His Dark Desires is set in Reconstruction Era New Orleans. Heroine Juliet Boucheron is still dealing with the after-effects of the war. Her husband disappeared with thousands of dollars in Confederate gold, and as a result, she and her son have been shunned by all of their friends. They also have little closure in their…
Though His Dark Desires takes place in the midst of a sultry New Orleans summer, it represents something quite the opposite for romance readers: a welcome breath of fresh air. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a bonafide Regency girl from w-a-a-a-y back. But somewhere along the way, a steady diet of All-Regency-All-The-Time, interspersed with…
Readers who are getting tired of the ubiquitous history lite Regency-set historical romance will want to read Deeanne Gist’s A Bride Most Begrudging. It’s set in the Virginia Colony in 1643 and tells the tale of a gently born woman kidnapped to be sold to a colonist as his wife In true feisty heroine fashion,…
In the Harlequin Historical line, Cheryl St. John is an auto-buy for me. I have read all of her books and have enjoyed them very much. She is one of the best ever at depicting wounded heroes (and heroines) and His Secondhand Wife shows just how good she can be. Noah Cutter seldom sets foot…
Ride The Fire is a rather intriguing read and a sweet romance. Almost at odds with the sweet romance, though, are its graphic scenes of war and torture. This book is not for the faint of heart. Elspeth Stewart lived a nightmare of a childhood, abused by her stepfather and stepbrother. She is almost relieved…
If you are reader of romance, chances are you have read a book like Ashes of Dreams before. It’s not all that original, but it is certainly entertaining. There’s something quite pleasant in reading a well loved story. Amanda Jeffrey and her husband Shane dreamed of starting a horse farm in Kentucky. They had a…
They say that good things come in small packages and, in the case of Loving Mercy, this came so very close to being true. While this rather charming debut novel is still somewhat better than average, it did have its flaws. The author manages to pack an impressive amount of plot and emotional wrangling into…
Just when I thought I’d read almost every variant of Western romance, along comes Lynna Banning’s latest. Forget cowboys and ranchers, this is the tale of a town fundraiser and a mail-order bride competition. While the initial set-up of the story is rather contrived, the story does have some rather unexpectedly touching moments. Leora (Lolly)…
Untamed is the second book in Merline Lovelace’s series about the history of Oklahoma. It takes place in the early 1800s, back when the territory was still known as Indian Country. It certainly has a distinct sense of place. It’s also a flat, uninvolving and often annoying read. Lady Barbara Chamberlain comes to Indian Country…
The year is 1882. Michael “Mick” McCann is a New York City policeman, not long off the boat from Ireland. He sees a street gang tormenting a boy and rescues him, only to discover that his waif is a woman in boy’s clothing. Her name is Timona Calverson, and she says she was kidnapped and…