Posts tagged with romance
They have deadlines to meet, too
According to the website Celebitchy, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have purchased the rights to Carley Fortune’s romantic melodrama Meet Me at the Lake, which they intend to turn in to a movie for Netflix...
The Awakening, by Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts's attempts at writing an epic fantasy have been hit-or-miss, in my opinion, but she keeps on trying. She has already made her fame and fortune twice over (as a conventional romance novelist under her own name, and as an author of futuristic romantic mystery as J.D. Robb), so at the very least I applaud her work ethic as she sets out to dominate yet another genre—no matter how mediocre the results...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Awakening, by Nora Roberts
It's been a few years since I last attempted a Nora Roberts fantasy novel (which can be real hit-or-miss, in my opinion), but it's time to give her another shot. This week's Book Giveaway is The Awakening, the first book in Roberts's "The Dragon Heart Legacy" series. A full review will follow shortly...
Money For Nothing, by P.G. Wodehouse
P.G. Wodehouse had his flaws. Even if one separates the art from the artist, his stories routinely feature contradictory character backgrounds, bewildering British-to-American editing choices, and a LOT of recycled one-liners. None of those put much of a dent in his reputation as the funniest English writer in history, but if you're fussy about details, you might be better off sticking with his standalone work...
Agree to disagree?
According to LitHub, famous romance novel cover model Fabio does not agree with the current trend toward more fundamentally kind, laid-back, and mentally healthy male protagonists in romance novels...
A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
I admit it: I have resisted reading Sarah J. Maas's enormously popular A Court of Thorns and Roses, despite recommendations from several friends. I have tried a few of her books before, and—while they were undeniably readable—they felt vaguely generic, like she'd been handed an AI-generated list of hot literature trends for young women aged 16 to 21 and told to do her damnedest to fit them all into 400 pages...
Straining credulity
Netflix's adaptation of Tia Williams's The Perfect Find comes out tomorrow, and it looks fun. The cast is great, the clothes look amazing, and I'll watch Gina Torres in anything. It's always hard for me to buy into the angst of any kind of age-difference story when the older partner looks like Gabrielle Union, however...
The Seduction of Lady Phoebe, by Ella Quinn
On the back cover of Ella Quinn's novel The Seduction of Lady Phoebe, there's a glowing promotional blurb by novelist Grace Burrowes: “Lady Phoebe is a heroine Georgette Heyer would adore—plucky, pretty, and well worth the devotion of the dashing Lord Marcus. A marvelous find for Regency romance readers.” Burrowes is lucky there's no such thing as a Better Business Bureau for romance novel promo quotes, because that comment is a pack of liiiiiies...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Seduction of Lady Phoebe, by Ella Quinn
This week's Book Giveaway is Ella Quinn's romance novel The Seduction of Lady Phoebe. The promotional quote on the back name-drops Georgette Heyer (always a dangerous comparison to make, IMO), so we'll see if it can live up to such high praise. A full review will follow shortly...
Romance recs
In a recent "Entertainment Self-Care" post, one of the writers at Lainey Gossip rounded up some solid romance novel picks, including my beloved Georgette Heyer. I'm not as enthused about some of the author's other choices...
No Judgments, by Meg Cabot
Like nearly all of Meg Cabot's books, No Judgments is funny, charming, smart—and way messier and lazier than it has any right to be.
Bree Beckham has left behind a serious relationship, an overbearing mother, and her law studies to start life anew in Little Bridge, a tiny island in the Florida Keys. She loves living on Little Bridge, particularly after adopting a sweet, elderly cat named Gary...
Weekly Book Giveaway: No Judgments, by Meg Cabot
Our current Book Giveaway is Meg Cabot's No Judgments. Alas, I will be judging, and thus far I'm underwhelmed. (Evacuate when you're told to, people!) A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 11/09/19...
Webtoons: Super Secret
Our last Webtoons recommendation is eon's Super Secret. This series has three major things going for it: A) it's already completed (and the ending is great), B) it centers around a bunch of non-spooky monsters...
Webtoons: Age Matters
Our fourth featured title from Webtoons is Enjelicious's Age Matters. This series features a fairly conventional romantic set-up: there's a super rich, handsome guy (cranky yet secretly caring!), and a poor-yet-spunky heroine...
Webtoons: My Giant Nerd Boyfriend
Next up in our week of Webtoons mini-reviews is My Giant Nerd Boyfriend, a comedy/romance/slice of life story written by someone who calls herself fishball. This series, which is updated three times a week, consists of a bunch of A+++ standalone jokes about the writer and her much-taller boyfriend, both...
The Right Swipe, by Alisha Rai
The Right Swipe is a spin-off from Alisha Rai's Forbidden Hearts series. It features a totally different style of cover art (one that I suspect is meant to evoke Jasmine Guillory and Helen Hoang's novels, which makes sense, as all three authors are at the top of the “smart, hot, diverse” romance market), but it has a lot in common with her earlier books, including a multi-ethnic cast, family drama, and interesting career dilemmas...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Right Swipe, by Alisha Rai
Our latest Book Giveaway is The Right Swipe, the most recent romance novel from Alisa Rai. You might not guess it from the completely dissimilar cover styles, but this is actually a spin-off from her earlier series. It stands up just fine on its own, but completists should take note. This giveaway will run through 10/25/19...
The Kiss Quotient, by Helen Hoang
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I really liked Helen Hoang's romance novel The Bride Test, but I watched it under the influence of two truly terrible Chinese dramas, which I suspected might have skewed my enthusiasm. In an effort to clarify my opinion (and read anther unconventional romance novel) I picked up her first book, The Kiss Quotient...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Kiss Quotient, by Helen Hoang
This week's Book Giveaway is Helen Hoang's The Kiss Quotient, a gender-swapped take on Pretty Woman featuring a heroine with autism and a hero who divides his time between several part-time jobs, which include everything from escorting to prom dress alterations. A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 8/15/19...
Weekly Book Giveaway: That Ain't Witchcraft, by Seanan McGuire
This week's Book Giveaway is That Ain't Witchcraft, the eighth installment in Seanan McGuire's ridiculously entertaining InCryptid series. A full review will follow shortly; this giveaway will run through 7/26/19...
The Lovely and the Lost, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
In the note at the end of her most recent book, The Lovely and the Lost, author Jennifer Lynn Barnes acknowledges the debt this story owes to two of her earlier series: The Naturals and Raised by Wolves. Of course, lots of writers recycle their own work, although I was a little taken aback...
As long as it's not Lifetime
According to Deadline, Netflix is making a TV series adaptation of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series of romance novels. The show will star Jamie Lynn Spears and Chris Klein. There's no word on how they'll split the books up (will everyone straighten out their lives while falling in love simultaneously?), but I'm always pleased when...
The Bride Test, by Helen Hoang
I have spent the past few weekends hate-watching two “romantic” Chinese dramas*, switching between them whenever a particular plot development became unbearably stupid. In the midst of this cinematic garbage fire I paused to read Helen Hoang's The Bride Test, and—at least in contrast—it felt like one of the great love stories of all time...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Bride Test, by Helen Hoang
Our first July Book Giveaway is Helen Hoang's The Bride Test, which sounds like a very ambitious romance novel: there's an arranged marriage! Multicultural characters! A hero on the autism spectrum! I have no idea how it will turn out, but I applaud Ms. Hoang for going big. A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 7/5/19...
Shelter in Place, by Nora Roberts
In many of her recent standalones, Nora Roberts has minimized the tropes of romance writing in favor of straight action/suspense. That's fine—the romantic elements of her books are the bits she is most prone to recycling—but I do wish she wasn't so fond of really lingering on the POV of her villains. I don't need to read an additional hundred pages of manufactured drama between her protagonists, but...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Shelter in Place, by Nora Roberts
Our latest Book Giveaway is Nora Roberts's Shelter in Place. It's definitely one of her more impressive recent offerings (which, admittedly, isn't saying much), but skip it if you are in any way triggered by scenes of mass shootings. A full review will follow shortly, and this review will run through 7/5/19...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Wind Off the Small Isles, by Mary Stewart
This week's Book Giveaway is The Wind Off the Small Isles, by Mary Stewart. I'm really happy that Hodder Books reprinted this little-known 1968 novella (along with a recently rediscovered short story, "The Lost One"), but I'm not sure I would describe it as a "beloved modern classic". Maybe "long-lost treasure", if they were looking for a superlative...
When a Duchess Says I Do, by Grace Burrowes
It's been several months since my last attempt at finding a new-to-me historical romance novelist whose work I actually like, so once again I'm choosing an author at random off a bookstore shelf. Sure, Grace Burrowes's When a Duchess Says I Do is covered in glowing testimonials from her fellow writers, but I've been misled before...
Weekly Book Giveaway: When a Duchess Says I Do, by Grace Burrowes
Our latest Book Giveaway is When a Duchess Says I Do, the second book in Grace Burrowes's Rogues to Riches series. A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 5/15/19...
The Talisman Ring, by Georgette Heyer
First published in 1936, Georgette Heyer's The Talisman Ring is a story built around a MacGuffin, with a theatrical setting and a highly mannered cast of characters. It's a tribute to the author's skill that she manages to transform such a slight, silly confection of a story into one of her most endearing books...