Genre: Novella
Book Review

An Improper Holiday by K.A. Mitchell

An Improper Holiday

An Improper Holiday is a m/m romance novella set during the Regency period. Regency people weren’t all that big on the actual day of Christmas (this was post-mistletoe, but pre-Christmas trees, cards, and presents). However, Regency people loved to party, and they kicked off their festivities on Christmas night and carried on for twelve days. Apparently there was some controversy over exactly when the twelve nights actually started and stopped. I like to imagine that … Continue reading An Improper Holiday by K.A. Mitchell

Lightning Review

Fling by Jana Aston

Fling

I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately (I know, right?) so I’ve been turning to novellas for quick reads to help me cope. Fling by Jana Aston is a forbidden office romance.   For the most part I enjoyed it, but the romance wasn’t adequately developed (probably due to the length of the book) and sometimes the hero irked me. He was irksome. Sandra Adams is an executive assistant to the young CEO of a company (Sawyer, hero … Continue reading Fling by Jana Aston

RITA Reader Challenge Review

Break Me Down by Roni Loren

Break Me Down

I didn’t receive a 2016 RITA® Reader Challenge review for this book, so I’m compiling quotes from reviews online and using the grade average from Goodreads as a substitute. This book has a 4.03 average, which I’m interpreting as an A-. Meli Mel *Ty and Zane’s Creeper* wrote: …This was the first book I have read where the dominant in this bdsm relationship is a woman. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it, but … Continue reading Break Me Down by Roni Loren

RITA Reader Challenge Review

Nice Girls Don’t Ride by Roni Loren

Nice Girls Don’t Ride

Before reading “Nice Girls Don’t Ride,” I’d tried two Roni Loren books. The first was a DNF; I read more than 50 pages before giving up, and now, maybe three months later, I can’t remember any of it. The second was Off the Clock. The premise intrigued me, so I gave Loren another try, and I ended up loving it. The description of “Nice Girls Don’t Ride” sounded promising, and I figured there was a decent … Continue reading Nice Girls Don’t Ride by Roni Loren

RITA Reader Challenge Review

Toward the Sunrise by Elizabeth Camden

Toward the Sunrise

I picked up “Toward the Sunrise” fully expecting to enjoy it, but ended up wanting to hurl my Kindle into the ocean like a frisbee of rage. On its face, this is actually a well crafted novella with strong characters, emotional nuance, and a premise that seemed almost tailored to bring me joy. I genuinely believe that most people who read this will rate it highly—as the other SBTB reader who reviewed it did—but I … Continue reading Toward the Sunrise by Elizabeth Camden

RITA Reader Challenge Review

Nice Girls Don’t Ride by Roni Loren

Nice Girls Don’t Ride

“Nice Girls Don’t Ride” starts with a scenario we’ve read before: it’s Natalie’s 21st birthday and she’s on her way to meet her boyfriend. Not only does her car break down, but she gets conflicting messages from the restaurant and her boyfriend which make her think he’s up to funny business. A handsome stranger passing by in his tow-truck gets her car to the garage and her to the restaurant where she finds her boyfriend dining … Continue reading Nice Girls Don’t Ride by Roni Loren

Book Review

The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match by Juliana Gray

The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match

Here are some things that might make some of you grab this book immediately: It’s a novella. The hero, the Duke of Olympia, is in his 70s. He’s also a spy, but he’d probably get very sniffy if you called him that. The heroine, Mrs. Penelope Schuyler, is in her 50s, and is an American widow and now paid companion to a young heiress named Ruby. They’re on a steamer ship crossing the Atlantic, and there’s caper-ing and … Continue reading The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match by Juliana Gray

RITA Reader Challenge Review

Toward the Sunrise by Elizabeth Camden

Toward the Sunrise

“Toward the Sunrise” is a novella that I wished was a novel as then it would have had the space to show everything that was told. Ashton and Julia felt like a couple that would work due to a previous correspondence and shared dreams to travel. These letters were one of the many aspects of the story that was mentioned but not truly shown, as was the incident that prompted Julia’s being expelled. When Camden … Continue reading Toward the Sunrise by Elizabeth Camden

RITA Reader Challenge Review

Blue Streak by Jules Barnard

Blue Streak

I have to start this review by saying that I should not have read it in the same week that I read several feminist writings. The story is engaging and the hero and heroine (Zach and Nessa) are likeable. It’s part of a larger series so it suffers from having zero character development for anyone aside from the lead characters, but most people would think that’s a feature, not a bug in a novella-length story. … Continue reading Blue Streak by Jules Barnard

RITA Reader Challenge Review

All’s Fair in Love and Scandal by Caroline Linden

All’s Fair in Love and Scandal

I’ve enjoyed Ms. Linden’s Scandals series, but had fallen behind. Despite being a modest 176 pages, this short novel is a complete story and has inspired me to pick up the last volume in the series. This book is the third story in the series of five. For those who are just starting the series, the Scandal books whirl around the conceit of naughty pamphlets, “50 Ways to Sin,” which detail the sexcapades of certain … Continue reading All’s Fair in Love and Scandal by Caroline Linden

RITA Reader Challenge Review

The Resurrection of Sam Sloan by Erin Quinn

The Resurrection of Sam Sloan

So immediately after I read the glorious synopsis of this novella, I gleefully messaged every friend I thought would care about how I was currently reading a corpse-possession romance novel. Unfortunately, despite my initial delight, the “reaper trapped in her estranged husband’s body” element ended up being my main issue with what could have been a solid supernatural romance. First off, though, let the record reflect that I don’t consider reapers to be outside the … Continue reading The Resurrection of Sam Sloan by Erin Quinn

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