LIke it says in the subject line.  Rewards for helping me find the next great romance.  Nix on it if I've read it already...

Here's what I like:

Genre being romance, of course.  My current fav is historical.

Favorite writers: Marsha Canham (have all of her books), Loretta Chase, Connie Brockway, Candace Proctor, Judith Ivory,  Mary Balogh, Lisa Kleypas & Laura Kinsale - all of which I've read pretty extensively.  I *like* Liz Carlyle, Jo Beverly, Karen Ranney, Julia Quinn, Jill Barnett, Adele Ashworth,  Sabrina Jeffries & , more.... I just finished the "Cad Series" by Edith Layton, and while I know many people loved it - it bored me to tears.  I found the dialogue absurdly chatty, and think all of the books were  ploddingly slow.

Was going to start on Charming the Prince by Theresa Medeiros, but I'm suddenly unsure I'm in the mood for funny kids and neglectful royal dads.  I think I want Judith Ivory/Connie Brockway style storylines - in other words something like Untie My Heart or The Bridal Season (clever & complex... witty... Possibly even a little on the dark side)  It should definitely  be HOT (R rated), and engrossing - as long as it doesn't putter out toward the end.  I could be just looking for something I won't recognize til I read it. I have dozens I need to read, I just can't seem to get excited about any of them - worrying about plain old crackers...

Anyhoo, recommend something you like & think might fit the bill, and if it's my next keeper, I'll send you something you want from my own books, or send a copy of my pick for your next keeper, or buddy you a credit & you can thumb your nose at my taste & buy whatever you want:)

Maybe we could start a new tradition of picking keepers for each other - turn it into some sort of contest:P

Oooh,

A little dark, still witty, and sexy...how about Elizabeth Hoyt's the Serpent Prince or (in case you've read that!) Julie Anne Long's The Secret to Seduction?

Your favorite author list looks alot like mine and these were two of my favorite reads of 2007.

Have you read any Adele Ashworth?  I recommend Duke of Sin and Duke of Scandal.  Also, Galen Foley's Lord of Fire.

Wasn't so impressed with the Serpent Price; Raven Prince and Leopard Prince are MUCH better IMHO.

Have you read Julie Garwood (older Julie Garwood that is)?  Like The Lyon's Lady or Guardian Angel or The Secret or Ransom?

How about Stephanie Laurens' Cynster Series of books?  Or Jane Feather's V Series?

Let's see...

I've read all of those except the Julie Anne Long and the Elizabeth Hoyt.  Looked both up, and I realized (what I should have known) the Julie Anne Long is part of a trilogy, and I've read book two, Ways to be Wicked.  It was good, but not great, like something was missing - duh!  Which means I probably should have read Beauty and the Spy and The Secret to Seduction...  I'll put both on my list, and I'm going to try to find the Elizabeth Hoyt today.  Don't think I've read her before.  I'll get back to you & let you know how it works out, Samantha.  Thanks:) 

Laurens' Cynster books, I've read most of, and except for Devil's Bride & a handful of notables, I consider her mostly meat & potatoes.  Like most everything Laurens writes (and this is strictly my opinion), you're guaranteed a certain level of quality, but it's all pretty much standard fare - nothing exceptional.  I really liked Galen Foley's Lord of Fire.  The only thing that kept it from being a keeper was the fact that everything else in that series stinks.  That book is almost a sore spot with me - I bought the rest of the series new, because Lord of Fire was so good, and was so irritated, I ended up trading them all in to a used bookstore & taking a beating on the money:(  Julie Garwood I'll never again do in this lifetime.  God bless everyone who is so faithful to her, but she makes my teeth hurt.

Every romance reader is nitpicky in their own way, and they like what they like.  I have a hard time recommending, because what I love, somebody else is going to find only so-so.  I think I'm having that letdown after reading a blah series I had high hopes for, and I'd love to discover some buried treasure.  Like after I read The Iron Rose, and went out madly searching for everything I could find by Marsha Canham.  The same thing with Judith Ivory and The Indiscretion, Loretta Chase and Lord of Scoundrels, and Laura Kinsale and For My Lady's Heart.  I've had too much meat & potatoes recently, and I'm really dying to sink my teeth into a nice juicy steak...:P

Jude Deveraux has some really good historicals!

Sherri

I have always heard & read great things about Jude Deveraux.  The only reason I don't read her books is because the raciest sensuality ratings I've seen on any of her books are PG, and I have to have some sex in a romance novel.  It doesn't have to be fog up your glasses graphic, and there doesn't have to be a lot of it - once or twice and not extraordinarily descriptive is okay - but there has to be at least some going on in there somewhere.  It's one of my basic requirements, unfortunately - or not, as the case may be.  I used to read a lot of G-rated Victoria Holt type stuff as a teenager, but from the moment I discovered my first old-fashioned bodice ripper, I've never looked back..;)

Patricia Gaffney! _To Have and to Hold_ or _To Love and To Cherish_.  Our tastes sound fairly similar. I think you'll find her meaty.  :-)

And have you tried Madeline Hunter?

Oh, and though it's paranormal/historical, _Dream of Me_ by Lisa Cach is awesome and very hot.

I'm going to be here all day, I see. ;-) How about Jo Goodman? Her books are very sophisticated and intelligent, particuarly the later ones.

Kim, I wasn't as crazy about the second book in the Julie Anne Long trilogy as I was the 1st and the 3rd, but the third was really exceptional. The Eliazbeth Hoyt book is also part of a trilogy. I really feel that the three Hoyt books stand alone very well. The 1st two are rather light (still fun in a way that reminds me a lot of Loretta Chase, though)

And Willa is right about Gaffeny's To Have and to Hold...it's great with absolutly beautiful prose.

What about Shana Abe?  Have you read any of her books?  The Smoke Thief?  The Dream Thief?  They are a series.

Have you tried any of Catherine Anderson's historicals?  My favorite is Annie's Song, and it's not part of a series or anything.  Well, I take that back, she did write a sequel to it as a short story.  I also loved Comanche Magic, the only one of her Indian romances that I've been able to get a copy of.  If you were lucky enough to find a copy, it's great.

Also, another favorite is Beguiled by Susan Spencer Paul.  It's a Harlequin Historical, but don't let that put you off.  It's much better than the majority of those I've read.

I don't like most of Teresa Medeiros' books, but one I did enjoy was Shadows and Lace.  It's a medieval.

Have you read Linda Howard's historicals?  Angel Creek was probably my favorite.

Anyway, I hope you find some good books to read from everyone's suggestions.

I haven't actually read Beguiled yet, but my understanding is it's not at all steamy.

Second the recommendation for The Smoke Thief.  I never liked Abe before, but that one was awesome.

have you read tamara leigh's early books (her first 4 are my favorites)

Virgin Bride, Pagan Bride, Warrior Bride, Saxon Bride (historicals)

She is a Christian writer now but the early books had some steamy sex

Lol!  Lookit what I've started here..:)  All of you guys need to pick something from my shelf and PM your mailing addresses to me so I can send them.  I really appreciate the help & suggestions a lot.  Anyway, lemme see if I can respond to everybody here...

Willa - you are such a doll.  I didn't even think of Lisa Cach, but I have several - everything BUT Dream of Me, wouldn't you know it?  I'm gonna put it on the list though.  I'll probably stay with her once I start until I get through them all.  Paranormals aren't really my thing, so it's better if I do them all in a row.  I have read  Mermaid of Penperro, and liked it really well, but it's not really what I'd call a paranormal.  Jo Goodman I've been collecting too, but am missing a few here & there on series stuff, so I haven't gone too far with her.  I try to get all of a series together before I start them because I tend to read fast & don't want to wait for pesky things like payday (to buy extra PBS credits), and request acceptances, and the US mail...  I've read two of hers so far, One Forbidden Evening, and My Steadfast Heart.  I thought they were good, just not keepers.  Patricia Gaffney, I'm going to try out asap.  She's been mentioned to me before but I haven't read any of her stuff yet.  I'll see if I can order or BOB the two you guys named off here to start with.

Samantha - it figures the one out of the Long series I read is the not exceptional one..:P  I'll see if I can get my hands on the other two, and the Eliazbeth Hoyt set.  Know exactly what you mean about Loretta Chase.  The woman can write a fun little romp, and still make it evocative.

Susan - I have The Smoke Thief, and The Dream Thief is on my wish list.  I wasn't going to read the first until I had the other.  I like her books overall, but it's hard to get the out of print stuff without paying an arm and a leg, and I just treated myself to the big 3 - Adele Ashworth's My Darling Caroline, Stolen Charms, and Winter Garden - a couple of months ago (or rather my hubby did; he bought them for me for my b-day), & I should probably wait a decent interval to go out of print book crazy again.  $40 from Amazon - ack!

Angie - I just got Annie's Song in a big box of books from a friend of mine last night.  She gave me a couple hundred romances actually, and as soon as I can go through them all & check them, I'll be posting a bunch to my shelf.  I saw a lot of Christina Dodd in there, Claire Delacroix, Stephanie Laurens, Cathy Maxwell, Kat Martin, and several by Medeiros - who I've never read.  As it happens, Shadows and Lace is one of them:)  Comanche Magic is on my wishlist, and that series by Anderson is one of the ones I'll probably score from ebay before too awfully long.  Don't know anything about Linda Howard, but I'll look her up.

And seriously, all of you making the suggestions, please pick something you want from my shelf.  I have tons not posted, so there's more than enough to go around.  It actually seems silly to me that I wouldn't have everything suggested already on hand - lol.   Which is almost worse in a way.  Like being stuck in a library and not knowing what to pull off the shelf!

Kim, have you tried Anna Campbell? She's a brand new historical writer with two novels out there: Claiming the Courtesan and most recently, Untouched.  In my opinion, both are excellent, different from the usual and just a little dark. I had a hard time giving up Untouched (it was so good I thought I'd read it again), but it was wishlisted, and I like to keep books moving. -Regina

Paranormals aren't really my thing either, but I still loved _Dream of Me_ and _The Smoke Thief_. Perhaps the historical settings makes the difference. Actually, if I like it, I call it fantasy, not paranormal. ;-)

A good historical I have on my keeper shelf is Maiden of Inverness by Arnette Lamb.  Its set in Scotland and is very good!  I've read it many many times.

Sherri

Kim, I recommend Elizabeth Hoyt, also.

Jo Goodman - I haven't read her backlist yet, but the three last releases, which are a series but can be read independently.  The second is the one you read, One Forbidden Evening - good but not a keeper.  I loved the first, A Season to be Sinful, that's one's a bit darker and edgier due to the heroine's past.  The last, If His Kiss is Wicked is my at the top of my favorites of the year, definitely try that one, such a great hero, strong not yet an alpha, a strong heroine too, loved the witty dialog in this one.

I haven't read Anna Campbell's first book but just finished Untouched, another top read of the year for me, another non-alpha hero, who's been maninuplated and kept under thumbs on his estate by his guardian uncle since his teens to control his money, kind despite all that, yet strong-willed and determined in his own way, managing to keep himself sane with his intellectual pursuits. Now that's he's older, his uncle has a supposed prostitute kidnapped to keep him in control.  Very good story.

Madeline Hunter if you haven't read her - the earlier medievals, and the latest series.  (I love her voice and never miss her books, but I wouldn't recommend the regency series in between as the first read to someone, so they could sample her best.

I'll give you one more recommendation, not  yet read by more, that I'm highly anticipating loving - new author Joanna Bourne, The Spymaster's Lady.  Google and see a few reviews up at a couple of blogs, like dearauthor.com - sounds like a real winner.

I have a bunch of Johanna Lindsey that I haven't even looked at.  I haven't read her in years, but I'll take another look at her too.  I have the two Jo Goodman books, I pulled them last night and I'm going to start reading them today.  I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 500+ books altogether - maybe 200 or more I haven't read yet.  I still haven't gone through everything and made a comprehensive list, but I do have them mostly cleaned & sorted alphabetically.  I need to get a list together and update my shelf again, it's just a lot of work, and it seems like I'm still always ordering and BOB trading here - I think I'm an addict..:P.  I got two big boxes of romances at a library sale in October for $10 each, and then a friend gave me about 250 more a couple of nights ago.  It takes me weeks to sort through them, get them cleaned up and stored away - I bought a couple of sets of those big plastic rubbermaid drawers to store them in & they work great.  If you have the patience to sort through piles of books, and a basic understanding of how to clean & recondition worn & damaged books (there are a couple of how-to guides available on the net), library sales are the bomb.  I have found a boatload of rare & out of print romance novels that are listed for as much as $20-$30 on Amazon that way.

Just adding my 2 cents.  Read to have and to hold recently and I was completely underwhelmed after the good reviews I had read.  Also, I'm disappointed with Garwood' s medievals as the heros tend to be cold and distant. 

I also recommend Galen Foley, especially Lord of Fire, Lisa Kleypas Devil in Winter & it happenend one Autumn or Kinsale's Shadowheart or Flowers from the Storm. 

No free book sought, but I'd higly recommend Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne. It was released  released this week. It's a historical (France/England - time of Napoleon)

The reviews all seem to be excellent and I read it last night. Thoroughly delightful. The characters are strong a resourceful. The dialogue is excellent. And one of the best features is the "voice" she gives each character. The styles of speach and mannerisms is perfectly tuned for each character. Definitely a good read.

 Comanche Magic is on my wishlist, and that series by Anderson is one of the ones I'll probably score from ebay before too awfully long.

Just thought I would jump in here and let you all know that I think this series is about to be re-issued. I was at Anderson's site the other day and Comanche Moon has a tentative release date for May. I am guessing the others won't be far behind. Unless you are a collector and want originals, I would hold off on paying a lot on ebay for these.