Happy Valentine's Day And Other Odd Thoughts...

Today is Valentine's Day. The one day a year we prove our love by being romantic--shouldn't we be doing this everyday?? Isn't this why we read and love romance novels?? I have a cold that's settled into my sinuses, it's making me grumpy and sarcastic.

I was in B&N the other day and they had a "Valentine's Day" table set up in the front of the store. It had some cutesy things on it all in pink and red and my first thought was "You've got a whole section dedicated to Valentine's already--it's called romance." You know they didn't have one romance novel on that damned table.

Junior made the most adorable pin in school, a heart with buttons glued all over it, he was very creative with those buttons. He also made a card with a picture of a little boy, he told me he colored the hair brown so I would know it was him, isn't he cute. The hubby and I exchanged cards, flowers and candy, and Junior received "The Breakdown Train" for his Thomas the Tank Engine set--better than candy according to our little boy.

While shopping yesterday I picked up the reissue of Mary Balogh's The Secret Pearl, I was sure I hadn't read it--ack, of course I had. Fifty pages in I recalled the entire story. Once again this reminds me that the memory is shot, I can't remember storylines and characters from books I read last month, how the heck am I supposed to remember something I read 15 years ago. I do remember why it didn't go on my keeper shelf then--too melodramatic. I'm going to finish it and see if my reaction is the same. Though she is an autobuy for me and has been for years, I thought many of her books from the 90's were way too dramatic.

Once again, I've let the laundry get away from me, so I'm going to the laundromat to do all the comforters, sheets, blankets, etc...all those things that don't fit in the home washer. I might as well do the rest too, I can get a weeks worth of laundry done in a couple of hours. I know it's an exciting way to spend Valentine's Day, buy hey, nothing says I love you like clean underwear. I also have to go to the library, they have 3 books and a dvd in for me--I'm hoping the DVD is the first season of LOST and not the Fantastic 4 that I requested for Junior, I'll have to check the library website before we head out.

I've started purging books again, I've got a bag for the Library, a bag to list on the trade site, a bag for the UBS and another for the thrift store. I also have a much larger official TBR pile, maybe I'll actually get to them.

Well, I should stop procrastinating and get my day going.

Have a good one and happy reading.

Tara

Please republish your blog in 10 minutes.

This post has been saved and your blog is still publicly viewable while we perform system enhancements.

Am I the only person sick to death of seeing this!!! What the heck is up with Blogger??

Snow, Snow and More Snow...

Well, we can't complain. NYC got over 2 feet of snow, we're a couple of hours north of the City and we only got 8 inches, but Junior had a great time helping us shovel out.

Two more new to me...

I've finished 2 more books by new to me authors.

Title: In The Thrill of the Night

Author: Candice Hern

Year published: 2006

Why did you get this book? The blurb sounded interesting and I've noticed others read her on a regular basis.

Do you like the cover? Yes

Did you enjoy the book? Yes

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? New to me and yes, I'll search out her back list.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it until the series is finished.

Anything else? This is a good book, but it didn't completely live up to the potential of the storyline. There are times I didn't like where the writer took the story, but eventually everything seems to work out, I know that sounds vague, but I don't feel like going into spoilers.


Title: Calamity Jayne

Author: Kathleen Bacus

Year published: 2006

Why did you get this book? It's had some good recommendations so I decided to pick it up.

Do you like the cover? Yes

Did you enjoy the book? Yes

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? New to me and I'll read her again

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it for now, waiting to see if it becomes a "Calamity Jayne" series.

Anything else? This is not a romance, it's really a Chick Lit/Mystery with a little flirtation included, it left me wanting more for Tressa (Calamity Jayne) and (Ranger) Rick.

The Wagering Widow by Diane Gaston

This is my first book for Angie's February TBR Challenge


Title: The Wagering Widow

Author: Diane Gaston

Year published: 2006

Why did you get this book? The first in this series received rave reviews and since I'm having a hard time finding it, I had to order it. I decided to pick this one up, and then decided to read it even though I knew it was part of a series.

Do you like the cover? Yes, I liked the cover.

Did you enjoy the book? Yes

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? New to me and I would definitely read her again

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it at least until the series is finished.

Anything else? This is one of those books the more I thought about it the more I liked it. Rarely do I prefer the heroine to the hero of a book, but this book has a great heroine, the hero is good too, but I really liked Emily and thinking about how she bullies her brother makes me laugh, probably because I can still bully mine.

Not impressed

I must say Bam saves me from having to write a review for this.

It doesn't even come close to living up to the original book. Unlike The Wagering Widow which the more I thought about, the more I liked, the more I thought about this one the more I disliked it. At this point it may end up listed under "Not Worth My Time."

A real quick one...

I should be in the shower, we need to be out of the house in half an hour.

I don't watch much TV--LOST, Survivor, CSI and Without a Trace. Thursday night's my night to control the remote.

Did anyone watch Without a Trace last night? Can you imagine realizing your husband is a serial killer? Great episode.

Have a good one, back to book blogging this afternoon.

Tara

Not Worth My Time...

You know that great scene in Rear Window when Grace Kelly gets pissed off with Jimmy Stewart and starts to walk out giving the impression she wont ever be back and then announces she'll be back tomorrow--that's the kind of relationship I have with Julie Garwood these days. I repeatedly swear I'll never read her books again and yet at some point I've gone on to read every single thing she's written.

Out of respect for the woman who wrote Honor's Splendor I've listed this book as OKAY, alas it really was NOT WORTH MY TIME. I'm relieved I picked this one up at the library even buying it at the UBS would have annoyed me. I'm not sure I can even read her historicals anymore, with the exception of Honor's Splendor, I've not read one of her historicals in years. At one time I enjoyed her fluffy, fun and entertaining historicals. Okay, so they weren't historically accurate and the heroines are all perfect and the heros all have a certain smirky acceptance of the cute little person now in their lives, like they're planning on patting the little lady on the head. This may have worked in historicals, but in a Contemporary Romantic Suspense it pisses me off. I do not like RS Lite, and yet I liked Rachel Gibson's Sex, Lies and Online Dating which has a RS Lite feeling to it. I'll have to think about it, hmm. Maybe it's just Julie Garwood's RS Lite I don't particularly like.

I don't want to actually write a review so go check RT if you're looking for a positive review, not that I've actually checked, but they seem to be JG fangirls over there, and there probably is a more honest review over on AAR.

After basking in the glow of the fabulous Anne Stuart anti-hero, Christian Montcalm, I discovered Candace Camp's So Wild A Heart...Devin Aincourt, Earl of Ravenscar, makes no apologies for who he is--a drinker, a womanizer, a gambler. Having been cast aside by his disapproving father years before, Dev is content to live out his cursed life in this hedonistic manner... yada yada yada, blah blah blah.

So dear old Dev isn't really an anti-hero and his heroine, Miranda, at first is a refreshing bit of American heiress fresh air, but turns out to be a pain the behind.

The sad part to this book, I was more interested in the untold stories of Dev's sister Rachel and her husband Michael and Dev's widowed brother-in-law Richard. So I'll probably look to see if they have stories, and that just leaves me wanting to bang my head on my desk.

Vicky Taylor's Flesh and Stone is supposed to be out, maybe I need a trip to B&N.

Have a good one, and happy reading.

Tara

The Laird by Juliana Garnett

The Laird by Juliana Garnett is one of my keepers. I've read this book countless times since it was released in 2002. Kristie has this book on her TBR pile and asked for a review. The blurb:

She is the enemy of his clan, the friend of his foe,and the most beautiful prisoner he has ever seen, She is Judith Lindsay, the brazen you beauty who's bound by blood and honor to her beloved England---even now, as she's bound by her captors in the Campbell family's keep. As future laird of this proud Scottish clan, Robert Campbell knows he should treat the Lindsay woman with contempt. The feud between their people has clamed the lives of his borhters. But when he sees the quiet strength in Judith's soul--and the fire in her eyes--his heart must surrender to a very different battle.

Set in 1327 Scotland. Angus Campbell has a sworn allegiance with the Earl of Argyl. The Earl wants his young son wed to Mairi Lindsey and Angus sends his sons on the "foolhardy" mission of kidnapping the little girl. Robert "Rob" Campbell knows his father is sending his brothers to their death. An unhealed wound keeps him from the mission.

The mission is a success, but at a high cost, all of Rob's brothers are dead and they end up with 2 hostages, one wanted (little Mairi) and one unwanted Lady Judith Lindsay.

Lady Judith is the English widow of Kenneth Lindsey, Mairi's uncle. After her husbands death she is left in Scotland as she has no value to her English family. Basically she is little Mairi's caregiver and refuses to let them leave her behind when the little one is kidnapped.

Through trials and tribulations, Judith and Rob fall in love. The rest of the book brings you to their HEA.

This book is everything I look for in a Medieval. It is dark and at times violent. I don't know how accurate the history is, but it feels right. It's not a fluffy Garwood and it's not a contemporary in Medieval clothing. I felt like I was transported to 1300 Scotland and that really works for me.

This one's for Maili...

Last year Maili posted her favorite 100 books. I copied the list deleted the books I knew I had read and that left 38 books to search out. Maili asked for my thoughts. Okay, Maili, you asked so here goes:

Stats on those 38 books:

• I've read 14 books
• I've got 5 more on my unofficial TBR Pile
• 8 books still haven't been found
• And 11 books were found but I realized I'd already read them.

Here's the list of books I've already read or plan to read soon:

Bitten – Kelley Armstrong—This one’s on my TBR pile, saving it for Angie’s February TBR challenge. New to me author.

Dancing With Clara – Mary Balogh—great book, wish I didn’t have such a hard time finding her traditional regency backlist.

Cherish This Moment – Sandra Canfield—realized I read it when it was new.
Conquer the Night – Sandra Canfield—realized I read it when it was new.

Jerchio - Sandra Canfield—realized I read it when it was new.

Night Into Day – Sandra Canfield—realized I read it when it was new.

The Daughter – Jasmine Cresswell—realized I read it when it was new.

Bad to the Bone - Debra Dixon—saving this for Angie’s February TBR challenge. New to me author.

Better Than Before - Judith Duncan—I loved this book, loved the setting, loved the h/h’s strength of character.

Dangerous Waters - Amy J. Fetzer—haven’t found yet, actually I found it at my local UBS, but refuse to spend $8.00 because it’s considered a “collectible.”

The Trouble with Valentine's Day – Rachel Gibson—I went on a Rachel Gibson glom after reading this one. I like her books, but there not keepers for me.

The Vampire Viscount - Karen Harbaugh—great book, I think I passed it on to Rosario or Ana.

Sweet Lullaby – Lorraine Heath—great book, I passed it on to someone in the trade group.

A Countess Under the Stairs - Eva Ibboston—This was a fabulous book. Great time period, interesting story.

The Shadowy Horses - Susanna Kearsley—Loved this one enough to pass on to my sister with the promise it would come back.

Four Men and a Lady – Alison Kent—This one was just okay for me, but I’m very consistant with Alison Kent, anything I’ve read by her ususally falls into C+ to B for me. I read her, but she’s not an autobuy favorite.

Fallen From Grace - Laura Leone—This book was outstanding. One of my favorites reads from last year. I probably would have kept it, but Rosario was desperately trying to find a copy, so I sent mine.

The Shadow Runners - Liz Maverick—The 2176 series started me reading SciFi romances again. This one was good, but I didn’t like her Crimson City book at all.

Stitches in Time – Barbara Michaels—realized I read it a while ago.

Do You Come Here Often? – Alexandra Potter—I really enjoyed this one and Going La La. I don’t read a tremendous amount of Chick Lit. but she’s become a favorite.

Going La La – Alexandra Potter—See above.

Someone Wonderful - Kate Rothwell—A good book, I had some issues with her being such a free spirit for the time, but overlooked them because the story was so good and I actually liked that she was a free spirit, which is kind of convoluted but what can I say.

Unmarked Man - Darlene Scalera—TBR pile, will probably read it for Angie’s February challenge.

Till the Stars Fall - Kathleen Gilles Seidel—read it when it was new.

Amazon Lily - Theresa Weir—read it when it was new.

Bad Karma - Theresa Weir—read it when it was new.

Loving Jenny - Theresa Weir—read it when it was new.

Some Kind of Magic – Theresa Weir—read it when it was new.

Passion's Springtime - Lauren Wilde—Angies TBR challenge...

In the Midnight Rain – Ruth Wind—very good book, reminds me I should read more series romance.

Canfield, Cresswell and Weir were all autobuys at one time. And as soon as I read the blurbs I realized I'd read them all before. The sad thing is I skimmed them several months ago and looking back I still can't remember what they were about--that "vaguely familiar" thing again. I will say I can only take Theresa Weir in small doses, her books are always a little too dramatic for me, beautifully written but a little too depressing in large amounts.

So, I'd already read 73 of the original 100. I remember thinking at the time how much I enjoyed the books I'd read and that our taste runs along similar lines, which means I'm in pretty good company.

My funny kid

We went to a friend's home yesterday for a playdate. There were a few moms that stayed and a couple of them were having a glass of wine in the kitchen. I didn't--one glass is enough to give me a buzz, sad I know. My son comes into the kitchen and our hostess asked him if he wanted anything.

His answer "No thanks, I don't drink wine."

Fangirl Moment

Confession time!!!

Yesterday's RTB column almost brought out a severe fangirl reaction from me. *hanging my head in shame* The writer never gave the name of the book, but just by her description you knew it was Black Ice. She couldn't finish it because she didn't feel the hero and heroine suited each other.

All these horrible thoughts started going through my mind. Why didn't this person get it?? Isn't it obvious, they're supposed to be complete opposites... What is she ...?

Then I read Mary Stella's comment, and it said kind of what I was thinking, but in a very nice way.

Now, I agreed with what the writer was saying, I just completely disagreed with her example. I know there are plenty of people who didn't like Black Ice, and I have absolutely no problem with that.

I have no idea what came over me, I'm blaming it on PMS.

Have a good one, Tara

A quickie...

Made a mad dash into Wal*Mart to pick up a H&R Block Tax Cut program and discovered Rachel Gibson's Sex, Lies and Online Dating is out.

Started reading while I was waiting for the TaxCut update to download. We've got dial-up and it took a while, I'm already 50 pages in and it looks GOOD.

Help, I have something really long to post and need help with the html that allows us to do the "More, More, More" thing.

I am incredibly html challenged and if someone could post the code for this I'd greatly appreciate it.

Have a good one, and happy reading.

Tara

PS--I filed the returns electronically and should have our refund in a couple of weeks, how cool is that??

Paranoid, Truth or Somewhere in between??

I've only just caught up a weeks worth of RTB. I discovered this quote from late last week:

“Authors who feel threatened by another author’s success will frequently begin campaigns to discredit the other author wherever possible…”

Frequently?? Paranoid, truth or somewhere in between?

My first reactions was This is just crazy talk!!

And then I remembered a blog post by Meljean about a toady little author reviewing over on Amazon.

I'm curious about how much of this actually goes on.

What's everyone elses thoughts??

Books, books, books...

Thursday we went to the library for our weekly "Story Time" and I picked up a few books. And, Saturday we hit B&N--I'm still using my gift cards, if I'm careful with said gift cards, I may make it to the March book releases.

At the library I picked up Mary Balogh's Simply Unforgettable and a couple more Kasey Michaels' books. I have absolutely no interest in the Michaels, but I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED SIMPLY UNFORGETTABLE. I love Mary Balogh, probably bordering on fangirl, so it's not a huge surprise that I would love this one.

I listed the book as great, but it has a few problems, yet I enjoyed it enough to overlook anything I didn't think was perfect. I haven't looked for any reviews, but I'm sure you can find one over on RT or AAR, and I'm pretty sure I actually did read a review on Rosario's Blog, but I don't remember when that was, if I get ambitious I'll go search out the post and link it here.

I have no idea how I missed this when it came out last March. The only thing I can think of I was being cheap and decided to wait for the MM release. I'm glad I decided to pick it up at the library.

Saturday's visit to B&N was also successful. I found a Paula Quinn and the new Anne Stuart The Devil's Waltz. I've got one thing to say about it ANNE STUART ROCKS!! It doesn't matter if it's romantic suspense or historicals her books are great and this one is no exception. I started this as soon as we got home, put it down long enough to have some pizza for dinner and get Junior in the shower and into bed. And, finished it before 9:00 last night.

We have a house full of company coming today and I need to get in the shower and get to Mass. If I have time, I may try to post an actual review of The Devil's Waltz sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Have a good one, and happy reading.

Tara

Hitting the proverbial wall...

I have 4 books left on my "official" TBR pile. I probably have another 50 books that are on my "memory lapse" TBR pile--see my The Memory's Shot post, it explains why I'm not reading those, as I'm pretty sure I've already read them.

The 4 official books are:

1. Forbidden Magic -- Cheyenne McCray
2. After Midnight -- Teresa Medeiros
3. Maggie By The Book -- Kasey Michaels
4. The Nerd Who Loves Me -- Vicki Lewis Thompson

I'm 100 pages into After Midnight, though pretty good, I'm not in the mood for vampires and paranormals, which leaves out Forbidden Magic too, it's gotten really good buzz, but I need a break from paranormals. I think I read more paranormals last year than all my other reading years combined. Maggie By The Book is the second in a series, I didn't realize this until after I bought it, shame on me. I am picking up Maggie Needs An Alibi at the library this afternoon. And, I have absolutely no interest in The Nerd Who Loves Me Did anyone see the Nerd story on the Today Show this morning? You know I'm in a rut when I watch morning news shows past the first 10 minutes of actual news.

So, where does this leave me? I've hit a wall. Not in the mood for what's left and not sure exactly what I'm looking for. I've got 3 waiting for me at the library, maybe one of those will pull me out of my rut.

I'm feeling a bit lost, a house full of books and nothing to read, can that be, or am I being too picky? Quandary, quandary, what's next?

Bad boys, Antiheros and Good Girls

While book shopping over the last few weeks I discovered there are a heck of a lot of Bad Boy and Good Girl books out there. And while I spent some time thinking about writing a blog about this, Sybil beat me to it. At least the Bad Boy part of it. And before I had time to join the conversation, she's moved on to other things. So I'm blogging about it too.

It seems to me, when it comes to romance novels hero has a few different meanings. Here is Encarta's definition that fit within romance:

1. somebody who commits an act of remarkable bravery or who has shown an admirable quality such as great courage or strength of character
2. somebody admired: somebody who is admired for outstanding qualities or achievements...
3. arts main character in fictional plot: the principal male character in a movie, novel, or play, especially one who plays a vital role in plot development or around whom the plot is structured.

So, for the most part romance novels probably fall into two categories, real hero's that fit the first 2 definitions and Bad Boys who aren't necessarily antiheros, unheroic central character: the central character in a story who is not a traditionally brave or good hero, but may have had less than sterling backgrounds and walk, run, ride, drive to a different drummer.

The funny thing is I love Bad Boy stories and yet I hate to see Bad Boy in the title. Do we really need to be told the hero is bad? I think most of us can figure it out from the blurb. I realized this morning why it bugs me. I'm not a fan of Lori Foster and I have a tendency to equate Bad Boy with her books--ack, how unfair is that to other writers? I think I need to work on that.

Antiheros are different from bad boys. There is nothing sterotypical about antiheros. Bad boys and heros are a dime a dozen in romance novels, but a good antihero is hard to find. Sometimes they find redemption with the love of a good woman, and sometimes it's left rather vague--nobody does this better than Anne Stuart.

So, now I have a confession, I've never read a Good Girl book. That's not to say I haven't read a book with a Good Girl heroine, but I've never actually read a book with Good Girl in the title. Are they good in the biblical sense or have good moral fiber? Are they good friends, good daughters, good looking or good in bed? Aren't all heroines Good to some degree**?

My deep thoughts for today--LOL.

Have a good one, and happy reading.

Tara

**Edited, apparently not, check out Kristie's rant about "It's all about me" Mia.

The Small Stuff...

I've always lived by the "Don't sweat the small stuff..." mentality.

The last week or so's small stuff:

• Okay, this isn't a small thing, my mom had an ER visit last weekend because she thought she was having a heart attack. Everything's fine, but she needed her medication adjusted.
• While I was on the phone talking to my sister about her taking my mom to the ER, my husband takes a fall outside while cleaning up after an ice storm. Bruised ribs. And, at this point, a week and a half later I'm sure he's milking it, but I'm still being sympathetic just in case. He's a bit of a hypochondriac.
• We had a leak in our kitchen sink's drain pipe, apparently it's been going on for a while.
• I forgot to put my husband's lawn mower away after I let my BIL into the basement to fix the leak. It sat out through last week's ice storm. My husband wasn't a happy camper.
• Our neighbor lost one of their trees to the ice storm landed in their pool, which may not be a bad thing since they haven't opened it in a couple of years and last summer bull frogs took up residence.
• My son's Tae Kwon Do instructor skipped town. I'm relieved we only paid through the end of December and had planned to pay for Jan-March when we went back after vacation. Some people had paid for a year in advance. The entire place is cleaned out. Now we have to find a new instructor.
• I can't get into the library systems program to order books on-line.
• Last night my son's Thomas the Tank Engine alarm clock went off with a huge "BRNNGGG" at 3:00 this morning. I can't imagine who turned that on.
• The Weather Channel said we would have 1 inch of snow when we got up this morning and would get another inch before the storm turned to rain. Well, we had 6 inches of snow when we got up and another 2 fell before it changed to rain. Of course, I had to do most of the shoveling since my husbands ribs hurt-ack, right. I shouldn't complain I used the snow blower for the end of the driveway.
• My son had a complete temper tantrum when I told him "No, you can't use the snow blower."

In the grand scheme of live none of this is all that important. Now, that I've bored you with my small trials and tribulations, I promise to get back to blogging about books tomorrow.

Have a good one.

Tara

The Memory's Shot

Way back when I was Rosario's age I remembered everything I read. Titles, characters, story lines, plots. I could discuss in detail just about anything I'd read since, well, childhood. This ability is gone, kuput, shot, completely done. I used to laugh when older women (women who were then the age I am now) in my "romance reading book club" would tell me to make lists to keep track of all the books I read, I thought they were crazy.

Well, with age comes wisdom. I need lists and details to remember anything now. What I read now is half of what I read 10 years ago. Back at the height of my reading, when I read probably around 400 books a year, I didn't keep track of anything, which is not a good thing, since now I don't remember anything.

Why am I telling you all this?

1. AAR is talking about he 2005 "buried treasures". Rosario blogged about her "buried treasure" which I have to agree was a very good book that no one seemed to be talking about. Well, it seems I couldn't remember the name of my "buried treasure." I had to go back and search my books read in 2005 list in order to find Outlaw's Embrace by Ashley Snow. The only problem is it's a golden oldie rather than a book published in 2005, that may explain why it wasn't a popular topic of romance reading conversation.

2. My TBR pile is full of books I've already read. Not because I want to reread them, but because I didn't remember reading them and when someone mentioned it was a favorite, I'd add it to my TBR pile, only to discover when I actually went to read the books that I had read them when they were new. Stories, plots, characters would seem vaguely familiar and I'd know the ending before I read it.

When did the memory go? I'm not entirely sure. I'm starting to think it was childbirth, though I had a c-section, but I'm sure that counts. When I was pregnant I lost all interest in reading and probably didn't start reading like I do now until after my son was a year old.

My mom reads for the pleasure of the moment, she remembers nothing and can reread a book once a month and enjoy it each time like it's new. I swear she has read Mary Jo Putney's entire backlist 5 times in the last year. She picks up the books at thrift stores and library sales and when she's done, she gives them to me.

Me: "Mom, you keep reading the same books over and over."
Mom: "I know, but I enjoy them each time."
Me: "Don't you remember reading them?"
Mom: "Sometimes they seem vaguely familiar."

OMG, I'm turning into my Mother.

A word of advice, if you're not keeping track of what your reading, if you think "hey I'll remember this," be very afraid, one day that great memory will be gone and you'll be left thinking "Gee, that seemed vaguely familiar."

Have a good one and happy reading.

Tara

I should have hated it...

But, for some reason Minda Webber's The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing worked for me. He's an almost 400 year old vampire Earl and she's a vampire hunting Van Helsing, though she faints at the sight of blood. Her father is laid up with gout and sends her to kill the evil vampire, the plan is to seduce him. The plan might have worked if Jane wasn't a klutz and didn't try to stake him during the seduction, leaving her completely compromised and then must wed the enemy. The staking scene is great.

It's campy, it's funny, it's filled with subtle and some not so subtle contemporary references even though it's a regency. The dialogue between the hero and heroine is sassy, witty and at times biting, no pun intended. The literary refrences are cleverly interwoven, from Shakespeare and Dickens to Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz and The Fantastiks. The Wizard of Oz reference may be from the movie and not the literary work. There's even a humorous little supernatural ditty sung to a Christmas carol. The other day I blogged about the Lugosi, Lee and Langella references along with the Elizabeth Taylor/Cleopatra reference.

To be completely honest, it's a contempory dressed in regency clothing, but for some reason I was able to ignore it, which I normally can't/wont do. Though there is one literary reference that left me somewhat annoyed. Jane, our intrepid vampire hunting heroine, thinks the opening of Dickens A Tale of Two Cities is a perfect description of her first 4 days of marriage, unfortunately ATOTC wont be written for another 30 years, so it's a little hard to quote from. All the other "contemporary" references were just cleverly used in thoughts and dialogue without ever giving credit to the author.

Is it going on my keeper shelf--no, but it entertained me while I read it. Do I want a steady diet of this style of book--no, but it's a fun read once in a while.

Why We Love Children

Yeah, I know we've all seen this, but it hit me as funny this morning when I opened emails.

Here's one cute kid's story I know is true. Last week as we were leaving school my little budding comedian started telling jokes. "Hey Mrs. K, why did the chicken cross the road?" "I don't know why..." So after she hears the punch line she asks "Why do we cross the road?" and her son pipes in "To get the chicken."

Why We Love Children

1. A kindergarten pupil told his teacher he'd found a cat, but it was dead.
"How do you know that the cat was dead?" she asked her pupil.
"Because I pissed in its ear and it didn't move," answered the child innocently.
You did WHAT ? ! ?" the teacher exclaimed in surprise.
"You know,"explained the boy, "I leaned over and went 'Pssst!' and it didn't move."

2. A small boy is sent to bed by his father.
Five minutes later...."Da-ad...."
"What?"
"I'm thirsty. Can you bring drink of water?"
"No, You had your chance. Lights out."
Five minutes later: "Da-aaaad....."
"WHAT?"
"I'm THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water??"
I told you NO! If you ask again, I'll have to spank you!!"
Five minutes later......"Daaaa-aaaad....."
"WHAT!"
"When you come in to spank me, can you bring a drink of water?"

3. An exasperated mother, whose son was always getting into mischief,
finally asked him "How do you expect to get into Heaven?"
The boy thought it over and said, "Well, I'll run in and out and in and out and keep slamming the door
until St. Peter says, 'For Heaven's sake, Dylan, come in or stay out!'"

4. One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was tucking her son into bed.
She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, "Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?"
The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. "I can't dear," she said. "I have to sleep in Daddy's room"
A long silence was broken at last by his shaky little voice: "The big sissy"

5. It was that time, during the Sunday morning service, for the children's sermon. All the children were invited to come forward.
One little girl was wearing a particularly pretty dress and, as she sat down, the pastor leaned over and said, "That is a very pretty dress. Is it your Easter Dress?"
The little girl replied, directly into the pastor's clip-on microphone, "Yes, and my Mom says it's a bitch to iron."

6. When I was six months pregnant with my third child, my three year old came into the room when I was just getting ready to get into the shower She said, "Mommy, you are getting fat!"

I replied, "Yes, honey, remember Mommy has a baby growing in her tummy."

"I know," she replied, but what's growing in your butt?"

7 A little boy was doing his math homework. He said to himself, "Two plus five, that son of a bitch is seven.
Three plus six, that son of a bitch is nine...." His mother heard what he was saying and gasped, "What are you doing?"
The little boy answered, "I'm doing my math homework, Mom."
"And this is how your teacher taught you to do it?" the mother asked.
"Yes," he answered.
Infuriated, the mother asked the teacher the next day, "What are you teaching my son in math?"
The teacher replied, "Right now, we are learning addition."
The mother asked, "And are you teaching them to say two plus two, that son of a bitch is four?"
After the teacher stopped laughing, she answered, "What I taught them was, two plus two, THE SUM OF WHICH, is four."

8. One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken Little to her class. She came to the part of the story where Chicken Little tried to warn the farmer. She read, ".... and so Chicken Little went up to the farmer and said,
"The sky is falling, the sky is falling!"
The teacher paused then asked the class, "And what do you think that farmer said?"
One little girl raised her hand and said, "I think he said: 'Holy Shit! A talking chicken!'"
The teacher was unable to teach for the next 10 minutes.

9. A certain little girl, when asked her name, would reply, "I'm Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter."
Her mother told her this was wrong, she must say, "I'm Jane Sugarbrown."
The Vicar spoke to her in Sunday School, and said, "Aren't you Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter?"
She replied, "I thought I was, but mother says I'm not."

10. A little girl asked her mother, "Can I go outside and play with the boys?"
Her mother replied, "No, you can't play with the boys, they're too rough."
The little girl thought about it for a few moments and asked, "If I can find a smooth one, can I play with him?"

11. A little girl goes to the barber shop with her father. She stands next to the barber chair, while her dad gets his hair cut, eating a snack cake The barber says to her, "Sweetheart, you're gonna get hair on your Twinkie."
She says, "Yes, I know, and I'm gonna get boobs too."

Moving on

After being highly entertained for the last 2 days by Angie's review brouhaha I've decided to move on to other things.

My sister and her husband came over for dinner last night, while my BIL was here we put him to work cleaning our boiler, and if you call it a furnace, my sister will correct you and explain why it's a boiler and not a furnace. As if I actually care, but it is great having a plumber in the family.

Sorry, I'm getting side tracked, so they come for dinner and my sister tells me to make sure I have books ready for her, she's bringing books for me. Yeah, I'm getting new books for my TBR pile, right? Wrong, she's returning my books, out of the 2 shopping bags she gave me all but 2 were mine. So I've added Vicki Lewis Thompson's The Nerd Who Loved Me and Elizabeth Thornton's Shady Lady to my TBR pile. I'm not even sure I want to read the Thompson, but it'll find a home with the rest of my TBR pile until I decide to purge them.

I started reading Minda Webber's The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing. I'm 14 pages into it and Ms. Webber has my head swimming.

1. Her grandfather Colonel Ebenezer Van Helsing is responsible for "slaying the infamous Nosferatn, Lugosi, Lee and Langella."
2. Ebenezer's favorite expression is "Humbug."
3. The costume Miss Van Helsing is wearing to the first scene's costume ball is Cleopatra "tailored by Miss Elizabeth Burton."
4. Miss Van Helsing's best friend is Clair Frankenstein, who happens to be married to a werewolf she calls Harry.
5. Clair Frankenstein has been escorted to the costume ball by her cousin "Frederick" who was created by her Uncle Victor. He doesn't need a costume as he is the original Frankenstein monster though he is rather sweet.

I'm not sure I'm going to keep up with all this--LOL. But, I'm going to give it a try.

Have a good one and happy reading.

Tara

A few thoughts and then I have to go food shopping...

Since reading Angie's RTB post yesterday I've been thinking about reviews and such. And while hopping around this morning I discovered this link, originally through RTB--Helen Kay Dimon. She says it all so much better than I would have and she also keeps me from having to tax my brain trying to do it.

Though I do think I'd up her 93% of romance author statistic who can't handle negative reviews, it's probably closer to 98 or 99%, but hey that's just my opinion. But after a couple of run ins with authors on message boards you start to get a little jaded.

I do have a question, how many people actually use the Amazon or B&N reviews? Personally, I've always found they are entertaining without being real informative, who believes all the gushing or hating. I'm not really in a position to judge these things as I write sucky reviews--I either gush or I'm nit picking, making something sound better or worse than it probably is. But, hey it's my blog and my opinions, right :D?

I'm still reading Kasey Micheals' The Kissing Game. I love her humorous writing style, but there is a copy editor out there who uses spell check, but who may not actually proof read for content. I've noticed a few errors, and I'm only 80 pages into it, but hey at least the wrong words are spelled correctly. Once again, not that I'm in a position to judge someone else on spelling or grammar, but I'm not getting paid to do that am I?

Okay, I'm done being snarky.

Did anyone watch LOST last night? Where the heck is this thing going?

Got to go, Shop Rite here we come.

Have a good one and happy reading.

Tara

A few things...

So, Angie has an interesting column over on RTB. When I hopped over there this afternoon there was 39 responses to her thoughts on reviews on sites like Amazon.

Yesterday we went to the library and since I went without a list I ended up with Judith McNaught's Every Breath You Take. I have no real idea why I took this out. It was there and I took it, I'm really not that interested. But, I've got it until the 24th so it's going on the TBR pile temporarily. Now get this--it's classified a Mystery??

I picked up a couple of books at B&N today The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing and Kasey Michaels' The Kissing Game.

I started reading The Kissing Game while I was waiting to pick Junior up from school and on page two I find a major typo:

...that had left the then Dowager countess PROSTATE on her bed for months.

Nobody along the publishing process caught this, how is this possible??

Lost is back tonight, so I've got to go.

Have a good one and happy reading.

The Courtesan by Julia Justiss

My husband is a night talker, which is to say he sleeps for a few hours wakes up and wants to talk. Of course, he goes right back to sleep and I'm left tossing and turning to the point I now do a lot of reading in the middle of the night. I read 2/3 of The Courtesan between 1:30 and 4:30 this morning. For some reason I had higher expectations for this book and I'm not sure if I'm being picky simply because I read it on lack of sleep.

This book has a fabulous premise and spends the 3/4 working toward something completely different in Regency period romances, which should have made this book an excellent or at the very least a very good read. Unfortunately, the last 1/4 of the book is so contrived it ended up leaving me disappointed. She's an ex-courtesan, he's willing to give up society for her--fine, love this, great idea, but somehow the author twists the story around so they are completely accepted by the "ton"--let's make it a perfect ending, for some reason this just didn't work for me.

It's still a good book, but for me it needed a different ending.

Interesting

So a while ago one of my computer geek BILs told me I should turn on the Ad Sense on my blog. So of course, I listened to the loveable geek. It doesn't make any money, but I get some interesting things pop up, which keeps me rather entertained. Today this popped in:

The LuvLibrary

I'd never heard of it and I'm curious has anyone used it??

Really, I Wanted To Love It...

Look at this cover, I should have loved this book simply because the cover is beautiful.

But, of course, a book can't be judged by it's cover. This one had more going for it than most.

1. It's set in Restoration England.

2. It sounds like it's set in Restoration England, or at least it sounds like what I expect a book to sound like set in Restoration England.

3. It has a class struggle under tone, she's a Lady and he's a Highwayman, really not a lord acting like a highwayman, well, he is an Earl's illegitimate son.

4. It has lots of action and is fairly fast paced.

5. An Evil villain and a horny King.

6. It has the feel of a Robin Hood and pirate tale rolled into one.

The problem, the heroine is absolutely TSTL shrew for the first half of the book. Honestly, she needed a good smack. Once she realizes that the hero is truly a hero and she ceases to being stupid, things improve immensely. And, that's what saves this story. If the heroine hadn't of been so TSTL to start with this would have been an excellent read.

Those are my thoughts, I'm waiting for what everyone else thinks, maybe I'm just being nit picky. I put it under good on the sidebar, but maybe I'll move it to very good. I need to think about it.

Tara

What A Woman Needs by Caroline Linden

Before I say anything about this book I'm going to share the back blurb:

HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO MARRY AN HEIRESS?

Not terribly, Stuart Drake thinks, if you're good-looking, charming, and in line for a Viscount title, which, fortunately, he is. To end his penniless existence, he simply has to convince his intended bride's shrewish, wizened old guardian that he isn'ta fortune hunter...which, unfortunately, he is in the extreme. Still, once he meets the old whitch, how difficult could it prove to charm her?
Quite, actually. Espeically when the lady in question is temptation made flesh--a gorgeous widow with a reputation for knowing a rake when she sees one, having bedded many herself. She'd rather die than let Stuart win. And with his plans thwarted, Stuart has only one option: to take revence on his tormentor through seduction. But learning what this woman needs might only leave him hungry for more...

I typed that in, so excuse any typos.

Okay, from that blurb I expected this to be a "Regency Romp" and mentioned this when I posted that I bought it because it sounded interesting. Rosario commented at the time that it isn't a romp, and boy, was she right. The funny thing is the blurb is a good description of this book.

...having bedded many herself. That may very well be an understatement when it comes to this book. Charlotte, has been around the block a time or two or ten or twenty, of course it's not really her fault. But, you like her anyway, I guess the author does a good job showing why and at times I thought she was TSTL, and at times I thought she was great. And, the hero, Stuart, turns out to be a more of a gentleman than expected.

What a Woman Needs isn't a typical regency, which may be the reason I liked it so much. It's got love, sex and intrigue. What more can we ask for?

Two More Contemporary Romances

Two more books for Angie's TBR Challenge.


Title: Just Perfect
Author: Julie Ortolon
Year published: 2005

Why did you get this book? Kristie recommended it and the 1st book in this series, Almost Perfect.

Do you like the cover? I'm not big on cartoon covers, but it's okay.

Did you enjoy the book? Yes, actually I liked it better than Almost Pefect.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No, I've read her before.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing it on.

Anything else? I enjoyed this book, I found it entertaining while I was reading it, but it's not a keeper. I'm not a huge fan of Julie Ortolon, I find her books rather hit or miss for me, but this is a good one. I liked the interaction between the characters and her dialogue between men is pretty good, which is really my biggest peeve with contemporary romances, so often the men sound like women sharing their feelings and emotions.




Title: Too Perfect
Author:
Year published: 2005

Why did you get this book? It's the last in a trilogy, though it wasn't recommended, Kristie hated it.

Do you like the cover? Again, not big on cartoon covers, but it's okay.

Did you enjoy the book? It was okay. Not as good as the first 2, but I didn't dislike it as much as Kristie did.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No...

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing it on.

Anything else? I think the author was hoping to do a fairy tale thing with this one, but it kind of falls short, it's not a horrible book, it's just not good/very good/great.

Heiress for Hire by Erin McCarthy

This is my first book for Angie's TBR Challenge, it's not been on my TBR pile long, 5 days, but it did make it to my bedroom, which is my prerequisite for TBR pile books.


Title: Heiress for Hire
Author: Erin McCarthy
Year published: 2006

Why did you get this book? I'm fast becoming a fan Ms. McCarthy's--I love her writing voice.

Do you like the cover? Yes, but I'm not overly impressed by covers.

Did you enjoy the book? Absolutely, the story and plot are a little farfetched, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No, she's not knew to me, but I'm going to search out the rest of her backlist, I've now read 3 of her books and enjoyed them.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Though it's very good, it's probably not a keeper, but I may hold on to for a little while.

Anything else? Well, it does have a ghost that visits on occasion, so it may be considered a paranormal.

I really like her writing style, it's a 3rd person Chick Lit in style, but definitely romance. I finally realized that if I ever contemplated writing it would probably be similar to what my voice would sound like, but obviously her's is better with more imagination, which is what I lack and why I would never think about trying my hand at writing.

Jay's up on RTB

Jay is the guest blogger over on RTB today, a great column about trying new authors. Of course, after going back and researching new to me authors for 2005, I am incapable of following my own advice.

So after analyzing the stats for last year, I read 66 new authors. Of the 66, 46 are authors that have 1. become autobuys for me, 2. have already or will read again. That leaves 20 authors I wont read again.

But here's the kicker, of the 20 authors I wont read again, I read additional books by 12 different authors, it took reading 2 or 3 of their books to decide--nope, their not for me. I knew after the first book, but for some reason I went on to read more sucky books by choice.

Strange.

Good Golly Miss Maili is back...

A big welcome back to blogdom!!

Back to Barnes and Noble

So maybe I should just camp out at Barnes and Noble. I made another trip while Junior was in school, and picked up 2 more books:

1. Lady Anne's Dangerous Man -- Jeane Westin
2. What A Woman Needs -- Caroline Linden

Then I visited the Evil Empire and I can't believe I bought 2 books there. I still have gift cards for B&N and I bought books at Wal*Mart--what the heck am I thinking--LOL. Wal*Mart finds:

1. Lord of My Heart -- Jo Beverley
2. Midnight Marriage -- Victoria Bylin

The only book I actually planned to get was Lady Anne's Dangerous Man. The blurb for What A Woman Needs sounds interesting, but it's probably another "Regency romp." I'm pretty sure I've already read Lord of My Heart, it's not new and I thought I had exhausted Jo Beverley's entire backlist. I hadn't planned on getting Midnight Marriage, but I liked Victoria Bylin's last book, so what the heck.

I think I must be a frustrated "check out girl." I always use the self-check out at Wal*Mart--love it, I'm in and out in a flash.

Got to go, I need to pick out something to read. I just finished Almost a Lady--not great, not even that good, just okay. Maybe I'll blog about it tomorrow.

An Unlikely Governess by Karen Ranney

Karen Ranney's An Unlikely Governess is officially the first book I've read in 2006. I picked it up New Year's Eve on the way to my Mom's and finally got to finish it last night. It's very gothic in style, mystery surrounds all the major characters. On the sidebar I originally listed this book as "good," but the more I thought about it, decided to move it to "very good." Really good gothic romances are hard to find. In order to keep the gothic feeling throughout the book, the hero is never fully fleshed out, which is fine, though we do head hop to him on occasion, but he's usually thinking about the heroine in a sexual way, typical man--LOL. If you like gothic romance, you'll like this book.

I've had the January Romantic Times since the beginning of December, but am only getting to it now. The first four listed under "Historical Romances all received "top picks!"

1. Two Little Lies -- Liz Carlyle
2. An Unlikely Governess -- Karen Ranney
3. Almost a Lady -- Jane Feather
4. Lady Anne's Dangerous Man -- Jeanne Westin

I've read the first two and am currently reading the 3rd.At this point I'm enjoying Almost a Lady, and have decided to pick up Lady Anne's Dangerous Man tomorrow.

Has anyone read Minda Webber's The Remarkable Miss Frankenstein? Her The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing also received a "top pick!" It sounds interesting, but I'd like to get some opinions about her writing first.

Have a good one, and happy reading (remember to keep the trapped miners and their families in your thoughts and prayers).

Tara

It's Mocking Me

That TBR pile that sits so lovingly inside my nightstand/bookcase is mocking me. The colorful covers taunt me, knowing I'll probably never read half of them. And, yet somehow I can't bring myself to purge it. It is filled with older books that came so highly recommended by friends who promise "this one's a keeper" and for some reason I don't have the ability to do more than read an occasional blurb, then put the book back with a "I'll try it next month."

Well, next month has now turned into new year and I'm still not really interested. There must be some gems in the pile, no real friend would recommend a wallbanger. Of course, I have on occasion given a book to my sister and asked "Is this as bad as I think it is?" She will inevitably give it back with a "How the hell did that get published? And, stop giving me crap."

I have a confession to make. I am a new book whore. Now, that's a word I hate along with the word slut. Whore and slut have such negative connotations and the politically correct feminist part of me hates seeing them used. Unfortunately, it is a perfect description for my reading and book buying habits. It seems I like to be right there talking about what's new and hot, no pun intended. Probably close to 90% of what I read is newly published.

Renee blogs about her new year's book resolutions. I commented that my only resolution would be to continue trying new to me authors, but that really isn't my only resolution. I'd also love to see my TBR pile disappear and stop mocking me.

But, of course, I know my real TBR pile consists of the 7 brand spanking new books sitting next to my bed, in a lovely Barnes and Noble Christmas shopping bag.

I'm curious, how many other NBWs are out there??

Tara aka The New Book Whore

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Years.

We're home. Thank God. If I ever say we're staying at my parent's again, someone please smack me.

The day was very nice, we had a great visit, my sister and her family were there along with one of my aunts. We did a jigsaw puzzle and played games. My sister and aunt left around 10:30, they both live less than 5 minutes away. My parents have 2 spare bedrooms, both have twin beds, so we decided to sleep in the room with a TV and set up their Aerobed, that way there would be enough room for all 3 of us to sleep in the same room. My husband and son both fell asleep early.

Sleep would have been nice. It turns out since I moved out 23 years ago my parents have turned into The LOUDS. The extra bedroom with the TV is between their bedroom and the bathroom. Between them they must have been up 10 times. Lights are on, and off like a lighthouse. And, the bathroom sink is so loud it sounds like they're taking showers in right there in spare room. And, for some reason, the bathroom and bedroom doors must be slammed shut everytime they leave a room. To get away from all the noise my husband moved to the recliner in the living room somewhere around 4:00 And, at 6:30 this morning he asked "why did it sound like your parents were moving furniture all night?"

Junior slept through it all.

Barnes and Noble Trip...

Tuesday Junior and I made a mad dash into B&N while we were running errands.

I've been reading like a fiend since then, finishing 3 of the 8 books I bought. Which is pretty good considering I did lunch with the "Mommys" while Junior was at Vacation Bible School--lunch was great and he had a wonderful time. They had a birthday party for Jesus, crafts, games, a movie, pizza and a birthday cake, but I digress. We also had company yesterday (Thursday.) And, today I found myself putting away the Christmas gifts, running more errands and straightening up the house. As much as I love the holidays, I can't wait to rescue my poor house from the decorating chaos.

Getting back to the trip to B&N, here's what I picked up:

1. Almost a Lady -- Jane Feather
2. The Courtesan -- Julia Justiss
3. Kill and Tell -- Linda Howard
4. After Midnight -- Teresa Medeiros
5. The Pregnancy Test -- Erin McCarthy
6. Almost Perfect -- Julie Ortolon
7. Just Perfect -- Julie Ortolon
8. Too Perfect -- Julie Ortolon

Almost a Lady, I have no idea why I picked this up. Jane Feather used to be an autobuy for me, but I've been so disappointed by her last few books, I'd decided not to buy them new any more, apparently I couldn't stick with this decision.

The Courtesan, I saw this one on Kristie's Sidebar and thought it sounded interesting when I read the blurb.

Kill and Tell, well, I already have this one, someone recently blogged about it and I felt the need to do a reread, but I couldn't find my copy, so I bought a new one. I've already reread it, and I'm such a Linda Howard fangirl that the "condom" scene didn't bother me. It's not my favorite LH, but I still liked it.

After Midnight, this has been on my TLF list for a while and I've passed on it everytime I went to the bookstore, I finally decided to pick it up. I've really become hit or miss with Teresa Medeiros, so I'm hoping this one is a hit.

The Pregnancy Test, I've finished this one, and it's a fun, quick read. I like Erin McCarthy's writing style, it's sort of a chick lit meets funny contemporary romance.

Almost Perfect, Just Perfect, and Too Perfect, Julie Ortolon is not one of my favorite authors, I usually find her books just okay, not necessarily good or great. Kristie has been singing the praises of Almost Perfect for quite a while, so I thought I'd give this series a try. I'm just about finished with AP, and she's right it's very good. It wouldn't make my top 10, but it would probably make my top 25--which I think isn't bad.

We also picked up a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer book for Junior, I guess he didn't get enough stuff from Santa.

I have 4 gift cards left, so I'm looking forward to the following releases:

1. The Silver Rose -- Susan Carroll
2. Lover Eternal -- JR Ward
3. The Unlikely Governess -- Karen Ranney (I actually think this one's been released since my trip to B&N)
4. Flesh and Stone -- Vickie Taylor
5. Devil in Winter -- Lisa Kleypas
6. Lord Perfect -- Loretta Chase *edit*

We're going to my parents for New Years Eve, I know it sounds exciting--LOL. I'll be lucky if I make midnight, but we're staying over which makes Junior and Grandma real happy. But, before we go to Mom's I'm hoping to get my husband to swing by B&N for another looksee at what's new.

Lordy, this is a long one, sorry about that. Have a good one.

Tara

*edit*--added Lord Perfect after the original post.

This Years Favorites...

Kristie's quick. She already has her top 10 listed. After going through my Just the Books (and nothing but the books so help me God) blog, I came up with my favorites, but I couldn't limit myself to 10 or 15. I hit 20, here they are in the order I read them:

1. The Devil You Know To Pay -- Liz Carlyle, being a LC fangirl there would have to be a couple of her books on my list--oops, thanks Renee I didn't even realize I had listed it twice, since the list is in order, I had to fix this one.
2. Dreaming of You -- Lisa Kleypas, not a new book, but new to me. It took me forever to find a copy of this book.
3. Kiss of the Highlander -- Karen Marie Moning, another book new to me. I can't say I loved any of the others in the series, but this one was fantastic.
4. The Rainbow Season -- Lisa Gregory, an oldie, but one I had never read. Wonderful western.
5. Black Ice -- Anne Stuart, what's not to love about a Stuart.
6. Body Electric -- Susan Squires, not new, but once again new to me, fascinating story concept.
7. Veil of Night -- Lydia Joyce, one of my new favorite authors.
8. If Angels Burn -- Lynn Viehl, another new favorite author, a great mix of horror and romance
9. The Cobra and The Concubine -- Bonnie Vanak, this book got lousy reviews, but I enjoyed it. The setting and time period are wonderful.
10. Carved in Stone -- Vickie Taylor, another new favorite author, this series has a wonderful premise.
11. The Marriage Bed -- Laura Lee Guhrke, either you loved it or you hated it. I loved it, an emotional read from cover to cover.
12. The Devil You Know -- Liz Carlyle, see 1.
13. Passion -- Lisa Valdez, another new favorite, this books isn't just erotic, it has a great story, and you don't skip the sex scenes in this one.
14. The Companion -- Susan Squires, my absolute favorite new author, I know she's not new, but she was new to me this year.
15. Dark Lover -- JR Ward, the best kick off for a new series all year, amazing.
16. The Dark Queen -- Susan Carroll, amazing setting and time period and wonderful writing.
17. The Courtesan -- Susan Carroll, see 15.
18. The Hunger -- Susan Squires, see 13.
19. The Champion -- Elizabeth Chadwick, one of my all time favorite authors, her books are so hard to find, but totally worth it.
20. Private Demons -- Lynn Viehl, see 7.

This was my year to discover paranormal. Of the 20 books 10 of them are either out right paranormals or have some paranormal activity.

When I look back, it was a good year for reading, let's hope 2006 is just as good.

So, what's on your favorites list?

Tara

The New Favorite...

This movie has moved to the top of my son's "Favorite" movie list. He has watched it 6 times since Christmas and asks to watch it several more times a day. I have to admit we are just as enthralled by it.

Three Days of Wonderful Chaos...

Today is the first day I've had a chance to sit and gather enough thoughts to actually blog about something.

This is first Christmas that Junior completely understood. We some how survived weeks of antsy anticipation leading up to 3 days of utter chaos.

Friday, the 23rd, was his first testing in Tae Kwon Do. He did a great job and will be getting his yellow belt in a belt ceremony this week. He was by far the youngest and smallest of the group testing, and he received a tremendous amount of attention from the audience, because, well, he's just so cute. The quote of the evening was "Ah, he's adorable." After the testing was finished there was a Christmas party that followed and a visit with Santa.

Saturday, the 24th, was my 42nd birthday. My wonderful husband and "adorable" son took me out to breakfast and then we were off to my M&FIL's house for Christmas Eve. A wonderful time was had by all and the kids got tons of gifts and all were little angels. It was late by the time we left the in-laws' house, but Junior seemed wide awake, talking a mile a minute about how excited he was that Santa was coming and he couldn't wait to put out cookies and chocolate milk for Santa and, of course, we wouldn't forget carrots for the reindeer. And, the next thing we knew he was sound asleep in his car seat. Since he was sleeping we made sure that Santa's and the reindeer's snacks were left out.

Christmas morning--some of you may have noticed I did some blog hopping Christmas morning. Hard to believe right? Junior got up at 5:00 announced Santa had come, crawled into our bed and promptly feel back to sleep until 6:30. Amanda, I can't believe your kids slept until 8:30--LOL. The secret must be going to Midnight Mass. We'll have to try that when Junior gets older.

The amazing Santa somehow managed to bring everything that Junior asked for, isn't that great?

We went to 9:00 Mass Christmas morning, picked my parents up at 11:45 and then headed to my sisters for a fabulous Christmas Day.

Yesterday, we spent the day crashing and playing on the living room floor with all of Junior's loot.

Today, we are off to Barnes and Noble--Mama got 6 gift cards between her birthday and Christmas--can you see me doing a "Happy, Happy Dance"?

I hope everyone's Christmas wishes came true.

Tara

Merry Christmas To All...

I have no idea if I'll be back on-line anytime soon. Junior has his first Tae Kwon Do testing tonight and a Christmas party follows. Tomorrow we are going out to breakfast and then we are heading to the in-laws for the day. And, on Christmas Day we are off to my sister's after Mass.

Wishing all my on-line friends a wonderful, and very Merry Christmas.

Peace and Love to all,

Tara

Two Little Lies by Liz Carlyle

Yesterday morning while in the shower I got a call from my local bookseller--Liz Carlyle'sTwo Little Lies is in, but remember they're closing for 3 weeks starting Christmas Eve, so get in ASAP if I want it before Christmas. Well, needless to say it was my first stop while running errands.

I must say I was very good, I didn't even attempt to pick it up until after I took Junior to Tae Kwon Do, cooked dinner, cleaned up and wrapped the last of the Christmas presents, this time I mean it--the last of the Christmas presents--yeah.

At 9:30 last night I started reading, read 60+/- pages and put it down for the night. I woke up around 4 this morning and started reading. It's a long separation, secret baby story, beautifully written, but there is an underlying sadness to the story that is palpable on every page. The h/h are together when they are young, he's 21 and she's 24, both are completely in love and yet doesn't trust the other and they go their seperate ways, the book is set 9 years later. I'm half way through the book and find myself on the verge of tears constantly.

I'll finish it today, but I will need to read something really uplifting next.

Have a good one, and happy reading.

Tara

"Done" is never really done...and 7 things...

I haven't been on-line in days. When I don't blog or at least blog hop on a daily basis I feel like something is wrong and I start to get anxious. Silly I know, but it's very relaxing for me.

Last week I said I was ready for Christmas, now I really am almost ready for Christmas. The teacher baskets were put together and wrapped up on Tuesday and delivered yesterday. Almost all the presents are wrapped and I still have 2 more batches of cookies to bake, and then all those cookies need to be packaged--this year I went with decorative Chinese Food Boxes, instead of tins of goody bags. I picked them up at Michael's this week and each one will hold about a dozen cookies.

Today was the first time I've blog hopped since last Friday and I discovered I'd been tagged for the 7...meme, so here goes:

Seven things to do before I die:

1. Watch my son grow up to be a good man and provide me with lots of grandchildren.
2. Travel--anywhere and everywhere.
3. Take better advantage of NYC--theater, museums, restaurants etc. We live so close, but rarely get there.
4. Take my husband and son on the subway, this goes hand in hand with number 4. My husband is 47 years old and has lived within driving distance of NYC his entire life and has never been on a subway. My son the train fanatic will love it.
5. Play all 32,000 games of Freecell in numerical order, I'm up to 6001.
6. Read Sara Donati's Into the Wilderness series, they are currently mocking me from my TBR pile.
7. Find the back way from the Woodbury Commons to Seven Springs Road--I normally have an excellent sense of direction, but for some reason this completely eludes me.
8. Get along with my SIL from Hell.

Went over, but 3 & 4 are really only one.

Seven things I can not do:

1. I can't send Junior to bed without lots of hugs and kisses.
2. I refuse to go grey.
3. Will never eat tongue, tripe, mutton or lamb.
4. Climb Mount Everest.
5. Camp in a tent.
6. Find the back way from the Woodbury Commons to Seven Springs Road.
7. Get along with my SIL from Hell.

Seven things that attract me to my spouse:

1. He loves me and Junior unconditionally.
2. His sense of humor.
3. His decency and work ethic.
4. His sense of humor.
5. His broad shoulders and beautiful green eyes
6. Did I mention his sense of humor--he makes me laugh every day of my life.
7. His family--with the exception of the SIL from Hell--LOL. Though she showed up in the family long after we were married.

Seven thing's I say most often:

1. My son's name or any variation of his numerous nicknames.
2. "I Love You!!"
3. "Get in the house Pete."--Pete's our cat and he loves to sleep on our front porch, but I refuse to allow him to go completely outside into the cold cruel world.
4. "God, give me strength." My mom said this over and over again on a daily basis, as a kid I had no concept as to why--I now completely understand.
5. "Oh, my God."
6. "Please don't walk in the snow/puddle, DON'T walk in the snow/puddle, get in the car, get in the car, OH MY GOD, get in the car, get in your seat, get in your seat, will you please get in your seat, GOD, GIVE ME STRENGTH--GET IN YOUR SEAT."
7. "Do I have to repeat myself over and over?" Apparently I do.

Seven books I love (in no particular order):

1. Almost anything by Linda Howard--don't make me pick one.
2. Almost anything by Liz Carlyle...
3. Almost anything by Eloisa James...
4. Marsha Canham's Robin Hood Trilogy.
5. Mrs. Mike
6. Pride and Prejudice...Emma...Sense...
7. Shakespeare's comedies
8. Jane Eyre--oops I went over.

Seven movies I watch over and over again:

1. A&E's (BBC's?) Pride and Prejudice
2. Twelve Angry Men
3. The Odd Couple
4. Rear Window
5. The Mummy
6. The Quiet Man
7. Tombstone, JFK, Carl Sagan's Cosmos, Ken Burn's Civil War Series--please not these are not by choice, my husband watches all of these on a regular basis, and somehow I seem to have no choice in the matter.

Tag seven people...

1. Amanda
2. Erika
3. Maili--she's out there somewhere
4. 5. 6. 7. And, anyone else who would like to do this.

Have a good one and happy reading!!

200 Books...and a few other thoughts...

I've finally hit the 200 books read mark. Considering I finished November at 196, 4 books in 16 days isn't great, but I'm rather relieved to reach the milestone. Not that I set a goal for the year, but once I realized I was close to 200, I wanted to hit it.

I seem to be on a rereading kick, nothing new is holding my attention, with Christmas this close, it seems my attention span is that of my son's--non-existent. I also seem to be into cad heros. Reread Laura Lee Guhrke's Guilty Pleasures and The Marriage Bed and plan to read Eloisa James' Your Wicked Ways. I love a good cad in complete need of redemption. TMB and YWW both have cheating husbands, men who went elsewhere when their marriages were falling apart. I can't really explain why these stories work for me, it's not something I'd accept in my own marriage and a contemporary with this plot would probably hit a wall and rather hard at that.

I feel somewhat like Cindy. My sleeping schedule is shot to hell. I'm falling asleep before 9 pm and am up for the day between 3:30 and 4:00 in the morning. I shouldn't be complaining as this is when I've been reading.

I finally feel like I've got the Christmas situation under control. I need to pick up 5 gift cards, 3 for the teachers from the class, and put together 2 gift baskets for the grandparents, and that's it--I AM DONE. Thank God.

Have a good one, I probably wont have much time to be on this weekend, happy reading to all.

Tara

Envy

I'm envious of people who can write good book reviews. You can click on just about any blog on my sidebar and find a person who writes wonderful reviews, with great synopses and perfect grading. I, for some reason, am incapable of doing this.

I know I write lousy reviews, what can I say? I'm lazy and can't be bothered to pass on all the info a good reviewer should. But, in addition to being a lousy reviewer, I also suck at deciding on a grade. I have a tendency to see books through black and white eyes. Either it's an A or a B or it's complete failure. Does this go back to my school days and an obssession with good grades? Maybe. It's one of the reason I don't give grades or stars, I'm not sure I'm even being objective.

I'm also incredibly envious of people who are organized enough to find time to read during the busy holiday season. It seems like every waking minute is filled with getting ready for Christmas.

• Shopping--done
• Decorating--done
• Wrapping--just about done
• Baking--havent even thought about

This has left little to no reading time. When asked what I want for Christmas, I say 1. B&N Gift Cards, 2. someone to help get all this stuff finished. I can't complain about my husband, he's done almost all of Junior's Christmas shopping. And, somehow I was tricked into getting the teacher gifts for school. I get to collect the money and buy something from the whole class. Can anyone say AMEX Gift Cards??

Got to go, books are due back at the Library, Junior has school and it's -8 degrees this morning--that's just not right.

Have a good one, hopefully someone out there is reading.

Tara

Linda Howards newest...

Cover of Night-- Release date June 27, 2006

Synopsis

In a picturesque small town, young widow and mother, Cate Nightingale owns and operates a struggling guest house. Occasionally, she enlists the aid of a mysterious, strong, and enigmatic handyman, Calvin Harris. When a trio of brutal thugs invade her inn, demanding the possessions of a guest who vanished days before, Cal proves much bolder than Cate would have ever expected. Though Calvin manages to disperse the intruders, the men regroup and shut down phone access to the entire village, holding its citizens hostage. In a desperate bid for survival, Cate and Cal strike out on their own, seeking help from a neighbouring town. As their daring journey unfolds, Cate is astonished to witness Cal's evolution from reticent carpenter to fearless protector. Is there more to her mysterious handyman than meet the eye?

This fangirl can't wait.

Found the link for this through Erika and instead of posting the link I decided to post the whole synopsis.

ps--how do you like the font size changes?? I feel like Megan--LOL. I thought a new LH title needed to be Huge.

What the heck is wrong with me...

I was once again underwhelmed by an Anne Gracie book. I keep telling myself I should have loved The Perfect Waltz and yet I found it lacking. The reviewer at AAR didn't find it lacking, she thought it was a keeper. Kathe Robin over at RT gave it 4 stars and a "sensual" rating, which I'm really confused about, did we read the same book? There's one sex scene and it's in the last 20 pages, is a sweet rating only for books with kisses? Probably, I'll have to check that out.

Maybe I'm disappointed because there wasn't enough sex, which kind of surprises me because like Kristie, I often skip sex scenes altogether. I hate to admit I skimmed this one, by the time it finally showed up I was no longer interested. The main character's sexual chemistry seems to get lost with all the peripheral goings on--1. a secondary romance, that may have made a more interesting main romance. 2. another flirtation with a different couple. 3. The hero's abused little sisters, found after a 10+ year separation. 4. An orphanage filled with sad little girls--too much stuff.

I wanted to like this book and the previous one in this series, The Perfect Rake. Ms. Gracie has a nice writing style and voice, but this just didn't work for me.

Oh, Oh, Oh, one of the neighbors...

just plowed out the end of all the driveways on our street with a snow blower! How nice was that?

We've got an electric snow thrower which is great for the walks and driveway, but the stuff the plow dumps at the end of the driveway is too much for it's little engine.

The snow has stopped and the sun is out. We got over a foot of snow total. Junior had a great time helping me clean-up.

Maybe we'll have a White Christmas this year, that would be great.

Snow, Snow, Snow Everywhere

We've had a couple of small snows, 2 or 3 inches in the last couple of weeks, but right now it's snowing with a vengence, 8 inches on the ground and more coming down. Junior wants to play in the snow, but I left his mittens in the van, I better get them in and warm them up.

A Reading Experiment...

Last week, while wandering aimlessly through the UBS, I'd forgotten to bring my "to look for" list, I was lulled by 3 beautiful covers, I know, covers aren't my thing, but these were beautiful and obviously books with medieval settings. I bought them without even reading the blurb.

Not necessarily a good move. I read the blurb of the first book and thought "I'm not so sure about this." But, I've decided to read them anyway. I started My Champion last night. I'm still not sure about the plot and story line, but I like Ms. Campbell's writing style and voice.

And, this got me thinking. What's more important a good writing style or a good plot and story line? Obviously when you get both in the same book, the book's a winner, but if both aren't there which is more important?

I'm starting to think, for me, good writing trumps a good plot.

Earlier this week AngieW blogged about getting an ARC of the new Marjorie J. Lui book, it's book two in the Tiger Eye series. I think I'm one of the few people in romance blogland that hated Tiger Eye. The plot and story line were great, but I couldn't get past her writing style and voice, at least for that book, I really enjoyed her A Taste of Crimson, it almost seemed like a different person wrote it. Tiger Eye had the worst line I've ever read in a contemporary/paranormal, "My codpiece is full of love." I'm never going to forget it or the book literally hitting the wall when I threw it across the room. Now, the other end of the spectrum. Cindy blogged about Liz Carlyle's Beauty Like The Night. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, never once did I see the flaws she did, and I've read this book 2 or 3 times. And, I was left wondering why, I new the answer immediately--a beautiful writing style and voice.

Back to Glynnis Campbell's My... series. I went in search of reviews, RT--good, now there is a shock--LOL. And AAR and Mrs. G--not good at all. But, all seemed to think the books had potential and a good writing style. So, were does that leave me? Doing a little experiment. Hey at least I'm reading again.

Have a great day and happy reading.

Tara

The book count...

The book count still hasn't changed, I've still not read anything in several days.

Well, I guess that's not really true, I'm wondering if I can add:

1. Madeline
2. Chicka Chicka BOOM BOOM
3. The Cranky Day and Other Thomas the Tank Engine Stories
4. Alexander and the Terrrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day
5. The Stinky Cheese Man

to my Just the Books list. Probably not.

Tara

Christmas Tree Brunch and no time to read.

We've been having brunch the first or second weekend in December for years. After we eat, we head out to buy Christmas Trees at a local farm. We've been buying our trees at the same farm for 20+ years and my in-laws always made such a fuss about how great our trees were and how long they lasted that we invited them to go with us and thus "The Christmas Tree Brunch" day was started. It was a great day, everyone got beautiful trees, the kids and some of the adults (my husband) got hot cider and cookies, and my SIL and her family came back afterward and we got Chinese take-out.

I haven't picked up a book for 3 days and stopped at my local bookstore today in the hope that she had the new Liz Carlyle--nope, she can't even get the darned thing yet. I think she gets her books through Ingram and they say it hasn't been released yet, but I'm sure I've seen it in a couple of other stores, but didn't pick it up when I saw it, *please note I'm kicking myself.* I did pick up the new RT and I'll probably post something about it when I get a chance, maybe tonight after Junior goes to bed, when I should be wrapping gifts. The shopping is just about finished, but nothing is wrapped yet.

I have 6 library books sitting on my nightstand and not one is even remotely interesting. Well, they're probably interesting, I'm just not interested right now. I'm hoping I'm not getting into a rut, I keep telling myself I'm not interested in anything because it's December and I've got tons to do, but I'm not sure.

Have a great day, and happy reading.

Tara

I should be cooking...

We're having my husbands family for brunch this morning, I should be down in the kitchen cooking onions an mushrooms for a vegetable frittata. Instead I'm blog hopping and checking out some message boards and review sites, and getting annoyed.

Reviewer's missing the point of character development to the overall plot of a story. Reader's not getting that horror/romances are supposed to be creepy and at times icky and yucky. And it seems like no one gets the heroine age thing no matter how much poor Maili tries to educate us. And Erika, you're right the age of consummation doesn't matter if the older man thinks of the heroine as a daughter, 14, 17 or 27 there is a yuck factor there.

I've got to go--clean the bathroom, take a shower, run out for bagels and start cooking.

Have a great day and happy reading.

Tara

November Books

List of books read in November:

1. Not So Innocent -- Laura Lee Guhrke
2. Sacrament -- Susan Squires
3. The Companion -- Susan Squires
4. The Music of the Night -- Lydia Joyce
5. The Colorado Kid -- Stephen King
6. Hot Spell -- Anthology
7. Killing Time -- Linda Howard
8. Blue Smoke -- Nora Roberts
9. Superstition -- Karen Robards
10. Beauty Like The Night -- Liz Carlyle (reread)
11. Red Lily -- Nora Robards
12. Reckless -- Shannon Drake (couldn't finish)
13. The Argentine Lover -- Samantha Winston
14. Kiss Me, Annabelle -- Eloisa James
15. The Devil to Pay -- Liz Carlyle (reread)

November, 15 books read to date

YTD--196 books read.

Braving the Evil Empire

I have a love/hate relationship with Wal*Mart. As someone who owned a small business for several years, I hated hearing "I can get something just like it at Wal*Mart for half the price." Oh yeah, well, it wont be a one of a kind American handmade, so there, mentally sticking my tongue out... I could go on about low wages, pushing out mom and pop business etc. but most people know all this. And, yet I still on occasion find myself walking through their doors.

It has always been my store of last resort or the place I head to avoid having to make 10 different stops. Tuesday I dragged Junior there, bought him a Happy Meal at the McDonalds in the entry, sat him down in the cart, and proceeded to finish shopping for the "Stocking Stuffers." We don't exchange gifts with the adults in the family, but I do buy little things to give from Junior, candles, CD's, etc. We also needed printer paper, labels, transfer paper, ink cartridges and a few groceries--so we ended up at Wal*Mart...

Of course, if you're there you have to check out the books. And, shock of shocks, what is sitting right there for anyone to pick up is the mm edition Emma Holly's Strange Attractions.

I have SA in trade paperback and enjoyed the book, even though at the time I read it I only said it was okay, well, it was a really well written okay, and the only reason at the time I thought "okay" was it ends without a clearly defined monogamous relationship, which I consider a must for a romance, and yet, the more I thought about it, that was part of the point of the story. I know this all sounds rather vague, but it's an interesting story with a major hero, a minor hero (both of whom are bi-sexual) and a heroine who is willing to try just about anything. I would have been happy if the major hero ended up with either the minor hero or the heroine, but both left me scratching my head in a now where is this going to go sort of way.

Later in the day while Junior was at Tae Kwon Do, I ran to my UBS/Indie bookstore and picked up Samantha Winston's The Argentine Lover which I had them special order for me from Ellora's Cave. TAL turned out to be a sweet, poignant story about a young couple finding love on the Polo circuit. And even though the sex is incredibly "HOT," it's still a sweet story, which is rather nice and not necessarily expected in an erotic romance.

Where am I going with all of this? How does Wal*Mart determine that they will sell an erotic romance published by Berkley, but not Ellora's Cave? It seems to me Strange Attractions would be more shocking to most of what they would consider "mainstream" consumers. Or did this one simply fly under their sensorship radar?

My deep thought for the day and maybe the week--LOL.

Have a good one and happy reading.

Tara