Book Give-Away Redux

Finally, some time spent on my blog! Sorry for the long hiatus. I went into overdrive collecting extra credit for my current class after my less than stellar performance on exam number 3. It was more of a logistical trial than anything else.

But I'm back, at least until my panic over exam number 4 sets in, and I've finally re-drawn winners for my inaugural book give-away. I know, you've been crazy with anticipation. I also went back and actually read the terms of the give-away and found I had offered TWO books, not one, to TWO Lucky Winners.

M. and Stewart - yes, it's your lucky day!

Please contact me at megower at gmail dot com and I'll send off your awesome winnings sometime this month. No, kidding, I'll try to get them out right away. :)

Jacquie D'Alessandro "Seduced at Midnight"

Lady Julianne has spent her life quietly following her family's dictates and now her father says she is to marry a Duke. But when a cat burglar starts robbing and killing ladies of the ton, Julianne does the unexpected and fakes an attack on herself to gain time with Gideon, a bow street runner working on the case.

Gideon is not a profligate lord, he's a serious controlled man who takes pride in his work and who lost his young wife several years ago. It goes without saying that he's gorgeous and inexplicably drawn to Julianne, but he's quite certain she is too good for him.

I loved their initial attraction to each other. Some of the witty dialog is missing from this book as opposed to the other D'Alessandro books, but it's replaced by sexual tension and Julianne plucking up her courage and pursuing Gideon knowing this is her last chance at passion. The middle of the book gets bogged down as Gideon gets more serious about resisting her, and she continues to be a basically timid character dreading her marriage. The plot is a bit lacking. (She says with a straight face) :)

The end is sappy but I was in love with Gideon by this point, so I allowed that and the resolution to the murder mystery to distract me. I only snorted slightly at her burning her hopes and dreams. This is a nice traditionally laid out romance novel. Well written, okay plot, decent sex and sexual tension.

Historical Romance 2009: 4 out of 5 buttons off of breeches.

Charlaine Harris "Dead Until Dark"

I finally finished the first in the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. Everyone has liked them so I'm sure this won't be a huge addition to the online opinion pages to say, fun book, quirky characters, nice line walked between small town realism and vampire paranormalism, more mystery than classic romance novel.

But I can't let it go at that when Jessica has been posting notes on such interesting academic opinions about Sookie. I thought about really sitting down and thoroughly reviewing the points the papers were trying to make and composing a thoughtful response, but I'd rather go off half cocked. So much more fun.
This note: "Sookie is no more heroine or protagonist than Bella. She’s a vehicle by which men establish a hierarchy. Female characters are employed as eroticized figures of exchange for male characters." and this:
"Sookie is in [sic] center of action, but not an independent actor. She is aided by many characters..."

(*spoiler alert*)
I have only read the first book and it's clear that the professionals writing these papers were talking about the series and also the television series....but, Sookie is more 'down home' than stupid and in scene number one she heads out to the parking lot with a chain (for god's sake) and saves vampire Bill from some nefarious vampire drainers. Then in the climax to the first book she survives an attack by the mysterious murderer, with help from Bill's blood, yes, but mostly based on her grit and quick thinking, taking his own knife off his belt and stabbing him. This is an eroticized figure of exchange who is not an independent actor?

Now I'll understand if the rest of the series she becomes a tasty mind-reading doormat, but I guess it would surprise me based on the people who keep reading the books and saying they like them so much.

Vampire Paranormal Mystery 2001: 4 of 5 infusions of supercharged blood.

WINNER: Willaful you lucky Dog!

So I carefully created five identical pieces of paper and put them behind my computer, mixed them up, and picked a winner of the first annual Bodice Ripper Review Book Give-Away. Yes, Willaful will be receiving a loved copy of Like No Other Lover in the mail. Assuming that s/he doesn't mind sending their physical address to me at megower at charter dot net.

Thanks for your participation. Remember, people might really win sometimes at Bodice Ripper Reviews. :)

Lara Adrian "Kiss of Crimson"

Second book in the Lara Adrian The Midnight Breed books. I like this series so I'm reading the middle books less critically. This heroine is a vet, which I like, she's not a kick-ass heroine but she's not an overly sensitive one either, somewhere in the middle. That worked for me.

The hero is Dante, his viciousness worked less well for me than Lucan's or Nikolai's even, but he's beautiful and devoted to his vet so he's acceptable too.

Fun, mindless, graphically violent, graphically sexual, decent plot. My least favorite so far but an okay way to spend three hours on a plane.

Vampire Paranormal Romance 2007: 3.5 of 5 crimson snorting ravers.

PS. I noticed that I didn't mind reading about the peripheral characters who aren't paired up yet, but I was annoyed by the cameo's of the already paired ones, I guess I fall in with Ana on that one.