Only a Monster by Vanessa Len This YA fantasy novel, Vanessa Len’s debut, was recommended highly by two people I trust, so I stuck with it even though it had a slow and seemingly pedestrian beginning. When Joan, a British East Asian girl, is little, her grandmother tells her that ... more >
Dear Allison Montclair, I heard good things about you debut historical mystery, The Right Sort of Man, from Barb in Maryland and Liz McCausland. The book concerns two women, Iris Sparks and Gwendolyn Bainbridge, who open a marriage bureau (matchmaking agency) together in 1946 England. Even though I don’t usually ... more >
For a young woman swept into international adventure, romance can’t be far behind… The 1920s are in full swing when Sadie Loudon leaves her grandfather’s stodgy vicarage, and she dreams of the glamour and excitement she’s seen on the silver screen. But before she even begins work at the storied ... more >
With England under the shadow of Napoleon’s invasion, the windswept coast of Devon has become a hotbed of intrigue—with spies and smugglers terrorising the county, no one is safe. No respectable lady should concern herself with romantic notions of spies and smugglers, but Joanna Fineton does not care. When she ... more >
Dear Ms. Lerner, I’ve read and enjoyed a couple of your books; I gave Sweet Disorder a B and reviewed Listen to the Moon , giving it an A-. While casting about for a romance to read, I realized I had several of your backlist on my Kindle. ... more >
For nearly 300 years, the mysterious journal of Jacobite exile Mary Dundas has lain unread-its secrets safe from prying eyes. Now, amateur codebreaker Sara Thomas has been hired by a once-famous historian to crack the journal’s cipher. But when she arrives in Paris, Sara finds herself besieged by complications from ... more >