I am not in the mood for Christmas yet. Generally speaking, I’m not in the mood for Christmas on December 23rd even, but mid-fall is WAY too early. That said, my brain has been pretty tired lately and some Regency novellas sounded like the perfect way to unwind without investing in a full length novel. Since How the Duke Stole Christmas includes novellas by some of my favorite authors, I was willing to set aside … Continue reading How the Dukes Stole Christmas by Tessa Dare, Sarah MacLean, Sophie Jordan and Joanna Shupe →
A Lily Among Thorns is a standalone Regency romance from Rose Lerner following Solomon Hathaway, a chemist and fabric dyer, and Lady Serena Ravenshaw, a former sex worker who’s now a hotel owner and terror to all who cross her. Many years ago, he gave her the money she needed to start a new life, and now he’s come to seek her help in finding stolen family heirlooms. Unfortunately, he’s arrived during one of the worst … Continue reading A Lily Among Thorns by Rose Lerner →
Bringing Down the Duke is a historical romance set in England in 1879. It involves the early days of the women’s suffrage movement, so basically I’m all, “You had me at suffrage movement.” Every time they focused on romance drama instead of suffrage drama I got all sad but then cheered up because the romance was very good. This story excels in terms of entertaining characters, and I’d love to see a spin-off story about almost … Continue reading Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore →
The Lady Rogue is a charming, magical, and exhilarating adventure across 1930s Romania. If the premise seems reminiscent of Indiana Jones, there’s a good reason for it. With treasure-hunting galore and reckless protagonists getting themselves entangled with ancient magical artifacts, The Lady Rogue is a madcap romp like no other. I wasted away a sunny afternoon recently, swaying on a hammock in my backyard while Theodora Fox and her love ex-best friend Huck Gallagher chased … Continue reading The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett →
I started weeping during the first chapter of The Bewildered Bride and never stopped. It’s a poignant, heart-wrenching, and important novel to read. The protagonists have undergone unimaginable suffering, and watching them find their happily-ever-after is both difficult and emotional. Even though I loved the heroine Ruth and her unwavering mission to seek justice for herself and her child, I never warmed up to the hero due to his inexplicable decision to deceive Ruth about … Continue reading The Bewildered Bride by Vanessa Riley →
This guest review is a follow up from a Solved HaBO, and it comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviews at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary … Continue reading Guest Review: Stealing Midnight by Tracy MacNish →
Last Night with the Earl is one of those books that, when upon finishing, made me wonder why the hell I waited so long to read it in the first place. It’s rich in emotional development and has one of the wittiest heroines I’ve ever read. My gripes are minor, and they could very well be due to my own decisions to read the series out of order. Eli Dawes is thought to be dead, … Continue reading Last Night with the Earl by Kelly Bowen →
The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics is a luscious historical f/f romance. I adored this book, which includes science, art, and feminism. It may be too slow for some people’s taste – this is a book in which people spend a lot of time either thinking about their feelings or talking about their feelings. It’s very much a drawing room romance as opposed to an adventure romance. However, if you have the patience for this … Continue reading The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite →
This guest review comes from Claudia. Thanks, Claudia! At sixteen, Claudia found her older cousin’s stash of Barbara Cartlands and assorted Harlequin-type romance housed in an old sewing cabinet and life was never the same! She loves history, so she mostly reads historical romance. Favorite authors include Meredith Duran, Mary Balogh, Miranda Neville, Elizabeth Kingston, and Rose Lerner. … Katherine Wright’s family has been in the free-trade business, otherwise known as smuggling, for generations. She … Continue reading Guest Review: A Rogue by Night by Kelly Bowen →
This guest review is from Aarya Marsden. Aarya Marsden is a pseudonym for an Indian-American college student and long-time romance reader. Her favorite authors include Ilona Andrews, Nalini Singh, Lucy Parker, Kresley Cole, Alisha Rai, Lisa Kleypas, Alyssa Cole, Tessa Dare, Meredith Duran, Mina V. Esguerra, Kate Clayborn, and many more. You can follow @Aarya_Marsden on Twitter, where she gushes about romance novels and is a firm advocate for a happily-ever-after. … Back in November … Continue reading Guest Review: Proper English by K. J. Charles →
Highland Crown by May McGoldrick is the first book in a Scottish historical series, and despite the absence of a time-travel element, it feels extremely Outlander-y. The book features a doctor heroine, an outlaw hero, and both are on the run from a very bad English solider. Sound familiar? The book is a lot of fun and it’s got almost non-stop action that makes it easy to read in a single sitting. Unfortunately all that action … Continue reading Highland Crown by May McGoldrick →
