What Are You Reading?

Hi everyone, I'm in a nosey mood and would love to know what you're reading!

I'm currently reading a classic Sarah Mayberry, The Other Side of Us.

I'm also reading a couple of books by New-to-Me authors. One is Nancy Warren's Kiss a Girl in the Rain.

And Rachel Lacey's Unleashed.

I always have a few books on the go - one upstairs by my bed to read each night, and at least one other to read while I have a coffee (or any other time I can sneak in some reading time!). Does anyone else read more than one at a time? Please tell me it's not just me!

But, the big question: what book are you reading right now? Is it one I should be grabbing a copy of myself?

Friends to Lovers...

The thing I love about romance novels (other than the sexy bits and swoon-worthy HEAs, of course) is the VARIETY. Seriously, there is a romance novel for all tastes.

Like your romance hot and heavy? Erotic romance has you covered. Want something with a sprinkle of faith? Read an inspirational romance. Don’t care for regular guys? Try paranormal.

Even within the subgenres there a massive choice of styles, voices and tropes. Billionaires (because millionaires are so 2014) and marriages of convenience, cowboys and secret babies, amnesia (pregnesia!), wrong bed, sleeping with the boss…if you like it, there’s a romance novel out there for you.

Today I’m going to share one of my personal favorites: friends to lovers.

There are so many reasons why I love this trope, I guess part of it is that is seems so plausible. How many people fall for their friends? It happens all the time.

Of course, friends to lovers stories can be mixed in with other tropes as well—what if that friend was a rock star? Or was the brother of the heroine’s ex-boyfriend? Yep, see what I mean. Variety!

Here are a few wonderful stories that you should definitely check out if you’re a friend to lovers fan as well:

Sweet - Falling for her Fake Fiancé by Cindi Madsen

This is a really cute story that mixes the friends to lovers trope with a fake engagement. Wes and Dani have been BFFs since college but a single awkward kiss gone wrong has put them off ever trying to take their relationship further. When Wes’s sister announces her plans to appoint none other than the ex who left him high and dry a few years ago as her bridesmaid, he decides there’s no way he wants to face that alone.  so he calls in reinforcements from his friend, Dani.

Sexy - Make-Believe Wedding – Sarah Mayberry

It wouldn’t be a recommendation list without a Sarah Mayberry book. This is another friends to lovers mixed with a fake engagement, but there’s also a whole lot of unrequited love. *swoon*

At the annual Valentine’s Ball Andie allows herself a moment of sheer fantasy to fill out an entry form for the Great Wedding Giveaway. Andie channels years of fantasy and yearning for Heath McGregor onto the page, but she never intends to actually enter the Giveaway. Afterall, they’re not engaged. The form, however, finds its way to into the hands of the judges and shenanigans ensue.

Get yourself a bottle of water – Rule of Three by Kelly Jamieson

Friends to lovers works equally well in erotic romance. Here you’ve got friends to lovers with a ménage twist. They totally had me at the tag line: Kassidy is a good girl who wants to be bad. Dag is a bad boy who is very, very good. And Chris? He likes to watch…

This story is filled with lots of steamy scenes but also had real heart and emotion at the core of it.  If you can get past the fact that they have a character named Dag (which means something very unappealing in Australia) then this read is a lot of fun.

Are you a fan of the friends to lover’s trope? Tell me your recommendations below.

Reading Update: My Favourite Five, January-June

by Bronwyn Jameson

I closed my eyes for just a minute, I swear, and opened them to find half the year gone. How did that happen? Why does it happen every year?

Way back in January, before I closed my eyes, I pondered the merits—and methods—of recording my reading. And I did start a spreadsheet. And I have kept it up to date. So now I can report on my reading for the first six months of the year without needing to scan my Kindle library and my (increasingly faulty) memory.

The statistics:

• 52 books read...which staggers me a little. I would have guessed around 50 a year, but perhaps I was propelled to read more by the recording exercise. I can't imagine getting to 100 before year's end. We'll see.
• 2 audio, 48 digital, 0 paper...again, surprised. I usually read SOME actual hold-in-hands books.
• 3 non-fiction, 49 fiction (no surprise!)
• 6 novellas, 20 category length, 23 single title (I didn’t count the non-fiction.)
• 1 historical, 48 contemporary – this is quite a departure for me; although I’ve still been buying historicals, I’ve not been in the mood to read them. 
• 8 mystery/thrillers/suspense
• 6 womens fiction/chick-lit
• 1 new adult
• 3 erotic
• 31 straight contemporary romance (including category romance.)

Enough with the numbers, which I wanted to record here for comparison purposes at a later date, and on to the best part of my spreadsheet. I rated each read on a 0-5 scale and wrote a (very) brief précis of why I liked or didn’t enjoy each book. And here are my top five 5-star reads from January-June and the reasons why I loved each to bits: (Note that most of my reading isn’t of brand new releases; I tend to buy and stockpile and scan through the library for what I feel like reading at the time.)

FAITHFUL PLACE, Tana French

Irish mystery/crime; Dublin Murder Squad Book 3

This is a dark, grim story about a cold-case disappearance that shaped our hero/anti-hero detective Frank Mackey and which brings him back home 20 years later. It’s brilliantly crafted and intensely compelling—not just the mystery but the family dynamics, the secrets of Faithful Place, and how French uses the two timelines.

  

BROKEDOWN COWBOY, Maisey Yates

Contemporary romance, Copper Creek 3

This is ALL my catnip: snappy banter, loads of emotion, unrequited love, forced proximity, friends to lovers, supporting cast of family and small-town community, western/cowboy...with a barn-raising! It could have been written especially for me.

INVISIBLE INK, Brian McDonald

Non-fiction, writing how-to

Sub-titled A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate, which is a pretty good “plot” summary. I bought it on the recommendation of Anne McAllister. McDonald is a screenwriter and the title is a reference to the craft behind the words (the visible ink). The focus is storytelling structure and I found it highly readable, succinct and on point, and peppered with excellent movie examples. Bonus: it really helped me sort some WIP issues.

THE MOST SCANDALOUS RAVENSDALE, Melanie Milburne

HM&B Sexy/Presents, The Scandalous Ravensdales 4

My favourite kind of category romance, with fun banter and internal musing, believable conflict, a heroine who is no pushover and a hero who deserves her; I felt their connection, I got their attraction, I believed their happy ending. Bonus points for the use of setting (wet London) and the relatable dog and cat characters.

PURSUED BY THE ROGUE, Kelly Hunter

Contemporary romance novella, The Fairy Tales of New York 1

For a novella, this punches far above its weight in emotion and character development. It’s also hot and superbly well written and researched. I loved the contemporary NYC setting and the fairy-tale tie-in (The Ugly Duckling) and the characters’ occupations: she’s a genetic researcher; he’s a violinist. This has gone on my Recommend To Everyone list.

Let’s talk reading...

How has your reading year been thus far? Have you been reading more or less than usual? Have you been "off" a certain type of reading—as I've been with historical romance? Have you been glomming a certain genre or sub-genre or author recently?

What are you reading?

Can we talk about what you're reading? I'd love to pick up a book recommendation or two!

The book I'm reading is Ask Me Nicely by Amy Andrews.  I'm only a couple of chapters in but I'm loving it. Plus, I adored No More Mr Nice Guy (the hero is the brother of AMN's heroine), so I was already pretty sure I'd love it. Sexy, funny, sweet.

Just before this I read Anna Campbell's These Haunted Hearts. It's a novella, it has two couples trying to find their HEA, and a haunted bed. How cool is that? It had been on my kindle for a while and I'm probably behind the rest of the world in that I only just got around to reading it. I shouldn't have waited!

Before that I had a bit of trouble - I started about four books and couldn't get into them. That was probably because they had to follow a great book - I'd just finished Indecent Proposal by Molly O'Keefe. This book was recommended by Anna Campbell (so she's on my list twice this time!), and she was right. Intense, sexy, compelling.

So, over to you. What are you reading? Or what was the best book you read recently?

Book Recommendations, Please!

Last year, at about this time, I asked for book recommendations for my birthday and Christmas wishlists, and boy did I get some great suggestions!

Helen S said she'd recently read The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne and loved it.

Someone is stalking agent Justine DeCabrillac through London's gray streets. Under cover of rain, the assassin strikes--and Justine staggers to the door of the one man who can save her. The man she once loved. The man she hated. Adrian Hawkhurst.

I checked my local library - they only had Her Lord And Spymaster, so I borrowed that one. Goodness! It was *fabulous*! So I asked for (and received) HLAS plus the other 3 books in the spymaster series for Christmas, and the set has travelled to my mother and sister's houses since then. We're all now Joanna Bourne fans, so thanks, Helen S!

   

Another huge success from that blog post was Marybelle's recommendation of Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier. 

 A haunted forest. A cursed castle. A girl running from her past and a man who's more than he seems to be. A tale of love, betrayal and redemption...

Again I borrowed it from the library first, but I adored it - a beauty and the beast tale with old world magic and fantasy set in Ireland - and ordered my own copy. Thank you, Marybelle!


Then there was Kylie Griffin's suggestion of Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon. 

For 2,000 years, Julian of Macedon has lived a curse of being a love-slave. When he is summoned to fulfill Grace Alexander's sexual fantasies, Grace is the first woman to see him as a man with a tormented past. Taking him out into the world, Grace teaches Julian to love again, but can that alone break the curse he is under?

Kylie suggested this as an alternative to the Dark Hunter books which might be a bit, well, dark for me (I'm a complete 'fraidy cat at heart!). She said it would be funny and more light-hearted. Boy, was she right. *Such* a good read. Thanks, Ms Griffin!

Actually, as I re-read the suggestions in that year-old post just now, I realised there were some that sounded up my alley that I didn't follow through so I'll start with those, but I'd still like some more recommendations, pretty please!

So, what's the best romance you read this year? My wishlist needs your suggestions! I love category, historicals, fantasy, paranormal, contemporary, comedy, young adult, basically any romance except rom-sus and scary stuff like scary paranormals (did I mention that I'm a total 'fraidy cat?), but you can post any suspense suggestions if you have them because others reading the post might like them. 

Thanks! I'm rubbing my hands together with glee already. :)

'Tis the Season...

by Michelle Douglas

Reading: Realism by Damien Grant

Watching: QI

Listening to: The Beatles (The Singles)

Making me smile: the box of Lindt Balls in the fridge

Okay, we all know Christmas is about the food, but the other secondary, minor thing Christmas is about is... PRESENTS!

And books are my present of choice.

[Question asked by almost any member of my family] "What would you like for Christmas, Michelle?"

[Which they then promptly answer for themselves] "Don't tell me... A book, right?"

You bet. Any book. Books I've heard off by my favourite authors, books I've never heard of, non-fiction books, fiction books, category romances, literary fiction, poetry, textbooks, whatever. Quite frankly, just bring it on. This of course means I love to select books as gifts for the people in my life too.

[As an aside here, I think it would be wonderful to work in a bookshop in the lead up to Christmas. I have an uncanny ability to hone in on grandmotherly types hovering about the children's section. They'll tell me they're looking for a book for 10-year-old little Johnny or 13-year-old little Sadie and I will promptly give them a recommendation. Then I walk out of said bookshop with shoulders pushed back and chest puffed out. Okay, yes a sad case, I know.]

This is my book-present list so far for this Christmas, but if you have a recommendation that I should add to my list, or a book you think is more suitable than the one I've chosen, please let me know!

For my Husband: he loves humorous books. He also loves the television show QI. I've grabbed him copies of QI: The Second Book of General Ignorance, and The QI Annual 2011. He is going to seriously enjoying stretching out on the lounge with them come Christmas evening.

For my Sister: She loves her dog. I've grabbed her Kandy Shepherd's Home Is Where The Bark Is. She's gonna love it!

For my Niece: I bought her Anne of Green Gables for her birthday. We LOVE Anne with an E. Her special request is the next two books in the series - Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island. Tick.

For Grandma: My grandma has been reading Mills & Boon romances for as long as I can remember. Her absolute favourites are Medicals. Sue Mackay's debut Their Marriage Miracle will be making it's way into her stocking. (I'd add Sharon Archer's books, but she's already read them!).

For my Step-Mother: She's a big horror fan and when I saw Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars, I couldn't resist.

For my Brother-In-Law: he's a big thriller reader. Loves Matthew Reilly. I've grabbed him the latest Clive Cussler - Lost Empire.

For my Dad: Dad doesn't read anything but the newspaper. He does, however, like to try out new recipes. Earlier in the year I was asked to supply a couple of recipes for a cookbook for the charity Snap4Kids. Guess what Dad is getting for Christmas?

Because it is Christmas - and it is the season to be jolly... and generous - I'm giving away a copy of my December release Christmas at Candlebark Farm along with a set of very cute gift tags from Oxfam, to one lucky commenter. Just tell me what book you are most hoping will make its way into your stocking this Christmas.

What Are You Reading?

Rachel's Cat Stats
Watching: Love Actually (again!)
Listening to: Love Actually soundtrack (makes the joy last longer)
Making me smile: Fergus pretending he's the biggest dog in the house (that's him below)



I'm an absolute book lover. There are several things I like that I could live without - a good book is not one of them.

And one of the most special times for a book lover is to find a new-to-me author whose writing I can sink into. Especially if they have a backlist. All those new books to read!

I do have a few authors I need to try, based on recommendations. Georgette Heyer would be near the top of that list. Unfortunately when I was first told to read her, I wasn't given any titles, so I bought a book randomly only to find it was one of her 1920's mysteries. It didn't grab me the way I'd hoped and it took me a while to work out that these weren't the books people had raved to me about. Now I need to try her again - a Regency this time (and I've seen they've brought her books out again Downunder with gorgeous covers!).

I'm reading something fabulous now - Anne Gracie's To Catch A Bride. I'm almost finished and going slow because I don't want it to end. But the good news is, it's the third in a series and I haven't read the others yet. Guess what's next on my To Be Bought list! =)

Before this, I listened to Susan Elizabeth Phillips's What I Did For Love on audiobook. Loved it! And I surprised myself by being completely swept away by the Twilight books.

So now I have a question for you: who else should I put on my To Be Tried list? Tell me the last great book you read, or if you're reading something now that you're enjoying, please share the details! My reading addiction needs new titles! =)