Douglas’s Comments (group member since Jun 15, 2017)

Douglas’s comments from the Read, Reading, Planning to Read and More group.

I read an excellent book today called From Ash and Stone and would highly recommend it BUT I seldom consider price but $11 for it seems like WAY out of line.

Am I imagining something, did someone post that Wild Country was going to be the last "others" book?

I had forgotten how much fun these "Wild Ones" books are, only about 3 pages in and already laughing my butt off :)

Wilder

Vanessa wrote: " I received what I thought was an ARC of Laurenston's next badger book. I was so excited about it, but come to find out it is just the prelude and the first chapter. ..."

This is the 2nd time they did this, did it with the last badger book also, pissed me off BUT they did come back and offer me the actual book shortly before release so keep watch :)

Sharon wrote: "let me give you three books back you may not have read.."

From the reviews it would seem people REALLY liked them

To be honest I may have to back up and read the first 2 again since it has been so long

I will have to write a review tomorrow but I stayed up late reading A Duke Changes Everything and while I think it is a solid 4 Star novel (not 5 because it lacked the humor I expect in 5 Star historicals and was a bit less violent than I would have preferred in one or 2 scenes) it was a great story and for once a damn fully finished ending, so many of these books end with the proposal or some other horrible ending spot. Other than very little humor I can't really complain much other than it was not 100% original which seems to be the way a lot of these type books are but adjusted just enough not to make you think of any other specific novel and I enjoyed it so highly recommended.

For any of you that love fantasy romance and adventure this is one of the best series there is, the final book was released today after 3 years (publishing commitments had her backed up and this is an indie project of hers,) first 2 books are KU so you can read for free and the new book is $5.99 which I shelled out in a heartbeat. Read the first book for FREE with KU and see if you can stop :) HIGHLY recommended!

Book 1 - Reluctant Concubine
Book 2 - Accidental Sorceress
Book 3 - Guardian Queen

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KT8SS6M

I think the "In the hands of a more skilled writer" was what just drove me over the edge, like who in the fk would you get to write this story better than Anne Bishop (makes my head hurt just thinking about it)

Just to show how stupid people can be, I stumbled into a publisher's website for a competitor of the publisher for "Written in Red" by Anne Bishop and saw the below quote and thought WTF are you talking about, bottom line, the reviewer was upset that there was not enough diversity and "evil white man" in a book that is almost universally accepted as a near masterpiece. Don't people just read for enjoyment anymore?? I cannot understand people that live and breath politics 24/7 along with the political dogma of their chosen set of corrupt politicians ............

"In the hands of a more skilled writer, the alternate America of Written in Red could have been used as a setting for an interesting examination of race, gender, and the legacy of colonialism"

(sigh)

Well have not posted much since I have been indulging one of my guilty pleasures of War of the Damned/War of the Angels but decided I needed to check out something else before I started back on it so I grabbed this one which is actually book 1 of a book 2 that I was given to review A Duke Changes Everything

@Vanessa - I loved Feel the Burn because it brought back everybody's favorite insane Queen, Annwyl the Bloody :) I think I laughed more during this book than almost any I can think of in the last 2 years, especially the Daughters of the Steppes

Just a comment on my tastes of historical romance. To be considered exceptional IMHO it must have some combination of the following (the quality of the writing and such is assumed):

humor (some of the most LOL moments in reading this past year were reading historical romance)

Real adventure (the kind that Kerrigan Byrne always has in her Victorian Rebels)

Some bit of romance that does not fall into the "insta-love" category

Some type of villain you can hate, many times this is just a adversary for the affection of the hero but many times it is an actual villain

Everybody loves a Cinderella story and I am not immune to the appeal of such stories myself. :)

My personal favorite of course is revenge :) The revenge in The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo happened so fast I was somewhat disappointed he did not suffer much longer LOL

LAB☺ wrote: "Finished Summoned to Thirteenth Grave last night. I enjoyed it, but am I the only one who had issues with the ending?
[spoilers re..."

I was not sure what to make of it, I gave it 4 Stars but the ending did not bother me except for that last sentence :) I was more put off by them having sex or wanting to have sex every time they were in the same room, the fact that the world was on the verge of a major catastrophic event would have cooled the jets of most folks :)

The last sentence of my review:

"Bottom Line: Amazing story, excellent ending, a bit verbose, a wee bit too much sex at inappropriate times it seemed (since the world might be ending) but if you have read most of the books in this series (and don't even THINK about reading this if you haven't) this was an excellent ending but there is that last sentence .............."

@Aussie Girl - Oddly enough I hardly ever get turned down for any book I request but I thought that Not the Duke’s Darling looked like it might be interesting but I was turned down BUT it seems that the PR people for the paranormal writers actually look at who is requesting the books and the historical romance PR people just randomly approve and disapprove ARCs just to clear their inbox (actually had one of the PR people for St Martins tell me this)

Well I have been trolling for some good historical romance books, they seem to be the best entertainment when I need a break from paranormal but sadly the genre seems to be overflowing with mediocre writers. I could have sworn I had read this but can find no record of having ever bought it or any ARC provided, anyone read this Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas ?

I spent my Amazon credits for this one A Duke Changes Everything since I was offered the sequel from Edelweiss Anything But a Duke hoping I did not shoot my money for mediocrity

I needed something short and entertaining tonight for a change of pace and grabbed this one by Tessa Dare for 99 cents and it was worth every cent :) About 144 pages

The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright

For anyone interested I found a deal on those Quinn & Cafferty books, 3 in 1 for about $15

Heather Graham Cafferty & Quinn Series Books 1-3: Let the Dead Sleep\Waking the Dead\The Dead Play On

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0181WFD00/ <- purchase link

All three books are out and if anyone wants to check out this series without spending about $7 each (although might be some spoilers) there are several short stories/novellas under Cafferty & Quinn Novels in KU


Let the Dead Sleep (Cafferty & Quinn Novels Book 1)

It was stolen from a New Orleans grave, the centuries-old bust of an evil man, a demonic man. It's an object desired by collectors and by those with wickedness in their hearts.

One day, its current owner shows up at Danni Cafferty's antiques shop on Royal Street, the shop she inherited from her father. But before Danni can buy the statue, it disappears and the owner is found dead….

Waking the Dead (Cafferty & Quinn Novels Book 2)

They say a painting can have a life of its own…

In the case of Ghosts in the Mind painted by Henry Sebastian Hubert, that's more than just an expression. The characters are reputed to come to life—and to kill. The artist was a friend of Lord Byron and Mary Shelley, joining them in Switzerland in 1816, and now, almost two hundred years later, the painting appears in New Orleans. Wherever it goes, death seems to follow.

Blending their personal relationship with the professional lives they've stumbled into, they confront this work of art and evil. They have to discover what brings it to life. And they have to destroy it before it destroys them.

The Dead Play On (Cafferty & Quinn Novels Book 3)

Musicians are being murdered in New Orleans. But Arnie Watson apparently died by his own hand. When Tyler Anderson plays the saxophone he inherited from Arnie, a soldier and musician who died soon after his return, he believes he sees visions of his friend's life—and death. He becomes convinced Arnie was murdered and that the instrument had something to do with whatever happened, and with whatever's happening all over the city.

Tyler knows his theory sounds crazy to the police, so he approaches Danni Cafferty, hoping she and Michael Quinn will find out what the cops couldn't. Or wouldn't. After all, Cafferty and Quinn have become famous for solving unusual crimes.

@Monadh - I wrote about a dozen or so reviews in 2019, got 3 helpful vote, gained 11 places ?????? WTF??? I give up, I think they use a random number generator. I like the outcome but in the back of my mind I keep thinking I have cheated somehow LOL