What are you reading? Watching?

By |2023-02-27T06:53:22-05:00February 27th, 2023|Categories: Dabney AAR|

February has been, overall, a rainy month here. On top of that, I got COVID–for the second time (the first was in November of 2020)–got put on Paxlovid and then developed a terrible rash. So I’ve been staying in and reading and watching. Goodreads tells me I read eight books this month and Dr. Feelgood and I’ve streamed three TV shows.

We watched three female centric shows: Bad Sisters, Mare of Eastowne, and Dead to Me.

I–even with its occasional fantastical plot–adored Dead to Me. The relationship between Judy (Linda Cardellini) and Jen (Christina Applegate) is one of the best portrayals of adult female friendship I’ve ever seen. The show manages to be very (intelligently) funny and, especially in its last season, remarkably moving. All the supporting actors are superb–who knew James Marsden could be so funny?

Bad Sisters was fun but so morally iffy that, by its conclusion, I was ambivalent about its joys. Sharon Horgan is brilliant […]

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The Best of 2022 – Dabney’s List

By |2023-01-22T10:35:46-05:00January 23rd, 2023|Categories: Best of 2022, Best of List, Dabney AAR|Tags: , |

2022 was not my best year for romance reading. I read only three DIKs published in 2022 and, when I look at my Goodreads list, there isn’t a single five star read from books out last year–almost all the books I adored are from earlier years. That said, the year did offer books I enjoyed enough to happily recommend them to others. This is THAT list.

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

I’ve never read a bad book by Lisa Jewell – she’s received only high marks here at AAR. This one is one of her best – and I say that as someone who didn’t read its prequel, The Family Upstairs. The Family Remains is suspenseful but not at all scary or violent. It’s more an explanation of a stressful time rather than a […]

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

By |2022-02-13T15:46:31-05:00February 14th, 2022|Categories: Dabney AAR|Tags: |

It’s Valentine’s Day and tonight Dr. Feelgood and I plan to do…. nothing special. I didn’t get him a card and I bought flowers on Saturday at the Farmer’s Market so I sure hope he isn’t bringing me home any more. I also do not want any chocolates–he is the candy freak, not me–nor do I hope for a gift given that I’ve nary a thing for him. I’m just not that into Valentine’s Day. […]

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The Best of 2021 – Dabney’s List

By |2022-01-25T14:29:26-05:00January 26th, 2022|Categories: Best of 2021, Best of List, Dabney AAR|Tags: , |

According to Goodreads, I read eighty-two books (for the first time – my rereads would have put that number closer to 165) in 2021. I read across genres and glommed series. I DNF’d anything that didn’t grab me after the first fifty pages. I gravitated (overall) to books that were aspirational and viewed humankind with a sympathetic eye. I read enough Karin Slaughter to sink a Kindle.

Here are the books I liked the best. I didn’t love them all but I’m glad I read them all and can recommend them easily.

[…]

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The Way Back on Wednesday: Alex Markov: Dreamboat or Douchebag?

By |2021-09-09T09:04:41-04:00September 8th, 2021|Categories: Anne AAR, Caroline AAR, Characters, Dabney AAR, Dreamboat or Douchebag, Haley AAR, Heroes, LinnieGayl AAR, Maggie AAR, Mary AAR|Tags: , , , |

(originally published on June 3, 2016) 

In another of our occasional series in which we discuss the merits – or lack thereof – of fictional heroes and heroines, AAR staffers turn their attention to Alex Markov of Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Kiss An Angel taps into the classic “arranged marriage” trope. The two protagonists, Daisy and Alex, are blackmailed into marriage by a third party: Daisy’s dad. Daisy agrees in order to avert legal trouble and avoid prison. For Alex Markov, this was his year for paying off big debts, first with his deathbed promise to Owen Quest to take the circus out for its last season under the Quest name, and then by agreeing to marry Max’s daughter. In all these years Max had never asked anything of him as repayment for having saved Alex’s life, but when he’d finally gotten around to it, he’d asked for a doozy. […]

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Are billionaires the new dukes? Or do we hate both these days?

By |2021-07-18T11:32:39-04:00July 19th, 2021|Categories: Dabney AAR|Tags: , |

According to Wikipedia, there are around 2700 or so billionaires in the world. Several of them are determined, after mastering our world, to take their empires to other worlds. Many a critic has said, good, get lost, we don’t need no stinking uber uber uber rich guys. Here at AAR, however, we’re slightly positive about romances featuring billionaires. Of the 24 books we’ve reviewed with billionaire in the title, two have been DIKs, fourteen have gotten Bs, six have gotten Cs, and two have gotten Ds. […]

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What holidays do you love to celebrate? And happy 4th of July!

By |2021-07-04T13:09:05-04:00July 4th, 2021|Categories: Dabney AAR, Real Life|Tags: |

I read an interesting–and to me, depressing–article in the New York Times yesterday about how the American flag itself is now considered by many a partisan symbol. The same is true for the 4th of July, one of this country’s most beloved holidays. Where I live, there is intense disagreement over how to celebrate the founding of our nation, at least on the part of policy makers.

I’ve always loved the 4th although now that my kids are grown I no longer make this cake. […]

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

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: , , , , |

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 […]

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