AAR

[pwm in mi]

I just finished My Man Pendleton by Elizabeth Bevarly. Loved it! A fun and satisfying read. My only issue were the typos sprinkled through out the text.
A-
The price is right- free at amazon for Kindle.

[mirole]

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James - A

It's part of a trilogy with a running storyline and same h/H. I could not put it down and am willing myself to wait till next weekend to buy the next book - Fifty Shades Darker. Otherwise, I won't be able to do anything else but read (and I am a slow reader).

It's labelled as an erotic romance but I am not sure about that, it reads like a straight romance where sex scenes are very integral part of the story. Very, very angsty but email exchanges between h and H are hilarious.
A very interesting take on BDSM when one is in the lifestyle and the other is not and does not want to be.

[Lea AAR]

The Balogh discussion has been split from this thread into a new thread on the Potpourri forum. If you commented on Balogh in this thread over the past day or two, you'll find your post there.

http://likesbooks.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=120950#120950
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Lea AAR

Audiobooks Bookshelf at Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4403718

[Tee]

Down the Darkest Road - Tami Hoag

I loved this book; I didn't want it to end. I loved the story, characters and the excellent way it was written. Welcome back, Tami Hoag. Your last three books have been great and you managed the balance of suspense and relationships in the proper proportions. I can't wait for the next one and hope it involves Tony Mendez and Danni Tanner.

Maggie, you nailed the review, except that I would have given it an A. The characters totally grabbed me and I, too, enjoyed Danni's personality. Hoag never really lost her ability to write well. Her stories, some years ago, became sterile and cold to me. IMO, she found the harmony of the elements again and she's back on my list.

[dick]

Lynn Kerstan's trilogy--Golden Leopard, Heart of the Tiger, Silver Lion. They're an unusual and intriguing mix of Gothic, mystery, romance and a pinch of paranormal, written in a style that at times is almost lyrical. Good reading.

[veasleyd1]

Mark Del Franco, Deeds Undone (the finale of the Connor Grey series, set in an urban fantasy Boston).

No romance genre HEA for Connor and Meryl Bain, but an ending in which tragic events triumph over tragedy.

[KayWebbHarrison]

[bethaboo]

Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas - A

I hadn't read this last entry in the Travis series because I just hadn't gotten around to it (mainly because I thought the synopsis sounded uninteresting). Read a great review on Dear Author and downloaded it for my kindle.

I forgot how much I loved this series. Sugar Daddy was (imho) an amazing book, and Blue Eyed Devil was even better. I adored Ella and Jack, and I literally cried several times in this book. Highly, highly recommend.

I am still not onboard with Kleypas' new contemporary series, but the excerpt of Rainshadow Road at the end of Smooth Talking Stranger did pique my interest. I should just learn by now that when its Kleypas, all bets are off and I will love it regardless.

[LeeB.]

[Leigh]

Meet Me at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan -

This is a new to me British author. Women made redundant (layed off)
at work and opens a Cupcake Cafe. I liked the writing but didn't do well with heroine. She is involved on and off with an asshat - I don't really like reading about heroines unable to see the writing on the wall - I think it reminds me too much of my asshat days Loved the hero and the secondary characters are very interesting.

Off to read Jayne Ann Krentz newest book. I think the book is due back at the library on Friday.
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Gone to Rainbow Bridge - Lily 2000-2011

[stl_reader]

Just finished my first Grace Burrowes book, The Virtuoso.

The good news is that, as Jane Granville said in her AAR review:

[mirole]

I had not posted for a very, very long time about the books I read and then mentioned The Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire and Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L.James both of which were A-reads for me.

So, since last summer I've read the following books:

A to B+

Black Ice by Anne Stuart - an amazing romantic thriller, looking forward to reading the rest of the series

Imogen by Jilly Cooper - a sweet Brit romance written in a hilarious, witty style in the 70s

Tell Me More by Janet Mullany - an erotic romance, a no-go for many romance readers due to one party cheating on the other after they became involved which I also hated but still the voice of the author was so compelling that I have to give it a B+.

My One and Only by Kristan Higgins - my best 2011 romance, the perfect combination of hilarious and poignant. I think Kristan Higgins is my favorite contemporary romance author.

Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh - everything worked for me and Balogh is my favorite HR author.

[b]The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred - a great angsty romance unfolding over several years in the South.

Willing Victim by Cara McKenna - in fact, this is an erotic novella but I very strongly recommend it as a romance, it satisfied me in this regard completely.

After the Night by Linda Howard - I love her books and this one was unputdownable inspire of all political incorrectness.

Lady Elizabeth's Comet by Sheila Simonson - a great, great trad Regency romance!

Books that have great ratings but disappointed me

The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt and Unveiled by Courtney Milan - I was laughing my way through both of the books as well as through C. Milan's novella Unlocked as nothing like the events described in any of these books could have happened and I could not suspend my disbelief. The language of both authors is utterly modern.

Contemporary romance - Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl and The Real Deal by Lucy Monroe - good plot ideas behind both but poor execution, IMO.
Morning Glory by LaVerle Spencer and Silver Lining by Maggie Osborne
[/b]

[Sapskull]

How the Marquess Was Won - Julie Anne Long - B
I liked it, but wasn't totally enthusiastic. It had a plot device I'm pretty damn tired of (and I was disappointed about a couple of characters in regards to that) but I enjoyed the H/h and it was pretty funny.

The Duke is Mine - Eloisa James - D
I love Eloisa James, honestly. But this book just infuriated me in multiple ways. I couldn't really get behind the hero and heroine and spent most of the book wishing it was a different story. Gah. It's just one of those books where I think that if this is what my favourite authors write, maybe I should quit reading.

[veasleyd1]

David Weber, War Maid's Choice (e-ARC from http://www.baen.com; the hardback won't be out until next summer).

A (but since Baen e-ARCs are unproofed, don't get this if typos bother you).

This is the fourth book in a fantasy series, the previous titles being:
Oath of the Sword
The War God's Own
Wind Rider's Oath

There's a happy romance in this one.

[Jane A]

Just read Rainbow's End by Victoria Lynne. This was a freebie on Amazon, but though that deal has passed it's still only $2.99. I can't figure out if this is a digital release of an older book or not, I haven't heard of Victoria Lynne before. It's a historical western (woot!) and it's actually really good. The heroine reminded me a lot of one of Maggie Osborne's heroines, a gun toting, swearing, pants wearing female; she's a former member of an outlaw gang. She's not too feisty, but she's honest and confident and I liked her very much. The hero was a good counterpart to her, maybe almost too good to be true, but I went with it and enjoyed their developing relationship. It was a road romance with a mystery plot and best of all, there was no constant lusting which has become my primary pet peeve in romance novels. My grade would be a B+