May In Review

Books Read:  22
Books on the Currently Reading Shelf on Goodreads: 14
Days I Wrote Productively:  11
Approximate Word Count: ~12,500

Can't talk.  Reading paranormal romantic smut.

Book List:

• Who Will Take This Man? by Jacquie D'Alessandro, historical romance, 4 stars
• I didn't like it as much as I liked her other books, but I still liked it.

• Where the Heart Leads by Stephanie Laurens, historical romance, 4 stars
• This book and the previous one kind of ran together.  It was really good though.

• Heart of Stone by C. E. Murphy, urban fantasy, 3 stars
• Maybe because I took so long to read it, but it just sort of...didn't do it for me.  However, I already have books 2 and 3 in the series, so I will finish it out.  I didn't hate it obviously.

• A Dance of Blades by David Dalglish, fantasy, 3 stars
• This was another book I spanned.  2 problems.  1 - It's a prequel to an already existing series that I have not read.  2 - This entire damn series got re-released in print with revisions and I bought the 3-pack on Kindle a while back.  I still got book 3 to read (this was book 2), and then there's a book 4 that's either coming out soon if it's not already out.  It's an interesting story, but this whole thing is annoying as hell.  I should've just waited to read it.  I'd've bought it in print.  Depending on how I feel about book 3, I might just go back and re-read the entire updated set.  But geez, I'm annoyed.

• "Can't Get Enough" from the anthology Everlasting Bad Boys by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 4 stars
• Ailean and Shalin's story in the Dragon Kin series.  Oh my gosh, it was every bit as good as I'd hoped it would be.

• "Dragon on Top" from the anthology Supernatural by G. A. Aiken, paranormal romance, 4 stars
• Ghleanna's story.  Hilarious.  I feel the need to share this, because it's everything you need to know about the Dragon Kin series:
• If anyone knew how ill-equipped Ghleanna was for babysitting duty, it was her brother. Even their own mother stopped allowing Ghleanna to babysit Bercelak after she’d dangled him over an active volcano, threatening to toss him in. And then there was that other time when she’d left Bercelak alone on a mountaintop when he still couldn’t fly, but not before she told him, “It’s not that Mum and Da don’t love you—they just don’t want you anymore. But I’m sure someone will come along who does.”

• Lady Amelia's Secret Lover by Victoria Alexander, historical romance short story, 4 stars
•  Victoria Alexander got me into historical romance. This has been out a while and I finally read it.  Wasn't disappointed. I'll be getting her newest one ASAP.

• Web of Love by Mary Balogh, historical romance, 3 stars
• Spanned.  This book was really heartbreaking.  The heroine's first husband is alive for the first 100 pages, and then the hero is sick and she's tending him...and oh my gosh.  It's really good, but really sad, and doesn't run like the usual romance at all.

• Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare, historical romance, 4 stars
• Hey look, something that came out this year!  For the most part, I like Tessa Dare's books.  However, her heroes do tend to skew like the a-holes from the glory days of the bodice-rippers.  That is NOT okay.  Docking a star.  Other than that, it was funny and sweet, and oh my gosh.  The hero and heroine both showed a lot of growth, which is ALWAYS important.

• Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher, fantasy, 5 stars
• This is just brilliant.  God, I love this series.

• An English Bride in Scotland by Lynsay Sands, historical romance, 3 stars
• Wasn't terribly impressed, but the characters were okay.

• Princep's Fury by Jim Butcher, fantasy, 5 stars
• Probably the weakest in the series, but it ended great.

• How to Drive a Dragon Crazy by G. A. Aiken, paranormal romance/smut, 4 stars
• Didn't like it as much as the rest of the series, but still.  ANNNND, now we wait for December for the last book to come out.

• The Beast in Him by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance/smut, 4 stars

• First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher, fantasy, 5 stars
• It's finally over.  I freaking love this author's books.  It's an excellent series.  Excellent.  Just excellent.  The best fantasy series no one's ever heard of.

• The Mane Attraction by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance/smut, 4 stars
•  Sissy Mae and Mitch Shaw.  Fun stuff.

• The Mane Squeeze by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance/smut, 4 stars
• This was probably my favorite in the series.  A geeky bear who loves honey and plays with his toes.  Hm mm.

• "Like a Wolf with a Bone" from Howl for It by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 5 stars
• I ought to be ashamed of myself.

• Beast Behaving Badly by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 4 stars
•  Bo is why I don't typically like smut.  He's an a-hole, but he gets better.

• Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 4 stars
• This is the one I've been waiting for!  I love Dee-Ann and Ric.

• Bear Meets Girl by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 4 stars
• I adore the bears.  I want a bear shifter.

• Wolf with Benefits by Shelly Laurenston, paranormal romance, 5 stars
• I like Ricky Lee and Toni.  Theirs was a sweet romance.

Note:  Shelly Laurenston and G. A. Aiken are the same person.

April in Review

Books Read: 14
Books on the Currently Reading Shelf on Goodreads: 15
Days I Wrote Productively: 7
Approximate Word Count: ~7,100

Obviously, I didn't write much.  However, given how much I read, I'm not beating myself up about it.  Finals are next week (my last final is May 7), and then I have the rest of May off, and then return to classes June 2nd.

Book List:

• Sleepless at Midnight by Jacquie D'Alessandro, historical romance, 5 stars
• Geez, I love this author's books.  Like, really.  Laugh out loud funny.  If you haven't tried her and you like romance, go forth and read!

• Much Ado About You by Eloisa James, historical romance, 3 stars
• Good story, but no blow-up.  You have no idea how important the blow-up is in a romance book until you read one that doesn't have one.

• What Price Love? by Stephanie Laurens, historical romance, 5 stars
• Oh, oh gosh.  Honorary Cynsters.  This is splendid.  Simply splendid.  That is all.

• Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher, fantasy, 5 stars
• I love Jim Butcher's books.  This is awesome, and read pretty quickly for a 600+ page book.

• Ashes Ascendant by Kevin McLaughlin, contemporary fantasy, 4 stars
• I didn't like it as much as the first Blackwell Magic book, but it was still pretty good.  The cast is great.

• Cynders and Ashe by Elizabeth Boyle, historical romance short story, 3 stars
• Um, it's hard for romantic short stories to be good.  There's often little to no blow-up.  I need that blow-up.

• Whirlwind Affair by Jacquie D'Alessandro, historical romance, 4 stars
• Double blow-up:  when you're not sure the hero and heroine are going to wind up together AND the villain makes a grab for the heroine.  Woo-hoo!

• The Taste of Innocence by Stephanie Laurens, historical romance, 5 STARS
• Okay, Charlie Morwellan - annoying hero, but really, really, REALLY pulls through in the end.  Sarah Conningham - love her, just love her.  And the villain gets the Zuko award (not as big a jerk as he could've been).  Simply lovely.  Wonderful.  The Honorary Cynster to end all Honorary Cynsters.

• Temptation and Surrender by Stephanie Laurens, historical romance, 5 stars
• The last of the Cynster series.  I adored Lucifer and Phyllida, and I liked Jonas and Emily.  And Lucifer and Phyllida had a huge part.  So much yes.  I still have the twins' books to read, but this is the last book proper.  The books I have left are the Cynster females.

• Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher, fantasy, 5 stars
• Oh, geez, the plot thickens, and it's getting exciting, and I'm so glad I have the entire series!

• The Raven and the Rose by Kevin O. McLaughlin, contemporary fantasy short story, 4 stars
• I like Ryan Blackwell.  I really, really, like Ryan Blackwell.  Very good character.  I read By Darkness Revealed last year.  There are typos here and there, but overall pretty good.  Mistakenly, this takes place before Ashes Ascendant.  Oops.  Anyway, moving on...

• Accidentally in Love by Claudia Dain, historical romance short story, um
• Again, hard for authors to pull off a romantic short story.  But this was really disappointing.  There wasn't anything but the heroine's obsession with the hero, and the hero wondering why he suddenly felt something for the heroine.  It just wasn't it.  This goes under, "slice of life" or "what we hoped happened a lot in the past, but probably didn't," not "great romance."

• The Skeleton Project, Fright Pack #1 by Wayne Thomas Batson, humor/paranormal shorts anthology, 4 stars
• And now it's time for Silly Stories with Mr. Batson, the part of the show where Mr. Batson comes out, and tells a silly story.  Great way to spend a slow day at work. 

• Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher, fantasy, 5 stars
• I love this series.  It's exciting and wonderful.  Just wonderful.  Go forth and read!

Shakespeare

Over the course of the past few days, I’ve been watching an old BBC version of As You Like It on YouTube.  I’ve read the play, and remembered enjoying it.

If I’m honest, I watched it for the sole reason of seeing this exchange between Orlando and Jaques:

Jaq:  Rosalind is your love’s name?

Orl:  Yes, just.

Jaq:  I do not like her name.

Orl:  There was no thought of pleasing you when she was christened.

Sass is timeless.  This entire conversation is brilliant.  And I’m a sucker for a well-turned phrase and saucy comebacks.

And I was not disappointed in the exchange in the movie.  I find it a good adaptation.

I’ve only read a handful of Shakespeare’s plays.  Yeah, yeah, just another bunch of classics I’ve never read.  However, I don’t really beat myself up over that.

They’re plays.  Shakespeare did not write it for us to read.  They were written for us to watch, to view.

I can assure you, screenwriters today do not write their scripts for the casual bookworm to read.  It is for the screen.

Now, some decades or centuries ago, I think it was okay to read Shakespeare’s plays.  What were the chances you were ever going to see it?  And what were the chances you would be able to view all of them?  Goes for now as well.

I live in the 21^st century.  The only Shakespeare I’ve ever been able to see performed is A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  It’s my favorite.  There are film adaptations, some actually pretty good, to most if not all of Shakespeare’s plays.  It might not be seeing the play itself, but it’ll probably be the closest I can get considering my region.

I can complain about the too-much-technology with the rest of the world.  Nothing bothers me more than talking to someone and they pull out their cell phone.  However, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t take advantage of it.  If there is a series of Shakespeare films on YouTube, done by the reliable BBC to boot, well, here is close to how the Bard wanted his work to be appreciated.

Woo-hoo, let’s watch the movie!

Which is something no self-respecting bookworm should ever say, but to each her own.

Oh, Bother!

“Before you go to bed, give your troubles to God.  He’s going to be up all night anyway.”

I’ve said before I don’t think love is pretty.

I got this revelation not through writing, but through daydreaming about a scene.  One day I might write it.  Hopefully.

Love is hurting for someone else.  Love is the pain in your heart when you see starving children across the world.  Love is when you worry about your family when they’re in trouble.

Love is being bothered.  Love is bothering.

Think about it.  Jesus went through an awful lot of trouble for a creation that rejected Him.  That still rejects Him.  That born again Christians reject.

God could’ve been indifferent toward His disobedient creation.

I just got a mental image of God saying to His Son after the Fall, “We have to fix this.”

When my mom would be on one of her preaching kicks, she would say, “God can move mountains.  You can move the heart of God.”

God was bothered about the Fall.  He didn’t like it.  He did something about it. 

That’s the other part of love.  Love is acting in accordance to that bother.

And it led to a cross.

As I said, it’s an awful lot of trouble.  That’s bothering.

And yes, I’m posting this again.

We didn't know what love was 'til He came
And He gave love a face and He gave love a name
And He gave love away like the sky gives the rain and sun

We were looking for heroes He came looking for the lost
We were searching for glory and He showed us a cross
Now we know what love is 'cause He loves us

-Rich Mullins, “All the Way to Kingdom Come”

Disclaimer for the Easter Post

My eye is still twitching.

I started taking Melatonin again because I can’t sleep.  And I’m seeing again the side effects that made me quit.

My mouse doesn’t work.

I turned in a take-home test late, even after the assignment was extended.

I’m pretty sure I had a near panic attack during my History and Systems of Psychology presentation.

I’m certain I did horribly on my Philosophy exam—and I still have a paper to write for that class that is due Monday.

The list goes on and on.

I avoid stress at all costs.  Mainly because I don’t deal with it well.  Not to mention I haven’t written a K since the 10^th.

Problem identified.  So I got a bowl of ice cream in my lap and a six-pack of Mike’s in the fridge.

Easter.  Easter.  Easter.

Usually I post something about the Love of God, usually impersonal, but what I hope is something thought-provoking or encouraging.

I have an inkling of an idea, and perhaps enough to make a short post.

So, there is disclaimer.

I haven’t been feeling very Christian lately, and even less convicted about it.  I don’t even feel like I’m in any place to post anything.

But, it is also Tradition.  Not tradition.  Capital-T Tradition.

Easter is my holiday.  My favorite holiday.  I’ve been listening to a lot of songs about surrendering to Jesus.  You’re supposed to surrender your problems, your worries, and all that.

You’re also supposed to surrender yourself.

The show must go on.