Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan are the founders of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books website and blog have published a book that has caught the eye of romance authors and romance readers alike. Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan is a wonderful laugh-inducing literary criticism of the romance genre. The authors of this book, both avid romance readers, delve into everything romance readers’ love and love to laugh at about the genre. Subjects discussed in Beyond Heaving Bosoms include “Cringe-Worthy Plot Devices”, “The Covers, and The Reasons to Snark Them”, and “Defending the Genre”. There are also in depth analysis of heroines and heroes. The book also includes “The Ten Commandments of Heroine Conduct” and “The Bitches’ Dictionary” which provides definitions of stock characters and situations that can be found in nearly every subgenre of the romance novel. Beyond Heaving Bosoms includes lots of fun and games such as “Choose Your Own Man Tatty”, the Romance genre’s answer to Choose Your Own Adventure, a color by numbers Romance cover, and “Write Your Own Romance” (a Mad-Lib game) just to name a few. While some games and activities like the Romance maze allow for only one player, others like “The Smart Bitches’ Big Mis Game”, “Create Your Own Deflowering Scene”, and “Anatomy of a Truly Excellent Romance Cover Treasure Hunt” are great for a Girls’ Night In. Reading Beyond Heaving Bosoms is like chatting with friends. Beyond Heaving Bosoms is great light-hearted read for both avid romance readers and fans of other genres alike.
Spoiler Alert!: The most important spoiler for the season so far is in this review.
by Courtney Hilden
Oh, hi, Detroit 187, it's been a long time since we've checked in with you. The first thing this episode covered, and probably the biggest change on the show, is the death of Detective Stone. He sort of died off screen, as the audience watched him get shot and then they ended the episode there. And when we returned, there were the detectives, mourning his loss. Given that Stone was one of the few white and young actors on the show, it's surprising that they killed him off. This is actually sort of admirable, because usually when they kill off characters they are the person of color who has always been relegated to a side character anyway. Here's hoping the show will allow the other characters, almost all who are people of color, will be the focus of the show. They are far more interesting. That said, the characters got over Stone's death pretty quickly. By about fifteen minutes into the episode, it was easy to conclude that no one on the team had died, judging by how business as usual the characters were. Sanchez, as a woman (and the only woman really on this team, as one of the others is a boss and the other is federal) was the only one allowed to mourn, which adheres to our culture's insistance that only women can (should, are weaker for) showing emotion and that men never feel anything, especially not for a colleague or friend. The scene between Sanchez and Fitch, talking about Stone, rang incredibly false. The actress playing Sanchez seemed to struggle to be sad. Speaking of feminism, it would have been easy for this show to turn Fitch's wife, Linda, into a sterotype, but instead, they showed her as someone who wanted her son to know his father and wanted to avoid a confrontation with him. This is possibly the most heartaching and realistic-kid-centric divorced couple I've seen on television. That said, taken in the context of Sanchez, Latina as female stereotype and Linda, white woman as not a female stereotype, I was bothered. Linda, a white character, is allowed to be more than her identity as a white woman, while Sanchez is confined to the stereotypes of Latinas as histronic. Or, put another way, Sanchez, as a woman of color has been defined solely as a woman of color, and nothing beyond that. (As of this episode, Sanchez is also the character with the least to do or the least backstory. The show has spent time showing the audience Fitch's family problems, Washington's relative family bliss, Longford's struggle with whether or not to retire, and Mahajan, with his romantic life. When are they going to give Sanchez something to do other than be a love interest of Stone and Fitch? When is she going to be defined as more than a woman for male characters to desire?) That said, this show as a whole has done been doing some wonderful things with their soundtrack and set. The soundtrack has been a wonderful blend of old school and new school, with an emphasis on music that has come out of Detroit. The graffiti in this episode was also great. "At least Katrina was quick." That's a wonderful bit of on-the-nose politics. Nice. And the best moment? Bobby freaking out Washington by calling him on the phone.
by Courtney Hilden Spoilers: This review gives away almost all of the surprises of this books.
When sitting down to review From Dead to Worse, the eighth book in the Southern Vampire Series, I found myself wondering what I could possibly say as to what the plot was. The plot was really several episodes thrown in together. One involves Sookie meeting a new, mysterious (of course he’s mysterious, this series is nominally a mystery series) relative, another has a Nicene war within the local werewolf pack, another features a hostile takeover, and finally there’s a broken marriage thrown in for good mix. The plot sort of meanders along, and although this would usually be a good thing, it is unlike previous books in Harris’s series, and feels less controlled. This tight, no-flab writing was one of the most admirable things about Harris’s series, which lacked the bloat of other popular urban fantasies and romances. The book felt like Harris is setting up for something else (what I do not know, as I have yet to read further), maybe giving us pertinent information for future books, but otherwise feeling like a letdown.
The other majorly disappointing thing about the book is staving off (yet again!) the romance between Sookie and Eric. Eric, finally remembering everything that took place four books ago, has yet to have an important “talk” with Sookie. This is getting dragged out to the point of boredom. And also, when is Bill going to disappear? His earliest scene, talking to an undressing Sookie, felt forced, and in light on the events of the book, was totally unnecessary to the rest of the plot. His later moments in the book, talking to her on her porch and then arriving at her house during a crisis, felt more like a way to insert an otherwise useless character into the plot and way to compensate Bill/Sookie shippers for having thrown in their lot with not only a jerk of a character but a bland jerk of a character. He is the sort of person, excuse me, vampire, who desperately needs a hobby.
It seems increasingly unlikely that Sookie would still want Bill, given that he has not done much other than talk about wanting to love her. Meanwhile, Eric has shown all the initiative to respect her enough to be there for her when she meets her mysterious relative (telling her he’s there for her but backing off and allowing her to make her own decisions.) And he has shown pragmatism and care for his followers and employers. Of all the tyrants in this series, he is the least interested in power for power’s sake and the unhappiest with what power he has. Why can’t Sookie see that?
Also getting more “page time” in the series is Sam, who was also steadfastly by Sookie’s side throughout the book, helping her when he could. His back story near the end felt a bit rushed, but otherwise Sam’s a lovable character, and a great match for Sookie too.
The last quibble with this book is over lesbian relationships. Even though Amelia could be in either a heterosexual or homosexual relationship, and the book flirts briefly with Amelia and Pam as a couple, Amelia’s longer relations are always with me. Other women with women pairings are shown in earlier parts of the series as dangerous, and there’s something deeply sad and disappointing about this.
Readers could do worse than this series or even this book, which is one of the lower books within the series. The writing is still interesting, the world still imaginative, and there was even a surprise or two.
A review of "I Have a Right to Sing the Blues"
by Courtney Hilden Spoiler Alert!: Some of the surprises at in this episode of True Blood are given away or eluded to.
In the latest episode of True Blood, Jason continued to woo Crystal, only to discover that she is engaged to another man (who also looks like he is perpetually in a bar fight.) Crystal is bringing out the sweetest and gentlest aspects of Jason and will hopefully this will distract him from his desire to become a cop without doing anything to earn being a cop. Lafayette spent a day and evening with Jesus, only to have it ruined by a bunch of rednecks who beat up on Lafayette's new car with a baseball bat. Tara was able to con Franklin into letting her out of her chains, and attempted to save herself and Sookie. Sam discovered what was really happening to his little brother, and went out to try and save him. And the King of Mississippi discussed how much he hates normal humans.
Lafayette and his new beau, Jesus, deserve the award for cutest couple on the show. I'm terrified that Jesus is going to turn out to be a bad guy, as so many of the romantic potentials on this show turn out to be exactly that, especially when he got going on his religious beliefs over the Gods that Lafayette has in his house. It was heartbreaking to watch a group of homophobes take down Lafayette's car, because it lead to Jesus realizing he didn't want to be around them.
Erik's desire for his father's crown looks like it's going to be his motivation for the rest of the season. It's a pity, since Erik is usually so much more interesting and complex than this. The only good thing that has come of this storyline so far is that it has allowed the audience to see a man using sex to get what he wants, instead of just the female characters on this show.
The costume people deserve points for their great work with Lafayette's costumes alone, but this show also had a great moment in women's costumes, when a customer at Merlotte's was wearing curlers in her hair. What a hilarious costume. Sophie-Ann, meanwhile, is also rocking out a great queenly look crossed with a business power suit crossed with the 1920s. All the blood on the Lorena's costume in the second half of the episode was also perfect. It's a little sad to see such pretty clothes being destroyed, but it also looks great and goes well with the horror tone of the show. Melinda's nice blouse and combed hair was also a nice change for her, who has always looked liked she was rolling around in mud.
It's also a relief to see Tara attempting to gain some control over her situation with Franklin. It's good to see she is smart enough to realize how to get to Franklin and how to manipulate him, hopefully to her gain. It's also a pleasure to see Tara and Sookie planning to save each other. So many shows have men saving a damsel in distress, or, if the audience is lucky, a woman saving the day. It is a nice change of pace to see a woman attempting to save herself and another woman.
The season seems to have a lot of people trying to save each other, or save themselves. In Sam's case, he's trying to save his family, which are doing things he has only started to glimpse. His own mother's belief that he isn't truly family is heart-breaking, given how much he does want to save them.
In the not-so-good department, Sookie and the King's question and answer game was one of the longest, drawn-out and boring scenes, which is sad because it's suppose to be one of the most terrifying moments on the show. The entire storyline involving Bill's time in Mississippi is long and boring. The more characters it brings in, even the great ones, do not help the situation. The only good thing that has come out of this storyline is Bill's small speech to Lorena about how much he wished he could have seen her before she turned. It was the beginning to the great break moment between Lorena and Bill.
Spoiler Alert!: Certain details of the latest episode of True Blood are revealed in this review. by Courtney Hilden
Given the nature of True Blood, with it now multiple storylines all moving at once, it seemed more effective to simply work through each plot instead of trying to analyze the work has a whole, which it in some ways is not. Let's get started: -The scene with Franklin texting for Tara was funny, but still very squishy, given how messed up Franklin is. It was such a relief to see her get out of her robes and make a run for it, especially since watching her confined episode after episode was disheartening. They're obviously working the battered woman syndrome, where Tara feels genuinely bad for hurting Franklin, though he's obviously the one hurting her. -Kenya is so smart and capable. Hopefully we'll see more of her soon. Given the storylines with some many female characters who are submissive to men, it is nice to have one who demands respect from her co-workers. Also nice is the power that Sookie appears to be developing. Hopefully this will allow her real power amongst the mostly male supernatural characters. -Looks like Jason is not going to leave the whole "being a cop" thing. It's too bad, because after last season, I was hoping that Jason would evolve as a character, and instead he's doing the same thing he always does, just with more resources at his disposal for trouble. Although it seems clear from his running Crystal down in a cop car that he at least understands what cops do in porn films, so maybe that is a sign of progress. In the books, the "romance" between Crystal and Jason is mostly physical, but here they have decided to change it so that it is more of a Romeo and Juliet style story, in which both of them are from different groups of people. Of course, what Jason does not yet know is that she's not just from Hotshot, she's also supernatural, and will change him into something supernatural. The actress who plays Crystal is lovely.
-Would someone put a gallery together of all the great outfits Lafayette wears? That man has a great sense of style. Lafayette being so unfamiliar with romantic attention was so cute. -Also dealing with romantic attention was Jessica. Hoyt showing up to her workplace with a girl was the ultimate in hurtful. -Sam's family problems are so hard to watch. Sam is not stupid, which given the majority of the other characters on this show, is refreshing. It's good to see that he at least sees things as a problem, unlike Jason who does not even try to improve or Sookie who runs into everything and every man that looks like a bad idea. Again, Sam's family problems seemed centered around abuse, just a slightly different abuse than the one poor Tara is experiencing. -Speaking of family, Eric is clearly worried for his vampire daughter. His loyalty to his own is admirable, especially considering how everyone else concentrates on what a jerk he is. His backstory about being a Viking prince has been, by far, the only interesting backstory this entire series. Not that we need more of them, since they generally do not illuminate much about the characters they show. -And finally, Terry Bellefleur is so sweet. Watching him cry over his about-to-be normal life was so darling.
by Courtney Hilden Spoiler Alert!: This is one of those romance novels with a mystery, and some of the clues are given away in this review. Make Your Move by Samantha Hunter is about a young woman and entrepreneur, Jodie, and her business partner and best friend, Dan. Jodie and Dan own their own bakery with cookies that contain a "special ingredient" that work somewhat similarly to Spanish Fly combined with an aphrodisiac. In his day job, Dan works as a scientist at a university, which is how he developed the ingredient. Dan's in love with Jodie and they both decide to give it a try. This would all be fine and lovely if it weren't for the fact that someone has broken into the bakery and stolen the ingredient, blackmailing them both. Usually, romance novels suffer from a lack of plot, but this one works to at least have obstacles for the characters to overcome, both romantically and professionally. There's a small mystery to solve, and Hunter smartly sets it up so that there's easily a least four potential thieves at the beginning of the novel. It's almost too bad that Hunter didn't stretch this mystery out a little more, since it would be a great opportunity to set up more time for Dan and Jodie to explore their feelings for one another, and bring to light some of the emotionally problems Jodie has with men. It's also a pity that the thief turned out to be the most obvious answer, instead of someone less expected or more complicated. The "science" of this special ingredient is handled well. Often, when writers create something that is fantastic, they break their own rules of the story to make something else go a particular way. Here, Hunter defines the rules early and sticks to them. Although some of the characters themselves confuse the "science" with other things, they get set right, and the story itself never deviates. So much of science-fiction and fantasy, not just in books but in film, could learn from this example. On the issue of feminism, this book, like so many others, makes Dan stereotypically macho, with him showing possessiveness and being violent. Although Jodie is in no way helpless or pathetic, since she has built a business from the ground up, is often sidelined for Dan, who is so smart and manly. It would be nice, for a change, for men and women to be defined by something other than their gender. Also, making Jodie's business a traditional womanly art is not really as feminist as it might first appear. And Ginger, Jodie's best friend, is not somehow better for getting back together with her husband who just left her and then suddenly changes into a good man. One of the stronger romances out there, and one that actually attempts a plot. (And, it should be said, a plot that could probably stand on its own as a short story.) Like most romances and romance novels, it's imperfect and quick.
by Courtney Hilden Spoiler Alert!: The ending for this episode is revealed in this review.
"The Lodger" follows the Doctor after he has been rejected out of the TARDIS into a small English town. Amy can't seem to land the TARDIS, and the Doctor follows whatever is making it so into a set of flats. He becomes the lodger at Craig's (James Corden) place, who is trying to ask out one of his best friends, Sophie (Daisy Haggard).
It's good to see that this episode wasn't a recycled plot from a recent episode. Instead, we got to see what Amy and the Doctor are like without each other in each other's environments, which was a nice change of pace. It was nice to see the Doctor do "normal" things, like having a flatmate and playing football. On the last bit, it would have also be fun to see the Doctor muck up at football, but it worked better in the overall storyline for him to be good. Seeing the Doctor shirtless was also nice. Maybe Matt Smith should think about playing a Greek god. The couple featured was way too cute. They both like each other, they both know they like each other, but they're both way too shy. The Doctor has turned into a matchmaker, realizing very quickly at the romance blooming. It seemed obvious that Sophie was going to be captured by whatever it was in the upper flat which would finally galvanize Craig and Sophie to confess their love for one another.
Sometimes it seems like the crew needs to scout out some more shooting locations, because the town that was featured in this episode looked exactly like the one featured in the first episodes of the series. But it was a great penultimate episode, setting us up for the conclusion of the this series and the promised resolution of what the cracks all about the universe are about.
by Clare MacGregor
