Sunday, April 21, 2013

This 'n That: Reading, Television, News

Happy Sunday! This has been a good week and I'm enjoying a relaxing weekend. How about you? The good news, of course, is that I've been hitting the books again. Yay! And better yet, I had the time to post three reviews this last week. Hopefully, I'll return to my regular blogging schedule. Whatever that is!

READING:
I used an old 'remedy' to cure my reading blues, I re-read an old favorite Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas, to help me get back on the romance reading wagon. I think I savored this romance more during this time around than any other time. I really took my time savoring all the characters, scenes, and details. I love Sara, Derek and the romance, but this time I also thoroughly enjoyed the secondary characters and really appreciated their contribution to this romance's success. Of course I ended up sighing over Derek Craven, but then that was the idea behind this re-read.

But reading this book reminded me that I had the Where's My Hero? anthology in my TBR with a related story that I had yet to read. From this anthology, I only read "Against the Odds" by Lisa Kleypas. The novella covers the romance between Lydia Craven (Sara and Derek Craven's eldest daughter) and Dr Jake Linley. Linley is a character from Kleypas' Someone to Watch Over Me.

This is a sweet, short romance that I enjoyed because it serves as a sort of epilogue to Dreaming of You, and I suspect that's exactly what I was looking for. Although Kleypas manages to insert one of her signature hot scenes between Jake and Lydia, the romance itself needed more page time in order to become more than average. Regardless, it was a pleasant read.

What else have I read? Nora Roberts' latest romance suspense, Whiskey Beach and Death by Silver, a marvelous upcoming fantasy/mystery release by Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold. I will be posting my reviews soon! Additionally, I've been enjoying novellas, novelletes and some excellent articles from two of my favorite Science Fiction magazines, Asimov's Science Fiction and Clarksworld. Maybe I'll write a post about a few of my favorite pieces if I have the time!

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TELEVISION:
What else have I been up to? I didn't have the time to watch this program on Monday night when it first aired, but my husband ordered it and we watched it on Friday evening. It's the two-hour pilot movie of Defiance, the SyFy channel's latest television sci-fi program. These are my initial impressions:

SUMMARY: It is 2046. Seven alien races arrived years before and after a war between humans and aliens, Earth has been transformed. In the town of Defiance, old St. Louis, all races are building a new way of life among what is left of old Earth.

MAIN CHARACTERS: Jack Nolan and his Irathient adopted daughter, Irisa.

LOVED:
- The overall combination of the recognizable with a well-defined Science Fiction atmosphere, world and world-building.
- The in-depth introduction of key characters in the pilot.
- An alternate St. Louis as a setting is a refreshing alternative to NY, LA, and/or Chicago.
- Irisa's character.
- The scene where Jack Nolan and Irisa belt out country music! What? No slamming rock?

NOT IMPRESSED WITH: A certain predictability to the plot line and a few character roles.

PROMISING: The overall storyarc and world-building.

CONCLUSION: I love that the SyFy channel is actually (again) releasing an original Science Fiction program with aliens, CGI, and alien technology. The pilot did not blow me away, but it was good enough that I will be watching it.

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NEWS: For lovers of "vintage reads."

I received an email from Open Road Media asking me to share their news and I thought some of you might be interested. So here it is:

At Open Road Media, we think a great love story never goes out of style. It’s one of the reasons we are so excited to bring you some of the best titles in romance as ebooks for the first time. And whether you call them “vintage,” “old school,” or even “classic,” these retro romances have stood the test of time.

To spread the word about these great ebooks, we founded Retro Reads, a reader program specializing in digitally reissued romance novels. We are looking for a group of readers interested in exploring the full range of romance—readers who love the genre, who love talking about the genre, and who want to keep up with the latest digital releases.

In short, we are looking for a few good romance readers. Interested? Click here for more details!
That is it for this Sunday. I hope your weekend was as enjoyable as mine. :)

5 comments:

  1. I love Dreaming of You, I read it once or twice every year because it juts does my soul good. And I LOVE all the secondary characters too, like Gil and Worthy and the house wenches (though that ambiguos thing that may or may have not happened between Derek and Tabitah drives me insane)

    And Against the Odds was OK, it just felt rushed. A Full novel would have been awesome, with lots more of Derek thrown in.

    Defiance sounds like a really good show, I'll just wait till it airs here.

    Hope you have a nice week.

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    1. Alex, Dreaming of You is like the romance reader's chicken soup for the soul. LOL! That's good!

      You don't like Tabitha? I thought she was a key character and did a lot for Derek and Sara. I know many readers don't like what may or may not have happened between Derek and Tabitha, but at that point in his life (the story), Derek didn't expect to ever see Sara again and, as you know, he was pathetically desperate. I don't know... I never blamed Sara for wanting to get it on with her then fiancé, or for getting engaged to him while she was "dreaming" of Derek. In my mind, those actions just fit both characters.

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    2. Oh PS: I agree that Against All Odds was good, but not great. I really wish Kleypas had written a novel too because I really loved Linley's character. Oh and yes... I have hopes for Defiance, I hope you enjoy it too. :)

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  2. Hmmmm, maybe I'll read a Kleypas next month for the TBR Challenge (author who has more than one book in your TBR pile)?

    Dreaming Of You is one of those books I wished I had read early on when I first rediscovered the genre. Instead I waited a good ten years.....and other than Derek, not much else about the story "wow'ed" me. By that point I was "over" the Evil Other Woman plot device, and Sarah ran a little too hot and cold for me. But Derek? Yeah, totally understood all the love for him. I can imagine how AMAZING it was for readers back in 1994 to get a non-titled hero. Heck, it's pretty amazing now in 2013!

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    1. Wendy, I also read Dreaming of You later (not in 1994), but hmm.. Derek? He made this book for me and yeah, it became a personal favorite fast. He stands even today for being a non-titled hero -- we definitely don't get enough of those.

      Hmm.. the TBR Challenge read for next month. I also have Kleypas books unread in my TBR pile. I can't make up my mind either! I've been thinking of picking up Lavyrle Spencer, Kleypas, Linda Howard, Madeline Hunter, Jacqueline D'Alessandro, Cheryl St. John, Mary Balogh, more Pamela Morsi... Arggh... I guess I will decide when the time comes. *g*

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