Tuesday Teaser
Mood:  not sure
Now Playing: You Against Me by Jenny Downham
Topic: Book Reviews

 

Dad slammed his for down. 'That's enough!' A spatter of gravy flew across the table and landed on the clother. 'If you can't be civil, then you go to your room. What the hell's got into you, Eleanor?' --page 257, You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Tie One On
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Fashion Thoughts

 

After about two weeks serious balmy weather in New York City, we are finally getting some Autumn like weather. As much as I like fall weather, it can be a bit bi-polar: really cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon. So, I've taken to wearing a scarf over my blazer  each morning so I'm not too warm in the afternoon nor too cold in the morning. Woman's Day magazine had a nice little video on a new way to tie your scarf so it stays put. Click this link to check it out. I'm going to try it tomorrow. 

 

 

What The Librarian Is Reading
Mood:  flirty
Topic: Book Reviews

 

What Am I Reading?

Your Man is Wonderful: How to Appreciate Your Partner, Romance Your Differences, and Love the One You've Got by Noelle C. Nelson 

Practical Widow to Passionate Mistress by Louise Allen

Love in the Mountains by Janet Burnham Haywood

The Hot Spot by Niobia Bryant: An extra steamy novel about a 42-year-old divorcee's romance with a super-sexy 20-something diary farmer who wants to start a family. The problem? Her kids are grown and she doesn't want to be anybody's wife anymore. Or will her new boyfriend change her mind?

 

What Will I Read?

Secret Weapon by Opal Carew

Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry, #1) by  Simone Elkeles

Ask the Dust by John Fante

 

What Did I Just Read or Started-but-Stopped Reading? 

 Penguin by Polly Dunbar

 

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

The World of King Arthur and His Court by Kevin Crossley-Holland: Great non fiction book about the mythical king and his court. It blends truth, folklore, and poetry to teach King Arthur fans about the time in which he lived. I only wished there was more about Arthur's background, heritage and rise to power.

 

The 3 Ws

What I Am Reading... 

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende, page 21

Testimony by Anita Shreve, page 131

The Master's Mistress by Carole Mortimer, page 121

 

What I Will Read...

The Hot Spot by Niobia Bryant 

A Whole Lot of Love by Justine Davis

The Watcher by James Howe

 

What I Just Read...

When the New Baby Comes, I'm Moving Out by Martha Alexander

Forbidden Shores by Jane Lockwood 

Touch Me, Tease Me
Now Playing: Testimony by Anita Shreve

 

 I have very little insight as to why Rob did what he did. I don't see him that scenario at all. page 105, Testimony by Anita Shreve

Huh, WHUT???
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: What I'm Reading; What I Finished Reading; What I Will Read
Topic: Book Reviews

What I'm Currently Reading

  Texas! Lucky by Sandra Brown 

 The Master's Mistress by Carol Mortimer

 

 At First Kiss by Gwyneth Bolton

   A Whole Lot of Love by Justine Davis (ebook version)

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 What I Finished Reading

Mice, Morals, & Monkey Business: Lively Lessons from Aesop's Fables by  Christopher Wormell

 

A Stranger's Kiss by Liz Fielding 

Robin Hood & The Golden Arrow by Robert D. San  Souci

 

 

 

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What I'm Going to Read

 

 

 Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

Dangerous Curve by Chérie De Sues

A Taste of Texas by Liz Talley 

What I'm Reading Wednesday
Mood:  energetic
Topic: Book Reviews

Teader Tuesday
Topic: Book Reviews

 

 (Photo of album by the group Tease)

 

 

Teaser Tuesday

Detecting nothing, she relaxed slightly and slowly crept around the perimeter of the cell. It was empty.

 

 

page 67, A Heart Divided by Karen Abbott

 

 

Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Harlequin's A Cowboy for Every Mood
Topic: Book Reviews

 

I think it is no big secret that I have a huge celebrity crush on Hugh Jackman going back about ten years. Every now and then another Brit or Australian or Scot or Irishman (and the rare American) catches my attention, but I always go back to Hugh. So, it is with no surprise that I admit it is because of him that I have a huge preference for the cowboy romance.  

It all started when I went to see that gosh awful movie Australia. It wasn't the acting that was bad, btw. It was the direction of the movie. It tried to be all things but it ended up being a mess. One of the things Australia tried to be was a cowboy romance, and Hugh Jackman makes for one fine looking cowboy. His character was rugged, just, rough around the edges, a savior, a protector, and a lover who could clean up very well. What more could a woman ask for in romantic partner? So, with every cowboy romance novel I pick up, I will always think of Hugh from Australia.

Harlequin Books is making it very easy for me to get my fix this month. They will be placing a special Stetson logo on all their releases in July  to make it easier for me (*ahem* I mean "we") to find western and cowboy themed romances. Just look for the below logo:

 

Here's a sampling of cowboy/western themed romance novels I've enjoyed:

Cowboy, Take Me Away by Kathleen Eagle

Taming Blackhawk by Barbara McCauley

Wanted! by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Rogue Stallion by Diana Palmer

McKettricks of Texas: Austin by Linda Lael Miller

The Call of the Canyon by Zane Grey

The Mighty Quinns: Brody by Kate Hoffman

 

Disclaimer: I am a Harlequin ambassador and they encouraged me to blog, Facebook or Tweet about their "A Cowboy for Every Mood" promotion. I was not paid or reimbursed in any form or fashion. Although most of the books I listed were published by Harlequin, I acquired with my own funds or library card. :-)

What I Am; What I Was; What I Will
Mood:  lazy
Topic: Book Reviews

Tease Me, Tempt Me, Read Me...
Mood:  hug me
Topic: Book Reviews

 I must say, I am fraught with eagerness as I anticipate her expression when she receives my gifts. She is aglow with animation, whereas my princess was the picture of reserve. I long for Anne Plantagenet every day, but more and more I find myself subject to a strange sort of excitement when in the presence of my new wife.

—p. 126, Rivals in the Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan

Moving....
Mood:  don't ask
Now Playing: To Tumblr
Topic: Beauty Thoughts & Reviews
I'll be posting blog posts with pictures on my tumblr site, brooklynshoebabe.tumblr.com, but still look for my more wordy posts here.

Oh Holy Hell
Mood:  not sure
Now Playing: Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
Topic: Book Reviews
Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although I love science fiction and fantasy movies, I have never been a fan of the books. Besides the plot and the characters, I also have to make myself familiar with a whole new world, society, creatures, mores, etc. so it was with great surprise when I had the strong desire to read Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers. It had been on my to-read list since September, but it moved to the top of my list when I met the author at Book Expo America 2011. She autographed a free copy of the novel to me, and explained that she wrote the book for her daughter, who was really into the Twilight series. To be fair to Lisa, Personal Demons is a much better book.

Frannie has a special power that could be a benefit to Heaven and Hell, so each dominion has sent their best to tag her soul. From Hell, is Luc a.k.a. Lucifer. He is seven millennia old demon whose mere presence makes Frannie want to give in to her baser instincts. Gabriel is one of the best angels from Heaven, who makes Frannie feel safe and secure. She is in constant battle with herself on who she is going to choose.

Frannie is one of the most realistic teenage girls I’ve read in a long time in a Young Adult novel. She’s smart, reckless, impulsive, and angst-ridden. She’s also very good at judo. She’s like a more realistic Buffy the Vampire Slayer! She is definitely one of my favorite girl characters. Empowered!

Personal Demons is a sexy, witty, taut, and highly readable YA novel that constantly leaves me breathless. In the words of Luc, Unholy Satan because plot twists come fast at a fast rate. Plus there’s an intense love triangle. There's also a certain amount of camp involved. The book runs about 30 pages too long. Once all the major plot points are revealed, the story sort of sputters to an end. However, it is still a great book and I can’t wait to dive into the sequel out in August.


View all my reviews

I've Been Romanced
Mood:  crushed out
Now Playing: RWA 2011
Topic: Book Reviews

Around the age of 10 years-old, my aunt got a subscription to the Harlequin’s romance book club. When she moved out two years later, she left a few copies that I devoured under the covers with a flashlight. (I moved into her bedroom.) I mostly flipped through them to find the “good parts” but slowly got into the stories. I also read excerpts of stories by Barbara Taylor Bradford and Danielle Steele  in my grandma’s Ladies’ Home Journal magazines. By the time I was a senior in high school, I was reading romance novels and Tennessee Williams plays at a pretty steady clip since there were only a handful of young adult novels to speak of. (True story, my high school librarian didn’t mind me checking out romance but when I wanted a book on puberty/sexuality, she said I needed a permission slip from my parents.)

By the time I went off to college and started working in the magazine biz, I shook off my juvenile reading habits for feminist lit, African-American memoirs, and literary fiction. But there’s only so much proper literature one can read before they get burnt out on it and now I find myself back in the loving embrace romance (and its naughtier sister erotica). The last 8-months of rediscovering it has been a wonderful journey, where I have found fun new blogs, my preference for cowboys, and lots of free books & e-books. This past Tuesday, I reached the pinnacle of my journey by attending the Romance Writers’ Association Librarians Day--a day of networking, professional development, and getting free stuff!  My favorite items? The romance trading cards and bookmarks. I know have a photo album bursting with these collectibles (http://romancetradingcards.com/).

 

 

 

 

 

Some of my favorite Romance Twitter Feeds & Blogs:
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php
http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/
http://www.sheloveshotreads.com/
http://www.rwa.org/

My favorite moment of RWA2011? Romance author Julia Quinn declaring that librarians are saints. Like you didn’t know that already.

 

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Last month, I also got to let my librarain-geek flag fly at BookExpo 2011 at New York City's Jacob Javitis' Convention Center.  Not only did I attend several professional development seminair like the pulishers preview of middle-grade fall 2011 fiction, but I also got to walk up and down the aisles of the expo and examine several publishing houses' booths. One of my favorites was the erotica publishers Ellora's Cave (which is celebrating its tenth anniversary and from whom I got an autographed beefcake calendar and a deck of playing cards featuring their male cover models).

 

At the Harlequin booth, I got to meet African-American romance novelist Gwyneth Bolton. Her book, Sizzling Seduction, was the first Kimani romance I ever read and dispeled any misgiving I may have had about Black-themed romance novels. (Number 1 being that it would be more about race than about romance.) While I was getting my autographed, I babbled on about how great I thought Sizzling Seduction was by uttering over and over "Fireman, sexy, great, intense, fireman!" The only sad part about that moment were how non-exsistent the autograph lines were for the Kimani novelists. The lines were so short that I thought I had shown up while they were still setting up. 

Kiss My Nail Art
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: Kiss Goldfinger Great Strip Nail Color Stickers
Topic: Beauty Thoughts & Reviews