These books were so good, that we forgot to eat! Part one…

Ahhhhh the ever-coveted *love* fog. You know the one. You’ve been in it before. Where you can subsist on love and water, alone.

You can’t think straight, see straight, but you’re as happy as can be…

“Vivre d’amour et d’eau fraîche…” (it’s a popular french expression, and my mom used to say this to me, whenever I’d have a new crush as a teen). And yes… *sigh* Boy-crazy me had lots of ’em. 

My latest famous actor crush? I’d re-watch his movie a million times – in a row – and not eat for days. My latest rock star crush? I’d listen to his voice (yah, it seems it was always the singer for me), and not eat for days. My latest “real-boy” crush? Yeah… you get the picture.

I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. All I could do was daydream. Whether he is “real-life” or not, it still has the same effect on me. What. A. Rush! And apparently, I’m addicted to it.

And when I realized, books (er… certain “guys” in books) could give me the exact same rush, I was in potential “book-love” heaven. I devour book after book after book, just hoping to have that feeling again. And every once in awhile, I hit that jackpot!! While I can often crush on the “hero” of any book I’m reading, some just hit me harder, and last longer, than most. And this is what this post is about.

The books that were so good I forgot to eat. These heroes put me in a love fog. There must be magic in these books, and even though I know they’re “fiction” my heart was (and still is) fooled, ’cause I still love ’em with as much intensity now, as I did, then. These hit me the hardest. I had a visceral, physical reaction to them, mostly involving my heart (which I think is my favorite part of me!)…

AND… our fellow readers have been indulging me with their favorites too! (see below)

So here they are. These books were so good, they affected us so hard, that we forgot to eat:

Maryse: For me, the most obvious and long-term “no-eating” books were:

• Twilight (of course) – OMG I couldn’t think straight after that one (I would go to work in a daze). I think it’s the hardest I’ve ever fallen for a fictional character (but alas, Edward has been replaced). By Travis. 🙂
• I could go on and on about my favorite scenes Beautiful Disaster that still give me shivers right now. I know that I forgot to eat (’cause of my *love fog*) even after Beautiful Disaster (another one that had me going to work in a daze with a goofy grin all day for days, thinking of Travis).
• And Thoughtless jump-started me back into my intense need for non-stop music, and Kellan had me swooooooning and day dreaming, and wholeheartedly searching for “rock star books”.
• Fifty Shades Trilogy: this was something I had NEVER experienced before and Christian Grey BLEW me away. I was devastated and elated at the same time, and couldn’t get enough!!
• Oh! And Lover Awakened, too! <— I *heart* Z! He started me on my intense love for brooding, angry, untouchable, unattainable “sort of antihero” bad boys (which remain my favorite heroes) and he will ALWAYS be my #1. Do you hear that, Sherry!!?? Off my man! 😉 Tee hee!! You can read this one as a standalone (it’s book #3 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series) but Zsadist made even more of an impression on me as I got to know him (er… I mean be warned against him, ’cause he’s so dangerous) in book #1 & 2.
• Okay the choices above are a bit “old school Maryse”, but I can’t help it. They are still my all-time favorites and are the ones that hit me the hardest. 😉 But if you want to know lately, which ones have affected me hard and I still think about, I’d say Lying Season by Karina Halle (Dex is my newest favoritest 😉 hero) and Surviving Raine by Shay Savage (’cause Bastian the jerk is right up my love alley)! Oh and these bad boys totally had my rapt attention too: Madeline Sheehan’s Unbeautifully and Real by Katy Evans. Now I don’t know that I forgot to eat with these guys, per se (except with Dex, I know I totally did!), but the fact that I still get goosebumps when I think back to specific scenes and can remember almost every detail of their books… yeah. Visceral.

And our fellow readers chime in (and OMG so many in here that I LOVED, that I had to quit commenting next to each post!) 😉

There are over 40 readers in Part One of this “… so good we forgot to eat” blog series I’m doing, and SOOOOO many more reader suggestions to come…

Sherry: Ooooh..lets see…Lover Awakened for ME too *brat* Me Before You was all nighter along with The Edge of Never, which I don’t think I put down once.  Slammed was another and definitely Present Perfect which I just happened to finish at 3:15 this morning. Oh Taking Chances too!!! Pulled an all nighter there!

Liz: Taking Chances, The Edge of Never, Falling Into You, Every Rose. <— sidenote from Maryse: excellent choices – and Edge of Never ripped my heart out. And wow to that “Every Rose” book… I haven’t heard of it but after that synopsis (eeeeeep!!), it looks like I need to get on that! YAY ME!

Jacie: Rebecca Donovan’s Breathing Series

Lisa: I agree, I just got done listening to it while driving back and forth to work. I spent seven weeks on this series and I miss Emma and Evan so much. I want to start the series all over and relisten. I felt ever emotion and more. I heard that the author is writing about Jonathan, I can hardly wait.

Sarah: The Breathing series by Rebecca Donovan. I had read the first two books months ago, but when the third one came out, I read them again, back to back. No lie, my stomach was cramping for the 3 days it took to read them. Total book hangover!

Lisa: Totally agree, see my message above…LOVED this series. I have NEVER read another that made me react like that but I want to. It was so beautiful.

Debra: Twilight, Dark Lover, and Real <—- sidenote from Maryse… YES, YES & YES!!

Paula: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay, Thoughtless and Effortless (ignored the family on a beach vacation while reading them), Reckless, any EIT book by Karina Halle.

Alyssa: Definitely the The Edge of Never, Beautiful Disaster, the Twilight Saga. I threw New Moon across the room multiple times!!! And got so grumpy my family stayed far away. How could I have forgotten Hopeless!!!!!

Sara: JB Salsbury’s Fighting for Flight!! Loved it!!

Candace: The Hunger Games, Beautiful Disaster, Real

Randi: The Lonely. And LOST BOY. Both from Tara brown. A Different Blue by Amy Harmon, Kaleb, Zane, and Travis by Nicole Edwards …the Breathing Series by Rebecca Donovan

Stacy: Present Perfect, Taking Chances, the Emi Lost & Found Series (OMG!!), and 50 Shades of course!!

Abby: With Twilight, I felt like a junkie needing my next fix but in my case, it was the next book.  Then I hid the book covers from my hubby so he would think I was on the same book when in reality I was on the last… BDB-love them.

Brooke: Thoughtless & Effortless. I read them both in 24 hours.

Fayza: The Opportunist is by far the best book I read all year!

Camille: Thoughtless series! The only time I stayed up almost all night and would read on my phone under the blankets in bed.

Jessica: Laurell K Hamiliton’s Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter). I was on the last 10 pages when I lfet work and half way through my drive I finally had to pull over onto the side of the highway and finish the book.

Jennie: Really like the Night Huntress Series by Jeanine Frost….after BDB that is!

Louise: Fifty Shades. No question. I had no idea there were books out there like that. I was in a trance.

Rebecca: Lords of the Underworld Series.

Ashley: Fifty shades of Grey, At Peace by Kristen Ashley, Consequences & Truth (Consequences) by Aleatha Romig

Nancy: The Heart Has Reasons

Gokulakrishnan: the sea of tranquility  ♥♥ 50 shades of grey ♥♥

Sara: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Laura: Conquer by M.S. Willis. Its book three in Control series.

Theresa: Rebecca Zanetti’s The Dark Protector Series especially Fated & Claimed

Laura: Branded by Abi Ketner and Missy it sucked me in from page one.

Kelly: Everything Colleen Hoover!

Debbie: All of the above!

Erika: The edge of never, or How to Kill a Rock Star

Argie: The ones you said plus 50shades,Collide, Beauty from Pain, On Every Street, Unbeautifully.

Renee: Beautiful Disaster every time I read it, Emi Lost & Found Series and my dystopian favorite which are amazing I highly recommend them Matched, Crossed, and Reached by Ally Condie

Kiersten: One weekend I didn’t leave my room! I think it was slammed, point of retreat and my boy… Acheron <— sidenote from Maryse… may I just say Oh GOD yes!!!! I was sooooo jealous of… *ahem* her! 😉

Hayley: had to be Afterlife Saga by Stephanie Hudson didn’t leave my bed for days such a fantastic saga definatly my all time favorite x

Mary: Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series <— sidenote from Maryse agreed!!!! LOVE these guys and have at least 6 favorites in the bunch. Talon is my #1!!!

Jillian: Fifty Shades and BDB, definitely!

Sarah: The Crossfire series, Fifty Shades series, Real by Katy Evans, hmmm, the list is endless. When I start reading, everything else is secondary.

Kim: Lover Awakened is definitely one of mine.

Larissa: The Edge of Never.Gone Girl: A Novel.Hopeless.Beautiful Disaster.

Barbara: Fifty shades I was in a haze for three days !! The slammed series kept me up for two nights and THOUGHTLESS which is my number one that one really did a number on me!! I’m still doing re-reads on the whole series!

Holly: Afterlife Saga! I could not put them down!

Katherine: Just bought the audio book for Lover Awakened, so I can listen to the last chapter any time I want. Love Z!

Alexandra: ANY J.R. Ward book! But I’ve also started reading the Maya Banks Breathless series and I’ve been a zombie since Monday!

Carolyn: Acheron.

Angela: I have read all of these but Lover Awakened, it was good? The other 3, well let’s just say I have re-read all of them so many times I’ve lost count! Some of my favorite books EVER!!! <— sidenote from Maryse: OMG ANGELA!!!!!! You are missing out on the BEST one of them all (and favorited by a GREAT MAJORITY of J.R. Ward’s fans… other than those of “V’s” books – he also rocked our worlds).

JaBraun: Fifty shades Series…. depressed that its over.

Grace: Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander Series. I’ve been hooked like it’s meth for 20 years. <—-sidenote from Maryse: OH YES!!! JAMIE gave me all sorts of shivers (of the good and bad kind). Now THAT guy will make you feel.

Jeanette: Thoughtless Series, The Blackstone Affair, Collide & Pulse, The Mighty Storm, those did it for me.

Shannon: Every time I read something by Colleen Hoover!!!

Aimi: The Afterlife Saga by Stephanie Hudson, literally lived on a couple of hours sleep a night cos I sat up reading til the early hours, didn’t wanna put it down.

Karon: 50 Shades was awesome. And for more than the substance of the books, but for opening many minds/discussions. The BDB series got me too. As did the Fever Series…whew. I was there for Twilight too.

Kylee: Thoughtless, Effortless, Reckless… I’d take Kellan Kyle over Christian Grey any day!

Judy: Present Perfect. That book made me ball my eyes out and I was up til 3 am the night before and 4 am last night to finish it.. And packing it in on my breaks at work. Omg.

Nancy: Edge of never, hopeless , sea of tranquility , Find You in the Dark, Captive in the Dark

Shawna: YAY LYING SEASON. Karina and her books ROCK!!!

Carrie: Who is the author of this “Beautiful Disaster” your all talking about? There are several in Kindle books. And by the way, mine is hands down the “Experiment in Terror” series! Dex Foray!!

Nancy:  Carrie, Beautiful Disaster is a MUST read. You will love it. They are making it into a movie, make sure you read it before the movie comes out. You will fall in love with Travis…

MORE TO FOLLOW in PART TWO of “books that were so good we forgot to eat…”