The Bride Backfire Pt 2

Jesse and I had so much fun last night at the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert! Molly bought us tickets to go as our Christmas present (for her dad and step-mom, she bought tickets for Rent). Jesse's been a fan of theirs for a long time and talked about seeing them, so when Molly suggested tickets for a show, I jumped at the chance.

The light show was absolutely amazing; words cannot begin to express how awesome it is! It snowed, there was fire, and CO2; we never knew where to look. There was a lot of humor in the show, which I didn't expect, and an enormous amount of energy.

When we got home, Jesse looked up some of their videos on YouTube to show Mia, and she's already planning on going with us next year. No wonder so many people make seeing the show an annual event!

One thing I noticed about the show bothered me though. Toward the end, we started to notice people getting up to leave, and it was a bit distracting. There weren't a lot, just enough that every couple of minutes, you'd see a woman with her purse or a man wearing his coat slipping down the aisle to, I assume, avoid the traffic jam after the show. Jesse and I talked about it, and we agreed that it is a breach of etiquette to cut out on a show just to avoid the traffic. I look at it like this: when I purchase a ticket to an event, I have created a contract between me and the performer. They agree to provide entertainment that I feel was worth the price of admission. I agree to not heckle them or disrupt the performance in any way, including talking to my seatmates so loudly that I disturb those around me. I also agree that I will stay through the performance as a sign of courtesy to the performers.

What do you think? Am I totally off-base with my theory?

The Bride Backfire by Kelly Eileen Hake is the second book in the Prairie Promises series and picks up with the continuing feud of the Grogan and Speck families. Opal Speck and Adam Grogan seem to be the only level-headed members of their families. When Adam shows up trying to find a lost cow to prevent all-out war, his intentions are misconstrued by Opal's family, so she insists he's the father of her unborn child to save him from certain death and her family from the certain violence that will follow. Opal's kindness and beauty had caught Adam's eye, so he isn't entirely disappointed in his wife, but the idea of raising another man's child must be dealt with before he can make peace with this marriage. Hake has a true flair for writing romantic Westerns with a healthy dash of humor and faith. Opal and Adam's relationship moves in fits and starts as they have the usual misunderstandings, but the back story elevates this above your standard historical romance. Adam's brother Larry oozes psychopathy, which he obviously inherited from his mother, Lucinda, and both keep the story compelling. Hake is definitely an author to watch.

I'm starting a new book contest today for Susan Meissner's White Picket Fences. A marriage's flaws are exposed when the wife takes in her niece and tries to pretend that they have the perfect white picket fence life. If you'd like to win, just send me an email before 10 pm on Thursday, Nov. 12th. I'll announce the winner and post my review here on Friday. Good luck!