Tempting Tuesday

Dear Monster,

   Every once in a while you sleep. It's true. It happens. During those times I usually clean the house, clean your bottles and make more formula, feed and take care of the animals, or scarf down some food. Before you joined our little lives, though, if I had a free moment, I would read. I would sit down with a giant cup of coffee and read my morning away...which would lead to me reading my afternoon away...then reading my night away. If I wasn't working or hanging out with your Dad I could be found in a book.

  I can't wait to sit down and read a book with you! I wonder what your favorite genre will be, what characters you'll connect with, and if you'll be as passionate about the written word as your father and I am. I hope we can give you a healthy respect for the art form that is a novel. 
~~~

Hey look! You're back! :waves like a fool:

Well, as I am sure you read above, I am a passionate reader. This passion for reading generally circles around one genre: romance! I can honestly say that romance novels were a huge part of bringing my marriage back off of a dangerous cliff. Before educating myself IN romance THROUGH romance, I had NO idea how love communicated with intimacy or how to express how I was feeling in any sort of romantic way. Needless to say, things are much better now and I have the amazing authors and their brilliant characters to thank for that. A very unconventional way to solve a problem but it is what it is and I am grateful.

It all started when I was reading the Twilight series (a young-adult romance) and a friend recommended a new author to me (this author being from the ADULT romance genre) and I was lost after that. I tend to not be a fan of the Harlequin-type, wind-swept, desperate-for-any-man type of romance. I need a strong heroine, an understanding and moral hero, a believable situation, and a little bit of humor. That being said, I LOVE Paranormal Romance! *swoon* Yes, yes, this genre gets a little sketchy on the whole "believable situation" thing but if you let yourself be absorbed into the genre, you can definitely tell the difference between an author who is writing PNR just hoping that some of that Twilight-induced  hysteria will rub off on them, and someone who is writing PNR because they truly have their own world and characters in mind. I have read A LOT of PNR.........A. LOT. I have read the very best and some of the very worst and everything in between. I generally prefer to read a series of books as it helps me get really involved in the world that the author has created. "Stand Alones" just don't rock my world.

What I am attempting to try with Tempting Tuesday is to introduce my very intelligent and lovely readers to the genre of books called "Romance". Each week I will attempt to recommend a favorite author, a favorite book, a favorite character, or a favorite sub-genre of Romance.

I will start this hopeful beginning with one of my all time favorite authors. She is a PNR goddess. If you've read any sort of PNR you've likely read one of her books. I speak, of course, of The Warden herself:

J.R. Ward

Writing since she was a child, she is most known for her Black Dagger Brotherhood series and her newer Fallen Angels series. Using her double major in History and Art History (concentrating on medieval era) and her law degree from Albany Law School, she writes educated, confident, and sarcastically sexy characters. Her novels have made me laugh out loud, burst into tears, and sigh with relief when her characters finally receive their Happily Ever Afters. Loved by her fans and critics for writing honest, love-filled relationships and characters she brings characters out of impossible situations and has them come together at the very last second and in the most heart-warming and perfect ways. Having earned herself a RITA award from the Romance Writers of America,  she is an absolute favorite and a MUST READ in this genre.

If you would like to start reading her books, she has a website that walks you through her series, and stand alones. Each book has a summary, all books are listed in reading order, and she lists upcoming novels. Please note that these are ADULT romance novels with some explicit content.

Let me know if you give them a try, if you've already read them, or if you hate romance novels! I'd love to hear it all!

Happy Tempting Tuesday Everyone!