Happy New Year Readers! I hope each of you welcomed 2013 with something new to read. During this time of year we hear a lot about resolutions and goals we'd like to accomplish for ourselves. Though I try my best to set some of my own, I don't always follow through with them as the year progresses. However, I do have something new I wanted to formally introduce to my blog. As you've probably already seen in the last few months, I've been branching out and reading more than just young adult fiction. To my surprise, I've been reading more adult romances (mostly contemporary and a few historical). Since I've read quite a few of these books that I really enjoyed, I thought I'd continue reviewing them here on the blog. Like I said before, I've already begun doing so... you may have seen me mention a book or two in the Lucky Harbor series, hehe. But I wanted to let my readers know that I plan to continue with this and will be introducing more adult titles on my blog as well.
If you're a reader of the adult contemporary (or historical fiction) genre, feel free to give me some recommendations! I am still very new to what's out there and appreciate any suggestions on what to read next. To give you an idea of what I've read and enjoyed so far, here are the reviews of the adult books I've read and reviewed:
- Small Town Christmas by Jill Shalvis, Hope Ramsay, and Katie Lane
- Under the Mistletoe (Lucky Harbor, #6.5) by Jill Shalvis
- My One and Only by Kristan Higgins
- Sultry with a Twist by Macy Beckett
- Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey
- Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
- Christmas Eve and Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas
- At Last (Lucky Harbor, #5) by Jill Shalvis
- Lucky in Love (Lucky Harbor, #4) by Jill Shalvis
- Head Over Heels (Lucky Harbor, #3) by Jill Shalvis
- The Sweetest Thing (Lucky Harbor, #2) by Jill Shalvis
- Simply Irresistible (Lucky Harbor, #1) by Jill Shalvis
- How to Kill a Rock Star by Tiffanie DeBartolo
- Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.
So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”
― Neil Gaiman
YAY for branching out! That is awesome, Ginger!
ReplyDeleteAlso YAY for a Gaiman quote. Makes me smile.
You'll need the adult books to sprinkle in as you start being around kids all the time. Therapy.
ReplyDeleteI don't read much adult contemp anymore, but my fav adult romcom writer is DEFINITELY Jennifer Crusie. Some of Susan E. Phillips's stuff is a close second...
ReplyDeleteYou already read one book by Shannon Stacey - those were books I would have recommended to you. I also like Sophie Kinsella's stand-alone novels and some Susan E. Phillips's books are good too. I recently discovered Rachel Gibson's books and especially like those in the Writer Friends series. Another favorite of mine are Ali McNamara's books. I'm looking forward to some more adult novel recommendations from you and have fun reading all the wonderful books in this genre. :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE that quote! SO TRUE.
ReplyDeleteAs for recommendations, I'm more of a historical romance reader, so here are some of the authors I love: Lisa Kleypas (You MUST read her Wallflower series), Sarah MacLean (her Love by Numbers series is fun), Julia Quinn (mostly for the Bridgerton series) and Tessa Dare. Oh, and of course, I can't forget Julie Garwood, an oldie but a goodie!
I see you've already got some Kristan Higgins titles on your list, but I'd definitely recommend continuing to read her! My favorite so far is Too Good to Be True, but I haven't hit a bad one yet!
ReplyDeleteI also like Julie James for contemporary romance. Just the Sexiest Man Alive and Practice Makes Perfect are both straightforward romance. There's also the FBI/U.S. Attorneys "series" (some overlapping characters, but no real need to read them in order), which has some suspense elements too, but the focus is still definitely on the romance!
Historical fiction wise I recommend checking out anything Sarah MacLean - her books are genius.
ReplyDeleteFor contemporary romance, J Lynn writes great short romances, as does Inara Scott. I really enjoy both of theirs. I've also found Jennifer Crusie's to be absolutely adorable and wonderful.
Yes to Julia Quinn, Sarah MacLean, Sophie Kinsella, and Lisa Kleypas,
ReplyDeleteI just tried Life in Icicle Falls series and love them.
Also When Lighting Strikes (Whiskey Creek)
I adore Debbie Macomber and Sheryl Woods
G, I admire that you stay true to yourself by reading what you want. I don't really read a lot of the genre that you're interested in right now, but that will likely change as I see more of your reviews. :) I hope you get some great recommendations! Happy New Year! xo
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see what comes of this year and your recent change in reading. I love reading genres all over the place.
ReplyDeleteHave you read anything by Heather Wardell? She's self-pubbed, which usually turns me off, but her stories are wonderful and suck you in!
Happy New Year Ginger! Yay for branching out too! Try Kate Morton's novels. I love her writing style and ability to capture a specific time period. It's beyond beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLove the Neil Gaiman quote too!
Good for you! I've been starting to enjoy more romances too. I read one recently that I'd recommend, especially if you're not quite done with Christmas decoration settings. :) Kissing Under the Mistletoe by Marina Adair. So cute and fun!!
ReplyDeleteYay!!! I LOVE the adult reviews you've been doing! My wallet certainly hates it but I have especially loved The Lucky Harbor books and I never would have picked them up if it wasn't for you reviews :) As for recommendations: the Heather Wells series by Meg Cabot is so funny! Also Wallbanger was a surprisingly good book (don't let the title scare you too much!) Also, Happy New Year Ginger <3
ReplyDeleteIf you read historical romances, you HAVE to read The Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn. So fun! My absolute favorite of all time! Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, the third book in the series is my favorite. :)
ReplyDeleteI have been branching out and enjoying adult contemp. romance lately too:)I have a recommendation for you. I downloaded this one from Amazon and read it in a single sitting. Don't let the risque title put you off, it is smart, FUNNY, swoony, and a perfect read for someone wanting to take a break from YA: WALLBANGER by Alice Clayton.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of the book's Amazon or Goodreads synopsis because I think it overplays the sex factor of the book (there really is an awesome love story written in), but check out some reader reviews, most are overwhelmingly positive:)
Enjoy your new reading venture:)
Love love Adult contemporary. Especially new adult. Super fun new drama. It's like the perfect mix of YA and Adult!
ReplyDelete-Shanise @ Camisado Mind :)
Branching out is definitely great! I tried to read some non-YA books last year and I absolutely loved them!
ReplyDeleteI know they're a bit older but Janet Fitch's White Oleander and Paint it Black are amazing reads! I hope you enjoy diving into your new genres!
ReplyDeleteNicola Kraus and Emma McLaughin are awesome when paired up.
And if you prefer light and fun along the Chick-lit lines, Sophie Kinsella or Jane Green.
Awesome! I'm looking forward to your reviews. Umm... for recommendations. I used to read romances a lot, but have drifted away from them over the last few years. I read a lot of historical romance. I really like Julie Garwood. Especially the highland romances. My favorites are The Secret, and Honor's Splendor and Saving Grace. These are set during the middle ages (not something I would normally gravitate towards), but they are really good. She is quite funny (Julie Garwood) and usually her hero's are jerks. I also like some of her Regency novels - Castles is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteI also like Julie Quinn's Bridgerton series. I don't love all JQ's books, but I like most of them. My favorite of her's is actually How to Marry a Marquis.
And if you haven't read Bridget Jones's Diary (even if you've seen the movie) you should!
Oh, and Meg Cabot's Boy series (The Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One).
Excited for the new additions to the blog :)
Ginger, probably my favorite adult contemporary romances are Susan Wiggs' Lakeshore Chronicles. So good. This is the first book in the series (I think there's about 10 or so now).
ReplyDeleteGinger, I'm just so happy to read any of your thoughts that they could be about take out menus and I'd still follow your blog!
ReplyDeleteDo what makes you happy, my friend. Review away! :)
I love that you are branching out and trying new things -- that's the best part of book blogging finding and discovering books you might not have given a chance otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI think you should read Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie, it's SO SO SO good. And totally up your alley with the whole contemporary romance thing.
Glad to see you are branching out! I loved DeBartolo's books, so you should try God Shaped Hole if you haven't already (it was her first book, I think, before How To Kill A Rockstar)
ReplyDeleteI also recommend Julia Quinn & Jennifer Crusie, like others have done so ^ I also love Lori Foster and Vicki Lewis Thompson :)
Good luck finding more books you love! And happy new year.