That’s funny. She had loaned me some of Vorkosigan too and I tried reading one (Shards of Honor, I think). I got about halfway thru it and felt like, “Urrgh, this is like a bad romance novel” and returned it to her. When I told her I didn’t care for it, she said, “Oh, they are but it ends up being interesting in the series…” That’s when I realized the other five or so books she lent me were that series. I’ll probably try another one though, just to make sure.
The Collapsing Empire by Scalzi was awesome! He needs to get busy writing on that series. I didn’t start the Old Man’s War series until it was over, so I didn’t have to wait. I’m already chomping at the bit.