The great William Shakespeare supposedly wrote, “better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” As I type these words, I literally finished J.D. Robb’s newest gift, STOLEN IN DEATH, five minutes ago. If you read these same words the day they appear online, release day for STOLEN IN DEATH will still be a week or two away. But heed the Bard’s advice: order it now!
Knowing I may be stoned for my honesty, I have not read every volume in the series. But I have read many of them (all the early and recent offerings), and I somehow love each book more than the one before. STOLEN IN DEATH is, of course, about a murder, but the enduring love story between Eve and Roarke is front and center here, as a shadowy figure from Roarke’s past tries to demolish the happiness the two have found together.
Given the tumult of our own world, I am grateful to the author for presenting a future more akin to the world we knew a few years back. Law enforcement entities both domestic and international work together in pursuit of justice, people still shop in person, and AI remains a tool and not an overlord. Besides presenting a great mystery and a terrific romance, the author enfolds us in a loving embrace where good triumphs over evil, and a great cup of coffee can make even the hardest day a little easier.
Guilty again for having missed several great books by a prominent author, I read Lisa Scottoline’s ETERNAL over the holidays and loved it. The author’s known for her thrillers, and I’m known for being thriller-phobic, but ETERNAL is a complex and beautifully constructed tale of the inhabitants of Rome in the 1930s and 40s. Ms. Scottoline skillfully weaves reams of historical research into the story of Elisabetta, a young girl, and her best friends Marco and Sandro. I was completely caught up in their heart-wrenching experiences and shocked at how little I had known of Italian history during Mussolini’s reign. I listened to the audiobook, beautifully narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Edoardo Bellerini, but as soon as I was finished, I purchased a print copy for my keeper shelf.
For more history, more heartbreak, and more phenomenal storytelling, check out ZEAL, by Morgan Jerkins. The story opens in the last days of 2019, and sadly, everyone reading these words knows what came next. Their lives torn apart by the exigencies of the pandemic, Oliver (a New York City physician) and more particularly, Ardelia, an art historian, explore their families’ backgrounds and the hardships and acts of cruelty that propelled them through the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. First and foremost a romance reader, I was harshly reminded of historical realities we’d prefer to ignore but kept riveted by the forces of love that enabled the two families to survive and prevail.
On a lighter note, I was so enchanted by ONE NIGHT, TWO HOLIDAYS by Ali Brady that I’m including it here even though the holidays are behind us. This is another book I first listened to on audio and then immediately purchased in print as soon as I was done. It’s short, sweet, and perfect. Two young people are stranded in cold, snowy Chicago on the rare occasion of Christmas and Hanukkah intersecting, and they learn things about themselves, their families, and each other that leave the reader with a sense of wonder and delight.
Also holiday adjacent but apt for the entire winter: LET IT SNOW, by Beth Moran. I love it when I learn facts from reading fiction, and I was astonished to learn that Sherwood Forest is a real place, that writer Beth Moran actually lives there, and that she sets all her romances in or around that bucolic setting! LET IT SNOW is a lovely story about a small-town meteorologist competing for a spot on a national broadcast, who’s challenged by her demanding family and the weather but helped by her childhood nemesis. It certainly doesn’t hurt that said nemesis is clever, industrious, and has grown to be astonishingly good-looking! LET IT SNOW is one of those books that envelops the reader like a comfy blanket in front of a roaring fire and leaves her turning the last page with a smile that pushes all other concerns aside.
Get wrapped up in the tantalizing mystery of love through the centuries in my SECOND SIGHT. Gasps, tears, smiles, and satisfying sighs all guaranteed.
Meg’s friends during her high school years all expected her romance novels to hit the shelves decades ago, but she foolishly allowed “serious pursuits” to get in her way. Her stories tell most frequently of second chances–in life, love, and sometimes even at rediscovering a soul-mate from a previous life.
No comments posted.
© 2003-2026