Never Love a Stranger

I decided to buy Ellen Fisher's Never Love a Stranger after reading an excerpt. I received it from Amazon today and devoured the book in a few hours: 4.5 out of 5.

Annie Simpson is baffled when she walks into her kitchen one evening to find a naked man there. He introduces himself as James and says he is from the future. Events unfold that make Annie believe him.

Wow, this is an excellent book. James and Annie are so vibrant they practically jump off the page. I love the way Fisher lets us get to know these characters through their actions.

The world building is exceptional. There is a lot of information to cover, and it's spaced out through the story so readers can follow what is happening without being bogged down by endless pages of exposition. The story is well paced and kept me engrossed. I was seriously annoyed when the phone rang halfway through the book. Luckily it was a quick call, so I could get back to reading.

I want more futuristics like this one. Now.

On an unrelated note, I finished my Romancing the Blog column. Watch for it tomorrow.

Monster

I learned about this book because of my interest in Unsolved Mysteries. One segment on the program focused on the murders of Bobbie Oberholtzer and Annette Schnee. It was a perplexing case, so when I learned that Steve Jackson's Monster mentioned these murders, I wanted to read it. It starts slowly, but picks up after the first 100 pages: 4 out of 5.

Monster is clearly a thoroughly researched book. Jackson interviewed a number of the people involved, including Detective Scott Richardson, who doggedly investigated the case, and Deborah Snider, the girlfriend of the suspect, Tom Luther. Their contributions to the story are terrific. I was especially impressed by Richardson's commitment to the investigation. It was interesting to see how the investigation affected his family.

Snider's side of the story offers an interesting glimpse into a woman who knows she's involved with a dangerous man but can't bring herself to make a final break from him. Reading about her relationship with Luther is a bit like watching a movie and wanting to shout, "Don't open that door!" Even as the evidence points to Luther's involvement in several attacks and murders against women, Snider wants to be with the "good Tom." I didn't understand why she stayed with him, but it made for compelling reading.

One fascinating aspect of the book is that Bobbie Oberholtzer and Annette Schnee are not the focus of this book. While some investigators believe that both women were victims of Tom Luther, and Luther himself made comments suggesting his involvement, he was never tried for or convicted of their murders. Monster follows the investigation of the murder of Cher Elder.

Based on what I read, it's a very good thing that Tom Luther is in prison.

Ack!

I just realized that my next Romancing the Blog column is coming up in a few days, and I haven't written it. That's a bit of a problem. Hopefully I'll come up with an interesting topic tomorrow.

In the meantime, I feel like my house is coming down around me. In my latest home repair news, my washing machine apparently isn't a problem. There might be a clog in the downstairs drain. Time to call a plumber. I couldn't help but laugh when I turned on a downstairs light and the light bulb blew. At least that problem was easy to fix.

I'm not going to ask what's coming next. My goal after the next round of repairs is to make it through the rest of the year with no incident. {Crossing fingers.}

In reading news, I'm reading Only for a Knight for review and a true-crime book, Monster. I'm finishing up the latter now, and it's been a fascinating read. Watch for a blog entry about it after I finish the book and my RTB column.

Hungry Tigress

I had strong and mixed feelings about White Tigress, the first book in a series by Jade Lee. I liked the writing enough that I bought Hungry Tigress at the RWA signing. Though there are some problematic parts, I liked the story overall: 4 out of 5.

Joanna is being attacked by a group of men when another man comes to her rescue. He fights off the attackers and begins escorting her back to her home. During the journey, Joanna deduces the man's identity--something he cannot allow. He strikes her throat to keep her from talking, then takes her with him until he can decide what to do.

You can probably guess the first problem I had with the story. The hero, Zou Tun, demonstrates markedly unheroic behavior by hitting her in the first place. At the end of this chapter, I put the book down for a few days. Once I picked it up again, I became engrossed in the story.

I like Lee's writing style; it's lush and evocative. I also enjoy the setting. I know little about Chinese culture, and that's perhaps one reason why I find the book so compelling. Lee paints a vivid picture of the world in which Joanna and Zou Tun live. As for the characters themselves, they start as imperfect characters but show significant growth by the end.

As for the ending, I suspect that some readers will be put off by it. Here's a spoiler (click the beginning of the white space and scroll over it if you want to read it): Zou Tun and Joanna make love while members of their families watch. I didn't love this turn of events, but I understood how the story got there. Still, it's not the most comfortable scene to read. For more information about the ending (spoilers included), read the comments.

So once again, I had mixed feelings about some parts of the book, but I liked it anyway. The third book in the series comes out in November, and I'm looking forward to it. I want to see what will happen next. The heroine and hero are both Chinese, and the heroine has been a villain in the first two books. It should be interesting.

Historical Marathon

This week, I read a number of historical romances. I've just been in a historical mood. Here are quick reviews of the books I read.

Always to Remember by Lorraine Heath
This was a lovely post-Civil War story. I thought the hero, Clay, was terrific. He was labeled a coward and deserter because he refused to fight. Now he's back home, but his war isn't over. He demonstrates an amazing quiet strength and is a beta hero. Meg starts out hating Clay because her husband died in the war. But as she spends time with Clay, she recognizes his strength and his courage. Part of the ending with the townspeople is too good to be true. However, there are several lovely moments in this book, and I found myself thinking of Clay and Meg days after reading their story. The perfect indication of a keeper: 5 out of 5.

A Promise of Love by Karen Ranney
I decided to take this one off the TBR pile after reading about it in a recent Romancing the Blog column. I'm glad I did; it's an excellent read: 4.5 out of 5. It's about a woman who is two-times widowed, then sent to Scotland, where she marries again. The marriage isn't easy. Neither of Judith's previous marriages was a happy one. Based on her previous experience, Judith is reluctant to trust anyone. I loved seeing her journey. Once Alisdair realizes what Judith has gone through, he is understanding and sympathetic. There are a few moments early in the book, however, where he acts cruelly toward her. Some readers might have trouble with this.

His Secondhand Bride by Cheryl St. John
This book has been getting raves from many bloggers, so it was a logical pick in my historical reading marathon. It's quite good: 4 out of 5. It's a marriage of convenience story about a man who marries his brother's wife after the brother dies. I enjoyed the characterization most. It's a treat to watch the vivacious Katherine and reserved Noah fall in love with each other. I was frustrated at moments when they wouldn't talk to each other about what they were feeling, but I enjoyed most of the story.

So, that's my marathon. It's interesting that none of the books I read are set in Regency England.

Silent Confessions

I picked up Julie Kenner's Silent Confessions because I liked the cover. Luckily the contents of the book were also terrific: 4.5 out of 5.

Detective Jack Parker is investigating a stalker who leaves notes quoting erotic literature. The stakes increase when a stalking victim is murdered.

Veronica (Ronnie) Archer owns Archer's Rare Books and Manuscripts, a bookstore that specializes in erotia. She meets Jack when he's looking for someone to help him with the notes. Jack and Ronnie begin an affair soon after their first meeting.

There are some familiar elements to the story, such as the detective who becomes a cop because of something that happened to a family member. But the characters don't fall into easy stereotypes. The back cover implies that Ronnie wants to live out the erotic things she reads, but that's not really the case. Perhaps it's more accurate to say that I worried that she would be a repressed woman who relies on erotia. Ronnie is far from repressed, though; she's a dynamic woman who knows what she wants.

Ronnie and Jack's relationship starts as largely physical, but it quickly develops into something more. This is a common occurence in romance novels, but the transition isn't always believable or smooth. Kenner makes the transition convincing. She writes terrific sex scenes, too.

The stalker suspects are few; readers are likely to anticipate the stalker's identity. There are a few twists to the story, and guessing the stalker didn't make the story any less interesting.

Serial Killer

Dead electronics. First it was my camera. Then my desktop computer. Now it's my double-deck VCR and my scanner. This brings me to a frightening realization: I'm a serial electronics killer.

I have a DVD player, but now I need to think about getting a DVD recorder or another VCR so I can tape things. I went to Circuit City to check out their recorders and soon felt overwhelmed. There was one I liked, but there was a sign listing other things you need to buy with it, cords and so on. Why the hell can't they put everything you need in one box?

As for my scanner, I'm very sad about its demise. It's quite old, but it can scan up to 12" x 17", which made it so easy to scan scrapbook pages. I found a few scanners that can scan this large a document, but they are around $1,000. I will keep looking.

Recommendations are welcome.

Contest Winner

I'm pleased to announce the winner of my latest contest. Everyone who commented to this post was entered in a drawing. My coworker just drew the name of the winner:

Megan!

Megan wins an autographed copy of Marjorie M. Liu's Tiger Eye.

Congratulations, Megan, and thanks for visiting!

TBR Challenge: Going Buck Wild

Once again, I'm participating in Keishon's TBR (to-be-read) challenge. The September goal is to read fiction, which Keishon defines pretty broadly: mystery, chick lit, etc. Today I read Going Buck Wild by Nina Foxx.

1. Title/Author
Going Buck Wild by Nina Foxx.

2. Brief Synopsis
Claudia Barrett's life has been in a holding pattern for some time. While work is going well, she can't bring herself to set a wedding date with her fiance. Things with him have become routine, even boring. When her fiance breaks up with her, Claudia has an opportunity to reinvent herself and do things she wouldn't normally do. She is encouraged by a friend to do exactly that.

3. Copyright Year
2004.

4. Indicate if you liked or disliked it?
I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked Claudia and wanted to find out what would happen to her. Going Buck Wild is told from the point of view of about half a dozen people. In this respect, it reminded me of Hot Shot, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I'm simply not a fan of this style. In most cases, I find this many points of view distracting. It can lead to a lack of focus and prevent readers from really getting to know a character. In the case of this book, I thought the story could have been more focused. There's also a fair amount of sniping between characters; at times it seemed excessive.

There are some things I enjoyed. The story certainly kept me reading--I wanted to find out what would happen. I liked Claudia's friend, although I wish I knew more about her. I felt the same way about Claudia's fiance. We know very little about him and I wanted to know more. The ultimate rating is 3 out of 5.

5. Was the book designated a DIK or Five Heart book at any of the review sites?
I didn't check any review sites.

6. Do you agree or disagree with the reviewers?
Not applicable.

7. Is this a new author for you?
Yes.

8. Would you read more by this author?
Maybe, if the plot sounded interesting.

Blessed Silence

I've been pretty stressed this week. I turned off my air conditioning a few weeks ago, and since then, I kept hearing water dripping from the swamp cooler. Because of the way my house is set up, I could hear the water while I was in my bedroom. It made it difficult for me to sleep, because the dripping became a trickle, then a steady stream. I was terrified that the water would eventually seep into the house.

Today I called my brother, and he came over and took care of it. Turns out I had two bad valves, so he replaced them. Poor guy! The plumbing was created before the basement was finished. Now that it's finished, the valves are in a place that's extremely difficult to reach. I paid him for supplies, and I plan to buy him a gift certificate to thank him for his time. He's really good to me.

The best sound in the world was when my nephew turned on the water, and I couldn't hear the water going through the pipes up to the swamp cooler. There is no water going up to the swamp cooler. I'm sitting here in blessed silence. Maybe tonight I'll be able to sleep.



P.S. Next, I must take care of my leaking washing machine (which is still under warrantee, yay!) and the clogged drains in the bathroom. But I'll take time to enjoy this moment nevertheless.

Millennium

I've watched all three seasons of Millennium now and thought I'd blog about the program.



Season One
Frank Black is a former FBI profiler with a unique ability to put himself in a killer's mind. This led to a breakdown, which resulted in Frank leaving the FBI. Now, he and his family, a wife and daughter, move to Seattle to make a fresh start. Chris Carter (creator of the X-Files) created the series.

Frank still uses his abilities as a consultant with the Millennium Group, which includes other former law-enforcement officers. This show is dark, violent, and gory; the first season is especially gory. I found it best to watch one or two episodes at a time. Any more was too much.

Lance Henriksen plays Frank Black, and he's perfect for this part. He skillfully portrays both a focused investigator and a man who loves his family. I love this combination. Megan Gallagher plays Frank's wife, Catherine. Brittany Tiplady plays their daughter, Jordan.

This season is my favorite of the three. Favorite episodes: "Pilot," "The Thin White Line," "Covenant," and "Lamentation."



Season Two
Chris Carter was busy with the X-Files series and movie, so he wasn't involved much with this season. I ended up liking it the least of the three. There are a few significant changes (spoilers coming ahead; click the beginning of the white space and scroll over it if you want to read it): Catherine and Jordan move out after Frank kills the man who kidnapped Catherine.

I found it difficult to accept Catherine's abrupt shift. She was so supportive of Frank's work before, and now she's hostile about it. This season also takes a mystical turn. The Millennium Group turns out to be a mysterious group with mysterious agendas. Frank is conflicted about his involvement with the group, and this conflict keeps him separated from Catherine. In the last episode of the season, Catherine dies from a virus that Frank believe was created by the Millennium Group.

Favorite episodes: "Monster," "The Curse of Frank Black," "Midnight of the Century," and "The Mikado."



Season Three
This season has big changes. Chris Carter is more involved behind the scenes. Frank is now a single parent. He also leaves Seattle and rejoins the FBI. He has a new unofficial partner, Emma Hollis.

I liked the shift away from mysticism and back to Frank investigating crimes. Emma makes a good partner. I miss Catherine, but it is also great to see Frank interact more with Jordan. The actress who plays her does a terrific job, and she has a larger role in several episodes.

Millennium was cancelled after three seasons. The third season finale is one of my favorite episodes, and while it doesn't resolve everything, it is a nice series finale. The scene near the end where Frank gets Jordan offers one of the most memorable visuals of the series.

Favorite episodes: "Borrowed Time," "The Sound of Snow," "Via Dolorosa," and "Goodbye to All That."

I enjoy this series very much. Any other fans of Millennium out there?

Blood Moon

Blood Moon is the second book in the Kyra Moray series by Deanna Lee. I liked the first book, Still Waters, but wanted a bit more emphasis on the romance. Blood Moon gave me just what I wanted in that regard: 4.5 out of 5.

Kyra Moray is a New Orleans police inspector in 2162. In the first book, she started seeing nightclub owner Alex Waters. Blood Moon starts with the discovery of three bodies in a building that used to be a police safe house. Once the time of death is determined, it's clear they were murdered when the building was owned by police. This puts Kyra in the uncomfortable position of investigating others in the department.

I enjoyed Blood Moon very much. While Alex was off-page for long sections of Still Waters, there was a nice balance here between the mystery and Kyra's relationship with Alex. He's a wonderful hero, and the relationship between the two is developing in interesting ways.

The mystery is quite good, and I liked seeing Kyra work. It would have been nice if there was more explanation about this world's technology, nanobots in particular. I had forgotten that from the first book, so I felt a little like I was playing catch up.

Kyra's partner, Ana, finds a love interest in this story. Spoiler ahead (click on the beginning of the white part, and scroll down if you want to read it): Ana becomes involved with Desi Marcos, a doctor she often works with. This relationship had some nicely depicted moments; however, it felt a little rushed. They went from being interested to committed in a few conversations. It would have been nice to see it unfold more slowly, but I'm interested to see what Lee will do with it in future installments.

There will be more books in this series. However, Lee is working on several projects for Kensington, so the next installment won't be out until sometime next year. It's going to be a long wait.

Statistics

I thought it would be fun to post a few statistics about my first year of blogging.

Total posts: 381
Number of book signings I blogged about: 4
Number of book reviews: 158 [Can this be right? I thought it would be more.]
Number of scrapbook pages posted: 93 [This number is more than I thought it would be.]
Number of top-five lists: 9

Celebrating One Year

It amazes me to realize that I have been blogging for one year. I started my blog on September 14, 2004. Click here to read my first blog entry. To celebrate, I'm having a contest. I will give away an autographed copy of Marjorie M. Liu's Tiger Eye. Simply comment to this blog entry, and you'll be entered in a drawing for the book. I will draw and announce a winner on Monday, September 19.

I have a lot of fun with my blog. I enjoy writing book reviews, posting scrapbook pages, and reading your comments. Thank you for visiting! I look forward to continuing for another year and more.

Moving Furniture

I just finished assembling another bookcase. This will be the second one for my to-be-read books. I can't believe how many books I have. I must get them under control.

Speaking of which, my general surroundings are typically cluttered; that's just me. This week, I realized that things are beyond cluttered at this point. This is not completely surprising since I have been feeling low lately, and I tend to let things go when I get depressed. So it's official: I'm depressed.

Eventually I'll get things worked out. In the meantime, I have to figure out where to start cleaning.

I'll try to write reviews of Hungry Tigress and Blood Moon in the next few days.

It's OK, I Have a Permit

My sister works for the county library, and last night she told me some interesting library stories. I thought I'd share a few.

One guy came up and asked if anyone had turned in a gun to the lost and found area. That's right, a gun. When he was told that no one had, he said that he thought he left his gun in the library, but it was OK because he has a concealed weapon permit.

Maybe it's just me, but I see a couple of problems with that. Problem number one: children do go to the library, and it's not difficult to imagine a curious child picking it up. Problem number two: if you set down your gun somewhere in a library, it's not exactly concealed, is it?

The gun never turned up, so either someone found it and took it or he lost it somewhere else.

In another story, a senior citizen came up to the desk and said that some teenagers were having sex in a storage closet. (!) He went to the storage closet to get some chairs for a meeting. When he opened the door, he saw the teenagers. He subsequently shut the door and seemed pretty unruffled about the incident, although he thought he should let a librarian know. Soon afterward, the book slunk out of the closet. The girl followed shortly thereafter.

Then there's the woman who was frustrated because she couldn't check out more than two books without her library card. She did have her driver's license, which is why she was allowed to check out two books. She compared this policy to having her bra searched at an airport. There's something seriously whacked with that comparison.

Ah, the joy of working in a library.

Top Five Young Adult Romances

I was in a used bookstore yesterday looking for some young adult books for someone in my book-trading group. I didn't find the books on the list, but I did run across a couple of books I loved in high school. I couldn't resist buying a couple.

Since I haven't done a top-five list in a while, I thought it would be fun to do a list of top-five young adult romances. I must confess that this is more of a sentimental list than an actual top five. In any case, here they are, in no particular order. Spoilers are ahead.

Romance Is a Wonderful Thing by Ellen Emerson White



I've read this book more than a dozen times. I loved the story of Trish and Colin. Trish is smart, athletic, and popular. Colin is a loner who is in remedial classes. Turns out that he has test anxiety, and he's living down to people's expectations of him. He really reads classic literature and enjoys plays.

I loved the idea of someone reaching out to a loner and seeing past his defenses. Trish helps Colin come out of his shell and helps him realize that he can let others see who he is. Then there's Colin's secret intelligence and the fact that he is a good actor, both of which appealed to me.

I have to admit, though, that I never imagined Colin or Trish looking anything like the couple on the book cover.

An April Love Story by Caroline B. Cooney



This image just begs for cover snark. The clothes are bad enough, but the hair is awful. Ugh. Much worse than any of the others on this list.

In any case, this book is about Lucas and Marnie, two high schoolers whose parents decide to leave the city, go to their roots, and buy a farm. I should mention that Lucas and Marnie are not related. LOL! These are two families who decide to buy a farm together.

While I hated the idea of having to leave a city to provide a positive environment for the children, I liked the classic opposites-attract romance between Marnie and Lucas. She is popular and outgoing; Lucas is a nerd. Having to work together on farm chores brings them together. In the end, Marnie and Lucas commit to each other and head off to the city for college. I was glad to see them make their own decision about where they wanted to live.

Playing Games by Eileen Hehl



Here's another classic opposites-attract story. These were very common in the young adult romances I read. Kerry is the high school class clown; Jon is an intellectual member of the chess club. It's pretty basic stuff, but I liked Kerry's interest in photography and Jon's grand gesture at the end of the book.

Cassie by Vivian Schurfranz



I don't have this one in front of me, so I don't know how well I'll remember this one. Still, I had to include a Sunfire book as one of my favorites. Sarah mentioned the Sunfire series in a recent blog entry. Cassie is like most (all?) the books in the series. The heroine has to choose between two boys. Gotta love the subheading on the cover of the book: "Her love was as wild and untameable as the frontier itself."

As I recall, Cassie lives with a native american tribe and has since childhood. I can't remember how she cames to live with them. One love interest is named Josh (I think). He's a trapper who is friendly with Cassie's tribe. Since Cassie is a blue-eyed blond, Josh knows she must have other parents. He finds them and Cassie goes back to live with them. But Cassie has a difficult time adjusting. Another boy enters her life. He likes her but has negative feelings toward native americans, so he doesn't understand that part of her.

Eventually Cassie leaves and goes with Josh, who understands and accepts all parts of her.

Kiss and Run by M. E. Cooper

Here's what I remember about this story. There are two friends who end up kissing under the mistletoe. The guy freaks out because he doesn't want to ruin their friendship, so he starts avoiding her. There's teenage romance logic for you, huh? I think the heroine is named Elise, but I could be totally wrong.

Anyway, Elise doesn't know what to make of his treatment of her, so she starts following him around, which just makes him retreat more. All is resolved when someone shows the hero (Ben?) sees a picture of him with Elise just before the mistletoe kiss. It's a pretty short book, actually, with a lot of it spent with Elise trying to hunt down Ben.

So, there are my top-five young adult romances. It's been a fun walk down memory lane.

Too Wilde to Tame

Too Wilde to Tame is Janelle Denison's latest book, and it's part of her Wilde series. It stands alone pretty well, thankfully, because I've only read a few stories in the series. This book is the story of Mia Wilde and Cameron Sinclair, and I thought it was pretty enjoyable: 4 out of 5.

Cam and Mia have been sniping at each other for ages. Theirs is a classic opposites-attract story--Mia lives up to her last name by being flirtatious, abrasive, and spontaneous. Cam is understated, cautious, and deliberate. Of course, that doesn't stop them from being attracted to each other.

Denison adds interesting depth to both characters. Behind Mia's tendency to flirt and act outrageously is a desire for acceptance. While Cam has overbearing moments, he is also sensitive enough to see past Mia's defenses. There is one moment in the book when Mia thinks that while her family loves her, Cam loves and knows her. I loved seeing Cam get to know the many sides of Mia.

Ellen mentions Denison's skill with sex scenes, and I share Ellen's opinion. The love scenes are well written, and I like the way they show the progression of Cam and Mia's relationship. This is not a book with gratuitous scenes.

I was a little annoyed by Cam's inital desire to have a "manageable" woman. Mia is anything but manageable, though, which served him right. ;) I also worried when I saw that Mia was changing when she started seeing Cam. I'm glad that her changes ended up being the result of self-analysis and not a desire to make herself into someone more suited to Cam.

I find it interesting that the previous books in the Wilde series were published by Brava; Too Wilde to Tame is a Berkley release. I'm curious about what's behind the switch. However, it ended up being a good move for me. I would have waited to buy this book if it had come out in trade paperback first. I'm glad I didn't have to wait.

I Love You Guys!

I found out this morning that my request for people to sign up for Gena Showalter's mailing list bore fruit. I won for referring the most people to her list, so she will name one of the characters in an upcoming book after me. I'm so excited! You guys are the best. My thanks to everyone who joined her mailing list.

I'm reading Janelle Denison's Too Wilde to Tame. Look for a review in the next day or so. One of these days I will get all of my programs and files downloaded onto my laptop so I'll be better about posting images more frequently. I will get back to reading Burning Times; I just got distracted after a trip to the bookstore.

Exploding Books and Shopping Sprees

The books themselves aren't exploding, but I have books almost everywhere. I thought I had the TBR pile under control, but no. So, I'm going to buy a second bookcase for the TBR books. I already bought and assembled another bookcase for my keepers, since I was starting to pile them up on the floor. Again. Once I get everything assembled, I will post pictures.

While I'm out, I'm going to make a few other shopping stops. I found some great Labor Day sale ads. I hope I have some money left when I return home.

Blog for Relief

Today is Blog for Relief Day. I encourage you to contribute funds to a charitable organization dedicated to helping those affected by hurricane Katrina. Angie P has an excellent list of links to organizations.

Many of us know people (in person or online) who have been affected by this. In the romance-blogging world, Larissa Ione has lost her home. Auctions are being started to raise money on her behalf, and you can also contribute directly. Visit Alison Kent's blog for more information.

My thoughts and prayers are with those who are suffering because of this tragedy.

August Reviews

Here are links to my August reviews at The Romance Reader.

The Runaway Heiress
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?

There's one more that should be up now; I'll check with Dede about that. But even so, I am apparently one of the laziest reviewers TRR has. I really need to finish X-treme Dating. I got to page 59, then put it down. It's been a laborious read. If it keeps going at this rate, the review itself should be interesting.