Time to get all nosy up in your reading list – what are you reading this weekend?
I'm reading several books at once, which is NOT good for my brain, especially when I mix genres, but I started too many things that I like. I have one book on the phone, one on the coffee table, one on my Kindle – it's getting messy. But Pig was right – Liz Fielding's Tempted by Trouble [Goodreads | Amazon | BN | HQN] is really adorable. Plus, Tessa Dare's A Week to be Wicked [Goodreads | Amazon | BN] has been pushing all the happy-joy-joy buttons in my brain, too, and I'm trying to savor that book as well. That's not working as well as I'd planned.
So what books are pushing the happy-joy buttons in your brain this week? What books are you looking forward to reading this weekend? Share, share!
One thing I read is The Lotus Palace by Jeannie Lin, which I wrote about here. In contrast to that book’s alpha male dynamics, which I objected to in spite of its considerable other virtues, let me recommend the great non-traditional gender roles in the series I’ve been devouring lately (so far on book 5 out of 8): the “Greywalker” series by Kat Richardson. It’s urban fantasy in which romance plays a relatively small part, but what a lovely romance it is!
Its protagonist, Harper Blaine, is a female private investigator who takes seriously the Chandleresque ethos of the PI-hero(ine) as a sort of knight. In the first book she experiences instant attraction with a very sexy man but their relationship stumbles to a halt after a few months (“The togetherness that I’d hoped would put us in sync didn’t seem to be doing anything of the kind. It was like trying to dance samba while the band was playing “Dixie”—you can almost do it, but it’s uncomfortable as hell and you look like an idiot.”) She takes note of other handsome men who are mostly not trustworthy. Meanwhile, over the course of the first few books, she’s slowly falling in love with the computer genius Quinton whose looks she did not comment on. It’s only after they’ve gotten to know each other thoroughly, only after they’ve worked together repeatedly, only when they’ve just driven off a monster with perfect teamwork, that they finally clinch—and then Harper is wild to get into bed with him. It’s a great example of finding someone sexy because you’re in love with them, instead of the other way around.
Quinton is pretty awesome, in my opinion. Harper is physically tougher than him, taller, the one who fights the battles (especially since she has paranormal powers and he doesn’t). He unreservedly accepts this and never tries to hold her back, or protect her—instead helping her (there’s a difference). He’s smart and wily, and has people-savvy, and is an excellent source of emotional support for Harper, and he understands her code of honor—she really needs this acceptance. His greatest quality is his amazing ability to remain sane and collected in the midst of utter gore-dripping chaos. The relationship between the two of them was one of the things that kept me reading the series even when the plots got a bit confused.
I just finished a nonfiction book, “What Do Women Want?” about the science of female desire and sexuality. Interesting and probably controversial.
I also finished “Mistress of Rome,” which is set in ancient Rome and is kind of a romance and kind of not. There is a central love story, but that’s far from the only thing going on, and it’s large in scale, with a big cast of memorable characters who each have their own agenda, and it covers a couple decades of time. Very dark, very violent.
Now I’m reading a series of horse books by various authors, some of which are older books and some are newer self-published books, and hoping to find something good.
Cate, I usually eschew movies-from-books but your enthusiasm pointed me to check DVD purchase availability. The reviews, just like yours, were pure WOW! Thank you.
Can anyone recommend romance novels from the same period (1940s)?
I’m currently reading and loving Kat Latham’s “Knowing the Score” about a British rugby superstar and an American International Aid worker. It’s awesome so far.
I just finished a re-read of Kit Rocha’s “Beyond Shame” and “Beyond Control” after reading the 3rd book “Beyond Pain”—awesome post-apocalyptic erotica/romance series.
I also recently read “Stripped” by Jasinda Wilder which was nine kinds of stooopid. Oh well, can’t love all the books, right?
I’m re-reading Deadly Vows by Brenda Joyce, but I don’t know how much I’ll actually be up to reading over the next few days as I am going in to have my wisdom teeth (yes, all of them) out.
I am reading Cut & Run by Madeline Urban and Abigail Roux. I am about 42% in and it seems ok. On Twitter, people seem to love this series. Maybe once you get farther in…?
@cleo (37)—I have a serious dislike of L. A. Witt, so that I wouldn’t have ever tried the book you disrecommended. I will read Social Skills, though.
I just finished Jessica Clare’s Stranded with a Billionaire, which I didn’t like as much as I’ve liked her other work; the second half was a little silly and all over the place. In the non-romance realm, I also read Charity Case by Dan Pallotta, which was an informative book on how the general public and our politicians prevent nonprofits from truly making a difference by emphasizing direct giving to the cause versus investment in administrative overhead and fundraising.
I’m currently reading J.K. Rowling’s The Cuckoo’s Calling for a bookclub. So far, it’s just getting an “alright.” Next up is probably a couple of romance novellas I have in my TBR or Knowing the Score by Kat Latham.
I just finished Blood of Tyrants, and I haven’t started another book yet. Actually, I guess I am reading A Practical Guide to Prairie Reconstruction, too. For some reason, I rarely think to mention my non-fiction reading when someone asks.
Just finished Rising Tides, book two of Nora Robert’s Chesapeake saga. I’d read it years ago. Still liked it. Now dithering. Just can’t seem to get into anything. So I’m watching Sherlock and thinking about comfort reads.
Somehow, and I don’t know how this happened, I missed the publication of Mary Balogh’s “The Proposal” last year. I new Mary Balogh book, and I missed it? Quelle horreur! But the fortunate result is that, when I discovered the “The Arrangement” (just published this week) was the second book in the Survivors Club series, I had two books to read immediatement. (Plus a related e-book novella, “The Suitor.”) I have been in Mary Balogh heaven this week. Bliss.
I’m currently reading Re-Vamp, a collection of unique takes on supernatural and horror tropes. Many of the stories explore relationships in trying and terrible circumstances. It’s a really wonderful collection by independent writers, and I highly recommend it.
@LML: You could go for du Maurier’s Rebecca,My Cousin Rachel or Jamaica Inn. Or move slightly forward to the 50’s and try the superb Mary Stewart…..Madam Will You Talk ? is set about 10 years after WW 2, and is – quite frankly -one of the best romantic suspense novels I’ve ever read.Then there’s Helen MacInnes, another writer of romantic suspense who wote during the 40’s,and whose books are still eminently readable(well, they’re still on my keeper shelf) And if you like the old medical romances,there’s the fab Lucilla Andrews. Her early books are a wee bit twee today,but her later books are set in the 40’s,and have a fantastic sense of place,as she both trained and worked as a nurse during the war. There was a bit of a whoo-ha regarding Lucilla Andrews,as it was alleged that Ian MacEwan used a chunk of her autobiography in Atonemen.
@LML: These are more 1930’s than 40’s but “The Wedding Bargain” by Agnes Sligh Turnbull is a marriage of convenience story I really love, and Patricia Wentworth wrote cozy mysteries with more romance in them than Christie or other contemporary writers. I highly recommend “Nothing Venture”.
I’m re-reading (third time) Connie Willis’s Blackout/All Clear duet – I’m on vacation, which gives me a lot of time to sit and savor these books. After that, it’s probably going to be Life After Life for a book club.
@cleo – Having trouble getting into the Pink Carnation? Get the audiobook! The narrator, Kate Reading, is awesome, and really draws you in to the story. It’s how I got hooked, actually. I got an audiobook of Pride and Prejudice she narrated, and her rendition was so good I went looking for other stuff she’d recorded as well. I got the first Pink Carnation book and have been hooked ever since!
Just finished Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare and wasn’t terribly enamored of the heroine at first but got sucked in and ended up liking it very much.
No idea what I’ll read next, with 1400 books on my tbr list, I’ve got lots to choose from. Just depends on my mood I expect. I might have to check on some of the rec’s from this thread too, as if my list needed to be longer…
Laura Kinsale’s backlist, most recently Flowers from the Storm and (almost done) The Shadow and the Star. She’s really good, but I’ve been up late three nights in a row, which is kind of worrisome… perhaps I should find something dull to read next?
…Ha. Actually, Seize the Fire is on order as I type. Who needs sleep? =D
@Cate – I read all of du Maurier’s when I was in my late teens/early 20s, at which time I found Mary Stewart to be a bit too suspenseful. I loved Helen MacInnes and for a time worked on collecting all of her books at various library book sales. But I’ve just now read a bit from The Telegraph dated 2008 about Ms du Maurier and it makes me wonder just how much adult emotion I missed in the reading so I think I’ll reread. A firm proponent of “So many books, so little time”, I almost never reread but so many other people do so that I wonder if perhaps I’m missing something. I enthusiastically look forward to discovering Lucille Andrews. Twee probably doesn’t bother me as I have had great pleasure reading Elizabeth Cadell and Miss Read.
@Karin – I have not read Wentworth yet, and marriages of convenience are a favorite storyline. Thank you!
Just finished Still by Ann Mayburn. It’s a contemp bdsm romance with a femdom – the h/h are both vets and the hero has ptsd. I wanted to love this one because the author gets ptsd exactly right imo, but the language was too flowery for me and kept taking me out of the story. But the emotions rang true and I still enjoyed it.
I read Beauty Dates the Beast by Jessica Sims. I really enjoyed this and I haven’t read a lot of paranormals, but I thought it was really good. I am putting reading the sequel but am really interested in it. The hero was hot and the heroine wasn’t too dumb and self-sacrificing which I love in heroine. Also they were both tough. I am also reading a bunch of other things I am reading and it was a good reading time before the summer heat got extreme.
@Emily A.
I didn’t proofread well enough what I written.
I said
“The hero was hot and the heroine wasn’t too dumb and self-sacrificing which I love in heroine.”
What I meant was
The hero was hot and the heroine wasn’t too dumb and was self-sacrificing which I love in heroine.”
Sigh.
Sorry about that.
Just finished binge reading Darynda Jones’ Charley Davidson series. Hilarious and totally engaging. But how long do I have to wait for a new book?
I’ve read just about the whole Tessa Dare collection recently, although for some reason I’m just having getting drawn into A LADY OF PERSUASION. Maybe it’s one of those books I have to go back to later to appreciate. I’ve loved the rest of her books.
Also just binged my way through a bunch of Courtney Milan books and thoroughly enjoyed them. Tessa and Courtney write the kind of historicals that appeal to me, and if anyone can steer me to similar historicals, please do.
Am looking for a really good romantic suspense series to get sucked into, but I’m picky. I want the romance to be passionate and intense, but more emotional than sexual, at least on the page. I want plenty of meaty conflict between the hero and heroine. I don’t mind a little alpha in my heroes, but I don’t want alphaholes. And my heroine needs to be able to seriously kick butt mentally and I wouldn’t mind if she’s tough physically as well, but the smarts are a must. Any suggestions?
I just finished Anna Campbell’s latest. It was good, but I was underwhelmed. Ok am I the only one who doesn’t like the way ebooks are formatted to go right into excerpts from other books? Picture this, I’m on my way to drive for a couple hours with hubs. We stop to get coffee and while he runs in I figure I have a few minutes to read a page or two. Well thats all that was left to the novel!! I thought I had a good 40 pages based on the page count at the bottom of my ereader. GRRRRR. I’m still a little bitter.
Now to the details, H/h made a cute couple. I definitely liked their interactions early on in the book when they couldn’t stand one another. I think I expected more heart wrenching moments a la her other, earlier books.
@Paula Graves – have you tried Julie James’ FBI/US Attorney series? The first two in particular (Something About You and A Lot Like Love) deliver what you describe (imo anyways).
I’ve been switching back and forth between The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss (I love it, but I hate not knowing when the last book will be out, so I’ve been very slow with it), Shadow and Bone, and just started Where’d You Go, Bernadette. Quite a few friends told me it made them think of me, and I’m not sure how to take it, but it is a hysterical take on Seattle.
I’ve been really digging the Seattle PL’s ebook collection recently, and have had to slow my roll in Overdrive, because I cannot finish 25 books in 21 days, even if I think I can.
“The golden dice” by Elisabeth Storrs, which is a sequel to “The wedding shroud”. The heroine is a Roman woman who marries an Etruscan. Romans and Etrurians, or Rasenna, were close neighbours physically but acres apart culturally. The first book showed Caecila struggling to settle into an alien culture, the second is three children later and constant war between her original home and her adopted one.
The style can sometimes be a little stilted, but I’d recommend them to anyone who likes a really unusual setting in a historical novel (definitely start with the first book). Very well researched.
@ Paula Graves – try Sarah MacLean! Her book Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake was what drew me into HR last summer, and I think she has a very similar feel to Milan and Dare, who I have also grown to love.
I just finished Born of Night for the Vaginal Fantasy book club and thought it was okay. This month’s pick is turning out WAY better – Warrior, by Zoe Archer. I bought the whole series after reading about it here, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Well, now I’ve finished the first and went straight into the second in the series, Scoundrel! I love love love the interactions between hero and heroine – the men are capable and strong without being overly alpha and the women aren’t TSTL.
After I finish the rest of the series I might start Jacqueline Carey’s new Agent of Hel series (I’ve had the book since Christmas … ) or the most recent two in Mercedes Lackey’s Elemental Masters series, which usually has a little romance in it.
WV: been23. It’s been a long time since there were just 23 books on my TBR pile!
I’m working on finishing Notorious Pleasures, by Elizabeth Hoyt. I was worried for a while because I felt nothing for the main characters during the first half. (I was more interested in Silence and Phoebe’s storylines, and Cousin Bathilda as a character.)
Then they slept together, which of course throws a wrench into the heroine’s engagement to a man she doesn’t love, (and who is the hero’s estranged brother), and now there’s all KINDS of great emotional angst going on that I’m enjoying.
Not sure if I’ll read the next book in the series after this, or a space/sci fi romance that’s been sitting in my TBR pile.
I just finished “The White Princess” by Phillipa Gregory. If you’re watching “The White Queen” on Starz you might like—a good character study. But you have to be a War of the Roses fan, not necessarily big here in the States. Kind of in that middle ages mood, though…
I’m clearing out my TBR mountain. Just finished Delusion in Death and am going to start Calculated soon. Just in time for Thankless to come out 😀
I am listening to the audiobook of Kinsale’s Prince of Midnight, read by Nicholas Boulton, which is fantastic. LOVE. I am going to download every single one of her audio titles. I cannot even describe the joy of these.
I read Jessica Clare’s “Wicked Games” which was fun but forgettable.
I just finished Sarah Mayberry’s latest, “Her Favourite Rival” which I adored. It features two characters with tough issues in their pasts, who have great chemistry. There was just enough angst. The hero/heroine acted like adults. They actually talk to each other and the dialogue is great. The heroine was strong and assertive and the hero wasn’t too alpha. This one is going on my keeper shelf.
Not sure what to read next. I started Elyssa Patrick’s book, “Stay with Me”, but am not sure about it. I am not far into it yet, though.
Just finished Shannon Hale’s Austenland over the weekend so I could go see the movie with my daughter. Enjoyed the book a lot, and Highly Recommend the movie! It doesn’t seem to be in very wide release, even here in Chicago we had to hunt for a theater that was showing it which is such a shame. It is sweet and at times absolutely hilarious, Jennifer Coolidge as Miss Charming was inspired casting and Keri Russell was perfect as Jane. I never know what to expect when seeing a book turned into a movie but this one stayed pretty close to the original. Go see it if you can, I will definitely be getting it on DVD when it comes out!
I am currently indulging in a Lynsay Sands’s Argeneau Family Book Crack-a-thon thanks to a little sale item posted here. The series is a lot of fun for vamp romance, focusing on the central relationship, low on angst and high on reasonably intelligent situational humor.
I did interrupt the vamp saga for Elizabeth the First Wife by Lian Dolan, also mentioned here in a comment thread, I think. Really enjoyed it too. Between the pop culture references and the Bard-isms, it was pretty entertaining.
Also started Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding, pre-Argeneau, and will finish it after glomming the Vamp series.
Oh yeah, almost forgot…. I also read the Duchess of Asherwood, which was also mentioned on SBTB, maybe as an HABO? In spite of some of the gawkiest faux Regency slang I have ever struggled through, the book made it to my keeper shelf. The characters are just wonderful, and the humor is gentle but effective. A wonderful source of warm fuzzies.
@Paula Graves
If you like Milan & Dare, I’d suggest Julie Anne Long’s Pennyroyal Green series. I tend to think of these three authors together because of their tendency to use serious and sometimes unusual social issues as an integral part of their stories. The characterization is stellar, and there is humor but not excessive fluff.
I just finished Courtney Milan’s The Heiress Effect. I love Milan and I enjoyed this book. I had a hard time with it though. Wasn’t really in the mood for it maybe. In any case
I just started an old school regency romance called An Unmarried Lady by Anna Willman. It’s kind of sweet. It’s not as lively or as humorous as Heyer or Clare Darcy, but it’s in the same vein.
I’ll make it easy on you—I’m reading a book you won’t want to buy. I’m hate-reading an inspie called “The Bride Wore Boots” right now. I read it in 2-3 page chunks, which is probably what’s keeping me sane, but it means that I’m only a few chapters in. I keep yelling at the characters.
I bought it as a joke a few years ago…or maybe it was bought for me as a joke? At a booksale. I have no idea.
(Right this second I’m reading Nicholas Sparks’s website as research for an upcoming talk I’m giving, and i’m having a hard time doing anything but shouting “FUCK YOU” at the screen when he’s going on about ‘love stories.’)
Currently reading Her Sexiest Mistake by Jill Shalvis and Thrown, by debut author Colette Auclair (I’m trying to read one new author a week). Up next: Courtney Milan’s latest, the Countess Conspiracy.