Which AS book would you recommend to a newbie to her?

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

If someone asked you what Anne Stuart book they should read, what would you recommend?

[Love love]

Ummm....every one that I have read so far. LOL
Wich would be the "Ice" series and "A Rose At Midnight" =)

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

I love the Ice Series, but they are really intense! I've found that the Ice series is too scary for some readers. I always feel hesitant to recommend it as a first to AS b/c of that. I wish more of her HQN/Silhouettes were in print. They really showcase her wit and ability to write a good romance with lots of tension. On the other hand, that's how she's gotten more fans lately, with the Ice series. I guess it just depends on what you like. She's not for everyone.

[Arch]

I have a Harlequin book of hers. I will read it one day, maybe next.

[Eastofoz]

I'd say the Ice series too and if they're not too keen on book one to at least try book 2. If they don't like that then odds are Stuart's not for them.

[AgentScully]

I don't care for her Ice books at all, so I'd recommend Shadows at Sunset or Shadow Lover.

[Eastofoz]

Interesting Scully. What I've read from her backlist so far (fan faves apparently) I've really disliked. Still have lots to go through though.

[Auntee]

My first Anne Stuart was Into The Fire. If you can take that book, then I'd say you are ready for the "Ice" series.

[AgentScully]

I loved Into the Fire! I think that was my first AS book too.

Still don't like the Ice books. LOL!

[Auntee]

The hero in Into The Fire was so nasty, he prepared me well for the 'Ice' men!

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

Why didn't you like the Ice books, if you don't mind me asking, Scully?

When I read Black Ice, I was pretty shocked, even after many years of reading AS. Bastien is pretty outrageous for a hero.

[AgentScully]

That's it Lady D. Couldn't take a hero who's willing to let an innocent woman be tortured to death. Chloe verged on TSTL for me. The whole plot of this ruthless gang needing an outside translator was silly.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

I get you, Scully.

[Othena]

My suggestion for a newbie would be one of her lighter books like Cinderman or Falling Angel. IMO, these aren't as dark and the H's aren't as gamma as her others. Plus I like the PRN aspect of these 2.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

Cinderman is a very cool idea. Almost like a superhero book. I downloaded AS's Out of Print Gems to my Kindle, and that one is in there. I have those in print, but I felt this urge to have some AS on my Kindle!

[Othena]

I loved Cinderman.
I don't have any Anne Stuart ebooks (except for freebie Rohan) yet. I have this old school thought process when it comes to my favorite authors. I have to have them in book form so I can *hold* the book. :)

[Eastofoz]

Othena what's this freebie Rohan book and where can I get it? :D

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

Oh, I agree, Othena. But I have this desire to have extra copies of AS on my Kindle. :)

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

East, Othena is referred to The Wicked House of Rohan. It's free on Kindle.

[Eastofoz]

Thanks Danielle :) Is it Kindle only or can you read it on any ereader?

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

They also have it on eharlequin.com, and you can choose your download format.

[Eastofoz]

Woo hoo! A woman in the know! Thank you Danielle :D :D

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

You're welcome, East. I got the info from sources in the know. :)

[Othena]

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "Oh, I agree, Othena. But I have this desire to have extra copies of AS on my Kindle. :)"


I agree with ya on the extra copies...I'm embarassed and a little proud that I have duplicates of most AS books. :)
When I went through my glom it was cheaper and easier to buy lots from ebay to pick up ones I needed. I've given a few to my reading buddy but she is a romance snob.

I'm hoping that I'll run across another AS fan in RL and we can worship at the shrine together. So I keep my duplicates to share.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

I'm so glad to find other fans of her. I adore this woman, and I'm sure it's pretty strange to a lot of people. I have this urge to own extra copies of her books, too. But I do give them out to people who are looking for copies. I figure, if I get them on Kindle, then I can have them all and not feel guilty about space issues.

[Arch]

I want to finish her Ice Series.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

I would love to reread them. I hope to get them all on my Kindle soon, so I can take them with me where ever I and my Kindle go. :)

[willaful]

I think it would depend on their tastes. If they liked HPs, I would recommend Winter's Edge. If they went for powerful redemption stories, then Falling Angel. The one I just started, Chasing Trouble, is kind of humorous (which unfortunately was not at all what I was in the mood for.) For a straight contemporary fan, I would go with Housebound. A historical fan would be easy, they're all good!

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

I do like that she has different kinds of stories with her Harlequin books. People think of AS as being dark and serious all the time, but her HQNs have very witty dialogue, often light-hearted. I think AS is a queen when it comes to dialogue and tension b/w the H/h that doesn't hinge on constant sex scenes.

[Arch]

I love the way Mrs. Stuart writes her tension. She's a writer after my own heart.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

Same here, Arch.

[Arch]

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "Same here, Arch."

:)

[Emmi]

I've heard awesome things about MS Stuart, but I need some help. I picked up her first Ice book.. like five times and I never get past the heroine sitting at that dinner pretending not to know what anyone is saying... I really want to like Stuart, b/c so many goodreads girls are obsessed with her. ... Am I starting with the wrong book? I don't want to be missing out on an 5star author.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

Emmi, do you like contemporaries or historicals more?

[Ruth]

I never get past the heroine sitting at that dinner pretending not to know what anyone is saying

Emmi, sorry you're having a hard time. I agree that bit is a tad lame, but for me it really picked up after that, when things start to go horribly wrong for the heroine, and Bastien has got to be one of my all-time-fave heroes. Sigh.

BTW, I don't much worry about what others say. There are some books others rave about that I just don't "get", although I love reading others' reviews. It's such a personal thing.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

Good point, Ruth. I feel that we all like or dislike certain books for whatever reasons that make us individuals. I think reviews are great and helpful, and fun to read, but I take them with a grain of salt, because my wiring is unique to me, and my tastes reflect that.

I would be the first to admit that Anne Stuart will never have a universal readership because of her particular style of writing. And even if you love some of her books, you might not love others. She's my favorite author, so I love 99.9% of her books. But, that doesn't mean others will be the same way, and I don't expect that. :)

[TJ]

I'm a little late to the party but could I chime in anyway? I am one of those who adore Ms. Stuarts writing but have a love/hate relationship with the individual books. I love most of her historicals, Ruthless being the latest.

Her Ice series, however is a real mixed bag. The suspense part is SO good but her heroines in that series are just too TSTL for me.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

Of course, you are always welcome to chime in, Tammy!

[Ruth]

You know, I found Into the Fire to be a particularly good contemporary. It's not a part of a series, so is very self-contained. But the suspense part builds beautifully and the characterizations are excellent. I loved it, but since it wasn't a series it felt more accesible.

[Bekah]

Night Fall I think is a good starting point!

[AgentScully]

Into the Fire is one of my faves of hers.

[willaful]

Until I knew they could hack her really amoral heroes, I think I'd go with Falling Angel. It's a lot more accessible.

[TJ]

I agree with Willaful, it might be good to ease one in gently. Learn to love her writing and grow to understand her dark heros before shocking the system with the hardcore, amoral heros.

[Tammy]

willaful and tammy, I agree with you both, with one small difference. (Here I go again with her historicals). The heroes in her HR are not quite as bad as her really hardcore, amoral (think Ice series) men.

I would start with those -- something like The Devil's Waltz, perhaps?

[TJ]

Absolutely, 100% agree, her historicals are WONDERFUL!

[Usagi77777772003]

I started out reading her contemporaries, so I'm really biased towards them -somehow I love the atmosphere and heroes she creates in the modern setting. My favorite books by her are Ice Blue (thought the hero in here cared more about the heroine than the previous heroes in this series), Shadow Lover, and Ritual Sins. All three heroes were extremely hot (everything from their suavity/charm to their beauty intrigued me; plus, they all shared a certain fixation/fascination toward their heroines). Although her heroines are not as strong as I would hope, but at least they're bearable in those installments -her worst heroine was in Black Ice: Couldn't believe how weak and stupid she was, always getting pushed around by the hero/worshiping the ground he walks on...the hero was hot but he did something really unforgivable in the beginning and his treatment of her couldn't convince me he loved her above all else (definitely not an obsessive hero).

What separates her from most other authors (in a good way, at least to me) are her heroes: They're not tame and can be despicable at times, but may allow some leeway when it comes to their heroines. But I love how her heroes always retain their characteristics even after they fall in love -authors who can make their heroes stay in character even after they become enthralled by their heroines are very talented and Anne Stuart is one of them. Not many authors take the risk to write about gamma (sort of evil in my book) heroes falling in love (but tame mushy guys just don't do it for me -doesn't make for the best intensity/angst), which is a shame because when done right (nothing gets to me more than an evil hero brought down on his knees by a worthy heroine and ONLY by her, meaning he's still fairly cruel to others), they make for the hottest heroes in fiction. But I guess that's too risky and takes loads of talent. Sigh...wish there were more evil heroes like Julian (Forbidden Game trilogy), Simon Baldevar (Crimson series -Trisha Baker), Domineco (Silver Devil) and most of Anne Stuart's heroes.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Gotta Have My AS Fix!]

I'd have to agree on your reasons for liking AS, Usagi. I reread Black Ice recently, and I saw Bastien in a different, more favorable light the second time around.

[Usagi77777772003]

Black Ice was my first AS novel and made me fall in love with her heroes -they're really my favorite type. I really liked Bastien (everything about him from his air/personality to his "alpha-ness" was very attractive) despite him not being "obsessive" enough for me, but couldn't stand Chloe. This was the prime example of God-like hero paired with weak/TSTL simpering heroine. But this did get me to read many of her other novels (mainly contemporary) and discovering, to my delight, most of her heroes to really suit my tastes. I'm totally for the mysterious/intriguing, suave/elegant hero (sitting in a chair holding a glass of wine type; evil to an extent) and Anne's soo good at injecting mystery and intrigue in all her heroes, making them to die for when it comes to hotness. Just not attracted to burly ranchers, cop/FBI dudes, scruffy mountain men, lol.

[Emmi]

Emmi wrote: "I've heard awesome things about MS Stuart, but I need some help. I picked up her first Ice book.. like five times and I never get past the heroine sitting at that dinner pretending not to know what..."

Contemporary hands down. (sry Lady D, I just saw you're response)

[Emmi]

Thanks Girls.. I think I'll check out Ruth's "Into the Fire" suggestion. Maybe I need a bit more foreplay before I hit the big leagues of the Ice series again. Thanks!!!