Flight into Fantasy

I finished the MP3 CD I’d made of several ebooks yesterday, so it’s time to make a new one. I’m really excited about all of these books for various reasons.

• The Keeper by Sarah Langan – I chose it because of a compelling review I read somewhere, which made me think I would enjoy it a lot. Plus, it's nearly October, and so time for Halloween.

• Lover Awakened by J. R. Ward – Because I am a hopeless fangirl even though I hated how easily she manipulated me into getting this book.
• The Mysterious Miss M by Diane Gaston – Gaston is the author of the month in a Yahoo group I joined recently. This was the only book of hers I could find anywhere on ebook, and it’s about a prostitute heroine. What’s not to like?
• Sin and Sensibility by Suzanne Enoch – I picked this because it was the top suggestion on my librarything list. So if I hate it, I will blame Librarything.
• Wild at Heart by Patricia Gaffney – I love the idea of a wild man teaching civilized people about themselves, and it’s set at the turn of the last century, which is a departure from a lot of historical romances I’ve read.
• The Elvenbane by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey – I’ve been wanting to read this book since I was a teenager, because it looked fun. I don’t know if that is a strong enough recommendation for me to enjoy it now, but Lackey and Norton are both good authors, so I’ll probably breeze through it.
• Sweet Starfire by Jayne Ann Krentz – JAK is a romance genre staple, and I’ve never read her, so I picked one of her futuristics to see if I’d enjoy her.

So, yeah. I should have plenty to read lately!

Title: Dreaming of You
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Genre: Historical romance
Grade: A
Summary: She stood at danger’s threshold–
then love beckoned her in.
In the shelter of her country cottage, Sara Feilding puts pen to paper to create
dreams. But curiosity has enticed the prim, well-bred gentlewoman out of her safe
haven–and into Derek Craven’s dangerous world.
A handsome, tough and tenacious Cockney, he rose from poverty to become lord of
London’s most exclusive gambling house–a struggle that has left Derek Craven fabulously
wealthy, but hardened and suspicious. And now duty demands he allow Sara Fielding
into his world–with her impeccable manners and her infuriating innocence. But here,
in a perilous shadow-realm of ever-shifting fortunes, even a proper “mouse” can be
transformed into a breathtaking enchantress–and a world-weary gambler can be shaken
to his cynical core by the power of passion. . .and the promise of love.
My Thoughts: Man, did I love this book. This is exactly what I want to find when I read a historical romance–well-drawn characters, sizzling passion, and an interesting premise.

For me, Sarah totally makes this book. I identified strongly with her, mostly because we’re the same age and I enjoy writing, too. And Sarah, unlike a lot of other heroines I’ve read, is capable of taking care of herself. I admired her quiet strength, and the fact that she really did show herself to be a lovely person. We didn’t need to be beaten over the head with her purity and sweetness and light.

Derek I liked, too. He’s had a lot of struggles, and he’s realizing that, like the song says, money can’t buy him love. I really like reading about heroes who are totally flummoxed by their feelings for the heroines, and that was Derek’s reaction.

My one quibble with the book was that I thought the evil other woman was a little over the top in her jealous craziness. Whereas most of the rest of the characters were drawn well and quite interesting, this woman rang a bit flat to me.

Other than that small detail, this was a very very well-drawn romance and I’m definitely going to be reading more Kleypas.

Title: Fantasy Lover
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Grade: B-

Summary: For 2,000 years, Julian of Macedon has lived a curse of being a love-slave. When
he is summoned to fulfill Grace Alexander’s sexual fantasies, Grace is the first
woman to see him as a man with a tormented past. Taking him out into the world, instead
of keeping him in the bedroom, Grace teaches Julian to love again. But can that alone
break the 2,000-year-old curse he is under?

The Good: Well, this was fun. I’ve been kind of sick this week, and so I’ve been trying to read things that aren’t going to tax my brain and that I can put aside when I get tired. This was a perfect book for that occasion. I especially liked the presence of the greek gods in this book, as they provide some much-needed comic relief. And there’s a point where Grace is waxing nostalgic about some of her favorite books, some of which were mine, too.

The Bad: Well, I didn’t feel like I connected at all with the characters. Julian is tortured, but sometimes the extent of what he’s gone through seems a little over the top. And it was really hard to warm up to either him or Grace, since I felt like they were over the top wish fulfillment fantasies. And after about the third time we had a scene with a bunch of slutty women pawing Julian and trying to throw themselves at him, I started rolling my eyes. Also, some of the dialogue didn’t ring especially true for me, and I never really got individual voices from any of the characters.

Final Thoughts: Like I said, this was fun. I don’t know if I’ll read any of Kenyon’s Dark Hunters books, but this was a nice enough way to kill a couple of free hours.

Title: The Unsung Hero
Author: Suzanne Brockmann
Genre: contemporary romance
Grade: A

Synopsis: After a near-fatal head injury, navy SEAL lieutenant Tom Paoletti catches a terrifying
glimpse of an international terrorist in his New England hometown. When he calls
for help, the navy dismisses the danger as injury-induced imaginings. In a desperate,
last-ditch effort to prevent disaster, Tom creates his own makeshift counterterrorist
team, assembling his most loyal officers, two elderly war veterans, a couple of misfit
teenagers, and Dr. Kelly Ashton-the sweet “girl next door” who has grown into a remarkable
woman. The town’s infamous bad boy, Tom has always longed for Kelly. Now he has one
final chance for happiness, one last chance to win her heart, and one desperate chance
to save the day . . .
The Good: I’d heard a lot about Suzanne Brockmann’s books about navy S.E.A.L.s, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like the idea of military romance, but I was pleasantly surprised. Brockmann’s characterization is wonderful, and she weaves multiple plot threads seamlessly. What I especially liked was that the characters here felt like real people, not just romance novel caricatures. I could relate to them, and I got the sense that Tom and Kelly both had lives and interests and people that they cared about other than each other. They also talked like normal people do, having the same mistakes and miscommunications that we all face in relationships. Nothing here was blown out of proportion, and I felt convinced by the ending. Also, the secondary romances were well-done, and in the case of Tom’s niece Mallory and David, a geeky artist who wants her to pose for a graphic novel he’s drawing, were even a little more compelling than the primary storyline.

The Bad: I didn’t really have all that many quibbles. I thought the end was a tad rushed, and I never really got a sense of urgency from the suspence thread. But that’s a minor quibble and a personal preference, mostly. Also, there was a scene in which David tries to get a romance-reading Mallory to try Heinlein, which pulled me out of the story because I was trying to imagine what Heinlein book he would have recced to her. I never did come up with an answer to that which satisfied me.

Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed this and will be reading future Brockmann books.

Title: Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations
Author: Al Franken
Genre: Political humor
Grade: B

Summary: This is a seriously dated bit of social satire. Franken pokes fun at the Republican party and the key figures of same that were around in the 1990’s.

The Good: I never know quite what to say about the nonfiction I read. I enjoyed this a lot, and there were some laugh out loud moments. If I’d been politically savvy at the age of fourteen, I might have enjoyed this more when it came out.

The Bad: I don’t quite know if Franken’s style of humor works for me. Sometimes I think he is a bit too egotistical, which I don’t really care for. I’d probably read another of his books, but maybe it’s just that political satire isn’t really my thing.

Title: Lover Eternal
Author: J. R. Ward
Genre: vampire romance
Grade: B+

Summary: This second installment of the Black Dagger Brotherhood features Rhage, a vampire with movie star good looks and a literal beast inside him, who falls in love with Mary Luce, a woman who is dying of leukemia.

The Good: This book was cruising along happily until about chapter 48 or so, and I was loving it. Rhage is a fun character, the type of romance novel hero who appeals to me. I loved how he managed to not creep me out at all with his interest in Mary, and I was fascinated by the struggles he had to endure with his inner beast. And though I’ve read reviews where people have complained that Mary’s not a strong character, I liked her a lot. I empathized with her, and I thought her reactions were mostly realistic. Also, for the most part, the subplots in this one were juggled nicely. I am especially intrigued by John, a young vampire we get introduced to, and I can’t wait to read more about him. Also, Ward succeeded in making me want to read Zsadist’s book, although I’m annoyed that she succeeded too well. And in this book, we get into the head of one of her villains, which I liked quite a bit, since there was no redeeming the guy but I could see what had gone wrong with him and I felt sad that he’d ended up in the position he was in.

The Bad: Mostly, like I said, this was very good. Then we got to the end. I hated the end. It resolved the main romance (albeit with the aid of the Scribe Virgin, who I actively hated in this book), but there were a couple of plot threads left dangling, clearly in an attempt to make me pant for the third book. I really didn’t like how Ward manipulated me, and thus I’ve decided this is deserving of a B+ rather than the A I was going to give it.

Also, though Ward does do a little better with her villains, about halfway through the book, I found myself hoping a Lesser would show up named Mr. T. Because that would amuse me.

Title: Lord of Scoundrels
Author: Loretta Chase
Genre: Historical romance
Grade: A-

Plot: Jessica Trent meets the Marquess of Dain when she’s trying to rescue her silly brother from the debts he’s gotten himself into. Sparks fly between Jessica and Dain, and, after a series of events, they marry, after which Jessica must try to heal Dain’s wounded soul.
Thoughts: The readers over at All About Romance have rated this book as the 1 best romance of all time, so I was expecting something excellent. And while I didn’t find the story perfect, and probably ended up liking it less because of the fact that it’s been heavily hyped, I really did enjoy it. Jessica is a sensible, practical woman who doesn’t let anyone, most especially Dain, push her around. She’s practical and smart, and I loved that about her. Dain, in the meantime, is actually the sensitive, emotional one, and I loved his struggles to come to terms with his past and his feelings for Jessica. The banter between them is sizzling, and the sexual tension is squirm-in-your-chair intense.

My only real nitpick about this book was that I wish Chase had drawn the secondary characters a bit better. They felt a little like members of stock character central casting. My only other gripe was that Jessica says she’s discussed sex in rather a lot of detail with her eccentric grandmother. At that point I shook my head and raised my eyebrows, because no, I don’t see that. My grandma is the last person I’d ever talk about sex with.

But apart from that, the story is wonderful, and I would probably read more Chase.

…was some damn good reading. Well-plotted, suspenseful, and a lot of fun, with some great characters. But then, I have come to expect that from Lois McMaster Bujold.

Now I’m off to go do something else while I’m enjoying the effects of having read a really, really good book.