Saturday, August 30, 2014

Aloha to Ten Books with Staying Power (part 2)


Readers are challenging each other on Facebook to list 10 books that have "stayed with you".  Continuing my list from yesterday (link),


6.  Toni Anderson's DANGEROUS WATERS (link).   Once again I stepped outside my comfort zone to review a romantic suspense ... and I was rewarded with a pager turner set in Barklay Sound on the Pacific Coast.   The bonus - a capable Canadian heroine locks horns with a mysterious Canadian hero who previously served in the Canadian Special Forces - a pleasant departure from a genre flooded US military characters.   


I also recommend the next book in the series, DARK WATERS (link).


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7.  Anne Elizabeth's A SEAL AT HEART (link):  Anne Elizabeth delivers a heartfelt romance between a Navy SEAL struggling with the aftermath of a mission and a physical therapists who helps him heal.  I appreciate that Anne Elizabeth takes the reader into the heart of the warrior and the mind of a woman to honor the military families.


I also recommend the next book in the series, ONCE A SEAL (link).


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8.  Anne Cleeland's DAUGHTER OF THE SUN-GOD (link).


I wrote a short five star review to get right to point that Anne Cleeland scores a bull's eye with this action adventure set in Regeny Egypt, yes, Regency Egypt.   Hattie Blackhouse travels to Paris then Cairo in search of her parents last seen on a archaeology dig in the Valley of the Kings.   Along the way, she is coddled (and threatened) by the British, French, Egyptians, and one mysterious man as all believe Hattie holds the key to Napolean's triumph (or defeat).


I met Anne at RWA and passed along my praise for DAUGHTER OF THE GOD-KING.  She mailed me a print copy of the first book in the series, TAINTED ANGEL (link).  I look forward to reading it.


Daughter of the God-King (Regency, #2)

9.  Jill Marie Landis' MAI TAI ONE ON (link).   My list would not be complete without one Hawaiian romance.  MAI TAI ONE ON is an opus of the heart from beloved romance author Jill Marie Landis.  Set on Kauai's North Shore, MAI TAI ONE ON is a cozy mystery for a California divorcee who arrives on the island to help her uncle turn around his legendary Tiki Goddess Bar.   It becomes an action adventure when the Hula Maidens, the local halau (troupe), join the hunt for a killer.   It ends with an unexpected romantic moment that captures the magic of the Hawaiian Islands.


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10.  Cathy Maxwell's THE DEVIL'S HEART (link):  My list started with Cathy Maxwell and ends with the master storyteller of Regency Romance. THE DEVIL'S HEART is Book 3 in the Chattan Curse series. The Chattan family lives (and dies) by a 17th century curse:

When a Chattan male falls in love, strike his heart with fire from above...

Two Chattan brothers - Neal and Harry - have fallen in love despite the risk. Their younger sister, Margaret, travels to Scotland in search of the Book of Curses to save her brothers. She finds the last living male descendent, James, who reluctantly assists her .. for a price.   James doesn't believe in magic but he is desparate to help his clan. As Margaret and James fall in love themselves, the Witch has other plans for the fated couple.  Maxwell pulls out all the stops with an unexpected twist in the climatic ending that demonstrates love "always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves", 1 Corinthians 13: 6-7.


I read the last third of THE DEVIL'S HEART on Turtle Beach along Oahu's North Shore.  During the dramatic scene, the beach's famous turtle Brutus emerged from the ocean to the delight of the tourists.   It was an extraordinary moment.


THE DEVIL'S HEART can be read as a stand alone novel, but I recommend the first two books, LYON'S BRIDE (link) and THE SCOTTISH WITCH (link).


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Can you share a romance novel that has stayed with you?  One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash.  This giveaway is open through Saturday, September 6, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, September 7.


Mahalo,


Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

23 comments:

  1. Barbara Freethy's "Don't Say a Word."

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  2. A great list. ONCE UPON A TOWER by Eloisa James is wonderful.

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  3. Oooo~ I'll have to check some of these out. I currently just received my print of Anne Cleeland's New Scotland Yard Mystery Murder in Retribution. I can't wait to read it.

    But a romance that has stayed with me was Lord and Lady Spy by Shana Galen.

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  4. The books by Amanda Quick always stay with me.

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  5. Lisa Kleypas' Love in the Afternoon

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  6. My Butterfly and Butterfly Weeds by Laura Miller are two books that I read last winter and have stayed with me all this time!

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  7. Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas.

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  8. The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins.

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  9. Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel and anything by Grace Burrowes for a start.

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  10. Me Before You, by JoJo Moyes, and Julia Quinn's When He Was Wicked (a Bridgerton book) are both wonderful and memorable.

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  11. I have read lots of books that stay with me, but the most memorable one is Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.

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  12. A duke of her own is my favorite. Love the couple in the book.

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  13. My memory is terrible these days, but the 4 book series The Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts is a favorite. I remember being so invested in the stories that I had tears at the end simply because I wouldn't "see" these characters again. A bit silly I suppose.

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  14. When I was in high school, I stumbled across an older book that was published in the 60's? Five Smooth Stones by Ann Fairbairn. It's about a biracial couple as they fall in love during the '50s and the civil rights movement. It was so sad and poignant and romantic and epic. I recommend everyone read it b/c it so painfully and perfectly portrayed the struggles of this couple during this time.

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  15. I think that would be Once In Paris by Diana Palmer. It was one of the very first romance books I ever read and I was so enthralled with the story I stayed up most of the night to read it.

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  16. Taking the Heat by Brenda Novak....I read it every so often.

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  17. I really like To Sir Phillip With Love by Julia Quinn. The couple first get to know one another through letters :)

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  18. Recently, I've added Penny Reid's Neanderthal Seeks Human to my list of all-time favorites. I'm not usually one for first person POVs but from the moment I started reading, I couldn't stop! I connected to the heroine so much and the hero moved himself near the top of my list for book boyfriends.

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  19. Lisa Kleypas' Hathaway family series really stuck with me. I just go so attached to all of them and I was so sad when the series ended

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  20. One favorite is The Beloved Scoundrel by Iris Johansen.

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  21. Spirited Away by Cindy Miles. One of the first romances I read and so so romantic.

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