My to-be-read pile is a scary mountain that makes me hyperventilate every time I see it. I’ve got small hills of books all over the house and it drives Tim a little crazy. I’m pretty sure he’s not planning to set them on fire, but sometimes, when he gets home after a hard day at work, he looks at my little piles with disdain and says, “Good God, can’t you keep your books in one place?” The answer is no. No, I can’t. You see, there’s a method to my madness. The ones in my immediate vicinity are to be read immediately. Probably. That means the pile on the twin bed in my office. There’s also a pile on the coffee table in the living room. Those are next. I think. My mother says my house is a fire hazard. She doesn’t understand, either. There are also books on the headboard shelf thingey. I don’t know when I’m supposed to read those. I’ve forgotten. I recently found a Lisa Kleypas book there, though, that I completely forgot I had, and I finished it. So there. Not to mention all the books I’ve started and set down with a promise to finish later. *Sigh* I’m sitting on the twin bed right now with my computer on my lap and there are a ton of books surrounding me. Here are some of them:

[I’m on page 169 of this one. ↓]

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing — not even a smear of blood — to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundane like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Return to the sensual netherworld of Demon Angel for a startling romance of eternal love threatened by the consuming darkness of a Demon Moon…

No one would call vampire Colin Ames-Beaumont kind, but they would call him unnaturally beautiful. For two centuries his tainted blood has kept him isolated from other vampires, sustained only by his beauty and vanity—bitter comforts, since a curse has erased his mirror reflection, replacing it with a terrifying glimpse of Chaos.

Savi Murray’s insatiable curiosity had gotten her into trouble before, but she’d always escaped unscathed. Then came Colin. In the midst of Heaven, he gave her a taste of ecstasy—and of Chaos. Deadly creatures from that realm herald the return of an imprisoned nosferatu horde, and Colin and Savi’s bond is their only protection—and their only passion…

(more…)

Umm… I was looking through Google Images for pictures of Jamie Bamber and found this. Neither Jamie nor Bamber, methinks. Discuss. Um… but they are hot. What are they advertising here? Jeans? The subjugation of women? Hmm. Whatever. Click on the image for a larger version.

Grade: B+

Man, I’ve been reading a bunch of Laura Kinsale historical romances lately that I’ve completely forgotten how fun a “fluffy” historical could be. I picked up this book ’cause I wanted to just lay down for a couple of hours and read something —-anything, really—- and found my self totally engrossed with this thing. In fact, I devoured it in three and a half hours. I know this because I picked it up at 8:30 and was finished with it by midnight. It’s hot, clever, smart, and the two romantic leads are just to-die-for! It reminded me of the early Julia Quinn books —-you know, before she got stuck in her Bridgerton funk—- and I just wanted to keep reading about these delightful people. The prose is clean, the characters are reasonable people who actually sit down and talk, the dialogue comes fast and clever, and the sex is delicious. Sure, there were a couple of things I had a problem with —-like what the hell does it have to do with the fairytale, The Raven Prince—- and other nitpicky things, but on the whole, this debut book was a blast and I can’t wait to read the sequels. Squeee!

(more…)

Grade: B-

Dear Bam,

Am I a glutton for punishment? Some might definitely say so. Others might say I’m only an amateur since I’ve never subjected myself to LKH’s Anita Blake. But hey, I read every Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark-Hunter book except for the last two or three (I stopped keeping count). Why? Ummm… because I like to poke myself in the eye with a fork. I also realized that J. R. Ward did the whole alpha vampire-series with sex way better. But for some reason, when a series starts off right, I keep trying the next one… and the next one, always thinking that the author will find the brilliance, the plot turn, the characterization that grabbed me in the first place. Well, Anne Stuart is back! I can’t say that she’s back with all of the strength that drew me to Bastien in Black Ice, but this book was significantly more enjoyable than Cold As Ice.
(more…)

Annie Dean tagged me with this meme and I’ve a mind to kick her ass for it, but she DID call me a Blogger that makes her Think. Ooh. I don’t really try to be all “controversial” and stuff with my posts… with me, it’s like, “whatever, it’s good for a laugh”. It’s kind of cool to think, though, that maybe I do make people think. Or that they simmer about something I said all day. Sexy. Well, enough about me: here are the folks (and websites) that I read daily and make me go “hmm…”

Dear Author: These ladies provide more eloquent, more detailed, more critical reviews than I can ever hope to write, but it is their Letters of Opinion on Tuesdays that definitely keep me glued. Bring on the drama!

Karen Scott: She’s crazy, she’s wacky, and she don’t back down from no one. But behind all the snark and the “fucktard” and the “bleedin’, soddin’, blimey” stuff, this girl’s all heart. She brings attention to issues that most people would prefer to ignore and is smart as a whip about it. Her Great Racism in Publishing Survey was inspired and introduced some “new to me” writers to… um, well… me.

Sybil: Syb does a great job spotlighting new authors that would have gone under the radar for me if I hadn’t read about them on her blog. Her book reviews are insightful and intelligent and her writing voice is sassy, sometimes confrontational, but always powerful. I love this chick.

Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Novels: The title says it all.

Mrs. Giggles: I can’t even begin to describe the love and affection I have for this woman. I have been visiting her site since I was, like… a teenager. I don’t always agree with her —some of her Keepers put me to sleep and she’s loathed some of the greatest books I’ve read — but damn if I don’t respect her right to give her opinion. Even if she trashes my book, I’ll keep on loving her and wear her “45″ like a badge of pride. She’s… she’s the cantankerous grandmother I never had. Oh, and it pisses me off like you wouldn’t believe when people talk shit about her… so quit it. Seriously. [Not that she needs me defending her! ]

If you aren’t familiar with the Thinking Blogger Award, these are the rules:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,

3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.