Contemporary Romance Archives

Category Romance Review: Once More With Feeling by Nora Roberts

July 13, 2022July 19, 2022 IntrovertReader 1 Comment

Once More With Feeling is the second outing from the Silhouette Intimate Moments line. Nora Roberts' category romance tells the love story between two musicians, one a rising star and the other an established musician, who knew each other in the past. Now they must try to make beautiful music together again--literally. Only later does the situation take a turn for the metaphorical. 3.5 Stars Read more

3 stars and a half, Authors, Book Review, Category romance, Category Romance Review, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Romance Review, Contemporary/Category Romance Authors, Nora Roberts, Romance, Silhouette, Silhouette Intimate Moments, year 1983

Category Romance Authors Who Made It Big

July 12, 2022July 11, 2022 jacquelinediaz No Comments

Many famous and popular authors of mainstream fiction got their start writing series or category romance. Category romances are a staple of the industry. The following 7 authors got their start with Silhouette, Harlequin, Loveswept, or Dell Candlelight romances. Read more

Category romance, Contemporary Romance, Discussion, Romance

Category Romance Review: Savage Possession by Margaret Pargeter

July 6, 2022July 12, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Harlequin Presents #366 Savage Possession by Margaret Pargeter Ryan is Melissa's parents' landlord. He demands Melissa pay up! 4 stars Read more

4 stars, Book Review, Category romance, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Presents

Poll: Favorite Romance Author (Contemporary or Series)

July 2, 2022June 24, 2022 jacquelinediaz 2 Comments

Who is your favorite author of old-school, vintage, or retro-contemporary romances? Whether series or full-length romance, we want to hear your choice! Read more

Authors, Category romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary/Category Romance Authors, Discussion, Poll, Romance

Category Romance Review: Glory Days by Marilynne Rudick

July 1, 2022June 28, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Glory Days by Marilynne Rudick is a Harlequin Temptation from the early 1990s. It's one of the few books from that line that I truly disliked. Why? Because it was so dreadfully dull. 1 star Read more

1 star, Book Review, Category romance, Category Romance Review, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Romance Review, Harlequin, Harlequin Temptation, Romance, year 1991

Category Romance Review: The Italian’s Wife by Lynne Graham

June 29, 2022June 29, 2022 jacquelinediaz No Comments

Lynne Graham’s The Italian’s Bride is unusual from her other books I’ve read in the past. Holly Samson is the first Graham heroine I can recall who was not a virgin, and who’s borne another man’s child. The hero is typical of her heroes: dark-haired, ultra-masculine, ridiculously wealthy, smitten with the heroine, and of Italian descent. 3.62 Stars Read more

3 stars and a half, Book Review, Category romance, Category Romance Review, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Romance Review, Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Romance, year 2001

Category Romance Review: Rumor Has It by Celia Scott

June 24, 2022June 24, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Celia Scott's Rumor Has It is a modern-day Cinderella story where the fairy godmother is not an actual person but a false rumor that transforms a frumpy heroine into a glamorous new woman who finds her prince. 5 stars Read more

5 stars, Book Review, Category romance, Category Romance Review, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Romance

Category Romance Review: The Marriage War by Charlotte Lamb

June 16, 2022June 15, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

The Marriage War by Charlotte Lamb may not have the worst hero in Harlequin Presents history, but he certainly ranks up there in the top twenty. .5 stars Read more

Book Review, Category romance, Category Romance Review, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Romance Review, Historical Romance Review, Romance

Sweet Savage Flame Hits Feedspot Top Blogs Lists

June 15, 2022June 15, 2022 jacquelinediaz 1 Comment

Last week Sweet Savage Flame got some good news! We were notified by the founder of Feedspot, Anuj Agarwal, that we were selected as one of the Top 30 Historical Romance Blogs on the web. Read more

Contemporary Romance, Discussion, Historical Romance, Romance

Category Romance Review: Liar’s Moon by Heather Graham

June 9, 2022June 8, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Liar's Moon, a Dell Candlelight Ecstasy Supreme by Heather Graham is an overwrought foray into romantic suspense. There's intrigue, murder, and a long-ago love affair between a teenage girl and a much older, close family friend. Events lead to a dramatic and happy conclusion in this so-so-category romance. Read more

3 stars, Book Review, Candlelight Ecstasy Supreme, Category romance, Category Romance Review, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Romance Review, Dell, Romance, Romantic Suspense, year 1987

Two Gay Romance Firsts: The Happily Ever After Ending and Clinch Cover

June 8, 2022June 8, 2022 jacquelinediaz No Comments

Gordon Merrick created the legendary Peter & Charlie gay romance series. The trilogy portrayed the first mainstream love story between two men that concluded happily ever after. Another milestone in gay fiction occurred when they were reprinted in the 1980s. A young artist named Victor Gadino illustrated the iconic clinch covers. Never before had two men been pictured so intimately on romance novels. Read more

Avon, Bodice Ripper, Contemporary Romance, Cover Artists, Discussion, Romance, Victor Gadino, Vintage romance

Category Romance Review: Mansion for My Love by Robyn Donald

June 4, 2022June 4, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Harlequin Presents #567 Mansion for My Love is one of those Robyn Donald books where you can't believe what the supposed hero does to the heroine. 3 stars Read more

3 stars, Book Review, Category romance, Category Romance Review, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Romance Review, Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Mills and Boon, Robyn Donald, Romance, year 1982

Category Romance Review: Devil in a Silver Room by Violet Winspear

May 27, 2022May 27, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

There's good reason Violet Winspear's Devil In a Silver room had many reprints: it's an enthralling, hypnotic love story that pulls you in from the moment the hero enters the story. And oh, what a hero he is! 5 stars Read more

5 stars, Book Review, Category romance, Category Romance Review, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Romance Review, Romance, Violet Winspear, year 1973

Category Romance Review: A Naked Flame by Charlotte Lamb

May 24, 2022May 30, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Sad to report, but A Naked Flame has to be the worst Charlotte Lamb book I’ve read so far. It features a wishy-washy, stupid heroine who wouldn’t know her butt crack from the Grand Canyon. 1 star Read more

1 star, Book Review, Category romance, Charlotte Lamb, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Romance, year 1984

Category Romance Review: Dark Fire by Elizabeth Lowell

May 20, 2022May 20, 2022 jacquelinediaz No Comments

Dark Fire by Elizabeth Lowell, a 1988 Silhouette Desire takes us on a trek through the jungles of Peru. 4 stars Read more

4 stars, Book Review, Category romance, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Silhouette, Silhouette Desire, year 1988

Romance Firsts: The First Kissing Couple on a Cover

May 18, 2022May 18, 2022 jacquelinediaz No Comments

The 1980 Mills & Boon reissue of Violet Winspear's book Lucifer's Angel is said to be the first romance (contemporary or category, anyway, not so sure about historicals) to feature a kissing couple on the cover. And what a pretty one it is. Read more

Category romance, Contemporary Romance, Covers, Discussion, Harlequin, Harlequin Romance, Mills and Boon, Romance, Vintage romance

Category Romance Review: An Outrageous Proposal by Miranda Lee

April 27, 2022May 6, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Miranda Lee’s An Outrageous Proposal is an outrageously sexy Harlequin Presents. Laura had been happily married to Dirk Thornton. Laura was so obsessed with having a child, however. Soon their difficulty to conceive led to a divorce. But now Laura wants Dirk back. 4.5 stars Read more

4 stars and a half, Book Review, Category romance, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Miranda Lee, Romance, year 1995

Contemporary Romance Review: The Sheik by Edith M. Hull

April 21, 2022May 12, 2022 IntrovertReader 3 Comments

The Sheik by Edith M. Hull, published in 1919, is as influential to the modern romance genre as Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Perhaps, even more so. It was a blockbuster of a success, despite its many detractors. While some modern readers may cringe at its depiction of women, sexual roles, and racial attitudes, The Sheik remains a compelling read one hundred years after its publication. 5 stars Read more

5 stars, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Vintage romance, year 1919

Category Romance Review: Beloved Deceiver by Flora Kidd

March 29, 2022July 6, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Flora Kidd's Beloved Deceiver still sticks out in my mind for one big reason. It's the only Harlequin/Mills-and-Boon I've read to feature a hero from the Dominican Republic, which is my parents' birth country. 3.45 stars Read more

3 stars and a half, Book Review, Category romance, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, year 1988

Category Romance Review: Could It Be Magic by Gina Wilkins

March 23, 2022May 2, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Gina Wilkins' Could It Be Magic is a comfy romance read. It's a sensually-charged Harlequin Temptation from the early 1990s. Gwen DeClerck is a staid, young widow, who had been married to a man twice her age. When Jeremy Kane, a famous magician moves next door, he turns her stable world upside down with excitement and passion. 4 stars Read more

4 stars, Book Review, Category romance, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Temptation, Romance, year 1989