The bad boy is a staple of the romance novel. We readers love a black leather clad, motorcycle riding, dangerous, handsome-as-sin, swaggering bad boy – especially when he is paired with a sweet, quiet, shy, good girl. Yes, we’ve met both these characters many times before, but in The Return of Luke McGuire, Justine Davis…
If there’s a setting more romantic than a savage steamy jungle, I haven’t found it. Anyone who’s fantasized about being alone in the wilderness with Indiana Jones will be lost in this tale before you can say “malaria vaccine.” In the market for a Road Romance? Look no further. The story begins with Grant Sullivan,…
Those readers who love romances with sweet, vulnerable heroines and sweet, handsome heroes will love Catherine Anderson’s latest novel. While the ending is a real page-turner, the first half of the book drags so much you might not even get there. But hang in, because it’s worth it. Marilee Nelson loved Joe Lakota all her…
I recently completed my collection of Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous series and I’ve started reading them in order. Talk about a feast! There is such consistent quality in these books. It was a joy for me to meet and get to know Blue and Lucy, the quiet SEAL and the girl-next-door who are…
On paper at least, A Great Catch has some of my favorite elements in a romance: sparkling writing, an unusual setting, realistic conflicts, and charming supporting characters. So why the mediocre grade? Because I had serious problems with the couple in this book. For a couple of career-minded adults in a very difficult profession, they…
The Irish setting is used to great effect in JoAnn Ross’s Fair Haven. This is a warm and touching romance between Michael Joyce and Dr. Erin O’Halloran who have both seen far too much of war and hatred. Their love for a mutual friend who is dying brings them together where they discover each other…
For those who enjoy stories of long-term friendship that blossoms into love, here’s one to consider. The outline is familiar – poor girl and rich boy find love, are doomed by disapproving family, Love eventually Conquers All. Happily, the author layers this framework with enough texture to make the conventional story worth another look. At…
My favorite holiday celebration anywhere is a neighborhood in Austin, Texas that has had a riotous (and fairly pagan) Christmas lights spectacle for 15+ years. It’s essentially a wild block party that lasts a month and a half, with live music and thousands of visitors, and it wouldn’t be possible without the good-natured cooperation of…
Come on – fess up. You just love a good shameless melodrama. There’s nothing quite like wallowing in a story about a bad girl who is really good, small town people with closed minds, a hunky hero who hates our heroine at first because she is rich and he was born on the wrong side…
Opposites Attract is hot chocolate on a winter’s night. Smooth and comforting, this is a story warmed with family love and loyalty, sweetened with healing that comes when old secrets are revealed and truth is accepted. However, as the tale unfolds, detail-conscious readers could be distracted by uneven pacing, a few unlikely scenarios, and inconsistent…
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