Angel, Brawn, and Brains

I'm still catching up on reviews, after a few weeks of much reading and not much writing, so three for the click of one today. All were cheap purchases for inflight reading, from my local used book store. None were great, but all helped make flying easier. Satan's Angel, by Fayrene Preston, is from 1991, …

One Royal Wedding and Four Happy Endings

I'm not sure whether it was a newsletter or a tweet that led me to The Baronet's Wedding Engagement (2017), by Jessica Hart, but promotions work.  This is the second story in a set of four overlapping stories, by different authors, and I went on to read two of the others. Max lives in a …

I’d really love to see you tonight: Healed with a Kiss

When I'm writing stories or essays, I listen to light classical music, or Enya. For other online work, such as these posts, my music of choice is soft rock from the 1970s and 1980s. As I started drafting this post, "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight," from 1976, started to play, and it seemed …

Hot Stuff: Beautiful Player

Beautiful Player is a 2013 novel from Pocket Books, by Christina Lauren, a pseudonym for a pair of writers. The cover blurb promised a hilarious depiction of modern dating. Um, no. This is mostly a collection of steamy scenes that is fun sexual fantasy, wrapped in a deeply conservative plot. Hanna is a twenty-three-year-old sciences …

Second Chances

Travel, when it comes to my reading and writing, is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, I get extra reading time. Light reading is a perfect way to pass nervous hours on planes, and during long bus rides. On the other hand, I get less writing time. Although I can write in noisy areas …

Harder to Love a Rich Man: Billionaire’s Forgiveness

Billionaire's Forgiveness is the rest of the story started in Billionaire’s Love, which I just reviewed. Yes, I'm reviewing another recently released book. The world is full of wonders. Brenda Pearson took a couple of years to put this together, but since I only just read her first one, I was spared waiting. The opening is …

Hard to Love a Rich Man: Billionaire’s Love

Billionaire's Love is a 2016 romance novel by Brenda Pearson, from Friesen Press. First, I have to say that I love this cover. A beach at sunset, the pose, minimal detail, and lots of clear space for title and author. And this scene is implicit in events in the book. Great work from Katie Harding …

A Redemption Mystery: The Black Sheep’s Redemption

The Black Sheep's Redemption, by Lynette Eason, is a 2012 Harlequin in the Love Inspired (Christian Romance) Suspense line. This is number five in a set of six stories, and there are the usual references to recently married family members. Just in case you were not aware of the religious aspect of the genre, a …

Danger in a Small Town: Confessing to the Cowboy

Confessing to the Cowboy is a 2013 Harlequin Romantic Suspense by Carla Cassidy. Given the random nature of my romance book purchases, I'm surprised this is my third title from Cassidy. I've previously read Just Joe and Cowboy with a Cause - the latter from the same Cowboy Cafe series. That was number three, and …

Pride and Other Worlds: The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic

The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic, by Emily Croy Barker, is a 2013 fantasy novel. As I said when I reviewed The Demon's Daughter, many stories marketed under the umbrella of fantasy have the superficial aspects of the genre, but not the core elements. I'm happy to say that Guide to Magic has the …