Rory Book Review *Julia Templeton*

Rory Rayborne is involved in a duel with a Lord Cordland after he and the Lady Cordland are caught coupling during a dinner. Rory makes no apologies for being seduced by Cordland’s wife (she did stick her hand down his pants after all, and couldn’t deny her since he’s a gentleman always seeking pleasure) since he loves sleeping with the married women of the realm. The duel takes a turn for the worst when Rory is shot. He’s sent to recover at his brother Victor’s residence and is very pleased since he’ll see Shannon, a maid that works there. Ever since Rory first met Shannon, he can’t get her off his mind and wants her desperately, as well as learn her secrets he knows she’s hiding.

Shannon and her brother Zachary O’Conner both enjoy working for Lord and Lady Graston. Shannon and her brother Zachary were former peers in Ireland, now hiding from their greedy cousin Clinton, who killed their parents for their fortune he believes should be his. Shannon doesn’t have a very high opinion or Rory, which grows to disdain, when she catches him having sex with one of the housemaids while he recovers from his gunshot wound. But for some strange reason she’s very attracted to him. As Shannon nurses Rory back to health, she starts a secret affair with him, knowing she can never have a future with him.

As both Rory and Shannon spend most nights in his bed, Clinton is close to finding her and Zachary. Shannon must make a choice to either go back on the run or trust Rory so he can protect her and keep her safe. But is she willing to give over her complete trust knowing what type of man he is and that he may never be faithful to her in both body and mind?

I’ve truly enjoyed Julia Templeton’s first two books in her Rakehells of Rochester series about three man whore brothers, who when they meet that one special woman, change their tomcatting ways. I was especially looking forward to Rory’s story and his romance with Shannon, an Irish lady who is not what she seems. Rory figures this out right away and will stop at nothing to find out Shannon’s secrets. Whereas I really connected with Rory’s two brothers and their journey as they claim their special woman, Rory’s story was unbelievably lacking in everyway for me as a reader.

My main issue with Rory, is that Rory is not just a rake to the tenth degree, but his only concern is his pleasure and satisfaction and nothing else. He’s obsessed with sex 24/7. Even as he’s suffering from a fever and is intense pain from his gunshot wound based on his selfish act in being with another man’s wife, he’s willing to be “tupped” by one of his brother’s maids knowing Shannon will come upon them at any moment. And when Shannon witnesses Rory in the act, she’s ashamed and mortified. Rory is also embarrassed to a point, but while he’s inside this horny maid, he ponders how he’ll go about seducing Shannon next.

Shannon comes across as a complex character, or should, but I simply couldn’t understand her attraction to Rory. First she knows he’s a man whore. Even when she finds him with her fellow maid, she has a justifiable reaction, but then the next minute wonders how Rory is as a lover and welcomes his seduction techniques. She knows his “Little Rory” has been in too many women to count without any protection, and yet she’s more than willing to take “Little Rory” in her. Now I know this is a romance and everything, and the idea of using protection may destroy the fantasy and all, but I was so turned off because I couldn’t help but think that Rory would pass some STD to Shannon.

Even as Shannon gives up her body to Rory and loves being with him as he brings her pleasure, she constantly second guesses that he’ll leave her since she’s just a lowly servant and he’s a sexual deviant with a furious sexual appetite and needs variety with his lovers. I just couldn’t understand why every woman Rory comes in contact wants him just because he’s a well known man whore. What does that say about the female characters who are attracted to a man like Rory just because he’s been with almost every woman in England?

I also felt the mystery regarding Shannon and Zachary was unbelievably tame and their cousin Clinton was a very one-dimensional pussy cat type villain. I also had high hopes for a secondary storyline regarding a close to degenerate sexual deviant worthy of Rory with the Lady Anna and the character of Marilyn who was introduced in Sinjin. This is a subtle lesbian romance that I hoped would be concluded in a nice way, but what happens between them was practically destroyed for no reason I could understand. The Lady Anna and Marilyn relationship had so much going for it, and at one point I wished they would have had their own story separate from this series, but for reasons not explained, they are left to secondary storyville where it was basically cut off and ended abruptly just as it was getting interesting.

As a whole, Rory was an unsatisfactory reading experience from beginning to end. Rory’s belief that it’s okay to screw any female just because he feels he’s entitled to it and the reasoning for Shannon accepting him just because he makes her all hot and bothered left a bad taste in my mouth. I had such high hopes for a romance about a rake’s redemption. But what I read instead was an erotic romance with demoralizing characters whose actions have no real consequences and a HEA I can’t believe in. (Aphrodisia)

Final Grade: D

WTF Or Not... You Decide

Some outlandish WTFckery coming your way...

1. Looks like there maybe another case of cover whitewashing, although this time there's opposing opinions whether it's true. What If Books Etc. has an interesting case about the cover for the much buzzed about YA book, Across the Universe by Beth Revis.

"What you need to know is that the original, ARC cover shows two faces in silhouette about to kiss. The new, published cover has used the same image, but photoshopped the male model to look clearly different; to look more White. In other words, whitewashing."

Note the difference between the cover for the ARC versus the Published version:

And the side by side faces in question:

"The male lead is a member of a fictional race called monoethnic. Phoebe, the author of The Interrobangs article, has a long list of quotes from the book describing his appearance, but given descriptions like creamy dark skin, high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes, it's very clear that he isn't Caucasian. She also tracked down the original photo used in the cover, which shows the cover model as an obvious POC with an afro.

If it was just two faces in silhouette, if I'd never seen the ARC cover, I'd probably roll my eyes that they'd resorted to a cop-out to avoid showing an interracial couple on the cover of an interracial romance. I mean, race is the whole point of the story and they can't even put it on the cover? But having seen the original cover, having seen the stock photo, there's no doubt in my mind that they deliberately photoshopped him to look more White."

It does look like some major photoshop has occured to fine tune the face into a more pleasing, "white" look face. What do you think? (Thanks to The Booksmugglers)

2. Some other book WTFckery here..

Squishy, Stinky Diaper anyone?

Synopsis: This is the story of a cranky baby and her diaper change. She cries. She rolls over. She almost escapes! She pokes her squishy diaper. She kicks her foot in the diaper cream. She does all the things a baby might do when she doesn't want to be changed. But her mommy is patient and knows just what to do. In the end, she's clean and dry and happy again. Until next time she needs a diaper change.

Possible Threesome among the shotglasses? (Thanks to Mandi from Smexybooks)

3. This is a WTFing travesity! I felt total rage upon reading this. From The Consumerist:

Hairless Kitten Freezes To Death After Trip In Delta Cargo Hold

"Snickers, an eleven-week-old hairless kitten, flew from from a breeder in Utah to her new home in Connecticut in the supposedly climate-controlled cargo hold of a Delta Airlines plane. Her new family paid the airline $70 extra so she would be removed immediately. Instead, she sat under the plane for about 50 minutes, on a 10 degree Fahrenheit evening. When she finally met her family, she showed symptoms of severe hypothermia. They tried to warm her up and rushed to a vet, but it was too late.

So if the animals sits on the runway for any length of time, it's going to get hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It was 7 degrees, she says, when the kitten was sitting on the runway. She sat outside 50 minutes.

”A final determination of the cat's cause of death will come from the necropsy, but Snickers was cold, unable to move her head or paws, and bleeding from her mouth and nose—all symptoms of severe hypothermia in a cat."

4. Have you ever heard of a 16 year old breastfeeding from their mother? Breastfeeding is the topic of conversation over at Karen Knows Best where the question regarding mothers and when they should stop breastfeeding their children. How old is too old?

Karen also links an article over at the Guardian.Uk called Mothers who breastfeed beyond babyhood. Can breastfeeding really be good for older children?

"Physiologically, there is no research, as yet, to suggest that breastfeeding for longer than two years is significantly beneficial. As the WHO says: "We don't know. There is no evidence either way."

Sinnott is, however, passionate about the advantages, even though the evidence she cites is overwhelmingly anecdotal, and personal. "A child who has been breastfed to their heart's content ... has a basic sunny aspect to their nature," she says. "They are amazing; self-confident and outgoing but not in a brash way – the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming."

At one point she mentions a 16-year-old boy who was regularly fed by his mother and cites examples of even older children. She says breastfeeding adolescents isn't a practice she would dismiss out of hand" O.O

First off a 16-year-old boy breastfeeding from his mother on a regular basis grosses me out in so many ways. I'm in the belief when toddlers have all their teeth, that's when the breastfeeding should stop, but then again I'm not a mother and never will be.

Mothers, what do you say?

5. Who knew sex toys were the perfect weapon to use when attacking a police officer? From The Huffington Post:

Sex Toy Attack Was Self-Defense: Woman Accused Of Threatening Cop With Dildo Speaks

"A woman who made news for attacking a police officer with a "clear, rigid feminine pleasure device" is claiming that she was acting in self-defense.

Carolee Bildsten was found by a police officer lying in the grass down the street from a Joe's Crab Shack in Gurnee, Illinois last November. She told the officer that she had eaten at the restaurant but forgotten her wallet at home, and was heading back to get money to pay her tab.

The policeman drove Bildsten to her house in his squad car, and she went inside to grab her money. As TribLocal reported at the time, she told the officer her money was in her sock drawer, but opened the drawer and pulled out a sex toy instead. She "held it over her head and approached the officer in a threatening manner," according to the police report.

When asked why she chose the pleasure device to defend herself with, Bildsten said, "The only thing in my sock drawer besides my socks and my cash was a dildo."

6. Looks like 2011 is the year of the unicorn fashion. Raise your hand if you'd wear this walking down a crowded street. From Io9:

7. Is this trying to be like Vitamin Water? Sorry, I won't be buying Meat Water anytime in the future. From Gizmodo:

"Till Krautkraemer is the founder of MeatWater, a beverage company that creates hearty -- and obviously meaty -- meal supplement drinks in highly unusual flavors like cheeseburger, barbecued chicken wings and Italian sausage.

To ring in the new year and toast to a healthier lifestyle, Krautkraemer has just released four new offbeat offerings that are vegan-friendly and devoid of animal byproducts.

Weird beverage line MeatWater has just released four new flavors for the health-conscious consumer: poached salmon salad, seen here, grilled chicken salad, beef salad and shrimp salad.The new flavors in his MeatWaterVOID line include poached salmon salad -- which supposedly tastes like a piece of salmon over lettuce, asparagus and mustard seeds -- and grilled chicken salad, a green-colored beverage said to taste like grilled chicken, spinach and onions, complete with a balsamic vinegar dressing."

8. Most adorable cake WTFckery I've seen in a long time. From Cakewrecks: Smooshy pandas!

9. Most of you know I'm part of the Team Cucumber club because of Otto the Cucumber, as I like to call him, from Carolyn Crane's Disillusionists Trilogy.Well, SonomaLass found this oh so awesome naughty commercial for Sara's Secret and Condoms To Go adult novelty stores

I had a good chuckle as the poor cucumber runs and hides in the safest place he knows... the refrigerator.



10. And your WTFckery Regetsy is very pink and... I can't even tell you what this is. Of course my pervy mind is in overload over what it could be.

As, always bringing you some of the best WTFckery found on the internet!

Another KT Grant Reading... But This Time A Naughty One!

I have another wonderful announcement to make. Since I survived my first reading at Lady Jane's Salon  a few weeks ago, I'm doing another one!

This coming Friday I'll help kick off a new reading taking place at Happy Ending Lounge on Broome Street in NYC where the In The Flesh Readings for the past 5 years used to take place. This is being started by Lori Perkins, and the first reading will have a threesome theme! So you can imagine it will be a bit on the naughty side. I'll be reading my short historical threesome story, The Gentleman's Loving Spy from the Once Upon a Threesome Anthology from Ravenous Romance.

The naught bits reading, as I like to call it, will have 5 other authors and runs from 8-10pm. I'd love to see you there and will have some author promo swag to give away. Maybe even Mho Fho will be willing to come and take some pictures as well.

I've been feeling a bit "blah" lately, and since my beloved laptop has been taken away from me for 2 weeks (long story that will be explained at a later date... bascially my keyboard crapped out on me and my laptop is not even 6 months old!), I've been a bit out of it. I think the non-stop snow storms, my wacky day job schedule and me writing every free moment, even at 6am has give me a bit of the blues.

I miss my laptop oh so much... seriously, I think I'm going through withdrawl, and it's a bit uncomfortable to try and write hot love scenes (mainly women on women ones) on the family computer with your parents in the same room with you.

In cases like these when I just want to lie in bed and sleep, I check out LOL animal videos. This latest gave me a good laugh, and hopefully will give you one as well, especially if you are a bit off like I am.

I can't help but feel for the dog as this cat shows him who rules the roost.

Enjoy!

My Underwhelming Experience While Reading KMM's Fever Series

One of the biggest series to hit the Paranormal, Romance, and I guess the Urban Fantasy genre is Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series. I’ve enjoyed Karen’s book in the past since they were straight up romance with larger than life heroes (Lusty Scots who reminded me of Jamie from the Outlander series. Och) and the heroines who think they’re lacking in redeeming qualities, but are adored and thought to be perfect by these lusty gimme an Och burly heroes that any women would tear off their kilts to get a taste of what they don’t wear underneath them.

When I heard Karen was going to start a new series that wasn’t a romance, but more along the lines of a paranormal mystery about a young woman who goes in search of her sister’s killer, I wasn’t interested in reading. When Darkfever came out, I didn’t pay much mind. But then as more books were published and the ultimate cliffhanger with Faefever and the electric Chapter 4 in Dreamfever, including the elusive, mysterious and cocky character of Barrons, that’s when I started to change my mind. When so many are so far gone over a series of books and the word “crack” is used, I think of JR Ward’s BDB series, which is my crack. So, two weeks before Shadowfever was published I started reading the first four books so by the time Shadowfever came out I’d be caught up on everything.

I’m warning all the Fever and Barrons fans that this post isn’t going to praise these books. So, if you are a hardcore lover of these books, you may want to stop reading here and move onto another blog that has big accolades of the Fever series. I’m in the minority because on a whole the Fever series was a big disappointment for me.

*waits as Bieber Fever girls.. oops I mean Barrons Fever girls leave to sigh over le Douche…*

Yes, that’s right, my nickname for Jericho Barrons is le Douche. When did I come to the conclusion that Barrons is a douche? Pretty much by the second book. But before I go on with my rant about Barrons le Douche, let’s start at the beginning with MacKayla Lane. MacKayla, who everyone calls Mac, lives in Ashford, Georgia with her parents. The twenty-two year old spends her days bartending, tanning hanging out with friends and is a proud girly-girl who has a pink fetish, loves doing her hair and nails and has no qualms that she’s beautiful. Her older sister Alina is in Dublin, Ireland studying at Trinity College. Mac’s entire world is about to go to hell in a hand basket one hot summer day when she finds out Alina has been killed. No one knows why Alina was murdered, and the authorities in Dublin pretty much close the case even before they can start to investigate. Mac refuses to let this be, especially since Alina left a frightened message on her cell phone a few hours before she was killed. Mac takes it upon herself to go over to Dublin and get answers. She owes it to Alina and herself to find out what happened.

Mac goes to Dublin without any real plan. The police can’t or won’t answers her questions and Alina’s teachers and fellow students have no clue about her whereabouts or who she hung out with because she began to cut class and became secretive. Alina had a lover named Darroc who has the power of the persuasive voice behind him. Mac believes Darroc (A character who has appeared in Moning's Highlander series) knows what may have happened to Alina, or he kiled her, but doesn’t want to be found. Mac is basically backed into a corner and it looks like Alina’s murder will never get solved. But then Mac starts seeing things that are not normal. Very freaky OMGWTFBBQ things.

Cutting to the chase here- Mac has the ability to see the Fae because she’s a sidhe-seer, from an ancient Celtic blood-line who can see the Fae. The Fae uses illusions, and there are different types, a cast system or sorts from the Seelie to the Unseelie and a whole bunch more that would take an entire semester of history class to understand. The wall between Man and Faery is coming down and Mac will be the one to stop it as she continues to find her sister’s killer and hunt a book called the Sinsar Dubh, a Fae relic that can possess humans. Mac meets Jericho Barrons, who runs Barrons Books and Baubles. Barrons doesn’t like Mac at all and keeps it just business between them by calling her Ms. Lane while she calls him Barrons. I call him Le Douche. Douche needs Mac because she’s the only one who can locate the Sinsar Dubh. Most of the action are these two searching for the demon book and Mac opening her eyes to the Fae around her, such as V’lane the prince of the Tuath De’ Danaan, a fine specimen of Fae who can literally kill you through too many orgasms during sex. Mac and V’lane become friends in a strange way while Barrons is always there taunting Mac and NEVER ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS SHE HAS. Mac gets frustrated by Barrons’s aloofness and cruel demeanor while she fantasizes about his body, tattoos and his fast cars and bookstore she lusts after as much as she lust after him, but doesn't want the scary thing hiding under his garage that Barrons won’t say what it is because BARRONS DOESN’T ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS MAC ASKS HIM.

Slowly… oh so very slowly, Mac gets closer to the truth as she goes from cutesy Barbie doll Legally Blonde Elle Woods to black wearing, I’m going to kick some ass ala Linda Hamilton from Terminator 2. All the while she lusts after Barrons, who acts like Batman, appearing for short amounts of time to act snarky and rude to Mac knowing she’s practically in heat for him. I guess his snappish insults are like foreplay for them both.

I have three big issues why the Fever series didn’t work. The fact that Barrons le Douche refuses to answer any questions thrown his way by Mac is a poor attempt to keep the tension alive. It’s a throwback plot device that doesn’t work and is a weakness on the part of the author to keep the reader invested in finding the answers. Having Barrons act like a petulant spoiled boy, much like a douche, by refusing to give up anything is almost insulting. Also the screen time with Barrons is very minimal if you think of it. He comes and goes with no real purpose and I wonder if Karen’s original plans for Barrons wasn’t as important to the overall story arc who was transformed into a more important role based on readers’ reactions.

I had a big issue with Mac’s constant internalization. Shadowfever is very guilty of this. Mac is a wonderful character who grows in every single book even with the long winded inner monologues, while Barrons is stagnant. The excuse could be is because Barrons is thousands upon thousands of years old, but you think he’d have some therapeutic change based on Mac being in his life. I was waiting for that moment where Barrons does have that light bulb moment with Mac. Sorry, by him accepting Mac as his lover and showing through hot sex that she’s the one for him, is not good enough for me.

Finally, The Fever series as a whole is very watered down. I can appreciate the mythology of it all, but at times I felt this was very surface type reading. It may just be me, but I like more descriptive explanations and much of the action was glossed over. I had problems trying to get a handle on things and what was going on. I also felt poor Mac was being thrown in every which direction for no purpose (this happens a great deal in Shadowfever). And destroying a character’s psyche and spirit by constantly throwing horrible things at them such as a death of a loved one, being threatened, brutally raped and then being insulted left and right, is not a good enough or valid reason to show how your main character, such as Mac, can walk though the fires, be burned to a crisp and come out stronger than ever.

The Fever series just didn’t work for me. I could continue to go on with other reasons, including why I think Barrons is the perfect example of an abusive, manipulative emotionally stunted jerk, but that would take a whole other post. For what it’s worth, I do have to mention how the tone of Feminism is very strong in this series. At no point does Mac rely on a man to save her. Barrons doesn’t really come to her rescue at any point, unless you count the one time when he helps her bring her out of her Py’ra, the almost death by Fae sex (Which I kept thinking of She-Ra). But the again, it wasn’t a totally unselfish move on Barrons part either. Karen does make a great case for “Girl Power” in the form of Mac and the thirteen year old Dani who becomes Mac’s backup and her new found sister and sidhe warrior in arms.

How I wished I could have enjoyed these books, but they fell so flat for me. Also, this could have worked better as a trilogy than over five books. Bloodfever, book #2, doesn’t bring anything worthwhile to the series. I will say this, Karen does sure know how to write some great one-liners and dialogue. What may be the most effective line from all these books still sticks with me. It was first mentioned by Barrons in Dreamfever and brought up by Mac again toward the end of Shadowfever where Mac and Barrons finally are completely honest with one another. Barrons tells Mac she’ll find a man who will kiss her until she can’t breathe, where she’ll realize she doesn’t need air. Mac has found that with Barrons, and since the Fever series isn’t technically a romance, their HEA is the least likely normal one that should be expected, even if their road to their HEA was less than ideal for me.

For this reader, I very much had my breath the entire time while reading the Fever series and didn’t lose my breath once because of the overall lacking enjoyment I found as I read. (Delacorte)

My Final Grade for the Fever series as a whole: C

I welcome any opinions from those who have enjoyed these books, as well as those who are in my camp.

And please, give me one redeeming quality why Jericho "le Douche" Barrons is so beloved by readers?

Anne Calhoun's Under His Hand Winner!

The lucky winner has been picked who will win Anne Calhoun's sexy short, Under His Hand. I've read it and it's so good. How I wish it could have been longer!

The winner is...

Liza!

Liza, please email me at katiebabsgATgmailDOTcom so you can get you prize.

Thanks everyone for entering!

Animal Magentism Book Review *Jill Shalvis*

Brady Miller is spending a few weeks relaxing in the small town of Sunshine, Idaho where his two foster brothers, Dell and Adam live. Brady has just come back from fighting in Afghanistan. As Brady is picking up his breakfast at the local 7-Eleven, a woman rear-ends his truck.

The driver, Lilah Young, the co-owner of the only animal kennel in town has her hands full with not only two puppies and a potbellied pig in the car, but a mallard duck who won’t quit it’s squawking. A car accident is the last thing Lilah needs since she’s low on cash. And when she meets the attractive owner, who she feels is passing judgment on her, she’s not certain how she can make amends. But then the man, who introduces himself as Brady, offers her a ride and has the power to make her duck obedient, she can’t help but quickly become attracted to him. Maybe the reason is because she hasn’t had any sex a long time due to her working long hours at the kennel to keep it up and running.

Because Lilah is good friends with Dell and Adam, she comes in contact with Brady almost every day. They both flirt outrageously with one another to the point they want to do much more than just innocent flirting. Since Brady is only in Sunshine for a short while, he doesn’t want to start a relationship with the adorable Lilah, who wears her heart on her sleeve whenever it comes to the animals she takes care of. And Lilah is reading willing and able to have a no-strings affair with him, he takes her up on that offer. Unfortunately his heart gets involved with this small town woman who he dreams of possibly having forever with.

Animal Magnetism is perfect for those readers who enjoy reading small town romances with larger than life men. Brady acts tough and distant because of his past where he was passed from foster home to foster home, and then becoming a military pilot with no real place to call his home. When he meets Lilah, his opinion about settling down slowly starts to change.

Unfortunately this latest by Jill Shalvis didn’t work for me. Animal Magnetism is more of a character driven novel since there isn’t a great deal of action or suspense. Everything rests upon the build of attraction between Brady and Lilah. But it falls flat. I just didn’t feel the connection between these two at all. And even when they both get together and hop on the sheets and have their physical fun, even those love scenes were lacking. Jill does trying to show a well-rounded Brady and Lilah with their personalities and interactions, but it didn’t come across that well on the pages.

Animal Magnetism was pretty ho-hum in my case. I was waiting for something exciting to happen but it never came. I also grew annoyed with Brady, who didn’t seem true, as if he was putting on an act the entire time. I guess this could be because he didn’t want anyone to get close to him, but it seemed as if he was trying too hard. Also the secondary characters didn’t really bring much to the story as a whole.

While I have enjoyed Jill’s other books in the past, the only real positive I can say about Animal Magnetism is the cover with the hot man holding the adorable puppy. If you’re looking for a well-rounded, satisfying romance, I’d look elsewhere. (Berkley)

Final Grade: C

All the Queen's Players by Jane Feather

Isn't this cover beautiful ? If you're a fan of Jane Feather's works, you' want to pick this one up. Gives off a Tudor's type of vibe, don't you think?

Available now from Pocket:

Synopsis: At Queen Elizabeth’s palace, intrigue abounds. And when a naive girl with a gift for keen observation enters the court, she can hardly imagine the role she will play in bringing England—indeed, the whole of Europe—to the brink of war. Nor can she foresee her own journey to the brink of ecstasy and beyond. . . .

When she becomes a junior lady of Queen Elizabeth’s bedchamber, Rosamund is instructed by her cousin, the brilliant and devious secretary of state Sir Francis Walsingham, to record everything she observes. Her promised reward: a chance at a good marriage. But through her brother Thomas, Rosamund finds herself drawn to the forbidden, rough-and-tumble world of theatre, and to Thomas’s friend, the dramatic, impetuous playwright Christopher Marlowe. And then Rosamund meets Will Creighton—a persuasive courtier, poet, and would-be playwright who is the embodiment of an unsuitable match.

The unsanctioned relationship between Rosamund and Will draws the wrath of Elizabeth, who prides herself on being the Virgin Queen. Rosamund is sent in disgrace to a remote castle that holds Elizabeth’s cousin Mary Stuart, the imprisoned Queen of Scots. Here, Walsingham expects Rosamund to uncover proof of a plot against Elizabeth. But surely, nothing good can come of putting an artless girl in such close proximity to so many seductive players and deceptive games. Unless, of course, Rosamund can discover an affinity for passion and intrigue herself. . . .

My New Appreciation: Opera

For the current WIP I'm working on, one of my characters have an appreciation for opera. Honestly, I'm not a fan of opera, or wasn't until I started doing the research and watching videos on You Tube.

While looking at various operas, I came across La Traviata that's based on Alexandre Dumas's Camille: The Lady of the Camellias. The Lady of the Camellias is the story of Marguerite Gautier, a young courtesan, or kept woman, in Paris in the mid 1800's, and how she falls in love with a young man, Armand Duval, and then tries to escape from her questionable past. Unfortunately, it comes back to haunt her and she ends up returning to that life and dies painfully and alone, but with the knowledge that she was a good woman at heart.

The duet- Un dì, felice, eterea from La Traviata is very well known and was one of the songs heard in the movie, Pretty Woman. The lyrics are so very beautiful:

Alfredo: That day I've never forgotten,
When I beheld your beauty.
Since that moment I loved you,
Loved and adored from afar.
Hoping for love, love that fills the universe,
Love that inspires radiant dreams of life eternal,
Strangely mysterious,
Shining in golden splendor,
Sorrow, sorrow and rapture,
Sorrow and rapture, rapturous joy!

Violetta: Love, I fear, can never be,
Friendship is all I can offer.
Since love is pain and torment,
I avoid that strange emotion.
Pleasure is all I ask of life,
Freedom and joy forever!
So you must soon forget me
And find another love.

I was able to find an airing of Un di felice, eterea when La Traviata was performed in 1983 with a young Placido Domingo and Teresa Stratas singing the duet of Alfredo/Violetta.

Even if you don't understand the words, the emotion as Placido and Teresa both sing their love to one another is very moving and romantic.



It looks like I may have a new appreciation for the arts. Perhaps I will now become an opera lover?

Any opera lovers out there who can recommend other operas or songs that you think I'd enjoy? What's it about opera that you love?

Nominations Announced for the 83rd Oscar Awards

My favorite award nominations were announced this morning!

The nominations goes as followed: *my winning picks are in red*

Best Picture
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

Best Actor
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

Best Actress
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
David O. Russell, The Fighter

I'd love Toy Story 3 to win best movie of the year, but that honor will probably go to The Social Network. And although Natalie Portman is getting rave reviews for her role in The Black Sawn, I think Annette Bening may win (mainly because the academy feels it's about time she won an Oscar). Colin Firth pretty much has it in the bag, and from what I hear about Christian Bale's performance in The Fighter, he he'll win Best Supporting Actor. Supporting Actress is up in the air for me. I also think the Best Director winner will come as a surprise with the Coen brothers because True Grit won't win Best Movie.

What do you think of the nominations? Who do you think has a good shot of winning?

I also finally saw Inception this weekend and it was a head trip of a movie! The ending... very open to interpretation. It's about time Leo Dicaprio gets an Oscar, don't you think?

You can see all the other categories over at The Vulture Blog

PS: I'm also on the fence about James and Anne duo hosting the awards this year. How I wish Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris could have had that honor.

Unveiled Book Review *Courney Milan*

Every single Courtney Milan book I’ve read has been so full of win. Her writing really speaks to me on so many levels. Courtney’s skill as a writer is shown perfectly with her heroes and heroines and the interactions that on the surface seem to be one thing, when really underneath their dialogue and conversations is another thing altogether. Not many authors can write a successful character driven story, but Courtney has done it time and again. Her latest, Unveiled is another beautifully written historical romance that I can’t find any fault with. The majority of the drama that occurs is internally, mainly from the heroine, Anna Margaret Dalrymple, who’s entire world has been destroyed not only because of the selfish and amoral actions from her father, but from a distant cousin who rips it all away as a revenge on his part.

Ash Turner and his two brothers lived in near poverty because their mother was sick in the head and become a religious fanatic who gave away all their money and livelihood after their father died. Ash lives with guilt over the death of his sister who could have been saved if only his distant cousin, Richard, the Duke of Parford had given him the funds needed for a doctor. The Duke turned Ash out on his ear just because he felt like it. Left with nothing, Ash leaves his family for India where he makes his fortune. When he returns, his brothers are living on the streets. He quickly makes amends, but it’s not enough, or at least from his view. Ash promises to get back at Parford, and after years of waiting, has figured out a way to take away the Dukedom from Parford and in a legal way. Parford is a bigamist who married one woman, threw her away and then married another woman of society who became his Duchess. From that union he had three children, two sons and a daughter. Now Parford is dying, and after Ash has taken legal action, Parford’s children are considered to be bastards. Ash has come to take over Parford Manor, along with his younger brother, the studious Mark in tow.

Ash wishes it didn’t have to come down to this, but the former Duke forced his hand. Ash really doesn’t need the title, the lands or the money, but it’s the principal of the thing. He’s not sure what to expect, especially in regards to the staff. But he quickly charms them, mainly by treating them like equals. But one member, former Parford’s nurse, Margaret Lowell looks upon him with cold disgust. Ash doesn’t know why she has such disdain toward him, but he plans on doing his best to change her mind. But what Ash doesn’t know is that Margaret is former Parford’s daughter, Lady Anna.

Margret keeps her real identity a secret because her brothers have left her to be a spy and report back to them about anything about Ash they could use against him in court. Not only has Margaret’s fiancée dropped her, but her father acts like he can’t stand her and says the most horrible things about her dead mother. Margaret is adrift in the world, with no real place or social status. Ash confuses her because he doesn’t act like that soulless, greedy thief she expects him to be. Instead he is very kind, as well as makes her yearn for something deeper than she shouldn’t feel since he’s the enemy.

Ash wants to get to the bottom of the skittish Margaret and have her trust him. He lets her in on his darkest secrets about feeling like an outcast where his brothers are concerned, including something so damaging that if Parliament or the public finds out could make him return to being a commoner. All Margaret has to do is pen a letter to her brothers to tell them what she knows. It all comes down to Margaret and how far she will go to take back what is rightly hers, even if it means betraying Ash who wants her for the woman she is and not her role as a daughter of a duke.

Ash Turner is a man with faults, who beats himself up for things in the past that occurred by no fault of his own. Courtney has written an amazing hero with Ash who doesn’t see things as black and white, but all different shades of gray, especially in regards to Margaret. As soon as he sees her, he feels a connection and wants to claim her as his own. He doesn’t try to seduce or plunder Margaret as most heroes may do, but takes care with her since he senses her mistrust.

Mistrust is a big underlying theme in Unveiled. This mainly concerns Ash and Margaret, but also the lack of trust with Parford and what he has done to his family. Ash feels he’s lost the trust of his brothers, especially the seemingly emotionally distant Smite. Mark is Ash’s conscience in a way where he tells Ash what he doesn’t want to hear. Even with the strain that appears between the Turner brothers, you do feel the love between them. The same applies to Margaret with her two brothers, Edmund and Richard, who at first may seem as villainous as their father, but surprisingly are not.

Watching Margaret and Ash fall in love is very tender and sweet. You’d think their passion for one another would be tumultuous with everything between them. But it isn’t, which is a welcomed relief is because we see this far too often in historical romances, especially when the hero and heroine are at odds with one another. Another familiar, stereotypical trend is the big misunderstanding. Courtney gets even more brownie points for staying far away from that trope and I so wanted to cheer when it didn’t happen.

One thing to cheer about is that Courtney can write an awesome, heated exchange in a store-room pantry with Ash and Margaret during a ball.

Unveiled is an absolutely delightful historical romance. With Unveiled, Courtney has shown that she’s not on her way to become a master in this genre, but has already arrived there. (HQN)

Final Grade: A-

Side note: The next book is about Mark and I hear he's a virgin. HIP HIP HURRAY! Loves me some virgin heroes.

A few other Unveiled reviews:
Blithely Bookish:
Fresh Fiction

KB Pimpin' Future Releases

Some future releases to put in your TBB pile...

I'm so very excited I got my hands on this book. The first book in a trilogy that's a M/M YA with angels and vampires! Vampire boy falls for human boy. Swoon. Unnatural (Archangel Academy #1) by Michael Griffo coming from Kensington on March 22nd.

Synopsis: In the town of Eden in northwestern England stands the exclusive boarding school known as Archangel Academy. Ancient and imposing, it’s a place filled with secrets. Just like its students…

For Michael Howard, being plucked from his Nebraska hometown and sent thousands of miles away is as close as he’s ever come to a miracle. In Weeping Water, he felt trapped, alone. At Archangel Academy, Michael belongs. And in Ciaran, Penry, and especially Ciaran’s enigmatic half-brother Ronan, Michael finds friendship deeper than he’s ever known.

But Michael’s only beginning to understand what makes the Academy so special. Ronan is a vampire—part of a hybrid clan who are outcasts even among other vampires. Within the Academy’s confines exists a ruthless world of deadly rivalries and shifting alliances, of clandestine love and forbidden temptations. And soon Michael will confront the destiny that brought him here—and a danger more powerful than he can imagine…

New series from Larissa Ione! Hmm man chesty. Giddy up! Eternal Rider (Lords of Deliverance #1) coming from Grand Central on March 29th.

Synopsis: They are here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

His name is Ares, and the fate of mankind rests on his powerful shoulders. If he falls to the forces of evil, the world falls too. As one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, he is far stronger than any mortal, but even he cannot fight his destiny forever. Not when his own brother plots against him.

Yet there is one last hope. Gifted in a way other humans can't-or won't-understand, Cara Thornhart is the key to both this Horseman's safety and his doom. But involving Cara will prove treacherous, even beyond the maddening, dangerous desire that seizes them the moment they meet. For staving off eternal darkness could have a staggering cost: Cara's life

The Sweetest Thing (Lucky Harbor #2) by Jill Shalvis coming from Forever on April 1st.

Synopsis: Tara has a thousand good reasons not to return to the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington. Yet with her life doing a major crash-and-burn, anywhere away from her unfulfilled dreams and sexy ex-husband will do. As Tara helps her two sisters get their newly renovated inn up and running, she finally has a chance to get things under control and come up with a new plan for her life.

But a certain tanned, green-eyed sailor has his own ideas, such as keeping Tara hot, bothered . . . and in his bed. And when her ex wants Tara back, three is a crowd she can't control-especially when her deepest secret reappears out of the blue. Now Tara must confront her past and discover what she really wants. If she's lucky, she might just find that everything her heart desires is right here in Lucky Harbor.

Colleen Gleason has 3 new back to back releases coming out from Mira.

The Vampire Voss (Regency Draculia #1) on April 1st.

Synopsis: Regency London - a dizzying whirl of balls and young ladies pursued by charming men. But the Woodmore sisters are hunted by a more sinister breed: Lucifer's own. Voss, also known as Viscount Dewhurst, relishes the sensual pleasures immortality affords. A member of the Dracule - a cabal of powerful, secretive noblemen marked with a talisman that reveals their bartered souls - the mercenary Voss has remained carefully neutral...until Angelica. Angelica Woodmore possesses the Sight, an ability invaluable to both sides of a looming war among the Dracule. Her very scent envelops Voss in a scarlet fog of hunger - for her body and blood. But he is utterly unprepared for the new desire that overcomes him - to protect her.

The Vampire Dimitri (Regency Draculia #2) on May 1st.

Synopsis: Dimitri, the Earl of Corvindale, should be delighted that the headstrong Maia Woodmore is getting married. His mortal ward and houseguest has annoyed – and bewitched – the Dracule nobleman too long, and denying his animal cravings grows more excruciating by the day.

Miss Woodmore’s family has a rather…complicated history with the immortals and she herself possesses a keen sensibility far beyond mere women’s intuition. Marriage will give her safety, respectability, and everything else a proper young lady could wish for. Everything, that is, except for passion.

In the looming battle between Dracule factions, all pretenses will shatter as Maia and Dimitir come together in an unholy union of danger, desperation, and fiercest desire.

The Vampire Narcise (Regency Draculia #3) on My 24th.

Synopsis: Regency England stands defiant against Napoleon.

But battles among men mean little to those who live forever – especially when the Dracule are waging their own war.

Skilled in the seduction of men, both mortal and immortal, Narcise Moldavi is the greatest weapon in her twisted brother’s war among the Dracule. Until she falls for Giordan Cale.

Her first searing encounter with Giordan brands them with a passionate love. But Giordan’s vow to help Narcise escape her brother’s rule is followed by a betrayal more agonizing than sunlight.

Wounded but determined, Narcise ensnares vampire hunter Chas Woodmore in her quest for revenge and to reclaim her life. He wants her, worships her, will kill for her. And the Dracule never forget a wrong – nor do they forgive.

Big Bad Beast (Pride #6) by Shelly Laurenston coming from Brava in May 1st.

Synopsis: When it comes to following her instincts, former Marine Dee-Ann Smith never holds back. And this deadly member of a shifter protection group will do anything to prove one of her own kind is having hybrids captured for dogfights. Trouble is, her too-cute rich-boy boss Ric Van Holtz insists on helping out. And his crazy-like-a-fox smarts and charming persistence are making it real hard for Dee to keep her heart safe…

Ric can't believe his luck. He's wanted this fiercely-independent she-wolf from day one, but he never expected teamwork as explosive as this. And now is his last chance to show Dee what she needs isn't some in-your-face Alpha male—but a wily, resourceful wolf who'll always have her back in a fight…and between the sheets

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen coming from Penguin on May 10th.

Synopsis: Another town. Another school. Another Mclean. Ever since her parents' bitter divorce, Mclean and her father have been fleeing their unhappy past. And Mclean's become a pro at reinventing herself with each move. But in Lakeview, Mclean finds herself putting down roots and making friends—in part, thanks to Dave, the most real person Mclean's ever met. Dave just may be falling in love with her, but can he see the person she really is? Does Mclean herself know?

The Fallen : Demon (Fallen #2) by Kristina Douglas coming from Pocket on May 31st.

Synopsis: He’s a devil of an angel.
Azazel should have extinguished the deadly Lilith when he had the chance. Now, faced with a prophecy that will force him to betray the memory of his one true love and wed the Demon Queen, he cannot end her life until she leads him to Lucifer. Finding the First is the Fallen’s only hope for protecting mankind from Uriel’s destruction, but Azazel knows that ignoring his simmering desire for the Lilith will be almost as impossible.

She’s an angel of a demon.
Rachel Fitzpatrick wonders how Azazel could confuse her with an evil seductress. She’s never even been interested in sex! At least not before she set eyes on her breathtaking captor. And now she can’t think about anything else—besides escape.

Angels and demons don’t mix.
Rachel stirs a carnal need in Azazel that he never thought he’d feel again. Falling for a demon—even if she has no idea she’s the Lilith—means surrendering his very soul. But if he lets her go, he risks abandoning his heart, his dangerous lover, and possibly all of humanity, to Uriel’s deadly wrath

This has been years in the making! You'll understand if you read Julia Quinn. The Smythe-Smith sisters finally get their due. Just like Heaven coming from Avon on May 31st. I was expecting some sort of instrument to be on the cover.

Synopsis: Honoria Smythe-Smith, the youngest daughter of the eldest son of the Earl of Winstead, plays the violin in the annual musicale performed by the Smythe-Smith quartet. She's well aware that they are dreadful. In fact, she freely admits (to her cousins) that she is probably the worst of the bunch. But she's the sort who figures that nothing good will come of being mortified, so she puts on a good show and laughs about it.

Marcus Holroyd is the best friend of Honoria's brother David, who lives in exile out of the country. He's promised to watch out for Honoria and takes his responsibility very seriously. But he has his work cut out for him when Honoria sets off for Cambridge determined to marry by the end of the season. She's got her eye on the only unmarried Bridgerton, who's a bit wet behind the ears. When her advances are spurned, can Marcus swoop in and steal her heart in time for the musicale?

I so adore Meredith Duran. Her next one, A Lady's Lesson in Scandal comes out from Pocket on June 28th.

Synopsis: When Nell Whitby breaks into an earl’s house on a midnight quest for revenge, she finds her pistol pointed at the wrong man. Pity the handsome devil is a lunatic. He thinks her a missing heiress, but more to the point, he’ll help her escape the slums and get a bit of justice, too. Not a bad bargain. All she has to do is marry him.

A rake of the first order, Simon St. Maur spent his restless youth burning every bridge he walked across. When he inherits an earldom without a single penny attached to it, he sees a chance to start over—provided he can find an heiress to fund his efforts. But his wicked reputation means courtship will be difficult—until fate sends him the most notorious missing heiress in history. All he needs now is to turn her into a lady and keep himself from making the only mistake that could ruin everything: falling in love...

WTF Or Not? You Decide

Some LOL WTFckery coming your way...

1. Deja vu covers afoot? Either way, the cover model is nice eye candy.

2. I couldn't help but crack up when I first read this. No one gets between a man and his cake. From Philly News:

Man Shot For Eating His Friend's Cake

"Two friends were in a car on 2nd Street near Callowhill around 2:40 a.m., when the passenger in the vehicle began eating cake the driver had in his car, according to police. This enraged the driver and the two began arguing, a Central Detectives investigator said.

They got out of the vehicle and the driver shot his friend once in the chest - all over some cake, according to the investigator.

"They weren't supposed to be sharing" he said. "One was eating the other's food, they got into an argument and 'Bang! Bang!'"

The investigator denied a conflicting report that french fries were at the center of the argument. While food was the catalyst, he said, it was over baked goods, not fried."

3. First we had some dude not shower for months for the sake of some wacky science experiment, now we have another who decides to wear his jeans for 15 months straight without washing them. I'm waiting for the "experiment" from someone who wears the same pair of underwear for a year without washing them. From dBune:

"A 20-year old University of Alberta student who wore the same $167 Nudie Jeans pair for 15 months straight or about 200 times beginning September 2009.

John Le wore the skin-tight jeans - made of raw denim which was not treated or washed with chemicals when manufactured - almost every day and even had the denim pants on while sleeping. Aside from daily use, the Le's jeans was sometimes spilled with food, but he only wiped the spill with a paper towel.

At the end of the 15 months, Le and University of Alberta Assistant Human Ecology Professor Rachel McQueen swabbed the inside of the jeans for bacteria. The jeans yielded normal bacteria levels."

4. Camel Toe, the original WTFckery. That's why we need the camel toe cup:

5. For those who take the bus and don't want to freeze their butt off. New heated shelters, but the catch is you may crave fast food breakfast foodie. From PSKF:

"Ad agency Colle + McVoy has launched an innovative campaign for Caribou Coffee’s new hot breakfast sandwiches. They have installed bus shelters in Minneapolis that not only look like ovens but are also equipped with real heaters to keep the waiting commuters warm in this cold weather."

6. If you, or someone you know needs a place to get married, why not at a funeral home? From USA Today:

Across the USA, funeral homes are building and marketing such centers as not just a place to mourn the dead but as sites for events celebrating the living, including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, holiday parties and proms.The lure? It is often less expensive; there is greater availability; and the settings — inside and outside — can be nothing short of wedding-picture perfect.

Flanner & Buchanan Funeral Centers opened the $10 million Community Life Center in 2001, but it had a slow start. As recently as 2009, it hosted just 10 weddings. Then Carla Fletcher took over as special events coordinator in March. The center now holds a dozen events each month and has nearly every Friday, Saturday and Sunday booked this year, including 99 weddings, as well as bookings that stretch into 2012, she says.

But if the proximity to gravestones is a drawback for some people, it can be a selling point for others says Keith Norwalk, president of Indianapolis' Crown Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery. "We had one situation where a young woman wanted to be married near her grandmother's grave," he says. "It was meaningful to the family."

7. Beware those who try to give you a hickey on your neck. You may become paralyzed. From Stuff co:

Lovebite partially paralyzes woman

"A Christchurch doctor had to treat a woman after she was partially paralyzed by a lovebite from her amorous partner. Dr Teddy Wu, who is currently working in the neurology department at Christchurch Hospital, said he believed it was the first time someone had been hospitalized by a "hickey".

The 44-year-old Maori woman went to the emergency department after experiencing loss of movement in her left arm. It happened while she was sitting watching television. The only injury was a lovebite on the right of her neck near an artery.

"Because it was a lovebite there would be a lot of suction. Because of the physical trauma it had made a bit of bruising inside the vessel," said Wu. "There was a clot in the artery underneath where the hickey was."

The clot had gone into the woman's heart and caused a minor stroke that led to the loss of movement, he said. If it had not been treated quickly the woman could have suffered more strokes.

"Strokes have different levels of severity. But possibly patients can become paralyzed."

8. I do love cupcakes, but I just don't find this zombie brain one that appetizing. From Urlesque: (Thanks to Catie James of the cute pair of socks avi)

I wonder if this is a velvet cake cupcake?

But then I wouldn't eat this Jabba the Dino cake either. From Cakewrecks:

9. This is one crazy possible LOL WTFkery of a movie! From Io9:

THE DISCO EXORCIST, a 70's horror epic full of boogie, blood, and boobs, stars Michael Reed, Sarah Nicklin, Ruth Sullivan, Brandon Luis Aponte, Rich Tretheway, Gio Castellano, and Babette Bombshell as "Bernie Munghat".

*note the part about epic boobs* The trailer is pretty groovy.



10. When I was a kid, I used to love to smash the pinata and watch the candy fly everywhere. But with this special Regretsy WTFckery pinata, I don't even want to know what will come flying out of it.

The Classic Uterinata ($40)

The Uteriñata is excellent fun for all ages, even toddlers will enjoy the grab-the-string-and-pull action!

Uteriñata comes anatomically correct with uterus, removable cervix, fallopian tubes and ovaries. Please specify if you would like particular colors, otherwise the Classic Uteriñata comes in light pink, with dark pink accents and pink and red ribbons.

Hope you have enjoyed this week's wonderful WTFckery...