Charlaine Harris Boxed Set

Spotted this at Costco today. I passed it by because my TBR pile is way high and my book allowance is alarmingly low right now, but for $32, that's a damn good deal. FYI.

Rachel Vincent Giveaway

Backcover Blurb:

Here's hoping cats do have nine lives.

I’m on trial for my life. Accused of infecting my human ex-boyfriend—and killing him to cover up the crime. I’m not guilty. But tell that to the panel of Alphas sitting in judgment. Infecting a human is one of three capital offenses recognized by the Pride—along with murder and disclosure of our existence to a human.

I’m two for three. A goner.

On top of that, Marc is in danger of being tossed from the Pride, then we discovered a rogue stray terrorizing the mountainside, hunting a wild teenage tabbycat. I think I can protect her from both the ambitious rogue and the scheming of the territorial council.

If I survive my own trial…

I like the play on words for the title.

Rachel Vincent is on my list of New Authors to try this year, but I haven't gotten started yet on her Shifters series.

This works to my advantage, because the latest releases February 1st, so more books with instant gratification potential. Excellent.

On the other hand, it maximizes my wait for the NEXT book.

Hmmm. A dilemma.

Vincent is giving away the three-book series -- check it out.

Anna Campbell’s Untouched -- Review

Nutshell plot: Grace, a poor but well-born widow, is mistaken for a prostitute and kidnapped to a secure manor to supply sexual services to an imprisoned, perhaps mad, nobleman. A gender-reversed Cinderella story, right down to the ugly stepbrothers. (Warning: watch for a mild spoiler ahead).

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I think the circumstances that drive the plot are pre-posterous. True, the treatment of illnesses, physical and especially mental, could really result in almost anything in those days but the kidnapping and the whole “hump or die*” ultimatum delivered to Grace and the sheer evilness of the uncle and his henchmen verged on parody.

There was nothing funny though about the scenes in which Grace was brutalized. It’s a pretty dark book. Frankly I find it pretty hard to believe that a) Our Hero could have survived his imprisonment with so much humanity intact and b) Our Heroine would fall so smack in love in such a strange situation. Maybe it’s some kind of weird permutation of Stockholm Syndrome, I dunno.

Getting past those barriers to the suspension of disbelief however, I love Campbell’s writing and the way her characters unfold. Here’s the v. mild spoiler (highlight to read): When Grace first appears, the bits of information we are given about her background that lead the reader to assumptions about her class and family rank. Eventually, these assumptions take a beating… and then shatter, in a bit of a preview of what Matthew must feel when he finds out. Even though the reveal is a surprise, it’s not an out of the blue, deus ex machina event – enough meaty bits of information are given to us gradually, building over time, so the Big Thing is not such a stretch after all. (Sorry to be cryptic – I’m trying not to spoil too much!)

The most interesting conflict in this story is that, after becoming acquainted, the characters are very inclined to, erm, add benefits to their friendship, but there are major, important reasons for each of them not to. Grace has insisted to The Bad Guys that she is not a woman of loose morals. She can’t win – if she refuses to sleep with Matthew, she’s to be handed over to the horrible Monks and Filey for rape and death. If she does sleep with him, she betrays herself, her upbringing, and eventually she believes, Matthew himself.

Matthew on the other hand, has other demons. He is very nearly powerless against his uncle, the author of his imprisonment, and thus desperately needs to be in control of himself. Not sleeping with Grace is a way of exercising that control and of thwarting his uncle. But at what cost? He has no doubt that the hump-or-die threat to her is not an idle one.

And so, they contrive to sleep together – literally – but not have sex. If it weren’t for the raging attraction between them, this was so crazy it just might have worked. However, this attraction ratchets up the stakes for both of them: contradictorily, it becomes even more important to Grace that Matthew not take her for a whore; and for his part, he has even more reason to treat her well. The strain has an almost Gift of the Magi-esque symmetry to it. Eventually of course, they give in to the attraction. Their passion and odd friendship merge into a true love affair. After additional misadventures, sacrifice and pain, the bad guys are defeated and the devoted couple live happily ever after (I don’t think that counts as a spoiler, do you??).

The emotional growth that these characters go through is the really compelling part of this story. Grace comes to terms with her past, and the scenes of reconciled estrangement are moving and ring true. Once the initial mistrust between Grace and Matthew is overcome, the tenderness between them is exquisite. In fact, the chord that sounds between these two once they profess their love for each other is so profound, it occurs to me that the choice of "Grace" as the name for heroine is not accidental. My theology is weak (coughcoughnonexistentcough) so I peeked at some articles on the theology of the state of grace, which, yeah, interesting but way too deep for me. I still suspect there is an allegory or a parable or something deep and literary like that to be drawn, but that task will have to go to someone who is more knowledgeable about the subject than me. I'm reasonably sure it's in there, though.

It's hard to find a good spot to excerpt, at least I think so, because the scenes are so layered I'd need to snip pages and pages to really give you a good sense of what I love about Campbell's writing. But I'll give it my best shot -- here, Matthew is trying to convince Grace to escape:

"I can't leave you." She wanted to sound strong, invincible, but the words emerged as a choked plea. "Don't make me go."

His face constracted with pain. "Let me save you, Grace. Give me this one gift." Then, in a low, shaking voice, "For God's sake, allow me this if nothing else. I have nothing else."

His last statement cut through her resistance like a knife through butter. She fought back tears. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't cry.

Acrid shame flooded her. Her defiance tortured him to his limits and he'd already borne so much. She expelled her breath on a muffled sob. "You break my heart."

He understood immediately that she'd acknowledged his right to banish her. He stepped forward to take her in his arms. "I wish to God it could be otherwise, my darling."

"When I'm free, I'll get you out of here," she said fiercely, tilting her head so she could see his face.

I love how instantly and perfectly she understands his need to save her, and puts that above her own desires to stay with him and try to find a way for them both to leave together. There's more, but if I don't stop here I'll end up posting the whole chapter, which is generally not recommended. You can read the first scene on Cambell's website though.

Last month, RNTV ran a spotlight on virgin heroes, and this was one of the featured books. The review includes an interview with Anna Campbell on the topic.

This is for sure a little different from the usual pattern, but in all honesty I didn't find it all that big of a deal. I liked the way Campbell handled it; I think it was right for his character. His learning curve was perhaps a little unrealistically steep, heh, but I'll concede that much and more for the sake of the romance fantasy.

Untouched is the book that put me over the top for dark and tortured. It's very dark. There is enough torture here to be disturbing, if not graphic (ie, most of it takes place "offstage"). So if you're looking for light and breezy, this ain't it. But these are characters that will stay with you for awhile. They're worth the effort. I recommend.

And I have Tempt The Devil in my TBR pile, but I need a break first. I swear, I'm gonna read nothing but fluff for awhile. (Or this. It might make my brain hurt, but it doesn't make my soul ache.)

________________
*If you don't get the reference, go to the link and skip to about 7:00 in the clip. It's good to be the king.

This 'n That

This....

I *thought* about writing a post or two this weekend. I've got a number of done-reading, waiting-for-review items. But, listless and lackadaisical, I poked around on Facebook, some discussion forums, and played a lot of solitaire instead.


That....

I mean, I didn't even deal with the giveaway I was supposed to do Friday. OK, so let's get that out of the way now. <drumroll> ... the magic random number generator says.......... I HEART BOOK GOSSIP, come on down! Or, you know. Email me your snail addy. If you want to be technical.

Thanks for playing, everyone!

Some Other Stuff....

In other book news, I'm really, really trying to read Pride and Prejudice for this week's Weekly Geeks carnival. I think the best I can say about it is that it's a fantastic anti-insomnia aid. I'll do a full post on it later this week, but at this point I think it's safe to say that I'm not a classics kind of gal, at least not any more.

Maybe I should try the movie instead. Though I have to say, the mutton-chop doesn't really do it for me. I am apparently a P&P lost cause.

And Finally....

This has worked for me in the past, so I'm going to try it again-- here are some reviews that I'm hoping to get going in the near future. Which one do you want to see the most?

Kiss of a Demon King -- Kresley Cole
Bitten -- Kelley Armstrong
Magic Bites -- Ilona Andrews
Untouched-- Anna Campbell

Oh, and PS, one more thing...

For those of you who've been considering writing a penis-oriented post just to drive traffic-- not that any of you would do such a thing, nor of course would *I*; however, just hypothetically speaking, if one were interested in the bemusing results-- observe:

Dark and Tortured

I think I've had all I can take, for the moment, of dark and tortured heroes. Dark and tortured plots. Dark and tortured settings. Evil, dark and torturous villains and their filthy, irredeemably awful henchmen.

I just finished Anna Campbell's Untouched. It was good, but argggh. I am officially at my limit for reading about the profoundly horrible things that Our Hero has had to rise above to become The Man He Is Today. I'll do an actual review later-- I want to do it justice.

But for now, I'd really like to read some fluff that's ACTUALLY fluffy. Maybe Jill Shalvis. I have a stack of Julia Quinn's backlist. Maybe it's time for Jenny Crusie re-read. I can't decide.

Any other suggestions?

Thursday Thirteen, Edition 7

13 BOOK BLOGS TO CHECK OUT

Oh, and don't forget to throw in for the Kresley Cole Giveaway -- deadline is noon tomorrow PST.

These are blogs that are either new to me, or I’ve been meaning to add to my blogroll for awhile. Check them out, I think there’s something here for everyone: 1. A Blog of Books Book Maniac writes very organized reviews for every kind of book you can think of. 2. Stumbling Over Chaos - Cats, LOLCats, knitting… and books. This is a woman who reads WHILE she knits—that’s dedication! Click on the “Reading” tag to find short, pithy reviews by the batch. 3. Lurv A La Mode Oh, everybody knows KMont, right? I’ve been to Lurv more than once but somehow never added it into my regular routine. Why? Apparently I haz teh dum, that’s why. 4. The Good, The Bad, and the Unread I kind of don't get the duck thing, but the reviews are good. Confession: I have had this blog confused with Good Books, Bad Books, and Every Book In Between. I, um, didn’t realize there were two. To continue with the dum theme. 5. The Book Girl: Lots of contemp reviews and a lovely, serene template. 6. Hey Lady, Whatcha Reading? I met Trish at BookBlogs.ning-- she’s AWESOME, and incredibly generous with tips and advice about blogging. 7. Lizzie, By The Book. From Proust to Plum. Makes me dizzy in a good way. 8. She Reads and Reads: Avisannschild does a ton of memes, interviews, and challenges – fun stuff. And I love the blog name, don’t you? 9. Moonlight to Twilight: Ms. Moonlight writes very thorough and spoilerrific reviews (she has a prominently placed warning) so go here when you want to dish about a book you’ve both read. 10. The Ginger Kid I have a confession. JenB’s blog is not new to me, but I have kept her out of my blogroll because she’s just so delightfully dirty. I know you are all shocked to hear this, but I daily on very rare occasion cruise my blogroll from work, and I could never remember to save The Ginger Kid until I got home. Click with caution (but do click). 11. For The Love of Books MariDarling is passionate about books, and finds time to read and blog on a student’s busy schedule. And her template is gorgeous. 12. Book Binge: A really popular review blog that I want to check out more often. 13. The Book Smugglers: Ditto.

The New Thursday Thirteen Site


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Bad Memer

From Jackie	From Book Maniac	From Jackie and Medical Librarian	From Jackie

And the latest, from Ciara didn't have a button, but if I were good with p-shop, I'd whip one up that combines images of books, Starbucks, chocolate, and a computer. Heh.

As Ann Landers used to say, forty lashes with a wet noodle for me.

I’m very lucky to have several friends out in the blogosphere who have “adopted” me and helped get the word out about Alpha Heroes. A year ago, I had no idea what a blog meme was. Now, I sort of have a backlog to deal with. I’m going to use the holiday bustle as an excuse. (Is it working?)

I mean, some of these involve effort. For the Six Values one. I started to write my post for it, but it turned into “Six Things People Should Do/Be AND WHY THIS CERTAIN PERSON IN MY LIFE WHO DOESN’T/ISN’T IS DRIVING ME BATSHIT CRAZY RIGHT NOW” …

<deep breath>… and let’s face it, no one wants to read that. The process of letting that post cool off ended up in more than a month of procrastination.

Then other awards/memes came along but I didn’t want to respond until I had that first one taken care of, and, well, now here we are.

I see these awards as less about how great Alpha Heroes is and more about how loyal these friends are. So, Ciara, and Jackie, and Book Maniac, you have my sincerest appreciation and admiration. And I’m going to knock out all these memes in one go.

Being me, I’m going to put a little bit different spin on it. Most of the blogs I love and read regularly are linked in my sidebar, and thanks to my procrastination, most of them have already received and passed along these awards. Every day I get more and more enjoyment out of the strengthening bonds and friendships in this little blog circle, but now and then I feel the need to expand my boundaries. So my pledge, as the recipient of these lovely awards, is to do a new Thursday Thirteen tomorrow with a list of new(ish)-to-me book blogs. Some of them are fairly new and I know their authors will appreciate you stopping by and leaving a word or two of encouragement. I’ll also be updating my blog roll over the next few days.

In this way, I hope I’m “paying forward” a little bit of the support I’ve received, especially from Ciara and Jackie.