Resting My Eyes

I have been an avid reader as long as I can rememer. As a kid my mom would complain that she couldn't send me to my room to punish me because I'd just go in and read and that was not a punishment. Now, as an adult, I have three kids, 7 years apart. As each of them were born, I put off reading for approximately the first two years of their lives; it's just not possible with all the attention they need! But, now my LAST (really last, not just saying that like we did after each of her siblings!) child is two and I have again discovered the joy of reading. Bliss!

This time around I've had a paranormal fixation, ever since I was introduced to Twilight by a co-worker. I was a late fan, I didn't get into the Twilight Saga until this past August. Since then I've devoured anything I can get my hands on that involves vampires, werewolves, and magic. A little romance thrown in just sweetens the pot (or should I say plot?). I've read more series than I can even remember. Recently I typed a list for a co-worker of some of the vampire/paranormal series I'd recently read and it was two pages long!

Anyway, my sweet husband went out and picked up Underworld for me. I'd never seen it and several of the stories I've read reference the movie and he thought I'd enjoy it (I've also never seen Buffy or Van Helsing). I did, but I fell asleep a couple of times at the big fight scene (was there more than one, I'm not sure if it was several fights or one continuous scene that I kept dozing off and waking up) at the end. Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie and we're supposed to watch the second Underworld tonight.

Here's the thing: I can stay up reading until midnight if a book is good enough (I get up at 5:30), but I couldn't stay up until 10:00 to watch the movie? I'm wondering if it's because reading is active (for your brain anyway) and watching TV is passive? That I have to be alert to read so I can imagine what my brain is processing, whereas watching TV doesn't take much in the brain activity department? I don't know, I just thought it was weird.

Kiss of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

Kiss of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning is my favorite of her Highlander Series. Gwen Cassidy is a 25-year-old genius who's having a life crisis and decides to take a bus tour of Scotland, hoping to find a guy to lose her virginity to. Little does she know it's a senior citizens tour! So, feeling frustrated, she leaves the group to wander the highlands and gather her thoughts. She falls into a ravine, and realizes she did not land on the ground - she landed on a man!

Drustan MacKeltar is a Druid and the laird of his castle. He wakes up, not knowing where he is, and there is a scantily clad woman straddling him. He does not know who she is or how he got there, but slowly realizes something else isn't right. It's 500 years in the future since his last memories! He must get to his castle, but when they arrive it's a ruin. He knows he must use the standing stones near the ruins to go back in time to save the castle and all it protects. He intends to take Gwen with him but has not shared this information with her.

On their way to the castle they've started to get to know each other, and attraction builds. Gwen wants Drustan to be the one to take her virginity. There is a very tender moment between them, then they go through the stones back into the 1500s, except Drustan disappears! She goes, naked, wrapped in Drustan's plaid, to the castle where Drustan's father lets her in. The next morning she shares her story with Drustan, who doesn't believe her. She spends the next few weeks trying to convince him of the truth, while also trying to prevent the death of his brother, which she had heard about in the future.

Finally, in a scene that was both funny and touching, he comes to believe her story and remembers. They spend some time together and she is content to live in the past with him. Except by her being there they have changed the past - and certain events do not unfold as they would have and she is hurtled back into the future, with out Drustan.

Ms. Moning takes us on a wild ride in this book. It's funny, romantic, and sexy. There are actually three happy endings to this story! I enjoyed all of her Highlander stories, but this one is my favorite - it has everything! I liked all the characters in at least two spots I caught myself going "Awwww! How sweet!"

Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by Kresley Cole

Wicked deeds on a Winter's Night is the story of Bowen, the werewolf competitor from No Rest for the Wicked, and Mari, a witch prodigy. They are both competitors in the race, and end up at the same cave after one of the goals. There is attraction between them that they both deny. Bowen denies it because he wants the prize, the key to go back in time, so he can save his mate who died centuries ago while running from him, and Mari denies it because she is young and unsure.

Bowen grabs the goal and seals Mari, along with 5 other competitors, in a cave. Unbeknownst to him, there are also ancient incubi in the cave who attack Mari. As he was doing that, she hit him with a spell to make him mortal. Bowen makes it to the final round but he is severly injured and ends up trapped for weeks, and spends a lot of that time thinking conflicting thoughts about his lost mate and Mari; he thinks she put a love spell on him. When he is rescued, he learns Mari is still trapped and her witch family is going to start a supernatural war if she is not returned; Bowen is the only one who knows where she is. He goes back for her to ask her to remove the spells, but she is pretty sure she didn't put a love spell on him. He decides maybe she could be his mate, and asks for a chance to prove it to her. Mari doesn't want to, she's pretty angry at him, but the circumstances surrounding her returning to her family throw them together and she starts to fall for him. Meanwhile, her powers are growing. After she is returned home, his first mate returns to him and he must make a choice between them. At the same time Mari is attacked and Bowen is the only one who can help her....

Another good book; I am enjoying the series and can't wait to see what's next!!!

No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole

I do like this Kresley Cole series. No Rest for the Wicked was about Kaderin, a Valkyre who lost her ability to have feelings, and Sebastian, a vampire. She intended to kill him but was unable to, and she notices she has feelings when he's around. As a bit of background, her sisters were killed by vampires.

Kaderin joins a "supernatural Amazing Race" competition, which she's won the last dozen or so times she's competed (it takes place every 250 years). This year the prize is a key to go back in time; she plans to use it to bring her sisters back. Sebastian knows she's his mate and wants to be near her, so he joins with the intention of helping her. She pushes him away every chance she gets, but he is persistent. She is neck-in-neck in the competition with a werewolf, and he's a brutal competitor, desperate for the prize. As Sebastian follows her, helping and sometimes protecting, she can no longer deny the attraction between them but she knows her family will not approve of a vampire mate. Ultimately she must put her trust in him, not only for her own survival but that of her sisters as well.

I hope the rest of the series is this good!

The Brides of Fortune Series by Nicola Cornick

There are three books in this series, the final installment, The Undoing of a Lady, is not out until August. There was also an e-book prequel that I did not read.

I picked the first book, Confessions of a Duchess, because the cover was not ridiculous, and you know how I am about those Romance book covers. I guess I'm not self-assured enough to flaunt them. (Although my SIL has very kindly given me a gift that solves that problem nicely!)

Confessions of a Duchess is about a widow who moves to a small village, Fortune's Folly with her three-year-old daughter after the death of her awful husband. Shortly after moving in, the Lord (?) of the village decides he needs money and revives a medeval tax on all maidens - he get's half their fortune! So now all the poor young men in the area are arriving in Fortune's Folly to snag a rich bride. While out and about, Laura runs into an old "acquaintance" after she almost drowns in a boating incident. Seems she had a torrid one night affair with this gentleman four years ago. She's tried to put it out of her mind and move on, but she cannot stop thinking about him. Dexter is a law-enforcement-type man who is in Fortune's Folly searching for a wanted criminal and cannot believe Laura is there. He has not forgotten her over the four years and dreams of her often. They proceed to avoid each other as much as possible but keep getting thrown into situations where they are alone together and cannot help reacting! She is keeping secrets from him that he must never find out (of course he does) and there is a happy ending to this story.

Two of the supporting characters from this story, Alice - a rich woman who used to be a servant but inherited her employer's fortune, and Miles, a rake of the worst kind, also a law-enforcement-type guy with Dexter. In Confessions, Miles had expressed in Alice, and she was interested in Miles, until he left her to pursue a richer woman in another village, then took up with a mistress. She promptly wrote to him and told him to never contact her again. As luck would have it, he caught her attempting to steal a wedding dress from a shop that had gone out of business. The dress had been paid for, but the contents of the shop were being held for creditors. Dexter used the threat of exposure of the theft to blackmail Alice into marrying him. There was a catch, however. According to the terms of her inheritance, he had to prove to her solicitors for three months that he was an honorable man and worthy of her hand in marriage. So she hates him and he only wants her to use her inheritance to pay off his debts passed down to him by his father or he will end up in jail. There are many side stories and intrigue as these two grow in affection for each other.

I enjoyed both of these books and would like to read the third, Undoing of a Lady, when it comes out next month. While I will not put them in my "keep" pile, they were entertaining and fun.

The Bride by Julie Garwood

I came across this book by accident. I was in Barnes and Noble and I was trying to get my daughter to behave so I could pick one more book, so I asked her to pick one for me. She actually picked the book next to this one, which didn't look very interesting, but this one caught my eye.

I really liked this book. Alec is a Scottish warlord who had been in England at the behest of his king, and was told to pick a wife from four sisters on his way back to Scotland. His friend Daniel was to pick a wife as well. Jamie's father didn't pay his taxes, so he was forced to offer up two daughters to wed in payment. Alec chose Jamie and they were immediately married and off to Scotland that day. She didn't like him because he was Scottish, he didn't like her because she was English. Jamie was quickly accepted into Alec's clan after she healed one of the warriors they thought was dead. Her prickly temper kept her at odds with Alec, who also had a quick temper. As they began to know each other and understand each other's personalities, they grew closer. There was a bit of mystery - someone was trying to kill Jamie! It was not the person I thought it was. This was a very entertaining story. I'll try another of Ms. Garwood's stories.

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase

So, I wanted to try another Romance, because I keep reading blogs where the Romance stories are great! I saw this book on a couple of sites as a "favorite" and decided to give it a try....Loved it!!

Lord Dain is a rake who had a rough childhood (mother abandoned him and ran off with another man, father couldn't bear to look at him and sent him off to boarding school where he was teased mercilessly) and as an adult drinks, gambles, and womanizes. He meets the sister of a friend, who is trying to get her brother away from Lord Dain's bad influences. There is some attraction between them that they both deny. Then, they finally act on their feelings and are discovered. He thinks it's a set-up by her to blackmail him for money, while she thinks he means to ruin her reputation as a lady. She retaliates by shooting him!!! Through a series of legal maneuvers, she is able to sue him for ruining her reputation, so he decides if he's going to have to pay her he might as well get his money's worth and tells her she must marry him or get nothing at all. She calls his bluff and they are married. There are several more surprises after the wedding, as at that point they both barely tolerate each other. A former flame, an illegitemate child, traiterous friends, this book's got it all! Ms. Chase wraps up the ending in a nice, tidy bow. A very good read.

One of the things I liked about this book is that it didn't end at the wedding. I enjoyed watching them grow to care for each other and support each other. Apparently I'm a sucker for a romance that starts off with the hero and heroine detesting each other. (Come on, the first time I laid eyes on my husband and his friends I told my friend we needed to avoid them at all costs!! 17 years later I'm glad we didn't!)

Prey by Rachel Vincent

Wow. It's probably not good to start a post when you're speechless. Ms. Vincent writes such a good story that I still feel like I'm in her world. I re-read Stray, Rogue, and Pride this week in anticipation of Prey coming out yesterday. I stayed up until midnight reading and finished it at work.

Stray introduces us to Faythe, a were-cat who has been trying to make a life of her own, away from her family and pride. We are also introduced to Marc (fictional boyfriend!) early on as he arrives at college to bring Faythe home because someone is kidnapping the female were-cats (tabbies). Each pride has only one tabby, they are very rare and "valuable" to each pride to ensure the continuation of the species. Faythe's father is the Alpha of her pride. Faythe is very stubborn and does not want to marry and have children as the other tabbies do, she wants to be independent. She makes some mistakes along the way and ends up kidnapped. She eventually frees herself and another tabbie and goes after the kidnappers. We also learn about Faythe's relationship with Marc - she left him at the altar five years ago but still has feelings for him. He definately still has feelings for her.

In Rogue, Faythe's story continues. She is out with Marc, learning how to be an Enforcer (sort of were-cat self-police) and several strays end up dead. This leads her on a search for the killer and a character from the first book reappears - with a surprise for Faythe. Faythe and Marc's relationship hits a few snags in this book.

In Pride, Faythe is facing a tribunal-type hearing regarding her actions in book 2. She is facing the possibility of being de-clawed or execution. During the trial, a bruin (were-bear) barges in complianing about the cats bothering him. The only problem is that it's not the cats there for the hearing - there is a renegade group of strays causing trouble and humans go missing. Then a tabby lands on their doorstep, except that she doesn't know how she came to be a were-cat. Faythe spends time helping her adjust while also dealing with the tribunal, who decide to spare Faythe's life if Marc will leave the pride. Then one of the other Alphas challenges Faythe's father for control of the Alpha council.

Prey, the fourth book in her six book series picks up about two months after Pride left off. Marc is living in the "free zone" (not pride land) and Faythe and some fellow enforcers are escorting another were-cat to a trial so Faythe is able to stop and visit Marc. While there they are ambushed by an unprecedented group of strays working together to attack their group. They manage to escape and drop the were-cat at her trial and Faythe returns home. Shortly after that she receives a call that Marc is missing and presumed dead. They rush to search for him, getting assistance from a stray who has befriended Marc since he's been in the free-zone. While this is going on, they are having problems with the rescued tabby from book 3 (she won't shift to cat form and is getting very sick because of it) and the council tries to steal her through a sneak attack that has disasterous results. While searching for Marc, Faythe and her group discover someone is tagging stray were-cats with a homing device and they are trying to see how all that fits in with the kidnapping and attempted takeover of the council, AND Faythe makes a bad decision in a fit of alcohol-fueled grief.

This book had me hanging on the edge of my seat. I "OMG'd", "Oh no'd", cried, and cheered. March 2010 cannot get here fast enough - I need to know what happens next!

To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

I decided that since I liked What Would Jane Austen Do? that I would try another historical romance. Based on several mentions that I saw on the internet, I picked To Beguile a Beast. Bad choice. I hope this book is not representative of historical romance.

Where to begin? I just couldn't get with the plot. The heroine was the mistress of a Duke, Ms. Fitzwilliam, that decided to run away with her (and the Duke's) children because he didn't pay attention to her anymore. Not because he beat her or was blackmailing her or anything. He kept her in a house and gave her expensive gifts, he just didn't have sex with her anymore. I didn't buy it. She went to the castle of a codgerly man who lived alone and had let his castle go to rot after he was disfigured in an unfortunate accident; his face was scarred, he'd lost an eye and 2 fingers. She showed up on his doorstep to be his housekeeper at the recommendation of a mutual friend. He told her to go away and she wouldn't; she took charge and hired new staff!

Of course, the Duke came looking for his children to steal away and force her back to her life with him, and Mr. Munroe helped her rescue the children and free her from the Duke's clutches.

I just didn't buy it. The running away, knowing society would not acknowledge her because she was a mistress; her taking over Mr. Munroe's castle and falling in love with a horribly scarred and grumpy man - not believable to me.

Whew, crisis averted!

I had to go out of the office for work today, and while I was out I decided to stop by my neighborhood B&N to grab Prey, out today. I reserved it quite some time ago and have been anxiously awaiting it.

Prey is the 4th book in Rachel Vincent's Shifter series. Faythe is a were-cat who has been having a hard time accepting her responsibilities to her pride and throughout the series I've enjoyed watching her grow and learn about herself and her family (and Marc - see my fictional boyfriend list at right). I loved the first three and can't wait to see what happens next.

So, I stroll in and ask at the desk if my copy is in. No, it's not in and they don't have me down as reserving a copy. It came out today and they haven't unloaded their trucks yet. Damn! Well, her site said many places have put her book out early (maybe because she's not as famous? Dunno.) so I go into the back to check the SciFi/Paranormal section. Nothing. I'm really disappointed and am thinking about trying another B&N and as I'm walking down the Romance aisle - THERE IT IS!!!!! It was already on the shelf, in Romance??!! Whatev. I've got it!!!!!

Don't call me tonight.