friends-to-lovers

REVIEW: Because of the List by Amy Knupp

REVIEW: Because of the List by Amy Knupp

Dear Ms. Knupp: In looking in my past reviews, I don’t see that I’ve read you before but I believe I have and just not reviewed the book(s) that I’ve read.  Because of the List starts out with a old but favorite premise.  Hero is best friends with heroine’s older brother.  The twist in this book(…)

Friday Film Review: Emma (BBC)

Friday Film Review: Emma (BBC)

Emma (2009) Genre: Novel adaptation/Romance/Regency Period Grade: B This is the latest entry into the “Emma” canon, released in 2009 by the BBC. I guess it would be more accurate to call it a miniseries rather than a movie as it’s told in four roughly one hour parts. And while I didn’t think it would(…)

REVIEW: The Son He Never Knew by Kristi Gold

REVIEW: The Son He Never Knew by Kristi Gold

Dear Ms. Gold: I probably should have stopped reading at the first chapter when I figured out that the male protagonist of the story would not figure out he had a son until said son was 10 years old, but I didn’t. Unfortunately, the story never got any better. Jessica Keller and Chase Reed are(…)

REVIEW: Holly Lane by Toni Blake

REVIEW: Holly Lane by Toni Blake

Dear Ms. Blake: This book faltered in the beginning for me and never recovered. The female protagonist is Sue Ann, and in the previous books, Sue Ann has appeared happily married to Jeffrey. At some point between book 3 and book 4, Jeffrey fell in love with another woman and confesses his feelings for this(…)

REVIEW: A Bride Unveiled by Jillian Hunter

REVIEW: A Bride Unveiled by Jillian Hunter

Dear Ms. Hunter, I picked up this book after Jane mentioned it in passing in an email with…some sort of positive connotation. I hadn’t read your work before, but whatever it was Jane said, it was enough for me to want to check this book out. Unfortunately, the fact that I can’t remember why the(…)

REVIEW: Miss Darby’s Duenna by Sheri Cobb South

REVIEW: Miss Darby’s Duenna by Sheri Cobb South

Sir Harry Hawthorne and Miss Olivia Darby are neighbors in Leicestershire and their families have had An Understanding that the two would make a match of it once they got old enough. While Olivia has been looking forward to marrying the man she’s loved for years, Harry sees it as a not altogether horrible duty(…)

REVIEW: Canyons of the Night by Jayne Ann Krentz

REVIEW: Canyons of the Night by Jayne Ann Krentz

Dear Ms. Krentz: My favorite thing about your books is the interaction of your main characters and your dry wit that seeps through the dialogue.  ”Canyons of the Night” is set in the same world as the Jayne Castle series that involves glowing green alien artifacts, rezzed amber, and dust bunnies.  The idea behind this(…)

REVIEW: Turn It Up by Inez Kelley

REVIEW: Turn It Up by Inez Kelley

Dear Ms. Kelley: My feelings at the end of this book were ambivalent.  I liked a lot of it, but there were significant parts of the story that gave me pause.  Sebastian and Charlie have been best friends for six years.  They’ve seen each other through some difficult times and their friendship has never been(…)

REVIEW:  Changing the Game by Jaci Burton

REVIEW: Changing the Game by Jaci Burton

Dear Ms. Burton: As you know, I really enjoyed The Perfect Play. I love football and I felt like the story captured elements of the athlete hero fairly well.  It was scorching hot and had a believable love story with a great heroine.  I knew from hints within The Perfect Play and by the included excerpt that(…)

REVIEW: Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong

REVIEW: Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong

Note: This review contains major spoilers for Waking the Witch, the previous book in the series. Dear Ms. Armstrong, I’ve been a fan of yours ever since Bitten was first published. In the years to follow, urban fantasy exploded as a subgenre which was great for you because your Women of the Otherworld series found(…)

REVIEW: Prove It by Chris Owen

REVIEW: Prove It by Chris Owen

Dear Ms. Owen. I’ve always liked your writing. I loved your 911 (m/m to m/m/m), until you got too freaking weird on the sequels (a centaur?! Really?!). And I REALLY loved Gemini, which is, yes, a twincest, m/m/m threesome book (twins plus their boyfriend) — my utterly guilty pleasure and the reason I will never denigrate twincest books (at(…)

REVIEW: The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills by Joanna Pearson

REVIEW: The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills by Joanna Pearson

Dear Ms. Pearson, Word on the street is that the next big thing in YA is the contemporary. I’m not sure I’m convinced. Vampires seem to be the dying trend that never goes away. With the impending Hunger Game movie(s), I don’t see dystopians leaving anytime soon. In fact, I foresee an explosion once the(…)

REVIEW: Man Law by Adrienne Giordano

REVIEW: Man Law by Adrienne Giordano

Dear Ms. Giordano: Your Man Law tweets did the job.  It got me interested in reading the book and your editor zipped it over to me in short time.  Man Law, for the readers, are those supposedly unwritten rules of conduct that men are to engage in.  The start of each chapter is prefaced by(…)

REVIEW: Fourth and Goal by Jami Davenport

REVIEW: Fourth and Goal by Jami Davenport

Dear Ms. Davenport: Thank you for sending me your football book. I must say that your review pitch was one of the best I have read.  You pointed to my long and public quest for more romance books about sports.  Fourth and Goal displayed a deep and comfortable knowledge of football but strangely enough it(…)

Friday Film Review: Love and Basketball

Friday Film Review: Love and Basketball

Love and Basketball (2000) Genre: Sports Romance Grade: B I’ve wanted to review this movie for over a year and finally got off my lazy butt when I realized that June 23rd was the anniversary of what’s come to be called simply Title IX. Now I’m probably one of the most unathletic people on the(…)