In anticipation of the upcoming Bridgerton show and because The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After was on sale last week, I finally read the latter. (We reviewed it here.) I was not impressed–So. Many. Babies.–although I found Francesca’s story touching. The last story in the book is about Violet Bridgerton […]
It’s always an experience to read Vintage AAR. This article by Paula Detmer Riggs on writing taboo subjects is especially thought-provoking. She wrote about the hero of her book, Her Secret, His Child, a book she published in 1995 and we gave a DIK to in 1998.
Years ago, her hero–and he is her hero–date-raped the heroine. Riggs writes:
The hero I love is imperfect in some terrible way. He’s an all too-human soul who’s driven by inner demons far more deadly and cruel than any serial killer or evil empire or double-agent. A man, who, because of a mistake in judgment or action, had done a terrible wrong to an innocent victim, and if that victim is our heroine, so much the better.
She knows her choice is controversial. To her critics, she replies:
Why was it written? […]
We’re coming up on the holiday stretch: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, the Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and the New Year. (Let me know if I’ve missed one you celebrate, please.) This constraints of this year–which I think of as the year which must not be named–means many of us will not spend these in the ways that we traditionally have. […]
It’s that time of year again when readers are thrilled, startled, and irritated at the picks for what is now the biggest reader poll in the world: The Goodreads Choice Awards. This year, the choices for best romance are diverse and, in some cases, puzzling.
So, let’s give it a whirl! Out of these choices, which would you pick? […]
I’ve always been a re-reader: whole books, favorite scenes, even a line or two I’ve suddenly thought of and want to experience again. In 2020, I’ve been re-reading more than ever, especially at night, when my brain is too busy and, often, too anxious to wind down. […]
This year, I have gotten more emails from authors and publishers unhappy about negative reviews and/or comment threads here at AAR than I have in the previous five years. It’s not a huge number but we’ve typically gotten one a year in earlier times.
AAR will, as it always has, continue to publish unbiased reviews. I’m deeply proud of the work our staff does and I stand behind it 100%. That policy is not up for argument. […]
One of the great joys of 2020 has been the tenor, complexity, and abundance of the conversations here at AAR. We’ve had so many excellent, interesting, and, yes, feisty discussions here this year. […]
I’ve just finished my annual re-read of Meredith Duran’s debut The Duke of Shadows. The first part is set in India during the ill-fated rebellion of 1857. The rebellion began in Delhi where Emma, the book’s damaged heroine, and Julian, the equally damaged hero, are. Duran shows us Delhi through Emma’s eyes and her descriptions of it are vivid, violent, and, appropriately, that of a stranger trying and failing to understand the real Jewel in the Crown. Duran is, for me, an author whose settings are transportive. Sherry Thomas does that too–it’s one of the reasons I read my favorite of their books again and again. […]
I just finished reading two books, Maria Vale’s Season of the Wolf and Carl Hiaasen’s Squeeze Me. Both made me think about the role of politics in fiction.
In Vale’s The Legend of All Wolves series, the reader sees human incursion into nature and man’s love of sport hunting from the perspective of wolves. Vale doesn’t use phrases like climate change and habitat loss, but her point is inescapable: Humanity is wreaking havoc on the wild. […]