Girl Crush, Boy Tush, Fairy Tale Rush

For some reason, the SyFy channel has been on an Underworld-kick. I can't stop watching it! Kate Beckinsale is absolutely amazing as the vampire warrior chick. She is super sexy, seductive, kick-ass and stunningly gorgeous. Those poor werewolves and vampire schmoes don't stand a chance with her. If I was a guy, and she was a girl (oops, she is a girl) and I wasn't married, and she wasn't married, and I wasn't a vampire or werewolf she wanted to stab with a sword.....I would totally ask her out on a date.

I finally gave up on the Bearotica book. I was willing to overlook the overabundance of sticky, hairy, disturbing images and bordering-on-pornography-sex-scenes, but I just can't overlook plain old bad writing. Some of these stories were horribly written...with major POV issues, the tenses jumping all over the place, etc. Geez, if you're gonna write beary, hairy porno stories, at least make sure your POV stays consistent. Is that too much to ask? (2 stars)

Fairy Tale Lust was another bust. I was excited to read it, since I totally dig stories that are funky twists on fairy tales, but this was all over the place. Some of them were okay, but some were very odd. I like it when there is a strong reference to the original fairy tale, and many of these were not recognizable as any traditional story. I did like the juxtaposition of paranormal next to modern next to traditional. The editor did a nice job mixing them up within the anthology. However, most of the stories felt too short and rushed to me. (3 stars)

Next up on the reading horizon: Pack Challenge by Shelley Laurenston--I'm giving her another try. The Prince's Groom by KT Grant--I'm going to attempt another M/M story...I hear one of the characters has a beard! And, Zoë Archer's Scoundrel. I can't wait to get back into this series!

All My Best,
Penelope

1001 Ways to Use A Jar Of Honey

Thanks to a slightly diabolical subliminal suggestion by Kate at Babbling About Books and another throw-down by Mandi at Smexybooks, I fell off the "no-more-kooky-books-for-me" bandwagon. Sigh. Yes, that's right. I actually bought a book called....

Bearotica: Hot and Hairy Fiction.


It's a collection of erotica short stories about gay men who love "Bears".....you know, big, masculine, hairy, gay guys. Okay, so this is problematic for several reasons. One, I'm not a huge fan of erotica....I like romance much better. And two, I don't really read M/M stories. But the hairy, beary part was just too good to pass up.

There are 17 stories in this collection, including such titles as "Honey," "Bubbacious," and "Fuzzy Butt." (Stop laughing).

I have only just started reading this book, but so far I've concluded....

1) Mandi and Kate have a mean streak.
2) Eating lunch while reading bearotica is a really bad idea.
3) Even Penelope has her limits about hairy dudes.

I will keep you updated about my progress, which hopefully will not include long-term therapy. But it might. After finishing the first story, I had the distinct urge to curl up in a blanket and read Dr. Seuss.

Happy Tuesday,
Penelope