Historical Romance is a master category designation for romance novels/ books that are set in the past, prior to World War 2, and written after the period in which they are set.
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
For anyone who loves historical or medieval romance, White Lion’s Lady by Lara Adrian (aka Tina St. John) is an absolute keeper. I highly recommend it. 5 stars
Barbara Riefe’s Tempt Not This Flesh was yet another inexplicable bestseller for the gender-bending author whose real name was Alan Riefe. 2 stars
I really want to like Kay McMahon’s books, mainly because I like her female characters. However, there is one thing I cannot and will not accept about books–regardless of when they are written. That is when the “hero” of the book rapes the heroine. Such is the case with Passion’s Slave by Kay McMahon. 1 star
Sweet Savage Surrender, a Zebra Lovegram that was written by mother-daughter duo Marcia Hockett and Kathryn Kramer, aka Kathryn Hockett, is a romance between two star-crossed lovers from different worlds. .5 star
This review is of Rapture’s Ransom by Betina Krahn.
The book begins in the South of England in 1787. It is here that Brien Weston, the heroine of the book, lives–a better term might be exists–with her father, Lord Lawrence Weston, the sixth Earl of Southward. The relationship between father and child is strained and becomes even more so when Lawrence, after a trip to France, announces he has affianced Brien to a man, Raoul Trechard, whom she has never met. 4 stars
This review is of Defiant Ecstasy Book #2 in the “Ecstasy/Gray Eagle” series by Janelle Taylor. Defiant Ecstasy begins by filling in details of what occurred at the end of the first book, Savage Ecstasy. 4 Stars
This review is of Love’s Fiery Jewel by Elaine Barbieri, a bodice ripper that Zebra books published in 1982. Right after I finish posting this review, this “romance novel” is going into my trash bin. 0.75 stars
This review is of Ride the Free Wind book #2 in the “Savage Destiny” series by Rosanne Bittner. Ride the Free Wind begins shortly after the first book, Sweet Prairie Passion, ended. Abigail “Abbie” Trent Monroe and her husband, “Cheyenne” Zeke Monroe, are traveling to find Zeke’s Cheyenne mother and three Cheyenne half-brothers. 5 Stars
Night Fire by Catherine Coulter features one of her few truly nice guy heroes. This romance was a pleasant surprise–despite it dark themes–due to charming Burke Drummond. 4 stars
