Highly praised your mediocre

Natalie · Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 1566

From the books that made a splash recently I didn't like:

The Madness of Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley
Pretty much anything by Hoyt after The Serpent Prince
The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne

stl_reader · Joined: 03 Aug 2011 Posts: 168 Location: Missouri

Speaking of Joanna Bourne, I've only tried one of her books--The Black Hawk, no less--and did not finish. I just could not get into it, and when it was due back at the library after a two-week checkout, I gave up.

elizabeth williams · Joined: 29 Dec 2010 Posts: 26

I am like Eggletina I read a lot of romance novels in my teens and early twenties then stopped reading romance for a long time I have only started reading romance again in the last three years. I have depended heavily on recommendations on these boards , Amazon and Goodreads thanks to everyone who makes recommendations they really really helped me discover some wonderful authors.

Number one highly praised book which I could barely finish Flowers from the Storm, I just don't get why that book is so highly rated it was a C read to me.

Lord of Scoundrels # 2 didn't like that one much also a C read. I didn't read anything by Loretta Chase for a while till my sister recommended Captives of the Night. Wow I loved that book have read most of her other books I love Lord Perfect also. I think they are both a lot better than LOS.

Outlander I have read half of that book maybe one day I'll finish it .

Bridgerton series. Based on rave reviews I bought the first 4 of this series. Well I read 3 and I will not read J Quinn again I found them all to start off well and then at page 150 or so they just deteriorated into trite dull reads.
Didn't like The Raven Prince that much either but I love everything else by E Hoyt.

chris booklover · Joined: 12 Apr 2010 Posts: 281 Location: Florida

Most readers can name books or authors that are generally beloved but do not appeal to them at all. Here's a long thread devoted to this issue:

http://likesbooks.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=5862

You can find virtually all of the the most popular novels such as Lord of Scoundrels, Flowers From the Storm or Outlander listed there.

Disagreements of this sort don't bother me. It can be fascinating to find out what works and doesn't work for other readers.

Jill · Joined: 30 Dec 2010 Posts: 80

I'm the only person - ever - who has not loved Pamela Clare's romantic suspense novels. Though I don't mind her historicals.

Her heroines especially are often so immature, at odds with their characterisations of being 21st century career women with responsible jobs.

Ash · Joined: 11 Jul 2011 Posts: 166

I agree with the people who have already mentioned "Lord of Scoundrels" "Spymasters Lady" and "Bet Me" and would like to add "Private Arrangements" to the list. It got rave reviews but I really couldn't understand the fuss. That said I did enjoy "His At Night" by the same author

I never really liked books by Madeline Hunter, Deborah Simmons or Sabrina Jeffries. (after trying multiple books I have officially given up on them)

Lea AAR · Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 403 Location: Oklahoma

Diana · Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 1044 Location: Washington DC

Julia Spencer-Fleming for me. I read every word of In the Bleak Midwinter waiting for the magic to kick in. It never happened for me and I do not get why so many romance readers embrace her Clare and Russ. I thought they were two of the blandest, most uninteresting characters ever. Not to mention hypocrites. I did not want to spend any more time in that miserable small town full of hypocrites, even though my friends promised me a payoff 5 books down the road. Confused

_________________
Diana

Jill · Joined: 30 Dec 2010 Posts: 80

@ Lea
Never thought I'd see the day. Lol!

BarbaraSD · Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 62

[quote="PamelaM"]Although I really wanted to like Jennifer Crusie, I found Bet Me a good read but not memorable. I had a harder time becoming engaged with both the story and characters of Welcome To Temptation. It was a DNF for me and I haven’t read any of her other books.[/quote]
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Pamela, If you haven't totally given up on Jennifer Crusie, give "Getting Rid of Bradley" a try. It is a light read, and in my opinion, has a lot of humorous scenes.