Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous discussion

I'll begin

The worst book I have ever read. Period.
The prose is so hideous it's basically unreadable. The premise and overall direction the plot takes is hilarious. It's set in scotland during 1500s, which is the extent of the "historical" element of this absolute waste of ink and paper. I'd give you a synopsis but the writing is so awful I had no idea what was going. I've tried countless times to get rid of it but to no avail. I've come to see it as fate because as awful as is it, I've had so many hilarious conversations with my brother about this book and we still talk about it. I told my next door neighbor about it, and after laughing about for hours, she borrowed it and we've had so much fun laughing over how terrible it is. It sits on my shelf as a testament to the fun memories I associate with this book.

There are a lot of great authors in this genre, but it's so mass produced that you have to read some bad ones to get to the good stuff.
So I thought it would be fun to discuss and laugh about the god awful books we've read in this genre. Hilariously bad or just plain awful, what is the worst bodice ripper you've ever read?

just couldn't stand.

which I loved when I was 19, hated when I was in my 40s.

I agree that Marilee was really awful, I often wished I could unread it. Another one called Under Crimson Sails a pirate novel was just as bad.

It's rather popular, but I thought Henley's BR The Hawk and the Dove was so terrible it was funny. The hero's giant "manroot" was practically it's own character as it was mentioned on every other page. And the heroine - Sabre Wilde - lolz.

I've read worse, but unfortunately never finished those because they were so bad I couldn't get past a few chapters or remember their titles. Christie's Rapture was one of those and I only remember it because a GR friend of mine actually suffered through it recently with some rather hilarious updates. She is obviously tougher than me.

Rosaetta wrote: "I agree that Marilee was really awful, I often wished I could unread it. Another one called Under Crimson Sails a pirate novel was just as bad."

I've heard a lot of good things about that book and was really excited to have found it, so I'm a little suprised to hear that.

I've heard that Caress and Conquer is a really bad one too. I did get a kick out of reviews of Sweet Savage Love. Maybe that's why some of them are only a quarter or ten cents at the used book store.

Rosaetta wrote : " Another one called Under Crimson Sails a pirate novel was just as bad."

I totally agree! I read this Lynna Lawton book so many years ago as a teen and I think it scarred me! The h was with so many men in the book ... This is a deal breaker for me.

Having said that, 20 years later, I still vaguely remember the author name/ plot ... Since it was so awful, it stuck in my mind! .... So that's gotta mean something.

Rosaetta wrote: "I've heard that Caress and Conquer is a really bad one too. I did get a kick out of reviews of Sweet Savage Love. Maybe that's why some of them are only a quarter or ten cents at the used book store."

Caress and Conquer was another hilariously bad one. Depending on your POV, I suppose. It has some high ratings, plus there are a lot of disturbing things that happen to the heroine. But it was so OTT and unconvincing that it was almost a black comedy for someone with a twisted sense of humor. I gave it 2 stars and one was just for the giggles.