Book Recommendation Thursdays….

As you know, I frequently get asked to suggest books to fill in those long gaps between the publication of the Pink books. Even more frequently, I find myself in need of new books to read to fill in those long gaps when I’m supposed to be writing, but don’t feel like it.

So I thought I’d try something new here on the website: book recommendation Thursdays.

This Thursday, someone just asked me for books like Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel. I’ve suggested:

— Rafael Sabatini’s Scaramouche (old fashioned swashbuckling in the same era)

— Jessica Benson’s The Accidental Duchess (hilarious romance novel featuring Napoleonic spies and dual identities)

— Barbara Michaels’ Wings of the Falcon (another masked adventurer!)

What would you recommend?

If you’re looking for books in any particular style, just drop a request in the comments section or email me with the author/type of book, and I’ll put out a Thursday request for more like it. Between all of us, we probably have a pretty thorough database of what’s out there!

17 Comments

  1. Whitney Daly on March 5, 2009 at 4:05 pm

    Scaramouche is an amazing book! The characters are unforgettable. I can’t believe that someone other than me has read it. Most people haven’t heard of it.

  2. Elizabeth aka Miss Eliza on March 5, 2009 at 5:04 pm

    Damn it! More books to read! There are just too many good books and to little time…

    Also for book recommendations I belong to and love goodreads, because then I can check out if people’s recommendations jive with what I like and read up on all the recommended reading! Also see what my friends are reading too.

  3. Catherine on March 5, 2009 at 6:05 pm

    The Tes Rose by Jennifer Donnely. Addictive epic romance.

    or

    The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simmons, oh to have an Alexander!

    Sooooooooo gooooood! Both are slightly chunkier that a PC book but are good for a read you can sink your teeth into and romance to make you swoon.

  4. Rebecca C on March 5, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    I too have read The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnely. Loved it. It also has a sequel called The Winter Rose.

  5. Jess G. on March 5, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    First off, great idea. Even though, because of school, I can’t read any for-fun books right now.

    Second, your suggestions should def be a section on the diversions page so that we can find older recommendations when the new item is long gone.

    Lastly, I will make a recommendation of my own!

    The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

    This book is amazing! A different genre than the Pink books, but suspenseful and and emotional. Def a good read.

    I just used “def” twice in one comment…I’m clearly on the computer too much.

  6. Stephanie Stoddard on March 5, 2009 at 9:37 pm

    I just read Only To Deceive which i loved it was on my wish list and when browsing your book suggestion list under diversions i decided to buy it.

    Right now i am reading The King’s Grace by Anne Easter Smith. it is a wonderful historical fiction about Grace Plantagenet the illegitimate daughter of Edward IV. Ii is really good. I bought this one to see if i liked her books, i plan to buy more now.

    I also enjoyed
    The Courtesan by Susan Carroll

    Daughter of the Forest – Juliet Marillier – Fantasy druid books and are wonderful

    Also the Mercedes Lackey Valdemar books.

    Highwayman – R.A. Salvatore
    Eragon books

    and then to indulge the child in me
    Tamora Pierce
    Song of the lioness quartet
    Protector of the Small quartet
    Wild Magic Quartet
    Trickster’s Queen
    Trickster’s Choice
    Terrier series (1 book so far)

  7. ShoozieShoes on March 5, 2009 at 10:42 pm

    I’d love to find another author like Georgette Heyer. I enjoy her Regency romantic comedies most of all. Any suggestions?

    P.S. Just finished Night Jasmine and loved it. Did Penelope really marry The Creep?? I feel another story brewing there…

    P.P.S. Will Jane ever find a little love for herself?

  8. Stephanie Stoddard on March 6, 2009 at 12:37 am

    Oh Emma Jensen is a wonderful regency writer. I have not read much by Georgette (not due to lack of interest) But Emma Jensen Best laid Scheme is one of my favorite books. Main guy’s mom invites three incomparable, a brunette, blond and redhead (sounds like a joke i know). But she also invites Sibyl who knew him in his youth and he associates with pain or trouble. But of course he finds her much changes. There is also a bit about a meddling aunt, butler, mom, and brothers that make the story hilarious. oh and a monkey with fleas.. that make men scratch scandalous places in public.

    oh also the Kiss of the Highwayman – by Jenna Mindel is so fun. Its about this pretty but rather tall girl named Artemis. And the guy is investigating a band of highwaymen who killed his brother. to make the highwaymen not connect his arrival and the arrival of someone requesting to join their band. he acts the fop in society. It is rather hilarious.

  9. Kristen on March 6, 2009 at 9:24 am

    Jess G- “The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfield was wonderful. Great suggestion!

    I would like to suggest “The Fairy Godmother” by Mercedes Lackey. I’m hopelessly addicated to the fantasy genre, but even my sister who does like those books enjoyed this one. It’s basically a different take on fairytales.

    Also- anything by Christopher Moore. My book club read “A Dirty Job” last September, I now have five other books of his. He’s very funny, and very different from most authors out there.

  10. Kristen on March 6, 2009 at 9:31 am

    I shouldn’t have hit submit yet…sorry.

    one more suggestion- If you love the whole “Anne of Green Gables” series, then you must read “Beyond Green Gables” by Budge Wilson. I actaully came across this book when I was looking for “Night Jasmine” (yay for alphabetical order!). The book is about Anne’s right up to the minute she meets Matthew. It’s absoultly wonderful and Budge Wilson does a really good job of capaturing our Anne-girl and LMM’s style of writing.

    last thing (I promise)- Thanks for the suggestions Lauren. Reading is like an addiction for me, and I love it when people help me out with suggetions. Unfourntatly, book store staff are usually very lacking in that area.

  11. Jen on March 6, 2009 at 7:11 pm

    Well, I’ve recently been on a Jane Austen update/”sequel” binge lately. Here are a few I’ve really enjoyed:

    Old Friends, New Fancies: Sybil Brinton. This was (or claims to be 🙂 the first Austen “sequel” ever written, in 1913. Terrific!

    Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict: Laurie Viera Rigler. Austen addict falls through a time warp and ends up in Austen’s England.

    Jane Austen in Scarsdale: Paula Marantz Cohen. “Persuasion with a twist” when a high-school guidance counselor meets up with the guy she ditched 13 years ago…

    Me & Mr. Darcy: Alexandra Potter. A NY bookstore manager signs on for a “Darcy tour” of England…hilarity and a meeting with the man himself ensue…

    Miss Fairfax: Joan Aiken. Retelling of “Emma” from Jane Fairfax’s point of view.

  12. Stephanie Stoddard on March 6, 2009 at 7:13 pm

    agreed. i try to find lists places of books people like. Generally book store employees are not well versed in their books. Sad. Maybe i should work there. I too have a large book addiction. My pile of books grew and grew. now some are packed in boxes piled on the floor or over piling on bookshelves. I really need to just get a room and make my library

  13. Lynda on March 6, 2009 at 9:52 pm

    I love the idea of book recommendations, since I read so much faster than my favorite authors can write. I’m looking forward to trying the books mentioned above.

    I recently read Celeste Bradley’s The Liars Club series, starting with “The Pretender”. They are great historical romances centered around English spies similar the Pink Carnation books.

    For a more modern and suspensful read, I would suggest Anne Stuart’s Ice books, starting with “Black Ice”.

  14. Courtney on March 8, 2009 at 1:27 pm

    I work in a large bookstore and resent the comments that we dont know what we’re talking about! 😉 although I agree, it is hard to find someone that knows several genres and can recommend them!

    As for books I’d recommend, tasha alexander and deanna raybourn. Both are fabulous authors that fit in relativly the same time frame, and kept me going while waiting for the next Pink book!

  15. AngelB on March 9, 2009 at 7:29 pm

    During my current ready frenzy (I’m on my 7th since Jasmine came out – and I read that 2x) the book I utterly enjoyed was “A Catch of Consequence” by Diane Norman. The back cover hints at only part of the story. I was very pleasantly surprised.

    I will also add that I read Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte finally. I could have done without the first half of the book, but once the story started focusing on real life, instead of just the horrible antics of her students, it became quite good. Don’t get me wrong, the writing is still fantastic, both halves, just the 1st half did not appeal to me (been a scout leader/sports coach – I know too much about unruly kids and horrible parents..ha!). It also has probably the most romantic moment in a book I’ve ever read. But once again, that’s because I’m a dog lover, so it may not appeal to everyone.

  16. Diana on March 9, 2009 at 9:07 pm

    I have to reccomend Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen mysteries- there’s a pack of them, so you won’t run out of reading matieral for a while, and her use of period detail and suspense is excellent. My mother has also enjoyed the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mysteries, which star Darcy and Elizabeth as detectives and also have a supernatural twist. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the author’s name.

    Although technically a young adult offering, Sovay, the story of a young lady who crossdresses as a highwayman to avenge herself on a false lover, would probably appeal to anyone who reads the Pink books. The author, Celia Rees, writes wonderfully suspenseful, well-researched, female-oriented historical novels. I also highly reccomend her other books, the duet Witch Child and Sorceress and the non-series novel Pirates.

    My final reccomendation is not a book; it’s a comic. The Dreamer is published online (updates every Friday)at http://www.thedreamercomic.com but is also available in print. The main character is Bea Whaley, a modern American teenagers who dreams that she lives a dual life during the American revolution. It’s a wonderful blend of romance, suspense, and good historical research. Plus the art is high quality and the characters are very loveable indeed- especially the men!

  17. Katelin on March 12, 2009 at 1:43 pm

    Some of my favorite books are Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, Kane and Abel by Jeffery Archer, The Thorn Birds by Colleen Mcoullough, Paradise Judith McNaught. I know I have many more but those are just some of my security shelf books.

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