A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readsdragons / f/f / Fairyland / Fantasy / fiction with strong romantic elements / LGBTQ / Magic / magical powers / Malaysia / POC / Regency England / SFF7 Comments
Dear Ms. Cho, Three and a half years ago, Sunita and I reviewed your first novel, a regency-set fantasy titled Sorcerer to the Crown. I liked it enough to request an ARC of the sequel, The True Queen. I have to admit, though, that I was a little apprehensive because ... more >
A- Reviews / Recommended Readsabuse survivor / fiction with strong romantic elements / Glasgow / humorous / loneliness / office worker / Scotland9 Comments
Dear Ms. Honeyman, Is your debut novel literary fiction, women’s fiction, or romance? Its trenchant humor is almost enough to put it in the first category, its focus on a lonely woman’s relationships with her work colleagues and other acquaintances would no doubt prompt many to place it in the ... more >
B Reviews1980s / dystopian / fiction with strong romantic elements / geek / geek culture / near-future / popular culture / video games / YA science fiction17 Comments
Dear Mr. Cline, Your 2003 2011 novel, Ready Player One, was aptly described by USA Today as “Willy Wonka meets The Matrix.” Much like Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Ready Player One begins with an impoverished boy obsessed with a worldwide contest. Wade Watts loves ... more >
B- Reviews / C+ Reviewsadventure / Boxer Rebellion / China / engineer / fiction with strong romantic elements / Scientist / steampunk27 Comments
Dear Ms. Lin, I’ve enjoyed your recent historical romances very much, so when I saw you would be writing a new series set in a steampunk world based on China during the era of the Boxer Rebellion, I requested a copy for review. The heroine and narrator of Gunpowder Alchemy ... more >
C+ ReviewsContemporary / fiction with strong romantic elements / Marquess / Regency England / Time-Travel / values conflict6 Comments
Dear Ms. Ridgway, In his book The Art of Fiction, the late author John Gardner wrote: …whatever the genre may be, fiction does its work by creating a dream in the reader’s mind. We may observe, first, that if the effect of the dream is to be powerful, the dream ... more >
Book Reviews / C Reviewsactivism / chicklit / fiction with strong romantic elementsComments Off on REVIEW: Lingerie for Felons by Ros Baxter
Dear Ms. Baxter: Lingerie For Felons is a little hard to categorize: after a beginning that feels like New Adult, it settles into chicklit, then veers into “women’s fiction” in the second half. (With a final veer into fantasy/fairy tale.) Overall, I think it’s a coming of age story — ... more >