I am so glad I read this book. I had never read any of Beverly Jenkins’ novels before and didn’t know what to expect, but I came away from this story very impressed. Jenkins does a wonderful job of balancing passion, emotion, an exciting story, and a masterful command of history, and, while this did…
With the market for erotic romance exploding, Kensington is looking to expand its share with its new Aphrodisia imprint. I have to admit, many of the recent Bravas I’ve read have struck me as tepid and mechanical, so I was interested to see what Aphrodisia had to offer. If Susan Lyons’s Champagne Rules is any…
Paranormal fans hungry for something other than the usual vampires and werewolves on the market will find it in Sheri WhiteFeather’s Never Look Back. An intriguing blend of Native American mysticism, witchcraft and spirits both good and evil, it’s not quite strong enough that I can recommend, but it’s certainly worth a look for those…
Earlier this month I picked up Leanne Banks’ Billionaire’s Proposition, and since I enjoyed it I decided to try something totally different for me – following a continuity series. The Elliotts series is about a wealthy family in publishing, whose patriarch announces his retirement and throws out a challenge to determine his successor. This month’s…
I’ve not read the first two books in this series, but I applaud Jade Lee for writing Desperate Tigress, a book far removed from the typical romantic ideal and setting. The book’s unique quality alone makes it worth reading, and I plan to pick up the series’ earlier titles to make this a more complete…
The last few months I’ve bought several Silhouette Bombshells, none of which held my attention past the initial chapters, all of which went unfinished. Natalie Dunbar’s A Model Spy immediately stands as an improvement since I was able to finish it rather easily, but while it tells an interesting story, it’s also a disappointingly uneven…
By definition, romantica is a hybrid of Erotica and Romance, ideally a combination of the best the two genres have to offer. Playfully taking up the definition, Gail Faulkner’s Full Ride is both sultry and romantic. When nervous Prin, naked under a trenchcoat as agreed upon, enters the luxurious Grand Hotel suite to meet up…
Ain’t No Valley is proof that the inspirational sub-genre is expanding its horizons. Sharon Ewell Foster has little in common with Lori Wick. Her characters are more flawed, more urban, less traditional, and certainly less white bread. The bread here is thick, warm, and full flavored. Unfortunately, the plot, such as it is, meanders, drags,…
The recent ATBF column on African American romances motivated me to read one for review, and the fact that Any Rich Man Will Do had an intriguing premise didn’t hurt, either. Bad Girl gets her comeuppance. That would make anyone gleeful, except when that comeuppance becomes desperate, terrifying, and hungry. Jana Franklin, the man-hunting, man-stealing,…
In No More Playas, the sequel to The Playas Handbook, Lance Montgomery, the self-titled biggest playa, has to change his ways in order to win back the woman of his dreams. Lance blew his chance with Dr. Asia Fowler in a moment of panic when the thought of commitment scared the living daylights out of…