Cowboys, Aliens, & Some More Spanky Time

What have I been doing during vacation week? Watching movies and reading romance novels!

Updates....

1.) Cowboys and Aliens


Boy, was I excited to see this one! Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and a totally cool sci-fi premise: Aliens dropped into an old-timey western. Unfortunately, the premise was better than the execution. The pacing was too slow, and the movie was neither a classic western nor a high-octane sci fi movie. It was somewhere in the middle. Had some good moments, Daniel Craig was perfectly cast in this one, Harrison Ford was pretty good.....but the aliens after gold storyline? Meh. Best part of the movie? When my daughter said, "Why does he keep kicking everyone in the nuts? Is that his signature move or something?" Why, yes....yes, it is.

Natty gave this one 3.5 stars.

2.) Super 8


Now that's what I'm talking about! This was a freakin' fantastic movie. More aliens....this time, a train wreck gives an alien the chance to escape captivity and cause a big ole ruckus. Great cast of kids, perfect balance of stark, cold reality vs. paranormality. It was quirky, touching, and had an excellent hand-holding moment (you know how I feel about that...my favorite gesture!). And as an added bonus, Ron Eldard has a totally kick-ass 70s beard thing going on.

Natty gave this one 4.5 stars. I give it 5!

3.) Snow Job by Delphine Dryden

I packed in one more holiday story. And I'm so glad I did! Delphine Dryden has some excellent writing chops. How do I know this? I forgot I was reading. I was so immersed in this story, I read the whole thing at once. Honestly, I shouldn't have liked this as much as I did. It was a contemporary w/ a sort of borderline-douchey estranged hubby (didn't like his sexual tactics to get his wife back), a sometimes irritating judgmental wife (can you say "tree-hugger"?), and a pretty mellow storyline (estranged couple thrown together for a "fake" Christmas celebration). Nevertheless, I absolutely loved this book. Dryden's writing is fantastic....smooth and mellow like the finest eggnog whiskey buttery toffee candy. Yeah, that's it! Candy! I really really really really like her writing. And even though some of the sex scenes made me slightly uncomfortable (the little wifey was filled w/ guilt), they were hot! Karl was a fine example of husband-turned-alpha-male-to-get-the-little-wifey back. Although he had some douchey moments, I ended up rooting for him, and hoping Elyce would drop the fig-up-his-ass-tree-hugger-wanna-be-boyfriend faster than some recycled cardboard. And she did! And, as an added bonus....there was some spanky time! Which means that every single holiday erotica I read this year was spanky. Spanky hanky-holiday-panky.

Grade: A-

Well, that's the wrap-up for Friday. Looking forward to the New Year's Eve party....I have a sequin-y sweater that's ready for action!

Ciao,
Penny

Vacation Week: Reading, Writing & The Ultimate Easy Bake Oven

We have now entered.....the post-December 25th phase of the year. Which means....I'm done!

Any and all promotional events pertaining to the sales and dissemination of the Klaus Brothers Series have officially ceased.

Cause, let's face it....no one wants to read about Santa and the North Pole after Christmas is over. And that's fine with me. I'm freakin' exhausted.

I would just like to say.......

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!


.....to everyone who bought my book, read my book, discussed my book, sent me fan emails (hee hee! so cool!), wrote reviews about my book, left messages for me on Facebook, recommended my book to their friends, and all of you who have been supportive, wonderful and generally cool.

God bless winter vacation week! Lots of reading, relaxing, and wasting time cooking minuscule baked goods in the Ultimate Easy Bake Oven (Natty's favorite xmas gift!)

On the reading horizon....

✵ Just finished reading Cathryn Parry's debut Harly novel, Something To Prove. A solid debut, emotional story. Review coming soon.

✵ Started reading Snow Job, a holiday erotica by Delphine Dryden. I won this in a giveaway...looks cute!

✵ TBR this week.... The Heart Of A Hero by Barbara Wallace. It has a weenie dog in it! Yippee!

✵ Also on the TBR pile....Where the Heart Leads by Stephanie Laurens. I actually read this a while ago, but I'm re-reading it and reviewing it for my new project, called The Penelope Project. I am reading books with heroines named Penelope. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Happy Day!
Penelope