Julie James writes reliably enjoyable contemporary romances that never quite rise to greatness, but are a good go-to for fun, sizzle, and a bit of excitement. It Happened One Wedding is the most recent entry in her FBI/US Attorney novels and in this case it’s the hero who meets the series requirement. The leads in all of these books are well-to-do, sexy professionals who have established their careers and are ready to pay attention to their personal lives. Investment banker Sidney Sinclair has moved back […]
Terrible and Magnificent as Promised
Kulti by Mariana Zapata
When I wrote “barring a dark horse in December, I am quite sure this is going to be the best romance I read all year,” about The Hating Game, I didn’t honestly expect there to be challenger. What a pleasure it is to be rounding out the year with Kulti which is a fantastic contemporary romance and one that is on theme for 2016 with a difficult hero, c.f. Dukes Prefer Blondes, Hold Me (review to come), and Act Like It. Correctly described to me as […]
Did Lisa Kleypas Need the Money? Did Her Publisher?
An addendum to Lisa Kleypas’s Capitol Theatre series, I Will is a very bad Christmas novella that Ellepkay suggested had been lying in a drawer at the author’s house for years. Dated in many elements, I had at first suspected it was ghost written, but a long abandoned manuscript makes more sense. Shortly after I began reading, I found myself wondering how I would feel about the book and quality of the writing if it didn’t have the Queen of Romance’s name on it. Admittedly, […]
Contemporary Romance Bullsh*t
Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh
Inspiring a list of The Worst Romance Novels I Have Ever Read, I think sums up my opinion of the first book in Nalini Singh’s Rock Kiss series, but the long version is below anyway. From Amazon: Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker […]
The Nice Guy and a Love Life in Hibernation
“His heart said, This. This right here.” I read my first Sarina Bowen title, The Year We Fell Down, a little over a year ago and since then I have both eagerly recommended and awaited for her new novels. She has two concurrent contemporary romance series at the moment, True North and Brooklyn Bruisers, as well as two M/M books co-written with Elle Kennedy, and more on the horizon. Such is Bowen’s output that I have given her a catalogue post. Readers familiar with Bowen’s […]
Kicking Ass and Taking Fake Names
Chase Me by Laura Florand
Relentless, determined, good with knives, and the hero is no slouch either. In this Laura Florand contemporary romance, Chase Me, she proves again why she’s one of my favourite authors by having two badass leads instead of the usual one. Violette Lenoir meets Chase Smith when he breaks into her Michelin two-star restaurant right before she leaves for the night. He’s some kind of former SEAL government operative – though he claims to work in private security – but she doesn’t know that when she […]