Not Young, Still Restless

I have a great affection for broads - women who don't suffer fools gladly, women who hold their own yet don't steamroll over others in the process, just all-around kick-ass women.  Not Young, Still Restless is Jeanne Cooper's memoir.  Since 1972 Cooper has played the role of Katherine Chancellor on the daytime soap opera, The Young And The Restless.  A soap I religiously watched throughout my teen and college years, and only really gave up once I started working for a living and discovered romance novels.  But to this day I adore Mrs. Chancellor.  She's totally balls-out fabulous, not unlike the woman who has portrayed her for the last 40 years.

This is a very breezy, chatty memoir, written with the help of co-author Lindsay Harrison.  Cooper tells it like it is (and was), yet never wallows in self-pity or sentimentality.  It happened, here it is, the end.  There are moments she probably could have delved deeper into (more gory details about her failed marriage, her alcohol addiction, rehab....), but you get the impression from the book that isn't her style.  If you're a reader into a lot of long, detailed, floggings about the bumps in the road of life, this may be disappointing.  But I think it gives a good, accurate picture of the real woman that is Jeanne Cooper.  One who acknowledges that she made mistakes, yet wouldn't necessarily trade in any of those experiences if she had the luxury of doing it all over again.

The highlights of the book for me were the details of her failed marriage to Harry Bernsen (yes, actor Corbin Bernsen is their oldest child....) and the Y&R "stuff."  Of Harry you get the impression there are more than a few sour grapes there, but if even half of what Cooper alleges in this book is true, it's easy to understand why.  But I also appreciated that has much as Harry put her through, she doesn't throw the baby out with the bath water.  She acknowledges that he was a good businessman, a great agent for many of his clients, and he gave her three fabulous children whom she clearly adores.  What I was most struck by was the opening paragraph to the chapter that delves into her life with him:

"Here's my theory about what happens when we women meet someone to whom we're too attracted to for our own good: I don't think it's a matter of not noticing the red flags that signify this relationship is not a good idea.  I think we notice them and, because those red flags don't mesh with what we think we want, we come up with euphemisms for them, to trick ourselves into believing they're part of what makes him interesting."

As interesting as the details about her life outside of Y&R are, let's be honest - nobody would probably be reading this book if it weren't for her work on Y&R.  So I feel fairly comfortable declaring this book as being mostly "for fans."  Cooper landed on Y&R at the perfect time in her life.  She jumped on board during the early days of TV and built a solid, reputable career for herself as a "guest star" on many of the popular shows of the day.  This was back when you could earn a decent living just doing guest spots on shows like The Big Valley, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, The Twilight Zone, Perry Mason and the like.  But with her marriage crumbling around her, her children mostly grown, Y&R meant long-term steady employment with a full-time paycheck.  Forty years later she's still there, and dishes on some of her costars.  She has fond memories of David Hasselhoff, Eric Braden has a "playful" sense of humor (really, Victor Newman?!), she had a relationship with the actor who played her son Beau on the show (!), and the differences between Terry Lester and Peter Bergman (the two Jack Abbotts).  I also appreciated that she calls the world of soaps like she sees 'em - at least by today's standards.  She's not above calling out studio execs and prime-time programmers who treat daytime like red-headed step-children.  She also calls out story lines she loved (Marge Catrooke, Rex Sterling etc.) and hated (Jill could be Katherine's daughter!, killing off John Abbott.....).

In the end this was an entertaining memoir and delivered exactly what I wanted as a lapsed Y&R fan.  It was a quick read with just the right amount of self-deprecation and offered insight into a woman who has carved out a very interesting career, and fulfilling life for herself.  And it really made me want to go back in time and watch those old episodes of Y&R again.  Back when everybody attended fabulous soirees at The Colonnade Room.....

Final Grade = B

Digital Review: The Gin Lovers #5: Dangerous Games

Jamie Brenner's fifth installment of The Gin Lovers: Dangerous Games immediately picks up where the bombshell ending in previous installment left off.

Now that Charlotte has discovered the Big Whopping Secret that her dear husband William has been keeping from her, she's now more determined than ever to find a way to leave him.  Unfortunately, just as her new resolve is kicking in, her bootleggin' lover, Jake Larkin, seems to be growing weary.  He thinks Charlotte should just up and leave William.  Run off with Jake and live happily-ever-after in Far, Far Away Land.  Charlotte is a bit more practical.  She knows that if she leaves William in such a manner she walks away with nothing.  No money, no security, and her "good name" in total ruin.  No, our girl needs a plan - and thanks to the grand opening of the Delacorte Library, and Amelia Astor's machinations, she just may have found one.

Meanwhile, good-time cocktail waitress-slash-hooker, Fiona Sparks realizes just how much she misses Mae, and now Mae is engaged to be married!  In turn, Mae realizes that her engagement to Jonathan Astor has had a lovely side benefit of making Fiona jealous and she really begins to turn up the heat.  Unfortunately everyone gets burned when a meddling gossip columnist discovers Mae's lesbian predilections and threatens to splash them all over the society pages.  What to do, what to do?

This entry in the serial does a very good job of bringing everything to a head and setting up the final installment, which promises to be quite the showdown.  I have a sinking suspicion that Charlotte is going to end up with the wrong man (What can I say?  I've got a thing for hunky Irish butlers), and I love how Mae has grown from rebellious petulant child to trying to get her way by playing within society rules.  I saw the Big Secret coming a mile away, but now I'm positively breathless to find out how the whole thing is going to be resolved.  Sixth and final installment.....here I come!

Final Grade = B

Giveaway: RWA Tote Bag + Historical Romances

Here's a giveaway so nice, I'm doing it twice!  Once again the prize will include an RWA 2012 tote bag and a box of books - this time it's a random selection of historical romances from various publishers.

For your chance to win, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post, answering this question:

You've been invited to a fabulous dinner party and you will be sitting next to one historical figure of your choosing (famous or not famous - but they must be dead).  Who would you want that one person to be?

There will be two (yes, TWO!) lucky winners on this giveaway, and the contest is open to both US and international residents.  Winners will be chosen at random and announced on Friday, November 2.

Good luck!

(Oh, and don't worry about your dinner companion being a zombie and dining on your brains.  The very definition of a "fabulous dinner party" is No Zombies Allowed, and your mysterious host has a way of reanimating dead historical figures without any of those pesky zombie side-effects)

Digital Review: Until There Was You

I don't actively seek out military romances, but I read and enjoyed Jessica Scott's debut novel last month, so I was more than willing to give her second effort a whirl.  Sadly, Until There Was You fell a little flat for me, suffering a bit of a sophomore slump.

Captain Evan Loehr is by-the-book.  A West Point grad, an impeccable service record, and he's good-looking to boot.  It's no wonder that Captain Claire Montoya calls him "Captain America" - to both his face and behind his back.  They may have shared one smoldering kiss years before, but now having survived two tours in Iraq together and thrown on the same assignment in Colorado prepping another team for deployment?  Yeah, these two are coming together about as well as oil and water.

Evan is all rules and regulations.  Claire is not above bending a few if it means getting the job done.  What happens when these two opposites are thrown together, and their rooms just happen to be right next door to each other?

The answer is bickering.

Lots and lots of bickering.

The author is aiming for an adversarial relationship in this story.  This can be a tall order for even seasoned veterans, and for the most part it just doesn't work in this story.  I never quite understood exactly why Evan and Claire got on each others' nerves.  We get a sexy kiss in the first chapter and then in the next we've hit the fast forward button and the two are constantly jabbing at each other.  There's no ground work laid for the adversarial "stuff."  Maybe if we had a chapter that took place during their time in Iraq, that may have helped.  But as it stands, these two just come off as cranky babies who don't like share their toys with each other.

For the most part I really liked Evan's character.  Of course it's kind of hard to not like someone who is described as Captain America.  His back-story is interesting and helps to explain why he is the way he is.  He's also a bit misunderstood, but blessedly doesn't wallow.  In contrast I found Claire more problematic.  She's so headstrong I spent a lot of the book wanting to shake some sense into her - mostly in regards to a secondary enlisted character, Claire's BFF who happens to have a huge drinking problem she's not only ignoring, but helping him to cover up by pulling his ass out of one scrape after another.  Her logic for not turning him in is that he's too valuable on the front lines and saves lives, which boggled my mind - especially when it comes out that he's drinking heavily while deployed as well!  Yeah, because a drunk couldn't possibly get anyone killed in a war zone.  He'll be too busy "saving lives."  /end sarcasm

But then I'm not military, have never been military, so it's entirely possible I don't "understand."  Still, I couldn't help but feel her misplaced loyalty to him bordered on reckless stupidity.

The story reads along at a fast clip, and once the couple succumbs it's pretty steamy and emotional stuff.  However I never felt fully connected to either character, and therefore never really felt much for the developing romance.  I saw the lust, but love?  Picturing these two in a lasting relationship where one of them doesn't end up dead because the other one snaps?  Yeah, I'm not so sure.

Still, it was a quick read and Scott's writing style still appeals.  I obviously didn't love it, but I didn't outright loathe it either.  A mixed bag, but enough that I'm up for reading more by the author....

Final Grade = C

Winner!: Strange Bedfellows Giveaway

And we have a winner!  Thanks to the random randomness of random.org - the lucky commenter who will be receiving a box of paranormal romance, a few contemporary romances and an RWA tote bag is lucky number 9 (number 9, number 9, number 9......).  And that was.....

LoriK!

Lori, you can find my e-mail address here.  Please drop me a line with your shipping address and I'll get your prize out to you soon.

Poor Little Rich Boy

Undeniable by Alison Kent is the first book in a new series set in tiny Crow Hill, Texas and features three hunky BFF's known as "The Dalton Gang."  With small town romances currently still insanely popular and the uptick of interest in erotic romance, this book has all the ingredients to be a big success.  So it's really too bad I spent the whole novel wanting the bitch-slap the hero into next week.

Dax Campbell left Crow Hill at 18 and hasn't looked back.  His asshole Daddy was pressuring him to go to law school and take over the family firm, his mother was indifferent to her own children while taking up various social causes, and all he wanted to do was be a cowboy.  As a kid he worked for the Dalton's, a married, childless couple who really needed the help on their ranch.  Along with Dax, they hired on his BFF's Boone and Casper.  When Tess Dalton dies, she leaves the ranch to all three boys.

Making a go of the struggling ranch won't be easy, and now Dax finds his head turned by Arwen Poole, proprietress of the local saloon.  They went to high school together, and Arwen has a major unrequited lust for Dax.  When she hears he's back in town she decides to slake that lust and get him out of her system for good.  Dax has been celibate for far too long and a "just sex" affair seems like a good idea.  That is until their pasts and feelings get in the way.

Heroes like Dax annoy the ever-lovin' crap out of me.  They're hot, hunky, and good in bed - which means that apparently gives them a free pass when it comes to behaving like an asshole.  His answer is to use people.  Use women for sex, completely disregard his younger sister who was left to pick up the pieces after he took off, and run away when he can't deal with the fact that Daddy Doesn't Love Him.  So he'll take what Arwen offers and then flee the scene of the crime faster than a burglar hearing police sirens.  He'll leave town at 18, NEVER CONTACT HIS SISTER AT ALL!!!!!, then when he rolls back to into town it takes him weeks to CONTACT HIS SISTER!!!!!

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

And the women in this story?  Keep giving this jerk-face a free pass.  Oooooh, poor Dax.  Daddy doesn't love him.  At least Arwen has the decency to be mad at him on occasion, but naturally the moment he takes out his Magic Penis all is forgiven.

Just shoot me.

So what are we left with?  Well, the positive stuff.  Granted Dax's sister Darcy is your classic Martyr Secondary Character, but I flat-out liked her, and her martyrdom is easier to swallow when you couple it with the fact that part of the reason she got that way is because Dax is a baby who perpetually runs away when there's even a whiff of conflict.  I also liked Arwen.  She has her own Daddy Issues, and while she ran away from dealing with that baggage, she at least carved out a life for herself.  The final showdown between Dax and Daddy I could have cared less about - but Arwen seeing her father again?  Oh man, great stuff!

The sex here is plentiful, steamy, and blessedly avoids being "trendy" for the most part (no BDSM, but Arwen does have nipple rings - which all I can say is OUCH!).  The way the condom issue was handled didn't work for me (especially when you factor in Dax's past man-whore shenanigans), but it was nice to read an erotic romance where, outside of some buttsecks, the sexy times were largely steamy and vanilla.  There ain't nothing wrong with vanilla folks - just saying.

The small town stuff is also quite good.  As much as I came to loathe Dax, I got sucked into the setting and various characters.  I can see myself reading other books in this series, and I can see lots of readers getting hooked as well.

The final word is that mileage is going to vary here.  I know a lot of readers who will have no problem with Dax's behavior because he's, to put it bluntly, the hero (now if the heroine behaved in this manner, that's another story entirely and don't try to deny it.....).  Given my distaste for one of the main characters that would normally mean a book landing somewhere in my D range, but outside of Dax?  I liked the rest of the book.  And even with me being annoyed, if I can see myself reading another book in this series?  Yeah, we're grading on a curve.

Final Grade = C-

Digital Review: The Gin Lovers #4: Vice Or Virtue

The beautiful people behaving badly are back in The Gin Lovers: Vice Or Virtue, the fourth installment of Jamie Brenner's six-part serial novel.

After getting caught in a compromising situation, Charlotte finds herself having to toe the line with hubby William.  William has money that Charlotte has discovered she now very much needs, which means swallowing her pride and putting up with the jackass.  But her lover, the bootlegger Jake Larkin has big plans, with big ambitions, and has promised her that her days of suffering not-so-silently in her marriage should soon be over.

Meanwhile, rebellious Mae Delacorte is learning how to play the game.  She needs her inheritance, and for that she turns to Jonathan Astor, dour Amelia's party-boy cousin.  These two are a match made in Hangover Hell.  On one hand you admire their ingeniuity, while on the other you see disaster looming ahead.

Speaking of disasters - the Prohibition Agent lurking around Fiona is turning up the heat, and Fiona finds herself providing more services at Boom-Boom's club when the booze supply starts to get a little thin.  Charlotte finds herself spending some quality time with her butler, Rafferty, who is really starting to wear his heart on his sleeve.  Poor guy.  He's even got a sexy Irish accent and his mistress is all-hot-to-trot for some trouble-making bootlegger.  Oh Rafferty, she doesn't deserve you.  Might I suggest a not-so-mild-mannered librarian?

Things really heat up with this installment, with the bread-crumb trail the author has laid out starting to bear fruit.  Things end on a OK I Knew It Was Coming But Still, Oh No She Didn't! note, that will have readers sucked into the soapy shenanigans chomping at the bit for the next entry in the series.  Still hooked, still cannot stop reading, cannot wait to see how the author wraps it all up with just two installments left.

Final Grade = B

Stange Bedfellows Giveaway!

I know RWA 2012 was back in July and yes, I'm well aware we're closing in towards the end of October.  But yes, I still have more tote bags and books to giveaway!  By my count, I'm thinking there will be at least three more giveaways (after this one) before I can start to reclaim my home office.

Since Halloween is upon us, I figured it was time to unload some of the paranormal books I grabbed among the Literacy Signing leftovers.  And just because they seemed like the odd man out of what I had left (inspirationals and historicals mainly), I'm also going to include a few Avon contemporaries by Toni Blake, Jennifer Bernard and Rachel Gibson to the mix.

Paranormal and contemporary romance.  I know that makes for strange bedfellows, but let's roll with it.

To enter the contest, just leave a comment on this blog post and answer this question:

If you could possess any type of paranormal ability and/or super power - what would it be?

Winner will be chosen at random and announced on Thursday, October 25.  Contest is open to US and international readers.

The Space Between Us

You know what I really love about Megan Hart's books?  She writes erotica for grown-ups.  She doesn't write sex just to titillate and she holds her characters to a higher standard.  They don't just aimlessly drift through their lives on the page having sex with whomever they please with no consequences attached.  No, Hart holds her characters emotionally accountable, and nowhere is that more evident than in The Space Between Us.  This is a quiet book, but it packed a major punch for me.

Tesla Martin is a 20-something coffee barista working at Morningstar Mocha.  Having had an unconventional childhood, she lives with her friend Vic, his wife and two kids.  She has a younger brother who works as a mechanic in Vic's body shop.  She's also bisexual and finds herself currently drawn to Meredith, a regular who likes to come in and hold court at Morningstar.  Her attraction to Meredith is put to the test though when the woman makes her an indecent proposal: have sex with her husband Charlie.

What follows is a menage relationship that has consequences for all the characters.  I loved that Hart doesn't use the menage for the sole purpose of writing steamy sex and then, poof!, all the characters go on their merry way.  Relationships are hard when there are just two people, add in a third and it's bound to get messy.  Tesla, even with her unconventional ways, recognizes this, but it doesn't prepare her any better for the coming fall-out.

Reading this book is like being on a slow moving train heading towards a cliff.  As far as plotting goes, it's a very quiet story with nothing but internal conflict to propel it forward.  This story, like many of Hart's others, lives and dies on the backs of the characters.  You have to really be invested in them to keep moving forward because if you are not?  There's not a serial killer, hostile business takeover, or natural disaster to tide you over.

Tesla, truly, carries this story.  Her relationship with Vic, her brother, Cap, and what happens to her life once she involves herself with Meredith and Charlie.  Meredith is the enigma of the story, at turns charismatic and sexy, at others selfish and self-absorbed.  Charlie is almost like an innocent bystander.  Sure having two women might sound like the stuff of a really hot porn movie, but in reality it's complicated.  When Tesla enters into a relationship with both him and Meredith, what will that mean for just him and Meredith?

This is a hard book to write a review for, and a hard one to articulate my feelings about.  I'm not sure it passed my Must Re-Read Someday Test, but it affected me deeply.  I felt for these characters.  They felt like real people to me.  Their problems, their pasts, while not necessarily "relate-able" to me, felt authentic.  I started to imagine walking down the street, seeing Morningstar Mocha on the corner, and going in - having Tesla chat with me while she makes my tea latte.  On a romance scale, I'm not sure I'd consider this a romance novel.  It's too.....messy.  It certainly has it's romantic elements, but the ending is either going to be one readers will love or hate.  How will it end for Tesla, Charlie and Meredith?  It ends the way I think it has to, which is to say it's not conventional.

It's not my favorite or least-favorite by Hart, but it is what I've come to expect from her work: challenging characters who make good and bad choices dealing with the emotional consequences of their actions.  She's a stunning writer, and this is a stunning book.  I don't know if I will ever re-read it, but I'm nowhere near the point where I want to let go.

Final Grade = A-

World Series Here We Come!

World Series bound baby! 

TBR Challenge 2012: Subtle, Like A Chainsaw

So that's why she looks so sad.....

The Book: The Missing Twin by Rita Herron

The Particulars:  Romantic suspense, Harlequin Intrigue, 2011, Part of Series, Out of Print, Available Digitally

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?:  As is the case with all random category romances in my TBR, I picked this one up at a conference - RWA 2011 in New York City (or as I like to call it, Wendy's Librarian Of The Year Year).

The Review:  Oh man, this was just....not good.

Caleb Walker works for Guardian Angel Investigations, which specializes in finding missing children.  He's part Native American, which in Romance Novel Land automatically means he has a "sixth sense."  He's also a Romance Novel Hero, which automatically means he was a wounded past and a dead wife he still mourns.

Yada yada yada.

Enter stage left, Madelyn Andrews whose five-year-old daughter, Sara, keeps having nightmares about her twin-sister, Cissy.  Cissy and her mommy are in danger from a "bad man."  The fly in the ointment?  Cissy didn't survive childbirth.  Now it turns out that the doctor who delivered Cissy and Sara was in on a baby-selling illegal adoption scam.  Could it be?  Could Cissy still be alive?  And is she really in danger?

Things get off on the wrong foot right away thanks to Sara who is straight out of Romance Novel Land Plot Moppet Central Casting.  Here's an example of what I waded through every time the kid appeared on page:

"You gots an Indian name?" Sara asked in a whisper.

Caleb nodded.  "Firewalker."

Sara's eyes widened.  "You walks on fire?  Does it hurt?"

So the kid is smart enough to know about Indian names, yet dippy enough to take them literally?

Seriously. Just. Shoot. Me. Now.

The rest of the dialogue is just as stilted and mind-numbing, and in no way aided by paranormal elements that have all the subtlety of a chainsaw.  My favorite was when Caleb's "abilities" come to light.  Madelyn and Caleb are at Cissy's "grave," waiting for the casket to be exhumed....

Caleb was there, kneeling with his hand on Cissy's grave.  His dark skin had drained of color, and an odd mixture of grief and pain marred his face....

Fast forward a page or so....

"What were you doing at Cissy's grave?"  Suspicion flared in her eyes.  "Do you have some kind of psychic ability that you didn't mention?  Is that why you believed Sara?  Could you see inside the grave?"

OK, seriously?!?!  Who makes that kind of leap right out of the gate?  Oh, the hunky Native American guy looks pale and he's touching a gravestone.  Ergo, HE MUST HAVE PSYCHIC ABILITIES!!!!!

Dude.  Here's a thought, maybe he just ate some bad Thai food for lunch and he's feeling nauseous.  Did you ever think of that? 

And while I'm at it, what self-respecting baby snatcher keeps the same name for the kid that the birth mother gave it?  What, did The Evil Doctor show up at their door and say, "Here's the baby you wanted to adopt and oh, by the way, her name is Cissy.  I just went ahead and took the liberty of naming the kid for you."

I would have slapped this book with an F except for two factors: 1) I've read worse and 2) I loved how the author handled The Condom Moment.  The couple is all ready to do the deed and the hero stops because he doesn't have a condom.  He tells the heroine that he wants "to do right" by her.  Thank you Lord!  No throwaway conversations of "I'm on the Pill" or "I'm clean baby, you can trust me.  Do I look like I have a scorching case of herpes?"  Oh, and in case you're curious?  They were at the heroine's house and SHE had some condoms.  A heroine!  With condoms!  OK, so her Mom bought them for her hoping she'd start dating again, but still!  A ROMANCE NOVEL HEROINE WHO HAS HER OWN CONDOMS!!!!

But honestly, that was it for me.  The Condom Moment.  The one bright shining light.....

Final Grade = D-

Digital Review: The Gin Lovers #3: Society Sinners

Jamie Brenner's The Gin Lovers keeps rolling on with installment three, Society Sinners.  When last we saw Charlotte Delacorte, she was falling hard and fast into the orbit of speak-easy bartender Jake Larkin.  Now, after a memorable night with Jake, her marriage to William becoming increasingly intolerable, Charlotte knows that she can't keep living the way she has.  So she convinces her continually annoyed husband to let her travel to Philadelphia to visit her parents.  Charlotte's plan is to gently break the news to them that she's thinking about leaving William, and let's be honest, to cry on her mother's shoulder.

However once she gets there she realizes that things with her parents are not well.  Oh sure, they're still living in the carriage house, having sold the family mansion years ago when Daddy's fortunes turned, but she hadn't realized things had gotten more precarious.   Charlotte ends her visit knowing one truth: she can never leave William.  Ever.  Money isn't buying her happiness, but it sure has hell can grease the wheels that she just found out are squeaking.

Further developments include Jake scratching together a new business deal in the hopes of being with his new lady love, Charlotte.  Fiona attracting the attention (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) of a Prohibition Agent working undercover, and Amelia Astor sharpening her claws, waiting in the wings to undermine Charlotte at every turn.

This installment does further things along nicely, although honestly it feels a little like a place-holder in some ways.  It's the entry where the characters turn a little introspective, and are looking for ways out of (or into) situations they either 1) want to be in or 2) are looking to escape.  Charlotte fancies herself in love with Jake, which I honestly don't see - but hey, good sex has been known to cloud the judgement of even the most sensible of women, and you can't entirely blame her because heck- if I were married to William I might fancy myself in love with a potted plant if it gave me any sort of affection.

I missed not having as much Mae in this installment, although I liked the fact that it now seems to be Charlotte and Mae Against The World.  Charlotte telling Mae to be smart, play the game, bide her time - that eventually her inheritance will come her way.  Although, naturally, William hasn't told Charlotte all of the stipulations of mama's will.  I also liked the development of Fiona and the Prohibition Agent, and I'm just about ready to have babies with Charlotte's butler, Rafferty.  That guy = awesome.

I'm still hooked.  I'm still loving the trashy, soapy shenanigans.  I'm dying to get started on the next entry in the serial.

Final Grade = B

Reminder: TBR Challenge For October 2012

For those of you participating in the 2012 TBR Challenge, a reminder that your commentary is "due" on Wednesday, October 17. 

The theme this month is Paranormal or Romantic Suspense.  October means Halloween, which means creepy ghouls, goblins and not-always-sexy things that go bump in the night.  However if you're hungover from raiding the Halloween candy stash early, or you're just not in the mood for otherworldly or suspenseful shenanigans, remember - the themes are totally optional.  The themes aren't important - reading something that's been lying around neglected is the real goal.

Wowzers, only three months left to the challenge for this year!  For a list of all of this year's participants, be sure to check out the TBR Challenge 2012 Information Page.

Digital Review: The Gin Lovers #1 and #2

I did not get introduced to the romance genre thanks to the Ubiquitous Bag Of Harlequins.  That glorious honey-hole of Alpha male goodness that many a reader stumbles across in her mother's closet or grandma's attic.  My mother and grandmother did not read romance novels.  No, they watched soap operas.  I was raised on the trashy shenanigans of The Young And The Restless and Dallas.  I cut my teeth on marriages that lasted three months, ended in divorce, and resulted in remarriages that lasted another three months.  So while I've seen other readers poo-poo the "gimmick" of the digital ebook serial?  Yeah, I'm more than likely to fall hook, line and sinker.  Because really, what is a serial if not a soap opera?  And Lord help me, I'm a girl who cannot say no to a soap opera.

The Gin Lovers by Jamie Brenner is set in New York City, during the heady Prohibition era of the 1920s, pre-Great Depression.  Bootleggers, jazz, beautiful people dancing the night away, and a shockingly interesting era for women.  It's the passing of the baton from Old School Victorian society mavens to young party girls (and boys) wearing Chanel, long strings of pearls, and drinking cocktails in back-door speakeasies.

The serial opens up with Charlotte Delacorte trying to navigate the society event of her mother-in-law's funeral.  Despite the fact that her father never could keep the family finances afloat, Charlotte was respectable enough to land handsome William Delacorte as a husband.  In turn, marrying Charlotte is the only remotely rebellious thing William has ever done.  But now the Queen is dead (long live the Queen!) and Charlotte is at a loss.  Some are looking for her take over, and others are hoping for blood in the water.

Arriving into this mix is Mae Delacorte, William's hellion 19-year-old sister.  Mae, who dresses at the height of flapper fashion, sleeps all day, parties all night, and is shockingly....a lesbian.  With no inheritance forthcoming (turns out, Mommy knew about the lesbian thing), Mae moves in with Charlotte and William.  William has grown distant and is always away on business.  Charlotte is depressed, lonely, and feels like life is passing her buy while she's trapped in a gilded Old School Victorian society cage.  Naturally, with Mae now orbiting their lives full time?  Shenanigans ensue.

This installment's job is to introduce all the players.  There is Amelia Astor, (yes, those Astors) with her eye on William and waiting to pounce on Charlotte's failures.  Fiona, the ambitious cocktail waitress and Mae's lover.  Boom-Boom, a night club owner looking for a new liquor connection, and Jake Larkin, a sexy bartender who catches Charlotte's eye.  Who will be the villains and who will be the heroes?  At this point, we don't rightly know.  What we do know?  All these beautiful people are on a collision course with each other.

The Gin Lovers: Little White Lies is when some of those initial questions get more complicated.  In this installment Charlotte realizes that her husband hasn't been entirely honest with her when she arrives home after a late night, brought on by Mae and the handsome Jake, to discover the police in their home.  Why exactly are the cops there?  Then there's Amelia Astor still lurking around, and William has to go on yet another business trip?  Really?

The delectable Fiona finds herself getting promoted to "hostess" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) when Boom-Boom realizes other clubs are sending over sexy competition to woo away high-roller customers.  Fiona was gunning on Mae being her meal ticket, but with no inheritance forthcoming, her interest in the volatile not-so-fast heiress has waned considerable.  In turn, Mae starts to feel a little desperate when her lover starts ignoring her.  Oh, and just to make things really tricky?  There's now a prohibition agent hanging around, undercover of course, at the club.

The story concludes with Charlotte reaching a turning point.  She's found an ally in their butler (awesome character!), but William is still distant, and something is definitely rotten in Denmark.  She's also having a hard time getting Jake Larkin out of her mind - and in turn, he seems just as taken with her. With law enforcement circling the wagons, Mae getting desperate, Amelia looking to woo away William, William being secretive, and Charlotte and Jake circling around each other?  Yeah, things are definitely about to get very interesting.

Dear Lord, I can't wait for installment number three!

Final Grades = B (for both #1 and #2)

Wendy, Wendy, Dumb, Dumb Head

I'm not smart enough to read this book.

There, I said it.

I'm going to state up front that this review for Deception by Kris Kennedy isn't necessarily going to be a "fair" one.  I also will admit, up-front, how ludicrous I'm going to sound.  I am in no way implying that the author should have "dumbed down" her book.  No, it's more like I think this particular story has a very specific audience.

Sophia Darnly's father was a corrupt judge with his fingers in a lot of dirty pies.  Eventually executed, the hunt is now on for a ledger he kept - records of various transactions that many powerful people would be none too please about should it come to light.  For her own purposes, and protection, Sophia needs to get that ledger.  She just didn't plan on running into a former lover on the night she plans to steal it.

Kier was basically one of the judge's hired henchmen, and after some of the very men who did business with Sophia's father try to have him killed, he's determined to have his revenge.  He's got a fairly intricate plan in motion, and then into his lap falls Sophia - a woman he was desperately in love with, and eventually torn away from.  He may still have a passion for her, but Sophia being around definitely complicates things - not to mention she seems determined to become a part of his scheme.

Kennedy writes what I call Very Medieval Medievals.  They're ideal (I think) for hardcore, Old School, medieval romance fans.  She doesn't skimp on the history, detail or language and she uses the "darker" time period to create fully realized, suitably heroic characters, that still have some dubious moral codes.  The thing about the medieval time period though is that it's very fraught, intricate, and uncertain - especially politically.  It's one of the few romance settings where both characters could sell their mothers and readers probably wouldn't whine too much about them "not being nice."  I mean, it's a medieval.  You expect that sort of thing in a medieval.  (Well, at least I do).

The issue here is mostly the plot and writing for me.  Kennedy's language is heavy and the plot itself includes various political maneuverings, subterfuge, and bad men doing bad things while trying to cover it up.  It's all very involved.  It helps matters that the chapters are short here - sometimes only a couple of pages long.  I'll confess, if I had to slog my way though 20 page chapters there's no way in heck this book would have gotten read.  As it is, the smaller, bit-size pieces helped me to keep my head above water.  However, while I got through it, I never found myself riveted, glued to the pages - mostly because it took most of my energy to keep the whole thing straight.

The plot, the medieval setting, the language - this was just a very heavy book to read.  I like medievals, but I tend to read them as "palate cleansers."  They're the sort of historical I go to when I want a change of pace.  I'm not what you would call a Super-Duper Medieval Fangirl.  And this story?  Is a Super-Duper Medieval.  I think you almost have to be a fan of the setting and time period within the romance novel world in order for this book to work for you on a bigger level.

Which just makes me sound like a brain-dead ninny twit.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I've enjoyed Kennedy's other books, this one didn't strike as "accessible" like her others.  While I do feel her other stories can appeal to a broad romance-reading fan base?  This one I think is more geared towards those medieval fans, the readers who have really devoted themselves to the time period over the years, cut their teeth on Roberta Gellis and the like.  For the rest of us?  Might I suggest The Irish Warrior?

Final Super Librarian Grade = C

Final Super-Duper Medieval Fangirl Grade = B or higher

The Month That Was September 2012

 Lemon Drop: Miggy, Miggy, Miggy can't you see, sometimes your bat just hypnotizes me....

Me: Your Mommy needs to lay off the hip-hop.

Lemon Drop: Nevah Auntie Wendy!  Mommy and I are keeping it real up in the izzle!

Me: Ahem, so why are you singing slugger?

Lemon Drop: Geez Auntie Wendy, Miguel Cabrera winning the Triple Crown!  I thought only horses got Triple Crowns but then Papaw explained it to me.  That's pretty cool, Miggy getting three crowns!

Me: Well while we're basking in the glow of a Tigers player doing something good, why don't I tell you about what I read last month.  Quite a bit of quantity here, although quality was all over the place.

Death Of A Neighborhood Witch by Laura Levine - Cozy mystery, Kensington, Part of series, 2012, Grade = B

• A nice installment in what is currently my favorite cozy mystery series.  Plenty of sitcom style antics, a decent mystery thread, but I'm disappointed that one of my favorite secondary characters seems to be morphing into an asshole.

Last To Die by Tess Gerritsen - Suspense, Ballantine, Part of series, 2012, Grade = B

• I wasn't totally enthralled with the suspense thread in Gerritsen's latest, but it's still very solid.  Also the Rizzoli family "stuff" is simply fantastic in this book.  Can't wait for the next one!

The Gin Lovers #1-#6 by Jamie Brenner - Digital historical serial novel, St. Martin's, 2012, Grade = No Idea Yet

• A soapy, sudsy six-part serial novel set in 1920s, Prohibition era, New York City.  I positively devoured all of the installments and was breathlessly hooked - until Part 6.  I wasn't terribly happy with the last installment and I'm still sorting out my feelings on the matter.  Reviews will be forthcoming starting Monday, October 8 when the first two installments hit digital book retail outlets.

The Siren by Tiffany Reisz - Contemporary BDSM erotica, Mira, Part of series, 2012, Grade = C

• Good writing and....good writing.  I didn't care for any of the characters save one lonely lil' secondary character who got his wee heart stomped on by the heroine, who I wanted to bitch-slap.  I felt the book was overly long (I mentally edited quite a bit of it) and I'm so sick of BDSM already.  I mean, I'm really over it.

Because of You by Jessica Scott - Digital contemporary romance, Loveswept, 2011, Grade = B

• A very solid category romance featuring a well-done military theme.  Was a tad annoyed that some of the secondary characters are left twisting in the breeze, and there were a few "debut novelist" lumps in the writing - but very promising.

The More The Terrier by Linda O. Johnston - Cozy mystery, Berkley, Part of series, 2011, Grade = C

• My TBR Challenge read for the month.  A cozy mystery where the mystery got lost within the "hook."  I want the dead body and the crime solving - I don't need to hear all about the heroine's job as an animal rescuer.

Planning for Love by Christi Barth - Digital contemporary romance, Carina, 2012, Grade = DNF

• I got a third of the way in and had to stop because I was so frickin' bored!  The author takes a third of the book to set up the back cover blurb!  And then the heroine ends up falling for the hero even though after a one-night stand he essentially torpedoes her entire belief system (she believes in love and marriage, he thinks it's a bunch of horse hooey and basically calls her an idiot - my hero! Not!).  Exhibit A on why I stick with category romance when I want my contemporary fix.  I would have cut out the entire first 80 pages of this book!

A Lady's Lesson In Seduction by Barbara Monajem - Digital historical romance short story, Harlequin Historical Undone, 2012, Grade = B-

• I had some quibbles about the hero and his mother, but honestly this was a very charming, holiday-themed read.  If you're a sucker for Christmas stories and don't mind reading short?  Download this one for Christmas Eve, says me.

Lemon Drop: Hey, wait a minute.  If Miguel Cabrera gets three crowns how come I don't have any!

Me: Have you led Major League Baseball in batting average, homeruns and RBIs?

Lemon Drop: Well, no - but I'm cute dagnabit!  And honestly I'm the only reason people read your blog Auntie Wendy.  That right there deserves at least two crowns.

Me: You know it's a shame you have such self-esteem issues.  Your Mommy might want to work on that.

Lemon Drop: Tell me about it Auntie Wendy.  Mommy is still under the impression that the world doesn't entirely revolve around me.  As her big sister maybe you should talk to her about that.

Me: Oh brother.

New Assignment

There are certain things I cannot say no to.  Chocolate, wine, Law & Order reruns, pawing through a collection of category romance......

And apparently RT Book Reviews. 

I ran into Morgan (the lovely gal who handles a lot of RT's digital content) at RWA this summer.  It was an excessively brief exchange as we were 1) at one of the publisher book signings and 2) Morgan is always super-duper busy at conference.  She mentioned in passing that she wanted me to to write for them.  I told her I was very busy (Gah! I am!), but that I would consider it.  Business cards were exchanged, and sure enough - she was as good as her word and e-mailed me.

So yeah, now I'm also guest blogging over at RT these days.  Because you know, between TGTBTU, H&H, and this blog I'm not talking about romance novels enough places on the Interwebs.

But seriously, I couldn't say no to RT!  It's R-frickin-T!

My first post, all about recent marriage of convenience books, has gone live today.  Why not head on over and check it out?

Note: the Bat Cave Disclaimer page has been updated to reflect this new assignment.