Someone posted one of those hot pictures of a guy reading the other day on Facebook and it made me think that if more men read romance books their women would be happier so I turned to my friend who’s husband reads romances and asked her to talk to her husband and see if he could write something up for our blog. I think a lot of guys do not know anything about some of the romance books we read and would actually enjoy them if they picked them up. Brad gives us his thoughts below. /Cori
Brad Bezoni’s Thoughts on Reading Romance Books:
Yes, I admit it, I am a man, and I read romance novels. Not the Jackie Collins type, but the ones that are more slanted to the paranormal – vampires, werewolves, mythological based, etc. Now keep in mind that my typical reading fare is in the Sci Fi and fantasy realm – Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Dune, Stephen King and the like. Hell, my favorite book growing up was In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. So romance novels – not really what I ever thought I would end up reading. Let me take you back to the beginning, and explain…
My wife began reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood books a couple of years ago, and as I didn’t have anything that I was reading at the time she suggested I take a stab at them (she thought I would enjoy the fighting scenes). And I have to admit, I was sucked into most of the books and the series instantly. The back stories of the characters, the depth of the environment, the attention to detail, the “liberties” that the authors took and ran with to make their worlds believable – it was all much more than I ever thought any romance author would have put into their books. And the violence, oh the sweet, glorious violence that these books held – references to Glocks, Sig Sauers, sais, katanas, martial arts forms, graphic descriptions of fight scenes, it was a dream come true (although I was a little concerned when I first heard “Baby, what’s a Sig Sauer?” from the bedroom)! Then, THEN, the “romance”; not any of the “they laid down on the bed and gently made love for hours on end” crap that just makes men want to vomit, but true, gritty, graphic scenes, so expertly written that you could see them play out in your mind (and yes, I have always had a very dirty mind). From the soft, gentle lovemaking scenes to the rough, hard, have to have it nowz scenes, all were written in a way that I could read and not think I needed to put a bullet through my brain because NO ONE ever thinks or acts that way. They are written with a real edge, a true person’s perspective, and did I mention graphic???
Do I enjoy reading them? You bet I do, but not just for the sex scenes, or the violence, or the mythos – no, I enjoy reading them for all of these reasons combined, and the way that each of them play and build off of each other. The southern belle being wooed by a suitor while on her plantation in the south – give me a break, I have better things to do, like a root canal. But a woman who wakes up chained to a vampiric hunter, and becomes a part of a centuries old war between Hunters and a sub race bent on feeding on the souls of the innocent, and who happens to have hot, steamy sex that would give the adult film industry a run for its money – yeah, that I can gladly give my time to. (This is a description of Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon) And I won’t lie, I’ve taken some of the things that were in the books and used them in the bedroom, much to my, and definitely to my wife’s, benefit.
Now I know my tastes aren’t those of everyone – some people may not like stories of fights and fantasy, and some people may like the highly froo-froo stories. More power to them. I for one enjoy these stories/books, and plan to continue reading them into the future. And just for reference, I’ve been reading J. R. Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Thea Harrison, Karen Marie Moning and Gena Showalter, as well as other novels in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres interspersed along the way.
Brad’s Series Recommendations:
✿DARK-HUNTER SERIES BY SHERRILYN KENYON✿
✦SERIES BUY LINKS: Amazon http://amzn.to/1yT4U0B | B&N http://bit.ly/1zi9Jj1 | Kobo http://bit.ly/1v81buL
1. FANTASY LOVER ~ $3.99 http://amzn.to/16ISJHM
2. DRAGONSWAN – Found inside the Other Worlds http://amzn.to/16ujtjq
3. NIGHT PLEASURES ~ $7.99 http://amzn.to/12BAjbk
4. NIGHT EMBRACE ~ $4.99 http://amzn.to/14vkpk7
5. PHANTOM LOVER ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://amzn.to/1PUDwdM
6. A DARK-HUNTER CHRISTMAS ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://amzn.to/1PUDwdM
7. DANCE WITH THE DEVIL ~ $3.99 http://amzn.to/1fc574U
8. KISS OF THE NIGHT ~ $4.99 http://amzn.to/12BCED0
9. NIGHT PLAY ~ $3.99 http://amzn.to/15a2H80
10. WINTERBORN ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://amzn.to/1PUDwdM
11. SEIZE THE NIGHT ~ $5.99 http://amzn.to/1dG0fHb
12. SINS OF THE NIGHT ~ $4.99 http://amzn.to/1dfrJ7U
13. UNLEASH THE NIGHT ~ $7.99 http://amzn.to/159TLso
14. DARK SIDE OF THE MOON ~ $3.99 http://amzn.to/17W2u4B
15. A HARD DAY’S NIGHT SEARCHER ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://amzn.to/1PUDwdM
16. UNTIL DEATH DO WE PART ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://amzn.to/1PUDwdM
17. THE DREAM HUNTER ~ $7.99 http://amzn.to/1c6QVug
18. FEAR THE DARKNESS ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://amzn.to/1PUDwdM
19. DEVIL MAY CRY ~ $3.99 http://amzn.to/16IW0XJ
20. UPON THE MIDNIGHT CLEAR ~ $7.99 http://amzn.to/1dfsCxx
21. DREAM CHASER ~ $4.99 http://amzn.to/14vlYhR
22. ACHERON ~ $7.99 http://amzn.to/12BCeN5
23. WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://amzn.to/1PUDwdM
24. SHADOW OF THE MOON ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://amzn.to/1PUDwdM
25. ONE SILENT NIGHT ~ $3.99 http://amzn.to/19T3ADG
26. DREAM WARRIOR ~ $7.99 http://amzn.to/1c6S4C0
27. BAD MOON RISING ~ $7.99 http://amzn.to/1dG1Qg8
28. NO MERCY ~ $7.99 http://amzn.to/17VZHs9
29. RETRIBUTION ~ $7.99 http://amzn.to/14vgQtZ
30. THE GUARDIAN ~ $7.99 http://amzn.to/1dFZ1M5
31. TIME UNTIME ~ $4.99 http://amzn.to/141dgUU
32. STYXX by Sherrilyn Kenyon ~ $8.99 http://amzn.to/1d3CtWU
33. DARK BITES ~ $8.99 http://amzn.to/1PUDwdM
34. SON OF NO ONE ~ $5.99 http://amzn.to/1GQKYUq
35. DRAGONBANE ~ http://amzn.to/1H8NVNF
***************
THERE IS ALSO AN EBOOK BOX SET
✦The Dark-Hunters (The Collection Thus Far) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Kindle: http://amzn.to/1GQL9zj
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/1k9WZVQ
B&N: http://bit.ly/1hU6FlE
✦THE BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD SERIES ~ READING ORDER✦
SERIES LINKS: Amazon http://amzn.to/1DpBPl0 | B&N http://bit.ly/1EEu0YF | Kobo http://bit.ly/1EEpGZy
✦Dark Lover ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/17wcZJV
✦Lover Eternal ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/179BzU8
✦Lover Awakened ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/18Eqmsy
✦Lover Revealed ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/13g9tWr
✦Lover Unbound ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/18tPt2h
✦Lover Enshrined ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/17woxN4
✦ The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider’s Guide ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/17FIm70
✦ Father Mine: Zsadist and Bella’s Story: A Black Dagger Brotherhood Novella (eBook – the printed version of this story is also found in “The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider’s Guide” http://amzn.to/17wqaKE
✦Lover Avenged ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/1I5iTcw
✦Lover Mine ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/1dRq35K
✦Lover Unleashed ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/1dR9pDy
✦Lover Reborn ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/18EjoDX
✦Lover At Last ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/16GUthu
✦The King ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/12CBV4A
✦The Shadows ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/1BAHVJT
✦THE ELDER RACES BY THEA HARRISON ~ READING ORDER✦
Series Buy Links: Amazon http://amzn.to/1Ees2uY | B&N http://bit.ly/19eckG2 | Kobo http://bit.ly/1Bziaeq
✦#1: DRAGON BOUND http://amzn.to/17OAJsX
✦#2: STORM’S HEART http://amzn.to/1fGeSNo
✦#3: SERPENT’S KISS http://amzn.to/1fGeE8Y
q✦ TRUE COLORS (Novella) http://amzn.to/17OA9vi
✦#4: ORACLE’S MOON http://amzn.to/17OAuhw
✦ NATURAL EVIL (Novella) http://amzn.to/1bCUsjm
✦ DEVIL’S GATE (Novella) http://amzn.to/H0mewH
✦ HUNTER’S SEASON (Novella) http://amzn.to/1fGdMRF
✦#5: LORD’S FALL http://amzn.to/1hZVCXV
✦ THE WICKED (Novella) http://amzn.to/17id5XD
✦#6: KINKED ($5.99) http://amzn.to/1bCTGmw
✦ DRAGOS TAKES A HOLIDAY http://amzn.to/IcMCmT
✦ PIA SAVES THE DAY http://georiot.co/ckE
✦ PEANUT GOES TO SCHOOL (Short Story) http://amzn.to/1xTjQQU
✦#7: NIGHT’S HONOR http://amzn.to/1HJIoNr
✦#8: Midnight’s Kiss (May 5, 2015) http://amzn.to/1Mubm4M
REVIEWS
Review: Kinked (A Novel of the Elder Races) by Thea Harrison http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-NU
Review: Night’s Honor (Elder Races) by Thea Harrison http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-1Au
✦The Fever Series & The Highlander Series by Karen Marie Moning http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-Om
✦The Highlander Series 7-Book Bundle by Karen Marie Moning
Kindle http://amzn.to/1BcjTbC
B&N http://bit.ly/155GCsz
Kobo http://bit.ly/1G9DSuD
iBooks http://apple.co/1dxQz5Z
✦THE HIGHLANDER SERIES by KAREN MARIE MONING – READING ORDER✦
1. Beyond the Highland Mist http://amzn.to/1KQX7sN
2. To Tame a Highland Warrior http://amzn.to/1IR7xog
3. The Highlander’s Touch http://amzn.to/14JB4mA
4. Kiss of the Highlander http://amzn.to/1BcpnTN
5. The Dark Highlander http://amzn.to/1AoZQkS
6. The Immortal Highlander http://amzn.to/1KQXgwh
7. Spell of the Highlander http://amzn.to/1u9LEzB
*********
✦The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning
Kindle http://amzn.to/1JcjjLy
B&N http://tinyurl.com/nm93d9n
Kobo http://tinyurl.com/pkgv2cs
iBooks http://apple.co/1biTD4h
✦THE FEVER SERIES BY KAREN MARIE MONING – READING ORDER✦
✦1. DARKFEVER http://amzn.to/1BcpEGh
✦2. BLOODFEVER http://amzn.to/1Ap0HSH
✦3. FAEFEVER http://amzn.to/1AZoFqq
✦4. DREAMFEVER http://amzn.to/1G9MH7E
✦5. SHADOWFEVER http://amzn.to/1KQXJyu
✦6. ICED http://amzn.to/1IR8eOC
✦7. BURNED (January 20, 2015) http://amzn.to/1xaHzH0
✦8. FEVERBORN (October 13, 2015)
✦9. FEVERSONG (2016)
Reading in Pajamas 