It could just be me

But I think it kind of dulls the danger to be advertised as having a special (read cheaper) price.

Maybe you could be Cheap as Sin? Somewhat Dangerous? Maybe they could put the frickin' sticker somewhere else?

Review: Talk Me Down

Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Do you know what is harder than writing a review of a book you really didn't like? Writing a review for a book you LOVED. You don't know where to start. You don't know when you're crossing the line from intelligent review to giggly fangirl. You don't know how you can do the book justice. The truth is, you can't do it justice because you have to READ THE BOOK to understand why it is so good. You can't capture that in a review. The best you can do is a "Why I liked this book" summary:



First and foremost, I loved the heroine in this book. If any of you read my reviews (and really, why would you?) you know that I have a longstanding problem with heroines. Either they are whiny, or stupid, or have GHH (glittery hoo haa) or everyone wants to sleep with them, be them, worship them, and have done nothing to earn that devotion. They often are mean with no repercussions treat their best friends (and everyone else) more like sidekicks than friends and make me wonder why anyone would want to be around them at all. Molly Jennings wasn't like that at all. Instead, she was warm and funny. She was kind, vulnerable and, most importantly, she was hilarious. Seriously hilarious. Yes, there were times when I wanted to hit her over the head with my book (just TELL HIM ALREADY, MOLLY!) but that happens all too often in real life as well.



Ben was equally awesome and didn't leave me wondering "What the hell would he want her for?" He wasn't hunky yet brainless. He wasn't, in my opinion, easily cateogized in the alpha or beta boxes many people like to shut heroes in. He was well rounded. He wasn't perfect, wasn't superhuman, wasn't anything other than himself. The fun part of the book was finding out exactly what that was. You found out right along with Molly and Ben as they found out about each other.



The plot was perfect. It kept you guessing, it threw you off track, it moved at the same pace as the book. A lot of books really want to focus on the "romance" part of the book and let the rest of the plot drop until it is needed to advance the book. This one kept all parts integrated so you never really forgot the overall story.



The best part of this book, though, was the voice. All the characters, including the narrative voice, were distinct. No one sounded alike and, better yet, no one sounded stilted. Conversations flowed, and sounded like people talking not characters talking. It makes me wonder if Dahl read this out loud as she was writing, because there weren't any awkward phrases or pieces when any of the characters talked to each other. It didn't matter if they were main characters, or secondary, they all sounded realistic. And hilarious. I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud while reading this book. The circumstances Molly got herself in to, many times unapologetically, were great. Lori, Helen, Juan, Quinn, even icky Cameron and Molly's parents were all people you could picture in your head as you read the words. You really can't appreciate how special that is unless you've read books that never come close to that level of writing. It isn't something everyone can accomplish.



And the sex? Hot. Fun. Hot. I don't know what else to say about that.



Overall, I can't say enough good things about this book. It'll be like catching up on the exploits of a friend you lost touch with. And I think, at the end, you'll be happy to see whatever happened to that Molly girl you used to know.....


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Review: 3

Three by Julie Hilden

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
It wasn't so much dislike that made me give this only one star. It was more disinterest. There was an interesting hook to start the book: a woman catching her husband with another woman. Okay, I'm intrigued. And back cover copy told me that said wife would agree to an "open" marriage of sorts. That's why I picked it up! The author has already won me halfway over because I picked up the book. But, it takes more than that to keep me interested.



The prose was written well. The book had a literary look and feel to it. And, even though it may seem like I have a bias against modern literary fiction, I really don't. Some of it is interesting, and some of it isn't. This one wasn't. The characters were bland. They weren't sympathetic at all. I didn't like any of them, and I didn't dislike them either. I just turned pages. Pretty soon, I didn't care enough to continue to do that. I didn't care about their motivations. The sex was boring, even though it was supposed to be illicit and exciting. It wasn't the words that made the sex boring, it was the lack of interest in the characters.



A lot of people enjoyed this book, and that's great. Anything that is positive feedback for an author is a good thing. For me, though, this was a disappointment. I probably won't be trying any of her other fiction.


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Review: I'm Down

I'm Down: a memoir by Mishna Wolff

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm skeptical about memoirs now. It wasn't just James Frey that made me skeptical. Since then, there have been many memoirs, both published and unpublished, that have proven to be false. So, while I very much liked this book, I'm not at all convinced that it was true. The beautiful thing is that it doesn't matter. If it is true, great. I can't wait to read the rest of the story. If it isn't true, great. I can't wait to read the rest of the story.



The writing was engaging and it read like fiction. It moved along fast and there weren't really any lulls to skim through. I almost wish this book was fiction, because that would make the narrator a lot more reliable. When I was reading this, I kept thinking "This is how YOU saw it. But I wonder how it really was." Which isn't to say, of course, that she deliberately lied. But, if these things are happening to you, then of course you're going to spin them with your own interpretation. That, and you're only privvy to the conversations you had access to.



The other thing was that the book ended too soon. Unless she's planning to do another one, and maybe she is, I thought it ended way too early. What happened in high school? What happened with her parents? What happened post high school? I know it was supposed to be about her "growing up" but it just seemed to end in an awkward place. I wanted to know more. I suppose wanting to know more is the best compliment you can give a memoir.



If you're planning to read this book (and from the cover how could you NOT want to read it) don't expect any deep philosophical answers about race relations (or anything else) from it. Expect to be entertained, and you won't be disappointed.


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Bad Cover

Seriously. If you can look at this and NOT make Hulk sex jokes, you are a better woman than I. Love her. HATE the cover.

Dumb is.....

Not including a link to your own blog on your own blog! Check out Obiter Dictum, which will turn 5 (!!!) this year.

I started Unpaged so I wouldn't clog the other one up with stuff about books. Then, I promptly abandoned it. But, maybe now I'll be more diligent about updating my life over there.

Love is in the air!

Everywhere you look around! Big news in romance publishing, and really all genre publishing. Sales are up up up!

A brief cameo by me towards the end of the article. Come one, come all. Pick up a book!

Review: Be With Me

Be With Me by Maya Banks

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I guess this would be more of a 3.5. (Hey GoodReads, why can't I give half stars?!)



Basically, my problem with this book all stems from the fact that I don't believe the underlying premise that there can be HEA with three men and one woman. I'm sure it's me, but I don't think I'd like to share. I have a problem suspending my disbelief long enough to think that the three guys would all be happy sharing one lady they all loved.



So, if you don't buy in to the book on the most fundamental level, how can it get three stars? Well, because I loved all the characters. Towards the middle, Reggie started to get on my nerves, but I have a notorious problem with heroine(s). I either love them or hate them. Overall, she was a win for me. I liked her attitude and her determination. I like how she had to give in and became part of a group instead of just an individual. I loved how she stood up to her parents. I liked her relationship with her partner and her boss. She was great. The boys were equally fantastic. I thought Banks did a really good job giving each one their own space for development. And that is partly why the rest of the book didn't work for me. It felt like they were all cheated out of the HEA that each deserved. I preferred her with Hutch, and I thought Cam and Sawyer (God, I loved Sawyer) deserved their own books. Even though they were all three dimensionally developed, I wanted to know MORE about them. I don't know, I just didn't feel like they were done. Did I mention how much I loved Sawyer?



The creepy stalker plot was enough to move the story along, but I could have used more there as well. I never really felt like it was an imminent threat. It was, of course, but I was too busy trying to figure out how the relationships were going to work to care about anything else. I think if it would have been just a story about her and Hutch, then it would have fallen into place easier for me. I did like the revelation of the stalker, and I wanted to feel badly for that person (and I think I was supposed to) but by that time, I didn't care about any of that anymore. I was invested somewhere else, and just wanted it to be over so we could get back home to see THAT resolution.



So, I liked the book. I did. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Maya Banks, but I wish two of the guys would have gotten more love.


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Review: Long Lost

Long Lost by Harlan Coben

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Right before I started this book (on audio) I read a less than stellar review from a newspaper critic. I'm a big fan of Coben and of Myron Bolitan (well, of Win mostly, but you know...) and I was sure that I would love the book regardless of whatever problems it might have. When I finished, though, I thought the critic had been a little bit harsh in her assessment.



First of all, I thought the story was good. The ending was a little bit creeptastic, but I'm sure that was entirely on purpose. If I had to criticize the plot at all, it would be that it is so easy to design a plot around muslim extremists now that it doesn't even register with me anymore. It's like making walls cream or eggshell in a room. You don't even notice them. There are just some things that don't leave an impression anymore because they are so overdone both in real life and in entertainment. You want to be impressive or memorable, make Danish extremists. Finnish extremists. Wow, that is something new. Buddist extremists and I may never forget it. Muslim extremists? I've seen that season of 24 at least 2 years in a row. The story was good, there was a twist that I'm still thinking about, but until that happened, it was mostly a forgettable plot line.



But the characters were spot on. Everyone you expect to see in a Bolitar novel was present and accounted for. The one thing about a longstanding series is that there are some things you see over and over again. Almost all the usual jokes were there (MB Sportsreps, etc.) And because they were almost all there, I could tell which one was missing (El-Al....like the airline.) I understand that not everyone has read all the books in the series (and why not?) and that you have make them accessible to newcomers to the series. I'm just saying, when you've read them all it can be a little.....repetitive.



But even after all of that, this book delivers everything I expected and even some creeptastic chills that I didn't expect. I could read about Win all day and this one will definitely get a re-read.



A word about the audio: Every character seemed to be right on the money except Esperanza. It just wasn't right. Everything else was perfect, and she wasn't there enough to put you off the audio if you are inclined in that direction. But, it did bother me enough that I had to mention it.


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Review: JLA: Exterminators

Justice League of America - JLA: Exterminators by Christopher Golden

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I wasn't sure how this would translate to audio format but I shouldn't have been worried. It was absolutely amazing. The voices were right on and some, like whoever did Batman, were flawless. GA's tagline is "like a movie in your mind" and this really did flow more like a movie than a dramatization of a story, even though there was narration and not all dialogue.



The story was good, although you really have to pay attention in the beginning to understand what is going on. With an ensemble cast of characters, someone is bound to get shorted in the development area. If there was anyone here who got shorted, it might have been Wonder Woman. There was a little bit of characterization there, but certainly not as much as the boys. I enjoyed her parts, though. Aquaman came off as kind of a jerk. Batman too, although my love affair with him goes way back. I was always more Marvel than DC, so I'm less familiar with characters that didn't make their way past the pages of comics into other media. Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Steel, etc. I liked getting to know more about them but I couldn't tell you if they were done well or not because my experience with them is so limited to begin with.



Sometimes, as much as I have come to like audiobooks, listening to one person read to me is just not that interesting. This is a nice change of pace, and I really didn't see a downside to it at all. If you like action, this is probably something you're going to enjoy.


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What a difference a year makes!

This is what I wrote in my June monthly report last year:

Disturbing discovery

The Romance Writers of America hands out the RITA awards every year at their convention. This is the “official” award of the romance industry, although there are several others given by different groups. While I was searching Horizon to see if we had all the nominees, I found that there were a few categories we had few, sometimes none, of the books that were nominated. The titles were from 2007, and they were all “category” romances. Category romances are defined as the ones that come out monthly in a category (like Harlequin Blaze for instance). I didn’t start buying those until mid year 2007 because it had always been that we didn’t buy those. Now that I think about it, I find it kind of appalling that we would single out a category of book we didn’t buy just because we didn’t think it had any merit. We’re a library for crying out loud. I think we’re the absolute last people who should be judging what books have merit and which do not. I understand that we can’t, and don’t, buy everything but we really shouldn’t be making the decision on what to buy based on something as general as “it’s a category romance.” And I really hope that we don’t ever go back to that way of thinking. It is embarrassing, as an institution, to be so closed minded about a collection that aims to serve the WHOLE city, not just the ones with high literary taste.

So, today the RITA nominations were announced and I can report SIGNIFICANT improvement in what is in our collection. I wish I could say that it was 100% but, I can't. Sadly. BUT, there were only 3 categories where we didn't have them all: Best First Book, Contemporary Series Romance and Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure. Out of all the books nominated, there were six we didn't have. I'm encouraged by that, although I'm also curious as to WHY we didn't have those six. How did I miss them? Why didn't I pick them? Was it bad reviews or what? I'll have to check into that.

In the meantime, here is the list

Review: Kill Zone

Kill Zone: A Sniper Novel by Jack Coughlin

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This gets four stars because even though I thought there were problems with it, I couldn't stop reading it. And, by the end, I realized I'd liked it a lot.



Part of the problem, I think, was reader interference. Whenever you have a book that deals with politics, even tangentially like this one does, I can't help but try and decipher the unwritten (and probably unintentioned) messages. Does this author have a political bias? Do they lean in one direction or the other? What does it mean if they DO have a bias? The fact that I had to ask meant that it was pretty well hidden.



The other criticism I have is that there were some missing descriptions in the book. What did these people look like? Some of them were described pretty well. Others, I'm still not sure. I actually went back to where one character was first introduced because I thought I had missed the description. Turns out, it wasn't there (other than he was bald.) WTF does he look like, though? Maybe the authors don't feel it is important, but, trust me, it is.



Some of the conversation seemed stilted in a few places, but that can happen to even the best writers. It certainly wasn't an issue throughout the book. It just seemed like the authors weren't together and the gap showed in the conversation between two characters at that point. It always got back on track.



The action sequences were EXTREMELY good in this book. If I were writing a book and I needed to know how to handle things of an action nature (using contemporary weapons and techniques) I would use this book as a reference. Not a call to plagiarize, of course, but to see how things are done. Obviously, authors involved know what they're talking about and it shows. But, it is done in a way that is less "education" and more entertainment. Main characters are likeable, secondary characters are decent. Villains are.....villainous? And there are even some characters that are in between. It almost reads like an action movie, which can be good or bad. Your choice.


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Review: Dominic

Dominic by Elizabeth Amber

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I wasn't crazy about it. Amber started off strong in this series with oldest brother, Nicholas. I thought the books went downhill after that, but I was hoping she would go in a different direction after she'd written about the three brothers. She didn't. Part of the problem with this book, for me, is that it is much the same as the other books in the series. She adds a little bit of difference with the going between the two worlds, but that isn't enough. The plot reads the same as the others. If I wouldn't have liked Nicholas so much, maybe I wouldn't be expecting more from the rest of her books. But I did, and now I do. This one left me disappointed, but not quite enough for me to give up on her.


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Review: Plum Spooky

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
Wow. I don't know that I've ever given a one star review. Maybe I have and I just blocked it from my mind.



I attempted to read this last night. Now, in all fairness, I should have known better. I broke up with Evanovich after Lean Mean Thirteen. The books started to read the same and I no longer cared about the characters....even the ones I have previously liked very, VERY much. So, why, then, would I try and read this "Between the Numbers" novel? Because I'm an optimist, that's why. MAYBE, I thought, there would something good in here. After all, she's still hella popular. Well, I was right and wrong at the same time. I was right to have broken up to her, and wrong to be such an optimist. I read the first chapter and decided to skim the rest of the book. I skimmed the next three chapters, flipped to the somewhere in the back and read, and then I was done. Never did I get the hook that made me want to go back and see what I'd missed. Never did I get the hook that made me want to read the last page to see how it ended. I put it down and picked up something interesting.



I'm glad she still has a huge following and that those peeps are still getting something out of her novels. Finger Lickin' Fifteen already has 200+ holds 3 months before pub. I won't be one of them. We are truly broken up for good.


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Review: Just Like Candy

Just Like Candy by Kimberly Kaye Terry

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
After the first disappointing KKT book, I was hesitant to try this one. But, it was leaps and bounds better than the other one. The sex wasn't as prevelant, but it was written a heck of a lot better. The story line was clear, made sense, was interesting, had a beginning middle and end.....all the things I expect when I pick up a book that advertises a story line. To be clear, some books tell you up front that you're just going to get 210 pages of hot sex, and that's great! You know what you're getting into (hee!) when you open the cover. But, if you SAY there is going to be a story, there had damn well better be one. There is here.



Hero and Heroine are developed fairly well. The daughter was glossed over a bit, but the Hero's relationship with her, from his point of view, was pretty defined. I think there was a little beating over the head as far as Heroine being "different" and "exotic" or "doing her own thang" so on, so forth, this that and the other. Yes, we get it. She's a "free spirit". Ugh. If you have to tell me that all the time, maybe she isn't a free spirit. Just a thought.



There was the beginning of a subplot romance going on with the sister and the best friend, but that never went anywhere which is too bad. I was getting curious about them. Maybe that is planned for a future book. All in all, it was a good read.


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Review: Keeping the Night Watch

Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow. I hesitate to even try and describe this book because it will result in epic fail. But, here goes: a juvenile book, told in a series of short free verses, about a 13 year old whose father has returned after an "absence". See? You don't care, right?



Someone left this book on my desk to peruse before it was sent out to our branches. It was FANTASTIC. That's really all I can say about it. If I could give it 8 stars, I certainly would. You'll be thinking about it long after the story is done.


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Review: Get Your Sexy On (and they did. They really did!)

Get Your Sexy On by Kimberly Kaye Terry

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
There isn't always a correlation between how hot the sex scenes are and how good the book is. In this case, however, there definitely is a connection. The sex in this book is supa hot! The story..... not so much. I found myself skimming through the book because the storyline was just boring. There were huge leaps in logic that didn't make sense. She's so concerned about her brother, for instance, that she's just going to go away with someone for the weekend? Or, he's going to TAKE her away for the weekend, but she can still go in to work as a stripper? Please, take me away but make me go to work! Uh....no. If I had to guess, I would say these were two characters who wanted to do nothing but get it on, and Terry was forced to construct a story to weave around that. There was chemistry there, but there didn't appear to be any real feelings. Normally that would be fine, it doesn't HAVE to be a romance book after all. But, that's what it was supposed to be and, in that, it failed.



Flip through this one at the bookstore, read the good parts, and then buy one of her other books (I'm reading one right now that I actually like.) This one isn't worth your recession dollars.


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Review: Men of the Otherworld

Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Most of this book has been published on Armstrong's webpage, so it isn't new to a lot of people. It was mostly new to me, though. While I consider myself a HUGE fan, I hadn't spent a lot of time on her webpage so I missed most of this the first time around.



The background info on characters is always interesting to me. You seem them progress from a certain point forward, but, if you're really into the world the author has created, you're curious about everything that happened before. I went into this book anxious to learn more about Clay. I came away from this book absolutely FASCINATED with Jeremy. That is the wonderful thing about Kelley Armstrong.



If you haven't read any of her Otherworld books, I'm not sure this is the best place to start. Yes, chronologically, it is the "beginning" per se. But, a lot of what is there doesn't mean as much if you aren't already familiar with the characters. Of course, that is my perspective since that is how I'm coming at it. It may work perfectly fine the other way.


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Review: Act like a lady, think like a man

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment by Steve Harvey

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
The best thing about this book was that when men saw me reading it, they would get ALL KINDS of bent outta shape. Seriously. I mean, they took it personally. That only made me want to get through it faster to see what the hell Steve was telling because men were nervous.



The first part of this book reads like a relationship manual from 1950. I understand where he's coming from, but I couldn't relate. My mind doesn't work that way. A friend of mine agreed that it did sound a little bit dateed, but she also said "it gets better."



It did. I love the part encouraging women to "get some standards." It's sad that people need to be told that but, obviously, they do. I'm glad to hear a man say it. But, it is also kind of sad that Harvey sets up men as these brainless little creatures who will only act right if you make them. I just can't believe that is true. Sure, there are people who will try to get away with whatever you're willing to let them get away with. I get that. But surely, SURELY, there are some men out there who don't need to be put in check from the starting line. Surely there are some men out there who have standards of their own and don't need you to dictate yours in order to act accordingly.



All of that said, it was an entertaining book and a quick read. I would recommend it to people who are interested, but take it, like any other "self help" book, with a salt shaker.


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Sigh

I "officially" gave up on Laurel K. Hamilton a loooong time ago. Obsidian Butterfly was the last book I liked. I read one or two after that but......well, the last one I tried on audio (thinking it would be better) and it wasn't. I don't think I got 100 pages in. And that's the series I actually liked. Forget the Merry Gentry series, I was done with that after two.

I understand that lots of people like her, and I'm glad for her continued success. I just got bored and couldn't get back on track.

Yet......when I read the blurb for Skin Trade I was still tempted. I know it isn't going to go the way I want it to, and disappointment is inevitable. Yet......