Book Banter

which is only part of why I haven’t been posting.  Let’s see if I can remember everything I read - I was trying to make a concerted effort to read the books I’ve been looking forward to the most.

Been There, Done That by Carol Snow: This was a lot of fun. Snow has only written two books, this was her debut, but both of them were keepers for me, and she’s definitely an autobuy author for me.

White House Nannies by Barbara Klien - this was a memoir by a woman who started a nanny agency for Washington VIPs. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting since I thought it was a novel when I picked it up, but it was good, and it held my attention

The First Assistant by Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor: this is the sequel to The Second Assistant. I had started it a while ago but found I wasn’t quite in the mood for it. But during my vacation I was in the mood to read something fast and fun and this fit the bill. It was exactly what I wanted.

Because You Can by Bridie Clark - yall know how I love my roman a clefs and this was one of them. It’s the Devil Wears Prada of the book publishing world, and in this case the devil is Judith Regan, or Victoria Grant, as she is called in the book. It was fun.

The Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist - I picked this up at a library sale a while ago and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Even though the blurb tries to hide it, it’s definitely a romance. One lacking in teh sex but I’m thinking thats because of the publisher.

 hmmm, what else did I read? I tried to read Cyber Cinderella but it’s set in London and I’m biased against those types of books. Oh! And I read Bad Boys Ahoy. Love Sylvia Day. Loooooove Sylvia Day.

Oh, and I read Tiffany Twisted by Alison Tyler, an erotic romance where theres some voodoo and a girl ends up in her boyfriend’s body and vice versa. It was interesting and different. With lots-o-sex.

At the moment I’m reading Plane Insanity, another memoir by a guy who was a flight attendant. Laugh out loud funny, it is. Don’t know what I’ll be readng next. It remains a mystery.  

Is it me or are the blurb writers for the upcoming Aphrodisia books not even trying to come up with a plot summary? I mean I get sometimes erotic romances might be a little thin on plot, but I feel like they’ve got to have more plot than these blurbs make it seem…

 Some examples:

 Hot for It: The hot British guy whose answers Cat’s Internet ad and offers to “kidnap” her for a week sounds perfect—but who knew she would become free to indulge every secret fantasy?

Big Spankable Asses (we wont even talk about the title): When three Chicago girlfriends find they aren’t getting any, they get serious. They want men who know their way around a sister’s body. But first these guys need to figure out what a BSA is—and what down and dirty things they can do with it… 

Touch Me: Ann Montgomery can’t get enough of Adonis, her new massage therapist. His touch melts all her inhibitions, and soon Ann is surrendering to his sensual caress in intimate sessions that have her begging for more…

who knew my last post here was in January? I’d like to thank all the people that lied to me and told me second semester would be much easier than the first. Lies! All lies! One day I’ll tell stories. like about the time I fell. Or the time I cried. Actually, I cried twice, so you’d have your pick of stories. But in the meantime, I just want to spend the summer reading all the books I’ve accumulated during the year but didnt have time to do more than stroke the cover before tossing it in a corner.

Oh, and I listed Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy in the last post - I got to read it for review, and while I haven’t worked up the energy to write the review yet, I really liked it. Way more than I liked HK’s short story in When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys. So when it comes out in a month or so, you should buy it.  And I’ll post the review here - once my brain doesnt cringe at the thought of putting together more than 2 coherent sentences at a time.

So I get emails from the review coordinator person for Armchair Interviews because, while I’ve only done two reviews for them, I’m still clearly on their list. But anyway, she sends out this email today asking if anyone was interested in reviewing a Dafina romance from Kensington. Now, normally the custom is to send over a short blurb to help the reviewers decide if it’s something they would be interested in. This is what whoever requested the review sent over:
 

Samantha Taylor is struggling to deal with the deaths of her husband and sister. Two years prior, they were killed in an automobile accident.

While dealing with her loss, Samantha now has reason to feel guilty. She’s falling in love with her very handsome and sexy brother-in-law, Alex.

Samantha and Alex are constantly thrown together in caring for their kids. They have been both mother and father to the other’s kids.

With Alex’s busy schedule, Samantha’s niece and nephew spend more time at her house than at their own home. She’s the one who takes them to soccer practice and karate class. 

Dr. Alex Carlisle shares Samantha’s grief. He was married to Samantha’s sister and Greg Taylor was his best friend. The night of the accident, Samantha and her sister both gave birth. One child lived and one died.

Alex has always felt a bond with his nephew, Mathew. The similarities between the two of them were uncanny. The half moon birthmark they both have foiled what would have been a seamless and undetected crime.

He secretly takes Matthew for a blood test. His suspicions are confirmed when the results come back positive. He is Matthew’s father. This proved beyond a shadow of a doubt Matthew Taylor was really Michael Carlisle.

Alex enlists the help of a friend in getting to the bottom of the baby switch. While reviewing the hospital security tapes, he zooms in on the person who switched the babies. Alex is in for another shock when he recognizes the person responsible.

Samantha denies her feelings for Alex and tries to hold him at arms length. Alex calls her bluff and pulls her close for a steamy kiss. Samantha is shaken and more adamant than ever there can never be anything between them. She is not only afraid of the complications of a relationship with Alex, she is afraid of the way he makes her feel. She thought those feelings died with her husband.

Alex backs off and tries a new tactic. He sets her up on two blind dates. He knows both guys are wrong for her and she won’t like either one of them. His objective is to make himself look more appealing.

Samantha counters by setting Alex up with a woman she thinks is perfect for him. She is hurt and jealous when they become an item. Alex sees and plays on her jealousy. He throws Linda and their blossoming relationship in her face at every opportunity.

Samantha smiles on the outside, but cringes on the inside. She realizes she created the situation. She also knows one word from her and Linda would be history.

After her botched evening with bachelor number two, Samantha runs to Alex. Things heat up between them. Their evening of passion is interrupted and once again, Samantha runs from her feelings.

Samantha’s cousin sets her up on a blind date. Her date turns out to be the man she has been avoiding. After an awkward beginning, their evening goes from bad to worse as he calls her on the night they almost made love. Alex lays his cards on the table. Samantha pushes him away.

After some soul searching, she takes off her wedding rings. Sam and Alex give in to passion and make love. Their shaky relationship starts to blossom, but the truth looms over Alex like a dark cloud.

Samantha’s world comes crashing down around her as her brother confesses to her about the baby switch. Her world spins out of control when she discovers she has Alex and her sister’s son. She is torn apart when she does the right thing and gently breaks the news to Alex about the baby switch.

Alex feels guilty for keeping the truth from her. He covers his guilt with a confession of love and later a marriage proposal.

Samantha stumbles onto the truth and confronts him. They have a heated argument and she breaks off their engagement.

As they move towards reconciling, a nurse accuses Alex of sexual assault. Samantha comes to Alex’s defense. Her father warns her to stay away from the case, but she has other plans.

Samantha charges off to confront Alex’s accuser and is taken hostage. Alex risks his life to save the woman he loves.

 Is there any point in even reading it after reading all this?

So the good news is that finals are over, I’m still alive, and for the next 14-17 days I don’t have to do anything law school related. After that, unfortunately, I’ll need to get started on work for next semester and so begineth again the grind. But! Until then I’ll be reading my little heart out, especially since the tbr situation is becoming problematic.

 However, on to the bad news. I’m having a hard time stringing together sentences. This is the best I’ve done all day. And this took awhile. So those 5 reviews I owe? Will have to wait for another day. I’m off to either go to bed or watch the Devil Wears Prada. Maybe I’ll start off with one and end up with the other

For those who didn’t know, Bookcloseouts.com is having a dollar for dollar sale, in that for every dollar you spend on books from their regular inventory, you’re entitled to free books from their special selection. As I was studying for my property exam (It was today and was 5 hours long! Weep for me!) I would give myself breaks and reward my studying with permission to look through more pages of books. Here’s what I whittled my list down to, though at one point I had twice as many books in my cart:

 Banners of Gold $0.00
Fierce Competition $4.99
Six Reasons to Stay a Virgin $4.99
The Exiled $3.74
Sex and the Single Zillionaire $5.99
The Canterbury Papers $0.00
The Difference Between You and Me $0.00
Flip-Flopped $0.00
The Late Mr Shakespeare $0.12
Snowed In $4.99

 Now, I just need to figure out where I’m going to put them when they arrive! I’m fast running out of room in here.

So today was my first exam. Contracts. It wasn’t as easy as I wanted it to be but it wasnt quite as terrible as I had nightmares imagined about either. Anyway, so to celebrate I’ve decided to give myself the rest of the day off and to do anything other than study for the next exam. Which means I should probably write some reviews I have backlogged. In the past month I’ve read The Stranger I Married by Sylvia Day which I already blogged about, Who Wants to Be a Sex Goddess by Gemma Bruce, which I may have blogged about or not but thought it was only meh. A C read at best. Then I also read sleeping with the fishes (see below) and Nearlyweds by Beth Kendrick. I finished that one last night and it was really pretty good. It’s touted as a romantic comedy and it kinda falls short of the romantic mark but it was a fun read. The whole time I read it, it reminded me of a movie. It was like a mix of Mother-in-Law and The First Wives Club. A lot of fun if you like women’s fiction. Lastly I read Secrets of a South Beach Princess by Mary Kennedy, which, if I were 13 and didn’t know any better I might have enjoyed but since I’m not, need I even say that I didn’t? First off, I’m determined to do a poll of all (2) of the teenagers I know and see if they even know the words "pooch," "knack," or "rain check," much less work any of those words into a sentence when talking to their peers. I’m not convinced that they would since, I, the old maid that I am, an unconvinced that I would ever use any of those words in a sentence.

So to recap, I have 5 reviews to write and only two of them are going to be good. What fun.

In closing, my immediate tbr list is finally getting managable again. I have one more book to read for review: The Sex on the Beach Book Club by Jennifer Apodaca. I’ve read all of 2 1/2 pages and she’s already name dropped one of her other books but I thought it was funny so I’m still excited to read this. Then I need to read Light My Fire by Katie McAlister which I promised to someone back in April, then Spin Doctor which I also promised to someone. Then I’m free and clear on promised book and can read whatever my little heart desires! Yay!  

 

They are London’s most scandalous couple. Isabel, Lady Pelham, and Gerard Faulkner, Marquess of Grayson, are well matched in all things–their lusty appetites, constant paramours, wicked wits, provocative reputations, and their absolute refusal ever to ruin their marriage of convenience by falling in love with one another. Isabel knows such a charming rake will never appeal to her guarded heart, nor will she sway his philandering one. It is a most agreeable sham…until a shocking turn of events sends Gerard from her side.

Now, four years later, Gerard has come home to Isabel. But the carefree, boyish rogue who left has been replaced by a brooding, powerful, irresistible man who is determined to seduce his way into her affections. Gone is the devil-may-care companion who shared her friendship and nothing more, and in his place is temptation itself…a husband who desires Isabel body and soul and who will stop at nothing to win her love. No, this is not at all the man she had married. But he is the man who might finally steal her heart…

So I got this to review, and when I saw it on the list, I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but decided to give it a chance since it was a Brava (and I like to think of myself as the resident Brava reviewer) and I know Sybil likes her. But I honestly wasn’t that sure about it when I requested it. Ha! I couldn’t have been more wrong!

I finished reading this last night and I literally turned back to the first page to start all over again, that’s how much I loved this book. Thank god I picked it up to read while on ‘break’ for Thanksgiving. I can’t imagine being in class and wanting nothing more than to get back to this book. Well, I can imagine actually, because I felt that way pretty much every moment I wasnt reading or sleeping. I enjoyed this book so much, that now that it’s over, I still want to keep it near me, just so I can stare at the cover and remember the greatness that’s between the pages. And for what it’s worth, the ass scene alone (note, I didn’t say anal, I said ass) was worth the price of admission, and without revealing too much, let’s just say that I’ll be making a mental note to add that to my personal repertoire. So my friends, when this comes out in January, run, don’t walk, to the nearest bookstore and buy multiple copies, because I promise you’ll want to read one copy, give one away to your fellow romance reader, keep one in pristine condition for your keeper shelf, and keep one under the mattress for, ahem, inspiration. It’s just that good. Or you can just pre-order a bunch of copies now. That works too.

Meanwhile, I’ll be hunting down Sylvia Day’s backlist, putting her upcoming books on my wishlist and generally restraining myself from shooting off a squee-filled email her way. It’s just. that. good.

So some how I got signed up on Triskelion’s mailing list for new books. I don’t normally bother looking at it cause 1) who’s got the time and 2) it doesn’t usually have anything I’m interested in. But since I’m working the procrastination angle right now I decided to open it up and see what was going on. And was hit with this view:

no, I don’t know what the book is about. Hell, I barely know what the title is. But damn, I do love the V. That said, I do think it’s a little porny. I’m okay with that, but I did want to acknowledge it.  

law school is taking over my life. I’ve been having a bad week and in an effort to cheer myself up, I decided that I would spend some time reading a book that I wanted to and not one where someone picked out specific pages. So I picked up When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys and decided to start off with the Erin McCarthy story, because we know how much I love her. Well, let me start off by saying, that was possibly the worst story I’ve read by her. It was like a HP. Bad dialogue, bad plot. Just yuck. Yet, I kept on reading. Because I’ve been having a bad streak with books and I held out hope that EM could pull it out in the end. So wrong. But anyway, my story about how law school has completely consumed me.

So, the plot is the girl wants to have a baby but because she’s convinced that her Mr. Right will never appear she wants to find a man who will agree to father her baby, but promise to have no contact once the baby is born. Of course the guy she finds, initially agrees to this but then decideds that he really wants to have a relationship with her. She throws a shit fit and is all, "that’s not what we agreed to." Now, for the past week or so we’ve been doing practice exams in our study groups and I’ve been concerned that I’m not able to spot all of the issues in the fact patterns. So what do I do? The whole time I’m reading this stupid little story I’m thinking about whether or not Dylan and Violet actually made a contract, and how I don’t think so because there was no meeting of the minds, and there was no consideration, and it was really just a gratuitous promise, and even if it wasn’t courts wouldnt want to enforce contracts like this but Dylan might have a cause of action grounded in promissory estoppel and….

and yeah. My pleasant little take-my-mind-off-of-school book. grossly backfired. Which leads me to declaring that I’m going to give myself permission to read at least 3 of the books I’ve been saving for my proverbial rainy day. But I can’t give myself carte blanche because I want to make sure I don’t pick up a book that’s so good that I’m not going to want to do anything other than read it. Some of the books I’m considering:

Opposites Attract - Michelle Pillow

Hazing Meri Sugarman - M. Apostolina

Happy Hour at Casa Dracula - Marta Acosta

Princess at Sea - Dawn Cook

French Kiss - Susan Johnson

The Pink Ghetto - Liz Ireland

Tall, Dark & Dead - Tate Halliday

Thoughts, anyone?