I have read very few novels that feature African Americans as both hero and heroine, and I know very little of Black U.S. history after the Civil War, so I was keen to read Breathless, which is set in the Arizona Territory in the 1880s. The novel is the second volume in a trilogy, but everything…
I truly enjoy historical novels where I’m not only entertained by a well-written story, but I also learn about a part of history of which I had no prior knowledge. So I really appreciated seeing a bibliography at the end of three of the stories in this anthology – a welcome first, because I’m interested…
an IDKlassic (It’s Dreadful) originally published on November 27, 2000 While reading Rainbow’s End by Rebecca Brandewyne, I mentally played a little game called “Who Would I Throttle?” Would it be the hero, who seems not to be able to perform sexually unless he threatens and dominates the heroine? Or would it be the…
I’m usually not an anthology junkie, but when Christmas rolls around, I just can’t get enough Christmas stories. As a result, I have quite a stash of holiday anthologies. While there wasn’t any one story that hit it out of the park, I more or less liked everything I read here so I’ll definitely count…
I like humor. I enjoy television series such as Scream Queens, with its mix of horror and comedy and sharp social commentary. I love authors such as Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Julie James who often have quirky heroines or laugh out loud moments in their books. I appreciate light stories, such as those written by…
a DIKlassic review review originally published on February 22, 2001 I was a little doubtful when I picked up Into the Woods, because it’s based on the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel.” Have you read it lately? “Hansel and Gretel” is about two children who are abandoned like an unwanted litter of puppies by their…
Big Misunderstanding plots don’t work for me. Beautiful but scatterbrained heroines really don’t work for me. So it was a surprise and delight when Pamela Morsi’s The Love Charm proved the exception and made both these elements work very well. In an Acadian community living by the Vermilion River, everyone knows the most beautiful girl…
I’m hesitant to say that I have an obsession or an addiction to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical masterwork Hamilton: An American Musical; I prefer to say that I have a relationship. I listen to the soundtrack obsessively, I’ve read Chernow’s source material, I’ve watched most of the #Ham4Hams, the usual. So when I wandered into my…
I had never read a Joanna Shupe romance before I tried Baron, but I’m glad it was recommended to me. While it wasn’t a perfect read, I enjoyed it and look forward to checking out the next story in Ms. Shupe’s Knickerbocker Club series. Railroad owner Will Sloane has political ambitions (a propos for this…
If you like Jo Goodman, you’re probably wishing there were more Wild West stories in the same vein. Fortunately for you, back in 1996, Patricia Potter wrote Diablo. Kane O’Brien (known as ‘Diablo’) can best be described as ‘white-trash Confederate’: not a former slave owner, he joined up hoping to finally belong to something, but…