West Virginia

A-
Any Place But Here

Any Place But Here is a strongly written, quiet little novel about realistic characters experiencing realistic emotions and going through realistic turmoil. Author Sarah Van Name handles this all with elegant and beautifully done prose. June and her best friend Jess are inseparable. They’re eve ...

A-
The Last Snowfall

At twenty-nine, Nate Forrest’s snowboarding career is over; the next injury will likely leave him paralyzed. While visiting his childhood friend Pete in Forrest, West Virginia, both men are caught up in a late spring blizzard and take shelter with Dr. Lacey Berryman. Lacey came to West Virginia on ...

B+
Never Let You Go: A Modern Fairy Tale

One wouldn’t immediately think of Hansel and Gretel as a fairy tale ripe for reimagining. What kind of romance story could come from the theme of child abandonment and having to fight an evil captor to survive? Fortunately author Katy Regnery knew there was a goldmine within the tale and brought i ...

B-
Take Me Home

As with many books I read, Take Me Home is something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I liked the characters and the setting. However, the Big Secret in this story took way too long to get uncovered and as the book went on, my annoyance with the hero's secret keeping interfered with my enjoyment a ...

B
A Midwife Crisis

Americana romances seem to be making somewhat of a comeback in the mainstream romance world, and I couldn't be happier. As with any style, I wouldn't want to read all-Americana, all the time, but I do find them sweet and heartwarming when done well. A Midwife Crisis has a few issues, but those who e ...

C+
The Things We Do for Love

I’d read and enjoyed Margot Early’s books before, so when I came across a copy of The Things We Do for Love at a library book sale, I snapped it up. The story has a vaguely magical premise that sounded like fun.  Mary Anne Drew is the society journalist for a small West Virginia newspaper an ...

B
The Girl Most Likely To...

The cover and title of Susan Donovan’s new book The Girl Most Like To... promise a light comedy. Although there are some light moments in the book, it is mostly an angst-filled story featuring parted lovers and a secret child. <!-- var browName = navigator.appName; var SiteID = 1; var ZoneI ...

B+
My Sister is a Werewolf

Finally, an author has written an exceptional werewolf romance with an unyielding female as its lead. Kathy Love's My Sister is a Werewolf is loosely connected to her other series featuring three vampire brothers; this story is about their baby sister, an intelligent and loving woman who wants to be ...

B+
The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes

The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennifer Crusie, Eileen Dreyer, and Anne Stuart is a collaborative novel. The three author's contributions are welded together so seamlessly that I was never able to pinpoint where one had left off and another began. In the end, my enjoyment of the book in itself was ...

B
Key of Valor

Since I can't imagine that too many people will find themselves buying Key of Valor without having read the first two books in the trilogy, knowing where I stand on those initial installments might help you decide how my grade for this one might align with yours. Like reviewer Donna Newman, my grade ...