Monday, July 25, 2011

Recommend Monday!

Good Monday Everyone!

Sorry I'm late. Had Blogger problems this morning, but now it seems to be working. Fingers crossed that continues.

How was your week and weekend? Did you do anything fun you want to share? What about great reads? What fabulous books are you recommending for us today? I have a recommend! Over the weekend, I read A Little Bit Wicked by Victoria Dahl and really enjoyed it. Fun, witty and different!

Last week was another eclectic kind of week for me. Lots of promo preparation. And then the inevitable and necessary staring into space. Planning what I'm going to write next is both frustrating and fun. As soon as something appears in my mind, little devious doubt demons attack with: That's silly, that's stupid, that's been done a 1000 times. Man, I hate those little creatures! (:

Did you notice that we are only 42 days away from the release of SWEET JUSTICE? Yahooooooooo! I'm so excited about that. I can't wait for you to read Seth and Honor's story. I do believe the SWEET books are my best LCR books yet (and yes, I may be a little prejudiced) but I've had several early readers tell me the same thing too. Hopefully you'll feel the same way!

With the release coming closer, I wanted to give you a heads-up that prizes and contests are coming your way. Since SWEET JUSTICE and SWEET REVENGE release so close together, I thought it'd be cool to have a giveaway everyday from September 6 (SWEET JUSTICE release) to September 27 (SWEET REVENGE release). That's more than 3 weeks of giveaways! With all the books I brought back from conference, I'm well stocked with prizes and ready to have some fun!

Did you notice the excerpt of SWEET REVENGE is now up? It's the full prologue and gives you insight not only into Jamie and Dylan's characters but also what they might be facing. Hope you'll give it a read and let me know what you think!

Now, on to something kind of serious. I need your honest feedback, either here or you can email your thoughts to christy@christyreece.com. Are you happy with Recommend Monday? I know for a few weeks I wasn't able to respond to all comments and I'm not saying that's not going to happen again. When I'm writing and on deadline, everything gets put on hold until I finish. And honestly, I figure you guys would rather me be writing...At least I hope you want me to write. (:

But do you want to continue with Recommend Monday? Though Monday is still the most visited day on this blog, our comments have slacked off considerably. For those of you who come by every week, let me say a huge THANK YOU! You've made Recommend Monday and I sincerely appreciate you. We've had so many wonderful recommendations! I love getting input and suggestions for great books, but I also want to make sure you're getting what you want. So, tell me, should we stick with Recommend Monday or do you have another suggestion? Would you want it on a different day? Would you want a chance to guest host and chat about your recommendation? What would make this blog better for you? I'm all ears! (That saying has always seemed strange to me, but you know what I mean) (:

Don't forget that tomorrow is our continuing countdown to the release of SWEET JUSTICE with our discussion of SECOND CHANCE--a favorite for many of you and the most requested LCR story, because of a certain guy named Cole. We'll start around 10:00 AM, so come on by and let's chat about Cole, Keeley and all those evil people in Fairview!

Okay, that's it for me. I'm headed to do some major thinking, dreaming and hopefully writing. And, if you'll recommend a great read for me, I might just do some reading too. So tell us, what great books are you recommending today?

33 comments:

Jane from New York said...

Hi Christy,

I am new commentor but a truly faithful reader, I have everything you have written and have pre-ordered the new "Sweet" series. I personally love Recommend Mondays. It starts my week off right! In fact, most of my reading material has come from your people out there telling what they are reading. If I might, I would like to recommend the "Crazy" and "Loose" series by Tara Janzen. The books are terrific. I don't have an e-reader but I have asked my husband for one for my birthday. I love all your comments and I hope Recommend Monday continues.

Christy Reece said...

Hey Jane! I'm so excited that you posted! And I'm thrilled you enjoy Recommend Monday. Thank you for letting me know!

Oh, Tara Janzen is fabulous, isn't she? Great recommendation!

Thank you for reading my books and bless you for pre-ordering the new ones! So glad you're looking forward to the SWEET books!

Have a great week and come back and chat often!

oklanannie said...

I ♥ Recommended Monday! No problem for me to have a guest now and then, but I don't think it's required every week. Maybe we could take suggestions for "special Monday" ideas twice a month or so. That could include guest authors, have a "featured book" day, or a day where everyone suggests a recipe, or a "Let's get to know you better" day where maybe two people tell us more about themselves. These are a few off-the-top-of-my-head ideas.

This past week I read Jaycee Dugard's "A Stolen Life" which was an excrutiatingly sad story. I have so much admiration for this young woman who clung to hope and returned home 18 years later.

Cindy's Gerard's "Without Remorse" - Luke "Doc" has always been one of my favorite BOI ops and matched with Valentina was a perfect choice.

And then a historical by Meredith Duran, "A Lady's Lesson in Scandal." One of the very best historicals I've ever read. It even made onto AAR's DIK status. If you enjoy historicals, don't miss this one!

Hope everyone has a great week. We got 30 minutes of rain yesterday which lowered the temp from 106 to 92. Of course, today humidity is hideous and we're back to 105!! I just love Oklahoma summers!!!

krisgils33 said...

42 days!!!!! yay!!!!! It will be here before we know it! I'm so excited that you're excited about the books...for some reason it makes it that much better!

Busy weekend. I finally finshed unpacking and putting away the dance stuff from the competition and performance at Disney. I really hate my living room cluttered with all that stuff and the giant garment rack with costumes hanging off it. We also took my daughter to the new American Girl store and had dinner at the bistro. Retail therapy is always good! yesterday was pool time and then the dads stayed at the pool and had pizza with the kids while the moms went out for Mexican and an adult beverage. It was a glorious end to the weekend!

I want to recommend Black Ties and Lullabies by Jane Graves. Her books are always fun, but this one I really, really enjoyed and was full of funny dialogue.

As far as recommend Monday goes, I really like having a diverse outlet for getting new book ideas, so my vote would be to keep it. The flip side being I already have an astronomical TBR pile, so it's not like I really NEED to have more books (but you didn't ask about "need" at all)!!! As much as I enjoy having you participate, YES I would rather have you off writing. :-)

Hope said...

Happy Monday everyone. First I must say....What, Monday without a Recommend Monday, I think not. Everyone has so many good recommends, and the little tidbits of their lives are great comic relief on a not so good day, such as Monday. I agree with, if you must switch it up, maybe once a month have a guest, but it has been all about what we have been reading, it would be hard to not recommend all of our loot to everyone else.

I didn't get a ton of reading done this week cause it was fair week, and I was having to spend 12-15 hours a day at the fair, helping keep the FFA office running.

This week, I finished Fatal Consequences by Marie Force. This is the 3rd book in the Fatal series and I really liked it.

I also read Willing by Lucy Monroe. The second in her trilogy and it was good as well.

I am in the middle of Without Remorse by Cindy Gerrard, I have been eagerly awaiting this book and am loving it so far.

Have a wonderful week everyone.

P.S. Jane, I loved the Steel Street series by Tara, I hope you like the rest of them too.

Christy Reece said...

Hey Anne! I'm so glad you <3 Recommend Monday! Thank you for those fabulous suggestions! I'll start an idea list and once the SWEET books are released, we'll take a look at everything and put them up for a vote. So exciting!

Oh, I want to read A Stolen Life. What an incredible story that young woman has to tell. So heartbreaking but so good to know that she never gave up hope.

I have With No Remorse on my list to buy this week. Love Cindy Gerard's books! And I'm now adding A Lady's Lesson in Scandal. Wow, one of the best historical romances you've ever read? That's high praise and I am definitely going to get it!

So glad you guys got some rain. That's all we seem to be able to have lately. Not complaining though. Will take damp and humid over 106 for sure.

Have a great week!

KerryH said...

Hey Christy!
I can't believe your first 'Sweet' book will soon be here! EXCITED!!!!!!

I <3 recommend Mondays, I dont always get the chance or time to come and recommend myself but I always have a look and see what everyone's recommending and have found some good books and authors which I have really enjoyed readng!

I was just reading Oklanannie's suggestions and the recipe and getting to know u better days sound really good!!

This week I am making my way through Cindy Gerards "Black Ops Inc" series for my daytime reads. I've got Nalini Singh's "Psy/Changeling" series keeping me company at bedtime and i've just picked up today Sherrilyn Kenyons 'Retribution' which is my bathtime book :)

Hope everyones having a fab Monday!!

Elke said...

Hi Everyone, hi Christy,
the most important thing first - I love Recommend Monday and it always gives me a good start for the week. Please keep going and I think we all understand that a deadline comes first, so don´t feel bad about not having the time to participate when its "deadline-time". I got so many great recommends for books I would never have found on my own and I would really miss it to share great books and some little glimpses into the lives of the fellow commenters.

Last week I read Cindy Gerards "with no remorse" and it was really worth the long waiting. And I was thrilled that Joe and Steph will get their own story, although sadly it will be the last book in the BOI series .

I also read the bakery sisters trilogy by Susann Mallery- a good read as well.

Christy, silly me - I couldn´t find the long excerpt of SWEET JUSTICE , can you give me the link?

Have a great week everyone - hopefully with great summer weather- here it seems that we skipped summer and went straight to fall. Its raining all the time and it is so chilly that we really thought about starting central heating again.

Christy Reece said...

Hey Kris! Yep, 42 days. Yay!!!!! (:

Wow, sounds like your weekend was not only super busy but productive too. And ending the weekend with Mexican food and drinks sounds perfect.

Oh, I just saw Black Ties and Lullabies on Amazon. Looks like fun!

Thanks for weighing in on Recommend Monday. LOL So true on the 'Do I need more books?' issue. My bookshelves and TBR stacks say no but my heart says yes, yes, yes! (:

Have a great week!

Elke said...

Christy , I am really silly I just found the excerpt - I did´nt look to the right side lol.

Crystal said...

Hey everyone! I have been in the process of moving and not having any internet so I am just now getting back into the grove of things.
I can't remember what the last books I recommended and really don't want to go back and look. So I am going to just tell you the last few I read that I think you would enjoy....
I read Gennita Low's The Hunter. This is the first time I've read anything by this author and must say i was impressed. I'm planning on reading the rest of this series asap.
I also read (by Ronlyn's recommendation) In the Prince's Bed by Sabrina Jeffries. Another first and will also be reading the rest in this series.
Two by Celeste Bradly who has yet to write anything I haven't enjoyed.
Seducing the Spy and One Night with a Spy. Love her spy guys!!

Christy I'd hate to see anything happen to recommend Monday! If you want me to help host I'd be happy to help! I've broadened my reading material so much from Recommend Monday I'd be lost without it. Although Howe keeps me bustling with new authors. :) I just think it is a must keep.
Hope everyone has a fabulous week! I am enrolling my baby in preschool so momma may get a little emotional on the first day of school for him. lol

Hope said...

Crystal....~snort~ broadened your horizons...really? Cause those books you just mentioned are ALL darn historicals!! LOL (couldn't help ribbing her a little, we have this discussion almost daily about her reading so many historicals)

Alison said...

Woohoo! 42 more days...Can't wait!

I love Recommend Monday's! I love all the recs I get from everyone. My TBR pile is always growing...I don't think it can ever get too big!

I also read Marie Force's Fatal Consequences and loved it! I did a re-read of Second Chance...it was just as good this time as the first time. Love Cole!

Right now I am reading Kylie Brant's Waking Evil and really liking it.

Happy Reading Everyone!

Alison said...

Crystal, have you read Sabrina Jeffries School for Heiresses series? I really liked that series.

Crystal said...

For the record HOPE FROST Gennita Low's book was not a historical! lol I know I've had a hang up lately on historicals.... I do know that the SWEET books will get me out of the historical phase. :)

Alison, I've not read them but will check them out for sure! I'm always looking for more historicals. One of these days I'll get Hope on the historical train. :)

Tara said...

Hi all, Happy Monday!

Christy, I'd hate to see Recommend Monday go away. I really enjoy the open format and have grown my tbr pile and found great new authors from the Monday posts. Like others, I try to post, but if I miss due to work or travel I always stop back by to see what everyone is reading.

I really liked Anne's ideas also, and would be happy to assist in incorporating them to the Monday sessions. One other idea off the top of my head would be a bookswap option also. I know most of us have ereaders, but I still read some paper books that I would be happy to pass along or share with others that might enjoy them also. Just a thought.

This last week I read Marie Force's Fatal Consequences. Loved it! This series just keeps getting better an better, so check it out if you haven't had the chance.

I also read I am Nujod, Age 10 and divorced by Ali Nujod. Wow, just wow...what courage for a young girl in a horrid situation.

I am starting Lie with Me by Stephanie Tyler this week. Not sure how I missed this series, but am excited to dive in and catch up.

Have a great week everyone!

oklanannie said...

Crystal - please try Meredith Duran's historicals. Her latest "A Lady's Lesson in Scandal" is F A N T A S T I C!!! I like a mix-up in my reading material and am glad I finally took the plunge into the historicals. Remember Pamela Clare has DEFIANT coming soon!!

Tara - great idea on the book swap and also those of us with ereaders can "loan." I'm putting the Nujod book on my wishlist. My July budge is busted but it's on August's list - thank you for the recommendation!

Ronlyn said...

I've been enjoying Nora Robert's Chesapeake Bay series (which I blame on Aly). Otherwise things have been quiet on the reading front for me.

Although I'm waiting to hear if Elke gets a package soon.... ;-)

KerryH said...

Ronlyn............I am a serious Nora Roberts addict and Chesapeake Bay series is my absolute favourite! What do u think of them???..........
Have you read The Key series yet?....

Tara said...

I forgot to say earlier, Whoo Hoo, Christy, 42 days, can't wait!

Anne, let me know what you think of I am Nujod, it is one that is sticking with me.

I also have Cindy Gerard's With no Remorse and from everyone's comments here I'll have to move it up in my TBR pile.

Ronlyn, Chesapeake Bay was the first Nora Roberts series or books I read also and are still my favorite of hers to this day, enjoy them.

I have her wedding series in my tbr pile but have heard mixed reviews. Thoughts from anyone who has read it appreciated.

KerryH said...

I've read the whole Wedding series Tara and i loved it! It has a similar family aspect as the Chesapeake books but with a whole heap of difference! I cant really put more as i dont want to ruin it for u but i think u'll enjoy then :)

Ronlyn said...

The amazing Ms. Nora has always been either hit or miss for me, so I don't tend to pick up her books unless someone specifically recommends them. I haven't read the Key series or the wedding series.
That being said, I am really enjoying this series. I finished the third book during my lunch break today and will be starting the 4th as soon as I can. :-)

KerryH said...

The 4th book is my favourite out of the whole series! Hope u enjoy it as much as I did! And I would say if u get the chance to read the Key or Wedding series, give it a shot :) <3

Christy Reece said...

Hey Hope! Glad Recommend Monday brightens your Monday. So far, I'm thinking you guys really like Recommend Monday...Yay!

I've downloaded Marie's Fatal Consequences but haven't read it yet. I've heard it's one of the best in the Fatal series so I'm really looking forward to digging in to it.

Enjoy your new Gerard book. I know it's another fabulous read.

Have a great week!

Christy Reece said...

Hey Kerry! Great to hear from you again. So glad that you check out the blog even when you can't comment. And very happy that you're looking forward to the SWEET books!

LOL I love that you have books for different places. That's so cool.

Have a great week!

Christy Reece said...

Hey Elke, so glad you enjoy Recommend Monday and that you've found the recommendations useful! That's so good to know.

I saw in a later post that you found the SWEET REVENGE excerpt. Hope you enjoyed! And turning on the heat? In July? Oh my, that just seems wrong.

Hope you'll come back tomorrow for the SECOND CHANCE discussion!

Christy Reece said...

Hey Crystal! Glad you're settled into your new home. Oh, Gennita Low is awesome! I haven't read her in a while and need to catch up on her books!

And yay, (no matter what Hope says) for historical recommendations! I love them! (:

Glad that Recommend Monday has broadened your reading material. It's so good to know that you guys are enjoying the recommendations.

Congrats on enrolling your baby in pre-school. I would be a basketcase, I'm sure. Good luck!

Christy Reece said...

Hey Alison! So glad you get good recommendations here on Recommend Monday! And I agree, a TBR pile can never be too big.

So happy you enjoyed your reread of SECOND CHANCE. Hope you'll come back tomorrow and chat!

Thanks for the recommends!

Mary G said...

Loved the Sweet Revenge excerpt - just amazing. I found an anthology called Hot Pursuit. I finally got to try Karen Rose & Annie Solomon & loved them both. I also downloaded Marie's Fatal Cons.& the McCarthy series. Am loving Maid For Love.

Christy Reece said...

Oh, and Alison I agree, Sabrina Jeffries is wonderful!

Christy Reece said...

Tara, so glad you enjoy Recommend Monday! It's my website's most frequented day, so I know people are checking it out. And thanks so much for your great ideas!

Thank you for the recommendation of I am Nujod. I read an article about her several weeks ago and was amazed at her courage. Will definitely be reading this book!

Have a great week!

Christy Reece said...

Hey, Ronlyn, thanks for the NR recommend. I don't think I've read this series. Will check it out.

Have a great week!

Christy Reece said...

Hey Mary, thank you! So glad you enjoyed the SWEET REVENGE excerpt!

And thanks for the recommend. I haven't read the Hot Pursuit anthology. Will definitely look for it.

Have a great week!