Is That a Romance Novel in Your Purse?

I did a guest blog recently at The Season  talking about books on my keeper self and forced proximity, one of my favorite tropes. So many people commented with wonderful book selections I realized it had been a little while since I'd read anything new apart from Lori Brighton's Wild Heart.  Which I highly recommend.

It's a sad fact that as a writer with a day job I have little time for reading.  But while I was sneaking Secrets of Sin postcard/bookmarks in random places at my local Borders I picked up two new books. Gorgeous as Sin by Susan Johnson because her books are my opium and Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare because I felt like the only historical romance reader on earth that hadn't read it.  These are not the very latest by these authors but they are the first in their latest series.

 I'm a huge fan of SJ as I've mentioned before but I'm not a blind fan. I know what issues other people have with her books, I see their points but I love the books anyway. Yes her heroes are normally more permiscuious and autocratic than is politically correct and sometimes the plot lines are similar. They still give me a thrill and Gorgeous as Sin was no exception. I also love at it's Victorian Set. Victorian Historicals and Steampunk (alternate world Victorian) Paranormals are both at the beginning of a huge popularity up swing.

Rosalind is a widow, suffragette bookstore owner and secretly a writer of erotica. Fitz is the nobleman with a dark childhood that loves his mother and is not afraid to get his hands dirty with commerce. They meet when he's buying up her block for a new development and she's refusing to sell.  His hobby is sex so why not try to persuade her with what he's good at. I like the way they butt heads and I love the love scenes. Yes I would rather him have not been such a philanderer. Yes I wish her reasons for not selling had been a little more believable. But I still enjoyed the ride none the less.

It's a gut instinct with me to buck the crowd. So when everyone was gushing over Goddess of the Hunt and Dare began skyrocketing to huge popularity, I balked.  But as the praise continued through two more books I felt it was a good professional move to see what it was all about. I started it yesterday while waiting at the pediatrician's office. I ended up staying up late reading and I'm already almost half way through. Damn it, it's really is as good as everyone said. So far that is. More on G of the H once it's done.

What was the last thing you read? Have you read something that did or didn't live up to it's hype? Do you have an author you love to read no matter what?