Historical Romance Book Club discussion

Giselle wrote: "And in case you were wondering...yes. It does say that I have 61 ongoing series. 60 FREAKING 1. Please stop me from starting new series.

(it actually says 66 but there are a few that I've finished..."

61 series on tbr! And you read 90 HRs in a year! At that rate I think you might finish all your 61 series in 6yrs:) All the best for your series reading.

That spreadsheet idea sounds good.
I don't have a spreadsheet, but last year I made a list of all the HR authors I would like to read. I have 40 more authors to read and i am sure they have at least one series each.

Giselle wrote: "There is this google spreadsheet made by a friend of mine that is absolutely amazing at keeping track of every stat you'll ever want. I adore it but am behind at entering in all of my books read th..."

Wow! This is amazing.
Thanks for sharing Giselle.

By the way, the 2-3-4 Challenge group here on GR is dedicated to encouraging and helping members continue with the series that they've begun.

I decided to start A Buccaneer at Heart, it is #2 in Stephanie Laurens adventurers quartet. I have really dragged my heels starting this one as I was really disappointed in book 1. SL used to be an auto buy for me.

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "Thanks Giselle!

I think I need two diff spreadsheets for HR and another genres that I read from.

I hadn't heard of book tube but I have seen a couple of book-trailers. I'll have to look into thi..."


You could always download it twice and rename it to fit your needs. For me it's easier to keep it all together but I'm still figuring out the best uses for it.

Loriidae wrote: "I hover at around 48 series, I seem to start one for every one I finish. Of course it doesn't help that I prowl around GR and check out all the recommendations."

It's the worst! It's so hard not to start new series. I probably start 4 a month simply for the sake that I follow a lot of book clubs and they're always starting new series.

Priya wrote: "61 series on tbr! And you read 90 HRs in a year! At that rate I think you might finish all your 61 series in 6yrs:) All the best for your series reading.

That spreadsheet idea sounds good.
I don't have a spreadsheet, but last year I made a list of all the HR authors I would like to read. I have 40 more authors to read and i am sure they have at least one series each. "

The spreadsheet is really cool because once you put in the info it does everything else for you. So under the summary it lets me know all this info.

Series Backlog 63 90%
Books Backlog 240 6.32
Books left in Ongoing Series 70 29%
Books left in Completed Series 170 71%
Average Bks/Series 3.81
Avg % Complete 26.6%
Series Ongoing 32 50.8%
Series Caught up 3 5%
Series Completed 3 5%
Series DNFed 1 2%
Need Adjustment? 0

So now I know I have 240 unread books in series. I really love planning my reading a lot so it helps me do that and know what to aim for.

I love making lists like that! It's always so fun for me. And checking to check them off as you go...best feeling ever. Who is on your list by the way?

Lauren wrote: "Wow! This is amazing.
Thanks for sharing Giselle.

By the way, the 2-3-4 Challenge group here on GR is dedicated to encouraging and helping members continue with the series that they've begun. "

Thank you! And thanks for the heads up about that group. It sounds really cool. Do you use it personally?

Giselle wrote: "Thank you! And thanks for the heads up about that group. It sounds really cool. Do you use it personally? "

Yes, I do.
It's a fantastic group. Very friendly with all sorts of methods for encouraging and tracking series reads.

Ally wrote: "Loriidae wrote: "I decided to start A Buccaneer at Heart, it is #2 in Stephanie Laurens adventurers quartet. I have really dragged my heels starting this one as I was really disappo..."

I tend to chuck it! Especially if it is a new author, I rarely make it to book #2. An old favourite I would give more leniency.

I organise my shelves to reflect where I am in a series. Only the very first book goes on my TBR. On reading the first book and if I feel I will probably continue the series, book #2 goes on the "next in series " shelf. I also have series completed, series UTD, and series DNF shelves.

Giselle wrote: "Priya who is on your list by the way? ....."

I have all the popular HR authors whose names we find in discussions here often and then a few others. You might get bored:)

Here are few authors from my list: Amanda Quick, Catherine Anderson, Catherine Coulter, Elizabeth Hoyt, Eloisa James, Galen Foley, Georgette Heyer, Heather Graham, Jennifer Ashley, Jo Beverly, Jude Devereaux, Judith McNaught, Kathleen Baldwin, Laura Lee Ghurke, Lavyrle Spencer, Loretta Chase, Lorraine Heath, Lucinda Brandt, Mary Balogh, Mary Jo Putney, Sabrina Jeffries, Stephanie Laurens, Susan Elizabeth Philips, Suzanne Enoch, Tessa Dare and Virginia Henley.

I already finished reading KEW, Johanna Lindsey, Julie Garwood, Julia Quinn, Sarah MacLean.

Ally wrote: "Giselle wrote: "The spreadsheet is really cool because once you put in the info it does everything else for you. So under the summary, it lets me know all this info."

How long did it take you to s..."

I honestly don't remember. I did it in January when the new one came out. If you keep up on it, it doesn't take a lot to maintain fortunately. It takes me less than a minute to add each book in. The initial set up for the series section can take awhile but since I already have a goodreads shelf set up that has the next book in the series that I need to read even that didn't take too long. And like I said, I just turn on an audiobook and then I feel like I'm super accomplishing stuff! I'm still finding series that I've forgotten to add though on goodreads. So I'm around 65 now just from things that I started last year.

Loriidae wrote: "I organise my shelves to reflect where I am in a series. Only the very first book goes on my TBR. On reading the first book and if I feel I will probably continue the series, book #2 goes on the "n..."

I need to do this better. I'm planning on sitting down and going through my goodreads and just organizing everything. I just started my series DNF recently so I know there are a lot missing and I haven't even started a series completed yet!

Priya wrote: "Giselle wrote: "Priya who is on your list by the way? ....."

I have all the popular HR authors whose names we find in discussions here often and then a few others. You might get bored:)

Here are..."

No!! I love lists like this! Excuse me while I copy and paste this somewhere so I can dig into it. I do the same thing. Right now I only have a few HR authors that I'm working on but I have a list similar to this outside of the romance genre.

Ally wrote: "Loriidae wrote: "I organise my shelves to reflect where I am in a series. Only the very first book goes on my TBR. On reading the first book and if I feel I will probably continue the series, book ..."

Thanks Ally! feel free to peruse through my profile. The batch edit setting is really handy for moving / copying bulk lots of books between shelves.

Giselle wrote: "Priya wrote: "Giselle wrote: "Priya who is on your list by the way? ....."

I have all the popular HR authors whose names we find in discussions here often and then a few others. You might get bore..."

Wow! I too have lists for non-romance authors. It feels good to make lists, read and then checking off the lists.

Does bringing oneself up to date with a series that isn't over count.

I'm behind on a couple of series.

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "Does bringing oneself up to date with a series that isn't over count.

I'm behind on a couple of series."

It counts for me, it is sometimes a year or more to wait for the next book...I put the last book on my UTD list, and move it off when the next book comes out.

Loriidae,

Looks like a good strategy.

Is UTD shelf mean up to date ?

I think I have a lot of prep to get everything
In Shape to get it organized in a spreadsheet or to use Loriidae method.

I think I'll have begin with Loriidae system first to round up the titles that are everywhere.

Loriidae wrote: It counts for me, it is sometimes a year or more to wait for the next book...I put the last book on my UTD list, and move it off when the next book comes out. ."

Ditto! I do the same thing and only add the next book to my TBR once I've finished reading the current one. I als consider being caught up as on an ongoing series as counting for this.

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "Looks like a good strategy.

Is UTD shelf mean up to date ?"

Yes I have three shelves: series completed, series UTD or up to date and a series DNF - did not finish and an exclusive next in series shelf (above the line) on which I put the next book.

Feel free to have look through my profile, to see what works for me.

I finished Grace Burrowes' Windham series recently - enjoyed it. I'm currently reading Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane - enjoying those too. I'm up to #7, Darling Beast . Still a few to go! But I'd like to read them all. Challenge accepted!

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "Does bringing oneself up to date with a series that isn't over count.

I'm behind on a couple of series."

Yes. It counts

I just finished the second in the Knights of Miscellany, Lord of Fire. There are more in this series than I realized, seven books, so I have a long way to go. I already have Lord of Ice and intend to start on it next.

I have not read further in Loretta Chase's Carsington series, which I will probably switch back to after Lord of Ice. I will try to read these by the end of year, but not overly confident I will make it -- which can mostly be contributed to being more active on GR, so it's a win either way ;-)

Ally wrote: "Joanna wrote: "I just finished the second in the Knights of Miscellany, Lord of Fire. There are more in this series than I realized, seven books, so I have a long way to go. I already..."

I enjoyed the first, but this one less so. It was a little bit all over the place for me -- high highs and low lows, which made it more difficult to get through. If the next one is the same, I will probably hold off for awhile before continuing.

So they aren't all HR but I've finished 3 series in June! I'm really happy about it.

Turner series by Courtney Milan
I ADORED this! Courtney Milan and I apparently don't get along with the first books in her series. I didn't really like the Duchess War and I didn't really like Unveiled. So when I read Unveiled in April I was pretty disappointed. But I finished this series up this month with books 1.5, 2 and 3. 1.5 was just as disappointing as the first for me. But I LOVED 2 and 3. Smite is my favorite. I don't have enough wonderful things to say about this series now. Each of these siblings are so different and watching their friendships unfold was beautiful. I might have cried. So this series is a 4 star series for me. A bit of a rocky start but a smashing end!

Cruel Beauty series by Rosamund Hodge
I just had to finish up the 1.5 novella in the series. It was a Cinderella retelling that was actually really dark. But it was too short and I wish the ending had been a little more flushed out. So my rating for the series is a 3.5. I really liked the first book but the second book was insta-love, love triangle bull crap. So they balanced each other out. haha.

Anna and the French Kiss Series by Stephanie Perkins
So I finally finished this series up with book 3 this month. I read the first book back in 2014. Yes. That was 3 years ago. Hush. I HATED the first book. It's really stupid teenagers emotionally cheating the whole book. Not sexy. I read the second book in 2014 as well and liked it much better than the first book. But it still had emotional cheating. So I've finally picked up the last book and guess what? There wasn't any emotional cheating! I know. I was shocked too. It seemed like the theme of the series. The characters in the third book weren't my favorite but I still enjoyed their story. And it was really compelling. I've read all 3 of these books in one day each. But their relationship just moved way too fast for me. They were saying 'I love you' and talking about moving in together after 1 month. and I'm like, you're 17 and not even graduated yet. CALM DOWN! But it was fun. The series overall is probably a 2 star series for me. I just can't stand the first book.

Wow. That was ranty. I'm just so happy to have finished 3 series! I also DNF'd one series that I don't feel like finishing so thats 4 series off my list! And I only started 3 (so far) so I'm in the green!

Giselle wrote: "So they aren't all HR but I've finished 3 series in June! I'm really happy about it.

Turner series by Courtney Milan
I ADORED this! Courtney Milan and I apparently don't get along with the first ..."

Congratulations Giselle, I just have to get my act together! Across all genres I have 17 on my one left in series shelf. So if I focus I could do some serious cleaning out but I am so easily distracted.

I finished reading all of Sarah MacLean's books and so 3 series finished.

Loriidae wrote: "I just have to get my act together! Across all genres I have 17 on my one left in series shelf. So if I focus I could do some serious cleaning out but I am so easily distracted."

LOL Loriidae! I sympathise.... I know exactly where you're coming from!

I've finished 2 out of my 6 books. Hope to get to the rest by the end of the year (or sooner).

Ally wrote: "Joanna wrote: "Ally wrote: "Joanna wrote: "I just finished the second in the Knights of Miscellany, Lord of Fire. There are more in this series than I realized, seven books, so I have..."

It definitely is! But few series are without a loser in the bunch, so hopefully that is it for this one.

My Series' I need to catch up on:

The Knickerbocker Club By Joanna Shupe

Need to read the final book of the series (#4)

Joanna Shupe, author of Knickerbocker Club, has a new series that takes place in guilded age NYC, but I'm leery of her new publisher. So I just don't know. I'm afraid that they'll change her work.

Coin Forest By Janet Lane

Need to read book #4 and also book #5 will be published soon

Emperors of London By Lynne Connolly.

**British HR Author Alert

There are 7 books, I own 6, I've read 3.

I need to start this series again because it has a cool underlying sub-plot of intrigue and I didn't pay enough attention to it (sub-plot). While I was reading book 3, I sort of "woke up" that the sub-plot from books 1-2 was also in book 3. I really need to restart this again and stick with it and not let so much time elapse between the reading of the books.

Moonlight Square By Gaelen Foley.

From this series, I need to read the most recent title, Duke of Secrets. I've already read bks 0.5 and 1.

**Edit**

I forgot the "Victorian Rebels" Series by Kerrigan Byrne (She's releasing faster than I can read them!)

The Highlander
The Duke
The Scot Beds His Wife

Ally wrote: "Remind me which series you are working on?"

Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt
Rules of Scoundrels by Sarah MacLean
Vanza by Amanda Quick
Wallflowers by Lisa Kleypas (Prequel)

I have one book left in each of these series.

Ally,

Joanna Shupe is still writing about old NY/Guilded age for a new series but she is now with AVON!!!!

Sob, sob, sniff, sniff

Well I've just finished the Ravenels series by Lisa Kleypas, although # 4 is due out in Feb 2018, and I understand there will be more books to come after that. :D

I REALLY LIKED books 1 and 3, but not 2 so much. But I think maybe it's cos I read them out of order, reading book 2 first (Marrying Winterborne). I now want to go back and reread Winterborne and hope I like it more this time around, now I've got more background info about it.

Congrats Jan it's always a good feeling!

I have only read LK's contemporary / barely paranormal friday harbor series. You tempt me to see if she is better at historicals.

Jan130 wrote: "Well I've just finished the Ravenels series by Lisa Kleypas, although # 4 is due out in Feb 2018, and I understand there will be more books to come after that. :D

I REALLY LIKED boo..."

Yay! Glad to hear you found some you enjoyed. Marrying Winterbourne is my favorite so far of the series, but I did read in order.

Loriidae wrote: "Congrats Jan it's always a good feeling!

I have only read LK's contemporary / barely paranormal friday harbor series. You tempt me to see if she is better at historicals."

I loved her Sugar Daddy CR series, but till recently haven't liked her HRs that much. But now I'm a convert :D

Ally wrote: "I finished the Bedwyn series. So there is that. I'm toying with the idea of finishing off Wallflowers. is the only one I have left. That said, I read the o..."

Well done on finishing the Bedwyns, Ally. I haven't read the Wallfowers yet except Devil in Winter but I plan on tackling the Hathaways next.

Ally wrote: "I finished the Bedwyn series. So there is that. I'm toying with the idea of finishing off Wallflowers. is the only one I have left. That said, I read the o..."

Congratulations on finishing the Bedwyn Saga!