So happy new year! A belated greeting, sorry. Been caught up with a lot of personal stuff. But now that’s over, and since my 2006 book list is officially over, I’m starting my 2007 book list! ^^;

I’m thinking of opening a book journal. Maybe a subsection of this site. I dunno. I really want to expound more on why I gave these books such and such grade. Let’s see what I come up with.

001. Seize The Night (Sherrilyn Kenyon) | Jan 03, 2007 | B+
002. Eragon (Christopher Paolini) | Jan 14, 2007 | A-
003. Dark Side of the Moon (Sherrilyn Kenyon) | Jan 22, 2007 | B+
004. Every Breath You Take (Judith McNaught) | Feb 13, 2007 | B+ | Paperback Ed.
005. Billionaire Prefer Blondes (Suzanne Enoch) | Feb 17, 2007 | A-
006. Dragonswan (Sherrilyn Kenyon) | Feb 19, 2007 | B
007. The Dream-Hunter (Sherrilyn Kenyon) | Feb 26, 2007 | B+
008. True Confessions (Rachel Gibson) | Mar 05, 2007 | B/B+
009. I’m In No Mood For Love (Rachel Gibson) | Mar 12, 2007 | B
010. Dark Secret (Christine Feehan) | Mar 19, 2007 | B
011. Natural Born Charmer (Susan Elizabeth Phillips) | Mar 24, 2007 | A-
012. Dark Prince (Christine Feehan) | Mar 31, 2007 | B
013. Her Only Desire (Gaelen Foley) | Apr 07, 2007 | B+
014. A Pirate Of Her Own (Kinley MacGregor) | Apr 12, 2007 | B+
015. Return of the Warrior (Kinley MacGregor) | Apr 16, 2007 | B+
016. Lover Revealed (J.R. Ward) | Apr 25, 2007 | B+
017. Winter Born (Sherrilyn Kenyon) | Apr 27, 2007 | B+
018. Prince of Dreams (Lisa Kleypas) | May 01, 2007 | B
019. Sword of Darkness (Kinley MacGregor) | May 05, 2007 | B+
020. It Had To Be You (Susan Elizabeth Phillips | May 11, 2007 | A | Reread
021. Heaven, Texas (Susan Elizabeth Phillips | May 17, 2007 | A | Reread
022. Nobody’s Baby But Mine (Susan Elizabeth Phillips) | May 22, 2007 | B+ | Reread
023. Dream A Little Dream (Susan Elizabeth Phillips) | Jun 08, 2007 | B+ | Reread
024. It Must Be Love (Rachel Gibson) | Jun 12, 2007 | B
025. Sins of a Duke (Suzanne Enoch) | Jun 17, 2007 | B+
026. Bet Me (Jennifer Crusie) | Jun 21, 2007 | B+
027. Knight of Darkness (Kinley MacGregor) | Jun 24, 2007 | B+
028. Naked In Death (J.D. Robb) | Jun 30, 2007 | B+
029. A Hard Day’s Night Searcher | Jun 30, 2007 | B
030. Faking It (Jennifer Crusie) | Jul 06, 2007 | B
031. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | Jul 23, 2007 | A-
032. Dark Magic (Christine Feehan) | Aug 13, 2007 | B
033. The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever (Julia Quinn) | Aug 20, 2007 | B+
034. Devil May Cry (Sherrilyn Kenyon) | Aug 27, 2007 | A-
035. Meet Me At Midnight (Suzanne Enoch) | Sep 08, 2007 | B+
036. Twilight (Stephenie Meyer) | Sep 22, 2007 | A-
037. Twice the Temptation (Suzanne Enoch) | Sep 26, 2007 | A
038. New Moon (Stephenie Meyer) | Oct 02, 2007 | A
039. Eclipse (Stephenie Meyer) | Oct 10, 2007 | A-
040. Touch of Minx (Suzanne Enoch) | Oct 20, 2007 | A
041. Lover Unbound (J.R. Ward) | Oct 27, 2007 | B
042. Mine Till Midnight (Lisa Kleypas) | Nov 11, 2007 | B
043. Upon a Midnight Clear (Sherrilyn Kenyon) | Nov 14, 2007 | B
044. Golden Compass (Philip Pullman) | Dec 06, 2007 | B
045. Taming Rafe (Suzanne Enoch) Dec 15, 2007 | B
046. Fancy Pants (Susan Elizabeth Phillips) | Dec 25, 2007 | A

Scandal In Spring (A-)
Lisa Kleypas

Lisa Kleypas’ Scandal In Spring is one of the books that I was absolutely looking forward to since March after reading her Devil In Winter.

Scandal In Spring is her finisher to her Wallflower series. I really enjoyed this one. Or maybe because I’m comparing it too much to Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton finisher, On The Way To The Wedding. OTWTTW disappointed me a bit since most parts of the book dragged on too much except for the ending which really was good. On the other hand, SIS kept me interested from start to finish. I like the banter and interaction between the hero and heroine of the story, Matthew Swift and Daisy Bowman. From DIW, I was looking forward to a Cam/Daisy book. Then when I learned from Kleypas’ website that it won’t be about Cam/Daisy. I was a bit disappointed but that didn’t deter me from getting excited about the book. Glad that it didn’t too since I like Matthew a lot. It was adorable how enamored Matthew will be of Daisy singing her praises, then the next minute he’ll be bickering with her, then he’ll be trying to make Llandrindon fall in love with her and then the next he can’t get enough of her. As for Daisy, it was weird coz it was like I was reading myself in her. Ever since I took the wallflower quiz in Kleypas’ website even before DIW came out, I wondered why I always get Daisy. And now I know. Dreamer. Romantic. High standards. Yeah, pretty much me. Maybe that’s why I like her. :P

I did notice one thing though. At the end of the book, it sorta reminded me of the ending of Judith McNaught’s Once & Always. Drowning. Ghost. Illusions. Especially when Daisy said, “Please be real. Please don’t be a dream.”

Ranking Lisa Kleypas’ Wallflower books, personally, my favorite is Devil In Winter, followed by Scandal In Spring, then It Happened One Autumn, and lastly Secrets of a Summer Night. Because I still absolutely love Sebastian, it’s the main reason why I’m placing DIW on top. I also like Marcus, especially outside IHOA in SOASN, Against The Magic and Worth Any Price but there’s just something lacking in IHOA that makes me like it only a little less than SIS. I like the bickering between him and Lily though. SOASN, though still good, only picked up the pace for me when Simon and Anabelle got together.

( Which wallflower are you? )

Devil In Winter by Lisa Kleypas (Grade: A)

Finished reading this morning Lisa Kleypas‘ Devil In Winter. Grabbed it over the weekend but I have to finish my re-read of Julia Quinn’s When He Was Wicked first before I even start on Kleypas. Anyway, this is one of the books that I was waiting for. And I was just ecstatic when I saw that it was already available in Fullybooked. I was thinking that maybe, I’ll be able to get the book by April or middle of March the earliest. Lo and behold! It was there underneath the shelves as if someone was trying to hide it. Sorry for her, lucky for me I was able to see it the second time I passed through the shelves. XD

I think this is one of my most favorite Kleypas books ever. And with this she really did earn her right in my top romance authors together with Judith McNaught, Julie Garwood, Julia Quinn and Jill Barnett. Oh, no! Now, I have an L with my J author love! XD

Anyway, one of my weakness in a love story is the bad hero turned good because of the heroine. Or as the case of most romance books, the reformed rake being changed by the girl. And I think that’s the main reason why I love this book so much. The book is part of Kleypas’ Wallflower series but before reading this one, Evie (the heroine) wasn’t really my favorite Wallflower. But after that, she climbed up a notch in my eyes. As for the hero, Sebastian stands as my most favorite hero in her Wallflower series, not in her entire collection though. I’ve read several thoughts and reviews that St. Vincent was cruel to Evie. Seriously I don’t think so. He’s crass in his language but it ends there. He may be rough but no he’s not cruel. Plus, his taming wouldn’t be as sweet as it is if he was already a gentleman from the start.

Now, I can’t wait for Kleypas’ finisher for the series, Scandal In Spring, which is scheduled for release this August 2006. Dang that’s five months wait. Waaahhh! I want it now! I just hope that the last book would be as good as this one. Then after that, Kleypas’ll be doing two contemporaries. And then the Cam book. Damn. I was hoping that she do the Cam book first before her contemps. And now, I hope that her contemps would be as great as her historicals.