What Are We Currently Reading?

[isalicat]

Thanks for the Jane Casey recommendation, Calvada! I just went to Amazon and read a bit of the first chapter of the first book in the Maeve Kerrigan series and yes, it is just the kind of thing I like! Now of course I must curb my enthusiasm until the library opens again next Tuesday to see which ones they have available or can get from another branch. I am generally a patient person but not when it comes to a book I long to read which is why I have spent way too much on books the last few months since the libraries closed 😞

[Calvada]

7 hours ago, isalicat said:

Thanks for the Jane Casey recommendation, Calvada! I just went to Amazon and read a bit of the first chapter of the first book in the Maeve Kerrigan series and yes, it is just the kind of thing I like! Now of course I must curb my enthusiasm until the library opens again next Tuesday to see which ones they have available or can get from another branch. I am generally a patient person but not when it comes to a book I long to read which is why I have spent way too much on books the last few months since the libraries closed 😞

You're welcome!  I hope you enjoy the series.  FYI - you will definitely want to read them in publication order.  She also wrote a standalone that was published before the Maeve Kerrigan series, The Missing, which is quite good too.  

My public library is one of the things I missed most during the shutdown.  Now I have access to curbside pickup (still can't go into the library) which is wonderful, although at limited times.  They quarantine books for 3 days after being returned, and interlibrary loan takes a lot more time than it used to, but it's been wonderful to get books again.  

[BlackberryJam]

Just finished Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer. It was fair. Not a complete waste of time, but not really good either. The writing is solid, but the main character keeps doing stupid things. Like trusting a man whose full name she doesn’t even know. Blurting out stupid things to suspects. Being just fine with grifters. 

I probably won’t read a second one.

[truthaboutluv]

I just completed The Price of Salt (aka Carol) by Patricia Highsmith. I'd already seen the film when it came out a few years ago and absolutely loved it (of course Cate Blanchett is a goddess that can do no wrong as an actress, in my opinion) but never got around to reading the book. This is a rare case of the movie was better than the book for me. In fact, I didn't really like the book at all.

Spoiler

The greatest flaw in the book for me, is an issue I've been having with many of the books I've recently read. I simply don't care for the main character. I either plain can't stand them like that god-awful The Other Woman book or just find them dull and uninteresting, as I did with Therese. 

There was just something so lacking in her. I get that Highsmith was trying to show that Therese was very young, figuring out who she was and the relationship with Carol was almost like an awakening and a birth of sorts for her. I get all that. But at times young woman blossoming was done too well to where she just came across as immature and insipid. 

And I think the biggest issue I had with the story was how it felt like Therese didn't seem to care a lick about Carol's daughter. Obviously I wouldn't expect her to love the kid or immediately want to play psued-step parent. But she just didn't seem to have much curiosity or interest about her at all. 

And so the ending left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth where Carol of course essentially had to lose her daughter to be with Therese. And I get that it was honest to the times of how LGBTQ relationships and people were treated but I don't know, I just didn't like how it seemed the message was "well she lost her kid but she got the 20 year old girlfriend she'd just started dating, so happy ending". 

 

[dubbel zout]

I'm reading the first book in the Chronicles of St. Mary's series, Just One Damned Thing After Another, by Jodi Taylor. It has a Thursday Next vibe, and since I loved that series, I'm hoping this one is as entertaining. So far I'm not disappointed.

I've got some heavier books coming, notably King Leopold's Ghost and My File (about a British man who lived in East Germany and sees his Stasi file), so this break is nice.

[Crs97]

Finished Marisa de los Santos’ I’d Give Anything.  I loved her first two books, did not enjoy her next two, and thought her last one was getting back to form.  When I finished this novel my initial thought was that it was fine-3 stars.  The more I talked about it, though, the more I realized I was dissatisfied.  2 stars at most.  Disappointing.
 

[Danny Franks]

A Good Man in Africa by William Boyd. Look... I can see what he was going for - a kind of colonial Catch-22 that sends up British attitudes to "the natives" and skewers the sort of superiority and white saviour complexes that they had. But the book was written in 1981, and Boyd's attitudes are barely any better than those he's mocking. There's some problematic stuff in here, without even taking into account the fact that every character is reprehensible and impossible to like.

But it is an easy read. I got through half of it in one day. Hopefully Boyd's later books are better.

[Spartan Girl]

I finally read Saint X and it was pretty good, though I figured out that

Alison hadn't actually been murdered and that it was either an accident or suicide. Poor Clive got his life ruined for nothing

About to read Rodham and thanks in advance to those who warned about the sex scenes. That's gonna be awkward as hell.

[isalicat]

So thank you for the Ian Rankin recommendation - I just finished the first one and it was great! Had planned to go to the library today to look for more and come to find out although seven branches of my county library system are opening today, my branch is not. And the next closest one is only by reservation and they are discouraging browsing (so, like forget it....I go to a library to wander the stacks - its like going to church for me).

I guess I'll keep enriching the used book sellers for the nonce.

[Spartan Girl]

I finished Rodham and....wow. It felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone, but one of the bittersweet ones. 

I really wish I could say more but I can't. Though I'm pretty sure the others that have read it on this thread know exactly what I'm thinking.

[OtterMommy]

12 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I finished Rodham and....wow. It felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone, but one of the bittersweet ones. 

I really wish I could say more but I can't. Though I'm pretty sure the others that have read it on this thread know exactly what I'm thinking.

Yep!

By the way, my friend is currently listening to the audiobook and has basically been live texting me as she listens.  It was pretty clear from her texts when she hit the sex scenes.

 

[Spartan Girl]

On 7/9/2020 at 9:34 PM, OtterMommy said:

Yep!

By the way, my friend is currently listening to the audiobook and has basically been live texting me as she listens.  It was pretty clear from her texts when she hit the sex scenes.

 

Oh God, I had to skim through those parts. Talk about TMI!

[Dani-Ellie]

On 6/23/2020 at 3:06 PM, MaggieG said:

Just finished Home Before Dark by Riley Sager and it was pretty good ghost story with a twist.

I bought this one yesterday and finished it today. I loved it! Very glad I purchased it instead of waiting on the wait list for my library because I can totally see myself rereading it, probably more than once.

[Rushmoras]

So, finally a week ago finished with S. King's IT. Yep, all it took was half a year. Definitely, will not be returning to this book ever again.

Now, I'm currently reading Boleslaw Prus "FARAON" (Pharaoh). It's a historical fiction set in Ramesis the Twelfth time, and is revolving around his heir. First time I tried to read it, I was still in school, and did not like it for some reason (may because it didn't had too many dialogues or something), but moving many years forward, this book is quite interesting.

[peacheslatour]

7 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

So, finally a week ago finished with S. King's IT. Yep, all it took was half a year. Definitely, will not be returning to this book ever again.

Now, I'm currently reading Boleslaw Prus "FARAON" (Pharaoh). It's a historical fiction set in Ramesis the Twelfth time, and is revolving around his heir. First time I tried to read it, I was still in school, and did not like it for some reason (may because it didn't had too many dialogues or something), but moving many years forward, this book is quite interesting.

I just ordered The October Horse by Colleen McCullough. I love Egyptian/Roman history.

[OtterMommy]

I finished The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton--which I kept on my kindle and made a point of taking to the beach for the requisite picture of me holding it up against the ocean for a background (and then forgot to take said picture.  I am the worst bookstagrammer ever).  I haven't had great luck with Cleeton's earlier novels, but I did like this one.  I think because it was less romance (although there was some very stereotypical romance in it) and more fast-paced survival story.  I am incredibly grateful that I do not live in an area where hurricanes are a thing!

Now, I'm splitting my time between The Vanishing Half, which I started earlier and then had to put away until my new lenses for my reading glasses came in (it is in print...I've been having to stick to eBooks during this time) and Between the World and Me, which I've been meaning to read for forever, but there is no better time than the present.  Truly.

[Ohiopirate02]

I finished Louise Erdrich's The Night Watchman over the weekend, and loved it.  It is a beautiful love letter to her grandfather and the people of the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota while also illuminating a sad chapter in American history.  

[Spartan Girl]

Rereading Belushi A Biography by Tanner Colby finally got me to buy my own copy of Samurai Widow by Judy Belushi Pisano off Amazon. It came today and I've been going through it again. I don't know why reading about John Belushi has always so fascinating to me. I mean, yeah he was one of the funniest guys anywhere and his overdose was a shocking tragedy...but there's just something about all the stories about him from friends and family, the warm, funny, non-drug stories -- fuck you, Bob Woodward -- that I just can't get enough of. 

Samurai Widow is an emotional read, since it recounts how Judy dealt with his death, etc. They'd they'd been together since high school, and the photos of them in Belushi were so cute. Even though it ends on a hopeful note, unfortunately she and her second husband split up a couple years ago. I guess that's life though. I follow her Twitter sometimes and she's really cool. I admire how she remembers John with gratitude for all the love and friendship he brought into her life.

So yeah, I highly recommend both books.

[ApathyMonger]

I read the new David Mitchell, Utopia Avenue, about an up-and-coming band in the late 1960s.

It's mostly a much more traditional novel than his last few, with the exception of one segment which goes fully into The Bone Clocks territory while also being a direct follow-up to The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. That whole bit feel like it would be impenetrable to anyone who hasn't read The Bone Clocks.

Outside of that, the book has a bit too much of the thing that happens in novels like this where the characters keep interacting with real-world musicians of the time. It mostly makes sense in context, but it feels a bit self-indulgent to have real musicians keep talking about how much they like and admire these fake musicians. It just happens too often, and it starts to lose its impact fairly quickly.

Being a David Mitchell book, there's also a lot of interactions and appearances by characters from his other books. Some of these are obvious, like

Spoiler

a main character being a de Zoet, the leads from The Bone Clocks showing up, or having one of the band members date Luisa Rey, but we also get Bat Secundo, the talk radio host from Ghostwritten, a name check of Felix Finch, the critic killed in Cloud Atlas, or a brief appearance by Aphra Booth, a very minor Bone Clocks character, and a cameo from a very young Crispin Hershey, also from Bone Clocks.

Like the real world celebrity stuff, it sometimes gets a bit too self-indulgent and unnecessary, where it occasionally feels like a character shows up just to say their name for recognition's sake without impacting the story at all, but it mostly worked for me.

It's not my favourite of his books, but I was extremely happy to have another David Mitchell novel to read, and look forward to re-reading it already.

[Starleigh]

My library ha reopened (yay!), so I now have a stash of books I have had on hold since March:)

I am currently reading The Sundown Motel by Simone St. James, and it's pretty good! As an insomniac, I find it oddly soothing to be reading a book that is all about people doing their every day living/jobs at night.

I also read Marian Keyes newest book, Grown Ups, which honestly wasn't that great. I forced myself to finish it, because I bought it, but this one and her previous were both disappointing. They both seemed super choppy, convoluted, and barely edited. It was weird. As a matter of fact, I don't think her previous one was even published in the U.S. (I got a copy of the book from my visiting sister who had purchased it in England), which is also weird.

[DearEvette]

I recently did a re-read of Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer.  Man, I always liked this book.  I listened to it on audio this time and it is wonderfully narrated.  It is a lovely romance of two poor outcasts during the Great Depression leading to WWII.  It is such a feel good romance, beautifully written with such a strong sense of setting, a little but of humor , and a fantastic third act. 

[Haleth]

6 hours ago, Starleigh said:

My library ha reopened (yay!), so I now have a stash of books I have had on hold since March:)

You are so lucky!  We still only have curbside delivery and if I put something on hold it might take weeks to actually get an appointment for delivery.  Better than nothing though.

[OtterMommy]

14 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I recently did a re-read of Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer.  Man, I always liked this book.  I listened to it on audio this time and it is wonderfully narrated.  It is a lovely romance of two poor outcasts during the Great Depression leading to WWII.  It is such a feel good romance, beautifully written with such a strong sense of setting, a little but of humor , and a fantastic third act. 

I need to re-read this one.  It was the first book by LaVyrle Spencer that I read and I remember loving it.

I did recently reread Bitter Sweet and that was...and experience.  It was incredibly dated, sometimes in a weird way.  It was written in the late 80s but everyone talks like they are from a movie from the 40s.  Then there were also these really strange bits where some, um, uncomfortable 80s references are made and are so painful that they are funny.

Spoiler

But what struck me is that I must have completely blocked out that the hero rapes his antagonistic wife in it.  I was completely shocked when I got to that!  I don't know how I "missed" it when I read it in the 80s/90s.   As much as I hate to admit that I may have ever thought this, my only guess is that I somehow "excused" it because they were married.  If that was the case, I am so ashamed...

 

[DearEvette]

4 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

I need to re-read this one.  It was the first book by LaVyrle Spencer that I read and I remember loving it.

I did recently reread Bitter Sweet and that was...and experience.  It was incredibly dated, sometimes in a weird way.  It was written in the late 80s but everyone talks like they are from a movie from the 40s.  Then there were also these really strange bits where some, um, uncomfortable 80s references are made and are so painful that they are funny.

  Reveal spoiler

But what struck me is that I must have completely blocked out that the hero rapes his antagonistic wife in it.  I was completely shocked when I got to that!  I don't know how I "missed" it when I read it in the 80s/90s.   As much as I hate to admit that I may have ever thought this, my only guess is that I somehow "excused" it because they were married.  If that was the case, I am so ashamed...

 

I highly recommend Morning Glory.  Yeah, there is a character written is such a way that some might think it is slut shaming and at first on re-read a I was a little uncomfortable with her, but then I realized the character is a flat out sexual predator and that it isn't only male characters that can be written as such.

Also, YIKES!  on Bitter Sweet. I know that I also counted that one as a favorite, but I have not revisited it since, maybe the early 90s?  So I probably also glossed right over that part as well.  Now that I am woke on so many things it is hard to go back sometimes.  There is a Catherine Coulter book from the 80s that I just... had no words about how horrified I was reading it recently.  a double Yikes!

Edited July 15, 2020 by DearEvette

[Spartan Girl]

I just read Memoirs and Misinformation by Jim Carrey.

What.

The.

FUCK?!

I knew it wasn't going to be a memoir but I wasn't expecting THAT.

Edited July 16, 2020 by Spartan Girl

[Browncoat]

I can't stand Jim Carrey.

[peacheslatour]

4 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I just read Memois and Misinformation by Jim Carrey.

What.

The.

FUCK?!

I knew it wasn't going to be a memoir but I wasn't expecting THAT.

Do tell.

[Pachengala]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

I can't stand Jim Carrey.

He’s a pig. But I too am curious. 

[Browncoat]

47 minutes ago, Pachengala said:

He’s a pig. But I too am curious. 

I'm a little curious, but not enough to actually read the book.

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Do tell.

All I can say is that it turns into an apocalypse kind of story. And Nic Cage is involved. 

[OtterMommy]

6 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

All I can say is that it turns into an apocalypse kind of story. And Nic Cage is involved. 

I don’t believe that an apocalypse is possible without the involvement of Nicholas Cage.

[peacheslatour]

2 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

I don’t believe that an apocalypse is possible without the involvement of Nicholas Cage.

Agreed.

[helenamonster]

Just finished: The Guest List by Lucy Foley, a pretty standard murder mystery with multiple POVs that takes place at a wedding being held on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. The setting was equal parts wonderful and spooky, the characters were all interesting and three-dimensional, and just when I thought I had things figured out, there were some delightful twists. Besides not knowing who the murderer is, you don't even know who's been murdered at the start either, which adds another layer to the intrigue. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a quick, fun read.

Next up: The Last Flight by Julie Clark.

[OtterMommy]

5 hours ago, helenamonster said:

Just finished: The Guest List by Lucy Foley, a pretty standard murder mystery with multiple POVs that takes place at a wedding being held on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. The setting was equal parts wonderful and spooky, the characters were all interesting and three-dimensional, and just when I thought I had things figured out, there were some delightful twists. Besides not knowing who the murderer is, you don't even know who's been murdered at the start either, which adds another layer to the intrigue. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a quick, fun read.

 

I have this one sitting on my shelf right now.  I expected it to be a bit heavier, so it is useful to know that it is more on the lighter side.  I'll get to it sooner or later!

[helenamonster]

13 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

I have this one sitting on my shelf right now.  I expected it to be a bit heavier, so it is useful to know that it is more on the lighter side.  I'll get to it sooner or later!

Oh don't get me wrong, there's definitely some dark shit (everybody comes to this wedding with serious baggage). I guess it's more light in the sense that it's quick paced, not that long, and gets to the point (without sacrificing character or details). I think some murder mysteries, especially those with multiple POVs, can be a bit of a slog and become too mired in backstory and character relationships. This one generally avoids that, imo. The world of the story and the people in it feel fully realized without slowing down the plot. It just felt really balanced, and went down smooth.

[Rilla-my-Rilla]

On 7/15/2020 at 4:39 PM, DearEvette said:

There is a Catherine Coulter book from the 80s that I just... had no words about how horrified I was reading it recently.  a double Yikes!

Which one? I'm just curious because I used to read a lot of her books when I was younger. I wonder what my kid brain used to skip over too.

[dubbel zout]

I tried to start Ottessa Moshfegh's newest, "Death in Her Hands," but I need a break from her writing style, so instead I picked up "American Spy," by Lauren Wilkinson, and I'm loving it only three chapters in.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Because I can always depend on Nora Roberts to make me escape yet still believe her characters are real people, I’m going to start her newest, Hideaway.

And when I say real, I mean her characters talk like real people in every day life. Part of this book takes place in Ireland and I ❤️❤️ how she makes it come alive for me. It will be bittersweet because normally I’d be getting the book signed and my picture taken with her at the signing. But due to COVID-19, all signing events have been cancelled for 2020.

And she’s got a new Ireland Trilogy coming soon!🥰🙌

[DearEvette]

6 hours ago, Rilla-my-Rilla said:

Which one? I'm just curious because I used to read a lot of her books when I was younger. I wonder what my kid brain used to skip over too.

Aftershocks.  Originally published in 1985.  A contemporary romance novel.  Some high lowlights: (excerpted from my own review)

- Hero thinks heroine is a hooker because she is 23 years old and has money enough to own a nice car and her own home.

- Heroine is 23 years old and a virgin.  According to the hero, only anti-social losers are still virgins at the age of 23. This is not said ironically.

-When they finally get to the point of having sex, the hero offers to wear a condom. The heroine wrinkles her nose in distaste because that would be "crass."

-The heroine is a supposed health nut, but after they break up, in her despair she starts smoking and drinking heavily.  And oh yeah she is pregnant and knows it, but still does this.

-The hero is doctor.  You'd think he'd be appalled she is drinking and smoking while pregnant?  Nope.  He doesn't confront her about that, but he does finally understand her depth of despair over their break-up because she has stopped wearing her sexy lingerie and has opted for plain white bras and panties.

I could go on....

There are a couple of these books from big name authors from the 80s that are similarly cringey.  There is a book called Long Time Coming by Sandra Brown where 19 years ago (we are told in flashback from the start of the book) when the hero was 22 , he hung out for a summer with a 16 year old girl and her 14 y.o. sister (the heroine).  But -- we are assured -- that was ok, because the 16 y.o "didn't look it."   And because she "was easy" he availed himself of her and had sex and disappeared to his fantastic life as an astronaut. She got pregnant and had his kid.

There was so much slut shaming throughout the book of the then 16 year old (now dead) mother of his child.  And a not so subtle madonna/whore reinforcement between her and her sister (the heroine).  Who basically subsumed her own life to take care of the child, lived like a nun and silently pined for a 22 year old man she met when she was 14!!!

Also, back in the day during that summer of pedo, he teased her and called her a 'goody two shoes' because she didn't want to go skinny dipping. Again, Dude she was 14 years old!! what 22 year old man thinks it is ok to skinny dip with a 14 y.o?

FYI, this was a Harlequin romance or Silhouette or something similar. 

So now whenever I do re-read something written 30ish years ago that my pre-teen self loved, I have to prepare myself to be disappointed or outraged.  And if it holds up well still, I am pathetically grateful.  LOL.

[dubbel zout]

3 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

he does finally understand her depth of despair over their break-up because she has stopped wearing her sexy lingerie and has opted for plain white bras and panties.

LOL.

[Vanderboom]

I used to be a heavy Sandra Brown reader when I was a teen and I agree her older works don't age well. My least favorite wtf moment was in Exclusive when our intrepid journalist heroine hunts down the reclusive hero for an interview and begins by giving him a blowjob before introducing herself.  Then, she tries to interview him. I  hope Brown's more current suspense titles have better characterization. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

Aftershocks.  Originally published in 1985.  A contemporary romance novel.  Some high lowlights: (excerpted from my own review)

- Hero thinks heroine is a hooker because she is 23 years old and has money enough to own a nice car and her own home.

- Heroine is 23 years old and a virgin.  According to the hero, only anti-social losers are still virgins at the age of 23. This is not said ironically.

-When they finally get to the point of having sex, the hero offers to wear a condom. The heroine wrinkles her nose in distaste because that would be "crass."

-The heroine is a supposed health nut, but after they break up, in her despair she starts smoking and drinking heavily.  And oh yeah she is pregnant and knows it, but still does this.

-The hero is doctor.  You'd think he'd be appalled she is drinking and smoking while pregnant?  Nope.  He doesn't confront her about that, but he does finally understand her depth of despair over their break-up because she has stopped wearing her sexy lingerie and has opted for plain white bras and panties.

I could go on....

There are a couple of these books from big name authors from the 80s that are similarly cringey.  There is a book called Long Time Coming by Sandra Brown where 19 years ago (we are told in flashback from the start of the book) when the hero was 22 , he hung out for a summer with a 16 year old girl and her 14 y.o. sister (the heroine).  But -- we are assured -- that was ok, because the 16 y.o "didn't look it."   And because she "was easy" he availed himself of her and had sex and disappeared to his fantastic life as an astronaut. She got pregnant and had his kid.

There was so much slut shaming throughout the book of the then 16 year old (now dead) mother of his child.  And a not so subtle madonna/whore reinforcement between her and her sister (the heroine).  Who basically subsumed her own life to take care of the child, lived like a nun and silently pined for a 22 year old man she met when she was 14!!!

Also, back in the day during that summer of pedo, he teased her and called her a 'goody two shoes' because she didn't want to go skinny dipping. Again, Dude she was 14 years old!! what 22 year old man thinks it is ok to skinny dip with a 14 y.o?

FYI, this was a Harlequin romance or Silhouette or something similar. 

So now whenever I do re-read something written 30ish years ago that my pre-teen self loved, I have to prepare myself to be disappointed or outraged.  And if it holds up well still, I am pathetically grateful.  LOL.

Dude!!! I remember Aftershocks and even my teen-self, who had graduated from Harlequin to Silhoutte, and devoured them, 🙄🙄🙄😒😒😒 at that; especially the throw away line that the drinking and smoking was  an “aberration”

I also DEVOURED Sandra Brown’s books, which were under Silhoutte and Candle Light Ecstasy or some such. But I’m glad I never read that one!

But none of those compare to Diana Palmer/Susan Kyle’s “romances” We’re taking about 14-18 year age differences where the heroine is 18 or 19 and the supposed hero 34-40. Talk about Whore/Madonna. If the heroine is a virgin (she’s mocked for it), she’s not worth his time, and if she responds to his kisses and caresses, then she’s a whore. Or if they have sex outside of marriage, then she feels like a whore he bought for the night when he drops her off at home. 
 

I admit, at times when I was depressed and couldn’t seem to find joy in anything, as punishment or guilty pleasure, I would pick any of these and read, while raging and cringing all the way. And she still continues to write in this way-Emotional abuse and using excuse that he was hiding his unrequited “love” as protection. Oh! And here the kicker: “Hero” would be impotent with all other women and “heroine” would find kisses with anyone else “repulsive” and “disgusting.”

So give me any Nora/JD Robb, Linda Howard, Anne Stuart, Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, thankyouverymuch. I will reread them until the end!

Edited July 18, 2020 by GHScorpiosRule

[Rilla-my-Rilla]

49 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

Aftershocks.  Originally published in 1985.  A contemporary romance novel.  Some high lowlights: (excerpted from my own review)

- Hero thinks heroine is a hooker because she is 23 years old and has money enough to own a nice car and her own home.

- Heroine is 23 years old and a virgin.  According to the hero, only anti-social losers are still virgins at the age of 23. This is not said ironically.

-When they finally get to the point of having sex, the hero offers to wear a condom. The heroine wrinkles her nose in distaste because that would be "crass."

-The heroine is a supposed health nut, but after they break up, in her despair she starts smoking and drinking heavily.  And oh yeah she is pregnant and knows it, but still does this.

-The hero is doctor.  You'd think he'd be appalled she is drinking and smoking while pregnant?  Nope.  He doesn't confront her about that, but he does finally understand her depth of despair over their break-up because she has stopped wearing her sexy lingerie and has opted for plain white bras and panties.

I could go on....

There are a couple of these books from big name authors from the 80s that are similarly cringey.  There is a book called Long Time Coming by Sandra Brown where 19 years ago (we are told in flashback from the start of the book) when the hero was 22 , he hung out for a summer with a 16 year old girl and her 14 y.o. sister (the heroine).  But -- we are assured -- that was ok, because the 16 y.o "didn't look it."   And because she "was easy" he availed himself of her and had sex and disappeared to his fantastic life as an astronaut. She got pregnant and had his kid.

There was so much slut shaming throughout the book of the then 16 year old (now dead) mother of his child.  And a not so subtle madonna/whore reinforcement between her and her sister (the heroine).  Who basically subsumed her own life to take care of the child, lived like a nun and silently pined for a 22 year old man she met when she was 14!!!

Also, back in the day during that summer of pedo, he teased her and called her a 'goody two shoes' because she didn't want to go skinny dipping. Again, Dude she was 14 years old!! what 22 year old man thinks it is ok to skinny dip with a 14 y.o?

FYI, this was a Harlequin romance or Silhouette or something similar. 

So now whenever I do re-read something written 30ish years ago that my pre-teen self loved, I have to prepare myself to be disappointed or outraged.  And if it holds up well still, I am pathetically grateful.  LOL.

Whew! That is a lot. Pretty sure I never read that one of hers though. I kept to her historical romances which I'm sure have their own special cringe factors. 

[MeloraH]

5 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I tried to start Ottessa Moshfegh's newest, "Death in Her Hands," but I need a break from her writing style, so instead I picked up "American Spy," by Lauren Wilkinson, and I'm loving it only three chapters in.

I read American Spy awhile ago and it's become one of those books that's really memorable to me and I think about a lot still. I was surprised it has such mixed reviews and didn't get that much attention despite being on the Obama list.

[Crs97]

There are so many awful romance novels from my teenage years.  I no longer know the title or author, but I remember reading one Harlequin-type in which woman leaves husband when he rapes her on their wedding night.  He shows back up and is meant to be the hero.  Somehow the divorce didn’t go through.  They end up back together after he takes her back to the exact place of their wedding night where he convinces her it wasn’t rape; she was just a virgin and was scared by his passion.  It was horrific.

[dubbel zout]

Per Wiki, it took until 1993 for marital rape to be criminalized in every state in the U.S. I'm not surprised the less enlightened romance writers still wrote unwanted intercourse as something else. Women just want to be sexually dominated, don'tcha know.

[Taryn74]

I used to sneak my mom and older sister's Harlequin and related books and read them as a tween/young teen. I can't even imagine how cringe worthy they would be to me now. I know I legit went through my teen years thinking it was the norm for married people (or couples in general, I guess......I don't remember now if it was taboo to not have most couples in these books be married or at least engaged) - no matter the age - to have sex every single day and sometimes multiple times a day. LOLOL.

[andromeda331]

I tried Catherine Coulter once after buying a bunch of her books off Ebay I read the first one Warrior's Song and hated it. The rapist ends up a hero! He later goes onto star in another book as a hero. What the hell? It was the first and last book of hers I ever read. Rapists are not heroes. 

[Mabinogia]

10 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

Rapists are not heroes. 

It is so sad that that needs to be said, that it isn't just...obvious. And yet...

[dubbel zout]

Rape is also not a plot point, but a lot of authors today still think it is.