November 24, 2014

REVIEW: A Christmas Reunion by Susanna Fraser

WillafulC- Reviewsclass-difference / Regency Romance / Reunited Couple / short-story9 Comments

Dear Susanna Fraser: About halfway into this pleasant short story I started to have an uncomfortable suspicion about where the plot was going to go. As confirming clues piled up, I hoped the author of rich historical romances like The Sergeant’s Lady and An Infamous Marriage might pull it off ... more >

November 17, 2014

REVIEW: Think of England by K.J. Charles

WillafulA Reviews / Recommended ReadsEdwardian / England / English Historical / m/m / Recommended Reads102 Comments

Dear K.J. Charles: Damn it, why didn’t I think of this book? (And have the willpower to write it, and the talent to make it good, and the tenacity to get it published…) For someone like me who grew up reading many popular English writers, it is such a clever ... more >

November 2, 2014

REVIEW: Raising the Rent by J.L. Merrow

WillafulC ReviewsContemporary romance / England / large age difference / m/m / previously published / prostitute hero / short-story9 Comments

Dear J.L. Merrow: It doesn’t bode well for a review when you get to the end of a story and exclaim, “that’s it?” This was originally published as a short story in an anthology called Sindustry, and I can’t help thinking that it might as well have stayed there. It’s ... more >

October 15, 2014

REVIEW: Another Place in Time by Tamara Allen, Joanna Chambers, K.J. Charles, Kaje Harper, Jordan L. Hawk, Aleksander Voinov,

WillafulB Reviews / Recommended Reads11 Comments

Note: All proceeds from the purchase of this anthology will be donated to AllOut.org in celebration of LGBT History Month, October 2014. Dear Authors: “Queer people have been left thinking that history does not belong to them — that outside this modern moment was nothing but a blank white space, ... more >

September 18, 2014

REVIEW: A Forbidden Rumspringa by Keira Andrews

WillafulB ReviewsAmish / forbidden-love / m/m romance / Minnesota / New Adult3 Comments

Dear Ms. Andrews: Ah, star-crossed love. I adore romances in which “forbidden” isn’t just a buzzword in the title. After rumspringa rebelliousness left three teenagers dead, Issac’s family left their Amish community in Ohio to begin a new one with a much stricter Ordnung. (Regulations about every aspect of life, ... more >

September 7, 2014

REVIEW: Talk Sweetly to Me by Courtney Milan

WillafulC+ Reviewshistorical romance / interracial-romance / novella / Series / Victorian / white hero/black heroine7 Comments

Dear Ms. Milan: I’ve had an odd pattern with the “Brothers Sinister” series — I’ve loved every other book. Which means three books I loved in one series — not a bad record at all. This novella falls in the “like” zone. Parts of it are delightful, but it never ... more >