Recent Read

The Last Warrior by Susan Grant

Why this one: I love most of Ms. Grant’s books. Love. Them. They are futuristics, a genre I adore and can’t read enough of. But I had real issues with the last book of hers I tried to read; it was a departure from her usual style. So I was a bit leery when The Last Warrior came out as to what kind of book it would be, the style I’ve loved in the past or the style I couldn’t read. But since I’ve loved her in the past, I decided to dive into the Susan Grant book pool

Steam Level: Warm, not hot, but warm. But then it’s hot enough outside anyway these days. So warm is good!

Blurb: As a decorated soldier, the young General Tao knows only one kind of honor—to his people. But when his own king betrays him, he discovers that his sacrifices, his successes, may not have been for the good of the country at all.

Fate—and his enemies—throw him together with Elsabeth, a red-haired beauty who has served as the royal tutor. Her loyalties, though, remain with her father's people, the rebellious Kurel, who worship the old ways, even harboring the forbidden arks that brought the Kurel to this planet ages ago. When a threat greater than their peoples' war looms, intent on destroying the world they both know, the fierce warrior and the sensitive scholar must unite. Together, they must fight for their planet, for their world and for their love.

My Thoughts: Well!! I am SO glad I dove back into the pool as this is the kind of Susan Grant book I adore and adore this one I did!

It has everything going for it. Let me count the ways:

1. A very intriguing world that is very well built - check
2. A great cast of secondary characters that makes me want to read more about them – check
3. An evil villain that you want to do away with yourself - check
4. A heroine that I really like and admire – check
5. A hero to die for – check

The setting for this Futuristic Sci/Fi romance is the planet (look it up). I gather the planet was colonized by the people from Earth hundreds of years ago and somehow all communication was cut off so they slowly drifted into various segments of society. There are the superstitious warrior class, known as the Tassagonians, who are exemplified by our hero General Tao. Then there are the scientific class known as the Kurel. There isn’t much mingling of these two classes as the Warrior class are very wary of the Kurel and consider all their advanced knowledge is evil magic.

The story starts out with the return of General Tao, a hero to his people for the glorious defeat of the Gorr, an animalistic group whose sole purpose is the elimination of the human inhabitants. Our heroine, Elsabeth is less than impressed though as she has a deep dislike of the Tassagoian people and in particular a hatred for their king ever since he was responsible for the senseless death of her parents. She is part of a rebellion against King Xim along with the chief of the palace guards and Tao’s best friend.

When Tao makes his triumphant return, King Xim is threatened by Tao’s popularity with the people and has him falsely arrested. Markham, his friend and chief of palace guards rescues him and hides him with Elsabeth and the ghetto town of the Kurels

That’s the basics of the story but that’s just bare bones. What I would like to say is what great characters both Elsabeth and Tao are. I wasn’t sure I would like either one at first but I LOVED them. Elsabeth has reason to be bitter but rather than wallow in it, she works to make things different and better. She could have let her hatred for the Tassagoian people take over, but she is very well able to separate her feeling for the king from the rest of the people. In fact she calls the king’s wife and sister to Tao a friend and is very fond of her. Elsbeth is smart, brave, does what she can to help but not in a stupid way and Wendy would really like her. Hint, hint. She has preconceived notions about what the Tassagoians are all about, but is willing to readjust her thinking when she sees that the role they play is valuable.

And Tao. Oh, yum, yum, yum!! What an incredible Ms. Grant has written in him. He is a hero to his people and despite this he remains remarkably humble about it all. He just wants to find a wife, using careful, well thought out methods and retire to his family vineyard. He has fought against the Gorr for many years despite still being a young man. When he is put into hiding in the district of the Korel, he is at first quite reluctant what with them practicing magic and all. But he slowly realizes what value they can be. And at first rather disgusted with their passive ways, he is impressed when they rise to the occasion when threatened. And the chemistry between Tao and Elsabeth is absolutely delicious. I just love how they slowly begin to love each other as they get to know each other and put aside their prejudices. Tao admires Elsbeth and treats her with a great deal of respect, even though he is totally hot for her.

This is a riveting story with very real and believable characters. There are a few places where I chuckled over Tao and his ‘duck out of water’ stay with the Korel. I’ve tried tightening up on my 5 out of 5 grades as at times going back I barely remember a book I gave a five too, but not so in this case. This is one I will remember and most certainly read again.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Recent Reads

One Lucky Cowboy by Carolyn Brown

Why this one: It was a good price on Kindle and had a nice cover. ‘both appealed to me.

Steam Level: Warm if I remember

Blurb: Jane Day is on the run from the paid assassin who had been her fiancé. In Wichita Falls, Texas, she meets Nellie Luckadeau, a spitfire of an old lady who desperately needs someone to work on her ranch. But Nellie's drop-dead gorgeous grandson "Lucky Slade" is sure he can spot a con artist a mile away. He's determined not to let some upstart like Jane fleece his granny.

When his signature intimidation methods don't convince Jane to leave, he pours on the charm to make her spill what she's up to. She's happy to play along, but she's not going to let this hot, hostile cowboy run her off his land when all she needs is a lucky break…

My Thoughts: So so books are the hardest to write aren’t they? You can’t get funny with the horribleness of them and you can’t rave about then as they aren’t raveable. So I will try and do my best with this book, but not sure how it will turn out. The best I can say is it’s OK.

During the recent RWA, one of the things that stood out for me is publishers are looking for Westerns. There was a lot of twittering going on and I asked if they meant historical Westerns or contemporary Westerns as contemporary Westerns don’t get me excited like their historical cousins. This is a good book as ab example.

The heroine was on the bland side. It was the eve of her wedding when she overheard a very disturbing conversation and as a result, hightailed it out of town, running for her very life. She ended up in a bus stop and was offered as a job as a chauffeur for Nellie an older lady who wasn’t allowed to do her own driving anymore. They get along fine but her grandson, Lucky, is furious with her for hiring a complete stranger and insists that Nellie get rid of her. I think we are supposed to find Nellie amusing, but I just found her annoying. And I’m not sure what we were supposed to see Lucky as – whether it’s a hard working rancher who had it rough as a child. Perhaps as a hero who is very protective of his granny. I suppose some readers might have seen that in him, but I just thought of him as rude. Some of the things he says to and about Jane are pretty harsh.

And I thought we were supposed to see the villains of this book as evil and intimidating. I just found them stupid, real stupid.

Although this review isn’t that positive, I didn’t think this was a bad book. I finished it and if I thought it were a bad book, I wouldn’t have. But neither did I really see anything to recommend it to other readers. It had a few moments of humor, but I’ve read funnier. Neither the hero or heroine popped at all for me and I found the secondary characters either lackluster or annoying.

Some may find this a better read than I did and I hope some have. As for me, I’m glad I didn’t pay a lot of money.

Grade: 2.75 out of 5

Taken by the Cowboy by Julianne MacLean

Why this one: I’m not really sure how this one came to my attention. I was checking out Kindle, think it was recommended to me by Amazon the price was right, it was a Western Time Travel and I was sold!

Steam Level: Hot!!

Blurb: HERO AND PROTECTOR
Former bounty hunter, expert gunslinger, and the toughest sheriff Dodge City has ever known, Truman Wade is a real man from the tip of his black Stetson right down to his spurs and leather boots. He’s never met his match in a gunfight, but he’s never met a gorgeous, gutsy woman from the twenty-first century either…

TORN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
Newly single after a rocky breakup with her self-absorbed fiancé, newspaper columnist Jessica Delaney crashes her car in a lightning storm and soon finds herself dodging bullets in the Wild West. Before the night is out, she’s tossed in jail for a murder she didn’t commit, and if things don’t seem complicated enough, the impossibly handsome sheriff in charge of her arrest has danger written all over him - and a sexy swagger to die for. Jessica knows she needs to get home, but when Sheriff Wade’s enticing touch sets her passions on fire, she begins to wonder if fate has other plans for her, and soon she must choose between the life she longs for in the future… and the greatest love she’s ever known.

My Thoughts: A time travel Western!!! Ke-wl. I’m guessing here, but I think this one is one of the the books in the new Amazon Line that Connie Brockway is part of and can I just say I am So In with this? I’m glad I have an i-pad with a Kindle app so I can read these books. A Western Time Travel isn’t a trope you see very often. Since I really like both, that’s why I was sold on this book right away.

In order to enjoy a time travel book, you have to be willing to suspend belief more that say a contemporary or romantic suspense or even some historical. Luckily I’m able to do that pretty well so I was able to enjoy this book quite a bit.

Jessica is a modern day heroine thrust back into the old West. Of course at first she has a hard time believing what’s happened. I found her reaction quite believable. I enjoyed her as a heroine. She was smart and intelligent and wasn’t intimidated by her situation.

And Truman Wade, our hero was just plain yummy-licious. A combination gunslinger AND a sheriff; one who wears spurs and a gun; one who has blue eyes and is strong confident, hunky and a sense of humour is very hard to resist. He doesn’t know what to make of Jessica, or Junebug as he calls her. She’s not like any woman he’s met before. He’s attracted to her but knows she is keeping secrets and is reluctant to get involved despite being very attracted to her, in case those secrets will compromise his job as sheriff. And Jessica is very attracted to Truman but she is also reluctant to get involved since she is determined to return to her family in her own time.

The resolution to this book was a bit unexpected and had me almost weepy. Not to worry though, it is a romance and has a HEA.

Amazon knew what they were doing when they put this one on my recommend list. I really enjoyed it. And at that price? My advice is to give it a try. It says on the site that this book will be available in print in August.

Grade: 4.50 out of 5

A Rant

I can't say I really understand all of what is going on and what we hear on the news everyday. And I can't claim any kind of superiority of our own politicians here in Canada. We have the 4 or 5 federal elections in something like eight years to prove Canadian politicians are idiots, but what the hell is going on with our neighbours to the south???

I think you need a groundswell movement or something to toss ALL those politicians out on their ears. I can not, for the life of me understand why they are playing 'politics' when things are so damn serious. For Pete's sake forget all about Republicans and Democrats and think of what is best for the country and it's people instead your particular party!!

Are they really ready to see this country with such a glorious birth, go bankrupt for gawd's sake, because the person sitting across from you comes from a different political party. I am sure the men who founded the United States would weep in despair over what is happening now.

It's confusing as hell, but as a neighbor with many friends living in the US, I am appalled that partisan agendas are putting an already crippled nation further into, well trouble doesn't begin to cover it.

I want to scream stop it, just STOP IT!!!!!!!!

Recent Reads

Still working on my RWA post but until then......

Her Wyoming Man by Cheryl St. John

Why this one: I inhale her books when they come out. I have ever since her first book Rain Shadow

Steam Level: Well, since there is a major heat wave going on, the fact that this book isn’t what I would call steamy is just fine.

Blurb: Courtesan Ella Reed escapes dangerous city life to rural Wyoming and says "I do" to a marriage of convenience! But she may not live the life of a respectable woman for long if she can't keep her past -- and her heart -- under lock and key.

For a self-made man with political aspirations, love is trivial in a paper marriage. Nathan Lantry needs a wife to secure his election and manage his rowdy little boys. Yet he can't stop wanting more from his irresistible new bride. Then her secrets start to unravel....

My Thoughts: There is a thread at AAR about heroines who are prostitutes and since I did a couple of posts on this topic, I was thinking of it when I finished reading this book, Her Wyoming Man by Cheryl St. John. I’ve loved Ms. St. John since her very first book and gobble up her newest releases as soon as they come out and this one was no exception. Since Lorraine Heath left the Old West and departed to England, Cheryl St. John is my mind, THEE Western write who writes the most poignant stores

As the tread at AAR suggests, the heroine is a prostitute in the old west. She has run away from the brothel and agrees to be a mail order bride without informing her bridegroom Nathan Lantry of her past.

I get that this kind of heroine isn’t for everyone and I can respect that. But for any on the fence on this kind of heroine, or those contemplating trying one, they don’t come much better than Ella. Ms. St. John, as she has with so many of her heroines, writes Ella in such a way that she will break your heart. She makes her past so tragic, and she is still so vulnerable. But never does the reader sit in judgment on her. It’s a case of it was what it was and now she has an opportunity to make a new life for herself. She feels bad about not telling Nathan about her past and doesn’t really consider the consequences she’s so desperate to escape her past.

And Nathan makes for quite an endearing hero. He didn’t stand out for me as much as Ella, but I really did enjoy how considerate he was of Ella and how concerned he was that he not make the same mistakes with Ella.

There’s nothing big or showy about this story. It’s a gentle book about how a young woman struggles to overcome her past with the help of a gentle and loving man.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

And life slowly gets back to normal

It seems the older I get, the longer it takes to recover. Combine that with real life situations that happened and once more it took longer to get back here than I thought it would. On the positive side, it no longer scares me to enter the house. I'll confess it was pretty bad there.

Now I had a situation arise even before I left for the RWA conference. On the Sunday before, a tooth that I knew was going to go bad, went terribly, dreadfully bad. It was so bad that I had to go to a walk-in clinic to get something for the pain as well as antibiotic to rid myself of the infection. They prescribed Tylenol 3's. I also had some other left over medication from the leg. So when the Tylenol 3's didn't work in the amount of time I thought they should have; while I was sitting on the couch almost crying in pain and thinking of my upcoming trip, I kind of, sort of, um, took one of the pain pills for the legs - the heavy duty stuff - the stuff I could sell for a nice profit on the street if I were so inclined. And I knocked myself out for about 5 hours. But the pain was gone. The nurses I work with were horrified the next day when I told them and I had to promise never to do that again.

I got in to see the dentist immediately and he confirmed that the tooth was abscess and that it would have to come out. He gave me a choice of having him do it, or going to a 'specialist' where I could get a bit of sedation. I went for Option 2 since I'm a huge, huge sucky baby when it comes to the tooth pulling thing.

Now when I get nervous about something, I often get odd. I sent an email off to a number of coworkers. What was very peculiar was that a number of them came up to me and said how funny the email was and how much of kick they thought. Now the odd thing about that was these were coworkers I hadn't sent it to!! Apparently some of the original recipients thought it so funny, the passed it on. So because So You Think You Can Dance Canada is on soon and I have to get ready to take notes for the recap tomorrow, I'll cheat and let you all read the email I sent



Subject: Announcement

I know many of you are probably not aware of this, but today is Tooth Extraction Day. Yes, I have an appointment at noon today to have a molar extracted. Now to put this into perspective, I was much less freaked when I was in the hospital and they wanted me to sign a consent so they could put a steel rod and two pins in my leg when it broke. Mind you, at that time I was heavily under the influence of drugs………..wonderful, fun, ‘Frankly my dears, I don’t really give a damn drugs. I’m on a trip and it’s a fun one….considering trip. When I asked what would happen if I didn’t sign, just out of curiosity, the nurse explained that the first time I tried to stand, they would put me under, cut open my leg, insert a steel rod anchored by two pins. At that point I have the vaguest memory of, in my best Larry the Cable Guy voice, saying ‘let’s git ‘her done then’.

I did not say that yesterday at the consultation. Part of it may have been the fact I wasn’t heavily influenced by drugs, wonderful, fun, ‘I didn’t really give a damn drugs’.

So considering the seriousness of what will be taking place in a few short hours, I just wanted to express how much I have enjoyed working with all of you these past years. Some haven’t had the opportunity of working with me directly. If you haven’t, I’m sure you are looking at each other going “hu’h??? This chick is odd!” But it’s been most enjoyable getting to know you all. Considering this whole situation has come up so quickly, I haven’t had the chance to buy the loud obnoxious Hawaiian shirts in bulk yet, so should the worst happen, it will be up to each and every one of you to get one. May I suggest Value Village. I don’t want you laying out a lot of money for something you will probably never wear again, even should you travel to Hawaii. By now, more of you are probably going “hu’h???” Betty White {name change} can answer any questions about this you may have. Or my sons. I made them promise and my soon to be daughter in law promised she will hold them to it.

(me jumping in here to explain - I decided when I kick it, I wanted it to be a fun time, a time when everyone told stories and laughed and bonded. To that end, I plan on getting a whole bunch of Hawaiian shirts and when people come to the visitation, before they come in, they have to put on one of the shirts)

I just wish I hadn’t lost my sense of humor over this situation, but sadly, it’s gone. Stress has robbed me of it. One can only hope it returns once my tooth is no longer causing me concern. The other side effect of stress – the desire to write about how stressed I am has obviously kicked in – thus the ‘so long, farewell, to you and you and you’ email you are reading right now.

Should things go well, I will see you all tomorrow and everyone who has received this email can come up to me and say ‘you are one of the oddest people I know! You only had a tooth removed you ninny, not major surgery!”

On the plus side, they did tell me to have a milk shake for breakfast. Or was that dinner last night????

See, I’m so stressed over this I don’t remember when I was supposed to have the shake!

Kristie

Client Services Assistant

SUPPORTIVE CARE TEAM

With the Best of Intentions and a New Resolution

I was going to do a blog post tonight on the highlights of RWA. But after spending almost 12 hours getting home including a log jam at the border that took almost an hour and a half to get through, I'm totally and completely pooched! As in fried. Not a working brain cell left. I'm so tired I don't even have the energy to get out the books I brought home with me so you have to know it's bad.

So my fun times will have to wait until later.

Wait though! This should count as a post shouldn't it? A short one, short to the point of pitiful and completely devoid of any kind of details except that I'm tired. But it's something!