The Devil’s Bargain was a wonderful surprise. The cover blurb worried me: the alpha-hero-seeking-revenge plot has been done to death. But Edith Layton has taken this clichéd plot element and made it work in a fresh, touching and often funny love story. Sir Alasdair St. Erth has returned to England after several years abroad. He…
I’ve been a bit worried about European historicals lately. In the past year or so I’ve run across far too many featuring ridiculously contrived cutesy plots, heroines for whom the TSTL designation is unquestionably an understatement, and, of course, that oh-so-familiar cardboard “rake” with the macho nickname. With this book, Karen Hawkins has stepped onto…
George and the Virgin was exactly what I needed to read last weekend. It was fun. It was funny. It had only the teeniest, tiniest, most negligible bit of angst – just enough for character development. It has the honor of being the only book I’ve read for review this year where I did not…
The Suitor by Sandy Hingston starts out as a romp, as Alain Montclair repeatedly attempts – and fails – to catch the attention of an English heiress named Lady Katherine Deveraux. Then, in a surprising twist, the lighthearted tone of the beginning chapters falls away, and the story becomes one of adventure and epic romance….
I have to admit, I was thinking of giving up on Deborah Smith. Though I loved A Place to Call Home, I haven’t been wowed by a book of hers since, and I was losing my enthusiasm for her writing. But I had this old Loveswept, Hold on Tight, in my TBR, and I thought,…
If there is one word that describes Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, it will have to be harrowing. But it is also compulsive, and perceptive, and heartbreaking. First published in 1986, it’s been dissected in countless student papers and erudite commentaries. But a raving review about such a classic never comes too late. In her…
Being a romance reader in the current publishing climate is not easy. Publishers, like television execs, seem to figure if something is a success then similar books will also be successful. Thus they keep publishing those same things, over and over and over. The thing in this particular case is the Regency-set historical and lately…
Most romance readers think of Mary Balogh as a dark, intense writer, but she has proven in books like The Famous Heroine and Lady With A Black Umbrella that she can handle the lighter side as well. A Summer To Remember is not a farce, but it is much lighter than her recent hardcover books….
After reading romance for a few years now, I have realized that it is truly rare to find a book that so completely manages to fulfill all of its “duties.” Is the writing smart enough to assume the reader can comprehend subtleties, yet accessible enough to keep the reading pace fluid? Does the author know…
Shades of Honor is a Golden Heart award-winning novel, and in this case it was an award well deserved. I’ve had something of a dry spell lately; I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to be so enthralled in a book and so concerned for the characters that I lose all track of time. As the…
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