Finally!

I was checking the Dewey website and I see a whole lot of stuff there. I have no idea if everyone is all done. I haven't seen Twitter updates or e-mails from my friends in about an hour and a half. Well, for me, I started at 2 a.m. and I'm going to make it to 2 a.m.

I thought I was going to only have one book that would fit in the final minutes, but I just finished a Harlequin entitled The Maverick's Bride by Doreen Roberts. This is not an author I'm familiar with either. Although I'm not exactly sure when this book was published. However, it could be an older Harlequin title and one done by a one-hit wonder author.

The plot of the book is a common one, but one I love all the same. It's about unrequited love and a hero needing a pretend wife. Except in this book the hero, after winning a national rodeo title, goes home to prove to his hometown he's not such a screwup. Sixteen years ago he was blamed for a crime he didn't commit, and while he wasn't convicted, no one—not even his family—believed him.

I know I've been going down on most of the books I read, so I'm going to try and say something positive about this book. I enjoyed everything about it. Sentence structure, plot pacing, dialogue. And it had the heroine in the last pages of the book realizing that it was a hopeless case and getting the heck out of Dodge. While I know some feminists might get their feathers ruffled, I've always disliked books where the heroine spills her guts and the hero has a miraculous discovery of his feelings. Sometimes I think, where is your pride? To wear your heart that far down your sleeve? Whenever I think of this situation, I'm reminded of something I read in another book. Maybe it's a quote that was ripped off from someone else, but it was to the effect of, men value the prize more when they have to work for it.

Overall, the book left me with a satisfied feeling. It was, as I like to call them, an uncomplicated read. A bit of mystery was involved, but the culprit was obvious from the start. The hero and heroine weren't at odds for a lot of the book. They held things back (as most good romances do) but they interacted in a way that allowed the mind to really get to know the characters without stressing over heated dialogue or a ton of friction.

The home stretch?

Bittersweet Promises lived up to its name. While I can't complain about the gooey happily-ever-after, the last 100-200 pages was really tough for me. So the heroine is on the run with her little brother. The only spoiler about this book I'll give is that the heroine goes to Missouri to find her brother's real father and get him to marry her so she can have a better chance of keeping the boy. Of course, the heroine is set and determined to go through with it, despite the hero and herself falling in love. And when she eventually catches up with this unknown man, he agrees to her plan.

I'm the last person, as I've said in my past blogs, to be griping about an author's story. Lord knows I probably couldn't do better. With that being said, this book started out great for me, slumped in the middle and only picked up at the very end. I think the part that irked me the most was that the unknown man knew about the hero and heroine being in love, but was willing to split them up so the villianous father wouldn't get his hands on the little brother.

I'm not into books like this, with some kind of weird love-triangle. I feel my attention is being turned towards the relationship between a main character and a secondary character.

Yes, I can see a pattern for myself here. I'm sure someone's got to be thinking, is there any books that I actually really like? I'm ashamed to say that the books I devour cover-to-cover and put down with a pleased sigh are far and few between. I've talked with my more experienced writer friends, and they laughingly tell me (albeit in a nice way) that I've just gotten picky. I can't deny that! I've gotten terribly selective in the books I read. But I remember what someone once told me not that long ago. There are thousands and thousands of books in the world, and with so many to choose from, you can afford to be picky!

Anyway, I'm counting down the hours now till the end of the 24 hours of reading! I believe I have about three more hours. I'll probably squeeze in one more book. In the past 24 hours, I've managed to eat, walk my dog and other little things without stopping my reading. Although the one thing I haven't been able to do is shower. Oh man, I'm going to enjoy taking a nice hot shower and laying on my nice soft bed and catching some Zs!

Lisa Kleypas

I started a Lisa Kleypas book after I finished Sisters Found. This book is called Tempt Me at Twilight. It's a historical novel that's part of a series. I've not read the other books that came before it, but this one looked interesting. Although I must say I don't remember what the synopsis said about it. I'm just diving in and reading.

So far the hero seems to be a character that his employees love, but also tip-toe around. Our heroine has a companion who seems to have a history with the hero, but it's a history that seems to be bad. The companion appears to detest the hero, but the hero just shrugs it off. He's apparently a keep-it-to-himself kind of guy. I'm curious as to what kind of story will unfold in later pages.

Seven and a half hour Mark

I've just hit my seven and a half hour mark. Joan Johnston's book, Sisters Found is completed. I enjoyed it very much. However, I was getting dizzy with all the characters. The go-between eight characters might have been a bit much. I don't think I'd have the author change anything, but a book with multiple characters always makes me wish authors would write stand-alone books for them. Although I must say that in this case, the book wouldn't have gone well by itself. It's difficult to explain without going deep into the plot. Which I don't really want to do. I like writing reviews, but I always worry about giving too much of the book away. I've had it happen to me and would hate to do it to someone else.

Anyway, I'm not sure what book I'm going to start next. Will pick something in the next minute though. Plenty of choices left on my BookCourier. Will check in later.

Joan Johnston Sisters Found

About an hour ago I started another Joan Johnston novel entitled Sisters Found. It's another addition to the Hawk's Way series. I read a few in the series some months ago. I think this book is the last in the series, though I'm not sure.

Currently I'm about 50% way through the book. The novel is interesting to say the least. It's hard to explain the plot without going into detail. Let's just say there is a couple in the book that really want to be with other people. However, they each feel to back out with two weeks to the wedding would be an embarrassment on the other.

It's obvious that things are going to come to a head one way or another. A little predictable in that sense, but I'm still curious to see how it will end.

First 100 pages

I'm about 100 pages in Joan Johnston's Outlaw's Bride. It's been a little over an hour and I feel like I'm doing good. I'm still feeling a bit run-down, but nothing I can't handle. I just hope I'm not catching a cold.

As for the book, so far it's been enjoyable. Our heroine comes to find the man who promised her at the age of twelve to marry her. However, it's going to be tough as the hero has an old enemy set on revenge. Both of them have to prove the hero's innocence before they can reach happily-ever-after.

At the moment, our hero has begrudgingly promised to marry the heroine only if they find clues to clear his name from an old rape charge. We'll see how the rest goes as the book plods along.

Dewey's Read-A-Thon

Right now I'm gearing up for Dewey's Read-Athon.

http://24hourreadathon.com/

To read for 24 hours normally isn't that big of a deal, but unfortunately, I woke up a little while ago feeling absolutely horrible. I was experiencing chills and a terrible pain in my head. I'm hoping I can make it through the read-athon. Some over-the-counter meds is helping for the moment, so we'll see how it goes. I'm been looking forward to the read-athon for the past two weeks, and I'd hate to bow out before it even starts.

Anyway, I've got a bunch of books on my BookCourier.

http://www.bookcourier.com

and I got some books from my favorite site:

http://www.bookshare.org

Some of my books include a few texts that I'm supposed to be reading for my English classes, so I'll probably get to those. Might as well kill two birds with one stone! And if that gets a little much, I've got several romances to sort through. Not sure what I have, as the books I put on were obtained weeks ago in preparation.

I'm going to try and blog while I'm reading since my eyes and hands will be free. I'm also going to be reading as I walk my little dog, eating and maybe a few house chores. I'm unsure how often I'll check in, but I'll do my best. Maybe once an hour or every so many pages. Some of my Bookshare.org books don't have visible page numbers, so I'm going to have to work out another way of telling how many pages I do.

Well, going to go prepare. I'll be checking in about thirty minutes from now to blog what book I chose.