Wants It All Mama's Fallen Angel

Fallen Angel by Logan Belle is the second book in her Club Burlesque series that follows the exploits of former aspiring lawyer, turned burlesque performer, Mallory Dale.  The issues I had with the first book, Blue Angel, are the exact same issues I had with this book.  Which tells me two things: 1) the author is consistent and 2) I am a hopeless sucker for a soap opera.

As much as Mallory Dale loves performing at the burlesque club, Blue Angel, it doesn't pay the bills.  Especially in New York City.  So she lands herself a day job as a paralegal, working for a divorce lawyer.  Besides being inappropriately attracted to her boss, she has other problems on the home front.  Her boyfriend, Alec, loves pushing sexual boundaries with her, and Mallory gets the feeling that he wants them to hook up with the newest performer at the club, Violet Offender.  Violet is a dominatrix, is more into stripping than burlesque, has major ambition - oh, and she wants Mallory.  Like, bad.  Really bad.  Naturally complications abound.

What follows is Mallory and Alec hitting the skids, Violet manipulating things behind the scenes to get what she wants, Bette Noir rolling back into town, and Mallory exploring her attraction with her sexy boss.  It's soapy, it's sudsy, and it's compulsively readable for it's "OMG, what is going to happen next?!" factor.

My issue is basically with Mallory.  She's one of those females that obviously hasn't heard the expression "What's good for the goose is good for the gander."  She gets insanely jealous and angry with Alec if he so much as looks at another woman - but it's apparently OK for her to have some hot girl-on-girl action.  I mean, golly - why is he so upset with her? 

Oh, I don't know - could it be the whole you're an unfaithful hypocritical slut thing? 

Just a guess.

Sigh.

 Now in her defense, she did display this behavior in the last book - so I shouldn't have been surprised.  And I really wasn't.  The bigger sin here is that she's the sort of female who is easily manipulated.  She went through all of the last book debating on what she wanted, what she wanted to do - and she ended up dumping the idea of being a lawyer and went burlesque.  But in this book?  When her hunky boss suggests that she'd be a "good lawyer" - she makes moves to dump burlesque and head back to law.  I mean, seriously?!  Make a choice and stick with it cupcake.  Be who you are and own it.  If the man doesn't like that?  Well, maybe the door won't smack him too hard in the butt on his way out.

Now, all that being said, Belle continues to excel at delivering on her world-building.  Yeah, I'm hooked now.  She's created the club, created the culture, and populated it with secondary characters who keep the whole thing chugging along.  She also delivers us a villain in the form of Violet, who sure as shootin' is going to play a sizable role in the next book, Naked Angel.

So I'm pretty much left at the same bus stop I was at when I finished the last book.  I still can't really wrap my loving arms around Mallory, but like Shakespeare said, the play's the thing.  Er, or the burlesque stage.  Er, or more like it, the plot.  Belle's got me sucked in with her plot.  So yeah, I might want to smack Mallory upside the head - but that doesn't mean I don't care.  I do.

Now, what happens next?  And what do you mean I have to wait until the end of March 2012 to find out?  Ugh.

Final Grade = C+

Show Me How You Burlesque

When I was at RWA this summer, living it up as Librarian of the Year (maybe you heard about that?) one of the publisher signings I went to was for Kensington.  Logan Belle was there signing copies of Blue Angel.  I hadn't heard of this book, didn't know a darn thing about it in fact, but I took one look at that cover and had to have it.  Never underestimate the power of a good book cover.

Mallory Dale burns the candle at both ends working for a prestigious law firm in Manhattan.  It's what she's always wanted, and with two lawyer parents, she figured it was her destiny to practice law.  Unfortunately, her first round with the bar exam has left her down for the count.  She's still working insane hours, she's still stung by the fact that she failed the bar first go-around, and now her journalist boyfriend is dragging her into a burlesque club for her 25th birthday.  She is not amused, but decides to suck it up to please Alec.  What she gets is a sexual awakening and identity shift for herself.

It's while she's at the club that night that she meets the headliner, Bette Noir.  Bette is a girl with big ambitions, and when she sees Alec with his boss (a trust fund baby who runs a men's magazine), she sees it as her way to the top.  And to get what she wants?  She's going to sink her claws into Mallory, who may look like a mousy little thing, but is up for some adventures, in and out of the bedroom.

This is a book that starts out in one direction, and then takes a sharp U-turn.  Alec comes off as a major dill-hole in the early chapters.  Besides dragging Mallory around to further his career, he's pressuring her to have a three-some, which she is extremely hesitant about.  When Bette enters into the picture, it sends things topsy-turvy.  Bette is fame-hungry and will do just about anything to become a "somebody."  So she starts to manipulate Mallory to further her own ambitions.

But then, something happens - the story shifts.  Mallory starts hanging out with Bette, blowing off her job, getting entranced by burlesque, and not being remotely truthful with Alec.  Gosh, she just doesn't understand why he's so upset.  I mean, she's only doing a complete 180, and then when they have a fight she runs over to Bette's for a sympathetic ear that quickly turns into something else.  Even though I started out really disliking him, for the bulk of the second half, I kinda thought Alec had a point, and Mallory comes off like a hypocritical rhymes with witch.

What we have here is a good old-fashioned sudsy soap opera plot with some naughty times tossed in the mix.  The downside to that is that I really didn't care about the characters.  Mallory is a hypocrite, Alec is a jerk, and Bette's greatest ambition in life is to be a Kardashian sister (::shudder::).  Now that said, soap opera plots work because they're....soapy.  You keep reading just to see what will happen next.  Oh, and to get to the steaminess, which is well-done here.  The author doesn't make the mistake of skimping on plot, keeps it moving forward, and doesn't get derailed by padding her story with sexual encounters (although have no fear pervs, there's still plenty to go around).

What this book has is good world-building, which no should never just be limited to science fiction, fantasy and paranormal.  The author creates this whole world inside the Blue Angel club.  She populates it with secondary characters that operate on the fringe of the story, and ultimately work to push Mallory towards her awakening.  It's good stuff.

What I'm left with is an enjoyable "world," a soap opera plot that makes my Melrose Place lovin' heart go squee!, but characters that I had a hard time wrapping my arms around.  However it is a page-turner, and I've already started the second book in the Mallory Dale saga, Fallen Angel.

Final Grade = C+

It's So Fluffy!

I think it's fairly well documented how much I loathe love triangles.  It's the sort of plot trope where none of the characters come out looking good, which is why I generally avoid it like the plague.  So why exactly did I sign up to review Season For Temptation, Theresa Romain's debut Regency about a hero torn between two sisters?  She asked, and caught me with an open mind.  I have to say, while I had issues, this might be one of my quickest reads on record.  And given that I've been mired in a reading slump for over a month?  Yeah, that's kinda a big deal.

Julia Herrington is very close to her stepsister, Louisa, so she is very excited when Louisa returns from her first London Season engaged!  To a Viscount no less!  For a country-raised girl this is quite a coup.  Now the Viscount is coming for a visit, the house is in a tizzy, and Julia manages to step in it rather promptly.  With a habit of running off at the mouth, and running after her younger half-siblings, Julia manages to stumble in on James, that is Viscount Matheson, who has arrived early.  And is standing in their drawing room.  And drat it all, but he's the most captivating man she's ever laid eyes on.  Uh, and he's engaged to her sister.

James feels like he's been hit by a whirlwind when he meets his future sister-in-law, Julia.  She's so bubbly, and full of life, and probably the most interesting woman he's ever met.  She's forthright, refreshing, and his fiance's sister.  What was her name again?  Oh yeah, Louisa.  Dear, sensible, intelligent, poised Louisa.  A wee bit of a step down in his social standing, but just the ticket to gloss over a rather nasty scandal his older sister unwittingly became embroiled in when her useless husband died.  Yes, yes - Louisa.  So why can't he stop thinking about Julia?

As unsavory as this probably sounds (and it did to me), the author writes the story in such a bubbly, frothy way that even hard-line love-triangle haters will be charmed.  It helps that the author goes the sensible route with Louisa.  Yes, she's engaged to the Viscount, but one gets the impression very, very early on in the story that there are doubts there.  It's not like she's upstairs in her bedroom scribbling Louisa, Viscountess Matheson over and over again in her Trapper Keeper.  Also while there are immediate sparks between Julia and James, there is quite a bit of tap-dancing going on.  In other words, he's not debauching her in the broom closet in Chapter 3.

This is the sort of cotton-candy concoction that's perfect for the holiday season.  Julia's family is full of eccentric personalities.  James isn't easily overwhelmed.  There's lots of banter flying around.  It's not exactly a deep read, the conflict being a bit thin in spots, but it is the sort of book where I easily flipped the pages and lost myself for a few hours.

Unfortunately, it did lose some traction for me towards the end.  Namely, when Julia and James consummate their relationship.  After all the fluffiness, the sex just seemed jarring.  Also, the fall-out of said naughty times really strains the seams considerably.  Julia's mother's reaction to the deflowering is jar-dropping, and is the sort of anachronism that would send several historical romance readers I know into a swoon.  (Plus, Mommy Dearest tells Julia a story where the lesson seems to be "It's OK to trap men into marriage to get what you want" O_o)  That said, it does push the romance forward, and the resolution to the love triangle is wrapped up well.

In the end, this was a quick read for me that found me at the right time.  After spending all of October in the Reading Slump From Hell, I inhaled this book in one sitting.  It was sweetness and light just when I needed it most.  It's not the sort of book that I clutched to my chest and sighed over after I finished the last page, but it kept me engrossed and entertained during the time we spent together.  Imagine what a better world this would be if we could all say that about our exes?

Final Grade = C+

Faster Pussycat

The folks at Cleis Press were pleased enough with my review for their anthology Obsessed: Erotic Romance for Women that they asked if I wanted to review any of their other offerings.  One title that jumped out at me was Fast Girls: Erotic Stories by Women, once again edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel.  One of the appeals of erotica, for me, is that when it's written by and for women, the heroines are in charge of their own sexual identities.  Even in this day and age, the idea that a woman can be in control of her sexuality, derive pleasure from it, no matter what her personal kinks may be, is rather subversive.  So an anthology about "fast girls" going after what they want?  Yeah, sign me up.

With 20 stories and the collection only clocking in at 192 pages, all of these are rather brief reads - some of which hit the spot, and others that left me feeling decidedly uncomfortable, and not really in a good way.

Temptation by Kayla Perrin is about a recently-divorced heroine who gets her groove back with the studly young college student who does her lawn work.  Yeah, do I need to say anything more?  Not complex by any means, but it sizzles all the same.  Grade = B

Waxing Eloquent by Donna George Storey finds the heroine house-sitting in L.A. for her brother when she spies on the sexy actor neighbor next door.  Wanting an "L.A. experience," the heroine then hits the local salon to get....uh, waxed.  Guess what happens next?  A heroine breaking away and a hero willing to show her a good time.  Grade = B

Five-Minute Porn Star by Jacqueline Applebee is a seriously fun story.  A broken leg has made hubby surly and an argument erupts with his wife, our heroine.  To teach him a lesson, she decides to vamp it up for him, cheesy soft-core porn star style.  I love it when erotica is playful and fun - because life is too short to take sex all that seriously.  Loved this one.  Grade = B+

Winter, Summer by Tristan Taormino was a story that confused me.  The heroine is in Provincetown looking for a little hot girl on girl action.  And naturally, she finds it.  Granted I don't read a ton of f/f erotica, but the way the author writes this, right down to the inclusion of a certain bodily fluid functions just confused me.  Did our heroine hook up with a chick?  Transgender, post-op or otherwise?  A dude?  What?  Color me dense, but I don't get it.  Also, the more of BDSM I read the more I realize it's not my bag baby.  Grade = D

Playing the Market by Angela Capterton is a story that made me uncomfortable.  The heroine has just lost her shirt on Wall Street and needs rent money.  So why not pick up a guy at a bar and uh, exchange services?  I'm an Erotica As Fantasy girl, so "no condoms" usually don't bother me - but whoa doggie, it bothered me here.  A lot.  Especially given the threesome and the way the story ends.  Bonus points for the ending, which was clever, but I hope the heroine stocks up at the local drugstore from now on.  Grade = B-

Panther by Suzanne V. Slate I just found silly.  The heroine checks out a local art exhibit where she gets turned on my sculpture of a panther.  Boyfriend shows up, shenanigans ensue.  Seriously, she gets turned on by looking at a panther?  Of course I don't like shapeshifter books either, so there you go.  Grade = D

Communal by Saskia Walker excels at writing sexy shorts, and this story is more proof of that.  College student overhears two dorm mates getting nasty in the communal shower.  Uh, which turns her on.  So she starts enjoying some "alone time" in said shower, only to have someone overhear her, and join the party.  Again, playful and fun - I'm sold.  Grade = B+

Fireworks by Lolita Lopez finds two newlyweds sneaking away from a July 4th party to make some fireworks of their own.  A married couple enjoying themselves?  The hubby is a cowboy?  Sign me up.  Grade = B

Flash! by Andrea Dale finds our paparazzi heroine taking a break from a location shoot with a fellow photographer.  Naturally, cameras are involved.  Normally cameras in erotica make me squeamish (thank you Internet), but somehow having two photographers in the mix made it OK for me.  Go figure.  Grade = B

Waiting for Beethoven by Susie Hara is another cougar story.  Older heroine who writes erotica gets her groove thang on with younger coworker, a piano player.  This one was OK.  Mostly I had issues with the "tell-y" style in the early goings and then I wasn't entirely sure these two people were really "comfortable" with each other.  Grade = C

Confessions of a Kinky Shopaholic by Jennifer Peters finds our heroine visiting a newly opened sex toy shop, and running her purchases past a guy she meets on the bus.  Again, no condom makes me squirky - but again, a clever ending.  Grade = B-

Let's Dance by D.L. King should be filed under "Wow, totally not my thing," but it certainly fits the bill of "fast girls."  Heroine picks up college boy at bar, takes him back to her place where they get into some kinky suspension play.  Again, clever ending - even if it relies heavily on coincidence.  Grade = B

That Girl by Cherry Bomb is a confessional piece, with the heroine detailing some of what she has done and why.  It's certainly different, and a bit out of the box.  I liked it because it was really quick, and felt like an intermission.  Grade = B-

Oz by Isabelle Gray is another story that I just didn't quite "get" - although I sorta see what the author was shooting for.  Another confessional style piece, the author evokes the Wizard Of Oz (Home, Wicked, Yellow Brick Road etc.) for the heroine spew forth various fantasies.  Meh.  Grade = C

Married Life by Charlotte Stein features another married couple, this time an unsatisfied wife who stumbles across her restrained hubby's dirty little secret.  Naturally, shenanigans ensue.  I'm a sucker for dominant heroines, and that's partly what we have here.  Mostly though we have a heroine who is so dang frustrated she's just not going to take matters lying down anymore.  Preach it sister!  Grade = B

Princess by Elizabeth Coldwell finds our heroine getting a nice surprise on her birthday from her coworkers - the kind of surprise where you get blind-folded and taken for a ride.  This is a story where the reader needs to let go and roll with the fantasy, because in Real Life?  Yeah, sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.  Grade = B

Chasing Danger by Kristina Wright is another Roll With The Fantasy-style story.  Cop heroine and her hunky partner find themselves chasing after a car thief - uh, a car thief that the heroine had a fling with during her younger, more reckless days.  If you're a stickler for how law enforcement is portrayed in fiction?  Yeah, just skip this story altogether.  Your blood pressure will thank me.  But if you're shallow (like me) and just in it for the hotness + uniform?  Yeah.  I mean, in Real Life this chick would get her butt fired (or sued) so fast her head would spin, but again - fantasy.  Grade = B-

Whore Complex by Rachel Kramer Bussel is a story that didn't work for me on any level.  The heroine plays whore for her man, when he escalates the game by literally passing her off to other partners.  Certainly the whore fantasy has played itself out in other stories in this anthology, but here I didn't feel like the heroine was in control at all.  More like she was under the thumb of the "hero" and had an extremely unhealthy attachment to him.  It really, really didn't work for me, and made me want to take her to the nearest therapist.  Grade = D-

Lessons, Slow and Painful by Tess Danesi  is a story that starts off well enough, but then takes me to a place I just didn't want to go.  Heroine invites boyfriend over for dinner.  When he shows up he discovers her hastily sharpening a knife.  Shenanigans ensue.  OK, there is a knife in this story and there is blood involved.  Yeah, no thanks.  Grade = D

Speed Bump by Tenille Brown is a story that started a little rocky, but picked up steam for me.  Heroine who likes fast motorcycles, a fast life, and has no desire to be tied down, finds her bartender boyfriend going soft after a heart attack has him reevaluating his lifestyle.  A 40+ year old heroine (not something you see every day) who I felt lacked sympathy for the guy she'd been banging for 8 years.  But, naturally, she comes around in the end.  Slowing down doesn't necessarily mean Death To Fun.  Grade = B-

Even though I had a strong negative reaction to four of these stories, there were definitely more hits than misses for me.  Also, while all fiction certainly relies somewhat on "personal taste," that's nowhere more prevalent than in erotica.  What flips one reader's switch may leave someone else cold.  One thing that I know readers feel strongly about is condom usage.  I can normally roll without The Condom Moment, but the lack of safe sex in a couple of these stories really bothered me, and if you're a reader that needs that condom mention?  Yeah, safe sex is spotty at best in this collection.  I would also mention that while most of these stories do end on an upbeat note, outside of the stories featuring married couples, it would strain to classify any of these as strict "erotic romance."

At the end of the day, this was a really strong collection, and great fun to read.  Certainly I didn't care for everything offered at the buffet, but it was a pleasurably dining experience nonetheless.

Overall Grade = B

The Month That Was September 2011

Me: Hey, hey there's Lemon Drop!  Wow, that's some dress kiddo.

Lemon Drop: Do you like it Auntie Wendy?  Mommy says I look positively "retro" - whatever the heck that means....

Me: Yeah, they made sofas with that print 40 years ago. 

Lemon Drop: Don't hate the player, hate the game Auntie Wendy.  Mommy says it looks like something Auntie Big Sis wore back when she was a wee lil' wiener.  A magical, mythical time known as.....1970s.

Me: ::shudder:: Well now that we've gone back in time through fashion history, how about I tell you about what I read last month?  I did alright, with 8 books read.

Title links will take you to full reviews.

Locked And Loaded by HelenKay Dimon - Romantic suspense, Harlequin Intrigue, 2011, Grade = B

• Book 4 in the Mystery Men series.  A harder-edged heroine partnered with a sexy computer geek hero.  Swoon.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet:  Geek Hero, Heroine On The Run, Returning Happy Couples From Previous Books

The Big Guns by HelenKay Dimon - Romantic suspense, Harlequin Intrigue, 2011, Grade = B+

• Final book in the Mystery Men series.  I love the strong, silent, brooding Alpha-style heroes, and we get one here.  A heroine who is slow to trust, but who isn't brain-dead about it.  Also, really enjoyed the way the author wrapped up the overarching suspense that carried through all five books in the series.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Personal Assistant Heroine, Brooding Hero, Returning Happy Couples From Previous Books

Unlacing the Lady In Waiting by Amanda McCabe - Digital historical romance short story, Harlequin Historical Undone, 2011, Grade = C

• Hero and heroine reunited years later after their betrothal is broken.  The heavy emphasis on Insta-Lurve really kept me from buying into the romance.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Arranged Marriage, Broken Engagement!, One Politically Minded Papa, Hero With Revenge In His Heart

How a Cowboy Stole Her Heart by Donna Alward - Contemporary romance, Harlequin Romance, 2011, Grade = B-

• Breast cancer survivor heroine returns home to family ranch and must confront her feelings for their neighbor - her brother's BFF and her childhood crush.  Emotionally draining read with plenty of angst.  Stubborn as mud characters though, so readers have to be patient and ride them out.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Unrequited Crush, Friends To Lovers, Hero Haunted By His Past, Cancer Survivor Heroine

The Dragon and the Pearl by Jeannie Lin - Historical romance, Harlequin Historical, 2011, Grade = C+

• Feared warlord with epic reputation arrives on the heroine's doorstep, a former consort to the dead Emperor, after he learns from an anonymous tip that she's in mortal danger.  Excellent use of 8th century China back-drop, but that also manifests itself in slow-to-trust characters.  Also, while there is a happy ending, reader is left with feeling that it won't be all sunshine and rainbows.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Political Unrest, Big Secret, Warrior Hero, Heroine With A Past

Girl in the Beaded Mask by Amanda McCabe - Digital historical romance short story, Harlequin Historical Undone, 2011, Grade = B-

• Adventurous heroine attends masquerade party to put the moves on her dead brother's BFF, just returned from World War I.  Great use of 1920s setting, although I wanted "more" about the heroine's family.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Free Spirit Heroine, Wounded Hero, Unrequited Crush, One Dead Brother, Masquerade!

The Earl Takes a Lover by Georgia E. Jones - Digital historical erotica short story, Spice Briefs, 2011, Grade = D

• Heroine with scandalous past has affair with rake hero.  Plenty of sexy sizzle, but didn't buy in to heroine's back-story and there is zero resolution to the conflict at hand.  Harlequin Cheat Sheet: Heroine With A Past, Rake Hero, Wrong Side Of The Tracks

Princess Forever by Meg Cabot - Young Adult, HarperTeen, 2009, Grade = B+

• My TBR Challenge read for the month.  Final book in the author's Princess Diaries series.  Mia finds herself fretting about high school graduation, the prom, what college she should go to, and the fact that her ex-boyfriend is back in town.  A bit padded, but a good read and an excellent way to end the series.

Lemon Drop: So you're not a big fan of the 70s Auntie Wendy?  How about if Mommy dressed me in fashions from the 1980s?

Me: Oh yeah, just what we need to revisit.  Neon, day-glo color, jelly shoes, and leg warmers.  I can't believe I'm saying this - but stick with the 70s.

Lemon Drop: You forgot about leather jackets with fringe on them.

Me: ::shudder::  Oh yes, thanks for reminding me dear.

TBR Challenge 2011: Men Like The Hot Head Cases

The Book: Dead Shot by Annie Solomon

The Particulars: Romantic suspense, Warner Books, 2007, Out of Print but available digitally

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR: I read a previous book by Solomon and enjoyed it.  The description of this one intrigued, so I picked it up.  Pretty sure I bought it new at Borders (RIP), but who can remember for sure now?

Danger, danger, thar be spoilers ahoy!

The Review:  Romantic suspense is a sub genre I really want to love, but I'll admit I'm a harsh critic.  A big reason for this is that I cut my reading teeth on mystery/suspense.  I'm one of those rare romance readers who gets annoyed when the romance gets in the way of the suspense.  With Dead Shot the suspense was interesting, the romance was somewhat promising, but standing in the way?  The heroine.  Oh, and the ending.  But more on that in a bit.

Poor little rich girl Gillian Gray came home one day to find her supermodel mother dead on their kitchen floor.  Brutally raped and murdered.  School-age Gillian eventually went to live with her cold-fish grandparents, got shipped off to boarding school, and ultimately turned to photography as an outlet for her rage.  She specializes in self-portraits.  Ones where she concocts crime scenes and then dolls herself up as a murder victim.  Her mission is not only to provoke the establishment, but also her mother's killer - who was never caught.  She's telling the guy "come and get me."  However seems their wires got crossed, because the bad guy isn't coming after her.  Oh no.  He's killing innocent women and using their corpses to recreate Gillian's photographs. 

Ray Pearce is an ex-cop who now works for a security company.  He has plans to shake off the dust of Nashville for parts unknown, but his personal baggage keeps holding him back.  His boss is hired to work security at the art gallery where Gillian's photos are on display and after there is an "incident" - her grandfather hires him to look after Gillian personally.  To keep her safe.  The problem being that Gillian has a death wish.

What we have is one of those books where I spent the whole time thinking, "Yeah, but what does he see in her?"  Ray's an interesting guy - with an ex-wife, an ex-brother-in-law who is still a cop, and an ex-father-in-law, also a ex-cop, who is suffering from dementia.  He's a guy with believable baggage.  A nice guy.  A guy who wants to do the right thing.  Will you marry me Ray?

The problem here is Gillian.  Now, technically speaking, just because some whack-a-do is using her photographs in his killing spree doesn't make it "her fault."  However, the fact that these poor dead innocent bystanders barely register a blip on her radar is.  Also, I can deal with her being reckless and stupid - but when her reckless stupidness starts putting innocents in danger?  Yeah, it's hard to feel sorry for the poor little rich girl, even if her Mommy was murdered, and even if she resorted to cutting herself before she discovered photography as a healthy outlet.  Sorry, not buying.

However, I was rolling with it.  Solomon can write, the pages flipped easily, and since I'm currently slogging my way out of a reading slump, that cannot be overstated.  Then I get to the ending.

Uh, what ending?

We never find out who murdered Gillian's Mommy.  And since the author makes this out to be a big, honkin' hairy deal for the entire blessed book?  Yeah, no resolution to this = bad.  Now, I know what you're thinking: "But Wendy....real life is often very messy.  We don't always get resolution.  We don't always have the answers."  To which I say?  "This is genre fiction, not real life."  You know why people read genre fiction?  We like resolution.  We like answers.  We like things being neat and tidy at the end.  And since Gillian's every waking moment is haunted by Mommy's murder?  To not get a resolution to that is well....crap.  The author does some tap-dancing, hoping to show the reader that Gillian has now confronted "her own demons" and that justice is done by the fresh murder victims - but yeah, not for Mommy.  You can't make a big deal out of this and then not give me any resolution to it.  It makes me cranky.

So we have one hot mess of a romance featuring a nice guy getting sucked into the orbit of a head case, and a vital chunk of what passes for the suspense in this story not being resolved.  At all.  Gee, and now I'm at the end of the review and I didn't even mention the strong emphasis on Gillian's waifish petiteness, Ray's annoying pet name for her ("Short Stack" ::shudder::), and the heavy handed use of the Rescue Fantasy trope (never a huge favorite of mine).  Yeah, none of this worked for me.  At all.  But it was readable - hence not DNF'ing it.  And if nothing else?  It's out of the TBR now.

Final Grade = D-

Sidenote: If you're wondering about the title of this blog post - I was chatting with My Man about this book and he asked, "Is she hot?"  To which I said, "It's romance novel, of course the heroine is hot."  His reply: "Some men can't say no to hot head cases."  No truer words have ever been spoken.  Oh Ray.  Why Ray?  Why?!  Why her?!

Looking Ahead: TBR Challenge 2012

It dawned on me recently that it's almost the last week of October.  And since the last thing I want to think about right now are the holidays (I'll keep my head in the sand, thankyouverymuch) - I thought now would be a good time to look ahead to the TBR Challenge 2012.

Yes, I'm going to host again.  Mostly because it keeps me honest and forces me to scale the mountain range at least once a month.  I like to delude myself that I'm actually making progress climbing that mountain by reading at least 12 books a year off of it.  Ha!

One thing I'm contemplating are the monthly themes.  I know some of you love them, and others of you find them too restricting - even though I always say they are totally optional.  So, on that score, I've set up a poll at the top of my left hand sidebar (feed readers, if you want to vote, you're going to have to physically click on over to my blog!). 

ETA: Well, forget the poll.  Looks like only people with Blogger accounts could use it, and even then it wasn't working correctly for me.  So please vote yea or nay on themes in the comments section of this post.

Also, while we're at it - in the event that y'all want me to hang on to the themes, I'm now open for suggestions on some potential ones you'd like to see for 2012.  Just drop your ideas in the comments section of this post.  I'll consider each and every one of them - picking my favorites to add to the rotation.

Even if you didn't participate in this year's challenge, I still encourage you to vote.  It really is lots of fun, and at least for me, I get that little zing of accomplishment every month.  Please consider signing up for the challenge in 2012.  Gory details and a chance to sign on will happen sometime mid-December-ish.

Reminder: TBR Challenge For October

For those of you participating in the 2011 TBR Challenge, a reminder that your commentary is "due" on Wednesday, October 19. 

This month's theme is Paranormal or Romantic Suspense.  Because, you know, it's October.  Like Halloween and all.  Hey, I never said I had imagination.  Anywho....remember, the themes are completely and totally optional.  If you don't wanna go with woo-woo or romantic suspense, 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 never 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.

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

It's a joy and wonder when, as the reader, you hit upon a historical romance that not only utilizes history, but does so for the betterment of the romance.  Carrie Lofty has been able to excel at this, in particular with her last several books which have all been set during the 19th century.  With Flawless, the first book in the Christie series, the author mixes a delicious cocktail of emotional payback, colonial South Africa, the grit of the diamond trade, and a marriage in trouble like no other.

Lady Vivienne Bancroft is the adopted daughter of Sir William Christie, a tycoon who has finally met his maker.  She and her three siblings have gathered for the reading of their father's will, only to get a very rude surprise.  Seems the old man had one final trick up his sleeve, leaving a failing business to each of his children.  The task?  They have one year to turn the business around.  If they do?  A million dollars is their reward.  If they do not?  They get nothing.  Vivienne inherits a failing diamond brokerage house in South Africa.  She needs the reward, not only for security reasons, but to fix up her lovely brownstone in New York City.  She did not plan on her useless excuse of a husband to muck up the works.

Miles Durham, Viscount Bancroft, married Vivienne for a reason that's as old as time.  He's got a title but is broke.  Her family has buckets of money and wants a title.  However, neither Viv nor Miles planned on the attraction that sizzled between them.  But Viv ultimately could not deal with his reprobate ways, and left him.  They're literally separated by the expanse of the Atlantic ocean.  Miles' pride takes a serious hit, but when he hears the terms of the old man's will?  Yeah, all bets are off.

There's really no way to sugar-coat this, so I'll just come out and say it: Miles is an asshole.  Having been born into a life of privilege, he finds the confines stifling.  His answer?  Be as useless as humanly possible.  Gamble, drink, debauch etc.  His marriage to Vivienne doesn't change his behavior.  Oh sure, he loves seducing his wife.  Getting her to throw aside all her proper decorum and give into the passion, but he's still going to gamble, drink, debauch etc.  It's only after she leaves that he realizes he must have her again, to teach her a lesson.  The lesson being that while she might want to hide behind proper, there's no denying what her true nature is - that of a passionate woman.

For her part, Viv craves respectability.  She demands it.  It means security.  It means safety.  She's tackles London society like a military operation.  However being with Miles, with his reprobate ways, scares the hell out of her.  With one glance, with one twitch of his finger, he can undo it all.  Everything that she craves.  Everything she yearns for.  Safety.  And safety is something that she desires so much, that she'll run away to another continent.  Staying with Miles would mean going down with a ship destined to sink.

What I adore about Lofty's historicals is that she works with the history, not against it.  Her heroines have worries and concerns that feel legitimate to what women may have wanted, in real life, during these time periods.  She also takes the restrictions women faced and weaves it into the story.  Once Miles and Viv strike up their bargain, they know that to turn the brokerage house around they'll have to work together.  As a mere woman, she needs Miles.  He can go places, say things, she cannot.  And Miles needs Viv, because frankly, she's smart. She's a head for business.

For a good chunk of this book, I found the act of reading it exhausting.  Naturally, given the back-story, our couple does have a bit of an adversarial relationship in the early going.  Couple that with a heavy dose of mental lusting, and it takes readers for quite the roller coaster ride.  What ultimately worked for me was watching these two people come to terms with each other.  Miles, for lack of a better expression, finds a purpose.  A reason for being.  Honestly, he grows up.  And Vivienne learns that she can trust her husband.  That he is capable of being the man that she needs him to be.  In the end, these two deserve each other, and in a good way.

When talking personal opinion, I think Lofty has written better stories - but that's me splitting hairs.  She does so much right with her historicals.  It's like she has a portal that will take her back to whatever time and space she wants to spin stories from.  Certainly the history of South Africa isn't entirely romantic (some would argue not at all) - but here she strikes the right balance.  She gives us the grim, but infuses it with the possibilities that any good romance should have.  It's a very good start to what promises to be a very intriguing series. 

Final Grade = B+

Disclosure, Transparency, and Blogger Jealousy

Largely stay off the Internet for the weekend, and look what happens?  Kerfuffles break out!  Now, my usual policy on kerfuffles is that just because they happen, doesn't mean you have to comment on every single one.  Honestly, I've been around long enough to know that 99.9% of these dust-ups are all things I've seen before (ad nauseum) with only the targets changing.  But every once in a while something comes along that Auntie Wendy wants to comment on, and I think that my almost 9-years of blogging (yes, 9!) on top of my 12 years of reviewing romance novels online gives me a certain perspective. 

While I was offline, some drama erupted over Smart Bitch Sarah being affiliated with a consulting company.  Said consulting company represents a number of OMG BIG NAME authors and when this relationship came to light, Sarah's objectivity was called into question.  I'll direct you over to her blog to get the general run-down.

Looking at the history of the online romance community, you have to understand the place where we used to be.  Back in the Dark Ages, unless you were Harriet Klausner, you were the enemy.  One thing I love about attending the annual RWA conference is catching up with the ladies that now run All About Romance. When I see those gals it's like a bunch of old veterans sitting around telling war stories.  Back in those early days, The Romance Reader and AAR were "the enemy."  Many authors did not like these sites.  At all.  We were accused of being unqualified hacks (to this day I'm not sure what makes a "qualified" book reviewer) or frustrated wannabe writers who were jealous of someone else's success. 

All this sounds vaguely familiar doesn't it?

Over time, the longer both TRR and AAR hung around, opinions softened.  One part of this was that many "new writers" were getting published who had "grown up" with both TRR and AAR.  Both sites had become part of the fabric of the romance genre landscape.  Also, and this can't be discounted, was that there were new targets to attack - bloggers.  TRR and AAR were no longer "the devil."  Dear Author and Smart Bitches were "the new devil."

For a long time, bloggers were sort of operating out in the Wild West, doing our own thing.  Honestly, that's ultimately why I stopped reviewing for TRR and began focusing all my energy on my own blog.  I love those ladies at TRR like chocolate cake, but I wanted to do my own thing.  So, I did.  Other bloggers started doing their own thing, and publishing took notice.

Now, part of the reason publishing took notice is because it's a tough business to be in.  Bloggers were (and still are IMHO) seen as a "word of mouth" resource.  Authors began to see that the "At The Back Fence" mentality that AAR had cultivated so many years before, was spilling out into the blogosphere.  With the advent of social media?  That's a lot publicity potential - you can't fault publishers and authors wanting to tap into that.  You also can't fault many bloggers for this - I mean, we love books.  We're whores for books.  If we weren't whores for books, we wouldn't be blogging about books.

Of course this has all meant the waters have gotten murky.  Where did Sarah go wrong?  Why did this kerfuffle break out?  My rule?  Disclose early and disclose often.  I don't think there's anything "wrong" with Sarah having a stake in this consulting company.  I also don't think it's wrong for her to write books, promote the genre, her blog, and herself.  She's putting in the work, so I say good for her.  I don't have insight into Sarah's day-to-day existence, but I have a hard time believing she's had the success she's had simply handed to her on a silver platter while she's doing nothing more than eating bon-bons, rockin' a feather boa, while reclining on a chaise lounge.

Listen, I'm not sure anybody noticed - but I know that I'm an adult.  If I think Sarah is disingenious, has a conflict of interest, or whatever, guess what?  I'm not going to "listen" to her.  I might even make the choice to ::gasp:: not read her blog.  Just because it's "out there" doesn't mean anyone is holding a gun to my head to make me "do" anything.  Otherwise?  I'd be reading all those paranormal romances some of you love so much even though I'm burnt out on them like crazy-sauce.  The blogger's job, first and foremost, is to give the review reader enough information so that they can make their own decision.  If you aren't giving me that, I'm not going to waste my time on you.  If I do get that, and yet I discover that the path the you're consistently steering me torwards is one I'm not wild about?  Yeah, maybe we should "just be friends." 

Does her not disclosing this relationship immediately alter my opinion of Sarah in any way?  Not really.  Look, I'm not sure if you've all noticed - but the relationship between readers, authors, bloggers and publishing is changing rapidly.   Sometimes on a daily basis.  And because it's changing rapidly, I think we, as bloggers, need to acknowledge something that is rarely spoken about.

Yes, I'm talking jealousy.

Any blogger who claims it doesn't exist is walking around with their pants on fire.  Just as authors can get jealous of other authors - so can bloggers be jealous of other bloggers.

Let's use me as an example.  I have been blogging since 2003.  Which makes me positively ancient.  And yet when you think of "major romance novel blogs" - do I immediately come to mind?  Uh, that would be no.  Most people are going to immediatley say "Dear Author" and/or "Smart Bitches."  Does this irritate me?  That my almost 9 years of not having a life and blogging does not immediately leap into every online romance reader's consciousness when they're asked about "major blogs."

No. 

And I'll tell you why:  the people behind Dear Author and Smart Bitches have worked really hard.  I sorta, kinda do some work around the Bat Cave - but nothing like those ladies do.  And you know what?  I don't want to work that hard.  I just don't.  I want my blog to be what I want it to be.  Which it is.  Some of you like that, and some of you don't.  Which is cool.  Blogging is a lot like books.  There is literally something out there for every reader.  And if there isn't?  Hey, why not start your own blog?  Why not add your own voice to the mix?

So yeah, at the end of the day my take on this is be a grown-up and make-up your own mind.  I've met Sarah in person, I know she adores the genre, but I'll be honest - Sarah ain't going to tell me what to think or what to do.  Ever.  I know it's easy to forget sometimes, what with the fact that trolls exist, but you know what?  We're grown-ups people.  Really, truly - we are.  And we all have our own minds.  Own yours.  Be yourself.  Like free will, it's pretty damn sexy.

Sorry All You Non-Baseball Fans....

I'm not done talking baseball yet for this season.



Justin Verlander and Don Kelly - basking in the bromance.

 Apparently the Tigers feel it's their duty, their right, their lot in life even, to keep shaving years off my life.  Thanks boys. 

Next stop....Texas!

Baseball, State of Health, Hunky Librarians, and Mojo

I have lots of little stuff floating around in my wee lil' Super Librarian brain at the moment, and none of it is really suited for me to drag out into a full-length blog post.  You know what that means, right?  We're going to kick it round-up style!  And away we go.....

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I'm finding that watching my Tigers in the post-season is a nerve-wracking experience, and probably isn't doing too much for my current state of health.  Last night's beat-down by the Yankees would have had me running towards the closest bottle, except I suspect drinking alcohol right now would not aid my cause of "feeling better" and I would have spent the next 24 hours in the fetal position.  Cooler heads prevailed.  Game 5 is on Thursday, which means if you're sick of hearing me talk about baseball - well it could all be over soon.  At least until Spring Training at any rate.

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For those following my various whinings about "not feeling good" - I went to the doctor this week and had some blood work drawn.  If that comes back normal, then I find myself dealing with a "stress" and "food" related issue.  Which means Wendy needs to behave herself.  And in my experience, behaving ones self is highly overrated.  The good news is that my doctor did give me a prescription for something that should help (I took said drug in college - which was the last time my symptoms were of this nature), and then I did the mature, responsible thing that any self-aware, confident 30-something woman should always do.

I called my Mommy. 

And wouldn't you know it?  Mom made me feel better. 

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One thing you hardly ever see on this blog is the blatant objectifying of men.  Well, unless they're cowboys.  Then all bets are off.  And even then I tend to go with men wearing clothes - what with this being a safe to sneak a peak at work or in front of your kidlets blog.  One thing that's hardly ever done?  I mean, like ever? 

The blatant objectifying of male librarians. Why should actors, models, athletes and cowboys have all the fun?

Answering the call, 12 male librarians have posed for the Men Of The Stacks 2012 calender!  There's even some nekkidity, with strategically covered naughty bits, of course!  So girls, let your inner geek flag fly (If you're a male librarian and take offense to that - suck it up cupcake.  All librarians are geeks.  Own it.  Revel in it.). 

All proceeds from the calender are going to the It Gets Better Project. 

Oh, and laughing man is Mr. February.  I picked him because 1) he has his clothes on and 2) I love guys with a sense of humor.

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In blog related news - Amazon and California have called a truce (at least for the time being) and I am once again an Amazon Associate.  I link accordingly to items on Amazon not only on this blog, but also on my Upcoming Historicals wiki.  See the Bat Cave Disclaimer page for more than you probably ever wanted to know about the inner workings of this blog and my other dealings in Cyber-Romancelandia.

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Finally, I have lost my reading mojo.  I seem to have misplaced it somewhere.  Should you run across it, I appreciate it if you would return it.  I'm still considering if I'll offer a reward.....

Sex, Gossip And Rock & Roll

As much as I love category romance, I have historically had a terrible time navigating the Harlequin Presents waters.  I can roll with dippy titles (this line featured some doozies for the longest time), it was the over-the-top back cover blurbs that tended to keep me away.  And when I'm not talking auto-buy authors?  I pick all my category romance reads based off of back cover copy.

These days I normally choose my HP reads from reviews I read, but in this case, I snapped up Sex, Gossip And Rock & Roll because I've enjoyed books that Nicola Marsh has written for the Harlequin Romance line.  This story had it's moments, but it didn't work as well for me as those previous HR books.

Charli Chambers works for big time Australian music producer, Hector Landry.  Her current mission is to re-launch the career of aging rocker, Storm Varth.  The plan is to take him out on tour to smaller venues, build up some buzz, cap it off with a big show in Melbourne, and hopefully get his butt back in the studio.  However, this is proving to be complicated.  Storm wants to bring his young son along with him - which means Charli needs to come up with some kid-friendly diversions to entertain the lad.  Then there's the small matter of Luca Petrelli.  He is Hector's bastard grandson, and the boss has declared that Luca will be overseeing money matters on the tour.  With his notorious playboy reputation, plus the fact that Luca and Hector are not close - Charli smells a rat.  She's sure she's going to get stuck with some lazy Lothario who is only along for the ride to take advantage of her kindly boss.  Naturally, her less-than-stellar opinion of him is confirmed when she goes to pick him up, and he answers his door wearing nothing but a towel and a smile.

The set-up and early chapters of this story are vintage HP.  You have immediate Insta-Lust between hero and heroine - both of whom are thinking of burning up the sheets together even if they can barely tolerate each other.  You have a hero who is charming and slick on the surface, but underneath is vulnerable and a bit wounded.  Then you've got a heroine who is trying to navigate the choppy waters left in his wake, while trying to keep her panties firmly in place (yeah, good luck with that cupcake).

This was a second-half read for me.  The first few chapters were a bit rocky, with some lumpy writing, and the repetitive use of some words (seriously, if I never read "fortnight" again....).  But once the set-up is out of the way, and our motley band of characters are on the road, things begin to pick up steam. 

What I initially really liked about this particular book is that the heroine is just as commitment-phobic as the hero.  She's no Little Miss Innocent trying to protect her virtue from the Big Bad Virile Alpha Stud.  That said, when you have two characters, both of whom have leftover childhood baggage?  It can make for a tricky read.  It's really easy to slip over that edge where the reader stops being sympathetic and starts screaming, "Oh get over it already!"  And some of that happens here.  Namely because both Luca and Charlie are fairly self-aware people.  They both acknowledge the fact that their screwed up childhoods have rendered them gun-shy.  But for two people who are so seemingly self-aware, they both show a surprising lack of motivation to "get past it," "move on," and "get over it."  Smart on one hand, dense on the other.  It made for a frustrating read because on one hand they "owned" their foibles, but on the other they chose to not do a damn thing about them.

Still, there were some pleasant moments in this story, and I read through it rather quickly.  I liked that on one hand Storm Varth is just the sort of aging rock star you would expect, but on the other he adores his son, and is a pretty decent father.  I liked that Charli had a little bit of a harder edge, and I liked that there was a lot of sexy banter flying around.  It wasn't perfect, but there were moments nonetheless.  Enough moments that the author is still on my HP radar.

Final Grade = C+

No More Drama

Never has the old adage that you can't choose your family been more apt than it is in Gwynne Forster's Breaking The Ties That Bind, her latest women's fiction novel.

Kendra Richards is in her early-30s, working a dead-end job as a coat check girl in a swanky restaurant, trying to save enough money to get back to Howard University and finish her degree.  However just as she starts to get her head above water, and squirrel away a little money in the bank, her useless mother turns up looking for a handout.  Ginny is a narcissistic barracuda with worse morals than an alley cat.  Kendra has finally reached her limit, and very early on in the book begins to sever ties with her.

Enter into the picture Sam Hughes, a professor at George Washington University.  He was a regular customer at the restaurant where Kendra worked, and she always admired him from afar, but it's not until she gets a job at a local radio station that they meet in person.  Sparks, immediately, fly.  But Sam has been burned before, and Kendra is just now getting her life together.  Adding in Ginny's continued shenanigans, and do these two have any hope of building a solid, drama-free, life together?

One thing I think librarians lose sight of sometimes is that there is a market, and a reader, for just about everything in the adult fiction universe.  And trust me, there's a market for this book.  It has a lot of the earmarks that have made other books, and authors, quite successful over the years.  Here you have a young woman, Kendra, from a humble background, pulling herself up by her boot-straps, and making something of her life.  Standing in her way is her mother, Ginny, who keeps coming around to create problems, even after Kendra stops enabling her.  Readers like it (heck, I like it!) when the downtrodden character is able to break-free from the baggage holding them back and "win" in the end. 

However, while Forster is a good storyteller, that's actually the problem with this tale.  There's too much "telling."  We never really get to dig deep inside the characters.  I felt like I was only getting a surface look at them.  As much as I did sympathize with Kendra's predicament, I never truly bled for her.  I never ached for her.  I never felt that urge to cheer when she succeeded in something.  I was also hindered by some of the dialogue which, in some instances, sounded stilted and forced.  Like the characters were reciting a passage instead of speaking naturally.

While not, technically, marketed as a romance, the arrival of Sam on the scene does provide one.  This never registered above "OK" for me - mostly because the attraction is very immediate, and has an almost "love at first sight" kind of vibe to it.  It was something I could roll with here, until towards the end when I wanted to smack Sam so hard that he'd swallow his teeth.  On one hand, you do have Ginny mucking up the works, but on the other, you have Kendra who is so polar-opposite from her mama that Sam should have caught a clue.

So where does that leave us?  Stuck in the middle.  There's a decent story here, and I turned the pages easily.  However, I gotta be honest, a big reason I kept flipping those pages was to keep reading The Ginny Train Wreck.  I actually looked forward to the moments when she appeared on page.  The other characters?  Yeah, not so much.  They never seemed entirely natural to me, and there was a hint of preachiness to some of them that grated.  So I'm left with villainous Ginny, who I found oddly hypnotic, and the appeal of the theme at large - of breaking free, letting go, and finding your own self.  It was one of those pick and choose kind of reads....

Final Grade = C-