Virgin for Sale

No, the title of this blog entry isn't a reference to my resolution (heh!), it's actually the title of a January Harlequin Presents by Susan Stephens. I bought it because it's the first in a new series, Uncut, which proclaims "even more passion for your reading pleasure." There was more sex than I've read in many Presents titles, but I was too frustrated by the hero to enjoy reading it: 2 out of 5.

Constantine Zagorakis has left poverty behind to become a billionaire known for his ruthless tactics. . . .

Lisa Bond has defied her past, too; now she's independent and successful.

Their deal: One week on Constantine's private island to talk business--and he'll show her the pleasure of being with a real man. . . . But when the week is over, and their working deal sealed, both may pay a price on which they hadn't bargained. . . .

Constantine (Tino) is an alpha run amuk. I don't pick up a Presents thinking I'm going to read about a softer, gentler man, but geez. He plans to buy her company, while Lisa only wants to sell part of it, enough for a much-needed cash infusion. Otherwise, her company is likely to go under. Stated like that, it sounds like an interesting conflict.

But Tino is terribly high-handed. It's his way or the highway in business and in his personal life. The business is understandable, I guess, but I was frustrated by the way he kept thinking that Lisa was such a controlled woman and she needed someone to tame her. This, even though he knew about her background from day one--Lisa came to live with her father after leaving a fanatical commune. Does Tino really have to "tame" her to make a point?

And that brings up another thing. I thought there was so much here that was underexplored: Lisa's past and Tino's troubled past are mentioned but not delved into. This could have been a source of so much richness and character development but it just didn't happen until the very end of the book.

There are a couple of good moments that happen toward the end of the book. I was touched by the thing with the flowers (trying to be cryptic here), for instance, and I was starting to believe the scenes at the end are pretty good.

The title of this book is a misnomer. Lisa is a virgin, but she's not for sale. And about the Uncut aspect--as I said, it's racier than other Presents I have read, but it's not racy like a Brava, for instance. Though there was some spanking, which I hadn't read in a Harlequin before.

In any case, Stephens is clearly a good writer; I just wish Tino had been a bit less bulldozer-ish. I'm ready to read about a sweet beta hero. Have any suggestions?

TBR Challenge: Twice Burned

I finished this book a day late for the TBR challenge, but better late than never. Especially since I had a tough time finishing this one. I was ready to quit halfway through.

1. Title/Author
Twice Burned by Jan Coffey

2. Brief Synopsis
Lea returns to the town where she lived many years ago. Her brother lived there until he was convicted of killing his wife and children. Now he is on death row and Lea is determined to prove his innocence. She spends time with and falls in love with Mick Conklin.

3. Copyright Year
2002

4. Indicate if you liked or disliked it?
Unfortunately, I disliked it: 2 out of 5.

5. If it was designated a DIK or Five Heart book at any of the review sites?
No. I didn't check reviews before I read it. It received a C from AAR and four hearts from The Romance Reader.

6. Do you agree or disagree with the reviewers?
My opinion is closer to the AAR review. I definitely liked the story better when it was focused on the main characters, but even they don't have a whole lot of chemistry. The book jumps between about four sets of characters, which made it difficult for me to get involved in any one story.

7. Is this a new author for you?
No. I have read a historical romance by this author, written as May McGoldrick. I found it quite interesting that both books started slowly.

8. Would you read more by this author?
This makes two I've read by this author. One I liked, one I didn't. Both got off to a slow start. I have several more by the author on my TBR, but I'm not in any particular hurry to get to them.

July's challenge: historical romance. I have plenty of these on my shelves and hope to read two or three.

Post-Holiday Reading Report

I had a lovely Christmas, and I hope you had one, too.

I've done so much reading lately that I'll never get caught up if I write long analyses, so I'm going for short and sweet:

While Others Sleep by Helen R. Myers: 3 out of 5.
Myers was one of my favorite series writers--I simply adored her Silhouette Shadows books: Night Mist, Watching for Willa, and Whispers in the Woods (my favorite of the three, which made my top 100 list). She also wrote some wonderful Silhouette Romances and Desires, such as Invitation to a Wedding and Just a Memory Away.

After reading four of her single titles, however, I'm forced to admit that I don't enjoy them as much as I did her series books. While Others Sleep is an interesting story with strong characters, but they have only one meeting by page 150. After that point, things speed up. Myers has a gift for dialogue and for creating memorable characters, and these qualities are evident in While Others Sleep. It just takes much too long to get there.

Sadly, I think I'll look for her future books in the library instead of buying them new.

The Husband She Couldn't Remember by Maggie Shayne: 3 out of 5.
After reading Shayne's short story in Night's Edge, I wanted to try one of her longer books. I actually enjoy amnesia stories as long as they are done well. I've read quite a few bad ones. The Husband She Couldn't Remember was enjoyable, but nothing about it stood out. I'm still planning to try another of her longer books. Feel free to make suggestions.

Unforgettable by Meryl Sawyer: 2 out of 5.
Another amnesia story. The hero in this one drove me crazy. He couldn't decide whether she was a "floozy" or not, so he kept making 180-degree turns in his treatment of her. The reading experience nearly gave me whiplash because of it.

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas: 4 out of 5.
On rare occasions, I will read a book or watch a movie that I enjoy as I'm reading or watching, but afterward I find that I don't like it as much as I thought I did. I'm not sure if that makes sense or not, but this was the case for me when I saw Shakespeare in Love. Likewise, Again the Magic was a book I enjoyed more while I was reading it than I did after I finished.

Kleypas is a strong writer with a talent for writing passionate love scenes. I have to admit that I'm a bit tired of reading the seduction-as-revenge plot. The most frustrating thing about this book, however, is something the heroine does to the hero toward the end of the story. I understand the fear that led her to the decision, but I can only describe her behavior as cold. I thought McKenna forgave her much too quickly.

I'll stop for now, but I'll write again soon about more of the books I've read.

Alyssa

Hot Shot

Do you ever read a book that you know is well written, but you still didn't enjoy it? Such was the case for me with Hot Shot by Susan Elizabeth Phillips: 2 out of 5.

Susannah Faulconer experienced significant hardships as she grew up. Her grandmother regularly locked her in a closet. Then, when she was living safely with her mother and stepfather, she was kidnapped for a few days. These experiences led her to retreat within herself; she coped by becoming the perfect daughter.

All that changes when she meets Sam Gamble, whose passion is computers. Sam wants Susannah to convince her business-minded father to invest in his computers. Sam represents many things to Susannah--freedom and passion in particular--and she eventually runs away with him, leaving her father-approved fiance at the altar.

I wouldn't particularly describe Hot Shot as a romance, though there are romantic aspects. In fact, the story would have received a 3 if the romance in the second half had been stronger. The book covers several years and describes the background for several of the characters. In spite of these descriptions, however, I didn't connect with the characters. I understood that their backgrounds had some effect on them, but I didn't think this was portrayed as vividly as it could have been.

This is the first book I've read by Phillips, and I have to admit that I don't feel inclined to read any of her other books. There is a lot of story here, it's well researched and written, but I wasn't moved emotionally. I am interested in hearing if Hot Shot is fairly representative of her style, so feel free to comment.

Alyssa

Blood Will Tell

Last week I finished Carlton Smith's true-crime book Blood Will Tell. Blood is very telling in this story; while Ken Fitzhugh asserts that his wife, Kristine, died accidentally after falling down the stairs, blood spatter patterns suggest that she was actually attacked in the kitchen, and the scene was staged to make the death appear accidental. One investigator states it succinctly: "There's simply too much blood."

Blood Will Tell had all of the elements for an interesting story, but Smith's treatment is not particularly compelling. It starts strongly, with a brief glimpse of Ken in prison, then a switch to the description of the crime scene. But as the story continues, much of it seems wordy and not particularly illuminating. One section provides a long family history about Ken. As I read it, though, I found myself asking how much of the information was necessary to the story. The answer: not nearly as much as Smith provides.

Things pick up with the description of the trial, but even that ends with a disappointment. It's clear from the first page that Ken is convicted, but there's nothing in the book about the verdict or the sentence. This seems like a significant oversight.

It was interesting to get Ken's perspective. True-crime books aren't always able to depict both sides, but in this case, Smith interviewed Ken. Ken claims that he is innocent, of course, but apparently the jury believed otherwise. My rating of the book: 2 out of 5.

Since this blog entry focuses on crime, I'll add that I'm terribly disappointed in the verdict in the case about the death of Ted Binion. I don't understand why the two were acquitted of murder.

Alyssa

Master of the Night; Urban Legend

I like a good vampire story. Charlaine Harris writes some of my favorites; I talk about them in more detail in this blog entry. The week before Halloween seemed an appropriate time to read a few vampire novels.

Master of the Night by Angela Knight: 3 out of 5

FBI agent Erin Grayson is investigating a dangerous cult, one that she believes is responsible for the death of a former partner. That investigation leads her to Reece Champion, a mysterious businessman who also happens to be a vampire.

There's a lot happening in this book--vampires, fairies, and witches with some Arthurian legend thrown in. Although interesting, this makes the first part of the story a bit overwhelming. I won't even try to summarize the plot. :) I did enjoy Erin and Reece's story, though, and I liked the idea of the "Truebond" they shared. Knight is a talented writer, and I will seek out her other books.

Urban Legend by Erica Orloff: 2 out of 5

This is the second book I've read in the Silhouette Bombshell series, and I was disappointed. I love the idea of strong women being the center of the story, but neither this nor the other book I read (Proof by Justine Davis, also a 2 out of 5) is particularly compelling.

Tessa Van Doren owns Night Flight, a Manhattan night club under investigation by the police: Tony Flynn and his partner. Tessa has been avoiding relationships for years, but she can't help but be attracted to Flynn. She's not sure things can work between them; although they both fight evil--albeit in very different ways--Tessa is a vigilante. And then there's the fact that she's a vampire . . .

This plot of Urban Legend interested me when it came out in August, so I was quick to grab it when I saw it at the used bookstore. Unfortunately, the book didn't live up to my expectations. I understood why Tessa was so opposed to drugs after the first chapter, and I didn't need to have it continually reinforced as often as it was. It made Tessa seem one-dimensional. She's strong, yes, and she's a good fighter, but she's not particularly interesting.

Her romance with Flynn takes second place to the suspense, which isn't automatically a problem, although I prefer stories with the opposite focus. There is some heat between them initially, but I didn't learn enough about the characters to become invested in them, and their relationship seemed arbitrary. They have feelings for each other, then they get together. It's happenstance more than a natural progression.

Reading results: one story worked; another didn't. Well, all in a week's reading.

Alyssa

Halloween Pages and Some Books

Happy Halloween! I haven't been scrapbooking much lately, but I thought I'd post some Halloween pages I've done in the past. Enjoy!

Boo, Page 1
Boo, Page 2
The Ghoul Wore Pink, Page 1
The Ghoul Wore Pink, Page 2
Trick or Treat, Page 1
Trick or Treat, Page 2
Trick or Treat, Page 3
Trick or Treat, Page 4

I'm woefully behind on talking about the books I've read lately, but here are two:

Miss Match by Leslie Carroll: 2 out of 5

Everyone has plots they enjoy, and for some reason, I'm drawn to stories about matchmakers and advice columnists. In Miss Match, Walker runs his mother's matchmaking service in her absence. After seeing his mother's multiple marriages fail, he has an understandably pessimistic view of marriage. Then Kate walks in, determined to try the matchmaking service and find someone she can settle down with.

I liked the fact that Walker and Kate are 30+ years old--I wish that more books out there focused on older couples. Miss Match is also humorous and witty. So why the 2? For a few reasons: (1) Although the dialogue is witty, it didn't quite sound real to me. Walker has a friend he talks with, Kate chats with her sister, and they are all witty. There is so much talk, though, that I felt almost distanced from the characters. At times their conversations seem too intellectual. (2) I was quite frustrated with Walker halfway through the novel. The man spends too much time vacillating. He knows that Kate wants a relationship that could lead to marriage, so he needs to decide either that he's willing to try or that he's not. The halfway stuff was frustrating. (3) I was easily able to put this book down. Two weeks passed from the time I started to the time I finished it. Since I read quickly, it says something when it takes me this long to finish a book.

I had better luck with Houston, We Have a Problem by Erin McCarthy: 4 out of 5. Houston and Josie are both doctors who work at the same hospital. When Houston is around, Josie becomes uncharacteristically clumsy, dropping files and folders. This behavior drives Houston crazy in more ways than one. At first, he worries about her competence. Then he realizes there's a connection between her clumsiness and his presence. So he comes up with a proposition: they'll spend a night having sex and getting the other out of their systems.

If you think this sounds cold, you'd be right. Houston starts out as a love-'em-and-leave-'em type, who thinks one night will be enough for him. After some thought, Josie agrees to the plan and they have a passionate evening until Houston is called back to the hospital and their night comes to an abrupt end.

Of course, Josie and Houston discover that the attraction is still there, and they have to decide what to do about it. I won't say much more about the plot to avoid spoilers, but circumstances ensure that Houston and Josie get to know each other in nonsexual ways, and I enjoyed learning more about both characters and seeing their relationship evolve.

Out of the three books I've read by Erin McCarthy, Houston, We Have a Problem is my least favorite. That's not saying much, though, since I still give it a 4. Her other two books, Bad Boys Online and Smart Mouth are also 4 out of 5. If you haven't read any of her books, I highly recommend them. Keep in mind that they are on the steamy side.

Back to my TBR shelf . . .

Alyssa