What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed* Showing 3,251-3,300 of 13,523

[mc]

Hey, have any of you read When Irish Eyes are Sparkling? Any thoughts on it?

[Cleon Lee]

mc wrote: "Hey, have any of you read When Irish Eyes are Sparkling? Any thoughts on it?"

I've read it. It's a very sweet story (in a good way, IMHO) about a new gay and a veteran gay, or so to speak. I really like and enjoy it!

[mc]

Thanks, Cleon, I have a free book coupon to use, and I just can't decide what to spring it on. I already own all of Josh' oeuvre, so it can't go for that.

It was between this or Whistling in the Dark, which I think a number of people here liked, too. (The third option is Salisbury Key, but I think I already own that. Story of my life.)

[Yvonne]

mc wrote: "Hey, have any of you read When Irish Eyes are Sparkling? Any thoughts on it?"
I loved this book and I'm always recommending it. It's just a sweet romance & it's long enough to feel satisfying.

[Candice]

I'm about half way through Kindred Hearts, and am totally impressed. Enjoying hang out of it. What I don't get is the difference in quality between this and Finding Zach. The latter actually started well, but I thought unraveled badly as it went on. KH is so much better in every way that it's difficult for me to understand how the two could have been written by the same person. Maybe she figured something out, found her niche, huh? If that's the case, I can't wait to read her next offering.

[Heather C]

I'm currently reading

[Sylvia]

Lou wrote: "I just blasted my way through Victor J Banis's Deadly series. I enjoyed them a lot."

I'm in the second book now, I like it :)

[Cheryl]

Heather C wrote: "I'm currently reading "

I liked that one a lot more the second time around. Not sure if I was just a little off on the first reading, or if I was missing something, I just had a little trouble settling into the world at first. I'll warn you, it ends with a hell of a cliffhanger, and the next book isn't going to be out for a few months. Darn authors who like to torture their readers...

[Calathea]

I'm almost done with Half Pass by Astrid Amara. I like it a lot. It's been a while since I've read a book with so much detail on horses. Reminds me a bit of my teenage reading habits. ;-)

[Jordan]

Calathea, ooohhhh! Funny thing is, when I first saw the cover, I saw the horse, not the guy and went "wow! What a beautiful horse!" I love horses, and if this is gay romance on top of a horse story, you bet I'm all for it! Thanks for posting it!

[Calathea]

Jordan S. wrote: "Calathea, ooohhhh! Funny thing is, when I first saw the cover, I saw the horse, not the guy and went "wow! What a beautiful horse!" I love horses, and if this is gay romance on top of a horse story..."

Lol, me too! :-)

[Liade]

Jordan S. wrote: "Calathea, ooohhhh! Funny thing is, when I first saw the cover, I saw the horse, not the guy and went "wow! What a beautiful horse!" I love horses, and if this is gay romance on top of a horse story..."

I read Half Pass some time ago and though I liked it ok, the author never really managed to make me care all that much about either of the main characters. But on the other hand - though I have been on a horse (pony?) less than half a dozen times in several decades - I really liked the detail she went into to describe the stable/horse/riding routines.

Astrid Amara is still an auto-buy for me, though. And my absolute favourite of her books is Love Ahead: Expect Delays.

[Jordan]

Liade, thanks for the other book rec! Yeah, sadly, I haven't been on a pony much, never mind a horse. Someday, I'd like to change that though.

[Heather C]

Cheryl wrote: "Heather C wrote: "I'm currently reading "

I liked that one a lot more the second time around. Not sure if I was just a little off on the first reading, or if I was ..."

I finished it last night and I really loved it. i think its one of those you have to be in the mood for

[Mandapanda]

Liade wrote: "Astrid Amara is still an auto-buy for me, though. And my absolute favourite of her books is Love Ahead: Expect Delays..."

Couldn't agree more. She is one of my fave contemporary mm romance writers. The characterisation in Love Ahead: Expect Delays was so charming.

[Mandapanda]

I'm currently reading Evenfall which is a dystopian spy thriller with mm romance (something for everyone!). It's free online serialised fiction and I think it's one of the longest out there. I'll be reading for weeks!
I've noticed some reviewers criticise the repetition (alternating and overlapping POV's) and long passages of internal monologue that you find in online free fiction. But I'm used to it now and I like it. I feel like I'm living with the characters and getting to know all the minutiae of their lives. So much room for detail. It's amazing how the thought, "Does he love me?" can be spun out for chapters! LOL

[Cleon Lee]

Reading . I am halfway through and liking it so far. The story is very Japanese, the prose, the characterization, the plot, and of course, the setting. I can imagine this story is written by a Japanese or someone who is extremely familiar with Japanese writing style and culture. This is what a classic Asian (Japanese/ Korean/ Chinese) romance story sounds like.

[Josh]

Calathea wrote: "I'm almost done with Half Pass by Astrid Amara. I like it a lot. It's been a while since I've read a book with so much detail on horses. Reminds me a bit of my teenage..."

I really enjoyed that book. It brought back so many happy horsey memories. :-D I think Astrid is the Dick Francis of the m/m set.

[Josh]

Heather C wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Heather C wrote: "I'm currently reading "

I liked that one a lot more the second time around. Not sure if I was just a little off on the first read..."

I'm hearing very good things about Rachel's work.

[Cleon Lee]

Josh wrote: "Calathea wrote: "I'm almost done with Half Pass by Astrid Amara. I like it a lot. It's been a while since I've read a book with so much detail on horses. Reminds me a ..."

I would so buy the book just because of the cover. The horse, I mean, not the guy. lol.

[Anne]

Cleon wrote: "Reading . I am halfway through and liking it so far. The story is very Japanese, the prose, the characterization, the p..."

Cool. I'm bumping it up my TBR list.

[Anne]

Josh wrote: "Calathea wrote: "I'm almost done with Half Pass by Astrid Amara. I like it a lot. It's been a while since I've read a book with so much detail on horses. Reminds me a ..."

Um,... who's Dick Francis? Am I going to get lambasted for not knowing? It sounds vaguely familiar....

[Cleon Lee]

Anne wrote: "Josh wrote: "Calathea wrote: "I'm almost done with Half Pass by Astrid Amara. I like it a lot. It's been a while since I've read a book with so much detail on horses. ..."

Same with me. lol.

[Cleon Lee]

Anne wrote: "Cleon wrote: "Reading . I am halfway through and liking it so far. The story is very Japanese, the prose, the character..."

Yay, read it Anne. We can have a discussion about it! AFTER I finish my HJD, of course. Sigh...

[Josh]

:-D Never mind me. I categorize everything in mystery genre terms.

http://www.dickfrancis.com/site/DIFR/...

[Liade]

Much as I love Astrid Amara's writing, I think she needs to write more horsey books before she can touch Dick Francis *g*.

Her books are also generally a lot "nicer" than the ones of Dick Francis

[Anne]

Cleon wrote: "Anne wrote: "Cleon wrote: "Reading . I am halfway through and liking it so far. The story is very Japanese, the prose, ..."

Weeeeelll.... it might be a few weeks. But sure, I'll discuss it with you. :)

[Anne]

Josh wrote: ":-D Never mind me. I categorize everything in mystery genre terms.

http://www.dickfrancis.com/site/DIFR/..."

Thanks :)

[Josh]

Liade wrote: "Much as I love Astrid Amara's writing, I think she needs to write more horsey books before she can touch Dick Francis *g*.

Her books are also generally a lot "nicer" than the ones of Dick Francis"

The thing that threw me on that site was Dick Francis's son now writing Dick Francis books based on his legacy of sitting around the table hearing his parents talk.

I'm sorry. Being the son of a writer -- even if you helped with the research -- does not make you a writer. Let alone THAT writer.

[Liade]

Josh wrote: "The thing that threw me on that site was Dick Francis's son now writing Dick Francis books based on his legacy of sitting around the table hearing his parents talk.

I haven't actually been to that site yet (going now :)). But even without: the last 3 or 4 books he wrote with his son (instead of his wife) were not a patch on his earlier ones.

[Liade]

Oh man, I just went; I didn't realise he's now going completely on his own! The writing was already so much clunkier during during the period of their cooperation...

[Josh]

Liade wrote: "Oh man, I just went; I didn't realise he's now going completely on his own! The writing was already so much clunkier during during the period of their cooperation..."

I know. It just looks like rampant greed. We don't want the franchise to die!!!

Of course, he's bound to improve and maybe he'll ultimately end up a good writer in his own right. But the fact is, the books went seriously downhill from the point Mrs. Francis was gone. So now there isn't even the guy with the ideas and the life experiences writing the stories.

[Liade]

Josh wrote: "But the fact is, the books went seriously downhill from the point Mrs. Francis was gone. So now there isn't even the guy with the ideas and the life experiences writing the stories.

The trouble was, the ideas were still good (I liked the idea of the foal born at the wrong time), the characters were not bad either, but somehow they all seemed like scripts for what could be great books in the hands of the right writer. Half of Dick Francis was not enough.

[Kaje]

Liade wrote: "Josh wrote: "The thing that threw me on that site was Dick Francis's son now writing Dick Francis books based on his legacy of sitting around the table hearing his parents talk.

I haven't actual..."

The books with the son's name on them strike me as just a little formulaic. Not that Francis didn't have a formula. His tough, silent, stoic heroes became almost interchangeable after a while. But somehow his writing was good enough that I bought them all, and reread them all. The last couple cooperative projects just...didn't quite have the touch. The plots, yes, but not that extra inch of humanity that made you care about a solitary inarticulate man. I haven't read anything by the son alone. If you want to try one for the flavor of the writing, go early Francis. Something like Rat Race, For Kicks, or Whip Hand.

[Josh]

My favorite is still the very first: Nerve. I LOVE that book.

[Liade]

Amongst most others I love Proof, Bonecrack, and the first three Sid Halley books.

Some of my Dick Francis copies have had to replaced because I have re-read them so often. For me they are the most unlikely sort of comfort read.

[mc]

That makes me sad about Dick Francis. I remember reading those books (at least a few of them) a long time ago.

I was pretty morose when Robert B. Parker passed away, but I'd hate to think of someone or a conglomerate trying to recreate what he did.

MandyM and Edina, I just peeked into Evenfall, and it grabbed me pretty fast, which I have to be careful with as there are some writing projects (again, strategy and business-related, nothing as creative as all of you!) that I need to continue working on.

I also just finished Mann of My Dreams by Tinnean.

Never read any Astrid Amara. Sigh. My computer hard drive can't deal with this!

[Josh]

I was pretty morose when Robert B. Parker passed away, but I'd hate to think of someone or a conglomerate trying to recreate what he did.

Yeah, well brace yourself because Ace Atkins is taking over the Spenser novels and the guy who wrote the last (dreadful) Jesse Stone TV movies is taking over the JS books. I can't think of a polite thing to say, so I'll remain silent.

Mostly.

[mc]

Josh wrote: "I was pretty morose when Robert B. Parker passed away, but I'd hate to think of someone or a conglomerate trying to recreate what he did.

Yeah, well brace yourself because Ace Atkins is taking o..."

No! Josh, I am embarrassed to say that I do not know who Ace Atkins is, and I am sure he is a very good writer, but why can't he just write his own books? I'm not saying that Parker was a literary genius, but, boy, they were a relaxing read, that I looked forward to, and after all those years, those characters (not just Spenser) were HIM. You can't just have someone else write them. Who could write Jack Reacher other than Lee Child?

I still haven't bought the last three or so books of his, because that means it's all over.

Doing this to Francis, or Parker, or any writer is just blasphemous.

[Anne]

mc wrote: "That makes me sad about Dick Francis. I remember reading those books (at least a few of them) a long time ago.

I was pretty morose when Robert B. Parker passed away, but I'd hate to think of some..."

What did you think of Mann of my Dreams (is it really two "n"s)?

[mc]

I had such fun with it (yes, it is Mann, Anne :)) It hit me at the right time.

It was very James Bond meets more ruthless James Bond, yet they fall in love, ultimately. Mostly alpha-ish meets very alpha. Fun, gadgets, super-spy stuff, espionage, and yes, sex. You can imagine the movie in your head. Maybe Daniel Craig and young Sean Connery.

I'd re-read it. (There are more side stories in the same universe that Tinneann wrote, but I haven't started those yet.)

[Mandapanda]

Anne wrote: "What did you think of Mann of my Dreams (is it really two "n"s)?..."

Ooh! Can I answer this too? I loved Mann of My Dreams (yes it is two n's. Mann is the surname of one of the characters). I think it's the first time I read alternating overlapping POV's between two main characters in a story. It's an unusual style to see things first from one POV then the exact scenes from the other's POV. But it had the effect of making me feel I knew more about the characters than they knew about themselves. Waiting for them to discover their attraction was all the more delish for it.

[Mandapanda]

Edina wrote: "MandyM wrote: "I'm currently reading Evenfall..."

I'm so happy to see someone talk about this book! The next book in the series,Afterimage, is even better. I started ..."

I'm just getting to the end of Evenfall now. It's so intense and such an epic story. It's so long that I almost feel I have 'moved in' with these guys for a few months. Their relationship is frustrating because of their (on the surface) emotionless personalities. I saw in several reviews that Afterimage is even better so I'm looking forward to it but I might have to take a breather between books. I don't know anything about the authors but I picture 2 young guys addicted to online gaming and writing the sort of 'super hero' characters they would like to be themselves. LOL

[Charming]

MandyM wrote: "I'm currently reading Evenfall which is a dystopian spy thriller with mm romance (something for everyone!). It's free online serialised fiction and I think it's one of the longest ou..."

I read the first one and stopped there. I just found both of the leads so unlikeable. They must have just hit me wrong, because I like both The Administration Series and Mann of My Dreams, so a little bit of sociopathy doesn't necessary dissuade me.

[Charming]

Liade wrote: "Amongst most others I love Proof, Bonecrack, and the first three Sid Halley books.

Some of my Dick Francis copies have had to replaced because I have re-read them so often. For me they are the m..."

I may actually own all of the real Dick Francis books (and none of the ersatz ones). Sid Halley in particular was great. I love DF's heroes because they are so brave in the face of being so terrified.

I wonder if there is any slash?

[Merith]

Josh wrote: ":-D Never mind me. I categorize everything in mystery genre terms.

http://www.dickfrancis.com/site/DIFR/..."

My mom owns every Dick Francis book (in hardback, no less)... I haven't read a one.

[Becky]

Charming wrote: "I wonder if there is any slash?"

Rule 34.

http://dickfrancisfic.livejournal.com/

I don't know if it's any good, and that's the first link I found. If it's bad, I'm sure there are other sites.

[Anne]

I just bought Bless Us With Content by Tinnean after eyeing it off and on for months. It got mixed reviews, and I don't normally like historical M/M, but... IDK, I decided I had a coupon and I keep coming back to it.

So, yay! Another book to gather cosmic dust on my virtual shelf.

[Candice]

MandyM wrote: "I'm currently reading Evenfall which is a dystopian spy thriller with mm romance (something for everyone!). It's free online serialised fiction and I think it's one of the longest ou..."

I found it online, but couldn't get it on my kindle. I don't have wireless; so, I saved it to my desktop, transferred its icon to my kindle documents page-then nothing. It still didn't show up on my kindle. Can we not do that w/this? Help, pls?

[Candice]

What y'all are writing about Evenfall--its epic length; I gather it can be very addictive--reminds me of Marquesate's Special Forces. Anybody read that? While there were things to criticize about it, several parts of it that I didn't like, ultimately, and on the whole, I loved it. Have y'all talked about it in this forum before?