For those who have been griping that all romances are cookie cutter with the same settings and time periods, I highly recommend picking up this little gem by Martha Schroeder. It is part two of her Angels of Mercy trilogy about three Englishwomen, from varying backgrounds, who follow Florence Nightingale to the front during the…
Believe in Me picks up soon after the first book leaves off. This second volume’s plot is similar to the first an alliance is to be formed between the Saxons and the Norse Vikings. Again paranormal elements are utilized, but they continue to be less then fully realized. Lord Hawk is the hero of this…
In a novel that is supposed to involve spies, secret missions, and a faux mistress for the hero, there is remarkably little to intrigue the reader. What starts out as a very promising premise quickly falls flat. And, perhaps understandably enough, flat is the word that first comes to mind in describing this book. The…
I volunteered to take a second look at In My Wildest Dreams when Robin asked the other AAR reviewers how we might feel about the Sabrina-style plot. I adore romances like Judith Ivory’s Sleeping Beauty that re-imagine fairy tales, and saw similar potential in Sabrina’s story. As a fan of both Christina Dodd and the…
This book has a really great story in it, not a good story, a great one. So why the grade? Unfortunately the book has a big problem. I’m going to tell you the story and you can guess what the problem is. Celeste, a tomboyish gardener’s daughter grows up on a wealthy estate. There are…
This book started out so well. The exotic beauty of Egypt, dramatic events of life and death on the river Nile, the hint of a strong and likable heroine. And then it all went downhill. The exotic locale gave way to the comparably bland English countryside. The drama slipped into mind-numbingly bland and distasteful plotting….
Sue-Ellen Welfonder’s first novel, Devil In A Kilt, is one of the best literary surprises I’ve had all year. Despite a few relatively minor problems with language, anachronism, and consistency of thought, the author manages to present a highly entertaining and fun book that stirs the emotions from early on, and doesn’t let go until…
Halfway to Heaven is a book I’ll not soon forget, not only because it was a good book, but because of the circumstances under which I read it. I read it during a time of national tragedy, when I was stuck in another state, without my family. When I couldn’t watch the news anymore, I…
By the time this review is posted, many Robin Schone fans will already have read Gabriel’s Woman and decided how they feel about it. Before reading this book, I checked out reviews of this author’s previous efforts, including posts to various lists. Some readers have loved it, others have not. Some felt it was not…
Medieval romances aren’t usually my favorite sub-genre, but for one reason or another I have found myself reading more of them than usual this year. Secret Vows appealed to me because I found the conflict interesting: The heroine is forced by her evil brother-in-law to marry his sworn enemy. Not only does the heroine have…
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