I have a new favorite YA dark romance, and a new favorite monster-hero: Dearly, Departed, and its noble zombie, Bram. The author's website describes the book best: "A cyber-Victorian/steampunk romance -- with zombies." Read more about Achieving Sizzle with a Minimum of Heat
Fools Rush In is the third Kristan Higgins book I've read in the last couple of weeks, and I'm beginning to notice a pattern. All of her romances, instead of focusing on improbable happily ever afters, are about rather wholesome-seeming relationships. And after reading this last one, I realized what it is about them that makes them so real.
In each of the three Higgins books I've read recently -- Fools Rush In, Just One of the Guys, and The Next Best Thing -- the heroine and the guy she ends up with have had a strong bond of friendship. Read more about What Love is Really All About
Reading certain novels back to back, it's easy to see what you like and what you don't in a romance novel. After reading Tiger's Curse, a YA fantasy romance by Colleen Houck that had be thoroughly annoyed with the heroine, I went straight to The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins.
I'd read only one of Kristan Higgins's books before -- Too Good to Be True -- but I'd absolutely loved it. Higgins writes in first person with a witty, irreverent narrative style that I absolutely love. It's not often that I laugh out loud while I'm reading, but Higgins's books are some of the few that will do it for me.
Once I was done, it occurred to me that Higgins and Houck both write heroines that are extremely flawed. The difference is, one writes flaws that come across as whiny and grating, while the other writes turns serious flaws into opportunities for serious humor. Read more about How Flawed Should a Heroine Be?
Earlier this afternoon, I finished reading the long-awaited final book of Lili St. Crow's YA dark fantasy series, Strange Angels. I read the first book perhaps a little over a year ago, and I've been hooked on the series ever since.
The fifth and final book, Reckoning packs one heck of a punch -- believe me, sparks fly at the climax, or should I say grenades? I'd been waiting through four previous books to see how the chips would fall, and I have to say I was surprised and pleased at how some of the loose ends were tied up -- or left to dangle, as the case may be.
For instance, take the romance aspect of the series, and the question of which guy Dru would end up with. (Spoiler alert -- if you want to read it and not know the ending, stop reading NOW!) Read more about Breaking the Mold
I can’t help it; every so often I feel the need to read something written for teenagers. I’ve avoided the Twilight series pretty much altogether because I’m not really a fan of the teenager vampire romance genre. I did, however, stumble upon a cute little slightly paranormal teenage romance.
The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Macker is a fun read about teenaged friends who discover Facebook on an AOL disc before Facebook was invented. The dynamic duo of teenagers read their future Facebook statuses and try to change their destinies when the status reports aren’t exactly what they wish they would be.
Read more about Jay Asher and Carolyn Macker: "The Future of Us"
Self-published authors have been getting more attention lately. One of the big names going around right now is, of course, Amanda Hocking (who recently signed a big book deal with a traditional publisher, but who is continuing to self-publish at the same time), an author of YA dark fantasy whose books are wildly popular. Another big name is Lucy Kevin, who writes chick lit and contemporary romance. There was also an article on Yahoo! recently about Darcie Chan, who self-published a literary novel that none of the traditional publishing houses would touch, and has nevertheless sold more than 400,000 copies of her novel as a self-published ebook. Read more about Try Something New: Self-Published Authors
The genres of romance and erotica can often be blurred together or confused for each other. A romance novel by definition depicts stories of heroes and heroines involved in marvelous deeds and exploits designed to help the individuals come together as a couple madly in love forever and ever. Whereas, erotica goes beyond simple romance often entailing graphic descriptions of sexual acts between the main characters, sometimes with other characters. Erotica does not always involve romance; sometimes it is the result of a mystery or fantasy.
Most of us have books that we use frequently or read repeatedly. Over time our beloved books can become worn or damaged. Here are some simple fixes to help restore and repair your favorite tomes.
It's no secret that there are a lot of Twilight haters right now. As Anne Rice stated in a recent Facebook status, it's a "blood sport" for Americans to attack their most popular authors (as well as actors and whomever else is getting a lot of attention currently). Anytime anything becomes popular, dissenters start coming out of the woodwork.
Recently I've heard a lot of arguments against Twilight that have to do with the dysfunctional nature of Bella and Edward's relationship. Basically, they say, Twilight sets up a poor example of what a relationship should be like, not to mention makes it seem like a girl has to have a boyfriend in order to be complete. Read more about How Much Should We Blame Twilight?
The Hellion and the Highlander takes place in medieval Scotland during a brief period of peace after the Crusades. The story tells of Lady Averill Montagne and Lord Kade Stewart.
The book follows Lady Averill as her father seeks a suitable husband for her while she controls her true nature. Eventually, she loses her inhibitions and becomes tired of the insults and implications that she isn’t worthy enough for and English lord to marry.
Read more about The Hellion and the Highlander