the ask@AAR: What’s the point of an honest book review?

May 26, 2023

I had a disheartening experience this week. There’s an author AAR has reviewed 13 times in the past six years. In that time, we’ve given her work three As, three…

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the ask@AAR: What are some of your favorite romances featuring artists?

May 19, 2023

It feels to me as though I’ve read many a romance where the lead or leads are writers or musicians but nowhere nearly as many featuring heroes and heroines who…

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the ask@AAR: What are your stories about the kindness of others?

May 12, 2023

When I think of Tennessee Williams, I think of A Streetcar Named Desire (the movie) and, in my head, I hear Vivian Leigh saying, “I have always depended on the…

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the ask@AAR: Is social media dead?

May 5, 2023

I’ve never been a fan of Twitter but, for years, it was a place I’d go to for news about romance and politics. No more. The new design is chaotic,…

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the ask@AAR: What’s your favorite country to visit?

April 28, 2023

To celebrate retirement–Dr. Feelgood’s–the two of us are on a three week trip through Europe. We are currently in Italy exploring, for two days, Lake Como. After this, we’ll travel…

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the ask@AAR: What era had the best clothes?

April 21, 2023

Dr. Feelgood and I are watching Daisy Jones and the Six. The fashion is on point–Riley Keough (Elvis’ granddaughter!) can rock macramé like a goddess. Unsurprisingly, the show has inspired…

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The Perennial Question of the Bad Boy Hero

April 17, 2023

Over the years, we’ve published many a piece about Bad Boys. I wrote one nine years ago about being over bad boys (this proved to be a lie), there’s one…

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the ask@AAR: Are 50 Shades of Grey or Twilight dangerous?

April 14, 2023

A friend of mine recently sent me an article entitled Why Bestselling Romance Author Colleen Hoover Is Receiving Backlash. In it, the author writes: I know what some people might…

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Chatting with Maya Rodale about Dangerous Books for Girls v.2

April 10, 2023

In 2015, I interviewed Maya Rodale about her fabulous book, Dangerous Books for Girls. (You can read the interview here.) Maya has updated the book and we sat down (via…

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the ask@AAR: Are there traits you hate?

April 7, 2023

In a recent discussion about Barbara Cartland, several readers bemoaned her incessantly giving her heroines heart shaped faces and small hands. The latter feature is, I’ve since noticed, quite common…

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the ask@AAR: What is your favorite trope?

March 31, 2023

A trope, according to Merriam-Webster, is a common or overused theme or device : CLICHÉ. I’m going to ignore the overused part of this today and focus on common themes in, of…

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On vacation…..

March 27, 2023

This week, I am in Iceland with my daughter. Thus, there will be no blogs other than the ask@AAR on Friday. So, enjoy the reviews and I’ll be back this…

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