Bitchin' Blog Posts
: Jr Ward
December 14, 2011 | Wednesday | 39 Comments
I am not sure what the word is - overheard? read? visually eavesdropped? - but I read a conversation between Shannon Stacey and Angela James about paranormal vs. contemporary romances, and why the fanbase for some paranormal series is more active, involved, and at times rabid than the fans for contemporary series.
This idea made me ponder for a good few weeks now about why that is.
First, the idea that a paranormal romance series can enjoy a more active and sometimes coordinated fanbase is true, but that doesn't mean there aren't well-coordinated efforts on behalf of contemporary romance series.
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October 03, 2011 | Monday | 12 Comments
First, Jennifer Crusie asked me a set of questions that were as challenging as Jane’s, and the interview that resulted is up on ArghInk. I am also over at BookPage answering questions about the genre, about EIKAL, and which type of romance I’d most like to find myself in. (HOUSE PARTY, Y’ALL. HOUSE PARTY!) And if the samples provided online aren’t enough, you can read an extended excerpt of the chapter about (ahem) sex over at Kirkus today! ETA: Linda Holmes over at NPR’s Monkey See pop culture blog also examined EIKAL and how it works, and proposes that she…
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June 14, 2010 | Monday | 135 Comments
I was sucked into watching a terribly written but strangely compelling Disney movie (Starstruck - do yourself a favor and do not go near it. If you lose two hours of your life, you can’t blame me) and it got me thinking about crack. I know we’ve talked about this before but what is it that makes some books, movies, or tv shows utterly cracktastic so you cannot put them down? Sometimes its the train wreck factor, like Toddlers and Tiaras. I have met more than one person who has encountered the show and has not been able to look…
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September 23, 2009 | Wednesday | 39 Comments
Could it be? Why, yes! It’s a summary of Chapters 41 through 44 of J.R. Ward’s Dark Lover! Howdy all! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve had a chance to sit down and snark on a few more chapters of Ward’s much-vaunted vampire tome. (I blame my tenure packet, due in a little over a month to my department Chair.) I need to get back in the saddle and ride on through these last chapters, as there aren’t many left. These last few chapters are for the most part short, silly, and incredibly oy-inducing. I hope y’all enjoy. Chapter…
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August 27, 2009 | Thursday | 27 Comments
Please, sir, I’d like some more…of J.R. Ward’s skillfully crafted paranormal masterpiece, Dark Lover! Chapters 36 through 50, comin’ up! As the book goes on, the chapters become shorter (thank the Scribe Virgin!) and sillier. The next several are all some of the book’s most delightful. We get to meet a goddess, we’re treated to more stilted dialogue from Marissa and Butch, and we’re exposed to dangerously high levels of over-the-top masculinity. One note before I continue: I should say that if Ms. Ward is reading any of these reviews, she’s being a tremendously good sport about it, and she…
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August 20, 2009 | Thursday | 48 Comments
Chapters 31 through 35 of J. R. Ward’s Dhark Lover, as told by DocTurtle We’re finally more than halfway through this beast of a book, and the action’s picking up. What’s in store for us yet? As I look back over these chapters (please remember that I long ago finished reading the book), I find myself worrying that I may run out of things to snark: how many times can you make fun of sentence structure, silly names, and overblown product placement? Then I realize that here and there are scattered pockets of comedic wonderfulness, hiding in the pages of…
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August 19, 2009 | Wednesday | 58 Comments
My Date with a Vampire continues as we pass directly through the dark, dark center of J.R. Ward’s Dark Lover! Chapter 26: Sex + exposition = sexposition As this first chapter of the second half of Ward’s novel begins, Beth and Wrath wrap up their first dinner date with dessert: “Whole strawberries on a gold-rimmed plate. Some chocolate on the side to dip them in. A little cookie.” And not one of them with a corporate sponsor! How sad. Wrath takes especial pleasure in feeding Beth a strawberry, even as she questions him about his whereabouts and goings-on from the…
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August 13, 2009 | Thursday | 30 Comments
Chapters 21 through 25 of J.R. Ward’s Dark Lover Almost halfway through this sucker. Time to put on my shitkickers and wrap-around Ray-Bans and dive into the next set o’ chapters… Chapter 21: This chapter brought to you by TBS, and by Sam Adams, America’s World Class Beer™ “I’m Tohrment, a friend of Wrath’s. You can call me Tohr.” Yup, Tohr’s stopped by to keep Beth company and to keep an eye on her. (For those of you who are fans of the Western-footwear-whose-name-shall-not-again-be-written: Tohr’s rockin’ ‘em.) Wrath’s most comfortable with Tohr keeping tabs on Beth because Tohr’s deeply entrenched…
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August 12, 2009 | Wednesday | 29 Comments
Chapters 16 through 20 of J.R. Ward’s Dark Lover, as filtered through the mind of a snarky mathematician Well, we’ve made it this far, folks! Shall we go on? Yes, indeed we shall! The next several chapters are filled with more action than the last several, and so they read very quickly. Chapter 16: Fill your glasses, ladies and gentlemen… …the drinking game recommences. There’s not a great deal of action in this chapter (Beth returns to Wayne Manor with Wrath while Butch curses himself for putting her in a position where harm can and almost certainly will come to…
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August 06, 2009 | Thursday | 105 Comments
Killing me softly with this tome: Chapters 10 through 16 of J.R. Ward’s Dark Lover Oy. Another six chapters. The action’s heating up and the plot takes a few odd turns, but the characters are pretty much stuck in place. There’s pretty much no characterization beyond “Beth is bold and sexy” and “Wrath is a total bad-ass.” These characters are flatter than a stretch of Interstate in Indiana. Let’s pick up where we left off… Chapter Ten: Mangled metaphors on aisle six Beth lies in bed near the end of her steamy Wrathful night. She looks over her partner dreamily.…
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August 05, 2009 | Wednesday | 39 Comments
On, on, deeper into J.R. Ward’s Dark Lover! In reading the comments to my first post on this bit of dreck I feel as though I’ve found several dozen kindred spirits. Now on Chapter 33, I’m having to backtrack a bit to keep up with the chapter summaries (but what fun they are! well worth the trouble), and I too am sick and tired of gratuitous references to gangsta rap artists (J.R., puhleeze: just because you know who Jay-Z is doesn’t mean you’re still wit’ it. Embrace your badass old school self!) and prominent product placements. Can somebody please tell…
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July 27, 2009 | Monday | 111 Comments
He’s back! After the splendid members of the Bitchery recommended many, many books for Dr. Turtle, aka SBiT Patrick, the choice was Dark Lover by JR Ward. Behold: Chapters 1-5. Let the mhahgic begihn! If you’re not familiar with the styling’s of DocTurtle’s romance blogging, he reviews the book chapter by chapter. Ergo: SPOILERS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ARE BELOW THE FOLD OK?!?!! Hey, all! DocTurtle…or SBiT Patrick…or whatever we decided I should be called on this blog…here, ready to say a few words about my latest reading assignment for SBTB, J.R. Ward’s Dark Lover, the first of a…
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April 06, 2009 | Monday | 15 Comments
From the Unintentionally Hilarious Department: Beyond Heaving Bosoms: the Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels is #2 in “Movements & Periods” on Amazon.
No, really, take a look. While being #2 in Movements and Periods makes me giggle like a 10 year old boy, I have goals. And my goal? NUMBER ONE in Movements and Periods.
Oh, hell. Never mind. We’re screwed.
[Thanks to Hubby for obsessively checking on the status of our movements and periods.]
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June 06, 2008 | Friday | 143 Comments
So a few folks have pointed out the hiss and snarl that’s going on at the Amazon.com page for JR Ward’s newest book,Lover Enshrined. If I had to sum up my reaction to some of these reviews, I’d have to say, “What the crapping damn hell is going on here?” I’ve never seen an Amazon review section where there’s roughly the same number of reviews for each level, from five stars down to one. The laudatory reviews proclaim it a bold new direction for the series; the one-star reviews are ready to sit on low benches and mourn the passing…
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