Movies: Flashdance

Title: Flashdance
Genre: Drama/Romance
Grade: C-

Flashdance is one of those movies you have to see once, just to know what all the buzz is about. There are a lot of cheesy dance flicks I like- Save the Last Dance, Center Stage, Step Up- but Flashdance fell flat for me.

Let me start off with the dancing, since that is the focus of the movie. First off, the style of dance isn’t one I like. It’s a personal taste thing, but I never got into the 80’s and a lot of the dance routines reminded me of exercise videos. I felt really guilty eating popcorn during this movie. Maybe if you’re into the 80’s or grew up then the dancing will click with you more. The skill used is amazing, but it’s also obvious that Jennifer Beals is not the one dancing.

I also had issues with the dancing at the bar where Alex works at night. What exactly is it supposed to be?! The summary says she’s an exotic dancer, but the girls don’t really strip. They just have these elaborate artsy dances in skimpy outfits. And the one routine where she had the white paint on her face and was dancing in front of a tv… was she a mime?  Very, very confusing.

Most of the reasons I don’t like this movie stem from Alex herself. She’s moody, volatile, and has a toxic relationship with Nick. It’s not just that he’s her boss and older than her. Nick first takes note of Alex after seeing her dance at the bar. It seems sleazy to me that a girl's boss would try to pick her up after learning she also works as an exotic dancer (or whatever she is). In their relationship, Alex will be happy-go-lucky one moment and crazy the next, breaking windows, getting out of cars in the middle of the highway and slapping Nick. Not exactly the ideals of a healthy relationship.  I think Dr. Drew would have a thing or two to say about her behavior.

Review: Lover Unleashed

Title: Lover Unleashed
Author: JR Ward
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood (#9)
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Summary:
Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.

When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul.

As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.

Review:
I LOVED Lover Unleashed. I devoured it, reading during my lunch breaks and into the night. But despite how much I enjoyed it, I’m still only giving it three stars. The other BDB books I’ve given three stars to have generally been because the main characters annoyed the heck out of me, but other characters and overall story arc redeemed it for me. In this case, there was so much going on that even the main romance felt like a side plot!

Manny and Payne didn’t feel like the centerpiece of the story. Compared to past couples they weren’t given that much page time, and at the end of the book their situation didn’t feel resolved. Maybe their story arc will continue into the next book- there seems to be a lot of that going on.

In a lot of ways, Lover Unleashed felt like a way to introduce future plots- Panye/Manny was just the excuse used to create the book for it. The reason I still liked it (besides being a die hard BDB fan) is that most of these plots weren’t boring. In a lot of past books there’s been endless filler about the inner workings of the Lesser Society, and a bunch of baby powdered undead white guys can only be so interesting. The Lessers have all but disappeared in Lover Unleashed, which for the time being I’m quite ok with.

There were a few things missing besides the Lessers though. Like where was Tohr? Isn’t the next book his? Even Qhuay, had a limited presence, was heavily lopsided, with the reader often in Quinn’s head, but Blay seeming to breeze on and off screen.

So all in all, Lover Unleashed gets a big thumbs up for fun, but two stars knocked off for missing pieces and heavy plot juggling.

Review: He's Just Not That Into You

Title:  He's Just Not That Into You
Author: Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo
Genre: Self Help
Series: none
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary:
For ages women have come together over coffee, cocktails, or late-night phone chats to analyze the puzzling behavior of men. Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo are here to say that —despite good intentions— you're wasting your time. Men are not complicated, although they'd like you to think they are. And there are no mixed messages.

The truth may be, He's just not that into you.

He's Just Not That Into You —based on a popular episode of Sex and the City— educates otherwise smart women on how to tell when a guy just doesn't like them enough, so they can stop wasting time making excuses for a dead-end relationship. This book knows you're a beautiful, smart, funny woman who deserves better.

Review:
I loved He's Just Not That Into You (the movie).  I thought it was funny and smart and had a great ensemble cast.  However, I had never thought to pick up He's Just Not That Into You (the book).  I'm not a fan of self-help books.  Normally I'll start reading them and diligently nod my head at what I assume must be such sage and wise advice (after all it did manage to get published).  But somewhere around a fourth of the way through I always end up setting the book down because, as awesome as the advice sounds on paper, it doesn't seem feasible in my life.  Sort of like a crash diet- maybe I could keep it up for a week or two, but down the line I'd be right back to all my old habits.

I started He's Just Not That Into You with even lower expectations than that.  To be honest, I started it with a bad attitude, fully planning on hating it and making fun of it.  A few weeks ago while surfing the interwebs I came across an excerpt of this book that had me up in arms.  The very first chapter (and the excerpt I read) says that if a guy is into you, he'll ask you out, no ifs, ands, or buts.  In otherwords, stop asking men out and wait for them to ask you.  The whole idea sounded so infuriating and anti-feminist to me!  What could this book possibly say that's worthwhile?  Let me get this confession out of the way early: I was wrong.

The whole point of the book is summed up in a phrase use right in the intro: don't waste the pretty.  You're pretty, you're smart, you're interesting.  So don't waste the pretty on men who don't reciprocate, or who make excuses, or who don't make you happy. Don't waste the pretty on men who waste your time.

He's Just Not That Into You is divided into a series of chapters all starting with "He's Just Not That Into You If..." and then tackling a specific issue such as asking you out, calling, and seeing other people.  Within each chapter Greg responds to letters that have different dating and relationship dilemmas where, you guessed it, he's just not that into you.  Each chapter ends with further remarks from Greg and how Liz (the single girl like the reader) is handling the subject, and then a silly "exercise" to drive home the point.

The book really had a way of punching me in the gut then making me stand up straighter.  I'll start with the feminist who-aks-out-who debate.  Greg points out that men have been given all these advantages in our society, so despite what many would have you believe, they are fully capable of asking someone out, especially if it's someone they're into.  It's painfully logical.  He doesn't say everytime a gal asks a guy out is bad- the point of the chapter is more to push the point that there is no reason to ask out (and continue to call) a guy who has not proven that he is into and therefore worthy of your time and prettiness.  We have a right to expect better for ourselves.  Way to go Greg for reminding us.

Greg deals out a lot of tough love in the book. Most of it is harsh and hard to swallow. If it had only been his opinion, I still would have thought it was a good book. Liz's sections added the gal's perspective, voicing all of our worries and doubts and acknowleding the complexities of the situations, ultimately concluding (using Greg's advice) all we can do is make the best choices based on what we know. This dual perspective made the book not just good but great.

That sounds really sad and depressing, but it's not, it's empowering.  What I realized is if I hadn't been wasting all my time with all those guys who weren't that into me (and who often I wasn't that into either) I probably would have found or noticed a guy who was into me!  Clearly I'm not the only woman who felt this way.  The library copy I got was thoroughly dog-eared, even before I checked it out.

The final chapter is the only place with a serious exercise.  It's where you have to create standards for yourself- actually write down concrete behaviors you will not tolerate.  I thought hard over this one, so here's what I came up with:
1. I will not go out with a guy I have to ask out beyond the first date.
2. I will not go out with a guy who doesn't make clear he's dating me.
3. I will not go out with a guy who doesn't regularly communicate with me.
4. I will not go out with a guy who already has a girlfriend.
5. I will not go out with a guy who cannot speak openly about sex or deal with with sex-related issues.
6. I will not go out with a guy who uses drugs or drinks excessively.
7. I will not go out with a guy who whose political or religious views make me uncomfortable, or who makes racist or homophobic remarks.
8. I will not go out with a guy if making me happy isn't one of his priorities.
9. I will not go out with a guy if he won't show me off to his friends or won't stick up for me in front of his frineds.
10. I will not go out with a guy if I cannot see myself having some sort of future with him.

Liz (sans Greg) wrote a section at the end of the book about life and dating after writing He's Just Not That Into You.  It's about the process that went with putting these ideas into place.  Obviously some of it can be intimidating.  Why be alone when you can be with someone who's good enough for now?  She suggests waiting a year or two before reading the section.  Normally I'd disregard that statement and read it anyway, but for once I did what I was told.  Yes, I thought the book was that worth listening to.

I know a lot of people who read this blog are happily married, but I'd still recommend this book because we all have at least one friend who needs to read it.  5 out of 5 stars.

Movies: The Lady Eve

Movie: The Lady Eve (1941)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Grade: B

Summary:
Returning from a year up the Amazon studying snakes, the rich but unsophisticated Charles Pike meets con-artist Jean Harrington on a ship. They fall in love, but a misunderstanding causes them to split on bad terms. To get back at him, Jean disguises herself as an English lady, and comes back to tease and torment him.

Review:
A few days ago when hopping around the blogosphere I came across Dear Author's review of The Lady Eve and was intrigued.  I'm a big fan of 1940's romances and screwball comedies, and also a lover of Barbara Stanwyck.  Reading the review I realized, "hey I've seen this before!" but for some reason only the second half, so I jumped on Netflix Instant and watched the whole thing to judge it for myself.  Interestingly enough, I came up with the same grade as Dear Author reviewer Jayne, but I completely disagree with her review.  Janye, you've got it all backwards!  Let me set the record straight...

I think I should start off my review by stating that I don't like Henry Fonda.  Not one darn bit.  I think he pulled his weight a bit in 12 Angry Men, but that had more to do with excellent direction by Sidney Lummet and strong actors like Lee J. Cobb to play off of.  In The Lady Eve it's not his character Hopsy that's wooden, it's him!  I also had some qualms with William Demarest's portrayal of Mugsy (to say the least it was one dimensional and over the top) but it was more a reflection of 1930's comedic acting styles than actual bad acting (i.e. Henry Fonda!).

Janye and my biggest disagreement is over the first half of the movie.  The first half of the movie takes place on a steamboat headed back to New York from South America, where happy-go-lucky Jean begins a flirtation with Charles "Hopsy" Pike, millionaire and heir to an ale brewing company. Jean is the daughter of a card shark, and the flirtation was meant to help distract Hopsy, but soon she's falling for him too and calling off the whole scam.  Janye thought this half was fantastic and laugh out loud hilarious.  I thought it was mediocre and generic.  I agree with her that the first half of the movie is a lot more light hearted, but that's what makes it so bland.  There's no real tension that's developed yet.  

That being said, the tone changes and becomes darker in the second half, once the tension has developed.  At the end of the ship ride, Hopsy discovers what he believes to be Jean's deception and callously rejects her.  She vows revenge and later stays with a family friend who lives by the Pikes, introducing herself as the Lady Eve only to capture Hopsy's heart once again, this time to break it.  I felt Stanwyck really got a chance to shine in this half of the movie.  She slide between the smiling society girl and the hurt and angry lover with ease (I couldn't help but think of her future character in Double Indemnity!).  Ultimately she sides with good though and because of her love for Hopsy sees the error of what she's done.

The Lady Eve is a classic 1940's slapstick romantic comedy, and it's in the second half that it really acts like one.  For most the movie the comedic burden has been on Stanwyck (and somewhat Demarest) but here Fonda finally helps out with some physical gags.  I think to modern viewers these might seem silly and over the top, but I find them funny, especially when I look at them in comparison of other movies of the time when that's what comedy was.

There is one scene which really gets under my nerves though- the way in which Eve breaks Hopsy's heart is by confessing to a series of past flings and a previous marriage, which apparently is horrible enough to make him jump out of a train and refuse to ever speak to her again.  Really?!  Oh 1941... so appallingly anti-feminist.  However, if you can block what they're actually saying out and just watch Stanwyck's delivery it's still funny.

Overall, I don't think The Lady Eve is the best romantic comedy, ever or of the 1940's.  I don't think it holds up to the rapier wit of some of Cary Grant's early films (such as The Phildelphia Story) or The Thin Man series.  It was, however, a wonderful performance by Barbara Stanwyck and a great way to spend an hour and a half. B

Review: Prom and Prejudice

Title: Prom and Prejudice
Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Genre: YA Romance
Series: None
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Summary:
After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn’t interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be — especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London.
Lizzie is happy about her friend’s burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles’s friend, Will Darcy, who’s snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn’t seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it’s because her family doesn’t have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk — so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?

Review:
I have a soft spot for YA retellings of classic fiction, and I definitely have a soft spot for retellings of Pride and Prejudice.  So when I spotted Prom and Prejudice I sent in a request to my local library and had them purchase a copy for me. 

In my opinion YA fiction can either be very complex and thought provoking, or complete and utter fluff.  In this case it, Prom and Prejudice fell in the latter category.  Pride and Prejudice itself isn't a particularly morally complex book, but I felt Prom and Prejudice started off with the concept of tackling class differences at a private elitist boarding school but then fell flat.  I think the problem for me was that, with the exception of Jane and Darcy, all the other students were stereotypes of "rich kids".  In fact, all the characters, including Lizzie, Darcy, Jane lacked any real depth giving them a cardboard effect.  Because of this I would say Eulberg didn't bring anything new or insightful to her retelling.

Despite the flatness of the characterization, it was a fun and easy read which I flew through and was still entertained by.  The places which Eulberg chose to deviate from the original storyline made it much more appropriate for modern times, but it still strongly resembled the good old text.  I'd really only recommend this to all the mega fans of P&P- for me it was a 3 star read.

Review: How to Woo a Reluctant Lady

Title: How to Woo a Reluctant Lady
Author: Sabrina Jeffries
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Hellions of Halstead Hall (#3)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary:
Lady Minerva Sharpe has the perfect plan to thwart her grandmother's demands: become engaged to a rogue! Surely Gran would rather release her inheritance than see her wed a scoundrel. And who better to play the part of Minerva's would-be husband than wild barrister Giles Masters, the very inspiration for the handsome spy in the popular Gothic novels she writes? The memory of his passionate kiss on her nineteenth birthday has lingered in Minerva's imagination, though she has no intention of really falling for such a rakehell, much less marrying him. Little does she know, he really is a covert government operative. When they team up to investigate the mystery behind her parents' deaths, their fake betrothal leads to red-hot desire. Then Minerva discovers Giles's secret double life, and he must use all the cunning tricks of his trade to find his way back into her heart.
Review:
I would say that, so far, How to Woo a Reluctant Lady has been my favorite of the Hellions of Halstead Hall series.  For some reason I find that Sabrina Jeffries books pack more of a punch when the primary character is female (like with her Heiress series) than when the primary character is male (i.e. Oliver or Jarret).  I don't really know why since every book has a hero and heroine, but this is what I've noticed.  Also, I was excited that Giles got his own book!  David Masters is one of my all time favorite heroes, so getting to read about his little brother (even though his little bro seriously messed up in Wed Him Before You Bed Him) was real fun.
Minerva and Giles have great chemistry together and are strong independent characters as well.  Minerva's career as a gothic novelist is fun to read about, especially since we've heard so much about her character Rockton in The Truth About Lord Stoneville and now we're getting a whole new take on him.  Normally I get bored with the "rake who isn't actually a rake" plot, but it worked fabulously for Giles because it was layered with his job, his values, and the pressures it put on him.  He was a fleshed out character.  A main point of the series is the Sharpe's family scandal, and Jeffries does a great job of carrying through the series story arc and keeping it interesting.  The tragedy of the Sharpe's parent's death applies to all the siblings, but here it was woven right into Minevra and Gile's romance so it didn't weigh the plot down.

However, there were things that irked me throughout the novel- in particular Minerva and Gile's trust issues.  Come on, work through them already!

For the first half of the novel Minerva obsessess that marrying ANY man will mean the loss of her freedom.  She is determined to live alone in some cottage and write her books, even though she has some obvious envy of her brother's and their marriages.  This is all understandable after her witnessing her parents marriage, but it was rubbing me the wrong way how she was treating Giles.  We know he's had to play the dissulote rake for years, but she doesn't let him get two words in edgewise for a good quarter of the book.  Instead she just disses him, his career, and his ability to take responsibility.  If she had let him get in two words she might have seen just how much he really had accomplished.  And he was trying really really hard to show her!  I just wanted to shake her!

On the other hand, for the second half of the book Giles wasn't any better!  He's so determined to believe that Minerva can't keep a secret (becuase she is a writer and will accidently write it into a book) that he doesn't tell her anything.  His secretiveness almost destroyes her and their marriage.  Ok, I get it, he's been a spy all these years and now can't trust anyone.  I half like that part because it adds depth to his character.  But at the same time, Ravenswood, his superior, has already given him permission to tell Minerva!  Could he be anymore of an idiot? I wanted to slap him!

Of course, it all works out wonderfully in the end, and I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it.  Niether Minerva's nor Giles's flaws were enough to turn me off to the book, or even significantly pull me away from the plot.  All in all 4 stars.

In Other News

A couple things have happened in the past week, but since they're not particularly related here a bit of a mash up.

1.  For all you Gleeks- Kurt/Blaine FTW!  I think we all knew it was coming, but in my opinion it played out perfectly.

I also just loved the episode as a whole.  The original songs were great and I'm sad we're going to have to wait a while for the season to start up again, but the mid-season did end on a stellar note.  I'm really counting on Finn and Rachel getting back together later in the show (it's pretty obvious right?) because they're my favorite pair.  Any thoughts from other Gleeks out there?

2. Sabrina Jeffries has officially announced that in the final book of the Hellion series Celia will be pair with Pinter.  I don't know if anyone else felt this way, but I thought the pairing was clearly set up since the first book (sort of like Minerva and Giles), which is something I've really enjoyed and am looking forward to.  She's said on her Facebook that David Gandy is her model for Pinter.

Very nice.

3.  I got to try TruBlood!  I know, I know, it's so gimmicky, right?  It tastes pretty good though.  It's carbonated blood orange soda, so it's just like a premium over price regular orange soda, but the bottles are soooo awesome!  I'm such a fan.

4.  The Iditarod recently concluded.  When it comes to this dogsled race, I am the definition of a superfan.  I constantly am running back to my computer to check the standings of the mushers.  I was pretty psyched because I won my bet this year.  I predicted Dallas Seavey would not win but place in the top ten, and he came in fourth!  Look, here's me being superfan-y.

My Spring Break is over and am now back at school. Le sigh.  Time to get back into gear.

Review: Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman

Wow, I'm on a real roll with my reviews here!

Title: Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman
Author: Lorraine Heath
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: London's Greatest Lovers #2
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

I am having so much trouble rating this book, so let me start with the good stuff.

I LOVED Stephen. I cannot even say this enough. Before I picked up this book, I was getting tired of the reformed rake plot, so it stands to reason I wouldn’t be too fond of Stephen. This guy was the biggest player ever and was in no hurry to repent for it. But unlike a lot of the reformed rake plots that have been starting to grate on me, Stephen didn’t just drop his womanizing ways because he found The One. His traumatic experiences in the Crimean War, and his guilt for being unable to remember them, spurred him to be a better person. It made his reformation believable. And in the end, he was a really great guy! He was so serious about doing the right thing and marrying the mother of his child, stepped up to the plate to become a father of a child he didn’t know he had, and was really determined to make sure Mercy was pleasured. Really, who wouldn’t want to meet a guy like that? Stephen alone gets 5 stars.

Mercy on the other hand… I couldn’t stand her! Don’t get me wrong, I could totally see where she was coming from. She truly did love Stephen and his son John who she had saved, and the trauma she endured as a nurse during the war did explain a lot of her actions. At a lot of points I did consider her brave and admirable. But her frantic drive to keep Stephen and John in her life, including sabotaging her husband’s attempts to gain his memory, left a bad taste in my mouth. I just ended up skipping everything between the wedding and when Stephen finds out the truth. I don’t think the lying bothered me as much as her disregard for other people and the consequences of her actions. I think a lot of people would feel differently, but it was enough to almost make this a DNF for me.

On a third level, I really enjoyed Lorraine Heath’s writing style. That was a plus for this book. I’ve enjoyed her before, so I think I might go through her back list and pick up some titles.

How do I sum all this up? The ending was wonderful, but I can’t ignore the fact that I had to skip over almost fifty pages to get to it. Take this review as you will. Overall, I can only give this book 2 stars.

Review Mashup!

I have been so out of the loop over the past week and a half! Sorry for going totally MIA on everyone. My profs decided it would be a wonderful week to slam everyone with tons of material. I haven't even been checking my blogger feed :p I did somehow manage to squeeze in some reading, so to make up for my disappearance I'm just posting a sort of review mash up of what I was up to.  And Happy Belated V-Day everyone!

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

I’ve heard great things about this series, and with the final installment coming out fairly soon, I decided to check this out of my local library. While I did enjoy it immensely, I didn’t feel it lived up to all the hype.

I think my biggest problem with the book was Callie’s complete and total disregard for her personal safety and well being. She was an intelligent female, but then she would do things (like sneaking around at night alone) that made me wonder where all that good sense had gone. It was so unrealistic that nothing bad happened to her, and that kept pulling me out of the story. (Not that I wanted something bad to happen! I just wanted her to take care of herself.) Also some of the situations seemed too contrived to me, such as Ralston ALWAYS being where she happens to sneak off to. London wasn’t that small of a place.

The second half of the book was much better to me. I felt like that was where Callie really began to come out of her shell. It was especially fun when items on her list began to be completed in unexpected ways. Despite my complaints, I did enjoy the book in the end and think it deserves 4 stars.

Nine Rules to Break sets up well for the rest of the series, in particular Juliana’s book (the one which is going to be released soon). She was a fun character, and the tension has already been set up between her and the Duke of Leighton. I don’t know if this is furthered in the next book in the series, but I hope to read it soon to find out.

The Truth About Lord Stoneville by Sabrina Jeffries

Like with Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, the release of a book spurred me to go back and start a series. Also, I’m a big fan of Sabrina Jeffries, in particular her Heiress series. She’s my go to author for a light, fun, historical read.

While The Truth About Lord Stoneville had all the elements of Jeffries’ style that I love, the book just didn’t work for me. Almost all of my issues can be isolated to Oliver. He seemed to have some real problems in the logic department. Because he was torn apart as a child watching his parents fight because of his father’s infidelities, he believes a marriage with children should be faithful. However, later he refuses to promise fidelity because it’s “just not in his nature”, but is still ok with getting hitch and having kids. Wtf? For most of the book I just found him annoying. He clearly believes everything his father did was wrong, but is so busy repeating those mistakes (often hurting Maria in the process) that he just came off as a hypocrite to me. Even if it’s unintentional, he’s constantly rubbing in her face how much of a womanizer he is.

I did like Maria very much. She wasn’t weak willed and was very resilient. Her cousin Freddy was a great addition too, even if he was rather two dimensional. 3 stars, and I can’t wait to read more of this series.

A Pirate’s Possession by Michelle Beattie

I’m not the biggest fan of pirate romances, but when I do go for them, I generally need them to be the over the top swashbuckling type, not the sappy, humorous secondary character type. This just wasn’t the sort of book for me.

I found Vincent, Nate’s second mate, to be a very distracting character. A dwarf pirate who was trying to prove his manhood was one thing, but he was so gabby and “get in touch with your emotions” that it got annoying and clashed with being a pirate.

I felt like a lot of Nate and Claire’s Big Misunderstandings could have been more easily resolved. It was utterly obvious that they were not on the same page about why they were mad at each other, and I felt like one of them would have said something revealing while they were busy sniping at each other. However, the dialog was carefully crafted to keep them both in the dark until the Big Reveal could later be used as a plot point.

I enjoyed the action scenes though. They were well written and propelled the plot forward while it lagged romantically. The fight scenes were some of the best I’ve read in a romance novel. I kind of wish they had been attacked more. 2 out of 5 stars.

Review: Wicked Nights With a Lover

Title: Wicked Nights With a Lover
Author: Sophie Jordan
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: The Penwich School for Virtuous Girls #3
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary:
What should a proper lady do when she believes her days are numbered?

Step One: Take a Lover . . .
After being told she will not survive beyond the year's end, prim and lovely Marguerite Laurent intends to live what remains of her life to the very fullest. Though she may never know love, she will know passion—and she agrees to a whirlwind romance with a former admirer. But hours before embarking upon her grand adventure, Marguerite is abducted—by an unscrupulous rogue who boldly announces his intentions to bed and wed her before the week is out!

Step Two: Live With No Regrets . . .
Ash Courtland pulled himself up from the gutter to become a successful man of business, and now he wants revenge on his one-time partner for betraying him. Still, his enemy's bewitching daughter is most certainly not about to surrender her innocence to the infuriating—if shockingly attractive—cad who took her captive. Yet with no more than a touch, Ash makes her tremble with desire . . . and resisting the heat of his passion could cost Marguerite her last, best chance for ecstasy.

Review:
Wicked Nights with a Lover was a fun read that I had no problem getting into. Both Marguerite and Ash are very strong willed and well matched for one another. It’s not your typical abducted heroine romance, which was refreshing. Marguerite doesn’t succumb to Stockholm syndrome in two chapters, feel sorry for Ash and fall in love with him. She fights him tooth and nail, not just because she doesn’t want to fulfill the prediction, but because, hey, he abducted her, remember?

I thought Ash was a very sexy alpha hero. The two of them had a lot of chemistry. The one problem I had with him was that the moment he realized he loved Marguerite, he was willing to lay aside all of his plans of revenge and do anything for her. He had years of pent up anger at her father and had spent all of his life being treated as an inferior. It was clear that he loved Marguerite, but those other feelings weren’t just going to disappear. Also, considering that he was willing to lay the revenge aside, deciding to send her away rather than risk losing her seems nonsensical. He did grovel enough at the end for me to forgive that brutish move.

This was my first Sophie Jordan and I’d definitely be up for reading her again! 4 out of 5 stars.

I’ve been meaning to write this review for ages and I’m only now getting around to it. At first there was a very specific reason I chose to hold off. My birthday was last month, and the big event of the day was that I had an appointment with a psychic! Doesn’t that go so well with this book?

This wasn’t just any psychic. Her name is Julie and my aunt had been seeing for years. She’s made several unique and accurate predictions, including about my aunt’s second husband and that she was pregnant with a boy. In other words, not the usual vague predictions that can be taken any which way the wind blows. I have the whole session recorded on a cassette tape so I can go back over it whenever I want!

My predictions weren’t anything as dramatic as Marguerite’s, but here are some of the highlights:

1. Let’s start with the romance, because I know that’s what y’all are going to want to hear about ;) I’m going through a rough patch emotionally right now, so I’m not interested in a romantic relationship. That wasn’t a prediction- I told her that. However, Julie said the higher powers are keeping any men I might have romantic relationships with out of my life until I become more balanced. More specifically, I will begin a romance (or have romantically charged months) between May and August this coming year.

2. I will be coming into money. Hey, sounds really nice right? This could be from anything, but will likely be from my own creative endeavors.

3. I need to get a blood test. She said it could be either diabetes or a thyroid problem. This was the really freaky prediction- I have a blood test for hypothyroidism scheduled for next week, and I scheduled it before
the reading!

4. I will be travelling soon, apparently to Canada. The travelling could be education related (that makes sense since I’m a student) or I could be working for an airline (which would be funny if that came true since that used to be my dream job before the economy crashed).

5. I will be getting new friends who are positive people. Ok, cool.

So nothing super specific (other than the blood thing), but it’ll be fun to look over these in a year and see how things matched up.

Movies: The Jane Austen Book Club

We've been hit with several inches of snow over the past few days.  The weather people are predicting a few snow showers tomorrow night, but I hope nothing to bad.  It's days like this I'm glad I don't have car....  (Taken by my friend in the parking lot behind our dorm)

So what is there to do on these snowy evenings? Besides read, I already do that ;) Curl up and watch a movie of course!

Movie: The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

Genre: Romance

Grade: C+/B-

Summary:

Six Californians start a club to discuss the works of Jane Austen, only to find their relationships -- both old and new -- begin to resemble 21st century versions of her novels.

Review:

The Jane Austen Book Club is a fun romp through Austenland with no particular emphasis on one book.  I wouldn't say it's particularly deep, as all the connections between movie characters and book characters are obvious, and it's definitely not thorough with six characters and six books being covered.  It does, however, capture a certain essence about Jane Austen lit, maybe about the dangers and resumptions of love, and the idea that somehow it all turns out well in the end.

About sixty percent of the movie is ho-hum standard romance for me (and ten percent I can't stand), but there is about thirty percent of the movie that I absolutely love and that's why I own a copy.

First, I absolutely love the May-December relationship between Jocelyn and Grigg.  Jocelyn is an older woman who is a very successful dog breeder (and thus is related to the book Emma.  Get it, she likes pairing things up?).  Grigg is a well-off computer geek and sci-fi fan, and smitten with Jocelyn since their first meeting, not that she's noticed.  If only he would stop being such a gentleman and make a move ;)  Their courtship is sweet, hilarious, and of course, riddled with misunderstandings. 

But really, the force which drives this movie for me is Prudie, played by Emily Blunt.  At first cold and stern, we watch as she spirals out of control and her marriage falls apart.  Considering how horribly unlikeable Prudie starts off as it is amazing how easy it is to come to care for her. She is by far the most interesting of the characters and I think Emily Blunt is an amazing actress.

On those two factors alone I think the film is worth seeing once.

It ends a bit like a Jane Austen book, which is perhaps why the acting takes a turn for the worse at the end.  With everything so neatly tied up in little bows their isn't much to work with.  Every couple is neatly paired off, ecstatically happy and dialog is reduced to a mush of sappy cliches.  I suppose if the movie meant to imitate Austen, a true advocate of the happily ever after, they did it well.

Review: Gentlemen Prefer Succubi

I'm still not in full blogging mode. My RSS feeds are piling up and every time I mean to post something I end up on LOLcats instead. I hate to admit it, but I can't wait for the semester to start back up. This no schedule/set routine thing is going to kill me if it goes on much longer. On the up side I am at least reading again, so I thought I might as well throw some of my thoughts out there about my recent reads.

Title: Gentlemen Prefer Succubi
Author: Jill Myles
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Succubus Diaries #1
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I had really been looking forward to getting around to this series, maybe because of the hype, maybe because succubi aren't that commonly used, but probably because I love the covers.  I won't discredit a book for a bad cover, but I will pick up a book for a good one :)

Unfortunately, with all those high expectations for the book, it was really easy to disappoint me.  I didn't necessarily dislike it and I did enjoy reading it.  I think the main problem was that I felt like it had an idea with so much potential and then didn't go anywhere with it.

Stuff that got on my nerves:

1. Why were the succubi so powerless?!  Jackie and Remy have absolutely no power in this book- even when it comes to seduction.  They need to have sex or they will stave, so they are slaves to their desires.  Ok, I get that.  It's a cool twist to the whole succubi thing, but aren't succubi supposed to be able to control the desires of others?  Instead, Remy and Jackie are physically desirable (not that they have any control over that). Their bodies have been transformed into the image of the ultimate male fantasy- which apparently is a size six with 32DD.  Oh, and the thing that almost made me stop reading all together?  They can't be raped because their hormones would kick in and they'd want it.  Can I even say on how many levels that is disturbing and wrong?

2.  The action/adventure was fairly lame.  I ended up skimming over it.

3.  I think Jackie got on a lot of people's nerves because she kept doing stupid stuff over... and over... and over... except it wasn't her fault!  No one ever bothered to tell her anything, so of course she didn't know and would go make a fool of herself, and then everyone would stand around laughing going "oh silly young succubus".  So... I guess Jackie doing stupid things was something that didn't get on my nerves...

Things I liked:

Despite the many things I didn't like, there were things I liked about this book:

1.  The sex.  Myles can write a good sex scene, that's for sure.  And the sexual tension was good too.  I almost wish the book had let go and been a bit more sex-focused.  After all, it is about succubi, and the action/adventure needed work anyway.

2.  Noah and Zane.  I loved both heroes (kinda like Jackie hehe).  I don't think I could pick one as a favorite.  They both have some really excellent scenes in this book, though Zane gets much more page time and more is revealed about his emotions, etc. I really wish more time had been spent developing them in this book, but this book was clearly about Jackie's beginning as a succubus.

So tallying all that up I'm rating Gentlemen Prefer Succubi 2.5 out of 5.  Not great, but just enough of a pull that I'll stick around for book two.

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!

Bride and Prejudice (2004)
Genre: Romance/Musical
Grade: C+, but still recommended

Loving Pride and Prejudice seems to be a prerequisite for loving the romance genre. Ok, maybe prerequisite is a strong word, but I can probably count on one had the number of people who love the romance genre but aren’t lusting after Mr. Darcy. And how many of us have gotten into a debate about whether Colin Firth or Matthew McFadden played it better? Uh, guilty!

There are so many knock offs, spin offs, and take offs on Pride and Prejudice it’s impossible to keep track. So let me tell you about one of my favorites. Anyone ever heard of a movie called Bride and Prejudice? Yes? No? Well let me say this is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I’m going to come out and admit it’s not the best of movies, but as long as you don’t think about that too hard you can really enjoy it.

Bride and Prejudice is essentially Bollywood-lite meets American musical with a healthy serving of beautiful people. And it works. Because it’s fun! The landscape is gorgeous, you have bright colorful saris swirling all around, funny stereotypical Indian mothers running around arranging marriages, and people bursting into song in the middle of the street.

The worst part about this movie was that it made me want Indian food really really badly! I go to school in a small town and there are no Indian restaurants anywhere near me. I can’t wait to go home on break because there are tons of Indian restaurants near my parents house. Bring on the curry!

Review: A Man In A Million

Here's another old review I'm only now getting around to posting. I read this one about a month or so back and really enjoyed it.

Title: A Man In A Million
Author: Jessica Bird
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The Moorehouse Legacy #4
Grade: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary:
As far as bad boy Spike Moriarty was concerned, Madeline Maguire defined female perfection. When they'd met, she'd walked up as if she wasn't the most gorgeous thing on the planet and asked to see his tattoos. He - a tough guy who'd make grown men run - had just about passed out. But their connection was definitely one-way...it had to be. Because he could never be the man in a million she was looking for, not with the things he'd done and seen. So for as long as she'd let him, he'd give her whatever she wanted. He'd worry about her walking away when it happened.

Review:
Before JR Ward decided to write paranormals about ass-kicking vampires, she wrote as Jessica Bird and wrote contemporary romances. I think I decided to buy this book based on a review over on Dear Author. I can’t quite remember. I already knew JR Ward had previously written under Jessica Bird and I was willing to buy one of her books based on a good review.

A Man In A Million was a pretty straight forward read compared to some of the books in the BDB series, which can have up to five different plot threads running at once. While I often love multi-layered plots, it was also nice to just focus on the hero and heroine. Spike is a French chef with a tragic past that he keeps hidden. After getting dumped by his ex over the issue, he believes no girl would want to stay with him if she knows the whole story. He keeps things casual so no one gets hurt. Pleasantly enough, he doesn’t come off as a womanizer either, but a nice guy who cares about his friends and sister. Mad is a competitive sailor, and though she’s fierce on the water, she is still insecure after always having being verbally put down by her overbearing father and now her step brother. A lot of the book revolves around her learning to stand up for herself, which Spike supports her through.

One of my absolute favorite aspects of this book was comparing it to the BDB. To begin, let’s look at the character of Spike himself.

“Spike was wearing a black leather jacket, a black-button down and a pair of black slacks. His jet-black hair was sticking straight up off his head in all directions, but instead of looking unkept, the jagged peaks emphasized the hard lines of his beautiful face. His big body filled the doorway. The hall. The whole apartment as far as she was concerned.
Oh, God, his eyes… Those incredible, impossibly yellow eyes were still hidden under heavy lids and thick lashes. And the tattoos… On either side of his neck, two elegant, curving designs marked his skin. In his left ear, he had a thick, silver piercing.”

Let’s see, does Spike fit the prerequisites of the Brotherhood? Wearing all black, including leather- check. A very large, imposing body- check. Tattoos and piercings- check. The only thing missing is a random “h” inserted into his name and then he’d be in Lesser-slaying business. A major difference between the two books, though, was that “combat boots” was used in place of “shit kickers”. For some reason I get the feeling that Silhouette wouldn’t have gone for that…

I would have rated this book a 4 just on the fact that Spike could have been a Brother, but I enjoyed it overall as well. It was fairly unique, especially for a Silhouette, which I don’t usually go out of my way to purchase.

First off, Spike and Mad know one another before the beginning of the book, and are already crazy about each other. So in theory it should be smooth sailing to a happy ending (yes pun intended since Mad is a sailor), especially since their mutual friend is playing matchmaker. But of course the book has the Big Misunderstanding. And not only does it have the Big Misunderstanding, but it has quite a few little misunderstandings along the way. It was pretty easy to forgive Spike and Mad though because, unlike most characters, they didn’t let the misunderstandings simmer. They actually bothered to go talk to each other! It was nice to see two characters repeatedly working things out, especially since communication is so important in believing the relationship with succeed. Also, the sex scenes were pleasantly steamy. I will never look at a motorcycle the same way again.

One touchy subject is that throughout most of the book Mad does have an eating disorder, which is not outright stated or dealt with. It seems odd that this isn’t mentioned since Spike’s profession is a Chef, ya know, food related and all. But by the end of the book Mad works out in her internal monologues that she’s going to start eating again, so in a way it is dealt with. It just seems an odd part of the plot since it wasn’t explicitly linked to her self esteem as other incidents in the book were, but rather lumped with her obsession with her training schedule.

Overall, I’d recommend this to any J.R. Ward fans, or any Silhouette fans who are looking for something a little different. It was worth going a little out of my way to find online (which isn’t my usual m.o. for book buying) and I’m also considering looking up some other Jessica Bird backlisted titles.

In other news...I managed to finish my final paper for Grammar at 12:45... 15 minutes to print and get to class! I won't say it was the worst paper I ever wrote, but it ranked in the worst five. What really upset me was about half an hour after turning in the paper I realized I had a cold. This could not be happening! I still have two exams and two final papers due next week! The okay part is that it's less than 48 hours later and I can breath through my nose again, so there is hope.

Review: The Kiss

Not exactly a new read, especially with the time crunch I'm under, but I realized I had posted this review on Goodreads within the past month but hadn't put it up over here as well.  Enjoy!

Title: The Kiss
Author: Sophia Nash
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Widows Club #2
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Summary:

He had once been her cherished childhood companion, and then the man she lusted for in secret, but Georgiana Wilde hasn't seen recently widowed Quinn Fortesque since the day he married another woman and shattered her heart. Then fate intervenes and brings the man she dreams about each night back to her . . .
Returning to the estate on family business, Quinn would like nothing more than to turn the land over to Georgiana and leave the memories of his former life behind. But then the brooding marquis finds himself under the spell of the beauty he once left behind. With her barely concealed passions, Georgiana melts his coolly guarded heart. Suddenly his well-ordered world is in danger of crashing down. And it all began with just one kiss . . . .

Review:

The summary on the back doesn't give a very clear description of the book.  Georgiana had also been married and widowed (thus her inclusion in the Widows Club series), and more specifically, was married to Quinn's cousin and their mutual childhood friend Anthony.  So of course a large portion of this book ends up being the "you still love him!"/"it was always you!" tango.

Most of the book really grated on my nerves. The characters themselves were extremely annoying. I can't name a single character from the book I would want to meet in real life. Generally their actions didn't make sense or didn't jive with how they were described. Quinn is supposed to be a diplomat- never once do we see him be diplomatic, in the present or in flashbacks of his past. In fact, his past seems pretty irrelevant except that we are told his dead wife was bad. Other than that we don't know anything about their marriage or why he married her in the first place.  Their marriage is a blatant plot device. And Luc, the "hero" from the first book in the series, spends most of the time strutting around acting like an ass. Not going to read that book... Though this is not usually a pet peeve of mine, everyone's actions were cpmpletely out of place for the time period.
The main redeeming factor of the book was its ending, which I found sweet and endearing. The final resolution to the Big Misunderstanding was fairly heartwarming, and if the entire book had been like the final 50 pages I would have given The Kiss between 4 and 5 stars. While that is not the case, I'm glad I pushed through to finish it, because the cute ending justified picking it up in the first place, but I would still not recommend this book.

Review: Every Frat Boy Wants It

Title: Every Frat Boy Wants It
Author: Todd Gregory
Genre: Gay Erotica
Series: None
Grade: 3 out of 5 stars

Summary:

Jeff Morgan is about to get the education of a lifetime...
At eighteen, Jeff Morgan is the quintessential all-American boy--blond, blue-eyed, and a star jock at his small Kansas high school. Enrolling at California State University-Polk, Jeff plans to become a writer. He also hopes that the macho nature of fraternity life will help him get over his lifelong attraction to other men. The reality couldn't be more different...
 
Through Blair Blanchard, the drama major son of divorced movie stars, Jeff discovers the Beta Kappa fraternity, and enters a world where alcohol and drugs serve as an excuse for covert trysts between frat brothers...where the pledging process becomes a sensual, S&M-fueled bacchanal...where weekends in L.A. and Palm Springs are no-holds-barred adventures in sexual exploration...and where Spring Break is a boys-gone-wild porn movie come to life. Through every encounter, from intense couplings with older frat brothers to sizzling three-ways with hot new pledges, Jeff also deals with his increasingly complex feelings--for Blair, for a handsome new arrival, and for life within Beta Kappa itself.
 
Sexy, steamy, and incredibly erotic, Every Frat Boy Wants It proves that when it comes to learning all there is to know about mind-blowing pleasure, nothing beats hands-on experience...

Review:

The set-up seems fairly simple: Naïve, innocent Kansas boy goes to a big, California campus, and subsequently a macho frat where innocent Kansas boy gets his eyes opened by beefy men who like to get it on with each other.

And that’s what happens, sorta…  I think I got it figured out…

Something that really frustrated me throughout the whole novel is that there didn’t seem to be a central conflict.  Was this about Jeff and Blair’s relationship?  Was this about Jeff’s need to come out as a gay man?  Was it about just how incredibly ridiculous and dangerous frat houses can be?  Or was it really all just an excuse to write a series of disjointed gay hook ups?

I think this was supposed to be a gay erotica/romance because the central story kept circling around to the relationship between Jeff and Blair.  It’s not that romantic of a relationship.  Sure, they tend to fall into each other’s arms a lot proclaiming their love, but in the end Jeff still has a hell of a time keeping it in his pants.  One moment he’s confessing his love for Blair then two seconds later he’s screwing some of his frat brothers.  Seriously?  This probably wouldn’t have bothered me as much if they were both getting around, but I just felt sorry for Blair because it was clear Jeff’s actions hurt him.

But the main reason I question if this was truly intended to be a gay erotica/romance is because of the amount of time spent on Jeff’s initiation into the frat, Beta Kappa.  If there was anything I took away from this book it is to NEVER JOIN A FRAT!  Reading about the initiation and hazing is not for anyone with a weak stomach.  It’s an in-depth, honest look at drinking on today’s college campuses.  I’m surprised none of the characters were sent to the hospital for alcohol poisoning.  The thing is, I don’t really get what was the point of having all that detail.  None of it was part of the erotica… it sort of felt like two books mashed into one.  Book one- a study of Greek life on today’s campuses.  Book two- gay erotica.    

Another thing that was grating on my nerves by the end was the number of loose plot threads.  Blair states at the beginning of the novel that straight guys will do just about anything when they are horny, including fooling around with gay men and then pretending it never happened in the morning.  It seems to be implied (at least to me) that at some point Blair was in love with, or at least involved with another frat brother or straight guy who burned him.  This would explain why he’s so secretive about his and Jeff’s relationship and about his own past, but for some reason this is never explained to the reader.  It’s just left hanging.

Blair himself annoyed me by the end of the book.  He started off as this awesome character, full of mystery and glamour, and then just ended up being whiny and needy.  Even Jeff was bored with him, which made me completely doubtful that their relationship would last much farther than the end of the novel.  I can’t say too much more for Jeff.  He started off as this young boy from Kansas, and his innocence and constant discoveries is what initially gave the book its erotic edge.  By the end he was this coked out horn dog slowly dying on the inside.  At the same time, he was still a better character than Blair, because it wasn’t a weak character, just extremely unlikable.  The Jeff’s physical and emotional decay is supposed to be a blatant reflection of the toll that pretending not to be gay is taking on him.  The problem with this is that the decaying went so far that it seemed too abrupt that he would suddenly be ok again and that his and Blair’s relationship would be revived just by coming out of the closet.  Yea, that would go a long way toward helping, but he was pretty messed up by that point, and that’s saying something after all he went through to get into the frat.

The book’s saving grace that kept it from falling into the 1 or 2 star categories is that it was well written.  It’s painful when something is written well enough that you want to keep going, but the story isn’t compelling.  I’d be willing to try Todd Gregory again in the future, but I wouldn’t recommend Every Frat Boy Wants It, unless there is someone you are trying to scare out of joining a frat.

Digitize Me

It’s been a bit longer than I wanted to go without posting something, but three weeks isn’t as bad as my seven month hiatus, so I still have hope for reviving The Romance Girl’s Guide.

Today I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon of doing an e-reader review. Almost all the romances I read (as in 99%) are mass market paperback. Admittedly, I’m unlikely to switch to reading mainly digital. I love holding books, looking at their covers (yes, even the awful ones that give our genre a bad rep), flipping through the pages, turning to the back and reading the uselessly vague blurb, and even the clutter as the books spill off the shelves into boxes and across the floor. I know that sounds sarcastic, but I mean it. As a librarian’s daughter, raised around books all my life, I love the physical experience. Am I a format snob?

Despite all this, I definitely see the value of owning an e-reader. Going on vacation and trying to stuff a suitcase with the books I want to read has always been a pain, and bringing back the books I buy and absolute headache. And despite my ongoing defense of the genre, there are just some days sitting on the bus I don’t want to be seen with that cover. On top of that, more and more there are romances that aren’t even being published in print.

For my high school graduation I was given a first generation Kindle. Even with my hesitations about digital printing, I was incredibly excited. Since then I have only used it to read a small handful of books. This hasn’t been because of any unhappiness with the Kindle, but mainly because I already have a huge pile of TBR books that I already own and a really bad habit of walking into a bookstore and not walking out empty handed (I do not seem to be alone on this). Also, my freshman year of college I left it at home and decided not to ask my mother to mail it across the country. And if I’m truly honest, there has always been some ignorance on my part about the vast world of digital printing. Now years later my Kindle has collected dust and has trouble keeping a charge.

A few days ago a friend of mine lent me her Nook for some pleasure reading. I have NookStudy on my laptop for rented textbooks, but I had never used the actual reading device. I have to say I liked it. So I’ve decided to do a comparison between my experiences with my outdated Kindle and my friend’s Nook and see how they match up.

My favorite aspect of both the Kindle and the Nook was the screen. Neither had backlighting, and text size could be easily adjusted, so my eyes were never strained. Personally I think this is the most important aspect of an e-reader, as what I really want to do is read my book without any distractions. A slight distraction with the Kindle was the placement of the page turn buttons. They take up the entire side of the reader, so if I wasn’t careful where I rested my thumb, I was suddenly flipping through pages. This wasn’t too big a problem as my Kindle was in a case, but I can see how this would have been a problem for someone who was just holding the Kindle itself. I liked the page turn buttons on the Nook much more. The small solid buttons just required one firm push.

I was impressed with the battery power of the Nook. After reading an entire book the charge didn’t seem hugely affected. I won’t comment too much on my Kindle. It never seemed to be able to keep a charge for long periods of time, and definitely can’t now, but that might have more to do with age and my inability to learn about power settings.


Personally I found the Kindle easier to navigate. It uses a keypad and buttons, whereas the Nook used a small touch screen at the bottom portion of the device, which didn’t always seem to respond to me or do what I wanted it to do. Maybe it just took practice.

I asked my friend and found out shopping from the Nook is just like shopping on the Kindle. However, she said she always had trouble downloading books from a wifi location, a problem I never had.

If someone came up to me today and asked, “Whaddya think? Should I get a Nook or a Kindle?” I really wouldn’t have an answer. I’ve had great (if limited) experiences with both, and haven’t even gotten to check out the newer Kindles. What I can say is that, while I still love my paperbacks and clutter, I should get over my fear of the unfamiliar and start exploring the world of digital publishing, beyond the obvious stocked shelves of Amazon and BN. After all, a book is a book, and I love ‘em any way I can get ‘em.

More Happy and Some Reads

How could I forget this on my Mega Post of Happy Things?!?! I don't know how many other peeps are into web shows, but I love them.  It might be that they come in awesome bit size time portions (which can also be really annoying when you just want to find out what happens).
1) Koldcast.tv:
-Blue Movies is one of there really funny series.  Season One ended a while ago and I'm not sure when Season Two is starting up, but all the episodes are still posted.  The show centers around the dramas of a low budget rising pornography company and one of their new-to-show-biz interns.
2) Take180:
-They did this really great series a year or two ago called My Alibi.  Since it's over all the episodes are up and there's no need to wait for new ones.  That was possibly one of my favorite web shows ever.  Sort of a Breakfast Club spin off- a bunch of high school kids held in detention on suspicion of a prank.
**The other show of there's I really love is I <3 Vampires.  If you're into the paranormal scene at all check this one out.  I recommend it.  It's currently in the middle of Season Two, which is turning out to be much darker than Season One.  It plays off of the Twilight craze quite a bit.  I <3 Vampires is about two girls who are obsessed with a series of books about vampires, except the books turn out to be a little too real...**


Reading Update

Title: Her Secret Fling
Author: Sarah Mayberry
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: None
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Summary:
Jake Stevens--star reporter and celebrated literary genius--is a snake. How else to explain the way he turns Poppy Birmingham's hero worship into loathing with a single conversation? So what if she's got a lot to learn about journalism? Aren't they coworkers now? On the same team? Jake can take his attitude and...

Then during a job-related road trip, their relationship goes from antagonistic to hedonistic in no time flat. And suddenly Poppy can't think of anything more delicious than having a secret fling with Jake. But with all this intensity, can she really keep it no-strings-attached?

Review

I know a lot of people are big fans of Ms. Mayberry, but I just wasn't feeling it.  I couldn't really connect to either character, and that just made the book fall flat for me.  This really comes down to personal taste, but Poppy was too bubbly and optimistic.  It might have been the Olympic athlete in her that had her always keep going, never give up, and keep her chin up high.  While Jake was a bit of a prick, I could relate to him more. 

I felt that Jake was justified in being annoyed with Poppy for getting the job at the newspaper.  There were tons of people who worked really hard in journalism and deserved that job.  Poppy worked really hard in her field and did deserve recognition, but didn't necessarily deserve rewards that she wasn't qualified for.  She didn't have a college education, and a full time job at the paper didn't seem to fit.  It seemed more like a midlife crisis.  I don't know.  I think I sound I bit mean, but it's mostly because Poppy spent most the book being stressed out rather than achieving something meaningful.  Other than being a big fan of Jake's works, there didn't seem to be anything pulling Poppy to a career at the newspaper, and I don't think writing was her passion.  

All in all, while Her Secret Fling didn't click with me, I'd be willing to give Sarah Mayberry another try in the future because the writing was ok and the sex was steamy.

Title: Lessons in French
Author: Laura Kinsale
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: None
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary:

"It was quite settled by now. She was born to be a spinster. The gentlemen would have to declare their undying devotion to other ladies. Callie would be too much occupied with developing a delicate constitution and a dependable recipe for tapioca-jelly."

She is, after all, Lady Callista Taillefaire, jilted three times in spite of her fortune and her father's best efforts to find her a husband. Now her greatest desire is to win the silver cup at the agricultural fair with her gigantic prize bull, Hubert. But when Callie's only old flame returns from his long and mysterious absence in France, her quiet spinster life turns upside down.

Dark-eyed, elegant and a magnet for trouble, Trevelyan d'Augustin has given Callie lessons in more than his language in the past. Her father put a harsh and humiliating end to any dreams of romance with a French émigré scoundrel, however, and Callie never thought to see him again. Swallowing his pride, Trev has finally come home to care for his failing mother, but his secrets and misdeeds follow him.

Callie soon remembers that nothing is ever peaceful with Trev around. The enormous Hubert vanishes into thin air, one of her former jilts comes back to woo her in a most determined manner--and her bull takes the town by storm! In the midst of these misadventures, Callie finds herself falling in love again with the worst possible man for her...

(Dear God, for the life of me I could not find a shorter summary, and honesty I was too lazy to write one myself.)

Review
**warning, mild spoilers!**

I had mixed feelings about this book, but overall I really did like and enjoy it.  It was the first Kinsale I've ever read, though I do have a copy of Flowers From the Storm waiting patiently on my shelf.


It worked well as a light comedy, though a times I felt confused about what was going on.  Either too much action was going on too follow or it seemed like characters were saying (or thinking) one thing and doing another.  Often Callie and Trev seemed to be having these internal angst moments where they swore it was too tormenting to be near each other, and then go right along with their witty banter and flirtations.  Either I was seriously misreading or they were being over the top.


I really did like all the characters though, especially Trev and Hubert (the bull).  For a bull, Hubert had a lot of personality, even if he mostly was just stubborn and ate buns.  Admittedly, I have a soft spot for farm animals.  Trev, on the other hand, I didn't want to like, but I couldn't help it (sort of like Callie).  He bungles almost everything up, and makes more messes to cover for those.  Total boyish charm *sigh*.


Here comes the spoiler...
Something that did bother me though was that Trev was supposedly a virgin (if I managed to interpret that part of the story correctly). I don't know what it's supposed to add to the story, especially since it's rather awkwardly tossed in there.  Also, it's not believeable.  Trev wasn't in love with Callie until they met again, so what was he saving himself for?  Especially with so many chances?  It just seemed too contrived for me.


Nevertheless, Lessons in French was a fun, light read for me which I would recommend to anyone else who likes historical romances.