Open Thread for Readers
Today we’re opening it up for readers. What’s on your mind as it relates to books? Is there a book that has lingered long after you read it? How about a book that you’re hotly anticipating? Did you discover a new story that you’re super excited about?
I’ll start off. The very first review I did here at Dear Author was an angry one about a historical wherein the main male lead pretended, for most of the book, to be his twin brother. The male and female leads make love in the story and she still believes it to be his twin brother. I couldn’t get over that. I felt like she was in love with who the main male lead pretended to be rather than the actual man. Later in the story she learns the truth and declares she had always been in love with the male lead rather than the twin he pretended to be.
The author wrote a justification for this by saying that the heroine knew before the first time they’d made love that the hero was the hero and not the twin, but I didn’t see it in the text.
So frustrated was I by the justification, I had to write a review and put it out publicly. It was my only way to respond to the text, the only way to vent my dissatisfaction and staunch disagreement with the book. Okay, not the only way but I still remember the sting of anger when I read the author’s justifications and wanted to howl that the text never said what she claimed it said.
When writing the review, I felt some catharsis but I still remember that book and how angry it made me feel. In some ways, I suppose that is good. The author achieved something in that nearly a decade later, I still think of the book from time to time and, well, how mad I was about it. I’ve never re-read it and I’ve gone on to read other books by the author since then.
The trickster lead is a difficult one primarily because I just have a hard time buying into the true love. Is the heroine in love with whom the hero pretended to be or in the real man? I almost always think the former. Generally, this is a trope I’ll shy away from for exactly that reason.
Do you have any long memories of books you loved or hated? Do you remember the first book review you wrote or the one that burned up emails between you and a reader friend? Let’s remind each other what we’re here for. Today is about books and readers. Go forth and inspire each other to read awesome!
What books have stayed with me? I can think of a few instances. First, The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. It’s a brilliant book(because it has everything!) and still reigns at the top of my list. I remember the whole ordeal readers went through with worrying over if the sequel would be published in the US. I think many of us had to order it from the UK. I enjoyed the group discussion over it especially when the author showed up. Fun. Next, is a book I remember just from the steamy relationship in it, Heart of the West by Penelope Williamson. I love that book. It’s long and has a love triangle that I think works but others may disagree. I was just talking about this book on Twitter today with another reader. Williamson is missed because she wrote such great angst! All of her books I think are digitized. Those two books sit at the top of whatever list I put together. Both books I would recommend strongly to readers.
I know my first ebook review was for Raine Weaver’s Let’s Pretend in MS LIT, folks and I read it on a LOOX 720 Pocket PC. Those were the days.
The very first ARC I ever received was for Mr Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange. I was so excited to read an ARC – and I disliked that book and gave it two stars. I remember thinking, damn – there goes my chance to get anymore arcs because my very first one is getting a crap review. But I’m still proud of that review because I was honest.
I was just looking at my schedule for the next two weeks and we have some great books coming out – Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews – the start of what i think is going to be a fab urban fantasy series. LOVED the magic aspect. The Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev is amazing and I’m going to make everyone read it. Archangel’s Shadow by Nalini Singh is a nice addition to her series. Maybe this Christmas by Sarah Morgan is so cute with really great sexual tension.
Then we have Dirty Rowdy Thing by Christina Lauren coming out in two weeks which is one of the dirtiest books I’ve read this year. And Blamed by Edie Harris which is an excellent romantic suspense.
The next two weeks are going to be fun :)
@Keishon: I remember Raine Weaver! Gosh I enjoyed her books. Wonder what happened to her. Kinsey Holley doesn’t write often enough for me either.
How did you feel about the two follow ups to the Bronze Horseman? I find the third book bittersweet. I loved seeing them grow old together and the stories of their children but how their marriage almost fell apart after everything? In some ways completely believable and in others, heart straining bitter.
@Mandi: The Ilona Andrews’ book surprised me because I was expecting something more romantic and less abrupt in the ending. I really enjoyed the world building and look forward to the next book. I have so much love for the Bollywood Affair. One of the things I’d hoped would happen with Harlequin India fostering local talent would be the rise of really diverse literature from other parts of the world. Maybe that’s still a thing that will come after time.
This last week a fourth Abhorsen book was released. It’s a young adult fantasy/adventure series. I read the first three in high school. There are romantic elements, and magic,and strong female lead characters that sounded like girls to me. It inspired a lot of day dreaming and my own writing. I’m desperate to read the 4th book, which is really a prequel to the other three. There’s an arranged marriage, a crazy king, weird magical creatures and it sounds like another love interest. The series has stayed with me for this long. I’m hoping this new book keeps me going until Garth Nix might write another one. :)
With everything going on, I’ve been thinking about my roots as a blogger and where it’s led me to.
I started book blogging in 2010, mostly as a way to entertain myself during a long Summer back home from university, but also because I’d been reading a lot of YA books and found tropes that kept poking at my brain. So I bought some paranormal romance YAs, made a list of things to look out for and wrote long analytical recaps desperately trying to be funny and called it the Sparkle Project. It caught on way more than I thought it would and 4 years later I still get replies to those reviews on the LJ I’ve long since abandoned.
Honestly, I haven’t read those reviews since. I’m a bit scared to. I absolutely suck at looking at my own writing with a clear view. I just instantly think it’s all terrible, and I know for a fact that those reviews are decidedly not my best writing. While I still believe in the general gist of them – the overuse of problematic romantic tropes in a teen driven genre is an issue – I know the analysis is a bit simple, there’s not as much context as I’d provide now, and my attempts to be funny override the ultimate aim. A lot of people still like them which is cool, and telling people I wrote the project provides some often interesting responses (a guest on the podcast I co-host was informed of this and she actually gasped. It was weird). I think of them now as a starting point to grow from, and I do think I’ve become a better and more thoughtful writer as a result. I went from the project to The Book Lantern for more YA related writing but now I’m focusing on Bibliodaze with its more general scope. I honestly think I’ve done some of my best reviewing and analysis in the past 8 months with the new site.
There are books that have stuck with me, books that have long since left my mind and now I’m trying to get back to challenging myself as a reader. Since graduating from university 2 years ago, I’ve gotten a lot less adventurous in my literary choices, so I’m pushing myself to tackle some of the big heavies on my literary bucket list. I recently read a Thomas Pynchon novel for the first time – The Crying of Lot 49, which was great – and I’m hoping to move onto A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride soon. Modernism always intrigued and scared me as a student so here’s hoping I can pull through with this!
The first book that I ever reviewed (1-9-2009) and part of the reason I decided I needed a book blog was Candy Girl by Diablo Cody. Back then I was actually generous and gave it a 3. My exact thoughts were: To say I liked the book, might be overstating…..I found it interesting. Diablo Cody wrote Juno (which I loved) and is writing The United States of Tara (which I am looking forward too) so I like her writing. Plus, how brave (or crazy—it is all perspective) it was for her to try stripping for a year. It was an interesting tale to read and a little disturbing. The story in general wasn’t as catching as I thought it would be.I would recommend it as a book to read if you are interested (or curious) about how that industry works. It was eye opening-really.
I still think about that book and to this day I am still equally disturbed/fascinated by it. It is funny what makes us start book blogging (I have to admit I was a lifestyle blogger before) and really it is the books that keep me doing it.
Great Topic!
For me it was “I Know why the Caged Bird Sing” it was a very powerful book on so many levels. That book reminds me that no matter what you have to pushing through. Perseverance is its own reward. That’s what that book taught me.
I find the twin brother trope annoying, as well. I believe I read that book or another like it.
I’m still annoyed with myself for buying and reading all three 50 Shades books. From the first page, I hated it, but after buying them in a bundle, I read them anyway. I’m even more annoyed with all the bad imitations.
One of my biggest book hates: female characters that fall in love with their captors/rapists. Ughhh…I like some BDSM, if it’s consensual. But the non-consensual stuff really bothers me, if it’s not framed as a bad thing.
My latest favorite book was probably the last Kate Daniels. Some of my other random favorites: Patricia Briggs, Guild Hunter series by Singh, JD Robb. Those are all automatic buys.
What always surprises me is my own inconsistency in taste!
There are a few things I really never like (overly controlling heroes, overly snarky heroines), but if I absolutely love either character for any reason, I can pretty much get through a mediocre story and still enjoy it (because I’m rooting so hard for one character).
I do prefer slower, more realistic stories to the overly ‘sexy’ romps, but I know that’s uncommon, too. Or maybe not uncommon, but just a preference for romantic women’s fiction vs. straight romance? My go-to author was always Lisa Kleypas (loved the Travis family, and adored the Hathaways and Wallflowers), but I didn’t love her more recent contemporaries as much (except for Dream Lake, because Alex was a hot mess of a hero).
With little time for true pleasure reading these days, I really rely on blog review sites to help narrow down my “maybe” TBR pile. So thanks for your hard work!
Wow, what a trip down memory lane. I checked and my first review for DA was in 2007. Has it already been that long? It must be, because clicking through my old reviews turns up a lot of urban fantasy and it’s been a while since I’ve sought that genre out.
My tastes have changed over the years. I’m definitely a reader who jumps from one subgenre to the next, always looking for new and different. That trait of mine’s never changed. Looking back, I laugh because I remember how reticent I was about adopting ebook technology despite Jane’s best efforts to convince me otherwise. My first ebook reader was the Sony PRS-505 and from there, I’d move on to the Kindle. These days, I read on my Samsung Galaxy Tab S.
The first Kushiel trilogy by Jacqueline Carey still sticks with me. I re-read Kushiel’s Dart earlier this year, and it was like catching up with an old friend. I also did a re-read binge of Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels series too. Despite their problems, those are good books to read when you’re sick. For me, anyway. Remember when I reviewed Twilight’s Dawn, the final book in the series? Man, I feel like I should apologize for that, but I’m not actually sorry I did.
As for what’s up and coming, I’m really looking forward to the final book in Michelle Hodkin’s Mara Dyer trilogy and I’ve still to pick up Marie Lu’s new one, The Young Elites, which sounds right up my alley. Still hoping for something new and different in adult fantasy — N.K. Jemisin was the last author to really do that for me. Hopefully, Ken Liu’s debut novel coming out next year will rekindle my love for the genre.
@Jane: I read the one follow-up but I still haven’t read the third book believe it or not. To follow Shura and Tania is to be on an emotional roller coaster ride. I guess part of me just doesn’t want the story to end.
Back in the day I read Riders, Rivals and Polo, the first 3 novels in a series named The Rutshire Chronicles written by Jilly Cooper. After all these years I still can remember scenes from those books that introduced the very handsome and charismatic British upper class rake Rupert Campbell Black who used his looks, wealth and privilege to woo many a lady. These stories are great sport thanks, in part to Cooper’s hilarious sarcastic, witty dialogue and pokes fun at the attitudes and arrogance of the British Aristocracy. These books are amongst my keepers.
I have to also mention Outlander, which I read in 1992 (I had to check the publication date in my dog-eared yellowed copy). I pulled the book off a swirling bookrack in a department store and read it over the next couple of days between running after 2 toddlers. I was completely entranced by that book and when I later saw a hardcover copy of Dragonfly In Amber on a bookstore my hand tingled when I pulled it off the shelf and took it to the checkout. No one knew about Outlander then and it’s been wonderful to see its popularity gain momentum over the years. :)
The first book I ever wrote a review on was JR Ward’s Lover Enshrined. Phury, the drug addicted hero of the book drove me absolutely nuts. The “Wizard” whispering sweet nothing’s in his ear and his whining narcissism made him a pitiful excuse for a hero. Heroine Cormia was equally annoying & coupled with ghost Doctor Jane (the dead heroine from the previous book in the series) floating around doing surgery on the living made this one eye-rollingly painful. I’ve not read a Black Dagger Brotherhood book since. lol
@Keishon: I’ve never read any Simons’ books but I do recall the impassioned discussions and intense love readers had for them.
The first ebook I read was the beginning of Julie Kenner’s Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series – a series I’m still following today. The first “ereader” I had was an Ipaq leant to me by Jane who then lured me into reviewing. I still remember being amazed that I could have so many! books available to read, anywhere, anytime.
I think all books stay with me. The ones I enjoy and the ones that I don’t. I also seem to be able to divide books into 3 types, story, writing, or both. I can love a story, but find the writing to not flow or be very clear and descript. Or vice versa, although if the story is bad, chances are that I don’t finish it all the way through. But when I can reach gold, and have both, I’m a happy camper!
By doing this, I feel like my expectations seem to mature, as does my tastes in authors. Right now I am reading Kiss Of Affliction by Krista MacBeath. So far, so good in both categories.
The first romances that sparked discussion and anticipation with me were Johanna Lindsey’s, back when I was in high school. They’re not books I could go back and read now, but I still remember books like Warrior’s Woman and Savage Thunder with a lot of fondness, for memories of sitting in the cafeteria before school trying to puzzle out if sex on horseback really WAS physically possible. ;)
More recently, on the negative side, was Lori Austin’s “Beauty and the Bounty Hunter,” which I enjoyed right up until the end, when the heroine finally got up the courage to tell the hero she’d been raped, and the hero’s response was “I knew that – that’s why I made you have sex with me when we met, so you’d get over it.” I’m sure having the heroine punch him in the face and ride off into the sunset wouldn’t have been a romantic ending, but it would have made me a lot happier. I was glad I read it for my book group, so I had people to vent at!
I have major love for both the book blogging community, and the romance authors community. I had to step away from it when I got pregnant and became a new mom, but I still adore the community so much. I consider myself still a member, just peripherally. You all can’t get rid of me! :)
I am not a writer, just someone who loves to read books and have discussions. As an introvert, book blogging was a perfect fit for me at the time. The first book I ever reviewed was Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep in 2010, for Wicked Lil Pixie. The book was good, my review was terrible. It was essentially a really boring recap. I had no idea what I was doing, and it showed. As time went by, I decided to move away from recapping at all, and just focused on discussing what I liked, and didn’t like about a book. It took a while to find my “groove”, but I truly grew to love blogging about books.
Some of my favorite things about book blogging are the discussions that arise from the reviews. You develop real connections with the people you find yourself discussing books with over and over. You end up with one or maybe a couple “book twins”, people who like the same books that you like. It’s such an amazing community, and nobody can explain it to someone who isn’t, or hasn’t been, a part of it. When I got to meet up in real life with many of the bloggers and authors I’d grown to know at a Con, it was such an awesome experience. I will never ever forget the sense of community I felt.
Every single day, I find new books to buy on Twitter and book blogs. Even though I am not blogging anymore, I spend ridiculous amounts of money on books because of this community (especially if it involves the second chance at love trope). Thanks, guys! :)
In this community there is so much positive, and it far outweighs the negative drama which gets all the attention. Lately people who DON’T KNOW this community have enjoyed portraying this great war between authors and bloggers, and that is just not how it is in the day in, day out of things. They don’t know.
I remember in the early 90’s when trad regency authors were first making the move to longer historicals. I didn’t think it always worked–some authors do better when they write shorter. But I picked up Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels at the bookstore because I’d read all her shorter books (borrowed from the library). I read the book in one day, turned the last page, then immediately opened it up to page one and read it again all the way through. It was pure reading happiness for me, no reservations, no quibbles, no niggles. I can still remember the surprise, delight, and satisfaction of my first encounter with it. Now it’s a reliable friend–when I re-read it, I know what good bit is coming next, and anticipation is part of the pleasure.
@Lea: Lover Enshrined was such a disaster! I actually read two more beyond that (Rehv and John Matthew’s books). I occasionally wonder if I should pick up the series where I left off or just let things be, LOL.
I apologize. I said a lot more than I had intended to without mentioning books.
I have always been ranting against NA as a genre as a whole, but I finally succumbed and have LOVED Sarina Bowen’s The Ivy Years series, EXPECIALLY The Understatement of the Year! Kate Johnson’s Impossible Things has really stood out for me this year, too. It has its problems, but it was really unique and I don’t see or hear much about it. Mary Ann Rivers is another that has become an auto-buy for me with her Burnside series! Oh, and I think Devon Monk is really doing something special with her Allie Beckstrom spin-off series Broken Magic!! These are some of the books that have stayed with me so far this year.
Many years ago I read a book that got me really mad. The title was something like the “The Lover” or “The Warrior” and it was a highland romance. Anyway the heroes mistress helps him realize how much he loves the heroine and afterwards they have one last roll in the hay for old times sake. Of course the heroine sees this and the rest of this book is about him winning her back. The whole thing was just one big NO for me. I get that affairs are part of life but the way to make me believe that a hero loves the heroine is not by having him immediately get it on with someone else after he realizes it. No matter who they are.
I don’t really review books, I leave that to others with far more wit than I – I write my thoughts in my book blog on BookLikes – but I do enjoy talking about them.
That being said, one of my Twitter buddies actually put a call out for book reccs the night before last, and I had 3 books to recommend. All three were books that, while I expected to enjoy them, I ended up ADORING them. :) And I find myself still thinking of them and expect I will for a long time to come, adding them to the “books that stick with you” list.
First was “Kingdom of Scars” by Eoin Macken. Some of you might recognise the name as the fellow who played Gwaine in the “Merlin” TV show. He wrote a fabulous coming of age story about a 15-year old boy in a Dublin suburb and his discovery of sex, drinking, bullying… all things puberty. Yes, I bought it because I’m a fan of his, but I was genuinely surprised by the level of talent his work has. The lad can write! I’d consider this a worthy companion to “Stand by Me” or “Catcher in the Rye”. Really it was a gorgeous read.
Another was a book from Amy Lane’s backlist. “Under the Rushes”, a steampunkish sci-fi m/m romance-adventure. *LOL* Yes, it’s all that. While it is definitely an Amy Lane book, it has a different flavour than most of Amy’s contemporary love stories or her fantasy tales and I have to admit, I couldn’t put it down. I am a huge Amy Lane fan and this book is one of my top 3 of hers.
The 3rd was, oddly enough, recommended by Amy in a Twitter squee that she posted when she was reading it. That’s “Bone Rider” by J. Fally. Another m/m with … I dunno, a hint of sci-fi, horror-ish overtones? There is some beautiful writing in this book and a fun adventure and some memorable characters to enjoy. I’m hoping we get further adventures of this group. :)
As for long memories of books I hated, well, with the new Outlander series being broadcast now, it reminds me of the three times I threw that first book across the room because I hated both the main characters. I tried to read it, all my friends said I would adore it, all the buzz on it was great, but I tried and all that happened was that Claire and Jamie pissed me off SO much. *LOL* And when I say ‘threw it across the room’, I did exactly that. The only other book that met that same fate was “A Storm of Swords” by George RR Martin when I read THAT scene – yes, The Red Wedding scene. Although in that case, after about 15 minutes of yelling at the book laying on the floor, I went and picked it up and continued reading. *LOL*
“The male and female leads make love in the story and she still believes it to be his twin brother.”
I absolutely agree 100%. But, there’s this twin brother “thing” that many people can’t seem to get enough of. For me, it’s weird, it’s creepy, it’s deceptive in a storyline, however it’s all over the place and these readers secretly crave as much as they can get. And when an author does something like that I think he/she is playing it safe (the heroine doesn’t know it’s the twin) and also giving the readers what they want.
There’s a TV show out on one of those home and garden channels with twin brothers who work that twin brother angle to the end. These two guys are all over social media teasing and baiting people with their looks and quips…many times subtle but sexual. And people just can’t get enough of the twin brother “thing.”
One of the first books I ever reviewed on Amazon was Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, and that was about five years after I’d read it. Great on its own face, and doubly so for the way it turns that gothic romantic hero Edward Rochester- whom you sort of despise yourself for liking anyway- into one of the weakest (and I mean that in the best possible way) villains ever. Losing the use of his arm and his eyesight isn’t enough after reading this.
@Jayne: I remember the Kenner series being a favorite. I’ve always wanted to read that series but never picked it up. There is just so much out there to read.
I am sure people are tired of hearing me yammer on about R Lee Smith, but SERIOUSLY. LAST HOUR OF GANN. <3 <3 <3 I felt like I was in a bit of a reading rut and this book blew my eyelids off. I've re-read it 5 times in the last year because I'm such a nerd, and every time, it leaves me with a massive book hangover. :)
I also still really love INTO THE WILDERNESS by Sara Donati. It's pretty much fanfic of the movie "Last of the Mohicans" and I AM TOTES DOWN WITH THAT YO. That's one of the ones I pull out of my re-read pile annually and give another whirl, because the language is beautiful and the romance is incredibly sweet.
I'm trying to think of what else has stuck with me like glue. Rae Carson's GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS. The scene where Elisa is looking at herself in her wedding gown at the beginning? MY GOD, SO MANY FEELS. Who hasn't been that girl? I was hooked from that scene onward.
Oh oh oh! ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS and really all of Stephanie Perkins's books. YA, but so light and fluffy and full of FEELS that you can't help but fall in love right along with the characters.
Wow, the twin brother trope, I’d forgotten about that one. I feel a special fondness for it because of The Prisoner of Zenda, which was one of the first romantic books I ever read. Sigh.
I wrote my first review when I was in eighth grade. I was part of the library club and each week we took turn talking about books. I talk about Don Quixote, U.S.A. By Richard Powell (which still the best book I’ve ever read) and tried to convince my fellow bookworm to read. I was too excited and could not convey the message clearly and obviously no one really understood why I absolutely love this book. So next week I wrote 3 pages essay explained why I love this book.
We had about 10 people in the library club. Everyone of us had different taste. But we all loved books. Through the friends I gained from this club, I opened my mind to several genres even the one I never think to read.
When I first went to book convention (RT), I am excited to meet the authors. But I found that the most satisfy and the happiest moment I always remember was talking with fellow readers. And the friends I met through those convention was the reason I kept coming back to RT for several year even I was no longer want to meet authors. I found that the less I knew about the authors in real life, the more I am happy about books. I am not the kind of person who can appreciate great book from a terrible human being. So I try not to know more about the authors but it becomes very hard due to the internet.
Now the only reason I went to book convention was to meet someone like me. A Reader.
5 or 6 years ago, I decided to try reading a romance…. I hadn’t been actively reading anything for a good while. I picked up a copy of Amanda Quick’s “Dangerous” (reprint) at the grocery store on a food run. I loved it! Then It was Elizabeth Hoyt’s “To Seduce a Sinner” next… also, a grocery store purchase. I found my heaven! I filled my spare room with books and I was at the bookstore on Tuesday morning to pick up the new book I just couldn’t wait for. Then, I received my first ereader as a gift (we won’t discuss how many of those I have now :). So easy to read whatever I want, whenever I want! I love all romance, all genres and urban fantasy. All from an impulse buy at the grocery store:). Stories, and the blogs that discuss them are the most wonderful things!! Thank you for what you do for the people who read books every day!
@Jia: Lover Enshrined was a definate bummer. I just wanted to smack Phury upside the head and tell him to stop wallowing in self pity! Aaah! Meanwhile Lover Awakened is one of my all time fav romance books. Go figure. When JR Ward works, she REALLY works.
@Michele Mills: Ha! Z & Bella are my favorite BDB couple. Or were. It’s complicated. I have definite issues with the way Ward writes the women in the series, especially after the HEA happens. It’s a problem that certainly doesn’t affect the men.
@Jill Myles: No shame. You can never squee enough about The Last Hour of Gann. I reread it in the spring. Dear God, I love that book. BRILLIANT!!!! Ooh, now I want to reread it again….maybe during Thanksgiving break….:)
This is a great reminder of why book blogs like DA are so vital to readers. We love to talk about books…the good, bad and even the ugly which we often remember with irritated affection. Thank for doing this today, Jane.
I have so many happy reading memories but when it comes to never-ending internet discussions about a series, the one that sticks in my head is Ward’s BDB series. I swore I would not pick up a book about ghetto wanna-be vampires with really stupid names but when book 4 was released and it was all anyone was talking about, I finally caved and fell under the cracktastic spell. I remember almost shamefully telling my reading BFF that she might want to try this book called Dark Lover. It took some convincing but she was calling me 1/2 through the book to make sure I had the next 3 to hand over.
And yeah, just like @Lea: and @Jia: I got off that lunatic train ride at the awful Lover Enshrined stop. But the discussions were lively and often hilarious (remember everyone adding “h’s” to everything?) and it was fun while it lasted.
I’m also excited for Burn for Me (wish it wasn’t an HC imprint) and A Bollywood Affair which I’ve heard nothing but great things about. I’m currently trying something different and enjoying Kate Forsyth’s Bitter Greens thanks to Jayne’s great review.
This is SUCH a great thread. I love reading everyone’s remembrances.
My first review at DA was for Sherry Thomas’s His At Night. I’d come on board but was waffling on which book to start with, and then Jane sent me HAN & told me to go for it. I was so nervous. I think I had four people read the draft review. I’d had mixed luck with Thomas’s books before, from loving them to feeling meh. But HAN totally worked for me and made me remember why Historical Romance was one of my favorite genres. Readers were really kind to me in the comments and I felt so welcomed.
My other early memory that stands out was my post on Harlequin Medicals. I knew Medicals sold really well all around the world, but no one talked about them much online, at least not in my haunts. There were all these comments to the post, with readers talking about their favorites, authors recommending other authors, it was fantastic.
@Evaine: Sirius MADE me read Bone Rider. She frequently recommends books to me and sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. I really didn’t think this one would. But I started reading and I was hooked. In fact, I loved it so much it made my best of year list. I convinced my husband to start reading it and HE was hooked. He still talks about it sometimes when we’re discussing unusual SFF.
@Jia: So true! I don’t reread JR Ward BDB books for the heroines, it’s so I can go back in the heads of the men- those HAWT men! When I first read her series I was so blown away by the author’s voice, the “cool” description she uses and the unusual male characters. Well, unusual at the time. I hadn’t been used to being inside the head of alpha vampires who wore shit kickers, cussed and listened to rap music. But damn, it was great. Those books were like crack to me. I was so addicted, Lover Enshrined was just a bump in the road and I kept going, but I finally hit a wall with the Manny and Payne book. I think because yet again I wasn’t as connected to the heroine and Manny wasn’t a hero I’d ever connected with either, so their romance was anticlimatic for me. So I fell off the glom wagon at that point. But my mother, who is also addicted to BDB! keeps telling me that The King is terrific and it will bring me back. Sigh…maybe I’ll read that one for Christmas? :)
My kindle died 2 days ago so I have been reading from the paper TBR pile, which isn’t very big. It’s mostly a lot of old Sophie Weston category roms and Jo Beverley’s Malloren books. Also a Meredith Duran I bought in the US because you can’t get her books in digital in the UK.
I finished the Westons yesterday and started on the Beverley with My Lady Notorious. SO GOOD. I love the road trip romance, the cross-dressing romance, the fun that they have, the real jeopardy they’re in. Can’t wait to read the rest of them in quick succession now.
Two things…
One, in response to your reaction of anger to that particular book way back when, I had a similar angry reaction to Joseph Heller’s “Something Happened.” I plowed through a lot of (what I considered) boring rubbish, stuck with the long, long book, only to learn that what happened was a horribly upsetting moment that I could have done without. (Won’t spoil for others; probably if I reread the book knowing the ending, I’d see more value in it. No way I’m rereading that awful book.)
Two, my most recent favorite book is Lily King’s “Euphoria.” It’s beautiful physically, the way the cover and interior both are designed, and it’s beautiful in its complete, intense immersion of the reader into a different time and place and love triangle – inspired by an experience of Margaret Mead’s in the 1930s. The book title comes closer to describing the effect of the book than any of my own words possibly can. It’s such a thrill to read a book this excellent.
@Jill Myles: Oh, “Into the Wilderness!” Yes, I loved that which is why I’m not sure why I’ve never continued with the series despite a trusted friend who loves it. Was there a delay in the second book? Trying to remember why I stopped there…
I wrote earlier about a book that I disliked but there are so many more books that stay with me. I recently read The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan and and Sarina Bowen’s The Year We Fell Down back to back. Even though I have long been burnt out on NA I LOVED both these books. I instantly wanted to read more books just like those and ended up reading the rest of Bowen’s Ivy Years series. By the time I finished I had a NA hangover but it was a good one.
By the way this thread might end up playing havoc with my book budget and with the major books (Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Sonali Dev, and KJ Charles) coming out next week my budget has little room for havoc :)
@Ros: A cheaply sold copy of “My Lady Notorious” is what introduced me to someone who is still a dear friend of mine almost 15 years later. So I will always have fond memories of it.
I like the funnies!! Any book that took me out of my own head and into laughter was IT for me.
Harlequin had a line years ago that I owned every one published at the time 99-2002 that was lost when I moved from Kentucky to Tennessee. Harlequin Duets. Each had 2 full sized novels. So much funny.
Vicky Lewis Thompson, Lori Foster, Jill Shalvis, so many funny talented authors and I still to this day don’t understand why more people didn’t like the line! I thought it was the shizzit!
Another funny series I loved and is on my keeper shelf is Annette Blair’s Witch series that started with Kitchen Witch. Laughed out loud so much with these books.
Forever keepers are some of Sandra Hill’s Viking series. The earlier ones are so funny, the Very Virile Viking I swear I developed an asthmatic wheeze when I read for the first time. He had 11 children. How can that not be funny?
@Jia: I, for one, am very glad you wrote the spoiler review for Twilight’s Dawn. I loved Bishop’s Black Jewel series and have no desire to spoil what I love about it reading that particular ending. When I recommend it now, I have friends stick to the original trilogy which is what I think Bishop wanted to write. I’d maybe add the short story from the Dreams Made Flesh anthology as a long epilogue but then be done with it.
My first review for Dear Author was this review of The Magic Spell by Mary Jo Putney. The book wasn’t horrible (though if I had to do it again, I think I’d give it a C instead of a C+), but it was disappointing because I was a fan of several of Ms. Putney’s historicals. She had switched to writing contemporaries for a while, and I didn’t care for most of those. This book was Putney’s first novel-length foray into historical fantasy romance, and I had high hopes for it for that reason.
The thing I remember most about the book now, years later, was how frustrated I was by the fact that instead of being based in real issues and in their personalities and values, the characters’ conflicts with each other turned out to be the cause of magical enchantments. All they had to do to solve them was cast a countering spell, and poof! The conflicts were gone. Instead of having to work through them. The working through of conflicts had been my favorite aspect of Ms. Putney’s earlier books, so this was a letdown.
I also remember that like Sunita with her first DA review, I was nervous. I think I may have had a friend look over the review, but since it’s been over eight years since then, I’m no longer sure. DA didn’t have the kind of following back then that it has today, and I hadn’t yet revealed that I also write fiction. That came later. But even so, I was nervous. For the six or so years before that I had only posted my reviews at a couple of a private Yahoo groups where my friends and I shared thoughts about books. We called these posts “Book Reports” at one, and “Recent Reads” at the other. We didn’t call them reviews.
Now, I had reviewed before, not books, but movies, first for a campus newspaper at my university and later for a small syndicated service that ran in a number of shopping circulars and other small publications. I had some confidence in my ability to write critically, so that wasn’t what made me nervous. What made me nervous was having to ostensibly address the author in a letter format, which I hadn’t done before, and more than that, some interactions I’d had or seen that involved several thin-skinned romance authors in the years before.
(Mary Jo Putney wasn’t one of them. She has never responded to one of my reviews, which is in my eyes is the best possible thing an author can do in regard to reviews).
Still, I was nervous. So I began my review by mentioning how much I had loved several of her other books for years. Looking at that review now makes me squirm a little with embarrassment at my younger self. Would I write it this way today? No. I have a bit more confidence now. And I don’t think I should have to, nor do I think any reader should have to write a review in any particular way.
Reviews are for readers, not for authors.
I’m enjoying this thread. As someone else said, I think a lot, if not most, of what I read stays with me – even if I don’t remember details like title or author.
I love that buzz of connecting with a fellow reader with similar taste. Growing up, I had overlapping taste with both my mom (mysteries and ya) and my brother (sf/f) and we all traded books and opinions. I still remember convincing my brother to read the Narnia books – I stumbled on them in the library and it felt like the two of us had discovered this amazing secret.
I don’t know many romance readers irl, so when I discovered romance blogs a few years ago, I was blown away by both the community and all the book recs! It was so much fun to read all the reviews. And to comment. And the charge I got when people started to recognize my handle and respond to my comments. I found my people. :)
Loretta Chase and Sharon Shinn were two early discoveries from book blogs. And Sarah Mayberry. And too many other new favorite authors to mention. I think the first ebook I purchased (to read on my computer) was an SFR novella by Zoe Archer reviewed on SBTB. Jane’s posts gave me the confidence to finally buy an ereader. Reading SarahF’s review’s convinced me to try mm (I’d read some queer sff in my youth but I hadn’t even heard of mm before reading DA). My first mm was Between Saints and Sinners by Marie Sexton and it’s really stayed with me.
And I just want to add to the Bonerider squee! And I’m really looking forward to the new KJ Charles. And Sarina Bowen’s next Ivy Series story, out next year.
@Michele Mills: Sooooo this conversation made me look up the BDB series and I’m four books behind (including The King). I feel like I could glom those during the holidays. If I’m feeling really ambitious, maybe I’ll read the angel series too since I remember them crossing over or something. I only ever read the first book of that though.
…what am I doing, why am I considering this…? This is what I want to know. I feel like this is the start of a foolish journey into epic hilarity.
@Jayne: How fabulous!
@Jill Myles: I loved Anna and the French Kiss too!
@rebyj: I love Annette Blair’s Witches! The covers are great and the inside is full of sexy fun. Thanks for reminding me of a good Halloween read.
@Jayne: I think it went a bit Outlander and turned into a big family saga. They went overseas to Scotland, and then it was about the family’s kids and then about people in the town and I jumped off the series later on, because I didn’t care about how EVERYONE in their lives was doing…I just wanted more romancey stuff and I felt like the later books didn’t deliver that. But book one? OH BOOK ONE. It made my heart flutter so much, and the language was utterly beautiful. Like the scene with Elizabeth after a certain something happens and she’s just standing in the trees and being rained on by cherry blossoms, I COULD TOTALLY SEE IT.
Also, every time I hear ‘comfort me with apples’, I get dirty thoughts in my head. ;)
@rebyj: I will never forget those Sandra Hill Viking books. They were hilarious. The multiple kids, the wish-granting orca..
@Tyler Alexander:
the wish-granting orca
….the what?
My first review for DA was Ann Sommerville’s “Cold front” – I still dearly love this book, but the review was less than two years ago, so it was not a hardship to remember. It is a scifi BDSM m/m romance with great characters.
I was trying to remember my first review for Reviews by Jessewave and I was drawing a blank. I remember that one of my first reviews for them was “A dance of love and jealousy” by Roland Graeme. It does have a m/m romantic storyline which ends well, but it is more about the lives of ballet dancers – friendship, competitiveness, rehearsals and it is a fantastic story, I still love it and periodically reread.
Sunita, am still pleased that “Bone rider” worked for you. Definitely one of my favorites as well.
@leslie Oooo good reason to re-read them! @Tyler Alexander omg the orca! LOL also the trip to walmart with all of the time traveling Viking kids was SO funny. @jia the funny awaits you lol. go for it
This thread is so fun! It’s making me remember, amidst all the drama, why I love reading book blogs; all genres, really, but the romance blogs have a special sense of community imho.
I’ve already posted here a review of — really, a love letter to– My First Romance, but I’d been publishing reviews (dead trees, not online) for over a decade. My first published review was (of all things) for the fourth Harry Potter, a long-form essay on the series to that point in the local paper. For obvious reasons, Scholastic wasn’t sending out ARCs, so I remember staying up to midnight on release night to get a copy, taking the day off work to read it and revise my essay, so it could be published the following day. That was also the review that got me my (sorta) paying gig, so it remains special to me.
But I’m incredibly lucky in my day job as a Readers Advisory librarian at a public library. That means I get to order and maintain the fiction collection, and field all the questions about “I remember this book from when I was a kid, the heroine was called Annie or Anne or maybe Elaine, and there was a talking cat, and Oh! she had purple eyes (the heroine, not the cat)”*
But best of all are the “I’m looking for something good to read” questions, which let me at least once a day have the joy and grace and honor of connecting the Right Reader with the Right Book — even if it’s a book that I personally hate, and I’m not all that fond of the reader either, there is nothing to equal that thrill.
Which is why I also have the fun of reading all these reader blogs, and vacuuming up the comments, to try and keep my mental cross-reference index stocked.
*Real question from last week, and if anyone’s wondering, the book is ALANNA: THE FIRST ADVENTURE, the first in a marvellous YA fantasy series.
Gaaah, messed up the link! Can one of you clever ladies fix it for me? It was supposed to go to here: https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-minus-reviews/review-the-man-outside-by-jane-donnelly/
I don’t review. I tried it once and wrote a mess of a thing, so we’ll draw a veil over that, and I’ll talk about which authors I found through other people’s online reviews. I’m tempted to say all of them…
Worst mistake, from early on, was over-enthusiasm. ‘People on-line all love SEP. She is romantic! She is funny! I love funny and romantic, I will order all of the books!’
And then, of course, I found she wasn’t for me.
And I was insanely excited when I found a copy of the Cross Stitch (Outlander) because the internet loved it, so I would too. (I read it twice, unable to trust my judgement, because the internet persuaded me I was wrong not to have enjoyed it the first time through.)
But for every book that the internet loved and I didn’t (Lord of Scoundrels. Really, internet? ) there are huge numbers of books (Lord Perfect!) that I loved as well – Crusie, Quinn, Brockmann, Kearsley, Milan etc., etc., etc.
And the not-genre-romances as well – ‘To Say Nothing of the Dog’, ‘The Beekeeper’s Apprentice’, ‘Freedom and Necessity’, ‘The Charioteer’ and pretty much everything Bujold has written – all of them gifts from strangers on the internet, and all of them wonderful.
At the moment the last romance I read and loved was Sherwood Smith’s Rondo Allegro – she’s on a par with Heyer – not as funny perhaps, but such a pleasure to read. Next romance I’m really looking forward to is the third magpie book by KJ Charles. And right now I’m reading Code Runner thanks to Sunita’s review of the series.
This thread is making me think way, way back. I’m so glad my mom encouraged us to read. I spent all my summers reading insane numbers of books. She read a lot of mysteries, so I did too. I read most of Elizabeth George in HS and college. As a young teen I loved Mary Higgins Clark. I also vividly remember reading Eugenia Price’s Savannah, GA series. I made my dad take me to the cemetery featured in the books. My reading tastes have changed so much I wonder if I would still like some of these, but I remember them fondly.
@Jia: Yes, you read that correctly! I can’t explain it much better than that. She also served as a taxi service!
Ah – memory lane, loving this thread! I got to Book four of J R Wards before jumping that ship.
I have very fond memories of Sandra Canfield/ Karen Keast – her harlequins were to die for – I know Keishon is a fan. A favourite was One Lavender Evening which has a touch of paranormal before it became a staple line in Romancialand. And Voices On The Wind – le sigh! Brilliant!
And Linda Howard back when she was published by S & S – I made a fantastic for-life-friend through the book boards over at S & S. I adore her Kell Sabin series and re-read often, in fact everything before she went hardcover.
@Marianne McA – oh yes, succumbing to over-enthusiasm. I had the *exact* same reaction to Lord of Scoundrels and Lord Perfect. I read LoS first was underwhelmed (to put it mildly) but then I gave LP a chance and Loretta Chase became an auto buy author for me.
@hapax: It looks like your link is working now.
Okay, I need to gush about one more author, then I promise I’ll shut up. Sorry you guys, I could go on and on about romance all day and all night, it’s a sickness.
I just really love KJ Charles. I’ve seen alot of readers up thread mentioning her, which makes me happy. But if you haven’t read her, you need to. I read her m/m Edwardian historical, Think of England over the summer. Wow. So well written and attention to detail with the setting and characters. Sigh. I really think it was one of the best books I’ve read so far in 2014. And, I’m so excited-she just sold a Regency m/m trilogy called Society of Gentlemen to Loveswept- their first queer romance! I’m one of those weirdos who are in a “historical malaise”, hardly reading historicals like I used to. But I’m telling you, authors like KJ Charles are bringing me back. :)
Michele Mills, I really like KJ Charles’ books too :). “Think of England” was great.
The first review I read here that made me go out and buy a book was Jia’s for Zoe Marriott’s Daughter of the Flames. I think it got a C or similar but the setting fascinated me and I had to buy it. I loved the book, and it’s stayed with me for years. Bought the companion novel, too – didn’t like it quite as much, but I still hope Marriott revisits that world.
I can’t seem to shut up now that I’ve started. Another fave: Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series! I adore them! Recently, I also liked “Girl on a Wire” and “My Beautiful Enemy.”
I know Ann Brashares is known for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. But honestly – her book – My Name is Memory – too my breath away. I think it was meant to be a trilogy, and I’m not sure why that never happened. Gorgeous book. Do yourself a favor and read it.
My first book review is ‘Fire’ by Kristin Cashore. I decided to do it because I loved books. And I wanted to write about it. Yeah…
Some of the first contemporary romance books I read were in the Silhouette Line by Stephanie James. Then I got to love Amanda Quick’s historical romances. After that it was Jayne Ann Krentz’s contemporary romances. I still remember my shock at discovering they were all written by the same woman! (and she has a fourth identity as Jayne Castle, with futuristic paranormal romances.) All of the books feature what I love – a strong male lead and a woman who is unique.
@Sidney: OMG A 4TH ABHORSEN??? Had to skip down to the comments to commence FREAKING OUT. Ok. Back to read the rest!
My introduction to Romance novels happened when I was eleven. My older sister was reading this mysterious book. When I asked her what she was reading, she went bright red and refused to tell me. Of course, me being the annoying little sister, I snuck into her room when she was sleeping and stole the book off her bed stand. That night I read my very first romance (A Vengeful Passion by Lynne Graham) under the covers with a book light. It was WONDERFUL at the time and my gateway drug into the genre. Because of this book, I read romances by Judith McNaught, Julie Garwood, and all the other authors I love.
When I recently read it, it didn’t hold up to my memory (somehow the asshole hero escaped my notice when I was eleven!), but I still loved it because of the nostalgia factor. I own a very tattered copy that I read on a regular basis.
Other Favorites (aka books that I would cuddle with in bed all day):
anything by Ilona Andrews, Judith McNaught, and Julie Garwood
Something Wonderful (okay, I know I already mentioned JM, but this deserves its own mention. I literally break down crying when I read the scene where Jordan talks to an unconscious Alex)
Romancing a Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (because Lady Whistledown. And Penelope. And Lady Danbury)
Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas (everyone always talks about St. Vincent or Westcliff. Matthew Swift is so unappreciated!)
Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas (Travis…*makes gooey moaning sound*)
Penny Reid’s Knitting in the City series (Knitting! Funny dialogue! Awesome female camaraderie!)
Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh (I want to be Mercy when I grow up)
A Secret Love by Stephanie Laurens (my fave Cynster novel – I love it when Gabriel gives Alathea her flowers)
Innocent in Death (my fave JD Robb novel)
Study series by Maria V. Snyder (I’m so psyched that she’s publishing another Yelena book!)
@rebyj: The Love and Laughter line… omg! I loved it. Broke my heart that they didn’t continue.
Then I discovered Jennifer Crusie and life was good again.
@Sunita: I remember your Harlequin Medicals post vividly! It was great.
One of my great memories is reading The Windflower by Laura London sometime in the late 80’s. I was transfixed by it. My husband was coming home from a business trip the next evening, and I remember trying to speed-finish it at the airport because it was SO good, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to pick it up again for a while after he got home. I still remember how amazing it was to think there might be other books like it out there.
At the time, my only way of finding new books was the used book store, where I could try new authors for cheap. Fast forward to the start of Dear Author and SBTB. I’ve read so many good books because of those two communities. I read something recently saying that there’s research that shows that reading a book is as good as meditation for stress reduction. So thanks for all those stress-free reading hours!
I’ve been reading romance since the mid-80s. I’ve been online since 1998. But for whatever reasons I didn’t join the online romance community until 2007-ish (mostly as I didn’t know about it).
I’m sure I would have more issues with many of the early romance books I read and enjoyed if I were to reread them now. I prefer romances where we get the POV of the hero, but those didn’t exist when I first started reading the genre. I cannot actually remember which romance book I read first (unless we’re counting Austen’s Pride and Prejudice). There have been so many books I’ve loved over the years, most of which are on my keeper shelf.
After the Brockmann fiasco I was tempted to not get involved in discussions about books any longer, but thankfully that feeling didn’t last. The vast majority of authors I have encountered (via email, blogs, etc.) have been professional and thoughtful.
As for bad reviews, I wish all authors would understand they can still sell books. I’ve lost count of the number of books I’ve purchased and read due to so-called “bad” reviews. As an example, I read Meg Benjamin’s Konigsburg series due to a review at Smart Bitches and the book Sarah couldn’t finish was my absolute favorite of the series.
Oh, this is a great thread. It feels really restful to read this :)
I love what Cleo said about discovering the romance community and thinking ” I found my people”, I have felt much the same way, particularly because of the relative lack of romance readers in my real life.
I went to RT this year and had a total blast. On return, my aunt said “you spent 3 days talking about books?” I replied “Thats exactly why I went! To spend 3 days with people who dont ask that question” :D
@Hapax- I just want to say that Alanna’s cat also has purple eyes!! One of my favourite series as a teen :)
When I was 12-13 I would sneak my mother and grandmothers Mills and Boons and read them, but they were largely interchangeable. The romance author I have been consistently reading for the longest, around 15 years, is Jill Mansell- found her books when I was 13 or so (I could read them openly as there are no sex scenes) and still am excited by her annual release.
This is a very lovely palate cleanser. Thank You! I had my voracious reader cherry popped in freshman high school English with A Tale of Two Cities. It was the first book I got completely sucked in. I cried buckets when I finished it. Not just over the ending, but also because the visceral feeling was going to dimmed. I thoroughly enjoyed reading before that, but there was something very special (to me) about that book. It hit all my teenage angst right in the gut. Many (a gagillion many) years later I still hold that experience as an ultimate of what reading is. The author may have been less than a savory fellow, but the book is a great one.
I plan to take Good Omens with me on my final dirt nap. If there is to be a viewing, I want that book in my hands. I crack it open at least once a year and certainly read the first chapter when I am in dire need of a laugh.
I have a deep and abiding love for so many wonderful books. Thank You to all the authors here and wherever for sharing your gift with the pen. It is priceless.
Barbara Hambly’s The Silent Tower (and then sequel, The Silicon Mage). It’s got a romance in it, though it’s marketed as straight fantasy, and. I just. Re-read those bits over and over. Because. Eeeeeeeee.
(Quite honestly, that duology is among the books that gave me an example of relationships that actually worked. Stars know that my own immediate family had zipall in the way of “good example.” More like “horrible example.”)
I think the book that left me with lots of profound feels was the 7th and last HP book. I grew up reading the books, and the last book was released the summer I graduated from high school. I was and still am a huge HP fan. I bought it the midnight of its release, and read it in one sitting until I finished. Literally, I remember my mom bringing me food, and me running quickly to and from the bathroom. From the Dobby scene on, I cried all the way through the end. I had to continuously wipe my eyes so that I could continue reading. And the thing of it was, it wasn’t just the book, it was what it represented to me. I felt like my childhood was ending… There would be no more HP books to wait for in the summers, no more of these beloved characters that I grew up with… I can’t even completely put into words that feeling, but I’m sure the end of childhood bit is felt by lots of people.
I am strictly a reader, but have SO much respect for reviewers. I have discovered so many new books, and my reading tastes as well as my habits have changed so much because of the blogs I follow. Jane and Sarah, one of your podcasts has converted me from someone who HAD to finish all books, to being able to DNF a book after a chapter.
Reading through all the comments has really increased my already bloated TBR list, which now includes Last Hour of Gann, a bunch of Loretta Chase books, and so many more!
As for the future, I hope to join a physical book club. I really would love to meet people that like reading as much as I do. My friends, who are 24-25, tell me they are too busy to read… And the ones that do always want to talk about twilight and 50 shades, which is pretty much the extent of what they have read… Outside of meetup.com, does anyone have any suggestions on how to find a book club?
My first and probably only review for DA was this week, as a result of Sirius asking me to continue joint reviewing the Hidden Wolves’ series by Kaje Harper which we started doing together on Jessewave. I have not reviewed properly since this site sadly closed and had forgotten how obsessed I get with trying to find the right words to get across accurately what I feel about a book. Having said that Sirius makes joint reviewing such fun….take a bow, sunshine.
My special books -Irregulars, a collection of outstanding linking stories by Ginn Hale, Nicole Kimberling, Astrid Amara & Josh Lanyon. The stupendous Lord of the White Hell / Ginn Hale. Gorgeous, Think of England previously mentioned, also by KJ Charles I really enjoyed Nonstop to Tokyo, my first m/f after a very long love affair with m/m. Under the Stain /Amy Lane I don’t usually enjoy the serial format, but this one lit up my Fridays through October. Lyn Gala’s Assimilation, Love and Other Human Oddities- that rare beast a follow up that really works.
It’s been so long since I’ve blogged and reviewed that I can’t quite recall the first one I did, not even when I was reviewing for Jessewave’s site.
I do remember picking up a book recommended to me and absolutely falling in love with it. My review was gushing as I recall and at the very end threatened anyone who didn’t pick it up and love it too. I was a rather, erm, unique reviewer to say the least.
The book was ‘Hero’ by Perry Moore. It still resounds with me.
And now I feel like reading it again. :)
@Deb: I LOVED A Tale of Two Cities! Totally thrilling.
I have had fun reading everyone’s posts throughout the day.
My very first online review was, I think, Lady of the Glen by Jennifer Roberson on the old bit-listserv.rra-l usenet forums. Harriet Klausner also got her start there. LOL.
My very first web based review was on Amazon in 1998. It was an Interracial Romance called ‘The Real Deal’ by Margaret Johnson Hodge. I think I reviewed it out of sheer shock and joy that I’d actually found an IR romance. Amazon became a real game changer for me because I was able to discover books in a way that simply not possible before.
My very first ebook I got when i got my first kindle was ‘Yorkshire’ by Lynne Connolly. it was free. I fell in love with Richard & Rose. I own the whole series now.
First time I realized what it meant to have an e-reader was when I finished ‘Moon Called’ by Patricia Briggs. It was only my second ebook. I finished it on a bus during a commute and I wanted the second book immediately. And I realized, I could get it right then and there. So I turned on my free 3G (Oh Amazon!) and downloaded it right then and there.
@Kris: Ohmigosh, HERO is such an amazing book! Such a loss that the author passed so young. :-(
@Michele Mills: I am a “Gann” and R. Lee Smith lover as well. I am rereading “Olivia” right now. I know that is not one some people are fond of but I love it. The “Scholomance” has become one of my favorites. You really can’t pin a certain genre on it. It encompasses several…horror, romance, scifi, fantasy…a real full-meal deal. One of the books that has stayed with me since I read it – besides Smith’s – is “Me Before You” by JoJo Moyes. Hell, just typing the title has me tearing up with remembered emotions. As for pure hotness factor, The Fever Series by Karen Moning is at the top of my list of reads and rereads. Jericho Barrons rocks the house! I don’t remember my first review. I do remember I was TERRIFIED to press that submit button though. A book I hated? “Gone Girl”! Brilliant writing. Despicable characters. I was absolutely stunned by this book but hated the characters so much by the end that I, unfortunately, transferred that hatred to the entire story. I guess that is the mark of a great author that she can create characters that elicit that kind of emotion in the reader.
My comfort reads are: the “Kushiel’s Dart” series and the time-travel series with the archeaologist heroine, Chloe Kingsley by Suzanne Frank which starts with book one, “Reflections in the Nile”
I think the first DA review I read was the Slave to Sensation squee post. I’ve always loved PNR. Before PNR was a thing, I remember scouring the dinky “paranormal” section at my local UBS for something like StS and finding only ghosts and time travel and a few morose vampires who longed to be human again. Ugh, LOL.
I have a question for y’all. I ran across mention of a book by Margaret Drabble. I vaguely recognize the name, but no details. Any thoughts? Comments on romantic content?
I don’t know any romance readers in real life, or many readers for that matter. I don’t know what I’d do without internet peeps who tell it like they see it.
The first romantic novel I remember reading (and still have a yellowing copy of) was “The Late Mrs. Fonsell” by Velda Johnston (and yes, I realize this is going to give away my age). It probably is a gothic romance that seemed to fit what I remember of most of the sweet (early Harlquin) romances I read in the 70s – sweet, naive heroine who’s originally interested in the sweet (and eventually boring) fella, but who eventually falls under the spell of the darkly brooding (and largely misunderstood) hero. ;)
I remember utterly hating The Lovely Bones, although my reason is probably due to my more conservative beliefs – (and trying very hard to avoid spoiling the book for those who haven’t read it) I was appalled at the use the narrator made of her friend’s body. That’s about as cryptic as I can put it.
Most of the problems I’ve had with more current reads is what I would admit to being disappointed expectations. I gave up on Brockmann after Gone Too Far, Kenyon after Acheron, Harrison after Rachel started lusting after her roommate (I can’t remember what book it was any more – I think it was set in Michigan), Evanovich after she publicly announced she’d never let Stephanie grow up or pick one man. I went back and read a few more Brockmann’s, but I heard about what she pulled later, and I just gave up.
I tried to think of books I really tried to push on my romance-reading friends….I push Singh (and I can’t get them to read the guild hunters, and I can’t figure out why!), Briggs, Michelle Sagara. Most of my friends aren’t interested in historicals, but the one who does gladly glommed on my Grace Burrowes Lonely Lords books. I couldn’t really interest anyone in the early Laurens, Putney, Beverly, or Quinn – even though there are books by all of them that I just loved. (Quinn might have been one of the first historical authors I read – and I remember how much I loved her humor).
And the book that keeps coming to my mind as I type this – I just fell in love with Beverley’s To Rescue a Rogue. I remember loving that the hero – while sympathetic – was far from perfect. And the heroine, who was all sweetness-and-light, had to do a little growing up to realize that sometimes being sunny can’t solve every problem. I still read this book once a year.
I don’t review books because as an author (who hasn’t published anything in 3 years) it just doesn’t feel right.*
But I have occasionally blogged about books I really like, if I couldn’t help myself, and one time I had to do that for Kelly Armstrong’s Bitten. Honestly, I didn’t like the subsequent books in the series that much, but I loved Bitten. There was a contentious thread on SBTB, long ago, about the scene where Clay ties Elena to a tree, and he tells her that the minute she tells him to stop, he’ll stop — but she doesn’t, so he doesn’t. A lot of people thought he assaulted her.
And that was the first time I felt so passionately about a scene in a book that I had to take to the internet to explain Why People Were Wrong. I wish I could link you to my brilliant blog post, which demonstrated conclusively that Clay did not sexually assault Elena, and which also examined Clay’s essential brokenness and explained why he could not be evaluated as a normal romance hero, but alas, when I moved from my old (incompetent, unstable, unresponsive and frankly bitchy) blog host to my current one, I lost all my old posts, and that was one of them.
I was tempted to review Lover Unbound just because I hated it so, so, so much. Vishous is in my top 3 Romance Heroes list, along with Cat and Sebastian Ballister. I wanted to write a post about just how badly Ward fucked up Vishous’ story with its whole Casper the Friendly Shellan plot.** Then at some point I read something by Ward about how surprised she was at readers’ negative reactions. She thought she’d devised a truly humane, plausible, logical solution to Jane’s death, and she was genuinely taken aback at how negatively some readers reacted.
As an author, I felt for her. As a reader, I was all “SRSLY? Why’d you have to kill her in the first place? No other BDB mate has had to die. Why does Vishous have to make do with a ghost? WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
And that’s why I don’t write book reviews.
*Laura Miller has a piece in Salon about the Hale incident. It’s extremely neutral, and she mentions something I’d known once but had forgotten. Richard Ford was so incensed at a review Alice Hoffman wrote of his book that he fired some bullets into a copy of one of HER books and mailed it to her. Scary, huh? Well, Hoffman later got pissed off at a review of one of her own books, and tweeted the reviewer’s home phone number so that Hoffman fanpeeps could call and harass her.
So—obviously, authors shouldn’t review other authors, because many authors are nuts. (I maintain that there are many more nutty Serious Littrature authors than there are romance authors.)
**I do not write fan fiction, mainly because it takes me so fucking long to write one of my own books that I just can’t expend that much energy on other efforts. And JR Ward really, really hates fan fiction and, while I disagree with her philosophically—I would be overjoyed if readers loved my books enough to write fanfic about them—I respect her wishes. So—even if I had the time and inclination to write fanfic, I would not write BDB fanfic.
But. If I did. I have the perfect heroine for Vishous, and she’s not dead, and she fits into the canon.
I hope it’s OK to post this on this thread but the Guardian has this today, for some reason hidden in the Money – US Personal Finance section. It’s sort of a riposte to Hale’s piece.
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/oct/22/amazon-vine-book-reviews-blogging
@MikiS: Completely agree re expectations. A lot of the longer paranormal series I eventually give up on because the quality is not consistent. I gave up on several of those same series. If there is no character development or the stories become either repetitive or absurd, I move on. Another example, are the LKH “Anita Blake” books. I kept reading way past the point of absurd. I thought they were great until book 5 or so, but I kept hoping they would improve.
@MaryK: I haven’t read Drabble, but I’ve always been curious about her because her sister, A.S. Byatt, is the author of Possession, one of my all-time favorite novels, which I am currently rereading. I’ve read that book multiple times, but the last was probably a decade ago, so now I’m rereading it and so far enjoying it very much. But I’ve still got most of the way to go on this reread. It’s lit fic, so no HEA, but there are elements from multiple genres, mystery, fantasy / fairy tale, and romance among them.
@Jill Myles: I still remember that I inhaled that book over a 3 day period which – considering it’s almost 1000 pages in the MMPB copy I have – has always amazed me. I’d read for hours and hours and not want the book to end. Sigh …
@Deborah K: I feel the same way about Gone Girl. I LOVE the writing. But god, do I hate all the characters. I’m sure that was intentional but still. To be honest, I kind of feel this way about all of Gillian Flynn’s works.
@Kinsey: I’d never heard of Ward’s reaction to the Vishous & Jane thing. That’s hilarious. Mostly because in the subsequent books I read… she doesn’t seem like a ghost at all. It’s like she’s still alive except for when the plot requires her to be a ghost. Super funny.
@MaryK – I read Margaret Drabble in college for a lit class and it was pretty dreary, iirc. I’m not even sure of the title but I think it was The Waterfall. Again, iirc, there was sex in it but any romance was minimal. A friend read The Millstone for a different lit class and had a similar reaction. But, she’s a very well respected lit fic author and we were smarty pants 19 year olds, so ymmv.
Ursuala LeGuin has a lovely analysis of part of The Millstone that made me want to give Drabble another try, but I haven’t yet.
Well, I love books since ever. Louisa May Alcott and Jules Verne (Micheal Strogoff’s one of my favorite books ever) were the firsts in my adult reading.
Then romances were in my path. English is not my mother language so when I found out Nora Roberts I just had to read all her books and most of them weren’t translated. That made me challenge myself into reading seriously in English. I did and today 95% of what I read is written in English.
Then I found out about Ward’s BDB and I loved the world so much that I had to keep reading. Butch forever!
One of her books was the first I talked about in my blog when I just wrote a couple of sentences and that was it.
Then I started to follow blogs with more interest.
I don’t blog for show, but I like to have a sort of diary of what I read. I think it’s so sad someone like KH, who should know what she was in for by being a published author is taking it out on a blogger, someone who has as much freedom as she, by law, to speak her mind. Really, bloggers can be like treasure hunters. What wonders we can find in someone’s blog…
@MaryK: I’ve only read one book by Drabble: The Red Queen. It was given to me because of my interest in Korean history, and I have to say it’s more appropriately read that way than as a romance- like, at all. It’s definitely women’s fiction, FWIW.
Drabble inserted herself into the novel into a kind of weird way, but it wasn’t too bad.
@Sonia: I love that Nora Roberts was your motivation to improve your English-reading ability. Totally worth it!
@Nushie – You asked “Outside of meetup.com, does anyone have any suggestions on how to find a book club?” Try talking with librarians in your area, and bookstore managers. I imagine they’d both be good resources. Good luck!
@Nushie: Didn’t see anyone reply so wanted to offer suggestions. These are all coming from someone who lives US stateside so YMMV. Some of the best places to find book clubs are on community boards. I’d say start with your local library (they may advertise on their website what clubs meet when) and branch out from there. Local coffee shops almost always have a community board, including Starbucks. Barnes & Noble hosts book clubs and writing clubs and will even do free, in-store advertising for them. Ask someone at the help desk for their calendar. I’ve noticed that this does often depend on the area and the management. Indie bookstores would be another great place to check. Rec centers sometimes offer space for book meetups. If you’re still in college or university, auditing a genre lit class for no credit is a great way to get introduced to books you may have never thought about picking up.
For virtual: Smart Bitches does a virtual read. Evil Supply Co on Tumblr hosts a horror / gothic / suspense book club. It’s a little infrequent. I’d poke around your social networks to see what’s out there. I’ve been surprised by the number of virtual ones I’ve stumbled across.
Hope this helps!
Wow, what a great thread!
I’ve looked for romance in my reading for as long as I can remember. I think my first romance was “The Blue Castle” by L.M. Montgomery. As a young girl, I loved that Valancy got away from her stifling family and finally got to live a fuller life. In re-reads I figured out that she also wanted S-E-X—scandalous!!
A friend’s mom recognized me as a budding romance reader and told me to look forward to a book where “a woman sleeps with an army guy while he is drugged/out of it and he thinks she is someone else.” Before I found it, I gobbled up all of Nora Robert’s & JAK’s backlists. I read Diana Palmer as well, who has scarred me for life. Her heroes are SO HARD and her heroines are SO FRAGILE and something always goes badly, badly wrong between them. But I read every single one, obviously! A close friend in HS recc’d me Lisa Kleypas and Kathleen Woodiwiss—so imagine my excitement to finally find my plot-line in Ashes in the Wind! (I’m sure readers here could point of that plot in many others, but I’m convinced it was AitW :) )
My reading revolution in recent years is my switch to e-reading & online romance communities. I have a HUGE & fabulous used bookstore chain in my state, but no one to really talk to about books. I’ve appreciated DA, SBTB, & Wendy the Super Librarian more than I can say. I’m also loving the smaller blogs that I’ve discovered more recently due to their wonderful commentary on recent events. Happy reading to all!
@Jia: I think Jane’s intermittent ghostishness bugs me even more than Ward’s occasionally breaking her own worldbuilding rules. She made a decision to place that limitation on the character and she should stick to it, not write around it whenever it becomes inconvenient.
I recall something else she said about her solution to bringing Jane back – she thought it romantic that it was Vishous’ right hand, the one with which he can’t ever touch anyone, that gave Jane solid form. She was translucent and walk-throughable, like a regular ghost, and needed his hand of glory to achieve solidity. At least that’s how it worked at the end of Lover Unbound. But that kind of fell by the wayside in later books.
@MikiS: “I tried to think of books I really tried to push on my romance-reading friends….I push Singh (and I can’t get them to read the guild hunters, and I can’t figure out why!), ”
Maybe because they have such a strong UF look and feel. As a romance reader, I’m very suspicious of UF and won’t read it unless I’m assured everything ends well, particularly any romantic relationships.
@Kathleen: The Blue Castle is a great book!
@hapax: Yes. He’d been in discussions about creating film of the book too. It would have been amazing.
@MikiS:
I love Singh’s Psy/Changeling series and have read most of her Silhouette titles (the others are in my TBR) and the Rock Kiss series. But I just don’t do vampires. And I know Singh’s take on them is different. I just burned out on the subgenre long before it even became super popular.
I’ve had Nora’s Circle trilogy in my TBR since it was published. And Merline Lovelace wrote a novella with a vampire which I did read. Both are long-time aitobuy authors for me. Vampires just have zero appeal for me.
I don’t have many real life friends who are big readers. The two who are don’t read romance. I did manage to hook them both on the In Death series though.
My sister and bff and sisters in law are all huge readers like me, but maybe because we’re all in our 40s (and I’m 50) – we’re kind of set in our reading tastes and we know what we do and don’t like. They don’t like UF like I do. I don’t like the big sprawling rich people romances my BFF does. My sister reads a lot of Oprah book club type stuff (although I am responsible for turning her on to paranormal romance a while back.) One SIL reads high fantasy, etc. etc.
And I do have some friends who are anti-romance snobs, tho I think they think I can’t tell. My refusal to take Jonathan Franzen seriously kind of confuses them.
I hadn’t read romance since high school, but I found Smart Bitches through a NY Times article about the Cassie Edwards plagiarism. Thanks to Candy and Sarah, I read Nora Roberts,, Loretta Chase, and others, and connected over here at DA, where I found Jo Goodman’s books, Meljean Brook’s, and Georgette Heyer. The timing was great, because I found authors like Sherry Thomas, Meredith Duran and Courtney Milan when they were first published.
Recent excellent books include the upcoming The Rogue Spy by Jo Bourne, A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev, Indecent Proposal by Mollie O’Keefe, and Judgment by Carey Baldwin.
The first review I wrote was for a YA book I thought I was going to love (hello gorgeous cover), but ended up disliking. Learning about the craft of writing made me become a more critical reader and it took reading a handful of books before I actually liked one and got to review it. Now though, I find it difficult to write reviews about books I like, I guess because it is easier pointing out what I don’t like than the reverse.