all book related reviews
I know all readers have favorite comfort reads and books that they consider their guilty pleasure. Beverly Barton’s books are my comfort read and I refuse to feel guilty about the pleasure they give me. Yes, there are other writers of series romance who are more polished, but Barton is a good storyteller, and her…
Millionaire computer nerd Sam Stark has just been left at the altar – again – and while an engagement ring can be returned, those little hors d’oevres can’t. So caterer Desdemona Wainright grits her teeth and walks in with her bill. Stark promptly shocks her with his forthrightness: “Do you think it was the prenuptial…
Shirley Kennedy’s latest Regency Romance has a wonderfully authentic feel to it. It also effectively works a lot of the elements of Gothic romance into its Regency setting. Although its romance wasn’t gripping, I did find The Selfless Sister hard to put down. Lucinda Lindley’s father is having a hard time finding dowries for his…
It’s difficult to write a plausible twins-switching-places story. The author must convince the reader that the twins are superb actors and/or that all the characters around them are either blind or so simple-minded that they don’t notice anything different about the twin they’ve supposedly known for a long time. I was not convinced of either…
Buried Secrets is close to being a really good read, but its promising beginning makes the disappointing end all the more frusterating. The hero is a somewhat tormented man who changes in a believable way during the course of the book, and he shares some great chemistry with the heroine. There is also a fun…
Lately, I’ve had trouble finishing books. I get in, get interested, then the middle sags or the story becomes predictable, I lose interest, and end up flipping through the rest of the book just to get it over with. Not so in the case of Jo Goodman’s More Than You Know. The book isn’t perfect,…
“It was difficult to conduct a sparkling, seductive interaction while both parties carefully hoarded their secrets, guarding every word to prevent giving too much away.” This sentiment describes my feelings throughout the first part of reading The Most Wanted Bachelor – although I liked the story overall, it was difficult to quickly warm up to…
One of the first romances and the first time travel I ever read was Jude Deveraux’s A Knight in Shining Armor. This book made a lasting impression on me, in a good way. Since then I have come to realize that as a sub-genre, the time travel is a difficult one. Believable romances are hard…
As a plot device time travel should be used very carefully. The author’s job is made more complicated by the necessity of explaining the rules and conventions of the traveling done by the characters. To be effective, the time travel must also serve the purpose of furthering the story. Traveling through time, for its own…
Rubies, ghosts, and a bayou – oh my! With Midnight in Ruby Bayou, Elizabeth Lowell concludes the Donovan quartet with a romantic thriller that moves from Seattle to the Low Country of Georgia. Jewelry designer Faith Donovan needs protection. Someone stole a fortune in precious rubies from the Soviet Union, and now a member of…
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