30 Days of Books - Day 30

Your Favourite Book Of All Time

I think my favourite book of all time has to be one of the first books I loved to read over and over again - Cinderella.  Is it any wonder that I would become a romance novel lover as an adult?  I actually had three copies of the book; the Disney edition, a Little Golden book edition, and the Ladybird edition.   Of the three, the Ladybird edition was my favourite.  In this rendition of the fairy tale, the ball at the palace is actually three nights long.  And each night Cinderella wears a different dress.  The detail of the illustrations is magnificent, I could spend hours pouring over each page and still miss some detail.  I could never decide which of the three dresses were my favourite.  Check out some of the illustrations at the Ladybird website. 

30 Days of Books - Day 29

A Book Everyone Hated But You Liked

A Pirate's Love by Johanna Lindsey.  This book was written in the time of forced seduction and rape being romantic.  I first read it when I was about 14, I still like to read it, but cringe at the "love" scenes.  More than likely if this had been any other author or if I read it for the first time in the last 15 years it would have been a wall-banger.

30 Days of Books - Day 28

Favourite Title

Once a Princess by Johanna Lindsey is my favourite title for two reasons.  One, because I love this book, Stefan is hot, hot, hot, and Tatiana is feisty enough without being too over-bearing or bratty.  And two, because I am a princess!  Alright, not really, I have to work for a living, and I have no servants, tiaras, or castles.  But I want to be a princess dammit!

Once Upon A Time...

In a rustic Missiissippi tavern, a beautiful exiled princess was forced to dance for the pleasure of others--unaware of her regal birthright...and infuriated by a magnificent golden-eyed devil who crossed an ocean to possess her.

 

From A Far Off Land...

A bold and brazen prince came to America to claim his promised bride. But the spirited vixen spurned his affections while inflaming his royal blood with passion's fire...impelling virile Stefan Barany to take in sensuous and searing conquest the love Tatiana vowed never to yield.

30 Days of Books - Days 26 and 27

A Book That Changed Your Opinion About Something

I tried, I really did, to come up with a book for day 26.  But I've got nothing, even though I procrastinated and waited a day before posting.  My luck, I will  immediately think of a book in another day or two.

The Most Surprising Plot Twist Or Ending

When I first started the 30 days of books, I looked over the list to try and plan what books I would talk about.  For today, Sandra Brown's Where There's Smoke immediately came to mind.  I first read this book when I was about twenty.  I remember being stunned (jaw-dropping and gasping) by two plot twists in this book.  I'm not sure if it was because I was just starting to get into contemporary romance and didn't see it coming, or if I was too naive.  But, over 15 years later I still enjoy reading this book and think it holds up well.  It has the feel of an epic novel because it does not just focus on the hero and heroine, but a cast of characters living in the same town.

No one knows why Dr. Lara Mallory came back home to Eden Pass, Texas to open up her medical practice after all these years. But everyone remembers her role in the well-publicized scandal that caused the downfall of White House hopeful Senator Clark Tackett. So when the iron-fisted matriarch of Tackett Oil uses every weapon in her arsenal to drive her out of town, Lara refuses to go quietly. Yet in this corruption-riddled town, nothing is as it seems. An explosive secret lurks beneath the surface, threatening Lara at every turn. Her unlikely ally: Key, the hell-raising youngest Tackett son. Thrown together, they're on a dangerous quest to expose the one secret that can destroy the Tackett empire-and anyone who dares to challenge its power.

If you love melodramatic books featuring family empires, secrets, and ill-fated love, you will love this book!  Spoiler alert - below I have written the two plot twists that completely took me by surprise.  Highlight the words to read them.

After Lara is accused to having an affair with Clark Tackett, she and her husband, Randall, are banished to the Carribean nation of Montesangre.  There, the ambassador Randal and their daughter are murdered.  A couple of years later, Lara ends up in Eden Pass with one mission - to get Key to fly her back to Montesangre for her daughter's body.  The first plot twist is that Randall is not dead but has been living in Montesangre all these years.  The second twist is that it wasn't Lara who was having an affair with Clark, but Randall.

30 Days of Books - Day 25

A Character Who You Can Relate To The Most

The character that immediately came to mind was Naomi Brightstone from Nora Roberts' The MacGregor Grooms.  Naomi is a bookstore owner who is enlisted by Ian MacGregor to help him furnish his home library.  She is somewhat shy and still feels like the nerdy, overweight girl from high school.  

30 Days of Books - Day 24

A Book That You Wish More People Would’ve Read

I really wish more people would read or get their children to read the Trixie Belden series.  There is still time before these books are gone for good.  And if enough people start reading them again, then the whole series could be reprinted.

30 Days of Books - Day 23

A Book You Wanted To Read For A Long Time But Still Haven’t

I was immediately drawn to The Thirteenth Tale the moment I saw the cover.  The story sounds really interesting as well:

A plain girl gets wrapped up in a dark, haunted ruin of a house, which guards family secrets that are not hers and that she must discover at her peril. Margaret Lea, a London bookseller's daughter, has written an obscure biography that suggests deep understanding of siblings. She is contacted by renowned aging author Vida Winter, who finally wishes to tell her own, long-hidden, life story. Margaret travels to Yorkshire, where she interviews the dying writer, walks the remains of her estate at Angelfield and tries to verify the old woman's tale of a governess, a ghost and more than one abandoned baby. With the aid of colorful Aurelius Love, Margaret puzzles out generations of Angelfield: destructive Uncle Charlie; his elusive sister, Isabelle; their unhappy parents; Isabelle's twin daughters, Adeline and Emmeline; and the children's caretakers. Contending with ghosts and with a (mostly) scary bunch of living people, Setterfield's sensible heroine is, like Jane Eyre, full of repressed feeling—and is unprepared for both heartache and romance. And like Jane, she's a real reader and makes a terrific narrator. That's where the comparisons end, but Setterfield, who lives in Yorkshire, offers graceful storytelling that has its own pleasures.

I have absolutely no idea why I haven't read it yet, so I think I will stop at the library today to see if it is in.

30 Days of Books - Day 22

Favourite Book You Own

If I have to pick just one, I'll go with Johanna Lindsey's Hearts Aflame.  It was the first historical romance book that I ever bought.  I recently purchased a second copy as the first one has been dropped in a pool and read so many times that the cover has come apart from the binding.

30 Days of Books - Day 21

Favourite Book From Your Childhood

Trixie Belden, Trixie Belden, Trixie Belden, Trixie Belden.  Did I mention that my favourite book from childhood was any of the books from the Trixie Belden series?  Loved these books like no other.  And she can kick Nancy Drew's ass any day!!  I can still remember the day I came across the first book, Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Mansion.  I was 8 years old and completely bored on a Sunday afternoon.  My parents were reading comfortably in the living room and had no desire to entertain me.  For some reason I went into the basement and came across some of my mom's old books.  I think I read that book in one day.  Luckily, the next book Trixie Belden and the Red Trailer Mystery was also in the box. 

For anyone who doesn't know, Trixie Belden is a thirteen year old tomboy who loves horses.  One summer she becomes best friends with Honey Wheeler.  Soon, with Trixie's two older brothers, Honey's adopted brother and two more friends the form the Bob-Whites of the Glen and solve mysteries.  The books were written between 1948 and 1985 then were out of print.  In 2003 Random House reprinted the first 15 books but stopped there.  There are 39 books in total plus two quiz books.  Right now the books are still available and I highly suggest them for girls between the ages of 7 and 10 who love mysteries and horses.  If you want the books to continue to be available, email Random House.

30 Days of Books - Day 20

Favourite Romance Book

What?  Just one book??  There is no way I can do that, so I am going to list my favourite romance book in different categories.

Romantic Suspense
Divine Evil - Nora Roberts

Contemporary Romance
Simply Irresistible - Rachel Gibson

Civil War
One Wore Blue - Heather Graham

European Historical
Tender Rebel - Johanna Lindsey

Historical Fiction
Outlander - Diana Gabaldon

Medieval Romance
Prisoner of My Desire - Johanna Lindsey

Renaissance Romance
Highland Outlaw - Monica McCarty

Urban Fantasy
Bloodfever - Karen Marie Moning

Viking Romance
Hearts Aflame - Johanna Lindsey

That's all I can think of.  I know I'm only supposed to list one, but it's my blog and I can do what I want!!

30 Days of Books - Day 19

Favourite Book Turned Into A Movie

My favourite book turned into movie is Nora Roberts' novel Montana Sky.  Montana Sky is one of my favourite romantic suspense novels and the movie for the most part does not disappoint.  I think it would have been better if it was a miniseries rather than a two hour movie.  Also, I didn't like how they changed the character of Nate.  In the novel he is a lawyer who is somewhat awkward around Tess.  In the movie he is a sheriff who is almost too stupid to believe.  I preferred the novel Nate and am not sure why they had to change him.

30 Days of Books - Day 18

A Book That Disappointed You

Definitely My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.  I borrowed this book from the library because I was hearing about a lot of people reading it.  I was on a waiting list so decided to her previous books.  I read The Pact and Vanishing Act before I finally got to read My Sister's Keeper. 

Warning there are spoilers ahead for the book and movie!  After reading these three books I have come to the conclusion that Picoult takes a topic that is making headlines, has the characters take sides.  Each side or position may be controversial in some way, but that doesn't matter because something happens so that there is no controversy in the way the novel ends.  It's like Picoult chooses topics that will get people to read, but doesn't want to annoy anyone and takes the safe way out.  I know a lot of people did not like the way the movie turned out.  But I loved it compared to the book.  It felt true to life, rather than fake and saccharine sweet.  In the movie, Anna wins her case against her parents and does not have to give her sister, Kate, her kidney.  I haven't watched the movie in a while but I think Kate makes it to her prom and dies.  In the novel, Anna wins the case but then is killed in a car crash and her kidney is given to Kate. Therefore both sides are satisfied, Anna wins, but Kate gets the kidney.  Kate goes on to live a long and healthy life.  This pissed me off and the book almost became a wall-banger.  It was such a cop out by Jodi Picoult that I felt I had been played with.  I have not read one of her books since.

30 Days of Books - Day 17

Favourite Quote From Your Favourite Book

This was really hard.  There were a couple of quotes I could have picked.  Some gave insight into Kristen's personality and behaviour.  While others were very emotional but were spoilers for anyone who has not read Hearts Aflame yet.  Finally I decided to go with this:

They had sailed south, farther south than Kristen had ever dreamed of going.  She knew it was south, for each night the sky stayed darker longer, until finally the darkness was equal to the daylight.  For days now they had sailed past a beautiful land whose coastline was kissed by summer's green, but no one would tell her what land it was.

I chose this quote because I could feel Kristen's excitement building as her adventure was finally beginning.  Also, because I knew that she would soon be meeting Royce and the story would really begin.

30 Days of Books - Day 15

Favorite Male Character

No question, it is James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser from the Outlander series.  He's tall, built, rugged, smart, hot, and always seems to know what to do and say.  And yet he doesn't seem like an exaggeration or stereotype, he seems real.



Diana Gabaldon has said that the above picture of Gabriel Aubry is pretty close to what Jamie looks like.  But I have also come across a video of Gerard Butler that is close to my personal image of Jamie.  Maybe not in Outlander, Gerard Butler does not look like a young 23 year old.  But definitely a 30 something Jamie.

30 Days of Books - Day 14

Favorite Book Of Your Favorite Writer

I didn't even have to think about today's book, it is Hearts Aflame by Johanna Lindsey.  It's a medieval historical with Vikings and one of the first romances I bought.  I have to admit, I was drawn to this book at first because of the cover.  It was also this book that got me hooked on Johanna Lindsey.  This book was written before the popularity of the female warrior in historicals.  Kristen Hardraad, the heroine, is a strong woman taught to fight and use weapons by her mother.  But she is also still womanly, and enjoys her feminine side.  I find now that the heroine in historicals are too modern in their thinking and their actions.  They can do it all and want nothing to do with or listen to the hero.  Sometimes to the point of being TSTL.  I'm not asking for a heroine who is timid and lacks the ability to think for herself.  Instead, I want a heroine who is smart and strong while still being true to her time.  Kristen, in my opinion fits that description.  Oh, and Royce of Wyndham is hot!  If the Viking era is one of your favourites (it's one of mine) check out the Hardraad series.  It actually starts with Kristen's parent in The Fires of Winter and continues with Surrender My Love.  I am still waiting for more books from this family.

30 Days of Books - Day 16

Favourite Female Character

I know since my favourite male character was Jamie Fraser that it seems obvious that today's character would be Claire Fraser, but it's not.  Don't get me wrong, she is one of my favourite, but there are times when I find her a little too harsh, curt, and a bit of a know-it-all.  So for my favourite female character I have chosen Kristen Hardraad from Hearts Aflame.  She is a strong woman who knows what she wants and takes the steps to get it.  Kristen is knowledgeable in weaponry, is willing to fight dirty but at the same time can be vulnerable and willing to show her feminine side. 

30 Days of Books - Day 13

Your Favourite Writer

This was so hard to narrow down.  I have two bookcases full of books of my favourite authors.  Some of my faves are:

Contemporary
Rachel Gibson
Linda Howard
Nora Roberts
Sandra Brown
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Lara Adrian
Kristan Higgins
Karen Robards
Karen Marie Moning

Historical

Lisa Kleypas

Monica McCarty

Johanna Lindsey

Madeline Hunter

Diana Gabaldon

Karen Marie Moning

Pamela Clare

Julie Garwood

Shannon Drake

Heather Graham

I think my all time favourite author would have to be Johanna Lindsey.  I started reading her books when I was twelve.  I don't think she wrote a bad book before 1994, after that some of her books are hits and misses.  But I still return to her old ones which have heart, heat, and chemistry.

     

30 Days of Books - Day 12

A Book You Used To Love But Don’t Anymore

A book I used to love but don't anymore is Maggy's Child by Karen Robards.

Lyle and Maggy Forrest and their son David, 11, seem to be a stable, wealthy Kentucky family, but Lyle is physically abusive and Maggy is trapped by a web of secrets and by her love for her son. Then after 12 years, Nick King, Maggy's protector when they were children in the Louisville projects and David's real father, reappears as a prosperous nightclub owner. Although unaware of David's patrimony, King wants Maggy back and to do so he is "looking for dirt" about Lyle. There turns out to be plenty. Blackmail, the DEA and other elements follow along with a large cast of secondary characters like Tia Gloria who thinks she's psychic; Nick's half-brother Link, who has a shady past; and a huge, nasty parrot named Horatio who plays a vital (though incredible) role in the denouement.

I first read this book when I was in my early twenties and loved it.  In fact I still have a copy on my shelves.  I would re-read it every once in a while.  The last time I read it, I didn't like it as much.  I'm not quite sure why.  Maybe my taste in reading has changed, or perhaps Robards' writing has changed, as I still read her novels.  Mainly, I think that the last time I read this book, I suddenly found the main characters to be too immature.

30 Days of Books - Day 11

A Book You Hated

This may be an unpopular opinion with some people, but a book I hated was Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.  My friend, Mary, was getting annoyed with co-workers who kept talking about the book and telling her she just had to read it.  I wrote this synopsis for her so that she wouldn't have to suffer through all 400 pages like I did:

For the love of all that is good and holy stay away from Twilight!!!  Everyone loves it??  Yes that is the one I said sucked.  Here let me give you a synopsis so you can tell everyone you read it.  Bella Swan (get it? beautiful swan?) moves in with her father and attends a new school.  She is described as plain and no guy at her old school showed any interest in her.  Here?  At least 5 guys are in love with her.   She notices Edward in the cafeteria and is instantly in love but he avoids her and at times is mean.  One day while walking to school Bella is suddenly in danger.  A truck has hit black ice and is heading right for her!  How will she survive?  What will happen??  Out of nowhere Edward pulls her aside and stops the truck with his hand.  Of course he moves faster than a human and no one else saw him move so quickly, or noticed his hand imprinted on the side of the truck. 

They are now inseparable and instantly in love (wtf??).  Next Bella is in the city with some girlfriends but is separated.  Some guys start to follow her and corner her in an alley. How is she going  to get out of this?  Oh wait, there's Edward.  How did he know where she was.  Uh, he saved her by telling her to get into his car.  They go out for dinner.  But won't her friends worry about her?  They have no idea where she is.  Some time later (a day? week? I don't know) Edward decides to take Bella into the woods to tell her the truth about himself.  He is a vampire and skips school on sunny days because he and his family glow and glitter in the sun (I'm sorry wtf???) he shows her he can fly. 

For the next 100 pages Bella thinks about how she loves Edward, can't live without him blah blah blah.  She loves cuddling with him even though he is a block of ice.  She loves the smell of his breath we are told over and over and over again (but um ew he's a 100 year old vampire who only drinks blood.  Let's hope he has a good dental routine).  That is the first 250 pages.  Next the book actually started to get interesting...for awhile.  Edward takes Bella with his family to show her how they play baseball it's super fast and the ball goes super far (a total rip off of Quidditch if you ask me).  But suddenly other vampires appear.  Bella is in danger cause she is human and they can smell her blood.  What will happen?  How will she get out of this one?  Oh Edward saves her again. 

 Now they decide Bella must leave town.  The book is coming to the end so it starts to pick up pace.  Edward's family has hidden Bella in another town but her mother is in danger from the other vampires.  She must go save her, only she could save her no one else.  But she was tricked by the bad vampires.  Her mom is safe in another town but they now have Bella.  What will she do?  How will she - oh *$#@ it, might as well skip these pages until Edward shows up-and there he is.  Bella is saved, all is right with the world until you read the next book.  There you go 400 pages condensed into 4 paragraphs.  You can tell everyone you read the book!

The movie was actually on TV last week and decided to watch it to see if maybe I was a bit harsh in my opinion of the novel.  Nope, movie was just as bad as the book. 

30 Days of Books - Day 10

Favorite Classic Book 

Today I am going with a classic book I loved as a child.  I remember reading it in school in grade 6.  I absolutely loved it from the first page.  The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is a classic that stands the test of time.  I loved this book so much that I wanted a copy for myself.  I was so excited when a couple of months after reading this in class I came upon the exact same copy for sale at a church sale for 10 cents.