Review: Sawbones

I have Molly O'Keefe to thank for making me read Sawbones by Melissa Lenhardt.  Having recently discovered the Timothy Wilde books by Lyndsay Faye, and knowing my squee-worthy love for them, she asked me if I'd read Sawbones, a fairly recent release from late March.  I hadn't even heard of it, but it looked really interesting and voila!  Work had it.  So I put myself on the holds list and it landed on my Kindle in time for work-related travel.  I didn't read this book, I inhaled it.

I'd classify Sawbones as historical fiction with romantic elements. The publisher calls it "Outlander meets post-Civil War unrest..." which just makes me want to find the publicist responsible for that and punch them in the throat.  This is a book that will not be for everyone, but dagnabit if I didn't fall into this story fast and hard.  I was so immersed in the setting, so invested in the characters, I'm starting to think I need to spend more time reading historical fiction.

Catherine Bennett is a doctor in New York City and has been framed for murder.  She really has no other choice than to run.  The dead man is the husband of one of the society wives' she treats and her alibi is a resurrectionist.  Being a woman and a doctor is enough for most people to think the worst of her, so with the help of a childhood friend and a local madam (Catherine treats whores as well) she heads west with the vague notion of settling in California.  Taking the assumed name of Laura Elliston, she and her maid find themselves on a wagon train heading to Colorado.  However the story of a female doctor turned murderess in New York City is hot gossip, even out in the frontier, and Laura finds that she can only hide for so long - even as she finds herself filling in as a temporary doctor in a remote Army outpost.

This is a hard review to write because 1) I loved this story and 2) Darn near everything I want to say about it is a spoiler.  So I'll try my best.  This is very much a History Is Ugly book.  There's a lot here that I think many of my regular blog readers will have a hard time with.  First, this is a violent story.  People die, and in brutal ways.  Bad things happen to Laura (boy howdy do they...).  Secondary characters that we actually spend a decent amount of time with end up dead. Women are raped.  And while I wouldn't say these moments are the most graphic I've ever read, they're plenty graphic.

I also suspect that some readers will take issue with how Native Americans are portrayed in this story.  The book is set in 1871, so right at the peak of the Indian Wars that found General Sherman (yes, the scorched Earth let's burn down Atlanta during the Civil War Sherman...) working to quash Indian raids.  Most of the characters in this book (including the heroine) have strong, non-PC, opinions on the raiding Indians and an Indian raid is one of the more brutally violent chapters in this book.  There's also the belief that eradicating the buffalo would be a more "humane" way of dealing with the "Indian problem" than warfare - a view that the hero (more on him in a bit) thinks is a grand idea. There is a moment, later on, where a conversation takes place that maybe the Indians are raiding because they've been corralled on to reservations, their women and children are starving to death, and the US is, once again, not honoring signed treaties.  But for the vast majority of the story Indians are raiding, killing, raping and taking captives.  The other side of that coin, the "why," is only given that brief moment of lip service.

I belong to the Ugly History Happened and We Shouldn't Try to Rewrite It Camp.  So while all of the above did make me squirm in my seat a bit?  I appreciated that the author didn't try to whitewash over some of the more unsavory elements of American History.  But I can appreciate that not every reader is going to want to submerse themselves in this dark, violent, and oftentimes unpleasant world.

The romantic elements come into play about halfway through when Laura finds herself falling in love with an Army Captain whose life she saves.  By that point she's living in the remote Army fort, still concealing her identity, and finding that her past is quickly catching up with her.  For his part, Captain William Kindle also has his own dark secrets and pretty soon all those secrets come home to roost.  The romance is extremely well done in this story.  It's a slow, gradual build and by the time Laura admits her feelings for Captain Kindle I firmly believed that yes, these are two people who genuinely care about each other.  It's one of the better drawn romantic storylines I've read in a while and it's....not found in a romance novel.

There is also some mystery to this story but to be blatantly honest - it was the least well-done aspect of this otherwise enjoyable story.  It's all fairly obvious and about as subtle as a sledgehammer.  The author is basically laying down loaves for the reader as opposed to bread crumbs.  But by this point I was so well immersed in the characters, so riveted by the saga of the story, that the obvious mystery elements didn't bother me all that much.

Given the saga-like pace of the book the ending did feel a bit rushed to me, but it does end on a somewhat positive note, although there's still obvious challenges ahead for Laura and Captain Kindle.  It doesn't end on a cliffhanger so much as it ends in a way that as the reader you know the story isn't over yet.  Blood Oath comes out in August and frankly that cannot get here soon enough for me.

I recognize this isn't a story I can universally recommend to every reader I know, but my reaction to this story, how dire my reading mojo has been for the past year, and the fact that I was riveted so completely by this tale means I'm not going to apologize for loving it as much as I did.  I had originally thought I'd rate this a B+ because as much as I loved it, it's not like there aren't flaws here.  But damn, I want to go back and fall into this world all over again.  A B+ just won't cut it.

Final Grade = A-

Retro Review: Heart of Texas by Mary Lynn Baxter

This review of Heart of Texas by Mary Lynn Baxter was first posted at The Romance Reader in 1999.  Back then I rated it 3-Hearts (C grade) with a MPAA sensuality content rating of PG-13.

+++++

Clark Garrison is on a mission. He has been sent by his boss to purchase Quiet Haven nursing home in his hometown of River Oaks, Texas. The only obstacle is Sara Ann Wilson, chiropractor and part owner of Quiet Haven. Five years her junior, Clark knew Sara from the days when he was a high school football player and the town’s resident bad boy. Sara and her mother were not pleased that back in those days Clark was dating Sara’s younger sister, Alice. So, to persuade Sara to sell, he has try and convince her he’s a changed man.

Sara is 39, single, and a workaholic. She loves her practice, and her work at the nursing home. She gave up a lucrative practice in Dallas to return to River Oaks and take care of her mother. She’s happy and fulfilled with her job, but her personal life is none existent.

Clark and Sara meet up at her house after he throws out his back. Sexual tension is crackling in the air, and Clark (of course) does not reveal the real reason he’s returned to River Oaks. This makes up the story’s central conflict, although Sara’s insecurities also play a major role.

Heart of Texas has some interesting ideas, the story is too formulaic to make a real impact. The older woman -- younger man (even if it is only 5 years) was a nice change of pace. What I found disagreeable was Sara’s lack of experience with personal relationships. She’s 39 and a doctor. I find it unlikely that someone with her life experiences (college, living in Dallas) would be that naïve. Instead, Clark calls the shots through most of book, and Sara just coasts along having doubts.

The sexual tension between Clark and Sara is also well done. Baxter doesn’t mince words, and it’s apparent from the second chapter these two have it bad for each other. The progression of their attraction moves along nicely, and I never came across a chapter that was “dead weight.”

However, there are no new ideas here, and anyone who’s read at least five romances will know exactly where the story is going before they even get there. Some good ideas, wasted in predictability.

+++++

Note: This book was published in October 1999 and I started reviewing for TRR in August 1999 - not terribly long after I rediscovered the genre.  So in less than one year of devouring romance novels I thought this was predictable - which is saying something.

I'm almost tempted to reread this, but dang - that paragraph about Sara's "inexperience" has me thinking I probably shouldn't.  What I do recall?  I think the "leanness" of this book and other Desires I read in that era quickly led it to becoming my favorite category line at that time.  Even back then I had little patience for "dead weight" and "filler."

(Heh - if that cover model is 34-years-old I'm 25.)

Retro Review: Million Dollar Stud (Yes, Really.)

This review of Million Dollar Stud by Meg Lacey was first posted at The Romance Reader in 2002.  Back then I rated it 1-Heart (F Grade) with an MPAA sensuality content rating of PG-13.

+++++

As a reader nothing bothers me more than when my intelligence is being insulted. Honestly Harlequin, Million Dollar Stud?! The only logical explanation I have for this moronic title is that it was conceived during the office happy hour. However, Harlequin does have this knack for putting dopey titles on good books, so despite cringing every time I had to haul this book out in public, I kept an open mind when reading the story. Unfortunately, it’s equally as insulting.

Richard Darcy Kristof is a bored gazillionaire. Desperate for an adventure, he makes a wager with his lawyer cousin - Darcy is going to live one month, in the middle of nowhere, without any of his gazillionaire resources. Going under the assumed name of Rick Darcy, he is soon working as temporary manager of Braybourne Farms in tiny Cecil, Kentucky.

Sylvia “Silver” Braybourne is a daddy’s little girl who wants to turn the family farm around. All she’s ever wanted to do is run the farm, but Daddy just can’t get past the fact that she’s a girl. Not only does he keep trying to marry her off, but he also doesn’t take her seriously when she tries to show him that the troubled horse he won in a poker game is a sure winner. Adding insult to injury he hires Rick Darcy for the job she should rightfully have.

Where does one begin? Darcy is conceited, spoiled and an egomaniac. Women are mere playthings, and he freely admits within the first chapter that they tend to bore him to tears. Well, that is, they don’t bore him enough to make him stop wanting to seduce them - and the minute he meets Silver he’s working overtime to get into her pants.

Silver falls into the feisty heroine category. The only thing that was missing to complete the picture was her whining “But Daddy…” and stamping her feet. Not only does the reader have the read the same old “I can run the family business better than any man” claptrap, but Silver is completely spineless. So Daddy won’t let her run the farm - why doesn’t she pack her bags, and go to work for someone who does take her seriously? Instead she continues to train the troubled horse, succumb to Darcy’s busy hands, and allow Daddy to treat her like a brainless twit.

The secondary characters are all out central casting. There’s the clueless yet doting father, the steel magnolia mother, the brash local woman who runs a burger joint, and the wise, old farm hand (nicknamed Tater of all things). Add to this the I-hate-you-I-want-you relationship between Darcy and Silver and I think I actually felt my brain begin to melt.

There is a very minor bright spot towards the end of the story, which features Silver telling Darcy off big time. Unfortunately this is a romance, and there has to be a happily-ever-after. Silly me, I held out hope that she would keep on walking - I know nothing would have made me happier.

Stories with titles like Million Dollar Stud do little to improve the image of category romance. My advice is to check out some of the more favorable category reviews featured at TRR. Anything has to be better than this.

Retro Review: Can You Forget? by Melissa James

This review of Can You Forget? by Melissa James was first published at The Romance Reader in 2004.  Back then I rated it 3-Hearts (C grade) and gave it an MPAA sensuality content rating of PG-13.

+++++

Dr. Tallan “Irish” O’Rierdan has spent the last several years working as search and rescue for a spy organization called the Nighthawks. It’s his job to go into war zones and save the innocent, and it is on one such mission that he nearly dies. Now with a leg that barely works right and a scarred face, he’s hiding out on a tropical island playing the role of a beach-bum pilot and ignoring persistent calls from his Nighthawk boss.

Mary-Anne Poole is Tal’s childhood sweetheart and a nurse who turned her back on medicine to become world famous singer Verity West. She too is recruited by the Nighthawks, because as Verity West she can get close to the rich, famous, and unscrupulous. She hides behind her ice princess persona, plays cat burglar when necessary – but in actuality she hasn’t left the chubby girl who so desperately loved Tal that far behind. When Tal drops out of his job as Nighthawk operative, Mary-Anne is called to bring him back into the fold and complete a dangerous mission. Seems there is a traitor in the Nighthawk camp – and it’s up to Tal and Mary-Anne to catch the bad guys.

Can You Forget? features two of the more credible themes in Romance Novel Land – friends-to-lovers and reunion. Mary-Anne and Tal are both desperately in love with each other, but circumstances have kept them apart. Even though they both were married to other people, they couldn’t seem to completely let go of each other. While they find themselves now thrown together for the sake of a mission – they both think that staying together would be impossible. After all, Verity West is an international star with paparazzi hiding around every corner, and Tal is a scarred has-been. Their past and present circumstances, along with their unresolved feelings for one another, make this a very emotional read.

Unfortunately it all gets a little lost in the technicalities. Can You Forget? is book two in the author’s Nighthawk series and reads like a book two. There is a lot of back story that just isn’t provided. For instance, I never got a good handle on exactly who the Nighthawks were. They’re super-secret, the operatives know nothing about each other, and call each other by code name. Mary-Anne and Tal are both Australian, much of the story takes place in the Mediterranean, and there is mention of an office in Virginia. So are the Nighthawks an international, U.S. or Australian organization? And how do they recruit?

It also doesn’t help matters that there are two main bad guys in this story. Bad guy #1 is obsessed with Verity West and is some sort of arms dealer. I’m assuming that bad guy #2 is a holdover from the first book in the series, Who Do You Trust? He’s mildly interested in getting at Tal, but he’s more interested in getting at the couple from that first book. The need for revenge on this earlier couple isn’t explained outside of the villain’s obsession with that earlier heroine.

It’s these unexplained details that make the book a little too crowded. When the focus is solely on romance between Tal and Mary-Anne the story really works. James has the talent to write an emotional love story, with lots of angst and tears to pull at the reader’s heartstrings. Unfortunately, Can You Forget? reads very much like a series and the technical, on-going aspects of the Nighthawk story left this first time reader at a disadvantage. If you’ve read that first book, by all means this book two is an accomplished series romance. However, curious newcomers would do well to start at the beginning.

Little Miss Crabby Pants and the Blogging Reality Check

Yes, I am well aware Dearest Bat Cave Visitors and Honored Guests that we all need another "post about blogging" like we need a hole in the head - and yet, here we are.  These days, when it comes to Little Miss Crabby Pants breaking out of her self-imposed silence it's usually not over any one thing, rather a culmination of several things that end up swirling around in my brain for...well, a while.

It all started with the fairly recent phenomenon I've seen cropping up around social media - mostly on Facebook, but I think it's been floating around on blogs, web sites and Twitter as well.  The posts that go something like I'm An Author And This Is What You, Dear Reader, Can Do To Help Support Authors/Me - and then it devolves into a list of things like posting reviews on Amazon, putting books on your various GoodReads shelves yada yada yada.  And while it's not always boldly spelled out, it's implied that we're talking Squee-Worthy This Book Is Awesome Sauce chatter only.  If you desire to post a genuine not-so-hot or this-was-blah review just ignore the Author's/Publicist's/Publisher's pleas thankyouverymuch.

Then, BEA happened.  For those that aren't aware - BEA or BookExpo America is a Big Ol' Convention for Industry Professionals.  So publishers, booksellers, librarians and in the past several years more readers and bloggers have been attending the event.  BEA is a Book Orgy. Seriously.  All kinds of books.  All reading levels.  All genres.  Book. Orgy.  Ergo, there are a ton of ARCs and it usually takes 12 hours after the event ends for people to pop up on social media to gripe about "greedy bloggers selling ARCs."  Always bloggers.  Booksellers, librarians and publishing employees never seem to get accused #shockednotshocked

I'm going to state the obvious upfront: I'm old. I've been book blogging since 2003 and I started reviewing for The Romance Reader (RIP) in 1999.  Old.  This is going to sound very Damn Kids Get Off My Lawn, but blogging truly was more pure back then because it was easier to keep it pure.  As more and more people began blogging (which, yippeee!), the industry took notice.  They saw it as a way to harness that elusive marketing tool, "word of mouth" and relationships began forming.

Now lest you all think I'm going to talk about "corruption" and how Big Publishing Ruined Blogging - bloggers couldn't run fast enough through that open door that publishers were holding open for us.  Free books?!  OMG, I can get ARCs of coveted books I'm DYING to read?!?!  Sign me up!  So what publishers and authors got, essentially, was an extension of their PR departments and all they had to do was pay us in free books.  Granted those books aren't free to the publishers.  They need to produce them.  They need to mail them out (although now that we have digital I imagine postage costs are down).  But they're not paying bloggers a salary, benefits, putting money into our 401Ks yada yada yada.  So really, it's a bargain for them.

Subconsciously, even if we didn't acknowledge this, I think bloggers realized we were working for free.  So we monetized.  Getting "paid" in free books isn't going to cover things like web hosting, postage, not to mention time and labor.  Blogging is a hobby for a good many bloggers, but it can be an expensive one.  How much blogs monetized has varied wildly.  It ranges from the larger blogs joining multiple affiliate programs and selling ad space to quirky individual bloggers who have stayed relatively ad free.

This post is my way of issuing a reality check.  To publishers, to publicists, to authors and to bloggers.  I have monetized this blog, but like most things in my life I've done it kind of half-assed.  I earn money through my blogging two ways: 1) I'm a member of Amazon's Affiliate program and 2) I blog at Heroes & Heartbreakers.  The only expenses I have are my time and energy.  I've stayed on Blogger all these years (since 2003) because it's 1) easy and 2) free.  Would I have a larger reach if I paid for web hosting and spiffed up my blog?  Sure.  But 1) easy 2) free and 3) I'm from the Midwest and bleed frugality.

In 2015 my blogging, my online "presence" if you will, earned me $683.  Granted, $683 is $683.  It's nothing to sneeze at.  But what can one do with $683?  I don't have kids - so while it doesn't come close to covering one month's rent, it would cover my grocery bills for a while.  It covers RWA conference registration and a night in the hotel.  But I'm not going to live off this money.  It's "mad money."  It would pay my electric bill for several months, but it also means that if I didn't have another source of income (hello, Day Job!), my blogging (such as it is) isn't going to keep me financially afloat.  Not by a long shot.

I can only speak for me, and granted I've never made moves to take my blog "big time."  So what I earn?  That's been my choice.  I started doing what I do because I love the romance genre, I love reading, I love the community and I want to share that love with other people.  I didn't start this gig to Get Rich Or Die Tryin' and it's not why I've kept doing it all these years.  So please do not confuse my $683 with whining.  I'm not whining.  If I wanted to make more money off my blog I probably could.  I'm also not saying it's OK for people to sell ARCs online or in their bookstores or on the local street corner either.  I'm just saying - slow your roll and let's all have a reality check.

Bloggers do what we do because we love it and yes, we truly do want to support authors - and by extension publishing as a whole.  But this is a two-way street folks.  Telling us "how you can support authors" can often smack of What Have You Done For Me Lately?  And just as authors sometimes sit behind their computer monitors, feeling isolated, pondering "Why do I do this?"  Newsflash: bloggers think that to.  We're not doing it for the money, we're doing it for the love.  But even The Collective Blogging We can feel taken for granted, discouraged, and overlooked.  You know how great you feel when you get a gushing fan letter in your e-mail?  Nothing cranks my handle more than when somebody says, "I read this book based on Wendy's recommendation and OMG IT WAS SO GOOD THE BOOK AND I ARE PLANNING ON ELOPING!!!!" 

Am I suggesting we all hold hands and sing Kumbaya?  Ha!  No.  What I am saying is that every once in a while a reality check is in order.  Bloggers love getting ARCs, we love talking about books, none of that will change.  But....two way street.  It's terribly easy to sit behind your computer monitor and rant about the latest whatever that's going on - but somehow it's not quite as easy for us to express how much we appreciate each other.  For better or worse, this is a symbiotic relationship.  I think that's worth some reflection...at least until the next brouhaha blows up.

#TBRChallenge 2016: A Little Bit Country

The Book: Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

The Particulars: Young Adult Contemporary Romance, MTV Books, 2013, In Print

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: Back in 2013 I judged a local RWA chapter contest.  My job was to read all the first place winners in the categories and pick the overall winner.  Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols won the YA category and while I really, really liked it - it ultimately was my runner-up to Sea Change by Karen White.  At the chapter meeting where I announced the winner, Victoria Dahl was the guest speaker.  Dahl and Echols are critique partners.  Apparently Dahl went home and told Echols all the nice things I said about her book because shortly thereafter she sent me a nice note and a couple of books (this being one of them) in the mail.

The Review:

I slapped my hands over my ears and yelled, "I would like out of this country song now.  I want out of this country song right now!"

I wasn't sure who I was praying to.  The ghost of Johnny Cash, maybe.  But nothing changed.

Bailey Wright Mayfield grew up traveling the bluegrass circuit with her parents and younger sister, Julie.  Her and Julie were the act - you know, cute kids singing harmonies wearing matching outfits while Bailey rocked out on her fiddle.  But in the past year it's all gone to hell.  A record company has come calling - interested in Julie sans Bailey.  And the record company doesn't want Bailey's existence to get out because it could "screw up" their PR machine.  The parents go along with this and basically tell Bailey to shuttle herself off to the side, which means no social media, no playing music on her own, just sit in the corner and breath quietly.  Bailey handles this as well as you'd expect an 18-year-old girl who has just been told to smile while hacking off her right arm - she rebels.  And when her rebellion goes too far?  She's sent to live with her grandfather while the parents and Julie hit the road to drum up excitement for her forthcoming debut single.

Her granddad feels sorry for her and lands her a job playing her fiddle with cheesy tribute acts at the local mall.  One day she's backing Dolly Parton, the next she's thinking of filing a sexual harassment claim against Elvis.  That's where she meets Sam, who is playing with his father, Johnny Cash.  Sam loves that Bailey has perfect pitch, the way she handles her fiddle, and asks her to join his band.  Joining a band most certainly would set her parents off, who have already threatened to not pay for her college tuition in the fall if she screws up.  But we all know where this going, right?  Of course she plays in Sam's band and that's when things get really complicated.

There's plenty of conflict and drama to go around and it keeps this YA novel humming along.  Bailey is supposed to be staying "low key" so she's not upfront with Sam about who her sister is.  Sam is ambitious, looking at every angle to achieve a music career to the point of using people.  Needless to say the band's drummer, Charlotte, is not terribly pleased to have Bailey arrive on the scene - what with her being one of Sam's many (many...) ex-girlfriends.  There's also bassist, Ace, who looks to keep everyone on an even keel.

There was a lot of good in this story.  I loved (LOVED!) the world-building, the Nashville setting, and even though I'm not big into country music, I feel hook, line and sinker into this world.  I also loved Bailey.  The girl that nobody seems to want and only notices when she acts like a typical teenager and starts rebelling.  Given how her parents steamroll over her the minute a record company blows sunshine up their butts over Julie - well let's just say I thought Bailey's reasons for acting out were fairly compelling.

What didn't work for me was the romance, specifically Sam.  Granted Sam is 18 and therefore acts how one might expect an 18-year-old guy to act.  Namely, he's selfish.  For a good long while I had a hard time believing he "cared" about Bailey.  Too often it's "what can you do for me and how can you get me what I want in the end," which needless to say once he finds out that her sister has a Big Ol' Record Contract.....I wanted to slap this boy into next Tuesday.  Is Bailey blameless?  Well, no.  She's running and hiding, licking her wounds in the corner instead of fighting.  But Sam was beyond the pale for me for a good long while and I felt strongly that he was using her.

The author starts to turn it around at the very end though.  It takes Bailey blowing up.  I mean, really blowing up.  At Sam, then her parents, and finally that spurs Sam on to declare his undying love and how he truly cares about her and yada yada yada.  It does helps, but I can't quite forget the vibe I got from him throughout the rest of the story.  That he's a user.  That he only wants what he wants and he'll use anybody he can to get what he wants. This is also the moment when Echols discloses Sam's Tragic Back-Story which smacked to me of Hey Look, I'm a Tragic 18-Year-Old Boy So It's OK To Overlook the Fact That I'm Using the Heroine for Most of the Book.  However, while Sam is a jerk, we're currently living in a genre world where authors are trying to convince readers that hardened criminals and abusers are "heroes" - so really Sam acting like a selfish 18-year-old kid is, perhaps, nit-picky of me.

So it's truly a mixed bag here.  I enjoyed it.  It's a book that will stick with me for a while.  But as a romance I found it problematic.  As an 18-year-old girl finding her voice?  It worked better.

Final Grade = C+

Review: The Blacksmith's Wife

Admittedly I don't read a ton of medieval romances, but what drew me to The Blacksmith's Wife by Elisabeth Hobbes was the blacksmith hero.  Heroes in Medieval Romance Land tend to skewer heavily towards knights and warriors and warriors fighting knights.  I'm also happy to report that while our hero is the bastard son of a titled, wealthy man - it's not revealed in the end that he's some long, lost Duke or is going to inherit his father's lands.  No, he's a blacksmith and he stays a blacksmith.

After her family is wiped out by pestilence, Joanna goes to live with her uncle, a blacksmith and powerful member of the Smiths' Guild.  While he's not overtly cruel to her, let's just say Joanna is well aware that she's another mouth to feed and an added burden to her uncle's family.  So she's feeling the pressure to marry and start her own household.  She has set her sights on handsome knight, Sir Roger Danby, who intermittently travels to York for tournaments.  Joanna is convinced he's going to propose any day now, and while his forceful kisses leave her feeling a bit uncertain, she's madly in love. Isn't she? Well, she thinks she is and she thinks he is - but it soon becomes apparent Sir Roger is nothing more than a womanizing flirt with no intentions of proposing marriage to a blacksmith's niece.

Traveling with Roger, this time at least, is his bastard half-brother, Hal Danby.  Hal is in York to show his work to the Smiths' Guild, only to have the men tell him "you're not ready yet kid."  Joanna's uncle sees an opportunity though.  He suggests that if Hal marries Joanna and continues to hone his craft that maybe, just maybe, the Guild will look on him more favorably next time around.  Hal and Joanna have, naturally, already had run-ins with each other and Hal is smitten - never mind that she fancies herself in love with his brother.  Seeing the marriage as an advantageous match for his ambitions and Joanna, frankly out of options, the two get married.

There was a lot I liked about this story.  Both characters are outsiders in their respective families with much to prove.  Joanna lives with the knowledge that her uncle didn't want her, Sir Roger didn't want her, and now she's married to Hal only because it can further his career.  Hal has pride and while he married Joanna for her connections, he's determined to get into the Smiths' Guild on his own merit.  He's also smitten with her, but knowing that she loves his brother hasn't exactly instilled him with a ton of confidence.  He's hoping, over time, and with his brother always traveling for tournaments, that their marriage can be a partnership, if not an outright love match.  Although he's more than halfway there already.

Where the story started to stumble, at times, was in the conflict.  First, the good.  I loved (LOVED!) that Joanna was a romance heroine who actually thought about her virtue.  There's a scene very early on when she finds herself alone with Roger and he's putting on the full court press.  His kisses are punishing (not in a good way) and the encounter leaves Joanna feeling vaguely uneasy.  She knows that Roger is pressing her for something more, but our girl resists.  She is not "that kind of girl."  It also helps that Hal arrives on the scene shortly thereafter.  Throughout history a woman's worth has been tied to her virtue, and one of the more annoying aspects of historical romance is the ease in which some heroines just toss aside those years of ingrained fetishized (is that a word?) virginity because the hero is suitably Alpha and manly enough.  The fact that Joanna doesn't makes her a breath of fresh air as far as genre conventions go.

However, given that Joanna fancies herself in love with Roger and Hal's pride - well, a huge chunk of the conflict, especially in the second half, centers around the Big Misunderstanding and the fact that these two characters don't talk to each other.  Hal has no idea that Joanna is a marvelous sketcher (ergo she could really help him with his decorative design work!) because he doesn't ask and she doesn't tell.  He keeps secrets from her (Hal's been cleaning up Roger's messes for a while now...) and she keeps secrets from him (brought about in part when Rogers reappears on the scene....).  After a while this She Didn't Say, He Didn't Say, I Thought You Felt This Or That Way Etc. gets very tiresome.  Especially when we get towards the finish line and the couple are finally hashing everything out in the final chapter. 

So it's kind of a mixed bag.  The medieval flavor of the story is very good, I liked the characters, and I liked the general set-up of the story.  But I did find myself wearing down under the Big Misunderstanding conflict in the second half.  Still, it's a solid historical and a well-done medieval when those aren't necessarily thick on the ground.  Hobbes' has three books under her belt now (I've read, and liked, two) and I have every intention to continue following her career.

Final Grade = B-

Reminder: #TBRChallenge for May 2016

For those of you participating in the 2016 TBR Challenge, this is a reminder that your commentary is "due" on Wednesday, May 18.  This month's theme is Something Different!  This is one of my annoying exciting open-to-interpretation themes.  Whatever "different" means to you.  A sub genre you don't normally read? A different genre besides romance?  A historical set during an "unusual" time period?  A trope you don't naturally gravitate towards?  The sky's the limit!

But what if you don't want to read different?  "You'll pry this comfort read out of my cold dead hands Wendy!!!!"  Hey, no problem!  Remember - the themes are totally optional and are not required.  It's not about the themes but reading something (anything!) out of your TBR.

You can find more information about the challenge (and see the list of participants) on the Information Page. 

No Author Is Immune: Anatomy of a DNF

There are certain authors I read for very specific reasons.  I read Beverly Jenkins for her heroines.  She writes great heroines.  Smart, self-reliant, with a touch of sass.  Jenkins writes the sort of heroines who don't need a romance.  If a romance never came along, they'd be just fine.  No, they deserve a romance and as the reader you want to see them get their happy ending.

Work had Always And Forever on audio and despite my mental block of listening to romance, I thought I'd try it.  I was mostly enjoying it until...well, until the sex ruined everything.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Warning, warning! Thar Be Spoilers Ahoy!

Grace Atwood has been left at the altar.  Her mother died when she was young.  Her banker father valued that his daughter had a brain in her head and raised her to be independent.  In fact, after he passes, Grace has taken over running the bank.  Finally, at 30, she thinks she's found The One.  Only to have her groom throw her over at the altar when the wealthier woman he was pursuing agrees to marry him.  Grace then has to face the guests, return the wedding gifts, and deal with the inevitable talk that follows - but she does so with her head held high.  That said, when her cousin in Kansas asks her to coordinate finding some mail-order brides of good, quality backgrounds?  Grace goes all in.

Grace has no trouble finding the brides and decides that they will travel by wagon.  Jim Crow is now firmly entrenched and she can't risk the women traveling by train (where they would either have to travel in cattle cars, or be dumped out in the middle of nowhere by racist, unethical conductors).  It will take longer, but a wagon train seems the wiser course of action.  But she needs to hire a man to lead the wagon train and that's when she stumbles upon Jackson Blake, a Texan With a Past who is now living in a Chicago whorehouse.

This is all fairly straight forward.  Headstrong heroine, Alpha hero, wagon train heading west.  Sparks fly, banter exchanged, sexual tension you can see for miles.  Interesting characters and amusing exchanges (Grace's great-aunts are fantastic, as is a scene when secondary character Loreli Winters dispatches some bandits).  The plotting could have been tighter in some spots (Do I really care that Grace's ancestor was a pirate?  No.  No I do not.), but this was hovering somewhere around a B or B- for a good long while.

But then it happened.  The sex scene.

There actually wasn't anything wrong with the sex.  A little flowery, but again - I was listening to this on audio and I, admittedly, have a difficult time with someone reading me sex scenes.  No, it was the aftermath that landed this firmly in my I Cannot Be Bothered To Continue pile.

Jackson is all like, sure Grace I'm all for us burning up the sheets - but you'll have to marry me if you get pregnant because ain't no way I'm letting a child of mine be born without my name.  Of course they're getting all hot and heavy by this point and Grace is all like, "Whatever cowboy just do me already!!!!" and, you know, they do.  Then Jackson is all like, "Well now you have to marry me because you're carrying my child." 

That's right - they've literally just had sex.  The one time.  And Jackson, who obviously has delusions he's a Great Swami besides a cowboy, tells Grace she's now pregnant and that she will, in no uncertain terms, marry him.  Grace is naturally a little peeved by his high-handedness never mind that THEY DON'T KNOW FOR SURE IF SHE'S PREGNANT!!!!

I'm not kidding.  He pulls out and basically is all like, now we get married.  Grace resists, he threatens to wire her great-aunts, she's all like, you're a jerkface, he wires her aunts, they show up and say, "Honey you should marry that man."  Nevermind that NOBODY KNOWS IF GRACE IS EVEN PREGNANT!!!!  She hasn't even had a late period yet.  SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?!?!??!

I just couldn't deal anymore.  I think the objective was to show the reader that Jackson is a good, honorable man who wouldn't use the heroine for mere sexual gratification and then dispose of her cruelly.  Never mind that he agreed to take on the wagon train because he has plans to go back to Texas to avenge his father's murder.  He's going to railroad the heroine into marriage first THEN go off to Texas to possibly get himself killed.  His demanding marriage, him just immediately knowing she MUST be pregnant, all the while he has plans to leave the heroine behind while he's off to seek revenge - well, it annoyed me no end.   

We Had Sex One Time Ergo Of Course You MUST Be Pregnant Because I Am Strong And Virile With The World's Most Amazing Super Sperm!!!!!  Mwhahahahahaha!

And while I'm at it - the guy was living in a Chicago whorehouse.  I know since the dawn of time birth control has largely been an issue women have dealt with (and Grace, while 30, is a virgin...) - but dude.  He didn't pick up any pointers at all?  Of course he's a man - he probably couldn't be bothered.

So yeah. I'm out. I don't know if Grace is really pregnant and I don't know if Jackson ends up going to Texas after all but....ugh. I'm done caring.

Final Grade = DNF

Mini-Reviews: All Things Audio

Audiobooks have been the only thing keeping my reading afloat these days, and it's a way to 1) keep me entertained on my long commute and 2) mix-up my normal reading groove beyond the usual 95% romance, 5% mystery/suspense.  Here are some quick thoughts on my most recent listens.

But Enough About Me: A Memoir by Burt Reynolds - OK, so I kind of have a thing for Burt Reynolds.  I'll admit it - I'm not completely immune to the whole "good ol' boy" Southern vibe.  This book is written vignette style, with Reynolds not focusing on a linear timeline of his life, but rather talking about people, places etc. that have meant something to him over the years.  The downside to listening to this on audio is that Reynolds narrates and his voice has not aged well.  Reynolds is in his 80s now, and his voice sounds like it.  Sometimes it was strong, and sometimes I could barely make out what he was saying.  But on the plus side?  Reynolds would get emotional at times and it helps to reinforce that he's a real person underneath the persona.  I got choked up hearing Reynolds get choked up talking about Dom DeLuise.  Final Grade = C+

Sing to Me: My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic and Searching for Who's Next by L.A. Reid - Dating myself, but I graduated high school in the early 1990s, so my curiosity about this book stems entirely with Reid's partnership with Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds in LaFace records - which gave us superstars like TLC and Toni Braxton.  The duo also worked with a number of other notable artists that were part of the whole "New Jack Swing" scene at the time (like Bobby Brown and Boyz II Men).  My favorite parts of this were learning more about Reid's life as a performer/musician and the LaFace "stuff."  My interest waned a bit the closer we got to present day (I could care less about OutKast, Kayne, Bieber or Reid's stint on The X Factor) when it kind of descends into more blatant name-dropping.  Still, it serves as a reminder of how awesome R&B was in the early 1990s and I wanted to download ALL. THE. MUSIC after I finished.  Final Grade = B

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye - If other reviews are an indication, I'm the only person who has read this book in Romancelandia who didn't love it to bits.  Part of this is because compared to the author's Supreme-O Awesome-Sauce Timothy Wilde trilogy (which made my Best Of Lists for 2014 and 2015), this is a pale shadow.  The characters aren't as well drawn, their relationships nowhere near as complex and there's a Victorian Drama-Llama Melodramatic Romance in the second half that I was bored with before it even got off the ground.  What I did like?  The "stuff" between Jane and Rebecca Clarke - her bestest friend while they are both at an odious boarding school.  There's lots of "Jane Eyre" stuff here and Jane Steele tends to murder people who deserve it - but meh.  It's entirely possible that my extreme love of the previous trilogy factored into my dissatisfaction more than a little but...I'm sorry folks, I didn't love this.  Come back and talk to me after you've read the Timothy Wilde books.  Final Grade = D+

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James - St. James is an author I've been meaning to try forever and a recent foray into Barbara Michaels on audio had me on a Gothic kick.  Set after World War I, our office temp heroine takes a job as an assistant to a ghost hunter to investigate a haunting of a barn by a local servant girl who committed suicide.  This is a Gothic very heavy on the woo-woo, it's got great atmosphere, and very good characterization.  I was a little less enamored with the ghost hunting party's lack of urgency in solving the mystery behind Maddy Clare, the girl haunting the barn.  They seem more bent on protecting people that, quite frankly, deserve everything that Maddy's ghost wants to dish out to them.  Maddy wants her revenge for very, very compelling reasons (consider that your trigger warning).  Swoon, I love Gothics! I plan to download more St. James on audio as soon as the holds lists at work allow. Final Grade = B-

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin - Tells the story of Truman Capote, the upper-crust New York society women whom he called "The Swans," and his friendship with Babe Paley (wife of William S. Paley - the founder of CBS). The story covers the timeline of Breakfast at Tiffany's, In Cold Blood, The Black and White Ball, Capote running off the rails and his ultimate break from "The Swans" with the publication of the story La Cote Basque 1965 in Esquire magazine, in which he aired everybody's dirty laundry.

This would have been a DNF had I tried to read it because it's very, very tell-y.  Long stretches with little dialogue and a lot of internal musing so the author can dump back-story on the reader.  Also, these are shallow, sad people and the the job of historical fiction is for the author to "breathe life" into these characters.  That doesn't happen here until the very bitter end, when the fallout of La Cote Basque 1965 comes into play.  Shopping, clothes, affairs everybody was having (sometimes with each other...) and by the end of it I was so bloody sick of hearing about Babe Paley's cheekbones I could just scream.  The ending is interesting because that's when all the glitz and shallow dazzle goes to hell.  Capote fully hits the skids and Babe finally (finally!) gets angry.

As a historical fiction novel it just didn't work for me because the writing didn't work for me.  I felt I would have been better served to just read non-fiction accounts of the era and I would have gotten the exact same story.  Also, I listened to this on audio which means both narrators (yes, there were two) affected Capote's voice.  I did like the glimpse into the bygone, opulent era of society prior to the Atomic Hippie Bomb of the 1960s going off, but that was about it.  Final Grade = C-

Retro Review: The Taming of Shaw MacCade

This review of The Taming of Shaw MacCade by Judith E. French was first posted at The Romance Reader in 2001.  I rated it 4-Hearts (B Grade) with a MPAA rating of "R" for sensuality content (which by today's standards would probably make it PG-13...)

+++++

Romeo & Juliet never did much for me. Shakespeare took the time to write a story of forbidden love, only to have them die in the end. Talk about a let down. Well, Judith E. French looks to rectify the situation with her own spin on the classic tale in her latest offering.

Rebecca Raeburn and Shaw MacCade met as children and became fast friends. Nothing odd about two children getting along, except that the Raeburns and MacCades have been feuding for generations, dating back to when the families lived in Scotland. However, kids have a tendency to grow up, which means that Shaw and Becca soon discover that they both have budding romantic feelings for each other. But when Becca catches Shaw kissing her own sister, Eve, she makes a break and stops secretly seeing him. Shaw then ups and leaves for adventure out west.

Four years later, in 1849, Shaw MacCade has the nerve to return to Angel Crossing, Missouri. He may have been gone a long time, but he’s never been able to forget the only girl he’s truly loved. Becca is anything but pleased to see him though. After Shaw left, it was discovered that Eve was pregnant. She claimed that the child was Shaw’s, and it didn’t help matters that the boy looked just like a MacCade. Ostracized at home, Eve then took off for St. Louis, her honor in tatters.

Shaw knows darn well he isn’t the father of Eve’s baby, but Becca doesn’t want to hear it. On top of all this, he discovers that in his absence his brother, Laird, was shot in the back, supposedly by Becca’s father. Even though a jury found him innocent, Shaw is determined to find the murderer and bring him to justice. But how can Shaw seek revenge when it’s very likely that it will cause Becca pain? And will Becca come to accept that Shaw did not dishonor her sister and abandon his child?

French adds lots of conflict to this mix, which makes The Taming of Shaw MacCade a real head-spinner. With an honest-to-goodness Hatfield and McCoy type feud, the question about Eve, and the hunt for Laird’s murderer, there is little room for the romance, which I found slightly lacking. Shaw and Becca sort of jump right in where they left off, and with so much conflict to deal with, there’s very little time for them to discover their true feelings for each other. Admittedly, I’m a reader that likes to watch a slow, natural progression of a relationship, and that’s not what is offered here. Aside from a couple of flashback scenes, the romance starts half way through the race, instead of at the starting gate.

That said though, the author does craft a real pager turner. There is no down time for this story, and things soon get even more fast paced when Becca and Shaw set out to locate Eve and her child. While the identity of the father is no real mystery, the revelation about Laird’s killer and the resolution of the feud are both satisfying to read about. While there is a touch of melodrama at the end, it is never over the top, and everything is wrapped up in a nice, neat package.

Readers who are drawn to forbidden love storylines will undoubtedly find quite a bit to enjoy, and I predict that The Taming of Shaw MacCade will land on a few keeper shelves. While I wanted a bit more exploration into the romance, nicely done conflict and a solid storyline had me easily and quickly turning the pages. As exciting as this one was, I’m sure glad I have some of French’s backlist ready and waiting.

+++++

Wendy's Reflections: So I have zero recall of this book, but then I read it 15 years ago (yes, 2001 was 15 years ago....) so that's probably to be expected.  What I find intriguing?  I was obviously willing to suspend quite a bit of disbelief.  I mean, the two families hatred for each other dates back to Scotland and yet when they move to America both families JUST HAPPEN to settle near each other in Missouri?!?!?!  The US is pretty big - they couldn't avoid each other?

(Although maybe this is explained in the book?  Again, 15 years ago....)

Mini-Reviews: Millenials and What The?!

As I continue to crawl my way through my bout of reading ennui, it's time for another round of quickie novella reviews.

Working With Heat by Anne Calhoun is a quick read and there's nothing terribly "wrong" with it - it just didn't grab a hold of me like some of her other shorts have.

Milla Jackson is a 20-something American, living in London, making her way in the world as a travel vlogger/blogger/social media addict.  She turned a coping mechanism (she moved a lot as a kid) into a job and now she's turning the job into a matchmaking service.  She's not dating anyone and is letting her social media followers pick her dates for her via multiple choice options she provides.  Her latest date was such a disaster that she bails on him to meet her friends at the local pub and afterward she hooks up with one of her flat mates - hunky glass artist Charlie.  But Charlie's been burned (ha!) before and Milla's permanent attachment to her phone/social media ruffles his feathers.  No matter, they're just going to keep things light and breezy anyway.  Milla's in the process of planning a trip along the Orient Express and will be gone for several weeks....

So yeah, we all know where this is heading.  This was mostly a Meh It's OK story for me for a good while.  It's very light and breezy and I was pretty close to DNF'ing it out of boredom more than anything else (seriously, my reading mood is the pits right now).  But it did pick up for me about halfway through, about the time Charlie takes Milla to his studio and shows her his work.  Charlie does fly off the handle a bit at the end, but I like Milla's growth arc and I thought the ending was particularly well done.  It didn't light my world on fire, but it ended strong and works well in the shorter format.  If you're looking for a short hot contemporary, this one may fit the bill for you.

Final Grade = B-

I heard about A Bride's Journey by E.E. Burke at RT 2016 when the author handed me a card letting me know this "prequel" was free.  I was looking for another short read after wrapping up the Calhoun, a western sounded good and....wait, Amazon says the page count is only 11 pages.  That can't be right, can it?  It's probably wrong.  No matter, it's going to be short at least, so I'll read it.

Yeah.  Amazon isn't wrong.  This thing is literally 11-15 pages long.  It's not a "prequel" it's a bloody chapter!  I spent the whole time wondering what the point of this thing existing was.  Granted I'm sure the author is reaching more readers on Amazon - but this is the sort of preview you offer up to your newsletter subscribers.  As long as it stays free forever, Amazon will reach more readers - but I could see some readers getting ticked off by it - no matter that it's free.  Cranky readers gonna crank.

The story (such as it is)?  OK, basically it introduces some women on a train who are traveling west to become mail order brides.  One of them, Susannah (I think that's her name?) is a widow, traveling with a young son (and she had to do some fast talking because normally they don't take widows with kids....) and she's writing in her journal about the trip, her fears, and some of the women she's met.  That's it.  I'd call it a prologue, but the first full-length book in the series, Valentine's Rose, isn't about Susannah the Journal Writer.  It's about one of the women she writes about, Rose.  And looking ahead to the other book that's out in the series?  Also not about Susannah the Journal Writer - which just adds to my What Is The Point Of This Thing Existing confusion.

It does serve the purpose of introducing me to Burke's writing style, which I liked.  And I'm tempted by this series - so I guess that's the point of this thing existing.  I still can't help but feel this makes more sense as a web site or newsletter "freebie" - but you can't argue with Amazon's reach.  I get it from a business perspective but as a reader everything about this thing's existence annoys me.

Final Grade = Oh, who the heck knows?  How do you rate 11 pages?!?!?!?