I just finished Lauren Willig's The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. Why did no one tell me of this book before? I mean, I had heard of it, but no one mentioned it was so far up my alley it's practically in the next street.

The reviews made it sound rather Scarlet Pimpernelish. And it is, kind of, but that's not all. What it really is is a ( Read more... )

I don't usually care for "paranormal romances" because for me, science fiction/fantasy is the dominant mode, so if they aren't satisfying on that level, I can't just sit back and enjoy the romance. However, I recently discovered the Ghost Hunter novels by Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Ann Krentz, aka Amanda Quick). Set on the planet Harmony, where the ( Read more... )

If you like Regency romances at all, go read Compromised by Kate Noble. It's the best new romance I've read this year, and Noble is the first new author in a long time that's made me eager to read their next one.

It's been a distressingly long time since I've found a new mystery author that I like. New books by authors I already read, sure. Old books to re-read, absolutely. But I try a new book that sounds promising, and at best it's okay. A lot of them I don't even finish. And that's sad ( Read more... )

I don't usually read paranormal romances, but I picked up the first book in the Raintree trilogy because it's by Linda Howard, whom I have really liked in the past. Inferno was quite good, and the ending left me in suspense, so I then read the second book, Haunted, by Linda Winstead Jones. It was also enjoyable and has a similarly suspenseful ( Read more... )

Sandra McDonald, The Outback Stars. A very good navy-in-space yarn with some interesting mystical overtones. It also doesn't assume that the future will be American/European. This seems to be McDonald's first book; I will definitely be looking for more as she writes them.

Amanda Hemingway, The Poisoned Crown. The third and last in her Sangraal ( Read more... )

I realize that probably no one reading this cares, but Laura Lee Guhrke's And Then He Kissed Her is the only really good new romance I've read in quite a while. I needed that.

Forgot to mention another new one I read last week: Pleasure for Pleasure by Eloisa James. Good, as hers always are. She's now finished with the current family, but there are always loose threads to keep going with related characters.

Jennifer Crusie, "Hot Toy," in the collection Santa, Baby. Fun. I'm glad I was warned not to read the back cover; there's a major spoiler there.

Julia Justiss, The Untamed Heiress. Okay, I guess.