S.M.’s answer to “I'm almost finished with His Valet. My heart aches for Smith! He wants love so badly and yet he's s…” > Likes and Comments
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Your response cheers me immeasurably. And you're right about trusting my instincts. That's something I need to keep reminding myself of for all my writing. I don't know you, but I can already tell I like you (and your taste in books!) I've been reduced to re-reading books recently. If you have any rave recommendations (I read any genre) I'd love to hear about them. Happy reading!
Two books I can recommend right off the top of my head: 1. Fighting Destiny by Amelia Hutchins. Paranormal, badass hunter MC and the alpha fae she goes up against.
Amelia is such a sneaky author! You have to pay attention as she gives you so many "Why didn't I catch that?!" fun moments. It's the first in a completed series and I recommend her to all my naughty book reader friends. (I recently recommended yours in her author group as well). The series is engrossing and addictive and we are all still researching and arguing online over who one character really is! The series is a fantastic mix of mythology, ass-kicking, mystery, suspense, and thriller.
And for many snort-laughs out loud, Lucy Score's Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door. My boys kept insisting I read it to them every time I laughed. It was such fun that Lucy is going to do another.
Your turn!
Thanks for the 2 recommendations! I've not heard of either. I see that the first book in Hutchins's series is currently free on Amazon, so I snapped that up and will give it a try. I'll admit that stories about the fae are new to me.
Boy, a new book rec? When I'm immersed in writing, which I seem to be non-stop this year, I don't read the genre I'm writing. I do that to avoid any possibility of "idea bleed." Now that I'm writing historical romance, erotic romance, historical mystery, and sci fi, I find my book options increasingly limited at any given time!
So, I've currently been reading lots of contemporary. I highly recommend the Department Q novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Book 8 came out just recently. The first 4 are definitely the best, but the others are worth reading.
If you enjoy the somewhat twisted nature of my VICTORIAN DECADENCE story I recommend an oldie-but-a-goodie: Patricia Gaffney's TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, which is an amazing (but brutal) historical romance.
I picked up To Have and To Hold. Looks great! I'll have to see if the Department Q novels are at the library. A bit pricey for us right now. I do love this!! I'll let you know what I think of Patricia's book when I'm done! Let me know what you think of Amelia's. Enjoy!
Wow, I can wait to get my hands on Smith. He is my kinda of fictional character. Ik that he is nice in what he believes in, setting up the school for underprivileged kids. Thank you for the update Minerva.
How you keep you thoughts and fingers in sync. So many stories floating about.... oh boy!
Loved loved Absence of a Mercy.
Absolutely loved Notorious.
Readers grab your copies, you will not be disappointed!
Thank you, Anjali! So glad you enjoyed Absence of Mercy. It's definitely not most romance reader's cup of tea!
I want to encourage you to write the unusual, non normative character & HEA. I am seeing a lot of these kinds of stories in historical and they get rave reviews. Some examples for when you can read historical again (contain serious spoilers!):
Scarlet Peckham any book but the Rakess has a not always likable alcoholic heroine who lives life, claim her sexuality no matter the societal and personal backlash
Joanna Shupe Prince of Broadway h/H agree to live together without marriage and no desire for kids
Cat Sebastian Marquess- heroine who prefers to live as man and h/H have to navigate that considering homosexual was illegal.
Delicate Deception - h/H happy ending includes living apart for job, second characters get HEA in nonsexual marriage. I am not including the books that are not traditional/groundbreaking because of minority or same sex, etc.
I just finished Patricia Gaffney's TO HAVE AND TO HOLD. I loved it! I never stopped to wonder about the judicial system beyond folks getting sent to penal colonies in that time. And wow! Our Viscount was not a good man in the beginning. I loved how his character evolved. I will admit that I knew who did it very early in the story and why.. but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. And I have to say, I loved the compassion in the story, both by some of the community and by Mrs. Wade towards the Viscount. Excellent recommendation, but I can see why mainstream romance readers would be all up in arms. However, it is right up our alley. It's thought-provoking and twisted with a deep commitment to living a life not defined by what others think.
Susan: Dammit! Your comment somehow went into my promotions email folder, so I'm just seeing it now, as I'm deleting trash.
Anyhow, so glad you liked TO HAVE AND TO HOLD. It's quite the eye-opening book. I also like the book about the vicar in the series, but the third book just didn't have the oomph.
I remember the first time I read it my mouth was hanging open for most of the book--what a prick, but the POV is so authentic and raw she somehow makes the character work.
Lissa:
Thank you for the book recommendations!
So Smith is not going to have his story told for a while? *cries*
He is my favorite character in the series. I think truest to who he is from the get go. That is as wonderful as a character gets!
I love this. I’ve done some acting, and one of my favorite parts is fleshing out the character. What emotions, beliefs, traits, experiences, etc have led me to do and say these things? Though as an actor, that process starts with the script, what will make it feel true. Fiction writers start with their (your) own ideas, which is always so amazing to me! Good on you for protecting the integrity of the story ❤️
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Your response cheers me immeasurably. And you're right about trusting my instincts. That's something I need to keep reminding myself of for all my writing. I don't know you, but I can already tell I like you (and your taste in books!) I've been reduced to re-reading books recently. If you have any rave recommendations (I read any genre) I'd love to hear about them. Happy reading!
Two books I can recommend right off the top of my head: 1. Fighting Destiny by Amelia Hutchins. Paranormal, badass hunter MC and the alpha fae she goes up against. Amelia is such a sneaky author! You have to pay attention as she gives you so many "Why didn't I catch that?!" fun moments. It's the first in a completed series and I recommend her to all my naughty book reader friends. (I recently recommended yours in her author group as well). The series is engrossing and addictive and we are all still researching and arguing online over who one character really is! The series is a fantastic mix of mythology, ass-kicking, mystery, suspense, and thriller.
And for many snort-laughs out loud, Lucy Score's Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door. My boys kept insisting I read it to them every time I laughed. It was such fun that Lucy is going to do another.
Your turn!
Thanks for the 2 recommendations! I've not heard of either. I see that the first book in Hutchins's series is currently free on Amazon, so I snapped that up and will give it a try. I'll admit that stories about the fae are new to me. Boy, a new book rec? When I'm immersed in writing, which I seem to be non-stop this year, I don't read the genre I'm writing. I do that to avoid any possibility of "idea bleed." Now that I'm writing historical romance, erotic romance, historical mystery, and sci fi, I find my book options increasingly limited at any given time!
So, I've currently been reading lots of contemporary. I highly recommend the Department Q novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Book 8 came out just recently. The first 4 are definitely the best, but the others are worth reading.
If you enjoy the somewhat twisted nature of my VICTORIAN DECADENCE story I recommend an oldie-but-a-goodie: Patricia Gaffney's TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, which is an amazing (but brutal) historical romance.
I picked up To Have and To Hold. Looks great! I'll have to see if the Department Q novels are at the library. A bit pricey for us right now. I do love this!! I'll let you know what I think of Patricia's book when I'm done! Let me know what you think of Amelia's. Enjoy!
Wow, I can wait to get my hands on Smith. He is my kinda of fictional character. Ik that he is nice in what he believes in, setting up the school for underprivileged kids. Thank you for the update Minerva. How you keep you thoughts and fingers in sync. So many stories floating about.... oh boy!
Loved loved Absence of a Mercy.
Absolutely loved Notorious.
Readers grab your copies, you will not be disappointed!
Thank you, Anjali! So glad you enjoyed Absence of Mercy. It's definitely not most romance reader's cup of tea!
I want to encourage you to write the unusual, non normative character & HEA. I am seeing a lot of these kinds of stories in historical and they get rave reviews. Some examples for when you can read historical again (contain serious spoilers!):Scarlet Peckham any book but the Rakess has a not always likable alcoholic heroine who lives life, claim her sexuality no matter the societal and personal backlash
Joanna Shupe Prince of Broadway h/H agree to live together without marriage and no desire for kids
Cat Sebastian Marquess- heroine who prefers to live as man and h/H have to navigate that considering homosexual was illegal.
Delicate Deception - h/H happy ending includes living apart for job, second characters get HEA in nonsexual marriage. I am not including the books that are not traditional/groundbreaking because of minority or same sex, etc.
I just finished Patricia Gaffney's TO HAVE AND TO HOLD. I loved it! I never stopped to wonder about the judicial system beyond folks getting sent to penal colonies in that time. And wow! Our Viscount was not a good man in the beginning. I loved how his character evolved. I will admit that I knew who did it very early in the story and why.. but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. And I have to say, I loved the compassion in the story, both by some of the community and by Mrs. Wade towards the Viscount. Excellent recommendation, but I can see why mainstream romance readers would be all up in arms. However, it is right up our alley. It's thought-provoking and twisted with a deep commitment to living a life not defined by what others think.
Susan: Dammit! Your comment somehow went into my promotions email folder, so I'm just seeing it now, as I'm deleting trash.Anyhow, so glad you liked TO HAVE AND TO HOLD. It's quite the eye-opening book. I also like the book about the vicar in the series, but the third book just didn't have the oomph.
I remember the first time I read it my mouth was hanging open for most of the book--what a prick, but the POV is so authentic and raw she somehow makes the character work.
Lissa: Thank you for the book recommendations!
So Smith is not going to have his story told for a while? *cries*He is my favorite character in the series. I think truest to who he is from the get go. That is as wonderful as a character gets!
I love this. I’ve done some acting, and one of my favorite parts is fleshing out the character. What emotions, beliefs, traits, experiences, etc have led me to do and say these things? Though as an actor, that process starts with the script, what will make it feel true. Fiction writers start with their (your) own ideas, which is always so amazing to me! Good on you for protecting the integrity of the story ❤️
The series itself is pushes readers outside regular comfort zones. It has honestly made me think, research, and explore how difficult it was to be outside what society considered normal in the past. I fully expect Smith to push those boundaries even further. I think I need him to do that.
I know we don't know each other at all, but trust your storytelling skills. You have been right on the mark so far. Let go and see where his story takes you. As a fan of this series, trust that I can handle it.