Loser needs book recommendations
I lost. *sigh*
Well, actually, my candidate lost. I think we did very well: 53% to 41%; not so bad really. We should win for sure next time, only two more years till the mid-term congressional elections and four for the next presidential ones.
I learned a world of things in this campaign and I can’t wait for the work to start again in full force. In the mean time, I have been offered to conduct a political analysis radio show and some other things I’m still looking into. I think the next couple of years shall be verra interesting for me. *wink*
Now, I NEED BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS!
I’ve read all of Eloisa James’s backlist in the last six months; she’s such a delight to read. Her stories are complex and fun you can’t help but love them—except for those “Pleasure” books. *ACKKKKKKKKK* Those idiotic twins in the first two books are bloody idiots. There were so many secondary characters and nonsensical plots that I had to write them down in a pad to keep them straight. How she got those novels published is beyond me...
I did manage to read one non-political and non-EJ book that I loved: The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne. If you haven’t read it you are missing out on the best historical romance I’ve read in years; simply marvelous.
I’m counting on you guys to plump up my reading list which is rather poor at the moment.
Recommendations, anyone? Anyone?
Well, actually, my candidate lost. I think we did very well: 53% to 41%; not so bad really. We should win for sure next time, only two more years till the mid-term congressional elections and four for the next presidential ones.
I learned a world of things in this campaign and I can’t wait for the work to start again in full force. In the mean time, I have been offered to conduct a political analysis radio show and some other things I’m still looking into. I think the next couple of years shall be verra interesting for me. *wink*
Now, I NEED BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS!
I’ve read all of Eloisa James’s backlist in the last six months; she’s such a delight to read. Her stories are complex and fun you can’t help but love them—except for those “Pleasure” books. *ACKKKKKKKKK* Those idiotic twins in the first two books are bloody idiots. There were so many secondary characters and nonsensical plots that I had to write them down in a pad to keep them straight. How she got those novels published is beyond me...
I did manage to read one non-political and non-EJ book that I loved: The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne. If you haven’t read it you are missing out on the best historical romance I’ve read in years; simply marvelous.
I’m counting on you guys to plump up my reading list which is rather poor at the moment.
Recommendations, anyone? Anyone?
Labels: bibliophile’s affair, politics crap, trollop and harlot’s stuff
Sorry about the campaign but what a great experience. Congrats on the job offer as well.
You look beautiful in those pictures. Wow!
As for recs. I've just read 2 great historical romances by Claudia Dain that Tami rec'd. The Courtesan's Daughter and The Courtesan's Secret. Witty, sexy, saucy. A blast, actually.
ALE (Ann)
5/19/2008 09:12:00 PM
Congrats on the job offer! Sounds exciting!
I agree with you about EJ's Pleasure books. It's a good thing I didn't read those first.
I liked Spymaster's Lady a lot too. I had a few problems with the portrayal of Annique, but otherwise I thought it was very well done.
I also quite liked Sherry Thomas' Private Arrangements. It's set a bit later than most historicals, which I enjoyed. I liked that it was mostly introspective/about the relationships and didn't have much external driving force.
I read Dain's The Courtesan's Daughter and enjoyed it, despite really, really disliking the trope she used to get her characters together.
Liked Elizabeth Hoyt's To Taste Temptation too, although I didn't love it or get excited over it like some of my other recent reads.
My latest reads were Lisa Kleypas' Blue Eyed Devil and Sugar Daddy. They should probably be read the other way around, but I found BED first; it's not a series, exactly, but you know how characters in one book end up starring in another... I was very impressed by about 90% of both books; the other 10% are romance genre conventions I don't like, though in this case it wasn't problematic to the point where I couldn't enjoy the story -- I just think I would have liked it even more had Kleypas gone against the cliché.
Kleypas is hit and miss for me and I didn't want to pay hardcover price for those two books, so I waited until SD came out in paperback and my library had BED. If I had known they were going to be this good, I wouldn't have waited.
I liked Meredith Duran's Duke of Shadows, even though it was sort of like reading 2 different books. It was split into Part I and Part II, and the characters were nearly unrecognizable from I to II (I preferred Part I), but I like the way she writes and am planning on keeping an eye out on her next book(s).
I belatedly (re)discovered Georgette Heyer. Love love love Devil's Cub and Cotillion was a lark. Am on the lookout for more Heyers.
Madly obsessing over Lois McMaster Bujold's The Sharing Knife series. Vol 1 Beguilement, Vol 2 Legacy, Vol 3 Passage, Vol 4 Horizon. I believe there are supposed to be 4 volumes (dunno if there are more books planned after); the fourth should come out next year. It's a romance in a fantasy setting (though grounded in the "real" world, not a mystical place). There's not a lot of plot, it's mainly a character study of two people who fall in love and are in the process of discovering things about each other, themselves and the world around them because of their relationship. I kinda love it a lot.
Also, on May 27 (in North America, at least) both Julia Quinn and Loretta Chase have new books coming out: The Lost Duke of Wyndham and Your Scandalous Ways, respectively. (I hope they're better than these two author's previous efforts, which I thought were okay, but not up to their usual standards.)
And I cannot recommend IRON MAN enough. OK. Not a book, but still. I haven't been this giddy over a movie in a long time.
5/20/2008 02:16:00 AM
Also, I meant to say that Kleypas's two books read more like Women's Fiction books (as I understand them to be), not straight Romance. I probably wouldn't have minded if the romance angle had been toned down even more, because I liked the main characters so much; I liked that the romance was a part of their lives, but not necessarily the main part (at least all the time).
5/20/2008 04:14:00 AM
ALE, Thanks gorgeous :)
Dance,
Elections were on friday, I was too busy before that and then I was too depressed to do anything this weekend but I have been looking forward to watching Iron Man! I love RDJr.
I just got some ebooks (shouldn't they be getting cheaper btw?):
Lisa K:
-Blue eyed devil
-Suggar Daddy
Georgette Hayer (never read her before):
-The Devil's Club
-Cotillion
Lois Mcmaster Bujold's:
-beguilement
-Legacy
-Passage
Keep the recommendations coming!
5/20/2008 08:01:00 AM
Have you read the Carnation series? I haven't yet, but it's supposed to be great.
Amal reviewed it here.
Also, the Ladies No. 1 Detective series by AM Smith. I have the second book available here
5/21/2008 11:16:00 AM
I am listening to Joseph Finder's Killer Instinct, Company Man, and Power Play. I recommend them. So entertaining, not much romance though.
5/21/2008 11:22:00 AM
Hullo all. Want to say i agree with Dance about Lois McMaster Bujold. (I think she and i tend to like the same books, hee, though pretty sure she's far well-read than me.) Looooove the Sharing Knife series. I've read (devoured more like it) a lot of fantasy books this year, fantasy with strong romantic aspects (really addicted now to this kind of stories) so will recommend books from this genre.
First, Catherine Asaro. She writes a bunch of scifi books but her fantasy ones are very romance-y: The Misted Cliffs, The Dawn Star. Guy Gavriel Kay's Song for Arbonne is a good example of a fantasy novel with romance as its central plot. GGK's Tigana and Lions of Al-Rassan are also excellent books but romance in those are less than that in Arbonne. No explicit scenes for Kay so if you're looking for that you might want to look elsewhere.
Elsewhere means C.L. Wilson and P.C. Cast LOL. And Emma Holly's Prince of Ice! Oh wow, talk about hot. Very little fantasy aspect in POI, and the ending could have been better, but loved loved that book.
If you're into love-hate romance, Margaret Weis's Rose of the Prophet trilogy is good. There's also Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince trilogy, another fantasy with strong romance in it.
Elizabeth Haydon's Rhapsody series: great story, great characters. Also, Anne Bishop's Jewels saga. Same as Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series, one of my favorites. JC's books are surprisingly romantic.
Lastly, i have to mention Michelle Sagara West (she also writes as Michelle West and Michelle Sagara) whose Sundered series started my addiction to romantic fantasy novels. I've only read the first one, Into the Dark Lands, (can't find the other 3 books *so sad*--if any of you lot have them, do let me know heh) even then i highly recommend this series to those who are into dark, angsty Romeo-and-Juliet-type of stories.
I have more but this is long already.
P.S.
Not fantasy but YA. FANTASTIC YA, Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief, Queen of Attolia, and King of Attolia. Then, Louise Rennison. I can't recommend her enough. Her Georgia Nicolson series are freaking HILARIOUS, just non-stop fun. I keep thinking Georgia is Bridget Jones' long lost sister! If you only have to try one book this week, i hope it'd be something from this series. (Georgia's titles alone will make you smile. ;)) *besos*
5/21/2008 05:07:00 PM
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