Ok, I'll admit it already! I'm in a total book slump... sorta.
Usually this happens when I've burned myself out on a certain sub-genre, series, or author and end up needing a break from romance in general. But I can't say that's what is happening right now. I'm just not that... motivated to read romance. It's funny because I had all these plans to read and blog over the break, and instead I'm doing these less. I don't regret it since that time has instead gone into seeing friends and family, shopping, relaxing, and sometimes just sleeping.
And then it hit me! Romance novels and blogging are my escapes from reality. Since I've been on break for the past few weeks there has been almost no stress in my life. No stress means no need to escape.
What all this means is while I'll be around over the next three weeks, I probably won't be posting or commenting regularly until late January or early February. Sorry guys! However, I do plan to change my blog layout in the next week or so, and I'm guest posting on DIK from Jan 13-15, so I'm not quite dead.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Top Picks of 2010
With the New Year just gone, I though I'd reflect back on what I've read in 2010. Here are my favorite reads from over the past year.
Top Picks
1. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
I normally don't go for "chick lit", but I really loved Cannie's story. She goes through the whole self-discovery journey without being too self-indulgent, usually poking fun of the overabundance of self-help books and programs available. I though the second half of the book became a little unrealistic and fantasy-like, but overall a really great read. I tore through it.
2. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles (review here)
4. Lover Mine by J.R. Ward
Yea, I think everyone knows I go wild for the BDB... John Matthew has been one of my favorite characters since Lover Eternal. I cannot say how badly I was looking forward to his book, and it did not disappoint. And that cover is on fire!
5. What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss
This was a fun read. Devin is now one of my favorite heroes. And it takes place in New Zealand! How awesome is that?!
Honorable Mentions
1. A Man in A Million by Jessica Bird (review here)
I ended up reading Jessica Bird because of my love of J.R. Ward, and probably loved this book for the same reason- Spike could sooo be a Brother! The rest of the story was good too though ;)
2. Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas
I think I was one of the few people who hated Sugar Daddy, so I'm not sure why I read Blue-Eyed Devil other than that I already owned it, but I definitely don't regret it! Haven Travis was an inspiring heroine and heavy duty material was dealt with without being either flippant or melodramatic.
3. Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James
This was a surprise since I didn't not like Practice Makes Perfect all that much. While the ending was a bit care-bear and rushed, the rest of the book was great and had just the right amount of sexual tension and witty dialog.
4. The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran
Dark! But in the best way. It was a great emotional roller coaster- mentally you just get sucked in. I don't know what took me so long to try Meredith Duran!
5. Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale
The characters were what really made this one for me- Trev and his boyish charm, Callie and her bull Hubert!
Shout-Outs
1. Lord of Scoundrels by Lorretta Chase (review here)
I really really enjoyed this book (after all, I did read it without ever setting it down). The reason it's not an honorable mention or a top pick is more that I didn't find it particularly memorable, so it's hard to recommend other than to say... "um, well I know I liked it."
2. Sinful Surrender by Beverley Kendall
Top Picks
1. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
I normally don't go for "chick lit", but I really loved Cannie's story. She goes through the whole self-discovery journey without being too self-indulgent, usually poking fun of the overabundance of self-help books and programs available. I though the second half of the book became a little unrealistic and fantasy-like, but overall a really great read. I tore through it.
2. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles (review here)
I love this book. Period. It was not at all what I expected, which probably made me love it even more. I think the best compliment I can give it is that Perfect Chemistry is the book that turned me back on to YA-romance.
3. Wed Him Before You Bed Him by Sabrina Jeffries
Sabrina Jeffries has been one of my go-to historical authors for years. I love the humor in her books. Wed Him Before You Bed Him was a great and satisfying ending to the Heiress.
Yea, I think everyone knows I go wild for the BDB... John Matthew has been one of my favorite characters since Lover Eternal. I cannot say how badly I was looking forward to his book, and it did not disappoint. And that cover is on fire!
5. What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss
This was a fun read. Devin is now one of my favorite heroes. And it takes place in New Zealand! How awesome is that?!
Honorable Mentions
1. A Man in A Million by Jessica Bird (review here)
I ended up reading Jessica Bird because of my love of J.R. Ward, and probably loved this book for the same reason- Spike could sooo be a Brother! The rest of the story was good too though ;)
2. Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas
I think I was one of the few people who hated Sugar Daddy, so I'm not sure why I read Blue-Eyed Devil other than that I already owned it, but I definitely don't regret it! Haven Travis was an inspiring heroine and heavy duty material was dealt with without being either flippant or melodramatic.
3. Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James
This was a surprise since I didn't not like Practice Makes Perfect all that much. While the ending was a bit care-bear and rushed, the rest of the book was great and had just the right amount of sexual tension and witty dialog.
4. The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran
Dark! But in the best way. It was a great emotional roller coaster- mentally you just get sucked in. I don't know what took me so long to try Meredith Duran!
5. Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale
The characters were what really made this one for me- Trev and his boyish charm, Callie and her bull Hubert!
Shout-Outs
1. Lord of Scoundrels by Lorretta Chase (review here)
I really really enjoyed this book (after all, I did read it without ever setting it down). The reason it's not an honorable mention or a top pick is more that I didn't find it particularly memorable, so it's hard to recommend other than to say... "um, well I know I liked it."
2. Sinful Surrender by Beverley Kendall
While I liked this book, it didn't blow me out of the water. However I did like it enough to find it memorable, be willing to maybe recommend it, and to want to buy the next book in the series some point after it is published- therefore I felt it deserved a spot on my shout out list.
Those were my picks for 2010! I'm excited to see what this year has in store for me.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Is That a Challenge?
I don't think I'm going to be finishing the A-Z Book Challenge like I was hoping. New Years is less than three days away and I still have the letters R, Z, X, I, Q, U, and Y. I don't see any point in speed reading though seven books. That wouldn't be any fun. I don't think think these sort of challenges are supposed to be stressful. I probably could have done this one fairly easily except that I didn't plan out for different letters and there were a good five months this year I stopped reading romance.
But, despite not actually completing this challenge, I really enjoyed it, so I've decided to do a few next year!
The first one I want to do is the Off the Shelf Challenge hosted by BA Reading Challenges:
The challenge is to read some of those books you already own. Ya know, the one's you've been meaning to get around to for ages but are currently buried under all the new books you bought... I chose the "tempted" challenge level, so I have to read 5 of those books in the next year. I figure I'll do more, but I wanted to start off simple.
The next challenge is 2011 Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge hosted by Romance Book Maven:
The challenge is to read 10 contemporary romances (no paranormal, fantasy, or time travel elements) in the next year. I decided to do this one because I like a lot of contemporaries, and I have tons on my TBR shelf so this seemed like a good way to knock some of those out.
The last challenge I decided to do is the 2011 Paranormal/Fantasy Romance Reading Challenge hosted by Nitty Gitty- Romance and Erotica Reviews:
To be honest I don't think I'll be able to finish this challenge. The goal is to read 12 paranormal romances over the next year. While that doesn't sound like a lot for some people, that's a heck of a lot for me. I don't read a lot of paranormal- which is why I decided to try the challenge. Even if I don't complete it, I'll still have expanded my reading horizon. At the moment I feel like the books I pick are heavily tilted toward historical romance, and I want to break out of that a little and explore.
Anyone else participating in fun challenges? Any reading goals for the New Year?
But, despite not actually completing this challenge, I really enjoyed it, so I've decided to do a few next year!
The first one I want to do is the Off the Shelf Challenge hosted by BA Reading Challenges:
The next challenge is 2011 Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge hosted by Romance Book Maven:
The challenge is to read 10 contemporary romances (no paranormal, fantasy, or time travel elements) in the next year. I decided to do this one because I like a lot of contemporaries, and I have tons on my TBR shelf so this seemed like a good way to knock some of those out.
The last challenge I decided to do is the 2011 Paranormal/Fantasy Romance Reading Challenge hosted by Nitty Gitty- Romance and Erotica Reviews:
To be honest I don't think I'll be able to finish this challenge. The goal is to read 12 paranormal romances over the next year. While that doesn't sound like a lot for some people, that's a heck of a lot for me. I don't read a lot of paranormal- which is why I decided to try the challenge. Even if I don't complete it, I'll still have expanded my reading horizon. At the moment I feel like the books I pick are heavily tilted toward historical romance, and I want to break out of that a little and explore.
Anyone else participating in fun challenges? Any reading goals for the New Year?
Monday, December 27, 2010
Welcome to the Dark Side
A lot of romance readers dip into YA fiction, myself included. Some of my favorite books have ended up being YA-romances, which were much more complex than I expected. I was intruiged today when I saw the article The Dark Side of Young Adult Fiction in the NYT's. It's not an article really. It doesn't take a side but presents a serious of opinions about why so many dark themes and dystopias reoccur in YA-fiction. It made me take a moment to look at my TBR list and sure enough books like "The Hunger Games" and "Matched" were on there.
However, unlike some of the op-ed pieces, I don't think these are *new* themes to YA-fiction, but inherent to the genre. I can remember being 13 and loving books like "The Giver" and "Z is for Zachariah".
Whatever your take is on YA-fiction and its various themes, the piece is well worth taking a look at.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Santa Baby
Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is having a great day right now. My gift to you is beautiful men ;)
This is a great video if you're like me and you go for your heroes tattoed up *cough*BDB*cough* Plus I just love this song.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
This is Bloody Good Stuff
Sorry everyone for the unexpected hiatus. I swear I have not abandoned my blog (again)! After the semester ended I decided to take a week to unwind, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I think the bags under my eyes are just about gone now. I should be blogging more frequently some time after Christmas or New Years.
So I am now officially addicted to True Blood. My friend gave me the first season as an early Christmas present- I finished all 12 episodes in less than 2 days. I practically cried when I found out that Netfix doesn't have the second season on watch instant. Is the universe conspiring against me! Either way, the day after Christmas I am going to run out and buy the second season. I don't think I can wait.
I'm a little on the fence though about whether or not I'm going to read the Sookie Stackhouse novels. For one thing, my TBR pile is so high it's threatening to topple over. And another, while I've read a book then watched the movie/series, I've never watched the movie/series then read the book. I don't know how I would feel about that. Watching the next season is still a higher priority for me though.
So I am now officially addicted to True Blood. My friend gave me the first season as an early Christmas present- I finished all 12 episodes in less than 2 days. I practically cried when I found out that Netfix doesn't have the second season on watch instant. Is the universe conspiring against me! Either way, the day after Christmas I am going to run out and buy the second season. I don't think I can wait.
I'm a little on the fence though about whether or not I'm going to read the Sookie Stackhouse novels. For one thing, my TBR pile is so high it's threatening to topple over. And another, while I've read a book then watched the movie/series, I've never watched the movie/series then read the book. I don't know how I would feel about that. Watching the next season is still a higher priority for me though.
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