Layla Reyne is an author who can be a bit hit and miss for me, yet something about her writing keeps me coming back to her books. I thoroughly enjoyed her début series, (Agents Irish and Whiskey) but was less enthusiastic about the follow up (Trouble Brewing), even though I liked the characters and most…
The Hangman is the third title in Mary Burton’s Forgotten Files series of romantic suspense novels, in which the protagonists find themselves investigating ‘cold cases’, unsolved crimes dating back many years, which hold a particular significance for them. The principals in each story are different, so although some characters from the previous books appear in…
I’ll admit it. I picked this book up almost entirely because of its setting. I grew up in the rolling hills outside Charlottesville, Virginia, and it’s still one of my favorite places. Thankfully, it’s obvious in this book that the author did her research and she does get a lot of the details of the…
I had my doubts in the opening pages as the heroine spots a gorgeous naked man on her porch. When I discovered this is another homage to Pride and Prejudice I rolled my eyes. What was I in for? It turns out I was in for a fun romance in which a local theater company…
Ms. Deveraux’s talent as a wordsmith is not enough to overcome the caricatured characters and weakly plotted story. And while it is not immediately noticeable, I was amazed at several themes within the story that are insulting to women. Twelve-year-old Travis Merritt’s life dramatically changed after his two-week vacation in Edilean, Virginia. Home schooled at…
I’ll definitely be filing Deadly Heat under “guilty pleasure.” It features a cock-sure hero, steamy sex scenes galore, and a hero and heroine who can barely sit in a room together for five seconds without tearing each other’s clothes off. I’m not sure any of it was believable, but it was certainly fun. Firefighter Lora…
I don’t like characters who are silly airheads – not in real life and definitely not in books – unless the author of the book is Jennifer Greene. Greene can take a character who otherwise would be exasperating and make her endearing. The heroine of Blame it on Cupid, Merry Olsen, is a classic Jennifer…
Seen By Moonlight by Kathleen Eschenburg features likable protagonists, an unusual plot, a great sense of place and history, and is written in a beautiful style. There’s just one problem: it’s kind of boring. Annabelle Hallston is an unconventional young woman in 1860s Virginia society. When her scholarly father dies, she and her two brothers…
Come What May is an historical romance set in America, but it’s not a Western. Leslie LaFoy’s latest is set in Virginia on the eve of the American Revolution. The plot involves a forced marriage between two strong characters who made this a very fun book to read. When Claire Curran, acting as a representative…
Earlier this year I read and really liked The Charm School, and looked forward to its sequel. It’s my pleasure to report that I was not disappointed, and I don’t think you will be either. From start to finish, this story of a deeply wounded man and the woman who rescues his soul will pull…