Recent Reads - and folks we have a winner

Before I actually start on my thoughts on the following books a bit of explanation. (recap) My husband started working afternoons the Monday that just passed. He's working 2 to midnight. I get up at 5:30 but he's still asleep when I leave for work. There isn't much interaction with other employees at work so except for 1/2 hour lunches, I don't really talk to anyone. They all just seem to stay in their little cubicles. Then when I get home, there's no one here so there's no one to talk to in the evenings. Well, I have started talking to the TV, but it doesn't answer me back. Gretchen never did get out of that damned elephant. So, I've been staying up until DH gets home just to have someone to talk too. I know as time goes on, I will adjust to this and venture forth more in the evenings. - But up till 12:30 - 1:00 am and then getting up at 5:30 am, right about now I am one tired puppy. My brain isn't at full capacity so I'm going to do what Maili so deliciously calls it link slutting and plagerizing. Well, I don't know if she plagerizes or not. Probably not

I'm still on a reading marathon and have my thoughts on four book for your reading pleasure.

Hush - Jo Leigh
This one was all right. I didn't really "feel the love" but then it's a Blaze and they tend to focus more on the lust. Plus it's a shorter format that doesn't allow for as much character development as full lenght books.
Grade - 3 out of 5

To Love a Thief - Julie Anne Long
I really enjoyed this book. It was cute. (link slut) Here's the review link to the AAR review
http://www.allaboutromance.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=1449
The reviewer gave it a B but since I used numbers instead of letters
Grade - 41/2 out of 5

Jigsaw - Kathleen Nance
(link slut)
http://www.allaboutromance.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=1449
plagerized opinion (the one being plagerized gives her permission)

Posted by Kristie (J) on April 22, 2005 at 17:23:43:
In Reply to: Jigsaw posted by Heather O on April 22, 2005 at 15:42:32:
: Jigsaw looks interesting. From the review, it sounded like it could've been more than a B read. Maybe an A, even. I'm curious ... was there something significant that kept it from getting there? I didn't notice any mention of love scenes. Were there any? Thanks ...
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I thought the reviewer did an excellent job with the review of this book and gave it the same grade I did. I will definetely read more romantic suspense books by Kathleen Nance. While it was very good, for me, it just didn't have that added oomph needed to push a book to DIK status. One thing Lea didn't touch on that much was the "character" of Fran. I thought she was a hoot and a very good secondary character. And yes indeed there were love scenes in this book and very well done too.
Grade 4 out of 5

Lips That Touch Mine - Wendy Lindstrom
I'm not going to link the review at AAR here because I disagreed with it. But again I'm going to plagerize and again the one being plagerized gives her permission

Posted by Kristie (J) on April 21, 2005 at 15:01:07:
I just read the review for this book and I’d like to offer a different take on it. I found this book to be wonderful, an absolute delight and for me definitely a keeper. It’s one of the few that I’ve read so far this year that I will remember long after I close the cover. There were so many things that charmed me about this book. First of all, the hero’s name; Boyd. How refreshing a name is that for a hero? Usually it seems to be villains who are named Boyd. I think it’s the first time I have ever seen that name for a hero. And I thought he made a great hero. He had issues; doesn’t almost every hero in a romance book? But he still had a certain joie de vive about him that was so refreshing from your run of the mill tortured hero. He loved his mother and he had a good relationship with the rest of his family too. In other words, normal. Next the setting. Thank the stars above it wasn’t set in regency England. Instead, it takes place in small town in New York. I've always loved historical books set in early American times and wish there were more of them like this one. The next thing I really enjoyed was the Claire, the heroine. I thought she was wonderful. As the review says, she is a widow who enjoyed a sexual relationship with her husband until alcohol ruined the relationship. I found her to be intelligent, and independent and willing to do what it takes to earn her way in life. There was a very poignant bittersweet secondary story told through the writings in a journal that included adultery. Rather than bash our brains out with how WRONG, WRONG, WRONG this is, the author made no judgements. I thought this was fabulous. I really enjoyed the secondary characters from Boyd’s older brothers to Claire’s newfound friends to Boyd’s dog Sailor. I am not a dog person so when I find myself enjoying the antics of a dog in a book, I know the author has done a good job. I found there to be good sexual tension between the hero/heroine. When they reached the consummation scene, she was the aggressor. I really liked that. It proved that she hadn’t allowed herself to become a victim to the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband. At one point in the book, Claire admits she loved her husband and underneath his alcoholism and the damage it did, her husband wasn’t a bad man. Yes I had it pegged pretty early who the villain were but since this isn’t a mystery, so?Not to take anything away from the reviewer, the book didn’t work for her, but it did for me. I didn’t expect much when I picked it up, it was the cover that attracted me, but I truly loved what’s on the inside. It wasn’t earth shattering, it was sweet and gentle and warm and just the kind of story I love in a book about early life in small town America. It struck me as reminiscent of LaVyrle Spencers books.She is a new to me author and I will be looking for her backlist.
Grade - ****** 5 out of 5 ******