Glomming Historicals

Here at Nobody Asked Me Central I'm glomming historicals. While I truly enjoyed Lisa Kleypas' lastest release, MARRIED BY MORNING, I absolutely loved Sherry Thomas' HIS AT NIGHT.

I adored the details, the little things that an author throws in that makes a character whole. Lord Vere and Elissande, complicated, intelligent, deceitful and wonderful. Way to go Sherry. I hope you are at RWA so I can walk up to you and gush.

Now I have to decide what's next. The toughest decision in the world to make is what book to read when the last one you read knocked your socks off...

Diane Whiteside's THE DEVIL SHE KNOWS or Tessa Dare's ONE DANCE WITH A DUKE... Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Reading, Working and Recovery

This is just a drive-by because I'm a bit tuckered. I went back to work today with my swollen nose, slightly black eye and 60 stitches. It sounds so dramatic, but I'm actually feeling fine.  I told GG, who looks at my swollen schnoz worriedly, that I've had arthritis flare-ups that felt way worse than this has. 

Reading has been a little problematic. There's stitches across the bridge of my nose right where my glasses rest. This means I can only tolerate my glasses being on for so long.  End result? Shorter reading time. 

TO TEMPT THE WOLF by Terry Spear looks like it's going to be a DNF. I did manage to get through TUCKER'S CLAIM by Sarah McCarty. I re-read CAINE'S RECKONING recently and it was better than I remembered, so I thought maybe with more realistic expectations I would have a better reading experience with TUCKER'S CLAIM. It just wasn't what I was hoping for. One of the things I've liked most about Ms. McCarty's writing were the multi-layered and complex characters she has. There is so much room for possibilities in this Hell's Eight series that I couldn't help but being disappointed. I think more exploration or at least a further explanation of their past and how the men of Hell's Eight got where they are would be great. Everything just feels too rushed to me. 

Now I'm on to TEMPT ME AT TWILIGHT Lisa Kleypas' latest historical that is also a part of the Hathaway family series. I've barely cracked it, so not much to tell there.

I'm also excited about DOUBLEBLIND by Ann Aguirre. On Tuesday on our way home from the hospital my sweet and darling husband stopped at the bookstore so I could get the Kleypas book.  Lo and behold there was DOUBLEBLIND so it made its way to my house as well. A girl's gotta have something to read while she recovers doesn't she?

That's it for now.  Sort of a rambling mishmash isn't it?  

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME by Lisa Kleypas

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME by Lisa Kleypas

This was a re-release that I somehow did not have on my keeper shelf. Of course it's possible I read it and didn't keep it, but it didn't seem familiar to me so I think probably not.

This book started out strong for me. I was excited and anxious to see how Ms. Kleypas was going to resolve infamous Bow Street Runner Grant Morgan's and scandalously notorious Vivien Duvall's relationship.

When Grant takes Vivien into his custody because she's lost her memory after a brutal attempt on her life, I read with baited breath how their mutual dislike and Grant's abhorrence of Vivien's life as a highly sought after courtesan was going to work out.

Sure there's lots of heat, but Vivien doesn't remember who she is and how she's lived her life, let alone the dynamics of her relationship to Grant before the attack on her life. I don't think it's a stretch to say Grant loathes Vivien. While incredibly attracted to her he was ultimately put off by her cold and ruthless conniving when he met her previously. Grant decides that Vivien's beauty is not sufficient enough to tempt him.

By no means was this book horrible. I was just disappointed in the sudsy soap opera way Ms. Kleypas took to resolve what I felt was the strongest conflict in the book, that of Grant and Vivien's unwilling attraction for one another.

Not a wholly unpleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

My Grade = B-

What a weekend!

Finished LORD OF SIN by Madeline Hunter. I'll be digging in ye olde tbr for the others in the series. It really hit the spot...

Not as much as this one though.

What a wonderful surprise to find at my favorite Borders store on Saturday! Quite by accident, I might add. I read it in one sitting Saturday night. Four and a half hours of bliss. I don't know what to say beyond...GOOD BOOK and wonderful addition to the contemporary series Ms. Kleypas is writing about the Travis family.

Another surprise at Borders was finding Jodi Thomas' new contemporary REWRITING MONDAY as well. I actually had one of the booksellers ask me, "Why Jodi Thomas? Why that book?"

More to feel good about this weekend? Beanie called to say that he'll be home a couple of days of his Spring Break mid-week. Shmoo's GF came home from her cruise and we got caught with her and had lunch with she and Shmoo on Saturday.

Spring flower planting is all done too. Merry little flowers of purple, white, red, and yellow are dancing in the breeze in my front yard.

A busy week is ahead and I have to finish my online traffic school too.

Spring is here and I'm feeling good.

Oh, Steadman, it was divine talking to you Friday night.

Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas

The most important thing to know about SEDUCE ME AT SUNRISE by Lisa Kleypas is that you won't be disappointed. It's such a relief to have an anticipated story deliver. Yay! If you were like me and looking forward to reading Win and Merripen's story, you won't be let down with this book.

By now the faithful readers of Ms. Kleypas know that Kev Merripen is the Rom (gypsy) that was taken in by the Hathaway family as a starved, beaten and abandoned boy. After the loss of their parents the Hathaway siblings have come to rely on Merripen's strength and support to keep the family going.

Winnifred Hathaway and Merripen have a connection from the moment they meet. The connection continues to grow stronger over the years even though it never moves beyond yearning. Win was struck with scarlet fever as a very young woman and left pretty much an invalid and too weak to have a normal life or romantic relationship.

Some of this back story we know from the previous Hathaway book MINE TILL MIDNIGHT which is Amelia Hathaway and Cam Rohan's story. However, I don't feel that you need to read that book to enjoy this one. OTOH, reading MINE TILL MIDNIGHT will enhance your enjoyment of SEDUCE ME AT SUNRISE.

Anyway, as this book opens Win has decided to go away to France to a clinic specializing in treating people with heart and lung weakness like she has. Merripen believes he has come to grips with the idea that Win can never be his in the traditional sense, but just having her in his life is all he needs. Consequently, he is devastated and angry when she decides to leave to seek this unorthodox medical treatment.

Reading excerpts and the back blurb I was a bit concerned wondering how Ms. Kleypas was going to make this story work. I really didn't want a 'miracle' type of healing or a mis-diagnosis of Win's health to be the resolution. I should have had more faith. Ms. Kleypas handles this all very well.

I do have one small complaint. It seemed out of character for Merripen to be such a thick headed pea brain. It is clearly demonstrated throughout much of the book how intelligent, industrious, hard working and practical Merripen is. I think his resistance to Win went on a bit too long. Thankfully Ms. Kleypas did not belabor this point or situation and swiftly segued into another plot twist.

All in all this was a very satisfying story about these two characters. I'm looking forward, as always, to the next book from Ms. Kleypas set in this world with these people.

A solid 'B' read 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?

Kleypas Fans Check It Out

My February Borders newsletter had this link for Lisa Kleypas' book trailer for BLUE EYED DEVIL coming out in March. The picture is a bit crisper than the YouTube version that I have below. It's pretty well done. Check it out.

The devil made me do it.

See anything new on my sidebar? Does he rock? Yeah...he does! I came close to re-reading DEVIL IN WINTER by Lisa Kleypas and ignoring the tbr, but I was in Barnes and Noble waiting for GG on Tuesday and stuff happened. Which is code for I bought more books. Which means I won't be re-reading DEVIL IN WINTER anytime soon. I don't think...unless I start reading all those excerpts fellow Sebastian lovers are posting on their blogs. Very swoon worthy.

Anyway, my Barnes and Noble, as I've mentioned a time or two, is not the swiftest shelving new releases. So, I was surprised to see ICE STORM by Anne Stuart and BLOOD FEVER by Karen Marie Moning out already since they are technically November releases. Of course I had to pick those up. They weren't the only books I bought either. Since I got an ARC of CAINE'S RECKONING by Sarah McCarty didn't I have to BUY a copy of the book to show my support for Sarah? Of course I did. Then I'm still reading Iris Johansen and her new hardcover PANDORA'S DAUGHTER was out so I picked it up as well.

I did actually hesitate to buy all of them since one was a trade sized book and two were hard covers. That's actually biting into my November book budget. GG, darling man that he is told me to "just get them". Maybe his reading some of my books is influencing him? Nah. Truth be told he's always been pretty indulgent with my book purchases. Helps to have met and married a guy who likes to read too.

You'd think those books would be enough. But nooooooo! After somewhat of a dry spell from ebooks, I actually purchased a couple of books from Loose Id this week too. Those are in addition to a lovely gift from author TL Schaefer of the ebook BROTHERHOOD which she so kindly sent to me when I had my big fat whiner day last week.

Could I be any happier to have these lovely books? No! Now I just have to carve out the reading time. Who needs food or clean clothes? Or a clean house, or the bills paid, or swimming, or blogging, or...

North and South

No not the American mini-series with Patrick Swayze based on the books by John Jakes. Although, if you like Civil War stories I recommend the books. GG and I both loved them when they came out some 18 years ago. Since they are historical they stand up pretty well.

No I'm talking about the BBC series. I just ordered the DVD from Amazon. KristieJ wrote about the series last week and it piqued my interest. Today I read her post insinuating that Richard Armitage, the male lead in the BBC North and South is her idea of Derek Craven from Lisa Kleypas' DREAMING OF YOU. You may have heard something about the current blogosphere debate about Derek versus Sebastian and who is the more fabulous of the two. Being firmly in the Sebastian St. Vincent from DEVIL IN WINTER camp Kristie's pictures and teasers nudged me to further check out this guy, Richard Armitage and the series. All of which lead me on a North and South google odyssey culminating in my ordering the darn thing. In the name of research people. It's in the name of research.

This long movie, or short mini series, looks very very good. Just how many times do you see a 5 star rating at Amazon when there are 216 reviews? Not many. About as often as I spend an afternoon googling and then providing more links in a single post than anyone would possibly bother with. Obsessions are a bitch aren't they? Or should I say curiosity killed the cat. Either way it isn't pretty.

What Am I Doing?

I should be getting my butt out the door and on the way to work and instead I'm checking my emails and resisting the urge to go through Google Reader and catch up on my blog hopping.

And I REALLY shouldn't be trying to type a post in .... well less than 5 minutes now, but I'm crazy that way. Always trying to fit one more thing in my day.

I read MINE TILL MIDNIGHT by Lisa Kleypas yesterday. I have a couple of minor grumbles with the book, but overall enjoyed it.

Shmoo is on fall break the next two weeks. Keeping him occupied will be challenging. Of course, his job will help some with that.

What was so urgent I had to write this? Huh. I'll be around later tonight to catch up on what's going on with every one.

It goes like this...

Reading has been going pretty well. I knocked out the EC Sheedy book KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE and the single author anthology SUGAR & SPICE by Leda Swann. I'm currently finishing THE SERPENT PRINCE by Elizabeth Hoyt.

For some reason the first time I peeked into THE SERPENT PRINCE it didn't really snag me like it has since I've picked it up to read again. Must have been the mood I was in because I'm really enjoying it second time in. I do love a well written historical. The best thing Ms. Hoyt has going for her, in my ever so humble opinion, is her ability to write a woman true to the historical times she lives in and have the character still be original and fresh. That's not easy to do especially when one has read as many books about 19th century England as I have.

I've skimmed a couple of reviews for LOVER UNBOUND by JR Ward. It hasn't deterred me from wanting to buy a copy and read it. I'm also looking forward to snatching up Madeline Hunter's LESSONS OF DESIRE next week. Then before you know it October is here and THE COURTESAN'S DAUGHTER by Claudia Dain and MINE 'TIL MIDNIGHT by Lisa Kleypas will be out October 2nd. Isn't it great that there's always something to look forward to when you read?

Finally in a bit of puzzling contrariness, as over the freakin' moon as I am to have the ARC of EVERMORE by Lynn Viehl I've barely cracked it. I don't want to start it because I don't want it to be over. If that's not nuts I don't know what is.

SUGAR DADDY by Lisa Kleypas

I was going to hold my review for a couple of days, but it turns out that today is Lisa Kleypas day at Sybil's site The Good, the Bad and the Unread. So it seemed like the right time to post my review. Be sure to go over and check out what's going on at Sybil's. There are sure to be lots of Kleypas fans and other cool stuff.

Like everyone else who has enjoyed Lisa Kleypas' historicals I was wondering why she would switch to contemporarys and at the same time have it come out in hardcover? While I do consider myself a fan, I can't say I've loved every book Ms. Kleypas has written. So it begs the question why I would buy a hardcover contemporary doesn't it?

First of all with my Barnes and Noble discount and the book being on sale I ended up paying less for it than a trade paperback, which I've purchased with a whole lot less to recommend them than mostly good track record I have with Lisa Kleypas books.
Secondly, I have to admit I was hooked in by the cover blurb. I did read a couple of excerpts on line as well. I went back and forth but justified the go ahead to purchase when the price was discounted.

When I started this 371 page book for some reason I thought it was going to be an easy and quick read sort of like Eve Plum books by Evanovich are for me. I have no idea why I thought this except when I browsed the book I saw that each chapter started with a half page of justified paragraphs. Let me just say this isn't a breezy sort of easy read at all. I was happily surprised to find myself being more engrossed and drawn into Liberty's saga than I expected.

Here's a summary from RT:

Liberty Jones grew up in trailer-park poverty in rural Texas, the child of a widowed mother with a mysterious past and a current string of no-good boyfriends. But young Liberty is smart, determined and willing to work hard to make her dreams come true. She’s inexplicably drawn to Hardy Cates, the boy down the street who forever claimed her heart at age 13. But he too has ambitions, and they take him out of town and away from Liberty.

Soon alone and with a young sister to raise, Liberty finds herself in the big city, slowly growing up and piecing her life together.

I have to say that I was sometimes confused by the twists and turns this story took. Some of them were interesting, some of them made me feel like Ms. Kleypas was uncertain and didn't know herself what direction she wanted her characters to go. While this caused me to wrinkle my brow a time or two it didn't take me out of the story.

One of the things I liked best about the book was the struggle Liberty and her family endure. It made me wonder if Ms. Kleypas has ever felt the pinch and worry of empty kitchen cabinets without enough gas for the car to get to work. Having lived through those things for brief periods of time myself, I was brought back to my fearful past. It's pretty difficult to relate that sort of paralyzing fear without some experience or story having touched you personally. It's hard to relate to another person how it feels to look into the future and know you have to "hold on", pray that nothing goes wrong so you can dig yourself out of a hole or turn things around. Like I said, having been there I was touched by how accurately Ms. Kleypas captured those scary feelings.

Which brings me to one of the things I wasn't so happy with. Liberty receives help, assistance or a boost at very convenient and fortuitous times. Ms. Kleypas masks these well in the story telling but any discerning reader will see right through them.

I also had some issue with some of the choices the characters made that didn't seem appropriate to me as well as one character change or character reveal that didn't seem to go with my understanding of the character to that point in the story.

****SPOILER****

I'm speaking of course about Hardy Cates. What is revealed about his character or lack thereof at the end of the book did not reconcile for me with the Hardy we met as a young man. Yes, he leaves to pursue his personal goals, but the fact that he took such good care of his family, helped out Liberty's family and others in the trailer park, and didn't take advantage of Liberty's youthful love and devotion says something about his character that I don't think can go away in pursuit of his goals. I felt this to be particularly true because he is a young man himself at the time. In many other romance novels his treatment of Liberty, by leaving, would be seen as the ultimate act of love and sacrifice. It was difficult for me to believe that Hardy became so jaundiced on his journey to success that he would become as cold a user as Gage describes him to Liberty after the two men meet.

I was excited by the prospect that Liberty would have this choice between these two dynamic men who both impacted her life so dramatically. I thought there was enough in the story about the two men without adding a hard edge to Hardy to make her choice more clear cut to the reader.

***END SPOILER***

Even with the blips I spoke of above, I was unable to put this book down. I enjoy reading a book that follows a character from childhood to adulthood. This interior POV about what shapes that person and their choices is one I thoroughly get into.

The last third of the book is the best part when we get to see Liberty as a young adult raising a child trying to make the right choices and decisions not only for her little sister but for her own life as well. It's not a big book about a big life (rich people notwithstanding) it's a story about choices. I liked it and, obviously from this long review, have been thinking about it since I read it.

Thanks to Sybil I went to Ms. Kleypas' site and was able to read an excerpt for a historical she is writing titled MINE TIL MIDNIGHT which is scheduled to be her next release. This is the story of Cam Rohan that Kleypas' fans have been waiting for.

Speaking of fans...if you haven't heard the news, one of Ms. Kleypas' biggest fans, Kristie(j) got a surprise package. I first read about it at Dear Author on Monday and had to go check it out. Kudos to Ms. Kleypas for recognizing a fan. You couldn't have chosen a more perfect or grateful recipient.

Lots of Stuff...

Have you ever been in a situation where your employer keeps offering you a promotion to a job that while you are flattered to be asked, you really don't want the job? It's been happening to me for a couple of months now. It actually began when I turned in the ill fated two week notice and got sucked back into my original job, albeit with a lot more money.

As for the promotion, I have emailed, phoned and had face to face conversations being as polite and firm as I can refusing. I've finally gotten blunt. It's heady stuff that ego boosting "we can't do it without you" pitch. But I think they finally know I really, really, NO REALLY don't want the job. In fact, I'm holding on to my original agreement to leave in another 5 months (of the 6 month term I agreed to come back for).

You know I've had some tough employers, nice employers...all whom have given me great reviews and references, but I don't think I've ever had an employer seem so genuinely anxious to retain my services. Like I said...very heady stuff. Have to keep your eyes or your personal goals and ideals or you end up prostituting yourself for more money and hating your life. Okay I totally said that to remind myself of same. ; )

Next on the agenda...book news.
I'm pretty excited about some recent book purchases. First of all I'm a Lisa Kleypas fan and her latest IT HAPPENED ONE AUTUMN was a fine read. I admit that I try to refrain from having too high expectations with authors I like because it never seems to fail that as soon as I get hyped they pen a real clunker. This was good though.

OTOH, I usually enjoy Christina Dodd's books and her latest which was a part of her governess series was, to borrow Karen's phrase, a real snooze fest. Bummer!

Off and on I read Erin McCarthy books which to date have pretty much fallen into the "okay" category. However, I really enjoyed THE PREGNANCY TEST. For those of you who don't know, Erin won a writing contest put on by Lori Foster and that's how she started her publishing career.

Right now I'm anxious to read the second Lynn Viehl book in the Darkyn series, PRIVATE DEMON. I'm anxious to see if she can continue the intrigue and uniqueness she created in the first book.

Lastly I just purchased Emma Holly's COURTING MIDNIGHT. I've read Emma Holly books that I absolutely love and other's I've finished scratching my head and saying WTF? So I've got my fingers crossed on that one.

By the way since I know I haven't mentioned it before. I think Suzanne Brockmann did an awesome job with the Gina and Max story line in her last release BREAKING POINT. If you go to the Amazon link it only show 3 1/2 stars with a lot of complaints about how she handled the age difference, etc. If you are a fan I think she did a great job. Most people would be conflicted if they were Max about the circumstances of their meeting. If you don't know the history and haven't read the book that set their story up I think you may have a problem with the book, but as a fan with high expectations, I thought she did a great job with their story line.

Don't be fooled by this paltry list. I've got a TBR pile that is shameful, but I just can't stop buying a new release that catches my fancy. I'm damn lucky I have such a generous book allowance and a very indulgent husbink.