Romance / Erotica
Plot: Starting off at a brisk pace, the story is told in alternating perspectives between the main male and female characters. While the mystery escalates at a good pace and the romance heats up, the resolution to the suspense begins to circle confusing the reader until the outcome is revealed. A heartwarming ending is satisfying and brings closure for the reader.
Prose/Style: Well-written and rich in dialogue, the conversation between the characters feels natural with an organic tone that allows the reader to understand how the characters feel about each other. The author reflects the forest and park setting well and makes the reader feel a part of the environmental experience.
Originality: The setting is refreshing and the readers will feel among the trees with the characters. There is no doubt that this situation could happen in a National or State park among rangers.
Character Development/Execution: Because it is told in alternating perspectives, the characters are well-developed and their personalities shine through. Forrest starts out gruff and egotistical but softens as the book progresses and his love for Sierra grows. Sierra is no different—she too starts off guarded but is a humanitarian. She transforms as she falls for the other ranger and lets down her guard. The characters here are clever, and prove to have good problem-solving skills.
Plot: Charming and evenly paced, the action and twists occur at the right places to keep the reader engaged in this tasteful romance. The author gives the main character a scar that affects her life in a negative way; while the author uses this device in the story, it feels forgotten about as the plot develops and the climax ensues. The reader anticipates that the scar will play a bigger role in the story; however, this does not deter from the entertainment the story provides.
Prose/Style: Well-written and easy to read, the author has created suspense at the end of each chapter, catapulting the reader forward. The language and dynamics are true to the time period in which the story is written.
Originality: Clearly well-researched, the characters and action stay true to the time period. The romance in the story feels simple and classy. Mixing romance with a bit of suspense is a fresh take, as the reader gets to see the characters interact in ways other than anticipated.
Character Development/Execution: Taking place in 1879, when women’s roles were emerging and beginning to change, the characters here are true to the time period and grow throughout the story. While the main character has a facial scar, she does not let it deter her but seems to use it to help others as she is not nearly as perfect as another character believes herself to be. This contrast between the two characters creates an interpersonal tension that is satisfying to the reader.
Plot: Freedom River follows two tales from different worlds: the enslaved and the oppressors. Told largely from the omniscient view of abolitionist Constance Drake, the author uses the protagonist as a force of harmless innocence, in order to teach of the atrocities in practice and not just conversation. The woman-centered narrative offers a humbling account from another class—a group that was not equally subordinated but still fighting for their own suffrage.
Prose/Style: Readers will marvel at the figurative language in this book, where similes furnish every plain description. Intricately detailed sentences flecked with strong verbs only accentuate the engaging content. With a theme that could be critiqued as easily as Huckleberry Finn, the author is cautious about the language used to probe such a sensitive topic.
Originality: In an article about fictional representation, Zadie Smith once said, “It’s natural that we should fear and be suspicious of representations of us by those who are not like us....But in our justified desire to level or even obliterate the old power structures…we can, sometimes, forget the mystery that lies at the heart of all selfhood.” The current #OwnVoices movement propels this notions, but Sanders does not attempt to become the voice for the oppressed. Her white protagonists may arguably steal the focus from the enslaved, by making the plot about the abolitionists’ good deeds and not the affected victims. But this focus excuses the author from misrepresentation, by sharing how that time spawned racial ignorance and injustice.
Character Development/Execution: As characters repent for their transgressions, the plot exhibits a remorseful narrative with characters that evolve with the story. However, the book should be wary about the way it sympathizes with its characters and their acts, which some would deem unforgivable. As the narration enters the slave hunters’ minds, the book may benefit from a neutral narrator that corrects its subjects, the same way Jane Austen’s narrator offers a frank and critical description of Emma. This voice would soften the sometimes candid sentiments.
Plot: This well-paced historical romance has a strong main conflict that drives the emotional and physical bonds formed by the main characters. A number of mini-conflicts that the primary and secondary characters experience take narrative time away from the main love story, while some seem introduced and too quickly resolved. Serious subjects are woven into the romantic narrative with care and help to propel and not overwhelm the main happily-ever-after.
Prose/Style: Michaels uses the authentic language of the Regency romance period well, yet at certain points, more modern terms/phrases interrupt the prose's flow. The intimate scenes are passionately written; they do feel a bit rushed and, again, contain a few too many contemporary terms.
Originality: Michaels's engaging historical romance mixes several popular tropes of the genre, but succeeds in adding some truly distinct (and believable) twists along the way. The addition of an excess of conflicts threatens to overwhelm the narrative, but Michaels manages to resolve them neatly, if maybe a bit too quickly.
Character Development/Execution: The main characters have strong chemistry, which is enhanced by powerful physical and emotional connections. The heroine does, at times, feel uneven; she starts off as a strong-willed, bolder-than-usual Regency protagonist, but seems to lose some of that individuality in the second half of the novel. The hero is a complex, distinct character, reflecting a refreshing intellectual bent. The supporting characters are well-rounded and effectively help propel the main romantic narrative forward.
Plot: Strong characters move the action long in this witty romp. This first installment is well-researched and fills in the gaps for the reader who is unfamiliar with Greek mythology. The main character having to choose between love and duty proves engaging and entertaining along the racy ride.
Prose/Style: The author has a flair for keeping a quirky tone and wit throughout the story. Between intentional word choice and tone, the author has created an outlandish and creative story.
Originality: This book presents a clever mix of romance, fantasy, and mythology that is well-researched and gives the reader enough background to understand the motivations and backstories of characters.
Character Development/Execution: The colorful and quirky characters are witty and keep the storyline lively. Even though the main character may be unsophisticated at times, his charm and wit carry the plot.
Plot: Someone is out to harm the new Duchess of Talbourne - beautiful, spirited Selene, whose blindness makes her an especially vulnerable target. Did her Duke marry for love, or for a more sinister reason? Or is her mysterious new husband the only protection Selena has against the forces that would destroy her? The mystery unravels at an even and highly-anticipated pace here.
Prose/Style: What a Duchess Does is a lively, engaging tale, with a well-executed emphasis on wit and banter. Judith Lynne also demonstrates that it is possible to write a genuinely erotic sex scene that sizzles on the page without so much as a hint of coarseness.
Originality: Lynne deftly puts a new spin on the classic Gothic romance trope of the "Cinderella fairy tale, or has the heroine married Bluebeard?" by giving her readers a heroine who is not only lifted out of poverty by the attentions of a nobleman, but who is literally blind to the threats that surround her union. Fresh, funny, and exciting, What a Duchess Does is a superior example of what it is possible for an intelligent, witty writer to achieve within the corseted constraints of the romance genre.
Character Development/Execution: It is a bold choice for the writer of a romance to remove her heroine from physical perfection, as Judith Lynne does in presenting her readers with a heroine who is blind. Like Jane Eyre before her, Selena wins the day because of her intelligence, heart, wit, and her refusal to be treated as a lesser human being by anyone for any reason.
Plot: In Alice’s Erotic Adventures Through the Mirror, Adams rediscovers Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland, yet the author departs from the fairytale classic by making hers a hedonistic pursuit. Peculiar and carnal, this novel is a discovery of self-worth and deepest desires.
Prose/Style: The author playfully employs the language of the original novel with its invented terms and unusual settings. However, Adams applies her own interpretation to the words. Nursery rhymes transform into poetic seduction, and flowers, insects, and Tweedledee and Tweedledum each represent a forbidden fetish.
Originality: This book is not a deeply emotional exploration, and therefore, profound romance barely interferes with the narrative. However, this unclaimed genre causes the tale to be a literary misfit— the romantic aspects too simplified, yet the raunchy moments never enough.
Character Development/Execution: Given the novel’s inspiration, Adams's protagonist embodies an unavoidable innocence. While Adams attempts to show a young woman understanding her worth, the book’s outward focus is really about college kids navigating sex and love. Alice’s and Jack’s relationship entertains problems experienced by young adults, yet the risqué portion caters to adult readers—a minute clash between age and activity.
Plot: On a postapocalyptic Earth, Salander's heroine Arwen is one of the few remaining women with viable ovaries – not to mention a fast mouth and a taste for old movies and pre-pandemic literature. All set for her happy-ever-after marriage with Nathan, the boy she's been crushing on since childhood, Arwen's plans are upended when she is kidnapped by the members of alien warrior race that has ruled the planet since the pandemic nearly extinguished the human race.
Prose/Style: Salander deftly handles complex exposition. Her heroine Arwen, who is extremely likable and well-created, speaks in a breezy, chatty style, whether she is undergoing the Fate Worse Than Death at the claw-tipped hands of alien marauders or stressing about the size of her bum in comparison to that of her best friend, the gorgeous but sterile Freya.
Originality: The author has a vivid imagination and a sure sense of pacing; her advancing the story by appealing to the sense of smell is an unusual and interesting twist. However, the trope of a woman falling for her captor feels somewhat misplaced.
Character Development/Execution: Arwen is a sassy, spunky heroine and it is easy to root for her. The secondary characters, other than Freya, are less well-developed, and Arwen's alien captors are confusingly named and frequently interchangeable in the reader's mind.
Plot: While the author maintains theme continuity throughout the book and the action is exciting, readers may not find themselves fully invested in the paranormal circumstances.
Prose/Style: While readers may struggle to accept events as fully plausible, the author capably establishes momentum with strong pacing and keen storytelling. Occasionally stilted dialogue can interfere with smoothness of the prose.
Originality: What sets this book apart from others is the original premise behind it. This said, the worldbuilding has much work to do in order to support the events as they unfold and to allow for readers’ full suspension of disbelief.
Character Development/Execution: The protagonist responds to her extraordinary transformation with justifiable confusion and emotion and successfully drives the storytelling. Secondary characters are less emotive and relatable, but show strong potential for future development.
Plot: Told in alternating sections by Southern mechanic Levi and successful New England writer Alice, Unexpected recounts how the lives of two twentysomethings suddenly unanchored from their dreams and expectations collide when they meet by accident in a bar. After a steamy rebound weekend together, Alice decides it’s time to move on, but soon she discovers she is pregnant and heads back to Georgia. When Levi’s ex turns up and refuses to leave, Levi and Alice are forced to make some decisions about what’s next in their lives.
Prose/Style: The prose feels inelegant and the sex scenes crude, lacking nuance. The many punctuation, spelling, and consistency errors, such as in Alice’s surname, detract from the narrative.
Originality: The story moves forward exactly as one would expect with no surprises and only a couple of minor crises. It will appeal to readers who want a novel that turns out exactly as they might have hoped.
Character Development/Execution: The protagonists have the emotional bandwidth of junior high -schoolers throughout the novel. They are consistent, but both are extremely self-centered and not particularly likable.
