Contest Judging Round-Up

For the second year in a row, the Orange County chapter of Romance Writers of America asked me to be their "Top Pick" judge for the annual Book Buyers Best contest.  This is a published authors contest with nine categories.  Entered books go through a first round of judging and score sheets are filled out.  My job as "Top Pick" judge is to read the 1st Place winners in each of the nine categories and pick the best one.  It's a ton of reading, but as far as contest judging goes it's fairly easy.  I mean, I don't have to fill out any score sheets.  Just pick the best book, in my ever so humble opinion.

Like all contest reading it was a mixed bag.  There were books I really didn't think were all that great.  Then there were the nothing memorable either way, merely OK books.  And then there were the books that featured something that "stuck" with me.  For the sake of this round-up I'm going to talk about those books; the Wendy Graded B and C books (alas, no A reads this year in contest judging!).  And, of course, I'm including the book I selected as Top Pick!

Here's a perfect example of why I like to contest judge even though it can be a time suck.  Gentle on My Mind by Susan Fox is a book I had never even heard of, and the author does some really interesting things with this story.  On the surface it looks and smells like your typical small town contemporary, but it's got some grit underneath the surface.  The heroine is in her 40s, single, and trying to put her life back together after climbing out of a bottle.  She turned to alcohol to self-medicate, and she's finally been properly diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  She's managed to patch together a relationship with her formerly estranged, now married (she was a teen mom) son and is living a quiet life.  Until the (younger) hero, an undercover cop, crashes his motorcycle into her white picket fence.

So the issues I had with the story were mostly the hero (he's an undercover cop and yet the heroine suggests to him he might want to alter his appearance to "fit in" in town. Really dude?) and some back-story, info-dump in the first chapters.  It's the heroine here who is interesting.  The self-medicating issue with her alcoholism is not one you see every day in romance.  Also she's very aware of her bipolar disorder, monitors her medication, sees her doctor regularly etc.  These "interesting issues" you don't see in romance novels every day continue toward the end.  [SPOILER] Heroine gets pregnant.  She's older, has a mental illness, and is just repairing the damage she's done to herself and her relationships. Abortion is actually thought about and discussed. The heroine isn't necessarily "overjoyed" with this news.  She's, naturally, worried.  Was kind of refreshing to read a book where the heroine didn't spout off any "I'll always have a piece of him" BS. [END SPOILER].

The Plus One Chronicles by Jennifer Lyon is a self-published, erotic romance novella trilogy - now available in a box-set.  The heroine is a former scientist pigeon-holed into that career thanks to the family business.  She's always felt like a fraud compared to her genius parents and older brother.  Then she survives a brutal attack.  She now runs her own bakery and is trying (and mostly failing) to get back to normal.  To not be so scared all the time.  And then she meets the hero, a former MMA fighter turned gazillionaire, who is very interested in making her his "plus one."  Because, you know, he doesn't do relationships.

So the hero is, frankly, pretty standard here for stories of this ilk.  There's nothing particularly memorable about him, in my opinion.  But again, it's the heroine who makes this trilogy.  She's got an ex-fiance she's broken things off with, a strained relationship with her parents, and she's tired of feeling helpless.  Sure, she'll be the hero's "plus one" for however long it lasts - but in exchange she wants self-defense lessons.  Yes, the hero does "save her" to some extent, but she's actively working to save herself - and that's what I liked about this series.

Let me count the ways I am totally burnt-out on paranormal romance.  So it's pretty remarkable really that I enjoyed Prodigal Son by Debra Mullins as much as I did.  It's highly readable (even for those of us with burn-out!) and I thought it was an extremely strong showing for an author whose entire backlist, up until this point, was in historicals. 

The hero is a bounty hunter and a "seer" - descended from a survivor of Atlantis (yes, that Atlantis).  His ability to "see" people across time and space makes him darn good at his job - until he's hired to find a car thief who jumped bail and he can't "see" him.  What the heck?  The heroine is that car thief's stepsister and since she put her condo up for bail she has a vested interest in finding him.  She eventually runs into the hero and they join forces.  What neither of them know?  Wayward stepbrother stole something other than a car and there are some Very Bad Men gunning for him.

The world-building here is in line with urban fantasy.  It's a world we recognize as an everyday world, it's just inhabited by people with "powers."  The Atlantis angle was interesting, there's a nice chemistry between the main couple, and the series-itis (this is the first book in a trilogy folks) is there, but not too annoying (the hero's siblings are on tap for other books).  If you're looking for a new paranormal, Burn-Out Girl thought this was very solid.  It's pricier as a trade paperback, but it got very good reviews in the trade journals (including a starred review in Publisher's Weekly), so your local library may be an option.

And now ::drumroll:: we have the Top Pick Winner!  Sweet Madness by Heather Snow and the third book in a trilogy.  The heroine's husband committed suicide.  This tragedy, coupled with survivor's guilt, lead to her work helping to treat veterans returning from the Napoleonic War.  The hero is a veteran from that war, and is suffering from what we now know as PTSD.  He's in such a bad way that he as been committed, although given his title and family he's hardly in a "snake pit."  He's also her cousin by her first marriage and when his mother asks her to help, she agrees to go visit him.  She sees him for the first time since her wedding at the hospital, stark raving mad, naked, and being subdued by orderlies.  Ahhhhh, romance!

This is likely a book that would drive historical purists up one wall and down the other.  However I appreciated it for how the author plays with her history without completely running off the rails.  Yes, a heroine in the early 19th century running around as amateur shrink would be unlikely - but the survivor's guilt angle worked for me.  Also her idea for helping soldiers is "talk therapy," which hardly strains at the seams.  I also liked the window into mental illness treatment during this time period.  Let's face it - the hero has money and power, even if he is believed to be totally mad.  That affords him a certain lifestyle, even if he is institutionalized.  My only real quibble is a bit of a throwaway line, where I felt that the heroine's husband (obviously "not well") is demonized a bit for the way he treated her.  I could see that rankling some readers, and while it rankled me a bit - it didn't detract overall from the story which I felt was very interesting and a different take on what we typically see in a Regency.

And that's it!  The four books that stuck with me in various, positive ways, during the course of my contest reading.  While I didn't find an "A" read this year, I did run up against some interesting books that I may not have read otherwise.  Which really, is why I keep signing up to judge contests every year even with my TBR Pile of Doom.  There's nothing quite like stumbling across a good book that you otherwise may have never found.

More Unusual Historicals & Two First Looks

I'm finding my wee lil' corner of the Interwebs a trying place to be at the moment because of....well, all the "stuff" going on and the fact that I have felt genuinely blindsided by all of it.  Plus, I'll be frank - there's stuff going on in Real Life right now.  Yes, residents of The Bat Cave are fine.  It's just "family stuff" - sick relations, dying relations, relations getting "old" in general - nothing that everybody else doesn't deal with in their day-to-day lives.  Needless to say though it's left me feeling tired, drained and my will to read has left the room.  And I really, really need to read since I know getting lost in a good book is exactly what I need.

I know....whine, whine, whine.  Please pass the cheese.

In the meantime, I've had several posts go live over at Heroes & Heartbreakers that I have failed to blog about.  First up is a round-up of unusual historicals for October.  For the record, six of the featured titles are in my TBR.  I might have a problem, ahem.

I also did two First Looks: Tempted by a Cowboy by Sarah M. Anderson and Snow Angel Cove by RaeAnne Thayne. 

The Anderson is the second book in a series featuring an American brewing dynasty and it's good folks.  As in, really, really good.  It didn't pass my "must reread someday" test so not an A, but it's a high B+. Oh, and since I read this before reading the first book in the series?  I can attest that it stands alone just peachy.

The Thayne is a small town contemporary Christmas story that starts a new series, but is loosely connected to a previous series.  If the thought of reading yet another small town contemporary makes you want to drive nails up your arms - well, this one probably isn't going to change your mind.  But if you can't get enough of small towns?  If you're looking for a warm and fuzzy, cozy Christmas read?  This one may be worth checking out.  It was the very definition of an "OK" read for me.  Didn't love it, didn't hate it, but would easily recommend it to readers who lean that way.

Retro Review: When Love Walks In by Suzanne Carey

This review of When Love Walks In by Suzanne Carey was first published at The Romance Reader in 2000.  I rated it 4-Hearts (B rating) and gave it a sensuality rating of PG-13.

+++++

When Cate McDonough was 17 years old she fell hopelessly in love with misunderstood Daniel Finn. Everyone in small town Beckwith, Ohio, thought Danny was no good, including Cate’s parents. Even though they had forbidden her to see him, she continued to do so. In fact, Cate and Danny were so crazy for each other they planned to elope.

Of course, their elopement didn’t go according to plan, and Cate’s parents caught up with them. The marriage was annulled and Danny left town for good, leaving Cate behind. When she discovered she was pregnant, her parents convinced her to marry local boy Larry Anderson and pass the baby off as his. The two wed quickly, and moved to Minneapolis.

Fast forward 17 years and Cate is a young widow with a teenage son. She has lied about Brian’s age since his birth to cover up the fact that Daniel Finn is his biological father. She has since moved back to Beckwith and is a high school English teacher. When she learns that Danny is back in town, her world and her fragile lies are placed in jeopardy.

Danny is now a powerful executive working for the corporation that bought Beckwith Tool and Die. It’s his job to recommend to the corporation whether or not to expand operations at the current site or move to a different location. The plant is the town’s main source of support, even employing Cate’s father. It’s feared that Danny will destroy the very town that scorned him as a youth.

But Danny’s reason for taking the assignment is to see Cate. He was devastated by her marriage to Larry, and wants some answers. Will Cate and Danny be able to work past their misunderstandings and renew their love? Will Cate tell him about Brian? How will Brian react if he learns the truth?

The child-he-never-knew-he-had story has been around the block more than a few times by a variety of authors. Carey takes a familiar story and infuses it with such angst and heartache, that I immediately was sympathetic to Cate’s plight. I understood the choices she had to make once Danny was out of her life and she found herself alone, pregnant, and a prisoner in her own home.

There were parts of this story that initially nagged at me, especially Cate’s relationship with her parents. Her father emotionally and verbally abuses her at every turn, and her mother is too weak to go against her husband’s tirades. As I was asking myself, why does Cate continue to associate with these people? - Carey offers up a wonderful explanation. And when I thought I was going to have to endure a spineless heroine who wouldn’t stand up for herself against a bully father - Carey gives her a spine. There are several moments where Cate fights back with her own verbal punches, and it had this reader standing up and cheering for her.

The ease in which Cate and Daniel resume their relationship was a bit hard to get past. Seventeen years is an eternity in my mind, and while Cate does hesitate a bit, Daniel jumps right in. However, it is a terribly romantic concept for first loves to be reunited even after all the struggles they have endured, and it was this notion that allowed me to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Readers who enjoy secret child and lovers forced apart stories will love to sink their teeth into this one. Daniel and Cate resuming their teenage love affair, Cate’s struggle with the truth and the people it would hurt, plus her heated battles with her father pulled at this reader’s heartstrings. An emotional read that will have more than a few readers grabbing for the Kleenex.

+++++

Wendy Looks Back: I cannot say for certain but this may have been my first ever category romance read.  If it wasn't the first?  It's pretty darn close.  I remember really liking it, and it is one instance where I recall the secret baby plot working well for me.

It's funny what sticks with me sometimes.  Prior to rereading my review I recalled a few things about this book: 1) the author's name 2) secret baby plot and 3) that cover.  Seriously, how EPIC is this cover art?  It's literally been seared into my brain since 2000.

Carey has a long category backlist dating from the late 1980s to 1990s.  This book appears to have been her last published work - now 14 years ago.

Retro Review: The Sex on the Beach Book Club by Jennifer Apodaca

This review of The Sex on the Beach Book Club by Jennifer Apodaca was first published at The Romance Reader in 2006.  I rated it 4-Hearts (B rating) with a sensuality/content rating of R.

+++++

Holly Hillbay is a private investigator working in the coastal town of Goleta, California. She’s a former cop, tough as nails, and needs money. A lone operator (that’s the way she likes it) she just lost her bread and butter client thanks to her ex, Brad The Cad.

However, things are looking up. A husband who thinks his wife is cheating on him has hired her. If she is, then hubby can invoke a clause in their prenuptial agreement. He thinks the lovely Tanya is stepping out with bookstore owner, Wes Brockman, so Holly infiltrates Wes’ book club to get the dirt.

Almost immediately Holly realizes that hubby is off base. Tanya isn’t diddling Wes, she's playing footsie with lothario Cullen Vail. Even worse, Wes is really cute and Holly’s dormant libido kicks into overdrive. He wants to spend more time getting to know her, but she’s playing hard to get. Then Cullen turns up dead in Wes’ locked bookstore and he hires her to work the case.

Apodaca puts her Samantha Shaw mystery series on hold with what is being coined a “romantic mystery” for the steamy Kensington Brava imprint. Since hot sex has been cropping up in her mystery series of late, this isn’t too much of a stretch.

Holly truly carries this story. She’s a strong woman hiding behind a chick with a gun attitude. She’s been hurt terribly by Brad the Cad, and by the abandonment of her mother, so she talks a good game and never cries. Crying is for sissies. While some readers might find the tough girl act a bit thick at times, the fact that Holly is self-sufficient is a welcome breath of fresh hair. She’s still feminine, although she hates dresses and high heels, but she can take care of herself. She doesn’t need Wes to rescue her, and she’s darn good at her job.

Wes is, naturally, hiding a big secret – and when the dead body shows up in his business he’s spooked. He thought his past was behind him, and while he had nothing to do with Cullen’s murder, he can’t ignore the fact that the body was left where he would find it. So was his bookstore just a convenient scene for the crime or is Wes in danger? And while he does not trust cops are far as he can throw them, he suspects immediately that Holly will do right by him. So he cajoles her into taking him on as a client by doubling her regular rates.

The sexual tension here is very good, as is the dialogue. The opening chapters are a bit bumpy because the author immediately jumps into the story with both feet, and has a tendency to compare her characters to celebrities (Wes is described as resembling George Clooney). However, things perk up with chapter three, when Holly’s older brothers (both cops) show up. This first appearance of Joe and Seth tells readers more about Holly’s character than her first scenes with Wes. She’s the little sister who grew up being a tomboy to two older brothers. They taught her to be tough, and she wards off their meddling with smart aleck comments.

The mystery is well thought out, although the author occasionally tips her hand. Not only is Holly trying to figure out who killed Cullen, she’s sparring with her sleaze-ball ex and trying to figure out if Wes is in danger. There are quite a few balls the author has to juggle and she ties up all the loose ends well in the end.

With a title like The Sex on the Beach Book Club, readers can expect to find a fun, sexy beach read between the covers. Never mind that Brava is publishing it in the throes of winter. It won’t change your life, or alter your emotional consciousness, but it’s a sure bet for readers suffering from the winter blues or a wicked holiday hangover.

+++++

Wendy Looks Back: There was a stretch in the mid-00s where Kensington Brava experimented with publishing fun, sexy romantic suspense.  I read a few of them, and while they didn't change my life - they could typically be counted on to serve as ideal "Calgon, take me away!" reads.  Apodaca was a natural fit for this concept, having written a handful of books in her sexy cozy (I know, oxymoron) Samantha Shaw series, also for Kensington.  However, looking to infuse more romance into her work, she gradually made her way over to the Kate Duffy edited Brava line.

Apodaca is still writing these days, under this name and as Jennifer Lyon.  She's strayed away from mysteries, but continues to work in paranormals and sexy contemporaries (categories and single title).

Retro Review: The Shadow Side by Linda Castillo

The review of The Shadow Side by Linda Castillo was first published at The Romance Reader in 2003.  I rated it 4-Hearts (B rating) with a sensuality/content rating of PG-13.

+++++

Dr. Elizabeth “Eli” Barnes is a dedicated scientist who has spent the last 10 years working on the latest wonder drug. Valazine was designed to help people with previously untreatable forms of depression. It is a drug that has made Eli’s career – she is to be the recipient of the Distinguished Woman of Science Award. It should be the highlight of her life; only Detective Adam Boedecker shows up to ruin everything.

Adam is the very definition of a burnt-out cop. On leave from the Chicago PD after taking a bullet in the head, he endured months of excruciating physical therapy. As if that weren’t enough – his wife leaves him for his best friend, who just happens to be his former partner. Then the call comes that his older brother, Michael, was the victim of a murder/suicide. Seems Mike killed his pregnant wife then turned the gun on himself.

The fact that Michael would do something so heinous is inconceivable to Adam. Therefore, even though he is on leave, he does a little snooping and finds out that his straight-arrow brother was taking Valazine for depression. Adam then discovers other instances where previously nonviolent people, who had been taking Valazine, were later perpetrators of violent crimes. So, he hops in his truck, and drives to Ann Arbor, the home of Roth Pharmaceuticals and Eli Barnes.

Eli is not about to listen to some cop who is spouting threats. She has devoted her life to Valazine, oversaw the clinical trials herself, it’s just not possible that it’s a killer. Besides, what is to say it’s the drugs' fault? Isn’t it possible that the mental illness these people suffered from was to blame and not the treatment? However, when she learns of more evidence, and it appears that someone is out to silence her, Eli begins to suspect that what Adam Boedecker is telling her just may be the truth.

Adam and Eli seem to be polar opposites on the surface, but they are cut from the same cloth. Adam may be a blue-collar cop – but he’s also a man suffering from the betrayal of two people he trusted and the ramifications of the shooting. The head injury altered his personality to a certain degree, and left him the victim of debilitating migraine headaches. He’s been living in a hole for the last three years – not venturing out to his job, let alone on a date.

Eli devoted her life to science in order to help people. As a teenager, she was a witness to the horrors of depression, and those images still haunt her to this day. She herself is a little lost, unwilling to get close to anyone beyond friendships. While she’s no shrinking violet virgin, Adam does attract her on a baser sexual level that she hasn’t experienced with the other men in her life – and it scares the hell out of her.

The suspense angle isn’t much of a puzzler. By the very complicated nature of medical research and drug trials, it’s evident that something is afoot at Roth. While the author does throw in a nice little red herring, the conclusion doesn’t really come as too much of a surprise. The romance takes a little more time to build, but I found it very credible. Adam has the personality of a wounded animal, and it’s emotionally satisfying to watch him come to terms with his growing feelings for Eli. These scenes were easily the highlight of the book – featuring some deep emotion and well-written dialogue exchanges between the two. It was gratifying to read their happily ever after.

The Shadow Side is an enjoyable page-turner. The suspense didn’t always have me on the edge of my seat – but coupled with the interesting characters and emotional romance, I found it nearly impossible to put this book down. With her second single title release, Castillo has penned a very solid effort – making hers a name to look for while browsing those bookstore shelves.

+++++

Wendy Looks Back: I remembered this to be a very solid read although the finer details had eluded my memory until I reread my review.  Castillo has since moved on to mainstream suspense, and has written five books in her Kate Buckholder series - featuring a police chief in a small Ohio town who was raised Amish.  I recently DNF'ed the first book in that series on audio (ho-hum narrator and I was unmoved by the heroine's desire to keep, literally, a deadly secret) but it reminded me of this old review, and the fact that I've still got a couple of Castillo's romantic suspense titles buried somewhere in the depths of the TBR Pile of Doom.

Retro Review: Come What May by Leslie LaFoy

This review of Come What May by Leslie LaFoy was first published at The Romance Reader in 2002.  I rated it 4-Hearts (B grade) with a sensuality content rating of PG.

+++++

Claire Curran might as well be all alone in the world. After the death of her father, she’s left at the mercy of her Uncle George - who finds it nearly impossible to tolerate his headstrong, unconventional niece. The fact is though that Claire is a smart, resourceful girl, even if she is a bit of a headache. So for the last several years she has been traveling abroad, seeing to her uncle’s numerous business dealings.

Her latest travels have taken her to colonial Virginia where she learns the extent of her uncle’s distaste for her. Seems one Wyndom Rivard owes her uncle a rather large of sum of money and he’s calling in his marker. Unfortunately, Wyndom is completely useless and the job of cleaning up after him is left to his brother, Devon.

Devon is one step away from debtor’s prison and has been valiantly trying to keep the family estate, Rosewind, afloat. It hasn’t been easy. His mother, aunt, and brother are notorious spendthrifts, and Devon has to walk the very thin line of frugalness and public hospitality. Naturally, he cannot pay his brother’s debt, which means he has no alternative but to accept Uncle George’s ultimatum. He’ll call off the debt if Devon will marry his niece.

This doesn’t make either Claire or Devon happy, but they see no alternative. They decide to enter into the marriage on the understanding that they will annul it the minute they receive word that the debt is forgiven. It’s never that easy in Romance Novel Land though. The couple soon find themselves attracted to each other, and the plot soon puts their newly discovered, if unvoiced feelings, to the test.

If Romance Writing 101 classes ever exist, Come What May should be required reading simply because of Claire. I loved this heroine. She’s smart, practical, hardworking, resourceful, and utterly wonderful. No, not feisty - smart, and believe me there is a difference. I liked her so much that if it were possible jump into a fictional book, I would want to be friends with this woman.

Devon is an intriguing hero, because he is being pulled in many different directions. He’s desperately trying to keep the family estate afloat, but is getting no help from his family, who continually whines about the lack of baubles and extravagances. On the brink of bankruptcy, he has nothing to offer a wife, or so he thinks, and this largely makes up his internal conflict involving Claire.

Come What May is a largely plot driven novel. The author writes in several obstacles for Claire and Devon to struggle with including, visiting politicians, unsupportive relatives, impending war and a witchy other woman. These episodes keep the story moving along at a brisk clip, and further allow the couple to explore the depth of their feelings. My minor quibbles revolve around some of the secondary characters. The other woman, and Devon’s aunt are one-dimensionally nasty and the few slave characters present are relatively saintly. However, I did enjoy seeing these various secondary players through Claire’s eyes. This practice did add depth to Devon’s mother, brother, and Mary Margaret, an Irish indentured servant.

I currently have two other Leslie LaFoy novels buried in my to-be-read pile. You can bet that I’ve moved them up towards the top of the heap. With a truly magical heroine, world-weary hero, and an all too infrequently used colonial setting, Come What May is one of the better historicals I have had the pleasure of reading this year.

+++++

Wendy Looks Back: I've always been relatively indifferent to colonial settings.  I blame this spending my school years getting the Revolutionary War crammed down my throat for half the school year with the rest of American history passing by in a blur.  That said, I know many romance readers who adore the setting and it's not a terribly common one to find - today or back in 2002.  To this day when someone asks "Anyone know a good colonial romance?" - this is the first book to pop into my head.

LaFoy wrote several well-regarded historicals and her last book on record is a Silhouette Desire from 2008.  After that?  Nada.  Sad indeed as my experience with her work was always quite solid.  In fact I still have a few of her titles buried in the ol' TBR Pile of Doom.

Getting Back To Center

Little Miss Crabby Pants really is tired.  I'm loathe to admit it, but the incident of an author stalking a reviewer and then getting a podium at The Guardian (of all places) has knocked me low.  I'm sure some of you are reading this and thinking, "Really, Wendy?  It has nothing to do with you."  Except, you know, really it does.

Fifteen years ago I was a wee lil' Super Librarian with training wheels.  I was in my early 20s, and the ink on my MLS degree wasn't even dry.  I had grand plans in college to stay in academia (I know, it is to laugh!) and fell into public libraries quite by accident.  The accident being, "Holy cow, I needs me a job!"  Which is how I fell into collection development.  Totally by accident.  Lo and behold, I loved it.  I also realized (quite quickly) that my knowledge of the romance genre was 20 years out of date.  You mean they're not all bodice-ripping rape fantasies?!  Who knew?

Getting educated on the genre began to happen when I discovered The Romance Reader (now defunct).  I started reading books that got 5-Heart reviews (A grades) and got hooked.  It helped I was reading nothing but gems.  I thought to myself, "I love these books!  I want to review these books!" and I contacted the editor, sent in some sample reviews and got hired.  What a great way to learn about the genre.  It was liking diving right into the deep end.  Oh sure, I probably should have spent my time reading mammoth backlists of Roberts, Krentz, Garwood and so on - but there's something to be said about immersing yourself deep in the waters of midlist and debut folks.  Oh the gems I read!  The new authors I discovered!

Up until the end (when burn-out hit), those years at TRR were a joy.  Yes there were kerfuffles.  Yes there were times when people got caught with their panties down.  And while it seemed epic at the time?  Compared to authors stalking reviewers (!!!) it seems positively quaint now.

In response to this troubling incident many blogs are going "dark" until Monday, October 27.  Every blog is handling this differently.  Dear Author has kicked it off with an Open Thread for Readers post encouraging reader discussion on our favorite topic: books!  Book Binge is getting back to basics to talk about our mutual love of reading.  And so on and so forth.

As for the Bat Cave?  Now seems like a good time to dip into the personal archives and post some retro reviews from my TRR days.  Original publication dates on these reviews range from 1999 to 2007.  It seems a good way to get back to my personal center.  To remind myself that sharing books, my undying love for stories, should be something simple and untainted.  And the fact that has been tainted makes me angry enough to spit nails.  In the end I'm sure this blackout probably won't make a darn bit of difference to the industry, to supporters of The Stalker etc.  But it's a simple way for me to get right with myself again.  To realign my head space. To rediscover why I've been blathering on about books online for the past 15 years (other than having no life).

I like it.  It's as simple and complex as that.

Little Miss Crabby Pants Is Getting Tired

OK, seriously now?!  Little Miss Crabby Pants can literally go several months between appearance and yet this is the third time she's somehow managed to break her restraints and crawl down Wendy's mental attic stairs in the past couple of months.  But here she is again to discuss a recent Guardian article written by a YA author (who I will not name because damn the woman has gotten enough free publicity already) who tracked down (as in PAID FOR A BACKGROUND CHECK, found out where the reviewer lived AND worked and proceeded to CALL HER AT WORK and SHOW UP AT HER HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!) who didn't like her book.

I'm sorry, it bears repeating: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please see Dear Author and BookThingo for more concise round-ups.  Both have done wonderful posts.  As for Little Miss Crabby Pants?  She's here to swing a baseball bat and hopefully knock some sense into the situation.  You know, assuming any sense can be found - which at this point is highly dubious.  Especially since I've seen a lot of "victim blaming" (well that reviewer had it coming to her!) and some authors and readers somehow, for reasons that total escape me, "sympathizing" with The Stalker.

First, authors who somehow think The Stalker is some sort of Folk Hero - let's stop for a moment and put the shoe on the other foot.  Would you feel the same way if it was the reviewer/blogger/GoodReads participant who PAID FOR A BACKGROUND CHECK, found out where the author lived and worked and proceeded to CALL THE AUTHOR AT WORK and SHOW UP AT THE AUTHOR'S HOME?  Yeah, my guess is not so much.  I'm guessing if The Stalker was The Stalkee, you'd feel a whole lot different about this situation.  Would I be seeing the same amount of victim blaming?  Something tells me Not So Much For $200 Alex.

So yeah, authors who somehow think that The Stalker was in the right?  Check yourselves at the door.  Do NOT pass Go.  Do NOT collect $100.

But, but, but - Little Miss Crabby Pants, that Mean Ol' Reviewer/Blogger was using a *GASP* pseudonym!

Yeah, well guess what cupcake?  So frickin' what?  Reviewers, blogger, Average Joes use fake names online ALL THE TIME.  And you know what?  Not everybody does it because they're a Big Ol' Meanie up to know good.  They do it for personal reasons.  Some of the same frickin' reasons that authors use pseudonyms.  Maybe the reviewer likes to review kinked up BDSM novels featuring shapeshifting dragons and doesn't want her employer to hit upon her using a Google search.  Because guess what?  Employers ROUTINELY look at things like Google, Facebook, Twitter all the blasted time, especially when we're talking about a hiring or firing situation.  Or, you know, maybe the reviewer/blogger has an abusive ex in their past, enjoys social media, but doesn't want said ex to come a-knocking on their door.

Or, you know, maybe they just want to keep to keep their private life, here's a thought - PRIVATE!

Reviewers/bloggers don't necessarily use pseudonyms to be Big Ol' Meanies.  Sometimes they do it for very serious reasons and sometimes they do it for totally mundane ones.  You know, maybe for some of the same reasons you write romance novels under the name "Candy Bush."

I spent some time over the weekend hanging out with writers - one of whom who has been published for several years now.  Her first question to me was to ask if I'd spoken directly with Jane (the whole DA/EC suit that is a separate cluster and we've already hit upon).  Said writer feels about it the way I do - which is to stay it's really, really eff'ed up, that Jane now finds herself in a big ol' mess that she shouldn't be in in the first place and that it's really unfortunate for all the authors/editors/contractors stuck in limbo.  She knew that as far as talking romance novels online that I'm older than dirt and I expressed how I thought nothing like this could possibly ever happen.  Which is where I'm at with this new development of an author going to great lengths to stalk a reviewer/blogger/GoodReads participant.  Granted The Stalker isn't a romance author - but still.

I feel it's worth mentioning that 15 years ago I thought I saw a lot of unfortunate things in terms on online behavior.  Authors who weren't fans of emerging sites like The Romance Reader, All About Romance and Mrs. Giggles.  Things were said.  And my eyes did bug out on occasion.  I now feel like I owe everybody back then who may have had a moment where they got caught with their pants down an apology.  Why?

BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T RUN BACKGROUND CHECKS AND STALK ANY OF US!!!!!!!!

Several years ago I thought "it's gotten better."  We had a whole crop of "new" authors who had grown up with the idea of an online commentary.  They grew up with TRR, AAR and Mrs. Giggles.  Social media did throw a new wrinkle into things, but I truly thought - everybody "gets" the sandbox now.  They may not always LIKE said sandbox, but they "get" it.

Well, some people have clearly not "gotten it."  The only thing, and I mean the ONLY, thing that gives me some comfort is seeing authors I've routinely interacted with online, authors I've had professional relationships with, see this the same way I do.  Which is.....

OMG SHE PAID FOR A BACKGROUND CHECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  SHE CALLED HER EMPLOYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  SHE SHOWED UP AT HER HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look, let's say, devil's advocate time - that the reviewer/blogger/GoodReads commenter was a Big Ol' Meanie and "had it coming."  Let's say, for a nanosecond, that I don't think the victim blaming in this incident is so far out of bounds that it's three states over.  That still does not justify:

PAYING FOR A BACKGROUND CHECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  CALLING HER EMPLOYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  SHOWING UP AT HER HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because, you know, if there was something egregious going on?  If there was something that was totally out-of-bounds?  There are other avenues.  Legal avenues.  Options.  Instead this author decided that stalking was just a Grand Ol' Idea.

Here's the thing authors: sometimes readers are jerks.  We are.  We just don't "get" it.  But guess what?  This is not a new development.  We've not been "getting" it for eons.  Shakespeare had his critics.  Jane Austen had her critics.  Mark Twain had his critics.  Charles Dickens had his critics, and so on.  And you know what?  Those critics sometimes said things about the work, about the authors personally that were "out of bounds."  But guess what?  Once the book leaves you, once the work is out there, YOU KNOW LONGER HAVE CONTROL OVER IT.  Yes, I know - that's harsh.  It's tough to hear.  And yes, there will be Big Ol' Meanies who don't like your book and somehow attribute that to you as a person.  But that does not mean you should:

PAY FOR A BACKGROUND CHECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  CALL THE READER AT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  SHOW UP AT THEIR HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want to keep "control" over your work?  Write it.  Don't publish it.  Keep it buried on your hard drive or collecting dust under your bed.  The minute you put it out there for consumption, for good or ill, it's no longer yours.  It belongs to the masses.  And if you don't like the masses?  If you only want the masses to blow sunshine up your butt?  (Good luck with that by the way)  Then you cannot publish it.  Because nothing ever is all or nothing.  Nothing is ever universally loathed or universally loved.  Period.  End of discussion.

I've been online talking about romance novels since 1999.  I've been blogging since 2003.  In that time many, many, many readers have asked for my advice about blogging.  How to get started, what they should do, is it a good idea.  I've always encouraged them.  Always.  Because I believe that talking books online is better, stronger the more voices there are.  And the more divergent those voices are?  The better.  I believe in Something For Everyone.  If you don't like one blog?  That's OK.  There are literally HUNDREDS of other places you can go to get your book fix.  And really, isn't talking about books the bestest?  What do I tell these advice seekers now?  What do I say to them?  Because honestly, I have no clue.  I'm at the point where even I don't know what to say, what I should do - and people, if that's not eff'ed up after 10+ years of blogging I'm not sure what is.

I was wrong.  Things have not gotten better.  It wasn't the Wild West 15 years ago.  It's the Wild West right now.

Audiobook Round-Up: Trigger Alert Edition

The universal law of putting items on hold at your local public library is that they'll all inevitably come in at once.  So I've been binge-listening to audiobooks that have been equal parts compelling and disturbing.  As in WTFBBQ Did I Just Listen To?!?!?! disturbing.

First up is Still Missing by Chevy Stevens, a debut novel that made a splash a couple years ago.  It's the story of Annie O'Sullivan, a realtor who is kidnapped by a madman while she's packing up an open house.  She's held for a year, and then she manages to escape.

The story hops back and forth in time - from Annie's sessions with her shrink, to her captivity and her eventual escape.  It's a seriously messed up read that should have "Trigger Warning!!!" slapped on the front cover.  We have violence against women (well, one woman - Annie - and yes, she's raped) and Bad Things Happen To Kids.  If you can get past that?  This was a very good psychological suspense story.  It also made a compelling read on audio because the nature of the framework means the style is kind of "tell-y."  There is some showing, but since a good portion is Annie talking to her shrink?  Yeah, telling.  It literally kept me glued to the driver's seat, the narration was very solid, and I was going out to lunch entirely too much that week so I could listen some more.  Not for everybody - but if you can handle the triggers? Highly recommended.

Final Grade = B+

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf is women's fiction with a dash of suspense thrown into the mix - but it's mostly women's fiction.  I could see it making a good book club selection.  It's one of those books that tells the story of four different women - parolee 21-year-old Allison, her 19-year-old sister Brynn, 19-year-old nursing student, Charm, who is also caring for her dying stepfather (lung cancer) and Clare, married, owner of a bookstore, and mother to an adopted five-year-old son.  What we know at the beginning of the story is that Allison got pregnant when she was 16, hid her pregnancy, and then murdered her baby girl.  She's getting out of prison now thanks to good behavior and wants to reconnect with her younger sister - which seems impossible as Brynn and their parents want nothing to do with her.  How do Charm and Clare fit into the picture?  Well, that's a spoiler.

So yeah, the story starts with a dead newborn - so that's your trigger warning.  This story is a train wreck - which is to say that as the reader you know disaster is ahead for everybody, you're just not quite sure how, why and when.  Watching the author fit her pieces together was fascinating, and even when I wasn't sure I liked this story, I couldn't stop listening.  The narration is done by three different women - and they were all good except for the woman who read for Clare and Charm.  Mostly because every time she did a child's voice the kid was in Perpetual Whine Mode.  The women who read for Allison and Brynn were much better, and I got to the point where I was dreading Clare's sections because that meant inevitably her little boy would get dialogue and - whine, whine, whine.

The one solid quibble I have with this story is the father of Allison's dead baby girl.  He plays a major role in the events that drive this story forward, and yet he's off-page other than to show up in couple of flashbacks.  I felt the story would have been better served had he been a more fully-realized character.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending of this book.  I'm not even sure I liked it.  But I had to keep listening and it certainly kept me engaged.  And even though I knew the train wreck was coming, I couldn't stop myself from listening.  That's hardly a fail.

Final Grade = B-

TBR Challenge 2014: She Walks The Line

The Book: She Walks the Line by Roz Denny Fox

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin SuperRomance #1254, 2005, Out of print, Available digitally, Book 5 in 6-part continuity series.

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?:  Chinese heroine and it's a SuperRomance.  That was all it took.

The Review: Books like this one always depress me.  The sort of book where you can see in between the lines that it could have been a very good story if not for this, that and the other.  There are the seeds of a good story here.  Truly.  Unfortunately it's buried and lost under a mountain of other "stuff" that doesn't work at all.

For one thing, I must have been so excited about a Chinese heroine back in the mid-2000s that I was asleep at the wheel and didn't realize this was part of a 6-author continuity series.  Now I've enjoyed some of Harlequin's continuity stories in the past, and they can stand alone.  Unfortunately this one does not.  The plot never lost me.  No, it was the inclusion of a bunch of characters whose sole purpose was to be window-dressing for the "series stuff."  These characters are there because the continuity dictates it (the series follows six women who go through the police academy together and are trying to crack the Old Boys Club), but none of them serve any purpose to the story at hand.  They're filler.  They're taking up space.  Get them off the page already.

Anyway, that rant out of the way, the story follows Mei Lu Ling who investigates white collar crime for the Houston PD.  Her father is Chinese-American and runs an import business.  For a time Mei worked at the family's Hong Kong office before she decided to join the academy, disappointing her father and horrifying her mother (who immigrated from China).  Why did Mei chuck family duty behind?  What drove her to join the force?  I'm not really sure.  It's never really addressed here other than she wanted to be her own woman - but why police work and not, say, a chef, librarian, teacher, advertising exec....well you get the idea.

She's paired up with Cullen Archer who is an insurance investigator on the hunt for some stolen Chinese artifacts that are rumored to be in Houston, of all places.  And these are serious artifacts - the kind of stuff that belongs in a museum.  There are two dead couriers and notes written in Chinese that he needs translated - enter Mei, who has been assigned to work with Cullen.

So this sounds like it could be good right?  Chinese heroine straddling old and new worlds, who hungers for her own life, chaffing against her parents' ideals.  Then you have the mystery of the missing artifacts while her father works in the import business and she's paired up with Cullen, a white dude, that her parents would most definitely not approve of.  So why exactly was this so boring?  A slog to get through?  The kind of book where I was skimming big ol' chunks.

For one thing, the author spends way too much time on "other stuff" from the continuity - and delaying Cullen and Mei from getting on page together.  Then there's the minor detail that Cullen has twins (a boy and a girl) who are visiting him while his party girl ex is off globe-trotting.  I read a lot of category - so I'm obviously fine with kids in romances.  Really.  But these twins were totally pointless.  A time suck.  Annoying.  And they served no great purpose to the story other than to annoy me at great lengths.  They're the sort of tots that come barging into Daddy's home office while he's meeting with Mei.  You know, those ideal moments when the author should be laying out some actual ground-work to the suspense.  When our couple should be spending time together discussing the case.  Instead you get the plot moppets barging in, the daughter whining about something or other and the son glowering because there's a vagina in Dad's office.

I never thought I'd say this - but this needed to be a lot shorter.  Oh, like say, a Harlequin Intrigue.  Strip away the plot moppets, dump the secondary characters that have NOTHING to do with this story, and just get heroine, hero, suspense, on page together.  Period.

All this being said, I was willing to concede that a lot of this (OK all of it) is personal preference on my part.  A sure sign of a C read for Wendy.  Then I got the ending.  The big reveal.

The word preposterous comes to mind.  Also the phrase "out of left field."  I think I might have actually said, "you've got to be kidding me?" out loud.  And there definitely was eye-rolling involved.  It just flat-out didn't work for me.  The irony being that it probably could have worked had the author spent more time developing the suspense (instead of saturating the word count with plot moppets and secondary characters walking through the story).  As is however, it was liking blaming the whole thing on Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster.  Disappointing to say the least.  A Chinese heroine in a category romance deserved better.

Final Grade = D

Digital Review: Barbarian's Concubine

But what I'd told Clovis was the truth: for good or ill, I had chosen him.  I was on his side, whether or not I agreed with his decisions, and I knew that I would have to prove my loyalty to him...no matter how distasteful I found the tasks he set me.

That is everything you need to know to judge whether or not Barbarian's Concubine, the second installment in Lisa Cach's 1001 Erotic Nights serial, is your sort of read.  I'm not going to lie, this is turning out to be a problematic serial for me to review, and here we are only on the second installment.  I probably shouldn't like it.  I probably should be offended.  I could very well see how other readers would look at me and question my sanity.  But enjoy this I did, caveats and all.  Why?  Because Cach has gone gleefully, cheerfully, Old School with her story.  So far this serial is reading like a Bodice Ripper that has been dismantled and delivered in serial format, as opposed to a door-stopping 500 page novel.  That is obviously going to work better for some readers than others.

Nimia, our former sexual slave, has escaped King Sygarius.  She had no choice but to escape, having been betrayed by her lover, Clovis.  She's looking for a way to escape Gaul but when that option dries up, she's determined to find Clovis.  Yes, he did betray her, forcing her to this life on the run. Sygarius has, naturally, offered a healthy reward for her return.  But Clovis seems to know something about her people, and having no knowledge of who she is, where she came from, this is information that Nimia wants badly.  Once reunited with Clovis, things get complicated.  Nimia has paranormal abilities, visions, that seem to foretell the future, and naturally (this being an erotic serial after all) she gets these visions while, um.....being pleasured.  Clovis discovers this quickly, and now a King, he is determined to use Nimia's gifts to win a bigger prize - taking down Sygarius.

I'll be honest, right up front - Nimia is not the sharpest tool in the shed.  However I'm willing to cut her some slack, mostly because she doesn't have a lot of options.  If she weren't so desperate to find answers about where she came from, she probably could have just set sail for Britania - but then where would our story be?  However her fancying herself "in love" with Clovis strains considerably.  He's obviously using her, but she's too messed up in the head (and let's not forget horny) to get a clue.

And let's talk about horny for a moment.  This is an erotic serial, so yes - sex.  But like the bodice rippers that I suspect inspired this tale (I could be wrong here - it's not like the author and I have had lengthy chats on the subject), the sex is....not always consensual.  Is it rape?  I didn't necessarily think so.  Not all the time at any rate.  But there's no denying that there is a very lop-sided power dynamic to the sex.  Nimia doesn't have any power in this story - other than her visions.  Clovis or Sygarius are unlikely to truly "harm" her because her visions are useful to them.  But does she always want to have sex with them?  Is that sex sometimes played out in a manner that Nimia might not always "want" it?  Yes.  Especially with a development at the end of this installment.  Is Nimia beaten, bloodied and bruised?  No.  Is she subjected to sex against her will?  Some readers will probably say yes - and I'm not necessarily going to say that they're wrong.

Consider that your trigger warning.

It really does remind me of an Old School erotic romance.  Think, harem story - but with no harem and you'll get an idea of what we're dealing with here.  I am just going to admit it - I'm hooked.  Maybe I should be ashamed of being hooked, but I am.  I'm hoping I'm right when I say I think I know where this story is heading.  I'm hoping over the course of the story that Nimia will come into her own.  Gain power.  Gain agency.  As the mystery of who Nimia is, of what her powers entail, come to fruition, I'm hoping we get a serialization of a warrior goddess.  But time will tell.

It's a bodice ripping soap opera saga delivered in bite-size pieces.  Is it any wonder I'm hooked?

Final Grade = C

Crowdsourcing Twitter for RomCom Recs

I was out at a library yesterday doing a program about (what else?) romance novels.  The idea of the program was talk about upcoming releases, trends, what's popular right now etc.  It was a smaller group, so very informal, and questions started flying.  Then a former colleague asked me for author recommendations for romantic comedy.

It is a truth, universally acknowledged that the moment Wendy is asked for recommendations her brain freezes up.  Most of the time I'm sitting in front of a computer when this happens, and good ol' Google comes to my rescue.  Not this time though, and I only managed to squeeze out a couple of names.  Certainly, there must be more!

Which, hello - of course there are.  So I called on the expertise of Romance Twitter and everyone subsequently made me feel like a brain-dead moron.  Keira Soleore asked if I was going to do a blog post - and now here we are.  Feel free to shout-out more suggestions in the comments section.

Contemporary

Sandra Antonelli
Jennifer Crusie
LB Gregg (male/male)
Kristan Higgins
Julie James
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Penny Reid
Jill Shalvis
Vicki Lewis Thompson (early work, also paranormal)
Lucy Woodhull

Historical

Connie Brockway (specifically Bridal series and Songbird's Seduction)
Tessa Dare
Megan Frampton
Georgette Heyer
Julia Quinn

Paranormal

G.A. Aiken
Dana Marie Bell
Molly Harper
Shelly Laurenston
Katie MacAllister (also historicals!)

Erotic

Emma Chase
Portia Da Costa (Wendy endorses In Too Deep)
RL Mathewson
Charlotte Stein (Wendy endorses Addicted)

In the British Tradtion

Helen Fielding
Marian Keyes
Sophie Kinsella
Jill Mansell

Reminder: TBR Challenge for October

For those of you participating in the 2014 TBR Challenge, this is a reminder that your commentary is "due" on Wednesday, October 15.  This month's theme is Paranormal or Romantic Suspense.  Because, you know, October = Halloween.  Hey, I never claimed to have an imagination.  However, remember - the themes are totally optional and are not required.  Maybe you're not in the mood for the creepy, crawlies, and ghoulies.  It's not important what you read, just that you pull something (anything!) out of the TBR pile.

To learn more about the challenge and see a list of participants, please see the information page.

Her Temporary Hero

Jennifer Apodaca is a master at giving readers the sexy with the sweet, which is an element I've always enjoyed in her writing.  She can spice up the proceedings with the best of them, but her stories never lose an underlying current of sweetness to them that can turn the reader into a big ol' pile of goo.  Her Temporary Hero is the second book in her Once a Marine category series for Entangled, and it featured more of that trademark Sexy Sweet.  Unfortunately the good parts were off-set by elements that annoyed me and the story never quite gelled into a cohesive whole.

Becky Holmes is a former trailer park beauty queen with a three-month old baby girl.  The Baby Daddy is a vile, despicable, piece of human garbage who has just gotten out of prison for a hit-and-run that killed a homeless man.  Oh, and did I mention that Becky is the one who turned him into the cops?  Oh and the Baby Daddy comes from a Super Rich, Super Powerful family?  Yeah, Becky is screwed.

After Baby Daddy shows up, threatens her, and lets her know his family is going to haul her into court over custody, Becky turns to the only person she can - her boss at the janitorial company where she works.  Her boss has a temporary answer - stay at her cousin's house!  He lives out on a secluded ranch and he's always traveling on business.  You know, except when he isn't.  Logan Knight comes home to find a strange woman and her baby sleeping in his bedroom.  This is a problem he doesn't need, except when it turns out said problem could be a solution.

Logan has a vile, despicable, piece of human garbage for a father.  A father who blackmails him by holding a contract over his head.  Marry by the time you're 30, take over the family ranch, or else you don't get the piece of land your faithless whore mother made me promise to give you.  Logan wants that land to open up a therapeutic retreat for veterans with PTSD, but his father sees that as a big waste of time.  Why would he want to help a bunch of pansies who aren't real men?  And never mind that Logan also suffers from PTSD.  That just makes him a sissy!

So Logan needs a wife and Becky needs to be rescued.  Gee, whatever shall they do?

For the first time, she saw the absolute hard-ass in him.  The man who could kill, and no doubt had.

"Do you hate your father?"

"It's complicated."

She lifted a brow.  "Speak slowly and use small words.  If I concentrate real hard, I might be able to understand."

"Funny.  And a smart mouth."

"You're being secretive and evasive."

"Military trained."

"Pageant trained.  We can do this all night.  But if you want me to consider this wild scheme of yours, I need to know a little about you."

It's moments like this one that make this story work for me as well as it did.  But when stuff didn't work for me?  It really didn't.  For the most part I think Apodaca handled the category length very well.  Her backlist is predominantly made up of single titles, and over the years I've read authors who were good in one format, not so good in the other.  Where I do think this story sometimes flounders is with the tropes.  There's just an awful lot of them crammed in here.  The marriage of convenience, two villains, a military hero with PTSD, the heroine with an infant and no other family whatsoever, the rescue fantasy.  Less is sometimes more.

Also by the end of it I was getting mighty annoyed with the demonization of Logan's mother.  For the first eight years of his life Logan lived with his nightclub singing mother, on the back of tour buses, in dressing rooms of seedy clubs etc.  Was this an ideal situation for Logan?  Well, no. And once his father remarries, and Wife #2 squirts out two girls, Daddy gets it in his head that he needs a son to inherit the Earth.  So he drags Indigo into court, throws a bunch of money around, drags her down, to the point where Logan is living with Daddy-Of-The-Year.  So yeah, was she the best Mom?  Maybe not.  But honestly, single woman with unstable job, little money, going up against a Vile, Despicable Piece of Human Garbage Ex who has money, power and unlimited resources.  Gee, how's that gonna work out for her?  But by the end Wife #2 is telling Becky that while Indigo would come visit Logan, she'd always leave while he was asleep, chasing after her career.  Because, you know, I'm sure she felt great having supervised visits with her kid while in the home of the Vile Despicable Piece of Human Garbage that is her Ex.  Because gee, I'm sure he just made that so great for her.  And wow - what a piece of trash she was!  Thinking about a job!  Thinking about a career!  Thinking about having a life outside of popping babies out of her belly!  Ladies, your sole mission in life is to birth you some babies.  Do not let anything silly like wanting something for yourself, oh like a career, ambition, some self-respect, keep your eyes from the ultimate prize!

Ahem.  Where was I?  Oh yes.

In comparison we have sweet, wonderful Becky.  Becky who had her baby girl even though her ex ordered her to "get rid of it" before she called the cops on him.  Becky who put her nursing school aspirations on hold to 1) have her baby, 2) take care of her baby, and 3) nurse her mother before she died of cancer.  Yes, Becky probably should have done these things.  A lot of women do these things, making choices like this every day.  Becky is lauded for protecting her baby at all costs.  Well guess what cupcake!  YOU AREN'T DOING IT ALONE!  You've got Logan there to play hero.  Indigo?  Logan's Mom?  Had no one.  So yeah, her Vile, Despicable, Piece of Human Garbage Ex won.  Does this make her evil?  No, it does not.  And yet, it's implied.

Which, as you can tell, kind of annoyed the crap out of me.  Especially when, in the obligatory happy sunshine closing chapter, Logan's Daddy is allowed to make peace.  Even though during the course of the story he threatens Becky, her baby and blackmails her by saying if she doesn't hit the road he will do everything in his power to ensure her Vile Despicable Piece of Human Garbage Ex wins the custody case!!!!!!

But, you know, Daddy can apologize and Becky, all sweetness and light, doesn't drive an ice pick through his cold, shriveled up, barely beating heart.

Because, you know, Indigo was a terrible mother.  Unlike Becky.  Who seems fine to let Logan's Daddy back into the fold and not murder him with her bare hands.

Seriously, deliver me.  The more I think about it the angrier I get. Mostly because it's all so patently unnecessary. 

Which leaves me with no idea how to grade this story.  It's OK for the vast majority and there were elements I really liked.  But how Logan's mother was dealt with - oh man, that just sticks in my craw.  Maybe it won't stick in your craw.  Maybe you're thinking, "Seriously Wendy?  Once again you're making mountains out of mole hills.  Get a grip."  So let's split the difference.

Final Grade = C-

Never Forget Me

I subscribe to the school of thought that no matter the time period, "ugly history" can always be found.  What propels me towards stories like Never Forget Me by Marguerite Kaye, set during World War I, is the idea that no matter how dark things are, human decency, love, and hope can prevail.  That said, this isn't your typical historical romance novel - in more ways than one.

Kaye has worked within short formats before, and for this book she looks at three different years within the time frame of WWI, and gives readers three romances with three different couples.  So, essentially, three short stories.  The Harlequin Historical line isn't robust in word count to begin with, so the author had her work cut out for her.  She wisely connects the three stories by having three of the characters come from the same town in Scotland, and have connections to a stately manor home in the area.  It was a clever way to frame the book and kept the stories from feeling like separate entities.

A Kiss Goodbye is set during the on-set of the war in 1914.  Flora was raised in a life of privilege and now her family home is being commandeered by the army.  Her mother is simply horrified, her father resigned, but Flora sees this as a moment to actually do something with her life.  To prove that she's capable of more than needlepoint and looking pretty.

Geraint is the son of a miner with Labour Party ambitions.  Since he does have a background in accounting and figures, he's been charged with helping to set up this new army training post at Flora's home.  He takes one look at her and thinks he knows exactly what she's about.  And naturally our boy doesn't have the faintest idea.

This was the strongest story in the book for me, mostly because Geraint and Flora have to spend quite a bit of time together to get the house ready for army occupation.  It's also a bit of an opposites attract story, with Flora discovering her gumption, spreading her wings, and Geraint having to reconcile his past with his present.  I also loved how the author blended the ideas of "old world" vs. "new world" into this story - juxtaposing Flora's desire for a modern life against her mother's more staid Victorian ideals.

Grade = B+

Dearest Sylvie takes place right in the middle of the war, 1916 Paris where Flora's older brother Robbie is set to return to the front after sustaining an injury.  He's drinking himself into a stupor in a Paris club when he catches sight of waitress Sylvie, so beautiful and no not a prostitute thankyouverymuch.

Naturally they share one incredible night together that leaves them both feeling awkward afterward.  But not so awkward that they don't start to write letters to each other - which is how their romance unfolds.

This was a story that started out a little lumpy for me but definitely picked up steam.  In a short format like this the letter technique was quite clever and I loved that it helps the reader to gain insight into these two characters when they, realistically, cannot spent a ton of time "on page" together.  Robbie and Sylvie are both war weary realists, and there was a sweetness of them finding each other during a very dark time that I was charmed by.

Grade = B

Forever With Me starts on Armistice Day (1918) and picks up again in early 1919.  Sheila is Flora's best friend and was a servant in her home.  When war breaks out she signs up to be a part of the Voluntary Aid Detachment and is stationed as a nurse in France.  When peace breaks out she's celebrating with fellow nurses and soldiers when she meets Luc and they tumble into bed together.  It's awkward the next morning, but they chalk it up to the excitement of peace and go their separate ways.

Sheila is now back in Scotland and has discovered that even though she has oodles of nursing experience from the war, nobody wants to hire her because she doesn't have "formal training."  Flora's home, the one where Sylvie was a servant, is set to become a new veteran's hospital and she's hoping the new doctor will keep her on.  Imagine her surprise when her new boss is none other than Luc!  Oh, the horror!

This is the weakest romance of the three mostly because I think it would have benefited from a longer word count.  As it is, I wanted Sheila and Luc to have more time on page together and certainly they both had baggage that could have sustained a whole novel.  But oh how I loved Sheila!  I have a soft spot for nurse heroines and I appreciated that Sheila, with her working class roots was now back in her hometown where everyone saw her as a "servant girl."  She's fighting for respectability and it turns out she's slept with her new boss!  It's not a perfect story, but did I mention that I loved Sheila?  Yeah, loved her.

Grade = B-

As much as I enjoyed this connected anthology, I'm willing to admit it is not a book for everyone.  While I appreciated that Kaye did not shy away from the realities of the war, the fact is - she didn't shy away from the realities of the war.  This is not a Happy Sunshine Rainbow-Pooping Unicorns kind of romance.  Even with three separate couples falling in love and living happily-ever-after, there's a dark cloud that hangs over this book.  Bad things happen.  Trench warfare was horrifying.  Men die.  Death, destruction affects every character in this story - as war has a tendency to do.  In other words, light and fluffy this ain't.  Especially when you consider that what arises from the ashes of World War I is World War II.  But it does instill a sense of hope.  A sense of wonder that people can find each other, find comfort in each other, even during the darkest of times.

Overall Grade = B

The Quick and Dirty History of Erotic Romance

In the wake of the Ellora's Cave vs. Dear Author lawsuit, some discussion has cropped up in various online venues (most recently Twitter, which is where I first saw it) about the birth of the erotic romance sub genre.  Did, in fact, Ellora's Cave "invent" erotic romance?  My name was subsequently dropped as someone who could possibly detail some history and viola!  The idea started to burrow into my brain like a tick on a hound dog's behind.

First, a disclaimer: I've only been reading romance since 1999, and my "history" with the genre is completely tied up with the Internet.  There are countless erotic works pre-Internet that have, over the years, inspired a slew of writers.  For the sake of this post I'm mostly going to focus on the 1990s to present day.

The rise of erotic romance within the romance sub genre is a fairly complex one, and not something that can easily be condensed down into a magic bullet by saying, "So-And-So is responsible for it!"  So as much as Ellora's Cave has, over the years, marketed themselves as the pioneer of the sub genre, they didn't really "invent" it.  So who did?  Well, a bunch of people.

The first faint rumblings of steam launched with a quartet of writers, some of them working as far back as the 1970s and 1980s.  That would be Bertrice Small, Thea Devine, Susan Johnson and Robin Schone.  These ladies were not strictly marketed as erotic romance - they were all, simply, historical romance writers.  However it didn't take long for romance readers to notice and these authors eventually created a brand around themselves.  Authors, what is first and foremost your "brand?"  Yeah, your name.  You read one book by Small, Devine, Johnson or Schone and you knew the next book you pick up by them is more than likely going to singe your eyebrows off.

In 1999, it came to pass that legendary editor Kate Duffy had an idea and that idea eventually launched Kensington Brava.  Duffy wanted to head up an imprint with a strong sensual element, and since Devine and Schone were already writing for Kensington Zebra, she didn't have far too look.  She corralled all four of these pioneers under the new Brava banner and in 1999 the first Brava release, an anthology titled Captivated, hit the shelves.  Those early Brava covers were understated and simple but inside readers found the sensuality and erotic tones they had come to expect from these four writers.  And now they were all in one place, publishing under a new imprint.

What Brava did was begin to mainstream erotic content.  Yes, Ellora's Cave launched in 2000 - but to say they mainstreamed it is fairly misleading.  For one thing, they were a digital-only publisher for a long while and the first generation Kindle didn't launch until 2007.  Yes, people were reading digitally prior to Amazon, but I think we can all agree that Amazon is largely responsible for the sonic boom.  Even among romance readers who were very early adopters.  Ask some of those very early EC readers and you'll find more than a few who downloaded the PDF files and then printed them out (!!) to read.  Whereas imprints like Brava (and a few others I'll mention in a bit) could be found to varying degrees in a bookstore.  Remember those?  Bookstores?

As much as we like to think that every romance reader is online, they aren't.  And that was doubly true 15 years ago.  Countless readers "read in a vacuum."  So stumbling across a digital-only publisher like EC back in the very early days of digital reading?  Not an easy thing unless word of mouth hit their ears.  But walk into any bookstore and chances were pretty good that you'd find a Brava title, or for that matter - a Harlequin Blaze.

People like to think of Harlequin as a "old gray lady," but when they get their branding and marketing right they really get it a right.  Blaze originally launched as a promotional series within Harlequin Temptation.  Near as I can tell the first one was Outrageous by Lori Foster in 1997.  The books had the familiar Temptation branding on them, with a little Blaze logo slapped on the cover.  This was the signal to readers that the stories were going to be "hotter" than a normal Temptation (and that line was no slouch).  Temptation released one Blaze title a month, a promotion that got so popular that in 2001 Blaze became it's own line launching with Notorious by Vicki Lewis Thompson.  Eventually Blaze eroded away Temptation's readership and after 20 years that line folded.  I know romance readers who still light candles in church over the demise of Temptation.

Things were picking up by the late 1990s and readers were getting some more options if they wanted steam.  But what about those readers who predated this era?  In many cases they had to look outside the genre.  Case in point, in 1993 Virgin Publishing (as in Richard Branson) launched Black Lace Books and their mission was to publish "erotic fiction written by women, for women."  Fiction is the key word here.  Black Lace did not promise a traditional happy ending like romance, but savvy readers soon glommed on to key authors within the Black Lace universe who delivered happy endings, albeit nontraditional ones for what the romance genre was offering at that time.  Emma Holly is probably the biggest name here, having published Menage and Cooking Up a Storm in 1998.  Portia Da Costa was another known quantity at Black Lace who delivered happy endings and her book, The Tutor (a librarian heroine!) was published in 1995.

The issue with Black Lace however was always distribution.  Being based out of the UK, getting your hands on Black Lace titles in the United States was not easy.  If a bookstore carried them they were typically in the "Sexuality" section interfiled with the I Can't Find My G-Spot self-help titles.  I'm telling you, Amazon was the best thing that ever happened for Black Lace fans.  Seriously.

Also around this time Red Sage Publishing launched their Secrets anthology series.  Volume 1 appeared in 1995 and the latest, Volume 31, was published this past July.  Alice Gaines, Angela Knight, Saskia Walker, Charlotte Featherstone, and Jennifer Probst are just a few of the names that have been featured in Secrets anthologies over the years.

So if EC didn't "invent" erotic romance, what did they do exactly?  Well they really helped ramp it all up.  Blaze and Brava were heavily focused on "sensuality" in those days.  As much as naysayers like to claim that the romance genre never changes, that's a bunch of hooey.  If you pick up, say, an early Brava title and read it today it's going to seem really tame.  Hard to believe that when the line launched there were corners of the online community that were signalling it as the beginning of the end for the genre.  I remember reading light bondage and spanking (for example) in early Brava titles - but hardcore BDSM?  Yeah, not so much.  Also EC was one (if not the only) publisher at that time publishing erotic romance content in science fiction and paranormal worlds.  Red Sage did some of that as well, but in those early days they were doing anthologies only.  EC was offering stand-alone novels.

EC also played a healthy hand in marketing.  As I've already detailed, erotic romance did exist before EC we just.....didn't know what to call it.  I was reviewing for The Romance Reader at this time and while I cannot recall for certain now, I was either the only or one of the very few reviewers who welcomed reviewing this "new" type of romance.  I slogged through a lot of "I'm a good girl virgin who wants to be baaaaaad" stories.  Seriously, you all owe me.  Big time.  Anyway, looking at my early reviews I called this "new" type of romance everything from romantica to romance-erotica to erotic romance.  Finally, we all settled on erotic romance, although where that term actually came from is anybody's guess.  I think I first heard it via Kate Duffy - but cannot definitively say "She's the one!!"

So all this begs the question - if erotic romance has been around so long why did everyone lose their minds over Fifty Shades of Grey?  I get this question a lot from work colleagues.  My answer is that for many non-romance readers, the idea of erotic romance was a completely foreign concept to them.  Remember that first Black Lace novel you read?  Remember how it blew your mind?  Yeah, that's what Fifty Shades did a bunch of readers.  Fifty Shades also brought back the tamer covers a la those early Brava titles, so the packaging was eye-catching while not being salacious (well, except for the handcuffs cover!) and word of mouth took off among non-romance readers.  Once that happens, all bets are off.  What most of us found increasingly frustrating was the idea that somehow EL James had "invented" erotic romance and putting BDSM into a romance novel.  Which, hello?  Go back to the top and reread this post.

What also tends to get lost in all of this history is how ground-breaking the first wave of erotic-romance was.  I honestly remember a ton of hand-wringing on listservs and the All About Romance message boards.  To be fair to those readers who thought "erotica" was the beginning of the end, they had been dealing with a-holes for years who were calling romance "porn for women" (not much has changed).  Now, hello erotica!  Sexing up the Sexy Times isn't going to do anything to dissuade that "opinion."  But soon enough most of us were having too much fun reading it to really give a flying hoot what non-romance readers thought anyway.  Bugger off and all that.  And if you think that was brain-bleed inducing?  I remember plenty of early "discussion" that if you were an author who published with a digital-only publisher you weren't a "real author" and was erotic romance even really romance?

Seriously.  It really was this incredible.  I spent a lot of time biting my tongue and saying "Seriously?!?!  Seriously, now?!?!?!?"

That's my quick and condensed dirty version of erotic romance history in the past 15 years.  I could go into quite a bit of depth on how I, personally, came to discover the genre - but I've rambled on long enough.  I'll just wrap it up by saying Thea Devine, Emma Holly and Portia Da Costa - y'all changed my life.  Bless you from the bottom of my dirty, dirty heart.

Note: Thanks to Ridley and Lynn from AAR over on Twitter for inspiring this post.