Connie Brockway’s My Dearest Enemy combines two of my favourite things – an enemies-to-lovers romance and a story in which letters play an important part (I do love an epistolary novel!). It’s a gloriously romantic, character-driven story set at the end of the 19th century, in which our hero – a famous explorer – and heroine…
Meg Cabot always makes me laugh. What distinguishes her best books from her less successful efforts is the depth of characterization behind the humor. Unfortunately, The Boy Is Back ranks among her less successful and shallower efforts. This is a story told entirely through text sources (text messages, emails, newspaper clippings, etc) which always has…
Lately I’ve craved stories that are different. I periodically feel the need to leave my comfort zone. Thus I decided to read this romance between a prison employee and an inmate. I am so glad I did as I found an engaging story that was difficult to put down. Inmate number 802267 catches the eye…
In the books I’ve listened to and read so far by Laura Kinsale, I’ve often loved the heroes but found the heroines rather difficult to like. I’m thinking particularly of Maddy in Flowers from the Storm and Leigh in The Prince of Midnight, both of whom are characters whose actions with respect to the hero…
At the Duke’s Wedding is a set of linked novellas, each one written by a well-known author in the world of historical romance. Each of the stories takes place in and around the two weeks leading up to the wedding of the eponymous Duke, and one of the things I particularly liked was the way…
I love letters, the kind that come in the mail and make the day special. I also love books about letters, whether the books are fiction written in letter form such as The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer or books comprised of famous letters such as Dear Bess: The Letters…
When Anne Mallory is on, she delivers in spades. Miranda Chase is accustomed to living vicariously through books (and occasionally through her wilder friend Georgette). She lives quietly, working for her absentminded uncle in his bookshop, and saving up for a Grand Tour that she always manages to put off. More recently, she has been…
The very best chick lit books entertain me, and often hit themes that resonate, even if the frequently encountered ditzy heroines sometimes drive me mad. Holly’s Inbox, a modern-day update of the epistolary novel, follows the life of fictional character Holly Denham as she starts work as a receptionist in a large corporate bank. Though…
Can I just say “wow”? Equal parts paranormal, historical fiction, and kick-butt thriller, The Historian is a rare thing – a “literary” novel that doesn’t read like one. What I mean by that – and I’m just being honest here – is that even though the author’s prose is sophisticated, her story complex, and the…
Let’s hear it for Kelly Ripa. When she chose The Boy Next Door for her “Reading with Ripa” book club, she picked a good one. In order to be selected by Ms. Ripa, a book must be “fun, frivolous, and fast.” Meg Cabot’s novel meets all those guidelines easily, especially the “fun” part. Melissa Fuller…