Girl at the Grave is a YA gothic mystery with a love triangle. It’s not deep, and the solution to the mystery is utterly unbelievable. However, I read it on a rainy day with a cup of tea and enjoyed it for the most part, despite its flaws. If you are in the mood for a weird village and plots and rich snobs and an old decrepit mansion, then this may pass the time quite … Continue reading Girl at the Grave by Teri Bailey Black
After putting down several books out of disinterest, I can proudly say that Mister Hockey was the one to break that pattern. It was funny and sexy and I really enjoyed both main characters. However, what kept the book from really knocking it out of the park was the narrative’s aversion to really getting down and dirty with the serious issues the hero and heroine were facing. Briana “Breezy” Angel is a children’s librarian and … Continue reading Mister Hockey by Lia Riley
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
This is book 5 (possibly the last?) in Quinn’s Worthington series. I reviewed the first one, Three Weeks to Wed, and I have to say, this was an improvement on a lot of the issues that Three Weeks (…since you looked at me, cocked your head to the side and said…. Sorry.) had. Geoffrey, the Earl of Harrington has a diplomatic post waiting for him on the eve of the battle of Waterloo, buuuuuut he … Continue reading You Never Forget Your First Earl by Ella Quinn
How the Cowboy Was Won very loosely retells Emma in a modern day Texan town. As a retelling of Emma, it wasn’t great, but as a “friends to lovers” romance I liked it a lot. Ember Alzate is a woman of Irish-Native American descent who makes a good living selling real estate. She also has a knack for matchmaking – so much so that people say she should consider it as a second career. Ember … Continue reading How the Cowboy Was Won by Lori Wilde
Family Jewels is a mystery that features two best friends who own a landscaping/ plant nursery business and also solve mysteries. It’s the first in a new series, an offshoot of the Rose Gardner mystery series, but you don’t have to have read the previous series to enjoy this book. There’s also a strong romantic subplot and lots and lots of unresolved sexual tension. The violence takes place off screen so it’s a non-scary, non-gory … Continue reading Family Jewels by Denise Grover Swank
Summer of Scandal is a romance that takes place in a made up town “located in a fictional island in the Spanish Caribbean.” It is set in 1911. The unusual setting, the Hispanic and Caribbean cultures, and the time period make for an appealing and refreshing romance with a couple of odd problems. Here’s the plot: Emilia Cruz is the secret author of a series of scandalous stories, including The True Accounts of a Former … Continue reading A Summer of Scandal by Lydia San Andres
The Merman King is Book Six in the Lords of the Abyss series. Despite not having read Books 1-5, I had no problems keeping up with this story about a merman who falls in love with a human, although some of the plot points may have been more fully developed in earlier books. Long ago, King Lucius bragged that his land was better than the Gods’, which of course pissed them off. Poseidon cursed Lucius … Continue reading The Merman King by Michelle M. Pillow
NB: This guest review comes from LibrarianJessi. This review is a little bit different as it’s not really a review of a book or movie. Instead, LibrarianJessi is reviewing a musical! LibrarianJessi, librarian, bibliophile, romance evangelist, and Broadway nerd.I fangirl over every musical I can possibly see and review them through the lens of a romance reader. Musicals and romance novels have a lot in common: meaningful exploration of human relationships, obstinately optimistic worldviews, snide … Continue reading Guest Review: Waitress
It doesn’t bode well that I read What a Difference a Duke Makes a couple of weeks ago and when I sat down to review it all I could remember was that it was a Regency romance and had a duke in it. Luckily I was able to refresh my memory. This book is not particularly memorable, but it was enjoyable while I was reading it. Mari (rhymes with starry, as she is constantly telling … Continue reading What A Difference A Duke Makes by Lenora Bell
Torn has a great concept and fantastic descriptions of locations and clothing. It has a heroine of color (she’s described as having black hair and “golden skin”). It has intrigue. It has action and romance. Alas, it does NOT have momentum. This book is a fantasy that takes place in an alternate world. The country our heroine Sophie lives in is similar to Russia right before the 1917 revolution. Sophie is a seamstress who owns … Continue reading Torn by Rowenna Miller
