What Are You Reading - Week of December 18

I picked up 2 Rita Herron books from the UBS & currently reading Last Kiss Goodbye. Anyone else read her?

bookbeat

Sorry, I haven't heard of her before.

Today I'm starting Moon Called by Patricia Briggs. I'm really looking forward to it! The last couple books I've read were a bit of a chore so it will be nice to read something I can really get in to.

edited to get the touchstones working!

bookbeat- I haven't heard of her either.

I finished Beast, it was pretty good, 4 stars imo. It's a historical romance for anyone interested that takes place on a ship and then in France around 1889. It's about a disfigured prince and an American beauty. I think I'm going to read Lady of Sin next since I'm still waiting for Outlander to arrive.

DL Moon Called looks pretty good. You have to tell me what you think when you're done.

DL, I was looking for YA books for my niece for Christmas and came across one you might be interested in reading, Rebel Angels by Libba Bray.

I also inadvertently found a new author and I wonder if anyone has read anything of hers. She may also be considered a YA author. Her name is Annie Groves. Her books are historicals about young women.

CC

Am reading London by Rutherfurd, which I've interrupted to read For My Lady's Heart by Kinsale, which I've interrupted to read Echo Park by Michael Connelly.

London is really good; I'm just at the end of Oliver Cromwell and the return of the king. I am beginning to enjoy FMLH a lot ~ they've been deserted on the road by their entourage and are escaping outlaws on his horse. Echo Park, the latest Harry Bosch mystery set in Los Angeles, is starting out very good!

*sigh* So many books, so little time to read. :)

RL - I really enjoyed Moon Called and finished it today as I was home from work being sick and whiney (except there was no one to whine to so I basically slept and read). I did a little review of the book if you're interested. It wasn't really a romance and is actually catagorized as a fantasy, but there were definately romantic interests in it. I would say that the werewolves, Samuel and Adam, both qualify as romantic hero material.

CC- I have heard of Rebel Angels, I've been thinking about requesting it from the library except I made this pesky resolution not to request anything else until I've made a decent dent in my TBR list LOL Thanks for the suggestion and please suggest any more you might see, I'm always on the look out!

Next up is The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint which I need to get back to the library at the end of next week. Then I can finally get to the next Aisling Grey book...yeah!

Oh, and I hope you don't mind if I post a little, bitty brag here. I got a shiney, yellow Librarything author's button on my profile which I am quite proud of :-) I know this should probably go on another thread, but my husband is insistent that sickies shouldn't be using the computer and I'm being kicked off...

Congratulations, Jenine! WHOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember us when you get all famous and everything! :)

CC

I was so excited for DL that I forgot to say that I checked out Annie Groves on LT, and not one person has a book of hers, so I am going to order one and see if I like it. I'll let you all know. They look very interesting, although I don't think they are romance novels, per se.

CC

Yeah, DL!!! (And feel better soon!!)

I lost both my brain cells today and checked out the following for my upcoming days off:
Midsummer Magic by Coulter (which I think I've already read), Mr. Impossible by Chase, The Rules of Seduction by Madeline Hunter, The Marriage Bargain by Diane Perkins, One Knight Stands by Jocelyn Kelley, and Simply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh. See you guys sometime around Groundhog Day! :)

You've got some of my all-time favorites there, Lor! Let me know what you think about The Marriage Bargain and Mr. Impossible.

CC

>2 Jenson_AKA_DL:
I enjoyed that one, looking forward to the other books by Patricia Briggs on my TBR pile

CC-Thanks!

Since I really enjoyed Moon Called I will probably check out some of her other books as well. I think she wrote some dragon ones?

cc, I got the names of most of these here. I'm going to put them all in a bag and draw one out, I think. It's too hard to choose. (And I added Only a Duke Will Do to their numbers today. Phew!)

I love Briggs! Her first several books are fantasy with light romance in them. Masques, her first, is my favorite.

This week I finished Don't Look Down by Suzanne Enoch and started on the third in the series, Billionaries Perfer Blondes.

I also read The Cursed One by Ronda Thompson, which I found to be quite a disappointment. The series was ok up until now, but I feel like this last book was really rushed.

Just started reading The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson.

Yesterday I read What A Gentleman Wants by Caroline Linden. Fabulous. Linden is now on my amazon wishlist.

I also read The Seduction of an English Scoundrel by Jillian Hunter. (Started yesterday, finished today) Not nearly as good.

Now I am contemplating starting the Mad, Bad Duke by Jennifer Ashley. Anyone read that yet? I just got it from Amazon yesterday.

Rianoel, I'll check out Linden, too. Let me know what you think about Ashley's latest. I haven't bought it yet.

CC

Just read Morrigan's Cross by Roberts. I liked it well enough to look for the next one. Also the short Home for the Holidays by Joanna Lindsey. Only so-so like a lot of holiday themed books.

I finally got Outlander in the mail today! 850 pages. I guess I'll be chewing it for a while. I also received A Knight in Shining Armor, both are recommendations by Jbooklover. I also received One of those Flings in the mail, which no one recommended but I couldn't resist.

I finished the Christmas anthology Santa, Baby with novellas from Jennifer Crusie, Lori Foster and Carly Phillips. The ranking would be.

1. Lrois Foster - 5 satrs
2. Carly Phillips - 4 stars
3. Jennifer Crusie (Sorry but it reminded me a lot of the movie with Schwarzenegger where he was looking for the toy for his son. Can't remember the English titel though). - 3 stars

So an overall 4.

I started the reference book What Jane Austen ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool this morning. It explaines to you the many little thing from 19th century everyday life. From weight, money, food, dances to card games. I am really looking forward to the rest of the book, since I'm only at the beginning.

Julia

Currently reading
One Night With A Prince by Sabrina Jeffries

I finished The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint which is an urban fantasy story. Now I'm on to Fire Me Up which is the second Aisling Grey, guardian, romance novel by Katie MacAlister. I'm so excited to read this because I really enjoyed the first Aisling Grey book sooo much!

I am just finishing up The Bewitching Twin by Donna Fletcher. Its the second in a series. Its pretty good, but not a favorite.

Oklahomabooklady - I have The Diary of Marie Antoinette on my shelf, but haven't read it yet as well as One Night with a Prince. Hope you enjoy both of them.

I was thinking of reading one of my Georgette Heyer books next. Anybody read any by her? She's one of my favorites.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

DL- take your time with Fire Me Up. I finished all three books and now have to wait for the next one. It looks like she only writes one (Aisling Grey) a year. They are definitely a guilty pleasure of mine too. Jim rocks! I want my own doggie demon. : )

CC ---

I think the Ashley novel would have made more sense if I'd read Penelope & Prince Charming first. I had a sort of vague awareness when I bought it that it was part of a series, but I didn't realize there were going to be so many references to characters that don't appear until the epilogue. Also, there seems to be a cameo appearence of characters from another of her books that isn't even a part of this series. Had I read and liked the P&PC, I don't think these elements would have bothered me so much. As it was, between these elements and the 'love spell' premise, which carried on longer than I liked, I was worn out.

It is action-packed and Meagan is likeable. I felt I was missing a few pieces of Alexander's story (probably in book 1), and he wasn't as interesting as he could have been. The author did a good job with her descriptions. I was able to connect really well with her mention of Chatsworth and Beilheim, places I have actually visited, and with her descriptions of what things look like---the parquet ballroom floor, the sash windows, etc.

This book is slated for the library-donation bag, and not my keeper shelf. I'll probably try a different book---not P&PC, I think I'm fed up with Nvengaria for now---I think she's worth another shot.

#21 - Hi, Oklahomabooklady ~ I've got One Night With a Prince in my TBR pile and am really looking forward to it. Jeffries is one of my favorites, but I haven't read any of her for awhile. What did you think of it?

Rianoel, I just realized why I haven't bought it before now. The "magical" element turned me off...I may give it a try at some point, but not right now.

Storee, Jeffries' Royal Brotherhood series was one of my favorites. You can't go wrong with any of them.

I am reading London, which I received for Christmas. Since it is not a romance, I couldn't help but to also sneak a peak at Fletcher's Woman, Carol Finch's newest historical Western; and I couldn't resist reading Simply Unforgettable, the first in the new series following Mary Balogh's Bedwyns, while traveling over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house yesterday. Somehow I missed it and read Simply Love first. It was fabulous! I highly recommend it.

CC

cj-couldn't stop myself and just had to finish Fire Me Up last night. I loved it even more than the first Aisling Grey book! I'm ordering the third off amazon tonight with my $25.00 gift cert because there are just too many holds on the new one at the library (and there is my pesky no more library requests resolution I don't want to break).

Next romance will probably be You Don't Know Jack which was suggested here! I'm looking forward to it. First I have to read Got Fangs? which is Katie MacAlister writing YA under the name Katie Maxwell. I'm curious to see what differences there are in her writing style between her romances and her YA stories.

I finished a couple of books (which is pretty good for me). One was The Secret Pearl by Balogh. I found it very well written, but I usually like Balogh. I was surprised at how very old-fashioned it is. I didn't mind that, as it turned out. The hero was so stiff and proper, though, I almost lost hope for him. There was basically no steam in it, but the story was very good. I would give it 4 stars.

The other book, which I've already returned to the library and can't remember the name, was a paranormal by Kenyon, I think. The hero (?) was Dante and the heroine (?) was Morgan. That is my first vampire one and, not to offend, my last. It was WAY too violent for me. I don't like mixing up love with violence. It bothers me. I skimmed long parts of it, particularly the parts about the vampire hunters, which seemed like a separate story until the very end. But I still got "sucked" in by the encounter in the middle between Dante and the maid or someone. Holy cow! Add to that the amorous Auntie and it was just plain weird. But I got a few good laughs out of it, so all was not lost. And it's good to experience new things! =:-o I did not read the werewolf one I checked out. I think I will stick with historicals.

There was a short story by Sherrilyn Kenyon where the hero was called Dante, but I'm pretty sure he was a shapeshifter not a vamp. I don't remember a Dark Hunter story like that. Maybe it was a different author? (or maybe I've read too many to remember them all LOL)

You're right, dl, and my apologies to Ms. Kenyon. It took a bit of work to find it, but the book is Twilight Hunger by Maggie Shayne. I reiterate: Holy Cow! I looked it up first in the library catalog and found the cover I thought was right. Then I looked it up at Amazon to verify the story. I should have looked it up there before reading it. Even her fans didn't like it much. It was probably a poor choice as an introduction to the genre.

If you wanted to try a really excellent introduction to a Sherrilyn kenyon paranormal without vamps I would recommend Fantasy Lover. It is a prequil to her Dark Hunter series. It has some historical (i.e. Greek mythology) parts in it and I think you'd like it.

I can't remember if I've read anything by Maggie Shayne or not. I think so, but it obviously didn't make too much of an impression if I did.

Thanks, dl. I will try to find the Kenyon book. I intended to get a Kenyon, but apparently picked up the wrong book thinking it was a Kenyon. (There were several by different authors together.) There was one there called Knight of Darkness by Kenyon writing under the name of Kinley MacGregor that looked interesting. I should have taken it while I had my hand on it.

I'm sure I will never forget Shayne's name again. I will stand way back from any I find.

Simply Unforgettable and Simply Love were wonderful. I highly recommend both. I have heard some critics poo-poo the new Simply series, but if these two are an indication of what's to come, I can't wait!

Hailelib, Fletcher's Woman was the same old same old Western. This was Fletcher Hawk's story, the sequel to Logan Hawk's story. It was almost the same exact plotline as the first. Where have all the good historical Westerns gone?

CC

I think the difference between Sherrilyn Kenyon and Kinley MacGregor (keeping in mind that they are one and the same person) is that Sherrilyn writes more paranormal and Kinley writes more medieval/historical romances. At least that is what I've gathered from reading books she has written under both names.

Then I need to read a MacGregor anyway. I'm going to look for that one again.

One of Sherrilyn Kenyon's early books (1994) was actually a futuristic romance called Paradise City. Spaceships instead of vampires.

CC - Thanks for the heads up on Fletcher's Woman. Have you noticed that the subgenres seem to have periods when the best authors seem to disappear or move on? Sometimes other good storytellers replace them but sometimes the new books aren't all that good for a while.

Hailelib, maybe that's what it is, but I've been disappointed lately in the latest historical Western releases.

Another heads up. I love Carolyn Davidson, being a fellow South Carolinian and all that. I adore her books. Her latest effort however, written for Harlequin's HQN line instead of their traditional historical line, was just terrible. The name of the book is Haven (no touchstone). Half of it is taken up describing food the characters eat. It was almost as if the story wasn't long enough for HQN's thicker format, so she filled it with fluff to stretch it.

CC