I recently made a comment, on another review thread, about the fact that when I read contemporary romance, I generally stick to books by a handful of tried-and-tested authors, because I find so many novels in the genre are filled with the same stock-in-trade characters and the same tired tropes and plots that lack depth…
Narrated by Greg Tremblay Houston we have so many problems… Curtis “Launchpad” Larkin’s career as an astronaut has had its share of ups and downs. Alternately lauded as the single-handed savior of NASA and condemned as a reckless, hot-headed bully, Curt has been through the wringer of public opinion and come out on top. When…
An undertaker and a zombie hunter in a steampunk/western fantasy realm is probably the least expected way to adapt The Shop Around The Corner (which is more famous in another adaptation, You’ve Got Mail). At times, the story forces itself to adhere too closely to the source material, and these stretches are unfortunately predictable. However,…
Roan Parrish continues to produce incredibly beautiful, incredibly lovable romances, and this Harlequin Special Edition does everything that I love about the line – focus in on small-town romance and everyday relationships writ large with a lovely portrait of two men coming together and finding real love with each other. Chainsaw carver and whittler Bramble…
There’s no sophomore slump in sight for Kerry Rea in her refreshingly, intelligently funny romantic comedy Lucy on the Wild Side. Lucy Rourke is a junior primate keeper at an Ohio zoo. Known for her devotion to gorillas and her aversion to fundraising (as her friend points out, she’s attended galas “with gorilla shit on…
If you’re a fan of contemporary romances in audio, chances are you’re already familiar with Julia Whelan’s work behind the microphone. After turning her hand to writing romance in 2019 with My Oxford Year, she’s back with Thank You For Listening, an emotionally gripping, touching and yet fun story about two audiobook narrators who unexpectedly…
Fearne Hill’s Dipped in Sunshine is a fun, sexy/sweet age-gap romance with a lot of humour and an endearing grumpy/sunshine pairing. It picks up right after the previous book – Brushed with Love – ended, and although it’s not essential to read that book before this, I’d recommend it because a) it’s a great read…
Set in Oklahoma Territory in 1907, on the brink of its statehood, Pamela Morsi’s Wild Oats makes for a lovely bushel. (Oats come in bushels, right?). Divorced and impecunious Cora Briggs is the town scandal, so when young undertaker Jedwin Sparrow feels ready to, well, sow some oats, she seems like the woman to discreetly…
Fearne Hill’s Brushed With Love is a charming and sexy opposites-attract romance featuring a pair of captivating central characters, a well-drawn, quirky secondary cast and lots of genuine warmth, humour and feels. Clement Constantine Church wrote an award-winning novel in his late teens which was then turned into an Oscar-winning movie – but hasn’t been…
Juliana Ross’s set of interconnected Victorian erotic stories starts out a bit shaky but gets better with each tale. Improper Relations Grade: B- Hannah witnesses her late husband’s cousin Leo in an encounter with a maid and falls into sexual education with him. There are a lot of tropes here, from the ‘teach me’ to…
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