Guns And The Girl Next Door

I read a grand total of five books by HelenKay Dimon in 2010, so it seems fitting that the first Bat Cave review of the new year is for her latest Harlequin Intrigue, Guns And The Girl Next Door.  Newly minted with a miniseries title (the rather generic "Mystery Men" - c'mon Harlequin you can do better than that!), this is the second book in a series that started with last year's Under The Gun.

Holden Price is former military and was working as an agent for the supah-secret Recovery Project.  However, because of events that transpired in Under The Gun, there's been major fallout.  The Recovery Project has been shut down and a congressional hearing/investigation is looming.  This all translates to Holden being unemployed, sitting on his couch, in his cabin, in the middle of the woods.  However his solitude is short-lived when Mia Landers comes crashing through his front door.  Literally.  She drives her car through his front door!

Mia is completely disoriented, scared, and running on enough adrenline to fuel a grizzly bear.  A congressional aide, her boss has driven her out to the middle of nowhere, made wild accusations, and physically threatened her.  She manages to escape, only to crash into Holden's house.  Nothing is making any sense - and now she has hired goons chasing after her.  Her options are limited but one thing she knows for sure?  Holden isn't a bad guy to have around.  And it turns out they both have a common enemy.

The Intrigue line can be tricky business for authors to pull off, and Dimon has made her stories work by writing them a bit like they were action movies.  I'd classify this series (so far) as more thriller-oriented than traditional romantic suspense.  You have lots of fighting, lots of gun play, and lots of bad guys chasing after our couple.  Even factoring in The Love Cooties, if this story were to be made into a movie, I could so see my Dad (the aficionado of action films) eating this up.

With all this danger and intrigue flying around, the concern on the part of the romance reader is always "what about the romance?"  Well, readers who want their romance first and their suspense second are probably not going to be wildly enthralled here.  The romance does take a little of a backseat to the Bad Men With Guns chasing after our couple.  However, that's as it should be in a story of this ilk.  Frankly it would have been wildly unbelievable and improbable to have the Mia and Holden hash out their feelings and engage in heavy petting while dodging bullets and knocking out bad guys.  The romantic elements in this story fit, the author includes them in all the right places, and it instills some hope in the happy-ever-after even considering the short time frame.

Now that this has morphed into a mini-series, readers should expect some series baggage.  The author does a lovely job of bringing the reader up to speed (I read the first book all the way back in April, so I appreciated this!), but there's no denying this is a series.  All the pertinent questions swirling around Mia and Holden are dealt with, but there are some dangling threads left loose presumably for future installments.

I've always considered myself, in my heart, a mystery/suspense girl.  I discovered the romance genre later in life, and while I love it with all my heart, sometimes I just want the thrill read.  I want villains, hand-to-hand combat, and fast-paced action.  This series has been giving me that.  They're fun.  They're exciting.  They're what I consider perfect vacation reads.  And oh happy day, the next three installments are all due out in 2011.

Final Grade = B

Random Romance Sunday: Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

The Book: Shameless by Sandy Steen

The Particulars: Harlequin, Crystal Creek #17, 1994, Out of Print

The Blurb:

It had been many years since Rio Langley had called Crystal Creek home. He'd always felt like an outsider there, anyway. And the flooding reflections of what he'd had and what he'd missed would always haunt him. But he wouldn't be around long. He'd come back simply to fix up his mama's old place, sell it and head back up to Wyoming. Then a baby landed on his doorstep and turned his head. And he was a goner...

...  moreIs It In Wendy's TBR?: Nope.

Any Reviews?:  1994, so not really.  Although there is one lonely customer review over at Amazon.

Anything Else?:  What we have here ladies and gents is a title in a Harlequin continuity series.  These used to be fairly common, and were break-away series that were separate from the actual existing lines.  Which meant their own banner, branding and distinctive cover art.  Uh, and it's the cover art that made me highlight this book.  First, I'm not sure what the art department was thinking, but all the covers are like this.  A separate picture superimposed over a crotch.  Which is bad enough - but for the love of all that is holy, won't someone think of the poor baby?  And then you have to wonder about the owner of the crotch.  I mean, it can't be normal to have a baby exiting through your zipper.  Just sayin'.

I will say this back cover blurb intrigues me on the Outsider Back In Town Long Enough To Sell Mama's House And Then He's Outta There level.  But I'm unlikely to take the plunge because 1) I need another series in my life like I need a hole in the head and 2) Gah, do you know how many Harlequins I have in my TBR already?  But for those of you who are interested, RomanceWiki has a complete list of the series, along with the spin-off books that later appeared in the SuperRomance line.  As for Ms. Steen, her last book was one of those HSR spin-off titles, in 2005. 

2010 Year In Review: Summary And Final Thoughts

I warned you I like to drag these year-end reading summaries out.  Well, this is the last post on the subject.  Some years I don't have a lot of observations or final thoughts about what I read during the past 12 months.  Like last year, when I couldn't manage to cough up a final summary post.  But this year?  Looking over my spreadsheet I noticed a few things:

• I read four medievals this year.  That's actually a lot of me, since the time period has never been a huge draw for me.  But the fact that three of the four ended up making my Best Of list?  Yeah, that's huge.

• I really like reading short stories.  I read two print anthologies this year, 7 digital Harlequin Historical Undones and 12 digital Spice Briefs.

• I fell head over heels for the Harlequin Romance line this year.  And while I only read 8 of them, the lowest grade was a C+.  That's some dang good reading!

• I only read 6 Harlequin Historicals this year, and one of them was a DNF.  This gives me a sad people.  I need to stop getting distracted by other Harlequin lines on my Sony Reader.

• I read authors in batches this year.  I read three stories by Vicki Lewis Thompson and Portia Da Costa, four by Zoe Archer and holy cow!  Five stories by HelenKay Dimon and Michelle Willingham!

It was an interesting reading year.  Once again I struggled with my mojo at times and threw wishes up to the heavens that I could read faster.  But all in all, I felt like it was a productive year.  Here's to bigger and even better for 2011!

2010 Year In Review: The Best Reads

Pouring over my spreadsheet to glean titles for my Best Reads of 2010 list, I concentrated on those titles I graded a B+ or higher.  Even then though, I haven't included all my B+ reads.  I've relegated this list to those titles that jumped out at me when preparing for this blog post.  The books that had a "lasting effect" as it were.  Hey, I read a lot of really good books this year, but staying power is the X factor.  The wild card, if you will.  So here, without further ado, are the books that stuck to me like glue in 2010.....

(Title links will take you to full-length reviews)

• Oh-So-Sensible Secretary and Juggling Briefcase & Baby by Jessica Hart - contemporary series romance, Harlequin Romance line.  These books are connected by heroes that are brothers, but they couldn't be more different as characters.  OsSS's hero is laid-back while JB&B's is a driven workaholic.  Hart has a writing style and voice that just seems to click with me.  I also think she's quite skilled at what I call "gut-punch" moments.  Both of these knocked the wind right out of me, and in the case of JB&B it elevated the book for me. 

• Surrender to a Irish Warrior by Michelle Willingham - historical medieval romance, Harlequin Historical line.  I've read several books by Willingham and have enjoyed them to varying degrees.  This last book in her MacEgan brothers series (yes, it does stand alone - says me) is a departure for her thanks to the Holy Angst Ahoy Batman! storyline.  It's the kind of book that sucks the light right out of the room as you're reading.  It's dark, it's heavy, and in the end it makes the happy ending that much more uplifting.  If you're an angst junkie, dig this one up pronto.  Says me.

• Scoundrel's Kiss and Song of Seduction by Carrie Lofty - historical medieval romance, Kensington Zebra and historical Regency era Austria romance, Carina Press (Harlequin).  Lofty hit two homeruns in one year.  SK featured a deeply wounded hero, so determined to repent for his past that he wants to become a monk.  Her heroine is a opium-addicted not-so-nice girl who played a slightly villainous roll in a previous story.  SoS was a bit of a slow starter for me, but oh how I loved the passion in this book!  You'd think passion would abound in the romance genre, but it doesn't always, and Lofty writes this romance in a such a way that your heart aches.  I also really appreciated the historical feel of this story - having her widowed heroine behave and worry about things that one could imagine 19th century proper ladies worried about.

• Irish Warrior by Kris Kennedy - historical medieval romance, Kensington Zebra.  I originally graded this one a B, but looking back, it so should have been a B+.  A great road romance with a sweeping saga feel.  An Alpha warrior hero who falls hard for the heroine and will do anything to protect her.  A heroine with gumption and brains who finds her family's past coming back to haunt her.  If you like medievals, read this now.  And even if you don't normally gravitate towards the time period but are desperate for a good, meaty historical?  Yeah, look this one up.

• Wild Oats by Pamela Morsi - historical Americana romance, Berkley Jove.  I love historical romances that feature "regular folks," so it's no surprise that this is now the third Morsi historical to land in my keeper stash.  A dreamy beta virgin hero, a heroine with a "bad" reputation, and a "scandalous" romance that defies a town full of disapproving fools.

• "The Reluctant Hero" by Lorraine Heath (My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys anthology) - historical western romance short story, Kensington.  I'll admit that I may have graded this one higher partly on the nostalgia of Heath writing a western again (I really think she "belongs" here - don't try to convince me otherwise), but it really is a very good story.  Yes, it's a short story.  And yes, it's not going to have the same heft to it as a full-length novel.  But Heath uses this story about a dime novel writing heroine and a town sheriff to tackle the idea of "hero worship."  And in a romance novel?  I find that a very interesting theme to tackle.  Hell, as romance readers don't we all "suffer" from hero worship in one form or another?  

• Holding Out for a Hero by HelenKay Dimon - contemporary romantic suspense, Kensington Brava.  I read a mess of books by Dimon this year, but this was the first one and dang, it knocked my socks off.  I loved the adversarial relationship between the hero and heroine.  I loved the dark (holy cow, dark!) romantic suspense platform.  I loved the sexy, sizzling banter.  This book reminded me of how great the Brava line can be when there's a good writer delivering the story.

• Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen and The Night Season by Chelsea Cain - contemporary mystery/suspense, Ballantine and St. Martin's Minotaur.  I didn't read a lot of mystery/suspense this year (::sob::), but what I did read was really quite good.  The Gerritsen and Cain novels were the clear standouts.  Gerritsen delivers a wonderful entry to her long-running series, includes a creepy plot thread that could be straight out of a horror movie, and even wraps up some personal baggage for one of her characters.  The Cain book doesn't release until March (so yeah, review won't happen until then!), but this entry proves that the author doesn't need her female serial killer character, Gretchen Lowell, to write a compelling creepy read.

And that, as they say, is that.  If you have an exorbitant amount of time to kill, and you want to see everything (the good, the bad, the ugly), the easiest jumping off point for both Bat Cave and TGTBTU reviews would be to look back at my Month in Review posts.  Which you can do by following the tag.

Next up?  My final post on my reading year that was 2010.  A general summary, observations and final thoughts.

2010 Year In Review: The Numbers

When I take the time to look back at the previous year's reading, I always like to take a look at the numbers.  This will likely bore most some of you, but I always find it a little fascinating to dissect my reading in this fashion.  I use Google Docs (the spreadsheet, naturally) to keep track of my reading.  I need another form of social media in my life (yes, I'm looking at you GoodReads) like I need a hole in the head - and Google Docs allows me to access my stats wherever I can scare up an Internet connection.

I read 94 books/titles in 2010.  My total for 2009 was 95.  Hey, I'm nothing if not consistent.  For 2011 I'd love to get over the 100+ hump, but we shall see.  Baby steps Wendy, baby steps.


The publication dates broke down like this:

1993 = 1
2000 = 1
2004 = 2
2005 = 3
2006 = 4
2007 = 1
2008 = 1
2009 = 15
2010 = 65
2011 = 1

Given my reviewing obligations, it's not surprising that 2009 and 2010 are so lopsided.  But this year I think I did a better job with older publication dates in large part due to the TBR Challenge.  Go me!

Looking at the genres I read is a bit more, well, intense.  I tend to slap multiple "tags" on the books I read.  For example, Zoe Archer's Blades of the Rose series were all labeled VIC, HIS, P (Victorian, historical, paranormal).  I was going to break down all these tags, but then my eyes started to cross.  So instead, y'all are getting the sweeping overview.  Remember, I use multiple tags, and I wasn't always consistent in applying them - so these numbers are probably more in the ball park than etched in concrete.

Contemporary = 34
Series/Category = 33
Erotic Romance = 12
Erotica = 3
Romantic Suspense = 7
Short Stories = 19
Historicals = 39
Paranormal = 6
Inspirational = 3
Mystery/Suspense = 4
Anthologies = 2

My grades this year weren't too much of a surprise.  I definitely subscribe to the school of thought that most books are around Bs and Cs - with A being reserved for "truly awesome" and D or below for "OMG - just shoot me already!"  Also, this was the first year I kept track of my DNFs.  And yes, I counted the DNFs in my final reading total.  That's probably (OK, it is) cheating, but I figured if I wasted time on it only to give up, I should be able to count it.  Especially if said book was getting chucked out of the TBR pile.

A = 4
B = 59
C = 24
D = 4
DNF = 5

There are more than 94 grades here because there was one anthology where I just had to grade the stories individually, as opposed to assigning an overall grade (when one story is an A and another is a DNF - how do you assign an overall grade?!).  One thing of note?  My C grades were down a tiny bit this year and the difference was reflected in a higher total for B grades.  So yippee for quality reading!

This year I also decided to keep track of publishers for the first time.  Given that I review category romances for The Good, The Bad, The Unread, it's not surprising that these numbers are majorly skewed.

Avon = 1
Ballantine = 4
Berkley = 4
Bethany House = 1
Black Lace = 1
Harlequin = 61
Ellora's Cave = 1
Kensington = 13
St. Martin's = 2
Samhain = 3
Pearlsong = 1
Sourcebooks = 1
Zondervan = 1

In the Harlequin universe I read books from the following lines: American, Blaze, Historical, Historical Undone, Intrigue, Romance, SuperRomance, Temptation, Love Inspired Historical, Kimani Romance, Desire, Spice Briefs, Romantic Suspense, Special Edition and Carina.

Holy frackin' cow!  One thing reviewing for TGTBTU has definitely done is expand my category romance reading horizons.  There was a time when I mostly just stuck with Historical, SuperRomance, and Special Edition!

Speaking of reviews - this year I reviewed 42 titles here at the Bat Cave and 43 over at TGTBTU.  The missing titles only got brief mentions in my monthly recap posts because they were either DNFs that I couldn't be bothered with or contest reads for RWA chapters that I purposely wanted to be a bit more vague about.

And that's a look at the numbers.  If you've stuck around to the end of this post, I commend your fortitude.  Again, I'm not sure how interesting all this is to anybody other than me - but hey, I like looking at these stats, and this blog is nothing if it's not All About Wendy.

2010 Year In Review: The TBR Challenge

Gird your loins fair blog readers, it's time for me to discuss my reading year that was 2010.  I like to devote several posts to this topic, and I hope to get them all crammed in to this week.  I figured the best way to start was to go over the one challenge I participated in, Keishon's TBR Challenge.  In the past, reviewing obligations have kept me from signing on, and 2010 marked the first year that I fully participated.  I took this responsibility so seriously, that I completed the entire challenge.  12 books, 12 reviews, in 12 months.  Go Team Wendy!  Here's how it breaks down:

What I Read:
6 contemporary series/category romances
1 American historical romance
1 contemporary erotica
4 western historical romances (1 anthology)

Publication dates were as follows:
1 from 1993
2 from 2004
2 from 2005
4 from 2006
1 from 2007
2 from 2009

The final grades were all over the place (more than 12 because of anthology):
A = 2
B = 5
C= 4
D= 2
DNF = 1

And here were the books:  (Title links will take you to full reviews)

House Calls by Michelle Celmer -Physical therapist heroine finds herself working with an ornery doctor recovering from a gun shot wound.  A doctor she's had a crush on for ages.

Wild Oats by Pamela Morsi - A hero not ready for marriage propositions the most notorious woman in town (she's ::gasp:: divorced!) looking for an affair.  Naturally, they fall in love.

Entertaining Mr. Stone by Portia Da Costa - Reformed party girl takes office drone job only to fall under the spell of her mysterious boss.

John Riley's Girl by Inglath Cooper - Heroine comes home for high school reunion and reunites with the man she left behind.

A Convenient Proposition by Cindy Gerard - Reunion between a brain-dead ninny knocked-up heroine and a too-good-to-be true saccharine beta hero.  Blergh.

One Night In Texas by Jane Sullivan - Secret agent hero comes storming back into heroine's life after she discovers everything he claimed to be was a lie.

Never Love a Lawman by Jo Goodman - A door-stopper of a western romance featuring a new-to-town heroine with a mysterious past, and the hunky town sheriff.

Hell for Leather by Beth Williamson - Sizzling sexytimes between straight-shooting heroine and a hero running from his past.

In the Shelter of His Arms by Jackie Braun - Down-on-her-luck, never had much of anything heroine falls for dreamy beta hero. 

My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys by Lorraine Heath, Georgina Gentry & Teresa Bodwell - Lorraine Heath returns to the western sub genre with a great short story.  Collection is rounded out by an "OK" Bodwell entry and an unreadable one by Gentry.

To Find You Again by Maureen McKade - A solid and emotional western from McKade featuring a romance between two outsiders.

A Town Called Christmas by Carrie Alexander - Single and pregnant heroine finds herself spending her family Christmas with her brother's Navy pilot buddy - a guy who just got a Dear John letter.

And remember, it's not too late to sign-up for the 2011 TBR Challenge (I'm taking over hosting duties from Keishon this year).  Check out the information page for all the details, and how to sign-up.

Random Romance Sunday: Aces And Eights

The Book: Straight For The Heart by Marsha Canham

The Particulars:  Historical romance, Bantam Dell, 1995, Out of Print

The Blurb:

"The Game Is Called Cutthroat Gentlemen. Quick and Vicious ... Just The Way I Like It Sometimes."

She risked everything to play a man's game in a man's world. As the elusive, mysterious Montana Rose, she was known as the queen of the Mississippi riverboats, a sensual and dangerous Southern beauty who was willing to gamble everything, even her life, on each cut of the cards.

Intent on calling her bluff, the equally devious and dangerous Michael Tarrington is determined to teach the fiery lady gambler a lesson in seduction. But instead, the rakishly handsome Yankee finds himself swept into her world of illusions, treachery, and smoldering passions that threaten to cut ... straight for the heart.

Is It In Wendy's TBR?:  Amazingly enough, no.  Reading this back cover blurb this is just the sort of book I'd "rescue" if I were to stumble across it in a used bookstore.  I know how I am....

Any Reviews?:  A couple actually.  Booklist gave this one a very quick write-up, ending on this vaguely positive note:

"Canham deals out plenty of surprising twists in her paperback historical fiction."

Publishers Weekly is a bit more thorough, although not all that positive:

"Canham's (In the Shadow of Midnight) latest is deftly plotted, and Amanda is sympathetic, if a bit insipid, while Michael is engagingly complex. But secondary characters are flat and stereotypical, and readers who dislike excessive violence will find the concluding chapters disturbing."

You can read both of these reviews in full, as well and see some customer reviews (ranging from 2 to 5 Stars) over at Amazon.

Anything Else?:  Initially intrigued by this back cover copy, I'm glad I never have stumbled across this book at a used bookstore and fell under the spell of impulse buying.  Why?  Because turns out our fair heroine in this story has a scheming twin sister.

Sigh.

Every romance reader has at least one trope that makes them go a big rubbery one.  Twin stories happen to be one of mine.  These stories seem to have two speeds - either one of the twins is a eviiiiiiiiiil or we get the ol' Parent Trap trope where the twins "switch places."  Neither of which flips my switch.  I don't loathe these as much as the soul mates trope - but yeah.  It just ain't my bag baby.

That all being said, I do know readers who lurve stories about twins.  I also know that Canham has a bit of a loyal and fervent fan following out there in Romance Novel Land.  So feel free to use the comments section to convince me that this is one twin story I just might want to give a whirl.  What can I say?  I love me American settings.