Real Life

It's taken every bit of the past week to get back to real life after the RWA conference. Work is as busy as ever and I'm beginning to think with my on-going training it's just going to be that way now. This is my new normal.

On the home front even though Beanie was always gone a great deal and had a busy life I'm still adjusting to him living away from home. It just feels different and don't tell anyone, but I'm feeling a bit hollow. I miss him.

Reading was pretty good over the weekend. I not only finished TURBULENT SEA by Christine Feehan, but I read two of the stories in the FIRST BLOOD anthology, Meljean Brook's and Erin McCarthy's. Both pretty good. In Meljean's "THICKER THAN BLOOD" I just wanted more, more, more! McCarthy's was a bit too pat and ended a little quickly for me, but a pretty decent tale. As anthologies go, it's good news here folks.

I also read/skimmed an ARC of MR. CAVENDISH, I PRESUME by Julia Quinn. I was a bit disappointed with this book, not because it wasn't good or well written, but many parts of the story are the same as THE LOST DUKE OF WYNDHAM but from a different character's perspective. Unfortunately, there's really no new story, or at least I didn't think so. The backdrop for this love story is the same one as THE LOST DUKE OF WYNDHAM so it was like reading the same book over again to a certain degree. Thus the skimming.

I also got some packages ready and mailed on Monday (yesterday). Praise be. It took me a week to get organized enough to do it. So all of you who are expecting a package from me...'it's in the mail'.

It was fantastic to have a reading day. We got other chores done around the house too, but being able to have big chunks of time to read was grand. I actually feel better and less agitated. Weird, huh?

So now I'm dying to read the ARC Ann Aguirre so graciously (I only begged a little bit) gave me at the conference. WANDERLUST is the follow up to GRIMSPACE. I can't wait to read it, but I need to get a book in for the TBR challenge. And, no Nath, I'm not a book ahead...again...wait maybe I have something in draft... Gah! Who knows, I should read something out of the TBR anyway that's the point of the challenge to begin with.

So real life, it goes on and I'm rolling with it. It feels pretty good.

January Reading List

Here it is. Finally. You'd think with as few entries as I have that it wouldn't have been such a trial getting this done closer to the end of January. However, I had a stack of books I'd finished on a shelf next to my bed. Turns out there were some books for my tbr in there as well along with some December reads I hadn't put away. How this happened I don't know. I have a procedure damn it! Read the book, log the book, put the book away. Mixing book piles just isn't supposed to happen. *sigh* Things like this are what make me feel like I'm in a fog sometimes.

I know I read another (maybe two even) ebooks that I've had for awhile, but I looked at my ebook files and can't remember what they were besides the Jory Strong book listed. They didn't leave much of an impression so I guess...no harm, no foul.

THE EXECUTIVE'S SURPRISE BABY by Catherine Mann. This is part of the Garrison Family series. It is also a return to category romance for me after a long dry spell. The title says it all. This wasn't horrible, but I have to admit I did some eye rolling. Lori of Let's Gab has rec'd Ms. Mann's SEAL books and I have a couple of those in my tbr. I didn't hate this, so I'm still going to give the SEAL books a try.

SHADES OF TWILIGHT by Linda Howard. What can I say that you haven't already heard? I really like this book. I love the multi-generations in the book. I understand selflessness and devotion to family. I hadn't read it for a couple of years and thoroughly enjoyed the re-read.

SPLIT by Kristina Lloyd. This is a Black Lace title and I gave Ms. Lloyd a try because Bam had raved about a couple of her other books. I have to say I didn't really like this or "get it". I hate when I feel like a writer is being deliberately clever to see if we are all bright enough to get her point. I felt annoyed and impatient with the heroine. I couldn't believe how deliberately obtuse she was and how long it took her to catch on to what was happening to her.

MOVING TARGET by Cheyenne McCray. This is a book I really wanted to like. The best I can say is that it was okay. I didn't hate it. When the heroine who is in Witness Protection makes a phone call as herself to someone in her past early on in the book I knew the story was in hot water. If you are so terrorized and terrified for your life that you leave everything behind why would you do something like that? I didn't buy the reasoning we were given. People died as a result of her "mistake". I think that the reader (and the characters) should have had more of an emotional impact and reaction to the events that followed the phone call. Bummer.

EMBER by Bettie Sharpe. Lots of people out in blogland were raving about this free serial by Bettie Sharpe that was posted by chapter over several weeks on Bam's blog. I waited until it was complete before I read it. This is an imaginative re-telling and explanation of the Cinderella story. Hence the 'ember' rather than the 'cinder'. I have to confess that I'm not much for mixing fairy tales and romance. While I can acknowledge Ms. Sharpe's writing talent and clever twisting of this tale, it just wasn't my cuppa. Another okay read for me.

CALISTA'S MEN by Jory Strong. This is an ebook from Ellora's Cave I've had forever. I read it when I first bought it. I liked it a lot the first time I read it. It's an erotic read about a shy kindergarten teacher who tries her hand at being a PI, meets two brothers and falls in love with both of them. Murder, mystery, and menage ensue. Fun read if you are in the mood for something steamy. Ms. Strong does fairly well making emotional connections that help the reader connect to the story, but don't go looking for reality here.

MINE TO POSSESS by Nalini Singh. I'm just tossing my hat in the ring with everyone else. I love reading a book that hits all the right notes. As you move through Ms. Singh's story she answers question and expands her Psy-Changeling world before the reader is aware that you wanted or needed that bit of information. Can series writing just get better and better? Yes! I love this world. I'm still intrigued and interested and can't wait for the next book. That's the best endorsement I can give any series.

DEMON NIGHT by Meljean Brook. Complex and compelling were the two words that popped into my head when I finished this book. I have a confession to make. I didn't know I was starving for something like this until I read DEMON ANGEL. I can't remember when I've gone back and re-read portions of a book before I've finished it. Every time I read a book in this series I find myself daydreaming and wondering about the possibilities of this world. I do a lot of "what if..." As with Ms. Singh's books I care about the people and they certainly seem very real to me.

So that's it. Unbelievably, only 8 books in January. At this rate I won't even hit 100 this year. But you know what? That's okay. Since my reading time has been so curtailed I'm really making an effort to read stuff I really care about and allow myself to enjoy re-reading something if I want to.

Rapture

Can't believe my last post was on Wednesday. This past week is a blur. But not to worry. Today was aces.

First, swimming. Yeah, we all know I like swimming. Then we took care of Shmoo's uniform. He's gotten into a program that preps you for the fire service. Big Surprise! They wear a uniform.

Next was a trip to my favorite Borders. You know what's coming next...right?

Books baby! That's right I scored a couple of books I've been dying to see released. I hardly know which one to announce first. So here they are...

Could you just scream!!!!!

MINE TO POSSESS by Nalini Singh and DEMON NIGHT by Meljean Brook. I'm literally breathless with anticipation because both of these books are on my "most anticipated" releases for 2008. Don't know which one to read first. What a great dilemma to have though, huh?

After the book store we went to see 27 Dresses. Shmoo went with his girlfriend and, of course, I dragged GG along. Beanie's girlfriend is out of town, but he came along stag. Being out altogether always makes me happy.

The movie was cute and engaging. It was light, funny, and that James Marsden is one handsome guy. Katherine Heigl lights up the screen. I think she's got a big career in front of her. Seriously, she can really light up the screen. Have you seen she and Ed Burns on the MovieFone Unscripted interview? Very entertaining.

Despite my crazy week. I did manage to read a book. It took most of the week but that didn't take away from my thorough enjoyment of EXTREME DANGER by Shannon McKenna. Don't ruin for me by talking about what's PC or appropriate. Hey I know people have issues with Shannon McKenna's heroes, but I love the big alpha louts. Certainly some books work better for me than others but this was one of the good ones. It's sexy, moving, a bit over the top and HOT! Seriously hot. I commented on its hotness so much that GG wants to read it. Heh, heh... I'm not stupid ya know. *wink wink*

Anyway, that's my fabulous Saturday. I love days like this.

Books, UBS, & Other Stuff

Books. The reason I decided to start this blog in the first place. Books. Although you wouldn't know it as I get so caught up in my own life and meanderings sometimes.

Anyway, as many of you know, I recently found a new UBS thanks to Wendy. Halleluia, virgin book territory to explore! I found some great books there, and then a couple of days ago on the way to an appointment I found that the "other" UBS in my area has new management and decided to check it out. It's still a little dark and dank, but the organization of books has improved and she has a huge back inventory of older historicals. Particularly Harlequin Historicals. Since I've been on a western binge lately that was absolutely sterling news. ::batting lashes:: Long story short, between two trips to the UBS and new purchases I've gotten quite a haul of books lately. For instance...

FROM WENDY'S UBS
Cheryl St. John
JOE'S WIFE (which I've already read and really liked)
SAINT OR SINNER

Cheryl Reavis
THE BRIDE FAIR
THE FORBIDDEN BRIDE (Already read this one too)

Candice Proctor (SCORE!)
WHISPERS OF HEAVEN (Kristie isn't this your fave Proctor? Or was it Cindy?)
BEYOND SUNRISE

Terri Brisbin (Tara Marie review interested me in these)
THE EARL'S SECRET
THE NORMAN'S BRIDE
THE COUNTESS BRIDE

Mary Burton
THE UNEXPECTED WIFE (Read on the beach in Georgia)

Jenna Kernan
WINTER WOMAN

Ruth Wind
IN THE MIDNIGHT RAIN


FROM MY NEW UBS
Cheryl St. John (damn you Wendy...I'm hooked on her books!)
DOCTOR'S WIFE (Hooray! Finally, I've been looking for awhile now)
THE GUNSLINGER'S BRIDE (Montana Mavericks)

Cheryl Reavis
HARRIGAN'S BRIDE (Already read this one. Civil War story. Pretty good.)

Mary Burton
THE PERFECT WIFE

S.L. Viehl
STAR DOC

Barbara Samuel
LUCIEN'S FALL

Linnea Sinclair
GABRIEL'S GHOST

Candace Camp
SO WILD A HEART

Linda Castillo
DEAD RECKONING


NEW BOOKS PURCHASED
Lara Adrian
KISS OF MIDNIGHT
KISS OF CRIMSON
I've read both of these already while on vacation in Georgia. They were good. I agree with comments I've seen else where that there is a similarity to J.R. Wards' series, but no name dropping and no M/M innuendo. I liked 'em.

Meljean Brook
DEMON MOONThis is an amazing book. MB writes so smart! You can go to this post on her blog for a list of places that have already done reviews. I was going to review this book, but Janet at Dear Author put my thoughts to words more eloquently than I ever could. If you only have a minute, read the first paragraph of her review, she sums up the reading experience of DEMON MOON perfectly.

Cheryl St. John
PREACHER'S DAUGHTER

Eloisa James
DESPERATE DUCHESSES

Jacquelyn Frank
GIDEON

Linnea Sinclair
GAMES OF COMMAND

Kelley Armstrong
BITTEN

Reading this over it is obvious I have a serious addiction. I soothe myself by remembering how fast I read. I have to keep myself supplied with a wide variety of things to read don't I? Who needs food when you have books?

Okay so this is a long ass post, but it clears stuff off my to-do list and here at NOBODY ASKED ME...we're all about crossing off the to-do list. Speaking of lists, one last thing -- isn't Romantic Advances the coolest? Sure helps with ye olde book shopping list doesn't it? If you haven't been by, go check it out.

If you were wondering that is 29 books in all. I've already read 7 of them.
Adrian 2
Brisbin 3
Burton 2
Proctor 2
Reavis 3
Sinclair 2
St John 5
Wind/Samuels 2
Armstrong, Brook, Camp, Castillo, James, Frank, Kernan, and Viehl with 1 each

The Sun Doesn't Set over the Atlantic Ocean

If you've ever seen the sun set over the Pacific Ocean, you know how beautiful it can be. You see the sky change from blue to a multi-hued rosy red with torquoise and teal. Then you can watch the slow closing of the day as the sunshine changes to moonlight. Well, even before I was on the Georgia coast I knew the sun didn't set on the Atlantic Ocean, I just didn't know how different it would feel and look with the sun at my back as it became twilight. Instead of watching the sky turn all sorts of colors it was more like a light being turned out. *Blink* No sun, no sunlight. Night time. Not a horrible experience, just a different one.

One thing I loved about this beach was the beautiful white sand that was so fine grained. I'm used to the coarse grained sand on our Pacific beaches. Even rocky beaches sometimes. This beach was a real treat. No crowds either. Can't beat that with a stick. All in all a wonderful trip. I laughed...a lot!


Here's a few photos. There aren't as many as I thought I took. Probably because we were passing cameras around and taking multiple pictures.

I've got a busy week this week with appointments and getting back into the routine of things, but I'm still hoping to post on my reading and some interesting books coming out soon. BTW, I'm reading DEMON MOON right now. I'm so appreciative of the depth of this book and think Colin Ames-Beaumont will be a character that will live long in my memory. He really is something else. Meljean Brook...this is a really good book!

Twilight walk on the beach. My sisters.

MoonDoggy's Pizza - St Simon's Island, Georgia

Tide's out at the beach just a block from our house.

Our Georgia peach in Savannah

One of the many "squares" in Savannah. A picture perfect day.

DEMON ANGEL by Meljean Brook

Demon Angel by Meljean Brook

















Just to begin and for the sake of full disclosure, I bought this book the DAY it came out. It had gotten so much great buzz and I didn't want to miss out on a good book, so I bought it. I bought it knowing that I don't usually like books about angels or devils. Not because I'm not religious or don't believe, but for me I just couldn't see or think of anything romantic about an H/H combo that was demon and angel. Suffice it to say it was definitely one of those 'it's not you it's me' issues.

Then after people read it and reader reviews started showing up, if you can believe it, I was more leary than ever. I was certain I wasn't going to like it. Yet the book remained in the small TBR that is in the table next to my bed instead of being rotated to the towering TBR in my office. It wasn't until Tara Marie's glowing comments about the next book, DEMON MOON (excerpt)that I kicked myself in the pants and wondered why I was being so silly when I hadn't read the blurb, an excerpt or even cracked open DEMON ANGEL. I decided I wanted to have DEMON ANGEL (excerpt) read before DEMON MOON was released.

It's hard to do a summary of this book. None that I've read really captured how I felt or my reaction to the book. My take is that there's a Demon with supernatural powers, Lilith who made a bargain with Lucifer because she didn't want to die. There's a Guardian, Hugh who really isn't an angel but a human who has been transformed into a being also with many supernatural powers whose assignment is to protect humankind. Over the course of two thousand years Hugh and Lilith meet time and again. Sometimes they are almost allies and others they are bitter enemies. Always there is attraction and desire between them. As time and the world go on each of them sees their role changing. Add to this machinations of Lucifer, hell hounds, nosferatu, vampires and the Guardian corps and you have a complex and compelling story. There is love, there is good and there is evil. There is pain, pleasure, condemnation, redemption. It was quite a ride.

I have to admit when I started DEMON ANGEL it was pretty tough going for me for about the first 70 pages. It wasn't until the story moved forward from 1217 that I started to really get into it. Another issue in the beginning, which is certainly not a flaw or fault with the book, was that I hadn't been challenged by my reading material in quite some time. This book isn't fluff. Which isn't to say there isn't humor and heart in the book, because there most certainly is. This is 423 pages where you have to pay attention. I enjoyed and appreciated that Ms. Brook counts on and believes her readers will follow her bread crumbs.

Don't be put off by believing or thinking, as I did, that this is just a story about angels. Ultimately this is a story of struggle. While anguished at times for Hugh and Lilith and their many conflicts and obstacles I relished it. It wasn't an easy read, but one I couldn't put down. I don't feel compelled just by curiousity to read the next book, but am anxious to see what else Ms. Brook has to say. This is a new and unique voice and I'm excited to see what the future holds. For now I'll just salivate and wish June 5th will hurry up and get here so I can read DEMON MOON. I went back and read FALLING FOR ANTHONY in my copy of the HOT SPELL anthology. I immediately remembered reading the story the first time and it may be why I bought DEMON ANGEL when it came out. I must say the story had much more meaning for me after reading DEMON ANGEL.

Have I already said June 5th can't get here soon enough? Sybil has an excerpt posted here. It's different from the one I linked to above.

Whew!

Well kiddies, I FINALLY have all my posts tagged. I've been doing it bit by bit since I converted to Beta and can now rejoice that it is DONE! One problem I have is tagging my posts with a gazillion cross references. That comes from my records management training and working in a law office. In other words, there is no such thing as too much detail. Someday, I'm going to go through each tag and change, delete, combine, but I'm happy just to have every one have some sort of tag.

I'm also finally reading DEMON ANGEL by Meljean Brook. The first 60 pages were tough for me to get through. It was (is) mostly an issue of me not particularly liking books about angels. However, it is sooooo worth sticking with it. I'm a little more than half way and really liking it now. I've been on such a reading roll since the first of the year I can't remember the last time I was reading a book for more than a couple of days, but I've been really busy and have tried to read this one and give it my full attention.

I read Holly's post about how much she was enjoying DEMON MOON and didn't have the time to read it. That's what's happened to me the last couple of days. My boys have plans this evening and it's leftover night so I should have some quiet time to finish the book tonight. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to do a review in the next couple of days.