TBR Challenge Review: Rocky Mountain Heat by Vivian Arend

Pub Date: Nov 2011 (reissue Feb 2017)
Publisher: Orig. Samhain, but a newer edition is self pubbed
Length: 232 pages
POV: 3rd
FTC: Free on Amazon, purchased Jan 2016

I think I downloaded this one when Vivian tweeted about it being free. Or someone did. I've read some of her other books, but none from this series before.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. I liked the characters, but for a contemporary, it felt really old fashioned. Which I guess is the point, since the early 20s heroine is grooming herself to be a rancher's wife. And the hero is a decade older. Which isn't really my issue. She has agency, it just seems weird. ESPECIALLY the weird byplay between all of the siblings. That is what icked me out the most.

Another quibble for me is the lack of modern technology. No mobile phones, really. No texting. A passing mention of a computer. You could explain that by the ranching community etc, but I live in BFE Northern California in a timber/ranching community, and everyone I know has had a mobile phone since well before 2011. There's rural and then there's nigh on unbelievably disconnected from the outside world.

Maybe it's just me.

Hump Day Classic Movie: Theodora Goes Wild (1936)

Irene Dunne plays a subdued school teacher who lives in a dinky little town and has a huge secret: she's the author of a scandalous serial novel that's taking the country by storm. The entire town is up in arms about the book. She even sits in on her literary circle as they debate it's immoral nature.

The screwball comes when she meets a man at a meeting with her NY publisher, only to have him show up incognito in her town, determined to needle her.

This is an interesting, and funny, film, not the least of which is because we are STILL dealing with authors who have to hide behind pseudonyms or risk ostracism in their small towns or chosen profession.

I watched it via Netflix, but you can also find it on Amazon.

Oh hey, I have a blog...

It's been 3 whole months since I've blogged, and the only excuse I have is just disinterest and a whole lot of weather related depression. Here in Northern California, we've just surpassed our wettest year on record. It has rained or snowed nearly non-stop since October. The good news is that while I haven't been blogging, I HAVE been reading, albeit at about half my usual pace. So reviews, recipes, and movie posts are coming again, soon!

RT is next month in Atlanta, and for the first time in years, I'm going as a reader and not a blogger. Mainly because RT seems to think it's okay to charge bloggers more for no extra benefits. Whatever.

Here's to a spring with more books, more reading, and some actual blogging.

TBR Challenge Review: Side Jobs by Jim Butcher (partial)

Format: audiobook
Narrator: James Marstars
Publisher: Penguin
Length: short stories, entire book:13 hours
POV: 1st person, past
Release Date: 2010

I've finally worked my way through the regular size novels in audiobook. That leaves the short stories and novellas, which are all out of chronological order, but that's ok. Basically: don't listen to them until you're done reading the series.

Because this month's TBR Challenge theme is "short," it lets me off the hook for finishing this in time, because this is an anthology. My commute is nonexistant, so my audiobook listening happens while cleaning or while winding down for sleep. Thus: FOREVER to finish the series. Hubs has had these read two or three times in the year or so I've been listening to them.

Review: Mercury Striking by Rebecca Zanetti

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: February 2016
Publisher: Zebra/Kensington
Length: 362 pages
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: Received for free from RT16

As much as I "enjoyed" parts of this book, it will always be the "ass spanking book." As in: non-consensual ass spanking, which is a firm DO NOT CROSS line for me. So however much the plot grew on me, that one thing still stands out.

The other problem with the book, which is not the author or book's fault, is that it is post-apocalyptic. Which, given what a shitstorm our country is experiencing, was so not the book I needed. It is bleak times 1000, and I suspect it's probably the very last book of this kind that I am able to read for at least the next four years.

Blogging stalled by the CA flood; Book tracking apps

I had great plans to review a book or two over the weekend, but our power and Internet kept going out. Northern CA is experiencing a ten year flood: I-80 is closed due to mudslides and downed power lines. The Canyon is currently closed due to flooding. As in: the highway is underwater.

Meanwhile, the power finally came on last night, but our internet is still iffy. I'm typing this up on my phone.

Since I don't use Goodreads because of the troll incident a few years ago, I've been on the hunt for an easier way to track my reading. This week, I downloaded 3 different book apps: Litsy, Bookcrawler, and Book Buddy. So far, Book Buddy looks the best for my needs, but I'm going to use them all for the next month and report back.

Stay dry, folks!

Review: The Fixer by HelenKay Dimon (Games People Play)

Format: ebook
Pub Date: December 27, 2016
Publisher: Avon
Length: 384 pages
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: Purchased myself

Well...I debated even doing a review of this one because I can't quite figure out how I feel about it. It was getting LOTS of buzz on Twitter, which should have been a huge warning sign for me (I'm a perpetual outlier), but I've also read and enjoyed HKD before, so... I bought it and read it. And now I can't decide how I feel. Sigh.

The whole book is just murky. I never did get a firm handle on the hero or heroine. The only real character that I clicked with was an employee of Wren's named Garrett. Everyone else just kind of existed in a bit of a fog. Unformed. The dialogue was even weirder since Wren is incapable of talking like a normal person and answers every question with another question or simply deflects. After awhile, it started to drive me completely crazy. Which is what it was supposed to do, I think? Murky.

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Ok, I admit it. I am weird. I do NOT like chocolate chip cookie dough. Never have. I love chocolate chip cookies, but the unbaked dough is gross. But, that being said, I'm in the minority in this household, so I had my 3 guys begging me to make these after they spotted the recipe on Pinterest. 

I think everyone knows the warnings about eating raw cookie dough, because of the uncooked eggs. Fortunately, these use sweetened condensed milk as a liquid replacement for the eggs, but they DO contain uncooked *flour* which has recently become a bit of an issue, too. So eat at your own risk, cookie dough lovers.

Cookie Dough Truffles
Recipe from CakesCottage

Ingredients:
½ cup (1 sticks) butter, room temperature
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans*
1 pound dark chocolate candy coating**
*My family doesn't like nuts in their chocolate chip cookies, so I just upped the amount of chips to 3/4 cup
** I use the pound-plus bars from Trader Joes or the Ghiradelli chocolate wafers available at my local grocery store. 

Instructions:

1. In a bowl combine butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated, beating well after each addition.
3. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. (You can sub more chocolate chips for the nuts)
4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for approx 1 hour, or until firm enough to handle.
5. Shape mixture into 1 inch balls by rolling a spoonful in the palm of your hand (I use a melon baller to keep the size consistent.)
6. Place on paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for about 20 minutes or until firm again.
7. In a bowl, melt dark chocolate candy coating either by placing atop barely simmering water as a double boiler or by microwaving according to package directions. I got tired of dipping truffles about halfway through, so you might consider doing this in batches, depending on how much time you have.
8. Dip the cookie dough balls into the chocolate and place on parchment paper. I use a fork to dip and gently shake the excess off before placing on the parchment.
9. Let the truffles sit until hard, about 15 minutes.
10. Once set, remelt remaining candy coating.
11. Carefully drizzle chocolate over truffles either by using a ziplock baggie with a tip snipped off or by dipping a fork and gently shaking it about 2 inches above the truffles. As you can see by the fancy picture, I didn't bother with that part this time. They still tasted fine according to the boys.
12. Store in the refrigerator and serve cold. These can also be frozen for longer storage.

Review: Since the Surrender by Julie Anne Long

Format: Mass market paperback
Pub Date: August 2009
Publisher: Avon
Length: 371
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: purchased used

I discovered the Pennyroyal series really late. I've read a few over the years, but was so out of the loop that I didn't realize they were a series until recently. This is an earlier entry in the series (there's a myspace page on the author bio), and it's a good one.

Although I've heard complaints about anachronisms, I think what sells JAL's books is her voice. She writes with such emotion and could probably lead a master class on how to show and not tell. Her books are immersive. This one was so particularly strong on sensory details that I made a ton of notes of favorite passages...something I'm usually far too lazy to do.

An example:

Just slightly, he brushed his cheek along hers, and she felt the heat of his skin, the start of whiskers, the hard plane of his jaw. His breath, hot, soft, brushed the lobe of her ear, and then his firm lips were there, just scarcely brushing the whorls of it, and gooseflesh danced over arms and legs and spine and, for all she knew, her very soul.

Happy Hogmanay!

Quickie Review: A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn Macamara

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: March 2013
Publisher: Ballantine (Random House)
Length: 325 pages
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: Received at RT, no idea where or when.

I'm not 100% certain this is a debut novel, but I *think* it is. If so, it's a fairly good one. A slightly better than average historical romance with strong, if entirely conventional, characters. I guess the title should have clued me in, since it's a throwaway one, but...eh.

Normally, I'm ALL ABOUT friends to lovers stories. Those are my catnip. Seriously. But this one just didn't really click for me. I really wanted more emotion, especially considering the two main characters have known each other forever. With that kind of shared history, there should be shared emotion, shared jokes, etc.

The "villain" isn't very villainous, just a dick, and there's a lot of confusing stuff about a $5000 bet/debt thing that I really just didn't understand. It could definitely have been more clear. There's a secondary romance, too, which felt like it took up far too much page time that could have been spent fleshing out the relationship between our hero and heroine.

There's a lot of potential here. The characters are mostly decent, the plot is ok. The writing is ok. What's missing is a strong voice, atmosphere, and emotion. Hopefully those will come with time.

The Blurb:

After watching her beloved sister Sophia pine over the ton’s Golden Boy for years, Miss Julia St. Claire has foresworn love and put herself firmly on the shelf. Unfortunately, her social-climbing mother and debt-ridden father have other ideas, and jump at the chance to marry Julia off to the newly-named Earl of Clivesden…the man of Sophia’s dreams.

Since resigning his Cavalry commission, Benedict Revelstoke has spent his time in London avoiding the marriage mart. But when he discovers that the Earl of Clivesden has set Julia in his sights, Benedict tries to protect his childhood best friend from the man’s advances—only to discover more than friendship driving his desire to defend her. He surprises them both with the force of his feelings, but when she refuses him and her father announces her betrothal, he fears he’s lost her forever—until Julia approaches him with a shocking scheme that will ruin her for all respectable society…

…and lead them into an exquisite world of forbidden pleasures

Ending the Malevolent Year on a Sour Note

I'm not sure 2017 will be any better than 2016, but I really haven't had the best year. Not only the horrible election results and massive loss of childhood idols, but just everything. Even this blog was neglected for months at a time while I dealt with real life obligations.

I was hopeful to end on a high note, but alas: news this week that Simon and Schuster is not only publishing a horrific internet troll, but also giving him a nice advance. There are calls for boycotting S&S and calls for not buying his specific book, but (as you'll notice by my not naming him) I think all that's doing is giving him publicity. And we all know that any publicity is good publicity. Or so it seems. So while I appreciate the outrage and sentiment, I won't be joining in the boycott. It will only hurt S&S authors, some of whom are Own Voices authors or have messages directly countering the crapfest that book is going to be. Rest assured, however, that our community of book people aren't the target audience for that hate filled garbage anyway, so we wouldn't be buying it. My only guess is that S&S are counting on the Trump voters to buy it. The only boycott I would like to see is one by bookstores refusing to carry it so he never earns out his advance and isn't offered another contract.

 Oh, and All Romance ebooks is closing with next to no notice, taking many readers' libraries and authors' royalties with it. This is a site that most people really liked and trusted. To see them steal from readers and authors like this is just so disheartening. I'm far too lazy to be anything but an Amazon girl, but this has reminded me that I really do need to figure out how to save my library somewhere. Although, truth be told, I've moved back to print for all but e-exclusives or novellas etc. I refuse to pay full print price for most of the Big 5 books, which, yes, was their strategy by pricing that way, but ... oh well.

The only bright spot for me is that I finally found a firm, confirmed release date for Elizabeth Peters's final book (finished by her friend, Joan Hess, after Peters passed away during revisions).  The Painted Queen comes out in hardcover and ebook on July 25th. I've heard rumblings that this takes place between Falcon at the Portal and He Shall Thunder in the Sky, but I haven't been able to confirm that. If so, it's an exciting choice, as those years are some of the most emotionally fraught of the series. If you haven't read the Amelia Peabody series yet, it begins with the Crocodile on the Sandbank. The books are pricey, but it's from the late 70s. There are plenty of used copies floating out there.

On an even more optimistic note *knocks on wood* it appears that I've reclaimed the lost blogging mojo at least temporarily. This post should bring me level with last year's post total, and I still have two more posts to go! Woohoo! I've missed this little blog, even when I just couldn't find anything to say.

Review: The Art of Sinning by Sabrina Jeffries (2015)

Format: Mass market paperback
Pub Date: August 2015
Publisher: Pocket
Length: 373 pages
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: Received for free at RT16 Convention

The Art of Sinning takes place within the expanded circle of characters from Jeffries' last series of novels, but is delightfully different. The hero is an American, an artist, and a widower—although that last part is a bit of a secret to all of his distant English relatives. The heroine is extremely tall, aristocratic, outspoken, and collects street cant for her slang dictionaries.

 The set up is a bit unusual, too, because there are multiple motivations going on: Jeremy Keane wants Yvette to model for his new painting. Yvette's brother wants a portrait done to help "sell" his sister's charms to potential suitors. Keane doesn't usually paint portraits, which leads to him scheming with Yvette to do TWO paintings (keeping the second a secret) in exchange for helping her with a potentially dangerous quest of her own. Complicated...and that's just the first few chapters.

Review: Lord Perfect by Loretta Chase

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: March 2006
Publisher: Berkley Sensation (Penguin)
Length: 280 pages
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: No idea, although my copy is used. Likely from a library book sale.

I'm not sure why I've never glommed Loretta Chase's books, but it just never happened. So, consequently, there's still a lot of backlist to explore. Digging (literally) through my piles of books in search of something to read, I discovered this slender novel. The spine was partially ripped, the pages yellowed. I had, somehow, never read it. I didn't even realize I owned it.

I'm on the 'love' side of the Lord of Scoundrels debate. I adore that book. Others  I've read by Chase were more forgettable. This kind of falls in the middle: cute, well done, but not amazing.

Review: Wicked in Your Arms by Sophie Jordan

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: August 2011
Publisher: Avon
Length: 355 pages
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: Received from the author at an RT convention (no idea which one)

I will be the first to say that this book should not work. It should be the silliest thing on the darn planet. It's a ridiculous fairy tale with a ridiculous plot that's not very suspenseful at all. But darn it, I read the entire thing in one sitting. I'm still not sure what happened.

Review: Flirting with Fire by Kate Meader

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: April 2015
Publisher: Pocket (Simon and Schuster)
Length: 376 pages
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: won as a prize at RT15 (free courtesy of the author)

My mission for the latter half of 2016 was to a) get back to reading and b) get back to blogging while c) reading books mostly from my TBR. While I managed to read, my blogging has been a bit lackluster. I'm happy to report, though, that I've mostly been able to stick with books that are already in my house (except for a few, rare auto-buy authors). My husband is ecstatic to see the pile get whittled even a little bit.

I'm a character-centric reader rather than a plot driven one, but one thing that I've been missing, that's been lost as imprints and publishers have consolidated over the last few years, is a wide variety of strong, distinct voices in romance. In many, many cases, *cough Avon cough* authors are "house-styled" into all sounding the same. Not the case with Kate Meader. Wowza does she have a strong, edgy voice...and this series is the perfect vehicle for it. Chicago firemen. A big, rowdy family. Enthusiastic sex. I broke my own rule for this series and bought the 3rd book (in e, so Hubs didn't see it)  that wasn't in my TBR so I could finish it out. It's that good.

Review: The Trouble with Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis

Format: mass market
Pub Date: October 2016
Publisher: Avon
Length: 361 pages
POV: 3rd
FTC: Purchased myself

The Trouble with Mistletoe is very much a holiday novel, both in the outward trappings of Christmas as well as the notion of forgiveness and an open heart.

For those unfamiliar with Jill Shalvis, she writes funny, sexy contemporaries that are packaged a bit like Debbie Macomber or Silhouette Special Editions, but are in no way similar. Don't be fooled. Her men (and women) are very much contemporary, so expect some bad language and steam. (Not really fond of her covers, although these are better than the headless torsos with random animals... Anyhoo...moving on.)

Review: Wild Darkness by Lauren Dane

Format: Mass Market paperback
Pub Date: November 2013
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Length: 277 plus glossary
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: Received for free at an RT Convention.

Given my current head space post-election, this was probably THE WORST book to read. Really. It's a paranormal romance, sorta, set in the middle of a political war where the US government is considering trying to strip anyone with paranormal characteristics of their citizenship and shipping them off to camps or exterminating them. Hate crimes and bigotry abound.

Yeah. Definitely the wrong book for right now, but I finished it anyway.

This is apparently part of a series, and although I've read plenty of other Lauren Dane books, I hadn't stumbled across these before. The series part is a tad important, because this book drops you pretty much in the middle of everything: political and civil unrest, relationships, etc. The backstory is pretty thin, so it feels like you've missed a bunch of set up. Because you have.

Another weird thing about the book is that the romance is secondary and almost-but-not-quite-fated-mate fast. I mean, we're told the two main characters have known each other awhile, but there is so little page time devoted to the relationship that it just feels odd. Also, the conflict is completely external in the book, so the relationship goes from zero to married by midway through the book. Which is, well, weird.

Review: The Seduction of Scandal by Cathy Maxwell

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: Sept 2011
Publisher: Avon
Length: 375 pages
POV: 3rd
FTC: Not sure if I paid for it or not, but from RT12 and signed by the author

I used to read Cathy Maxwell all of the time, but she's fallen off of my reading radar in the last several years.

This is a book that could have been excellent. I'd have loved it to either have a grittier take on the highwayman or a humorous take on the whole highwayman/reverend dichotomy. Alas, it does neither, and leaves itself to dwell in the land of Avon Homogeneity.

TBR Challenge Review: Baby, It's Cold Outside

Format: mass market
Pub Date: November 2014
Publisher: Pocket
Length: 534 pages
POV: Various (including 1 first, past and 1 first, present)
FTC: Received for free from an RT convention

I'm finally digging into my RT Convention TBR again, and this time, I pulled out a holiday book just in time for...the holidays (and the TBR challenge)! (This never happens).

This one is a BIG anthology filled with contemporary romance novellas. Some by authors I've read before, some by new-to-me authors. And as with most anthologies, some were better than others.

Baby, It's Cold Outside  has five stories by five different authors: Jennifer Probst, Emma Chase, Kristen Proby, Melody Anne, and Kate Meader. Of those, I've only ever read Kate Meader before.

Review: Under the Lights by Shannon Stacey

Format: Mass market paperback
Pub Date: June 2015
Publisher: Jove/Penguin Random House
Length: 278 pages
POV: 3rd
FTC: Received at an RT Convention

First, let me say that I've been a fan of Shannon Stacy for awhile. At least back to her first title with Carina way back when. 6 years ago? more? I can't remember. Second, I'm not a sports fan. At. All. I'm not bragging about it, just making it clear that I'm reading this book as a non-sports person, so any errors or inside jokes are completely lost on me.

As for Under the Lights? Well...it's short. Almost category length, or at least it felt that way. Which, of course, limits what you're going to see on-page. We get a lot of time in the hero's head. A lot of introspection. We get less time with the heroine, and I'm not really sure if she ever felt fully fleshed out. She's divorced, was cheated on, and now works as a cop in the small town she grew up in. But I never really felt like we got inside her head.

There are a whole host of secondary characters here, some we get significant time with and some we really don't. I know there is sequel bait sprinkled everywhere, but many of the secondary characters were just...boring. I wasn't interested in learning their stories.

Also, to whoever decided that fund-raiser is hyphenated: NO. STOP IT ALREADY. I know Merriam has it hyphenated, but out in the real world, that compound word has no hyphen. NONE. I can't express how much that bugged me. And since the book's premise is based on a fundraiser, it was EVERYWHERE. /end shouting.

Overall, this was a sweet story about a quirky, run down small town, that is quick to read. It's not going to move you greatly, but it might entertain you for a couple of hours.  I've read far better, more emotional books by this author.

My Grade: C+

The Blurb:

They were the golden boys of fall: Stewart Mills High School’s legendary championship winning football team. Fourteen years later, they’re back to relive their glory, save the team—and find themselves again…

Chase Sanders’s life has taken a lot of crazy turns lately. But returning to his hometown to help his old coach keep his high school football team afloat might be the craziest thing to happen to him yet. That is, until he starts falling for the last person he should—Coach’s gorgeous daughter…

Kelly McDonnell learned the hard way that cocky, charming men are nothing but trouble, so she knows Chase is bad news. Still, she can’t resist his smile—or the rest of him. But when his loyalty to her father conflicts with their growing attraction, any hope for a relationship might be blocked before it can even begin… 

Review: City of Light (an Outcast Novel) by Keri Arthur

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: January 2016
Publisher: Signet
Length: 368 pages
FTC: Received for free from RT16, presumably from the author or publisher
POV: 1st, past

To my knowledge, this is my first novel by Keri Arthur. I'm not a huge Urban Fantasy reader, and those that I do read are usually UF with strong romantic elements. This is not that type of book.

As my limited experience with UF has shown me, first books are often the worst in a series, simply because SO MUCH TIME is spent on world building. It's just the nature of the beast that the story will drag a bit. Added to that, I'm sure I'm missing some of the shortcuts I'm supposed to get because I don't read a lot of the genre...there were times I was flat-out-lost in the details of who was supposed to do what. It's a lot to remember. Overall, though, this was different, compelling, and emotional enough to keep me reading.

Tardy TBR Challenge Review: Stitches in Time by Barbara Michaels

Format: mass market
Pub Date: 1995 (this edition, 1999)
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (Harper Collins)
FTC: Purchased used so long ago I can't remember where
Length: 387 pages

This month's TBR Challenge theme was Old School (at least 10 years old), and I had actually read a book in preparation for it. Alas, the reality of having two active boys at home interfered once again and the post never got written. No posts have been written all summer, which is a personal worst for me. But at least I'm still reading. The slump hasn't crept back.

Barbara Michaels holds a special place in my heart. Her books, along with Piers Anthony, were some of the first adult titles I read as a young teen. They were shelved in mystery, but they are actually pretty close to romantic suspense. Some are out and out gothic with all of the creepy little atmospheric touches. She was also Elizabeth Peters, one of my favorite authors of all time, but I have not read a Michaels book in at least 20 years, so revisiting her style under this pseudonym was fun.

Hump Day Classic Movie: The Kid (1921)

Hard to believe considering how much of a movie buff I am, but until recently? I hadn't seen a Charlie Chaplin movie. Weird, I know.


The Kid is considered one of his best movies, and it's easy to see why. Despite the lack of dialogue and the weird, double speed that sometimes occurs in silent films, this movie is hilarious, sweet, heartbreaking, and never dull.

I was also struck by how earthy the movie was. There's unwed motherhood, drinking, violence... Something that in today's Puritanical movie ratings would earn this film at least a PG rating. If you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend it.

Tardy TBR Challenge Review: Power Play by Sophia Henry

Format: ebook (read as a print ARC)
Pub Date: February 16, 2016
Publisher: Flirt (Random House)
Length: 236 pages
POV: 1st, past
FTC: print ARC received for free from the publisher during RT16
TW: rape, suicide

Yes, it's me, the tardy TBR person. I always seem to lose track of which Wednesday posts are supposed to be up by, and then life just seems to mess with me. Anyway, this month's theme is something different, and since I DON'T read NA, this one definitely qualifies.
***

I can't believe I'm saying this, but...there's not enough hockey in this book.

People who know me would be laughing at what I just wrote because I'm not a sports person at all. AT. ALL. I don't even watch the Superbowl, which is the one event even non-sports people watch. I watch my kids in their soccer games and that is it. But since this book has "A Pilots Hockey Novel" on it and features a hockey player as the hero, well...it kinda needed more hockey

This ebook-only story is category length, so I'm assuming it's supposed to be light on details, but even so...you'd think it would be centered around hockey. Not so. It's centered around a family grocery business which recently expanded to include a gift shop.  The narrator is our heroine, Gaby Bertucci, whose family has run the business in Detroit for generations, and she has a major crush on minor league hockey player Landon Taylor.  She flirts with him whenever he visits the store, but nothing happens until her father collapses of a heart attack while Landon is there. His quick thinking and calm presence force their interactions beyond the generic pleasantries they normally exchange and open the door for more.

Quickie Review: Bright Blaze of Magic by Jennifer Estep

Format: Trade Paperback
Pub Date: May 2016
Publisher: Kensington
Length: 308 pages

As the conclusion of the Black Blade trilogy, this book did its job, wrapping up various threads in a neat and tidy way. For me, it was almost TOO tidy.  Warning: there be (minor) spoilers ahead.

Overall, I think the first person, past POV works to the series' advantage, but in this book? I think it really hurt being able to connect deeply with the action. Lila is pretty inured to violence and death, but there's A LOT of death in this book. A lot of gruesome stuff. And she just doesn't spend a lot of time or emotion on it. It might be consistent with her character, but I think it hurts the overall impact of the story to have her not really be affected by some of the things that happen, and because we experience the story through her, we don't really get a lot of time with the other characters' reactions, either.


I really enjoyed the monsters in this book...probably more than in the other books. They had a more central role, and made it feel much more like an Urban Fantasy novel this time around. There's plenty of action and drama to make up for the lack of romance, though, and this is probably the most action-packed of the three books.

My only disappointments were that this does not stand alone (at all!) and that it skirts any really deep emotion. I wanted a bit more angst, which this book just didn't deliver.

My Grade: B-
The Blurb:

BAD THINGS ALWAYS COME IN THREES…

As a thief, I’m good at three things: hiding in the shadows, getting in and out unseen, and uncovering secrets. I put these skills to work for the Sinclair Family, one of the magical mobs that run the tourist town of Cloudburst Falls.

Everyone knows Victor Draconi wants to take over all the other Families—and kill every last Sinclair. What they don’t know is that I’m on to him, and no way will I let the man who murdered my mom get away with hurting all the other people I care about. Especially when I’ve got places to break into, stuff to steal, and Devon Sinclair fighting right by my side…

Hump Day Classic Movie: Dead Ringer (1964)

Dead Ringer is a creepy movie.
It's not the first time Bette Davis played a twin, but this performance is extra eerie. The plot is pretty straight forward: estranged twin sisters meet again at the funeral of the person who caused their estrangement: one sister's husband, whom she stole from the other.

After finding out that her sister had lied about being pregnant to steal her love away, the other sister plans an elaborate revenge: she kills her sister (faking suicide) and assumes her glamorous life.

With today's modern gore standards, this is fairly tame. It's the intimate undressing of her dead sister's body that really bothered me. She strips the stockings from her dead sister's legs, and switches clothes.

She soon finds out that pretending to be her sister is harder than it appears, and the deception begins to unravel...only to have a surprise twist at the end.

The first half of the movie is masterful...the second half isn't all that great. Still worth watching, though!

RT Booklovers Convention 2016 Recap

I'll start out by prefacing this with the fact that I'm not a Vegas kinda girl. It does absolutely nothing for me. So when I first heard that the convention was going to be in Vegas, I was going to skip it. I knew everyone would want to go there and that it would be crowded. I should have gone with my gut.

That's not to say that there weren't some high points, like seeing my online friends in person, but overall, this was by far the worst RT I've been to (out of the 5 total I have attended.)

The Good:

There were some good panels: the ones about diversity and feminism were especially well done.
The Book Fair was well organized and the smoothest I've experienced. Check in for the convention was open early, well staffed, and easy to find. Security was present and for the most part did pay attention to who had badges and who didn't. There were several good restaurants on site that were able to handle the huge crush of people and the food was decently priced. Not great, but not as bad as other RTs.

@younglibrarian, @SuperWendy, and me

Christine Feehan

The Bad:
The hotel sucked. The walk to the convention space was horrific. There were not enough staff at check in or at the Starbucks. There was a fridge but no microwave or coffee maker in the rooms. The smoke was a problem. And when I say a problem, I'm speaking as someone accustomed to Reno where there are older casinos and older filtration systems. The Rio's was substandard. And the bar... The bar was a huge disappointment. The highlight of every RT is hanging out in the bar with a gradually changing group of authors, readers, and bloggers, but the location of the Rio's bar in smoke central (and the laughably inadequate bar in the convention area) meant many of us missed out on that unofficial social part of RT. And, of course, there was the fact that by Saturday, our sink was backing up with water any time the toilet flushed.

TBR Challenge Review: My Kind of Wonderful by Jill Shalvis

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: December 2015
Publisher: Forever/Hachette
Length: 323 pages

Jill Shalvis is one of the few remaining auto-buy authors I have. But since I'm still digging my way out of the reading slump from hell, I am just now getting around to reading this one. I bought it, then set it in my TBR to get to eventually. I brought this with me to the RT Booklover's Convention, intending to finish it and get my post up ASAP when I got back before our April 20th deadline. Ha. Ha. I knew better. So anyway, my tardy post follows.

This month's theme was contemporary romance, and Jill Shalvis is one of the best at the small town variety. She and Victoria Dahl are pretty much the ONLY authors who can pull off the small town romances and not have me nitpick them. And I suspect it's because both authors live in relatively small ski/tourist towns, so they don't ignore the irritating fishbowl-ness that is small town life.

Review: The Knave of Hearts by Elizabeth Boyle

Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pub Date: February 2016
Publisher: Avon (Harper Collins)
Length: 372 pages
POV: 3rd, past.
FTC: Purchased myself

This is probably the least original set up I've read in a long time, but I still ended up enjoying this book enough to read it in one day. Twin sister is ruined when a drunk rake releases her in the middle of a dance, causing her to knock over several dancers and effectively ruin her chances. Rake responsible then bets a horrible jerk that he can restore her reputation and make her a "Diamond."  I must have read something similar a dozen times at least. Despite that, I found the book engaging and fun.

Boyle's style has always been light, but her newer books seem to have veered even further into that category. I'm not sure if Avon as a whole has been steering the ship in that direction, or if it's just my favorite authors. I wanted just a teensy bit more angst in this. Some true pain. Even so, it's not a bad book by any means.

My main issue is that I felt like I was missing some crucial subtext that (maybe?) were in other books in the series.  Also, I felt like Tuck's sacrifice for his family was completely glossed over in a throw away sentence or two. It was a vital part of his ruined reputation, his break with Wakefield, but Lavinia and the reader are told only the scant basics at the very end of the novel.

Overall a fun—but not really deep—story. Sometimes that's all you need.

My Grade: B

The Blurb:

In the fifth novel of the captivating Rhymes With Love series from New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Boyle, a young woman's hopes of a match encounter a wickedly handsome complication . . .
Lavinia Tempest has been eagerly anticipating a spectacular season. But one disastrous pile-up on the Almack's dance floor derails all her plans. Add to that, the very stunning revelations about her mother's scandalous past have become the ton's latest on dits. Lavinia's future has gone from shining bright to blackest night in one misstep.
Alaster "Tuck" Rowland admits he's partly to blame for Lavinia's disastrous debut. But it's not guilt that compels him to restore her reputation. Rather, he's placed a wager that he can make Lavinia into one of the most sought-after ladies in London. Who better than an unrepentant rake to set society astir?
Tuck's motives are hardly noble. But in teaching the lovely Lavinia how to win any man she wants, he suddenly finds himself tangled in the last place he ever imagined: in love.

TBR Challenge Review: The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: September 2015
Publisher: St. Martins
Length: 356 pages
FTC: Received for free at RT15

This month's theme is recommended read, and this was a book that was receiving a ton of buzz on social media and at the convention last year. As usual with highly talked about books: this one did not live up to expectations. No surprise there.

I can see why people liked the book. I mean, it definitely is different than the overwhelming majority of today's historical romance. Very much in the style of Elizabeth Hoyt. But...what starts out as a great, gritty, highly emotional story veers way too deeply into melodrama for my personal preference. The first few chapters are amazingly good, but the rest of the book fails to live up to that promise.

DNF Mini review: Lay it Down by Cara McKenna

FTC: Received for free at RT
I call this "The Book The Red Dirt Killed." It was fine. The characters were fine. The plot was okay. The setting was decent. But over and over again, McKenna described the soil out in BFE Nevada as "red." IT'S NOT RED.  It's an unrelenting grayish, alkaline brown. So over and over again, I had to shake that incredibly wrong mental image out of my head. Nevada isn't the reddish desert of the Southwest—at least not outside Las Vegas—and having that one detail that seemed so important to the hero be so wrong? It ruined a promising book. I put this down after reading halfway through and have zero desire to pick it up again. Bummer. In this case, I think choosing a specific, real location might have worked better. Maybe there is a spot in the middle of Nevada that's red, but I've driven across northern Nevada to Utah and from Reno to LA. I lived in Nevada for 7 years. It's brown.

Review: Dark Heart of Magic by Jennifer Estep

Pub Date: November 2015
Publisher: Kensington
Format: Trade Paperback
Length: 368 pages
FTC: Requested from the library
POV: 1st person, past

I've generally avoided YA because I have a YA in the house and can't handle a ton more drama, but this series has me hooked. My only issue with this book, and it's a biggie, is the tournament. I think Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ruined me for all other tournaments. It's not fair, but there it is. I can't read about tournaments, especially involving magic, without thinking of that book. Or the Court Jester. Yes...I'm weird.

The 2nd book in a series often has a tough job. It's subject to a bit of a sophomore slump, in that it doesn't have to build the world, but it has to move the characters forward. Luckily, that's exactly what happens here. Every character has more revealed about them. Lila, our narrator (in 1st person, past TYVM), has some significant character growth both in maturity and in depth. Her relationships with everyone grow and change, and she seems to be slowly figuring out who she is and what she wants.

TBR Challenge Review: Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt

Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pub: Grand Central/Hachette
Pub Date: November 2015
Length: 328 pages
 POV: 3rd/past
FTC: Purchased myself

I'm afraid to say that I've beaten the reading slump that has plagued me for the last few years, but...I think I've finally beaten the damn thing!!!  So I joined the TBR Challenge again, which I'm hoping doesn't jinx it.  It's ok to sign up late if you want to join in!

I'm perpetually behind on the Maiden Lane series, despite the fact that I ALWAYS enjoy them. I'm not sure why this is, except to say that the books are usually quite emotionally draining, and I just can't glom them.Of course, of all of the books I've read so far, this one was my least favorite. Which still isn't all that bad, when the bar is set so high.

Review: Three Weeks with Lady X by Eloisa James

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: March 2014
Publisher: Avon
Length: 400
FTC: Received for free at an RT Convention

I'm not really sure why I stopped reading Eloisa James. Part of it was likely just a result of my 18-month-long reading slump, but I really do like her books. I always have. This one has my kryptonite, though: lots of letters. I'm a sucker for an epistolary novel done right, and this one is fabulous.

The setup is classic historical romance: wealthy man needs perfect, well-born bride to buy his way into legitimacy only to discover his perfect bride-to-be is utterly boring. What makes this one shine is the chemistry and wit throughout. There's snappy banter and then there's this book. The barbs are extremely clever...sometimes double or triple layered in meaning.  I mean, so pointed that I was laughing out loud, and not in an easy, slapstick way.

Review: Deadly Spells by Jaye Wells

Format: Trade Paperback
Pub Date: February 2015
Publisher: Orbit
Length: 400 pages
FTC: Ordered through our library's Zip Books program

It took me awhile to convince my poor library to order this book. Primarily because they were convinced it wasn't out yet. New Year's is hard on everyone, librarians included. We're closing in on a year since this book's release, so I'm hoping to hear more about the series. If it's continuing. If this was it. I haven't looked it up yet, but this book does tie up some loose ends, so it may be the finale.

Review: Coveted by Shawntelle Madison

Format: Mass market paperback
Pub Date: May 2012
Publisher: Ballantine/Random House
Length: 291 pages
FTC: Received for free at an RT Convention

My friend, Sandy, urged me to read this book when I first picked up my copy at an RT Convention (I honestly can't remember which one!) I promised her I would...and of course it's been at least 1 year, but maybe 3 since I've had the book and haven't read it. Well..I'm digging out print books from my TBR and it was this book's time.

I admit, if I'd known this was about an OCD hoarding werewolf, I might have tried it earlier. Because honestly? That's unusual, even in the land of strange. 

Hump Day Classic Movie: The Great Escape

It's been a long time since I've posted a classic movie rec because I've been busily "binge" watching Supernatural. The quotes are because my internet sucks, so I'm binge-ing old school via DVDs. Anyway, I finally got far enough into my queue for some classics to pop back up, and I discovered The Great Escape.

I'm normally not a war movie kind of gal, so it's easy to see how I missed this one. But wowza! That cast! Even if you're not a movie buff, you've likely heard of some of them. Richard Attenborough (Hammond from Jurassic Park), Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, David McCallum (Duckie on NCIS), James Coburn, James Garner, Donald Pleasence (The psychiatrist from Halloween)...

If you're a happy movie only kind of person, this is not the movie for you. There is lots of humor, but there are several sad parts and the ending is not overly optimistic...Of course, it's based on real events, so that is completely to be expected.

My only real issue was how long the movie was. The pacing was excruciating. I'm glad I watched it, though, and if you haven't seen it, you should! 

Review: Too Wicked To Love by Debra Mullins

Format: Mass market
Pub Date: June 2011
Publisher: Avon
Length: 375 pages
FTC: Purchased used but don't remember where

I've read and enjoyed Debra Mullins in the past, but sadly, this book was just not that great. It is the worst sort of wallpaper romance: thin setting, flighty and shallow women characters, and anachronistic language throughout. Worse, though, is that I simply didn't care about the characters.

I'm a character-driven reader.  I like to get in their heads and be shown their emotions. I want to feel their anguish, uncertainty, passion, fear...I got none of that from anyone here. We're told that our hero, John Ready, is anguished about his choices, but we're never shown. Every emotion is told to us in a way that doesn't let us experience it, and that weakens what should have been a fun, memorable story. The author does a little better with the heroine, but we're still very much on the outside looking in...

This was the blandest romance I've read in years, despite the presence of two highwaymen, a surprise duke, and an "outspoken" heroine. There was no tension at all between anyone. Maybe it's because this comes at at the end of several interconnected novels, but the villain is only menacing in a mustache-twirling kind of way, and the hero isn't really all that heroic. Just a big pile of MEH for me, which is disappointing in the first historical romance I've read this year.

My Grade: D

German Chocolate Macaroons

This was a Facebook find, via Pinterest, that my husband insisted I make for Christmas. He's a hard core macaroon fan (not to be confused with macaron). These are sweet, chewy, nutty, and pretty much the perfect coconut macaroon. They aren't difficult to make, but they are very time-consuming. So time consuming that I was way too tired to haul out the real camera and take fussy photos. This is my iPhone. Sorry. :)

The source recipe is from Chef in Training.

Ingredients

5⅓ cups shredded sweetened coconut (two of the smaller size bags)
¾ cup sugar
6 Tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
5 egg whites
1 cup finely chopped pecans (Calls for toasted, but they were fine untoasted)

Chocolate topping

Melt 4 ounces sweet chocolate (The Baker's kind)
1 tablespoon shortening

Sweetened condensed milk topping

6 ounces sweetened condensed milk (I just did the whole 14 oz can because I had no use for a partial can.)

Review: The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston

Format: Trade paperback
Pub Date: March 2015
Publisher: Kensington
Length: 400 pages
FTC: Purchased myself

Shelly Laurenston's books are always a bit weird. She has a very unique sense of humor that is the only truly constant thing about her books. You can find it in her GA Aiken dragon books and her shapeshifter books as Laurenston. And it is very present here, too.  The very premise of the Unleashing is weird. You have Norse mythology combined with trademark over-the-top badass women in a way no one else but Laurenston could come close to pulling off. She just writes the craziest thing imaginable, then expects you to just roll with it. And for the most part, it works.

It took me a bit to get over the initial weirdness, but I really ended up liking the book. It wasn't as good as some of the shapeshifter books (I have a soft spot for a few of those), but it was definitely something I'd read again. Placing Kera, the uptight Marine, into the middle of chaos made for some entertaining drama. The romantic element is not the main part of the story, so definitely don't expect most of the tension to be the relationship. Far more time is spent watching Kera acclimate to her new life and abilities. Despite the battle scenes, the conflict is almost entirely between Kera and her fellow Crows. It's essentially a fish out of water story with some weirdness for garnish.  The romance is a distant second, which is the main thing I found disappointing here.

My Grade: B

The Blurb:

Kera Watson never expected to face death behind a Los Angeles coffee shop. Not after surviving two tours lugging an M16 around the Middle East. If it wasn’t for her hot Viking customer showing up too late to help, nobody would even see her die.

In uncountable years of service to the Allfather Odin, Ludvig “Vig” Rundstrom has never seen anyone kick ass with quite as much style as Kera. He knows one way to save her life—but she might not like it. Signing up with the Crows will get Kera a new set of battle buddies: cackling, gossiping, squabbling, party-hearty women. With wings. So not the Marines.

But Vig can’t give up on someone as special as Kera. With a storm of oh-crap magic speeding straight for L.A., survival will depend on combining their strengths: Kera’s discipline, Vig’s loyalty… and the Crows’ sheer love of battle. Boy, are they in trouble.

Review: Cursed Moon (Prospero's War Book 2) by Jaye Wells

Format: Trade Paperback
Pub Date: August 2014
Length: 370 pages
FTC: Borrowed from the library

I read the first book in this series shortly after sitting next to the author in the audience of an RT panel back in May. I really liked it. It's a smooth blend of mystery, police procedural, and urban fantasy. It's very light on the "woo woo" for those who are paranormal-ed out. There's a gritty, noir feel to the whole world which I adored. And I really liked the main character, Kate Prospero, a detective with the Babylon PD, a recovering potion addict, and a struggling guardian to a teenage brother. I finished book 1, and immediately went to download book 2...only to discover that it was a Hachette book and therefore way too pricey for me to buy in e (10!). So I set it aside and moved onto the next book in my list.

Fast forward a few months. I have discovered a nifty program at the library that is grant funded and allows patrons to order books available on Amazon. They ship the book directly to you. When you're finished, you bring it back to the library where they can add it to the collection. Far more cost effective than paying $3-4 in postage for every library loan, and unlike ILL, patrons don't have to front that cost. So, I decided to Zip Books this one and hopefully get it added to our library (which is sorely lacking in UF and romance).

This one was just as good as the first, although I did have a few minor issues with it. It's the Blue Moon, and the city of Babylon is going nuts. To make matters exponentially worse, a criminal "Raven" named Dionysus has stolen a large amount of potion from one of the criminals in the city. The potion makes people sexually aggressive, and leads to numerous incidents of rape and sexual assault. Tied into the thefts are a couple of murders. Kate's two bosses (one from the police department, one from the task force to which she's assigned) spend much of the book jockeying over turf, with Kate and her colleagues caught in the middle.

Hump Day Classic Movie: Blackbeard's Ghost (1968)

Every once in awhile, Netflix coughs up a recommendation for a movie I haven't seen and end up loving. Blackbeard's Ghost is one of those. It features Peter Ustinov as the hilarious Captain Blackbeard, a selfish ghost who likes his rum too much.

I really loved this movie. It has that old-school feel, but because it wasn't made in today's sanitized family movie environment, it gets away with quite a lot. The hero of the story is played  by Dean Jones (of Love Bug fame), and watching him try to balance talking with ghost only he can see with not wanting to be thought bat-shit crazy is fun.

It's filled with quirky characters, a fantastic script, and overall great pacing, but honestly, Peter Ustinov steals the show. He's perfect in this.

Description from Netflix: In this Disney family favorite, Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones and a perky Suzanne Pleshette deliver plenty of laughs. A college track coach is desperate when he faces off against a group of racketeers who plan to turn his house into a casino. Out of options, he calls upon his ancestor, the great pirate Blackbeard, to defeat the motley crew of criminals. The film's special effects were groundbreaking for its time. Robert Stevenson directs.

Review: When A Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare

Format: Mass market, also available in e
Pub Date: Sept 2015
Publisher: Avon
Length: 376 pages
FTC: Purchased myself

Although I normally love Tessa Dare's books, this one just didn't measure up to her normally high standards. It's not terrible. In the sea of fluffy historical romance, it will still stand out. It's just not as deeply emotional as usual, and her distinctive voice has been muted. House style was a little heavy handed this time, Avon. :(

There are some redeeming qualities, for sure. The best of which is the not-yet-mating lobsters. I guess I was hoping for a bit more along the lines of Ravished by Amanda Quick: an almost fanatical devotion to her "hobby." I wanted there to be some real emotional investment in her talent, but I just didn't really get that from the book.  Even the claustrophobia and anxiety around crowds that Madeline suffers from didn't have the same emotional depth that I usually get from Dare's writing.  The confrontation with a soldier experiencing mental problems also failed to have the suspense  I was hoping for.

Maybe it's me, but it feels like this would have been a different, but so much better book, if Dare weren't aiming for the Avon style of light romance.  The humor is here, but it's not balanced with the emotional gut-punch that Dare normally delivers. The genre needs those emotionally resonant books. Fingers crossed for Dare's next book, because she's more than capable of writing that kind of story.

My Grade B-


The Blurb:
On the cusp of her first London season, Miss Madeline Gracechurch was shyly pretty and talented with a drawing pencil, but hopelessly awkward with gentlemen. She was certain to be a dismal failure on the London marriage mart. So Maddie did what generations of shy, awkward young ladies have done: she invented a sweetheart.

A Scottish sweetheart. One who was handsome and honorable and devoted to her, but conveniently never around. Maddie poured her heart into writing the imaginary Captain MacKenzie letter after letter … and by pretending to be devastated when he was (not really) killed in battle, she managed to avoid the pressures of London society entirely.

Until years later, when this kilted Highland lover of her imaginings shows up in the flesh. The real Captain Logan MacKenzie arrives on her doorstep—handsome as anything, but not entirely honorable. He’s wounded, jaded, in possession of her letters… and ready to make good on every promise Maddie never expected to keep.

Banned Books Week

I've missed most of Banned Books Week this year (see my previous post about my blog). But this is too important to let it pass completely by without saying something.

Shining a light on the books that are challenged and/or removed from school and public libraries across the country is so important. It happens nationwide. It happens where you'd least expect it. It happens under the 'think of the children' brigade of well meaning people. It happens. And it shouldn't.

People who are shocked by content in books are often instinctively driven to shield others from that shock. It's understandable. What parents in particular fail to grasp is that not everyone is the same. A cutting scene in a YA book may seem graphic and gratuitous to someone. For a child who cuts herself, it may help her feel less alone. Reading a book that shows kids doing objectionable things isn't going to drive a kid to imitate. It might open eyes and hearts and allow a little empathy to shine through towards that troubled child who does those things. Having books that show the ugliness of racism and bigotry is important, too. So are books about blended families. About homosexuality. About domestic violence. Because those situations and children are in our schools. They are in our communities.

The most frequent challenges are often based on sex and foul language. I find this one especially hilarious, because often those same parents are perfectly fine with that content in movies. But even if they're still restricting their kids to G rated movies at 13, kids will be exposed to that kind of content by living life, by listening to their peers, by being...a teen. 

Bottom line: You can absolutely decide what's appropriate for your child. Sheltering them from the "harsh realities" of life is your right as a parent. But you're also sheltering them from being empathetic. From being able to understand those who different from themselves. And you are NOT allowed to make decisions for what is appropriate for my child. That's what intellectual freedom is all about: choosing what you want to read and letting others do the same.

Review: Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep

Format: ebook, Trade paperback
Pub Date: May 2015
Publisher: Kensington
Length: 368 pages
FTC: ARC courtesy of the author/publisher at RT 15

Disclaimer: I do not normally read YA. At all. The closest I came to YA were books written before we carved out that demographic as a genre (Outsiders) or the latter Harry Potter books. So what I'm saying is I'm not your average YA blogger/reader. Make of it what you will.

I picked up this book at the RT Booklovers Convention held in Dallas back in May. I've had it in my car pretty much since then, because an emergency book is as important to me as a first aid kit. I have to have something to read and my phone doesn't always have battery life.

Enter soccer season.

I finally had some time where I could actually concentrate enough to read, and despite my misgivings about YA as a whole, this book just sounded fun. Plus it was written in first person *past* which I love. (First person, present is an auto-no for me which is a big reason for my YA resistance). 

This book is the first in the Black Blade series. Unlike a ton of fantasy series' first books, Jennifer Estep does not bore you to tears with the world building. It's there, but it builds organically. No info dumping. No dense explanation of what makes the world different. Nothing to drag you out of the storytelling, which is nothing short of fabulous.

Hump Day Classic Movie: It Happened One Night (1934)

This is one of the oldest movies I've really enjoyed.  Normally, some of those before the 1940s are cursed with the overacting that resulted from the switch from stage to screen and silent to talkies. Not so this one. It's fantastic and Clark Gable is a total hottie in it.

The movie also stars Claudette Colbert who nails the clueless, naive, but determined socialite on the run from a wedding she no longer wants.  There is lots of humor and charm in the script. The acting is superb. It's definitely held up well in the 81 years since it was released. 81 years!

You can watch it on Amazon Prime. It's also available on DVD.

The Slowly Withering Blog

Looking at this year, it has been a BAD year for my blogging. But then, it's been a bad year for reading, too. I've watched my reading time dwindle to almost nothing, and to make matters worse, that one book a month I managed to squeeze in just wasn't working for me. None of them were working.  If the choice was between playing Criminal Case on my phone or reading, honestly? I'm picking playing a game. I have no wish to read. No excitement about reading.

Part of this was a result of being overbooked in real life. My oldest just finished up 6th grade and his hugely important watershed program. Which meant all last year was eaten up in nonstop fundraising. Now that that's over, I'm starting to see the light, but the problem remains: there are so few books I care to read. SO FEW BOOKS.

There are hundreds published every month or two in romance, but it seems like most are just not what I'm interested in. I don't like dark romances. I don't like the high concept Regency. I don't care to read New Adult. I'm not fond of YA, although I recently finished one that bucked that trend. (Review to come). The erotic romance/romance line has become so blurred, it really doesn't matter anymore. Basically, the genre has moved far, far away from my reading taste, and as a result? I'm not finding books that get me excited about reading again. So I've scaled back my time in Romancelandia. I'm still reading Urban Fantasy. I'm reading mystery. Romance? Not so much.

All of that is to say that changes are coming to the blog. Hopefully positive ones, since it's FALL BAKING SEASON. I watched a ton of cool classic movies over the summer that I'll be featuring on Wednesdays. And I'll be reviewing some books in genres I've neglected over the last few years. Here's to the fall blog reset.

Hump Day Classic Movie: The Trouble with Harry (1955)

I've been using my DVD Netflix subscription this summer like crazy, catching up on my suspense and film noir queue. (My internet is too pokey to reliably stream). So far, the highlight has been this dark comedy with a very young Shirley MacLaine.

I like to think of this as the original Weekend at Bernies. Poor Harry is dead, and so many people in this small town are trying to cover up his death. He is stumbled upon—literally—by person after person. Instead of getting help, they are all convinced they somehow accidentally killed him. 

The Trouble with Harry is part screwball comedy, part quirky small town, and part mystery. Hitchcock goes a little over-the-top with the physical humor, and the romantic part of the story irritates me. No, wait...that's MacLaine. I've never been a fan. There's enough sly humor, though, to make me chuckle. I really enjoyed how genre-defying the movie was. There aren't many out there like this one.

The Netflix description: Alfred Hitchcock's second American comedy demonstrates the director's flair for gallows humor. The trouble with Harry is ... he's "expired," and the residents of a quaint New England tourist spot just can't seem to get rid of him. Shirley MacLaine makes her film debut, and that's Jerry Mathers (the Beave himself) as the bewildered boy. See if you can spot Hitchcock in his customary cameo (hint: he's strolling past a limo).

You can find it on Netflix or on Amazon here.