A novel without conflict is like a hot fudge sundae without the fudge. A Twist of Fate lacks any real conflict, and it reminded me of unadorned vanilla ice cream – pleasant, perhaps even sweet, but fundamentally uninteresting. While lost in a snowstorm, Lord David Winterbrook comes across a woman whose gig slipped into a…
Cozy British villages in mysteries and rural American towns in romance both have become staples of their respective genres. Each genre has conventions attached to the locales. In all those cozy British burgs the people lead seemingly normal lives, while beneath the surface they’re seething with murderous secrets. In the romance genre, the conventions of…
Through a strange twist of events, NYC Interior Designer Faith Constable comes to stay, along with her recently orphaned nephew, at the home of widowed country vet, Reed Fairmont. There, everyone gets healed and happy again. The End. Okay, there was a little more than that, but not much more. The One Safe Place is…
How many authors could write a mystery series featuring a madam running a brothel and paying rent to the Catholic Church in 12th century London? And how many of those could turn around and begin a new series starring Lucrezia Borgia? And in both cases make those characters sympathetic and their stories intriguing? One of…
Set in rural Tennessee at the close of the War of 1812, this touching romance features engaging characters and an unusual setting. Reardon Valley is home to a community of faith figuring in other novels by this author, and though,I’ve not ready of any of those earlier books, Echo of Hope stands well on its…
Geralyn Dawson is another author who jumped into a more mainstream style of writing when I wasn’t paying attention. After reading My Big Old Texas Heartache, I realize just how much I miss those homespun historical romances published in the 1990’s. These new mainstream dramas may be all the rage, but I’m hard pressed to…
If you like westerns and all the action that goes with them then you will surely enjoy the reissue of Joan Johnston’s second book, Colter’s Wife, originally published in 1986. Set in Wyoming territory in 1875, Johnston tells the story of a half-breed woman desperately trying to survive in the male-dominated world of ranching. Just…
I’d been curious about Marian Keyes for a while but I wasn’t curious enough to try her books on my own – I waited until one came up for review. My curiosity is assuaged but by no means satisfied. This boring story of a woman’s struggle to put her life back together went nowhere fast….
If it’s possible for a single-title romance to “jump the shark” midstream, then Stealing the Bride unfortunately qualifies. I thought I’d like this story much better than I did, since it’s a tale of unrequited love, finally to be requited. Even when I realized that I would have to suspend disbelief more than a few…
Off Limits has, hands-down, one of the ugliest covers I’ve ever seen. It’s a shame, because this is not the goofy comedy about creepily grinning deformed people the cover might make you think it is. It’s darker and grittier, both a romance between two great characters and an intriguing cop story, and one of the…
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