Author Addiction is a feature where Kaja at Of Dragons and Hearts and I talk about authors we love who may not have gotten the attention they deserve on our blogs. It is an opportunity to declare our love for them and basically fangirl over how great they are.

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned my love for Neil Gaiman before? He is an author I have quietly appreciated for quite a while. He is a fantasy author, but that’s not all he does, if you Google him he is referred to as ‘an author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films’. I mean, when is he going to take over the world? He also gave the greatest commencement speech at The University of Arts, you probably recognise the Make Good Art quotes. He is a man who fully realises he is lucky to work in the world he does and understands the work which goes into what he does and wants others to appreciate that it does not come easily and should be appreciated.

 

I first learnt who Neil Gaiman was when I saw the film Coraline. That film was visually spectacular, but not only that, the story was amazing. It was creepy and thought provoking and far more than I expected from a film I had judged as a mere children’s film. It really is far more than it appears, as is much of what Gaiman does. I hadn’t realised Coraline was based on a story which Gaiman had written until I saw the credits. (If we’re going with first exposure to his work, then that would be Stardust, but I didn’t realise that was even based upon a book until after I found out who Neil Gaiman was, so we won’t go there.) I was intrigued by the author, but not so intrigued I sought to read any of this work… that came later.

I promptly forgot all about Neil Gaiman and moved on to other things, but then I discovered two books, one was Good Omens, which Gaiman co-wrote with Terry Pratchett, and the other was American Gods, which Gaiman wrote by himself. Both books I wanted to buy, they looked fantastic and I absolutely wanted to own them both.

I can’t remember which I bought first, I think it might have been Good Omens, that’s definitely the one I read first. I loved the humour in it and the writing, and the story, now I’ve read work by both the authors I can see the blend of their writing. I know Gaiman has credited Pratchett with all the good stuff in the book, but I think it took both of them to make that book what it is. And it is fantastic. It is about an angel and demon coming together to try and prevent the end of the world because they have gotten attached to the world and they don’t like the sound of the prophesised apocalypse. Give me a book about and angels and I am in, and it was good.

It was my brother who then encouraged me to read American Gods (even though I’d owned the book for about a year) because he enjoyed it so much. He said he loved the various Gods and the story was interesting and I am a bit of a sucker for mythology so could hardly resist. I’m glad I take recommendations so seriously because that book was good. It’s length put me off (it’s long) but it’s so interesting and intense and really a very off putting book for those who aren’t familiar with Gaiman’s writing. I love the different Gods and the mythology, so if you’re interested that kind of thing then this is definitely a book for you along with the sequel Anansi Boys (which I really need to steal off of my brother and read). The mythology is amazing, there are deities in that book I’ve never even heard of before. It is an intriguing book and definite

Look, Neil Gaiman has written a lot of stuff… like a crazy amount. You could pretty much start anywhere with him and there is a chance you’d hit upon something good, but I’m sticking with what I’ve read and so the two books I would suggest (apart from his short stories and actual fairy tale books) would be Stardust or The Ocean At The End Of The Lane. Both are fantastic, Stardust has more fantasy elements than The Ocean At The End Of The Lane, although both are pretty much fairy tales. The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is the perfect book for adults (you know, if you’re wary of fantasy and YA books) and Stardust is perfect for YA and fantasy fans. Both are easy books to read and both are fantastic stories, it just depends what you’re in the mood for really.

Okay, so I’ve told you about his books. This is an author that has so many different stories to tell and I guarantee you will find something to interest you. My favourite is a split between American Gods and Stardust, they are just too different to choose between. And if you’re into comics and graphic novels I’ve heard good things about Sandman, it does sound rather interesting but the artwork puts me off to some degree (I’m fussy with my artwork) but I’m sure I will change my mind at some point on that front. If you want to learn more about Gaiman and his work I’ve linked to various place below and I hope you find something you like.

Website / Tumblr / Twitter

And don't forget to visit Kaja's blog to see her post on Roald Dahl (one of my favourite childhood authors).

So, how was it? Did I convince you to give Gaiman a try, or have you already read his work? Tell me your thoughts below.

Author Addiction is a feature where Kaja at Of Dragons and Hearts and I talk about authors we love who may not have gotten the attention they deserve on our blogs. It is an opportunity to declare our love for them and basically fangirl over how great they are.

This month we’re announcing our love for Rainbow Rowell. I know everyone on the internet loves her, but we want to explain why we do too. I’m going to be honest with you all now, I forgot to write this post until Sunday. My months have all started to blend together slightly and it completely escaped my notice I was due to write another one of these… oops? It’s okay, though, I can write posts like nobodies business, I just need to remember what I want to say.

I was not a book blogger when I first heard of Rainbow Rowell. I had read none of her books but a book blog I followed mentioned her new book, Fangirl, which was due to be released in a little over a month and as soon as the words fanfiction were mentioned I was down to read this book. It completely spoke to me because I was once an awkward 18 year old going to uni with no clue how to speak to people who I hadn’t known forever, or when drunk (I am a social butterfly when drunk, thankfully I swiftly remembered to make friends without requiring alcohol, I’m not an alcoholic). I was also an avid fanfic reader. I even wrote a few back when I was younger, although I will never tell you where to find them because it is embarrassing to say the least.

Anyway, I wanted to read Fangirl as soon as I heard about, but the book wasn’t due for release for a while yet, so I was left pre-ordering on my Kindle and anxiously awaiting release (I stayed up until midnight waiting for it to be automatically delivered… that is how excited I was for this book).

I knew I was right in being so rabidly excited for this books as soon as I began reading. Cath was absolutely perfect, she was awkward and strange, but she also had some sense of who she was, even if she struggled to get this across to new people. Her issue was her shyness and she didn’t know how to overcome it and I enjoyed following every step of her story. I loved the friendships and the family and every part of this book, and it really made me want to go back to uni.

After reading Fangirl, I then investigated all of Rowell’s other books. I knew everyone had been raving about Eleanor and Park, so I bought that, and I pre-ordered Landline, although I wasn’t sure what to expect from that book. And I bought Attachments. You’re probably wondering what I thought of all of these books, well let me tell you.

I liked Eleanor and Park, I could see why everyone raved about it, but I just didn’t connect with the characters the same way I did with those in Fangirl, so sadly that book was not an instant favourite, instead it was a book I enjoyed and am glad to have on my shelf because I want my friends to read it (there is a distinction between love and book pushing upon friends, just so you know). There are plenty of elements of the book I enjoyed and the story was good so I was just disappointed it was not insta-love.

Then I read Attachments, and the concept was amazing, someone who falls in love with someone from their emails? What isn’t there to love? But I instantly saw the flaws in this book, I began questioning how this could end well for our characters at about two thirds of the way through. Luckily, Rowell is an amazing author who managed to finish this book without me losing interest. This book was a grower on me. I liked it at first, and the longer it went on the more I began to love it. That’s what I like about Rowell’s writing, she writes characters that feel so genuine you can relate to them and you can’t help but like them (even when you don’t).

Then there was Landline. I had been so eager to read that book, I even pre-ordered. But the excitement of reading that book built, and it built, and it built, and then it became too daunting to read book. As such, that book is still sat by my bed waiting to be read and I feel terrible about it. Have you ever had a book you were so excited for for so long that you find yourself unable to pick it up? That's mine, the anticipation was too much and I knew I was building that book up far too much, so I took a step back… or ran swiftly from it and I haven’t quite gotten back to it yet.

Well that's easy, I don't need to love everything an author writes to include them in my absolute faves, I'm not that fickle. And as I said before, her books grow on you. Even when you don’t fall completely in love with a book the first time, you will grow to love it after you’ve read. These are books which stay with you long after finishing both because of the strong characters, but also because the emotions in her books.

Rainbow Rowell is a fantastic writer who writes books about people. The stories are also good in her books, but it is the characters she writes that are stand out. So many people love her books because they love her characters as they relate to them. Much like I love Cath because I can see parts of me in them, others will read some of her other books and see some of themselves in these characters. I saw myself in Eleanor her love of music and reading. I saw myself in Lincoln and his detachment from people, witnessing people from a distance (I am a bit of a people watcher, you don’t even understand how fun it is). Her characters are so relatable, and how could you not an author who writes characters like that?

I could not recommend one single book to you, because I don’t know which book you will connect with the best, but I can tell you you would be hard pushed to find a book you won’t like from her. My favourite is Fangirl, probably because it is the first book I read by Rowell and the one I could most relate to, but I’ve enjoyed all the books I’ve read from her. It’s pretty difficult to go wrong.

And, because I forgot to originally, credit for the art goes to Simini Blocker because she is as much a Rainbow Rowell fangirl as anyway, as shown by her tumblr and website.

Don’t forget to check out Kaja’s post and I hope I’ve convinced you to read a few of Rainbow Rowell’s books. You can obviously tell Fangirl is my favourite and I am so excited to get started on Carry On. Have you got a favourite Rainbow Rowell book? Which one and why?

Author Addiction is a feature where Kaja at Of Dragons and Hearts and I talk about authors we love who may not have gotten the attention they deserve on our blogs. It is an opportunity to declare our love for them and basically fangirl over how great they are.

Now, we’ve been doing this Author Addiction feature for several months now and I was shocked when I discovered Kaja and I had yet to feature an author we both love a lot. I mean, she crops up a lot and although I was a bit late to the game in obsessively reading her books, and I’m still not caught up (she’s written so many!) on all her series, but she is definitely an author we both love. Who are we raving about this month? Jill Shalvis, of course.

I was excited to feature the lovely Jill Shalvis because she is an author who guarantees giving a good romance read. She is, basically, the queen of the smalltown romance, I have yet to find anyone who writes books in that genre quite as good as hers. Even the books I’ve complained about from Shalvis (her early Wilder series) are not terrible books, they are good books that frustrated me because there was obviously more potential in them that sadly didn’t get explored. I love authors like that, who even the books I didn’t like as much I still enjoyed them, and that takes a certain talent, and some really awesome characters.

I can’t quite recall where I first stumbled across Shalvis’s books, I think I saw her name mentioned on a few blogs when I was searching for a good romance book and everyone seemed to be saying good things about her Lucky Harbor series. I decided to give her first book a read.

I enjoyed Simply Irresistible, but I was reading and buying on my Kindle and the rest of the series was £4 per book, I just could not justify spending that much to get reading a 12 book series, plus novellas. I am not made of money. It was upsetting because I was intrigued by this smalltown and these three sisters, I was dying to know what happened with Chloe, the youngest sister, and the town sheriff. I just knew that was going to be good, and then there was Tara and her ex, who wouldn’t want to read another second chance romance?

Sadly, as I wasn’t willing to invest Shalvis became an author who was on my radar for when her books dropped in price, but who I wasn’t planning to read anything else from. Then Kaja started reviewing some of Shalvis’s books and once more I was reminded this author wrote a book I loved and I still haven’t read the rest of that series… or anymore of it at all. And that felt wrong.

I don’t know if you know this, but I am both an obsessive and a dedicated reader. Once I decide I like an author I am committed to reading everything I can get my hands on by them, I will also keep reading even when they have written a book I don’t like. Luckily for me, Shalvis is a prolific author so I’m not likely to run out of books to read from her, and even better, she doesn’t write bad books.

I always find it difficult to select just one book as a favourite from any author, I feel I’m doing them a disservice by saying there is one book I hold above the rest, and with Shalvis it’s even worse because I love all of her books. It’s difficult to say that just one is the best.

I love the few books I’ve read of the Lucky Harbor series. I think the second book, The Sweetest Thing, is one of my favourites that I’ve read because I love a good second chance romance? But, then I loved Head Over Heels as well because I thought Chloe was fun and interesting, and who doesn’t love a sexy sheriff (that’s from the blurb, so it’s not even me that came up with that one. Doesn’t it sound like a bad Halloween costume?).

There are other books by Shalvis outside of the Lucky Harbor series, though, that just happens to be the most well known series of hers. I mean, there is her Animal Magnetism series (no, I’ve not read those yet, it’s on the list) and her new Cedar Ridge series. I do admit that Second Chance Summer is a favourite of mine, partially because this one I’ve discovered when it’s just beginning and there is nothing more fun than starting a new series from the beginning. My other reason for it being a favourite is that it’s a second chance romance, something I really didn’t realise I was a sucker for until I started thinking about my favourites here.

I don’t want to tell you to read her books just because I said so (although you should) but she really is a fantastic author. I know I tend to mention an awful lot of romance authors but Jill Shalvis may be one that everyone can appreciate. Are some of her stories quite similar, sure, all romance is, I certainly wouldn’t suggest an all out binge of nothing but her books (unless you’re into that kind of thing) but I would suggest sampling a few of her better known works. She is the perfect cozy night in read. Her stories are very much typical for romance (not in a bad way) but the characters she creates and the places she writes about are so utterly unique and believable that you don’t care about something so mundane as if the story is original. I am a firm believer that a good writer can take an overused storyline or concept and create a fantastic story as long as they have strong characters to keep you interested and Shalvis certainly has some fun characters to keep you wanting to read.

She is an author who will appeal to a lot of people. If you like your smalltown romances, your contemporary romances with an alpha male with substance, and with heroines who know their own minds and are not going to put up with being rescued then she is an author for you. She is a fun author and she writes fun books and that’s why I love her, she guarantees you a good book to curl up with, and some fairly swoon worthy leading men as well, which no one can complain about.

Have I convinced you? I hope so, but if not tell me why and I will attempt to force her books on you some more (I’m only mostly joking on that one). If I have then please find out more about the fabulous Jill Shalvis at her website/Twitter/Instagram etc.

Website // Instagram // Twitter // Facebook // Tumblr // Pinterest

Also, don't forget to check out Kaja’s post over at Of Dragons and Hearts!

Who is your author who you know you are guaranteed an enjoyable read from so you commit to continually buying their books?

Author Addiction is a feature where Kaja at Of Dragons and Hearts and I talk about authors we love who may not have gotten the attention they deserve on our blogs. It is an opportunity to declare our love for them and basically fangirl over how great they are. And, more excitingly, this month the lovely Danya over at Fine Print wants to join us in announcing our love for Jane Austen, which I am definitely looking forward to reading.

I do not doubt you have all heard of this month’s favourite author. Jane Austen is a name everyone knows, even if not everyone has read her books. I think it would almost be impossible for you to have avoided her, I mean, who doesn’t know the famous opening line of Pride & Prejudice:

Her work is so well known and influenced so many different books and films that it was always inevitable I would read one of her books, and I’m sure they probably feel as familiar to all of you, even if you haven’t ever read one of them.

Source: Adored Vintage

The first Austen book I read was a gift from my nan, I had spoken about how I was interested in trying her books when I was about 15 and she brought me a copy the next time I visited. She also borrowed a copy of the BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice from the library. I began reading and then we watched the first few episodes that week. I quickly rushed through the book before going to visit the next week and we enjoyed the second half of the series. It is one of my most enjoyable days around her house. I am fully convinced this must have happened during the summer holidays from school because I can think of no other way we could have spent so much time watching a TV series. I think it was watching that and reading the book which began my love for Austen, and also my love for period dramas.

After reading Pride and Prejudice I saved all the money I had at the tender age of 15 and hunted all of her books down (quite an achievement considering the measly offering in my town for bookshops) and happily read through all of her books. I adored every single one of them, but like all authors, there are some of her books I treasure of others. I do think there are some I favour over others, Persuasion became a firm favourite of mine because I am a huge fan of second chance love stories and that really is one of the best. Anne Elliot is absolutely lovely being the woman who sacrifices so much for her family and persuaded by those closest to her to do as they wish, she could easily be written off as being easily led, but I never felt that way about her. And Captain Wentworth is utterly charming as well, who could resist him?

I think the thing I love most about Austen is how her books her popular, even now, and you continually see rewrites and adaptations of her books because her stories can never get old. I loved Clueless before I ever knew it was an adaptation of the story of Emma, now I can’t believed I missed it, it’s quite obvious. And then there are all the books out there which are based on Austen’s books. There is The Austen Project by HarperCollins, which is a full on modern day rewrite of her books by largely well known authors. I’ve got the three books out so far, I really enjoyed Val McDermid’s modern retelling of Northanger Abbey, it just worked so well and made me like the book so much more. I know not everyone is a fan of retellings, I am a bit touchy on them as they can be a bit hit or miss, but I cannot complain that people are doing it because it shows the longevity of the stories Austen had to write.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my ramblings about Jane Austen, I really love her books and hope I’ve managed to persuade any of you out there who haven’t read her books to give her a try, and those that have… well there’s nothing wrong with a good reread every now and then, is there?

As always, don’t forget to check out Kaja’s post, and this month Danya is joining us so please go read what she has to say. Do you have a favourite Austen book, or a favourite well known classic of your own?

Author Addiction is a feature where Kaja at Of Dragons and Hearts and I talk about authors we love who may not have gotten the attention they deserve on our blogs. It is an opportunity to declare our love for them and basically fangirl over how great they are.

This month is a freebie month so Kaja and I got to choose our own authors independently of one another on who to fangirl over. I am going to be honest with you all and let you know I intended to write about Maria V Snyder this month. I had half a dozen points (okay, maybe half a dozen sentences) written up and when I came back to it Saturday to get writing inspiration had struck me in new ways. Basically, I had a moment of indecision (or many) and changed my mind who I wanted to write about. If you saw me in real life you would understand I am so indecisive it is almost painful, I hate decision making and always have. When forced to make a decision I do what pops into my head, which explains why I wrote my dissertation on the Crusades when I had never studied them before (don’t ask). Anyway, I planned on writing about Snyder but then changed my mind Saturday morning after I had been rearranging my growing pile of books to read and I discovered that in my reread book buying I had quite a collection of Jennifer Echols books to read with several more waiting to be bought from various locations. It then hit me, Jennifer Echols is the perfect author to feature in Author Addiction! So here we are, two days before I’m due to post this and writing a whole new post.

You may be shocked to learn this, but the first time I read a Jennifer Echols novel I didn’t actually like it. It seemed cheesy and clichéd and ridiculous. I wrote her off as an author I would not like and left it at that. This was a couple of years before I really started book blogging and I didn’t read book blogs. When I began book blogging and reading other book blogs I discovered Echols was popular among the bloggers I followed, and I respected their opinions because they had not steered me wrong with other books. As such, I decided to give her another chance and I am glad I did because I would have missing out on some excellent books. I then recalled that book I had read so long ago, Going Too Far, and I actually thought a few positive thoughts about it. I decided to pick it up back up and to try again. It was still cheesy and a bit clichéd, but I had grown out of that attitude that just because it was not changing the world with it’s writing that it meant it wasn’t worth my time, instead it was all I wanted to read. Books which had real characters in and fun and interesting situations and romance. I wanted to read books as an escape and as a break and romance is a guarenteed good time and an escape. Echols books are more than just romance, though, they are all about character and growth and that’s what makes them great.

Echols writes excellent contemporary novels, they have excellent romance in and the characters feel real. She is difficult to classify as straight up YA writer because often her writing is a bit more serious than YA tends to be, but I wouldn’t say it’s NA either, but honestly such classification doesn’t matter. Whatever kind of books she writes they are fantastic.  I have read the majority of her books (not all) and I find it hard to fault her. She is an author that does not stray far from a formula that works, but each characters feels different and each story is most definitely different. She writes well, something I did not even think about until I began this post. It’s not pretentious, but it is beautiful. She has the ability to write characters you can relate to and understand and who you can’t help but like, even if they are not the nicest of people.

I have to say I think my favourite book by her may be Such a Rush, which feels like such a cliché, that is the book everyone loves by her. It’s so good, though, there is a reason everyone touts it out as one of her best books. It is about a girl overcoming adversity, working her way past where she grew up so she can become more. It is an amazing book. I dismissed it, at first, because a book about a girl flying planes sounds pretty boring, right? WRONG! It is way more than that, it is fantastic!

It’s hard to say which Echols book may be best for you newbies to read, I might say Such a Rush, because it is everywhere, it is not just me raving about this book, it is everyone. But I don’t know, I really enjoyed all the books I’ve read by her, I have yet to read one I haven’t enjoyed. She has a newer series, the Superlatives which I’ve really been enjoying. The third book, Most Likely to Succeed is due out this summer so it would be the perfect time to start reading, really. It is one of those high school contemporary romances where each book focuses on a different couple of characters. The first two were great and my favourite has probably been Biggest Flirts, there was just something I loved about these characters. Also, aren’t these covers so pretty, they did an actual casting call for the cover models and everything, that is dedication to a book cover. I adore the outfit of the girl in the second one.

And that is all I have to say about Jennifer Echols, I hope you go out and give her a chance, and don’t forget to go visit Kaja and her post on Robin Hobb which I will be reading soon because I have never read her! And don’t forget you can always join in and tweet us using the hashtag #AuthorAddiction. Stop by next month when we will be going old school and discussing our love for Jane Austen, you are all welcome to join then.

Have you read any Echols, what did you think? Please give me a favourite book if you have, and tell me all about those authors you love who create characters so real you feel you know them.

Author Addiction is a blog feature developed by Kaja, over at Of Dragons and Hearts, and myself in an attempt to feature more of the authors we love who may not have gotten as much attention on our blog otherwise. It was motivated by my desire to feature some of the authors I love, and know I love, who I sometimes forget to pipe up about because I kind of assume you know how good they are. How could you not? And this month we are talking about our love for the author, Tessa Dare.

I adore Tessa Dare. I first about her last year from various blogs, but the one that really brought her writing to my attention was from this post by Jen at Pop! Goes The Reader where she reviewing Romancing the Duke, the first book in Dare’s Castles Ever After series. At this point I thought historical romance was cheesy and ridiculous with overly masculine men who were always rescuing women and the women were weak, flighty, and essentially a placeholder for women’s fantasies. Turns out I was very wrong, and I learnt this after a blogger I loved explained her love for one of her books.

That is what got me intrigued in her books, it wasn’t until another few bloggers I loved also wrote about enjoying historical fiction that I in fact committed to reading. I tried a couple of other books in the genre first, and then recalled that review I’d read about 6 months ago and swiftly hunted out Dare’s book Romancing the Duke. All I can say is I sure am glad I remembered about that review. I couldn’t remember the books title, but I remembered who posted it. I sat going through every review I could find of hers until I found the right one. I then instantly bought it for my Kindle, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Romancing the Duke is my favourite book by Tessa Dare, it is even one of my favourite books which I read this year. It is such a perfect historical romance novel. Dare has the art of writing within this genre down, and I can tell that from reading Romancing the Duke. It is the perfect level of humour and proper romance. The romantic interest is a masculine man's man, but he is also flawed and beautiful. And Izzy is the perfect heroine, she is strong and opinionated and independent and flawed! She is the kind of character I want in all of my books.

A close second in my favourites from Dare, though, is A Night to Surrender because it is both hilarious and fun. I avoided reading it for a long while because the premise of a man going to recruit soldiers in a holiday village where women have taken over as a place for the wallflowers and rejects from London society could go was a bit strange. It was not the kind of book I thought I would enjoy, but I heard positive things so I thought I’d give it a go. I am glad I did. Exploding sheep! That is all I have to say about that book.

Tessa Dare is a fantastic author in the genre she writes. Along with Sarah MacLean from last month's Author Addiction, she is probably the author I would recommend to anyone new to historical romance, and to any fan of romance in general. She is just fantastic. Her writing is good, her characters are both real and hilarious, and I honestly cannot wait for the next book of hers in the Castles Ever After series, When a Scot Ties the Knot.

Tessa Dare will always be one of my favourite authors. She is so good at writing within historical romance, she gets you hooked, and her writing is always a little funny, even when it may be serious. Don’t forget to go read Kaja’s thoughts about Tessa Dare over at her blog and if you want to know a bit more about her there are a few links below for you to explore and connect.

Website / GoodReads / Twitter

Have any of you already read Tessa Dare? I would love to hear your thoughts on her if you have. And if you haven’t I’d love to know if I’ve managed to persuade you to give her books a go. And don't forget to stop by next month where Kaja and I will have a freebie month and will be picking out own author's which we love.

Author Addiction is a monthly feature which is the brain child of Kaja and I in an attempt to feature authors we love who we may not necessarily have featured all that much on our blogs otherwise. This month Kaja and I are declaring our love for Sarah MacLean, which is pretty easy to do because she is an author who I’ve only recently discovered and already love immensely.

I don’t know why or where or when I decided to read historical romance, but for whatever reason I did. I think it may have come from lots of bloggers I love including a few historical romance books on their list of favourites, just sneakily added in there with little mention or fanfare, and the fact that other bloggers were out there reading something made me feel a little bit like I was missing out. It was around Christmas that I first bought a couple of books for my kindle, as they were a part of the Christmas sale they had on. I must have thought that at 99p a book what harm would it do if I don’t like it? It wasn’t until this year I even picked one of them up though.

I’ve mentioned a few times that romance is my go to genre when I’m in a rut for no other reason than the predictability and reliability of this genre helps act as a kind of reading palate cleanser. I think I was in need of a bookish break and on impulse decided to give one a try. I loved it, obviously, and then it was a slippery descent into the genre. Sarah MacLean was one of the first authors I sampled a book from. I’d hunted through lists and recommendations across the internet, after I’d read those couple of books I’d bought, and she kept cropping up time and again, so I bought one of her books.

The first book which I read by her was Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake and it was the perfect book to introduce me to her as an author. It was light and fun and it was nothing like you think it will be. I think that Nine Rules To Break will always have a special place in my heart for being the book that truly made me love the genre. MacLean writes smart characters and her writing makes you laugh out loud – it literally makes you lol – and the romance, the romance is perfect. We all know romance novels tend to be predictable, that’s what I like about them, but MacLean’s books may have a world of predictability to them, but they are still unique. Her characters are smart and intelligent and instantly draw you in and her stories are gripping and make you want to keep turning the page because you’re hooked.

I am a newbie to the world of historical romance and I have read a few books from a handful of authors in the genre, but certainly can’t call myself well read. As such, the fact I have read about half of MacLean’s back catalogue already shows how excellent her writing is. She helped dispel some of my notions about the genre and also she showed me that romance, whilst it is often predictable, does not have to be boring or badly written.

I love that MacLean has made all of her books be linked as well. In case you aren’t aware, she has two separate book series, Love by Numbers and The Rules of Scoundrels, what you probably don’t realise is they are all set in the same place and the characters are the same in both of them. I love books which are set in the same place, and romance novels are the best about giving different characters from a previous book their own story. I don’t know if it’s simply that it feels a bit like you know the characters already when you’ve known them from a previous book, or if it’s that I like going back and it feels like you’re entering the same story and revisiting old friends whilst still getting the joy of reading something new. I don’t think I care why I like that, but I simply do. It’s also great because that means you can pick up any book in either series and it doesn’t matter where you start.

I don’t know if I’m really doing MacLean and her writing justice. She is an excellent author I want to push on you all, but then I know it’s hard to commit to reading a book when you’ve not experienced the genre. For any of you out there who love romance but are eager to find someone new to read, Sarah MacLean is the author for you. And for those of you who love historical romance and you haven’t read any of her books, first of all for shame, but second of all give her ago. You will not regret it.

I don’t know if any of this will have successfully persuaded you, but regardless it was fun to write and remember why I love her as an author, so I certainly can’t regret it. Also, I discovered Maclean has a blog, a tumblr, and several columns she's written where she has recommended various romance reads, that is enough for me to love her.

Website – Blog – Tumblr – Goodreads 

I hope you’ve enjoyed what I’ve written, please give MacLean a chance, her books are wonderful and you will undoubtedly enjoy what you read. And whilst you’re here do go check out Kaja’s post over at Of Dragons and Hearts, because she always manages to write her thoughts far clearer than me. And if you want to stop by next month we'll be taling about the author Tessa Dare.

Have I managed to persuade you to get reading? Let me know down below if I have, and if you have any good historical romance recs they are always appreciated.

It’s the first Monday of the month, again, and so it is time for Author Addiction, a feature created by me and Kaja. This month we are talking about our love for Laini Taylor, author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, one of my favourite books series ever!

Laini Taylor was a surprise author for me. I found Daughter of Smoke and Bone on Amazon purely by accident, it was in the ‘customers who bought this also bought’ section. I read the blurb for the book and debated whether or not for while. I think it took about six months for me to actually commit to buying it. A hardback copy was going cheap on Amazon and I decided to treat myself, the book arrived and it ended up being a signed copy, which was rather exciting for me. Even after it arrived in the post, it took a couple of days for me to actually sit and read this, but once I began reading I could not put this book down. My delay in buying DoSaB  meant that it was really close to the release of the second book anyway, so I pre-ordered that and devoured the book as soon as it arrived in the post. I was then in for the long wait for the final book in the trilogy. I pre-ordered it with Waterstones and I got that fancy signed copy that had the pretty picture in the front. It is one of the few book series where I own all the books in hardback, and as a hardcopy. I am a dedicated kindle reader, so when I buy physical copies of books it’s either because I adore an author or because it’s a book series I absolutely have to own.

I did think that it may have possibly been a fluke on Taylor’s part, though, with the DoSaB series, some authors pull it off amazingly with one book series and completely fail with other books they write. I wasn't fully convinced she wasn’t going to be one of those authors for me. Then I read her short story in My True Love Gave To Me and I read her short story collection and I fell in love. She writes fantasy, but it is like no fantasy I have read before. She really delves into the far reaches of mythology and pulls out the strangest of things, thoughts and ideas which most would never even look twice at she creates a unique and interesting story around it. I love that about her, and her writing is just so good that it’s enjoyable to read.

Laini Taylor solidified her spot in my favourite authors list when I read DoSaB, but it took me a while to realise that. It wasn’t until I did an epic series reread following the release of the final book in the trilogy that I properly realised it. Her writing was just so beautiful, and when reading the first two books I was just as hooked with the story as the first time I read, even when I already knew what was going to happen.

She is not an author who has written loads, although she does have another book series which I haven’t read, but that which she has written is written well. If you haven’t already, you should give Laini Taylor a chance, pick up DoSaB and you will not regret it, I promise. The story itself is pretty unique, and the characters are fantastic. It is a world which you cannot help but fall in love with.

That is all from me on Laini Taylor, don’t forget to go visit Kaja over at Of Dragons and Hearts to read what she has to say on the matter, and as always let me know your thoughts. Next month we’ll be writing about Sarah MacLean, a new author on my favourites list, so please come back and visit then.

Author Addiction is a monthly feature which is the brainchild of myself and Kaja over at Of Dragons and Hearts where we write about our love for our favourite authors and try and entice you guys to do the same. At the same time it is an excellent way to feature authors we love which we may not necessarily mention overly much on our blogs… or at least that was part of my motivation for it.

This month is a freebie month because as in sync as our tastes are, Kaja and I do not in fact share all the favourite authors, so it is the perfect opportunity to try and convince the other to read an author whilst also trying to convince you lot as well.

This month I am featuring Jennifer Crusie as my author addiction. I know she is not the typical kind of author on my blog, her books are neither YA nor NA, and she is not a fantasy author  either, she is a chick-lit author. I feel I need to do a bit of background to explain my decision because this may be an author you have not heard of, but she is an author I really love.

I read my first Jennifer Crusie book when I was about 15 or 16 because my mom had borrowed one of her books from the library. I had begun to read my mothers books from the library when I’d finished my own at 14 because I devoured books as a child, and I was limited by only one visit to the library a week. It was from this that I first discovered the chick-lit genre. It is a genre I’ve loved since about 14 simply because they are filled with fluffy romance that is a so like watching a chick-flick, but in book form. My mom had borrowed a book called Bet Me from the library, I borrowed the book from my mom and was quickly absorbed.

You would think that reading a book about a woman in her early thirties who worries about her weight and is fed up of dating ridiculous men would not be a thing a 14 year would enjoy but I found myself lost in her world. I laughed and raged along with the characters and quickly found myself loving Cal in the books almost as much as Min did. The book also introduced me to Krispy Kreme donuts, something me and my mom will forever grateful for because not long after reading this book the Birmingham Krispy Kreme donuts store at Selfridges opened, which was great because at that point my mom was working in Birmingham and could go to the grand opening just to get us a box of donuts. And what grand donuts they are?

I think, because of my experience as her first book, Bet Me is my favourite book by Jennifer Crusie, and it is certainly the one I would recommend most, simply because it is such great romance. It is  not a serious read, it is just shameless fluff and romance that is so satisfying to read. I love rereading Crusie’s books because they are all such satisfying reads.

She doesn’t limit herself within one set genre, a lot of her writing is referred to as women’s fiction, but it is so much more than that. She writes excellent novels, some involve mystery and crime with a heavy dose of romance. One I really enjoyed was a throw back to mystery fiction and old school detective films with Fast Women all about a woman who gets divorced and begins working in a detective office, it’s a hilarious read. Very fun, dramatic and just generally a good book.

If you’re looking for a fun read with some sex, a porn film and some old school small town gossip then Welcome to Temptation is for you, also there are some book and movie quotes to enjoy. There is also a book which follows this one as well, another following the Dempsey family and their criminal ways in Faking It. I have a soft spot for the book Faking It because it features art, art forgeries and a good old con man, and I do love those things, especially things with con men, there is a reason White Collar was one of my favourite TV shows.

I admit, some of her newer books I’ve not gotten around to reading yet, but I am excited for her books because of the way she writes. She posted on her blog about how she has grown as an author, she began writing romantic shorts. Then she began writing long romance stories, and then once she’d finished with that she wrote mysteries, she writes collaborative novels with other authors and all the time she is growing and changing how she writes, and I liked that. It’s true, some authors I stick with because I know they will write the same kind of story over and over again, but some authors I stick with because I like their writing and they happen to be good at creating ingenious storylines which draw me in. Crusie is the second kind. Yes, she has written a load of fantastic romance novels, she writes good chick-lit, but she has written other fantastic stories too.

I hope you enjoyed my reminiscing and become motivated to read a few of her books, there are certainly enough of them that you are practically guaranteed to find one you enjoy. Crusie is an author I hold close to my heart because whenever I reread one of her books it’s like revisiting an old friend because those books are just the perfect comfort reads to me. Do you have any authors like that, whose books you always enjoy and are just so comforting to read?