GrowlyCub's Den

Book Review: Untamed by Anna Cowan

2013-05-02T08:19:37Z

So, I read this historical romance that sounded interesting because it has a cross-dressing duke and I was curious how an author would make that work.

SPOILERS abound, so do not read further if you plan to read the book and don't like SPOILERS

Anyway, meet Lydia, who is not the heroine, but her sister and who is committing adultery with the cross-dressing duke (CDD) because she's afraid of her big, clumsy husband who reminds her of her daddy who liked her a bit too much even though he never touched her. All of which we don't find out until 200+ pages into the book. Yeah, that made loads of sense to me, too.

Lydia is also super mean to her ugly, 28yo sister, Kit, who has a crooked nose and crippled hand and a coarse pelt of hair, because she hates her as her then 14yo sister didn't try harder to take her away from daddy (hey, Kit only got beaten to a pulp by daddy dearest, but she should have stood up to him, right?)

Kit is in London much against her will because she doesn't think her bro, Tom, will take good care of the pigs while she's gone and she really doesn't want to be at balls so she's totally rude to the suitors her sister presents her to. Then one evening she decides to spy on a guy having sex with another woman on the piano and she's horrified because he is totally not there while he fucks that woman. And she had met the guy earlier and liked him and now she's all disappointed that he's not there when having sex.

Hence, Kit leaves to go back home to make sure the pigs are taken care of, but the guy she liked and then didn't like blackmails her into taking him with her to her home and he turns up dressed to the nines as a female on departure. Kit's all sad because her home's not fit for a duke and tells him so, but hey, he thinks that means maybe only 25 maids instead 50.

He's taken a bit aback when they arrive and it turns out it's just Ma (yup, that sounded terribly upper class Brit to me, too; all Earl's daughters go by Ma, it's the thing) and Tom, who as expected did not do as he should have by the pigs. Oh and Liza, the maid. Next the duke maneuvers Kit into sharing her tiny room and bed with him because he's afraid of the dark, no really! He gets panic attacks, but in a way he's also out to do bad things to Lydia's husband through her family for no apparent reason, or maybe he's not and he just thinks the ugly coarse-pelted woman will somehow magically exorcise all that's wrong with his life by not having sex with him and by absolutely NO WAY ever touching him in a bed meant for one person.

Oh wait, let's talk about bro Tom, who is 26 and a writer and the duke has read his books, but we all know writers don't make shit, so it's totally all right that Kit is out there chopping wood and pulling carrots and doing right by the pigs, while Tom is lounging around with ink-stained fingers doing jackshit to feed the family. But it's all cool because he couldn't have taken the power away from his older sister... what a prince of a male. Also, wait for it, he's gay, which totally explains everything, dontcha know?

Let's talk a bit about daddy dearest, who's the villain of the piece. He's dead, but he was a gambler and he was totally mean, which we are told in bits and vague allusions here and there, and told and told and then told some more. Daddy dearest loved Kit so very much he brought her up in his image, but then totally out the blue he decided that she was an awful hag and he started hating her and loving on Lydia instead (after breaking Kit's nose and hand and not letting her heal so she's all ugly and crooked now).

And then there's the awful squire who was daddy dearest BFForever and ever and ever and he has some mysterious hold on Kit who has to go to tea every so often which makes her very, very sad.

And Ma, oh, poor Ma, she's doing embroidery to impress the CDD, but it's not hers and she's only pretending and she sits around and stares into the fire a lot.

So, let's count the males, shall we?

1 cross-dressing duke who is mean as shit because he's not his daddy's son and due to that his daddy forbid EVERYBODY to ever ever EVER touch him, the little bastard. He's also kinda working for the Prime Minister. Remember that woman he shagged without being there? Yup, that was to make Liverpool happy so the woman's husband could get a divorce and he'd vote for Corn Law reform. CDD has panic attacks and can't breathe and we are supposed to feel very, very sorry for him while he manipulates and lies to everybody. Also, his first name is Jude, such a common aristo duke offspring name, you will agree.

1 useless, ink-stained brother, whom we are supposed to like because he's a misunderstood writer

1 big lummox of a husband, who desperately loves his wife, but for which we are supposed to detest him, because really, how dare he remind his wife of her daddy who did not sexually abuse her?

1 villainous daddy dearest who lost the family fortune, did not sexually abuse anybody (except his wife maybe?), but who did smash in Kit's face

1 villainous daddy dearest's BFForever and ever and ever who is really acting in Kit's best interest or so he thinks

4 or 5 gay young dandies who hang on the CDD's every word and don't abandon him even when he's a total shit to them

Are we detecting a pattern here? Is it just me?

In any case, we have a heroine, who so intrigued CDD by telling him that he was nothing but his clothes when she didn't realize he was CDD, he just knows she'll magically cure his panic attacks. She's ugly, did I mention that? And her face is all bashed in, but she's single-handedly held the family together for the last 10 years, well except for Lydia who's hated her for the last 14 years because she didn't make daddy dearest stop doing what he wasn't doing. She's fixed the pigsty and made the cruel and heartless decisions to butcher the pigs (you'll be relieved to hear that a butcher was actually doing that, but she passed the death sentence, the ruthless bitch) and she's chopped up the last wardrobe that winter 2 years ago when they ran out of firewood (obviously paper for bro's writing was more important than keeping Ma warm). And she's endured whatever dark alluded-to evil deeds villainous squire has perpetrated over the years and just totally sacrificed her ugly self, martyred to the last drop of blood all for her splendid family.

Shall we talk plot holes, loose threads and dangling participles next? No? You have given up? Awww, don't, we haven't gotten to the good parts yet. For a long while (till about p 270 of 320) I was convinced the cats must have mixed some opiate into my Michelina dinner, because, damn, I had NO clue who all these people were (Sophie? WTH is Sophie? oh, it's Ma) and what all the allusions and illusions were supposed to tell me. And I gotta tell ya, that's a lotta words for not saying anything at all that made any sense. All the things I shared with you above you didn't know until after about p. 270 which made it really hard to understand why all the people were acting like total loons.

Anyway, at the end our intrepid heroine saves the day and CDD yet again by defeating evil bitch woman of the 'I'm not here' sex who has a hate boner for CDD (one can only wonder why) and they live happily ever after. Except, now that intrepid martyr heroine is super rich from winning all evil bitch's money she's morphed into an industrial magnate, keeps forgetting that her family is expected for picnics, hardly remembers to eat and NEVER remembers she's married. She muses over breakfast (really over reading the financial news) how 'it made her ache, as it always did when she realised how separate they were.' It's so hard to know a CDD when one never spends any time with him because one is an industrial power house.

I figure, by now (a year later) he's gone back to having not-there-sex with lotsa men and women (I did mention we were told a few times he's bisexual, right?) to distract himself from the fact that his richer than Golden Ball wife has no time for him because she's busy doubling her fortune.

So, if you want to read a book about a martyr heroine who is the only competent human being in the world, albeit totally emotionally stinted and love books full of men in distress, this is the book for you.

I'm sure this is supposed to be a deep exploration and bouleversement of the popular damsel in distress trope, and I'm just to dumb to get it, but I'd have appreciated at least one male who wasn't a totally useless shitsack. On the bright side, the WTF kept me reading all 326 pages, although I now would like some of that imaginary dope the cats did not mix into my dinner... Also, bloody is a fabulous British swear word which unfortunately did not make an appearance in this book.

ARC received via Netgalley.

BAD Internet Laws Heading Your Way

2011-11-20T15:26:50Z

Originally posted by write_light at BAD Internet Laws Heading Your Way

From the flist:

Spread the word, even you're not a US citizen, it is important for everyone!! It easy to do and it can change everything. More info by clicking on the banner.

Website Blocking

The government can order service providers to block websites for infringing links posted by any users.

Risk of Jail for Ordinary Users

It becomes a felony with a potential 5 year sentence to stream a copyrighted work that would cost more than $2,500 to license, even if you are a totally noncommercial user, e.g. singing a pop song on Facebook.

Chaos for the Internet

Thousands of sites that are legal under the DMCA would face new legal threats. People trying to keep the internet more secure wouldn't be able to rely on the integrity of the DNS system.

Read this analysis from boing-boing.net

Get on the phone and call your representative. Express your disapproval. Tell him or her exactly how you feel, and that you don't support this. Tell your friends to call their representatives, their Congressperson, and complain. Mention that you are a registered voter that takes your civic responsibility seriously and that you will use that vote to express your feelings about this.

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_60/Internet-Companies-Boost-Hill-Lobbying-210345-1.html?pos=olobh

“We support the bill’s stated goals — providing additional enforcement tools to combat foreign ‘rogue’ websites that are dedicated to copyright infringement or counterfeiting,” the Internet companies wrote in Tuesday’s letter. “Unfortunately, the bills as drafted would expose law-abiding U.S. Internet and technology companies to new uncertain liabilities, private rights of action and technology mandates that would require monitoring of websites.” The chamber-led coalition in support of the bill includes Walmart, Eli Lilly & Co. and Netflix.

Google and other opponents of the legislation argue that restricting the Internet in the U.S. sets a bad international precedent and that the language defines infringing too broadly.

So, Monday

2011-10-11T08:57:19Z

Did everybody else's Monday turn out as awful as mine? Is there something in the water? Is it full moon now? I'm about ready to move into a hermit cave (but with internet access please).

Is it full moon?

2011-09-30T04:07:47Z

Because the nutcases are out in full force today. That is all.

Enough with the 'interesting times' already!

2011-07-06T21:45:31Z

Sigh. 2011 has been leagues worse than 2010 and I really didn't think that was possible. That alone should probably have clued me in.

So far in 2011, I dropped my older Sony Vaio (backup) laptop and broke the screen, my 6 year old Dell got a serious virus I can't get off, my newer Sony Vaio laptop died last week (it will boot only partially then turn itself off), I reluctantly bought a new laptop I couldn't afford yesterday, but it's not what I'm used to even though it's a Vaio as well (I assume it's Win 7 causing all the stability issues), the A/C in my car is going flakey and nobody can figure out why it stops working sometimes and now, today, my Sony 505 ereader died.

That recital does not include other pretty serious stuff that's going on, but it covers the technology side. Can somebody please make it stop now, because I'm about at the end of my tether. :(

That's probably my whine for the year and I return you to your regularly scheduled programming now. Hope life treats all of you on my friends' list a *lot* better!

Memphis

2011-04-08T22:24:46Z

I'm in Memphis with Dragon and Harvey, hoping to get the last 5 points Harvey needs to become a Grand Premier. His family sent him off with me with good wishes and crossed fingers, but I figure it wouldn't hurt to ask for some more good wishes sent our way! :)

Here's the cat formerly known as Tai... :)

Lisa, didn't call because I think your parents are still here, but if not and you have no other plans for tonight, please feel free to call me. I'm on Sycamore View as usual.

Wildfire x Gunnie kittens at 1 week old, March 14, 2011

2011-03-16T14:39:00Z

These kittens are growing apace. They are huge compared to our last litter (between 7.7oz and 10.2oz or 218g and 290g) and as you can see they are already trying to walk. All have their eyes open already as well. I foresee interesting times! :)

Why, yes, I have a video cam now! ;)

2011-03-09T23:24:50Z

Please help me welcome 4 new Firelings to the planet!

2011-03-07T17:59:32Z

After making me think Wednesday and then again Thursday, and Friday *and* Saturday that she was surely going to have these babies that day, Wildfire finally settled down to things last night. We have 4 new Firemountain Maine Coonlings, 3 boys and a girl. :)

They are all significantly larger than past litters, between 4oz for the girl and 5.4oz for the biggest boy and mom's labor was quite intense. Colors are currently open for discussion, most likely the boys are cameos with white (red silver with white) and the girl looks to be a silver patched tabby with white.

Proud daddy is CFA GC Catgo Top Gun of Firemountain, proud mama is Koonikats Wildfire of Firemountain.

My top 10 reads for 2010

2010-12-29T15:14:55Z

All but one are historical romance and I'd claim the SF is a rom first as well. :)

Lavinia Kent Bound By Temptation A-
Victoria Dahl A Little Bit Wild A-
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Mouse and Dragon A
Judith James Libertine's Kiss A-
Sherry Thomas His at Night A-
-----------------------------------------
Susanna Fraser The Sergeant's Lady B+
Anne Mallory Seven Secrets of Seduction B+
Jenny Brown Lord Lightning B+

Evangeline Collins Seven Nights to Forever B+
Rose Lerner In for a Penny B-

Both the Lerner and Collins suffered from unsatisfying endings, but the first 2/3s of each book were excellent and I look forward to reading more by these authors.

New toys

2010-11-08T23:16:53Z

There's a new toy in the house: a very basic camcorder for me to tape evilie antics. So, now I have a YouTube channel (FiremountainCattery) and present my very first, very imperfect upload of kittens at play.

The three in the video are Star (brown tabby), Tiny (red tabby) and Kit (red tabby with white). Kit is available. If anybody would like to add a Maine Coon kitten to their household, please let me know! :)

Review: 'Libertine's Kiss' by Judith James

2010-08-21T15:04:32Z

I received an eARC for Libertine's Kiss via netgalley.com. It is Judith James' August HQN Historical release in stores now.

Here's (part of) the blurb from the author's website:

"The Civil war has cost the once high spirited Elizabeth Walters her best friend and her father, leaving her unprotected and alone. She flees an unwanted marriage, seeking safe haven, but what she finds there is something she never expected. Despite William’s gratitude and promise to aid her, Elizabeth never expects to set him again, but the Restoration of Charles II to his throne will bring her to the attention of both William and the king.

Can a promise long forgotten and a friendship forged in the past help two lonely people find each other and themselves? Can a debauched court poet and notorious libertine convince the wary Elizabeth he is capable of love? These are the questions asked by Libertine’s Kiss…”

I saw this on Netgalley several months ago, but decided against reading it originally because I find the English Civil War and Cromwell era utterly depressing and because I thought knowing too much about Rochester's real life would detract from the story, seeing as he died of the pox or another STD at the age of 33. It didn't seem much of a recommendation for a romantic hero, even though the Earl of Rochester became an utterly compelling person when I first stumbled across him several years ago and was inspired to do some research on his life. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend the movie 'The Libertine' starring Johnny Depp. If nothing else, it will make you reconsider your love of reading about rake heroes - showing as it does what happens to those who 'dip their wick' too freely and contract venereal disease.

But I kept hearing about Libertine's Kiss and a number of people who share my reading tastes recommended it so I requested it day before yesterday.

I'm not sure I've much to say about Libertine's Kiss except I loved it. I don't normally notice prose and find those authors who get lauded for it more often than not deadly boring, but I was compelled into the story by the lyrical prose from page 1 despite all my misgivings about setting and the author's inspiration for the hero and only stopped reading in the middle of the night when my mind kept spinning the story into dreams after my eyes had closed despite all my efforts to keep going.

I finished it this morning and wish it weren't over. I had a couple of language use quibbles, which were hopefully fixed before the final edition hit the bookstores and electrons, but if not they did not detract majorly from the story itself.

James again included a scene as in her debut book Broken Wing which involves one of my absolute dealbreakers, but fortunately it turned out it was a false scent as in BW. I do kind of wish she wouldn't do that because it does involve an utter no-no for me personally, but even if the no-no had taken place it would have made sense for the character and story, though I would have hated it (how's that for an utterly vague, non-spoilery comment :).

Libertine's Kiss is a very intense story, but not without lighter, joyous moments. Just the way I like my historical romance best.

Highly recommended. A-

ETA: A kind soul pointed out that I should mention that this is indeed a romance novel with a HEA and that the hero is only based on Rochester in a 'what if he had become a faithful husband' kind of scenario.

Review: 'Tracker's Sin' by Sarah McCarty

2010-08-19T22:42:27Z

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley.com and the following blurb is courtesy of Netgalley. I tried to check if this is the official Harlequin blurb, but the Harlequin site has neither a cover nor a blurb available for this October 1 Spice title.

        "WED BY NECESSITY…JOINED BY DESIRE

        Before his trade became his name, “Tracker” Ochoa was a scrawny Mestizo runaway. Now as fearsome as he once was frightened, he’s joined the notorious Hell’s Eight...and they have a job for him.

        He must rescue kidnapped heiress Ari Blake and deliver her safely to the Hell’s Eight compound—by any means necessary. Turns out that includes marrying her, if he means to escort her and her infant daughter across the Texas Territory. Tracker hadn’t bargained on a wife—especially such a fair, blue-eyed beauty. But the erotic pleasures of the marriage bed more than make up for the surprise.

        Tracker’s well-muscled bronze skin and dark, dangerous eyes are far more exciting than any of Ari’s former debutante dreams. In the light of day, though, his deep scars and brooding intensity terrify her. But he’s her husband and she’s at his mercy. With the frontier against them and mercenary bandits at their heels, Ari fears she’ll never feel safe again.

        Tracker, too, remembers what fear feels like. Though he burns to protect Ari, to keep her for himself always, he knows that money, history—and especially the truth—can tear them apart."

Unfortunately, this summary has extremely little to do with the actual story and even contains one glaring error. I find it rather annoying when blurbs are so far off.

That said, I spent an enjoyable afternoon reading Sarah McCarty's fourth entry in the Hell's Eight series, Tracker's Sin (after Caine's Reckoning, Sam's Creed and Tucker's Claim). Before I started reading, I was rather concerned how McCarty would manage the heroine's horrific past within the confines of the story - after all this is published in an erotic romance imprint - and I'm pleased to be able to say that this part of the story worked pretty well for me. The device McCarty employed to make Ari's reaction to Tracker possible seemed plausible.

Overall, there weren't any too outrageous or eye-roll inducing events (until the very end), but I very much miss the intensity of McCarty's earlier writing. Both Sam's Creed and Caine's Reckoning just grabbed you by the throat and didn't let go. While I read Tracker's Sin in one sitting, I never felt the same way about these two characters, which is particularly sad, as Tracker was the character who literally leapt from the pages for me in the first Hell's Eight book I read and I couldn't wait for his story.

The secondary characters in the form of Ari's adoptive parents never became more than ciphers and their motivations seemed nebulous, but the climax to the mystery of who had been after Ari and her sister was used splendidly to set up the next book in the series.

I'm not sure I'd call this book erotic romance even with the less than mainstream sex scene thrown in at the end. I feel a bit perverse for seeming to complain about this, in light of the fact that I would have not been able to suspend my disbelief if there had been any more 'easy' sex than there was considering Ari's extremely serious earlier trauma. I'd still have to say the hotness factor of the book was fairly low and I really question the inclusion of the last sex scene which seemed not only tacked on, but outright perfunctory and only there because author and publisher seem to think readers expect this kind of behavior of the heroes in this series.

Pleasant story with some flaws, C+.

RomCon

2010-07-09T09:38:06Z

I'm on my way to RomCon in Denver... well not quite yet, but I will be in the next 45 minutes. Hope to see some of you there!

Books read/listened to

2010-03-05T03:29:27Z

I finished listening to 'The Vor Game' and 'The Warrior's Apprentice' on audio (re-reads). I like Miles so much better as Naismith.

Now, I'm out of Miles audio, out of Bujold audio, for that matter. What to do, what to do?

Read Jo Goodman's 'Never Love a Lawman'. I really abhor the recent move towards 70k mini novels. Well, this one ain't one of those at 434 pages. Which should make me happy, if it weren't for the fact that those were the most boring 434 pages it has been my misfortune to read in a long time. Zero chemistry between the characters, boring suspense plot. Why did I finish, you ask. Well, I don't know. Maybe because so many others loved this book and gave it A grades, I kept looking to see what they were seeing. Didn't find it.

Started Hunter's 'Provocative in Pearls', but bogged down by the rather unlikeable heroine.

Finished a re-read of Jo Beverley's 'Forbidden'. It's not one I totally love like I do some early Baloghs and Putneys, but when it came up as a (rape victim) virgin hero recommendation on DA I decided a re-read was in order. Enjoyed it again!

In other news, darn FB games are cutting seriously into my reading time.

I can't for the life of me figure out what I should read next. I think I mentioned how 2010 books have sucked so far?

In additional news, Jo Bev posted a cover pic of a re-release of 'Tempting Fortune' in the UK. What is it with UK covers that make you want to buy all the books just so you can burn them to destroy their ugliness?

You can find that abomination at www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/184967003X/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1

And on that cheerful thought, I think I'm going to bed.

Books read

2010-02-24T17:35:40Z

Schone, Robin The Lady's Tutor

Apart from her invention of a non-existent female anatomical feature I really liked it.

Schone, Robin The Lover and Gabriel's Woman

These were re-reads. And coming right after TLT it was striking how dark they are. Considering I like angst and dark, it's worth mentioning that although I like both books (apart from the fact that Schone does not know what many of the 'big' words she uses mean, which leads to unintended hilarity) they are a bit too dark for me.

Hunter, Madeline The Seducer

Well, he was seducing all right, but, boy, what a boring book. I've already forgotten what it was about.

Enoch, Suzanne Meet Me at Midnight

It was fun until about halfway through when the heroine decided to become TSTL. I wish the villain had done away with her.

Thinking about heading to my local bookstore (aka Walmart) to see if the new Hunter is available. Even though DA Jane liked it less than RiR and she didn't like that one very much at all... Been mulling the 700+ books in my TBR mountain range, but so far nothing said 'read me'.

I really, really, REALLY want this reading slump to be over. It may be time to pull out some old and new favorites, but I did that so much last year I'm afraid even these titles are losing their powers.

Books read/listened to

2010-02-20T16:35:35Z

Finished Bujold's A Civil Campaign and Diplomatic Immunity in audio.

I didn't have trouble listening to either the butterbug fight or the dinner scene which was intriguing because they annoyed me when I first read the book. I still don't know what that butterbug fight was supposed to do for the plot, however. And I still don't like Ekaterin, at all. Less actually, if that's possible. Her manipulations really irk me as that's her major complaint about Miles' behavior... pot meet kettle.

Interestingly enough, I really liked ACC when I first read it and only later decided that I didn't like it due to Ekaterin. Conversely, DI was much better on my second time through (read it only once). Maybe I'm now resigned to Miles being stuck with her, lol. But since I wasn't looking for that romantic element any longer, it worked much better as an action plot.

Also read:

Hunter, Madeline Ravishing in Red

I had read the first couple of chapters and was underwhelmed with the setup but there was a very intriguing secondary characters and even though the book had gotten meh reviews I picked up a copy at the UBS last weekend. Liked it much better than anticipated even though the reason I bought it (hero's brother) didn't work out the way I had hoped for. First new book I wasn't annoyed with in quite some time. I really liked it. Looking forward to the next installment which happily comes out next Tuesday.

Finished Kinsale's Lessons in French this morning which started out good, went meh and then to 'oh, how incredibly dumb'. It wasn't as horribly slapsticky as I had expected, but the good bits got lost in all the crap she surrounded it with. Most interesting to me was Kinsale's assertion that she wrote a funny, light book. I disagree completely. It's a despressingly sad book with an unlikely and idiotic conclusion.

So much for my excitement after the Hunter that my reading slump might be over. Gah!

Books read

2010-02-08T02:18:30Z

Finished the new Balogh 'A Matter of Class' last night.

It's a hardcover novella. I got it from the library and the 20 cents rental fee will have been too much to pay for that. In other words, I was underwhelmed.

You know I was sad to see Lavyrle Spencer retire because she said she didn't have any more stories in her. I think somebody ought to tell Balogh it's time to stop repeating herself.

Get to know me meme

2010-02-03T23:28:41Z

Via mmegaera
Welcome to the new 2009 End of Year Questionnaire of getting to know your family & friends. Have fun and be truthful!

1. What is your occupation right now? Blissfully unemployed person.
2. What color are your socks right now? Black with flowers.
3. What are you listening to right now? The hum of two laptops..
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes, although I haven't in years.
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? A nurse from the doctor's office calling about RJ's prescriptions.
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes. :)
8. How old are you today? 38
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? I don't think I have one.
10. What is your favorite drink? Cranberry juice.
11. Do you dye your hair? No.
12. Favorite food? Pasta; I get grumpy if I don't get my weekly dose. :)
13. What is the last movie you watched? at a cinema? Startrek. on DVD? Ice Age 3.
14. Favorite day of the year? Don't have one.
15. How do you vent anger? I turn it inward.
16. What is your favorite season? Summer.
17. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries. I know blueberries are good for you, but ewwww.
18. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Always.
19. Who is the most likely to respond? N/A
20. Who is least likely to respond? N/A
21. Living arrangements? A single family house with a few red cats. There is a husband but he's working out of town.
22. When was the last time you cried? Fairly recently.
23. What is on the floor of your closet? Stuff, more stuff, cat stuff, cat bathing stuff, more stuff.
24. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? I'm just posting it on my LJ.
25. What did you do last night? I had dinner in Nashville with fellow members of the Nashville Cat Club, then pretty much fell asleep driving home and missed my exit which necessitated an extra 10 miles and 25 minutes driving on winding mountain roads.
26. What are you most afraid of? Spiders.
27. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheese.
28. Favorite dog breed? I'm a cat person. In a former life I liked Golden Retrievers.
29. Favorite day of the week? I don't have one.
30. How many provinces/states/countries have you lived in? 1 state, 3 countries.
31. Diamonds or Pearls? Don't do much jewelry, but definitely pearls.
32. What is your favorite flower? Roses.

Books read/listened to

2010-02-03T19:52:10Z

Finished listening to:

Lois McMaster Bujold, Komarr (audio)

I'm sure the 'I'd better offer sex soon' scene is meant to make the reader feel sorry for Ekaterin because her husband is 'so difficult'. All it did for me was exemplify why I think she's manipulative and whiny. I see nothing for Miles to fall in love with in her. Oh well, different strokes and all that.

I've actually started the audio version of 'A Civil Campaign'. Will see how far I get.

Currently trying to read Julia London's 'The Devil's Love' and hating it. But it's like a train wreck, every time after I put it down for good I end up picking it back up a little time later thinking it *has* to get better. It never does! Guess that makes me as stupid as the characters. The plot is based on a twist that makes NO sense whatsoever (she's an heiress with a 500,000 pound dowry, but if she doesn't marry the guy her father's debts won't be paid off and she doesn't get anything). Yeah, right, whatever. Why did this get published? Why were innocent trees murdered for this?

I'm repeating myself, but so far 2010 sucks as far as new-to-me authors and books. Anybody have a recommendation for me that will work, cause I'm getting a bit desperate here...

Books read/listened to

2010-02-02T01:51:38Z

And we start February.

Kathleen Gilles Seidel, The Same Last Name
This is an early 80s book and, boy, the societal mores don't translate well. Talk about double standard.

Started Charlotte Hines' The Earl's Fancy, but here we have an author who clearly has no clue what the Regency vocabulary means that she so generoulsy flings about. Not sure I'll finish that.

So far, 2010 sucks as far as new to me books are concerned.

Books read/listened to

2010-02-02T01:47:54Z

I'm slacking off already. Additional books read in January.

Kate Pearce, Riding the Line (library e-book)

Lois McMaster Bujold, Memory (audio re-read)

Started a couple of books but didn't finish.

Books read

2010-01-20T22:54:23Z

Ended up finishing Pam Rosenthal's 'The Edge of Impropriety' after all. Not bad. Pretty writing which is not something I usually pay much attention to. It also suffered from the fizzies towards the end, which might have been a good thing in a way because it wasn't so overwhelmingly sad any longer.

Reread:

Sheri Whitefeather, Cherokee Baby

Started but did not finish re-reads of Rachel Lee's first two Conard County books.

Books read/listened to

2010-01-17T01:41:28Z

The pox on social media, it's seriously cutting into my reading time. :)

Finally managed to finish a paper book yesterday.

Victoria Dahl's 'Lead Me On'

I liked it a lot but it fizzed for me 3/4 through. Since pretty much every new book I've read in the last 6 months feels like this, I'm starting to think it's me rather than the books. Enjoyable.

Before that, I listened to Lois McMaster Bujold's 'Winterfair Gifts'. Liked it even less in audio than I did on paper. Roic's POV isn't doing a thing for me.

Just finished the audio of Lois McMaster Bujold's 'Mirror Dance' Thursday. I had the same reaction to it as I did when I first read it. I wanted there to be more about Mark and the next book to be about Mark, not Miles. Mark is so much more interesting at this stage. Instead, I'm currently listening to Miles self-sabotaging and blowing up Naismith when I'm in the car.

Started reading Pam Rosenthal's 'The Edge of Impropriety' today and am 12 chapters in, but I think will abandon it. She's a fabulous writer, so good that I just cannot believe that her very damaged and very sad characters can have a HEA. I had to abandon 'The Slightest Provocation' 30 pages in because the pain was so visceral. As I love angst, I find this most intriguing, because I would have said there couldn't been too much of it. Guess I was wrong.

Books read/listened to

2010-01-07T02:06:28Z

In accordance with my New Year's Resolution, I'll be posting the books I'm reading in 2010.

So far in 2010 I've not finished a paper book.

Heyer, Georgette 'April Lady' (audio) 're-read'
Bujold, Lois McMaster 'Brothers in Arms' (audio) 're-read'