Rant of the day

If anyone is a regular blogger in the romance world, they’ve probably been aware of some of the nastiness/nuttiness that goes on at times. I’m not going to link to any of the recent going-ons because to be honest, while I’ve kind of been following it, a part of me is annoyed that I do.

But one thing that really makes me crazy is all the anonymous posters – the people who don’t have the guts to give their names. If they are going to contribute to the train wrecks that happen every so often, at least don’t hide behind the spineless stand of anonymity. If they are people who are worried about any backlash, then they should just keep their thoughts to themselves instead of branding themselves gutless.

I don’t get that kind of traffic here as I’m pretty non-controversial but if I were, I know I’d be tempted to delete any comments that were posted anonymously.

If they have the convictions they seem to, at least have the cojones to put a name to their thoughts. It's pretty easy to sling their shit and not stand up to the fact that they did it.

If I have anything to say, I’m going to attach my name to it. I wish these cowards would do the same.

And that’s my rant for the day.

'til later

I got so many

that as Nath reminded me, I forgot to mention a few.

Here are a more that shoved out the shoes

I really enjoy her books so I'm always on the look-out for her back list. I thought I scored with this one, but I already had it so I passed it on to Ames







And this one I didn't realize until I got home that I already had it *sigh*









I used to read this author a lot and she sort of dropped off my list for no real reason. I know she is one of Ag's favourite authors so I had to pick it up. Right?








And I've really been enjoying this series so when I saw the lastes one, I just had to pick it up! I've already read it and I'll post my thoughts on it soon.








And in other news, it's a long weekend so I invited myself to Lisa's for the weekend. That means........dial-up. So if I don't get a chance to post for a few days - have a good weekend everyone.

'til later

BLOG ALERT!!!!! BLOG ALERT!!!!!!

Nath has the pictures and movies up that she took at Medieval Times.

Now remember - our knight was The RED Knight - the one who is throwing out flowers. And he's also the one in the final battle scene.

The Weekend 0r Why I threw away my shoes

I've seen this authors books before and always wanted to try one








I've never heard of this author but I was still under the spell of medieval times








And still under







And - yep, still







Uh huh - you guessed it








Sigh - still. But Cindy bought her!!








So I had to buy two - right?????








And yet still theyweren't out of my system







Ah!!!! Finally!

But now I had something else in mind

Westerns!!!
I've never tried this author before






And this one was a forgone conclussion when I saw it on Sybil's blog








I've read a number of Donna Kaufman's books and enjoyed them








And I've always wanted to try one of Alison Kent's single titles and the price was right!






Now back to historicals!

We have pirates








And I'm not sure what category this is. I call it Americana








Then a few Harlequins







I like her single titles







And I haven't read a Nocturne yet but this one looked interesting







A few former autobuy authors I haven't read in a while








Don't know why I stopped reading Sandra Brown - but that will change now








And while I've given up Nora's trilogies, I still love JD Robb and I like Nora Roberts single titles






And this one is a new-to-me author I've been wanting to try









And I read a book in this series and enjoyed it. But the cover of this one is awful so what a better time to buy than at a bookstore I only make it too once every few years?






And another new-to-me author








And finally we come to the final book - other than the ones that were duplicates








And this is why I didn't have room for shoes

Boy - that took a long time to do ;-)

'til later

Thought this was kind of interesting

61%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Online Dating

til later

Weekend - Part 3

So – now we are up to Sunday morning. Again, it was very relaxing. We all read for a little while and then started packing.

It was as this point I ran into a little problem. You see, I over packed and didn’t have quite enough room for everything in my suitcase. I did get it closed – it was mostly books and I had rolled up my clothes into tiny little balls and put them in the carry-on bag. I thought it would be easier that way since I could pull the luggage. Then on that final look around the room I noticed that I hadn’t packed my running shoes. There was just no way those puppies were going to fit into either the suitcase or the carry-on. Well – with the encouragement of Nath and Ames, there was only one thing to do. In a choice between ratty old shoes and brand new book – books win out every time!! So I tossed them. Yep – I threw out the shoes.

Now it’s not quite as bad as it sounds. I had tried wearing them just before our walking/shopping marathon and the hard plastic back of one of them rubbed through the rubber and they were rubbing against my heel. I would have got terrible blisters if I tried wearing them – so I needed a new pair anyway. But I think it struck us all as funny that I would throw them away just like that.

Of course I did manage to find just a wee tiny bit more room for the book Amy was reading and then lent to me – Lora Leigh’s Forbidden Pleasures. Something tell me that one is going to be WAY outside my box ;-)

After breakfast sadly and reluctantly, it was time to say goodbye to Nath and Amy as I was taking the noon train. I left them trying to figure out how to connect with Chantal and it looks like they found a way. And they bought even more books!

The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful until I pulled into the driveway of the house and did a Great Big Huge OOPS. It seems in my rush to leave I had neglected to close the side door – no, not the gender neutral screen door. But the big door, the door that get’s locked at night. Which means that I left the house not only unlocked, but open since Friday morning!!???

And Zina the Not a Warrior Princess has let her displeasure about me leaving be know. The great thing about most cats is you can leave them for a couple of days as long as there is enough food and water for them. But they do have a way of getting back at you though. Non-stop meowing for over an hour, let’s their owners/servants know they are not happy animals. Even though it get’s on the nerves after about ten minutes, I do admire persistence in my wee Zina.

So that’s it! My weekend adventures. Of course still to come is the book list. We’re going to share pics and since I have NO idea how to zip before sending them, Nath sent me instructions.

Last thoughts: It was wonderful meeting Nath and Ames as it has been every time I’ve gotten together with Cindy. Although on the surface we don’t appear to have much in common, both of them are considerably younger than me – they are younger than my sons even(!), I think a love of romance books makes a very strong bond. I’m not sure how to put it except it’s like we are in a very special group where like recognizes like. And I’m so lucky to be part of a community where you can meet as strangers and within minutes, fast friendships have developed.

Ames is thinking of making it a yearly event and I sure hope that happens ‘cause I’d love to see them again and maybe meet even more bloggers that I’ve gotten to ‘know’ in person!

'til later

Weekend - Pictures

Digital Cameras - Ya gotta love instant gratification.

I finally figured out how to get the camera working again. I bought one of those port things that allows you to add more ports and it turned out to be as simple as plugging it in. So here are just a few of the pictures. Hopefully when you click on them, the detail is better. But not to worry. Both Nath and Ames have pictures too. I think Nath even has a movie :-)


This first one is all the knights coming in. (there's "our" knight in the second row - all dressed in......red. As you can see - he is waving directly to Ames, Nath and myself heh heh.









This second one is "our" knight - the red knight.










This next one is during the skills part










This one is all the squires fighting to protect a downed knight.












And finally "our" red knight rides to the king - victorious and ready to claim the hand of the fair princess










And here are some pictures of some of my haul. Nath stood on a chair to take some of the pictures *g*. You can see I was still under the influence of the Medieval Times as quite a few there are medieval romances.
























More of the weekend to follow. And there are lot's more pics. And a complete inventory of all book purchases.



'til later

Weekend - Part 2

So after the show we went back to the hotel and a very nice hotel it was! I was in charge of picking it since I know more about Toronto than either Nath or Amy. Ron always used to take care of that kind of stuff so it was a new-to-me thing to do. But I think I did good. We stayed at the Marriott in downtown Toronto. It was right next to the Eaton Centre which made it nice and close for shopping.
We settled in and got to know each other better – since due to the late train it was just rush and go.
Again Nath and Amy are both so cute and nice. We stayed up and watched TV and well – read.
We were all up by 9:30 and slowly started getting ready for Cindy to join us for some heavy duty shopping.
You probably remember I’ve met Cindy and Bob. Cindy is just as bubbly in real life as she is in her blog! And I have to say I’m always so impressed that Bob understands and gets Cindy’s passion for books. All husbands should be so understanding. There he was perfectly fine to wander downtown Toronto with 3 maniac women in search of books.
The weather couldn’t have been any better! It was cool enough and sunny. As Cindy already said in her report, we stopped first for breakfast but either she didn’t notice or she go confused – but I was also feeding the pigeons we didn’t’ know we weren’t supposed to feed.
After breakfast we hit The World’s Biggest Bookstore. I don’t know if it’s the worlds biggest or not, I think Chapters can certainly rival it these days, but what it does have is older copies of books you normally don’t find in bookstores. This suited me just fine since I had a bit of a dilemma. You see, I’m headed to the RWA in a few weeks (can’t think about that too much, otherwise I’ll overload and explode) and there is a rumor that books may be plentiful there. So I didn’t want to get a lot of new releases in case I already have copies when I head to Dallas.
So I wasn’t expecting to buy that many at TWBB. Surprise! Since they had older books, I managed to get quite a few of them. And with the buy 3 get 1 free – well – I scored 8 books! My real find there though were Enticed by Hope Tarr and Of Darkness Reborn by Alexis Morgan.
After dumping them off back off at the hotel and showing Cindy and Bob the messy room, we started off for part 2 of the shopping spree. We walked, and we walked, and we walked. We found a number of used bookstores and I managed to find books in every one we stopped at. I was kind of disappointed though. I think I’ve been spoiled by the UBS’s in London where most have huge separate romance sections. The ones on Saturday either didn’t have a romance only section so you had to hunt them out among all the other fiction or the romance sections was almost negligible. But since the main point of the trip was to meet Nath, Amy and Cindy – it was all good.
We also got stopped by a parade. Like Cindy, I thought it was the Gay Pride parade and when it was done I couldn’t help think ‘that was it?????’ It’s supposed to be famous and it was the most pitiful excuse for a parade. But then I later found out that was only a pre-parade and the big one would be the next day. Like Cindy, I was fascinated by the street cleaning machines that followed. I’d never seen anything like them before and they looked like something out of a science fiction movie. If I’d been on the ball I would have taken pictures because they were very strange machines.
Cindy and Bob headed out soon after that. I was delighted that she joined us as long as she did since it was a heavy duty walking and shopping excursion. After they left, Nath and Amy were all ready to continue on, even though Amy had done something to her foot and could hardly walk. I don’t know how they did it!! Those two are SHOPPERS, let me tell you. By this time we’re miles from the hotel and I’m ready to drop. That expression ‘shop to you drop’ took on new meaning. We stopped in for a little while at the internet café and then they were ready to continue. Eventually I think they must have taken pity on me and decided it was time to go back. I was exhausted, Ames could hardly walk because of her foot and brave Nath was carrying most of our purchases in her backpack and was looking a little turtle-like. They had the brilliant idea to take a cab back to the hotel and oh my, was that a welcome relief to me.
Once we got back, we took pictures of us with our purchases (pictures to follow) and headed out for dinner.
Low and behold, just across the street from the restaurant we went to was…..
The World’s Biggest Bookstore. So of course after we ate we had to go back for a second visit and we each made more purchases.
We talked about doing different stuff in the evening, but since I’m a good – oh 5 years older – than either of them and had walked more than I had in years earlier in the day, I was fine to just keep the books company. Nath and Amy must have felt the same so we spent the remainder of the evening watching TV and reading.
It’s so nice to be able to sit and read when there are other people around and not feel guilty. Ames had just a couple of pages left of the book she was reading before she could turn off the lights and Nath and I could totally relate. It was the same thing in the morning. We were all reading for a bit and it was just so nice to do that around people who are the exact same way, cause you just never know when the compulsion to read will overtake you. If you’re with non-readers, you have to control those impulses and behave in a quote – normal – unquote way and not let the people know you can talk and read at the same time. You might miss a sentence or two if you’re in a real good part – but for the most part, I think we can multi-task pretty good. But it just looks rude to others.
So it was very freeing to be able to do both.
Well – I’m way over my word count so this is going to have to go to part 3.

‘til later

What a great way to spend a weekend!! - Part 1

I wasn't sure how it was going to go. I was planning on taking the train to Toronto. It was supposed to leave at 4:50 and get into Toronto at 6:50 which would give me a little time to rest before we headed to Medieval Times for the 7:30 show.
But the train was LATE! I was standing in line at 4:50 and no sign of a train. 5:00 - no sign. 5:10 - no sign. By now I'm starting to panic thinking I was going to get there late and we'd miss dinner. As Lisa can testify - it doesn't take much to make me panic. Finally the train pulls in at 5:15 and by 5:20 we're off. I tried calling Ames and Nath about an hour later from the train to let them know I was on my way but a bit delayed. I'm still new to this whole cell phone thing and though I had their number, couldn't quite figure it out. I had the lady next to me (crowded train) trying to help, but she wasn't that much more knowledgeable than me. Thankfully I heard the song Blaze of Glory coming from my purse and it was Nath calling me wondering what was happening. I told her the train was late but I was on my way.
Then - just outside Union Station the train stopped. There was some kind of switch problem and it would be about 10 minutes before the train started again. By this time I'm in much deeper panic mode. I've always been a bit anal about being on time and these delays were messing with me.
But we finally made it right into the station and I quickly hopped on board a cab to take me to the hotel. Ames was waiting in the lobby and we went up to the room so I could very quickly change and meet Nath.
It was wierd. Right off the bat I felt like I'd know them for years. There was none of that awkwardness you can feel (well - me anyway) when you first meet someone. They are both sweet as can be and it was so great to meet them in person!!!
We headed right away for Exhibition Stadium where Medieval Times is located and made it just in time.
We sat in the red section and "our" knight was pretty fine we thought. He reminded Nath of Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. See for those who have never been, it's held in a big arena and each section 'cheers' for the knight that corresponds to that section. They have a set meal, soup, chicken, ribs, 1/2 a potato and a croissant for dessert. And everything has to be eaten with your hands - just like in medieval times - figures right? As we are eating they are putting on a show which includes horse trick demonstrations, a falcon demonstration and other things. Then the knights do their thing, games of skill on horses etc. Then there is a story of love and betrayal. You see the kings daughter is in love with one particular knight - and wouldn't you know it was our own red night. Then there are jousts and sword fighting. The red knight was the first to go down :-(
Then there was only one knight left. But he was betrayed by the villian and out of nowhere comes the red knight to save the day. It just seemed fitting somehow that it was "our guy".
It was a grand show and hopefully Ames and Nath will share their thoughts on it. Hopefully they liked it since it was my idea to go.
I have pictures, but they will have to wait until I figure out how to work the doohickey that gives me four ports since I toasted two of them and right now I need the two I have for the mouse and the internet. It will take a lot of thinking and/or concentrating - unless I can get Lisa to come and help 'cause she would figure it out in 5 minutes - me - it would take a good hour, hour and a half.

So I'll be back with further adventures, pictures and the (huge) list of books I got.

'til later

Another Real Quickie

I'm sitting here between Nath and Ames at an internet cafe (they really have such a thing!) Cindy and Bob just left.
We are having a great time and you should see all the books Nath bought!! I'm sure she'll be blogging about them herself. We all did ourselves proud though. Gotta love buty 3 get one free sales.

'til later

(my feet are killing me by the way!)

Just a quickie

I'm almost packed, and here are the books I'm taking

Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand - Carla Kelly - Regency
Under the Voodoo Moon - Laura Leone - old Harlequin
Night Life - Elizabeth Guest - Paranormal
The Sword and the Sheath - Bonnie Vanak - Egyptian Historical
The Templar's Seduction - Mary Reed McCall - Medieval
Shooting Star - Colby Hodge - Futuristic

And in my purse and currently reading

Shadow Hawk - Jill Shalvis - current Blaze
Castle of the Wolf - Sandra Schwab - Historical

Now of course I won't read them all. But as we all know - you just never know what reading mood you'll be in and I think I have them all covered!

Also - I found a few new or new to me bloggers recently! I love that!

Casee of Book Pimping one book at a time
Chantal of Reading All Night Long
Julia of Julia's Book Corner
Mollie of Biblioharlot
Shelly of Bewitched by Books

Now I really REALLY have to run!

'til later

Ack - there was so much I wanted to say!

I called the doctor today to see if I could get in next week and get more stuff for depression. An answering machine answered and said she would be off until August 7 and if it was an emergency to go to a walk-in clinic. Otherwise, wait until she came back in August and make an appointment then.
Well - I started to panic. I have enough pills left until Tuesday. See I hate the doctor so much I always put off until the last moment having to go see her. I decided to stop off at the pharmacy on the way home and see if they could give me enough to last until she got back. Well they couldn't do that and said I would have to go to a walk-in clinic. There's one not to far from where I live so I went over to it - went inside and the room was full. But the panic was starting to build and I knew for my own peace of mind I would have to grin and bear the wait. When I finally got in to see the doctor, I then took the perscription back to the pharmacy and waited another good long while for them to fill it. I finally got home at 8:30 and now I have to pack for Kristie's Big Weekend Adventure.

So all the stuff I was going to post about will have to wait until later *sigh*

'til later

Weekend Plans

I kind of let the cat out of the bag but I have fun plans ahead for the weekend. I'm heading to Toronto to meet Nath and Ames on Friday. Then Cindy will be joining us on Saturday.
Guess what some of the things we are planning on doing?
Yep - checking out the book stores.
But Friday night Nath, Ames and I are going here for dinner - heh heh heh

'til later

Be careful what you wish for

Remember last week when I was so NOT busy at work I had time to ponder?
Well - no time for pondering today. Even washroom breaks were hard to fit in!

Anyway - just to let you know JMC has a very tropical post over at Reader's Gab.

'til later

Another reason I'm such an 80's

and a 70's and a 60's girl - a trip down through my memory music lane

subtitle

The fun found at YouTube

I cut the grass today - early 'cause it was a hot one and I didn't have to cut the whole thing 'cause the heat with no rain has pretty much dried it up. While I cut I had a marvelous time singing along to the M3P player. (or is it MP3 - I don't know)
These are the newest songs I need to add to the M3P player for the next time.

I always loved this one - and Rick Springfield wasn't bad.....




(kind of wish I was Jessie's girl. I would have dumped Jessie for Rick in a heartbeat)

Some Stones music I really like, some I don't, but I think this is my favourite one of all. Not sure why - but it's fun to sing and dance to *g*.



You just have to love the way Mick prances though

'til later

I may be back if I find other good ones.

OK - that didn't take long

Another one I adore


(boy they had big hair didn't they??????)

And I couldn't find a "video" for this next one, but I always loved this song - even though I couldn't understand what he was singing and had to mumble through - just like he does.


And I always thought this one was hoot. I'm not sure if it's the real group or not but it's certainly wacky enough to be.


Now we're getting into the 70's a bit. We saw this next singer many (many) years ago. I remember I was pregnant with Brent and felt very odd going to a concert. This is my favourite song by him. I'm thinking Wendy might know some of his music



And last - I just have to include this priceless video! I used to love this show and was so bummed when they cancelled it. We'd watch it every week without fail.


And OMG - to all people my age!!!!!

Look at what I found. Who remember this one?? I SAW this episode!!!


For the whole song Atlantis, which I loved (and I believe we are talking the 60's here) you can catch it here

And lastly - I loved this song. This was back before they had such a thing as music videos

What to do when there's nothing to do - part 2

Well, it’s another slow day at work – at least at the moment. If things don’t pick up it’s going to be a very looonnnggg day.

So – I was pondering – since I have time to do that today – about what I like in a romance hero – profession-wise (since I have time to ponder I may as well pick an interesting subject)

Not to long ago, the ladies at Let’s Gab had a poll on jobs we like our heroes to have. I voted – I always vote in their polls and the results sure didn’t match what I chose.

I think I’m yet again a bit of an odd duck when it comes to romance, but I picked the blue-collar kind of profession. But the winner was a rich business man type.

But for me – gimme a blue collar hero any time. There was a book I read a few years ago Getting What You Want by Kathy Love. The hero was pretty much an ordinary guy. He owned his own construction/restoration business and I loved that he ‘got dirty’ at work. Of course then she went on to write funny vampire stories and they just aren’t for me.

I would much rather read a book where the hero is a cop or a firefighter or a construction worker or whatever, ever so much more than a businessman or the owner of a huge corporation or a millionaire or whatever. While I know that romance is pure escapism, I still like a dose of reality.

I think when it comes to historical that’s why I prefer Westerns to English historicals. To me a cowboy, or a lawman or even a reformed outlaw just ‘works’ more than a duke or a viscount – or whatever. And I think that’s also why Dreaming of You is one of my all time favourite historicals. Derek was a ‘working man’ type much more that most of the English historicals.

Ron was a blue collar guy – a welder by trade – and I have some pictures of him in his working clothes – hard hat and everything and for me he’s just very sexy in those pictures. I used to find him much more attractive in his working clothes than in a suit. And if he hadn’t gotten home before me most days – I would have ‘proven’ just how hawt I thought he was.

I wrote the above at work – things did pick up a bit in the afternoon – thank goodness, so I didn’t get to really finish it. Then I was reading it and thought – I don’t have much more to say.

So – am I an island in preferring a less rich/titled kind of hero? Any books to recommend that have my kind of hero?

‘Til later

What to do when there's nothing to do

It was one of those days where I had nothing to do at work. Now that is a golden opportunity to whip something up to blog about – but I couldn’t think of anything for that either. It doesn’t really work when you just sit there waiting for inspiration to strike. *sigh* It doesn’t.

So instead I made a list of things I need to pack to take to Dallas. I’m almost trying not to think of the trip. You see, it's so far outside of my comfort box. When I drove an hour and a half to meet Cindy – that was a Big Thing for me to do. A few years ago I went to a RT convention in Toronto by myself and that was an even Bigger Thing for me to do. I’m headed back to Toronto the weekend of the 22 to meet up with some fellow Canuckian bloggers and that is a Big Thing.

But to fly from my little home town all the way to Dallas is a HUGE, ENORMOUS, OFF THE CHART thing for me to do. First of all, I haven’t flown anywhere in 27 or 28 years. The last time I flew was when Brent was 6 months old and Ron and I went to Bahamas for a week to give my parents bonding time with him (wasn’t that nice of us) Ron was so freaked out by flying we just didn’t do it anymore. I’m going to have fly out of here, pass through customs, wait in the Detroit airport for an hour and a half between flights, and then fly from Detroit to Dallas – all this by myself. Now to most people it’s not a big deal, but for me, going to a movie by myself was a huge step *chuckle*.

And when I think of meeting with Jane, Sybil and Wendy and sharing a room with them – I almost start vibrating with excitement. And since it’s still a month away, it’s a bit early for the vibrating.

This is also the furthest I’ve ever traveled I think. Ron and I went to BC when we were first married – before he said no more flying for him. I’m not sure of the distance differential but I think Dallas is further. Plus it gets extra points since it’s in the US instead of Canada.

I think I almost need a trip planner for some of the details. I told my sisters how much money I was thinking of taking and they looked at me in horror and said I couldn’t take that much!!! But I don’t really like using my credit card.

And speaking of money, when do I get American money? Right now the Canadian dollar is going up and up and the US dollar is going down and down. Once upon a time, not so very long ago, the Canadian dollar was only worth about 74¢ to a US dollar. Now it’s up to about 94¢. So – do I get some American money now figuring the Canadian dollar will start dropping again or do I wait, hoping (selfishly according to my accountant son who has taken a number of economics courses) that the Canadian dollar will go up even higher?

Details, details. I’ve never been detail oriented. Ron was always good at that and he was the one who took care of all that kind of stuff.

And then of course there is the whole laptop computer thing. I’d love to be able to blog from Dallas but I don’t have a laptop. I’ve never really wanted one that much, but should I get one to take to Dallas? It seems rather extreme, but then the thought of having one to have for my very own is rather appealing. But man they cost a lot!

Anyway, these are just some of the thoughts that have been rattling around in my brain ever since I found out for sure I was going.

'til later

More Recent Reads

One of the things detractors or people who don’t read romance (and this would include Lisa) say is romance is all the same. Guy meets girl, they fall in love, problems arise and then everything is solved. Basically this is probably true, but I’m sure you can say the same thing about any genre.

But these next two books couldn’t be further apart in style, writing and overall tone.

The Preachers Daughter by Cheryl St. John

Blurb:

An untouched woman……

Lorabeth Holdridge longed for life and experience! Cloistered by her strict father, her world was confined to chores and prayer. Her chance of escape came when she took a job as a housekeeper to a boisterous family. Lorabeth reveled in her newfound freedom. And when Benjamin Chaney visited, she felt the stirrings of her first crush.

A hard-bitten man…

Jaded and cynical, Ben found it hard to trust, though Lorabeth’s sweetness soothed his battered soul and taught him joy. But he would have to face the demons of his past to find a glorious future in Lorabeth’s arms!

Why this one: I’ve been reading Cheryl St. John’s Harlequin Historicals for years and I’ve always enjoyed them; some more than others of course, but she is an author I don’t want to not read.

Level of Steam: No danger of burning yourself

My Thoughts: This was a gentle, tender, heartwarming story. I have (or did have – I shall have to check the ‘library’) The Doctor’s Wife but I’m not sure I read it. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it is still there so I can see Ben’s beginnings. He is another one of Ms. St. John’s wonderful heroes. He is the town vet, a respected, caring individual. Yet he doesn’t seem to see himself in that light. He was scarred by his childhood and is afraid to really ‘feel’ anything.

Lorabeth is adorable. She is kind and giving and incredibly naïve. In some books this could be annoying, but not in this one. She has lived her life under the strict control of her humorless preacher father and when she sees an opportunity to escape she leaps at it.

There isn’t anything earth shattering that happens in this story. If I had one word to describe it, that word would be heartwarming. It’s just about two people, inexperienced in life, finding each other and falling in love. Ben has more obstacles to overcome due to his horrible childhood but he is healed by the tender love of Lorabeth.

I’ve been reading Cheryl St. John for years. I have many of her early books. She has never failed to deliver a good story.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

****
And now be sure to visit Sybil. She is doing a Cheryl St. John day. I only ducked in briefly – work don’t you know. But now I’m curious to see everything she has to say.

Midnight Man – Lisa Marie Rice

Blurb: Interior decorator Suzanne Barron’s new tenant is the most dangerously sexy man she’s ever met. Navy Commander John Huntington, a former SEAL (aka Midnight Man) works best under cover of darkness. Within hours of meeting him, Suzanne has wild, ho-holds barred sex with John, then panics at the depth of her passionate warrior. Suzanne doesn’t do sex like that. John is definitely someone she needs to avoid for her own peace of mind. But when killers come for her, Suzanne knows she can turn to only one man, John will guard and protect her body. But who will guard and protect her body against John?

Why this one: I’m not quite sure why. I’d seen it mentioned a number of times as being pretty good and when it came up again at AAR (of course now I can’t find it) for discussion, I just decided that I needed to read these ones so I ordered the whole series. Plus it’s the first print copy of Ellora’s Cave I’ve bought. I have a few e-books by them, but they don’t stock them here so I figured I’d order them online

Level of Steam: It’s gonna burn you and burn you good

My Thoughts: Now this one on the other hand, was completely different. I’ve heard about Lisa Marie Rice and I think I have another book by her – again a check with the ‘library’, but if I do, I haven’t read it yet.
Unlike the rather Beta male Ben in The Preacher’s Daughter, John is alpha. Very, very alpha. A former SEAL, he left the service due to a busted knee and opened his own security company. He is checking out an old refurbished building owned by the heroine, Suzanne and is instantly consumed with a massive case of lust that slowly turns into love. And even though he was a super alpha type hero, John had something going for him – enough that I found him very interesting. Suzanne was a bit too much of an innocent. I liked her mind you, but they just seemed a bit unevenly matched. I’m glad I got these and I’m already almost done the next one – Midnight Run.

Grade: 4 out of 5

'til later

Real Quickie

I have to get to work. Why is it I wonder that no matter how much I plan the night before, I still run late in the mornings??

Anyway - 'tis my turn at Access Romance today.

'til later

Recent Reads

I've been remiss in posting about the books I've read. I've been reading pretty good but finally here are my thoughts on some of them. I've been reading some old and some new with bad, good and great results.

First the bad

Come Lie With Me by Linda Howard – published in 1984

Back cover blurb: The accident that temporarily robbed Blake Remington of his ability to walk also took away his will to live. It would take a woman whose soul was as paralyzed as his body to make him care again.

Dione Kelly was Blake’s last chance. She knew that and she knew the challenge his case presented. But what she didn’t realize was that, in healing the broken man he had become, by helping Blake to rediscover his strength, she would expose her own painful vulnerabilities and start to heal herself.

Why this one: It’s Linda Howard

Level of Steam: didn’t really care – but I’d guess lukewarm

My Thoughts: Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I do so love most Linda Howard books. But when I don’t like one (which isn’t often) I really don’t like it.

Short thoughts: at least I finished it.

Long thoughts: This one started out right from the get go not working for me. First off, the story is told completely from the heroine, Dione’s POV. I like to see the hero’s POV but we never get it in this book. Thus I did not like Blake. He got on my nerves even before we ‘meet’ him with his ‘willing himself to death because he can’t walk’ attitude. Sure it’s a rotten thing to have happened to him. He was a vital and risk taking kind of guy, but to me he was a coward with his attitude and since we never see his thoughts. I couldn’t get past that. We never got to know him in any sense of the word – unlike most Linda Howard books.

I mostly liked Dione, the heroine, although her poor me, I’ll never be a ‘normal woman able to love and bear children’ got a bit wearing after a while. Once we got to see why she was like that, her secrets, it was a bit more understandable

And back to Blake. I often see readers say they doubt the hero/heroine can have a HEA but me being the optimist that I am, rarely see this in a book. But in this book, I wouldn’t give them a snowball’s chance in hell of making it past a couple of years at most without Dione getting therapy. She had been emotionally damaged much earlier in life and although Blake claimed to understand her, he never really did and made a couple of real dumbass mistakes. At one point in the book Dione and his sister shared a look that he caught and insisted on knowing what it was all about. Then, when she wouldn’t tell him (cause it was really none of his business), he got a bit rough with her. At that point, she should have left his sorry ass but she didn’t. And then he put on an annoying display of jealousy and mistrust not long after that. Sorry, but jealousy in a guy is just another way of saying you don’t trust your woman. Then later still he steamrolled all over what she was trying to say – that it won’t work out. He just kept on – not listening to her.
Like I said, I finished the book. But I really didn’t like it. For a Linda Howard – I hated it.

Grade: 1.5 out of 5

Now the good

One Sultry Summer by Laura Leone - published 1989

Back Cover Blurb: What would a hotshot architect like Race Bennett want with a kennel? That was what Vicky Wood needed to know when she discovered her late business partner had given half his property to his illegitimate son. Her dream had been almost within reach, but not she found that Race had other plans - and they didn't include two hundred yapping dogs!
Though he was clearly skeptical, Race gave Vicky's business one summer to succeed - otherwise they would try things his way. Vicky was determined to wipe the smirk off his wickedly attractive face, but one sulty summer only proved the passion between them steamed - and that the only partnership possible was one for life

Level of Steam: enough to make me happy

Why this one: I’ve read a few Laura Leone books and loved ‘em. I thought I would try and get more in her back list. I ordered some on Amazon and Renee sent me a couple.

My Thoughts: Not a bad little book. It was her first book and shows great promise. Vicky Wood, kennel owner, finds she has inherited half the kennel when her partner dies. The owner of the other half, Race Bennett was the previous owners illegitimate son who has his own plans for the land.
Both are appealing characters, especially Race and this is a charming, quick read.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Guilty Secrets by Laura Leone - published 1990

Why this one: see above

Level of Steam: see above

Back Cover Blurb: Leah McCargar had almost believed sexy Adam Jordan was making a pass at her when he barged int o her bedroom and taken her into his arms (note: I don't know where they got this from. Didn't happen in the book I read). But then Leah was perversly disappointed - but she was also a bit relieved. There was something mysterious about her aunt's literary collaborator. He acted like a man with something to hide...

Adam's reactions were hardly premeditated - he hadn't even been able to enjoy them! But though the pretty Ms. McCargar piqued his masculine interest, his common sense reminded him to keep his distance. Because Leah was as brainy as she was beautiful - and she was smart enough to figure out that Adam Jordan was not at all what he seemed!

My Thoughts: This one was very similar to One Sultry Summer but I liked it a little better. Leah wasn’t quite a prickly as Vicky from OSS and as was Race in OSS, Adam was a charmer. There were a number of unusual pets and they alone were quite funny.
I have more of her early books to read and while I think her later books such as Fallen From Grace were much richer, still, these two made excellent summer reading and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of her early Harlequin books.
Bit of a rant here. I remember reading somewhere that one of the reasons she still isn’t writing under Laura Leone is because she couldn’t find a publisher. What is wrong with publishers today! There are so many talented writers who just aren’t being given the opportunity to write books that readers will surely enjoy! I would LOVE to see more romance from this author. I think Fallen From Grace was her last one and that is truly a shame.

I haven’t read any of her books written under Laura Resnick. Has anyone else? And if you have, what do you think? Is there romance in them, enough romance to satisfy a primarily romance reader?

Grade: 4 out of 5

And finally the great

The Object of Love by Sharon Cullars

Back Cover Blurb: It's been five years since Lacey Burnham saw Sean Logan, and in that time her son Calvin's best friend has turned from a surly youth into a handsome, self-assured young man. Crushed with grief over Cal's sudden death, Lacey offers Sean a place to stay while he's in town - an innocent proposal that quickly becomes anything but. Lacey is stunned and confused by the yearning he ignites with a single kiss...
Beautiful, warmhearted Lacey Burnham was a haven of comfort in Sean's troubled youth. Now, against every shred of logic she possesses, Lacey is falling hard for Sean and for a heady carnal bliss she's never experienced before. But the ghosts of the past are waiting. And sooner or later, every shadow must face the light of day....

Why this one: KarenS has had an effect on me and made me see I was ignoring a whole segment of books by not reading AA authors. When I saw the buzz on this one, it had a story line that is one of my favourites – younger man/older woman, well I was sold. I promptly ordered it from Chapters and thankfully it arrived nice and quick.

Level of Steam: nice and steamy

My Thoughts: I loved it! It was different than anything I've read before. I really liked the fact that Calvin hadn't made it to the 'other side' and that we got to see his thoughts and reactions. While the age difference was a tad much for me - Sean the hero, was the same age as her son, it didn't dimish my enjoyment of this book at all. I thought Ms. Cullars did a very good job of explaining the attraction Sean felt for Lacey and the attaction she felf for him. I was really drawn into this story and read in in just over a day. Now I'm quite anxious to try another Sharon Cullars that has gotten pretty good buzz - Again

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

More reads to come shortly

'til later

A Brand New List - *evil laugh*

It has come to my attention that there are readers out there who haven't read another one of my all time favourite books!!!

I've read a lot of Karen Robards books but none have grabbed me as much as the story of Rachel Grant - innocent school teacher and Johnny Harris - bad boy jailed for a crime he didn't commit.

This one is a romantic suspense and while the suspense part isn't all that great, the chemistry between Rachel and Johnny is off the charts! As I mentioned on Cindy's blog, this is my Numero Uno reread book. And that is some accomplishment considering the number of books I've read over the years.

This one fits into my two favourite themes - younger hero/older woman - although the age difference isn't that big and they aren't that young, and innocent hero wrongly incarcerated.

So far I have two people I can encourage (hound).

Cindy
Marg

I will be watching!


'til later

*****ETA*****

Now see - that's what I get for rushing! I didn't even give the name of the book! *stupid aren't you?*
The book in question is One Summer by Karen Robards

One of my favourite authors

Quick background - Jayne of Dear Author (I keep wanting to type Dear Arthur - funny that because he's not really - to me that is. I'm sure he is to Lisa) has a review of Mistress of Willowvale by Patricia Veryan. In the comments Renee and I carried on and discussed the covers of Dedicated Villian

For Renee

This one is gorgeous!!!
















Don't like this one




















But I sure am glad we didn't get this one!!!!!!! (ROTFL)







And in other news - speaking of favourite authors. I have a new campaign and you can all help.
Just drop over to Nocturnal Wonderings and tell Cindy to "Read One Summer first"
I need everyone to help me now.


'til later



You can tell I took my silly pill.

Oh maaaann!

I really have to stop this!! I stopped at the mall on the way home and of course made a quickie stop at Coles Book Store where I picked up

If You Deceive











If You Dare

If You Desire



All, of course by Kresley Cole






Night Falls Like Silk by Kathleen Eagle
(mind you this was a hardcover on sale for $5.99 - kind of hard to turn down)









Then when I got home there was an order from Amazon waiting for me at the back door. Thankfully he closed it tight this time.
Books I had ordered


Midnight Man











Midnight Run











Midnight Angel
All by Lisa Marie Rice because Rosario says they are good










And finally
The Duke's Proposal by Leslie LaFoy because I have the other two in the series and I like her writing.










And I'm still working on my thoughts on FIVE books now!

'til later