Jennefer’s Comments (group member since Mar 12, 2010)

Jennefer’s comments from the Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous group.

Oh I tend to read at least two at a time. Usually one on my Kindle and one "dead-tree" book. My Kindle book right now is winning most of my reading time :) I have been reading at least one or two chapters of this one every day. I will get it done.

Great review BTW! Took care of that 0.00 rating! Mission accomplished! :)

Karla wrote: "I'm done with FoF. What an excruciating "romance" that was. It was only "meh" as a historical. I have more of Blake's books, but they won't be topping the TBR anytime soon."


All done? I'm still only on page 110 or so... I am going go finish it... eventually :)

BTW I have not read it yet so I didn't want to recommend but I am going to be reading Wicked Loving Lies in a couple weeks and I see you have that one. Maybe you would want to join me and comment in the "buddy reads" thread for that book! :)

I have not read many of the books you have on your BR shelf but I think you would really like Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught. It is fast paced and real emotional roller coaster! You might also enjoy The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Woodiwiss is famous for her leisurely pace in her novels so this one moves a little slower but personally I really enjoy her style and this is a good one of hers :)

Tonya wrote: "...p.s. This is not only my first bodice ripper but also my first written opinion (I wouldn't really call it a review) of a book. Yes, I am 37 years old but I have NEVER been good at writing so I usally don't even try!! Please be nice! "

Great job!!! I am so glad you feel comforitable enough to let us be your first ;) Your comments just made me all the more excited to read this!!!

LOL! Great minds think alike Karla! :)

I am struggling with this one a bit too. On page 74 and I am just interested enough that I know I will keep reading it, but not so much that I am excited about it. We will see... hopefully it will pick up.

As I have been reading this I just could not shake the suspicion that it reads more like what a man might think a woman's thoughts and motivations would be.... it just seems a bit off. I know some men wrote/write romance novels and use pseudonyms so I looked up Stephanie Blake. Yup! Guys real name is Jack Pearl! From what I can tell, this was his second book after Callie Knight.

Welcome Kay! I love Michael Buble :) Oh and ummm yeah, Amazon is crack! I love my Kindle too :)

FYI to anyone else interested in this book... I know Jeanine and Karla are done reading but I am still planning to read this sometime soon. I don't have a copy yet but I think I can find one in the next week or two and will likely read towards the end of the month-ish. I am reading Flowers of Fire now and then The Conquer and then I will probably start this (so many books, so little time! lol). So if anyone is interested and missed it while these two were reading then join me for round two in a couple weeks! :)

I'm around page 40... it's just meh so far. The slightly modern language is thowing me a bit too. I'm waiting for some dramma to kick in between the brothers!

I think we have a few people in the group that are new to these types of books. I think my next project for the group is to start a "new to the genre" folder with suggestions of where to start, maybe an "ask the experts" thread. Still working out what I want to include but it is coming! :)

^This is my sister so everyone be super nice to her!:)
You are welcome my sister! I am glad you are enjoying the book so far! xoxo


Acornn wrote: "...Jennefer, I'd like to thank you for listing questions for us to answer. I prefer when discussions have them because it gives me a place start/let's me know what to say. For me, it's easier to give my opinion if I have specific questions to answer. I'd like it even more if you'd list a few more for us to answer. :-) "

Glad you like the questions Acornn! Those were just a few I thought up off the top of my head when I posted the book. I will try to come up with a few more for next month. Maybe a list of 10 or so? They are completly optional of course. :)



I have my copy on my Kindle but have not started reading yet. I think I will probably get to it beginning of next week, maybe sooner. Depends when I finish my current Kindle read.

Welcome Riccarla and Amanda!

Everyone be super nice to my sister, or else! :) Love you Mandy! xoxo

Gigi wrote: "Great rules Jennefer! Love the freedom of expression, regardless of what it is! And of course, as long as it isnt personally attacking anyone."

Thanks Gigi :)

Karla wrote: "I don't see it as "need to swear" but "have the option." :) ..."

Exactly! It's an option. No one "needs" to and I hope members will not swear just for the sake of being vulgar. But sometimes it is just how some will choose to express themselves and that needs to be ok for this group I think.

I have had this book on my shelf for a while and decided to start it this weekend. When I grab it off my bookshelf I noticed that the cover says "A magnificent romance in the tradition of Wicked Loving Lies" and I thought "Well now I really want to read this!" I know some of you read WLL in the buddy read started by Karla so if you enjoyed that maybe you might want to read this with me!

Flowers of Fire by Stephanie Blake


Descriptions from Goodreads: From the Irish revolution to the American Civil War, from the slave plantations of the South Seas to the Wild West, this sweeping love story follows the tumultuous life of a strong-willed woman and the two men who engulfed her in their passion and fought for her love.
RAVENA -- the stunningly beautiful woman who is torn between twin brothers, one whom she hates and detests but is forced to marry, the other whom she loves deeply but cannot have.
ROGER -- the treacherous, twisted brother who, through lies and deception, takes lovely Ravena for his own.
BRIAN -- the rogue who said, "Hate me or love me, but never forget me," and captured Ravena's heart for all time.

GoodReads Rating: This book is unrated on GoodReads so I think for the common good of the GoodReads community we have an obligation to read and review this bodice ripper! Think of it as your GoodReads civic duty. :)

Avalability: This book is out of print but it shouldn't be to difficult to hunt down.
Paperbackswap has several copies avalable (You can buy credits for 3 bucks or so if you don't have any or are new to paperbackswap. It is awesome!)
Amazon also has a few used copies avalable.
Of course check out your local used bookstore.

I hope some of you will join me! I will be starting this in the next day or two but feel free to jump in anytime this month! I will be checking in here as I read!

I'm sorry you feel that way Shel. I know that not every single member is going to be 100% comfortable with some of the language that will be in the group. I just can't bring myself to ask everyone to censor themselves and feel like they have to walk on eggshells. I don't want anyone to be caught off guard so I am just putting this right out there to begin with.

Shel if you like, when there is a bodice ripper you would like to read with the group you can start a "buddy read" thread and you can set the guidelines for that discussion. That way you can still have the benefit of reading these books with others who also appreciate them without having to come across language that you are not comfortable with. :)

Wendy wrote: "Sorry Jennefer, I should have figured that would be the right place to post this! :)"

Not a problem :)

Welcome new members!

Rather you cut your teeth on these old skool romance novels or you are just curious and are not even sure you know what a “bodice ripper” is, you are in the right place! We hope that you will feel comfortable to jump in and participate and add to the fun!

Let’s get started…

First thing is first. Before you post in any discussion thread please review the Group Rules/Posting Guidelines. *whew* Now that that is out of the way stop by and introduce yourself. Tell us a bit about yourself and what you love about this genre.

Monthly Group Reads and Challenges
Now I am sure if you are here you are looking to read and discuss some books! Every month the group will choose one bodice ripper to read together as a group and here is how it works…

Every month from the 1st to the 12th there will be a nominations thread open for all group member to suggest books they would like to see considered for our monthly group read. Four books will be chosen by the moderator to be put up for a group poll from the 15th of the month to the 25th for members to vote for their pick. In addition to the 4 books from the nominations thread there will also be a 5th choice as a “second chance” option. This will be the book that received the second number of highest votes in the poll from the month before. The book with the highest number of votes will then be announced as our official group read for the following month!

In addition to our monthly group reads we also like to do the occasional challenge around here. Everyone loves a reading challenge! As a group we have a quarterly reading challenge just for fun.

All members are encouraged to actively participate in our monthly group read by making nominations, voting in the group poll and by reading and discussing the book with the group!
Stop by the Group Reads and Challenges Folder folder to check it out!



Buddy Reads
In addition to the monthly group read feel free to start a thread for a book you would like to read and see who joins you! You may chose books of any genre but keep in mind books that are of the bodice ripper variety will probably receive the most interest. Its kinda our thing! :)

Chatter
Looking for a recommendation? Got a question? Reading something amazing that you are just dying to tell someone about? Drop in and share what you are reading, some of your favorite covers, and whatever else is on your mind in the Discussions and Questions Folder.

Games!
We have a whole folder dedicated to fun and games! Stop by for some good time wasting fun! :)

Member Reviews and Lists
This folder is all about you! Feel free to start a personal thread or two. Keep a running list of books you have read and your reviews and or a running list of books you are planning to read. Feel free to use the Members Reading Lists and Reviews Folder anyway you see fit.


No Book Left Behind!
We love old skool romance around here and want to shout it to the world! To many books, especially bodice rippers, are left unreviewd here on GoodReads for some reason or another! Well we just won't stand for it! Something must be done! No Book Left Behind! :) Join the Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous campaign to review the unreviewed! Come share your recent review of a book previously unreviewed (any genre) so we can thank you for your contributions to the GoodReads community! :)

Other Things To Do
Members are more than welcome to add books to our group bookshelf (just add to the “to read” shelf and any of the sub-shelves that apply). FYI books on the group bookshelf should be exclusively bodice rippers.

Feel free to start a discussion thread in any folder you like! (just go to the folder and click on the link that says "new topic") If you are not sure what folder to put it in just pick what seems to be the best fit and a moderator will move if necessary.

The group read nominations and books on the bookshelf should be exclusively bodice rippers. Outside of that all book discussions of any genre are welcome!

If you have any questions post them here or PM one of the mods and we will do my best to answer.

Welcome to the group! Thank you for joining and reading with us!

xoxo
Jennefer
(updated 05/22/11)

FYI I am going to move this thread to the "Help Looking For..." folder