Gone Fishing, again!

I hope all those who celebrated Thanksgiving this past week had a wonderful day with their families. I had a terrific time with mine. It has been a busy week for me and as you may have noticed I haven't had much time for blogging or visiting friends.

I did make time for reading a few books, though. Before the holiday madness hit, I re-read a few holiday-themed and my Challenge books November. However, at this point, I'll probably be late posting them because although the holiday is over, my time off is not. I'm taking a few days and traveling down to Tennessee on a road trip with one of my nieces, so I won't be around for a few days.

See you all when I get back! Keep on reading. :)

Review: A Christmas Promise by Mary Balogh

Weddings are supposed to be joyous occasions—especially when a couple seems as well matched as Randolph Pierce, Earl of Falloden, and his bride-to-be, Eleanor Transome. Ellie brings to the marriage a vast dowry, while Falloden, though distant, is handsome, tremendously desirable, and possessed of a title most young ladies can only dream of sharing.

Yet Ellie is not most young ladies. She knows that she must honor her dear father’s dying wish for her to wed the proud earl, but she dreads a lifetime in a union without love—and how can Falloden claim to love her when he married her only for her fortune? As Christmas descends upon the Falloden manor, the warmth of the season may yet melt away the trappings of duty and wealth, leaving behind only a man and a woman destined for each other’s arms.

A Christmas Promise is a re-release of one of Mary Balogh's beloved Christmas Signet stories. This book was originally released in 1992, and I can't tell you how happy I am that it's finally available again. This is the first time I had the pleasure of reading it.

Raldolph Pierce, Earl Falloden inherited the earldom from a cousin who left him deep in debt. He is in love with Miss Dorothea Lovestone and cannot offer for her due to his dire financial situation. Joseph Talloden, a successful coal merchant and one of the Earl's debtors, purchased all of Falloden's debts and proposes that as an exchange for cancelling those debts, Randolph marry his daughter Eleanor, consummates the marriage and that they live together for the first year of their marriage. Talloden is dying and the wedding must take place immediately as he wants to leave his beloved daughter settled with the man he chose for her. Randolph is left with no choice but to marry Eleanor, a 'cit',  or go to debtor's prison. He accepts his fate, but is contemptuous of Eleanor for marrying a man for his title and position.

Ms. Eleanor Transome was educated as a lady, but as the daughter of a merchant -- a 'cit' -- has suffered plenty of humiliations from the aristocracy because of her background. Her only wish is to marry for love. Eleanor loved her second cousin Wilfred, but after receiving a letter from him dashing all hopes gives up her dream of marrying for love and accepts her fate. Eleanor will honor her father's last wishes and marry the Earl of Falloden. She, however, is contemptuous of a man marrying for money after having misspent his fortune on gambling and other pleasures.

An eventful wedding night surprises Randolph and Eleanor both as pleasurable and more than either expected. By next morning Mr. Transome is dying and Eleanor, numb with grief, is unwilling to seek solace or react in front of her aristocratic and unwanted husband. Her seemingly cold demeanor gives Randolph the wrong impression. Before he dies, Mr. Transome extracts a promise from Eleanor not to mourn for him and to celebrate Christmas with all its warmth and joys. But how can she? Her adored father is dead and she's married to a man who's in love with someone else, has a mistress, and married her for her money. Eleanor invites twenty of her Transome family members to their country estate Grenfell Park, prepares for rejection from her aristocratic husband and a less-than joyful Christmas.

Balogh begins A Christmas Promise with enmity between our protagonists and slowly develops the romance and a joyful and warm family story. There are quite a few conflicts to resolve in this novel: the marriage of convenience, the misunderstandings between the couple, grief, and the class differences. Mary Balogh weaves those conflicts into a magical family Christmas story.

Eleanor is defensive for much of the story and lashes out at Randolph. She always seems to expect the worst from him. This comes not only from her mistaken view of him as a spendthrift, but also from her previous experiences with the aristocracy. Her suppressed grief doesn't help. Randolph initially makes mistakes with Eleanor. However, he knows how to apologize and rectifies those mistakes quickly. He's initially snobbish about her background too, but slowly recognizes Eleanor as the lady she is and comes to appreciate her family's warmth and love. Surprisingly, Randolph is open to love and making their marriage work faster than Eleanor. I really liked him and yes, I loved the way they finally found their happily ever after.

This story is full of wonderful secondary characters. Both the Transome family and Randolph's aristocratic friends add much to this story. The ending to some secondary characters' story lines were a bit too perfect for me, but then again this is a holiday story. The atmosphere is joyful and warm and if you want the feeling of a family Christmas story, this is it. I couldn't help but be swept along with Randolph, Eleanor and the Transome family.

A Christmas Promise by Mary Balogh is a magical, sweet Christmas story. I enjoyed it and will read it again. Lovely.

Genre: Historical Romance/Holiday
Released: October 26, 2010
Grade: B+

Visit Mary Balogh here.

Review: Fair Game by Josh Lanyon

A crippling knee injury forced Elliot Mills to trade in his FBI badge for dusty chalkboards and bored college students. Now a history professor at Puget Sound university, the former agent has put his old life behind him—but it seems his old life isn't finished with him.

A young man has gone missing from campus—and as a favor to a family friend, Elliot agrees to do a little sniffing around. His investigations bring him face-to-face with his former lover, Tucker Lance, the special agent handling the case.

Things ended badly with Tucker, and neither man is ready to back down on the fight that drove them apart. But they have to figure out a way to move beyond their past and work together as more men go missing and Elliot becomes the target in a killer's obsessive game...

Elliot is a man who lets his job affect his personal life. Tucker allows his personal feelings cloud his professional judgment. These are flawed, human characters. Great characters, mystery and romance, that's what I've come to expect from a Josh Lanyon book. In Fair Game, he delivers.

I didn't necessarily like Elliot or Tucker immediately. Elliot is a man at a crossroads in his life. He lost the career he loved (and seemed to define him) as an FBI agent when his knee was blown out while on duty. Simultaneously, the sexual relationship with his lover Tucker ended on a sour note. Seventeen months later, Elliot is a history professor at Puget Sound University and lives a self-imposed isolated life where daily physical pain, boredom and depression seem to plague him. Elliot is asked to look into the disappearance of a young man, a PSU student, as a favor to a family friend. After there's an apparent suicide and another student disappears, the danger escalates, as Elliot gets closer to solving the crime and becomes a personal target in a deadly game.

At first, Elliot is reluctantly excited to use his investigative abilities again, it breaks the monotony of teaching. But Tucker is the lead FBI agent in charge and aside from the built-up anger and left over hurt from their break up, Elliot resents the fact he's really an outsider in the investigation. Elliot misses being an agent and is defensive and over sensitive about the physical limitations that prevent him from being one. The focus he places on those limitations and on his loss don't allow him to immediately realize that he still has a lot to offer those around him, including Tucker. His self-pity and doubts are understandable, frustrating and ultimately quite human.

Tucker? Well... Tucker is in love. The way he goes about showing that love is what really presents the conflict in this story when it comes to the romance and, to a certain extent, the criminal investigation. Tucker blames Elliot for their breakup and vice-versa, and neither is willing to give an inch. He resents the fact that Elliot is sticking his nose in the case and from the beginning refuses to take his suggestions or suspicions seriously. Tucker's lack of professionalism was frustrating at some points in the story as he allowed human emotions to cloud his judgment. But don't get me wrong; although he makes plenty of mistakes with both Elliot and the case, Tucker redeems himself quite well.

Lanyon applies tension, angst and hostility to build up and develop the relationship between Elliot and Tucker. Personally, I loved the sexual tension that emanates from those phone calls between the two men before they're together on the page. Once they are, it all escalates into some intense emotional and sexual scenes between them. There's lots of chemistry there. I loved the characterization and the way the romance was developed. And yet, I still didn't 'fall in love' with Elliot and Tucker because neither character is portrayed as the lovable type. Ultimately that's what I liked about them.

Tucker might have been negligent in his investigation but Elliot was relentless, and Lanyon builds up an excellent crime mystery drama in Fair Game. There were a few red herrings that actually worked to throw me off this time, as well as scary moments and action to keep me involved. The villain makes it into a personal and brutal game between himself and Elliot and the conclusion was quite dramatic. I had some suspicions about who dunnit but didn't figure it out until almost the end of the story, making this an enjoyable ride for me.

Fair Game had a good balance between the romance and the mystery crime investigation and I enjoyed both aspects of the novel. I admit that although Tucker and Elliot are not my very favorite Lanyon characters, there's something about them (perhaps it's the human frailties that are so well portrayed, the chemistry and interactions) that made them come alive for me. I re-read this book almost as soon as I finished it. That has become something of a tradition with Lanyon's books and an indication as to my overall enjoyment.

Genre: LGBT M/M Mystery Romance
Series: None
Released: August 2, 2010
Source: NetGalley/Carina Press
Grade: Solid B

Visit Josh Lanyon here.

Poetry: Robert Frost, November & A Walk

In 1992, I visited Robert Frost's farm in Derry, New Hampshire during an uncommonly cold and stormy August day. I remember thinking that it was the perfect day to trek through the trails that Frost walked. Autumn hit early that year while my husband and I drove through New England and witnessed nature and Fall in all its splendor, especially up north by beautiful Vermont.

Today we're experiencing a typical November day. It's very windy and there are storm clouds one minute and sun patches the next. Last night's rain storms washed away a lot of the leaves and all I can see out of my front window are a few yellow leaves hanging from the branches of giant trees. Days like these always make me reach for Robert Frost.

My November Guest

My Sorrow, when she's here with me,

Thinks these dark days of autumn rain

Are beautiful as days can be;

She loves the bare, the withered tree;

She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.

She talks and I am fain to list:

She's glad the birds are gone away,

She's glad her simple worsted gray

Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,

The faded earth, the heavy sky,

The beauties she so truly sees,

She thinks I have no eye for these,

And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know

The love of bare November days

Before the coming of the snow,

But it were vain to tell her so,

And they are better for her praise.

-----

A Late Walk

When I go up through the mowing field,

The headless aftermath,

Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,

Half closes the garden path.

And when I come to the garden ground,

The whir of sober birds

Up from the tangle of withered weeds

Is sadder than any words.

A tree beside the wall stands bare,

But a leaf that lingered brown,

Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,

Comes softly rattling down.

I end not far from my going forth,

By picking the faded blue

Of the last remaining aster flower

To carry again to you.

Taken from: The Poetry of Robert Frost: The collected poems, complete and unabridged edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Part I - A Boy's Will: 1913

Review: The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, Book 1) by Rick Riordan

I read the Percy and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan last year and fell in love with Percy and his crew. The Lost Hero is the first book in The Heroes of Olympus series and a continuation of the those adventures. However, in addition to the already established characters and Greek mythology-based world, Riordan introduces new heroes and villains, quests, a new prophecy, a looming battle and adds Roman mythology to the mix.

Mr. Riordan begins this new adventure by introducing his central characters, Jason, Piper and Leo as they're on a field trip away from the Wilderness School for incorrigible teenagers and on their way to the Grand Canyon. Immediately we know there's something wrong when Jason wakes up in the back of the school bus and doesn't remember who he is or where he came from. He doesn't even recognize his girlfriend Piper or Leo, his best friend.

As our three friends work on essays or admire the views, strange weather turns violent and soon Jason, Piper and Leo find themselves under attack from dark forces or venti. Their teacher Coach Hedge comes to their defence saving their lives. After a quick and messy battle where Coach Hedge is lost, the three are rescued by Annabeth and taken to Camp Half-Blood for safety where they learn who and what they are.

While at camp, Piper and Leo are claimed by their respective god (parents) and mysteriously, Jason finds he has already been claimed and by whom. After a series of on-camp adventures, visions and prophecies, the three are sent on a quest to save the (not-so-likable) goddess Herra who has been imprisoned by an unknown evil. A month earlier Zeus closed off Olympus and no one has heard from the gods, so the three friends must succeed without help from the gods or even Annabeth who is off to find a lost Percy! The adventure begins and our heroes will meet cyclops, wind gods, giants, werewolves and more as they prove their loyalty and bravery to themselves and each other along the way.

Since the Lost Heroes is a continuation to a series, there's no worldbuilding to set up and secondary characters have already been developed, so the readers can get right into the story. However, Riordan does add newness to the worldbuilding by incorporating Roman mythology and weaving it with the Greek mythology introduced in the Percy series, giving this book a fresh feel.

Although Riordan stuck with three heroes and the same formula: two boys and a girl, the characters themselves also felt different and unique.

• Jason is brave, a true hero and his powers are strong. But they are already developed even if he doesn't remember exactly how or where he learned them. He is also confused, depressed and leery for most of the story, something that sets him apart from the other two, even when he's there for them. He's still a bit of a mystery by the end.
• Piper is distraught for much of the story and suffers from self-esteem issues due to what she perceives as her father's neglect or lack of love. She has to make some tough choices and that sets the tone for her character development. In Piper, Riordan gives us an ethnic heroine -- she's half Native American and her background and some of those myths are used in the story. Piper is not super duper smart, but she's strong and she knows how to use her powers of persuasion. I enjoyed her character growth from beginning to end.
• Leo is undeniably my favorite character and provided those 'aww moments.'  He lost his mother as a young boy in a horrific 'accident.' But although he also suffers from guilt and loss, as opposed to his two friends, Leo knows what it is to be loved and his way of coping is through his sense of humor, mechanical know-how and loyalty. I loved his ingenuity and bravery. 

The story is divided by chapter with the titles Jason, Piper and Leo, but written from the third person point of view making this an easy read. Internal dialogues abound with most of the revelations happening in dream sequences and then related to others, slowing down the pace and isolating the characters in some sections. At times, the dialogue is somewhat stilted and lacks flow. And although the humor is provided mainly by Leo's character, there's not enough of a give and take from Jason and Piper to really make it pop.  Real action is slow to come, although once on their way our heroes encounter plenty of obstacles throughout their adventures.

I enjoyed The Lost Hero, it had plenty of strengths and some weaknesses. It was a quick and easy read with great action and new adventures. I loved the new twists and turns that Riordan added to the Olympus series by incorporating Roman mythology and look forward to the rest of the series. Plus there's definitely a bit of a cliffhanger there at the end, and I must know!

The protagonists in this book are teens, but these books are appropriate for (and I believe will be fully enjoyed by) middle schoolers. I do recommend that the Percy and the Olympians series be read first for a better understanding of the world and characters.

Category: Young Adult Fantasy
Series: The Heroes of Olympus, Book 1
Released: October 12, 2010
Grade: B

Visit Rick Riordan here.