No time for reading in another Sunday Salon

Ok, so my posting times tend to run a bit on the dark side of the day. Sue me. On second thought, please don't. I'm broke as it is!

It's Sunday again, the start of another week and another Sunday Salon. It's just too bad neither have gone the way I would have liked. Don't get me wrong, the day was well enough but I got next to nill done from my weekend to-do list. I'm not surprised, really, as this is the norm for me.

To keep those of you who are here for the books interested, I've got two on my plate this week. The first is Three Nights Of Sin by Anne Mallory. I've been reading this one for the past couple of days and am currently on page 192 of 371. Despite my very slow progression through the novel, I like it. The writing is very smooth and easy to read, the situation the characters find themselves in is actually believable and not forced, and the romance is not quite so blatant. (As we all know, over stressed romance can actually ruin a book. Yes, it's a well known fact... erm, I think). Well, in my opinion anyways. Still hate the cover, though. I'm not adverse to a hot guy all over a hot girl, but when it makes the novel appear like some smut-fest? Shesh!

The second book is Eve Kenin's Hidden, the sequel to Driven. The first wasn't horrible, save maybe a bit over weighed with made-up terms. Essential for creating a nice sci-fi environment, but when over done? Annoying. I hope she mellowed down with this new book. She has a nice plot going that could make for a nice series. That is if she doesn't send us to sleep with over defining!

Lastly, I have a new bird! I've never had one before, save for chickens, so I'm feeling a little excited. He was originally part of a pair but his mate was taken by another to be with his bird. It's sad, really. My poor little guy has lost his birdy girlfriend and is now stuck in a new home with strangers! I don't feel too sad, though. His name is Q and his mate was Barbie... Get it? Barbi. Q. *sigh* It's like some sad redneck joke! And before you get all uppity, I live in the middle of a cow-town and I know my fair number of rednecks.

I'm off to bed before I insult anybody else...

Midnight Research

I've been doing research this week of the... unique kind. After browsing the blogs of some of my favorite authors and noticing how many of them have published well over 10 novels in less than 5 years while I have yet to publish one, a spark has been lit within me. Jealousy and envy have officially renewed my passion to complete my own novels. So begins a new round of research.

This time I've been researching the early erotic novel. Yes, I know! This is quite a shocking subject for me to be researching, but my new novel demands to be told. What's left to do but cave, do the research and tell it? What I have found so far is a collection of rather... interesting titles; The Gentleman's Bottle companion and Songs of Innocence and of Experience just to name a few. It's always interesting what comes up with a little aggressive digging. Always interesting, I'm hopping that this will be one of my more entertaining ideas.

Of course, doing research of any kind after midnight will leave one hopping for the best. With the mind as foggy and sleep deprived as mine is, I can almost believe it, too.

TRUST ME, it's another Sunday Salon

It's Sunday again and while I may not have been posting as regularly as I'd like I have been reading. And reading. And reading. As it stands, I am currently engaged in 3 books, each one quite different from the last.

The book I currently have grasped in my not-so-grubby little hands is the newly released TRUST ME by Brenda Novak; a romantic suspense by one of the genre's greatest.

Four years ago Skye Kellerman was attacked in her bed by a knife wielding rapist. While she was able to defend herself and wound her attacker, the trauma that was caused has stuck with her ever since. Now Sky, along with two friends--other women who are also survivors of tragedy and pain--, runs an organization dedicated to helping other victims of crime. But Sky's past still haunts her and with the news that Oliver Burk, her attacker, is to be released from prison in just a matter of days, Skye can't manage to grab a decent nights sleep. Luckily for Sky she's not alone. Detective David Willis, the investigator who was assigned to her case, still believes Burk to be a danger to society as well as a mass murderer. With both Skye and him digging into Burk's past, how may more secrets will surface before he's put away for good?

So far the novel is enjoyable. Novak has created a very in-depth plot with twists and turns that don't leave one lost or confused. Her story telling is consistent (Un-consistent story telling, plot lines, and tone tend to drive me nuts!) and her characters are well defined. While not as suspenseful as most, TRUST ME is keeping me intrigued enough to keep reading. In fact, I keep forgetting this is a romantic suspense so when those little romance novel nuances pop up they annoy the hell out of me.
I'm currently on page 218 of 435

Before this I was, and I guess still am, reading next month's ETERNAL PLEASURE by Nina Bangs. This one is a paranormal romance with an emphasis on sex.

When Kelly Maloy is offered a rather handsome sum to drive a man around town for a couple of weeks, she jumps on it. Her career at a local zoo may be emotionally fulfilling but it doesn't offer much in the way of pay and college isn't going to pay for its self. But she wasn't expecting the oh-so-sexy Ty Endeka or the terror and desire he stirred in her. What she also didn't expect was that Ty had the soul of a prehistoric menace or that he was the eleventh in a group of defenders who may be humanity's last chance at survival.

This one started out very intriguing but quickly devolved into a paranormal with the soul of an erotica. Sure, the call for sex and "bone deep" desire when paired with a great story telling can create a very moving story, but when it becomes over powering? Yah, not my cup of tea. Besides, it tends to weaken the plot. Another thing that annoyed me was Ty. Ok, so he has the soul of T. Rex. Got it. His boss, Fin, has given him the knowledge of man kind. Got that, too. What I don't get is why Ty doesn't understand emotion but understands everything else perfectly well. *sigh* So damn annoying...
I'm currently on page 160 of 308

Lastly, the book that I started with, TEMPTATION OF THE WARRIOR by Margo Maquire. A historical romance that is borderline paranormal fantasy. I guess.

To save his people from destruction, Merrick Mac Lochlainn has traveled through time into the 19th century in search for a magical jewel. He knows it won't be easy but he never expected trouble would find him so quickly. Trouble would be Jenny, the orphan turned teacher who is being accosted by bandits. When the handsome and powerful stranger saves her only to be injured himself, Jenny feels a deep need to help him despite her rush to track down the woman who stole her last family heirloom. And with a band of gypsies calling him her husband, she sees no desire to disagree. At least not until the handsome stranger who stirs her maiden blood can take care of himself.

It's at this point, when Jenny is thick in the gypsy caravan, that the story slows. I mean really slows. Despite her innocence and jaded look towards men, Jenny finds herself deeply attracted to Merrick. So attracted that she's finding it hard to fight off his advances . But Jenny won't let herself get too close to him because she believes, quite adamantly, that he's married. Merrick, despite his memory loss, believes he is married to Jenny (as he would, since everybody around him says so and the attraction they feel for each other just screams "We are married!"...). Throw in some jealousy and you have 50% of the novel. All of which occurs in the caravan. There is some magic thrown in at the end, but I haven't seen much of it yet. I just hope this one gets better, not worse.
I'm currently on page 80 of 375

So that's it for my Sunday. That's also it for my week, basically. I did receive my very first yaoi manga, but that's a post for another day.