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

Any old Tamora Pierce book from her “Song of the Lioness” series.  It’s a YA series, but I have loved it and re-read it every couple of years since I was 14.  No other series or book has captured my imagination quite like those.

Anything by Elizabeth Hoyt. The Raven Prince is my favorite, but they’re all great.

Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase.

I bang on about it in every single comment I leave on this site, lol, but it has to be Nora Roberts’ Chesapeake Bay books, especially the first two! First read them at the beach, in fact ...

Another one - I’m not sure if this counts as romance, but it partly is at least - is the absolutely beyond wonderful The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy. It’s partly YA romance, part supernatural, part family drama, partly about what it is to be a writer and creator, and it’s magical (and also set by the sea).

Chrissie, I’m bangin’ that drum with you!
Just about any Nora book will satisfy that criteria for me.  BIG BIG fan of the Garden trilogy (I really really want to be Rosalind when I grow up) and any of the Keys trilogy as well. Lora Leigh for the steamy summer nights.

The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig.

Julie Garwood, The Secret-makes me feel good any time I read it. Also Susan Elizabeth Phillips Match Me If You Can, and Nora Roberts Gallagher trilogy. These will always make me feel better.

Oh, Inner Harbor from the Chesapeake Bay series is a definite comfort read for me.  Her Carnal Innocence is great summer reading, not just because it’s a fun read, but it takes place during the hot Southern summer so you have the mood already set.

One of my favorite never-fails-me books is Thief of Hearts by Teresa Medeiros.  Hot pirates make me all tingly.

Lowell’s Pearl Cove is an excellent poolside read, half of it takes place in Australia at a pearl farm.

Tara Janzen’s “Crazy” series:  yummy fun, hot men, lots of action, amazing sex (of course!), but not so complex that you feel there’ll be a quiz at the end.

And I’m thinking Betsy the Vampire should be read nowhere but the beach for proper appreciation.

I find that I like to read the Irish Jewels trilogy of Nora’s. My favorite is the second one with Brenna.

However, not a romance, but The Black Ships by Jo Graham is a book I am going to read again. Her style of writing flows as I read it. There’s romance, there’s love, but oh so much more.

On the Sci-Fi side, I re-read David Brin’s Glory Season on the beach or by the pool. The female-centric world captures my interest again and again.

I second the “Crazy” series.  They are fun, fast passed and easy to pick back up.

paced
*grin*

It’s definitely time to pull out the Betsy the Vampire series, along with Katie MacAlister’s Aisling Grey series. Oh and Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse books are also great for the beach.

I second the Tamora Pierce rec, but make sure you have the next in the series waiting in the wings (or your bag).

Butterfly by Katherine Harvey is the most ridiculously trashy beach read ever-- I’ve gone through a couple copies, I get it, re-read it, and loan it out, never to be seen again.

And to be a total English major nerd, I just read The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles and loved it.

Anything by Judith Krantz; my favorite is probably Princess Daisy.  I always re-read my second-hand copies when I get depressed; there’s just something about her irrepressible heroines that cheers me up.  Her books probably qualify as “trashy”, but they’re tightly plotted, full of fun/hilarious descriptions of sex, food, clothes, and antiques, and just generally awesome.

Come to the Cult of Krantz… You’ll like it here....

I second Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase. I loved Miss Wonderful too.

I really like the old Amanda Quick books too. The ones with the single title like “Reckless” or “Seduction” with the woman’s head on the spine.

And anything by Nora, of course. My favorites are the Key trilogy and the Gallaghers.

I third the Tamora Pierce recommendation.
Two other thoughts in the YA romance(ish) subgroup:

Sorcery and Cecilia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer a light frothy wonder of an epistolary novel that’s sort of Diana Wynne Jones meets Jane Austen. Man, I love this book. The 2nd book in the series is not nearly as good, but the third book manages to bounce back a bit.

Also, Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson. I realize this is a very new book, but I think it’s nearly the perfect summer read. (It’s a little closer to perfect if you’re a teenager or a girl or both, but neither is an absolute necessity to enjoy.) There’s a bit of history a dash of mystery, first love, pirates, jellyfish, and I could go on. Seriously, now that it’s out in paperback, I think it should sell like hotcakes.

Last summer I loved ‘Sea Fever’ by Sarah Mason.

Jules Jones, Lord and Master, because I get the warm fuzzies when I read it and a happy smile on my face every time.

Mary Jo Putney, The Rake and the Reformer, now available as The Rake, because I loved this book from the first time I’ve read it.  It traveled from this continent to another and then back again and where I go, it goes.  I read it at least once every quarter, if not more often.

Lois McMaster Bujold, Beguilement and Legacy. Legacy has one of the funniest and most tender love scenes I’ve ever read.  Warm fuzzies apply.

And recently discovered:
Mary Balogh, The Secret Pearl and A Summer to Remember. Angst here I come, but it’s so good when they make it to the happy end!

I really want to add Balogh’s A Precious Gem and A Promise of Spring, because they have unusual heroines and heroes, but they are currently OOP.  Ditto Georgette Heyer, Venetia and These Old Shades.  These last two were reprinted not too long ago, however.

Tell Me No Lies by Elizabeth Lowell.  Totally suspenseful and the absolute sexiest vulnerable alpha male ever.  Love it.

Heyer, Heyer and more Heyer.

Anything by Julia Ross, Candice Hern, Tracy Grant and Pam Rosenthal.

I will admit it, I’m hooked on the Twilight series.

Let me get specific about the Georgette Heyer: VENETIA. And then THESE OLD SHADES. Then maybe the sequel, DEVIL’S CUB. And then for pure fun: ARABELLA.

Sandra Hill and her Viking/Seal series.

Jenny Crusie, Welcome To Temptation.  I have a seriously battered, sandy, sunscreen-smeared (interesting since I usually holiday in the UK, old habits die hard) chlorinated copy.

When I was a teenager it was Jude Deveraux’s A Knight In Shining Armour.  Nicked my mum’s library copy one year, checked it out again...and again...contemplated stealing it...finally discovered Amazon.  Happy Ever After (I now have two copies.  Don’t ask).

Funnily enough, I’ve just bought a stack of books for next week’s holiday, which include Jim Butcher: Captain’s Fury (read the first three, loved them, v. clever man); Beth Kendrick: Nearlyweds (got My Favourite Mistake at RWA one year purely because I like the song of the same title, got hooked on her writing); Bill Bryson: Neither Here Nor There (read a lot of his others, still refer to his book on the English language, loved him on Shakespeare).  Oh, and some chick called JD Robb.  You probably haven’t heard of her.

Lots of books after my own heart-- Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, Amanda Quick/Jayne Anne Krentz--these are all surefire happy-makers.  One of my favorites, probably because it turned my daughter on to reading when she was sure she hated it, and because it’s fantasy AND romance, is The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip.  Every year, Kir goes into the sea and I mourn him, and every year the quirky, every-man magician turns up and celebrates that Peri has no more princes in her life. 

This year, I have to read my OWN books--after a two year hiatus from Cory & company while I wrote fantasy, I need to get back into trash-talking alpha-bitch groove:-)

Bet Me, Don’t Look Down, or Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie. All are light and easy to read, plus they’re really funny.

The new mermaid books by MaryJanice Davidson (Sleeping With the Fishes and Swimming Without a Net). If you like her Betsy books, you’ll like these. Plus, reading about mermaids at the beach just sounds right.

Patricia Briggs’ Mercy books are great. They aren’t romance per se, but they are about a kickass heroine playing in a big boys world.

I’m sure I have plenty more suggestions but they’re locked away in a back part of my brain.

I read Christie Craig’s Divorced, Desperate, and Delicious a few weeks ago and laughed all the way through it. Her next in the series, Weddings Can Be Murder just hit the shelves and I know it’ll be great.

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean is perfect. I first read it when I was in college and I just re-read it last year and it is still perfection. A MUST read.

I think Catherine Andersen should be on your list - I love her Kendrick/Coulter series as well as her book Annie’s Song.

Just finished reading Jessica Andersen’s Night Keeper - It’s a series I’ll be in on for the long haul.

Without a fail:

Double Standards, Something Wonderful - Judith McNaught
Angel - Johanna Lindsey
Slow heat in Heaven, Envy, Exclusive - Sandra Brown
Ransom, Castle, The Bride, The Wedding - Julie Garwood
Princess of Fire and Knight of Fire - Shannon Drake
Seduction - Amanda Quick
Still Lake - Anne Stuart

So many many more.

Nadia said:

Lowell’s Pearl Cove is an excellent poolside read, half of it takes place in Australia at a pearl farm.

I second that! In fact, you might as well read the whole Donovan series. Or at least what there is of it. Damn you, Elizabeth Lowell! Come back here and finish the series! PLEASE?

Angie Fox said:

It’s definitely time to pull out the Betsy the Vampire series, along with Katie MacAlister’s Aisling Grey series. Oh and Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse books are also great for the beach.

Oh yeah-- GREAT beach reads!

I first found one of my all time favorite books on the shelves of a beach house we rented one year, so even though it seems an unlikely beach choice, Linda Howard’s Son of the Morning seems like an excellent beach read to me. Hell, I stayed up till 4 AM reading it even though I KNEW that the hubby and demon spawn would all be awake and ready to hit the beach in just a couple of hours. But I could not put it down.

So many good books have been mentioned.
I love Patricia Wrede’s Sorcery and Cecelia.
Also Elizabeth Pope’s The Sherwood Ring is beautiful.
Speaking of Diana Wynne Jones, House of Many Ways comes out this month.  It is supposed to have Howl and Sophie as characters.
Yes to Katie MacAlister; Corset Diaries is wonderful.
One of my new obsessions is Megan Whalen Turner’s Thief series.  It starts with the Thief, next is the Queen of Attolia.  The latest in the series is the King of Attolia which has one of the most awesome covers EVAH!  There are so many hints about the story and the artwork is beautiful.  Really go look.

Loretta Chase’s Mr. Impossible and Lord Perfect and Eloisa James’ Much Ado About You, because they make me smile happily every time I read them.

Nadia, I’m so with you on ‘Carnal Innocence’ by Nora Roberts. That is my all-time favorite romance novel and I read it year-round. My favorite Nora trilogy was the Born In trilogy set in Ireland. My other favorite reads are To Die For and Drop Dead Gorgeous by Linda Howard.

And since I’m moving all my books are packed away and I miss having them at hand to pull off the shelf.

Wahh!

If you’re talking about books coming out: Suz Brockmann!

But I have about ten thousand books in my TBR pile that I picked up (the name of, not the actual book, I’m getting most from the library) here (a lot here) and there, and will finally have a chance to read. Plus old faves and finish off the rest of some new faves backlists (like Loretta Chase).

on a YA note, Sunshine by Robin McKinley is wonderful vampy goodness, but manages to avoid the trite emo/goth stereotypes. Part romance, part mystery, part what you imagined the Anita Blake series to be about at the start.
Also Firethorn by Sarah Micklem, beautifully strong heroine, wonderful world building. A bit more fantasy than would probably be wanted, but still with an element of unabiding love and commitment to curl one’s toes.

I re-read books so rarely, but definitely Bet Me (Crusie) usually gets pulled out once a summer for a skim through. I’ll probably add a few Julia Quinn’s to that list because even though I just read them I already want to re-read some of them.

I think Kerrelyn Sparks would be a great addition to any beach blanket! I think the first one is How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire. Another one is Vamps and the City.  Great vamp alpha males and fun, funny non-perfect quirky heroines.

I know you bitches gave JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series blisteringly bad reviews, but I love them!!! Lover Enshrined, her newest, is already in my suitcase for vacation reading! (’Cause if I left it out, I’d pounce on it and read it faster than you can say “supercalifragilisticSEXpealidociousvampire”

Anything by MaryJanice Davidson is perfect for a beach read!

An old favorite is Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. A new favorite is Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.

Oh, Summer Sisters, how you made me weep.  I totally second that one.

I’d say The Scarlet Pimpernel is good beach reading, but that’s probably because I hate the beach and would much rather being involved in intrigue in drawing rooms!

I’m not sure if this counts, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin. I haven’t read any of the follow-ups, so I can’t attest to their awesome, but if they’re half as great as the first one they’re worth reading.

Also, sort of like romances but historically accurate! Sex with the Queen by Eleanor Herman is HI-LARIOUS, because it is all written like this:
“In the summer of 1666, the eighteen-year-old Princess Francisca Isabel de Savoy arrived with her retinue in Lisbon harbor to marry King Alfonso VI of Portugal. Delighted at the prospect of being a queen, she had turned a deaf ear to rumors that her new husband was fat, impotent, and mentally retarded… The king had tried to counter the reputation of his impotence by surrounding himself with the most infamous prostitutes, whom he paid generously to tell stories of his sexual exploits. He even found a little girl who resembled him and, claiming her as his illegitimate daughter, brought her out at public events. The child’s mother was forced to walk along casting longing glances at the king, which he ardently returned. Only later did she swear that she hd never had sex with the king, though he had tried, and the child had been fathered by her cousin.”

Put down anything by Christopher Moore, whose novels include Practical Demonkeeping, Lamb, The Stupidest Angel, and The Island of the Sequined Love-Nun (my favourite!).

We’re talking some serious hold-your-stomach-can’t-breathe LOL moments here. Just don’t read these things on your way to work unless you want to be known as Crazy Bus Lady.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen was excellent.  And recently out in paperback!

In years past, some of my favorite beach authors have been:

Janet Evanovich
Laurell K. Hamilton (the early years)
Elizabeth Young
Jim Butcher
Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle
Meg Cabot
Jenny Crusie

I’m leaving for the beach on Friday, and Jim Butcher and Lois McMaster Bujold are definitely coming with me.  I’m waffling on the Patricia Briggs, J.R. Ward, and Jennifer Weiner.  Loretta Chase is a possibility too, if I can find one I haven’t read yet.

Jessica - I thought I was the only person on the planet who’d read Butterfly!!!

Cat - I’m reading Welcome To Temptation for the very first time right now. I was intrigued by the quote topic yesterday and went out today and bought a copy. I love what I’ve read so far!

Let’s see: The YA series The Secret Circle by L.J. Smith and The Weekend by Christopher Pike never let me down.

For Romance: Mr. Perfect and All The Queen’s Men by Linda Howard are definitely “take to the pool” books.

I’ve also got some categories that I re-read at least once a summer at the pool (no beach in NE). Her Perfect Stranger by Jill Shalvis, In Over His Head by Jacquie D’Allessandro and Intimate Knowledge by Julie Miller.

Plus, The MacKade brothers stories from Nora Roberts are always good reads for me.

word: enough44 - telling me to shup up already
Eve

Lois MacMaster Bujold’s A Civil Campaign. I laughed so hard during the bug-butter fight that I hurt myself and scared the cat.

Oh I have to add Olivia Goldsmiths The First Wives Club as a beach read.

And Welcome To Temptation is the best. Just the best. Although Crazy For You is brilliant also.

Ohmygod BUTTERFLY!!!!!! That book, along with some Sidney Sheldons, was the very first truly trashy wonderful novel I’d ever read. I was never the same after reading that book as a kid. I can still remember the plot: a young ugly girl who’s taken terrible advantage of by the world decides to get REVENGE by looking fabulous as an adult and owning a male brothel where the female clients get to pick out their gigolos and then enact any fantasy they want, from dangerous masked men to slow dancing with cowboys.

Ah, memories!

I’ll second Jennifer Crusie and Janet Evanovich as great beach reads.

(Also, for outside the romance genre, I rec Lawrence Sanders’ McNally series. So funny and fast!)

If I were to go on vacation and I could only take books that I have read before these would be my favorites:

Curse of Chalion - Lois McMaster Bujold
Ransom - Julie Garwood
Slightly Dangerous - Mary Balogh
The Viscount who Loved me - Julia Quinn
Until You - Judith McNaught
Naked in Death - JD Robb/Nora Roberts

I reach for these books constantly and pick my favorite passage and read them over and over and over again.  Of course it is fun to read the entire book again as well.  I’m still new to Nora’s non-sci/fi future suspense books.  I’ve liked what I’ve read so far, but I’m really hooked on the Death books.

I’d like some suggestions for Georgette Heyer to start with because I read one book by her and I hated it.  Absolutely hated it.  It had a young girl marrying an older rich lord.  The BIG argument in the book, the one thing that keeps them apart is that she spends too much money, borrows from someone and gets into trouble and is so afraid of telling her new husband.  When she tells him, it’s so utterly anticlimactic.  I couldn’t stand the heroine and said if this is what Heyer is about, I don’t want to read anything by her again.

The medievals by Julie Garwood. OMG! They’re so-so good.

Anything by Lisa Kleypas (even her grocery list) makes for good reading.

There are some really good recs on this list!  I second the Megan Whalen Turner books, which are possibly some of the best books I’ve ever read.  It takes her forever to get a book published, but it’s sooo worth the wait in the end.  And LJ Smith’s The Secret Circle is great, too.  Tara Janzen’s Crazy series is good for fast-paced, entertaining reading.

Every summer I have to read Mary Stewart; usually it’s The Ivy Tree.  Love that book!  I think a new addition to my must-read summer list is going to be Twilight.

Chrissie… Thanks for bringing up Margaret Mahy. That brings back memories! I loved Changeover: A Supernatural Romance.

For nostalgia’s sake, I also recommend A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter.

Jessica, Eve Savage & Willa, allow me to join the Butterfly Brigade!  My mother passed Butterfly on to me not long after it was released, damn am I dating myself, and I could not put the darn thing down.  It’s a quintessential trashy summer read, heroine who’s done wrong by a man and gets revenge in the end.  How much better can it get?  Add to that the brothel, the group of friends who could teach Carrie and the gals a few things about life, a presidential campaign and a truly despicable villain and you’ve got a summer read like very few others.  It’s a bit dated, but man-o-man what a book!  Still have it on my shelf.  Did any of you read the sequel?  Not as good but I had to find out what happened next.

I myself am rereading all 31 books in the JD Robb, In Death series.  (Is that a record for one author writing a continuing series?  It is one of the few long running series that actually keeps me coming back and gets better with each successive book.  Mavis’ birth scene in Creation in Death is hysterical, and that’s in book 30.) I figure that will keep me busy.  I know I’ll like those and some of the buzz around JR Ward’s Lover Enshrined isn’t looking as promising.

Laura Kinsale, Flowers from the Storm. The scene when Jervaulx describes Maddy to her (blind) father makes me tear up every time.

You know what I thought would be a good summer read? A book that I could lose myself in for hours and bask in its yellow sun-like glow? The new JR Ward, Lover Enshrined. I just finished it. As in 15 minutes ago just. And all I have to say is WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK. I won’t spoil it. I can’t. I’m not that much of a bitch. But please read this so we can all discuss what the hell is happening with this series. Not that I didn’t love it. But I did hate it. But I didn’t not not love it. It was crazy. Insane. I-want-to-toss-this-book-across-the-room and bang-my-head-against-the-wall-for-hours insane. But its a must read for the summer. To use my least favorite romance novel love scene cliché, “It hurt so good.”

Adding to the Tamora Pierce chorus. And also Lisa Kleypas’s books because they’re the ones that got me into romance, especially When Strangers Marry and Devil in Winter.

Michelle, I am so with you on the YA The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope, also another YA The Primrose Way by Jackie French Koller (Cassie Edwards eat your heart out). A real Hollywood ending on this one. I need to reread the Jane Austen series, as well. Otherwise I don’t reread books- too many books too little time. I am grateful to those who shared their faves- good too know- Carnal Innocense and the Born to series will go to the head of the TBR pile.
So here are my all-time favorites other than the YA I’ve mentioned:
1. Anything by Mary Stewart - Especially The Moonspinners, the movie was great, the book better!
2.Susan Elizabeth Phillips, check out the Chicago Bears series- can’t remember which one it was where the heroine removes all the marshmallows from the Lucky Charms via the bottom of the boxes to aggravate the hero!
3.Anything by Nora Roberts/Amanda Quick/ Lisa Kleypas/Julia Quinn/Sandra Brown/Karen Harper/Linda Lael Miller
4. Deanna Raybourn- Silent in the Grave (nominated for two Rita’s including best first book) and Silent in the Sanctuary. Unfortunately, Silent in the Moors is not due out til next March- unfortunately that is not beach reading weather and if you like romantic mysteries you won’t want to wait til July 2009 to read it!

Happy reading!

I put in my vote for the Tamora Pierce “The Immortals” series.  Young Adult books, but some of my favorites.

And I cannot believe that nobody put a word in for “The Perilous Gard” by Elizabeth Marie Pope.  I love love LOVE that book.  It is absolutely beautiful to watch the romance between Kate and Christopher develop, and there are wonderful tie-ins to the ballad of Tam Lin and the legends about the fairy folk of Britain.  And NOT your typical flower fairies, either.

lost41--I would be lost for forty-one years without a decent book to read.

Scotsie- I have sold many a book of Tamora’s to young people looking for sf/f. And a whole bunch of adults too. I love her books and make them one of the must buys on my list.

Angie Fox- I can’t wait for the Sookie stuff to hit the TV!

Hmmm....Robin McKinley? How have I missed that one? I will need to go get.

Becky- TAKE the new Weiner with you. Certain Girls. It’s great. Not in the way Good in Bed was, which is one of my fav reads, but it a whole new way. I loved the story. There’s laughter, tears and all of it in there.

give me anything by SEP/JD Robb/La Nora/Carly Phillips/Bujold/Lackey and I could go on and on....but, even though it is out of print and a used PB can go for $30 or more, I love Laura London’s The Windflower. Someone gave me a copy, who has bragged on this forever. I was prepared for, it’s an ok feeling. I sat outside all day in the heat reading it. I hate the sun. I hate the heat. I’d rather do a beach at night. I seldom have time to re-read since there are so many books to read the first time, but this is one of those that I will read again. And again.

Yay Mercedes Lackey!
Particularly her Elemental Mages series! I love me some re-told fairy tales with a past-England twist! Lovely.

Danae,

that was April Lady.  I like it, but it’s probably not a good first read.  Is older man/younger woman an issue, or just the fact that she was afraid of him because her mother had stuck all these weird ideas in her head?  Lots of Heyers have older hero/younger heroine setups.

Maybe you could tell us what kind of story usually appeals to you and then we can tailor our suggestions.  For now, here goes.

These Old Shades (check the memorable quote thread for some lovely dialogue)

Venetia, because Damerel is the essential reformed rake the one who came before all others… ;), and he’s smart, and the repartee is just lovely.

Devil’s Cub (has a heroine that’s pretty much at the opposite spectrum from the one in AL. If you have read Lord of Scoundrels you will recognize where Chase got the inspiration for one of the scenes after reading this one.)

The Convenient Marriage (this one might be iffy as it has a similar set up as April Lady, but the heroine is a lot more interesting. I read it (and AL to a lesser degree) for the subtle tortured hero thing that’s going on beneath the layers of plot. I’m mean, what can I say, grin).

I love Lackey’s Companion series. My daughter is starting on those next, as soon as she is done with the Robb stuff. I love lackey’s new series, the Kingdom ones. I am reading the newest one right now. I hope to be able to find some time today to just sit and read. Alone. quietly. haha

I love and agree with a ton of the recs already up, but I find it absolutely necesary to throw Poison Study (and the rest of the trilogy) by Maria V. Snyder out there.  They are fantastic books.  I’ve read them half a million times.  They catch me everytime because they are balanced.  There is a nice page turning plot, and everything -including the romance- slowly builds till you can’t help but rooting.  Not really grad-study material, but it’s summer, who wants to be in school? They’re perfect for sitting on beach and getting a nice tan.

Qadesh - Butterfly sequel??? Need details, please. :)
E

Ditto on the Lover Enshrined, finished it at 11PM last night, patiently waiting for others to read so it can be discussed. That book needs medication and I mean that in the kindest sense possible. I belive in better living thru chemistry.

This summer I’m going old school

Pride and Prejudice
Go Ask Alice
All the Judy Blume books (as a timing/release issue for my 10 yr old)

And all the repeated recommends from this site.
-Laura Kinsale
-The Wildflower,etc

The best used book sale in the Burgh starts June 13 and I will be armed with my kids as beasts of burden and all the backlists I can carry. Looking for old Dara Joy, want to reread Flowers in the Attic for giggles

Anything by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, or Jim Butcher. 

As for Georgette Heyer recommendations, two that stick in my mind are The Reluctant Widow and The Toll Gate, both of which have interesting mystery plots as well as romance, and bright, confident female protagonists.

Sarah its at Memorial Park Church in Allison Park on Duncan Avenue.  They used to do in the Northway Mall, if that rings a bell.

The Sale is June 13-18 and benefits a youth counseling center in the North Hills.  The last couple days the prices go way down and on the last day, you can fill up a grocery bag for like $5 or something ridiculous like that.  I usually go in the beginning for selection.

Last year there were at least 500 series books there and they were OLD.  I wish I had known a few names, because I would have liked to have picked up a few horrors.

They have an excellent selection of kids book from 10 cents to $1 ( (allows the kids that sense of abandon) and the adult books are $.50 to $5 depending on cover and size.  They have every category, including an “antique” (read:mildewed)section.  I like to look for old cookbook & etiquette books too.

Nora Roberts - Carnal Innocence - This is my hands down go to book no matter the season. I will one day have this book bronzed after I finally get La Nora to sign it. :)

Jennifer Crusie - Fast Women - The very first Crusie I read is still my favorite.

PJ Tracy - Monkeewrench - Not a romance, but still damn fun if’n ya like serial killers in Minnesota. :D

I love pulling out some Nora. Massive fan of The Gallaghers, and I took Jewels with me when I went traveling a few years ago - I’d loan it out to people. It’s been around the world :D Although it’s the opposite season here, I’m getting together some “Winter” reading, cause we’re about to go away for a month to Tasmania, where it will be COLD! And only good for staying in bed, and reading. *grin-blush* Have to admit that I’m also taking a bunch of Elizabeth Chadwick’s novels, and they’re historicals.

Jewels of the Sun makes me happy - perfect for summer reading :) I also love anything of Lisa Kleypas’ - her shopping list totally included!

For me, any books by the following authors:
Johanna Lindsey, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Elizabeth Lowell, Linda Howard, Nora Roberts, Jenny Crusie, Anne Stuart and Rachel Gibson.  I could read any books by these women over and over.

Not to go totally off topic, but on Lover Enshrined:

I just finished it last night and even tho I went out of my way to find spoilers on teh internet, and I read all the juicy scenes first - I was still all WTfuckityF? by the end.

I mean seriously?  The best parts of the story are the ones that have nothing to do with the main characters.

I’ll go old, old school here and say Daphne Du Maurier’s ‘Frenchman’s Creek.’ I love that book; so bittersweet. Definitely the odd man out in DuMaurier’s works, but has all her writerly flair.

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. She can get a bit preachy at times, but I love the way she combines sex(uality) and ecology in a way that both entertains and educates. I’ve often described this to friends as the sexiest book I’ve ever read.

This summer i’m putting Jenifer Cruise back on by summer book list. Last year I bought 3 of her books but never got around to reading them. So this year! For sure! I mean it this time.

anything Nora, or Elizabeth Lowell, or Tamora Pierce.

occasionally i’ll be in a strange mood and have nothing good from the library, and i’ll go reread all my Gabaldon again, too. And my Sara Donati generally follows Gabaldon.

I second Medeiros’s Thief of Hearts. Love, love, love that book every time.

And last summer, I really enjoyed Ann Brashares’s The Last Summer (Of You and Me). Not strictly romance and the ending was definitely rushed and oversimplistic, but I enjoyed the rest of the book (with all of its lovely tension and melodrama) so much the I didn’t care!

Frenchman’s Creek is on my all-time favorites list- number 1 is Rebecca, #2 Wuthering Heights, F.C. is about #3 alternating with Du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn which at least had a happier ending.

Summer Musts - and the summer is long and hot in AZ - Crusie/Meyer are fun romps: Agnes and the Hitman and Don’t Look Down.  I’ll second to the nth power the Chesapeake series by La Nora.  AND - for awesome freaky fun that will leave you pissed as hell that it’s not done until December - pick up the first two of the new series.  Blood Brothers and The Hollow.  I love the supernatural Nora.

@ Virginia: Yeah, anyone who is a strong traditionalist in their romance reading will have to hit Frenchman’s with an open mind; it’s not tidy and the heroine is unconventional. But for moody and evocative sex by the sea, DuMaurier’s marks couldn’t be higher. Plus: Pirates!

Daphne D’s so underrated. Or maybe just, with the passage of time, overlooked. The first chapter of My Cousin Rachel raises the hair on my arms every time I read it; The House on the Strand always makes me weep when All Is Revealed. And cripes: the variety of things she did—she wrote “The Birds” for Hitchcock and a biography of the Bronte sisters crackpot brother.  I wouldn’t say Frenchman’s is her best or most representative, but it’s got a special place for me, since it’s her only “true romance.”

Qadesh - Butterfly sequel??? Need details, please. :)
E

LOL!  This may take a minute, I’ve got to clean out the cobwebs of time.  Let’s see....the next book is Stars, Beverly aka Rachel has survived and opened a resort in the California mountains named Stars.  She manages to find her missing twin sister and the evil Danny McKay is back to get revenge.  See, clever, neither of them die.  (snort) I also seem to recall that some of the girls find out she is still alive and arrive on scene.  You’ll have to forgive me, my memory is really hazy on this one, so long ago.  I do remember I didn’t like it nearly as much as Butterly, I think she should have stopped while she was ahead.  Amazon shows that both were reissued last summer.  Harvey also has another book Private Entrance, haven’t read that one.  Didn’t even know there was another book by her, it isn’t a continuation of the Butterfly story.

Lizzy,

So glad you reminded me about My Cousin Rachel. I just checked- I don’t have a copy of that anywhere!
The first line of Rebecca is awesome as well Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. Such a powerful book, it was the second time I read it before I noticed that the second Mrs. deWinter, who is the narrator, never is mentioned by name.
The time travel, House on the Strand, was also awesome, and it brings to mind another truly great book that I will never lend or sell- so you really need to read it people- Anya Seton’s, Green Darkness.

So glad we started talking about these truly phenomenal books. These books go beyond the term classic. By the way, the movie version of Rebecca won the Academy Award for Best Picture in the ‘30’s.

Coming out of lurkdom to second Sunshine by Robin McKinley as well as The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip and Sorcery and Cecelia by Wrede and Stevermer. As for romances: Julia Quinn, Lynn Kurland, Gaelen Foley and Mary Balogh.

@Virginia: I know, I know. I could talk about these books forever. (Which opening line is better, I wonder: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again,” v. “They used to hang men at Four Turnings in the old days. Not anymore, though.” Ack! Chills.)

But I fear that I’m jacking this thread, so I promise to stop now.

It sure as hell doesn’t have a happy ending, but every time I go to a beach for vacation, I read Lolita by Nabakov.

I hate the story and I feel a little icky every time I read it, but I keep coming back becayse I love the prose so very very much.

The way he uses the english language is just brilliant.

They’re not romances but I always find myself rereading
The Long Winter and These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Yep.  It was summer when I first read them.

nicole- I will need to throw Poison Study on my list to read.

i don’t think I have ever heard Flowers in the Attic and giggles in the same sentence before. lol

Elizabeth- Along with Butcher, Gaimain and Pratchett have you read Simon R Green’s stuff? I love it, it is so just out there.  Although I didn’t like the new series he started as much as I do his original stuff.

Sarah- I am sooo upset having to wait until December to finish the Blood Brothers series. arrgghhh....

Strong second on Green Darkness!!!

I also recommend old Susan Howatch, especially Cashelmara and The Wheel of Fortune.  I don’t much care for her work since Wheel since it’s strongly religious and I’m not a religious person.

Judith Merkle Riley!  You won’t be sorry if you add her to you summer reading list.  Start with “A Vision of Light” and lucky you, there are two sequels, “In Pursuit of the Green Lion” and “The Water Devil.” And, don’t neglect “The Oracle Glass.” Fun times.

I’m another for the Georgette Heyer bandwagon. I’ve read A LOT of hers.

My top five:
1.) These Old Shades -Avon is my favorite hero EVAH. Handsome, witty, brilliant, elegant, fierce, the man is fan-FUCKIN-tastic. And Leonie is a perfect match for him.
2.) The Talisman Ring- this one is Hilarious, two couples- one young and flighty the other older with a dry, bantering flirtation going on just below the surface the whole time. And the scene with Ludovic and the scent bottle=SO GOOD.
3.) The Grand Sophy- Sohpy is a great character, and I can never resist the way she does the metaphorical smack upside the hero’s head when he needs it.
4.) Cotillion- cute plot, so freaking funny!
5.) The Unknown Ajax- adorable romance, drool-worthy hero, and one of the best comedic scenes I think she ever wrote.

And if you were looking for something BESIDES Heyer I know I loved reading The Raider by Jude Deveraux over the summer. It’s lighter than her medievals and has some really funny bits. Whatever else she falls short on JD has written some really funny scenes over the years.

Oh, and Jennifer Crusie better make the list too! I personally like Faking It and Bet Me.

hmmm since I just read whatever I’m in the mood to read, the time of year having little affect on what I want, I have one book that is fun to read when I’m someplace I don’t particularly care to participate in the general activities in. Angel of the Opera by Sam Sicillianno. It’s Sherlock holmes meets the Phantom of the Opera.

Hey, I’m just chiming in way late to say that Sunshine is AWESOME, but it is NOT a YA book. It may be suitable for some older YAs to read, but if you go into it expecting YA-ness and Robin McKinley circa Beauty, you’re going to be surprised by the cursing and sex and . . . general NOT YA-ness.

The last book I read on a beach was Mercedes Lackey’s By the Sword, back in, um, 1995. Yikes! I need to go to a beach, stat!

I love all of Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooter books, but especially “Out of Control”

Bikini Season by Sheila Roberts.

Not a classic (yet), but a fun summer womfic read about a subject we can all relate to.

What’s a bikini???

give me anything of Suz Brockmann’s and I am happy.

What’s a bikini???

A torture device designed to make even the most thin and fit person disgusted with her body.

Heyer people, it’s The Grand Sophy hands down. I can finish the last page and turn to the first and start all over again.

I’m hooked on the Twilight series, too, I’ll admit (with the exception of those long monologues in Eclipse, but this is one of the few times I can overlook something irritating in the writing in favor of the story). Apparently, angsty vegetarian vampires really float my boat--who knew??? I certainly didn’t, because I *swore* I wasn’t going to get into the paranormal junk… ::sigh:: Darn you, Jacqueline Frank! :)

But as far as summer romance reads (and re-reads, and re-re-reads :P) go, I love Linda Howard’s early books, especially Mr. Perfect and Dream Man (not, however, her latest books, which just seem flat to me). Any of the Mallory novels by Johanna Lindsey are great, as are the Donovan books by Elizabeth Lowell (and I’m with you, BevQB--we need more Donovans!! At last count, there were two single Donovan men left! PLEASE, Elizabeth, write the stories for Justin and Lawe!) I also keep picking up Lisa Kleypas’s Somewhere I’ll Find You and Someone to Watch Over Me. And, despite my heaved sigh in the paragraph above, Jacqueline Frank writes a nicely steamy paranormal romance with her Nightwalker series (Jacob and Elijah make me want to go out and find a demon of my own--yummy!)

Jacqueline Frank writes a nicely steamy paranormal romance with her Nightwalker series (Jacob and Elijah make me want to go out and find a demon of my own--yummy!)

Good to know, I’ve been thinking about reading her books for a long time and keep ordering and cancelling. It’s good to get a recommendation with respect to this series. I like a quick “steamy” paranormal read sometimes..

I know I’m very late adding a comment to this thread but FYI. A book just released recently that I’d highly recommend is Stephanie Meyer’s, “The Host”, Sci Fi / Fantacy. Excellent read, it’s only out in hard cover right now so borrowing from the library might be an option?

I got hooked on historical romance a few months ago and have read many, many books since then!  Julia Quinn has absolutely never let me down.  I just wish my library carried more than 3 of her books; I’m going broke buying them.  (And I wish my library had computers so it would be easier to request InterLibrary Loan… ahh, small towns.)