Top 10: Favorite Romance Novels

I really like Top 10 lists.  They're fun, quick, and easy.  I think I might decide to do more of them in the future.  I'm pretty busy today so I thought I'd throw together a fast list of my Top 10 favorite romance novels.  I already have seven listed over at DIK, so this list includes those.  It was tough to pick the other three, but here's what I came up with (in no specific order):

1. Lover Mine by JR Ward

2. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

3. Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie

4. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

5. Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas

6. Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas

7. Between Mist and Midnight by Kathleen O'Brien

8. The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley

9. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

10. Bait by Karen Robards

In conclusion, I seem to like books whose author's first names are Jennifer, or at least begin with a J.  Interesting!  I had no idea.

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

Why Being an English Major Rocks

Here's the part where I once again rub in your face that I am a college student and probably significantly younger than you.

Ever heard of a book called A Natural History of the Romance Novel by Pamela Regis?  Well, if you haven't here's a brief summary of it taken from RomanceWiki (cuz anything ending in Wiki is so scholarly ;p):

Taking the stance that the popular romance novel is a work of literature with a brilliant pedigree, Regis asserts that it is also a very old, stable form, properly defined as a work of prose fiction that tells the story of the courtship and betrothal of one or more heroines. Arguing that the ending in marriage found so objectionable by critics is hardly the sole governing element, Regis brings to the forefront other, more significant narrative components, such as the reform of a corrupt society and the breakdown of the barrier between hero and heroine. She traces the literary history of the romance novel from canonical works such as Richardson's Pamela through Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Brontë's Jane Eyre, Trollope's Framley Parsonage, and Forster's Room with a View, then turns to the twentieth century to examine works such as E. M. Hull's The Sheik and the novels of Georgette Heyer, Mary Stewart, Janet Dailey, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Nora Roberts. Situating each novel in its own time while interpreting it through the critical vocabulary she proposes, Regis specifies how romance conventions change yet retain the essential formal requirements of the genre.

In other words, this book and this lady are awesome, because she uses academic arguements to shut down all those jerks who say romance novels are nothing but trashy bodice rippers for bored lonely housewifes who sit around eating bon bons.

So why am I so psyched about this book right now?  Because Pamela Regis is a professor at my college, and as an English major next semester I am taking her Popular Romance course!  How freaking awesome is that?!  I was so excited about it I was even willing to take it despite it being an 8am course.

At first a part of me wondered if having to analyze and do as work what I normally do for fun would be a turn off, but then I was like, "Romance novels for homework? Having to write papers about them instead of about boring dead white guys?  Lolz I am sooo there!"  I think I see a senior thesis in my future.

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.

BDB News

Ok, I'm a little late on posting this, so a lot of you have probably already heard this news but I wanted to comment on it anyway.  JR Ward has announced that the next BDB book will be Tohr's!


(Sorry for the off sound and odd subtitles!)

First off, I haven't read Lover Unleashed yet so I can't remark on anything that might have developed there, but I think I read somewhere that he's going to be mating with No'One.  I don't know if this was officially announced, so if anyone knows for sure please comment!  Either way, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this.  It's not that I don't want to see him happy again, but I'm not sure how JR Ward is going to pull this off.  I still really love him and Wellsie and I don't particularly want to see him with someone else (well... maybe Lassiter lol).  I just want him to be less depressed!  The book doesn't come out until 2012 so I have some time to get used to the idea.

And I don't think I'm alone in saying I wish she would just write a book for Qhuinn and Blay instead!

You Could Have Fooled Me

Happy April Fool's Day!  I hope everyone is staying out of too much trouble?  Here are a few of my favorite pranks that I've stumbled across:

1. The Left-Handed Whopper

In 1998 BK "unvieled" the left-handed Whopper, where all the ingredients were rotated 180 degrees to satisfy their lefty customers.  Apparently it was quite frequently requested the following day, though several right-handed folks made sure to request the original, right-handed version.

2. Dihydrogen Monoxide
Sounds dangerous doesn't it?  While not specifically an April Fool's Day prank, I had to include this one.

Dihydrogen monoxide is a fancy name for... water.  This hoax can be traced back to the Coalition to Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide, a hoax organization started by Craig Jackson.  Among the many things it warned against were dihydrogen monoxide being a major component of acid rain, that it contributes to the greenhouse effect, that it can cause severe burns, and that it is fatal if inhaled.  This prank has been replicated several times since- and can always be reproduced with some of your less chemistry inclined friends!

3. LA Highways Down for Repair

In 1987 a LA DJ announced that all LA highways would be shut down for an entire month for repairs starting April 8th.  Since LA is absolutely dependent on these highways, most residents who heard (and believed) the DJ were in a state of panic.  The station and the California Highway Patrol were flooded with calls for the rest of the day.  Understandibly, the Highway Patrol did not think the prank was that funny.

4.  Walled In
A video prank- and my favorite office prank of all time!


The moral of all this?  Remember what day it is and take everything with a grain of salt and some good humor!