I really don't know what grade to give Death in Holy Orders. It's fascinating as a character study (though some things bothered me), but IMO, it fails as a whodunnit.

The best thing here is the painstaking care the author takes when drawing the characters. These are real people. I like some, dislike others, but they're always real and they act real, except for the one case which makes the whodunnit not work.

However, I'm not sure I like the characters the author would want me to like. Dalgliesh, our protagonist, for instance, came across to me as very judgemental, and I never liked him much. The scene where he interviews Eric and Karen Surtees is a perfect example of this. He's terribly hostile to them, especially Karen.

The worse thing is that this is the same character who doesn't turn a hair when hearing one of the priests there served time for sexually abusing minors. That bothered me, how everyone seemed to take the view that Father John was to be pitied and somehow hadn't deserved to suffer. And it wasn't just one character who seemed to feel that, there were enough that I'm pretty sure I know what James' position is, and I don't like this at all.

I also felt James was too heavy handed when characterizing all believers as good and all non-believers as bad. Every atheist or agnostic here is morally bankrupt, maybe except one of the other detectives. As an agnostic myself, this was a big turn-off.

The resolution of the murders was foolish. I never believed the murderer would have done what he did for the reasons stated. It didn't make any sense.

I'd give this an A- for the setting and atmosphere and the characterization and a C for the resolution of the murders. Final grade: B

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Too hot today. Temperatures are predicted to go up to 40ºC (over 100ºF, I think). Already at 9:30 AM we had 35º. And I have to drive to Floresta at 3:30 PM!

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Oh dear, it seems I'll be eating gnocchi (or ñoquis, as they're sometimes called in Spanish) till kingdom come. It's a Uruguayan tradition, see? Every month, on the 29th, you have to eat gnocchi and put money under the plate. That way you won't be short of money the following month. Not that I believe in it, of course. This falls under the "it does no harm anyway, so why not do it?" category. Plus, I actually like gnocchi, so it's not a great sacrifice! :-D

Problem is, I'm home alone for the summer, so there's noone else to eat them with me. Best choice would have been to buy a serving from the pasta restaurant a few blocks from my house, but I didn't realize it was the 29th, so I didn't think to tell the lady who comes to clean my house and sometimes cooks for us not to make them. I got home and there was this big platter of gnocchi... enough for 3 or 4 meals. They're so good I refuse to throw some away, so I'll just have to eat them all.

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Death in Holy Orders, by P.D. James

After reading a very good book, I always try to start something completely different, otherwise what I read feels a little disappointing. This time, I started a mystery, Death in Holy Orders, by P.D. James.

Asked by a wealthy businessman to investigate the "accidental" death of his adopted son Ronald, a student at a small theological college in East Anglia, Dalgliesh willingly returns to St. Anselm's, where he had spent happy summers as a teenager. But what was a casual investigation turns into official police business when the archdeacon, another weekend visitor, is found brutally murdered in the locked church.

Is his killing related to Ronald's death or to the recent fatal "heart attack" of the housekeeper who discovered Ronald's body? Or was the archdeacon murdered because he threatened to close the college down? In their usual methodical and careful manner, Dagliesh and his team, Detective Inspectors Kate Miskin and Piers Tarrant, seek answers and a murderer.

To tell you the truth, I don't know why I like James's books so much. Actually, yes, I know, she's a genius at characterization, but the thing is, I always feel depressed when I finish her books. And yet I keep reading and enjoying them.

Posted later...

I really don't know what grade to give Death in Holy Orders. It's fascinating as a character study (though some things bothered me), but IMO, it fails as a whodunnit.

The best thing here is the painstaking care the author takes when drawing the characters. These are real people. I like some, dislike others, but they're always real and they act real, except for the one case which makes the whodunnit not work.

However, I'm not sure I like the characters the author would want me to like. Dalgliesh, our protagonist, for instance, came across to me as very judgemental, and I never liked him much. The scene where he interviews Eric and Karen Surtees is a perfect example of this. He's terribly hostile to them, especially Karen.

The worse thing is that this is the same character who doesn't turn a hair when hearing one of the priests there served time for sexually abusing minors. That bothered me, how everyone seemed to take the view that Father John was to be pitied and somehow hadn't deserved to suffer. And it wasn't just one character who seemed to feel that, there were enough that I'm pretty sure I know what James' position is, and I don't like this at all.

I also felt James was too heavy handed when characterizing all believers as good and all non-believers as bad. Every atheist or agnostic here is morally bankrupt, maybe except one of the other detectives. As an agnostic myself, this was a big turn-off.

The resolution of the murders was foolish. I never believed the murderer would have done what he did for the reasons stated. It didn't make any sense.

I'd give this an A- for the setting and atmosphere and the characterization and a C for the resolution of the murders. Final grade: B.

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Bridal Favors, by Connie Brockway

Ok, about Connie Brockway's Bridal Favors.

Late one night, young Evelyn Cummings Whyte bumps into Justin Powell as he exits a married woman's bedroom. Evelyn agrees to keep silent about the indiscretion, and Justin is left in her debt. Now, ten years later, Evelyn calls in the favor. Ever since her aunt eloped to France, Evelyn has been trying to keep Whyte's Nuptial Celebrations running smoothly, and now has one last chance to keep the company solvent. A wealthy American client insists on holding her second wedding at North Cross Abbey, which just happens to be Justin's ancestral estate. Justin agrees to let Evelyn use his digs on one condition: he'll be on the premises. Thinking that the wedding offers the perfect cover for his plan to ferret out a dangerous enemy spy, Justin quickly discovers just how challenging, yet enjoyable, it is keeping Evelyn unaware of his real plans, and out of danger.

What a beautiful, delightful book! An A+. It's difficult to write about an A+ read without gushing like a crazed fangirl, so I'm not even going to try. :-D Here goes: I enjoyed every word of it. I actually read all of it with a smile on my face, even LOLing quite a few times. This is really the type of humor I adore.

And Justin! One of the best heros I've read in ages. Wonderfully funny and adorable, and so, so sexy! I loved his courage and the fact that he accepted being considered a useless parasite by everyone as a cover for his very heroic activities. And the way he fell for Evelyn... oh, so romantic! And how he wanted to protect her but still accepted her help in unmasking the spy. I even enjoyed the way he spoke while doing his "useless Justin" persona. I must say, he spoke just like some of the MM Kaye characters!

Evie was great too, but every other character just paled next to Justin. She was a teeny bit too much of a stereotype, the heroine who believes she's ugly and noone will ever love her. But I forgive her ;-)

After Justin, my favorite character has to be Beverly, the mysoginist butler. OMG those scenes with Justin! I just love humor which tickles my sense of the ridiculous.

I even loved the spy subplot. Brockway was able to keep a very convoluted situation simple, and the dénouément was delightful. Like Christina Dodd's My Favorite Bride, told in the villain's POV, and very funny. Hmmm... there are actually quite a few things in common between those 2 books, from the titles to the spy subplots. Completely different stories, but a couple of coincidences. Aren't these 2 authors friends, or something?

This is the way a light, funny historical should be done. Period.

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In the last days, I've been trying to read as many 2002 books as possible, preparing to vote in AAR's 7th Anual Readers Poll. Yesterday I finished reading Bridal Favors, by Connie Brockway, an A+ 2002 book which will likely be my choice for both Favorite European Historical and Favorite Funny. These were 2 categories I'd been having some trouble with.

In European Historicals, I hadn't read any books that had really rocked my boat. The only 2002 books in that category that I'd read had been:

• Lord of Ice, by Gaelen Foley, just an ok read, a B.
• Lady Sophia's Lover, by Lisa Kleypas, only a C+, probably my disappointment for the year
• Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, by Julia Quinn, which I loved when I read it (I gave it an A-), but which doesn't look so great when I look back on it.
• No True Gentleman, by Liz Carlyle, a B, which competes with Lady Sophia for the title of Disappointment of the Year.
• The Bride Thief, by Jacquie D'Alessandro, a nice little book, a B-, but nothing much.
• My Favourite Bride, by Christina Dodd, you know my opinion.
• Dangerous, by Debra Dier, a D+, didn't like it at all.

I was probably going to go with the Julia Quinn book, but now I'm definitely voting for Bridal Favors.

As for the Favorite Funny, I was going to go with George and the Virgin, by Lisa Cach, but it wasn't really my type of humor. More on Bridal Favors in my next entry.

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Gambler's Woman, by Stephanie James (JAK)

Sunday morning I read an old JAK, written under her Stephanie James pseudonym. The book was Gambler's Woman, and it was a B- for me.

Jordan Kyle is a professional gambler, a good one. He is a man who can calculate the odds and win or lose at his discretion when he gambles. Alyssa Chandler is just as good as Jordan. For Jordan, gambling is how he makes his living. For Alyssa, gambling is fun. A fantasy she indulges on weekends.

When they meet, Jordan knows that Alyssa is his. But Alyssa only has room for Jordan on a part time basis. In Alyssa's real world, she has a job that would be endangered by her gambling hobby. So her hobby must remain secret and so must her relationship with Jordan.

Jordan is not happy with his role in Alyssa's life. He doesn't want to be part of her gambling fantasy. He wants to be very real to Alyssa and hold a real place in both of her worlds. So when she cancels on him because of a previous engagement, he makes his presence felt in her other life.

This one was a guilty pleasure. I enjoyed it in spite of myself. The problem was basically the hero, who was perilously close to being an alpha heel. Jordan's the typical "you are mine" insanely jealous hero, who suspects every interaction the heroine has with another man. That might work for me if he realizes he's being unreasonable and he apologizes after the fact, but I never felt that with Jordan. After he ran off a guy who'd come to return some money to Alyssa and accused her of practically prostituting herself, he did listen to her explanations, but his attitude wasn't "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I'm sorry; I'll never do it again", but "I never again want to see a man giving you money. No wonder I thought what I did".

What didn't help this problem I had with the hero was that this book was written wholly from Alyssa's POV. We never saw anything from Jordan's, or rather, we saw one lousy paragraph from his POV. That was weird, actually. It wasn't even a particularly relevant paragraph. Anyway, if we'd seen what was going on in his mind, it might have been possible to forgive him some things. The way the book was written, no way.

Alyssa helped not make this a wall-banger. She forgave some attitudes she shouldn't have tolerated, but she wasn't usually a doormat.

What I liked about this book was its very original setting and plot. No cowboys and virgin brides here. In fact, it would have even been original for a single title, like many old, 1980s categories I've read. Plus, and this is why I call this one a guilty pleasure, on some level I do enjoy those heroes who just have to have the heroine. I prefer it when they are done in another way, but as always, there's something about JAK's writing that draws me in. Plus, I actually did sympathise with Jordan's frustration about being stuck being a weekend fantasy for Alyssa.

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I think I'm going to start keeping a list of the worse romance novel titles ever. Looking at someone's trade list, I found 3 examples of the worst the genre has to offer:

• Millionaire Cop & Mom-to-Be, by Charlotte Hughes
• The Sheik & The Virgin Princess, by Susan Mallery
• The Millionaire's Pregnant Bride, by Dixie Browning

Aren't they awful? Unless I read a glowing review of them at someplace I trust, I wouldn't touch one of these with a 10-foot pole.

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All Night Long, by Michelle Jerott

The second book I read this weekend - and boy, am I glad I did - was All Night Long, by Michelle Jerott, now writing as Michele Albert.

A forever kind of guy tangles with a rolling stone kind of woman: On a hot July night in 1832, a young infantry officer disappeared. Almost 170 years later, the search for what happened to him -- and why -- draws Annie Beckett and Rik Magnusson together in a passionate affair. She tells herself she can't stay. He decides he won't let her go. Annie and Rik are determined to overcome the painful obstacles of their pasts to find happiness, but history is about to repeat itself as timeless constants of human behavior -- love and honor, friendship and rivalry -- threaten their fragile bonds of love and trust.

This one was a reread, but I didn't remember it was so great. I mean, I knew I'd liked it, but I didn't remember how utterly re-readable it was. Anyway, I just loved it, and it gets an A+.

This one's just the kind of book I prefer. It concentrates on the romance (no gun-wielding villains here), but still has a neat little mystery to add that "something extra" to the book. The characters are excellently drawn, and very likeable. Rik's been burned by his ex-wife but doesn't hate all women, and Annie has some issues with commitment, but this isn't drawn out too long.

Rik and Annie together are very believable. Their relationship progresses slowly, and never feels rushed. And those love scenes! Full of humor and laughter and very, very hot.

I found the storyline about Lewis, the lost infantryman, fascinating. I don't know if it was believable that it would have garnered that much media attention (though I wouldn't think so), but I liked it and Jerott made good use of it to show us more about Annie.

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Deception, by Amanda Quick

Ok, my reading last weekend: First, Deception, by Amanda Quick.

Although several generations have passed since Captain Ryder buried his treasure somewhere in the West Indies, the Flamecrest clan consider themselves to be dashing adventurers, worthy of carrying on the buccaneer tradition. All except for Jared. Jared is the businessman of the family and his relatives find him quite staid--useful only in petty matters like keeping them solvent.

When the Lightbourne diary, which contains clues to the location of the treasure, falls into the hands of Olympia Wingfield, Jared unromantically decides to purchase it instead of seducing the information out of her as his family urges.

But matters go awry when Jared meets Olympia--a self-proclaimed "woman of the world" who has lived most of her life in Upper Tudway. Attraction flares between them, and Jared promptly throws all thought of buried treasure out the window and does the first impractical thing of his life: he pretends he is the new tutor for Olympia's three nephews and installs himself in her chaotic household.

Nice book. Not her best, but a B+ none the less. The best thing here was Jared and how he worried that he was always the one rescuing other people and who was going to rescue him? I tend to go for these vulnerable heros... the uncomplicated alpha does absolutely nothing for me.

Olympia was the typical AQ oblivious bluestocking. I loved the dynamics of her relationship with Jared: he took care of business so that she had time to devote to her work. That implies a healthy respect for her work on his part, and this is something that's not too common in romance novels.

Extra points for the positive portrayal of homosexuality, and for the neat little mystery. However, I found it strange that Jared and Olympia decide not to go on the ship to look for treasure. Wasn't one of Olympia's dreams to travel the world?

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Another weekend at La Floresta, and this time we had wonderful weather. :-D I actually watched the sunset on Saturday from inside the sea. Next weekend I'm going back, but this time I'm going to the house my parents rented for the month. That means less packing, because for most of the bulky stuff (like towels, bathrobe, etc.), I'll have a duplicate there. I'll probably even leave some clothing there. I'm thinking I'll have to pack only a little backpack, half of it books.

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Sensual Secrets, by Jo Leigh

Yesterday I read Jo Leigh's Sensual Secrets, a Harlequin Blaze.

Amelia Edwards needs to get a life — a sex life to be exact! She's living in the Big Apple where she's supposed to be meeting all kinds of single, gorgeous men. Instead she's spending too much time holed up at the cybercafé writing about her fantasies — instead of living them out! But that's about to change....

Jay Wagner has been looking for a sexy woman like Amelia. And when he accidently reads her online sensual secrets, he knows she's the one for him. Through scanning her entries, he learns exactly how to touch her body and what words will make her scream in delight. It's the perfect fantasy relationship. Until reality intrudes...and Amelia discovers he's been snooping.

Jay seduced her body. Can he now seduce Amelia's heart...?

Just a little note: the blurb I quoted is a bit misleading, in that Amelia only discovers Jay's been reading her fantasies in the last say... 30 pages of a 250 page book. This isn't really the conflict, just the little final difficulty in their relationship.

Ok, this is a good one. I've seen the Blazes get bashed a lot on-line, but I really don't find them a particularly bad line. There's some crap, there are some average reads and there are some gems. I don't know why people single them out.

As I said, this particular book is one of the winners. I'd grade it a B+. It delivers on the promise of hot sex (thought there aren't really that many love scenes. It's mostly a matter of sexual tension and some sexy foreplay scenes) but the characters are also nicely developed and the plot isn't as gimmicky as some.

Amelia was the typical repressed, shy, almost-virgin character at the beginning (but one who masturbates regularly and has a vibrator! Not that typical.), but she does change and grow during the book. I liked her much better in the end. Oh, and she was a student. You don't usually see many of those in romance. Jay was yummy. His commitment issues weren't very romantic, but they were realistic, and didn't go on for too long, thank god.

All in all, a nice book. Not a great, deep novel, but satisfying none the less.

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I weighed myself this morning and I've lost 4 kg so far this year.. from 64 kg to 60kg. It appears the miser's diet works. Since I'm home alone, and I don't like spending much money on superfluous stuff (like food!), my fridge is empty and I've been eating only salads and vegetable and chicken pies. Not precisely diet, but not calorie-bombs like I usually eat.

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My Lady's Pleasure, by Julia Justiss

Yesterday I also read My Lady's Pleasure, by Julia Justiss

Widowed Valeria Arnold has experienced little of the delights of love—until a chance encounter with half-Irish gambler Teagan Fitzwilliams leads to a stolen interlude that bedazzles them both. Wistfully they part, expecting never to meet again.

Then an unexpected invitation brings Valeria to London for the Season. Teagan knows he should keep his distance, lest Valeria's reputation be tarnished by his own, but when the lady requests his escort, he cannot refuse. Once again under Teagan's spell, Valeria must decide what she really wants: remarriage to a proper ton gentleman—or a passionate affair with this most improper rogue...

I liked this one very much in spite of it having the mother of all clichés: the virgin widow. This is a bit of a non-issue, though, and over in no time at all, so no problem!

The best thing here were the characters. I loved Teagan. He broke my heart: I really felt for him, trapped in a lifestyle he hates. And when he loses everything, and faces having to start again (paraphrasing) his stomach churning, counting cards, calculating bets. God, that was so heartwrenching. And Valeria was good too, very mature and level-headed. I loved how she put Lady Winterdale and her chaperone and Sir William in their places when they tried to dictate to her what to do.

This was one of those few books where I notice the author's writing style. Usually I notice it only when it bothers me (except for some honourable exceptions!), but not here. It felt a bit trad regency-ish, and I loved it. My only quibble was how every character seemed to stutter at the beginning of sentences when they were excited, or nervous, or scared, or... you get the picture.

I had a couple of problems with the ending, and this is what kept the book at a B+ grade instead of at an A range. The solution to all those insurmountable difficulties seemed much too easy. Why didn't Teagan do this earlier, instead of spend years doing something he hated? And the way he seemed convinced he was somehow destined to leave his wife, as his father had done! And he doesn't decide he isn't because he realizes this theory is really lame, no! He finds out his father didn't leave his mother, so suddenly everything's ok. Added to that, a too-long separation. A necessary one, but this is something I never like.

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Oh, and another thing... just a niggle, but... why would Ethan be the best candidate to represent the US president in a forum on international economics? Very doubtful. The guy's basically a business consultant, no reason to believe he'd know so much about the subject.

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My One and Only, by MacKenzie Taylor

Yesterday morning I finished My One and Only, by MacKenzie Taylor.

Abby Lee knew it was a long shot but because of her boss Harrison Montgomery's past kindness to her, she feels compelled to try. Harrison's company is on the verge of bankruptcy and only desperate measures may save it. The one man who is an expert in solving such problems, Ethan Maddux, happens to be Harrison's illegitimate son and top rival.

Knowing that Abby is trying to save his father's company both angers and intrigues Ethan. But something about her awakens new emotions in Ethan and so he agrees to take a look at Montgomery's books.

As Ethan lives in San Francisco and Abby resides in Chicago, distance should be a problem. However Ethan is relentless in his pursuit. Abby is a package deal since she is raising her 13-year-old sister Rachel, following the unsolved murder of their parents. Ethan's sudden interest in Abby and possible interference in the Montgomery Company is arousing all kinds of emotions in a variety of individuals� including some who are not so benign.

I'm afraid the reason I moved this one up on my TBR pile was a comment on one of the Yahoo! Groups I belong to. The poster mentioned how this one's plot was a copy of JAK's Family Man: The heroine works for the hero's estranged family. They helped her when she was very young and needed a job. The business in is trouble, so she goes to him (a hotshot business consultant who specializes in rescuing failing businesses) to ask for help.

At first, it did seem the books were similar, plus, the first time we meet Ethan, he's thinking about how he might have scared his ex-fiancée away with his excessive passion. That reminded me of another JAK (Asolutely, Positively, I think it was, but I might be wrong), where the hero had had exactly the same problem. His former fiancée described life with his as (I'm paraphrasing) "hours of boredom, mixed with moments of extreme fear".

However, as the book progresses it becomes clear that it's only a superficial similarity, only the same premise. These are their own characters, not carbon copies of those in Family Man. They have their own issues, and their stories progress in a different direction.

That issue out of the way, I didn't like the book. I thought I would, and I liked the beginning, basically how the characters and the conflict were set up. Problem is, I didn't really feel the romance and though the suspense subplot was very intriguing, the resolution was a bust. The problem with the romance was the biggest, IMO. I never felt any of the sexual tension, and when they did get into bed, the author basically slammed the door in our faces, by doing this very general description. I hate it when they do that. Sorry, but if, for whatever reason, you don't want to write love scenes, write a sweet romance. Don't do that last-minute cop-out thing. It especially bothered me here because I was interested in seeing how Ethan would deal with it when he showed Abby his "dark side". Would he freak out? Would he be certain Abby was going to leave him?

The resolution of the suspense subplot was even worse. By that time, I'd already given up on the romance and was hoping this part would carry the day (at least into upper C territory). No such luck. The whole resolution was anticlimatic, plus a couple of threads were left hanging.

To summarize, a promising book that didn't deliver. A grade of C-.

ETA: Oh, and another thing... just a niggle, but... why would Ethan be the best candidate to represent the US president in a forum on international economics? Very doubtful. The guy's basically a business consultant, no reason to believe he'd know so much about the subject.

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I've just had a long chat with my sister on MSN. She's in Punta del Este with my parents, and I haven't seen her since the 1st of the year, when I last was there. I hadn't realized how much I miss her. She's 23, only about 2 years younger than me, and she's always been my best friend. Anyway, it was lovely to talk to her. I'm now walking around with a big smile on my face. :-D Here's a pic of the two of us taken last month. She's the pretty one on the left, with the black sleeveless top (Don't I look just awful? I look ok IRL, but I photograph terribly).

BTW, one of the things we talked about was books. She's also a romance reader, but she reads much less than I do (basically, she doesn't have much time to read during the school year), so she tends to rely on my recommendations. Right now she's just finished JAK's Family Man (she loved it), so she asked my advice on what to read next. Or rather, she was more or less set on reading My False Heart, by Liz Carlyle and asked me what I thought. I told her that though I'd loved it, it might be a bit too slow for her.

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Mistress, by Amanda Quick

I still haven't finished writing about the books I read last weekend, and it's already Wednesday. I'm being lazy, I know. Ok, the last book I read this weekend was Amanda Quick's Mistress. I'm happy to report it's now disputing the title of "My Favourite Quick" with Ravished.

"After a year of grand adventures touring the classical ruins of Italy and Greece, Iphiginia Bright returned to England to discover that the real excitement was at home. It seems that her Aunt Zoe has fallen victim to a sinister blackmailer and only Iphiginia can hope to stop the culprit before he can do more harm. Her plan is inspired: Imitating history's most legendary beauties--Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Aphrodite--the former schoolmistress will remake herself, and descend upon London Society as the dazzling mistress of Marcus Valerius Cloud, the infamous Earl of Masters. Rumors hint that the Earl has disappeared at the blackmailer's hands, and by posing as his unknown mistress, Iphiginia is convinced she can ferret out the villain.

Overnight, Iphiginia is transformed into a vision with a host of eager admirers, including one she does not expect -- the Earl of Masters himself, who strides into a shimmering ballroom one evening to cooly reclaim his "mistress". He is everything they say he is... arrogant, attractive, devastatingly seductive, and Iphiginia can't help but be enthralled. But when Marcus agrees to play along with her charade, she doesn't know that the determined earl has plans of his own: to tease and tempt her, until the beautiful deceiver becomes more than his mistress in name only."

This is JAK at the top of her game. An A. The hero, Marcus, is great. A bit of a nerd and a loner, really in danger of turning into a "clockwork man". I really wasn't surprised when Iphiginia made up her mind to marry him when she heard he was afraid of turning into one. I also liked that he hadn't always been very polished, and he still was a bit of a clod in his own mind. The first love scene was really funny.

Iphiginia was one of JAK's bluestocking heroines, but less dizzy and naive than most. She's got a good head for business and is very smart and creative, though her scheme to catch the blackmailer didn't make much sense to me. ;-)

The blackmail plot thingie, BTW, was a bit convoluted, and the villain not really believable. I don't really read this for the suspense subplot, so when in the same book every incident has different motives on the part of the villain, it's too much work to keep track.

Some bits and bobs about the book: liked the Marcus - Bennet relationship (I love good brother interactions in romance), the Amelia and the widows and spinsters fund, and the way she got her revenge on her rapist were great, and finally, the love scenes were very hot. Not many of them, but nice.

Weird coincidence. On Sunday morning, when I'd just finished reading this, I drove my aunt to the tiny little supermarket in downtown La Floresta ("downtown La Floresta" means 3 blocks where you can find some 5 or 6 stores. That's the commercial district. Love the place!) and noticed they now have a book section, just a couple of shelves containing a jumble of paperbacks. I took a cursory glance at them, mostly finding self-help books and surprise, a couple of paperback romances (translated to Spanish, of course). Among them: "La Amante", by Amanda Quick, the book I'd just finished. There was also a copy of Mystique (translated as Un Amor MÃ?Â?gico, "A Magic Love"). I was surprised to see they were about 2 US dollars each. Oh, and they had terribly lurid clinch covers, both of them. :-D

Update: I reread this book in June 2004. Click here to read my post about it.

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Finally, I now have a date for my vacation! After a lot of dithering (how many days should I ask for? when exactly?), I made my choice and talked to the boss. He was really sweet about it, didn't even ask how many days I wanted and just said yes. This was so different from the last 2 years!

In 2001, I was working for the bitch from hell, in the Marketing department in a bank. Before starting there, I'd done a bit of job hopping, never long enough in one place to take a vacation, plus I'd work till Friday on one place and start on Monday at the next, so I hadn't even had a couple of days' rest. The result, I'd worked for almost 2 years straight, all the while studying for college and attending class 4 hours a day. I'd leave home at 8:30 AM and get back at 11 PM. Believe me, I was beat, and stressed to the max.

Anyway, I asked the bitch for a lousy 3 days, on the week of Carnaval. Monday and Tuesday of that week are a National holiday, so with my 3 days, I'd be able to rest for a whole week. She hemmed and hawed and gave me the evil eye, and finally said yes. Then, 2 days before I was supposed to leave, she started going on about how maybe I should consider staying, because there was so much to do. Sorry, no way. I told her I'd already rented a house for the week, and that I was going and it was final. Deal with it. She didn't like it, but had to accept it. She did her best to ruin my holiday, though, calling me twice a day on my cell phone to ask idiotic questions.

A year later, on the summer of 2002, I was still at the bank, but working with a much nicer boss, but one who worked 15 hours a day, never took a holiday, and expected everyone else to do the same. I asked her for 2 weeks and she said yes, no problem... but she wouldn't sign the vacation request form.

"María, remember I asked you about my vacation yesterday? Well, here's the form for you to sign"

"Fine, leave it on my desk and I'll take a look at it"

A couple of days later...

"Maria, about my vacation, did you get a chance to sign the form?"

"Oh, sorry, I completely forgot about it. Where is it? On my desk? I must have thrown it away by mistake. Ro, be a dear and print another copy for me"

This happened a couple of times and though she finally did sign it, she did so 3 days before I was supposed to leave. By that time, I was a mess.

Knock on wood, but it looks like it'll be different this year. Everything's already settled, and I have a full 3 weeks. I'll be leaving on Tuesday Feb. the 11th, right after work, and won't be back until Wednesday March the 5th. It's 13 days vacation, plus March 3rd and 4th are National holidays (Carnaval again).

I'll be going to La Floresta. The whole family will be renting a house there. I probably won't be blogging at all, but it appears there's a little locutorio, a place with a couple of Internet-connected computers where you can pay for some on-line time. I'll probably check my e-mail a couple of times a week, and might make a couple of posts here, but my book "reviews" will have to wait until I'm back in Montevideo. I'm planning to take a notebook and write them right after finishing each book, so when I get here I'll just have to type them. I did that last year, but I wasn't really writting as much as I am now. I was just jotting down a couple of paragraphs with impressions about the books, to enter into my reading records.

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Midnight Jewels, by Jayne Ann Krentz

Also last weekend, I did a lot of rereading. First, Midnight Jewels, by Jayne Ann Krentz.

Mercy Pennington liked to play it safe. Before she opened her cozy secondhand bookstore, she researched her prospects and minimized her risks. So she never should have handled a rare edition of erotica called the Valley of Secret Jewels. And she should have locked the door of her shop before Croft Falconer walked in.

Falconer enjoyed violence, not literature--beautifully controlled violence of the Asian martial arts. And he looked fighting mad when he learned Mercy promised Valley of Secret Jewels to another buyer. Falconer argued with her, offering her a small fortune, and then tender seduction.

As volatile as a match and dynamite, Mercy and Falconer lit sparks like the Fourth of July. But the real fireworks started when she discovered he had told her almost everything a woman falling in love wanted to hear. Falconer only forgot to mention one little thing: the secret behind the book of forbidden passion that could get them both killed.

The hero, Croft, reminds me of Elias Winters, of Deep Waters. *sigh* That's the problem of reading so many JAKs in such a short period. You start finding common elements, and you can't help but let them colour your views of the book you're reading. Like Elias, Croft is into martial arts, lives a very ascetic lifestyle (Japanese décor and shoji screens, whatever they are!) and has a unique personal philosophy by which he is guided (the Way of Water for Elias and the Way of the Circle for Croft). Croft, however, is quite a bit more "macho" than Elias, and has a past in which he made good use of his "adeption" (is this a word?) to violence. I'd say Croft is an alpha and Elias a beta.

Mercy was a good match for him. I loved to see how she goads him until he loses control every time they make love. I definitely understood why she'd want to do that; there was something very irritating about Croft when he was in that mode. She lost me a bit near the end, though, when she fell for Gladstone's ploy. An extremely TSTL moment.

The suspense subplot was ok. Not very suspenseful, actually, but entertaining, and not very believable either.

This one gets a grade of B+.

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Breathless, by Laura Lee Guhrke

In spite of the bad weather, I actually read a bit less than I did last weekend. The first one I read (I actually started it Thursday night and finished it in Floresta Friday night) was Breathless, by Laura Lee Guhrke.

Lily Morgan may be Shivaree, Georgia's most talked-about lady. Everyone in town knows about the bitter breakup of her marriage five years before, when Daniel Walker, her husband's tough, uncompromising lawyer, tore her reputation to shreds and left her with nothing but a wish to get even. But now something about Daniel makes her blood boil and her pulse quicken . . . not with righteous fury, but with passion.

Daniel has returned to Shivaree to once again match wits with Lily Morgan. The thought of a rematch with Lily delights him, for he has never forgotten her hot temper--or her lovely looks. But when a shocking murder shakes the town, Daniel joins Lily to find a killer, and their unexpected partnership sparks something between them they never expected--desire. Now Daniel, the strong-willed lawyer for whom winning is everything, realizes he must win the one reward he can't live without: Lily's forgiveness--and her love.

An excellent book: great setting, main characters I loved and who actually grow during the book, nicely drawn secondary characters, interesting conflict... I'd grade it A-.

In spite of this, I had some problems with the beginning, but not because there was anything wrong with the book. This is purely a personal issue: I detest reading about heroines facing male chauvinism. I should be able to handle it, but I'm not. It makes me very, very angry, and I feel really frustrated. The weird thing is, I've never had to face this in my life, for all that I live in a Latin American country. Not at home, not at work, never. Or maybe that's exactly why I can't handle reading about this: I've never had to accept it, never had to think "well, that's just the way the world works".

Ok, anyway, I dragged myself through the first part of the book, where Lily is discriminated against because she's divorced and everyone thinks she's had an affair, and where the hero at one points gives a speech warning the other men that if they give in in this case, next thing the women are going to be demanding to vote! The outtrage! Anyway, I realized the book was good while I read it, but couldn't enjoy it.

Suddenly, this part ends and it's as if another book starts. Normally, it bothers me when something like this happens, but I liked it here. I liked the "new" book much, much better. A courtroom drama, and Lily and Daniel's relationship becomes lovely. Lots of sexual tension (the good kind!) and lots of character growth. Plus, I liked that there were no big revelations. Lily and Daniel change their minds about each other slowly, and it felt right.

Finally, I enjoyed reading a book in this setting. Everyone online seems to want books set in different places and time periods, and so do I.

Check out the beautiful cover and the author's "behind the scenes" notes about this book. I love to read this kind of thing. And now I want to know who the original villain was! I must say the author was successful in planting new clues, since I did guess who the murderer was.

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I'm back again, after another great weekend in La Floresta. Well, not so great weather-wise, since it was either rainy or too cold / windy all the time, except for Saturday afternoon, but I had a good time anyway. I've been invited to go back next weekend. :-D

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The Family Way, by Jayne Ann Krentz

I also read an old (1987) JAK yesterday, The Family Way.

Plot:

Unwilling to force her live-in love Case McCord into a proposal of marriage, a pregnant Pru Kenyon decides to walk away from the man she loves, not telling him that she is expecting his baby, but she never bargained on how much Case is willing to do for love.

This one was a secret-baby book, but it was handled in a way I kind of liked. Not one of JAK's best, but very readable.

The most remarkable thing about this book was how similar it was to Ravished. McCord's estrangement from his family had happened for the exact same reason as Gideon's, and I mean exact. And I saw the final confrontation coming a mile off, since it was the same as in another Quick book (almost sure it was Ravished, but it could have been another one).

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Well, I finished Hot Chocolate, and my final grade for the whole book, which contained an awful story, a great one and two mediocre ones, is a B-. BTW, before I write about the last 2 stories, I must say I might have been a bit too hard on Not Abigail!. Or rather, I guess the author must have intended for it to be taken a bit less seriously than I did. Anyway, the last 2 stories:

Third one was Buried in Her Heart, by Elda Minger.

A luxurious bed-and-breakfast hosting a chocolate convention wasn't the standard business lodging for Abby and Jack. But one taste of the convention's delights, and they were tantalized - with each other...

This one gets a grade of B-. I liked the fact that though this was a story about a woman giving up a big career in the big city to go cook for a living at a small sea-side restaurant, I didn't get the feeling the author was preaching about how the big city is evil and a woman's place is in the kitchen. Abby doesn't make this 180º change in her life because of a man. The man, Jack, is just the catalyst for a change she was craving long before she met him. Furthermore, I really did believe she was going to be much happier in her new life (it helps the sea-side restaurant is actually in a big city.

Unfortunately, the problem with this story is that catalyst Jack never becomes more than just a catalyst. When I finished this, I'd no idea who he was or why he was in love with Abby. Still, if you read this not as romance but as women's fiction, it's not bad at all. And I really enjoyed all that stuff about chocolate.

The last story is Ecstasy, by Fayrene Preston.

Brenna's fudge recipe was a huge hit at her café, and tycoon Hayden Garrett wanted it - and Brenna. But how far would he go to make them both his own?

The best description for this one is boring, a C. The premise felt contrived (though the first scene at the café with women having orgasms right and left when eating the fudge, was cute), and the little suspense thingie was half-assed. I couldn't finish this one fast enough.

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Walking from work to the car park yesterday, I saw something that really got to me. In the last few years, many unemployed here in Montevideo have taken to gathering the trash in little horse-drawn carriages. It's heart-braking enough to see them regularly, but yesterday I noticed one where the horse had been "decorated" with leaves and what looked to be a red and gold Christmas-tree trimming.

What killed me was realizing that the cart driver (who couldn't have been older than 17 at most) must be one of those people who appreciate beauty for its own sake, who feel the need to add those little touches to things to make them a little prettier. And odds are this guy lives in a cantegril (shanty town) and has very little beauty in his life.

This might sound silly, but it was just something which got to me. We've been in a pretty severe recession for the last 4 years, and I thought I'd become inured to sad sights.

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Hot Chocolate, an anthology

Yesterday evening, while watching Argentina and Paraguay play for the Under-20 South American Tournament, I started an anthology, Hot Chocolate. I'm not a big fan of anthologies, because it often feels like authors of romance short stories try to cram a complete novel into less than 100 pages. The result of this is a story that feels rushed, and often not very good. Let's see if these authors do better. So far, I've read the first 2 stories and one was good and the other one awful.

The first one was Not Abigail!, by Suzanne Forster.

Abigail's handsome boss, Max, wanted her to find him a wife. Then a sip of a delectable love potion made Max fall for his lovely assistant. But was his love forever or fleeting

It was a mess, a grade of D-. So many elements I don't like: boss-secretary romance, love potions, getting married because of a "biological clock"... Plus, I never felt the guy was in love with her. He's just a spoiled imbecile whose life is completely out of his control and needs his mommy to lay out his pills and clothes. And Abby... the stereotypical shy heroine who needs to loosen up.

The final love scene was the pits, complete with baby talk on the part of the heroine. All in all, a stupid, nonsensical story and I hated it. The only reason it's not an F is because it was competently written.

The second story was Tangled Sheets, by Lori Foster

Night after night, bar owner Cole Winston was seduced by prim and proper Sophie Sheridan's way with hot chocolate... until her sexy and outrageous twin, Shelly, walked into the bar...

Now, I don't like Foster's online persona at all, but this story was a goodie! An A-At first, it looked like a loser. I mean, it starts with the heroine lamenting the fact that she's 26 and a virgin! I was like "OMG, not another "I have to lose my virginity ASAP" story!". But luckily, this wasn't what this story was about. I also groaned when I realized the heroine was going to pretend to be her own twin to seduce the hero. Her reasoning almost made sense, I'm afraid to say, but come on! It was an obviously bad idea.

What completely made this story were the hero and the love scenes. The first was yummy and the latter were hot, hot, hot! Cole tries to resist the sexy twin, because he's already in love with the shy Sophie (points for him), and catches on quite quickly about what's going on (even more points!). And when those two make love, I liked how Cole did everything he could to tie her to him, and make her want more than a one-night-stand. The final scene bumped the story from a B+ to an A-.

What I didn't enjoy in this story were the "series gimmicks": the ones I've mentioned (virginity, pretend twins), the contest, all the newspapers in town chasing the Winston brothers because they're hunky, etc. This one was a better story than that.

Posted later...

Well, I finished Hot Chocolate, and my final grade for the whole book, which contained an awful story, a great one and two mediocre ones, is a B-. BTW, before I write about the last 2 stories, I must say I might have been a bit too hard on Not Abigail!. Or rather, I guess the author must have intended for it to be taken a bit less seriously than I did. Anyway, the last 2 stories:

Third one was Buried in Her Heart, by Elda Minger.

A luxurious bed-and-breakfast hosting a chocolate convention wasn't the standard business lodging for Abby and Jack. But one taste of the convention's delights, and they were tantalized - with each other...

This one gets a grade of B-. I liked the fact that though this was a story about a woman giving up a big career in the big city to go cook for a living at a small sea-side restaurant, I didn't get the feeling the author was preaching about how the big city is evil and a woman's place is in the kitchen. Abby doesn't make this 180º change in her life because of a man. The man, Jack, is just the catalyst for a change she was craving long before she met him. Furthermore, I really did believe she was going to be much happier in her new life (it helps the sea-side restaurant is actually in a big city.

Unfortunately, the problem with this story is that catalyst Jack never becomes more than just a catalyst. When I finished this, I'd no idea who he was or why he was in love with Abby. Still, if you read this not as romance but as women's fiction, it's not bad at all. And I really enjoyed all that stuff about chocolate.

The last story is Ecstasy, by Fayrene Preston.

Brenna's fudge recipe was a huge hit at her café, and tycoon Hayden Garrett wanted it - and Brenna. But how far would he go to make them both his own?

The best description for this one is boring, a C. The premise felt contrived (though the first scene at the café with women having orgasms right and left when eating the fudge, was cute), and the little suspense thingie was half-assed. I couldn't finish this one fast enough.

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Rendezvous, by Amanda Quick

Yesterday I finished reading Rendezvous, by Amanda Quick. This used to me my favourite Quick, but, though I liked it very much (a B), my new fave is Ravished so far. I'll have a final decision when I finished rereading all of them ;-)

Plot:

"Augusta Ballinger was quite sure that it was all a dreadful mistake. The chillingly pompous and dangerously disturbing Earl of Graystone could not possibly wish to marry her. Why, it was rumoured that his chosen bride must be a veritable model of virtue. And everyone knew that Augusta, as the last of the wild, reckless Northumberland Ballingers was a woman who could not be bothered by society's rules.

That was why the spirited beauty had planned a midnight encounter to warn the earl off, to convince him that she would make him a very poor wife indeed. But when she crawled in through his darkened study window, Augusta only succeeded in strengthening Harry's resolve: to kiss the laughter from those honeyed lips and teach this maddening miss to behave! How could he possibly know that it was he who was in for a lesson... as his brazen fiancée set out to win his heart - and an old and clever enemy stepped in to threaten their love, their honour and their very lives?"

At last, an Amanda Quick heroine that isn't a bluestocking! Augusta is proud of her frivolousness, and though she is quite intelligent and holds many bluestocking opinions (women's lib, mostly), she's unapologetic about enjoying parties, clothes and having fun. Quite refreshing. I must confess I would be more similar to the typical character in temperament, but it gets boring to read only one type of heroine in historicals.

Augusta's character is a good contrast to Harry, who is more traditional and even a bit straight-laced. He's no prig, and has a nice sense of humour, but his autocratic tendencies were sometimes a bit too much. I detested him near the beginning when he conspired with Augusta's uncle to send off notices of their engagement before telling her anything, to prevent her from refusing him. He redeems himself somewhat, but he retains these tendencies and Augusta always seems to give way to him, which was the main reason this book didn't get an A grade.

I liked the parts when Harry realizes he's competing with Augusta's brother for her full loyalty, and that this is something he has to earn, but this was resolved almost too pat. Same thing with him wanting more from her than loyalty and duty, not enough emphasis on it.

I loved the idea of Pompeia, as a gentleman's club only for ladies. Why weren't there any of those in reality? Sheldrake as Scruggs was great fun, and Sally was a lovely character. Speaking of Sheldrake, having a secondary storyline in an Amanda Quick book was quite novel. Problem was, it didn't seem to be developed enough. The groundwork was laid for a good one, but we never really see anything happen, we are just told so and so are engaged now. Frustrating.

The suspense subplot was interesting, only I was a bit irritated because we are never told what Richard's poem really meant. All those "count 3 left", etc. had roused my curiosity, and I didn't appreciate being left hanging. Or was there a small line about it and I missed it? I don't think so, but it's possible.

On a final note, I liked Harry's daughter Meredith very much. Children in romance novels usually bore me, but I realize this is only when it's "adorable", "precious" children. Nerdy ones I tend to like.

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Code of Honor, by Kathryn Shay

I still have another book to write about from this weekend, Code of Honor, by Kathryn Shay. This is the third book in her America's Bravest series, which deals with firefighter characters.

Plot summary:

"Rockford, New York Fire Chief Talbot informs Lieutenant Jake Scarlatta that his team will inherit firefighter Chelsea Whitmore. Jake wants nothing to do with Chelsea . She had a bad run with her present assignment when she ended a relationship with a peer, Billy Milligan.

Chelsea quickly proves she belongs with the crew and earns their respect. However, one member deeply feels women should never be firefighters and begins to do dirty tricks to make Chelsea look incompetent. As Chelsea worries about her future with the department, she and Jake fall in love. However, she vowed to never again have a personal relationship with a firefighter after Billy, who continues to stalk her. Jack vows to go by the book after ignoring problems so long that his best friend suffered while on his crew."

Though I liked it, this one was the weakest in the trilogy, so far. A B.

I never really warmed up to Jake. He was nice, but a little too "superdaddy" for me. Also, his relationship with Chelsea was the least interesting element in the book, which isn't good in a romance.

I was much more interested in the firefighting and in the suspense subplot. The latter was especially well-done, though I guessed the culprit early. Still, the author did a good job in planting red herrings. The stuff about firefighting was fascinating, though it sometimes seemed like the author was a bit too eager to show off all her research (Dylan's trivia game). Usually, however, the research was put to good use.

What I didn't get was why both Chelsea and Jake let people get away with stuff they shouldn't have. I didn't understand the dynamics of Jake's relationship with Danny, unless he was just being used by him and always had. If that was so, after all the therapy, he should have understood that and stopped feeling guilty. And Chelsea, acting all afraid of Billy... no way! It didn't go with the rest of the character. Luckily, we're only told about the abuse she received from her older group, otherwise I would have been pissed (I don't handle unfairness well!).

Anyway, interesting book.

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Fabulous Beast, by Jayne Ann Krentz

I'd been saving Fabulous Beast, by Jayne Ann Krentz for a special ocasion. I don't know why I'd been doing it, since I only knew the bare plot and hadn't heard anything about it on-line, but this time my instincts were right and it was just as good as I was hoping it would be. My first A+ of the year.

Summary:

"Tabitha Graham is on a cruise looking for a little adventure. Recently divorced from a bad marriage (he was on rebound and soon found girl wanted him back), her ego has been scarred by the marriage, leaving her doubting herself in many areas.

She rescues Dev Colter in a back alley - she thinks he is a mugged tourist - but he is actual a secret agent. Due to his weakened state of being beaten, Tabby takes care of him and helps him back to the ship. He likes the softness and womanly tenderness he sees in her and encourages Tabby in this mistaken belief he is a mild, almost shy man.

Needless to say, Tabby is not happy when she finds the man she 'understands so well' because they are so much alike, is nothing like he man she created in her mind. But Dev knows Tabby likes fanciful beasts like dragons and unicorns - so he is out to convince her a live 'beastie' is even more thrilling to trap."

This one was written in 1984, under her Stephanie James pseudonym. However, it didn't feel at all dated to me. Being a category book, this one's very focused on the main romance and the suspense subplot is very light, only enough to set up Dev and Tabitha's story.

I adored both Dev and Tabitha. Tabby might have been a stereotypical heroine, insecure because of a bad first marriage, but she felt real to me. And she was satisfyingly pragmatic. I loved how she set out to seduce Dev, and how she then decides to forget him. The scene that follows, when Dev finds a "younger man" asleep in her living room, was great fun.

What I liked the most about Dev was that he really did seem to want to be the guy Tabby mistook him for. This added a yummy vulnerable dimension to this tough secret agent.

Anyway, I realize I'm being barely coherent about this book, but it's one of those which just hit you right and you don't really know why. Everything came together here, and JAK even had me liking a "forced seductioney" scene near the end of the book, which is something I usually despise.

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Dangerous, by Debra Dier

Then I read Dangerous, by Debra Dier. I bought this one after reading two good reviews of it, so I was expecting to at least like it. I didn't. A grade of D+ and it goes straight to my trade list.

Back blurb:

"Only a fool acted on emotion, but that was exactly what the Marquess of Andover had done when he allowed a mysterious beauty to lure him to her home. No sooner had he decided she was the most appealing female he had ever met than the young lady drew a pistol and demanded he confess to the abduction of her missing cousin.

As a confirmed spinster who had handled her family�s affairs for years, Emma Wakefield felt she was more than equal to the task of apprehending her cousin�s kidnapper. But when the Marquess escaped from her cellar and appeared in her bedroom insisting that he would find the true culprit, Emma knew the tables had turned. For the first time, her life was quite out of control, and unless she could resist his potent sensuality, this adventure promised to become deliciously...Dangerous."

There were quite a few things which bothered me here. First of all, Emma was very definitely Too Stupid to Live. Yes, she holds her own in some scenes (even saves herself near the end of the book), but many of her actions were classic TSTL (when she jumps out of the coach outside Gaetan's because she's heard a gunshot, even though she's promised not to move, anyone? And the whole "holding the hero at gunpoint" at the beginning shows a terrible lack of clear thinking). Anyway, couldn't stand the twit. Whenever she went on and on about what character X in one of E.W. Austen's book would do, I wanted to smack her. Incidentally, I guessed about the E.W. Austen thing the first time I saw it mentioned.

Other bothersome stuff: First, how they told everyone things which could have ruined Emma, like her having kidnapped Sebastian and thrown him in the cellar. Everyone and his mother knew that. A little discretion, please! Also, I was bothered by how very un-worried Charlotte's mother was about her daughter's kidnapping by known white slavers. She seemed more worried about Emma's love life than about her daughter's fate. Unbelievable.

My reaction to the suspense subplot was mixed. On one hand, I found one of the villains way over-the-top evil and immoral. On the other, the resolution of the plot and the unveiling of the second villain surprised me. Dier had planted many clues pointing to someone else (did she cheat here? I would have to reread this to be sure, and I'm not going to do that), so I never guessed.

What I did like was the character of Sebastian. I really like straigh-laced heros who become obsessed by the heroine, and Sebastian was a goodie. And I did feel these two were nice together, though I kind of pitied Sebastian by the end of the book, for having to spend the rest of his life with this nitwit!

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Flash, by Jayne Ann Krentz

I did a lot of reading this weekend. The first book I read was Flash, by Jayne Ann Krentz

Plot summary:

"Jasper Sloan, a self-made millionaire and venture capitalist, is burned out and in pursuit of a new thrill when he learns of the death of a colleague, a business partner who has left him 51 percent of an up-and-coming company. GLOW, Inc., has always been a family operation, so Jasper's arrival is greeted with the suspicion that he will gut the company and sell it. The other 49 percent of GLOW is held by Olivia Chantry, the niece of the late owner. As Jasper and Olivia lock horns over the future of the company, he realizes that the excitement he's been missing is right before his very eyes in the form of his lovely new business partner. As they argue over the best way to run the company, yet another player enters the field, one determined to destroy Jasper, Olivia, and the people they hold dear."

This one was a nice, comfortable read. A B. It lacks some of the excitement of her previous books, but it was nice (and the lukewarm adjective is appropriate).

Jasper and Olivia were lovely for each other, but there was very little emphasis on the physical side of the relationship, and I missed this. It's not that I need all my books to be "hot", but JAK used to be very good at using the love scenes to further develop the characters' relationship, and this was an element I loved in her work.

I found Olivia's work fascinating. I hate this kind of stuff in real life, which probably comes from having to organize a huge party once at work. This was when the bank I used to work for reopened its historical main branch after a huge restoration. This party was especially complicated because of the guest list, which included legislators, cabinet members and even the President. Anyway, I hated, hated, hated organizing it. But reading about it here was fun, probably because I didn't have to stress out about anything, I left that to Olivia!

The suspense subplot was given too much space here, IMO, or at least, more than I like. It was also especially convoluted, with three different villains working against our H/h and each other.

Only two more comments: 1)I enjoyed Uncle Rollie's being a happily gay patriarch and 2)Where were Jasper's nephews? They completely disappear after a first appearance, almost as if JAK had had to cut some pages due to length constraints and had decided to cut all their scenes. It was a bit jarring.

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I'm back after spending the weekend in La Floresta, a small seaside town about 55 km east of Montevideo (I looked for a link to add, showing some photos of La Floresta, but incredibly, there's not one to be found on-line). My whole family is in Punta del Este, and will be for the rest of the month, but I refuse to go there (I had to go spend New Year's eve there, but that was it). I'm weird, but I'm not a big fan of the place. Too much jet-set and stuff like that. I much prefer the tranquillity of La Floresta.

I've created the perfect routine there. I wake up relatively early, have a light breakfast and go for a walk on the beach. Then I spend the rest of the early afternoon lounging under a tree in the garden, reading. By 4 P.M., when it's again safe(er) to be exposed to the sun, I go down to the beach again and stay there until it gets either too cold or too dark to stay there. I'm sure most people will find this boring, but it's heaven after the stress of Montevideo.

On the evenings I sat on the porch with my uncle, aunt and her parents. Sometimes we'd play card or board games. Unfortunately, I couldn't get them to play Trivial Pursuit with me, probably because they've already seen me play before, LOL! Oh, and the meals were great. Unlike at my house, where we usually eat on the run, they actually spend a couple of hours at the table, eating appetizers and drinking martinis and whiskeys before the main course. The gourmet in me loved it, but I'm afraid if I do that too often, I won't need to drive on my way back. They will just put me on the road and I'll roll all the way to Montevideo.

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Death in Kenya was one of those books which get you thinking. However, unlike books like Body Electric, this one didn't cause all that contemplation with what the book was about, but with its setting.

The detective story itself was great, very well-crafted and fascinating. It was a bit weird that the supposed protagonist, Victoria, was usually so far from the centre of the story, but this didn't detract from my enjoyment at all.

The best thing here was the very well done setting and atmosphere. With MM Kaye, I always feel as if I'm there, walking through the wild garden in the Rift Valley, or feeling the sun on my head on the crater lake. I loved this element.

Related to this were the political events taking place at that time in Kenya. As I posted earlier, I was kind of predisposed to dislike the white settlers who are the protagonists in this story. In a sense, I did. The whole attitude towards Africans was extremely condescending ("you can't expect these Africans to think such and such a thing as a European would") and derisive, and this I didn't like at all. But some of the comments Drew makes at one point, defending his right to fight for his land to Victoria, did make some sense. I'll have to keep thinking about this.

My grade for this one is A-, because I loved the whodunnit and the setting, and because the underlying issues were fascinating, even if I sometimes disliked the characters' attitudes.

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Death in Kenya, by MM Kaye

I started another one of MM Kaye's "Death Abroad" books. This one's Death in Kenya.

Plot summary:

"When Victoria Caryll is offered a position at "Flamingo," her aunt's family estate in Kenya's Rift Valley, she accepts--knowing full well that the move will give her a chance to see Eden DeBrett once again, the man she was previously engaged to. But she doesn't realize that coming to her aunt's home will introduce her to an unstable region still recovering from the bloody Mau Mau revolt, and to a household thrown into grief by a recent murder. Distinguished by its mystery, romance, and exotic setting, Death in Kenya is as graceful as it is chilling."

Before I'd read more than a few pages, I put the book down and sat down at my computer to do some research about the Mau Mau. As the author writes in the fore-word, it's not a very well remembered episode in History. Even nerdy, know-it-all, Trivial Pursuit-obsessed little me knew little about it.

What I read was illuminating, but left me with feelings of disgust for both sides.I might have read a few too many Mau Mau apologist sources (like this one), but I had some doubts I could like the white settler protagonists of this book. Let's see how it goes. So far, I'm ok, and I'm glad I did my research. I understood what being "panga'd" was (the panga is a type of big knife; you can deduce the rest), and what Drew having been part of a "pseudo gang" implied (see here, about a third from the end). Even if I don't like this one, I will have learnt a lot by the end.

Posted later...

Death in Kenya was one of those books which get you thinking. However, unlike books like Body Electric, this one didn't cause all that contemplation with what the book was about, but with its setting.

The detective story itself was great, very well-crafted and fascinating. It was a bit weird that the supposed protagonist, Victoria, was usually so far from the centre of the story, but this didn't detract from my enjoyment at all.

The best thing here was the very well done setting and atmosphere. With MM Kaye, I always feel as if I'm there, walking through the wild garden in the Rift Valley, or feeling the sun on my head on the crater lake. I loved this element.

Related to this were the political events taking place at that time in Kenya. As I posted earlier, I was kind of predisposed to dislike the white settlers who are the protagonists in this story. In a sense, I did. The whole attitude towards Africans was extremely condescending ("you can't expect these Africans to think such and such a thing as a European would") and derisive, and this I didn't like at all. But some of the comments Drew makes at one point, defending his right to fight for his land to Victoria, did make some sense. I'll have to keep thinking about this.

My grade for this one is A-, because I loved the whodunnit and the setting, and because the underlying issues were fascinating, even if I sometimes disliked the characters' attitudes.

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My Favorite Bride, by Christina Dodd

Yesterday I read Christina Dodd's My Favorite Bride. I was hesitant to read this one, because I haven't had the best experiences with her books. I hated 3 of them (A Well Pleasured Lady, Rules of Surrender and Candle in the Window), but then, I loved That Scandalous Evening, so I know she's capable of writing something I like.

Plot summary:

When Miss Samantha Prendregast arrives at Devil's Fell to take charge of six rebellious girls, the vibrant, outspoken governess is not quite prepared to deal with the tall, dark and dashing master of the grand estate. The children she can manage with intelligence, guile ... and a little bribery. Their widowed father, Colonel William Gregory, is not so easily charmed -- and far too easy to fall in love with, which she dares not do.

William always cherished the orderliness of his life, until this captivating troublemaker began flouting his authority and distracting him with her witty defiance and breathtaking beauty. Despite the fact that they clash at every meeting, William finds himself inexplicably drawn to Samantha's fire. And now he's even contemplating marriage, which would be sweet madness indeed.

But before he can successfully woo her, William must discover what it is that Samantha is hiding from him. But the secret the lady is preciously guarding is far too shocking and dangerous to ever reveal ...

I liked this book very much, but it had a fatal flaw which prevented it from being a keeper (more on that later). Still, a good, solid B .

The story was great fun. I enjoyed the nods to The Sound of Music. Jane's AAR review puts it perfectly:

"Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews did a fabulous job with longing glances, but because of the medium we never get to fully know what they're thinking. And when it gets down to it, we don't know who these people are outside of this relationship and the events that are happening to them right now. Why was Maria so set on being a nun in the first place? What happened to the Captain's wife other then that she's dead of course? And how was the sex?

Here we can find out. ;-) The problem is, it feels like Dodd tries too hard to make William resemble Captain von Trapp, when William is his own character. Details like the rigorous discipline enforced on his daughters didn't make much sense when you listen to his thoughts and watch his behaviour.

I loved the "other woman" (it would be the Baroness in The Sound of Music, right?), and in fact, I liked her better than the heroine. Dodd did a good job with her, daring to let her and Sam be friends.

Also good: the Lake District setting (I'd love to visit), the girls were ok, and the spy subplot. This last was light enough, and Dodd doesn't overwhelm us with many boring details. Most of it takes place off-stage, and the final confrontation scene was narrated in a very original manner: completely from the villainess' point of view.

The flaw I mentioned earlier comes late in the book, when William finds out that Sam had been a pick-pocket. I hated him then. Self-righteous, pig-headed prig! Who does he think he is, to go around judging people and making blanket judgements? "Once a thief, always a thief". Moron. Luckily, he does grovel in the end, and Sam, unlike many heroines, really does feel that what he's done is pretty unforgivable, and very nearly doesn't forgive him. However, his change of mind comes from self-serving reasons, and I didn't really buy it. Oh, and the sex (I don't want to call it love) scene when he decides he's going to marry Sam to keep her from "wreaking crime" on London! I despised that forced seduction scene.

Anyway, though the ending almost spoiled the whole book for me, I enjoyed the rest tremendously, so I'm giving it a good grade.

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Holiday in Death, by J.D. Robb (#7)

Yesterday I also read Holiday in Death, by J.D. Robb. This is #7 in the In Death series, and I'm rereading it for discussion.

Plot summary:

In the seventh of J.D. Robb's futuristic romance thrillers, NYPD Lieutenant Eve Dallas is on the trail of a serial killer terrorizing the city during the holidays. The only link between the victims--all are patrons of an exclusive dating service, Personally Yours. Working with her aide Officer Peabody, Peabody's nemesis Ian McNab, and her own intriguing husband, Roarke, Eve uncovers secrets that link the victims: secrets that involve both the owners and the clients of Personally Yours and which might be worth killing for.

This was one of the best in the series, I'd rate it an A.There were many good things here. I just adored Eve's dilemma of having to buy presents to all those new people in her life. It was fun to see her co-operate with Summerset to get Roarke the ideal present, and I LOLed when she forbid Peabody to buy anything and then kept buying stuff all over the place. And I loved the Peabody - McNab thingie, this is just getting started here, and it's good.

The suspense part was very good. The crimes were terribly disturbing, and heart-wrenching. I felt like crying when Eve had to go tell Marianne Hawley's boyfriend that she was dead (OT: I seem to remember Jeremy Vandoren making an appearance in another In Death book. Wonder which that was). Plus, Robb does great in her characterization, especially with the twins, who are too, too creepy.

The only bad thing here is that Eve is starting to lose the light-heartedness she had in the first few books of the series. She's much too short-tempered and intolerant for me. Oh, and, IMHO, what she does when she refuses to sleep / eat / take care of herself borders on being Too Stupid To Live. That's something I don't get of hers.

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Seduction did get better, though it'll never be my favourite Quick. I'd rate it a B.

It had many interesting elements, like Sophy succeeding in making Julian see that she had as much right to her honour as any man (I loved the duel between her and Charlotte Featherstone!), but I'm not too fond of the story-line of the heroine in love with the hero from the beginning and trying to make him fall in love with her. Plus, here, I never really saw why Sophy fell in love with Julian. She never spoke to him, or anything. She just saw him from afar and danced with him once, hardly enough for an enduring love. Just a crush, as far as I'm concerned, but we never get to see Sophy realizing it was just that and that what she's feeling now is love.

A further problem for me was, as I mentioned before, the jerk of a hero, who sees nothing wrong in doing exactly what he's promised his wife he won't do. The evil first wife is a cliché, and I hate it when heroes use it as an excuse to treat other women badly. Julian does improve, but I never really liked him.

I was intrigued by the potential secondary storyline between Anne Silverthorne, Sophy's friend, and Julian's friend (whose name I can't remember). I know JAK doesn't do 2ndary stories (at least, I don't remember ever reading any), but if lays the groundwork for one, she should follow through. Maybe she was setting up another book, but she never did write it.

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Seduction, by Amanda Quick

I started another Amanda Quick this morning: Seduction.

Plot summary:

Townsfolk called him devil. For dark and enigmatic Julian, Earl of Ravenwood, was a man with a legendary temper and a first wife whose mysterious death would not be forgotten. Some said the beautiful Lady Ravenwood had drowned herself in the black, murky waters of Ravenwood Pond. Others whispered of foul play and the devil's wrath.

Now country-bred Sophy Dorring is about to become Ravenwood's new bride. Drawn to his masculine strength and the glitter of desire that burned in his emerald eyes, the tawny-haired lass had her own reasons for agreeing to a marriage of convenience. One was vengeance, and in its pursuit she would entangle Julian in a blackmail plot, a duel at dawn, and a dangerous masquerade. The other reason was dearer to her heart, but just as wild a quest: Sophy Dorring intended to teach the devil to love again.

I'm about 80 pages into it, and it's an atypical Amanda Quick in that I can't stand the hero, Julian. He's of the "My first wife was a bitch so now I hate all women" variety, and a monstruosly arrogant jerk.

Right now, Sophy has drugged him when he tried to seduce her (in spite of having promised not to force her for the first 3 months of the marriage. It seems he doesn't feel he has to fulfill a promise made to a woman. The nerve of that man!). She tried to make a fake blood-stain on the bed so that he thought he had succeeded, but she went a bit overboard and the stain was huge (a similar episode happens in Desire). Julian now thinks he was some kind of beast, and I'm enjoying his suffering very much, thank you. I'm afraid Sophy will be made to pay, though.

Posted later...

Seduction did get better, though it'll never be my favourite Quick. I'd rate it a B.

It had many interesting elements, like Sophy succeeding in making Julian see that she had as much right to her honour as any man (I loved the duel between her and Charlotte Featherstone!), but I'm not too fond of the story-line of the heroine in love with the hero from the beginning and trying to make him fall in love with her. Plus, here, I never really saw why Sophy fell in love with Julian. She never spoke to him, or anything. She just saw him from afar and danced with him once, hardly enough for an enduring love. Just a crush, as far as I'm concerned, but we never get to see Sophy realizing it was just that and that what she's feeling now is love.

A further problem for me was, as I mentioned before, the jerk of a hero, who sees nothing wrong in doing exactly what he's promised his wife he won't do. The evil first wife is a cliché, and I hate it when heroes use it as an excuse to treat other women badly. Julian does improve, but I never really liked him.

I was intrigued by the potential secondary storyline between Anne Silverthorne, Sophy's friend, and Julian's friend (whose name I can't remember). I know JAK doesn't do 2ndary stories (at least, I don't remember ever reading any), but if lays the groundwork for one, she should follow through. Maybe she was setting up another book, but she never did write it.

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Carried Away, by Donna Kauffman

Yesterday I also read Donna Kauffman's Carried Away (do check out Kauffman's website, especially the "Bookshelf" section. I love how it's done).

Plot summary;

SHE WAS THE WRONG WOMAN...

Former Special Ops commander Trevor McQuillen isn�t used to making mistakes. But when he drags sleepy, luscious Christy Russell out of bed thinking she�s someone else, even he has to admit he got the right bed, but the wrong woman. Or is she? Christy isn�t at all what he bargained for, but as the heat escalates between them, Trevor is determined to prove to the cautious Christy that he�s the right man for her....

IN THE RIGHT PLACE!

All Christy wanted was to get some sleep when Trevor arrived to turn her life upside down—literally. But despite the bungled recon mission, she can�t help rumpling the sheets with the sexy soldier! Christy has
no intention of complicating her life with a senous relationship but Trevor's s devastating charm and passionate kisses are wearing down her resistance� How can she trust herself not to get carned away?

For some reason, this one did not really engage my attention. Maybe I was just weary of too much reading, but I kinda rushed through this one. Allowing for that, I'll give it a B-.

I liked that this one concentrated on the romance, with very few outside distractions. Ultimately, it's just the story of how Christy allows herself to take the risk of falling in love. Trevor is not particularly well done, just a perfect guy (and I do mean perfect), which means the reader can't very well understand why on earth Christy is so worried. This is a problem, because the only obstacle for this relationship is Christy's worrying.

The Vivian - Eric secondary storyline was interesting, but I'm too much of a die-hard feminist to like the way it was resolved.

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I went to the movies with Cecilia last night, to see Almodovar's latest: "Hable con Ella" ("Talk to Her"). Fascinating movie. When it finished, and the credits started rolling, noone moved. It was weird, I'd never seen anything like it. Everyone just kept staring straight ahead, like hypnotized. No clapping, no telling their neighbours how they felt about the movie, nothing, just staring.

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Desire, by Amanda Quick

Today I read Desire, by Amanda Quick. It was a very quick read. In fact, I read most of it while on the beach this morning.

Back blurb:

Upon her father's death, beautiful, headstrong Lady Clarre knew that she must wed, for the protection of the Isle of Desire new fell to her. Yet when her guardian's choice of prospective husband rode through her castle gates, she felt utterly betrayed. All sinewy muscle and savage steel, Sir Gareth of Wyckmere was not the poet she'd requested but a fearsome knight whose only interest was in war.

Legions of robbers had fallen beneath the Hellhound of Wyckmere's sword, and now this bold warrior was certain that he could tame one willful wife. Yet even Gareth could not deter Lady Clare from trying to mold him into her ideal... until their clash of wills ignited a passion that set them both aflame... and a treacherous plot put their lives in deadly peril.

This one was one of Quick's 2 medievals, and like the other one, it's definitely medieval-lite (or MedievaLand, as a reviewer from AAR once called this type of book). I'm not a big fan of historical accuracy, so I much prefer a medieval which glosses over the ugliest elements of the period, as this one does.

I especially loved the setting of this one, the Island of Desire. The name is stupid, but the place itself was great. Beautiful and peaceful. This was one of those books where you really feel as if you were right there with the characters. I could almost smell the flowers.

Gareth was similar to many JAK characters, a lonely man who needed the heroine to bring life into his life. He was a bit high-handed, but good. Clare was somewhat impulsive, but I loved that she was so practical and was ready to recognize when she had made a mistake.

The suspense subplot wasn't too interesting, but it didn't detract from the main story, so it was ok. All in all, a B+

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Finished DUD (wow, wonder if Harris thought about how we readers sometimes refer to books by their acronym when she named her book!). This was much better than my previous vampire experiences, but still, this is not for me, thankyouverymuch. Yeah, I'll probably be reading the sequel, since I already have it (I traded for it, and adding one more book was pretty inexpensive, so I thought "What the hell!"), but I don't think I would have tried to get it if I didn't.

Problem is, I'm too squeamish for this. This book has less gore than the Anita series, yes, but it's still too much for me. And it shows the ugly side of life a little too well. Thank heavens for Sookie and her witty voice and down-to-earth outlook, otherwise this book would have really depressed me. As it was, I was a little grossed out at times, but the pages kept turning easily.

Sookie's relationship with Bill helped too. Bill was an excellent character... great guy, very nice to Sookie, but displaying dangerous flashes of "vampireyness". Having the story narrated in the first person by Sookie worked to allow him to keep that dangerous edge, something that wouldn't have happened if we'd been inside his head.

This one was difficult to grade. I'd say a B.

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Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris

Last night I started Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris. I know I said I wasn't reading any more vampire books after reading Feehan and Hamilton, because I found them yucky, but I swear this is my last try. If I don't like this one, I'm done with the whole genre.

Plot description:

"Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana, but she keeps to herself and doesn't date much because of her "disability" to read minds. When she meets Bill, Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking. He's the type of guy she's waited for all of her life, but he has a disability, too--he's a vampire with a bad reputation. When one of Sookie's coworkers is killed, she fears she's next."

Posted later...

Finished DUD (wow, wonder if Harris thought about how we readers sometimes refer to books by their acronym when she named her book!). This was much better than my previous vampire experiences, but still, this is not for me, thankyouverymuch. Yeah, I'll probably be reading the sequel, since I already have it (I traded for it, and adding one more book was pretty inexpensive, so I thought "What the hell!"), but I don't think I would have tried to get it if I didn't.

Problem is, I'm too squeamish for this. This book has less gore than the Anita Blake series, yes, but it's still too much for me. And it shows the ugly side of life a little too well. Thank heavens for Sookie and her witty voice and down-to-earth outlook, otherwise this book would have really depressed me. As it was, I was a little grossed out at times, but the pages kept turning easily.

Sookie's relationship with Bill helped too. Bill was an excellent character... great guy, very nice to Sookie, but displaying dangerous flashes of "vampireyness". Having the story narrated in the first person by Sookie worked to allow him to keep that dangerous edge, something that wouldn't have happened if we'd been inside his head.

This one was difficult to grade. I'd say a B.

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I didn't read much these last days. I was very optimistic when I packed for Punta, put like 5 books into my backpack. Turns out I could only finish Deep Waters and start one other book.

Deep Waters was very, very good. An A. I want a guy just like Elias: very beta, solid, dependable, a little mysterious, deep, vegetarian, good cook. I loved him. Problem is, with time, he was cooler than most JAK heroes and with time, her heroes stared getting cooler and cooler. Elias struck just the right balance, but the following ones weren't as good.

Charity was great too. No ditzy girl, this one, but a real grown-up woman. I really identified with her feeling she had to quit her high-powered job. It felt (in a smaller scale, of course!) just like when I quit working for the bank and came to my current job: less money and power, but work I actually like and much less stress.

Those two together were perfect. Their relationship was lovely to see develop. This was a leisurely (sp?) book. Not a page turner, but sometimes you feel just like reading something you can wallow in, so it was perfect. Anyway, Elias and Charity's relationship develops with the same rythm, and it just felt right.

And I should comment on Tal Kek Chara and the food. Now, I'm pretty sure Tal Kek Chara is supposed to be a parody, but it made sense to me! I'm weird! Then the food. All I can say is yum. I made a note of the food mentioned and I'm going to look for the recipes online and try them out.

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I'm back! Happy New Year, everyone! I'm dead on my feet. I stayed up late last night watching Gran Hermano and I got up early today (had to drive straight to work from Punta del Este), so it's my own fault, I guess.

No celebration on New Year for me this time. Blame my gluttony. We were on the way to Punta on Tuesday when we stopped in Atlantida (about 50 km to the east of Montevideo) for lunch. Before I got into the car, I told my dad I'd grab one white chocolate truffle for dessert from the box we had stashed behind my seat in the car. Problem was, most of the backseat was full of stuff, so I had to do that from outside the car.

While I was getting that damned truffle, dad apparently forgot I was still out of the car and started driving... right over my left foot! But he didn't just roll over it, no! I shrieked the moment I felt the car on my foot, so he just stopped the car as soon as he heard me, on my foot. I kept screaming and when he looked at me, his face was so funny I just started laughing like a loon. Between screaming and laughing, I never told him what was going on, so we stayed in that position for a good 10 seconds: he staring at me in horror, me half laughing half crying, with my foot under the wheel.

Finally, I recovered enough to tell him to reverse. Lucky the car was my mom's, a tiny Suzuki Maruti, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Still, my foot felt numb for about an hour and is still tender. Hence, no dancing for me on January 1st.

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