QB's January 2010 Quickies, Part II

"So, read any good books lately?"
"What did you think of...?"

Here's my Quickie Reviews to answer to those questions. Click on the Links for more info.

Kitty's House of Horrors by Carrie Vaughn

Kitty Norville Book 7

See INDEX for previous books.

Category: Lava Cake - reads like warm Chocolate Lava Cake... à la Mode... sprinkled with nuts (A,A-)

Flame Height: 2" out of 9"

Talk radio host and werewolf Kitty agrees to participate in a reality show along with other shapeshifters, vampires, and psychics. Filming in an isolated location starts off pretty much as Kitty anticipated, but then things suddenly start to go alarmingly wrong. The participants are being hunted. Some die.

The best Kitty 2.0 story yet (Kitty Takes a Holiday is still my favorite Kitty 1.0, or pre-alpha, story). If you read this without reading the previous Kitty books, you probably won't quite understand why I enjoyed this so much more than many other Urban Fantasies.
Piquant Opines: Fresh Fiction, Nights and Weekends, RT

The Magic Knot by Helen Scott Taylor

Magic Knot series Book 1

The Phoenix Charm

Magic Knot series Book 2

Category: Peanut M&Ms - mmmm...devour... sigh... then reach for the next one. My daily dose of Insanity-B-Gone. (A-,B+,B)
Flame Height: 5.8" out of 9"

This fantasy romance series caught my attention with the recent release of book 2. So being the OCD Reader that I am, I bought book 1, which won the American Title IV contest.

I'm SO glad I did! Set in present day Cornwall with side trips to Ireland and Wales, some of the fae live secretly among humans, while others still live within the faery realms. You know, I'm pretty sure Taylor has even found a way to enchant the ink in these magical stories. There has to be some geis at work because, once the covers are opened, it's impossible to close them until the final page is read. And before I closed the cover on book 1, I was ordering book 2 from Amazon (Yeah for 2-day Prime!).

Just when I was sure I knew what happened next-- because I could see THOSE romance tropes coming from a mile away-- damned if Taylor didn't make a sharp turn nearly every time and gleefully skip away from the expected. (Spoiler hint: not all heroes have magic peens, and troo lurve doesn't always save the day- nor does it keep heroines from admiring other bits of sweet beefcake mancandy!)

This series may end up in my Lava Cake category eventually. There's still a few unanswered questions that kind of puzzled me. Some may be answered when/if Nightshade gets his own book (pretty please?). But I'm afraid that the mystery of how Rose's mother managed to escape with all the things she escaped with (can't say more) will remain unsolved for the reader. And why didn't Michael and Niall's father bother telling either of them the truths about themselves? Of course we may find out more about him someday in HIS own book, too. Oh, and I was disappointed that we never heard from Niall and Rose (from book 1) throughout the entire 2nd book. Considering what they left behind under Michael and Cordelia's care, I just didn't find it plausible that they wouldn't be checking in or rushing back.

But you know what? Set those questions aside for right now. Just sit back and enjoy taking the fun, magical ride that is The Magic Knot series.
Piquant Opines: The Book Smugglers, RT, RT, TRS

Call of the Highland Moon by Kendra Leigh Castle

The MacInnes Werewolves Trilogy, book 1

Category: M&Ms - a bit lighter and/or not quite as satisfying as Peanut M&Ms, but still Oh-So-Enjoyable! (B,B-,C+,C)

Flame Height: 5" out of 9"

Contemporary Highland werewolf Gideon MacInnes goes for a walkabout in America before he settles down to become his pack's Alpha. When injured, his wolfie senses lead him to his mate, Carly Silver, an American who owns a Romance bookstore. A light, entertaining read. Kind of fell apart a bit at the end. I'm disappointed that the next books in the series don't pair up Gideon's hound-dawg (har) brother and Carly's spunky best friend. They were both almost more interesting than the lead characters.

Piquant Opines: KristieJ, Ruthie (warning: auto-music), Bitten By Books

Shadowfae by Erica Hayes

The Chronicles, book 1

Category: Coconut Truffles - SO not for me! (D,D-,F)

Flame Height: 1" out of 9"

Most of my DNFs (Did Not Finish) books are the result of setting books down and intending to pick them back up, but losing interest and never getting around to finishing them (unfortunately, there's been a LOT of those lately). Not so with Shadowfae. I literally FORCED myself to give this book a chance since I had been eagerly looking forward to it and had even placed it on my Insatiable Lusts Wish List! The blurb sounded soo good. But by the end of Chapter 8, I honestly said out loud, "Enough of THIS! I've wasted enough of my time on it."

I knew this was going to be a difficult read fairly early in the book. The lead character, Jade, is written in 1st person past tense. Then, for no apparent reason, Hayes writes all the other characters in 3rd person PRESENT tense. Now I'm not a big fan of present tense anyway, but it can be used quite effectively to convey a sense of menace- think of a Linda Howard villian's POV. But all Shadowfae's tense shifting accomplished was jolting me right out of the book.

Add in a whole lot of drooling blood, poison spit swapping, and other gross-outs; then consider the fact that none of the characters or their lives were particularly likeable, and this story was just flat-out not my cuppa. It might work for someone else, but just pushed too many of my "Do Not Want" buttons.
Piquant Opines: KatieBabs, SciFiGuy, NOR, RT,


Have you read any of these books? Feel free to review or link to a review in the comments. Even if you don't agree!

Grrr, what is wrong with Google Reader? My first searches for Piquant Opines always start there. But for some reason searching ALL subscriptions doesn't always work. For instance, when I searched on "The Magic Knot", there were no review hits (just mentions and contests) within my subscriptions. Yet Helen Scott Taylor's website mentions a review by The Book Smugglers. Sure enough, when I searched ONLY their feed, the review came up, but it SHOULD have hit when I searched ALL FEEDS. So, if I missed linking to someone, please let me know.

Just Sayin'...

You can imagine my reaction when I received this from Charlaine... so, um... are your ears are still ringing from The Fangirl Squee Heard 'Round the World? **



** Confused? Click here.

It's a Wrap: Ann Aguirre's Reader Blog Tour and Contest

Ann Aguirre - Blue Diablo, Corine Solomon book 1

Yes, that's right, in between her world travels and calls to the gas company, Ann Aguirre has been doing a whirlwind Reader Blog Tour that ends right here before she jets off to RT Con in Orlando.

Ah well, last week I finally gave up and cancelled my hotel reservations for RT Con (I had reserved suites at two different hotels just in case I ended up going). So, since I won't be meeting Ann in person after all (or you either, AZL), I'm at least lucky enough that she's stopping by today to share a bit of warm Chocolate Lava Cake... à la Mode... sprinkled with nuts (Yep, it's that good).

Read on to find out how you can also be lucky enough to enjoy a copy of Ann's urban fantasy, Blue Diablo, or if you've already read it, watch for Ann's alternate prize.

But first, Ann dishes about Corine's sex life (note Ann's casting choices that I want to disagree with SO badly)...

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

By now, many of you will have read Blue Diablo. (If you haven´t, what are you waiting for?!) That means I can discuss the book in a bit more detail than I have done previously in the tour. Yippee!

Since this is Bev´s blog, I´m going to talk about sex and relationships, or vice versa, maybe. [Bev: Whatever could you mean? ::bats eyes innocently::] In Blue Diablo, I explore the trope of lovers reunited or star-crossed lovers, if you will. That´s Corine and Chance.

She broke up with Chance eighteen months before the start of the book, believing he didn´t love her as much as she loved him. She felt as if he only maintained a relationship with her because it was convenient, and he wanted to profit from her gift. So she left him in the middle of the night, after an accident that nearly cost her life.

Chance represents many things to Corine: adventure, danger, excitement, potent sexual attraction. Blogger Katiebabs did a great job of describing him, in fact. Let me quote her briefly: ¨Chance is that seductive type of guy a woman would do anything for... a slick guy...¨

YA author Stacey Klemstein, also known as Stacey Kade, had the following to say about the book: ¨It was so REFRESHING to read something different but still an urban fantasy, if that makes sense. Also? Chance is HOT. His ability in particular or his luck, however you phrase it, was particularly intriguing because it was like nothing I'd ever heard of before. I'm totally 100% Chance. I like Jesse, too, don't get me wrong, and he's probably a better long term relationship choice, but...I have a thing for bad boys. Not that Chance is bad exactly, just more dangerous somehow.

I LOVE that about these characters too. Corine's gift is a gift but it hurts her and leaves her with physical marks. That, too, is something I'd never read before. And Chance is dangerous, not because you could get your heart stomped on, which is the usual kind of danger, but with his luck, you could end up being a victim. Basically, loving him could kill you.¨

She has totally hit the nail on the head, regarding the conflict inherent in their relationship. It´s not just that they have communication and trust issues (and they do). There are also real concerns about his gift. He nearly got Corine killed once before because of his luck, and it doesn´t have an off button. (You´ll need to read it to understand, and if you´ve already read it, good for you!)

As for Jesse, he represents safety and securty, home and earth. With Jesse Saldana, Corine could realize her dream of being normal, marrying into a family of ¨Gifted¨ humans, who have known about their abilities for many generations. She would have extended family, inlaws, cousins. This is stability. He represents everything she´s ever wanted. But is that what she wants, really? Should she make the safe choice?

Chance, on the other hand, has only secrets he hasn´t shared, including his real name and the identity of his father. He has a mother who is nearly as mysterious as he is, but with him, Corine will never have the sense of community and belonging she so fiercely desires. Is passion enough? Chance also has difficulty communicating and suffers from an inability to give of himself fully. In Blue Diablo, we see him struggle with that, and we see Corine´s reaction to his failure to meet her needs. But he loves her, desperately. It´s intense and bittersweet and heartbreaking at times.

As for sex, that will be handled differently in this series. Corine is a highly sexual woman, but she has enjoyed a series of one-night stands in Mexico, men she didn´t bother to get to know, and who fulfilled a physical need but not her emotional ones. Before she gives of herself again, she wants to know she´s found the person she can build a life with. That means she won´t be jumping in and out of bed, however much she may want to. No spur of the moment flings. She wants it to mean something, this time. She wants to be sure. That means there will be massive sexual tension before this thing is resolved and her heart is won.

Readers are asking me who she will choose. I honestly don´t know. A few them are surprising me by naming Kel or Booke as possible love interests. Well, I never intended that, but I honestly don´t know how her story ends. That´s part of the joy in writing: finding out.

What do you guys think? I invite you to speculate on who she might end up with and argue for your favorite. If you haven´t read it, you can pick someone at random. A random commenter will win a copy of Blue Diablo (if the winner hasn´t read it yet.) If the winner has read it, I´ll buy them any paperback they want that also costs $6.99.

And chat on!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Contest Rules:
Leave a comment INCLUDING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS to have a chance at winning.

Contest lasts 24 hours and the winner will be randomly selected and announced here on this post tomorrow. Winner will also be contacted via email, and a valid email address must be provided for the comment to be entered in the giveaway. Good luck!!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Thank for visiting, Ann, and thanks to the wild and glue-crazed Azteclady for arranging your visit. For what it's worth, I'm not sure who I think Corine should end up with (although, based on your casting pics, Jesse wins hands-down). You've left everything so deliciously open-ended. You gave us enough resolution to be satisfied for now, but I can't wait for Corine to let me back into her world. So, how long DO we have to wait anyhow?!

A Few of My Favorite Things

No raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, just a few things that have given me Teh Happy lately:

Ann Aguirre - Blue Diablo, Corine Solomon book 1

Category: Lava Cake - reads like warm Chocolate Lava Cake... à la Mode... sprinkled with nuts (A,A-)
Flame Height: 3.5" out of 9"

Today is the offical release date for Ann Aguirre's Blue Diablo. Yes, I read the eArc, but this one's a keeper and I'll be buying the print too.

In case you haven't seen it yet, head over to Ann Aguirre's site to download her April newsletter (or you can join her Google group to read it). Why? Because AztecLady, who creates the newsletter, was apparently crafting with some of Tracy's glue and asked me to contribute a short piece on Urban Fantasy heroines.

Here's the section of that article that pertains specifically to Blue Diablo (quoting myself. heh.):

You know how you’ll often hear a guy referred to as “a man’s man”? Well Corine is “a woman’s woman” that I couldn’t help but identify and empathize with.

Ann has given us a heroine who’s more BFF than avatar. She’ll have your back in a bar fight; but she won’t be bailing you out of jail because she’ll drag your butt out from under the bar and through the window before the cops ever get there. She loves food, drinks, and damns her hips. Corine sometimes has to bite her tongue to hold back inappropriate comments, and sometimes she doesn’t bother to hold back. She gets horny and gets satisfied, whether alone or with someone else—unless she’s denying herself to prove a point. She unabashedly appreciates a nice helping of eye candy. And, oh yeah, she also happens to possess a few paranormal gifts that have kept her on the run most of her life and get her involved with other not-quite-normal characters. Those other characters include her ex-boyfriend, Chance, who’s complicating her life again, but still needs to prove to Corine that he’s not just offering lip service (in more ways than one).

Within just a few moments of meeting Corine I eagerly followed her away from my world and into hers. Is there anything better than feeling reality slip away as you settle into a great book? Blue Diablo reminded me why I love to read, and Corine reminded me why I love to read Ann Aguirre’s characters.

Really, I could go on and on about Ann's new type of Urban Fantasy heroine but that quote pretty much sums up why Blue Diablo really is as nummy as "warm Chocolate Lava Cake... à la Mode... sprinkled with nuts".

Read more about it here. And while you're on Ann's Site, check out her blog's sidebar to see all the stops in her Blue Diablo blog tour- she'll be here on April 20th. She's giving a copy of Blue Diablo away at each stop of the tour!

Piquant Opines: Book Smugglers, Darque Reviews, Rosie, Katiebabs, RT

Have you read this book? Feel free to review or link to a review in the comments. Even if you don't agree!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

American Idol- or more specifically, Adam Lambert (at right in pic) and his opening acts Kris Allen (left), and Allison Iraheta (center). Okay, I'll add Matt Giraud in 4th place, but I think Danny Gokey and Lil Rounds are overrated and not unique enough. Same goes for Anoop Desaii, but I never did get Scott MacIntyre's appeal. Alexis Grace should have been part of my top 4 or 5.

However Adam is the one I wait for each week, the rest just entertain me while I'm waiting to see what he'll do next. The term "gifted" gets thrown around way too often, but this kid truly does possess a gift. What I find hilarious is the non-scandal that occurred when he was "outted" (can you out someone who's already out?). Straight men do NOT sing Cher songs! DUH! Nothing shocking going on here people, move along.

The best way to describe his voice is that he's the luv child that resulted when Steven Tyler, Sam Harris, and Freddy Mercury got together and gang-inseminated a drag queen Liza Minelli impersonator. Yeah, sometimes he's over the top (an Indian influenced Ring of Fire, Adam? Seriously?! Holy Shit, Dude!). But what a gift he has! This kind of singer rarely comes along. And when he reigns it in and keeps complete control of his gift, the results can be unforgettably brilliant (although I'm not too crazy about the Elvis/Dean Cain look instead of his edgier look):

What's odd though is that the iTunes downloadable studio version is overproduced instead of haunting and stripped down like he did it live. My guess is that he was allowed more control over the live version.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Season 3 of The Tudors on Showtime- although it's scheduled rather oddly since the promoted episodes are available On-Demand about a week EARLIER than the promotion date. So, even though the the first episode of season 3 just aired this past Sunday, I've already watched the second episode On-Demand. Go figure.

Anyway, I mentioned before that each episode is like an Oscar-worthy movie, but have I mentioned that I have a complete Cougar Lust Crush on Henry Cavill who plays Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk? Fortunately, his character has only had a loose connection to the real life Duke of Suffolk, so I don't have much advance knowledge of what happens to him in the series. But DAYUM, I could nom him!

nomnomnomnomnom

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I haven't quite decided if this next bit of news gives me Teh Happy or not. Back in November 2008, I posted that IFC (Independent Film Channel) had commissioned Lionsgate to develop a TV pilot based on the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Well, on March 31, 2009, the official announcement was released that the project is on IFC's schedule for Summer 2010. This LKH blog post contains several links to the announcement details. However I'm still trying to wrap my head around this being an IFC project. Yet Lionsgate is no lightweight in the industry, so this could be interesting or a disaster, particularly in light of the following section of the press release (bold WTF-ery emphasis added by me):

“‘Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter’ marks the first time in IFC tv’s history that we have created a fictional feature film for the network. IFC is appealing to its core base of men ages 18-34 who are looking for vampire content. The popularity of the network in this demographic indicates that there is a clear demand for films that delve into provocative topics and nothing is more classically provocative than vampire lore” said Jennifer Caserta, EVP and general manager of IFC tv. “Anita Blake fits perfectly with our successful original programming.”

“Laurell has created a fascinating heroine in Anita Blake and we quickly recognized the onscreen potential for this vivid character,” said Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate’s president of television programming and production. “We have an outstanding creative team and are excited to be moving forward with IFC, which will allow us to fully explore the complex world of Laurell’s highly intriguing and erotically charged novels.”

See what I mean? Are they mixing up the later books with the earlier books and producing one-handed viewing for the ComicCon crowd? BTW, I always thought that vampires were more popular with women.

So will this be entertaining or a clusterfuck... or possibly an entertaining clusterfuck?

Save the Contemporary Romance?

Oh HELL NO!

AAAAAHHHHHHH... Make the bad words go away!!!!!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

As I said previously, THREE out of the five books I’m judging for this year’s Passionate Plumes are Contemporary Romances.

Book one is from an author whose paranormal I judged VERY highly before. But this Contemp? Not so much. The heroine female lead has a nasty personal hygiene problem. After a double penetration ménage scene that involved condoms and copious amounts of lube, she pulls on her clothes and leaves. After another scene that involved anal sex and no condom, she again merely pulled her clothes on and left. Then came the complete gross out scene— after an entire night of marathon sweaty sex, her alarm goes off in HER HOUSE, and she gets up, gets dressed and goes to work.

Now, I can hear you saying, “Bev, REALLY, do you honestly expect an author to detail every trip to the bathroom?” No, no I don’t. However, when an author describes in great detail every little thing the female lead does—from what drawer she pulled clothes out of to what she pulled out of each drawer and what color each item was- I think it’s reasonable to expect at least a brief mention that this woman also stopped by the bathroom to finish getting ready. I mean, they were awake BEFORE the alarm and she got out of bed as soon as it went off, so it’s not plausible that she was too rushed to pop into the bathroom to hose herself down. Instead, this author had the heroine pulling on each item of clothing as she talked to the hero and then rushing downstairs to feed her dog (I’ve chosen to presume she had a doggie door and the poor dog wasn’t expected to hold it all night and all day) and then out the door to work. At no point did she make ANY stops to take a shower, comb her hair, or even wash off. Note that there was also NO TEETH BRUSHING either and this skanky smelling woman WENT TO WORK THAT WAY! EEEEWWWWWWW! Can you imagine working beside this oozing spooge queen all day?!

However, I DID make it through the book because the storyline wasn’t completely awful. Mind you, it wasn’t great, and I’d have a tough time calling it good, but it wasn’t awful. On the Passionate Plume Judging Scale of 1 to 9, I gave it a 5.8. I think I would let it just barely slip into the bottom (heh) of my M&Ms category with a Flame Height of 7” out of 9”. Wait, I take that back, the hygiene issue was a complete turn-off so I’m deducting Flame Height for that. So let’s say 6.5” out of 9” Flame Height.

I decided to break up the Contemporaries with the two Historicals between each of them. They are both by the same author and are books 2 and 3 of a series. I finished the first historical (book 2 of the series) and it really wasn’t bad- VERY erotic and definitely pushes the envelope for mainstream press. If it was from an epub, I’d say it probably would receive one of their higher heat or flame ratings. As for the storyline, I often felt like chunks of the story were missing. Not characters or info from the previous book that I haven’t read, but sections that would help make more sense of the plot of THIS book seemed to be missing and I often felt like I’d walked into the middle of a conversation or scene. All in all though, I liked the characters despite their professed arousal at body odors (Yes, I’ll cut the historical SOME slack about hygiene), and I was COMPLETELY surprised by the identity of the villain and their motivations. So, this one gets scored 6.8 out of 9, and I’d place it firmly in my M&Ms category with a Flame Height of 8” out of 9”.

But then I picked up the third book (second Contemporary Romance) I needed to judge. Oh Great Balls of Badness! By page 22 I had already chalked the book off as a DNF at least three times. Let me repeat—BY PAGE TWENTY-FREAKIN-TWO, I had already REPEATEDLY fought back the overwhelming urge to flush this craptastic tome down the toilet. But I didn’t want to fuck up the plumbing so here it sits and the thought of picking it back up causes gagging dry heaves in much the same way that the thought of drinking any more of the GALLON of thick, slimy, salty bowel prep before my December colonoscopy did.

The premise is silly; the coincidences absurd- a woman who can’t achieve orgasm decides to try uninhibited sex with a stranger AND DOESN’T USE A CONDOM. And oh yeah, the stranger just HAPPENS to be the professor who will be teaching her upcoming sexuality class (of course she doesn’t know this yet) that her ex-boyfriend signed them up for before they broke up (I understand he shows up later in the book for a ménage). Yet, during this CONDOMLESS RIDE ON A STRANGER, she bumps and grinds but gets frustrated because she can’t reach the Big O with this guy either. Yet neither Ms. TSTL nor the Sexpert ever touch her magic luv button. HellooooOOOOO... the clit, the clitoris... ever hear of it Mr. Sexpert? Ever read Cosmo magazine, Ms. TSTL? Shit, even my kids’ health classes at a Catholic high school show the clitoris in their female genital illustrations.

Or wait, maybe the author is saying that women who can’t achieve orgasm without direct clitoral stimulation (which includes all but about 27% of women) are sexually dysfunctional. Hmmm... or maybe the author doesn’t have a clue WTF she’s writing about.

At this point I was desperate and hit the interwebs to find out if there was ANY chance- even an eentsy, weentsy one- that this sludge heap got less stinky if I could just force myself to read further. Okay, as expected the usual culprits are saying it’s one of the Best.Books.Ever. in exchange for being quoted in print. And RT gave it 4 stars (WTF?), but what’s REALLY scary is that the last Contemp I need to judge was only given 3 STARS by RT! ::*meep*:: So if this fecal matter is a FOUR STAR, then speaking in relative terms, the last Contemp WILL be flushed and damn the plumbing bill! Or there’s some m/m interaction in it. Because when it comes to m/m, an RT 3 star is the equivalent to a straight romance’s 4 or 4.5 star. ::*sigh*:: Somehow I doubt I’ll be that lucky.

A search through my Google Reader subscriptions turned up only one “regular” blogger who mentioned this piece of crapola- Kati and she gave it a D+. So, I’m assuming it doesn’t get any better and I don’t know WHAT I’m going to do about this book. And how the hell am I going to get through that LAST Contemp? NO ONE in my Gooogle Reader has reviewed it! But the blurb sounds like it might lean toward romantic suspense so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. At least I should be able to get through the last historical since it’s a sequel to the other historical I read.

In the meantime, these books had almost completely wiped out ANY urge I had to read. Now keep in mind that I haven’t read an entire book in TWO FREAKING MONTHS (just bits of anthologies) so I SHOULD have been open to ANYTHING and devoured it like a ravenous beast. THIS WAS NOT GOOD, PEOPLE!

But I had one hope and I had deprived myself long enough. In case of emergency, open eARC. GOD BLESS ANN AGUIRRE! Within just the first few pages of Blue Diablo, I said to myself, “THIS is why I love to read.” Seriously, I’ll write my full review shortly (Ann will be guest-blogging here on April 20th), but my mental movie reel started up right away and allowed me to escape the awful Contemps. And it hasn’t stopped (Yes, Jen and MB, I’m a dork). Even though I have had to frequently put Blue Diablo down and tend to other matters ::grrrr::, the movie stays in Pause mode in my head just waiting for me to hit the Play button again. No, wait, that’s not quite right... it’s also as if I need to hurry back to it so I don’t miss anything. Okay, I realize that probably makes more sense in my head. Nonetheless, halfway through and DAYUM I’m enjoying the hell outta this one! Like I’ve said before, I’m not able to read many ebooks on my PDA anymore, but this one is well worth the risk of eye strain. Unfortunately, I had a queen sized headache all day yesterday and didn't dare try to look at that screen.

However, I STILL don’t know how I’m going to be able to read those last two Contemps, but right now I couldn’t care less because, even though it APPEARS that I’m sitting here in front of my computer in the Land O’ the Grey (NE Ohio), the truth is that I’ve escaped to Mexico and Texas. See ya in Laredo!

Another Secret Revealed!

moar funny pictures

I'm guest blogging over at the DIK Ladies blog today talking about... well... DIKs! Oh, and Secret Coves. And there are hot menz involved.

Intrigued? Click here.

What's Poppin'- Part I

I've been spending way to much time following all the different Engadget blogs as they cover CES. I shouldn't admit this, but I'm such a gadget nerd that I've got Engadget, Engadget HD, Engadget CES Headlines, CEA Digital Dialogue, and International CES Headlines in my Google Reader (I'm link lazy- just hit that main Engadget link and you'll stumble upon the others). I don't understand how 90% of it works, but new electronic shinies fill me with technolust.

However, this little gem falls into the "What Were They Thinking?!" category:

Engadget found a kinetic charger at CES. It looks pretty innocuous until you watch the video of this device in action. I dare you to watch it without snickering, if not out-right cackling. Feel free to write your own captions. WARNING: do not attempt to drink beverages while watching.

Really, if they would just create a hollowed out version of that thing, we'd have a natural and permanent end to worldwide power shortages.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Speaking of gadgets, I LOVE looking at HP mini's Vivienne Tam edition. I really have no use for one, but it hasn't stopped me from salivating over it for months now. Last week Geardiary posted some hands-on pictures that are the equivalent of technoporn. Too bad that matching Vivienne Tam mouse costs extra.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

All of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire (Sookie Stackhouse) books are now available in downloadable audio book form from Audible. I now have all but the first one, and only because that first one, Dead Until Dark, is always so expensive. What's up with the outrageous price on that one, Audible? It's totally out of line with the others!

Oddly enough I only had a couple of them in print so over the holidays, when Amazon ran a Gold-Box special on the boxed set of the first 7 books, I jumped on it. At only $30.29 that worked out to only $4.32 per book! I've already got the first one in the original cover, but the boxed set came with the True Blood cover.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

ATTENTION, Please: Author Jules Jones is offering her entire Syndicate series as FREE downloads on her site. This series was one of my earliest M/M fascinations and cemented Jules in my mind as one of the best creators of memorable characters around. Go get it and read it NOW!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

You know I don't read too many ebooks anymore because my poor old eyes just can no longer handle reading from any of my computers or my PDA screen. So, I have to be pretty damn sure a book is worth the eye strain before I consider reading it in ebook format.

Well, thanks to azteclady and Ann Aguirre, I have an early review copy of Blue Diablo, Corine Solomon book 1 (April 7, 2009 Roc print release). I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this book. Feel free to express your extreme jealousy. Stay tuned to Ann's blog because she's got some creative plans in the works for the days leading up to Blue Diablo's release. In the meantime, here's an excerpt.

More QB's SUPER Quickies

Since things like work, sleep, family, and reading seem to use up the time I need to write insightful, intelligent, witty, and LENGTHY commentaries (HEY! Did you just roll your eyes?!), Super Quickie posts give me a way to simply group books into my commentary categories and, more importantly, keep track of what I've read.



Click on the links or go to my INDEX for more info.


Category: M&Ms - a bit lighter and/or not quite as satisfying as Peanut M&Ms, but still Oh-So-Enjoyable! (B,B-,C+,C)

Jes Battis - Night Child, OSI (Occult Special Investigator), book 1

Kresley Cole - Dark Needs at Night's Edge- Conrad and Néomi - Immortals After Dark, Book 4

Kathrynn Dennis - Dark Rider

Yasmine Galenorn - Darkling, Sisters of the Moon, Book 3

Yasmine Galenorn - Dragon Wytch, Sisters of the Moon, Book 4

Mathilde Madden, Madelynne Ellis, Anne Tourney - Possession, multi-author Black Lace paranormal anthology


Have you read any of these books? Feel free to review or link to a review in the comments. Even if you don't agree!

QB's SUPER Quickies

Since things like work, sleep, family, and reading seem to use up the time I need to write insightful, intelligent, witty, and LENGTHY commentaries (HEY! Did you just roll your eyes?!), Super Quickie posts give me a way to simply group books into my commentary categories and, more importantly, keep track of what I've read.



Click on the links or go to my INDEX for more info.


Category: Peanut M&Ms - mmmm...devour... sigh... then reach for the next one. My daily dose of Insanity-B-Gone. (A-,B+,B)

Patricia Briggs - Cry Wolf, Alpha and Omega, Book 1

MaryJanice Davidson - Dead Over Heels, single author anthology- Betsy and Sinclair, Con and Reanesta, Saul and Cain

Kim Harrison - The Outlaw Demon Wails, The Hollows (Rachel Morgan), Book 6

Cheyenne McCray - Shadow Magic- Garran and Hannah - Magic series book 4

Rachel Vincent - Rogue, Werecats, Book 2

Christine Warren - Walk on the Wild Side- Marcus and Kitty - The Others, Book 5 (see FAQs for correct reading order)


Have you read any of these books? Feel free to review or link to a review in the comments. Even if you don't agree!

The Darkest Touch by Jaci Burton

Jaci Burton - Demon Hunters series

1. Surviving Demon Island - Derek and Gina (see previous)
2. Hunting the Demon - Nic and Shay (see previous)
3. The Darkest Touch - Ryder and Angelique
Release Date October 28, 2008

Category: Peanut M&Ms - mmmm...devour... sigh... then reach for the next one. My daily dose of Insanity-B-Gone. (A-,B+,B)
Flame Height: 6" out of 9"

WAIT! WAIT! Come back! I know that, if you are like me, you see the word DEMON—YET AGAIN—and you can’t get away fast enough. But remember that Jaci started this series BEFORE demons started showing up in every PNR and UF book. And this series is so filled with adventure and romance that it would be a shame if you missed it just because you've had enough of the latest “demons are the new vampires” trend.

You know, I’m having the same problems reviewing this book that I did with book 1, Surviving Demon Island—it’s very hard to talk about it without revealing something that each reader should discover for herself.

The Darkest Touch continues the relationship between the Demon Hunter Ryder and Angelique (Angie) Deveraux, an archeologist last seen in Australia fleeing the diamond mine with the Black Diamond. You may remember that the Sons of Darkness seemed to think she might be their queen and realized they had “the wrong one” when Angie’s touch produced no reaction from the Black Diamond.

Angie ran with the diamond once it occurred to her that, if she was “the wrong one”, then that probably meant that her twin sister, Isabelle, was “the right one” and the Sons of Darkness AND the Realm of Light would be looking for both Isabelle and the Black Diamond.

So now in The Darkest Touch, Angie has hidden the diamond and herself but hasn’t located Isabelle yet. Ryder, however, finds Angie just in time to rescue her from a new, impossible to kill creation of the demons.

Meanwhile, another Demon Hunter, the mysterious Dalton, has found Isabelle and has used a ruse to get her into his protective custody. But he’s in for a surprise himself when he realizes that Isabelle has her mother’s diary which contains some explosive information about Isabelle, Angie, and the Sons of Darkness.

We meet and learn more about the Sons of Darkness in this book. And we meet another Keeper for the Realm of Light, Michael, and learn a WHOLE lot more about the structure of the Realm. BTW, Michael... Mandy... sparks a-flyin’. Just sayin’.

The Sons of Darkness are indeed hunting for Isabelle and they figure they might as well grab Angie back again too. The final climactic scene of this story is filled with one “OMG” event or revelation after another. Jaci doesn’t pull her punches and it quickly becomes clear that each one of her characters is in danger. Although, to be perfectly honest, I have to admit that after two books of speculation among the demon hunters about what exactly the Black Diamond is, I was a bit disappointed that Lou and Michael knew all along and said nothing. As it was, the revelation of its true power felt a bit patched in so that a certain heroic sacrifice could occur. For me, integrating its history- how it became what it was- would have made for a more interesting and fulfilling scene. Frankly, I feel like that bit of the story was left dangling and, because of how the scene ended, I doubt that Jaci will be revisiting it.

Other than that one quibble, Jaci has written another excellent installment to this series. She knows how to write heroes and heroines who respect each other and who fight beside and for each other.

With Hunting the Demon and now The Darkest Touch, Jaci has started giving us a unique twist to this series (even if I do think she’s an evil tease). The series falls firmly into the paranormal romance subgenre and as such, Jaci makes sure we get an HEA for the central couple. Notice that I said CENTRAL couple, because in addition to ongoing urban fantasy like adventure storylines, Jaci also gives us a SECONDARY couple. Yes, in many ongoing series we often see sparks flying and guess who the next couple will be, but Jaci actually weaves the secondary romance throughout each book... but only to a point. And that’s where Jaci’s evilness shines through. Yes, we get the central couple’s HEA, but she leaves both the ongoing adventure storyline AND the secondary couple’s relationship open-ended.

I’ve said before that this series is like watching a modern day Saturday afternoon movie serial, but with the inclusion of the secondary romances, Jaci has insured that we absolutely won’t want to miss the next installment of her Demon Hunters.

Piquant Opines: M.G. Braden, Romance Reader at Heart, Wild on Books, Curled Up with a Good Book, Romance Junkies, Naughty Nikki, RT


Have you read any of these books? Feel free to review or link to a review in the comments. Even if you don't agree!