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. […]
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!
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 […]
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). […]
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. […]
I am one of those people who’s always playing catch-up in my reading. Every year, I frantically use the DIK Power Search and cram as many books in as I can before choosing my top reads at the end of it. […]
I came to tea early on in life after watching everyone around me drinking it for every occasion. Rise and shine: tea. Up too late in the night: tea. […]
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 sho
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 […]
The TBR Challenge usually includes a prompt at some time during the year which gives participants the chance to pick a book that uses their favourite trope. This time around it’s July’s prompt, and Caz and Lynn both went with historicals – one a second chance at love story and the other featuring a marriage-of-convenience.
“Favorite Trope” month is always a fun TBR Challenge for me – there are a few tropes out there that are like catnip. This time around, I was craving a second-chance-at-love tale, so I pulled Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs, a 2016 Harlequin Historical, out of the stack. This one is a sweet, charming Western with an HEA I was happy to see. Definitely a successful read.
Tom Barrington and Elizabeth Morley first met in […]
And yet, so many authors I know mumble and grumble about their writing: Why hasn’t novel two done as well as novel one? Why is writer X getting so much attention? How should I adjust the manuscript to attract more readers? Why did my publisher reject my latest effort? How can I find the readers who will love my stories?
The grand bargain between writers and readers is a challenging one.
What then do readers want? What constitutes a compelling story? How do men and women differ in their preferences? Where do readers find recommendations? How do readers share their book experiences? These and other questions are […]
