Miss Miles was written in 1890, and it describes the lives of four women in Yorkshire. Sarah Miles is a working-class young woman who wants to become a “lady” even though she doesn’t fully understand what being a lady means. Amelia is a lady, or the closest thing the area has to one, and she is driven to despair because her family will not let her do any kind of work. Dora and Maria are … Continue reading Miss Miles by Mary Taylor
Starlight by Carrie Lofty, is full of CarrieS bait. The hero is an astronomy teacher. The heroine is a union leader in a mill. The novel is set in Glasgow in 1880, and it manages to present the possibility of a mill being run fairly without glamorizing what was grueling work under even ideal conditions. The biggest problem with the story is that the protagonists are so much at odds that it’s hard to believe in … Continue reading Starlight by Carrie Lofty
We have guest review of a tabletop game that has a romantic element. Huge thanks to Suzanne for submitting this review and thinking of the Bitchery. In addition to raising two valkyries and tending a growing menagerie, Suzanne reads and reviews romance and comics in Southern New Hampshire. She runs a site devoted to romance comics and assists a couple of authors with their romance-writery needs as well. … My husband and I play lots … Continue reading Guest Game Review: Love Letter
Once again I’ve gotten sucked into a book that, had I known what I was getting into, I never would have read. Nevertheless, I found myself riveted by its offbeat, Weird-Western-Meets-Dickens-Gothic-Horror atmosphere. This is not a romance but may be of interest to those who love the legend behind Sarah Winchester and the Winchester Mystery House. For non-fiction about Sarah Winchester, try the biography Captive of the Labyrinth by Mary Jo Ignoffo. Trigger warnings abound, … Continue reading There Is No Lovely End by Patty Templeton
Update: I still need a vacation and am not getting one till January, so I’m reading all the beach-y things. Enter Holiday in the Hamptons. Sarah Morgan is one of my go-to Happy Feels authors, but I was lukewarm on Holiday in the Hamptons because of weak internal conflict and a heroine who, on occasion, baffled and irritated me. Felicity “Fliss” Knight grew up with a horribly emotionally abusive father, so her summer vacations in the Hamptons … Continue reading Holiday in the Hamptons by Sarah Morgan
Mind the Gap is a comic whose first issue I’ve had for awhile, but just never got around to reading it for whatever reason. The series was on hiatus for about a year, but according the the creator’s Twitter, he’s back in action! Which means readers have plenty of time to catch up. Ellis, the heroine, was brutally attacked for reasons that are a mystery. The attack lands her in a coma, but her spirit … Continue reading Mind the Gap #1 by Jim McCann
A Quiet Passion is a strange little movie about Emily Dickinson. It works best if you don’t think of it as a biopic but rather as a meditation on the life of a prickly, strange, and brilliant person. This movie came out in limited release early this year and is finally available on iTunes for those of us who missed it on the big screen. A Quiet Passion kicks off with young Emily, played by … Continue reading Movie Review: A Quiet Passion
Max Seventeen is a science fiction romance that has a lot of problematic elements (several of which ambushed me near the end of the book). On the other hand, it has an action heroine of color, a rickety spaceship with a motley (and diverse) crew, and mosasaurs. Once I started the book I couldn’t stop reading it, and every time I said to myself, “Wait, WHAT?” another mosasaur or some other shiny plot device popped … Continue reading Max Seventeen by Kate Johnson
Oh, hey. I agreed to review this book, but I don’t really remember much about it even though I finished it yesterday. I know that it mostly was about decorating a house, and that the heroine had a secret and that there was a LOT of not particularly interesting sex. Let’s try this again. The book starts with Vessa, our heroine, visiting a woman named Donna (like a title) Edith. Donna Edith matches people with … Continue reading The Dirty Secret by Kira A. Gold
Trigger Warnings: suicide, rape, attempted rape, drug use, physical abuse I stopped playing the flute after sixth grade. As much as I enjoyed orchestra performances and placing in competitions, I hated practicing and it became clear this would not change. For that reason alone, musicians have always intrigued me. Their dedication to their craft and their willingness to practice for hours (HOW?!) is impressive and I enjoy novels that allow us to peek behind the … Continue reading Before Goodbye by Mimi Cross
Although I used to mainline teen fiction like there was no tomorrow, I’ve largely taken a break for the last couple of years. This is partly because I spent the last two years reading 300+ adult fiction books while I served on a committee which I lovingly referred to as “My Crazy Ass Reading Committee” but which is properly known as The Reading List Committee. Reading Alterations, I was reminded of the other reason teen … Continue reading Alterations by Stephanie Scott
