What are you reading?

By |2022-07-30T10:00:33-04:00August 1st, 2022|Categories: Reading, Romance reading|

It’s the first of August–where did this year go?!?! Goodreads tells me I’ve read 54 books this year–I don’t count re-reads which comprise about a third of my reading. I just finished Klara and the Sun which I found jejune, boring, and almost impossible to believe that it was written by Kazuo Ishiguro. Critics have loved it. I most certainly did not. I’ve just started Exiles, the third Aaron Falk book by Aussie best-selling author Jane Harper. Thus far, it’s compelling. I’m always reading a romance–right now it’s Katee Roberts’ An Indecent Proposal. I’d decided, after so many at AAR have raved about it, to read the O’Malleys series. I’ve never been a fan of mob romances but you guys said they were good so I’m giving them a try. They work for me as long as I don’t think very hard about what the characters are really up to–the love stories are luscious and […]

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AAR Loves… Fantasy Romance

By |2022-06-26T08:56:35-04:00June 27th, 2022|Categories: Caroline AAR, Reading, Romance, Romance reading, Special Titles Lists|Tags: , |

I originally came to romance through fantasy novels with what AAR would now describe as “strong romantic elements.” (Ok, yes, and X-Files fanfiction. It’s a strong overlap). 

Back before YA got its own major marketing classification, a lot of us teens who were good readers but cognitively still kids found that speculative fiction was a good landing pad between kids’ books and Literature For Adults. My pivotal book was Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight, which I read in sixth grade and which will be on my keeper shelf until I die. There was action! There was romance! There was psychic-bonded dragon sex! 

There was no going back.

At the risk of dating myself, other of the “greatest hits” of this era in my life included:

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

Black Trillium by Andre Norton, […]

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Whatcha reading?

By |2022-06-13T05:55:28-04:00June 13th, 2022|Categories: Reading|

I read two to three books a week.. Goodreads tells me that this year I’ve read 45 books–this is probably low as I don’t keep track of re-reads. I’ve tried some new authors–Kate Canterbary, Leigh Bardugo, Trish Dollar, and Louise Candlish–as well as authors I’ve enjoyed in the past–Kelly Bowen,  Cate C. Wells, Dervla McTiernan, and others. My favorite books thus far have been everything I’ve read by Bardugo–Ninth House is AMAZING–Trish Dollar’s Beck Sisters duo, and Sascha Rothchild’s Blood Sugar. (I am writing a review of this–if you liked Gone Girl or Where the Crawdads Sing and think Carl Hiaasen is funny you should read this.)

Currently, I’m reading an ARC of Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young. Though I’ve not read her previously, Young is wildly successful YA author–I believe Spells for Forgetting is her first non-YA.  I’m also reading Lisa Jewel’s The Family Upstairs which somehow I missed. This turned […]

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I’ve read some EXCELLENT books lately! How about you?

By |2021-10-13T11:21:08-04:00October 13th, 2021|Categories: Reading|

I have read several truly superb books recently–being on crutches has given me more time to read and I’ve picked, in general, a bunch of winners.

The best book I’ve read lately is Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr of All The Light We Cannot See fame. While different in scope than the Pulitzer Prizer winner, Cloud Cuckoo Land is a page turner full of fascinating facts–it turns out the Fall of Constantinople is riveting to read about–that left me feeling remarkably hopeful about humanity and our poor beleaguered planet. […]

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Return to the Tropical Romance Book Club – an Interview with Hana Sheik

By |2021-08-24T14:49:38-04:00August 25th, 2021|Categories: Authors, Caroline AAR, Interviews, Reading, Romance reading|Tags: , |

Due to.. uh… (gestures widely at everything), AAR’s Tropical Romance Book Club has been on hiatus for a long time. I’m very excited to bring it back with a conversation with Hana Sheik, the Somali-born, Canada-raised author whose debut for Harlequin – Second Chance To Wear His Ring – is set in Somaliland and Ethiopia. Welcome, Hana! […]

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What Grades Mean to Me by Caroline Russomanno

By |2021-04-05T18:34:41-04:00April 6th, 2021|Categories: Caroline AAR, Reading, Romance reading|Tags: , |

As a reviewer, I try to be consistent with the rest of AAR’s team in terms of what an A, B, C, D, or F grade means. I know, however, that there will always be judgment calls – not just in terms of what grade we think the book deserves, but even in terms of what the grades are. I wrote this piece to talk about what, very generally, places a book for me at each grade level. If there are multiple descriptors, the book might have all or just one of them. […]

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World Reading Habits During Covid

By |2020-11-22T07:41:55-05:00November 22nd, 2020|Categories: Pop Culture, Reading|Tags: |

Have you been reading more in 2020?

Because of coronavirus and the lockdowns, we’re spending more time at home than we’re used to.

For many people, it was the perfect opportunity to dive into some great books.

Global English Editing wanted to find out exactly how the world’s reading habits stacked up in 2020 versus previous years. […]

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It’s Monday and we have questions!

By |2020-10-05T06:20:04-04:00October 5th, 2020|Categories: Reading|Tags: |

Happy Monday!

We thought it would be fun to do a little survey–we’ll share the results this week!

Go!

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