At times reviewing books is like a little kid eating vegetables. You avoid a book as long as possible and then read it in unpalatable hunks just trying to finish, choking and grimacing all the while. Following that same analogy, Carla Kelly’s latest Marriage of Mercy is the dessert, sweet and fulfilling and ending much…
In reading retellings of beloved classics, you kind of have to go in knowing how much you can take. For me and Jane Eyre, it’s simple: I don’t like the book. Parts of the plot draw me back every time – governess, tortured hero, etc. – but it’s just not my favourite story in the…
Not infrequently, I find myself reading debut novels with heart. However, finding a brand new author who writes a first novel that not only has life, but also beautiful writing, charming characters, and attention to the small details happens far less often. In for a Penny is just such a book, and I adored it….
Are you sick of Regencies where characters treat servants like their best buddies or where class distinctions are ignored? The Bachelor’s Bargain might be just the tonic you need. Be aware, however, that the heroine’s faith is a strong element in this book. This is, after all, a marriage of convenience story where the heroine…
When my kids were younger, I’d take them to the bookstore and tell them they could get a book – as long as it wasn’t a “gimmick book.” That meant anything that came with stickers, light-up buttons, figurines, cars, etc. You know, the ones they want because they want the toy, not the book. Some…
Why can’t all series romances be this good? I suppose I should be grateful that they aren’t, otherwise I would have to buy each and every one, every month and forgo such inconsequential things as food, clothing and shelter. Bad For Each Other is one of the best romances I have ever read and head…
Soulful Strut tells the tale of a woman wrongly imprisoned for many years who is now free after someone vouched for her innocence. Although it should have been an interesting story to match the cool title, the book’s very slow pacing drained away my interest. Monette never expected to leave prison. Fifteen years ago, the…
Jane Eyre is not a pure romance novel. It’s a complex work combing elements of the coming-of-age story, the roman à clef, the gothic novel, and more. Despite its complexity, though, the heart and soul of Jane Eyre is the passionate love between Jane and her employer, Edward Rochester, and it’s their love story that…
I’ve yet to be disappointed by Karen Robards, whether it be her modern-day romantic suspense or historical high-romance, because she creates engaging and lively books featuring fascinating heroes and heroines. Tiger’s Eye, an historical romance set in England at some time in the 1800s, kept me riveted to each page and featured what have become…
Romances set during and after the Civil War are scarce as can be these days, so I was really looking forward to Magnolia Creek, particularly as it is set in Kentucky, near where I live. While it has many qualities to recommend it, I found it sadly lacking in the main thing a romance novel…
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