Need a good historical romance. Other genres too. discussion

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Dancing on Coals
The woman in this had so many adversaries ie stagecoach robbers,
Apaches, Mexicans, that she was on constant alert someone
wanted to kill her. I'm about 1/3rd in, and thus far, no romance.

HR-ML wrote: "Dancing on Coals
The woman in this had so many adversaries ie stagecoach robbers,
Apaches, Mexicans, that she was on constant alert someone
wanted to kill her. I'm about 1/3rd in,..."

That is a tough book in many ways, but I liked it. I've read and re-read all of her books. I wish she was still writing but it's like she just dropped off the face of the earth. She might not be the greatest writer and could be a little preachy at times but she could tell a story. I hope she is somewhere training her horses and working with her dogs.

Every now and then I check her website, but nothing. There was supposed to be a sequel to the Rottweiler book.

I read her books so long ago, except for Without Words and some of the epilogue releases I thing I can read them again and it will be like reading a new book. Hmm, Ill just add them to my TBR pile. At least I'll save some money.

HBW----
It is a tough book b/c the hero has hate in his heart for other races
(some justified) and mostly ignores the h. Maybe the author retired?

Carol---
I so enjoyed Without Words.

HR-ML wrote: "HBW----
It is a tough book b/c the hero has hate in his heart for other races
(some justified) and mostly ignores the h. Maybe the author retired?

Carol---
I so enjoyed Without Words."

It isn't as harsh as most of her other books. True HEA. Recommend it.

HR-ML wrote: "HBW----
It is a tough book b/c the hero has hate in his heart for other races
(some justified) and mostly ignores the h. Maybe the author retired?

Carol---
I so enjoyed Without Words."

I don't know. She just disappeared without any kind of announcement. She has not updated her blog since 2017.

Carla Kelly has a new book available for preorder.

Her Smile

I think there was some dissing of her books on line and she just decided to stop writing.

The author promoted "Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold" at every opportunity on
the old Amazon romance bk forum. Amazon made her do a public apology to readers on that forum.

After her self-promotion, I'm surprised I tried any of her books. But i did.

Ahh, that's the story.

Carol----

There is a self-promo author on Romance Book Lovers forum,
I brought it to a moderator's attn, who elected to take no action.
This author gives a free chapter on the forum, as she decides to
do so. I will NOT read her book under any circumstances.

HR-ML wrote: "Carol----

There is a self-promo author on Romance Book Lovers forum,
I brought it to a moderator's attn, who elected to take no action.
This author gives a free chapter on the forum, as she deci..."

Guess O'Connell felt Amazon wasn't promoting her well. I wasn't into romance then. I'm glad I found her and so sorry she stopped writing.

Carol----

I'd prefer authors find other means to reach readers than self-promo on book forums.

Carol---

What book genres did you read then?

I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just thinking if her books weren't selling and Amazon wasn't promoting her, she probably found it wasn't worth her time to write.

HR-ML wrote: "Carol---

What book genres did you read then?"

I was reading a lot of what was popular on the NYT list, but did find a few authors that were off the beaten path, like O'Connell, Charlie Carillo, Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Carol wrote: "I think there was some dissing of her books on line and she just decided to stop writing."

That's sad. Not everyone will like what any author writes. I wrote how much I enjoyed the first book by her I read, and got piled on by other people. (ETA that was while we could still post on Amazon.) Seemed that they suspected that she had followers who were trying to promote her books. I think she continued writing for several years after that before she just disappeared. I suspect health issues.

HR-ML wrote: "The author promoted "Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold" at every opportunity on
the old Amazon romance bk forum. Amazon made her do a public apology to readers on that forum.

After her self-promotion..."

I don't remember that, or at least not her doing it. It may have been her street team (don't know if she had one), or even just people who signed up for updates from her blog. She would post snippets of what she was currently writing, if I remember correctly. I know I got jumped on by praising one of her books.

Carla Kelly has a new book up for pre-order. Hope it is not like her last one. I was already depressed enough, didn't finish it.

Her Smile The title is nice.

I think this is what I read by O'Connell that made me think her books were dissed. https://oconnellauthor.wordpress.com/...

Carol---

It is hard to do a Western w/o violence. Sounds in the link, like she opposed rape scenes in romance? I agree. I'd rather romance avoid this topic.

Yrs ago, I was 75% in on a HR & all was well. Hero recounted the murder/ suicide of his parents, and it ruined the story. Sorry if I previously mentioned this.

HBW2020---

Carla Kelly's last book was depressing? I've read some gloomy HRs.
Shouldn't HR readers enjoy love and hopefulness in romances?
I don't mean: LaLaLand or perfect, but what about uplifting?

HR-ML wrote: "Carol---

It is hard to do a Western w/o violence. Sounds in the link, like she opposed rape scenes in romance? I agree. I'd rather romance avoid this topic.

Yrs ago, I was 75% in on a HR & all w..."

Is it worse than the rogues taking advantage of innocent housemaids? It's all in the eyes of the reader.

Yes, I agree. Housemaids were mistreated. But the sire of the rogue should have taught him any maiden was off-limits. And assume all were maidens until she tried to seduce the rogue.

HR-ML wrote: "Yes, I agree. Housemaids were mistreated. But the sire of the rogue should have taught him any maiden was off-limits. And assume all were maidens until she tried to seduce the rogue."

But this kind of behavior is in so many books and they are still read. Oh, and of course the lord or whatever is not punished and the woman, be it an innocent maiden or housemaid, it is the woman's fault. That is the reality of the times. I don't understand why rape is not accepted, but spoiling a woman is.

If you put all this misogyny into historical context, you'd probably find that men, and most particularly upper-class men, got a pass with regard to their treatment of women in former times. Even today, it's hard to hold the powerful accountable for their treatment of women. Look at Epstein. It took years to get him to prison. Look at Prince Andrew. He'll never end up there.

BTW, HR-ML, I think my message 29 is more social commentary than book discussion. LOL. Now I'm all confused as to how to post my comments.

OLT wrote: "If you put all this misogyny into historical context, you'd probably find that men, and most particularly upper-class men, got a pass with regard to their treatment of women in former times. Even t..."

I agree. But all I'm saying is rape is not a reason for me to not read a novel. I find gory murder for no reason than being titillating much worse, as O'Connell mentions on her blog.

OLT wrote: "BTW, HR-ML, I think my message 29 is more social commentary than book discussion. LOL. Now I'm all confused as to how to post my comments."

I know, I'm all confused where to post what.

Carol---
Good point about spoiling women. Charming/ sweet talking can be a form of coersion?

OLT----
Other men look away when a man of power is accused. Remember
Bill Clinton & DJT were Epstein's buds.

HR-ML wrote: "Carol---
Good point about spoiling women. Charming/ sweet talking can be a form of coersion?

OLT----
Other men look away when a man of power is accused. Remember
Bill Clinton & DJT were Epstein's..."

And Prince Andrew.

I'm thinking if Clinton was found guilty in his impeachment trial, Al Gore would have become president and maybe reelected. No Bush. No Iraq was. No enormous federal debt. And probably no recession. How in heavens do we keep the GOP from destroying our government???

Dancing w/ Coals reportedly had an epilogue (per Amazon reviews), but not my Kindle version. I sent a GR message to a friend. She replied her version of the book had an afterward update on the couple.

I feel left out.

HR-ML wrote: "Dancing w/ Coals reportedly had an epilogue (per Amazon reviews), but not my Kindle version. I sent a GR message to a friend. She replied her version of the book had an afterward update on the coup..."

Have you gone to your Kindle account to check on whether there's an update available? I have to go to my account via a computer to do this, but then I'm not very smart on my smart phone.

OLT---

My GR friend just messaged me back w/ the content of the afterward.
Thanks for your thoughts. My spouse has a 'smart phone' but
for me I still use a flip-phone.

She has a couple of epilogues. I downloaded some to my Kindle and some to my Fire. Not easy for me to do. http://www.oconnellauthor.com/9btr112...

Thanks, Carol.

Carol,

Thanks for sharing that link on Ellen's blog. She is one of my favorite authors. I know her books by heart--the ones that I've read. I miss the kinds of stories that she wrote. I don't know anyone who comes close. I did read one by Susan Fanetti--Carry the World https://amzn.to/3hkh8OI. It had that same feeling of really taking readers into the characters' world, as opposed to simply sticking to the romance-story formula.

Ellen's later books didn't have the depth and detail of her earlier ones, and I often felt like she was trying to please the cookie-cutter crowd. But Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold will always be a best-seller for me. I liked the story from start to finish. Yes, there
was violence in it, and yet, it wasn't as excessive as it could have been, and many books, nowadays, really go into too much detail, regardless of the genre.

My absolute favorite by her is Sing My Name https://amzn.to/3huLezf. I've re-read it every year since discovering it. But, then, I read Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold, annually, as well. I try to save these books for when I've had to DNF so many others that I just want something that I can start, finish and enjoy in the process.

My pleasure. I didn't think the epilogue books were that great, but worth reading. I keeping hoping she'll come out with another book. I'll even take another rottweiler book. You might like News of the World.

Kathy---

Never a dull moment w/ that writer. Breaking the Rules looks
interesting.

There are movies I prefer when I'm blue or disappointed.

HR-ML wrote: "HBW2020---

Carla Kelly's last book was depressing? I've read some gloomy HRs.
Shouldn't HR readers enjoy love and hopefulness in romances?
I don't mean: LaLaLand or perfect, but what about uplif..."

This particular book was set in 13th century Spain and was a little too violent for me. It seemed as if the romance took a back seat in this one.

There is also sometimes violence in her books set in the American West in the 19th century, but they are still love stories.

HR-ML wrote: "Kathy---

Never a dull moment w/ that writer. Breaking the Rules looks
interesting.

There are movies I prefer when I'm blue or disappointed: either The Unsinkable Molly Brown, especially the danc..."

I haven't watch TV regularly for possibly around a decade, but I remember absolutely being enthralled by The Man From Snowy River - particularly when he was riding his horse down those steep inclines. Wasn't he moving a herd of horses?

I've got a read bargain for any of you who enjoy traditional Regencies with a touch of humor:

Fiona Hill Anthology

At $2.99, it's worth it just for The Country Gentleman.

HBW2020---

Man from Snowy. Jim (the hero) was in love w/ the rich
rancher's dtr. A ranch hand let the rancher's expensive
horse out of its pen. This horse ran w/ the brombie (wild )
horses. Rancher offered reward for return of his valued
horse. Jim on horseback chases the brombies every-
where, including down the mt. Jim claims horse for the
rancher, but refuses the reward $. The actor did his own
riding.

My many thanks to the person who suggested this author. I'm checking to see if anyone has books to lend by Alice Coldbreath. I just finished [image error] Her Baseborn Bridegroom https://amzn.to/3dBhz6a, which is the only book she has in KU. This story was sooo good. So if anyone has something lendable by her, please let me know. Thank

Kathy----

A Bride for the Prize fighter
This was the only ebook I had by Coldbreath. Sorry I read,
reviewed and deleted it.

HR-ML wrote: "Kathy----

A Bride for the Prize fighter
This was the only ebook I had by Coldbreath. Sorry I read,
reviewed and deleted it."

Thanks, HR. Yes, I was hoping to read this one next. If you own it, you can still access it, even if you deleted it. Just go to "manage your content" on Amazon and search for the book.