Harlequin Books discussion

This is the place to come when we want to discuss things that span many different types of romances.

I'm going to start things off with a general question that does not have to have a romance book as the answer and for most, will not. I'm hoping you fell in love with reading early as I did.
Do you remember what book or person inspired your passion for reading?

I can only say that it was a HARLEQUIN. I was 14 years old when I read my first...I believe it was a HARLEQUIN PRESENTS...And I have been reading ever since...

I've loved reading for as long as I can remember. I started read romance when an aunt gave me and my sister several to read. I was in fifth grade. I read all of the several times before my mom realized what we were reading and took them away from us. I finally tracked down the three I remembered and ordered them a few years ago. One was Castles of Sand by Anne Mather. I'm glad I was able to reread it so many years later, because it is still one of my favorites.

I grew up on a farm without any playmates close in age, so I read. A lot. My father set the example, reading every day, but it was my mother's generosity in taking me to the library and letting me order piles of Scholastic books that indulged my reading habit. I think my first romance came from an aunt, and I must have read it at least five times.

The first book I remember being captivated by was The Sword in the Stone--and it had a tremendous influence on the first book I wrote 50 years later! The first romance I ever read was when I was about twelve. It was entitled Trish, but I have no idea who the author was. The romance that made me want to write romance was The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss.

Anne Mather was one of my favorites too. Carol Mortimer, Penny something or other, Janet Dailey... The list goes on. I'd read them as I walked between classes in high school and every spare moment I had. Loved school bus rides. Lol

My grandmother, back when I was in high school, got me hooked on the Harlequins. I would spend every weekend at her house and I would devour all the books she had saved for me.

What a great topic. I think it was my father who influenced me to become an avid reader, he read voraciously and we often would compete for first pick of the library books. It was also a tradition in our house to have a bedtime story read to us, which I have carried on with my own children.

My love of reading was inspired by my grade school librarian. She would read to the younger classes and she brought the books to life. Her passion for the written word was a revelation to me. No longer was reading just a requirement for school. It became an entire new world for me. :) Librarians rock!

Ann wrote: "What a great topic. I think it was my father who influenced me to become an avid reader, he read voraciously and we often would compete for first pick of the library books. It was also a tradition..."

Ann, I treasure the memory of reading to my daughter and I like to think it is one of the reasons she is such an avid reader now. ~ Kim

I just created the poll (located at the bottom of the group home page) asking if you prefer stand-alones, series, or anthologies. I would have a hard time answering this because it really depends on my mood but I've been told I'm strange. So, hopefully, it will be an easy poll for you to answer. :)

Anyone feel like playing a game? I do so here you go. :)

Grab the book you are reading and go to chapter 3. Share the first 2 sentences from the first paragraph.
Everyone else must then try to guess what kind of romance you are reading.

i.e.
"Beautiful.
As he looked at her standing there surprised - and then, a moment latter, utterly furious - Mia Sullivan was still the most beautiful woman Ford had ever seen."

answer: contemporary, Mira

To be more specific, it is from It Must Be Your Love by Bella Andre.

What am I reading?

" 'Having known me such a short time, you would not know that the only reason I would even consider a duplicitous engagemnet is because of my sister, Lydia. Truth to tell, the only reason I would endure another London Season at all is for her.'"

This is a fun game! I'm going to guess Regency.

Here is what I'm reading:

Finn couldn't decide what painted a bleaker picture of Sector Six--the fact that they were crouched in an abandoned warehouse that should have been packed to the rafters with this year's harvest, or the unlit, unguarded street outside.
"We shouldn't have to go too far," Finn murmured, still watching the street through the dirty window.

Harper, are you reading a romantic suspense set in some western state?

It's a dystopian romance, but good guess on the western state. References are made about the western US being the location.

(Book 5 of the Beyond Series by Kit Rocha)

The first books I remember reading as a child are the Nancy Drew mysteries. I also enjoyed the Sweet Valley high series and The Babysitter's Club series.

Oh, I used to love the Nancy Drew mysteries too!

Harper, is that series good for a teen? My daughter likes dystopian but she would rather it wasn't hot and heavy with sex scenes. She normally skips over them and if there are to many scenes, she starts complaining.

Ashley, I was more into fantasy as a child so never got to enjoy those series. I tried to get my daughter to read them so I could finally get to enjoy them but she wasn't keen on them. :(

Harlequin Books wrote: "Harper, is that series good for a teen? My daughter likes dystopian but she would rather it wasn't hot and heavy with sex scenes. She normally skips over them and if there are to many scenes, she s..."

That series is definitely not appropriate for a teen. Many, many steamy scenes.

Ashley, I loved the Nancy Drew mysteries!

April is almost gone. YAY! Now, I might start to finally see some of those May flowers. I'm crossing my fingers that the late snowy weather didn't harm my lilac bush which was just beginning to bud. I love sitting outside, reading a book with the smell of lilacs in the air.

Do you have a favorite spot you like to read?

This weekend is Mother's Day. In honor of this event, please share a favorite memory of your Mom or about being a Mom.

One of my favorite memories of being a mom is from when my daughter was the ages of 3 and 4. She would get home from preschool or I from work and we would go for a walk to the corner store, to get a treat or drink. We would hold hands and she would carry her little yellow basket. She would tell me all about her day, stopping to pick flowers (weeds) or rocks from neighbors yards along the way, which explains the need for a basket. Once back home, I would let her put the flowers and rocks in a vase while dinner was prepared and she would set the table with her creation as our center piece.

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone can help me out with a book title.

The book is about a heroine who is a lawyer, she is being threatened (letter, phone calls, stalking??) by someone on one of her cases. The hero owns a security company and is close friends with the heroine brothers. He offers to look into the threats which she isn't taking seriously. He end up moving in with her and I think near the end of the book he takes her to his house.

I hope that made sense. Thank you in advance

I think I might have read that. I will check my shelves.

I can't seem to find it. Kat Martin series? Raine brothers?

I've been thinking of starting up a group book read each month. The only thing is, we're a pretty diverse group of readers so it would be difficult to pick a single book to read each month for discussion. Would voting on a different title each month work for you all or are you not interested in discussing specific books and would rather keep it general book discussions?

Alexandria, that sounds so familiar. Do you remember anything about the cover or maybe a character's name, the setting? I need a bit more info to narrow down my search.

It could have possible been New York but not to 100% sure. Wish I remembered the names or anything extra to help. I do know that it was connected to another book, in which the heroine wants to have a child and the hero is the older brother of the other books heroine. But I can't remember that one name either.

No it wasn't any Kat Martin books, Thanks anyways

I'm about to leave to go see my mom in the hospital but when I get home later tonight, I'll go through my books. Knowing it is connected to another book might just help me enough.~ Kim

I think I'd be open to a monthly group book read....

Alexandra... I've read the book.. now I need to figure out which one it was for you..

How quickly do you read?

I haven't forgotten you Alexandra. I've just been very busy caring for my mom who recently had a stroke. As soon as I am home longer than a few moments, I'll look. Hopefully, Alyssa finds the book before I do!~ Kim

Kim - How quickly do I read? Typically a book every 2 weeks, maybe even more.

Alexandra ... this doesn't have a prequel but could it be this?

Normally, I'll read a book every day or two, depending on the length. This past week I've managed to finish 1 book. I'm going through withdrawals!

Me too every day or two. Except in the summer. Then i can read a couple hp or good long one each day. One of the fabulous perks of being a teacher. I get the summer to garden and read.

A hearty thank you to all teachers out there! You definitely deserve the summer to relax and rejuvenate! Do you have a flower garden, butterfly garden, veg. garden, fruits? I need to do some major overhaul to my house curb appeal. Currently, my yard is a mess but I need to research for the hardiest plants. Both my husband and I have major issues with keeping green leafy things alive. My brother can bring just about any plant back to life and thriving but he isn't around to help us out. I have 2 dead bushes and a failed garden space that is super overgrown with weeds. My poor neighbors must hate us.

Harlequin Books wrote: "You definitely deserve the summer to relax and rejuvenate!"

Ah, but it's the start of winter here! :) :(

I have hardly read anything for a month. Firstly because of a major death in the family, and then because I lost my Kindle for a while!

My father just came back from a Vietnam veterans' reunion. He keeps being involved in events with current-army Victoria Cross winners (like the Medal of Honor, but fewer people get it), and he doesn't know who they are. I just said to him: WHY do I have to tell YOU about the army?! They're major celebrities in Australia and he doesn't know them! He's an idiot...

Make sure you vote in the poll to help us pick which book we will group read and discuss this July.
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Happy Father's Day!

Sonya Heaney wrote: "Harlequin Books wrote: "You definitely deserve the summer to relax and rejuvenate!"

Ah, but it's the start of winter here! :) :(

I have hardly read anything for a month. Firstly because of a majo..."

Well, to tell you the truth, I prefer winter over summer. To me it is much more relaxing because my summer schedule is incredibly busy.

My sympathy to you and your family. It is never easy to lose a close family member. This past week, I also had a family member pass away. He was a lifetime military and served overseas, this time in Korea which was supposed to be his last tour of duty.

My school had a library period once a week. We had to choose a book, finish reading it the week, and had to write a small synopsis on what we read, in the school calendar. That started my love for reading!

:) I love hearing stories about school libraries being a person's inspiration for reading. My love of reading comes from my elementary school librarian. In my daughter's elementary school, they had a program where the top three readers (proven by the number of synopsis turned in) per grade level won a prize and the top reader of the year won 5 books for summer reading.

The school library should always be the heart of the school.

Summer reading. I'm going to ask for help before my daughter runs out of reading material. I think she has enough for about two weeks with her busy schedule. I need suggestions for her summer reading, please (17 yo, loves time-travel, Nocturnes, and most of the LUNA books which some have been printed as MIRAs now). And, if you have any suggestions for my mom, I would appreciate those as well. She recently suffered a minor stroke and I'm hoping if I bring her some REALLY good books, it will entertain her some. She is not one to sit and take things easy but she just doesn't have the strength back yet to do what she wants. She loves humor and clean romance. She loves the Love Inspired selections, especially Amish based themes, Susan Mallery is a favorite and so is Holly Jacobs and Tina Leonard. I keep her pretty supplied with Historical titles but I don't bring her enough contemporary ones according to her. :)

What do you look for in your summer reading selections?

With so many summer sports happening now, it made me curious about your thoughts of books with pro athletes as the H/h. Do you enjoy them? Why? Why not?

Personally, I enjoy them all but gravitate to ones about sports I follow. I like getting that behind the scenes feel to something I'm not that close to but would love to be. Nobody would want me to be the trainer for anyone. Nobody would send me as their press rep. It would be nice to be invited to the locker room but I'm 100% positive it will never happen for me anywhere but in a book.

Nominate your Hero of the Year at Harlequin.com
Submit your nominations for the sweetest, sexiest, most swoon-worthy hero of 2015. You have three weeks to tell us your choices and when the results are in, the top sixteen heroes will face off for your votes until the winner is crowned Hero of the Year!
Submit your nomination HERE> http://www.harlequin.com/store.html?c...

Autumn is my favorite season. I love all the colors, the sounds of leaves traveling up the sidewalks on blustery days. The kid in me thinks of Winnie-the-Pooh sending mail with the wind and his total confidence his letter would get where it needs to go. Wouldn't it be lovely to have that child-like belief again?

But back to reality, autumn means I can relax at the end of the day with comfy blanket, warm drink and book. Bliss! I adore reading books set in this season too. I think it is the most diversely describable season and one that authors can have the most fun with. Do you agree? If not, which season do you pick? ~ Kim

Did you get any good books for Christmas?

5 Charts only people obsessed with reading will understand (and agree with)!
http://harlequinblog.com/2016/02/5-ch...