The Best of 2018 – Caz’s List

I’ve read some terrific books and some dire books this year – which is par for the course when you review as many of them as I do – but my genre of choice, historical romance, was, in the main, fairly disappointing in 2018.  Even some of the authors I can usually rely on to deliver absorbing stories with emotional depth featuring appealing, multi-faceted characters haven’t delivered to their usual standard, and I’ve found myself looking to other sub-genres more than ever before to supply the steady diet of strong and compelling reads I need in my life!  […]

By |2019-01-11T13:48:52-04:00January 11th, 2019|Categories: Best of List, Caz AAR, Reading, Romance reading|Tags: |20 Comments
Read More

The Best of 2018: Maria Rose’s List

I think I’ll be just shy of my reading goal for 2018, but maybe that’s a good thing because it was a really tough job to narrow down my favorites for the year from the ones I did manage to read! In my preferred category of contemporary romance there are many that exceeded my expectations and I’m taking this as a promising sign for the genre in 2019.  Here’s a glimpse at the books that caught my eye and heart this year.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Is there a ‘best of’ list that doesn’t have this contemporary romance on it? For all the reasons you’ve probably heard, it’s made my list too. An #OwnVoices novel with a personal look at autism and Vietnamese family dynamics, it’s a delight from start to finish (and super […]

By |2019-01-09T11:04:57-04:00January 7th, 2019|Categories: Best of List, Maria Rose, Reading, Romance reading|Tags: |6 Comments
Read More

December TBR Challenge – Holiday Romances

For the final TBR Challenge of 2018, we get to have some fun with holiday romances. This time around, we both chose Christmas stories from the Harlequin Romance line, though the tones of our picks couldn’t have been more different. Whether you are in the mood for light and dreamy, or deeply emotional and dramatic, it looks like we have you covered with these two winning picks. […]

By |2018-12-19T07:27:16-04:00December 19th, 2018|Categories: Caz AAR, Lynn Spencer, Reading, Romance, Romance reading, TBR Challenge|Tags: |3 Comments
Read More

The Best of 2018: Alex S.’s List

The Romance genre holds a special place in my heart, but I tend to read across genres and I think my Best of 2018 really reflects that. Looking over my Goodreads history, it was easy to pull out reads that stood head and shoulders above the rest, and they happened to be a sampling from several different kinds of reads. […]

By |2019-01-09T11:22:01-04:00December 7th, 2018|Categories: Best of List, Reading, Romance reading|Tags: |5 Comments
Read More

The Best of 2018: Lisa’s List

This has been an interesting year for romance.  It was one where contemporaries have thrived, YAs have blossomed – but it’s been harder to find the right kind of historical.  In reverse order, here are my favorite books of 2018!

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

YA has had one heck of a year; I can name at least six books in the genre I’d give an easy best of recommendation to.  Lee’s book makes the grade for so many reasons, but the first is that it’s terribly absorbing and easy to fall into.  A rip-roaring adventure that gives us the next step in Felicity’s adventures, this book is about self-discovery and self-assuredness.  An asexual, aromantic heroine who dreams of becoming a doctor and finds her calling in the world at large, a lesbian […]

By |2019-01-09T11:20:36-04:00December 3rd, 2018|Categories: Best of List, Lisa F, Reading, Romance reading|Tags: |18 Comments
Read More

Confessions of a Romance Reader

How do you find the books you love?  I’ll tell you what I do, but first, a (shameful) confession.

After a youthful love affair with paperback Harlequin romances (my younger sister and I loved to borrow stacks of them from the library and binge read them when my mom wasn’t watching), I stopped reading romance.  In high school I turned my attention to popular literary fiction and whatever my dad recommended or lent to me (Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Robert Ludlum).  […]

By |2018-10-20T16:50:41-04:00October 20th, 2018|Categories: EmAAR, Reading, Romance, Romance reading|30 Comments
Read More

October TBR Challenge – Mysteries, Suspense or Things That Go Bump in the Night!

We both went in similar directions with TBR Challenge this month. The prompt gave us a choice between paranormal and romantic suspense, and as it turns out, Caz and I both headed in the suspense direction. Caz chose a solid romantic suspense thriller with plenty of action while I went in a more humorous mystery direction. […]

By |2018-10-17T08:05:35-04:00October 17th, 2018|Categories: Caz AAR, Lynn Spencer, Mysteries, Reading, Romance reading, TBR Challenge|Tags: , , |5 Comments
Read More

In Search of… The Ultimate Plane Reads

Hello, dear readers, do you have a minute? I have a question for you.

My husband and I are about to take a vacation that will involve about two days of travel on either end. We will be on planes for fourteen-hour stretches and I am looking to stuff my Kindle to the brim. I read a lot, but I know I barely scratch the surface when it comes to good stories and that is where you come in! I’d like some recommendations of what you think I should read on the plane. This means nothing that was shortlisted for the Man Booker, and nothing that requires a lexicon to decipher. Plane reads, people.

Here’s my parameters: I’m most partial to contemporary – romance, suspense, or fiction – but historical is my second love. I’m here for anything involving a country house […]

By |2018-08-30T11:22:27-04:00August 30th, 2018|Categories: Kristen D, Reading, Romance reading|48 Comments
Read More