Tabs

Friday, February 28, 2014

February In Review

Books Read: 9
Books on the Currently Reading Shelf on Goodreads: 13
Days I Wrote Productively: 22
Approximate Word Count: ~23,197

I'm proud to say that the days I didn't write were days where life was suitably in the way.  Not that life is an excuse not to write, but between work and school, I refuse to beat myself up for doing my schoolwork instead of writing or reading.

I didn't write today, however, I worked from 8 to 3, and then Vin and I hightailed it to Gulfport to see The Lego Movie, and then I finished my last book for this month.  I regret nothing.

Overall, I think I'm doing okay.

Book List:

    • The Truth About Love by Stephanie Laurens, historical romance, 5 stars
      •  I'm making my way through the Honorary Cynster men.  Pretty good, interesting, all that.
    • The Absence of Harry, Sex Without Love, Love Without Sex by Zander Zink, romantic comedy (I guess), 3 stars
      • I don't really know why I read this.  It's wacky.  Funny, thought-provoking in some ways, and IQ-lowering in others.  I got it free for Kindle like 2-3 years ago, and finally sat down to read it.  Anyway...
    • About a Dragon by G. A. Aiken, high fantasy/smutty paranormal romance, 4 stars
      • Remember, I loved the other G. A. Aiken I read this year.  I'm really excited about this series.  Really, really excited.
    • Night Life by Rob Thurman, urban fantasy, 5 stars
      •  I needed a rebound from The Dresden Files and this was a great pick-me-up.  I loved it.  It's wonderful.  I'm glad I bought the first five books that day.  Next time I'm having a down day, I know what I'm going to, until I'm done with those books at least.  Cal Leandros, baby.
    • "Bombshells" by Jim Butcher, from Dangerous Women, urban fantasy, 5 stars
      • While I was in Barnes and Noble one day, they had it.  So I stood in the BN fantasy section and read the entire story.  It's from Molly's POV.  I love this.
    • The Wicked Wallflower by Maya Rodale, historical romance, 3 stars
      • This is the book I started Valentine's Day.  It's the second Rodale I've tried.  It's good in that it's functional.  Okay, but not my cup of tea.
    • Whirlwind Wedding by Jacquie D'Alessandro, historical romance, 4 stars
      • I didn't like the taste the previous book left in my mouth.  So, I read another one.  When I first started reading romance, it was always Victoria Alexander.  She does the blow-ups* really well.  Very few authors do a really, really good blow-up without the characters going beyond the pale.  D'Alessandro is another author that does them really well.  This book had both kind of blow-ups you see in romances.  It was handled very well.  Good book, good book.
    • The Goblin King by Shona Husk, paranormal romance, 3 stars
    • No Good Duke Goes Unpunished, by Sarah MacLean, historical romance, 4 stars
      • The epilogue ushers in the new story, which really steals the fire from the story that the book is actually about.  Why do romance authors do that?  You've already sold the series.  Anyway, the story proper is pretty good.  A lot of Old Hurt, but really good.

    Also, this year, I've re-read one book in January, and another in February.

    In January, it was A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior by Suzanne Enoch.  It was the third time I read it, the first time being in 2011.

    In February, it was The Sum of All Kisses by Julia Quinn.  It's her newest romance that came out late last year, which I started and finished on Halloween.  I just felt like re-reading it.


     *The blow-up in a romance novel is the part where the hero and heroine have the big fight or the truth comes out if it was a plot where lying was involved, or it's supposed to be.  This is where you have to doubt whether or not the hero and heroine are going to have their happily ever after.  In some romances, the mystery-type ones, they substitute the bad guy revealing himself and there's a dangerous situation.

    Tuesday, February 25, 2014

    The Goblin King by Shona Husk, A Review-ish Type Post

    The Goblin King (Shadowlands, #1)The Goblin King, by Shona Husk

    Back Cover Synopsis:
    Once upon a time...

    A man was cursed to the Shadowlands, his heart replaced with a cold lump of gold. In legends he became known as The Goblin King.

    For a favored few he will grant a wish. Yet, desperately clinging to his waning human soul, his one own desire remains unfulfilled: A Willing Queen.

    But who would consent to move from the modern-day world into the realm of nightmares? No matter how intoxicating his touch, no matter how deep his valor, loving him is dangerous. And the one woman who might dare to try could also destroy him forever.



    May I take a moment to talk about the cover?  The guy looks like Dean Winchester.  And he's supposed to have dread locks with gold and amber beads in his hair.  Anyway...

    3 stars

    Okay, okay, why am I reviewing a book I only gave three stars to?

    I finished it a few days ago, and it hurt.  It was by no means easy, nor funny, and the whole guy is millenia older than the girl...

    It hurt to read.  It was slow.  Flat characters, could've been better...

    But, but, but, but, it was a functional story.

    Guy met girl years ago.

    Didn't try to keep her.

    Guy meets girl again some years later.

    Creepy nightmare stuff.

    Eliza agrees to be queen to escape her abusive fiance and because she loves Roan, the Goblin King.

    Curse still unbroken.

    They kill the druid who placed them under the curse.

    Curse still unbroken.

    ALL IS LOST!

    Eliza sets up a goodbye dinner for Roan, and his brother Dai.  She cries in Roan's arms, and breaks his heart.  The gold encasing the flesh breaks, and his heart beats again.  He loves her more than he loves his gold, and he hurts because she's hurting.

    Roan is now human again, hm hm hm hm, human again!

    And they live happily ever after.

    Okay, now that I've gone and ruined the story, this is why I'm kind of giving it a review:

    amelia's last farewell. I think Steven deserves the “not as big of a jerk as you could’ve been award.” At least Amy/Rory weren’t brutally killed, neither of them were left alone in a parallel world, and nobody became the Master. They even lived happily together for the rest of their lives. So here’s to you Steven.Roan's heart had to break.  It didn't matter how much he thought he loved her.  His heart had to break for her.  There's something about reaching the breaking point that will enact a change.  You know what I'm talking about.

    So, I don't know if I'll get the rest of the series, but I liked this one.  Roan could've been a lot worse than he already was, but I don't think, not within the course of the book, he ever did anything that truly bothered me--and a lot of stuff heroes do in romance books bother me.  Some things you just don't do, guys.

    Roan gets the Zuko Award.  Eliza grows a pair as well with dealing with her abusive fiance.  It was nice to see her come into her own.  She's a fitting queen.

    So, even though it wasn't great literature, I don't think I wasted my time reading it.  It made me think and hurt and feel things I don't like feeling.  It's the sort of thing I'll remember.  It also had that dark fairy tale feel to it.  There's a lesson somewhere here...


    Sunday, February 23, 2014

    The Beast On My Head

    I was bald until I was two.  When my hair did come in, it came in with a vengeance.

    I don't know the exact term for curls like mine, although stylists and hair product makers try to categorize curls to better to make products for them.

    When I was younger, my hair was nearly to my butt.  When I started brushing my own hair in middle school, I chopped it all off, a mistake I am still paying for.  It got long again for a while, but then I would get bored one day and cut it all off again.  Never too short, but just to my shoulders.


    Here is the thing about curly hair:  it either needs to be really long, or really short.  Anything else is BS. It grows out, not down.  It never looks the same length twice.

    My hair, personally, is very dry and frizzy.  When I see someone who's curls are perfect, every curl the same size and shape, I can't help but think:  they're fake.  Curls are not supposed to be uniform.  They're messy and wild and they do whatever they please.  Mine are, anyway.  And when I look up natural curls, I see a lot of wildness in the other pics too. 

    I call my hair a beast for a reason, people.  There's no taming it, just containing it and keeping it happy (like the animals at the zoo).

    At the end of March, it will be two years since I've been to a stylist to do anything with my hair.  I haven't cut it either in that time.  I got it past my shoulder blades, now, not that you can tell unless I straighten it.

    When I was younger, when Mom was still brushing it every night, I kept it in a braided ponytail.  Pony tail?

    Thanks to Pinterest and Google, I've begun looking up how to care for curls.  I use a wide-tooth comb, under the shower head, shampooing my hair twice a month if that, and always looking for a good hydrating conditioner, and I have a micro-fiber hair turban.  I'm supposed to use cold water to wash & rinse, but ha ha, yeah, no.  Sometimes.  Maybe come summer again.
     
    I also keep it in double braids now.  I guess they're pigtails, but I don't need any fasteners to keep the braids in.  Pro for curly hair.

    My hair's my only physical vanity.  As annoying as it is, I do still love it.  I wouldn't want my hair to be straight.  I get a lot of compliments on it.

    Except the other day.

    Regular:  Your hair's naturally curly?
    Me:  Yup.
    Regular:  Betcha hate it.
    Me:  Well...

    On the inside, I'm like, "somebody understands!"

    I do love my hair sometimes.  I hate it sometimes too.  But mostly I'm settled with it.  It's crazy and untamable and unpredictable and wild.  Kind of like the weather.  I would also like to think of myself as wild and untamable and crazy.

    Well, I don't think of myself as crazy.  I know I'm crazy.  But it's okay.  It's socially acceptable for a writer to be a little crazy.  To better to be creative with.

    Actually, it's funny.  I got a Curly Hair Care pin board on Pinterest, and it's mostly cartoons and memes and curly hair problems.

    And showcasing from that board, except I don't have red hair or blue eyes, but other than that, yes, I have hair like Merida, only it's not so long and pretty.  I wish they would have shown a good clip of how much longer her curly hair is when it's wet.  Alas.  Anyway.



    Tuesday, February 18, 2014

    Art, Magic, Passion, and Self-Esteem

    I think I've shared before how I feel about self-esteem:  it's highly overrated.

    Maybe because I have low self-esteem.  But when you find so little to like, because really, I wonder at how I can have friends sometimes, how do you esteem yourself?

    Frankly, I think if you can admit you have low self-esteem, maybe you are thinking too much.  Or maybe thinking on the wrong things.

    "You have to like/love yourself before anyone else can."

    False.

    However, I do think you have to love what you do before anyone else can.  I think that's part of what makes a good book.  It feels as if every word was crafted lovingly and carefully.  How that transfers is nothing short of magical. 

    Lloyd Alexander, always, is the best example.  Another would be this old copy of The Journals of Marco Polo that I have.  I keep it on my headboard.  I started reading it for my old enemy, insomnia.

    It's actually kind of interesting.  I don't know if that's the translator, or Polo himself, but it's the same thing.  Whoever did it, must've loved it.  It's dry, but something with passion.

    It's the difference between the proficient player and the passionate player.  Passion's like a smile:  it's contagious.  When you watch something being loved, it's hard to not love it yourself. 

    We are not made for apathy.

    For Shame

    I try really really really hard not to book bash, or if I do complain, I don't want to name names.  I like reading the best comebacks and sometimes the set downs.

    There was an article with authors putting down other authors.

    Being a writer and being a reader, and most importantly being both, means that you're going to have opinions.  Your opinions may or may not agree with the majority.  You may not even have an opinion where a minority shares it.

    I used to be really okay with complaining about Twilight, which I have read, and Jane Austen, who, up until two years ago, I hadn't read.

    I try not to bash books I haven't read.  Or authors.  I've said a few things about Fifty Shades of Grey and Outlander on Facebook.  Mostly complaining because they're getting optioned for the big and little screens respectively, and yet, nobody wants to pick up the Cynsters.  The only things I know about Fifty Shades of Grey  are 1) that it's Twilight fanfic and 2) everybody says it's an awful, abusive relationship.  The only things I know about Outlander are 1) that it's not technically a romance, though any romance reader worth her sighs has read it ('cept me) and 2) the woman is married in her time, but marries someone else in her time warp.

    I've never read either book.  I don't have much interest in doing so.  I don't like abusive relationships, and I don't like adultery, even though it technically isn't or whatever.  I don't know.  I never really cared for time travel, because I was always left wondering how it would end and I'm too chicken to go through it and find out. 

    I've read some BDSM erotica and erotic romance.  I didn't care for it.  There was one historical erotic romance I liked, and that was probably because it was more about the romance than the sex.  I loved the heroine, and the hero was good for her.  It was a good story.

    I read one at the end of last year that annoyed me.  It was contemporary erotic romance, the explanation of the dom/sub relationship was there, lots and lots of spanking.  Anyway.  I hated the hero.  I didn't like the heroine for putting up with him.  The worst part of all of that it seemed everybody else loved it on Goodreads.  I really had a tough time putting my thoughts into words.  Mostly, it was a lot of frustrated grumbles.  And it ended in the wrong place for me.

    As a reader, I don't think I have to read a book just because everyone else has.  I certainly don't have to like it.

    As a writer, I have to wonder.  I don't want to not read the best-sellers because, as a writer, shouldn't I see what's selling and what's not?

    I don't know, really.  I think, if it's a genre I actually want to write, yes, by all means.  If it's not, it's not.

    I've never read Nicholas Sparks--but then I don't want to write mainstream fiction, and personally it never really interested me. 

    I'm an immature reader.  I like plots and happy endings.  I've liked a few of the literary novels I've read, but really, give me a plot.

    I bought the first four books of Song and Ice of Fire at the end of 2011.  2012 and 2013 passed...still haven't read them.  I will, though.  Someday.  Maybe when all of the books are out. O.o

    That's the beautiful thing about waiting to read a series.  If you wait long enough, you skip the angst over waiting for the next book.  And I never mainline series anyway.  I'm not angsty because I always have more books to read.

    As far as specifically fantasy and Regency romance goes.  Yes, yes, yes, by all means, read it, Jadi.  If it's just some popular book up there in the bibliosphere, if you don't want to read it, don't.  But if you do want to read it, do.

    Simple as that.  Don't shame the ones you don't like, and certainly not the authors.  Long after I'm dead, and I lived my dream of being an author, I don't want to be remembered for anything ugly I wrote about somebody else.

    However, there is one thing I'll say about authors insulting each other:

    Even classics were just normal books once, and not everyone has to like them.

    Sunday, February 16, 2014

    And Suddenly...

    “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”
    ― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

    The Valentine's Day hype is gone.  I'm okay.  It's all over.

    On a whim, my sister (who's living back with us) and I went to a bar Friday night.

    That was a waste of a Friday night, I might add.

    ::cue British accent::

    I could've been in bed with a hot cuppa and either a book or some re-runs of Sherlock.

    ::end British accent:: 

    As it was, while my sister was flirting with the guy she'd planned to meet (thanks for making me the third wheel, sis), I people watched and downloaded a book on my Nook app on my phone and started reading.  It was a nice bar, though.  I'd go again.  Just not with my sister.  She got sloppy drunk, and I almost left her there.  I was aggravated about being made the third wheel.  Her scumbag could've brought her home--if he didn't murder her in a back alley first.  Anyway, I DID bring her home.  However, when I got home, I couldn't get her up.

    So, I left her in my car, went inside, showered, and went to bed.

    For future reference:  NEVER ask me to be your designated driver if you are a stupid drunk.  Still, lesson learned.

    And now the next heavily commercialized holiday to prepare for is Easter!  Easter.  Easter.  Easter.  My favorite holiday.  Why?

    Because I don't complain about it.  I always have or try to have something to write.

    Easter.  Easter.  Easter.

    Hollow chocolate bunnies.
    Chocolate.  The GOOD chocolate.
    Jesus stuff.
    Sweet stuff.
    Writing stuff.
    I want to go to Crete one year for Easter.

    I might actually get my godkids something.  I don't have to, and I may not, but it's not looked at askance in the wider family to give gifts on Easter, especially where godkids are concerned.

    Easter.  Easter.  Easter.

    Friday, February 14, 2014

    BEE. ESS.

    "Cynics are simply thwarted romantics.”
    ― William Goldman, The Princess Bride

    I actually have a Friday night off. You have to understand something here, since the new manager's been there, I've had (maybe) 3 Friday nights off--and one of those was because of my little car accident. Four if I'm being generous. But I think it's only three.

    But I worked this morning. It's odd having to work in the morning and not have to go to school later on. It feels weird, because I usually only work nights when it's not a school day.

    "Happy Valentine's Day" was a common goodbye today. Someone asked if I had plans for tonight. I don't, besides lying in bed with a book, and I answered so.

    "What are you going to read?"

    This is so bad. "I don't know. I have like nine books I have bookmarks in."

    "Oh. Are you a reader?"

    "Yes, ma'am."

    "That's good. It'll keep you out of mischief."

    I gave my agreement.

    "I'm a reader too."

    ::It's not, 'you like to read'? I loved that. I am a reader--one who reads. It's a defining label. It's a lot of me. End digression.::

    It was brightening.

    There was another person who spent $32 on his girlfriend (I didn't see a ring and he never mentioned 'wife'). Chocolates, heart centerpiece, teddy bear, card... He had a good attitude at first, and then there was a, 'she better appreciate this,' and apparently he'd done something else for her. I almost wanted to say that I hoped she did appreciate it all, but I'm a good little cashier and kept my mouth shut. I almost wanted to remark as much to the lady behind him (could've been the reader lady), but then I didn't want to sound bitter or anything, and it kind of hurt, a kind of stabbing pain where my heart should be.

    Later, a man was buying a big box of chocolates for his wife, and a granddaughter. He asked if I had gotten anything.

    "No."

    "Not yet?"

    "No, I don't have one."

    "No husband or boyfriend?"

    "No.  Have a nice day."

    Anyway...

    It really pisses me off when people say that singles should just wait for the right one and all that. Get your heart in the right place. Get your head in the right place.

    Excuse me, most of the time, I am really okay with being single. I'm a smart woman, and at a more intellectual level I know realistically I'll never meet anyone.  Between work and school and books and writing, I neither have time nor the energy.  Plus, men need to be needed, and I have this thing where I hate needing people.  And then there is, behind every great man is a good woman.  It seems behind every great woman, there often is no man, or if there is, he ain't happy.

    And I do so want to be great.  I want to be the next Lloyd Alexander or Stephanie Laurens.

    I'm open with it here but it's not like everyone everywhere knows I've never been on a date.  It's not something I broadcast in my real life. And I try not to bemoan the fact. I try.

    However, no matter how great I want to be, that doesn't stop the loneliness. That doesn't make me not wonder what the hell is wrong with me.  You can tell me all day how I should think about it, but as often as I tell my heart that it doesn't matter, my heart doesn't listen.  I don't know about you, but my head and my heart are two completely different entities, with minds of their own.

    On that note, I always hate when people hate on the virgin heroine in romance books.  If the opportunity never came, neither did she.  O.o

    Like I said, usually it doesn't bother me.  However, seeing all these guys come up in Fred's buying stuff for the ladies in their lives, well damn, if I don't feel left out.

    So, it's society's fault.  But I won't go there.  My fellow single people have probably heard enough advice and maxims about their singularity.  I have.  I don't want advice.  This is a childish thing--I want to complain and talk about my feelings.

    Because it does hurt.
    It is lonely.
    It sucks sometimes.
    I haven't the slightest idea of what being in love feels like.  I have ideas, because I read a lot, not just romance books, and I've had crushes on real people before, but for me personally, I don't know how I'd be.  And this is something I don't like using my imagination all the time.  Sometimes I really want to experience things for myself.

    You have to understand something about me:  I hate not knowing things.

    I think the best BS I can give to my fellow frustrated singles is this: 

    1 - You're not alone.

    2 - Tomorrow, you'll wake up, and thank God you woke up on February 15, and that THE CANDY IS HALF OFF!!!

    Wednesday, February 5, 2014

    Some Thoughts about Real Life and Romantic Novels

    Right on time for Valentine's Day (kind of), I find myself wondering how the romantic relationships the others around me have, and the not-so-romantic variety.

    Again, I re-iterate:  I've never been so much as asked out.  My last crush on a real person in my real life was when I was fifteen.  The only thing I know about relationships is by watching those around me and by reading books.

    I would like to think that, someday, maybe, perhaps, if a miracle takes place, there might just be someone out there for me that would actually love me with the fierce passion of that of Devil Cynster for Honoria Anstruther-Wetherby or any Laurens' hero for his heroine.  More likely, a smaller miracle, but a miracle nonetheless, would be someone who could tolerate me enough to marry me.

    I see a lot of relationships that are less than ideal.  Married couples where one spouse ruins it for the other, and you wonder why they stay.  I see relationships where the passion has long faded.

    I would like to think you have to take the good with the bad, and that nobody's perfect.  At the same time, how much is too much?

    Personally, if a man ever laid a hand on me, God forgive me, I'd probably kill him.  But then, abusers are attracted to certain personalities, and "I don't take crap from anyone" rolls off me in waves, I'm sure.  But then again, I don't know.  It's not a situation I've ever dealt with.  I also personally think a woman should be allowed to kill her abusive husband.  It's legal to kill in self-defense isn't it?  Remind me to check my criminal justice textbooks.  But that's just me.

    What about the irresponsible partner?  The cheater?  My speculation is that if you're not married to the person, why on earth stay?  In a marriage, fine, there's probably some kids and a lot of years to just throw it away.  It's probably too much trouble to throw it away.  I've heard people say they'd rather put up with some one's crap than be alone.  If you're unhappy, why stay?  If it's bad for you, why stay?

    I don't believe life is about being happy.  A full life, yes, but not a happy one.  Full of change, happiness, sadness, crap, tough times, et cetera.

    But I do not think we were put here to be happy all the time.  Pain is okay.  Life is pain.  Anyone who says otherwise is selling something.

    You are promised pain and trials and tribulations from day one.  However, however, HOWEVER, I don't think you have to seek them out.  It's one thing to work hard to obtain a goal, it's one thing to stick by your family in tough times.

    So perhaps it all does boil down to love, and in the case of marriages, that I do.  People are weird.  Relationships are weird.  Romance books are weird.

    So, where does this leave me and my views about relationships?  In the books, the heroines have given up on marriage.  For whatever reason, they've decided marriage wasn't for them.  It takes the Right Guy to change her mind, to win her affections, to claim her heart.

    Is that what I'm supposed to be waiting for?  Or to just wait until some passably suitable guy comes along?   Actually, there was this one time I was at work.  I'd just rung up this customer.  As he was leaving, he asked if I had a boyfriend or a husband.

    This guy looked old enough to be my dad, okay?  I thought he was asking, trying to see just how young young people were settling down.

    I smiled and said, "No, I'm single."

    "Can I have your number?"

    "You look a little old for me."

    He said it was okay, and he left.  Wait, Jadi, guys don't think like that.  He was asking if you were available.  I was so proud of myself, though.  It was the first time a member of the male of the species had ever blatantly asked me for my number, and I'd said no.  I'm clearly not the desperate female I think I am.

    Lacey comes up, and I tell her the story and the great news.  A look of absolute horror crosses her face.

    "You said that?!"

    Me:  "Was that bad?"

    Lacey:  "Yes!  You don't say stuff like that!"

    Me:  "Well, what was I supposed to say?"

    And so it went.

    As always, to each her own.  I think if I keep to that, I will quit trying to figure people out...but it's so much fun to try!  Why do we do the things we do?  Because we're people.  Because we're not perfect.

    Because we probably have no idea what we're doing anyway.  Or I don't anyway.  Obviously.

    Saturday, February 1, 2014

    January in Review

    Books Read:  10
    Books on the Currently Reading Shelf on Goodreads:  9
    Days I Wrote Productively:  19 days
    Approximate Word Count:  ~17,425 trackable, whether the word count was on my calendar, or I just put the blogposts in Word and word-counted those there.

    Also, I began keeping track of how many books and how much money I spend in a calendar year as a NYR.  That, however, I will share at the end of the year, if I remember to post it.  And if I can bring myself to post what THOSE numbers will be.

    Book List:


    • The Philadelphia Adventure by Lloyd Alexander, children's novel, 5 stars 
    • The Xanadu Adventure by Lloyd Alexander, children's novel, 5 stars
      • I finished the Vesper Holly books.  ::Tear::
    • Dresden Files:  Ghoul Goblin by Jim Butcher, graphic novel, fantasy, 4 stars
      • My first graphic novel.  In hindsight, I remember loving it.  Um, why'd I drop a star?  Wasn't my usual medium or something?
    • "The Blackwood" by Wayne Thomas Batson, children's short story, 5 stars
      • See HERE...if you're too lazy to click, it's awesome.
    • Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder, fantasy novel, 4 stars
      • End of the series.  Good, I was ready for it to be over.  More Study books now, please!
    • A Tale of Two Dragons by G. A. Aiken, high fantasy/smut romance/novella, 4 stars
      • Don't judge me.  Romance AND dragons?  Sign me up!
    • Wanted:  Wife by Gwen Jones, contemporary romance, 3 stars
      • Eh, reminds me why I stick to historical.
    • A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh, historical/regency romance, 4 stars
      • The most brilliant or the most insane romance I've ever had the experience of reading.
    • The Bride Thief by Jacquie D'Alessandro, historical/regency romance, 4 stars
      • My first full-length for this author, although I was first exposed to her in It Happened One Season.  CUTE!
    • Love and Other Scandals by Caroline Linden, historical romance, 3 stars
      • Okay, but reminds me why I hardly ever branch out of my brand name romance authors.


    Over all, I must love children's stories.