Blog Archive
the ask@AAR: Can We Love Books and Still Be Honest?
I review books for a living — which these days makes me something of an anachronism. Reviews, once a way to think out loud about art, are increasingly treated as just another genre of marketing. Public…
the ask@AAR: What is your favorite of Madeline Hunter’s many works?
With the death of Madeline Hunter, historical romance loses one of its sharpest minds and quietest radicals. Her books were among the first that made me feel like the genre could be as layered and exacting…
the ask@AAR: What do we think about babies these days?
Lately, I’ve been thinking about babies in romance novels. Not as plot twists or conveniently timed disruptions—though a surprise pregnancy can still complicate things in interesting ways—but as a future a character chooses with clarity and…
the ask@AAR: What is the perfect comfort read when you’re grieving?
Grief is the price of love. This phrase, popularized by Queen Elizabeth II, is on my mind today. This week, the life of a close friend, an amazing woman, was snuffed out by that cruel mistress…
Coming Soon – The Books We’re Most Looking Forward to Reading in April 2025
It’s time for April Releases! What are you excited about? We would love to hear which books you’re looking forward to in the coming weeks. Here are a few from our AAR reviewers. (You can see…
the ask@AAR: As Fiction Changes, Does Our View of Men Change Too?
For many years, one of the ways women encountered men—beyond family, school, and daily life—was through books. The novels most often assigned in schools treated male characters with complexity and focus. These men were not always…
Selling Death as Depth
I’m watching Season Three of Reacher—my husband, who loves the books, is also suffering through it—and I am furious. Not just at the show, which is violently dull and predictably brutal, but at the culture that…