C reviews are always the hardest. Ask any reviewer. Hate a book and you know exactly why; love it, same goes. But for the ones that fall somewhere in between the explanations and articulations just don’t come. Why was it just sort of so-so? Very hard to say. I just know that a few weeks…
Roseanne Bittner has written many action-filled historical romances set in the American West with vivid settings and memorable characters that often reflect the author’s personal faith. Having read several of her historicals, I eagerly anticipated her first inspirational romance. But, while Where Heaven Begins is basically a good story, it is an uneven one, and…
I didn’t know exactly what to expect from Can You Keep a Secret?. Becky Bloomwood, the heroine of Kinsella’s previous books, the Shopaholic trilogy, struck me as an irresponsible twit, but Kinsella’s writing was enjoyable. So this time I was hoping for a better protagonist. And, lucky me, I got one. Emma Corrigan isn’t a…
The authors of the April Moon anthology have taken upon themselves a real challenge. Not only are they writing romances in short form – always a difficult feat – but each novella takes place over the course of one single night. Do you doubt that three convincing love stories can happen, all under the full…
A Dark Champion is the first full-length story in Kinley MacGregor’s new Brotherhood of the Sword series. It looks like the series technically began with the novella Midsummer Knight in the Where’s My Hero? anthology, although several characters from some of the author’s other earlier books are mentioned in this one too. However this book…
The Engagement is an acceptable historical romance that continues Kate Bridges’ series about Mounties. It’s a decent read, but also falls short in a number of ways. Dr. Virginia Waters was engaged to Andrew Bullock for six years. His parents even paid for her medical education, all with the expectation that Andrew and Virginia would…
Anybody who spends any time on AAR’s message boards knows that a leisurely paced, well written love story featuring two likable characters is more than enough for a lot of readers. So, why oh why, does the writing team known as Nicole Byrd mar a lovely story with a hastily tacked-on suspense subplot and a…
Lady Whistledown is at it again in an anthology featuring couples whose paths cross at a dinner party, a ball, and a royal celebration. Though the interconnections between the various characters in the stories are carefully constructed, the stories themselves are a bit uneven. Even Lady Whistledown’s trademark wit felt a little repetitive on occasion….
I rarely ever read the love scenes in romance novels. In fact, I usually skim them and resume reading where the story picks up. Why? I read romance novels for the romance, the events that bring two characters together, the ups and downs of their relationships, and – of course – the HEA. The “money…
Clearly, Susan Donovan is an author who shows no signs of falling into a rut. And, while it’s hard not to admire the author for her adventurous approach to writing and her determination to write a book largely unlike last year’s Take A Chance On Me, it’s equally hard not to admit that Public Displays…
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