I really only read two mystery series - so this is the easiest section yet!
1. Janet Evanovich: The Stephanie Plum series. It is awesomely funny, the first couple are not as good as the middle and end ones. And the best part is, there are SIXTEEN books in this series! Plus some "between the numbers" novellas. And, they are numbered so it is easy to know which one to get next. Start with One for the Money - and read it quick before the movie comes out and possibly ruins it with horrible casting decisions. Do it!
2. J.D. Robb: The In Death series. J.D. Robb is also Nora Roberts - so the 32ish books in this series plus the one million Nora Roberts books means this lady is writing non stop. This series is good, although since I have read all 32 it is getting kind of old. But I didn't start to feel that way until around 27 or so - lucky you, if you have not read any yet!!! You should read them in order - start with Naked in Death. But get them from the library if you can. Because while they are good, I never read them more than once.
Showing posts with label Recommendations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recommendations. Show all posts
Friday, January 14, 2011
Recommendations - Romance
Oh romance, my favorite genre of books by far. There are SO many good ones and yet, SO MANY terrible ones. I wonder why that is? Anyway, it can be dangerous to start reading romance without recommendations because of the risk of getting one of the truly awful books. Although people's tastes differ so it might always be chancy. I prefer historical (especially Regency-era, Scottish highlands, and the post-civil war American west) but I also really love Navy SEAL and spy books, also time travel. So I am not consistent I suppose, but here are my favorites - probably by author but I will list my favorite book or series:
Romance
1. Suzanne Brockmann - she writes lots of books generally contemporary action-ey, but the best by far are her Navy SEAL books in the Troubleshooter and Tall Dark and Dangerous series. They are all awesome, I have read them all many times. Particularly my FAVORITE, which might be my favorite romance novel of all time Out of Control. Read it!!! Unless you hate great books. Then don't.
2. Julia Quinn - she writes historical, Regency era books. Her best is the Bridgerton series, about all of the brothers and sisters in one family. So very good. But all her books are great - What Happens in London and Ten Things I Love About You are her most recent books (I think) and both are a good mix of funny and serious and awesome. They are generally all connected, at least set in the same world with the same characters so favorites from previous books pop up now and again and I love that!
3. Mary Balogh - she has a bunch of books that are not good, and then, she has the Slightly series - which is so good, that no matter how many times I read it I love it and read it over again. It is about a family - the oldest brother (Wulf) is a DUKE! And they all have unusual names and it is awesome. All the books have the word slightly in the name - Slightly Married, Slightly Wicked, Slightly Scandelous, Slightly Tempted, Slightly Sinful and Slightly Dangerous. Slightly Dangerous is the BEST, but it is only the best if you read the other ones first so you get the full effect. There are also two prequels that are good (but not quite as good) which are One Night for Love and A Summer to Remember. There is also a connected series, the Simply series, which is almost as good - Simply Unforgettable, Simply Love, Simply Magic and Simply Perfect. Again, if memory serves, the last one in the series is the best - but you have to read the entirety of the Slightly and Simply series first to get the full effect.
4. Lisa Kleypas - she also has books that are not good - all of her contemporary books for example - but then she has two series that are wonderful. And they are interconnected (surprise surprise) something that I completely love. The first one to read is the Wallflower series - Secrets of a Summer Night, It Happened one Autumn, The Devil in Winter, Scandal in Spring and A Wallflower Christmas. They are all good, really good. Then comes the Hathaway series - Mine Till Midnight, Seduce Me At Sunrise, Tempt Me At Twilight, Married By Morning, and Love In The Afternoon. Also all good. It is best to read them in order. But I sometimes read them in order of which is my favorite.
5. Julie Garwood - one of the first romance writers I ever read - and still one of my favorites! She has two different sub-genres: historical and contemporary mystery/action/suspense. Both are good, but I definitely favor the historical ones, especially any set in the Scottish highlands (Ransom, The Bride, The Wedding) or the westerns (For The Roses, Clayborne Brides, Come the Spring - a series) - they are the best! Frequently the books interconnect, but they can stand alone too. You can be pretty safe picking any book she has written.
6. Janet Evanovich - she writes/has written a number of stand alone (meaning not in a series - shockingly) that are excellent and uniformly hysterically funny. Seriously, laugh out loud funny. There are quite a few - Hero At Large, Thanksgiving, The Grand Finale, Foul Play, Manhunt, Love Overboard, Back to the Bedroom, Smitten, Wife For Hire, Rocky Road to Romance, The Naughty Neighbor. She has also written a couple of other series, both alone and with a partner that are pretty good - The Full series (Full House, Full Tilt, etc) and the Alex Barnaby series (Metro Girl, Motormouth, Troublemaker) that are worth a read too. Not to mention the Stephanie Plum series - which I will not mention. Until later that is.
Other Romance Favorites:
- Lynn Kurland: She writes about time travel which is surprisngly fantastic! They generally interconnect
by family, so good ones to start with are Another Chance to Dream and A Dance Through Time.
- Nora Roberts: Perhaps the most prolific romance author of ALL TIME - seriously, she has written a
million books! But her most recent stuff has been totally disappointing. The best best Nora Roberts
books are not too old, but not too new. The middle is where it is at. The best series are: Ardmore -
Jewels of the Sun, Tears of the Moon and Heart of the Sea, Chesapeake Bay: Sea Swept,
Rising Tides, Inner Harbor and Chesapeake Blue, but there are lots of other good ones.
Romance
1. Suzanne Brockmann - she writes lots of books generally contemporary action-ey, but the best by far are her Navy SEAL books in the Troubleshooter and Tall Dark and Dangerous series. They are all awesome, I have read them all many times. Particularly my FAVORITE, which might be my favorite romance novel of all time Out of Control. Read it!!! Unless you hate great books. Then don't.
2. Julia Quinn - she writes historical, Regency era books. Her best is the Bridgerton series, about all of the brothers and sisters in one family. So very good. But all her books are great - What Happens in London and Ten Things I Love About You are her most recent books (I think) and both are a good mix of funny and serious and awesome. They are generally all connected, at least set in the same world with the same characters so favorites from previous books pop up now and again and I love that!
3. Mary Balogh - she has a bunch of books that are not good, and then, she has the Slightly series - which is so good, that no matter how many times I read it I love it and read it over again. It is about a family - the oldest brother (Wulf) is a DUKE! And they all have unusual names and it is awesome. All the books have the word slightly in the name - Slightly Married, Slightly Wicked, Slightly Scandelous, Slightly Tempted, Slightly Sinful and Slightly Dangerous. Slightly Dangerous is the BEST, but it is only the best if you read the other ones first so you get the full effect. There are also two prequels that are good (but not quite as good) which are One Night for Love and A Summer to Remember. There is also a connected series, the Simply series, which is almost as good - Simply Unforgettable, Simply Love, Simply Magic and Simply Perfect. Again, if memory serves, the last one in the series is the best - but you have to read the entirety of the Slightly and Simply series first to get the full effect.
4. Lisa Kleypas - she also has books that are not good - all of her contemporary books for example - but then she has two series that are wonderful. And they are interconnected (surprise surprise) something that I completely love. The first one to read is the Wallflower series - Secrets of a Summer Night, It Happened one Autumn, The Devil in Winter, Scandal in Spring and A Wallflower Christmas. They are all good, really good. Then comes the Hathaway series - Mine Till Midnight, Seduce Me At Sunrise, Tempt Me At Twilight, Married By Morning, and Love In The Afternoon. Also all good. It is best to read them in order. But I sometimes read them in order of which is my favorite.
5. Julie Garwood - one of the first romance writers I ever read - and still one of my favorites! She has two different sub-genres: historical and contemporary mystery/action/suspense. Both are good, but I definitely favor the historical ones, especially any set in the Scottish highlands (Ransom, The Bride, The Wedding) or the westerns (For The Roses, Clayborne Brides, Come the Spring - a series) - they are the best! Frequently the books interconnect, but they can stand alone too. You can be pretty safe picking any book she has written.
6. Janet Evanovich - she writes/has written a number of stand alone (meaning not in a series - shockingly) that are excellent and uniformly hysterically funny. Seriously, laugh out loud funny. There are quite a few - Hero At Large, Thanksgiving, The Grand Finale, Foul Play, Manhunt, Love Overboard, Back to the Bedroom, Smitten, Wife For Hire, Rocky Road to Romance, The Naughty Neighbor. She has also written a couple of other series, both alone and with a partner that are pretty good - The Full series (Full House, Full Tilt, etc) and the Alex Barnaby series (Metro Girl, Motormouth, Troublemaker) that are worth a read too. Not to mention the Stephanie Plum series - which I will not mention. Until later that is.
Other Romance Favorites:
- Lynn Kurland: She writes about time travel which is surprisngly fantastic! They generally interconnect
by family, so good ones to start with are Another Chance to Dream and A Dance Through Time.
- Nora Roberts: Perhaps the most prolific romance author of ALL TIME - seriously, she has written a
million books! But her most recent stuff has been totally disappointing. The best best Nora Roberts
books are not too old, but not too new. The middle is where it is at. The best series are: Ardmore -
Jewels of the Sun, Tears of the Moon and Heart of the Sea, Chesapeake Bay: Sea Swept,
Rising Tides, Inner Harbor and Chesapeake Blue, but there are lots of other good ones.
Recommendations - Young Adult
There was a request for me to list a few of my favorite books - since I have like 100 favorite books, I will do my best to narrow it down by category.
Young Adult:
1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - the best, can't beat it, I would read all 7 books in a row without stopping if I were given the opportunity to do so. I have read them all many times and they never disappoint and I never get sick of them.
2. Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers - yes I am a nerd, but these books are awesome. I have read them all several times and they are still great, but they don't quite approach the amazingness of the first time I read the series (basically in a row) while on maternity leave.
3. The Hunger Games series (Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mocking Jay) by Suzanne Collins. The first time I read the Hunger Games I could not stop thinking about it for days. It is crazy but totally compelling and when the third book in the series came out this summer I read all three as fast as I could so I could find out the ending. Totally amazing.
4. Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and The Lost Hero series by Rick Riordan - these books are all great, especially when read in a row as fast as possible. The Percy Jackson books are pretty quick reads, but the first book in the Lost Hero series was satisfyingly longer. I can't wait until the rest in the series are released!
Other YA favorites:
- Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson - this is a very funny book, it is a series as well, but the first is
the best. This author has several other books that are all good.
- All American Girl by Meg Cabot - this is also a really funny book. I think this is the author of Princess
Diaries which I have not read but heard was good.
Young Adult:
1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - the best, can't beat it, I would read all 7 books in a row without stopping if I were given the opportunity to do so. I have read them all many times and they never disappoint and I never get sick of them.
2. Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers - yes I am a nerd, but these books are awesome. I have read them all several times and they are still great, but they don't quite approach the amazingness of the first time I read the series (basically in a row) while on maternity leave.
3. The Hunger Games series (Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mocking Jay) by Suzanne Collins. The first time I read the Hunger Games I could not stop thinking about it for days. It is crazy but totally compelling and when the third book in the series came out this summer I read all three as fast as I could so I could find out the ending. Totally amazing.
4. Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and The Lost Hero series by Rick Riordan - these books are all great, especially when read in a row as fast as possible. The Percy Jackson books are pretty quick reads, but the first book in the Lost Hero series was satisfyingly longer. I can't wait until the rest in the series are released!
Other YA favorites:
- Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson - this is a very funny book, it is a series as well, but the first is
the best. This author has several other books that are all good.
- All American Girl by Meg Cabot - this is also a really funny book. I think this is the author of Princess
Diaries which I have not read but heard was good.
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