Marci and the Miniature Power Plant
I know there are AAA batteries in the car. I'm not sure if it's my car or hoppie's car, but I know they're there. The fact that it's too cold to stand around and look for them is, however, a problem. I desperately need to clean my trunk. Maybe this weekend, if there's nothing going on Sunday. Anyway, my poor Palm has been pleading for batteries since yesterday's meeting. I was going to pick up batteries at Walmart yesterday, but I was tired after the book club and really wanted to just go home. So I stopped at Walgreens (Think it's a Wal* thing? Nah. I like Walgreens. Walmart is just there.) and got batteries and some other stuff, and then realized, that I bought AA instead of AAA. Damnit. No focus. So I finally found a stray set of batteries in the trunk (but there's still that bar of unoppened Duracel Ultras that I can't find.), warmed them in my hand for 10 minutes while I hotsynced, and then popped 'em in. That will get me through my 11:00 meeting.
Bunny's Book Club
There was a lot going on, so I didn't get everything, but I did get the main books. We segued into a discussion of mystery authors at some point, so that might have gotten jumbled up in at the end.
Bunny went first. She brought Linda Howard's To Die For which she described as "funny, hysterical. Very different." It's the first person account of a women who went to college on a cheerleading scholarship, runs a fitness salon called "Great Bods," and is currently divorced. She sees a murder and thinks they're after her, and the lieutenant who responds to her call, is an old friend of hers, but it doesn't really follow the murder, it follows the characters, and there's not really much evil going on, even the villain is more stupid than villainous.
lensedsqo brought Jane Feather's Wedding Game which is the 3rd book of a series. The heros run a matchmaking service, and one of their clients is a doctor who wants a rich society trophy wife, even though he's contemptuous of women who live like that. He gets set up with one, and reveals his feelings and hilarity ensues.Tonia brought Kat Martin's The Bride's Necklace, a(n) historical romance, about two sisters. The elder is rescuing the younger from letcherous stepfather, and they run off to London. They end up being a housekeeper in a Lord's house. Several intertwined threads keep the story interesting. He has his wicked way with her, and then they eventually marry. The sequel comes out in August and it follows the elder girl's friend. Tonia and I swapped books. (I brought my my 50BC book: R9 Naughty or Nice by Melanie George, so a different review may show up in the 50bc journal.
Mary brought Mary Baylock's Slightly Dangerous which is the last of the "Slightly" series, a series revolving around a set of siblings. This book follows the oldest one. This is the best book of the series, with a plotline similar to Pride and Prejuidice. Heroes are a duke and his unsuitable lady love. The characters develop and grow through the book. Funny and charming. The villain has maligned her for years by damning her with faint praise.
We branched off into a bit of a discussion about the series, the consensus is that the red one and the black one are the best, and cetainly better than the light blue one. In no order, the best ones are considered (in addition to the one mentioned already) Slightly Wicked, Slightly Married and Slightly Scandelous are the best. The author also writes regency books.
A Regency novel always involves the aristocratic, is set in the regency period, and contains no sex. They tend to be comedy of manners type books following the basic formula: Boy meets girl, they fall in love, but there are problems arranging the match. As they went on authors such as Carla Kelly, add things like post-traumatic stress disorder to keep things interesting, but the basic formula remains. (Fanny Burney and Jane Austin both wrote regency style novels.)
We then talked about Leigh Nichols (Dean Koontz) writing for Harlequin.
Amanda Quick has a new novel direct to paperback. A Victorian style novel called Wait Until Midnight. It's in not in Paid Companion series. The story opens with a seance, and a murdered medium and the hero is investigating the murder, when he happens upon the heroine working in a shop. The woman things the investigator is the perfect model for the villain in the novel she's writing.
Kay Hooper's latest series most recent book is in a paper too.
Bunny also recommended Rachel Leigh's Shadows of Myth.
Andrea brought Belva Plain's Sight of the Stars, but she didn't actually like it much. It features a guy in early 1900s who goes west. His father is a small shop owner on the east coast, always poor, and the son seeks his fortune in the west.
He gets hired at a mercantile on the way, and he ends up managing the store and meeting the owner's niece. She's untouchable, she goes to Europe on trips and is cultured. They end up falling in love and marrying. The relationships in the story aren't all what they seem though. Not bad, but her earlier books are better.
Tonia recommended Valerie Sherwood in general.
Mary recommended Edith Leighton "The Cad" (3rd book in 5).
Robin brought Judy Cuevas (Also writes as Judith Ivory) "Bliss" (1995). The story is set in 1903 and is very well written. Hannah got into lots of trouble (with MEN) in Florida, and she moved to Paris and became a companion to a lady artist. the hero is a famous sculpter but he got addicted to ether, and the family needs to get him sobered and married off.
She has to decide whether to commit herself to the guy who has issues or try to become an art dealer. He isn't sure he wants to sober up. How can these two make it work?
Tonia recommended Cathleen Woodweiss's "Rose in the Winter"
cassie_o recommended the Kelly Armstrong book clubBunny told us that Julie Garwood's most recent book is horrible. "apalllingly bad" is how she put it. I love quoting Bunny. She's so very quotable. Garwood resued an existing heroine who didn't really fit the story. Her historical romances are good though.
Bunny recommended the Dorthy Dinette "Johnson Johnson" series. (mystery)
May recommended Mary Jo Putney The Diabolical Baron (1st) & The Rake (2nd)