Jerkfaces And Summer Reading

My last column ever has gone up over at Access Romance Readers Gab.  Today I'm talking about "guilty pleasures" and tropes that you know you shouldn't like, but do anyway.  Go on over and take a gander!

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In other Wendy's Writing Somewhere Else Besides This Blog news, I contributed to an article that made its appearance in the local newspaper this morning.  It's all about summer reading for grown-ups, and several area librarians and booksellers were asked to give recommendations.  The selections were to fall under "upcoming release," "classics," and "guilty pleasures."  All the suggestions were compiled into a slide-show, which can be found here. 

Even though I'm attributed at the bottom of the paragraph blurb, for easy reference, I recommended the upcoming Tess Gerritsen (squee!), John Steinbeck and Michelle Moran.  No, no romance I'm afraid.  The deadline on this was incredibly short, and I hadn't really read a single title romance that seemed to "fit."  Plus, I'll be honest (see my latest Access Romance column!) putting the "guilty pleasure" label on all romances tends to stick in my craw in a very unpleasant way.

I also think I deserve bonus points for having a California connection for all my recommendations.  Gerritsen was raised here, Moran currently lives in the state, and Steinbeck?  Well, duh.

Reminder: TBR Challenge For June

For those of you participating in the 2011 TBR Challenge, a reminder that your commentary is "due" on Wednesday, June 15. 

This month's theme is Contemporary romance.  Any sort of contemporary romance, be it single title or category, will fit the bill.  Remember, the themes are completely and totally optional.  If you don't wanna read a contemporary, you don't have to.  Read something else you've unearthed from the depths of the TBR pile!

It's also not too late to sign-up.  If you are interested in doing so, or just want to learn more about the challenge, please see the information page.

Unusual Historical Spotlight: Far East, Middle East, Austria, Arizona and the Circus

Wanted: Mail Order Mistress by Deborah Hale

What You Need To Know: Publication date March 22, 2011; Book 3 in a trilogy

Description: 

Betrayed by his first wife, Simon Grimshaw won't marry again. But sultry nights in Singapore can be lonely—nothing a beautiful English mistress wouldn't fix!

Bethan Conway answers an advert to become a wife, believing it will help her secret search for her missing brother. But Simon isn't the ugly old man she was expecting. He's a hot-blooded bachelor who wants a woman in his bed—a position Bethan's more and more tempted to fill!

What Makes It Unusual:  It's set in Singapore!

Portrait of Seduction by Carrie Lofty

What You Need To Know: Publication date May 2, 2011, Book 2 in a series, digital only

Description:

Greta Zwieg forges masterpieces. With her copies on their walls and the original paintings safely hidden, the noble families of Austria can rest assured their treasures will survive Napoleon's advances. But now Greta’s uncle is changing the rules, selling her counterfeits as originals. Greta abhors the deceit. Anxious for her family's safety in a perilous time, she is nevertheless determined to put things right.

Oliver Doerger is living a lie of his own. Acting as valet for his aristocratic half brother, Oliver thwarts an attempt on Greta's life and is overwhelmed by the forbidden passion that flares between them. Although he's not truly a servant, he is a bastard and a spy--certainly no match for a woman of such exquisite quality.

Though both fear discovery, they cannot resist each other. When the truth comes out, and the city falls into chaos, Greta and Oliver will be forced to choose: love or duty?

What Makes It Unusual: It's set in Austria!

Innocent In The Sheikh's Harem by Marguerite Kaye

What You Need To Know: Publication date June 21, 2011; Book 1 in a series.

Description:

Lady Celia Cleveden thinks of herself as eminently sensible from the tips of her sturdy boots to the top of her unadorned bonnet. It seemed logical she would marry an equally practical gentleman.

Until she's rescued by wildly enigmatic desert prince Ramiz of A'Qadiz, while traveling across his unforgiving sands. He offers her a place in his harem and Lady Celia ought to be shocked…except the seductive desert and intoxicating Ramiz make it curiously tempting….

What Makes It Unusual: It's set in the Middle East!

Catch Me by Lorelie Brown

What You Need To Know: Publication date July 18, 2011; digital only

Description:

Maggie Bullock's father needed expensive medical care and if that meant stealing from their friendly swindling banker, so be it. Once her father was on the path to recovery she would face the consequences. The whole thing was surprisingly easy until she's kidnapped by bounty hunter Dean Collier.

Collier is tired of tracking down worthless scum. He's afraid he'll lose his last scrap of humanity and become a stone-cold killer, just like the men he brings to justice. He jumps at the chance to become sheriff of Fresh Springs, Arizona. The one condition—capture Maggie.

He figured it'd be easy. Until beautiful, loyal Maggie breaks through defenses he'd thought cemented. His feelings for her run the range from fury to confusion to love, but if he doesn't bring her in someone else will. Can there be a future between a sheriff and a fugitive?

What Makes It Unusual: It's my blog and I say westerns are unusual.  The minute I walk into a bookstore and start tripping over historical cowboys left and right, I'll stop featuring them.  Ahem, anywho - this one is set in Arizona.  Not a whole ton of westerns that feature a southwest flavah.

The Greatest Love on Earth by Mary Ellen Dennis

What You Need To Know: Publication date August 1, 2011

Description:

Set against the exotic world of an 1875 circus and the high-society milieu of Denver, Colorado, Mary Ellen Dennis's The Greatest Love On Earth sweeps readers into a story of death-defying feats, dangerous rivalries, and a love that has all the thrills and romance of the greatest show on earth.

Bold, beautiful Calliope Kelley has two passions in life: her father's circus and Brian O'Connor, and she just may lose them both. For years she has singlehandedly struggled to keep the Sean Kelley Circus going. Then Brian O'Connor, the daredevil animal trainer Calliope has adored since childhood, returns to the circus, having found everything a man can want. . .except the right woman.

Soon their passion will explode under the Big Top. Soon a deadly enemy will begin sabotaging Calliope's beloved circus. As terror becomes the star attraction, it will take a woman's indomitable dreams and a man's enduring love to survive and triumph over the most impossible odds of all.

What Makes It Unusual: The circus!  OMG, the circus is in town!

• Because I can't realistically catch or feature all titles (I'm one woman after all!) - what "unusual" historicals have you run across in the last couple of months, or are upcoming this summer that you have enjoyed and/or are looking forward to reading.  Share the love in the comments section!

Unusual Historicals Spotlight: Introduction

One of my favorite author-run blogs out there is Unusual Historicals, which is a group blog that features historical romances with unique and/or unusual settings.  Back in the not too distant past, I found myself suffering from a severe case of Regency England Burn Out (which I have since overcome) and that was when I developed a deep, mad love for historical romances that were a little off the beaten path.  So I thought it would be fun, here at the Bat Cave, to semi-regularly highlight new-ish historical romance titles that feature "different" or "unusual" elements.

This post serves as an introduction, and also as a bit of a disclaimer.  Here it goes:

1. Titles featured in the UH Spotlight are in no way endorsed by yours truly.  As in, the chances are highly likely that I won't have read any or all of these.  This is merely a BOLO (Be On The Lookout) style of promo post.  It's up to the reader of these posts to do further research on specific title(s), if they so desire, and to digest these posts however they see fit.  Likewise, if I don't feature a title, it should not reflect poorly on the author or title.  Could be I didn't know about it, or I had to make the executive decision to leave it off to keep the post manageable.  I'm a lot of things people - but I'm not the end-all-be-all of historical romance promotion.  Also, it's why Baby Jesus created blog comments.

2.  Historical romances only.  As in, the romance has to be the central focus of the story.  Sorry fans of historical fiction or historical mysteries - you're not going to find them featured here.

3.  I will do my very best to mix these posts up to feature both digital-only and print-available titles.  I can't make a 100% guarantee, since I will be at the mercy of what's getting published - but I will try.

4.  As of right now, I'm not planning on putting myself on a strict calender for these posts to go up.  I'm going to shoot for quarterly (every three months).  Again, I'm at the mercy of what's getting published, so right now I would start to think of these posts like Christmas morning.  It will be a surprise to both of us what will be under the tree.

The inaugural post of the UH Spotlight is set to live tomorrow morning.  Enjoy!

More Than Words

One of the things I love about romance is that it's a genre that celebrates women.  Women aren't mere bit players.  They aren't relegated to sassy side-kick or femme fatale.  They're the lead.  The star of the show.  Yes, yes, hunky heroes are very swoon-worthy, but without a compelling heroine, a romance novel tends to lose a bit of luster (at least in this heroine-centric reader's opinion).  Harlequin has taken this element of the genre to heart and the last several years has sponsored the More Than Words program.  Women who are making a difference in their community are nominated, winners are chosen, and they are awarded $10,000 for their chosen causes.  As if that wasn't awesome-sauce enough - Harlequin then corrals some of their authors to write novellas inspired by these causes, and puts them out in an anthology.  The latest edition, More Than Words Volume 7 features stories written by Carly Phillips, Donna Hill and Jill Shalvis.

Compassion Can't Wait by Carly Phillips

Julia Caldwell is a social worker at a children's hospital in Miami.  Manny Cortez is a young patient with leukemia, and while his single mother has her hands full caring for him, his twin brother, Michael is lost in the shuffle.  Julia knows what it's like to be the lost child in the wake of a sibling's illness, so she wants to do something great for Michael.  He idolizes the star pitcher for the Miami Suns baseball team, Kyle Hansen.  Julia decides to pull some strings so Michael can meet him - but the fly in the ointment?  Julia and Kyle were high school sweethearts, and the relationship didn't come to a graceful conclusion.

What I enjoyed about this story is that both Julia and Michael, while still a bit hung-up on their romantic past, acknowledge that they both were at fault for the demise.  I also liked that they both acknowledged that they changed and "grew up" after their split.  What didn't always work so well for me was the writing style.  A little too much "telling" over "showing" creeps in fairly frequently.  But that aside?  This was a solid read.  Even when I wanted to nit-pick the baseball "stuff" to death.  It's obvious that Phillips is at least a passing fan, because when I scoffed at the idea of an expansion team winning the World Series after only three years in existence, I used my mad librarian skills to look it up.  Yeah, the Arizona Diamondbacks did it in their 4th season (first season = 1998, World Series = 2001).  Carly = 1, Wendy = 0.

Grade = B-

Someplace Like Home by Donna Hill

Burnt out from her current job, social work Verna Scott decides to start her own youth residence facility.  Her group home is proving to be a success, but the need for funding and volunteers means she's always beating the drum.  It's while she's out promoting her program among high school guidance counselors that she meets Ronald Morris.  He thinks her program sounds great, and hey, Verna ain't so bad herself.  He starts putting on the full court press, but can Verna unload her baggage to give this budding attraction they share a fair shot?

This is a nice story with a realistic feel to it.  Unfortunately, the pacing of it is a real issue.  I liked that both Verna and Ronald behaved like "real people" and adult ones at that - but reading about them going on dates and getting to know each other is...well...kinda boring.  The conflict in this story is non-existent until very, very late in the game.  Which would be OK, except that conflict turns out to be some pretty heavy stuff.  Frankly, I have a hard time believing anyone is this well-adjusted.  Especially when one of the concerned parties is a teenager who hasn't had the easiest go at life thus far.  But Hill can write, and I liked these people.  I'm definitely open to reading more by this author.

Grade = C+

What the Heart Wants by Jill Shalvis

Reformed wild child, Ellie Cahn runs a non-profit program for troubled teenage girls.  The idea is to bolster their self-esteem, teach them about self-worth and healthy relationships, steering them on a positive life path.  A flat tire puts her back in the sights of Jack Buchanan.  A former wild child himself, Jack is ex-military and runs his own string of self-defense/martial arts studios with one of his brothers.  Jack and Ellie used to run together in high school, but they were "just friends."  But now?  Yeah, they're looking at each other in a whole different light.

This story was the highlight of the anthology for me.  Shalvis includes a secondary character, one of Ellie's teenage students, that puts a nice focus on her work, and also helps to highlight Ellie's troubled past.  A past she shared with Jack, who at the time, was her only real anchor.  In turn, Jack has always felt protective of her, but still feels guilt over an incident that happened when they were kids, that almost ended very badly for Ellie. A nice mix of romance and compelling conflict that the author wraps up in a neat, tidy bow at the end.  A lovely reunion story.

Grade = B+

The romance genre is a "feel-good" genre.  Readers read it for a variety of reasons, but at the end of the day, we like romances because they leave us "feeling good."  Never, ever discount the power of a positive ending.  What I especially loved about this anthology is that not only do you get that "feel good" vibe from the stories?  You get it from the remarkable women and the causes they run/support that inspired them.  A lot of times I turn to anthologies when I'm in a reading slump, or Real Life is so hectic that a full-length novel is just too daunting to contemplate.  More Than Words Volume 7 not only would succeed on that level, but I defy anyone to read these stories and not think "Wow!" when you learn about the truth behind the fiction. 

Overall Grade = B

Digital Review: The Awakening Of Juliette

If I'm to believe the majority of what I read out there on the Interwebs, I'm one of like three romance readers who likes short stories.  Of course, I know this isn't truly the case.  I mean, if nobody bought them, they'd stop publishing them, right?  I understand that some readers are never going to like the format, no matter how much nagging cajoling I do, but I still maintain that these can be satisfying reads as long as the reader doesn't attach impossible expectations to them.  A short story is never going to be a full-length novel.  It's the authors who know this, understand it, and work with it that are the best at writing "short."  And Marguerite Kaye seems to get it.  With a slew of digital Harlequin Historical Undone shorts already under her belt, her latest, the epically titled The Sheikh's Impetuous Love-Slave, is a tasty prequel to her first full-length novel, due out this summer.

Sheikh Khalid al-Raqam has a lot on his plate.  Not only is he trying to maintain an uneasy peace between various tribes, he's also working to protect his homeland's ancient treasures from looting Europeans.  So he really doesn't have the time to deal with the gift political nightmare that gets dumped in his lap.

Juliette de Montignac is a lone survivor of a shipwreck.  She's "rescued" by men who roll her up in a carpet and bring her to their sheikh.  A sheikh who doesn't look kindly on the fact that the spinster Juliette has spent her entire life aiding her father's archeology work - and uh, that they were in Arabia treasure hunting without permission. 

While sheikhs have never entirely gone out of vogue in contemporary category romance, their historical counterparts are rarer these days.  What I enjoyed about this short was that it had a nice "throwback" feel to it, without any of the Throwback Hangover.  Yes, Juliette is a captive.  And yes, Khalid is suitably Alpha and wants to teach her "a lesson."  But then we veer off course, delightfully so.  Juliette's in a mess, but she's not about to cower in the corner.  She stands tall.  Because of that, Khalid cannot help but admire her determination and spirit.  Dang, he's downright attracted to it!  In turn, while she's technically a captive, the author quickly turns it around to where the couple starts communicating with each other as equals.  Why?  Because turns Khalid is attracted to not only Juliette's beauty - but her brains as well.  Oh happy day!

Again, this is a short story - so readers expecting a full-blown, nitty-gritty romance novel aren't going to get one.  Certain developments in moving the romance forward take place "off-page," I suspect to make the word count fit.  Because of that, the declarations of true lurve do come off a bit hasty, but the steamy Reindeer Games help gloss over some of that.  From a personal standpoint, where this story did stumble a bit for me was in the final love scene when the couple finally gets down to Insert Tab A Into Slot B.  It was a bit overwrought and flowery for my tastes, and Khalid, a mucho studly Alpha hero, gets a wee bit syrupy. 

But you know what?  I still enjoyed it.  It had a great Old Skool Vibe without any of the icky stuff that can make Old Skool romances....well....icky.  The author also segues nicely into setting up the first full-length book in her Princes Of The Desert series, Innocent In The Sheikh's Harem, due out next month.

Grade = B

Note: This short story is currently only available digitally.  You can purchase it from eHarlequin and other fine e-retailers.

When The Other Woman Meets Her Match

It's fairly well documented on this blog that I'm past "over" the Evil Ex-Mistress trope in Romance Novel Land.  Chalk it up to being bitten one too many times with the heavy-handed "message" that Women Who Aren't Virgins And Enjoy Sex = Evil Skank and Pure As The Driven Snow = Heroine.  Luckily this claptrap isn't quite as prevalent in the genre today as it was, say, 20 years ago - but any sort of whiff of it tends to get my hackles up.  It was part of the reason why Vanessa Kelly's last book, Sex And The Single Earl didn't light my personal world on fire.  But with her latest release, My Favorite Countess, Kelly takes the Evil Ex-Mistress from that earlier book and makes her the heroine in this story.  And yes gentle blog reader, I am a total sucker for the villain being the hero (or heroine, as it were) in their own story.

Bathsheba had a mini-celebration the day her husband died.  Unfortunately, while his death bought her freedom, it also heaped more responsibility on her shoulders.  Turns out she's broke.  She's held it together by taking a few lovers, who were generous with gifts, but she's currently unattached.  The only way she sees to pull herself out of this mess is to marry again.  Someone wealthy and who won't annoy the hell out of her.

Temporarily killing time in Yorkshire (and loathing it), she's at a tiresome dinner party when she meets Dr. John Blackmore.  Needless to say sparks fly, and the attraction is most unwelcome.  The last time a man made Bathsheba feel this way she married him, and that's one disaster she has no desire to repeat.  Besides, she needs to marry money before the ton finds out just how broke she is, and a mere doctor is not going to cut the mustard.

For his part, John is married to his work.  In today's terminology, he's an OB/GYN - dedicating himself to helping the poorest of the poor, which raises a few eyebrows at the hospital.  He's not a terribly popular fellow, and after a house call goes very badly, he decides to get away with a short stay in the country.  Bathsheba intrigues him no end.  She's drop dead beautiful, but she also has the tongue of a viper.  However John sees past that, and puts on the full court press.

John is everything romance readers have come to expect, and want, in their heroes.  He's noble, caring, hardworking, handsome, charming and with just the right amount of baggage.  Readers will love him by the close of the first chapter.  I suspect where the issue is going to lie is with our heroine.  I'll be blunt, Bathsheba is a bitchy snob.  Some are going to have a hard time looking past that.  However, I was able to.  Mostly because the author does a good job of selling me on the idea that Bathsheba's bitchiness is part of a defense mechanism.  Also, she's a flippin' Countess.  Of course she's snobby!  Of course she's concerned about appearances!  Of course she's concerned about her station and propriety!  But readers who like their heroines draped in costume, and behaving like someone right out of the 21st century are likely not going to be all that enthralled.  I will admit, as much as I did enjoy her characterization, she's not always the easiest woman to "like."

The romance here works it's way through at a natural clip, and there's just enough external conflict to keep the plot humming along.  I did feel that there were moments during the final chapters that bordered on melodramatic, and some of the love scenes were a bit too over-wrought for my tastes - but all in all, I rather enjoyed this story.  There was a nice mix of internal and external conflict, John is an upstanding and noble hero in the most traditional sense, and Bathsheba is salty enough to add just the right amount of spice to the occasion.  The author tells the story well, and does a good job of keeping readers up to speed who might be totally unaware that Bathsheba was evil in a previous book.  And for those of us who are well aware?  It was great fun to read about the real woman hiding behind the curtain.  Also, a Regency English hero who isn't a bloody Duke?  Oh happy day indeed.

Final Grade = B-