Most book lovers have found themselves binge reading at one point in time. It comes in many forms. Finding a new (to you) series and plowing through all of the books that are available. Or just developing a preference towards a particular author and gobbling up everything they write.
I'm guilty of doing both when I find a series that clicks with me or an author that feels like (s)he is writing directly for me.
I had taken a few years off of daily reading when my kids were younger as it always felt like I was juggling many balls in the air. As they got older, I started to have a bit more time to spend on my own activities, and I eased back into reading with a book that was light and easy. The kicker was that it had more books following it already out and I could pick up the next one, diving right in like I was friends with the characters.
Binge Worthy Reading
The initial book I mentioned that led me to read a whole series in a short time was the amusing Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. As the series had begun many years earlier, it was easy to find the books. Additionally, due to their straightforward and light nature, I managed to finish the first 25 books quickly, enjoying a good laugh throughout (the 29th book was just released today!).
Of course, I'd have to take a break occasionally to read a different style book, but it was nice being able to jump right back in to where I left off, knowing the main characters and how the book would make me feel. Stephanie is not the brightest bounty hunter in the city, and she manages to get in crazy amounts of trouble, but her team has her back.
Be sure to watch the movie after reading the first book One For the Money. Katherine Heigl plays Stephanie Plum - I thought the movie was decent, but my vision of Stephanie was a bit different than what was portrayed on the big screen. Janet has a few other series as well, but many felt too similar. Find More Books to Read before Watching the Movie here.
More recently, Janet's newer series has a very intelligent female lead that is a recovery agent. Gabriela Rose in The Recovery Agent is refreshingly witty and can handle her own - I was pleased to see Janet move towards that direction with this next series.
I've also come across a couple of series that are just fun chick lit. The Summer Beach Series by Jan Moran has seven books in it with an eighth dropping soon. The first book opens with Ivy learning that she's the owner of a large estate out in California after her husband dies … He had bought it and used their funds without her knowledge. She takes a year to grieve his death and heads out to see the property before selling it, and it just speaks to her. Between her and her sister, Shelly, they decide to keep the place and turn it into an Inn. Witness the excitement of starting a business, building friendships, all while discovering secrets and decades old history of their new residence.
Looking for a getaway? Check out these Books Set on Islands
The next author, Elin Hilderbrand, also wrote a series with a newly widowed woman finding out that her husband had a secret life and a separate place that she never knew he'd purchased. In The Paradise Trilogy, Irene ends up traveling all the way out to St. John Island where she finds her husband had another family! Lots of excitement as she uncovers so many hidden secrets that had been kept from her and her grown children in the last decade of his life.
Elin Hildebrand is one of my go-to authors when I need a book to read. She uses Nantucket as the setting for most and they frequently have a bit of mystery mixed in with romance. Although many are summer reads, she's also got a quartet called Winter Street for those of you that like to keep with the seasons. Here are a few stand-alone favorites to be sure to check out:
Nora Roberts is another author that has captured my heart. A majority of her books are free standing, but she does have a series called Bride Quartet that features four very strong women who decide to go into the wedding business together having been lifelong friends with complimentary specialties. There is always love in the air as that's their business - but each book has a new love interest for one of them, introducing new fun (and challenges) into the mix.
While this quartet is more traditional fiction / romance, I've found that the free-standing books Nora Roberts writes are very in depth, emotionally stimulating books with many falling under the category of thriller or mystery. She also uses the pseudonym J.D. Robb if you are looking for more reading material!
Moving back to romance books, Helen Hoang has a great trilogy called The Kiss Quotient (also the title of the first book in the series). She skillfully develops a character named Stella to be more than just her diagnosis (Asperger's). Stella is a brilliant economist, very awkward and has an outlandish plan to gain a new skill set. This series is fairly racy (content for mature audience), but I love that I learned a bit about how people with Asperger's think and the challenges that they go through. Continue reading the authors note to learn about Helen's own journey and additional resources if needed.
This final series is a bit saucier, so viewer discretion is advised. Bromance Book Club has four books plus a brand-new holiday book coming out this month to jump that number up to five for the series. I originally picked it up thinking it would be more comedy, very light reading. While some aspects did have humor, it covered hard topics like marital issues and showed the power of strong friendships and support. This was an interesting series as it was told from the guy's point of view and so many romance novels are told by the female. Again, the entire series is very explicit in some of the scenes, so this is also for mature audience.
I hope that you'll enjoy some binge worthy reading based on my recommendations!
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