A Bloated Penny

My review of Catherine Anderson's Lucky Penny appears at AAR today.  This was another book I really wanted to like because I've enjoyed Anderson's work in the past.

Unfortunately, this one doesn't have a very likable female protagonist.  This shouldn't bother me since I've read a lot of books that begin with unlikeable primary characters who, thanks to a sympathetic love interest, mend their ways and become very likable.

I'm reminded of Anthony in Mary Balogh's DIK The Temporary Wife, who starts off very unlikeable since he's out to hire a quiet governess to marry and present to his family as his wife.  Fortunately, Charity, the impoverished woman he hires, helps Anthony become less self-centered and less tortured about his past.  Anthony ultimately is one of my favorite Regency heroes.

But while David in Lucky Penny is a terrific guy, Brianna never made me like her at all.  Considering that divorce was pretty much unheard of in the Old West, I can't help but think that David's life won't be as happy ever after as he deserves.

Saving Readers' Time

After someone has over 30 books published, you would think she's become proficient in her art, right?  Well, Colt by Georgina Gentry is the book that proves this theory wrong.  (Read my review posted on AAR by clicking on the title of the book.)

A few years ago, there was a hoopla about Gentry's Diablo, Booklist saying it gave Beauty and the Beast a Western twist.  Those of us who like to see fairytale plots used in different connotations bought the book and I suspect many who bought it read it.

I you read Diablo, then you might be hoping that Gentry has gotten better.  The answer is a plain and simple NO.

Redwoods Romance

A month or so ago, my husband and I stayed at an Elim Grove cabin on the site of Raymond's Bakery outside Cazadero, California, right in the heart of redwood country, in Northern California not far from the coast.  All I could think at every turn in the bend was that any minute we would be smack dab in the center of Virgin River territory.

Well, we didn't run into Jack, Preacher, Mel or any of the other Virgin River characters who are so wonderfully portrayed by Robyn Carr that it seems right to think of them as real.  They are definitely as real to me as some of the other people I read about in the news but have never met.

At any rate, my review of Carr's latest, Redwood Bend, appears today, and just looking at the cover of the book, I already miss our mini-vacation at Raymond's.

Good Premise; Faulty Follow-through

I was really excited when I read the blurb about Shadow's Stand: a half-breed cowboy and a Chinese woman come together.  Living on the West Coast near a train museum, I've read quite a bit about the contributions of the Chinese to the transcontinental railroad and Western expansion.

Add to that numerous trips to museums and historical societies that have extensive resources about Native American Indians, I have more than a little knowledge about that time in American history.

Finally, because I read so much Western American romance, I've got a pretty good idea about what themes and characters have been explored and which are staples and nearly cliche.

A romance between a Chinese woman and a half-breed man is as rare as the fist-sized gold nugget.  Bring it on!  I was ready to read.

Unfortunately, McCarty wasn't ready to deliver.  You can read all about it in my AAR review.

So true!

Take heart, book lovers!

A Writer Writes about Love

Okay, I'll freely admit it:  I love Lisa Kleypas' writing.  I think I first fell in love with it when I read Suddenly You, which to this day is one of my top 10 favorite romances.  Kleypas doesn't make life easy for her lovers, and often bringing them together comes a little too close to real life.  Jack in Suddenly You isn't always the nicest of guys, but when he falls, he falls hard and will do anything for the one/s he loves.

But Jack is purely Regency as were all the other books I'd read.  So I was surprised when Kleypas ventured into contemporary country.  Sometimes authors who go from one to the other show facility in one but become clunky in the other.  Not Kleypas.  Sugar Daddy begat Blue-Eyed Devil, and while neither is an easy book, both are beautifully written and worthwhile reading.

Now comes Rainshadow Road, which I reviewed for AAR.  Kleypas adds a bit of magical realism that enriches the story and makes what might have been just another women's romance tale about an idyllic small town a memorable waltz between two people who discover that love is a mystical binding agent.

Sam from Rainshadow is my newest Jack. 

Cupcake Crazy



Cupcake from Cake Wrecks blog

 I read one too many books featuring chefs who opt for making cupcakes as a way of life, so wrote a blog piece for All About Romance about how I don't get it.  As my day has gone from silly to absurd today, I didn't get to the AAR site until a few minutes ago.  Surprisingly, I found quite a few responses to the blog!  Readers are weighing in on the cupcake issue.  Who would have thought?

What's even more amazing is that so many people actually agree with me and don't get the cupcake mania.  Reviewing is such a solitary occupation, just like its other side--writing, that often I think I'm out of the loop.  So it's nice to know I'm snugly inside one loop, at least with AAR readers, that is!