20 What the Devil Knows, C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr #16)
19 Last Guard, Nalini Singh (pre-pub copy provided by the author; read aloud with Steve)
This is me, breaking the Third Wall: I really, really liked this one. It’s sweet and compelling, and we get an astonishing closer look at a Designation that has been with us all along, and…I really can’t say any more, because I don’t want to spoil it for you. Publication date July 20. You can preorder it now from All The Usual Suspects.
18 Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters (e)
17 The Consorts, Melissa Addey (e)
16 Brightfall, Jamie Lee Moyer (e)
15 Spider Woman’s Daughter, Anne Hillerman (e)
14 Wild Sign, Patricia Briggs (e)
13 Marian Halcombe, Brenda W. Clough (e)
12 The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics, Olivia Waite (read aloud w/Steve)
11 An Easy Death, Charlaine Harris (e)
10 Paladin’s Strength, (Saint of Steel #2), T. Kingfisher (e)
9 Strange Bedpersons, Jennifer Crusie (read aloud w/Steve)
8 The Sugared Game, KJ Charles (e)
7 The Rules of Magic, Alice Hoffman
6 Smoke Bitten, Patricia Briggs (e)
5 Bonds of Justice, Nalini Singh (read aloud w/Steve)
4 Hostage to Pleasure, Nalini Singh (read aloud w/Steve)
3 Anyone but You, Jennifer Crusie (read aloud w/Steve)
2 Mine to Possess, Nalini Singh (read aloud w/Steve)
1 The Duke and I, Julia Quinn (e)
Do you think someone can jump into the series at Last Guard, or should someone start with book 1?
I think you could read Last Guard without having read the previous books. Nalini does a good job of stating the stakes,and most of the books are written in two interlocked layers — the romance, the crisis facing the larger world, and the role the romantic partners play in that crisis. Ok, three layers.
I started with Slave to Sensation — the first one — then jumped down-series a couple books, for Reasons, and proceeded in a disorderly way, until Steve wanted to read them, whereupon we started with the one I was reading at the time, read to the last, and then went back to Slave… and read them in order, which gave us a chance to see how much worldbuilding she’s done here, and how she’s grown the network of relationships.
Yeah, some universes where you jump in matters less than others. Depending on how well fleshed out they feel. And it helps if you end up liking it and read them all anyway. I forget I’ve done that myself a lot. Back when I had to just get whatever paperbacks happened to be in the store. Not always the order you need them in.
Thinking about this…Last Guard won’t be out ’til July. A book that’s pretty closely linked to it is Silver Silence, which is available now. In case you want to see what you’d be getting into. 🙂