An interesting hero and a deeply conflicted heroine barely compensated for my frustration over secrets that were kept too long in Madeline Hunter’s latest. I almost gave up caring about the heroine, because it took so long for her to reveal what motivated her thoughts and actions. A chance encounter in the middle of a…
Gothics are back in vogue again, and I am certainly glad for that. Diane Tyrrel’s debut certainly brings back hints of Gothic romances of earlier days, but still has a strong voice of its own. And though On the Edge of the Woods has a few rough spots, it is ultimately a very enjoyable and…
I have thoroughly enjoyed Wen Spencer’s Ukiah Oregon series, so when I heard that she would be writing a fantasy standalone with a bit of a romance, I penciled Tinker right in on my Must Read list. I didn’t know what exactly to expect, but I thought it would be good. Tinker, our title character,…
Slightly Settled is pretty standard Chick Lit. It doesn’t deviate much from what we’ve come to expect from the sub-genre, which isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, but the “Chick Lit heroine” isn’t nearly as fresh and original as she used to be, and her flaws can be grating. Tracey Spadolini, newly thin…
Out of Reach immediately hooked me with a gripping prologue. Lewin’s latest offers quick reading, but not enough in terms of characterization, and many of the book’s twists turn out to be less than surprising. Still she hooks the reader right away away by somewhat devious means: she uses children in need of rescue. CIA…
I was very excited about The Dim Sum Of All Things. By reading the blurb I expected it to be witty and hilarious. But the problem with preconceived notions is that you generally expect too much and end up disappointed instead. My cousin, for example, once raved about a certain recipe, which I then tried…
The Bachelor List is the first in a trilogy focusing on three sisters living in early 1900’s England. In this installment Constance Duncan holds center stage, in a romance that pits her feminist sensibilities against those of Max Ensor, a politician who believes women should stay at home – barefoot and pregnant. While much of…
Nan Ryan’s latest, Chieftain, features a half-breed Comanche war chief and a free spirit. They meet and fall in love on a reservation (sort of) and run off to be together. While fast-paced, Ryan’s story suffers from a lack of romance, at the very least. Maggie Bankhead is searching for a purpose in life. She…
Table for Two is Dara Girad’s debut novel and a promising start for a new author. The book’s heroine is a plus-sized woman with lots of emotional baggage of which she remains unaware while the hero is a chef obsessed with food. Cassie Graham is a self-help guru who helps people deal with their social…
It’s always a pleasure to come across a new-to-me author with a real knack for telling a story. While Lisa Higdon clearly has that gift, unfortunately, the story she tells here features so many screamingly generic elements that Until You’re Mine ultimately ranks as no more than an average read. Trying to scrape together a…
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