The 17th century is a fascinating time and it’s rather sad that more novels aren’t set in the period. In her debut novel, Anne O’Brien carries readers back to Restoration England, but instead of focusing on Charles II’s glittering Court, she shows readers how the political aftermath of the Civil War and Interregnum affected the…
With over forty novels published, I expected smooth, experienced writing from Johanna Lindsey. A Marriage Most Scandalous has great writing but also many flaws and a hero and heroine who increasingly are not worthy of any admiration or respect. After Sebastian Townsend sleeps with a woman who turns out to be the wife of his…
It’s not a happy thing when a bad book happens to a good writer. Sadly, there’s nothing I can find to like about this book except the fact that the prose – as always with Ms. London – is smooth and readable. And, even though her characterizations are skillfully done, the author’s protagonists are so…
Looking for a medieval romance with historical accuracy and characters who belong in their time? Joan Wolf delivers in satisfying fashion with To the Castle. Eleanor de Bonevile, daughter to the Earl of Lincoln, was raised in a convent and is set to take her vows when she turns eighteen in six month’s time. When…
Whoa! Classified as European Historical Romance, Passion should come with a warning label reading “Explicit Sexual Scenes.” Until I checked the book’s sub-category, I was convinced I had mistakenly picked up a book of Erotica. The sexual scenes, which are well underway by page ten, are hard and heavy, with verbiage many would consider objectionable….
The Lady Lies, Samantha Saxon’s debut novel (The Lady Killer follows in December), suffers from too many ingredients in the recipe. There is a really good story in here waiting to burst free but too many side plots and characters weigh it down. At the age of ten, Aidan Duhearst learns from the Duke of…
There’s a lot of promise in Anne Mallory’s writing. It is, however, a promise as yet unfulfilled. The second novel by the author and former Golden Heart finalist, Daring the Duke is a largely formulaic tale of yet another anonymous female thief and the nobleman – one of those aristocratic law-enforcement types found only in…
As the husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa! That novelty ditty kept running though my head the entire time I read this book. And honestly, if I hadn’t signed up to review Only for a Knight, I’d have stopped reading it about two chapters in. After an absence of a decade, Robbie…
Okay, I’m telling myself that I must not rant about annoying pretentious heroines, but after reading A Perfect Hero I certainly want to. Little can affect my reading enjoyment more than an immature, self-centered, demanding heroine. Unfortunately Lady Julianna Sterling falls into this category and possesses such limited communication skills that much of her conversing…
Lovers of dark and emotional romance, take note: there is a new author to check out! The Lily Brand, Sandra Schwab’s debut novel, is an historical romance set just after the Napoleonic Wars. As I read the overwhelmingly dark opening of this novel, I was taken aback by the relentless evil in this story, but…
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