I’m working on fumes here. Sleep is a thing of the past.

First things first. I stayed at a Travelodge. Hey, they’re clean, and you know exactly what you’re going to get. And if you check at Tripadvisor, you can pick the good ones. I picked a good one. The Waterloo Travelodge has been recently renovated and it has a Sainsburys up the road and a decent [...]

LynneC’s review of A Legacy of Secrets by Carol Marinelli Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 23 Apr 13 Santo Corretti has a shady Sicilian family who is into a lot of unspecified bad stuff. He’s a film producer and Ella, his personal assistant, wants to be a director. But she’s a very good personal [...]

LynneC’s review of  His Kind of Trouble by Samantha Hunter Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Blaze 18 Dec 12 Ana is a chef with a top-rated TV reality show. Chance is one of the Berringer brothers and he’s a security expert. He’s asked to act as bodyguard for Ana after she’s received some worrying threats [...]

LynneC’s review of His Last Chance at Redemption by Michelle Conder Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 27 Nov 12 Michelle Conder is a new writer to Harlequin, and while her first book didn’t do it for me, this second one is a good read. And that’s what we’re looking for, isn’t it?

It’s been a puzzle for a while – when does a trope turn into one person’s intellectual property? A judgment in Texas has recently come closer to the answer.

LynneC’s review of Her Man in Manhattan by Trish Wylie Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Kiss 19 Mar 13 This is another entry in the Kiss line, and this one reads like a refugee from the Intrigue or Romantic Suspense line. It’s a bodyguard story, one of my favorite tropes, but this one didn’t do [...]

LynneC’s review of A Scandal, A Secret, A Baby by Sharon Kendrick Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 19 Feb 13 I let myself get drawn back in, didn’t I? I should have known better. The first book in the series didn’t work for me, so why should the second?

LynneC’s review of The Secret Wedding Dress by Ally Blake Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Kiss 19 Mar 13 Ally Blake is a new-to-me author, but this won’t be the last book of hers that I read. Her voice is fresh and genuinely young without trying to hard or using achingly trendy slang, and her [...]

LynneC’s review of The Merciless Travis Wilde by Sandra Marton Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 19 Mar 13 I loved the first book in this series, the second one was so-so, and this one is a bit of this and a bit of that. There is a lot to like, but in the end [...]

LynneC’s review of Tempting Acquisitions by Addison Fox Contemporary Romance published by Entangled Publishing 7 Jan 13 It’s books like these that make me appreciate a well-written category romance. Because, unfortunately, this isn’t one and it’s reasonably straightforward to see why not.

LynneC’s review of Sold to the Enemy by Sarah Morgan Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 22 Jan 13 Sarah Morgan is all about the heroine. Don’t get me wrong, her heroes are gorgeous, alpha, strong, handsome, all that, and they are bemused when they meet the woman they’ll eventually marry, because she sweeps him [...]

LynneC’s review of Behind Palace Doors (Hollywood Series, Book 3) by Jules Bennett Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 3 Mar 13 This is a friends-to-lovers story, and while not one of my favourite tropes, when it’s done well, it’s one of the most satisfactory romances there are. This one is done well.

LynneC’s review of Edge of Dawn (Midnight Breed, Book 12) by Lara Adrian Paranormal Romance published by Delacorte Press  26 Feb 13 By moving the story of the Breeds on twenty years, Adrian has rebooted her series. The original heroes and heroines are all there—all of them—but now their children have stories to tell. This [...]

LynneC’s review of A Tempestuous Temptation by Cathy Williams Contemporary Romance published by Mills and Boon Modern 1 Nov 12 While this book doesn’t break any new ground, it presents two likeable characters and their journey into love, which is what the Presents line is, or should be, all about. What makes it enjoyable isn’t [...]