Fans of Eloisa James & Julia Quinn discussion

We've got lots of new members, so if you can, please take a moment to introduce yourself and make them feel at home. New members, don't be shy! Welcome!

I'll start off. My name is Manda Collins and I was a founding member of the Eloisa James Bulletin Board, who were collectively called the Bon Bons. I live in South Alabama and am an academic librarian by day. I'm also a writer and my first book is coming out from St. Martin's Press in February 2012. But here, I'm just Manda, a reader who loves the work of Eloisa James and Julia Quinn. And I've also got a serious addiction to romantic suspense.

Welcome aboard!

Next...

I'm Susan. I live in an Arizona border town (yes, illegal sighting is almost as popular as birdwatching down here.) I lurked on the former bulletin board for years without posting, but it's so much more fun to actually respond on this group. I like contemporary romances that are also funny, like Susan Elizabeth Phillips; but I really love the funny historicals by Eloisa James, Julia Quinn, and others. Another recently discovered favorite of mine is Eileen Dreyer's new historical series.

Hello, I'm Donna. I live on the outskirts of London, England. I love reading historical romances (of course) and am really into paranormal romances too. I also enjoy a lot of the classics and my favourite book is Jane Eyre. I am quite new to Goodreads and am really enjoying it so far :)x

Hello, I am Kasey and I am from Minnesota. I was also a member of the JQ and EJ bulletin board. I meet so many great people there and wanted to stay in touch, so that is why I joined this forum. I currently teach college composition and literature and try to write when I have spare time. I love reading and books from many different genres, but historical romances have always been my favorites.

Manda, congrats on the book deal. I can't wait to read it. :)

Hi, I'm Emily from Pennsylvania, a mom of 3 (ages 5, 3, and 2), wife to 1. I started reading historical romance (Julia Quinn was my first) about a year ago and am addicted. My husband lives out of state for work so in my free time, otherwise known as nap and bedtime, I read.

Hi everyone my name is Mindy. I'm from Mississippi and I'm a legal secretary. I've been reading historical romance for about 8 or 9 years. I started out with contemporary/mystery/romance with Sandra Brown's The Switch and then I remember reading a historical by I believe Julie Garwood and I was hooked. I've since become an avid reader of so many including, of course, Julia Quinn and Eloisa James. I also love Johanna Lindsey, Sabrina Jeffries, Terese Medeiros, Suzanne Enoch, Christina Dodd, Kieran Kramer, Maya Rodale, Julianne MacLean, Sarah MacLean, Courtney Milan, Karen Hawkins, Julia London, Vanessa Kelly and Victoria Alexander!

OKAY I could keep going and going but I will stop, LOL!

I also have a blog dedicated to romance books (but also all others that I read) and it is http://theromancebooknerd.blogspot.com and I hope you will come join me!!

Hi all! I'm Victoria. I'm a college student who has been reading romance novels since I was 12. Julia Quinn is my ultimate favorite author EVER of all time EVERRR, and I also love Eloisa James (of course), contemporaries like S.E. Phillips and Jennifer Crusie, and just about everyone else. I go to Wesleyan University in Connecticut but home is Baltimore, MD, with my mom, brother, two cats and a dog. I go through novels, romances especially, like candy, and have been known to complain that my favorite authors do not produce new books on a weekly basis. My favorite novel is Pride and Prejudice (cliche, I know).

I've also recently tried my hand at writing a romance, and like it almost as much as reading them.

EDIT: I forgot to mention I'm planning on pursuing a Master's in Library Science after I graduate next year! Manda, I'm currently thinking about the relative merits of different types of librarianship--any advice about the academic route?

Hi everyone! I'm pretty sure we have some new members, so I'd like to roll out the welcome mat and maybe start a discussion on where everyone is from and what started you on your love of romance!

So, with that being said...

Tell us a little bit about yourself! Me... I live in South Carolina. I'm "from" Virginia, but since my Dad is retired NAVY, I've lived all over. Lol! I'm a pretty shy person until I feel like I "really" know someone. I HATE being the center of attention. I work in the medical billing field, and I'm thinking of taking a coding class to be a "Certified Professional Coder", but I gotta tell ya... It's scares the bejeebus out of me! I've heard from several people how "hard" it is. FEAR is holding me back! Eeek!

I'm an "artist"... Okay, well, not really!! But I sometimes throw on the hats of "Jewelry Artist" (I love to make jewelry!!) "Culinary Artist" (according to my brothers when making desserts), "Yarn Artist" (when I feel like crocheting or knitting, usually a scarf. Lol!), "Photo Artist" (Ok, I guess that would really be a photography hobby! ;-D)

Did I mention that I'm OBSESSED with Boston Bruins hockey? Seriously, OBSESSED! I'm watching a game as we speak! GO BRUINS!

How did you get started reading romance books? Well, I can remember my mom and one of my brothers ALWAYS seemed to have a book laying around. I never could figure out why they would want to "waste" their time reading when they could be DOING something else. Well my Aunt Tina sent my mom a book (they were always swapping books) and it was just sitting on the sofa table... I picked it up out of sheer boredom. Well, Nora Roberts opened a whole new world for me that day! Lol! So my first romance was Genuine Lies by Nora Roberts! I NEVER stopped reading once I'd finished that book.

Who are your favorite authors? I've got a huge list of favorites! Lol! Eloisa James, Meredith Duran, Maya Banks, Lisa Gardner, Julia Quinn, Sarah MacLean, Anna Campbell, Roxanne St. Claire, Cynthia Eden, Jill Shalvis, Rachel Gibson, Linda Howard, Julie Ann Long, Lisa Kleypas, Jennifer Crusie... the list goes on and on!!!!

Do you have a favorite storyline? Hmmm, I have some that I enjoy more than others, but no definite favorite. I like the ones which feature the "Best Friends Older Brother", or the "Older Brothers Best Friend"! I like Marriage of Convenience storylines... Loooove a "tortured hero".

What are you reading now? I've just started Belong To Me by Shayla Black. It's the 5th (i think) in a series... I'm still just on the first chapter, but so far so good.

So, I'd be interested in hearing about everyone else! Speak up and introduce yourselves! If you feel like you're interrupting a conversation, trust me YOU'RE NOT!! just jump in and join the conversation! The more the merrier!

Hi
I guess I never did introduce myself, so here goes:
I'm a 50 + mom and policy/communications consultant--I have a 20 year old in college and a 14 year old starting high school. And I recently realized that I have no desire to read romances that sound like my daughter's social life...I want adults! I like to cook, knit, watch ballet, walk, hike, swim, entertain (mostly in small groups.) My husband travels at least 3 months a year so I spend a lot of time reading w hile he's gone. I occasionally scribble down scenes for romances but I kn ow that doesn't make me an author--I never see the saem character in more than one scene, for one thing. I love reading Jo Bourne's blogs about writing, but I couldn't do it.

I stumbled on the EJ website and then the EJ/JQ website about 3 years ago, and got completely sucked in, so when it closed I came here.

I started reading Georgette Heyer back in the Mezozoic period (when I was a young teen, I think, and had read my way through the children's library in my town.) I read fomances on and off until I had kids--at which point while I kept reading I had no time to browse in bookstores to find romances I would like. Then about 3 years ago while recuperating from surgery I started reading them again and found the world of romance had completely changed--and gotten infinitely better. (Although I still love Heyer, and Joan Wolf, and a few other Regency authors from the 1980s). Favorite authors, besides EJ and JQ, include Joanna Bourne, Meredith Duran, Sherry Thomas, Laura Kinsale, Joan Ross, Julie Anne Long, Jennifer Crusie, Mary Balogh, Tessa Dare, Loretta Chase, Courtney Milan, Carla Kelly, Rose Lerner, Eileen Dreyer,... . I'm less fond of contemps but Robyn Carr, Lisa Kleypas, Jill Shalvis are autobuys. I don't read many paranormals but I really like Thea Harrison.

I like many story lines--I'm a sucker for kids, and for people figuring out how to make marriages work, and virgin heroes, and courtesan heroines. On the other hand, rakes don't appeal to me.

What I really dislike is authors who ignore the societal conventions of the period. Its fine to have characters knowingly violate those rules and pay the price, but it drives me nuts to read books where the host and hostess are introduced at their own ball or the unmarried hero and heroine drive around the countryside for days without a chaperone. Why write about the period if you are not interested in the things that make relationships different then? Just write a contemp and be done(ok, climbing off hobby horse now.)And I have a few authors I will never read again because they can't write complete sentences or all their characters are exactly alike.

I am about to read Virtuoso by Grace Burroughs and Heart of Steel by Meljean Brooks. After which I will probably succumb to temptation and reread Black Hawk by Jo Bourne for the 3rd time in a week.

This is a great idea Monica! So here are my answers:

Tell us a little bit about yourself! Well I let’s see I live in Mississippi. I have only lived in Mississippi. I have always loved reading and I remember when I was a kid I wanted to be a doctor more specificially I wanted to be the official orthopedic surgeon for the Atlanta Braves. What happened with that dream you ask? Well I started watching something called the Discovery Channel and realized I could never be a doctor, LOL! So those dreams were crushed.

I do love spending lots of time with my family and friends. I love a good book but the only thing I love more than that is a good movie. I love movies. I actually have about 6 screenplays started and hope that maybe someday I will finish at least one of them. I recently have fallen in love with makeup and think it would be cool to be a makeup artist!

I also love to bake. I had another dream to attend the Culinary Institute of America and become a pastry chef but I was (am) scared, LOL!!

How did you get started reading romance books? I remember my older sister reading Sandra Brown’s “The Switch” and I thought I want to read that. So I did and needless to say I was a bit shocked especially since the heaviest thing I had read up to that point were the Fear Street books, LOL! Then I remember going to the library and looking for more of her books and thus a whole new world opened up to me with the help of Julie Garwood and Johanna Lindsey!!

Who are your favorite authors? OH wow really, LOL! Um here are just a few *wink* Julie Garwood, Johanna Lindsey, Sandra Brown, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Tessa Dare, Maya Rodale, Julia London, Julie Anne Long, Sarah MacLean, Karen Marie Moning, Karen Hawkins, J. R. Ward, Suzanne Collins, Stephenie Meyer, J. K. Rowling, Anna Campbell, Loretta Chase, Charlaine Harris, Samantha James, Julianne Maclean, Courtney Milan, Eloisa James, Sabrina Jefferies, Sophie Jordan, Teresa Medeiros, Kieran Kramer, Suzanne Enoch, Julia Quinn, Linda Howard, Jennifer Crusie, Sara Lindsey, Sherrilyn Kenyon...yep I think I made my own brain hurt, LOL!!

Do you have a favorite storyline? Well I actually have a few. I love “friends to lovers”, “older brothers best friend” “the not stunningly beautiful girl with the handsome guy” and I love a tortured hero (like Monica). I don’t know I guess just the thought that they can be redeemed by love makes me melt, LOL!

What are you reading now? A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare

Hey MindyLu! You cracked me up with the.....I remember when I was a kid I wanted to be a doctor more specificially I wanted to be the official orthopedic surgeon for the Atlanta Braves. What happened with that dream you ask? Well I started watching something called the Discovery Channel and realized I could never be a doctor, LOL! So those dreams were crushed.. LOL!!!

We share a lot of the same authors that we love to read! Also, you have a few in there that I've NEVER read! Tessa Dare being one of them! Eeeek!

What's your favorite make up brand? I'm thinking of getting a few MAC eye shadows to update my look... Wish me luck! I was going to stop at the MAC counter the other day, but WOW they were PACKED! I figure I'll probably have to go on my lunch break or wait until AFTER Christmas. LOL!!!

Well, since you like to bake, you need to share a few of your most requested recipes under the "EVERYTHING" Recipes tab! I love to bake as well, but mostly I LOOOVE to EAT those baked goods! ;-)

Well I only own 3 MAC shadows but have a HUGE trunk full of makeup. The 3 I have are awesome they are Mulch, Blanc Type and Mythology. I've found myself watching lots of YouTube how to videos on makeup. I was very upset I didn't get the MAC Wonder Woman kits being as how I love MAC and Wonder Woman!! If you want I can share some of my favorite gurus and maybe even a pic *gulp* of my collection of makeup!!

I'll have to dig up my recipes and get some on there. By far my most requested is cheesecake.

Hi! I'm 44 years old and I have been married for 24 years and am mother of 2 daughters. One in college and one in middle school. I love traveling, spending time with my family, reading, cooking, gardening, and needlework. I am the Marketing Director for a hospital in North Louisiana, and I've been in this field for about 12 years. I love, love, love my job.


The summer of my 12th year I was given a grocery sack full of harlequin and mills boon books and laid by the pool all summer reading. Heaven. (we didn't know then how bad that was for our skin...)I've been hooked on reading, especially romance, since then.

Nowadays I read alot of genres, but particurly love historical romance. My fav authors are Maeve Binchy, Amanda Quick, the Mary Russell Series by Laurie R King, JK Rowling's Harry Potter books, Charlaine Harris, Anne Rice, historicals by Allison Weir, Phillipa Gregory, Candice Hern, Mary Balogh, Stephanie Laurens, Louise Allen, Lisa Kleypas, Lilian Jackson Braun's Cat Who books, Stephanie Meyers, and of course EJ and JQ.

Right now, I'm reading two books. I do that alot, strange as it may sound. I'm reading Simiply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh and The Gardner Heist by Ulrich Boser. My preferred method is via Kindle.

I'm new to Good Reads and am excited about being in this group. Debbie


reply | flag*

Welcome, Debbie! Glad you chimed in:)

Hello Debbie. Hope you have fun!

Hey Debbie!

I've noticed a lot of people reading two books! Me, nope I can't focus on two stories at once! Lol! I usually get totally sucked into what I'm reading, so I stick to one at a time!

WELCOME!

A belated welcome, Debbie. I'm usually reading more than one book at once, although they are usually in different genres.

Sorry for the late hello Debbie!! I used to only read one book at a time but recently decided in order to get my TBR pile knocked down a peg or two I might need to read two (really I would need to read 12 books at a time) at a time!!

Hello! My name is Jessica Pike. I'm recently married, 25 years old. Have been an avid bookworm much of my life and a lover of romance for just as long. In fact, that love is so great that I have done some writing of my own... does it count if that writing is done in the dark, unseen spaces of a computer??

How did you get started reading romance books? I only remember being given a romance novel by a friend my age. I must have been 14 or 15 years old. It was Jude Deveraux's Remembrance and it devastated me. I couldn't go back after reading this novel.

Who are your favorite authors? The obvious are Eloisa James and JQ but I have come to love Laura Lee Guhrke and Sabrina Jeffries. I still read Deveraux every now again (but I'll admit her old stuff is still my favorite). I read a lot of Lisa Kleypas and Julia London. Then there's those surprises like Elizabeth Hoyt's most recent historical series and Kieran Kramer and Victoria Alexander.

Do you have a favorite storyline? I do so enjoy the innocent virgin and dark, brooding hero but it needs to be the right balance to be pulled off. I think of Something Wonderful by Judith McNaught- those characters were brilliant. Really, anything with a dark, wounded hero grabs me since it's much lovelier to have the hero be saved.

What are you reading now? For romance? I'm re-reading Romancing Mr Bridgerton in preparation for these 2nd epilogues! After that, there is a LLG novel calling my name as I wait for the The Lady Most Willing.

Hi Jessica! Welcome to the group!

I know what you mean about Jude Deveraux! "A Knight in Shining Armor" left me heart broken.... It's still one of my favorite romances ever, but I still wish for a different ending. I get what she was doing, but still.... Nicholas.... Sniffle sniffle. ;)

Just like you, I too love the dark, brooding, wounded hero! I must say, they are my favorite!

Anyway, I'd better get back to work! Lol!

Oh, and writing in the dark unseen spaces of the computer definitely count in my book! :)

Wellcome to the group. Some of your favorite authors are mine as well :)

Have fun :P

Welcome, Jessica! Lots of familiar names on your favorites list:) And any kind of writing counts. Every published writer starts out somewhere!

I've read your book Manda and found it lovely. Thanks for welcoming me!

Jessica wrote: "I've read your book Manda and found it lovely. Thanks for welcoming me!"

Oh, cool! Thanks, Jessica:)

Welcome everyone! Join in the fun and let us know what you're reading. The Monday Puzzlers are fun, too. I've read books I never would have looked twice at just because someone posted an interesting passage on the Monday Puzzler. It's great. :)

Thank you ladies for accepting me in your group :)
I heard about you through Eloisa James' FB Fan page.
I will introduce myself more extensible at a future time, right now I'm getting ready to go to sleep because I have work tonight :( But, I can't wait to come here for a longer visit.
I wish you all a very Happy New Year, see you soon.

Hi, Delia! Welcome to our group! Happy New Year to you as well!

Greetings
I'm June. I'm form Indonesia (its somewhere near Australia, if you're wondering, and well-known for exotic Bali).I love Julia Quinn and histrorical romance in general. I'll tell you more later. Just want to say hi for all the lovely people in this group :)

Hi All! I'm PJ. I joined the EJ bulletin board about a month after it went live (pre-JQ) and will be forever grateful for all the wonderful friends I met there and all the fantastic authors to whom we were introduced. I've been here since Manda started the group but haven't had much time to comment over the past year. Hoping to reverse that in 2013! I enjoy romance in all sub-genres though historical and romantic suspense (with a few select contemporary authors) are my favorites.

A friend and I run a blog/review site called The Romance Dish. We have a lot of fun sharing our love of romance...and giving away a lot of books! Manda will be guesting with us later this month as will Teresa Medeiros and Sarah MacLean. http://theromancedish.com

When I'm not reading, I enjoy photography, cooking, and having fun with my two dogs who graciously put up with my love of books...except when it's dinner time. ;-)

Hi, June! And welcome to our group!

Hey, PJ! The Romance Dish is one of my favorite websites to visit! I love the "Coming Soon" feature y'all do!!!! There are several books on the February list that I cannot wait to read!!!! Look forward to your posts here!

Hi, I'm Christy. I'm a 36 year old mom of four. I've been reading historical romance since I found that section of the library when I was 12.

I love to read, mainly historical romance, historical fiction (not necessarily romance) and some YA.

Hi, Christy! Welcome to the group!

Hello all I am Vash from India I love reading historical fiction its one of my favorite genre and my favorite historical fiction Authors are JQ (Of course),Judith Mcnaught and Olivia Parker and many more. But i haven't read any Eloisa James books but i would love to :)

Hi Vash! Welcome to the group! You really should try Eloisa James! She writes wonderful stories! I used to read everything Judith McNaught released, Does she have anything new????

Hi Everyone my name is Jen and I do love Historical romance novels. I already have 3 books of Eloisa James in my collection of 200 plus historical romances. Unfortunately, I have not read any of Julia Quinn's books but its only because I have not yet found any of her books on sale :-) my other favorite writers would also include Mary Balogh, Elizabeth Boyle and Stephanie Laurens. It's great to be part of this group.

Hi Jennifer! I'm the opposite I actually started with Julia Quinn and she is by far my favorite, I'd be curious to see what you think once you read her. I recently added Eloisa J and Elizabeth Boyle books to my collection. I'm also a big fan of Mary Balogh and Elizabeth Holt.

Monica wrote: "Hi Vash! Welcome to the group! You really should try Eloisa James! She writes wonderful stories! I used to read everything Judith McNaught released, Does she have anything new????"

Thanks Monica :)!! As of now there is no new book from Judith McNaught :( but I hope she writes one soon!! Hey can you suggest me a book by Eloisa James to start with.

Welcome, Jen! You're in for such a treat wen you do start reading JQ!

Hi, Amber!

Vash, gosh, I love just about all of her books... I started with her first book released, which was

However, any series you start with will be fantastic!!

Hello All
My name is Kim form New Jersey and I have an insatiable appetite for reading. It use to be that I would carry 1 or 2 books at a time with me now I just carry my whole library with me thanks to my Kindle. I started my historical romance infatuation with Julia London books and quickly branched out from there. I am looking forward to this reading challenge, and I am even going to mention the idea of this to my book group. Thanks for welcoming me

Hi Kim and welcome! Don't ya just love your Kindle?! I know I do mine! Lol! I can't remember if I've ever read anything by Julia London... I'm pretty sure I've got one of her books in my TBR pile, I'll have to check that out when I get home!

Hi my name is Kathleen and I live in the sunshine state. I am a real estate appraiser and avid reader. I love romance and am partial to historical. I literally became addicted to Julia Quinn and Eloisa James’ books through the Bridgerton and Essex sisters series’ respectively and haven’t looked back. Thanks for welcoming me to this great group and look forward to the reading challenge.

Hi, I'm Katie. I'm an Eloisa Ambassador and followed a link here from that group. I love to read romance, mostly historical. I also read some fantasy, and some cozy crime (plus my cookbooks!)

Monica wrote: "Hi Kim and welcome! Don't ya just love your Kindle?! I know I do mine! Lol! I can't remember if I've ever read anything by Julia London... I'm pretty sure I've got one of her books in my TBR p..."

Monica, Check out her Rogues of Regent street series, good read. I am actually putting my list together right now I kind of have two going: A historical romance list and then a contemporary list. Sigh so many books to read so few minutes in which to read them......

Wow! So many new members! Welcome, ladies:) It's so fun to see how we all got to our love of JQ and EJ.

Don't remember if I said it above, but my first Eloisa James was one I picked up at Books a Million--I even remember what shelf I got it from (and it's been several years ago). It was Midnight Pleasures and I was an instant fangirl. With JQ it started with Splendid when I was a senior in college and I was so jealous because JQ was my age but was already getting published.

Feel free to jump in to any of the conversations around the group. We do a "Monday Puzzler" once a week where we try to guess which book the posted passage came from (don't guess in the comments though or it ruins it for everyone) and we also do a "What We're Reading" thread every week.

Welcome aboard!

Thanks Monica will start from that book.

Thanks Manda for the warm welcome :) I just started Splendidby Julia Quinn yesterday.

Hi all I'm Lyndsay and I'm from England. Found this group after Eloisa James posted about the reading challenge on facebook and I thought it sounded a fun idea. My first historical romance was The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn. I found it in my local library and must have picked it up about 5 times and put it back before I decided to try it. I loved it and my historical romance addiction was born! I've read everything by Julia Quinn and Eloisa James (in fact I had a bit of an Eloisa kick after Christmas and reread The Duchess Quartet, Desperate Duchesses and Essex Sisters series) I've also been introduced to Liz Carlyle who is on my auto buy list

Welcome, Kathleen, Katie and Lyndsay!

Speaking about our first books by EJ and JQ. As I stated above, my first Eloisa James book was, Potent Pleasures, and my Julia Quinn book was, Splendid!

I used to work at "Waldenbooks" years and years ago... We received an ARC of Potent Pleasures, and I grabbed it! It was definitely love at first read for me. I also remember when after reading Splendid, I emailed Julia Quinn to let her know how much I loved the book. She was so sweet, and emailed me back to thank me. I've always been a fan of these two fabulous authors! Happy Reading!

Hello to all a fine group of biblioholics we are.

Lol! Hello, Susan! We are fine, aren't we?!