What are you reading August 22?

[Okie]

I'm starting this week with Ollie Always by John Wiltshire.

[Rachel]

I'm still away in training and I started reading the Hannah Howell Highlanders series again starting with Highland Vow - it's a classic (:

[Stacey]

I'm reading this week - Prisoned, Rookie Move, and Too Wild to Tame. Busy, busy, busy...lots of ARC's to be read. :-) ♥

[Leigh-Ayn]

I've just finished Caught up in the Touch by Laura Trentham (The football series)
might just go straight to book 3!
I'm also trying to remember why I haven't read A season of ruin by Anna Bradley yet....
lol

[Irisheyes]

Jealous of ROOKIE MOVE, Stacey! I can't wait to read that book.

I'm in the middle of Janice Kay Johnson's THE BABY HE WANTED. It's the second book in a 2 book series. I like it but I think I'd like it better without the "romantic suspense" element. I think JKJ is veering more into that genre so I suppose if I want to keep reading her I have to come to terms with that.

[Stacey]

Irisheyes wrote: "Jealous of ROOKIE MOVE, Stacey! I can't wait to read that book.

I'm in the middle of Janice Kay Johnson's THE BABY HE WANTED. It's the second book in a 2 book series. I like it but I think I'd lik..."

I'm looking forward to reading it too. So many good books coming up soon. :-)

[Manda]

Also some mad jealousy here over Rookie Move! But it's not like I don't have plenty to read. After finishing my reread of The Alienist which I last read in the mid-90s when it was at its peak popularity, I've moved on to the next one in the series, The Angel of Darkness. Completely different world from my usual Regency or contemporary fare. But the depiction of turn of the century New York City is just spellbinding. Plus the mystery/psychological thriller elements are excellent.

[Charlene]

I read the tenth Maiden Lane book and it was a disappointing read for me, and I see I'm really in the minority here from glancing at other reviews. The depth of hero's depravity was too much (imho) for the good-girl-can-save-him trope.

The cover is one of the hottest I've seen in a while, and the model has a shirt on! He also didn't wax his chest, which is a nice change and more reflective of those times.

Also there is a promise that the new Ghost of St Giles will appear in the next book. I'm committed to this series, but I confess I like the earlier stories better than some of the later ones. Maybe the next one will gain more stars from me. Hope so!

[Stacey]

Charlene wrote: "I read the tenth Maiden Lane book and it was a disappointing read for me, and I see I'm really in the minority here from glancing at other reviews. The depth of her..."

Charlene, I struggled with this one a bit too. I really liked the heroine though so it made up for it. I'm also very excited to meet the new Ghost of St Giles. :D

[Manda]

Charlene, I agree with you about the cover. But maybe I just have a thing for blonds :) I saw Duke of Sin as a kind of episode in the series book rather than as a romance I bought into on it's own, if that makes sense. I needed to read it, like with a television show, or a mystery series, to be up on what was happening in that world, but the romance wasn't my reason for enjoying it. I too thought Val was just a bridge too far when it came to his actions and behavior. But I was glad to have read it for purposes of series continuity and for the preview of the next book.

[Janga]

I finished SEP's First Star I See Tonight. I really liked the heroine and the way SEP twisted some of the romance conventions. The hero begins a bit too much alpha jerk for my taste, but he comes around nicely once he realizes that he has fallen in love. Next up is a reread of an early Balogh newly released in digital format, The Double Wager.

I'm another who found myself unable to believe in the redemption of the hero of Hoyt's Duke of Sin. It was a DNF for me. However, the book just before it Sweetest Scoundrel was one of my favorite Hoyt books, and I remain committed to the series.

Irish, JKJ has been on my auto-buy list since the 90s, but I moved her to my book-by-book list since it looked as if she were going to stay with romantic suspense. But her next release, A Mother’s Claim (December 1) sounds as if it is will focus more on relationships. It is on my calendar. She is such a good writer, but I’m not a big fan of romantic suspense generally. Even Brenda Novak let me down with The Secrets She Kept. I just could not move past the mother-in-law-son-in-law affair—especially since his behavior was excused and forgiven. I have read some great books this year, but I seem to have had an unusual number of disappointing reads too.

[Irisheyes]

Yeah, Janga, my solution is to track down a lot of her earlier works. LOL I still haven't made my way through all of her backlist so at least that's something. I can do romantic suspense every once in a while but it's definitely not my favorite. It's a big reason I haven't read a lot of Nora Roberts recent releases, too.

[Irisheyes]

I was thinking about you yesterday, Janga! I was in a used book store and came across THE TROUBLE WITH JOE by Emilie Richards. I don't know why but your name popped into my head. And sure enough... I came home and googled the book here and on The Romance Dish and it was one of your recs. LOL I'm excited to start reading it.

I'm in the middle of another awesome find at the moment - THE PRISONER by Cheryl Reavis, one I've been keeping an eye out for years. I also checked that one out on Amazon and found out I could have bought it. She must have just released it in ebook format cause I know I couldn't get it when I first looked months and months ago. Nothing beats the excitement of browsing the used book store isles and finding an old book you've been searching for forever, though! Mary Balogh and Carla Kelly were my amazing finds years ago before they started releasing all of their older books in ebook format.

[Janga]

Irisheyes wrote: "I was thinking about you yesterday, Janga! I was in a used book store and came across THE TROUBLE WITH JOE by Emilie Richards. I don't know why but your name popped into my head. And sure enough......"

I love The Trouble with Joe, Irish. Emilie Richards is one of those writers I discovered in the 80s during her category days and have continued to read as she moved on to single titles in romance, mystery, and women's fiction. If I had unlimited funds, I would buy everything she has released in digital format, but my book budget forces me to buy selectively. I did buy her paranormal duet--Once More with Feeling and Twice Upon a Time--recently. Not my usual fare, but these are paranormal with a difference and I love them. Of course, I bought Prospect Street, another of my all-time favorites. I wish more of her categories were available, especially the Men of Midnight trilogy and some of her novellas.

[Leigh-Ayn]

I battled with Duke of sin too...It was close to a DNF but I had to finish it for the sake of the series.
I am looking forward to the next one! I love it when a lady saves the day haha

I've just bought First star I see!

But also ladies talk to me about the JAL Hot in Hellcat Canyon pretty please!!!! is this a series i need to be reading??

[Janga]

Leigh-Ayn wrote: "But also ladies talk to me about the JAL Hot in Hellcat Canyon pretty please!!!! is this a series i need to be reading??"

Yes!! The first one is my top contemporary read of the year so far. I've read it twice and read some sections three times.

[Manda]

I agree with Janga, Leigh-Ayn. I only read it a few weeks ago, but loved it.

[Leigh-Ayn]

Manda wrote: "I agree with Janga, Leigh-Ayn. I only read it a few weeks ago, but loved it."

Janga wrote: "Yes!! The first one is my top contemporary read of the ..."

Thanks Ladies!