When I learned that Jackie Collins had died on Saturday, my first thought was, She blew my mind. For some of us, our romance gateway might have been Sweet Valley High, or Sweet Dreams, or even the Sunfire books. (I remain eternally bummed that the story for Roxanne didn’t live up to the cover, which promised something a touch more scandalous – as scandalous as the Sunfire books could get, anyway.) My romance gateway was initially Sweet Valley High, but I remember reading Lucky and, … Continue reading Jackie Collins→
For Darkness Shows the Stars is a science fiction YA romance loosely based on Persuasion by Jane Austen. It’s not a very good version of Persuasion, and it’s not very good as romance, but it’s quite good as science fiction and I felt intense empathy for the heroine even though I frequently felt that her story was not the most interesting story in the book. For Darkness is about Elliot North, a Luddite. Many generations ago, … Continue reading For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund→
Another month on its way out. Another Whatcha Reading post in the bag. It’s time to talk about all the good stuff (hopefully it’s all good stuff) we’ve been reading this month. I’m currently reading Meredith Duran’s Lady Be Good ! The heroine is a former thief who is stuck (hopefully) doing one last job for her uncle – he’s also the hero in the next book. And the hero is a scarred veteran trying … Continue reading Whatcha Reading? September 2015 Edition→
On my way out of the hotel after RWA this year, I rode the escalator with Esi Sogah, who is a senior editor at Kensington. Esi has been working on romance for her entire career as an editor, and I thought she’d make a great podcast guest – I hope you agree. We talk about her Romance 101 conversion kit, diversity in romance publishing among professionals within the industry and in the books being created, … Continue reading 159. Being an Editor in Romance: An Interview with Esi Sogah from Kensington→
This book was nominated for a RITA in 2011, and our RITA Reader Challenge reviewer, Jayne, gave it an A-, saying, “I thought this was wonderful. If you’re looking for historical accuracy and nail-biting tension, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for froth, sparkles, castles, ballgowns, elaborate wigs, and glass slippers (oh, and the glass slippers are SO wonderful), this is perfect. I savored every page. By the time Gabriel and Kate ride off into the sunset, I believed that they loved and deserved each other and all that was left was a contented sigh from me.”
A Little Chaos is sort of a mess (not in a chaotic way, alas – it’s actually quite staid) but it’s a very pretty mess. Fans of historicals will love the look of the movie and the acting from Alan Rickman (who also directs) and Kate Winslet. There a couple of amazing scenes that are A+ quality and a romance that, alas, doesn’t take off, and some very pretty costumes and scenery. Kate Winslet plays … Continue reading Movie Review: A Little Chaos→
The Sookie Stackhouse 8-Volume Boxed Set by Charlaine Harris is $12.99! That’s the first eight books in the much-loved series, which comes out to $1.62 per book – thanks to reader Heather S. for doing the math. For me, the series had a strong start, by my interest waned around book four or five. What does the rest of the Bitchery think?
If you can’t tell by the cover and the title, this is a contemporary sports romance. This isn’t in my wheelhouse. This is my wheelhouse. I also hadn’t read any of the previous Sante Fe Bobcats books (this is the third in the series), but I got along just fine. I’m sure references to past events would have had a bigger impact, though I didn’t get the sense that I was missing out on anything. … Continue reading Takes Two to Tackle by Jeanette Murray→
This HaBO request is from LJ, who is searching for the first romance she’s read, and she has a handy list. Giving a bit of a trigger warning for violence, by the way: I need help discovering the first romance novel I read… seems to be a trend here at the Bitchery 😉 BACKSTORY: Our family was on a five week long holiday in September 2000. Flying all the way from Australia, we were making … Continue reading HaBO: A Trio of Heroines & a Gunfight on the Beach→
RECOMMENDED: The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan is currently $3.99 at Amazon! We’ll keep our eyes peeled for any price-matching. Elyse and Redheadedgirl did a joint review of this book and they gave it an A:
RHG: So I’m giving this an A, because it was delightful and I adore the Fug Girls’ version of Harry and Kate and Wills that they’ve created in their heads (“He’s basically Great Britain’s answer to a red squirrel anyway”) and I like how they used that in writing this book. It also passed the “Did I stay up until 3 am to finish this? YES I DID” test. How about you?
Elyse: Totally an A. It wasn’t as heavy in the romance as I wanted but made up for it by being addictive. I too pulled the 3 a.m. read. Plus it’s really funny and heartfelt.
