Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Wednesday Reads and Lack of Writing

Here’s what I read the past week:

Dates read: March 2 - 9
Title: “Bite Me”
Year of publication: 2014
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: The Pride Series #9
# of Pages: 375
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Free
Blurb from Book: Livy Kowalski has no time for idiots. When you shapeshift into a honey badger, getting through life’s irritants is a finely honed skill. Until she gets stuck housing her nutso cousin and dealing with her dad’s untimely and unexplained demise.
   That’s where Vic Barinov comes in—or his house does. Vic can’t step outside without coming back to find Livy devouring his honey stash and getting the TV remote sticky. It gets his animal instincts all riled up. But he’ll have to woo her at high speed: all hell is breaking loose, and Livy is leading the charge…
My thoughts: I got this book quite by accident. I had ordered copies of my book, Bite Me, I’m Yours, through Kensington. When the package arrived, I anxiously opened the box to discover copies of this book instead. Kensington fixed the mistake and told me I could just dispose of the wrong ones. Well… I couldn’t just throw them out, so I gave some away, but kept one to read. Eventually. Well, eventually finally came.
   This is the 9th book in the series. I hadn’t read the first 8, but didn’t let that stop me. I was slightly confused with the plethora of characters (plethora – I’ll blame Stephan Pastis for that word http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2017/03/09 ), which I’m sure wouldn’t have been a problem if I had started reading the series at book #1, so if you’re confused with numerous characters and this book interests you, you might want to start with book #1.
   This was a crazy-funny story (didn’t realize this when I started reading, not that I minded). The romance was just a tiny bit on the thin side, and I actually wondered what the book was ABOUT until I got about half-way through, but it didn’t stop me from turning the pages.

Two books this week. Whoo hoo!

Dates read: March 10-12
Title: “Hunt the Dawn”
Year of publication: 2016
Author: Abbie Roads
Genre: Romantic suspense (with some paranormal woo-woo)
Series: Fatal Dreams #2
# of Pages: 329
Paper or plastic: Mass market paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Book: You can’t hide your secrets from Lathan Montgomery—he can read your darkest memories. And while his special abilities are invaluable in the FBI’s hunt for a serial killer, he has no way to avoid the pain they bring him. Until he is drawn to courageous, down-on-her-luck Evanee Brown and finds himself able to offer her something he’s never offered another human being: himself.
   Nightmares are nothing new to Evanee Brown. But once she meets Lathan, they plummet into the realm of the macabre. Murder victims are reaching from beyond the grave to give Evanee evidence that could help Lathan bring a terrifying killer to justice. Together, they could forge an indomitable partnership to thwart violence, abuse, and death—if they survive the forces that seek to tear them apart.
My thoughts: You know you’re reading a good book when you read it fast. The book is labeled romantic suspense, but it could easily be called romantic horror. Lots of dark and spooky stuff happens (and I LOVE spooky stuff) with two people you just want to be together. You don’t have to have read the first book to understand this one. Some characters overlap, but not in a way that will confuse anyone.

As you can tell from all my reading, I’m not writing as much. I do hope that changes soon, but right now I just can’t seem to deal with my writing with all the other crap that’s going on. You’d think I could use it as a distraction, and I could, but in a way I don’t want to be distracted. I want to be available for my husband. And if that means putting writing on the back burner for several weeks, then so be it.

So… Anyone playing in the March Madness Brackets? I’ve got three going (Buffalo Wild Wings, CBS Sports, and Nathan Bransford's), same bracket, though. Kind of makes it more fun to watch. At least for me. Oh, and don't you LOVE where I found the word plethora? Amazing what you can learn from comics, huh? Haha!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

10 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Your husband comes first. You'll get back to that writing soon enough.
My brackets usually get shattered in the second round, so I don't even bother anymore.

JeffO said...

Honey badger, huh? Wonder if they were inspired by the famous video (just google "honey badger video" if you don't know what I mean; it's #1 on the search). It's certainly an unusual choice for an animal to turn into!

I completely get it about the distraction thing. Family first! Hope all is well.

Maria Zannini said...

I am a poster child for worrying. It doesn't matter that it's a complete useless thing to do.

I either clean like a fiend or do something equally tiring like weeding or digging ditches. Of course, come night time, I lie in bed awake because I'm still worrying, but at least I'm exhausted enough to fall asleep eventually.

There's not much you can do at present except wait. So sorry you're going through this.

Jennette Marie Powell said...

You have a better reason than me for not writing (I don't even know what mine is anymore). Continued good thoughts for your hubby!

And "plethora" is such a great word!

Tanja said...

I don't bother w/ the brackets, I have enough other habits that tie up my time. I think I read that "Bite" book some time ago. It was a first in badger shape shifting: light reading. As for writing, I can't seem to use it as a distraction from family health issues. Some people can and some days I'm jealous of that. Each has to find his/her own rhythm. I know writers who wrote while their loved ones napped, underwent tests, surgeries and doctor appointments. They say that helped them cope. You'll find your own, unique way best for you and your husband. "May the force be with you."

Stacy McKitrick said...

Alex - My brackets do, too, but it makes watching more fun.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Jeff - Watched the video for a bit. Funny!!

Maria - Yeah, waiting sucks.

Jennette - I like how words I've read earlier pop into my head later when I'm writing!

Tanja - I might have written today if there was someplace to do it. Kind of hard on the small chair I'm given to sit in. Next time I won't bother taking my computer.

Jennifer Lee Rossman said...

Well, I learned about the origin of "tawdry" from Dinosaur Comics:
http://qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2820

LD Masterson said...

Focus on your hubby. The writing will still be there. Saying a prayer for your both.

I love the description "paranormal woo-woo".

Stacy McKitrick said...

Jennifer - You learn something new every day! At least I did. Today. :)

Linda - I think RWA (or someone from my chapter) mentioned how a lot of readers don't like woo-woo in their books. I thought it was a funny term, so I borrowed it. :)