My real problem with 50 Shades of Grey isn’t the bad writing (though it is bad) or the paper-thin boring-as-fuck chracters (though they ARE), or even, in the abstract, the wild popularity (we all get into romance and erotica from somewhere). My problem with the 50 Shades phenomenon is the completely bullshit and dangerous view of the BDSM lifestyle, and the idea that people are using the relationship of Ana and Christian as a template … Continue reading REVIEW: The Naughty Bits Series by Joey W. Hill →
Belle is a historical drama about 18th Century England that combines a thrilling coming of age and social justice story with a swoon-worthy romance. The scenery is beautiful, the clothes are beautiful, the male lead is sensitive, and the female lead has agency. Also the script is so packed with brilliant lines that I want to put it in a frame and stare at it all day. So basically – it’s a great movie for … Continue reading Movie Review: Belle →
I just came out of a horrible reading slump. I know, there’s no reason to be ashamed. It happens to ever reader sooner or later. I was probably just tired. Every single book I picked up, I put back down after a chapter. Nothing seemed able to hold my interest. And the more I thought about being in a slump, the worse it got. I started to psyche myself into not being able to read. … Continue reading Review: Pale Moon Rider by Marsha Canham →
Oooh I love it when I find something totally wonderful and I get to talk about it! Sex Criminals is a comic book series that is so great that I want to run around the streets yelling about how good it is. Sex Criminals is about two people, Suzie and John, who have an interesting superpower – they can stop time, but only for short time immediately following an orgasm. John suggests that they use … Continue reading Sex Criminals Volume I by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky →
My favorite thing to do is point people to a really great book, and Wonder Woman Unbound is a really great book for anyone interested in comics and for anyone interested in how women are portrayed in media. It’s detailed, thought-provoking, and meticulously researched but also conversational and light in tone. I love this book! Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World’s Most Famous Heroine is a nonfiction book that explores Wonder Woman … Continue reading Review: Wonder Woman Unbound by Tim Hanley →
Full disclosure: Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo isn't so much a romantic suspense as it is a thriller with a romantic subplot. It was so deliciously good that I had to review it though. I purchased a copy of this book for my mom when I bought my copy. A day later she called me, letting me know she was behind on everything because she'd finished Sworn to Silence then immediately downloaded the next three … Continue reading Review: Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo →
Striking Distance by Pamela Clare rocks. I love being surprised and learning new things. Today I learned that if you ground up a mouse and ate it, it would contain about 57% protein (this from our vet, I am not Googling “mouse protein content”). I also learned that it is possible to have a romantic suspense book that is feels entirely authentic and real. I love romantic suspense, but it tends to require I do … Continue reading Review: Striking Distance by Pamela Clare →
You know how sometimes you’re on Amazon, and you go into a fugue state, and then two days later (Gotta love Prime!) boxes start arriving at your house? This was in one of those boxes. In honor of the Patron Saint of this awards season’s red carpet, Emma Thompson, Our Lady Of the No Fucks Left To Give, we will be discussing her screenplay and diaries from Sense and Sensibility. There have been posts going … Continue reading Sense and Sensibility: The Screenplay and Diaries by Emma Thompson →
Elfquest is a comic book series by Richard and Wendy Pini. This series ran in one form or another from 1978 – 2007, and picked up again in 2012. For our purposes, this review focuses on the perfect “romance novel” comic – the story arc told in Issues 1 – 5. The story is this: A tribe of elves called The Wolfriders (because they ride wolves, duh) lives on a planet inhabited by humans, trolls, … Continue reading Book Review: ElfQuest Issues 1-5, by Wendy and Richard Pini →
Saga is the strangest, most twisted, perverse comic ever. It’s also the sweetest, most romantic comic ever. This is a story about a happily married couple, and a story in which the fate of many, many planets hinges on a romance novel. It’s funny and touching, and I did mention strange and twisted? The premise for Saga is pretty simple. Alana and Marko come from different sides of a vast interstellar war. They fall in … Continue reading Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples →
Let me just say, I loved this book. I loved it. Typically historicals and romantic suspense are my thing—straight contemporaries, not so much. I was treading with caution when I read So Tough to Tame, but it stood up and slapped in the face with a big rainbow of reading joy and squee. It’s a sexy, funny, emotional romp, and it makes me say things like “sexy, funny, emotional romp,” like I’m writing a blurb … Continue reading So Tough to Tame by Victorial Dahl →
