Bodice Ripper

Bodice Ripper is a category designation under Historical Romance. The books usually have tropes of forced seduction, plots where the hero rapes the heroine or uses force, multiple partners, and long separations. They were published in the 1970s to 1990s and are no longer in vogue.

Historical Romance Review: Forbidden Ecstasy by Janelle Taylor

4 minutes of reading

This review is of Forbidden Ecstasy (“Ecstasy/Gray Eagle Series #3″) by Janelle Taylor. The “Stockholm Syndrome romance” between Gray Eagle and Alisha keeps me from giving Janelle Taylor’s Forbidden Ecstasy a five-star rating. 4 Stars

forbidden ecstasy popp

Historical Romance Review: The Golden Sovereigns by Jocelyn Carew

5 minutes of reading

The Golden Sovereigns is unlike any bodice ripper I’ve ever read. It’s very difficult to rate or categorize as it defies genre conventions. Jocelyn Carew is an absolutely skillful writer to make me enjoy a book where the heroine, Carmody, doesn’t meet her hero until page 270 of this 404-page epic. This is the kind of bodice ripper where the heroine’s journey is the real tale, however, the hero is not a mere prize she wins at the end; he’s a balm to heal her damaged soul. 4 1/2 stars

the golden sovereigns geer

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

7 minutes of reading

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.

gay romance

Classic Romance Review: The Sheik by Edith M. Hull

6 minutes of reading

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

the sheik

Historical Romance Review: Rebel Vixen by Dana Ransom

7 minutes of reading

In Dana Ransom’s Zebra Heartfire romance, Rebel Vixen a Southern woman and Northern soldier find love during the Civil War. As the Civil War rages throughout the United States, Miss Savannah Russell is on a ship in the Caribbean where she saves a Yankee sailor’s life. 5 stars

Rebel Vixen
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