AAR

[LinnieGayl]

[Schola]

I spent last night and this morning rereading Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas, a novel I didn't like the first time around. (Personal reasons: any hint of Tantric sex is a big turnoff.)

This time, I saw something that I hadn't noticed before: Lottie withholds her kisses from Nick until a crucial point late in the novel. They've been married for months, having the kind of sex every night that makes her a little embarrassed to face him the next morning, and yet since before they were married they haven't pressed their lips together!

I wonder why this fact didn't register during my first reading.
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"To be in a romance is to be in uncongenial surroundings. To be born into this earth is to be born into uncongenial surroundings, hence to be born into a romance." (G.K. Chesterton)

[RichMissTallant]

I've been in a bit of a romance funk lately, not really finishing books, so I decided to go back and re-read not only old favourites, but books I had read only once yet remembered liking a lot. I just finished Duke of Sin by Adele Ashworth, which falls into the latter category.

This time around, a few things annoyed me that didn't the first time - like the change in identity, which I didn't think was carried off that well due to earlier scenes such as Elinor visiting "Gilbert" in the pub. And even though the Big Mis was cleared up pretty quickly, any hint of a misunderstanding bothers me in romance novels.

That being said, I remembered why I enjoyed it so much the first time. I think Will is a great hero; there's something so sweet and, well, vulnerable about him. And of course, it's always nice to have an older heroine with a bit of sense. It's one of the only instances where the virgin widow plot device didn't bother me because I thought her backstory with her impotent, opium-addicted husband gave sufficient reason. And the love scenes ? Wow. I forgot how well Ashworth can write a love scene. I feel like a lot of authors can write a pretty decent love scene, but she manages to makes really erotic at the same time.

[Cyl]

In the last week, I've been re-reading the Patricia Briggs short story in On the Prowl & the third book in her Mercy Thompson series, as well as Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books. And Yes, they are still good.

The week before that, I read the new Loretta Chase - enjoyed it; Karen Templeton's Baby, I'm Yours - enjoyed it too; and I started Tasha Alexander's series featuring Lady Emily Ashton - very good book.

[kspears]

I belong to a romance discussion group and recently we decided to read a few authors that we would classify as the "mothers" of romance. We had a list of about 7, among them Barbara Cartland, Katherine Woodiwiss, Georgette Heyer, Jane Austin, Anya Seton, Mary Steward, Phyllis Whitney. It's been interesting, one member in the group tried to read one of Woodiwiss's later books and couldn't make it through. I tried one of Mary Stewart's, discovered it was in first person and couldn't read it. So, now I'm reading Anya Seton's Dragonwyck (1941). So far, it's quite good, but the writing style is not what I'm used to, so even that one is a little harder to read than what I expected. So far, the whole experiment as been interesting.

[Audrey]

I used to reread quite a bit but in the last year and a half, can't even keep up with my new reads and am developing quite a TBR pile. Even so, things were so hectic before Christmas, I pulled out an old favorite so I could still read a little before bed each night but didn't have to concentrate so much on it. I picked Dara Joy's Knight of a Trillion Stars which I hadn't read in a long time. Big mistake. It was terrible. Or was it me? Did the book suffer by my inattention and reading in such short little bursts? I can't bring myself to throw it in the DNK bag just yet so am going to try it again when things are a little more peaceful. This is the only time it's happened to me. Usually when I reread, I like the book just as much if not more than I did the first time.

Edited to add: I forgot I was also going to say that when I reread, it's quite often because I want to read a whole series before a new one comes out, especially if it's the last one.

[Sheila]

Re-reading old favorites is like a nice hot plate of mac & cheese--a real comfort when your brain is too tired to think about unfamiliar characters, or you need to be comforted.

Mine are Susan E. Phillips later books, Julie Garwood medievals,
certain Linda Howard's, Madeline Hunter early medievals, all Georgette Heyer, some Catherine Coulter, early Joan Smith (writes like Georgette Heyer), and sigh...too many to list.

[Schola]

[Susan/DC]

[lizabeth24seven]

Hello everyone i am new here. I have been a lover of romance novels since my teens.So happy to find this site with avid readers like myself.
With the economy being what it is i have put myself on a book allowance
So i am reading all my old favorites right now.Julie Garwood,Judith McNaught and Johanna Lindsey to name a few .
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Do unto others

[WandaSue]

I am currently re-reading "The Bronze Horseman."

Ah ... Alexander - ! He is at the top of my list of gorgeous, tormented, flawed, and yet truly heroic heroes.

This second reading of this very long book is opening my eyes to details and themes that I hadn't caught the first time around. It makes for a very rich reading experience...

[Tess]

I just finished re-reading Johanna Lindsey's Tender Rebel. I have read this book so many times It looks like I picked it up off the street after getting run over by a truck. I usually take care of my books, but this one has travelled in my purse on and off for years.
I love the first 3 Mallory books, but Anthony Mallory is one of my favorite Lindsey heroes.

My other favorite re-read is Man of My Dreams. My #2 favorite comfort read. Also featuring one of my favorite heroes, Ambrose St. James. This one is missing the front part of the cover LOL

[Mingqi]

the few books i always reread- like every few months- are Match Me if you can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, The Viscount who Loved Me by Julia Quinn, and Bridal Favors by Connie Brockway, Something about Emmaline by Elizabeth Boyle, and That Scandalous Evening by Christina Dodd- they're the lightest romance novels that I own and I love reading them when I don't have new titles on me or in the bathroom doing the number two (i seriously can't be the only one who reads in the bathroom!). They're my comfort reads and I like them just the same each time I've read it- sometimes even more. I thought That Scandalous Evening was even funnier on the second read.

There were a few other books that I tried rereading and found them not as wonderful as I thought before- mostly the Johanna Lindsey ones-which is sort of sad because I had bought them for the purpose of rereading them- after having read a library copy first. I haven't encountered many romance books that I disliked at first but read better on the second try- but there were authors who I didn't like at first but years later, tried out again and discovered that their writing style didn't irk me as it used to.

[xina]

[Schola]

I'm currently only rereading old books. It's surprising which novels I found only average during the first try that I consider comfort reads today!

Who would have guessed that Leigh Greenwood's Texas Tender would end up the proverbial chicken soup for my soul? His prose isn't much to write home about, but the very sweet romance in this novel really hits the spot.
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"To be in a romance is to be in uncongenial surroundings. To be born into this earth is to be born into uncongenial surroundings, hence to be born into a romance." (G.K. Chesterton)