Hey all. I've hit a snag once again. My son's girlfriend is asking for more book recommendations. She loves the grisly and wants some romance in there as well. Is it any wonder I love this girl? She's perfect for me! ...errrrr...... him.
The problem is that I am not that comfortable recommending most of the awesomely amazing rom-susp books I read to her because of all the S.E.X. Somehow giving my son's 17 year old girlfriend a book full of explicit sex, including oral, and very open bedroom doors just seems wrong. So very wrong. And OMG, what if her mother found out that she got the books from me? Noooooo. And yes, I'm totally aware of how dorky I sound.
She's a voracious reader and would easily read a book or two a week (did I mention I love this girl?), so the few things I've come up with should hold her for a while, but I just know there's something perfect that has completely slipped my mind.
I've been wracking my brain, and I've come up with a few books/authors I'm fairly comfortable with recommending to her. Here's what I've got:
Mariah Stewart's FBI series (I've reviewed most of them here)
Lisa Jackson's rom-susp
Some Karen Rose (the stuff from the last few years, where she's gotten more thriller-y and less romance-y.)
And.... then I'm done. Everyone else I was thinking about has just a little more sex than I'm comfortable with, although I'm thinking Allison Brennan's books might likely work, since I lent her Mary Burton's Breathless and Senseless and she loved them both. Some of the other Burtons had a little more sex than I was comfortable with sharing, though, so I stopped giving them to her.
Yes, I know I must sound silly, and in a few more years I won't care, but now? Does it sound really prudishly mommy of me to say I really don't want to give these kids any more ideas than they already have? I know that they're teenagers, getting ready to head off to college, they've been together for a year and a half, so they've likely done some of the things I'm trying to shield them from (nooooo!!!!!!!!!!), but I kind of feel like it's not really my job to be giving her books with very explicit sex in them.
And then I think back to reading books like Forever by Judy Blume. I read it in junior high, and though I would have to reread it to be sure (BTW, her books are all coming in e!!), but I recall that their first sex scene was fairly explicit, although not erotic by any stretch. Bear in mind, that's my 35 year old recollection, so I may be way off base.
So... can you all recommend any romantic suspense, heavy on the suspense and light on the open door sex?
J.D. Robb In death Series, sex is not terribly explicit; Cindy Gerard--all of them are great and I don't remember them being explicit...
ReplyDeleteHey Lori :) LOL, no wonder you like her so much!
ReplyDeleteI second Sabrina's recommendation of the In Death series. If not, Nora Roberts stand-alone such as Homeport, The Search, Angel Falls, etc. I think it's a nice blend of mystery and romance and with NR, the sex is never very explicit.
And yes, give her the Karen Rose!! :)
The other suggestion I have would be the FBI SCU series by Kay Hooper. Her latest trilogy has not been very heavy on the romance side... but I think she will enjoy the first three trilogies (Shadows, Evil and Fear) as it is more blanaced :) I know I fell in love with them.
Otherwise, I draw blank as well ^_^;
Oh, Kay Hooper! I forgot all about her. And maybe Tami Hoag. Thanks, Nath!
DeleteYou're welcome Lori! she finally has a new FBI SCU book coming out this summer! I can't wait! :)
DeleteIt's been a while since I've read any RS so I'm drawing a blank too but I wanted to stop by and say I completely agree that she sounds perfect for you, I mean him.
ReplyDeleteHaha!!! I heart you.
DeleteAw! Congrats on the awesome son's girlfriend! ;) I can understand your hesitancy in recommending anything too explicit. As I teacher I often wanted to recommend books to my middle schoolers that I had read, but was hesitant about parental reaction (YA books with necromancy, not "adult" romance novels in this case.)
ReplyDeleteThose are some good recs. I say go with that and then ask her what she has read. She might have some good titles for you to check out!
Well, it IS a bit weird that you're perfectly comfortable recommending something with explicit and really graphic violence in it but not explicit sex, but hey, if it makes you uncomfortable, it makes you uncomfortable. And probably not worth getting her mum upset with you if she feels the same.
ReplyDeleteHas she read Tess Gerritsen? Her Rizzoli / Isles series is very good and has very subtle romance elements. Also possibly Tami Hoag's more recent books. I didn't like the one I read recently (Deeper Than The Dead), but they're quite successful, and the romance is pretty mild. The other two possible authors are Leslie Parrish and Laura Griffin. They're squarely in the romance genre, so the sex scenes are described, but the explicitness is on a par with JD Robb.
"Well, it IS a bit weird that you're perfectly comfortable recommending something with explicit and really graphic violence in it but not explicit sex"
DeleteLaughing. OMG, I never even thought of it that way, Rosario! Yikes! And thanks - I adore Tess Gerritsen, Leslie Parrish, and Laura Griffin. I'll look through my books right now to reread... errr... examine the sexytimes and see how explicit they are.