Nope, haven’t disappeared again.  It’s again lack of internet.  I really do need to get that fixed.

 

I need to rant here; there isn’t enough characters on Twitter for what I need to say– and yes it’s about that abomination that has the title of president, but is in fact, not one.  A president is someone who rules, who comforts a nation in time of trouble.  It’s someone who encourages.  It’s someone who works with the other members of his team to get things done.  This abomination does none of these things.  Now I can’t even call him a man because he isn’t one.

 

I want to scream in pain and anger and hurt and frustration and it isn’t even my country.  As with so many of my neighbours to the north, I’ve been so badly shook up at what happened in Charlottesville VA.  My heart hurts for the family of Heather Heyer who was by all that I’ve seen and read an extraordinary person.

She was killed by a terrorist.  No ifs and or buts.  A terrorist.  It was a group of terrorists from different factions that descended upon Charlottesville and the fact that the abomination refuses to call them that and if that isn’t bad enough, he justifies them – well there are no words.  And the scum that make up the republican party who do and say the bare minimum, if that, are also IMO also abominations.  The Ryans, the McConnells, the Pences and the Sessions are not one iota better than him.  Until the man abomination ran for president I didn’t have hate in my heart.  But I do now and I don’t know how to handle it.  As time goes by it’s only growing stronger and I can’t seem to eradicate it as the abomination keeps growing with every thing it does.

Last week the world was in danger of a war that would have killed millions by first strikes and then by ongoing fall out from the weapons used.

This week there is a race war going on and the hatred is oozing its way north.  I knew by watching the race it was going to happen as the abomination unlocked the gates of evil hatred and unleashed the demons that escaped.  And living in Canada there was nothing I could do.  It’s been such a helpless feeling knowing what was coming.

But it’s even worse than I could have guessed.  Not only has the abomination unlocked the gates, it is riding with them, egging on their vile, evil hatred, using all the power that so many unsuspecting and lets be honest, many uncaring as long as they got what they thought he would give them, anointed it with.  And those few with the power to stop it are not doing so as the only thing they care about is not the people they are charged with looking after, but their own greed and avarice.   It sickens me to my very soul.

 

And that evil is invading my country.  There are many who approve of the abomination in Canada.  I hear them and their hate spewing vileness on the radio talk shows.  I heard on caller yesterday who said it was Heather’s fault that she died by hatred and that the abomination was right in what it said, that the evil was attacked and those who were protesting this spreading evil were responsible.  I screamed at the radio, truly screamed.  And I feel I’m turning into what I most hate and abhor.

Today I saw that the abomination – the same it that refused to call out the terrorism that attacked the US this past weekend; that not only refused to acknowledge what it really was, well it called out the terrorism that happened today in Spain – before it was even established who is responsible.  And why did it do this?  Because it is assuming that whoever is responsible is Muslim.  Chances are that they are.  But not for a nano-second do I equate these terrorists with people who practice the peaceful religion of Islam.  They could not be more different.  But it hurts so bad that so many don’t seen this.  That they will lock them together in their soulless minds and as a result hatred will grow even stronger.  It will gain more of a foothold all over the world.  And this charge will be led by the abomination that has been given power in the US.  And again, nothing will be done to stop it.

I need to stay away from any kind of media in order to survive.  I need the distance to keep the blackness from growing in me.  I’m going on vacation next week and hopefully a lot of the hate I’m harbouring, the rage and almost the insanity that is trying to gain hold will diminish.

 

There is so much evil in the world.  And it scares me that it’s even taking over and leading so called Christians, leaving destruction in it’s wake.  It’s doing it to me – though at least I’m on the other side of the malevolence and immorality that is taking over this world.

I'm tired of the fear and the hate that is rising in me.

REALLY good reads over the past year

Sometimes a book or an author resonates with me so well I simply must ‘yell it to the rooftops’.  Anyone who has followed this blog for a while and wandered back to discover that ‘hey! She’s back. will know this.  Carian Cole is such an author.  I discovered her last year and since I wasn’t blogging at the time I didn’t get a chance to do my thing.  But now I can.  I have read some of her books multiple times since I read them the first time and now here I am, sharing what I’ve loved so much yet again.

 
The first few books are about a rock band, Ember and Ashes and while I’ve read and really enjoyed some rock singer books, for me these are on another level altogether.  I reviewed most of them on GoodReads (I think) so I’m reposting them here, starting with the first book.  I should note that since first doing this review, I've read the book twice more.

Storm by Carian Cole


I don’t read a whole lot of rock star books, though there are a few authors that have written in this trope that I’ve read. So when this one popped up, despite the rather scary looking cover model, I thought ‘what the heck? It’s cheap (read FREE) so why not give it a try?’ Sometimes those are good spontaneous decisions and sometimes not. In this case it was a Very Good Decision.

This book written in present tense, first person POV stars Evelyn as our heroine and Storm as our hero. Only a few years ago I wouldn’t touch this POV for anything but so many of the books I seem to be reading are written like this, when I read a 3rd person POV book. And the 1st person works very well. Evelyn and Storm meet under unusual circumstances. Evelyn is on her way to a conference in a blizzard and she is lost. While trying to figure out what to do, she manages to do damage to her car. Someone comes to help her and after giving him a hard time, she gets in his car and then he does something to his truck. It’s a long hike for help and the snow comes down like crazy so they are forced to spend the next two days in close company in his truck. Evelyn is a hoot and makes things very frustrating for Storm, but Storm is more amused than anything else. Though Evelyn has no idea who he is, turns out he’s a famous rock star. He’s hawt, long haired, tattooed and can get anything/anyone he wants so it’s rather refreshing to have someone treat him the way Evelyn does.

They develop a deep attraction to each other but Evelyn refuses to acknowledge or act on it. She’s been in a 12 year relationship and even though it’s clear to Storm as well as the reader that it’s a dead end road, Evelyn refuses to give up.

I enjoyed this book SO much. It’s funny and it’s cute and quite a joy to read. Evelyn is on the prickly side but it’s a good prickly and once you read about her history, we understand why she is the way she is. And Storm!! My goodness what a swoon worthy hero. He’s one of the better ones, that’s for sure.

One of the reasons for this review since the book is on the older side is this is the first in a series of books about all the members of Ashes & Embers, their band. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I was delighted to see she has quite a nice backlist. I’ve already purchased the next two in this series. I look forward to reading and will be reviewing more of her books. So listen to this here reviewer, get this book and give it a read. It's well worth the time.
Grade: 5 out of 5

“Politics again!’ you say?

I’ll make this one quick.  I’ve often been frustrated with John McCain.  He ‘gets’ what a nightmare trump is, he and Lindsay Graham both but when push comes to shove they both vote party lines instead of what’s good for the majority of the people of the US.

 

But he acted in what I consider a real act of courage the other evening when he voted no to the skinny bill despite what I’m sure was tremendous – nope sorry, I can’t use that word anymore – great pressure to do otherwise.  But he put the people first this time when he refused to vote for a bill that made no sense, apparently no one but a very few wanted and that would have devastated so many Americans with its mess up of health care.

 

Health care in the US is messed up anyway but why can’t the politicians just think of the people first instead of themselves or the kickbacks they get from big corporations.  And since this is basically a blog about romance, this is why I never read a book about politicians.  Even if they start out with the best of intentions, a politician will be corrupted at some point.  It’s unavoidable.  For some it might not be that corrupt and they may still have a relatively intact heart.  But for the vast majority they lose their soul.  And while the US it’s so blatant that it hurts, no country with any kind of democracy is immune.  I would love to see some politician come out and do some kind of congrats to a member of a different party on some kind of political deal.  Here in Canada when a new budget comes out, the opposition can’t wait to pounce on it.  Why can’t one leader, at least once say something like “While it’s not something our party would do, I see why they did that and that they are trying to do the right thing.

 

Which brings me back to John McCain.  At 2:30 am or whatever time it was when I turned the television off after the results of the vote on the ‘skinny bill’, I felt a bit of hope.  It’s not a lot of hope mind you as the GOP continue to allow this maniac called a president to run around unchecked doing untold damage, but even a bit of hope is nice.

Can you hear a heart break

I had an entirely different blog post planned but it has been a flowing day.  Since I started this morning, the senate has gone ahead and voted to repeal affordable care.  I truly believe this is the darkest day for the United States in modern times.  Shame, shame, shame on the whole party.  They have put hatred and greed and their own disgusting ambition ahead of the American people.  I’m truly sickened by what they have done today and while I won’t be affected since I live in Canada WHERE WE HAVE UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE, I have many friends in the US and my sister lives there also and will probably be affected.  The last time I spoke to her she couldn’t talk about the subject. 

 I’m building up to a rant here and believe me it is not against the American people but how long can things go the way are?  The US is no longer a first world country by many standards.  They have just voted to remove the basic right of health care.  In every other first world country, health care is a given.  In Canada, in the United Kingdom, in Australia, in France, Germany and many other nations, health care is a given.  The governments are not fine to let people die because they can’t afford to pay.  This hurts my very heart and should hurt the hearts of everyone who has one, no matter where they live.  I truly want to weep now for the people of this country.

 

How can the GOP do this?  How can John McCain, who claims to be a champion of the people and now diagnosed with cancer, now a preexisting condition, head to Washington and vote to take it away from everyday people?  How can he do this?

How can these people with the exception of Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski vote for something that they don’t even know what it is they are voting for? 

From the Huffington Post:

Heading into Tuesday’s vote, it was highly uncertain that McConnell would have enough votes to take Obamacare repeal over this first hurdle. This first vote was a real test of whether Senate Republicans were committed to undoing the Affordable Care Act, increasing the number of uninsured Americans by millions or even tens of millions and disrupting the health insurance market in ways that would disadvantage older, poorer and sicker people.

Republican senators who voted for this motion did so without having any idea what legislation they were about to move on to.

 

The faces of Evil

 

 

From Politico:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), recently diagnosed with brain cancer, entered the chamber to a standing ovation and cast the 50^th Republican vote. GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska broke ranks to oppose the measure, forcing Vice President Mike Pence to break a 50-50 tie.

From Shareblue:

The Republican health care bill is enormously unpopular, and would strip health insurance coverage from over 20 million people, while cutting Medicaid by over $700 billion. It is completely supported by the Republican leadership, including Donald Trump, McConnell, and Speaker Paul Ryan.

 

I don’t understand and I will never understand such cruelty

This and That

Yes.  Surprise.  It’s me again after more than a year’s absence.  If I’m posting this I actually remember my password.

So – for a long delayed this and that.

I’ve been noticing a trend in the books I’ve been reading lately and I’m not sure – no, I am sure – that I don’t really like.  During love scenes, the speaking and the demanding and explaining are getting quite explicit.  It used to be that they would have the hero whisper in the heroine’s ear what he was going to do to her, but now it seems in many a book that he outright explains – in very explicit detail.  Then he demands she reply to what he wants, what he’s doing.  Now here’s hoping it’s not a sign I’m a prude or anything, but I like things less detailed or I don’t know, more purpley.  I don’t like purple but I think I’d like a tad better than too much graphics.  I’d like them to be a bit more balanced I’m thinking.

 

I’ve been reading quite a few new adult, a sub-genre I never thought I’d be getting into.  Most of them have younger hero/heroines and are written in the first person with alternating views.  I didn’t think for the longest time I would enjoy first person so much bet I really am.  I read one recently though were the age was a real factor in knocking the book down a few grades.  The heroine was either 20 or 21 and the hero had serious emotional issues.  While there needs to be a suspension of disbelief in reading many a romance novel and I’m fine with this, in the case of this particular book I just couldn’t buy into for even a moment that this couple would last.  She was too immature and he was too damaged.  I wish the author had made them older and shown some growth in the heroine.  It would have made it more enjoyable.  For those authors who write in this genre, just a wish that they keep this kind of thing in mind.

 

While I haven’t blogged in over a year, I have been more active on both GoodReads and Twitter.  I love sharing books I’ve really enjoyed.  Anyone who has been with me for a while knows this and when I do read a great book I send out a lot of rec’s to my GoodRead ‘friends’.  I also do a lot of checking for other romance authors with similar tastes and can while away many an hour doing this.

And as for Twitter, I’ve come to the conclusion that most people, or at least many, prefer either Twitter or Facebook.  Me, I’m a Twitter gal.  While I had a Facebook pages, I don’t use it at all.  Sad as this is, I think this had an effect on blogging.  Alas, I know it’s been a factor for me.

 

Politics – There is no possible way I could say everything I think in one short paragraph.  It will take a few posts.  But to summarize, I’m appalled, I’m horrified, I’m confused and most of all, I’m scared for the entire world. 

 

Amazingly, we didn’t need a password.  The computer remembered