Do you love Mysteries? I like mysteries, but I love historical mysteries. Have any of you heard of Steven Saylor? He has a mystery series that features a detective-like man named Gordianus the Finder who helps solve crimes and mysteries for the Roman elite in the time of Julius Caesar. I’ve only read one book of his — The Judgement of Caesar — and I can’t wait to read another. The speech and the attitude of the character doesn’t seem anachronistic which is such a plus. Nothing jumped out at me as wrong in the historical facts department. And for romance lovers, the feelings that Gordianus has for his wife in The Judgement of Caesar is tear jerking. Check out Steven Saylor, you won’t be disappointed.

I’ve read my first JD Ward book. It is Lover Eternal in the Brotherhood of the Black Dagger series. I liked it. It was fun, good read. The names of the guys in the Brotherhood made me laugh like I was on LOLlerskates though. Rhage? Tohrment? Zsadist? I really want to see the romance when the hero is a “utter masculine” guy named Glenn Finkleberg. Seriously though, JD Ward is just like Steven Saylor in the list of authors to read again. Her book didn’t rock the boat in paranormal romance or get on my keeper shelf, but it might be on the shelf next to the keepers.

Okay, finals are a week and a half away, so I will be getting into stressed out mode complete with swelled tonsils. So, I bid everyone adieu until finals are over and I stopped pulling my hair out.

Sela Carsen:

I liked the Virgin Courtesan a lot. There was a good sense of scenery. I couldn’t imagine the story taking place anywhere else. The characters were likable. The villain was pretty 2-D, and the ending felt like a cop out. It was lacking in depth, but it was a fun read. It was a pleasant romp 1500s Venice. I would think that it would be a C+ or B+ depending on if you thought the ending was great or lame.

Peace Out!

The Mists of Avalon:
Squeeeeee! This book was great. The view of King Arthur and his knights from the view of the women around them was an inspired idea. The prose was lush, and I didn’t feel like a word on any of the 876 pages was wasted. Everyone had flaws so that neither Mograine or Gwenhwyfar seemed like perfect people. In fact, Gwenhwyfar got on my nerves a little bit. Mograine’s plans sort of had me wanting to smack her upside the head. It seemed very well researched, and that is always a good sign. If you haven’t read it, do so.

Nylon Magazine (March issue):
Scrunchies are back… I’m just going to be too hipster for that trend. Also, Pete Wentz, not that cool. Sorry.

Party Monster:
This book was so much darker than the movie. There was so much interesting stuff in the book that didn’t make it too the movie. James St. James had one hell of a voice. I got this book in one day and finished it in four hours because I was sucked into the story so much. Too bad I had a midterm the next day and didn’t study as much as I should have. Well, I had dancing crackheads in chicken costumes running through my head. That makes it a little hard to focus on Latin American trade politics.

Complicated Women - Women in Pre-Code Hollywood:
This book was a love letter to Norma Shearer and, while I could see how some would find that annoying, I thought that was the best anchor to the whole tale. Norma Shearer was an little known innovator who brought the darker, raunchier, and more realistic and sympathetic stories for women into mainstream Hollywood movies… And the public loved it. Its just a great read with a gossip yet historical voice that really makes the early 30s seem like yesterday.

Heidi Klum’s Body of Knowledge: 8 Rules of Model Behavior (to Help You Take Off on the Runway of Life) :
I read this in like an hour and a half in the university bookstore. It was pretty uninteresting. It had the same old-same old self help shit, but Heidi and her ghost writer have a pretty preppy voice that makes the celebrity self help guide seem a little fresher. The pictures of Heidi were nice. If your in the bookstore, I wouldn’t say buy it, but it wouldn’t hurt to look at it.

I read all this and I still haven’t finished Pulse from Cobblestone Press or Nature Rising or Love Me Tender. *le sigh*