Booktalk Friday
Feb
23
2007

Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips – I ordered this from Amazon on Tuesday, it got here Wednesday and I read it in one sitting that night.

I’m a ginormous SEP fangirl. I’ve loved all her books but one. I think she’s got an amazing gift with creating flawed characters that just appeal to me on so many levels.

So I’m not surprised to say I thought NCB was a fabulous book. I absolutely loved Blue. I thought as a heroine she was wonderfully messed up but filled with heart and fight and strength. I wasn’t baffled by her behavior at all, I really connected with her.

I loved the secondary characters – April, Dean’s mother, Jack, his father and Riley, his sister. As usual, SEP takes characters you would find unredeemable in the hands of other authors and makes you root for them.

And I liked Dean a lot. In fact, I loved him for 98% of the book. However, here’s the quibble that took it from 5 stars to 4 1/2 for me – he was a total dick at the end of the book. I won’t say what he did and give spoilers but I didn’t think he suffered enough for it and I don’t think he redeemed himself enough.

Otherwise, I was cheering for them to end up together, I loved their chemistry. This was a very sexy book and it had loads of great tension and eroticicism in it.

Lots of funny moments and bright, vivid characters, including the town and Dean’s house. This is one I’ll definitely read again.

Books in my TBR pile added this week:

Innocent in Death by JD Robb – this is on the way from Amazon and I’m all angsty about reading it. I keep seeing all this stuff about trouble between Eve and Roarke and it makes me nervous.

Unforgettable by Shelley Munro

Carinian’s Seeker by TJ Michaels

Taliff’s Cure by Bonnie Rose Leigh

22 comments to “Booktalk Friday”

  1. Lesli
    February 23rd, 2007 at 8:34 am · Link

    I’m SO glad I’m not the only one with the butterflies about Eve and Roarke. The last couple books I kept expecting them to end up adopting one of the kids that keeps showing up in the stories.



  2. laurendane
    February 23rd, 2007 at 8:43 am · Link

    I love them as a couple so much it makes me nervous, LOL!! I’m sure I’ll devour it right away just to be sure it’s all okay though.



  3. Megan Hart
    February 23rd, 2007 at 8:52 am · Link

    This is a good idea, this Friday book talk. I’m reading The Rising, a zombie book. No romance so far. Heh.



  4. laurendane
    February 23rd, 2007 at 8:58 am · Link

    Wheee, zombies! I love me some zombies. Give World War Z a try – loved it.



  5. Megan Hart
    February 23rd, 2007 at 10:00 am · Link

    World War Z? Heh. Ok.

    The thing about zombies is…well, eventually, don’t they just become bones?



  6. laurendane
    February 23rd, 2007 at 10:03 am · Link

    My guess is, that true zombies (as in living undead) would just eventually rot because wthout circulation, etc, they’d fall apart.



  7. Megan Hart
    February 23rd, 2007 at 11:48 am · Link

    I think so too. So eventually, the zombies would all rot away and be nothing. So if the dead start coming back to life, all’s you gotta do is hide long enough. Eventually, they’ll all be gone!

    ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐Ÿ˜ฏ



  8. Anne
    February 23rd, 2007 at 12:46 pm · Link

    OMG! Didn’t you just LOVE IT???? Yay! I’m soooo glad you liked it Lauren! And I too agree with the thing about Dean being a dick, but it was a defense mechanism, blah, blah, but he got what he had coming to him and then some even though he was the one who worked himself into that frenzy anyway! LOL (See, sort of a spoiler, but no way in hell is anyone going to understand that LOL) I LOVED THIS BOOK. Just as I loved Match Me If You Can…. SIGH. Gotta love an author who sucks you right into the story.

    Know one I’m kinda interested in but feel like I shouldn’t tell anyone I’m interested in because it’s sort of a taboo subject line? Broken by Megan Hart… married woman attracted to single man friend… fantasizes about him. I’ll be “secretly” looking forward to this one.



  9. Anne
    February 23rd, 2007 at 12:48 pm · Link

    I forgot to say that I know EXACTLY how you’re feeling about Innocent in Death… I’m angsty about it too, but I’ll be reading it either this weekend or next week, whenever I get it. EEEK. Let’s cross our fingers and pray that it makes their relationship stronger… cause you know no marriage is without the bumps in the road. SIGH.



  10. laurendane
    February 23rd, 2007 at 12:50 pm · Link

    Anne – Broken is really complicated. Yes, she’s a married woman and yes, she has lunch with Joe and he tells her his stories and she imagines herself in the place of the women in them – but Megan walks a very careful line and does it well. Lines are NOT crossed, brushed against yes, and you’ll see why when you read it. But It’s just one of the most deeply moving books I’ve ever read.

    Oh and I loved Match Me too! Ain’t She Sweet probably remains my very favorite though.



  11. Anne
    February 23rd, 2007 at 12:50 pm · Link

    Okay, and I’m posting away here about MH’s Broken and THEN I read the comments. I’m such a dork. I didn’t know she frequented here. EEEK! I’m feeling like a dork now. LOL All nervous and fangirl-like. LOL

    You going to Lori Foster’s event in Ohio in June, Lauren? I’ll be there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



  12. laurendane
    February 23rd, 2007 at 12:51 pm · Link

    Well, I think Nora will write it well and I don’t think Roarke would ever cheat, ever, ever on Eve. I think they’ve got a very solid relationship. I’ll be very interested to see the dynamics.



  13. laurendane
    February 23rd, 2007 at 12:52 pm · Link

    LOL, Anne – don’t – seriously Megan is one of the most down to earth people I know.

    And yeah, I’ll be at Lori’s get together in June with Anya too! Megan can’t come because she’ll be at BEA instead. I’m so excited to get to meet you!



  14. laurendane
    February 23rd, 2007 at 12:55 pm · Link

    Megan – on zombies? The thing is, how long would it take them to finally just give out? What’s holding them together? magic? Is it a time thing like in 28 Days Later? (LOVE that movie, R gave it to me for Christmas)



  15. Bonnie Rose Leigh
    February 23rd, 2007 at 4:30 pm · Link

    I have to comment on the Zombie thing. Did anyone watch the Night of the Living dead movies that came out in the 80’s? Those seriously freaked me out. I had nightmares for months after my parents took me to the drive-in to watch one when it came out. Picture this: Really creepy scene, armless blood-dripping zombie about to kill this teen. Smartass parent secretly takes a portable wind-up alarm clock out of her purse and sets it off, just as the zombie attacks. Let’s just say I wasn’t the only one screaming at the drive-in that night.

    Oh–and how cool is that that you have my new release in your TBR pile… Neat!!



  16. Anne
    February 23rd, 2007 at 5:04 pm · Link

    I’m curious to see how Megan does Broken… curious how close to the line she pushes things and how she avoids stepping over it. Very cool. *sigh* You’re big pals with her, huh? That’s how you got to read it already? Jealous! very jealous!

    I’m so excited to meet you too, Lauren!!! And Anya, too cool!!!



  17. Lauren
    February 23rd, 2007 at 6:02 pm · Link

    Anne – Megan is like me (well, she’s a better writer and I think her kids are better behaved too), only on the other coast, LOL. It’s a good thing we live across the country from each other or we’d get in a lot of trouble. I’m fortunate enough to have Megan and Anya both as crit partners so I watched Broken grow from notes into a novel. I HATED the idea at first until she tweaked it – she still teases me about it. I’ve read Perfect too and Catch and Release (just had to get that neener neener in there, LOL)



  18. Lauren
    February 23rd, 2007 at 6:03 pm · Link

    LOL, Bonnie! I love, love love scary movies and zombies are up there on my favorite monster list!



  19. Anne
    February 24th, 2007 at 12:17 pm · Link

    Iรขโ‚ฌโ„ขve read Perfect too and Catch and Release (just had to get that neener neener in there, LOL)

    You brat! ๐Ÿ˜‰ LOL Braggart! I haven’t read Dirty yet either… on my shelf right now. Along with your “Chase” books. Lori talked up your “Chase” books so, of course, I HAD to go out and buy them. Innocent in Death came in to the library for me yesterday so I picked it up. I put it at the top of my mountainous TBR list. I have no doubt it’s going to be fabulous. So many good books to read!!! ๐Ÿ˜€



  20. Lauren
    February 25th, 2007 at 8:14 pm · Link

    I know, terrible aren’t I? LOL! I hope you like my Chase books, Lori has been so sweet about them.



  21. Megan Hart
    February 25th, 2007 at 8:17 pm · Link

    I loved 28 Days Later. LOVED IT!!! Scared me but was really done well, loved Cillian Murphy, and you know I love that post-Apocalyptic thing going on. ๐Ÿ™‚

    But Zombies, yeah, eventually, if you could outlast them, well, wouldn’t they all just be gone? I mean, sure the newly dead might rise up but if you knew that was going to happen you could “kill” them permanently or whatever right off.

    Ahh, I love zombie stuff!

    *waves to Anne*

    Hi, Anne! Glad to see you’re looking forward to Broken *bites nails…*

    Broken is not about infidelity, I’ll say that. It’s about fantasy and holding onto what you hold precious even when it hurts you more to hold it than to let it go.

    I know some people are leery about the subject matter, so spread the word…Broken is not about a woman cheating on her husband! It’s not about being unfaithful! It’s about how hard it is to BE faithful sometimes, though, and how love is all the more valued when you know how close you are to losing it…

    But nice to see you here! And Lauren’s full of bologna, I’m not down to earth at all, I’m quite conceited and full of myself.

    So there.

    pbbbbt, LD! pbbbbt! ๐Ÿ˜›



  22. Megan Hart
    February 25th, 2007 at 8:19 pm · Link

    Oh, and my kids probably are better behaved, but that’s because they’re zombies…