New York City
We have had numerous conversations on this site about how a readers’ ‘mileage’ may vary in terms of suspension of disbelief. I’ve always thought that contemporary romances had the hardest row to hoe in that regard because people who live in the country/time the story takes place in can alway ...
I’ve been eager to read this story from pretty much the first moment Garrett Wolf and Spencer Hawkins were introduced in The List, book one in Felice Stevens’ Second Chances series. Spencer and Wolf – along with their best friends Elliot and Chess - have known each other since college, but t ...
Romeo and Juliet meets really good-sounding food in Sera Taíno’s A Delicious Dilemma, the charming story of a chef and a land developer who manage to tumble into bed and then have to deal with some uncomfortable truths when the morning after arrives.
Val Navarro has a bustling family life, a b ...
Anne of Green Gables reimagined in the twenty-first century? Sign me up! I have read and reread L.M. Montgomery’s books several times over, and I was very curious to see how Anne of Manhattan would stand up. I follow the author on Twitter and her descriptions of the book caught my eye, as did th ...
Casey McQuiston’s debut novel, Red, White, and Royal Blue was an enormous hit and I, like many readers, was anxiously awaiting McQuiston’s second book. One Last Stop is a terrific sophomore effort that McQuiston fans will enjoy. I mostly loved it but a few things kept it just shy of a perfect re ...
It Had to Be You features an ensemble cast of characters connected to each other through the wedding business in New York City. Though the story has its heavier moments, it is a mostly optimistic tale of love and friendship blossoming despite adversity.
Liv and Eliot Goldenhorn have been partners ...
A Retro Review
originally published on May 6, 1999
Could there be a more controversial topic to write about in a romance novel than this interracial romance between a white cop, Jason Horn, and an African American graphic designer, Leah Downey, who live and work in and around New York City? I doub ...
The Social Graces is a mischievous and delightful little social comedy that brings its characters to life. Though I’ve read deeper histories of the Vanderbilt and Astor mini-feud, this one definitely entertained me the most, a true generational saga that’s warm, sweet, funny and tender.
Mrs ...
B+
Wonderstruck is the third book in Allie Therin’s Magic in Manhattan series of paranormal romances set in 1920s New York, and is the best of the bunch, boasting a high-stakes, fast-paced plot, engaging characters, strong worldbuilding and a central relationship that has come on leaps and bounds sin ...
In Marriage on Madison Avenue, the third installment of Ms. Layne’s Pact in Central Park trio, we have a friends-to-lovers, fake dating extravaganza that includes an Instagram influencer, a wedding at the Plaza, and a controlling mother. Combine that with Ms. Layne’s ability to write female frie ...