I really, really liked Elle Kennedy’s The Deal. The characters are fantastic, and I stayed up into the wee hours to finish it. Unfortunately, as is the case for any story involving sports or other serious pursuits, Kennedy’s lack of accuracy in portraying the sport of ice hockey created a serious plot hole that kept…
Jane Austen’s books are so timeless and classic, it’s easy to forget that many of her characters’ problems and the stories’ plots are based on the social mores of a specific time and place in history. It’s only when reading Diana Peterfreund’s Persuasion-inspired For Darkness Shows the Stars that I came to realize how critical…
In All About Romance’s review of The Black Hawk in November 2011, Jean Wan wrote, “Once in a while, during every reader’s literary life, you encounter a book that reminds you why you are a reader. It renews your faith, if faith was lost; it rekindles your interest, if interest waned; and every word, every page,…
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…
It Takes Two to Tangle is the first in a new series by this author, and is a wonderfully crafted, character-driven romance in which two intelligent, kind, and emotionally fragile people find each other amid the round of parties, balls, and shallow people that make up the ton and the circuit of society events. Henry…
Narrated by Carolyn Morris. Although recommended often by friends who read historical romance, I had yet to read this one and when the chance came up to review the new audio edition, I grabbed it eagerly. I’m so very glad I did, because the story is every bit as good as I’d been told. And…
Narrated by Rosalyn Landor I read The Countess Conspiracy immediately upon its release back in December and it was easily one of my favourite books of 2013. Reading it was a highly emotional experience, however, and I had to keep taking breaks because I found it so intense. It’s clearly a book that’s very close…
First things first – don’t judge this book by its cover. From the official cover, I was expecting something a bit childish – definitely with Vikings, but still childish. This is the author’s first work, after all, and it’s unusual to read a first romance that fully moves the reader. Well, consider me moved. Our…
The title of this book perfectly describes my relationship to writer Rainbow Rowell. I’ve now read two of her books and both have easily earned DIK reviews, and I’m thrilled to add a new auto-buy author to a very, very short list. I’m also happy to set Fangirl as the bar to which, in my…
I’m a huge fan of Sherry Thomas’ writing, and of the way she injects a degree of grit and realism into a genre that is so often seen through rose-colored lenses and softened around the edges. Her characters are, for the most part, rich, titled and good-looking, but it’s what’s underneath the surface veneer that…