Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

Kami and I will be starting Wicked Enchantment on Sunday or Monday (April 1 or 2). Feel free to join to us.

We've decided to add our buddy read of to this thread, too. We'll be starting it around Sunday, April 8!

I'm starting this tonight, but I can't guarantee how far I'll get before falling asleep. Hopefully, it starts with some excitement that will keep me awake....

I am on page 54. I am really liking it but I think I need a pronunciation key for some of the Gaelic names like Caoilainn Muirgheal and Aodh. I am pretty sure Aislinn is pronounced ASH-linn. But what about Criostoir Ruadhan O'Dubhuir? Or Aelfdane?

I'm on about page 28 or so. I think I was too tired to read because I felt kind of confused a few times. I may start fresh again today. But I did get far enough to be intrigued about Ashlinn's lineage and just why Gabriel's magick doesn't work on her.

I'm with you on the names (maybe that was part of my confusion). At least the main characters have fairly easy names. Why are there never any Fae with names like Fred or Sally?

I'm liking it a lot. It is exciting and naughty. The fae in modern dress is interesting and the camera crew filming the celebrity reality/tabloid news show Faemous is really funny. I am on page 148 and it is definitely heating up.

I think I may have to skim over what I read last night. I was a little fuzzy in the head when I tried to start it last night. But I'll strive to catch up. I'm very intrigued by Gabriel.

Yeah he is definitely intriguing and yummy.

I'm only up to page 78, but I'm really enjoying it. I'm glad I skimmed the beginning to refresh my memory about the Phaendir and the creation of Pieffferburg, which I gather is somewhere in America?

Very interesting that it looks like Aislinn has necromantic abilities and that while she can't call the dead to her, she might be able to control them, meanwhile Gabriel can call the dead, but not control them. Yin to his yang as he says. And I like her different take on the Wild Hunt. Most books I've read that mention it make it seem wild and dangerous.

I like the heat between Aislinn and Gabriel and their banter with one another. Now, just waiting for it to get even steamier...

I'm done. I really liked it a lot. I want to read the next book in this series.

I'm up to the point where Gabriel has just rescued her from the Unseelie dungeons (after himself being rescued). I've got to say I've been pleasantly surprised by this book. From looking at the cover and reading the blurb on the back about a "half-incubus" I was expecting something a little more...focused on sex. I thought this might be one of those series where it's all about sex without much substance. That's probably why I put off reading to for so long. But there really is a good plot and the romance between Aislinn and Gabriel is almost sweet at times. I'm really enjoying it. If it wasn't for this pesky job I'd be sitting and reading this book until I was finished with it!

There are some pretty steamy sex scenes though I agree it isn't all about the sex. I like Gabriel. I've always been partial to the reformed bad boy. Aislinn is a little too gentle for me at times. She is tamer than I typically like my heroines to be. But I did enjoy their interactions together.

I love Gabriel. Hot, hot, hot! I like that I can feel the heat between him and Aislinn, but it doesn't overtake the story. Maybe I can get some reading in over lunch....

I finished it last night. I really enjoyed the book much more than I thought I would. My only complaint would be that Aislinn is a bit too passive for me. She never really takes charge of the situation and spends the last half of the book just following Gabriel's lead. I guess that kind of makes sense given the relatively pampered life she had lived up until then. But it would have been nice to see her come in to her own and really take charge. I also would have liked to see her struggle a little more with accepting and learning to use her powers. But all in all it was an enjoyable read and I just loved Gabriel.

And the second half of the book really made up for the lack of sex in the first half! I'll definitely be checking out the next in the series.

Since we've got this thread already going, do you just want to add our Masques buddy read here, too?

Sounds like a good idea to add Masques.

I totally agree Aislinn was so weak at times.

The next book about Aeric the Blacksmith looks good. More about the Phaendir. They were a race of druids who imprisoned the fae, right? Yet the fae can still trade with humans? Like how do they get all their stuff? Where do the Sidhe get all their money? They can't go anywhere. Maybe they sell magic to people. Or I guess they make money with the show Faemous.

Yeah, I'm curious about all of that, too. She talked about the human letting them bring in the quartz to build the Towers. And at one point they talked about how all deliveries are searched first by the humans (or was is Phaendir) and then by the Fae. I vaguely remember a mention a humans liking certain fae-made items (maybe clothes or linens, I can't remember exactly) so there must be some sort of trade going on in addition to the TV show. I liked that she worked a reality show into the series since they are so popular these days. I hope there will be some more detail about some of these things in later books!

I finished Lover Reborn earlier today and should be able to start Masques later this evening. This may be the first time I've read three PIFM books in a row!

Wow! I am on page 84 of Masques. I definitely don't like it as well as the Mercy Thompson books. She says in her introduction that this was her first book and it needed a bit of work.

I am now on page 193 and I am liking it better. I should have it finished by tomorrow. It has been a long time since I have read a fantasy novel instead of an urban fantasy.

I finished it. It was okay for me. It is interesting comparing her older work with her current Mercy Thompson series, she has definitely matured as a writer. I gave Masques three stars. I am interested in reading the second book she wrote about these characters Wolfsbane. I think maybe the second one might be better as she got better as a writer. The characters Wolf and Aralorn and their story definitely have a lot of potential.

I didn't realize you had posted comments. GR was acting up not sending me notifications and I'm gradually finding threads that I've missed updated on.

I'm still only about 180 pages into the book. Like you, I really don't like it as well as Mercy Thompson. It took me quite a while to even begin to get into it. Then on a whim I picked up another book which really grabbed me and has taken a lot of time away from reading this one. But I'm hoping to focus on this one tonight.

As I've gotten further into the book, I'm enjoying it a little bit more. I'm starting to see little glimmers of the writing I so appreciate in her later works. There have been some exchanges between Alanorn and Wolf that felt more like the writing I'm used to. And so far, the scenes of the two of them together are the ones I've enjoyed the most.