Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
A late SBD: caring
Hey, Beth, here’s another late one for SBD.
This isn’t funny anymore. WHO recommended this Nora Roberts book to me, huh? Fess up. Because this story is pissing the shit clean out of me.
I don’t care, that’s the thing. I don’t care about Cam, who had this privileged life tootling around Europe racing boats and dirt bikes, nailing Eurotrash in his spare time, buying pricey silk thong underwear, and now he’s stuck back in the States honoring a promise to his dead adoptive father who’s like a ghost now, only he (Ghost Dad) never says anything worthwhile, only, “You can do it, I know you can, you’re a Quinn.”
Guess I remember some things. His name is Cam Quinn. Sounds like a junior varsity cheerleader. But the book’s title? So not memorable.
The Something Tides. Rippling Tides? Festering Tides? I don’t know. First in the Chesapeake Saga. It’s a SAGA, for the love of God. That has to be worse than a trilogy, hell, a SAGA must be six seven eight nine books, and I can’t even get fired up about book one.
So. Cam. Adoptive Dad dies, has a Hollywood death which I’ve already bitched about (and oh, I see this one’s called Sea Swept, so I wasn’t even close, unless Random Nautical Title is close), makes his three sons swear to take care of young punk-ass Seth, Dad’s latest acquisition. See, all three of them, Cam, Moe, and Curly, they were all runaways who gravitated to Ghost Dad Quinn the way ferrets gravitate towards empty boxes and closed doors. But Seth, maybe he’s a real Quinn, which would mean Ghost Dad cheated on Mom.
zzzzzzzzzzzz
And there’s this social worker, Seth’s caseworker, and she’s supposed be this fugly librarian-looking chick one moment, hell on wheels the next. Cam has the hots for her, she has the hots for Cam because he looks good doing carpentry shit. I can’t remember her name, either. It took almost two hundred pages for them to end up in the sack and I still don’t feel any REAL magnetism between them, nothing that wasn’t artificially contrived by the author. I DON’T CARE if they shag and I don’t care if they don’t. I don’t care when Manny, Moe, and Cam fight like kids in the car because
zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Getting back to Cam. Why don’t I care about him? Because his life in Europe was shallow, not in the emotional sense (well, that too) but in the characterization sense. Because his desire to get back to his old life is neither interesting nor sympathetic simply because that old life feels and looks like a cheap postcard. Because he has no emotional life. We’re told (insert show and tell lecture here) the only woman he loved was his adoptive mother. But I don’t feel it. I don’t feel anything from Cam, least of all his passion for Ms. Social Worker.
Life’s too short for this. I’m in the mood for romance, and I’d prefer to try out a new writer other than my old standby Jennifer Crusie, but this book is so not worth it. I think I’ll reread that one Crusie novel about the guy who decided to become a detective more or less on a dare. THAT one had feeling. Or Bet Me. That was a good one, too. Both of those books had heroes and heroines I cared about.
Because in romance, if I don’t care about either the hero or the heroine — then what’s the point?
D.
if I don’t care about either the hero or the heroine — then what’s the point?
The really hot sex scenes, with the manhood and the heaving and the glavin
sorry, was channeling professor Frink there for a second.
Just try Judith Ivory okay? I know, I know, it’s historical. But so what? Try flipping Ivory.
I’d say Kinsale because everyone does, and she’s pretty damned great, but I think you want the humor and she’s got less than Ivory. Well, no wait, The highwayman with vertigo’s pretty funny.
You’ll thank me, really.
🙁
i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, i LOVE the Quinn books…and i don’t get what you’re saying. when i read and reread them, i always feel the passion from cam. i get so wrapped up in nora’s stories, my heart aches when the characters’ do.
it makes me sad that you don’t like her.
🙁 🙁 🙁
The thing you mentioned about Cam’s shallowness? That hit me in the first sentence of the book, hence the fact that I’m *still* carrying it around in my catch-all bag, unread. And, as I said, I read the other books in the series backwards to forwards so I already know the basic plot of this one so keep thinking “what’s the point of reading it?”
Your mention of expecting a saga had me thinking you might enjoy Meljean Brook’s Guardian series. It starts with Demon Angel (try to ignore the pinkish-purplish cover – the publisher is doing better with the covers for the series now, making them a touch more in line with the tone of the stories). Plus, Meljean’s an Oregonian – gotta love that, right?
Oh, kate r, meant to mention but forgot: I’ve been noticing that the publisher seems to be re-issuing Kinsale’s books. I’ve picked up a couple of her books I’d never read before (Uncertain Magic and Seize the Fire) and have been *quite* enjoying them. Yay for re-issues.
Yeah but the old copies of Kinsale’s books with Fabio on the cover are priceless ..and hilarious.(Doug’s place: now featuring the kate + fiveandfour thread)
I wouldn’t know who to suggest. I’m sort of a happy reader – I just read everything and pretty much like everything. That said, I honestly can’t remember the last plot of the last romance book I read. I think the emotions just sort of overwhelmed the plot.
Angst!
Betrayal!
Jealousy!
Hatred!
LURVE!
And then the happy ending.
What about a campy time travel with Alexander the Great?
Over at Calderwood Books – Time for Alexander.
Hey, I can plug here can’t I?
Of course you can plug here, Sam. You’re cute. I never refuse a cute woman. I never refuse a woman. I’m just not wired that way.
Carry on, folks, y’all are doing fine without me.
(Murderous morning, btw.)
kate, I have a Fabio-d version of The Shadow and the Star plus a re-issue of it with a more restrained cover. I was planning on donating the Fabio version so as to spread the Kinsale joy (I love, love, love that book – it may be my favorite romance outside of Pride and Prejudice – the plot of the story is so beautifully organic in how it grows faithfully out of the characters in it), but then Teddy Pig mentioned that people are starting to collect books with those Fabio covers so I’ve held onto it. I’m still undecided about whether I’m going to just donate it or sell it on some day. My husband’s only comment was that if I intend to keep it for awhile, for God’s sake, I must at least put it away somewhere so he wouldn’t have to see that cover!
Umm, I’ve passed my romance stage and am instead adoring (?) Ghengis Khan at the moment. But if I was going to recommend some romance to read, I’d say try Sandra Hill, as even when the romance doesn’t grab you, the comedy does 😉
Oh, and another writer who is wonderful fun is Karen Marie Moning (her Scottish series, not so much the other one)
Hi Jona! You rec’d Sandra Hill a long time ago, and I bought one of those Viking time travel books. Sorry, didn’t like it. But glad to see you here!