Historical Romance Book Club discussion

Reviews! :3 I think I have a couple...

Also hi, I'm new. :)

How I Married a Marquess, by Anna Harrington
A Sense of Sin by Elizabeth Essex

I also have a review for an m/m romance which I'm posting here because it was excellent; Think of England by K J Charles.

Here are a couple of my recent ones:



My GR Review


My GR Review

Sha wrote: "I also have a review for an m/m romance which I'm posting here because it was excellent; Think of England by K J Charles."

I adored this book! K J Charles has become an "Add it to my tbr automatically" author".

Catchy title ;)

Thanks Ally :)

So glad to see more K J Charles fans here. I was wary to pick her books up at first (my experience with m/m manga has been disappointing- too many gender roles), but she has proven herself to be consistently excellent so far. :)

And yes I thought Think of England was a great title too. I sniggered when I first saw it. Also I have a couple more reviews;

The Perfect Rake, by Anne Gracie
An Unseen Attraction, by K J Charles

Courtney Milan! I love every single book she's written to date. :3 I have been waiting for After the Wedding for what seems like far too long. I've only reviewed A Kiss for Midwinter of her HRs so far though.

More reviews;
Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish, by Grace Burrowes
A Seditious Affair by K J Charles

The Soldier's Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I only have recently started leaving reviews. Here are a couple:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished The Alabaster Hip. don't worry, the title gets explained in the book, it's actually kinda cute. The cover is hideous though, if you ask me... I actually loved the first half, and the hero. Omg, the hero... I loved him SO much <3 I didn't really enjoy the second half though, but someone less allergic to fabricated drama (esp. big bad, dragged-out misunderstandings...) might not mind that as much as I did :) The first half was hilarious, and I will check out more of the author's books
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished - not one of Julia Quinn's best mainly due to the heroine's problematic actions, but a satisfying romance nonetheless.

My GR Review

Here are my two most recent HR reviews:

This one is Duke of Midnight which is #6 in the Maiden Lane series. I'm working my way through the whole series.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This one is a set of 4 novellas that accompanies a series I recently finished, the Windham series. The set of novellas is The Duke's Courtship

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

BTW I stick pretty closely and honestly to the GR star system in my reviews. So, 3 stars means I liked a book, 4 stars means I really liked a book. I very rarely give 5 stars (meaning 'it was amazing') as I don't read 'amazing' books that often (sadly!).

I'm aware some GR members use their own interpretation of the star system, and many seem to think a 3 star rating is a poor one, but for me, it's good - it means I did like the book.

Authors think 3-stars is a poor rating too.

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "Authors think 3-stars is a poor rating too."

Hmm. Well, that's not how I read the star ratings as described by GR. I'm honest in my ratings and my reviews. To me it's pointless to overhype a book that I liked but wasn't *in love* with. But 3 stars still means I liked the book, and heck yes, I did buy it and finish it.

Has anyone noticed that, confusingly, the star rating system is different on amazon? When I put reviews on there I usually have to give a different star rating from my GR reviews. I wish they were the same.....

Sorry I'm a bit OT here, but when reading people's reviews the star ratings definitely come into play.

I'll have to look at what GR says these ratings mean.

I've seen others on GR say Amazon ratings don't line up with GR.

I wonder if I should bother filling in the Amazon rating/review at the end of my kindle books.

It's whacky that Amazon and GR have diff rating system bec when I fill in the rating/review at end of kindle to send to Amazon, the review/rating shows up in GR.

They need to get on the same page with these ratings!

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "I'll have to look at what GR says these ratings mean.

They need to get on the same page with these ratings!"

I know. I agree. But I don't see how they can line them up because it will alter so many historical ratings/ reviews. I guess that's what's holding them back. But it is frustrating and perhaps is why lots of people just ignore them and use their own system of what the stars mean.

BTW on amazon, three stars means 'it's okay' and four stars means 'I like it' (cf. 2 stars and 3 stars on GR)

There is someone in my feed, a romance blogger, who gives grade like in school: B+ C- etc. and she uses full stars and .5 stars to express these grades for her rating system.

I'm confused by my own rating system and was thinking of adopting hers

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "There is someone in my feed, a romance blogger, who gives grade like in school: B+ C- etc. and she uses full stars and .5 stars to express these grades for her rating system.

I'm confused by my ow..."

Yep I quite often use .5 stars. A common rating for me lately seems to be 3.5 stars. But that doesn't show in the 'stars' gif so if I have a .5 I always write that first up in my review.

A lot of people use .5 stars, but someone on my flist who is a librarian says GR staff are adamant about making .5 stars.

Adamant against the .5 rating?

I tend to think that averages near 3 stars looks like a bad ranking, too. When I started rating in GR, I think I was more strict, but then I started noticing some books I hated having really high averages, typically non-romance genres. I understand everyone having different opinions, but they seemed unreasonably high. Then, I would see well-written romance novels having a much lower rating than popular reads, and I no longer thought I was being fair to the authors I enjoyed. I tend to rate based on my likelihood that I will re-read or if it impacted me greatly.

I have seen the letter system also, and I like it. I still think I would confuse myself. It is difficult to not be subjective and a lot of it depends on my mood or mindset.

Here's my latest HR review, of Don't Tempt Me

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I don't stick to GRs ratings as they don't reflect my thoughts.
For me a 2 star book is not OK . For me, 2 stars mean I wouldn't recommend it. A 1 star does not mean "I didn't like it" but that although I managed to finish it, its not a good book.

The 3, 4 & 5 descriptors are better but also not an accurate reflection of my reading experience. For this reason, I have my own rating system on my profile page.

Ally wrote: "I consider a three a nice solid book."

Me too Ally. But I feel like so many readers use their own rating systems, or overhype books, that giving three stars makes me feel really stingy sometimes. Still, I call 'em like I see 'em.

Its realy an important topic to discuss. Everyone has different prespective about rating system.
1 rating mean for me- reader hate the book.
2 rating means- reader is angry due to one or two thing
3 rating- a little bit disappoinment
4-enjoyed but will forget with time
5- In love with each word of book.
I know its sound funny but Its my way rating system :D

P.S- superb thread Ally. I realy enjoyed reading reviews by different readers. It makes us feel more connected. Mostly I dont drop reviews, I m not that good with words.

I enjoy for the same reasons Mahak. I always think you make great points.

My review of The Last Hellion

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review of His at Night

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Joanna wrote: "I enjoy for the same reasons Mahak. I always think you make great points."
Thanks from bottom of my heart for your warm words. I love to read from u too.

Ally wrote: "Mahak wrote: "P.S- superb thread Ally. I realy enjoyed reading reviews by different readers. It makes us feel more connected. Mostly I dont drop reviews, I m not that good with words."

I love seei..."
Yes..thats the greatest advantage. This book seems so interesting. Will wait for your review on it.

Mahak wrote: "Joanna wrote: "I enjoy for the same reasons Mahak. I always think you make great points."
Thanks from bottom of my heart for your warm words. I love to read from u too."
😌

Group hugs for all of us! I love reading all of your comments and opinions. I have gotten so many great recs from the GR blogs. Thank you everyone who makes the effort to comment or review.

Finished yesterday and was rather disappointed. Laurens' heroes really need to get over themselves.

My GR Review

Finished Lord of Fire earlier today. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished - not one of Quick's best but entertaining nonetheless.

My GR Review

Lauren wrote: "Finished yesterday and was rather disappointed. Laurens' heroes really need to get over themselves.

My GR Review"

The few Stephanie Laurens I've read seemed pretty old fashioned and (dare I say it?) a tad boring..........

Ally wrote: "Finished - sweet and darling: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... It's like a 3.8999 - 4.28888 for me =). That means I liked it!"

LOL!

Jan130 wrote: "The few Stephanie Laurens I've read seemed pretty old fashioned and (dare I say it?) a tad boring..........
"

I enjoyed the first few in the series (original Cynster series), but the ones that followed have been lacking in the plot department. I'm hoping that the more recent ones from the last few years will be better.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ally wrote: "Just finished and I believe my world has ended. At least it feels like it since I finished the book when I wanted it to go on and on! https://www.goodreads.co..."

LOL.

I just finished Seducing Mr. Knightly

I really enjoyed it. It was silly, and goofy, and at times pathetic, but overall, I really liked it :)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review of Magnate

My first read by this author. I liked it. She's a quality writer. It was something different for me - set in New York's Gilded Age. But it was good.


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ally wrote: "Great review. I had forgotten that I started this book (on audio) at one point and didn't finish. I think this is one of those "to be read not listened to books." Appreciate the reminder =)"

Thanks Ally. I enjoyed the book.

Ally,

I thought you were a part of this giant buddy read of that took place last year?

I could have sworn that you read this. I'm not saying you did, when you say you didn't. I really thought you were a part of that big, fat buddy read last year.

Yep, we read Baron :)

Here is my review of Lord of Scoundrels It was a recent reread of a book I first read a number of years ago. It's an enduringly popular HR, and I did enjoy it, but interestingly for me, I actually preferred its sequel, The Last Hellion which I read recently (for the first time.)

Anyway, my review of LoS:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Here is my review of an older Mary Balogh I just read (for the first time). The Devil's Web One of her darker, more angsty and emotional reads, for those of you who like that style.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ally wrote: "Yes, yes, yes. You are so right. In hindsight, I can see it. Everything about this book was OTT. In my case, I think I still loved it. And I think I loved it because of the heroine. I'm definitely intrigued to read Hellion. Thanks for posting."

Yes both leads are wonderful, if a bit exhausting. Loretta Chase is a fine writer. Hellion is pretty full-on too, but toned down a little from this one perhaps, and it felt more real to me.

Ally wrote: "Yes, yes, yes. You are so right. In hindsight, I can see it. Everything about this book was OTT. "

Yup - completely OTT and I loved every minute, especially when Jessica (view spoiler)[shoots Sebastine (hide spoiler)]. Priceless!