Castle of the Wolf certainly delivers a refreshingly different setting, but the characters and the story have a regrettably familiar feel. Still, for readers craving a story not set in Regency England, this book might well hit the spot. The plot involves Cissy Fussell, a young woman destined to be a poor relation living on…
In her latest novel, Naomi Bellis takes many of the good parts of the old Gothic romances, including an eerie mood and deep dark secrets, and turns them into a thrilling romance. Gone, though, is the passive heroine and her overbearing lover of old while the author’s stronger and more complex leads do a wonderful…
This is the first Sari Robins book I’ve read. She’s one of those authors that I always look at in the bookstores, thanks in no small part to her wonderful covers. This one is no different, with the appropriately red-haired heroine, wearing a very mischievous expression, disrobing the hero, displaying his lovely broad back. Unfortunately,…
Reading this romance wasn’t a hardship, but in the end I never felt it was anything special or memorable. The notorious Madame Aphrodite, owner of one of London’s most infamous brothels, hires Sebastian Thorne to track down an enemy who stole her three daughters away when they were just little girls. (This is the third…
Bedding the Heiress is a cliché-ridden mess. Here is the synopsis: Feisty heroine Angry hero Chick-in-pants housebreaker Whore! Was that a maidenhead? Special license That tells you everything you need to know, doesn’t it? You can all connect those dots, I’m sure. What, I have to write more? Okay, fine, if you insist… The book…
A warrior heroine in historical romance is one plot element that makes me look the other way when choosing my next read. That doesn’t mean I haven’t enjoyed a few of those heroines in the past but after reading Gwen Rowley’s latest featuring one very appealing fighting woman who can match, if not defeat, her…
Historical romances have always seemed more incredibly romantic to me than any other subgenre because there is just something about a big meaty historical saga that fires my imagination. However, a good historical must have not only a well-told story but also must have characters who capture the reader’s heart. If one of these elements…
Temperance Challinor is a tradeswoman who inherited her linen draper business from her father. The Plague has been bad for business, but in 1666, things are beginning to look up. Just in time for the Great London Fire. Temperance meets John Bow, a poet and troubadour, who is singing in a tavern where she has…
Poor Juliette Garrison. She has been saddled with one of the worst heroes I’ve had the displeasure of reading. Thomas Jameson flat out ruined this book. The Bare Truth would have been a quite a nice read had the romance been left out. Juliette has been poor all her life. With her mother dying, she…
Reading Simply Magic brought to mind an excellent ATBF column about Regencies in Disguise, books that are European Historicals in length and sensuality, but Trad Regencies in tone and societal mores. So many historicals set in the Regency are completely modern in voice and character behavior. Not so with Mary Balogh, and for this Traditional…
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