Historicals, man. Like many a romance reader, historicals were my gateway drug. And like many a romance reader, the historicals of my youth are, in retrospect, very slightly wince-inducing. Violet eyes! Sixteen-year-old virgin heroines with improbably located hymens/no hymen due to an anachronistic fondness for riding astride! Masterful manly dudes with magic manly parts capable of bestowing multiple orgasms on said virgin heroines! Frequent use of the term “hoyden”! I wish I could say that, … Continue reading Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt →
I decided to step outside my comfort zone with this book and hoo boy do I have Thoughts and Feelings. Spoilers and gifs ahead! First off, the plot is needlessly convoluted. Essentially Crista’s father put shares in a diamond mine in Crista’s name but never told her about it. The mine is now rumored to be worth millions, so Vern is marrying Crista without a prenup in order to get his hands on the shares. … Continue reading His Stolen Bride by Barbara Dunlop →
Sierra Bailey has just been fired from her job as a physical therapist and needs a temporary job while she evaluates her future and tries to find a long-term position. A former client gives her a lead to a job in the tiny Texas town of Cupid’s Bow, which has the added bonus of being out of reach of Sierra’s overbearing mother. The job is part physical therapist, part live-in help for Vicki, a 19-year … Continue reading Falling for the Rancher by Tanya Michaels →
My review takes a quasi-newspaper article type format, with each section being worth a point. WHO & WHY Aubrey Ellis, The Heroine: Girlfriend sees dead people, y’all. And they ask her to do stuff for ‘em, then leave her with a little token of appreciation (a couple of marbles, a bag of Skittles, flower petals). Well, they’re less tokens and more the “evidence” she will need when she approaches their loved ones with admittedly hard-to-believe tales … Continue reading Ghost Gifts by Laura Spinella →
I had a hard time getting into Her Every Wish, and I know that it’s not about HEW, it’s about me. We all have tropes we dislike—also attitudes, characters, and tone. None of these things was a major issue, yet some shade of each made the novella a slog for me at times, particularly in the opening chapters. Needless to say, my reaction made grading problematic as well. I really love Courtney Milan’s writing. Her … Continue reading Her Every Wish by Courtney Milan →
OH MY FLIM-FLAMMING-FLIPPING-FLOPPING-FRICKING-FRACKING GOD! I got 99 fangirl emotions right now and 0 chill, because daaaaamn this book was a firecracker of fun! On the surface it ain’t nothing new; girl meets boy, boy needs to arrest girl, girl & boy have pants-feelings that lead to heart-boners that result in all the things. Mr Shady-As-Fuck orphanage owner hires our swoony-pants hero, Thomas, to catch a bad guy. The thing is though, the bad guy ain’t … Continue reading How I Married a Marquess by Anna Harrington →
Susana and the Scot is utterly adequate. It has a beginning, middle and end. I finished it last night and had to go back and look at the book this morning to remember the hero’s name (it’s Andrew). The writing is perfectly acceptable, even if it does stray into purplish prose on occasion. The plot is relatively easy to remember because there were few surprises. This is a second book in a series, although it … Continue reading Susana and the Scot by Sabrina York →
Updated March 2018: Since this review was posted, allegations have been made about Santino Hassell specifically about abuse, manipulation, and the hiding or concealing of the actual identity of the author of the books published under that name. You can read a complete summary of everything at The Salt Miner’s three part series: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three. This guest review as part of the RITA Reader Challenge project, was written and posted more … Continue reading Fast Connection by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell →
“Tycoon” is a charming story set in the Gilded Age. I’ve not come across many historicals set in this time period, and it’s a welcome change from the ubiquitous London Season. The novella opens with a “meet cute” – a young woman, Clara, approaches a stranger at a Grand Central Station and addresses him as “husband.” Ted is, needless to say, puzzled, although not so puzzled that he fails to notice how pretty she is. … Continue reading Tycoon by Joanna Shupe →
Falling for the Rancher is someone’s catnip, but it was definitely not a book for me. Overall, I liked the relationship between the hero and heroine well enough. I believed how they came to care for each other and in the things keeping them apart. I have issues with Jarrett, but I liked Sierra enough to believe that she would kick his butt if needed. The sibling dynamic was real and painful and beautiful. I … Continue reading Falling for the Rancher by Tanya Michaels →
How we ended up here I picked this book because I love a good forced proximity via snow romance. There’s nothing better than a good snow day when you’re all stocked up on food and books and you’re probably not going to lose power. I’d hoped for a novella with good character development pushed along by forced proximity. But this book? It did not do it for me. The okay things Holly and Sam end … Continue reading Let It Snow by Jeanette Grey →
