Recent Read

Despite the fact that I have not much else but time on my hands, I don't seem to really be much in the mood to read, but since once we get up, get our meds given to us, do our occupational therapy and our physiotherapy and other various things, there isn't a whole lot to do, I have managed to get through a few books



Burning up by Susan Andersen

Why this one: Ms Andersen is one of a very few authors that I can say hasn't written a book I haven't enjoyed to one extent or another. Just about every author except for her has a dud or two for my me. So it goes without saying when she has a new book come out, I read it.

Steam Level: Served the way I like them, nice and hot

Blurb: She's So Good at Being Bad

Though it’s been years since the infamous Macy O’James stepped foot in Sugarville, Washington, everyone remembers what she supposedly did. The tiny town is still buzzing about her crime and lack of punishment.

Now back to lend her family a hand, Macy vows to hold her head high—especially at her high school reunion. But forget about the hottest man in Sugarville escorting her. Though she and fire chief Gabriel Donovan generate enough sparks to burn down the town, he’s a law-abiding, line-towing straight arrow. So not her type.

But, maybe—just maybe—he could change her mind about that.

My Thoughts: First off - I really, really liked the character of Macy. Sometimes it's the hero who is more the standout of the two and sometimes it's the heroine and in Burning Up, I found it to be the heroine. The book can be a tougher sell if the heroine is the stand out and I have issues with her, but in the case of Burning Up it was all good since Macy was great.

Macy O'James had come back to the small town of Sugarville to help out her cousin who had suffered a broken leg (gee - what a coincidence) in a hit and run. Although she didn't hesitate for a moment when Janna, her cousin needed her, it wasn't that easy for Macy to come back home. Years ago in high school, one of the popular boys spread all kinds of nasty rumours about her and that combined with one particular incident had made Macy a most unpopular girl. And while it's been many years since then and she has had quite a successful career, first off as a star of music videos and later behind the camera of them, nothing brings out her insecurities like coming back to such unhappy memories - mixed with some good ones too.

Gabriel Donovan, fairly new to town, is the local fire chief of the volunteer fire department that makes up the Sugarville fire department. He has heard the rumours about Macy and kind of sort of believed them for the most part. He isn't too impressed with the series of 'outfits's' Macy wears as a shield for her insecurities and he is rather tough on her at times. It would be rather easy to dislike him, but as a guy who had a rough go of it himself, I went a bit easy on him. And he does straighten up and sees Macy for who she really is and not who rumour says she is fairly quickly.

There was also a cute secondary romance between the shy, quiet local former girlfriend schoolteacher of Gabriel's and the tatooted rocker dude musician friend of Macy's.

This wasn't my favourite of Susan Andersen's book, but it does keep her streak going of books of hers that I've quite enjoyed. It helped while away some hours and helped pass away time here in the hospital and that was quite fine with me.

Grade: 3.75 out of 5

Recent Reads

Rising Wind by Cindy Holby

Why this one: Well, I love me Colonials and there are so few being written, that when I see one, it’s a no brainer that I’ll get it.

Back Cover blurb:
Last of the Duncans

Leaving behind the Highlands for the New World at the tender age of ten, Connor Duncan quickly learned that only the fit and the fortunate survive. He was both, becoming a scout and an expert marksman… a man to be reckoned with. He knew his way through the backwoods as well as any Shawnee, but he was far less comfortable in the drawing rooms of Williamsburg.

What was a rough-hewn frontiersman like he to do with a sheltered beauty like the governor’s niece?

But there seemed to be no way to avoid the “Virgin Widow.” Neither capture, nor torture, nor the violent birth pangs of a young nation could keep them apart of stop the founding of a brand new dynasty of Duncans.

Level of Steam: tepid

My Thoughts. Hmmm, this one is a difficult one to do sort of. Mostly I liked it. I adored Connor. Though he had every right to be bitter, his father was killed at Culloden on the day he was born and his mother was raped and hung in front of him when he was ten, he was amazingly well-adjusted. He was sent as a bond servant to the colonies when his mother was killed and after serving his time, has fashioned a relatively good life for himself. And while he has every reason to hate the British, he doesn’t and judges them on the person rather than the nationality.

I also liked Carrie, the heroine. She was a klutz. Being a klutz myself, I could relate to that part of her. She was adventuresome but not in a TSTL way although she did manage to get herself into trouble and Connor rescued her. It wasn’t so much her own actions as just being in the wrong time at the wrong moment. And when she needed to be, she was a very strong woman.

So why, ultimately why won’t I give this one a higher grade. It’s hard to say. Part of it may be that it doesn’t come close to my favourite colonial – Ride The Fire or another very good one, Surrender, both by Pamela Clare. I suppose it’s not really fair comparing them different authors altogether. But still, it’s hard not to.

Then there is the issue of one particular scene. It’s a torture scene. Now I always turn my eyes away whenever I see anything the least bit squeamish on TV so I don’t have to watch it. That’s harder to do when reading. And although I can read those kinds of scenes in the In Death books, in this book, it particularly bothered me for some reason. It really was quite gruesome. I know, I know you’re thinking, there was that opening scene in Ride the Fire that was difficult. But since it was the hero it happened to, we know he survived. When I first read the book, I skimmed real fast over it and when re-reading, I skip it entirely. The scene in question in Rising Wind was in the middle and I wasn’t prepared for it.

Another thing that kind of disappointed me in this one was the love scenes. There were only two and they weren’t very hot. There’s a good review for this book at AAR and I can see why the reviewer graded this one higher than I did.

If you don’t mind a lack of steam and the odd torture scene thrown in, this is quite good. There will be another one coming out with Carrie’s brother and I do plan on getting it too – because I liked this enough to read the next and also if only to support a genre that has far too few entries.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh

Why this one: After I met her in Dallas, even if I hadn’t read any books by her. I would have picked this one up, just because she’s such a delightful person. Luckily, I’ve read the first two in this series and enjoyed them (although all that carrying did get to me after a while in the second book)

Back Blurb: As an Arrow, an elite soldier in the Psy Council ranks, Judd Laren was forced to do terrible things in the name of his people. Now he is a defector, and his dark abilities have made him the most deadly of assassins – cold, pitiless, unfeeling. Until he meets Brenna….

Brena Shane Kincaid was an innocent before she was abducted – and her mind violated – by a serial killer. Her sense of evil runs so deep, she fears she could become a killer herself. Then the first dead body is found, victim of a familiar madness. Judd is her only hope, yet her sensual changeling side rebels against the inhuman chill of his personality, even as desire explodes between them. Shocking and raw, their passion is a danger that threatens not only their hearts, but their very lives.

Level of Steam: This one doesn’t need to go in the microwave to heat it up more

My thoughts: Good news!! This is my favourite of a good series so far. For those of you who read the first book, you will remember at the end Brenna, a member of the wolf clan was in real rough shape. She had been tortured physically, emotionally and mentally by a psycho from the Psy race. Somewhat off scene her healing has been helped along by Judd, a member of the Psy race who along with his family dropped out of sight and off of the Psy net. As the book opens, Brianna is on her way to healing although she does have a ways to go. She feels comfortable with Judd and his lack of emotions – much more so than her over-emotional wolf pack, including her two over-protective brothers. Used to being a strong person with a life of her own, she feels herself trapped by the damage done to her and the following protectiveness. She is also strongly attracted to Judd and if he allowed himself, he was also strongly attracted to Brianna. But the very nature of his race is the Silence, a way to eradicate all emotions. But it doesn’t really work – holding them in. Judd, in his previous life with the Pys was one of their strongest warriors and although he doesn’t acknowledge it, deep down, way past the emotionless barrier, he does feel. He feels guilt, he feels worthless, he feels loyalty to his family, and he feels a great deal of attraction to Brianna. But to give in to his emotions, particularly physical attraction causes him harm.

But Brianna doesn’t know this for quite some time and despite the flak she receives from her brothers, she goes after Judd full throttle.

I love a cool on the outside, seething on the inside kind of hero and Judd fits the bill deliciously. I really liked how Judd thought he was undeserving of any kind of respect even though we all know what a hero he really is. And I loved his possessiveness and protectiveness of Brianna. Although he is both, he realizes more than her own pack how important it is for her to get her life back.

And I really liked Brianna too. She wasn’t about to let a little torture slow her down. She’s determined to get over it. She’s strong and a really great heroine.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

Exposure by Susan Andersen

Why this one: One of the neat things for me about having this little 'guess that book' contest is revisiting old favourites. Twice now, when I’ve picked a book, I’ve gone back and read it again myself. The first one was Lady of Desire and this is the second one. I loved it the first time I read it years ago. I loved it when I read it a couple of years ago and I loved it when I closed the last page just the other day.

Back Cover Blurb: A tragic childhood and a doomed marriage have forced Emma Sands to do what she does best - run. Now, she and her young daughter have arrived in Washington State's Port Flannery, a remote fishing village where no one knows who she is...or where she is going

Big-city cop turned small-town sheriff Elvis Donnely is six and a half feet of bruising muscle and solid hurt. The victim of a violent boyhood and a brutal bomb blast, all he wants is to forget the past...until it suddenly comes calling.

Level of Steam: Ahhhhhh – perfect

My thoughts: I love this book. I could stop there – but then that wouldn’t be very fun since I love discussing why I love books. There were two main characters that really stuck out and grabbed my imagination in this one. Elvis, the hero is one of them. He truly is droolworthy. He grew up as the son of the town whore. It was a small town so everyone knew everything and he developed a real chip on his shoulder. Still he managed to make a good life for himself and became a cop. Then his world fell apart when he was seriously injured in an explosion. He came back to Port Flannery and became the sheriff. Although the townspeople accepted him as sheriff, they never really accepted him as a person.

Because of the way he has grown up and because of the damage the explosion did to him; he has a hook instead of a hand and a big scar on his face, at first he can’t believe that Emma, the heroine can really be attracted to him. Of course me makes a complete mess of things.

The other character who really stands out for me in this one is Gracie, Emma’s precocious daughter. She plays a very big role in this book and normally I’d be wanting to gouge out my eyeballs with such a child in a romance book. But Susan Andersen REALLY makes her work. She’s very realistic; at times adorable, at times a real brat, just like any ordinary kid. And the way Elvis reacts to ‘Baby Beans’ is just adorable. He’s completely smitten with her.

And Emma is great too. She’s been through a lot and is a bit skittish and wants to keep running, but finally she realizes that Elvis really can help her. She doesn’t take shit from anyone and I love that in a heroine. I know a lot of others have read and loved this one. For those who haven’t, it gets a hearty thumbs up from me

Grade: 5 out of 5

'til later

More Recent Reads

Skintight – Susan Andersen
My son, who until he moves back home next weekend – sigh – still comes over for dinner every Sunday. Because he doesn’t have cable where he is presently living, one of the attractions I’m sure, to moving back home, and he loves poker, he insists on claiming the TV to watch The World Poker Tour. This has been driving me crazy but when I saw the hero of Susan Anderson’s latest is a World Poker Tour member I mellowed out and decided to watch it more in preparation. Nothing like a romance book to calm our nerves. So when I read the book, I could actually relate. Susan Andersen is an autobuy who has very rarely written a book I didn’t like. After finishing this one, her record is still intact. I really enjoyed this one, much better than her previous Hot and Bothered. The hero of this book Jax, is very likeable and unlike most of her other books is much more of a Beta hero. When he was young, he was much more into schoolwork than he was the sport’s his father insisted he play. He was a math geek who never measured up to his “good old boy” dad and as a result hadn’t had contact with him for years. After his father’s death, he comes up with a (and he admits it later) cockamamie idea to steal a collector’s baseball away from his father’s young widow. Treena is a great heroine, a showgirl with a heart of gold. She falls fast for Jax and is devastated when the truth comes out. The secondary characters are great in this book and there is a rather sweet secondary love story between a retired librarian who is wilder than she seems and a widowed handyman. It looks like there will be a second story and I can hardly wait.
Grade 4 ½ out of 5

His Secondhand Wife – Cheryl St. John
If I were given one word to describe Cheryl St. John’s books it would be tender. She has been an autobuy author for me for years and I think if she wrote for a publisher other than Harlequin, she might be a better-known author. As it is, I shall start doing more to get the word out on this wonderful writer. Since Lorraine Heath moved away from westerns, Ms. St. John has come the closest I think to filling that gap.
Noah, the hero, is a scarred and introverted man who upon hearing of the death of his younger and not so innocent brother (he is shot while with another man’s wife) tracks down his brother’s widow to deliver the news. Katherine is in a terrible situation. Left pregnant by her disappearing husband and living with her bitter and critical mother, she leaps at the opportunity to leave with Noah, when he offers to take her to his ranch. What follows is a tender story of two lost souls finding their way to each other. Noah is a wee bit frustrating as he continues to misunderstand Katherine, but he is very sweet nevertheless. What makes this different is Noah is the virgin in this story. I’ve always enjoyed that turnabout. To me this book is reminiscent of Heath’s Texas Destiny and Sweet Lullaby. While not quite as good – both of those ones got a 5 out of 5 from me, this one comes very close.
Grade 4 ½ out of 5

Wanting Something More – Kathy Love
Her first book, Getting What you Want blew me away. I gave this one a 5 out of 5 and could barely wait for story of the next Stepp sister. Wanting What you Get was a big disappointment after Ms. Love’s amazing debut. I gave it a 2 ½ out of 5. So with one big winner and one not so much of a winner for me, I was wondering how I would like the third book in the series. Well, I liked it much better than the second one, but not quite as much as the first.
This is the story of Marty Stepp, the youngest sister. She’s a burned out supermodel who has reached a turning point in her life. She decides to come home to think out what her next step will be. She runs into Nate Peck, during a snowstorm and is not impressed. In the prologue to this book, Nate had done something to hurt her I think we can all identify with. He was just as big a jerk on a recent visit Marty made for her sister’s wedding so she wasn’t about to by his changed guy claim. At least not till she put him through a few tests first. Nate has changed though and truly for the better.
As I said, this is a vast improvement over her second book. I liked both Marty who had her own insecurities despite being a supermodel and I liked the new and improved Nate – for the most part. He seemed a bit too good since his life altering experience. I like a hero who isn’t quite so perfect. For those who like the grovel, it took a while, but there is a pretty good one in this book.
I’m not sure if I’ll be buying Kathy Love in the future. It looks like she’s another author moving into the vampire fold and anyone who has read this blog knows how I feel about vampires…….
But, if she ever goes back to straight comtemps, I will have no qualms about buying her books again.
Grade 3 ½ out of 5

Interesting Lost tidbit for fellow addicts like me:
I don't know if the cover of the TV Guide is the same in the US as it is in Canada, but Josh Holloway (Sawyer) graces the cover of the one in Canada. Of course I picked up a copy of this issue even though I haven't bought TV Guide in years. He's in a feature on interesting facts on the 11 sexiest stars. Also one of the stars is Evangeline Lilly (Kate). Quote:
"I told (Josh Holloway), there's gonna be toungue in this kiss,' and he said 'fine by me.'