I’m always interested to see how older titles bear up over time and Lady Cat has a premise I rather like, so it was an easy choice. That premise is one that is also featured in one of my favourite historical romances, Lorraine Heath’s Waking up with the Duke; that of a man who needs…
Fair, Bright, and Terrible is a companion to The King’s Man, the first of Elizabeth Kingston’s Welsh Blades books. It’s not absolutely necessary to have read that book first, although I found it helpful and would certainly suggest doing so to anyone interested in reading this one. Fair, Bright, and Terrible tells the story of…
There is a certain formula for a Sherry Thomas novel that involves one part exquisitely beautiful prose, one part heartwrenching emotion, and one part crazy Old Skool tropes revisited. I am not quite sure of the ratios involved, but, for me, this formula has always resulted in a profoundly beautiful romance that I absolutely adored….
There is something about spring that is always warm and exciting and full of promise to me. But summer can go in any direction – it can be a warm and delightful season full of lazy heat, trips to the swimming pool, ice cream and baseball games. Or it can be ominously hot, full of…
The Wives of Bath has the pure silliness and lightness of Chick Lit, but with grown up emotions and more intense problems, this “Mommy Lit” novel is a bit of a deeper read. To say that Amanda and Alice dislike each other would be an understatement. Conceited and materialistic, Amanda blames pushover Alice for getting…
A recent post about Kathleen Eagle’s books made me stop and think. Why do I love her writing so much? This book is one of the reasons why. Beautiful writing is a given for Kathleen Eagle. She could write stereo instructions and I’d buy them – in hardback. Scenes are never overwritten and no strings…
I’ve read only one other book by Tamara Leigh and that was Saxon Bride, which I thought was excellent. Her latest effort, Blackheart, is also excellent. Having said that, this book is not for the faint of heart or readers looking for a light and frothy medieval romp. The author poses an impossible and romantically…
While reading this book, I began to bawl like a baby after being shouted at by my daughter regarding a pair of socks. As if that weren’t enough, by the time I finished The First Time, I was crying so loudly I scared the cat. Joy Fielding, whose earlier works are thrillers, has, in The…
The Obedient Bride takes on the issue of Regency adultery and humanizes it with the depiction of two very different people caught in an arranged marriage. Many Regency Romances speak lightly of rakes and adultery among the aristocratic classes. Many have heroes who regularly bed married women. Few examine the darker aspects of the matter….
One of the great taboos in romance novels is adultery. Many readers simply refuse to bother with a book in which it is featured. While I am not fond of adultery in a book, I am loathe to tie an author’s hands – especially an author like Mary Balogh who has made a specialty of…