Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Dangerously Close by Dee J. Adams: A Guest Review by Sassy Outwater

(SB Sarah: I tweeted Sassy Outwater while I was reading this book because I had questions about the portrayal of the blind character, the heroine, Ashley. She started reading the book (and is a MUCH faster reader than I am) and wrote her own review. My review will be posted later today). 

Sarah tweeted this book at me and then upped the ante with a speed read challenge: blind chick with screen reader Vs. a smartbitch with eyeballs. I so got that! Three hour read, and a lasting impression later, here’s my review.

A good book is like a good song. Scenes or lines stick in your head and won’t get the hell out of there. Cliché but true. This was one of those for me.  Dangerously Close by Dee J. Adams is the third book in the Adrenaline Highs series from Carina Press. I wouldn’t call this book an adrenaline high, but I would call it accurate, treacherous, and an overall wonderful read. Adams… read more »

Viking by Fabio - A Guest Review by RedHeadedGirl

The things I do for your entertainment.

So, to get back to the discussions of Old Skool WTFery, I went as WTF as I could.  I went Fabio.

You remember, right, that Fabio “wrote” a couple of romances back in The Day? I remember reading an article in Parade (I think) when his first one came out, and that he had put his foot down that his books would not portray smoking and would encourage safe sex. I remember a scene in Pirate where the Fabio character (because seriously?  It’s self-insert fic.  Let’s be honest, here) was about to commence fucking a whore, and she got all pouty when he pulled out a (accurate) sheepskin condom.

It’s sweet.

Anyway, here we have Viking.

Tempting The Bride by Sherry Thomas

Well, I just don't know what to say.  Sherry Thomas took a generous handful of my very least favorite tropes and said, "Carrie, my book has an asshole hero and a selfish heroine and several plot devices that you loathe.  Go on, read it.  I DARE YOU", and I loved it.

How does she do that?   The lush writing and the layered, complex characters who are always far more complicated than they first appear, the attention to history, and the fun and lovely details of life help, but I'm also convinced that there must be some sort of magical influence at work.

Tempting is the third book in the Victorian Era Fitzhugh trilogy, but I think it would be fine to read this as a stand-alone novel.  There are a lot of descriptions of the other Fitzhughs being lovey dovey, and of course that's more emotionally satisfying if you know who these people are, but it's not necessary in terms of following the story.  Helena is the Fitzhugh sister who is a book publisher.  She has been… read more »

Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan: A Guest Review by CarrieS

Here's my second monster-iffic review in honor of Halloween - and this one is a must read!  Team Human is funny, it's thought provoking, it's sweet, and it made me cry when I least expected it.  And yes, there is lovely romance in it.

Although it's not a romance novel, I enjoyed watching the couples in this book interact and develop as couples and as people more than I've enjoyed many romantic pairs in romance novels lately. 

I've heard Team Human described as an affectionate parody of Twilight, and that's partially accurate, but I'm not sure the term "parody" gives it justice.  It's a very thoughtful and suspenseful book for all its humor.  Basically, Mel is a teenager who lives in a town that was founded by vampires.  The vampires live in a separate section of town and generally stay apart from humans, but one day a gorgeous vampire teen named Francis enrolls at Mel's high school.  Mel's best friend, Cathy, is instantly smitten with Francis and when her adoration is requited, she… read more »

Monster In My Closet by R.L. Naquin:  A Guest Review by CarrieS

In honor of Halloween, I'm reviewing a couple of monster-iffic books this month.  If you'll allow an incredibly hackneyed Halloween analogy, Monster In My Closet looked like a treat at first but turned out to be more of a trick - the kind that is gross and depressing, like having your car egged.

It starts off as a fun and quirky urban fantasy but then the villain appears and suddenly there are all these long, graphic scenes of rape and murder.  In between the rape and murder stuff the book tries to go back to being a light fantasy, which just adds to the squick.  Add a perfunctory romance with a completely undeveloped character, and a heroine who is too stupid to live, and the book falls apart.

How to Date a Henchman by Mari Fee: a Guest Review by CarrieS

How to Date a Henchman is short and blissfully fluffy, but it is also quite original.  Many, many points to author Mari Fee for finding an original take on telling a superhero story.

The book was funny as heck.  There's no sex and no major resolution to the romance - this is a book about a first date, not a full-scale romance.  But it does its job of telling a first date superhero story superbly and is fun and interesting and left me wanting to read about the further adventures of Burke and Gina.

Guest Bitch Review: My Loving Vigil Keeping by Carla Kelly

Susan contacted me about her love of Carla Kelly books, and told me that she loves Kelly's writing so much that she followed the author into writing Mormon inspirationals, even though inspirationals are not Susan's most favoritest type of romance. I thought her review was very thoughtful and interesting, and wanted to share it with you. 

I think many people (myself included) are wary of inspirationals for fear of Too Much Preaching to the Reader, and also the possibility of actual Deux working some Ex Machina in the denouement. Reviews for the Rita Reader Challenge in the Inspirational category have made me rethink my own wariness, and Susan's review does as well. 

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My Loving Vigil Keeping is the third of Kelly’s Mormon/inspirational romances following Borrowed Light ( A | BN | K | S) and Enduring Light ( A | BN | K | S). It is the story of Della Anders, a poor relation… read more »

Cordelia’s Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold - A Guest Review by CarrieS

Lois McMaster Bujold wrote what is quite possibly the most famous, beloved, and awesome science fiction romance ever, A Civil Campaign.  ( A | BN | K | S | iB) A Civil Campaign is a Regency Romance set in space, with manners, fantastic clothes, and awkward dinner parties mixed with cloning, recovery from physical and mental trauma, inter-galactic politics, humor, sadness, glowing HEAs, and much more.

Book Rant: There and Now by Linda Lael Miller

Kristy sent me the following Book Rant, and it was too fun not to share. I love it when I get thoughtful, funny rants and recommendations in my inbox - it reminds me daily that I'm not alone in having Very Strong Reactions to books! And now, meet Kristy, who has a book she'd like to tell you about: There and Now by Linda Lael Miller. If you'd like to read along at home, this book is available from ( A | BN | K | S | ARe).

My Wallet Just Experienced An Intimate Plundering

There are many things one should avoid doing when one is sleep deprived. We are all familiar with the obvious things - operating heavy machinery, performing Lasik eye surgery, attempting to follow a David Lynch film... I have recently been given cause to add yet another thing to the ever important list of things to avoid doing when sleep deprived (or… read more »

Gabriel’s Ghost by Linnea Sinclair: A Guest Review by CarrieS

Several people in the comments threads had mentioned Linea Sinclair as a great writer of Science Fiction Romance so I tried out Gabriel's Ghost. 

Guys, I am not getting it.  Help me out here!  The writing is solid enough, the world building is decent, but I barely made it through this book.  What am I missing?

Prides and Prejudices: A Movie Review Collection by Carrie S.

It's the end of summer, and time for therapeutic movie watching.  Either the kids are still out of school and driving you bonkers, or they are back in school and you are madly filling out backpacks full of forms, or you are in your cubicle lamenting the days when you actually had a real summer vacation, or, you are on a yacht with a billionaire playboy pirate sheik, in which case, we all hate you.

Anyway, I've been on a Pride and Prejudice ( A | BN | K | S | ARe ) binge lately and although we don't normally review movies here at Smart Bitches, SB Sarah has made a late summer exception.  (SB Sarah: This is easily the most expensive guest review I've ever run, as I ended up buying nearly all of Carrie's recommendations. Darn it.) 

Here are a few adaptations for you to try in case you need to escape to the English countryside for a while.  Of course there are many adaptations I haven't reviewed, for instance: the 1940 film with Greer Garson and Lawrence Olivier, the BBC mini-series from 1980, and Pride and Prejudice:  A Latter Day Comedy, a film… read more »

The Emperor’s Edge by Lindsay Buroker - A Guest Review by AnonyMiss

AnonyMiss asked if she could review a self-published book that she'd really enjoyed, and after reading her email about the book, wherein she went on at length about all the different things she liked about it, I nearly begged her to write it all out for you. Here is her guest review.

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Summary: Amaranthe Lokdon is one of the few female enforcers in the history of the Empire – and an excellent one. After a chance meeting with the young emperor, she is given a difficult assignment: find and eliminate the infamous assassin, Sicarius – an assignment that seems to be a suicide mission.

As she attempts to do her duty, Amaranthe must reassess who is truly the enemy of the empire – and why they are trying to have her killed.

Amaranthe is a great heroine: strong, focused, talented, bright – but also a bit OCD (if trapped in the villain’s lair, she tends to start tidying) and impetuous. Her journey is about leadership and… read more »

The Superheroes Union: Dynama by Ruth Diaz - A Guest Review by CarrieS

I fell in love with Dynama from its very first page, in which our heroine, TJ Gutierrez, a superhero, is interrupted -- while removing a bi-pedal shark from her city's downtown district -- by a phone call from her daughter's school nurse informing her that "Marisol is sitting in my office with a fever of 102.  We'll need you to come pick her up".

TJ is a superhero who is also a single mom of twins.  Her ex-husband turned evil and went to prison many years ago.  When he breaks out, TJ has to figure out how to save the world and protect her kids.  Luckily, the babysitting service she calls sends Annmarie, the daughter of superheroes, who is unfazed by all this super villain menace.  While the overall tone is one of pure, glorious fun (see:  bi-pedal shark) this short book has a lot of interesting subtext about a whole host of social issues, not to mention the infrastructure of a world in which superheroes exist.

TJ is great.  A Latina… read more »

A Night Like This by Julia Quinn:  A Guest Review by CarrieS

Full disclosure:  This review is biased.  Julia Quinn was one of the first romance authors I discovered (thanks to Smart Bitches, in fact).

Unfortunately for future reviews, she wrote the perfect book, What Happens in London ( A | BN | K | S | ARe ), a couple years ago and now every Julia Quinn book I read suffers by comparison.  So if I had read A Night Like This earlier, I suspect it would have gotten an A, but now I hold everything against the standard of What Happens In London and if no one is pecked to death by pigeons then it's just not the same.  It's not fair, but it's a fact. 

Night of Fire by Nico Rosso:  A Guest Review by CarrieS

You always hurt the ones you love, and despite the fact that I have a little crush on Nico Rosso (he writes science fiction romance, inspired by his wife, Zoe Archer - how cool is that?) I'm gonna be pretty harsh to Night of Fire - yet another Rosso book that is just good enough to make you wish it was better.

I grade tough on Rosso because I can see an A grade book inside every book he writes but it doesn't quite come out.  Step up, Nico; stop teasing me with awesome story concepts and then failing to deliver!  I am counting on you!

Night of Fire is the second book in the Ether Chronicles series that Zoe Archer and Nico Rosso are writing together (they alternate books, each a stand-alone in a shared universe series).  Tom Knox is a soldier on leave from the wars who is returning home in search of "Chicken.  Berry pie.  A shade tree...". 

Three years ago, he left his sweetheart,… read more »