I recently reviewed Caught Running by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux based on a simple, “I loved this book,” from a fellow reader. I passed that recommendation on, and received another recommendation back, Matthew Haldeman-Time’s self-published book Off the Record.
Jane and I frequently trade “OMG SQUEE” email messages about books we like. Because of her happy recommendation, I’m now reading Kristan Higgins’ Just One of the Guys, and I am loving it. It’s another “Dammit I stayed up too late reading” book that totally followed me out of the bag onto the treadmill. I’m loving it.
So I got to thinking – what books are you totally loving right now? Hook us up with your latest fave – and please, don’t recommend your own book. This is word-of-mouth love it “OMG SQUEE” time for someone else’s book. It doesn’t need to be a gay romance – could be anything that you just love, maybe that doesn’t get enough attention. I’ll be picking a comment at random in 24 hours to win a paper copy of Haldeman-Time’s book (which I haven’t read yet but have been told it’s just majestically good like holy damn hell). So, what’s your pleasure romance read of late?
Well, since amy mentioned Wicked Gentlemen, I’ll say I’m now, gradually, making my way through Blind Eye’s Tangle anthology of m/m romances . . . or kind of romances, but not yo’ mama’s.
And I’ll tell you, the story by Jesse Sandoval, “Los Conversos”, is one of the most extraordinary pieces of short fiction I’ve read. Ever. I suspect it falls under the heading magical realism, but I’m at a loss exactly how to describe it.
STUNNING.
There.
Absolutely seconded. As are the comments about ‘Wicked Gentlemen’. ‘Tangle XY’ is a really excellent anthology. Both from Blind Eye Books.
What a fantastic list! You can be sure I will be returning to view new posts and copy down names. For now, I would like to recommend:
Lois McMaster Bujold- love everything by her
Naomi Novik
Marian Zimmer Bradley – A little dated but strong female characters
Jim Butcher
Stephanie Barrows (Jane Eyre mysteries)
Sally Gunning – The Widow’s War
Jo Beverly
and wouldn’t you know it? My brain freezes up. Well, at least I got a few recommendations!
I’m currently rereading for about the fifth or sixth time now Joe’s Wife by Cheryl St. John. I loved it to pieces the first time and I’m still loving it to pieces this time around (and every reread in between)
I don’t usually read YA, but I found myself enjoying Just Listen by Sarah Dessen very much. It tackles some tough themes, but is a lovely YA romance at the same time. Plus, the hero, a music nut with anger issues, was a pitch-perfect portrayal of a male teenager. I went to school with a boy who was very much like that.
Plus, I’m seconding whoever recommended Shanna Swendson’s Enchanted Inc. series. Lovely blend of chick lit and urban fantasy/fairy tales. The heroine is very likable with none of the usual chick lit shortcomings (shoe/fashion/brand name obsessed and TSTL) and the hero is a refreshing change from the caveman alpha males that infest all too many romance novels. There are four books in the series, Enchanted Inc., Once Upon Stilettos, Damsel Under Stress and Don’t Hex With Texas.
Also echoing the many recommendations for Lois McMaster Bujold and Linnea Sinclair (Shades of Dark is on my TBR pile).
Spam word: men99 – Actually, one will do just fine, thank you
The best book I read this year was Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I also liked Atonement until it made me want to kill myself.
Oh, I’d also recommend the Southern Sister mysteries by Anne George.
Long Story Short: Two women in Birmingham, Alabama. They’re sisters.
Mary Alice Tate Sullivan Nachman Crane is six feet tall, admits to weighing two hundred and fifty pounds. She’s 65 or 66 years old, and has been married three times. Each of her husbands gave her one child and was thoughtful enough to die a neat death (The score is: One tumped over in the shower; one pulled up in driveway, parked the car, and died; and the third had somewhat problematic but painless heart attack on a transatlantic flight (she says the insurance company kept wanting to know why ‘place of death’ was listed in longitude and latitude). Mary Alice is also known as Sister, and thanks to her husbands’ estates and sharp investing, she’s quite wealthy—as her sister says, she had more money than she has sense. Since she’s independently wealthy, she keeps herself busy with working for organizations and doing things like taking creative writing classes at the local college.
The narrator is Patricia Anne Hallowell, aka ‘Mouse’. She’s 61 and a retired school teacher, and has been married for forty years to good old reliable Fred. She also has three children. She’s 5’4” and has always been a size six. She would be inclined to believe that either her or Sister was mixed up somewhere, but their parents swore they were both born at home.
The rest of the cast includes:
Fred: He’s a good guy, has built a metal fabricating company from scratch. He worries about his wife and he’s been a good husband and father.
Tiffany: The Magic Maid, who does housekeeping for Mary Alice. Tiffany’s a very pretty blond, works as hard as she is pretty, and is apparently a whiz at finding lost library books.
Bonnie Blue Butler: One of the sisters’ friends—a woman every bit as formidable as Sister, and a great sympathetic ear.
Officer Bo Mitchell—Which is what she introduces herself as on the job, because who’s going to take a female cop seriously when she introduces herself as Bo Peep Mitchell?
And the books all have names like “Murder Gets a Life” and “Murder Shoots The Bull”. Look for ‘em on Amazon for cheap, you won’t be disappointed if you like a softer sort of mystery…
I’d recommend them to anyone who like a good laugh, and an affirmation that getting older can be a lot of fun.
I love recommendations, and would have a very small TBR if it wasn’t for recommendations I get in person from family and friends or from blogs and sites like this online. I think word of mouth is awesome for both writer’s trying to sell their books and readers looking for something great to invest their time in. 🙂
I’d say my top two “squee-worthy” books, that fall in to the romance category, of late would be Judy Duarte’s MULBERRY PARK (which was a sweet inspirational book more than anything) and Gena Showalter’s THE DARKEST NIGHT (which was a darkly delightful read of otherworldly proportions ;}).
Both are ones I reviewed and will recommend over and over again.
Rebekah
littleminx at cox dot net
I read DA’s review on Kristan Higgins, Just One of the Guys and was intrigued. I went to get it and all they had at the time was Catch of the Day, so I got that one. OMGosh! I laughed and giggled through the entire book. Now I would have liked to have had some more info through Malone’s POV and background on him, but it was still hilarious. Some of Maggie’s dates…I have had dates just like that…lol. I WILL be getting JOOTGs this weekend. Some other recommends from me:
Contemporary Romance: Robyn Carr’s Virgin Series, read the whole series last weekend still kicking myself that it took me this long to get them, they were just that good…CANDY!
Historical Romance: Pamela Clair…..Anything, but the latest for me was Carnal Gift. 🙂
Mystery: JA Konrath with his drinking series and his female character Jack Daniels is filled with mirth, murder and mayhem. JA Konrath has a twisted sense of humor and it really bleeds(pun intended) through in his writing. Start with the first Whiskey Sour.
For the Vampire in you: F. Paul Wilson’s Midnight Mass, follow a half turned vampire Roman Catholic Priest and his niece as they try and keep a band of vampires from taking over the world. I am not a vampire fan and I adored this book.
For the history buffs: Greg Isles The Black Cross, about an American and a Jewish man that their exploits in Germany that helped saved countless lives. I am not a huge fan of history, but this one ended fantastically and left me with tears in my eyes and stayed with me long after I finished reading it.
Okay, since we are covering ground beyond romance, I would have to eagerly anoint Tana French’s In the Woods my favorite read this summer. Dark, twisty, complicated, psychological mystery that kept me up until 3 the night before I had an 11 hour work day coming up. Even the layout—slim margins means the pages are full of type—contributes to the feel of the book. The book is as much about the inner life of the hero as about the mystery itself, and that is one doozy of an inner life. One of the secondary characters is the protagonist in French’s second book, which I have had to put aside: The Likeness (put aside with much moaning and groaning b/c of work stuff) is sitting on the shelf looking at me all the time.
I’d also recommend the Maisie Dobbs series by Violet Winspear—I reread them this summer before things got crazy and have to say that a strong heroine with really understandable vulnerabilities, who is also mortal, is a good way for a paranormal reader to cleanse the palate.
Like many others, I’ve been on a Bujold kick and recommend Cordelia’s Honor to get started. I just squeed about it to a friend, and now she’s moving into the cult of Miles. Love them all, and am totally a gushing fangirl about the Vorkosigans!
I’ve only been able to read a few of these posts (it’s past my bedtime and I have to get up for work tomorrow), but I had to comment. Hopefully, I can catch up tomorrow.
I love that book! Isn’t the opening line simply wonderful?
For me, lately, I’ve been devouring Anne Stuart’s Ice series like candy. I picked up 3 of them at Half Price Books and just recently pulled them out of my TBR bag. I’ve finished 2 of them in 2 days. Extremely alpha males (sometimes to the point of unlikeability and then she pulls you back in) and heroines who are caught up in situations that are out of their depth, but are not stupid or weak. The sex is kinda hot, too.
The first book my mind went to was His Majesty’s Dragon, the first in the Temeraire series. It’s set during the Napoleonic Wars, only it has dragons! That’s right, I said dragons. Battles are fought on land, sea, and dragonback. The plot focuses on a sea captain who bonds with a dragon against his will; though he hates to leave the sea, he comes to value his relationship with the dragon Temeraire above all else. The books are incredibly intelligent, and deal with such themes as imperialism, sexism, nationalism (a lot of isms), and friendship and loyalty. I’ve loved reading them all.
I’m moving this weekend, but I can’t wait to have the free time to go back and take a closer look at this huge list of SQUEE-worthy books.
Amen, sister! Kay does romantic relationships very well, which is why I think his books would be good for readers interested in fantasy-romance cross-over. My DP insists that I add that Song for Arbonne is Kay’s book about love and what it means. Le sigh….I’m going to have to re-read another one.
Also, I am excited about more film versions of Pratchett’s novels. He gets a fair degree of input on the script and on casting (Jeremy Irons as Vinatieri? Brilliant!!), and he himself thinks they are good adaptations. More Pratchett is a good thing.
Oh, and a quick plug here for a worthy cause. If you are interested, you can join some of Terry Pratchett’s readers in contributing to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, in an effort to match the donation he made of half a million pounds. The effort is called Match It For Pratchett.
I’m working my way through Lois McMaster Bujold’s backlist. This week I’m reading the Hallowed Hunt. So, so good!
Plus…Ingrey’s HAWT. 😀
If anyone out there hasn’t tried some Bujold…what are you waiting for?!
I’ve been tearing a streak through Diana Wynne Jones… well, everything, lately… Howl’s Moving Castle started it… there is something just brilliant about the sensible and fucked-up heroines of her completely-not-romances-oh-no that make them intensely real in ways that actually entertain while inspiring.
Drat! You’ve brought me out of lurking!
I read Eva Ibbotson’s A Countess Belowstairs and really enjoyed it, and then went and bought her other books. Just finished The Morning Gift. I really loved both those books. They are very sweet.
Also just finished Victoria Dahl’s new one, The Rake’s Guide to Pleasure. It’s been a long time since a romance has moved me so much. This one really punched me in the gut. It feels like in most of the books I’ve read lately there is little emotion, but this one really got to me.
The Darkyn books by Lynn Viehl.
They’re vampire books, but different and chock full of romance and hot sex.
My favorite so far is Evermore.