AAR

[Minerva]

I've been disappointed by some of the my recent reads lately. So I've been reading more categories. For me, a good category is like a Godiva chocolate - small, rich, and perfectly satisfying as it is. I've been lucky to read some great books lately.

I love Sarah Mayberry and Her Best Worst Mistake is one of my favorites.

About Last Night and Ride With Me by Ruthie Knox were great surprises. About Last Night is going on my keeper shelf.

I've never read anything by Mira Lyn Kelly before (she has Harlequin Presents coming out in August), so I checked out the reviews on Goodreads. Wild Fling or Wedding Ring is a fabulous book suffering from an atrocious title. It is a great story that could have gone off the rails in so many places. Instead, it is a novel of two busy committed people who decide to make love work for them.

Now I'm in the mood for more great categories....any suggestions? I've noticed the threads on Ruthie Knox and Sarah Mayberry and figure that some of you may have some good suggestions.

[Kristie(J)]

Karina Bliss comes to mind first. She's another autobuy series author. I'm sure there are others that will come to mind. If you read ebooks, an author I've been reading quite a bit of lately is Ruth Wind/Barbara Samuel. Her early books are available as ebooks at Amazon for a very good price. They are somewhat dated, but other than that, they are surprisingly rich for series books.

[Minerva]

I found Karina Bliss a couple of years ago from recommendations on this board.

I just realized that Sarah Mayberry has a new book out in August! I just downloaded it from the HQ website.

[Susanna Kearsley]

I read a lot of categories. In fact, when I'm working, they're practically all I read.

I have a fair number of "auto-buys"— Elizabeth Rolls, Kate Hardy, Molly O'Keefe, Jeannie Lin and Liz Fielding, to name but a few — but I'm always stumbling over new favourites, too, and I routinely just pull ones off the supermarket rack and read the openings, to see if I might like them.

Some of my recent great reads have been The Doctor's Deadly Affair, by Stephanie Doyle (Sillhoette Romantic Suspense, and a RITA nom this year), Claimed: The Pregnant Heiress by Day Leclaire (Silhouette Desire), and Powerful Italian, Penniless Housekeeper by India Grey (Harlequin Presents).

I never pay attention to the titles, to be honest, because I know the authors didn't choose them. (It can be really interesting, in fact, to ask a category author what title they would have chosen for their book, if they'd been able to).

I just enjoy the stories, and the writing, which I'll argue till my grave is just as good (and sometimes better) than the writing found in any longer novel.

[Kayne]

[KataO]

My favorite category writers include Natalie Anderson and Jessica Hart. Natalie Anderson's books are mostly set in New Zealand and she lives there. Books that I have enjoyed: All Night With the Boss, Between the Italian's Sheets, End of Faking It, Rebel With Cause (and many more). ETA: To Love, Honour and Disobey.
Jessca Hart's books are mostly light and funny, except Newlyweds of Convience was darker side. Some are set in Australia. Other favorites: Last Minute Proposal, Outback Boss City Bride (set in Australia), Appointment at the Altar (set in Australia IIRC ?), The Blind Date Proposal.

[mirole]

I've read very few categories so far, only four of them more or less recent. One of them was very good - Hot Under Pressure by Kathleen O'Reilly (2009).

Hot Island Nights by Sarah Mayberry was ok but nothing special.

The Tutor by Hope Tarr was quite bad. It was a Blaze historical, I did not believe in the historical premise of the story, in the story, in the characters, so would not recommend it.

Here Comes the Groom by Karina Bliss
Now, I know this author is very popular so I apologize if I offend any fans of hers but this was in fact the worst romance ever for me (of 120+romances I've read this is the one at the very bottom). There was such a pile-up of various issues, disasters, tragedies, etc., in this romance that I had a feeling I needed therapy after it. And I usually like my romance on the angstier side. Definitely, not reading other romances by Bliss after this.

[Charlotte McClain]

I must highly recommend Doctor's Guide to Dating in the Jungle by Tina Beckett. Tina is my critique partner and I loved this book from the minute she started posting chapters. She's got another one coming out soon, beats me what the title is, but it's set in Alaska and I loved it too. Other than her, my comfort author is Leigh Micheal. She has a bazillion books out and every one is a gem. My absolute favorite is Backward Honeymoon, which she said she wrote in about 2 weeks and it really feels that fast paced.
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Angsty romance with scattered humor.
My Faux Website

[Manda]

I really enjoy Catherine Mann's Silhouette Desires. She packs a lot of story into such a short word count.
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Manda Collins

[bavarian]

Mirole:
Karina Bliss : This author is a hit and miss for me. I loved "What the Librarian Did" but couldn't get into Here Comes the Groom and skipped the last half.
But IMO many authors of categories have some very good books and others that just don't work. May be it depends on how much time they have to write their books. If one has to deliver 3-4 books a year, par example, not all three or four can be well developed.
Helen Brenna, Kathryn Shay, Kathleen Eagle, Liz Fielding, Marion Lennox, Karen Templeton are a few of the authors whose books sometimes are very good, sometimes just the same old same. But as I said before one can be lucky in trying them.
Some of the older authors I really like too: Ruth Wind, Paula Detmer Riggs, Rachel Lee, Lindsay McKenna and Justine Davis. But most of their recent work don't have the quality of their older books, IMO.

[mirole]

Thank you, Bavarian, I might try What the Librarian Did" some time in the future.

[Minerva]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I'm going to check out some of those authors!