Over at Dear Author, a new reviewer who is fifteen years old has been reviewing romance and YA. Now he's reviewed an erotic romance.
To say I'm uncomfortable with this is an understatement. The reviewer is obviously intelligent, well spoken, thoughtful and appears more mature than I am on a good day. I'm old enough to be his grandmother by the way. And I'm much too old and much too polite to talk erotic romance with a fifteen year old boy.
When my daughter starts stealing books out of my library and reading them for the hot parts, I'll look the other way and let her read as she likes. If she chooses to read what I write (and there are some hot parts in those too), I'll blush and look the other way.
If my daughter wants to talk to me about what she reads then as her mother I'll be right there and listening. That's part of my job as her mother. However, if her best friend wants to join the conversation then that's where I have to draw the line. It's inappropriate for an adult to have a conversation with a child that isn't theirs about sex and all the squishy stuff that entails.
If I found that someone was discussing sex with my underage child I would be contacting the authorities. I'm just that kind of Mom. It's my job to keep my child safe and even if my child was mature and the person they were talking to was hands-off and just sharing conversation: it would still be wrong and I would be all over that with mace and handcuffs.
Having a fifteen year old boy discussing erotic romance on a popular website seems like a bad idea in every way I can think of. Is there anyone else out there who finds this as wrong as I do? Or am I just a reactionary old bitch who doesn't understand that fifteen is the new forty?
What say you out there?
Friday, May 14, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
My Ereader and Me
Carolyn:
Actually, it's not a real Kindle, because money is still tight. It's the Kindle for PC program, a free download. So, I downloaded it. And boy, was I in business!!
I'm sort of on an ebook overdose. I haunt Amazon these days. So many FREE BOOKS! Most of which I'll never read. *blush* But - I mean - FREE!!!
Also, I downloaded this program just before the Big 5 price change and got some real deals on books that I DID want to read. I suppose I should be thankful the prices went up; it saved myself from myself, from nickle and dime-ing myself to death.
But I love my Kindle PC. Yes, I'm stuck at the computer, but I'm there most of the time anyway.
Long story, but there's no room in the livingroom, so I mostly stay in with my computer. My computer and I have bonded. Yes, indeed.
Lori:
I have my Sony and my Sony has me.
We're as happy as the 2 of us can be.
I read my books, both paper and e
But unlike Carol, I hate to read on my PC.
Okay, anyway.... I have the little Sony ereader and I loves my Sony. I like that it's lightweight. I like that it's pink. I like it's sleeve. I like my bookshelf on my computer with the pretty covers and my ereads with occasionally strange formatting.
I'm still getting used to reading on the Sony. I love being able to lay it flat on the table in the lunchroom and not try to eat my lunch while balancing a book open. I like not losing my place. I like the ease in buying.
I love the number of free books out there and I hate that Fictionwise became such a piss poor company overnight. eHarlequin rocks however and I have to give it BIG ASS kudos for being so forward thinking.
I especially love knowing that I can read the ebooks of the people I meet online and be a part of their community too.
I love my Sony indeed. If only I could share books with Carolyn's Kindle.
Actually, it's not a real Kindle, because money is still tight. It's the Kindle for PC program, a free download. So, I downloaded it. And boy, was I in business!!
I'm sort of on an ebook overdose. I haunt Amazon these days. So many FREE BOOKS! Most of which I'll never read. *blush* But - I mean - FREE!!!
Also, I downloaded this program just before the Big 5 price change and got some real deals on books that I DID want to read. I suppose I should be thankful the prices went up; it saved myself from myself, from nickle and dime-ing myself to death.
But I love my Kindle PC. Yes, I'm stuck at the computer, but I'm there most of the time anyway.
Long story, but there's no room in the livingroom, so I mostly stay in with my computer. My computer and I have bonded. Yes, indeed.
Lori:
I have my Sony and my Sony has me.
We're as happy as the 2 of us can be.
I read my books, both paper and e
But unlike Carol, I hate to read on my PC.
Okay, anyway.... I have the little Sony ereader and I loves my Sony. I like that it's lightweight. I like that it's pink. I like it's sleeve. I like my bookshelf on my computer with the pretty covers and my ereads with occasionally strange formatting.
I'm still getting used to reading on the Sony. I love being able to lay it flat on the table in the lunchroom and not try to eat my lunch while balancing a book open. I like not losing my place. I like the ease in buying.
I love the number of free books out there and I hate that Fictionwise became such a piss poor company overnight. eHarlequin rocks however and I have to give it BIG ASS kudos for being so forward thinking.
I especially love knowing that I can read the ebooks of the people I meet online and be a part of their community too.
I love my Sony indeed. If only I could share books with Carolyn's Kindle.
Monday, May 10, 2010
A Question About One Night Stands
I'm reading Louisa Edward's On the Steamy Side and it begins with 2 people in a bar who decide to hook up. They don't bother to learn each other's names but she can tell he's a decent guy (plus the bartender said he was and that's good enough for our heroine!)
I'm more than a little squicked out by this. I know that these characters will become the H/h and fall in love and have their HEA but well ... anonymous sex with a stranger doesn't put me in mind of HEA.
What say you? Knowing the H/h start their story that way would you keep reading? Would you not care because it's a romance? Would you throw the book against the wall because it's a little too squicky for a romance?
I'm more than a little squicked out by this. I know that these characters will become the H/h and fall in love and have their HEA but well ... anonymous sex with a stranger doesn't put me in mind of HEA.
What say you? Knowing the H/h start their story that way would you keep reading? Would you not care because it's a romance? Would you throw the book against the wall because it's a little too squicky for a romance?
Friday, May 7, 2010
Carolyn's Love Via Southern Cooking (Kinda)
I've been thinking about the past lately. Actually, it started with the Great Mullet Smackdown between Canadian Kristy J and American SB Sarah. Although it was all in fun, it got me to wondering - are we really so very different?
When I moved to Alabama from Toronto Canada 40+ years ago, I think my answer would have been a resounding YES! Not only was I going from a large city to what I guess what would be termed a town (pop. 20,000), but I was entering what seemed to me to be the Twilight Zone. Southerners have their own ways of doing things.
For one thing - they cook food to death. Not that I cooked, you understand. Mom may have thought she was teaching me, but I somehow managed to dodge even the simplest basics. But a lot of our food - vegetables and fruit - in Canada were steamed, baked or just plain raw. Now I had entered the land of "if you can eat it, fry it" and if you can't fry it, boil it to death.
My first experience with cooking Southern was blackeyed peas. These were fresh from the garden, compliments of a first cousin belonging to John. So, you know, I cooked them as I thought they should be cooked. Like English peas. I can remember eating English peas straight from the pod, so you know they don't need much cooking. I proudly dished up my first attempt at cooking southern food and those blackeyes peas bounced around the plate like BB shot!
See, you're supposed to cook blackeyed peas at least 2 hours, after seasoning them with fatback or bacon strips. That's so you get a liqor (yes I spelled that right) to dunk your cornbread in.
John laughed his ass off (not that he has much of a one in the first place!). I was not amused.
Then I compounded my error due to differences in language. That same cousin dropped off some turnips, also fresh from the garden.
Well now. After the fact, I discovered that what we called turnips in Canada were called rutabagas down here. And lots of other places, for all I know. But I knew turnips as those big waxy things that are so hard to peel. Sort of all purpley and white. I do remember thinking Southern turnips were rather puny, but shrugged my shoulders and got on with preparing them. Cut off the tops (good lord, there were a lot of tops!), peeled the puny turnips and cooked them as I remembered Mom doing it with a pinch of sugar and salt and a slab of butter on top when they got to the serving bowl.
John couldn't eat them, they were so bitter. That's when I learned I cut off and threw away the wrong part. It's the green, leafy tops I was supposed to cook. Called turnip greens down here. You cook 'em with fatback and/or bacon and if you wish you can add a few cubes of the turnip, but not too many. They are bitter, you know. It is certainly a sign of true love when a man puts his stomach second to a woman. Romance, southern style.
I tried to make Brunswick stew; it scorched. We ate it anyway, with little flecks of black throughout it. Very decorative. My chicken and dumplings? I may be the only person in the south whose dumplings collapsed. I buy Sweet Sue now.
About the only thing I got good at was cornbread dressing. That's because I couldn't cook the wild duck without it drying out, so I boiled the hell out of it, stripped it off the bones and put it in a 13x9 baking dish of cornbread dressing. Not too bad. My guys did eat it, anyway. But that was when I was older and wiser and had become fairly familiar with my stove. I also discovered if you wrap dove breasts in bacon they won't dry out. Took me awhile though. And John kept eating questionable food. True love, I tell ya!
I've settled in down here and have found that people are people, no matter if they're north of the border or south. Southerners certainly don't talk like Canadians, but their values are the same.
And didn't someone wise once say 'variety is the spice of life'? If they didn't mean the South, they should have! The South, where a southern gentleman - in all senses of the word - will dutifully eat questionable food cooked by someone who could have been a damn Yankee, except she lived too far North.
It's true love and in it's own way, entirely romantic.
When I moved to Alabama from Toronto Canada 40+ years ago, I think my answer would have been a resounding YES! Not only was I going from a large city to what I guess what would be termed a town (pop. 20,000), but I was entering what seemed to me to be the Twilight Zone. Southerners have their own ways of doing things.
For one thing - they cook food to death. Not that I cooked, you understand. Mom may have thought she was teaching me, but I somehow managed to dodge even the simplest basics. But a lot of our food - vegetables and fruit - in Canada were steamed, baked or just plain raw. Now I had entered the land of "if you can eat it, fry it" and if you can't fry it, boil it to death.
My first experience with cooking Southern was blackeyed peas. These were fresh from the garden, compliments of a first cousin belonging to John. So, you know, I cooked them as I thought they should be cooked. Like English peas. I can remember eating English peas straight from the pod, so you know they don't need much cooking. I proudly dished up my first attempt at cooking southern food and those blackeyes peas bounced around the plate like BB shot!
See, you're supposed to cook blackeyed peas at least 2 hours, after seasoning them with fatback or bacon strips. That's so you get a liqor (yes I spelled that right) to dunk your cornbread in.
John laughed his ass off (not that he has much of a one in the first place!). I was not amused.
Then I compounded my error due to differences in language. That same cousin dropped off some turnips, also fresh from the garden.
Well now. After the fact, I discovered that what we called turnips in Canada were called rutabagas down here. And lots of other places, for all I know. But I knew turnips as those big waxy things that are so hard to peel. Sort of all purpley and white. I do remember thinking Southern turnips were rather puny, but shrugged my shoulders and got on with preparing them. Cut off the tops (good lord, there were a lot of tops!), peeled the puny turnips and cooked them as I remembered Mom doing it with a pinch of sugar and salt and a slab of butter on top when they got to the serving bowl.
John couldn't eat them, they were so bitter. That's when I learned I cut off and threw away the wrong part. It's the green, leafy tops I was supposed to cook. Called turnip greens down here. You cook 'em with fatback and/or bacon and if you wish you can add a few cubes of the turnip, but not too many. They are bitter, you know. It is certainly a sign of true love when a man puts his stomach second to a woman. Romance, southern style.
I tried to make Brunswick stew; it scorched. We ate it anyway, with little flecks of black throughout it. Very decorative. My chicken and dumplings? I may be the only person in the south whose dumplings collapsed. I buy Sweet Sue now.
About the only thing I got good at was cornbread dressing. That's because I couldn't cook the wild duck without it drying out, so I boiled the hell out of it, stripped it off the bones and put it in a 13x9 baking dish of cornbread dressing. Not too bad. My guys did eat it, anyway. But that was when I was older and wiser and had become fairly familiar with my stove. I also discovered if you wrap dove breasts in bacon they won't dry out. Took me awhile though. And John kept eating questionable food. True love, I tell ya!
I've settled in down here and have found that people are people, no matter if they're north of the border or south. Southerners certainly don't talk like Canadians, but their values are the same.
And didn't someone wise once say 'variety is the spice of life'? If they didn't mean the South, they should have! The South, where a southern gentleman - in all senses of the word - will dutifully eat questionable food cooked by someone who could have been a damn Yankee, except she lived too far North.
It's true love and in it's own way, entirely romantic.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Celebrity Crushes by Lea, Part 2
Ok, I’m back :D Now where was I..?
The Footscray Football Team (aka Western Bulldogs). I love my guys, seriously. I’m not at the stalker stage but when in Melbourne I did go every week to see them play. But that’s allowed – without people like me, the grounds would be empty lol. Football is a religious thing for us Aussies, regardless of the code and the huge crowds that go each week attest to that. Once was a time a girl would only go to perv on the guys in their short shorts. We’re over that now (only because some wear baggier shorts with bike pants underneath lol) and actually go to support our team. Yep, this is a celebrity crush 30 years in the making. The fact that they’re cute too doesn’t hurt lol
No list (of mine, at least) would be complete without the addition of Sébastien Izambard. Le hottie from France is just too good to be true. I’m most certainly positive that he isn’t perfect but he exudes the image really well. Handsome, talented, lovable, funny, family orientated – what’s not to love! The fact he wooed and won the heart of an Aussie chick doesn’t hurt either. Like Hugh, he is very much for his family and doesn’t mind bringing them up in conversation even when it’s not relevant (hmm, maybe that’s a fault... lol). Yes, indeed, the sexiest member of IL Divo (sorry ladies – just know that I would take Carlos before the Urs lol) is just the whole shebang. And what I wouldn’t give to shebang... Sorry ;P
Picture this, if you will. Tall, blond, kissable lips, hard body wrapped in rubber... Now, it’s not what you think. Well, it is maybe, just not for this post. I am of course referring to the best Batman – Val Kilmer. When he had that mask on his lips were just so much more enticing, doncha think? Still, I had a thing for Val before he made that terrible movie (I loved him, the movie was shit). I first noticed him in a little movie called Top Secret. Even to this day it has to be my fave all time comedy. Val was great in it although the movie was hardly Oscar worthy. In a tux, singing, doing slapstick. Yep, the minute he sang ‘Spend the night’ I knew.
Ben Affleck’s besty Matty Damon is next. What’s not to love about the boy from next door? He’s cute, can be funny or serious, isn’t afraid to take the piss (have you seen Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back? Hilarious!) and is damn sexy when he’s fighting the bad dudes as Jason Bourne. He would have to be one of the people I’d invite to dinner and it would be more for his conversation than his looks, although, just between you and me, that would be my dessert lol
I first came across Damon Wayans when I watched a show called “In Living Color”, which also starred a young Jim Carrey. Almost immediately I thought Damon was gorgeous. I really enjoy all the Wayans’ boys but he’s my fave. Sexy... yum... hot... funny... sexy... oh, sorry I said that already. Well, it’s true and just sums it up really lol
Before I heard the rumours and saw articles (which broke my heart, let me tell you) I was in love with Derek Longmuir. Mind you, I was about 9-10 at the time and the Bay City Rollers were big here in Aus but still. All the other girls were in love with Woody, Lesley or Eric (who I personally always thought was a little creepy) but not me. I had a thing for Alan’s little brother. Even now some *cough cough* ... years later and I can’t help but smile and feel all girly when I see a clip for ‘All of me loves all of you’ on some countdown of songs from the 70’s. I didn’t even mind he had long hair (a pet hate for me). I wonder if tartan will ever make a come-back.
While we’re talking musicians I’ll briefly just add the following ‘passing phases’ over the years... Andy Gibb, Mike Nolan (Bucks Fizz), Ace Frehley, Michael Crawford, Ronan Keating... Each with their own little reasons but worthy of a mention.
Before I give you my current ‘crush’, here are some other honourable mentions from years gone by. Robert Redford, James Stewart, Mark Harmon, Billy Wirth, Ewan McGregor, Rob Lowe, Matt McConaughey, Michael Weatherly, Michael Pare. I could go on but I won’t. I don’t need to have you laugh at my choices even further lol
I started with a Tom and I’ll end with one. My current choice is Tom Welling. He plays Clark Kent on “Smallville”. I think that’s part of the appeal – I’ve always been a Superman girl (Batman sux) and have almost always had a crush on each of his ‘incarnations’ (the guy who played Superboy for tele dips out). I didn’t start out thinking Tom was anything special but then the more I watched the show the more I liked. Maybe it is the whole knowing he will one day be Superman thing, or that I imagine he is a lot like the character he plays, I don’t know. Still, with several seasons yet to catch up on, I’m gonna have fun pervi... umm, watching and trying to find out.
So, there you have it. A somewhat convoluted list of my crushes over the years. I’m sure I repeated myself quite a bit in the reasoning but sometimes it’s just too hard to be eloquent and to wax lyrical when you’re sitting at your desk drooling all over your keyboard. Or maybe that’s just me. Ciao for now.
:D
The Footscray Football Team (aka Western Bulldogs). I love my guys, seriously. I’m not at the stalker stage but when in Melbourne I did go every week to see them play. But that’s allowed – without people like me, the grounds would be empty lol. Football is a religious thing for us Aussies, regardless of the code and the huge crowds that go each week attest to that. Once was a time a girl would only go to perv on the guys in their short shorts. We’re over that now (only because some wear baggier shorts with bike pants underneath lol) and actually go to support our team. Yep, this is a celebrity crush 30 years in the making. The fact that they’re cute too doesn’t hurt lol
No list (of mine, at least) would be complete without the addition of Sébastien Izambard. Le hottie from France is just too good to be true. I’m most certainly positive that he isn’t perfect but he exudes the image really well. Handsome, talented, lovable, funny, family orientated – what’s not to love! The fact he wooed and won the heart of an Aussie chick doesn’t hurt either. Like Hugh, he is very much for his family and doesn’t mind bringing them up in conversation even when it’s not relevant (hmm, maybe that’s a fault... lol). Yes, indeed, the sexiest member of IL Divo (sorry ladies – just know that I would take Carlos before the Urs lol) is just the whole shebang. And what I wouldn’t give to shebang... Sorry ;P
Picture this, if you will. Tall, blond, kissable lips, hard body wrapped in rubber... Now, it’s not what you think. Well, it is maybe, just not for this post. I am of course referring to the best Batman – Val Kilmer. When he had that mask on his lips were just so much more enticing, doncha think? Still, I had a thing for Val before he made that terrible movie (I loved him, the movie was shit). I first noticed him in a little movie called Top Secret. Even to this day it has to be my fave all time comedy. Val was great in it although the movie was hardly Oscar worthy. In a tux, singing, doing slapstick. Yep, the minute he sang ‘Spend the night’ I knew.
Ben Affleck’s besty Matty Damon is next. What’s not to love about the boy from next door? He’s cute, can be funny or serious, isn’t afraid to take the piss (have you seen Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back? Hilarious!) and is damn sexy when he’s fighting the bad dudes as Jason Bourne. He would have to be one of the people I’d invite to dinner and it would be more for his conversation than his looks, although, just between you and me, that would be my dessert lol
I first came across Damon Wayans when I watched a show called “In Living Color”, which also starred a young Jim Carrey. Almost immediately I thought Damon was gorgeous. I really enjoy all the Wayans’ boys but he’s my fave. Sexy... yum... hot... funny... sexy... oh, sorry I said that already. Well, it’s true and just sums it up really lol
Before I heard the rumours and saw articles (which broke my heart, let me tell you) I was in love with Derek Longmuir. Mind you, I was about 9-10 at the time and the Bay City Rollers were big here in Aus but still. All the other girls were in love with Woody, Lesley or Eric (who I personally always thought was a little creepy) but not me. I had a thing for Alan’s little brother. Even now some *cough cough* ... years later and I can’t help but smile and feel all girly when I see a clip for ‘All of me loves all of you’ on some countdown of songs from the 70’s. I didn’t even mind he had long hair (a pet hate for me). I wonder if tartan will ever make a come-back.
While we’re talking musicians I’ll briefly just add the following ‘passing phases’ over the years... Andy Gibb, Mike Nolan (Bucks Fizz), Ace Frehley, Michael Crawford, Ronan Keating... Each with their own little reasons but worthy of a mention.
Before I give you my current ‘crush’, here are some other honourable mentions from years gone by. Robert Redford, James Stewart, Mark Harmon, Billy Wirth, Ewan McGregor, Rob Lowe, Matt McConaughey, Michael Weatherly, Michael Pare. I could go on but I won’t. I don’t need to have you laugh at my choices even further lol
I started with a Tom and I’ll end with one. My current choice is Tom Welling. He plays Clark Kent on “Smallville”. I think that’s part of the appeal – I’ve always been a Superman girl (Batman sux) and have almost always had a crush on each of his ‘incarnations’ (the guy who played Superboy for tele dips out). I didn’t start out thinking Tom was anything special but then the more I watched the show the more I liked. Maybe it is the whole knowing he will one day be Superman thing, or that I imagine he is a lot like the character he plays, I don’t know. Still, with several seasons yet to catch up on, I’m gonna have fun pervi... umm, watching and trying to find out.
So, there you have it. A somewhat convoluted list of my crushes over the years. I’m sure I repeated myself quite a bit in the reasoning but sometimes it’s just too hard to be eloquent and to wax lyrical when you’re sitting at your desk drooling all over your keyboard. Or maybe that’s just me. Ciao for now.
:D
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Sound of My Heart Beating
We talk about romance in books and in the fine figures of fine men.
Carolyn and Lori have one romantic element they agree on 100% that isn't discussed enough and that's the voice.
Introducing: romance.
Carolyn and Lori have one romantic element they agree on 100% that isn't discussed enough and that's the voice.
Introducing: romance.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
The Companion by Susan Squires
Carolyn:
Vampire alert!! Vampire alert!!
All ye who care not for these fascinating creatures should stop reading now.
I was really wowed by this book. It has a fascinating explanation for vampirism. It's a disease that you catch rather like HIV from body fluids. But it is much more than just a virus; it is more like a symbiote and it gives as well as receives.
Ian Rufford has been contaminated. He was held captive and tortured (and boy is THAT an understatement) while traveling in Egypt. Captured by Ashari, a beautiful, evil woman who believes herself the Queen of all Vampires.
After his escape, Ian travels to England to consult with a doctor specializing in blood diseases to see if he can find a cure for his condition. (Thereby dispelling one vampire myth because he's traveling by sea and NOT in a coffin!)
On board the ship he meets Elizabeth Rochewell who has been traveling Egypt with her father. At his untimely death, she is forced to return to England, because she cannot live in Egypt unmarried. There is an immediate attaction between them although both try to deny it. It takes all Ian's willpower to resist his blood urge, but the ship's inhabitants are off limits and he's forced to wait until the ship makes port. He falls ill and Elizabeth nurses him.
They meet again in London. Ian has been unsuccessful in his quest for a cure and only succeeds in exciting the doctor he has consulted.
Ian wants to rid the world of Ashari.
Beth is a fish out of water in England and wants to return to Egypt.
They strike a bargain. He will marry her and take her back to Egypt; in return she will use her extensive knowledge of the country and its archeological sites to find the lost city of Kivala. And there he will find Ashari and destroy her.
Everything about this book pleased me, from the early nineteenth century setting to the unique vampires. The characters were believable and I was pulling for them all the way. Ian's history is told in flashbacks and I almost cringed when one came up, because Ashari is not a nice lady. I longed for her destruction.
It's sort of like those old adventure books - King Solomon's Mine or She - only better written and with sechs. Mind blowing sechs even if it doesn't take place til the end of the book.
I think Lori read it too, and if I remember right, she's not even into vampires ...
Lori:
I am not into vampires but I loved this book. I heart Susan Squires.
These are not the vampires who are dressed in leather and have silly names like Pheriod and Phassion. These are people who are cursed.
Beth is brilliant and she's an equal to the men she meets. She's a heroine in the best sense and for all the TSTL heroines out there, they need to read this book.
I agree with Carolyn about the shock of Ian's story. You really bleed for him (pun intended). When Ms. Squires writes a villian, she does it really well.
This is one for the keeper shelves.
Vampire alert!! Vampire alert!!
All ye who care not for these fascinating creatures should stop reading now.
I was really wowed by this book. It has a fascinating explanation for vampirism. It's a disease that you catch rather like HIV from body fluids. But it is much more than just a virus; it is more like a symbiote and it gives as well as receives.
Ian Rufford has been contaminated. He was held captive and tortured (and boy is THAT an understatement) while traveling in Egypt. Captured by Ashari, a beautiful, evil woman who believes herself the Queen of all Vampires.
After his escape, Ian travels to England to consult with a doctor specializing in blood diseases to see if he can find a cure for his condition. (Thereby dispelling one vampire myth because he's traveling by sea and NOT in a coffin!)
On board the ship he meets Elizabeth Rochewell who has been traveling Egypt with her father. At his untimely death, she is forced to return to England, because she cannot live in Egypt unmarried. There is an immediate attaction between them although both try to deny it. It takes all Ian's willpower to resist his blood urge, but the ship's inhabitants are off limits and he's forced to wait until the ship makes port. He falls ill and Elizabeth nurses him.
They meet again in London. Ian has been unsuccessful in his quest for a cure and only succeeds in exciting the doctor he has consulted.
Ian wants to rid the world of Ashari.
Beth is a fish out of water in England and wants to return to Egypt.
They strike a bargain. He will marry her and take her back to Egypt; in return she will use her extensive knowledge of the country and its archeological sites to find the lost city of Kivala. And there he will find Ashari and destroy her.
Everything about this book pleased me, from the early nineteenth century setting to the unique vampires. The characters were believable and I was pulling for them all the way. Ian's history is told in flashbacks and I almost cringed when one came up, because Ashari is not a nice lady. I longed for her destruction.
It's sort of like those old adventure books - King Solomon's Mine or She - only better written and with sechs. Mind blowing sechs even if it doesn't take place til the end of the book.
I think Lori read it too, and if I remember right, she's not even into vampires ...
Lori:
I am not into vampires but I loved this book. I heart Susan Squires.
These are not the vampires who are dressed in leather and have silly names like Pheriod and Phassion. These are people who are cursed.
Beth is brilliant and she's an equal to the men she meets. She's a heroine in the best sense and for all the TSTL heroines out there, they need to read this book.
I agree with Carolyn about the shock of Ian's story. You really bleed for him (pun intended). When Ms. Squires writes a villian, she does it really well.
This is one for the keeper shelves.
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