Inspired by my last thread - what were your most and least successful "blind" gloms? That is, buying up an author without really knowing if you like her or not?

I once bought almost all of Madeline Hunter's backlist from the UBS based on the single book of hers I'd read and that was a total win.  On the other hand, I also bought up a whole bunch of Jillian Hunter and that was a bust.

Okay--I didn't buy these books except for All through the Night, but I collected all of Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooter series from PBS. At the time I didn't have a huge amount of credtis and I wasn't sure I'd love her books but I used up credits on her anyway. Romantic suspense isn't my thing, I thought. Whoa-am I ever glad I discovered her! So that was definitely my success story :)

On the successful side:  Maggie Osborne, Suzanne Enoch, Judith Ivory (collected everything of hers from ebay after reading a couple of reviews:P), and Candice Proctor (got them the same way).

NOT successful: Sabrina Jeffries & Victoria Alexander.

The jury is still out on everything else.  I'm looking forward to the day when I actually read one of these Sandra Hill books:P

Absolutely not successful - Stephanie Laurens, I bought all of her Cynster books because they were raved about on other forums - I hated them all but forced myself to read the whole series. I haven't done that since, I get the first book and if I like it I then get the rest of the series. Also, now I don't force myself to read a book if I don't like it.

successful gloms -

In Death series by J. D. Robb.,

Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books,

Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series.

BEST

I just got 4 of the Love at Stake series by Kerrelyn Sparks from Ellen and after 3 books they're winners with me!

Marsha Canham - only read 'Through a Dark Mist' but it was a winner and I'm optimistic about her others

Nora Roberts - I read a few of hers then bought them in bulk seems like and the one sthat didn't appeal to me at the time are starting to appeal to me as i've gotten more into paranormal

Jayne Ann Krentz  I bought this author's stuff like crazy and have pretty much liked all, esp the older ones but haven't kept up with them

Janet Evanovich - turned out to be a good series and also like her other books

Janet Chapman - ordered every book of hers in the sytem taking a chance and so far I like them. can't say they're overwhelmingly outstanding but somehow they suit me with just the amount of humor, sex, and drama and I like the  Maine setting

ETA: Charlaine Harris - Shakespeare series. while reading the 1st book I was seriously doubting my purchase but am glad I read them

WORST

The Flower Shop mysteries by Kate Collins - was stupid and ordered 4 or 5 of these at once and struggled through 2 and hate the main character - gag.

Catherine Coulter - FBI series. this is probably a great series but for those of you who know me and my lack of courage :-( know how I struggled to get through the first 2 of these!

I'm sure there are more I'll think of!

I bought a number of Janet Evanovich boooks, the Stephanie Plum series, I was told by a couple people I would like them. I have to say I was NOT impressed. For some reason I just couldn't get into them.

A friend gave me the book Remember When by JD Robb, it was fantastic, so I went to the library to see if she had other books out (not realizing at the time that it was Nora Roberts), and I checked out 2, read them in one night, I was HOOKED!!!!! I now own 27 of her Eve Dallas series and I am working on the others.

As for Nora Roberts other books, I am not big on her regular books, but I do like some of the trilogies like the Three Sisters, Key Trilogy, Born In trilogy, Dream trilogy and the Blue Dahlia trilogy.

Best: "Cherish" by Catherine Anderson, " The Love of a Lawman" by Anna Jeffrey,  The Virgin River Series by Robyn Carr

Worst: "Silken Savage" by Catherine Hart and anything by Nora Hess

found some more!

tara janzen was a glom that worked for me at least through book 4..someone on romantic times told me the first 2 loose books aren't like the 5th a nd 6th book in that series so I may give them a try eventually esp since I have them somewhere in one of the tbr piles... Anne Stuart is anther glom that was successful though the 'ice' series I'm having to read when I'm in the mood for the 'coldness' LOL!

I haven't been able to finish a Christina Dodd book and I stil have quite a few on my shelf. 

I also had a hard time with Tara Janzen.  I only read the first two books and then decided to trade the rest. 

I'm also struggling with Amy J. Fetzer, but I'm still going to give her books a try.

I would say that I was happy with the Deadly series by Brenda Joyce.  I actually enjoyed that one.

Years ago, I bought almost all of Linda Howard's books after I read Mr. Perfect and I ended up keeping everything after reading them.  She was a winner for me. 

I used to collect Nora Roberts, but I have decided to finally let her go.

Best:  Linda Howard, Linda Lael Miller, Robyn Carr, Sandra Hill

Worst:  Lynn Viehl Darkyn series---just could not get into them at all

Best: Julia Quinn and her Bridgerton series

Worst - Cheryl Holt. Have not liked any of her books. ETA - Katie Collins and her flowers shop series. I did not buy any of the books. Just borrowed from the library but returned them all after book 2.

I'm now officially adding Elizabeth Boyle to my list of worst gloms - ugh!  I got the recommendation on Brazen Angel from the AAR review: www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl and I got it from a WL offer a few months back, but I didn't start on it because the WL on Boyle's entire Brazen trilogy appeared to be pretty slow moving, and I'm one of those people who hates waiting on sequels.  I finally got an offer on the second & third books just the other day, so I went ahead and read this one today - yes, all of it - and all I can say is BLEH.  This book is completely absurd.  This thing has one of the most unbelieveable plots I've ever seen, and the heroine is annoying on a level that makes TSTL hall of famers look like saints.  Now I have these other two books on the way, and I almost think it would be a waste of a perfectly good trash bag to toss them out as soon as they arrive:P  I can't believe this thing got a DIK review from AAR.  What an eye-roller.  The real shame about it is that it could have been very good, had the author not made the plot so convoluted & overcomplicated.  It gave me a headache.  The opening line from the TRR review (it got a 4 heart rating there) says: "Brazen Angel is a tightly-written, complex, engrossing historical set during the French Revolution, offering readers a twist on the Scarlet Pimpernel theme. If this first book is any indication of her talent, Elizabeth Boyle is going places."  IMO, that's almost a better description of everything it should have been and wasn't:P  Nothing "tight" about it, as far as I could see; it was all over the place.  Anyway, I'd say this one about does it for me with Elizabeth Boyle.  I've not exactly seen a lot of gushing praise for her writing, but I had seen enough good reviews & commentary to think she'd be worth checking out.  Suffice it to say, she wasn't:P 

Best:  Meg Cabot, Lisa Kleypas, Deirdre Martin

Worst:  Julia Quinn,Suzanne Enoch

Woah, Diana, a negative for Julia Quinn! You and me should form a club. ;-) I do like some of her books, but generally in *spite* of the humor everyone else likes so much, not because of it.

Susanna - I'm so there with you regarding the Kate Collins flower shop series. I didn't order them all (thank God!) just got them from the library and didn't throw them against the wall because they weren't mine.

Most Successful:

Julie Garwood - I collected a bunch of her books on a deal here at PBS and waited forever before starting them. Once I started on them I was very glad to have them on my shelf. I have to say that someone needs to rewrite the synopsis on the back of her books, because they don't make the books sound as interesting and fun as they are.

Catherine Anderson - I picked up Phantom Waltz based on recommendations here, but before I even read it I found and ordered Cherish, Annie's Song, and My Sunshine, and Summer Breeze. After reading Phantom Waltz I've picked up any of hers I've come across and I've got probably 14 of her's on my shelf now (not that I've read them all yet).

Least Successful:

Stephanie Laurens - my expectations were just way too high for her, I guess. How a hero named "Devil" can be one of the most boring I've ever read in a book I don't know...

Tara Janzen (still trying to decide if I'll try another or just trade them). I liked her book RIver of Eden written under the name Glenna McReynolds so I bought up nearly all the Crazy books but had a hard time getting through the first one. For me, too much of the story focused on secondary characters and not enough on the main couple. I usually lose interest in a romance when that happens.

I don't think I've ever done that.. I might've ordered a whole bunch after reading 1 of the authors book though, exception to this is the Lorraine Heath ( you guys are such bad influence ~!) which I havent even picked up yet.

But lets see, I'd enjoyed some of Heather Graham books in the past, she may not be the best writer out there but she's easy to read and never absolutely bad.  So anyways, I heard about a series of hers, Florida Civil War, and end up ordering most of it.. I think 4-6 books. 

First book that got to me from that series was Rebel, after reading it, I've boycotted the whole series and refuse to even look at it.  My reason being, I hate cheating hero's, but ironically, I do like love triangles... this author must've been on something when she wrote this because she couldn't decide who the hero really loved, the heroine or the other woman, both of which were very likable characters.  I swear to you, he truly loved both of them equally, truly.., it was so strange.  

@@@ Edited to add: SPOILER below @@@

The book reads like this, hero already loved the other woman when the book starts, I mean very, truly, passionately in love ( but hey, he's had a widow stashed off somewhere for sex)... then he goes off to visit his family and meets the heroine, whom he falls in love and lusts with instantly, but hey what about his other love?  Who knows?  Out of sight, out of mind apparently.  Somehow, hero ends up compromising the heroine and ends up having to marry her, bitterly, because all of sudden he remembers his true love he left behind!  After spending a passionate night, filled with lust without a thought to his other true love. he leaves his wife ( heroine),  then spends months and months with this other woman (he never sleeps with her, but does lust after her, maybe shared a kiss),  making calf eyes at her because he's so heart broken, rest of the book is filled with him doing the same thing to these two poor women, loving one when one of them were in front of him, and forgetting the other....Then of course, all of sudden, 10 pages from the end, he realizes he really loves the heroine slightly more.  Can I tell you how stupid this book was?  LOL... anyways, if you ever come across this  book, run away...

Patricia Rice books... read  1, liked it a lot so ordered like 12 others.... I can't even finish 1 yet.

Edith Layton  books, read 3, liked them, ordered 18 on eBay...not sure what will happen when I get my hands on it.

Sandra Brown... read 1, ordered ALL of her books, I didn't leave my room for days unless I had to go to work... loved, loved, loved her stuff.

I should have added Sandra Brown to my list too. I read Two Alone and then ordered everything I could get my hands on (I found some really good deals for her on PBS, like 5 for 1). I've really liked everything I've read of hers even though they haven't all made the keeper shelf they have all been entertaining reads. I still have like 20 unread books by her on my shelf. Mostly her shorter ones that were originally written as series romances under her different pen names.

Ugh, Tina.  That book sounds horrid.  Burn it as a public service:P

That book and the whole series.   I don't feel like seeing that hero again in other books, no thanks.  Apparantly, "the other woman" has her own book in the Surrender, which I do have but refuse to touch, they're all collecting dust on my shelf at the moment.   Oh God, just had a thought,  what if that hero starts doubting himself again in the new book and what if she does the same thing to her new love interest.... just makes me shudder thinking about it lol. 

I read one Jillian Hunter, then ordered a bunch more.  I liked the second almost as much as the first!

Tina -

"Oh God, just had a thought,  what if that hero starts doubting himself again in the new book and what if she does the same thing to her new love interest.... just makes me shudder thinking about it lol."

Lol! I was just thinking the same thing.  He could be wiffle-waffling his way through the entire remainder of the series, maybe even sleeping and "falling in love" *snort* with every single one of the heroines.  Like, their moms, sisters, cousins, aunties & grannies too:P

Worse:

I agree with Rose Mary on Janet Evanovich. My mom loves them and we usually have the same taste. I couldn't finish it.

Gena Showalter I just can get into either.

I used to read all of Catherine Coulter books years ago and loved the historicals. I read the first book of the FBI series and thought it was OK. I took the next one out of the library and hated it. Just plain old stupid bantering back and forth.

Best:

Catherine Anderson- I've read one of the books in her series (can't remember the name now) and am trying to get all the rest so that I can read them at one time.

Linda Winstead Jones- I ordered the first book of her Witch triology simply because I loved the cover. I've read the other three and found out the story continues with their children. I'm going back for more.

Shanna Swendson- loved, loved Enchanted Inc.

Robyn Carr- anything by her. A Virgin River Christmas is on its way to me now. I will drop whatever I am reading to open that up.

Shana Abe- I read a review somewhere and thought I'd try it.Since then, I have read everyone of her books and they are on my keeper shelf (which is really saying something because I usually don't keep books).

I would say some of the worst would be...

1. Cassie Edwards---Read a few books when I was a teen with romance and indians and loved them...thought they were Edwards so as an adult I bought a dozen or so. Found out later the author was Janelle Taylor not Edwards. Tried reading an Edwards last year and it was so horrible I refused to pick it up again after reading almost half of it.
2. Jo Beverly--Highly recomended...I bought 5 or 6. Tried reading one a few months ago (An Arranged Marriage) and after 50 pages was so appalled with the beginning I have yet to pick it back up (who knows...it might have turned out to be a good book but I was so turned off by the first part of the book I couldn't continue.

 I would have to say that I learned my lesson since joining PBS (credits are too precious)  that I try the first one or two and if I like them I get the rest. I do have many many that I have yet to try based on book groups and their recommendations. Many of which I did buy several without trying first. I just haven't got around to trying them....these are...

1. Vicky Lewis Thompson's Nerd series
2. Tara Janzen's Crazy
3. Stobie Piel
4. Dara Joy
5. Heather Graham
6. Catherine Coulter
7. Suzanne Brockmann

The best of the ones I tried then bought the rest are....

1. Sandra Brown
2. Nora Roberts
3. Christine Feehan
4. Sherrilyn Kenyon
5. Laurell K Hamilton
6. Kelley Armstrong
7. Johanna Lindsey
8. Julia Quinn
9. Julie Garwood

I am sure there are many more but I can't think of them off the top of my head. This actually goes for all categories.