Ain’t No River is a combination of sub-genres that normally would have me striding rapidly in the opposite direction: it’s an African-American inspirational romance. Yet reading this book reinforced my belief that sometimes it can be a rewarding experience to read something outside of my normal boundaries. It’s an engaging story of what happens when…
You know you’re in trouble when there’s a glaring mistake in the cover blurb. That’s right, the back cover text has a typo in it; something I’ve never ever seen before. Well, that says a little about the editor I guess, but I still held out hope for the book itself. By the end of…
At a glance, Kayla Perrin’s first offering from Harper Torch books, If You Want Me, seems to have all the right ingredients for a great romance novel: a caring and protective hero, an ugly duckling heroine who’s finally come home a star, and a touch of suspense when someone seems to be stalking her. But…
Emily Kirkland and Christopher Delgado are two high powered people who need to keep their relationship secret in Rochelle Alers’s Private Passions. If you are absent-minded and forget titles easily, no need to worry, because every other chapter ends with the heroine wondering why she can’t give in to her private passions. <!– var browName…
As in The Veiled Web, author Asaro once again delves into a future where artificial intelligence is a reality with all the moral and ethical dilemmas it brings. Dr. Megan O’Flannery is an expert in the field of artificial intelligence, particularly where androids are concerned. When MindSim offers her the chance to head the team…
Oh dear. Here I was hoping that the Encanto line meant there would be some well-written stories about Latinos. Well, they got the Latino part right, but aside from only one or two books I’ve liked, they have to work on the “well-written” part of the equation – most have been rather mediocre. Blue Moon…
I don’t know about you, but I’ve read way too many contemporary romances featuring virginal or sexually-unawakened heroines in their 30s. I’ve also read too many romances that either ignore race entirely or try to present all possible sides of the issue, robbing it of its power. Donna Hill has written a romance about sexually…
Like the movie Soul Food, Sheer Necessity follows three African-American sisters and their family as they deal with problems in their lives. The book does so ably, but lacks some of the soul that characterized the movie (as written and directed by George Tillman Jr). The center of the book is supposed to be Toni…
Beverly Jenkins’ Always and Forever is the first historical romance with African-American characters that I have read. I really enjoyed the unusual perspective and the wealth of historical detail. On the other hand, the main characters never grabbed me, and the plot, though mostly enjoyable, made a late, sharp turn that seemed out of place….
Lydia Chin thought her latest case was going to be fairly simple. All fashion designer Genna Jing asked her to do was drop off the ransom so she could retrieve her stolen designs in time for her upcoming showing. At least it looked very simple. But the drop goes terribly awry, shots are fired, and…