Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/
This Week’s Topic: Valentine’s Day/Love Freebie
Valentine’s Day, a worldwide conspiracy by flower sellers everywhere… so not my holiday. Romance books in my backlist, let‘s see…
Maybe something historical, set in Egypt?
Reflections in the Nile (Time Travel, #1), read in 2004
by Suzanne Frank
Chloe visits her sister, an archeologist, in Luxor. She does the usual sight seeing and also goes to the Sound and Light show at Karnak temple. She decides that she wants to see the sunrise from inside the temple to take some photos and hides in a small side chamber. Then, suddenly, when she kneels down to pick something up from the ground, everything shifts and wavers and she finds herself in the body of someone else in the times of Pharao Hatchepsut.
A romantic novel with an archeological twist. Quite entertaining and nice reading for low brainpower. This is the first of four books. In the sequels Chloe will travel to Atlantis, Canaan and finally (I think) to Babylon.
Some contemporary romance…
Catch of the Day (Misty Harbor, #1), read in 2004
by Marcia Evanick
Nice brain candy. Likeable characters, decent storyline, well written. Everybody gets hitched in the end, so it makes for happy reading.
Maybe some time travel?
The Time Traveler’s Wife, read in 2006
by Audrey Niffenegger
I was very dubious about it, when I finally picked up this book. Very often, when I start reading a highly praised and bestselling book, I find it utterly indigestible and throw it in a corner after 70-odd pages. Plus my mum didn’t like it and thought the language was childish. So a book that I tackled with very low expectations.
And lo and behold – What a great book, I loved it! My only complaint – I thought the ending was given away much too early in the book and that ruined my enjoyment a little. I knew what was coming and that is rarely good. But still, fantastic story. I thought the time travelling would be too weird and too interruptive of a smooth story flow. But not a all. It was well done, felt very natural and opened up the door to some great opportunities for the plot.
How about some werewolves?
Bitten (Otherworld, #1), read in 2007
by Kelley Armstrong
Very good and strong first book in a series. Believable characters and believable wolves (as far as humanised animals can go). And I did not mind the very conventional romance, it was a nice change to the supercharged shapeshifter version.
Tempting Danger (World of the Lupi, #1), read in 2012
by Eileen Wilks
Tough female homicide detective meets tall, dark and handsome stranger. He’s a werewolf and a murder suspect. And she has secrets of her own. Romance interferes with a murder investigation. The usual.
The first half was not bad. The suspense part was fairly mild and not too exciting. The romance and sex were so-so. The book didn’t grab my attention much and it took me forever to get past the half-way point. The action picked up after that and it actually got interesting. Enough for me to want to pick up the next book in the series.
And I eventually read the whole series and it became one of my favourites! Sadly, the series was never finished.
Or rather historical fiction?
Passion, read in 2007
by Jude Morgan
An account of the women sharing their lives with Lord Byron, Shelley and Keats. A very good description of the middle/upper class of that time with emphasis on the women, their social surroundings, morals and ethics of that time, politics and major events of the period. You get a look at the literary and social scene, the Prince Regent, Beau Brummel, Napoleon, Waterloo and so on and so forth.
Although its central theme is romantic relationships, I would not class this as a romantic novel, but rather a historic one. There is not a strong narrative thread. Which is probably the reason, why I started loosing interest about half way through. So, I enjoyed the first 300 pages very much, but thought that the book got a bit scattered after that. I did not like the chapters that were told by Caro Lamb much – mostly because I did not like her talking directly at me. I did not think that worked very well.
The storyline of Keats and Fanny Brawne felt like an afterthought and the book could have done without it. I liked Augusta and Mary Shelley best. They were the most vivid and interesting characters in the book. And Byron – I wouldn’t mind having dinner with him, to see what all the fuss is about and if he was really this fascinating!
I expected their stay at lake Geneva – where Frankenstein was “born” – to be the pivotal point of the book and was a bit disappointed how briefly it appeared. It is a good story though and was worth reading.
Vampires with a shoe fetish!
Undead and Unwed (Undead, #1), read in 2011
by MaryJanice Davidson
Betsy wakes up in the morgue, undead and clearly unhappy. Shenanigans ensue, good-looking vampires appear, bad guys make trouble and expensive shoes make several appaerances as well. Low on content, but high on snark. I laughed a lot. Very entertaining for those low-brain-power days.
More werewolves!
Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville #1), read in 2008
by Carrie Vaughn
Very good start to a the series! Kitty gets herself into trouble, when she starts counselling fellow shapeshifters and assorted vampires on her midnight radio show. Shows you – stay out of things or you get into lots of trouble! Light mystery with werewolves, good fun!
A spot of literary fiction?
Cold Mountain, read in 1998
by Charles Frazier
A book that I remember fondly, without recalling many details of the writing. It was slow, I think. And the movie was a decent adaptation.
And rounding it off with more historical romance…
The Raven Prince (Princes Trilogy, #1), read in 2007
by Elizabeth Hoyt
Very enjoyable historical romance. The usual set-up. Nasty male hero. Cute and humble heroine does not like him, but eventually falls in love and….. The twist with the brothel is unusual. But it was fun, I had a good time reading it and really liked the characters.
Wild mix, I know. I just grabbed them as they popped up on my shelf.
Cathy's Reading Bonanza 