Nalini Singh’s Psy/changeling series? Books 1, 2, and 4.

Funnily enough, I just finished “glomming” this series, and I almost never do that. Caressed by Ice (#3) is probably my favorite because I loved reading about a Psy (repressed and virginal) hero as opposed to having it be the heroine who is in that position of resisting touch. I hope you get around to it, Jessica, because I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Jill — How may is “as many as you do”? Just curious! Also, I hadn’t though much about connecting this topic to the objectivity of reviews, but you’re absolutely right. Being weary of a subgenre or an author can unfairly bias a reviewer against a book.

RfP, thank you for your excellent point on tropes, with which I heartily agree. I think maybe too many things now get stuffed under that label, and some of them have lent it a negative connotation.

And don’t worry about the nonscolding: I make a living disagreeing with people and getting yelled at. At this point, unless someone is threatening my life and the life of my progneny, I assume they love me.

Jill, thank you. If you didn’t have your own excellent blog, I would be sure you were my mother. This is a first, and I am in terrific company.

Perhaps the NPR host was clarifying “ennui” for the listeners? I’d be surprised if their regular staff didn’t know the word. (I noticed a similar moment a few weeks ago, but given the context it was impossible that the host didn’t know the word.)

MoJo, I really notice “the repetition of a given author’s FAVORITE devices that are unique to them” too. A series with the same characters is the only time I want to see striking similarities in back-to-back books.

“‘tropes’ (I hate that word because it seems to have taken on such a negative connotation)”

Tropes are a two-edged sword in genre. Sometimes they convey meaning usefully, and create resonances that evoke past texts. But tropes can be irritating if their expression doesn’t seem fresh or if each new instantiation doesn’t seem to *add* something to the pattern, rather than simply reflecting what’s gone before.

In keeping with Jessica’s topic, I feel that keeping reading fresh is partly within the reader’s control. At the same time, some echoes of past works will never resonate with some readers. I praised noir tropes a few weeks ago, but others who’ve read more noir (or enjoyed it less) might hate the same examples I enjoyed. On the other hand I whanged CL Wilson for leaning too hard on “well-used tropes” from romance and fantasy; it was all too familiar from when I read fantasy as a teen, and I wasn’t thrilled to see those tropes still circulating with little alteration. However, I think for some mainly-romance readers her fantasy world was so fresh and different that the old-school romance tropes hardly registered.

I also notice this “burn out” happening to me not only when it comes to authors but also within a genre. For me it helps if I switch genres, too much paranormal and all the vamps, shifters etc start getting mixed up in my head. Too much UF and I feel the need for something lighter.

In addition to the Kenyon books, I’m reading a Gena Showalter series now and am trying to be very careful not to read the books too closely together. It’s a delicate balance between wanting more, more, more! and preserving the potential for enjoyment.