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Scandal 2×13 Nobody Likes Babies: Fitz and Olivia – “We’re Gonna Need The Room”

Saturday, February 9, 2013
Posted in: Scandal
Tags:, , ,

Olivia

How are you all feeling?

Yeah, me too. Two days later, and I’m still all up in my feels and ugly crying every time I think about Olivia and Fitz’s fucked up bad luck. Oh look, here comes the tears. Man, the fact that I feel this emotional over two TV characters means that Shonda Rhimes, that evil genius, did her job well. Too fucking well quite frankly.

I love Olivia and Fitz as a couple, and I have from about the third episode of Season One. I think they complement each other intellectually, sexually, and dare I say spiritually. They have the kind of chemistry that fairly sizzles whenever they’re in the same space.

My one question is, are they compatible emotionally? A lot of people would probably answer no, to this, because at times, Olivia seems to be a cold fish when it comes to showing how she feels, whereas Fitz tends to over-emote all over the place.

But after Thursday’s episode, I’m more convinced than ever that their emotional compatibility is on par. The main difference is that Olivia is less willing to say how she feels, and for me, this has got to stop.

I have no idea what Shonda has in store for her and Fitz, but can we all agree that what they need is to just have it out, just the two of them? No interruptions from Cyrus, or Mellie, or any of the other people who constantly cause them trouble and strife.

Liv is so self-contained when it comes to her dealings with Fitz, and it’s beyond frustrating. I need for her to go postal, and soon. We had the three days of depression, where she took responsibility for every man and his dog in terms of the shady things she’s been involved in, now we need her to speed over to the second stage of grief, because denial and isolation hasn’t really worked out well for her.

Cyrus, Sally and Olivia HBMP

I want Liv and Fitz to have their Cyrus and James moment, where everything is laid out on the table, and they bare their souls to each other. They desperately need that moment, where both of them participate in a two-way conversation/shouting match, not just Olivia schooling Fitz or vice versa. I need them to scream at each other and just get everything out in the open.

I need Olivia to tell Fitz that if he had really loved her, like he said he did, then he wouldn’t have taken the word of a killer, as gospel without even bothering to speak to her first.

I want Liv to tell Fitz, that for all of his grandiose words of love, he actually has no idea what love and sacrifice is.

I want Olivia to remind Fitz that love isn’t just about the pretty words and the grand declarations.
I want Olivia to tell Fitz that she has loved him more than anybody else in his life has ever loved him, and that time and time again, it’s been her who’s been there for him.

I need for Olivia to tell Fitz that everything she has done since the day they met has been for him.

I want her to tell him that yes, agreeing to rig the election was wrong, but she sacrificed her ideals for him because she didn’t want him to feel that his father was right about any damned thing that he’d said to Fitz before he died. That she didn’t want for him to be plagued by the debilitating self-doubt that she glimpsed in him, just after one hour with his father.

I want Olivia to remind Fitz that when he got shot, it was her who abandoned her day job in order to ensure his legacy was protected, and that he would have a job to come back to.

I want Olivia to tell Fitz that because of the nature of their relationship, had he died when he was shot, she would not have been able to say goodbye to him because she is not his wife, and this fact devastates her every day.

Olivia, Cyrus, Mellie

I want Olivia to tell Fitz that she didn’t have the luxury of breaking down when there was the possibility that the love of her life might die on the operating table, because nobody was allowed to know how they felt about each other.

I want Olivia to remind Fitz that when his wife decided to forge a letter in his name, asking for reinstatement, it was her who went to all kinds of lengths to ensure that the fraud wouldn’t be discovered, once again protecting him, his wife, and his damned job.

I want Olivia to tell Fitz that she is the one person in all of this who has never gotten what she wanted, when all she ever wanted was him.

I want Olivia to admit that a part of her is afraid that everything she has worked for all her life will be wrecked if their relationship is made public, so she needs him to be with her all the way.

I want Olivia to tell Fitz that he behaves like a spoilt child, but she sees the man that he is, and she celebrates that man for better or for worse.

I want Olivia to tell Fitz that she is all in with him, but he needs to man the fuck up, and to give up looking to the brown liquor to make things all better.

I want Liv to tell him that she’s always believed in him, she just let other people talk her into going against her gut and her principles and she’s oh so very sorry about that.

I need for Olivia to finally tell Fitz that she is in this with him. And to mean it.

Finally, I want Olivia to tell him that she loves him, is in love with him, and will always be there for him, no matter what, and that she forgives him, and can he please forgive her.

Fitz

As for Fitz, he’s already told Olivia umpteen times how he feels about her, but he really needs to drive the point home, because Olivia still thinks of herself as the other woman.

I want Fitz to tell Olivia that by her agreeing to rigging the election, it made his whole life feel like a lie. It made their relationship and their love seem like a lie, and he couldn’t stand the thought that this woman he loved wasn’t the person he thought she was.

I want Fitz to tell her that by her agreeing to rig the election, he thought it meant that she never really believed in him, and that it validated everything that his father ever said about him.

I want Fitz to tell Olivia that she has broken his heart over and over, and he’s had enough of it.

I want Fitz to tell her that she needs to stop playing around with his feelings.

I want Fitz to tell her that he lives in fear that she may find somebody who’s free to give her everything she wants, but he’s selfish and he wants her to wait for him.

I want Fitz to tell Olivia that he lives in fear that one day she’ll leave him and never return.

I want Fitz to tell her that he will do whatever he needs to, to protect her.

Fitz and Liv The Trail One Minute

I want Fitz to tell Olivia (again) once and for all that his marriage with Mellie is over, and regardless of how long it takes, the divorce will happen.

I want Fitz to tell Olivia that he will stop trying to chase his troubles and sorrows away by hitting the bottle.

I want Fitz to tell Olivia that he plans to marry her one day, and that nothing and nobody will get in the way of that.

I want Fitz to apologise for even for a moment thinking that she was only with him for what he could do for her, when she’s proven her love time and time again.

I want Fitz to tell her that he’s sorry for the horrid things he said to her at Verna’s funeral. She’s so much more than his mistress, she’s the love of his life, and he’s sorry for causing her to doubt that fact for even a moment.

Finally, I want Fitz to tell her that he loves her, is in love with her, she is future, and he forgives her.

That’s all I want. How about you guys?

3 Comments »
slot-a-meet-tab-b

Slot A Meet Tab B

Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Posted in: willaful

sexy

Warning: explicit sex scenes ahoy!

There have been several interesting posts in Romancelandia lately about favorite “bad sex” scenes, and how much they can add to the development of a romance.  Which would make them good bad sex scenes.  I recently came across the opposite situation — the bad good sex scene, which also turned out to be important to the romance. (To clarify — by bad, I mean unsatisfying, not badly written.)

The book was Escorted by Claire Kent, a story about a self-consciously virgin romance novelist who hires a male prostitute to introduce her to sex. Over time — and lots and lots of paid-for nookie — a relationship develops between them.

From the start, Ander does a terrific job for Lori, giving her great sex that’s exactly to her specifications. (She doesn’t want anything “fake” — no kissing, no cuddling, no pretense of romance.) He explains everything to her, gives her helpful advice, and is always in control of himself, even getting her permission before he has an orgasm himself.  The result reads as pretty clinical. (more…)

7 Comments »
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Scandal: Fitz and Olivia and The “Moonlighting Curse”

Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Posted in: Scandal
Tags:, , , ,

FitznLiv FB213

I see that there are a few people pissed off that the Scandal writers are bringing down hell and damnation on Fitz and Olivia’s relationship. Again.

I get it, I really do, but honestly, I think that our slight obsession with this couple, makes us a little crazy. I’m counting myself in there as well.

I’ve been watching couple-centred dramas for years, and it often takes a long time for the central couple to get together. You guys know this. We’re only on episode twelve of the second season, and people are demanding an end to the angst already? No wonder so many shows get cancelled, the audience of today have no patience at all.

In my opinion, there has been progression, it may not be progression in the way we would prefer, but there’s definitely been a shift between them, and that shift is the reason why so many of us are die-hard Fitz/Liv fans.

I loved Fitz and Olivia in Season One, but when she walked away from the White House in episode seven, I didn’t feel the ache in my gut like I did when Fitz let her go in episode four of this season. That’s called progression. I now feel emotionally attached to these two people, in a way that I didn’t in Season One.

The reason that we feel the way we do about Fitz ‘n’ Liv is because the Scandal writers have taken us on this marvelous journey with their relationship. They’ve made us feel invested in what happens to them, so much so, that some of us feel sick at the thought of a TV president, throwing over his mistress, and getting back together with his wife. That there is genius writing.

Fitz N Liv Pin scene

People talk about the Moonlighting curse being an urban myth, but I disagree. In my experience, once a TV couple that you’re pulling for make it, or are in a less stressed-out place, relationship-wise, there isn’t the urgency to tune in to see what they’re up to. You’re not as worried about them, because when you last left them, they were doing ok.

I along with many of you have been watching The Vampire Diaries since the beginning, and I’ve watched the fans crying out for a Damon and Elena union. I also watch True Blood, and have also seen the fans clamouring for Sookie and Eric to get together. The thing that these two shows have in common is that the two lead characters got together fairly early on, which meant that the fans who loved them in the beginning, ended up not being as invested in their relationship as the show progressed, and they start eyeing up potential new suitors for the heroine.

I have no doubt in my mind, that if Damon had gotten together with Elena first, there would have been a campaign to get Stefan and Elena together – no matter how beautiful looking Ian Somerhalder is. Here we are in season four, and the fans have gotten what they wanted. Julie Plec’s writing skills will be tested now, because she’s finally given the fans what they’ve been longing for, for four seasons. Will that translate to more fans tuning in every week to see how their favourite couple are doing? You’d think so wouldn’t you, but I bet in a few weeks, less people will feel the urge to watch TVD live.

I’m a huge Merlin fan, and for four seasons, I was desperate for Arthur and Gwen to get together. They finally got married in Season Four, and I was ecstatic. But then Season Five began, and I found myself no longer tuning in to watch it live. I started recording it and watching at my own leisure. I didn’t even notice how my Merlin-watching habit had changed until recently, but it had. I still loved the show, but there was no longer this burning need to tune in asap to see what my favourite couple were up to.

Nathan and Hayley

I was a huge fan of Nathan and Haley on One Tree Hill, (and on some level, I always will be) but it’s no accident that Season Three was my favourite of the nine that were aired. Season three was the season that Nathan and Hayley were most at odds with each other. They went through a lot that year, and I tuned in every week, desperate to see if this would be the week that they would kiss and make up. To the delight of fans everywhere, they eventually re-married at the end of the season, and all was well ( well apart from the crash at the end).

When Season Four of One Tree Hill came back, of course I wanted to see how things panned out for them, but as per usual, once all the legitimate angst was over, I no longer felt the burning need to tune in live to watch them.

I watch a British drama serial called Emmerdale, and for months I was desperate for two of its stars, Gennie and Nikhil to get together. I tuned in every night, desperate to see them interact, and oh it was agony because they had so few scenes together, but the scenes they had were great, and I really looked forward to them. Their will they/won’t they story went on for ages, and then they finally got together. And guess what? That desperate need to see them interact died a little. Of course I’m still happy to see them on-screen, but that burning desire to tune in for the sole purpose of seeing them together died when they found their happy place.

The truth is, as much as we think we hate angst at the time, it’s what keeps us tuning in to certain shows. Angst is watchable. Watching happy couples being happy, not so much. Unless it’s a comedy of course:)

Fitz n Liv One Minute

I write all of the above to say that there’s simply no point panicking, regardless of your thoughts about previous Grey’s Anatomy or Private Practice story lines. Shonda Rhimes is in control here. She’s an evil genius who somehow was able to make so many of us root for an adulterous couple, and feel ok about it. I for one am going to get on her Shondaland Rollercoaster, and stay on until the ride stops, no matter how often I puke on the person sat next to me.

Fitz and Olivia are the endgame, but getting them to their happy place wont be easy, nor should it be, if the show is to last beyond its third season…

What would you guys like to see happen over the back nine episodes?

5 Comments »
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Willaful Review: The Lady Who Broke the Rules by Marguerite Kaye

Monday, February 4, 2013
Posted in: willaful reviews
Tags:, ,

rules

Sensuality Rating: Surprisingly Steamy

I’m not sure which surprises me more: a Harlequin Historical featuring an interracial romance, or a Harlequin Historical featuring juicy sex.  The language isn’t graphic — we’re still in the land of potent manhoods here — but it’s definitely steamier than I’m used to.

Virgil, a fiercely determined and intelligent plantation slave, was sold after a failed rebellion. His buyer chose him for those same qualities, freed him, and gave him opportunities which have led to Virgil becoming an extraordinarily successful businessman in Boston. His goals in life are to help others who are shackled or downtrodden, fueled less by his own experiences than by a need to make reparation to his former lover Millie, who was punished for his crimes.

On a business visit to England he meets Kate, a “ruined” duke’s daughter who is also a progressive free thinker.  (And astonishingly, not obnoxious about it.) They’re both attracted to each other, though at first Virgil questions her motives: “I hope, Lady Kate, that you are not thinking of using me as a weapon in some private war. Are you perhaps eager to prove your reputation for being a revolutionary to your father and your aunt?” Kate can’t deny the charge entirely, but her interest is mostly sincere — and she’s sincerely hot for him.  Which is a tremendous relief to her, since her “ruination” by her louse of former fiance left her fearing that she’s frigid.

I don’t know enough to comment on the historical plausibility or authenticity of this novel, though I suspect they’re iffy.  Race issues aside, it seemed surprisingly easy for the characters to find private places to have trysts — although according to the author’s note, the house and grounds for the series were designed with that in mind!  (The book is part of a multi-author continuity series, but stands fine on its own.) In any event, the overall tone felt appropriate, and that’s generally good enough for me.

I did find it odd how little race is addressed in the story.  Virgil encounters very little hostility and when he does, it’s not shown as a race issue. For example, here are Kate’s father’s thoughts on their proposed match: “That the man was an America, albeit one of that country’s richest inhabitants, was bad enough. That he was a commoner, and ex-slave with a lineage that could be traced back precisely one generation and only on one side, made the marriage, as far as the duke was concerned, simply impossible.” This comes off as somewhat disingenuous. And except for one mention of his discomfort at being the only black person in a room, Virgil himself seems as color-blind as everyone else, and surprisingly detached from his former slave status.

Aside from its unusual premise, this wasn’t particularly groundbreaking or original, but it was an absorbing story with appealing characters. I give it 3 stars. You can buy it from Amazon here or from All Romance here.

Published by Harlequin Historicals. Review copy borrowed from the public library.

3 Comments »
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KarenS Scandal Review Episode 2.12 Truth and Consequences…

Sunday, February 3, 2013
Posted in: KarenS Review, Scandal
Tags:, , ,

Scandal 212

People, this review is chockful of spoilers, so read on at your own risk

The last time we saw Liv, was in the campaign flashback, ugly-crying because she’d just voted yes to rig the election for Fitz. Sigh. I cried for the whole day after I watched her make that decision. In fact every time I think about it, it still brings tears to my eyes.

After watching 211, I had an epiphany. I realised that the team of writers at Shondaland were destined to break my heart time and time again, so I needed to get a grip of myself, and assume that everybody is crooked one way or the other, unless told otherwise. I also geared myself up to the inevitable heartbreak that’s headed Fitz and Olivia’s way in the near future.

And so it was with this new found perspective that I ventured into 212.

Truth and Consequences was brilliant, it really was. I understand that lots of fans were annoyed and depressed over it, but I loved every minute of it.

Here’s my not-so-quick recap:

The show starts with a flashback to what looks like a voting hall in Defiance, Ohio. Here we meet Lindsay Dwyer’s boyfriend Jesse, you remember him, he along with six others got blown up courtesy of that psychopath, Hollis Doyle.

Anyway, there’s a fossilized man telling a load of other grave dodgers about these brand new touch-screen voting machines that they will be using for the election. He seemed especially hyped over the fact that this was going to be a paperless system. Sidebar, is there actually such a thing as a paperless system?

Anyway, we find out that Jesse is Hollis’ guy. You know, the guy who swapped one of the voting machines over for one that was rigged. Dum, dum, dum!

As Jesse leaves the polling station, he gets a call from Quinn/Lindsay (Let’s call her Quinnsay shall we?)  who’s super stoked because she’s just passed the bar exam, which means that she’s now a lawyer, or something…

I have to tell you, I liked this version of Quinn, I loved her dress sense, and she seemed so much more carefree and happy. Mind you, I suppose being wanted for killing seven people, getting drugged then kidnapped, and given a brand new identity by an unknown benefactor would put a dampener on one’s spirit.

Back to the present day, we find that Hollis is having a David Rosen Problem.  David tells Hollis that he suspects him of having a hand in rigging the most recent election.  Hollis is briefly rattled, and from what I gather, (because I only understand every fourth word Hollis says)  threatens David’s ability to procreate in future .Hollis says something about bulls, steers and clippers and flounces out in a strop, with his high-paid suits in tow.

Meanwhile back at le White House, Mad Mellie marches (gotta love alliteration) into Cyrus’s office, demanding that Cyrus get his guy under control. Mellie looks like she’s about to have an apoplectic fit, or go into early labour.

I find Mellie at her amusing best when she’s losing her mind. Cyrus looks like the quintessential harried professor, and is in no mood for Mellie’s hormonal mood swings. I love how good he is at throwing shade, without seemingly even thinking about it.

“Good morning Mellie” Cyrus says, “pregnancy gives you such a glow of warmth” Death. I do love Cyrus at his sardonic best.

Mellie screams out that Fitz has asked for a divorce. This gets Cyrus’ attention, and you can literally see him plotting as he quickly ushers Mellie out, telling her to take a load off and go see the doctor or something. Cyrus at his patronising best. He’ll handle Fitz.

There was a funny moment here where Mellie looks like she’s about to hug Cyrus in gratitude, she even goes as far as reaching for him, but she withdraws at the last minute and leaves.

“Breeders” mutters Cyrus in annoyance. He’s got work to do.

Scandal 212 Olivia Ring

Back at OPA, Harrison and Abby are speculating about the diamond  ring that Liv is staring at in the office. They assume that Edison (Grrrrr!) has proposed. “Wife of a senator” says Harrison. “Please, husband of Olivia Pope!” says Abby. I like this Abby, she doesn’t make me want to eat my own face.

Hollis Doyle strolls into OPA to talk to Liv about their David Rosen Problem. Quinn comes face-to-face with the monster who tried to set her up for multiple murders.

Hollis is mighty unhappy because he thought Olivia had taken care of their David Rosen Problem, and they have words. Hollis tells Olivia to fix things, otherwise he’ll fix Olivia and the other members of the illuminate, as well as her “precious Fitz”. Hmmm, does Hollis know about Fitz and Olivia?

Back at the White House, Cyrus interrupts Fitz’s gun control briefing (love how this show is so relevant politically). Once they’re alone, Fitz starts talking about the concept of Big Ideas. Cyrus listens for a moment before launching into one of his epic monologues. Fitz is being delusional if he thinks that he can divorce his 9 month pregnant wife, and move in his mistress, Cyrus goes on to say:

“Now Liv is a lovely, smart woman, I can’t get enough of her, but she’s not exactly a hue that most of your Republican constituents would be happy about, even if they could get past the divorcing, and the cheating and the abandoning of America’s Baby, it concerns me Sir, how big your delusion is”

Yep, he went there. But it’s not like he was saying anything that wasn’t true. Modern day Republicans aren’t that diversity friendly as far as I can tell..

Now usually such a monologue would have gotten through to Fitz in the past, but unfortunately for Cyrus, he’s dealing with a New Fitz. This Fitz can’t find two fucks to give. He’s not afraid anymore, he has nothing to lose, he’s going to divorce Mellie, and he’s going to keep his presidency. That’s today’s Big Idea, and Cyrus needs to do his job and make it happen!

Can we get an Amen, praise the Lord, and Hallelujah from the pulpit please!

(more…)

6 Comments »
just-wondering

Just Wondering’

Sunday, February 3, 2013
Posted in: willaful
Tags:

I’m reading a book by Elle Kennedy, which brought up this question: Which is more statistically improbable, the number of Dukes in Regency romance, or the number of straight dudes who love having threesomes with their straight best buds?

And to make the question more fun, which group would win in a fight?

8 Comments »
michelle-reviews-happily-even-after-lena-matthews

Michelle Reviews: Happily Even After Lena Matthews

Friday, January 25, 2013
Posted in: Michelle Reviews
Tags:, , ,

happily even after

 

Sensuality Level: Steamy

Multicultural Contemporary: BW/WM

I must confess, this book has been in my TBR pile FOREVER. I like Matthews, but I had no idea how in the living hell she was going to pull this one off. The H/h are divorced, but they get back together WHILE she’s pregnant by somebody else. Despite my misgivings, she manages to pull it off, with some caveats. Dean is a fabulous hero. I love Matthew’s blue-collar heroes and Dean typifies them. In a Romancelandia awash in billionaires Dean is just a regular guy who works in a factory, and I love him for that. Creigh is more problematic. The motives for some of her behavior is questionable. And that’s my main problem with the book, why on earth did she divorce this guy in the first place? Dean didn’t want the divorce. He’s still in love with Creigh and wants his wife and kids back. Creigh wanted to leave Dean, but we really never understand why. There are some vague reflections on neglect, but nothing really concrete. And I understand that, the biggies, adultery or battery are definite no-nos in a romance, but I wish I’d had a firmer foundation. Either way, it’s still a very good story. I enjoyed it tremendously. It would be an A book despite the ambiguity about the divorce, but Creigh does something else that is so incredibly baffling that the book loses an entire grade for me. So now it’s a solid B.

Published by Loose Id

Purchased by me. 

 

2 Comments »
popes-relationship-anatomy-olivia-cyrus-mellie

Pope’s Relationship Anatomy: Olivia, Cyrus & Mellie

Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Posted in: Scandal
Tags:, , , ,

Olivia, Cyrus, Mellie

I find it interesting that many fans constantly berate Olivia for never calling out the people close to her who regularly cause her headaches and get in her face. Cyrus is the worst offender when it comes to this.

I find it interesting because we’ve seen from the beginning that really, the only people Olivia goes off on are Fitz, for obvious reasons (if those reasons aren’t obvious to you, then you’ve probably never been in a relationship), and those who threaten the people she loves.

Fans including myself would love to see her go off on Mellie and Cyrus in particular, because they’re the ones who are constantly causing her grief one way or the other, but she has an incredibly complex relationship with both of those people. I also wish she’d read Verna the riot act, but only because I felt so strongly about her betraying Huck. Up until this point, Verna seems to have fulfilled some sort of maternal role for Olivia though, so I’m not sure that that smackdown will ever happen. Unless Verna turns out to be the mastermind behind the shooting of course.

Anyway, what I want to do is to examine the dynamics of the relationship that Olivia has with Mellie and Cyrus, the key aggravators in her life.

Olivia and Cyrus

Olivia definitely has the most complex relationship with Cyrus, and although in Season One, they engaged in a war of words regarding the whole Amanda Tanner mess, since then, we’ve seen Cyrus go at Olivia, and her blatant refusal to fight back. I have a few theories about the reasons behind Olivia’s passiveness.

One of the few things that we know about Olivia is that she was Cyrus’ protégé at college, and I think this plays a big part in why she rarely attempts to deliver a verbal smack down to him. I think back to my favourite lecturers at university and the respect I had for them, and honestly, even today as a grown woman, if they were to berate me the way that Cyrus often does Olivia, I’d probably just stand there and take it. That willingness to be used as a punching bag, comes from a place of respect, and sometimes the patterns that we’ve always followed when it comes to our mentors stay with us.

olivia-and-cyrus

The other reason I think that Olivia takes the crap that she does is because Cyrus is one of only two people who knows all of her secrets. This is a huge thing for somebody as secretive as she is. It means that he’s the only person that she can – not only be herself with – but can put aside all sense of guilt with. To some degree, that has got to be a liberating feeling for her. Of course she can be herself with Fitz, but he is also the greatest source of her guilt for so many reasons. First of all, he’s married, and that must weigh on her somewhat, regardless of the state of his marriage to Mellie. But more than that, the fact that she’s very aware that the life he currently leads is one that was orchestrated and provided for him in the most treasonous of ways, must impact her greatly.
Because Olivia doesn’t have many people in her life who know her as well as Cyrus, their twisted friendship is something that she seems unwilling to let go, no matter how often he double-crosses her. Also, quite frankly, he’s also her gateway to Fitz.

The other thing is, Olivia knows that Cyrus has Fitz’s back. When all’s said and done, he’s the one person that she can trust with Fitz’s well being, and we all know how important that is to her.

Olivia and Mellie

A few people have scratched their heads over why Olivia consistently plays a submissive role, when it comes to Mellie. There have indeed been times when even I’ve scratched my head and thought that she should really tell Mellie to go screw herself, but you know what, I get it.
Olivia, at the end of the day, is having an affair with the woman’s husband. It doesn’t matter what we think about the state of Fitz and Mellie’s marriage, or even of Mellie herself, at the end of the day, if you’re even a half-way decent person, you will feel some sense of guilt. And quite honestly, in order for her to be a character that I can pull for, she needs to be able to feel that guilt, otherwise, she just becomes another unconscionable home-wrecker.

For me, the complexity of Olivia’s relationship with Mellie also stems from the fact that at one point, Mellie considered Olivia a friend. A friend who was the reason why her husband took his first major step towards becoming president. And not forgetting, Olivia is the reason why Mellie and Fitz’s marriage was brought back to life (in a manner of speaking). Let’s face it, when we meet Fitz and Mellie in 1.06, they had been trapped in a dead marriage for at least a couple of years, and it had come to that point in their relationship, where their only method of communication was yelling very loudly at each other. Olivia changed that. Mellie was probably thankful to Olivia for bringing about that status quo.

Mellie

Also, ironically enough, Mellie is the only other person who’s aware of Olivia’s darkest secrets, but unlike with Cyrus, where this brings a certain sense of relief and openness to their interactions, it puts her in a precarious position. Mellie knowing what she does about Olivia, probably makes her relationship with Fitz seem brazen, and perhaps somewhat tawdry, and this is something that would definitely unsettle Olivia.

As the mistress, Olivia can’t help but feel that on some level, she is the one who is at fault here, and that is something somebody who talks about white hats would feel very uncomfortable about. So, she’s not likely to exacerbate those feelings of being the other woman, by letting loose on Mellie. She just doesn’t feel that she has the right. I think she absolutely has the right, but I’m not the one engaged in an extramarital affair.

Mellie2

Also, last, but not least, when all’s said and done, Mellie is the First Lady of The United States, and there’s a certain respect that that title affords her. You can’t just go screaming and yelling at the FLOTUS, no matter how much you may want to.

As we saw though, in episode 2.10, Olivia is pretty much done with appeasing Mellie, but this was because Mellie had risked Fitz’s presidency by doing something utterly bonkers. We’re all aware that Fitz is the one person who Olivia is willing to engage in a showdown for.

On a broader plane, I do think Olivia understands better than most that actions speak louder than words. If we think about how self-contained she usually is, even in her dealings with her OPA team, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that she prefers to maintain a stoic silence rather than totally losing control. I really never want to see her break down in front of Cyrus and the snakes on the plane the way she did in 211 again. I have a feeling that that whole experience may have taught her a lesson or two, when it comes to showing weakness in front of others, hence the Olivia we see in the present.

I understand that fans want Olivia to deliver verbal smackdowns to Mellie and Cyrus on a regular basis, but if Shonda Rhimes stays true to the Olivia Pope that we think we know, (what am I saying, it’s not like she has so far!) it wont happen often. Which is a shame, but there you have it.

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KarenS Scandal Review: Episode 2×11, “A Criminal, A Whore, An Idiot, and a Liar”

Sunday, January 20, 2013
Posted in: KarenS Review, Scandal, TV Show Review
Tags:, , , ,

Olivia

Hey guys, following on from yesterday’s introduction to ABC’s Scandal, I’m going to start reviewing each episode after it airs (well not straight after, you guys know how much I love reviewing these days), so of course if you haven’t seen any of the episodes, but you plan on watching them, do not read this review, I repeat, do not read this review, as there will be spoilers galore.

The episode starts with Liv walking through her door to find Edison sat ever so casually In. Her. Lounge.
I’m pretty sure they broke up last week, when Olivia basically told him to fuck-off after he threatened to prosecute her for allegedly lying about the president’s real condition. Apparently though, Edison, the thick bastard didn’t get the message, because he asks Liv what’s going on with them. I can’t lie, I was desperate for Olivia to stab him in his eye and put him out of my misery. To my ever lasting sorrow, she didn’t do that. Dammit.

Anyway, because basically Edison’s a ratchet mother fucker, he accuses Olivia of being the President’s mistress. As you can imagine, this didn’t go down too well with Olivia, who read him her rather special five-point riot act. It was impressive, and if I could find the exact words, I’d post it. Anyway Olivia eventually throws Edison and his Bill Cosby looking ass out, but not before he tells her that Sally Langston is planning to shaft Fitz by throwing shade on the letter that Mellie forged asking for Fitz to be reinstated.

Once Edison is literally shown the door, Olivia calls Cyrus, warning him of Sally’s plans.

After this, we flashback to a presidential debate where Fitz is doing almost as well as Obama did in his first presidential debate last year. Remember how uncomfortable we all felt watching him fuck things up against the world’s most stupidest man, Mitt Romney? *shudder* Basically, Fitz is not doing well against his opponent Governor Reston (the geezer who murdered his wife’s lover and got away with it), either in the debates, or indeed in the polling. He’s way behind his rival, and it’ll take a miracle to get his numbers up at this rate.

We cut to Olivia, Cyrus and Hollis discussing campaign strategy, and out of the blue, Hollis very casually mentions the possibility of rigging the election. Apparently he has some people in low places who can orchestrate the whole thing. Cyrus is initially appalled, and both he and Olivia dismiss the idea. Mellie joins them with some bad news about the polling numbers, and suggests that they invite Fitz’s father Big Jerry to help with the campaign. It’s clear that this is something that Fitz has avoided doing up till now. With good cause as it turns out.

Fitz is not happy about the idea at all, and we cut to him and Mellie arguing about it in the corridors of their hotel. Olivia catches up with them and suggests that they keep their voices down. Mellie frustrated by Fitz’s refusal to bring his father in, tells Olivia to talk to him, as he clearly doesn’t give a shit about her opinion. Ya think?

After Mellie shuts the door on both of them, Fitz takes Olivia by the hand and drags her to her room so that he can work off some of his frustrations out by getting her horizontal. While he’s trying his best to have his wicked way with her, Olivia is trying to persuade him that now’s the time to bring in his father to help energise the base. Fitz eventually agrees as long as she doesn’t talk about the campaign for the next twenty minutes.

We then flash forward to the present, and Fitz is in the hospital, with Mellie looking all wifely by his side. The doctor is in with them, and she’s telling them that Fitz should be able to get back to work in about three weeks, but in the mean time, may experience dizziness, fatigue and some frontal lobe issues. Because of Mellie’s fuckup however, Fitz can’t afford to be inactive for three weeks, as Sally is just about dancing on his grave, with his job description pinned to her forehead.

Speaking of Sally, we cut to the White House, where she’s having a briefing with the executive team (including Edison The Bell-End). She basically tells them that Fitz is fucked, and is not fit enough to return to work. While she’s spreading her venom, Fitz walks in and apologises for being late. AND THE CROWD WENT WILD!! HALLELUJAH!!! Oh the look on Sally’s face was priceless. Suck it bitch!

Anyway, the meeting has obviously gone well, because Cyrus and Mellie run into the exec team coming out of Fitz’s office, and Sally is looking massively pissed off. This pleases Cyrus no end, who takes delight in baiting Sally as she’s exiting the office. He’s gleeful because he has his president and job back. When they get into the office, Fitz is obviously struggling and demands a clean shirt. The man should not be out of the hospital, and he sarcastically thanks Mellie for screwing him over, so that he has to leave his sickbed three weeks earlier than he should in order to save her ass and his presidency. Yeah Mellie, thanks for that. Power grabbing bint.

We flashback to the campaign trail, where we finally meet Fitz’s father. And he’s a massive fucking bell-end. Sheesh. He proceeds to humiliate Fitz in front of the campaign team, and even Mellie turns into a giggling school girl in front of him. Now this is the guy she wishes she’d married. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he’d seduced her twenty years ago, then passed her along to Fitz. Jerry cuts an impressive figure, and he has the charm and swagger that one would expect in a seasoned politician, but it’s fairly clear at this point that Fitz was raised by a wolf. I felt as sick as Fitz looked, and I could tell that his father’s presence was negatively impacting him. Olivia noticed his discomfort, and at one point looked pityingly at him.

At dinner that evening, Fitz gets drunk, and manages to throw shade at his father every time he speaks. I particularly liked Fitz reminding his father that the reason he didn’t even run for president was because men who get caught shagging prostitutes usually aren’t suitable candidates for presidency. I confess, I laughed out loud. Jerry leaves the table prematurely, after Fitz continues to slag him off. I know Fitz is behaving like a recalcitrant child at this point, but personally I loved it. Jerry was a twat, and he needed a good beat down. Erm…not that I condone violence against old people. That’s just barbaric…right?
Erm, anyway, where was I? Oh that’s right, Mellie drags her behind after Jerry to apologise for Fitz’s behaviour, and perhaps to offer him a blow job or two. I jest. I think. (more…)

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Scandal – Introduction to The Scandalous World Of Olivia Pope and Associates…

Saturday, January 19, 2013
Posted in: Scandal
Tags:, , , ,

scandal

Hey Guys! How are you all doing? Happy New Year by the way.

I’m aware that I haven’t posted on here since the beginning of December, but honestly, I couldn’t be arsed. Sorry.
I’m grateful for those of you who still check in, and I’m definitely grateful to Michelle and Willa for keeping things going.

Anyway, my latest obsession, is a show called Scandal, and quite frankly, apart from the shady political crap that’s going on in the world, that’s pretty much all I ever want to talk about these days, and I’m not even sorry.

You’ll be pleased to know that watching Scandal has revived my love for romance books again. I’d been in a massive reading slump, but lately, things have gotten better. Honourable mentions go out to Shiloh Walker, for her amazing friends-to-lovers book Wrecked due out in April. LOVED that book so damned much. Go pre-order, I promise you wont be sorry.

This week, the latest episode of Scandal left me emotionally wrecked, but I’ll talk about that episode in a separate post. Today I want to introduce those of you who aren’t familiar with the series to Scandal, and all of its colourful characters.

The main protagonist of the show is a a woman called Olivia Pope, played by the divine Kerry Washington, (I have such a massive girl crush on her). Olivia is a crisis manager, and the overall premise of the show is based on an actual crisis manager, Judy Smith, who worked for the first George Bush. Judy currently runs her own crisis management firm, and dealt with the whole Monica Lewinski/Bill Clinton mess, and the Michael Vick scandal. I imagine as we speak, General Petraeus has her on speed dial. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that she was behind the Lance Armstrong/Oprah interview. (Isn’t Armstrong an unconscionable bell-end?)

Anyway, so Olivia’s firm is aptly named Olivia Pope and Associates, and her associates are as follows:

Harrison Wright – Good looking, fast-talking, charming man-meat, who’s also a lawyer. I looove Harrison because he always has Olivia’s back. And he’s hot y’all!

Abby Whelan - Abby is a sometimes annoying, sometimes sanctimonious, but usually amusing, bitchy redhead. Abby is the firm’s main investigator, and the moral compass for the team.

Huck – We don’t know his last name, he’s former black ops, and he’s particularly skilled in the art of torture. Huck is their tech guy, he can hack into anything, including uber secure government systems. I love Huck, he’s my favourite associate, mostly because I want to take him home, and hug him every five minutes. I think my love for him stems from his absolute loyalty and devotion to Olivia.

Quinn Perkins – The newest recruit to OPA, she’s the bambi of the group, has been described as a chickenhead by some, but she’s mostly naive and a little wide-eyed. She will probably be the associate who annoys you the most. Especially in the seventh episode of the first season. Seriously Quinn?

Stephen Finch – Stephen is Olivia’s long time lawyer friend, and in season one he’s the person she confides in the most, and the person who knows her the best. Stephen eventually leaves to go and find his normal with his fiancee, Georgia. Stephen has nice hair. He could be in one of those Just For Men adverts his hair is so nice.

They all have shady pasts and have had to be rescued by Olivia at one point or another in their lives, and they all have their own secrets, some more surprising and shocking than others.

Back to Olivia, she has a pretty massive scandalous secret of her own. She had an affair with the president of the United States, which started when she was brought on as his campaign fixer by Cyrus (now chief-of-staff). When the affair became too much for her, she left the White House and started her own firm. The irony is, Olivia is amazing at solving the problems of her clients, but her own life is just a mess. When I watched the first episode, I didn’t have a clue what the actual premise of the show was, I was just watching because I’m such a Kerry Washington fan girl, so I was shocked when we discovered that her and the president – played by the enormously charismatic Tony Goldwyn – had been in a relationship.

Anyway, let me introduce you to the White House Crew:

President Fitzgerald Grant III – Republican president, married to Mellie Grant, has two children (who we’ve yet to see), and had an affair with Olivia Pope, his former campaign fixer. We assume that Fitz is a total sleazebag, because after all, only a snake would cheat on his wife, surely? It’s amazing how one’s perspective changes after watching this show. Nobody is who you think they are. I love Fitz, he’s a wonderfully flawed character who constantly pulls at my loins heartstrings. He wants to be with the love of his life, but that can’t happen while he’s the leader of the free world.

Cyrus Beene – Cyrus is a self-confessed monster who you will love and hate in equal measure. He’s Fitz’s chief-of-staff, and he will literally do anything for his president. I go back and forth with Cyrus, but I mostly love him, and he’s done some heinous shit.

Mellie Grant – Married to the president, Mellie is an ambitious faux Stepford Wife who will do anything she has to in order to keep her husband in power, thus keeping her as the First Lady of The United States. I love Mellie’s character, she’s the most uncomplicated person on the show, she’s highly manipulative, and her motivations are clear as day. She loves power, and she has political ambitions beyond her husband.

Sally Langston – Sally is Fitz’s uber Right-wing Vice President. She’s the Sarah Palin of the show. Sally is cold, and I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her.

Hollis Doyle – A major contributor to Fitz’s election campaign, who seems to have free reign of the White House. He shows up in season two. Hollis is a snake. I’ll leave it there.

I’ll be upfront and tell you that for me, the main attraction to this show is Olivia and Fitz. I’d ask you not to judge me, but actually I don’t care. I checked my real life morals at the door, and quite frankly, I was happy to do so. If you’re even a little bit puritanical, take the door marked exit, because this show is not for you.


“One minute”

They have the most deliciously complicated relationship. A relationship, that I initially questioned (due to the fact that he’s married and all) until about the third episode, then I was all in. Of course I’m going to hell, because there’s nothing admirable about infidelity, but it’s a TV show, so I’m happy to root for this particular couple. It’s not the worst thing that I’ve been ok about in the show either. There are some truly scandalous goings-ons, and it’s remarkable how you end up shrugging your shoulders at some of the questionable things perpetrated by the main protagonists.

Liv and Fitz can’t be together, because not only is he married, he’s also the president, so divorce isn’t really a viable option for him. He tries, but both Olivia and Mellie (his wife) aren’t having any of it. Olivia because she knows he can’t just be an ordinary person, and Mellie, because she covets the FLOTUS title too much.

I think that the reason that I’m able to be ok, with Fitz and Olivia’s relationship is down to the on-screen chemistry between Goldwyn and Washington. They literally sizzle together, sexually, emotionally, and intellectually. Fitz and Olivia are my Eve and Roarke of television, without the affair part of course:) (more…)

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Michelle Reviews: Billy London Italian Knights Series

Friday, January 18, 2013
Posted in: Michelle Reviews
Tags:, , , ,

Sensuality Level: Steamy

Multicultural Contemporary: BW/WM

I know it seems like forever since I’ve posted, but this past holiday season was insane. Oddly enough I read quite a bit, but never seemed to have time to do reviews. I promise I’ll do better. I’ve been on a bit of a glom of late. There seems to be an insane number of Mafia books in the multicultural genre, and I’ve been checking them out. Billy London is one of the most popular and I can see why. Her books are at times laugh-out-loud funny. And the title “knight” is appropriate as these guys will literally kill for their lady-love. Let me start with a caveat, these books do contain a good bit of violence, they’re not exactly Goodfellas, or actually they are. They’re Goodfellas, if Goodfellas had been directed by Ben Stiller.

These books take place in London, and that’s somewhat nostalgic for me as I grew up reading categories from Harlequin and they were all based in London too. I haven’t read a contemporary in  a London setting in probably a couple of decades and it was very heartwarming for me. Okay, on to the books.

Windows

Pay absolutely no attention to the title of this book. A friend lent it to me and it expired on my Kindle account because I assumed it had something to do with exhibitionism or voyeurism. Why it has this title I have no idea. It is one of my fave tropes, friends into lovers. And Ms. London handles that aspect of the story very well. Nick and Gina have been friends for ten years since meeting in college. They have been secretly in love with one another, but since Nick had a girlfriend when they first met Gina pretty much put him in the “friends” category. Though they’ve shared everything over the years, except of course, their mutual hots for one another and the fact that Nick is a mob boss. All this comes to a head when Gina finds herself indebted to a loan shark who decides to rough her up in order to shake his money loose. Nick takes the situation in hand and we’re off onto a crazy roller coaster of mob intrigue, family intrigue and some really steamy sex. I liked both characters and their relationship was believable and at times charming. The secondary characters were vivid and interesting and I loved the pacing of the story. There is a good bit of violence, but then this is a Mafia story. The only flaw I found is in the resolution of the situation with the villain. There’s a good deal of info-dumping I could’ve lived without. The villain’s scheme was so unbearably convoluted that I had to read it a couple of times to get it fixed in my head. But really that was the only serious flaw. I liked this book a lot, and enjoyed the re-read I did before I wrote this review. I’d say a good solid B.

On Caristo’s Watch

This title makes a good bit more sense. Tony is Nick’s close friend and all-around enforcer/right hand man. He and Lydia meet at the hospital where she is a nurse. He is there frequently bringing friends who’ve been injured. He’s there so frequently she asks if he’s a plainclothes EMT. This is probably the funniest of the four books so far as Tony is definitely the class clown of the group. I laughed out loud when he asked Lydia, “What is in my balls,” because the only time she talks sensibly (at least from his viewpoint) is after they’ve had sex. Lydia has an ex-boyfriend who has turned stalker and is making threats against her brother. She goes to Nick for help and he assigns Tony to her for protection. I would give this book a low A, primarily because it was very funny and I enjoyed the interaction between these two characters very much.

The Claim

For me, this one is the weak link of the four Italian Knights books thus far. Rocco is the attorney and fixer for the daCanaveze family. Anna is his long-lost love. This is another favorite trope of mine, but London doesn’t handle it as well as she did the friends into the lovers. Gina and Rocco were dating. She broke up with him when she discovered he was sleeping with one of her friends. He wasn’t sleeping with her friend, but for a very convoluted reason involving law enforcement and his dad screwing up and winding up in prison he’s not able to tell Anna the truth. So here’s the thing, she breaks up with him, but resumes the friendship with the friend! This made no sense to me, and I found the whole scenario unbearably annoying. The only thing that saved this story for me is Rocco’s grandmother, Nonna. Oh my God she’s a hoot. Rocco uses a lawsuit she wants to file as an excuse to get Anna back into his life and just when his charm offensive is working their relationship is nearly derailed by a vengeful cop. Without the girlfriend issue, this would be an A story, but because of it I have to give it a low B, probably in all fairness it should be a C.

Best Laid Plans

Another in the series whereas the title makes no sense, but whatever. This one is my favorite, probably because the hero Gianluca, who is Tony’s cousin,  is such a sweetie-pie. He’s a murdering enforcer for the daCavaneze family. Francesca is a cop. You’d think this would present insurmountable obstacles to the relationship, but fortunately, by the time they meet Gianluca has already sworn off the life. Gianluca believes he dreamed her while he was in jail and he swore if he could have her he’d never raise his knife in violence again. In fact they’d met previously in a convenience store, but he doesn’t remember because of a head injury. When he meets her again he’s a chef and working diligently to keep his nose clean after a really nasty encounter with his psycho-bitch of an ex-girlfriends which landed him in jail dreaming about Francesca. I love the way Francesca handles herself when psycho ex-girlfriend puts in an appearance. This is an A story for me, primarily based on the strength of the characters.

I borrowed the first book from a friend, the rest I bought.

 

 

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Willaful Review: Unforgivable by Joanna Chambers

Thursday, January 17, 2013
Posted in: willaful reviews
Tags:,

It can be difficult for me to read a book or write a review objectively when I have a bias towards the author. Oddly enough, in this case, the bias might be working the other way. I like the author very much online, and I loved her first book, The Lady’s Secret. I have to ask myself, if this had been a book written ten years ago, from an author I had fewer expectations of, would I have found it so disappointing?

First, the good. The story was riveting, and I hated to put it down to go to bed. As far as my favorite romance gut-punch goes, it delivered in spades. Tears even prickled in my eyes a few times. Basically, this was a classic old skool romance, but with a kindler, gentler asshole — i.e. he punches the wall instead of her. (To be fair, only once — he is not violent overall.) Gil has a grievance — he felt forced to marry the very young, plain Rose, instead of the woman he wanted — and he not only holds onto that grievance with both hands, he adds to it whenever possible. He’s one of those frustrating Diana Palmer-ish heroes who turns any understanding of his own faults into anger at the person he wronged. And he does this and does it and does it… it’s psychologically interesting and understandable, I suppose, but it sure made it hard to like him, or to believe he could ever truly change.

I felt that Rose was always the one who had to reach out, always the one who had to give. Although she did make some mistakes, she was largely, as another reviewer pointed out, an innocent bystander in her marriage. I enjoy vicarious suffering in romance, but I need more of a balance and a payoff than I got here. I was also disappointed that the story’s dark moment comes from a very obvious, conventional place that punishes Rose even more than it punishes Gil. Perhaps most disappointing of all, although Gil also learns to appreciate Rose’s fine character, he initially falls for her as the beautiful woman she grew into. Not enough balance, not enough payoff.

I want to reiterate that I was totally caught up and emotionally involved in the story, and that’s why I’m giving it the relatively high rating of 3 1/2 stars, rounded up to 4 when I must. It might well work better for fans of angsty romance who didn’t come in with high expectations, or with strong desires for originality. You can buy it for Kindle here or from Samhain in all popular ebook formats here. (30% off for new releases til 1/22/13.) I’m guessing they’ll have a print version at Samhain eventually.

Published by Samhain. Review copy purchased by me.

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TBR Challenge: The Guy Most Likely To…

Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Posted in: willaful reviews
Tags:, ,

Sensuality Rating: Tending Towards Torrid

The Theme: We Love Short Shorts! (Short stories, novellas, or category romance.)

Why This One?: My personal rule is that all books have to come from my print TBR. I was pleased to find a book there that fit the theme so well — short stories and category romance — plus, I won it at Wendy’s blog.

The Word: I’m not a big fan of either romance short stories or the Blaze line, and putting them together did not improve them.

This anthology includes three unrelated stories, two of which link to other books by their authors. All three are about couples whose past relationships were thwarted by the guy, for various reasons. Now the couples are meeting again at their 10 year high school reunions.

“Underneath it All” by Leslie Kelly. Lauren was devastated and humiliated when her boyfriend Seth skipped town right before prom, leaving her a Prom Queen without a King. She only agreed to go to the reunion because Seth wasn’t supposed to be there. But Seth turns up anyway, hoping to finally make things right with the girl he could never forget.

I had trouble with both characters in this story. Lauren’s devastation is understandable, but it’s quite obvious that something major happened to Seth and his family, which makes her long-time hatred towards him seem self-absorbed and immature.  And if Seth had pined for Lauren all these years, why didn’t he make more of an effort to get in touch with her? The ending was cute, but then it got spoiled by going way, way over the top.

“Can’t Get You Out of My Head” by Janelle Denison. I loved the premise of this story. Geeky Will’s dreams had come true when gorgeous cheerleader Ali agreed to go on a date with him, but a beating and threats from a guy on the football team forced him to cancel. Now he’s hoping for a second chance.

I was disappointed that Will shows up for the reunion devastatingly handsome and super successful. Ali had liked him the way he was — why did he have to become like every other romance hero? The rest of the story plays out as you’d expect, and in a very bland manner.  Props for being the only story in the collection featuring safe sex. (Dudes, “I’m clean” does not constitute safe sex!)

“A Moment Like This” by Julie Leto. Bad boy Rip refused to get involved with good girl Erica when they were in Catholic school together — but they’re adults now, and things are very different, especially Erica. I think this story could have been good if it weren’t squeezed into too small a space — with some of that limited space given over to sequel baiting. It needed more backstory.

Overall, a meh collection. If you enjoy Blazes, you’ll probably like it more than I did. You can buy it from Amazon in print or for Kindle here.

Published by Harlequin. Review copy won from a blog contest.

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New Years Resolutions — I’m Not Late, I’m Taking My Time

Sunday, January 13, 2013
Posted in: willaful

Lately I’ve been realizing that when it comes to books, I have a terrible case of Attention Deficit — ooo, shiny! It seems to be a fairly common condition amongst book lovers who spend a lot of time on social media.  We buy — and borrow, if we’re moderately sane — massive numbers of books, all of which we genuinely want to read. And then someone dangles a tempting new book in front of us, and we’re off on the hunt again. The books we already have fade away, sometimes so much that we accidentally buy them again.

Weirdly, the problem is self-perpetuating. The more pressure I feel from too many unread books, the more likely I am to be restless and unable to concentrate, which sends me off looking for more books to acquire instead of actually reading. Perhaps it makes me feel like I’m actually accomplishing something.

Forget trying to read more books  — my only reading goal for this year is to break the cycle. I want to slow down, stop trying to stay on top of an exploding genre, and focus on books which I know I genuinely want to read, not books that everyone else is reading. To finish series I enjoy instead of starting new ones other people enjoy. To read books outside the romance genre, or to reread, without feeling like I’m wasting time. And perhaps most importantly, to stop acquiring new ones on a whim.

I’m off to a great start — the fourteen books I’ve read this year include nonfiction, science fiction, a book from my long neglected “reread before tossing” pile, some series catch up, and an old favorite. (I always seem to start the new year with a reread, for some reason.) And, because social media is still fun, one book that everyone else was reading, so we could talk about it.

Here’s to a more peaceful reading year.

 

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Willaful Review: Back to the Good Fortune Diner by Vicki Essex

Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Posted in: willaful reviews
Tags:, ,

Sensuality Rating: Steamy

Peer pressure! SuperRomance isn’t my line, but all the cool kids are reading this one. I wasn’t sorry I jumped off the cliff with them.

This is a romance featuring a Chinese-American heroine and written by a Chinese-Canadian writer, both rare enough scenarios to catch the attention of the romance community. Thirty-two year old Tiffany has returned home in disgrace: unemployed, in debt, and feeling like she wasted the English degree she fought so hard for. Now she’s once again stuck in a small town, with a family that’s disappointed in her (as always) and no place to work except her family’s restaurant. Things look up a bit when the football player she once tutored (and madly crushed on) hires her to tutor his teenage son.

One of the things I liked about this story was that both Tiffany and her love interest Chris, who is white, turn out to have essentially the same issues: both are dealing with pressure and expectations from family, and both are struggling with their places in the world. That made Tiffany’s situation seem less based on cultural types. And realistically, their problems aren’t entirely the same: Tiffany also has to deal with the overt racism of Chris’s father, and to begin to understand how the discomfort of growing up in an otherwise entirely white community affected the way she relates to people.

The part of the story that most interested me was actually a subplot involving Tiffany’s brother, Daniel; although he has an MBA, he’s been working at the family restaurant and living with his parents while Tiffany was an assistant editor in New York. (He’s also the town driving instructor, an amusing thumb of the nose to the “bad drivers” stereotype.) Daniel’s in love with a white doctor he met online, but has been too worried about his family’s reaction to her to fully commit. When Tiffany points out how disparate their circumstances are — wealthy city doctor, small-town fry-cook — it creates a crisis of confidence for him.

I would have loved it if Daniel had been the central character of the book, and it would have made a more challenging story. A hunky blonde white guy and a petite, beautiful Asian woman fit so much more neatly into Western standards of appropriate attractiveness, to say nothing of the gender standards of appropriate success. But since romances with non-white characters seem to still be such a hard sell, I can’t really blame anyone for taking the easier route.

I also enjoyed Chris and Tiffany’s gentle romance, which has some plausible bumps in the road, many involving Chris’s difficult father and his different but equally difficult son. But their main conflict is Tiffany’s need to get back to the city and her editing work. I wasn’t entirely happy with how this resolved. The general message that the societal idea of success isn’t as important as doing what make you happy is a good one (again, this is a place where I preferred Daniel’s story to Tiffany’s.) But there was too much of a Small Town Good, Big City Bad message, especially in a genre that is overflowing with that already.

That aspect makes me a bit torn on my rating but I’m going with 4 stars, because of the good writing and the many things the book does right. You can buy it in paperback or for Kindle here. (Incidentally, while looking up the info, I saw that the paperback is almost out of stock, which I hope is a good sign of success!) Though January 21st, the secure epub format is also available with a 50% rebate at All Romance, with the code SBTBARE. (Keep in mind that the rebate process at All Romance is kind of complicated, though a good deal if you buy from them frequently.)

There are currently two online discussion of this book planned: if you’d like to join in, check out Something More on January 11th, and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on January 31st.

Published by Harlequin. Review copy provided by netGalley

7 Comments »
willaful-review-almost-like-being-in-love-by-steve-kluger

Willaful Review: Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger

Friday, December 28, 2012
Posted in: Uncategorized, willaful reviews
Tags:, ,

Sensuality Rating: technically candyfloss, but with some explicit language

 

“I don’t know what you’ve got up your sleeve for Travis and Craig, but I want the boys to wind up together. If you put me through all this without a happy ending, I’ll see to it that you never work in this town again.”

After John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, this is the sweetest, funniest book that ever broke my heart. (Which is not a spoiler for the ending, by the way; it broke my heart on page 30.) In the world’s most adorable book opening, theatre geek/activist Travis and jock/baseball lover Craig become the best buddies ever who don’t know they’re in love. And then just when they figure it out… BAM. We’re suddenly twenty years later and they are not together! Though you can still see their influence on each other’s lives: Craig has become a civil rights lawyer, and Travis teaches history to jocks by comparing major historical events to major moments in baseball. (His students’ test answers, which include advice on how to conduct his love life, are one of the highlights of the story.)

Craig is also in a long term relationship, but Travis’ attempts to find love have all been dismal failures. And he suddenly realizes that it’s because he already had it… and lost it. And so begins an epic journey to rediscover the love of his life.

Told in a stream of journal entries, school essays, phone conversations, court documents and so on, and featuring a large cast of lovably eccentric characters, this was as amusing to read as it is affectionate. I especially loved that Kluger gave each main character a sassy, wise straight friend. By genre standards, this would qualify as a novel with strong romantic elements rather than a romance, but the spirit of romance pervades the book and much true love is found all around.

Two things kept this from being a 5 star read for me: I didn’t think there was enough individuation between the different character’s voices, and I felt a little too manipulated by Kluger keeping Craig and Travis apart for so long. (And you can tell from the quote above that he knew he was doing it.) Though I’m tempted to give that extra star, because after creating a seemingly impossible situation, the story pulls off an ending that feels right.  I love the book, even though it hurt. You can buy it from Amazon here.

Published by William Morrow. Review from borrowed copy. I want my own.

4 Comments »
me-me-meme

me me meme!

Friday, December 28, 2012
Posted in: willaful
Tags:

 

I saw this meme at The Book Binge; it originated at The Happily Ever After. I’m way too lazy to do a yearly round-up or top ten list, but this is perfect.

My Life According to the Books I Read in 2012:

Describe yourself:
The Marrying Kind by Ken O’Neill

How do you feel:
Restraint by Charlotte Stein

Describe where you currently live:
A Place Called Home by Jo Goodman

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
On the Island by Tracy Garvis-Graves

Your favorite form of transportation:
Last Bridge Home by Iris Johansen

Your best friend is:
Wish List by K.A. Mitchell

You and your friends are:
Crazy on You by Rachel Gibson

What’s the weather like:
A Kiss for Midwinter by Courtney Milan

What is life to you:
Next of Kin by Ann Somerville

Favorite time of day:
The Sleeping Night by Barbara Samuel

Your fear:
I want Candy by Susan Donovan

What is the best advice you have to give:
Wanting What You Get by Kathy Love

Thought for the day:
Serious Play by Bonnie Dee

How I would like to die:
Woman of Honour by Emma Darcy

My soul’s present condition:
Standing on the Outside by Lindsey Armstrong

I fudged a few of them, but most of these actually represent how I feel surprisingly accurately.

6 Comments »

Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Posted in: Uncategorized

5 Comments »
tbr-challenge-the-bridal-veil-by-alexis-harrington

TBR Challenge: The Bridal Veil by Alexis Harrington

Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Posted in: willaful reviews
Tags:, , ,


Sensuality rating: Lightly Steamy

(This was a difficult challenge for me because I don’t much like holiday stories. That fact became extremely obvious when I searched my paperbackswap TBR listing for Christmas books — most of what showed up turned out to have been already purged, and the remaining books became almost instant DNFs. I then looked through GoodReads listopias of best holiday books and saw mostly 1 and 2 star grades from myself. 

Recents events made the thought of attempting another obnoxiously cheery Christmas read intolerable, so I went searching in my historical TBR cabinet — the genre which needs the most help — hoping to find something with any connection to a holiday. And a random glance at a page in this book showed a reference to…. Jacob Marley! Good enough.)

Out of work, money and family, Emily Cannon takes the place of her recently deceased sister, who had been going to Oregon as a mail-order bride. Farmer Luke Becker had been looking forward to marrying the petite, dark-haired Alyssa – in his mind, expecting her to look just like his beloved dead wife — and is aghast when the tall, plain, straw-haired Emily suggests he marry her instead. But Emily has a card up her sleeve: she’s a teacher of deportment, and Luke’s young daughter Rose desperately needs to learn some civilized manners.  And so they marry, though Luke warns Emily that it can never be a marriage involving love.

As Emily begins to make a place with Luke and Rose, despite the fierce hostility of his former mother-in-law Cora, she begins to bloom. In her family she was always the plain, sensible sister, but Luke starts to notice her quiet grace and elegance. And while her civilized touches make their home a more attractive, comfortable place, she learns to let go of her too-rigid insistence on proper etiquette.

There’s a tender wistfulness to this story that I loved, embodied in the symbolism of the bridal veil.  Emily’s wedding is too hurried for her to even wear the veil, an heirloom which she had fantasized would make her look beautiful. She’s both admirable and pathetic, as she tries to sublimate her desires for emotional and physical love in duty and propriety.  In some ways, Luke is in a similar situation; although he’s always been attractive to women, his life hasn’t led him to expect much for himself. He’s just trying to support his family and be a good father, without hoping much for his own happiness. It’s very satisfying when these two both discover what they have to offer and what they can find together.

After the fact, I don’t think it was a coincidence that I picked up this book to examine.  I find Americana romance soothing; it values home… family… hard work… community… cooperation… endurance. The quiet, homey virtues, the ones that a major tragedy always highlights.  I give The Bridal Veil 4 stars, though I’m tempted to give it 5 because it held my wandering interest on a terribly sad and upsetting day. It’s out of print, but inexpensive copies are readily available, or it can be bought for Kindle here or for Nook here.

Originally published by St. Martin’s Press. Reviewed from owned copy, probably acquired at paperbackswap

9 Comments »
redux-forty-plus-things-ive-learned-in-romanceland-this-week

Redux: Forty Plus Things I’ve Learned In Romanceland This Week…

Saturday, December 1, 2012
Posted in: Memories, The Romance Blogosphere Aint It Grand?

I do love when a random pingback takes me back to an old post. This one was written back in 2007. Most of them are still relevant. Some even more so.

 

1. Romanceland is full of nutters, and crazies not too dissimilar to The Right Honourable Betty Boozer.

2. Carol Lynne responded perfectly to my review. She said nothing. I admire that.

3. I’m not the only person who doesn’t understand what the Lotus Circle is about.

4. Reviews are not for authors. They are for readers.

5. The subject of reviewing will never die.

6. A Newbie author who’s book gets ripped apart will realise in five years time, that the blogger was probably right. That book did indeed suck Great Big Hairy Donkey Balls.

7. Some authors truly believe that bloggers / reviewers buy books just to rip them to shreds.

8. Until the crap that was Ben’s Wildflower, I hadn’t posted a negative review since November 2006. This must not happen again.

9. I’m not the only person who’s fed up with Vampires, Shapeshifters, Paranormals,and effing BDSM books.

10. Racism in romance isn’t considered as big an issue as homophobia in romance.

11. Awarding a 12-book contract to unproven newbies is not sound business.

12. Some authors will happily stick their tongue up your arse, and take a long lick, as long as it’s not their book or their publisher that you are dissing.

13. I’m suspicious of anybody who peppers their posts with “Lololololol!!” all the freaking time.

14. Some people are better at sucking up than others.

15. People who take the trouble to post that they wont be visiting your blog ever again, are usually lying.

16. Just because you got published, doesn’t mean that you deserved it. Your editor may have been high at the time.

17. Romanceland is full of passive aggressive women, and hypocrites.

18. Authors will always Google themselves, no matter how much they say they don’t.

19. I’m not the only person who thinks EC standards have gone waaay down.

20. Some popular bloggers seem to feel threatened by other popular bloggers, and refuse to mingle with them. You know who you are.

21. Some people should not be let out in public, without being fully medicated. You know who you are.

22. The Slash and Burn Reviewer/Blogger is an urban legend, cooked up by authors who’s book (s) got dissed, and dismissed.

23. Reviewers/ bloggers who personally attack authors are also an urban legend, cooked up by the same group of people.

24. Authors can be trolls too. You know who you are.

25. Some authors can be snarky too, they are just less honest about it. You know who you are.

26. Negative reviews will always generate more column inches, than positive reviews.

27. Nobody ever remembers gushingly glowing reviews.

28. There are certain people who always seem to hijack other people’s blogs. I recently got rid of at least one of these PWTTAFBA – types.

29. Anybody who writes that “Snarks go for an obvious joke just because it’s funny, not because the book really doesn’t work.” just doesn’t get it.

30. Some authors don’t understand that it’s not all about them.

31. ‘Nice Girl’ Review sites hate bloggers like me.

32. I hate pussified bloggers who hold themselves up as a shining example of how other bloggers should behave. You know who you are.

33. A lot of authors hate bloggers like me.

34. Women don’t rule the world because we cry far too easily and exhibit pussy-like behaviour in the face of adversity.

35. Some books suck more than others.

36. Authors should understand that readers like me don’t really care how much effort they put into writing a book. All they care about is whether they enjoyed it or not.

37. It should take longer than two weeks to write a book. Unless you are Nora Roberts.

38. Rabid Fangirls will always tell you that “You’re just jealous because you’re a frustrated writer with no talent!”, if you diss their favourite authors.

39. I hate the phrase “If you can’t say anything nice”. People who believe that, have no business reading this blog, yet they continue to do so.

40. Some ladies in Romanceland will talk about respecting other people, whilst they secretly send e-mails trashing you to their buddies.

41. Good editors are worth their weight in gold.

42. Bad reviews wont kill you, but the Rabid Fangirl stalking you might.

I can’t remember what inspired this particular post, but it did make me laugh re-reading it.

Which of these do you guys think are still relevant? Of course I’ve highlighted the ones that I think still apply:)

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