Speaking of Foursomes...

Who would be in yours?  You've already read mine.

Hostage to Pleasure

I'm entering a contest to win a gift certificate from Nalini Singh.  With that money, I'm going to buy that book.  I have been waiting for so long.  I love her books and of you haven't read her, all of her Psy/Changeling books deserve a RUN!!!  

Look at this cover?  Can you BLAME me?

*Tongue wagging*

Seriously, I have not been disappointed by any of them.  

I especially love that this is going to be an IR romance.  Race is such a malleable concept in these books that it doesn't make any difference but to those of us who are trying to get our IR mainstream, this is huge!

Now onto the show:

In order to win the contest, I have to answer one of three questions.  So, of course I'm going to answer them all.

A) Which fictional character would you most like to hold hostage?

Hmmm...this is a tough one.I would say that I would hold Roarke from J.D. Robb books hostage.  That man sends total shivers down my spine and the thought of him, naked and bound and at my pleasure?  Uh, hell yeah!  I would do things to him that would be illegal in several states but since he's from the future, I'm hoping that laws are more lackadaisical.  Plus the thought of such a strong man at my mercy is intoxicating.  He's probably never had to submit to a woman the way that I would make him but I can guarantee that he would enjoy me.

B) Which fictional character would you like to be held hostage by?

Another tough one, but I'd say Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre.  He has such a brooding sexuality that I just know that he's intimately familiar with all the tricks to make a woman weep with pleasure.  As you are all VERY familiar with, the tortured hero (sorry to use that phrase so much but I can't think of anything better), makes me oh so happy.  And I'm not opposed to a little bit of bondage, or D/S.  Bring on the handcuffs!

C) Which fictional world would you most like to be held hostage in?

I don't think that that world has been invented yet.  It's a world in which men fall all over their feet for the big girls and skinny bitches can't get dates.  But alas, such a world doesn't exist so I'll just have to invent it myself and until I do, I'll stay in this world.

Wish me luck!

Sunday Book Blog

This week I have not two but three books for your reading pleasure.

So without further ado...

Insatiable Desire: The Demonborn by Rita Herron

Synopsis:

When he was a child, Vincent Valtrez witnessed his mother's death at the hands of his father--or so he thinks.  Twenty years later, he's no closer to the memory.  So when Vincent, an FBI agent, is called back to his hometown to investigate a series of seemingly unrelated murders that psychic Clarissa, a girl from his past, believes to be the work of a serial killer, he fears that those memories will come back.  Together they solve the mystery of his past and his potential future.

Um, I left out a lot in this synopsis.  Like the fact that Vincent was born from a demon father and Angel mother, therefore making him a Demon Lord.  His father, Zion, is going to be the new leader of Hell and needs his son by his side to make the transition permanent and rule the earth.

Oh, maybe I didn't leave anything out.

This books marks a departure for Ms. Herron.  She usually writes romantic suspense and this is definitely a paranormal.  Which I think is great.  I always believe that artists should be constantly expanding and growing.

I enjoyed the book.  It was very sensuous.  The sex was definitely amped up.  Plus, I really do like books that use 'fuck' to describe the act.  I'm sick like that.  The hero is tortured, which I adore.  The heroine is a match for him.  I think the story was inventive and I liked her 'voice.'  

Only two issues.  One, while I enjoyed the sex scenes, I think that there was a big build-up to it but the while the scene was good, I was left wanting just a bit more.  And second, this is a trilogy where the next book won't be out until 2009 which sux great big donkey balls.

My new rating system: Walk, Speed Walk, Jog, Run

This book?  Speed Walk

First You Run by Roxanne St. Claire

Synopsis

Adrien Fletcher, a bullet catcher, is on the hunt for woman.  Only not in the way you might think.  He's on the trail of a woman who was sold through the Black Baby market thirty years ago and finding her might just save a woman's life, literally.  What he finds is Miranda Lang, a linguist who's new book about the Maya calendar is majorly pissing off some people.  In order to see if she's the woman that he needs, he's going to need to get close to her, very close, in order to find a tattoo marking her as the woman he needs.  And Adrien is more than up to the job.

While Miranda may not be the one he wants, he is definitely the one she needs when death and mayhem start to follow her everywhere she goes.

This is the beginning of a second set of trilogies and it's a good one.  I always love a good bodyguard story.  And the introduction of the Maya calendar angle was ingenious.  I learned something new which makes me happy.

I also enjoyed the H/H combination.  There was enough suspense at the end of the book that will make me want to read the next one.  Which is out now.  That's awesome!

Verdict?  Speed Walk

Fairyville by Emma Holly

Psychic Zoe Clare sees ghosts and fairies.  Fortunately, that's not so odd in the town of Fairyville Arizona.  But for all her psychic abilities, she still can't figure out how to get her landlord/manager, Magnus Monroe, to see her.  What makes it worse, is that she seems to be the only woman in the town whom he hasn't...sampled.  So when her high school flame comes back to town, she seizes the opportunity to make him jealous and get some sex all at the same time.

Okay, I love this book.  I LOVE EMMA HOLLY.  Her books are what got me started in erotica because she does it so well.  She is the queen of threesomes and foursome and somehow manages to do it in a way that's both classy and romantically satisfying.  Usually, I don't like the multiple partner angle but she manages to keep the romance between the two couples while at the same time serving up some steamy sex.

This book has everything, M/M, M/F/M, and the oh-so popular M/M/F/M.  Now that was something new.  Three guys and a girl?  HELL YEAH!!!

My ultimate foursome you ask?  Well I'll tell you.  Me (of course), Gerard Butler, my new hotness James McAvoy, and Anderson Cooper.  Although, I would substitute AC for either of the Colins (Ferrell or Firth).  

*SIGH*

Now that is heaven.

Rating?  RUN!!!!    

Until next week!

I am...

So behind it's not even funny.  But the good news is that I am close to being finished.  I think I'll be done in a week.  I just have to get my heroine kidnapped, reveal the stalker/killer, put in just a little twist, and get the H/H back together after she told him to go fuck himself.  Literally.  That's not a lot.

Right?

100,000!

I hit the magic number.  My current WIP is officially the longest that I've ever written.  

Too bad that I'm 2,000 words behind.

And I have at least another 10,000 to go.

But I met the goal that I set a few weeks ago to get to 100,000.  

YAY ME!!!

Acheron!

Okay, this book was so good that it deserved an early Book Blog all its own!

First let me tell all of you that I want to be Sherrilyn Kenyon when I grow up!  Not only the multi-NYT bestseller part, but also just the fact that she is such a wonderful person. She was here in Colorado last night doing a book signing and I got to meet her.  At first I wasn't going to go but then I decided that I really wanted to see her in person and I am so glad that I did.

First, can I just say that very rarely do any really big authors come to Denver.  Sherrilyn had come twice this year and she's coming back in May for my local RWA chapter's conference.  That's just one reason she rocks.

Secondly, she is so nice and funny!  I was laughing the whole time.

But I think the most important part about why I loved her was just how gracious and lovely she was.  She took the time to talk to everyone.  She took pictures with us, she chatted, and she encouraged me to keep up with my writing.  When I left the bookstore, it was almost 10:30 (30 minutes after closing time) and she was still going strong.  She had at least another hour or so of work left and I'm sure that her hand was dead this morning.

That's the kind of author that I want to be.  Not only surrounded by adoring fans, but to be that accessible and welcoming and just so...awesome.  She was awesome.  

So on the off chance that Ms. Kenyon ever reads this blog, thank you so much for your time and your patience and your grace.  I will always have that and the fuzzy picture that my crappy camera phone took to remember you by.

Now on to the review:

Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon 

I'm not going to bother with a synopsis here because there is so much going on in this book that it would be impossible to do it justice.  I will just say that this is a book that I have been waiting years for and I was not disappointed.

If you read my previous book blog, you know that I love me a tortured hero and Ash delivers that in spades.  The first couple hundred pages had me in tears almost constantly.  When you read about Ash's past, if you can maintain a stiff upper lip then there is something seriously wrong with you.  I haven't cried this hard since Valerian's story.  And before that, Zarek's.  

*SIGH*

Tortured heroes so do it for me!  

And something that I found interesting is that for a while, Ms. Kenyon was able to make me not only like Artemis, but root for her.  But then she took it all back.  I hate Artie with a vengeance matched only Ash and his new woman.  (And if all of this means jack shit to you, go read the books!)

Now this is not a book, it is a tome written in four parts.  It's over 700 pages and worth every bit of lost sleep that I got from reading it.  It took me a day, more or less.  Not only because I'm a fast reader but because it was an amazing book and I didn't want to put it down.  

But this is not only about Ash but his heroine.  I won't reveal her name or anything about her other than to say that I think that they meshed so beautifully together that they were literally made for each other.  (Okay, I will give you a hint.  She has been in a previous book but you will never guess which one.  So read them all.)

My only qualm is that I wish that she had been able to cram in a few more love scenes between Ash and his lady.  Not only because I'm a bit of a pervert and would do anything to get more descriptive about Ash but also because I just loved them together so much.  But I got over that because this time, I cried at the HEA.

This book could be read as a stand alone.  There is a lot of backstory but it's nothing that a novice to the Dark-Hunters couldn't follow.  But my advice is to read them all from the beginning.  You get to know Ash before you get to know him.  

I'm only sad that now the mystery is gone for me about Ash.  But there is always Savitar and Jaden.  

Please, Ms. Kenyon, let there be Savitar and Jaden.

Screw the rating system.  

RUN.  DO NOT WALK.  DO NOT PASS GO.  BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm probably going to go read it again.

Sunday Book Blog

Here it is, another Sunday Book Blog brought to you on an actual Sunday.

The other day I was talking to my friend and she was looking for something new to read and she was asking me for recommendations for books to read and I have to say that I was stumped. What do you recommend for the novice romance reader? I don't really know anything about her general fiction choices. Does she like mysteries? Thrillers? Who are her favorite authors? I do know that she likes David Sedaris. (As do I because, seriously, I want to be as funny a social commentator as he is. In my other writing life, I want to have a hilarious monthly column in Vogue or The New Yorker, even though I've never been to New York.)

As I was talking to her, I commented on the fact that while I really don't read too much fiction outside of the romance genre, within it, I'm very well read. I read historical, contemporary, romantic suspense, paranormal, interracial, and assorted other subgenres. The only things that I don't really go for are Sci-Fi or time-travel. The latter because I really can't see going back to a time without indoor plumbing or modern dentistry. Plus, as a Black person, going back in time for my people is not an appealing thought.

But my book choices today reflect my diversity. We have a romantic suspense and an historical.

Now on to the books.

First up:

Trial by Fire: The Firefighters of Station Five by Jo Davis

Synopsis:

In the small town of Sugarland, Tennessee, an arsonist is on the loose. Kat McKenna is housesitting for friends when she comes by one night to find the home ablaze and calls the fire department. Inside, the firemen make a deadly discovery, a body handcuffed to the bed and burned alive. One of the firemen is Howard Paxton, six-foot-six-inches of rugged fire hunk.

For Kat and Howard, the attraction is instant and undeniable. Howard has some serious trust issues but Kat is willing to accept them for him. What she doesn't know is that Howard has somehow become the target of the deadly arsonist's rage. Can they find out who is doing the killing and why they want to punish Howard before it's too late?

This is the first of a series (obviously!). The next book doesn't come out until May 2009 which really ticks me off because that's like nine months instead of the usual six. I just hope I can remember that I really liked this book and I would dearly love to read anything by Ms. Davis again.

Okay, can I just say that I love the name Howard as hero's name? I've never considered it sexy before but when it comes attached to some prime beefcake like in this story, I really can see myself moaning that name. (That's my litmus test for hero names. What do they sound like when you moan them?)

I liked the story, especially the chemistry between Howard and Kat. The love scenes were good, very good. They did call this a romantic suspense but I'm not quite sure that it was 'romantic suspense' mainly because to me, the definition of the genre is such a nebulous thing. This storyline could just as easily have been classified as a straight contemporary. But what do I know? I'm just a struggling writer.

My advice: GO BUY IT!


Next up:

Sins of a Duke by Suzanne Enoch

Synopsis:

When Sebastian Griffin, the Duke of Melbourne, is asked by Prinny to become the liaison to an unknown Central American country, he's not happy. Especially when he finds out that part of the duties is to squire the princess, Josefina, around Society. Josefina is unlike any woman he's ever known and despite the fact that she smacked him in public and she continues to challenge him at every turn, he cannot deny his desire for her. But he also can't escape the feeling that something is amiss with this newly crowned royalty.

But is Josefina really a princess? And what will happen when the entirety of England becomes aware of the potential fraud?

I don't remember if I've ever read Ms. Enoch before but I will definitely read her again.

Now, this book was the last in the series and I have to confess I try not to read books like that but this story was entirely self-contained that I had no problems diving in.

My first chuckle was the the name of the island that Josefina and her family were the supposed rulers of was Costa Habichuela, the Bean Coast. It just made me laugh.

And Sebastian is my favorite kind of hero. Total staid Alpha Male with hot undercurrents of sensuality just waiting to bubble to the surface. There is something about a man who is forced to keep a tight reign of his baser desires that drives me crazy. He was kept from being a total buttoned-up frump by his daughter and their obvious affection. It was nice to see their interaction. And a surprise considering the way that Society, especially Dukes, behaved towards their children back in the day.

The only thing better is the brooding, tortured Mr. Rochester type.

*SHUDDER*

Sexy.

Anyway, I liked the H/H combination. Josefina was just the type to shake up the uber-conservative Sebastian. And the love scenes were well-written and enjoyable.

Can I just tell you that in my opinion, historical romances were way ahead of the curve when it came to the level of sensuality in stories nowadays. I remember reading Linda Lael Miller, Susan Johnson, and Amanda Quick specifically because they were so much more descriptive. It took contemporaries a few years to catch up, and now exceed, historicals.

But back to the Duke.

GO BUY IT.

Until next week!

Sunday Book Bias

So about ten minutes after I completed the Sunday Book Blog this week, I realized that all of my 'reviews' are very biased in that I have not-and WILL NOT- review a book that I don't enjoy. And that is a very conscious effort on my part for many reasons.

One, I don't read books that I don't enjoy. I have no qualms about putting down a book 1/2 way through or even 3/4 of the way and never picking it back up again ever. My time is precious and I don't waste it.

Two, I don't get paid to review books. Please refer to reason number one. I don't read books I don't like and I don't waste my time. Getting paid to review books is not wasting my time. There are several websites that do reviews very well. A couple of my favorites: Karen Knows Best, Dear Author, and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I suggest that you visit them religiously like I do. These women are on it. They have all the buzz in the industry and they're just smart and funny peeps.

And three, I'm in the business. I hope to meet them someday and I want to make a good impression. I'm trying to get the stink eye from Carolyn Jewel at the next RWA conference. I don't need to be boxing in the lobby. I will throw down.

So that's a 'Just In Case' someone wants to knock me for my 'reviews.'

Writing is Hard!

Especially when you have 3,000 word days because you're lazy as shit.

Sunday Book Blog

Okay, after all that hoopla about this not being a book review blog, here I am with two new reviews. I really shouldn't be writing this. I'm 5,000 words behind on my WIP but I'm in massive denial about it. So...

Pfft!

Today's books:

Bound by Flame (The Dark Crescent Sisterhood Book 2) by Anna Windsor

The second book in the series starts off a few months after the first book. Creed and Riana are married. Cynda, the heroine, and Marilee have moved to the townhouse once owned by Creed and Nick, the heroine and Creed's twin brother demon. The house has now become the HQ for the OSU and the Sybils. The book starts out with Cynda and Nick meeting with an informant. It soon turns into an invisible demon attack. Turns out, the Legion or someone else, is targeting fire Sybils like Cynda and Nick is assigned to be her bodyguard when her sister sybils are not around. She's resistant at first (of course!) but after seeing the devastation of other Triads, she relents. Nick and Cynda and the rest of the Scooby gang must work together to see who is targeting the fire Sybils. All sorts of mayhem ensues, especially when one of the demons that they are hunting turns out to be Creed and Nick's brother, Jake. Oh, and Cynda has been ordered out of a relationship with Nick. Is Jake the bad guy? Will love conquer all?- (Of course, it's a romance novel!)

All in all, I enjoyed the book. I really like Cynda, she reminds me of the heroine in my current WIP. The relationship between them is also very interesting. One thing that I found curious was that although Cynda is a fire Sibyl, the chemistry between Riana and Creed from the first book, is way more explosive. I thought that it was quite the dichotomy. A strong addition to the trilogy and I only have to wait a couple more weeks until the next book.

GO BUY IT!

My Wicked Enemy by Carolyn Jewel

In a world of Mages and Fiends, Carson Philips is as lost as a babe in the woods. Practically held hostage for years by a powerful Mage, Magellan, Carson has been helping him for years without her knowledge. One night, she witnesses just how evil Magellan is and goes on the run. Fortunately, she is found by Nickodemus, a powerful Warlord. Unfortunately, he also wants to kill her. Along with Magellan's thugs. The good news is that he doesn't kill her, the bad news is that Magellan has been slowly poisoning her for years so that he could suppress her use of her magic but still be able to draw it from her and she only has a little while to live. Together Carson and Nikodemus must stop Magellan from his evil plotting and find a way to save Carson's life before it's too late.

First off, this book was a real lesson of world building in the paranormal. It has some crazy complications. The synopsis that I gave you is really bare bones because so much is happening in this story that there is no simple explanation. How Carson gets saved is also weird and I'm not sure I understand it. I would give you more info but too much can ruin the book and I want you to discover it for yourself.

There was one part that I didn't enjoy. At times in the book, it seemed like there was going to be threesome, which I don't object to, but it came so late in the game that it kind of put me off. And the heroine does have sex, I think, with someone other than the hero. But it wasn't clear if it was happening in reality or in her head like some super hallucination. Either way, it grossed me out.

Well, two parts because one time Nikodemus and Carson were having sex and and he turned into his demon self and the author chose not to give us a description of what he looked like. Big downer.

However, the rest of the book makes up for these lapses and I am definitely looking forward to reading another one of her book.

Buy it.

Man, I need a ratings system.

P.S.
Aren't you proud of me for getting you the Sunday Book Blog on an actual Sunday?

Yay me!

Not Just Smut

Okay, so this blog is going to be more than a book review site. I promise. I'm just really working hard on finishing my book before I have to go back to work in two weeks. I'm at 80,000 words and doing 1500 words per day until I reach 100,000. The problem is that I think this book is going to be longer by at least 10-20k words but I can't deal with that now. If I think about it, I go directly to Revision Hell and that sucks because I could be there for months and no progress made.

So, onward an upward. I will keep you informed as to my progress. In the mean time, check me out with my critique partners on our blog, Colorado Vixens. I did a little information dump over there about us and our writing.

See you later.