Lisa Kleypas strikes me as a somewhat traditional author of historical romance. Which isn’t to say that she’s boring or stuffy, because she can write great smolder and steamy love scenes. I’m not entirely sure that I can put my finger on what makes me think this way, but I have an impression of her as an author whose idea of rebellion against romance conventions is a wink rather than a thorough upending. None of that is to pass any kind of value judgement on […]
Historical Romance with a Foxy Mary Poppins
“Foxy Mary Poppins!” is as far as I got in my review last October and it does really say it all about this entry in Jennifer Ashley’s frequently overwrought, yet personally strangely compelling and habit-forming, Mackenzie historical romance series. I read ALL of her Mackenzie stories and yet I don’t recommend any of them. I lovehate them. Why both? Because Ashley excels at moments of sincere romance while simultaneously over-plotting her novels, thus turning them into melodrama. They have gotten better in time, but Rules […]
Even Lesser Courtney Milan Is Better Than Most Romances
Wrapping up her brilliant Brothers Sinister series, the novella Talk Sweetly to Me, wisely centers on one of Milan’s most charming characters: Stephen Shaughnessy. Readers know him as the sole male writer for the newspaper in the penultimate book in the series, The Suffragette Scandal. An irreverent iconoclast, he makes an unlikely suitor for an astronomer’s computer (mathematician) and also the perfect one to help her seize her chance at happiness on her own terms. Courtney Milan continues to play with tropes and write spectacular […]
Sweet though it may be, it didn’t sing.
Courtney Milan has admirably taken up the mantle not just for plucky, smart heroines, but for explicitly academic ones. Complex theory as foreplay and technical jargon as sweet nothings are part of her repertoire. It’s these details, as well as Milan’s own formidable educational achievements, that have me recommending her as gateway romance for women who think themselves above romance. (Former member of that camp here.) In addition to her superlative characterization, she also rarely stumbles on the actual romance, and when she does, often […]
All perfectly marriageable after all.
For the last Cannonball, I reviewed books 1 and 3 in the Wallflowers series and enjoyed them; I was asked if I was going to read the Bowman sisters’ books? I am very glad I did, because Lillian’s book, It Happened One Autumn, is possibly my favorite of the four. To recap: the Wallflowers series is about four women who, for various reasons, are having trouble finding suitable husbands in their circles. The eldest, Annabelle, is from a respected family but has no dowry; she finds love in […]
Come for the Historical Romance, Stay for the Hostility
Once More, My Darling Rogue by Lorraine Heath
Short Version: NO! Medium Version: My romance spirit guide, Malin, gave me this book and guessed the result based on the blurb. It’s a Victorian romance this – plus a Victorian romance that – resulting in a Victorian romance reading experience of: Long Version: While continuing to be an author I try to avoid actually paying for, Lorraine Heath is solidly B-Minus List writer with some decent books under her belt. She can be dated in her plotting and characters and Once More, My Darling Rogue is no […]
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