Zebraishness

I may have to rethink the slutty zebra buying trend I seem to be on. Now I admit I am not like Alyssa and company who can read a book without even breaking a spine. But I am not hard on my books! So how is it after two reads and one skim of A Season to be Sinful, the book is coming apart from the spine? hmmmm? bad zebra bad bad... And I liked this book! Even bought it new! Ok I shall shut now and stop whining. Back to writing reviews for me.

I am sure you are all saying wonderful creative things

but I have more books to review than I know what to do with... so miss me! I will be in and out but I must finish the three reviews I have started on. I hope to be back blogging this weekend. LOL not that anyone really cares but hey, now you know :) But in the meantime, I had to go to Walmart to fill some meds. What? I had to go to Walmart! Ok so I didn't have to go there but I did. And while there say it with me... New Books! A Taste of Crimson - Marjorie M. Liu A Season to be Sinful - Jo Goodman Lord or Desire - Paula Quinn Courting Claudia - Robyn DeHart (passed the 15 page test and is a avon debut) Love According to Lily - Julianne MacLean (never picked up the last one but I did enjoy the first two) ok must turn off computer and hope the power doesn't go off. RAIN GO AWAY!!!!!!!

dash it all

Is A Season to be Sinful - Jo Goodman out yet or not? It seems to be if you look on line but I can't find it. I am gonna have to give in and order it and then it will be in the store.

Passion part deux

So there is a nifty thread at AAR (really need to update links and put one up so I can stop looking for the link every time I meantion it. thread started by trish in the review board aka off limits to sybil so here we be ;) I think Lisa Valdez makes a common first time author mistake in responding to much on the board. Not to say I don't think an author should post on the review board, I do but I don't think should post too much to take away from the reader discussion. That prolly makes no sense. Although I do have to say I like what she said and even if I hadn't liked Passion I would want to buy the next book because of how well she handed the board. Funny enough I haven't read the whole thread I didn't make it too far in the thread. Anyway... check out the book, check out the thread

I have been in something of a funk

Which means I spent the weekend rereading book... two I didn't even remember reading. And that sort of spilled over to the week. Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas was my first reread last Friday. Derek and Sarah... what more do you have to say. I love this book. It is just wonderful. Which lead me to read Tiger's Eye by Karen Robards since people tend to say it is like DoY. I must have skimmed it the first time I read it because I didn't remember reading it until the very end with the bathtub scene, which that scene still annoys me. Go figure... I can see how it gets compared to DoY but DoY blows it away. A good read I would rate about a C. I then moved onto Forbidden Love by Karen Robards and poof read that too. And sorry maili, I liked it. I would rate it about a C-, it is way flawed but a nifty guilty pleasure read. The next on the hit list aka randomly picked off the shelf was The Seducer and The Sinner by Madeline Hunter. I still love both of these books. Madeline Hunter is one of my favorites and she has a way with an old plot. She can take it and make it new, fresh, fun and exciting. I wish we could get another Medieval out of her but I am still in love with this series and so need to read LoS. I dont think I ever really read it, more like skimmed and marked it as a want to read later. Beauty Like the Night and The Devil You Know by Liz Carlyle came next. I adore Liz Carlyle and am looking forward to her new series. The funny thing is The Devil You Know is the first book by her I read and I hated it. I didn't pick up another one of her books until AWoV was recently rereleased and after falling in love with her short story in Big Guns Out of Uniform Let’s Talk About Sex. Now I have no idea if it has to do with reading BLtN first and having read AWoV so I understood Bentley more than I did the first time but I just fell in love with this story. Rosario has a great review for the story and it pretty much sums up what I love about it. I would say to enjoy Carlyle you need to read her earlier works. So it is a good thing she is having them reprinted and at GREAT prices. What a great way to get new fans. So what is my point in all this? I have been reading, just not the 10+ books I am suppose to read for AAR reviews. But I think I have found my groove again. So off I go to try my hand at new books. I also have company this weekend, so I really need to kick my ass into gear.

Bought By a Millionaire by Heidi Betts

This was my fourth Desire read. And by far one of my faves. I think I have decided to stick to Blaze and HH but will keep up with Heidi Betts' Desires. I am still looking for Blame it on the Blackout but that is another post. Heidi Betts is one of those authors I have glommed her blacklist while having read one or two. And let me just ssssqqqqqeeeeeeeeee that she has a sort of western coming out. Not a historical western (wipes tear from eye), but the contemporary hero is a rancher so hey that is something. Why in the world Leisure seems to think the world needs more Cassie Edwards and Connie Mason but can't buy a historical western from Heidi Betts is beyond me. Of course maybe HB doesn't want to write a HW but I can dream. Anyway back to BBaM... The plot is pretty much this: Man with too much money and a habit of getting his way decides to have a baby and puts out an ad for a mommy. Burke Bishop doesn't want a wife and marriage, just a bundle of joy to love. Shannon Moriarity signs up to be the surrogate mommy but honestly I don't think either one of them have thought out what this action will mean to the rest of their lives. But whatever, I liked the characters. And I liked them together. Desires read to me as being about the characters more than about whatever outside factors are going on. It is a quick enjoyable read with people I enjoyed spending time with, for the most part. Burke is very alpha pushy I have too much money do what I say damn it and Shannon is very let me be your doormat at times. But shake them up and they make for a tasty cocktail. Now I really need to get my hands on Blame it on the Blackout. oh cool, she has a blog

Passion by Lisa Valdez

Lea Hensley's review of Passion at AAR is pretty on spot with what I thought. I would rate it more of an A or at least a B+ than I would a B but I still have trouble with the whole grade thang. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the story. For a first time author, trying her hand at a romance with a heavy touch of sex thrown in the mix, Lisa Valdez does really well. I would say she is sort of a mix of emma holly and (older) susan johnston. The heroine's name is Passion, which I had a eh moment with, but I got over it quickly. Lea does a great summary so I won't redo it, just follow the link ;). I still don't get the screen thing, they are in a furniture room at the Crystal Palace going at it like bunnies behind a screen. How can people not hear something... I really enjoyed Mark and Passion's story and look forward Patience the next story in the trilogy. A word of warning the love scenes are graphic with cocks and cunts aplenty and it can be slightly purple but not in a bad way. Mark loves Passion and once he knows it, he isn't afraid to tell her. The sex, the plot and the character development all mix together well and make for a pretty tight story. Someone had asked, What is Purple. I think LLB says it best here

It isn't just me!

Don't you just love it when you run across something that you have always thought was a really screwy thing you do... only someone else is doing it! I have a nasty habit of doing that. Collecting backlists before I even read one book. sez wendy I love that someone else does this!

The Lady Lies by Samantha Saxon

review is up go forth and read...

One Day:

I will set a book budget and stick to it. I will make a nifty website to keep track of the books I have read like Rosario's index of reads I will make a log of all the books I own, which I have read, which need to go bye bye and what is tbr. I will update my blog with books I have read, right after reading the book. I will join Kinja. I will read the books in my tbr mountain. I will redo my blog on a blog site that will do the things I want my blog to do. One day I shall do many things, what will you do one day?

How much do I love

that a very very nice girl I work with, who said a few weeks ago she never reads romance cuz it just isn't' her thing Is loving Crimson City that she borrowed from me. She came over here a bit ago sssssqqqqeeeeeeing over a kiss in an elevator. Too funny. I might end up buying another copy (would be my FIFTH purchase of this book - I really should get a kick back or something from Liz ;) ) and letting her keep this one. I just gave her Men in Kilts (sorry maili) and I think MJD will so be up her alley. I will make a romance reader out of her yet.

New newer newest

I can't remember when I last updated about the books I have added to my tbr/review pile so I might have posted some of these already. here we go: Today in the mail I got Not-So-Secret Baby by Jo Leigh! And this weekend when my friend gets here I will get my copy of His Secondhand Wife - Cheryl St. John most recent aka today: What A Woman Needs - Caroline Linden Texas Fever - Kimberly Raye (blaze) Much Ado About Magic - Patricia Rice Last weekend: Maureen Child Desire - Three Way Wager The Tempting Mrs. Reilly, Whatever Reilly Wants and The Last Reilly Standing (all read - go team me) Bought by a Millionaire - Heidi Betts (desire - read she is prolly the only author I will read in this line) My Favorite Mistake - Stephanie Bond (Blaze) Southern Exposure - Karen Kelley (no need to remind me I haven't read Southern Comfort yet) Risk Everything - Sophia Johnson Last week: Paper Moon - Patricia Rice (loved Texas Lily) Heaven in West Texas - Susan Kay Law (only one left of hers I needed, wasnt' gonna buy it cuz ghost's aren't my thing but whatever I own it now) When Dashing Met Danger - Shana Galen (I so hope I don't own this already - it is for my avon reading weekend I will do some day) Tiger's Eye - Karen Robards Forbidden Love - Karen Robards New to Review: What Dreams May Come - Sherrilyn Kenyon, Rebecca York, Robin D Owens and NJ to come soon ::fingers crossed:: New from Trade group: The Maiden Bride - Linda Needham The Chaperon Bride - Nicola Cornick More Than a Scandal - Sari Robins Wildfire - Cheyenne McCray two other EC's but I am not sure what pile they are in and can't member the names Allie's Moon - Alexis Harrington Till Dawn Tames the Night (SS but I already have) uh feel better yet candy ;). I am off to finish The Seduction of Sarah by Cynthia Clement.

me me me me

me maili put up my terribly boring reader interview but since she works so hard on doing those links go read it.... On her side bar she had a list of other reader interviews she has done. Check it out, some nifty stuff there. Oh which reminds me I must go do my reviewer profile thingy. YAY more about me. I know you are just dying to know more ;).

LOOKIE! I am a winnah!

NOT-SO-SECRET BABY by Jo Leigh... I never win anything! so score! hee it is prolly because nicole (who wins everything I think) already had the book. I don't know how nicole and cw do it man. It just isn't fair. But I shall pout about being a loser later. Cuz right now... I am a winner ;) I need a red ribbon to run threw or something...

Only for a Knight by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

review is up. Can you name the episode the X-Files quote comes from ;). Yes I am easy to amuse, why do you ask?

Review!Whore

I am very pro review. Yes, I am sure that is shocking to you all. But a review doesn't make or break if I buy a book. I might buy a badly reviewed book, if the subject interests me or something about it grabs my attention. I might buy a book that got a good review for the same reasons. Good or bad, I love to read reviews. Blog reviews, All About Romance, Mrs Giggles, The Romance Reader... wherever reviews are, I'm there. There are some people, like xina at the AAR board, if she says she likes something I am almost always sold. Because history has shown more often than not we like the same type of books. But really one person's thoughts very rarely make or break a book for me. For me when I think of reviews, I think of the old saying... as long as they spell the name right (ah something like that). To me it is just a way of getting a title out there, and if it comes with a summary of some sorts - score! The reason I like to post what I have bought is to - A. remind me later I have it, B. it might bring a book to someone's attention, C. it might push someone into reading a book or trying a new author they were thinking about getting, and D. I really like looking into other people's shopping carts so I think other people like it too. I blog about books for pretty much the same reasons as above. I don't think my opinion is the be all end all for anyone but me. But while chatting with a friend something came up that I honestly hadn't given any thought to and I figured I would ramble about it here and ask you guys what you think or do. If you win a book from an author, respond to an author offering books to reviewers or request a book from an author to read to review it - do you feel the need to give it a good review? Honestly it had never entered my mind. I say what I think, good bad or indifferent regardless of how the book landed in my happy lil hands. To me a book is a book and an author is a person selling a book. Is the book the author's baby, prolly. Do bad reviews hurt? I am sure in a way they can sting, but if you put something out for public view you are inviting opinion. And as with any child, you send it out into the world at some point and it has to survive on its own. Doesn't it? And if I don't like an author's books, that has no reflection on what I think of the author as a person. Some authors such as PBW, Katherine Sutcliffe, and Laurell K. Hamilton have expressed their displeasure at reviews and reviewers, which is a whatever. But authors who do send out books for reviews - how do they look at it? If they give a book away knowing the reader will blog about it or review it for a site, do they expect a good review because it was a free copy to the reader? Do authors look at books they give away in contests as a different animal than a book they give for a review? In this day and age of blogs, many readers are talking books and have blogs (and more should). So any book an author gives out has the potential to be 'reviewed'. Does that play into your thought process as an author at all? What about as a reviewer or a reader with a blog? Do you feel the need to give it a push because it was free? Do you feel the need for that push to only be a great glowing review? I think in terms of traffic, traffic, traffic... if a highly visited site (Mrs Giggles, Rosario's Reading Journal, All About Romance, McVane, Smart Bitches, crankyreader and so on and so forth ) mentions a book, no matter what they say about it or if they say anything about it, I see it as a commerical that will make some people go hmmmm. What is that about? And might lead to buyers and readers. Is that incorrect? Just wondering what others (reviewers, readers and authors, oh fine even the people who were googling for porn and ended up here can answer) honestly think...

Secrets 12

review is up up up go forth and read :)

oh so wise words

times like this will make me miss being able to post on the review board bah

Html things I learned today

draw a line through something = < strike > text < /strike > no spaces how to do the spoiler highlightly thing = background white, < font color="white" > TEXT HERE < /font > no spaces mucho thanks to cw for educating me good so what nifty tricks can you teach me... uh html wise that is

The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie

Cheryl Sneed's review is mostly on target with what I thought about the book. I picked this up yesterday at Barnes and Noble - it was Jay's fault I was there. bad jay bad bad. Anyway as I picked it up to put aside with the other hundreds of newly purchased books to be read I turned to the back to read the author profile, which lead to reading the last page (yes gasp in horror) which lead to me randomly opening the book to read a few pages (yes gasp again). It was a short scene with the heroine and some random exmistress. The scene was amusing and the hero just caught me. I am not much on humor in my romances. The madcap regency romps aren't much my thing but this does have something of that flavor with really good writing thrown in. And as much as I like steam I love good banter. Give me creative, witty banter between two well drawn likeable characters without treating me or the characters like we are stupid and I am sold. The rake here is a rake's rake not a fake rake but he is a REFORMED rake from the moment he meets the heroine, uh unless you count trying to seduce the heroine. Hee so I guess that makes him the perfect rake ;). I don't really like to read about 'beating' in books - child, wife, kittens whatever. And not because it is ugly, which it is and not because it is a true fact of life, which it is. But because it is rarely done well. It is a hard plot point to have in a book, how do you write it without making it over the top? How do you write it without making it offensive? How do you write it and keep the romance in a novel? Because it is offensive, it is over the top and most of all it isn't romantic but it is a fact of life and it does happen. And for the most part it is readable in The Perfect Rake, even when your opening scene is a young girl getting the shit beat out of her by a man who do deserves to die, slowly and painfully. Cheryl talks about a 'schizophrenic aspect' to the book, which I agree is there. But I think it worked. The opening is a different world than when the girls escape to London. And the end, well I think it speaks to the type of life Prue has had at home. I would grade it more a A- than B- because my only real beef with the book is the sex. I generally don't like for it to be shoved in at the end as almost an after though or a way to make the reader happy. The fade to black thing will piss me off, so it was better than nothing ;). If the author were to sit down with me and ask me my opinion, I would move the 'finding Phillip' and everything after it up about 20 pages and expand on the end. Uh but no one is asking me. If you read it, do let me know how you liked it! Tara if you can stand one more regency ;), I think you might like this one. Now I need to hunt down her back list.

lists of lists to make

Tara Marie put up the nifty's list of authors she auto buys or use to... and since I am putting together a list of books and such for my reviewer profile for AAR I am putting together a list of my very own. And I shall share it with you, oh yes I shall. Not that anyone but maili will sqeeee with me but such is life. read and to be blogged: The Marriage Bed (done just need to be reviewed before hitting POST) Passion Lady Savage Gunfighter's Bride Texas Lily Fallen from Grace The Perfect Rake To Be Read This Weekend: The Lady Lies (review for AAR) Christmas Baby Haunted (review for AAR) Reilly trio - 1 down 2 to go - my first Desire books by Maureen Child The Seduction of Sarah (review for AAR) After hearing much moaning and goaning about some of the Aspen Gold Books I think I got lucky because the worst of mine was still a decent read. And the other three were really good. Well I am finishing one right now but I think it will end HEA :).

Happy Happy Birthday!

Cheshire Cat: Oh, you can’t help that. Almost everyone is mad here. Ha... ha ha ha ha ha! You may have noticed that I’m not all there myself.... hahaha... and the momeraths outgrabe... Alice: Goodness. If the people here are like that, I- I must try not to upset them. How very curious! March Hare: ...to us. A very know what day today is tea forget of us?? Mad Hatter: A very merry unbirthday... March Hare: A very merry unbirthday... Mad Hatter & March Hare: A very merry unbirthday to us! ... March Hare: A very merry unbirthday to me. Mad Hatter: To who? March Hare: To me. Mad Hatter: Oh you! March Hare: A very merry unbirthday to you. Mad Hatter: Who, me? March Hare: Yes, you. Mad Hatter: Oh me! March Hare: Let's all congratulate us with another cup of tea, a very merry unbirthday to you! March Hare & Mad Hatter: No room, no room, no room, no room, no room, no room, no room! Alice: But I thought there was plenty of room! March Hare: Ah, but it’s very rude to sit down without being invited! Mad Hatter: I say it’s rude. It’s very very rude, indeed! Hah! Doormouse: Very very very rude, indeed... Alice: Oh, I’m very sorry, but I did enjoy your singing and I wondered if you could tell me... March Hare: You enjoyed our singing? Mad Hatter: Oh, what a delightful child! Hah! I’m so excited, we never get compliments! You must have a cup of tea! March Hare: Ah, yes indeed! The tea, you must have a cup of tea! Alice: That would be very nice. I’m sorry I interrupted your birthdayparty... uh, thank you. March Hare: Birthday? Hahaha! My dear child, this is not a birthdayparty! Mad Hatter: Of course not! Hehehe! This is an unbirthdayparty! Alice: Unbirthday? Why, I’m sorry, but I don’t quite understand. March Hare: It’s very simple. Now, thirty days have sept- no, when... an unbirthday, if you have a birthday then you... haha... she doesn’t know what an unbirthday is! Mad Hatter: How silly! Ha HA Ha Ha! Ah-hum... I shall ellusinate! Now statistics prove, prove that you’ve one birthday. Wishing Wendy a very very merry unbirthday! Enjoy your day! (words gakked from here)

Sins of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Sins of the Night review is up at AAR go forth and read and just so I can make kristie and maili's eyes roll to the back of their heads... When does Ash's books come out. hee look at me, next I will be trying to cast eve and whatshisname.

lookie

Before Sunrise review by me me me. Awww my first review, it is almost enough to make me keep the book.

More Info Needed

Do you know anything about the following books: One Night to Be Sinful by Samantha Garver - nice cover and a zebra debut at a great price... need summary Some Like It Wicked by Deborah Raleigh - another zebra looks like she generally does regency's but this is full length. I think. What a Woman Needs by Caroline Linden - another zebra debut... what the hell does zebra have against summaries! The Lily Brand by Sandra Schwab Loving Miranda by TERESA BODWELL And two new Avon authors that look interesting.... Courting Claudia by Robyn DeHart Scandalous by Jenna Petersen Yes I need to update my want want want list ;)

check up from the neck up

Only for a Knight - read, review sent Sins of the Night - read, review sent Haunted - tbr The River Devil - skimmed but put it down to read Passion AGB 1 - read and ouch AGB 2 - read and pretty good AGB 3 - started AGB 4 The Lady Lies - almost done Lady Savage - need to read so I can send to a new home! added: Secrets 12 - started reading and started the review Passion - I couldn't help myself. Pretty good for a first time author (I think she is must look into that) shall blog more on later TMB - by the time I blog about it I won't have to worry about spoilers cuz everyone will have read it! Hope you had a good weekend.