Romance Lovers for the Challenge-Impaired discussion
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Notable exception to my Romancelandia rule.
I’m not big on the “torn between two brothers” theme. (Probably b/c I’ve been there a couple of times in my life and I didn’t like the way
I
acted; but we won’t go there.)That said, I absolutely fell in love with Texas Destiny, by Lorraine Heath and gave it a full ★★★★★ I do love a cowboy who falls into the “strong, silent type” and Houston Leigh is definitely that, with bells on!
I am not a fan of the heroine as a prostitute, unless she gets “saved” just in the nick of time. Or maybe, as a virgin, she becomes the exclusive property of hero; in other words, his mistress. That theme, I actually seek out. However, a notable exception is Mary Balogh’s A Precious Jewel. It worked for me. The heroine, Priscilla Wentworth, is definitely a prostitute, no ifs, ands, or buts. The hero, Gerald Stapleton, is neither your typical dream-boat, nor the sharpest knife in the drawer either. This topic is bit different from the norm for Ms. Balogh, who writes wonderful Regencies, and it’s a hard subject to get just right - but she handled it beautifully.
Oh, great list, Lisa. I'm sure I could come up with one for almost every theme. :)
Oh goody, Lady Danielle! I look forward to your posts!
One of my pet peeves is the "big misunderstanding that could've been resolved by a simple talk." But I read The Bronze Horseman, and just loved it!
✿Michelle✿ I have been avoiding that one b/c it also falls into "books that make me cry" and from the size of it, it would have me doing so for a loooooong time, LOL!
Lisa Kay wrote: "✿Michelle✿ I have been avoiding that one b/c it also falls into "books that make me cry" and from the size of it, it would have me doing so for a loooooong time, LOL!"There were moments when I cried my eyes out, and moments when I laughed my ass off. I'd only recommend to someone that has a lot of time to read it, and doesn't mind shedding a tear, or two, or 300, LOL!
Revenge (usually involves thinking: “I’ll sleep with her/him to achieve my goal.”)On this one, I have to be honest and tell you I do read this theme b/c I go through spurts where I read a lot of Harlequin Presents and it runs rampant throughout, even when I try to avoid it. I “kinda-love-to-hate” this theme and do tons of eye rolling; frequently I am in danger of whiplash from vigorous head shaking. However, I don’t really seek it out outside of the HP world (maybe I just get too much of it there).
Most of these revenge-driven plots are with the hero as the instigator; conversely, in Lady Sophia's Lover, by Lisa Kleypas, the heroine is the one with ulterior motives and it makes for a delicious read as only Kleypas can write it!
Hero too much of an asshat at the beginning!I really, really dislike when the hero treats the heroine this way. I kinda hold my breath, my heart squeezes and sometimes I put the book down altogether. I just listened to one on audio by one of my favorite auto-buy authors and she barely made it work for me, earning ★★★ when she usually gets ★★★★★ and the only thing that kept me listening was it was a challenge book.
But I would recommend After the Night, by Linda Howard. No mistaking it, Gray Rouillard is an asshat at the beginning and even for a while when Faith Devlin returns to her hometown. However, I forgave him b/c I could see his side of things and he couldn’t leave Faith alone. Plus, the mystery was too suspenseful to stop the read! ★★★★★
Fiona, I read it here on GR first; I don't know who first said it.
Adding Time-Traveling although I'm not sure that this is technically a theme...If I know a book has time-traveling, I will usually avoid it which is why I have not read most of Lynn Kurland's historicals (although I wanted to) and the occasional time-traveling books by old favorite Judith McNaught.
That said, the Outlander series is one of my favorites.
Also, "Tough and Clever" Heroine Almost Always Outwitted by Hero
The Spymaster's Lady by Joanne Bourne
And, Younger Hero, Older Heroine
Outlander series
Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley
Play of Passion by Nalini Singh
Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase
Books that make me cry
Her Best Friend's Brother by Kay Stockham :)
Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas
Hero too much of an asshat at the beginning!
The Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux
hero too alpha
Dark Prince by Christine Feehan
niquae wrote: "Adding Time-Traveling If I know a book has time-traveling, I will usually avoid it which is why I have not read most of Lynn Kurland's historicals (although I wanted to) and the occasional time-t..."
I've been thinking of rereading Outlander. It was an excellent time travel book. I've only read the first two or three, but I'd like to start over from the beginning so that I can catch up in the series.
niquae wrote: "Adding Time-Traveling If I know a book has time-traveling, I will usually avoid it which is why I have not read most of Lynn Kurland's historicals (although I wanted to) and the occasional time-t..."
Thanks, niquae! I'll add it!
✿Michelle✿ wrote: "I've been thinking of rereading Outlander. It was an excellent time travel book. I've only read the first two or three, but I'd like to start over from the beginning so that I can catch up in the series."✿Michelle✿ I can't remember, do you listen to audio? I've listened to the first four or five in the series and the narration is excellent.
Lisa Kay wrote: "I read it here on GR first; I don't know who first said it."
Yeah, I figured it out. But you still crack me up anyway!
Two "lumps" with your tea?Thinking about it, I realize
also falls into another of my dislikes: an explicit scene of hero having sex with someone else before he gets together with the heroine. Though Faith is too young to really be competition, and it is not too explicit. Plus, Faith's having observed/heard some of this act becomes a topic in a great dialogue much later in the story.
✿Michelle✿ wrote: "niquae wrote: "Adding Time-Traveling If I know a book has time-traveling, I will usually avoid it which is why I have not read most of Lynn Kurland's historicals (although I wanted to) and the ..."
Michelle, I've been meaning to re-read this series for ages. Let me know if you do, maybe we could do it as a buddy read for the first couple?
Lisa, what a great topic! I'm having to rack my brain to see which books broke the mold for me as far as pet-peeves go!
Great, CaroB. I hope you can remember them!
Lisa Kay wrote: "Hero too much of an asshat at the beginning!I really, really dislike when the hero treats the heroine this way. I kinda hold my breath, my heart squeezes and sometimes I put the book down altoge..."
I totally agree with you on this one. I almost didn't finish reading the book because I hated the hero so much for the first half of the book. It's still not one of my favorites by Howard; but in the last half of the book, Gray redeemed himself. Speaking of asshat heroes, the only Woodiwiss I read certainly qualifies. I finished it, and it was okay (a favorite theme-Beauty and the Beast). I even reread it a couple of times. Asshat heroes generally make my teeth hurt.
True, Sandra J. That one does qualify!!
I've read a number of Diana Palmer's books, and oy, the asshat hero reigns supreme. Still can't resist reading them though. Not to mention another pet peeve found in DP's books-the much (much) younger, ever-so-pure, verging on TSTL heroine who inexplicably loves the jerk du jour.
Ahh, Sandra...you and Willaful, you can't stay away from Diana Palmer. LOL! I've only read one or two of hers; can't remember which.
I was on a real reading jag of her books at one time. I have absolutely no idea why. And every so often, I feel compelled to pull out one of her Long Tall Texan books and reread. Then I have to go scrub out my brain by reading Shelly Laurenston. Plenty of alphas, both male and female, lots of funny business, and no TSTL! And any male who tries to be an asshat would probably have his ass handed to him by one of the females.
Heroine is TSTL (too stupid to live)A romantic suspense author I love is Shannon McKenna, but truthfully, her heroines will occasionally do something that makes them TSTL. But SK will take you on a high-octane ride b/f the end! Alas, she uses the heroine in the worst way – making her suddenly TSTL to further the plot!!!
Still, I like the McCloud & Friends series with my favorite being Extreme Danger; couldn't put it down. Warning: the villain is really evil.
niquae wrote: ""Tough and Clever" Heroine Almost Always Outwitted by Hero, Younger Hero, Older Heroine..."Adding these too! Great! Some people do not like the Younger Hero, Older Heroine - I know I didn't way back when. But now that I'm older, I don't mind them at all. Wonder what that means, LOL!
Lisa Kay wrote: "I haven't read anything by Shelly Laurenston, Sandra. What's your fav?"My favorite of her Magnus Pack series is the last one,
-a hot tiger shifter and a take-no-prisoners human fashionista. It was the first of hers I read, and I had no problem following the story arc. I also really, really liked
. I adored Loch, the grizzly shifter and his love for Gwen, the lion/tiger hybrid shifter. Laurenston writes funny (sometimes screamingly funny) stories with lots of action, graphic sex, and graphic violence. And no TSTL females!
Well, Sandra! That does me no good at all! If Debbie sees me starting in the middle of a series, I'll get he!! for it, LOL!
I start any old place. If the book looks interesting, I'll pick it up. I just finished my first Kresley Cole book and enjoyed it very much. So I started the series with
. The first of the three Magnus Pack books is
(not my favorite). The first Pride book is
. I like the Pride books better than the Pack books.
CaroB wrote: "✿Michelle✿ wrote: "niquae wrote: "Adding Time-Traveling If I know a book has time-traveling, I will usually avoid it which is why I have not read most of Lynn Kurland's historicals (although I wa..."
I would love that! I think I'll see if the library has an audioversion. If not, I'll just start re-reading at some point. Did you hear that Outlander will be made into a movie? I heard that once about a year ago, and haven't heard anything else since then.
I hadn't heard that Michelle!!! I honestly don't know if I could watch the movie, or if I'd be heartbroken if they didn't do it justice. I mean who would they cast as Jamie???? I loved the first few books so much! It's the first time I felt like I was completely and UTTERLY besotted with a hero in a book...
(I named my first son Fraser, no joke, after Jamie Fraser... bonkers, I know! :-)
Sandra J, I love Shelly Laurenston as well. She's a real "palate cleanser". I tend to re-read at least a couple of her books every year, they're great for when you're in a reading slump or just generally in a down mood.
CaroB wrote: "I hadn't heard that Michelle!!! I honestly don't know if I could watch the movie, or if I'd be heartbroken if they didn't do it justice. I mean who would they cast as Jamie???? I loved the first f..."
LOL! I'm torn between two actors for the role of Jamie. Unfortunately, I'm not as good as LisaKay at posting the pics. But here are their names if you'd like to look them up: Zack Ward (?) or David Wenham. I think either one of them would be perfect. Besides, I'd be happy to stare at either one of them all day, LOL!!!
Zack Ward (view spoiler)
David Wenham (view spoiler)
I've never read Outlander (yet anyways, I just might tackle it one of these days), but I think David Wenham's pretty good looking :)
Kit★ I loved David Wenham in The Lord of the Rings movies! **sigh**
Yes! I just re-watched them all marathon style (extended special editions of course) not that long ago, I've seen them so many times and yet I always stop and watch, like I'm glued whenever I see 'em on.
Yes! Kit★ I do too! I'm, like, hypnotized, LOL!
Okay, I had to add another one: switches genre w/o warning (from historical to time-travel or romantic-suspense to PNR)
Michelle - Woohoo! Don't recognize Zack Ward from anywhere, but David Wenham - he's HOT! He's also an Aussie :-)
Of
course
he is! **mutters to self: “Sometimes I think I was born on the wrong continent.”**
lol, Lisa! I was born on the wrong continent :-) I just managed to get over here early on.
Lisa Kay wrote: "Sometimes I think I was born on the wrong continent."Ugh, I feel like that all the time, I've wanted to go back to my European mothership ever since I realized there was a world outside of America at oh, about 5 years old. I belong somewhere in Europe, I know it, whether it be England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, anywhere but here! If I ever make it there for a vacation, I'm not coming back, I swear lol.
Kit★ said: "If I ever make it there for a vacation, I'm not coming back, I swear lol."FOFLMAO! I hear you!
CaroB wrote: "lol, Lisa! I was born on the wrong continent :-) I just managed to get over here early on."CaroB., You are a transplant?
Kit★ - where's Zack Ward from? Has he done any major movies?
imdb says he's from Toronto, and his first movie role was in A Christmas Story as a kid, and the most famous movie he was in is Transformers but he's had all kinds of TV appearances, from CSI, NCIS, Cold Case, Crossing Jordan, Drop Dead Diva, Deadwood, Charmed, and a bunch more.
Lisa Kay wrote: "Of course he is! **mutters to self: “Sometimes I think I was born on the wrong continent.”**"LOL! Me too!!!
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Romance Lovers for the Challenge-Impaired
Books mentioned in this topic
It Happened One Autumn (other topics)Moonfire (other topics)
Pleasure Unbound (other topics)
Addicted (other topics)
Pleasure Unbound (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Larissa Ione (other topics)Lisa Kleypas (other topics)
Jennifer Crusie (other topics)
Shelly Laurenston (other topics)
Shannon McKenna (other topics)
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Or better know as: “Normally, not my cuppa tea.”
Some themes romance readers seek out, some we avoid like the plague. We all have our pets and pet-peeves, and inevitably in our reading we stumble across one that falls in the latter category. (We can be such a moody group. ☺)
Here is a list of themes that some people evade. The key here is to select one that you really do not like and then post a book that was able to overcome your distain to become one of your favorites. So DON’T pick one unless the theme really pushes your button, but a certain book worked for you, causing you to fall hopelessly in love with it anyway.
After all, it just might be someone else’s cuppa tea!
Please feel free to post other themes!!
addiction of some kind (drugs, alcohol, gambling)
“angsty”
Big Misunderstanding that could have been resolved with a simple talk
bodice-ripper angst
books that make me cry
cheating by the hero
child/children in the story
choosing between two brothers
couple jumps into bed too fast
couple takes forever to “do the deed”
divorced, then reunited
epic - too long
excessive amount of time spent on the secondary characters
explicit scene of hero having sex with someone else before he gets together with the heroine
frienemies
genre is just not my forte
hero and heroine argue through most of book
hero too alpha
hero too beta
hero too much of an asshat at the beginning
heroine is a prostitute
heroine is too prissy
heroine is TSTL (too stupid to live)
heroine too bitchy
heroine too sweet or “Pollyanna-ish”
mistress
more than just a “bad-boy” or a “rake” - he’s really a "man-slut"
raped by the hero
Regency (or other era) heroines act like today's girls (anachronistic behavior)
revenge (usually involves thinking: “I’ll sleep with her/him to achieve my goal.”)
second chance at a loving relationship this time around
secret baby
silly heroines chasing rakes storyline
sugary sweet
switches genre w/o warning (from historical to time-travel or romantic-suspense to PNR)
time-traveling
too much history
"tough and clever" heroine almost always outwitted by hero
“wallpaper” historical only – no sense of time and place
younger hero, older heroine