What am I reading?
I’m SO glad you asked! I can’t remember if I’ve just discussed it in book club or if I’ve ever written it here- but I take a train to work. I spend about 1.5 hours per day on this train & it gives me time to get A LOT of reading done. I love it! And I’ve gone through a TON of books lately. Some I am kind embarrassed about (So why did I read them? Well.. they were already downloaded on my kindle and I don’t have wifi on the train so what’s a girl to do besides read a terrible book? (Yes I could (and have) download series sequels on my phone after finishing a book mid-ride and continue to read on a 2.3 inch screen!)) and some I’m just DYING to talk about with someone. So without further ado:
The Rules of Scoundrels Series
YOU GUYSSSSS: In the last 6 days I have read 6 Regency Romance Books. I gotta be honest- if you’ve known about Regency Romance and never told me- I’M PRETTY PISSED OFF AT YOU. HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THESE BOOKS UNTIL THE LAST SIX DAYS? Update: Big Shout out to Beth who got me started on these books. I love you but also hate you that it took you that long to recommend them. So it’s basically a wash. I’m indifferent towards you.*
It’s like Jane Austen but a modern author plus with SEX. I’m in love. They’re SUCH easy reads (1 book took me 3 train sessions MAX), with amazing characters, hot guys (HELLO ARISTOCRACY) and SEX. But it’s not like smutty I need-to-hide-this-from-my-train-neighbor sex, but instead good still-may-not-want-to-rec-to-your-grandma sex scenes.
I started first with The Rules of Scoundrels Series by Sarah MacLean. And after I was finished I read her first series Love by Numbers. Here are a few things I loved:
The stories are so simple. The follow the same formula: Hot, rich troubled men. Virginal women, looking for love. Sex. Love. Done. These stories have been done so many times, and yet Sarah makes them interesting & fresh. Her dialogue is fun & witty! Her characters are interesting. The females are strong characters, despite the times. Did I mention the hot, (yet innocent) sex? Yes? Okay. Good.
I recommend ALL the books but I’d say I loved them in this order: The Rules of Scoundrels #3: No Good Duke goes Unpunished, #1: A Rogue by any other name and then #2: One Good Earl Deserves a Lover Love by Numbers (GAH! This one is hard. I can’t believe you guys are no one is making me do this) #3: Eleven Scandals to Start to win a Duke’s Heart tied with #2: Ten Ways to be Adored when Landing a Lord then #1: Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake? They are all so close!
OH- and the characters all intertwine- The Soundrels series happens after Love by Numbers, but I didn’t realize this until my VERY last book. So I don’t think it matters what series you read first. Plus Soundrels has a 4th book coming out next year.
So now I’m desperate for antother Regency Romance recomendation so please give me some pronto!
The Arcana Chronicles
I read the first book of the Arcana Chronicles Poison Princess by Kresley Cole in October. I actually heard about from this GUY I know and was intrigued enough to read it. Especially when Beth said she had never heard of it. It’s rare to read a book before Beth, ya’ll.
I’m not a big fan of complicated worlds. If I get lost in the details of or trying to understand a world, you usually lose me. Poison Princess almost did that. The world is…. different. It’s not dystopia (shocking!) and maybe we’d call it post-apocalyptic? It has this tarot-card story-line that was sort of hard to follow, but it eventually all becomes clear.
I worked through the first half of the book and decided to finish it out to see what the fuss was all about. And I’m SO GLAD I did. It doesn’t happen until maybe the last 1/3 of the book, but Poison Princess gets REALLY good. I rushed through the end and easily devoured the second book Endless Knight. And love love loveeed the follow-up. You guys: LOVE TRIANGLE. A good one, too. The kind where you want the person in the middle to choose them both. It’s okay. Be a little slutty. It’s fiction.
Plus do you see that dark handsome guy in the image to the right? That’s Jack. Hello Jack. Hello.
I can’t mention Poison Princess without reminding you this is our Book Club pick for this month & we’ll be discussing it LIVE on Tuesday December 17th at 10 pm ET. Join us!
Okay so turns out we will have at least TWO posts in this series: What am I Reading? because this was getting long & I’m going to stop & share two other book series in a few days!
So tell me, what are YOU Reading? And please recommend more Regency Romance. THANKS
*Kidding I love you forever Beth.
