Filler Stuff

I'm in the middle of writing up reviews as I'm reading faster than I can write them - so until I get them done and posted I thought I'd share a few emails I sent to the group of school chums I have. One thing I'm quite good at is laughing at myself so here goes Kristie's life.

Now even though it's been over 10 years since we went to school, we still get together - in theory at least four times a year, though in reality it doesn't always work out that way. The most recent get together was supposed to be tonight, but the friend who was going to host this time has a house full of sick people so we are putting it off for a bit. This is the email I sent regarding what we should do

If we wait - that will give Lori and Janice opportunity to make it But I'll go with the majority.

Of course if you all had done what I did - it would have been over by now. Because I don't always live quite on planet earth, last Saturday I got up early, got rid of the gray in my hair, went out and about to pick up stuff including a gift, some chocolate flavoured mud shakes, some pina colada coolers, stopped at M&M as I couldn't find any whole water chestnuts and didn't have any toothpicks. I got home, had a shower, admired my now gray-less hair, and styled it. I heated up the hours d'orves (or however you spell that), got ready to make my apologies to Sue. {she really likes the bacon wrapped water chestnuts}

I wrapped the gift and then at the last moment, checked Ann's address. Alas though - I didn't have my reading glasses on and by the time I got over to her place, couldn't remember the address - the ravages of old age - terrible short term memory loss. I drove up and down the street looking for Lori's white car or Deb's big car but didn't seem them anywhere. I was going to walk up to the door of the house I thought was Ann's, but then since I don't live to far away, instead drove home and looked up her address again. And on the way remembered Lori was on vacation with Kevin so it was no wonder I didn't see her car.

By this time it was after 7:00 pm (took too long admiring my now grayless hair I did). I figured I'd better call Ann and let her know that I hadn't forgot - I would be there in just a couple of minutes........

Only to have her tell me it was this Saturday coming up - not last Saturday.

A total d'oh moment.

Though my hair did look pretty good if I do say so myself.

This is another one I sent soon after

My - shall we call them "senior" moment are getting worse too!! Just the day before at work, I was plugging in data. The case manager I work for had given me the (what we call) last visit date - as we have to have to put one in the system even though they are constantly changing - there has to be one. I tried entering one and when I entered it, couldn't tab to the next field. I thought it was my keyboard so I took the little tab of the tab key, blew out the dust, blew on the keyboard with my nose practically touching the keyboard and put the plastic tab back on.

Still didn't work. Thinking it was the computer, I shut down and rebooted. It still didn't work. I called IT to see if I could get a new keyboard as my tab key didn't work. Was kept on hold. Filled out a service ticket to get a new keyboard.

Then I got busy doing other work stuff. I went back to it about an hour later - same problem!!! I handed the work to the girl next to me and asked her if she could do it for me since my keyboard didn't work and IT hadn't brought me a new one. She started doing it - then gave me a funny look.

"What??" I asked her.

"Then end date here is Feb. 31." she replied

"And???" I answered confused. "That's the date Sally (my case manager) gave me to use".

"February only has 28 days." came her response. "That's why it wouldn't work."

"Oh....... you're right! Guess I better get in touch with IT and tell them I don't need a new keyboard after all then."

After I stopped laughing - I went over to Sally and told her about my mornings frustration.

And then last night this one:

If any of you care to read on - I had another Kristie-ism tonight. One thing I neglected to mention earlier is my car is ill - very, very ill. I noticed the other day that the tail pipe thingy is hanging real low - much lower then other cars. I compared them in a parking lot and mine was drooping like the balls on a ninety year old guy (not that I've ever seen any of course - I just heard they drop with age). And it wasn't running right before then but I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do. I don't have a "mechanic" guy and I don't trust Crappy Tire - there is a reason they are called that!!! I didn't want to take it to the dealer as my warranty has long since expired and they charge probably twice again what it normally costs.

But in the past day or two, my car is almost on it's death bed and I've been crossing my fingers hoping I can make it to work and home until Friday (today) when I will have been forced to do something about it. So while at work I looked up mechanics and saw there was one right near where Ryan lives. I called and made an appointment to bring it in after work and then called Ryan to see if he could pick me up there and drive me home. He lives on Langarth, right near Wharncliffe {Wharncliffe for those who don't know is one of the busier roads in the city} and the auto repair place was on Wharncliffe near Emery. So after work, I drive down Wharncliffe, looking for the place. Only I forgot what it was called. I figured I'd remember if I saw it. But I didn't see it - so I didn't remember. It was getting darker, I'm driving slower - both for the sake of the car soon to die and to see if I could find this place, all the time thinking Ryan is there waiting for me. Back and forth down Wharncliffe I go - with cars whizzing by me honking. I could not find the damn place - at all.

So I thought I'd go to Ryan's house and hope he gave up waiting for me at the car auto place I can't find and goes home. I drive down Langarth.......and can't remember which house is his!!! He has a large porch so I thought I'd remember it that way as - not unlike Ann's house - I don't remember the address. And didn't four houses in a row have large porches. And since his car wasn't in the driveway - as he was at the auto car place I couldn't find, waiting for me - it wasn't in his driveway. And then I realized I probably couldn't pick out his car anyway. It's white and a beemer but that's all I know - and I don't know what beemers look like.

Now a good mother at this point would pull over and call her son. But because I don't bother to learn things - I have no idea what his phone number is. And he doesn't have a land line so he's not in the phone book. I do have his number programmed into my cell phone - which was at home - plugged in because it needed recharging.

So there I am - travelling up and down Wharncliffe at rush hour - driving very slowly - so the tail pipe thingy doesn't fall off, looking for a garage I can't remember the name of - taking detours down Langarth (or is it Langmuir - I can't remember that even - Ron's parents live on one - the one off Highbury - and Ryan lives on the one off Wharncliffe) looking for a house with an address I don't remember, hoping a car I don't remember shows up in a driveway, unable to call a number I don't remember.

I decided to go home.

When I did, I called Ryan. He had just pulled into the driveway of a house I don't remember in a car I don't remember and boy was he pissed at me!!!! He'd waited at the garage he had no trouble finding, for over an hour waiting for me to show up. I didn't dare tell him I didn't wait at his place because I couldn't remember his address or his car.

During one of my driveby's down Wharncliffe, I stopped at another garage - thinking it probably wasn't - as the the name wasn't familiar - but hoping it was - the right car repair place to see if someone (me) had called earlier that day to make an appointment. I hadn't, but the guy seemed very nice and said if I brought my car in early tomorrow, he would fix it for me.

I didn't DARE ask Ryan during the conversation, if he could pick me up there and give me a ride home because boy - was he pissed at me!!!!

So now I've no idea what to do!! I think it will take quite some time for them to repair it - and *sigh* that will mean getting up real early - on a Saturday to take it in. I don't really want to hang out at a car repair place for hours. I can't call Brent as he's working overtime tomorrow. I can't ask Ryan because boy, is he pissed at me!!!!! I can't not take the car in because the tail pipe thingy is sure to fall off anytime now. I still don't want to take it to Crappy Tire - even though Ryan, in his sarcastic way told me I should because I should be able to find it!! Boy is he pissed at me!!!!! He waited an hour - on a Friday night - after a very long week at work - for a mother who didn't show up (and one who couldn't admit she didn't know his house, his car or his phone number).

Whatever happens - tomorrow should be a very fun day (and take note of the sarcasm I just added in that sentence)

And as a postscript, I did go back to the auto place this morning and get the car fixed. I considered walking over to Rye's for a coffee while I waited, but figured he'd still be too mad at me to answer the door - and I might have got the wrong house anyway. But I had a book - it didn't take that long and now my car runs like a dream.

Recent Read

Less (or is it lest?) you think I’ve been doing nothing but looking for Sullivan – I haven’t. Though I have been since it’s his turn up to bat in the Rock Creek Six – I have been reading also – a lot of reading. I’m still that reading machine!!

Reese by Lori Handleland

Why This One: One guess

Steam Level: While not as hot as Cash – still nice and toasty.

Blurb: Their friendship forged during the bloody battles of the War Between the States, they are men with nothing left but their honor. When one calls, the others answer--and this time they will gather in the tiny town of Rock Creek, Texas, where their brand of justice is the only possible salvation...and where each man will find a woman determined to open his heart to love.
Could He Outrun The Past?
Haunted by the war, Reese has vowed to keep his past--and his pain--to himself. Now a gun for hire, he can't refuse schoolteacher Mary McKendrick's request to rid Rock Creek of the outlaws who threaten to destroy the town, as long as one thing is clear: When the job is done, he'll move on. Yet stubborn, pretty Mary is determined to unearth the secrets he guards like a hidden treasure--and with each soulful, passionate kiss, Reese is finally tempted to dream of a future by her side and in her arms, hoping she'll want the only thing he has left to offer--his love.

My Thoughts: This book was written during the hey day of the Western romance – a hey day I hope with all my heart will cycle back – the sooner the better. Lori Handleland has since moved onto paranormals and day-um – we lost a good Western author.

This is the first book in the Rock Creek Six series and focuses on Reese, the reluctant leader of the group. He doesn’t seem to be up to a whole lot when Mary McKendrick, the heroine tracks him down to ask for his help in getting rid of a gang who is scaring away the citizens of Rock Creek. Mary, raised in an orphanage, has always longed for a home, but with the gang led by El Diablo terrorizing the citizens, and so many of them leaving, she is worried there might not be much of a town left. She is the local teacher and is quite set in her ways. But her stubbornness and her lack of fear of Reese intrigues him enough to agree to help out, along with his small group of fellow former Rebel band of soldiers.

There isn’t anything too terribly new about the story – I think it’s pretty standard fair of opposites attract. But it is so well written and so enjoyable that I really enjoyed this book. Both Mary and Reese are natural leaders with their own unique styles. They often clash; Mary isn’t used to backing down and letting someone else take charge and I found myself laughing and chuckling in a number of places.

As mentioned in the blurb, Reese has some tragedies in his past. He’s a very reluctant leader. The author does an excellent job of letting us know about the rest of his friends and it’s a great thing that they all have their own stories to look forward to. And while he may be a reluctant leader, Reese makes for a very fine Western type hero. And as a spinster ‘school marm’, who thinks she is too unattractive and too bossy, I also really liked Mary too.

While this one didn’t give me quite the same punch as Cash did, I still liked it quite a bit it’s an excellent first book to the series. She doesn’t have much on her web site about this series which is kind of a shame as probably not many readers know at one time she wrote westerns. I can only hope that some day she just might do so again.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

Still Looking

And I'm getting desperate. I've looked in bags and boxes, drawers and cabinets and I still can't find him anywhere!! I figure the only way to find the copy is to get another one. Sure as shootin' as soon as I order a copy, the first one will show up!! Now - to Amazon.ca - can you tell me why the hell anyone would buy from you when at Amazon.com the EXACT same book is $14.25 CHEAPER at Amazon.com for a used book and $28.95 CHEAPER new???


Even taking into consideration the exorbitant price of shipping, it's still a lot less to get it from Amazon.com!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ *** ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

OK - just out of curiosity - I took it further. If I were to actually hit either button, here's what it would cost:


Amazon(dot)com










Amazon(dot) ca









See!! There is still a $6.85 price difference - the higher being the Canadian price - and by looking at it - they haven't added taxes to the Cdn price which would make it even MORE expensive!!
Whichever - I think I'll look around the house some more!!

So far so good!!

I've become a mean lean reading machine since the beginning of the year. All right, all right, lean is something I'm not. And if asked to describe myself in one word, mean isn't the first word that comes to mind. But I have become a reading machine. I usually start out rather slow at the beginning of a new year but already I've read six books. Last year I think it was towards the middle of February before I read that many. And in light of all the books I have read so far, I rewarded myself with - what else - a trip to Chapters! My latest buys are on the right.

But all is not good. I read Reese, the first book in the Rock Creek Six series - thinking after reading the final book first, I should read the first one next. I really enjoyed it and will have the review coming soon. The next book up after that is Sullivan and it's the one that's gone missing. I've been forced to do something I don't often do. I've had to hunt - high and low - for the book - and so far no luck in finding it!!!

Arrrrggghhhh!!! I know I have it. It's in the spreadsheet. It's listed in my LibraryThing. It's in Shelfari and Goodreads. That means I've listed it in four different places do damn it all - it's here - in the house - somewhere. So of course the longer I look for it, the more I want it. So thus begins..........

The Search for Sullivan

It's not in the 'library'. At least I haven't seen it. It's not in the living room. At least I haven't seen it. It's not in the bathroom. At least I haven't seen it. It's not in the computer room. At least I haven't seen it. Though I did find a missing bag of jewellry. And I still haven't finished in that room. I still haven't looked in the other two bedrooms. I found all the fridge magnets I collected in Washington that kind of disappeared. I found all my pens. But I haven't found Sullivan.

So here's hoping I find Sullivan. I shall be unbearable to live with if I don't. But in the meantime, until I find Sullivan, I shall keep reading!! Not Sullivan - as he's gone missing - but I have others that will keep me company until I find him.

Recent Read

Cash by Linda Devlin

Why This One: Well (my family groans when I start something with the word well – knowing a long story is coming and if Lisa or Nancy is reading this – know they are groaning – though they probably aren’t as they don’t read the “romancy” blog stuff) it’s a long story (see what I mean??)

You can tell by the cover this is a Western and I love Westerns. Last year I was doing some blog hopping and noticed on Wendy’s blog that there was a contest being held and the prize was not one, not two, not three – but SIX Westerns!! SIX fellow readers. So lickety split I headed over there and lo and behold I won!! It was a very happy day when they arrived in the mail.

Now for Part II of the long story. Not only do I love Western romance, I love an old fashioned Western on television. I grew up on them; Bonanaza, Rawhide, The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, Bat Masterson, these are just a few of them. I don’t remember how I came to discover this but there was a television series back in the late 90’s based on the movie The Magnificent Seven. Somehow that series went zoom – right over my head. But I recently ordered it on DVD. The series is about seven – well – they aren’t really cowboys – but let’s say seven Western guys who save a small town from some really bad dudes and then decide to stay in the town as they are all kind of rootless. I’ve watched some of the episodes and really enjoyed what I’ve seen so far. The only thing missing – and it’s a big missing for me *g* is a romance element.

I picked up this book the other day as they’ve been calling to me and their voices have been getting louder. Considering there are six in the series, that only makes sense. It was weird that I found it. I think the others must have elected Cash during the night to kick my ass into gear into reading this series. As I was looking at it, I kept thinking of The Magnificent Seven DVD’s I have. And then I read that this was the basis of this series. Yes!!

So anyway – that’s why this one

Steam Level: Oh my Yes. There is lots.

Blurb: A Face From His Past

To the folks in tiny Rock Creek, Texas, Daniel Cash was a ladies' man with a smile as quick as his draw. Yet the infamous gunslinger with the legendary charm harbored painful memories of the girl he'd left behind when the War Between the States demanded his duty. Cash believed Nadine Ellington was better off without the man he'd become, but when she rode into town, dragging his past with him, Cash was tempted to consider another future...with her by his side.

Nadine had long ago given up waiting for Cash to return--she was too busy raising the son he didn't know he had. And though she'd never forgiven Cash's betrayal, she needed him now--to prove to their reckless, headstrong child that the life of a gun-for-hire is no life at all. But seeing Cash again awakens feelings she'd thought long dead--and soon she's wondering if the boy she once loved still lingers beneath the hardened fa cade of the man she can't resist...

My Thoughts: Well Day-um there’s nothing better than a great Western and this is a great one!! I didn’t realize it at first and then it didn’t matter, but this one is actually the last book in the series. I’m going to have to go back and read them in order now and then read this one again ‘cause I think it will be even better having gotten to know Cash in the preceding books. But even without knowing anything about him, I loved this book.

At first glimpse, Cash comes across as a hard and bitter kind of hero. He’s a gunfighter by trade and likes to spend time with ‘fancy’ women. The story starts out with a bang when he is almost gunned down whilst enjoying some tart time. The story then moves to the town of Rock Creek where Cash calls home when he’s not doing his gun slinging business. His world is rocked though when the girl he used to love comes to town to ask him a favour – can he try and talk her son out of his desire to become a gunslinger too. When Cash wonders why he should do a favour for the woman who broke his heart many years ago, she informs him because JD, her son, is also his son.

Although Cash tries to be all hard and devoid of feelings, we the reader can see the inner Cash, a man who feels he’s ruined his life and can’t settle down with the woman he loves for fear of putting her and their son in danger. While seemingly uncaring on the outside, he’s really a marshmallow on the inside and bitterly regrets the life he’s lived.

He is the kind of hero that makes me love a good Western hero!!

And Nadine is an equally strong heroine. Forced to wed a man she doesn’t love when it’s discovered she is pregnant, she has lived a lonely life. She lays it all on the line to Cash. It doesn’t take long for the feelings she has always had for him to come roaring back to life.

She’s a doctor and it doesn’t take long before she begins to make a life for herself in this town that needs a doctor.

This is the kind of book that makes it clear why I love the Western genre so much. It’s everything I could ask for. I wasn’t very far into it when I went searching for the other five. I’ve found four of them so far and have plans this weekend not to rest until I find the (temporarily) misplaced sixth book. I was looking at Wendy’s Keeper list and I see that she has at least 3 of this series on it. I’m rubbing my hands in anticipation of reading the rest!!

Grade: 4.90 out of 5 (the only reason it didn’t get a 5 is because I think I’ve missed a lot of background on Cash and when I finish the other books and read this one again, I’m thinking the grade might go up .10.

I'm Up

Over at Reader's Gab at AccessRomace where I talk about the challenges of challenges. And right now I'm in a challenge with myself. There are about 4 books I want to get - that means reading 4 books. I'm up to 3 and half way through 4!!

The Year in the Review - The People and the Future

This is an aww shucks’ post. But I can’t not let the end of the year go – even though it’s already went.

For years I felt alone on an island of romance book-it is, but with the dawning of the internet, I found people. Yes, there were others out there like me; readers who bought purses based on the number of books it would hold rather than brand name, readers who bought more books than they could read and seemed unable to just stop doing this. There were others out there I discovered who read the end of a book before they got there – just to make sure there was an HEA, even though they were reading ROMANCE where it’s a given.

It was wonderful meeting these people online – but even better was meeting them in person. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet even more readers and authors in 2009. The first exciting meeting was when we had a Canadian Bloggers meet this past summer. It was held at Cindy’s and included Nath, Lea and Mary G (who doesn’t have a blog but does a lot of dropping in and visiting. Right from the first moment, there was that bond that all us romance readers share and in no time at all, it was like we had known each other for ages. It was wonderful fun and I hope we do it again this year. There is nothing quite like hitting a UBS with fellow romance readers and sharing buried treasures with them.

And then came the RWA convention in July. There are no words to describe the feeling of being surrounded with hundreds of like minded people. And best of all was meeting them and having a chance to catch up with bloggers/friends I’d met before. This was my third RWA Convention and the third time I shared a room with Wendy. Although this was only the third time we’ve spent time together, she is branded in my memory and I hope with all my heart that it isn’t the last time. This was the second year in a row that I shared a room for at least one night with Rosie and again, she is in my heart. When I met LisaBea again, it was like no time at all had passed and yep – heart too. There were other familiar faces there too that it was just

da’bomb to talk with again – Katiebabs, Amy, Jane, Angie and Candy and Sarah. All I have to do is close my eyes and I see these dear people as if they were standing right in front of me.

And then there were the new bloggers I met!! Barbara was a roomie this year and for those

who haven’t met her in person, she is as sweet and nice as can be. She’s on a (I hope) hiatus at the moment, but I’m looking forward to meeting up with her again when RWA heads to her stomping ground. And Aztec Lady was an honorary roomie and popped in. It was such fun to meet her in person after getting to ‘know’ her online. Her enthusiasm was infectious and the time spent getting to know her was such a special part of the conference as it was with Barbara.

Another blogger who gets a special shout out to is AnimieJune. I LOVE her reviews so when I noticed that she was planning on heading to Washington, I emailed to see if she was interested in meeting up. We did, a number of times, and thank goodness she is an organized person. Getting to know her better was such a delight.

The trouble with doing something like this and suffering from short term memory loss is the fear that I might miss someone. If I did, it’s only that the brain doesn’t always work at 100% capacity anymore and I will remember – probably right after I post this!

****ETA****

See - I knew this would happen! Although I didn't get to spend much time with them in Washington, I did get a chance to meet a couple of other bloggers!! Katie of Katidom and Mandi of Smexy Books. I really wish I had had longer to get to know them :-(

The Future – the people

And 2010 promises to be another grand year. I’m not sure if I’ve come out ‘officially’ yet, but I’ve two trips planned this year – at least – and maybe hopefully more. I’m headed to Columbus in April for the RT convention. I thought about going and then not going – but when I heard some bloggers were headed that way, and having enough vacation time left over from 2009 and the go ahead to carry it over, I decided, with encouragement from Ryan who said why not do what you really want to do, I figured why not?? I’m registered now and have a couple of roommates. It’s more of a party time than I’m used to – but hopefully I can pace myself.

I’m also planning on going once again to RWA, this time in Nashville. As well as seeing friends, it’s a great way to visit cities I never would have thought of visiting. I’m not sure who else will be going. I’m crossing my fingers that Wendy will be, thus making it four years in a row we can be roomies. She does look good in her little black dress!

And hopefully we will have some sort of Canadian Blogger get together. I’m always so happy/green with envy on hearing about the SOCal meets

I don’t make resolutions as I never keep them. But I do have ‘hopes’. They are simple this year

Read More!! Buy Less!!

I’m going to try and keep it equal this year – I hope to allow myself a new book for every book I read. Since I’ve already read 2 this year, I can buy 2. Although the real plan is to read more and make a dent in the TBR pile. It’s really starting to scare me – and that’s saying a lot!

Also, I want to read more of the neglected genres. I have a number of Medievals to read and a number of Westerns. I wasn’t really pleased with the low numbers of either – ‘specially medieval since I read a grand total of 0 medievals and I love that genre. I also want to read more books set in other times such as the time of Elizabeth I.

SciFi/futuristics. I have several in the TBR pile that I really need to get to; specifically Linnea Sinclair!! And werewolves books. Although I'm not a big vampire romance fan, I do have quite a few werewolf romance books (that just sounds silly doesn't it) I want to get around to reading.

I also need to get to work on the ‘library’ downstairs!! I have empty shelves there just crying to be filled. And I’ve been travelling with a new half book case in my car for months – just waiting for me to bring it and assemble it.

And I got to turn my calendar at work today. Not that it’s an exciting thing for most people at work – but when one has a specially designed calendar and this…is January’s picture, it’s nice to check the month out – frequently!

Recent Reads

Well, I'm hoping this is a good start to 2010. By January 2, I already had two books read. Mind you, I started them both in 2009 - but still it does look good on the spread sheet :)


Relentless by Lauren Dane

Why this one: I've been planning on reading this one ever since I read Undercover but I kept misplacing it. Finally I found it again and started reading

Steam Level: Yep - it throws one heck of a lot of steam all right!!

Blurb: Since the first settlers came through the portals from Earth, fifteen Families have held the rule of the Federated Universes in their hands. There’s never been a better time than now to throw out the old and usher in a new order. Give voice to the unranked. Abbie Haws has spent her life battling the system. A fighter, she’s always been too busy and driven to pay much attention to finding love. But when she’s granted audience with Roman Lyons, the head of House Lyons, who stands for everything she hates, her instant attraction catches Abbie off-guard…

It’s common knowledge that the Known Universe revolves around Ravena—and that Ravena revolves around Roman Lyons, bred to lead since birth. Roman dreads his meeting with a defiant—if stunning—rabble-rouser. But, sometimes, headstrong personalities in the conference room make for hot-and-heavy, guilty trysts in private….

Now, Abbie will show Roman the parts of her world he wouldn’t otherwise get to see. And he’ll give her a glimpse of the Families’ age old tradition and unleash a sexuality he’d never given rein to before.

My Thoughts: Hmmm - while this one didn't cause the 'blush' factor that Undercover did, it's still up there as one of the steamier reads I've ever read! But as I read along, I almost tried detaching the steam from the storyline and the story works very well just on it's own. I think the author deserves kudos for not sacrificing one for the other.

Abbie Haws is an amazing heroine. She is everything a reader wants in her heroine. Abbie is smart, she knows what she wants and goes after it. There isn't a single TSTL bone in her body. As her position as a barrister in the world of Ravena, she is also the voice for a group of unranked citizens who feel that the unranked should have a say in the governing of the 'Verse, rather than have all the power in the hands of the Ranked. She's not out to overthrow the government; what she is after is reasonable. She goes about this in a non-violent way, even coming into friction with her father who is much more of a rabble rouser. Abbie understands the issues involved from both sides. In her efforts to effect change, she runs into the hero, Roman Lyons.

Roman is also an incredible hero. He is pretty much the leader of Ravena and he takes his leadership seriously. He truly cares about the people even though he is far removed from the issues of the unranked. There is an immediate and strong attraction between he and Abbie, even though both know it can't go anywhere. As the head of a Ranked house, he can only marry someone from a Ranked family. A widower with two grown sons, he really isn't looking to marry anytime soon.

As hard as they both try though, neither Abbie or Roman can't deny their passion. And this is where the steam level rises way above boiling temperature!! And WOWZERS does it ever rise!! Both are very sensual people and the love scenes between them are Hawt. But as I was reading them, I was very impressed that the author didn't neglect the storyline at all. One of the few complaints I had about Undercover was the world building left a bit to be desired, but not so in Relentless. Ms. Dane did an excellent job in explaining this world. And another thing she did that impressed me was to keep the characters true all through the book. It came through loud and clear how much Roman respected Abbie and what she was after. A secondary plot had her using her skills as a barrister in defending the son of Roman's top aid. It was Roman who trusted her to successfully defend the young man.

Because of who they are, Roman and Abbie must keep their relationship a secret from those who are opposed to both Roman and Abbie. They both face those trying to defeat them. This is the conflict of the book and it was a very believable conflict. There were no big misunderstandings. There were some who commented after I blogged about Undercover that Relentless was even better and I agree with them.
I was very impressed overall with this book and eagerly look forward to Insatiable the next book in this series, coming out in July.





Grade: 4.5 out of 5



Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory

Why this one: It was sitting there, calling me, and it has been a long time since I've read a medieval and figured it was time to read a book in a genre I really enjoy but haven't read enough of lately

Steam Level: I'd say this one is pretty darn hot

Blurb:

FEARLESS IN BATTLE

His surcoat still bloody from battle, William FitzAlan comes to claim the strategic borderlands granted to him by the king. One last prize awaits him at the castle gates: the lovely Lady Catherine Rayburn.

TENDER IN BED

Catherine risked everything to spy for the crown. Her reward? Her lands are declared forfeit and she is given this choice: marry FitzAlan or be taken to the Tower. Catherine agrees to give her handsome new husband her body, but she’s keeping secrets and dares not give him her heart. As passion ignites and danger closes in, Catherine and William must learn to trust in each other to save their marriage, their land, and their very lives.

My Thoughts: This book had a lot going for it and a few things that unfortunately didn't work for me.
First off the things that worked! William first met Catherine in the prologue of the book and though it was a short meeting, it stayed with William for years. With the exception of a few things in the 'didn't work' category, William was a fine hero. One thing I really liked was he was one of those heroes who was wrecked for the heroine. While he didn't call it love for a while, he was really 'gone' for Catherine and I love me a hero who is 'gone' for the heroine. He was also quite patient with her and quick to see the error of his ways when he did something wrong. I also appreciated that about him.

Catherine was an equally well done heroine. Although stubborn and reluctant to really see what a good man William was, she had her reasons. She had endured a horrendous first marriage and was very slow to trust again. She was a bit stubborn at times for me, but she didn't fall into the TSTL category for me thank goodness.

Now what didn't work quite as well for me. As William was so 'gone' for Catherine, this manifested itself way to often for me into jealousy. This is a hot button for me and may not bother other readers the way it did me, but he was jealous of every man who entered her sphere. I don't care for jealous heroes and it is to the writers credit that even despite that I did like William. He was also rather thick when it came to Catherine. He refused to trust her and questioned her constantly. Like Catherine, I found this very annoying. She had proved to him her reasons for doing what she did, yet still at the slightest provcation he would question what she did and why she did it. He also trusted the wrong people. While Catherine wasn't a TSTL heroine, William had a few TSTL hero moments.

Grading this one is harder. I want to give it a higher grade since the writing is good and as a medieval it worked quite well, but my own personal feeling on William and some of his actions sadly cause me to keep it from a higher grade. I'm still looking forward though to reading more of Ms. Mallory's books so that's a good thing.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

The Year in Review - The Books!

As I look around blogland, I see a lot of bloggers are doing year end reviews so I thought I would do a review too. First off - due to my handy dandy spread sheet, these are the books I read this year and the grades.

Author	Title	Genre	GR	Year
Ashley, Jennifer	The Madness Of Lord Ian MacKenzie	Historical	5	2009
Chase, Loretta	Don't Tempt Me	Historical	5	2009
Clare, Pamela	Ride The Fire	Colonial	5	2005
Hoag, Tami	Lucky's Lady	RS	5	1992
James, Judith	Highland Rebel	Historical	5	2009
Naughton, Elisabeth	Stolen Heat	RS	5	2009
Robb, JD	Naked In Death	RS	5	1995
Robb, JD	Purity In Death	RS	5	2002
Robb, JD	Portrait In Death	RS	5	2003
Sinclair, Linnea	Finders Keepers	SciFi Ro	5	2005
Weir, Theresa	One Fine Day	Contemp	5	1994
Weir, Theresa	American Dreamer	Contemp	5	1997
Weir, Theresa	Cool Shade	Contemp	5	1998
Blake, Toni	One Reckless Summer	Contemp	4.75	2009
Dare, Tessa	Goddess Of The Hunt	Historical	4.75	2009
Dare/Davis, Justine	Heart of the Hawk	Western	4.75	1996
Duran, Meredith	Bound By Your Touch	Historical	4.75	2009
Duran, Meredith	Written On Your Skin	Historical	4.75	2009
Granger, Jess	Beyond The Rain	SciFi	4.75	2009
Kayne, Stacey	Mountain Wild	Western	4.75	2009
Kleypas, Lisa	Tempt Me At Twilight	Historical	4.75	2009
Bittner, Rosanne	Ecstasy's Chains	Western	4.5	1989
Chance, Megan	The Way Home	Western	4.5	1997
Donovan, Susan	Knock Me Off My Feet	Contemp	4.5	2002
Duran, Meredith	The Duke Of Shadows	Historical	4.5	2008
Gray, Ava	Skin Game	RS	4.5	2009
Harper, Julia	For the Love of Pete	Contemp	4.5	2009
Higgins, Kristan	Too Good To Be True	Contemp	4.5	2009
Howard, Linda	Open Season	RS	4.5	2002
Liu, Marjorie M.	The Fire King	Paranormal	4.5	2009
Rawlins, Debbi	Once An Outlaw	Western	4.5	2009
Rice, Lisa Marie	Dangerous Passion	RS	4.5	2009
Robb, JD	Judgment In Death	RS	4.5	2000
Thomas, Jodi	The Tender Texan	Western	4.5	1991
Warren, Nancy	Under The Influence	Contemp	4.5	2009
Weir, Theresa	Forever	Contemp	4.5	1991
Weir, Theresa	Long Night Moon	Contemp	4.5	1995
Grey, Amelia	A Marquis To Marry	Historical	4.25	2009
Kayne, Stacey	Maverick Wild	Western	4.25	2008
St. John, Cheryl	Her Colorado Man	Western	4.25	2009
Cornelison, Beth	Healing Luke	Contemp	4	2009
Craig, Christie	Gotcha	Contemp	4	2009
Dee, Bonnie	The Countess Takes A Lover	Historical	4	2009
Fyffe, Caroline	Where The Wind Blows	Western	4	2009
Gaffney, Patricia	To Have And To Hold	Historical	4	1995
Goodman, Jo	Never Love A Lawman	Western	4	2009
Guhrke, Laura Lee	To Dream Again	Historical	4	1995
Hoyt, Elizabeth	To Beguile A Beast	Historical	4	2009
James, Julie	Practice Makes Perfect	Contemp	4	2009
Kelley, Karen	Earth Guys Are Easy	Comedy	4	2009
Kery, Beth	Wicked Burn	Erotica	4	2008
Levine, Elaine	Rachel And The Hired Gun	Western	4	2009
Potter, Patricia	Beloved Warrior	Historical	4	2007
Robb, JD	Ceremony In Death	RS	4	1997
Robb, JD	Survivor In Death	RS	4	2005
Robb, JD	Salvation In Death	RS	4	2008
Robb, JD	Promises In Death	RS	4	2009
Robb, JD	Kindred in Death	RS	4	2009
Singh, Nalini	Branded By Fire	Paranormal	4	2009
Kenyon, Sherrilyn	Born Of Night	SciFi	3.9	2009
Betts, Heidi	Tangled Up In Love	Contemp	3.75	2009
Hoyt, Elizabeth	To Desire A Devil	Historical	3.75	2009
Kauffman, Donna	The Great Scott	Contemp	3.75	2009
Rawlins, Debbi	Once A Rebel	Western	3.75	2009
Campbell, Anna	Captive Of Sin	Historical	3.5	2009
Donovan, Susan	The Girl Most Likely To	Contemp	3.5	2009
Kirk, Cindy	One Night Stand	Contemp	3.5	2008
Walker, Shiloh	Fragile	Contemp	3.5	2009
Montgomerie, Pamela	Sapphire Dream	Historical	3	2009
Warren, Nancy	Power Play	Contemp	3	2009
Dahl, Victoria	Talk Me Down	Contemp	2.5	2009
Donovan, Susan	Ain't To Proud To Beg	Contemp	DNF	2009
Gentry, Georgina	To Seduce A Texan	Western	DNF	2009
Higgins, Kristan	Fools Rush In	Contemp	DNF	2006
Noble, Cate	Dead Right	RS	DNF	2009
Thompson, Vicki Lewis	Over Hexed	Paranormal	DNF	2007
Welsh, Kate	Question Of Honor	Western	DNF	2009

I'm not normally one for statistics, but since it's easy to get them - due to the handy dandy spread sheet, I'll include a few.

That makes for a total of 77 books. I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't read more this year. Since I either purchased or got for free 158 books published in 2009, and the actual number of books published that I read in 2009 was 48, that makes (lets see - this is math so I'll have to used the calculator) 110 books I didn't read - YIKES! And those are just 2009 numbers! I bought/got for free, a number of books published in previous years too!

I didn't add in this summary the first reads versus the rereads as it would be to wide and wouldn't fit in but I read 59 new books and (uh, oh - math again) 19 rereads. I think the reread total is higher but I didn't get around to entering all of them. I just reread Origin in Death for example and it's not in there.

This is a breakdown of the different genres

Contemporary: 22
Historical: 17
Romantic Suspense: 15
Western: 14
Paranormal: 3
Futuristic/Sci Fi: 3
Comedy: 1
Colonial: 1

Some of the categories are open for debate too. Wicked Burn by Beth Kerry I put in as Erotic Romance, but it could just as easily be under the Contemporary umbrella.

My DNF book total is actually a lot higher, but many of those DNF's are not definite DNF's. I'm willing to try them again in a different mood. But the ones I recorded here are books I know I'll never try again.

And I've just been doing a bit of recalculating and I have left some books off - Lauren Dane's Undercover for example, which I gave a 4.5 grade and would it be Erotic or SciFi Romance? It could be either. It's still a work in progress after all these years to define them. So this is only as good as the recorder (that would be me).