Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Sign Me Up to Recruit the New Recruits

This will be short since this is the holiday season and I've been running my butt off all day.

Monica McCarty's THE RECRUIT is probably the best of the series and I didn't think I'd say that. I've loved every book; and my heart belongs to the sailor named Erik for goofy, personal reasons, but Kenneth Sutherland is Hawt-Hawt-Hawt and the love story between him and Mary was passionate, lovely, and did I mention it was hawt?

Like really HAWT. Or Hot, because I'm driving myself nuts purposefully spelling that wrong.

Kudos to Ms. McCarty who researches her history thoroughly, but when she needs to finagle a bit with the history to make it work, she does so seamlessly and explains afterwards in case there are those of us (we know who we are) who might go, "That didn't happen." But I love these women who are women--who act true to their time period, but are still a little spunky and bold with the men who love them in return.

If you love history, you'll love this book.

If you love romance, you'll love this book.

If you love hot, sexy sex scenes, you'll LOVE this book.

If you love happy endings that feel real, especially in a time period where happy endings for women were probably pretty rare, you'll love this book.

I think there might be another four or so books left in the series. Ms. McCarty has had an end sight for this series, but each book in this series still feels fresh and interesting. I'm going to be really sad when this series ends for real.

What are you reading now? And what series do you hope will never end?

15 comments:

Maureen said...

Well, I finished "If Chins Could Kill, Confessions of a B Movie Actor" by Bruce Campbell and his follow up book, "Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way."

Not exactly romance novel fodder, but they were quite entertaining! I love me some Bruce Campbell...

I also just finished re-reading "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution" by Nicholas Meyer. A nice Holmesian tale of a meeting between Sigmund Freud and Sherlock...

And looking forward to the new Jim Butcher book, due out soon. Need to read the newest Kim Harrison... And that is about it for me and reading lately...

Though I'm looking at more Holmesian stories...

And exactly in what time period are these books your speaking of? :-)

Marnee Bailey said...

You know, I haven't read a Scottish book in a long time. I think I need to pick one up. This sounds great.

Tiffany Reisz's THE PRINCE releases TODAY! It downloaded to my Kindle last night! That's what I'm going to be reading. :)

Janga said...

Today I'm reading an ARC of The Duke Diaries, the third book in Sophia Nash's Royal Entourage series and loving it. I recently read Janice Kay Johnson's A Hometown Boy, which may be the most extraordinary category romance I've ever read. It is a romance, but it is also the story of a family and a town in the aftermath of a huge tragedy: a schizophrenic kills eight people and himself. The hero is the killer's younger brother; the heroine is the daughter of one of the victim's. But the book belongs to all of those whose stories are never told when such tragedies make headlines. It's a book I don't think I'll ever forget.

As for a romance series I hope never ends, Julie Anne Long's Pennyroyal Green series is up to #7, and two of them--What I Did for a Duke (#5) and A Notorious Countess Confesses (#7) have been high on my best books of the year list, and I've enjoyed them all. Every time I think it can't get better, JAL proves me wrong.

Terri Osburn said...

I'm only now getting back to reading on a regular basis. I didn't want Eloisa's Desperate Duchesses series to end, but I knew it had to eventually. I'm currently reading Nancy Northcott's debut, which is the start of a series, so I'm really looking forward to the next book and more beyond. Really liking this world, these characters, and Nancy's voice.

She's managing to do things on the page that cause me to stop and say, "How did she do that??" I'm jealous of this kind of talent. LOL!

Hellie Sinclair said...

Mo, I love the titles of the Bruce Campbell books. They alone would make me pick up the books to browse them. *LOL*

Do you like the modern Holmes' takeoffs? (I know some Austen fans either love or hate the Austen stuff--and wanted to know if you found some that were better than others.)

Hellie Sinclair said...

Marn, that will be relaxing Thanksgiving reading amongst the family. *LOL* Of course that might be the convo this year--

"So have you read 50 Shades of Grey?"
"NO, but you have to read Tiffany Reisz's books..."

Hellie Sinclair said...

Janga, the duke series of Nash is particularly cute. I've enjoyed the ones I've read so far. And I have the latest Long book, but haven't gotten far in it yet to love it. (But it wasn't until midway through the Duke's Heart that I was entrenched and in love with Long and decided to read everything she'd ever done. *LOL*)

That contemporary book sounds so incredibly powerful! What a brave, brave writer! I think I will have to look that one up; you do wonder how those families pick up the pieces and move on after something like that.

Hellie Sinclair said...

Terri, I'm so happy you got to start something at the BEGINNING of a series. *LOL* But this book does sound awesome...and your recommendation is definitely going to get me to a bookstore to find it. :) I love it when other writers make me jealous. Well, I love it after I get over being jealous...you know what I mean.

Terri Osburn said...

I just went looking for the Johnson book but it's not out until Jan 1, 2013. So I preordered it for my Kindle. (Can I just say FINALLY being able to do that is the coolest thing.)

Thanks for the rec, Janga!

Terri Osburn said...

You definitely need to get Nancy's book. You'll really like Griffin. ;)

Maureen said...

Hels, I've read a lot of the Holmes books, and some are good, some are eh. Nicholas Meyer wrote "7%" some decades ago and he did a wonderful job of capturing Watson's voice.

Laurie King's series, "The Beekeeper's Apprentice" are a stretch, as far as the cannon goes, but she is a great writer. Carole Nelson Douglas did her Irene Adler books and I enjoyed them.

But I've also read Holmes meets Dracula and been unimpressed and I vaguely remember one with the Giant Rat of Sumatra...

I always enjoy the imaginative turns of these tales. And I love the modern adaptations. BBC's with Benedict Cumberbund is superlative! Elementary is fascinating, and I love how they twist the basic connections into a modern world...

I remember fanfiction putting Sherlock on the Enterprise and they were surprisingly well done...

So, all in all, as I babble forward, I've liked most, loved some, shrugged at a few...

P. Kirby said...

Not reading that many series lately. Probably because my TBR pile is so tall, my attention span short, and hence, I rarely remember to go back and find the next book in a series. Also, I'm reading a lot more on the Kindle, and that means, gasp, paying for books. Since I rarely fork over more than 2.99 for a book, new releases in a series (way more expensive) don't get bought.

The closest thing to a series I've read is Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey. It was originally release as five shorts (novellas) but I picked up the collected volume cheap. It's a dystopian about a population of people living in an underground silo as the result of some man-made apocalypse. As the story progresses, there is a love story that eventually drives the action. Started a little slow, but built to a nice, suspenseful finish. Dark, but not as dark as some dystopians.

Hellie Sinclair said...

Mo, interesting! Like Jane Austen books, I haven't read any Holmes' stories to know cannon from not...so I don't really have a dog in the fight, you know? I just think it's fascinating to write something that resonates with readers hundreds of years later that they're still talking about it. On purpose. And wanting to live in that world and create new adventures for it.

I know there are issues with copyright infringement and stuff with books, but part of me thinks it would be flattering that people loved my stuff enough to want it to keep going.

Hellie Sinclair said...

P.Kirby, *LOL* Maybe I'll start searching Amazon to see what romances are on sale before I do a review, in case I read the book and can recommend it. *LOL*

I do like a good dystopian novel! I will have to look for this book! Thanks!

Maureen said...

For the most part, I think I would be tremendously flattered if a character I create inspires fanfic!