My Re-Kindled Romance

Grades are all in for my TEFL course. I got an A, in case you were wondering. :)

So, now I wait for my certificate to be mailed. I should be expecting it around the same time as the documents sent from EPIK for my new position.

And so I wait. I've done a lot of waiting, some of it with more patience than other times. I have been distracting myself with books, and it is AMAZING. Books, books and more books!

I've had my attention pulled this way and that way for the past few months. With my online course, work, practicum hours, volunteer stuff and such, I haven't had much time to think, let alone comprehend what I'm reading in my free time.

I would get books at the library, start reading them, and then set them down to go finish a project. Those poor books would barely get any attention before the library due date arrived. I just didn't feel like thinking very much, and I was feeling a little impatient with the plots. I don't have any time for you to build up the tension for 20 pages! I want to know [insert plot twist, climax, relationship development, etc.]!

So, maybe having less on my plate -- or less plates to balance at once -- has re-kindled my desire to lounge with a book. Any book. I like reading the good ones and the bad ones, though I sometimes can't persuade myself to finish the bad ones. And, surprisingly, I'm picking up more romance novels (not the bodice-ripping ones *shivers*). I don't really like straight-up romance, but I've been introduced to some I actually like.

Right now, I am reading Charming by Elliot James. I saw it in the new section of the library and, okay, I like to judge books by their covers... or their spines. Initially. I liked the pretty font, okay?

Then I judged it on its cover, which almost had me putting it back on the shelf. There, staring intensely back at me was your typical hot bad boy. Tall, dark hair, stubble on his chiseled jaw, wearing a leather jacket and holding a sword... sword optional. I saw that guy and thought, this is going to be filled with cheesy romance and pseudo-independent women who fall for pseudo-bad boys with mysterious pasts, isn't it?

So chiseled...

This is why I decided to read the back cover. The back, while shrewdly crafted to intrigue, is a better representation of the contents than the front cover. You can find that easily online, so instead I'm going to share an excerpt close to the beginning that made me decide that I might actually like this book:

"The vampire didn’t walk into the bar so much as flow. Like water. Like night. He was wearing a tight black T-shirt and dark jeans over muscles that seemed to have been sculpted from ivory. His hair was black and tousled, framing piercing green eyes that burned with blanked passion in spite of the cold smile on his cruel slash of a mouth.

OK, just kidding. Sorry. The whole thing about vampires being ubersexy Euro-trash? It’s a myth..."

And little further down...

"Popular young adult novels notwithstanding, vampires only sparkle when they burn."

So, there might be a possibility of romance and the male protagonist will probably have some bad boy moments, but I think it's going to be worth it if there are more excerpts like these. Has anyone else read this, or have any suggestions for what to read next?

Thanks for reading!