Grade: B+

Hello, kids. It is Ai and I’m back. Heh. I’m so funny. Or I somehow got Bam’s cold thru the internets and I’ve been chugging down NyQuil non-stop. Anyway, I was stuck in bed all day yesterday, so it was a good thing I had Charlaine Harris’ book to keep me company— especially since I refused to turn on the teevee in fear of hearing more about HRC’s delusions of actually beating Barry to become the Democratic… no. I won’t talk about it anymore. I haven’t been happy with the last books, mostly because I didn’t like Sookie Stackhouse’s new boyfriend, Quinn, and I sincerely thought Sookie was turning into some icky Merry Gentry clone, what with her menagerie of men and all, but this book made me realize that Sookie would probably think Merry Gentry is pretty gross, too. I was quite happy with the story developments presented in this contribution to the series, especially since I approve of Sookie’s love interest — and you can always tell who would be Sookie’s love interest by looking at the front cover and hey, it’s a vampire and there isn’t a hint of a tiger’s tail… YES! — and I really like how Sookie is developing as a person. The only thing that didn’t make this an A for me is that the book felt bloated with characters. There are so many people in this book— I know that part of this series’ charm is the citizens of Bon Temps— that the constant revolving door of folks wanting to talk to Sookie or assaulting Sookie drove me a little crazy. Poor Sookie didn’t have a second to herself. My favorite part: ERIC-love galore! Oh, and the Redemption of Bill Compton. Maybe.

Oh, and spoilers abound in this review.

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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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Hello, beeeeetches. It is I, Ai! Grabe… your new fabulous reviewer, with my fabulous debut review of the only book I’ve been able to finish for the past few months. You see, I’ve been having this terrible problem. I love to read. I’ve been reading since I was… I don’t know, a fetus… and the FSM knows if I were the only WOMYN left alive on the planet full of those nasty vampire creatures from I Am Legend, I would totes be okay if I had in my possession every book I have ever wanted to read. True. Story. Speaking of stories, stop me before I tell you mine, lest I go back to, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” ON WITH THE REVIEW, AI! (FSM, I babble more than Bam tends to do) [Bam: Oh no you di’int, beeeyatch!] Where was I? Oh, yeah… Kresley Cole’s Dark Needs at a Night’s Edge was the ONE book that was able to pull me out of my reading funk. I received it in the mail, tore it open, sat down to read, and three hours later, Fini! It was great. And for that, it gets an A. Oh, and also, because it’s pretty great.

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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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Previously on Antiques Roadshow: Vampire Edition: Victoria goes to Italy to inspect some vampire happenings, Max is acting squirrelly, there’s some shit about some vampires trying to get a hold of A MAGICAL ITEM that will enable them to rule the world, Victoria and Sebastian argue and make out a lot, and Max does something really, really bad.

And now: Victoria acquires more responsibility and drama than she could ever handle, Max comes out of his funk still brooding and growly, Victoria’s mom and her cronies descend upon Italy to provide hilarity and shenanigans, Victoria and Sebastian argue and make out a lot, those damn vampires are still trying to get a hold of A MAGICAL ITEM that will enable them to rule the world, Victoria starts looking at Max in a totally different light (tramp!), we find out something about Sebastian that I already totally called from Book 1, AND Max has to make A VERY BIG DECISION that will change his life forevah. Oh, and Victoria is still crying and moaning about Philip even though she now has a stable of mens to worry about. Jesus, girl, shake the dwelling and get over it!

Do I gotta warn you people about spoilers?

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