Best ending of the year + random Medieval & watermelon-related items

I think I am going to put up a hall of fame here on my blog, or like an award thing, and the best ending of the year will go to Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James. (Previous thoughts on book here.)

This was just a delightful book that galloped exuberantly to its end! It was a perfect ending in every way. And though obviously, this being a romantic comedy, you grow to expect a certain ending, there were elements of it came as a pleasant surprise. But don't get me wrong--the seeds of the ending were in the story. It lived up to the 'unexpected yet inevitable' maxim for endings. Oh, I love an ending like that. I don't know what to say, this was a great ending. It was just all so perfectly done. Okay, this is a terrible blog post, I know.

My new yummy MedievalIn other book news, I have begun Immortal Warrior by Lisa Hendrix, which I won from the ever lovely and kind Leslie of Leslie's Psyche. I wanted to read it for two reasons: it's set in 1095, and I was craving that time period. Also, the hero turns into an eagle at night, and I like that. I really enjoy birds and, well, all critters, really.

And I'm really enjoying this book, too. There was this sweet scene in the beginning where pigeon pie is served and Ivo, the eagle-by-day hero, refused to eat it. There was also this interesting bit where Ivo muses on the arrangement of the pieces on the chessboard, thinking how times have changed, what with the religious pieces flanking the king and queen, and the knights and castles farther away.

Wow! It had never occurred to me that the standard arrangement of the chess pieces mirrored Medieval political realities. I LOVE learning new things in books like this! Even though there's not much eagle action, Immortal Warrior is satisfying my time period craving. Read more about it here.

My new favorite fruit

In still other news, it is beastly hot here in Minneapolis, and I have had watermelon for dinner for several days. Amazingly, watermelon really fills you up and quenches your thirst at the same time. I have rediscovered watermelon! Watermelon is now officially my favorite fruit. Note: I am not in that photo.

Practice Makes Perfect: Best Angry almost-kiss & timing of goodies

Great moments from last night's reading
Book: Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James

Page: 80 (that's where the moment is but I'm a bit farther)

Spoiler level: very low

Okay, plot, quickly
Two hotshot lawyers with different worldviews compete for partnership. They've hated each other for eight years and as their competition heats up, so does their unexpected passion.

So, as some readers may recall, I'm a great fan of the angry sex in books. Great fan. As I found reading Practice Makes Perfect, I am just as big a fan of the angry kiss, or even this, the great angry almost kiss:

Payton felt her face flush with anger. "Really? Well you know what I think, J.D.?" She jabbed his chest with one of her fingers. "I think that you are an uptight, pony-owning, trickle-down-economics-loving, Scotch-on-the-rocks-drinking, my-wife-better-take-my-last-name sexist jerk!"

J.D. grabbed her hand and pulled it away. "Well, at least I'm not a stubborn, button-pushing, Prius-driving, chip-on-your-shoulder-holding, 'stay-at-home-mom' -is-the-eighth-dirty-word-thinking feminazi!"

He had her pressed against the bookshelves, his body against hers, her hand pinned to her side as he glared down at her. She glared up at him right back.

He was furious. So was she.

Neither of them moved. And in that moment, the strangest thought popped into Payton's head.

She had the feeling that J.D. was going to kiss her.

And - even stranger - she had the feeling that she just might let him.

J.D. must have read the look on her face. Payton saw his eyes flash - but not with anger this time - and she felt his hand suddenly reach for the nape of her neck, the strength of his arms pulling her in, his head bending down to hers, and even as she cursed him for thinking she would ever, ever, allow it, she closed her eyes and parted her lips and -

"Excuse me."

[Quick digression: Wow, I have to say that I really sometimes learn so much from typing these passages out. Check out the paragraph breaks - I think they are really effective, and I wouldn't have noticed them at all if I hadn't been forced to retype here. {esp. He was furious. So was she. As a paragraph} If this was in my WIP, I wouldn't have thought of this; I imagine I'd have changed the pronouns around and stuck she was furious with the para above, and stuck so was he below, heading the next, or left it lonely. But this is so much better. Oh, the balance. Julie James, nice paragraphing! In fact, actually, maybe I wouldn't have put either furious bit in at all, thinking I'd shown it sufficiently, so why tell? (ye old Show don't tell rule) But this tell really adds. This is a place where telling enriches, and creates a sweet little balance. Just great.]

Ahem. Anyway, the librarian arrives and interrupts the angry almost-kiss. Isn't this scene just so wonderful? It comes sort of early, on page 80, and it's a fabulous moment of relief from the battle--a moment I wasn't expecting.

This is something that Practice Makes Perfect has in common with The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie, another book I greatly enjoyed: just when I'm expecting to be put through a little bit of hell by the author, she gives me flowers and candy. In both books, I'd find myself thinking, if only this would happen or, OMG, it would be so great if only...etc. etc. And then, the thing I wanted to happen would actually happen, right there, (and not 170 pages later.)

I am so full of admiration for authors who can do this.
Because I see it as such a difficult dance: obviously, if an author gives the reader too much candy and flowers, the book ends up being a bore with no tension and nothing to anticipate. But if the balance is the other way and it's all tension and angst with no relief and no little treats and tastes to keep us happy, and well, hell, that's no fun.

Renee recently wrote a post on angst fatigue in a historical (not either of these books), and a lot of people commented with the same problem. And I think this lack of bright spots of relief is part of it when I get angst fatigue. Though I also think it happens when I'm not given something wonderful to look forward to.

Anyway, more on Practice Makes Perfect later, but I wanted to say that I'm loving it for giving me candy and flowers at the just-perfect times while remaining exciting and fun to read.

Proper reviews: Madness at RRR, Practice Makes Perfect at RRR, PMP at Book Binge, PMP at Babbles. Actually, now that I've started this list, I realize most everyone has discussed both.
Image: Detail from the kiss by Francesco Hayez, from Wikimedia

Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James

Okay, I couldn't believe how damn delightful Just the Sexiest Man Alive was. What a complete and total pleasure to read!!

Even doing this review now, I find myself thinking back on reading the book almost the way I'd look back on a really wonderful thing that happened to me. Do you ever get that? This is definitely one of my best books of 2009 so far! This and Kiss of a Demon King.

The plot, quickly: Taylor Donovan is this high-caliber Chicago lawyer who gets sent to L.A. on a case. Taylor ends up being forced, much to her annoyance, to take time out of her busy schedule to coach a mega-movie star Jason Andrews to help him prepare for his new courtroom drama. (Guess who I was going with for the star. And his initials are not RC.)

Basically, Jason the movie star acts like an entitled jerk, Taylor decides she hates him, Jason falls in love with her, she'll have none of it.

The fantasy of it was just delicious clear through. There was a bit of the Cinderella story in here, and while I'm generally cynical toward the whole Cinderella thing (I'm much more a Little Red Riding Hood gal), this was such sassy and clever Cinderella action, I couldn't resist. The thing is full of great moments.

Example: Big movie star Jason blows off the first meeting his assistant schedules with Taylor, and then their second meeting, too, making career-minded Taylor miss some critical stuff on her important case.

Finally, days later, Mr. Entitlement waltzes in while Taylor's in court, and afterwards expects her to drop everything and stay behind and do some tutoring on how a lawyer is supposed to act. Not very squiriferous!

So let me set the stage: they're alone in the courtroom. She's pissed. Jason's like, c'mon lady lawyer, put me on the stand and show how to question a witness. So she puts him up there--I just love this scene:

Taylor launched into the first question of her "mock" cross-examination.

"Mr. Andrews--you are aware, are you not, that your assistant made arrangements for you to be at my office last Thursday?"

Jason smiled as if he found her challenge to be amusing. He eased back in the witness stand, getting comfortable. "Yes, I am aware of that, Ms. Donovan."

"You did not show up for that appointment, did you?"

"That is correct."

"And you are aware that after failing to show up for that first appointment, your assistant made subsequent arrangements for you to be at my office on Friday morning; is that correct?"

Jason stretched out and crossed one leg over the other, seemingly unconcerned with such a trifling line of questioning.

She goes on to inquire whether he owns a cell phone, and if he knows how to operate one, and is soon busting him on fudging answers about where he was the day of the first meeting, and on and on. And then this:

When his gaze met Taylor's, he detected the faintest trace of a smug smile in her eyes. It was then he realized something.
She was toying with him.
She was toying with him.

I just want to type out this whole scene, because it's so fun. Suffice to say, Taylor totally toys with him, makes him look like a fool, then walks out, leaving Jason sitting there, shocked.

A lot has been made of the banter between these two characters, and rightly so. I have two things to add there. One, it's a fabulous feat of the old show-don't-tell maxim. The dialogue between Taylor and Jason just sparkles. It sings! And then when Taylor interacts with other possible suitors within the story, the chemistry isn't there, and the reader gets, in this wonderfully direct way, that the hero and heroine SO belong together.

Thing two: I think Julie James has a fantastic writerly memory of her own text. These characters are constantly pulling little things up out of past conversations and incidents and evolving all these little inside jokes and callbacks, sort of creating their own world out of their banter...oh, it really is just wonderful.

What's more, Julie James sort of does that callback thing with the reader, too, puts in these little details that she turns around and uses later. The result is that, as a reader, I felt "on the inside" with this book, instead of on the outside. Do you know what I mean?

Here's a really minor example: the button thing. Taylor has to rendezvous with Jason for a dinner "meeting" he's finagled. What to wear? She doesn't want to look like she thinks she's on a date, and deliberates at length on her white shirt: "two buttons open, or three? Two or three? She went back and forth in the bathroom mirror at least ten times." You don't find out the answer; suddenly she's parking, at the restaurant, she's arrived late. She apologizes, yada yada, and two pages later:

Taylor watched as his eyes skimmed over her shirt with an appreciative look.
Dammit. She knew she shouldn't have gone with the three buttons.

Great callbacks. What fun. Bottom line: I loved living in the world and the fun situations of this book, and I was sad to leave it. But that's okay, because I understand from a little bird that James' follow-up, Practice Makes Perfect, which hits stores in a week, is every bit as excellent.

Reviewed by the Romance Reader here, Dear Author here, Aaaah Romance here, and loved to pieces by powerpuffs Katie Babbling about Books and Ana at Book Smugglers. Nominated tops of 2008 in two categories at RNTV, and one of the best authors of 2008 by Book Binge.