Why do I resist?

Reining in the Rancher by Karen Templeton

Last year both Holly and Wendy wrote great reviews about a Silhouette Special Edition series by Ms. Templeton.

The three book series was called "Guys and Daughters" . The books were Dear Santa (SSE #1864), Yours, Mine ... or Ours? (SSE #1876) and Baby I'm Yours (SSE #1893). Since I'm as susceptible as the next person, I was sufficiently intrigued to give Ms. Templeton a try. So, of course, that's exactly what I did. I really enjoyed the series, but singled out Baby I'm Yours as the best of the three. I wrote a little bit about it here.

Just to clarify, before I continue, I'm not a complete dunce. I did remember liking Ms. Templeton's writing. The 'Guys and Daughters' series left enough of an impression that I picked it up her next two SSE releases. The conundrum is my resistance to reading them. Why the resistance? I really couldn't tell you. I don't know. I would just look at the books and think, not now.

Now to the reason why this is worth mentioning...

The current series Ms. Templeton is working on for SSE is 'Wed in the West'. Reining in the Rancher (SSE #1948 Jan 09) is the second book of the series. It's also the book I picked up a couple of nights ago. I was looking for something light to read before I went to sleep and thought a category romance was just the ticket. This particular book just happened to be handy, which is really code for 'it was on my night stand'.

The plan, because I always have one, was to read about 25 pages turn out the light and get a good night's sleep. Riiiiiiight. I picked up the book at around 9 PM. I put it down, finished, at around 12:30 AM.

From page one I was hooked. This is a simple story and so implausible on some levels that it's very implausibility is what sort of makes it believable. At least that was the case for me. It was a wonderfully well paced little gem that I couldn't read fast enough.

I didn't read the first book in this series, A Mother's Wish (SSE #1916) and it didn't impact my reading Reining in the Rancher at all. I do, however, have A Mother's Wish in my tbr and you can believe I will be reading it soon.

So, don't resist like I did. If you haven't tried Karen Templeton, you should. This was a great quick read with characters you can care about.

Strong B grade for me.

The Weekend that Was

I had the best reading weekend I've had in a long, long time. It was great because all I did the whole weekend long was READ!! Okay, I did shower, do a couple of loads of laundry, and prepared a very nice Sunday night dinner, but other than that it was read, read, read. I didn't even go for my Saturday swim. Can you believe that?

I read four books this weekend. The bonanza was that while varied, I really enjoyed them all. First up was MIDNIGHT RISING (excerpt) by Lara Adrian. This is the latest installment in her Midnight Breed series. It's an interesting take on vampires. In Ms. Adrian's world vamps originate from aliens who landed and were stranded here centuries ago. The castaways mate with humans and create a race of Breeds, or vampires. This particular book was Rio's story and was a competent continuance of the world building and characters.

Then I read the third book in the Guys and Daughters series (April 08 SSE #1893) by Karen Templeton called BABY I'M YOURS (excerpt) . If you've circled the neighborhood recently you know that lots of people like Holly and SL Wendy have really liked this series. While I can't say I'm as over the moon for the books as they are, I have enjoyed them. However, this particular book was excellent. I think it was Holly who said Ms. Templeton tells a lot of story in this little category romance. She wasn't kidding.

Next, I read BLUE EYED DEVIL (excerpt) by Lisa Kleypas. This book is a contemporary romance. However I noted two striking things. For one, it's in first person, not everyone's cuppa because normally, speaking for myself, I like being in everyone's head not just one person. In Blue Eyed Devil first person didn't bother me at all. It was Haven's story to tell. Which brings me to the second thing that was a bit different for me. I was fascinated and riveted by the internal journey that Haven made in this book. I was every bit as fascinated with Haven's thoughts and choices as I was the romance. Haven's struggles aren't easy ones. I really liked that there were no pat and easy answers for her. I'm anxious to go back and read other people's reviews that I only skimmed before I read the book. I seem to remember a few people liked the book but had some problems. I'm curious to compare notes.

My final book of the weekend was PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS (excerpt) by Sherry Thomas. I had to read this book after reading and hearing so much about it. I have to admit I was skeptical. Not because I don't read good books after there's been a lot of buzz. Nope, my worry was that I wouldn't like it because the plot involved a couple that had been married and separated for 10 years. This is not a story line I'd normally be interested in.

I'm glad I went ahead and read it. Ms. Thomas presents a unique point of view and very interesting characters. One of the things I really liked was the self-awareness the characters had about themselves. It also read like a dream. Smooth. Easy. Flowing. Frankly, I was surprised how much I liked it.

My cup runneth over when I read so many different and good books in a short period of time. It was quite the adventure this past weekend.

Now I'm in the process of deciding what I'm going to pull out of the tbr for Keishon's TBR Day this month. I'm thinking maybe an old Maureen McKade that I recently found, OUTLAW BRIDE.

Hey, what are all you guys reading for the TBR Day this month?