A Reviews / Book Reviews / DNF Reviews1880s / botany / Cornwall / duchess / fish-out-of-water / gardener / heroine in disguise / historical romance / joint review / redemption / Road Trip Romance / runaway bride / snobbery7 Comments
Janine: Layla and I reviewed Joanna Lowell’s last two historicals and when I saw that this one was coming out, I asked her if she would like to review it together as well. She agreed. The Runaway Duchess is the story of Lavinia Yardley, who was engaged to Anthony, Duke ... more >
Book Reviews / Reading Lists / Top Ten Listsalternate England / Best of 2021 / businessman / Earl / f/f / family / Fantasy / heroine in disguise / historical romance / land steward / marriage-of-convenience / nun / paranormal romance / reframing / revenant / revenge / scholar / Scotland / secret society / self discovery / sportsman / suffragette / Thistle Grove Series / traumatic-past / Urban fantasy / werewolves / witch / YA fantasy9 Comments
Freya Marske, A Marvellous Light This was probably my favorite book of the year. I don’t read m/m romance much, but this book had me hooked. Full of angst and tension, containing a swoon worthy romance and with a very compelling magical world, it was hard to put down. The ... more >
A Reviews / A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Reading Lists / Recommended Reads / Top Ten Lists#metoo / #ownvoices / 1870s / 1920s / 1970s / accountant / Agent/Spies/Undercover / arranged-marriage / Asian heroine / Asperger's / audiobook / Best of 2019 / best of list / book editor / California / class differences / Contemporary / custody battle / dragons / enemies to lovers / epistolary / f/f / Fairyland / fake relationship / family / Fantasy / farming / friends-to-lovers / gods / heroine in disguise / high-school / historical romance / Hong Kong based world / illegitimate-child / LGBTQIA+ / Literary fiction / London / look alikes / mafia / magical powers / Malaysia / martial arts / Mexico / nobleman / Northern Ireland / nurse / POC / POC author / political intrigue / quest / reformed hero / Regency-based world / romantic-elements / roommates / saga / single dad / streetwise heroine / Time-Travel / Vietnam / waitress / war19 Comments
I was tempted to make a list of my favorites among the 2019-published books I read this year. In the end I decided to focus on my favorite 2019 reads (first time reads; I didn’t include books I had read / reviewed in prior years) without regard to their year ... more >
A- Reviews / C+ Reviews / Recommended ReadsFantasy / Fantasy Romance / heroine in disguise / hidden identity / look alikes / nobleman / POC / Regency-based world / streetwise heroine / Uncommon Echoes series3 Comments
Dear Ms. Shinn, Recently I’ve been listening to the audiobooks of your Uncommon Echoes series. I’ve reviewed the first in the series, Echo in Onyx, and the following is my review of the second, Echo in Emerald. I’m going to begin by cribbing the description of the series and its ... more >
B Reviews / B Reviews Category / Book Reviewsheroine in disguise / murder mystery / POC author / Sherlock Holmes16 Comments
Dear Ms. Thomas: I know very little about Sherlock Holmes – I know of the pipe and the deerstalker cap, I’ve heard the phrase, “Elementary, my dear Watson”, and I know that Sherlock was an influential archtype in the development of the modern detective in fiction. I *think* I read ... more >
B+ ReviewsEnglish Historical / heroine in disguise / historical romance / tortured hero10 Comments
Dear Ms. Duran: When I read the blurb for this book, I was a little uneasy: “Running for her life, exhausted and out of options, Olivia Holladay wants nothing more than the chance to make a home for herself. So when she realizes that the infamous Duke of Marwick might ... more >