Knowing that Karen Mercury specializes in writing well-researched novels set in Africa and having seen positive reviews of her earlier work, I jumped at the chance to review Strangely Wonderful. The book certainly was strange, but it felt so disjointed that I never could grasp the wonder of it. The author certainly did her historical…
Sentence fragments. And one word sentences. Many. Many. One. Word. Sentences. If you think that was irritating, just imagine a whole book full of it. I picked up Masquerading Mistress because I’d never heard of the author, and I’d recently had good luck with a little-known Harlequin Historical author. Unfortunately, this one disappointed. The story…
I’m not quite sure what to call Julia Harper’s (aka Elizabeth Hoyt) Hot. At times, it’s a straight romantic suspense – but then it goes all kooky. While it had its likable moments, there were a few things about it that got on my nerves big time. Our heroine Turner Hastings (she was named after…
With all the praise for Cheryl St. John’s The Preacher’s Daughter earlier this year, I got curious about this author and took the opportunity to review short stories by her and two other authors. I read very few Western romances and wanted to know if this was a genre I should include more often in…
Two of my least favorite historical romance themes are “the martyr” and the cross-class romance. However, Tracy Anne Warren’s storytelling may cause me to rethink my likes and dislikes because, despite these cliched ideas, I found My Fair Mistress to be an intriguing story. Lady Julianna Hawthorne’s younger brother has gambled away the family fortune…
It hurts to give Julie Garwood’s much anticipated Shadow Music such a low grade, but I’ve read more interesting, well plotted vacuum cleaner instructions. Princess Gabrielle of St. Biel, the Treasure of England, has been betrothed to a highly respected Highland chief by King John in hopes of securing peace. Upon arriving in the Highlands,…
Sharon Shinn’s Archangel is an all-time favorite of mine. I love her world-building, her characters and their romance. So I was curious about reading a Young Adult novel of hers. I was not disappointed in General Winston’s Daughter. This is a very good book, even if it does not quite achieve the depth of Archangel….
Okay, mix an unusually heavy dose of info-dumping with some not very sexy sex and you have a book that’s easy to skip – and difficult to review. Why? Because this book is dull. And dull books often make for dull reviews. The off-the-charts level of info-dumpery here is especially puzzling since this is only…
I usually enjoy books modeled after fairy tales, but this Cinderella story didn’t live up to the ideal. While there were some parts that I enjoyed, there just weren’t enough to make One Night With You memorable. Lady Jane Guthrie is a widow still very much connected to her late husband’s family, so much so…
Deirdre Martin has consistently received good grades here, so I was pleased to get the chance to read her latest, Just a Taste. Sadly, the taste I got of this author was below average. I didn’t believe in the romance and the characters at times grated on my nerves with their lack of maturity. While…
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