[grrrlyouwant]

i am so burned out on lkh. the anita blake series started out so well, and then something went horribly horribly wrong. i've got danse macabre laying around here somewhere, and i started reading it, but i have been so damned bored and pissed off with anita blake and her magical ass out of which she pulls last minute supah powers just in time to save the day. hi, zombie raisings, solving mysteries, having clear lines and catholic guilt which you will not cross, remember those? there was a website back in the day called...the phase five forums i think. and after the series started going downhill, i still used to read the books just because the snark and parodies at phase five were so damn funny. but then the books started to mirror the "all wild monkey circus sex, all the time, starring anita blake and her evergrowing harem of penis'!" parody, and it just wasn't funny anymore. i'm almost afraid to finish dm and pick up the harlequin. so far lkh has managed to completely screw over or fuck up every good character and relationship in the series. those that fuck anita, good guys. those that attempt to give her a much-needed reality check, whiny fucking bitches who need therapy. i think edward's the last character standing, as far as characters that haven't succumbed to anita's magical cootch or self-righteous asshattery. i've never liked him to the fanatical degree some fans do, but i share their oft-repeated wish that when edward next shows up on the page, it will be to beat the shit out of anita, metaphorically or (but hopefully and) literally.
i've read the merry gentry series too. that one was okay for the first couple books too, and the sex wasn't as squicky because it started out as part of the series. but good maude, do those books drag! i'm starting to wonder if merry and her party are ever going to make it to her uncle's ball. you know, maybe if she wasn't stopping every few paragraphs to fuck some new random courtier back to his godhood... i can't believe that last whole last 3 or 4 hundred page book only covered the span of a few hours. i haven't been able to bring myself to read mistral's kiss yet, and i don't know if i will even once it comes out in paperback. i pushed lkh on everyone when guilty pleasures first came out, but there's not an author out there right that more often makes me want to bang my head against the desk and go "what the fucking hell were you thinking you crazy bitch?!" and the sad thing is, she actually believes her own hype and has a rabid pack of fangirls who encourage her, because they didn't come into the series until after obsidian butterfly, and were like "whooo, finally, more sex! tell us again how hot it is to blow a flaccid dick while various things 'roll' and 'spill'!" (that's a drinking game right there. you'll be plastered three chapters in, if even that).

but um, enough about lkh. georgette heyer is a name that i see pop up quite often in the blogosphere. i never heard of her before this year, but i did make it a point to track down these old shades, and it's on my tbr pile. or in my tbr folder rather. i do a lot of my reading these days on my palm. not only do i completely bypass the embarrassment of those covers (oh, dear maude, the covers!), but with my 2GB sd card, i have literally hundreds of books in my pocket. if i get bored with regency, i can switch to sci-fi. if the full-size novel is dragging a bit, i can pull up an anthology of shorts. i can go from trashy to literary in 2.5 taps of my stylus. i love my palm. so does anyone else read ebooks? ellora's cave is one of the major publishers, and there's also changeling and new concepts publishing. lately loose-id has been my go-to publisher for hot gay boy reads.

[anna k]

The Penguin Book of Erotic Stories. About a century's worth of erotic stories, both regular (we met/had sex/parted) and others that aren't just about sex but have an erotic tone to them. A mix of known (Edith Wharton, Kate Chopin, Colette, Bessie Head) and unknown/anonymous writers.

[culturehandy]

I know I mentioned the Merry Genry series, Laurell k also writes her anita blake series. It's pretty good, although I must say it has declined in the past few books.

[mornington]

yay!

grrrl, if you like regency... georgette heyer. i'm sorry, i recommend her all over the place. there's no actual sex, but they're so sweetly cheesy.

Jilly Cooper... sex, sex, horses, sex, and more sex. fantastic stuff.

[kittenb]

grrrl, if you like paranormal erotic fiction, try the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Someone mentioned it below.

My big weakness is Nora Roberts. I know that once you have read a few of her books, you have read all of them, but I love the Three Sisters series and the Key series.

My favorite romance that I love to read over and over and recommend as a great comfort book is When Venus Fell. The author escapes me at the moment.

[grrrlyouwant]

oh tesao, now with cross-post action! i loved diane gabaldon when i read her. i think most of the books were already out when i discovered them, so it was easy to go through them (relatively, those are some damn big books) quickly and keep plowing on through the series. i think i finally gave up about a quarter of the way through the burning cross. i just didn't have the time and brainpower to really get into the books and follow all the little details like i used to do. now that you've reminded me though, i'm going to have to pick them up again just to remind myself what i'm missing when i bitch about the lack of really good authors lately.

[grrrlyouwant]

oh man, i loved karen marie moning's highlander series culturehandy! so fucking hot. but have you read her latest, darkfever? that book should not have been marketed as a romance! i mean it was good and all, and urban fantasy is one of my other favorite genres. but the only reason it was shelved in romance was because it had kmm's name on it. she should have gone with a pseudo or insisted they shelve it in with the sci-fi/fantasy, cause really, that's where it belongs.

what i've been reading latey, and my preferred genre, is paranormal erotic romance (whee, say that three times fast). i just finished nalini singh's visions of heat, and i'm getting ready to finish up nathalie gray's damnation. but lately i'm also getting back to regencies and historicals. i found gaelen foley's devil takes a bride for my palm, really liked it, and then found out "wait, this is a series? and there are six more books? hell fucking yeah!" at the risk of burnout, i got the other six and finished them all within about a week. then i got her newest one, her only desire, as soon as it came out last week, and....meh. i don't know if it's just lack of the characters i originally liked (this is going to be a trilogy that follows the three knight cousins from india), or if burnout finally caught up wth me, or if it's just the usual slow to warm up to something different. but i just didn't like it to the point of telling other people "you have got to read this!" like i did with the original knights miscellany series.

[tesao]

oooo. i don't know if my trashy books are what you would call trashy books, but here goes:

1. Macho Sluts, Leather Daddy and the Femme, Pat Califia, GREAT sex. some comedy/humor....good reads.


2. the Outlander series written by Diane Galbaldon. good writing, escapist fiction, romance, history, sex, good fun. historical romance novel about a nurse from 1945 who suddenly finds herself in 1743 Scotland. doesn't hurt that her love interest is a red-headed scot who wears a skirt. yum.

[culturehandy]

I wouldn't call it romance, per se, but sex, and a romantic plot line, among other things. The Merry Gentry series by Laurell K Hamilton.

Karen Marie Moning does a time travel romance series, lots of sex, so lovely.

I'll have to think and come back.

[LoveMyPugs]

I've read six Linda Howard books in like three weeks. I read one in 24 hours. I just love her. They are drama, suspense, comedy, romance and sex all wrapped into one book. She's so great.

Also, the Secrets books are very good.

[lilyblue]

yay! trashy books.

i'll start with the books i have loved. i am not much of a "romance novel" fan, but i love a good trashy novel. my favorite was and still is Lace by Shirley Conran. i mean, when one character utters "which one of you bitches is my mother?", how can you go wrong.

there was sex, sex, deception, underage sex, drama and more sex. i read that 700+ page book in three days. it was that good.

the next author i bring up is the illustrious Jackie Collins. i love her books. i mean it's basically the same topic if you look at it: the underworld of the pretty people, but that makes for great beach reading. one of my favorites was Thrill. what made this book stand out was the twist in the story where you thought one character was doing the narration, but it was another. it was really good to hear performed on tape.

what are your favorite books?

[grrrlyouwant]

so here it is, the smart busties, trashy books thread, for discussion of all things related to romance novels. man, i'm so excited to have busties to chat with about this stuff, i hardly know where to start! favorite authors? preferred/most hated plot devices? most trusted reviewers? blogland drama? cheesy covers? the great or not-so-great author/reader divide? really, the mind boggles. quick, somebody pick something and run with it!