Life is too short to read a bad book.
Saturday, September 01, 2007,8:03 AM
I Fell Again, Sorry
Okay, I fell off the face of the Earth again. I'm so sorry! Last update was two months ago ~~~ after I promised I wouldn't do this again.
I've been reading a little ~ not a lot, but considering the reading funk I've been in, I'll take it.
Manhunting by Jennie Crusie: (will be somewhat sloppy as I've borrowed this book out to a friend and haven't received it back yet).
From the Back Cover:: Objective: Find Man. Must Be Rich, Handsome, and Successful.
Kate Svenson is attractive, successful, a brilliant businesswoman — and miserable. After three failed engagements, she realizes it's time for a PLAN...an organized, detailed agenda with a clear goal: finding Mr. Right.
The Cabins resort is ripe with eligible bachelors, all rich, distinguished, and ambitious — just her type. And they're dropping like flies around her...at least, that's how Jake Templeton views the situation. After he's stuck pulling her latest reject out of the swimming pool, Jake's convinced this femme fatale is trouble. Especially for him.
But can a man who's sworn off ambition for good and a woman hanging from the top of the corporate ladder find common ground in the unpredictable territory called the heart, where the word proposal takes on a very different meaning...?
Manhunting was another good one by Crusie. Kate is a career woman working in the family business. She's successful, but not happy. She's been engaged three times, but has never quite made it to the alter. She's lonely and looking for more, so she goes on a vacation to The Cabins Golf Resort in the hopes of finding that something more. What ensues are some hilarious first (and last) dates, along with her developing friendships with Penny (the girl in the cabin next door), Jake (the handyman), and the owner of the local bar (sorry, can't remember her name!).
I'd say this is a Good Read. I probably won't be parting with this book anytime soon (well, if I ever get it back from my friend, that is)
Mysteria (anthology) by MaryJanice Davidson, Gena Showalter, Susan Grant, and PC Cast:
From the back cover: Hunky werewolves, delicious demons and, drop-dead sexy witches all have the same address...
Hundreds of years ago, in the mountains of Colorado (just close enough to Denver for great shoe shopping), the small town of Mysteria was "accidentally" founded by a random act of demonic kindness. Over time, it has become a veritable magnet for the supernatural-a place where magic has quietly coexisted with the mundane world.
It's a town like any other town, where the high school's Fighting Fairies give fans something to cheer about, where everyone knows your name-if not exactly what you are-at the local bar, and where the wishing well actually lives up to its name. Strange occurrences happen every day, but now the ladies of Mysteria are about to unleash a tempest of seduction that will have tongues wagging for centuries to come...
I really enjoyed this anthology and read it from cover to cover. My favorite story was "Mortal In Mysteria," about Damon (also known as Demon High Lord of Self-Doubt and Second Thoughts) who has done the good deed of letting people believe in themselves. For this, he is is forced out of Hell and back to earth ~ right into Harmony Faithfull's backyard. Harmony is the local minister in Mysteria (imagine a minister is a town full of witches, werewolves, and other supernatural beings). Watching Damon and Harmony's relationship was a fun-filled story and I enjoyed every minutes of it.
Also in this anthology were "Alone Wolf" by MaryJanice Davidson (Good), "The Witches of Mysteria" by Gena Showalter (Very Good), and “Candy Cox and the Big Bad (Were)Wolf" by PC Cast (Okay).
The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn:
From the back cover:
2 March 1810 . . .
Today, I fell in love.
At the age of ten, Miranda Cheever showed no signs of Great Beauty. And even at ten, Miranda learned to accept the expectations society held for her—until the afternoon when Nigel Bevelstoke, the handsome and dashing Viscount Turner, solemnly kissed her hand and promised her that one day she would grow into herself, that one day she would be as beautiful as she already was smart. And even at ten, Miranda knew she would love him forever.
But the years that followed were as cruel to Turner as they were kind to Miranda. She is as intriguing as the viscount boldly predicted on that memorable day—while he is a lonely, bitter man, crushed by a devastating loss. But Miranda has never forgotten the truth she set down on paper all those years earlier—and she will not allow the love that is her destiny to slip lightly through her fingers . . .
This one was Okay ~ I was disappointed, I admit. I'd really been looking forward to a new JQ book. Granted, this is the first after the Bridgerton series ~ and also this is one of her first attempts (written around the time of Splendid). But, if I didn't save all of my JQ books, I'd probably donate it to the library because I doubt I'll read it again.
Love At First Bite (anthology) by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Susan Squires, Ronda Thompson, and LA Bankds:
From the back cover:
PRIMAL KISSES. EROTIC SECRETS.
ETERNAL PASSION.
Sink your teeth into these sexy supernatural stories from some of today’s hottest authors.
“Until Death Do Us Part” by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Over five hundred years ago, Esperetta’s soul was bound to her husband’s by dark magic, and when Velkan became a Dark-Hunter, to her horror, she became immortal as well. Now, they must come together to fight an old enemy…and the passion that threatens to consume them once more.
“Ride the Night Wind” by L.A. Banks
Dark dreams haunt Jose Ciponte, dreams of a woman so beautiful he aches for her-and a deadly enemy who stalks them in the night. And now those dreams have become a reality…
“The Gift” by Susan Squires
All Major Davis Ware wants to do is propose to the beautiful Emma Fairchild. Instead, he is called back into battle, and a desperate fate. And Emma will venture into hell itself to save him.
“The Forgotten One” by Ronda Thompson
Lady Anne Baldwin longs to break free from her proper bonds. When she meets the mysterious Merrick, whose eyes glow like a wolf’s, she may have found more than she bargained for.
I only read the Kenyon story in this anthology and I liked it. Sure it was short, but I thought that the story was told very well ~~ not usually something you get with an anthology story. There was a lot of history between Retta and Velkan packed into this small story. I'd say it was Very Good.
Currently Reading:
Stealing Home by Sherryl Woods
Strange Bedpersons by Jennie Crusie
The Nosy Neighbor by Fern Michaels
Charming the Highlander by Janet Chapman
Much Ado About You by Eloisa James
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennie Crusie et. al
Library Haul:
I went to the library with kiddo today and bought these from the friends of the library shelves. 12 books for $1.75 ~ not bad for one day.
The Nosy Neighbor by Fern Michaels ($0.25)
Prisoner of Desire by Jennifer Blake (free)
Love Me, Marietta by Jennifer Wilde (free)
Train from Marietta by Dorothy Garlock ($0.25)
A Little Magic by Nora Roberts ($0.25)
McKettrick's Pride by Linda Lael Miller ($0.25)
Never Seduce a Scoundrel by Sabrina Jeffries ($0.25)
A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer (free)
Love Forevermore by Madeline Baker (free)
Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts ($0.25)
Heart Throb by Suzanne Brockmann ($0.25)
Soul Song by Marjorie Liu ($0.25)
I've been reading a little ~ not a lot, but considering the reading funk I've been in, I'll take it.
Manhunting by Jennie Crusie: (will be somewhat sloppy as I've borrowed this book out to a friend and haven't received it back yet).
From the Back Cover:: Objective: Find Man. Must Be Rich, Handsome, and Successful.
Kate Svenson is attractive, successful, a brilliant businesswoman — and miserable. After three failed engagements, she realizes it's time for a PLAN...an organized, detailed agenda with a clear goal: finding Mr. Right.
The Cabins resort is ripe with eligible bachelors, all rich, distinguished, and ambitious — just her type. And they're dropping like flies around her...at least, that's how Jake Templeton views the situation. After he's stuck pulling her latest reject out of the swimming pool, Jake's convinced this femme fatale is trouble. Especially for him.
But can a man who's sworn off ambition for good and a woman hanging from the top of the corporate ladder find common ground in the unpredictable territory called the heart, where the word proposal takes on a very different meaning...?
Manhunting was another good one by Crusie. Kate is a career woman working in the family business. She's successful, but not happy. She's been engaged three times, but has never quite made it to the alter. She's lonely and looking for more, so she goes on a vacation to The Cabins Golf Resort in the hopes of finding that something more. What ensues are some hilarious first (and last) dates, along with her developing friendships with Penny (the girl in the cabin next door), Jake (the handyman), and the owner of the local bar (sorry, can't remember her name!).
I'd say this is a Good Read. I probably won't be parting with this book anytime soon (well, if I ever get it back from my friend, that is)
Mysteria (anthology) by MaryJanice Davidson, Gena Showalter, Susan Grant, and PC Cast:
From the back cover: Hunky werewolves, delicious demons and, drop-dead sexy witches all have the same address...
Hundreds of years ago, in the mountains of Colorado (just close enough to Denver for great shoe shopping), the small town of Mysteria was "accidentally" founded by a random act of demonic kindness. Over time, it has become a veritable magnet for the supernatural-a place where magic has quietly coexisted with the mundane world.
It's a town like any other town, where the high school's Fighting Fairies give fans something to cheer about, where everyone knows your name-if not exactly what you are-at the local bar, and where the wishing well actually lives up to its name. Strange occurrences happen every day, but now the ladies of Mysteria are about to unleash a tempest of seduction that will have tongues wagging for centuries to come...
I really enjoyed this anthology and read it from cover to cover. My favorite story was "Mortal In Mysteria," about Damon (also known as Demon High Lord of Self-Doubt and Second Thoughts) who has done the good deed of letting people believe in themselves. For this, he is is forced out of Hell and back to earth ~ right into Harmony Faithfull's backyard. Harmony is the local minister in Mysteria (imagine a minister is a town full of witches, werewolves, and other supernatural beings). Watching Damon and Harmony's relationship was a fun-filled story and I enjoyed every minutes of it.
Also in this anthology were "Alone Wolf" by MaryJanice Davidson (Good), "The Witches of Mysteria" by Gena Showalter (Very Good), and “Candy Cox and the Big Bad (Were)Wolf" by PC Cast (Okay).
The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn:
From the back cover:
2 March 1810 . . .
Today, I fell in love.
At the age of ten, Miranda Cheever showed no signs of Great Beauty. And even at ten, Miranda learned to accept the expectations society held for her—until the afternoon when Nigel Bevelstoke, the handsome and dashing Viscount Turner, solemnly kissed her hand and promised her that one day she would grow into herself, that one day she would be as beautiful as she already was smart. And even at ten, Miranda knew she would love him forever.
But the years that followed were as cruel to Turner as they were kind to Miranda. She is as intriguing as the viscount boldly predicted on that memorable day—while he is a lonely, bitter man, crushed by a devastating loss. But Miranda has never forgotten the truth she set down on paper all those years earlier—and she will not allow the love that is her destiny to slip lightly through her fingers . . .
This one was Okay ~ I was disappointed, I admit. I'd really been looking forward to a new JQ book. Granted, this is the first after the Bridgerton series ~ and also this is one of her first attempts (written around the time of Splendid). But, if I didn't save all of my JQ books, I'd probably donate it to the library because I doubt I'll read it again.
Love At First Bite (anthology) by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Susan Squires, Ronda Thompson, and LA Bankds:
From the back cover:
PRIMAL KISSES. EROTIC SECRETS.
ETERNAL PASSION.
Sink your teeth into these sexy supernatural stories from some of today’s hottest authors.
“Until Death Do Us Part” by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Over five hundred years ago, Esperetta’s soul was bound to her husband’s by dark magic, and when Velkan became a Dark-Hunter, to her horror, she became immortal as well. Now, they must come together to fight an old enemy…and the passion that threatens to consume them once more.
“Ride the Night Wind” by L.A. Banks
Dark dreams haunt Jose Ciponte, dreams of a woman so beautiful he aches for her-and a deadly enemy who stalks them in the night. And now those dreams have become a reality…
“The Gift” by Susan Squires
All Major Davis Ware wants to do is propose to the beautiful Emma Fairchild. Instead, he is called back into battle, and a desperate fate. And Emma will venture into hell itself to save him.
“The Forgotten One” by Ronda Thompson
Lady Anne Baldwin longs to break free from her proper bonds. When she meets the mysterious Merrick, whose eyes glow like a wolf’s, she may have found more than she bargained for.
I only read the Kenyon story in this anthology and I liked it. Sure it was short, but I thought that the story was told very well ~~ not usually something you get with an anthology story. There was a lot of history between Retta and Velkan packed into this small story. I'd say it was Very Good.
Currently Reading:
Stealing Home by Sherryl Woods
Strange Bedpersons by Jennie Crusie
The Nosy Neighbor by Fern Michaels
Charming the Highlander by Janet Chapman
Much Ado About You by Eloisa James
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennie Crusie et. al
Library Haul:
I went to the library with kiddo today and bought these from the friends of the library shelves. 12 books for $1.75 ~ not bad for one day.
The Nosy Neighbor by Fern Michaels ($0.25)
Prisoner of Desire by Jennifer Blake (free)
Love Me, Marietta by Jennifer Wilde (free)
Train from Marietta by Dorothy Garlock ($0.25)
A Little Magic by Nora Roberts ($0.25)
McKettrick's Pride by Linda Lael Miller ($0.25)
Never Seduce a Scoundrel by Sabrina Jeffries ($0.25)
A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer (free)
Love Forevermore by Madeline Baker (free)
Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts ($0.25)
Heart Throb by Suzanne Brockmann ($0.25)
Soul Song by Marjorie Liu ($0.25)
Labels: Book Crazy, Gena Showalter, Good, Julia Quinn, MaryJanice Davidson, PC Cast, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Sherryl Woods, Susan Grant, Very Good
Friday, December 29, 2006,9:45 PM
The Pleasure Slave
Why I Read It: The story sounded like something I’d enjoy ~ a little reminiscent of SK’s Fantasy Lover. Plus I hadn’t read a Gena Showalter before and always like to try new-to-me authors.
From the Back Cover: When Santa Fe antique dealer Julie Anderson was curiously drawn to purchase a battered jewelry box, she never expected it to contain her own personal love slave. Especially not tall, dark and sinfully handsome Tristan-a man hard to resist, and determined to fulfill her every desire.
Though Tristan was a rogue of the battlefield and the boudoir, making love with Julia was like nothing he'd ever known. Yet revealing his true heart would break the centuries-old spell and separate them forever. And Tristan would do anything to go on loving Julia. . .even remain a slave through all eternity. . .
My Thoughts: The minute I started reading this story, I got sucked in. Tristan, proud warrior from another planet, was the unfortunate object of affection for Zirra, a Druin. Because Tristan did not return her affections, she did the worst possible thing she could do to warrior ~ turn him into a slave. But her intention was to keep him as her personal sex slave, which did not happen. Once it was discovered what Zirra did, the box that now contained Tristan was thrown into space and he became a slave for thousands of years.
In present day Santa Fe, NM, Julia Anderson is at an antique show when she is drawn to a small box. The box is old and the jewels have all come off of it ~ so for an antique dealer like Julia, the flaws should have been enough for her to stay away from it. But, instead, she buys it at an inflated price due to a bidding war with her competitor. Once she gets the box home and opens it, the fun starts.
Tristan seems to push all of Julia’s buttons from the minute he appears from the box. He teases her ~ which was fun and a lot of times humorous, but on the flip side I found it a little odd since he was supposed to be her slave.
Julia has issues ~ namely self-esteem issues that date back to one unfortunate incident in high school (which, when I read about it ~ I almost felt like I was reading about “Never Been Kissed”). This incident has scarred her enough to where she doesn’t date, and doesn’t know how to act with men. She decides to ask Tristan to help her ~ to teach her how to date men, namely her neighbor Peter. Of course, while Tristan is teaching her about seduction he is secretly (or not so secretly) trying to seduce her.
I liked this story. I thought it was fun and had a lot of great moments. I’d say this is a Good read and I definitely want to read more Gena Showalter in the future.
Labels: Gena Showalter, Good, Paranormal
Friday, December 22, 2006,9:50 AM
Let it snow.....
Well, we got snow last night. Not a lot, but it's a combination of rain, snow, slush and general yuck which makes driving very interesting. It's pretty and it smells so wonderful outside, but I'm not looking forward to the drive home.
I finished reading the short story "Hot Toy" by Jennifer Crusie in the Santa, Baby anthology. It was cute ~ I chose to ignore the levels of ridiculous that were in the story and concentrated on Nolan and Trudy. They had great chemistry ~ I'll write more on this later.
I started reading The Pleasure Slave by Gena Showalter last night ~ it sucked me right in and I'm already on page 100. Great story so far. I love how Tristan pushes Julia's buttons.
Visit to the doctor yesterday went okay ~ all my bloodwork came back normal, so that's a relief. So now, I go back next week for a bone scan.
Don't forget!:
The ladies over at Sanctuary's Finest are doing a fun end of the year giveaway.
Please visit their blog and check it out!
I finished reading the short story "Hot Toy" by Jennifer Crusie in the Santa, Baby anthology. It was cute ~ I chose to ignore the levels of ridiculous that were in the story and concentrated on Nolan and Trudy. They had great chemistry ~ I'll write more on this later.
I started reading The Pleasure Slave by Gena Showalter last night ~ it sucked me right in and I'm already on page 100. Great story so far. I love how Tristan pushes Julia's buttons.
Visit to the doctor yesterday went okay ~ all my bloodwork came back normal, so that's a relief. So now, I go back next week for a bone scan.
Don't forget!:
The ladies over at Sanctuary's Finest are doing a fun end of the year giveaway.
Please visit their blog and check it out!
Labels: Friends, Gena Showalter, Jennifer Crusie, Ramblings, Weather