I’ve been incredibly good lately – no major shopping sprees, despite the sale signs in practically every other shop and various discount vouchers making the rounds. However, I caved in over the weekend and bought the following from BooksonBoard:
- Jim Butcher’s “Princeps’ Fury” (fantasy): Fifth in his Codex Alera series. Very different to his Dresden Files UF books, but equally enjoyable.
- Jenna Black’s “The Devil’s Due” (urban fantasy): Third in her Morgan Kingsley series. I liked the first, was a bit meh about the second, so this could determine whether I continue with the series or not.
- Eloisa James’ “When the Duke Returns” (historical romance): Fourth in her Desperate Duchesses series. This is the Squee. See below.
- Brent Weeks’ “The Way of Shadows” (fantasy): First in the Night Angels trilogy. I’m totally blanking on who and where I saw the rec for this, but this was based on an online recommendation.
- “The Magical Christmas Cat” (paranormal romance): Anthology with Lora Leigh, Nalini Singh, Erin McCarthy, and Linda Winstead Jones. This came out a while back in trade paperback, and the ebook version is now available. I wish they were released simultaneously, but oh well. And yeah, I obviously bought it for the Nalini Singh story.
- Deborah Chester’s “The Pearls” (fantasy): First in a duology. I have a few Deborah Chester books on my bookshelf, and was curious about her latest release. And a duology instead of a long-running series? Why not.
- Lynne Graham’s “The Greek Tycoon’s Disobedient Wife” (series romance): I’m ignoring the title on this one. But Lynne Graham is my one autobuy M&B author. Formulaic? Oh yes. Comfort read? Totally.
And the squee?
I had to read Eloisa James’ “When the Duke Returns” immediately, because of Ana’s rave over it. And… I totally loved it. Loved. I thought Isidore’s and Simeon’s courtship was wonderfully romantic and sexy, with some really humorous moments. And the scenes with Jemma & Elijah and Elijah & Villier? Perfect. I can’t wait for Jemma and Elijah’s book “This Duchess of Mine” (out May 2009).
If I had to be really picky, I would say I think Villiers is turning out to be ever-so-slightly too good to be true. But hey, this is romance, and we’re going to get a HEA for him (“A Duke of Her Own”, July 2009), so I’m willing to ignore that little niggle.
Ana did a “I love this series” post at The Book Smugglers earlier this week that provides a great overview of this series, btw.
Hey, you read it! Just saw your comment back at my place.
I love this book as well, (in fact it may be in my top 10) but I still prefer Jem and Harriet. Out of all of the heroes (not counting Villiers and Elijah, obviously) , Jem is my favourite.
And I agree she has swon the seeds of Elijah’s redemption, but I want, I really want him to grovel, and a lot. and I believe Jemma is waiting for that too. I simply can’t wait, Li.
Hi Li
So you’ve read Jim Butcher Codex Alera series? What do you think of it? I’m thinking of perhaps starting it, but I’m not too sure.
LOL, I haven’t read Eloisa James yet, but you make me want to buy her newest, even if I have a couple of hers waiting in my TBR pile!!!
I just read The Pearls by Deborah Chester. Did you read her before? I thought I’d be in for a romantic fantasy, but meh… didn’t enjoy it
It’s bad because I just bought The Crown, the next book… hey, if you want it, let me know, it’s yours 
Glad someone else’s been splurging on books besides me LOL
Ana – I obviously *had* to read it straightaway, after your tantalising Jemma/Elijah/Villiers comment! Okay, now the trouble is that I have such high expectations for the Jemma/Elijah book…
Nath – I do like the Codex Alera series, def worth a try. And I’m a total EJ fangirl, especially this series. If you have “Desperate Duchesses” in your TBR pile, try starting with that. The Jemma/Elijah story arc starts right from the first book. Just saw you graded The Pearls a D at your blog, ouch. I will let you know what I think of it
Your high expectations can not be as impossibly high as mine *g*
I was looking for book 1 of the Codex Alera series, but didn’t find it
Then, I forgot to order it just now when I did my online order. UGH me 
I’ll give it a try. I think I have 3 books out of 4 of the Desperate Duchesses series ^_^;
and yes, didn’t really like The Pearls ^_^; and the Crown doesn’t seem to have more romance
Hmm, you might have changed my mind on the Eloisa James. I was going to try to get it from the library, but now I think I’ll have to buy it. I did like the first two in the series.
Ana – LOL. May isn’t really that far away…
Nath – I had to rescue your comment from the moderation queue. No idea why they keep on ending in there – I’ll have to see what I can do.
If you had an ebook reader, you could be sitting down with “Furies of Calderon” right now
Jennie – It’s definitely my favourite in the series. Both romances – Simeon/Isidore and Jemma/Elijah – really worked for me, unlike previous books when I think there was a slight imbalance one way or other.
I don’t know why my comments need moderation. never happened before
and LOL, tempting, but not tempting enough for me to get an e-reader. Also, I can’t imagine all the book binging I’d be doing ^_^;
[...] 5 in his Codex Alera fantasy series. Technically a November release, and one I bought in my BooksonBoard splurge last week. I’m a couple of chapters in at the moment, and am hoping to finish it over this [...]
Nath – Well, that comment made it through okay, so it looks as though the problem’s fixed
You’re right, I think I’ve spent so much more on ebooks this year… it’s just so easy!
[...] only read nine historical romances throughout 2008 and my favourite by a mile was Eloisa James’ “When the Duke Returns” (Book 3 of the Desperate Duchesses series). [...]
[...] James’ “This Duchess of Mine”. I am an unashamed Eloisa James fangirl, and have been completely absorbed by her Georgian historical romance [...]