Originally published in 2015, C.H. Armstrong’s The Edge of Nowhere is a historical novel loosely based on the life of the author’s grandmother. The novel offers the reader a peek into a time and place in American history not usually captured in today’s fiction, and I’m glad I chose to pick it up. The novel…
John and Jackie first meet when they are twelve years old. Now, seventy-one years later, Jackie prepares to give his beloved husband the ultimate gift. In the story, set over the course of a single afternoon, they relive key moments from their lives together. This includes their first meeting and first kiss, through the violence…
Fans of books set in the 1920’s will definitely want to pick up The Paragon Hotel, the latest offering from author Lyndsay Faye. It’s a big book with a lot going on, but I loved every moment I spent immersed in the story, and I’m eager for the rest of the book world to embrace…
Bawling my eyes out doesn’t usually go with “holiday romance” for me as I tend to prefer my Christmas stories a bit more on the fairytale side. However, this year I picked up something a bit different with Christmas Where They Belong by Marion Lennox (from 2014). Though at times a very difficult read, this ultimately hopeful…
Continuing with the lucky theme that runs throughout the fantastic Chance of a Lifetime series, Best of Luck proves three’s a charm; good things do come in threes; and it’s a magic number. While all the books are uniformly good, featuring likeable and relatable principal characters, secondary characters that absolutely enhance the story in every…
I tend to either wildly love Roan Parrish’s books or dislike them intensely, and Rend, my friends, falls squarely in the ‘wildly love’ category. Although much of its subject matter is somber and heavy, the author deftly balances the darkness with a passionate romance that’s heartbreakingly tender, romantic and moving. Rend takes the second chance…
I read a ton of young adult fantasy, and while I enjoy most of what I pick up in the genre, I’ll be the first to admit to the lack of originality that seems to pervade many of today’s best-selling novels. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I volunteered to review Star-Crossed, the latest…
For the past ten years or so, I’ve been in awe of Lisa Genova’s ability to dig into a medical issue and accurately, sensitively portray its effect on a family. In her latest novel, Every Note Played, Ms. Genova turns her attention to ALS, and spins a heartbreaking story of redemption, love, and loss. Eight…
It’s been a decade since Liam Devaliant, the Earl of Lockwood, stepped onto the pages of Meredith Duran’s début novel, The Duke of Shadows. Handsome, charming and enigmatic, Lockwood immediately captured my attention, the mention of his mysterious four year absence from society and his obvious discomfiture at the presence of his estranged wife clearly…
AAR started posting reviews online in January of 1996! This is one of the very first reviews we ran on January 1, 1996. A Taste of Heaven is a wonderful mail-order bride romance, set in the fictional town of Heaven, Montana, in the 1880’s. Our lovely heroine, the widowed and destitute Libby Ross, is left…