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| About Me |
Favorite Romance Novels |
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 I've loved to read for as long as I can remember. There's a book or magazine with me at all times, whether I'm sitting at a red light, standing in line for a movie, or "watching" television. And lately, instead of a print book, I'm reading off my e-Bookwise dedicated e-book reader. Mostly I read e-book versions of print books, but I've also begun to venture out and read books published by e-book publishers, mostly by Ellora's Cave since beginning a kink-athon in 2005.
My tastes have evolved since I began to read romance in the early 1990's. For a few years I only read historical romance. Then I began to read series titles and then single-title contemporaries. Later I discovered there's more to Horror than Anne Rice (there's also LKH and Charlaine Harris), and shortly thereafter I fell in love with trad Regencies and Westerns. As my daughter grew, we began to read a lot of YA novels - she's now moved on to Stephen King but I'm still reading YA books, mostly Chick Lit for Teens.
I've lived in Dallas, Texas, my entire adult life. My husband, daughter, and I have two wonderful cats who thankfully are more like dogs in temperment than the typical feline. I love to read and write, and the friendships I've made as a result of AAR are as important to me as those in the non-cyber world.
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Absolute Favorite
Castles by Julie Garwood
The Real Deal by Lucy Monroe
Favorite Classic
Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Friedman
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Favorite Short Stories
Galway Bay (Irish Magic I) by Morgan Llywelyn
Love Lessons (My Dashing Groom ) by Donna Simpson
Favorite Romance Series
Lyon Series by Julie Garwood
Magic Series by Catherine Coulter
Only Series by Elizabeth Lowell (sans book #5)
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| Personal Reading Tastes |
Favorites by Sub-Genre |
What I'm a sucker for in a book: Humor, the combination of sex and humor (often of the black variety), the "aha" moment (usually for heroes), heroes who grovel, extended families when integral to the hero and/or heroine while not detracting from same, cabin and road romances, characters who take responsibility for their actions, traditional characters or premises that are made fresh, "guy-talk" from male characters, and outsiders who find their way in through love.
What I don't particularly care for in a book: Purple prose, silly Big Misunderstandings that could have been avoided with a two-minute discussion, the Will Stipulation in contemporaries, and secrets dribbled out like drops of water in Chinese Water Torture.
What drives me absolutely nuts in a book: Whining characters, self-flagellating introspection, forced humor (and those oh-so-zany over-the-top secondary characters who are mere shadows of really good eccentric secondaries), and lengthy hero/heroine separations.
| Favorite Romance Authors |
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All-Time Favorite Romance Authors
Too many to mention, but here are the authors who've received multiple DIK's from me for full-length books, in descending order:
Roberts/Robb (10)
Julie Garwood (9)
Catherine Coulter (5)
Anne Stuart (3)
Connie Brockway (2)
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Christina Dodd (2)
Jillian Hunter (2)
Julia Quinn (2)
Deborah Simmons (2)
Katherine Sutcliffe (2) |
Best Discovery/Buried Treasure Authors
Susan Grant
Morgan Llwyelyn |
Deborah Simmons
Donna Simpson |
My Biggest Glom
Mary Balogh (trads)
Nora Roberts |
Kasey Michaels (trads)
JAK/Amanda Quick |
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Medieval:
Velvet Bond by Catherine Archer
The Secret by Julie Garwood
A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught
A Dove at Midnight by Rexanne Becnel
Traditional Regency:
Tallie's Knight by Anne Gracie
The Ideal Bride by Nonnie St. George
A Family for Gillian by Catherine Blair
Lord St. Claire's Angel by Donna Simpson
European Historical:
To Love a Dark Lord by Anne Stuart
The Vicar's Daughter by Deborah Simmons
The Lion's Lady by Julie Garwood
Scoundrel by Elizabeth Elliott
Frontier or American Historical:
Day Dreamer by Jill Marie Landis
Winter Fire by Elizabeth Lowell
Only Mine by Elizabeth Lowell
Dream Fever by Katherine Sutcliffe
Contemporary:
The Real Deal by Lucy Monroe
Lady Be Good by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts
Born in Fire by Nora Roberts
Category:
Too Hot to Handle by Elizabeth Lowell
Duncan's Bride by Linda Howard
Chain Lightning by Elizabeth Lowell
Surrender the Dark by Donna Kauffman
Alternate Reality:
A Basket of Wishes by Rebecca Paisley
Bewitching by Jill Barnett
Vampire/AR/shapeshifter (romantica and hybrid novels) by MaryJanice Davidson
Once a Pirate by Susan Grant |
| Favorite Characters |
Favorites by Plot Type |
Favorite Hero
Simon Brant, The Real Deal
Royce Westmoreland, A Kingdom of Dreams
Lord Justin St. Claire, Lord St. Claire's Angel
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Rogan Sweeney, Born in Fire
Julie Garwood's Medieval and Regency-set heroes
Avery Thorne, My Dearest Enemy
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Favorite Heroine
Maggie Concannon, Born in Fire
Charlotte Trowbridge, A Vicar's Daughter
Amanda Zachary, The Real Deal
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Lady Elizabeth, Velvet Bond
Julie Garwood's Medieval and Regency-set heroines
Gillian Harwood, A Family for Gillian |
Most Tortured Hero
James Killoren, To Love a Dark Lord
Strongest Heroine
Lady Mary Fairchild, A Well-Pleasured Lady
Favorite Couple
Cam and Anna Quinn, Sea Swept/Chesapeake Blue
Amanda Zachary and Simon Brant, The Real Deal
Jessica and Dain, Lord of Scoundrels
Abby and Miles, The Ideal Wife
Best Villain
Gloria DeLauter, Chesapeake Bay series |
Cabin or Road:
Wild Rain by Donna Kauffman
The Tiger's Bride by Merline Lovelace
Heaven in His Arms by Lisa Ann Verge
Funny:
The Ideal Bride by Nonnie St. George
Lady Be Good by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Splendid by Julia Quinn
Sexy:
The Real Deal by Lucy Monroe
The Lion's Lady by Julie Garwood
Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
| Favorites by Mood |
Comfort Read Authors:
Julie Garwood
Leanne Banks
Nora Roberts
Deborah Simmons
Most-Hanky Reads:
Once an Angel by Teresa Medeiros
A Fire in the Heart by Katherine Sutcliffe
The Obedient Bride by Mary Balogh
Chain Lightning by Elizabeth Lowell
Guilty Pleasure:
Cathy Williams' Harlequin Presents romances
Romantica |
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Least-Favorites |
Most Disappointing Books
The Cad by Edith Layton
High Intensity by Dara Joy
Chandra by Catherine Coulter
Beloved by Stella Cameron
Worst Books
Heart's Desire by Monica Jackson
Memory's Embrace by Linda Lael Miller
Bringing up Baxter by Peggy Webb
The Sex Test by Patty Salier
Purple Prose-iest Book
Anything by Bertrice Small, Virginia Henley, or Karen Marie Moning |
Authors I Have Given Up On
Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz
Elizabeth Bevarly
Julie Garwood when she moved to writing romantic suspense
Authors Others Love That I Don't
Suzanne Brockmann
Jude Deveraux
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Laura Kinsale
Lori Foster |
Most Annoying Lead Character
Danika Hilliard, Carried Away
Frances Woodard, Illusion |
Non-Romance Favorites |
Favorite Author
Kathryn Lynn Davis (Fiction)
Morgan Llwyelyn (Fiction)
Calvin Trillin (Non-Fiction)
Favorite Book
Too Deep for Tears by Kathryn Lynn Davis
Favorite Classic Novel
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Favorite Horror/Fantasy
Anita Blake and Merry Gentry Series by Laurell K Hamilton
Many of Anne Rice's vampire, witch and combination novels (except for the ones that suck; my blog has such a list)
Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris
Women of the Otherworld Series by Kelley Armstrong
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Favorite Women's Fiction
The First Time by Joy Fielding
The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe
Favorite YA Book
Sisterhood Series by Ann Brasheres
Emmy Keeps a Promise by Madye Lee Chastain
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Jessica Darling Series by Megan McCafferty
Georgia Nicholson Series by Louise Rennison (sans book 5)
Favorite Set of Connected Books
Too Deep for Tears Series by Kathryn Lynn Davis
All of a Kind Family Series by Sydney Taylor
Book Most Often Reread
The Real Deal by Lucy Monroe (a romance) |
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