Blood and Chocolate was one of the first werewolf books I read, and it’s still one of my favorites, second only to Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten. I stumbled across it on a list of recommended young adult books. It was a 1998 American Library Association Best Book and Quick Pick for teens, which basically means that…
You’ve read this story before. Older, more experienced hero exploits innocent young woman, using her as an unknowing pawn in a ruthless quest for vengeance. But even though the plot holds few surprises, in Madeline Hunter’s hands, a familiar story gains an altogether unexpected depth and dimension. Ms. Hunter, fellow readers, is good. Very good….
Likable lead characters, an entertaining cast of secondary ones, and an intriguing setting are the main attractions in the first book in JoAnn Ross’s new Stewart Sisters trilogy. Less effective for me, however, was the central theme of a missing broach, long an object of dissention between the families of the hero and heroine, and…
The Major Meets His Match has lots of excellent elements: An exciting story, an intelligent hero, a forthright heroine, a totally delightful teenage boy who is the target of assassins, a clergyman who is sort of “Mr. Collins lite,” and much more. The only thing it lacks is a couple who made a good couple….
A 5th Avenue Christmas didn’t work for me. At all. Though the premise is interesting, the actual execution falls short. Part of the problem is that the book itself is short, but it’s also crippled by characters who would be annoying in a book of any length. Meryl Carrington is the youngest daughter of a…
I had a wonderful time reading Widow in Scarlet. The interaction between Lucy and Nicholas was marvelous. They discuss, they plan, they listen to each other. Even so, the plot requires too much suspension of belief for the time period to totally succeed; there’s a definite Cinderella air to the plot that is at times…
Emily Dugan arrives in Los Angeles to visit her grandmother with her life in shambles. She’s been laid off from her job as part of a massive downsizing at her company. Just before she boarded the plane, her live-in boyfriend broke up with her and told her he’d have her belongings put into storage while…
A casual reader might pick up A Catch of Consequence, read the back, and assume it was a romance. This would be an inaccurate assumption; although it has some romantic subplots, this book is very much women’s fiction. It’s the type of story that chronicles the life of a strong woman, centering mostly on her,…
Dancing in the Dark is your basic “C” book. There’s nothing truly objectionable here, but nothing truly stellar either. If you read romantic suspense, you’ve doubtless read similar books before. It’s been two years since Sara Martin’s husband and son died in an auto accident, but she still can’t bring herself to take off her…
With a title like Changing The Rules, one might expect a book that challenges expectations, chafes against convention, or presents a new view on an old romantic problem. Unfortunately, this book doesn’t deliver on that promise, and the essential romantic conflict is never seriously in doubt either. Niqui Stanhope’s writing is very good and her…
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