What a Scoundrel Wants

As per contest guidelines, I will now give a review of the won book: What a Scoundrel Wants, by Carrie Lofty. There is a link here, at BN, for those of you interested. Just $3.99 without a member discount, and $3.59 with!



I have to confess I am late on everything this year, including this review, since the Holidays took over, and I'm picking up shifts at work. So, while having read the book a bit ago, I am just now posting. So if things seem a bit fuzzy, that's why. My copy is also upstairs while I sit cozily downstairs on the couch awaiting dinner. :)

So, the description. The book is about Will Scarlett, nephew of the Robin Hood, and how he has issues with Robin and himself. He meets a less than reputable woman who happens to be blind - Meg. They, of course, fall in love after quite a long time, but have various issues in romance and with Nottingham. Will is being set up and has to clear his name with the aid of Meg.

My points that I want to cover are as follows, when there is a giant SPOILER don't read it for obvious reasons...

1. I didn't like the characters at first. Both have moral issues, Meg seemingly more than Will, and I have trouble liking characters that aren't "nice". I am a boring traditionalist in my characters, I know, and I'm sure it says something lacking about my own character or something - I hate psychology. Will made me mad because he was being an immature dork towards Robin, AND he was originally working for the bad guy. Seriously, Will, after Robin Hood raised you, seriously? And Meg, she's kind of a bitch, and while she has reason to be, it angered me. It also angered me (although not at her but for her) that she was used by that one dude whose name started with an H that I can't remember. Love and sex and all that. :( But, I did eventually get into them. It took a little, and only in the sense of being able to like them, but I did. They changed for the better, and it made the book good for me.
2. I'm not a fan of historical characters. This one is more a preference, so for those of you who don't like them either, that's what it is about. It wasn't done badly, just not my preference.
3. I hated the sister. It makes me really not want to read the book on her, the sequal. Granted, she hung the flowers in the home, which speaks of a buried tenderness. Same issue here, I don't like morally despicably characters. I'm sure she will change, but (SPOILER) it didn't seem in the preview of the next book that she would get with Jacob, which made me sad. She also never thanked her sister, ever! And, she hated Will for chucking her into jail, but she was doing something illegal. :( (END SPOILER) I dunno, I just don't like her too much.
4. SPOILER! When Will was captured and hanging from the pull, and he killed him by (I assume) breaking his neck, he came back later. Explanation? Was he not dead? Was this supposed to be Dryden or something?
5. Great job with Dryden. Nice. :)
6. SPOILER - Marian kind of made me mad. She was part of the reason why Will had issues, and she just let him live with it, and get him in trouble with everyone he knew. Real shitty.
7. SPOILER - I liked when Meg was ditched in the woods near the end.
8. SPOILER - it didn't seem like Finch played too big of part, and it seemed like he should have. He's the sheirff, typical Robin Hood aspect.
9. I liked Meg's work. Cool stuff. Village people piss me off. Prejudiced smhucks.
10. There's more, but I'm having trouble remembering it all...
11. I like how we didn't have to wait forever for sex. Yeah, I know. Honestly, it's not the reason why I read these books, but based on their romance it was nice to have a change.
12. I liked the dog. :) Too bad he wasn't in there more.
13. Little John, stinky? I wanted him clean! Like the bear in the Disney version... :)
14. I liked the interaction between Will and Meg, even though I didn't really like either one at first.
15. That's all I can think of right now. I'll add more later if I can think of it.

Overall opinion, good book, well written. It didn't take long to get into it, even though it took me a bit to get into the characters. It didn't draw me in like a book that I wanted to read in a day, but it was good. Interesting book. The ending was a bit rushed though, it seemed like; all the development, which was good development, was in the beginning, but it left the ending feeling a bit hollow. I don't know if extending the ending would have made it better, or if just more development would have been better. Maybe more of the sister? I dunno. The climax didn't seem to be near the ending, but more the end of the middle. I also don't know if I shall buy another book of this author. It was serious. For those of you who have read Julie Garwood, you know what I'm looking for - lighthearted. This was good, but a bit more serious, which certainly isn't bad, just not what I was looking for.

If anyone has any questions, feel free and ask. I would recommend the book to those who like this type of genre. It was a good book.

THANK YOU ANN AND CARRIE FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ THIS BOOK!!!! If either of you have any other questions that you want me to answer, feel free and ask!

~Nicole M.

A Post! A Post! A Post!

Yeah, I wrote something. You would hope so, I know, since the darn thing is so short. It wasn't an Ultimatum chapter, but a Supernatural drabble, so all interested head on over. It is on both sites. :) So far, no reviews. :( It's been up for a while. A few days. I've been too busy to post. Darn holiday season is getting to me. Finally, next week, I'll have some decent time off. I want to play games, but I suppose I am obligated :) to write. We shall see. All of you have happy late and early holidays!

BK

PS - a review of What a Scoundral Wants is coming!!!

-3

I know, I know. I suck at life. LIFE. I still haven't wrapped presents. I still have to clean my room. But, since I work early tomorrow, I'm going to bed. I worked today, and just got home. Sooo, no writing. But, on a good note, I won 15 or so bucks. :) Lunch money! Hopefully, soon. This Christmas thing takes up a lot of time!

~BK

Migraine and Slacking

T'is all.

~BK

- 1

If you can believe it, I was so caught up in Gremlins at three in the morning that I forgot to write... Before that was Thunderheart. Nice movie. Hopefully, I shall only be a day late...

BK

As of Now...

As of now, I've written nothing. I've worked, and gotten out an hour and fifteen minutes late, so I'm not feeling to much into writing right now. Which means later tonight that I'll be writing that short story. To be technical, I have until I go to bed before the day 'ends', so until like two in the morning. So... until then I'm going to watch Burn Notice. :) It's going to be a really small story. :)

BK

All Done!

Yeah! I'm done! As of 7 pm, I am done! Granted, I was supposed to be done at 5 pm... but I procrastinated, and I don't think they will care about a few hours... Who has a 5 o'clock deadline anyways?? What happened to midnight?? Anyways, I'm done. I thought I did a decent job, but both of my essays from before were B-'s. I'm ashamed of that, but can't quite figure out how to fix it... Oh well. I should still get an A... hopefully... PLEASE! No grades have been posted yet. Although for sure in one French class, I have an A over 100%! Huzzah!

As of yet, no writing. Instead, I went and bought manga! :) Who needs Christmas money? Certainly not me... I've got a credit card... :D

In other new, I've finally gotten my sister to read The Host by Stephanie Meyer. I like that book the best out of all hers, better than Twilight. :) My sister likes it so far, and that's saying something since she was one of the rare people who didn't like Twilight. :)

So, I should have a new chapter in two more days. That is my goal. But I'm going to the mall tomorrow. Maybe biking it. We shall see. Don't know if I want to carry all those presents back. Or if I'll have time to bike. :) OR, I might just do a short story - is a one chapter called a short story?? - of Supernatural... Evil of me, I know.

Right now I'm really feeling the need to edit Ultimatum. I know, I know, don't bother editing until you are done. I agree with that, which is so why I'm not touching it. I would never finish the darn thing if all I did was edit. Plus, I hate finding fanfiction that has been edited, but not finished. My mistakes will just have to live on. If I ever become an author, I'm never owning up to what I've written for fanfiction... :) It wouldn't hold up to par.

Also, I think I need to develop a character before I can have a story. I think I might have said that already, but I can't remember, and I don't want to go back and reread all my posts... Laziness!

And that is all for now. :) I'm off to read the last of three mangas that I just bought. It's a new series for me, the third one, anyways. The column on the left will tell you which other series I just got into. I bought 5 and 6 of that one. Just about killed me when I found out that the next one is not coming out until March. Skip Beat comes out every other month... >.> I adore Skip Beat, by the way. That is, hands down, my favorite managa! Anyways, I think the new comic is called Monkey High... Also, I haven't been putting American comics on that list (they make me think of fanfiction, like one chapter, cause they are so short!!). I read two, more like one but buying two: I just read the comic of Mercy Thompson: Homecoming by Patricia Briggs. She has a book series, and this is a prequel (kinda) to the series. I like it so far. :) But, I'm more addicted to manga than comics. I want to start X-Men, but damn if there aren't too many to get caught up on. Maybe I'll just start a new series of X-Men. Also, anyone else see the trailer for Wolverine??? Hotness!! Anyways, but the Laurell K Hamilton adaptions, but I'm not too sure I like them. I don't read them... I buy them for collecting...

Anyways again!

~BK :)

One Day Closer

I am one day away from unofficially being done with the semester! Woohoo!

Now, granted, this means I still have two tests, one paper, and half of a final that was takehome to do. The last two are why it's unofficially. Or I suppose officially with a technicality. Anyways, it should all be done by Monday at 5 pm, when English is due. I still have to read Moby Dick, though. Cramming that in this weekend is going to be a pain. :(

Soooo, after the technicality, I should be able to get down to writing. :D I've forgotten everything, again, but what else is new?

Also, my plan for quick money is to write a Harlequin to help pay off mounting school debts!! Aahh!

Now, off to study, buy comics, and sell plasma for cash to once again fix up my car. Darn thing...

BK

News

I won! I won! I won! :D

I won an ARC of Carrie Lofty's new book. Nope, haven't read any of hers before. Can't say anything about it yet, but by January 2 (I think that was the date...) I shall. I'm very excited. I love a great romance. My favorite author is Julie Garwood in romance. She just flat out is. But, hers are historical romance, so I guess she kind of rocks only that genre (ignoring her contemporary stuff, which are good as well, but I think I have to side with Janet Evanovich in contemporary mystery.). Which is good, because that means I just have more fav. romance authors. My point, then, is that I am looking for someone else to read along the same lines as her. I'm hoping Carrie Lofty is it. Any advice anyone? And for the record, I am a hardcore fan of old romance, such as damsel in distress, hunky sweet yet gruff men. Honestly, I skip past the sex parts once I've read them once or twice. They kind of bore me. It's all the same after a while. *sigh*

Other news. I have rediscovered Sparknotes in my really shitty semester of school where I haven't been reading everything I'm supposed to be. I seriously have a case of senioritis going on. I know, wrong year. But I don't want to do ANYTHING. It's pathetic, and I am depressing myself with this condition. I don't like to be one of those people that doens't do what she is supposed to. I know, my fault, and I can hop back on the horse. It's just a bit more difficult than one would think when trying to read Emerson and Moby Dick and Thoreau. All pain the butts, they are. But, BUT, Sparknotes has a whole bunch of the stuff I was supposed to be reading. :) I love Sparknotes, and not just in the way of getting out of reading, but as in reading as a side note, or as notes, or as review. They have a lot more than just literature on there, and I am often tempted just to go take a look at it all and be amused. I love to learn. I just need motivation.

No writing, again. But, one more week after this one and I am done. DONE!

Also, I found a fanfiction, on fanfiction.net, that I like quite a bit. It could use some work, but I love the story. I could have sworn it was sort of kicked off or something before, but apparently not. Or the author reposted. Whichever. But I reread it all, and I can't wait for an update. If you all think I am bad, this author hasn't updated in a year. She plans to, as of September of this year she is still acknowledging it, but who knows how long it could take. I want you all to remember this important lesson when thinking how long it has been since I have updated. :) Also, if you want to find it, it is a Sesshy Kags fic, so under Inuyasha. Type in dance and injury in the search box. I think you get two possibilities, if not just look. Kags was a dancer, got beat up by her old bf and possibly won't be able to dance again. She begins to connect with Sesshy. Pain in the ass ex boyfriend story. :) Can't wait for an update.

That's it for now. I just had to post that I won something. :)

Tchao
BK