Authors and Books - Hate Them/Love Them

I have been thinking a lot about authors and books and why I like them.  You see, I tend to stick to the same set of 30 or so authors (probably more, I am actually afraid to count :)).  I tend to get a little irritated when I auto-buy a book based solely on the author and it turns out to be not very good.  However, I am a forgiving soul, so I will usually make the same mistake several times before striking them to my library only list.  I understand that an author cannot appeal to all readers all the time.  They need to write what appeals and interests them, and obviously I am not them and they don't ask my opinion.  So here is a listing of some examples of authors that missed with me:

1. The Huxtable Quintet series from Mary Balogh. I love Mary's books, but this series just didn't do anything for me except the 3rd book At Last Comes Love but even that one was only a 3 out 5 star.
2. As I stated in a recent review of Celeste Bradley's When She Said I Do, the book may have failed but author didn't lose me yet!
3. Books 4 and 5 of Elizabeth Boyle's Bachelor Chronicles, Confessions of a Little Black Gown and Memoirs of a Scandalous Dress, were just not of the same caliber as the 5 star Love Letters from a Duke.  Sighhh...I need to reread that one!
4. Liz Carlyle's last series entitled Fraternitas Aureae Crucis definitely didn't come close to her earlier books.  I really hope she finds her way back soon because A Woman Scorned and A Woman of Virtue are in my top 20 books and I would love to read about some more awesome couples.
5. I had to give up on Gaelen Foley after the 5 Star worthy One Night of Sin.  Everything else has been unreadable.
6. I also gave up on Karen Hawkins.  The Maclean Curse series just wasn't good which is too bad because the Talisman Ring series was pretty original and well-written.
7. I keep giving Madeline Hunter more chances even after the mess that was the Rothwell Brothers series.  The Rarest Blooms were decent, but she has so much more potential.  She just needs to stay away from Jerks as Heroes.  I need to review one of her books soon.
8. Eloisa James.  I think she writes too many books in a series because I always enjoy the first couple but by the last few I am sooooo done with the characters I can't even stand it.  This wasn't the case with the last Fairy Tales book, The Ugly Duchess.  That book was just lightweight compared to the others and should have been a novella.  Too much filler.
9.  Sabrina Jeffries has the same issue as Eloisa James.  Shorter series would solve a lot of the problems.
10. Carolyn Jewel is on the bubble...Scandal and Indiscreet were okay but the Reforming the Scoundrels series has been terrible.  Not Wicked Enough was a DNF.
11. Lisa Kleypas is always good, but for me the Wallflowers series was forgettable except for the heartbreaking Again the Magic and Top Ten Best Book of All-Time Devil in Winter.  Mmmm...Sebastian....
12. Stephanie Laurens needs to take her heroes and their cream and go away until she finds some heroes that ladies actually want to have relations with without help!!!!
13. Karen Ranney is almost always reliable, but A Scandalous Scot gave me pause with it's not goodness and I am seriously doubting whether I want to try the sequel The Lass Wore Black or not.

Half the fun of reading is the anticipation one feels when they tuck into a new book.  I think that is why I am so keenly disappointed when one doesn't work for me.  I don't have a certain type of plot line that I stay away from ; although the pre-teen wannabe murderer in Celeste Bradley's latest is one that I never want to read again.  I guess I'll continue my quest for the best books.  Out of over 600 I have rated, over 50 have been rated a 5 star book.  That's over 8% which I think is pretty good.  I hope to read at least 60 books this year so that means I might have 4 or 5 new All Time Favorites.  Who could ask for more?