F*ck Like Bunnies vs Monty Python. Really?

I love people who review books. Some, I love more than others. This week I found a reviewer who, well, not to sound like a fussy butt, but she gets me. Here's a snippet of the review from The Romance Reviews by Book Addict.

 " Is this a paranormal Monty Python movie? How can a cute little bunny cause such fear in a man?

Tim: Well, that's no ordinary rabbit.
King Arthur: Ohh.
Tim: That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!
Sir Robin: You tit! I soiled my armor I was so scared!
Tim: Look, that rabbit's got a vicious streak a mile wide! It's a killer!
….
Sir Galahad: Oh, yeah?
…
Tim: I'm warning you!
Sir Robin: What's he do? Nibble your bum?
Tim: He's got huge, sharp... er... He can leap about. Look at the bones!"

And that's just the start! Read the rest here.

Reviews are such tricky things--a giant love/hate sort of situation, but this one made me laugh. Paranormal romance has the potential for being very serious and dark. While I like a little shadow and maybe some harshness, my bunnies are too far into cupcakes and glitter to really let things get dark.

Check out the F*ck Like Bunnies series! Bunny Club, Air Bunnies, Bunnies on Ice and the latest, Bunny Hunt. There's no Elmer Fudd here!! F*ck Like Bunnies.

All The Best,
Stephanie Beck
www.stephaniebeck.net

Time Warped-A Review

For the record, while I read books CONSTANTLY, I almost never review them publically. Why? Well, because as a writer I find it goes against my instincts to want to support other writers if I say anything at all that could be construed as unflattering about their work. Also, I am always worried about hurting someone’s feeling since I was once asked to review a book, I did, honestly, because I don’t see the point of un-truthful reviews, and that person got angry wit me.

But, Tracey L Pacelli contacted me on Facebook and asked me to review her book entitled Time Warped and I agreed to do it, as long as she understood that I would give the book my fairest review and that might not be glowing. She said she wanted truthful reviews and we agreed that I’d post my review here.

So, now that you have background as to why Rebecca Royce is reviewing a book.

Now for a blurb:

In her Bible-thumping town, Lanie Landry is a teen misfit without a cause. After a tragic accident that kills her adopted mother, Lanie escapes from the hospital where she was admitted for psychological observation. At a service station she accepts shelter from a kindly old woman.

The next morning she awakens to find herself in the violent ward of an insane asylum in 1969. How can she escape this horrible nightmare? Remarkably, in the most awful of all places, Lanie finds her biological mother and falls in love with a mysterious inmate.

My review:

I really enjoyed this book. I think overall Ms. Pacelli created a unique world with a character I enjoyed spending time with.

The beginning of the book particularly shined for me. I loved the descriptions of her mother, the principal, and ultimately her too-perky psychiatrist. I loved how she described Satan calling to her from the box to pull the fire alarm.

She’s a quirky character, quick to judge and fast with a snarky remark. I could feel that she was a misfit in her home and the level of desperation she had to be enduring.

The scenes do jump from one to the next without a lot of warning that we are changing locations. I sometimes had a hard time figuring out where we were in relation to time and space. But, the book is called Time Warped. I came to believe that some of the disjointed feelings the book gave me where purposeful. That’s how the main character is feeling as well.

I think that snarky has been somewhat over done in UF and YA in general but while I felt that Lanie sometimes approached that line, for me she never crossed it.

I highly recommend this book and I expect to see great things from this author. Thanks for asking me to review it.

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

Author: HP Mallory
Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
eBook: $2.99
Buy Link - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/18135

Rating:

Where do I begin? Oh yes―this book was simply fantastic!! The story revolves around Jolie, a woman on a journey of self-discovery as she learns about her unique abilities as a witch. Powers she was unaware she possessed. When Rand, the undeniably sexy warlock seeks her out to use her special gifts of reanimating the dead, you are taken on a wild ride.

This story was just my cup of tea. It hit all the right spots. The characters are witty and leave a lasting impression. Not only, Jolie and Rand, but even the secondary characters are fantastic. The love story between Rand and Jolie is intense, powerful and emotional. But he isn’t the only one with Jolie on his mind. Sexy men are all around her and I found myself rooting for each one. Lastly, the humour is beyond hilarious. Every page had a new line that had me laughing out loud.

Mallory is an outstanding author. The plot is compelling, and after the very first page, I found myself hanging onto every word. This world filled with witches, warlocks, vampires, fairies and werewolves―to name a few―is one you can’t miss. My only question, when is the next one coming out?

THE BLURB:
A self-deprecating witch with the unique ability to reanimate the dead. A dangerously handsome warlock torn between being her boss and her would-be lover. A six hundred year old English vampire with his own agenda; one that includes an appetite for witches. The Underworld in a state of chaos. Let the games begin.

Warning: This book contains content that may not be suitable for young readers 17 and under.

A LINE THAT HAD ME DROOLING WITH WORD ENVY―Somehow, I was managing to throw the normally staid warlock into a sexual frenzy. Jolie Wilkins…sex kitten…hmm, I liked the sound of that.

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1.03.01

Never After Anthology ~ A Recommended Read

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a wonderful end of the year. 2010 is just around the corner and I'm enjoying my T-Zone marathon. Hope you guys are getting everything in before the end of the year.

I thought I'd end the note on a nice read that I recently finished and thought I'd pass on to all the paranormal lovers out there.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Marjorie M Liu awhile back after her interview and really enjoyed an insight into her writing habits. During her interview she mentioned this book among her new releases and I thought it would be a good time to check her work and some of the other authors I haven't read yet (Shinn and Galenorn).

Although the spine labels this as urban fantasy to appeal to the UF/PR crowd, I'd say this was more fantasy/fantasy romance which is one of my top fave genres. Only one story is really urban fantasy (Galenorn's) and it was one of the standout stories. Each tale deals with a princess who attempts to make her own Happily Ever After. I have to say Liu's & Galenorn's stories Were my favorites. Both were delightful reads with great world building, a wonderful array of characters and a nice twist on and old theme.


Can He Bake a Cherry Pie by Laurell K. Hamilton

This was my least favorite, the shortest and least coherent one which is strange because it's the main draw. Despite the continuous proclamations of the heroine being strong and so awesome, there was never anything she particularly did to face and conquer each trial. The story felt like someone was telling it to you third party and left out much of the juicy details. More subtlety would have worked here along with a stronger heroine to "show" rather "tell" her intelligence and skills. I do like the fact that a bake-off was sort of the final battle. That was different.

This story exemplifies one of the main problems I have with Hamilton's writing. The "heroine" doesn't really do anything but she and everyone around her shouts how wonderful she is because she is female. I'm all for female empowerment but even more so I want a lead character to root for. The princess in this story never does anything to prove that she is a hero. She doesn't fight her way through or face any adversity all the while being showered with praise.


The Shadow of the Mist by Yasmine Galenorn

I love this title btw. :-) I read this one third after Liu's 'Tangleroot' story. I really liked this story of a young pregnant woman escaping her violent former fiance. After moving on with a new life and a wonderful new fiance who cares for her, he finds her and threatens to force her into marriage. I haven't read any of Galenorn's Otherworld series but if it's anywhere near as suspenseful and well paced as this one, I'm definitely going to dive right on into them. I liked the fact that each sister that helped the main character Siobhan (herself a Selkie) had different powers and paranormal backgrounds. Each character was interesting and even though they only popped in for a few moments, they had their own mark on the story through their personalities. The villain, Siobhan's ex, was a vile one and I was glad when he was defeated. Great urban fantasy story.

The Tangleroot Palace Marjorie M. Liu

What a gorgeous story! I loved the world building here which was haunting and very beautiful. This was definitely a fantasy romance I wanted to get lost in and the story turned out at a suspenseful pace that kept me flipping pages. Although the twist at the end may come as no surprise to most folks, I have to admit I was nicely taken off guard. This story deals with a princess on the run from an upcoming engagement who she deems to a barbarian. While she is escaping, she meets a traveling entertainment act (their scenes and dialogue are one of my faves in the story) and a magical forest. There's a nice scene at the climax where the heroine comes out a true heroine and it didn't seem heavy handed or forced at all. Really enjoyed this fantasy romance.

The Wrong Bridegroom by Sharon Shinn

Usually I don't generally like the first person narrative unless the narrator is a well written character. If not, they can be a bit of a pain to follow the story along with. Unfortunately that happened to me here, unlike with the Galenorn story where I can identify and sympathize with the main character's plight. Here, Princess Olivia was a rather unlikeable protagonist so it was hard to identify with her throughout the story. She had many moments musing about why certain people didn't stay in their place or fall over their feet whenever they were in her presence. She definitely embodied the spoiled princess personality. I had hoped she would be redeemed, maybe learn a bit of humility and grow up a little in the end, but instead we get some flashes of maturity and selflessness that may give us hope for her future. Thankfully the surrounding characters more than made up for it. This story is probably third on my list for this anthology. Although it was a fantasy romance, there were some themes that occurred in here that were just too modern for believability. I got the idea that this was in a world not unlike medieval times and the thinking would be entirely different when presented to some things occurring here. All in all, I liked the secondary characters and the descriptions of the towns, magic and world here which made the story enjoyable.


1 out of 5 Can He Bake A Cherry Pie
4.5 out of 5 The Shadow of Mist
5 out of 5 The Tangleroot Palace
3 out of 5 The Wrong Bridegroom?


Have a fabulous 2010 everyone!

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Special Note: I had planned on reviewing Dracula Un-Dead with Rebecca this week but life happened to get in the way coupled with no net for the past few days so I got a bit behind on things especially my reading. Grr. So, since I'm like one of the five people in the world who hadn't read Dracula until now, I decided to read it before the sequel. Here are my thoughts of the original granddaddy vampire that started the phenomenon, Dracula. And a special review for the other four people. ;-)

-Rae



My edition of Dracula is the tie-in for Francis Ford Coppola's movie. It includes a wonderful intro by Leonard Wolf and some black and white glossy pics from the movie (which I didn't mind because the costumes, makeup and setting were gorgeous despite the muddled adaptation). I really liked the intro that gave an overview of the history of vampire literature including the effect that Dracula had on mainstream culture (including all silver screen incarnations).

Today's audiences know the pop culture ideal of Dracula and his effects on vampire lore. Thus the great reveal isn't so great but the classic vampire story still holds up today. As a historical gothic horror, it's an amazing piece of work for setting a mood for a spooky tale as the inhabitants of Yorkshire are effected by Dracula's presence. Although not the first in vampire literature, it's easy to see how the influence was great in overall vampire culture. The style of journal entries revealing the character's fear and inner thoughts offers a type of storytelling that still seems fresh today in the age of 'found footage'.

One interesting aspect is Jonathan Harker's opening meditation on the various nationalities among the Carpathian mountains which reveal a lot of British thoughts toward "the other" immigrants of the time. Dracula himself is an exotic representation of such a background as well as the darkness of humanity. Mina Harker (nee Murray) turned out to be a pretty smart and strong yet vulnerable character. She's right there with the guys trying to dissect and figure out the deaths and mysteries surrounding their town and even gets armed with her own revolver towards the end climax.

I wish I had a chance to read this in depth when I was younger. I knew it in passing, from lightly flipping through it, and from pop culture but never had a chance to read it fully until now. I had studied the real life inspiration (Wallachian prince Vlad Tepes III aka Vlad Dracul aka the Impaler) and enjoyed all the behind the scenes docs on the book and historical figure. It was interesting seeing how much of real history Stoker incorporated in Dracula. I'm sure I would have eaten this book right up along with Interview With the Vampire. Modern audiences may think the story is a bit slow moving since most of the action takes place off screen and is talked about via the diary entries afterward. Still, the emotion is strong, the characters are multifaceted, the mood is dark and the dialogue is snappy. This is a definite new favorite of mine and will take it's place right next to the Vampire Chronicles and my The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories paperback.