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 →
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 →
