Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed*
I gave up on Captive Prince (pt 1) on page 108. Before that, I read a historical het inspirational called Valeria's Cross, which was so bad I now understand why so many reviewers mock inspies. In other words, my reading luck sucked recently. However, I have Static here (LA Witt), which should cleanse the palate.
I absolutely *must* read Static sometime in the next 6 weeks. I can't see Lori again and still have that one sitting in the TBR.
We can always do it together. :)
I loved Static, though read it back to back with Chase in Shadow - as a combination they're emotionally draining and sent me diving for the tissues more than once!
I prefer an intense read to all the wet blankets I had recently...
This is why I keep books back by authors I love - if I hit a run of awful books I know I have something I'll enjoy to make up for it (helps that I re-read books too).
Very wise. I think next one up after Static might be a run of Manna Francis. Never disappoints, can write, does edit, and the characters and setting make sense.
Aleksandr wrote: "Very wise. I think next one up after Static might be a run of Manna Francis. Never disappoints, can write, does edit, and the characters and setting make sense."And the print books look gorgeous, including cover art.
I'm likely the only one who thinks the covers are too fuzzy. It's hard to make anything out really.
Sarah wrote: "I loved Static, though read it back to back with Chase in Shadow - as a combination they're emotionally draining and sent me diving for the tissues more than once!"I LOVE Chase in Shadows. I never read books twice, but am reading Chase again this weekend. Am looking for Static now. Thanks for the recommendation!
Aleksandr wrote: "I gave up on Captive Prince (pt 1) on page 108. Before that, I read a historical het inspirational called Valeria's Cross, which was so bad I now understand why so many reviewers mock inspies. In o..."I did like Captive Prince, but Static is absolutely one of my favorites.
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Trick of Time by J.L. Merrow was the only audiobook I listened from the beginning to the end (I also listened to The Casual Vacancy, but I haven't finished it yet). The Trick of Time was enjoyable way to pass time in the plane. Thank you for the tip, Sylvia. :)
The Salisbury Key made me seriously want to write a fan letter to Harper Fox. I absolutely love her writing, it's utterly beautiful and soulful and the way she draws her characters is so lovely. The Salisbury Key was one of the best books I've read for a while and it's probably my favorite Harper Fox book so far. And one more thing: Some time ago we discussed about the books that have made us cry with the main character. At the time I couldn't think any other book like that than Come Unto These Yellow Sands — I cried with Swift at one point (and I remember Manu saying the same thing). Well, now I have two books that have made me cry at the same time than the main character cries — I did cry with Daniel while reading The Salisbury Key. And that's a compliment.
Shattered Glass by Dani Alexander I liked a lot, but at first it felt kind of raw, a bit unpolished after reading Harper Fox. But when I got used to Dani Alexander's style, the writing stared to feel refreshing after a while. I'd definitely like to read more from this author.
I adore Ginn Hale and her Wicked Gentlemen was no exception. The description in this book is so rich, visual, poetical. It creates such a unique atmosphere. I loved it. I loved the way many of the chapters began with beautiful sentences like: "The night hung in tatters. Gas streetlamps chewed at the darkness." If you haven't read this one (and I suppose there is only few of you who haven't) do yourself a favor and read it as soon as possible. :)
I haven't read Erastes before and I was really impressed by Junction X. This book was no light vacation read though — it was truly a tough read. Extremely good book with a gripping, agonizing atmosphere. Embarrassingly, this one made me cry in the airplane... the kind of tears that just won't stop even if you desperately try to will them to stop from falling. I highly recommend!
I thoroughly enjoyed Every Time I Think of You by Jim Provenzano — a new author for me. It was very funny at times and extremely heart-wrenching at others. A lovely, lovely book, really. I think that this one would make a great BOM book for us! I wholeheartedly recommend it.
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:-)
Thank you, Charlinda!
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I'm hearing so much about Captive Prince right now. I can't say anything so far has tempted me to give it a read.
Is there anything about this story that would appeal to me?
Come on. Given the rave reviews, it must have some universal elements that would appeal to even hard-hearted old me?
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The Salisbury Key made me seriously want to write a fan letter to Harper Fox. I absolutely love her writing, it's utterly beautiful and soulful and the way she draws her characters is so lovely. The Salisbury Key was one of the best books I've read for a while and it's probably my favorite Harper Fox book so far. And one more thing: Some time ago we discussed about the books that have made us cry with the main character. At the time I couldn't think any other book like that than Come Unto These Yellow Sands — I cried with Swift at one point (and I remember Manu saying the same thing). Well, now I have two books that have made me cry at the same time than the main character cries — I did cry with Daniel while reading The Salisbury Key. And that's a compliment.
..."
Oh you should! There is no one more humble and appreciative of kind words than Harper. And you know, she does not partake of the craziness of the internet, so she gets ZERO feedback from readers unless they contact her directly.
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Oh! Had you not read Wicked Gentlemen before? I love this book. :-)
Josh wrote: "Okay. What ARE you guys all reading? You're so quiet. and I KNOW you're reading. This is a safe zone. Go ahead and share. Even if it's been a disappointing stretch. That's okay."I rearrange my ebook folder and find some interesting books I own but haven't read. I finished Elle Parker's Like Coffee and Doughnuts. Enjoyable read. I finished Sonata Appasionata by Cat Grant and I also enjoy it very much. (But why can't I find it listed on Goodreads?) I wonder if anyone knows another M/M set in classical/ jazz music world?
@ Cleon- Have you looked at Shira Anthony's series? The first one is a jazz violinist (classical training)- Blue Notes. I've read and enjoyed the first two of the three, so far.
Reggie wrote: "@ Cleon- Have you looked at Shira Anthony's series? The first one is a jazz violinist (classical training)- Blue Notes. I've read and enjoyed the first two of the three, so far."
thanks for the rec, REggie! I'll look it up! :)
After hearing from you all, I picked up the first Dresden Files book for Free from Audible. I listened to it on my last out of town trip. It was very fun! The book and the narrator are so entertaining. The traffic didn't bother me at all. 8)Now I'm going to have to get my hands on the next one.....and the next...and the next....oh my!
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Whaaa--? Was it free?
I haven't read much lately, but one I did like is the Pawn, the newest book from [author:Kate Sherwood|3462951. She is one of my auto buys, and this one did not disappoint, a dark futuristic story.
Yep! I'll try to post next time.;)
Johanna wrote: "I didn't do as much reading as I thought I would during my vacation, but here are a few words on the books I read in the order I read them:Trick of Time by J.L. Merrow was the only audiobook I li..."
Seems I have missed the one by Harper Fox, this must be remedied immediatlely :). The only other one I haven't tried is the one by Erastes, frankly the blurb scared me a bit, the other ones are all good reads, and very different from each other. Which is a good and fine thing :)
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Trick of Time by J.L. Merrow was the onl..."
No. Don't read the Junction X just now, Anne. Leave it for later. It's a gloomy story. Beautiful in some melancholy ways, but sad altogether. It's not a story for you right now.
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Trick of Time by J.L. Merrow was the onl..."
The Salisbury Key also deals with the unexpected death of a loved one, so I'm not sure if I'd recommend that one either for you right now. But... it has a lot of hope and relief in it too. And it's simply beautiful. And it's always such a joy to read Harper Fox's writing. So maybe this one could be even comforting — I think.
Johanna wrote: "Anne wrote: "Johanna wrote: "I didn't do as much reading as I thought I would during my vacation, but here are a few words on the books I read in the order I read them:Trick of Time by J.L. Merro..."
Maybe it shall come with me on holiday. I think Erastes is out for now. Thanks, Johanna.
I've been on a slightly odd streak, for me. My last m/m romance was Replacement Guitarist, which was frankly dreadful.But then I read Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, the most recent book in the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. The one before this was pretty depressing, but this one really returned to the fun of earlier books in the series. I wish Baen would put the timeline in the front of the book instead of the back, though. Bujold writes her books out of order, and it was kind of confusing to come across references to a character that I thought was dead! It wasn't until I'd finished the book that I discovered that CVA was set seven years before CryoBurn!
Then I read the most recent installment of The Flesh Cartel, which I'm mulling.
After that I read Dance with the Devil by Megan Derr. This was a fun one, and I think the Harry Dresden fans would enjoy it. The blurb makes no reference to it, but this is actually a collection of short stories about the people who run a supernatural detective agency. (Well, the supernatural detective agency is clear, just not the short stories part.) And again, this was confusing at first, because the stories are arranged all out of chronological order. I sort of get it- the way they are arranged reveals moments in the romantic lives of the main characters while steadily building tension. But I don't think it's a technique I'd want to see a lot.
Then I read Timeless by Gail Carriger, as far as I know, the last book in the Parasol Protectorate series. I liked this much more than the last couple of books in the series, although I'm still unclear on a couple of points. Possibly because it's been too long since I read the rest of the series, and I'm not remembering all the details I need to put it all together.
And last night I read Ruin Me by Cara McKenna. It was hot, although it lost steam around the 3/4 point. And the resolution was a complete cop-out.
Kind of a mixed bag for me so far this month. I've got a couple of borrowed books that I need to read before time runs out, and I've pulled some DABWAHA finalists out of the TBR that I want to get to before the end of the month. So the reading should be interesting, at least!
Josh wrote: "Okay. What ARE you guys all reading? You're so quiet. and I KNOW you're reading. This is a safe zone. Go ahead and share. Even if it's been a disappointing stretch. That's okay."This week I read Family Man by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton. I loved it. Wonderful characters and a slow build romance. Both had family dramas to deal with and Vinnie struggled to come out. Trey had to deal with some family problems as well that were heartbreaking.
Great story.
Right now I'm re-reading some het shifter romances that are over the top silly. Finished my re-read of The Mane Squeeze and now reading Beast Behaving Badly by Shelly Laurenston. Her series are over the top ridiculous, but in sort of a Monty Python silliness that just makes me laugh.
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I lurve listening to James Marsters. I've probably said it already for a thousand times, but I'll say it nevertheless: I love his voice. :)
Marsters is the perfect Harry Dresden. Perfect.
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Well, thank you for the encouragement. :) I'll definitely write her a fangirl letter then. ;)
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No, this was my first time reading it. I had kind of saved it for the occasion — which wasn't an easy task to do, because I absolutely loved her Rifter series... and her short stories.
I also haven't read her Lord of the White Hell books yet. Yay! :)
Anne wrote: "Seems I have missed the one by Harper Fox, this must be remedied immediatlely :). ..."Oh yes - this is one of her best. And given how good her books are generally, that means it's amazing. And Johanna - do write and tell her how much you liked it.
ETA Anne - just read Johanna's later post. I'd forgotten that aspect of it; just remembered I adored the book. Save it up for a very sunny day next year!!
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Definitely. :)
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Yep... I had to browse a little... Wicked Gentlemen was the BOM book for October 2011. So no need to worry about memory loss just yet, Lou... ;)
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This is one of the books GR keeps recommending to me. Nice to know that you enjoyed it!
I read the sequel, Like Pizza and Beer, last month. I enjoyed them both. Sadly, I can't find any thing more recent from the author, or any suggestion that she's planning to continue the series.
Johanna wrote: "Trick of Time by J.L. Merrow was the only audiobook I listened from the beginning to the end"By now I've listened to that one four times. I really like the voice of the narrator. He was the reason I got all the Smithfield stories by L.B. Gregg (I had read them a while back) as audiobook too and listened them in the last couple of weeks. I don't know how he does it, but for every book he comes up with new voices for the MCs.
Johanna wrote: "The Salisbury Key made me seriously want to write a fan letter to Harper Fox. I absolutely love her writing, it's utterly beautiful and soulful and the way she draws her characters is so lovely."
That one is awsome! I know I cried through at least half of the book but it was sooo good. Will have to re-read some day to see how it feels to read it in summer and other circumstances. :)
I haven't actually read a lot in March so far. Mostly Merlin fanfic like All The King's Horses And All The King's Men and Pairing Pendragon/Merlin, which are really good.
Other than that I feel like I caught the audiobook fever or is it an addiction?
Lately I listened to all four of the available Men of Smithfield audiobooks,A Dangerous Thing and Trick of Time in addition to several repeats of Fatal Shadows, Somebody Killed His Editor, The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks and The Darkling Thrush. The last one somehow caught me unawares. Till now I've only read it once but the audio version is seriously addictive. Max's voice followed me into sleep...
Josh - before you try Captive Prince, read Sunita's DNF review of it on her Vacuous Minx blog. I wish I had read that before I started. If you like your settings and characters consistent and layered, this is not for you. (Apparently the characters get better over time, but I just cannot read three hundred pages waiting for huge miststakes and craft issues to shake out. My inner historian was basically screaming from page one.) That said, many readers can overlook inconsistent settings in the interest of just reading for the story, so I'm a bricklayer shuddering at seeing a crooked wall, while for others it works at holding up the roof. We all have different priorities in our reading. CP is not my kind of book.
I'm seriously baffled by the raving reviews and high ratings this story gets. I tried it once but never got into it. Not my thing. But hey, we can't all read and like the same stuff, right?
Yep. I'm baffled by almost all hyped books. The pretty much only hugely hyped books that I liked and enjoyed were the Cut and Run series. I'm far more likely to find a book I enjoy in the midlist or further down.
I started reading
by Melanie Tushmore just a few days ago and I'm loving the cast of characters and their gritty surroundings.
Aleksandr wrote: "Yep. I'm baffled by almost all hyped books. The pretty much only hugely hyped books that I liked and enjoyed were the Cut and Run series. I'm far more likely to find a book I enjoy in the midlist o..."And while I haven't disliked the Cut and Run books that I've read so far, I don't love them like everyone else seems to.
I just love Abi's voice. The first books had some craft issues (that an editor should have fixed), but the books are getting progressively better. They have a huge amount of soul and wit.
I like the Cut and Run books, but not crazy in love with the series like many seem to be.Ty and Zane's dynamic seem to be different now that only one person is doing the writing. It's not bad, but it's taking me some time to get used to them this way.
Susinok wrote: "Josh wrote: "Maybe it was a kitten? I admit it's been a while since I watched the cartoon! :-D ..."I think it was the dog and the kitten because I remember it falling asleep on the dog at the end..."
Yeah, remember the bulldog would lie down to sleep and the kitten would jump on top of him and start doing that pressing motion he did when feeding from Momma cat. The claws are sinking in as the kitten goes on about it, the bulldog in agony until kitty settles down. Twice as funny for those of us who've sat still for the same mild torture out of pure, dumb kitten love.
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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I think it was the dog and the kitten because I remember it falling asleep on the dog at the end.
But I think there was another cartoon with the same premise and it was Sylvester and a baby.