Sweet Savage Flame is all about loving old-school romance novels.
You know, those trashy, campy sex romps your mother, grandmother, or older uncle read? Perhaps you’ve read one or two yourself!
We adore everything old-school, from sweet vintage books to bodice rippers and epic historicals to short-length category romances!
Sometimes the plots were shocking or politically incorrect. These are books that had their day, but Sweet Savage Flame looks back at the past with fondness, not scorn.
Besides, we can’t get enough of the great retro-romance covers! We show off stunning artwork every Sunday with our Covers of the Week feature.
Our Mission for Old-School Romance
Sweet Savage Flame’s primary focus is on romances published from 1972—the year Avon released Kathleen E. Woodiwiss‘ The Flame and the Flower—to the start of the 21st century.
We’re serious about documenting the history of modern English-language romance novels. In addition, we’re happy to provide a wide variety of readers’ perspectives.
At Sweet Savage Flame, we discuss everything about the authors (including our personal favorites), the publishers, and the cover artists who made it all happen. Our blog explores various genre-relevant topics, and we review many retro romances.
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Is This Your First Time Here?
We have a vast collection of references, including thousands of images, along with more than 700 published articles and book reviews, as well as hundreds of other pages.
Easy access to the latest Sweet Savage Flame reviews of old-school romance novels is available below for your convenience.
Sweet Savage Flame Quick Links
Don’t know where to start? Click on quick links to popular Sweet Savage Flame pages and articles.
FEATURED
FAQ Section
Do You Provide Trigger Warnings For Off-Putting Subjects?
These retro romance books we review are not always politically correct. Many readers born 30 or 20 years ago may be shocked by what we read and find entertaining.
In some extreme cases, we do add “content” alerts. However, this is rare.
We try to add tags that identify tropes or plot points in the reviews near the bottom of the page.
Sweet Savage Flame is not a site for young children, so it’s up to the reader to determine if they want to read any of our reviews.
Do Your Reviews Contain Spoilers?
Short answer: Yes. Sometimes a book needs to be spoiled to be properly reviewed.
A slightly longer explanation: As these are older works of fiction, there aren’t many blogs or sites discussing them. For that reason, we like to go as in-depth as possible. We are pro-spoiler
We provide spoiler warnings for every review, whether “spoiler-free,” “mild spoilers,” or a “full spoiler alert.”
Does Sweet Savage Flame Review New Books Or ARCS?
We don’t accept ARCs, as we’re not a book blog for new books.
Since we focus on romance novels published up to around 2000, the books reviewed here have been published for decades, are often out of print, and are copies we already own.
Introvert Reader has a separate blog where she discusses and critiques books from a wide variety of genres. Please contact her through that site if you would like your book to be reviewed.
Do You Accept Guest Reviewers Or Bloggers?
Yes! Sweet Savage Flame is always looking for new voices to express their thoughts on old-school and vintage romance.
If you’d like to guest blog, review, or post regularly, we’d be more than willing to work with you.
We ask that you provide your own books and limit your reviews to books published from 1970 to 2000. However, we accept classic romances, post-World War II vintage reads, and books up to 2004.
Please see our CONTACT page and submit a comment. We’ll be in touch!
