Inbetween

First things, my guest review of Ice Storm by Anne Stuart is up at The Good, The Bad and the Unread so hope on over there if you are fence sitting on buying this one. Humungous Thank You to Sybil for sending me the ARC.

Okay, next post I'm going to spill how I feel about Lover Unbound - like I said, it worked for me but I wasn't invested in any of the characters and I knew V wasn't going somewhere I would have maybe liked to see. I'm happy for the most part and 'get' it but there are just too many weird laws or rules and it all needs to be pushed at. I'm still working things out in my mind so hopefully I can come up with something coherent.

I sent in my AAR Top *mumble* ballot. I way over thought the whole thing. Basically, if I hadn't read the book in the last 10 years I didn't put it on my list except if I actually remember more than one scene. Thus, A Rose In Winter by Woodiwiss made it on the list because I swear I remember almost all of it.

Let's just list them up:

Lord of Danger Anne Stuart This is the ultimate Stuart for me. I love every teeny tiny bit of this book. The hero has a bit of beta in him which in an Anne Stuart hero is rare. If you have never tried Stuart and have been thinking you would like to I would highly, highly recommend this title. Yes, it's a historical (which I really don't read much of anymore) but it's just Mmmmwah!!

Dream Man Linda Howard Favourite hands down. This book was released when paranormals were as hard to find as my keys on any given day of the week. I can't remember the name of the psychic thing but it was so well done and I loved how the heroine fought the hero every step of the way. Dane was pure alpha and wasn't above being a complete asswipe. Still when he found her after a vision and realized just how much they took out of her physically, he took care of her. *sigh* Loved it! With such a well written paranormal out in the market so early, is it any wonder that those of us who love them don't just love *all* of them. They have to be excellent!

Dream Fever Katherine Sutcliffe If you have never read Sutcliffe and would like a gritty New Zealand historical to read then find this book as soon as possible. Not for those who have problems with the heroine being hurt after meeting her love.

Lover Awakened J.R. Ward (1st) As you can see I had to mark certain titles within an author group because the titles confuse me. I know this is Zsadists book and I remember saying when I finished that the book had to be in my top 10 favorite books. And it is.

Moonrise Anne Stuart This was one of her books that was printed under general fiction and it blew me away. I still pick this book up and thumb through the pages when I'm not finding anything to read.

Ride The Fire Pamela Clare I blogged about this one and it's just one of the best western/frontier type of romance I have ever read. There was even a baby in the story but it didn't make a peep and the love that grew between the H/H was hot.

Caressed by Ice Nalini Singh Paranormal with a hero so yummy and wonderful. Judd just made the love story sing and he was well matched with a female who just couldn't let him go, even though the were in her didn't recognize him as her mate. Brilliant!

Mr. Impossible Loretta Chase Don't panic, Lord of Scoundrels in on my list but Mr. Impossible has a hero who was so charming and funny and who fell in love with a woman with a brain. Yep, he loved the way she thought. I adored him.

For My Lady's Heart Laura Kinsale This story was hard to put on the list because the beginning dragged but when the H/H are finally together again it's just a wonderful love story. A truly noble knight falls in love with a woman of power and she isn't above using it to get what she wants.

Now You See Him Anne Stuart I love so many Stuart books but this is one that I will pull off the shelf for one scene alone. After the H/H fall in love they are separated and the hero believes it is for her own good. He drinks too much one night though and calls her - the scene is full of longing and I loved it. Once I finish the scene, I can't stop reading so I end up reading the rest of the book.

Time Enough for Love Suzanne Brockmann Best Time Travel romance ever written. I have a 'no bullshit' zone when it comes to TT so it's very hard to impress me. This one worked perfectly and I have no real need to read TT because I read one that made logical sense. I find most TTs don't take consequences of TT into consideration.

Okay, so that is how I feel about my top 10 books. The rest might be self explanatory:

All Through The Night Connie Brockway
Slave to Sensation Nalini Singh
Gone Too Far Suzanne Brockmann
Lord of Scoundrels Loretta Chase
Anyone But You Jennifer Crusie
Lover Eternal J.R. Ward
The Secret Julie Garwood
Devil in Winter Lisa Kleypas
Worth Any Price Lisa Kleypas
Glass Houses Anne Stuart Sorry, just thought I would mention that this book is a departure for Stuart in that I remember there being humour.
Night Watch Suzanne Brockmann Was the perfect romance between two people who knew how to communicate. One of her best.
Duncan's Bride Linda Howard
Bet Me Jennifer Crusie
Fairest of Them All Teresa Medeiros I loved the brutality of the second half of the story. Some definite drama and I do like my drama!
Cry No More Linda Howard
A Pocketful of Paradise Kathleen Kane Again, a paranormal written before they were even considered a genre. There were three of her books that were just excellent and I wish she would write in this genre again.
Perfect Judith McNaught
Public Secrets Nora Roberts
Night in Eden Candice Proctor
Ice Blue Anne Stuart
No Rest for the Wicked Kresley Cole
Texas Glory Lorraine Heath
A Rose in Winter Kathleen Woodiwiss I mentioned above that I remembered most of the scenes so I felt safe in listing it. It was either this or Shanna but I could only remember one scene in Shanna so I let that one go.
Morning Glory Lavyrle Spencer This is one story that I think will stand the test of time. There was something gentle and giving in this story of two social misfits finding love and then becoming part of their small town community.
Honor's Splendor Julie Garwood


Phew! So I think there are 34 titles here. I had up to 40 something but again if I couldn't remember the story then I didn't put it on the list.

So, for the most part I'm very happy with this list although I know I could have put at least another 10 titles in by Stuart but I decided to put in titles that showed different aspects of her writing.

I don't know about you but this just drives home the point that I need new auto buy authors pronto!!