I was very excited about The Dim Sum Of All Things. By reading the blurb I expected it to be witty and hilarious. But the problem with preconceived notions is that you generally expect too much and end up disappointed instead. My cousin, for example, once raved about a certain recipe, which I then tried…
Table for Two is Dara Girad’s debut novel and a promising start for a new author. The book’s heroine is a plus-sized woman with lots of emotional baggage of which she remains unaware while the hero is a chef obsessed with food. Cassie Graham is a self-help guru who helps people deal with their social…
Someone to Love Me is a rewrite of Francis Ray’s first romance, 1992’s Fallen Angel. It is the story of Michelle Grant and Brad Jamison and in this new version their romance is more detailed and complete. Michelle Grant is a successful commercial real estate agent. In spent the past nine years working her way…
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…
Brenda Jackson’s newest book, The Savvy Sistahs, is a terrific read about finding friendship when you most need it, and finding love when your heart is ready. It’s a “keeper” in the truest sense. The book’s savvy sistahs are Amber Stuart, Branda Bennett, and Carla Osborne. The three met when they formed a support group…
While Diary Of A Blues Goddess features many standard plot devices, it also boasts a freshness of writing and spirit that makes it a fast, fun, and breezy read. That it features a heroine who is likable even when making mistakes speaks to author Erica Orloff’s ability to write a good story. Georgia Ray Miller…
Denene Miller and her husband Nick Chiles are known for their What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know series of non-fiction relationship books. They make their fiction debut with Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, which tells the story of Randy Murphy and Mikki Chance-Murphy in chapters with alternate points of view between husband and wife. Married…
Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman is one of those books that you sometimes find in a used bookstore and buy without really knowing why. I think my guardian angel must have drawn my attention to it in the store because it’s now my favorite love story ever. I first read this book while on…
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Barbara Samuel’s A Piece of Heaven. She is a wonderfully talented writer who excels in being able to build a story in such a way that you can see the atmosphere and feel her characters’ emotions. When I read her first hardback, No Place Like Home, I…
Barbara Samuel is a great favorite of many AAR reviewers, and here she again shows why. Her lyrical writing and her real characters create a comforting place for readers to stay a while. Luna McGraw is a recovering alcoholic struggling to fix her life. Her alcoholism allowed her ex-husband to gain custody of her daughter…