So...I Read a Romance

 You know sometimes you need to jumpstart your reading? Maybe pick up something mindless? So, because a good friend really liked this one, I picked it up.


They say confession is good for the soul. So...yeah...I read a romance. One with a horrible title, no less. And get this: I enjoyed it. For what it is, it's a fun romp with some delicious sex mixed in. So there.

The story matter is very light: Caroline moves into an apartment and is almost immediately kept awake by her neighbor's sexual antics next door. She endures until finally she snaps and goes over there, letting him have it. OF COURSE he's sexy and arrogant, which just inflames her, until they sort of become friends. A misunderstanding ensues, but it's worked out, and then...well, yeah, it's formulaic and silly, but it's still fun. Oh, and there's a cat involved. And lots and lots of sexual innuendo.

Wallbanger is funny, though I didn't just die of laughter like I'd thought I might. Caroline's pretty snappy with the comebacks, and her inner monologue is great. I went from disliking Simon (the "Wallbanger") to liking him a lot, even if I did find the amount of sexual escapades toward the end ridiculous. Would I read more by the author? Sure, if I'm in the mood for a mindless romance with only one possible outcome. That's not always a bad thing.

~taminator40

The Selection

In The Selection, Kiera Cass's first installment of a planned trilogy, seventeen year old America Singer is a Five (out of the Eight castes of the futuristic Illean Society--the U.S. of the future), a musician whose family struggles, but is still better off than her secret love Aspen, who is a Six. Dreaming of a loving future with Aspen, America's world comes crashing down when he realizes the caste is too wide for the two of them to make a go of it and breaks it off with her. But there is no time to be devastated since America has been chosen to represent her district in The Selection: sort of a Survivor/The Bachelor contest wherein Prince Maxon chooses a bride among 35 beautiful, talented young women. And though America really has no interest in being chosen, she does want her family to reap the benefits, so the unconventional young woman strikes a deal with the prince: let her stay as long as possible, and she will become his friend and informant among the girls. Of course a bemused Maxon accepts, the two grow closer, and an attraction breaks out.

The Selection is filled with silly girls vying for Maxon's attention, but it is also filled with America's bubbly spirit and a slow growing romance that had me cheering for both the prince and America. America is everything Maxon really shouldn't want, but the fact that she can talk to him intrigues the prince, and America's realization that perhaps her feelings for him aren't just friendly fuels the burn. And of course there is a love triangle; count me among the Team Maxon folk as Aspen failed to ignite any sympathy after his "noble" dismissal of America early on. Nonetheless, I found a great deal to enjoy in this light-hearted novel; America's headstrong, independent attitude and her own personal growth kept me turning the pages as I needed to see where we are headed. I'm definitely going to be searching for the sequel the moment it's available and recommending this one to anyone who loves a good romance that's also filled with action and led by a strong female. Pick it up now! You'll be glad you did.


~taminator40

A New Favorite Author, I'm Pretty Sure



First I'll admit it...I am a newbie to Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Despite owning maybe three of her previous novels, this bibliophile just hadn't made the push to pick one up until Call Me Irresistible arrived. And now that I've finished it, I can promise you this: I'll be rooting out those other books and putting them on a special shelf so that I can easily grab one the next time I'm in a slump or I need a pick-me-up.



Apparently incorporating several characters from previous books, Call Me Irresistible is the story of Meg Koranda, daughter of famous parents and perennial floater through life; Meg arrives in Wynette, Texas, to be in the wedding of her best friend Lucy, but it only takes her a few moments to know that Ted is not the man for Lucy, despite all his stellar reviews and overall goodness. When the two break up, Meg's blamed by all and she's eager to leave town, but unfortunately her parents and family have chosen that time to force her to stand on her own two feet and she no longer has the means to leave. Being the town pariah is bad enough, but when Meg encounters Ted, sparks fly, though neither will admit it. Mixed into the mess is millionaire Spence Skipjack and his daughter Sunny; Wynette's desperate to land Spence's money to build a new golf resort, and his interest in Meg and Sunny's interest in Ted further complicates everything. Fireworks ensue.




Fun, fun, fun...light and breezy, there's nothing deep or soul searching in Call Me Irresistible, but it certainly came along at the exact moment I most needed this sort of book. The "romance" (if you can call it that...the two lovebirds keep insisting there is none) experiences its bumps and turns, though of course it's all very predictable. I did get a little bogged down trying to sort all the townspeople though that's probably my fault for not having read previous books beforehand. But Phillips' light style makes this an easy read, and even if I did get a little frustrated with all the denials of interest, I can definitely say I'll be dipping back into Phillips' works. I think I've found a new favorite author.

~taminator40

Maybe This Time

Andie Miller hasn't had contact with her ex-husband in ten years, except to receive her monthly alimony check, which she never wanted and didn't cash. But now she's getting married, and she feels it's time to sever the ties once and for all, so off she goes to visit her lawyer ex, North Archer, and return the checks. But once she gets there, of course things don't go as planned; North needs a nanny for one month for the two orphaned children of his cousin, and Andie, a teacher, fits the bill. Plus she could use the $10,000 to start her new marriage debt-free. What would be the harm?

If you are at all familiar with Jennifer Crusie, you know her books are usually light romances with a touch of mystery mixed in for good measure. Maybe This Time is no exception; when Andie meets the two children, twelve year old Carter and eight year old Alice, she knows she's got her work cut out for her. They live in a castle that was moved brick by brick to Ohio with an austere old housekeeper and their lives have been devoid of routine for ages. Andie takes matters into her own hands, thus putting her continually in contact with North...and the three ghosts which also haunt the home. An unbeliever at first, Andie quickly changes her mind when she finds herself face to face with the kids' recently deceased Aunt May; and good news travels fast as word of the hauntings spread and a film crew, a medium, a parapsychologist, Andie's former mother-in-law and brother-in-law, and her own mother all arrive to help. Oh, and of course North, who has never forgotten his ex.






This book is engaging from the first page; the attraction between Andie and North is evident, and the presence of the paranormal is fun yet mysterious at the same time. Set in 1992, the music mentioned and the atmosphere both enhance the story, and Crusie writes sexual tension like few authors can. There did come a point when everyone is arriving on Andie's doorstep that the story was a bit of a farce, but the fierce way Andie protects the children and the presence of North kept it from going over the top. I read this one following a deep, dark book, and it was the perfect antidote to lift my spirits and keep me entertained. Fun, fun, fun.
 
~taminator40

All the Queen's Players

Not gonna waste a lot of time recounting everything about the plot of All The Queen's Players, because quite honestly, there's just too much. Rosamund Walsingham, cousin to Sir Francis Walsingham, Master Secretary to Queen Elizabeth I, goes to court in order to learn secrets for her cousin and ends up disgracing herself, only to be sent to the prisoner Mary Queen of Scots to spy. With this much going on in the novel, you would think the action would be fast and furious. It's not.

Actually, All The Queen's Players has a decent plot overall, with tons of intrigue and romance set against the Elizabethan era. Parts of it were quite exciting and it was easy to believe events transpired (mostly) as written. But I just never warmed up to the heroine Rosamund, who seemed to throw away her chances way too easily and was a tad too modern in her views, especially in her tolerance for her brother's homosexuality. In a world where a queen was executed for her beliefs, Rosamund's "realization" that she wasn't particularly religious felt hollow, and it certainly didn't take her very long to awaken to her exuberant sexuality. The side plot with the chevalier and countess was totally unnecessary (besides adding salaciousness) and the ending was rushed, almost as though the author wasn't sure how to end her story after all the backstabbing and wrangling for position.

Rant time: Are publishers even employing editors anymore? Several times I was yanked out of the reading by passages such as: "The subject distresses you." "It is a distressing subject." (page 330) (quote)Rosamund straightened, tucking a loose strand of russet hair whipped loose (unquote), page 356 The repetition of wording in consecutive sentences was not only redundant, it was irritating. Other pet peeves of mine were the use of comma spliced sentences and the rapid changes in points of view, often even within the same paragraph. These issues made it hard for me to enjoy the author's superior vocabulary otherwise, and should easily have been caught by an editor.

All the Queen's Players has a good deal to recommend it, and Feather has been an author I've enjoyed in the past. I just feel that a lack of true focus on what was to be accomplished would have greatly helped this book along. Was it a romance? A tale of intrigue? A straight historical? You will have to read it to decide. Rounding up from 2.5 stars because I liked it...it was just too easy to poke holes.

~taminator40

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

It's been almost a year since an asteroid crashed into the Earth's moon, sending it just a bit closer to Earth and causing violent disruptions resulting in flooding, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. Miranda Evans and her family have faced the year of deprivation in their home in Pennsylvania by accepting once weekly food deliveries from what's left of the government and pillaging the abandoned homes nearby. Life goes on, though sometimes it seems hopeless when so many are dying and there is no relief from the constant hunger and lack of electricity. Still, it's the life Miranda, her mother and two brothers have come to know, which is security in itself; then things change yet again when Miranda's brother Matt returns from a fishing trip with a wife and Miranda's father shows up with not only his wife and child, but three more people. How will they cope? How can they share? Will there ever be a return to a sense of normalcy?

This World We Live In is the third and final book in Susan Beth Pfeffer's trilogy about a catastrophe that changes everything. The book pretty much picks up not long after book one (book two being a companion story of Alex and his sister Julie, both of whom are in book three) and many of the same desperate situations still face the Evans family. Though things will never be the same, Miranda does begin to experience her first taste of love when she gets to know Alex, and her concerns are not so different than a normal teen's on many levels. The addition of the new characters to the Evans mix gives life to the idea of going to one of the secret "safe towns" and Miranda and her family have to determine what sort of world they will make out of the ashes of the one long gone.

This book is well told and utterly believable; I could see events transpiring precisely as Ms.Pfeffer depicts, and Miranda's musings are typical of anyone facing serious crisis in family and survival. In fact, I was loving this novel right up until the final three or four chapters when it seemed that the author just didn't know how to get her characters out of the bind they'd found themselves in. The ending just didn't seem to make a lot of sense to me and I just could not buy that characters who had struggled so long would make such life altering decisions when there were other options available. Still, this is a fascinating look at what would likely happen if such a natural disaster took place, and Ms. Pfeffer does give her characters complex emotions amid devastating circumstances. Recommended...with reservations about the final ending.

One last observation that really has nothing to do with the novel but bugs me just the same (and probably shows how shallow I am): Every time I look at the cover of this novel, I see a giant breast, not a moon. It was also the first thing my husband pointed out about the book when he saw me reading it. Am I alone in this observation? If so, that's okay, but I just felt the need to say someone needed to think about the cover art. Just sayin'.

~taminator40

What's A Ghoul To Do?

I accomplished a rarity (for me these days) this weekend---I picked up a novel and read the entire thing in one weekend (and no, it wasn't a YA novel). It was just so much fun and the pages flew by. It's the first in a new series by Victoria Laurie called What's A Ghoul To Do? and I really enjoyed it--it was just the right amount of brain candy I needed right now. It's a paranormal mystery with liberal doses of humor and romance thrown in and perfect for an engrossing read. Here's the link to my amazon review:

http://tinyurl.com/332kwx

I picked up my next tbr_challenge book, Sean Astin's There and Back Again, mostly to fuel my Lord of the Rings obsession and to fulfill my May goal. It's started off a bit slow, dealing with Sean's work before LOTR, which frankly at this point isn't all that interesting. I'm thinking of skipping ahead to where he actually signs on to the movies so I can get to the good stuff. I've got bits and pieces of Fellowship of the Rings and The Two Towers on regular tv these past two weekends and I'm having the feeling that a viewing (all 3 movies in extended form) cannot be too far off. Perhaps I'll reward myself when school's out May 25.

Did I mention school's out May 25? :)

~taminator40