A Retro Write: Yes We Can! Our favorite Activist Heroines

originally published on February 3, 2017

Women have a long history of standing up for their beliefs, and there are great romance novels starring heroines doing just that. American and British suffragettes (or suffragists), Civil Rights activists, lawyers, writers, organizers, and military rebels – you’ll find all of them here, and more. Let these ladies inspire you to fight for your beliefs, whatever they happen to be.

Caroline Russomanno:

Erica Johnson – Unfinished Business by Karyn Langhorne

Erica, a teacher, is tired of seeing funding diverted away from the neediest and most vulnerable. She protests at the hero’s (a Southern Republican senator’s) press conference and is dragged out by police. This book is set during the W. Bush administration and Erica is a strong reminder that black activists have been working continuously, even when out of the […]

By |2021-06-19T10:14:33-04:00June 19th, 2021|Categories: AAR Shannon, Caroline AAR, Dabney AAR, Heroines, Keira Soleore, Kristen D, Maggie AAR, Romance reading|Tags: , , , , |19 Comments
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“I couldn’t put it down…” What was YOUR last unputdownable read?

The unputdownable read…  it’s kind of the holy grail of books, isn’t it? That book that hooks you in on the first page and doesn’t let you go until the last; the book you enjoy so much that you can’t stop turning the pages even as you wish you could read more slowly because you don’t want it to end, and the book you immediately have to shout about to all your friends – whether in person or on Social Media.  We’re all lucky enough to come across THAT BOOK from time to time, and the AAR team got together to talk about the book we read most recently that we simply couldn’t put down.

Anne

I Joined a Teen-age Sex Club (Yes, that was an actual title from a story published in 1951!)

This is a compilation of essential romance […]

By |2018-06-04T05:43:13-04:00June 4th, 2018|Categories: AAR Shannon, Anne Marble, audio books, BJ Jansen, Caz AAR, Dabney AAR, EmAAR, graphic novels, Keira Soleore, Kristen D, Lisa F, Lynn Spencer, Maggie AAR, Re-reading, Reading, Romance reading|Tags: |55 Comments
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Maggie and Shannon Talk Mysteries…

Sales figures for books in the digital age can be tricky. That’s because independently published e-books can sell quite well without making a great deal of money for the author or affecting print sales at all. And that matters because ebook sales continue to decline, which means print sales continue to lead market trends. When it comes to determining what sells most, figures vary. According to Nielsen BookScan, which bases their data on number of sales, the most popular books in 2015 were general adult fiction followed by romance and suspense/thrillers. According to Statistica the most popular genre is thrillers, and according to Publishers Weekly romance is seeing a steady decline while thrillers are seeing a steady uptick.  Statistics also tell us that women read more fiction than men and that we are the primary readers for mystery and romance.

All that math is my […]

By |2018-06-01T19:10:24-04:00June 1st, 2018|Categories: AAR Shannon, Maggie AAR, Mysteries, Reading|Tags: |12 Comments
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Coming Soon… June 2018

Difficult as it is to believe, we’re heading into June and looking ahead to summer – and it’s time for AAR staffers to take a look at upcoming releases and choose the ones we’re most excited about reading over the next few weeks. Just a reminder that this isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list of what’s coming out next month; it’s just a selection, by the reviewing team, of the titles we’re eager to get our hands on and our noses stuck into! You might have some other ideas, and we’re only too happy to hear what those might be – so please do jump into the comments and let us know if you think we’ve missed something we really MUST read :)

Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean (19 Jun)

A literal bastard persuades a […]

By |2018-05-14T09:49:44-04:00May 14th, 2018|Categories: AAR Shannon, Anne Marble, Books with Buzz, Caroline AAR, Caz AAR, Eagerly Awaiting, EmAAR, Lee AAR, Lisa F, Maggie AAR, Maria Rose, Romance reading, Upcoming releases|Tags: , |12 Comments
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Coming Soon… May 2018

When it comes to the books AAR staffers are most looking forward to reading in May, there’s a huge consensus of opinion; we can’t wait to read Lucy Parker’s Making Up, the third in her London Celebrities series, and Someone to Care, book four in Mary Balogh’s series of books about the Westcott family. Ms. Parker is a relatively new author – not only is Making Up the third book in a series, it’s her third published work, while Ms. Balogh is – I hope she won’t mind my saying this – a veteran of the genre with something over one hundred novels, novellas and short stories to her credit.

Other favourite authors appearing on this month’s list – Julie Anne Long with the next of her Hellcat Canyon books, Amanda Quick, Jenny Colgan, Sarah J. Mass and the follow-up to Sandhya Menon’s hugely enjoyable When Dimple Met Rishi, From Twinkle with Love.

By |2018-04-29T08:27:48-04:00April 29th, 2018|Categories: AAR Shannon, Caroline AAR, Caz AAR, Eagerly Awaiting, EmAAR, Keira Soleore, Lee AAR, Maggie AAR, Maria Rose, Mary Dube, Romance, Romance reading, Upcoming releases|Tags: |18 Comments
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Coming Soon… March 2018

We are excited about March! There are new releases from Alisha Rai, Simone St. James, Penny Reid, Anna Lee Huber and Patricia Briggs, to name but a few.  The AAR staff has picked the contemporary romance, mysteries, thrillers, paranormals, YA, women’s fiction and historicals we are most looking forward to. Here’s hoping our “Coming Soon” choices make your TBR pile grow! (And, as always, let us know any we missed.)

Counting on a Countess by Eva Leigh (27 Mar)

Eva Leigh is a must-read author for me.  I loved From Duke Till Dawn , book one in her London Underground series, and given marriage of convenience plotlines are my catnip, this story of the impoverished earl and the lady smuggler promises to be another great read. – […]

By |2018-02-22T22:54:27-05:00February 22nd, 2018|Categories: AAR Shannon, Anne Marble, Caz AAR, Dabney AAR, Eagerly Awaiting, EmAAR, Keira Soleore, Lee AAR, Maggie AAR, Maria Rose, Romance, Romance reading|11 Comments
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The Best of 2017 – Shannon’s List

2017 has turned out to be a stellar reading year for me. Sure, I’ve read my share of duds, but I’ve also read some truly remarkable novels. In no particular order, here are the ones I’ve loved most.

 

 

 

Keystone by Dannika Dark

I first discovered Ms. Dark’s work back in 2014, and she’s now one of my auto-buy authors. Keystone, the first book in her Crossbreeds series, won my heart completely. It’s the absolute perfect blend of romance, mystery, and magic, set in a super unique world. It’s one of those books I wanted to go on forever.

Buy Now: A/BN/iB/K

By |2017-12-18T22:36:57-05:00December 19th, 2017|Categories: AAR Shannon, Best of List, Romance reading, Shannon AAR|Tags: |4 Comments
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Coming Soon… November 2017

It’s not all that often that there’s a hands-down favourite when it comes to a post like this, but a new book from Loretta Chase is a red-letter day on any romance reader’s calendar and many of us here have put a big red circle around 28th November, which is when her latest release, A Duke in Shining Armor is hitting the shelves and our e-readers. Also coming in November is the next in Mary Balogh’s Westcott series, Someone to Wed, along with Loreth Anne White’s next Angie Pallorino novel and the next instalment – Undercover Attraction – in another favourite series, Katee Robert’s The O’Malleys.

Whatever your preference, there’s a lot to look forward to in November, ready to curl up with on those long, cold winter evenings.

What are you most looking forward to reading in the weeks ahead? Drop by and let us know in the comments.

By |2017-10-18T21:24:06-04:00October 16th, 2017|Categories: AAR Shannon, Alexandra AAR, Anne Marble, Books with Buzz, Caz AAR, Dabney AAR, Eagerly Awaiting, EmAAR, Keira Soleore, Lee AAR, Lisa F, Maggie AAR, Maria Rose, Mary Dube, Romance, Romance reading, Upcoming releases|3 Comments
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Coming Soon… September 2017

While we AAR staffers have fairly diverse tastes on the whole, there are some books and authors that pull us together for various reason – we like the authors, we like their writing, we like their storytelling – and into genres that sometimes we don’t read very often.  This month, the big draws appear to be historicals, with new titles from Sherry Thomas, Katharine Ashe and Juliana Grey all eagerly awaited by many of us.

A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas (5 Sept)

I was fairly bowled over by A Study in Scarlet Women and am sure this second instalment in the Lady Sherlock series won’t disappoint.  Our heroine is approached by the wife of her dearest friend  to find the man she loved years before… but there’s bound to be a lot more to it than […]

By |2017-08-24T23:37:51-04:00August 25th, 2017|Categories: AAR Shannon, Caz AAR, Dabney AAR, Eagerly Awaiting, EmAAR, Keira Soleore, Kristen D, Lisa F, Maria Rose, Romance, Romance reading, Upcoming releases|Tags: |7 Comments
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The Book Blind Taste Test – Pick a book… any book…

I have always loved libraries, but I admit I had fallen out of the habit of using my local one recently. One of my dear friends is a middle school librarian and she (appropriately) shamed me a bit for it, telling me the best way to make sure libraries stay around and keep their funding is to use them. So, a few months back, I started building weekly trips to my local temple of knowledge into my schedule and added a particular challenge to myself. I would walk directly to the New Releases section and pick up the first book by an author I didn’t recognize.

This has led to some real gems (Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinsborough was one) and some duds (which I will leave out for politeness). I told the AAR Staff about my new project and several of them jumped on board, saying it sounded like a great challenge. So many other staffers joined […]

By |2017-07-16T13:08:37-04:00July 14th, 2017|Categories: AAR Shannon, Historicals, Kristen D, Lisa F, Mini reviews, Reading, Romance reading, Shannon AAR|8 Comments
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