Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

I’ve been delighted by some of the m/m sent to UP for review lately (links to my reviews because all the purchase info etc is there) - these are books which remind me again why I love the m/m genre. Good, realistic guys, good plots, strong writing.

L.A. Heat by P. A Brown
Maloney’s Law by Anne Brooke (warning - not so much a romance as a love story)
Hart and Soul by Nica Berry
Secrets (and the rest of the ‘Psycop’ series) by Jordan Castillo Price
Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo
If you like big lush, over the top sex, romance, cock and hurt/comfort, you just can’t go past P.L. Nunn. She was my gateway drug into m/m writing :) I pimp her every chance I get because she’s the total package - great plot, compelling characters, hot hot sex, fabulous romance. Can’t spell worth a dickens, but I fixed most of the mistakes I hope when I edited her stuff to be self-published.

I am not a fan in the least of Haldemann-Time’s writing, so I don’t know what you’ll make of her stuff. But then I really hated the excerpt of ‘Caught Running’ so maybe my tastes won’t gel with yours.

The Sharing Knife.  I’m on a Bujold rampage right now.

Jasmine Haynes. My favorite contemporary author at the moment. I would also love some recs of contemp romance author - for some reason they’re really hard to find.

It’s a gentle romance, as suits its epistolary form and time period (1940s), but awfully fun to read, engaging and charming and sometimes laugh aloud funny too: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer. 

I blogged more about it here: http://rooruu.blogspot.com/2008/08/current-reading-guernsey-literary-and.html

and am looking forward to listening to the audiobook.

(probably46 - chuckle, the book’s set in 1946!)

Twist, by Colby Hodge. OMGMAJORSQUEE like merde and like mon dieu. Her heroine has a kanata and isn’t afraid to use it. Dude, splatters left, right and sideways. Plus there’s a hunky vamp doctor, that’s always a bonus.

As Mrs Giggles once said: Show me the Shomi!

My security word is zipper72. Now why does that make me chuckle?

Just finished If His Kiss Is Wicked by Jo Goodman, one of the most non-formulaic Regencies I’ve read in a while: mysterious attacks, heroine who doesn’t want to get married, intriguing hero, you name it. I really enjoyed it and am recommending it right and left.

On the lighter side, finally tracked down the last book in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series: clever writing and ironic asides in these Regencies made them fun commute reading.

Shades of Dark by Linnea Sinclair.  Warning- imho you should probably read Gabriel’s Ghost first, and reread it if you read it back when it came out- I started SOD (unfortunate acronym, that) and went back to reread GG before continuing, not because the author didn’t introduce the concepts well enough for me to move forward, but because I remembered GG well enough to know that I was missing subtleties in the larger plot because the details weren’t fresh. 

These are solidly plotted space operas, and damn fine books (GG won the RITA in ‘05, and Sinclair was nominated this year for Games of Command- chick can write).  Sully and Chaz are an incredibly well matched couple- they kick ass, take names, have great sex, shoot stuff, make and break alliances, try to save the universe whether it wants to be saved or not, and deal with the very real, concrete issues separating them.  At times, particularly in the first half of SOD, they channel Eve and Roarke for me- they’ve got that same level of profound love and respect for one another (and did I mention the great sex?), while still being individuals who quite often fundamentally disagree, and occasionally kick each others’ asses.

However, while a damn fine book like its predecessor, SOD is also. . . moving, disturbing, and challenging in a way GG was not.  I finished SOD yesterday and am still processing it.  Where GG left me warm, fuzzy and happy, SOD left me thinking Deep Thoughts.

Sinclair addresses something I’ve often wondered about at the end of a great romance with a yummy alpha hero… okay, you’ve got him.  Now, how the hell do you live with him?  More, what if his alpha traits get, not just a little stronger, but significantly stronger?  What if the thing you feared in him actually *is* as bad as you thought it could be?  What if it’s significantly worse?  What if, in the end, you really *are* better off without him, even though you love the hell out of him?  [Yes, there’s a HEA, but it’s unexpected and bittersweet.]

SOD made me cringe in places.  It made me utter Bad Words.  It yanked out emotions that I’m not totally comfortable with.  It made me wish there was another twenty pages at the end that assured me Chaz and Sully were okay, and to a degree it helped me understand why V’s book pissed so many people off (which I hadn’t seen coming). 

Was it puppies and kittens?  No.  But I could.  Not.  Put.  It.  Down.  And I’m still thinking about it this morning, and probably will be for a couple of days yet.

Well played, Ms. Sinclair.  Well played.

Death Angel by Linda Howard.

Based on the cover blurb (not to mention the stupid-not-relevant cover) I was going to pass on this book but then readers on other message boards where saying go for it and I’m so glad I did.

(the blurb is so far off that it should be cut off the dustjacket--- just sayin’)
Great writing. And the heroine goes from Trashy Bitch to Cool Bitch in one book. I loved it.

I just finished Marjorie M. Liu’s The Red Heart of Jade and I am SO excited that there are many more Dirk & Steele books waiting for me to read!

I picked it up at a library book sale last week because of a vaguely-remembered discussion on this site about books in foreign settings that don’t cast foreign peoples as stereotypes, and I’m so glad I did. Her dialogue is yummy-yummy-wonderful, and the plot pacing is edge-of-your-seat. I’m usually a Regency girl, and I don’t find myself drawn to paranormals, but I want to line up all her books, even the non-Dirk&Steele;, and devour them one by one.

Farthing by Jo Walton. It’s not a romance, it’s alternate reality 1949 (where England made peace with the Third Reich and is pretty much the only country in Europe not a part of the Reich… but is slipping and sliding - or being shoved - into fascism) but when I read the last page and sat back to breathe my reaction was “DAMN! MORE!” Now I’m trying to wait until next summer to get Ha’Penny and Half a Crown so HaC will be out in paperback and I’ll be able to read all three in one sweep.
(And I have to point out that I usually hate (hate! HATE!) reading about WWII/Third Reich etc! It’s just somehow too close, too ugly, too *real* somehow for me to want to deal with so it says a lot that I’m recommending a book where fascism exists. Ps. Yeah, I don’t mind fascism in SF/F because it’s ‘distanced’ and I know that eventually, somewhere there will be a happy ending but in real life there were/are just too many unhappy/miserable stories/endings. And sorry this got totally OT!)

I just got hooked on Lois McMaster Bujold. (Thanks SB & DA!) I read Mountains of Mourning from Baen Free Library and sampled Shards of Honor on line (it’s CRUEL that they only have ten chapters up!) and have ordered Cordelia’s Honor, Young Miles and Miles, Mischief and Mayhem to read ASAP.

I’m also enjoying my way down the list of SB Sarah’s summer reading recommendations (with lots of “damn! more!"s) but as they are known to most (all?) already I won’t mention them here.

Anything by Katie MacAlister. She’s funny, witty, and clever with realistic men and sassy ladies. She writes historical, comtemporary, and paranormal romantic comedies. My favourite so far is ‘The Trouble with Harry’. Very thrilling. HOT sex scenes as well ;)

I’ll recommend a couple of my favorite YA authors that I think are FABULOUS and take more risks than many adult books.

Megan Whalen Turner’s series THE THIEF, THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA, and THE KING OF ATTOLIA are set in an alternate universe in roughly Byzantine times.  The first book is all about the pov, baby, and is deceptively simple.  The second book is one emotional slamdunk after another.  The third book also has some awesome pov stuff going on, which is even more fun because if you’re reading these in order, and you should, you can bounce and squeal with what you know and the pov character doesn’t.

Elizabeth Wein has a whole series of middle-grade books beginning with THE WINTER PRINCE that begin as Arthurian but shift radically; after the first book, she takes her characters out of the British Isles and travel to Aksum, an Ethiopian kingdom.  I’d recommend beginning with THE SUNBIRD, a harrowing undercover spy story starring a pre-pubescent boy.  Just read them, okay?  You can thank me later.

Post law school (and bar exam) , I’m trying to play catchup!  I’m LOVING Brockmann’s Seals/Troubleshooters series.  On Flashpoint right now. 

I actually wish there was more that I loved, so I’m looking forward to the rest of these comments!

Okay, I’ve got several, but I’ll limit it to two. Just recently finished “The Critic” by Dyanne Davis---absolutely loved it! I also really, really, (REALLY) love “Try a Little Tenderness” by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb.

Both of these books are contemporary and neither can really be considered traditional romances, especially “The Critic.” The two characters will have you holding your stomach from laughing. And “Try a Little Tenderness” has so much adventure and fun in it, you won’t be able to think of it as traditional!

In the words of Mikey’s brother: “Try it (uh...them); you’ll like it.  (S)He likes it, hey Mikey!”

Money Shot by Christa Faust.  Talk about a guilty pleasure!  This is one of the new noir novels published under the Hard Case imprint.  The heroine is a retired porn star and it starts with her riddled with bullets and locked in the trunk of a car.  After that it gets exciting.[g]

Most definitely not a romance, but I couldn’t put it down.

I recently read SILENT IN THE GRAVE. What an amazing new talent. I immediately got a copy of the follow-up, SILENT IN THE SANCTUARY. Gorgeous writing, fascinating characters and a strong, talented voice.

Do you mean one of those books that is so satisfying that when you finish you sit back to bask in its wonderfulness and you just can’t quite get into any other book because they can’t compare?

Sweet Love by Sarah Strohmeyer

Based on the cover blurb (not to mention the stupid-not-relevant cover) I was going to pass on this book

Which is what exactly what I thought about My Lord and Spymaster by Joanna Bourne.  If I hadn’t read The Spymaster’s Lady (on a SB recommendation, so thank you) and found it so brilliant, I’d never have looked at her second book.  Here’s a plea to publishers (this one is Avon): stop cheapening wonderful books with terrible, old-fashioned, bodice-ripping, demeaning, and inaccurate covers!  The blurb’s nearly as bad.  A daring beauty risking everything for love, etc etc.  Pass the cliché bucket, I’m going to vomit these into it.  Not even accurate (she’s risking everything, including love, to save her father).  Does the book a great disservice--a lot of people will probably miss out on something wonderful because if the dire packaging.

Rant over.  Loved My Lord and Spymaster.  Beautifully written, terribly evocative and intricately set out.  Wonderful characters, including the supporting cast (a couple of whom are familiar from spymaster’s Lady).  Grey characters, very little black and white.  Another engaging, smart and witty heroine who’s knows there are some things worth being afraid of, some times she should keep her mouth shut--and other times to be fearless, and say what the hell she wants.  A hero who is not just smart, strong and kind (Regency England must have been bursting with them) but complex, flawed in the same complicated ways as the heroine, exasperating and exasperated.  And whoa-damn sexy.

Eva Ibbotson. A Countess Below Stairs left me a warm fuzzy feeling, and a new spot on my comfort reads list.

I recently finished Hollie Gillespie’s “Confessions of a Recovering Slut: And Other Love Stories.” It made me jump up and down with joy.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley.  After reading Janine’s article at Dear Author I pulled it out of the moving box it was STILL in, and started it.  Should be done tonight… Wonderful book, I SWEAR I wish McKinley was able to whip out a series like all these other paranormals do.

Also, I’m hunting down the third of Julia Spencer-Fleming’s series.

The Bard Academy novels, by Cara Lockwood: Wuthering High, The Scarlet Letterman, and Moby Clique.  They’re YA novels, and similar in concept to Jasper Fforde’s Tuesday Next series: because of some bad behavior (mostly due to difficulties with her father and her new stepmother), a young woman gets sent to a reform school off the coast of Maine.  It turns out the teachers are all ghosts of famous authors (they’re in a sort of purgatory), and when students start disappearing, the heroine begins to investigate…

Oh, and the tall, dark, and brooding hero is Heathcliff, who’s found a way out of Wuthering Heights and has developed a crush on the heroine, as she looks just like his beloved Cathy…

They’re funny, literate, and very well-written (I’d picked up the first book on a whim, and it hooked me in the first page; the series is now one of my auto-buys).

These really belong in the urban fantasy category, but I’ve been devouring the Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman lately.  The protagonist is half human, half demonic creature from another dimension; his older brother and protector is a martial arts expert/Zen master/health food nut.  Oh, and Robin Goodfellow (yes, THAT Robin Goodfellow) is a Brooklyn used car salesman!  And there is a sweet romance between the older brother and a lovely vampire with a string of uber-rich, elderly ex husbands who all died mysteriously on their honeymoon… And trolls.  And nasty things that come out of mirrors.  Violent, gory, funny and fast-paced, with a lovely lyricism to the writing.

For those who like medieval mystery laced with romance and a bit of alt/history, I can’t recommend the Fools’ Guild mysteries by Alan Gordon enough.  The first, Thirteenth Night, is a straight-up sequel to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, in which Malvolio returns to be “reveng’d on the whole pack of you” and Feste the jester must stop him.  Later books in the series continue the adventures of Feste and Viola as they travel around 13th century Europe, solving crimes and unravelling complex political machinations.

And my absolute favorite book I’ve read this year is Neil Gaiman’s American Gods.  Dense, funny, horrific, sweet, suspenseful, and utterly fascinating.

spirit65 — I could really get into the spirit of this and recommend 65 books, but I’ll let someone else have a turn.

Three Cups of Tea has turned me into a frothing, squeeing fan girl of Greg Mortenson and his work to build schools in northern Pakistan and Afghanistan.  His story, as told in Three Cups of Tea is so brilliant, touching, politically-charged and hopeful.  The only thing that drives me nuts is how grossly miss-marketed I feel the book is.  The publishers (and yes, this is the company I used to work for,) went after a very specific, female-oriented bookclub audience.  Which is all well and good since that is the largest market demographic for book buyers.  HOWEVER, this is also a great “guy” book - fast-paced, current, political and full of near-death experiences. 

I realize I am making sweeping generalization about reading and gender, but that is what most major marketing decisions are based on.  I just feel bad that this wonderful book won’t reach more people because of the title and the cover design.  There aren’t many men in my circle of friends that will willingly pick up a book called Three Cups of Tea, and it’s a crying shame because I love this book.  Simply. Honestly.  Love.  It.

I’d honestly have to recommend a non-romance right now.

The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett. It’s a YA book, but there’s plenty that adults can enjoy.

Love this book.

Basic Summary: A 9-year-old girl who lives on a sheepfarm in a big range of hills called the Chalk, she wants to be a witch. And it turns out that being a witch is all about being...well, a smart bitch. She’s convinced her grandmother was one, and when she does meet an actual witch (who’s disguised herself as a traveling teacher), she get this piece of advice, (which I might be misquoting because I can’t find the damn paperback for reference)…

“If you believe in yourself...”
“Yes?”
“...And follow your dream...”
“Yes?”
“..And trust in your heart...”
“Yes?”
“...You’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy. Good day.”

Oh, and her younger brother gets stolen by the Queen of the Fairies, in true olde-time fairytale fashion, and she’s the one who has to get them back.

I’ve been on a Jennifer Crusie binge. I came across Welcome to Temptation (for $1) about two weeks back and read it in HOURS. Then, I remembered I had Bet Me already in my bookcase, but couldn’t remember it. Read that in a night. I then went out and bought (here’s a good example of how those $1 used book store buys turn into actual sales for authors) everything else she’s written. Am currently glomming on the ones she did with Bob...whosis. The dual-written ones, I’m finding, aren’t AS delightful as Crusies solo written stories, but I’m still enjoying them.

Note: I am also reading Hidden Riches by La Nora during my lunch breaks. It’s set in Philly which is where I am so thoroughly enjoying that. But Nora, there is NO summary on the book! The only reason I bought it was because YOU wrote it. But if I didn’t know who from Eve, I would not have picked it up. It’s just your picture on the back, one page of “i love this book” quotes on the first page, then 2 pages listing all of your books. Where’s the summary!!!!  Oh, I do not recommend reading a Crusie and a Nora at the same time. It ruins the pacing of both books.

Add my name to those on a Lois McMaster Bujold spree this summer. I read A Civil Campaign for the 2nd time (first time was last summer), and I think it’s going on my “all-time most favorite books” list. I also read Diplomatic Immunity, Cetaganda, Memory (loved this one!), and Borders of Infinity, and flailed mightily over the synopsis of the excerpt LMB read at Denvention.

Another source of intense readerly delight this summer was Julia Spencer-Fleming’s I Shall Not Want. I rarely ever buy hardcover, but after plowing through her backlist I couldn’t stand not knowing what came next. I’ve had the book about a month and have already read it twice. I have a feeling it (and ACC) is going to be one of my comfort reads/distractions as I confront the daunting task of writing my thesis this winter.

LOVE The Wee Free Men
There’s two sequels for it too!
Hat full of Sky and Wintersmith
there’s another possibly coming out at some point in the future called I shall wear Midnight

I’ve read a lot of good books this summer, but I have a special fondness for Christie Ridgway’s How to Knit a Wild Bikini.

Sherry Thomas’ Delicious and Private Arrangements were both excellent.

And I’m re-reading the Troubleshooters series because Brockmann rocks.

You don’t have to enter me in the contest.  Just sharin my faves.

Alex, I LOVELOVELOVElovelovelvoe The Wee Free Men! I want to BE Tiffany Aching when I grow up! Or Granny Weatherwax. It’s one of those books that I wished I had when I was in middle school, because I would have reread it once a week. But I’ll settle for having it now. (The two sequels are also wonderful, but not quite as kick-ass as the first.)

I have to say - love Pratchett. Have most of his books, or rather the DH does. My fave character is probably Foul Ole Ron. Not YA, though. “Soul Music” is awesome!
Currently reading, and blown away by, Joey W. Hill’s books, particularly her duo “The Ice Queen” and “Mirror Of My Soul.” I am not into BDSM but there are some readers I’ll take the journey with, and I love the way she makes you see the people underneath, undrestand them. I loved them.

Oh . . . no.

Joanna, I was looking for more info on I Shall Wear Midnight, and I came across this: The Wee Free Men. WhywhyWHY do they have to take everything beautiful and perfect and thrilling and poop it up all over a movie screen? I’m really dreading this.

*misspelled the last ‘love’ in my squee above!

Add me to the Bujold and Linnea Sinclair sprees. I just read Gabriel’s Ghost a couple days ago, and Paladin of Souls yesterday.  I was going to read the next Bujold book today, but thanks to Jessica Andersen, I might have to read Shades of Dark next.

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman. Got me off a bad book slump in a few pages flat.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockwood, in which a 15 year old girl seizes control of the all-male secret society of her boarding school, leading it to the glory of elaborate, funny and pointed pranks, without it knowing she has done so. Excellent feminist commentary, very funny and smart.

Those Cal Leandros books ROCK.

For m/m my absolute squee is Jules Jones’ Lord and Master.  And Lord and Master 2 was just released from Loose ID.  Squee Too. :)

On the ‘regular’ romance front, it has to be The Rake and the Reformer by Mary Jo Putney.  I can’t even count how many times I’ve read this book and it still grabs me every time.

I’m intrigued by Shades of Dark mentioned above, but I have to admit, I usually hate bittersweet… it’s like potato chips, you know they are bad for you, but you still eat them… let’s hope I’ll forget about being intrigued…

I’m enjoying a YA series by Libba Bray and it’s the Gemma Doyle Series:  A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels and The Far Sweet Thing.  I found out that a movie will be done about the first book and I will definitely go and check that out.

Right now my most recent favorites are The Pigeon Finds a Hotdog and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.  I mean, if I have to reread things ten billion times, I’d BETTER love them. 

For grown ups, the latest addition to my keeper shelf was Unbound by Lori Devoti.

Crystal Hubbard’s Blame it on Paradise.  I got it from the library and loved it so I bought it.  I also liked Crush.

I’m intrigued by Shades of Dark mentioned above, but I have to admit, I usually hate bittersweet… it’s like potato chips, you know they are bad for you, but you still eat them… let’s hope I’ll forget about being intrigued…

If it helps, there’s another one coming out in Feb ‘09 set in the same world, tho with a different h/H (I checked her website).  Presuming we get more on-page time with Sully and Chaz in that book, I have a feeling (a hope?) that the bittersweet part will go away as we see that they really, truly *are* better off now than they were at the beginning of SOD.  [Tho personally I’d be on board with a third Chaz and Sully book.]

That’s why I called the ending bittersweet- I think it was as much a case of my wanting a few more pages of really seeing that they’re okay at the end of SOD.  There’s so bloody much going on in the last thirty pages or so, I turned the last page and did the “That’s it? Waaaaaaah!” doubletake. 

I don’t usually sign on willingly for bittersweet, either, but where I can walk away from a puppies and kittens ending feeling pleasantly fuzzy, I’ll forget the deets pretty quickly.  This one’s going to leave a mark. 

And it’s way more filling than potato chips, imho.  More like really, really good chocolate.  With spaceships. 

I just finished the Knights Miscellany series by Gaelen Foley (based on what I read about it here) and loved it. My first foray into historical romance. 

I also just read Moose: a memoir of fat camp by Stephanie Klein that was disturbingly like my own life (except I never went to fat camp).

My other recent favorite has been the House of Night novels by PC Cast - super fun YA vampire stories!  I think my love of series books come from my previous relationship with Sweet Valley and the BSC.

Right now my favorite would be the the 4th book of the currently 4 book Enchanted, Inc. series by Shanna Swendson.  It’s a very funny, cool and engaging story!

http://www.shannaswendson.com/

I second the Bujold books, I’ ve started them on a SB recommendation.

I squeed over The Wing and the Wall and The Chaos King, YA books by Laura Ruby.  They are set in a New York City where people can fly.  It starts off with a little girl in an orphanage.  But Ms. Ruby takes all the cliches and then turns them around.  I particularily liked the professor who due to a miscalculation has grass growing on his head.

But I would suggest reading WW before CK, because CK gives away the surprises in WW.

They’re not romances, but I’m totally hooked on O’Brian’s Aubrey and Maturin series right now (which starts with Master and Commander). So hooked I’m forcing myself to go slowly and read two non-O’Brian books in between each book in the series, so I can draw out the pleasure as long as possible.

Another book I loved to pieces earlier this year (YA, not a romance) was Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. Made me laugh, made me cry.

As for romance, I’m a sucker for Elizabeth Hoyt’s The Raven Prince, which has become my happy comfort reading book. When I had a medical emergency last spring and wound up in the hospital with no time to pack anything, that was the book I requested my husband bring to me.

Another YA (college years) series to pimp:  Diana Peterfreund’s Secret Society Girl series.  There are three books thus far, Secret Society Girl, Under the Rose, Rites of Spring (Break) , with one more coming next spring.  I LOVED this series, and in each book the writing got even better and better.  The books revolve around the heroine’s induction into a secret society at “Eli” (Yale), where intrigue and romance ensue.  The third book was sizzling, and I’m drooling waiting for the next.  Please please please check it out!

Nora Roberts, you just might be the Oprah of romance.  (It is a compliment!) If you weren’t so busy writing and being fabulous, I would suggest you host a book club...I’d read anything you recommended.

I looked up the book “Silent in the Grave” and the sequel and I plan to pick up both at the library today.  I have been hankering for a good mystery/thriller lately, and I specialized in Victorian Lit in college, so I have a feeling this will be the ultimate treat, thanks for the tip!

And I can definitely add my pimp to Linnea Sinclair. Vividly drawn characters you can care about - what more do you need?

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran. I bought it maybe a month ago and I’m in the midst of reading it for the third time. That’s never happened to me before. Ever.

I second Shades Of Dark by Linnea Sinclair, one of the best books I read recently. it is so gut wrenching , and a couple of months after reading it, I still feel very emotional about it.

I am on a Nalini Singh binge lately , her books are amazing. Fantastic sci-fi aspects in a well developed world without losing the most heart warming aspects of a good, pure romance.

I’ve been reading the Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine.  It starts with Ill Wind and is about people who have the ability manipulate the weather.  They work with Djinn to help them manipulate the weather and the relationship between the wrdens and the Djinn is pretty interesting.  I really love that this is an urban fantasy that has nothing to do with your typical witches, vampires, and werewolves.  It’s a completely new and refreshing concept.  I devoured the first few books in the series in a week!!

Just finished His Wicked Sins by Eve Silvers—Gothic / Romance—hadn’t read one of those in a long time and enjoyed the heck out of it.
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre and waiting impatiently for Wanderlust - Scifi/Fantasy—Yesss!
The Traveler (Book 1 of the Fourth Realm); The Dark River (Book 2 of the Fourth Realm); Unknown (Book 3 of the Fourth Realm) Due in 2009 by John Twelve Hawks—Love these books, can’t wait for the 3rd one.

If it helps, there’s another one coming out in Feb ‘09 set in the same world, tho with a different h/H (I checked her website).  Presuming we get more on-page time with Sully and Chaz in that book, I have a feeling (a hope?) that the bittersweet part will go away as we see that they really, truly *are* better off now than they were at the beginning of SOD.  [Tho personally I’d be on board with a third Chaz and Sully book.]

I believe she will be writing a few other books in this world with Philip Guthrie as the main character altough she has no contract
(yet) for another one about Chaz and Sully. (but we do hear about them in Hope’s Folly - even if slightly.) You can read an interview with her here

Jennifer Armintrout’s Blood Ties series is ALWAYS at the top of my list. More recent reads that I’ve stayed up too late or put the baby to bed too early for are:

Personal Demons by Stacia Kane--it’s dark and sexy without a lot of fluff.
One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost--second book in the seires, and again, dark and sexy, but it has it’s lighter, more humorous moments.
Nightwalker by Jocelynn Drake--the least Romance-y books of the three, but it’s well worth it for one scene on a couch filled with more sexual tension than an entire erotica book.

I know there’s more, but so does work.

JackieB, good call on Nightwalker and I couldn’t agree more about that scene in the couch. whoa.

I just finished reading Trial by Fire by Jo Davis. Hot firefighters, I loves them! Also, Jo Davis writes a heck of a sex scene! Sure, there’s sequel bait galore in the books, but hey, that just means more hot firefighter stories for me.

Last night I read The Courage to Love by Samantha Kane, who I now am going to build a little shrine in my house to.

Sarah, I also finished Just One of the Guys on vacation last week. I kept howling with laughter. At one point, I read an entire scene (the first date scene with the basil) to everyone I was on vacation with. And then, when I got home, I immediately ordered both books in her backlist. Kristan Higgans is my new author crush.

I have to second the recommendation for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society I picked it on a whim from the Amazon Vine listings and I knew, well before I finished, that it was going to be one of my all-time favorite books.  I can’t even begin to recall how many times I laughed out loud while reading it.  And yeah, I cried a bit, too. 

This isn’t a wild, passionate, tear-your-clothes-off romance. Rather it’s a quiet, thoughtful, bittersweet one.  Highly recommended.

The Raised by Wolves series by WA Hoffman.

Holy crap these books are amazing. I cannot even begin to describe the extent to which I am in love with them. I will say, though, that I preordered the paperback versio of the 3rd book and then bought the ebook version so that I could read it 4 days sooner. Which should say something about my level of obsession.

The characters are amazing, and the concept and the conflicts and just everything about it is fabulous. Plus there’s so much room in them for discussion and just making you sit and go huh, I hadnt thought of that. So very, very good.

*Edit*

I have no idea what I was trying to say with that last sentence! But I did remember one more and I feel awful for not including it in the first place:

Improper English by Katie MacAlister was one of the first Romance novels I ever read and it STILL makes me laugh my ass off!

Sadly, I don’t remember the exact last time I truely felt OMG SQUEE over a book. Probably a few months ago? I remember being squee over Bet Me. I DO have Shades of Dark on my TBR though. Which I sense could be the next one. I was rather happy with Sinclair’s Games of Command when I was reading that. I also have Ironside by Holly Black which I’ve been wanting to read for a LONG time. I finally broke down and bought those two a couple of days ago. Been trying pretty hard to keep the TBR decreasing in size instead of increasing. Seem to be around 125 right now.. Which is good (went down a bit), but bad me thinks: ok it went down, I could buy another book, I could enter another contest, that book looks good…

Well, Matthew Haldeman-Time.  OMG so amazing.  ;)

And I’m going to have to go with Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux.  Picked up their Love Ahead after reading Caught Running, and Jaysus, it’s super incredible.  Just wish they’d written more together.

Well, just read and adored My Best Friend’s Girl by Dorothy Koomson.  Damn you KarenS, she doesn’t have any other books out in the US.  And it does have some romance in it.

Like many others, am reading Shades of Dark by Sinclair.  I started it a week ago and realized that I’d somehow missed reading Gabriel’s Ghost, so I immediately bought the ebook and tore through it.  Very good.  Now I’m reading SOD and enjoying it immensely.

Also read a Silhouette Romantic Suspense, Dangerous to Touch by Jill Sorenson.  Who knew SRSs could be so damn hot?

Cry Wolf by Briggs was read awhile ago, but very good.  I like that it’s a new series set in the same world as the Mercy books.  And has romance.

I just finished The Neddiad by Daniel Pinkwater - children’s book, male protagonist, quirky screwball comedy plot. Absolutely loved it! A shaman gave 11 year old Neddie a turtle, because he’s the hero that will save the world, but no one can explain exactly how he’s going to do that. He just needs to relax, because heroes always figure it out eventually. You can tell because the world always gets saved, so no worries.

Grown up book wise, I’m plowing through Kate Bridges Mountie books and greatly enjoying them.

I used to read Matthew Haldeman Time’s fanfiction with mixed feelings.  My best friend and I just finished one of her longer stories, seven years after first reading it, though, and thought her characterization was strong and the story just as fun and interesting. So I guess I’m in the mood to try out her original fiction now. *grin*

Oh, wow....let’s see...some older titles, some newer titles...in no particular order

Brawing Blood by Poppy Brite - it’s horror and has one of my favorite m/m pairings/romances ever.

Letters to Montgomery Clift by Noel Alumit - Wonderful debut novel about a gay asian man who--instead of praying to dead ancestors as his family did--writes to the departed matinee idol, Montgomery Clift.  Incredibly touching

Fixer Chao by Han Ong - Dark humor with a gay protagonist...a guy who is convinced to take on New York’s posh-posh elite by becomming a feng shui media sensation.

The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin—Forget the horrible movie, this novel is Maupin’s best.  Dark, disturbing, and a novel where Maupin manages to take readers through just about every emotion out there.

King of Cats: A Life in Five Novellas by Blake Fraina:  Excellent, excellent m/m fiction focusing a rock star on the edge and the people he’s weaved into his very messy life.

Moloka’i by Alan Brennert - Really well researched and written historical fiction about an Hawaiian girl who is separated from her family when she is 8 and sent to live in Kalaupapa, Moloka’i’s leper colony.  Moving story of a life spanning 60 years.

[More later as my brain works through the morning.

Heh...I knew I wasn’t awake…

Drawing Blood by Poppy Brite.  Not Brawing. 

Sheesh!

It was actually a while back that I finished this, but I gotta recommend Kelly McCullough’s Codespell and the Ravirn series in general to urban fantasy fans.  Although actually you might call it urban science fantasy: Ravirn is the (many times great) grandson of the Fate Lachesis, and a computer hacker who casts spells via code.  I’m not very computer literate, but the tech lingo wasn’t hard to follow, and the take on Greek mythology was really fun!  More people should read these books!

Just wanted to add to all the Pratchett love—my favorites are the City Watch books and The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents.

Oh and Shelley mentioned Daniel Pinkwater!  I still have fond if fading memories of one of his YA novels I read about 2 decades ago:  The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death.  It had something to do with a theater that showed old classic movies and an avocado from outer space and a girl named Rat.  Great title, sadly out of print.

Oh and this isn’t a new read but is probably my favorite SEP novel - Ain’t She Sweet - Sugar Beth was the popular mean girl from high school who comes home after leaving her small Mississippi town and life had handed her let down after let down.  It made me cry at the challenges that Sugar Beth has had to face, and her spunk at learning how to over come the bad things her life to get her HEA.  Like all SEP books, there’s humor and wit.

Not a romance, but this a great opportunity to talk about it…

My favorite book (actually I listened to the great Simon Vance read it) was Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik, 5th book in the AWESOME Temeraire series.  It’s historical fantasy, with the Napoleonic Wars replayed with dragons.  For the poster who was loving Patrick O’Brian (I do too!), this series is an excellent readalike.  The fighting dragons are similar to Anne McCaffrey, but more more developed and complex characters, particularly Temeraire who is undoubtedly more intelligent than his Capt, Will Laurence, since he enjoys having mathematical treatises read to him and speaks several languages.  I want everyone I know to read this series, it is so great!

His Majesty’s Dragon
Black Powder War
Throne of Jade
Empire of Ivory
Victory of Eagles

All by Naomi Novik.  And Simon Vance does an outstanding job reading these in the audio versions - so good, I’ll probably never read them in print again, just listen.

For urban fantasy, my most recent squee is Patricia Briggs “Cry Wolf”.

For ebook m/m, I second Ann Somerville on “Bad Case of Loving You” by Lainey Cairo, and raise with “On Fire” by Drew Zachary.

I’m bookmarking this page for all the recommendations.

First, I must add a fangirl squee to Wee Free Men.  Nac Mac Feegle forever!

Second, and with more decorum, I highly recommend Ilona Andrews Magic Bites and Magic Burns.  Dystopian new future Atlanta where magic ebbs and flows.  When techno works, magic is down.  When the magic is up, all technology ceases and you never know when it will change.  Fantastic world building, ass kicking heroine, full realized supporting characters--and a scary, sexy love interest who would need to kill her if he knew who she truly was.

Book 3 isn’t due out until next April.  I may die of the anticipation.

Spamaway: Care29-- Yes!  Yes, I care that much on a scale of 1-10!  :cries:

I cannot believe this, but I just recently got hooked on Nora Roberts’ (or J.D. Robb’s) Death series - I went through 4 books in 2 weeks. Considering how detailed the writing is, and the length of each book, and my slow, slow pace in reading, you can say that this is one captivating series.

I am 23, so I’ll take that as a reason to not reading Ms Roberts’ books before this. When I was growing up, she was already a household name, my mom and aunts were reading her and none of my friends were, and I assumed (yes I know what they say about assumptions..) that she’d be for the older generation.. boy, was I wrong or what. I’d have to say though, if I read her books when I was 18, I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much. So thank you mam, for teaching me, albeit inadvertently, that newer might not necessarily mean better. It was like a slap on my romance patooshie.

Also, another author that I read before but didn’t appreciate, Mary Balogh. From Dear Author I picked up A Precious Jewel by Ms Balogh, and I was hooked hooked hooked. A whore who’s not remorseful? A hero so believable I can probably pick a man just like him walking down the streets even though the story is set on Regency times? SOLD. Please, if there are younger readers out there who have not picked up J.D. Robb or Mary Balogh, PLEASE do yourself a favor and do it.

Damaris, if you like mysteries/suspense/thrillers, I highly recommended Lori G. Armstrong’s Julie Collins, PI series. I’m also reading Brenda Novak’s new trilogy - Trust Me, Stop Me, Watch Me. These books came out in June, July, and August - a very smart marketing trick. Novak blends thriller with romance with a deft touch.

But the one book that has me staying up nights and going OMGWTFBBQ isn’t a romance at all, though it is romantic. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is absolutely amazing. This review pretty much summed up my feelings on it

Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. A high-action story written with a poet’s hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

For anyone who reads Fantasy and hasn’t read this, RUN right now to get it! For anyone who doesn’t read Fantasy, RUN right now to get it! I can’t wait for the next installment coming next spring.

The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn.  I read this book when it was released and fell in love with it hard.  It’s one of my favorite books ever.

I’m late to the party as always, because this book has been out for ten years:

Garnethill by Denise Mina

It’s a mystery/suspense - compelling story/ies, great writing, and a flawed but smart and sympathetic heroine.

Now I must do a print screen of this whole comments section… :)

Here be another Pratchett fan! I love, love, love Guards! Guards! and Witches Abroad. And Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook!!! (I want to be Nanny Ogg when I grow up. *ggg*)

And another whee! to Gaelen Foley’s Knight Miscellany series. Lord of Fire is one of favourite romances (love, love, love that scene when Lucien discovers that the goody-two-shoes heroine has managed to break into his den of iniquity).

Two recent, fabulous discoveries are Norbert Davis’s The Mouse in the Mountain and Edmund Crispin’s The Moving Toyshop, two quirky mysteries. (Actually, The Mouse in the Mountain is one of the strangest books I’ve ever read.)

Oh, and of course, James Patterson’s Sundays at Tiffany’s, one of the sweetest romances I’ve read in a long time: “What if your invisible friend from childhood was your one true love?” Awwww!

NOT Romance, but I received an ARC of “The Lace Reader” by Brunonia Barry.  It’s a great family tragedy story.  The characters are very deep and you just want to spend more time with them when the book ends. 

This book looks laid back since the cover is of the ocean and cliffside, but trust me it’s not.

Another Love Story/"Not a Romance” choice:

THE GARGOYLE by Andrew Davidson.

I read the ARC a few months ago and loved, loved, loved it. It’s the story of a severely burned man and the woman—who may or may not be insane—who shows up in his hospital room claiming they loved each other in medieval Germany. There are also tangential tales of a widowed Victorian lady, plague-stricken lovers in 14th-century Italy, a clever young maiden in feudal Japan, and Vikings in 9th-century Iceland. It is visceral, romantic, caustic, literary (but not pretentious), and completely mesmerizing.

I now have my sister (who very rarely reads anything other than Cosmo) hooked on it. The hardcover is now available, and I plan to nab one next time I’m in a bookstore.

Beautiful Girl, by Shiloh Walker. A really well-written contemporary romance. I usually stay away from romances where the hero and heroine had a prior relationship and catch up with each other years later, but in this one, the characters obviously grew and changed but could still love each other. I cried when reading this one.

This year my OMG everyone should read this book is actually a kids title, but as I’ve told half my co-workers who I’ve convinced to read it—Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy is the BEST book adult or kids I’ve read all year.

Vulnerable by Amy Lane.

LOVE it.

I’d started it a few weeks ago and had to put it down to get some ARCs read. Now that I’ve got a little time between those I picked it back up again and have now had, like when I read it before, two nights of very little sleep. This book is so emotionally charged and the characters, my gawd, don’t think I’ve ever read such well-developed ones. If I had no other responsibilities but bathing and eating, I’d have finished it already - it’s an all-nighter kind of read, despite that I have to put it down to do other things. I’m ordering the second, Wounded, today.

say83: I could probably say 83 more things I love about this book.

Right now I am totally digging SIMPLY WICKED by Lisa G. Riley. I got it in June and I estimate that I’ve already read it at least six or seven times. The book is funny, sexy and suspenseful. It’s about a young American actress trying to get this older stuffy British aristocrat to give into his attraction to her. I laughed so hard at their antics, hers and his family’s.  I picked up earlier books by this author and didn’t like them as much, but SIMPLY WICKED is a definite keeper.

I really enjoyed Libba Bray’s “A Great and Terrible Beauty”, hve teh second of the series in my TBR and will get the third when it hits paperback. It’s a YA series but the writing is insanely skillful, the characters three dimensional and the gothic/Victorian setting is wonderful. For some reason I’m drawn to books about girls in boarding schools as well. :)

Another paranormal YA, also taking place in a bording school (this one co-ed) is “Evernight” by Claudia Grey. It has a nice twist on the vampire story and has a smart but layered young heroine.

I recently read “The Good Thief” by Hannah Tinti as an ARC, and it’s amazing. It’s not a romance, but if you’re a fan of Charles Dickens and/or Oliver and 18th century adventures, I highly recommend it. It’s about a young orphaned boy who’s missing a hand, a young ‘rake’ adopts him and they have a lot of misadventures. Entertainment Weekly recently gave it an A grade.

Right now I’m reading “Magic Bites” by Ilona Andrews, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a unique paranormal and much more gory than most… which I’m actually a fan of. :) Not a romance though there are some sparks in it. I’ve been getting into paranormal anthologies too, it’s nice reading a short story in-between books. “Hotter Than Hell”, edited by Kim Harrison is HIGHLY recommended. I also got the “Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance” since every author in it is pretty amazing.

OT: Have you Bitches seen the Nick & Norah trailer yet? It looks pretty good!

All my faves have been mentioned:  Bujold, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Jennifer Crusie. 

My favorite tittles are:
“Memory” by Lois MacMaster Bujold
“Magic Burns” by Ilona Andrews (second in series)
“Cry Wolf” by Briggs
“Agnes and the Hitman” and “Bet Me” by Crusie

One I haven’t seen anyone mention is Dorothy L. Sayers.  While categorized as a mystery, I think “Gaudy Night” is one of the best romances ever written.

Wow, what a thread.

Put me on the Terry Pratchett bandwagon (and we met him at a book-signing right before his diagnosis, and it was one of the most fun and funny afternoons I have ever spent!).  I have Making Money in the pile, delaying gratification.

Yes to Sherry Thomas; both Private Arrangements and Delicious were wonderful reads.

Lois McMaster Bujold, as others have said, but it’s her Chalion books (The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls and The Hallowed Hunt) that most lately did me in.  I am going to re-read them soon.

I am gradually consuming La Nora’s backlist (so late to the party, I know!). I just spent six very satisfying evenings with the Three Sisters’ Island trilogy.

I am now number nine on the library wait list for Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Mercy.  (I will buy it in paper to match the set, but CANNOT WAIT THAT LONG to read it).  I squee over that in anticipation.  I also squee’ed over Naomi Novik’s Victory of Eagles; I bought the ebook so that I could read it the day it came out, and will get the paperback for the set.

For those who like Robin McKinley, I enjoyed her latest YA book, Dragonhaven.  Man, that that lady tell a story.

Gotta stop, but one more.  I recently re-read, prior to recommending it to a very picky reader, Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Lions of Al-Rassan.  I can never pick a favorite Kay; they are all excellent, so it depends on my mood.  He writes so well that I can’t even describe how wonderful it is to read, and re-read, every one of his books.  This time it’s Lions—has to be the fifth or sixth time I’ve read it, and still I laughed, cried and couldn’t put it down until the wee hours of the morning.

Wow, I had no idea there would be so much Pratchett love.

And, were I a different gender, I would love to be Nanny Ogg when I get old. She has more fun than Granny…

. . . .

Sarah, you takin’ note of this? Pratchett’s the man. I’d recommend you pick a subseries of his books and then read through them.

RincewindT
The Color of Magic
The Light Fantastic
Sourcery
Eric
Interesting Times
The Continent
Personal opinion: Amusing, but not quite as great as some of the other series…

Witches:
Equal Rites
Wyrd Sisters
Witches Abroad
Lords and Ladies
Maskerade
Carpe Jugulum
Personal Opinion: Dang, these are fun. Maskerade is an amazing, amazing take on Phantom of the Opera, and the rest are delightful. The series features three (and later four) witches, except for Equal Rites, which only has the formidable Granny Weatherwax.

Death:
Mort
Reaper Man
Soul Music
Hogfather
Thief of Time
Personal opinion: Death, that is to say, the Grim Reaper, is one of the best characters in the series. He’s sympathetic to the living while not quite understanding them, and just does his job as kindly and efficiently as possible.

City Watch:
Guards! Guards!
Men At Arms
Feet of Clay
Jingo
The Fifth Elephant
Night Watch
Thud!
Personal opinion: Highly recommended. Some of them are more mystery novels, but, wow, the characters are amazing.

Miscellaneous:
Pyramids
Moving Pictures
Small Gods*
The Truth*
Monstrous Regiment*
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (YA)*
*Highly Recommended

Von Lipwig:
Going Postal
Making Money
Personal Opinion: Brilliant, but to get the full force of the novels, it’s best to hold off reading them. You’ll enjoy them more

Tiffany Aching (YA):
The Wee Free Men
A Hat Full of Sky
Wintersmith
Personal Opinion: Love these books and the ideas they contain. Feegles, wha hae!

I’m reading the Immortals after Dark series by Kresley Cole.  Kick-ass heroines and hawt dudes make for some great escapism.

I finished Breaking Dawn a few weeks ago and it was one of the best books I’ve read in a looooooong time.  It was one of those books where every time I opened it, it seemed like hours would pass and people would talk to me, all without my knowledge because I was so sucked into the story.  I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’ve read the rest of the series first, though.

I also really have to second Victoria Janssen’s rec for Megan Whalen Turner’s books.  I read them a few years ago, but they are AWESOME.  The Queen of Anatolia is one my favorite books ever.

I’ve been reading the series Chronicles of Chaos by John C. Wright (Orphans of Chaos, Fugitives of Chaos, and Titans of Chaos.  OMG, I don’t even know what to say about these books.  Weird, weird, weird but so. damn. good.  Five students at a stuffy and bleak English boarding school (who are the ONLY students in the whole school) come to realize they are something other than human, and that the school is more of a prison.  Part Harry Potter for grownups, part Greek Mythology, part rollicking escape caper, part science fiction, part philosophy… with flashes of erotica… and a strong, brilliant, flawed, hilarious, and thoroughly kick-ass teenage girl narrator.

I will second librarygirl and recommend The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson, wow, whatta story. Hard to describe but certainly a love story within a historical within a contemporary story. This is very well written and a page turner, for sure. This is his debut novel which is hard to believe, it’s that good.

Sure have enjoyed reading everyone’s recs and have quite a list to add to the ol’ TBR pile!

Hmmm, I’ve kind of been in a slump since I finished I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming, which does fit the category of book I loved and just couldn’t put down along with the rest of the series. I read the first 2 courtesy of some free e-book offers and read them in less than a day because I just couldn’t shut the computer off. I then proceeded to check the rest out from the library and it’s just a good thing that I managed to get I Shall Not Want shipped in from another branch because I was *this* close to buying it and thus breaking my no book buying vow (the Borders cashier was beginning to know me on sight).

I recently laid hands on a copy of “Escape Out of Darkness” by Anne Stuart, the first of a three-book “Maggie Bennett” series from the 80s.  Anne has maintained her awesome for a damned long time.  Now I have to bite the bullet and pay the collectible prices for the next two books, as I cannot live with myself if I don’t find out how our kick-ass heroine goes from a HEA with one dude to a new hero in the next book. 

I am working my way through Liz Carlyle’s backlist, just started Cole’s Immortals After Dark series, and am trying to get my hands on more Karen Rose after reading “Die For Me”.  For a little smokin’ hot, I picked up Charlene Teglia’s “Satisfaction Guaranteed” romantica.  Truth in advertising there, ladies.

This Charming Man by Marian Keyes. 
This book is hard to categorize, it isn’t romance, it isn’t chick lit.  Marian Keyes is on of my very favorite authors and she doesn’t disappoint with this book. She tackles alcoholism, spousal abuse and family drama and it isn’t a light read. I couldn’t put it down.
It was pretty intense so I have moved on to some lighter fair. Read Mary Janice Davidson’s Swimming without A Net. Not much to it, but enjoyable. I am now doing a marathon series romance read. I don’t usually read them so I am looking at it as research ;)

See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson, one of my favorite contemporary romance books.

Wonderful thread! I’m so glad to see Pratchett mentioned (repeatedly). I came to mention him myself.

Pratchett, Guards! Guards! and Jingo - I’ve read all the Discworld novels, but these are my favourites. The stories are strong, the humour is obviously great, but it’s the characters who do it for me everytime. Aw, Vimes.
Stephenson, The Baroque Trilogy. Crackles with manic energy! and its sequel, Cryptonomicon. I can’t really even attempt to summarise these books. I read it best on a Facebook group - “These are these characters and this is their deal, and they do stuff.” And do it with lashings of awesome.
Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay - Mad, funny and touching story about 2 Jewish comic book artists who create a comic superhero in the 1940s. I don’t know anything about comic books, but this taught me a hell of a lot and made me want to learn more. Also, I love Sammy Klay and his romantic subplot - incredibly touching.
Anything by Neil Gaiman. What is there left to say about Gaiman? The man is a legend in his lifetime.
Rushdie, Midnight’s Children and The Moor’s Last Sigh - INCREDIBLE. Again, I’m not even going to try to summarise these novels. They are impossible to stop reading once you start. Exotic, erotic, scandalous, beautiful stuff.
Seth, A Suitable Boy - I have read this million-page novel about 10 times. It’s like going home. And the love story at the centre still manages to get me even though I obviously know exactly how it ends.
Wodehouse, Summer Moonshine - A musical comedy in book form, about an ugly house, the beautiful girl who lives there, and the guy who falls in love with her. Hilarity ensues. I love Wodehouse’s language and his beautifully absurd plots, but this book is special. For one thing, it contains a surprising level of unWodehousian bitterness, cynicism and angst, despite it containing the usual Wodehouse humour and light in spades. Gah. Love. *digs up her old copy*
Austen, Persuasion. Angst central. Awesome.