tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48611277537440774692024-03-19T05:57:46.272-04:00Romance Around the CornerRomance Around the Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11204919057662563713noreply@blogger.comBlogger513125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-7264604255085017322019-01-15T10:37:00.001-05:002019-01-15T10:37:46.971-05:00Introducing The Romance Backlist (and A Farewell)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNxMca6ivm1qji77qgh7QBtM8gF7sgutfjNoBJJUncWWqdzbthFFaeUX8KRxxW82XlbsCojnzSfAoWxT4hO5VeovPbRD4XsOtuLUK6zW09fGY9A0DJR5VNSMwr_bT9BUueHmvQxiHT898/s1600/announcement+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image description: plain red and blue text that read "Introducing the Romance Backlist"." border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNxMca6ivm1qji77qgh7QBtM8gF7sgutfjNoBJJUncWWqdzbthFFaeUX8KRxxW82XlbsCojnzSfAoWxT4hO5VeovPbRD4XsOtuLUK6zW09fGY9A0DJR5VNSMwr_bT9BUueHmvQxiHT898/s400/announcement+1.png" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Long time no see! It’s been *checks calendar* way over a year since I last wrote something, and I can’t express how sad that makes me. The evil combo of exhaustion and shitty life events became this epic burnout that ended up with me ghosting my own blog. This place was a labor of love and yearning for connection with a community that’s given me a lot throughout the years, and a deep wish to give something of myself to the genre that changed my life. And now eight years have gone by and not only have I made the connections I craved, but they have surpassed every expectation and wild hope I had. So it was really hard to come to the realization that I no longer could, or even wanted to, keep up with the blog, even if I still saw myself as a blogger/reviewer. But I also love the genre and love talking about all the books, and I’m proud of the way this blog made me a better reader, so when I had this sudden idea that I could start fresh and change the dynamic and talk about books again, I felt the same excitement and joy I had all those years ago when I first started to blog.<br />
<br />
There’s been a lot of talk about the state of traditional blogging and reviewing. I don’t have the answers to the issues nor do I want to get into it now, but we all want to talk about books, we all want to discuss the genre, and we all want to maintain that sense of community, which is why I believe that blogs are (still) viable resources and places to gather and connect. And also, I want to do this for myself, because I really love it. So I’m going for it and instead of picking back up where I left, I’m moving on to a new blog that will have a similar essence, but with some pointed differences. I will only feature books that are at least one year old, so no new releases. I will write reviews, kind of, but they won’t be as structured as what I used to do, more like musings about the genre and the way each book fits within it. I want to experiment a bit, see if there’s an audience for a blog that won’t cover anticipated releases (please, let there be an audience for it!). I want to look back a bit, maybe revisit old favorites, or do whatever! I could’ve done that here, and it’s incredibly bittersweet to say goodbye to <i>Romance Around the Corner</i>, but I really like the idea of starting from scratch and see how the experience I’ve gathered these past few years shapes this new site. And mostly, I just want to know what it feels like to have a blog whose name isn’t a mouthful! <a href="https://theromancebacklist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><i><b>The Romance Backlist</b></i></a> won’t be a prolific blog, simply because I can’t keep up. I haven’t flexed this muscle in a while, and I had forgotten what it takes to write a blog post, but I want it to be consistent, so my initial goal is to write one post each month, which doesn’t sound like much, but at this point it’s the only realistic commitment I can make. We’ll see how it goes. <b><a href="https://theromancebacklist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">If you go there now</a></b>, I have a post up giving more details about the blog and the plans I have for it.<br />
<br />
As for <b><i>Romance Around the Corner</i></b>, well, it will stay up for as long as Blogger allows it, but I’m saying goodbye for now. I’m thankful for every person who read, commented, subscribed, and emailed. I have met so many amazing readers and authors that I still can’t believe my luck. Even better, I get to talk about romance novels every day, and that’s all because of this blog and the community that welcomed me. It’s been an absolute blast, and I can’t wait to see what the new blog brings. I hope you join me! (*threatening voice* you better join me)<br />
<br />
<b><i>Housekeeping Note</i>:</b> if you're reading this on your email because you subscribe to the blog, and you want to keep up with the new blog via email, you will have to subscribe again (go to <a href="https://theromancebacklist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">this link</a> and click on the "subscribe" link at the top of the page). Same goes for those who want to follow the new blog that way. Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com204tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-52203404969365808502017-07-11T19:28:00.000-04:002017-07-11T19:29:02.794-04:00Review: Some Kind of Hero by Suzanne Brockmann<br />
<b>Source: Review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4w3KnHlugpktqTFZWkQ61hSMj8Ld0LC1DaMaRI-p2GL1w-NyaJ_ovaySB8rmmDQaXLVRnLmekQqBjZTPRABsLPHCQFhLaQGQWU7-twsaY_1Q0hcBngLrL4ZrvZkbG2M0wzs1d9e8P4uA/s1600/23303664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover image description: a man wears his Navy dress whites and the background is a beach." border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4w3KnHlugpktqTFZWkQ61hSMj8Ld0LC1DaMaRI-p2GL1w-NyaJ_ovaySB8rmmDQaXLVRnLmekQqBjZTPRABsLPHCQFhLaQGQWU7-twsaY_1Q0hcBngLrL4ZrvZkbG2M0wzs1d9e8P4uA/s320/23303664.jpg" title="Some Kind of Hero by Suzanne Brockmann" width="210" /></a></div>
Have I ever told you how much I love Suzanne Brockmann’s books? I’ve been a fan for over ten years. The ride has been bumpy, but I still get so excited every time there’s a new release, and I always, always, manage to derive joy from them even when the characters are doing God knows why. And this book, oh, you guys, this book is a sight to behold! I don’t know how it manages to be so restrained and focused while at the same giving in to the worst urges.<br />
<br />
The story reminds me a lot of<i> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/154016.The_Unsung_Hero?from_search=true" target="_blank"><b>The Unsung Hero</b></a></i>, the book that launched the series all those years ago. It makes sense, because it’s not quite a spinoff like <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17874997-do-or-die" target="_blank"><i><b>Do or Die</b></i></a> was, but it features all new characters and only the smallest cameos by old characters. So it reads closer to book 1 in a series than to book 17. It has a secondary plot that involves a teenager, and although we do meet a bunch of new SEALs, there’s no obvious sequel bait in sight or the beginning of a romance that’s left dangling so it can be stretched forever and ever throughout books to come. The only thing missing is a World War II subplot, which seems weird because there’s enough groundwork there to make me wonder if it was originally planned or even edited out. The suspense subplot is inconsequential and it involves domestic white guys as villains, so I can’t even complain about the faceless, Fakestani brown terrorists Brockmann—and military romance in general—loves. The book stands alone so well, that I’d dare say it makes for a good entry point for new readers who don’t want to bother with a long series. When I say the book shows immense restraint, I mean it.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Our hero, Peter, is a terrible father who for some reason had a secret daughter he never mentioned to his friends, which is bizarre, because this is not a recurrent character whose background is in need of retconning, so what’s up with the secrecy? It is a painful subject for him, sure, but she’s not a secret baby, so as much as the book kind of tries to blame it on the ex, come on, dude! Other than that, I found him refreshing and charming. In a series (and genre) that fetishizes SEALs to the extreme and turns them into perfect, yet sensitive, superheroes, what a difference it makes to see a guy who decides to be an instructor and live a quiet, subdued life, and who is in over his head with the grieving daughter he barely knows. So, the part about him being an absent father aside, he gets my seal of approval. And when Shayla, the heroine, gets accidentally involved in his desperate search for his daughter, we end up with a lovely romance between two smart people who know what they want. There’s not much romantic conflict, but I was never bored by their relationship or had any doubt about the success of their relationship.<br />
<br />
The problem is that Shayla... well, here’s where it gets tricky, because Ms. Brockmann writes great characters, and Shayla is pretty much that. She’s mature, experienced, and knows herself, so she’s delightful, BUT, and here’s where we lose the leash, she’s a romance writer going through serious case of writer’s block, and the author insertion is borderline obscene. Shayla is described as African American, but that’s the only thing that clearly and deliberately puts distance between author and character; there are some other minor differences, but the similarities are obvious and keep calling attention to themselves. The one I found the most grating and egregious is that Shayla has a book series that features a sassy, uber competent, gay FBI agent named <strike>Jules </strike>Harry as its main character.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Shayla hit her brakes and leaned forward slightly to peer at him through her windshield, wondering if he’d been attempting to stop that one specific car in front of her, or if any old car and driver would do.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
Bow chicka bow bow!<i> Harry Parker’s irreverent voice-in-her-head now sang a riff that was supposed to imitate the porn-worthy wah-wah of an electric guitar.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Shut it, she told him silently since he was a fictional character and therefore invisible, and she wasn’t quite crazy enough to start talking to herself out loud. At least not yet."</i></blockquote>
<br />
This guy isn’t just some clever wink at the readers who love recurrent character and former series hero, Jules Cassidy, nope, this fictional man who lives in the heroine’s head, is an active secondary character that has a clever comment for each situation and full conversations with the heroine.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<blockquote>
<i>“This is what you wanted, right? Follow that car?” she asked as she jockeyed her way into the faster-moving left lane. Funny how that horrible word, missing, had magically turned him from too-hot-to-talk-to Navy SEAL to far more accessible worried dad. Hot worried dad, sure, but he needed both her help and immediate action, and accordingly her brain had unlocked. “Don’t worry, I’m a good driver.”</i><i></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
She really is. <i>Great. Harry, too, had gotten his voice back.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Of course, the SEAL couldn’t hear him, thank God. “Glad to hear it,” he said as he grabbed for the oh-shit bar, which, yes, made his muscular arm do some very interesting and attractive things to his barbed wire tattoo. Maybe it would help if she imagined those strong arms holding a baby, except …</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Noooo, that doesn’t help at all<i>, Harry said.</i><i></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Harry was married. Very married, to the man of his dreams, she thought pointedly.</i><i></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>He laughed.</i> True, but I’m also very not dead, so …</blockquote>
<br />
I wouldn’t mind it as much if Harry was just Shayla’s little character quirk that's used sparingly, but he is all over the book. <br />
<br />
And then there's this:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Izzy laughed. “I’m sorry. Secret what?”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Baby,” Eden said. “The hero gets someone pregnant, but she doesn’t tell him about it, and then anywhere from one to twenty years later, surprise! The secret baby needs a kidney, and the hero and heroine reconnect to save her life and they fall in love and everyone lives happily ever after.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Well, that’s intense,” Izzy said.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“But the female character’s not surprised, right?” Adam interjected. “Because that’s the story I’d want to read.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Whoa, me, too,” Izzy said. </i>“Hey, what’s that stuck between the cushions of the sofa? Holy crap, I must’ve had a secret baby last night when I fell asleep watching Netflix!”<i><br />Adam laughed.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Don’t mock it, boys,” Lindsey told them sternly. “It’s a popular theme in a very popular genre.” </i></blockquote>
<br />
So much meta commentary! There are lectures about the disrespect the genre gets, rants about how romance isn’t porn, or about how in <strike>Brockmann's</strike> Shayla’s books a character will get with someone who isn’t right before finding their true love. Characters from previous books recognize Shayla and fangirl all over her, and maybe I should be glad that this time the heroine is a successful writer instead of a virgin in need of practical research, and obviously it comes down to personal taste, but to me it didn’t work at all. I’ve seen the book described as a love letter to the genre, and maybe it is, but it’s also awkward, clumsy and unnecessary pandering to an audience that already knows all that stuff.<br />
<br />
Having said that, this book is the best the series has been in years, and I’m hopeful for the books to come (if they do come). There’s so much talent and potential that it hurts to see it weighed down with all the gimmicks and fan service. It still feels like a firm step in the right direction, however, so fingers crossed!<br />
<br />
<b>Grade: 2.5 but if I take out the Harry and the meta stuff, it would be a solid 4. <br />Purchase: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Some-Kind-Hero-Troubleshooters-Novel/dp/0345543823/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499815248&sr=8-1&keywords=some+kind+of+hero+suzanne+brockmann" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<blockquote>
<i>Navy men don’t come tougher than Lieutenant Peter Greene. Every day he whips hotshot SEAL wannabes into elite fighters. So why can’t he handle one fifteen-year-old girl? His ex’s death left him a single dad overnight, and very unprepared. Though he can’t relate to an angsty teen, he can at least keep Maddie safe—until the day she disappears. Though Pete’s lacking in fatherly intuition, his instinct for detecting danger is razor sharp. Maddie’s in trouble. Now he needs the Troubleshooters team at his back, along with an unconventional ally.</i><i></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Romance writer Shayla Whitman never expected to be drawn into a real-world thriller—or to meet a hero who makes her pulse pound. Action on the page is one thing. Actually living it is another story. Shay’s not as bold as her heroines, but she’s a mother. She sees the panic in her new neighbor’s usually fearless blue eyes—and knows there’s no greater terror for a parent than having a child at risk. It’s an ordeal Shay won’t let Pete face alone. She’s no highly trained operative, but she’s smart, resourceful, and knows what makes teenagers tick.</i><i></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Still, working alongside Pete has its own perils—like letting the heat between them rise out of control. Intimate emotions could mean dangerous, even deadly, consequences for their mission. No matter what, they must be on top of their game, and playing for keeps . . . or else Pete’s daughter may be gone for good.</i></blockquote>
<br />
<b>Some Kind of Hero by Suzanne Brockmann<br />Ballantine Books, July 2017</b>Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com63tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-35147221670492740312017-04-25T14:30:00.000-04:002017-04-25T14:30:22.181-04:00Two Mini Reviews of Two Very Different Books: Alex, Approximately by Jen Bennett & King’s Captive by Amber Bardan<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Alex, Approximately </i>by Jen Bennett</b></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsBuo_e1C7ezcGJne_MHIwTMqt-0tX9kCzKOnsiDcu9abo384RGq4ZOcuLJwdRP4oJot0gth82DA7rDGM6Yj2d1JtZdx7hHb7FE1f1SHtsOOahjUKixHzWyjtnwxrekS8gprfP7g2LOl-/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsBuo_e1C7ezcGJne_MHIwTMqt-0tX9kCzKOnsiDcu9abo384RGq4ZOcuLJwdRP4oJot0gth82DA7rDGM6Yj2d1JtZdx7hHb7FE1f1SHtsOOahjUKixHzWyjtnwxrekS8gprfP7g2LOl-/s320/images.jpg" width="213" /></a><i>Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.<br /> </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.<br /> </i><br />
<i>And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.</i></blockquote>
<br />I haven’t written about Bennett’s books on the blog, but over a year ago I <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1559433498?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">binged </a>the whole <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/56449-arcadia-bell" target="_blank"><i>Arcadia Bell</i> series</a> in one week (it’s only four books, so it’s a manageable binge that I highly recommend) and it was one of the most glorious weeks ever. I have many happy book moments in my life, and that week is on my top ten. I just loved those books and I wish I could read them again for the first time. Anyway, she’s an auto-buy author for me, and I’m impressed by what an eclectic and flexible writer she is. <i>Alex, Approximately</i> is YA, and that maybe isn’t your thing, but her adult books are great as well, so I hope you take a look at those.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The premise of this book sounds like it’s going to be a deception or misunderstanding stretched forever with predictable moments, and sure, there’s some of that, but those situations are always in function of character development. There is no obnoxious love triangle with two dudes who happen to be the same person, and the heroine is so uniquely herself that she almost comes out of the page. It’s a happy book, which is no surprise coming from this author. It’s sex-positive, matter of fact about many things, romantic, and just lovely. <br /><br />
There’s some parent/child relationships there for both the main character and her love interest that I wish had been more developed, especially with her mom, but that's not the focus of the book, so I’ll have to live with that. But I really do love a good, meaty parent/child relationship novel, and YA is always so good delivering those!<br /><br />
P.S. YA novels tend to be expensive, and this one is no exception, so I recommend checking the library or waiting until July when the paperback releases.<br /><br />
<b>Grade: 4.5</b><br />
<b>Purchase: Amazon<br /><i>Alex, Approximately</i> by Jen Bennett<br />Simon Pulse, April 2017<br /> </b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>King’s Captive</i> by Amber Bardan</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">For three years, I've belonged to Julius King. </span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWxMjqQ9wdbxXuEdd45A1WzNebgv3WDgU_MqZkRR8S2cGnvHcEcHBtbg9bexYztboOSQNxk902L8crvXrTc5cmIhuAqFLox8SGG-I6qd6xpBdBalLnjUynVygiWUDYF9b085-cfe28anA/s1600/33792055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWxMjqQ9wdbxXuEdd45A1WzNebgv3WDgU_MqZkRR8S2cGnvHcEcHBtbg9bexYztboOSQNxk902L8crvXrTc5cmIhuAqFLox8SGG-I6qd6xpBdBalLnjUynVygiWUDYF9b085-cfe28anA/s320/33792055.jpg" width="202" /></a><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some people would think being stuck on a private island is heaven, but this is my hell. <br /> </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because I'm not here as a guest. Not even close. I'm a prisoner. I'm his. <br /> </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Julius King. Powerful. Wealthy. Dangerous. <br /> </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are parts of me he wants that I can't give him. When he looks at me, there are times I swear he sees someone else. And the scary part is that sometimes, when he touches me, I think he may be someone else, too. <br /> </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Though my body might be tempted, and he might control everything else, I can't let him have any piece of my heart. I won't. But every day, the fight gets harder, and Julius manages to slip past my defenses in the most unexpected ways. <br /> </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have to find out the truth about Julius King. Even if it destroys me. </span></i><br /> </blockquote>
<b>Warning: one minor spoiler.</b><br />
<b> </b><br />Because I’m nothing if not upfront about my own contradictions and double standards, or at least I like to think I am, here’s a positive review of a book in which I spent most of the time thinking the heroine was underage and being kept captive by a gross older dude. A review I write after spending a lot of time complaining about <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2017/04/dnf-review-his-custody-by-tamsen-parker.html" target="_blank">underage heroines</a> and the <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2016/10/review-all-ugly-and-wonderful-things-by.html" target="_blank">gross older dudes</a> who should know better.<br /><br />
So, is she underage? Is she being kept captive by a gross older assassin/drug dealer not-hero? I want to assure people without ruining the story in case someone decides to read it, but I don’t know how to do that. The book is twisty and deceiving. I saw it described as a mind fuck, and I don’t know if I would go that far, but it is a lot of fun in the same way that thrillers and mysteries are fun. I will only say that she is an unreliable narrator and <b>SPOILER </b><span style="color: white;">she is not underage</span> <b>END OF SPOILER</b>, but there is violence and the hero isn’t particularly heroic, and yet none of those things kept me from really enjoying the whole thing and getting a tiny book hangover! Who would have thought?!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Grade: 4.5</b><br />
<b>Purchase: Amazon<br /><i>King’s Captive</i> by Amber Bardan</b><br />
<b>Carina Press, April 2017</b>Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-73169548674948040392017-04-24T19:42:00.002-04:002017-04-24T19:42:33.218-04:00DNF Review: His Custody by Tamsen Parker <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUQtHIuVyPgjWNe7mQ9QpyyxyCunbnPHTXKmvDGMNfROZifx7D2JZqBl8Ja-rtoZqb4Pv47pM7_wxi10_u82ES6C208PFhha_Tq2Pk8pYCFD3kYLZjEtPauP3hyA3KBCLbiK2GGD0htbB/s1600/33150928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description: close up to a man and a woman embracing. She's wearing a lacy black bra, he's shirtless." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUQtHIuVyPgjWNe7mQ9QpyyxyCunbnPHTXKmvDGMNfROZifx7D2JZqBl8Ja-rtoZqb4Pv47pM7_wxi10_u82ES6C208PFhha_Tq2Pk8pYCFD3kYLZjEtPauP3hyA3KBCLbiK2GGD0htbB/s320/33150928.jpg" title="His Custody by Tamsen Parker" width="196" /></a><b>Source: Review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.</b><br />
<b><br />Content Warning: graphic descriptions and discussion of self-harm. </b><br />
<br />
<br />Keyne is a happy, privileged 17-year-old girl whose life changes abruptly after she becomes the sole survivor of an accident that kills her parents, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s parents. The two families were incredibly close, and now the only survivors are Keyne and Jasper, her boyfriend’s older brother who wasn’t on the boat that day. She has an aunt and uncle, but they are sketchy and she only feels safe with Jasper, so thanks to the magic of creative liberties, Jasper is awarded custody. He is 32.<br />
<br />A couple of days before I saw this book on NetGalley, I re-read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25872578-craving-flight" target="_blank"><i><b>Craving Flight</b></i></a>. Ms. Parker is an incredibly talented and compelling storyteller. Her voice is lovely and although BDSM Romance isn’t my jam, I loved<i> </i>that book. I guess I was in the right mood to make the wrong decision, because I did not pay attention to the blurb. So, disclosure, I’m not the best match for this trope, but also, Jesus Christ, book, go sit in a corner and think about what you’ve done.<br />
<br />Where do I start? I already told you that Jasper ends up Keyne’s guardian, a position he’s utterly unqualified for. First, he’s a billionaire workaholic with an unstable personal and professional life. Second, he’s a drug user and an alcoholic, but he kind of quits those through the mighty power of the alpha male’s willpower--a willpower that isn’t mighty enough to keep him from lusting after, and eventually fucking, his underage ward, but more on that later. And he also has a girlfriend who, of course, is vocally against his decision to take care of Kayne, yet she’s nothing but a soon-to-be ex, so she goes away to join <i>Romance’s Army of Evil Exes of Books Past</i>, and next Christmas she will come back to remind us that internalized sexism is alive and well in our genre.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Keyne is deeply traumatized by the accident and she’s having trouble coping with all the grief. She’s depressed, she can’t sleep, she won’t eat, she won’t speak; it’s pretty bad. And to be fair, Jasper recognizes that he’s in over his head. She sees a therapist, but we mostly hear about this from his point of view, and it’s something mostly mentioned in passing.<br />
<br />
Jasper is in rough shape as well, after all, he also lost his family, but he doesn’t do anything about it, and the progress he makes is because Keyne is in his life. This is a common genre character arc in which one of the protagonists (or all of them) finds solace and emotional healing through their love story. But the emotional and mental health issues these two are going through seem insurmountable without professional help, and that, among other more obvious things, renders the romance unviable to me as a reader.<br />
<br />At first, their relationship develops slowly. This is not an insta-lust story, but things get inappropriate quickly when Keyne, who has nightmares and trouble sleeping, goes to Jasper’s room in the middle of the night and next to him finds enough peace to sleep.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Keyne was standing there in sleep shorts and a camisole, hugging herself and weeping. He knew this might happen. She’d been taking sleeping pills for the past couple of months and they’d decided with her doctor and her therapist maybe she shouldn’t anymore.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Bad dream?”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>She nodded and flung herself at him, making him glad he’d put on a shirt. Judge Pollard wouldn’t be excited about his attire, but it was better than nothing. Keyne’s hands fisted in the worn cotton at his back, her small frame heaving with violent sobs. He hesitated for a split second but then hugged her back. Of course he did. What kind of human being wouldn’t offer comfort to a sobbing girl?</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Okay,” he murmured into the top of her head. “You’re okay.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>When her keening had turned less convulsive, he pet her hair. It was soft and it smelled good. It had been a long time since anyone had let him hold them like this. Sarah wasn’t affectionate, and though he had hugged his family when he saw them, including the O’Connells, it hadn’t been like this. A quick, greeting squeeze, not a prolonged embrace. The longer he held her and the calmer she became, the more he became aware of her body pressed against his.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Which was flat-out unacceptable. She’s a kid, Andersson. A child who woke up from a bad dream and sought out the only person who was around to offer her comfort because everyone else was dead.</i></blockquote>
<i> </i><br />He is aware of how wrong the situation is, but of course, that’s not enough to keep him from eventually acting on his feelings. Yet those feelings never felt romantic as much as a mix of lust and emotional need. She makes him feel grounded and needed, and as her caregiver, why wouldn’t he feel that way? But because this is an erotic romance, we need courtship and sexual desire, so we get twisted versions of common courtship tropes, like the hero and heroine forced to spend the night on the same bed, and the hero suffering through it with lusty thoughts and morning wood, except that this time, the heroine is 17.<br />
<br />There's more. Keyne self-harms, and Jasper is furious, worried, and even considers bringing it up with her therapist. But then again, when presented with the possibility that she might be hurting herself, this is his immediate reaction, which to be fair, could be a form of panicked denial, but, well, you be the judge:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“I went to replace Miss O’Connell’s linens, and her door was closed. I knocked and she told me to come in. She happened to be getting out of the shower, but told me to do whatever I needed to do. I was hanging up some towels when she dropped her comb and when I picked it up . . .” The woman took a deep breath and set her jaw. What the hell?</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“When I picked it up, I noticed a cut on Miss O’Connell’s leg.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The gears in Jasper’s mind were turning, but not quick enough, they weren’t up to speed. He did his best to come up with a reasonable explanation. “She had just showered, right? She could have cut herself while she was shaving.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The image of Keyne soaking wet, gliding a razor up her calf and then to her thigh while one foot was propped up on the bench in the shower was enough to derail his mind again. </i>Jesus, Andersson, shut that shit down<i>. Where the hell was this even coming from? It made him want to dig his own brain out of his skull and send it through the garbage disposal. Knock it the fuck off, you sick bastard. </i></blockquote>
<br />It’s not surprise that he ends up handling the issue himself, because he doesn’t seem to know the difference between self-harm and blood play:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The thing was, it wasn’t so much the act of cutting that bothered him. It was the motivation. He’d been with a few women who liked blood play and one of his girlfriends had been really into it. It wasn’t his favorite, but she loved it, so he’d indulge her on special occasions. </i>Happy birthday, kitten. I’m going to cut you. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>He understood what she liked about it; the rush she got from him holding her life in his hands while he teased her by running the flat of the blade all over her body before selecting his sites: the underside of her collarbone, below her breasts, along the peak of her bottom ribs so the rivulets of blood would run down the slope of her solar plexus and pool in the hollow of her belly. She’d liked her inner thighs, too, and the memory made him acutely ill.</i></blockquote>
<i><br /></i>And how does he handle it? He gives her his blood play kit, and tells her to do it in front of him:<i></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<blockquote>
<i>“I’m not going to stop you. I don’t know how.” Not without physically restraining her or getting her locked up in a psych ward, neither of which he was going to touch with a ten-foot pole. “So here’s the deal. You want to cut yourself? You’re going to do it in front of me.”</i></blockquote>
<br />
<br />He doesn’t offer much of a rationalization for this, but I assume he wanted to be there to keep her safe and maybe make her stop. And it works:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“I mean, I’m done. I won’t do it anymore.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>His breath caught in his chest and then he did turn around. “Okay.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Tears welled in her eyes and her voice shook like she was about to lose it. “I—I just wanted to feel something that wasn’t that. It didn’t matter if it hurt or felt good but nothing felt good enough. I wanted to know I could feel something, that maybe, someday I’d be capable of feeling something other than empty, other than sad, other than hopeless.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Her breath shuddered out and she put her head in her hands, her wet hair spilling forward around her face. “If I . . . if I feel like doing that again, will you tell me not to? I think I could stop, if you told me not to do it anymore. I don’t want to keep cutting myself, but I . . .”</i></blockquote>
<br />I will be the first one to say that I’m not familiar with the subject, as my depression doesn’t manifest this way, but is this not an irresponsible portrayal of self-harm? Is this scene supposed to signal that this is not about mental health but about her budding kink? I found this part incredibly upsetting. <br />
<br />I DNF’d the book about the halfway mark, which is when they finally have sex, a month or so after she turns 18. I found the narrative contradictory at times. On the one hand, there’s a lot of emphasis placed on how mature and strong Keyne is; Jasper remarks how mismatched she and his gentle, immature brother were, and when she goes back to school she struggles with how different she feels from her peers and how she has trouble bonding and connecting with them at their level. But on the other hand, there are some elements that infantilize her: Jasper calls her Tinker Bell, her childhood nickname; every time she goes to his bed she acts like a little girl visiting a parent (until she wakes up and thinks about erections); and when they have sex, she’s a virgin, and he’s gentle, a bit patronizing and borderline didactic. That was my breaking point.<br />
<br />I don’t know what the eventual dark moment will be or what happens after. Maybe they get separated and reunite years later. I hope the book gives Keyne time to grow and have healthy experiences, so that the decisions she make feel truly informed. But I don’t plan to stick around and find out. I don’t know if this is a trope that’s possible to pull off convincingly, at least not to me. At times I felt complicit, because she is the one who initiates that first sexual encounter, he feels like a sick fuck (his words) most of the time, and she really likes and needs him, so that, to me, read like the book working hard for the reader to know that she had agency, that she consented, thus making it okay for me to consent and to go along with the romance.<br />
<br />I’m going to leave it here, because this has gone on for long enough and I didn’t really intend to write a rambly review. I see that the guardian/ward trope is having a bit of a comeback (by which I mean this is the second book I’ve heard of), and I confess that I don’t really remember ever reading one until now, but taboo romance has become popular and I guess this book counts as one. I don’t know, friends, I was already unhappy about Catholic priest Romances, but at least in those everyone is a consenting adult and there’s no power imbalance (I hope). Anyway, insert your own thoughtful closing thoughts here, because I’ve ran out of those.<br />
<b><br />Grade: DNF<br />Purchase: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/His-Custody-Tamsen-Parker-ebook/dp/B01LXWDLKP/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493076361&sr=8-1&keywords=his+custody" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>From the USA Today bestselling author of School Ties and the Compass Series<br />He needs to be a better man for her sake, but she makes him want to be so bad... </b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Keyne O’Connell leads a charmed life. She has a caring family and a terrific boyfriend. Her senior year is about to begin, and her future looks bright. But one dark summer night robs her of everyone she loves, thrusting her into the care of her boyfriend’s intimidating, much older brother.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Dark and brooding, Jasper Andersson is not a good man. His business dealings are barely legal. He’s a womanizer and a casual drug user. He has no interest in becoming Keyne’s guardian, although given her limited options, he doesn’t have much of a choice. He knows he must protect her at whatever the cost.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>But living in close quarters soon stirs up feelings inside them both that are far from platonic. Keyne needs a firm hand to keep her in line, but what she desires could lead Jasper into trouble...</i></blockquote>
<b><br />His Custody by Tamsen Parker<br />Intermix. March 21, 2017.</b><br />Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-42896864590894314462016-11-03T09:00:00.000-04:002016-11-04T08:15:41.568-04:00Review: Ready to Roll by Suzanne Brockmann<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPBrALUT9RhPBZgxINDnB-r2vtmbbZ8r_oaH0TVUqAuxXlLqdPnBhGrWZ-ZubWUcDDw9VUBHnnjyVXWo2L76wtyIE5qaDM_8CL2-6myWS0meHUPAiJIXI73N4kfX5wMpCavHK2ycdie4X/s1600/32662790.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description: the black silhouette of five shirtless men stands against a sky background, with the title written in huge red letter in the middle of the cover." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPBrALUT9RhPBZgxINDnB-r2vtmbbZ8r_oaH0TVUqAuxXlLqdPnBhGrWZ-ZubWUcDDw9VUBHnnjyVXWo2L76wtyIE5qaDM_8CL2-6myWS0meHUPAiJIXI73N4kfX5wMpCavHK2ycdie4X/s320/32662790.jpg" title="Ready to Roll by Suzanne Brockmann" width="207" /></a><i><b>Petty Officer First Class</b></i><i><b>Irving “Izzy” Zanella:</b></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Oh, yeah. I remember BUD/S training Hell Week as clearly as yesterday.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i></i><i>I went in with a barely healed broken rib—and a playlist of music, well, (</i>in an old man voice<i>) back then, my children, when I was but a wee tadpole, we called ’em mix tapes. (</i>normal voice<i>) And I made a few especially for Hell Week.</i></blockquote>
Oh, yeah. I remember reading this novella as clearly as yesterday (<i>it was yesterday</i>).<br />
<br />
I went in with barely controlled expectations, because I’ve been burned by this series before and the self-published novellas have been more miss than hit, but I’ve been reading Ms. Brockmann for years, so even at $6 (did I say it was a novella?) I couldn’t resist. (<i>smiles sheepishly at the camera</i>)<br />
<br />
And, yeah, you’re probably wondering what is happening with this review, so now you know how I felt reading this book. Yeah. (<i>shrugs</i>)<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
This new short-ish story--I would say it’s closer to Category-length--is, once again, set in the Troubleshooters world, a <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/42369-troubleshooters" target="_blank">series that’s been around since 2000 or 2001</a>, so I’m going to assume you’re familiar with it. It’s also a series I thought was over, but I guess it’s been resurrected for good and bad, and boy, there’s a lot of bad. Also, this book was part of a Kickstarter reward to finance Brockmann’s new movie, so that might explain a few things.<br />
<br />
I’m getting a bit ahead, though, so let me go back. Basically, we have two unconnected storylines. The first one is about a new set of SEALS-in-training that are your standard sequel bait, and the other is about Ben Gillman’s unrequited crush and the redemption of the seemingly homophobic bully who beat him up in a previous novella. In the middle of it, there’s a small subplot about how Danny and Jenni, the hero and heroine of a previous book, are now new parents of a baby who won’t stop crying, which looks designed so that a parade of characters from the series will stop by to play babysitter and help out.<br />
<br />
Oh, and then there’s Izzy, who has absolutely no reason to be in this book, but it’s somehow at the center of the first plotline narrating what’s happening, repeatedly info-dumping about how difficult it is to become a SEAL, and rendering what would be a pretty entertaining story into something unnecessarily passive, because there’s nothing better than having an intense situation narrated by an onlooker whose only reason for being there is that he’s somehow become (to some, not me) the most interesting and beloved character in the series. So when you see this advertise as an Izzy-centric story, do not expect him to do anything.<br />
<br />
What else? Oh, yeah! As you might have noticed, every POV change opens with a paragraph or page(s) of the character commenting on something in first person. Yeah.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><b>Petty Officer First Class (and new father)</b></i><i><b>Dan Gillman:</b></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Hell Week? (</i>shakes his head<i>) Hell Week wasn’t easy, but it also wasn’t the hardest thing I’ve ever done.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i></i><i>Although, I don’t want you to think that I’m making light of Hell Week. Because I’m not. Hell Week is… It’s a huge deal to get through it, to finish up Phase One. Of course, Phase Two sucks just about as much, but you don’t know that when you’re in Phase One.</i><i>Was I proud I made it through? Absolutely.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i></i><i>But I never doubted myself. I had to make it. I had no plan B. (</i>smiles<i>)</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i></i><i>In a way, it’s like taking care of Colin. Jenni and I have a baby now. And he’s not the easiest baby, that’s true, but we’re responsible for him. For his physical and emotional safety. For his well-being across the board.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i></i><i>Do we wish he slept more and cried less? (</i>laughs<i>) Hell, yeah. But how can you fault a baby for acting like a baby? (</i>shrugs<i>) For me it’s simple. Sooner or later, he’ll stop crying, and sooner or later he’ll sleep.</i></blockquote>
<br />
The book is third person POV, but these intros/asides are always first person and quite random. These first person interviews (?) function as the worst type of shortcut. At one point Dan and Jenni’s baby gets sick, but instead of seeing what happens, they tell us after. It’s so inconsistent and awkward. And those parenthetical stage directions? They are all over the first person sections. (<i>stands up</i>) (<i>throws Kindle at the wall</i>) (<i>cries because Kindle is broken</i>) Someone who read it please tell me, is this supposed to be a documentary about Hell Week? Is that what’s going on? If so, then what about the sections from Ben’s POV or his friend’s or Jenni’s? Or the ones about parenting? What is happening?!?!<br />
<br />
And, yeah, the yeahs. There are 96 of them, according to my Kindle search. So if you thought this review was getting annoying, imagine reading a whole book of yeahs.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, Ben’s plot was an adorable YA-ish short story about unrequited love (not with the bully, and not even a romance). It only gets slightly over the top, but that’s to be expected. I liked everything that was going on with the new characters, and if the whole story had been more restrained, I would have come close to loving it. But there were so many cringe-worthy distractions that kept pulling me out of the story. My favorite, though, is the scene that was cut short because “<i>it slowed things down</i>”, but when you reach that scene in the book, there’s a paragraph-long author’s note in the middle of the page linking to the longer, <i>baby-heavy</i> (because this thing is also an extended baby-logue) scene. I do love it when the book I’m reading unnecessarily interrupts the book I’m reading! God forbids something as banal as editing gets in the way of fan service.<br />
<br />
It’s a shame because Ms. Brockmann remains an engaging storyteller who creates compelling characters that pull me in and make me care. That is still true here, so I hope the next book, which will feature a hero who is introduced in this novella, will focus on the new characters instead of the old ones, who should stay far, far away enjoying their happy endings.<br />
<br />
<b>Grade: 2</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Synopsis (even the blurb needs restraint):</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Suzanne Brockmann returns to the action-packed world of her bestselling Troubleshooters series with a new novella featuring U.S. Navy SEAL Izzy Zanella, his extended family, and his kickass teammates in SEAL Team Sixteen. The only easy day is yesterday. BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) training is known for being the toughest, meanest, most physically punishing program in the entire U.S. Navy, and a new crop of tadpoles have arrived in Coronado eager to prove their worth—to make it through Hell Week, and become U.S. Navy SEALs. Although Izzy prefers assignments out in the “real world,” he’s glad to be an instructor for the current BUD/S class, because it allows him to spend time at home with his wife, Eden, and her lively and lovable extended family. Eden’s sixteen-year-old brother, Ben, is dealing with a new crush and a homophobic bully in his high school, but it soon appears that things are not as they seem. Meanwhile, Eden’s other brother (and Izzy’s SEAL teammate and former frenemy) Danny Gillman and his wife Jenn have just had a baby who has colic and cries constantly. As Ben deals with the type of too-serious high school drama that could involve a body count, and Danny and Jenn juggle a new baby, lack of sleep, and postpartum blues, Izzy is intrigued by “Boat Squad John,” a misfit team of young SEAL candidates all named John, including the intriguing young Seagull, his swim buddy Timebomb, and Seagull’s nemesis Hans. Does Seagull have what it takes keep Boat Squad John still standing when the dust of BUD/S Hell Week settles or will they ring out? Set in Coronado during BUD/S training Hell Week, in Ready to Roll Brockmann introduces the SEAL officer and instructor nicknamed Grunge—Lt. Peter Greene—as she delivers what she does best: a story celebrating the U.S. Navy SEALs—and the women (and sometimes men) who wholeheartedly love and support them. (About 56,000 words or 225 pages) Note: Ready to Roll is the third installment in a trio of stories featuring Izzy Zanella that starts in Free Fall and continues in Home Fire Inferno (Burn Baby Burn).</i></blockquote>
<b>Ready to Roll by Suzanne Brockmann</b><br />
<b>CreateSpace. October 4, 2016</b><br />
<br />Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-47097448323463477192016-10-06T10:00:00.000-04:002016-10-16T14:28:04.706-04:00Review: All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3P037rW55SDE5_t7y95pc57U5XQchxKnDBwHtl60N3r8th3yDWXLEQS40oua-QSKaolqV6dOIXf8kct9JLOkyI7qajmb02HAfSWJQTS9DHoqn_z8fsuWh3e4EImDdUbUhcs10CI98b8_S/s1600/26114135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3P037rW55SDE5_t7y95pc57U5XQchxKnDBwHtl60N3r8th3yDWXLEQS40oua-QSKaolqV6dOIXf8kct9JLOkyI7qajmb02HAfSWJQTS9DHoqn_z8fsuWh3e4EImDdUbUhcs10CI98b8_S/s320/26114135.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<b>Content warning: child abuse, rape, domestic violence, discussions of suicide. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>SPOILERS AHEAD</b><br />
<br />
I started this book two weeks ago, because I saw a review written by a critic whose opinion I value and respect, saying it was one of the best books of the year. Then I saw other reviews, both positive and negative, that made it sound a bit sketchy, but curiosity killed the cat. <br />
<br />
The story is pretty engaging, but then we see where it’s headed and, yeah... This is a book about an abused, neglected little girl who progressively becomes dependent and romantically and sexually involved with the only adult person (other than the grandmother who dies early on in the book) who ever shows her love and care, but more importantly who understands her. This is a girl so traumatized that she won’t eat when people are watching, won’t speak, and can’t stand to be touched. And this man, Kellen, sees what’s going on and works around it to the point where she talks to him, lets him touch her, and even eats in front of him.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
So, yes, it’s problematic to put it kindly. And look, I think the book has all the right to exist and I’m not surprised people are finding it romantic, because it’s ultimately meant to be the story of two lovers who find each other at the wrong time and are kept apart by horrible circumstances (none of which, BTW, are the fact that he’s an adult and she’s 13). Does the book at times condemn the situation and shows how disturbing and wrong it is? Well, there are characters who certainly disapprove, and one of them, Wavy’s aunt, gets angry and goes after Kellen with all she’s got and actually succeeds at separating them and having him punished, but her anger is portrayed as borderline irrational and, in my opinion, she becomes the villain who keeps them apart. There are other POV characters that disapprove or find it slightly odd, but some of them change their minds, and there are characters that full-on approve and even cheer them on.<br />
<br />
There’s also the fact that the narrative works very hard to make Kellen into a caring, gentle, loving, almost innocent man who truly and deeply loves Wavy. His feelings and thoughts towards her never feel sexual, not even when, believe it or not, he’s commenting on her “little tits”. She takes care of him as much as he does her, to the point where he looks at her for permission and to make decisions. At times I felt the book wanted me to feel like she was in charge, like she had power and control of their relationship, when the reality is that of all the people in the book he’s the one who has the most power over her. He’s also a victim who’s never been loved or cared for, so there are parallels between them that humanize him and give their relationship the appearance of equality. She’s the one who initiates all their sexual encounters and he’s appalled when it’s over (but not during or, you know, at the very beginning). He’s not overtly an evil predator grooming a little girl, but he is an adult who should and does know better, who knows this girl has been exposed to things that make her believe sex is how you show affection, how you make someone care, and he doesn’t put a stop to it. He buys her an engagement ring, promises fidelity, and pretends to marry her as soon as possible. There’s a lot of effort put into humanizing him and turning what happens between them into a gray area that yes, makes us uncomfortable because the situation is inherently uncomfortable, but won’t you look at how much they love and need each other?!?<br />
<br />
What else? Oh, there are many, many, many remarks about how she’s an old soul, how her eyes look right through you. At six she’s taking care of her baby brother and cooking meals people think were made by an adult. She can read perfectly and name constellations. Her POV sounds like an adult’s and because the narration plays with past and present tense, at times I thought maybe this was adult Wavy narrating her life. So, again, this felt like another justification of what would eventually happen. She’s a little girl, but she’s really mature for her age (and let's not even look at the reasons why she might be "mature").<br />
<br />
On her 14th birthday, a series of unfortunate events culminate with him pleading guilty to one count of criminal sexual penetration of a minor, which didn’t actually happen, so that act feels borderline heroic and most certainly tragic. Once he gets out, he’s a sex offender, he has to stay away from her and his life is lonely and sad. This also means we get to see the now 21-year-old Wavy tirelessly working to be back with him, because that’s what she wants, what she’s always wanted, so when she gets her HEA, we’re supposed to be happy for her. There’s nothing ambiguous about the way it ends; their reunion is nothing but joyous. Hell, they even reunite in front of the disgruntled, angry aunt, who I guess gets her comeuppance for all the grief she caused.<br />
<br />
One last thing, the book is not genre romance; it’s labeled as literary fiction. There are sex scenes, but none are particularly graphic or titillating, yet some are written in a sweet romantic way. And it’s a love story that asks us to root for the main character and her love interest, so, no. It’s well written and engrossing, but it’s also super disturbing and exploitative.<br />
<br />
<b>Grade: 1 star because it romanticizes and excuses the relationship between an adult man and a 13-year-old girl.</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>As the daughter of a meth dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. Struggling to raise her little brother, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible "adult" around. She finds peace in the starry Midwestern night sky above the fields behind her house. One night everything changes when she witnesses one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold, wreck his motorcycle. What follows is a powerful and shocking love story between two unlikely people that asks tough questions, reminding us of all the ugly and wonderful things that life has to offer.</i></blockquote>
<b>All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood</b><br />
<b>Thomas Dunne Books, August 9th, 2016.</b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-54965477268865456502016-09-28T16:30:00.000-04:002016-09-28T17:40:26.625-04:00Review: Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9EmcvQ796qC2Kxsg5ePUySQGOBayJTYTJCtw2DlfS_2UHdhKk5gtbpFEunof4aousCPT_Qc7vpyWiO1Yyrr89K2k8xYk_W0LQuKFtjrWHI3uUVxyokJflMqoASjjsPy8vYmwIf_hSsqv/s1600/17333174.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description: Kate stands against a red, fiery background with a lion just behind her. " border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9EmcvQ796qC2Kxsg5ePUySQGOBayJTYTJCtw2DlfS_2UHdhKk5gtbpFEunof4aousCPT_Qc7vpyWiO1Yyrr89K2k8xYk_W0LQuKFtjrWHI3uUVxyokJflMqoASjjsPy8vYmwIf_hSsqv/s320/17333174.jpg" title="Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews" width="211" /></a></div>
<b>Source: review copy provided by the publisher.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Warning: all the spoilers for previous books AND this one, so avoid if you haven’t read the book or don’t want to know. <i><u>I have not marked the spoilers</u></i>, so proceed with caution. </b><br />
<br />
First, yes, I’m still alive! This blogging mojo is not coming back no matter what I do, but I’m not quitting even if that means one review every three *cough*or six*cough* months.<br />
<br />
Second, I’m feeling lazy, so I’m not going to describe the plot. Plus this what, book 9? So I’m sure at this point anyone interested in the book knows what’s up.<br />
<br />
Let’s get to it! I didn’t love this book, I’m not sure I even liked it, but bad Ilona Andrews is still pretty good, so I’m not saying this thing was good, but it wasn’t terrible either.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
The main issue I had is that I really loved the previous book, but this one renders it pointless and it’s making me retroactively dislike it, why? Because <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333171-magic-shifts?from_search=true" target="_blank">Magic Shifts </a></i>was a bridge book that perfectly set up what I thought was the end point of the series, meaning Kate was going to trap Roland in a Djinn box. But Magic Binds had other plants, I guess, and it ignores that whole potential plotline entirely and literally drops it with one line. Now, before someone tells me I read too much into the box thing, listen, the previous book ends with her realizing the box is a viable way to defeat this super powerful, god-like evil; the very last line is Kate asking about how to build the thing. It’s an exciting, borderline cliffhanger-ish ending, and it was great. How is that not setting up the next book? Hey, maybe the story wasn’t working, which is fine, but what clumsy way to redirect things.<br />
<br />
What else? Right, my favorite trope: people who see the future gives our heroine vague clues about it, so that she can conveniently figure out how to get out of trouble. These are also self-fulfilling prophecies, because the book needs conflict. It gives the whole story the stink of <i>deus ex machina</i>, even if it’s not quite that, but yeah, it was disappointing and really didn’t work for me. That said, and this speaks of how talented the authors are, there was a lot of delicious tension created <i>because </i>of the prophecies, and I was worried about everyone, Kate included, at one point or another.<br />
<br />
And speaking of Kate, she’s now apparently tempted by the dark side of her power, which is a situation that would have been pretty great if it hadn’t come out of nowhere. It feels to me that this is the type of major character development and threat that could and should have been introduced organically through previous books, but because it’s simply dumped on us without warning, I was too distracted by the randomness of the situation to actually worry.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, there’s a lot of stress put in Kate and Curran’s relationship, in part because she’s forced to cross some of his hard lines. This was pretty well done, in my opinion, and in fact, the book is at its strongest when dealing with the characters and their different relationships to each other. But then again, we have spent several books worrying about Julie finding out about how she’s bound to Kate and how it will affect them, but that’s another revelation that gets dismissed with a couple of lines, so all that hard work worrying was for nothing, I guess.<br />
<br />
I’m also having a hard time with Roland. I can’t figure out whether he’s supposed to be funny or creepy or what, but there’s something tonally off about him that I can’t quite pinpoint. I don’t find him threatening or scary, and all the confrontations with him have been pretty anti-climactic so far, so whatever anticipation he might have inspired is mostly lost. I don’t know if the next book is the last one, but I’m not sure the series can handle more filler stories that lead nowhere.<br />
<br />
Okay, I’m making it sound worse than it is, and maybe I have to adjust my expectations, but Ilona Andrews is so talented and this world so strong and compelling that it’s hard not to expect too much from a series that has been consistently delivering for years. On the other hand, the book is doing just fine, so maybe it’s not the book, it’s me (nah, I’m pretty sure it’s the book).<br />
<br />
<b>Grade: 3</b><br />
<b>Purchase: <a href="http://amzn.to/2ds2TKu" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b><br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Mercenary Kate Daniels knows all too well that magic in post-Shift Atlanta is a dangerous business. But nothing she’s faced could have prepared her for this…<br />Kate and the former Beast Lord Curran Lennart are finally making their relationship official. But there are some steep obstacles standing in the way of their walk to the altar…<br />Kate’s father, Roland, has kidnapped the demigod Saiman and is slowly bleeding him dry in his never-ending bid for power. A Witch Oracle has predicted that if Kate marries the man she loves, Atlanta will burn and she will lose him forever. And the only person Kate can ask for help is long dead.<br />The odds are impossible. The future is grim. But Kate Daniels has never been one to play by the rules… </i> </blockquote>
<b>Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews</b><br />
<b>Ace. September, 2016</b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com69tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-10200299697977776602016-06-15T08:30:00.000-04:002016-06-15T08:30:09.455-04:00DNF Review: This Heart of Mine by Brenda Novak<b><br /></b>
<b>Content Warning: Horrible, “<i>holy shit, what the fuck?</i>” levels of fatphobia; ableism; ignorant portrayals of mental illness; and all around shittyness. Seriously. </b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34fSppzNj6i7HRH0AOXzIy6m3fiA3DVMJQ2wLoCBK_nNAfBwwhRvh7kUaOCMmbwXg4HGE2oIAtC-se-ia7dKg-M8capdl1oWNVjt3tTwDZxLIvepaTnQjlKeYpdI1fnpmfwYYuAnDjTfp/s1600/23214391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover Description: a man and a woman walk their bikes next to each other while embracing." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34fSppzNj6i7HRH0AOXzIy6m3fiA3DVMJQ2wLoCBK_nNAfBwwhRvh7kUaOCMmbwXg4HGE2oIAtC-se-ia7dKg-M8capdl1oWNVjt3tTwDZxLIvepaTnQjlKeYpdI1fnpmfwYYuAnDjTfp/s320/23214391.jpg" title="This Heart of Mine by Brenda Novak" width="202" /></a></div>
<br />
Let’s play a game of “Find the Quote that Made Me Rage-Quit this Book” (the page numbers are from the kindle edition, so they may not match the paperback):<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The noise of the dogs brought her mother to the door. Because of Lizzie’s tremendous weight, she moved slowly and ponderously, so Kyle was gone by then. Phoenix was glad of that. But it was never easy to contend with her mother. </i><i>“What the hell’s going on out here?” Lizzie shouted, her words and tone containing the caustic edge she was so famous for.</i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
(Page 36)</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: right;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
<i></i><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><i>“I’m hungry,” her mother announced as soon as she was done, so she warmed up some soup, hoping her mother would eat a healthy meal instead of the cheap pizza, soda, chips, cookies and candy she normally consumed. Only when Phoenix had finished cleaning out a small section of her mother’s kitchen—the one part not buried beneath all the things her mother hoarded—did she feel free to return to her own place, and by then it was after two in the afternoon.</i></i></div>
<i>
</i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
(Page 38)</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a><i>Whiskey Creek might not believe that she was innocent of Lori Mansfield’s murder, but at least she’d show them she wasn’t willing to live in filth, like her mother.</i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
(Page 39)</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Phoenix was still frightened her mother would find out. Lizzie couldn’t bear to part with a single scrap of anything for fear she’d need it later. But she wasn’t as mobile as she used to be. </i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
(Page 39) </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>It wasn’t easy to cook in Lizzie’s trailer. Hemmed in by stacks of packaged goods—trash her mother, for some strange reason, found valuable—plants, a bevy of dog bowls and giant bags of dog kibble and an overlarge hamster cage that took up most of the table, she had barely enough room to move on the sticky linoleum. Maybe that was why her mother never bothered with real food—she could no longer fit in her own kitchen. “What do you mean?”</i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
(Page 64)</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Phoenix!” Riley couldn’t see Lizzie, but he could hear her shrieking her daughter’s name, and then, “Where are you? Where the hell is my dinner? You want me to starve in here?”</i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
(Page 106)</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“That’s enough,” he growled. “I don’t care what you say about me, but watch how you talk to your daughter.”<br />“Oh, that’s right. You’re the only one who’s allowed to treat her like shit,” she said with a cackle, and backed her considerable bulk into the house.</i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
(Page 108)</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Lizzie’s chair groaned as she shifted. “Oh, come on.”</i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
(Page 133)</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
Oh, come on, indeed!<br />
<br />
Those are half the highlights I made after only reading half the book.<br />
<br />
I've been having such a hard time writing this review, because I honestly don't know what to say. Phonenix, the main character, is the patron saint of martyr heroines. I don’t have time to list all the things she goes through, but it’s like Melodrama and Emotional Manipulation had terrible sex together and she’s the result. That alone is crappy writing, but only offensive to those who like to read good books. The mother, on the other hand, takes the story from mediocre to horrible. I could almost feel the hate and ignorance leaking through the pages. She's the villain who hates herself and everyone around her; she abuses her caring daughter; people are disgusted by her appearance and the state of her home, and they will comment about it repeatedly, disdainfully, and yes, sometimes pitifully; she has no personality other than <i>person who yells insults</i>. The source of all that evil? Her weight. This character is a caricature completely stripped of humanity. The way the book treats her is so egregious and unacceptable that I, well, have no words.<br />
<br />
That’s it. I have no more energy to give.<br />
<br />
<b>Grade: DNF </b><br />
<b>Synopsis (Ugh, you guys, look how fucking upbeat the blurb is!):</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>First love. Second chance? </i><i>As the daughter of a hoarder, Phoenix Fuller had a tough childhood. So when the handsome, popular Riley Stinson became her boyfriend in high school, she finally felt as though she had something to be proud of. Phoenix was desperate not to lose him-especially once she found out she was pregnant. Yes, she might have acted a bit obsessive when he broke up with her. But she did not run down the girl he started dating next. Unfortunately, there was no way to prove her innocence. Now, after serving her time in prison, Phoenix has been released. All she wants to do is return to Whiskey Creek and get to know her son. But Jacob's father isn't exactly welcoming. Riley doesn't trust Phoenix, doesn't want her in Jacob's life. He is, however, ready to find someone to love. And he wants a good mother for his son. He has no idea that he's about to find both! </i></blockquote>
<b>This Heart of Mine by Brenda Novak</b><br />
<b>Mira. March 31, 2015.</b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com88tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-3106379938557180542016-03-08T08:30:00.000-05:002016-03-08T08:30:18.869-05:00(not quite a) Review: Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYeRruRndGTbjJcn4onyx7VcSMZNNpPHSA2_feaHEpiqRCJAe_Vq3hNfB9GIqqfLbrVAG4kEFyl4yI-EhyphenhyphenYgpufVNnqKjPT3LHK66ddEIximrxTMSvjYOyv52LRO-MjoOAhmzCzh8ShC9B/s1600/25776210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover image description: Mercy Thompson wears a blue tank top and jeans while holding a spear. Behind her there's a menacing-looking dog made out of cooling lava." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYeRruRndGTbjJcn4onyx7VcSMZNNpPHSA2_feaHEpiqRCJAe_Vq3hNfB9GIqqfLbrVAG4kEFyl4yI-EhyphenhyphenYgpufVNnqKjPT3LHK66ddEIximrxTMSvjYOyv52LRO-MjoOAhmzCzh8ShC9B/s320/25776210.jpg" title="Fire Touched, Mercy Thompson Book 9 by Patricia Briggs" width="212" /></a></div>
<b>Source: Review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Warning: Mild spoilers for previous books in the series, but no spoilers for this one. Seriously, you don’t want to know what happens in the book, so avoid spoilers and reviews if possible (including this one, just in case I’m not as good at not telling things as I think I am). </b><br />
<br />
I have a weird reading history with this series. The first book I read was<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17562900-night-broken" target="_blank"><i> Night Broken</i> </a>(that’s the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40932-mercy-thompson" target="_blank">eight </a>one, for those who don’t keep track) and as weird a choice as that sounds, I really liked it. I had no idea who any of the characters were, but I was pretty hooked regardless. And yet, I knew the previous books had rape, and I’m tired of the rape-as-rite-of-passage trope that seems so present in UF books, so it took me until last year to sit and read the whole series in order. But it only took me ten days to read them all. That’s how much I loved them. Yes, there’s rape and some unnecessary and surprising sexism, but I couldn’t put it down.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
All that is to say that I’m not your usual Mercy Thompson reader and that even though I’m incredibly invested, I’m not weary or jaded about it (not that I think there are reasons to be tired of the books, other than the gross treatment and characterization of Adam’s ex, but maybe that’s just me) so my weird reading history probably colors my impression of this books, which is... wait for it:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
OH MY GOD!!!!!!!! THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! READ IT!!!! </blockquote>
My reviews just keep getting better and better, you guys! I'm impressed.<br />
<br />
Seriously, though, I loved every single page. The series didn’t feel particularly stale to me, yet <i>Fire Touched</i> brings so much freshness to it. I don’t like endless series, and at 9 books almost everything feels endless, but here I sit, hoping there are many more to come.<br />
<br />
That said, the story relies a lot in the reader being familiar with not just this series, but the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/45135-alpha-omega" target="_blank"><i>Alpha and Omega</i> books</a> as well, which are set in the same universe and feature some of the same characters, but are most definitely not within the same series. And that feels a bit too demanding and somewhat manipulative. But really, this is me grasping for criticism, because, well, OMG awesome!<br />
<br />
So, this is not as much a review as me endorsing the whole series. And we both know it really needs me to recommend it, because no one seems to be reading or talking about it. I mean, I bet this is the only review of it you will see all week.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Grade: 5</b><br />
<b>Purchase: <a href="http://amzn.to/1SvM2lP" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b><br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Mercy Thompson has been hailed as “a heroine who continues to grow and yet always remains true to herself.”* Now she’s back, and she’ll soon discover that when the fae stalk the human world, it’s the children who suffer...</i><i>Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.</i><i>Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?</i></blockquote>
<b>Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs</b><br />
<b>Ace. March 8, 2016.</b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-25528392300188701512015-12-17T17:06:00.003-05:002015-12-17T17:06:43.037-05:00Holiday Hiatus<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeelF1o-52aNzza_cZVlkQceE4CxzDp3ilAnZRKaw_ilfX9XYYFMeGrofs5wBlySz0_Sivwu_roj5wAeOOxY1xPbEz3MA5ME5HLB6rS-IqCj8goPMvhv-yPnOpB7xCb_OHDgjfWBWKVNB/s1600/sorry-for-eating-all-the-cookies-when-you-offered-me-one-cookie-0Wg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Someecard: A red card with a drawing of a man eating a pastry. The card reads: Sorry for eating all the cookies when you offered me one cookie." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeelF1o-52aNzza_cZVlkQceE4CxzDp3ilAnZRKaw_ilfX9XYYFMeGrofs5wBlySz0_Sivwu_roj5wAeOOxY1xPbEz3MA5ME5HLB6rS-IqCj8goPMvhv-yPnOpB7xCb_OHDgjfWBWKVNB/s320/sorry-for-eating-all-the-cookies-when-you-offered-me-one-cookie-0Wg.png" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit/Source: <a href="http://www.someecards.com/christmas-cards/sorry-for-eating-all-the-cookies-when-you-offered-me-one-cookie" target="_blank">someecards </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
I wanted to post my "Favorites" list before the winter break, but time wasn't on my side, so it will have to wait until January, and hey, this time I'm actually letting people know I'm on hiatus instead of disappearing for 6 months!<br />
<br />
In the meantime, here's a <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-evolution-of-small-town-romance.html" target="_blank">link to my previous post</a>, which I'm willing to bet you never saw. Yep, it's that time of the year when I find any excuse to promote old reviews.<br />
<br />
I wish you all the best, most amazing holidays/break/winter/summer. Be kind to yourselves and don't feel like you have to do everything and be cheerful all the time.<br />
<br />
See you next year!Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-73553396851458774062015-12-07T09:00:00.000-05:002015-12-07T09:00:08.282-05:00The Evolution of the Small Town Romance: Shannon Stacey’s New Series<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/5542728503ed6f3982bb2e10bcd6e6b177" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image description: e-card with a couple dining and a text that reads: The nice part about living in a small town is that when I don't know what I'm doing someone else always does. " border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLIYyBTY3TPIuLK_ISzUnHFfgelIypxLH60bpHE2Gn-1YLywwxh-qzXfVDTrXsuKZUcqqmf2F8g9JwMatcPl6ls3UOpKw5B651nTE9E6f-pMuxuJSDFD0cCE_DzwgLL_tGoLnSOXNuqLWN/s320/5542728503ed6f3982bb2e10bcd6e6b177.png" title="The nice part about living in a small town is that when I don't know what I'm doing someone else always does." width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image source: <b><a href="http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/5542728503ed6f3982bb2e10bcd6e6b177" target="_blank">someecards</a></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It’s <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2012/10/small-town-romances-how-many-is-too-many.html" target="_blank">no secret</a> that I have a <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-wanderer-and-newcomer-robyn-carr.html" target="_blank">love-hate</a> relationship with Small Town Romance (STR) and that one of the authors on the love side is Shannon Stacey. This year she published two new series, one with <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/147314-boston-fire" target="_blank">Carina</a>, one with <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/139132-boys-of-fall" target="_blank">Berkley</a>, and I wanted to talk about them, not because I loved them, but because I admire what Ms. Stacey is doing with the familiar sub-genre. Also, I have three review books, and everyone knows that the opinion post is the lazy reviewer’s shortcut to multiple reviews!<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PLlg40hYa86fmQ_wFQ-QkV_h8ViRKtaep1zlO_5Fl1aigFM6lk8PyEwdLvF1dDLmCF2kXmfjn05Yvc7l6zMvLiFDIFfS1DU8CHKdtlDpqtOy67PEtRK79sgmgSf5Zx32VOoDtHETWij4/s1600/25125233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description: ripped, topless firefighter holds his jacket and helmet. " border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PLlg40hYa86fmQ_wFQ-QkV_h8ViRKtaep1zlO_5Fl1aigFM6lk8PyEwdLvF1dDLmCF2kXmfjn05Yvc7l6zMvLiFDIFfS1DU8CHKdtlDpqtOy67PEtRK79sgmgSf5Zx32VOoDtHETWij4/s320/25125233.jpg" title="Controlled Burn by Shannon Stacey" width="201" /></a>The <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/147314-boston-fire" target="_blank"><b>Boston Fire </b></a></i>series isn’t technically set in a small town, but is set within a neighborhood and small community that reproduces a very similar feel and environment: generations have lived there, everyone knows each other, there are strong roots, etc. Lydia, the heroine of <b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24692826-heat-exchange" target="_blank">Heat Exchange</a></i> </b>left the city after a failed marriage to firefighter and, in what’s a staple trope of the STR, wants nothing to do with the community and the city she left in order to never come back. But family needs her so she’s back temporarily, or so she thinks. We know how that ends.<br />
<br />
In <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25125233-controlled-burn" target="_blank"><b>Controlled Burn</b></a></i>, the heroine is an outsider with recently discovered ties to the community. But whereas the heroines have traditional (in terms of tropes) roles in the books, at least at first glance, the heroes diverge a bit in that, well, they aren’t afraid of commitment. It may sound simple, but unless we’re in a Robyn Carr book where everyone, EVERYONE, wants to get married and have all the babies, commitment-phobe heroes are probably the most pervasive character in STR, followed closely by heroines who can’t wait to go back to their amazing jobs in a big city only to be shown the true path to happiness in her formerly hated small town (the latter repeats itself here, because we’re cursed to have that trope follow us forever). So heroes who are ready to commit, who pursue the heroine within the normal, non-creepy limits, and who may or may not have a bunch of ex-girlfriends but who respect all the women they have been with and are in good terms with them, feel refreshing in ways that, frankly, speak poorly of a genre that creates such expectations for its male leads.<br />
<br />
Of course, Ms. Stacey isn’t the first or only Romance author who has written great heroes, but in such a trope-heavy sub-genre in which authors seem to be writing the same book over and over, it’s interesting to come across an author who takes the formula, keeps it familiar, but whose books show growth in subtle but effective ways. The <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/52698-kowalski-family" target="_blank"><b>Kowalski </b></a></i>series was already a standout, but these new books feel mature in ways those never did.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZEUhNzUnVMD_u5_K2ZGizIjVtTA8pc3ikL3SRJ6wVTIJb3M_Ouo1lGsrBUw5yYN6-fPdI1NJ_6dQGSx6vRkzR6bZFlcWIwpgiTGg-04GZDpeNqNFLPEaFEKwZPsTt96Wp18HXwqkOeaF/s1600/23398947.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description: a blond couple embrace on a football field. She's holding a football. " border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZEUhNzUnVMD_u5_K2ZGizIjVtTA8pc3ikL3SRJ6wVTIJb3M_Ouo1lGsrBUw5yYN6-fPdI1NJ_6dQGSx6vRkzR6bZFlcWIwpgiTGg-04GZDpeNqNFLPEaFEKwZPsTt96Wp18HXwqkOeaF/s320/23398947.jpg" title="Under the Lights by Shannon Stacey" width="196" /></a></div>
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23398947-under-the-lights" target="_blank"><b>Under the Lights</b></a></i>, which I found incredibly boring (I told you this post was about admiration more than love), features a down-on-its-luck small town in which most characters, main and secondary, have a lot of money and social difficulties. There is no idyllic town here and no anti-city feel to the book. Family ties and community still play a huge role in the story, but it’s certainly not a typical setting. The hero was in a long-term relationship that didn’t end well, and he’s struggling both personally and professionally. The heroine is struggling along with the town she loves. Yet they are aware of the potential negative consequences of a relationship, and ultimately they make a conscious decision that in a different book would feel irresponsible.<br />
<br />
So, okay, it’s not groundbreaking work, but I really enjoy and appreciate seeing an author grow with her books and in a sub-genre she clearly loves. In a way, it mirrors my own path as a reader. It also shows that it’s possible to keep things from going stale while still working within the very clear conventions and restrictions--at times auto-imposed--that come with a beloved sub-genre.<br />
<br />Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-53098598561200252632015-12-04T09:00:00.000-05:002015-12-04T09:00:00.156-05:00Mini Review: Star Dust by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner<br />
<b>Source: review copy provided by the authors.</b><br />
<br />
Space Age historical romance, do I need to say more?<br />
<br />
This was such a lovely, surprisingly understated (considering the setting) book, and I had a great time reading it.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7Q_VlOYdq3L2OWTn3KYln2nUxeUAT_sDkayoSnSK4sKz1ojBfv7HL0L36urv5ttCO6JPpGvzAasj1Km2lVl-glxXXwae5bYKpCdbkDhh3nC4WBKeN4zt7D0ufHp_nwTJcWVeH9Ll2_hR/s1600/26257699.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Cover Description: a man and a woman embrace against a night background where you can see the sky and stars." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7Q_VlOYdq3L2OWTn3KYln2nUxeUAT_sDkayoSnSK4sKz1ojBfv7HL0L36urv5ttCO6JPpGvzAasj1Km2lVl-glxXXwae5bYKpCdbkDhh3nC4WBKeN4zt7D0ufHp_nwTJcWVeH9Ll2_hR/s320/26257699.jpg" title="Star Dust by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner" width="200" /></a><br />
It’s set in the early 60’s. The hero is a bit of a womanizing hot-shot astronaut, and the heroine is a recently divorced single mother of two. They butt heads at first. They fall in love. It’s sweet and charming. What’s not to love?<br />
<br />
My favorite part about it, though, and the subject of this mini review, is how the story contrasts these two people and their situations to say something about the historical period, society and gender roles. He is an impulsive young man about to do something remarkable and is lauded as a hero for it. She is a young woman who did something remarkable--albeit not as unique as going to space--but by divorcing her cheating husband, putting herself and her kids first, and finding a job, independence and a better partner, she’s seen by everyone else as a villain or as a potential victim of her own recklessness, even though is his recklessness that might get him killed. <br />
<br />
On top of that, the book is atmospheric and just plain fun. It brought back memories of being a kid and watching old reruns of <i>I Dream of Jeannie</i> and <i>Bewitched</i>, but with, you know, graphic sex *grins*.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<b>Grade: 4</b><br />
<b>Purchase: <a href="http://amzn.to/1MWcm4c" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Houston, 1962 </i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Anne-Marie Smith wanted normal: a loving husband, two beautiful kids, and a well-kept house. But when she catches her husband cheating, she decides that normal isn’t worth it. Now in a new city with a new job, she’s trying to find her new normal—but she knows it doesn’t include the sexy playboy astronaut next door. </i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Commander Kit Campbell has a taste for fast: fast cars, fast planes, and even faster women. But no ride he’s ever taken will be as fast as the one he’s taking into orbit. He’s willing to put up with the prying adoration of an entire country if it will get him into space. </i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>But Anne-Marie and Kit’s inconvenient attraction threatens both normal and fast. As the space race heats up, his ambitions and their connection collide and combustion threatens their plans… and their hearts.</i></blockquote>
<b><i>S</i>tar Dust by <a href="http://authoremmabarry.com/" target="_blank">Emma Barry</a> and <a href="http://www.genturner.com/" target="_blank">Genevieve Turner</a></b><br />
<b>Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner. October 14, 2015.</b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-86112052035466959972015-12-02T08:00:00.000-05:002015-12-02T08:00:10.834-05:00Buddy Review: Stars of Fortune (Book 1 in the Everything but the Kitchen Sink Series) by Nora Roberts <br />
<b>It's been months since I last blogged, so to make up for it I've invited Ronnie to write a review with me. You may remember Ronnie for such things as being awesome and her reviews at <a href="http://paranormalhaven.com/category/review-by-ronnie" target="_blank">Paranormal Haven</a>. These days you can find her on <a href="https://twitter.com/Readsalot81/with_replies" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8930507-readsalot81" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>. If you don't follow her, you're missing out! </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>This review doesn't have a conventional structure, so here's the blurb to give you an idea of the plot.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9TS4IqwyYwq9iyjrJxSKz_j33Hc33jc7dL7qfSsjHIdMS_OOIRUqpy1D9G1mZxT1A28iGFzg8RXeJfCpfa9-wczwG5vCoWGzcLD3nLbcannhX2WzgOI6ewG-z425RkEV-Zx4Bbl1MvD4_/s1600/24611454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description: landscape of a Greek island." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9TS4IqwyYwq9iyjrJxSKz_j33Hc33jc7dL7qfSsjHIdMS_OOIRUqpy1D9G1mZxT1A28iGFzg8RXeJfCpfa9-wczwG5vCoWGzcLD3nLbcannhX2WzgOI6ewG-z425RkEV-Zx4Bbl1MvD4_/s320/24611454.jpg" title="Stars of Fortune by Nora Roberts" width="217" /></a><i>To celebrate the rise of their new queen, three goddesses of the moon created three stars, one of fire, one of ice, one of water. But then they fell from the sky, putting the fate of all worlds in danger. And now three women and three men join forces to pick up the pieces…</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Sasha Riggs is a reclusive artist, haunted by dreams and nightmares that she turns into extraordinary paintings. Her visions lead her to the Greek island of Corfu, where five others have been lured to seek the fire star. Sasha recognizes them, because she has drawn them: a magician, an archaeologist, a wanderer, a fighter, a loner. All on a quest. All with secrets.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Sasha is the one who holds them together—the seer. And in the magician, Bran Killian, she sees a man of immense power and compassion. As Sasha struggles with her rare ability, Bran is there to support her, challenge her, and believe in her.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>But Sasha and Bran are just two of the six. And they all must all work together as a team to find the fire star in a cradle of land beneath the sea. Over their every attempt at trust, unity, and love, a dark threat looms. And it seeks to corrupt everything that stands in its way of possessing the stars…</i></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<b>Warning: All the spoilers.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Brie: </b>First of all, no, the series isn’t really named “Everything but the Kitchen Sink” although it should be, and we’re about to tell you why. But let’s go back a bit first and talk about our relationship with Roberts’ books. I don’t know about you, Ronnie, but I have been a fan for years. Sure, there have been more than a few disappointments along the way, but I’m always excited about new releases, and Ms. Roberts remains a beloved author. I have, however, lost any type of expectation when it comes to her trilogies/quartets; in fact, the last one I truly enjoyed was <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5598113-vision-in-white?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">Vision in White</a></i>. But even for someone who has no expectations, this book still managed to surprise, and not in a good way.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Ronnie: </b>I’ve been a fan of Nora Roberts for years. However, truth be told, I haven’t picked up her books in several years. This novel, unfortunately, is an excellent representation of why she’s dropped off my radar, so to speak. Your comment about "everything but the kitchen sink" is just one of the many ways the book goes off the rails. But should you decide that you are interested in reading this book, may I instead recommend her <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/44593-circle-trilogy" target="_blank"><i>Circle </i>trilogy</a> and/or the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/42172-key-trilogy" target="_blank"><i>Key</i> series</a>? These earlier books include, but are not limited to: gods--both benevolent and evil, vampires, sorcerers, shapeshifters, and a buffy clone. Oh wait, I think I see a pattern!<br />
<br />
<b>Brie: </b>Or, if you like Nora Roberts books that have the word “star” in them, you could try the <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/65181-stars-of-mithra" target="_blank">Stars of Mithra</a></i> series, which is another trilogy about a group of strangers coming together to find magical objects. Actually, I don’t quite remember if the objects were magical, but there was a light paranormal feel to those books, too. And yes, that “too” is deceptive, because there’s nothing light about the paranormal elements in <i>Stars of Fortune</i>. In fact, the most normal element of the story is the heroine who sees the future and is so good at reading emotions that she’s basically a mind reader, a power she doesn’t use on the hero, because she still manages to be super insecure and all “<i>are you taking advantage of me, hunky dude in hot pursuit of my virginity? Because our insta-love makes no sense!</i>”. She’s right, though, the only reason there’s a romance here is because that’s what Nora Roberts writes and people are expecting it. Otherwise, there’s no sense, chemistry or connection between those two. This, by the way, is a running theme among all the sequel-bait characters, whose pairings are so half-assed, that I had to read the next blurb to figure out who was supposed to fall for whom.<br />
<br />
The characters might lack chemistry between them, but the fantasy elements abound. This thing has everything: evil gods; dream walkers; time travelers; an immortal with a sword (but alas, no Christopher Lambert); a billionaire magician who owns clubs (but alas, not of the secret BDSM type); a 30-year old treasure-hunter archaeologist werewolf with two, TWO! PhD’s; and a mermaid who is one fork-as-a-comb short of being The Little Mermaid. That’s right, a mermaid. Want to tell us more about her, Ronnie?<br />
<br />
<b>Ronnie: </b>I don’t even know where to start, Brie. Except to say that when I came across this character, my brow furrowed. And then my eyebrows shot up. Then I actually said to myself (and later on Twitter), “WHAT THE FUCK AM I READING? WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH NORA ROBERTS?!?!” Because look, I’ll be frank. Nora Roberts has written some problematic characters in the past, but the mermaid takes the cake. For a myriad of reasons.<br />
<br />
Aside from the fact that Annika the mermaid quite literally appears out of nowhere, her characterization is problematic from the start. I don’t know if Roberts wanted her to appear in an artless type of manner, but the other characters thought she was either “high” “innocent” or “childlike”. MAYDAY. Red Alert. Back the hell up. Here’s what NOT to do. Don’t portray ESL characters as simple because they have trouble communicating in what is not their native language. Granted, I don’t know what the fuck mermaids speak, but still. There’s also some “purity” b.s. thrown about by one of the men in this troupe of hapless heroes, but I’m a little confused as to why that is. Is it because she’s untroubled by the complicated (I use this term loosely and with a huge helping of sarcasm) thinking and plotting that the other women do? The other characters treat her as if she’s a child because she’s apparently generous and has issues with the English language. YEAH. NO.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Riley gestured to Sasha, walked out of earshot. “Is she, you know, challenged?”<br />“Oh, no, it’s not that. She’s . . . I don’t know how else to describe what I get from her. She’s pure.”</i></blockquote>
<b>Brie: </b>One of them thinks she has a disability because her English isn’t perfect and she’s childlike and innocent, while the other just sees her as pure and special. So we can add stereotypes and ableism to the mix. But the text fully supports this characterization, so is no surprise that all the other characters treat her as they would a little girl, including her future hero, who, I assume, at one point will develop the urge to fuck this woman he sees and treats like a child. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to read that!<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“I like shopping. There are so many pretty things.” She frowned down at her boots as they walked to the car. “The boots are not pretty.”<br />“Neither is twisting an ankle on a rough trail,” Riley declared, and let out a whoosh of relief when they piled in the jeep with Sasha and Sawyer sandwiching Annika between them in the back.<br />Bran came out, stowed the bags, dropped into the passenger seat.<br />“Thank you for all my things, even the boots.”</i></blockquote>
<br />
<b>Ronnie:</b> Bur fear not, dear reader, Annika does not solely exist for the second book in this mediocre, ham-fisted trilogy. She’s also a crack fighter! Wheeee! Because she has to have something else to bring to the table, right? RIGHT? Ostensibly this will be explained in the upcoming book, but if this introduction is all you have, then honestly, I don’t know. The lazy characterization paired with the stereotypes really put me off. Her fighting skills aren’t really explained well until you get closer to the end and by that time, I had lost all patience with the book and ceased to give a shit about any of the characters. <i>Stars of Fortune</i> does suffer from the first book syndrome in that it wastes precious time introducing and setting up the future couples. I have no hope for Annika and Sawyer, who Brie just mentioned before, and by the time the last book comes out, I’m not sure how much I will care about Riley (double PhD’s whoo!) and Doyle (the loner/military fighter guy).<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Brie: </b>I’ll give the series this, though: in Ms. Roberts’ books, the feisty, short-haired heroine (in this case future heroine, Riley, aka Doctor Werewolf) is usually paired with a shy, sweet, beta hero (<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5598113-vision-in-white?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><b>Vision in White</b></a></i>, <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31313.Dance_of_the_Gods?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><b>Dance of the Gods</b></a></i>), but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. So there is some bending of formula. For the record, I hate using labels like “beta male” and “feisty” to describe characters, but since we’re in the presence of skin-deep characterization, I’m following the lead and using lazy shortcuts to define how the characters are.<br />
<br />
This review is all rant and no structure, but that’s a reflection of the disappointment I’m feeling. I adore Nora Roberts; her books are an indelible part of my reading life and history. Her voice and stories feel comforting and familiar. But this? This is cheap narrative shortcuts and superficial characters to an extent I haven’t seen before in a Roberts novel. It’s not terribly offensive (unless you think about it and realize that Roberts’ idea of diversity are Irish people and supernatural creatures) or horribly written, but the book simply doesn’t care, so why should I? If you want to know how aggressive mediocrity looks like, go ahead and read this one.<br />
<br />
<b>Ronnie: </b> Aggressive mediocrity is a hell of a term. I like it! This reads like a mash up of previous books with the bare minimum of name and location changing. Actually, I believe the names Sawyer and Doyle have been used before as surnames in previous books (<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1541223.Charmed?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><b>Charmed</b></a></i>, <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2003767.Tribute?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><b>Tribute</b></a></i>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7076706-the-search?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><i><b>The Search</b></i></a>). Way to change it up, Ms. Roberts! Disappointment, dismay, and quite a lot of WTF really sum up my feelings for her latest book. There’s no more sense of anticipation and fun when it comes to her novels, there’s only ennui. And that right there is my biggest complaint.<br />
<br />
<b>Brie: </b>So, 5 stars, right? Ha! I’m feeling mellow, so I’m going with 2. How about you?<br />
<br />
<b>Ronnie:</b> You are generous, but I think 2 stars sums it up about right. While it’s not the worst book I’ve ever read, it’s the worst from Roberts I’ve read in a long while (since I don’t read her romantic suspense!).<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-8767339003635045822015-08-18T08:30:00.000-04:002015-08-18T08:30:03.145-04:00Mini Review: Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon<br />
<b>Three words: </b>Russian figure skaters! If that's not enough for you, here are some random thoughts that I hope will convince you.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PQJI7QE?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00PQJI7QE&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=ZTUDFYPW5HFU2S6S&qid=1439854688&sr=8-1&keywords=pairing+off" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Cover description: On the top half of the cover a man and a woman in winter gear smile at each other and are about to kiss; on the bottom half of the cover and a pair of figure skater are on the ice. The background is red." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Od2iVG_QL7zuOGG4sb0hAjc0quFRB0YTBNXTyjAFlsfRbmWCJV5F6PN3LiXONaUySszfq52i0l_YkfJfLfpZpw8xMU_N_JSY9sOmN7LXqGeLZ3zq6VdOFjV6o9IWe6G8zz0-HLebYznc/s320/23440537.jpg" title="Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon" width="201" /></a><br />
<b>The good:</b><br />
<br />
The leads, Anton and Carrie, are smart, kind people who know what they want and work hard to get it. The hero is sweet and vulnerable; the heroine is self-aware and driven. Despite what the prologue suggests, theirs is a slow-burn romance that’s built on mutual respect and friendship. There are lots of interesting details about figure skating and the sport world, yet they are so well integrated into the plot that they never feel obstructive. I don’t know if the author has ever been to Russia (I haven’t, so I’m not a good judge of authenticity) but the story is incredibly atmospheric and evocative. Last but not least, the first half of the book is filled with amazing tension which makes for an emotional and gripping read.<br />
<br />
<b>The bad:</b><br />
<br />
This book has an “other woman” and she only functions in one mode: mean. The hero is in a relationship with her for a huge chunk of the book. He doesn’t cheat on her with the heroine, but he’s obviously conflicted on account of her being so damn evil! There’s some mild effort put into justifying her actions, but frankly, those efforts were about making him look good rather than adding nuance to her character.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Remember how I said that the first half of the book was basically amazing? Well, the second half takes the wrong detour into Melodramatic Land with an overnight stop at the “Unnecessary External Conflict” Motel, which, once I stopped yelling “what is going on?!?”, made me a bit sad. But I was so into the romance that I didn’t care… much. The plot could have used a lot of trimming, though.<br />
<br />
<b>Grade: 3/3.5 but if I were to base it on enjoyment alone, I would give it a strong 4</b><br />
<b>Purchase: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PQJI7QE?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00PQJI7QE&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=ZTUDFYPW5HFU2S6S&qid=1439854688&sr=8-1&keywords=pairing+off" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>The blurb is misleading, so don’t believe all it says!</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i>A scandal-plagued American figure skater's last chance at gold means pairing up with Russia's sexiest male skater...who happens to be the first man she ever loved. </i></b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i>"The Cutting Edge" with a Russian twist.</i></b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>American pairs figure skater Carrie Parker’s Winter Games dreams were dashed when her philandering partner caused one of the greatest scandals in skating history. Blacklisted from competing in America, her career is over…until she receives a mysterious invitation and is reunited with the most infuriating, talented—and handsome—skater she’s ever met. </i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Russian champion Anton Belikov knows sacrifice. He gave up a normal life and any hope of a meaningful relationship to pursue his dream. And he’s come close—with a silver medal already under his belt, the next stop is the gold. All he needs is a partner. While he’s never forgotten the young American skater he seduced one long-ago night in Amsterdam, he never expected to see her again…never mind skate with her. </i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>When what starts as a publicity stunt grows into something real between them, Carrie and Anton’s partnership will test their loyalties to family, country, and each other. With only a few months to train for the competition of a lifetime, can they master technique and their emotions, or will they lose their footing and fall victim to the heartaches of their pasts?</i></blockquote>
<b>Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon</b><br />
<b>Carina Press. February 2nd, 2015.</b><br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-80903743934923327922015-08-13T08:30:00.000-04:002015-08-13T08:30:02.407-04:00Friendship and Intimacy in Molly O’Keefe’s Tempted<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XI2OXLE?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00XI2OXLE&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=2VGXND5NQGCR57LA&qid=1439385610&sr=8-1&keywords=tempted+molly+okeefe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Cover description: A man and a woman dance while backlit so we only see their shapes, and they're placed against a mountain background." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggu9hKf78G4C3Mayk6rD7i1ki6KKXgI3lZu2d8gsMHHO9NhaidQIk6GFekNIZw4N_24ufEU8qvBne4utAnV9rYdTrqo4NMyk_e6HBevK86S3J8QnLw-qabsNXoB_lm0qiv4qGh1R4jlIMh/s320/25760762.jpg" title="Tempted by Molly O'Keefe" width="213" /></a>This book is good! I don’t know why I’m so surprised since <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/search/label/Molly%20O%27Keefe" target="_blank">everything Molly O’Keefe writes is magic</a>, but I don’t like westerns, so I didn’t expect to love this one so much or, to be honest, to even read it. But I bought it on release day to support a favorite author, took a look at the first page, and didn’t put it down until I finished it.<br />
<br />
Here’s the blurb so I don’t have to describe the plot:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Denver, 1869 </i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i></i><i>Annie Denoe has fought hard for her independence. She has a new life and new freedom as the assistant to a doctor, and though she risks both propriety and her safety, she is determined to be happy in a life on her own. </i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i></i><i>Steven Baywood is trying to rebuild his shattered life, even though the ghosts of his harrowing stay in Andersonville prison still haunt him. He craves Annie and her quiet strength, but he can't give her the love she deserves. When a tragedy changes everything for Annie, can Steven find peace with his past in order to give Annie a future?</i></blockquote>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Annie and Steven are good friends who clearly love and are in love with each other. But Steven has PTSD product of his imprisonment in Andersonville from which he barely escaped alive (BTW, they don’t call it PTSD, in case you were going: wait, what?!). It’s been a few years since it, but, among other things, he can’t bear to be touched, which is an issue because Annie wants to have sex and he both <i>feels </i>and <i>is</i> unable to give her that. So physical intimacy, which in romance is often used to release the tension between the main characters, becomes the source of tension and conflict here.<br />
<br />
But while they can’t touch, they are loving and caring friends who know and understand each other. The things they don’t know, they find the courage to talk about, and when one of them assumes too much and fails to communicate, the other cuts them no slack and actually lets them know about the hurt and anger their actions caused. Basically, she can’t touch his dick, but she sure can touch his soul! Just so we’re clear, I made the dick comment because 1. it would be an awesome pull quote, and you know it, and 2. to balance out the cheesiness of the soul part. But it’s true; they have a beautiful connection that they spend the whole book nurturing.<br />
<br />
The narrative also acknowledges Steven's privilege and how his wealth makes it easier for him to cope with what he went through. It does this by introducing a minor character, a young man, who is nowhere near as lucky as Steven and most certainly has no happy ending. This was effective but also slightly uncomfortable for me to read, because this character isn’t there for himself but as a commentary about war, to say something <i>about </i>Steven, to say something <i>to </i>Annie, and to help bring those two together. It’s human tragedy as plot device and that’s something I always find dehumanizing regardless of how much I like the author. But Ms. O’Keefe is very talented, and this character always felt more person than plot vehicle, so what should have been manipulative ended up coming across as honest. It’s still problematic, sure, but handled more deftly.<br />
<br />
It sounds like the book is all about Steven, but in truth it’s as much, if not more, about Annie. It’s about this woman actively working on her dreams and independence and just going for it. She has a club foot, so there’s the one “don’t look at me, I’m hideous” scene that made me roll my eyes, but other than that, I was completely charmed by her. She’s a bit of a departure from O’Keefe’s usual heroines in that she’s… I guess <i>gentler </i>is the best word I can come up with. She’s as amazing as her other heroines, though.<br />
<br />
I’m off to read the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KO0G82A?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00KO0G82A&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=2IOUDJL4RI3CW4WR&refRID=12NPB8J31FV3HR5YWKZ4" target="_blank">first book</a>!<br />
<br />
<b>Grade: 4.5</b><br />
<b>Purchase: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XI2OXLE?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00XI2OXLE&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=2VGXND5NQGCR57LA&qid=1439385610&sr=8-1&keywords=tempted+molly+okeefe" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-88262545683420676442015-08-12T08:00:00.000-04:002015-08-12T08:00:10.543-04:00DNF Review: Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312605374?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393185&creativeASIN=0312605374&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=675Z7NPHSBTMWMM7&qid=1439333797&sr=8-1&keywords=brown+eyed+girl" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Cover description: a brunette, thin woman wearing a a little black dress, partially covers her face with a bouquet." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwLTel86aCSvwInBUH1VDlfFN8icMd3oxliwPX1JnWNVzBiKRdCdRglNT8SKcMHNBLBOEefK-TMt3OXIDVEI_CiQQyHHbJimDlTsh3L7KopI-aS7xIkhU4vS2w9THnnD_KmnCLBaNkMQl/s320/18126966.jpg" title="Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas" width="208" /></a>I really liked all <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/44703-travis-family" target="_blank">three Travis books</a>, but I was never invested in a potential Joe story, because I always got the impression that Ms. Kleypas had no interest in writing it. That didn’t stop me from being really excited when the new book was announced, however. In fact, I was so excited that I was honestly taken by surprise by how half-assed and under-baked this book felt and by how poorly it fits a series that was filled with larger-than-life characters and delicious angst.<br />
<br />
Avery, our heroine, is very good at her job as a wedding planner, but emotionally scarred by an irresponsible, philandering father and a failed relationship with her ex. At a wedding where she’s busy doing her job, she meets hunky, yet tender Joe Travis. He pesters her throughout until they have what she believes (and wishes) to be a one-night stand. But Joe, whose main character trait is knowing best, decides that he wants her and proceeds to spend half the book relentlessly and inexplicably pursuing her. She gives in, he introduces her to his family, she’s super insecure so there are a lot of mixed signals indecision on her part, and… I didn’t read the last 15% of the book, but I bet something external happens to make her realize that what she really wants and needs is Joe. I know this because the previous book had a romantic conflict that resolved itself by a shoehorned external circumstance instead of actual communication, so why expect something different here? Also, the event that forces Avery’s hand is set up early on in the book.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
She has body-image issues and a bit of self-loathing going on, which in theory sounds interesting, but without nuance and care all we have left is the good-old romance trope of the heroine who believes she’s fat, but learns she’s actually curvy and hot thanks to a makeover. Avery is to plus-size heroines what <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/05/robyn-lawely-sports-illustrated-swimsuit-issue-2015_n_6623828.html" target="_blank">Robyn Lawley</a> is to plus-size models. It’s also important to mention that this book is written in 1st person and told entirely from her POV, which makes her superficial characterization all the more infuriating and unacceptable. <br />
<br />
Joe would like you to know that he wants to settle down and be a loving, caring romance hero. If he has to throw you into a pool and ignore your wishes, it’s only because he knows what you want and need better than you do. He says stuff like this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Now it’s my turn to talk.” The sound of his voice in my ear was pure sin. “I’m the guy who’s right for you. I may not be what you’re looking for, but I’m what you want. You’ve been alone long enough, honey. It’s time for you to wake up with a man in your bed. Time for the kind of sex that lays you out, owns you, leaves you too shaky to pour your morning coffee.”</i> </blockquote>
<br />
Which I’m sure sounds swoony to most, but I thought it was condescending as fuck. He kept calling her "<i>honey" </i>in a way that made me think next he would pat her on the head and tell her she’s a good girl, but not in a fun kinky way.<br />
<br />
But how can you expect more from a book that reads like a first draft? Okay, I confess I'm being unfair, because this must be at least the <i>second </i>draft, given that the <a href="http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2014/12/cover-alert-lisa-kleypas-joe-travis-book-brown-eyed-girl" target="_blank">original blurb </a>was completely different from what we ended up getting. You can actually see the ghost of drafts past buried in this story, not to mention that the not-quite-right timeline makes the book sound like it’s trying to decide whether it takes place right after the previous book ended or a bunch of years after.<br />
<br />
There’s a romantic subplot between Avery’s sister and one of their coworkers, which I though was more engaging, but it’s just a sub-plot. There’s also a sequel-bait male character that makes me wonder if, five years from now, we’ll be reading his book. When and if that happens, I'll be reading it for sure, because, well, Lisa Kleypas.<br />
<br />
<b>Grade: DNF</b><br />
<b>Purchase: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312605374?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393185&creativeASIN=0312605374&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=675Z7NPHSBTMWMM7&qid=1439333797&sr=8-1&keywords=brown+eyed+girl" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b><br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Wedding planner Avery Crosslin may be a rising star in Houston society, but she doesn't believe in love-at least not for herself. When she meets wealthy bachelor Joe Travis and mistakes him for a wedding photographer, she has no intention of letting him sweep her off her feet. But Joe is a man who goes after what he wants, and Avery can't resist the temptation of a sexy southern charmer and a hot summer evening.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>After a one night stand, however, Avery is determined to keep it from happening again. A man like Joe can only mean trouble for a woman like her, and she can't afford distractions. She's been hired to plan the wedding of the year-a make-or-break event.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>But complications start piling up fast, putting the wedding in jeopardy, especially when shocking secrets of the bride come to light. And as Joe makes it clear that he's not going to give up easily, Avery is forced to confront the insecurities and beliefs that stem from a past she would do anything to forget.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The situation reaches a breaking point, and Avery faces the toughest choice of her life. Only by putting her career on the line and risking everything-including her well-guarded heart-will she find out what matters most.</i></blockquote>
<i><br /></i>
<b>Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas</b><br />
<b>St. Martin's Press. August 11, 2015</b><br />
<br />
<br />Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-17715233403346940912015-08-11T19:10:00.000-04:002015-08-11T19:10:41.547-04:00Changes!<br />
I put an exclamation mark there to convey a cheerful mood so it doesn’t look like I’m closing up shop, but I am making a couple of changes to the blog, the first one being that I’m back, kind of. But I don’t want to deal with the pressure of writing the more traditional reviews, so I’ll be posting more round-up posts and reviews that don’t follow such a structured format. Or maybe it will all remain the same. All I know is that I really want to blog again, but I didn’t want to just post a random, surprise review tomorrow after months of silence, so hence this mini-post to give you the heads-up that I am, in fact, back. Kind of.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-2342349174576728542015-03-26T21:20:00.001-04:002015-03-26T21:20:53.712-04:00Full Disclosure<br />
By now I’m sure everyone knows that Jane from Dear Author <a href="http://dearauthor.com/misc/a-letter-to-the-da-readership/" target="_blank">came out as author Jen Frederick</a>. This revelation has caused, and will continue to cause a lot of pain, anger, and disappointment (to say the least). So I wanted to come clean about my role in it.<br />
<br />
A couple of years ago Jane emailed me to ask if I would help her with a secret project, when I said yes, she explained that she had written a New Adult book and asked if I would read it and told her my thoughts. I was happy for her, so I beta-read the book. After that, I also read the second book she wrote, Unspoken, and some chapters of books 3 and 4. I never had any issues with her writing a book, and I understood the reasons why she wanted to keep her identity secret.<br />
<br />
Jane made a lot of mistakes, though, some of them very serious and perhaps unforgivable, and in hindsight, keeping it a secret was one of them. There were things I didn’t know, other things that I wrongly assumed, and some implications that never even crossed my mind until yesterday. I went from surprise to see DA reviewers feeling blindsided by the announcement, to appalled when I read about the times the books appeared on DA, and felt even worse when I read about the authors loops on the Passive Voice letter. And today I’m heartbroken after seeing the effects this is having in people who trusted Jane and Jen and in people who, regardless of how they felt about Jane and DA, are seeing the community suffer so much damage. I’m sad and disappointed for the role I played in this and for not voicing my concerns. I don’t regret supporting a friend, and I believe Jane always had the best intentions, but intentions don’t take away the pain or make the deception less bad.<br />
<br />
I accept the consequences this will have for me, the blog, and my relationships with many people I like, admire and respect. And not only do I understand the criticism and anger, I think it’s entirely justified, and in many ways I share the feelings being expressed. I know this is probably a lousy apology/announcement, and you don’t have to believe or trust me, but I don’t want anyone to feel dismissed by what I’m saying here. I’m no longer Jane’s beta-reader, and I’m saddened by how many relationships have been damaged and for the breach of trust. I'm still sorting out my feelings and what this means for me.<br />
<br />
Finally I want to make a few clarifications:<br />
<br />
I don’t know who else knew. I made some assumptions that were proven wrong yesterday, but I always only discussed the books with Jane alone.<br />
<br />
I sincerely like the New Adult... whatever it is (genre, sub-genre, etc.). I have been critical when I thought the book(s) deserved it, and when I've praised a book it had nothing to do with Jane or her books. You can check all my NA reviews <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/search/label/New%20Adult" target="_blank">here</a> if you're curious. I've also been talking about NA since before I knew Jane had written a book.<br />
<br />
I haven’t read the books Jane co-authored with Jessica Clare, in fact, I learned about them when I saw the first one on Goodreads. I also didn’t know about the Berkley deal until the publisher sent me its monthly ARC email. I say this because I’ve talked about how much I like Clare’s Games series, and I want to state as clearly as possible that those tweets and comments were motivated by my enthusiasm and nothing else. I’ve had a couple of interactions with Jessica Clare on Twitter (most of them were me asking her about new releases), but that’s as far as our relationship goes. I also never promoted or mentioned Jane’s books either here on the blog or in social media; I only mentioned the first one on twitter once during release day and I stated that I knew the author and that I had beta-read the book.<br />
I’m not an author (aspiring or secret); I have no issues with authors who also review; I used to review for Heroes & Hearbreakers, which is sponsored by McMillan, but I stopped because I didn’t have the time. I’ve always been honest in my reviews and online interactions. I don’t beta-read for anyone else, and I have no inside information on any other book by any other author. My relationships with the authors and other industry members I follow go as far as what you see on twitter.<br />
<br />
One last quick note: I won’t be online much until Sunday night, so I probably won’t have time to reply to comments until then, but I’m not ignoring anyone and you can always reach me through email. If this post seems rushed, is because I wanted to have it out in the open as soon as possible.<br />
<br />
Thank you so much for listening.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-90352695574244283352015-03-23T19:49:00.000-04:002015-03-23T19:49:42.389-04:00Because It's Never Too Late: My Favorite Books of 2014<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGowtgX3gqeN0lJ7cfArT83QMWil5YTspRPQ15HGdnYEdWqfSBDgC5G0GHr9AWXPXC9GLE-I45H_XHZG1LlVkKwE9PwLjGDxg2UNv279bJgrAXLSY49tk6mYo3xEJLbSEdjIAY55qQtmTT/s1600/2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Image description: two open books one on top of the other on the foreground and a stack of books on the background." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGowtgX3gqeN0lJ7cfArT83QMWil5YTspRPQ15HGdnYEdWqfSBDgC5G0GHr9AWXPXC9GLE-I45H_XHZG1LlVkKwE9PwLjGDxg2UNv279bJgrAXLSY49tk6mYo3xEJLbSEdjIAY55qQtmTT/s1600/2014.jpg" height="266" title="2014: Favorite Books" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/abee5/" target="_blank">Abhi Sharma</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I don’t know about you, but I always thought that <strike>January February </strike>March needed more “<i>Best of</i>” lists. I mean, why so greedy, December? Why do you hoard all the lists? Since I’m contrary like that (and didn’t have time to write this thing in December when I should have and then the months kept passing and it became The Beast to Be Defeated! GAH!!!) and because it’s never too late to annoy people with my choices, today I present you with <strike>my </strike><i>The Most Memorable List of Bestest Books that Ever Booked in 2014</i>. It’s not going to be predictable or repetitive at all, so get ready to be blown away by so much awesomeness!<br />
<br />
On a more serious note I must say that I always have good reading years, so you won’t hear me complain about having a hard time finding good books or coming up with ten titles to put on the list, but this year my productivity was so lacking and my reading so scattered, that even now, after I’ve had time to think about what I read, what I loved and why, I can’t even find the energy to remember. So memorable is a good way to describe these books, because they were the ones that first came to mind when I was having a hard time mustering the enthusiasm to blog.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I usually break the list down in sub-genres, but this year I’m just listing them in no particular order.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8_kOOkbswMQjcb0d-zGeoMMHGHhyom_9FyC_Hjyy7-WX-0GJqYMxXxyG5F8H5zGpOogxOGle9Wb7UXPm04hHK4-E0drFPMX8dCC1F9oqlwb6Hgn_9rPuI4WQYTyHBIun7PSIWjtvztFQ/s1600/kk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Kraken King, Cover Description: Illustration of a Victorian building and a rainy sky; a hot air balloon can be seen floating on the back." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8_kOOkbswMQjcb0d-zGeoMMHGHhyom_9FyC_Hjyy7-WX-0GJqYMxXxyG5F8H5zGpOogxOGle9Wb7UXPm04hHK4-E0drFPMX8dCC1F9oqlwb6Hgn_9rPuI4WQYTyHBIun7PSIWjtvztFQ/s1600/kk.jpg" title="The Kraken King by Meljean Brook" /></a>I loved <b><i>The Karaken King</i></b> so much that I didn’t even care (much) that it was originally published as a serial. As you know, I never met a Meljean Brook book I didn’t adore, so it’s no surprise to see this one made the list, but my inability to not fan-girl aside, it’s hard not to be charmed by a main character whose dream is to become the heroine of her own adventure, and when adventure happens, she rescues herself and it’s glorious.<br />
<br />
Also, this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“You are my queen,” he told her, and clasped her hand to his overfilled heart. Though emotion roughened his voice, he spoke quietly. This was only for her. “I am your sword and your shield. I am your wolf and your steed. Mountains will tremble at my approach, for they know I will tear them apart if ever they stand between us. But you need not be afraid, Zenobia Fox, because my heart is iron and my will is steel, and before the new moon rises, I will come for you.”</i></blockquote>
Quick, someone fetch me my hot pink fainting couch, because I’m about to swoon! (Reviews: <a href="http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-plus-reviews/review-the-kraken-king-part-i-iv-by-meljean-brook/" target="_blank">here </a>and <a href="http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-a-reviews/a-reviews/review-the-kraken-king-part-v-viii-by-meljean-brook/" target="_blank">here</a>; purchase: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M3Q6OEU?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00M3Q6OEU&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=NG62X2LIIVXGFRUJ&sr=8-1&qid=1427150725" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCmmdyI8Mi9H7SqpIG3xxNqxf36Z9KgZUqw-GuhWCboNlXoFepp8rGK8HXujqOkeNlg6OoKq29ob0MSPpSEUD-vx6dMMTO7iMosC2XSWSLtP82Tfh9VJIi57tcD2F3mRSLg8LdSOQhZgr/s1600/18528423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description, Backwoods: Close-up of a shirtless man. He's in a lake and on the background there's a forest." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCmmdyI8Mi9H7SqpIG3xxNqxf36Z9KgZUqw-GuhWCboNlXoFepp8rGK8HXujqOkeNlg6OoKq29ob0MSPpSEUD-vx6dMMTO7iMosC2XSWSLtP82Tfh9VJIi57tcD2F3mRSLg8LdSOQhZgr/s1600/18528423.jpg" height="320" title="Backwoods by Jill Sorenson" width="202" /></a><b><i>Backwoods </i></b>by Jill Sorenson was my favorite Romantic Suspense of the year (disclosure, Jill and I are Twitter friends and she's been a guest on the blog a bunch of times). Why? Because the character with the boob job was the heroine instead of the villain; because the other woman was allowed to be human without having her flaws held against her by the narrative; and because the teenagers behaved as such, and all that messy glory made their story as compelling and interesting as the adults’. (Purchase: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HAZ6BBK?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00HAZ6BBK&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=VTB5R2C26N4HBRV7&qid=1427150792&sr=8-1&keywords=backwoods+jill+sorenson" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLToU37BrxOwL3ONY2PPUsrNKFtMDkLstzXK7oZWwt_llTQIi_w7OK5iHdpI23-Jthj19El2yVhHeoWpQvrCzl1E0XnGDTNdNvNq-soNbZQuD-rbKGGKVp7_gwNc5uF95ndvKuqTNHu0C4/s1600/bts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description, Between the Sheets: A man and a woman embrace naked and they are covered by bed sheets " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLToU37BrxOwL3ONY2PPUsrNKFtMDkLstzXK7oZWwt_llTQIi_w7OK5iHdpI23-Jthj19El2yVhHeoWpQvrCzl1E0XnGDTNdNvNq-soNbZQuD-rbKGGKVp7_gwNc5uF95ndvKuqTNHu0C4/s1600/bts.jpg" height="320" title="Between the Sheets by Molly O'Keefe" width="195" /></a></div>
Reading Molly O’Keefe’s <b><i>Between the Sheets</i></b> was an intense and beautiful experience. It had a lovely romance at its core, yes, but the characters and themes were what made it shine. I loved the wonderful, complex heroine who used sex to relieve some of the pressure in her life, and the gentle, hard-working hero fumbling with his newfound parenthood. But most of all, I loved how the story was about complex parent-child relationships, about childhood shaping our adult lives, and about building and joining communities in order to share burdens and find companionship and help. (Purchase: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I7660XK?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00I7660XK&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=EFXIWJYRTXJPO7S3&qid=1427150827&sr=8-1&keywords=between+the+sheets+molly+okeefe" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Hl0qBi8fLgTVl9fgKWZpqMvWpuOBQQx507xLieyVjuvEwqjOGavQj-Ab-TuKMjmBsWwm8LqyeGkRvp0D1f2SE74n2N31iERu4IO5ClnoZrJ3DNVmk1r7DhcYbFejnFlGac7fQ1mtPNhe/s1600/20933353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description, Satisfaction: Close up of a shirtless man, we can only see his torso, he's wearing jeans and has a tattoo down his arm and on his stomach." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Hl0qBi8fLgTVl9fgKWZpqMvWpuOBQQx507xLieyVjuvEwqjOGavQj-Ab-TuKMjmBsWwm8LqyeGkRvp0D1f2SE74n2N31iERu4IO5ClnoZrJ3DNVmk1r7DhcYbFejnFlGac7fQ1mtPNhe/s1600/20933353.jpg" height="320" title="Satisfaction by Sarah Mayberry" width="200" /></a></div>
<b><i>Satisfaction </i></b>by Sarah Mayberry featured a familiar story with an obnoxious trope, and yet nothing about it felt trite. I loved reading this book and talking about it, but ultimately it was such a comforting, happy reading experience that just thinking about it makes me smile. (Review: <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2014/03/sex-and-romance-novel-satisfaction-by.html" target="_blank">here</a>; purchase: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IPRP39I?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00IPRP39I&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=BTH6T446PICR2BZY&qid=1427150888&sr=8-1&keywords=satisfaction+sarah+mayberry" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0XpaAHD2GThHoQV4s9yfFYJgslvMTWQrRapQQm7ZOy-zjB8nL42V0PsC_kIc9PQO4TyfgPzvnSO6L75wqijIBJ8pPr37FgqEMq2QN7N36SzwnwaV1_lNy08vpmjEMuVXJIbGp5hzef6J/s1600/22837890.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description, Gunpowder Alchemy: foggy picture of a Chinese boat with a golden dragon. On the foreground a woman dressed in red looks at the boat, her back is to us." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0XpaAHD2GThHoQV4s9yfFYJgslvMTWQrRapQQm7ZOy-zjB8nL42V0PsC_kIc9PQO4TyfgPzvnSO6L75wqijIBJ8pPr37FgqEMq2QN7N36SzwnwaV1_lNy08vpmjEMuVXJIbGp5hzef6J/s1600/22837890.jpg" height="320" title="Gunpowder Alchemy by Jeannie Lin" width="198" /></a></div>
<br />
Finally, I was pleasantly surprised by Jeannie Lin’s <b><i>Gunpowder Alchemy</i></b>. I was expecting a fabulous Romance and instead I got an even better coming of age story where the potential romance was a part of the main character’s journey, but didn’t take over the plot. It was surprising, lovely, and challenged my expectations. And hey, it’s 100% a heroine-centric adventure, so how could I resist? (Purchase: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O4RHMXI?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00O4RHMXI&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=GZVCVYGZBU7S6XDN&qid=1427150915&sr=8-1&keywords=gunpowder+alchemy" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-26839240731305939902014-12-17T10:32:00.000-05:002014-12-17T10:45:39.309-05:00Romance and the Other Woman: Maybe this Christmas by Sarah Morgan<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNY4JErk6ol3GN1fyMU7-KySrVTRNzz8vCkFONd9jm5MGgEa9ZTCDsogS6e_2PZE1QMY02JSUZfj6DKqPevLfXrMhBNVlyf9I3_7J61Q0bsytpzC930_U-hdlOa5BB3wTdqzlOmSFlaCT/s1600/20821528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description: A man carries a woman while they kiss. They are wearing winter clothes and it's snowing." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNY4JErk6ol3GN1fyMU7-KySrVTRNzz8vCkFONd9jm5MGgEa9ZTCDsogS6e_2PZE1QMY02JSUZfj6DKqPevLfXrMhBNVlyf9I3_7J61Q0bsytpzC930_U-hdlOa5BB3wTdqzlOmSFlaCT/s1600/20821528.jpg" height="320" title="Maybe this Christmas by Sarah Morgan" width="202" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Source:
Review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Warning: <i>Unannounced
</i>spoilers, proceed with caution.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This post
should be my “<i>Best of/Favorites</i>” list, but I just need to accept that, if the
list is happening, it will be in January. I read many great books this year,
but I don’t have the energy or time to put a decent post together. So instead,
you get a review that I’ve been trying to write for over two months, but hey,
it’s a Christmas books, so at least there’s that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Here’s the
deal: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that in a series featuring a
bunch of hunky brothers, the most compelling one always goes last. This means
that even though I loved the first two books (<a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-good-bad-and-dnf-mixed-bag-of.html" target="_blank">book one being my favorite</a>)
Tyler, the final brother, was always there, lurking and tempting us with the
promise of a great final book. And although yes, the book was compulsively
readable and almost impossible to put down, what started as a combination of
anticipation and joy, slowly transformed into a ball of uncomfortable feelings,
to the point where I’m not sure whether the unputdownable (<-- a real word,
believe it or not) qualities of the book came from my original expectations or
from the sheer trainwreckiness (<-- not a real word, sadly) of the story.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yeah, that
came out more hyperbolic than intended and needed, because this book is far
from a mess, but the gist of the issue is that all that promise and quality got
a bit lost when the story took a wrong turn into NOPE-land.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>Maybe this
Christmas</i> presents us the Vicious Circle of Doom of how the lack of
communication can cause a lot of pain, but also how pain sometimes forces us to
stop communicating. Brenna, our heroine, was always in love with Tyler, but
never said or did anything for fear of ruining the family that their friendship
brought her, and because he got someone else pregnant and unknowingly broke
Brenna’s heart. And yet, she remained a constant in his life, even though he
kept taking her for granted and treating her like a friend and nothing else.
Until, well, nothing, because Brenna is the type of heroine who never gets over
the unrequited love and waits patiently for the third book in the series to
finally get her HEA. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Now, I
don’t have a problem with heroines who wait, beyond the fact that, sure, it’s
not the healthiest representation of romantic love. But once, I accidentally
spent four years waiting for someone, and although, THANK GOD, I eventually
moved on, I have the softest spot for this trope and the heroines who suffer through
it. And Brenna was a fun, hard-working woman who (kind of) wanted to get on
with her life, even though she shelf-sabotaged a lot. And, of course, the
moment she made the decision to finally move on, Tyler developed a feeling in
his pants and, okay, in his heart, because Sarah Morgan is an excellent writer
and knows how to develop relationships outside the bedroom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Brenna
wasn’t the only one having trouble communicating, however, and it soon became
fairly obvious that Tyler was struggling with feelings of inadequacy as a
parent, as a professional athlete whose career was cut short by injury, and
perhaps even as a brother and a son. So the idea that these two would take
forever to make decisions made a lot of sense and felt organic instead of
contrived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">So far so
good, right? Here’s where things get tricky, though. Tyler never truly communicates
his issues, and I sat there waiting for them to have an honest talk about how
the premature ending of his professional career affected him. But I guess there
weren’t enough pages to develop and present a satisfying conclusion to a
character whose story had been building throughout three books. I mean, the
villain needed to evil (<-- not really verb, but whatever) so she got the
page time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Janet is Tyler’s
evil ex, the same one whose pregnancy broke Brenna’s heart. In book 1, Jess,
their adorable and Not-Pet-Moppet teenage daughter came to live with Ty, in
what was the first signal that there was something wrong with the ex, because
no good mother sends her child to live with someone else, right? The father-daughter relationship was a joy to
read, but the mother-daughter relationship was a bit of a nightmare, because while
I would never dare think that women who don’t want to be mothers are evil, in
this case the way she neglected her daughter served as item number one in her
list of moustache-twirling villainous qualities (and that she sent her to live
with her loving father was still portrayed as neglect). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Item number
two was that Janet used to bully Brenna, who, of course, kept the bullying a
secret, even when her tormentor seduced the object of her unrequited love. See
where am I getting at? This woman was made of evil. She only existed to cause
problems, and at one point she used sex and motherhood as a weapon to punish
someone else. When Ty found out about everything, he got violently sick, a
reaction that closely mirrored mine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I have <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2014/10/through-nostalgia-glass-velvet-promise.html" target="_blank">said before</a> that Romance is very unkind to the Other Woman (and o<a href="http://www.oliviawaite.com/blog/2014/04/w-is-for-the-other-woman/" target="_blank">thers have said itbetter and louder</a> than me). <a href="http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2014/12/top-5-good-other-women-from-mayberry-beverley-and-more" target="_blank">There are exceptions</a>, of course, but as a rule, she
tends to be a narrative shortcut and never a fully-fleshed character deserving
of depth, even if her ultimate role will be that of the antagonist. And it
makes me angry, especially when I look around and see that we also treat
heroines quite badly. Isn’t this supposed to be The Feminist Genre? So what are
we doing? Shit like this is why is no surprise that nowadays I see the “feminist
genre” line used to shut down conversation more often than I see it used to
foster critical discourse that takes a hard look at these pervasive issues. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I have to
admit that this book was emotionally effective, in part because of that
character, but I don’t want to get my emotional high at the expense of a female
character, or at the expense of any one-dimensional, plot-device-y character,
for that matter. The genre deserves and <i>needs</i>
better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So there
you have it. I’m disappointed, but hopeful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><i>Happy
Holidays! I hope you all have a great New Year, and that 2015 brings you (and
yours) joy, health and many great books. I’ll see you again in January, hopefully
with a list or two. </i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-75773410032525563582014-11-12T09:39:00.001-05:002014-11-12T16:11:00.455-05:00Hale No, RT!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVZNDYxcxbSTVctDA0tdM7xgD8T_X50kzjL96KrNYCSr16_R_ErBL6tzecAxFmHVj-6L2eAV5lj_wm85oyTFwllni10eZN0UvWs9KjR5sxfxtEmJu0w67pyyDLLocAmwFesPiU0jbQKyc/s1600/RT+logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image description: the logo of RT. It's blue and it reads: RT Book Reviews, read smarter!" border="0" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVZNDYxcxbSTVctDA0tdM7xgD8T_X50kzjL96KrNYCSr16_R_ErBL6tzecAxFmHVj-6L2eAV5lj_wm85oyTFwllni10eZN0UvWs9KjR5sxfxtEmJu0w67pyyDLLocAmwFesPiU0jbQKyc/s400/RT+logo.png" title="RT Book Reviews" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>ETA 2: I'm adding this one on top of the post, because RT has <a href="http://www.rtbookreviews.com/blog/80682/our-official-statement-our-2014-seal-excellence-winnersbook-year-nominees" target="_blank">issued an official, public statement</a> condemning Hale's actions and saying that they are working on an anti-harassment policy. I'm happy to see that they take our concerns and safety seriously.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>ETA 3: This is the last one, I promise (and hope!). This isn't about the <i>Seal of Excellence</i>. We know it was awarded way before everything happened; this is about the <i>Book of the Year</i> nomination (and yes, I know they are somewhat related). </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I say this because there's a lot of emphasis on the SoE, and I want it to be clear that that's not the issue here. Finally, <i>unequivocally </i>means there shouldn't be room for doubt, so I probably wouldn't use that word, considering that the <i>Book of the Year</i> nomination remains (as far as I can tell). </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I'll stop here, before someone starts subtweeting about me. <a href="https://twitter.com/cyndyaleo/status/532623854125191168" target="_blank">Oh, wait! </a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I have a love-hate relationship with “Best of” lists and book awards. Every year I celebrate when books I loved get mentions and nominations, and despair when the next book on the list is one I hated. But everyone with an opinion is bound to have mixed feelings each season, so I (mostly) roll with it, and in some cases, I just ignore the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-books-2014" target="_blank">offending award</a>.<br />
<br />
The RT Awards nominees were announced yesterday and just when I thought that nominating the ignorant, terrible, no good, super-racist sounding <i><b><a href="http://www.rtbookreviews.com/award/2014/multicultural-romance" target="_blank">Primitive Nights</a></b></i> (I mean, Jesus Christ, go read that <b><a href="http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-review/primitive-nights" target="_blank">review </a></b>so we can be miserable together) would be the worst thing I would find on that list, this happened:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJ2KuNJm8raLw0cHSQh9AleXl4mOBzjh37oriWSXM6ontIkTZleqQQ_Jk3z4DK3Oj1Qxd553HgLo_dggOWX2AqO5iv5lxLJOmPY5UhN9y_hkV70qGxag9sOuoJn9CQT1wWnf-kXX0qQwe/s1600/Hale+BotY+nomination.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image description: screen-cap of the RT Book of the Year nomination for Hale's book." border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJ2KuNJm8raLw0cHSQh9AleXl4mOBzjh37oriWSXM6ontIkTZleqQQ_Jk3z4DK3Oj1Qxd553HgLo_dggOWX2AqO5iv5lxLJOmPY5UhN9y_hkV70qGxag9sOuoJn9CQT1wWnf-kXX0qQwe/s400/Hale+BotY+nomination.png" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Yep, Kathleen Hale’s book <a href="http://www.rtbookreviews.com/award/2014/rt-book-year" target="_blank">was nominated for <i>RT Book of the Year</i></a>.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
You may remember Kathleen Hale from scary actions such as <a href="http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/blog/the-choices-of-kathleen-hale" target="_blank">stalking a blogger, going to her home, calling her at work, exposing her, and writing about it on The Guardian</a>.<br />
<br />
You may also remember what happened next: bloggers <a href="http://bookthingo.com.au/blogger-blackout/" target="_blank">responded with protests and blackouts</a>, the publisher involved responded with nothing but this tweet:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/dearauthor">@dearauthor</a> We were not involved in this incident, and we do not disclose our blogger contact information as a general matter.<br />
— HarperTeen (@harperteen) <a href="https://twitter.com/harperteen/status/524317766413602818">October 20, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
Since Twitter replies seem to be the new way of making public statements, RT addressed our concerns here:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/_Ridley_">@_Ridley_</a> We take harassment very seriously, & do not condone such behavior. Also that SoE was given in January, before recent events.<br />
— RT Booklovers Con (@RT_Convention) <a href="https://twitter.com/RT_Convention/status/532256007959740417">November 11, 2014</a></blockquote>
<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
And here:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/ros_clarke">@ros_clarke</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/_Ridley_">@_Ridley_</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/anacoqui">@anacoqui</a> Currently she's not registered, nor would she be welcome.<br />
— RT Booklovers Con (@RT_Convention) <a href="https://twitter.com/RT_Convention/status/532278083752296448">November 11, 2014</a></blockquote>
<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
The first tweet explains the nomination. The book won the <i>Seal of Excellence</i> <a href="http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-awards/seal-excellence" target="_blank">back in January</a>, so it received an automatic nomination for <i>Book of the Year</i>. There was nothing they could do about it, I guess, because they either have no control over their own award, or they can’t break or change their rules, not even when they are nominating a stalker to an <a href="https://www.rtconvention.com/event/rt-book-reviews-awards-ceremony-winners%E2%80%99-reception-after-party" target="_blank">award whose ceremony </a>takes place in a <a href="https://www.rtconvention.com/" target="_blank">convention </a>that’s full of readers, bloggers and reviewers, many of which have vocally condemned her actions.<br />
<br />
The second tweet says that she’s not registered (and I bet someone at RT breathed a sigh of relief for dodging that bullet) and that she wouldn't be welcome. And although I appreciate their good sense, I wonder if that’s all they’ll say about it. A twitter reply to someone is not an ideal public statement, because, among other things, it's limited in how public it actually is. And I don’t know about you, but to me, being nominated to an award looks a lot like an implicit invitation and would make me feel very welcome.<br />
<br />
Now, I expect nothing from RT. I wrote this post as a public statement of my displeasure. Do I wish RT would have pulled the book from consideration? Sure, but they made their decision and I doubt there’s anything we can do to change it. And frankly, I’m not surprised that Hale keeps being rewarded or that her actions keep being ignored.<br />
<br />
What I do suggest is that the bloggers and readers who are going to RT 2015 email the organizers and ask they implement a strong anti-harassment policy, and then pray that they enforce it as strictly as they follow their rules for the <i>Book of the Year</i> nominations.<br />
<br />
<b>ETA:</b> Yesterday a reader emailed RT and this was their response (I’m linking directly to the tweet, but if you can’t read the screen-cap of the email, let me know and I’ll send you a transcript).<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
I sent <a href="https://twitter.com/RT_Magazine">@RT_Magazine</a> an angry email yesterday, & this was their reply. I can only praise them now & apologize.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HaleNo?src=hash">#HaleNo</a> <a href="http://t.co/bVz6zyzmXM">pic.twitter.com/bVz6zyzmXM</a><br />
— Miranda Bly (@mirandably) <a href="https://twitter.com/mirandably/status/532543155854667776">November 12, 2014</a></blockquote>
<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
The email says that they can’t strip Hale’s book of the <i>Seal of Excellence</i>, but that they pulled her nomination from the category. It’s not clear which category they are referring to, because as of right now (November 12th, 2014 12:15 EST) the nomination <a href="http://www.rtbookreviews.com/award/2014/rt-book-year" target="_blank">still appears listed on the website</a>. But maybe it'll take some time to remove it.<br />
<br />
Here’s the thing, though, two twitter replies and one email do not constitute a public statement. If RT wants me to believe that they are taking this issue seriously, they need to make a public, easily-accessible statement. It would also help if they would try to be more careful with their wording of the issue, because this isn’t an “<i>absurd controversy</i>” and what Hale did is more than just a “<i>bizarre behavior</i>”.<br />
<br />
<strike>So, here I am, waiting. I’ll keep you posted.</strike> <b>See ETA 2 on top of the post</b>.<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-46997144870774434572014-10-28T11:03:00.000-04:002014-10-28T11:03:32.632-04:00Through the Nostalgia Glass: The Velvet Promise by Jude Deveraux<b></b><br />
<b><b><br /></b></b>
<b>Warning: all the spoilers.</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwWn9cELmnCByTnAq8oHeHhuMwZ1W7PG0uTs8uBEs-oP4M1Z4kkY5tYdC-0QtixnXcwSS78LKxEoDBvI-H56KaKL0rOMtR7bQFxBCl01YApaxlhtdvd6sRQcJXcO3wgbG5pFHMkPhg3ve/s1600/9780671492724+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description: old-school cover featuring a drawing of a man wearing a purple robe kissing a red-haired woman wearing a yellow dress." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwWn9cELmnCByTnAq8oHeHhuMwZ1W7PG0uTs8uBEs-oP4M1Z4kkY5tYdC-0QtixnXcwSS78LKxEoDBvI-H56KaKL0rOMtR7bQFxBCl01YApaxlhtdvd6sRQcJXcO3wgbG5pFHMkPhg3ve/s1600/9780671492724+(1).jpg" height="320" title="The Velvet Promise by Jude Deveraux" width="192" /></a>Welcome to the post that <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-new-feature-and-update.html" target="_blank">took me over a year to write</a>! If you were wondering what took me so long, the answer is: I’m super lazy and my ability to procrastinate is close to a superpower, like I was bitten by a radioactive excuse or something. I was also a bit afraid to revisit a book that’s so close to my heart, a fear that, as you’re about to see, proved to be both right and unnecessary. But really, I was mostly being lazy.<br />
<br />
The goal of this post (that may or may not become a feature, but I’m not making any promises) is to revisit beloved old favorites and see how they hold up to the reader I am today. This means that I’m interested in how my current context shapes the reading experience, and not in how the book’s past context shaped the way it was written.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<i>The Velvet Promise</i> was my very first Romance novel. I got it one summer way before I knew what a Romance novel was, and I was instantly hooked on its fairy tale quality, the love story, the hunky hero, and, most importantly, the sex. That’s right, the thing that turned me into a Romance reader was the point in the novel where I realized that, <i>holy shit</i>, she just touched his <i>penis</i>!<br />
<br />
It took me half a day to finish the book, and when I was done, the first thing I thought was that I needed to find out if the hero’s brother had his own book (he did!). It’s funny to look back and see all that inexperience manifest itself in immeasurable possibilities. Nowadays, I can spot the sequel-bait just by reading the blurb, and although the possibilities remain immeasurable, they look a bit different and perhaps a tad more predictable. But that just comes to show you that genre reading is, in many ways, an acquired skill that changes, in ways that are neither good nor bad, the way we approach those particular stories.<br />
<br />
But enough musings! Let’s talk about the book.<br />
<br />
<i>The Velvet Promise</i> is a tragic cautionary tale about what happens to women who have sex and enjoy it. It has three prominent female characters: <i>The Virgin</i>, <i>The Whore</i> and <i>The One with Terrible Luck</i>. Actually, all three of them have terrible luck just by virtue of being a woman in this book, but I didn’t know what else to call the last one.<br />
<br />
<i>The Virgin</i> is the heroine, Judith. I use the term “heroine” loosely, because while she’s the one who gets the dude, she isn’t quite the focus of the story. But she’s pure as snow, beautiful, sheltered, and she was trained to know practical things like writing and managing a household, instead of frivolous things like acting coy and embroidery. But those things won’t save her from: being raped on her wedding night; falling in love with a man who loves another woman; being reprimanded when she endangers her life to save her man in what’s probably the longest, most meandering part of the book; getting pregnant and having her man accuse her of sleeping with someone else, but also offering her patronizing forgiveness when he realizes that she probably slept with the other man out of fear; being tricked into thinking her now loving husband slept, again, with the former love of his life; falling down the stairs; miscarrying her baby; being kidnapped; and someone behaving her horse. Oh, wait! The horse thing <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/107778.The_Wedding" target="_blank">is from another book</a>. My bad! Everything else did happen, though. <br />
<br />
Constance, <i>The One with Terrible Luck</i>, is a plot device. She gets beaten and raped as a way for us to know how evil a minor character is. She’s eventually rescued by a man who looks past her wounds and right into her violet eyes (this is how I knew she was good, by the way). They fall in love and have sex, but since the evil minor character has to die in order to advance the main plot, something bad happens to her so that her dreamy lover has excuse to kill said evil dude. What bad thing, you ask? Thinking her lover is dead, she kills herself so they can finally be together, but of course he’s alive, so in a tragic turn of events, she gets punished once more, this time in death.<br />
<br />
And finally we have Alice, <i>The Whore. </i>She deceives us with her angelic looks, but we know she’s the villain because she’s had abortions and she values money over love. But by the end of the book I was convinced that she was the real protagonist: she had almost as much page time as Judith, and even when she wasn’t present, she was on everyone’s mind; she was the character that set the story in motion and facilitated everything that happened to the romantic couple; she fucked the hero, repeatedly; and she was the only one with a semblance of a character-arc, which concluded with what I think is the moral of the story. But Alice had the misfortune of being the Other Woman, and if there’s something that both past and present reading experiences have shown me, is that the genre is at its most unkind when it deals with the Other Woman.<br />
<br />
We know that Gavin, the hero (again, I’m using the term loosely) is falling in love with the heroine because he finally sees Alice’s physical imperfections (her flat, skinny body). Her loss of sex appeal signals the man’s awakening to true love. And by the end of the book her punishment isn’t death but disfigurement so that “<i>No longer will her beauty ensnare men</i>”.<br />
<br />
But the nostalgia glass did its job, because I couldn’t stop reading the book with a sort of detached, amused fondness. Even if it didn’t treat its women like shit, it’s so plot-heavy and lacking in character development, that there was no way for me to find something to like other than, well, all those things I loved the first time I read it. But in the midst of all that, there were a couple of tiny little details that made me feel like the genre was winking at me.<br />
<br />
For example, at one point Gavin, who has “<i>thick black hair curling along his neck</i>”, is standing there saying nothing, but we know he is not amused because “<i>The only part of him that moved was a muscle in his jaw, flexing and unflexing</i>”. This book was published in 1981, but some things never change.<br />
<br />
I can’t express how much this book means to me, and this re-read did nothing to threaten that love. But it did put things in perspective, plus it showed me a whole different side of it that I had somehow managed to miss. I have re-read it a couple of times, but never in the years since I’ve been a blogger, and my experience revisiting it now has shown me just how much reading a bit more critically has changed the way I approach and interact with books. Now more than ever, reading feels like a two-way street where the book has something to tell me, but where I also have something to tell about the book. Yet the thing that made this such a rich exercise is that now I have people who will listen to what I have to say and who maybe will have something to say to me.<br />
<br />Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-44522756899450771832014-10-22T12:32:00.002-04:002014-10-23T12:16:50.472-04:00Blogger Blackout<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yXQexMwaZhWwyjq5k11BHhkQNVu9rG4it67dqrQJTeYYZsVxizQboEqpXrW-EMWaR4InQT1PjVztwewkWt0CYWdqiCjhH2jKBydKjJTYYDpkxc1TjcPNEJYA2UMT54sDsvlQlHxsWAQ_/s1600/B0jeMK8CcAMYpom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Blogger Blackout Badge Description: White noise picture over a black background. Under the image it reads: Blogger Blackout, Because Stalking is Not Okay" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yXQexMwaZhWwyjq5k11BHhkQNVu9rG4it67dqrQJTeYYZsVxizQboEqpXrW-EMWaR4InQT1PjVztwewkWt0CYWdqiCjhH2jKBydKjJTYYDpkxc1TjcPNEJYA2UMT54sDsvlQlHxsWAQ_/s1600/B0jeMK8CcAMYpom.jpg" height="287" title="Blogger Blackout" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Badge made by <a href="https://twitter.com/Kaetrin67/status/524914093052801025" target="_blank">Kaetrin</a>. Image attribution:<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_noise#mediaviewer/File:White-noise-mv255-240x180.png" target="_blank"> Jorge Stolfi </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I almost used a hashtag on the title, but I decided not to. You’re welcome!<br />
<br />
By now, and especially if you are a blogger, you have probably heard about how author Kathleen Hale went through great lengths to obtain a reviewer’s personal info, her home address included, and then proceeded to use that info to visit the blogger’s house and call her at work. Then she wrote an article about it and The Guardian published it (I'm not linking to it, but I'm sure you can find it).<br />
<br />
The rest is (ongoing) history.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I think (and wish with all my heart) that this is a one-off<b>*</b>. But it’s hard not to be concerned when a reviewer suffers such a violation of her privacy and her negative reviews are portrayed as trolling and bullying, as if such things justified stalking someone. Worse, no one is being held accountable, some people are praising Hale, others are saying the reviewer deserved it, the mainstream media seems to have forgotten how to research and fact-check, and the publisher remains silent. This last part is of special interest, because on her account Hale says that she verified the reviewer’s address with “a contact in a publishing house”, which, even if it wasn’t HarperTeen, still makes their silence and lack of reassurance that they take their bloggers’ privacy seriously, quite worrisome.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, this isn't enough:<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/dearauthor">@dearauthor</a> We were not involved in this incident, and we do not disclose our blogger contact information as a general matter.<br />
— HarperTeen (@harperteen) <a href="https://twitter.com/harperteen/status/524317766413602818">October 20, 2014</a></blockquote>
Because, among other things, "we do not disclose our blogger contact information as a <i><b>general matter</b></i>" (emphasis mine) isn't the same as "we do not disclose our bloggers contact information".<br />
<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Another thing that concerns me is that some seem to overlook the power disparity between this reviewer and Hale, who is not only a <i>professional </i>with a machinery working for her (publishers, publicists, agents, etc.) but her engagement to Simon Rich also makes her particularly<a href="http://gawker.com/nathaniel-rich-is-different-from-you-and-me-478646630" target="_blank"> well-connected to the New York literary world</a>. Whereas, on the other hand, we have a <i>hobbyist </i>reviewer who posts her reviews on a free blogging platform and on Goodreads, a bookish social network designed to host reader reviews. But of course, some sacrifice accuracy in favor of <a href="http://review.gawker.com/author-stalks-blogger-joins-long-tradition-of-terrible-1648688802" target="_blank">false equivalences</a> that I wish I could say fool no one, but that many seem to think are spot on comparisons that normalize appalling, dangerous behavior.<br />
<br />
In response to this, a few bloggers have decided to do a review blackout for a couple of days (until the 27th). It’s, perhaps, a small protest, but I hope it sends the message that bloggers and reviewers aren’t promotional tools to be discarded when they become too much trouble or to be ignored when authors decide to put our safety at risk, and to remind ourselves, as well as the community of readers, that we’re here to talk about books.<br />
<br />
I have also taken a few measures to ensure my safety as well as yours:<br />
<ul>
<li>I’ll no longer be hosting giveaways of books that can’t be sent via email, because Privacy Policies will only take you so far, and this situation has shown that we can’t control what others do with such important information. I've updated the Privacy Policy to reflect this, and I urge you to 1. write a privacy policy if you don't already have one, and 2. follow said policy.</li>
<li>I’ve made sure my NetGalley account has my contact info set to “<i>Private</i>”, so that no one, not even the publishers, can see it. You can easily do this on your profile under the <i>Settings </i>tab by clicking on the eye symbol next to the information you want to make private. I don’t know if this page is accessible to readers who use screen readers or any other type of assistive technology, though.</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5SS-rev3666GRS_udsLIf2sg8NIgL912Q6c0gkEA0bWAreE92K8zP8RBZwxm-7r3w8PEmgQzJyydYj1Y8f0d7KJyGYeLaxWiUj3N5WmGF08IWR0zGaiLRxMrIkFhZvMpE2Cxy06OCzoR/s1600/NG+private.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image Description: Screencap of the NetGalley settings tab and how to make the contact info private." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5SS-rev3666GRS_udsLIf2sg8NIgL912Q6c0gkEA0bWAreE92K8zP8RBZwxm-7r3w8PEmgQzJyydYj1Y8f0d7KJyGYeLaxWiUj3N5WmGF08IWR0zGaiLRxMrIkFhZvMpE2Cxy06OCzoR/s1600/NG+private.png" height="298" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li>I no longer accept physical review copies, opting only to review e-books. This policy has actually been in place for a couple years now, but I’ve made it official. </li>
<li>I also think it’s important to keep pressuring HarperTeen and HarperCollins to categorically respond to our privacy concerns, so if you are a blogger and they have your address, <a href="http://corporate.harpercollins.com/us/media/publicity-contacts" target="_blank">here’s a link to all of their publicity contacts</a>. I suggest emailing them to let them know we don't feel safe working with them.</li>
</ul>
For more info and important commentary that won’t make your head explode with rage:<br />
<br />
<b>Dear Author: <i><a href="http://dearauthor.com/features/essays/on-the-importance-of-pseudonymous-activity/" target="_blank">The Importance of Pseudonymous Activity </a></i></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: <i><a href="http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/blog/the-choices-of-kathleen-hale" target="_blank">The Choices of Kathleen Hale</a></i> </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Vacuous Minx: <i><a href="http://vacuousminx.wordpress.com/2014/10/18/the-rising-costs-of-membership-in-the-booktalk-community/" target="_blank">The Rising Costs of Membership in the Book Talk Community</a></i> and <i><a href="http://vacuousminx.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/blog-blackouts-and-minor-adjustments-to-vm/" target="_blank">Blog Blackouts and Minor Adjustments to VM</a> </i></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Bibliodaze: <i><a href="http://bibliodaze.com/2014/10/an-open-letter-to-kathleen-hale-guardian-books-stalking-is-not-okay/" target="_blank">An Open Letter to Kathleen Hale</a> </i></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Book Thingo: <a href="http://bookthingo.com.au/shenanigans-in-social-media-an-author-brags-about-stalking-a-reader/" target="_blank"><i>Shenanigans in Social Media: An Author Brags About Stalking a Reader </i></a> as well as <a href="https://storify.com/BookThingo/what-happens-when-the-guardian-lets-an-author-gloa" target="_blank"><i>Kat’s Storify account of some of twitter’s most egregious responses</i></a>. </b><br />
<br />
<b>ETA to include this link: <i><a href="http://bookthingo.com.au/a-response-to-the-support-received-by-kathleen-hale-after-she-stalked-a-book-blogger/" target="_blank">A response to the support received by Kathleen Hale after she stalked a book blogger</a></i></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>ETA 2 to include this link: <i><a href="http://loveinthemargins.com/2014/10/23/class-and-privilege-the-listen-linda-edition/" target="_blank">Class and Privilege: The Listen Linda Edition</a></i></b><br />
<br />
<b>*</b>Actually, it isn’t, because this is an escalation of what Stop the Goodreads Bullies started in 2012, and I’m frightened just thinking about what will come next.<br />
<br />Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-24639170182988722572014-10-05T19:14:00.004-04:002014-10-05T19:14:47.953-04:00Winners!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnudVwZjEfeQNTE9t6qYoIT6-57c6HZpcGZKZHzGnaFDQN1iKevP67GkriD4H6J28TZnzfcpqqgMPjTFXFbWIK1eHYfR4Sk53Wu3_AGX0lttbaQO9Oh2iAr1Z4B2TXbwP0RFmuGWIuTFn/s1600/winner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnudVwZjEfeQNTE9t6qYoIT6-57c6HZpcGZKZHzGnaFDQN1iKevP67GkriD4H6J28TZnzfcpqqgMPjTFXFbWIK1eHYfR4Sk53Wu3_AGX0lttbaQO9Oh2iAr1Z4B2TXbwP0RFmuGWIuTFn/s1600/winner.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The winner of <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2014/09/interview-giveaway-jill-sorenson.html" target="_blank">WILD by Jill Sorenson</a> is <b>Lynn R</b>.<br />
The winner of <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2014/09/interview-giveaway-jill-sorenson.html" target="_blank">RIDING DIRTY by Jill Sorenson</a> is <b>Justine</b>.<br />
<br />
Congrats, ladies! Please check your inbox and reply as soon as possible. If you didn't get my email, contact me at brie.clementineATgmail.com<br />
<br />
To everyone else, thank you so much for stopping by, and thanks to Jill for providing the books and for the great interview. Have a great week!Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861127753744077469.post-1410403048363564102014-10-01T10:19:00.000-04:002017-12-07T05:06:57.646-05:00Because I Never Learn from Past Reading Mistakes: In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins<br />
<b>Source: Review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>TW: Fatphobia. So much hatred, you guys. </b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOwXTn4z39Id53yiKQ2IPe-74VgbveWHYzHZDYbORSOz-ose69pxGwRlLims2zEzEAMB4RgFqk5XGG1adYpEbFszjYpAejgY0UoVHMSLAidxCHXcYHLFmOn7p9un_qqym7e6GiB24kIL7/s1600/20579292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Cover description: A man and a woman sit on top of two wine barrels while a German Shepherd puppy looks up on them. The background is a winter landscape with a red barn." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOwXTn4z39Id53yiKQ2IPe-74VgbveWHYzHZDYbORSOz-ose69pxGwRlLims2zEzEAMB4RgFqk5XGG1adYpEbFszjYpAejgY0UoVHMSLAidxCHXcYHLFmOn7p9un_qqym7e6GiB24kIL7/s1600/20579292.jpg" title="In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins" width="202" /></a></div>
To say that I have disliked Ms. Higgins’ most recent books is an understatement, yet here I am, reading and reviewing her newest. In my shameful defense, I still get excited when I see she has a new book out; I can’t stop myself from requesting it from NetGalley, and then I go home and read them in one sitting. I know some object to reviewers who read books they know they will hate, and I understand that, even if I don’t share the sentiment. But believe me when I tell you that the excitement I still feel about these books comes with a heavy dose of hope that this time they won’t punch me in the face with their gross <a href="http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/2013/02/review-best-man-by-kristan-higgins.html" target="_blank">transphobia</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/81475-blue-heron" target="_blank">slut-shaming</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18246306-waiting-on-you" target="_blank">casual racism</a>. So think of this opening paragraph as a disclosure of bias and know that my <i>subjectivity </i>has been compromised.<br />
<br />
<i>In Your Dreams </i>is about a desperate single lady, desperately seeking some desperate man who will be her plus-one at her ex’s wedding. As you can see, it’s a very desperate situation, after all, the only thing worse than going to a wedding alone, is if said wedding is that of your ex. Now, these books are very into single ladies who need a man to validate their lives, so the fact that this one repeats the pattern isn't a surprise, and although it’s a great source of perfectly valid criticism, it hasn't stopped me from reading all the books, which is why I’m moving on to my next complaint, also known as the moment the story sucker-punched me.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
The heroine, Emmaline, used to have a stutter. When she was in school in Malibu, the Land of the Shallows, she was incredibly self-conscious about it, until a fat kid named Kevin arrived and they bonded over their "imperfections". They became friends and then fell in love. When they left for college, she eventually lost the stutter, but he only gained more weight:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Everything okay?” she asked.<br />After a long minute, he said, “You don’t stutter anymore.”<br />She didn’t answer, not wanting to jinx it.<br />“It’s a little weird,” he said. “I don’t know. We both had a…thing…when we first met. And now yours is gone.”<br />“Well. You never know.” She paused, feeling almost guilty. “I feel it there. Like it’s lurking, waiting to come back.”<br />He sighed. “Well. It’s good, I guess.”<br />It would’ve been nice, she thought later as she walked through the bitter wind to her dorm, if he’d been thrilled. After all, few knew better than Kevin how the stutter had paralyzed her, marked her, locked her in an invisible prison.<br />But she understood. He was afraid.<br />Kevin, you see, hadn’t lost the thing that had made him an outcast. He was still fat. He was, in fact, obese. When she’d met him, he was perhaps thirty pounds overweight. He’d gained possibly fifty more pounds at Choate.<br />The weight kept on coming in college.<br />Though he never told her what he weighed, she guessed he was at least a hundred pounds above where he should be.<br />Maybe more.</i></blockquote>
<br />
He kept gaining weight to the point where he “<i>had to buy an extra seat on the plane. His face was fiery with embarrassment, but the thing was, he really did take up two seats.</i>”<br />
<br />
And throughout all this, she was supportive and loving.<br />
<br />
When he suggested they joined a gym she did, even though “<i>Kevin went once. Em went five times, then stopped, worried that it wasn’t helping. Besides, she ran five miles a few times a week, even in the winter.</i>” Things kept going relatively well for them, and when he went down on one knee and proposed, she said yes, and was even happy to remember how, when she “<i>had to give him a hand getting up</i>”, she covered and hugged him so neither they nor the people in the restaurant would be too embarrassed by the fat man.<br />
<br />
But Em still worried about how unhealthy he was, so she joined another gym, where she met a trainer that used humiliation as motivation. She thought the trainer was awful, and convinced Kevin to join her at the gym so he could witness this woman’s methods, but he ended up training with her and losing the weight. Em, in turn, started eating more, and Kevin, who at that point was obsessed with diets, started fucking the trainer and resenting Em even more. Needless to say they broke up.<br />
<br />
The way Kevin was written made me feel sick. He’s all the negative stereotypes combined: the happy, self-deprecating fat man, who not-so-secretly hates himself, yet won’t do anything about it (fat people are always miserable but also lazy, get it?), but the moment he does something, he becomes a horrible person. He’s made of self-loathing and shame, even though he has a loving partner who sacrifices everything for him, and presumably a life outside of it all, but we never see it because God forbid fat people have more to them than their weights. <br />
<br />
Kevin’s story goes on and on for what felt like endless pages, and since half the book takes place during his wedding to the trainer, we don’t even get a reprieve after Em stops filling us in on her traumatic background. Because it's <i>her </i>past and <i>her </i>story. Not only is he a terrible shell of a character, he’s never upgraded from plot device, not even to villain, because that role is for his new fiance.<br />
<br />
The previous books in the series had problematic elements in the form of one-liners and minor characters who had background roles in small scenes. There was also that <a href="https://twitter.com/AlyssaColeLit/status/443071715547967488" target="_blank">clumsy attempt at diversity and inclusion</a>, but that was just an excuse to have a hero who looked like an exotic (Romani slur) pirate. So when I picked up this novel, I was braced for something unpleasant to happen. But I sure wasn’t expecting a character that was so firmly grounded in prejudice and hatred.<br />
<br />
And if that’s not enough and you still want to hear about the actual romance, I wouldn’t bother with it either, because there’s no real chemistry, and Jack, the hero, pretty much settles for Em. That’s all I can say about it, because I had to re-read parts of the book and I’m exhausted and sickened all over again.<br />
<br />
<b>Grade: 1</b><br />
<b>Sensuality: McSexy</b><br />
<b>Purchase (if you dare!): <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KF49TUS?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00KF49TUS&linkCode=shr&tag=romaaroutheco-20&linkId=PH233WBNP2M4FNV4&qid=1412172291&sr=8-1&keywords=in+your+dreams+kristan+higgins" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Emmaline Neal needs a date. Just a date—someone to help her get through her ex-fiancé's wedding without losing her mind. But pickings are slim in Manningsport, New York, population 715. In fact, there's really only one option: local heartthrob Jack Holland. Everyone loves Jack, and he won't get the wrong idea…. After all, Jack Holland would never actually be interested in a woman like Em. Especially not with his beautiful ex-wife creeping around, angling to reunite ever since he rescued a group of teens and became a local hero. </i><i>But when the wedding festivities take an unexpectedly passionate turn, Em figures it was just one crazy night. Jack is too gorgeous, too popular, to ever end up with her. So why is she the one he can talk to about his deep, dark feelings? If Em is going to get her dream man, she'll have to start by believing in him…</i></blockquote>
<b>In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins</b><br />
<b>Harlequin HQN. September 30, 2014.</b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Briehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01694232807189281284noreply@blogger.com12