Kate Reading Goals for 2014

My goals for 2013 were simple enough. And I'm good with simple. So I'm following in the same vein for 2014.

 

1. Read 200 books.

 2. Try the romantic suspense genre-a genre I've been avoiding. I want to read at least one each month, just to give the genre a fair shot.

 3. A challenge from Kay. The Wallflowers series by Lisa Kleypas.

 4. A challenge from Anne, yet to be determined.

 

And while not a goal, I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to reading my favorite plot. Marriage of convenience, an arranged marriage, mail order bride. My absolutely story line. But after a string of really bad ones, I decided in May to quit reading them for the rest of 2013. Now I can't wait to start reading them again.

 

So I'm looking for suggestions and advice. What do you recommend in the suspense genre? How about marriage of convenience/mail order brides?

Kay's Reading Goals For 2014

I have decided on my 2014 reading goals. I got this idea from Kate and Anne. My goals aren't numerous but they are different for me and are as follows:

1.) I will read a G.A. Aiken book.

2.) I will read Adam and Karla's book by Kallypso Masters even though that genre has just about killed me.

3.) I will accept one challenge from each of my co-bloggers, as long as it isn't too far out of my comfort zone.

4.) I will continue with the In Death series by J. D. Robb challenge with Anne. You are still several books behind on Lorelei James' series, Anne. Kate and I haven't forgotten this.

5.) I will read at least 20 books that have set on my Kindle collecting dust.

6.) And finally, I will try to read 200 books for 2014 and actually complete my Black Dagger Brotherhood Challenge.

These goals may not sound like much to you but this list is daunting to me. Now, what about you, Anne and Kate?

Kay's Top Ten List of the Year and More

Here's my top ten list for 2013.

1.) Highlander Most Wanted by Maya Banks. Very pissed that I have to wait for the final book in this wonderful trilogy for a whole other year! Are you listening Maya?

2.) All Over You by Emily Snow. The second full length novel in this series has been pushed back time and time again. Pissed about that too!

3.) Knight by Kristen Ashley. Very alpha male book and I loved it. It was also filthy and I loved that too!

4.) Inferno by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I absolutely can not say enough about this YA series. I love every book and eagerly await the next one.

5.) Wolf With Benefits by Shelly Laurenston. Laurenston writing about non-winged shifters. Enough said. Plus I get to quote exchange with Anne.

6.) Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Gut wrenching and spectacular. Kenyon at her brilliant best.

7.) Trying To Score by Toni Aleo. Hockey and hotness.

8.) Empty Net by Toni Aleo. Repeat the above.

9.) The Christmas He Loved Her by Juliana Stone. A sweet book about second chance love.

10.) SEAL of Honor by Tonya Burrows. Military romantic suspense. One of my favorite genres.

I read a great number of great books this year. I got to go to the RT book convention with Anne. We had a great time there and I discovered that I'm officially too old to read out of mass market paperback books.

I discovered and met Toni Aleo. She is my favorite find and author of 2013. Her hockey series is fantastic! Here's to 2014 and the hope for more wonderful books to read!

Kate's Year in Review and Best Books List

Way back at the beginning of January, I set some reading goals.

1. I wanted to read 200 books before the end of the year,
2. I wanted to finish reading the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn (I had already read the first one and loved it), and
3. Anne challenged me to read the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward (I reluctantly agreed because I don't read vampires).

So how did I do, you ask?

1. I am at 193 books so far, and I'm pretty confident that I can read 7 more before the end of the year,
2. The last of the Bridgerton books is waiting for me to pick up a the library (and I can't wait), and
3. I not only loved, loved, loved the Black Dagger Brotherhood, I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the next book The King on (*gasp*) 4/1/14.

In reviewing the books I've read this year, I noticed something. I read my way through a lot of new-to-me series. Some were newly published, others have been on bookshelves for years. Here are the ones that I loved and recommend:

Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward-obviously. I'm still not a huge fan of vampires, but I am a huge fan of the brotherhood. If you're one of those few that haven't tried the series yet and you like your romance with a bit of a bite (yes, that was a bad pun), you need to try this series. First book-Dark Lover.

The Bridgertons series by Julia Quinn-although I'm probably the only person who hadn't read this series before this year, I'd recommend these books to fans of historical romance. The humor that runs throughout the books blends perfectly with the romance. I know I'm in love with them. First book-The Duke and I.

Dragon Kin series by G.A. Aiken-independent heroines, strong heroes, arrogant dragons, and humor that will make you snort out loud. What's not to love? If you don't mind shifters that end up with scales and flame-breathing abilities, this series is for you. First book-Dragon Actually.

The Chrysalis series by Elene Sallinger-BDSM relationships that don't happen overnight. The buildup to these relationships is so perfect and the characters will have you following each high and low right along with them. Perfect for BDSM readers who prefer more emotion to their stories. First book-Awakening.

Tucker Springs series by L.A. Witt, Heidi Cullinan, and Marie Sexton-m/m series that mixes emotion and passion to sexy, steamy perfection. I can't pick a favorite among this series. I highly recommend to any readers of m/m romances. First book-Where Nerves End (by L.A. Witt).

The Professor's Rule by Heidi Belleau-m/m BDSM reads. The first one blew me away. It was something completely new. The second one was exactly the story I wanted and the third one left me wanting more and more. Luckily there are more coming to this series. These are around 50 pages each. If you read one series of short m/m BDSM books, this should be it. First book-Giving an Inch.

So now that I'm caught up on all of these series, what series should I attempt to complete for next year's goal?

Anne's Best of 2013 List

My 12 favorite reads of the year, in order from most super favorite to favorite.  I really tried to get this down to 10 but I couldn't cut any more!  These were all wonderful stories!!!

 

1.  Family Man by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton (m/m, contemporary)

 

2.  The Story Guy by Mary Ann Rivers (novella, contemporary)

 

3.  Making It Last by Ruthie Knox (novella, contemporary)

 

4.  The entire Tucker Springs Series especially Dirty Laundry (m/m, contemporary)

 

5.  The Seduction Hypothesis by Delphine Dryden (contemporary, nerd, BDSM)

 

6.  Heating Up the Holidays by Mary Ann Rivers and Serena Bell (novella, contemporary)

 

7.  Wolf With Benefits by Shelly Laurenston (paranormal, shifter)

 

8.  Croc and The Fox by Eve Langlais (paranormal, shifter)

 

9.  College Boys by Daisy Harris (m/m, contemporary)

 

10.  Sweet Young Thang by Anne Tenino (m/m, contemporary)

 

11  Beyond Pain by Kit Rocha (Dystopian, erotic romance)

 

12. Toy Box by Delphine Dryden (novella, contemporary, BDSM)

Anne's Series List

As I worked on my best of the year reads and my list of lists, I ended up with this long list that needed a post of it's own:

Twelve Series I'm Still Reading  I've pretty much given up on Sherrilyn Kenyon and Christine Feehan, too.  But there are some series that I just keep reading...

1. The Rev. Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming  - contemporary, small town set mysteries I read by audio.  Incredibly good.  I'll even put up with some semi-cliffhanger endings, these are so good.  Start with In the Bleak Midwinter.
2. In Death Series by J.D. Robb - set around 2060 in New York, with Eve, Roarke, and tons of secondary characters that are good enough to steal the scene from Eve and Roarke, which is saying something.  I audio this one, too.  Book 37 just came out this year.  Amazingly I think this series is just as good as when it started!  Start with Naked in Death.
3. Rough Riders Series by Lorelei James - Contemporary set cowboy romance that includes ménage and men who love each other along with more traditional couples.  The first book was a train wreck for me, but I couldn't look away.  Things improved drastically in book 2, and by book 3 I was hooked.  Start with Long Hard Ride, but remember the series gets better within a couple books!
4. Tucker Springs by L.A. Witt, Heidi Cullinan, and Marie Sexton - contemporary set m/m romance takes place in the fictional college town of Tucker Springs. I kind of want to move there.  These books feel so real.  There's humor, there's a bit of angst, but really, really well done!  Start with Where Nerves End, though you're fine to jump in anywhere - I read them terribly out of order!
5. The Adrien English Mysteries by Josh Lanyon - I plowed through these last winter and loved them.  They are contemporary set mysteries with a running m/m romance throughout the series.  I don't know if Lanyon will write more in this series, but I'm there if he does!  Start with Fatal Shadows.
6. The Mercy Thompson series and the Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs - alternate universe (with werewolves, fae, vampires, and magic) urban fantasy with really good romances running through it.  Yes, it's actually two series, but they are set in the same world and often overlap, so they are one series in my head.  Start with Moon Called. 
7. Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews - Another urban fantasy with romantic elements.  Really good romantic elements!  Curran!  Even when the focus switches to Kate's friend Andrea, they are still good reads!  Start with Magic Bites. But have the next ones ready to read, because you won't want to stop!
8. Beyond Series by Kit Rocha - Dystopian Romance in a post apocalyptic world.  The tone reminded me in some ways of the tone of the Hunger Games series, but the content is pure erotic romance and it's done really well.  Start with Beyond Shame.
9. Science of Temptation series by Delphine Dryden - contemporary set romance with nerds and BDSM?  The first one made me think of Big Bang Theory Fan Fiction, except that it worked really, really well!  Smart and kinky is a really good combo!  Start with The Theory of Attraction.
10. Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward - This is total crack.  Just when i think it's getting to be a little too much for me, I read another book and I'm hooked again.  Start with Dark Lover.  Suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the ride!
11. The Pride Series by Shelly Laurenston  (if you want to be hard core, go read the 4 books of the Mangus Pack Series, too) These are laugh out loud, extra violent shifter romances that I just love.  Start with the two short stories in The Mane Event.  For extra fun, text the funniest lines to a friend and make them laugh, too.  (Kay and I do this.)
12. The Kowalski Family Series by Shannon Stacey - this is really, really well done small town contemporary romance that will make you laugh a lot!  Start with Exclusively Yours.

So, what about you?  What are your favorite series?  And am I really missing out on something I need to read next year???

Anne's End of Year Lists

When I sat down to make my best reads of the year list (I'll put them in a separate post) I ended up making a WHOLE BUNCH of lists.  So here you go.  My list of lists:

A. Best Authors I haven't read (yet)  This was determined by how much Kay has nagged me.

1. Tessa Bailey
2. Kristen Ashely

B. Books I read this year that were really new or innovative

1. Wallflower by Heidi Belleau - a romance about a young man coming to terms with his desire to cross dress and understanding what that means and doesn't mean about his sexuality.  Really well done.
2. Choose Your Shot: An Interative Erotic Adventure by Christine d'Abo - a choose your own adventure in a BDSM club where you make choices along the way that direct your encounters.  Kate and I really enjoyed this one.  I'd definitely read another!
3. Never Deal with Dragons by Lorenda Christensen - I like dragon shifter books.  This one stuck out (in a good way) for me because of the interesting world building - a present day where dragons had been created as weapons to fight a world war, but came out to be stronger than any humans could control.  Now these very intelligent beings live all around us and society struggles to adjust.  I felt like the book felt a little flat in the second half, but I'll watch for another in this series because I overall enjoyed it!
4. Caged Warrior by Lindsey Piper - another innovative set up.  Think non-shifting dragons mixed with a gladiator type set up.  Really riveting!
5. Stone Guardian by Danielle Monsch - gargoyles!  There's other supernatural beings in this world, bu she had me at gargoyles!
6. Painted Faces by L.H. Cosway - another cross dressing romance.  This time the cross dressing character is very comfortable with himself and his (hetero) sexuality.  The author has a great voice and it was funny and sweet.

C.  Books that pissed me off or disappointed me this year;

1. Love Overdue by Pamela Morsi  (Worst ending ever)
2. Fearless by Tawny Weber (Gettin' It was just too much for me!)
3. All I Want is You by Elizabeth Anthony (waaay too much drama, and a horrible ending!)
4. Demon Lovers novella series by Kate Douglas (I have enjoyed her books in the past, but this one was disappointing and just got worse with each novella!)

D. New To Me Authors this year:(most with a backlist I still want to read)

1. Delphine Dryden - her Science of Temptation series is Nerd-mance with BDSM and I love it!  I've read a couple novellas on her backlist, too, and really enjoyed them.
2. Cara McKenna - another author with an extensive backlist who is only new to me.  So far Willing Victim is my favorite, but Curio, Unbound, and Brazen were all really good, and they are very different books.  At this point I'll follow McKenna whatever she writes!
3. Mary Ann Rivers - I think she's pretty new to the writing scene, but wow is she incredible!  The Story Guy and her Christmas novella Snowfall (in the Heating Up the Holidays anthology)  She's got a unique voice and writing style that I love.  Goodreads shows she's got more stuff coming next year and I can't wait!
4. Anne Tenino - Again, she has a pretty big backlist, but I just found her this year.  I've read a couple books in her Theta Alpha Gamma series and really enjoyed them.  She writes m/m and does it really well!
5. Heidi Cullinan - A m/m author, I'd heard good things about her, so I can't believe I waited so long to read Heidi Cullinan.  Family Man (written with Marie Sexton) was incredibly good.  It's a book I'd recommend to someone who hasn't read m/m before as an example of how great it can be.  Her entries in the Tucker Springs series are awesome, too!
6. Marie Sexton - Another m/m author.  So far I've only read her entries in the Tucker Springs Series, along with Family Man, but they've been really good!
7. L.A. Witt - Yet another m/m author I met through the Tucker Springs series.  Goodreads shows an extensive backlist, which is really exciting!
8. Daisy Harris - Ok, I'll admit that in 2011 I read a book by Harris called Studenstein.  This sentient robot romance was good, but a little wacky for my taste, so I didn't go back for more.  But then I heard about College Boys, and there was talking through a wall, and it sounded cool, and it was contemporary m/m, which i know I like, so what the heck?  This is the start of my review:

   "I just finished reading this book, and I almost feel like I shouldn't write a review now because I'm too giddy to be coherent."  I'm looking forward to reading more!

9. Ruthie Knox - a contemporary romance author who writes great stories in both full length and novella formats!  She's an author I'll try anything with - bike ride across the country (Ride With Me)?  I'm in.  Marriage imploding (Making It Last)?  I'm in.  (For the record, both were incredible reads!)  And there's more to read!

Favorite Authors for Kay

Anne and I were talking and she had the idea that we should maybe be more specific and name our favorite authors. Sounds good to me, so here goes. These are in alphabetical order not in order of preference.


Historical-

Jennifer Ashley
Maya Banks
Kresley Cole
Alexandra Hawkins
Jennifer Haymore
Lorraine Heath
Sabrina Jeffries
Nicole Jordan
Christie Kelley
Beverley Kendall
Sarah Maclean
Margaret Mallory
Monica McCarty
Sarah McCarty
Jenna Petersen
Julia Quinn
Michele Sinclair

Paranormal-

Lara Adrian
Shannon K. Butcher
Kresley Cole
Alexandra Ivy
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Shelly Laurenston
Gena Showalter
J.R. Ward

Contemporary-

Bella Andre
Maya Banks
Shayla Black
Toni Blake
Jaci Burton
Lorelei James
Robin Kaye
Susan Mallery
Lisa Marie Rice
Jill Shalvis

These are my favorites and I like almost everything they write in these genres. I hope this gives insight into some of what I like and please feel free to comment and let me know some of yours.

Kay

When You Don't Get What You're Expecting

So, I just finished all 38 pages of Cara McKenna's Brazen.

There.  Enjoy that cover goodness!  For about 37 pages I was in love with this short story.  It's different.  It's really hot.   Caroline and Sean are awesome together.  And Caroline put together an honest to goodness harem of young men who are on a schedule to come and hang out with her each evening.  (Or should I say hang out and come with her???)  But on that last page...  it's not a happy ending.  They each go their own way.  I just didn't see it coming and it really caught me off guard!  (Note to self: check tags on goodreads reviews to look for HEA before reading.)  I think I still would have read it if I'd known it was just about a short affair.  I think I would have liked it better for knowing what I was getting into, actually.  Which brings me to my point...

I hate it when I don't get what I'm expecting!  I read to escape my real life.  I expect a HEA, and I appreciate some hot sex along the way.  But I'm picky about that, too.  I like to know what kind of heat level to expect before I read.  I'm generally ok if a book is hotter than I expected, but if I'm expecting explicit love scenes and I don't get them, it leaves me disappointed.

Most of the time, reading for escape, I'm reading for an HEA.  The new 50 Shades trend of trilogies where you only get the HEA after all three books?  Drives me CRAZY.  I don't want to wait that long!  But it makes me horribly mad to read and find a cliffhanger ending when I'm not expecting it!  That's rare now, as I'm reading more reviews and on the lookout for such manipulations!  I'd rather think of the trilogy as one big book, and I don't want to read them unless I can read them all.

There are excpetions, of course, because I totally love Dallas and Roarke (J.D. Robb) and I think I'll read anything in the Kate Daniels world (though I'm a book behind!) and these are both series that stay with the same couple all the way through.  Oh, and the Adrian English series by Josh Lanyon goes on that same couple series list.  In each of these cases, the book itself comes to a pretty satisfactory ending, it just leaves you wanting more - not teetering at the edge of a cliffhanger.

So I know what I want.  And I'll read reviews and snoop around to make sure I'm getting what I want.  And if I'm goign to step out of my usual, I like to know it going in.  (Ummm, yeah, people have mentioned that i might have some control issues.  It's ok, I've got it under control.)  How about you?  Do you enjoy a surprise?  Are you ok with a cliffhanger?  What do you think?  ~Anne

The Best Present I Ever Received

My husband has been known to be a bit hit and miss when it comes to buying me gifts.  Gifts aren't terribly important to me, but I like to receive something  on the appropriate holidays.  (I consider appropriate holidays to be my birthday, Christmas, and Mothers Day.) It has worked well for me to just tell Mr. Anne what I want for each holiday, either specifically or with some wiggle room.  That way I'm not disappointed and we're all good. I rarely get surprised, but I'm fine with that.  Christmas this year was a major exception though!  Mr. Anne got me the most thoughtful, shows-how-well-he-knows-me gift EVER!  He got me a romance novel personalized with our names!  SO cool!  I was laughing and crying at the same time when I opened it.  I think it will forever remain at the top of my favorite gifts list!

He ordered it from www.booksbyme.com.   The idea is pretty cool.  You can pick romance or regular fiction.  They even have children's and young adult books.  Within the romance there were even several genres to pick.  Once he picked romance and fantasy, he put in our names, physical characteristics, friends' names and more.   He chose a science fiction fantasy romance where he was a Water Mage and I was a self trained illegal Mage and we came together to, of course, save the world.  He chose a heat level that was "less than ménage but still hot" and that was fine with me.  (Note:  after I checked out the website myself, I asked him about this, because I didn't see any menage books.  He said he'd checked out a few different places, and it must have been another place that offered several more risque books you could put yourself into, including books where you already started as a couple, but then explored other interesting scenarios together.  The website he bought from, Books By Me offers books that range from no sex to a Blaze level.)

I have to tell you, though, that while it was an awesome gift, it was a weird read.  First of all, I was hyper aware of all the fill-in-the-blank spots.  I don't think they really stuck out much, but because it was about ME, I noticed when the heroine flips her straight brown hair, because it's MY straight brown hair.  And when the hero looked at MY "athletic" body, I had to break out of the story and appreciate that Mr. Anne had charitably described me as athletic!  (It made my day again!  See, best give EVER.)

Besides noticing the physical descriptions, I also was surprisingly squicked out to read the sex scene in the book!  I mean, I never skip sex scenes.  I'm not ashamed to say I look forward to them and really appreciate a hot sex scene.  The one in my book wasn't bad at all, but I really didn't enjoy seeing our names like I thought I would.  It was just...weird. 

The story itself was just ok, though it's hard for me to judge, since I was so wonderfully distracted by all the ME in the book.  It was a hoot and hands down a wonderful and thoughtful gift!

About Anne

Ok, since Kay shared a bit about herself, here’s my “About Me” entry.  I’m Anne and I love reading romance.  I’m a stay at home mom.  I’ve been married to my husband for 14 years.  We have 5 kids ranging in age from elementary school to the Marines.  We were foster parents for 7 years and adopted 3 of our kids through foster care.  I also have a wonderful daughter-in-law and grandson.  Two of our kids have pretty involved special needs. 
 

I was an early reader.  I remember enjoying The Little House on the Prairie books and Trixie Belden mysteries in elementary school.  By middle school I was reading sci-fi and fantasy.  I finally found romance in college.  Looking back, though, I always loved the romance story line in my books. 

The first romance I ever read was the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oake.  My grandma and I devoured them together.  Then in college I discovered romance with sex and I haven’t looked back.  Kay and I found each other a couple years ago through a mutual friend in our awesome book club.  (We read primarily romance.  There’s no assigned reading and lots of snacks.)  Kay and I figured out we have very similar taste in books, excepting the whole suspense/BDSM issue.  Kay reads MUCH faster than I do.  We nag each other into reading good books.  We both prefer hotter books, but will make exceptions for a very good storyteller. 

I read as a stress reducer.  I love the escape to another world, especially when it’s one with a guaranteed happily ever after.  My favorite romance genre is contemporary. Lauren Dane’s Brown Siblings series is a current favorite.  In fact, I’m seriously considering buying Tart today, even though I’m generally too cheap to pay that much for a book. 

Besides reading, I enjoy sewing (mostly quilting,) crocheting, and watching TV, and running.  We just got Netflix after years without cable, so we’ve been glomming series we missed altogether.  The kids have been running through Disney channel shows.  After they go to bed we’re watching Dr. Who, Sherlock, The Office, Big Bang Theory, Merlin, Psych, Reaper, and more.  I’ve become quite the multitasker and tend to be doing something on my iPad while we watch TV.  Usually Pinterest.  You can follow me here:  Dirty Girls' Good Books on Pinterest   

About Kay

I just wanted to take a few minutes to tell you about myself since I just realized that I have not done so yet. I am married to a wonderful man and have been for almost 24 years. I have two teenage children. A girl and a boy, so I was fortunate to get one of each. I keep reminding myself of this fact as they try me through these tumultous years. I have a full time job in the medical field that I thoroughly enjoy. I watch too much television which cuts into my reading time. Some of my favorite shows are: Dexter, Spartacus, True Blood, The Voice, X Factor, Sons Of Anarchy, Criminal Minds, Survivor, Revenge, Chicago Fire,Storage Wars, American Pickers, Counting Cars, Vampire Diaries and The League.

I have loved reading for as long as I can remember. It has always been my favorite escape. I was a hardcore mystery reader for 20 years and then four years ago I rediscovered romance. I had read a few romances in my young adult years but again mystery was my preference for many years. I think that's why I love a good romantic suspense book now. I especially enjoy a hot romantic suspense novel.

When Anne and I decided to start this blog, we sort of set parameters for ourselves and each other. I will handle the romantic suspense genre as that doesn't always appeal to Anne. She will handle the harder side of BDSM as that doesn't always appeal to me. I happen to be a little less tolerant with certain things in my reading. I don't read time travel. That's non-negotiable for me or as Anne would say, a hard limit. I'm not a big fan of dragons or winged shifters, angels or series of the same couple. I am willing to try some of those. Maybe.

I hope this gives you a little insight about me. I look forward to doing reviews for you for a long time to come.