SurvivingInfidelity.com^®

The next thing I'm plotzing to read is Thief of Shadows, Elizabeth Hoyt. Servicing my male virgin kink there.

I felt like Barrons was special because he was a straight up sociopath. Well, I thought that until I read Heat by R. Lee Smith and found out what a sociopathic hero actually looks like, and decided Barrons is just an unsentimental pragmatist compared to that sick fuck (that was a great book, btw, it gave me Acquired Stockholm Syndrome). Fever really is the last first person POV I could tolerate except for super gifted literotica writers like Cara McKenna, Megan Hart, and Charlotte Stein, who are the triumvirate of awesome (and only Hart sticks to fp all the time). I tolerated Mac, detestable as I found her, for Barrons. Did you read that short story from his POV that she wrote? I don't know how I feel about the reveal there.

I have literally read everything else Sylvia Day has published under any name except Bared to You. I know I'll read it, I just have to get in the mood. That is a woman who does not forget that sex is messy. Just in general, I don't like BDSM content. I tolerate a lot of it, but I would rather it not be there, and if it is, I want it to feel like real things that happen between people and not that whole fantasy BDSM club setup thing. According to BDSM romance, 70% of the businesses in Tampa are BDSM clubs populated by improbably hot people, 25% are BDSM clubs populated by understandably hot vampires, and 5% are architectural firms owned by gay couples who are really just waiting around for a girl to come along to turn them out and complete their happy wholesome menage family. Seriously, Tampa? Anyway, it's just not my kink. The BDSM club part, not the gay architects part. That is totally my kink.

[This message edited by ladyvorkosigan at 8:34 PM, May 26th (Saturday)]

If you have a kindlefire I can loan you Bared.

Now for sociopathic hero you should try Anne Stuart's Black Ice, Ritual Sins, Moon Rise and Shadow Lover.

If you want to read about BDSM between couples real not the pretend kind (I bate them Too) my auto -buy author is Annabel Joseph she hard core in Mercy, but it's mutual between the two.

Firebird and Comfort Object is another favorite .

Have you read Linda Lael Miller's vampire series? Forever and the Night & For All Eternity are really the two out of the four I enjoyed. For All Eternity was my favorite, though. I really wish Linda had pursued her other beasts and not just the vamps.

Sexy sexy sex scenes.

Thanks for the info, ladyv, I went and downloaded "The University of Edward Masen" to read, then added "Master of the Universe" (the story 50 shades is based on) for good measure.

Ah, the pleasures of summer beach reading.

-JD

I don't know if it has been brought up but I love Christine Feehan's Ghost Walker series. These stories would make a hooker blush.

And for a good mystery I read JD Robb (Nora Roberts) In Death Series.

Bisexual werepumas.

I'm changing my sig.

Okay, middle-aged ladies who read teen romances in the 80s, what is this book?

It is a teen romance from the 80s. The boy's name is Colin, he couldn't read (dyslexic), he was some sort of (MISUNDERSTOOD!) bad boy, I think he ended up in a play with the girl, I think she tutored him in something, and I think it was set in Boston.

I thought it was a Caroline B. Cooney but I actually emailed her and she responded! And said it wasn't hers. =(

In other news, everyone should go read everything by Kristen Ashley. Seriously, everyone will love her. EVERYONE.

LadyV, I don't know about the book but I had to come out of lurking to tell you that I adore Kristen Ashley- I have devoured every single one of her books.

Where to start with Kristen Ashley??? I don't want to read out of order.

With Kristen Ashley she writes different series so you should read the books in order in the series but there is no overall order to all of the books if that makes sense. My favorite series are the Colorado Mountain Men series (in order: The Gamble, Sweet Dreams, Lady Luck, and Breathe) the Rock Chick series. There are 7 books in this series and start with Rock Chick. On her website there is reading order and free sample chapters.

Thanks smith!!! Right now I am reading a mystery. Will go trashy next round.

LadyV, Romance Is a Wonderful Thing by Ellen Emerson White?)

HOLY FUCKING SHIT THAT IS IT!

ROMANCE IS A WONDERFUL THING BY ELLEN EMERSON WHITE!

I just bought it on Amazon!

How did you remember that? Are you a librarian? A psychic? A PSYCHIC LIBRARIAN?!?!?!

I hauled around my entire romance collection, all my teen romances through adulthood, and then the 2004 hurricane season flooded my garage and all was lost.

I'm sorry I didn't check back on this thread, punky! I would say start with the first Rock Chick book, which is just called Rock Chick.

ETA: I just bought a whole bunch of other 80s YA on Amazon! It never even occurred to me to use Good Reads to track shit down like that. And one of my absolute favorites is even on Kindle!

http://www.amazon.com/When-September-Returns-ebook/dp/B004I6D59A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344794055&sr=8-1&keywords=when+september+returns

I love that fucking book. That book right there is why I understand that the wittiest life of the party guy is maaaaaaaaaybe not the best choice, and why I do not require my H/h* to live HEA.

[This message edited by ladyvorkosigan at 12:53 PM, August 12th (Sunday)]

I am a high school English teacher; however, I must say being a psychic librarian would be fucking awesome!

Okay all y'all who picked up some Kristen Ashley, report back!

Ok, I just got done reading the weirdest series but it was awesome. It was so awesome that I don't care that the author doesn't know the difference between "then" and "than." Seriously, it wasn't a single oversight, it was consistent misuse. Everything is "then." But still! I can overlook that when you're incredibly authentic, interesting, and original. 20 years ago, no, could not have overlooked. Now, am wiser.

It is awesome to *me*, at least, if you like the idea of reading something in which not one single character combines all your standard lead qualities (white, cisgendered, hetero, young, conventionally attractive, privileged). The two lead guys are white, are both in wheelchairs, one due to an accident, one to cerebral palsy. And it's not adorable Walt Jr. from Breaking Bad cp, it's difficult for him, and he requires caregiver assistance. Oh, and he's a ginger. Seriously? And the lead female is black and has an autoimmune disorder and is a home health aide *to one of the guys* (the ginger). Oh, the other lead female is a big butch straight white girl who grew up in foster care. The only two people who are white, hot, straight, and privileged are not young, they're the parents of adult children.

It helped me figure out the thing I love most about romance novels, and that's that they try to take me inside the most personal experience you will ever have: that of living inside your body. I am very attracted to books that reflect something back at me that is familiar about living inside a body, but I've realized I'm even more attracted to things that give me access to imagining what it's like to live in other bodies. There's a lot of sex, sure, but there's just as much body-related unpleasantness. Not like Cronenbergian body horror unpleasantness. Realistic unpleasantness.

Anyway, it's Pepper Pace's "Wheels of Steel" series and I read the whole thing (3 books, probably 1500 pages) yesterday. I can lend them all, if anyone's interested. Probably just me, though.

[This message edited by ladyvorkosigan at 7:54 AM, September 10th (Monday)]

Omg! I second the Kristen Ashley recommendation. I've read almost her entire catalog. I would start with the Rock Chick series.

Okay people! Guess what tomorrow is?

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12444166-iced

Surely Barrons shows up? SURELY HE DOES?

Umm but Dani is 13 or 14 in this. No time has passed. I need at least another decade on this girl, maybe more, before I can get into this Ryodan/Christian triangle. But even then...I can deal with a 24-yo and a 5000-yo dude but not a 24-yo and a 34-yo dude. That's just creepy and wrong. 5000, I mean...A Wizard Did It. So what. But 10 years is toooooooo much.

But who cares? BARRONS!

Another straight up good old-fashioned (but modern levels of sex) couple of things I've read lately are Ruthie Knox's "Ride with Me" and "About Last Night." They're category romances but just extremely well done. ALN is probably better all around, but Ride with Me has such an interesting setting (bike tour across the TransAmerica trail) that I think I preferred it.

So, everyone except me likes male doms, and everyone except me likes BDSM clubs, but I actually did read a male dom BDSM club thing that I thought was good. It is very difficult for me to type the title: My Liege of Dark Haven. I know, I know. Cherise Sinclair. But if I really liked it even though I am not into either of those tropes, I think that says a lot. I don't care for most of her stuff, but this was really good.

[This message edited by ladyvorkosigan at 9:14 AM, October 29th (Monday)]

Reporting from 30% into Iced to say:

I forgot what a freaking tease this woman is. It's all coming back to me. How I had to wait FOUR BOOKS. FOUR DAMN BOOKS for action with Barrons.

Even though romance novels are often full of sex, this does not interrupt my basic thesis, which is that romance novels are about not having sex. HOW LONG THIS TIME KAREN?!?! Yet at the same time PLEASE LET IT BE AT LEAST 7 YEARS IN BOOK TIME.

Surprisingly, Dani isn't all that bad. Still fecking and dudeing all over the place but I find her dickishness more tolerable than Mac's.

Ummm did someone say Barrons (my book BF Barrons) is in Iced????

I'm waiting despertly for May to read the final Sookie book - Eric is my other book BF.