Taking place in a Highland setting a few years after the Rough Wooing, this is the middle story in a trilogy about young women possessed of mystical stone fragments and attendant powers. Innes Munro inherited one of these stones from her mother, and can, by the power of touch, though only with her hands, read the current thoughts and past of others. Innes accompanies her sister Ailein to the northern Highlands to attend Ailein’s wedding … Continue reading Taming the Highlander by May McGoldrick →
When I first read the synopsis for Taming The Highlander by May McGoldrick I was very excited because it had so much of the catnip I enjoy in a romance novel, including a learned heroine, mystical stones and a tortured hero. Seeing it was an award nominee only whetted my appetite all the more. Once I started reading however, it became harder and harder to push through it. So many more intriguing books came my … Continue reading Taming the Highlander by May McGoldrick →
A plucky heroine that can shoot a rat from a bazillion yards away and a duke who disappeared from society at age ten. What is not to love about this book? I’m embarrassed to admit that this is my first book by Kelly Bowen. I pride myself on knowing what historical romance authors are out there, and somehow, until now, Ms. Bowen slipped by me. A Duke to Remember is a great reminder that Amazon reviews … Continue reading A Duke to Remember by Kelly Bowen →
I love historical romance but I’m growing a little tired of the traditional Regency stories where an innocent-but-plucky heroine can be found waltzing indecently close to a ready-to-be-reformed rake. So I was happy to see that A Duke To Remember doesn’t start in a ballroom but in Bedlam where we meet our heroine, Elise DeVries. Elise is a part-time actress, part-time private investigator/problem solver/tracker, and has been hired to rescue the Duchess of Ashland who … Continue reading A Duke to Remember by Kelly Bowen →
My name is LauraL. I recently read my first f/f romance. When I made my selections for the RITA Reader Challenge, I decided to do what my employer calls a “stretch assignment.” This means working on a project or in a job that stretches your expertise a bit beyond your comfort zone. When I finished reading Far From Home, I told my husband of thirty plus years, “A good romance is a good romance.” Far … Continue reading Far from Home by Lorelie Brown →
NB: Trigger warnings for the below description racism and threat of rape. Well, I picked this book to review because I was late to the sign-up sheet and it was the only book left. Which wasn’t maybe the best sign, but you never know with these things, and part of my idea with this challenge was to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. The Depth of Beauty is not the book … Continue reading The Depth of Beauty by A.B. Michaels →
As the book opens, we’re introduced to Zach Talbot, a veterinarian who lives in Whispering Pines, a small town in New Mexico, and Mallory Keyes, formerly an actress and now a paraplegic woman hiding from everything and everyone. Zach is a widower, he has two boys that are 3 and 8, and while he’s kind of lonely and overwhelmed, he’s doing okay. Mallory bought a house in Whispering Pines in order to hide out from the paparazzi, … Continue reading Back in the Saddle by Karen Templeton →
Carolina Dreaming is the fifth book in the Dare Island series, and I did feel like there was some character backstory I was missing by not having read previous books. People are introduced by name and it felt like those names should mean something to me. Jane, our heroine, played a minor role in a previous book, but that story is summed up in this book since our hero, Gabe, is new to town. Both Jane … Continue reading Carolina Dreaming by Virginia Kantra →
Julianne MacLean’s The Color of a Promise begins with a promising first line: “It’s kind of embarrassing to come back from the dead and still not get it.” Having no idea about the story or its series, I was charmed by that first sentence. It was self-aware and suggested that our hero, Jack Peterson, was going to demonstrate personal growth and a sense of humor throughout the story, which is always compelling. Alas, while he … Continue reading The Color of a Promise by Julianne MacLean →
Lovers of Romantic Comedy movies would love this. For a broken, dead inside person like myself it was “eye roll city” and not my favorite but still a fun, quick read. This book’s setup was a doozy of a meet-cute. Hats off to Ms. Fenske. Meg, a caterer and unsuccessful cookbook writer, goes to the hospital to bury the hatchet with her philandering former fiance, Matt, who she had pulled a Runaway Bride on previously. … Continue reading Now That It’s You by Tawna Fenske →
The best adjective I have to describe this book is unmemorable. While I was reading it, I was enjoying it and found it difficult to put down; but now as I sit down to write a review, I am finding it difficult to remember what happened. In the acknowledgements at the end of the book, the author thanks her agent, “for selling this book before I even had a subject in mind, and then for … Continue reading Now That It’s You by Tawna Fenske →
