Mikey Likes Everything

We've had a number of discussions amongst us duckies, as well as with ya'll out there, about how we grade the books we read. Sybil and some of the other gals here at The Pond feel that a book starts out being an average book, a C grade, and then it either rises or lowers from there during the reading of the book.

I'm the exact opposite.

After spending a fair amount of time browsing at my local Borders, after reading a lot of back-cover blurbs to decide which books to buy during my foraging from shelf to shelf, I go home with a bag of books that I feel are the best of the bunch on display at that point in time. Why then would I consider any of those books to be average? If I wanted average, I would just pick up any old book and hope for the best.

Therefore, time and money spent, when I crack open any book, even a debut author, someone I've never heard of before or something new from an old all-time favorite, that book has the potential to be an A+, one the best books I've had the pleasure to read. The onus at that point is truly on the author. She is either going to maintain that A+ by blowing me away with her work between those pages or she's going to go down in grade depending on what she does give me.

I guess the next question is what makes the grade go down for me. Or, conversely, what makes a book maintain that high grade throughout the reading. As I'm sure some of you have noticed since I joined the Pond sometime last year, I'm a very happy reader. I enjoy a good portion of the books I read. Actually, a darned good portion. I suspend belief, thus my love of paranormals; historical accuracy is not important to me; I don't read between the lines (guess that's why I'm not fond of the "classics"); I don't nitpick; I usually don't think outside the cover of the book; I don't look for deep-seated meaning in books. I take what the author gives me. I don't feel it's my place to question the author, who had a particular goal in mind when she wrote her book. There's a reason she wrote that heroine a little whiny the first half of the book or why she used the misunderstanding approach between characters or why she didn't do a million other things readers can come up with after finishing a book. It's her book, for heaven's sake. If you don't care for her book, that's one thing. But to tell her hey, you screwed up when you didn't do this, that should never have been done way, why in the world would you make your characters do that, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Why should I be second guessing her and telling what I would have done? I didn't write the book.

Okay, there are those books you just don't care for, right? That's fine. I have those too. You don't care for the author's voice or writing style; you don't like your favorite author trying out a new genre; you don't care for the time period used in a storyline, that heroine was way too silly for anyone to like. There's multiple non-generic reasons for you just not taking to a book. I have those moments too, even admist all my happiness when reading. That's different from flat out hating a book for certain reasons. Read on, please.

I read to be entertained. I read to leave my crappy world behind and live in a fairytale world where men and women are larger than life, where they overcome huge, nearly insurmountable odds to find one another and have the romance and love of a lifetime. I love an alpha hero. I love when he falls hard for the heroine and will do anything, even die, for her. I love when a wolf finds his mate. I do enjoy a kick-ass heroine too. I also don't mind the aforementioned whiny heroine as long as she gets her act together just as the hero does to deserve that HEA. I want emotion. I want gut-wrenching emotion that pulls tears out of me. I want conflict, believable or not, to make my happy ending all the more pleasurable. I want great and wonderfully impossible love scenes in my books. And with all the great authors out there, I get all this and more every time I open a book.

Now, having said all that, there are those books that even I haven't been thrilled with, that I can cart off to the UBS in no time flat. There's relatively few, but they do exist. Although most of my reads are graded highly, I have given some lower grades -- even an F. Only one F so far, but it was deserved. I even recently had a DNF. Wonders will never cease it seems. I don't like a book that gets too silly. I really dislike stupid, inane dialogue. And I hate it when a storyline and characters are totally negative for 299 pages of 300. Bad love scenes give me the willies. And, of course, a book written by someone who should have never put pen to paper really irritates me. Even I can tell when I"ve come across an author like that. These are things that will make a grade drop accordingly for a book from that intial A+. Other than that, most anything else is fair game for me.

So. I don't expect many of you to agree with me. This is how I look at reading and books and authors. Sometimes because of my job my reading time is cut down to nil. Nada. Zilch. Can't pick up a book for days. Withdrawals are imminent. Because of that, that's why, I believe, I look at things a little differently than most of you; that's why I look at every book so optimistically. Why would I want to pick, pick, pick at my books so that I enjoy so very few? Why would I want to be irritated or frustrated with a book or an author when I can be happy every time I pick a book up, when I go in expecting the impossible, the unbelievable, a man in a million, an unattainable love?

I like everything! Just like Mikey. That's my new nickname around The Pond now. I gobble up that everything and love it just like Mikey did his Life cereal.

So what are you? Are you a nitpicker? Are you a history sniffer outer? Do you ask "Why?" of the author when you've closed the book or thrown it against the wall? Do you sigh over and dream about those alpha heroes? What do you look for when you grade a book?

Tags: 2008, Borders, Grading scale, Mikey, Ponderings, Sandy M

Duckies Do Series: The Buchanan Family Series by Susan Mallery

Sandy M's review of The Buchanan Family Series by Susan Mallery
Contemporary Romances published by HQN Books

Hello, everyone! And welcome to our first Duckies Do Series review!

I've had this series in that big old TBR mountain, as ya'll called it, for a while now. I recently ran across an excerpt from the last book, Tempting, and really liked it, so I had that on my mind when thinking about which series to start with and I think I made a pretty darned good choice.

This series is so much fun! I had hoped after finishing the first book that the rest of the series would keep the same pace, the same wit, the same fun, and the same romance. I was not disappointed one bit! I laughed quite a bit with each book. I didn't cry until the third book, but once the tears started flowing they didn't want to stop. I'm a sucker for books about brothers, so that's the one of the primary reasons I wanted to read these books, and I figured I'd like them anyway just because of the author. I had no idea I would enjoy them this darned much. So read on and find out about this wonderful family.

Read more

Tags: Delicious, Duckies Do Series, Irresistible, Review, Sandy M, Sizzling, Susan Mallery, Tempting, The Buchanan Family Series

Review: To Tempt a Wolf by Colette Denee

Sandy M's review of To Tempt a Wolf by Colette Denee
Contemporary Paranormal Romance ebook published by Samhain 28 Feb 08

I have been incredibly lucky lately, reading some great shifter stories, one of my very favorite reads. So far my luck is holding out and I've come across another author who has written a strong, sexy, shifting hero and a heroine who her holds her own with all that testosterone. What makes this book worth the time to sit down with it, however, is the sensitivity and emotion of that hero. This is why I read romance.

Read more

Tags: 2008, A Grade, Colette Denee, Contemporary Romance, eBook, February 2008, Paranormal, Review, Samhain, Sandy M, shifters, To Tempt a Wolf

Review: The Bride by Carolyn Davidson

Sandy M's review of The Bride by Carolyn Davidson
Historical Romance published by HQN Books 1 Feb 08

I just could not get into this book. The characters are very stiff and dry. The dialogue is the same. The storyline is fine, but with such dryness it never really picks up and you never get emotionally involved in the characters' lives.

Read more

Tags: 2008, Carolyn Davidson, February 2008, Grade C, historical romance, HQN, Review, Sandy M, The Bride

Review: Ask Adam by Jess Dee

Sandy M's review of Ask Adam by Jess Dee
Contemporary Romance published by Samhain 18 Sep 07

I admit it, sometimes I buy a book because the cover grabs my attention and won't let go. I do read the blurb for it and if it sounds even okay, I'm a sucker, I plunk down my money. The icing on the cake, however, is when you read the book and it turns out to be a great read and you've found a new author to check out. Ask Adam is my most recent cover buy and I have to say, I done good!

Read more

Tags: 2008, Ask Adam, Contemporary Romance, Erotic, Grade A, Jess Dee, Review, Samhain, Sandy M, September 2007

Review: Lifting the Veil by R.G. Alexander

Sandy M's review of Lifting the Veil by R.G. Alexander
Contemporary Paranormal Erotic Romance released by Ellora's Cave 16 Apr 08

Give me a good shifter story any time. If it's a wolf shifter story, it's that much better. A sexy-as-sin, handsome, alpha, immortal shifter. What's better than that? Read more

Tags: 2008, April 2008, Contemporary Romance, Ellora's Cave, Erotic, Grade B, Lifting the Veil, Paranormal, R.G. Alexander, Review, Sandy M

Review: Bare Devotion by Lacey Thorn

Sandy M's review of Bare Devotion (Bare Love, Book 4) by Lacey Thorn
Paranormal Romantic Suspense published by Ellora's Cave 1 Feb 08

I always enjoy a book so much more when an author has that way pulling me in and compelling me to like something I usually don't care for in a book. Menage has never been one of my favorite things in a read, with a few exceptions here and there. Lacey Thorn writes some pretty hot threesomes and by the time I get those scenes, I'm as involved there as much as I am in the rest of the book.

Read more

Tags: 2008, Bare Devotion, Bare Love Series, Ellora's Cave, February 2008, Grade B, Lacey Thorn, Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, Sandy M

Review: Wild Hunt by Lori Devoti

Sandy M's review of Wild Hunt (Unbound, Book 3) by Lori Devoti
Contemporary paranormal romance published by Silhouette Nocturne 1 Jun 08

This was the book in this series I've been waiting for, probably like a lot of you. I was waiting for that reunion between father and son and I knew it would be bad before it would be good, and while I liked the book and the story, I'm slightly disappointed in the reunion.

Read more

Tags: 2008, Contemporary, Grade B, June 2008, Lori Devoti, Paranormal, Review, romance, Sandy M, Silhouette Nocturne, Unbound series, Wild Hunt

Review: Wanderlust by Shelly Munro

Sandy M's review of Wanderlust by Shelley Munro
Romantic Suspense eBook released by Cerridwen Press 17 Apr 08

I love a lengthy read as much as the next person. But this book went on and on and on and...way too long. I ended up being bored more than I was excited, mystified, turned on, or any other emotion you'd care to work in there. I got through eighteen chapters and just had to call it quits.

Read more

Tags: 2008, April 2008, Cerridwen Press, DNF, eBook, Grade DNF, Review, Romantic Suspense, Sandy M, Shelley Munro, Wanderlust

REVIEW: Weddings Can Be Murder by Christie Craig

Sandy M's review of Weddings Can Be Murder by Christie Craig
Romantic Suspense published by Love Spell 27 May 08

I dare ya. What's that, you ask? I dare you read to this book and not laugh, not get so emotionally involved with these characters that you feel it to your soul, not to thoroughly enjoy this as one of the best reads you've had in a while.  Read more

Tags: 2008, Christie Craig, Grade A, Love Spell, May 2008, Review, Romantic Suspense, Sandy M, Weddings Can Be Murder

Next Page »