The now standard (twice is a standard, right?) disclaimer applies: as this is review of the third book in a trilogy, I’ll probably be talking about the first two. “Divergent is the next big thing in YA fiction!” they told me. “Go read something with another kickass female protagonist once you’re done with The Hunger Games! ” they encouraged. Let’s face it, even from the beginning this was just Veronica Roth smashing The Giver into the sorting hat and calling the resulting mess a trilogy. In Divergent, we’re introduced to […]
A Lovely Meringue of a Romance
I regret returning The Sum of All Kisses to the library quickly, but I don’t want to buy my own copy. This tells me that while I enjoyed the book, it didn’t make a lasting impression If you are a historical romance fan, you already know who Julia Quinn is. If you are interested in trying historical romance, her Bridgerton series provides an excellent gateway. I use the words deft and witty every time I review one of her books because they are always apropos […]
I get by with a little help from my friends
Full disclosure: Hend Hegazi rules, and I am friends with her. Big whoop, wanna fight about it? This is Hend’s first novel (I love writing “first” because I hope she corrals her kids in the hall closet long enough to write another one). Don’t expect me to be objective. It’s not happening. Normal Calm tells the story of Amina, who is the American child of Egyptian immigrants and a devout Muslim. The story begins as Amina starts college, and follows her as she negotiates the […]
In Which I Address My Intellectual Vulgarity
As someone who has been reading romance novels virtually non-stop for two years, I have a lot of feelings on the subject. As a successful writer in the genre, Maya Rodale has feelings and actual research on the subject. I purchased her thesis, Dangerous Books for Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels Explained, because I wanted to understand why this mass market genre is so consistently derided not only by readers, but also seemingly by the book industry as well. Many people read these books […]
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A Feminist Treatise Wrapped in a Romance Novel
The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan
The Countess Conspiracy made me cry. I have read scores romances in the past two years. I have laughed, swooned, scoffed, gasped, cackled, writhed, and sighed, but I have NEVER cried. What’s more, I did not cry over the romance, I cried over the gender politics. Once again, Courtney Milan has upended the tropes of the genre and crafted something tremendously entertaining that rises above the theoretical limitations she works within. Violet, Countess of Cambury, and her dearest friend, Sebastian Malheur, have been keeping secrets […]