What We’ve Been Reading

The Collection

Explore our full library of honest reviews and literary recommendations.

Wicked in Your Arms

I so disliked this book — the second in Ms. Jordan’s inexplicably named Forgotten Princesses series – that, after reading it, I put it down, waited several weeks, then picked…

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Waking up with the Duke

In Waking up with the Duke a married woman has an affair with her crippled husband’s best friend. Their story, beautifully written by Lorraine Heath, is a moving and lovely…

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Face of Danger

First impressions matter. Fortunately they don’t always presage what’s to come. My initial impression of Face of Danger was one of annoyed incredulity. The heroine, Vivi Angelino, said to “have…

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The Bride Wore Scarlet

Halfway through Liz Carlyle’s latest historical romance, The Bride Wore Scarlet, I put it down and went to reread the first book in The Fraternitas Trilogy, Ms. Carlyle’s latest slightly…

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This Perfect Kiss

As a reviewer, I aim to be fair. But true fairness implies a lack of context for each book and I doubt I am quite that impartial. I tend to…

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Scandal in Scotland

Scandal in Scotland is the second in a series of books by Karen Hawkins centered on an object called the Hurst Amulet. An amulet is a charm, usually worn about…

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Ripe for Pleasure

Isobel Carr’s debut romance has an unusual heroine in Viola Whedon. Viola, an extravagantly beautiful woman with tumbling red-gold curls, has been one of London’s most sought after courtesans for…

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Reckless

“Move your bleedin’ arse,” Miss Charlotte Spenser’s maid, Meggie, said to her.” With these opening words, Ms. Stuart, in the second book in her historical Rohan trilogy, pulls the reader…

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Trace of Fever

Trace of Fever is the second in the Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor series by prolific author Lori Foster. In the preface, Ms. Foster writes the series is…

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A Sense of Sin

As I read Ms. Essex’s new historical romance, A Sense of Sin, I thought of words by Angel (he of the iconic show Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as he contemplates…

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Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart

Like Ms. MacLean’s series, this review is by the numbers. Here are eleven reasons for my disinterest in Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart . 1)The title…

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Driftwood Cottage

Reading this book was a lot like spending an afternoon with my very sweet, very voluble cousin who, every time I see her, launches into protracted, tedious stories about people…

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