REVIEW: The Expatriates by Janice Y K Lee
Rose’s review of TheExpatriates by Janice U.K. Lee
Women’s Fiction published by Viking 12 Jan 16
The story of three American women, their lives and their families living abroad in Hong Kong. It’s all very familiar, as it is the life I’ve been living for fifteen years. The author’s description of the arrivals is done very well, I like the way she crafted the different scenarios. It is fun to read about the 5-star hotel lunches and the women’s clubs and charity events. All everyday happenings in this expat life.
REVIEW: Status Update by Annabeth Albert
Stevie‘s review of Status Update (#gaymers, Book 1) by Annabeth Albert
Contemporary Gay Romance published by Carina Press 07 Dec 15
I’m not always a huge fan of mismatched couples, but I like the idea of characters connecting over video games. Plus, there was a dog on the cover, but not mentioned in the blurb, and I was intrigued to see how he fitted in. This author is completely new to me, but I’m very glad to have given the book a chance.
REVIEW: The Rock by Monica McCarty
Veena’s review of The Rock (Highland Guard, Book 11) by Monica McCarty
Historical Romance published by Pocket Books 29 Dec 15
Thomas McGowan was born the son of the village blacksmith. Elizabeth Douglas, daughter to the laird of Douglas, was so far above him in station that she might as well have been a star in the sky. However, chance is a mighty thing and his rescue of the princess made him a playmate to her and the young laird. While they grew up playing together, he began to dream impossible dreams that were dashed when war and her family separated them. Determined to use the war as an opportunity to win a knighthood and rise above his station, Thomas leaves behind his village and his trade, determined to find a way to realize his dreams. As we all know, life really isn’t a fairy tale, and Thomas will have a difficult path to follow, but it’s refreshing to read a story about an ordinary person who performs extraordinary feats.
REVIEW: Hard and Fast by Raven Scott
Stevie‘s review of Hard and Fast (A Fortis Novel, Book 2) by Raven Scott
Contemporary Romantic Suspense published by Dafina 29 Dec 15
I’m wary of motorsport romances by new-to-me authors. I don’t tend to follow US motorsport series, and I’m cautious of jumping into series romances partway through. However, I put all my reservations aside when promised a story with an engineer heroine. I even forced myself not to get too cross with the author’s apparent fear of the word ‘said’ and the apparent swallowing of a thesaurus that had been required to fill all those otherwise empty dialogue tags. So was it worth it?
REVIEW: The Elf King’s Lady by Bernadette Rowley
Veena’s review of The Elf King’s Lady (WildeCoast Saga, Book 2) by Bernadette Rowley
Romantic Fantasy published by Momentum 26 Nov 15
A few years ago close to Thanksgiving, while browsing in Barnes and Noble, I discovered a new author and a fantasy romance series that, for the first time in my life, caused me to reach out to an author and join a fan forum. It was here that I met our very own Sandy M and eventually found my way to this pond. So when I saw this book and read the back blurb, I was transported back in time, but, unfortunately, my imagination took me to a high that was impossible to achieve in the actual reading of the story.
REVIEW: A Seditious Affair by KJ Charles
Stevie‘s review of A Seditious Affair (Society of Gentlemen, Book 2) by KJ Charles
Gay Historical Romance published by Loveswept 15 Dec 15
I love it when authors have the courage to tackle political and social conditions within historical romance, and both were delivered in spades within the plot of the previous novel in this series. Now the spotlight falls on a very unlikely pair, with dramatically opposed political views and social backgrounds. We learned in the previous novel that Harry’s former mentor and employer, the political agitator Silas, has clandestine meetings on Wednesday nights and that the high-ranking, well-bred, Tory civil servant Dominic – one of Harry’s new friends – has a secret lover who leaves him with bruises. However, it was never confirmed that the two mysteries were connected, even if I, for one, suspected that was the case.
REVIEW: Holiday with the Millionaire by Scarlet Wilson
Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Holiday with the Millionaire by Scarlet Wilson
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Romance 05 Jan 16
The plan was to spend the last couple of weeks of 2015 burning through my backlog of Christmas reads, which is how I stumbled upon Holiday with the Millionaire on my Kindle. Silly American me, I saw “holiday” and thought Christmas. When in reality what we have here is the UK “holiday,” meaning vacation. I’m blaming this on lack of sleep and caffeine. Anyway, while it was a detour from my original reading plans, this turned out to be an ideal Christmas-time read. Sweet, quick, with just enough angst lurking below the surface to keep the pages turning.
REVIEW: Cantua Crossing by Mary Martin Benton
Sandy M’s review of Cantua Crossing by Mary Martin Benton
Historical Fiction published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 16 Apr 15
I met Mary Martin Benton last spring by chance. We both live in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California, have done so all our lives. We were at the same “artistic” event and the tables where we were hawking our wares placed us just across the room from each other. Since I love to read, I decided to head over to the author table to see what they had to offer. Mary told me she really believed in this book, her newest release at that time, and asked if I would review it when she found out I’m an online reviewer. Because of my renewed interest in history due to my genealogical research and the fact the story takes place here in the Valley, I told her I would be happy to review it for her. I meant to read it immediately, so I’m not sure what life, karma, fate, God – whatever source you’d like to choose – had in mind with the events that happened after that.
REVIEW: Reckless In Pink by Lynne Connolly
Stevie‘s review of Reckless in Pink (Emperors of London, Book 4) by Lynne Connolly
Historical Romance published by Lyrical Press 08 Dec 15
I’ve been loving the intrigue in this series so far as the Emperors of London battle the Dankworth family for social and political supremacy, with all the underlying tensions that relate to the latter’s attempts to seize the throne via various descendants of James II. The Old Pretender may have lost interest, and the Young Pretender is far from the glamourous figurehead of ten years previously, but there are other secret children, whose identity is known to only a few, and some of whom may have a greater claim to the throne than Charles himself, if only they were to side with the Dankworths and against the crown. Enter Dominic…
REVIEW: Reap by Tillie Cole
Tabs’ review of Reap (Scarred Souls, Book 2) by Tillie Cole
Contemporary Romance published by St. Martins Griffin 10 Nov 15
I picked this up because the cover copy waved a red flag in my face with all of its talk about “dark romance” but with no qualifiers whatsoever. I don’t usually like to read what I think of as “dark” themes (non-con, child abuse, rape, extreme violence… etc) but I got totally swept away in a “You’re not the boss of me! I do what I want!” moment. It happens to the best of us. After reading it, I would classify Reap as a mafia romance with extreme graphic violence. I wouldn’t, personally, use the term “dark romance,” because nothing about the actual romance is particularly dark.
