Do you read romance novels?

Editing for sorry little personal promo: http://tinyurl.com/b4h6z

:P

every once in a while I just need a good romance/sex, unrequited style book.

The later stuff, not the 70's "have to force them to like it" stuff. :)

On Edit: LOVE THE DARK HUNTERS!!! :)

On Double Edit: Kenyon also writes as Kinley McGregor, just like Nora Roberts writes as J. D. Robb. :)

Also, I like Christine Feehan.

In general, if the heroine isn't feisty with a brain, I'm not interested. :)

A blessing because readers don't have preconceived notions of what the writing will be like when they pick up a book, ie Nora Roberts' women fiction titles are very different from her forays as J.D. Robb.

But they are also a pain because the times I have emailed authors asking for book lists for my sites only to fin out I sent the same email 5 times to one woman.. well that's just embarassing. :P

I don't know why, but romance novels make me slightly uncomfortable. I can talk about sex, engage in sex, watch sex, but reading it feels weird to me...almost like I'm intruding on a private experience which is ridiculous because the characters are fictional and they're written for me to read. I don't know how to explain it. There's just something about reading that makes it seem so intimate. :shrug:

:)

This may be very pathetic of me to admit, but I had no idea. :) In my defense however, when it comes to brain candy books, I LOVE psychological thrillers so I rarely walk into the romance section.

I just assumed (from the 2, maybe 3 romance novels I've read) that they all include sex scenes.

I'm a book lover and am willing to try new stuff. Any recomendations?

I enjoy the Stephanie plum series, but they are sexy. (She's a very inept bounty hunter so there are some thrills there.)

Usually the romances that have the thriller bits are billed as intrigues or romantic suspense. I don't read many of those myself and of the few that I have I am not sure I can come up with one that wasn't sexy at some level or another.

I'll ask the gals from one of the romance messageboards I visit if they have any suggestions. :)

I'm perfectly okay with keeping my thriller seperate from my romance...the two together just seems way too creepy.

Okay, how about a romance novel where the woman seduces the man? I think I would prefer something like that over the books I've read in the past...they all seem to involve a woman who is successful in work but not in love and then has to choose between one or the other. Yuck. I'm a have your cake and eat it too kind of gal and so a passive female character probably won't cut it for me. I'm a fan of two equals coming together...are there any books about that??

BTW, this is a very interesting thread.

the heroine's are rather whiny. (Think Bridget Jones)

Romantic thrillers aren't bad. They're either the couple on the run from someone or one half of the couple trying to save the other half of the couple from the big bad guy.

Again, I'll have to ask around about the "woman who seduces the man" idea. I know they exist. :0

I've only read one of them before. It was a bit on the paranormal side of things.

Mary Stewart and Harlan Caben (though I suspect perhaps the second one isn't a romance writer?)

Here's the review for the Mary Stewart one I read way back when.

~Thornyhold~
by Mary Stewart
Heroine: everywoman


Life can be difficult for an only child raised by strict religious parents, and this was certainly the case for Geillis Ramsey who had no friends (not even a pet) to call her own for most of her young life.

Fortunately what Jilly does have is a fairy Godmother of sorts; her mother's cousin who keeps an eye out for her interests even as she is traveling the globe. She makes certain that young Jilly is provided for when her parents leave her alone in the world as a young woman with no real prospects. She gives her Thornyhold, a beautiful old Georgian House that once belonged to a witch named Goody Gostelow, which becomes a refuge for the poor young Geillis.

But how truly safe is she at her new shelter? A disturbing dream, messages from the great beyond, and neighbors who send out mixed signals as to whether or not they want her there leave Geillis wondering about the sanctity of her new home and the sanity of her mind.

What worked for me:

For the most part this is a very gentle pastoral story filled with lovely descriptions of a time gone by in the countryside of England 50+ years ago when not all houses had phones, neighbors dropped in to clean your house with you, and herbal remedies were more trusted than doctor's prescriptions. But the first few chapters about Geillis as a child, which were necessary to show why she is the way she is and add depth to the story, were decidedly sad in several places.

Size-wise Geillis wasn't really described, but her neighbor was a fairly large woman.

What didn't work for me:

Because of its idyllic pace it didn't have me on the edge of my seat the way I expect a gothic romance should. In fact the romance and even the suspense in "Thornyhold" were very mild, almost secondary even, so that I think the book seems more like a light paranormal fiction than a gothic.

Overall:

A very sweet story worth indulging in, especially if you are a fan of witches and/or gardening.

Warning: There are a few references to the occult in this novel.

If you liked "Thornyhold" you might also enjoy "Aunt Dimity and the Duke" or "The Dancing Floor".

The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye. I've read it a few times, to be honest. However, I have never been able to read any others at all.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/031215125X/002-1521243-0581600?v=glance

Posting sure has been an adventure today :)

tinkering with a Roman Empire setting myself. Though I hear that isn't an oft-used (or much sold) setting either. :)

Never could get the point.
Almost all the authors write from some formula dictated by the publisher.
They're not suprising, and not actually very exciting. They are good paychecks for the authors, though, as there seems to be some unsatiable demand.

Mostly it's bad writing on a huge scale.

(Just wondering, what does it say that 99.9% of readers are women? Do you guys not actually like to read good novels? Just saying.)

That was their heyday.

...and read sections. Still same ol' same ol'. New twists, of course to keep up with the times.

I don't like soap operas either, which this genre seems to appeal to those who like that sort of thing.

I guess my biggest complaint is that it is incredibly poor writing.

perfect example of "what not to do" on almost every level. Makes me want to kick myself for being too lazy to really get going with my own stories because I know I can do so much better than that.

Have you tried reading Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series? Yes, they have the soap opera thing going on to some degree, but they are more interesting and the writing is better than most historical romances.

(Threw one against the wall...? Don't get that.)

If you want ongoing characters set in historical times with sex and intrigue...

...try the Neal Stephenson series:

Baroque Cycle Vols. 1-3 followed by his Cryptonomicon. Incredible reading. Approx. 5000 pages. Once hooked, you'll love it. And it's good writing.

tempted to throw them at the wall. Usually due to stupid plot twists or annoying authorial intrusion or schmaltzy dialogue or head hopping. etc etc

I'd never heard of the series or the author before this morning. I went to the library and in anticipation of a local Scottish heritage festival, they had a display of various types of books about Scotland. Outlander looked interesting, so I picked it up. It's weird that just a few hours later, people are talking about it on DU. Funny how things like that happen. :-)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/034546009X/qid=1117565332/sr=8-2/ref=pd_csp_2/104-3983878-2554361?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Sarah Bird's "The Boyfriend School."

Writing for a shoestring paper in Austin in the mid-80s, the broke heroine is sent to Dallas to cover a romance writers' convention, and the dialogue and descriptions are absolutely hilarious. you would enjoy it because she pokes fun at romance writers with a great sense of humor (because she was one).

I read this book over and over again and never get tired of it. It's one of my all-time favorites. But then again, I'm an Austin girl at heart.

FSC

I guess I'm not an traditionalist when it comes to my romance reading.

I wandered into the genre by a list on Amazon that included Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy. My taste in fiction is very diversified and a bit odd, I saw no reason not to add some off beat romance novels to the list.

I decided to start with Sherrilyn Kenyon's books and moved on to Karen Marie Moning when I'd finished. Since then I've read many horror/sci-fi/fantasy based romances. I've also tried a few traditional historical types on for size and find I really have to be in the right mood to enjoy them.

:hi:

(I use these for my Halloween reading list on my reading website.)

Barker, Clive "Coldheart Canyon"

Fox, Andrew "Fat White Vampire Blues"

Hamilton, Laurell K. "A Stroke Before Midnight"

Handeland, Lori "Blue Moon"

Haley, Wendy "Dead Heat"

Harbaugh, Karen "Dark Enchantment"

Harris, Charlaine "Southern Vampire" series

Heller, Jane "Infernal Affairs"

Jones, Diana Wynne "Witch Week"

Jones, Jill "Bloodlines"

Joyce, Brenda "House of Dreams"

Kenyon, Sherrilyn "Night Embrace"

Kenyon, Sherrilyn "Night Play"

MacAlister, Katie "A Girl's Guide to Vampires"

Michaels, Barbara "Shattered Silk"

Michaels, Barbara "The Dancing Floor"

Moore, James "Under the Overtree"

Patterson, James "The Women's Murder Club" series

Rice, Anne "Violin"

Riley, Judith Merkle "The Oracle Glass"

Sparks, Kerrelyn "How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire"

Staub, Wendy Corsi "Fade to Black"

Stewart, Mary "Thornyhold"

Stuart, Anne "Night of the Phantom"

Wilder, J. C. "Shameless"

Harris, Charlaine "Southern Vampire" series

Hamilton, Laurell K. "A Stroke Before Midnight"
I've read her entire Anita Blake series.

Jones, Jill "Bloodlines"

Kenyon, Sherrilyn "Night Embrace"

Kenyon, Sherrilyn "Night Play"

Rice, Anne "Violin"

I seem to have a thing for blood suckers, don't I? :)


I noticed in the post above mine you mentioned Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series. I've read them also. I enjoyed them. They were a good historical fiction, mixed with the time travel twist and sprinkled with romance.

(and it was almost the same deal for "Violin". It was draggy for me.)

Haven't tried Hamilton or Kenyon yet but I know a lot of people rave over them. I loved the one Southern Vampire book I read, though. I gotta get more of those. :)

Gabaldon is definitely historical fiction in my mind but I often see it on the romance shelves in bookstores.

The characters were weak, and as you said, the writing style was draggy. Violin was a bad read, period.

"Blue Moon" was Hamilton's best. The books stand alone just fine if you chose to just read that one.

Charlaine Harris' character, Sookie, is just as great in the rest of the series. If you liked the first one you'll no doubt like the others.

If you do read Kenyon and decide you enjoy her she also writes Scottish historical romance under the pen name Kinley MacGregor.

:hi:

I haven't yet read "Fantasy Lover" but I've heard many people rave over that one too.

Diana Gabaldon, started that addiction. I'm not sure if it's the period of if it's the kilts. :shrug:

Fantasy Lover is excellent. It's actually a precursor to her Dark-Hunter novels. She ties the characters from Fantasy Lover into Dark-Hunter series later, which makes it a great place to start of you decide to give her a read.

on amazon of kils and celts. (Just look for the ones titled Historicals) Maybe you have read these too?

http://tinyurl.com/7wu7c

I'm sure there's more that I've just not run across yet.

The Irresistible MacRae
by Karen Ranney

Highland Groom
by Hannah Howell

Devil in a Kilt
by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

McClairen's Isle
by CONNIE BROCKWAY

McClairen's Isle
by CONNIE BROCKWAY

Ransom
by Julie Garwood

Saving Grace
by Julie Garwood

The BRIDE
by Julie Garwood

Beloved Highlander
by Sara Bennett

The Immortal Highlander
by KAREN MARIE MONING

Beyond the Highland Mist
by KAREN MARIE MONING

Kiss of the Highlander
by KAREN MARIE MONING

To Tame a Highland Warrior
by KAREN MARIE MONING

The Highlander's Touch
by KAREN MARIE MONING

The Dark Highlander
by KAREN MARIE MONING

A Dance Through Time
by Lynn Kurland


Are there any on this list you've read?

That's quite a list of list's you shared. It should feed my Scotsman addiction for quite some time.

I learned how to edit. I am afraid to go back and read it again in case it falls short of my new standards. *lol*) I also read the sequel, "The Wedding" but I felt that it was a pale comparison to the original.

Try some of the other Celtic novels as well as the highland ones. There are a few Welshmen and Irish blokes worth slobbering over too. *g*

She has 3 series going. Also, Katie MacCalister's vampire books are hilarious.

I haven't read it yet, though, so can't vouch for it.

Do any men read them? No insult to anyone intended, I just can't imagine any less interesting form of literature.

I know a few men who love the Steph Plum series. :)

"Bawdy, raucous, and outrageously sexy" doesn't even begin to do justice to this thriller series which reads like an episode of "Moonlighting" meets "Married to the Mob". Heroine Stephanie Plum is from the Burg, a close-knit neighborhood in Trenton, New Jersey where the gals wear their skirts tighter and shorter than their spandex biker shorts, their make-up is louder than their booming car stereos, and their ultra-tall back-teased hair barely fits under the doorways at the mall.

Formerly a discount lingerie buyer, Italian-Hungarian Stephanie falls on hard times and, in a fit of desperation, approaches her sleazy cousin Vinnie about a job as a bond recovery agent at his bail bonding business. Murder, mayhem, and mishaps abound as Stephanie tries to get her "collars" and discovers the job is far more difficult when you're the only unarmed person in Jersey. (Stephanie actually owns a piece but prefers to leave it in the cookie jar in her kitchen.)

What worked for me:

As much as I enjoy the zany plots and wacky secondary characters, I think what keeps me coming back to the series the most is Steph's tangled love life. (It must be nice to have not one but two delicious hunks chasing after you!) Janet Evanovich honed her word craft skills while writing romantic fiction, so she certainly knows how to spin out the sexual tension between the superbly-drawn characters of Stephanie, Morelli, and Ranger. In fact, it takes several books of the series before there is any culmination of lust and love whatsoever. Talk about extended foreplay!

Some folks might not find the mysteries convoluted enough, but not being a Perry Mason myself I like the fact that I catch on to the clues before Steph. Makes me feel quite the sharp cookie. :^)

As far as size goes, Stephanie lays a few numbers on you weight-wise, but you get a sense that she's fudging them a bit. There are some characters who have a decidedly fat-phobic view on life but fortunately Lula is there to straighten them out.

What didn't work for me:

Serial writing is a great gimmick. It's all about leaving the reader hanging by a thread waiting desperately for the next installation in the series. I was lucky, having jumped on the band wagon late I was able to zip through all of the books back-to-back. Now that I am all caught up, though, I too shall have to endure the agony of waiting to find out what will happen in the next book.

Overall:

Excellent writing, interesting plots, wildly colorful recurring characters, and an infusion of humor make this series a great joy to read, with each book even better than the one before! Since the novels build on each other it's best to read them in order. Warning: there is coarse language used in these books, and they must be read while eating pizza and/or doughnuts.

Cast of Characters:

Joe Morelli: dedicated cop; known for having the best buns in the Burg. As the neighborhood wolf, he's had dozens of mothers saying rosaries for their daughters over the years, including Mrs. Plum when she learned that 8 year old Joe had lured 6 year old Stephanie into his father's garage to play "Choo-Choo".

Ranger: Ultra-fit, dark, mysterious former military man, now mercenary bounty hunter with questionable side-businesses. So gorgeous that women walk into walls when he flashes a smile. Once had to release Stephanie from a pair of handcuffs which held her chained in the all-together to her own shower stall.

Grandma Mazur: Stephanie's 70-odd year old grandmother, who doesn't look a day over 90. Likes to wear the same wild clothes as her granddaughter, especially to viewings at the local funeral parlors, which is the main social activity in the neighborhood. Recently learned the joys of sharp shooting when she shot a roasted chicken "in the gumpy".

Lula: full-figured former hooker with a heart of gold and knuckles of brass. Loves to ride shotgun with Steph to pick up skips, but pouts when she is told not to actually shoot anyone.

Mom and Dad Plum: Stephanie's parents. Dad is retired but drives a cab just to get away from Grandma Mazur and his wife. Mom is the ultimate hausfrau who lures food-loving Stephanie to the house with wonderful home-cooked meals then subjects her to hours of nagging, which gives Steph an unfortunate twitch in her left eye.

Joyce Barnhardt: our heroine's nemesis who was once caught using Steph's now ex-hubby's backside to polish to the dining room table. Joyce "persuades" Vinnie in a similar manner to hire her on as a skip tracer, much to Steph's everlasting exasperation.

Big Blue: An ancient powder blue Buick with windows like portholes. Steph hates this car because it's old, ugly, and turns on a buck-and-a-half. It sticks out like a sore thumb on stake-outs and is likewise useless for tailing people, but on the plus-side it's the only car to-date that Steph's managed not to blow up.

I hope you copied that. Otherwise you type like 200 to 500 times faster than I do.

:-)

As a matter of fact, I like both humor and mystery, although my reading has been a bit dark lately (stuff like Andrew Vachss). I have enjoyed Elmore Leonard and some other guy who writes about Florida and sometimes Seattle, and Aaron Elkins, who's occasionally funny.

I'll check her out (literally - from the library).

Thank you.

:hi:

go three letters forward two deletes back. I can't seem to hit the keys straight on and get clumps by accident. :P

myself silly. (But I would cry to find one of my own covers on there. *g*)

I'd sooner use a stick and a pine cone to wipe my ass, if the choice was a romance novel, a stick and a pine cone.

sundry others. just kidding about the stick and the pine cone.:P

(See post 25 for better literature.)

(for reading, any way) romance, mystery/thrillers, sci-fi, and fantasy.

I'll take a peek at the books you suggested sometime and see if they look like something I would enjoy.

But please don't call "Romance Novels" good writing. (I'm not sure you've actually said that, but you've implied that you like the stuff.)

You know it's not good, because you do it.

I worked for FOX News and knew that wasn't news.

I've sat down and written a novel myself, and also don't consider it good. It's just commercial. Someday it'll make a great screenplay and make some production company a gazillion bucks. But good? Nope.

think is what you are talking about?) And some literary novels have plenty to say but are deadly boring to read.

The best writing, then, would have to combine the pleasure of popular fiction and the weightiness of literary fiction. Not easy to do. How many authors can you say really pull that off? (And don't start listing all the classic writers that first pop into your head. Deep thinking, yes. But danged boring and plodding prose in many cases.)

most are not original. I started reading them in high school just because the good old "bodice ripper" covers pissed off all of my teachers. I've even tried to write them but then I wander down another path and it no longer sounds like a romance novel.
*sighs* oh, well.

But I will check out your link.

was a snob that way. *g* But, she loved the Jenny Crusie and Janet Evanovich novels I recommended to her. And ifnalyl she had to admit that she did like romance novels.. at least some subgenres, anyway.

and go straight to the ones where the men were completely nude and the only cover they had was from the woman's hanging sheet. That really made the teachers mad.
I realized that a mere bodice cover wasn't enough. The bodice cover made the teacher mad. But the other cover-boy did it make that Fundie seethe!

I just don't want the headache, ya know? *l*

A few articles that I have written would make some of my family very angry. They would seethe w/ rage if I ever finished and published one of the romance novels.

(on edit: so no one in my family even knows that I write anything)

excuse to not write my books. Really, it's as much a fear of failure/success as it is fear of a family blow-up. That and I am freaking lazy. :P (If I spent the amount of time writing books as I do writing DU posts, I'd have a dozen out by now. *l*)

I just get so tired of fighting w/ my family. And they would not be pleased if I started writing romance novels. I think that they wouldn't admit it to anyone if I did. And anything else I have ever written causes arguments-even crap that I wrote in high school for the school newspaper (that article about teen pregnancy didn't go over well at all w/ some of my family).
It just makes you want to give up.

Eventually the current family fiasco will die down . I might go back and finish something up at that time.

could raise a real ruckus. (Though not quite as big a one as if he found out that I am not a fundagelical Xian.)

She enjoys reading mystery-thrillers, as do I, but there's something fun about the brain candy that is a romance novel.

She and my dad go to South Padre every winter right after Christmas, and she brings a bagful of them with her. One of the group they hang out with down there is a romance writer, and he's a 68-year-old man. He publishes under a pseudonym, of course.

2 years. Then I went to real novels. But can only take them in certain doses. Mysteries if they are well written in phases too - lately that is.

Like non-fiction the best. Always have.

after a while the comfy-as-old-shoes formula that I was craving starts to get tiresome. So I bounce around between romance (and chick lit), mysteries, sci-fi, and fantasy. And occasionally I'll pick up weightier tomes in between.

I loved as a movie. Some truths in that one.

but the more I watch it the more I have to suspend my disbelief.

got to escape to a house in the countryside filled with books.

Just me I guess.

And then the promise of peace and books. That is the part I liked. The other parts - well - why I don't like sci-fiction - I just don't buy into it at all and would spend most of my time in the movie theater trying to figure out what the logic is behind them catching her memories and they throwing them against walls to read them. That annoys me. But the truth that some people can perceive incredibly well (not to the extent that they can stop crimes of unknown stangers) was touching. And the price that extracts was also truthful.

I think that is the only sci-fiction movie I have ever liked. I think the author puts enough humanity in his writing that his movies transcend sci-fi. Then I saw the most recent movie by the same author and couldn't sit through it.

I like but saw for the first time 15 years after it came out. The other 5 - I don't think I have seen or will ever.

it was a huge part of my life during my teen years. (Next Generation) I guess for me I like the sense of hope that Roddenberry had in his vision of the future.

For me - it was always about the cheesy love stories and the sets when i watched it with my addicted friends. I don't think I've ever seen the new one.

I always pick up Christine Feehan's, Katie Macalister's, and Suzanne Brockmann's new stuff. Every now and then I read Nora Roberts. I like her more paranormal stuff. And Elizabeth Lowell has some I've liked. Lately, I've been on a sci-fi/fantasy kick though.

sci-fi to be SCI-FI, ya know? I mean, yes I will read books from the Star Trek series but overall I like my sci-fi to be heavy reading and I want to come away from a book wondering "Can that really happen? How DID that happen?"

I don't mind if there's a relationship in the sci-fi, but I don't like the romance to be a sci-fi. Kwim? Vampires and witches and werewolves in romance is fine by me though lol.

Now I read non fiction, some SF/Fantasy and mysteries. Romance should be slightly "tongue in cheek". :-)

They were killed off by Zebra Kensington due to poor marketing. They labelled them historical romance but they are NOT that at all.

These are cozy mysteries set in the 20s with a touch of romance to them.

~ Daisy Gumm Majesty~
Mystery Series
by Alice Duncan
1. Strong Spirits
2. Fine Spirits

Heroine: average

Redheaded Daisy Gumm Majesty is not your average 1920s spiritual medium. Rather, she's a canny and perceptive girl who lacks an actual connection to the "other side", but who uses her unique understanding of the human condition as a "spiritual counselor" to make a good living for her family, including a young husband ruined from fighting the Huns in Germany.

Unfortunately, Daisy's chosen career is just a tad bit illegal as the police would see it more as fortune telling than psychological and emotional assistance. Not that any of her wealthy, satisfied (if a bit flighty) customers would ever dream of turning her in, but Daisy's wheelchair-bound husband's new best friend is none other than her own archenemy Detective Sam Rotondo, a cranky police officer who just misses catching her in the act of her questionable occupation with alarming frequency. But the brusque cop may be willing to overlook Daisy's profession as it appears that her countless social connections would make her an excellent unofficial snoop for his cases.

Now if only this card-carrying choir member con-artist can just get past her morally superior ethics and agree!

What worked for me:

Sweet and lovable Daisy is just darling, if a bit garrulous! She's so sincere in her belief that she is helping people that you almost forget that she's truly a con-artist in the eyes of the law. The rest of the cast of characters are also very real and sympathetic. I easily could envision before and after "the Big War" images of Daisy's broken young husband Billy. (Shades of Lord Chatterley, anyone?)

Size-wise Daisy is a bit curvier than is fashionable for the era of boyish flappers, but she doesn't reflect on it very much. She is like many young women, however, in that she's a bit taken aback when she sees a larger, older woman wearing bright colors or getting down on her hands and knees to play with puppies. Life as a large woman is a foreign concept to Daisy for now, but she owns that it may become more familiar to her one day thanks to her fondness for her Aunt Vi's fine cooking.

What didn't work for me:

I don't have a problem with it, but those who have strict genre preferences might. This series defies simple categorization having elements of both cozy mysteries and romance, but you could just as easily consider it light historical fiction with occasional dealings in darker matters like the treatment of homosexuals or the suffering of war veterans.

There were a couple of passages that were so information intensive that I felt like I was getting a history lesson, but aside from that it was smooth sailing.

Overall:

Charming and delightful, Daisy is sure to please readers of many genres, especially fans of novels set in the Roaring Twenties.

If you liked the Daisy Gumm Majesty mystery series you might also enjoy the "Daisy Dalrymple" mystery series, the "Miss Marple" mystery series ,"The Edge of Town", "High on a Hill", "A Place Called Rainwater", "Lady Chatterley's Lover", "Babbit", or "Ulysses".

:hi:

And I've actually read the "Miss Marple" books. Although Joan Hickson's Miss Marple is one of the best depictions of her on screen, IMHO.

ought to revisit them sometime. :)

The stuff I read that relates to sexuality is a bit less-than-"romantic". Otherwise, I often tend to stick with nonfiction.

I grew up reading science fiction--hunting down used paperbacks in dusty 2nd hand bookstores--before there were college courses in the stuff. So I'm not "hoity toity." Still read a bit of science fiction--plus any fantasy that is NOT a 3rd rate Tolkien ripoff.

I've just finished all paperbacks available in two mystery series: Jane Austen, Detective & Mary Russell (partner to her husband, Sherlock Holmes).

My reading includes a fair amount of serious non-fiction, but I need paperbacks to carry on the bus--lighter but not brain-dead. I bogged down half-way through the Gabaldon books but may try again.

Any ideas?

The Daisy Gumm Majesty series further up the thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=3358460&mesg_id=3360785&page=

Sounds like you enjoy period stories, so Daisy, being set in the 20s, might work.

I'll let you know when my website is back up and running so that you can scan through for more mystery series to investigate.

Let me see, what else...You might try Thornyhold too. it's set in Britain in the.. 50s, I think. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=3358460&mesg_id=3360814&page=

My mother was big into the mysteries. She read Cadfael and the Didyus Falcos and the various Elizabeth Peters ones among others.

She also read the Steph Plum ones, but they are set in present day: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=3358460&mesg_id=3358724&page=

There are some fun vampire books out there. The Southern Vampires by Charlaine Harris. I don't have a review of those, though.

As I said elswhere in the thread I am not wild about a lot of fantasy and sci-fi romance. I prefer those other genres undiluted. (Hands-down sexiext book I ever read was MAIA by Richard Adams)

So in those genres I love Rober Asprin, Piers Anthony, Douglas Adams, Mercedes Lackey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Aasimov, James Blish, C. Arthur Clarke, David Eddings, Poul Anderson, Terry Pratchett, David Brooks, Elizabeth Scarborough, Anne McCaffrey etc etc

There was one futuristic romance I did read that was pretty good, but more for the romance than the other world setting (I like hard science in my sci-fi, even though I don't understand a word of it.)

~The Star Princess~
by Susan Grant

Heroine: curvaceous

Pampered playboy Prince Ché Vedla of the planet Eiryea is caught in the middle of conflicting royal intrigues. His family is in danger of losing face in the Federation because his betrothed has thrown him over for another man, whom Ché's brother Klark is under house arrest for trying to murder. Ché's advisors decide the best way around the situation would be for him to marry before his former fiancée does. But Ché, though willing to do what duty and honor requires of him, doesn't want to stick around through the process of finding himself the correct bride. So he hightails it to Earth--and meets with none other than the sister of the man who stole his fiancée!

To the world at large, independent filmmaker Ilana Hamilton looks like a strong woman. But deep down she is afraid. Afraid of flying. Afraid of commitment. Afraid of having her heart broken. But one thing she is not afraid of is Prince Ché Vedla. He's simply the arrogant, annoying, uninvited houseguest (and soon-to-be-brother-in-law) who turned up on her doorstep unannounced in the dead of night. Clearly, it's not her fault she doused a Prince of the galaxy with pepper spray!

But sparks are soon flying between the two and before long it looks like things will be getting spicier than the contents of the canister Ilana erroneously emptied on Ché.

If only he wasn't bound by eleven thousand years of tradition to marry a Vash Nadah woman who is his equal!

What worked for me:

Ilana and the ultra-Alpha male Ché were great characters and the culture clash that resulted from their interactions was very amusing at times.

I loved the fact that the Conan-type bodyguard in the story (named Muffin of all things!) really dug thick chicks.

And hopefully Ms. Grant's vision of the future comes true in at least one respect: all the cars on the CA freeways in her story are electric.

Size-wise Ilana was barely described and would have been considered an "everywoman" character but for the briefest of references to her strong, shapely figure.

What didn't work for me:

Dropping into the middle of this series wasn't a problem for me as I felt I got a fairly good background on what was happening in this universe. But those who have already read "The Star Prince" and "The Star King" may possibly find themselves scanning past the background passages so they can find out what's new in the Star world.

Overall:

I'd recommend this sexy, enjoyable story to fans of futuristic romances, but it's not for sci-fi addicts looking for a book with hard science between its pages.

Warning: The Prince has a brief steamy dalliance with one of his courtesans in the beginning of the story, and there are some other spicy passages later on in the book as well.

If you liked "The Star Princess" you might also enjoy "Ascendant Sun", "StarKissed", "Star-Crossed Lovers", "Oracle", the "Darkover" series, "Channeling Cleopatra", "Cosm", "HomeGoing", "A Civil Campaign", "Memory", "Mirror Dance", "Cleopatra 7.2", "The Petaybee Trilogy", the "Mike Callahan" series, or "Time Pressure".

"heaving" and "bulging". j/k, maybe.:blush:

Just look for the lists titled Historicals

http://tinyurl.com/7wu7c

Also, anything by Jennifer Crusie. Not necessarily obnoxious but at least heaving.

But the hands-down sexiest book I ever read was Maia by Richards Adams.
http://tinyurl.com/b569p

(Yes, there is romantica to be found at http://www.ellorascave.com/ but MAIA had so much more plotline to it. It was a story that had erotica in it instead of erotica with a story attached. :) )

~Welcome to Temptation~
by Jennifer Crusie

Heroine: lush, voluptuous

Temptation, Ohio, the tiny town that has it all: secrets, greed, blackmail, adultery, dirty politics, and a highly-phallic water tower. What better place for a filmmaker to shoot a documentary about a "porn star" returning to her roots?

Wedding videographer Sophie Dempsey, the only straight-laced member of a family of felons, is determined to make a decent life for herself-- even if the sheer boredom kills her! Had she known the trials and tribulations which awaited her in Temptation, she might have fled the scene as soon as she arrived. Having once been emotionally scarred by a preppy "town boy", Sophie wants nothing to do with Temptation's Ivy League-type mayor, who insists on playing handyman around the farmhouse where they are filming. And the added headache of dealing with the actors' egos and her baby sister's antics is making Sophie absolutely crazy!

Phineas T. Tucker, low-key politician who'd rather be playing pool, running his bookstore, and raising his daughter, is tired. Tired of living with his harridan of a mother. Tired of stepping into the breach between warring townsfolk. Tired of being tired. When Sophie Dempsey and her sister breeze into town to film an audition tape for Clea Whipple (a woman whose cleavage landed a much younger Phin in the emergency room for stitches in his chin), the mayor gets the feeling that the director is "devil's candy", bad trouble he should stay away from. But his best friend police chief Wes wants to put the moves on Amy Dempsey, Sophie's "ex-juvie" little sister, and the mayor finds himself tagging along on a double date just to keep big sister Sophie occupied and out of the way. What began as an altruistic gesture of friendship soon goes awry, and Phin finds he's drawn to this girl from the wrong side of the tracks-- and wants her bad.

Bad enough to shirk his mayoral duties during election time. Bad enough to defy his "first-lady-of-the-town" mother's wishes. Bad enough to cover for Sophie when a dead body turns up and her name is on the short list of suspects!

What worked for me:

As always Ms. Crusie can be counted on to supply the reader with lots of romances to root for, witty one-liners, sizzling sex scenes (though they may not be lurid enough for romance readers who want the play-by-play), and an unusual cast of characters. This time around there's the nutty council of a dysfunctional town, washed-up thespians, a depressed porn king, and a seriously-dead corpse who knows the meaning of the phrase "overkill'. And, as always, there's the requisite ugly dog.

Sophie had a strong sense of self and was, I thought, a very likeable gal. I loved the scene where she set Phin's frosty mother straight during their little chat together. And I adored how things turned out for her in the end!

Size-wise, Sophie sounded like she was at the voluptuous end of average.

What didn't work for me:

I read the sequel "Faking It" first, so my perception of "Welcome to Temptation" may be somewhat different than those of folks who read the two books in order.

There were a lot of movie and music references in "Welcome to Temptation", but not quite so many as in "Faking It" where I thought it went overboard.

It would have been nice if Sophie had broken things off with her boyfriend before getting involved with Phin. (Especially, I suppose, from the boyfriend's point-of-view.)

I had to suspend my disbelief somewhat when it came to the murder investigation. And while it could be said that the killer was brought to some level of justice, it irked me that the police never became aware of what had truly taken place.

As a side note: I can deal with a twenty year old girl getting involved with a rake in a Regency better than I can a twenty year old girl in a contemporary getting together with a porn king. Don't ask me why; I have no answer for this.

Overall:

Wickedly tempting with its moments of comic brilliance, sizzling sex, and (though it starts late in the game) an interesting mystery, "Welcome to Temptation" makes a great bubble bath book. Be sure to snag a copy of "Faking It" as well!

Warning: There are some spicy love scenes and some coarse language in this story.

If you liked "Welcome to Temptation", you might also enjoy "Love at Large", "Faking It", "Crazy For You", "Fast Women", The "Stephanie Plum" mystery series, "Dating Dead Men", "Plum Girl", "Blushing Pink", "Switcheroo", "Princess Charming", "Infernal Affairs", "It Had to be You", "This Heart of Mine", or "Dear Cupid".

eom

Since my teens. Can't be helped.

I like Regencies as well. Here's my virtual bookshelf, where you can see a lot of the books I have either read or wished I could find: http://tinyurl.com/7wu7c

but I have trouble caring about whether a romance works out or not.

Even when I was a kid I preferred the Hardy Boys to the girly stuff.;-)

But congrats on the publication!

the obvious formulae. ;)

(although if susang reads this, she'll hurt me, as she has told me not to call it that.) Hide me!

I also dig Jennifer Crusie, old Tami Hoag and Sarah Bird.
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(I've read about 1/2 of them. I am in the process of updating it so there will be more on the list by tomorrow.)

And while it wasn't Chick Lit, my story in the anthology was Chick-Lit-ish. :^)

Alan, Teresa "Who You Know"
Amos, Diana "Getting Personal"
Baer, Judy "The Whitney Chronicles"
Ballis, Stacey "Inappropriate Men"
Bagshawe, Louise "Venus Envy"
Blumenthal, Deborah "Fat Chance"
Brashares, Ann "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"
Brashares, Ann "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2"
Brichoux, Karen "Coffee and Kung Fu"
Brichoux, Karen "Separation Anxiety"
Buchan, Elizabeth "Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman"
Collins, Kate "Abby Knight" series
Culliford, Penny "Theodora's Diary"
Culliford, Penny "Theodora's Wedding"
Cunnah, Michelle "32AA"
Curnyn, Lynda "Bombshell"
Curnyn, Lynda "Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend"
Donovan, Susan "He Loves Lucy"
Durrant, Sabine "Having It and Eating It"
Edwards, Johanna "The Next Big Thing"
Frankel, Valerie "Smart Vs. Pretty "
Fforde, Katie "Paradise Fields"
Fforde, Katie "Wild Designs"
Fielding, Helen The "Bridget Jones" series
Friedman, Elyse "Waking Beauty"
Gaskell, Whitney "True Love and Other Lies"
Goldsmith, Olivia "Fashionably Late"
Green, Jane "Bookends"
Green, Jane "Jemima J.: A Novel About Ugly Ducklings & Swans"
Green, Jane "Straight-Talking"
Grazer, Gigi Levangie "Maneater"
Gunn, Robin Jones "Sisterchicks do the Hula"
Gunn, Robin Jones "Sisterchicks on the Loose"
Harrison, Suzette "Living on the Edge of Respectability"
Harrison, Suzette "When Perfect Ain't Possible"
James-Enger, Kelly "White Bikini Panties"
Jones, Christina "Hubble Bubble"
Kaye, Amy "The Used-to-be It Girl"
Kellogg, Marne Davis "Brilliant"
Kelly, Cathy "Someone Like You"
Keyes, Marian "Angels"
Keyes, Marian "Last Chance Saloon"
Keyes, Marian "Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married"
Keyes, Marian "Rachel's Holiday"
Keyes, Marian "Watermelon"
Knight, India "My Life on a Plate"
Kwitney, Alisa "Dominant Blonde"
Kwitney, Alisa "Till the Fat Lady Sings"
MacAlister, Katie "The Corset Diaries"
Mackler, Carolyn "The Earth, My Butt, and Other round Things"
Markham, Wendy "Slightly Single"
Matthews, Carole "Bare Necessity"
Maverick, Liz "What a Girls Wants"
Maxted, Anna "Behaving Like Adults"
Maxted, Anna "Getting Over It"
Maxwell, Katie "Eyeliner of the Gods"
Medoff, Jillian "Good Girls Gone Bad"
Mlynowski, Sarah "Fishbowl"
Mlynowski, Sarah "Monkey Business"
Moore, Jane "Fourplay"
Murphy, Amanda "The Art of Lost Luggage"
Naylor, Clare "Catching Alice"
Olson, Shannon "Welcome to my Planet Where English is Sometimes Spoken"
Parks, Adele "Larger than Life"
Phillips, Debra "The High Price of a Good Man"
Rech, Lindsay Faith "Losing It"
Rose, Jackie "Slim Chance"
Sanchez, Patrick "The Way It Is"
Simon, Misty "Poison Ivy"
Smolinski, Jill "Flip-Flopped: A Novel"
Schwarz, Robin "Night Swimming"
Templeton, Karen "Hanging by a Thread"
Thayer, Nancy "The Hot Flash Club"
Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa "The Dirty Girls Social Club"
Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa "Playing with Boys"
Walker, Fiona "Snap Happy"
Weiner, Jennifer "Good in Bed"
Weiner, Jennifer "In Her Shoes"
Weiner, Jennifer "Little Earthquakes"
Weir, Arabella "Does My Bum Look Big in This?"
Wilson, Jacqueline "Girls" series
Wolff, Isabel "Out of the Blue"
Yardley, Cathy "L.A. Woman"

only 1 or 2.

Jemima J and Bare Necessity by Carole Matthews. I began amassing quite a collection, but have trimmed it down quite a bit.

I started a Katie Fforde one, but couldn't get into it. And I love the Shopaholic's books. I have to have them really jump out and bite me now if I'm going to look at them. They're starting to outnumber the other stuff on the shelf, so I think the public is reaching max capacity with them.

Which is unfortunate for me, since that's the genre I began writing in back in the mid-90s, and never quite finished the one I was working on. I'm up to 12 chapters, but still nothing finished. I was busy getting married, buying a house, trying to save the world, and all that other stuff in the meantime.

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chick lit series rolling around in my head. I started one of them already and the more I htink about it, the more I feel it's the last book of the trilogy rather than the first. So before I do any more writing I am going to map out the plotlines and character lists for the books so that they dovetail smoothly.

Sure you're not really a man?

;-)
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night!

Hear me roar!

My fudge striped goodness has lured men to commit not-so-nice acts, all in the name of the savage sweet tooth......

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*sigh*

I CAN BRING HOME THE BACON, (ba da ba bum)
FRY IT UP A PAN,(ba da ba bum)
AND NEVER EVER EVER LET HIM FORGET HE'S A MAAAAAAAANNNNNN....

CAUSE I'M A WO-MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ba da ba bum)

Just checking. :D

To each her own, as they say.
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Favs: Alicia Rasley, Jo Beverly (regencies), Robin D. Owens ("futuristic" romance), Gayle Feyrer (The Thief's Mistress), Diana Gabaldon (tt/historical) Laurie Breton (Mortal Sin, romantic suspense.) Am now reading Judie Aitken's A Love Beyond Time (Native American TT).

My wife is a fan of the genre, which means she willingly suffers through a lot of garbage to find the few gems. She's getting a submission ready for an editor, and we both joined RWA (I let my membership lapse after having signed on in order to enter a few contests). She's regaling me with the latest dish from Mrs. Giggles, a hilarious site that any fan with a sense of humor should be devouring.

If Jane Austen counts, then yeah, I'm a fan. Jane rocks on toast, and that BBC Pride And Prejudice is one of my favorite things on the planet.

for my tastes. Funny, but at the expense of other people. :)

Ms. Austen, of course, rules. Have you ever read Georgette Heyer's novels? She got the whole Regency craze started and was quite a fan of Jane's.

I've never had to deal with a weirder bunch of customers.

Does anyone like them or is interested in them?

Shameless plug - http://www.myromancestory.com
I'm involved on some of the technical issues.