Janine: Hi guys. It’s time for a new conversation post, and this one is about sex scenes—their dynamics and their role in books. Here are a few questions: How much does the emotional dynamic or tenor in a sex scene matter to you? Do you prefer that the sex in ... more >
This is a selected list rather than my entire reading; if I included every Harlequin Presents I read over the last few months, it’d look like I’m on the take. A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant Janine wrote a lovely review of this; I don’t have much ... more >
Dear Ms. Grant, I’ve been waiting for your 62,000 word novel, A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong, for a while now, so when I saw it had come out, I snapped it up. The book is about Andrew Blackshear, the oldest of the Blackshear siblings, three of whose stories appeared in ... more >
With only a few exceptions, 2013 continues to be a disappointing year for me. Here’s what I’ve been reading lately: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud This novel is narrated in alternating first and third person. The first person sections are in the POV of Bartimaeus, a djinni whom ... more >
This month’s book club pick was reviewed by Jennie and we’ve reposted it today for a refresher. Grant debuted with a magnificent historical novel, A Lady Awakened, at the very end of 2011. Since then we’ve been treated to two more remarkable stories featuring very different characters. Her latest book, A ... more >
My top ten favorite books published in 2012, ranked (that part was haaaard) and described: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore Review by me. This intricately plotted YA fantasy about a young queen’s heroic determination to uncover buried truths about her father and nation was an almost flawless read. Beloved characters from ... more >