Two Quick Thrills

January 31, 2006 at 11:13 pm (Authors N to Z, Books, Romance)

I try not to read two books by the same author in succession unless it's a series, because there's such a thing called 'author fatigue' for me. This happens when the books I read begin to sound just like the last one I've read of the author that I tend to become disinterested in reading any more books by the author.

It came as a surprise when I decided to delve right into 'I Thee Wed' right after 'Wait Until Midnight' by Amanda Quick. Both heroines are unconventional go getters who rely more on their wit than feminine wiles to survive and support their families. I have a soft spot for strong heroines, so Quick had no trouble reeling me in with these two books.


That said, both books deal with the some otherworldly fields of science — one with psychic research and the other with a mysterious cult that, amongst others, brewed a recipe for enhancing the female intuition. The element of suspense, the conflicts that comes with uniting lovers from different worlds were Quick trademarks that helped sustain the plot development, and made these quite enjoyable light-hearted reading.

After careful consideration though, I think I'll keep 'Wait Until Midnight' but release 'I Thee Wed'. IMHO, 'Wait' is the better book.

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January’s TBR Challenge

January 26, 2006 at 2:57 pm (Authors A to M, Books, Romance, TBR Challenge)


Title: 44 Cranberry Point
Author: Debbie Macomber
Year published:2004

Why did you get this book?
It won the inaugural Quills Award (I spoke of that earlier), and curious about what the panel of judges sees in this book, I bought it.

Do you like the cover?
As covers go, this one's okay. Nothing spectacular, just an innocuous looking cover that invokes the small-town romance feel of the book.

Did you enjoy the book?
It took me a couple of chapters to warm up to the story and the characters, but once I got into the story, I could see why the judges picked the book to be the winner. Debbie Macomber has always been known to favour ordinary women in small towns as heroines, and in this book, she has created several memorable characters, everyday Cedar Cove residents that readers can relate to. The women each have their hiccups in their relationships, something that's very real to the modern woman, and therefore a plus point IMO.

I would have benefited from reading some of the earlier books in this Cedar Cove series, but the Cranberry Point stands quite well on its own too. However, there were some mysteries left unsolved and some relationship tangles to clean up, so I guess I'll have to check out the next one, 50 Harbor Street to find out the fates of some of the characters I've grown fond of over the pages.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? I've read Macomber's Season of Angels, as I've mentioned in an earlier post, and quite enjoyed that book. This wholesome and heartwarming tale that looks into the lives of several smalltown heroines has piqued my interest about the other heroines, who appear as supporting characters in this book, so I may pick up some of her earlier instalments.

Are you keeping it or passing it on?
I wouldn't mind passing this on to someone so he/ she can enjoy it too. I'm kind of biased when it comes to keeping books. I tend to keep historical more than contemporary books.

Anything else?
Something minor which bothers me is the tiny inconsistency in the address of the McAfees. The story lists it as 50 Harbor Street, which incidentally is also the title of the book after this, whereas the Cast of Characters page lists it as 5 Harbor Street.

BTW, the titles of previous books are also the addresses of the central character that each story is woven around, so go on and visit Cedar Cove to see if you like the residents.

I also realised, about two chapters in, that this book could also fit into May's theme 'cos this is a Navy town, and some of the characters are Navy personnel. The owner of the B&B in the town is a retired Viet veteran, as are the stranger who died mysteriously at the inn and the husband of one of the central characters, whose story is told in 204 Rosewood Lane.

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Judith McNaught ‘talks’ to AAR

January 26, 2006 at 2:48 pm (All, Authors A to M, Books)

Stumbled upon this insightful AAR interview with Judith McNaught, and since I'm about to start on her Once & Always', it was really helpful to know how she started and what inspired her to write Every Breath You Take and all the wonderful Regency Historical she wrote.

This would be a change from 44 Cranberry Point, which I've just completed and will be blogging for Angie's TBR Challenge.

Later, then …

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This and that

January 23, 2006 at 11:29 pm (All, Books)

Another week of rushing at work, but this time round with some results. With the newsletter out of the way, and one web editing assignment completed, I had some time to catch up on my reading.

Am very pleased to report good progress on my TBR pick for January – am about half-way through the book. Also, mid last week, I took advantage of a meeting with my girlfriends downtown to drop in on Borders. Managed to grab two books in the last half-hour before the store closed.

One of the them is the Lisa Kleypas wallflower follow-up, 'It Happened One Autumn' and the other is the latest Harry Potter instalment 'HP and the Half Blood Prince'. Am now on a quest to find the first 3 novels printed with alternative covers to the kiddish ones.

Also, a weekend trip to the local library introduced me to Sandra Brown's 'Love Beyond Reason' and nostalgia made me pick up Judith McNaught's 'Once & Always'. I liked 'Something Wonderful' and a girlfriend recommended 'Whitney, My Love' some time back. I may just start reading her books again. I do need some romanctic suspense and category romance books for two of the theme months.

Hmmm … these should last me through the coming long weekend when the Lunar New Year festival comes 'round.

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A Question of Trust

January 14, 2006 at 1:22 am (All, Books, Webwatch)

So, Angie professed her skepticism on book reviews and questioned the credibility of review sites in this RTB column and asked:

"… how do you…as an author, reader, or even a reviewer feel about reviews?
What sites and magazines do you trust and which do you avoid? Do you find
yourself depending more on blogs or do you still turn to review sites? And for
places like Amazon, do you look at the reviews on a book? And in what
circumstances do you think an author or someone else should get a review
removed?"

Like her, I've grown to mistrust review sites, and would only give the Amazon reviews a cursory glance if I were undecided on an unfamiliar author (as in new to me). I tend to read up blogs nowadays, going for those who have similar tastes, for a balance of opinions. I've found that most, if not all, bloggers are brutally honest. But then again, these are still subjective views. After all, every reader has different opinions about the same book, and it's almost impossible to find someone who loves every book you love, and hates every one you do. I do take exception, however, to having a readers' review removed … unless it's downright malicious or slanderous in nature.

As Helen Kay sums it up very well in her post, you can't please everyone, because we're all unique in our thoughts and reactions.

Reading all the various comments and blog-hoppping trying to catch up with all the action, it struck me that this debate somehow mirrors another that is happening in the travel industry as well.

There has been many travel forums and hotel review boards springing up in the past year, and even more aggregator and travel deal sites popping up all over the shop, that it is bewildering to the not-so-seasoned traveller trying to find out more about a particular hotel/ restaurant/ attraction. How would you know if a review wasn't planted by a supporter/ partner of the establishment?

As to that question, Ed Perkins has this to say in his article on the proliferation of hotel review sites for the SanFrancisco Chronicle:

"But all of the other sites suffer to some degree from "too small a sample
size," as the statisticians would put it, to be truly reliable. All too often,
your only source is one individual traveler whose report might or might not be
reflective of your viewpoints. After looking at a recent set of traveler
comments on airlines and seeing some economy cabins I know to be cattle cars
described as "comfortable," I'm a tad suspicious of any amateur evaluations. "

His advice? Look at few more 'good sites', sign up and submit your own reviews. More as a matter of information sharing, you ken? Chances are, you may just be able to provide a fresh perspective or end up colluding with the general opinion of the 'critical masses'.

Balance is the keyword here, I feel, whether it be a hotel, book, restaurant/ food or movie review. One man's meat is another's poison, as the saying goes.

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Angie’s TBR Challenge Update

January 12, 2006 at 10:29 pm (All, Books, TBR Challenge)

It's been a busy week at work, what with two newsletters to push out and a website to finish revamping to meet the end Jan deadline. I haven't started on the book earmarked for January's challenge, but I did have a good look at my TBR pile to find a match for each theme, and at the same time assess if I need to get those I haven't a match for.

So, here's what I've mapped out for the months ahead:
January: Contemporary Romance
44 Cranberry Point by Debbie Macomber

February: A book by a new-to-you author
Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
A friend passed this to me some months back, so it's about time I finish reading it and return to her. However, I'm also very tempted to get some Liz Carlyle romances since I've never read her books. Let's see if I can manage both … greedy me.

March: Historical Romance
It's a toss-up between Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (which I've started reading) or Some Enchanted Evening by Christina Dodd

April: A book that's been on your TBR pile longer than 6 months
This has got to be The Princess Bride by William Goldman, it's been on my shelf since last Feb because I kept getting diverted by new romance releases that I was tracking

May: In honor of Memorial Day; War, law enforcement, military type or something similar (even loosely related counts)
Haven't found one for this yet so may have to 'borrow' from the library or my dh.

June: A book that was recommended by someone you "know" (another blogger, author, friend, family member) or got a lot of buzz and that's why you bought it but it's still on your TBR pile
I've heard so much about Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, and since I received these as Christmas gifts from the same friend who lent me Empress Orchid, they are my natural choice.

July: Romantic Suspense
Option1: Lie By Moonlight by Amanda Quick
Option 2: Falling Awake by Jayne Ann Krentz
Option 3: A Julie Garwood or Elizabeth Thornton book I haven't read yet.

August: A non-romance book, fiction or non-fiction
An Elegant Madness: High Society in Regency England by Venetia Murray
Been meaning to finish reading this for the longest time, so pray this time I won't fail.

September: Category Romance
Either It Happened One Autumn or The Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas unless I get to these before September

October: Paranormal Romance or Fantasy
Am very tempted to attempt The Chronicles of Narnia omnibus by C. S. Lewis, another Christmas gift, but wonder if I'm going to end up killing myself finishing up, okay, trying to finish, all seven book. If I do chicken out of this mammoth undertaking it'll be Teresa Medeiros' sequel to After Midnight or an Anne Rice, whom I haven't read in a long while. We shall see.

November: A book originally published as an e-book (even if you have it in print now
Am going to have to hunt for one

December: A book published prior to 2006
It's going to be a toss-up between Madam, Will You Talk by Mary Stewart or Moonlight Becomes You by Mary Higgins Clark

That's the plan for now, but I'd better start on my first book for the challenge though. Six out of the 26 (six additional since my last post) participants have already finished their books and posted the reviews. Yikes!

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Angie’s TBR Challenge

January 6, 2006 at 1:48 am (Books, TBR Challenge)

Was blog surfing last night and couldn't resist picking up the gauntlet thrown down by Angie.

We've got 20 readers whose challenge this year would be to pick a book (or books) from our TBR (to be read) pile that fits the theme of the month, read it and review it on our blogs.

January's TBR Challenge: Contemporary Romance (a romance that doesn't fall into the category of paranormal or romantic suspense).

I've got 44 Cranberry Point by Debbie Macomber on my TBR list anyway, so this promises to be fun!

Thoughtful Angie has already mapped out the themes for the remaining months, so it's time for me to get busy. Am going to look through my list again to see if there're any that'll fit into the themes for each month.

More later …

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Top 10 Picks of 2005

January 3, 2006 at 10:19 pm (All, Books, Fun)

This post is for Kristie, who thought it’d be fun to reflect on her favourite books published this year. My choices would be:

1. The Marriage Trap by Elizabeth Thornton

I’ve enjoyed her books since I picked up ‘The Bride’s Bodyguard’ and Thornton delivers the story brilliantly in this one.


2. Much Ado About You by Eloisa James

Eloisa just keeps getting better! And this debut of her sisters quartet is a keeper on my shelf.

3. Something About Emmaline by Elizabeth Boyle

There’s something about the heroine in this sparkling romantic comedy that kept me in stitches in some parts and had me in tears in others.

4. It’s in His Kiss by Julia Quinn

Julia’s one of my fave of all time. I love her entire Bridgerton series and am eagerly anticipating Gregory’s story in ‘On the way to the Wedding’ due out this summer.


5. One Night of Sin by Gaelen Foley

Another hit by Galen Foley who had me hooked ever since the unforgettable proposal scene she wrote for Robert Hawkscliffe in ‘The Duke’ left me sighing from the sheer emotions and joy it brought.

6. Wait Until Midnight by Amanda Quick

This book quickly made its way to my reading list when I reacquainted myself with Amanda earlier this year. More about this in my next post.

7. After Midnight by Teresa Medeiros

Teresa reinvented the vampire tale and revived my interest in the supernatural romance genre. This midnight read brightened up one otherwise boring weekend for me. Hurrah for slayers!

8. Lord of Sin by Madeline Hunter

A sinfully delicious book which gave readers a peek into the world of lithographers and engravers. Madeline’s historicals are good investments anytime. Can’t wait for the story of Charlotte (Lady Marsden). I love sharp and witty heroines.

9. The Daughters of Freya by Michael Betcherman and David Diamond

This ingenious email mystery changed the way I view emails. I hope there’ll be a follow-up from the pair.


10. Murder List by Julie Garwood

Hardcore mystery fans may turn their noses up at this combination of romance and suspense, but I found that my heart did beat much faster with the unbearable tension, both between reluctant hero and heroine, and the psycho murderer and victim.

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