Lady Fortescue Steps Out by M.C. Beaton

So, my amazon prime borrowed book of the month was:



It is short, and sort of expensive for the length at $5.59, but I've heard good things about M.C. Beaton (she writes the Agatha Raisin series) so I thought I would give it a go.

So glad I didn't buy it. So, so glad.

So, really, I don't have a lot to say about this book. The premise behind the book is that a whole bunch of "poor relations" get together in Regency London and start a sort of a hotel so they can make some money and live more comfortably. The premise was cute, and had promise.

Overall, though, the book really didn't work for me. I couldn't make up my mind if it was intended to be satire (not biting enough), comedy (not funny enough) or romance (not romantic enough). The characters, who should've been sympathetic, were mostly extremely unlikeable.

The central romance between the Duke and the character whose name I can't even remember (not a good thing in a romance novel) was pretty cute. Overall, though, I won't be checking any more of these out. Thanks, Prime, for giving me a free chance to decide that they aren't for me.

2 stars -- only because it is reasonably well-written. I expected better.

Review: Playing for Keeps by R.L. Mathewson

Review for:



This book has been getting a whole lotta love on Amazonlandia in the romance forum. Since it clocks in at a mere 99 cents, I had to give it a try. It wasn't really my cup of tea.

So, Plot Summary:

Haley lives next door to the neighbor from hell, Jason, a hot, hunky slice of manflesh who has utterly terrible manners. He urinates outside. His drunk friends try to sneak over their fence so they can swim in her pool. He is a teacher at the same high school where she teaches, and he occasionally breaks into her classroom to steal, erm, borrow, teaching aids. Haley can't stand him, but she is a doormat, so she never does anything about it, until the day that he tries to pull up her grandmother's tulips. She freaks out and tackles him to get him to stop, they are nearly attacked by a horde of angry bees, and end up fleeing, together, into her house until an exterminator can be called to take care of the yellow jacket nest that he has disturbed.

And so it begins. Since Haley is not Jason's type, he adopts her as his pet slash friend. He decides that no one interested in Haley is good enough to date her, and he chases them off. His jealousy can't be because he is, himself, secretly infatuated with Haley. No way, she's not his type. Or is she?

Review:

Generally, I felt like the book was fairly well-written and probably succeeded in terms of what the author intended to do. I didn't see any major issues with the writing or the formatting. There were some minor issues related to homonyms/proofreading (I specifically remember band instead of banned, although that's the only one I remember right now) but they didn't detract so greatly from my enjoyment that I would give the book a poor review based on that alone. Mathewson has a breezy, casual writing style that is fun to read.

So, why didn't it work for me, especially since I have enjoyed many books enjoyed by some of the other readers who really liked this book? I think it really boils down to the characters. I felt like the author was so caught up in making the situations funny and the characters over-the-top that I just didn't believe in any of it. I was looking for a book about characters that could convince me that their romance was real. I didn't find that here. Basically every single character was completely one-dimensional.

Let me provide an example in Haley's dad. We've got our heroine, who is a high school teacher with a college degree. She is 24. She owns her own home. She is bright, and intelligent and really self-sufficient. And her dad is such a cliche of the emotionally distant wealthy guy that he doesn't have any idea when her birthday is, that he doesn't know how old she is, and he thinks she runs a day care, which is beneath her and beneath her family background. This just didn't work for me. None of Haley's family, save her grandmother, had any redeeming qualities at all. It doesn't ring true. With the possible exception of Bernie Madoff, human beings are not so completely bereft of positive qualities.

More importantly, though, I think that this book was intended to be a romantic comedy. There were parts of it that I found funny, but overall, I really didn't like the relationship between Jason and Haley. I didn't see Jason as a jealous, loving man who is just too emotionally unaware to realize that he has fallen in love. I saw him as an immature, petulant brat who only wanted a toy until he broke it. In real life, he deserves to have someone key his car (not that I'm advocating vandalism). The scene of the book that happened by the pool broke my heart, and nothing that happened after that redeemed it for me. I liked Haley, and I wanted her to find someone who loved her and valued her, since there didn't seem to be a single person in her life who saw her as a competent, loveable person,including her so-called friends. I just didn't think that Jason was that person.

So, ultimately, this book didn't work for me. The over-the-top characterizations and situations left me empty. I can see how the book might work for a different reader, who is looking for something light and frothy, and doesn't take it too seriously. I was expecting something different, & I think I did take it too seriously. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

I gave the book 3 stars on amazon. Here, I'd probably give it 2 1/2. Plus, the cover is lazy.

Blog update and other stuff

I'm going to try really hard to wrap up my February reading by the end of February, because I am planning on trying something that I hope will be fun for March.

I'm going to have a theme month. Now, I haven't decided on a theme, but whatever that theme turns out to be (short of books about dwarves, or something like that), I am sure that I have enough books in my TBR list for a month's worth of reading in just about any genre. So, I'm thinking about a mystery theme, or a UF theme, or a shifter theme, or a time travel theme, or something. I will unveil the March theme on March 1.

So, just as an update, I have the following books still to blog for February:

Skinwalker
Extreme Exposure
Playing for Keeps
Dark Needs at Night's Edge
Lady Fortescue Steps Out (my Prime borrowed book)

and, if I finish it tonight:

Dark Desires After Dusk

So, I have my work cut out for me. Dang, and it seemed like I was so close to caught up!

I just realized that

this blog has a very high ripped abs to post ratio.

I need to read some UF. This is getting embarrassing.

Books I bought this weekend

Dammit. Any reason is a good reason to buy books. Tax refund showed up in the bank account. So, I bought:


[nice abs]
7.99 +


[you, too]
7.99 +


[wait, where're the abs?]
7.99 +


[why does every YA paranormal have a pretty girl in a ball gown in some nature setting on the cover?]
9.99 = 33.96

Plus, my mom bought this one for the account:


[I have nothing to say about this cover . . . ]

And, since I didn't pay for it, I'm pretending like it is free.

Book Chat: Agents of Innocence and the Old School Spy Novel

So, instead of just reviewing:



I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about spy books. Because I struggled with finishing Agents of Innocence, and my personal theory on this is that it is so old school that my new school brain had trouble dealing with the very slow pace of this book.

I grew up reading spy novels, written by the masters of espionage -- Helen MacInnes and Len Deighton and Ken Follett -- written in the 1960's through the 1980's. As it turns out, Agents of Innocence was written in the 1980's and it was set in the Beirut of the 1970's. And back in the day, spy books weren't always the constant shoot 'em up, gadget-fest, action-packed books that they are today. Helen MacInnes (whom I loved, by the way) wrote books about pretty damsels in distress and the handsome men who saved them from bad guys during the cold war. Follet's Eye of the Needle was a masterful exploration of how to write suspense.

Books written during the cold war were different. They were much less technology centered, and much more intelligence focused. While I know almost nothing about actual spycraft, it seems to me that it is probably quite boring to be in the intelligence business, 99% of the time. Of course, there must be those moments of heartstopping terror, but they likely just don't come along all that often.

Which is why, I think, that the old school spy novel feels so different from the Lee Child thriller. They are not non-stop action. And, in the case of Agents of Innocence, David Ignatius spent a lot of time on spycraft, intelligence gathering, agent recruitment and relationship building, and very little time on explosions, gunfights, torture, car chases, or MacGuyver-esque escapes. 3 1/2 stars.

DNF - Golden Trail and Boneshaker

So, at least for now, I'm calling these:




and




as DNF's (did not finish).

Golden Trail is just not very good. I really don't care about any of the characters in the book. I have much higher hopes for the next one in the 'burg series.

Boneshaker is good, but it just isn't what I am looking for in a read right now. I am about 38% done & I'll probably give it another go when I cycle back around to straight fantasy and/or speculative fiction.

Review: Play It Safe by Kristen Ashley

One of the amazonians loaned me this book, with the caveat that she didn't think that it was one of Kristen Ashley's best efforts. Having read it, I would have to say that I agree.



Overall, I would rate it at 3 stars. It is one of the least engaging of Ms. Ashley's books that I have read, although I can't exactly explain why. Gray, the hero, was really almost too good to be true, and the heroine, Ivey, was, for an extremely smart girl, pretty darned dumb. It had all of the usual Kristen Ashley ingredients: a couple of really unlikeable villains, some persecution, a fair amount of vindictive criminal behavior, way too many descriptions of Ivey's stylish clothes and expensive shoes, and the whole "star-crossed lover" aspect that is a common feature of the Ashley romance.

Play It Safe just felt uninspired.

Review: Fury of Fire by Coreene Callahan

I picked this one up for 3.99. It's book 1 in a new PNR/UF series with dragon shifters.




Overall, I really enjoyed it. It is set in Seattle, Washington, which is, of course, about 4 hours north of my kitchen table, where this review is being written. There are good guys and bad guys: the Nightfury dragon clan is the good guys, while the Razorbacks are the bad guys. The basic premise of the book is that the dragon shifters, who stay under the radar of human society, are all male and lack the ability to produce dragon females through reproduction. This means that, in order to reproduce, they must mate with humans. Unfortunately, as sort of a cosmic joke on the dragons, human females always die while bearing dragon young. The world building is interesting and I really liked the author's use of the energy concept.

The heroine of the book is Myst Munroe, a nurse practitioner who is first to the scene when a patient gives birth to her half-dragon son. Caroline dies during the birthing process. Myst is taken, along with the baby, to the lair of the Nightfury dragons, where she bonds with the leader, Bastian. She is an exceptionally strong human female, and becomes the subject of a tug of war between Bastian and Ivar, the leader of the Razorbacks. Ivar has big, and not very friendly, plans for humanity.

A number of the reviews on amazon suggested that this book is very similar to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, written by J.R. Ward, and that this detracted from the reader's pleasure in the story. I haven't read BDB, so I can't speak to that. I did thoroughly enjoy this first in a series. Bastian is a very powerful hero, and Myst is no shrinking violet. Their mating was convincing. The dragon males are all, of course, fiercly masculine warriors who are highly attractive to the women they use for feeding and mating.

The book is well-written and well-edited, as well. I noticed very few proofing errors. The dialogue is convincing, and the characters are complex enough to be individually interesting. Ms. Callahan introduced a number of interesting secondary characters: Rikar, Angela Keene, and Forge, all of whom I expect to see again in future novels. Overall, I'd rate it 4 stars. I've already pre-ordered book 2:




which is scheduled for release on June 5.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for a political rant

This post contains a great deal of vulgarity because I am a very vulgar person. Continue reading at your peril.

How is it that I live in a country where a man like Rick Santorum can be taken seriously as a potential presidential candidate for one of the two major parties? At what point did we, as a country, head back into the dark areas where women's health is a political football, and access to contraception was controversial?

Let me say two things. First of all, to Foster Friess, who apparently equates being sexually active with being an irresponsible slut, may I remind you that married women have sex, too. Who the fuck are you to suggest that contraception is easy so long as I keep my legs shut? I sincerely hope that you never again find yourself within 50 feet of a woman who doesn't have an aspirin firmly fixed between her knees. Including your wife, you misogynistic jackhole.

Second of all, to the Republican party. What the hell? How am I supposed to take you seriously when Rick Santorum is taken seriously. The man said this:

“I vote and have supported birth control because it is not the taking of human life. But I’m not a believer in birth control and artificial birth control. I think it goes down the line of being able to do whatever you want to do without having the responsibility that comes with that. I think it breaks that … this is from a personal point of view of, from a governmental point of view I support that Title X,” he said.

Any asshole who thinks that my decision not to have a third (or fourth or fifth or tenth) child within my committed marriage means that I (and not my husband?) want to be "able to do whatever [I] want to do without having the responsibility that comes with that," can literally go fuck himself.

That is all.

Rough Riders by Lorelei James, Books 5 through 8

So, back to Lorelei James Rough Riders Series.

Book 5: Raw, Rough and Ready:



We step away from the McKay men in this book, to focus on Trevor Glanzer, who is already married to Chassie West, sister of Dag West. Trevor Glanzer made an appearance in book 1, as Colby's best friend and riding partner. At the beginning of the book, Trevor and Chassie are living on Chassie's family property, building a marriage and trying to make ends meet. Chassie has been essentially left without family. Her parents are dead, and her brother, Dag, was killed near the end of book 4 in a tractor accident.

Chassie is a sweetheart with a steel core, who is fully invested in her relationship with her husband. Early in the book, Trevor's old rodeo partner, Edgard, returns from Brazil for, they believe, a visit. This book takes on some delicate subjects very successfully, including the relationship between Edgard and Trevor. Because, of course, Edgard is in love with Trevor, and Trevor has a deep attachment to Edgard. Raw, Rough and Ready is not a book for the faint of heart, nor is it a book that will resonate with a person who believes that true love can only be found in pairs. Some of the subject matter is uncomfortable.

There is a tremendous amount of self-sacrifice in this book. Ultimately, while I enjoyed Raw, Rough and Ready, of all of the Rough Riders books, this one took the most risks. Ms. James is way on out a limb in this one. And, while I enjoyed it, I am not convinced that the relationship described in this book is sustainable on a long-term basis, nor did I feel that the level of acceptance experienced by Trevor, Chassie and Edgard was realistic, particularly given the setting of a conservative Wyoming community.

Book 6: Branded as Trouble:



The sixth book is about Colt McKay, troubled son of Carson McKay. When this book begins, Colt has been sober for three years, and is living proof that being a recovering alcoholic is not an easy row to hoe, especially when your family thinks that you are worthless drunk. His AA sponsor, and the heroine, is India Ellison, sister of Sky McKay, who is now happily married to Kade McKay. India is a tattoo artist who owns her own shop in Sundance, Wyoming. Colt is in love with India, but hesitates to let her know, because she is also his best, and in some ways only, friend.

This is probably the most complex of the series so far. For a slender little romance novel, it tackles big themes: failure and the ability to change, and challenging societal expectations, and, most importantly, what does a person do when they have changed, but no one notices or believes that the change is real? Because this is Colt McKay's story. One of my absolute favorite scenes in the series happens in this book, when Colt's brothers, Cord and Colby, are replaying their refrain about how many times Colt has let them down, and Cam, the war hero of the family, steps in to defend Colt. His impassioned and articulate defense causes Colt's family to see Colt in a whole new light. It was perceptively written, and made me want to cheer. Because dammit, I was sick of that family treating Colt like he was a worthless loser.

Which leads me to another point about this series. This family is dysfunctional, and James doesn't sugarcoat it. Casper, Carson's brother, is flat out a miserable jackass, a fact which becomes painfully apparent in one of the later books. Being a McKay is a blessing and a curse, and it is not all Wyoming sunsets and pretty scenery. James does a great job exposing her characters weaknesses as well as their strengths.

The romance between Colt and Indie demonstrates the depth of Colt's emotional growth and maturity over the series. Branded As Trouble was one of my absolute favorite books of the series.

Book 7: Shoulda Been A Cowboy:



This is one of two books in the series where the hero isn't a cowboy, the other one being Keely's story. This book focuses on Cam, the McKay brother who has returned from deployment a hero, missing part of his leg. He has been hired on as a deputy sheriff for Sundance.

This book takes place basically simultaneously with Colt's story. Cam's love interest, Domini, was introduced in one of the earlier books. Domini works as a cook in the restaurant, and is an orphan who grew up in a Ukrainian orphanage. Both of them feel like they are less than whole human beings.

I wasn't sure about Domini when she was introduced in the earlier books. She seemed to be a weak character, and I frankly wasn't looking forward to seeing her featured as a heroine. In the end, though, I really liked this book about two damaged souls who managed to find wholeness together.

Moving on to Book 8: All Jacked Up



which is the only book featuring a female member of the McKay family! Finally, Keely McKay -- youngest sibling of the Carson McKay branch of the family -- gets her own story.

Keely is accustomed to being underestimated by her family. It isn't easy being the youngest, and especially when the youngest is also the only girl in a family of rough and tumble boys. Keely is a scrapper, and is a very strong female character. It's probably not surprising that she would avoid cowboys, and end up falling for business man, Jack Donohue.

This book was, at times, hard to read. Jack broke Keely's heart over and over. There were times when, as a reader, I wanted her to walk away and not look back. There were moments in the book where he was outright mean -- not abusive, but mean -- to her.

There were some of the same themes in this book that James used in Branded For Trouble. Not the substance abuse themes, but the idea that sometimes who we are becomes so well established in our youth that it is hard to be taken seriously as an adult. Keely McKay left her wild cowgirl persona behind a long time before this book, and yet her entire family treated her like she hadn't grown up a bit. So did Jack.

The book left me feeling a little bit let down, to be honest. Jack's redemption didn't quite do it for me. She deserved better.

Review: Wither

I just finished this one:



which falls into the general category of YA dystopian, same as Ashes, Ashes.

Wither is set in the unidentified future, and starts from the premise that, approximately 70 years earlier or thereabouts, humanity learned how to genetically engineer children who would be in perfect physical condition their whole lives. This eradicated cancer and other childhood diseases, as well as congenital defects. These people, called "First Generation" are genetically perfect and extremely long-lived. The experiment was a resounding success.

Except, of course, it wasn't. Because as the First Generation went on to procreate, their own children turned out to be victims of an inalterable, and mysterious, ailment that kills them in their youth. Females live to be 20. Males live to 25. And in this world, the wealthy live behind gates, and they steal brides for their boys to make babies that are born to, probably, die, and the geneticists continue to seek a cure for the disease that is killing their children. Add to this a post-apocalyptic world where all but North America is gone (or at least believed to be gone) and you have the violent, misogynistic world of Wither.

The MC, Rhine, was kidnapped out of New York, separated from her twin brother Rowan, and shipped to Florida as a bride for Linden, 20 year old son of Housemaster Vaughn. Linden's first wife, Rose, is on her deathbed from the disease when Rose, Cecily and Jenna arrive at the house, having been abducted and bought by the Gatherers.

What comes next is told from the perspective of Rhine. It is a limited narrative, and we only learn what Rhine learns as she learns it, but what we do learn is enough to horrify us. Cecily, the youngest bride, is a mere 13 years old when her marriage to Linden is consummated, and she becomes pregnant. Rhine, 16 years old, rapidly develops into Linden's favorite. And Jenna, 18 years old and only 2 years away from death, hates Linden but has decided that this place that she is in is as good a place to die as any. There is precious little warmth and almost zero hope for any of these girls.

Wither is well-written, and at times the horror of the book is hidden beneath beautiful prose. The mansion, where the brides are kept captive, is a gilded cage, with hologram games and a pool, and an orange grove. Linden is a remarkably weak and oblivious young man. Even at the end of the book, the reader is left with more questions than answers, particularly about Linden's father, Housemaster Vaughn.

There are some things that don't make sense, and this book does require a willing suspension of disbelief. There is no real explanation of how, and why, people universally stopped reproducing naturally, and the reader is led to believe that there are no naturally-procreated human beings left. I suspect that the reader will find, in Fever, that this is not true, and that there are enclaves of "real," and by real I mean, of course, naturally conceived, human beings that are living secretly, away from the population of the First Generation and their doomed offspring.

I anxiously await Fever:



scheduled for publication on February 21. One burning question does present itself -- who on earth thought that cover was a good idea? That ugly ass cover gets my "WTF" award for the week.

What I'm reading

As I expected I would, I finished the Lorelei James Rough Riders series yesterday. I also finished Daughter of Smoke & Bone, which is reviewed below.

Reviewing the James series is going to take some time. I will probably work on it over my lunch hour tomorrow.

Other than those books, I am all caught up on my reviews, except for Agents of Innocence, by Ignatius. And, dang it, that book took me forever to read, & I delayed reviewing it from sheer laziness, which means I am going to have to do at least a quick recap before I write it up.

Review: Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs

So, I flippin' love Molly Harper.



Why do I love Molly Harper? Well, because she names her books things like "Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs" and "How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf." And she is funny. Like, sitting in my favorite reading chair and laughing out loud making my husband think I am crazy funny.

I've read two of her books -- this one, and the aforementioned:



I loved them both, although I must say that I loved the werewolf book just a tiny bit more.

So, without providing a plot summary, which anyone can get by taking a look at the product description, besides the fact that I think Molly Harper is hilarious, what is so great about this book?

I love Jane, the good-girl-turned-into-a-vampire. I loved the H, who is her vampire sire, and who is one seriously sexy vamp. I especially loved the secondary characters: Jane's best friend is terrific, and the secondary plot related to his romance is very nice. Jane's family is delightfully awful. Her mother is a monumental pain in the ass, and her sister is even worse.

I did figure out what was going on with Jane substantially before Jane did, so in that sense, I did see the plot twist coming. But it was so much fun getting there, that I didn't really care. Plus, a lighthearted PNR is a refreshing change from all of the angst, darkness and dramatic mate claiming that so often is the point of this type of book. 4 stars.

Review: Law Man by Kristen Ashley

Law Man is the third book in the Dream Man series. I have heard rumors that it will be the next to last book in the series, with the last book intended to be Tack's story.



I really liked Law Man. As far as the Dream Man series goes, each book, in my opinion, has gotten progressively better. I was not crazy about Mystery Man. I really liked Wild Man. I liked Law Man better than either of those. It rivals Sweet Dreams as my favorite of the KA books I've read.

As far as the plot goes, it is typical KA. The H is Detective Mitch Lawson, who has been a character in each of the preceding Dream Man books. I've been waiting a while for Mitch's story, because I just had a feeling that he would be my favorite H in the series. He was. He is yummy . . . strong and protective, with a kind streak a mile wide. He actively pursues the h, which is a nice change from some of the other books, and, in fact, has to work very, very hard to convince her that he is serious, and that he is the guy for her. The h, Mara, has had a rough go, but is bone-deep decent. Her self-esteem issues were significant, but were well explained by her childhood.

Some of the secondary characters in this book were also fantastic characterizations. Mara's mom and aunt were over the top, but very amusing, and the scene where Mara finally stands up for herself is awesome. Mara's boss is a wonderful character, as are her neighbors. One of this authors particular strengths is in characterizations, and this book is no exception to that rule.

Much of the obligatory KA drama was present in this book -- there are bad guys, criminal bad guy drama to deal with, and a number of the characters from the prior Rock Chick/Dream Man series make an appearance. Elvira, one of my favorite characters, shows up for a pair of highly amusing cameo appearances.

In spite of the rough-around-the-edges nature of KA's books (or possibly because of?) I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it the day it was released, in about three hours. 4 stars.

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a YA fantasy title by Laini Taylor.



It's not her first novel, but it feels like her breakthrough novel into the big leagues.

And what a breakthrough it is.

This book is simply gorgeous. It is set in Prague, which has the benefit of being both familiar and exotic. It is also a city that has always fascinated me, so one of the things that I really loved about the book is that it is set in Prague. The main character, Karou, is also familiar yet exotic, an artistic girl with azure hair. The fantasy elements are also beautifully realized. One of the things that really sets this book apart from others is the world building.

I read the book on kindle, but I feel like I need to drive to Barnes and Noble so I can hold this book in my hands, because there are aspects of it that I suspect will be lovely in print form. Sections of the book are separated by pages that are empty save two poetic lines and an image of a feather. This works well on kindle, but may be breathtaking in print.

The only real complaint I have is that it ended with the obligatory cliff-hanger. This is common in series novels, and it drives me crazy. Mostly it drives me crazy because I don't know when the next novel will be published. I do know that I will be reading it.

In summary, I loved this book. I loved the characters, I loved the mythology that Laini Taylor created to define the two warring races, I loved the way that the worlds, and the wishes, worked. Ms. Taylor took risks in the writing of this book. The risks paid off. 4 1/2 stars (5 on amazon).

What I've been up to . . .

This is just a quick catch up post. In the last week, I've been reading:



A full review will follow.

I've also been reading the Lorelei James Rough Riders series, starting with book 1:



I am up to book 9, and I expect that I will finish the series sometime this weekend. I plan a single blog post to review the whole series. As a side note -- I totally love those covers. They are awesome -- perfectly representative of the series as a whole, and pretty good on a book-to-book basis. Way to go, Samhain Publishing.

Also, I've been organizing kindles and my Goodreads account, and I've read one more Kristen Ashley -- the recently released:



Which I loved & which is worthy of getting its absolute own blog post.

I also finished the Sarah McCarty Promises series, which will be getting a post. Covers:



and




Not to give too much away, but I didn't think they quite lived up to the "promise" of Promises Linger, but they were both still really entertaining reads. I don't know about those covers, though. Guy with bullwhip sort of freaks me out.

Oh, yeah. I'm also bogged down in:




because in spite of my vow that I was taking a break from Kristen Ashley, I utterly failed. I am just not feeling the love for "the 'Burgh" series, though. I liked, didn't love, At Peace. I am really psyched for the Mike Haines story, though, and I hope it doesn't involve yet another high school flame separated for decades. Just give the man a hot woman for his very own, for crying out loud.

Plus, I borrowed



from one of the amazonians, so that's pretty much going to be the next read, since I only get it for 14 days.