I apologize about the length of this in advance. I may start
doing this post bi-weekly to cut down on the wordiness.
Fantasy/Urban Fantasy
The
Hidden Goddess by M.K. Hobson (The Native Star, Book 2): If you haven’t
read The
Native Star, don’t even bother with this, I read it only a few months ago
and I was occasionally lost. However, you should definitely read these two. Magical alternate-history with some steam-punk flair. Awesome
and weird.
Dead,
Undead, or Somewhere in Between by J.A. Saare (Rhiannon’s Law, Book 1): A
middle-of-the-road necromancer/vampire pair-up. Not an original spin but
decently written. It’s indie-published so it’s cheap and that’s probably the
standard by which I am judging it (it was only .99 when I bought it). I’ll get
around to the recently-released sequel, but it barely ranks on my list of
priorities.
Magic
Burns, Magic
Strikes, and Magic
Bleeds by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels, Books 2-4): Yes,
go read these right now. No, really, RIGHT NOW.
Historical Fiction
Settling
the Account and A
Second Chance by Shayne Parkinson (Promises to Keep, Books 3 & 4): The
four books follow a group of people living in New Zealand in the late 1800’s to
early 1900’s. The story is well written and interesting but there is so much of it (3 of the books top out at
500+ pages) and there isn’t really a plot. The story managed to be engaging
despite the almost ridiculous amount of every-day minutiae included but it is a
serious time investment.
Romance
The
Madness of Lord Ian Mackensie by Jennifer Ashley (Highland Pleasures, Book
1): Ms. Ashley writes some seriously hot, beautiful romances. Instant-lust-that-is-really-love gets the story started,
but watching the characters move toward each other is incredibly rewarding. The second
novel in the series is Lady
Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage and the third is The
Many Sins of Lord Cameron (I sure do love romance novel titles, barf). This
series tends toward dark and the issues the characters deal are heavy so if you
prefer romances that are fluffy, this probably won't appeal.
My
Darling Caroline by Adele Ashworth: Nothing about this worked for me. The
language was too modern, the lady-protagonist was too perfect, the
dude-protagonist was annoying. Doubt I’ll be reading anything else by
this author.
Last
Night’s Scandal by Loretta Chase (The Carsington Family, Book 5): I have
said before that I love this book. I LOVE THIS BOOK.
Fast
Women by Jennifer Crusie: I wanted to love this book, it’s all noir-ish,
but the lady-protagonist rubbed me the wrong way. I generally like strong,
assertive women (both in books and IRL), but I just couldn’t get behind Nell.
Also, I didn’t believe that the lady/dude relationship would last. I am extra
sad because I love Jenny Crusie so much.
The
Care and Taming of a Rogue, A
Lady’s Guide to Improper Behavior, and Rules
of an Engagement by Suzanne Enoch (The Adventurer’s Club, Books 1-3): Solidly
written, enough suspense to be engaging, believable romance. The
lady-protagonists were all remarkably similar, but maybe you wouldn’t notice if
you didn’t read them consecutively?
Passions
of a Wicked Earl by Lorraine Heath (London ’s
Greatest Lovers, Book 1): I liked this one because of the emotional journey the
characters take. The lady-protagonist starts as a bit of an ingénue, the
dude-protagonist starts as an unemotional, uncompromising douche-wad, but they
have some decent growth throughout the story. The writing was occasionally a little
flat, and the end was frankly wtf but overall, a nice way to pass the
afternoon.
What
a Gentleman Wants by Caroline Linden (The Reece Family, Book 1): The setup
was really far-fetched and the suspense aspect felt a little forced, but I
liked the lady/dude combo enough to ignore the shortcomings. Caution: Plot Moppet.
For
Your Arms Only by Caroline Linden (Bow St. Agents, Book 2): Too much
emphasis on the intrigue, not enough on the romance. Snooze-fest.
Defy
Not the Heart and Joining
by Johanna Lindsey (Shefford’s Knights, Books 1 & 2): SBTB had posted about
which Johanna
Lindsey novels a person would recommend for someone unfamiliar with
Lindsey. A popular recommendation was Gentle
Rogue, part of the Malory series, and one I didn’t like (flat
characterization but I may revisit it anyway). The only other Lindsey I had
read was Silver Angel which is full of some amazing wtfery. But I REALLY liked
Defy Not the Heart. It’s got most of the orly ?
that old skool romances have but without the rape. Joining is basically the
same book, 15 years later. Head strong, unconventional lady-pro, over-bearing
but good-at-heart dude-pro, heads clash, true love, blah blah blah. Fun the
first time, less so the second.
The
Heir by Johanna Lindsey (The Reid Family, Book 1): Sweet and believable romance
between the lady-pro and dude-pro. I do like how the villainess gets both her
comeuppance and a bit of sympathy but I wish that the women were more than just
character foils to show how awesome the lady-pro is.
Lady
of Conquest, Thief
of Hearts, A
Kiss to Remember, and The
Bride and the Beast by Teresa Medeiros: I keep running into the same
trouble with Medeiros, the stories are competently written and the arcs are fun
if not always original, but I rarely buy the relationship between the
lady-protagonist and the dude-protagonist. Of the four, I liked Thief of Hearts
best.
The
Dangerous Viscount by Miranda Neville (The Burgundy Club, Book 2): Again,
good writing and good storytelling, but I didn’t always believe the lady/dude
relationship. And both the lady and the dude were kind of shitty people. The
first book, The
Wild Marquis, was better.
Nobody’s
Baby but Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Fuck no, this book is horrible.
Besides bad writing, the characters are shitty people doing really shitty
things to each other. And did I mention bad writing? STAY AWAY.
The
Bargain by Mary Jo Putney: A lot of perspective hopping and the premise is morbid,
but it’s decent. Not great but better than average.
Not
Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas: Really well written and a really
wonderful emotional connection between the two protagonists. And the way the
story unfolded and revealed the character motivations was lovely. Read
this now. There is a related book, Delicious,
which I haven’t yet read but it’s on my short list.
Glory
in Death, Immortal
in Death, Rapture
in Death by J.D. Robb (In Death, Books 2-4): I said last month that I
understand the appeal of these and that’s still true. But if you are going to
read this series, do NOT read them in rapid succession. It makes it more
apparent that it is the same story over and over again. Formula is thus:
Somebody dies, Eve Dallas goes on the case, she has lots of sex with Roarke,
she meets someone new who is not actually a suspect, investigation, emotional breakthrough, aforementioned new person is the murderer. Dum dum dum. The fifth
book steps away from that, but I’m sure book six will snap right back. I’m probably
going to keep reading these for awhile, but my interest is already starting to
wane and I’m betting that by the time I hit book 15, I’ll be raging about how
much I hate these books.
Mad, Bad, and Blonde by Cathie Linz (West Investigations,
Book 1): DNF. I got a quarter through the book before I couldn’t take anymore.
YA Fantasy
A
Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel
Angels, and The
Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy): DNF. I struggled
to finish books one and two. I COULD NOT make myself finish the last book. I
tried to but I hated the narrator and all her friends and they made such
ridiculous decisions and ARGH, what a waste of time. I wanted to like it
because the narrator and her friends are struggling against a really
prohibitive era (Victorian) for women and pushing against the status quo and
taking power into their own hands (magically speaking, mostly) but they were so
un-likeable that I wanted to shake them until their heads fell off.
ETA: Deleted post by accident, my bad
ETA: Deleted post by accident, my bad
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