Lady Sophia's Lover: A Review

Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I would have enjoyed this book more had I not read 'Worth Any Price' first. I knew what would eventually happen, but that is not to say that the book was completely wasted. I loved Ross' character. He always had such a solid head on his shoulders. Not like other men in historical romances who go off in jealous rages or fall into melodrama. Ross and Sophia's romance was touching and hot!

The story goes like this... Lady Sophia Sydney would do anything to ensnare the unattainable Sir Ross Cannon. Her goal -- to ruin his reputation and cause a scandal that would be the talk of all London. So she insinuates herself into his life by gaining his trust and living in his house.

The story quickly switches gears from her desire to destroy him to her desire to bed him. Her secretiveness is hardly shown and maybe that is because Sophia never had it in her for revenge in the first place. Not my favorite of the Bow Street Runners, but still enjoyable and worth a read. And I would recommend if you don't want the suspense ruined, I'd read this before 'Worth Any Price'.

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Lone Warrior: A Review

Lone Warrior by Bobbi Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Marissa is captured by a Comanche raiding party. Believing everyone including her traveling companion Louise are dead she keeps hope that she can find a way out of this mess. She doesn't understand why she was taken, but she soon finds out. Ten Crows, the chief, has two sons Bear Claw and Wind Ryder who are at war with each other. In a vision Ten Crows believes that Marissa, the Shining Spirit, will make peace between Ten Crows' legitimate son Bear Claw and his white son Wind Ryder, a fellow captive himself.

The only trouble is Wind doesn't want her! He has put his white identity so far behind him seeing her white skin and blond hair shakes him deeply. Both are struck by a curious passion that neither was expecting, but both have to be willing to surrender to.

It was a pretty quick and enjoyable read. I liked Ten Crows for the most part. Bear Claw was the bitter villain who just couldn't let it lie. There was a smooth plot, interesting characters and enjoyable love scenes. Not really worth a re-read, but still an enjoyable read.

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Tempt Me at Twilight: A Review

Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is one of lowest ratings I have given a Kleypas book that I have actually finished. It makes me sad to do so, but nothing within me could honestly give more than 2 stars.

The story's synopsis is Poppy Hathaway is the compassionate, almost to a fault, member of her unconventional family. After three seasons in London society, she is still unmarried, but she has a hope that Bayning will propose to her despite his father's objections. That is until Harry Rutledge catches her lurking about his hotel. In that moment the man who got everything he wanted set his sights on the sweet Poppy who wanted nothing more out of life but to be loved and live a life of peace. Ruthless and almost cruelly selfish he manipulates Bayning's father and Bayning himself so that Poppy will fall into his arms. And despite her family's objections, Poppy, for some unknown reason, accepts Harry's proposal.

There are several issues I have with this book. The first is that Harry is so cunning and manipulative he is almost disgusting. As striking and attractive Kleypas tried to make him, nothing can change how he used everything in his power to manipulate and bend her to his will. That kind of submissive/dominant behavior should be reserved for the bedroom only. The second issue I have is that Poppy in a desperate attempt to love her husband, as deeply as she loves her family has to sacrifice EVERYTHING she said she wanted out of life. She hates London, but lives in the hotel with Harry and acts happy about it. She can be shy and awkward, but suddenly after she's married she is popular and socialable. The third issue I have is that while Harry, admirably?, does want her to want intimacy, he arrogantly wants her to just bend to his will. He is such a man. He wants a willing warm woman, but wants her exactly how he wants her to be. That's not love! That's control. He cared very little for her pain, her loss of love, and being detached from her loving, affectionate family. She is so willing to be controlled it made me want to put the book down and not take another look at it. But since I paid money for it, I supposed I should get my couple bucks worth out of it. Bottom line, while I like the Hathaways (a lot), I didn't care for Poppy and Harry's love story. I liked them better in "Married by Morning". There Harry wasn't nearly as controlling and manipulative. Ruthless, yes, but not so selfishly cruel and demeaning.

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Sweetwood Bride: A Review

Sweetwood Bride by Pamela Morsi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Stuck inbetween a rock and a hard place trying to keep her family together after both her parents are gone, Eulie Toby, an innocent optimistic simpleton, concocts a brilliant plan. She leads the town to believe that Moss Collier has knocked her up and will not marry her. So in the first chapter, Moss is wed with a shotgun aimed at his back. Furious, as anyone would be, Moss has other plans. He dreams of Texas and herding cattle, not farming in the Tennessee hills. When her five siblings meet him, Moss quickly realizes why she lied. Determined with as much sunshine happy optimism as she can muster, Eulie is determined to be the wife Moss deserves.

The side characters were given an unusual but enjoyable amount of attention as Eulie learns that while she might have lied with good intentions, trying to control others isn't the way to earn family love. As Moss's dream of Texas is fading into a future with Eulie.

While I have a hard time getting into women (female leads) who lie, Morsi showed the reason for the lie. She does well writing the side characters and their back stories. I liked how the family's conflicts resolved themselves, but I do wish Moss had more closure with his dream of going to Texas. I didn't feel it as resolved as everyone else's conflicts.

It's a decent read. Eulie's character is a sweet simpleton that may annoy some, but I wasn't too bothered by it. What wouldn't some of us do for family.

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1984 meets 2012

This, I have to say, scares the crap out of me! Stop SOPA and PIPA. The voting begins January 24th so speak out against Internet censorship.

Google's Stand

Reddit's Stand

Wikipedia's Stand

What these media/information sites are all saying is that SOPA AND PIPA ARE A BAD IDEA! Speak out, contact your local congresspeople and tell them to vote it down. We do not want to end up like China, North Korea, or Iran where their information is controlled by the government. That's not America's way.

6010 Library Visit Final Presentation

This is a presentation I did for my LIS 6010 Introduction to the Profession. The assignment was to look at two libraries and compare/contrast their attributes. I focused most of my interview on the general attitudes and overall general approach/vision of each library rather than on technical bits of information.


Library Visit 6010
This is through GoogleDocs.

Maid to Match: Review

Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of my favorite Christian Historical Fiction writers for her historical accuracy and her light Christian ranting, but this one fell a little flat in the romance department. I really couldn't feel the romance between the two main characters. The side characters were wonderfully funny and light, but the two main ones were a touch half baked. I enjoyed the story but probably wouldn't re-read it. Great if you want a cute little romance with a Christian background and neat historical details.

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