Renée Reads Romance

Birthday and ... time for a break

2008-06-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it's my birthday. I'm really trying not to have them anymore but they keep sneaking up on me every year. In fact I completely forgot about it until my daughter called me around 9 am and wished me happy birthday. What? Oh! Yeah!

In other news... I've decided to take a break from blogging for awhile. I don't have many people stopping by anymore because I don't post that often. My life is just too hectic. The wedding is only a month away and I have been working non-stop trying to get the house ready.

I have two big projects going now. Project #1 is refinishing my kitchen cupboards. We talked about replacing the cupboards but that's a huge expense and I'm not sure how much longer we will be in this house. The cupboard doors are solid oak and after 18 years of buildup of oils from your hands, they look pretty gunky. Never knew we should have put knobs or handles on the doors. So Bob took them all off and I carted them off to The Furniture Spa where they dipped them in tanks of stripper. When I got them home I lined them up for a coat of varathane. Wow, what a difference. They look brand new. Just need to put on one more coat, then Bob gets to put on the new antique brass knobs and drawer pulls.

Project #2 is redecorating my living room. I finally broke down and hired a decorator. I have been trying for months to do something but I would go to furniture stores, lighting stores, etc. etc. and just wander around and come home with nutin'. I just can't do it. I have no artistic talent. So I hired a decorator and it's a great relief. She came up with a plan and I will do all the shopping. I have most of the major furniture ordered and it will be here soon. Then I get started on the small stuff (rugs, artwork, lighting, drapes). She has assured me that we will be able to get it all done before the wedding.

If I get a chance I'll post pictures. Oh, and I may get a review out for TBR day. Otherwise, I'm going to be AWOL for a while.

REVIEW: Hidden by Eve Kenin

2008-06-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

SETTING/TYPE: Futuristic Romance
SENSUALITY: Warm
COPYRIGHT: 2008 (release date July 2008)

THOUGHTS/OPINIONS:

Hidden is the sequel to Driven (which was one of my favorite reads from 2007). It's not necessary to read Driven first because Kenin again provides some first rate world building. This story is set in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world called the Northern Waste - like a Mad Max movie only set in the frozen tundra.

Tatiana (or TTN081) is the product of genetic engineering and the prologue (set in 2088) gives the reader an idea of the horrors of her early life. She was born in an underground laboratory and has spent her life being subjected to torturous medical experiments (like something out of Nazi Germany) along with her two siblings, Wizard (hero from Driven) and Yuriko. Duncan Bane is her tormentor along with Dr. Gavin Ward. These two are truly evil and creepy. They supposedly conduct the experiments to test her ability to heal and to make her stronger but I never really understood their main purpose.

Fast forward to the year 2093 and we learn that Duncan Bane is dead. Tatiana has recently escaped and is trying to keep one step ahead of Gavin Ward who now controls the New Government Order. She has come to Abbott's General Store to buy information when she meets a rag swathed settler named Tristan who intrigues her. The store owner is a slimy individual but Tatiana has been hired to recover a stolen ring and she thinks he has information. And she wants to find Tolliver, a scientist specializing in genetic and infectious diseases who works for Ward in a hidden lab where she believes he is testing a horrific plague he had created from her genetic code. She doesn't learn anything about Tolliver but does get a lead on the ring. And does recover it from a couple of Siberian ice pirates in a gruesome scene.

You see, Tatiana is one kick-ass heroine. Since her escape her dormant genetic enhancements have begun to gradually bloom. She finds that she can withstand extreme cold, read minds, heal from almost any wound, and has enhanced telescopic vision. When she confronts the ice pirate about the ring, she surprised herself (and me) when she severs his hand with just her fingers.

After recovering the ring and returning it to it's rightful owner, she makes her way to the Maori Talisman, a mountain of ice and rock, which she thinks may be a linked to Tolliver somehow. But instead she encounters a very odd scene. A group of settlers on snowscooters are chasing a lone man on a scooter across the ice and snow. When they catch him, it appears to be a case of vigilante justice but Tatiana has a hard time figuring out what is going on at first. But Tristan is one of the group. In the tussle with the culprit, Tatiana doesn't realize that she has been exposed to a deadly plague. Tristan invites her back to their underground compound with the promise of hydrogen fuel for her snowscooter.

What follows is a fascinating action adventure laced with some science and blended well with the romance. Tristan is an enigmatic character at first. Kenin likes to keep secrets about her characters and only reveals information on a need-to-know basis, thus keeping the reader in suspense. It was hard for me not to peek ahead (a bad habit of mine). One particular scene is incredibly tense when she and Tristan find their only route to escape the underground compound is through an elevator shaft protected by deadly laser beams. I was chewing my nails on that one. Tatiana is a good strong heroine although a little too trusting of Tristan when she first meets him. Both of them are rather tortured characters due to events in their past but Tristan's sense of humor lightened the mood on occasion. The romance builds slowly along with the trust between them. There is a very romantic and sexy love scene which takes place in an underground hot spring/pool which was well done.

Although the story dragged a bit through some of middle, I really enjoyed it overall. I liked Driven a tad better, but Hidden is a solid read with good characters, a mostly fast moving plot and a great romance. If you liked Driven, I'm sure Hidden will be worth picking up when it's released in July.

GRADE: B

REVIEW: The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne

2008-05-31T22:46:00.000-07:00

SETTING/TYPE: Regency Historical
PAGES: 373
COPYRIGHT: 2008

THOUGHTS/OPINIONS:

Last year I swore off reading any more books with Regency spies after reading one that really bored and annoyed me (I can't even remember the title right now). So I resisted reading this book for months. But all the high acclaim and reviews filled with glowing praise finally wore me down. I am a notorious spoiler-reader and usually I pore over reviews before finally making my decision. But this time I only skimmed the reviews (because, heck, the title had the word "spy" so I wasn't going to read it anyway). What a ding-dong I am because this book just blew me away. Just goes to show you can't stereotype a book by it's cover OR title.

So I picked up this book not knowing a thing about the plot, and became immediately immersed in the story. Annique Villiers is French and a spy for France since she was a small child. As the story begins she has been captured by another spy named Leblanc, and has landed in a French prison because it is believed she has the Albion plans which detail Napoleon's plans for the invasion of England. Two British spies share her prison cell, Robert Grey and Adrian, who is seriously wounded.

Grey is the Head of Section for the British Service, otherwise known as the Spymaster of England. Annique is brilliant, clever and cunning and no prison can hold her for long. She escapes and decides to help the two British spies to escape as well, hating to leave anyone in the hands of Leblanc. Grey is anxious to capture her himself since he suspects she has a part in the death of some of his men at Bourges. Annique knows how to play the "Game" and Grey has a difficult time with her but he gets lucky. But it takes 3 men and he has to drug her to do it which I thought was thoroughly despicable. But Annique never makes it easy for him even when he thinks he has won. She shows him that intelligence, wit and craftiness eventually wins out over physical strength. The tension between Annique and Grey was palpable and I adored every scene with them. All the characters were multi-layered and well-defined.

This story is a rousing adventure and there are so many twists and turns and mouth-dropping surprises that I had a hard time catching my breath sometimes. Bourne reveals each secret when the reader needs to know it and each one blew me away.

I have read many other reviews that describe this book as a triumph in dialog and language dialects and I have to agree. Annique is French and although every word Bourne writes is in English, the reader knows she is French from every word, every phrase, every sentence she speaks or thinks. Grey is English and he sounds like upper crust British. Every language has its own rhythm and cadence and translating that into English is quite a feat. In fact, sentence tags aren't necessary for us to figure out who is speaking. It takes quite a bit of writing talent to pull this off, and Bourne has got it.

This book is a delight from cover to cover. I'm betting that it will appear repeatedly in my 2008 AAR Reader poll. Go forth and read!

GRADE: A

TBR Day: REVIEW: Sex, Straight Up by Kathleen O'Reilly

2008-05-21T15:59:00.001-07:00

SETTING: Contemporary - NYC
TYPE: Category Romance (Harlequin Blaze #388)
COPYRIGHT: April 2008
SERIES: Book #2 in "Those Sexy O'Sullivans" miniseries

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
This is my first book by this author and I was so pleased with it, I'm sure it won't be my last. I picked this up because of a glowing review over at DearAuthor. I don't read many of the new categories much anymore because most of them are pretty light on plot with very little sex. Harlequin Blaze are supposed to be sizzling hot and they generally are but most of them have silly or unbelievable plots (like virgin sex therapists - please, give me a break).

This series is about three brothers who own a bar in NYC. SSU is Daniel's story, the oldest brother, who is an accountant. Now if you are one of those (like me) that think that a book with an accountant for a hero would be boring, you'd be wrong. Daniel is an incredibly sexy, but tortured hero. Not angsty, but more sad and his story broke my heart. Six years ago his wife was killed on September 11th. They had both worked at an accounting firm in the twin towers and he had stopped that morning to get that special latte she liked at her favorite coffee shop. He was still inside the coffee shop when he heard the first boom. Now he stills suffers from survivors guilt and can't get over the pain of her loss.

His brothers pressure him into attending a weekend party at the beach in the Hamptons. But he doesn't want to be there so rather than participate in the partying, he sits on the beach instead. Next door in her grandfather's beach house, Catherine Montefiore observes a lonely but sexy man sitting on her beach motionless for hours and gets the urges to draw him so she pulls out her sketchpad and sits on the deck to draw. Catherine loves to sketch but she's not an artist. Her real job is assistant appraiser at Montefiore Auction House which is owned by her grandfather. Eventually they introduce themselves. Later that weekend they spend an incredibly hot evening together but it ends badly when Catherine catches him putting his wedding ring back on and doesn't realize he is widowed. Daniel and Catherine eventually meet again when a serious problem arises at the auction house involving commissions which could destroy their business. So Daniel's firm is called in to perform an audit.

Daniel and Catherine are wonderful 3-dimensional characters and the plot was handled very realistically. So many Blazes have silly plots but I found this one was refreshingly believable and heart wrenching. There were many sizzling sex scenes but they were integral to the plot and not just tacked on to up the heat level. Their relationship and growing love for each over develops slowly which was very believable. When Daniel is finally able to remove his old wedding ring we know that he is finally healing. Catherine is a special character and is no doormat. In the end she comes to believe in herself when she helps Daniel solve the mystery about the commissions. The dialog and plot move along very smoothly and I found it very easy to read but deeply emotional as well.

Book #1 (Shaken and Stirred) and Book #3 (Nightcap) maybe worth looking into.

GRADE: B+

REVIEW: Netherwood by Michele Lang

2008-05-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

SETTING: Futuristic Romance
PAGES: 303
COPYRIGHT: 2008

THOUGHTS/OPINION:

It's taken me a long time to write this review because Netherwood is one of the most unusual and unique books I have read in quite awhile. This book takes place in the future where the lines between the real world and virtual reality are blurred. Talia Fortune is the heir apparent and major shareholder of FortuneCorp, a mega-conglomerate that acts more like a government than a business. She has just been appointed sheriff of Fresh Havens, a planet colonized by FortuneCorp employees, and dispatched to Fresh Havens to catch the rebels who have sabotaged computers on the "grid", a kind of intergalactic internet, which is used to communicate and distribute information to all humans across the galaxy.

Talia has a secret passion to participate in virtual reality role playing games in the cyber-world called Netherwood. In this world her avatar is Amazonia and she battles with Avenger, her cyber-lover. Kinda cool! But she suspects that Avenger is Kovner in the Real world and is responsible for the sabotage on Fresh Havens. I'm a little unclear as to how she knew this but that's a minor quibble. Another peculiar thing about this world is that a person can download their consciousness onto a chip to become a part of the computer hive mind and thus attain "immortality". Talia's grandmother, Violet, did this before she died and Talia carries around her consciousness on her handheld PC.

Lieutenant Robert Kovner is a rebel and freedom fighter on Fresh Havens. He knows that the FortuneCorp computers are trying to take over the galaxy and get rid of humans (Singularity) and it is imperative that he gain Talia's trust and convince her that the Singularity has started.

I'll stop right there in my description of the plot and let you all find out what happens. The blend of science fiction and non-stop action made this book a real page-turner. The world building was very well done and I wouldn't mind visiting it again if Lang ever writes a sequel. Kovner and Talia are good strong characters and it takes awhile for him to convince her that the FortuneCorp is completely evil. Their romance blended with the action very well. The secondary characters were also well developed. This was a fast read and the first person POV never slowed me down. If you like SF/Futuristic, this book is a great one to try.

GRADE: B

The Dress

2008-05-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

Another wedding update.... I bought a dress! I posted a picture of it here (it's dress #1) but I wasn't crazy about the color selections that Nordstrom online carried. So I kept searching and found the exact same dress at Macy's online in the exact color I wanted (aquamarine).

It's a silk halter dress by Maggy London which leaves my back partially bare. I may chicken out and try to find some kind of jacket or sweater to wear over it. Also I'll need to go buy a halter bra since my boobs aren't quite as perky as they should be (never have been even when I was a young thing). Also need shoes.... *sigh*.... the shopping continues....

REVIEW: Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas

2008-05-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

COPYRIGHT: 2008
SETTINGS: Contemporary - Texas
TYPE: Romance
SERIES: Sequel to Sugar Daddy
SENSUALITY: Very hot!

REASON FOR READING: Loved Sugar Daddy. Love Lisa Kleypas.

SUMMARY: [From the Publisher]

MEET THE BLUE-EYED DEVIL
His name is Hardy Cates. He's a self-made millionaire who comes from the wrong side of the tracks. He's made enemies in the rough-and-tumble ride to the top of Houston's oil industry. He's got hot blood in his veins. And vengeance on his mind.
MEET THE HEIRESS
She's Haven Travis. Despite her family's money, she refuses to set out on the path they've chosen for her. But when Haven marries a man her family disapproves of, her life is set on a new and dangerous course. Two years later, Haven comes home, determined to guard her heart. And Hardy Cates, a family enemy, is the last person she needs darkening her door or setting her soul on fire.
WATCH THE SPARKS FLY....
Filled with Lisa Kleypas's trademark sensuality, filled with characters you love to hate and men you love to love, Blue-Eyed Devil will hold you captive in its storytelling power as the destiny of two people unfolds with every magical word.

THOUGHTS / OPINION:

I was prepared not to like this book. In Sugar Daddy, Hardy was a real jerk sometimes and not exactly hero material. He grew up dirt poor living in a trailer park in the small town of Welcome, Texas. His main goal in life was to get out of town and make something of himself. Liberty Jones (heroine of SD) was desperately in love with him but he leaves her behind to face her troubles alone after her mother died and never looked back. Liberty goes on to find her own HEA with Gage Travis although Hardy tries to screw that up (but doesn't succeed) at the end of SD.

BED begins at Liberty and Gage's wedding which Hardy has crashed. He is a millionaire now and since he failed to win Liberty back, he can't resist showing up at her wedding as an unwelcome guest to poke a stick in the eye of the wealthy Travis family. He escapes to the wine cellar where he has a memorable encounter with Gage Travis's sister, Haven. The story is told in the first person POV of Haven. She is embarrassed to discover that the man she had shared passionate kisses with is not her boyfriend Nick, but the scoundrel Hardy, her brother's enemy.

Haven has two sides to her character that seem to get her into trouble at different times. She is supposed to be the rebel of the family but she is also a pleaser, which seem like opposite characteristics. Being the youngest of the family and the only female with domineering brothers and overprotective father, I could buy how she was always trying to please everyone. But when pushed too far she would eventually rebel. Her father disapproves of her choice of husband so she elopes with Nick and her father cuts her off without a cent. Things go drastically downhill from there. Her life with Nick was extremely painful to read. The rebellious side of Haven is beaten down (literally) until she doesn't trust her own judgment anymore. She eventually escapes the abuse thankfully with the help of her brothers. But she has a long road ahead to get her self confidence back.

This is Haven's story and Hardy doesn't make another appearance until the last half of the book. But I really came to care about her and cheered her on when she makes progress in her social and business life. And I yelled at her (yes, right out loud) when I saw how wimpy she behaved sometimes. Her progress was agonizingly slow, two steps forward and one step back. It takes Haven a long time to learn to trust again. But Hardy is very patient with her. When Hardy and Haven finally make love the sex was very steamy but touching. Kleypas writes wonderful hot sexy love scenes that you want to read over and over. Yum!

This book is not an easy read and the characters were realistically portrayed. I think Kleypas has done her research on abuse victims and how they recover. Hardy has his own demons to overcome since he was physically abused by his drunken father who he is still dealing with. This is a story about the healing power of love. So run, don't walk, to get your hands on a copy. Mine was from the library (I don't buy hardback) but when it comes out in PB, I'm adding this to my Kleypas collection.

GRADE: A-

REVIEW: All or Nothing by Claire Cross

2008-05-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

COPYRIGHT: 2007
SETTING: Contemporary
TYPE: Straight Romance
PAGES: 372
SERIES: Coxwell family series

REASON FOR READING: I read and enjoyed one of her previous books, Double Trouble. In fact, it was a keeper for me. OK, I admit it, I also loved the dog on the cover.

SUMMARY:

Jen Maitland never had any use for handsome guys with easy charm until she met Zach. He's the perfect fake date to end her mother's matchmaking scheme before it starts. The only problem is that Zach isn't as predictable as he appears...

Zach Coxwell hates commitment, but loves a challenge. Like the pretty bar waitress who turned him down flat for a date-only to invite him to her family's Thanksgiving dinner. Zach knows he can make Jen smile, and he's betting that he can unravel her mysteries.

Despite Thanksgiving dinner becoming a familial nightmare for Jen, Zach has the time of his life and finds that Jen may be worth a commitment after all-even if he has to convince her by any means necessary.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Both Jen and Zach have serious issues but AoN manages to avoid sinking the reader into a dark depression by dealing with them in a realistic and yet upbeat way. Although Jen is young she is a breast cancer survivor. Naturally this fact has had a profound effect on her and she finds herself unable to make any long term commitments because she's afraid she has no future.

Jen's family loves her and wants to see her happy. Her matchmaking mother is determined to set her up on a date unless she finds one herself for Thanksgiving dinner. Her plan is to bring someone she knows her mother will hate. Jen meets Zach at the restaurant where she waits tables and figures he fits her requirements perfectly. So she invites Zach to Thanksgiving dinner for a 'fake' date.

Zach has serious commitments issues of his own, so a 'fake' date sounds fine to him. Zach is the black sheep of a wealthy family and was wild and reckless in his youth. He did some pretty bad things (some involving illegal drugs) and when his father committed suicide, he blamed himself.

The relationship between Jen and Zach develops slowly and there are some painful scenes when they both reveal their hangups due to their past. Jen and Zach are likable characters and the other characters were well developed. This story about the healing power of love is one of my favorite themes. The plot moved a bit slowly in places but overall the humor and characters made this book an enjoyable read.

GRADE: B

New template

2008-05-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here's my new look. Different configuration than my last one. Main-Sidebar-Sidebar, instead of Sidebar-Main-Sidebar. It's very plain and simple which is all I want for now. Let me know if you have problems loading it (like my last one) but I'm hoping this one will load faster.

Update: Hmmmm, I noticed I need a bit of padding between the main column and the sidebar over there ---->. Must go tweak some code.

Update2: Yup, that's better. Damn, I'm getting better at this :)

I credited the blog designer at the bottom, but I tweaked it with an different image and changed some text colors. Some of my 'widgets' may be lost temporarily but I backed them up so I will slowly be adding them back. Blogger needs to fix this issue because you cannot save some widgets like HTML/Java code and Link Lists and that's kinda irritating for non-programmers and programmers alike.

I found several websites to get free excellent blog header images. I found the image above at Dreamstime.com and cropped it to a reasonable header size using Paint.NET (love this free program - much better than MS Paint).

There are also lots of tutorials and information out there on creating and editing blog templates. If anyone wants me to share links to websites for free templates, blogger tips and tricks and free images, let me know and I will write a post on them.

What I have been doing in my spare time

2008-05-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm still alive.

In my last post I told you I was looking for a new blog template. Well, that set me off on a loooonnnnggg adventure in blogland. I found hundreds of free blogger templates but none of them were exactly right. Too dark, too narrow, only two columns, etc. Somewhere along the way I came up with the brilliant (?) idea of writing my own template. My revised plan was to find a simple template with the basic structure I wanted and revise the code to add a custom header and change fonts and colors.

After much searching I found a simple template that had three columns and was easy to widen. All of the templates out there required some math to widen each element of the blog structure (i.e., outer-wrapper, header, content-wrapper, sidebar-wrapper, etc.) and the more I delved into it the more complicated things got with all attributes that needed adjusting. But this new simple template only required adjusting one attribute. The rest of the elements had widths in percentages thereby keeping everything correctly proportioned automatically. Okay, I won't bore you with more technical details.

Anyway with this new template, I can swap out the header whenever I get the urge for change (which is often) to overhaul the look of my blog without a completely new template. I also discovered something else.... I really enjoy coding. I found several very helpful websites on learning how to create and change template CSS and XML code. I confess, I'm a geek. I got my degree in computer science about 10 years ago and loved computer programming. But since I test software now I get no time to write code.

My only complaint about my new template is that the two sidebar columns are both on the right side of the main post column, but one website with blogging tips says that having your posts on the left makes your blog much more 'searchable' by search engine robots.

So I have the template mostly tweaked with a pretty header and I will publish tomorrow.

Blogger Update News:
Scheduled post publishing has now been implemented in Blogger. Woohoo! I have been using this feature through Blogger in draft and it's really cool. You can publish a post for a future date and it will be published when that date arrives. This is great if you want to post while you are on vacation or can't get access to a computer. You can get a bunch of posts completed and pick the date in the future that you want them published.

Wedding Update: Last Saturday was the bridal shower! Very fun. I have pictures that I haven't downloaded. Must go look for my camera. I helped Angie finish stuffing wedding invitations in envelopes and putting on stamps. We are already getting the RSVP cards back. I still have to finish the favors. Time is running out.

Reading now: I got an ARC for a hot new book and it's good so far. I know lots of you get ARCs all the time, but I rarely get them so I'm excited.

I need a change

2008-04-22T11:09:00.000-07:00

I feel the urge to change my blogger template again. Anyone have any suggestion where to find some good free blogger templates?

Mary Balogh rocks!

2008-04-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

I have been a fan of Mary Balogh's since the early 1980's when I stumbled upon her traditional regency romances accidentally. I started hanging onto her books when I realized I couldn't part with them.... my first author glommed. Her books were probably the most sensual regencies out there but still mostly subtle compared to today's historical romances. I was happy when she eventually started writing regency historicals with much warmer sex scenes which include her usual writing style that I love.

Recently I joined her Yahoo!Group for her fans MaryBaloghFans. They discuss lots of topics related to historical romances not just MB's books. Mary visits there often and is happy to answer questions from her fans. Last week she posted that she had visited a local UBS where she found a shelf full of her old traditional regencies... about 20 of them. All were on sale for low prices. Amazing. These books are very collectible and you sometimes see prices for them from $20 - $30, maybe more. So she offered them for sale at $5 each and did a drawing to pick a winner for each book.

And guess what?? I won one! The Ungrateful Governess. I just got it in the mail along with a leather Mary Balogh bookmark. And both were autographed to me! What a classy lady. Did I mention that she's Canadian (I have a great fondness for Canadians) which explains her coolness :)

For those MB fans, I learned from her Yahoo Group that The Ideal Wife is being reissued this year and A Precious Jewel next year. She says "There should be a new contract for more backlist books in the near future. I'll pass on details then." I hope some of those really rare traditional regency books (The Notorious Rake, etc.) get reprinted so others can enjoy them.

TBR Day: Lots of old categories

2008-04-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

I made a concerted effort this month to pare down my TBR. While standing in front of the shelves that contain my TBR, I noticed that there were way too many old categories that I had picked up over the years and just never got around to reading so I decided to start with those. My intent was to read at least 2 chapters of each book and if it didn't keep my interest, toss it away into the "post on PBS" pile. If I liked it (or it wasn't too horrible), then I figured I could finish it in no more than 2 days. Great plan, huh? Anyway, I read 11 categories and not one DNF in the bunch.

So here are mini-reviews of the best of them:

Call Me by Alison Kent (1996)
This book was a real surprise. It's a short (only 216 pages) Harlequin Temptation that had been languishing in my TBR for over 4 years. It was funny, had great sexual tension and the plot was tight and characters are well written. I loved the hero (a Texas rancher - yeah, I'm into cowboys lately) and his teenager brother is a hoot too. The heroine is quite uptight at first and is still hurting from the divorce from her cheating husband. But she warms up rather quickly and things got cooking. The sexy banter and spicy love scenes were worth the price of the book alone.
My grade: A

A Wedding to Remember by Emma Darcy (1994)
This was a troubled marriage story which is one of my guilty pleasures if done right. The H/H are divorced and the heroine, Joanna, is considering remarrying but she is unsure. She decides to visit her ex, Rory, at his office to see if it's well and truly over and get on with her life. Rory is stunned to see her and after talking her into a goodbye kiss, is blown away and impulsively he scoops her up in his arms and 'kidnaps' her for a weekend of pleasure. OK, I know, not realistic. at. all. But I went with it and I'm glad I did. They have some misunderstandings to work out and Joanna learns to believe in Rory rather than vindictive gossip (although I was a bit irritated with her for not believing in him in the first place).
My grade: B+

The Return of Eden McCall by Judith Duncan (1995)
JD is one of my favorite category writers and I have several of her books in my keepers. This book is #3 in the series (Wide Open Spaces) and all of them have been wonderful. TRoEM is no exception. Eden returns to her hometown to take care of her dad who has had a heart attack. She runs into her former boyfriend (and lover), Brodie, who is angry and hurt that she left town. I love how the POV switches to Brodie in several chapters and we really get inside his head. This is a highly emotional and well written book and Brodie is a wonderful hero. Duncan is a talented author who should be writing full length romances but unfortunately she hasn't published anything since 2002. What a shame she dropped out of sight.
My grade: B+

Cattleman's Promise by Marilyn Pappano (1999)
This is book #1 in the Heartbreak Canyon series. I read book #3 a few years ago and liked it so much that I bought the rest of the series, but I'm just finally getting around to reading them. Olivia's husband has just died saving her the trouble of divorcing the rotten scoundrel. She now has the care of her twin 5-year-old daughters and not a penny to her name since the ex gambled it all away. Except she finds the deed to a ranch in Heartbreak, Oklahoma. When she travels to Heartbreak on her last dime she finds out her husband had been swindled since Guthrie owns the ranch. Guthrie is a good, decent, and kind man so he offers to let her stay in a cabin on his property. In exchange she will cook and clean his house. I loved Guthrie. I loved Olivia. And I loved the twins, Elly and Emma. Wonderful plot and characters are so real. I hate cutesy or bratty kids, but Emma (good twin) and Elly ('bad' twin) were absolutely perfect. I found myself laughing at their antics and fell in love with them.
My grade: B+

Reading now: Horseman's Bride by Marilyn Pappano (1999)
This book follows Cattleman's Promise. Very dark, slightly depressing book that I almost gave up on. Features a tortured hero (Easy) with horrendous physical disabilities caused by a serious car accident. Top that with his feelings of loneliness and tremendous guilt caused when he ran off 12 years ago with his best friend's (Guthrie from Cattleman's Promise) fiance (Shay) a few days before their wedding. To make matters worse he abandoned Shay 6 years ago because of his feelings of guilt and worthlessness over his treatment of Guthrie, expecting she would go back to him. Shay went back to Heartbreak, Oklahoma where all three of them grew up together but she never got over Easy. Now Easy is back in Heartbreak, angry and depressed and a tad full of self pity. But Shay won't let him give into it and with Shay's help comes out of it little by little. I'm a few pages from the end and can hardly put it down (late for work this morning trying to squeeze in a few more pages). Update: Just finished it and it had a great last chapter and epilogue.
My grade: B

REVIEW: Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh

2008-04-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

COPYRIGHT: 2008
SETTING: Alternate Reality
TYPE: Paranormal Romance
PAGES: 328
SERIES: 4th book in Psy-Changling series

REASON FOR READING: This is my favorite paranormal series so picking this one up was a no-brainer.

SUMMARY: [from Publishers Weekly]

Earth of 2080 continues a cold war with the chilling aliens the Psy in Singh's fourth fierce installment of the Psy-Changeling series (after Caressed by Ice). Half-human, half-leopard changeling Clay Bennett is shocked when lovely Talin McKade, wracked with illness and similarly half-changeling, returns to his life, having disappeared from his childhood 20 years before. Talin works at San Francisco's Shine Foundation, dedicated to helping gifted but needy children, and a growing number of her missing charges have been turning up sans brains. There's plenty of purring passion to keeps things hot as the Leopard shape-shifters Clay and Tally fall breathlessly in love, while the Psy continue to use children as guinea pigs for developing a hive mind. While this is paranormal romance at its best, newcomers are advised to check out the earlier adventures first.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:

This book captured my attention from the very first page. In all the other Psy/Changling books, the h/h were either Psy or Changling. In MtP the hero, Clay, is a changling leopard and incredibly yummy. But the heroine, Tally, is just a plain ordinary human so I was a bit leery about how strong a character she would be matched with such an alpha male. The previous heroines in this series have been matched with alpha males and have been very strong and alpha in their own right. But I had no reason to worry. Tally was a good mate for Clay.

Clay and Tally were childhood friends who became separated after an extremely traumatic event. Tally was an abused child and when Clay finds out, he mauls and kills her abuser right in front of her. Tally associates Clay with fear and blood and death and when he tries to find her after the incident Tally has her guardians tell him that she is dead. This was the only instance in the book where I wasn't sure if I would like Tally. But she was just a child when this happened and I think her reaction was understandable after such a traumatic event.

It is now 20 years later and Tally works with street kids. When several missing kids turn up dead, she knows she needs Clays help and goes looking for him. Clay has never forgotten Tally and is haunted by his memories of her. When he finds out she is alive he is understandably angry and one particular scene was incredibly intense and emotional. But he is also very loyal and protective of Tally so they pair up and discover some very sinister motives by a group of Psy. While they work together along with the Changling packs to rescue the children, Tally and Clay must face their past and confront their feelings for one another. Tally must learn to overcome her fear and trust Clay. And Clay must learn to forgive her for her deception and her sexual past.

This is another highly emotional, sexy, and fascinating addition to this series. Singh writes the best alpha males... and really, who would not love a leopard for a mate! They are highly possessive and protective without being overbearing. Tender, sweet, sensual and just plain sexy. OK, I'll stop now. I'm looking forward to Hostage to Pleasure (love this title) due out in September 2008.

GRADE: A-

My shopping day

2008-04-11T22:40:00.000-07:00

I had a great day today. Took the day off of work to go shopping for a MOB dress. I started the day by weighing in at Weight Watchers. I'm down 20.8 lbs. and have reached my goal. So I set off for Nordstrom in Bellevue Square Mall (which is enormous) and started in the Special Occasion dresses section and wandered all over until I reached the designer dresses in the back corner. The sales lady tries to help me out and she is coming up with zip that appealed to me.

Then she pulled out this dress that was exactly the style and fabric I wanted but the color was all wrong (swirls of pink and purple ... ). But I thought, what the hey.

So she looks me up and down and says "Size 6?"

I'm thinking "WTF, no way" but I say "uhhhhh, no, maybe 8 or 10"

She says "No, you're a size 6."

How do sales ladies do that? I think there is some serious size inflation going on with today's dress makers. Anyway, I try the dress on (it fits perfectly and I look pretty good) but the color is still wrong. I look at the price tag. $895 !!!! Uh, no. N.O. No, no, no. The most expensive dress I have ever tried on. Well, that was fun. Needless to say I didn't buy it and I didn't find anything else in the store I liked. But that's OK. It was fun shopping. I will buy something online.

I also stopped at the used bookstore but I didn't buy any books. Go figure :) I did buy some used DVDs though. Since it was a beautiful sunny warm day, I bought an ice cream and sat and read in the little outdoor courtyard.

I also stopped at Seattle Lighting and looked at light fixtures. Nothing appealed to me.

Bob has been wanting a hot air popcorn popper so on a whim I stopped at Fred Meyer and bought him one.

I did order something online...new Levolor Wood Blinds for our bedroom window. They were 25% off so I was happy.

Reading now: An oldie I heard about somewhere (probably AAR RtR board)... The Same Last Name by Kathleen Gilles Seidel (copyright 1983)
I love the heroine who is a forest ranger but hero is kinda an idiot. I like Seidel's writing style though. Almost to the end (on page 177 of 255 pages) so we'll see if the hero redeems himself.

REVIEW: Creation in Death by J. D. Robb

2008-04-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

COPYRIGHT: 2007
PAGES: 352
SETTING: Futuristic NYC (2060)
TYPE: Mystery/Romantic Suspense
SERIES: #26 (of full length books) in the In Death series
SENSUALITY: Warm

SUMMARY: [from the publisher]

NYPD Lieutenant Eve Dallas keeps the streets of a near-future New York City safe in this extraordinary series. But even she makes mistakes, and is haunted by those she couldn't save-and the killers she couldn't capture. When the body of a young brunette is found in East River Park, artfully positioned and marked by signs of prolonged and painful torture, Eve is catapulted back to a case nine years earlier. The city was on edge from a killing spree that took the lives of four women in fifteen days, courtesy of a man the media tagged "The Groom"-because he put silver rings on the fingers of his victims.

When it turns out that the young brunette was employed by Eve's billionaire husband, Roarke, she brings him in on the case-a move that proves fitting when it becomes chillingly clear that the killer has made his attack personal. The victim was washed in products from a store Roarke owns, and laid out on a sheet his company manufactures.

With the Groom's monstrous return, Eve is determined to finish him once and for all. Familiar with his methods, Eve knows that he has already grabbed his next victim. Time is running out on another woman's life.

And chances are he's working up to the biggest challenge of his illustrious career-abducting a woman who will test his skills and who promises to give him days and days of pleasure before she dies: Eve.

THOUGHTS / OPINION:
CiD is another excellent book in this series and probably one of the better ones in my opinion. I read this a few months ago and I've had to think about it a while before I could figure out why I liked it so much

My favorite part about this series has been the development of the relationship between Eve and Roarke. In each book they seem to grow and evolve and their marriage gets stronger in little tiny ways as they learn more about each other. But in CiD no further insight into their relationship is revealed. Again Roarke gets involved in the murder investigation as usual, this time because the murder victim was one of his employees and he insists on being involved.

The other reason I love this series so much is the wonderful characters. In previous books Eve's team of detectives works tirelessly to solve the crime while everyone else provide some lighter moments. But in CiD, every character has an integral role in finding out the identity of the serial killer before he selects his next victim. Trina helps with her knowledge of personal skin care products, Somerset provides clues due to his knowledge of the Urban Wars, etc. And of course, Peabody, McNab, Feeney, Mira, Baxter, et al, do what they do best. A true team effort and everyone had a hand in it. The tension builds higher and higher as they get close to finding the killer (spoiler: and his latest victim who is still alive) and I was on the edge of my seat and biting my nails. And the ending did not disappoint. I loved it. Eve kicks ass. Love, love, loved it. I had to skip a bit of the gruesome details but that didn't stop me from enjoying the rest of the book. I don't know how Roberts never fails to entertain me with this series, but really she must be a goddess.

MISCELLANEOUS:
If you haven't read Marianne Stillings' Epilogue in Death, go over to AAR right now and read. It's hysterically funny.

GRADE: A-

March Madness

2008-03-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

March Madness is upon us and my team (well, actually my daughter's since that's her alma mater) was Washington State (Cougs) just got knocked out so my interest is the whole thing is nil.

I am participating in the Romance Madness at DearAuthor (DABWAHA) 2nd Chance Pool because I totally missed the first one due to the fact that I couldn't figure out what the HELL was going on. Wow, I really suck at it too. I only have two picks left in the Elite Eight.

One of my favorite sites is GoFugYourself.com. They are doing Fug Madness and it's a riot. Go check it out. They have the Madonna Bracket, Charo Bracket, Bjork Bracket, and Cher Bracket. Go laugh yourself silly.

Wedding Update: MOB dress

2008-03-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

Woohoo, just got back from my Weight Watcher meeting and I lost 2 lbs. this week (which included Easter). I was pretty amazed because I was expecting that I had gained weight because of Easter breakfast and dinner. Although I didn't eat any candy, I did have the lasagne, garlic bread, salad, and dessert. In small portions... that must have done the trick.

I had my checkbook out to write a check for the $12 meeting fee and they told me I had made my goal!!!! So no checkee for mee :)

So now I can go buy my MOB dress. I have done a little shopping online at nordstrom.com and I saw a few I liked. I really liked the grecian style with a high waist. Now I find out the MOG bought that exact type of dress. GRRR.

I'm very picky about what I want and don't want:

No spaghetti straps
No satin (if possible)
Length: Short (outdoor wedding - don't want dress to drag in the grass)
Color: some shade of blue or turquoise (complementary color for red) - not too dark
Fabric preference: chiffon
Style: Grecian or A-line (compliments pear shape - yeah, I've got the hips to spare)

All but one of these dresses from Nordstrom, the other one from J. Crew. Okay, so let's go shopping ladies....

Dress #1
Not sure about the halter. My bare back might gross people out :)

Dress #2
I love this color on me. But I'm not sure about the bow on the side. This is a fake wrap dress style.

Dress #3
I like the color and hemline is unusual.

Dress #4
I love the style of this one but the color is too dark I think. I am really trying to find some color more like the others shown here.

Dress #5
Love the color (periwinkle blue) but satin shows every bulge.

Dress #6
I love everything about this dress except the color. If it came in some shade of blue, I would be done shopping. GRRRRRRR!

Dress #7
Love the style and color but again, don't like satin. Can you see her little belly bulge? Well, I have an even bigger one.

Dress #8

This one is from J. Crew and has definite possibilities. Color (aquamarine), style (grecian a-line), and fabric (chiffon) are perfect. But it's only available online so I can't try it on. I may be ordering this one. I can always return it if I have to.

OK, that's what I have so far. I haven't actually tried anything on. I really need to take a day off of work and go shopping at Bellevue Square Mall.

I'll let you know what I come up with.

New Mary Stewart website

2008-03-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

Jennie over at Jennie's B(ook)log and her twin, Julie, created a website at MaryStewartNovels.com. It's a great site for all you Mary Stewart fans out there. It has some great features: synopses of her books, cover galley, and (my favorite) a map of settings.

I started reading Mary Stewart in high school. I may have told this story before but bear with me. I was sitting in the school library talking with a bunch of friends. I had a copy of Gone with the Wind and we were discussing what we liked about the book. I said I liked the romantic aspect (although it's not a romance at all). My friend Katie grabbed my arm and dragged me out of my chair over to the Fiction books section and there she pointed at a whole row of Mary Stewart books and said "You have GOT to read these books!"

I said "Which one do I start with?"

She said "Any of them!"

So I looked at all the titles and grabbed Nine Coaches Waiting thinking that this one must have romance. I vaguely recall my thought process:

Coaches = Cinderella = Romance

OK, give me a break, I was 14.

Well, the rest is history. I finished off every book on that shelf over the next few months and then I headed over to the public library to find anything else written by her that our school library didn't have.

I loved the exotic locations (England, Greece, France, Austria), the suspense, and the romance. They were "kisses only" but boy, did my young heart pitter patter over those kisses. They were pretty tame by today's standards but pretty spicy to me as a naive young girl.

Here is my list of Mary Stewart books read with my 3 favorites at the top:

The Moon Spinners (takes place in Crete with a very spunky heroine who was played by Hayley Mills in the Disney movie - I had a major girl crush on her for years after that)

This Rough Magic (takes place in Greece and has my favorite scene on the beach when the heroine meets the hero for the first time who she thinks is shooting at a dolphin she is trying to protect)

Touch Not the Cat (heroine is telepathic and has a psychic connection to the hero, but she doesn't know who he is until nearly the end of the book)

Madam, Will You Talk
Wildfire at Midnight
Thunder on the Right
Nine Coaches Waiting
My Brother Michael
The Ivy Tree
Airs Above the Ground
The Gabriel Hounds
Rose Cottage

I see from the list of MS books that there are a few of her later books that I have never heard of:

Wind Off the Small Isles
Thornyhold
The Stormy Petrel

I need to look for these. She also wrote some historical novels based on the Arthurian legend that never interested me but I had heard good things about them. I think I tried reading The Crystal Cave but it was so unlike her romantic suspense that I gave up. I also haven't read the YA novels she wrote.

Some day I will dig up some of my old favorites and do some re-reading.

Odds and ends

2008-03-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

OK, I suck at blogging. I admit it. I have proof. I finally got with the program and set up Google Reader with all my favorite blogs. Turns out all yous guys post way more than me. I can hardly keep up with y'all (that trip to Galveston influenced my accent recently - I love me a Texas accent). Anyway, I will attempt to reform, if possible. I have lots of things to blog about, just a few of which are book related. Maybe I'll hold back on a couple items so I can post two days in a row. Wooeee, wouldn't that be amazing.

First up, Easter. I took the "Lazy Renee" route this year. Instead of doing my usual roast turkey or ham, I decided to bake one of those frozen lasagnas from Costco which are incredibly good. I bought garlic bread, tossed a salad, and cooked up some glazed carrots. There you go... a complete meal with very little work involved. Oh, and I baked a frozen raspberry-peach pie from Remlinger Farms which are fabulous. Top it with Breyer's vanilla ice cream and you are set. There were the six of us (me, Bob, Jason + girlfriend, Angie + boyfriend). I only bought TWO bags of Easter candy (pastel M&Ms, and caramel filled chocolate eggs). Can you believe it?.... I did not have ANY candy. And I took the leftover candy to work. My willpower is truly amazing when I'm motivated to lose weight. I am 1-1/2 pounds from my goal... yup, amazing. I wanted that candy too, really, really, really wanted it. But I resisted. Not one measly little M&M, zilch, zip, nada. It's amazing how you can resist stuff when you know you have to fit into a dress. That's another story I'll post about tomorrow night.

Reading now: Call Me by Alison Kent
This book is a short (only 216 pages) Harlequin Temptation that has been languishing in my TBR for over 4 years. Wow, this rather innocuous little book is blowing my socks off. Why has it been sitting in my TBR for so long? It's funny, cute, and the sexual tension is ... wow. Love the hero (a Texas rancher - yeah, I'm into Texas lately) and his teenager brother is a hoot too. The heroine is rather uptight at first and is still hurting from the divorce from her cheating husband. But she warms up rather quickly. The sexy banter and spicy love scenes are worth the price of the book alone. I haven't found that many categories that are this well done and I'm hoping the last half of the book is as good as the first. If it is, it may end up as an A. We'll see.

TBR Day: Review: Reap the Wind by Iris Johansen

2008-03-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

COPYRIGHT: 1991
SETTING: Contemporary
TYPE: Romantic Suspense
PAGES: 532
SERIES: 3rd book in the Wind Dancer Trilogy
REASON FOR READING:
Keishon recommended this book a while back and since the premise sounded very original and intriguing, I tracked down a copy on PBS. Keishon mentioned that Johansen revised this book in 2002 to appeal more to her suspense fans and I'm betting she took out the hot sex scenes and the romance. That's just so wrong. So if you're interested in tracking down this book DO NOT GET THE REVISED VERSION. Get this one (cover shown here).

SUMMARY:[back blurb]

A DESPERATE RACE AGAINST DEATH
Alex. Brilliant Alex Karazov always regarded his wild talent as merely a tool in the high-tech chessboard of wold events...until murder galvanized him into a global cat-and-mouse game that could cost him not only his life but the woman he loves.

A FIRESTORM OF PASSION
Caitlin. Exquisite Caitlin Vasaro created a perfume whose scent enchants and whose fame may endure through the centuries...but her desire for Alex Karazov may rob her of both her dream and her life.

THE SIZZLING PRICE OF FAME
Chelsea Benedict had fought her way from the depths of poverty and scandal to the heights of international film stardom. Now she must fight the biggest battle of her life, to save the man she loves - from herself.

A LOVE FOR ALL TIME
Jonathan Andreas possesses power, fame, and one of the most valuable treasures on the face of the earth. He is willing to risk everything on the greatest gamble a man can dare...or to lose his life in the balance.

For centuries it was spoken of in whispers, a legendary masterpiece of unspeakable power...and immeasurable beauty. But once the winds had swept the stars from the night sky; who would own the Wind Dancer?

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Caitlin Vasaro owns and manages a flower farm that has been in her family for generations. Due to many problems they are on the verge of bankruptcy and they can't pay their mortgage or make payroll. One day Alex Karazov a wealthy businessman (and ex-KGB/CIA) visits and offers to invest a huge chuck of cash so they can pay off their mortgage and allow Caitlin to market the perfume she has created and calls "Vasaro". Of course there are strings attached but Caitlin accepts the deal.

The reader is aware from the prologue that there is something not quite right about Alex. He is manipulating Caitlin so he can get his hands on "The Wind Dancer" an antique statue of Pegasus that is supposed to have magical properties. I really didn't like him at first because I thought he was a manipulating people user. And I thought Caitlin was way too stupid for falling for the "too good to be true" offer. But eventually Caitlin reveals that she is fully aware that Alex was using her, she just didn't care because she was so desperate to get her perfume to market. As part of the marketing campaign Alex wants to use the Wind Dancer which is in the possession of Caitlin's cousin, Jonathan Andreas.

What follows is a roller coaster ride of an non-stop action packed adventure across Europe. Oh, and Alex and Caitlin fall in love. Wow, and the sex scenes were pretty spicy. I especially loved the first sex scene which followed several chapters of some scorching sexual tension culminating in a fantastic scene in a lavender field. I could almost smell the lavender while I was reading that part. Another scene I liked is when Caitlin is anticipating that Alex is going to dump her so she dumps him first. I don't think that was really his plan but he was acting kind of like a jerk and really needed a smackdown. And Caitlin doesn't take him back right away...she makes him suffer for a while. She eventually takes him back after some good groveling. I liked that *evil grin*.

The only part I didn't care for was the secondary romance between Caitlin's cousin, Jonathan (a presidential candidate) and Chelsea (an famous actress). It wasn't bad really, just unnecessary to the plot and a tad bit unrealistic given we are in presidential campaign season. I wanted more of Alex and Caitlin. But I will say that Jonathan and Chelsea were well written characters along with Alex and Caitlin. And for a book with over 500 pages, this one flew by fast.

GRADE: B+

OTHER BOOKS READ FROM MY TBR:

The Medusa Project (Silhouette Bombshell) by Cindy Dees (B+)
Surprisingly excellent read about a team of women who go through Special Forces training. Non-stop action and seemed very realistic with a romance subplot. My only complaint... I was expecting at least one sex scene... but no, no sex here.

The Warlord by Elizabeth Elliott (C)
After hearing all the glowing praise about EE I was a bit disappointed because hero was a complete ALPHA-JERK! I liked the heroine though.

Movie Review: North & South

2008-03-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

I finished the last episode of North & South last night. Now I get it. What all the fuss was about. When I first heard about it from KristieJ I knew I would love it but I went the lazy route and reserved it on my Blockbuster online account. Which took forever. And it has 2 discs so I had to wait a week after watching the first disc.

After watching N&S, I see the similarities to P&P: a dark brooding seemingly cold hero, a headstrong outspoken heroine who takes an immediate dislike to him. A marriage proposal by the hero flung back in his face. The eventual reversal of her feelings for him. But N&S had a much darker tone. This is much more than a love story, although that was the highlight of the movie. It's also a story of class struggle, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the union movement. The struggle of factory workers to survive and raise their families while they worked in horrendous conditions was brought to life dramatically.

The period costumes and cinematography was superb. The music was hauntingly beautiful and the setting in the historic 19th century mill captured the mood perfectly. The scenes inside the mill which showed the "snow" flurries of cotton had a dreamlike quality and were brilliant. Best of all the casting was perfect with some excellent actors giving some wonderful performances. And the acting... just wow. Daniela Denby-Ashe as Margaret Hale and Sinead Cusack as Hannah Thornton and Brendan Coyle as Nicholas Higgins were outstanding along with several others. But the performance of Richard Armitage as John Thornton was awesome and captivating.

There were many memorable scenes. The scene where Margaret rides off in a carriage in the snow and John stands there watching her leave hoping she will turn back and look at him. The scene where Margaret gets injured trying to protect John from an mob of angry mill workers. And of course, the final train scene. Again, just... wow.

A&E's interpretation of P&P has been my favorite romantic movie of all time. But the ending to N&S was probably the most romantic ending to any movie ever. Completely "sigh-worthy" and even better than P&P's ending. I will always love P&P for a more light hearted version of the ultimate romantic movie, but N&S will hold a special place on my shelf of DVD's right along side it. And it will be a toss up as to which I love most. One light, one dark, two great hunky actors (Richard Armitage and Colin Firth) to drool over.

When I finally get my own copy, I will be watching it again and again.

REVIEW: On the Loose by Tara Janzen

2008-03-06T23:24:00.000-08:00

COPYRIGHT: 2007
PAGES: 403
SETTING: Contemporary
TYPE: Romantic Suspense
SERIES: Book 7 in the Steele Street series
SENSUALITY: Hot
REASON FOR READING: I enjoyed most of the other books in the "Crazy" series. Here is the order:
Crazy Hot (B)
Crazy Cool (B)
Crazy Wild (C+)
Crazy Kisses (B)
Crazy Love (A-)
Crazy Sweet (B)
On the Loose
Cutting Loose

SUMMARY:

He's a special agent who never loses his cool.

She's the heat-seeking missile headed straight for his heart.

Keeping cool under pressure is the credo C. Smith Rydell lives by. That’s why he was handpicked by the Special Defense Forces for a mission few men survive. So why has the ex-DEA superstar been reassigned to Panama City, playing bodyguard to a blond in a black string bikini? Except Honey York isn’t your average pampered socialite. She’s the woman Rydell caught smuggling cash into El Salvador four months ago. And now she wants him to take her back.

All Honey has to do is find the guerrilla camp, deliver the goods, and get the hell out of the jungle—all in forty-eight hours. Only one man is up for the job. But sharing an unforgettable one-night stand was nothing next to being stranded with Rydell on some third world mountaintop. And with bullets flying and all hell breaking loose, now is not the time for passion. As if these two could possibly resist it….

THOUGHTS / OPINION:
I have to admit to a great fondness for all the books in the series. The books are not terribly deep but they all been quick reads with non-stop action, yummy heroes, and hot sex - a lot of it in cars ... the front seat, the back seat, the hood, etc. And I believe all the books, if I'm not mistaken, feature heroes who are secretly in love with the heroines. OTL follows this convention as well. C. Smith Rydell is an agent for the SDF (Special Defense Force), and has been assigned as bodyguard to Honey York. But he and Honey have a past history. Four months earlier they shared a steamy one night stand after he rescued her from a dangerous situation in San Luis. The next morning he put her on a plane back to the States determined to forget her, but he carries a little momento (her silk underwear) from the experience in his pocket.

Now Smith must escort and protect Honey on a mission to El Salvador to deliver a pile of money to a guerrilla leader in exchange for kidnapped nuns one of whom is her sister. While there Smith must locate a plane that crashed in the jungle and recover some highly secret information. There is also a backstory of Smith's former lover who he thought was dead, but is stalking him and wants to kill him. The sexual tension sizzles and the action is non-stop and compressed into a couple of days just as all the other Steele Street series have been. Reading this book was like eating a chocolate covered caramel (my favorite candy).... short, sweet, and done way too quickly but leaves a lingering memory of sweetness and a craving for more. Well, maybe not exactly, but you know what I mean.

GRADE: B+

Heat or Ice?

2008-03-04T22:43:00.000-08:00

I'm in pain. I work out 3 days a week and yesterday I got to aerobics class late. I normally use 4 pound weights but they were all gone so I grabbed the 5 pounders. I realized this morning that I had pulled a muscle and I ache from my lower neck, across my right shoulder and down my arm to my elbow.

I've been in pain all day.... it just aches like a bad toothache. I have taken 6 ibuprofen, two extra strength Tylenol, and an Aleve over the last 12 hours and nothing works. Not even a twinge of relief. It's just throbbing.

I never know when to use ice versus a heating pad. I hate the idea of ice since I'm already cold. A heating pad sounds good. Must go find it.

It was torturous at work today because I had a test plan to write. If I'm in this much pain tomorrow, I'm staying home. *sigh* God, I feel old.

AAR Reader Poll Results

2008-03-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling very smug. AAR Reader Poll results are in and I think I did pretty good at matching the final results in the major book categories. But I sucked at picking the character awards (only 1). Here are the winners and honorable mentions I picked:

Best Romance: The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (it tied with If His Kiss Is Wicked by Jo Goodman which I haven't read yet)

Favorite Funny: Natural Born Charmer by SEP

Most Luscious: The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

Best Cabin/Road Romance: Up Close and Dangerous by Linda Howard (tied with Driven by Eve Kenin which I have read and loved)

Best New Author: Anna Campbell

Guiltiest Pleasure (honorable mention - tie): Claiming the Courtesan by Anna Campbell

Best European Historical (honorable mention): The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

Best Contemporary: Natural Born Charmer by SEP

Best S/F & Futuristic: Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair

Best Paranormal: Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh

Best Chick Lit: Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas

Most Tortured Hero (honorable mention): James from Beau Crusoe by Carla Kelly

That's 9 winners and 3 honorable mentions I picked. I did better last year because I picked 4 of the character awards.

Go here to check out the final results.