Alpha Heroes

Happy Bloggiversary To Me....

2009-11-07T17:58:00.000-08:00

Alpha Heroes is Two!
Whoa. That was fast.

236 posts, 63 individual book reviews, 9 series reviews, 9 author profiles, 15 "Thursday Thirteens," three templates, several hundred books, and lots of new virtual friends later, I'm still here.

I've always loved reading, but writing this blog has pushed that love up the scale closer to the "obsession" level. Since starting Alpha Heroes, I've attended a dozen local book signings, two RWA book fairs, and a handful of related author events. I'm thinking seriously about attending one of the conferences, although 2011 is more likely than 2010 financially.

Technically speaking...
When I look back at my first couple of posts, I see: one solid block of text. I knew how to link, so I thought it was pretty clever, that business of linking to images with text. Heh. I'm still not the most talented at finding perfect graphics for my posts, but I try pretty hard to have at least one in every post, and because I'm kind of a hopeless rule follower, I also try to get permission if it seems like an image that isn't obviously public.

I'm nobody's expert at css, but boy have I learned a lot in the last two years. I tend to be a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to formatting, so this last round of template changing and tweaking got really in depth.

Community
Didn't take long before I figured out about linking to other blogs and commenting on them. I don't know about other bloggers, but I crave the comments. I love knowing that people are reading, that they like what I wrote or are engaged enough to debate something they disagree with. You all are awesome and the main reason I'm still here.

I Write a Little Differently
Self-editing is a tough one. There are some topics that I could go on and on and on about (maybe you've noticed the twenty-some -odd JR Ward posts....) but I do make a conscious effort to keep my blog posts kind of middlin'. I'm pretty much incapable of writing a 200-word post. If you see something from me that doesn't require you to scroll, it's probably one of my Lazy Posts, wherein I'm redirecting you to something fun.

There are more than a few posts that are very very long, and some of those I had to kind of stop myself and say, "enough already!" -- I could've gone on for pages and pages with our two Black Dagger Brotherhood scholars earlier this year.

Generally, my posts probably run a bit longer than a typical blog post, but it's how I roll. I'm getting a little better at being concise, but I'm not too worried about it-- I just try to pay attention and not go off the deep end.

I Read a Little Differently, Too
But not too much, I think. I might be a bit more likely to notice writing "tics", as O'Donovan calls them. I don't know. But when I know I'll be writing a review, I do try to pay attention and flag excerpts that I want to talk about -- things I particularly love, or are especially evocative of the character or the author's style.

A Few of My Favorite Things
I'm still partial to my vampire credibility index post-- what can I say, sometimes I just crack myself up. Antholopalooza last December was an interesting experiment, both in reading and blogging. I started something about a year ago that I like to call the Lazy Post, which is mostly just a link to someone else's fabulous content (if I were less lazy, I might try to turn it into a meme, but, well. Lazy. It's a problem.) This year, the two-post series with Maria Lindgren Leavenworth and Jessica Price was a huge highlight. And of course, who could forget the Penis Post?

What's Next?
Mostly more of the same, I guess. I'm still having fun reviewing and blogging, and I don't think I'll ever quit reading romance. A few new ideas include a short-story meme that Jackie over at Literary Escapism and I are cooking up, and I've been mulling over adding some author feature pages around my favorites. I've been getting quite a few pings at GoodReads lately, so I've been thinking about doing brief reviews there and linking to the blog. Maybe at Amazon, too. Do you guys do stuff like that?

PRESENTS!!
Wouldn't be a birthday without them, now would it? You of course, are welcome to send me heaps of presents if you're so inclined, but of course I would NEVER presume to ask.

Coincidentally enough, I've been going over my non-keeper shelf today and I have a whole LOT of books that are ready to go to their next reader. So I'm going to bundle some up and give them away. I figure I'll do three packages: historical, contemporary, and paranormal/UF.

I do not guarantee condition, as quite a few of them were acquired used anyway. I'm gonna keep it simple -- leave a comment if you want to be entered and which of the 3 you're interested in. You don't have to comment 3 times to be in for all 3 packages, but you won't win more than one.

And one more time, if you're reading here? you're part of why I keep doing this. So thanks!

One of the Guys, by Kristan Higgins - Review

2009-10-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

NOT A ROMP.
Ms. Higgins, I have a BONE to pick with you.

You are supposed to be light. You are supposed to be a romp. That's what everyone says: a romp. You are supposed to be sweet and happy and bubbly and frothy.

You know what I got from this book, Ms. Higgins? Soggy kleenex is what.

You made me cry like a little bitch, Ms. Higgins. I'm talking weepy, sniffly, unattractively moist sobs and hiccups. That bittersweet secondary romance? The way you spun out the tension on our poor Heroine, tighter and tighter and tighter until the HEA was in real, true, serious jeopardy? ROMPFAIL.

Hmpph. I do not read romance because I like sobbing into tissues.

And really, it's the rare author who can accomplish that. So, okay, you're an AWESOME author who writes a FANTASTICALLY emotional romance.

Fine. Be that way.

Demon Forged, by Meljean Brook - Review

2009-10-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

Risk Profile
Do you have a go-to author, one whom you KNOW, for every book, you're going to love certain things? That the heroine will be feisty, or sweet, or the hero will be wounded but honorable, etc. etc.? I don't want to say "predictable," but maybe... "reliable" ?

I think a lot of authors come to be repeat best-sellers by reliably providing what their readers like. Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz come to mind, to name just two.

The Guardian series isn't like that.

I can see why Brook might be a hit-or-miss author for some readers. Her characters are so different, so extreme, that readers who like a certain kind of hero or heroine are almost guaranteed to a) find that in at least one of her books and b) not find it in others. She goes out on a limb with every book, breaking fondly-held genre rules here, while taking others to new extremes there.

Because Brook is so skilled at bringing her diverse characters to life, I personally find something to love in every book. In Demon Forged, we have Irena, one of the oldest Guardians after Michael, and Alejandro, a dashing Spanish nobleman. ( He's a millenium or so younger than Irena, but that doesn't seem to bother anyone.)

These two have A History. With Baggage. And when your bad guys are actual demons, and you've spent centuries trying to deal without the benefit of a good therapist... well. You wind up with Issues.

One of the themes that intrigues me with every Guardian book is the idea of "humanity." What does this mean when most of the characters are not human? What does it do to a person (or Guardian) to exist for sixteen centuries?

While Brook doesn't explicitly dwell on this a lot, I did find Irena's character to glimmer with small, telling details consistent with an ancient character. Irena is barely literate. Her idea of relaxation is hiking or hunting or sculpting in her forge: elemental. She's blunt, straightforward, lacks subtlety. I loved this exchange:

"No." He straightened. His eyes shuttered. "I will not fight. I do not like the man I become with you."

The words stabbed her chest. Reflexively, her hands fisted. Irena held them at her sides, struggling against the fury and hurt that urged her to batter them into his face. He stared down at her and she thought, prayed, that he might take the words back.

Olek shook his head and turned. "Your vampire friend has gone into the city."

He walked away. Irena watched, her heart hammering.

*I do not like the man I become with you.*

He should have hit her. She'd have known how to respond to that. But this pain, she did not. [chapter end].

Irena and Alejandro/Olek have spent the last 400 years in a state of tension, avoiding each other or relieving the tension in violent training sessions. It's certainly valid to wonder, "why now?" Why is now the moment when this tension comes to a head? Brilliantly, it's because of

The Series Arc
Somewhere around the 5th or 6th book of a series, I tend to start getting series fatigue. Either the stories become repetitious, or the series arc starts to feel artificially drawn out... or maybe I just get bored.

Not so with the Guardians. Every book has revealed Big News about some aspect of the world, and this one is no different, except perhaps that it's more so. The shocking events of Demon Forged shakes the delicate balance of power to its core, and all without the least hint of contrivance. It's not easy to provide an individual book resolution while still building tension for the series, but Demon Forged does it in spades.

Meanwhile, the series as a whole posits our world on the brink of massive change: apocalyptic disaster, Biblical armageddon. The unseen (by humans) tension between Guardians and demons that keeps the realms in balance is threatened by the recent mass Ascension, by power struggles among the demons, and by the release of new powers into the playing field: nephilim and more. Select humans are drawn into the struggle and the Guardians are taxed to keep them safe.

This then, not only drives the series forward, but provides the change catalyst for Alejandro and Irena's relationship, as they can no longer afford to avoid each other. I just love how the individual story and character arcs weave in and out of the series arc, always complementing, never competing.

I feel like I should say more about Alejandro, about his and Irena's character arcs, and their romance... but I'm going to cop out and plead illness-- I've had a monster of a cold for over two weeks now and keeping my thoughts collected has been a ridiculous effort. I think it's safe to say that fans of the series won't be disappointed (of course, most of them have already read it by now!) and once again recommend that if you haven't read them? Do.

Series Reading Order:

1. Hot Spell*
2. Demon Angel
3. Wild Thing*
4. Demon Moon
5. Demon Night
6. First Blood*
7. Demon Bound
8. Demon Forged
9. Must Love Hellhounds*

*Anthologies containing a Guardian-universe novella

Good News, Bad News

2009-10-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

So I was home from work all last week, and spent a fair amount of time online (you'd think I would've managed a couple of posts, but... [insert excuse here] ). I found this neat little utility/service thing called CoComment. Maybe you already know about it, but it's new to me.

I do have a tendency to forget where I've left comments, especially if I've been browsing around further than my usual neighborhood. I know you can click on the rss feeds for various blog posts, but for whatever reason that never worked very well for me. CoComment puts all of the conversations I'm following in one place and makes it pretty easy to see when there's something new. It's also easy to jump directly to the site if you want to add something or see the actual page.

I imagine there are other ways to do this and I don't know if it's the best one out there-- two things I don't like is that there are lots of blinky ads and it installed an icon thingy in my toolbar - I don't remember authorizing that, which always kind of disconcerts me. It also adds a couple of clicks whenever I leave a comment somewhere to add the conversation to my list, which some might find annoying.

That's the good news. The weird thing is, it tracks comments on my own blog too, which I didn't think I needed because I have my settings configured so that I get an email whenever someone leaves a comment.... except apparently, Blogger has missed some of my comments. RRRJessica left a comment the other day on my most recent post that doesn't show up on the blog, and didn't show up in email. BUT, it showed up on CoComment. Very Weird.

I'm not moderating comments-- I don't know why this didn't go through.

Readers, have you left comments here before that didn't show up? Bloggers, any suggestions on what's going on here?

I'm clueless, and more than a bit peeved at the notion that I'm missing comments! If nothing else, I'll keep CoComment around for awhile to see if this happens a lot...

The Windsor List: Top 16 All-Time Favorite Romances

2009-10-16T10:18:00.001-07:00

I'm jumping on Jessica's bandwagon here, to honor Kathleen Windsor, author of Forever Amber. See link for more details.

This is hard. And they're not in order. I tend to remember authors better than individual titles, so in some cases I've picked the author and then guessed on which book it was that I liked the most. And yeah, I cheated-- they're not all exactly romances, but they all have strong romantic elements.

1. Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell (duh)
2. Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
3. Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
4. Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey
5. Captive Passions, Fern Michaels.
6. Earth Song, Catherine Coulter
7. Through a Dark Mist, Marsha Canham
8. Spymaster's Lady, Joanna Bourne
9. LaVyrle Spencer, either Sweet Memories or Morning Glory
10. Captives of the Night, Loretta Chase
11. Shattered Rainbows, Mary Jo Putney
12. Lover Revealed, JR Ward
13. The Lady Chosen, Stephanie Laurens
14. Timeless Passion, Constance O'Day-Flannery
15. Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie
16. Fancy Pants, Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Hmmm. Maybe in 2010 I'll see if I can acually review all of these. That would be a fun goal.

Thursday Thirteen, Edition 15

2009-10-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, really? I haven't done a T-13 since JULY?? Jeez, what a slacker.

Anyway, I have up for your T-13 pleasure today my favorite kind of T-13: a list of blogs you should check out. These are all book blogs; most of them have a romance aspect though not all are strictly focused on romance books.

1. Book Junkie
2. Penelope’s Romance Reviews
3. Bodice Ripper Reviews
4. Romance Reviews By Alice -Insightful, honest, articulate – a new fave blogger.
5. Galaxy Express - The scoop on the hot Science Fiction Romance subgenre
6. Renee’s Book Addiction
7. Rosario reads a wider variety of fiction and non-fiction than I do, but it’s still pretty heavy on romance and she agrees with me a lot of the time so she must be smart. ;-)
8. Bibliophile Musings - A mix of all kinds of fiction, but plenty of romance included.
9. Love Romance Passion - lots going on here, with tons of guest bloggers.
10. Marg is a regular here (hi Marg!) and has a fun blog with a variety of fiction – plenty of romance with a lot of straight historical fiction mixed in.
11. Night Time Romance Reviews - Erotica and PNR. I confess I find this one a little bit hard to read with the scrolling background, but it’s good content.
12. Fantasy Girl Reviews - All kinds of romance reviews, heavy on the UF/PNR.
13. Caffey’s Reads

Visit the Thursday Thirteen site here.
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Covet, by JR Ward - Review

2009-10-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

Finally.
I know, I know. Inertia has its claws in me. I'm reading a ton, honest, but finding it real work to sit down and do the reviews. So Covet has been out for almost two weeks; I finished it over a week ago. Yeah, finally.

Divided Loyalty
First off, if you don't like the direction Ward has been going with the BDB series, I'd recommend you skip it.

However, if you're good with a somewhat divided focus for the sake of the ongoing series arc, I think it's good news. The new premise feels fresh--don't know about you but I was getting kind of tired of the lessers. Ward's whys and wherefores of demon possession have an original spin while borrowing perhaps more heavily from traditional medieval Catholic lore than some of the current trendy demon-based UF.

I'm trying to think of another series that has a strong romantic focus on individual couples (as romance does) while also keeping a constant, catalyst character in the forefront (as UF does), and not coming up with anything comparable. The closest I can think of is Meljean Brook's Michael, but he's not directly involved in the protagonists' relationships the way Ward's character is. I'm guessing that Kenyon's Acheron might be similar, but I'm only going on buzz -- haven't read them myself.

Anyway, I'm finding it promising how deliberately the structure has been created-- I think it's a bit harder to take when that third-party role evolves through the series and risks feeling like shark-jumping. And it's a risk, because it breaks form-- some readers have complained that the focus is too divided, which I can understand. I'm reserving judgment about that because I did find both stories interesting with satisfying arcs, and the teaser for Jim's continuing story is compelling. Though some of the information about Jim's former life skirts the line between teasing and frustrating.

The new series is also set in Caldwell, NY, which I enjoy. I like having "insider" info, and find the cameos from Trez, Detective de la Cruz and Phury entertaining BUT if you haven't read the BDB first and don't want to, you won't lose any comprehension.

It's the End of the World As We Know It
I think Ward is taking herself-- or this series-- a little less seriously than the BDB, and it's good. She's always been able to write humor and absurdity into her books, especially in dialog, but I think a lot of what happens to Jim is pretty tongue-in-cheek. It might even tempt you into eye-roll territory (cricket-playing angels? a fortress castle = heaven? divine assistance via television messaging?) but it worked OK for me and was effective, if slightly silly, imagery.

Wardisms, and The Very Long Book
You'll find the voicing familiar, as both Jim and Vin sound very much like any given Black Dagger Brother, perhaps V, if I had to pick one. (Vin also gets premonitions about people's deaths, and he is NEVER WRONG-- coincidence?) The weird tendency to add an "ie" to the end of words like "freshie" for a "fresh drink" is still in here but toned down a bit (thankfullie) and O'Donovan? just for you? not a "shitkicker" boot in sight. (I was watching.)

It's no secret that I'm a fan of The Very Long Book. This is probably a requirement for a reader to enjoy this book-- if you merely tolerate long books only when the complex plot and characterization absolutely require it, you might pass this by. If this were Ward's first book, I would dare to say an editor might have been a bit more, um, editorial on this page count. As Mandi* astutely points out in her review, there are a couple of subplots that are not especially pertinent or, um, logical. At least one of them might become clearer as we get to know Jim's sidekicks in future books though, so I'm looking forward to that.

Bottom Line
I think just overall I have lowered expectations from JR Ward these days. I'm happy to see the last two Ward books rise above the barrel-bottom-scraping of Lover Enshrined, but I've stopped expecting to get that heart-stopping OH MY GOD reaction I got with the first few BDB books. Maybe it was the novelty of the formula, and it just only works so many times. If it happens again, that'll just be a fabulous bonus.

In the meantime, I'm still a loyal reader. If I gave ratings, it would probably be something like a B+ for Covet-- good solid read, but not knock-your-socks-off, and I'll be reading the next one. Rumored title is Crave.

Honestly though? I don't think Ward is going to remain a Hardback Author for me. I might be hitting the library or waiting for Lover Mine to come out in paperback.

Around the Web:
*Smexy Books
Smokin' Hot Books
Darque Reviews
Dear Author (Brrr. Cold.)
Bibliophilic
I Heart Book Gossip
... and as always, if you've reviewed Covet and I've missed it, please feel free to leave your link in comments!

Disclosure: Purchased.

Next Up From JR Ward:

Lover Mine, John Matthew's story

Thrillsville

2009-10-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

I heard a rumor that this might happen, but I guess I didn't believe it until I actually saw it. I didn't even remember it was supposed to happen until I'd had the book a couple of days.

Turns out, the rumor was true:

And-- OMG -- did you notice? I'm above ROMANTIC TIMES!!

Does that mean anything? I don't know if it means anything.

But what if it does?

Can't. Stop. Grinning.

So there you have it. Me. In a book. Holy Moly!

I suppose I'd better get busy reading this one, eh? I'm on page 90, love it so far! (the review was for Demon Bound).

Not What You're Expecting

2009-09-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

So, I've had JR Ward's latest in my hot little hands for 24 hours now, so naturally you're expecting a review of... Ilona Andrews?

Yeah, I wasn't expecting that either. I needed something to read yesterday morning and lunch, before my scheduled stop at Borders, so I picked up On the Edge, fully expecting to have to take a hiatus while I gobbled down Covet.

But when it came right down to the moment, sitting on the sofa with a nice hot adult beverage, rain pattering on the roof, the children in bed and offering only token resistance... I had to choose. And I just couldn't put it down.

Not even knowing that I'd be back to it in a day or two. Not even for JR Ward, an author who has ratcheted up my obsession-o-meter to higher levels than I thought possible.

I had to know what happened to Rose and Declan. The angel (?) would have to wait.

The Short Answer:
Totally loved it, go buy and read it. Caution: you might want to choose a day when getting up the next morning is optional, cuz there's a good chance you're going to want to read it straight through.

The Hook
Andrews -- actually, the author is a team, but for simplicity's sake I'm going to refer to them by their pen name-- does a fan-freakin'-tastic job of setting up the world. Within 3 pages, we have a zombie, a child shape-shifter, and an exasperated heroine who keeps the zombie in line with a crossbow and chains. There's a comical adventure feel to the opening scene, culminating in a wisecrack about guns, trucks, and Walmart -- but it's grounded by the very unfunny poverty the family lives in.

In THREE PAGES.

And it doesn't let up from there. The parallel worlds premise is completely engaging and gives the authors enough latitude for lots of fantasy elements-- this story is very much a fairy tale, with a knight, a Cinderella heroine, a juuuuuuuuuust barely defeatable villain of unquestionable evil; assistance from unexpected corners, and a vibrant cast of secondary characters. Plus guns, trucks, and Walmart. And one of those comic book guys.

The light-hearted style, entertaining wisecracking and sparkling romantic tension are consistently balanced by the nastiness of the foe and the gritty circumstances of Rose's backstory, which I think is what made it so readable for me.

Here's an example of what I mean. As the set up, you just need to know that Declan is literally from a whole different world, where he is a very wealthy nobleman in a society that seems roughly medieval (though with better hygiene through the miracle of modern magic). And Rose has good reason to be suspicious of him and his social class. Oh, and "The Broken" is the characters' term for regular old earth, where we Muggles live.

Rose tried the pancakes. They were predictably cold, but still delicious, and she was ravenous. "God, these are good."

"Slowly."

Rose raised her gaze from her plate.

He sat very straight at the table, cutting the pancake with surgical precision.

"Eat slowly," the blueblood said. "Don't cut your food with the fork. Cut it with the knife, and make the pieces small enough so you can answer a question without having to swallow first."

*Why me?* "Right. Any other tips?"

The sarcasm whistled right over his head. "Yes. Look at me and not at your plate. If you have to look at your plate, glance at it occasionally."

Rose put down her fork. "Lord Submarine..."

"Camarine."

"Whatever."

"You can call me Declan." He said as if granting her knighthood. The nerve.

"Declan, then. How did you spend your day?"

He frowned.

"It's a simple question: How did you spend your day? What did you do prior to the fight and pancake making?"

"I rested from my journey," he said with a sudden regal air.

"You took a nap."

"Possibly."

"I spent my day scrubbing, vacuuming, and dusting in the Broken. I got there at seven-thirty in the morning and left at six. My back hurts, I can still smell bleach on my fingers, and my feet feel as flat as these pancakes. Tomorrow, I have to go back to work, and I want to eat my food in peace and quiet. I have good table manners. They may not be good enough for you, but they are definitely good enough for the Edge, and they are the height of social graces for this house. So please keep your critique to yourself."

Can I get a YOU GO!! ? The punch line there is awesomeness itself, but that scene tells you almost everything you need to know about the conflict between the two of them. It also covers the stylistic balance of funny with a little gut-wrenching darkness thrown in.

Yum, Alpha
Andrews writes an alpha hero like nobody's business. Awhile back I did a little nosing around on the topic of alpha behavior. One of them, can't remember which, made a point that alphas "take up space." They expect other people to accommodate *them,* and Andrews makes this particular point in a number of ways-- here's one example:

He held himself like a man who never rode in a crowded bus. He shoulders were too wide, his posture too forceful, and if he were to step into one of the busy malls of the Broken, people would probably trip over themselves to give him his space.

Yeah. Very alpha.

The Romance
On The Edge is definitely more of a romance than the Kate Daniels books, and I expect additional books in the series to be about different characters, not ongoing adventures for Rose and Declan. There's an obvious candidate for the next hero coughcoughWilliamcough but after that who knows. (I'm totally assuming here, as I don't particularly follow Ilona Andrews news). I liked the characters very much and thought the romance resolved well. If I had to nitpick, I'd say the "OMG, I'm in love!" realization seemed a little out of the blue to me on both sides. But not a major problem.

In no way does this story resemble an Old Skool romance, with its ultra-hip mashup of style and genres and the heroine who nearly electrocutes her would-be rapist/seducer... and yet if one of the main qualifiers of Old Skoolery is a coming-of-age transformation of the heroine, we do see that here. Rose's powers make her a victim and a target; her status in the Edge--literally, between worlds-- is dictated by the uncanny strength of her magic. Not coincidentally, the pivotal magical incident takes place at a graduation ceremony-- from child to adult-- and places her in a specific danger that is tightly knotted with her sexuality.

The role that her power plays in the romantic relationship is not what it first appears. I love that her hero teaches her more about how to use it, and facilitates her transformation into a person who can fully realize that power. And because it's a romance and not some other kind of story, the reflected message in the romance is that Rose realizes her full feminine power too.

Around the Web:
Book Love Affair
Angieville
Bibleeohfile
Lurve a la Mode
Smexy Books
Literary Escapism
Nancy Holzner

As always, if you have reviewed this book on your blog, feel free to leave a link in comments!

Storm of Visions/Storm of Shadows by Christina Dodd - Review

2009-09-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

Back To It
Is there anything more boring than yet another blog post apologizing for lack of blogging?

Yeah, I didn't think so. So please take it as read that I haven't quit blogging; I haven't thrown over JR Ward, Nora Roberts or Stephanie Laurens for Joyce or Proust; I haven't given up reading, and I have no plans to discontinue Alpha Heroes. Just, you know: blahblahblah excuses Ginger blahblahblah. So... let's just get on with it, shall we?

This is the Bus Book I was talking about.
Dodd's new series is loosely related to to her first paranormal series, Darkness Chosen, which wrapped up just about a year ago, and in the same way, it pulled me in hard and fast. It's a fast-paced, immersive read, and I couldn't put it down.

Like Darkness Chosen, The Chosen Ones feature the devil himself as the ultimate foe, and share a character or two for continuity. The mythology is different but not in conflict with the Varinskis' history, as Dodd's vision of the devil is consistent, and The Chosen are fighting a similar battle on a different stage with extra props.

The Chosen Ones series is a bit more stylized, and it seems to me that the world-building is a bit more thought-out from the beginning -- which doesn't make it better or worse, just less of a "strange things happen in this crazy old world we think we know" and more of a "here's a whole different world I'm going to imagine for you," sort of effect, if that makes sense. It puts me in mind a bit of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, or perhaps the 3rd or 4th generation after the original League. Somehow I could easily picture the story in Victorian times or done in steampunk.

To tell the truth, I find the basic premise of the world-building to be a little bit silly: it centers on babies who are abandoned at birth, and posits that they are given divine gifts to compensate for the lack of a family's love. These gifts can be nurtured for the good fight, or twisted and tempted into working for evil. The two factions then have a dual mission: to find and keep the newly-abandoned, and to use their gifts in a battle < dramatic baritone voiceover> FOR ALL HUMANITY. </voiceover>. Once you get beyond that seed though, the structure of the series works fine for me.

And, as always, I'm in it for the characters and the love story. In Storm of Visions, we get a couple, who, contrary to paranormal tradition, know exactly what is going on and what needs to be done about it, which is a bit refreshing. Caleb, the hero, makes this story for me. He's wayyy alpha, probably to an extent that would get him arrested IRL, but paired with Jacqueline, who has gifts and a history with him, his high-handedness is -- just barely-- forgivable (and frankly: hott). His physicality makes him a match for her paranormal powers and keeps her grounded. I love the twist at the end of chapter 3 -- can't tell you what it is and don't you dare skip ahead -- but it was most excellent.

It is a romantic suspense though, and plot fuels the pacing, pulling you through the ups and downs, the series set-up, the crisis and first hurdle of big team, and Jacqueline's choice to face up to her destiny. There's virtually no pause in the action, no time to catch your breath, and before you know it, the bus driver will be calling your stop and you'll be scrambling to get off without having half your crap falling out of your bag or (worse) losing your place in the book.

Storm of Shadows
If I had to find fault with the series thus far, it might be that the characters are a bit exaggerated; some might find them caricatures or cartoonish. It rather fits with the comic-book style of the seven Chosen Ones, and for now I'll go along with it. But if ever there was a mousy-librarian-makeover character, Rosamund out-tropes them all.

Given a makeover by a Parisian stylist, the result goes like this:

She wore a suit of gray wool, with a long-sleeved, formfitting jacket that buttoned up the front, tucked in at the waist and showed just a hint of creamy cleavage. The knee-length hem of the pencil-thin skirt was right-wing conservative as were the gray patent pumps with the two-inch heels.

Her curly, carroty hair had been cut to shoulder length and tamed into a smooth wave that flowed around her face and over one eye. Her makeup was so discreet as to be almost invisible, doing nothing more than accenting the lines and curves of her face.

Most important, her tortoise-shell glasses had been replaced with a square, black, severe style that made her violet eyes the focus of the whole package. Her eyes... and her lips, which were a glorious, bright red.

Wordless, Aaron gestured for her to turn.

The back of the gray wool suit cupped her rear like a glove, and a gathered kick pleat pointed like an arrow at the crack of her ass.

Phillipe was right-- she was the librarian everyone wanted to fuck...

I guess if you're going to use a cliche, you might as well REALLY embrace it.

I have to admit I didn't love Aaron and Rosamund as much as I could. They weren't awful or TSTL or anything like that, but in some ways they fell a little short of fabulous, for me. Aaron had moments of guys-locker-room crudity that made me cringe a little, and Rosamund was a little too buried in library dust to seem real.

But Dodd writes such a tightly plotted suspense story that the pages flew by me anyway. (I almost missed my bus stop). The two books each have very satisfying (ie, resolved) character, romantic, and adventure arcs, with layers of interest around the larger cast and the larger group goals that intrigue me without making me feel too manipulated by the series tease. I like the ensemble interaction of a good series--there's enough to make me curious about the other characters without any of them upstaging the main couple.

Here's a problem though: no word that I can find on when Book 3 will be out or whose book it will be. Next up, a re-release of Move Heaven and Earth (excerpt), while the end of Shadows includes an excerpt from a new historical, In Bed with the Duke, scheduled for March of 2010. You can pre-order it, but I can't find any other information about it. The excerpt sounds good though!

Around the web for Visions:
Angel On A Move
Danielle's Book Thoughts
Karina Cooper
Heidenkind (wow, harsh)
Errant Dreams
Borders True Romance, asking the question readers have dared not ask: what's up with all the hairless chests??

Around the web for Shadows:
Daily Me
Buried By Books
Errant Dreams

Nothing To Do With Anything

2009-09-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

But really, really funny:

Cracked.com reviews the Twilight series.

If I could write snark, I would aspire to lines like this:

Three hundred pages after "Oh, you like me too? No way, I thought you hated me!", the plot arrives late to the party, drunk, in a beat-up '53 Chevy pick-up truck. It drives away about fifty pages later and crashes into a tree, gets sent to the hospital, and is rarely heard from again throughout the course of the series.

Thanks to Jackie for passing it along!

Cracked.com does have its moments of genius. As an ACTUAL MEMBER of the Class of 1984, this line elicited a howl of pelvis-deep laughter, flavored with a hint uncomfortable recognition:

On any given night in 1984, one could find a few women on a girl's night out, blockaded behind a wall of hair and empty bottles of Bartles & Jaymes, drunkenly belting out "We are strong!" while adjusting their fluorescent ankle-warmers

in its description of Pat Benatar's Love is a Battlefield, from the article The 10 Most Terrifyingly Inspirational '80s Songs.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a way to kill some internet time, Cracked.com ain't a bad way to do it.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week Meme

2009-09-11T16:09:00.001-07:00

It's possible that I'm the last book blogger on the planet to put up a post about the upcoming festivities. It's not that I didn't know about it or anything, I just hadn't gotten around to it. Because one of my exceptional talents is procrastination. I'm really very good at it.

Which has the advantage of my being able to skip a lot of the "what it's about" type stuff* and go to the interesting stuff.

Next week here at Alpha Heroes, you can expect to see participation in some (but not all) of the daily BBAW memes. I'll be honest, I haven't really been planning out anything terribly elaborate, so whatever else I decide to do will be a little bit seat-of-the-pants. I'd like to feature my bloghop challenge again (see sidebar) and perhaps do a giveaway. We'll see. Stay tuned.

Now for the meme. The brilliant minds behind BBAW have asked that participants talk a little bit about the event structured as a questionnaire. So without further ado, here is the official, Alpha Heroes edition of the BBAW 09 Meme:

1) What was the highlight of BBAW for you last year? Hmm. Not sure I could point to a single event. I think it was an overall dawning awareness of all kinds of cool things that book bloggers do; it sort of opened up a world of possibilities for me. I also discovered the power of more frequent posting and (not unrelatedly) experienced a very gratifying bump in traffic.

2) What is one new blog you discovered during BBAW last year? To be honest, I have no idea. My brain doesn't retain information about *how* I found a cool blog very well. Most of my favorites are in my sidebar (though I'm past due to update with some new ones!)

3) What tips would you share to help others get the most out of their BBAW experience?

Have fun
Go look at lots of new-to-you blogs
Have fun
Take an extra moment to leave some extra comments
Have fun
Make some notes about elements of other blogs that you like and think about which ones you might want to incorporate on your own-- whether they're memes, graphical elements, challenges, a type of review, the inclusion of certain information (like cross-links, or publication information -- stuff like that).
Also--did I mention? --don't forget to have fun.

________________________________________
*If you're even deeper under the rock than I am, and you need info on what this mysterious BBAW thing is all about, please head over to The Book Blogger Appreciation Week main site, where all shall be revealed.

The Bus Test

2009-09-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

When I'm virtuous, I ride the bus to work. It's free (my company provides the pass), good for the environment and when I manage to make the express, takes almost no longer than the drive. Best of all, it's almost two hours a day of reading time!

Lucky for me, reading on the bus doesn't usually cause me any upset. I have to admit though, not every book is a "bus book." If the book is physically too big, or if the writing is too dense, requires careful detail reading (I skim more than I'd like to admit), or worst of all, doesn't have the maximum attention-holding story, it will have a hard time competing against the distractions of a bus environment. Often I'll read for 10 or 15 minutes, zone out for awhile, fidget uncomfortably, glare at the loud cell-phone-talkers, speculate on why people wear so damn much perfume or cologne, check to see if Mt. Rainier is visible, and then when I'm bored again, open up the book again.

Some books though, suck me in so thoroughly that I don't look up from the pages unless my seatmate gives me the hard nudge, or best of all, when I notice the change in the road when we leave the interstate and hit the surface roads.

These are my favorite ones. They pass the bus test.

How about you? Do you read on public transportation? What are your favorite bus books?

Saphhire, by Rosemary Rogers - Review

2009-08-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

Old-Skool Done Right
Oh. My. God. How much do I love this book? Up to the moon and back, that's how much.*

Ms. Rogers and I go way back. From Sweet Savage Love to The Crowd Pleasers, that woman wrote some OUTRAGEOUS stuff. And I loved every single page.

Her classic books pretty much epitomize the Old Skool romance, from the punishing kisses to the spoiled and tempestuous but also sweetly virginal eighteen year old heroine; up to and including the kidnapping raping hero.

I've been aware that she's published some new stuff recently, but I hadn't gotten around to trying any of them. However, I feel a glom coming on because I have to tell you, this book has everything I love about Old Skool, stuff you don't see much any more, but has left the raping to to the bad guys where it belongs.

My Favorite Part... Is a Secret
This is one of those occasions where my no-spoiler policy is really inhibiting because it makes discussing my very favorite part of the story a little bit problematic: one of the reasons I loved it so much is because it took me completely by surprise, and I don't want to spoil it for you. In this book is a really extended battle of wills between the couple -- really really. And at the point where another heroine might have done something different, Sapphire's choice-- and more particularly, its execution-- is 1) brilliant; 2) exactly perfect; 3) difficult -- so freakin' difficult I could hardly believe she did it. I wanted to jump up and cheer at one particular moment when I knew she was going to make it work.

But I can't tell you what it was. I'm afraid even a hint would give it away.

These are a Few of My Favorite [Old Skool] Things
Stuff I've missed about the 70s and 80s romances that hooked me forever on the genre -- you could practically go down a checklist, and it's all here. (Except the spanking. Ah well, can't have everything, I suppose.)

Loooonnnger adventures. I'm not talking page count. I'm talking months or even years in the storylines, where the characters butt heads, develop and change.

The tropics. So many of the older romances included sections in the Carribbean or other tropical and exotic locales. Sapphire starts out in Martinique and comes complete with the amoral, free-lovin' alter-ego island girl character to advise our heroine on those strange, disturbingly tingly feelings.

A hero who is actually still getting some at the start of the book. I'm not sure this is something I've missed, exactly, but when you see it in a book published after 1990, you suddenly realize, you haven't actually seen it in a really long time. Or at least if you're me, that's what happens. There's a scene where he bangs a society woman up against a wall on a balcony before she even quite realizes it's happening -- a bit shocking these days but a textbook example of showing and not telling us quite a lot about his character:

Only afterward, as he fastened his wool trousers and smoothed her silk skirts and bodice, did he see a single tear slip down her pale face."

"Don't cry," he murmured as he kissed her cheek.

"I-I've never done this before," she said breathlessly.

...[snip - at this point, they're interrupted by the lady's elderly husband]

The hem of her gown almost brushed Blake's polished boot as she glided past him. Either Mr. Williams didn't see him or he didn't care what his wife did on balconies with strangers.

Blake smiled. Yet another reason to be in no hurry to wed.

Brrr. Cold much?

A book with British society stuff set in an historical period other than Regency. Rumors abound that Victorian is the next Regency, and I think it's already here. I like the mobility people had and the feeling that change is about to bust wide open everywhere.

Protagonists that travel. From Martinique to London to Boston to New York. Love it.

Cross-dressing heroine. OK, so this isn't actually one of my particular buttons, but it is for some people, so PSA, this book haz it.

The whore with the heart of gold. Actually, there are several in this book. Why stop at one? It's not like Rogers got famous because of her restraint.

My Only Regret
The ending felt kind of rushed to me. The turning point where they come back to each other just... well, to be honest it didn't work very well at all for me. How can I still love the book if this didn't work? Wish I knew. I just wished there were about 50 more pages and that Blake had had to work a little harder once they were re-united. But it was such a damn good ride getting to the point I can't bring myself to hate on it because of that.

___________________________________
*Couple things: yeah, I'm living under a rock right now, which is how come I just found out about the western rodeo round-up git-along thing going on over at Ramblings... can't participate right now but I may do a belated post and link back. Also, the exact rock I'm living under is named Natalie-- she's my newest niece and I'm out of town helping out my sister with childcare, which I hope partially explains a) my general absenteeism from Blogland (yours, mine, and Kristie's) and b) the reference to the Psychotically Competitive Nutbrown Hare (hope they've got a nut-brown therapy fund going).

Summer of Two Wishes, by Julia London - Review

2009-08-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

The Facts:
Release Date: Today! (Aug 18, 2009)
Publisher: Pocket
Page Count: 401
Series: appears to be #1 of a new series.
Misc: Book club guide in back, themed recipes from the author.
Julia London's Website
Buy It!

Short Answer:
Very enjoyable, great characters, sweet and romantic. This one is a multiple-tissue read.

Same As Hint of Wicked?
OK, so. Same set up, right? War widow remarries, soldier husband returns, what should she do? Two Wishes is a contemporary, with a US soldier returning from Afghanistan to Texas, versus a Regency Napoleonic vet returning to Jolly Old England.

The parallels in the heroine's dilemma are striking. She's a little afraid of her first husband, that his experiences have changed him beyond her knowing. She's guilty and remorseful about abandoning his memory, though she knows rationally that it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do, given the evidence: Sophie threw significant resources at an exhaustive personal search for Garrett, while Macy receives Finn's dogtags and is told there was DNA evidence of his death.

And yet both women refuse to leave their second husbands out of hand. These are good men, for neither heroine is TSTL and they've got good taste. Both women withdraw from the situation and take the time they need to process their feelings.

Both books even have a rather weak subplot to help move through the last quarter or so of the book, after the heroine has made up her mind, but to heighten the drama-- and perhaps the page count. Which I actually don't mind too much, because it's always nice to see the HEA couple in action under duress, and in both cases it helped resolve the situation for the odd man out.

Only Different, Because...
The sex is plenty hot in Two Wishes, but somehow it's a sweeter story; maybe it's the down-home setting of the small town and the cast of gossipy secondary characters that might put you in mind of this:

(I love how she says "BALLLLLL-zac!")

...

Sorry, was that distracting? You're welcome for the earworm. Where was I? Right, secondary characters --

Secondary characters were a little hit and miss. I particularly liked Milo (the dog who must be very confused by now), Laru (the helpful and freespirited aunt), Linda Gail (one of those fabulous admin assistants that also frets about the boss) and Karen (the MIL from hell but you can't help feeling for her). (Sorry for all the parenthesis).

There were another half a dozen or so that didn't quite hit the mark for me -- the sister seemed unnecessary, the mother and best friend were cardboardy and others weren't even important enough to be secondary. Tertiary, maybe. The author's website mentions that it's the beginning of a series, so my money's on clumsier-than-you'd-expect sequel-baiting.

Of course, the twists and turns that the two books take are different and appropriate for the time. While London ratchets up the tension with a seriously Excruciating Turn, she also telegraphs the "winner" in the triangle far more obviously than Haymore. The ending isn't really going to surprise you, but the getting-there is a great ride, with all the drama and romance you could want.

The Zing
Although I thought one character was a little all over the map, I could see how maybe that would be the case given the circumstances. At times I thought all three characters were behaving pretty immaturely, and I liked how London brought them all through their respective arcs. You'll find the epiphany involving the hippy quoting 1970's airbrushed T-shirts everywhere either deeply touching (probably not), tongue-in-cheek ironic (maybe) or eye-rollingly silly (also maybe). Personally, I'm undecided between options b & c.

But the main thing is, London built up the romance between the HEA couple and made it irresistible. Irresistible: I'll say it twice. It was painful and sweet and then *really* painful and then sweet again and they are a couple you will pull for and cry with and cheer on.

All in all, a perfect read to cap off the summer, whether that means the beach, a backyard hammock with a pitcher of lemonade, or tucked in a comfy chair in the a/c (heh).

The Blog Tour
For other takes on the book, check out the tour, one-day only!

My Book Views
Book Soulmates
A Journey of Books
Just Jennifer Reading
All About {n}
My Guilty Pleasures
Bookin’ with Bingo
Starting Fresh
Booksie’s Blog
The Tome Traveller
Readaholic
Cheryl’s Book Nook
Bella’s Novella
Frugal Plus
Eclectic Book Lover
One Person’s Journey Through A World Of Books
Foreign Circus Library
My Own Little Corner of the World
Pudgy Penguin Perusals
Seductive Musings
Bibliophiles ‘R Us
Park Avenue Princess
Power in the Blog
Books and Needlepoint

Funniest Thing I've Read All Week

2009-08-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

Seriously. In lieu of an actual post by me, go read this one by Carolyn Jean.

Seduce Me, by Robyn DeHart - Review

2009-08-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

The Facts
Title: Seduce Me
Author: Robyn DeHart
Release Date: July 28, 2009
Subgenre: Historical (Victorian), Paranormal
Page Count: 297

The Premise
Mercenary treasure hunter Fielding Grey snatches legendary treasure from bad guy; unexpectedly acquires beautiful, brainy damsel in distress along with it.

The Good Stuff
This is a very well-done love story. The outstanding element here is the way the characters struggle against forces they don't understand, both internal and external, to figure out whether the feelings they have for each other are real or based on illusion. The characters are interesting, 3-dimensional, believable. The love story tends to be a little overshadowed by the adventure and the constant threat of the Bad Guys, but the way it unfolds-- quietly, gradually-- is a nice counterpart.

DeHart's writing is smooth and completely professional. It flows, and the setting, the characters, and the action all come to life effortlessly.

Things That Make Me Say Hmmm
Suspension of disbelief is an elusive and sometimes fickle thing. I picked up Seduce Me right after finishing The Fire King, which involved a three-thousand-year-old being who could take the form of a man, a dragon, or a lion; a heroine who can understand and speak any language she comes into contact with; assorted secondary characters with a range of fictional superpowers--and I loved it.

So why did have trouble with a story revolving around Pandora's Box?

Honestly, I think this story would have been better without any paranormal manifestations. The things that did happen could easily have been written as superstitions vs. demonstrably paranormal events (*/spoiler-avoiding contortions*).

Then there were significant liberties taken with the legend, at least the legend that I know: Like Eve, Pandora is offered a temptation she can't resist. Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden, while Pandora unleashed all the ills of the world -- Bad Things such as disease, famine, etc., though *hope* remains. Right? So several centuries or millenia later, the box should be empty. I mean, the cat has been out of the bag for a long time, right? (This is probably where someone smarter than me will leap in with scholarly information about how there are other theories... anyone?)

However, DeHart's plot revolves around anyone opening the box being cursed with one of those original Bad Things, and then figuring out how to break the curse. I'm sorry to say that the world-building on this point was muddy and inconsistent-- tattoos? full moon? severed hand? whaaaa??

Bottom Line
I'd put this book in the average category. I will forgive a lot of plot sins--which this had-- in return for good characters and good romance-- which this had. If you are intrigued by the notion of hunting not just ordinary mortal treasure, but legendary, mythical treasure, it should have extra appeal-- not to mention that it's pretty easy to insert a young Harrison Ford into your mental landscape for this book.

I think ultimately it was the story itself that didn't appeal very much to me-- which is good in a way, because that means that the next story could work out just fine. It did seem that the set up for future books such that future books could be fairly stand-alone.

The Blog Tour
The next two weeks will see a flurry of activity around this book, with reviews, interviews, and giveaways, and there are sure to be some alternate opinions, so be sure to check them out. And I'd like to extend my thanks to Hachette for providing the review copy.

Participating Blogs:
http://yankeeromancereviewers.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 1 - 14 review and giveaway
http://www.thebookgirl.net - Aug. 1 - 14 giveaway and review
http://bridget3420.blogspot.com - Aug. 2 guest blog and giveaway
http://carolsnotebook.wordpress.com/ - Aug. 3 Q&A, review, and giveaway
http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 4 giveaway
http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 4 Q&A, review and giveaway
http://booksoulmates.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 5 giveaway
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 5 guest blog, review and giveaway
http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com - Aug. 6 Q&A, review, and giveaway
http://www.mgpblog.com/ - Aug. 6 giveaway
http://ajourneyofbooks.blogspot.com - Aug. 7 Q&A, review, and giveaway
http://hotdealsbybec.com - Aug. 7 giveaway
http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 9 Q&A, review and giveaway
http://reesspace.blogspot.com - Aug. 10 review and giveaway
http://jmomfinds.amoores.com/ - Aug. 10 review and giveaway
http://kayespenguinposts.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 11 review and giveaway.
http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 11 giveaway
http://seductivemusings.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 12 guest blog and giveaway
http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 12
http://nightdweller20.wordpress.com - Aug. 12 review and giveaway
http://mustreadfaster.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 13 review and giveaway
http://www.mybookaddictionandmore.wordpress.com - Aug. 13 Q&A, review and giveaway
http://www.thisbookforfree.com - Aug. 14 guest blog and giveaway
http://www.chickwithbooks.blogspot.com/ - Aug. 14 review and giveaway
http://trinsnook.blogspot.com - Aug. 14 review and giveaway
http://fallingofftheshelf.blogspot.com - Aug. 14 review and giveaway
http://aparkavenueprincess.blogspot.com/

Broken Wing, by Judith James - Review

2009-08-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Late on the Bandwagon, As Usual
Between Orannia's Challenge and Kristie J's tireless promotion, it was only a matter of time before I picked up Broken Wing by Judith James. As it happens, I was offered a review copy so of course I jumped on it!

The book has been out for quite a while now and if you'd like to see a long, long list of reviews, do check out Kristie and Kati's sidebar at Ramblings. Most reactions have been positive, ranging from "pretty good" to OVER-THE-FREAKIN'-MOON.

I think one reason this book falls out of the ordinary fare is in its scope. In my opinion, it's equal parts adventure, coming-of-age, and romance, and in many ways reminds me of a more old-fashioned genre-less mainstream novel.

The Premise
I think most people by now know the basic setup -- Gabriel is sold into prostitution as a child, and escapes as a young adult by grace of the heroine and her family, because he has been instrumental in protecting their young sibling. Broken Wing shocks the readers' sensibilities with its graphic portrayal of the cruelty and hopelessness of Gabriel's life up to the opening moments of the book.

Short Answer
I liked this book very much, though I didn't fall into the paroxysms of delight that its most ardent supporters experienced, and sticklers for the rule that the romance must be the main focus of the book may have more trouble with it. I'd recommend it, but be forewarned that it is not at all light or breezy. I did think it dragged a bit here and there but overall a great read.

"Do Go On," you say...
Well. If you insist. I've skimmed quite a few reviews and I could probably do nothing more that string together eight or ten paragraphs from my favorite reviewers along with a lot of head-bobbing. But where's the fun in that? So, since there are a huge number of excellent reviews out there already, I'm just going to ramble a bit about some perhaps slightly random things that this story stirred up for me.

First off, I particularly liked the way that the interest in star-gazing brought the hero and heroine together. My all-time favorite bit:

He came often after that, no longer hesitant of her welcome. He stayed for hours on her balcony, watching the stately dance of constellations as they spun slowly overhead. It struck him that there had always been other worlds surrounding him, just outside his reach, unexpected and unseen.

However, it was a little disappointing to me that after bringing them together in such a deeply romantic way, the whole astronomy/stargazing thing was more or less dropped once the Big Adventures got going. There were a few things like that, little threads that I found especially moving or interesting that were dropped without too much ceremony.

Swashbuckles Ahoy
Right from the beginning, there are hints that this is a different kind of romance. Even the cover of this book looks more like an old-fashioned adventure than a current romance. Compare:

If you're a romance purist, you might not love this story. My feeling though, is that it really is a HELLuva good story, and without the sexual nature of Gabriel's harsh past, would be very similar to the classics like Treasure Island or Robinson Crusoe. In fact, the story that it most reminded me of is A Girl of the Limberlost, by Gene Stratton Porter. It's a bit obscure, I think, but I discovered GSP around 5th or 6th grade and devoured as many as I could find. In this book, Elnora was raised by an emotionally damaged single mother. The story takes us through her high school years and into a romantic HEA, so it's sort of a cross between young adult and romance.

Do You Ever Wonder
...about things like cutting, that seem to be a recent phenomenon, but then you think, they probably aren't recent; they probably just weren't much spoken of before a certain time. Some things like Aspergers' Syndrome,* I think we only recently have the language and the tools to see them as a type of pathology vs. someone being unintelligent or willfully ass-hole-ish.

I was first introduced to the problem of young people cutting in the early 90's, when my roommate's son was diagnosed. One lay explanation that I got from people who loved him was that cutting was a way of "making the physical pain match the emotional pain" that he was in. Another, with more physiological roots, is that the rush of endorphins act as an anaesthetic -- and I can believe in the 19th century, that might be far preferrable to pain remedies available from the medical community. The song Iris, by the Goo Goo Dolls came out around that same time frame, and the line "you bleed just to know you're alive" always had particular meaning when I thought about my roommate and his family.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I have certain curiousity about how things like this were handled before doctors and professionals had any frame of reference to help, and I think James presented a sensitive and shall we say, sufficiently believable scenario here.

___________________
*I bring up Aspergers' because The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie is high up on my TBR list.

It's Thursday SOMEWHERE, Right?

2009-07-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

I'm blaming the heat.

Thursday Thirteen, Ed 14

2009-07-29T00:05:00.000-07:00

Something that sort of took me by surprise after I’d been blogging for awhile… is that it’s really a circle of bloggers. I think it’s the rare reader, or at least the minority one, that doesn’t have her own blog. I had this image, originally, of providing this font of knowledge for appreciative readers who just didn’t know WHERE to turn for their next romance fix.

OK, heh, so it’s not quite like that. We all have blogs, we are all voracious readers of both books and other blogs, and we are all avaricious about our reader stats. Turns out there’s a fair amount of behind the scenes type stuff that bloggers may or may not do to make their blogs memorable and manageable. Maybe you saw my earlier posts about Bloggiesta and the hard-working Natasha. There’s also a group at BookBlogs.ning that I belong to where bloggers share tips and advice about improving their blogs.

I found all this to be very inspirational, however I wasn’t able to get nearly everything done that I wanted to during the official “Bloggiesta.” So I’m dedicating this T-13 to my blog to-do list.

1. Content. The part that I care most about for this blog is to have good content, even when I don’t feel like writing. I’m going to try to write one “rainy-day” post each week that I can pull out when work gets crazy or the kids get sick. When I have a nice stash, I’ll start posting them and writing replacements so they don’t get too stale.

2. Guest posting. Something I hadn’t thought too much about, but Natasha’s list included working on getting guest posters to appear regularly, and I really like the idea.

3. Static Content Pages. I’d like to have a good “about me” page, as well as pages that outline my policies (my, doesn’t that sound official?) for accepting submissions, reviews, and giveaways. Blogger doesn’t have a great way to do this, so I need to get creative.

4. Sidebar clean-up. I’ve got quite a bit of stale stuff there that feels cluttery. The new template helped a lot, but there’s more to do.

5. Figure out Feedburner and Technorati.

6. I’m planning to kick off something new here that I’m fancifully calling “Friday Fantasy Feature.” Since this IS a romance blog after all, you may be forgiven for that little trip into the mental gutter you just took – but no, I’m not talking about erotica or THOSE kind of fantasies. I’m talking about the sci-fi/fantasy genre, which I confess occasionally distracts me from romance (though I always return).

7. Submissions to book review sites. I’ve poked around a bit superficially without much luck, but I know they’re out there.

8. Contacts at publishers. I have a couple. I want more. (Don’t we all?)

9. Thinking about joining RWA, even though I’m not an aspiring writer. Seems like a good way to find out about good stuff coming up.

10. Graphics and badges. I want to play around with a small square icon for Alpha Heroes – some people like to put graphics in the sidebars, and I might futz a bit with some T-Thirteen headers to share.

11. Do more blog-hopping. I think I’ve gotten into a bit of a rut. I have my favorite bloggers, to whom I’m very loyal, but there are new ones all the time and I don’t tend to make much effort to find them – and that is definitely MY loss.

12. Related, I want to refresh my blog rolls. There are a bunch that I want to add.

13. Read and comment more at the big sites: AAR, Smart Bitches, Dear Author. I tend to feel a little overwhelmed by the big magazine style sites, but I should get over it. Maybe. OTOH, I rather like the little single-owner blogs; they have an intimacy that I love.

The Fire King, by Marjorie M. Liu - Review

2009-07-27T16:14:00.001-07:00

The Facts
Title: The Fire King
Release Date: July 28 (eek, I thought I had more time for this review!)
Liu's Site (with a nice meaty excerpt)
ISBN: 08439-5940-1
307 pages

Short Answer
Loved! One of the best in the series.

Tell Me More
OK, but remember, you asked for it.

You know how, when you're on a job interview or at your performance review... or maybe the marriage counselor's office, heh, and they ask you those questions: "What's your greatest strength? And what's your greatest weakness?" and sometimes, the answer is the same thing?

One of the best things about Liu's universe is the endless variety of talents and mythologies she draws from. I think that in this way, she takes more chances than some of the paranormal authors out there who have a more tightly-focused world. And there have been some books that didn't appeal to me that much. This one though, just hit every note exactly right for me.

The World
For the most part, this is a book that answers more of the existing world-building questions rather than raising new ones. It's built on shades of gray and uncertain alliances. What really happened to all those shape-shifters? Previous books have alluded to a far-different-looking pre-history, where creatures of myth and legend were not only real but plentiful and played an equal role with humans when it comes to the question of "who's in charge here, anyway?" Most interesting to me was the absence of the Consortium, which has played the role of the villain in most prior books. Here, Liu introduces fractures within the hierarchy of the shape-shifters, and a new group which occasionally aids the Dirk and Steele team, but more in the spirit of a shared enemy than of a shared moral compass. Teensy spoiler: watch out for the double-cross!.

The Hero
Karr is a chimera, the first of these that we've seen in the series, and the discovery of his kind plays a pivotal role in the world-building. He's among Liu's oldest creatures and has an unnatural immortality, which is a mystery that is unravelled in the course of the book. He's isolated and lonely; heroic but with an undeniably brutal side. Able to shift into lion or dragon form, Liu's heroine finds herself thinking of CS Lewis' Aslan, and the Christ analogy isn't entirely off-base. He's a bit of an unlikely hero, but Liu brings them together, bit by bit. I can't say that Karr is my favorite hero; he's a bit more aloof than suits me, but he suits Soria, which is far more important.

The Heroine
Soria is one of the most interesting heroines you're going to see, ever. Shell-shocked, recovering from a major trauma, attempting to escape the shadowy world of Dirk and Steele and the adventures that she no longer feels up to, she is pulled back into a new mission with little choice. I love the way that Liu feeds us information about Soria-before, and Soria-after her trauma. I was frequently surprised, never bored, and yet the heroine's actions never seem out-of-character, perhaps because so much of the interior story is about her reclaiming and redefining herself.

She's got a don't-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down core (though it's been AWOL for a little while when the story opens) and a grim sense of humor that doesn't quit. This bit made me snort at an unladylike volume:

...given the circumstances, a paper trail seemed like a rather poor idea, right along with using a credit card, or writing her name across the sky with big giant arrows pointed down at her ass.

And when you learn about the trauma? whooee. It will set you back on your heels. Liu delivers a depth of horror with this matter-of-fact style that has you absolutely believing. It's more than a bit creepy that within her sky's-the-limit fantastical universe of magic and myth and super-powers, often the elements that are the most profoundly disturbing are the ones that we can find in true headlines. (My husband, the comic-book fan, reminded me that the major theme in the X-Men series is that the monsters are NOT the mutants.) Soria's character is my favorite part of this book -- the way she triumphs through the strength of will is an utterly gorgeous progression. And Karr's best moment is how he listens to her story, and gives her exactly what she needs. The scene is too long to excerpt here, but it's pitch perfect. Every word, every gesture.

And isn't that one of the purest romantic fantasies? A partner who can give us-- who can be-- exactly what we need?

Other Reviews
I'm seeing lots of articles announcing the release, but not too many reviews. Be sure to leave your link in comments if you have one, or know of one, and I'll add it into the post later.

Michelle Buonfiglio at B(u)y The Book

Sugar Time, by Jane Adams - Review

2009-07-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

Finding the Right Label
A "coming of age" story is defined by Robert Harris of virtualsalt.com as:

A type of novel where the protagonist is initiated into adulthood through knowledge, experience, or both, often by a process of disillusionment. Understanding comes after the dropping of preconceptions, a destruction of a false sense of security, or in some way the loss of innocence.

Now, I don't know who Robert Harris is or whether virtualsalt.com is any kind of authority, but it seems like a reasonable working definition to me.

So what is the name for books on the other side of adulthood? What comes after the genre romance happily-ever-after, which frequently is marked by a wedding, pregnancy, the beginnings of career super-stardom, or some combination thereof. What happens with the kids are grown, the tumbling honey-colored locks are turning gray and thin, the improbably pneumatic bosoms are drooping, and the type-A alpha hero goes into cardiac arrest at age 60 while he's running that venture capital empire? What's the "coming of old age" literary tradition?

Well, Sugar Time self-referentially introduced me to the term "hag lit," which if you ask me is pretty damn unappealing. Nancy Thayer, author of The Hot Flash Club, explains in a Columbia Journalist article, “It comes from the Greek meaning Holy. A thousand years ago, Hagia Sophia meant goddess of wisdom. What we’re becoming is goddesses of wisdom.” Hmmm. Nice try, I guess, but it's still not catchy and I'm not sure I want to dance to it.

I'm NOT a Baby Boomer, Dammit
I was so pleased when I heard about Douglas Coupland's Generation X. Finally, a demographic of my own! However, when "they" talk about children's literature, they say that readers are typically the age group behind the subject matter-- tweens like to read about teens, teens like to read about older teens and adults. Since I started reading romance at the ripe old age of 12 or so, I'm pretty open to reading something in this new genre, too (and I do think it's a new genre, though I'm sure there are pioneers who are there already).

Sugar and I got off to a bit of a rough start though. First off: Sugar. Sugar Kane. Seriously? Whatever. The name was overly twee and didn't seem to suit the character, who was certainly not especially sweet. I half expected her to turn out to be Erika Kane's long lost sister or something. (Though come to think of it, perhaps the reference isn't an accident. The character of Erika Kane remains a femme fatale now for almost 40 years, since her debut in 1970. Ooops-- tangent, sorry).

Second: Sugar is a very particular character type, one that I'm rather familiar with through the magic of TV and novels, but that I've never actually encountered in real life: she's the wise-cracking, fast-talking bi-coastal Jewish woman who's "in TV". She makes me think of Rose Marie from The Dick Van Dyke Show, or maybe even Lucille Ball. Sugar is characterized as someone who uses humor to keep people at a distance, and intentional or not, I was put off at first.

Cut to the Chase Already
Eventually, I did warm up to Sugar. The first couple of chapters were fairly introspective, but I liked it more when she started to interact with the other characters. Throughout the book, the main voice is Sugar's, in the first person, often interior, but once she started doing things, rather than thinking about things, it got more interesting. ;)

I want to go back to Prof. Harris' definition again and re-iterate that this kind of story seems to be a bookend to the "coming of age." If the one is a disillusionment and loss of innocence, this story is about overcoming cynicism and regaining a belief in love. It's a reminder that even if it might be too late for some things -- maybe being the next Mick Jagger or the first woman president is off the table-- life is full of possibility, no matter your age.

There's a lot going on here besides the relationship, and I find that completely appropriate for this phase of life-- falling in love when you're a bit older is still a pretty great ride, but I don't think it's as all-encompassing at 60 as it is at 20.

Bottom line is, this *is* a romance--so sez me-- and I hope I'm not spoilering when I say we *do* get a romantic HEA. It does carry the sense that the "ever after" might not be as indefinite as those tumble-tressed genre romance heroines get. Some of the obstacles between the hero and heroine are also different than their younger counterparts'... but some of them are the same. Trust, career, balancing obligations, family complications -- relatable stuff here, for any demographic.

What Others Are Saying
Mary at Books Gardens and Dogs
Suzanne Braun Levine
That's a Novel Idea

Seems to be early days for reviews on this book, so let me just leave you with the author herself. I pulled this from her website-- she speaks very eloquently about what Sugar is all about:

Loving a Lost Lord, by Mary Jo Putney - Review

2009-07-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

Short answer: Best Historical This Year! (well, so far anyway!)

The Premise
A terrible steamship accident causes Our Hero to wash up onshore at the feet of Our Heroine, who just happens to need a husband. Since he also conveniently has amnesia, she tells him one big whopper: "Can you have forgotten that I'm your wife, Mariah Clarke?" from which many subsequent whoppers follow. If Mariah had had Pinocchio's curse, her proboscis would have been prodigious indeed.

The Good Stuff
It's a little puzzling as to why this story works. There are a fair number of tired elements -- I mean, really, amnesia?? And in some ways, Mariah resembled one of Putney's recent heroines that I found really boring: she's relentlessly pragmatic in a similar way to Abigail from Marriage Spell. It's been awhile since I read that one, so this point is no doubt debatable, but I found this heroine to be more real. Putney did a better job of showing me the internal struggle it cost Mariah to maintain her outward serenity, while Abigail just seemed phlegmatic.

Adam is a wonderfully fresh hero. If you're tired of the cold, aloof rake whose glacial heart must be melted by the spunky heroine, pick this up immediately. Putney uses the amnesia device to provide Adam with a tabula rasa; he literally leaves all his cares behind and puts his well-being in Mariah's hands. Beneath the worry about his memories, he's trusting, playful, and loving. As his memories gradually return, you can vividly see the weight they apply, bit by bit, to his ducal shoulders. And of course the reader sees the looming Revelation of Truth along with Mariah, which adds to the tension.

I think one reason that Putney manages this constellation of elements that could SO easily go SO wrong, and pulls off a truly fabulous story instead, is that in spite of the rather preposterous circumstances, both characters behave in truly believable ways (at least, I thought so). Discounting that first lie, there are no TSTL decisions. Mariah understands the consequences of The Lie and is constantly weighing Adam's best interests in the timing of her reveal -- at no time does she really think she's going to get away with never coming clean. But Adam arrives at her doorstep utterly helpless -- it's far more mortifying to him to think he's at the mercy of total strangers than to feel that he's where he's supposed to be, even if he doesn't remember. And when he does learn the truth, he understandably loses trust, but he doesn't leap to wild conclusions like "she must be a gold-digging slut! I shall hate her forever and ship her off to Barbados!" Big points in that respect -- two grown-ups, acting like grown-ups, in spite of the pain it causes them. Go figure.

Another is simply that these characters sparkle with each other. Chemistry, zing, whatever you want to call it. From the fact that Mariah accidentally hits on Adam's true given name, to the way Adam feels perfectly at home with her, Putney builds an implacable rightness between these two. It is marvelous and impossible to analyze. Here, Adam has asked Mariah if she will sleep with him-- not for sex, as he's still injured, but for comfort and intimacy:

Shyly she took off her robe, then climbed into the bed. He recognized that he was still something of a stranger to her. But she was not a stranger to him. Odd, since he was the one who'd lost his memory.

Oh, le sigh....

An interesting theme that Putney plays with here is a duality of nature. There is the obvious: Adam with and without his memories. Once he regains them-- integrates those two men-- he realizes that the foreign side of himself, one he has repressed since inheriting the dukedom can also be acknowledged, at least among friends.

Mariah gets a flip side too. She's had a lonely existence, and an imaginary friend or alter ego named Sarah has been with her since childhood. Sarah helps her remember how to be proper, which is a bit double-edged for Mariah. Sometimes those reminders are helpful, but sometimes they only make Mariah feel inferior or like a poseur. At first this seemed a little odd to me for a grown woman, but hey, you sometimes just go with things. And I like where Putney took it in the end.

The Plot
Besides the amnesia and secret-marriage-that-isn't-really, there seems to be a plot afoot to harm the Duke. While there weren't any big surprises here, the plotting and pacing are meticulous and serve as a perfectly adequate foil for the emotional story.

The Series
I don't know if Putney was the first, but if not, she was certainly a very early adopter of the setup of a group of men, linked from childhood, as the glue for a series of full-length romances. And good lord, she's good at it. I really loved how she shows us bits of the Duke's friends: through his troubled memory-dreams, and Mariah's interactions with them, we learn a lot in a way that whets the appetite without being too obvious. As an example:

She wondered if any of his friends would be as willing to admit vulnerability. Masterson possibly. Kirkland... she wasn't sure. Randall would probably rather be torn apart by wild horses than admit weakness.

And then Mariah is back into dialog with Adam. Just a small aside, not heavy-handed. An amuse-bouche. (And, any guesses as to who the next Lost Lord might be? Heh.)

The Happily Ever After
Putney goes completely wild on this, into real fairy-tale territory. Obviously, I can't say more without spoilering, but I enjoyed it, even if it took an extra dollop of suspension of disbelief-- it was worth it.

Don't Tempt Me, by Loretta Chase - Review

2009-07-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

A Little Disappointing
I have never been let down by Loretta Chase before. Even deep in her backlist, where sometimes you find an author's less polished works, I enjoyed every book. Chase has a knack for writing unusual, misfit heroines that succeed against all odds, generally because of their eccentricities, rather than in spite of them.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen for me with Don't Tempt Me. I really did want to love Zoe Octavia, but I felt like I was seeing her through the wrong end of a telescope for most of the book. Very little takes place from within her point of view -- what there is, is intriguing, but there wasn't enough for me.

The Premise
In a nod to the Old Skool harem trope, Zoe is introduced to the reader as the latest ton sensation, the long-lost daughter of a prominent noble, escaped after 12 years in the harem of an impotent <eyeroll> pasha. Her mission: to overcome the scandal and live the life to which she was born.

Lucien, with an abandonment complex the size of the Titanic's nemesis, has just enough power in the fashionable circles to help her out. Considering that Zoe's father is the one person for whom Lucien has respect and affection, he's more than willing.

And then?
Beyond that, the book sort of petered out for me. There was never any major obstacle to the relationship between the hero and the heroine. The plot device was unimaginative and underdeveloped. I could live with that, but what I really wanted was to connect better with Zoe.

I didn't get to, though. Her backstory was told to the reader through a newspaper story, of all things, which Lucien engineered to build some empathy for her plight. Not a bad starting place, but we got very little more. I was left feeling like I knew slightly more about Zoe than any random woman of the times who read the newspaper.

The Bright Spot
Chase has always been good at building characters, and maybe the trouble here is just that it was too subtle for me overall. The stuff I did like was about Zoe's consistency throughout. Certain characteristics pinged back to her and Lucien's shared childhood, showing evolution but not radical change. I liked Zoe's pragmatic approach to fitting back into society, while still using and valuing skills she learned in that alien society. Zoe has composure, strength and self-confidence no matter the situation, and that was very appealing.

Don't get me wrong, this was not a terrible book by any means. But Chase is one of those authors for whom I have very high expectations. Hopefully the next one will be back on track.

Around the Blogosphere (my state of underwhelm is distinctly the minority)
Katibabs at RNTV
Neesah Allora
Janet at Dear Author
Ana at The Book Smugglers
Carolyn Hughes
Esmerelda at Flutter (a spanking new romance blogger, and since she agrees with me, you should all check her out and watch her for great things to come.)

Thursday Thirteen, Edition 13

2009-07-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

Every now and then even *I* take a break from reading and blogging romance.

The internet has been an incredible arena for people to connect and share their creativity in so many ways. I do love the cool stuff that shows up on YouTube from time to time. Most of these were spotted and shared on Facebook by friends of mine. Watch a few (or all of them, if you have time to kill, LOL) and share a few that inspire you or make you laugh. In no particular order, here are:

13 FUN YOUTUBE VIDEOS

1. Badly animated hippo sings (embedding disabled, sorry)

2. Not the original, but the best Mahna Mahna:

3. Improv in Grand Central Station (so cool)

4. Playing For Change’s Stand by Me

5. More Muppets: OMG, DRUM BATTLE!

6. The first help desk (so funny!)

7. A day in the life of a mom (it's like the soundtrack to my childhood!):

8. Cake or death?

9. Torn- a strange mélange of mime and not-quite-ASL: -- the facial expressions and the word-by-word translation just make this.

10. This is a snip from what MIGHT be the funniest ½ hour of 1980s TV (though the very end was lame). If you’re patient enough, you can find most of the ep in the related snips (embedding disabled).

11. F*cking priceless:

12. Bohemian Rhapsody, but… different.

13. Did Mary Poppins freak you out? No? Maybe you should watch again.

Hope you found something to make you smile! Leave a comment and I'll stop by your place too!