the ask@AAR: Whose story do you long to have told?
In anticipation of the upcoming Bridgerton show and because The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After was on sale last week, I finally read the latter. (We reviewed it here.) I was not impressed–So. Many. Babies.–although I found Francesca’s story touching. The last story in the book is about Violet Bridgerton and, about it, Quinn writes that while she could never write a romance novel for Violet because her love story doesn’t end with an HEA but rather, 20 years into her marriage, an death. (SHE COULD HAVE HAD A SECOND CHANCE AT LOVE BUT NEVER MIND.)
While I personally did not need to know that the Bridgerton progeny had 33 children between the eight of them, there are futures I’ve wondered about. I was thrilled Meredith Duran finally gave us the story of Liam Devaliant, the Earl of Lockwood–his was a tale I’ve always been curious about. In romance, I’d say that while Julie Anne Long gave us hints in The Legend of Lyon Redmond, I hope someday we’ll know the true nature of the relationship between Redmond and Eversea parents. But the love story I will never get over not having is that of grownup Will and Lyra. (I hold out a stupid and beyond unlikely hope that I will get it in the conclusion of The Book of Dust trilogy.)
How about you? Is there a love story you are dying for an author to tell? Why?
Ooh! I can’t believe I forgot to mention the side character Mr. Delacorte in Lady Derring Takes a Lover and its sequel Devil in an Angel’s Arms. He is an older bachelor who works as a merchant, dealing in spices and exotic medicines and whatnot. His reason for being a guest at the heroine’s boarding house is to become more of a gentleman so he might eventually attract a wife. Delacorte is sweet, funny, and unintentionally crude. I laughed out loud and had to re-read the passage where he…
I think he would do well to find a no-nonsense widow about his age or an “old maid” who has completely given up on the idea of ever love. Dang it, I want Mr. Delacorte and the future Mrs. Delacorte to have an HEA!
I am convinced he will end up with Dot!
“Uncommon Vows” by Mary Jo Putney – Richard, the hero’s brother could have had a great story (possibly paired with the villain’s widow).
I haven’t read that one. adds to giant TBR list
AAR’s has a great DIK review that’s very spot on. It’s MJP’s only medieval and arguably her finest writing – even considering she was on top of her game in the ’90s.
Thank you!
Cat from The Windflower by Laura London is one I would like to see. Others I would like to see are more of the O’Banyon Brothers books by JR Ward. She had written some as Jessica Bird and then they were re-released under JR Ward. The Billionare Next Door was my favorite. I don’t think she will write any more of the family members but I would have liked to seen them.
When I found out that Laura London (Tom and Sharon Curtis) had stopped writing, I was so disappointed. I agree that Cat’s story begged to be told.
Other books I wish for include the stories of the Donovan twins, in the series Elizabeth Lowell began with Amber Beach. It is pretty clear that Lowell has stopped writing, and her website FAQs show that lots of readers would like those books, which will not be written.
I would be happy to see more books in Jayne Ann Krentz’s Arcane series, but it is pretty clear that has petered out, too. Krentz also did that weird follow-up with one of her historicals where she set up an obvious sequel, then dropped the characters and wrote a different book sort of premised on them — heroine had a red-headed heiress friend who passed as a coachman in an incident, hero had a friend who would inherit a bankrupt estate, I think in Surrender, which was followed by Scandal, the story of the heiress and the impoverished heir, but not the characters in Scandal. At first I did not even realize I was reading the implied “sequel.” I understand the reader does not always get what she wants, but I was disappointed that the specific characters only got an implied HEA, not their own book.
One book I had long ago hoped would lead to a series — and did not — was Carla Neggers’ The Knotted Skein. The heroine’s idiosyncratic and brilliant brothers, and her nephew, just begged for their own books. As far as I know, there were no follow-ups.
I always wanted to read a book about Dominic, Lord Dane’s illegitimate son, in the book Lord of Scoundrels. I thought he was an interesting character and would have liked to see how he developed and what his role ended up being in that family. I emailed Loretta Chase and asked if she ever considered writing a book with Dominick as the main character. She graciously replied to me. She said that she did not intend to write one about Dominick.
That could have been so much fun! But I can understand Chase not wanting to revisit Jessica and Dane.
I always wanted a book about Jessica’s grandmother. She is a great character.
Oh… yeah.
Cedric Allerdyce from My American Duchess by Eloisa James. I just need to read it!
KJ Charles’ Will Darling Adventures has 2 great characters, Phoebe and Maisie, and there are hints that they could be a couple. I’d love to see them get their own story, with Will and Kim as secondary characters. At the end of The Sugared Game there is a short blurb about the next book, Subtle Blood, and it looks like the focus is on Will and Kim again (makes sense as this series is called The Will Darling Adventures.) So I will keep hoping for a Phoebe and Maisie adventure.
Oh! Just thought of another answer for this question. I loved reading Cat Sebastian’s MM trilogy Seducing the Sedgwicks, but wish the final installment, Two Rogues Make a Right, contained a cameo appearance from Captain Philip Dacre from the first book, It Takes Two to Tumble. While I certainly don’t expect cameo appearances in sequels, I thought it was odd Sebastian had a nice continuation for Hartley and Sam as well as Ben, but the captain didn’t make an appearance. Was he away at sea or something?
What I appreciated about Hartley and Sam’s cameo was that their presence in the story actually had direct bearing on the romance plot between the two current leads. I thought this was a really nice touch as opposed to when prequel characters just drop in to say “hi.” I hope more romance authors take this route in the future so we can see the continuing adventures of previous characters without them crowding out the narrative or just getting an obligatory sentence. It’s a tricky balance to pull off, but Sebastian did it (mostly) with aplomb.
I would say it was a combination of two things:
Hartley and Ben are Will’s brothers and Martin is their childhood friend – Philip wouldn’t know them that well.
Also Geography – Philip and Ben live in the North of England so travel takes time. Plus someone has to stay behind to look after the children and the school!
Good points. But considering they did see Ben at one point in the book, I would have appreciated a little mention of the captain- even if it was just to say he was away. (Maybe he did get an obligatory mention. If he did, it was so short, I missed it. :))
Did anyone else read the Emmeline Truelove series by Juliana Gray that ended with book #2 A Strange Scottish Shore and left the time traveling H/h in the past with no resolution of the red-headed villain, the new duke’s story (wanted that), or the total reason/method behind the time travel. The H/h were happy but I was bummed. I wanted it finished and all the characters’ stories told.
I’ve always felt that Callie’s brother from Sarah MacLean’s Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake deserved his own story – he was so lovely and supportive to her. He was always up late at night in his study, so it seemed like he had a lot of worries or a secret or something.
I can’t really recall a couple that I wanted to know more about, though I’m certain there have been a few. But there are characters that have been killed off quite unreasonably and those are books that need to be rewritten imo!
One of my favorite books for 40 years or more is the Winds of War duo by Herman Wouk. There is a character, Leslie Slote, who sacrifices a great deal and makes huge personal changes in his life only to be killed on D-Day. He was very flawed but deeply honorable and after reading about him across 2 books and about 2,500 pages he deserved better.
I finally thought of one!! Ha ha! I’m always amazed at how you all remember so many detail from the books you read. I honestly don’t remember the details. However, I love Linnea Sinclair’s sci-fi rom books, and Games of Command is one of my favorites. For years I held out hope she would write a sequel to the book with Kel-Paten’s brother as the hero. I also wanted her to write more books in the Finder’s Keepers universe, which was so interesting.
Oh! I thought of another. In Serena Bell’s fabulous Sleepover, the hero has a brother Brooks and the heroine has a friend Hattie. They are both characters I really wanted to see what happened to!
I had hoped Pamela Clare would write a romance for the antagonist William in the MacKinnon Rangers series. However, she seems pretty focused on writing contemporary romantic suspense with no sign of returning to historicals.
According to the FAQs on Clare’s website, she plans to write Lord William’s story, but that may not have been updated in… a while. She does seem focused on contemporary stuff, which probably sells better. I wish it was up to the level of her older I-Team books – the journalism-driven plots were much more interesting to me than her current work.
There’s a novella that updates on the life of William after his captivity and provides some closure on his previously antagonistic relationship with the brothers. I think he’d make a great “tortured” hero, would love to read his tory for sure.
I was super disappointed this year to find out that Blue on Blue by Dal Maclean is the last planned book for the entire group of characters. I was sure as I was reading it that there was plenty more to come for James, Ben, Will, Tom . . . and that the barrister and the agent were up next!
It will probably never happen, but when I read KJ Charles’s Society of Gentlemen books, I was struck by how each book in the series had a couple who would have made really interesting main characters in their own books: Verona and Sergeant Rawling in A Fashionable Indulgence, Will Quex and Jonathan Shakespeare in A Seditious Affair, and Eustacia and Philip or Ellie (Cyprian’s mother) and Rev. Fleming in A Gentleman’s Position. And Zoe Shakespeare should be in all the books, but I can’t see her interested in anything romantic ;)
I’m still waiting for Rose Lerner to publish a book with Rafe (from True Pretenses). It’s been years!
Another character who should have had her own book is Juana from Susanna Fraser’s The Sergeant’s Lady. Fraser is yet another author who seems to have disappeared. Where have all the authors gone?
“Where have all the authors gone?” Long time passing… ;-)
I think there are a number of factors for author disappearances:
1) Being an author generally isn’t a lucrative profession. Every author has the potential to be the next James Patterson, E.L. James, Stephen King, etc., but it works out for very few people. When it doesn’t work out over a long enough period, a lot of authors give up.
2) Burnout is very real. While readers can gobble up story after story after story, pumping them out to keep up with consumer demand and advances can be brutal. So, in addition to the money factor, a lot of authors give up due to pure exhaustion.
3) With firestorms all over the internet nowadays, a lot of authors are running scared. Who wants to keep writing stories when a bunch of bored, perpetually aggrieved whine bags with nothing better to do than write rants keep trying to get everybody to boycott you and defame you all over the internet? It’s enough to make some people say, “Forget it. I’m going back to working for the power company.”
4) Between controversies and changing trends, it’s not unheard of for authors to write completely unrelated books incognito under new pen names. So, the authors might still be out there, but they could be in hiding while building new fan bases elsewhere.
5) Sometimes authors just need a break from a particular genre. So, again, they might be out there, but maybe they’re writing thrillers or mysteries or sci-fi or whatever else under a completely different name they haven’t made public. Writers can only write so much, so switching to another genre often means abandoning other work. I know for myself, the few readers of my work under a different name must think I’ve fallen off the face of the earth after two years of no output. I’m still here, but for the time being, I’ve switched over to smut for various reasons. If it happened to me, it definitely happens to other authors too.
6) Finally, some writers are probably fortunate enough to be able to retire. Can’t say I’ve met any in that category, but kudos to the ones who can.
I belong to a facebook group that focuses on audiobooks, and they have a very hard and fast rule: NEVER give out a pseudonym for an author or narrator. Period. You’ll be immediately removed from the group.The reasoning is that many authors and narrators choose pseudonyms for personal/private reasons and if they don’t make it public knowledge, we aren’t to reveal it either. While that may make it frustrating to track down an author you love who is now writing a different genre under a different name, it makes sense that if they have chosen not to reveal that information to their fans (harassment, burnout, etc.), we should respect that wish.
I was listening to a male narrator and realized I knew his voice under a different name. Being curious I looked him up on google, and after much digging, found out I was right. So obviously there are ways to find out, but it helped me realize that while I might not know why he is keeping these identities separate, he does and I should respect it.
“… it makes sense that if they have chosen not to reveal that information to their fans (harassment, burnout, etc.), we should respect that wish.”
Yes. Not to mention safety and reputation issues, especially for authors whose writing might jeopardize their day jobs, relationships with their family members, etc. Romance and erotica authors in particular have to be careful because we’re still not at a place culturally where everyone can handle adults having adult lives off the clock. And even if we did reach that point, not everyone wants to be loud and proud about everything. Writing under a pseudonym is a bit like living in the closet. It would be nice if there didn’t have to be a closet, but the closet should still be a legitimate choice for those desiring extra privacy and separation between and among different facets of themselves.
It’s sad that’s the case even today but I believe it. Even being known as a woman (in particular) that reads romance or erotica would affect some people’s opinion of you and possibly even your day job.
Being a “public” figure would possibly open you up to who knows what from some people.
I agree completely. There is an author I really enjoy who is known to have another well known name she publishes under that she keeps secret.
Like you, I figured out what the other name is (because I’m a voracious reader and the language and style is very distinct)but have never mentioned the other anywhere, particularly not on the internet.
If the author is keeping it secret for a reason that’s their business and to me it would be like doxxing someone.
I agree. If a writer has made it public that she writes as X but also writes as Y (for example, Caitlin Crews/Megan Crane or Zoe York/Ainsley Booth), that’s fine. But if an author has tried hard to keep her X and Y names completely separate, we should respect that. One of my very favorite romance writers, Kati Wilde, writes fantasy under another name. She has not revealed that those two names are actually the same person, so I respect her decision—although I’m always curious and every time a new fantasy book is released, I wonder if it could be her (however, I should state for the record that I don’t read much fantasy).
I don’t think it is a secret, but I’m not sure it is widely known that Simon Vance has recorded a lot of classic and NF audios as Robert Whitfield. I love the audio for Captain Blood, which he recorded using that name.
6) lavyrle spencer & Judith krantz
LS: she said somewhere that she had earned enough so she was stopping. And did.
jK: she was worried about being too old to write well, and her books getting worse, and stopped.
Just snippets read somewhere, sharing gossip.
I also miss Susanna Fraser. The Sergeant’s Lady is one of my favorite novels. I wish she had written more novels and more stories set during the Napoleonic wars.
I’ve been waiting to read more about Rafe as well. I really hope Rose Lerner will someday write his story. Lerner’s next publication, as far as I know, is an F/F romance The Wife in the Attic, which should come out on the 9th of February next year, so I reckon it’ll be some time before Rafe gets his turn. I’m really excited about The Wife in the Attic too, though.
There are a lot of secondary characters in Alexis Hall’s Spires books that I’d like to see more of, but the stories I most want tend to be continuations of existing ones. I’m perfectly happy to see multiple books centering on one couple, maybe because I am middle-aged and I know that ‘happy ending’ is not a finite point. Actually asked for that once, when I sent a fan letter to Dick Francis. I wanted a sequel to Flying Finish. He wrote back (delightfully) but those characters weren’t the ones he wanted to write multiple books about, so I just have to use my imagination. :-)
I thought of one more: Eve Dangerfield’s Silver Daughters series about three sisters who run their father’s tattoo shop. There were two books (SO WILD and SO STEADY) about the oldest two sisters. I was really looking forward to the last sister’s book (plus the second book ended on a cliffhanger—not with the romance, but with the overarching story—and then Dangerfield announced she’s done with romance and will be publishing in a different genre under another name. So we’ll never read the sister’s story. Alas!
For the longest time, I wanted to see Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Chicago Stars series adapted but, being contemporaries, I wonder if they would hold up. I *think* they would with some tweaks.
Agreed!
Kele Moon has a trilogy called Untamed Hearts and the last book “The Enforcer” was an absolute gut wrencher and ended on a cliff hanger. The hero had been featured in five of her previous books as an important supporting character (and fan favorite). The Enforcer was 99% flashbacks explaining what had happened to him and now the heroine (it’s a second chance at love book) and he got together and lost each other. By the time it touches on the current romance and storyline it ends.
It’s been years and she has been working on the sequel but I’m dying to see how it wraps up, let alone if there is a book coming for the last of the three brothers.
I was going to mention Untamed Hearts too. I almost started reading The Enforcer until I realized it ended with a cliffhanger. Apparently she was writing the sequel and The Boss (Nova’s book) at the same time so it was taking her longer than normal. I hope everything works out especially since I’m even more interested in Nova’s story.
Sadly Dabney, I don’t think we’ll get Will and Lyra’s love story:( I really want that love story told. I was also incredibly invested in Nicolas DuVille’s romantic journey (Judith McNaught, Until You and Whitney My Love), and felt incredibly short-changed that his tale was reduced to a short story with a heroine I felt was unsuited for him. I am definitely eager to learn more about the Redmond and Eversea parents.
It’s interesting. The way the first two books in The Book Of Dust trilogy are going, absolutely anything could happen in the third. But it does seem that Lyra’s love interest is to be Malcolm who, for me, is too old for her.
True, and you can see how much Lyra pines for Will in the second book. I DO NOT want Malcolm and Lyra to be together, it is so creepy. He looked after when she was a baby! I also find it gross that he was (sort of) lusting after her when she was his student.
Interesting ASK question as always, Dabney!
Hmm… I’m actually seeing the opposite problem in a lot of romances lately. Instead of thinking, “Oh! I want this character to have a romance too,” I see a lot of shoehorned sequel bait. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind side characters having HEAs, but it feels a bit forced if they make an appearance less than a paragraph long that doesn’t add to the story so much as acting as a not-so-subtle advertisement for the next book in the series.
Having said that, I was really disappointed with the historical MM Regency title The Vicar and the Rake. The brother of the one hero and the sister of the other actually had a more compelling story than the leads. Their characterization was much better too. If Greene wrote a separate romance novel for those two characters, I would definitely want to read it. Unfortunately, since the author looks like she’s setting herself up as an MM writer, I’d be surprised if we get that story. But I hope she wouldn’t want to rule out the possibility of adding an MF Regency to her catalog!
There’s something I call, “first book in a series syndrome,” where the writer is so busy setting up future stories and giving us hints of the backstories of the various secondary characters that it often feels as if the main couple’s story gets shortchanged. I understand that writers have to create interest for the future books in the series, but sometimes it seems to come at the expense of the central story.
You nailed it. Part of the problem too, I think, is when authors get multi-book contracts. With Harlequin especially, I’ve heard lots of stories of authors getting two-book contracts. While I’m certainly happy for the writers in these cases, the arrangement practically forces this “first book in a series syndrome” that you’re talking about.
Sometimes I wonder if the publishers urge their authors to drop a lot of hints of future relationships, or if authors themselves drop hints in order to snag multi-book deals because they’ve seen the same setup in other writers’ published work. From a financial perspective, I get it. But I do wish certain romance publishers- like Harlequin- would put more emphasis on standalone titles and let any potential sequels grow organically. Like I said on a previous post, all these never-ending Colton stories for Harlequin Romantic Suspense are alienating me from the line rather than encouraging me to give it a fair chance. Series are great for people who are already hooked, but they don’t do much for potential new readers who aren’t interested in the premise and want something different.
I definitely don’t like it when it seems like an author is doing nothing but setting up sequel bait and not creating a good story. However I have to admit- I am all about the sequel bait and setting up the next couples when it’s a great story.
I think Suzanne Brockmann is the one that got me hooked on the formula back in the days of Sam and Alyssa.
Bec McMaster does a fantastic job of getting me interested in characters before they are ever paired up just because I think they are interesting. All the plots are connected so it happens very seamlessly.
Joanna Bourne had me climbing the walls waiting to find out about Adrian’s secret love in her Spymaster series.
Ruby Dixon has moved on to Icehome from her Ice Planet Barbarian books which is a kind of spin off/ sequel and I am already guessing and wondering who the last couples parked up are going to be.
I am EXACTLY the kind of reader that whole scenario works on.
Who is Adrian’s secret love?
Justine- before she had a name and all we knew was she was some horrible woman who shot him in The Spymaster’s Lady and a Frenchwoman he loved in My Lord And Spymaster.
Then Bourne made my heart break for her in Forbidden Rose and I became all “team Justine”
Oh, I know that! I was thinking there was someone else I’d missed! #duh
Well for a few years Joanna Bourne had to explain over and over that Annique was NOT the Frenchwoman Adrian was in love with. People kept getting confused that his love was someone we hadn’t read about yet and tried to fill in the gaps with someone they ‘knew”.
Oh, sure. I’m totally fine with sequels as long as the stories and characters grab me. But lately, I’ve been reading overly obvious setups such as three brothers, one sister, plus widowed father and grandfather all being in law enforcement- and isn’t that convenient for our romantic suspense line? I’m not saying you couldn’t have an entire family in law enforcement, but I have been seeing a lot of that lately. Really? There isn’t one kid in the family who rebelled by becoming a mechanic? Outside of someone running a family business, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone whose entire family has the same job or even works in the same general field. It’s stuff like that, that makes me roll my eyes at sequel bait.
My eye roll inducer is the “club” where all the guys have nicknames that have been used 1000’s of times before in countless novels. No more “Lyon” or “Ghost” as a nickname please.
I know exactly what you mean. I’m just saying when it works well I’m all on board but it takes a talented author to not make it seem heavy handed.
Law enforcement and police/fireman I actually do believe as “family” businesses or institutions as I’ve known families where all the men (in particular) and a good number of the women all join.
And entire family made up of all special forces heroes is harder to swallow.
“No more “Lyon” or “Ghost” as a nickname please.”
I didn’t realize that was a thing! Recently, I watched the 1970 motorcycle Vietnam War movie The Losers, and the bikers’ nicknames were “Link,” “Duke,” “Speed,” “Dirty Denny,” and “Limpy.” Not a “Lyon” or “Ghost” in the bunch. Actually a pretty good film too if you’re in the mood for a shoot-em-up with a bit of heart. It’s a favorite of Quentin Tarantino and has a cameo appearance in Pulp Fiction, so I checked it out. Definitely wasn’t disappointed!
“Law enforcement and police/fireman I actually do believe as “family” businesses or institutions as I’ve known families where all the men (in particular) and a good number of the women all join.”
True. Military too, I suppose. I guess I’m thinking more along the lines of what you said regarding an entire family of all special forces heroes. That’s where the suspension of disbelief can push you to the max.
Another side note- isn’t it funny how goofy nicknames are largely a thing of the past? It seems like in the 60-70’s every boy or guy had a goofy nickname. At least my brothers friends did. I think I have seen the Losers-and wasn’t there a kind of remake of it?
There was a recent HABO on SBTB and the clue was the guy’s nickname was “ghost” and there were about 10 books suggested (maybe I exaggerate) that had a hero with that nickname.
I think Julie Garwood started the Lion/Lyon thing and I must have seen that or some other animal derivative of an English last name used a trillion times since then.
“Another side note- isn’t it funny how goofy nicknames are largely a thing of the past?”
It’s probably a fading tradition, but I think a lot of it depends on the region. Urban vs rural too. Maybe ten years ago, I knew a gunsmith’s son who went by “Critter.” And someone else wrote on the internet that he never knew his friends’ real names; they were just “Bubba” and “Skeet,” (or whatever).
“I think I have seen the Losers-and wasn’t there a kind of remake of it?”
There’s a 2010 film called The Losers, which I haven’t seen. It’s about special forces in Bolivia on a search and destroy mission. But it’s based on a comic book series, not the 1970 film. Totally unrelated except for the title and military theme.
:-)
Different strokes :-)
I started hating the series and its setup due to Alyssa and Sam – I went with it for a while, for a few books I could relate, it was well done and very very involving – but once he got that other woman pregnant, in a situation that just boggled my mind, and where she was clearly a troubled difficult person, and he did not try to get custody of the child himself but married that other woman which was a highway to disaster – and not even an openly “business marriage” but actually trying to make it work pretending love with a cheating woman who trapped him…. *… and Alyssa just going on and on bearing this whole thing and not going off the rails herself into different happiness …. it just became wallbangingly unbearable to me – this was milking a scenario to the maximum to an extent that upset me, I stopped reading the series.
*I may misremember details, it was many years ago
It’s too bad you gave up at the point you did Lisolette (and I don’t blame you – I was devastated/shocked/threw the book at the time too), because, believe it or not, Brockmann did right more than right by each of those characters in the next books; and went on to do well by all three of those characters (Sam, Alyssa, Mary Lou) several others as well. Sam and Alyssa (and Jules and Robin) are easily two of the most memorable pairs in my romance reading (as defined by me as I never have to go back to the book – even books I *really, really* enjoyed – to remember their names).
I would have liked to know how little feral Teddy from Eloisa James’ Desperate Duchesses was conceived. We find out who his mother is because she is a significant character in another book, but we never hear what happened between her and Damon, his father.
Sadly, even though Teddy/Ward gets his own book as an adult, Seven Minutes in Heaven, it is an absolute mess, with people who had been written as dead coming back as major characters and him not recognising people he would surely have known, including his cousin. Woeful!
There’s a secondary character in a Sandra Brown‘s novel whose story I would love to see: Hank Tobias, FBI agent in The Switch (2000). Clever, elegant, the perfect counterpoint to his rougher partner, Patterson, and who gets along splendidly with Lucy Myrick, an agent in Washington DC. Brown is one of my favourite authors, and I know she does not write series (Texas! was an exception). So I guess this is the kind of story that will remain unwritten. I really loved that character.
Apart from that, well, the story that was never published is the love story between Daisy and Cam (Wallflowers / Hathaways) as Kleypas gave other partners to these characters. They had great chemistry in the scenes they shared in Devil in Winter.
Daisy definitely deserved a better story than the one she got. It was really dull IMO.
Oh I loved Daisy’s story with Matthew Swift, I thought it was adorable. I am a sucker for unrequited romance though.
I enjoyed all the Wallflower books. In her other series there are ones that I don’t tend to re-read as much like Win’s story in the Hathways (I think Kev is a jerk) and The first Ravenel book (except for Helen- Winterborne stuff).
Win and Kev are… dull. The villain is more interesting than they are. Munchausen’s by proxy!
Oh no, Win’s story is my absolute favourite! Kev is a jerk, but I think I let it slide because I saw how much he adored her in the first book. I was completely sold on their love story. I can see why you wouldn’t like the Helen-Winterbourne stuff though, it is very similar to Win and Kev’s love story. I can see how Win might be dull, but Kev?? Just joking, I am just unreasonably attached to this book.
I really do think they are the dullest couple. He’s inarticulate and she’s just odd. That book and Leo’s book both don’t do much for me!
Oh I loved Leo’s book. He improved so much and I thought Kleypas did a great job of turning him around. She made me like him when I couldn’t stand him in the first book. And I always love a snarky “bespectacled” heroine who keeps her glasses.
I didn’t find Kev and Win that dull, I just wanted to smack his hard head.
Leo and Catherine’s book was my favorite of the Hathways series! I think their story was richer because through the previous books you saw both Leo turn himself around from the low point where he started and you also saw hints of their relationship developing. I just loved it!
I also really liked Leo’s story, though not as much as loved Win’s story and the first half of Beatrice’s book.
Beatrice’s book was amazing. Those letters were wonderful. Hathaways are definitely my most re-read series of hers, even more than the Wallflowers.
Agree!
I thought one of the best things was when Leo basically talked about how he had an addictive personality. For some reason that made the lightbulb come on over my head and his entire character made sense.
Him saying he “loved too much” and too fiercely fit everything about him and his past. He was trading one kind of addiction for another. Catherine saying “I can handle you” was absolutely fantastic. I believed her too.
I love that everyone has a different favorite amongst Kleypas’ books and couples! You helped prove my Kleypas hypothesis, lol.
And I only re-read the first Ravenel book FOR Helen and Rhys. I find the main couple in the first Ravenel (I forget their names) uninteresting. I loved Helen and Rhys and was waiting for their story. I think it’s my second favorite book of the Ravenel series.
That’s so true – it seems like everyone has a different favourite! Having said that, I think my favourite Kleypas has got to be Derek Craven’s story, tied closely with Then Came You.
I misunderstood your comment, I thought you said you didn’t like the Helen and Rhys parts and they were my favourites of the first Ravenel series. Like you, I only re-read the first book to read the Helen and Rhys bits. Which is your favourite book of the Ravenel series?
Derek Craven and Sara are huge favorites of mine as well. It’s the book that really made me into a massive fan of Kleypas. She’s an auto buy for me and I don’t have a ton of those any more.
Helen and Rhys just had some magic about them didn’t they? Their story just sucked me in from the beginning. It’s almost my favorite of the series.
I love “Hello Stranger” the best, it’s probably my favorite of the Ravenels. I loved Garrett and Ethan both singly and as a couple. I thought they were a great pairing and it was fun to have the guy (while still a complete alpha male in many ways) not only in awe of the woman’s talents but the more “romantic” of the two.
I also really liked that Garrett was confident in her various skills for a reason. She had taken extensive lessons on fighting and self defense- she wasn’t out with nothing but bravado to protect her, and her belief in her medical skills is self evident and well deserved.
It also provided some really great moments from West and his humor and was the least like most other Kleypas books or formulas so it felt “new” to me. I really enjoyed the period details as I did when Wimterborne’s store was discussed previously.(You can tell Kleypas really did her homework on the history of medicine and railways but not in an obnoxious way, it all works).
I also liked how supportive Rhys and Helen are in their little roles in this book. By this point the group had begun supporting each other and were allies so I liked seeing them interact.
Mostly though, Garrett and Ethan just worked for me. I believed that they were a pair that were alike enough and different enough with similar brains and a healthy dose of attraction that it all would work.
I’m sorry that the book kind of went through the wringer when it first came out because I think it’s something quite special.
Dreaming of You (Derek and Sara’s story) was also my introduction into Kleypas as well! It is one of her best. My favorites of her recent series are:
Ravenels – Marrying Winterborne
Hathaways – Married by Morning
Wallflowers – Devil in Winter
I love all of those books so much!
Kleypas has probably brought me the most joy/entertainment over the years considering the number of books she has written and the fact that so many of them are favorites of mine.
I love Helen and Rhys, too. They may be my favorite Kleypas couple.
One part I do love is when Win lights the cupboard with the villain in it on fire! Can’t say she’s boring then.
Much like the first Ravenel book I only re-read Win’s story for the Amelia- Cam parts and the reveal about Cam and Kev’s heritage.
I liked Daisy’s story. I remember being disappointed she and Cam weren’t a couple at the time but as The Hathaways are one of my favorite series of Kleypas and Cam and Amelia are one of my favorite couples I wasn’t disappointed with what she did at all in the end.
I remember feeling the same way about Daisy and Cam. I was pretty satisfied with Cam/Amelia but I think Daisy’s story was the least memorable of the Wallflowers series.
All the other guys were such over the top, memorable personalities with big titles or titans of industry that made Daisy’s hero being her Dad’s protégé and a quieter sort less exciting by comparison I think.
I still re-read her book, but nowhere near as often as the other Wallflowers.
That scene was great and has always stayed with me. I am a Cam fan.
Agreed! Cam is an absolute favorite of mine.
Sandra Brown did do one sequel, Tough Customer is the sequel to Smash Cut and features the older detective from the first book.
Yes, you are right, she has done several duologies, the one that you mention and more in her category romances. What I meant is that she does not write a series in the sense of several books, not just two.
At the end of Anne Calhoun’s final (as of right now) novel, TURN ME LOOSE, she seemed to be setting up the story of a female police officer and a male defense attorney. They were apparently having a secret no-strings affair but the attorney wanted them to start dating and having a regular relationship outside the bedroom. I would love to have read their story, but—as I’ve lamented before on numerous occasions—Calhoun has vanished into the ether with not a public word since 2017.
Also, Jill Sorenson left a number of strings dangling in several of her books. In SHOOTING DIRTY, it seemed that a couple (a stripper and an undercover officer working a case involving a motorcycle gang) were being set up for a future story. And in Sorenson’s Border Patrol books, CAUGHT IN THE ACT and OFF THE RAILS, there were several characters who seemed to have potential as future couples. Sorenson is apparently now publishing under the name Susan Cliff, but none of Cliff’s books have anything to do with the worlds Sorenson created.
I remember looking for that next Sorensen book to see what happened to the couple after she escaped the gang and there was no next book. I’d like to see that story completed as well.
I’d love to read Tiffany’s book, or anything else Sorenson publishes under that name. I agree that her books as Susan Cliff have a different vibe.
Unfortunately I get the sense that the border books didn’t sell all that well, so I’m grateful that at least we got Against the Wall and Off the Rails. I don’t feel there were any notable loose threads left after those two.
Didn’t one of the books feature a veterinarian who was kidnapped and forced to try to help a villain (possibly redeemable) who had been injured (burned, I believe)? Possibly I’m conflating that story with another Sorenson book—but it was definitely left hanging at the end of the book. I always thought we’d get the story of the veterinarian—with the man she was forced to help or with another hero.
I want to read Caleb and Jo’s story (from Turn Me Loose) so bad! I really enjoyed the Alpha Ops series – especially the full length novels – and would’ve loved to see Calhoun continue it. Then again, at this point I’d just love to see her publish anything new. She is such an exceptional talent.
I am a huge fan of the Outlander series of books. There are three things apropos here for me:
1) Please, please, please can we have Vol 9, Tell it to the Bees, Diana? (Any chance for Christmas 2020? After such a crap year, we would so love to finish on a high note!) I want to know what is in store for Jamie and Claire.
2) I would also love to know if she will tell us about William Ransom, 8th Earl of Ellesmere, who is Jamie’s son. What will he be in future? Who will he love? What path does his life follow?
3) Lord John Grey certainly deserves a happy and satisfactory love. Pretty please?
I’ve always hoped Lord John would get an HEA but I’m not holding my breath.
Slightly off topic:
Outlander really burned me when it comes to wanting endings.
I have waited for various series to be finished before starting them, just to avoid getting trapped for 20 years in caring about people – because outlander never ends.
and I hate that feeling.
of course, DG can and should do what she wants, but I have stopped reading 10 years ago and WILL NOT TOUCH IT till it is over. Because I can do what I want too.
;-)
Lol, I adopted that attitude after Voyager but I do come back every now and then because I’m a glutton for punishment.
I do have faith that Gabaldon knows just what she is doing and there will be an end and a wrap up to everything.
George RR Martin? Well that’s another story.
GRRM: Started the first book and hated every single character – or rather, actively disliked. So I never got into that.
Patrick Rothfuss- read a big Chunk of book one and stopped. So right of me – book three is still not there!
Robert Jordan strengthened my trauma after GB by creating the super weak books 7,8, and or 9 of Wheel of Time – together, they made me so disappointed that I just do not start unless reviews say clearly that there is an ending at the end of the book.
For authors I LOVE (like Sherwood Smith or Carol Berg / Cate Glass) I buy the books so they know I care, and then I sit and wait until the end of the series comes. (SS series with Manija Brown got stuck at book 3 of 4, so happy I never got beyond the prologue of book 1…) I have them all and wait.
GB – oh yes – once she says this is the END I will reread and buy the missing pieces. but not before. If I go insane, I can reread books 1-4 and start on books 5 – (9??? ) which will probably give me a year of time of reading – she gets lost in beatiful side issues and so putting her books down became easy starting in Drums of Autumn, for me.
I stopped after book two of Smith/Brown’s Change series, waiting for book four to come out. I see where book four (the final I presume) is now listed on Smith’s coming soon page.
Carol Berg / Cate Glass is also an auto buy for me. Sometimes I wait until the series is finished, sometimes I don’t.
I’ve read all of Gabaldon’s Outlander books, but I’m not impatient for more. I’m sure I’ll eventually want to read them, but they are so long, immersive and detailed that I kind of fill up on each one and am okay with the long wait in between.
I loved the Lhind series that SSmith ends recently, also took a long time.
Robert Jordan is the reason I stopped starting new fantasy series before they were finished (or at least, almost finished and the author had previously been very consistent with his/her work). I’m so glad I didn’t jump on the GRRM bandwagon especially since even the show didn’t pull off the ending in a satisfactory manner, apparently.
I’d try continuing series if the books are more loosely connected of provide internal closure (like the mysteries series typically do).
I have read (can’t remember where) that DG has said the Outlander series will be 10 books in total and end in 1800 by which time Jamie and Claire will be 80 and 84 (approx). DG better get a move on! I’d hate to pop my clogs before she finishes it!! The Jean Auel books hit a snag (a death in the family IIRC) and it took nearly 25 years for her planned 6 books to appear.
Well I feel a bit better knowing Jamie and Claire will live to be octogenarians at least.
I also feel more confident in Gabaldon’s writing process and outlining than the average author but man I was Jamie’s age I think in 1992 or when ever I first read Outlander (right when it was published) I really don’t want to be his same age when these books are finally wrapped up! Lol
Wow! I thought I was the only reader who reacted this way. I don’t remember which book it was but one ended with Jamie and John in the middle of being chased. That was it for me. I’m not sure I’ll ever read any more once GB is actually done or not. Too many other things on my TBR. A reread of Outlander and Voyager is plenty if I ever want to “visit” Jamie and Claire again.
Exactly!
nice to know I am not alone with this attitude:-)