Romantic Times Rewind: October 1999 Reviews

In this week’s podcast episode, we’re looking at the book reviews for the October 1999 issue of RT Magazine.

Thank you to Mari, the Romance Girl for this issue, and big thanks to my old flatbed scanner, getting the job done page after page.

You can also find all the RTRW content at our category page for Romantic Times Rewind. 

And, most importantly, if you want to listen and follow along with this entry, we have more detail in the audio, but you can click play and listen and read and absorb all the visual goodness:

I’m sharing the CW/TW I listed for the episode because WOO are there some YIKES and also BIKES in this issue. CW/TW for racism, human trafficking, mentions of stillbirth, ableism, Islamophobia.

 

Ok, let’s get started!

We have a special guest for this month’s RT Rewind: Fashionably Evil, aka Alison, won our Romancing the Vote auction and is our intrepid and marvelous co-host! Alison picked our issue, October 1999, and wow, it’s just as weird as we’d hoped.

And, as part of the auction, we offered a midroll ad, which we typically don’t run. Alison chose to use her midroll to promote a website we love and admire, Scarleteen.com.

Alison also won our hearts by making a spreadsheet looking at how the different review categories compare in this episode. A Spreadsheet! 

Here’s the summary:

The fact that mystery came out on top was a surprise, but the preference for historical is not a shock at all. And they do seem to judge the series books more critically.

The cover is…there.

We’ll talk more about it in the August 23 episode where we look at the ads and features.

Let’s start with Historical Romance!

I chose this five star review for the rewritten re-release of Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught. Remember when the book was updated and there were some significant differences? The review is just effusive.

First published a decade ago WHITNEY, MY LOVE remains a perennial favorite. The magic of the romance between Whitney and Clayton has never dimmed and is enhanced in this new, expanded version.

The first big historical romance set in the Regency era, WHITNEY, MY LOVE captured readers’ attention. The intensely emotional writing tapped into readers’ fantasies, making them laugh, cry and remember the joy and magic of falling in love.

How do you make a great book better?

By adding a longer, more fulfilling ending, and strengthening the characters, delving deeper into their motivations. Now we have a hardcover edition of a classic novel that is as close to perfection as a romance can get.

Whitney Stone is a lovely, if somewhat wild, young woman intent upon winning Paul Severen’s heart. Sent to France because of her outlandish behavior, Whitney turns into a stunning woman who longs to return home to see Paul. Her father, however, has bartered her away to the domineering, arrogant and sensual Duke of Claymore. No matter how hard she resists, she is drawn to the Duke. and in the end she learns to fight for his love with courage and intelligence.

Few words do adequate justice to WHITNEY; extraordinary, remarkable, triumphant, magical, joyous…none fully express my feelings on this enlarged and yes, even more wonderful romance. SENSUAL (Oct., 577 pp., $19.95)

How do you make a great book better? By having the hero not beat the heroine with a riding crop!

And, as Amanda points out, $20! In 1999!

Alison had a few picks, starting with Powderflash by Sally Odgers:

Australia: wild, rebellious manners!

Alison also wanted to discuss Vigil House by Jane Toombs, which has a line that nearly became the subtitle for the episode.

VIGIL HOUSE
Jane Toombs
Starlight Writer Publications
Setting: 1800s to 1960s California
Previous Titles: Accidental Parents, Baby of Mine

The day Tabitha weds Boris Gregory and moves into Vigil House, she learns of the family curse that brings madness, deception and death to the home, killing children in every generation. Suffering from mental illness, Tabitha spirals into madness, believing the curse after her son is stillborn. With her cousin Alicia’s help, can she lift the curse and free the Gregorys?

Following many conventional Gothic and saga plotlines, Jane Toombs creates a long. winded tale of an ancient curse ruining lives for years to come. VIGIL HOUSE offers few surprises and far too much recycled material from ’60s and ’70s novels. Long-time readers may reminisce about those “old Gothics.” but new readers might find the repetition, slow pace and hints of incest off putting. SWEET

“Hints of incest off putting. SWEET.” 

Alas, that’s the only cover I could find – sorry for the size.

Alison was also struck by this review for Courting Claire ( A ) that was very informative:

“This reader feels Claire may have deserved better.” I have read a lot of books that left me with that feeling.

But check out that COVER. I think they’re gonna fall over, though.

Amanda wanted to discuss Daring the Devil by Leslie LaFoy ( A ), because “WTF This Sounds Baller:”

A Mullet, a Cape, and a BACKLIGHT? NICE.

In Inspirational romance, Alison picked The Decision by Gayle Roper ( A ), which got 4.5 stars, GOLD:

That’s a cover.

I took a closer look at Hope: Brides of the West by Lori Copeland ( A ) because it has an OUTSTANDING character name:

GRUNT. Grunt Lawson. His undercover name is GRUNT. But his real name is Dan.

GRUNT. GRUNT.

In this issue, there are Audiobook reviews! But they seem to be mostly abridged because the run time is around 3 hours for most of them.

How do you make the decision what to cut for an abridged audiobook? That job must have been really hard!

Amanda selected the audiobook review for The Independent Wife by Linda Howard ( A ):

Contemporary Romance
THE INDEPENDENT WIFE
Linda Howard
DH Audio
****
Sallie Jerome is living the life of her dreams. In the seven years since she was suddenly deserted by her famous TV-journalist husband, Rhy Baines. she has totally reinvented herself and settled into a successful career as news reporter for a major national magazine.
Life just couldn’t be better–until Rhy buys the magazine. She tries to avoid him and keep her job, but when he recognizes her, the pressure is on. He wants her–not as a journalist, but as a stay-at-home wife and he’s willing to exert any pressure, any power, to get his way. Although still physically attracted to him, Sallie has other ideas.
An excellent reader can make a nondescript story entertaining, so I’m suspicious of books on tape. Even as I enjoy them, I’m acutely aware of the unusual difficulty of responsibly evaluating them as printed matter. And Paula Parker is a superb reader.
But once the pressure is on and Sallie is slowly pushed to her limits, the listener is swept into a world of adventure as Rhy is forced to take Sallie along on the biggest story of the year. Be careful if you’re driving while listening-_-you may arrive at your destination and wonder how you got there. (Running time 3 hrs., $7.99)

Deserted by her husband, who then buys her paper and becomes her boss, and he wants her to be a stay at home wife, but he’s ‘forced’ to take her along on assignment, when she’s a successful reporter? What?

There is only one thing to say for Rhy:

Oddly enough, the cover I found is AN Independent Wife: 

That’s a tag line: “Seduced…but never tamed.”

Moving into Mainstream Romance, I picked out the review for The Reef by Nora Roberts ( A ), because I’m always fascinated by reviews for Nora’s books.

“Marvelous as always.”

Also – they gave Debbie Macomber 1 star in this issue!

Alison picked A Veiled Journey by Nell Brien ( A ). Again, many yikes, many bikes in here.

FOUR. STARS. What.

This is an example of a book I will happily leave in 1999. Good God.

We give this:

 

Five YIKES on BIKES.

Amanda wanted to talk about Spirit of Love by Rachel Wilson ( A ):

The cover led to a few discoveries:

I realize this isn’t a large image, but look at his crotch.

THE GUN. THE GUN is pointed AT HIS PENIS.

He is going to shoot his ween clean off. What happens if he pops a boner unexpectedly? We’re pretty certain that this isn’t a person who has the safety on, based on where he tucked his pistol. Good grief.

Moving on to Mainstream E-Book Reviews, and they were all organized by publisher, with headings that included the price for downloads and disks. Did you buy ebooks on disk?

Amanda picked out Once Upon a Secret by Catherine Andorka ( A ), and the review that is replete with “not like other girls authors” energy:

 

What is it that makes this book “non-stereotypical?” How is this a “new breed of romance?”

Alison picked out Falling Star by Karen Weisner ( A ):

The Christianity is real? What does that mean?

The cover is also an “electronic gem:”

I wanted to look at Shadow Dancing by Nancy Pinard. There are a LOT of characters in this book review:

And then we moved into Mystery, Suspense, and Thriller, which was beefy! And absolutely no question THE MOST FUN. GET READY.

Amanda picked Deathday Party by Paula Carter ( A ), and wow, did we go out into a whole realm of tangents:

Y’all, I have to reproduce this entire review because it’s hilarious:

Amateur Sleuth (Series. Humorous)
DEATHDAY PARTY
Paula Carter
Berkley
***
Feather-brained Hillary Scarborough is hired by psychic Cassandra Bean to cater a “birthday party” for Cassandra’s late cousin, America Elizabeth. Hillary and her level-headed employee Jane Ferguson travel in a storm to the Bean Manor to plan the event. At the Bean residence the find that Cassandra has died, ostensibly of a heart attack. Lotus Bean insists the birthday party for the long-dead America should take place anyway. Jane wants to escape from what appears to be a nuthouse, but Hillary will not turn down a dollar and accepts the job.

The only bridge home has been washed out, so the two are forced to take shelter at Bean Manor.

Things go from bad to worse. The storm knocks out the phone line. Cassandra’s corpse disappears. Another Bean dies rather mysteriously. When phone service is restored, Jane learns from her erstwhile boyfriend, police officer Beau Jackson, that a convict has escaped from the state prison and is believed to be near the Bean home. Jane must use her wits to discover who is behind all the mysterious events.

Using the famous plot device of “no way in or out of the manor,” Paula Carter creates an extremely funny novel reminiscent of the great screwball comedies of the thirties. Although more inter action between Beau and Jane would have been appreciated, this is still a fine wav to discover the joys of humorous mysteries.

I cannot BELIEVE that Grunt was surpassed in the “best name in this issue”  by Lotus Bean, Cassandra Bean, and Beau Jackson.

Is the cat named Garbanzo Bean?

BEAN MANOR. I’m never going to stop laughing at Bean Manor.

Alison picked Harvest of Bones by Nancy Means Wright:

Amateur Sleuth (Humorous)
HARVEST OF BONES
Nancy Means Wright
Worldwide
****
Middle-aged divorcée Fay Hubbard is trying to start a new life by operating a B&B in Vermont, but nothing is going right. First of all, she’s rented a cow to give the place atmosphere, but Dandelion is an extremely stubborn cow and the atmosphere she’s creating is not a good one. Then, before she even gets a paying customer, local octogenarian Glenna Flint turns up, freshly escaped from a rest home with the aid of her niece Hartley Fay doesn’t know what’s worse, coping with the cow or with the demands of a cantankerous old woman.

Finally an actual paying customer-Kevin Crowningshield- turns up, and it looks as though the B&B might just work out after all. Then Gandalf, Fay’s greyhound, digs up a body on the farm that might be the corpse of Glenna’s long-missing hus-band. Kevin’s wife dies under mysterious circumstances, and Far realizes that there may be a murderer loose.
Filled with dr wit and colorful characters, HARVEST OF BONES is a most enjovable mystery. Readers will also enjoy watching Fay, who has escaped from a bad marriage, and Glenna, who has escaped from a nursing home. get their zest for living back.

That’s a very “graphic design is my passion” cover right there.

But hang on, before we move on.  To recap, we have:

• A rented cow
• named Dandelion
• for atmosphere
• a single paying customer named Kevin who is going to save the whole B&B
• and a greyhound named Gandalf!

Incredible. Truly this is the greatest section of the whole magazine.

I picked A Mortal Bane by legend Roberta Gellis ( A ):

Sir Bellamy of Itchen!  That would have been a prizewinning character name if we didn’t already have Grunt and Lotus Bean.

I do love that the main character runs a bawdy house and is trying to solve a murder and protect the women in the house with alibis.

And look at the expression on that lady’s face! Do not mess with Magdalene la Batarde!

And in Regency we had MORE CATS!

I picked out The Wily Wastrel by April Kihlstrom ( A ):

NERD ROMANCE! He’s secretly fascinated with machinery – does that mean he too is Obsessed with Boilers?!

Alison picked The Magic Jack o’Lantern by Sandra Heath ( A ), which is a Regency paranormal!

Enraged elf? Diverting brownies?

The cover copy online has even more detail:

All hell breaks loose when a mischievous brownie follows a beautiful heiress to Bath, raising Cain all over town, but especially in the circumscribed life of Sir Dominic Fortune–a private, recently heartbroken gentlemen who needs to be convinced that magic is possible.

The cover is something:

I don’t know enough about witch iconography but were pointy witch hats a thing in the Regency? (Also, that’s 100000% fabric from Joann’s, which you can probably buy right now because it’s already spooky season in their seasonal department.)

And Amanda found CATS!

LORD CALDWELL AND THE CAT (3), by Joy Reed features a handsome, bride-seeking baron who loses his heart to his beautiful cousin, who has just arrived with her mother to take up residence in a small cottage on his country estate. Timing is everything however, and it will take both ingenuity and luck to divest himself of an engagement to a beautiful but frivolous society belle. Although the hero does not always show in the best of lights in his dealings with the heroine, Regency fans will appreciate the lively interplay of Ms. Reed’s well-drawn characters.

The review seems to imply cats, but the cover confirms it:

Setting aside the strange position of her feet, that cat is not actually on her lap. What a weird photoshop!

How is the cat not mentioned in the review? We are HERE for Regency cat romances!

And that’s all of the reviews for this issue! We’re going to go hang out with Dandelion the cow and Grunt, possibly in Bean Manor.

Our next episode will examine the advertisements and features in this issue, and that’ll air on August 23. Some of them are a LOT of fun.

And remember, if you join the Patreon, you’ll get access to the entire issue as a PDF.

What do you think?

Do you remember where you were in October 1999? Do you remember any of these books?