JanineB ReviewsCult / Fantasy / Fantasy Romance / forced-marriage / India / Magic / POC4 Comments

Dear Ms. Suri, When I was queried by your publisher about reviewing Empire of Sand, your debut and a fantasy novel set in a world inspired by Mughal India, I thought it sounded promising, and I asked for an ARC. Mehr, the heroine of our story, is one of two ... more >

August 6, 2018

JOINT REVIEW: Free Fall by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner

JayneB Reviews1960s / astronaut / Fly Me to the Moon series / forced-marriage12 Comments

Houston, Texas, 1965 When an accident rocks the American Space Department, threatening the race to the moon, the agency is determined to eliminate distractions, including those in the bedroom. Astronaut Dean Garland, on track to become the first man to walk in space, is fine with putting a temporary hold ... more >

September 19, 2016

REVIEW: Dangerous Hearts by Stefanie Keith

JayneB- Reviews / Book Reviews20th century / American historical / bootlegging / forced-marriage / Historical / teacher heroineComments Off on REVIEW: Dangerous Hearts by Stefanie Keith

When schoolteacher Rebecca Sims ventures up on Hazel Mountain in the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia to check on one of her young students, she is warned that this can be a very dangerous place to be for a beautiful young woman on her own. After being stranded on the mountain ... more >

June 5, 2014

REVIEW: The Accidental Duchess by Madeline Hunter

WillafulB- Reviews / Book Reviews18th-century / England / forced-marriage / Georgian4 Comments

Dear Ms. Hunter: It’s commonplace for the final book of a historical romance series to feature a hero who’s been something of a mystery. The Accidental Duchess goes one better, by having both the hero and the heroine be the least seen and most enigmatic characters in the series. It’s ... more >

November 29, 2013

REVIEW: The Ballad of Emma O’Toole by Elizabeth Lane

JayneC Reviews19th century / American historical / forced-marriage / Harlequin Historical / marriage-of-convenience / revenge-plot / western4 Comments

Dear Ms. Lane, I hadn’t read a western in a while so the blurb for this one caught my eye. High stakes marriage After shooting a man, the stakes for gambler Logan Devereaux have never been higher. On trial for his life, he’s offered a shocking alternate form of restitution…marriage ... more >

July 3, 2013

REVIEW: The Registry by Shannon Stoker

JiaD Reviewsdystopian / forced-marriage / New Adult / William Morrow / Young-Adult14 Comments

Dear Ms. Stoker, I can’t decide if all these dystopian YAs featuring young women as chattel are a reflection of current social anxiety about the state of womens’ rights or simply lazy writing. Not to say that oppressed young women finding freedom isn’t a story worth telling. It obviously is. ... more >