My experience with the Silhouette Bombshell books I’ve read has been pretty hit or miss. Sharron McClellan’s The Midas Trap is one of the few I’ve read that falls somewhere in the middle: 3.5 out of 5.

Veronica Bright was disgraced in the academic community when she presented a theory about myths such as the one about Midas being real. Without evidence, Veronica wasn’t able to prove her theory’s accuracy. Simon Owens was one of the scholars who dismissed Veronica’s theory. Now he has evidence that her theory might be true, and he needs her help.

I liked the book’s set up. The mythology angle was interesting, and I enjoy the adversaries-becoming-lovers plot. I wasn’t as intrigued with the characters. While they were interesting, they didn’t quite cross the level into compelling. The theory about mythology ended up being the most interesting part of the book.

There were some predictable moments in the suspense story, and the romance could have been stronger. Still, it has some nice moments, and I learned there is a sequel. I plan to give it a try, too.

Here are links to my October reviews at The Romance Reader.

Fangs for the Memories
Only for a Knight
Too Wilde to Tame

“You can’t afford to have an off day.”
–Artist Alan Lee, when asked about artist’s block and the experience of working on The Lord of the Rings movies

I stopped by Borders on Thursday to use a coupon, and while I was there, I saw an announcement about Alan Lee doing a book signing Friday night. He would be signing The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook, and I called two of my sisters to see if either of them wanted to go. Michelle was able to go with me, so I agreed to pick her up after work on Friday night.

The announcement indicated that there would be a presentation and a signing, scheduled to start at 7:00 PM. Michelle and I arrived around 6:45. I felt pretty lucky to get a seat. We had been there for about 15 minutes before we learned that we needed to have a ticket for the signing part. This was a bit frustrating, because we could have gotten the ticket much earlier if we had known we needed one.

Anyway, before the presentation started, Alan Lee was talking to a teenage boy about drawing. I couldn’t hear what the boy was saying, but he was showing his sketches, and I thought it was wonderful that Lee paid so much attention to the boy. The boy was grinning from ear to ear when the presentation began.

The presentation itself consisted of 30-40 minutes of slides. Some were of sketches Lee did for The Lord of the Rings movies, while others were photos from the movies. It was amazing to see how the concepts were played out.

After the presentation, Lee answered questions from the audience. Here are a few of the questions and answers.

• Someone asked about the most satisfying part of working on The Lord of the Rings movies. He said that he really enjoyed following the process from one drawing to the finished scene. As for the set he liked most, he was most happy with the Golden Hall.
• One fan of the movies asked Lee to talk about Rivendell. He said that the idea for Rivendell was that it should have an air of melancholy, since the Elves were soon to leave. This was why there were leaves on the floor and trees growing over the architecture.
• Lee was asked about what he received as his farewell gift when he was finished on the movie. He said that he got one of Gandolf’s staffs.
• One person asked whether the sketches of the cast would ever be available for sale. Lee said he is asked that question at every appearance. Anyway, he said he thought that would make a nice portfolio, and perhaps it would happen.
• Someone asked an interesting question about whether Lee is able to capture on paper the ideas he has in his head. Lee responded that quite often the idea crystalizes on paper rather than in his head beforehand.
• One person asked about the artists who influenced him most. He said that he was influenced by so many artists that it was difficult to say, but he named a few: Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Durer, and Edmund Dulac.

Some other interesting things Lee mentioned are that the anatomy and life drawing classes he took were the most valuable to him. Also, he believes that art has more to do with temperament than innate ability. Artists are happy spending hours in an interior world, and should be prepared to be self-critical about their work.

After the Q&A session, he asked to take pictures of us because he is doing a travel blog. I was quite intrigued by this. Anyway, my sister and I are in two photos on his blog.

Everyone lined up to get their books signed. When everyone was lined up, I realized that my sister and I were 2 of the last 15 or so people in line. This was frustrating, because we probably should have been in the first 20 or so based on our arrival. We ended up waiting about an hour and a half to get to the front of the line. It was worth it, despite the long wait. I got a picture (albeit a fuzzy one, below) and a signed book.

Yesterday was my annual Halloween party for my nieces and nephew. We had a lot of fun, and I got some nice pictures, though some turned out a bit fuzzy. Here are some of the better ones.

Once I recover a bit (LOL, I’m pretty tired), I’ll post about the book signing I attended on Friday. It wasn’t for a romance author, but that’s the only hint I’ll give you. You’ll just have to be patient.

With the surge of paranormal romance and the fact that I can’t seem to get enough of the subgenre, you’d think I’d have read about every paranormal being out there. Patti O’Shea’s Through a Crimson Veil offers a new one for me–both the hero and heroine are half-demons. It sounds unusual, but it works: 4.5 out of 5.

Mika has a mission: get inside Conor McCabe’s house and find a certain incantation that may be dangerous to the demon world. She approaches Conor with a request for protection. Though both Mika and Conor are half-human, half-demon, Conor is from a type of demon that is strong and physically aggressive. This makes him a good choice to protect Mika, who is from a less aggressive demon branch.

When Mika spends time with Conor, she realizes that he is her vishtau mate–the demon version of a soulmate. Some authors rely on the idea of the couple being “mated” to skip the getting-to-know-you and falling-in-love stages of the romance. Thankfully, O’Shea doesn’t do that. Conor and Mika may be vishtau mates, but they have to fall in love like anyone else; in fact, they go through a lot before getting to their happily-ever-after.

Through the Crimson Veil is the third book in the Crimson City series. I’ve read and enjoyed books two and three.

In other news, I’m trying to make my house somewhat presentable before my Halloween party on Saturday. It’s been a slow process. I don’t know how I’ve managed to accumulate so much stuff. Yikes!

I couldn’t resist buying Charmed and Dangerous by Candace Havens. It was a paranormal romance that sounded terrific. The story wasn’t as terrific as it first sounded, but it got better in the second half: 3.5 out of 5.

Bronwyn is a witch who protects the British Prime Minister through charms and spells. Soon she’s also protecting Sheik Azir, a man who is the target of several assassination attempts. Bronwyn finds herself drawn to Azir even as she starts to develop a relationship with Sam, a warlock.

The story starts well; Bronwyn’s voice is an interesting one and the book is told as journal entries from her point of view. As the story continues, however, there starts to be a sameness to the journal entries. There’s danger, she casts a spell, she averts disaster. From pages 40-100, I put the book down several times. Things pick up a bit toward the end, but not enough to overcome the slow start.

I’m back in town. I made my annual trip to the Shakespearean Festival, this time with my mom and sister. I had a nice and busy time. For plays, we saw The Foreigner (not Shakespeare) and All’s Well That Ends Well. They were terrific. I liked the latter far more than I thought I would, considering it’s a somewhat problematic play. We did some fun shopping, too.

Now I’m back at work, feeling like I need a vacation to recover from my vacation. Typical.

In any case, I read an amazing book during the trip: Patricia Gaffney’s To Love and to Cherish. There is an author quote on the cover describing this book as “one of the most hauntingly beautiful love stories I’ve ever read.” This description is totally accurate.

Christian (Christy) Morrell is the vicar of Wyckerley. As the book begins, he is at the bedside of a dying parishioner. That man is the father of Christy’s childhood friend Geoffrey, whom he has not seen in years. Geoffrey soon arrives with his wife, Anne; Christy discovers that Geoffrey is not the same person he knew years ago. This Geoffrey is ill, cruel, and violent. When Geoffrey goes off to war, Anne and Christy get to know and come to care for each other.

At first, I wondered what I would think of a hero named Christy, but 100 pages into the book, I decided I wanted a Christy Morrell of my own. He is the kind of hero I adore: observant, intellectual, and serious. He is strong, but not in a physically overpowering way; instead, it’s a strength of character. I loved the way he lived his faith–it’s not overbearing; it’s simply part of who he is.

Anne is an equally fascinating heroine. The contrast between the way she is when Geoffrey is around in the first part of the book and the warm woman she becomes with Christy is amazing.

To Love and to Cherish features rich characterization, not just with the two main characters. Gaffney paints a vivid picture of the town and its inhabitants. I enjoyed the small touches, such as the fact that neither Anne nor Christy seems aware of how beloved they are by the townspeople.

The book isn’t perfect. In one section, Anne believes that God was punishing her, and something happens toward the end of the story that is kind of glossed over. Neither of these things is completely explored; I felt a little like I’d been left hanging. Still, I adored the main characters, and I found myself going back and rereading, which is my indication of a keeper: 5 out of 5.

I’m distracted today. I’m going out of town for the weekend, starting tomorrow, and I’ve still got some packing and cleaning to do. I’m afraid this blog entry is going to be a bit short.

J. R. Ward’s Dark Lover is getting quite a bit of buzz right now, so when I saw it on sale, I couldn’t resist. It would have been well worth the purchase even if I’d paid full price: 4.5 out of 5.

Dark Lover has a vampire hero, but I’m not going to say more about the plot, partly because I don’t have time and partly because a short summary couldn’t do it justice.

Why I liked it: I enjoyed the world-building and the characters. The hero and heroine had terrific chemistry. I also liked the direction Ward took with Butch. It surprised me; I had predicted a different result, and I like that kind of surprise. Like many other readers, I’m looking forward to the next installment of the series.

The Murder of Lil Miss chronicles the murder of Lisa Marie Kimmell and the subsequent investigation and trial. The author is Lisa’s mother, Sheila Kimmell. I found it to be an exceptionally well-written book that offered tremendous insight about how one person’s death affected an entire family: 4.5 out of 5.

Regular visitors of my blog will not be surprised to hear that this case was profiled on Unsolved Mysteries. That’s how I learned about it, and it’s one of the cases that really stuck with me. I always wondered if it would be solved. It was solved, but it took 16 years to get there.

Lisa disappeared during a road trip. Her car had personalized license plates that read “Lil Miss,” and people searched for Lisa and her car for a week. Lisa was found murdered eight days after she disappeared. The subsequent investigation was frustrating for family members and investigators. Leads didn’t pan out, and politics plagued the investigation.

The breakthrough occurred when a DNA match was made and a suspect, Dale Wayne Eaton, was identified. Lisa’s car was found buried on Eaton’s property. Eaton was eventually found guilty and received a death sentence.

I liked getting a more complete story about what happened and what the family went through. No family should suffer like that, and this book showed the Kimmells to be strong and admirable people.

I decided to try Melani Blazer’s Hot Rod Heaven after reading Angie’s endorsement. I’m so glad I did; I loved it: 4.5 out of 5.

Bree’s fiance was killed in a car wreck two years ago, and her best friend, Sebastian (Bash), went missing at the same time. Bree is trying to move on when Bash shows up on her doorstep needing help for his car, but primarily wanting to see her again. Their chemistry soon leads to a relationship that is threatened by ominous appearances by a black Corvette. There’s not much more I can say about the plot without venturing into spoiler territory.

This book is excellent on so many levels. Bash and Bree are real people, and I felt like I got to know them quickly. Bash in particular is keeping secrets, but his love for Bree was obvious. As for Bree, her emotions were portrayed so vividly that I felt like I was right there with her. That takes no small skill on Blazer’s part.

The mystery of the Corvette is an intriguing one. With each appearance of the car, I speculated about what it could mean and how the story would develop. I guessed part of it, but the ending was a complete surprise.

Hot Rod Heaven is definitely a keeper. I didn’t start rereading it immediately (which is how I gauge whether a book is 5 out of 5), but I know I’ll enjoy rereading Bree and Bash’s story in the future.