....you keep reading.
Yep, that's right. I was stuck in an airplane with a book I purchased at the airport gift shop---Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts--when I realized that 20 pages, right in the middle of the book, during a crucial and climatic scene in the story, were missing.
What I wanted to do......whip the book down the aisle and curse like a sailor.
What I did instead.....grumble under my breath and finish the damn thing. It took 13 god-damned hours to get to Hawaii, and I didn't have much of a choice.
Anyhoo.....here are some super-quickie updates from my reading extravaganza on the plane and before and after vacation. Enjoy!
1. Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts
This is a friends-to-lovers book, with WAY too much information about how to run your own wedding business. If you're interested in learning how to run your own wedding business, then this is the book for you. If not, you can skim over the enormous amount of detail about flowers, brides, dresses, and irritating family members, and enjoy a romance hidden in there somewhere. The chemistry between the gang of girlfriends was great, the romance between the H/h wasn't quite as hot. Grade: B-
2. A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean
I bought this book to include in my "Penelope Project"....the heroine's name is Penelope, of course. I had never read a Sarah MacLean book before, and I was, quite simply, blown out of the choppy Hawaiian waters by this book. Yowzah! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was very reminiscent of the Derek Craven-Sara Fielding relationship in Lisa Kleypas' book Dreaming of You, which is one of my all-time fav romance novels. MacLean's book is wonderful....well written, a great story, fabulous characters, and utterly, beautifully romantic. Sigh, swoon, swoon, sigh. Count me on the Sarah MacLean Bandwagon. LOVED! Grade: A+
3. Devil's Luck by Carolyn Crane
This is a short story that is part of the Disillusionist series. I continue to be awe-struck by Crane's talent. I love how her mind works....she has a truly unique way of looking at the world around her, and that comes through in her characters, the way she builds a story, and her wonderful and quirky voice. Hot damn, this was a great novella, and I sure hope she writes the epilogue she's considering. Do it, CC! Grade: A
4. Innocent Secretary...Accidentally Pregnant by Carol Marinelli
I was in the mood for a Harly, so I gave this one a go. They just don't make innocent virgin secretaries like they used to. Secretary manages to have a night of earth-shattering sex after a lifetime of celibacy, hero manages to be a dickwad until practically the last page of the book, and a baby manages to appear in spite of responsible birth control measures. Harly Power! Grade: B
5. Forbidden Falls by Robyn Carr
Another emotional story by Carr. Loved the H and h in this one, although the hero is a little bit too good to be true, but their love story is super satisfying. I was jonesing for some more sex scenes, and I think the villain sort of fizzled out at the end. Otherwise, nice story. Grade: B+
6. Nauti Nights by Lora Leigh
Since Wild Card is one my favorite guilty pleasures, I decided to try another LL book. I actually DNFed this one, but then decided to finish it because I was bored! Ha! Well, it had some major problems...a totally asinine premise and a HUGE misunderstanding that drove me bonkers and took too long to get resolved. There is a lot of sex, but it took a while to get to the emotional connection. It finally got better by the end, but I still liked Wild Card better. And I laughed out loud when the hero of this book used the "sweetest candy" line...."You taste like the sweetest candy, baby." Oh yeah! That is totally tat material, baby! Grade: B-
I also read a couple of short stories by Dana Stabenow on the plane, and a re-read of my fav Amanda Quick, With This Ring. And watched some awful movies, drank a lot of ginger ale, and wished that time travel had already been invented.
Hope everyone has a great week!
Penny
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