Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Travels with my Books!


by Anna Campbell

As all our regulars know, I've been travelling for the last month. I went to Denver for RomCon (had a wonderful time) and to New York and Washington D.C. and then Orlando for RWA Nationals. Home again to a horrible dose of jetlag! Off next week for the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Sydney. Then, thank goodness, I get to stay home for a couple of weeks until the Brisbane Writers Festival at the start of September.

So I hear you saying - she's going to blog about her travels!

Not exactly!

I did a surprising amount of reading in that month of extreme busy-ness. Partly because I was stuck at airports/train stations and a book is a great companion at such times. Partly because I had a run of really great books to keep me entertained!


So I thought I'd share the highlights of a month of reading with you.

As you know, there have been a spate of Bandita releases lately. I picked up Kate's new book, THE MILLIONAIRE MEETS HIS MATCH, and Susan's debut MONEY, HONEY at the RWA literacy signing. Both corkers and worthy of the 'written by a Bandita' banner! LOL!

Susan's is a wonderful romp about a former jewel thief and the FBI agent who caught him. Very 1940s screwball comedy with some wonderful dialogue and hot sexual tension. Patrick is gorgeous!

Kate's is a luscious classic category romance where the heroine enters the hero's employment to seek revenge and of course finds herself helplessly caught in a web of unwilling attraction. YUM!


But of course, you all know how great both those books are!

I also had a couple of lovely discoveries in my reading.

The first is the first adult novel from Sarah Maclean. NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE is a delicious souffle of a book. I love stories about good girls who discover their inner vixen and this is a classic. Lady Calpurnia (Callie) is firmly on the shelf at 28 and even worse, everyone around her considers her a cardboard cutout of virtue, about as exciting as a mug of lukewarm milk.

She sets out to live a little, with the help of her dream man, the Marquess of Ralston. The Marquess is immediately intrigued by Callie's mixture of wildness and innocence. He isn't sure whether he mean to protect or seduce Callie - and whatever he does only seems to cause mayhem. Great fun!

This book sat on the New York Times list for five weeks when it came out and it got a lot of buzz on the net. Having read it, I'm not surprised. It's a wonderfully entertaining read, as sparkling as a diamond!


Another author who I have known personally for years but strangely had never read is Elizabeth Boyle. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of her next book MAD ABOUT THE DUKE which is out at the end of September.

This is another sparkling comedy about a widowed countess who mistakes the Duke of Parkerton for an impoverished solicitor and employs him to find her a duke to marry. She has pressing reasons for marrying a duke and James finds himself so enchanted to be seen as an ordinary man, he can't bring himself to tell Elinor the truth.

As you can imagine, with a setup like that, the plot soon spirals into the funniest of farces, brimming with mistaken identities and pranks and mischief and chaos. I found myself laughing out loud at this story. I brought back HOW I MET MY COUNTESS from RomCon - I'll be digging into that very soon.

Now for two books I knew would be good and which didn't disappoint.

Kristan Higgins was a very popular RITA winner this year for TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. THE NEXT BEST THING was one of the giveaways at RomCon and I snatched it up - like many of Kristan's books, it's a warm, family-based comedy with a deeply emotional core. In this case, Lucy Lang is a young widow who is crippled by grief years after her husband's sudden death in a car accident. Her husband's brother, Ethan, has been a constant source of comfort and strength, but their relationship profoundly alters when she decides it's time she starts dating again.

As in all Kristan's books, wildly funny, eccentric characters surroundthe hero and heroine, but it's the central love story that will have you sniffing into your pillow late at night when you finish this.


Last but not least, I read and thoroughly enjoyed Miranda Neville's second historical romance for Avon, THE WILD MARQUIS. Miranda has guested a few times on the Bandits and she's always a fascinating and entertaining visitor. As many of you would remember, she used to work for Sotheby's in their manuscripts and books section. THE WILD MARQUIS uses the Regency book trade as a fascinating background for the love story of family black sheep Chase and impecunious bookseller's widow Juliana Merton.

These characters were so alive, they leapt off the page, and this book kept me awake into the night at conference to finish it. As many of you know, conference leaves a person very short of sleep so that's an indication of how I devoured this story. I really look forward to the next book in the Burgundy Club series THE DANGEROUS VISCOUNT, out at the end of September.

So what have you guys been reading in my absence? Any recommendations? I mean, it's not like I have a big TBR pile - it's not big, it's GARGANTUAN!!!

87 comments:

Gannon Carr said...

OMG! I've nabbed the GR! Woo hoo!!

Gannon Carr said...

After RWA, my TBR pile is more dangerously out of control than ever! Anna, I read NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE and absolutely loved it!

I'm reading an ARC of Sandra Hill's THE VIKING TAKES A KNIGHT right now. Barely four chapters in and I'm already laughing. :-)

Donna MacMeans said...

Congrats Gannon - the GR is winging your way.

Glad you're home safe and sound Anna. Traveling wears me out and for the amount of traveling you were doing, I'm surprised you're still conscious!

Lets see...I'm currently reading Money Honey and loving it. I recently read My Lord and Spymaster - Joanna Bourne, and loved that as well. Otherwise, i've been reading a lot of nonfiction which is not fun at all (grin).

i've got Susan Heino's Damsel in Distress on the top of the TBR pile, but after that I might have to hunt up some of the ones on your list.

Anna Campbell said...

Gannon, have you caught our wicked chook before? Congrats! Love the sound of the Sandra Hill - still remember chortling at The Very Virile Viking. That one had me laughing even at the title stage!

Anna Campbell said...

Donna, it was fun having a run of such good books! I'm just about finished on THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION by Pam Rosenthal which won the RITA last year. Really enjoying that - it's my next review for the Dishies.

PinkPeony said...

Hi Anna! Welcome home, er...for a while that is...

I finished "The Wild Irish Sea" which was fabulous. I'll never look at a seal the same way again. Reading "The Devil's Casino" about the downfall of Goldman Sachs and "The Money, Honey"...I'm assuming Money, Honey has a better ending than Devil's Casino. :)

Congrats on the GR, Gannon!

jo robertson said...

Great post, Foanna! Welcome back from your travels.

These all sound like wonderful recommendations. I'll definitely pick them up.

I've discovered a new mystery writer -- David Rosenfelt. Normally I eschew first-person writers but this fellow's voice is so witty, wry, and downright funny that I've come to love his books. They involve lawyer Andy Carpenter and the first one is OPEN AND SHUT. I'm reading book 2 now, FIRST DEGREE. They're light, clever reads.

jo robertson said...

Yay for you, Gannon. It's been a while since you've gotten the rooster, hasn't it? Put the fellow to work. He's been playing far too much lately.

Sounds like I'll definitely have to get NINE RULES if both you and Anna recommend it.

jo robertson said...

Donna and Anna, isn't our Susan's MONEY HONEY just delightful. The voice is so strong, smart, and witty, and of course, Patrick is to die for. I picture Matt Bomer when I think of him.

Anna Campbell said...

Jen, Money, Honey has a LOVELY ending! I'm off tomorrow for the Sydney conference - oik! Feel like I only just got home!

Anna Campbell said...

Jo, those books sound wonderful. Our Kate has got me keen on reading mystery series again - these ones sound great.

Anna Campbell said...

Jo, Nine Rules was reviewed blissfully all over the place when it came out. The Dishies gave it five stars, from memory. It's a lovely, really sparkling story and there's a wonderfully appealing warmth about the style.

Anna Campbell said...

Jo, I loved the banter between Liz and Patrick! Really witty and spiky and sexy. Great stuff.

Fedora said...

Woot, Anna! I've just finished Heidi Betts' Chicks with Sticks trilogy--fun, funny, sexy stories :) And I've got Money Honey on top of the TBR, like Donna. I just read The Spymaster's Lady, and I must have more Bourne!!

Happy reading and traveling, Anna!

Congrats on the GR, Gannon!

Unknown said...

Congratulation on getting GR Gannon

Welcome home Anna... is it raining up your way, it is down here just the day to be curled up on the lounge reading..... I have read nine rules and thought it was great... I then read a free ebook from harlequin to see how I went with my new ebook reader.... am now reading Pamela Palmers Rapture untamed..... another good book

Kim in Baltimore said...

Aloha, Anna! Boxes from RomCon and RWA have overtaken my house - luckily my husband just moves the piles of books, bookmarks, pens, and other promos aside so he can read the paper (he knows some will disappear next week with our first military spouses' coffee).

On Saturday, I volunteered over at the Marine Corps Thrift Shop in Kanoehe Bay, where I worked alongside Aussie Vanessa, carrying her newborn in a sling pouch (maybe the creator was inspired by the kangaroo). Her accent reminded me of you and the other Aussie/NZ authors who attended RWA, bringing a smile to my face!

I'm reading Money, Honey!

Danielle Birch said...

Oh, I'd love to be travelling at the moment. I've recently finished Christine's Sweetest Little Sin which I loved so much it's become my favourite of her books.

Helen said...

Well done Gannon have fun with him

Anna
Welcome home and I am soo looking forward to catching up with you on the weekend and I am sure we will find at least 5 min in your busy schedule. I will be at the BSE and at the Awards dinner.

Some great books there Anna I have read Susan's Money Honey and totally agree Patrick is a dish I loved it and I loved 9 Rules such a great book Elizabeth Boyle is one of my auto buy authors I love her stories I do have her last 2 still on the massive TBR pile must get to them, Kate's book is my next read and I am looking forward to it.
I have just finished Marie Force's Fatal Affair what a great story and I also read Frontier Wife by Australian Author Margaret Tanner so good at the moment I am reading Tessa Dare's Goddess Of The Hunt and am loving it.

My TBR pile just keeps getting bigger and bigger and I never seem to have enough time to read LOL.

Have Fun
Helen

hrdwrkdmom aka Dianna said...

I have been reading some of Mary Balogh's older books, I lucked out on PBS after a few years of waiting and got 3 of the oldies in a row. I also got the Mammoth Book of Regency and have been working my way through that. Just finished Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas.

I read Nine Rules and loved it and have been monitoring the Dishes site for more..LOL

Christine Wells said...

Hi Foanna, just popping in from the deadline cave to say I've been reading what you've been reading!! LOVED Susan's book and Kate's is next off the rank when I get this dreaded proposal in. I thoroughly enjoyed 9 Rules and Miranda's wonderfully sexy Marquis as well. Haven't tried the Eliz Boyle one yet, but on your recommendation, I certainly will! Oh, and Kristan is a favourite, so I'll search out her newest also.

I'm enjoying Tessa Dare's new series at the moment. Looking forward to the third in the trilogy. Looking forward to reading the other recommendations here.

Wahoo, Gannon got the bird! I hope you're feeling a LOT better now, sweetie.

Christine Wells said...

Oh, Danielle, thanks so much for saying you enjoyed SLS! I'm thrilled to hear it!

Gannon Carr said...

Yes, the GR hasn't been in my neck of the woods---as they say here in the mountains---in quite awhile. I plan to keep him very busy today---housework and laundry are the name of the game!

gamistress66 said...

Read 9 Rules and loved it, already pre-ordered her next (-: I have “Wild Marquis” in my tbr pile. Hope you hit DC during one its nice days, they’ve been few & far btwn this summer.

Gannon – I’m jealous ;-/, I’m sooooo looking forward to Sandra’s new book.

Read Joanna Bourne’s latest (Forbidden Rose) and it was great. Doyle was likable in her prior books but I fell in love with him during this book. Also thought Elizabeth Hoyt’s “Wicked Intentions” was great – had to stay up to early hrs to finish as I hated to put it down for more than a couple minutes. Also enjoyed “I Kissed an Earl”, “Seven Secrets of Seduction” and some backlist books. While read a couple disappointments, luckily the good outweighed them.

Scorpio M. said...

I just finished Elizabeth Hoyt's, Wicked Intentions, really amazing. A wonderful start to her Maiden Lane series. EH has such an enchanting feel to her writing. I was in awe of her Princes trilogy and further by her Four Soldiers quartet.

Janga said...

Hail, Anna, world traveler! :)

I read Money, Honey and thought it was fabulous. Other recent reads that I give my highest recommendations to are Eloisa James's A Kiss at Midnight, Loretta Chase's Last Night's Scandal, and Elizabeth Hoyt's Wicked Intentions. I also read eARCs of two Christmas books that I'm blogging about this week (sneaking in a bit of self-promotion).

I'm currently reading Courtney Milan's Trial by Desire, and Sarah MacLean's Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord is next. Thanks to NetGalley, I have conquered my fear of not having something good to read. LOL!

Miranda Neville said...

Shucks, Anna. You are too kind. I just finished Anne Stuart's brilliant Ruthless (OMG that hero is hot). Susan Sey's book is on my horizons for the next time I'm in the mood for a contemporary. Next up: Katharine Ashe's Swept Away by a Kiss.

jo robertson said...

True, Anna! Susan's created great chemistry between those two characters.

I'm especially fond of how Liz dresses so dowdily (reminds me of Roarke and Dallas in JD Robb's stories) and Patrick notices, being the suave dresser he is. Then she has these wonderful, classic items in her wardrobe!

Kristan said...

Hello, darling Anna! Thanks for the nod! I'm a huge fan (as I believe I told you ten or twelve times when we met). I also loved Money, Honey (next year's Rita winner...would anyone like to place a bet?)...am reading a Jill Shalvis right now; just finished a delightful Victoria Dahl and will now move into historicals with Anna (bien sur!) and Eloisa at the top of the list. Love hearing what everyone's reading!

Janga said...

How could I forget Three Nights with a Scoundrel? I think it's the best thing Tessa Dare has written, and that's saying a lot since I've read and loved all six novels and her novella.

And Kristan Higgins's All I Ever Wanted goes on my list. I especially loved Ian. Along with your Tarquin, he's on my list of favorite heroes of 2010.

pjpuppymom said...

How could I forget Three Nights with a Scoundrel? I think it's the best thing Tessa Dare has written, and that's saying a lot since I've read and loved all six novels and her novella.

I agree, Janga! I won't be a bit surprised if it brings Tessa her second RITA nomination.

pjpuppymom said...

Congrats, Gannon! Hope you're putting the GR to work today!

Anna, I've been chilling and re-charging all week with some terrific books. I finished ARCs of two fantastic September releases: The Devil Wears Plaid by Teresa Medeiros and Immortal Sea by Virginia Kantra. Yesterday, I read Kate's new book, The Millionaire Meets His Match. Loved it! Now I'm reading Swept Away By a Kiss by Katharine Ashe and next up after that is White Heat by Brenda Novak.

runner10 said...

I am currently reading Money, Honey. I'm about 100 pages into it. The tension between Patrick and Liz is building. I can't wait to see it explode!!
I would love to read Higgins' books. I haven't read her yet. The reviews are definitely great!!
Anna, I bet you are glad to be home.

Hellie Sinclair said...

I've been doing nothing but reading your absence, laAnna.

I have read and recommend:

A Kiss at Midnight (Eloisa James): a witty, gold-standard

Wicked Intentions (Elizabeth Hoyt): it's darker, it's sexier, it's hotter. I'm hooked for this new series

Love in the Afternoon (Lisa Kleypas): a wonderful end to the series. *sighs*

Dracula My Love (Syrie James): falling in love with Dracula by Mina Harker. Well done.

Three Nights with a Scoundrel (Tessa Dare): actually the whole trilogy is brilliant. Read it immediately!

Linda Lael Miller's trilogy of three brothers: Tate, Garrett, and Austin. Great stuff. Cowboys never get old.

And of course, Money Honey!

Hellie Sinclair said...

I *loved* Nine Rules to Break--for one, I adored the title and the 2nd in the series has an even better title!

I love the trope of the on the shelf plain Jane who goes naughty. Bring it!

Anna Campbell said...

Fedora, I've got really behind in my reading. Jo's books are on my TBR pile - it's just I know they're going to keep me up all night and when I've got a book due, that's no good. Love the sound of chicks with sticks!

Anna Campbell said...

Barb, I love Pamela P, both as a person and as a writer. It's POURING up here - seriously I'm thinking of knocking together a few planks and asking if any of the animals feel like floating around for 40 days!

Anna Campbell said...

Hey, Kim, Money, Honey sounds like the book du jour! Yay, Susan Bandita! Oh, how lovely about Vanessa's baby. Please give her a hug for me. And thanks so much for all you do. You're great!!!! Laughed at the house taken over - I'm not surprised. You seemed to collect a million books while you were away.

Anna Campbell said...

Danielle, isn't Sweetest Little Sin fabulous? There's some amazingly sexy, witty dialogue between Jardine and Louisa (and some sexy other stuff too, LOL!). I think my favorite is still Wicked Little Game but it's so hard to pick one out of such a great list.

Anna Campbell said...

Helen, you really need to give up the day job so you can READ!!!!! Sounds like you've had a great time with the TBR lately - Tessa's book is great! And it's nice to see some Banditas in there. You're right about Patrick. Tsssss! Definitely we'll catch up in Sydney. I'm going to be fairly loosey goosey so let's grab each other when we can! Looking forward to the signing.

Anna Campbell said...

Sarah's next one sounds fabulous too, Dianna. So glad you loved Nine Rules. I just had a smile on my face the whole time I read it. Mary Balogh's books are classic - congratulations on picking up some of the backlist!

Anna Campbell said...

Christine, still feeling completely blah. I think because I didn't let myself just stop when I got back. I'm off to Sydney this morning for the Romance Oz conference - feels like I only just unpacked. Looking forward to seeing you and Helen and everyone else, though. Suspect in between I'll be madly polishing my manuscript due on 1st Sept (the reason why I hit the ground running!). I love that we've been reading and loving the same stuff!

Anna Campbell said...

Christine, glad you saw Danielle's comment. Isn't it great she loved SLS? Not surprised!

Anna Campbell said...

Snort, Gannon! You have high hopes. If you manage to get that chook off the sofa and away from the remote control and the potato chip packet, you're a better woman than I am, hon!

Anna Campbell said...

Gamistress, DC was SWELTERING!!!! Over 100 degrees every day I was there. Jeanne and I did a museum day just so we could be in airconditioning. Unfortunately, I think everybody in the area had exactly the same idea. You'd think George Clooney was giving out kisses, the places were so crowded! Great to hear about your reading - a few of those are already on the TBR pile.

Anna Campbell said...

Scorpio, Elizabeth's books are great, aren't they? So glad the new ones are wonderful too! They're also on my TBR pile. As you can imagine, my TBR pile is blocking out the sun!

Anna Campbell said...

Ooh, Janga, Courtney and Sarah's books? I'm jealous!!!! I loved Courtney's debut and her novella was beautiful, not surprised it was up for a RITA. Loretta's is my reward for finishing my book in a couple of weeks and I'm taking Anne Stuart's Ruthless with me to Sydney. Two of my all-time favorite authors, both with new releases this month. How cool is that? Eloisa's and EH's are both on my TBR pile. Look forward to reading the blog although I'm travelling again and net access hasn't been reliable lately. Sigh.

Anna Campbell said...

Miranda, lovely to see you! Ha, thought I'd surprise you with the little rave about the Wicked Marquis. You know I love this book, I kept telling you in Florida. I thought he was a gorgeous hero! I'm looking forward to Ruthless. It's ages since Anne S has had a new historical out and I'm excited. Not only that, the next one is out at the end of September. Yum, yum, yum! Lovely to see so much of you in Florida!!!!

Anna Campbell said...

Yeah, Jo, the dress code thing was just another part of the sly humor that was such a wonderful element of Money, Honey. It's a great read!

Anna Campbell said...

Hey, Kristan! You're another one I surprised with my rave - I love the way you can have me laughing one moment and then crying my eyes out the next. And I was cheering Lucy by the time the book ended - oh, and I just wanted to hug Ethan (well, that and a few other things, snort!). He was such a hero! By the way, you have no idea what a thrill it gives me when you tell me you love the books. I get all glowy (don't think it's a hot flush, LOL!). Congratulations on your SECOND RITA!!!!! Wow, who's the coolest girl in school?

Anna Campbell said...

Janga, I love the way Kristan does such wonderful heroes and they're still tangibly REAL men you can imagine meeting. I mean, I suppose I could meet Kylemore but I doubt he'd be hanging around at my local shops! Snort! Thanks for giving Tarquin a shout-out - I've actually got a major crush on Ranelaw, the hero of the current manuscript so I look forward to sharing him with you next year. Well, perhaps sharing is going a bit far, snort! Hey, that's wonderful about Tessa's being so great - she's a wonderful writer!

Anna Campbell said...

PJ, another recommendation for Tessa? I really need to move this book up on the pile!

Anna Campbell said...

Oh, PJ, that's a great list of reading. I've promised myself a few days away as a reading holiday once things settle down (looks like that might be the end of the year, sadly). Just going to take my TBR away with me and bask. Katharine's book has had a wonderful buzz - she was a great guest here. Theresa's and Virginia's books sound great and you can't go past Brenda N! I got her to sign her newest for me at RomCon - good thing I did, we didn't even cross paths at RWA. It was crazy there! So glad I got to spend some quality time with the Dishies!

Anna Campbell said...

Runner, I've basically been home with enough time to do the laundry and unpack and pack again - I know I'll have a lovely time in Sydney but I have to say I wish I wasn't going away again so quickly. I feel like a stranger in my own house! So glad you're enjoying Money, Honey!

Anna Campbell said...

Hey, Hellion, that's a fabulous list! And I've already got a lot of them which is even better. So glad the reading's been going so well. I loved Syrie's Jane Austen memoirs. Sounds like I need to push Eloisa's further up the TBR pile. There's so much great stuff in there!

Anna Campbell said...

Miss Hellion, I'm a sucker for good girls finding their inner hellion too! Always works for me!

Anna Campbell said...

I'm off to Sydney now! Not sure how much luck I'll have getting back into the blog - I'll be on public computers and clearly the rooster's antics have banned us from too many sites! ;-) In case I don't get back, thanks so much for sharing your reading with me. I'd complain about the TBR pile getting too high to be believed except that I already have a lot of these books. Yum!

Minna said...

Right now I'm reading Devlin and the Deep Blue Sea by Merline Lovelace. I recently managed to get rid of all the romance books that were in English which I didn't want to keep except for one (and I'll hopefully find someone who wants it), so I have some space for new books, but I'm still stuck with the huge amount of Swedish translations and a couple of Danish and German ones. I never seem to get rid of those.

Kate Carlisle said...

Oooh, Anna, I love seeing my adorably dashing Millionaire among all those fabulous books you've read! Thank you! Thank you!

So ... on the way back from conference, I finished Sandra Hyatt's latest Desire. Loved it! But of course, you know how I love my fellow Desire authors' books!

Then I picked up SUMMER BRIDES and read Susan Mallery's novella. It was absolutely wonderful! I love her characters more than I love some of my own family! I want to move to Fool's Gold tomorrow ... if only I could find it on the map ...

Then yesterday I started Kristan Higgins' newest, ALL I EVER WANTED. I stayed awake until I finished it late in the night. As you all can imagine, it was better than fabulous! I was laughing and crying and yes, I woke up with the puffiest eyes ever, but that's okay! I don't want to scare her, but I am truly in love with her and her books -- in a warm and friendly, not-too-stalkery kind of way. Promise. ;-)

Have a lovely trip to Sidney, Anna! Enjoy the conference!

catslady said...

They all sound like wonderful reads and I do have Money, Hoeny in my tbr pile. I just finished Gwyn Cready's Flirting with Forever and Kris Kennedy's Irish Warrior and enjoyed them both immensely. And, WOW, that's a lot of traveling!!

Dianna Love said...

Anna - I so do not envy you so much time in an airplane, but reading all those books? I'm green. I get most of my reading done during the winter months when I want to be inside, but I'm taking MY RECKLESS SURRENDER with me to read in Sept when I'm traveling again. I LOVE historicals, especially yours, and have that one in my suitcase already so I don't forget it.

Pat Cochran said...

Hi, "Traveling Lady,"

What a schedule! Thank goodness
you are allowing yourself a few
days here 'n there to catch your breath!

Good Luck at the Aussie RWA con-
ference!

Pat Cochran

Beth Andrews said...

I'll have to check out those books, Fo! They all sound fabulous. I loved The Next Best Thing and of course, Susan's and Kate's books are fab *g*

I'm reading For Business...Or Marriage? a Desire by Jules Bennett and it's wonderful! I actually met Jules in line while checking into the airline when leaving Orlando and she and her husband were kind enough to let me ahead of them since my flight was earlier than theirs. I asked Jules about her writing, told her I'd keep an eye out for her books and she handed me one! How sweet was that?

Sarah Simas said...

HI Anna! Glad to'see' your lovely voice. LOL

I've been bad and have been reading a lot more than I've been writing. EEK! I just finished and adored Jennifer AShley's LADY ISABELLA's SCANDALOUS MARRIAGE.

I told myself no more "fun reading" until I finish my MS, but after seeing the raves over NINE RULES TO BREAK, I wanna cheat and go get it!!

I'd also like to pick up Miranda Neville's and Katharine AShe's books. *DOH!* I can seeing hanging out here is only going to make my TBB pile huge. :)

Fedora said...

This was my first by Ms. Bourne, Anna, and yep, it was hard to put down. I'd picked it up right after dinner, thinking to just check out the first couple pages to get a feel for it. I finally managed to rip myself away when I realized that my husband had put the kids to bed and that the dishes were still undone HOURS later. Oops!

Hope you'll have a chunk of time to enjoy her soon!

Suzanne Ferrell said...

Hey Anna C! I'm so glad we got to catch up at Nationals! And think how awful all that travel would be if you weren't a reader!! AGGG!!! Can't even imagine it! (Have I used up my quota of ! yet?)

Okay, so what have I been reading? I have been reading two fabulous ARCs. One for our guest Wendy Watson who is popping in to talk about ice cream and murder on the 19th. It's titled Scooped To Kill. I loved it and can't wait for y'all to get a chance to read this second in a series.

The other one, I just started is Warrior Avenged by my friend Addison Fox. Addison's sharing this second in her Warriors of the Zodiac with us in September. And the hero, Kane Montague? He's uber sexy and yummo!! (He's a Scoripon, so what you expect of my birth sign?)

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Hey Gannon! You got the GR!

Grins, had to LOL about the Gargantuan TBR Mountain, Anna! And Gannon, it seems like yours is equally alpine.

Donna, I want to read Susan's book too. And Anna, I've got Miranda's on the top of my BUY list!

PinkP, I loved our own Aunty Cindy's Wild Irish Sea as well. Faboo story!

Anna, I ADORED Money Honey, by our own Susan Sey. It was a "lshinwmp" book, much like some of Kristan Higgins stuff. I just saw that acronym today, its: Laughed So Hard I Nearly Wet My Pants - or lshinwmp. SNORK!

Kate's Millionaire was outstanding too, wasn't it? Finished it in one gulp.

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Meant to say too, that I'm going back for a re-read of My Reckless Surrender...it's by some Aussie chick...oh, that's YOU! Grins. I devoured it, ignoring laundry and all else, now I want to go for a re-read and savor. :>

I brought Meg Cabot's Insatiable home from conference and am looking forward to finishing it. I started it on the plane home and it's fab. I also brough hombe Dee Davis's Dangerous Desires and Addison Fox's Warrior Ascended both of which I'm REALLY looking forward to!

Nancy said...

Gannon, congrats on the GR! I hope you keep him busy.

Anna, I'm not reading fiction. I'm reading research. Soon I must re-read Dune so I can teach it. *sigh*

But I stand by my blog last month about Nora Roberts' Sign of 7 trilogy--very powerful.

I know, not having anything more recently read is lame. *sigh*

Nancy said...

Fedora, The Spymaster's Lady is on the mountain known as the TBR pile. I hope to get to it soon.

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Nancy, at least reading Dune isn't a hardship. It's SUCH a good book. :> Love it best of all in the series. Never much took to the others.

Nancy said...

Jeanne, Dune is a superb book. I read the next two and then stopped. So no, re-reading it is not a chore. That's the joy of being the teacher--you get to pick!

Anna Campbell said...

Minna, I've heard really good things about Merline Lovelace's books. Hope you're enjoying it. Book storage is always a problem, isn't it?

Anna Campbell said...

Hey, I made it back on! How cool!Greetings from the Coogee Beach Crowne Plaza. Just heading out to lunch and then I'm curling up to do some work on my manuscript. Having the sea view will make it considerably more enjoyable!

Anna Campbell said...

Kate, Sandra Hyat is a relatively new author for me - she's fabulous. Lovely to see another Down Under type setting the world (and the sheets!) on fire. Loved your Millionaire, hon! Maybe you and I can tag stalk Kristan at the next conference. I'm sure she wouldn't mind ;-) And it gets so tiring when I'm doing all the stalking on my own!

Anna Campbell said...

Catslady, I have to say I felt like leaving this morning like I felt like a hole in the head. But now I'm here and looking forward to seeing my Aussie and NZ friends, I'm not nearly in such a funk about it all. But you're right, it's been a LOT of travelling. I've heard great things about Kris's books - will have to check them out!

Anna Campbell said...

Ah, Dianna, aren't you a love? And I mean that, not just because I can have fun with your last name! Thank you. Actually I didn't think I'd get much reading at all done while I was away but I kept picking up things I couldn't put down. So sleeping went west while reading happened! Lovely to see you!!!!

Anna Campbell said...

Thanks, Pat! The idea for the holiday hit me a few days ago - I think I really need to go somewhere where I'm not doing anything to do with work for a little while. The trip to America was huge fun but it was far from a holiday - having said that, I had an absolute ball!

Anna Campbell said...

Beth, how lovely! I'll have to check out Jules's books too - I haven't read her but if she's that nice, she deserves a million fans! I've read three chapters of the Anne Stuart and wow, it's amazing! I love her dark heroes - they're so deliciously mean and horrible until love floors 'em!

Anna Campbell said...

Sarah, the lair is terrible for wittling down the TBR pile, isn't it? I'm definitely getting Katherine A's book after her visit her. It sounds fascinating. I think Nine Rules is something all debut authors should read, if only to check out something that entered the world like a comet! I thought it was interesting (and rather wonderful!) how she used a whole stack of classic Regency themes and put a different twist on them, making them seem completely fresh. It really is a lovely book!

Anna Campbell said...

Oh, meant to say I've got Ian Mackenzie on my TBR pile - everybody adores that book! That's another one I'm waiting for getting the book in to read!

Anna Campbell said...

Fedora, isn't it wonderful when a book takes us by the throat like that. I was lucky enough to meet her a few times too - she's really entertaining in person! With quite a wicked wit that I imagine makes its way into the stories.

Anna Campbell said...

Suz, do you know this is the first time I've talked to you in the lair since you took on your alter ego? How cool is that???!!! So wonderful to be able to celebrate your sale in person. I'm so excited for you! Actually you were someone I did run into quite often at Nationals - I have a theory that while there are 2000 people there, you don't run into 2000 people. You just run into the same 10 people 2000 times! ;-) The ARCS sound wonderful. Looking forward to the visits!

Anna Campbell said...

Wow, Duchesse, looks like we've been reading some of the same stuff! How cool! Love the acronym but have no hope whatsoever of remembering it! Actually after all this travel, I can't remember my name! Who am I again? Here's one for the Les Mis fans - 24601!!!!!!

Anna Campbell said...

Jeanne, like you, I collected some really great freebies this trip. And when I was at RomCon, I got Julia Quinn and Courtney Milan and a few other super people to sign copies of their books for giveaways on the website. So watch for those competitions. So exciting - I was sitting on JQ's table when she was inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame! Tears and laughs and cheers all round!

Hey, D!!! My Reckless Surrender? I think you might just be my favorite person! Well, you and Richard Armitage, and he doesn't even have to read my book to get to number one. Sigh!

Anna Campbell said...

Nancy, not lame at all. I go through nonfiction stages, particularly when I'm working on a book. Haven't read Dune in years - loved it at the time (gave up about Chapterhouse Dune). Those Nora books sound great too!

Anna Campbell said...

Jeanne, I was absolutely riveted by Dune - it kept me up all night. I think the imagination it required to do that world building is phenomenal! As I say, should read it again.

Anna Campbell said...

Hey, guys, thanks so much for a great day in the lair! I'll try and get back amongst all the excitement!