Review: My Life fom Hell – Tellulah Darling

• Title: My Life from Hell
  
• Author: Tellulah Darling
• Genre: Young Adult
  
• Why: Had to finish the series
• Rating: 5 Stars

Description: To say that Sophie Bloom is at the top of her game with one only week until spring equinox and the final showdown with Zeus and Hades would be, well, lying. The Goddess of Spring feels more like the Goddess of Bzz Thanks For Playing than the savior of humanity. And could her relationships be any more messed up?

Good times.

Sophie is convinced that things can’t get any worse than crawling back to her mother Demeter and begging for help. But she’s about to find out how very wrong she is.

It’s a race against time for Sophie to implement the big battle strategy in the YA romantic comedy/Greek mythology finale My Life From Hell. Love meets comedy with a whole lot of sass in book three of this teen fantasy romance series. Save herself; save the world. Humanity may be screwed.

Review: Jude’s Law – Lori Foster

• Title: Jude’s Law
  
• Author: Lori Foster
• Genre: Romance
  
• Why: Found it at work
• Rating: 3 Stars

Description: When it comes to love, he plays to win.

There’s only so much frustration a guy can handle before he gets a little nutty. For Jude Jamison, his frustration has a name—May Price. She’s everything the former Hollywood bad boy actor came to Stillbrook, Ohio, hoping to find: open, honest, lovable, and full of those luscious curves you don’t find on stick-figure starlets—curves May doesn’t seem to appreciate in herself. Every time Jude tries to get close to the skittish business woman, to take her in his arms, she thinks he’s joking. Joking? Joking does not involve lots of cold-shower therapy.

Time for new tactics. If May can’t respond to his sly compliments and sexy innuendos, he’ll just have to spell it out for her. Jude Jamison is going to lay down the law for May Price. And after that, she’ll have no delusions about just how much he wants her.

Review: Witness in Death – J D Robb

• Title: Witness in Death
  
• Author: J D Robb
• Genre: Futuristic Murder Mystery Romance
  
• Why: I intend to read the whole series
• Rating: 5 Stars

Description: It is 2059, and New York City homicide lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband, Roarke, is producing a revival of Agatha Christie’s thriller Witness for the Prosecution. On opening night, when the villainous character Leonard Vole gets his just deserts, someone substitutes a kitchen knife for the prop knife, and the actor, Richard Draco, is stabbed through the heart. Trouble is, in time-tested British mystery fashion, everyone in the cast had good reason to despise Richard, a misogynist who seduced and discarded beautiful young women, including one whom he knew to be his daughter. It’s up to Eve to solve the case, an emotionally difficult task as she is no stranger to incest herself: she was beaten and raped by her father before she managed to escape him. As Eve fights to keep her head above water, she tries to bond at a deeper level with Roarke, so that her future will heal the pain of her past.

The point of no return

Before I get down to this week’s entry in my 26-Week Book Challenge I would like to pay tribute to Rik Mayall, who sadly passed away earlier today. He was a pioneer of British comedy, and while the slapstick, often puerile humour of The Young Ones and Bottom may be a bit of an acquired taste, there were several gems of absolute comedy genius in both shows. He definitely was a prominent presence in my youth, and I was deeply shocked to hear the news.

It feels a bit callous to follow that with a simple blog post, but life goes on for the rest of us. This week is an interlude, because I will not give you a book I couldn’t put down.

The Not So Shocking News Dialogues – Episode 7: Untitled

If anyone’s ever wondered what I sound like, please check out Green Embers’ podcast this week, in which he generously gave me some airtime to talk about one of my recent reviews. My section starts around the 5:20 mark. I couldn’t listen to it for more than 30 seconds, because I sound really weird to myself, but don’t let that stop you!

Review: A Rogue’s Proposal – Stephanie Laurens

• Title: A Rogue’s Proposal
  
• Author: Stephanie Laurens
• Genre: Regency Romance
  
• Why: I’m not yet bored with the Cynsters
• Rating: 4 Stars

Description: Demon Cynster has seen love bring his brethren to their knees, and he′s vowed that he will not share their fate … until he spies Felicity Parteger sneaking about his racing stable. Demon remembers Felicity as a mere chit of a girl, but now she stands before him, all lush curves and sparkling eyes…

Felicity knows Demon was one of the town′s most eligible bachelors and a rogue of the worst sort, but he was the only one capable of getting her friend out of trouble. She knows Demon will never yield her the love she desperately seeks, but could a marriage of passion alone be enough?

Virgin sacrifice

I wasn’t entirely in the mood to do this 26-Week Book Challenge post today, due to my husband getting me addicted to Plants vs. Zombies over the weekend. Must defend my brains! But then I saw the subject, and figured it ought to be nice and ranty.

Why, do you ask? Because this week’s subject is my least favourite plot device used by way too many books I enjoyed otherwise. This has got to be the most specific (or at least the longest) challenge in this series, but I also find it the most interesting, especially since I actually have several things I want to list on this subject.