Illumination Night was my favorite book for a decade of my life. It and Josephine Humphrey’s Dreams of Sleep are two stories I wish I had the talent to have written. I read both before I was married and now, after almost 35 years of marriage, their perspectives on the complexity of a partnered life still…
I love Elizabeth Thornton’s writing for one important reason: her heroes trust their women. There are no ridiculous scenes of jealousy or accusations, and when her heroes are wrong, they actually (gasp) apologize. There are no drawn-out, big misunderstandings here – and that’s a very good thing. In Cherished, Lady Emily Brockton and Leon Devereux…
Some readers might disagree with me (and vehemently too), but I think that the fantasy of a divorced couple reconciling is an alluring one – under the right circumstances, of course. This is the primary storyline in Kathryn Shay’s Ties That Bind, and she makes a convincing argument for the possibility of a Second Chance…
I’m always interested in romance novels that play with the format a little, where the author tells her story in a way that’s different than the norm. French Twist is a book like that, which is why I know it won’t work for everyone. Judged by conventional standards of how a romance novel should work,…
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…
Catherine Asaro’s science fiction novels have all had romantic threads and larger than life heroes but her newest novel, which is being serialized in the May, June, July/August 1999 issues of Analog magazine, has its roots firmly imbedded in the romance genre. <!– var browName = navigator.appName; var SiteID = 1; var ZoneID = 4;…
Wow! Who could have known that greased pig races, astronomy and romance could mix so well? Geralyn Dawson threw these seemingly unrelated subjects together and whipped up a story that sent me into fits of laughter. It’s not just a funny story, however. The Kissing Stars is a book about second chances, and the lessons…
There are so many twists and surprises in Upon a Wicked Time, my synopsis of it must be brief – I don’t want to spoil anything for you. Generally speaking, Tessa Astley marries Jered Mandeville. Tessa’s the daughter of an earl; Jered’s a duke. She has feisty, indulgent, in-love-with-each-other parents, and six brothers. His parents…