Thursday Thirteen #7- 13 Heroes

From my romance keeper shelves, the following are thirteen of my favorite heroes. Chosen at random & listed in no particular order. Click the link above for more Thursday 13 participants.

1. Fitzroger of Cleeve from Dark Champion by Jo Beverley

2. Nicholas Delany from An Arranged Marriage by Jo Beverley

3. Valentine Corbett from Sin & Sensibility by Suzanne Enoch

4.Simon of Navarre from Lord of Danger by Anne Stuart

5. Lyon Pennington of Borrowed Dreams by May McGoldrick

6. Rudolph Denbeigh of The Bedeviled Duke by Judith Lansdowne

7.Nicholas Daventry of No Greater Love by Katherine Kingsley

8. Nicholas Sverayov of Splendor by Brenda Joyce

9.Durand de Marle of Lord of the Mist by Ann Lawrence

10. William of Miraval of Candle in the Window by Christina Dodd

11. Gareth Harcourt of The Emerald Swan by Jane Feather

12. Malcolm MacFane of Once A Warrior by Karen Monk

13. Michael Hawthorne of After the Kiss by Karen Ranney

Thursday Thirteen, Thursday 13, Books, Romance Novels

Library Sale Treasures

I found the following books on the library sale shelves (.25 apiece!!) this afternoon:

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas

The Taming of the Duke Eloisa James

Yon Ill Wind Piers Anthony


Believe it or not I've not read DOY (I'm sure you're shocked, KristieJ!) I've a few Kleypas keepers, Midnight Angel & Stranger in My Arms. I tend to either really like her or to either be left completely cold by them. I'm hoping this one is a great one since I'm slowly going cold on romances lately.

Losing My Way

I spent some time wandering around the local big box bookstore last night and was dismayed that I couldn't find a single thing other than the two books I was looking for. I was in an odd mood I guess. Well, that's not strictly true.

I've been off kilter reading wise for about a week or so. I started & put down three separate romances in three separate subgenres. One was written in some wierd 'sailor's dialect.' I don't know what else to call it. It was a pirate/smuggler romance (which I've not read in ages) by an author I'd not heard of before, but it was only a quarter at the library sale. Tossed into the trade bag immediately. I hate dialect. Scottish. American Southern. Native American. Whatever. Just write in standard English, please.

So anyhow, I'm not reading much of anything. Bad sign. I'm slowly working my way through Piers Anthony's Bio of an Ogre, the first of his autobiographies. I love his touch. Light. Deft. Unique outlook. Turns out I am woefully behind in the Xanth series. And did you know- he's written two volumes of erotica! Knock me over with a feather.

Here's wishing better reading blessings to you~

Rain Date

Husband and I, with another couple, went to see the Washington Nationals game at RFK Stadium Friday April 21. We arrived about forty minutes early- time enough to grab a hot dog & some fresh pretzels. I needed something salty since I got motion sick riding the Metro- pathetic!

There were several sparrows nesting among the lights above our heads & as I watched them swoop & dart I realized it had started to rain. Which came down heavier & heavier. We were in the upper deck under the roof so we were dry-thankfully. I just had to shake my head at the die hard fans sitting along the edge of the third base line, out in the downpour. Pulling on heavy raincoats & clear trashbags. It was so funny! ;)

The game was delayed by just over two hours. We sat up there (under the roof) the entire time, chatting & eating & whining about the prices & how far away we were from the Red Hot & Blue BBQ across & down from us. Sitting up there reminded me of being out on the porch on a rainy night. Not in a big hurry & no particular place to go.

Anyhow, the game itself was good. Washington scored right off & held the Braves down until the seventh inning when they scored three runs all once. I think it was the seventh. It was waaaaayyyy past my bedtime by then & there was no coffee or tea to be had anywhere. Anyhow- the Nats came back & scored four more runs & won the game.

A wonderful times was had by all. Husband & I can't remember the last time we were out together past midnight. A sad state of affairs I admit.

MLB, Baseball, Washington DC Nightlife

Three More off the TBR

Lady Scandal

Written by Shannon Donnelly & published by Zebra in 2004. This is a DNF because I don't like the hero. He manages to hold a grudge for ten years & initiates plans to 'punish' heroine for what she did. Turns out they had a flaming, torrid affair while she was married to another. It ended badly after her husband dies & she chose to end the affair in order to spare her school age son the shunning & the gossip he (the son) would have suffered had the h/h married. Meanwhile, the hero alternates between petulant pouting & twisting the heroine up in knots of guilt & duty. He is remarkably self centered.


Her Perfect Earl

Written by Bethany Brooks and published by Signet in 2005. Esmeralda Fortune fancies herself a classics scholar & poses as a governess to gain access to a family who owns a rare scroll by a little known ancient Roman poetess. Unfortunately, the owner is in dire financial straits & is estranged from his children. Because of the money problems, Ashforth is very near to offering for the daughter of an obscenely wealthy Cit in order to keep the family seat & maintain their status. Then there are Ashforth's five rambunctious children. The youngest of whom persists in either climbing on the roof or jumping into the pond.

Will Esmerelda find the poem & complete her studies? Will Ashforth muzzle his conscience & marry the Cit's greedy daughter? Can anyone tame & educate the children? Contains excellent groveling at the end.

Under the Kissing Bough

Written by Shannon Donnelly & published by Zebra 2001. Meek & mild wallflower Eleanor Glover accpts an offer from Geoffrey Westerly, Lord Staines. Staines' father is dying & demands his son must marry Christmas Eve so he (the father) can die in peace. Eleanor is overwhelmingly shy and afraid of crowds, which makes it difficult for Staines to get to know her. Being a quiet observer, Eleanor slowly falls in love with Staines while realizing he plans to have a marriage of convenience only. Staines realizes Eleanor has more depth than he expected- if only he can get her to himself a little bit and figure out just what scheme his father has cooked up for him.
Books, Book Review, Romance Review

A Noble Resolve; Sara Blayne

Yet another traditional Regency published by Zebra in 1998. A May- December gothic tinged romance. Josephine Powell, youngest of seven & always frail, is on her way to Harrogate to take the waters &, hopefully, overcome a bout of melancholia. On the way, her carraige & that of Devon Roth, Earl of Ravenaugh very nearly collide, thus ensuring an overnight stay at Ravenaugh's medieval fortress.

Josphine, being the youngest of seven & an observer (rather than a participant in) of life because of her health, captures Ravenaugh's interest through a shared love of classic literature & because Josephine makes several shrewd comments regarding Ravenaugh's troubled daughter Clarissa. Josphine's parents are long and happily married & are concerned for & love their children deeply- a unique circumstance in Romancelandia. Will Josphine's health improve? Can she encourage Ravenaugh to believe in her enough to give them a chance at a relationship?

Ravenaugh is deeply scarred by the circumstances surrounding his wife's death. In addition, he has been absent from home frequently due to the War which led to emotional estrangement from his teenage daughter Clarissa. Now, Josephine tumbles into his life at a critical juncture. Can he grasp the second chance life has offered him? Can he protect both Clarissa & Josephine from the man who threatens them? Is he able to let go & move on?

Book Review, Romance Review

Love's Reward; Jean R Ewing

Jean Ross Ewing now publishes as Julia Ross. This title was originally published in 1997 by Zebra & is a traditional Regency.

Joanna Acton and Fitzroy Mountfichet are forced to marry because Joanna & Fitzroy's brother Quentin ran away to a posting inn together but were caught next morning. As Quentin is already married to a former stage actress, Fitzroy's father forced him to 'do right by the family'. Joanna's older brother despises Fitzroy due to an incident years earlier during the war. Robert's intense dislike for Fitzroy causes more mental anguish than Joanna already has, as they are close & she respects his opinion. Surely Robert wouldn't be wrong about a man's character? Fitzroy can't be loveable if Robert doesn't like him, right?

Fitzroy is entangled in government espionage & a plot among a few women of the Ton. As he desires this to be a marriage of convenience, he hides quite a bit of what's actually happening from Joanna. His sudden marriage causes difficulties all around- with his superior in the government, his wife & her family. Only the women plotting against him seem to relish the prospect of humilaiting Fitzroy's wife. The bright spot in his character that gives Joanna most cause for thought is Fitzroy's soft spot for his frail sister Mary. Can he be all that bad? Look at how he dotes on her!

One of my biggest issues with this book is that Joanna is supposed to be 'still in the schoolroom' which I took to be between 17-19. Her behavior other than the initial flight with Quentin, however, is decidedly more mature than most girls her age & I found this increasingly hard to deal with as the plot moved on. There was little or no levity in her at all- a trait rarely seen in girls of this age group.

My other issue is that I don't believe one action or series of related actions, committed while under duress, during a war, ought to permanently stain a man's character. I'm not saying one has a free pass in these or similar circumstances, but I also believe in new beginnings & dislike grudge holding.

Anyhow, this book reminds me of another with very similar plot lines which I have on my Keeper shelves. Love's Reward is not quite as heartwrenching, but is well plotted with rounded characters & is excellent to while away a rainy afternoon.

Book Review, Romance Review

Minion, L.A. Banks

This review is for Angie's April Challenge.


Title: Minion

Author: L. A. Banks

Year published:2003 & 2004~ This edition has extra scenes that weren't in the original

Why did you get this book? A recommend off of a message board, but I don't remember who it was or which board.

Do you like the cover? Yes

Did you enjoy the book? I had shelved this in my romance TBR, so naively, that is what I expected. HAHA This is horror. I enjoyed it very much though.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Yes, this author is new to me & yes, I'm likely to read her again.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Undecided

Anything else? The world Banks has built is well developed. Her alternate reality has an unique, & for me, odd combination of religion, astrology & paranormal elements. Minion skates the edge of my tolerance level for violence (even in books) though. I got stuck about two thirds of the way through & put it down for a few days. While I appreciated the thoughtful & truthful mother-daughter talk in the last few scenes, I'm unsure that the antihero will work for me over the arc of this series.

Book Review, Horror Review

Birthday Meme

I saw this over HERE & couldn't resist trying it. Yeah I'm a sucker for memes & quizzes & cute stuff. Sue me. No pet photos here though.

Your Blog Should Be Blue

Your blog is a peaceful, calming force in the blogosphere. You tend to avoid conflict - you're more likely to share than rant. From your social causes to cute pet photos, your life is a (mostly) open book.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

Maili posted this little meme a while ago & here is my contribution. Click link above for other memes.

15 May:

3 Events

1. 1252- Pope Innocent IV issues a papal bull allowing the torture of heretics. Thus assisting humanity's long slide into moral depravity with the weight of religious approval.

2. 1869- The Women's Suffrage Association formed in the U.S.

3. 1928- Walt Disney release the first short featuring Mickey & Minnie Mouse, titled Plane Crazy

Births

1. Claudio Monteverdi

2. L. Frank Baum- author of the classic Oz series

Deaths

1. Emily Dickenson


To participate, simply enter your birth month and day into Wikipedia. Post three events, two births & a death that may interest others.

Meme, Memes, Birth Day Meme

Thursday Thirteen #6

Thirteen random facts about me. Not that I'm truly an exhibitionist, but sometimes people wonder what your little quirks are.

1. I was born in the same area the movie On Golden Pond was filmed. I love to watch the movie & reminisce about my childhood.

2. I cry at the drop of a hat during movies & tv shows, but for a book? Very rarely. Thus nearly all books that I cry for/with I keep.

3. I am completely musically illiterate. The only way I am able to be in the handbell choir is because I'm able to count to four. Over & over & over.That & the fact that I'm only responsible for two dots. Don't ever ask me to sing.

4. I actually enjoy cleaning. No, I'm not German or Swiss either. Yes, I realize this makes me a freak. No, I won't come & clean your house. I dislike other people's dirt.

5. Related to #2- I love horror & science fiction novels, but rarely watch similar tv shows. Something about the translation from written to visual rarely works for me.

6. I prefer to exercise outside, at night. After 9 pm if possible. Not that I'm exercising much nowadays. No excuses. I'm just lazy by nature.

7. I love to bake pastries, thus I really need to return to #6. Desparately.

8. Back to #2 & #5; it can be hard to get me laugh out loud. I have an odd sense of humor I suppose. Dennis Miller & PG Wodehouse & the Piers Anthony Xanth books are funny. Sarcasm & irony are often very funny to me, even if they skate on the edge of cruelty. Visual or physical humor (ie the Three Stooges, Jim Carrey, Benny Hill) isn't funny to me, neither is crudity or stupidity. I'm hard to please.

9. The scent of lilacs, jasmine & old English roses brings me back to my grandmother's garden.

10. I only dated one man shorter than 6' & he was a Marine (which made up for it, lol). Don't get on my case about this either, Husband!

11. The only place to get great Tex-Mex food is Texas. Big surprise. I REALLY miss San Antonio. Taco Kitchen or Cristina's are fantastic. Avoid the Riverwalk 'cuz it's a huge ripoff. The best, most authentic regional foods are often cooked by people who barely speak English.

12. There isn't much fantastic regional food to be had in the middle of the US. The exception might be Blue Bunny ice cream & fresh beef. If you like fish or shellfish forget it.

13. Hawaiian pizza or mac & cheese finished off with ice cream & chocolate would be the perfect meal. My kids made all of these for me for Mother's Day last year & it was great! I think I gained 10 pounds that day though.

Thursday Thirteen, Thursday 13

Still alive

Sorry posting has been light lately. Family life has been on overdrive. What little free time I've had has been spent hiding in a boiling hot tub full of bubbles peeling off several layers of skin. I've missed you guys & plan to spend the remainder of this afternoon catching up on everybody's blogs.

I'm not dead yet, although some days I really wish the Star Trek teleporter existed. School vacation weeks are hell on wheels- literally. Drive them here drive them there. Drive them to this other place. We want to visit so & so at such & such & they are already expecting us. We can't cancel. No we did not bother to ask permission/inform the family chauffeur first.

What else has been happening? Oh yes- family members begged me to have Easter dinner. Other family members said nope, we aren't/can't come so don't bother. AAAAGGGHHHH!!!! No family coming in from out of town after all. The result of which- we were invited to friends' & hopefully we can eat with them. If not- ham & all the trimmings here. Just us & all of the DVDs we haven't had time to watch yet. And no I won't answer the phone so don't bother to call me.

Currently Reading

Minion by L.A. Banks. Yes, I know I'm waaayyyy behind. Yes, I very much regret allowing this great little book to become buried in my TBR. Scary , urban vampires meet religious, astrology & horoscope wielding guardians. Molotov cocktails made of vials of holy water. Bullets made of consecrated ground. Unseen entities that help you get it on in the shower. What's not to love?! Fantastic stuff. Especially after a hectic day.

Books, Family Life, Parenting

Dark Demon; Christine Feehan

I'd very nearly given up on Christine Feehan before this title. Her heroines were too tortured. I couldn't relate. Even as a reader who primarily relates to & falls in love with heroes, I had so much trouble with these chicks I decided this title would be my last one. If the heroines weren't a bit more, I can't say normal, but less tormented & less whiney than I'd drop Ms. Feehan.

This heroine worked for me, although I've read comments elsewhere that certain readers found Natalya Shonski 'too hard edged.' I guess this means I'm firmly on the Carpathian bandwagon, at least through the 'reunion' hardcover due. Natalya is part human, part mage, part Carpathian & blessed with a tigress as an alternate form. Her lifemate, Vikirnoff von Schreider is a Carpathian who'd been sent across the Atlantic to keep Natalya safe from a band of vampires.

Vik, as Natalya calls him, binds her to him right away; discovering afterward that this is no meek & mild miss willing to be his subservient doormat. Natalya has been on her own for a long time & is fully capable of taking care of herself. With the help of an impressive arsenal & some hairspray. She will accept an equal partner or no one. Natalya tells Vik he either moves into the twentieth century or else she's going to figure out a way to undo the Lifemate blood bond/spell he sicced on her.

The subplot that had been moving along at a glacial pace through the series is FINALLY coming to a boiling point- I hope. This book moves us signifigantly towards what I assume to be a sort of culiminating event in the forthcoming hardcover Dark Celebration due 5 September. Feehan, however, is gifted with creativity so all of this conjecture may be for naught.

If strong heroines & confident males are your dish, you like to revist old friends from previous books & the whole soulmate thing doesn't bother you than this is a great book. If you've hung in with Feehan until now because of the subplot, this pushes it along a goodly bit. If you like action adventure paranormal romance this may be to your taste.

For myself, I'm happy the Carpathians and their Lifemates are back in top form. Keeper.

Lover Eternal, J.R. Ward

If you like vampire romance, go buy this. That's the quick & easy version. This isn't overly dark, as far as vampire romances go, IMO. The heroine gets a tad whiney at the end, despite my understanding & agreement that in her circumstances she has every right to be the way she is. I just found her a little too.. I can't quite put my finger on it. She redeems herself in the end. Rhage (or however the hell Ward spells it) is totally believable. Yummy, delicious & I really wish the Husband's eyes would glow in the dark like his- but, hey, I guess we can't have it all. Too bad Ward didn't have the marriage ceremony at the end of this one as she did at the end of Dark Lover, but we did see more of the Scribe Virgin & get a better sense of how she operates. Keeper.

BTW- traveling this weekend, so I may not return until Monday. Have a great weekend all!
Book Review, Vampire romance review, Romance Review

Paranoid anyone?!

Yesterday Husband drops me off at the library & leaves to run a bunch of errands. One of my favorite things, a quiet library. Anyhow, when he returned he told me the most bizarre story. While on the way to Son #2's school he ended up following a white Land Rover covered with military special forces stickers for several miles. As we live in a heavily populated suburban area, this should not have been unusual.

While stopped at a particularly long light, an older man (driving said SUV) wound his window down & asked my husband, "Why are you following me?" Husband, who'd rolled his window down thinking maybe he had a tailight out or a tire flat or something innocuous, started laughing. See, this is the suburbs of DC. There are any number of truly powerful important peole who live here. This man however was clearly not one of them.

After catching his breath Husband answered, "Grandpa, the Vietnam war is over. There aren't any Viet Cong living in northern Virginia. I hope your flashbacks aren't too bad. For your information, I'm on my way to pick up my son at elementary school."
With that the light turned green & Husband drove off.

Now, this was on a major thoroughfare on a major commuter route. I have been stalked & it is a truly terrifying scenario. If this old man honestly thought he was being followed, why didn't he simply stop at a public place or drive to a nearly police station? What purpose would confronting a complete stranger at a stoplight do?

Road rage around here can be a very serious, occasionally violent event. Husband is not always the most patient & tolerant of men. He is also a large man (all the better to snuggle with, my dear!). What was the geezer thinking? Or not thinking, as the case may be. I mean really. We drive a very common commuter vehicle, same make & model & color etc. seen quite often. How many others has he accused this of? Obviously his ego & overly inflated sense of importance makes him suspicious. HAHAHA

Now I'm going to look at every vehicle similar to that one & wonder if this was the guy who is becoming a paranoid schizophrenic (sp).

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

The depressing part is, I'm done & there aren't any more books set in this world. Nor does it appear Ms. McKinley is spilling the beans about her next book. No info on her website or Amazon or anywhere like that. *sob*

The happy part being- Sunshine is a great book & I totally loved it & I am buying the hardcover new to add to the keeper shelves. A rare accomplishment in my little book world.

Sunshine is set in an alternate modern post apocalyptic reality. At least I think it is. Humans & assorted magical being had a huge destructive war. There has been tremendous damage done to both the physical world & to the institutions that govern the races living here. There are areas that are 'safe' from the bad guys & areas that aren't. Humans & magical beings have interbred enough that strictly by looks alone it isn't possible to tell who is human & who is 'passing'. Vampires however are always bad guys, for different reasons Ms. McKinley spells out clearly.

Sunshine and her newfound ally/compatriot must overcome both cultural & societal hurdles and unite to defeat a power hungry bad guy. Sunshine must grow hugely, which is depicted in all of its pain & difficulty &, sometimes, bitchiness. She moves fully out of childhood & its assumptions that what you see & what you're told is the truth, into adulthood. Which is to say, Sunshine realizes that one must leave the cocoon of the familiar. That the adult world is messy, more grey than one might wish for, things are never quite what they seem & that government agencies are often hamstrung by their own lurching need for paperwork & doing things the 'right way'.

A great book all around. Fully realized, fully though out & rounded. Plus, lots of possibilities for a sequel or two.
Book Review, Books

A. Kelleher News

We exchanged a couple of emails, Ms. Kelleher & I. The good news being she has another trilogy set in the same world as the Silver series. Publication date unknown as of yet. The prequel is coming in September though. And no she doesn't have a website.

Closer to home I've started reading Sunshine by Robin McKinley. It's written in a first person stream of consciousness type style. Which I find a bit hard to follow. It feels like she's sitting beside me talking a mile a minute & she won't slow down or take a breath & my attention is wandering. Sunshine caught & held me but I had to stop & reread a paragraph or two.

Tuesdays & Thursdays are drive all over creation, to hell & back type days. So if you've a mind to send some good thoughts (ie: that I manage to get everywhere I need to go safely) aloft on my behalf. And if you've a mind to, have a tipple or two for me!
Books

Solstice Wood, Patricia McKillip

This is the first book set in contemporary time Ms. McKillip has written in an age. Don't ask me what the most recent previous contemporary-time title is because I don't know. According to the Penguin website Ms. McKillip has two stories in separate anthologies coming this week. One book is Flights, Extreme Visions of Fantasy and the other is Firebirds Rising. So far as I can tell there isn't an 'official' website by her- which is fine with me since I want her to write more & surf less. LOL :P

Solstice Wood is about tradition & fear. How communities and individuals can perpetuate and enforce these same ideas almost (but not quite) to the point of no return. On another level it is a book about death & change & the flow of time and boundaries. The power of family, community & love. Forests, meadows, hearth magic & beings not of this world. Or are they?

Sylvia Lynn, a bookstore owner in the Pacific Northwest, must return to her childhood home upon the death of her grandfather. Events unfold from there. I won't say more except that things are not all what they seem to be.

Ms. McKillip writes a lyrical & beguiling blend of myth, allegory & fantasy just right for a spring weekend bursting with new life.
Books, Book Review, Fantasy Review

Seed starting

I've never tried this before, other than morning glory seeds. However, Son #2 is determined to attempt it. We've collected petunia, moonflower, zinnia & balsam seed packets. We started them on wet paper towels inside ziploc baggies in a south facing window. I got him to edge my beds yesterday. Quite a feat for a ten year old with more desire to help than weight to shove the spade (although it's sharpened) into the soil. Wish us luck!

The professional cycling season has begun. Husband & I now spend Sunday afternoon watching the races in Europe.

I'm about one third of the way through & so far it's typically excellent McKillip. More when I'm done. No website for her, unfortunately.

Also- a few people have begun a new romance oriented message board, still in its infancy.Link on the sidebar. Hopefully, it will grow & grow. Blogging & HTML help. Suggested books. Chat. Links to helpful sites. Etc. I'm very excited!

March Synopsis

March Reading lists

I read one mystery.

There were two wallbangers/DNFs, discussed here. Plus two more from the Song series are discussed here.

A medieval romance and a traditional Regency are here. Another delightful traditional Regency is here.

I read two books by new-to-me author, Anne Kelleher. Printed by Luna, they are strong fantasies with romantic themes, but not strictly romances in the traditional sense. Excellent books & I plan to watch for more of Ms. Kelleher's work. I talk about them here and here.
books

Review: Silver's Bane

I finished this late last night, so I hope it fulfills Angie's challenge! *trying to sneak in under the wire*

Title: Silver's Bane (second in a two book series)

Author: Anne Kelleher

Year published: June 2005

Why did you get this book? I wanted to see how the Luna titles fell- truly a hybrid of romance & fantasy or more of one than the other. This series falls more toward the fantasy side than the romance side, IMO.

Do you like the cover? Yes

Did you enjoy the book? Very much so

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Yes, Anne Kelleher is new to me and, yes, I'm likely to read another title by her.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping

Anything else?
The story arcs very strongly across both books, and they must be read in order. The peak of the action was in the end third or fourth of the first book, so Silver's Bane continues the action & then presents a conclusion.

It's actually a bit vague at the end, to be truthful. Superficially, each storyline is wrapped up, but there are specific bits left out that I'd like to have known exactly what was what. Beyond that I can't say without spoilers. Definitely an autor to watch, IMO.
Romance Novel Review
Book Review