tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post2322110183278542714..comments2024-03-27T03:28:56.209-04:00Comments on Ramblings on Romance Etcetera. Etcetera: Reading ain’t what it used to be!Kristie (J)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15743921647882733738noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-75031741947830132212011-05-01T06:35:55.434-04:002011-05-01T06:35:55.434-04:00I think our entertainment interests have changed. ...I think our entertainment interests have changed. There may have been a time when we read for entertainment, but now moveis fulfil that need for many people. I personally find reading non-fiction books to be more interestingnecklacehttp://messageonanecklace.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-33420436040151769832011-04-27T20:41:38.565-04:002011-04-27T20:41:38.565-04:00I'm kind of running out of categories I really...I'm kind of running out of categories I really like these days. I will admit to being 55 years old and have read romance in all it's permutations thru the years.<br /><br />It's been a long time since I have really liked a Regency era romance, Courtney Milan comes to mind as one I liked. I think I've met just about everybody in the ton by now and have 'been there done that' with any type of scandel, character or setting. <br /><br />Oddly enough, I am really into Steampunk these days - something I never would have guessed about myself. I think that is in response to trying something new.Kayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02696267837605937403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-65130675925857188532011-04-27T09:58:56.313-04:002011-04-27T09:58:56.313-04:00Age could be a factor, Kristie. I have to admit I ...Age could be a factor, Kristie. I have to admit I tend to like heroines who are in their 20-30s...nathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02626894830238717124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-3456782325072165612011-04-27T06:38:00.314-04:002011-04-27T06:38:00.314-04:00Orannia: I've heard such great things about Ms...Orannia: I've heard such great things about Ms Raybourn so yes, I do have the first in the series although I'm not exactly sure where it is at the moment and I haven't read it yet, but I will when I come across it again.<br />And yes to the feisty. That usually just means silly doesn't it?Kristie (J)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15743921647882733738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-15539643397912499232011-04-27T05:25:32.250-04:002011-04-27T05:25:32.250-04:00What I read has definitely changed. If the back co...What I read has definitely changed. If the back cover summary mentions fiesty, beautiful, spies, revenge, etc. I won't pick it up. I prefer unconventional heroines...the Plain Jane type :)<br /><br />Question. Have you tried Deanna Raybourn? Silent in the Grave is brilliant IMHO. It's historical (Victorian) suspense with a hint of romance :)oranniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14007355589161084262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-42624792548416812952011-04-26T23:57:25.710-04:002011-04-26T23:57:25.710-04:00Nath: I'm curious - since you are - well let&#...Nath: I'm curious - since you are - well let's say 10 years younger then me (ROTFL) do you think part of the reason why you enjoy historicals more than I do these days is because you can relate more to the heroine because of their younger ages than me? I think I enjoy contemps & RS more these days does have a lot to do with my senior years <br /><br />Jessica: The Western in question is The Outlaw Bride by Kelly Boyce (from Carina Press) Hopefully I'll have a review of it soon - but I'm so far behind on them.<br /><br />Sunita: *laughing* Well, I'd say the Western is really, really good - but I'll confess, I have read some duds in that genre too. I'm not too affected by agency pricing since I still buy print books too and if an ebook and a print book are the same price, I'll just buy it in print. What I do like though are the wider choices in ebook publishers. And at least with epublishers (now that I have TWO different devices to read on) they are less pricey than their print cousins.<br />And I've been reading more category too - partly because I'm reading more contemporaries and that's what a lot of them are.Kristie (J)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15743921647882733738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-42144164840582308642011-04-26T20:35:00.858-04:002011-04-26T20:35:00.858-04:00Hey Kristie :)
I'm like Mollie. I started off...Hey Kristie :)<br /><br />I'm like Mollie. I started off with contemporary and then paranormals... and after that, historicals ^_^; And seriously, the reason I read so much historicals is because so many of them are published!!<br /><br />You know how some books start trend? Well I think that's what happened with England historicals. Some book or author was probably a big hit, romance readers started reading so many historicals and so, everyone jumped on the England historicals bandwagon... and the problem is they stuck to what worked... Especially Avon ^_^; <br /><br />Ah well, I have to say, I still enjoy England historicals - much more than any others ^_^; However, I'm much more picky as well :Pnathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02626894830238717124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-32373136946325497172011-04-26T16:32:54.337-04:002011-04-26T16:32:54.337-04:00Great post! What is the title of that Carina Weste...Great post! What is the title of that Carina Western? I want it NOW!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-32572966352623255732011-04-26T15:47:23.662-04:002011-04-26T15:47:23.662-04:00I could not agree more; great post, KristieJ!
I ...I could not agree more; great post, KristieJ! <br /><br />I posted about this a few days ago, but in the context of Agency pricing and how it makes me less willing to read same-old, same-old and non-autobuy authors in historical. Carina has been great for branching out. And I read a lot of categories, way more than I used to. <br /><br />You and I are about the same age, I think, and when you've read as long as we have, it's hard to keep reading the same thing unless it's really really good. And no genre is all really, really, good. Sigh.Sunitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11241584136397101851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-77418125648949917512011-04-26T15:39:32.149-04:002011-04-26T15:39:32.149-04:00Book Pimp Blogs: I'll always have a fondness ...Book Pimp Blogs: I'll always have a fondness for England set historicals and writers like Lisa Kleypas and more recently Elizabeth Hoyt are 2 examples. And this applies 99% to English set. I still am ALWAYS on the lookout for Colonials such as those Pamela Clare writes for example. But the Lorraine Heath, Julia Quinn, Eloisa James etc - not for me hardly at all anumore.<br /><br />Lynne: Very Good Point!!! I used to learn so much from Historicals but now it's very few authors who make you feel like you are in the times the book is set in. I don't think as many authors do their research like those of previous years. Of course there all still some authors that do. And those are the ones that keep me reading them.<br /><br />Anonymous: I think they will too. They are more 'make believe' then RS or contemporaries. But I think part of it is my advancing age *g*, but the fairy tale aspect doesn't appeal to me as much as it once did. That's not to say I don't understand the draw of it for others and if one is fairly new to romance, it's a wonderful aspect to it. But 'princesses' are unrelatable to me anymore and even if I really do understand the appeal<br /><br />Wendy: *g* as I'm just discovering the appeal of some of the series lines and I've really enjoyed all the Carina Press books I've read and they are shorter, I'm not complainin'. And I think the wallpaper of the wallpaper historicals has become blander - appealing more to the majority as I said in the post. I really like RS though I've noticed that it's a fine balance between the suspense and the romance - though if it doesn't balance then I like it better when it falls on the side of romance. I didn't come into them with a real background in suspense like you have - though I have read it in the past.<br />And while I like them, I haven't read a great many paranormals so I haven't burned out on them. But given a choice between a Western and a Paranormal say, it's not often I'll choose the paranormal.<br /><br />Molly *laughing* A tortured hero is a tortured hero is a tortured hero and ALWAYS on the top of my list. But it's ever so much easier to empathize with the torturedness of Garbriel St Croix for example than a duke that lost his mom and his wife. Judith James is a great example of a historical write I will never give up and who makes you feel part of the landscape and times of her books (August, the release month of her next book I think, can't get here soon enough for me). And Laura Kinsale is a cut above many a historical author as are some others. Jo Goodman also comes to mind though her last two have been Westerns again (YES!!)<br />But I think too, that back when I came back to romance, historicals were more plentiful than the other genres - not that they still aren't - but I don't think there were as many RS, Contemps back then. And that was long before the Paranormal craze - though I do remember reading a few vampire romance by Linda lael Miller and Maggie Shayne. <br />But when I'm in a book store anymore, my eyes go first to the RS etc rather than the historicals.Kristie (J)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15743921647882733738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-46562838275348688042011-04-26T13:59:17.225-04:002011-04-26T13:59:17.225-04:00HAHA! I'm actually the complete opposite. I st...HAHA! I'm actually the complete opposite. I started with contemps and paranormals. But recently ALL I've wanted to read are historicals. However, I tend to shy away from the weak virgin heroines. I also like the TORTURED heroes (Broken Wing-style!). <br /><br />I've recently read Lessons in French, Lord of Scoundrels, The Forbidden Rose, and loved them. Loved the Libertine's Kiss, Judith James' latest. I've been glomming the historicals recently. Currently reading Prelude to a Scandal by Marvelle. Liking it so far! <br /><br />Anything contemp or paranormal haven't appealed to me. With the exception of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series... :). <br /><br />My most recent post was soliciting suggestions for historicals that have the tortured heroes and fiesty heroines! Funny how our tastes change! :)Molliehttp://bookfaredelights.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-79628851861733214892011-04-26T11:49:58.135-04:002011-04-26T11:49:58.135-04:00I read more category romance now. I've always...I read more category romance now. I've always read it - but it's definitely increased volume-wise. I've discovered this is just how I prefer my contemporary reads. In category format. With shorter word counts and an intense focus on the romance. So yes, I'm part of the problem when it comes to single title contemporaries not flooding the market :)<br /><br />I still love historicals. What has changed there was that at one point I was so burnt out on anything remotely England that I avoided all English-set historicals. And by avoid I mean I read maybe one a year for 3 years running. But thanks to short-stories I've gotten back into them. But like Lynne, I need to be selective. Wallpaper didn't used to bug me, but the older I get, the crankier I get. So I try to steer towards historical writers that give me at least a hint of history :)<br /><br />Romantic Suspense - I'm very selective here. Chalk it up to too many years as a mystery/suspense reader. There's nothing finer than a really great rom/sus read, but I'm very finicky about the suspense thread. I NEED a good suspense thread. I just do.<br /><br />Paranormal = burn out. I'm doing what I did with English-set historicals years ago. I'm just not really reading them. A couple a year, tops.<br /><br />Good post Kristie :) And A-to-frickin'-men on the blue collar heroes. More please.Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-78759255629802149382011-04-26T11:20:48.752-04:002011-04-26T11:20:48.752-04:00I like RS too, but I think historicals will always...I like RS too, but I think historicals will always be the greater part of romance fiction because they add to rather than detract from the fantasy of romance fiction. RS is okay because from the get-go it's a bit fantastic, but straight contemporaries require me, at least, to suspend disbelief beyond what I'm capable of. Cupid's arrow striking a heroine or hero seems far more likely somehow in the rarefied, mannered Regency world than in the 21st century.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-12644548752609880612011-04-26T07:45:39.787-04:002011-04-26T07:45:39.787-04:00Me too, me too.
I stopped reading so many because ...Me too, me too.<br />I stopped reading so many because they just aren't historical any more. They don't reflect the real problems of the era, or the characters and expectations.<br />That means, for me at least, that they lack depth. Why not write about modern people instead? More and more the historical is about modern people in fancy clothes without cell phones and computers. It's not different enough any more, and it doesn't have the depth that you can find in other stories. <br />I'll carry on writing my historicals, but because I love writing them and because I enjoy the research. Not because they form the bulk of my sales any more. I must be mad.lynneconnollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10687025766573756077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-48449173215858637512011-04-25T23:01:21.434-04:002011-04-25T23:01:21.434-04:00I used to read a lot of historical when I was youn...I used to read a lot of historical when I was younger, but you couldn't get me to read one now for anything. I'm all about RS and comtemps now. I'm not sure when it changed or why? At the end of the day, I just want to read a good, entertaining story that leaves an impression on me.WEIGHT LESS NOT MOREhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16429396501485864486noreply@blogger.com