A.J. Demas’ Sword Dance is the first book in a trilogy set in an imaginary/alternate ancient world that reads rather like Ancient Greece, so I thought it would be a good fit for this month’s “unusual historical” prompt. There’s mystery and a slow-burn romance, lots of wry humour and a superbly realised setting to enjoy,…
Peacemaker is the first book in the Sharps & Springfield series of historical paranormals set in the US near the end of the nineteenth century. It boasts an interesting central mystery and a well-developed setting, but the characters are barely two-dimensional and the romance is pretty much non-existent. The book is also labelled as ‘steampunk’,…
Detectives Valor and Doyle are back in Defying Logic, the fifth book in Nicky James’ series of clever, suspenseful and consistently engrossing romantic mysteries set in Toronto. Five books in, and the two leads are as captivating as ever, they’re still growing as characters and their relationship continues to evolve in a most satisfactory way….
I read Unwritten Rules, KD Casey’s début for Carina Press, back in October 2021, and I’m afraid I wasn’t very impressed – I gave it a C-. I found the romance lacklustre, the chemistry lukewarm (at best) and the characters ill-defined – although it was very clear that the author has a great deal of…
H.L. Day’s Demon Inside is a fast-paced, action/adventure paranormal romance set in London featuring likeable but flawed protagonists, an interesting plot and plenty of snark and steam. It has a few weaknesses – the romance feels a bit rushed and some elements of the story are a bit predictable – but it’s an entertaining read…
It’s the rare romance that features a character or characters without emotional baggage, so I had an embarrassment of riches to choose from when deciding on my book for this month’s TBR Challenge prompt. Kelly Jensen’s Block and Strike (2017) is a character driven hurt/comfort slow-burn romance that features two men who’ve been dealt crappy hands in life, and…
This is only the second book I’ve read by Romeo Alexander, and to be honest, the first one was just average, so I wasn’t expecting to enjoy To Love and Protect as much as I did. But I’m always on the look out for good romantic suspense so I decided to give it try, and…
I’ve yet to meet a book by K.J. Charles that I haven’t at the very least liked – or more usually, loved – and her latest title, The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is no exception. The story is set in and around Romney Marsh in Kent – a fairly desolate part of the country…
Anita Kelly’s Something Wild and Wonderful is a charming character-driven romance that, while quiet and somewhat understated, nonetheless packs quite the emotional punch. It’s set mostly on the Pacific Crest Trail, one of the most unusual settings I’ve ever come across in a romance novel, and boasts two complex, likeable leads who each has his…
Jenn Burke’s Stone Skin is book two in her Gargoyles of Arrington series, featuring three brothers who were cursed five hundred years ago, and their search for a way to break the curse once and for all. This is a trilogy with each book featuring a different brother and love interest, but the overarching plot…
End of content
End of content