with Carolyn Jewel’s Indiscreet. I so enjoyed Jewel’s last historical release, Scandal and her paranormals – and was so looking forward to Indiscreet. It is weird, I find myself quite sympathetic to both the hero (Foye) and the heroine (Sabine). However, I’m just not that into the book. I’ve gotten to the point where Foye helps Sabine escape a pasha’s palace after her uncle dies and I have to force myself to keep picking the book up again.

I wholeheartedly agree with this review posted on Book Binge. It isn’t the characters, but the plot that is off. It seems that I lost interest right about the time that Foye declares his love for Sabine. I don’t quite know what is left for the two but danger, but I am not all that eager to find out. I am sensing that I will probably skim the rest of the book as quickly as possible to avoid all of the angst that I see coming the way of the the star-crossed lovers.

Yesterday, I read both Lora Leigh’s Bengal’s Heartand Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Bad Moon Rising. Both are books that are part of long, established series – series that I absolutely adore.

Bengal’s Heart met the expectations that I had for it. I thorougly enjoyed it, although I will say that Cabal and Cassa aren’t my favorite of the mated breeds that we have read about thus far. I found the series storyline to be incredibly interesting. Leigh has introduced the concept of the primal breed – a breed who possesses more animal traits that most breeds. We found out that Cabal St. Laurents (the hero), Jonas Wyatt and Patrick/Azrael are all primal breeds. I’m definitely hoping that this will play a big part in Jonas’ story – which is due out in April of 2010.

Bengal’s Heart was exactly what I was expecting. That made me enjoy it, but is probably why it won’t stand out for me among the Breeds’ series.

Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Bad Moon Rising did not really meet my expectations. This isn’t exactly a bad thing. The story surprised me. It is the story of Fang and Aimee – and I guess that I was expecting it to actually take place in the chronological order of the books in the Dark-Hunter Series. I remember when Fang and Aimee met in Night Play - Vane Kattalakis and Bride McTierney’s story. I just assumed that their HEA would be coming years and years after they first met. Kenyon, instead, brought us back to the time of Night Play (taking place in 2003 per the book). During the course of this book, Vane and Bride become mated, Wren meets Maggie (from Unleash the Night), Talon and Sunshine are getting together (Night Embrace).

Kenyon has already told of us much of what takes place in Bad Moon Rising – although from different perspectives. We have already read about Fang and Vane’s first visit to Sanctuary, Fang and Aimee’s meeting, Fang’s injury and long recovery, etc.). But, Kenyon revisits these things here from Fang and Aimee’s point of view. There are many things that happen to the two that we were unaware of – Fang’s journey into the Nether Region, his service to Thorn, the revelation of Aimee’s special talents and what happens to the Peltiers and Sanctuary.

I had thought that we had learned all that we could know about the 2003 timespan in earlier books. However, that is not the case. This is why this book didn’t necessarily meet my expectations. But, I think that might have made the story better for me all around. Obviously, Kenyon is moving to some new story arcs after last year’s publication of Acheron. I am definitely looking forward to learning more about the mysterious Thorn, the HellChasers, Varyk, the Malachai (whose identity isn’t revealed here), Savitar and others. I only wish the answers would come sooner rather than later. But I guess I can wait.

I just finished reading this post, Teresa Says It Loud and Says It Proud: I WRITE ROMANCE NOVELS!!!, by Teresa Medeiros. This might just be one of the most heartfelt defenses of writing romance novels that I have ever read.

When people ask me why I read romance novels, I just say “Because they make me happy.” I don’t need any further justification, and neither should anyone else. However, I might just have to point to Teresa Medeiros’ post the next time someone makes a dismissive comment about romance novels.

Do you ever ask yourself this question? I do all the time – especially when I have a negative reaction to a book that I have purchased because it had gotten excellent (or even decent) reviews at various places. I can only wonder what I am missing that has made this books such a keeper for so many people.

Overall, I try to avoid discussing books in an overly negative tone that I do not like. This is of course difficult to do when one hates a story. I have a certain level of respect for anyone who has published a book. I have never written a book and have a personal belief that this is a huge accomplishment. I want to enjoy every story I read, and get so disappointed when I don’t. I often simply try to forget about the bad reading experience and move on. I generally wait until I have read 2 books that I hate by one author before I put that author on my Do Not Buy list. And, I don’t publicize who is actually on that list.

Anyway, my reactions to romance novels vary widely, and just because I don’t like a particular book doesn’t mean that it bad, poorly written or worthy of being trashed. This is especially true if other people seem to love the book in question.

Right now, I am reading Meredith Duran’s Bound By Your Touch - and am having an extremely hard time actually getting to the half-way point. I find myself confused by the story and the characters, especially James’s cohorts – Phin, Elizabeth (aka Lizzie and/or Mrs. Chudderly) and Nello. Who are they???? Elizabeth and Nello clearly have some type of relationship, but it has only been hinted at. These people have some relationship to James, but it was not clearly given in the first chapter. I didn’t make the connection that Elizabeth was Mrs. Chudderly until about page 130. Lydia is driving me up a wall, and I am more than tired of James’ childish antics regarding his father. Seriously, I do not want to finish this book. However, I am forcing myself to continue because it has to get better, right? Ok, I don’t believe that, but I have to be the one missing what has made this book so likeable for so many people. I will keep plugging along hoping that it gets better for me.

I kind of feel like there is something wrong with me for not liking this book.

Penny Watson, over at Penelope’s Romance Review, piqued my interest with a blog post entitled What Really Drives Me Up A Wall in Romance Novels. I was so intrigued that I feel the need to play along. Penelope has 8 things that drive her up a wall. They are

1. The Big Misunderstanding – Would there actually be any romance novels without The Big Misunderstanding??? Only kidding. I don’t actually have a problem with this plot device as a rule. It only truly bothers when I think that the misunderstanding is very silly. If the big misunderstanding seems really stupid, I then think less of the main characters. Of course, if I think poorly of the characters, the book itself is ruined for me. I have to add that I hate it when the big misunderstanding is over love. I can’t stand the “But he/she doesn’t love me” misunderstanding. It happens quite a bit because we are talking about romance novels after all.
2. When the Hero/Heroine has sex with someone else – If the sex takes place outside of a committed relationship, this doesn’t bother me. I see this happening more often these days, especially in erotic romance. I do have to admit that I definitely agree with Penelope  about sex that takes place with someone close to the heroine (best friend). I do not want to read about this.
3. Plot overshadowing character development – I SO agree on this one. Romance novels are all about the happy couple for me. Like Penelope, I want to fall in love with the characters. So, character development is critical for me. Without it, a romance novel is rather useless to me.
4. In depth description of death and destruction – Another one that I agree with totally. This can go hand in hand with too much plot. The only worse than too much plot is too much plot about death and destruction.
5. Rape and/or child abuse – I never, ever need to read about this. Ultimately, I want to be entertained. Depressing and violent subject matter overshadows the romantic aspects of the books.
6. The disappearing storyline – This drives me batty in any genre. I want everything to be resolved within the confines of the book that I am reading. I will also add here that I dislike extraneous facts that are given when they do not seem to add anything to the plot. I find this happens more with tv shows than romance novels. However, it is irritating all around.
7. Snarky and clueless first person heroines – I don’t know that any snarky and clueless first person heroines come to mind. As a rule, I tend to have a very difficult time with first person heroines. I often find them difficult to read – and I don’t really know why. I can say that I dislike snarky heroines in any voice. I fully admit that I am harder on heroines than on heroes. I find myself expecting much more from heroines, and snarkiness can ruin a book for me.
8. Series that lose momentum – Who doesn’t hate this? What I find terribly interesting is that everyone’s opinion on when series lose momentum seems to be very different. There does seems to be a rule that every series will eventually start to annoy readers, it just isn’t easy to predict when this will be.

My Additions:

1. Lying or withholding of information to make the other person prove their love – There is this plot device where authors let their heroes or heroines hide information from (or outright lie to) their love interest in order to make the person prove their love. This happens often with fortune-hunter type heroes/heroines who have to marry money to save their families. I absolutely hate it when authors use this device to create discord. I don’t want the hero or the heroine to lie outright to the person with whom they are going to live happily ever after.
2. Condoms/birth control/disease prevention discussions that disrupt the scene – I completely understand why people think it is critical in contemporary romance/erotic romance to deal with this subject. However, I find that more often than not, it seems as if the discussion between the hero and heroine is disruptive to the intimate scene. Since reading romance is a form of escape from reality for me, I would prefer the issue not arise. Again, I will say that given the seriousness of the issue, I do just try to overlook the entire thing.
3. Love Triangles – It is very important to me that I know who the happy couple is from reading the book description. This is non-negotiable for me. When there is doubt about who the heroine (or hero) will end up with, I can’t fall in love with the characters. If I get emotionally vested in the character who does not end up with his/her true love, I am left with a really, really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach at the end of the book. This is not fun for me.
4. Anthology novellas – While I don’t really hate these, I am finding myself more and more annoyed when reading them. First of all, I find that very few authors can develop the characters enough for me to become invested in the story. I also dislike having to buy an anthology when I am interested in one story. Yes, sometimes, this is a good way to discover a new author. But, more often than not, I find that my decision to avoid certain authors is reinforced. My last anthology gripe, you ask? I do not like it when an author with an established series publishes a part of that series as a novella. I understand the whys of this, but I can often feel as if the characters were cheated out of a full-length story.
5. Magic/ghosts – All of these dislikes are personal preferences, but I find that this one comes from my own personal dislike of magic and of ghosts. Personally, I probably dislike the concepts of magic and of ghosts because I believe deep down that each could be true – and they scare the bejesus out of me. So, I consciously try to avoid books dealing with these subjects. I still remember how upset I got when I found out that Vishous’ love from Lover Unbound (Dr. Jane) was a ghost. Yuck!
6. To Be Continued Plot – Now, I both love and hate this plot device used in series. With series, there are often multi-book arcs that are necessarily not entirely resolved. Without this device, there would be no series. However, I hate it when I am finished with a book and have to wait until the next book is published to find out more.

I found a link to this article by Daisy Goodwin in the TimesOnline via LISNews. The bizarre title, This is better than real sex: A survey confirms my belief that most women of a certain age are better off turning to their library card for erotic fulfilment, gave me pause. But, I decided to go ahead and read the entire article despite my misgivings. After all I’m not sure how often someone has claimed that a library card might be better than sex. And, as a librarian (which I’m not sure that I have mentioned about myself), I had to find out what type of fulfillment my library card might be able to provide – and see what I might be missing out on.

The article is a mish-mash of information. In it, we learn that according to some survey, 2/3 of women between 45 and 60 like books with titillating sex scenes. We also discover that the 10% of women in that age bracket who actively seek out books with sexual content are raunchy in the author’s estimation. The author decides this active fascination with sex in literature is because of poorly performing middle-aged men. The author then goes on to discuss the failing erotica market and say that she isn’t surprised that the erotica market is in trouble. This is because this is a “a generation of women whose sexual fantasies almost certainly include Colin Firth emerging damply from the lake at Pemberley — with nothing more explicit than a brooding stare.”

I can’t claim any personal knowledge of the sexual fantasies of women of this generation as I am still several years shy of the 45 year mark. But I find myself somewhat confused. The article begins with the author discussing how women like books with sex more than they like sex and ends with her talking about how 45-60 year old women have sexual fantasies that aren’t really all that sexual. I’m definitely missing something here. In between, she pokes fun at erotic women’s fiction.

For her final words on the subject, she writes:

There were many headlines last week suggesting that since scientists are close to being able to manufacture sperm, men are no longer necessary; I would suggest that for novel-reading women of a certain age this has long been the case.

So, the gist of the article seems to be ????? Ok, I’m not clear on the point of the article – other than it seems to suggest that middle-aged women who read erotic fiction don’t think that middle-aged men are good for sexual fulfillment. Ouch! I’m hoping that none of this applies to women in the 30 – 45 year age bracket who read erotic fiction. After all, I do fit into that category and am in no hurry to trade in my husband for my library card.

This was some strange stuff. I think the best part of the article is a story at the end about a teenage boy from New Zealand who posted pictures of his mostly undressed mother on the the internet for revenge (a mother who was not terribly bothered by her son’s actions, by the way).

The commentary over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books is often humorous. However, I could barely contain my guffaws when I read the following line in a post:

. . . when one character’s personal code, no matter how flawed that code may be, will absolutely not allow them to act on what is one hell of a smoking case of the hotty mcwantingpants.

Smoking case of the hotty mcwantingpants is the best line ever. Maybe I should use a hotty mcwantingpants scale to rate the books I read. But even better, I’m wondering if I will be able to slip it into some everyday conversations.

Okay, I also have to add that WordPress’ spell check gives mcwantingpants a big thumbs up, but doesn’t like hotty. Odd!

LibraryThing’s addition of collections has made my day – possibly my week. Thank you!

Now, I just have to get all of my books into the collections that I have created. Sigh!

There has been a great deal of talk in the romance community about Jennifer Haymore’s latest release, A Hint of Wicked. The buzz has been good – which has made me rather interested in reading it. However, I’m not a fan of the love triangle plot (see my angst of Suzanne Brockmann’s Dark of Night). I like to know at the outset who the hero and heroine are. If it isn’t clear, I might become emotionally vested in the wrong hero – and that just ruins the reading experience for me. I admit that I can get upset, too upset even - especially in a work that is emotionally charged (A Hint of Wicked is purported to be).

This is why I always look for spoilers for tv shows, books or movies that may have questionable endings. I search online to find answers, and get frustrated when no spoilers have been published. With tv shows that bill surprise endings, I often tape the show and wait to watch – until I have an answer. And yes, I read the ending of books if I suspect something hinky. I understand that there are lots and lots of people who don’t want to know. I don’t give them a hard time, nor do I try and spout spoilers to ruin their reading experience. But, I think that others need to understand that there are people who will not read a book or watch a tv show/movie, unless they know how it ends.

So, I looked online to find out with whom the heroine of A Hint of Wicked, Sophie, found true love. I was EXTREMELY disappointed that I didn’t find the answer. After some internal arguing back and forth, I decided that I definitely wanted to read the book. After all, I could simply look in the back of the book to find the answer. The book arrived in the mail today, and I have indeed read the last chapter. I can say that the emotional angst just in that last chapter was incredibly intense. However, I can now read the book without becoming emotionally invested in the wrong hero.

As I was posting my May reading roundup, I was astounded to realize that I had an extremely satisfying month. Out of the 31 books that I read, only 1 of them was disappointing. Even more interesting is the fact that I really enjoyed 19 out of the 31. A good number of those 19 are books that I know Iwill actually read again. Five of the books were re-reads – which means that those books are already ones that I love. So that leaves only 6 that I enjoyed, but have added to my donate/give away pile.

The good reads could be responsible for my rather positive mood of late. Here’s hoping June’s offerings are right up my alley as well! There are certainly several books coming that I cannot wait to read.