Need a good historical romance. Other genres too. discussion
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Discussion of HR and other books. And recs.
Mod
I read Grace #1 & Faith #3 of that series.
I'm reading an ebook from NetGalley - an actual historical romance! - and am enjoying it very much. It's a new-to-me author. I think some of you might enjoy it. It will be published 7/23/24. https://www.amazon.com/Neer-Duke-Well...
I saw that you got to read Julie Anne Long's new title. I'm a bit envious.
I find myself reading fewer and fewer historical romances. At least the new releases. They are just too wallpapery for me, with too much 21-century attitude. Still enjoy historical mystery but those also require picking and choosing well.
OLT wrote: "I find myself reading fewer and fewer historical romances. At least the new releases. They are just too wallpapery for me, with too much 21-century attitude. Still enjoy historical mystery but thos..."Do try Ill-Mannered Ladies! Not wallpapery!
Carol wrote: "OLT wrote: "I find myself reading fewer and fewer historical romances. At least the new releases. They are just too wallpapery for me, with too much 21-century attitude. Still enjoy historical myst..."That sounds cute. Mystery and romance. And not a vapid 19-year-old heroine.
OLT wrote: "Carol wrote: "OLT wrote: "I find myself reading fewer and fewer historical romances. At least the new releases. They are just too wallpapery for me, with too much 21-century attitude. Still enjoy h..."Not cutesy, but some funny scenes. Romance just beginning to bud. I've had a few very good reads lately that weren't HR's. The Hard Truth About Sunshine was wonderful and from a porn writer.
Roberta2 wrote: "I saw that you got to read Julie Anne Long's new title. I'm a bit envious."I'm glad I joined NetGalley. It is nice to read books months before they are published. I've also discovered books I really liked that I would not otherwise have run across. I just read a book, write a review, and post it to a few retail sites such as Amazon and Goodreads.
I haven't been reading as much in the last week because I subscribed to BritBox. I have been watching murder mysteries. I am watching Vera, although I probably will take a break for a while. I recently read The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store which I enjoyed. I loved the cast of characters (and there were many).
Roberta2 wrote: "I haven't been reading as much in the last week because I subscribed to BritBox. I have been watching murder mysteries. I am watching Vera, although I probably will take a break for a while. I rece..."Hi there
I am Aussie, love Britbox and am keen on British Police shows. A great favourite of mine is Foyle's War - set in Hastings, seaside town that I know. H is single father, his son has enlisted, training to be a pilot. H is very clever, taciturn, kind and terrified about his son, but is stoic and internalizes his fears. It's on Binge here but maybe on Britbox for you? A warning, it's a slower pace than US detective stories in my experience, anyway.
Mod
There is nothing like a good mystery. But one such show was
on tv in real time. It had 2 Scottish detectives: a man and woman,
I understood 25% of what they said. They spoke too quickly & I
did not have closed-captioning.''
Forgot to say, they used words Americans don't know. I so
wanted to see these detectives, can't recall title of series,
but male detective was a baron or a viscount?
HR-ML wrote: "Roberta2 & BJ, There is nothing like a good mystery. But one such show was
on tv in real time. It had 2 Scottish detectives: a man and woman,
I understood 25% of what they said. They spoke too ..."
And then they play music in the background, so when you turn up the volume the music also gets louder, so it doesn't help.
I have been trying to get through The Lily of Ludgate Hill, but finally gave up. I hope this isn't an omen of novels to come. Rambling, noncohesive story about uninteresting characters.
I rather liked The Lily of Ludgate Hill, but I have to admit that I liked the first 2 in the series a lot more. There are so few HR authors I read anymore; Mimi Matthews is one of them. So, I will definitely get the next in the series. I think this particular book was the way it was because the author had been mourning the loss of her father. But the heroine was a bit hard to take at times.
BJ, I watched Foyle's War years ago and loved it. I turn on closed caption for most TV now. Even with my hearing aids in, I can't hear a lot of dialogue.
I seem to be having trouble sleeping again and my cognitive therapist advised watching something lighter than murder mysteries late in the evening. lol So, I started Miss Marple last night which is murder mystery, but I thought perhaps a bit lighter. The first was witty and laugh out loud, but then they got a bit darker. So, I think I failed in my assignment.
I really wish there was a studio that just turned out HRs into movies/series. Then, maybe I would fall asleep more easily.
Ohhh I've come across a terrific romantic suspense by Christina Dodd. for her last few books she has been concentrating on suspense, but in Every Single Secret all of that pent up 4 ghost pepper hot sex has come bursting out. Just like spring. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
HR-ML wrote: "Roberta2 & BJ, There is nothing like a good mystery. But one such show was
on tv in real time. It had 2 Scottish detectives: a man and woman,
I understood 25% of what they said. They spoke too ..."
Ellizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series? He was an aristo, his assistant Barbara was brilliant, but a real slob? I don't remember them being Scottish, but I do remember them being hard to understand. I'm not sure what you mean by "real time".
Roberta2 wrote: "I really wish there was a studio that just turned out HRs into movies/series. Then, maybe I would fall asleep more easily."Lol, Roberta2. Have you tried Hallmark Channel romances? If they don't put you to sleep, nothing will. Unfortunately, those are all insipid contemporary romance.
Roberta2 wrote: "I really wish there was a studio that just turned out HRs into movies/series. Then, maybe I would fall asleep more easily."And I can't stay awake, even with coffee.
I think a very smart HR series is about the mid-Victorian age Suffragist movement. Written by Evie Dunmore, the first book is Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women Book 1) I think this is a very well researched historical series. The romance and ghost pepper chili rating is at least a 3. Many libraries have this in their catalogues.
Maureen wrote: "I think a very smart HR series is about the mid-Victorian age Suffragist movement. Written by Evie Dunmore, the first book is Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women Book 1) I thi..."
I have also enjoyed the series. Didn't know book 4 was out. On my TBR list.
Roberta2 wrote: "I rather liked The Lily of Ludgate Hill, but I have to admit that I liked the first 2 in the series a lot more. There are so few HR authors I read anymore; Mimi Matthews is one of them. So, I will ..."I'm going to try it again. Probably this weekend.
Mod
I think you found the series! But they may have been English rather than Scottish? My bad.
Roberta2,
Does youtube has any free Carol Burnett? She's on MeTV @11PM, EST, weekdays, but only for 30 mins. The last I watched, Carol's character gave someone 'the stink eye' and it was a hoot.
Hallmark movies are too formula based. I'm in the middle of "Napa Ever After" w/ a mostly black cast. Beautiful Cassandra is a real estate attorney who inherits a vineyard. She assumes Alec, the vineyard mgr. & a software specialist, is unqualified to stay on. He developed the irrigation system! Cass thinks if Alec gives her a few hours, she can learn the vineyard system. He replied could he learn to be an attorney in a few hours!!! LOL! These 2 have chemistry. And the story is better written than some rom movies.
HR-ML wrote: "Roberta2 & BJ, There is nothing like a good mystery. But one such show was
on tv in real time. It had 2 Scottish detectives: a man and woman,
I understood 25% of what they said. They spoke too ..."
I'd love to find out the Scottish series - if you remember it.
Funny story, my Scottish grandfather was from North East Scottish area not far from John o'Groats. When my then very Aussie husband met Papa, he couldn't understand a word he said. I thought he was joking at first, to me it was plain English!
Some years later we travelled to Scotland, met loads of my family, and I had to translate almost everything for my ex. I thought it funny, but now my kids struggle with Scottish shows. So I enjoy them alone.
BJ wrote: "HR-ML wrote: "Roberta2 & BJ, There is nothing like a good mystery. But one such show was
on tv in real time. It had 2 Scottish detectives: a man and woman,
I understood 25% of what they said. T..."
I just started listening to a book read by someone with a Scottish accent. I'm going to have to quit it because I can't understand what the reader is saying. Luckily, it's a library audio.
I was just thinking about authors who have stopped writing. Jayne Fresina hasn't published anything for a while. Lisa Kleypas is another. There is another historical author whose name or books I can't remember. The main character may have been an actress. I think she had been respectable and was ruined? Maybe.
Mod
Interesting about your Grandpa and your ex. I got the details
wrong on the series w/ the detectives. But I recall a scene
where the detectives walked into a rural police outpost, and I
barely understood the rural men. They spoke too fast for me.
Yrs ago, I had a client who had a southern accent. The accents
vary & you have to really listen for the intent of the message.
He said to me "just because I talk slow, (northerners) they
think I'm stupid." My late Mom was a steal magnolia
from Louisiana. She had a Master's degree before women
even went to college!
I love accents and used to guess the accent, I don't do
this anymore. I thought a delivery man was from AU
when he was from New Zealand. He was offended- sorry mate!
Mod
Miss Scarlet will return for 5th season on PBS- but Stuart Martin
as the Duke won't!!!! Doesn't sound like the Duke will be
re-cast & who could take his place?????
HR-ML wrote: "BUMMER!!! Sorry for bad news- just got a PBS email. Miss Scarlet will return for 5th season on PBS- but Stuart Martin
as the Duke won't!!!! Doesn't sound like the Duke will be
re-cast & who coul..."
I saw that but, ya know, for the last two seasons there has been very little spark or chemistry between the two characters. The first two seasons made me all excited for them to eventually declare their love for each other and be together, but since then it's been a bit of a meh for me. I still enjoy the mysteries, though. I wish Moses would come back, however.
Mod
I so wanted the MCs to make a go of it. But she wouldn't give
up her career, so to marry was unlikely. The Duke wanted to be
the bread-winner.
Yes Moses is a scene-stealer. And the accent! I stream it on PBS for close-caption.
Well, I liked the back and forth between them, but when they sent him off to the USA, I thought the actor was out. They sent her other love interest to jail. I guess she will just be on her own. I too wish Moses would come back.
Oh, I just read the article, and it says Nash will return for season 5.
Do you think they will try for a romance between him and Scarlet? The show, starting next season, is merely titled โMiss Scarlet.โ
Scottish Detective series Hamish Macbeth , Robert Carlyle played Hamish (1995)
Taggart , old one from (1985 to 2010)
Shetland (2013 to 2023)
My dad was from near Montrose. Husband could not understand him sometimes. Used to ask me what he was saying.
My husband and I are from the north west of England. (Manchester)
When we went to W Australia to visit family. The younger members of the family could not understand my husband accent. Said he talked to fast.
They did not understand what I was talking about at times, due to not knowing what I was trying to tell them. Probably Northern England dialect and meanings not being the same.
Mod
Thanks. I find all accents fascinating, also word choices. Cincinnati is my adopted
city, (I was born in a tiny Indiana town-some might call me a "hick") & when we
say "please" we may mean "excuse me?" Or "can you repeat what you said?"
I saw a Beach Boys then Monkees docu. IIRC Davy Jones was from Manchester? Stephen Stills later associated w/ CSNY was considered for one of the Monkee roles. The Beach
Boys made brief music videos in the mid-1960s before there was such a thing!
Davy Jones was from Openshaw in Manchester . He started off in Coronation Street as a young teenager. This is the longest running soap, based in Manchester. (1960)I have a cousin who lived in Indiana when she was young , she now lives in Chicago.
HR-ML wrote: "Hi Shaz, Thanks. I find all accents fascinating, also word choices. Cincinnati is my adopted
city, (I was born in a tiny Indiana town-some might call me a "hick") & when we
say "please" we may m..."
HR-ML, where in Indiana did you live? I lived in Indiana from about the age of 10 until I married at 23 and moved to South America. Mainly Seymour, Indiana. (The home of John Cougar Mellencamp, BTW.)
Mod
& a good eatery. My late Mom and I used to visit my late 3rd grade
teacher, of Sisters of Saint Francis order, in a nearby town.
John Cougar Mellancamp "I was born in a small town....."
Indiana connection. My mother's brother lived in Indianapolis. I remember we visited him and his family once when I was a child. The only day I remember was going to a lake and spending the day on a beach.
Read the latest Lynn Messina A Lark's Conceit and really liked it. I don't recommend reading it as a stand alone. Sometimes the introspection goes on for quite a bit, but I do enjoy the interaction between her and her two best friends.
Mod
Indiana felt like a perfectly fine place to live when I was a kid but I could never move back there nowadays, in spite of having family there still, mostly cousins of various degrees of separation. Too conservative there, but then who am I to talk, living in Florida as I do.I got my undergraduate degree at Ball State University (founded by the Ball brothers, the canning jars and lids guys) in Muncie, Indiana, and always felt a teensy bit of pride that David Letterman also graduated from there. Other Ball State alumni include Ophrah's man, Stedman Graham, the Papa John's Pizza founder (explains his odious conservatism), and the late actress Joyce DeWitt of Three's Company. (As you can see, Ball State is not a very prestigious institution.)
Roberta2 wrote: "Read the latest Lynn Messina A Lark's Conceit and really liked it. I don't recommend reading it as a stand alone. Sometimes the introspection goes on for quite a bit, but I do enjo..."I have read many of Messina's novels and, in general, enjoy them. I do agree about the excessive introspection. The MC can be in the middle of a conversation with someone and spend so much time in her head that I start to forget what the topic of conversation was.
This series is in KU. I've read all 3 of them and enjoyed them. A modern woman - a police woman - is hunting a rapist when she is attacked in an alley and somehow ends up in the past - in Victorian Scotland. Each book has a different mystery to solve. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CNFSLFG/...
OLT wrote: "Roberta2 wrote: "Read the latest Lynn Messina A Lark's Conceit and really liked it. I don't recommend reading it as a stand alone. Sometimes the introspection goes on for quite a b..."I read one years ago and wasn't a fan. I may give her another try one day.
I am doing a reread of the Malory series by Johanna Lindsey. This is one of my favourite series.
Need a good historical romance. Other genres too.
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