Men in Kilts is the second book this year that lured me in with an irresistible title (the first was Nerd in Shining Armor). I love intellectual heroes, but like any red-blooded Outlander fan, I find it hard to resist a man in a kilt. I even wrote a purple prose parody on the subject…
Likable lead characters, an entertaining cast of secondary ones, and an intriguing setting are the main attractions in the first book in JoAnn Ross’s new Stewart Sisters trilogy. Less effective for me, however, was the central theme of a missing broach, long an object of dissention between the families of the hero and heroine, and…
With a title like Changing The Rules, one might expect a book that challenges expectations, chafes against convention, or presents a new view on an old romantic problem. Unfortunately, this book doesn’t deliver on that promise, and the essential romantic conflict is never seriously in doubt either. Niqui Stanhope’s writing is very good and her…
A cast of secondary characters straight out of a bad sitcom and a series of painful plot contrivances that are . . . well, painfully contrived irrevocably mar what could otherwise have been an entertaining romance. Think I’m exaggerating about those secondary characters? Try this: An Italian grandmother who thinks “everything in life can be…
A thirty-something widow goes in search of herself and finds the love she’s always deserved in Nancy Herkness’ debut novel. A Bridge to Love is a fast-paced, sexy, and sometimes humorous read in which the hero and heroine both learn that mutual attraction cannot be ignored. A widow with two adolescent children, Kate Chilton had…
Laura Moore’s Night Swimming is a fleshed-out retelling of the Ugly Duckling story, in which the metamorphosing swan must now face its final challenge, the ultimate test of whether its transformation goes more than skin deep. It’s a truly exceptional tale, comprised of breath-stealing romance, a mystery to be solved within a marine biologist’s ocean…
I’ve been reading quite a few old 80s series romances lately, and enjoying the diversity in characters and subject matter that you don’t really see anymore. Many of them either don’t hold up over time or weren’t very good to begin with, but every once in a while I come across a good one. A…
I admit to a streak of sentimentality. I want the characters in my books to reconcile with their estranged families, forgive their enemies, learn from their mistakes, and live happily ever after behind a white picket fence (or turreted battlement, as the case may be). So I don’t mind when a romance gets a little…
I did not like this book at first. It features the kind of family situation that only occurs in romance novels – four beautiful adult sisters who spend a lot of time drinking wine and eating pasta in the bosom of their boisterous Italian family at the scenic ancestral vineyard. It also has the kind…
Finally! I’ve learned not to get my hopes up when it comes to Silhouette releases that promise tough heroines and great action. Too often it seems like those “tough” heroines have to wind up teary-eyed and wobbly-lipped to prove their femininity before the end of the book and the “action” frequently falls flat. The Femme…
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