I haven’t read quite as many books this year as I did in years past. Part of the reason is the huge life changes that came with a new job and a major move for my family. The other came with my sudden burning desire to write a book of my own.
So my reading list was shorter, but I still found some great titles in 2016! [Read more…]
Reviewed by JenOh Tessa Dare, how I love thee. Seriously, her books are like candy. This one made me laugh. It gave me two solid characters that I cared about. And it gave me a romance I could root for. Really, what more could you ask for?
This is a Spindle Cove novel, but the story takes us to a new location, as our heroine Charlotte and her mother attend a house party. It’s a perfect opportunity for a set-up and Charlotte knows exactly the marquess her mom would like to get her hooks in. So she decides to be proactive and beat her to it. Charlotte approaches Piers, Lord Granville, in the library to warn him. [Read more…]
Reviewed by JenWhat a fantastic romance! Tessa Dare consistently delivers engaging, smart, and stirring stories, with a romances I can root for and characters I can care about. Honestly, I was a little concerned about how this hero was going to appeal to me. He wasn’t my favorite in the first book. But I am happy to say that Colin won me over with his loveable mix of affable charm and utter vulnerability. He is an unrepentant rake, but he truly believes he can never be anything more. Until he is completely undone by an awkward bluestocking who sees though the very heart of him. [Read more…]
It’s hard to believe we’re leaving another great year of reading behind us. In 2015, I found it more difficult to find books that suit my taste. I don’t care to read about billionaire bachelors, rock stars, step-brothers, biker gangs, or BDSM. Take a minute and think about how many titles fell into those categories last year. I did a lot of backlist reading to fill in the gaps.
There were some really good new releases that I did enjoy; they were just more scarce. Here’s a look at some of the 2015 releases that really satisfied. [Read more…]
Reviewed by JenI love Tessa Dare and her Spindle Cove series. I like that all of her heroines are unusual in some way and that they find love despite the fact that they defy convention. Here, Nora fits the bill. She is an author of a popular pamphlet on her way to Spindle Cove for a reading. The subject: the man who left her and missed out on the happiness should could have given him. It’s all about acknowledging her own worth and refusing to define herself by a man’s attention. It’s good stuff. But I can’t say the same about the hero.
Lord Dashwood was Nora’s brother’s best friend. She nursed a crush on him for most of her life and it seemed they would end up together. But for some reason, he turned his back on her. He humiliated her. And he left to explore the world. She never expected to see him again, until she was unexpectedly trapped with him in a carriage on the way to Spindle Cove. [Read more…]
Reviewed by JenI loved this book! It is funny and charming, sexy and romantic. The characters are fabulous. The pacing is spot on. There’s a love story I can believe in and an ending that totally satisfies. What more can you want?
Madeline loves living a quiet, solitary existence. She doesn’t need to be alone necessarily, but she hates to be surrounded by people. Crowds make her panic and the idea of coming out amid crushing balls simply terrifies her. So she invents a foreign paramour who conveniently has to leave the country and serve as a soldier before anyone in her family can meet him. She picks a name out of thin air: Captain Logan MacKenzie, and she precedes to write him letters to keep up appearances. She thinks the missives will end up in a dead letter office, so they become a diary of a sort, sharing the details of her ruse, and later, her life. Of course, she has no idea there actually is a soldier by that name, who comes to receive every single one of the letters she sends over several years time. [Read more…]
Reviewed by JenIf you are looking for an engaging historical romance, with interesting and fleshed out characters, you can count on Tessa Dare. Not only does she give us a couple we can root for, she makes them sympathetic, sexy, and entertaining in equal measure. The premise is great. The dialogue is snappy. And it held my attention from the first page until the last. [Read more…]
Reviewed by JenTessa Dare does not disappoint in this second installment of her Castles Ever After series. I really loved the first book, but if you haven’t read it, don’t worry. This book stands alone just fine.
The story follows our heroine, Clio, as she tries to break off her engagement from her betrothed of eight years. You see, Piers asked her to marry him when she was only 17 and then he scuttled off to be a diplomat, leaving her the butt of society’s jokes. I absolutely love this premise. Not that Piers abandoned Clio, of course, but that she doesn’t take it like some wilting flower. She not only decides she’s worth more, but she takes action to create a new future for herself. [Read more…]
Another great year of reading is drawing to a close and looking back on some of the awesome titles, I am tempted to go back and read some of them again. Now that I have put this list together, I realize that just about every one is part of a series. Some of them can stand alone. Others are better read after enjoying earlier installments. But either way, for me, they are the cream of the crop from the year 2014. [Read more…]
Reviewed by JenI loved this book! Generally speaking, I enjoy every story I read from Tessa Dare, but this is definitely one of my favorites! It has a wonderfully tortured, scarred, blind hero –and a resourceful, funny, and unattractive heroine. It made me laugh. It made my pulse pound. And it even made me a little bit misty. [Read more…]
