Review: Thoughtless by S. C. Stephens

Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens





There is cheating in Thoughtless. A lot of it. The first time Kiera and Kellan hook up is when Kiera and Denny are on a 'break,' so I was like, 'Okay, I can kinda accept this.' However, Denny shows up the very next morning, having given up everything so he can be with Kiera. How does Kiera respond to this incredibly selfless gesture? She goes out of her way to convince Kellan that they can 'just be friends' and then, in a way, juggles both boys. Kellan and Denny are mostly decent men, although it's clear Kellan has issues. Kellan allows her to play him, hoping that she'll eventually break-up with Denny, and Denny is living a life he doesn't particularly want, just so he can unknowingly stay with a girl who's emotionally and physically cheating on him.

When Denny does find out, he blames Kellan. Not Kiera, not both of them, Kellan. Because he told Kellan to stay away from Kiera and Denny knew Kiara wouldn't be able to resist Kellan if Kellan hung around her. Here, read for yourself:

He cut me off. “I was so angry at him for that.” He looked up at me and then back down at his hands, still holding one of mine. “Like I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist his charm, so it was up to him…and he failed.” I started to look down, right as his eyes looked up, and we met in the middle. “I think that’s why I asked him to stay away from you at the airport. I didn’t think you’d stray, not really…I trusted you, but only if he kept his distance.” He shrugged. “He gets every girl he goes after, and I knew he’d get you, if he really tried, and I just couldn’t compete with that.”

I find that so incredibly offensive on so many levels. Denny didn't really trust Kiera in the face of temptation, he didn't trust Kellan not to poach his girlfriend, and these were the people he was closest to. And when Kiera does exactly what he thought she'd do, he doesn't even give her the courtesy of being pissed off, he just pats her on the head and says, 'well, you couldn't help yourself.' Don't get me wrong, I think Kiera is the true bad guy here, but she certainly knew what she was doing was wrong (as she says, or thinks, a hundred times). Denny's remarks are just a rationalization to protect his own ego.

I'm not rating this book because cheating is a big thing for me and I did know there was going to be some unfaithfulness when I started the story, but I wasn't expecting the angsty, incredibly psychologically screwed up, love triangle that I got. In any case, I'm unable to hold back my personal feelings long enough to objectively judge the text. I will say that if you liked the whole Bella/Jacob/Edward thing, in New Moon especially, and wished for more angst on top of that, you will probably enjoy this book.

Review: The Heart of Winter by Maggie Shayne, Linda Winstead Jones, and Day LeClaire

The Heart of Winter: The Toughest Girl in Town\Resolution\Mystery Lover by Maggie Shayne, Linda Winstead Jones, and Day LeClaire

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



"The Toughest Girl in Town" by Maggie Shayne

I did not particularly enjoy this story. I thought the premise was absurd and we did not see the relationship between Melinda & Matthew really develop at all. 2 stars.

"Resolution" by Linda Winstead Jones

This is the RITA nominee. It was definitely better than "The Toughest Girl in Town," but I still wasn't overly impressed. I thought Jones did a good job of developing the romantic relationship within the confines of the novella format, but, overall, character development got shortchanged to set up the mystery. Three stars.

"Mystery Lover" by Day Leclaire

This was, in my opinion, the strongest story in the anthology. However, since it involves the hero kinda tricking the heroine into sleeping with him, "Mystery Lover" does have some creepy undertones. The mystery here was the hero's identity, but the reader learns it almost immediately. Also, the winter theme is very loosely tied in. Three and a half stars.

Review: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Okay, so when the buzz about Fifty Shades of Grey started, I attempted to read the first book. I got up to Chapter 4 and became disgusted with the heroine. I thought she was very passive and a classic doormat. So I stopped reading and was rather dismissive of the whole trilogy.

However, the Romantic Writers of America conference is in less than two weeks and I knew the Fifty Shades trilogy was going to be a topic of discussion. So I decided to give the first book another shot, but I skipped ahead a couple of chapters.

I'm glad I gave it another shot because I completely had the wrong idea. From the beginning and other bits & pieces I heard, I thought this was going to be a full-fledged d/s relationship, like Maya Banks's Sweet Addiction, and I'm not entirely comfortable reading about that. Fifty Shades of Grey mostly rejects the d/s lifestyle. At its core, it's mainly a romance novel with some kinky trappings. It's certainly not as controversial, sexually speaking, as it seems to be portrayed in the media.

I still think Bared to You is a better read, but Fifty Shades actually wasn't that bad. It did need some better editing and the flow was very uneven, but I can see why James was a well known fanfic author. I'd be interested to see if James will write another romance novel or go the Stephenie Meyer route and stick with what she's got.

Also, I have no idea how they are going to make this into a movie that's not going to be soft-core porn.

Review: Heart Secret by Robin D. Owens

Heart Secret by Robin D. Owens

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I finished this book around 8pm last night and I'm still wrestling with how to write this review. I was all, Well, this is the part that I keep thinking about, but it's kind of a spoiler so I can't mention that,' and 'Well, the hero said this, but, no, that's a spoiler too.' I will tell you that a new Fam species get introduced and (this will date me), I immediately thought of the Care Bear Cousins.

I also keep going back and forth on whether this could be a stand-alone. On the one hand, it's pretty self-contained. This is the first book that doesn't really involve the FirstFamilies. Artemisia is technically a noble, but she's been disgraced. Therefore, you really only need passing familiarity with Celta's culture and social structure to understand the book. On the other, Owens has woven the book into Celta's history and it refers to events from Heart Mate, Heart Quest, Heart Dance, Heart Fate, Heart Journey, the "Noble Heart" novella from Hearts and Swords, and, most importantly, Heart Search. Which, now that I look at the list, is about half of the books in the series.

This is one of the things I love about the Celta series, how everything's connected to each other. There's continuity and a event that takes place in book five can cause ripples that will affect book eleven. I love being able to see couples from previous books, of seeing their children grow up. Owens jumped into the future with Heart Search and continues advancing the series in Heart Secret. The denizens of Celta are so conscious of how precarious their hold onto this planet is and they are fixated on the idea of leaving a piece of themselves behind for future generations.

That need for remembrance factors heavily in Heart Secret. Garrett is very conflicted between his desire to avoid human ties and his need to have something of himself left behind. He was the sole survivor of a virulent epidemic, forced to watch his community die around him. That's a devastating thing for a man with a protective nature to experience.

The other main theme is the idea of letting go of the past. The scandal that affected her family has harmed Artemisia professionally. She is continually fighting against public opinion in order to achieve her goals. Being HeartMate to a man like Garrett isn't easy, given how tied he is to the past, and she is forced to perpetually straddle looking back & moving forward.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. There were some weak points and a few things that I felt were lost in the shuffle. For me, this was a bridge book, gently easing us from the time jump in Heart Search into the future. The second generation has hit adulthood and they're going to start making their mark on Celta.

Robin D. Owens just blew my mind.

I was logged in here because I was going to write something. It might have been about my internship with the literary agent. It could have been about the RITAs. But I had an email in my beta-reading account. So I checked it. And it was Robin D. Owens.

I've actually spoken to Owens in real life, at last year's RWA literacy signing, but my part in the conversation largely consisted of grabbing Heart Journey(which I already owned) from her piles and shoving it in her direction, mumbling 'Sign please. I love your books.' I am hoping to somewhat redeem myself this year. However, I'm irrationally excited about the possibility of an avian Fam, a native species no less, and going by how I already babbled about this to her editor, it doesn't bode well. I foresee myself grabbing Heart Search from her piles (which I already own), shoving it in her direction, and, in a crackly voice, saying 'I can't wait for Heart Secret and a bird Fam, that's so cool, native species too, that's awesome, can't wait to read it. I love your books.'

So when Robin D. Owens sent me an email, let me tell you, my brain just exploded. Especially since it went to my beta-reading account and I didn't realize at first how she got it and my instinctive reaction at seeing her email address was 'I AM NOT BETA-READING FOR ROBIN D OWENS, IT WILL RUIN THE MAGIC AND I'D RATHER CONTINUE TO PESTER BERKLEY FOR ARCS OR SUFFER THE AGONY OF WAITING THAN LOSE THE MAGIC.' Then when I realized she read the review I wrote for Enchanted Again, I freaked again, because I knew I'd been disappointed in the book and WHAT DID I WRITE?!?

Luckily, while I was clear in my disappointment, my die-hard fangirlness tempered my usual bluntness. The review turned out to be more 'The first book was great, I don't know what happened with this one, but it's Robin D. Owens so we'll just not talk about it, m'kay?' than what I probably would have done if it'd been almost any author, i.e. 'Why are her books by Publisher A so much better than her books by Publisher B?' Which, I guess, I just did it, but it's Robin D. Owens, so let's not think about it too hard, m'kay?

Anyway, the email was short and Owens was nice and said she was sorry I didn't like it and directed me to excerpts for the next book. I'm not gonna be reading those excerpts for three reasons.

1. Sometimes I'll read an excerpt, like if it's for book 2 at the end of book 1, but then I'll start reading book 2 when it comes out and I get confused because it'll be familiar. I read at least, at least, 300 books a year. I don't always remember what I've read so if something seems familiar, I have to double-check my GoodReads account to make sure I didn't read it as an ARC or something. Therefore, as a general rule, I don't seek out excerpts.


2. When I do read excerpts from a book, it generally shapes my opinion of the book. So if I wrinkle my nose at the excerpt, I'm likely to pass on the book. Since I've already been disappointed, I don't want to take the chance that something in the excerpt will send up red flags. As long as I don't look, I can continue to live in hope. 


3. A book by Robin D. Owens is on my auto-read list. Smart Bitches, Dear Author, Romantic Times, GoodReads, whoever, could all say Book X by Owens is made from remnants from the Staten Island landfill and sprinkled with bat guano and my reaction will be 'Really? That's kinda extreme. I better read it to find out if it's true.' I might not buy it, but I'd definitely read it. Hell, I'm still up to date on Lora Leigh and Laurell K Hamilton, and I think we can agree some of their books were heavily flavored with bat guano.

Re-reading this post. Was there a point to this? What's a good ending? I don't know. I'm slowly coming down from the high of ROBIN D. OWENS EMAILED ME. *sigh* I'm totally gonna make an ass of myself in July...

Incoming!: RWA 2012

So, my plane for RWA and Anaheim leaves 29 days from today. I am beginning to freak out. You wouldn't think it would be that big of a deal because it's not like I have anything riding on this. I'm not trying to make a sale. My career doesn't rest on making a connection with an agent or an editor. Indeed, aside from attending Librarians' Day on Wednesday, most of my time will be spent at Disneyland.

I think what I'm really worried about is missing something. I haven't been to Disneyland since I was ten and a lot of new things have opened. We are big Disney people so I'm also excited about having the chance to pick up some Disneyland-exclusive merchandise. The summer is the busy season for Disney, of course, so there's a lot of strategy involved to make sure I hit all the important stuff: Cars Land, the Little Mermaid ride, World of Color, the Storybook Canal, etc. My best friend who moved back to CA last October is driving over to join us on Saturday and she's asked me to pick up some things she can't get there (i.e. Dunkin' Doughnuts coffee).

I've been invited to a publisher party and I'm a little apprehensive. What do I say? What do I do? What should I wear? My tentative plan at the moment is to try to hook up with an author I know who's with that house and try to hang out with her. While I don't have a book to sell, I would like to try to network a bit. My future career plans are kinda nebulous, but I definitely want to stay in the book field. Whether that means staying in libraries, jumping to publishing (most likely an editor-type position), or, maybe, thanks to a shiny new internship, trying out agent-hood, I don't know. Therefore, it's important for me to go against type and try to talk to as many people I can. There are going to be a LOT of people in the romance business in a mile and this is a great opportunity. No pressure, right?

Money is also a factor. I'm definitely doing the literacy signing, but the question is how much I can afford to spend. My usual strategy is to go through the author list and figure out which signed book I want the most. I'm also thinking about doing an autograph book. Some bloggers will bring canvas tote bags and have authors sign the bag, then do a giveaway on their blogs. Authors are usually just thrilled that someone knows who they are. It's definitely true that the romance genre is one of the best communities to be a part of.  I can count on one hand the number of people who treated me poorly in one capacity or another. So you wouldn't think I'd be too nervous.

EXCEPT I TOTALLY AM!

Review: Archangel's Storm by Nalini Singh

Archangel's Storm by Nalini Singh

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Three things you probably know about me by now: 1) I am incapable of keeping things to myself when I'm excited. 2) I am an avid Nalini Singh fangirl. 3) I have PTSD.

Something you may not know, I prefer Nalini's Psy/Changeling series. It's Rafael, man. All the Archangels. They are scary-ass beings and I don't want to be in their vicinity, let alone in their heads. The idea of living in a world where the planet's well-being is in the hands of these Archangels is terrifying. If these books weren't written by Nalini, there is no way I'd still be reading the Guild Hunter books.

Up until this point, my favorite story in this series was Jessamy's and Galen's. Probably because Galen wasn't about to go out and slaughter anyone by tearing their wings off, and Jessamy was a born nurturer. However, Jason just shot to the top of my favorite Nalini Singh characters list.

The best analogy I can come up for PTSD is that it's like your soul is a bone and the traumatic event shatters that bone. Sometimes it shatters into so many pieces, it never heals right. Sometimes your soul just fractures and given enough time, it mends. However, like a healed broken tibia in a skeleton, years later, the bone continues to show evidence of the break. That's what PTSD does to your soul. You can learn how to manage the fear, to break free from the darkness, quiet the screams, get yourself to a place where you can live again, but your soul still bears the scars.

"Yet she also knew that the man in front of her was not that boy, had not been that boy for hundreds of years. She couldn't wipe away his pain and tell him that everything would be all right.

"Jason had learned too well that sometimes, nothing could fix what was broken."

I had to stop reading for a bit after that last sentence. I stared up at the ceiling for a while before I began again.

Jason isn't 'fixed' in this book. There's no miraculous cure, no 'love conquers all.' However, just because a person is traumatized doesn't mean all emotions are shut off. Being broken does not necessarily equate being unable to love, it just means it takes an extraordinary person willing to accept the kind of love you have to give.

Mahiya, his heroine, knows what it's like to be caged, to be a prisoner. She understands that while he may be flying free through the skies, the fractures in his soul means the cage flies with him. She has faith, though, in Jason and she understands him so well, she hears what he cannot say.

Nalini has written other wounded heroes before (Judd and Dorian spring to mind), but her skill is such that she makes them damaged in different ways and therefore, their healing processes happens differently as well. Judd finds his center, Dorian finds acceptance, and Jason, well, you'll find out.

This world is still scary as hell, with violence and gore, and there's a truly creepy moment involving Lijuan. Nalini ratchets up the tension and increases the likelihood of incredibly bad things happening. Truth be told, I'm not really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, but I'm going to read it anyway. Like Emily Dickson wrote,

"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,"

That's what Jason now represents to me and even if he ends up relegated to glimpses in the background, I'll wade through the blood to see him.