First book of JM you've read?

[Nazifa Jan]

I was just wondering about the other readers' first insight of JM's book?
For me, a friend of mine introduced 'Whitney, my love' to me. Lol, as you assumed, I fell in love. With the characters, the story, the writing, the era.
After that, I made my other friends and my sister read 'Whitney, my love' as their very first JM book.

So, what about you guys, what was your very first Judith McNaught book?

[didem]

It was "Once and Always" for me:) Also a friend of mine recommended it to me and I was hooked. With Once and Always, with Judith, with romance

[Jessica]

You speak of the turning point in my life. Ha ha ha...

OK this sounds almost blasphemous, but I read my first JM sort of by default, and not a little grudgingly. See, at the time I was reading all of Jude Deveraux...I loved historicals. So when my mom headed to Wal-Mart (there was no bookstore in this one-horse town we were living in at the time), I asked her to get me another JD book.

Well, she must not have seen that one, or maybe she got the names mixed up, because she brought back Perfect. I didn't at all like contemporaries, and I did not want to read a new author when I was so in love with Jude Deveraux. (I feel so bad for saying that, because my mama was SO sweet to pick me up a book.) So I read Perfect. And I LOVED it.

Sudden I was like, Jude who?

So I was practically jumping up and down for her to go back to Wal-Mart and buy Whitney, My Love, which is the only other book I remember seeing of Judith McNaught's on the shelf. When she finally did, I will never EVER forget reading and adoring EVERY page of that book. I could hardly bear to go to school because all I wanted to do was continue reading. ha ha... Y'all, I have never ever had a reading experience like that. Before or since.

But this is way more info than you asked for. ha ha.

-- Jessica

[Nazifa Jan]

One funny thing is that I cannot read books in any moving vehicle [car/bus]. But when I was reading WML, I slept then woke up for school and I had WML with me in the bus. I wanted to read it so badly so I just opened it up and read it. I was in the scene where Dr. Whitticomb first comes. Yup, so I was hooked and apparently did not feel nauseas or pukish which I usually feel even with the sight of short texts. Yeah, so now, I can only read JM books in cars/bus but no other books. My mind gets lost when I read her books.
JM's books are a masterpiece!

[Jessica]

Oh my goodness! I can't read in the car either; it makes me violently ill. I have never tried reading a JM book in the car. Hmmm. Maybe this is the cure to my car sickness. Would definitely keep me awake, unlike Dramamine. lol

[Nazifa Jan]

Maybe. . .

[Mysti]

My first JM book was 'Kingdom of Dreams'. I was definitely hooked from then on. I just accidentally picked it up in a bookstore one day. Lucky me!

[Jessica]

Mysti!
Oh my goodness, that's a gooood one! I just re-read A Kingdom of Dreams week before last and remembered why I loved it so much! That part where Stefan comes up and says "He's out there on that field dying for you." *sniff* It makes my heart kind of leap in my throat every time.

So since you read that one first, were you able to read the Westmoreland series in order? I think I read W,ML, then AKOD, then Until You---so a bit out of order. But it didn't matter--I couldn't have loved them any more had I read them in any other order. But still, I like to go back and re-read them in order sometimes.

And to have picked a JM book up by accident! SUCH a lucky choice.

<3

[didem]

I read them backwards First Until You, then W,ML and last I read A Kingdom of Dreams. Sometimes I don't like myself very much

[Jessica]

But wait, do you think in retrospect that could have actually been a good thing? I was so fond of Stephen when I read Whitney, My Love. He was so mischievous and funny. So when I read Until You, I was like "Who is this man and what has he done with my Stephen?" ha ha... Of course, I still loved him because he was ever-so-JM-hero-esque in his own right. But it *was* a jarring transition between the man I met in W,ML and the man we see in UY, because I had never quite thought of him that way--so dynamic and JM-hero-esque, because when I first met him, he was so NOT Clayton, if you know what I mean. ha ha... So by reading Until You first, you probably didn't have that feeling at all... I wonder how it would've changed my perception if I had read Stephen's story first....

Oh. Did you read the expanded Whitney, My Love with the added scenes?? That actually made Stephen's transition to bitter JM hero so much more clear in my mind.

<3

[didem]

Well I have one English and one Turkish copy of W,ML. The both are the same, but I am not sure if it's expanded version or not. Give me a scene that is in expanded version and not in the original version and I'll know. But I've read what happened to Stephen. So if that is in the expanded version, I have it

You are right. It could be a good thing. When I first started Until You, I was so enamored with Stephen. There was nothing soft about him and it was oddly very attractive to me. After I learned his past I understood him. And when I read W,ML it was an emotional roller-coaster for me. I already knew he would find the love of his life and be very happy, I knew their whole story, but his past just teared me apart all over again.

Naturally, from the very first page of W,ML I could see all the resemblance between the brothers. But when Stephen entered the W,ML I was a little shocked to see him so positive and fun. I knew he wasn't always that hard, but still, it was hard to believe

[Jessica]

Yes!! That's the one -- the extended version. The original Whitney, My Love stopped at the chapter where Clay says "Don't say I didn't warn you," and she says, "I won't." (Or something very close to that.) So there was no intro to Until You at all, or any background at first on why Stephen had hardened.

I love in the very beginning of Until You when he is waiting on Charise at the dock. I haven't read it in a while, but I remember he was described as leaning against a wall or some such, tapping his gloves against his thigh. (I may be getting this sort of wrong, but that's the image in my head so I know, therefore, that JM must have said something to this effect. lol) Anyway. For some reason that vision just struck me as so JM-hero-esque. So when I read it, I think that's the moment he transitioned in my head from the happy-go-lucky brother in W,ML to JM hero.

That might be insignificant to most readers, but for some reason that vivid mental image stayed with me. Whenever I think of Stephen, that's what he is doing in my head. Ha ha.

[Mysti]

Jessica,
I'm not really sure of the order of the rest. I couldn't wait to get my hands on all of them. I know WML, Paradise, Something Wonderful (loved the scene with the clunky suit of armor -- hilarious) and Perfect are on my 'Best Loved' list.....Oh, shoot, I love them all. But those four have been read more often than the others. Why can't other authors write like JM? It is AMAZING to me that I have read so many books and no one comes even close to her writing. Okay... I do love Pride and Prejudice. It's been a while since I've read some of them --- I should start all over. I did see someone mention Julie Garwood, and I do like some of her books. 'The Bride' was my favorite, I think.

Has anyone else found any authors that are even close to JM? If so, please share! I've looked and looked with no success.

[Nazifa Jan]

Hey Mysti,

Welcome to the forum.

We've all tried finding an alternative close to JM, but I guess we have all failed miserably. :p
I have a pile of Historic Romance in my books which some people recommended but to no avail because JM is a legend. ♥

[didem]

Come on people. Julie Garwood is perfect in her own way. She writes romantic suspense and she is the best at it. The two authors are not the same, but they are both very very good at what they do. Here is the difference:

In JM books we are dealing with two people falling in love and misunderstandings and stuff like that, there is an emotional roller-coaster. In JG books there are still two people falling in love and a villain and the hero is all protective and possessive and gorgeous. Just like JM heros, but he has a reason to go to the extremes and use his abilities to protect the woman he loves (even when he doesn't even know it yet ) She is the best at writing historical Scottish romantic suspense. Her books are not exactly emotional roller-costers. But she builds her characters so well, you fall for them, and cry for them and laugh with them. Just read it. I promise you you won't be dissappointed. You may still feel you love JM more, it's normal. But you'll love JG's every book too (apart from "a girl named summer", it's a young adult book which doesn't come close to her other 30 something books). I know it. I really do know it. ( My favorite JG book is "Ransom", the second book of her Highlands' Lairds series)

But other than JG, I absolutely agree with you there is noone else comes close to her. I read a lot, I read all the romance books I can find. I don't believe there are any major writers I haven't read yet. But nope. No one close.

There are other good writers and good books. But JM is a brilliant writer who can have your emotions wrapped around her finger and pull and push wherever she wants and you go willingly. It's amazing really. Oh, how I worship that woman.

[Mysti]

Thanks for the Welcome!

Yes, JG is the closest best favorite author behind JM. In both cases, I have liked their earlier books better than their more recent ones. I can't recall what Ransom was about...I'll have to go dig it out. Another big difference between JM and JG is JG's whacky sense of humor, which really work for her characters. And JG usually has a 'hook' at the end where the heroine has made the people love her and in the end they show her they love her.

I guess we just keep on looking. It's incredible to me when I've suggested JM to someone and they will read one of her books and not really like it. My best friend said it had too much angst....

[didem]

[Mysti]

I just looked at all my JG books and I do have both of them, so I have read them; but I haven't read them recently enough to really remember them. Guess I will have to reread.

Yeah, I gave my friend Paradise to read and she's like 'Why don't they just communicate and not have all the misunderstandings?' I told her there wouldn't be a lot of point to the books if everything just went smoothly. Well, everyone to their own, I guess.

[Nazifa Jan]

[Jessica]

Too much angst?!?!?! Is that even possible?? Ha ha. I lurveeeeeee angst.

Mysti -- I love the scenes you mentioned!!! And I totally agree. JG's humor is very different from JM's. JM's is more subtle. Sometimes it's the wording of her narrative. Like Alicia Westmoreland stifling the urge to request the entire bottle of (wine?). lol. I mean, some authors could write that and it wouldn't be funny. But JM's wording is so clever--as is her dialogue.

I do like Julie Garwood -- I've read a lot of her older ones, but not so much after she went to Romantic Suspense. I'm not a great fan of that genre...But!! What was the book where the heroine/princess/whatever she was does something brave like save the Queen's son or the equivalent of such a feat, and she is then allowed to choose her own husband. And she picks the hero, who is probably the only one there who doesn't want her. And he shakes his head, once, meaningfully. But she chooses him anyway. He is not pleased.

(Yes, I realized I just probably butchered that scene in the retelling, but I have read 1000 books since then. lol)

Seems like it had a red cover, but I can't remember.

The only thing is, I have a vague memory of JG's heroines some times getting on my nerves a bit. But I still really liked reading her books.

Have y'all read early Jude Deveraux?

[didem]

[didem]

Yep, found it. It's The Prize I thought that scene you talked about was happening in the beginning and I do remember The Prize's beginning. So I just overlooked it. It just doesn't happen at the very beginning of the book It was a wonderful book.

But JG's all books tend to be romantic suspence. Even the early ones. Maybe you liked the historical ones but not the contemporary ones? With serial killers and stuff... Just saying

[Jessica]

Hmm...I liked her earlier ones. Haven't read many of the ones she has written since, say, 1999. ha ha.

The one every one seems to love is A Knight in Shining Armor, which I HATED for reasons I shan't discuss in case you decide to read it. But all the others I read kept me highly entertained and engrossed. I shall have to research the topic and find one to recommend.

YES -- her historical ones. And that is it-- The Prize! I liked that one. The historicals seem to be mainly focused on the romance. If there was romantic suspense at the end--with a kidnapping or some such--I probably got frustrated and wanted to hurl it at the wall, but the rest of the book made up for it.

Kidnappings at the end are my absolute pet peeve. Grrrrr

<3

[didem]

Well, I love how the heros feel the lost there, the panic of thinking that they lost their loved ones, doing everything in their power to save them. I love that it was not their own fault, it's just that they have enemies who wants to harm them. I think you and I are opposite in that matter. I want to hurl the book to the wall when the hero/heroine "misunderstand" something the other has done, and act accordingly. (look at Clayton's harsh decisions. He kills me every single time ) I just get so very frustrated. I want them to talk for God's sake! Well, that's another thing I got from JM. I never leave any room for misunderstandings in my real life relationships, be it my boyfriend, my friend or my family. I talk until their ears fall off, ahahaha

Well, I still love both genre. It's enough that it's romance and written powerfully. If characters come alive in my mind while reading, I love it.