I’ve categorised Rachel Ember’s Burning Season as an historical romance – although it feels utterly weird to use the word ‘historical’ to describe a story that takes place during my lifetime! Set in 1972 (when I was eight!) it’s the third published book in the author’s Wild Ones series, but is the first chronologically; I…
Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic was one of my favorite books of 2020, so I was excited to review her latest novel, Velvet Was the Night. This classic noir narrative is a beautifully written snapshot of one of the darkest times in Mexican/American history. 1970s, Mexico City. Maite has a dead-end secretarial job and is barely…
Aster Glenn Gray’s Honeytrap is a compelling and unique story that charts the development of the unlikely relationship between an American FBI agent and a lieutenant in the Red Army (and possible KGB agent) over a period of around thirty-five years. It’s extremely well-written, and the author does an amazing job of exploring the cultural…
Daisy Payton and Trevor Boone are two of the most likeable characters I have come across in a long time and their HEA is a sweet yet realistic coming-of-age story. Set in 1975 at Fisk University – an historically Black university in Nashville, Tennessee – Upsy Daisy tells the origin story of two beloved characters…
The Wrong Kind of Woman is both a well-structured novel about feminism and a simplistic encapsulation of the feminist movement. Its characters are interesting, but we’ve read lots of stories about women like them before, and the novel shows promise but fails to deliver something fresh. Virginia – Ginny – Desmarais’ husband Oliver dies just…
Are you tired of the same old historical settings? Then how about 1970s Cleveland? Can you fall in love with a mustachioed hero named Randy Manucci who likes to do the hustle? Want to read about a savvy black businesswoman and community representative heroine who looks superfly in silver Lurex? Then give it up for…
The Man on Top of the World is marketed by its publishers as General Fiction/Romance. I should add that it includes m/m, m/f, m/m/f, f/f and m/m/f/f sexual combinations. Considering the amount of sex in this novel, I’m just glad neither of the main characters had a dog. The book also includes what feels like…
Raney is a Southern novel, but don’t look for gracious antebellum mansions surrounded by magnolias and populated by society matrons and belles. This is the Appalachian South, the South of pine trees and Baptist churches, where accents twang instead of drawl. And Clyde Edgerton nails the voice of the region exactly. I should know; I…
I’m starting to think they’ll let just about anyone publish a suspense novel these days. Apparently some readers must be gobbling them up like candy. I thought I’d read this one because it sounded exciting. World War II! British Intelligence and American OSS! Pilfered Nazi Gold! Unfortunately, this was nowhere near as interesting as it…
When I first saw the title Nell, I pictured the wild-child title character from the Jodie Foster movie, and I was sure I would never get that mental picture out of my head. About fifty pages into the book, I had lost that mental picture entirely. I was so engrossed in the storyline that I…