Happy 8th Birthday, Blog!!! Let’s Reminisce… Part 2

Q: MichelleS: And is your book husband still Travis? After all these years? Because mine is still Rhage!!! Or Jamie Fraser. Have read so many books, with so many great male leads, but haven’t changed my mind on that.

A. Maryse: Absolutely!!!! Nobody has taken his place yet. Although… Zsadist would be my only other. And in a way, he was my first. It was almost as if Travis (in my head) was the human version of Z.  Oh boy. Iif I could be transported into either of their book worlds to “become” the heroine, I would have a TERRIBLE time choosing which. I think it would be impossible to choose. But I think it would be Z. *gasp*!!!! I can’t believe I just said that (but I will say it’s ’cause Z is the ultimate bad-ass of all bad-asses and will live forever so…). Ummm… can I have TWO book husbands?

Q: Fabi: I want to know what you’re genre progression has been over the years. I know you’re blog started as PNR. Did you read read/prefer another genre before that? After PNR, did you go to mostly NA, or to CR indie? I think you a short m/m phase and now you’re really into psych thrillers. So, give us a timeline of the evolution of Maryse’s reading tastes. I know we all read a little if everything, but we tend to prefer one genre for short periods of time. What were your preferences since you started blogging?

A: M: Oh fun question!!! My preferences when I started blogging was Paranormal Romance. Or Urban Fantasy as LONG as there was a love story (even if it took the whole series to finally get there). There was (IS) nothing better than love, for me, and pining for it for a while – even with all the heartbreaking drama and shock moments – is so addicting and makes it so much more worth it!

But my reading history? When I was in my teens, I read mostly horror (Stephen King and Dean Koontz were my favorites) and autobiographies, with the occasional Danielle Steele or Sweet Valley High or Judy Blume book. My weekends were in my room, devouring books, and I read like a fiend. My mom too (so that’s where I get it from – although she was mostly Harlequin romance and Danielle Steele).

As an adult, I stuck with horror but switched to ROCK STAR autobiographies!!! I only read maybe 3 books a year at the most (and it was that way for years). I can’t believe I went from being a book-devouring teen to an occasional reader. *sigh* Although, the occasional Nora Roberts book snuck in (and my very first “fictional” book love was from one of hers. I had NEVER fallen in love, reading a romance book, but this one did me in). It was Born in Ice: The Born In Trilogy #2 and holy moly, HE started my love for brooding, reclusive, no-nonsense jack-asses. LOL!

That’s when I became curious with romance books, but it never really took form until my mom called me one day, demanding I read TWILIGHT IMMEDIATELY! I was hesitant. A teenager series about vampires? No thanks, mom. I won’t. I have nothing in common with that, and I don’t even like vampire horror! And she said… NO MARYSE!!!!! This is romance, and you will fall in LOVE with the vampire, I promise you!!! NOBODY can read this book without falling in love. It’s impossible.

2008. Challenge accepted!!! And so she sent me the series for Christmas and I read them back to back (faster, stronger and harder than ANY book I had ever read before). I had NEVER been so addicted to a story or characters in my life. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. I was in a perpetual love fog, and that was it. That was the start. Now all I WANTED were paranormal men. Human men couldn’t hold a candle to these immortal bad-asses that could protect and love you like no other. Sure… it was all a bit too intense and too bossy, and too alpha-male dominating (and sure, in real life, this would be hard to deal with) but in my book life? THIS was all I wanted. EVER. ALWAYS. NON-STOP. I read every single paranormal series I could get my hands on that promised I would fall in love hard.

2009 to 2011 – I think it went like this: Twilight Series (2008), Sookie Stackhouse series, Anita Blake series, Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Dark Hunter series, Vampire Academy, Night Huntress, and so on and so on… (eventually delving into the more super-romance paranormals that were funny, too – like Lynsay Sands and Kerrelyn Sparks).

2011 – Then, my paranormal needs slowed down significantly. It felt as if I was in a different book, but the same dark alley, you know? Over and over again, they all started running into each other, and I had lost that loving feeling. I was so sad. I wasn’t done reading, I was just done reading the same thing. That’s when I came across a free book on Amazon (Backstage Pass) that was about a girl touring with a famous rock band, and falling for one of ’em. OMG. I LOVED rock stars!!! Surely he’d not be as good as a paranormal hero (stupid mortal boys ) *snort*, but rock stars are larger then life in their own right. God-like. Hard to get, hard to love, and hard to be loved by. I WAS IN!!! CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

2011 – 2017 And OMG!!! I caught the love-bug again, and while I wasn’t specific to rock stars, I certainly wanted bad boys that needed nobody, and that everybody wanted. Hard to get, and when they set their sites on the heroine, that SHE was good enough for HIM… holy moly my heart. I was addicted. Brian and then Travis and then Kellan (these three had me almost as HARD in love as I was with Edward, and Zsadist and Eric), and the rest is history. 😉

2016 – 2017… and yes. I’m venturing into different genres now. At times it does feel like a lot of these romance stories are sounding alike… running into each other again. BUT!! That loving feeling is still there, mind you, for some of these epic love stories. The more unique ones. The ones that “go there” but written so well, as if it’s real, detailed just so. LIVING it out instead of rushing it out. There are still plenty of those, and they are still my #1 read-need.

But I can tell I’m needing more. Something else. I’m still searching for that reading adrenaline rush. That breath taking moment. That story that I dream about, all night after I close the book. That book that puts me in that delicious love fog that has me walking around with a dreamy smile on my face. Ahhhh there is NOTHING better than that. That sense of satisfaction and needing to shout to the world from the rooftops that I found our next AWESOME READ, and then wanting to bite everyone’s head off for daring to love (and claim!!!) MY new book boyfriend.  MINE!!!! LOL!!!!

And so far, my antidote is to mix it up until I find him again. Read a scary horror that will have my heart racing and my senses on edge. If it has me sleeping with the lights on, that’s fun!! Or read a crazy-psycho love story that makes me so relieved it’s not me. Hey, we can learn from these scary books. Kind of a “how-to” or a “how-NOT-to” cautionary tale. 😉 LOL! Or to read a psych-thriller that has me guessing the entire way through, and then pulls the rug right out from underneath me with a so-clever twist. These are SO much fun my friends. And then… apparently I’ve just discovered my love of certain sci-fi/techno-thrillers types. But what makes me happy? Is that I’m enjoying SO many other stories now. I’m branching out. From epic YA LIFE stories, to scary thrillers, to my beloved love stories, I’m at a stage where there’s so much more for me to choose from now that I realize I’m enjoying other genres. The book world is my oyster.

Q: Cristina: Adding on to Fabi’s question regarding genre progression, have you noticed a difference between your 5 star reviews from then until now? To elaborate, is it tougher to get a 5 star review from you now vs. back then? Do you notice any common book themes/characteristics in your 5 star reviews?

A: Maryse: Hrmm… I honestly don’t know, and I’ll tell you why. There were some stories back then that I 5-starred (or gave a high rating for) that I might not 5 star today (but back then, I was SO excited about it). And yet, I see some stories that I 4-starred back then, that I would TOTALLY 5-star today, because it has stayed with me after all of these years, and because I’ve read SO much, it’s almost as if in the grand repertoire of my reading history, I “know” better now because I have so much to compare to.

But you know what? It’s so hard to gauge, because my book-interests change over the years, and when something is fresh, new and exciting, and I can barely put it down, to me that is highly indicative of a 5-star rating from me. Of course I factor in writing and story flow, but much of my rating has to do with a combination of how a book makes me feel on the spot as I’m reading (all the way to the end – most important), and then how I feel when I’ve  finish the book. And maybe even how I think back on it, a few days (or even weeks, or years) after. I’ve read some wonderfully written books, with impressive detail and research, that didn’t make me feel much of anything, other than curiosity. I read some as an outsider looking in. And I want to feel as if I’m a part of the story. I’m LIVING it with the characters. I AM the characters. I read to feel good (or bad) as long as it’s entertaining or absorbing. But especially I read to feel. Once I factor in how it made me feel, I can give it an honest rating (and if it made me feel ecstatic, excited, and/or addicted… it’s very likely to be a 5-star read!).

Q: Cristina: I’m curious on how do choose which books to review? Is it random or do you have a system?

A. Maryse: It’s more random than anything. I’d say 80% random and 20% planned (and it’s usually something I really want to read anyway, if I’ve specifically “scheduled it” into my reading week). But no real “system”. I’m a spontaneous reader and blogger (well… mostly, since I do have weekly posts that correspond with a certain day each week). LOL!!! I choose my next read depending on my mood, so that I can enjoy myself every single time I read. I read because I love it, and it entertains me so much, and it’s my “special time” just for me. If it’s a good book and I’m into it, I can live there for a whole day or more! It’s what inspires me to write more “fun” or “I’m SO excited!!!” reviews, and those are my favorite to write.

But if I’m feeling obligated to read something (and occasionally it happens, if I’ve promised to give it a go), but the story isn’t catching me, or I’m just not in the mood for the genre, my heart might not be in it either. Then I’m bummed, instead of excited. Yep. I have to be in the mood for it. However I have been known to specifically read some because it was by an author I love and many are highly anticipating it (so I suppose that’s “mood” also, because I’m always in the mood for my favorite authors). 😉

Q. R: I have one!! I want to know how many books a month you DNF that we never hear about! And do authors always know when you’re reading them or do you just pick something up and then quietly DNF if it doesn’t work?

A. M: Yes. I do DNF books. Life is too short, and there are just SO MANY books that I want to read. How many in a month? At least four. Probably double that. Sometimes it’s just because it’s not what I’m in the mood for, or something that I’m DYING to read has come my way. Mostly, I give it a good “first quarter” of the book read (unless it’s obvious from the start that it’s not for me), and then I either continue, or I move on to something else. And I’ve DNF’d later on, even after the first quarter. *blushes* I try not to let an author know I’m reading their book unless I’m feeling like I’m truly into it. At times they do know, because something has blurb-jolted me, I’ve started it, and well, I occasionally announce it to everyone, so… yeah. But I prefer alleviating stress for everyone and just going crazy for it publicly once I really know. 😀

There will be a FUN FUN FUN part three tomorrow. I answer more questions,  + some of our book crew’s very first “comments” here (that they’re dying to re-read, LOL!), some of the funniest moments on the blog (so many!!), and my perfect reading day.

Check out each part of our “8th Birthday Blog Reminiscing + Q& A” trilogy” here:

• Happy 8th Birthday, Blog!!! Let’s Reminisce… Part 1
• Happy 8th Birthday, Blog!!! Let’s Reminisce… Part 2
• Happy 8th Birthday, Blog!!! Let’s Reminisce… Part 3