I cut my reading teeth on The Babysitters’ Club books by Ann M. Martin, R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series, Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley High books (which I understand are supposed to be getting a makeover— no, the Wakefields are still assholes, but HEY! They’re slimming down from a size 6 to a size 4! Schyeah, ’cause they were so fat before. Anorexia is sexy!), and the awesome teen paranormal romance books by Annette Curtis Klause. I abandoned those books in favor of Jayne Ann Krentz, Linda Howard, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips when I turned 13. Oddly enough, it wasn’t until I turned twenty-something that I re-discovered my love for Young Adult books. I mean, have y’all read Melissa Marr, the House of Night books by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast, Stephanie Meyer, and Libba Bray? These kids are reading heavy-duty quality stuff! A Great and Terrible Beauty was frickin’ brilliant! The teens in these stories are definitely not worrying about what flavor lip gloss to use, who Logan Bruno— BMOC, natch— is taking to the winter formal, or how to effectively pop zits… they’re having to face real world issues like a father dying in Iraq, mini existential crises, drugs, being sexually harassed by a step-parent… awesome real stuff… and six of these stories are compiled in this very entertaining anthology by some of my favorite writers, the motiff of which is staying up all night, when you’re supposed to be in bed, dreaming about Logan Bruno.

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I recently blogged about my disenchantment with contemporary romance, and concluded that it was the lack of compelling conflict that was the problem for me. For me, believable conflict is thinner on the ground in contemporary romance than in any other sub-category of romance. Whereas in historicals - disapproving governesses, slutty rakes - and in paranormals - blood-suckers, death, immortality - the conflict is right there, bred into the bones of the story.

I should have added to my post that M/M romance is another sub-genre with built-in conflict. If I had done so, I could have neatly quoted Jay, one of the protaganists from Bonnie Dee’s new novel, Undeniable Magnetism:

“Daring to trust is hard enough in any relationship, but for a gay man it’s compounded. There’s a lot more at stake than two guys who happen to like each other and want to become involved. There’s a whole raft of outside issues impacting them.”

With M/M romance, you don’t need to manufacture a WTF storyline or a Big Mis to provide the conflict. You can have your Romeo and Juliet (or Romeo and Mercutio) doing their ‘You And Me Against The World, Baby’. Conflict - sorted.

And so, in this book we get two rather lovely men - Jay and Simon - who fall headlong for each other but who have a few obstacles to negotiate on the path to their HEA.

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Bam,

Someone recently asked me if I was enjoying maternity leave. I’m supposed to enjoy sleepless nights and the inability to nap when the baby naps (that’s what they tell you to do so that you don’t completely lose your mind) since I have twins that need my attention during the day as well? Before you call Child Protection Services on me, note that I adore my little Handsome Pants. And the girls are…warming up to him. Thank goodness! But I didn’t write you just to lament that my time off isn’t being spent blissfully sleeping and catching up on television. Know what I do during the 3 a.m. feeding? Read! Yep, HP rests on my left forearm, which is the hand that holds the book, while the right holds the bottle. I need some more books. I also need time to write reviews of said books. With that in mind, I read Nalini Singh’s Mine to Possess.

For those of you who haven’t read Slave to Sensation (or any of the other books in the Psy/Changeling series), please note that while Nalini does a commendable job of briefly tying in previous plots and characters without completely retelling, this series builds on itself. The Psy/Changeling world is a complex place, with extremely well fleshed-out personalities and significant plot lines that tie in from the prior novels. If you haven’t read the previous books in the series, you are missing out on great writing, great romance, great fantasy and great world-building, which make each pass in the Psy/Changeling world more interesting and exciting. Nalini has an ability to write (at current count) four books that do not repeat each other in terms of plot, tension or characterization. For that alone, I think it’s worth reading each of these books.

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Teddy Pig, who does a great line in - well, great lines, described this book as ‘Regency Gayness in Space’. And I couldn’t put it better myself. And before I go any further - I can’t hold it back - I liked this book.

Ok …. rewind.

The Cover

I don’t generally like mantitty covers, but…. this is a mantitty cover with hair. And I’m already officially on record as liking moustaches [Bam: Grody!]. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’m partial to a hairy chest. Yes, I likes me the hirsute fellows.

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Grade: B+

The horror of reading Bedded, or Wedded? last week sent me running back to the safety of my keeper shelf and the first thing I reached for was an old beloved comfort read, Obsession, by my favourite ever Mills and Boon author, Charlotte Lamb. I fucking love this book. *Sighs happily*.

The Cover

The UK cover is one of the classic ‘black rose’ covers of the late 70s/early 80s. Love these black rose covers - so kitsch with their garish colours and the piss-poor paintings on the covers. Every time I look at one, I feel nostalgic fondness.

In 1980, when Obsession was first published, I was seven. My mum was a big Mills & Boon fan and she kept her stash hidden away in my wardrobe. Me and my friends used to get piles of them out and lay them out on my bedroom floor, trying to decide who was the prettiest heroine or the handsomest hero (and because I was seven, I always picked out a Violet Winspear one with a h/h that looked like Ken and Barbie).

The cover of Obsession has a perfect 1980 aesthetic. With that haircut and outfit and the very perky boobies, the heroine is totally channelling Jane Fonda in Nine to Five, which is kind of appropriate seeing as this is one of those boss/secretary romances. And can I just say that I love the title? I hate the long tabloidy headlines Mills & Boon use now. This is just one word, and it’s relevant to the story. Nice.

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