Guru Goddess

2.0 out of 5 stars really flat and unattractive characters spoil this

Alex as a hero is just too dull for words. He is self-righteous, cares for no one but himself, and his supposed love for his one-year-old daughter is so extensive he dumps her with a woman he terms a whore in Scotland, determined to never see his wife Charlotte again.

The plot ‘twist’ hinging on his having ruined her in a garden is one thing-the twin brother supposedly having done the deed is another absurd convention for this genre of novel. He is nasty, unforgiving, and incapable of love. The panoply of secondary characters and love affairs we don’t care about pad out an overly long book.

Sophie York lusting after Alex (gross) and getting his twin Patrick in the next book you can see coming a mile off, though that next book is even worse, since Patrick is even more cruel to Sophie than Alex is to Charlotte, if such a thing is possible.

Regencies do not all have to be light and fluffy but I expect characters of consistency and some integrity. Every misunderstanding in the book would have been cleared up had the couple ever spoken to one another, instead of indulging in their sexual obsessions.

The love scenes were terribly wooden and not at all romantic, with her weeping all over the place, him nasty and accusatory, saying the most unforgiveable things which the ninny then forgives!

I am tired of near rape ‘love scenes’ in historical romance. What message are we giving to younger women-that love ‘excuses’ this kind of behavior? Rubbish.

I have read several of her other books, all with the same problems, in terms of the writing, and in terms of the characters’ situations. Add to that the terrible editing and numerous historical errors, and I have given up on this author completely, despite the fact that she came hoghly recommended to me by a romance editor for her supposedly sumptous writing and great love scenes.
Really, if this is all the are offering on the shelves these days, by all means, save your money and write your own novels!
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Losing weight can be a challenge for even the most determined person, especially when you hit a plateau and don’t see the scale budge for weeks, or worse still, see it go up.

 It is not easy, since metabolism and genetics as well as lifestyle all play a role in weight loss, but the only one you can control, or try to control, is the latter.

 While the basic equation of weight loss is simple, you have to burn more calories than you consume, the trouble is that a pound gained is NOT equal to a pound lost. It is actually 2000 calories to put on a pound and 3000 to take it off. 

 The good news is that by adding a few new weight-conscious measures here and there every day to burn more calories, you can win the battle of the bulge and budge that pudge.

 Increase your activity, and decrease your unnecessary calories.  Portion size is key. If you get a bit nibbly, those 100 calorie snack packs can help.

 The most successful dieters keep food journals to track exactly what they eat each day, and when. By becoming aware of your habits, you can see where you ‘lose control’ also where you can whittle down calories without losing out on nutrition. Also, the FDA is recommending a 2000 calorie a day diet, but is that really practical given how many of us lead a sedentary, inactive lifestyle? And it is 2500 for men!

 Once you pinpoint your “hungry” times, you can head them off with healthy snacks like carrot and celery sticks with low fat dressing. Soup is also filling, and we often associate soup and salad with going out to dine and so we can feel really satisfied with a lot less food if we start each lunch and dinner in this way, and make sure to avoid any cream based dressings of soups due to the extra calories from fat.

 Another method is to cut out all beverages other than water. Soda, juice, wine and beer add up to a lot of calories really quickly.  They can also create havoc with your appetite, especially alcohol and it often giving people the munchies, or luring them into eating fattening snacks.  Cutting out high-calorie beverages (including those supposed Vitamin waters that are full of sugar) and replacing them with water or seltzer, or adding seltzer to your juice or wine if you have to have it, make a refreshing spritzer,  will make a major difference to your figure,  while still supplying your body with the hydration it needs throughout the day.

  Liquids will also make you feel fuller faster. Studies also show that milk can help you eat less and lose weight, plus help you metabolize your food better.

 As for changing your activity level, you can take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away from the stores so you will be forced to walk, and move your feet from side to side when you are waiting for a bus or train.

 Gardening, yoga, golfing, can all help you boost your calorie burn, plus, anything that gets you out of the house and away from the fridge is a bonus.  Also, building lean muscle can help you  speed up your metabolism, because your body will run more efficiently and burn up calories faster as a result. 

 You can also work different parts of your body each day, for best results. Try some of the workout programs on Fit TV, yoga, weights, aerobics.  Or rent the fitness DVDS from Netflix on topics like Abs, legs, and so on. Find the ones youlike and do them in a daily rotation.

If you incorporate even a few of these changes into your daily routine, you will begin to see those stubborn pounds slowly melt away, and better still, stay away. You will also have more energy and more muscle, leading to a leaner, firmer, more efficient body.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Trite and dull

After the stunning steaminess of Behind Closed Doors, this author has just got worse and worse. Her second novel didn’t have enough sex, ditto this book. Also, like the second book, the premise of the couple already being in love means there is no heat, no tension, no development of chemistry between them.

The best thing about Behind Closed Doors was the sexual tension, with the couple literally not knowing who they could trust on any level. In both of her last two books, the couples have practically grown up with each other, so there is little mystery. And who on earth marries the guy next door all that often? It is just too safe. Mildly edgy public sex on a motorcycle and at a waterfall does not make for a hot book.

I liked Simon more than I liked her. McKenna can write men for sure, I will give her that, but her women are woeful.

Yes, she can write men, but alas, they are usually Neanderthals, toying on the edge of S/m games  of dominance, and totally challenged by any thinking woman with a bit of independence who desires the more sensual in life.

Simon’s moods swung so rapidly and unaccountably that Ellen ended up sounding like she had a perpetually bad case of PMS trying to keep up with his snippiness.

As for the mystery to be solved, well, the author gives away so much at the start of the book there is no suspense-we know exactly how it is all going to play out.

The secondary plot with Ellen’s fiancee and the town laundry woman is just too unbelievable to be true, and pads out an already well padded book the author no doubt struggled to sustain for about 100 k words.

The author should stick to her guns and write sexy stories if that is what she likes to do. This was dismally dull, watered-down pulp with no suspense and very little romance.

• Keep a fitness diary to stay on track with your health and fitness goals. Start small, like “I will walk 1000 steps today,” and record your successes and how you felt. Gradually boost your steps to 10000 every day.

• 4 short 10-minute work-out sessions can be even more effective than a 40-minute burst. The thing is to keep moving.

• Cable TV has a lot of great workout shows. Find the one that’s right for you and stick to it. You can also record several on tape and play them to break up the monotony.

• Netflix has a full library of workout DVDS. Again, you can view them all and keep note of the ones you like the best, then invest in them.

• Try different styles of workout, from yoga to belly dancing to tai chi to kick boxing. Avoid boredom above all.

• Avoid anything that makes you feel strained, and avoid high impact exercises, especially if you are overweight or have joint trouble.

• Start gradually and work your way up. Don’t try to lift 50 pounds the first time you go to the gym. Start with a weight you can do 20 reps with, and gradually increase both the weight and the repetitions. When you get to a level where you feel bored, increase the weight.

• Avoid toning the same part of your body over and over again. Schedule your daily workouts so that you get to work on all parts of your body at least twice a week, but never two days in a row.

• Don’t punish yourself if you want to have a day off, or take an exercise break. Get back into your routine as soon as possible.

• Stretch and warm up before starting any exercise.

• Practice proper form in any sport or exercise for maximum exercise impact, and to avoid injury.

• If you do join a gym, try out a number of different classes to keep your interest up and meet new people as fitness buddies.

• Try to find a better body buddy. Exercise is more fun if you do it with other people. Do aerobics with a friend or play a sport with your family. Even doubles tennis counts as exercise!

• A change in environment keeps boredom at bay. Don’t just stand on your treadmill or stairclimber, get out to the park, walk up a hill, take the stairs instead of the elevator.

• Taking a nap for 15 to 20 minutes in the afternoon can sharpen your memory, improve alertness, and help reduce fatigue. If you can’t take a nap, set aside some time for lighter activities, such as checking email or answering phone calls.

• Build muscle to boost metabolism. Experts estimate that an additional pound of lean muscle mass can increase resting metabolism by 30-50 calories a day. So turn that chunkiness in the middle to a six pack and you’ll be firing on all cylinders like well-oiled, well fuelled machine.

Above all, enjoy, and be optimistic.
Little changes can add up to big results!
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Healthy Living at the Holidays?

It almost seems impossible, doesn’t it?

But if you eat well all year round, you are much less likely to feel like a locust ravening everything in sight. Sure, you can have a seasonal treat or two, but there is no need to go for seconds.

The trouble with the holidays is that they seem to get longer every year, with a stretch of indulgence that extends from the candy at Halloween, through the turkey with all the fixin’s at Thanksgiving, to Christmas, and right on to New Year’s (and possibly even Valentine’s Day if we aren’t careful!!)

In our offices, there are snacks and treats galore, all within easy reach, adding hundred of extra calories to our diet before we even know we’ve swallowed. Of course we love spending time with our friends, but food and drink become even more of a center of attention than the usual lunches, brunches and dinners.
There are many ways you can control your calorie intake at the holidays. Get a hot air popper (the microwave pop corn is getting very bad press these days), pop your corn, and add a bit of butter spray to it if you are eating it then and there. You can also pop extra, don’t butter it, and bring it to work with a bowl. If you feel like having hot pop corn, you can give it a few seconds in the microwave, and presto, you have a hot snack without a ton of oil, artifical flavor, or chemicals.

Other good choices would be carrot and celery sticks, apple, raisins, to stop you from reaching for the cookie tin or the bowl of nachos and guacamole just waiting to be devoured.

In particular, watch out for the empty calories in alcohol and desserts during the holiday season. They have NO nutritional value, and are NOT a couple of new essential food groups.

Vegetables are, but beware of the hidden calories in mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, and any veggies swimming in butter. The same can be said of seafood and fish.

Also off the menu would be cream-based soups, and anything with a cream sauce on it. We are not only talking calories here, we are talking high in saturated fats. The same is true of nuts. If you are having poultry, avoid the dark meat.

If you are cooking for the holidays, you will have a lot more control. Plan a menu with lots of well-seasoned dishes. A little seasoning can go a long way toward curbing cravings. Try not to taste everything in sight, and do start with soup and salad so that you will already be pretty full before you ever get to the main event.

Beware of the dreaded leftovers as well, which can extend one day of indulgence into several. Send a little care package home with your guests, or freeze them into small tasty lunch sized homemade TV dinners.

If you are going out for the holiday, eat before you go. Again, soup and salad are excellent choices for making you feel full and satisfied. Be polite, but don’t load your plate.

Also, if you are at a buffet, either take a small plate, or load it with salad or veggies first, then the more caloric foods. Make sure you load up on good lean protein if it is available, but again, no sauces or dark meat.

Avoid the dreaded dessert if possible, and beware of eggnog. If you do have to indulge, you and a friend might ‘buddy up’ and agree to share, just to keep an eye on one another.

One final check up, remember, it takes only 2000 additional calories to put on a pound, but 3000 to take one off. Do the math as you deal with your holiday meals, and that should keep you on the straight (and slim!) and narrow even with temptation coming at you from all sides.

Happy Holidays!

Book Review: Behind Closed Doors (The McCloud Brothers, Book 1)
by Shannon McKenna

3.0 out of 5 stars More of a Romantica than a romance
The book was very uneven in a lot of respects, and as I can tell from the reviews at Amazon, a lot of shocked readers did not think they were getting Romantica. Romantica is romantic erotica, and it is one couple with lots of heated erotic situations, as opposed to a lot of characters all having a great old time with each other.

I totally agree that the characters are inconsistent. I also think the villains were too. The whole romantic suspense genre seems to be predicated on the most unlikely people with nothing in common falling into bed together. Or in this case the wall, the shower, and so on.

It also includes several detailed scenes of the villain having sex which were very offputting, as was his voyeurism with the various cameras dotted around his house, and the explicit nature of said activities in various multiples and gender combinations.

The villain was not THAT interesting, and there should never be competing couples (triples?) in a romance novel. Stick to hero and heroine and relationship and love development, not the kitchen sink and stuff thrown in for shock value.

Kensington should make it clear that the Brava line is going to contain material like this. A reader who forked out good money expecting Nora Roberts would well be peeved, not to mention goggled-eyed or even offended.

Having said that, the one thing the book does having going for it is an interesting if totally Neanderthal hero, though I can’ tbelieve he had not had a girl for five years since his brother was killed, he is so rampant. The drought becomes a flood, and Raine is swept away, but I would have liked to see her exercise a bit more common sense and spine. The sexual games they play are not always healthy or safe, and Seth not trusting her toward the end is pretty unforgivable even if their sex life is stupendous.

The book is way too long, with lashings of detail on every movement of his body (where are HER feelings in all of this?) and even the hero says himself they are like a pair of minks. Subtlety, nuance, romance, even foreplay, vanish in a haze of power games on Seth’s part. This novel could have been cut to half its length and toned down and not suffered, and still got commitment and the happily ever after.

Readers who like Susan Johnson, Robin Schone and Thea Devine will enjoy these books, but anyone else should exercise caution. And you can certainly have a ‘bonkbuster’ of a lusty novel without grossing people out or demeaning them.
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1 out of 5 stars A total flat tire

The title of the novel refers to the strange experience familiar character Dillon Savich has on a lonely, snowy road one dark night. Alas, it is hardly developed at all in the book until the last 40 pages or so, and I really can’t see, hard as the author tried, how it is linked up with the supposed hero and heroine of this book, Ben Raven and the daughter of a murdered supreme court justice.

The motive for the murders as the body pile mounts up is absolutely absurd, and the twist at the end totally falls flat. I felt really cheated by this book.

It was nice to see Sherlock and Dillon and their little boy, but the whole relationship between Ben and his lady love is a wet squib and the macho posturing in the living room of Savich’s home is just absurd. A real let down. Neither romantic, nor suspenseful.

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