What are you reading - week of August 23, 2010

I'm still on Catch of the Day.

Julia

I just started reading I Kissed an Earl - Violet has just finagled her way aboard the titular earl's ship (he's also a sea-captain by the unfortunate name of Captain Flint; I keep thinking Treasure Island here) to look for her brother who may (or may not) be the privateer Captain Flint is determined to hunt down.

There's an interesting power dynamic going on between the two of them. I find it a bit unsettling, and I have yet to determine whether that's a good thing (oh, how novel!) or a bad thing (oh, how irritating!)...

I'm just starting Elizabeth Boyle's "Confessions of a Little Black Gown" (4th in her Bachelor Chronicles). I've gone through the previous 3 and must say that the 1st one ("Something About Emmaline") is my favorite in this series, so far. I'm not sure I want to read the last one in this series (" Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress"), as it's happening 27 years from the other books, which puts our H & H at 44 & 49 age wise. If any of you had read this one, let me know what you think of it! Thanks!!!

I finished Maid to Match. While I thought there were some awkward passages and Mack's voice just didn't work for me (unlike the other characters, he frequently sounded stiff and unnatural, as if the author was unsure how to make him sound "educated" while simultaneously presenting him as a rough around the edges mountain man), I liked the book well enough that I'd look for others by Deanne Gist.

I'll probably read Betina Krahn's RITA award-winning Make Me Yours next so that I can participate in this month's book discussion.

Melanie53, I felt the same way.

I enjoyed Confessions of a Little Black Gown as long as I pretended not to know that Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress existed. My enjoyment of Confessions was a little tainted by my knowledge that the supporting characters didn't have a happily every after for 27 years. I thought that was pretty depressing and couldn't bring myself to read Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress....

Just picked up Demon from the Dark new release from Kresley Cole's IAD series - love the series & so far its starting off great!

I finished Catch of the day and started Just one of the guys both by Kristan Higgins.

Julia

What did you think of Catch of the Day, Julia? I really liked it but I know some people thought there wasn't enough of the hero's POV to really get a feeling for him.

I just finished Suzanne Enoch's reissue of Stolen Kisses. It was ok but the hero and heroine weren't working together for as much of the book as I'd like.

I finished The Andreou Marriage Arrangement by Helen Bianchin today. It was very sweet; no alpha-jerk for the hero! But I didn't understand why the heroine talked about her father using his first name.

I thought Catch of the day better than Fools rush in.

I'm reading the third book by her in a row and it's getting really predictable. So far the storyline is always the same. I have two more of her books in my tbr and though I enjoy them they are too repetitious.

Based on that I'm not sure I will pick up more of her books. But maybe I'll change my mind after I'm finished.

Julia

@Julia1605:

I found the same thing when I read a few of her books in a row; they start to seem very formulaic. I would maybe try taking a break from her and reading something else in between books, because she is a good writer, but not one that (I think) who's stories can be read one after another without noticing some serious flaws and repetitions.

I've been in such a reading slump for the past few weeks. Everytime I pick up a book I invariably find myself putting it back down after reading a few chapters. I might try re-reading one of my old favourites like Yours Until Dawn. Hopefully that will kick me back into gear.

question - The Immortals After Dark series - How many books are there and do they need to be read in order?

sdbookhound> For the IAD series, so far there have been 8 books and 1 short story. I think to enjoy them the most, they should be read in order. However, the earlier books don't build on each other as much so you can just pick them up. I felt like the later books build upon each other so they should be read in order.

I'm a little way into Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward. This series has definitely moved away from romance into something else, but it is still enjoyable. The only drawback is I find myself having to skip over some paragraphs because they're too gruesome.

I finished The Dangerous Lord by Sabrina Jeffries, not as good as the 2nd in the trilogy, I thought the gossipy plotline and manipulations of the hero were a bit too much, but it was still an enjoyable read. Next for my kindle is Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase.

Lam, I'm just reading them in a row because I picked Too good to be true for my Group Read book. I finished Just one of the guys and will start TGTBT tomorrow.

Julia

#13> I agree I think they should be read in order just because you get to know the characters better since they all show up here & there throughout the books

#15> jenson, I agree that she has went romance light but I still love the strories. I cant wait for Payne's story

Almost finished with Demon from the Dark and loving it!!

I finished The Highland Duchess by Karen Ranney. All I can say is I'm glad I picked this up on paperbackswap and didn't pay for it. I'm annoyed by the several hours I spent reading the book. Karen Ranney's books have been great and this just was a waste...

A re-read for me of The Bride this time on the unabridged audio - it was great! It's already one of my favorite books, and I loved the audio version this time. A keeper and comfort read.

I finished First Drop of Crimson. It was really good.

Now I've started Eternal Kiss of Darkness. So far, so good.

21> booklizard - I love that series & it just gets better as you go. She has a spinoff series its the Night Huntress World & there are 2 books so far - I would read those when you finish the Night Huntress series because you will know the background of all the characters. Enjoy

I have several books to pick up at the library - 3 from Jim Hines - I have never read his books before but seemed like they would be fun. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie and The Hauting of Hill House

Not sure where Im going to start but glad to have a long weekend

22> Scrpo1027, those ARE the spinoff series - and they were both so good! The next Night Huntress book, This Side of the Grave, is coming out in February. Frost posted a picture of the cover on her web page. Sweet!

>23 BookLizard:- Booklizard, OH DUH :) I forget the others have grave in the titles lol... I should have remembered that too because I just got done reading Eternal Kiss - I totally agree loved them. Im glad she did the first one on Spade (love him) I wonder if she will get around to doing one on Vlad?? His character cracks me up especially in the latest book.

Kresley Cole's new book just came out last week which was great too if you like the IAD series - also Christine Feehan & Gail Carriger have books coming out in the next couple of days :)