You're never too old to learn new tricks!!

Oldest son Brent was over last night - as an aside it was nice to spend a Friday night with him - weird but nice - and he was showing me some videos on YouTube and I learned something I did not know!!!

If you watch the video on YouTube itself and click the little square box on the bottom right hand corner - the one between the triangle box and the speaker box, the video plays on the whole screen!! When I saw him enlarge the first video, I got all excited and asked him how he made it do that, so he told me. So of course - me being me - after he left, checked it out on the second North and South video on the left side bar.

The famous "KISS" in the famous 'TRAIN SCENE" up close and in slow motion - verra, verra nice!!

And speaking of North and South - Jessica - I'm still waiting to add you to the Crusader list!! I know you've wa-atched it. And anyone else whose watched it and want to do a review - it's been a while since there has been new blood.

And - just in case I'm not the only one who did not know this and wants to see what I'm talking about - here's the video

Recent Read

Yes!! The dam has been broken!!

Her Colorado Man by Cheryl St. John

Why this one: I've always loved her books and when I saw this out early, I just had to pick it up.

Steam Level: There's burning, there's hot and there is warm. This one would be warm, but I like them any way.

Blurb:
When eighteen-year-old Mariah found herself pregnant and unmarried in her small Colorado town, she disappeared. One year later, she returned with a baby--though minus the "husband" who had conveniently ventured off to Alaska's gold fields to seek his fortune....

But now, with handsome adventurer Wes Burrows turning up and claiming to be the husband she had invented, Mariah's lies become flesh and blood--and her wildest dreams a reality

My Thoughts: I haven't read a book by Cheryl St. John that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed and this book was no exception. If you read the previous post, you can see I was having a tough time figuring out what I was in the mood for and decided to see if I was in the mood for this book - and wonder of wonders - I was.

Ms. St. Johns books aren't big and splashy. They aren't filled with larger than life characters. There aren't strange worlds or people running for their lives.

But what there is in a Cheryl St. John book is a warmth and charm that is very appealing. There are tender, quiet moments and there is a poignancy in her stories that you don't find often enough. There are characters you can connect with and when you close the cover at the end, you often have a warm and fuzzy feeling and when you are looking for something to read, and can't seem to find anything else, this just hits the spot.

And Mariah and Wes are no exception. Mariah is a bit of a prickly character but that doesn't take away from her appeal. As a single mother, she is very protective of her son John James. She has a large and supportive family to help her but she is thrown for a loop when Wes Burrows shows up claiming to be her husband and the father of John James. But she knows this is impossible as there is no husband and the father is unknown (to us, the reader). You see, her grandfather fabricated a husband, using the name and mail box of a mysterious and most often absent Wes Burrows to cover the fact that Mariah was an unwed mother.

Wes Burrows lives in Alaska and while recuperating from an injury, found all the letters from a young boy claiming to be his son. Raised in a foundling home, Wes has never experienced the relationship between a father and son. He continued the correspondence with young John James and eventually, with nothing holding him in Alaska, decides he wants to meet and get to know his 'son'. Mariah is horrified that her lies are coming back to haunt her and thus is understandably prickly.

Wes, on the other hand is the kind of hero I adore. Never having known the love of family and he is captivated by Mariah and her large extended family. He is drawn to John James and we, the reader, are drawn to Wes.

It's a wonderful and heart warming/heart breaking story of two lonely people who are so right for each other if they can overcome their own insecurities, especially Mariah. If I could only use one word to describe a Cheryl St. John book it would be touching, emotional, moving - I know - that's three words isn't it? But it's true. Her Colorado Man is all of these.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

You gotta be in the mood to be in the groove

Catchy title eh?

I've been thinking about this for a few days now and I don't know if it was this apparent, but the kind of mood I'm in can have a real bearing on the book I read. I finished off Skin Game, which was rather dark and broody and then picked up Nalini Singh's Blaze of Memory, but I just couldn't get into it. I knew it wasn't the book since I've really been enjoying her series, it was me. So I put it down and picked up Sherrilyn Kenyon's Born of Night, but couldn't get very far into that book either. Again, I knew it wasn't the book it was me.

Then the light dawned. I had just finished a rather dark book that I enjoyed quite a bit. But now I was in the mood for light and fluffy. And when you need light and fluffy, dark and broody just doesn't work. So I thought Susan Donovan's Ain't Too Proud to Beg. And that didn't work! The hero in this book is PERFECT and I don't care for perfect heroes. And so that one was the wrong choice.

So then I got confused. What was I in the mood for? I read Karen's sort of review for The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie so I thought maybe I'll do a reread of that one. But while I got further into it then I did the other three, I realized I wasn't in the mood for that one either.

So I figured maybe I was in the mood for something steamy and tried Livia Dare's In the Flesh that Stacy gave a great review for. But I didn't want to have different 'read at home' and 'read at work' books and there's no way I wanted to read this one at work. Some coworkers have taken to wanting to see what books I've been reading and, well, it's just not one I wanted to show - I'm not quite that ready *g*. So that one was out.

I started eyeing some of the historicals that I have, but was feeling meh about starting any of them.

One book I do feel like reading is Relentless and I know I have it - but I can't find it, damn it all. I've looked a few times and it could be anywhere.

So now I'm totally mixed up!! I have no idea what I feel like reading, but I do know I'm tired of picking up books, only reading a bit, and then clueing that's not the book I'm in the mood for. I'm in the mood to read - it's not a slump. But I'm out of my groove and I have to say, I'm not liking it!!

I picked up Cheryl St. John's latest, Her Colorado Man on the way from work tonight. Hopefully it will be the book to get me back in the groove 'cause right now, I'm very frustrated. Several thousand books and I can't find one to read makes me one cranky reader!!

Recent Reads

Healing Luke by Beth Cornelison

Why this one: It was another impulse buy. I was in the bookstore and the title jumped out at me - I love a wounded hero. Then the cover appealed to me. And when I read the storyline, it called to me.

Steam Level: Warmish

Blurb:
Ladies' man Luke Morgan has the world at his feet until a freak explosion leaves him burned and bitter. Luke's family offers gutsy occupational therapist Abby Stanford a job facilitating Luke's physical therapy, but Luke wants no part of his family's schemes or Abby's help. When sparks fly between Luke and Abby, Luke must face his deepest fears in order to claim the woman who brought his family together and taught him the real meaning of love.

My Thoughts: This was the book I was reading when I thought of keeping books versus keeper books. I'm keeping this one, but while close, it's not a keeper book.

Luke was a player - a love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy. But that kind of lifestyle was leaving him cold and he had mainly given it up when he was seriously injured in a boat explosion. He was burned, lost the sight in one eye and his right hand was badly damaged. This has turned i him into a pretty bitter guy.

Abby has had the shock of her life when she caught her fiance cheating on her. Instead of canceling her honeymoon trip, she decides to go on her own. But her self confidence is badly shaken and she's feeling pretty gun shy.

She first meets Luke when she plans on going diving through the family owned business that Luke used to be a part of. He's quite surly with her, but she still feels a 'pull' towards him. But when she meets his 'still in the game' older brother, Aaron, and he asks her out, Abby goes out on a date with him. Although Luke is gruff to the max and tells himself it doesn't bother him, deep down it does.

Aaron notices that Luke seems to come out of his bitter shell a bit more around Abby and along with their dad, convinces Abby to work for them, part to fill in for Luke and part to work as Luke's therapist in dealing with his hand injury.

I really enjoyed the character of Luke. He was in the process of changing when his whole world was rocked. He was angry and bitter and since it hadn't been that long, I could see and understand why he was the way he was. Along with everything else, he didn't think any woman would want to be with him. I'm a sucker for a 'tortured' type hero and Luke was right up my alley.

Abby was a bit more problematic for me though. She certainly sent out mixed messages to Luke who was already reeling. "yes there is something between us - that's why I'm going out with your brother"

"Yes there is something between us, but it cannot be since I mistrust all men because of what my finance did.

It's no wonder poor Luke was confused. I know she had her own issues, but she mixed her issues up with Luke which I felt was slightly unfair.

Now - reading this, one might get the impression I didn't really care for this book. But I did like it. I didn't love it, but I think the author has potential.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Skin Game by Ava Gray

Why this one: I got this one because of Rosie's glowing recommendation

Steam Level: Nice and Steamy!

Blurb: A beautiful fugitive—wanted dead or alive.

Kyra is a con woman and a particular kind of thief. She steals with a touch, but she only takes one thing: her target’s strongest skill. Which means she can be a fighter, an athlete, a musician, an artist—anything she wants… for a limited time. Heartbroken, she turns her gift toward avenging her father’s murder; with deadly patience, Kyra works her way into casino owner Gerard Serrano’s inner circle. After pulling off the ultimate con, she flees with his money and his pride.

A hit man who never misses the mark.
Reyes has nothing but his work. Pity for Kyra, he’s the best and mercy never sways him once he takes a job. He’s been hired to find out where Kyra hid the cash—and bring her back to face Serrano’s “justice.” Dead will do, if he can’t locate the loot. He’s never failed to complete a contract, but Kyra tempts him with her fierce heat and her outlaw heart. So Reyes has a hell of a choice: forsake his word or kill the woman he might love.

My Thoughts: Thanks Rosie!! I love a book with shades of gray and this one certainly fit the bill. Kyra is a con woman. She and her father had lead their lives running cons. But when a Vegas good fella is responsible for the death of Kyra's father, she runs a big con on him, humiliating him for all it's worth. Now she is one the run from his wrath, along with several million dollars she got out of the deal.

Reyes is the man that was sent after her. A bona fide hit man with his own peculiar moral code, he was told that it was Kyra who turned on her father, resulting in his death. But when he tracks her down she just isn't what he was expecting and it doesn't take long for him to figure out he'd been lied to and he gives his allegiance to Kyra. The only problem - she doesn't know he's a hit man, thinking him just a drifter who partners up with her.

Kyra also had this additional talent that lends itself well to her talents and it's also kept her fairly isolated her whole life. When she touches someone, their 'talent' is transferred to her whether it be in pool, darts, martial arts or singing.

Kyra and Reyes have amazing chemistry together. And when Reyes falls for Kyra, he is wrecked for her. I do so love that in a hero. For her part, due to her unusual upbringing, Kyra has lead a lonely and solitary life and although very reluctant at first to let Reyes into her heart, she eventually can't help herself. These two, while very gray, did have their own morals they lived by. Reyes only killed people who deserved killing and Kyra only conned people who deserved conning. I found them both fascinating. I enjoyed their rather twisted but understandable morals. When Kyra finds out the hidden agenda Reyes had, and of course she did, she is devastated but still smart enough to know that she still needs his help. And Reyes, for his part is also deeply affected, for the first time in his life he met someone he truly cared for. But he is determined to help her and keep her alive not matter what it might cost him.

Not long ago I read Linda Howard's Death Angel where the hero of that one was also an assassin and really enjoyed it. I can now say the same thing for Skin Game

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

And still two more!

Wow!! My blog links is growing by leaps and bounds!! I'm going to have to figure out how google reader works now so I have time to visit everyone.

And with that, the two newest bloggers I've found:

Anna of Good Gone Girl, who seems to be into one of my favourite genres at the moment - Sports Romance. Anna is a fairly new baby blogger - she joined us in October so go say hey

and

Tabitha of Tabz Book Blog who is reading my trump author (TM Tara Marie) at the moment, J.D. Robb. Tabitha is pretty new to us to as she started her blog in August. So say hey to her too!!


(Now if um someone can tell me how google reader works????)

Not just a Twofer - but a Threefer!!

As Nath reminded me, Chapters had a 25% weekend this weekend just wrapping up. I wasn't going to get any books, but the more I thought about it, the more I justified to myself that it was a good idea to go. And with just a very short encouragement from Stacy, I did.

My latest haul.

Born of Fire and Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Now I gave up the Dark Hunter series quite some time ago. But I was actually on the Sherrlyn Kenyon train years before even then, when I was into futuristics and read a couple of hers and enjoyed them quite a bit. I read somewhere that they were going to be reissued but lost track of when. Then I read at Leontine's place that Born of Ice was one of them. When I checked online to see if the Chapters near me not only had this one but also Born of Night - well I had to get them right? I already have Paradise City - now I'm going to have to figure out which one it is and how it compares to the reissued version.

In the Flesh by Livia Dare.
I read about this one Stacy's place and was instantly intrigued. But I'll be honest, I find the cover cringe worthy. But I figured if I bought a group of books and with luck the checkout person was female and not some young studly guy, I could slip it through. I did and it wasn't so all was good!

Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind by Karen Kelley
I really enjoyed Earth Guys are Easy, the second in a trilogy and I picked up Bad Boys Guide to the Galaxy, the third a few days ago. So I just had to get the first one - right?

How to Tempt a Duke and How to Tame a Lady by Kasey Michaels.

Now I have both of these in my cart at Harlequin but there I save 20% off the cover price. With my Avid Reader card I say 10% and 20% is better then 10%. But 25% is even better then 20%. So by getting them today at Chapters, I'm saving a total of 10% - 5% on each book. See how that math works? In fact, by that kind of math, I actually saved 90% on the books I bought!!
And in case you are wondering, I actually credited the savings because I would have saved 10% at Chapters regardless.

A Sunday Twofer.

I saw this at Elizabeth's Moonlight to Twilight blog and couldn't resist doing one of my own!!

I Just Had A Scathingly Brilliant Idea

But not much of a clue as to how to go about it so suggestions and ideas are all welcome!!

I love trivia - just love it. In a number of places people just look at me in almost awe for the minutia of trivial facts I can pull out of my brain. (either that or 'cause they think this poor girl has no life to have that much knowledge about junk). And I just thought - just now - wouldn't it be fun to have a romance trivia contest???
But trivia takes up so much a part of my brain that there isn't a whole lot of room for the practicalities of life. So how would be the best idea to go about it be?? On blogs? On twitter? I think there are a lot of us on twitter now.

So - anyone else a trivia buff and does a game of romance trivia sound like fun?


And bonus points to anyone who can name the movie the subject line came from!!

Hint - it's an oldie!!

Two Hellos and a Very Sad Goodbye

I do a lot of backtracking and wandering around when blog hopping and sometimes I'll stumble on a blog and mean to go back and then get distracted and loose them. So I may have stumbled on these blogs and then lost them. But I grabbed hold of them this time and added them to my sidebar.

So first off, if you haven't dropped by and said hey - be sure to visit PATTEPOULLIE from One Book Away From Heaven.

And it was the day for Patt(e)(i)(s) as my other new blogger find is Patti of Book Addict just one more. Now I know I've seen her but this is my 'Official' Hey and Welcome.

And now for the sad goodbye. *sniff* Barbara of Happily Forever After is closing up shop. She has a young family, she works, she loves reading and is finding it hard to find the time for that and she has dreams of becoming a romance writer herself so she is finding that keeping up Happily Forever After just too much. But she has promised to hang around blogland even if she is putting her own blog down. And I've no doubt that sometime in the not to distant future we all will be able to read one of her books.

I've gotten to know Barbara and her wonderful voice online and then was very fortunate to call her roomie in Washington DC. She really was a huge part of what made the time there so much fun.

I'm really going to miss you Barbara, but I can see the need to prioritize. And you be sure and drop by - you hear?

Keeper books vs Keeping books - there is a difference

I was thinking up my next review - I sometimes start thinking of what to write before I've finished the book and it got me to thinking about keepers versus keeping. I'll come right out and say it. I'm a pack rat. I've watched that show on TLC about people who have professionals come and shovel out their homes things have gotten so bad and I worry that I could become them. I got into quite a bit of trouble at work recently due to my pack rat tendencies and I've managed to make drastic changes, but the skill set I've gained at work, sadly, hasn't transferred to my off work life yet. All of this is really irrelevant, but I have a glass of wine in front of my and I'm in a rambling mood and it helps to 'set the stage' for the topic.

When thinking of how to describe the book I'm reading, I asked myself if it was a keeper. Then I had to turn and look at myself - rather difficult to do with only one body and answer "Are you nuts??? You keep just about every book you buy!!!"
And I do!! They are having a book sale at work next week and I rounded up a bunch to take in, put them in a bag, but then couldn't seem to take them out of the house. I've done this with books destined for the Used Book Store on occasion too. I'll have a bag full and just as I'm about to open the car door and go into the book store, I'll look through what I have and end up taking about half of them out of the bag. So I was trying to figure out what makes a book a keeping book and came up with a few answers.

• Since I joined the online romance community, I don't seem to buy nearly as many 'bad' books as I used to. It's so easy to find reviews on either review sites or blogs and I know enough as to what I will probably enjoy and what won't work for me. I still make quite a few impulse buys and I think I have had above average luck in enjoying them.

• I hate breaking up series. The recent The Legend of the Four Soldiers series by Elizabeth Hoyt is a good example. I quite enjoyed the first two, To Taste Temptation and To Seduce a Sinner. Then I read To Beguile a Beast and didn't care for it at all. I just recently finished To Desire a Devil - and again I quite enjoyed this final book of the series. Now normally the third book would be in my trade-in bag, but that would 'break the series' and I can't do that.

• The 'it's not you, it's me' books. Often I start a book and there's nothing basically wrong with it and given a different mood, I could read it and really enjoy it. If I don't find anything wrong with the book; if the characters don't drive me bonkers, but I'm just not that into it, I'll hold onto it for another day.

• Gorgeous cover books. This is the shallow in me speaking. I've been known to buy a book based almost 100% on the gorgeous cover and then discovered the inside didn't nearly match the outside. But since it was the outside that tempted me, I have a hard time getting rid of it.

• The declining enjoyment. This is very similar to the breaking of series. An good example of this the Sons of Destiny by Jean Johnson. I LOVED the first three books of the series and have problem recommending them, but starting with The Song, I felt a declining enjoyment. As the island began filling with people and the heroines started becoming either annoying or bland, I wasn't 'feeling' them like the few few. But again, I didn't want to ruin the series. I've still yet to get the final book and I'm not sure if I will or not, but I don't want to get rid of the ones I didn't enjoy as much.

• The higher cost of trade size. I've been buying more and more trade sized books. I don't like that I pay more, though it's not so bad if I buy them online. I save 24% or more. But I see great reviews and since I don't know if they will come out in MM size and I get impatient, I get them trade size. And I figure I won't recoup the cost if I trade them in. Besides, since for the most part, with the exception of books, I'm pretty cheap, I don't get a trade size unless I'm pretty sure I will enjoy it so I don't have that many to trade in anyway.

• The ARC books. I don't have that many. I haven't worried about the recent hullabaloo over getting free ARC books and having to "declare" it because a) I live in Canada and not sure if the recent ruling applies to me and b) I don't get enough to worry anyway. I mainly just get copies from one publisher. But they have sent me a number that just don't appeal to me. I don't do funny vampire stories and I seem to get a number of them. But for some reason I can't explain, it just seems wrong to trade them in or get rid of them.

• Author signed books. I've gotten a number of them over the past three years at the conferences I've gone to. And I'll confess, some I haven't been able to get into at all. I can't think of any off the top of my head and probably wouldn't name them anyway. But I don't know what to do with them. If I've spoken to an author at a signing and she has taken the time to talk back to me and personally autograph a book, it seems somehow unkind to just dump it in the 'take to the UBS' bag. So I just store them in a box until I get a backbone and decide what to do with them.

So those are some of the reasons why I have so many books that I could get rid of but don't and why I don't have as many as I used to to get rid of. The idea a while ago was to not keep any book I rate as 3 or below but that doesn't always work for the above reasons.

If you are into keeping books - what decides whether you are keeping it or trading in? Do you keep books that aren't keepers in the truest sense? How do you decide whether to keep or get rid of - do you have a certain line that decides it? Are you one of those who gets rid of every book except for the cream of the crop and if you are, do you feel like you are losing out on the amount you have put into buying books?

I'm curious as to whether a lot of readers are like me and keep non keepers or if there are more who purge a lot more than I do!