An Exhausted Guppy

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Lynda

Well, it’s over. Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-A-Thon. I spent the better part of 24 hours doing nothing but reading. I realize I read fast, but sometimes it’s funny to see just HOW fast. I remember reading each of the Harry Potter books in a day. Even Order of the Phoenix which I think is the longest. I’m the third generation woman in my family to get kicked out of a speed reading class for reading TOO FAST. LOLOL.

This was a shocking amount of fun. I realize I was home alone with just me and the cat, but there was still a wonderful social aspect to this whole thing. There were mini-challenges I could do and blog updates to write and a Goodreads account to update. And there were over 900 people doing it with me, and a whole other group of people who were cheering us all on. Like I said. Shocking amount of fun.

Here are my personal totals:

What Was Read: 5 Books & 4 Short Stories. I have the full list of titles below.

Pages Read: 1,147 pages

Time Spent Reading: About 18 hours, probably. I started at 5:00 a.m. and finished at 4:30 a.m.. In between I took a 4 hour nap, plus did all the blog stuff and checked Twitter periodically, etc. So all in all I probably spent about 18 hours actually reading. That’s about 64 pages an hour. LOL Not too shabby.

Books Purchased Today: 2. (Well, 3 if you count a book I bought for tomorrow. LOL)

Blog Updates: 6 updates to my original post, and 2 Mini-Challenges.

Full List of Books (in the order I read them):

Jennifer Greene, Trouble in Paradise
Jennifer Greene, Quicksand
Anne Rainey, What She Wants
Anne Rainey, What She Craves
Anne Rainey, What She Needs
Victoria Dahl, Fanning the Flames
Cynthia Eden, Mine to Take
Cynthia Eden, Mine to Keep
Katie Reus, Breaking Her Rules

While I enjoyed all the books on this list, two books stand out as particular favorites. The first is Fanning the Flames by Victoria Dahl. That is one HOT fireman hero. VERY sexy. The second is Jennifer Greene’s Quicksand. It was nice to rediscover what was an old favorite. (Trigger warning: In Quicksand They do deal, in an offhand roundabout way, with a character’s past date rape. Nothing graphic and they don’t go into specifics, but there you go.)

While this WAS fun, It’s now 5:00 a.m. and I’m exhausted. So I’m going to get myself to bed. I’m scheduling this post to go up later in the morning, and hopefully by the time it does I’ll be fast asleep and dreaming dreams of hot firemen and librarians in pencil skirts, thanks to Victoria Dahl.

Lynda the Guppy
aka A Sleepy Guppy
aka A Fish With Sticks

Dewey’s Read-A-Thon 2014

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Lynda

There’s a 24-hour readathon that goes on twice a year, I think. It’s called Dewey’s Read-A-Thon. The goal is to read as much as you can in a 24-hour period.

I’ve tried it before, but I didn’t plan my books well, and so I didn’t get through too much last time. Now I’ve stockpiled a bunch of holiday novellas and some ARCs and I’m going to cuddle with the cat, leave the TV off and just read for the entire day.

I’ve put this post up as a placeholder. I’ll be updating it throughout the 24-hours (which starts at 5 a.m. my time on Saturday) with what books I’ve read and anything else Read-A-Thon related, so be sure to check back frequently.

And, because this is me, I’ll also be tweeting throughout the day.

Update 4:00 a.m.: We’re an hour from the official start, and I’ve finally chosen my first book. It’s Jennifer Greene’s Trouble in Paradise. An older category which has been reissued digitally. Greene is one of my favorite authors, and I’m working my way through her backlist, so I think you’ll see a bunch of her stuff today. This one is a Marriage in Jeopardy book. And y’all know I eat those up like candy.

Update 8:00 a.m.: My first book is done! Trouble in Paradise by Jennifer Greene. I enjoyed it. I would have liked to have seen maybe 1 more chapter just to really show how things are better now, but I liked Griff and Susan and their relationship a lot. I had to laugh at them using a phone book to find the numbers of Tom’s friends. LOL. Other than that, though, the book never felt dated, as some category books can after a time. I’ve always found Jennifer Greene’s books to stand up well over time. Not sure what’s next. Maybe a nap. Maybe some breakfast. Back in a bit.

Update 3:00 p.m.: Well. I’ve had a little breakfast and a nap and I’ve gone on to finish book 2. Another Jennifer Greene book, Quicksand. Turns out I’ve already read it, but it was nice to reconnect with a book I had forgotten about, and one I enjoyed. So what to read next? Hmmm…

Update 8:00 p.m.: Another 3 stories down. I hesitate to call them “books” because, really, they’re just little quickies. But ever so satisfying. I read Anne Rainey’s Cape May series. The first one, What She Wants was about Summer and Gage. Summer owns a B&B and Gage, a P.I., has come to visit his aunt. The attraction is immediate. The next two books, What She Craves and What She Needs are both about Tory (Summer’s friend and part-time assistant) and her to best friends Devon and Con. In What She Craves, we find out that Devon and Con have been in love with her for a while and the timing is right this New Year’s Eve to show her how they feel. The last book, What She Needs, is all about Con, Devon, and Tory dealing with some unexpected jealousy just days before Valentine’s Day. I haven’t read all of Ms. Rainey’s books, but I’ve loved what I’ve read. These were quick, sexy little stories and perfect for the Read-A-Thon.

Update 12 a.m.: I’ve finished two more. The first was Victoria Dahl’s Fanning the Flames. Early in the book is this quote: “He smelled the way a man should smell when he was in your bed and working hard for it.” WHY have I not devoured everything she’s written?! I’ve read her before and really enjoyed her books. Her heroes are sexy and wonderful and her heroines are smart and funny and not ashamed to go after what they want and need. This one was a short story which is the start of her Jackson Girls’ Night Out series. I’ve already downloaded the next book. The next book I read was Cynthia Eden’s Mine to Take. This hero is dangerous and obsessive and alpha. Yes, please. WE know he’s no threat to the heroine. But is she convinced? It was fantastic and I actually peeked at the ending because I was worried about who her stalker was. LOL. I was wrong. Thankfully, Trace wasn’t. I’m about to start Mine to Keep, which is the next book in the Mine series, and also about Skye and Trace, but this time it’s HIS secrets putting them in danger.

Update 4:30 a.m.: My final two books today are Mine to Keep by Cynthia Eden. The sequel to the last book I read. And also Katie Reus’ Breaking Her Rules, which is book 6 of her Red Stone Security series. A series I’ve enjoyed and didn’t realize I was so far behind on. I have three more books to read before I’m all caught up.

I’ll post my final thoughts in a separate post tomorrow, but in the meantime let me just say I’m looking forward to April.

Lynda the Guppy
aka The Fish Without Sleep
aka The Fish With Sticks

Snow Day Anthology

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Lynda

If you’ve been reading my reviews at all, you know I’m a huge Shannon Stacey fan. What you probably don’t know, however, is I’ve been a Jennifer Greene fan from WAAAAAY back in the day. Like back in the 1989 Night of the Hunter day. She’s written some of my all time favorite books over the years and I will buy anything with her name on it. Barbara Dunlop is new to me, as far as I know, but I’ll be keeping an eye on her in the future.

I was really looking forward to these three stories. A snowed in anthology? Two of my all time favorite authors writing in a short story format? A format in which they both excel? How could I lose?

Well, I didn’t LOSE per se, but it wasn’t a home run either. The first two stories, Heart of the Storm by Shannon Stacey and Seeing Red by Jennifer Greene were good. Both Ms. Greene and Ms. Stacey did the Exes Reunited tropes with some success, but here’s the big problem I had with both stories.

THERE WASN’T NEARLY ENOUGH GROVEL.

These guys both broke their ex-girlfriends’ hearts when they walked away, and they both did it suddenly and without any reasonable explanation. Without even so much as a conversation. Then they come back years later and decide they want their women back and they’re just going get what they want? Oh, HELL no. These guys, ESPECIALLY Brody in Ms. Stacey’s story, needed to crawl naked over broken glass in the town square in the snow uphill both ways. And they needed to do it NOW and A LOT. And I wouldn’t say no to a good swift kick in the junk just for old times’ sake. (Bloodthirsty? Me? No. You’re thinking of a different guppy)

Brody didn’t seem to really care at first about Delaney and her feelings. He KNEW starting anything with her in front of the whole town would make it uncomfortable when he left (and he WAS leaving), but he did it anyway. Red at least acknowledges his mistake to himself and tries to make it right with Whitney as soon as he can. He DOES grovel a little bit (especially with the duffel bag) but still. As I’ve said MANY times, There Can Never Be Too Much Grovel. Ever.

The last story, Ms. Dunlop’s Land’s End was my favorite of the trio, I think. There were some quirky characters and I still wanted to smack Tessa’s brother Barry into a snowbank, but overall I enjoyed it. It was less about exes getting a second chance and more about a couple just figuring out where they stood with each other and really taking the blinders off to see each other as they really are and not as they want to be seen. I wish we could have had a little more closure with Colton’s father, but I was still happy with the resolution.

Overall, I give the book 3 stars. I’d still probably read it again when I need a quick fix of an entertaining winter story, but, honestly, if I’m looking for a Shannon Stacey book, I’ll always start with Mistletoe & Margaritas or any of the Kowalskis (of DOOM). Honor Bound Groom or Kiss Your Prince Charming are my go to books for Jennifer Greene.

In fact, I think I’ll just curl up with Kiss Your Prince Charming right now. I could use a little friends-to-lovers, ugly-duckling-to-Prince-Charming, injured-hero romance right about now.

Lynda the Guppy
aka Burrowed Under the Blankets Guppy
aka Fish With Sticks

Rating: 3 Stars