn't a flashy book.  It's not a story that's going to promise you thrills and chills.  It's a nice book, about nice people, who find their way to each other.  Which might sound boring to some, but for those of us who get tired of eye-rolling, trumped up conflict, and characters who morph into silly ninnies?  This is good stuff.

Alex Dane has been discharged from the Army and finds himself standing on Lisa Kennedy's front porch.  He was stationed overseas with Lisa's husband, William.  Alex came home, William did not.  As he lay dying in his arms, he asked Alex to deliver some letters to Lisa and to give her a message.  Which Alex does, but not without feeling incredibly guilty in the process.

It's been 8 months since William's passing.  Lisa still feels his loss, but the grief isn't quite as fresh as it once was.  She's more concerned with her young daughter, Lilly, who hasn't spoken to anyone other than Lisa since William's death.  Now here's Alex standing on her doorstep, a man she takes one look at and knows is hurting.  He's so different from William.  Closed off, guarded, and haunted by a past he doesn't want to talk about it.  Lisa cannot turn him away, especially since it appears the man doesn't have a home of his own to go to.  The added bonus?  He seems to be able to reach through to her daughter.  Lilly takes a real shine to her Daddy's friend.

Now this sounds like it should be a fairly gut-wrenching angsty read.  Well....it's not.  And I suspect that's going to be a problem for some readers.  Lisa's grief for her dead husband is not fresh.  We're not meeting her when the wound is still bloody and raw.  She still mourns his loss, but she's working towards moving on.  Partly thanks to her own job (she writes cookbooks for a living) and the fact that she has a daughter to take care of.  We also find out that she suffered a miscarriage just after William was deployed, but it's been months, and she's....moving forward.  Readers looking for a heroine mired in grief aren't going to find one in Lisa.

Alex is the one carrying all the angst baggage in this story.  He's a man with no roots.  His parents died when he was young, and he has no other family.  After being shuffled around the foster care system, he joined the Army.  He's a soldier who comes home to....no home.  Not to mention that he's lugging around a Big Secret that concerns William.  Every time he looks at Lisa, he's not only smitten, he feels guilty as hell.

What I loved about this story is that Lisa is a mature, competent heroine.  The author doesn't demonize William in order to make it "OK" that Lisa is falling for Alex.  She loved William, she's falling in love with Alex.  The best part of this book for me?  When Lisa muses on how lucky she is, how fortunate she is, to have not only fallen in love once in her life - but twice.  Oh happy day!

This is a very leisurely paced book.  It's gentle, it's soft - but it packs an emotional punch at the end, when the Big Secret comes tumbling out.  How this is dealt with is also stellar.  No silly misunderstandings.  No flying off the emotional handle.  Just one seriously damaged hero working his way through, and a heroine who tries to knock some sense into him.  I also loved how the military angle was handled in this story.  Lisa knows, first and foremost, that her husband was a soldier.  Period.  She also knows that Alex was a soldier.  She knows this, understands it, and is well aware what she signed up for.  This is not a woman prone to fantasies about men in uniform.

No, it's not flashy.  And I suspect more than one reader is going to desperately wish this were a Harlequin SuperRomance.  But it is a lovely debut novel that shows a quiet maturity, and is a good launching pad for a new category author.  Oh happy day!

Final Grade = B

My Minion Army Of One

It's Happy Birthday day here at the Bat Cave!  Yes, my happy birthday!

You are looking at my "small gifts" from My Man.  Flowers (oooh, purdy), chocolates (oooh, yummy) and my very own wee lil' minion (from the movie Despicable Me - which yes, I thought was better than Toy Story 3.  Yeah, I just said that).  I know, all this time hanging around the Interwebs, with no life of my own, and I'm just now getting my first minion.  'Tis sad, truly.

My "big gift" is an upcoming long weekend in Malibu, probably next month sometime.  Which should be lovely since, well, I've never been to Malibu.  I know, I know.  I don't get out to the beach communities nearly as much as I should.  I suck that way.

I've been pretty well spoiled already today, but tonight it's dinner out with Lemon Drop.  She's being kind enough to let her parents tag along (Ha!).  That's big of her, don't ya think?

My Major Award

Why yes, I am well aware that this blog has been a bit of a dead zone since I got back from RWA.  Chalk it up to Wendy getting her sea legs back.  So in honor of blog filler, let me show you what arrived at my office yesterday:

No, they're not from My Man.  These are actually from Big Sis - who sent them in honor of my "Major Award" and my upcoming birthday extravaganza.  Both of my sisters have taken to calling my RWA Librarian Of The Year honors my "major award" - which is ripped off from the movie A Christmas Story.  A sure sign that they've both watched it one too many times when it runs for 24 hours straight Christmas Eve/Christmas Day on cable station TBS here in the states.

Of course this got me thinking.  RWA did give me a very nice plaque, but it is a tinch understated.  I'm thinking the honor needs to be commemorated some other way.  I mean, besides the recipient (::cough, cough::) blabbing about it on her blog so much that people are probably bloody well tired of reading about it.

I think RWA should pony up for leg lamps.  I mean, this is a major award!

 And nothing says major award like a leg lamp.  It would certainly help class up a good many libraries - just sayin'.  Whoever is responsible for the RWA checkbook these days should look into this matter.  Says me.

Back To Reality: General Blog Keeping

Yes, I'm back.  Not that I ever really left - but I'm back to my own reality at any rate.  My Man is still very happy to have me home (always nice to be missed) and I'm getting caught up around the office.  I also have a small pile of books waiting for me to read In The Immediate Future, so I'm hoping to get some reviews going soon.  I've already delivered two of them to Sybil, which might help her overlook the fact that I've been a major slacker of late.

Before I really, truly get back into a regular routine around the Bat Cave though, a couple of general housekeeping things that cropped up while I was off at RWA having Librarian Of The Year fun. 

• First, as you might have heard, California wants Amazon to pay sales tax.  Amazon, not wanting to do this, has taken it's toys and gone home - which means cutting off their affiliate members.  Uh, of which I'm one.  To that end, I've updated the disclaimer page here at the blog.  The short version?  When you buy something that I link to on this blog (or at my Upcoming Historicals wiki), I'm no longer earning any pennies from that sale.  I'm still debating what I'm going to do.  Probably nothing.  It's not like I was making hordes of cash off the blog.  It was never the point, more like a wee added bonus (and I'm talking very wee).

• I've decided to clean up my side bar.  I believe less is more.  So I've started a new page on the blog, and you'll notice a new graphic on the side bar for Super Librarian Recommended Reads.  These are books I've reviewed (and really enjoyed) either on this blog, or over at Sybil's place.  The plan is to keep this page fairly fluid, so expect titles to come and go off this page.  You can always follow the "grade" tags at the bottom of review posts to see more titles.

And that, as they say, is that.  Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.  Just as soon as Wendy finds her sea legs again....

The Final Countdown

I got a grand total of 6 hours of sleep Thursday night.  This is actually, I think, a record for me when it comes to my RWA sleep pattern.  6 hours is downright decadent.  That being said, I still woke up feeling like a barely warmed over sea slug.  But I had places to go and people to see, and there was no time for whining.

Friday is the day of conference when people are really starting to feel a bit rough around the edges.  Case in point, I'm starting to work on this blog post Friday afternoon and already my brain is leaking like a sieve.  So for lack of having any brain cells to rub together, I'm going to go with the Ye Olde Make A List route:

• I adore Thea Devine.  I love that woman.  The first romance novel I ever read that could be construed as "erotic romance" was a Thea Devine novel.  I love her misbehavin' heroines, her barely housebroken (hell, who am I kidding - these guys still pee on the carpet) heroes, and when she's concocting an over-the-top, Big Secret, soap-opera-style world/plot?  I'm like a junkie begging for a fix.  She's my guilty pleasure.  Haters gonna hate, but if you've read and enjoyed even one J.R. Ward novel....shut your pie hole.  Don't be hatin' on my Ms. Thea.  Anywho, I got a signed copy of her BRAND NEW release, several hugs, and she was just the sweetest.  Total gushy fangirl squee'ing moment.

• Carrie Lofty slipped me an ARC of her October release Flawless.  I told her I would love it and pet it and name it George.  I'm seriously already looking at my "reading calender" to see when I can justify reading it (and I am trying to not resent the heck out of my current review commitments).

• Jennifer Haymore looked fantastic when I saw her at the Grand Central signing.  As quite a few of you may recall, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010.  When I inquired on how she was feeling, she said better and stronger every day.  Go Jennifer go!

• I was happy to see that Kensington had a signing this year (this was the first one I've seen them have, and I've been attending RWA every year since 2007).  I was glad I went to see them first though, since they didn't have a lot of books.  I was able to snag a couple of Bravas though (Emma Lang and Sylvia Day) along with a copy of Blue Angel by Logan Belle.  Now, I had never heard of this book, but I took one look at the cover and I was sunk.  I mean, how could I resist picking that up?  The answer was, I couldn't.  It's published under the Aphrodisia imprint, so it falls more under the "erotica" label - but hey, that's hunky-dory with me.  I hope the inside matches the incredible packaging.

• Samhain had a signing this year, they had a ton of books, and a nice variety of authors.  Contemporary, historical, paranormal, erotic, and m/m were all represented.  I also was able to finally meet Heather Osborn, one of their editors, and someone I follow on Twitter, in the flesh.  I had been missing her the entire conference, and I just caught up with her on the last day. 

• Joanna Bourne likes my blog.  Go ahead.  Be jealous bitches!

I ended up shipping two boxes of books home this year.  Big boxes mind you, but that's still downright conservative compared to previous years.  I'll need to sort once I get home, but after dividing up what I got for coworkers, Lil' Sis and the Librarians Day goodies that will go to work?  I don't think I picked up all that much for myself.  We shall see though.  That could be famous last words.

By now it was time to get ready for the RITA/Golden Heart ceremony, so I got myself gussied up in order to meet up with Kristie and Nath.  I'm sure the ceremony has been tweet'ed and blogged within an inch of it's life already, so instead I'll just give a shout-out to a couple of things that "stuck" with me:

• Trisza Ray won the Golden Heart (unpublished manuscript) in Paranormal Romance and I hope someone gives her a big, fat juicy contract.  She was so genuinely overcome, shocked, and in awe - that it was hard for me to stay seated, not rush the stage, and hug the dickens out of her.

• Karen Templeton won the RITA in Contemporary Series Romance, and I was just thrilled for her....even if I haven't read the book (Welcome Home Cowboy) yet because I suck like that.  She writes such wonderful books, and her shout-out to her category writing sisters during her acceptance speech was spot on. 

• Sharon Sala is full of win.  Now, I've read a couple of her books.  A Silhouette Desire I was "meh" on and a romantic suspense where I liked the suspense and the romance?  Not so much.  But I'm telling you, after hearing her acceptance speech for the Lifetime Achievement Award?  I want to run home, dig all her books out of my TBR, and start reading. 

When this blog post goes live I will be scurrying around getting ready to leave NYC for home.  I've had people ask me if I'm "ready" to go home.  The answer is yes and no.  I'm exhausted and miss My Man.  That being said, everyone has been so nice this week - telling me how awesome and wonderful I am - that the thought of going back to reality is a wee bit of a letdown.  I'd consider having my plaque surgically attached to a visible location on my body if I didn't think that would be creepy and wrong.  But hey, that's sort of what this job is about right?  It's not glamorous.  Sometimes it's even a major PITA.  But librarians aren't librarians for the accolades or acknowledgment (although that's pretty nice - gotta say).  We do it because we love it.  We do it because we want to help people.  And I know that I do it because I'm honestly not very good at anything else.  I'm good at being a librarian, and right now a whole national organization of writers thinks I'm a pretty darn good librarian too.  Go Team Me!

See you back in Cali!

Limp Noodle

Thursday at conference signified two things for me 1) the start of the publisher book signings and 2) the Awards Luncheon.  Now, I want to be clear - I'm actually OK with public speaking.  Especially when it's a topic (oh, let's say romance novels for example) that I'm really comfortable with.  But public speaking in a room full of 2000+ people?  Um, yeah.  But before I got to that small panic attack, I hit the Avon and Harlequin sponsored signings.

Harlequin is the only publisher signing where I still pick-up random books I know nothing about, and that's because I tend to impulse read/buy category romances.  I just do.  I figure if the book ain't my bag baby, I'm not out much time or money.  So I wandered around the room and picked up every single category they had.  For single titles?  I was way more selective.  I think maybe I picked up one?  Lots of paranormals (which I'm not really reading right now) and single title contemporaries (which I'm not really reading right now). 

The Avon signing was where I got books for everybody other than me.  I cleaned up for two coworkers and my Lil' Sis.  There is a very healthy contingent of YA authors at conference.  Of course I think all the YA titles I've picked up so far have been paranormal woo-woo, but Lil' Sis ain't choosey.

After that, it was up to the room to get ready for the Awards Luncheon.  It went....well, it went.  I wrote out my speech because I was afraid of forgetting people, rambling and going on too long.  At any rate, I didn't forget people.  I was sitting at my table, and I literally had just hit send on a text to Rosie (which word for word was "I want my Mommy") when Dorien Kelly launched into the first introduction.....which was mine.

Gentle blog readers, I'll be totally honest.  My first reaction to learning that I was first on the hit parade was "Holy #&*! they're making me go first?!?!?!"  But I got up there, read my speech, and didn't pass out.  I consider this a success for all parties involved.  Once I got back to my seat, I felt like my bones were melting.  I think that's what is called relief.  The adrenaline just poured out of me.

After lunch, there were two more publisher signings: Sourcebooks and St. Martin's.  I wandered around St. Martin's first, and got yet more YA for Lil' Sis.  I also picked up one or two historicals for myself.  Sourcebooks I think I walked away empty-handed.  Mostly because what was available that looked interesting to me?  I already own. 

I had one invitation last night, and that was for a party hosted by St. Martin's.  I really wanted to see the Flat Iron Building, plus I knew that I could probably connect with people there I kept missing around the hotel.  I ran into Michelle Willingham there, who writes for Harlequin, and was chatting with her agent.  Here we are at a romance conference and what do we talk about?  Her son pitching in Little League and my nephew, The Flash, playing T-ball.  I also got to meet the lovely Lisa Kleypas, and spied Mary Kay Andrews and Lisa Lillien, the Hungry Girl. 

As I had hoped, I ran into Megan Frampton and Heather Waters, who were both there representing Heroes & Heartbreakers (which is part of Macmillan, just like St. Martin's).  Megan invited me back up to her room for the now-annual Donut Party she hosts with Carolyn Jewel.  I finally was able to connect with Kwana (from Kwana Writes, H&H and Twitter-dom) and Limecello.  I also had a carrot cake donut which was fantastic! 

Then it was off to the bar for a few minutes, where I found Kristie, Nath, SarahT and Kim from Hawaii chatting up new historical author, Ashley March.  I treated myself to a virgin strawberry daiquiri because by this point my voice was slipping, and the last thing I needed was another glass of wine.  We hung out for a few minutes before my brain and feet started screaming at me to Go To Bed Stupid.  So I did.

Friday is the last day of conference, which caps off with the RITA ceremony tonight.  I hope to get one last blog post in before I board the plane home on Saturday.  Let's see how successful I am.