BOOKS! Rec me anything!

[seren_ccd]

Hullo! I am in need of BOOKS. I'm looking for something new and fun and if it centers around a small town (anywhere), I'm all over it. What have folks been reading?

Thank you!!!

Comments

[hiddencait.livejournal.com]

I have been reading a lot of fantasy lately - been diving through Robin McKinely's fairy tale re-tellings because of reasons lol. Most of them are centered on relatively small towns/villages until the heavy duty magic sets in. "Rose Daughter" "Beauty: a Retelling of Beauty and the Beast" and "Spindle's End" tend to by my faves for her.

The other author I've been re-reading lately is Betty Neels. They're short little completely cookie cutter romances, usually set in the UK or Europe with either a nurse/secretary/governess falling for a rich doctor/investor/lawyer type. Like I said - totally cookie cutter and type casting (apparently Betty actually was a nurse who ended up marrying some rich doctor/investor/lawyer who wanted to take care of her and let her write forever lol). But they're quick reads and just totally sweet and always leave me smiling like a loon. She also has like... several hundred books or something ridiculous I think lol.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Oh, I loved Sunshine by Robin McKinley, I'll have to give those a try, too!

And Betty Neels sounds delightful. Looks like I'm on a trip to the library!

[hiddencait.livejournal.com]

Yeah I have loved basically all of Robin McKinley's stuff. Oh! She has a Robin Hood one too called "Outlaws of Sherwood" - it has no fantasy whatsoever though. The only one that I was ever iffy about was Deerskin - and that was still beautifully done, but the subject matter of the fairy tale it's based on squicks me out on principle, so reading a book based on that fairy tale is always a little risky. I still own it, I just every rarely read it lol.

[hiddencait.livejournal.com]

Oh! BTW since you are off until November and are in a writing mood - don't forget the hetreccer prompt meme! http://het-reccers.livejournal.com/854741.html There are like 20 people prompting a good 60 prompts or so but only 4 fills so far lol.

[aj.livejournal.com]

I've been burning through the Tessa Dare Spindle Cove series. Fun and light! There also some good recs here: http://aj.livejournal.com/1278741.html

I wish I could send you pie.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

I LOVE TESSA DARE!!! I've read all of the Spindle Cove including the novellas. She and Courtney Milan are my two big romance faves at the mo.

[aj.livejournal.com]

She's so fun! And her stuff is pretty well paced. And I'll make a note of Courtney Milan. OMG, IT'S FRIDAY.

[kasuchi]

Courtney Milan is probably the BEST romance writer currently out there right now, hands down. And I don't say that lightly. You should absolutely read her; start with her Turner series first!

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

Here (http://grav-ity.livejournal.com/tag/books) is my book tag.

What are you in the mood for, more specifically?

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Oh, heck. I'm currently writing something based in a small town and so books that explore villages and small town history are up my alley. Fantasy or contemporary. I'm a sucker for romance, to be totally honest.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

Mary Balogh has a series called THE SURVIVORS' CLUB that I adore to the point of ridiculousness. The first one is called THE PROPOSAL, and the second THE ARRANGEMENT. I read THE ARRANGEMENT first, not realizing it was a series, and LOVED IT TO PIECES (seriously: I read parts of it aloud to Emma when we were at The Woods in August, and she was all "Is there a book store in Midland?", and I was all "Probably?", and then we drove FORTY MINUTES just in case there was a book store that had the first one, and there was, so we bought it and then I read it to her as we drove FORTY MINUTES back to the cottage).

ULTRAVIOLET, by RJ Anderson.

Seraphina, by Rachael Hartman

You've read Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, right? Because she also has Rose Under Fire.

Um....

[kasuchi]

I've been reading a ton of romance lately! I really enjoyed the MAIDEN LANE series by Elizabeth Hoyt; it's told in cycles of trilogies, so the second trilogy just wrapped with the most recent book. If you start, I say start with THIEF OF SHADOWS, as I didn't care for the earlier trilogy as much. Also because the second trilogy is basically three different takes on a Georgian-era Batman story.

For a more contemporary read that's closer to what you've asked for: Kristan Higgins writes GREAT slice-of-life romances. I really enjoyed THE BEST MAN, JUST ONE OF THE GUYS, and TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. Higgins's strengths lie in her characters really leading full lives; they have friends and family and work colleagues, all of whom feel fully realized. Notably: Higgins's books aren't steamy; romantic scenes fade to black and then fade back in.

I also really love Victoria Dahl. GREAT contemporary romances set in smallish towns -- some of them in the mountains (with cowboys!), some of them in the mountains with cops....Her trilogies are great, sexy, and super fun. Her characters always have great voices, too. Love her work incredibly, and her tumblr is sexy as hell.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I'll check out Elizabeth Hoyt and I think I've read a Kristen HIggins before, so I'll look her up again. Victoria Dahl is fantastic! I read one of her trilogies, so I'll go look up some more! Thank you!!!!

[kasuchi]

I've also really enjoyed the LIAR'S CLUB and ROYAL FOUR series-es by Celeste Bradley. In particular, THE PRETENDER, THE IMPOSTER, and THE CHARMER were excellent and hit all my buttons.

For a MUCH more sexy read, pick up Jess Michaels. I REALLY REALLY enjoy her trilogies; my favorite book of hers by far is SOMETHING RECKLESS, which is the second book in an earlier trilogy of hers. She's firmly in the erotic side of romance, with lots of sexy scenes paired with great character development. EVERYTHING FORBIDDEN (the book before Something Reckless) is probably the strongest book in that trilogy, but Something Reckless is my favorite because it's my faaaaaaavorite trope. Her new series, THE PLEASURE WARS, is set to drop Book Two in about a week.

More in historical: I've really liked Karen Hawkins's books. I enjoyed HOW TO CAPTURE A COUNTESS purely for the romp it presented -- and delivered! Her earlier books, particularly THE SEDUCTION OF SARA and AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER, were excellent, with the latter in my "keep" pile for sure. (I happen to really like the, "I hate you, I can't stand you, your hair smells so nice" kinds of romances and so a lot of my recs will swing that way.) Lisa Kleypas's Wallflowers quartet is a classic, with IT HAPPENED ONE AUTUMN one of my all-time favorite books.

Erin Knightley is newer and I'm enjoying her Sealed with a Kiss series thus far; you can actually try one of her novellas here, if you have a Kindle or use a Kindle app: http://www.amazon.com/Ruined-Rake-Alls-Fair-Novella-ebook/dp/B00C4CSUDG -- I will say, however, that MORE THAN A STRANGER was a far stronger read than the novella implied.

Caroline Linden wrote the excellent THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DUKE trilogy, all three books are absolute standouts. Her other one-shots (most of which are vaguely interconnected) are fine, but this particular trilogy was what had me reading her entire backlog. This trilogy reminded me in all the best ways of Courtney Milan's Turner series.

Sherry Thomas I go back and forth on; I've enjoyed her Fitzhugh series (BEGUILING THE BEAUTY, RAVISHING THE HEIRESS, TEMPTING THE BRIDE) pretty well, though the first book was the strongest. Tempting the Bride was enjoyable except I felt the ending lacked a key emotional scene for me, one that I felt weakened the book overall. However, all three are fast, good reads. Her favorite book of mine is HIS AT NIGHT, which implies much more abuse/cruelty than it shows, but is really about two people who wear masks and keep secrets so closely that they are soothed by finding each other. There's a beta-couple in His at Night who are basically the joy-filled counterweight to the main couple, as well.

If you haven't read the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn, you're missing out. Standouts from that series for me are THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME and ROMANCING MISTER BRIDGERTON. The other books are fine, but those two in particular just got me.

Sarah MacLean kind of goes either way for me. NINE RULES TO BREAK was masterful; her other books have been hit-and-miss as far as I'm concerned.

[kasuchi]

In contemporary, Bella Andre's Sullivan series is a knockout. My personal favorite is LET ME BE THE ONE, because I always love seeing people negotiate the line between friends and lovers. The Sullivan series has been pretty strong overall, and I definitely think they're worth picking up if you can!

Julie James writes AWESOME lawyer-centric contemporary stories that are pretty excellent. Her FBI/US Attorney series is pretty renowned; my favorites from that are SOMETHING ABOUT YOU and LOVE IRRESISTIBLY, which do need to be read together in order to make any sense. The hero of the latter appears in ABOUT THAT NIGHT, but I personally found that book a bit weak. Something About You takes a little ramping up but it is A+++ when it finally gets going properly.

Last, Carly Phillips writes about couples finding love in a small town in upstate New York called Serendipity. Her Serendipity and Serendipity's Finest trilogies are fun, hot, and FUN. My personal fave was DESTINY, followed closely by PERFECT FIT. The early reviews for PERFECT TOGETHER would indicate it's gonna be amazing~!

HER BEST WORST MISTAKE by Sarah Mayberry is amazing!! It's technically a companion novel to HOT ISLAND NIGHTS, but that book was worthless.

Let me know if you want more; I cycle through romances pretty fast, and I'm always happy to ship a box of mass markets of my faves/recs. Also, I'll straight up tell you: avoid Madeline Hunter. Her books are very.....they feel like Old Skool romances, with the implications of rape and too-domineering husbands and so on. Not at all to my taste and I'm surprised she sells, frankly.

I also don't care for Anne Mallory; I find her prose meandering and her heroes overly damaged? If you do like that sort of thing, check out the BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD series by J.R. Ward; those are pretty much that aesthetic exactly.

[sivonni.livejournal.com]

I've been re-reading a lot of Nora Roberts recently (or rather listened to audiobooks) and a lot of her stories involve small towns, both supernatural and regular thrillers).

[hiddencait.livejournal.com]

Yeah Nora Roberts can always be depended on for good romance, though they can feel a little cookie cutter occasionally. But yeah her banter is fun!

[lady-with-cats.livejournal.com]

Nora Robert's "Bride" Quartet probably loosely fits the bill. It's set in a fairly close-knit town, and there's plenty of history between the different characters.