Friday, October 28, 2011

Series to make you SHIVER!

I don't want to shock anyone, but I don't read a lot of horror. 

I know. It's amazing.

Rarely do I pick up a book that's solely designed to make me not sleep at night. In fact, I've only ever read 1 Stephen King book and it wasn't even really a horror! It was more political intrigue and it doesn't matter ultimately because I didn't like it anyway. 

In spite of my less than stellar horror track record I do have a couple series that have wormed their ways into my heart - even when that heart is beating a million times a minute because of the OMG IT'S BEHIND YOU RUN AWAY-ness of it all. Since it's October and the weekend before Halloween AND Neil Gaiman is trying to encourage an All Hallows Read celebration of both, I thought sharing these two series would be a bit apropos. Hope you enjoy!

October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire
I've reviewed a few of the October Daye series here on RAtChaos and I think reading over those posts make it pretty clear why this series is so fantastic: a sympathetic heroine, romance, action, and really freaking scary fairy tales come to life! I never know what I'm getting into with McGuire's books so with each new release I'm gripping the edge of my seat trying not to have a complete meltdown. Is anyone going to die? Who is it? What's going to happen next? How is Toby going to get out of this one?!

Most of this can be contributed a gritty dark tone, because we as readers don't have the luxury of accurately predicting the next rabbit hole. It's not a recipe for a comfort read but this series stays with you long after you're done reading and if I can work up the courage they definitely deserve rereads as well.



Nightside Series by Simon R. Green
This series is not joke ya'll - Green keeps the frightening fast and frequent, with John the kick ass detective trying to battle them all. Even when I was squirming inside I had to keep reading (though I have been known to flip a few pages to find out what happens - sssshhh! Don't tell anyone) which I think is the hallmark of a really engaging set of books. The happy ending is not guaranteed and this is not romance, though it has a bit of it here and there which I'm definitely not complaining about. Simon R. Green doesn't really have a function website, and WTF is up with that, but it's rumored that the next book, The Bride Wore Black Leather, is going to be the last in the series. That means you have nothing but time to catch up and nothing holding you back!


Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis

She’s tempting his basic instincts…

Sunshine, Idaho, is a quiet ranching town, a perfect place to give injured animals a refuge…or to find one. And veterinarian Dell Connelly suspects there’s a reason his clinic’s uber-efficient receptionist has taken shelter here.

Jade Bennett couldn’t be happier to escape her well-meaning but smothering family and their expectations, not to mention the big-city jungle. There’s nothing like working with injured animals, having a forlorn, grumpy stray kitten make its home under her desk…or enjoying the gorgeous views of her ruggedly sexy boss.

Jade is used to planning everything in her life, but Dell’s understanding has sparked an uncontrollable desire. And though Dell has never had time for love, Jade’s strength and sass is the kind of call no red-blooded male can resist…
~~

My first Jill Shalvis book and I have book blogs to thank! I'm not sure where I read the review at this point, but when I was wondering around B&N the other day (I had forgotten to bring ANY book with me to work) the name Shalvis jumped out at me.

I'm sure I've said before that I'm a sucker for a good contemporary and this one definitely fit the bill. The story reminded me a little of early Lori Foster, with a strong alpha male (with emotions) falling for a slightly broken but brave female. The focus is on characters of the story, with the town and supporting men and women just as important. Without backup either Jade or Dell could have made different decisions would, of course, be sad to me as a reader who's hoping for a happy ending!

On a more serious note I think the book also does a great job with Jade as a person. She's a woman who's had some hard knocks and that sucks but she's determined to rise above it. Yes it's a bit of cliche, the woman recovering from attack by taking self-defense lessons, but it's an important thing to show just the same, as violence against women is still such a huge issue.

Animal Attraction is a wonderful feel good, small town romance and I can't wait to get my hands on the first book in the series.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.

Series - 1) Animal Magnetism 2) Animal Attraction

Monday, October 24, 2011

Mini Me: The Bite Before Christmas by Heidi Betts

In Heidi Betts’s collection of holiday novellas, vampires turn to Angelina Bertolli—vampire matchmaker extraordinaire—to help them find that special someone to curl up with under the mistletoe…

“All I Vant For Christmas”
Connor loves trimming the Christmas tree, baking gingerbread cookies, and hanging the mistletoe. But his vampire siblings won’t help. His friend Angelina sends party planner Jillian to the rescue. But when Jillian, who’s mortal, discovers she’s decking the halls for a family of vampires, will she run—or will Connor have a beautiful woman to share the holidays with?

“A Vampire in Her Stocking”

When Vivian learns that her secret crush Nick is terminally ill, she’s heartbroken. Confiding in Angelina, Vivian refuses to turn Nick into a vampire. Deciding to play Santa, Angelina changes Nick and leaves him wrapped in a red bow on Vivian’s doorstep…

“It’s A Wonderful Bite”

Although Angelina is happy with her boyfriend Sergio, she’s ready for a commitment. After drinking eggnog and watching It’s a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve, Angelina falls into a dream where she is mortal and Sergio isn’t interested in her. Talk about the nightmare before Christmas! But Santa must have checked his list twice because this Christmas Angelina’s wishes are coming true…
~~

I picked this up for free on my Nook and I have to say I'm really glad I didn't put any money down on this because it's only getting an 'eh' rating for me. None of the stories were horrible but they weren't great either, each suffering (I think) from lack of pages. The stories just went by too quickly so not only did I feel like sometimes relationships and HEA's were too fast (ala "All I Vant for Christmas") some of them just seemed completely implausible ("A Vampire in Her Stocking").

I recognize that this is a Christmas anthology and it's suppose to be filled with glitter and gumdrops, but this is just not my favorite. I could be out of the loop due to lack of world familiarity, as I don't know if Betts has a whole series featuring this background or characters, but this wasn't the best holiday anthology I've ever read. I'd say check it out from the library.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…

As the dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy.

Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who'd cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden.
~~

Ooh Nalini Singh - your words speak to my soul. I haven't read any of the other books in the Royal House of Shadows series but this one fantastic. It makes me want to track down all the earlier books even though I know those haven't been written by her and probably won't be as good. 

Liliana has escaped from her father to find Micah, to try and bring him back to Elden and save his siblings and the kingdom. Unfortunately Micah's lost his memory so she has to navigate not only the secrets of her past but the journey with Micah back to knowing who he is. I have to say though that in this, similar to other great romances, it's the relationship between the two of them that I loved the best. Yes there's a lot of great action and a particularly horrifying villain, but the sparks between these two were unbelievable.

Micah is not just the Lord of the Abyss and his feelings for Liliana prove this over and over. Yeah he can be a bonehead, and sometimes his arrogance was a bit much, but when he's so shaken by her tears that he orders her to stop and tells her she can only do it 4 times a year - and only in his presence - you have to love him. And I have a deep appreciation for the fairytale roots that had Singh writing Liliana has a woman who wasn't typically beautiful - and Micah as a man who saw through to the courageous woman underneath. 

The ending is filled with battles between good and evil and the introduction of some very cool and some very disgusting creatures. Even without the rest of the series as background this story did great as a standalone and I highly recommend it. 

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.

Series - 1) Lord of the Vampires 2) Lord of Rage 3) Lord of the Wolfyn 4) Lord of the Abyss (Dec 2011)

**Title requested from NetGalley from Review**

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Tiger, Tiger by Robyn Donald

Not only opposites attract!

When Lecia first spotted Keane Paget, his presence burned like a shining beacon. He was handsome, certainly, and profoundly male, but the face that stared back at her was otherwise her own!

Lecia was stunned…hypnotized…and it wasn't just his likeness—an unsettling, wild attraction immediately coursed between them. They say that the greater the resemblance, the happier the relationship. But Lecia's passions had only ever led to heartbreak—and guilt!

No, Keane Paget was dangerous. Not only did he have her face, he seemed to see inside her soul! They were too alike for comfort. Resist, resist…. 
~~

Oh Tiger, Tiger - this is book is such an oldy but a goodie for me. I count this as the very first full fledged romance I ever bought (or was bought for me) and it holds a very special place in my heart. I remember picking it up from the book section in K-Mart and reading the entire time I was grocery shopping with my mom. To the point that when I asked her to buy it for me she didn't know why I cared since I only had about 10pgs left! 

The best thing about Tiger, Tiger? This book remains both an example of classic HP stories and a modern romance. Yes I'd say you have to kind of wrap your head around the way Keane and Lecia interact, it definitely retains that 90's feel, but I still enjoy the romance every time I pick it back up. Though I did find myself trying to explain the non-incestuous IN ANY WAY plot to friends who read the back of the book and wow did that remind me how things were rarely what they seemed in those days. I think I can safely say that these days you probably aren't going to find a lot of romances centered around two people who look so much alike that people could mistake them for twins. 

Still, to get to the actual review, I think what makes this book so enjoyable are the characters. Keane is right on the cusp of being too autocratic with Lecia, as he's supposed to be so handsome with this intense animal magnetism that women just can't help but fall for. And yeah Lecia does fall for him but at least she's hesitant about it, and doesn't make any wildly irresponsible decisions. And then Keane shows some emotion and reveals a traumatic past and then who isn't rooting for the damaged soul to find his heart?!

I think this book is part of HP's 'Treasures' list, meaning it should be available on ebook, and I highly recommend it. 

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.

Series - None.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Wickedly Charming by Kristine Grayson

He's given up on happily-ever-after...

Cinderella's Prince Charming is divorced and at a dead end. The new owner of a bookstore, Charming has given up on women, royalty, and anything that smacks of a future.
That is, until he meets up with Mellie...

But she may be the key to happily-right-now...


Mellie is sick and tired of stepmothers being misunderstood. Vampires have redeemed their reputation, why shouldn't stepmothers do the same? Then she runs into the handsomest, most charming man she's ever met and discovers she's going about her mission all wrong...

It's only natural that sparks fly and magic ensues when these two fairy tale refugees put their heads-and vulnerable hearts-together...
~~

If I remember correctly I read Simply Irresistible by Grayson QUITE  a long time ago - there were some positive feelings but I didn't have enough to go on when it came time to read Wickedly Charming. Luckily it didn't matter because this book is a lot of fun and I highly recommend it. 

Charming and Mellie are both in very different places in their lives than they had original expected. Charming has divorced his Cinderella and lost custody of his two daughters, and Mellie is stuck still trying to convince the world that evil stepmothers aren't really all that evil. Neither of them are prepared to meet someone new, whether it's lust or love. 

This book is so much fun to read because even with all the fairy tale and magic it's a story about two people trying to live normal lives who just happen to fall in love while doing it. It's contemporary but not, with enough quirkiness to make me happy and has definitely left me interested in picking up the rest of the series. There aren't enough heartwarming, fun romances these days, books that have a little drama but not too much, with characters you can really root for. Wickedly Charming has all of that and it was great - especially as a 'right before bed' read.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.

Series - 1) Utterly Charming 2) Thoroughly Kissed 3) Wickedly Charming 4) Charming Blue (Fall 2012)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Dreaming of the Wolf by Terry Spear

Jake Silver doesn't believe in fate or dream mating, despite the fact his brother and other family members have been afflicted with this strange notion. But when dreams begin to plague him about a woman so seductive, he wakes up in a sweat and he's losing way too much sleep over it, he seeks to learn the truth. Can dream mating be a reality? Is the woman real?

Alicia Greiston doesn't dream. Not ever. So when a man visits her in the first dream she's ever had, she's startled, pleased, then alarmed. He's not going away, and the dreams take a sinister turn. He's in trouble, and if the dreams are a foreshadowing of the future, she has to save him.
~~

It took me a lot of thinking to narrow down why this book didn't work for me. I like werewolves, I like contemporary, I even like books where  the man immediately senses/knows that the other woman is his mate. Unfortunately none of that in Dreaming of the Wolf were able to make me believe in what was going on.

Without getting too spoilery, Alicia doesn't know that Jake is a werewolf when she meets him and doesn't know that there are werewolves at all until she gets turned into one. But somehow she's completely ok with going back with Jake to his pack, becoming part of this pack, and letting them run roughshod over her entire life? Uh, how about a big HELL NO people! 

I liked Jake, he seems to be a nice enough guy who's in love with a woman he thought was human (which somehow meant they couldn't be together - this must be explained somewhere else in the series) who has to rethink everything when she's turned. He wasn't so much where I had the problem, even if he also just assumed Alicia would be good to go with everything. Alicia drove me nuts too! If I read one more time that Jake was the prince of her happily ever after I was gonna lose it. Be in love with your man - I'm reading a romance so I'd like that to happen - but how about you show some kind of realistic reaction to your entire life getting turned upside down? HEA isn't going to fix the fact that all of a sudden you're turning into a WOLF or that the pack you've stumbled across isn't planning to let you leave - like ever.

I admit this is the first Terry Spear that I've read and that maybe I'd feel differently if I knew the members of the pack and how it functioned a bit better, but this story just didn't work for me at all.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs down.

Series - ... 6) Wolf Fever 7) Heart of the Highland Wolf 8) Dreaming of the Wolf (Dec 2011)

**Title requested for review from NetGalley**

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Hidden Depths by Emma Holly

James and Olivia Forster have been happily married for many years. A harmless kink here or there spices up their love life, but they can’t imagine the kinks they’ll encounter while sneaking off to their beach house for a long hot weekend.

Anso Vitul has ruled the wereseals for one short month. He hardly needs his authority questioned because he’s going crazy from mating heat. Anso’s best friend and male lover Ty offers to help him find the human mate his genes are seeking. To Ty’s amazement, Anso’s quest leads him claim not one partner but a pair. Ty would object, except he too finds the Forsters hopelessly attractive . . . 
~~

After thinking about this review for a while I get the feeling it's my own squeamishness that's making me enjoy this Emma Holly story less than the others I've read. I liked the ending, ultimately I think Holly brings the characters together well and each person seems to be getting what they need (emotionally and physically) but I just couldn't over the beginning!

James and Olivia are happy in their marriage. They have a child, a full sex life, lots of love - really the whole package. But then Anso, because of a 'blood bond', comes onto shore and kidnaps her to be his bride! And when he sees that she's married he takes James too! Plus the whole 'silencing James with the aphrodisiac laden kiss' didn't work for me; instead of finding it titillating I couldn't get over thinking of it as force. Not to put too fine a point on things, force for real and not for fun doesn't work for me.

The story gets better, and more believable, when they get back to Anso's underwater kingdom. There Olivia and James show a reluctance to just accept this 'new life' that Anso dumps on them, even if there's cool magic and political intrigue. And yes, once everyone starts sleeping with everyone else Holly does a good job writing in the emotional turmoil. No one feels perfectly in love and connected with everyone else, which causes stress and hurt feelings. I'm not saying at all that this isn't a well written story; Holly does a wonderful job keeping each character unique and separate and you never think during a sex scene that someone's hand got confused with someone else's foot. Ultimately I just couldn't get over my initial feeling that while things work out for everyone in the end, I didn't like Olivia and James being shook up in the first place.

Overall Feeling - Eh.

Series - None (?)

**Title requested from author for review**

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Angels of Darkness by Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook, Sharon Shinn

"Angel's Wolf by Nalini Singh." In the spellbinding universe of the Guild Hunter, a vampire becomes obsessed with the seductive angel who rules the Louisiana territory. But in her court, all is not what it appears to be.

"Alphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews." A woman is kidnapped into a world divided by a superhuman civil war. As the captive of an irresistibly dangerous male, she has two choices: submit and become a pawn, or take hold of her own destiny.

"Nocturne by Sharon Shinn." Accepting a position in a secluded and whispered-about mansion, a woman soon discovers the source of its mystery: the blind, tormented angel who lives there, and whose secrets could now destroy them both.

"Ascension by Meljean Brook." When vampires disappear from a community he's protecting, a world-weary Guardian doesn't know what evil he's hunting, but he'd rather hunt alone than accept help from his ex-lover and fellow Guardian, Radha. But Radha refuses to leave him, because she's determined not just to help him save the community...but to save him.
~~

If I had to pick favorites, in this anthology it would go "Angel's Wolf", "Nocturne", "Alphas: Origins", and finally "Ascension". It's a great anthology overall, one that gives readers a look into each of the authors' series, but as usual some of the stories spoke to me more than others.

"Angel's Wolf" is the second short from Singh's Archangel world that I've come across and I should probably just suck it up and read the rest of the series. Interesting characters with a different take on angels and vampires - seemingly devoid of most religious connotations - and romance to boot. I like.

I've never read anything by Sharon Shinn before but if "Nocturne" is anything to go by then at the very least she knows how to write smart heroines who aren't afraid to stand up for themselves. Combine that with a sense of humor and what seems like good world building and I'm definitely going to be picking up more titles from her backlist.

I think "Alpha: Origins" was very much not what I was expecting but all in all it wasn't a bad story. It's very quick, with a lot of violence and unexpected relationships between all of the characters, yet I'm intrigued. They've created a very different take on 'angels' and 'monsters' and I hope more comes out in this series because even though I'm not completely hooked yet I can see how I could be.

The Meljean Brook addition, "Ascension", was fine but I don't consider it spectacular. It seemed to go by the fastest so I didn't feel quite as attached to the world and its characters.  I consider it another unique concept and take on angels, but I think a final verdict will have to wait until after I've read more.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs Up (though I wish this was a mass market and not trade - boo $15!)

Series - Various

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Hungry?

Looking for something yummy to make for dinner? Look no further than my 'recipe' for fried rice!

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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Hidden Talents by Emma Holly

Werewolf cop Adam Santini is sworn to protect and serve all the supes in Resurrection, NY—including unsuspecting human Talents who wander in from Outside.

Telekinetic Ari is hot on the trail of a mysterious crime boss who wants to exploit her gift for his own evil ends, a mission that puts her on a collision course with the hottest cop in the RPD. Adam wants Blackwater too, but mostly he wants Ari. She seems to be the mate he’s been yearning for all his life, though getting a former street kid into bed with the Law could be his toughest case to date.
~~

First off let me say that in my head I totally already reviewed this. So sorry for not bringing my blog up to the speed of my brain and only posting this now.

If you haven't already read erotic romance by Emma Holly I think Hidden Talents is a great one to start with. Holly has created an interested sideways look at what could happen in America if there was a city that only some people could see, people who had a certain level of 'talent' that made them up to snuff. Adam is a werewolf in charge of the police force maintaining order and Ari is a talent who didn't even know that Resurrection existed - just that she had some unique abilities and was willing to use them to keep her friends safe.

But what would a paranormal erotica be without the sparks? Ari and Adam are immediately drawn to each other and waste no time giving in (mostly) to those desires. I think Holly is one of the few authors who can make me believe two characters going at it after only knowing each other a matter of hours (especially when one has arrested the other). I'm a romance reader at heart and when there's no affection to go along with all the sex I just don't like it as much. There's defintiely the hot and heavy here but, and I admit there's a bit of the 'destined mate' thing going on, Adam loves Ari and wants her to love him back. Vulnerable alpha male hero for the win!

Overall Feeling - Thumbs Up.

Series - None (?)

September in Review

September was a big month, what with Dragon*Con madness and all. I wasn't able to successfully stalk Jen from Epbot but I did attend some pretty spectacular panels - and I didn't have to wait in line forever either! But, because I'm a bit of a slacker and procrastinator (I know, surprising right?), I'm *still* not done with my daily recaps. I can make up a little with links here to day 1 and day 2. The posts are longer than usual I admit but there are some pretty amazing pictures to try and make it better :D. How do I know they're amazing? Because they include stuff like this:

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See? I'm not lying.

Now on to the books!

Supernatural by Ione, Ivy, Frank, Aiken
Hidden Talents by Emma Holly
Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston
Canyons of Night by Jayne Castle
Heart Search by Robin D. Owens
Coming Undone by Lauren Dane
Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews
Dark Predator by Christine Feehan
Never Enough by Lauren Dane
Once and Again by Lauren Dane
Beast Behaving Badly by Shelly Laurenston
Rush of Pleasure by Rhyannon Byrd
Chaos Tryst by Shirin Dubbin
The Mane Attraction by Shelly Laurenston
One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire
Hidden Depths by Emma Holly

Books Read/Reviewed:
18/13

PS -  I think I'm going to fail miserably with my two reading challenges for the year but you can check out my progress either through the link in the side bar or by clicking HERE.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Geek of the Week (10/3)

Time for a short (but sweet) post filled with geeky goodies!

1) I WANT THIS SO BAD. Sadly it's not a purchase-able item at the moment but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!


2) After all the talk I've read this week about Starfire and the horrible things they've done to her with the DC Universe reboot, it's always heartening to see someone realize how important costume design is to the effect of a character. Even if it's some as well known as Superman.

3) This might be a little serious for Geek of the Week, but it's important -  Kevin Sorbo (of Hercules fame) suffered multiple strokes while filming the iconic television series. Suffering a stroke, let alone multiple, is no small thing so let's remember to listen to our bodies people! Even when one doctor tells you it's nothing never underestimate the power of a second opinion.

4) We gotta end on a happier note though right?! Here's a FANTASTIC fan video of the cosplay from Dragon*Con!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Dragon*Con Day 2

Ok so here we go (or continue) - on to Day 2! Day 2 for me is Saturday and for most people it includes the parade first thing in the morning, but somehow I have yet to see it. I like sleep! Or more accurately, I like sleep and the leisure time to do complicated makeup without feeling pressured by a panel.

To-ma-to, to-mah-to.

According to my phone app, which is such a badass because it STILL shows me the events from Labor Day weekend, I had 23 events that I tentatively wanted to go to. A completely ridiculous goal, especially considering that at least half of them were happening at the same time. I started with the panel 'Hunting Monsters for Fun and Profit' which had both LKH and Sherrilyn Kenyon (with some other authors) there to speak on their worlds and characters.

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It was great as usual, especially since Kenyon has SO MANY BOOKS that any one question takes forever for her to answer or she can't answer at all because each character has their own motivation. Plus I thought it was hilarious that Larry Correia's main character physically takes after himself because he didn't feel like readers saw enough 'big & tall' men representing. And Correia's walked into a spinning ceiling fan. Cause this is apparently something that tall people need to worry about.

I didn't go to any readings, though I had some written down for Rachel Caine and Carole Nelson Douglas. I think I decided that sustenance was more important, which I don't regret because if you don't make time for it you can seriously never eat at Dragon*Con. You'll always find yourself in line, in a panel, or gawking at freaking amazing costumes. Oh and the only reason I didn't go to the Stargate SG-1 panel was because it was out in the freaking WESTIN which not only is hard to get to because it's so far away, the rooms are small! How do I know this you ask? Because they turned people away from Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog's sing-a-long! Which has never happened to me! They turned people away because they didn't empty the room after the Buffy the Musical sing-a-long and then wouldn't even let anyone stick around to see if people left. It was infuriating! And then I found out later that there were empty seats!!! My butt could have been in one of those empty seats! I hate you Westin!

But my very favorite thing of the day was the Star Trek Next Generation panel which had not only Wil Wheaton but Gates McFadden AND Brent Spiner! Dr. Crusher and Data in the house!! Dr. Crusher by the way seems to have not aged a bit, which is both cruel and unfair because we all know I'm not going to be as lucky. I always get unbelievable geek glee when I see a bunch of TNG actors together because you can just see how much they know and like each other. They joke and kid, not only with themselves mind you, but also with the audience, and it makes you like them. And I guess I feel like liking the actors somehow makes it better that I love the show. Which I realize makes no sense but I'm trying to explain a feeling and who makes sense explaining a feeling? No one that's who.

(sorry my picture is blurry, I couldn't any using my flash due to someone in the audience.)
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After that the Rainbow Brite group got together for some general debauchery and it was fantastic. Not only were all of us different modern interpretations of our character's costumes, but even though we all did it our own way we still fit together. And were way hotter than another Rainbow Brite group we randomly ran into (I think about these things ok? I already know I'm a bad person you don't have to tell me :P). What was the best were all the parents who made their kids take pictures with us. The kids would have no idea who we were but to the parents we were a part of their childhood and THEY wanted to memorialize it, even if the kids ended up crying about it later. Plus can you imagine being a little kid at Dragon*Con? Everyone's huge and dressed up and often very scary and here we were, a co-ed group of younger people in brightly colored costumes with big smiles. We were the most non-threatening thing ever.

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And in a case of 'WTF?' for the con, after our original Buddy Blue went off to some kind of panel on polymath decision making (don't ask) we ran into ANOTHER Buddy Blue! With a Canary Yellow! All of a sudden were and even more impressive group of Rainbow Brite cosplayers and we didn't even have to do anything! Even better was the fact that these two were looking for their own group and thought we were them. No one knew anyone else and once they found us people started taking pictures and that was just the end of it. None of us were willing to break up the group and halt the madness so we all just stuck around and had fun.

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This post is starting to get epic again so I'm just going to stop here and say that after pictures Jessica and I went to a Nightmare Before Christmas Panel and it was epic. And if Rogue from Curxshadows would teach a class on almost anything almost anywhere I'd probably attend because he's that badass.

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PS - I also got a moment with my girl crush Yaya Han and not gonna lie - there was definitely some internal squealing going on!


PPS - Oh and Jennie Breeden (The Devil's Panties) got engaged at the Kilt Blowing Saturday night! Love was in the air folks.