Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

I read three self-pubbed books in the last couple of days.

Two were fabulous, one was not. Let's start with the good news!

1. Edge by Tiffinie Helmer

I almost DNFed this book at the first chapter. It starts with a disturbing scene with a poor girl who has been abducted by a religious fanatic. However, I stuck with it because I trusted Tiffinie to do right by this story. And she did. Edge is a fabulous romantic suspense--the perfect balance of suspenseful storyline, engaging romance, interesting secondary characters, and incredible setting--the Alaskan wilderness. I felt like I was breathing in the frigid cold air right along with the characters. The setting popped off the page, and it was the ideal backdrop for this story. The writing was smooth and professional, the material handled perfectly. And that's a big deal for me. Too many writers add unnecessary graphic detail when dealing with difficult subject matter like abduction, rape, etc. A lot of times it feels gimmicky to me--like a crappy horror movie throwing in guts and violence for the hell of it. Helmer handles Mel's past with a light touch...we get just enough information to know that she was traumatized, but not enough to detract from her strength and healing. Cache, the hero, is a fantastic character, flawed, also tortured by his past, and the ultimate mate for Mel. I loved the two of them together, I loved the resolution to the story, and I loved how Helmer tackled prickly family issues and a secondary love story, too. And we even get a bad-ass bear scene. Awesome!

Grade: A-


2. Penelope by Anya Wylde

Also self-published, Penelope is an adorable historical farce. The humor is way over the top...there is a highway robber, a goat, a cross-dressing spy, a hilarious uncle with a mustache obsession, and a sweet, lonely heroine who is longing for love, companionship, and friendship. Penelope is adorable, goofy, and good-hearted. Folks looking for what I like to call "reality-based fiction" will probably not like this one. You need to check your willing suspension of disbelief at the door, and then laugh yourself silly while you read. I was charmed. There was one formatting error (with the indents) that hopefully will be fixed soon, and the hero was a little bit too conflicted for a good portion of the book. But other than that, there are many sweet and funny scenes that are a testament to Anya Wylde's imagination and sense of humor. I love a good farce, and this one fits the bill.

Grade: B+/A-


3. Spanked by the Vet by Christa Wick

I love big, curvy girl erotica stories. I love heroes who are veterinarians. I love quickies that are satisfying and sexy. And I love a good spanky story (so sue me).

Well, this erotica had a big curvy heroine and a veterinarian hero. It also had a good premise--the whole friends to lovers thing. Unfortunately, it also had no ending, no real story, about 95% sex, and the sex was boring--I ended up skimming those scenes. All in all, not my cuppa spanky tea. This story had a lot of potential, but it just didn't work for me.

Grade: Penelope Is A Sad Panda


Coming up on the reading horizon...

The Love Dog by Elsa Watson...I won it from Books and Things. After reading a book recently with a cat's POV, I'm looking forward to this one--it has a POV from the golden retriever. Hee hee!

Enjoying the self-pubbed revolution,
Penelope

Sweet Freedom!

I finally finished camp applications, tax forms, and a whole bunch of other stuff that has been hanging over my head for weeks!

 ❊ SWEET FREEDOM! ❊

I also had a fantastic time at the Maine RWA meeting this past weekend. What a great group of women writers. We talked about how to use reviews for good instead of e-villlllll! And I got a big surprise. Steph from Fangs, Wands and Fairydust was there, too. We finally met in person and she was a terrific help at the meeting.

If any New Englanders are looking for a writer's retreat this spring, MERWA is hosting their annual retreat May 17-18 at the Embassy Suites in Portland, Maine. Sounds really fun. Here's the linkie!

To celebrate my new-found freedom, I downloaded some festive new books.

* Spanked by the Vet by Christa Wick
* Edge by Tiffinie Helmer
* Penelope by Anya Wylde

So, I have a spanky book, an Alaskan romance, and a kooky historical. Can't wait!

Other good news...

Eloisa James gave LUCY THE WONDER WEENIE a nice shout-out on her Facebook page this weekend. She also has an adorable rescue doxie named Lucy.

LUCY THE WONDER WEENIE is on sale at both Barnes and Noble and Amazon for only $7.65. And it's still just 99 cents for the Kindle version!

Finally, I realized my hectic pace this year has resulted in stress-induced shingles and throwing out my back--twice! So I decided to slow down. I'm going to work on SWEET ADVENTURE, the next Klaus Brothers book which isn't due until Christmas 2013. That gives me plenty of time to get it written, edited, formatted, covered, and ready for action! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually sort of miss the Klaus family and I'm looking forward to writing about the North Pole again. Even though it's March and Starbucks no longer has their gingerbread lattes.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! *Penny cries*

Hope that everyone has a happy week!

Penelope

Spaseeba! Wherein Penelope Thanks Her Lucky Stars For Bearded Russian Heroes!

I had no idea when the weekend started that I would get on a bearded Russian hero kick.

But I did!

Starting with Bearing All by Tiffinie Helmer. Once again, Kate from Babbling About Books sent me the link as soon as she saw it was about a bearded Russian dude in Alaska. And it was free! I figured I would give it a try, not really expecting too much.

Well, I had no idea how hot and sexy lumberjack Russian assassins could be! Sergei, aka "The Bear" (schwing!) is living in the boonies of Alaska, hiding his true assassin identity, and chopping copious amounts of wood. Chop that wood, Sergei! Faster! FASTER! *Penny slaps her own self* 

Anyhoo, the premise for this story is awesome. The heroine is also an assassin out for revenge. Sergei killed her former partner, and even though she is harboring a very lusty attraction to Mr. Beardy Russian Lumberjack, she tracks him down to kill him.

I'm not usually into action-packed thrillers, but I would have to say this story was superb! The action and pacing were awesome for a novella-read, the simmering attraction between the two spies was super steamy, and the surprise ending was perfect. It was almost as though Tiffinie Helmer wrote this story just for me! (I keep picturing the name "Tiffinie" with hearts over the i's...hee hee).

As far as I know, this is still free at Amazon. I HIGHLY recommend this one if you like fast, action-packed novellas with lots of steam, and hunky Russian dudes.

Grade: A

As a direct result of mentioning Russian dudes on Twitter, I got a recommendation for a second book with a hottie hero. The Blacksmith's Lover by Heather Massey. Talk about different! This book was a delightful, quirky discovery. It is set in the 19th century, and it's about a secretive, super sexy Russian blacksmith with a very heavy accent (hot!), who takes in a scullery maid on-the-run. She is hiding from her vindictive former employers, and Viktor chops off her hair and disguises her as his apprentice.

This book was a totally refreshing, outside-of-the-box take on steampunk romance. Massey's voice is wonderful, and worked perfectly for this tale. The 19th century setting comes alive in this story, and the characters and their relationship were earthy, primitive and sometimes rough around the edges. Sex is not glamorized or romanticized. We get real sounds and real smells during the sex scenes--no rose-scented hair or sandalwood fragrance. Just a big, sweaty, hot, hairy Russian blacksmith...uh...*Penny slaps her own self again* I'm back!

The steampunk climax was fantastic! Massey somehow manages to mix romance, sex and steampunk inventions into one entertaining novella. This is definitely not a traditional romance, but I loved the unique aspect of the story and I will be reading more by this author. I love it when writers take a chance in our genre.

Grade: A-

Dasvidaniya!
Penelope