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/ 

Miscellaneous Monday: Misbehaving Online

Last week I observed quite a few encounters with authors online, encounters that ranged from mildly bothersome to seriously off-putting. This prompted me to ask pose the question of whether author behavior matters to you, as a reader, when it comes to buying/borrowing books. I've noticed, more and more, that author behavior online does influence my reading habits...and I really wish it didn't.

Thinking back to my earliest reading experiences, I can't say that I was even aware of authors as anything more than names on the cover on my books. The only time those names were important was if I really loved a book, and I wanted more of the same. My reading at that time was motivated mostly by random fancy, and I would read anything with an intriguing cover or title. Anything. I felt no connection to the authors, and I didn't care because I had such a strong connection to the books.

Now, it's difficult to say whether my paradigm shift was due to growing up, or the evolution of the internet and the online reading community--probably some combination of the two. In any case, these days I'm more conscious of the author responsible for every book I read--aware of the style, personality, and work that they put into those books. But more to the point, I'm aware of authors as brand names. Many authors promote themselves and their books online with great enthusiasm. Just take a look at Gail Carriger's website. Spend ten minutes browsing it and you'll have a pretty good idea of what her work is like, and a pretty good idea of whether you would like to try one of her books.

So, the internet has made me more aware of authors as artists, and of authors as brand names. And from a book selling perspective (the author's) or a book buying perspective (mine), this is all a good thing. They get to sell their product the way they want to, I get to buy things I like, everyone is happy. Where this all falls apart for me is when I become too aware of authors as people. And actually, even that is fine about 90% of the time--I don't really mind if an author posts on his/her blog about beloved pets or shoe shopping or favorite flavors of cheese. The problem is this: some people are jerks. And even non-jerks have bad days when they behave badly.

Hypothetically, let's say that an author has said or done something online that you find appalling. Can you ignore it enough to still buy (or borrow) and enjoy his/her book? I can't, and that kind of saddens me. Once that name is stuck it my mind as "That one author that went ballistic on goodreads/amazon because of bad reviews" I literally cannot bring myself to buy that book. Who knows, I might be missing out on something I'd really enjoy, all because the author chose to act like a dick one time. Am I the only one with this problem?

The bottom line is, while I love the connectivity of the online reading community, part of me longs for that time when authors seemed like the anonymous magicians behind the awesome experience of books. Maybe someday soon I'll mature a little more as a reader and be able to read books by misbehaving authors, without bias or preconceived notions. Or maybe not. Maybe they really don't deserve my time and money.

How has author behavior influenced you? Have you ever been driven to read a book because of an author's awesome online presence? Or driven away by off-putting behavior? Have you found a way to ignore all of it altogether? Share your thoughts in the comments! Happy Monday, everyone!

Postcards From the Land of Steampunk

Moira Rogers was awesome enough to send me these signed postcards following their book club chat on Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I really enjoyed the chat, even though the book, Wilder's Mate, wasn't one of my favorite picks. It was a case where I just wanted MORE. Novella's and I don't always get along, I'm a very greedy reader. Here's my review:

Every now and then it's nice to encounter something really different in the romance world. I've read loads of shape-shifter romance, so that's nothing new. But I confess that steampunk in fairly new to me, and I've never read one in a western/pioneer setting. So naturally I felt I might enjoy this if only for the sake of novelty.

Satira is the apprentice to a weapons inventor, and her teacher has been kidnapped. Wilder, a bloodhound, is assigned to find him, and Satira insists on accompanying him. The journey takes them into the Deadlands--an area filled with vampires and other undesirables. Along the way, Satira and Wilder hook up, and a lot of steamy sex ensues.

The first comment I have to make is that this story is fairly short, definitely novella length. On one hand this is a plus because it is a fast, easy read--took me a couple hours--and it's not demanding in either time or intellect. On the other hand, it's a bad thing because nothing is really explained in any sort of detail. In terms of the world building much is left to the readers imagination. Also, some parts of the plot felt a bit rushed.

The characters were well written and likeable. The length didn't allow for too much in terms of development, but that is somewhat to be expected. Satira realizes her usefulness and power as an inventor. Wilder in turn attains a new place in his career. Both enjoy passion and emotional fulfillment in their new relationship. All in all, their romance felt complete and fairly satisfying to me.

The rest of the plot, while interesting, suffered a lot from lack of set up and world building. The story needed about 50 more pages to really clarify who all of the characters are, their motivations, the rules of science/magic in this world, and how this all ties in with the main characters. I don't know how much the author is to blame for this and how much is due to word count limitations. In any case, it felt like a brilliant premise that just fell incomplete in execution. I'm suitably intrigued, though, and I would willingly read the next book in the series. 3 stars.

Anyway, thanks so much to Moira Rogers for the cool stuff, I just LOVE the cover art for this one.

Myself in a Hat

Behold, a picture of myself and Stewie the Penguin, checking out Blameless by Gail Carriger. This picture is something of a lie, since I have only just finished Soulless and have yet to start Changeless, but I like this cover the best. I am very much looking forward to catching up with all of Alexia's adventures.