Venice

REVIEW:  The Dark Palazzo by Virgina Coffman

REVIEW: The Dark Palazzo by Virgina Coffman

Dear Ms. Coffman, During my junior year of high school, I happened to take AP European History. I recall many things from that course, but what I chiefly remember is the section on the French Revolution. Perhaps it was my general interest in all things French during that phase of my adolescence, but I seem(…)

REVIEW:  The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich

REVIEW: The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich

Dear Ms. Rich, I have a love/hate relationship with historical novels. When they work, they can be wondrous – taking me to foreign lands, to different eras, into the rich and complex lives of the characters. Bad ones can seem endless and are worse if I get the feeling that these are just people dressed(…)

REVIEW: Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould

REVIEW: Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould

Dear Ms. Gould, I love stories that feature relationships between female relatives, especially sisters and cousins close in age. I also love the idea of an all-female secret society that controls the world from the shadows. So when I saw that your novel combined the two, I snatched it up with excitement. Unfortunately, I discovered(…)

REVIEW: Veretti’s Dark Vengeance by Lucy Gordon

REVIEW: Veretti’s Dark Vengeance by Lucy Gordon

Dear Ms. Gordon When the story first started, I thought for sure this was going to be the standard HP with the hero jumping to conclusions about what a slut the heroine was when, in truth, she is this shrinking violet innocent despite her knock out body. Instead, I’m treated with a strong battle of(…)

Friday Film Review: Everyone Says I Love You

Friday Film Review: Everyone Says I Love You

Everyone Says I Love You (1996) Genre: Musical comedy Grade: B Is there a genre of movie that Woody Allen hasn’t tried? Since I’m not his biggest fan, I can’t say for sure but he certainly has turned his hand to most of them by this time. “Everyone Says I Love You” is another one(…)

Friday Film Review: Pane et Tulipani (Bread and Tulips)

Friday Film Review: Pane et Tulipani (Bread and Tulips)

Pane et Tulipani (Bread and Tulips) 2000 Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama Grade: Delightful In looking over my Friday film reviews, I realize I’ve been remise. Of all the ones I’ve done, most have been set and made in the US or are English language films. Don’t think I don’t watch foreign films with subtitles. I do. Let(…)

REVIEW:  Veiled Passions by Tracy MacNish

REVIEW: Veiled Passions by Tracy MacNish

Dear Ms. MacNish: Veiled Passions is the first book of yours I’ve read, and perhaps because of that, this is a very difficult review for me to write.   I wanted so much to like this book, because it has a number of elements I look for in Romance:   settings other than Regency England (this book(…)

REVIEW: Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase

Dear Ms. Chase, Huzzah! I’m definitely on a roll with you. Last year there was [insert Lady title] and this year it’s “Your Scandalous Ways.” Tired of Regency set books? Tired of English gentleman spies? Well, I would have said so before reading this book. After finishing it…nah, not so much. And a real courtesan(…)

CONVERSATIONAL REVIEW: Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase

Jane: At the beginning of Lord of Scoundrels, a book that has been in print since its first publication in 1995, Lord Dain meets Jessica Trent for the first time She was not classic English perfection, but she was some sort of perfection and, being neither blind nor ignorant, Lord Dain generally recognized quality when(…)

REVIEW: The Defiant Mistress by Claire Thornton

Dear Ms Thornton, Though I’d never tried any of your books before, I took a chance on this one when I saw it was set in Restoration Era Venice and England. Alas, it turned out to be a style of novel I’ve lost all patience for. The hero and heroine are torn apart years before(…)