D ReviewsContemporary / Gothic / Maine / novelist / puppets30 Comments
Dear Ms. Phillips, I tried, I really did, but I just couldn’t get into this book at all. It seems to have been meant as a modern take on Gothic romances, but for me it didn’t work as either a Gothic or a romance. Annie Hewitt once dreamed of becoming ... more >
B Reviews20th century / England / Historical / novelist / SourceBooks / World War II10 Comments
Another hilarious tale of misadventure with the beloved Miss Buncle! The third book in D.E. Stevenson’s beloved Miss Buncle series, The Two Mrs. Abbotts takes us back to the delightful English town of Wandlebury, where Barbara Abbott (formerly Buncle) has her hands full raising two children in the midst of ... more >
B- Reviews20th century / England / Historical / novelist / pre-WWII / SourceBooks20 Comments
Dear Readers, “Miss Buncle Married” takes up nine months after the close of “Miss Buncle’s Book” with Barbara Buncle now happily married to her publisher Arthur Abbott. They live fairly blissfully in Arthur’s house near London with the only blot on their happiness being the tiresome round of social obligations ... more >
B+ Reviews / Recommended Reads20th century / England / Historical / novelist / pre-WWII / SourceBooks25 Comments
“Barbara Buncle is in a bind. Times are harsh, and Barbara’s bank account has seen better days. Stumped for ideas, Barbara draws inspiration from fellow residents of her quaint English village, writing a revealing novel that features the townsfolk as characters. The smashing bestseller is published under the pseudonym John ... more >
A Review Category / A Reviews / A- Reviews / Book ReviewsCarolyn Jewel / friends-to-lovers / Historical Romances / novelist / rake / Regency England22 Comments
Dear Ms. Jewel, Scandal is the first book of yours I have read, but it won’t be the last. The book begins when Gwilym, Earl of Banallt, arrives at Havenwood in autumn of 1814. Banallt is a guest of John Mercer, who does not realize that his widowed sister Sophie ... more >
A Reviews / A- Reviews19th century / conversational review / Erotic-Romance / Historical Romances / illegitimate-child / novelist / older heroine and hero / Pam Rosenthal / scholar32 Comments
Janine: Since Pam Rosenthal’s previous book, The Slightest Provocation, provided us with some discussion fodder, we thought her newest, The Edge of Impropriety, might be fertile ground for a conversational review. Here is a description of the book, followed by Jennie’s thoughts and my own: The Edge of Impropriety begins ... more >