Highly Recommended

Lisa Kleypas continues her Hathaway series with Seduce Me at Sunrise. Winifred Hathaway and Kev Merippin were introduced in Mine till Midnight.

Torn by a deep seeded desire to protect Win, Merippin rejects Win over and over again. After his nightmare of a childhood, he does not trust his instincts. He feels he has nothing to offer her. No wealth, no history, nothing. Deathly frail after a bout with scarlet fever, she wants him to admit that there is an undeniable bond between them.

Win leaves for a clinic to try to get stronger. When she returns, the tension between them is even stronger. Thrown into the mix is a potential suitor that triggers Merippin's jealousy.

Merippin is a dark, brooding hero. Win is delicate, but stubborn.

After reading Mine till Midnight, I was looking forward to this novel. Lisa Kleypas has written several heroes who struggle against love. Dreaming of You's Cockney hero, Derek Craven, is one of her best examples. Merippin is even worse off then Derek Craven. He's poor. He's a Gypsy. And he believes that she deserves much more.

This is about a week late. Sorry!

Last week, I went to LA to visit my friends and take in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. I happen to be one of those people who really LOVED the first movie. I have the Director's Cut DVD and a lovely Hellboy messenger bag that I lug proudly about.

And I love Guillermo del Toro's visionary work. He can make me laugh and scream and cry all in the same movie. The creatures his imagination comes up with. I shudder to think the nightmares he had as a child. Though... he probably had fun with the nightmares.

Hellboy II brings together his comic-book geekiness, the power of his artistic vision, and a fun romp of a story. Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is still charming and grumpy at the same time he is trying to find acceptance in a world that fears the Other. He is happily in a relationship with Liz (Selma Blair), though can't comprehend what gets her mad. Luckily, though she has the power to fire it up with her temper, he's fireproof, so it all works out. I thought the first movie used her instability very well, but I loved the fact that she was more confident.

Doug Jones as Abe Sapien is comfortable in his skin. I think he's more confident, especially since this movie uses his real voice and he's not dubbed over by David Hyde Pierce. Abe is vulnerable and very sweet as he finds himself in love with an elven princess.

I had a discussion once with a friend about collecting manga. I had just gotten the Kodomo no Omocha Perfect Edition, griping a little about the price. But of course, I plunked down the $14 per book (Import!) for the pleasure of having an obviously better quality edition with color plates.

Of course, the conversation turned to my other favorite manga title - Rurouni Kenshin. I'm very happy of it's success in English, of course, but RK will always have a special place in my heart. It's the series that really lit a fire in me to learn to read Japanese. Of coures, a lot of my kanji knowledge has faded with time (and lack of use), but I still love to pull down my RK manga now and then and read it.

I even purchased the novels in Japanese. My translator friend S. commented that it would be hard for me to read since there was hardly any furigana (phonetic kanji pronunciation) to guide me in reading it.

Well, years have passed since college and now the Rurouni Kenshin Perfect Edition is coming out in Japan. Am I going to buy the volumes as they come out? Probably. I love the characters. I love the story. I love the ending. So I'm going to get my otaku on and pick up the series again.

There's something to be said for a series that caused one of my Japanese Teaching Assistants to exclaim, "Divorce is easy! Kenshin just has to write it out and give it to her!" when I brought her the news that he had been married. Once she found out he was, um, a widower, she breathed a sigh of relief.

I first picked up Viscount Vagabond in my local library while I was in high school. I fell in love with Loretta Chase's voice and style. Her characters are witty and complex. They are no just the typical hero and heroine. She writes with humor and a sense of fun.

I picked up this as soon as it came out. I'm glad that her back issue books are coming out.

If you like romance, you should definitely pick up Loretta Chase's novels. These earlier books are really sweet.

In Viscount Vagabond, Lord Rand is a reluctant hero to Catherine Pelliston. Through a series of unfortunate events, Catherine ends up in a house if ill repute. He saves her and takes her under his wing. Of course he is determined to send her on her way. He is in no way falling in love with her. At all. Of course, Catherine doesn't want to marry him either.

Viscount Vagabond is a delight I love how the characters dance around each other.

The Devil's Delilah continues with one of the characters who finds love himself.

Both stories are VERY enjoyable. If you are in the mood for great Regency writing, please pick this book.