We have a reader that has just joined us!! YAY Jan!! And she promptly jumped in with some of her very favorite books, now, and from years gone by. From paranormal, to historical, to indie contemporary, this reader is definitely one of us!!! And I already KNOW (and can pinpoint quite a few of us here) that will wholeheartedly agree with her picks. Including me!!!!
P.S. There are a few new-to-me on here (and one, that one up there to the left, that I JUST heard about a few days ago, regarding how awesome it was, and here it is, on Jan’s list, too). MINE!!!! 😀
Ready for her list?
“Thanks so much for sharing, everyone. Here are some of my favs you might like to try.”
Kiss of Snow (Psy/Changeling Series Book 10) by Nalini Singh (paranormal) <— This one is Hawke and Sienna’s story. Hawke is the ultimate alpha male. Whew! He doesn’t want to want Sienna, but now she’s all grown-up …
Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega Book 1) by Patricia Briggs (paranormal) <— Charles and Anna are a great pairing. Oh yeah, and Charles is super hot…
Motorcycle Man (The Dream Man Series Book 4) by Kristen Ashley <— Tack Allen has to be one of her best ever alpha male heroes. (Seriously – who doesn’t love KA?)
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher <— An oldie but still a goodie. Still makes me cry when Olivia finds the poetry book and the letters.
These Old Shades (Alastair-Audley Book 1) by Georgette Heyer <— Yeah, read her to death when I was a teenager. This one is still my fave. First published in 1926. Unbelievable. I re-read it recently out of curiosity, and it’s still got it. Super romantic story. Who needs explicit sex in a book, when one look can say it all? Ah, Justin Alastair. (Swoon). GH is a legend.
Kulti by Mariana Zapata <— A recent find for me – saw it praised on this website. (Thanks Maryse and gang). Loved this slow build story of two soccer stars. (And I don’t even watch soccer – what’s with that?) A definite re-read for me. Wall of Winnipeg was great too.
Beautiful Player (The Beautiful Series Book 5) by Christina Lauren <— Hanna and Will’s story. OMG. Friends to lovers, sweet geeky heroine tames the bad boy player. Definitely the best out of the Beautiful series.
The Turning Point by Freya North <— Loved, loved this slow build book. Still reeling. Older guy and older woman, both with children and baggage, from different continents, find ways to make their relationship work. Beautiful. You must read this book, all the way through to the very last page!
Heartless by Mary Balogh <— Gorgeous Georgian romance with emotionally damaged hero redeemed by the love of a good woman. (Sigh) Luke and Anna’s relationship is built beautifully and convincingly. These characters are real to me. A go-to comfort book. (Balogh’s Irresistible is also an old fave with many re-reads. I’m seriously in love with Nathaniel Gascoigne.)
A Woman Scorned (Lorimer Family & Clan Cameron series Book 2) by Liz Carlyle (Regency era) <— Loved this and all of her early books. (Sadly her recent efforts have gone off IMO.) This book is one of her best. Captain Cole Amherst. Decent, honourable, upstanding ex-soldier (and super hottie) falls for a femme fatale whose past is under a cloud. (But is she really as wicked as everyone thinks???)
“Shell Seekers” is one of my all-time favorites. I just reread it this fall and it was like visiting an old friend. “Coming Home” is my absolute fave by Pilcher.
I read The Shell Seekers” years ago, but I don’t really remember it. I love Nalini Singh and Kiss of Snow was one of my favorites in that series. I also am going back to reading more historical, so I’m going to try a few of the ones you recommended. Heartless sounds like it is right up my alley. Thanks for sharing!
Yay! I have Beautiful Player and I haven’t read it yet! 🙂 Now… I’m excited!
Yay…another KA lover!!!! I am also excited about your paranormal recs…I am definitely checking those out! Thank you for sharing!
Kiss of Snow is one of my Go-To re-reads. Love it!
Thanks for the regency recs 🙂
Hi Jan!! Glad you joined us here. *hug* You know who I thought of when I read your list? Bev!!! Now watch her pop in and tell me I’m wrong…
The Turning Point sounds different from my typical reads and SO good!
Hi everyone from Australia. Love your site Maryse. (Wish I’d discovered it years ago!) Not to worry – I’m making the most of all the recommendations now. (Have nearly blown up my Kindle with all the samples I have downloaded.) If you decide to try the Patricia Briggs, I recommend reading the prequel (or ‘companion’) novella first – Alpha and Omega. It’s great and really leads well into the whole series. This is Briggs’ other series, although there is a bit of crossover from Mercy Thompson in some of the books. As for the Nalini Singh series, if you haven’t tried it yet, Book 1 (Slave To Sensation) is funnily enough a good place to start. It’s also one of the better books of the series. Some of the later books in the series get a bit dry and (dare I say it?) boring IMO. (Ouch – that wasn’t a peanut, was it?) The Turning Point – yes it’s a bit different from the usual but OMG so good. (Have the tissues at hand). Love Coming Home BTW also Pilcher’s Winter Solstice is another old fav. Makes you fall in love with Scotland (if Outlander hadn’t already done that!)
Hi Jan…..great to have another Aussie piping in with recommendations.
Amy….I thought of Bev too!!
Hi again. A couple of comments about looking for good historicals had me checking out some more of my old favs to share. I’m pretty picky, and often find myself disappointed with some books by authors I’ve previously really enjoyed. Case in point – Mary Balogh. I absolutely love some of her books, but I’ve found others frankly tedious. (Sorry don’t mean to offend anyone). So it’s good to get recommendations from others of ‘best’ books by authors I’ve liked. Here are a few more of my fav historicals. Love to hear your favs. (Sorry Maryse – hope this isn’t too long for a comments post)
Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh. I don’t love the other books in this series, but Wulfric’s story is pretty good. No-one thought Wulfric, the arrogant and sexy Duke, would ever lose his heart, but when he meets Christine …
Devilish by Jo Beverley. (Georgian) Again, I wasn’t rapt in the other books in this series, but this one, the tortured Rothgar and the wilful Diana’s story, was a goodie.
A Woman of Virtue by Liz Carlyle. (Regency) One of her earlier, better books. It’s a companion or sequel to A Woman Scorned. Cecelia and Delacourt – instant combustion. And what is Delacourt’s dark secret???
The Country Gentleman by Fiona Hill. OK it’s from the 80s and there’s no sex LOL. But it’s still a bright and humorous Regency, well written and witty.
A Season of Mists by Sarah Woodhouse. Ann inherits a run-down farm but none of the locals think she can make a go of it, including her dashing neighbour Harry. Yeah, another one from the 80s and I don’t think available electronically but Woodhouse was a quality writer and I’ve enjoyed her books.
And, (do I even need to say it?), don’t forget the legendary Georgette Heyer.
Thank you jan130! I love a good regency/historical novel! Sometimes it’s hard to find a good one so I will be checking those out!
And yes KA is the best and Tack Allen swoon,sigh rocked my imaginary world!
Oh I love it, Jan! By all means, comment however long and many times as you want. I love reading all of these conversations.
In fact, I’m totally in the mood to create a Reader Recommended list of Historical Romance books. 😀 These sounds too good to miss, and there’s plenty of us that don’t even know where to start, when it comes to Historical.
This is so great, Jan. I looove Patricia Briggs. And now I’m off to check out your Mary Balogh recs!
I love Patricia Briggs Alpha and Omega series too! Charles and Anna are the perfect match.
The Turning Point sounds really good, but it is a bit pricey. Hmmmm
Maryse….let me know when your doing the Historical Romance list! I’ve got a lot of great books for you!
I’m posting it this week Robyn. Maybe even tonight. 😀
Great list. I adore Charles and Anna. I wish Bran could his own book – and dump his mate! And I, too, am a huge KA fan and a fan of Tack, in particular. I loved when he was trying to romance Gwen in Mystery Man, and then when he got his own fiery redhead in Motorcycle Man, but even more so when his kids got books!!!
I haven’t read any of the Beautiful series – and I love a geeky heroine tames bad boy storyline… so I am adding that to my TBR.
MichelleS….you’ve not read any of the beautiful series?? I love each and everyone of these books and Will and Hanna’s story was excellent. But for me the first book…Beautiful Bastard had me belly laughing out loud with Chloé’s antics. She is a total ball buster and I adored her.
Sweet. Can’t wait to hear about some great historicals I haven’t discovered yet. And Michelle? You have a treat in store if you haven’t read the Beautiful books yet. Must reads!