As I was looking over my wishlist at Amazon.com, I saw that I still haven’t attempted to get Fire and Ice by Julie Garwood. I haven’t even considered buying it and haven’t even called the library to see if they have it. So I would say that Julie Garwood is an author that I have given up on.
So what author will I not give up on? Suzanne Brockmann. The last book I read of hers that I absolutely loved was Over the Edge. That’s the third book in her Team Sixteen series. And while I’ve enjoyed the books since then except Flashpoint, I haven’t loved any of them. Yet I won’t give up on her.
Another author I won’t give up on is Sherrilyn Kenyon. I haven’t read any of the Dream Hunter books after the first one, but I can’t bring myself to give up on this author that so completely wow’ed me. Which brings me to Christine Feehan…her Carpathian series is getting a little repetitive, but I will never give up on her just b/c she was the author that introduced me to paranormal.
Overall, I would say that I’m a pretty loyal reader. It takes the heroine turning into a ghost A LOT for me to give up on an author.
What author will you not give up on? What does it take for you to give up on an author?
Rachel Gibson and Gaelen Foley’s most recent series didn’t do it for me, but I am anxious for their new series to start. I don’t think I would ever quit reading either of them. I love Brockmann’s Team Sixteen series, which is a must read for me regardless if she writes a few less-than-stellar books. Kresley Cole and Pamela Clare have never written a bad book (IMHO) but even if they did I would still auto-buy anything by them regardless of the genre.
Sorry, but I’m not that loyal. I can’t think of a single author who’s earned this kind of devotion from me.
I’m a flaky reader with a short attention span, so it doesn’t take much for me to give up an author.
I may give one book Keeper status, then never feel compelled to read another word by that author. Or I might hate a book, but then go back and try another by the same author. I really don’t have a pattern.
Inconsistency, thy name is Jennifer.
I think we may be opposites. 🙂 I loved Flashpoint AND Lover Unbound. LOL. I have given up on Evanovich. And, I have pretttttty much given up on Laurell. Obsidian Butterfly was the last book of hers that I loved. I certainly won’t buy any more, can’t stomach the Merry Gentry series, but I always have a little curiosity about the newest Anita Blake. I’m always disappointed, but I at least attempt them in one format or another.
I’d have to say JR Ward. As much as I liked books 4-6 I didn’t love them like I loved books 1-3 but I won’t give up. I think I still keep hoping for the wonderful romances that were in books 1-3. Maybe it’s foolish but I’ve still got my fingers crossed. 🙂
I won’t give up on LKH…I actually liked a couple of the books after Obsidian Butterfly. I also am really trying not to give up on Sherrilyn Kenyon. I have Dream Warrior or whatever her latest is but I just don’t feel excited to read it yet. I have to admit I did give up on Feehan’s Dark series, although I keep hearing her more recent Dark books are a lot better.
Do non-romance authors count? Because Naomi Novik would be the top of my list. Few others would come close. I don’t believe in throwing good money after bad. There are too many other books to try in this world.
Mmm, Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux are getting there, though. LOVE.
While the Dream Hunter books aren’t the greatest – they’ve become very important to following the Dark Hunter story arch. Not sure I’ll ever buy one, even used, but I definitely pick them up from the library.
I’ve given up on Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series, but I’m still reading the Anita Blake for some reason.
And am I the only one who has to grit her teeth to make it through a Feehan s3x scene?! I swear, I counted six uses of “channel” in a three-page scene in one of the Drake Sisters books.
OMG, funny. It takes a heroine turning into a ghost for me to give up on an author, too…but not a heroine that starts as a ghost, aka Kresely Cole, who I would never give up on.
You are so my twin right now. Christine Feehan got me into paranormal and I can’t give up on her even if I tried lol
I didn’t consider myself a loyal reader until I realized I was buying the fifth consecutive Christine Feehan’s Dark book that I was not going to read. (I kept thinking perhaps I could stomach the next one or the next one, or the next one after that…)
These days, after the second straight (read: severe) disappointment, the author goes to my “if I see it used” list.
Huh. I guess I am quite the loyal reader too.
I, too, and unable to give up the LKH crack. Either series. I agree that Obsidian Butterfly was the last Anita Blake that I loved. Now, I get frustrated with the stories, but keep reading. I think I’m too invested in the characters to give up on them.
I actually think Lick of Frost (last year’s book) was one of the better Merry Gentry’s. I actually have Swallowing Darknessit in audiobook format, but haven’t listened to it yet.
Hope spring eternal.
Usually it takes some really bad writing for me to give up on an author; that or a change in my tastes. (Danielle Steele) I don’t think I could ever give up on Janet Evanovich, some of those between the numbers books were awful but I still read them and am looking forward to the next installment.
call me old and predictable. My two are Linda Howard and Judith McNaught. What makes me give up an author – predictability. Dear Judith has reached that level but I can’t bear to give her up. She’s a wallbanger that I will pick off the floor again and again. As for LH – well, I don’t think that word is in her vocabulary.
mph
oh, and immaturity. Can’t read about 20 year olds anymore – can’t help but feel like I’m robbing the cradle or something.
mph
I don’t think I’m that loyal either. There are authors I’ve been reading for decades who may not thrill me as much as they used to, but whose books I still enjoy. So I keep buying. On the other hand, the list of authors I’ve given up on through the years is long and varied. (Garwood, Brockmann, Feehan, Kleypas, Howard, McNaught…alas, all of those laudable authors are on this list for me.)
Nifty
STill holding on to LKH’s Anita Blake series and Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series.
Have you tried Feehan’s Ghostwalker series? They’re pretty good.
It takes the heroine turning into a ghost A LOT for me to give up on an author.
LOL! I read JR Ward’s novella Father Mine over the weekend and…I think the series has lost some sparkle. The scene that lingers is the one with the dermatologist…and what does that say about me? Regardless, I will be reading Lover Avenged, but I am borrowing it from the library (mainly because it is being released in hardback and I have the previous versions in paperback).
Renee – I read Swallowing Darkness last month… I don’t expect much, but it did feel like it dragged and not much happened. I have also placed a library hold on the next Anita Blake book Skin Trade. (I do wish now though that I hadn’t bought the first 11 of the series).
I have no reader loyalty. If I’m still buying an author’s books it’s because I’m still enjoying them in some way. I’m not the fastest reader and I don’t have a huge attention span, so if a book or series isn’t grabbing me anymore, it’s gone. I’ve dropped lots of authors: Laurell K. Hamilton, J. R. Ward, Janet Evanovich, Charlaine Harris, Sherrilyn Kenyon, etc. There are just too many new authors and books to keep hanging on to those that no longer interest you.
I am loyal to some extent. V. C. Andrews is the one I struggle the most with. I loved her original books, but starting somewhere around the Hudson series, the books started to sound pretty similar, and the writing from the ghost writer really worsened.I still can’t stop reading them though.
I also will never give up on Janet Evanovich. I love her Stephanie Plum series, but none of the others, really.
This was a really good question!
I can only think of 3 – Lisa Kleypas, Bonnie Vanak and Pamela Clare. I’ve read most of their books and I’ve had the absolute pleasure of meeting all three of them and NOTHING will stop me from buying their books.
I’m disappointed with everything Johanna Lindsey has written for the last several years, but she was one of my firsts and is still an auto buy, (paperback only). I always ask myself why I keep on buying them when it’s obvious she’s just phoning it in, but I still do it anyway.
Jennifer Crusie is the author that comes to mind. Not thrilled with her few latest collaborations, but still hoping.
Hmmm, Judith McNaught and Katherine Stone would be two authors that I would not give up on… Although at the pace they are writing, I can afford not giving up 😛
Sure I have a few other authors whose latest books haven’t been wowzers, but still good and solid books.
Authors that I did give up: Sherrilyn Kenyon – although I’ll be reading the were books. Janet Evanovich.
It be a three way tie with Carolyn Jewel,Elizabeth Hoyt and Charlotte Featherstone I have them on auto-buy.
Although the list of throw away authors is pretty high with me, it’s the keepers I have a speical place on my bookshelf for!
I dunno, I tend to think of myself as never really “giving up” on an author in theory. In practice, though I will still pick up certain authors if I find them used or in a PBS bargain, their books tend to languish in my TBR pile, probably til the next ice age. I think the main reason is sheer boredom. A couple of dull books in a row and I tend to lose interest.
There is no author I can swear this would never happen with. — willaful
I have quite a few authors I will not give up on — Judith McNaught, Linda Howard, Nora Roberts, J.D. Robb, and Andrea Kane. Although some of their recent releases are not all that great they are still comfort reads…and aside from Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, the other three authors don’t release often enough so I can still afford to hang onto them.
Mishel, that is so funny about Christine Feehan. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give her up.
mph, I agree w/ Linda Howard and Judith McNaught. I will never give up either of them. I’m curious to see how JM’s next contemp turns out. If it’s half as good as Paradise, I’d be happy.
I’ve recently RUTHLESSLY cut back on my auto-buy authors and series. I used to be so anal about buying the next book in a series, even when I KNEW I had no book lust for it. So now I try to stop and ask myself whether I want to read the book this week or not. Now, that STILL doesn’t mean I WILL read it this week, but it’s a good guage of my level of book lust.
Having said all that though, I am still compelled to buy Feehan’s Carpathians. I’m glad I stuck with them because she’s reinvigorated the series with the last couple of books. And the new dual narration of the audio books has REALLY made them must-buys.
I also am not ready to give up on LKH. I still love the Merry Gentry series, and while the ABVH storylines are up and down lately, I still very much look forward to catching up with the characters.
As for Kenyon, I held out till Archeron, but now that it’s out, I’ll probably just keep an eye out for Savitar’s story.
The jury’s still out on Ward.
In romance? JRW, Eloisa James, Nalini Singh, Kathleen O’Reilly
The fact that JRW is moving into hardcover may tip the scales, however. And as for EJ, I think it’ll depend on whether or not I’m happy with the resolution of the love triangle in her latest quartet.
I can swear to only one author now – Anne Stuart. I thought I would never give up Julie Garwood and did after buying almost all her contemps in HC and reading only 2.
I thought Ward would be on the list but after the whole schmaz that was Butch and V, I’m not sure but hope does keep going and I will buy the next in the series although I haven’t read the one I’ve got!
I’m still going to buy Singh but her recent series started off horrible. I love her last Psy book so I’m hoping to find the zip there again.
LKH – I read until the threesome I had been waiting for happened. Then I was done.
JE – after reading that she was never going to have Stephanie pick between Joe and Ranger I stopped caring and read the first few pages of 13 and put the book down. Ugh.
CindyS
Hmmm, I’d never give up on:-
Jo Beverley
Mary Balogh
Nora Roberts/JD Robb (can’t get enough of Eve & Roarke, er, especially Roarke!)
Laura Kinsale (that’s if she ever releases a new book of course)
Jenny Crusie
Some of the books by the authors above I have liked less than others, but I’ve nevertheless enjoyed them all.
I have a “collector” gene though and that makes me compulsively want to complete sets of books, even when I won’t read them. (I have a JRW book (Phury’s story) which I got the week it was released in p/back and I’ve still not read it and haven’t much interest in doing so)so I have to try really hard to stop collecting so the “set” looks nice. argghh!
Authors I have mostly given up on?
Sad to say, this includes Christine Feehan, Stephanie Laurens and Rachel Gibson – their books just got too much the same for me. I still read them, but I try and get them from the library or second hand and I don’t bust a gut to buy them immediately on release.
Jennifer Crusie, absolutely. Nora. Can’t think of anyone else.
I’m reading Fire and Ice now and I like it. I hadn’t read any of Garwood’s contemporaries.
Lol. Looks like the heroine turning into a ghost out of the blue isn’t enough to shake me off (despite what I thought at first) since I’m still reading JR Ward. Books 5 and 6 nearly made me lose faith in the series, but the Insider’s Guide and the Story of Son in Dead After Dark restored my faith in JR’s writing abilties. I’m not sure what I’ll do if I don’t like Lover Avenged though.
I’m holding out by a very fine thread to Sherrilyn Kenyon, Laurel K. Hamilton and Janet Evanovich. I still read them because these are among the few English romance books our central library had, but I don’t buy them anymore and it sometimes takes several months before I read the latest installments. Kenyon, because she keeps introducing new, always more powerful characters and her world getting too complicated to follow; Hamilton because, well, the last books are shit, repetitive, uninventive and full of bad sex without plot (yet somehow I miss the characters and hope I’ll get a hint of what they used to be); and Evanovich because her Stephanie Plum books lost their originality with the last couple of books and it doesn’t look like she’s ever gonna give Ranger a fair chance.
The few auto-buys I have left are pretty much Singh’s Psy-Changeling books and Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresdens.
Jean-Claude and Edward are really the only two reasons why I can’t quit LKH. I want to. I really do. But, I keep hoping (against hope) that she will do something good with them. So, when I saw Skin Trade was featuring Edward, I put it on hold. I know I shouldn’t have. I know I should stop. I know I’m going to be disappointed. I CAN’T STOP! I need an intervention. 🙂
THANK YOU, CindyS, for telling me about the Ranger/Stephanie/Joe triangle. I had a feeling this was going to be the case. I stopped reading at 13 too. I tried one of the between the numbers books, and it was terrible.
JR Ward: I was a late bloomer on this series, so maybe this is why I’m still in love. 🙂
I’m not a very loyal reader at all. The only two authors I still consider auto-buys are Linda Howard and J.D. Robb, but if they start to disappoint I won’t have a problem not buying them anymore. Especially since they’re not releasing in hardcover.
I’d like to say I’ll always buy SEP or Karen Rose or Lisa Kleypas or any other number of my favorites, but I know myself too well. If they start to disappoint, I stop buying them. Usually after about 3 bad books.
Garwood is a huge disappointment to me, and not only because she sold out and started writing contemps. I thought for sure she’d be able to recapture the magic once she started writing historicals again, but I’m afraid not. I won’t pick up another book by her.
Judith McNaught, Linda Howard, Kresley Cole, J.D. Robb, Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas – and there are a lot of new authors who have had fantastic books and if they keep it up, they’ll always be autobuys for me (Monica McCarty being #1 on that list).
Authors I can’t give up to save my life are:
SEP
Rachel Gibson
Lisa Kleypas
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Suzanne Brockmann
And there are more but I can’t think of any right now. It takes a lot for me (writing wise) to give up on an author but show me an author that is acting like a complete ass online and that’s the quickest way I’ll give up on an author.