It’s been a good year for diversity at AAR
As Caz wrote in her post on AAR’s coverage of queer romance, AAR has been working, over the past few years, to diversify the romances we review. Today we take a look at our reviews of…
Dear Streaming Services: What to do after Bridgerton?
The huge ratings and buzz for Netflix’s Bridgerton, coming on the heels of Starz’s success with Outlander, should make it clear to all but the most willfully ignorant producers that viewers are here for historical romance….
The Best of 2020 – Caroline’s List
The hardest part of any Best of list is frantically trying to read all the books on everyone else’s list to make sure you didn’t miss something. This is not helped when certain authors release fantastic…
AAR Loves… Romances Featuring Politicians
You’re probably aware that Tuesday, Nov. 3, is Election Day in the United States, whether you live in the United States or elsewhere, even if that “elsewhere” is “under a rock.” Yes, politicians (like lawyers!) have…
the ask@AAR: Can you handle a con?
We have an entire romance tag dedicated to “cons and frauds,” people who are in some way faking, and a number of those books have DIKs. Con artists give me the absolute hives.
Old vs New: What do you like in your reviews?
Over half (21 of 38) books I’ve reviewed for AAR in 2020 are not books that have been published this year. My oldest? Marion Chesney’s 1983 Regency The Miser of Mayfair, re-released in 2011 under her…
AAR Loves: The Best Slow Burn Romance Novels
As someone whose path to reading romance included a lengthy period reading X-Files fanfiction (oh, man, who else remembers The Gossamer Project???), I am clearly a huge fan of UST – Unresolved Sexual Tension. In romance,…
A Beginner’s Guide to Harlequins
Have you ever wondered what’s the difference between all of those Harlequin lines (Mills & Boon in the UK) lines? Do you know your Intrigue from your Romantic Suspense, your Presents from your Desire, and your…
Desperately Seeking Medievals
Have you noticed that medievals, once a staple of the historical category, have become thin on the ground? Yesterday, I re-read Dark Champion by Jo Beverley off my keeper shelf. I expected it to have some…
“Men and women can’t be friends…” or can they?
In Mary Balogh’s 1997 Trad. Regency The Last Waltz, Gerard Percy is living and working in Canada when he learned that he has unexpectedly inherited an earldom. He returns to host a Christmas party at his…