Casey’s Literary Rants

Casey Literary RantsIn which I rant about books for the January NAC Mini Challenge

It’s 2012 and do you know what that means? It means it is time for a new New Author Challenge! Yippee! This will be my first NAC with LE and I’m excited (if you couldn’t tell). I’m not sure how different this year is going to be from the previous years, except that at the beginning of each month I will be ranting about the mini challenge and offering you several suggestions.

Since this month’s challenge was simply new-to-you authors, I listed a few books that I read years ago that aren’t as commonly known, a few books by authors I’ve never read before and the books I plan on reading for this month’s challenge.

Authors/Books I’ve read before

It’s rather obvious that I spend most of my time reading, and have been doing so for years. So it is needlessly to say that I’ve read hundreds of books. Picking a short few was hard, but I managed. I picked books that have been out for at least five years and probably got over looked when they were published. But I loved and adored every single one of them.

Hex and the Single Girl by Valerie Frankel. This was a short and sweet, cute and funny book. It was like chick-lit met paranormal romance but there was only a little bit of paranormal/magic to it. I remember the plot being easy to follow and the characters made me giggle insanely. Plus there is that cute little frog sticking his head out of the purse on the cover. What’s not to love?

What Do You Say to a Naked Elf? by Cheryl Sterling. Maybe five or six years ago, I was wondering around the library when I just so happened to notice this book sitting on a cart. I picked it up simply because of the title. I mean, what do you say to a naked elf? I want to know! While it didn’t really answer my burning question, What Do You Say to a Naked Elf was an adorable, funny, sexy book. (It’s been so long since I’ve read it that I barely remember the plot at all. Heck, I don’t even remember the naked elf! I think this means I’m either losing my mind or it’s time for me to reread it. Maybe both.) Anyway, while I was looking up Cheryl Sterling earlier I discovered that she’s self-published a few other books, which I am SO going to read. They are: Robert’s Rules Undone and The Apprentice Fairy Godmother.

Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson. I was enchanted by Enchanted, Inc. from the first sentence. If Lord of the Rings made a baby with Chick-Lit, it would be this Katie Chandler series by Shanna Swendson. A sexy, nerdy wizard, Merlin himself, dragons, dasterdly villains and Katie, a small town girl trying to make a life in New York. I remember literally tearing through the entire series, wanting more, more, more! At the end of the fourth book, Don’t Hex with Texas, I was ready to see what would happen next because that was not a real ending. (It was fake, I tell you, fake! Well, not really fake but very open-ended.) That’s when I found out that the publishers dropped the series even though Shanna Swendson had already started writing the fifth book (and I think planned on a sixth, if not more. Maybe). But it can’t be over, it just can’t!

Dead End Dating by Kimberly Raye. The same thing happened to Kimberly Raye’s Dead End Dating series. Ending before it was truly over, I mean. Lil’s world was one of the most unique vampire worlds I’ve ever read and Lil herself was downright hysterical. Selfish, somewhat spoiled, Lil is a secret, helpless romantic (though the idea of love/romance is absurd in this vampire world. No one loves another person, least of all their husband or wife) so she goes off to pursue her dream of owning/running a matchmaking service. Her antics at trying to be responsible while hiding it from all the other vampires had me laughing long into the night. The only problem with this series was that it too ended before it was time. (Curse you publishers, curse you!)

Crazy Hot by Tara Janzen. Bad boys turned good, well, at least now they’re working for the government, though they still tend to bend the rules. Crazy Hot is the first book in the Steele Street series and one of the first romantic suspense books I ever read. I was hooked from the first page. Lots of action, fast cars, even faster car chase scenes, hot sexual tension and even hotter sex – what’s not to love about it?

Date Me Baby, One More Time by Stephanie Rowe. Out of all the books I’ve read, this is possibly my favorite book. Ever. I know I’m always saying that I can’t pick one favorite book but Date Me Baby, One More Timethe first book in Rowe’s Immortally Sexy series, comes really, really close. It has action, thick sexual tension, well developed characters, Satan (my favorite villain EVER) and it made me laugh so hard I may have ruptured my spleen. (Not really. It just felt like that because I literally could not stop laughing while I read it.) Stephanie Rowe has some other really amazing books out there, in fact the third book in her Soulfire series came out yesterday: Hold Me If You Can. (And like the rest of her Immortally Sexy series – which ended way too soon. But there is good news! Because yesterday, on her Facebook page, she was talking about revisiting this series. Which means more books with Satan! YAY!!!) No matter what Stephanie Rowe book you pick up, you will not be disappointed.

And, last but not least, for all you Star Wars nerds, you might want to try reading The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Men I’ve Dated by Shane Bolks. It’s a contemporary romance/chick-lit but Rory is such a geek – constantly comparing her life to Star Wars and using Yoda’s advice to Luke as her own personal “bible” so to speak. I read it several years ago, so the details/entire plot are a little fuzzy to me but I do remember laughing, rooting for Rory and getting each and every Star Wars reference. (I think that means I’m officially a Star Wars nerd.)

Authors/Books that I want to read

My To Be Read pile is quite possibly double the size of my Read pile. It doesn’t take a lot for me to want to read a book (the cover, the title, someone telling me it’s awesome, etc.). So here is a microscopic look into my TBR pile.

My Life As A White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland. I’ve heard a bunch of good things about Diana Rowland, but I’ve never actually read anything by her. Although all her books look interesting I picked this one because with a title like My Life As A White Trash Zombie who wouldn’t want to read that? Seriously. Is there anyone out there who doesn’t want to read that book based on the title alone?

Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas. After one of my rants waaaaaay back in August, Melissa suggested that I read Mine Till Midnight. (See, I haven’t forgotten Melissa!) I’ve been meaning to read it since then but it kept getting pushed around in my TBR pile. But I will read it. Soon. Eventually. Hopefully this year.

Rock Hard by Olivia Cunning. There are very few things sexier than a rock star. Very few. Jackie was wonderful enough to give me her copy of Rock Hard and I have a feeling I’m going to devour it in one sitting. And possibly need to drink ice water while reading it.

Cover Me by Catherine Mann. When I look for a new book to read, one of the first things I look at are the other authors who’ve read/reviewed the book. (They’re small blurbs, usually on the front/back cover and inside on the first couple of pages or so.)  Well, on the front cover of Cover Me is a blurb from Sherrilyn Kenyon, and you know how much I love Sherrilyn Kenyon. So yeah, that’s why I’m going to read Cover Me. (The nearly naked man on the cover didn’t hurt either.)

Captured by the Highlander by Julianne MacLean. There is just something about a man in a kilt that makes me want to read a book. (You know, since I won’t be traveling to Scotland in the near future I have to get my men-in-kilts fix from books.) There’s no burning reason as for why I want to read Captured by the Highlander (except for the men-in-a-kilt aspect) but it seems like it could be a good book. Love, vengeance, Highland warriors – can’t go too wrong with that.

Dark Embers by Tessa Adams. Take a peek at the cover. Go on, just one little glance. That’s why I want to read Dark Embers. Don’t know/don’t care what it’s about but I’m going to keep on drooling over those yummy, delicious abs.

And finally, The Butcher of Beverly Hills by Jennifer Colt. This book has been sitting on my shelf for at least five years, waiting for me to pick it up and read it. Yep, and now I don’t even remember why I bought it. Probably because it looks like it will be a hysterical murder mystery. Or maybe because the main characters are two totally opposite twin sisters trying to solve a murder. Ah, sisters. More like to kill each other than solve a murder and I speak from experience. (Not that my sisters and I have ever tried to solve a murder in real life, but you get what I’m saying.)

Books I plan on reading for this challenge

I just finished reading Dark Lover by J.R. Ward – for the first time. Yes, J.R. Ward is a new-to-me author and I’m absolutely kicking myself for not reading earlier! (I’m reading it for the BDB Read-Along, which kicks off Friday, January 6th and you can read all my “Why oh why didn’t I read this sooner?!” ranting then.) Anyway, out of all the gazillions of books I want/need to read the five I’m picking are: Dark Lover by J.R. Ward, When Blood Calls by J.K. Beck, Wild Thing by Robin Kaye, Awaken the Highland Warrior by Anita Clenney and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (which I’m reading for the Outlander Reading Challenge and I’m pretty sure it’s going to turn into another “Why oh why didn’t I read this sooner?! series) for this mini challenge.

Ways to find other books

If you’re To Be Read pile is rather small, or you simply can’t think of any new-to-you authors for whatever reason, fret not for I have other ways you can discover books. You can peruse Amazon or GoodReads (people make lists of their favorite books on both of those sites all the time). You could dig through LE’s old reviews or author appearances (there is some good stuff in there, if I do say so). Or (and this one is my favorite) you could go to your local library/book store and walk up and down the aisles, just looking for new books. I used to do that all the time – it’s how I found every single one of the books I read and listed earlier. (Now I do it because I have to. Ah, the perks of working at a library.) If none of that works, then by all means, come talk to me. I am more than happy to talk about books with anyone, especially when it means finding new books in return. Leave a comment here, find me on GoodReads or talk to me on Twitter.

On the other side, if you have some favorite books that you don’t think most people know about, tell us! Leave a comment here telling us about it, ’cause you know everyone needs a bigger TBR pile.

About Casey 203 Articles
Casey is the founder of Heart Full of Ink, Director at Reading Until Dawn Con, and a full time cheese addict. She's been ranting and reviewing for Literary Escapism since 2010, and is part of the trio #3Bloggers1Series podcast. When she's not reading, looking for new books, or stalking authors online (waiting for more books), she can be found binge watching Netflix. But really, her life is all about DEM BOOKS!