Smutty Sunday 10/13/13

Changing it up a little bit again. Instead of genres or specific books, I thought I ‘d do an author recommend and mini spotlight. Not on the authors, but on their books. The more I thought about doing reviews today, the more these two names kept popping up in my mind. Elizabeth Hunter and Thea Harrison.

They write about similar things. Kinda. But their writing styles are vastly different. I love them both. For each, I like a particular series of books and tolerate the others in the authors stables. But even for the books that aren’t my favs, they rock. Really good writing, decent editing and tight storylines. Both authors have things to share that are really good things. Their worlds are worlds I like and want to be a part of.

Elizabeth Hunter and her Elemental series of books are a bundle of goodness just wrapped in a book looking package. I love vampire stories. I love original stories. I lurve original vampire stories. LURVE. Can I say <3 enough times? I don’t think so. Her vampire lore is stunning.

She has other books, a shifter series which is slowly coming forth, and a contemporary with an unusual twist. Nothing you read that she wrote will disappoint you. It’s just that some things delight slightly more than others. If I had to choose, I be all about the Elemental series. But  no place is the wrong place with her books.

Thea Harrison’s Elder Races books are so lush, so epic, I can’t gush enough. Again, awesome world building. Just awesome. the depth of some of these characters is amazing. And my favorites are the first book and the one about the Vampire Queen. LOVE those two the mostest. The others were good as well. But the interesting storyline for the first book really grabbed my attention. And the way paradoxes was handled in the vampire queens books was fabulous.

Thea started another series as well. It was interesting. But nothing close to the caliber I’ve found in the Elder Races series. But then again, it could just be a young serious and the superlayers won’t show up until later.

Smutty Sunday 4/21/13

Yeah, Yeah. I know. Today is the day that I help point you in the direction of smut to read. But before we do, here is a thought for the day. I heard a comedian say this… it’s only a joke if we both laugh. Think about that. How many times has someone said something hurtful, racists, criminal, etc. and played it off as only being a joke. If we both laugh, then yeah. If only the speaker is laughing then it is something other than a joke. Something that most people would only think would be okay told in a joking format. But underneath? Well, that dog don’t hunt, yeah?

So on to my normally scheduled program. Ilona Andrews and her Kate Daniels books are a series that I have read again and again. Seriously. They are that good. Urban Fantasy at its best. Not all Sci/Fi has to be high fantasy or deep space nine-ish. lol Urban Fantasy is part of that genre as well. A sub-set to be sure but nevertheless it is a pretty damn entertaining sub-set. And when it comes to my dollars, I like to be entertained. I like to read stories that seem fresh with strong characters. Ilona Andrews is a husband and wife team. They write kick ass books. I like the Kate Daniels ones the best but their Edge books rock just as well.

New Adult has been all the craze for a while. Everyone wants to be a New Adult Author, to rep a New Adult Author or to publish a New Adult author. I have waded through a lot of them. Most of the writing sucks. But there is a gem or two to be had. R.K Lilley’s Up in Air series is good as is Jodi Ellen Malpas’s This Man series. Both are trilogies so you get the characters for more than one book. One is set in the US, the other in the UK. I like books about British people. They say funny things. lol Some of the New Adult stuff seems to have a lot of conflicts and issues that don’t ring true. These two have decent explanations for why the characters are the way they are and a decent storyline that holds it all together.

For adult smut, I really like Lorelei James’ Rough Rider series. First, there is an assload of books in the series. Always a good thing. Then there are smokin’ hot cowboys in those assloads of books. Another good thing. Last but not least is the sex in them there books. A great thing. It’s an amalgamation of goodness all rolled into one. Most are M/F but one is MMF and then there are instances of menage that the characters engage in on an individual basis. See, something for everybody. lol

Now to my last recommendation for today. It’s an oldie but goodie. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. I have read this book at least once a year since it was first introduced to me. I love this book. When I first read it, I identified with Scout. Then I got to know all that was good about Atticus. At some point, I pondered Boo. But it wasn’t until I really thought about the old lady kicking her opium habit that I got the full flavor of the book. All of those things make this a book that I read again and again. Because as I get older, Scout, Atticus and Boo are people I wish I knew but it the little old lady that I wish I were. I want to be her. Courage. Strength. Determination. All of that. To be FREE of addiction and to meet death unfettered. And to make that happen. 30 minutes at a time. Strong. Brave. Resolute. Any of us can do that in 30 minute bites. Yup, I want to be her when I grow up. I surely do.