Romance Book Reviews Week of May 12 to 18, 2019
I’ve had a lot of books to review this week while I am working on two courses, so I haven’t had the time to add the reviews to Reading Fanatic Reviews. You can read my reviews at Amazon by clicking the links below.
Contemporary Romance
- Love Me Like You Do by Cate Tayler
- Forever and Three Days by Chrissy Brown
- Heart of Stone by Dakota Willink (like 50 Shades)
- Love Letters by Sienna Carr
- Love Me Once More by Cate Taylor
- The Beach House by J. L. Jarvis
Historical Romance
- The Viscount’s Heart by Joyce Alec (Regency)
- Choosing Mr. Darcy by Grace Hollister (Jane Austen fan fiction)
- Kiss Me, Your Grace by Allyson Jeleyne
- When a Rogue Falls (various authors; collection of Regency and Victorian romances)
- How to Train a Viscount by Bianca Blythe
- A Shameful Alliance by Lily Milner (Regency)
Paranormal Romance
- Soul Possessed by September Stone (reverse harem, 3rd book in series)
- Bleeding Hearts: An Anthology of Paranormal Romance (various authors)
- The Sleeping Beauty Saga by Mummies Anonymous
- Goddess of the Underworld by Fallyn Briggs (3rd book of series where humans are possessed by ancient Greek gods)
- Highlander’s Bride by Joanne Wadsworth (Highlander fae romance)
Science Fiction Romance
- You’ve Got Aliens by Fiona Roarke (humorous alien sci-fi romance)
Romance Book Reviews Week of May 5 to 11, 2019
I’m in the process of moving all of my book reviews to one site, Reading Fanatic Reviews. Here’s a list of the romances I’ve reviewed this past week! Click the link to see the review.
Historical Romance
- A Prince of My Own by Stacey Reid (Victorian)
- Snowflakes in Summer by Elizabeth Preston (time travel Highlander)
- Coming from California by Catherine Bilson (old west Nevada)
- Robyn: A Christmas Bride by Jacqui Nelson
Contemporary Romance
- Waiting on You by Lisa Freed (short)
- Lantana Island Romantic Comedy Box Set by Talia Hunter
- Learning to Fall by Jillian Eaton
- Cadence Untouched by Dakota Willink (first half of duet; this half does not have an HEA)
- Cadence Defined by Dakota Willink (other half of duet)
- His Second Chance at Forever by Lynne Marshall (medical romance)
Paranormal Romance
- Finding Her Vikings by Skye MacKinnon (time travel reverse harem)
- Blaize and the Maven by Ellen Bard (magical world based on chakras)
- Thrilled by J. K. Harper (dragon shifter romance)
- Burned by J. K. Harper (Beauty and the Beast dragon shifter romance)
Supernatural Romance
- Hide from the Heart by Jessica Lynch (modern retelling of tale of Eros and Psyche)
Romance Book Reviews Week of April 28 to May 4, 2019
I’m in the process of moving all of my book reviews to one site, Reading Fanatic Reviews. Here’s a list of the romances I’ve reviewed this past week! Click the link to see the review.
Historical Romance
- Love in the Bargain by Kasey Stockton (Regency)
- A Siren’s Melody by Nancy Wells (Georgian)
- Linked Across Time: Volume 1 by Dawn Brower (3 novellas, contemporary and historical, two with time travel)
- In Darkest Days May Blossom by Leila Snow (late 18th century England; historical women’s literature with romance)
- The Viscount’s Mystery by Joyce Alex (Regency)
- My Earl of Depravity by Lisa Brooks (clean Regency, despite the name!)
- Arriving from Arkansas by Elisa Keyston (old West Nevada)
- Shane’s Deal by Ruth Ann Nordin (old West)
- The Calling Birds by Jacqui Nelson (old West)
- Between Heaven and Hell by Jacqui Nelson (old West)
- Building Forever by Cat Cahill (old West)
Contemporary Romance
- Jaxon by Sara Gai (cowboy; Book 1 in Nelson Brothers Series)
- Seduction of My Rake by Dawn Brower
- No End to Love by Grace Roberts
- My Romantic Comedy by Mary Kelly Reed
- Kayden by Sarah Gai (Book 2 in Nelson Brothers Series)
- Unplanned Love by Grace Roberts (Book 2 of Love in Spring Series; read my Book 1 review)
- Love Me Now by Cate Tayler
Paranormal Romance
- The Knowing by Brit Lunden (mostly flashback to teenage romance with paranormal elements)
- An Archmage’s Destiny by Marie-Claude Bourque
- Consumed by Magic by Kelli McCracken and Elena Gray (short story in a currently free collection)
- A Slow Burn by Terri A. Wilson (dragon shifter romance)
Fantasy Romance
- Finding My Lich by Christina Winds
- A Captive Heart by Thalia Blake
- Goddess of Marriage by Fallyn Briggs (contemporary but involving ancient Greek gods and goddesses)
- Sea of Darkness by Isadora Brown and Rebecca Hamilton (vampire pirate, book 1; doesn’t really become a romance until book 2)
- Call of Darkness by Isadora Brown and Rebecca Hamilton (vampire pirate, book 2)
- Gift of Darkness by Isadora Brown and Rebecca Hamilton (vampire pirate, book 3)
- Queen of Darkness by Isadora Brown and Rebecca Hamilton (vampire pirate, book 4)
Romance Book Reviews Week of April 21 to 27, 2019
I’m in the process of moving all of my book reviews to one site, Reading Fanatic Reviews. Here’s a list of the romances I’ve reviewed this past week! Click the link to see the review.
Historical Romance
- Sauce for the Gander by Jayne Davis (Georgian era, forced marriage scenario, smuggling)
- Guarding the Countess by Lily Renard (Restoration era)
- An Officer’s Vow by Penny Hampson (Regency; heroine on run from villain)
- Wanted by the Viking by Calyope Adams and Joanna Davis
- Ladies & Scoundrels: Volume 2 by Amanda Mariel (two early Victorian novellas)
- The Damsel by Victoria Vale (erotica, light BDSM but contextual)
- Fortune’s Gamble by Diana Bold (Regency)
- The Marriage of Time by Mariah Stone (Viking time travel)
- The Wayward Bride by Anna Bradley (Regency)
- Four Times the Temptation by Dayna Quince (post-Regency, pre-Victorian)
- Wicked Wickham by Anne Harlowe (about our favorite Pride and Predjudice villain)
- Saved by My Blackguard by Dawn Brower
- Searching for My Rogue by Dawn Brower
Contemporary Romance
- Beyond the Shadows by Dixie Carlton (long-distance romance with a paranormal twist)
- Home to Me by LaVerne Clark (assault survivor learning to trust again)
- Cooking with Kandy by Peggy Jaeger (romantic suspense)
- Four Last First Dates by Kate O’Keefe (romance with a little chick lit thrown in)
- The Cowboy’s Surprise Nanny by Leslie North
- Someone Else’s Fairytale by Cassandra Moore (with paranormal elements, but not a paranormal romance)
- MacBean by Diane Darcy (time-travel modern-day Highlander romance)
- Back Where I Belong by Virginia Gray
Paranormal Romance
- Deacon by M. J. Perry (wolf shifters vs. vampires)
- Bulwark by Brit Lunden (paranormal suspense with romance and gothic elements)
- Dazzled by J. K. Harper (dragon shifter billionaire boss)
- Her Viking by Alice Wilde (reverse harem quest, focusing on her Viking mate)
- What Lies Within Us by Gina Kincade and Kiki Howell (American girl with inherited magical powers)
Romance Book Reviews Week of April 14 to 20, 2019
I’m in the process of moving all of my book reviews to one site, Reading Fanatic Reviews. Here’s a list of the romances I’ve reviewed this past week! Click the link to see the review.
Historical Romance
- Mina by Emberly Hart (mail-order bride)
- Devilishly Sinful Rogues (steamy, multi-author Regency collection)
- The Beast’s Bride by Jayne Castel (steamy, medieval Scotland)
- Dealing with the Viscount by Clair Brett (Regency)
- Anyone But the Earl by Irene Davis (Victorian)
- The Eastbourne Earls by Elaine Hart (clean, single-author Regency collection)
- Her Midnight Sin by Sofie Darling (post-Regency, pre-Victorian)
- Heart of the Storm by Jane Thornley (pirate lord)
- Dukes by the Dozen, various authors (collection of Georgian or Regency stories)
- Lady Flora’s Rescue by Lynn Shurr (Georgian/Revolutionary War era)
Contemporary Romance
- The Forgotten Path by Marci Bolden (small town, friends to lovers)
- Jessica’s Wish by Marci Bolden (small town)
- Tempt the Beauty by Alexandra Banks (steamy, billionaire)
- Three Last First Dates by Kate O’Keefe (gal pal, humorous)
- A Love for the Pages by Joy Penny (new adult, literary context)
- The Going Back Portal by Connie Lacy (time travel romance; modern and historical romances)
- Rattle His Cage by Jane Charles (YA coming of age)
Paranormal Romance
- Valentino’s Kiss by Tia Didmon (demon)
- An Untouched Witch by Lisa Mitchell (steamy heat level; wolf shifters)
- Blood & Holy Water by Joynell Schultz (mild heat level; angel & vampire)
- Easter with Her Bunny by Josie Walker (humorous shifter romance)
- Spring’s Dragons: Withered Rose by Eva Brandt (vampire reverse harem)
- Protectors of Poison: Scorpio by Laura Greenwood (ancient Egyptian deities)
- Soulshift by Laura Greenwood
Fantasy Romance
- Spelled by Camille Peters
Dragon’s Aria by Kendal Davis
Dragon's Aria*
Disruption in the Horse Shifter Community
Lyric was a castaway in the foster care system, intentionally acting off so she could keep moving, but she’s now an adult living on her own. At a truck stop, after being abandoned by her friend, a rambunctious toddler bowls her over, and Lyric is able to calm her. The mother, impressed by the effect Lyric has on the young girl, promptly hires her as a nanny. Being in and out of foster homes, Lyric is comfortable with small children. She finds unexpected kindness with this horse shifter family. Soon, however, a celebrity research scientist shows up wanting to spend time on the boss’s property because he feels like there is something strange going on. Julian is genuinely surprised to hear that lyric has never heard of him. He is so wrapped up in his own celebrity that he has a hard time believing it she has no clue about him.
The scientist is right, though; changes are happening in this secluded community, and they are all threatened. Julian knows some secrets about this horse shifter community, and he even knows secrets about Lyric that even she doesn’t know about herself. What secrets are this community hiding? Why are they being threatened? Who has something against them? How does Lyric fit into all this? Will Julian and Lyric help or harm the situation?
The author did an exceptional job in the alternating viewpoints of Lyric and Julian. Often, when there is more than one narrator, there isn’t enough distinction between their voices and perspectives. It is more used as a device to see the actions of the plot from different angles. Here, though, the author has actually made these two voices completely unique. When are you read Julian’s sections, you can get a sense of his arrogance and narcissism, which makes him a fascinating and sometimes funny, although not intentionally, narrator. I enjoyed seeing this story from two very individual experiences. Lyric is a strong woman who’s lived a difficult life, but yet she still sees beauty in the world through music.
Becoming Lady Dalton by Carrie Lomax
Becoming Lady Dalton*
Potentially Interesting Novel Marred by Errors and Inanity
The last couple of years of Viola’s life, the heroine, have been a mad swirl of changing circumstances. Widowed after having been married for around 15 years, she finds herself nearly destitute, coming back to her extended family with an eight-year-old son and her sister. Soon, the sister is courted and wed by an earl. Living with her grandmother and her younger sister no longer her responsibility, Viola is now in much better circumstances, at least in terms of connections and having a roof over her head. She decides to come to town to enjoy the season. In the first scene, she happens to meet a man she knew previously at a modiste’s establishment. They banter for a bit as his young daughter is getting her clothes. Viola is, and has been, attracted to him since their earlier meeting the previous fall, but she knows she is not a good prospect for the widower as she was a farmer’s wife and is four years older than him; she also has concerns about her ability to have another child, and he still needs an heir. However, in the first chapter narrated by him, he reveals that he feels an attraction to her and actually sees her as an ideal wife. He intends to convince her to marry him.
The book had some unusual problems. I doubt the book was copyedited because there was a fair amount of repetition in the description of Viola’s background in two places relatively close to each other. There seems to be some confusion about the names of places as well; where she is from is given two different names, and one of them is misspelled. The language of both the exposition and dialogue felt stiff and stilted at times but was in other places too casual for this kind of historical romance. Some situations and ideas presented did not ring true to Regency fiction. There was even one rather bizarre phrase that was a mishmash of cliches. Ever heard of an inexperienced person describe themselves as “green-behind-the-ears”? Please, if you’re ever green behind the ears … see a doctor!
Hers From the Start (Multi-Author Anthology)
Hers From The Start*
Collection of Mostly Paranormal/Fantasy Starters of Reverse Harem Series
This is a delightful collection of reverse harem prequels or first in series books. I love anthologies like this that contain work by both authors I’m familiar with and ones who are new to me. Two of the books were by authors whom I know well, but I hadn’t read these particular works, so those were particularly fun finds.
Let me tell you a little about each book. Wolf Blessed follows the adventures of a fae princess who ran away and her wolf honor guard (who recently found her) as they struggle for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. A demi-goddess’s power finally comes to the surface in Winter Princess, but to understand it and get to her mother’s realm, she needs the help of her Guardians. A young woman feels cursed to feel the elements in a book called Cursed, but she finds fellow students with connections to the elements who help her appreciate this gift when she goes to college.
Riley, in the first of the Unseen series, still hasn’t moved beyond the tragedy of losing her spouse and child, in part because she has no answers about how it happened. Suddenly, her life is full of danger after someone claiming to be from the FBI shows up at her doorstep. Who can help her? Tricking the Beasts is a prequel involving a maid and royal princes in the Hybrid trilogy. Finally, the last book in the trilogy is the first book of the contemporary Redline series, which sets up the relationship between Kayla and her hockey-playing harem.
As you can tell, the book is mostly fantasy and paranormal RH. I found it fun to explore new series and some new authors. If you enjoy the RH concept, you might enjoy this starter pack as well.
Authors: Laura Greenwood, Skye McKinnon, Grace White, L. A. Boruff, Aleera Anaya Ceres, T. B. Mann
Friends without Benefits by Marci Bolden
Friends without Benefits*
Care and Support During and After Bitter Divorces
Another amazingly honest book from one of my new favorite authors, Marci Bolden. In this book, she explores the pain and suffering caused by divorce. Dianna, married for over 20 years, finds her husband in flagrante delicto with a young woman. On the day of her divorce proceedings, Dianna finds a stranger on her doorstep with an interesting proposition. The man is her husband’s mistress’s husband! Paul asks Dianna to testify at his divorce proceedings, as his wife is asking for alimony on the grounds that she never had a physical relationship with Dianna’s husband. Though it is difficult for her to relive that moment of seeing her husband’s infidelity, Dianna does this, as she saw it as ironic that she got no alimony after 20 years of raising her family and running their home. She and Paul develop an unusual friendship in which they decide to be supportive of each other as each has great sympathy and empathy for what the other is going through. Although it could be awkward to create circumstances for these two strangers to become involved in each other’s lives, the author did a good job a showing an organic grown of their relationship, including awkwardness and apologies, as well as support. Some scenes are emotionally wrenching, like when she decides to be the one to tell Paul of their soon-to-be ex-spouses’ engagement. Their families don’t know quite what to make of this relationship, her younger son being angry and his family thinking she is his next relationship.
I’ve been divorced myself, so the way she depicted the roller coaster of emotions that causes rings true. I wish I had a Paul during the aftermath of mine; support can be hard to come by during that time, as families don’t want to see you wallow and friends often don’t know what to say. Paul’s and Dianna’s story feels realistic in its hesitancy, but it is lovely to see their sincere care for each other. It was another book that I didn’t want to put down, as I kept wanting to see what would happen next as they both tried to move forward and create new lives. Beautifully done!
The Middle-Aged Virgin by Olivia Spring
The Middle-Aged Virgin*
Death of a Friend Triggers Heroine to Change Her Life Plan
Sophia appears to have it all. She has a thriving public relations business and has been in a long-term relationship with a decent guy. She’s busy all the time, jetting around the world for her clients. After the death of her good friend and mentor, Sophia realizes that she is not living as full of a life as she could. She is a workaholic, and there has been no spark (and no sex) between her and her boyfriend for a very long time. She decides to change this and writes herself a new life plan.
How will Sophia’s business fare when she decides to change things? Will she find passion (one of the items on her list)? Will she be able to fulfill her new plan?
This book follows the well-trodden path of certain chick lit novels. A woman, whether by choice or circumstance, decides to strike out on a new and potentially frightening course to see what more life has to offer her. The book had interesting secondary characters, and Sophia’s new life had all sorts of twists and turns that I enjoyed reading about. Her thoughts and reactions were a little off-kilter at times, which seemed to point up that, while she may be approaching 40, she isn’t as sophisticated or knowledgeable as she’d like to believe.
There were some odd tense and voice shifts in the section where she is writing her plan for her new life. The book is written in the past tense, and this part shifted into the present. In this section, too, it felt like the wall between reader and character was knocked down unintentionally by using *you* or making it seem as if Sophia was speaking directly to us, the readers. I found these two things a bit jarring in an otherwise enjoyable book.
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