My soldier

Thank a veteran today. This is my hubby circa 2004 on his way home to me from Iraq.

Twelve step program needed

for Facebook addiction. Specifically the time sucking games like Farmville. I can't stop playing. I knew there was something seriously wrong with me when I got up an half hour earlier this morning so I could harvest my peppers. It's definitely cutting into my reading time. Speaking of which, my reading mojo is sorta back for the most part. I'm reading Elizabeth Hoyt's To Desire a Devil which so far is just meh and Anna Campbell Captive of Sin which I'm really enjoying. I still have this curious craving for something else though. Like a contemporary or a medieval. Something meaty. I can't really put my finger on it.

Anyhoo, right now I'm wondering why everyone is off on Veteran's Day except the veteran. Hubby had to trudge off to work this morning and the P-nut gets to stay home from school. What the heck has the P-nut ever done for our country?

Review: Liz Carlyle Wicked All Day

I read quite a few books before my reading mojo went AWOL again. Thing is the great computer crash 09 happened (all my reading lists went poof) and now I have to rely on my less than perfect memory to recall what I read. So here goes...

Liz Carlyle's Wicked All Day:

Carlyle's My False Heart is on my keeper shelf so I was really psyched when I realized this book was the story of Rannoch's (the hero in MFH) illegitimate daughter Zoe and the love triangle between her and the Rowland brothers. The latter two are also the offspring of another Carlyle story (A Woman Scorned, I think) which I haven't read. Zoe is spoiled, headstrong and has lots of baggage stemming from her illegitimate parentage. She knows the only reasons she has suitors is because of her father's name and fortune. Because of this Zoe decides to show society she doesn't give a flying effity eff and flirts with everything that moves. Her reckless behavior escalates to the point where her father is forced to threaten her with a forced marriage if she doesn't straighten her ass out. She doesn't. She's found in a compromising position with the youngest Rowland brother Robert by none other than his brother Lord Mercer. They're forced to get engaged to avert scandal though neither loves the other. The main conflict is supposed to stem from the fact that Lord Mercer has a thing for Zoe and just like a man didn't realize this little fact until it was too late.

Like with all of Carlyle's books that I've read the main draw here for me was that it is a character driven story. No extraneous suspense or mystery plots that take away from the romance. Here though the main conflict was weak. Who cares that Zoe was caught in compromising position with Robert? I mean her life was one scandal after another what was one more. And when it was evident that neither wanted to marry the other and both were in love with other people why couldn't they call off the engagement? Their parents were pretty reasonable. Again, the threat of scandal just didn't work here. Also, it bothered me that the hero Lord Mercer never tried to resist Zoe even though she was engaged to his brother. At the first sign that she returned his affection he just went for it. I thought it kind of icky and out of character especially when there was supposed to be a close relationship between the brothers. Thre is also a little problem with Carlyle's books that has bothered me for some time. Her books are all interconnected meaning characters from previous books make appearances or are mentioned. This normally doesn't bother me in other books but in this case she has already written quite a number of books a few of which I have not read. Unfortunately, the author seems to assume that I have. Sort of like when my mom introduces me to obscure family members and expects me to remember who they are " this is so and so remember from when she used to babysit you?" "Er, no. I was two, mom". It was the same here I had no idea who some of these people were. It was enough to make me wish she's include a giant family tree so I could see who was who. But that was really a minor quibble compared to the fact that this just wasn't an interesting story. I thought it much too long, about a hundred pages could have been shaved off, IMO. I also found Zoe spoiled, annoying, immature and self centered. Sure, I give Carlyle credit for pushing the envelope a bit, I mean we're all sick of perfect, chirpy, self sacrificing regency heroines. But in order for it to work there had to be some redeeming quality and I could find none. I had no idea why Mercer loved her so. In the end, I felt no connection to the h/h. Found Zoe and Robert unlikeable and Mercer remained too much of an enigma. There wasn't enough time spent on the love story and way too much devoted to secondary characters from previous books. 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Tiny Tink

A day that will live in infamy

So I'm at the preschool parking lot after dropping off the P-Nut when Thing 2 a.k.a Jellybean decides she doesn't want to get strapped into her car seat. Throws a fit from hell. In desperation I give her the keys and she calms down. Keys have some weird hypnotic power that only works on babies and toddlers. I finish strapping her in and major brain fart causes me to close the door. It's one of those moments when you realize you fucked up just a second too late. I watched the door close in slow motion and I just knew they were locked. She had her little thumb right on the button. So I begin frantically knocking on the window thinking maybe I could get her to press the button again. Big mistake! She freaks and throws the keys into the front seat. The fire department is called. It was a hot and muggy day. Well over eighty degrees. I could see her sweating. I was having conniptions. All the horror stories of kids roasting alive in hot cars came to the fore. The firefighters get there and bust the driver's side window, no questions asked. One of the bystanders tells me they just busted your window OMG that's gonna cost you a fortune. Lady, who gives a shit about a window? My kid can't be replaced. What a douche! The glass shatters into a million pieces. I've always dreamed of having hunky muscle bound firefighters come to my rescue but I was so freaked I couldn't even enjoy it. Boo! I reach for my baby and she tells me "Momma, want yum, yum!" Yeah, nothing comes between my chunky monkey and her lunch.

Richard Armitage - Passionate Kisses

Hate the song. Love the man! Ooohhhhh long time no see sexy studmuffin. Lord what hotness!

Gag!

It would seem that having been a romance reader for a good chunk of my life I would become used to my chosen reading material being sort of like the red headed step child. Neglected, insulted, belittled. Alas, I'm not used to it and dang it this time it made me even madder because it came from an author who should probably be thanking the romance community on bended knee. It seems that (according to my pop culture bible EW) Diana Gabaldon once refused to do a book signing until her books were removed from the icky romance section. Well, I've never read any of her books ( I tried Outlander and couldn't get past the first chapter) and I probably won't cuz obviously she's a freakin' snob. Hey lady there's a little phrase that goes something like never bite the hand.....

Ugh!

It's official: I have a perma-cold. Can't get rid of it. I have been trying the homeopathy route but I may have to nuke it soon. I think I may be suffering from a combo of allergies and some ikcy virus. To top it all off my computer crashed. Went completely kaput. Everything lost. My reading lists going back like five years.My DIK lists. All gone. I cried. I raged. I shook my fists at the heavens, but it was no use and it's all my fault. My lazy ass never got around to backing everything up. Oh my reading lists! And my pics too. But I had most of those either printed or on cd still lots were lost I'm sure. My reading lists.... sob, sob, sob!