Back in 2017 I reviewed Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly. This was the first book in a series about a slightly alternate 1920s/1930s era Europe. The first book pitted the members and patrons of The Bumble Bee Cabaret against the rising fascist party (the Ospies). You will definitely want to read Amberlough before you read Armistice. The sequel, Armistice, picks up three years after the end of Amberlough, with the characters of that novel scattered. Cordelia … Continue reading Armistice by Lara Elena Donnelly →
Match Made in Manhattan is a novel that chronicles a twenty-something-year-old woman’s year of dating using Match.com. It’s not a romance, although obviously there’s a lot of romantic content. People looking for a fun book about modern dating might enjoy this book, but the characters are flat and the story doesn’t go anywhere. Alison restores old buildings under the eye of a disapproving boss. After a multi-year monogamous relationship that isn’t going anywhere, she and … Continue reading Match Made in Manhattan by Amanda Stauffer →
This book moves very quickly, and while a lot happens, the plot doesn’t venture too deeply in any one direction: not into the history, not into the setting, not into the characters’ motivations. I dove into this book because it was about a Dutch widow in 1654 who travels from her very small hometown to Delft and becomes a pottery painter. Obviously, that’s exactly like Regency England and every other historical I’ve read. (Ha. Not.) … Continue reading Midnight Blue by Simone van der Vlugt →
I have been spending this year giving presentations on, and writing about, Mary Shelley, and when I haven’t been doing that I’ve been giving presentations about Jane Austen. Thus I was thrilled that the book Pride and Prometheus was coming out. I didn’t even read the book description. I just looked at the cover and thought: “This will fix everything.” Frankenstein, the novel by Mary Shelley, does not end well. The estimated body count comes … Continue reading Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel →
NB: We have a guest squee from Castiron, who has a series that might be of interest to many of you. It’s epistolary-esque in nature and sounds all sorts of fun. When not data-wrangling or family-wrangling, Castiron divides her time between textile crafts, reading, and genealogy. She says of this series: The Comfortable Courtesan series is the memoir of Clorinda Cathcart, a (fictional) courtesan in Regency London who eventually moves up in the world. Originally … Continue reading Guest Squee: The Comfortable Courtesan series by L. A. Hall →
This book is more fiction than romance but I was tempted by the reconciliation storyline mentioned in the cover copy: After more than a decade, Mae and Gabe find themselves pulled back to Alexandria Bay. Hoping to find solace within the Summers’ Inn, Mae instead finds her grandparents in the midst of decline and their past unravelling around her. A lifetime of secrets stand in the way of this unconventional family’s happiness. Will they be … Continue reading Things to Do When It’s Raining by Marissa Stapley →
Some of you know my love for Les Liaisons Dangereuses: it’s my favorite play (EVER), has spawned three of my favorite movies, and hands down, is the greatest epistolary novel of all time (OF ALL TIME). It’s got everything – love, sex, revenge, horrible people being horrible, comeuppance, banter, and no one learning anything, at all. Ever. So when Amanda (seriously, this was like SIX MONTHS AGO) said “Hey, there’s a retelling of Dangerous Liaisons … Continue reading Unforgivable Love by Sophfronia Scott →
Here are the main things you need to know about The Refrigerator Monologues: it is intense, painful, and triumphant. It is NOT a romance. Readers would benefit from some familiarity with common comic book tropes while reading. Also, it’s feminist as fuck. The book derives its inspiration from the Women in Refrigerators website created by Gail Simone in 1999. Simone launched a conversation that is still going strong about the frequency with which female characters are … Continue reading The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente and Annie Wu →
I realized that I’ve spent the past few weeks just letting the universe decide what I should read. Either it’s something somebody mentioned that sounded interesting, or an author went on The Daily Show and pimped her book, or a book that publisher sent me. I haven’t gone actively looking for a book in a while, and since the variety that the universe has sent my way has been REALLY interesting, I’m just going to keep … Continue reading Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal →
Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books – so much so that I collect copies as though I’m afraid that they will expire and vanish from the shelves. I have beautiful hardback copies that I keep for reading at home, battered thrift store copies that I give away with wild abandon, and a copy in my stash of emergency supplies in case of earthquake or zombie attack. So I greet a book like Mr. … Continue reading Mr. Rochester by Sarah Shoemaker →
The category is Mainstream Fiction with a Central Romance, which I interpret as a meaty fictional story with a side of romance. This is the first book of a duology (Empress of the Bright Moon is the second volume) about Empress Wu, the first and only Empress of China who ruled in her own name. She is an exciting historical character and while the basics of her life are known, there is much room for … Continue reading The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel →
