Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Jen's February Reads

Hmmmpf. Here I am again, about to recap the handful of books I read in February and....again, will accompany the recap with more empty promises about actually reviewing those books.

Ah well.

Fewer books in February than the prior month. And no, it had nothing to do with it being a short month.

Fire And Ice by Julie Garwood
I finished it. Don't know if Garwood's voice simply fails to translate well in contemporary romances or if her voice is simply failing. Either way, a disappointment. Info dumps, stereotypes in the place of characters, sparkless romance, far-fetched villainry. Not sure why I continued. I guess it was because I realized--a few chapters in--that this one follows a previous contemp she wrote about an agent (FBI, I think) and a hotel hieress. I recalled liking that one and read this follow up--through to the end--out of loyalty. I guess.

Dark Of Night by Suzanne Brockmann
Buddy review with Lori here. Brockmann is a sure thing for me.

Strip Poker by Lisa Lawrence
This one made it to my TBR list via Wendy's review. I'll say I was as wowed by Lawrence's first person narrative and the characterization of Teresa, the book's (and series') protagonist. It was not however, a page turner for me. Took me two weeks to get through it. I'll tip my hat to Lawrence, no question. But didn't find a must-read author for me here. Not because it isn't romance, but rather because it's info-heavy. More than strong, but not my cuppa.

Kiss Of The Demon King by Kresley Cole
This is one I really should review. Another in my Fucking Fabulous category.

First You Run by Roxanne St. Clair
For the first time in a long time, I read a book--specifically a quick, light read--and it was just right. This was it. I was in my second day of the flu--too weak to move around much but strong enough to read (not true of day one of the flu). So, on that second day, I laid on the couch and read this book front to back. It fit a type--but I won't label it formulaic or stereotypical. It was a solid read and I plan to read the one that follows--Then You Hide--when next in the mood.

Five books. One review (thanks Lori!).

March will be better. I'm about to put my foot down with (on the neck of) our family's cruise director. Plan to tell him that we need not book every hour of every weekend with fun. Nor do we need to schedule 3 to 4 weeknight activities for after work and school hours. [Made my mind up on this as I folded clothes, fresh out of the dryer, at 5:30 this morning. Find a balance and the other half mucks it up. Grrr.] I digress.

March will also be a good month I think because I was able to get a do-over on three Megan Hart ebooks I bought in January. Bought and downloaded them, then switched out computers. Never got to read them. They just reactivated my download buttons last weekend. So yeah, three ebook novellas--that'll get my numbers up.

Plus, it's only March 3rd and I've finished Promises In Death.

Yup. March will be stronger.

9 comments:

  1. Well shoot. I'll admit Lisa Lawrence is a must read for me because I have the gayest girl crush on Teresa. But yeah, these books tend to be "heavy." I just read her latest book in the series this past month, and whoa doggie, just thinking back on the suspense/conflict makes my head swim. They're really dense reads - and certainly not to everyone's taste.

    I often wonder how she's selling over here in the States (she's a UK author) because so many readers I know tend to gravitate towards the "light and fluffy" side of erotica. And these, most definitely, aren't light and fluffy.

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  2. Wendy - I'd put her in the women's fiction category myself. And I enjoy that category (for lack of a better word) very much. Stupidly though, my reading time feels so limited now that I just plain panic if I find myself immersed in a slow read. Stupid of me, I know. Lawrence writes very rich. And--being totally honest with myself--I lack the patience and (stupidly, again) can't shake off the pressure I put on myself to hurry up and enjoy my reads. Boy, embarrassing to admit. Specially in the face of such talent. Oh and hypocritical...since I've been saying (all over the place) that I like dark and gritty (or density).

    Thanks for the rec and for poking me here. I will likely add more of Teresa's adventures to my TBR list. With a footnote: When you have time to linger over your read.

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  3. Tee Hee, I didn't mean to poke you (that sounds more than a little dirty - but you know what I mean).

    Actually, my favorite of the 3 books so far as been the second one, Beg Me. It's got a really heavy ending though, and the fall-out from it carries over a bit into book 3, which just came out, Sexile.

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  4. Awwwww hell. See? You got me with that. Adding the second to my next gift card round. LOL

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  5. Five is not bad Jen :) As long as you read, you're happy :)

    I read Kiss of The Demon King back when it came out... and still haven't reviewed it ^_^; Sigh, another book that slipped away.

    I'm not a fan of Garwood's contemporary. Never read her historicals, so I can't compare... but so far, her comtemps are meh to me.

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  6. We should buddy review Kiss Of the Demon King, LOL. Cuz I don't have the uummph to do one on my own either. Regrettable, since I loved it. If you're up for a buddy review, email me at jenniferbedits @ yahoo.com.

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  7. Don't worry, I only read three books. But I savored them! yay for Demon King!

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  8. Jennifer, I hope you're going to make "Fucking Fabulous" a searchable category. ;-)

    And I did read Dark of Night after your buddy review. I'm the one that was reticent because of all the bad press re the HEA. I loved it. After reading it, and even while reading it, I couldn't imagine Sophia and Decker getting together. So thanks again!

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  9. LOL Collette! I SHOULD probably do that.

    I'm soooo glad you liked Dark Of Night--WOOT!

    Waving hi to Carolyn Jean - Liked the Kiss, eh?

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