If You Like…Jo Beverley
A few months ago, I promised I would be updating the If You Like lists at AAR. I asked for help from pollsters Lee Brewer and Cindy Smith, and they provided me with input. Now I’m…
Characters | Heroes | Heroines | Historicals | Reading | Romance | Romance reading
Contemporary Clichés
I’ve got my cranky pants on today. First of all, I’ve always loved contemporary romance. And there are many – many – writers of contemporary romance I love. Really love. Welcome to Temptation is my touchstone…
Your Qualifications, Ma’am?
I admit it: I am a Malcolm Gladwell fan girl. I don’t stalk his blog or anything, but I’ve read all his books – two of them twice – and found them all fascinating. I recently…
Eagerly Awaiting for March
AAR Staff again weighs in with which coming March books they are dying to read. Title and Author Reviewer The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn Sandy, Lynn, LinnieGayl, Lee, Emma, Jean, Ellen Provocative in Pearls…
iPad? Seriously?
I’ve had a crush on Steve Jobs for 20 years. But, Steve, my man, you muffed it on the name. Big time. Because only one thing comes to mind when women hear the word “pad” and…
Best of 2009, Reviewer’s Choice
I nearly always find writing the Reviewer’s Choice Column affirming (in a “See? There WERE some good books this year!” kind of way). And it’s always nice to have a column with unabashed gushing; often we…
Julia Quinn Delivers Some Good News Amidst the Bad
If you live in Laredo, Texas, shopping for books just got a lot harder. On January 16th, with the closing of its’ sole bookstore – a B.Dalton – the city of a quarter million people became…
Ella Enchanted: Introducing Myself to Romance
Before Harry Potter swept in and defined my generation, two books left remarkable impressions on me. Two very different books, but they had a strong impact on me and many of my peers. I’m going to…
Embarrassment
At the moment I’m reading The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, but I stopped, because I was so embarrassed at a main character’s actions. Do you know this phenomenon? You read a novel about a character…
Chapter: A Romance Bookstore in Auckland
New Zealand is a land of many attributes, but Romance Central it is not. The tendency is to tuck away romance novels at the end of shelves like tails between legs. So imagine my surprise when…