Snow, Snow Go Way!

Is anyone else local as sick of the snow as I am? Here we are not even two weeks away from the first official day of Spring and already today I've gotten another two inches of snow. There is a reason why I currently do not and never will live somewhere that gets regular snow during the winter. I like the fact that here in the Puget Sound area I get all the lovely views of the snow covered mountains and foothills all the time, and if I want to enjoy the snow it's a simple drive to get to it. I don't appreciate having it in my driveway or backyard when I would rather be enjoying the warm spring sunshine while planting the first seeds in my garden. Although Bridget and Maggie would definitely disagree with me about the snow seeing as they can't get enough of it. Would you believe that "snow" is one of the few understandable words in Maggie's small vocabulary?

That said, one good thing about all the crappy weather we've had lately is that it's given me plenty of time to snuggle indoors under a blanket trying to make a dent in the huge TBR pile of books I have. So here are some abbreviated reviews of all 7 books I've read in the last 7 days.

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchet

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (July 31, 2001)

This is the 8th book in the Discworld series and is considered the starting point of the Nightwatch mini-series with in the series. It centers on a rag tag group of men that make up the Ankh-Morpork's night watchmen made up by Captain Vimes and fellow officers Nobby, Colon, and the extremely large for a dwarf Carrot. For the most part the men of the watch don't really do anything thanks to the creation of Guilds by the Patrician Lord Vetinari. Now the Thieves, Assassins and Prostitutes police themselves. Then an inept secret society calls a magical dragon into creation and all hell breaks loose. With the help of the formidable (in size) Lady Ramkin and the orangutan Librarian of the Unseen University they have to find some way of slaying the dragon and saving all the high born virgins from becoming dinner. I enjoyed this book very much and while it was noticeable that it was an earlier work of Pratchett's since the writing just wasn't as polished as some of his later works it was still extremely funny, filled with sharp wit and some great social commentary.

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (September 7, 2004)

Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (July 1, 1996)

Books 2 and 3 in J.D. Robb's ( a pen name of the extremely popular romance author Nora Roberts) "in Death" series. The books in this futuristic mystery series are centered on New York police Lieutenant Eve Dallas about 50 years in the future. Prostitution is now legal, all guns have been banned and the Earths natural resources have been stripped. Eve is a great Police Officer going above the call of duty in protecting the innocents and getting the bad guys, but she is extremely damaged inside with repressed memories of the absolutely worse kind of child hood. She has a prickly exterior and some serious anger issues that tend to keep her isolated. Through out the first three books I've read so far she has started to heal herself and learn how to let herself love and be loved by others all the while still kicking some serious criminal butt. So far I have really enjoyed these books. The mysterious have been engaging, the action can get intense and the characters are interesting with layers of depth yet explored. I look forward to reading more of the "in Death" series and seeing as there are currently 29 or so books in this series to date I have plenty to read.

The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

• Mass Market Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Forever; Reissue edition (November 1, 2006)

From the back cover:

There comes a time in a woman's life when she must do the unthinkable - and find employment. For the widowed Anna Wren, that means taking a job as female secretary for the Earl of Swartingham. Secretaries are always male - never female - as Anna well knows but the real downfall of her career is the realisation that she is falling in love with Edward de Raaf - the Earl. But when she realises that he is going to visit a brothel in London to take care of his 'manly' desires, Anna sees red - and decides to take advantage of the opportunity to also take care of her 'womanly' desires - with the Earl as her unknowing lover. But the Earl has another reason for going to London. He is formalising his betrothal and trying (with little success) to forget about a secretary that has no right being female. Unhandsome, he knows that no woman wants him. But when Anna's plan is revealed, a bit of blackmail is thrown into the mix, a proposal is rejected and even the Earl himself will be unprepared for the intrigues that ensnare them.

I can not believe that this was Hoyt's debut novel! I was blown away at her talent for writing excellent historical romance fiction. I stayed up way to late in order to finish this in one night, there was no way I could go to bed till I found out how the HEA (happy ever after for you non-romance readers) happened. Anna Wren is one of my favorite female romance characters with her unapologetic "I'm a woman, get over it" mentality. I liked de Raaf also but got a little tired of his fixation on his pox scars and his constant "I'm so ugly" internal monologue. I now have Hoyt's follow up novels "The Leopard Prince" and "The Serpent Prince" on my library hold list.

Driven by Eve Kenin

• Mass Market Paperback: 321 pages
• Publisher: Love Spell (August 28, 2007)

In this book there was a kick butt heroine, a hero who was raised by a computer, a completely mad and sadistic bad guy who is hunting them both down set against the backdrop of a post-nuclear fall out frozen tundra during a semi-truck race for a bunch of money that the Heroine needs to win so she can take care of a little sister she just found out about after her Father's death. Throw in some Ice Pirates, rival truckers and rebels against the New Government Order and you got yourself quite a story. It sound completely bonkers but was actually a really fun read. I love books about post apocalyptic earth and Mad Max is one of my favorite movies so this book was totally in my interest zone.

Dreaming Of You by Lisa Kleypas

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (May 1, 1994)

Lisa Kleypas is my favorite Historical Romance author next to Loretta Chase. One of my favorite things about her Regency era writing is the little extra bit she goes in describing the atmosphere of the time. She doesn't just say they sat down to a lovely dinner she tells you all about the delicious courses down to the sauce and often goes into great detail about the fashions of the time for both men and women. She does a wonderful job of making you feel like you are really there and that you really care about the people she is writing about. In "Dreaming of You" she goes into great detail about the gambling club ran by Derek Craven with it's debauched upper class patrons, bawdy prostitutes, secret passage ways and the staff that it takes to keep it running. The overall plot of the book was not a favorite of mine with the whole big, bad and brooding Derek Craven who brought himself (literally) out of the gutters to become one of the richest and jaded men ever and the prim, proper country girl Sarah Fielding who makes him feel love for the first time. It was the strength of the characters that made this book for me. I felt bad for Derek's childhood and the life he was forced into but I actually liked the man he eventually became and the fact that he never changed himself to make his character more appealing to Sara. He told her who he was, what he had done in the past,who he was now and Sara loved him anyways. Sara was a great character in herself. She may have been from the country and was a bit (ok sometimes a lot) naive at times she was smart, independent driven woman who was a successful author. She never casts stones at the oppressed lower class (mostly prostitutes) that she interviews for her books and has genuine empathy for all she meets. All in all I really, really enjoyed this book and I'm putting it on my keeper shelf to be re-read again.

A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (October 14, 2008)

Another enjoyable story by Lisa Kleypas. It's a follow up of sorts to her popular Wallflower story line in which the four former Wallflowers are all revisited with their respected hero's of past stories during the Christmas season. The Hero of the story is a brother to two of the Wallflowers and the Heroine is another society wallflower herself. If you've read all of her Wallflower books (which I actually haven't yet. They are all on my library hold list) then I would recommend reading this one too. If you haven't yet then I would say start at the beginning and then if you really enjoy the Wallflowers get this one if you are willing to pay the price for how short it is.

I should mention that all these books were from the library. Next in my TBR pile are:
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Rapture in Death by JD Robb
Death Angel by Linda Howard