BEHOLD!!

Meet m3, my brand-new MacBook. Eeeee! m3 is short for minimegaMac, and to understand the name you have to know Twin's and my Mac history. Eons ago (like, 5 years) we had an iBook, which we called miniMac. Then we got a G5 that we called megaMac. And my new MacBook has great colossal power and is itty bitty. So he's minimegaMac. (Okay, he's not as itty bitty as the new MacBook Air, but I didn't feel like paying an extra $500 to not have an optical drive, you know?)

And I don't even have to feel guilty about buying it, because I have to have a laptop for grad school next fall. He's beautiful and I love him. We had some trouble installing our wireless router (20 min. on hold with Mac, 15 min. on hold with D-Link, and a visit from the cable provider=one good time). But he's working beautifully now. Yippee!! And now I am blogging from the comfort of my couch. Ahh.

Little Pinkie, my iPod mini, is in awe.


Here's m3 with some books I just bought. Just because.

Is it weird that I name my computer?

Classic Romance Challenge 2008

In the last couple of years, since I really got to be a serious romance reader, I've been collecting books that are considered classics of the genre. And I always mean to read them, because everyone says they're good. And if people are still talking about them, in some cases decades after they were published (rare for a romance novel), then they must be good.

But then I love to buy and read new books too. Shiny! New! Must read now! And these older books get lost in my enormous TBR. To get myself motivated to finally read some of them, I am challenging myself: 12 classics. 12 months.


I can do it! Here are the titles I've chosen:

1. To Have and To Hold, Patricia Gaffney
2. The Shadow and the Star, Laura Kinsale
3. Thunder and Roses, Mary Jo Putney
4. A Rose at Midnight, Anne Stuart
5. Knight in Shining Armor, Jude Deveraux
6. The Flame and the Flower, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
7. The Last Hellion, Loretta Chase
8. Bliss, Judy Cuevas
9. Morning Glory, LaVyrle Spencer
10. Annie's Song, Catherine Anderson
11. All Through the Night, Connie Brockway
12. The Bride, Julie Garwood

If anyone would like to join in, please do. Choose your own neglected classics. You don't have to do 12; do 4, or 30. I don't care. :)

Silent in the Grave, Deanna Raybourn

Title: Silent in the Grave
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Published: 2007, Mira
Category: Mystery/Suspense
Rating: 7/10

Silent in the Grave opens with Julia March's husband dropping dead while hosting a party. Julia is bereaved, but the death is not unexpected, as his health has been poor all life. So she is surprised when Nicholas Brisbane comes to call and tells her that he suspects foul play. Apparently Mr. March had hired Brisbane, who is a private investigator, shortly before his death because he was receiving notes that amounted to death threats. Julia cannot believe it, gets snippy with Brisbane, and sends him on his way. A year later, when she is just starting to put off her widow's weeds, she finds one of the notes that Brisbane told her of while she is clearing out her husband's office; it contains a line from the Bible:

Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon Thee; let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.

Julia contacts Brisbane and asks that he take up the case, even though now that a year has passed he has little hope of discovering anything. She's not content to let him do all the work, however, and she takes an active part in the investigation.

I started this book one day at work when I realized that I'd left the book I was in the middle of at home. I had no lunch plans and no book to read. Quelle nightmare! Good thing I work in a library. ;) I noticed this one among the new gifts and decided to give it a try. It's a bit of a tome in hardcover, but it was one of those books that once I'd started, the pages just flew by.

The Victorian setting was really well done. Julia is an aristocrat (her father is an Earl), so her life is very restricted by social conventions, but her family is also known for being quite liberal, and consequently a bit risqué. Julia struggles with what she feels is her inherent March "wildness" and her desire for a normal, traditional life. I loved the interaction of Julia with her family—there were some really funny parts.

The suspense was great--lots of surprising revelations that had Julia (and me) quite shocked. HIGHLIGHT FOR SPOILER! I was disappointed by who the murderer was, though. Simon had been so angelically good through the whole book, and then at the end he was just evil all of a sudden. No warning or clues to lead up to it. It was a little too abrupt for me.

I was not a huge fan of the brooding, mysterious Brisbane and the romantic elements of the story. (This is surprising, yes? I am nearly always a fan of the romantic bits.) Though he seems to be an interesting character, I definitely never felt like I got a grip on him (which was maybe intentional, as he is supposed to be mysterious). Anyway, I'm planning on getting the sequel, Silent in the Sanctuary, so maybe he will grow on me.

Go visit RtB

1. I have a column up at Romancing the Blog.

2. Who saw the new Persuasion last night on Masterpiece Theater? I thought: lovely Captain Wentworth, otherwise not as good as the Amanda Root version. They really mangled the end (JMC--the letter scene, they destroyed it! Noooo!).

3. Why is it Monday? Ugh.

Madensky Square, Eva Ibbotson

Title: Madensky Square
Author: Eva Ibbotson
Published: 1988, St. Martin's Press
Category: General Fiction
Rating: 7.5/10

I'm almost through all of Eva Ibbotson's books! (At least all those written for adults.) I am so sad.

Susanna Weber is the proprietor of a dressmaker's shop nestled in charming Madensky Square of Vienna. This book is a journal of her life from the year 1911, describing her day-to-day existence, as well as those of her clients and neighbors. And we meet quite an assortment of characters: Susanna's Anarchist employee Nini; a jolly pork-sausage magnate from Linz whose young, devout fiancé seems disconcertingly more interested in the saints than in her gorgeous trousseau (or the pork-sausage man); a tiny polish boy who's being pushed into becoming a piano virtuoso by his desperate uncle; and the family across the way with six daughters and a seventh child on the way whose father can not believe he could possibly be cursed with yet another girl. Along the way, we find out about Susanna as well – how her warm-hearted generosity, which draws all these people to her and her shop, overlays a troubled past.

I always try my best not to include spoilers in my reviews, but I have to give a little one here, just because I can't really talk about this book without it. (And it is revealed very early in the book.) Madensky Square is partly a romance, but not at all a typical one. Because Susanna is an Other Woman. She has been the mistress of Gernot von Linenberg for over a decade. I know this is a hot button for a lot of people, and I would usually agree. Only Ibbotson could make it not sordid. There is some justification for the relationship: the time period, the fact that Gernot is an aristocrat who married young for reasons of wealth and status. Susanna does feel guilty about it, no question about that; but she loves him and can't give him up.

It's a very sophisticated story, really, about the importance of taking your happiness where you can find it and making the most of it. Susanna has had a lot of heartache in her life, but she still manages to enjoy life; her spirit is never crushed. That's why the book gets a tear icon, because I usually like my HEAs completely unfettered by any bits of sad reality. And maybe this makes me horribly naïve, but it's hard for me to imagine making do with this sort of existence.

Despite the weighty subjects, the book still manages to be joyful and charming. Her descriptions are so wonderful. Here's an example--she's describing the dog who lives across the street and lords over the square. "He has the large, square-muzzled head of a schnauzer and the tail of a muskrat, but his dreams, like his little legs, are Napoleonic."

I think her characterizations are perfect and just hilarious. Ibbotson's ability to flesh out secondary characters amazes me. There's a huge cast of characters here, and I ended up caring about every single one.

Carla Kelly news!

Carla Kelly popped up last week on AAR's message board to post this:

My next manuscript, Worthy, was given the OK by Harlequin Historicals and should be out in a year. It's set in Plymouth in 1808-1809, when the Channel Fleet's "wooden walls" were keeping Napoleon out.

Usually my favorite book is the one I'm currently working on, but Worthy is my favorite one since Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand.

And it's the first of a trilogy. More sea, more sailors to come, and not a royal in the bunch. Yarr!

Yippee!

2007 in Review

I love doing these wrap-ups! I keep track of all my reads on a spreadsheet (built by Rosario) and I have great fun looking at the results at the end of the year and analyzing them.

The Numbers

I read a total of 111 books in 2007, which is up a bit from 2006. Now, this includes the 30 books that I proofread (holy crap, that makes me tired just thinking about it). I have a strict no-blogging rule on books I'm paid to read; unless I had 100% good things to say about them (very rare), then I'd be biting the hand that fed me. And I like to eat. So you'll see no details on them, but I still like to add them to my stats.

Anyway, that's an average of about 9 a month, with a high in August (13) when I was blissfully unemployed and a low in September (6) when I was (of course) happily re-employed. ;) Total page count over 40,000, or about 110 pages a day. Twin's comment: "Good lord. You're such a dork." She loves me, she really does.

The Ratings
My average rating went up a little this year, to 6.9. Maybe I'm getting better at choosing books. Or maybe I'm getting soft.

My Favorite Reads of 2007

**I'm not going to link to my reviews, because that's just too much work. But you can find them all in the archives.**

10/10 (Perfection)

Re-reads:
Harry Potter 3 & 4
The Blue Castle, L.M. Montgomery (This was the only book I gave a 10 last year.)
A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold (I originally gave this a 9 last year, but bumped it up on re-read.)

Only one new-to-me book got a 10:
The Windflower, Laura London (IMO, the best of classic romance. Not for everyone, though, as evidenced by my mother who read it on my rec and was a bit WTF?)

9/10 (Fangirl-worthy)

Re-reads:
Harry Potter 1-2, 5-6
Thornyhold, Mary Stewart

New reads:
Harry Potter 7
Memory, Lois McMaster Bujold
Devil's Cub, Georgette Heyer
Summers at Castle Auburn, Sharon Shinn

8/10 (Highly recommended)

Demon Angel and Demon Moon, Meljean Brook. (And I will make everyone jealous and say that I already got to read Demon Night [out in Feb.] and it's my favorite yet. Will definitely get a 9 when I review it.)
Season of Storms and Mariana, Susanna Kearsley
Beguilement, Lois McMaster Bujold
Reforming Lord Ragsdale and Marian's Christmas Wish, Carla Kelly
Games of Command, Linnea Sinclair
Not Quite a Lady and Knaves' Wager, Loretta Chase
No Humans Involved, Kelley Armstrong
Simply Love, Mary Balogh
High Noon, Nora Roberts
Countess Below Stairs, Eva Ibbotson
Mystic and Rider and Dark Moon Defender, Sharon Shinn
Bride of the MacHugh, Jan Cox Speas
Agnes and the Hitman, Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Favorite new (or new-to-me) authors this year were Meljean Brook, Eloisa James, Eva Ibbotson, and Sharon Shinn.
A most excellent year. :)

The Spymaster's Lady, Joanna Bourne

Title: The Spymaster's Lady
Author: Joanna Bourne
Published: 2008, Berkley
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 8.5/10
My first read of 2008 – and it's a great one! Yippee. I hope this sets a trend for the whole year. ;) I had to run my little self out to the bookstore on Jan. 2 (the book's exact on-sale date), because I'd heard such phenomenal squeeing at SBTB and DA. Yes, when Sarah and Jane BOTH squee simultaneously, I run for the bookstore.

Annique Villiers has been spying for France about since she learned crawl. Her most recent assignment has landed her with a copy of the Albion plans, the detailed plans of Napoleon's proposed invasion of Britain. As the book opens, Annique is trapped in a French prison, being bullied into giving them up. Annique and two Englishmen also being held in the prison manage to escape and head for England. Annique is dismayed to discover that one of the men is Grey, the Head of Section of the British Service, i.e. the Spymaster for all England. Out of the griddle and into the fire. Grey also needs those Albion plans, but he has quite a time keeping Annique in his control.

That's the basic plot, but there's a ton more that I won't go into because I don't want to ruin anything for anyone. The story has several really clever twists – the kind of thing where you're reading along and go, "D'oh!!" and think back and see all the clues but you're still completely blindsided. Very exciting. Lots of fabulous historical detail, portraying the very complex political situation of post-Revolutionary, early Napoleonic France (but not BORING politics).

And as everyone else has mentioned, I too will go crazy over Bourne's use of dialog and accents. Annique's attitudes are very French, but she could be talking about doing the laundry and still sound French. Grey, on the other hand, sounds perfectly English. And when you have all this (very wonderful) dialog between these two characters, the effect is phenomenal. This is especially comment-worthy because it's something that is so often ignored (or done badly) in popular fiction, especially romance.

Definitely a book I will re-read a-plenty. I heard that the next book in the series is due out in July. I will be running to the bookstore again then. :)

But, I have to say, that cover? A crime!

North & South Crusade -- me too, me too!

I think most everyone who visits here must be aware of Kristie's great North & South Crusade -- she seems to have infected most of us with her enthusiasm for this movie. ;) I was, of course, curious, so Twin and I rented it a few weeks ago. We watched it, loved it, watched it again the next day, and reluctantly returned it. One of us made the comment that we should buy it, but then we remembered that these mini-series things usually cost about a gazillion dollars. (But, psst, it's only $22 on Amazon!)



So a few days before Christmas, we were struggling through that last week of work and decided one night that we really ought to open one of our presents for each other. You know, to ramp up for the big day. So I open mine, and it's North & South!! Yippee!! And she opens hers, and it's North & South too!! Hee. Great minds. (We ended up giving the extra copy to our mom.)

I love a lot of mini-series, but this one is especially great. Fabulous story, pretty cinematography and costumes, love the theme song, and I was really impressed by the acting -- Richard Armitage, obviously (besides being completely gorgeous and DELICIOUS). But Mrs. Thornton and Nicholas Higgins were also great. I even liked Fanny Thornton, because she's so wonderfully silly. The woman who plays Margaret Hale is not quite as good (she ends up looking confused and a bit dense when I think she's going for sad), but she's okay.

It's hard to say what exactly makes me like the story so well. But I think it's the fact that you have this great romance (sort of P&P-ish in that she dislikes him at first because she doesn't understand him), and you also have this really interesting time period -- the very beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when so many things were changing in society. It makes for some fabulous conflict.


Twin also got me a copy of the book, which she then proceeded to read first (sheesh!). But she says that the movie is fairly faithful to the original story, and that it does a good job of condensing the book and updating it just a tad for modern audiences (you know that kiss at the end's not going to happen in the book, lovely as it is).




One of my favorite lines (which refers to the hard working conditions in the cotton mills):

"I believe I have seen hell. And it is white. It is snow white."

Thanks to Kristie for bringing N&S to our attention! :D

Happy holidays!!

Twin and I are scrambling to get on the road -- we're headed to VA to spend Christmas with the family. YAY! But first I must post some pictures of the gingerbread village we made this year (it's becoming a tradition with us).





Town hall.



Shops. Grocer in the middle, barber shop on the end.



This is obviously some kind of posh shop. Dressmakers, maybe.



Townhouses opposite the shops.



Church in the corner of the square. Ice cream cone steeple was a bit tricky.



Beyond the square, there is a lake and my estate--hee hee. It looks sort of like a little farm house.



Minty little house.

Yes, we are a little crazy. But it was all good fun. :)

May you all have a very joyful holiday!

Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori

Title: Sock and Glove
Author: Miyako Kanamori
Published: 2007, Penguin
Category: Crafting

Twin is a member of a crafting circle that meets once a month or so to work on various kinds of projects. We hosted one at our apartment last weekend and decided to have everyone make softies following the directions in this really adorable book. It's all about taking old socks and gloves and turning them into simple stuffed toys. The directions are really very easy and there are lots of ideas about what to do with different sorts of socks and gloves. It's a brilliant idea, because everyone has sad old gloves and socks that they're never going to wear again.

You can look at this review at simplesparrow to see some pictures of the inside of the book. Almost all of us made the simplest glove animal (like the guy on the cover), but there are some other projects in the book that I want to try, especially the elephant and zebra.

Here are our creations:

They come out in varying degrees of wonkiness, but somehow this just adds to their appeal. I did the little red pig with the striped belly. I realized after I was finished that he looks sort of like Piglet on a really, really angry day. ;)

And here's a close-up of the two Julie made--a striped kitty and a little white dog with a matching sweater.

These projects are great because they're quick and don't require any special sewing skills. And you can dress your animal up in all different ways and give him lots of personality. If anyone is scrambling to find a Christmas gift for someone who likes hand crafts, this book would be a good one.

Carla Kelly Christmas stories

Title: Four Christmas short stories
Author: Carla Kelly
Published: See bottom of post
Category: Regency Romance
Rating: 7.5/10

I went mad ordering all the Christmas anthologies I could find that had Carla Kelly stories in them -- and then I only read the Kelly stories. I am usually very wary of romance short stories, because I can rarely find a good love story that can be told well in such a limited format. But these are just fabulous. They're remarkable because not only was I completely sold on the romance (no mean feat), but they also have lovely, meaningful plots and lots of character development. It's amazing how much Kelly was able to squeeze into these little tales.

"The Christmas Ornament" begins with two old friends visiting. One has a bluestocking of a daughter (Olivia) just coming of age and the other has an Oxford scholar of a son (James) who is nearing the age when he should be settling down and getting married. They plan to throw them together over Christmas and see what comes of it. For a while it seems like nothing will, as James is "mortally shy" and is constantly putting his foot in his mouth, and Olivia has another suitor in the dashing Lord D'Urst, a fact that robs James of all his self-confidence.

This is probably the lightest, most playful story of the lot. Lord D'Urst calls Olivia his "Christmas ornament," and we can only hope that James will get his act together enough to make her a better offer: a partnership of equals.

"No Room at the Inn" sees Mary McIntyre traveling with acquaintances just before Christmas. They are caught in a storm and are forced to stop and stay with Joseph Shepard, a tradesman who is also the son of Mary's aristocratic family's steward. We soon find out, however, that Mary has just been told that she was adopted at birth by her high-born parents, who have now decided to tell the world that she's actually the illegitimate daughter of a servant (or actress or something, I can't quite remember). Joe welcomes them all into his home with cheerful warmth, and he and Mary work together to make the holiday fun and cozy.

Besides the love story here, we get some very interesting class conflict – Mary's just gone way down the ladder, Joe's a tradesman who's made his own fortune.

"Let Nothing You Dismay" is about Lord Trevor Chase, a London solicitor called "the patron saint of lost causes." He's made it his life's work to represent children and keep the poor things from being transported to Australia. Lord Trevor's niece is accompanied home for the Christmas holiday by one of her schoolteachers, Cecilia Ambrose. As Cecilia and Trevor get to know each other, Cecilia discovers that something in Trevor's past is haunting him; he's carrying around feelings of guilt over something he did years ago and is losing hope of ever atoning for it. Cecilia must try to snap him out of it, and help him move forward with his life.

Lots of interesting stuff here – poor Trevor is so admirable, but the crushing guilt was maybe a little gloomy for me. Not the easiest story to read.

And I saved the best for last – "An Object of Charity" was my favorite story. Captain Michael Lynch's ship has been damaged in a fight with the French, so he's come home to England. There he meets Sally Partlow and her brother, who have come from Scotland to live with their uncle. Michael is forced to tell them that their uncle, his first mate, has just been killed in action. Not realizing that they have no money and no where else to go, he sends them on their way. Once he discovers his mistake he feels that it's his duty to help them, but doesn't know what to do with them except to take them home for the holiday. The trouble is that he's been estranged from his family for twenty years.

Captain Lynch reminded me a lot of Horatio Hornblower, which can only be a good thing. Very responsible and a bit too serious, he's sort of forgotten how to live a life on land and at peace. And I thought his reunion with his family was so well done and realistic.

And I must quote the final paragraph of this one, because it's so nice (and it's not like I'm giving away the ending – it is a romance).

"Happy Christmas, Sally," he whispered in her ear, as goodwill settled around him like a benediction, and peace became his second dearest companion.

And I just found one more anthology on PaperBackSwap with a Kelly story in it. I really hope it comes before Christmas.

Publication info:
"No Room at the Inn" in A Regency Christmas, Signet, 2002
"The Christmas Ornament" in A Regency Christmas, Signet, 1998
"An Object of Charity" in A Regency Christmas Present, Signet, 1999
"Let Nothing You Dismay" in Regency Christmas Wishes, Signet 2003

Have His Carcase, Dorothy L. Sayers

Title: Have His Carcase
Author: Dorothy L. Sayers
Published: 1932 originally, 1995 HarperPaperbacks
Category: Mystery
Rating: 7/10

Has anyone noticed that this book's been hanging out on my sidebar under "Up Next" for a few weeks? Yeah, I've been working on this book since October. I love Lord Peter, but this one was a bit of a trial for me. (For those unfamiliar with Sayers, Lord Peter Wimsey is an English gentleman detective who appears in an entire series of books, sometimes joined by Harriet Vane.)

Mystery writer Harriet Vane is on holiday in the south of England. One day as she's hiking along the coast, she notices what appears to be a very freshly murdered man resting atop a boulder on the shore. Harriet fearlessly goes up to investigate; she examines and photographs the body, much in the way of the fictitious detective-hero she writes. It turns out that the evidence she's collected comes in very handy because while Harriet is fetching the police, the tide comes in and sweeps the body away. Lord Peter soon arrives on the scene and starts investigating. But with each new piece of evidence the case just gets more and more confusing. They have lots of suspects, some of whom have strong motives but perfect alibis, while others are obviously lying about the evidence but appear to have had nothing to do with the victim.

This is one of those books where I want to give two grades, one for technical merit and the other for how much I enjoyed it. Because who am I to find fault with the great Dorothy Sayers? She was a master of the mystery novel, and I love some of her books to death. But, dear God, this thing was loooong, and so involved with so many, many details that I lost interest about halfway in. I was siding with the provincial policemen when they wanted to proclaim it a suicide and forget the whole thing. I think this is mostly to do with my personal preferences; I can read and enjoy a whodunit, but figuring out who done it is hardly ever what keeps me reading. I read for the characters, and Lord Peter is the reason I managed to get through this at all. He comes across as such a charismatic man, which is something I would imagine would be very hard for an author to accomplish. He is just charming and intelligent and very funny.

We do see a little development in Harriet and Wimsey's relationship (of course, not as much as I might have liked). He keeps proposing and Harriet keeps saying no. My favorite proposal Wimsey sends in a telegram:

FOLLOWING RAZOR CLUE TO STAMFORD REFUSE RESEMBLE THRILLER HERO WHO HANGS ROUND HEROINE TO NEGLECT OF DUTY BUT WILL YOU MARRY ME---PETER

But Harriet is re-establishing herself as an independent woman, and Wimsey is trying not to step on her toes as she does this, no matter how much he may want to take care of her. I have to quote the very first paragraph, because it sums up their relationship, and is such an incredible beginning and so brilliantly written:

The best remedy for a bruised heart is not, as so many people seem to think, repose upon a manly bosom. Much more efficacious are honest work, physical activity, and the sudden acquisition of wealth. After being acquitted of murdering her lover, and indeed, in consequence of that acquittal, Harriet Vane found all three specifics abundantly at her disposal; and although Lord Peter Wimsey, with a touching faith in tradition, persisted day in and day out in presenting the bosom for her approval, she showed no inclination to recline upon it.

So it gets a 7 overall (averaging a 9 for technical merit and a 5 for personal entertainment value). But for those who like a really meaty, complex mystery, this one's for you.

Book Binge contest

The ladies at Book Binge are being super generous with their holiday contest -- they're giving away an eBookwise e-Reader. Holy crap! And though they will have to tear my old-fashioned paper books from my cold, dead hands, I am starting to see the allure of e-books.

1. What is your favorite Christmas romance to re-read each year?
I haven't actually read much Christmas romance. But I recently read Marian's Christmas Wish by Carla Kelly, and it just might become a traditional re-read. I also read Dickens's A Christmas Carol every year.

2. What is your favorite Christmas movie/show?
Mickey's Christmas Carol. Really old half-hour Disney version that my brother and sister and I loved as kids. I still love it.

3. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?
Viennese Snowballs. They're walnut cookies rolled in powder sugar. I posted the recipe last year. YUMMY!

4. When do you start Christmas shopping?
Oh. I guess I should get on that soon, huh?

5. Do you re-gift?
Not really. I don't exchange gifts with that wide a group of people, so I usually don't end up getting much crap.

6. What is your favorite Christmas song?
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

7. When do you get your Christmas tree?
Usually the first weekend in December.

8. Wrapping presents: Love it or hate it?
Love it! Pretty paper and ribbon=lotsa fun.

9. Who is the hardest person to buy for?
My uber-non-consumerist father.

10. Christmas tree: Real or artificial?
Both. Twin and I get a little real tree for our apartment. But then we go to our parents' house for the actual holiday, and there we have a gorgeous artificial tree.

Marian's Christmas Wish, Carla Kelly

Title: Marian's Christmas Wish
Author: Carla Kelly
Published: 1989, Signet
Category: Regency Romance
Rating: 8.5/10

I ordered this book because it was on JMC's AAR top romances list – and she's quite the Carla Kelly expert, so I figured it had to be good. And it's a full-length Christmas story, which is pretty hard to find. Yay!

Marian Wynswich is the youngest daughter of a family in trouble. Their father has died recently, leaving them with major financial problems due to his propensity for gambling (badly). Marian's brother Philip thinks that he may be able to save the family by marrying off the eldest Wynswich daughter, Ariadne (who is luckily beautiful and quite biddable), to someone wealthy. So Philip brings Sir William Clinghorn home for Christmas. Sir William turns out to be a silly, vulgar man, but he's rich and looking for a pretty, "proper" little wife. Ariadne is in love with the village's vicar, but she's apparently too weak to put up any protest. Marian, on the other hand, is not at all weak. She's used to saying what she thinks (and she thinks a lot), and what starts out as a passive-aggressive dislike of the toady little man soon turns into a scheme to get rid of him and save Ariadne. She's aided in her plans by her brother Alistair and Lord Gilbert, another friend of Philip's who came home with him for the holiday.

Marian and Gilbert quickly become very good friends. He's a serious man who's highly involved in very secret, very important, apparently dangerous diplomatic work. He was burned badly when a ship he was on caught fire, leaving him with an impressive scar on his cheek. He hasn't wanted to scare his family, which is why he didn't go to his own home for Christmas. Marian sets about trying to change his mind, even making it her wish on the Christmas pudding (an English tradition, apparently).

So that's not even all the plot; it is a lot more action-filled than I have found most of Carla Kelly's books to be. I do think the book has a slightly odd structure; it really felt like two novellas (starring the same characters) jammed together. The first half is your normal, nice Christmas story. The second half of the book is centered on a rather thrilling plot involving Gilbert's diplomatic work. I didn't mind the change, because both parts were really well done, but I still found it a little odd.

Anyway, besides that this book is completely brilliant. It is filled with the pragmatic, intelligent, kind characters that usually populate Kelly's books. Marian is very young (only 16!), so beware if that puts you off. But she is very wise for her age, and she is filled with a youthful enthusiasm that serves to startle Gilbert out of the gloomy oppression of his overactive sense of duty. The story is light and funny at times (Alistair especially is a riot), but it also has a certain gravity that keeps it from being fluffy.

The Christmas elements were lovely. I really have no idea whether they are historically accurate, but I'd bet they are. More importantly, the book has such a nice spirit to it -- the idea of Christmas as a time to appreciate your family, no matter how much they might drive you crazy through most of the year. It left me with fabulous warm fuzzies.

I Google. iGoogle.

Have people heard of iGoogle? They're customizable Google home pages. You pick a banner and what widgets you want to have displayed. I just discovered it, and it is cool.


Here's the banner I picked. The little fox is so cute! And the picture changes according to what time of the day it is for me. Like in the morning, the sun's way over to the left and he's picking oranges. Then at lunchtime he has a little picnic. And then, oh, look! He's fishing in his little boat. And then it gets dark and he sits on his deck. I don't know if he goes to bed or not. If he does, he stays up later than me. Okay, yes, it doesn't take much to amuse me.



But see, look at all my little tools. It has my weather, email, and unread posts on my google reader. A to-do list, a list of top-selling books, news stories, etc., etc. And a John Stewart quote of the day. Hee! And you can drag the tools around to put them exactly like you want.

It's good fun. :)

Castle Waiting, Linda Medley

Title: Castle Waiting
Author: Linda Medley
Published: 2006, Fantagraphics Books
Category: Graphic Novel
Rating: 6.5/10

Believe it or not, this is the first graphic novel I've ever read. I'm so behind the times here. I was never a comic book reader as a kid, so I just never got into them. But there was a piece about graphic novels in a recent Shelf Awareness email, with a recommendation for this one. It sounded interesting.

Castle Waiting starts out with a brief, and relatively standard, retelling of Sleeping Beauty. But after the princess is awakened by the handsome prince, it takes a sharp left turn out of the traditional fairy tale. The princess rides off with her prince, leaving the castle, still surrounded by bramble, without a ruling family. The town around it degrades to nothing, and the castle becomes a sanctuary for all sorts of misfits. The book centers on a young pregnant woman who flees her abusive husband and arrives at Castle Waiting, where she meets the kind, if odd, inhabitants: the three aging ladies-in-waiting, a bearded nun, a man heartbroken by the death of his family, and a jolly housekeeper and her "slow" son, among others.

This is in no way a traditional fairy tale! It presents some great themes that are actually quite anti-fairy tale. Feminism for one -- a couple of the stories show women shaking off bad men to live independently (and much more happily). And the rest of the stories revolve around acceptance of people who are different. The characters are all oddballs in some respect, but they are wise enough to discover that their differences are not something to overcome or do away with, but traits to be appreciated as something that makes them unique.

My one big complaint was that the book can really be divided into two halves: the first dealing with the pregnant woman getting to know everyone at Castle Waiting, the second telling the life story of the bearded nun. I think these stories were originally published as comic books over a period of time, which could explain the disjointedness. But I kept waiting to get back to the story of the people actually living in Castle Waiting. And then the book just ended.

I liked the illustrations, though I'm no great judge. I did get confused a couple times when I couldn't figure out immediately from the drawings which character (especially the women) was being depicted. But maybe the fault is in me, because I read a PW review that praised the book for the opposite thing. I guess I'm too much a words person. ;)

But this was a positive enough experience that I want to read more graphic novels. So if anyone who has recommendations, please share!

Now even better archives. Oh yeah.

Exciting news! Okay, not really. But it does make me happy.

I have never been satisfied with the way I was archiving my old reviews. I really liked Rosario's method, so I've copied her a bit. I played around with GoogleDocs and realized that I could keep a spreadsheet there, publish it, and then link to it from the sidebar. So voila, the new and improved archives!

You can see the author, title, category, and rating. It was kind of a big job to put together, but it'll be much easier going forward. And I realized that I have over 150 reviews in my archives! Reviews of admittedly varying degrees of quality, but still. Little bloggy, I'm so proud of you. ;)

Simply Magic, Mary Balogh

Title: Simply Magic
Author: Mary Balogh
Published: 2007, Delacorte Press
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 6.5/10

I finished this book maybe 5 days ago, and when I sat down to write this review, I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was about! Never a good sign. But I've read the jacket and it's all come flooding back.

This is the third book in Balogh's Simply series about the four teachers at Miss Martin's School for Girls in Bath. Susanna Osbourne is our heroine this time; she's been at the school from the age of 12, first as a charity student, then as a teacher. She goes to spend a holiday with Frances (the heroine of Simply Unforgettable) and meets Peter Edgeworth, Viscount Whitleaf. (If that name is familiar to you, he appeared briefly as Lauren's cousin at the end of A Summer to Remember.) Susanna dislikes him intensely both because he appears to be a frivolous good-time guy and because his name brings back horrible memories from her childhood. Peter is immediately attracted to her and is thrown to find that he obviously repels her so badly -- he is used to being universally liked. He sets about getting to know her, and Susanna realizes that her first impressions of him were not fair. They become friends, never intending the relationship to go further; Susanna and Peter both know that she is too low on the social scale to be his wife. But after they part, Peter misses her and keeps coming up with excuses to see her again.

Once my memory was jogged about this book, I remembered it quite well, didn't I? But I have to say that it was rather forgettable (I would even say simply unmagical, though that's a horrible joke). Balogh's more recent books have all been comfort reads for me; they are about nice people, who are always honorable and fall in love slowly, with decorum and maturity. I would recommend this book for people who are looking for a quiet love story. The plot line about Susanna's past was interesting when it was finally revealed, but was not exactly thrilling.

But I did enjoy it, though I'm glad I didn't pay hardcover price for it. Of the Simply series, I loved the second one, Simply Love, while Unforgettable and Magic were both just okay. I will probably end up buying this one in mass market when it comes out, because look at the cover!! It's so pretty. Maybe I can resist, but the power of that lush garden landscape might overcome my will power.

Random observation: It makes me feel sort of old when the HEROES of romance novels are younger than me. :(

Simply Perfect, last in the series, is out on March 25.

An Affair Before Christmas, Eloisa James

Title: An Affair Before Christmas
Author: Eloisa James
Published: 2007, Avon
Category: Historical romance
Rating: 7/10

I am so behind on my reviews. But I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, even though I sprinkled salt instead of sugar onto the top of the apple pie. (Oopsie. It will be a family joke forever. And hey, didn't Anne of Green Gables do the same thing once? I'm in good company.) But onward! (as Cindy says) To the new Eloisa James.

An Affair Before Christmas, of course, begins right before Christmas with Fletch (that's the Duke of Fletcher) and Poppy Selby head over heals in love with each other. They both have stars in their naïve little eyes as they head off to be married. Four years later they find their marriage on the rocks. A large part of the problem appears to be that Poppy can't enjoy sex, no matter what Fletch does. He's gotten more and more bitter about it until one day he makes a horrible joke in front of some friends. Poppy is hurt and doesn't understand her husband and is tired of trying (unsuccessfully) to make him happy, so she leaves him and goes to live with the infamous Jemma, Duchess of Beaumont. Fletch wants to just write her off and go get a mistress, but despite everything he's still very much in love with her. Out on her own, Poppy starts to loosen up and discovers a lot about herself, things she enjoys doing when she's not so obsessed with being the perfect duchess.

I didn't love this plot line, but I think it does point out something that must have happened often back then. Women's sexuality was such a taboo subject that lots of women surely felt as Poppy did – sex is something only men enjoy and you just had to grin and bear it. James always takes a refreshingly grown-up and realistic view of marriage among the aristocracy, and she also somehow manages to make a HEA believable within that setting.

This is the second in James's duchess series (after Desperate Duchesses) and it is more closely connected as a series than you sometimes find. The story of Jemma and her husband, Elijah; the Duke of Villiers; and their chess tournaments started in DD continues. Jemma and Elijah's story doesn't advance too much, but we do learn a lot more about Villiers, who is sick unto death from the sword wound he received at the end of Desperate Duchesses.

Definitely pick this up if you liked Desperate Duchesses, and I'd say skip it if that one didn't do much for you. I loved the Georgian setting and I always enjoy James's clever characters and dialogue. It's another ensemble piece, with lots of jumping around among storylines, but I think it's all really well done.

Next in the series is Duchess by Night, out in April. About Harriet, Duchess of Berrow. Is she the one whose husband killed himself?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm about three books behind on blogging, but no time now. I've got turkey to eat and family to see. ;)

So for all the Americans (stolen from C2 because Pooh is always adorable):

Coolest program evah!

A friend at work put me on to this really cool downloadable software called Library Books. (Here's a write-up and here's where you can download.) It's a little program that automatically links to your library's catalog and retrieves your account info (what you have checked out and when it's due). It's so cool! And really unobtrusive. Here's a screenshot of my desktop's right upper-hand corner. See the little star and the 4? That means I have 4 books checked out.


Then if you click on the star, a little menu drops down listing all your books and when they're due. The icon apparently turns red when you have items overdue.


And there are links to your library's webpage too.


I may never have to pay fines again. Mom, you might even be able to start using the library again! Or have they banned you for life? ;)

Oh, this program is for Macs only. But apparently there is something called Library Elf for PCs.

DNF: Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, Linda Berdoll

I've been meaning to read Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife forever -- I mean, what Pride and Prejudice fan wouldn't want to see a little bit of Elizabeth and Darcy's HEA? And it seems to be among the more popular P&P sequels. But, I have to say, it didn't do much for me. It seemed like it was all about sex. Really, all about sex -- that title is meant in the literal way (at it like rabbits they are). And as titillating as it is to hear about Darcy's enormous member, it got old really quick.

The writing seemed overly complicated just for the sake of being complicated, if that makes any sense. The constant use of "howbeit" and "compleatly" about drove me mad. I didn't see any new character development, and what new plot lines were introduced didn't interest me all that much. I made it through 100 pages and decided that was enough for me.

But this book did spark a heated debate between Twin and me. I was saying that if Jane Austen had lived today, she probably would have written sex scenes in her books. Twin thinks Austen would be too high class or something. Sheesh. I'm not saying she'd be writing erotica, but I don't think Austen would be at all prudish. Who agrees with me? :)

Summers at Castle Auburn, Sharon Shinn

Title: Summers at Castle Auburn
Author: Sharon Shinn
Published: 2001, Ace
Category: YA Fantasy
Rating: 9/10

I've been meaning to try one of Sharon Shinn's YA books, and Li recommended this one. Ack! I loved it. Really a lot.

Young Corie is the illegitimate daughter of now-deceased Lord Halsing, an important aristocrat of Auburn. She's been raised in the country by her grandmother, a wise-woman witch-doctor, who is training Corie as her apprentice. Corie's uncle Jaxon decides that Corie should spend her summers at Auburn castle with her half-sister, Alisandra, who is now engaged to Prince Bryan, the heir to the throne. The book opens when Corie is 14, as she excitedly sets out on a hunting expedition with her uncle Jaxon, Bryan, and the prince's cousin, Kent. They aren't hunting animals, though -- they're hunting aliora, mysterious and magical elf-like creatures that are almost impossible to catch, but once bound by metal shackles they are made into servants for the aristocracy. Corie has always accepted the presence of aliora without much thought, but this trip opens her eyes to the fact that the aliora living among humans are slaves kept against their will. Over the next few years, Corie goes from naive girl to a young woman aware of the many injustices that exist among the political circles of the court of Auburn. She also begins to see that Bryan is not the wonderful, dashing prince of a fairy tale with whom all the girls (including Corie) are in love, but a very flawed man whose arrogance and cruelty make for a dangerous ruler.

Let me count the ways I loved this book! Corie is such a lovable character -- she is one of those lucky people who makes friends wherever she goes, spreading her affection to high- and low-born without discrimination. (Well, actually with excellent discrimination, but based on important things like kindness and good-will rather than money and position.) And she is such a rebel! Strong-willed and intelligent, she refuses to be coerced into acting in any way she does not think is right, even though it sometimes seems like everyone is against her.

This is very much a coming-of-age story, and I loved seeing Corie go from youthful innocence to wise young woman. The theme of slavery (both the literal slavery of the aliora and the more insidious subjugation of women) are handled so well, with a nice light touch. And the romance is so, so lovely. It's a traditional fairy-tale ending turned completely on its head, resolved in a way that was (to me, anyway) very unexpected and wonderful. And while the overall story is fairly simple, it's just full of lovely, thoughtful details of a fantasy world.

BIG HUGE SPOILER! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK.

I have to say I was not very comfortable with Bryan's sad demise. Obviously he would have been a horrible king, and Alisandra was painted into a difficult corner, but, DUDE, she murdered him! Seems sort of a bad lesson for young adults, which is upsetting because the rest of the book was filled with such admirable things. Kent and Corie both agree that they could never do such a thing, but I don't think that really makes up for it. And Alisandra's calm attitude toward it all was sort of creepy.

I got this from the library, but I've already ordered a copy because it must be MINE! MINE! :)

No books for me. :(

I went to the bookstore yesterday because I had a 30% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket. And I couldn't find anything to buy! Shocking! Twin's eyes bugged out a little when I came home empty-handed. What's wrong with me?

Everything I picked up I put back on the shelf, deciding that I had something similar already in the TBR that sounded better. Maybe that means my TBR is too big... I do have some books in there I just know are going to be fantastic. But that doesn't keep me from wanting to buy more books.

So, anyone bought anything exciting lately?

Sexiest Man Alive, Diana Holquist

Title: Sexiest Man Alive
Author: Diana Holquist
Published: 2007, Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Category: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 6/10

I picked this up in the bookstore because it got a nice review at Dear Author. When I flipped it open, I noticed that it's dedicated to me! "To everyone who has ever blushed, stuttered, or had their nose twitch like a rabbit's, this book is for you." Okay, I don't think my nose twitches, but I can certainly blush and stutter. Shy heroines are hard to find, so I'm always interested in seeing one get her man. ;)

Jasmine Burns is even shyer than I am (hard to believe), especially around attractive men. She dreams of becoming an important costume designer, but her extreme shyness has made it impossible, so instead she's been running a tailoring business (for women only) out of her Manhattan apartment. But now she's landed an interview with a really important designer to work as his assistant on a production of Romeo and Juliet. She forces herself to go to the interview and makes a sorry mess of it. Luckily, she does manage to leave behind her portfolio, which the designer loves, and Jasmine gets the job. She soon finds out that Romeo will be played by People's sexiest man, super-famous big-screen actor Josh Toby. Josh is trying to do the play incognito so that he can prove that he's not just a pretty face and that he can actually act. Josh begs Jasmine to create costumes that will hide who he is. This is a problem since Jasmine can't be around him without breaking into a cold sweat. And that's compounded by the fact that Jasmine's sister Amy has the power to reveal people's One True Love, and she's declared that Josh is Jasmine's.

So, the premise is a little ridiculous. I had to force my brain to ignore my two biggest problems with this plot: 1)the idea of predestined "One True Love" is a ridiculous notion (sorry, all you romantics out there) and 2) big-name movie stars are actually aliens sent to Earth to make humans feel inadequate (yes, this tin hat I'm wearing is very fashionable, thank you). But this book was obviously written as a bit of fun, and I was able to take it as such and enjoy it. There are some really funny scenes that had me laughing. I also really liked Jasmine's being a costume designer; I just thought it was interesting (plus, she uses the same sewing machine as Twin and I do!)

And Jasmine's shyness was well done. I did at times actually find myself annoyed by the fact that every human interaction Jasmine went through was prefaced by all the nervous hemming and hawing and pepping herself up to behave like a normal person. At times I was like, OMG get over yourself, it's not a big deal! But then I am often irritated by my own shyness, so obviously she's a believable character. ;)

Spoilers whited out:
I wasn't completely sold on the ending, either that these two could actually have an HEA or the way Jasmine's shyness is all but "cured" by lurve. It is mentioned briefly that the real origin of Jasmine's shyness might have been the rejection she felt by her sisters as a teenager – I didn't feel like this got enough emphasis and I thought it undermined the idea that the confidence she gains from Josh's love is what really allows her to lose a lot of her shyness and to manage life in the spotlight as the wife of such a famous person.

But it was a fast, fun read. There is a previous book in the same series about Jasmine's sister Cecilia (Make Me a Match), and Holquist's next book is about the other sister, Amy. (And I'm not sure I can get excited about that, as Amy did not come off as very likable in this book.)