An Appalachian summer walks the line between toxic and intoxicating in this debut novel about first loves, broken hearts, and moonshine. Luisa “Lulu” Mendez has just finished her final year of high school in a small Virginia town, determined to move on and leave her job at the local junkyard ... more >
Dear Ms. McKenna: I’ve not been able to connect to every one of your books as I would have liked but I couldn’t help but be drawn to the idea of a felon and a librarian. For all of its forbidden nature, this is a lovely, heartfelt romance. Annie Goodhouse ... more >
Dear Ms. Morgan: This book is a lot of fun with a great hero, more quotable lines than a compendium from John Bartlett, and a somewhat disappointing conclusion. My favorite lines in the book have to be this: “Spork! I cry spork!” She released some of the tension on his ... more >
Dear Ms. Hoyt: I have not read the previous two books in the Maiden Lane series. While I loved your initial books, Jayne began to review the series and she did such a competent job that I kept putting the Hoyt historicals aside to read and review others. I was ... more >
Dear Ms. Mallory, I have been anticipating the release of your novel, In Total Surrender, since I read about the Merrick brothers in your last effort, One Night Is Never Enough. There’s just something about a pair of intellectual thugs that gets my blood pumping. In Total Surrender is Andreas ... more >
Happy, Texas (1999) Genre: Comedy/Crime/Romance Grade: B- The bonus features on the DVD show that this film played well at the Sundance Festival but honestly, I don’t remember hearing about it when it was released. Nor much about it since then – which is a shame since it’s a lighthearted, ... more >