Books #14 - 17.
Book #14 Dark of the Moon by Susan Krinard
This book is a prime example of how not all trashy vampire romance novels are created equal. Unfortunately, this one is one of the ones that is less equal. I have read one of Krinard's books before, and seem to remember that I didn't like it very much as well.
The plot has a couple of interesting new takes on it. It takes place in 1920's Manhattan. Gwen Murphy is our ballsy reporter heroine. Dorian Black (heh) is our dangerously handsome vampire that Gwen can't seem to keep away from. Dorian is living as a bum on the waterfront after killing his sire and sending all of the Manhattan vampire gangs into a war between factions. Gwen's father was on to the idea of a "blood cult" in the city before his untimely death, and she first encounters her dark vampire when he is pulling her out of the river (New Yorkers can be so rude to nosy people!). She, of course, doesn't pick up on the fact that he is a vampire, and decides he is going to be one of her projects.
Little does she know that by befriending Mr. Black, she has also attracted the attention of Sammael the deranged leader of a vampire group called Pax. Now, this is the interesting twist: The idea of vampires masquerading as human gangsters is old, but the idea of a vampire organization dedicated to the peaceful co-existence of mortals and immortals is an interesting idea. Or at least it would have been if the leader weren't bat-shit crazy.
But I get ahead of the mostly predictable plot. Dorian and Gwen begin a shaky friendship, he being the cranky bad boy who wants to die, she being the doe eyed ingenue who feels inexplicably compelled to save him. Could this be love? Inevitably, he turns her into a vampire, to save her life, of course, and now she is bound to him. She doesn't take all this very well. She hates herself, hates him for making her this, and loses her faith. So begins the long process of self-discovery and learning to love and forgive themselves for their sins.
Meanwhile, they are being hunted by the terribly crazy Sammael. He is one of those people who takes religious devotion beyond the level of faith and obedience to the realm of psychosis. He has gotten into his head that in order to be forgiven for the sin of being a vampire, he is going to lead his little brain-washed army to kill all the vampires in the world. And then, presumably, they would kill themselves.
I'm sure you can guess what happens. Gwen and Dorian stop evil plot, almost dying many times. They learn to love and forgive each other and themselves in the process. Eventually, millions of pages later, they have sex and break the sexual tension. Then they have a silly vampire wedding under the light of the moon.
The ending was the only good part of this book, and I'm not sure if it gave enough of a burst of happy feelings to be worth going through 400 pages of relatively boring plot to get to. Hopefully, the next time I am at Walgreens, I will remember this name and not pick up any more of her books. She needs more good happy feelings to balance out all the terrible crap that her characters go through. And a little less self loathing would be nice.
Who knew I could write so much about a book I didn't like?
Book #15: The Bitch Posse by Martha O'Conner.
This book was one giant trigger. It says on the back of the book: "Cherry, Rennie, and Amy were outcasts, rebels, and dreamers. And their friendship was so all-encompassing that could would call it dangerous. This is the story of three women - as seniors in high school and as women in their mid-thirties - who formed a bond in order to survive the pitfalls and perils of their lives. Their secrets have torn them apart, while inextricably binding them to one another. What happened to them? And can they survive their shared history, even today? The Bitch Posse is an anthem for friendships that defy society's approval or disapproval. It's a novel of secrets, courage, sacrifice, and hope against the odds. It is both a journey bakc to being a girl on the verge of adulthood, and a journey forward, showing how the events of our past can unearth the best in us today."
Which, really, is a load of shit. This book is like re-opening hardly healed wounds and dumping salt in them. For me, it was a terrible reminder of how very very nice hurting yourself can be. It also poked at that sense of isolation and scratched at the crazy that lives under my surface. All, in all, not a terribly good experience. Very well written, eloquent and vivid. I found myself wincing while reading it... I finished only because I hoped that these terribly troubled girls would grow up to be whole, happy, satisfied women. They didn't.
I wonder if that is like looking into a reflection on my future, and that is scary.
Book #16: The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc by Loraine Despres
This was a good southern book written by a good southern woman. I think Ms. Despres was a Newcomb writer in residence at one point. I am pretty sure she comes from Newcomb stock, even if she didn't go there herself.
I love southern novels. Because really, secretly, I like living in the south, and every once in a while I love the twangs that come out in my voice. I loved being part of Newcomb as only one who has a very small, fragmented family can love being part of a big tradition. Don't get me wrong, there are many things about the south that are backward and frustrating. The New Yorker in me hates what a Boy's Club work is, and laughs at what a weird southern man her boss is. And we won't even go into the horror that Oxford, Mississippi was. But the greater part of me loves the history and tradition that surrounds me, and a part of me (the part that has always felt so disconnected from every thing) loves that after 6 years in New Orleans, I feel like I belong here.
That is why I find these type of southern lit. books so interesting. I have always loved reading about New Orleans, and that passion has grown to the surrounding area. The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc is very much in the vein of the Ya-Ya books. Another one of those books that flashes backwards and forwards in time (I've been reading a lot of those lately) it chronicles the life of Sissy LeBlanc, a woman who tries to survive her surroundings and the men around her. For support she mentally writes and re-writes The Southern Belle's Handbook, a series of rules to live by: "Rule #24: A girl has to look her best while she's still young enough to look real good. Rule #39: A girl doesn't have to give in to temptation, but she might not get another chance. Rule #41: Boys are easy. Rule #9: Once a girls says yest, it's almost impossible to go back and say no. Boys who respected your wishes before become hard of hearing."
I remember that we had one of Ms. Despres' novels in the Newcomb author's collection, but I never got around to reading it. Now I wish I had, because this novel was fantastic. It was full of (southern)girl power, the kind that has rules to manipulate the men around you into doing your bidding.
It certainly had it's tragic parts. The novel starts with Sissy, old and grey, with her daughter Marliee, coming back to her hometown for the first time in decades. This of course, leads us right into the flashback of the summer of 1956. We learn that Sissy is a married woman, (married to a man named Peewee of all things) and her high school sweetheart (the captain of the football team to her head cheerleader) has just come back in town after being gone for 14 years. They happen to run into each other, and their first encounter ends with them entangled in the kitchen, just as her children come home.
Then there is of course, the guilt, the resisting temptation, the feeling that she has to be a good wife to Peewee. There is the addition of a very interesting character, Clara, who is Sissy's on-the-other-side-of-the-tracks cousin. Clara has also taken up with Parker (the high school beau, and the essence of all that is good and manly and sexy) but is on the fast track to going up North to go to college and begin her life "passing". This derails Sissy and Parker's giving into temptation for a while, and Sissy begins a plot to get Clara the money she needs to go to school.
Over the course of the first part of the novel we see that Sissy's marriage to Peewee is not a happy one. Really, she is pretty much disgusted by him. Peewee (aptly named by his father, Bouree) has an inferiority complex so big that it has made him nothing more than a pawn in his own life. His feeling of inferiority has also made him one mean bastard, continually trying to control those even less powerful than he is. There are also Sissy's children, Chip being the eldest, who is also a mean bastard, but for unknown reasons. And the rest of the small Louisianian town, nosy Methodist neighbors, old flames, crazies and all the other things you would expect in a small town where everyone has known everyone else forever.
Part One ends with Sissy finally about to meet with Parker, in a wonderful hotel in New Orleans, after just running into Peewee's father Bouree. Then we flash back again, this time to 1941, when Sissy is still in High School, dating Parker, and not yet married to Peewee.
It turns out that Sissy was not deflowered by Parker, or Peewee, but Peewee's terribly southern, terribly charming father Bouree. He just happens to come across her exploring herself in a field, and offers to help. They spend all of duck hunting season meeting in the afternoons for their secret tryst. As any young girl would, she falls head over heels for him, and is heart broken when (at the end of duck season) he ends their affair. To get back at him, she starts hanging around with Peewee. This results in a rape (to teach her a lesson, apparently) and a pregnancy. Parker doesn't know that any of this is going on, and is confused by her distance. She feels that Parker deserves better, and takes the only option that she sees, she marries Peewee. (Of course, making him think that the child is his, not his father's.) Parker, confused and heart broken, leaves town to join the army, and Sissy starts her life as a miserable wife. But on the plus side, she gets to make Bouree miserable.
Eventually, Parker and Sissy have their affair. Sissy finally feels love, and lets go of her bitterness at Bouree and the town. They get Clara the money she needs to go to school, and everything looks like it's going to end happily ever after, until Chip interferes and goes to get Peewee as Sissy and Parker are planning to take the kids and run away together.
And, well, you'll just have to pick up the book if you want to know how it all plays out. Get thee to a library, go, quickly! Read southern lit and be happy you didn't grow up in one of those little towns in the 40s. I know I am.
Book #17: Upon the Midnight Clear by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Taking a break from the abortions, rapes and real life of the books that Brittany lent me, I have yet another trashy paranormal romance novel. Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of my favorites of this genre explosion. While all of these books are formulaic, hers are peppered with wonderful pop-culture references and interesting takes on Greek mythology. This novella is no exception. One of the things I love about her is that she seems to tap into all the pop culture references that I adore, Buffy, caramel macchiatos, Ugly Betty and most recently Dexter. (I just watched all of Dexter recently, who is a hotter, hipper, non-cannibal version of Hannibal Lecter.)
The formula stays the same. Broken and jaded greek goddess meets broken and jaded uber-famous actor. They learn to trust each other, over come a deadly enemy (who just happens to be the personification of Pain, sent to kill the broken and jaded actor). They learn to love again, have steamy sex, and she makes the ultimate sacrifice. But magically, every thing works out and they live happily ever after. Yay!
There is very little that is triggering in trashy romance books. It was light, airy, fun, and utterly forgettable. But as a break from reality, it was a good one. And a quick easy read to boot, I finished it in a day.
But I highly recommend Kenyon's books. If you are in the mood to not think, and just be entertained, it is a wonderful way to go. Then you can go look up all of her pop-culture references, which are equally entertaining and enjoyable.
Phew, that was a lot of books. Stay tuned for next week, when I start to think again with a memoir about growing up Chinese-American.
This book is a prime example of how not all trashy vampire romance novels are created equal. Unfortunately, this one is one of the ones that is less equal. I have read one of Krinard's books before, and seem to remember that I didn't like it very much as well.
The plot has a couple of interesting new takes on it. It takes place in 1920's Manhattan. Gwen Murphy is our ballsy reporter heroine. Dorian Black (heh) is our dangerously handsome vampire that Gwen can't seem to keep away from. Dorian is living as a bum on the waterfront after killing his sire and sending all of the Manhattan vampire gangs into a war between factions. Gwen's father was on to the idea of a "blood cult" in the city before his untimely death, and she first encounters her dark vampire when he is pulling her out of the river (New Yorkers can be so rude to nosy people!). She, of course, doesn't pick up on the fact that he is a vampire, and decides he is going to be one of her projects.
Little does she know that by befriending Mr. Black, she has also attracted the attention of Sammael the deranged leader of a vampire group called Pax. Now, this is the interesting twist: The idea of vampires masquerading as human gangsters is old, but the idea of a vampire organization dedicated to the peaceful co-existence of mortals and immortals is an interesting idea. Or at least it would have been if the leader weren't bat-shit crazy.
But I get ahead of the mostly predictable plot. Dorian and Gwen begin a shaky friendship, he being the cranky bad boy who wants to die, she being the doe eyed ingenue who feels inexplicably compelled to save him. Could this be love? Inevitably, he turns her into a vampire, to save her life, of course, and now she is bound to him. She doesn't take all this very well. She hates herself, hates him for making her this, and loses her faith. So begins the long process of self-discovery and learning to love and forgive themselves for their sins.
Meanwhile, they are being hunted by the terribly crazy Sammael. He is one of those people who takes religious devotion beyond the level of faith and obedience to the realm of psychosis. He has gotten into his head that in order to be forgiven for the sin of being a vampire, he is going to lead his little brain-washed army to kill all the vampires in the world. And then, presumably, they would kill themselves.
I'm sure you can guess what happens. Gwen and Dorian stop evil plot, almost dying many times. They learn to love and forgive each other and themselves in the process. Eventually, millions of pages later, they have sex and break the sexual tension. Then they have a silly vampire wedding under the light of the moon.
The ending was the only good part of this book, and I'm not sure if it gave enough of a burst of happy feelings to be worth going through 400 pages of relatively boring plot to get to. Hopefully, the next time I am at Walgreens, I will remember this name and not pick up any more of her books. She needs more good happy feelings to balance out all the terrible crap that her characters go through. And a little less self loathing would be nice.
Who knew I could write so much about a book I didn't like?
Book #15: The Bitch Posse by Martha O'Conner.
This book was one giant trigger. It says on the back of the book: "Cherry, Rennie, and Amy were outcasts, rebels, and dreamers. And their friendship was so all-encompassing that could would call it dangerous. This is the story of three women - as seniors in high school and as women in their mid-thirties - who formed a bond in order to survive the pitfalls and perils of their lives. Their secrets have torn them apart, while inextricably binding them to one another. What happened to them? And can they survive their shared history, even today? The Bitch Posse is an anthem for friendships that defy society's approval or disapproval. It's a novel of secrets, courage, sacrifice, and hope against the odds. It is both a journey bakc to being a girl on the verge of adulthood, and a journey forward, showing how the events of our past can unearth the best in us today."
Which, really, is a load of shit. This book is like re-opening hardly healed wounds and dumping salt in them. For me, it was a terrible reminder of how very very nice hurting yourself can be. It also poked at that sense of isolation and scratched at the crazy that lives under my surface. All, in all, not a terribly good experience. Very well written, eloquent and vivid. I found myself wincing while reading it... I finished only because I hoped that these terribly troubled girls would grow up to be whole, happy, satisfied women. They didn't.
I wonder if that is like looking into a reflection on my future, and that is scary.
Book #16: The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc by Loraine Despres
This was a good southern book written by a good southern woman. I think Ms. Despres was a Newcomb writer in residence at one point. I am pretty sure she comes from Newcomb stock, even if she didn't go there herself.
I love southern novels. Because really, secretly, I like living in the south, and every once in a while I love the twangs that come out in my voice. I loved being part of Newcomb as only one who has a very small, fragmented family can love being part of a big tradition. Don't get me wrong, there are many things about the south that are backward and frustrating. The New Yorker in me hates what a Boy's Club work is, and laughs at what a weird southern man her boss is. And we won't even go into the horror that Oxford, Mississippi was. But the greater part of me loves the history and tradition that surrounds me, and a part of me (the part that has always felt so disconnected from every thing) loves that after 6 years in New Orleans, I feel like I belong here.
That is why I find these type of southern lit. books so interesting. I have always loved reading about New Orleans, and that passion has grown to the surrounding area. The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc is very much in the vein of the Ya-Ya books. Another one of those books that flashes backwards and forwards in time (I've been reading a lot of those lately) it chronicles the life of Sissy LeBlanc, a woman who tries to survive her surroundings and the men around her. For support she mentally writes and re-writes The Southern Belle's Handbook, a series of rules to live by: "Rule #24: A girl has to look her best while she's still young enough to look real good. Rule #39: A girl doesn't have to give in to temptation, but she might not get another chance. Rule #41: Boys are easy. Rule #9: Once a girls says yest, it's almost impossible to go back and say no. Boys who respected your wishes before become hard of hearing."
I remember that we had one of Ms. Despres' novels in the Newcomb author's collection, but I never got around to reading it. Now I wish I had, because this novel was fantastic. It was full of (southern)girl power, the kind that has rules to manipulate the men around you into doing your bidding.
It certainly had it's tragic parts. The novel starts with Sissy, old and grey, with her daughter Marliee, coming back to her hometown for the first time in decades. This of course, leads us right into the flashback of the summer of 1956. We learn that Sissy is a married woman, (married to a man named Peewee of all things) and her high school sweetheart (the captain of the football team to her head cheerleader) has just come back in town after being gone for 14 years. They happen to run into each other, and their first encounter ends with them entangled in the kitchen, just as her children come home.
Then there is of course, the guilt, the resisting temptation, the feeling that she has to be a good wife to Peewee. There is the addition of a very interesting character, Clara, who is Sissy's on-the-other-side-of-the-tracks cousin. Clara has also taken up with Parker (the high school beau, and the essence of all that is good and manly and sexy) but is on the fast track to going up North to go to college and begin her life "passing". This derails Sissy and Parker's giving into temptation for a while, and Sissy begins a plot to get Clara the money she needs to go to school.
Over the course of the first part of the novel we see that Sissy's marriage to Peewee is not a happy one. Really, she is pretty much disgusted by him. Peewee (aptly named by his father, Bouree) has an inferiority complex so big that it has made him nothing more than a pawn in his own life. His feeling of inferiority has also made him one mean bastard, continually trying to control those even less powerful than he is. There are also Sissy's children, Chip being the eldest, who is also a mean bastard, but for unknown reasons. And the rest of the small Louisianian town, nosy Methodist neighbors, old flames, crazies and all the other things you would expect in a small town where everyone has known everyone else forever.
Part One ends with Sissy finally about to meet with Parker, in a wonderful hotel in New Orleans, after just running into Peewee's father Bouree. Then we flash back again, this time to 1941, when Sissy is still in High School, dating Parker, and not yet married to Peewee.
It turns out that Sissy was not deflowered by Parker, or Peewee, but Peewee's terribly southern, terribly charming father Bouree. He just happens to come across her exploring herself in a field, and offers to help. They spend all of duck hunting season meeting in the afternoons for their secret tryst. As any young girl would, she falls head over heels for him, and is heart broken when (at the end of duck season) he ends their affair. To get back at him, she starts hanging around with Peewee. This results in a rape (to teach her a lesson, apparently) and a pregnancy. Parker doesn't know that any of this is going on, and is confused by her distance. She feels that Parker deserves better, and takes the only option that she sees, she marries Peewee. (Of course, making him think that the child is his, not his father's.) Parker, confused and heart broken, leaves town to join the army, and Sissy starts her life as a miserable wife. But on the plus side, she gets to make Bouree miserable.
Eventually, Parker and Sissy have their affair. Sissy finally feels love, and lets go of her bitterness at Bouree and the town. They get Clara the money she needs to go to school, and everything looks like it's going to end happily ever after, until Chip interferes and goes to get Peewee as Sissy and Parker are planning to take the kids and run away together.
And, well, you'll just have to pick up the book if you want to know how it all plays out. Get thee to a library, go, quickly! Read southern lit and be happy you didn't grow up in one of those little towns in the 40s. I know I am.
Book #17: Upon the Midnight Clear by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Taking a break from the abortions, rapes and real life of the books that Brittany lent me, I have yet another trashy paranormal romance novel. Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of my favorites of this genre explosion. While all of these books are formulaic, hers are peppered with wonderful pop-culture references and interesting takes on Greek mythology. This novella is no exception. One of the things I love about her is that she seems to tap into all the pop culture references that I adore, Buffy, caramel macchiatos, Ugly Betty and most recently Dexter. (I just watched all of Dexter recently, who is a hotter, hipper, non-cannibal version of Hannibal Lecter.)
The formula stays the same. Broken and jaded greek goddess meets broken and jaded uber-famous actor. They learn to trust each other, over come a deadly enemy (who just happens to be the personification of Pain, sent to kill the broken and jaded actor). They learn to love again, have steamy sex, and she makes the ultimate sacrifice. But magically, every thing works out and they live happily ever after. Yay!
There is very little that is triggering in trashy romance books. It was light, airy, fun, and utterly forgettable. But as a break from reality, it was a good one. And a quick easy read to boot, I finished it in a day.
But I highly recommend Kenyon's books. If you are in the mood to not think, and just be entertained, it is a wonderful way to go. Then you can go look up all of her pop-culture references, which are equally entertaining and enjoyable.
Phew, that was a lot of books. Stay tuned for next week, when I start to think again with a memoir about growing up Chinese-American.