Misc. Monday: Top Ten Authors Reviewed on RtP

I promised to show you guys what my top ten authors list would look like if I nixed all genre restrictions, and here it is! To be fair, though, I did limit my list to authors of novels, leaving out graphic novel/comic writers, because I don't feel up to scoring those fairly. I'm a lot happier with this list, and I think it will be interesting to come back in six months or a year and see how things have changed. Or not.

 

#10: Julie Anne Long

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 18

Reviewed Works: The Perils of Pleasure, Like No Other Lover, Since the Surrender, I Kissed an Earl, What I Did for a Duke, How the Marquess Was One

What Make Her Awesome: Julie Anne Long writes the Pennyroyal Green series, a which centers around a small English town with two feuding families. I didn't really care for the first book of the series, finding it mediocre and boring. But then, magically, as I tried more of her work, I discovered that she has a talent for writing a different, unique, and engaging story for each character. You never know exactly what you're going to get, but you know it's likely to be good. Visit Her Website: http://www.julieannelong.com/index.shtml

#9: Nora Roberts

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 18

Reviewed Works: Sea Swept, Rising Tides, Inner Harbor, Chesapeake Blue

What Makes Her Awesome: Nora Roberts writes amazing contemporary romance with some of the best male characters around.  Visit Her Website: http://www.noraroberts.com/

#8: Gena Showalter

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 18.5

Reviewed Works: The Darkest Night, The Darkest Kiss, The Darkest Pleasure, The Darkest Whisper, The Darkest Passion, The Darkest Lie, The Darkest Secret

What Makes Her Awesome: Until compiling this list, I had actually forgotten how very awesome I found these books. I was so fed up and disappointed by two or three of her books, that I actually stopped reading her altogether. Her place on this list, though, makes me think that I really ought to give her another shot. Her books are dark and sexy and worth at least a try.   http://members.genashowalter.com/

#7: Jennifer Estep

 Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 19.5

Reviewed Works: Spider's Bite, Touch of Frost, Kiss of Frost, Dark Frost, Crimson Frost

What Makes Her Awesome: I discovered this author via SBTB book club, when we read Touch of Frost. Since then, I've been following the Mythos Academy series pretty closely, and I've also started her Elemental Assassin series. She's very imaginative, writes wonderfully strong heroines, and ties everything together with a pleasantly simple style. Visit her website: http://www.jenniferestep.com/

#6: Karen Marie Moning

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 20.5

Reviewed Works: Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever, Dreamfever, Shadowfever

What Makes Her Awesome: A long while back, before I started this blog, I read a fair number of the Highlander books. I've never reviewed them, but I enjoyed them well enough. Then the fever series came out, and I was extremely skeptical. Back then I didn't read urban fantasy in general, and I specifically didn't care for first person narratives. She totally converted me. Visit he website: http://www.karenmoning.com/kmm/

#5: Courtney Milan

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 22

Reviewed Works: Unlocked, Unveiled, Unclaimed, Unraveled, The Duchess War

What Makes Her Awesome: Courtney Milan writes historical romance in a completely unique way. She writes heroines that you can like and respect, and deliciously unusual heroes that you fall in love with. No cookie cutter characters for her. Visit Her Website: http://www.courtneymilan.com/

#4: Larissa Ione

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 28.5

Reviewed Works: Pleasure Unbound, Passion Unleashed, Desire Unchained, Ecstasy Unveiled, Sin Undone, Eternal Rider, Immortal Rider, Lethal Rider

What Makes Her Awesome: Larissa Ione writes dark, sexy paranormal books that I always enjoy in a purely guilty sort of way. I love the demons and the visits to hell and all of the characters with their possibly evil dark sides. All around good, creepy fun. Visit Her Website: http://larissaione.com/blog/

#3: Kresley Cole

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 34

Reviewed Works:  A Hunger Like No Other, No Rest For the Wicked, Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night, Dark Desires After Dusk, Dark Needs at Night's Edge, Kiss of a Demon King, Deep Kiss of Winter, Pleasure of a Dark Prince, Demon From the Dark, Dreams of a Dark Warrior, The Poison Princess, Shadow's Claim

What Makes Her Awesome: Kresley Cole's writing has a brilliant, light funniness that somehow does not detract from the sexiness of her stories. He heroines are strong and independent and her heroes are fierce, scary monsters. I can't help but look forward to her books, even after a few let me down. Visit Her Website: http://kresleycole.com/paranormal-romance.html

#2: Ilona Andrews

Cumulative RtP Star Rating 34.5

Reviewed Works: Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, Magic Bleeds, Magic Slays, Gunmetal Magic, On the Edge, Bayou Moon, Fate's Edge

What Makes Her Awesome:  Ilona Andrews is actually a husband and wife writing team, and they are awesome in general. Not only are they very talented, they're also fairly generous with their work, always offering little goodies and alternate points of view on their blog. I'm not that impressed with The Edge series, but the Kate Daniels series is easily one of my favorite ongoing series to date, and I'm not really sure what I'll do with myself when it ends. I've got a couple years to go, fortunately. Visit their website: http://www.ilona-andrews.com/

#1: Lisa Kleypas

  Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 38

Reviewed Works: Secrets of a Summer Night, It Happened One Autumn, The Devil In Winter, Scandal in Spring, Mine Til Midnight, Seduce Me at Sunrise, Tempt Me at Twilight, Married by Morning, Love in the Afternoon

What Makes Her Awesome: At first, her position in the number one spot on this list probably seems surprising. I haven't talked about Lisa Kleypas as loudly or as often as some of the authors lower on the list. But, in fact, Kleypas is responsible for sparking my interest in historical romance, when before I stuck almost entirely to PNR with the occasional contemporary thrown in. She can make a dull setting and situation funny, and her characters are as charming as you could ask for. Visit Her Website: http://www.lisakleypas.com/

Misc Monday: Top Eight Most Annoying Traits in a Hero

Romance month has ended, but I would be remiss if I didn't even out the gender bias created by the last Misc. Monday. So, without further ado, the most annoying traits among book heroes.

#8 He's Afraid of Love

One of the most tired and boring tropes in romance is that moment when the hero realizes he has feelings--like, real emotion-y things for the heroine--and he responds to it with pants pissing terror. He copes by being a jackass or finding an excuse for a third-act breakup. Sometimes his feelings are excusable or justified, but mostly they're just annoying. Falling in love is scary, but it's also exhilarating and joyful. Most people are happy to be in love, at least initially. Most people want to make a connection like that with another person. The number of romance heroes who shun their feelings so readily is irritating and disturbing. 

 

#7 He's Slept With Approximately All of the Women

It's disturbing to me that romance novels have some extremely man-whorish heroes, but rarely or never slutty women. Oh, there are virgin heroes and prostitute heroines, but for the most part the men have all of the experience and the women have all of the "virtue". What's even more disturbing is when his dog-like habits are glorified in the text. Yes, sexual experience is a plus, but too much is just gross, in my humble opinion. In reality, men that have slept around that much are far more likely to have a couple kids and an STD or two.Condoms have failure rates, people. 

 

#6: He's The Jealous Type

He get's upset when her ex-boyfriend shows up, he doesn't like her guy friends, he wants all of her attention. He's jealous and possessive--he basically thinks he owns her. I don't know why authors seem to think this behavior is sexy. In the real world, overdeveloped jealousy is a huge red flag in any relationship. It smacks of insecurity in himself and a lack of trust in her. Ultimately, jealous behavior is a relationship killer, so I never trust the possessive hero to make the happy ending work in the long term. 

#5: He Has No Communication Skills

Yeah, we all know that guys are not as good at expressing their feelings as women. Nothing wrong with showing that in a romance novel. However, the when the hero's total lack of ability to express his feelings leads to the much dreaded Big Mis. Any conflict that could be easily avoided with a simple five minute conversation is maddening, and has no reasonable place in my books.

 

#4: He's Controlling

There's a fine line between stubborn and total asshat. The hero that's forceful and pushy can be a great challenge to a heroine, and if the heroine is strong willed and pushes back--no problem. The problem is when the hero is, in reality, a complete control freak. When the hero feels the need to dominate every aspect of the heroine's life, often "for her own good", to a point where she totally loses herself to the relationship. I hate seeing the heroine sacrifice her freedom and personal goals in favor of a hero that wants to keep her safe at home. 

#3: He Has Unresolved Addiction Issues

More and more romance authors have been trying to tackle the issue of ongoing battles with addiction. For some reason, they lean toward letting the male have an addiction problem. No author that I have yet encountered has handled the subject to my satisfaction. The problem is, addiction is a consuming condition. In reality, an addict recovers only when they decide for themselves that they want to change, and they have to work hard to make it happen. In romance land, addiction is healed by the power of love, with the hero changing as a result of the heroine's influence, or because he wants to keep her. The magic healing is actually pretty insulting in it's ignorance. 

#2: He's Sexist

Another one of my least favorite tropes is  the hero the doesn't believe a woman can do a particular job/activity--contracting, firefighting, cycling, whatever. The heroine's job is to prove him wrong. This plot line exhausts me, because I find it depressing that the heroine has to earn the hero's respect in a given field, while he receives respect implicitly. I feel like we should have moved past this sort of thing by now. While gender bias definitely does exist in certain fields, I would prefer that it not be used as the hero's entire character arc.
 
#1: He's a Dumb-ass Enabler

The only thing more annoying than a too-stupid-to-live heroine is the hero that constantly enables her stupidity. He plays the night in shining armor to her perpetual damsel in distress act. She jumps into shark infested water, and he fishes her out. She can't decide between two jobs or two men or two slices of pie, and he just patiently waits out her slow as hell thought process. His love makes him totally oblivious to the fact that his new honey-buns is honestly completely useless. The dumbass enabler is annoying because he fails to empower the heroine, to allow her some character development, to let her stand on her own. Quite the contrary, he does everything, to the point that she might as well be a cardboard cut-out. And, as I said last Monday, there is nothing worse that a flat heroine.

Misc. Monday: Top Ten Romance Authors on RtP

Developing a list of the ten most highly rated and reviewed authors on this blog was something of an educational experience. It was fun to look back on the books that I've read and reread over the last year and a half. I initially composed this list with pure mathematics--by adding up positive star ratings on a spreadsheet. I then made some readjustments based on how re-readable I find the author's work and how likely I am to read more of their work in the future.

This being a purely romance list forced me to leave off a lot of authors who write in other genres. A top list of authors with no genre restrictions would be a very different list indeed.

#10: Julie Anne Long

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 11.5

Reviewed Works: The Perils of Pleasure, Like No Other Lover, Since the Surrender, I Kissed an Earl, What I Did for a Duke

What Make Her Awesome: Julie Anne Long writes the Pennyroyal Green series, a which centers around a small English town with two feuding families. I didn't really care for the first book of the series, finding it mediocre and boring. But then, magically, as I tried more of her work, I discovered that she has a talent for writing a different, unique, and engaging story for each character. You never know exactly what you're going to get, but you know it's likely to be good. Visit Her Website: http://www.julieannelong.com/index.shtml

#9: Jolene Perry 

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 12

Reviewed Works: Night Sky, Knee Deep, The Next Door Boys

What Makes Her Awesome: Jolene Perry writes deeply thoughtful contemporary YA and New Adult romance. I was first introduced to her work when I was asked to read Night Sky for a blog tour, and it turned out to be one of my favorite books of 2012.  I like that she writes nice, well rounded teenagers that occasionally find themselves in rough (really rough) situations, and that they deal with them realistically. Visit Her Website: http://www.jolenebperry.com/Jolene_B_Perry/Jolene.html

#8: Karina Bliss

Cumulative  RtP Star Rating: 12.5

Reviewed Works: Here Comes the Groom, Stand-In Wife, Bring Him Home, What the Librarian Did

What Makes Her Awesome: Karina Bliss writes Harlequin Superomance, dramatic and heart-wrenching stories set in contemporary New Zealand. Her Special Forces series, which begins with Here Comes the Groom, is particularly enjoyable. The heroes are soldiers trying to put their lives back together after their war experiences. Visit Her Website: http://www.karinabliss.com/

 

#7: Nalini Singh

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 16

Reviewed Works: Angel's Blood, Archangel's Kiss, Archangel's Consort, Archangel's Blade, Archangel's Storm

What Makes Her Awesome: When I first encountered Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling series, I was really unimpressed. Her other series, though, is purely fantastic. The Guild Hunter series is gripping, elegant, deeply addictive paranormal romance. It blends horror, fantasy, and pure love stories in as seamless a manner as I've seen. Visit Her Website: http://www.nalinisingh.com/

#6: Gena Showalter

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 18.5

Reviewed Works: The Darkest Night, The Darkest Kiss, The Darkest Pleasure, The Darkest Whisper, The Darkest Passion, The Darkest Lie, The Darkest Secret

What Makes Her Awesome: Until compiling this list, I had actually forgotten how very awesome I found these books. I was so fed up and disappointed by two or three of her books, that I actually stopped reading her altogether. Her place on this list, though, makes me think that I really ought to give her another shot. Her books are dark and sexy and worth at least a try.   http://members.genashowalter.com/

#5: Courtney Milan

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 22

Reviewed Works: Unlocked, Unveiled, Unclaimed, Unraveled, The Duchess War

What Makes Her Awesome: Courtney Milan writes historical romance in a completely unique way. She writes heroines that you can like and respect, and deliciously unusual heroes that you fall in love with. No cookie cutter characters for her. Visit Her Website: http://www.courtneymilan.com/

#4: Nora Roberts

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 18

Reviewed Works: Sea Swept, Rising Tides, Inner Harbor, Chesapeake Blue

What Makes Her Awesome: Math put this amazing author lower on the list, but that's purely because I read so many of her works prior to this blog, and although I've talked about them, I've never formally reviewed them. So, I bumped her up a bit. Nora Roberts writes amazing contemporary romance with some of the best male characters around.  Visit Her Website: http://www.noraroberts.com/

#3: Larissa Ione

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 28.5

Reviewed Works: Pleasure Unbound, Passion Unleashed, Desire Unchained, Ecstasy Unveiled, Sin Undone, Eternal Rider, Immortal Rider, Lethal Rider

What Makes Her Awesome: Larissa Ione writes dark, sexy paranormal books that I always enjoy in a purely guilty sort of way. I love the demons and the visits to hell and all of the characters with their possibly evil dark sides. All around good, creepy fun. Visit Her Website: http://larissaione.com/blog/

#2: Kresley Cole

Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 30

Reviewed Works:  A Hunger Like No Other, No Rest For the Wicked, Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night, Dark Desires After Dusk, Dark Needs at Night's Edge, Kiss of a Demon King, Deep Kiss of Winter, Pleasure of a Dark Prince, Demon From the Dark, Dreams of a Dark Warrior, The Poison Princess

What Makes Her Awesome: Kresley Cole's writing has a brilliant, light funniness that somehow does not detract from the sexiness of her stories. He heroines are strong and independent and her heroes are fierce, scary monsters. I can't help but look forward to her books, even after a few let me down. Visit Her Website: http://kresleycole.com/paranormal-romance.html 

#1: Lisa Kleypas

  Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 38

Reviewed Works: Secrets of a Summer Night, It Happened One Autumn, The Devil In Winter, Scandal in Spring, Mine Til Midnight, Seduce Me at Sunrise, Tempt Me at Twilight, Married by Morning, Love in the Afternoon

What Makes Her Awesome: At first, her position in the number one spot on this list probably seems surprising. I haven't talked about Lisa Kleypas as loudly or as often as some of the authors lower on the list. But, in fact, Kleypas is responsible for sparking my interest in historical romance, when before I stuck almost entirely to PNR with the occasional contemporary thrown in. She can make a dull setting and situation funny, and her characters are as charming as you could ask for. Visit Her Website: http://www.lisakleypas.com/ 

Misc. Monday: Reading Romance as a Teenager (And Beyond)

The process of blogging and reviewing really forces you to think about why you like the things that you like. This isn't an easy task for me, since my tastes are all over the place and perhaps a bit mercurial. My likes and dislikes continue to evolve, but one fact remains: I really like romance.

My love of romance was likely spawned at a very young age, but while it might be interesting to talk about the effects of Disney movies on a child's brain, my focus on romance in literature began with The Raging Quiet by Sherryl Jordan. It's the story of a young woman (in colonial times?) who befriends a deaf man, and ultimately forms a bond of affection with him despite the prejudices and suspicions of the towns people. I read this book when I was eleven, and it was responsible for flipping that switch in my brain that made me want to read romance centered novels.

Sadly, the face of young adult literature was bleak when I was that age, at least from where I was sitting. The public library that offered most of my reading material just didn't have much for teens or precocious preteens. So, after I read everything they had from Sherryl Jordan, plus the odd contemporary YA, I kind of got the hint that I might need to move on to adult literature. By the time I was twelve or thirteen, I was combing the adult fantasy shelves (our library did not have a romance section at the time) looking for adventure in fairy tales.

I got into reading actual Romance Novels because of their availability in my  household. My mother read them, so they were always around, and by the time I was thirteen no one thought to question what I picked up. Mom wasn't much for forbidding books. I remember being a freshman in high school and having a friend tell me that she wasn't allowed to pick up books or movies unless her parents screened them first. This concept was so foreign to me that I couldn't get past it, and kept questioning it-- "Seriously, I can't just lend you a book without you getting in trouble?"

I digress.

My first proper romance novel was Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts. I liked, and still do like it because of it's strong characters and intense, steamy relationship building...But also because it has ghosts. Roberts actually likes to sneak a lot of ghost here and there in her otherwise contemporary books, but in this case the ghosts are central to the plot. And it is fantastic. So while I did go on to read a lot of contemporary romance and eventually some historical, my primary drug of choice became paranormal romance. From there it was a skip and a jump to Christine Feehan and Maggie Shayne, who's books I spent my allowance on and asked for for Christmas.

It's a valid point that both Roberts and Feehan pepper their novels with fairly graphic sex scenes. They weren't written with teens in mind. I just don't think it matters much. That is, I don't think that reading such scenes at that age is damaging in the way that some parents assume it is. Not all teens are super impressionable sponges that soak up and imitate everything they encounter in fiction.  You also have to take into account that romance novels (with some exceptions), portray mostly monogamous sex between people in love. So were I to imitate them, I'd end up traveling to the Carpathian mountains in order to find my lifemate, for whom I've been saving myself. Or something.

These days, there are so many really good options for teens. The climate has changed, with the young adult market having exploded, and now there are plenty of (nice, safe, sex free) romance novels available that are specifically designed for teens. I find them in my formerly very boring local library, and I'm really excited about that. But just as I think it's okay for adults to indulge in a little YA fiction, I still believe that there's nothing wrong with a well adjusted teen trying out some adult fiction. Romance novels have the ability to portray healthy relationships, communication, compromise, and happy endings in a way that no other genre can quite attain. So, here's to romance novels, and all of the people out there who are just discovering them. Let's keep Happily Ever After alive!

Follow Friday 6/14/12

 

Q: Happy Father’s Day! Who is your favorite dad character in a book and why?

Just one? I have four!

Ray Quinn from Nora Robert's Chesapeake Bay series. He won his spot by adopting and raising three teenage boys from horrible backgrounds. Kudos to all adoptive parents. (Amazon/Goodreads)

Ronnie's father from Knee Deep by Jolene Perry. He found a loving and supportive way to help his teenage daughter when she was in a really tough spot. (Amazon/Goodreads)

 Both of Lola's fathers in Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Especially Andy, because he can make pie. But they both earn their spot for being strict but loving, and embracing Lola's uniqueness. (Amazon/Goodreads)

Follow Friday 5/11/12

Q: This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother’s Day, in celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships?

The first one that comes to mind is the mothers of the Chesapeake Bay series by Nora Roberts. Anna (from Sea Swept), Grace (from Rising Tides), and Sybill (from Inner Harbor), basically become adoptive mothers to Seth Quinn. These books have some of the best family relationships that I've seen in any books. If you haven't read them yet, check them out here: Sea Swept (Chesapeake Bay, Book 1)

Start of Something Good Giveaway! (200 Followers)

 

I'm very excited to announce that we have reached 200 followers!  You guys rock! And to show my appreciation, I'm hosting a giveaway! The theme this time around is The Start of Something Good: One lucky winner will get to choose a book from the list bellow. All of the options are the the first books from series that I love, and I hope you will too!

Sea Swept by Nora Roberts

Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh

Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas

All you need to do to enter is fill out the form bellow, and be sure to follow the instructions! This giveaway is open to all followers, US and International! Giveaway ends Saturday November 26th, and a winner will be announced shortly thereafter! Good luck, and Happy Reading!

Snippet Reviews: Chesapeake Bay

Nora Robert's Chesapeake Bay books remain my favorite contemporary romance books. They also happen to be among the first romance novels I ever read, and so they are nostalgic for me.

In sum, these books focus on three boys who were adopted into a family and became brothers. Years later, their father appears to have adopted another boy, Seth. He then dies unexpectedly and leaves Seth in the hands of his older sons. Three very different men with very different lifestyles must learn to raise a young boy and rebuild their family.

Book 1: Sea Swept: This book is about Cameron, the daredevil brother who has spent years traveling Europe and entering various races involving anything that will go fast. Moving back home and caring for a frightened kid is not what he wants to be doing, but he goes willingly and tries his best in honor of his adopted father's memory. The love interest, Anna, is Seth's social worker. Under her professional veneer she's feisty and hot tempered, but has a good heart. She's a great match for Cam. I loved them as a couple. I love the interactions between the brothers and the family atmosphere it creates. All around, a wonderful book. 5 stars.


Book 2: Rising Tides: This book is about Ethan, the quiet, more down-to-earth brother who has remained a fisherman at home all his life. The love interest is Grace, a single mom who has been working for the brothers as a housekeeper. I found Ethan's story to be the most emotional of the three brothers. He has a really dark past and a lot of issues to work through. But I liked that he was less of an alpha-male and more a sweet, gentle fellow. I loved his journey to finding peace. 4.5 stars.

Book 3: Inner Harbor: This book is about Philip, the most slick and sophisticated of the brothers. The love interest is Sybill, who presents herself as a psychologist interested in researching Seth's case. Naturally, the brothers are pretty wary of her. This was always my least favorite of the books, because the heroine is a bit cold at first and Phil is not a terribly easy character to relate to. But it does finish up the original trilogy with many heart-warming moments. 4 stars.

Book 4: Chesapeake Blue: This was written as an addition to the original series. It focuses on Seth, all grown up and moving back to his home town after spending years in Europe as a traveling artist. The love interest is Dru, a woman from a wealthy family who decided to break away from her previously upscale life to run a small town flower shop. Not only was this book a wonderful love story in it's own right, it's also and extended happily-ever-after form the other three brothers. I loved seeing how the family had grown and still stayed close. 4.5 stars.

So there you have it, one of my all time favorite romance trilogies (erm, quartets). I haven't always liked everything Nora Roberts wrote, but these are big winners in my book. Happy Reading!