Novel Chats - A Series

Before I begin, can I just say now that I highly doubt that I am the reason Jenny Crusie is considering leaving the blog-o-sphere behind? Yes, I linked her blog post in my rant. Yes, I JCF was one of the Yahoo! Groups I posed the question to. No, I don't think it caused the incredible Ms. Crusie to re-think her entire position on blogging. Thank you to the few of you that have e-mailed me to let me know that you consider me so influential. I appreciate it. I also respect that perhaps you were trying to teach me the lesson of just how hurtful those nasty e-mails can be and believe me when I tell you, I already learned that lesson after my review of Fearless Fourteen. However, I do believe I will keep my collection of Crusie books on the book shelf - because yes, I truly do consider myself a fan of the writer, Bet Me has seen my through many a reading slumps. I also believe that I will continue to blog, as I don't think that I am the heart of evil and malice that has spread across the blog world causing innocent "authors with more talent in their pinky finger than I have in my entire body" to give up their on-line presence. If you have read any of my blog posts, you would see that I may not always like a book (and if you don't like those less than glowing reviews skip the following post), however I don't think I've written anything especially nasty and even while I was ranting about an author I believed was behaving in an incredibly ridiculous manner, I never publicly announced the authors name, not until the story "broke" out on a much more popular blog than my own. But again, I am flattered you think that I have such influence over some one I've never met and so very much admire. And you know what? I'm not even going to post your e-mails. I'm not even gonna let a soul other than my family see them. And God willing, should I ever be published, you will NOT see an antagonist with a name closely resembling yours. Instead, those e-mails will be printed out and stuck in my "I HAVE ARRIVED" folder that The Hubs suggest I start when I received my first nasty e-mail. And now, on with it...


I read the first two books in this series when they first came out. I was still at d&D at the time, and had seriously considered dishing them, had talked to dee about how I felt about them, but just couldn't bring myself to do so. It seemed like so many people were just in love with these books. Thought they were great. I have to say, that while I enjoy the mythology behind the books, I didn't particularly like the "forced seduction" in them. In fact, I didn't feel like it was so much forced seduction as I felt like the "hero" was raping his woman. But truth be told, I don't see much of a difference. No, in my opinion has always meant NO. It means STOP! It does not mean, oh I really do want this, I want to be terrified of you and what you are doing, because if you just keep it up I know I'll get over myself and LOVE it.

That said, the premise of this series is unique and if you can skip the hero forcing sex on his soon to be wife to gain her love, then they are damn fine reads. An amazingly evil man makes a deal with the devil. In return for his soul, the soul of his descendants and their eternal loyalty, the devil will give them the ability to change into fierce warriors. They will be long lived, will only be able to be killed by another of their kind, and they will have the ability to change at will into a fierce predatory animal. They will only bear sons. However, one day, a descendant falls in love. Not any descendant mind you, but the current ruler of the fierce clan. He runs away with his gypsy bride, has children and loves them all dearly. However, one day his wife has a vision, a vision that tells his doom. He will burn forever in hell unless the family can find the family icon and restore it to break the curse. The prophecy his wife has seems impossible to the family. For one, it states that the true loves of his four sons will bring the icons back together - but he only has three sons and one daughter.

I continued to read the series this summer when the final two books were released. I enjoyed them, because I wanted to see the curse lifted. I wanted to see how Dodd worked around the four sons thing. All in all, I think the series was worth the read. The premise is fascinating. There were, however, several lose ends. For instance, in the first book Ann (the true love of son #1) is found out to have something "other" herself, and I had seriously thought that this would come into play later. It didn't. I have no idea why it was such a big deal in the first book, if it has no real bearing on the overall story-line.

So, if you like forced seduction you'll be able to read these books without discomfort. However, if like me, you don't care for it, then either skip this series all together or skip pretty much all of the sex, because most of it read like rape to me.

Since this is a Novel Chat of a post the series gets a grade, I give it a C-. Probably would have been an A, but ya know, that whole forced thing.

Take Care

Violet In Private by Melissa Walker

I "reviewed" (let's be honest, we all know that's not really what I do) the first book in this amazing series while at D&d. You can check it out here. And since I've already posted a rant for the day, I'm just gonna dive right in...

Violet In Private by Melissa Walker
(BCC)

IT'S TIME TO JOIN THE REAL WORLD - IF SOMEONE WOULD JUST TELL ME WHERE THAT IS.

I know I'm supposed to be Violet Greenfield the fresh-faced runway model, a cultured and worldly nineteen-year-old with super-high confindence because I've done fashion weeks internationally. But the truth is, modeling hasn't raised my self-esteem all that much. And now that I'm finally headed to college, I'm afraid I'll turn back into that girl who blended into the walls all throughout high school...

Vassar is just a two-hour train ride from New York City, so technically I could keep working. But I'd rather accept an editorial internship at Teen Fashionista. It's a chance to be appreciated for something besides my height and weight! My friends in fashion think I'm crazy to stop modeling, but my best friend Roger is all in favor of it. Of course, things have been weird between us ever since we kissed - and now he's got a new girlfriend. So I guess the question is:

If I'm not "Violet on the Runway" anymore, who exactly am I?

I Love the Ya genre. Seriously. The reach of the YA book is going far beyond that of the age range it's geared toward which is awesome, in and of itself. But what I really love about a good YA book, is that it holds the power to suck a reader in and change them from semi-reader to Reader. It's books like this one that do that.

In VIP Walker once again takes us into the shoes of Violet Greenfield. She's off to college and she's pretty sure she's done with the modeling thing. But the modeling thing won't let her go. But sometimes that's not always a bad thing. Being a model helps Violet land a great internship, allows her to speak to high schoolers about body image, and has brought her one of her best friends.

Walker's is one of the freshes voices in the YA genre. Violet is a character that females of all ages can relate to. She faces victories, self doubt, and yes even heartache, "Still, I don't know if I'm ever going to get over this betrayal. It's completely weird how your heart can physically hurt. Like, I can feel this actual pain in my chest right now, and I'm not just imagining it. It aches, like if someone hit me really hard on my left boob, or like I broke something there." It is rare for me to want to cry and smile at the same time, but Walker managed that feat.

If you have a daughter, niece, granddaughter, friend, whatever, give her these books. Read them with her, experience this wonderful world together. Where super models don't always feel so super and real life and love cause us pain as well as bring us joy.

VIP will leave you with a huge smile on your face and a desire to run to the bookstore to find more wonderful YA titles. If you've been hesitant about picking up a book labeled YA, nows the time to give 'em a try, I say start with Walker.

Take Care

Authors Getting Even - Update

The blog post has been removed from her site. If you are wanting to know who it was that got my hackles raised Monday, Jane at Dear Author was braver than I and posted all about it. She even knows how to do that cool cache thing, so you'll be able to read the post in question.

Take Care

More Thoughts on Authors Getting Even

So, as you can tell by yesterdays post I was a bit on the upset side about the behavior of a certain author. In fact, I not only blogged about it, I posted the question on a couple of Yahoo!Groups I belong to. As with the blog post, I did not mention the authors name. A few people asked, and I did let them know off list. There were also a few readers of the blog that were able to track the author down by a clue (not an intentional one) that was in the post.

One of the reasons I felt compelled to pose the question of how readers felt about this behavior was because of the comments left on the authors blog. You see, they all thought the idea was great and couldn't wait to read the humiliation of the reader who e-mailed. Also, the editor thinks this is a great idea and wants other authors to begin doing it (according to the author).

What I found out is that I was not alone. This kind of revenge is not something most people agree with. Some of the responses to my question had great points and I thought I'd share a few (I am not including names, as both groups are members only, though anyone can join :) you just have to before you're privvy to the posts).

1 - The concept of the revenge is hilarious. The manner in which it was executed and then bragged about is NOT.

I agree with this whole heartedly. It is one thing to do something that only you and maybe a few people know about. To brag about it. To make sure that people are looking for the readers shame so that they may revel in it, is quite another.

2 - Isn't bragging about the fact the character is indeed modeled on and named after some one, though changed just a bit as to avoid being sued, still grounds for a lawsuit?

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, I'm not even smart enough to know where to find a definite answer to this. Now, if I were Jane at Dear Author, I'd know. That chick is amazing. But alas, I'm not. I did entertain the idea of e-mailing her and asking her what she thought, but I chickened out. Anyway, that is an interesting idea. I would think, and again I don't know for sure, that it would be grounds for the reader to sue. The author makes it known you will know what scene is about this reader. She makes it known that the name is so very close that her friends and family will know who she's referring. To me, that sounds like grounds for a suit. Maybe defamation of character? Not sure. Anyone know? I mean, after all isn't this in the fine print at the begining of every fictional book: ...and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, .... is entirely coincidental.

3 - By the author publicly announcing this, they are very much so acting like a very large bully.

From Dictionary.com - –noun

1.	a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people.

I'm not saying that the reader is smaller or weaker. What I am saying is that I assume this person to be an average joe, whereas the author is known. The author is using her name as a published entity to belittle and mock some one who may or may not have the same outlet or reach. They preach against bullying in schools. I tell my kids daily they are not to bully. Ever. In any way, shape or form. Bullying is bad. Turn the bullies in. And yes, I realize I am a hypocrite for not saying who the author is. But seriously people, I don't want to end up in one of her books! So unfortunately, I'm starting to feel like the bully wins.

I'm trying to use my very limited powers of google search to hunt down this editor of the authors so that I may contact them to ask a few questions about this. I'm very much interested in why the editor loves this idea enough to encourage it. Why the editor sees nothing wrong with it. I have no doubt my questions will go un-answered, but I still feel the need to try. Heck, I'm even thinking about contacting the agent of the author, asking if they know about the behavior. I think I'll wait tough, because I'd like to know about the legal angel here.

Anyway, those are some more thoughts. I'm like a dog with a bone people. This aggravates me! I really enjoyed this authors work, and in one blog post she tore that down. I don't think I'll ever be able to support those books again.

Take Care

Authors Getting Even AKA I QUOTED Victoria Laurie!

Update: I was trying to be nice in the following blog post about a certain author that I believed to be acting unproffesionally. Since I did not give credit where credit is due, let me just say now, that the author in question is Victoria Laurie.

OK, so I know I've been silent lately, and I'm sorry. Things will hopefully start looking up soon and I'll be regular again. In the meantime, I'm trying to get some things typed up and saved for later posting (but since I'm still on bloggers hit list, I have to do it in WORD).

So, just a little bit ago, as I'm working on a post I was reminded of a couple of series that should have books released soon. The thing is, I love the books, I just don't much care for the author and her online personality. Thankfully, I've been able to distance the work from its creator. But it has hindered my close watch on the newest book release.

Anyway, I head to the authors website to get the low down on the next two books and find myself drawn to her blog. I just wanted to see if maybe I was having an incredibly bad day and took everything the wrong way. However, what I found instead, really bothered me.

Here's the thing. Jenny Crusie posted on her blog Argh Ink a while back about reader letters, and I loved how the situation was handled on that one (here's the post linkage). This author though, isn't quite into so subtle. No. Basically, she posted in this blog entry about one particular letter she received from a reader that said they were a fan of one of her series, but thought the new series sucked eggs (actually, if the author is to be believed the person really slammed the new series).

I can't imagine how hard it would be to get one of those letters. I dream of being published, and I understand how hard writing can be, so I can imagine out heartbreaking it would be to receive such a letter. It is how the author handles it though, that irks me.

From the authors blog post: And so, come September…my little “fan” and some of her close friends and family will likely read about a character with a very similar name, (i.e. nearly identical but not enough to get me sued) depicted in one of the most comical and fabulously scandalous scenes within Death Perception. And trust me…this isn’t a scene which in any way flatters that character. :) (Also trust me….you’ll know it when you read it!)

This bothers me greatly. The author also talks about a reader on Amazon that was trashing her books and how she has gotten those posts removed (because obviously this person has never read the books) and how this person has something against her yet she's a complete stranger. I know the review system on Amazon is flawed. I know some people go way out of their way to be mean on there. BUT, the revenge she is talking about taking in the same manner as she did with the other reader seems wrong to me. She even mentions the Amazon "reviewers" screen name.

The author finishes her blog post with this little bit of advice: And by the way - anyone else out there thinking they can just arbitrarily slam an author and feel good about being particularly nasty…be warned….my editor thinks this concept of mine is hilarious and she’s going to suggest the idea to her other authors who are fed up with being targets for the mentally deranged…in other words I’d advise being very careful whom you choose to direct a personal barb at lest your alter ego appear in a less than flattering way in that author’s next book.

Is it just me or does this seem ridiculous? I can understand the appeal of such revenge. I cannot understand the appeal of making it known to several thousand readers, some of which may recognize the reader being mentioned. Because now that reader will be publicly humiliated when the author was NOT. As long as that book is in circulation, that person will be forever mocked. When their greatest crime could have been flying off the handle after a world shattering bad day. When they could have had everything ripped out from under them the day that wrote that letter. Should they pay for one letter that vented everything, albeit to the wrong person? I think this is wrong. What about you? Am I being silly to be upset by this? Help me understand peeps!

Take Care

Novel Chats Part III

Or, at least, I think it's part III. Not real sure. Yeah, I'm late. I'm sorry about that. Remember I said I was overwhelmed? Well, that was nothing. Nothing, compared to what is going on right now. I really just want to crawl in bed, pull the covers over my head, and never come out again. The kidlets, however, would not look too kindly upon this, so here I am. Anyway, I'm sorry for my silence. You didn't come here to listen to me whine anyway, that's why I keep a personal blog. So let me just get on with it...

Live Alone And Like It by Marjorie Hillis

This is a Non-Fiction book, and normally, you just won't find me reading them. However, if this is what Non-Fiction is like, count me in! I absolutely adored reading this. Originally written in 1936 LAALI is now re-released by Hachette Book Group USA. Do not let the title fool you. This is a book that has some great advice for any woman, any where in her life. Hillis was for sure a woman so far ahead of her time, she makes Gene Roddenberry look positively contemporary. You'll laugh out loud at this one and at the same time, you'll find yourself re-examining certain aspects of your life for the better. Whatever the stage of life you are in, you should read Live Alone And Like It, because I can almost guarantee you'll LOVE IT! Definite A for this one.

The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square by Rosina Lippi

There were a lot of things right with this one, although, there were also a lot of things wrong, too. I enjoy a great Women's Fiction story, always have, always will. That said, I came to reading through Fantasy and Romance, so it has to be a great WF for me to really enjoy the book. This was not a great book. It was simply OK, for me. First of all, the protag in this one gets very little "head" time. Mostly, we see it through her hero's POV, and given many circumstances I enjoy that, this one was one I did not. He was a good character. He went through an amazing character arc. The heroine, however, crept towards the finish only to sprint so fast I nearly missed her growth. Also, the title is GIRLS, not GIRL, so the fact that I hardly knew the other woman that had a sub-plot (and she was FAR more interesting) really bothered me. I wanted more about this woman, her character was deep and we never got past the shallow end with her. All in all, the story line was good, just not particularly written in a fashion I enjoy. I give this one a B-.

Your Coffin of Mine by Kimbery Raye

I've read and reviewed the first two books in this series, here and here. As you can see, I thought the books were just OK, but I did enjoy them. Same with this one. Actually, I enjoyed this one more than the other two. This still isn't a series I rush out to get. In fact, as I went to Raye's website, I saw that the fourth book is released and I didn't know that until just now. I do enjoy the series enough though, that as soon as I get some cashola, I'll be buying the newest. Lil Marchette, the narrator of this tale is not the most original of characters. She isn't the most likable either, but I think that's the biggest part of her appeal. I've started the series, so that means I'll be finishing it. I'll enjoy it, I'm sure, as I have enjoyed every other book so far. If you're feeling in a bit of a funk, brain dead, or otherwise in need of some mindless fun, I say read this series. I give it a solid B.

Take Care

Winner Announced!

Well, I never did hear from the Grand Prize Winner of the Angie Fox contest, so I threw all the names back in and the winner of both the book and the tee was WORDVIXEN. Since I already have that address I will be forwarding it on to Angie so she can send out the book.

And since WordVixen was a tee winner, I drew another name for that prize and it is MARGAY. Please e-mail at novelreads at g mail dot com as soon as possible with your snail mail addy and size.

The winner of my Speed Contest is ArkiRN. Also, since I have a couple of copies of the book, Cathy, you get one too. If you would both send me your snail mail addy, I'll get those in the mail.

And yes, Dumb A$$, is what Dumas stands for. My poor, cute, cuddly kitty! We were joking, because we absolutely adore cats at our house, but the first day we brought him in, he laid on one side of the food bowl to eat, spilled the water bowl and licked it off the floor, and scratched the wall instead of the litter. He is awfully cute, just not very bright LOL

Thanks all who took a guess! Later today I'll post a review, so check back!

Take Care