I love Jackie Ashenden’s books. I love that many are set somewhere other than the United States. This one, for example, is set in New Zealand. I love that her characters are messed up and often kinda kinky, but that the two things are not directly related. And her characters never eat, which leaves me
If romance novels are to be believed, almost all men, at least, those worthy of attention, are hard-bodies. They all run and lift weights and work with their hands, even if they don’t. Because they all look like the models on the covers, right? I know that romance is all about the woman’s fantasy and
A few weeks ago, I read a string of hero-as-chef romances all in a row: The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand, Ruby by Jeffe Kennedy and this one, Truly by Ruthie Knox. I waited to review it until closer to the release date, which is this Tuesday. I’d read one other book by Knox in
Saturday Snack Time is a little collection of fun things I found online during the week and I thought were worth sharing. Let’s get snacking, shall we? 1 | Missing San Antonio food? I wasn’t even at RWA and I am. 2 | Your giant American refrigerator is making you fat and poor. I’m just
There are phrases that get repeated in romance novels all the time. I’ve never been sure whether these are genre markers or what, but they’re part of what non-romance readers find irritating about romance. They’re not quite purple prose: they’re not flowery enough for that. But maybe lavender? A couple of weeks ago, I wrote
Victoria Dahl kicks off a new series this week with Looking for Trouble (which comes out tomorrow). It centers around a group of friends we first met in the last series. In fact, if you intend to pick up this one, it helps to have read Too Hot to Handle, which features the story of
Saturday Snack Time is a little collection of fun things I found online during the week and I thought were worth sharing. Oh, and that delectable thing above is an oatmeal carmelita. It’s evil. Don’t Google it. Let’s get snacking, shall we? 1 | I know you love bourbon as much as I do.
Are you familiar with the concept of “book boyfriends”? Picking out a particular hero and referring to him as your book boyfriend seems like pretty common practice among romance lovers. My first was probably the Phantom of the Opera. Even in high school I loved me a tortured hero. The reality of tortured boyfriends is
I admit it. My reaction to most paranormal romance has been eye rolling. It’s ridiculous because I love fantasy and even some horror; my first “book boyfriend” was the Phantom of the Opera. It’s also unjust to dismiss an entire sub-genre because of some horrible covers you once saw fifteen years ago. For the record,
Saturday Snack Time is a little collection of fun things I found online during the week and I thought were worth sharing. Let’s get snacking, shall we? 1 | I made this grilled corn pico de gallo for our D&D group today. Yummy. 2 | I’ve got eight egg whites chilling in my fridge from
