In this week’s podcast episode, we’re looking at the book reviews for the October 1988 issue of RT Magazine.
Thank you to Amy M. for this issue!
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:
This cover is VERY unique compared to the other covers we’ve looked at, and I mean it is UNIQUE.
LOOK AT ALL THE FUCHSIA.
It’s a crying shame that much of the magazine is black and white newsprint, because it took me a long, long time to get through reading this issue. I kept googling all the covers and They Did Not Disappoint.
Note the top left corner: Over 100 new romances reviewed!
Y’all, there’s like one genre.
Also, get a load of this grading rubric:
I did not spot any one-heart reviews. As with the rest of the magazine for the following thirty years of its publication, most of the reviews are 3 to 4 stars. Hearts. Whatever.
As I mention in the episode itself, this was a time period in which writers were engaging with other time periods, and not always well. Mostly not well. So CW/TW for references to enslavement, assault, colonialism, assorted slurs for marginalized groups, and extremely appropriative plots and language.
Also mustaches.
As an example, this is a line from a review for Shared Passions that we discuss in the episode:
“John Randolph is rumored to be a pirate, slave runner, and bounty hunter. Despite this, Sydney is attracted to him.”
NO.
So that’s what we’re dealing with here. Let’s get started.
Historical
I selected Mistress of the Seas by Ruth Langan. ( A | BN | K | AB )
Look at this badass!
Apparently her name is Anne Courtney Elizabeth? ACE?
Remember when historical romance characters would be bopping alongside historical figures? That was an era.
Oh, and remember when the plots were all “daughter of my enemy,” revenge visited upon a young lady who had nothing to do with the original crime? There’s a lot of that.
Also – 400 pages, $3.25. WHOO DAMN.
Amanda selected Fortune’s Choice by Michalann Perry ( A ):
WE LOVE A WILD HORSE.
We especially love a phallic wild horse.
- Surprise evil twin!
- FLAME RIDER.
- I went to college with someone named LaRaine. She was awesome and I hope she’s doing well.
- SPICY!
- Five hundred and seven pages at $3.95
I also wanted to share this truly incredible Hero Name.
“For added safety she indentures herself to the mysterious, masked Flint Birket.”
FLINT BIRKET.
Flame Rider and Flint Birket probably hung out. I hope so.
Series
Most of the books were four stars in this section. Sorry, hearts. Four hearts.
Amanda selected Always Amy by Billie Green ( A ) – there’s a lot of heroine odd jobs here, and in this book!
Did we stumble over the idea of “Green” magic thinking it was a reference to witchcraft? Yes, yes we did. It’s the writer’s last name. LOL US.
I selected Water Witch Jan Hudson ( A | BN | K ):
LOOK AT THAT DRESS. WOW. I wonder if that was based on a real dress? I bet it was. I would pass out entirely if I spotted that dress on Poshmark.
The review is right below a review for Janet Evanovich’s Thanksgiving! ( A | BN | K | AB | Au )
Speaking of cool careers: Water Witch is about dowsing, and we took a side trip as to whether dowsing was legit. Farmer’s Almanac is undecided.
Contemporary
There is ONE CONTEMPORARY. ONE. Aspen by Lorayne Ashton. ( A )
ONE.
Sex, Shopping and Schmaltz!
AND THERE’S A BRAZEN NYMPHO.
Wow.
Regency
Amanda passed on this one, and I chose The Ungrateful Governess by Mary Balogh ( A | BN | K | AB ):
This was also a popular plot: terrible man is repeatedly terrible until he yanks his head out of his ass.
This review is the source of our subtitle. Leave her alone! Let her pick a book in peace!
Also, I do love a social dragon grandma who just tells everybody, “Look, this is my friend’s kid, you don’t know him, it’s fine.” It’s like the Regency version of having a boyfriend in Canada.
And that’s it! Can you believe it?
Those are all the reviews from October 1988! Our next episode will examine the advertisements and features in this issue, and that’ll air on October 18.
It’s 1988. The covers are going to be INCREDIBLE.
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 1988? WERE YOU BORN YET, LOL?
Do you remember any of these books?
