A reader review blog { of genre fiction }
Avid Musings
My thoughts, opinions, etc
TBR Challenge Today!
Jul 21st
Dear readers,
Yes, I’ve been remiss with blogging lately especially at this blog. If you are not aware, I am now running two blogs now. One for mystery and one for everything else. I am right now more interested in reading mystery than romance these days but will definitely try to tackle some of the romance novels that
Thank You, Hurricane Alex [Not Really]
Jul 3rd
Even though Hurricane Alex didn’t exactly make landfall in Texas, the storm did manage to dump a lot of rain just as a hello and to make sure we didn’t feel left out. It took me almost 3 hours to get home after I left work yesterday. One hour was spent in traffic that went nowhere and the other
Nurse, Nanny…Bride!, Alison Roberts
Jun 24th
I’m writing about this book because I can’t get it out of my head since I read it a couple of weeks ago, but this isn’t a review. Nurse, Nanny …Bride! has one of the most ridiculous backstories I’ve ever read. It’s a Harlequin Medical Romance set in New Zealand. The hero is E.R. consultant Dr. Andrew Barrett, while the
Favorite Book(s)/Scenes: Almost Heaven
May 25th
My very first Judith McNaught book that ended up making me a fan of her books was Almost Heaven (1991). It’s a historical romance set in 19th Century England and the sequel to Something Wonderful (haven’t read that one yet). The heroine, Countess Elizabeth Cameron, finds herself in disgrace with the ton after she is caught in
Separation in Romances: Does It Work For You?
May 24th
Separations in romance: does it work for you? Because it most certainly works for me. Only if done the way that I like it and that is it must have two things: 1) a good reason for the separation and 2) a damn good reunion scene. I think romances today are in a slump. Many are just too damn predictable.
Author Spotlight: Melina Marchetta
May 22nd
I have found a new author that I’m really excited about and her name is Melina Marchetta. She’s an Australian author who writes predominately teen fiction and her stories are contemporary and set in Australia. The teens in her books have to deal with social issues like illegitimacy, alcoholism, the burden of parental expectations & disappointments
Favorite Book(s)/Scenes: The Vizard Mask
May 18th
Before Ariana Franklin started her Mistress of the Art of Death historical mystery series, she wrote excellent historical fiction novels under her real name of Diana Norman. I found out about Diana Norman from Jayne at Dear Author a long, long time ago. I went and bought up her back list. Many of her older fiction books are
Cover/Plot: Moonlight Mile, Dennis Lehane
May 15th
Moonlight Mile is the sixth book in the Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro series is scheduled to be released on 11/2/10. Plot synopsis is below:
Amanda McCready was four years old when she vanished from a Boston suburb in 1997. Desperate pleas for help from the child’s aunt led savvy, tough-nosed investigators Kenzie and Gennaro to take
Romance Rollback: The Rainbow Season by Lisa Gregory
May 14th
This is not a review but a quick and dirty overview. I read this book years ago and enjoyed it. The Rainbow Season by Lisa Gregory (1989) was one of those most talked about books on message boards at the time. It’s a historical romance with a tortured hero. Lisa Gregory still writes under Candace Camp today. Here is a teaser
Random Reader Remarks: The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk
May 13th
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk (Feb 2010) is a YA novel that features a kid who is deaf and overweight. He decides to leave his “deaf school” to attend “public school.” I randomly came across this title looking through someone’s Amazon list of “realistic” YA novels of which Melina Marchetta was apart of the
Memorable Characters or Scenes: Kurj Skolia from the Ruby Dynasty Series
May 12th
I got off to a late start but here it is. I thought it would be fun to share memorable characters that I’ve run across in my reading. In my 18+ years of reading for pleasure, I have a few books/scenes/characters I’d like to share with you.
In 18+ years, some characters have stamped themselves indelibly into my brain
Suzanne Brockmann Writing Contemporary Romances Now?
May 10th
This is kind of a late post but I was just looking on Amazon and ran across Suzanne Brockmann’s upcoming original paperback titled, INFAMOUS (July 2010). Looks like some type of western but it clearly says that it’s a contemporary romance with some suspense. My first reaction to the cover was shock and then glee. I was personally tired
Digital Romance Backlists or Books You Probably Don’t Know About
May 7th
As some of you already know, I am a big fan of the authors of the 1990’s. So, I am forever trying to find what piece of their backlist they have finally decided to digitize and sell to us. It wasn’t easy. I decided on my own to cull the catalog of Smashwords to locate which romance authors have
Authors I’ve Never Read
May 4th
Beware, this is a rambling post. Over the years, I’ve collected books from authors I’ve…never read. I’d like to read them. Someday. There are authors who I will never “get” so I won’t even bother with those. For example, I bought a bunch of Liz Carlyle books but I learned too late that she just doesn’t work for me. So, here’s
Diana Gabaldon’s Moral Dilemma
May 3rd
Diana Gabaldon’s post, FAN-FICTION AND MORAL CONUNDRUMS has been making the rounds on Twitter. People expect the thread to turn ugly fast (it may have already gotten there by now). It’s a very readable rant even if it comes off condescending but she’s entitled to her opinions. I guess the whole point of her post was
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