Fans of Eloisa James & Julia Quinn discussion

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm starting the week with Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston and Matched by Ally
Condie.

The Pirate Prince from the Ascension Trilogy by Foley, Gaelen

Emma Wildes His Sinful Secret. My first by her and so far quite good.

I am reading When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James. I am not very far yet, but I like it so far.

Happy Valentine's Day to you too Okie!

I'm starting "Into the Scottish Mist" by Beth Anne Miller. It's her debut novel, just published earlier this month. It's a time travel romance and sounds really good!

I want to read Into The Scottish Mist too, Monica!

Monica wrote: "Happy Valentine's Day to you too Okie!

I'm starting "Into the Scottish Mist" by Beth Anne Miller. It's her debut novel, just published earlier this month. It's a time travel romance and soun..."

Scottish and time travel. Two of my favorite things! I'll have to check this one out.

Just finished a few books: Eloisa's newest (lovely, lovely), and Mia Marlowe's TOUCH OF A THIEF. Mia used to write as Emily Bryan, and I loved all of those books. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of THIEF, and it's another great historical with just a smidge of paranormal (the heroine is an excellent jewel thief because she gets psychic vibrations from gemstones). Very clever. Loved it!

Next up: Kaki Warner's Blood Rose trilogy. It's been a long time since I've read a romance set in the Old West--so far, so good. Have any of you read those?

I am starting Dreams of a Dark Warrior from Kresley Cole

Pj wrote: Scottish and time travel. Two of my favorite things! I'll have to check this one out.

PJ,
Two of my favorites too!!! Lol!!

Theresa, I adore Kaki Warner's Blood Rose Trilogy! They are some of the best books I've read in years. I reviewed the second and third books in the trilogy and gave them both 5 Stars. I highly recommend them and also recommend that you read them in order.

Pj wrote: "Theresa, I adore Kaki Warner's Blood Rose Trilogy! They are some of the best books I've read in years. I reviewed the second and third books in the trilogy and gave them both 5 Stars. I highly r..."

Thanks, PJ--that's great to know! I happened to read the second one first, but I loved it and wanted to get the scoop on Brady and Jessica. I stayed up way too late last night finishing their story. :)

I do wish I'd gone in order, but at least I'll read the third one last! It's on my nightstand. Jack wasn't exactly looking like hero material in the first two books, so I'm glad to know he redeems himself.

I just finished Wedding of the Season by Laura Lee Guhrke. The story didn't really work for me. It was an okay read, but I didn't connect with the h/h. And I didn't really buy their HEA. The excerpt of the next in the series sounds good though.

Up next: My Fair Mistress by Tracy Anne Warren.

Cindy wrote: "I just finished Wedding of the Season by Laura Lee Guhrke. The story didn't really work for me. It was an okay read, but I didn't connect with the h/h. And I didn't really buy their HEA. The excerp..."

I've heard that from a few people about Wedding of the Season but I've been hearing good things about Scandal of the Year. I haven't had a chance to read either book yet.

If any of you are Laura Lee Guhrke fans, she's guest blogging with us tomorrow (2/17) at theromancedish.com and giving away a complete set of her Girl-Bachelor Chronicles.

I just finished Laurel McKee's Duchess of Sin. This one is dark, angsty, and truly passionate... Also well-written for the grammarians out there, I found only a few glaring errors.

Theresa wrote: "Next up: Kaki Warner's Blood Rose trilogy. It's been a long time since I've read a romance set in the Old West--so far, so good. Have any of you read those?..."

Theresa, just finished Brady and Jessica's story, Pieces of Sky, last night and loved it! I was half way through and put Hank's story (#2) on hold at the library. I can't wait to get it. I love the strong silent type. LOL

Cindy wrote: "I just finished Wedding of the Season by Laura Lee Guhrke. The story didn't really work for me. It was an okay read, but I didn't connect with the h/h. And I didn't really buy their HEA. The excerp..."

Cindy - Did you read my post about LLG's books last week? I said the same thing you did, except I couldn't finish the first book in the series. I just moved on to the next book, Scandal of the Year. It's been one of the best reads for me this year! Give it a try.

I got my NookColor, PJ, and I LOVE it! I downloaded Meg Benjamin's Venus in Blue Jeans and am really enjoying it! I also downloaded EJ's Storming the Castle. That's up next.

Irisheyes, I liked Hank's story just as much as Brady's. You're in for a treat!

PJ, I'm about 1/4 of the way into the third book now. I like the setup; neither Jack nor Daisy wants a relationship with the other! I can't see yet how Ms. Warner's going to bring about their HEA, but after the richness of the first two books in this trilogy, I know she can do it. :)

Starting on XVI by Julie Karr

I'll add my praise to Kaki Warner's Blood Rose trilogy. I loved all three books, and I'm eager for the new series.

Re: Guhrke's Abandoned Bride series
I liked Wedding of the Season. I thought it had charm, and I was delighted with the setting. BUT I thought Scandal of the Year was much better. I loved the characters and their relationship. They really were more together than they were seperately.

I just posted reviews here for the anthology The Knitting Diaries and an inspirational romance Softly and Tenderly. My reaction to the anthology was mixed. I really liked the Susan Mallery story, but overall it was a C+ read for me. I liked the inspirational a lot. It is a strong story, not an excuse for a sermon, and the characters are flawed creatures who stuble and hurt rather than saintly evangelists.

I'm reading Moonlight Cove by Sherryl Woods, the latest in her Chesapeake books.

Did you all see that Dear Author gave EJ's When Beauty Tamed the Beast an A-. Is that a first?

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2011/...

Irish, congrats on getting the Nook Color. I know you're going to love it. I finally saw one in person a couple weeks ago and fell in love.

Hope you're enjoying Hank and Molly's story. It's my favorite of the trilogy.

Theresa, I felt the same way about CHASING THE SUN until I got further into the story. Warner does a wonderful job of bring everything together. I also love that she included an epilogue that's 25 years into the future so we can find out what happened to everybody.

I just finished up Skin Heat by Ava Gray. Fabulous author with a wonderful plot and characters. I adore her books. I highly recommend them to anyone who loves a little bit of a sci-fi edge in their romances. So good!

And I'm still working on The Three Musketeers and now I'm re-reading AQ's The Third Circle. And I went just a little bit crazy at Borders and bought 5 romances. I'll be reading those in this upcoming week. Squee!

After so many recommendations for Kaki Warner, I read her series this week. I must say I have very mixed feelings about her book. She really can create characters--her people are wonderfully believable, and her couples are interesting in how they connect and communicate. And her depictions of the West are gorgeous.

But I found her plotting to be melodramatic, overly busy, and to have huge holes in it. And that ruined a lot of the believability for me. The level of violence, particularly in the first one, bothered me. And I don't like plots with evil villains--people who are just bad through and through, black with no shade of grey.
I'm glad I read them but I can't say I fell in love with them.

On the Abandoned Brides--I too had a hard time with the first in the series. But when I thought about it I realized that part of what bothered me is the the heroine is so bound by the constraints of her day, and it was hard for me to make that mind shift and really appreciate why she seemed so passive. I admire Guhrke for taking on that challenge. I think its something she's done in other books that people have very strong reactions to--I'm thinking particulary of The marriage bed (I think that's the name--the one where the hero married the heroine for money and when she found out and wouldn't sleep with him he takes a series of mistresses.) I really am impressed with that book even though I can see why some people dislike the hero intensely.
I see the same kind of historical authenticity in this book too.

About Guhrke's Wedding of the Season... I felt the h/h were very self absorbed. This might contain spoilers. I felt that the hero cared more about his mission than he cared about the heroine. And she just felt flat to me. I didn't really care one way or the other about her. Everyone kept saying how controlling her dad was, but I never really got to see that aspect of it. It was all told, not shown. And then I felt like our hero was a bit of a jerk, because he was somewhat like her "controlling" dad. He wanted to manipulate her to go to Egypt even though she kept telling him she didn't want to go. It just didn't work for me. In the end it was wrapped up too neatly, too quickly. I would have been so much more satisfied if they had gone to Italy, where she wanted to go.

Cindy that's how I felt at first too. Then I realized that really would haclve happened back then--her fathers expectations would have shaped her and controlled her from beyond the grave. As for Italy...his work was in Egypt and ao of course back then they would have gone where his job was. He did commit to coming back to England every year. What felt more unresolved to me was what about kids given that Egypt wasn't supposed to be healthy for kids...
It wouldn't work today but when I thought about it it was right for then.