Mid month reading check in

I’ve gotten wrapped up in books by two different authors.

One is Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, which I am busily rereading before the new one comes out tomorrow.

I feel obligated to reread entire series when a new book in it comes out.

This is quite an undertaking with authors like Evanovich because the new book is #17 & that does not include the 4 between the numbers books.

The problem with rereading 16 books in a series in a row is that things that are only mildly annoying in a single book get quite annoying in bulk.

There really is no good reason for Stephanie to end up covered in food quite so often if you ask me. It gets old fast. And that bit with the hot dog costume at the end of #15 serves no purpose at all, it’s not even that funny.

Plus continuity errors are far more striking.

Quick! What is the name of Morelli’s aunt? Depends on which book you read. Mostly it’s Rose, but it’s also Ruth & Rosa. What’s the name of Stephanie’s parents’ neighbor? Again, depends on the book & she even was the subject of one so you’d think…

The other author is Georgette Heyer,the Grand Dame of Regency Romance.

I know, I know, after all the complaining I did about Regency romances last month, what the heck am I doing reading more?

Well these are different.

First off they were published between 1930 & 1960 & lets just say things were different back then.  Mainly, they will never bother the first two of my issues with romance novels – simultaneous mutual orgasms every single time & what about morning breath. This is because no one kisses more than a hand until the last 3 pages of a book & even then all that happens is a kiss on the lips.

No tongue even.

Which is why, when I first came across them in the early 80’s I never finished the two I tried. My thinking then was “Who reads romance novels with no sex in them? Why would you do that? The whole point of historic romance novels is the sex scenes requiring the removal of period clothing.”

If you have ever read Bertrice Small’s Skye O’Malley series you know what I am talking about.

Soft core porn with Elizabethan neck ruffs.

That is what I was reading at 13.

My parents tried to oversee my reading but by the time I was 12 they’d given up. They both read a great deal, but I am faster than them & had more free time. Plus the books were on the living room bookshelves so it’s not like I was sneaking them from friends.

My mom did say something once like “Are you sure that isn’t a bit too adult for you?” and I said “No” and that was that.

Probably she was relieved because it spared her having the sex talk with me.

I’m older now, wiser too & ok, a bit jaded. It’s now refreshing to read romance novels with ROMANCE in them, as opposed to experienced masterful men sweeping inexperienced women off into dark corners to teach them the various ways orgasms can be achieved.

Not that I am swearing those sorts of books off, just it’s a nice change.

I’ve enjoyed almost all the ones I have read so far. Fun plots, witty & humorous with great characters. The Grand Sophie is probably my favorite, with Arabella second. The only one I have not enjoyed is Bath Tangle.

There is a fine line between a masterful, commanding man and an obnoxious, domineering jerk & sometimes one of the best parts of a romance is watching a jerk become the decent guy he really is. However, the hero of Bath Tangle, beginning, middle & end, is a jerk of the highest class. IMO. The heroine is not much better & frankly I think they deserve each other because spending time in one another’s company is the worst punishment I can think of.

Short of flogging.

I don’t often want to flog fictional characters but I will make an exception for Ivo & Serena.

I was over them both about 40 pages into it & so flipped to the end to see if they improved any & was treated to Ivo saying “Tell her if she won’t come down to me I’ll come up and drag her down.” And down she came.

That is when I decided flogging might be too good for them & they deserved one another.

Because seriously, my response would be “Tell him I am waiting for him with my pistol loaded.”

I don’t care how much you love someone, that shit is unacceptable.

I’d make a lousy Regency heroine. And not just because I had no dowry, nor even expectations. And my father was IN TRADE! Horrors!!! Not to mention in my single days I was much more in the Bertrice Small line of heroine than in the Heyer line.

I suppose I should be glad DH married me in spite of it all.

I’ve also tried some of Heyer’s mysteries but I don’t like them as well. I liked The Unfinished Clue but failed to finish Behold Here’s Poison & Death in the Stocks. I got about 50 pages in, failed to be engrossed & flipped to the last chapter to see how it ended. I did not find the ending compelling enough to want to read everything in between (usually I do) & tossed the books over with Bath Tangle & returned them to the library.

So now I am sitting around waiting for Smokin’ Seventeen to appear on my kindle tomorrow morning. Not sure what I am going to read after that though.

Book 18 isn’t out until November.

*****

I go for my 8 week check in with Dr Sleep tomorrow. I have consistently been sleeping from 1am ish to 6:30ish for about 6 weeks now, expect for that period when I had gastrointestinal issues. I even managed to sleep from 1am to 6am Saturday night when the males were away camping & it’s been a decade or more since I’ve managed to sleep more than an hour at stretch when DH was out of town.  So staying asleep seems to be going good. Falling asleep though… that’s still a problem. But definite progress on the insomnia front to report to the doc.