Lovers of fairy tales will enjoy the fanciful twist Kate Holmes puts on a classic fairy tale in The Wild Swans. Princess Arianne has problems. As the main caretaker of her 12 younger brothers, she is the one who must come to their rescue when they are turned into swans. She has to knit 12…
Oh, how I wanted to like this book. I love fantasy novels, and I love romance novels. The intersection between the two genres should produce great books. And just think: a romance novelist working in a fantastic realm doesn’t need to get the historical details straight – so long as they’re consistent and internally logical,…
The many readers who loved Glenna McReynolds’ first book, The Chalice and the Blade, may not be happy with my review of its sequel, Dream Stone. But the truth is that, over half the time, I had no idea what was going on. At about page 100 I got so frustrated that I went and…
Jennifer Keirans in her dual review of Dream Stone is right, anyone attempting to read this book without having read The Chalice and the Blade will be totally lost. Even though I had read the previous book, it took me a little time to reacquaint myself with the characters. However, after that happened, I was…
Reading One Summer’s Night is like watching a mediocre Disney movie. It’s chock full of fairies and magic, and so gosh darn cute I actually felt guilty for not liking it more. While I did appreciate its whimsical qualities, I just couldn’t connect with the characters. When Laurel Carrington turns twenty-one, her life is at…
It may be cliched, but enthralling is the best word I can use to describe the latest book by Donna Kauffman. I finished this one in less than 24 hours, stopping only to sleep last night. If you’re a fan of anything with even a hint of wizardry in it, this is the book for…
Remember your last visit to a carnival fun house? You walked into a completely dark room, unsure of what was going to happen. Maybe something would jump out at you, or your image would be distorted with mirrors. There were mazes, riddles and wrong turns. In the end, you emerged shaken, laughing and disoriented. The…
Sandra Hill gives time travel and Vikings a rest and turns her hand to a contemporary romantic comedy with a touch of fantasy. The result, The Love Potion is her best since The Last Viking. The Love Potion is funny and fast-paced with one of her always-sexy heroes and a heroine who is sweet, smart…
I love mythology. I’ve loved reading stories of myths and legends since I was a little girl. Unfortunately, the mythological elements in Cupid: The Amorous Arrow are handled with a farcial and sometimes heavy hand. The mixture of gods and mortals worked in Karen Harbaugh’s mythological Regency Romance trilogy, but she based it on the…
Fantasy and science fiction authors are familiar with a concept called “world building,” which is the process of creating a coherent “universe” for your characters. The rules may not necessarily be those of our world – time travel can work, or humans may have faster-than-light warpdrive technology – but they do have to be coherent…