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Eagerly Awaiting for May

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

AAR Staff again weighs in with which coming May books they are excited about reading.

	Title and Author	Reviewer
	Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran	Lea, Blythe, Rachel, Lee, Sandy, Jean, Lynn, Katie
	A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh	Ellen, Rike, Blythe, Lee, Lea, Jean
	Never Less than a Lady by Mary Jo Putney	Lynn, Jean, Anne, Sandy
	Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts	Blythe, LinnieGayl, Lee
	One Enchanted Evening by Lynn Kurland	Andi, Lee
	Lover Mine by J.R. Ward	Cindy, Sandy
	Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson	Lea, Katie
	Long Summer Nights by Kathleen O’Reilly	Katie, Rike
	This Body of Death by Elizabeth George	Sandy, Blythe
	Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin	Lee
	Seducing the Highlander by Emma Wildes	Blythe
	I Can See You by Karen Rose	Andi
	Chaos Bites by Lori Handeland	Lynn
	Straight Up by Deirdre Martin	Katie
	Undead and Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson	Cindy
	Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris	Sandy
	Three Times a Bride anthology	Lynn
	Extreme Danger by Shannon McKenna	Ellen
	Do You Take This Cop? by Beth Andrews	Rike
	His Border Bride by Blythe Gifford	Lynn
	Broken by Travis Trasher	Anne

Tags: Eagerly Awaiting
Posted in AAR Rachel, Books, Reading | 11 Comments »

If You Like…Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

We are now in process of periodically updating the If You Like lists at AAR. Pollsters Lee Brewer and Cindy Smith have given me suggestions for updates to the lists as they appear now. We also would like to hear what our readers have to say. This week’s author writes contemporary romance in quite a different style than the historical author we profiled last. It’s Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Here are the authors we have as our recommendations for ones that you may enjoy if you like Susan Elizabeth Phillips:

Susan Andersen

Elizabeth Bevarly

Jennifer Crusie

Susan Donovan

Rachel Gibson

Jane Graves

Jennifer Greene

Christie Ridgway

(more…)

Tags: If You Like... lists, susan elizabeth phillips
Posted in AAR Rachel, Authors, Reading, Romance reading | 68 Comments »

Romantic Hypergamy

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Monogamy, polygamy, bigamy – these are all terms that have always been on my radar. The -gamy suffix comes from the Greek for “marriage.” I had never heard of hypergamy, though, until a month or so ago when I started to browse sites written by men about the modern dating scene. Basically hypergamy is marrying up – in status, wealth, prestige. Pick-up artists insist that women are innately hypergamous, that in terms of evolutionary psychology, many women will fight over one alpha male, often accepting fleeting or polygamous relationships rather than mate with men they deem less impressive. Marriage as a social institution evolved in order to more fairly assign mates, increase population, and protect and raise progeny to adulthood – or so goes the theory.

My first reaction was to scoff. After all, I know lots of married people and most [actually none of them] are not married to alphas. So where is all the alpha scrambling? The scuffles between women?

(more…)

Tags: hypergamy
Posted in AAR Rachel, Romance reading | 35 Comments »

Eagerly Awaiting for April

Monday, March 1st, 2010

AAR Staff again weighs in with which coming April books they are dying to read.

	Title and Author	Reviewer
	Patience by Lisa Valdez	Sandy, Jean, Jane, Lea, Anne
	Changeless by Gail Carriger	Blythe, Sandy, Emma, Jean
	The Secret Duke by Jo Beverley	Lee, Rike, Blythe
	A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters	LinnieGayl
	Destiny’s Star by Elizabeth Vaughan	Jean
	A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin	Rike
	All the Queen’s Players by Jane Feather	Lynn
	Laughed ‘Til He Died by Carolyn Hart	LinnieGayl
	The Icing on the Cupcake by Jennifer Ross	Jane
	Lion’s Heat by Lora Leigh	Jean
	A Touch of Scandal by Jennifer Haymore	Rike
	Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean	Lee
	To Catch a Rogue by Amanda McCabe	Lynn
	Holly Blues by Susan Wittig Albert	LinnieGayl
	Her Best Friend by Sarah Mayberry	Katie
	Get Lucky by Katherine Center	Lee
	The Captive by Joanne Rock	Lynn
	Chaos Bites by Lori Handeland	Lynn
	The Magician’s Apprentice by Trudi Canavan	Anne
	A Kiss to Kill by Nina Bruhns	Katie
	Alexandra Gone by Anna McPartlin	Lee
	The Chief by Monica McCarty	Lynn
	The Poison Throne by Celine Kiernan	Anne

Tags: Eagerly Awaiting
Posted in AAR Rachel, Books, Reading | 7 Comments »

If You Like…Jo Beverley

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

A few months ago, I promised I would be updating the If You Like lists at AAR. I asked for help from pollsters Lee Brewer and Cindy Smith, and they provided me with input. Now I’m going to go to the readers. This week’s author will be an addition to the list as it now appears – Jo Beverley. Here are the authors we have as our recommendations for ones that you may enjoy if you like Jo Beverley:

Joanna Bourne

Jane Feather

Jo Goodman

Elizabeth Hoyt

Bettina Krahn

Josie Litton

Julie Anne Long

Barbara Metzger

Karen Ranney

Melody Thomas

Katherine Sutcliffe

Elizabeth Thornton

Recommending new authors is a tricky process. You might like an author because of the genre they write in, or the time period they set their books in, or because of their unique prose. One reader may love Jo Beverley and hate, say, Karen Ranney, while another reader would agree that these two are a good match for like stories. I’d like to open this for discussion from our well read readers.

Do you think the above authors are good matches for Jo Beverley?
What about Jo Beverley’s writing do you find unique or specifically enjoyable? For Beverley’s fans – what makes you search out her books?
Is anyone missing from the above list?

After our readers have weighed in, I will update our existing page an link it to this discussion so that others may profit from the experience of AAR’s readership. I hope to update or add to our pages in this way so that they are more useful and dynamic.

So please comment! We await your romance reading wisdom! Thank you.

- Rachel Potter

Tags: If You Like... lists, Jo Beverley
Posted in AAR Rachel, Authors, Reading, Romance reading | 19 Comments »

Modern “Romance”

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

I’ll admit it, I never liked Sex and the City. Its premise to me always seemed amazingly depressing, and the idea that women can take on men’s vices and then get old-fashioned fairy tale endings seemed counter-intuitive, if not outright delusional. The Mr. Bigs of the world don’t date older average-looking, high-maintenance career women and marry them. They may have sex with them, but no rings are exchanged. Men who are Masters of the Universe marry supermodels whose skin is still dewy, whose boobs are still perky, and whose fertility is still in full bloom. That may not be fair, it may not be romantic, but that’s the way it is. Anyone female who survived high school and was honest with herself can give you a pretty accurate estimate of what her social value was and tell you which guys were “out of her reach” (as well as those she considered “below her touch”). It’s the same after high school, with a fair number of other complicating factors thrown in the mix.

(more…)

Tags: Charlotte Allen, dating, Lori Gottlieb, pick-up artists, Roissy in DC
Posted in AAR Rachel, Life, Relationships | 79 Comments »

Kristan Higgins Winner

Friday, January 29th, 2010

As promised, we announce the winner of The Next Best Thing, the newest contemporary romantic fiction book by Kristan Higgins

Heather

Congratulations, Heather! I have emailed you and will make arrangements to have the book sent. Thanks to everyone who entered. If you didn’t win, your wait for the newest from Kristan Higgins will be short. Its release date is February 1st.

- Rachel Potter

Tags: Kristan Higgins
Posted in AAR Rachel, Authors, Contests | Comments Off

Eagerly Awaiting for March

Friday, January 29th, 2010

AAR Staff again weighs in with which coming March books they are dying to read.

	Title and Author	Reviewer
	The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn	Sandy, Lynn, LinnieGayl, Lee, Emma, Jean, Ellen
	Provocative in Pearls by Madeline Hunter	Lea, Lee, Emma, Anne
	Rebels and Lovers by Linnea Sinclair	Anne, Emma, Rike
	Match Made in Court by Janice Kay Johnson	Ellen, LinnieGayl
	Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer	Katie
	Revealed by Kate Noble	Lee
	Something about You by Julie James	Lea
	The Sheen on the Silk by Anne Perry	Lynn
	Moonlight Road by Robyn Carr	Ellen
	Wedding Season by Katie Fforde	LinnieGayl
	On the Steamy Side by Louisa Edwards	Katie
	Receptionist under Cover by C.J. Carmichael	Lynn
	Scythe by M.K. Mancos	Anne
	Stolen Promise by Lisa Marie Wilkinson	Rike
	Her Last Chance by Michele Albert	Katie
	The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen	Lee
	The Horseman’s Bride by Elizabeth Lane	Lynn
	Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick	Lee
	Oath of Fealty by Elizabeth Moon	Anne
	Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin	Rike
	Too Hot to Handle by Nancy Warren	Katie
	The Two Lives of Miss Charlotte Merryweather by Alexandra Potter	Rike
	Warrior Ascended by Addison Fox	Anne

Tags: Eagerly Awaiting
Posted in AAR Rachel, Books, Reading | 6 Comments »

Books with Buzz: Kristan Higgins Interview (Contest Now Closed)

Monday, January 25th, 2010

The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins

One of my best discoveries of the past year was the author Kristan Higgins. I ripped through all four books in her backlist and found them entertaining and thoughtful, funny and romantic. She’s become a comfort read for me, actually, so I was excited to learn that there is more comfort forthcoming. On February 1st, HQN releases The Next Best Thing. Kristan graciously took time to answer my questions about the book, and will be giving a signed copy of it to a lucky reader.

All you need to do to enter for the giveaway is to leave a comment to this post by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, January 28th. The winner will be randomly selected and posted here on Friday morning. The usual caveats apply: This contest is open only to readers in the U.S. and Canada and, since the purpose of the giveaway is to put early books into the hands of readers who wouldn’t otherwise get them, if you review for another Web site or blog that receives advance copies, please don’t enter.

And now, here’s Kristan!

What can you tell us about your upcoming book, The Next Best Thing?

The Next Best Thing is about Lucy, a young widow who’s trying to get on with life five years after the death of her husband, Jimmy. She’s not looking for love…stability and predictability sound a lot better this time around. Lucy figures she’s already had the love of her life, lost him and suffered so much because of it that what she wants now is a nice, slightly boring guy who won’t thrill any part of her.

First order of business for Lucy: suspend the benefits package in her friendship with Ethan, her late husband’s brother. For the past two years, she and Ethan have, er, comforted each other, and while Ethan is Lucy’s best friend, he’s the last guy she’d pick for a husband. He’s way too dangerous, way too lovable. Ethan, however, has other plans. He’s lived in his brother’s shadow all his life, and while he’s initially willing to let Lucy try to find Mr. Not-So-Bad, it’s harder than he thinks to stand by and watch.

(more…)

Tags: Kristan Higgins
Posted in AAR Rachel, Authors, Books, Books with Buzz, Interviews | 115 Comments »

Eagerly Awaiting for February

Friday, January 1st, 2010

AAR Staff again weighs in with which coming February books they are dying to read.

	Title and Author	Reviewer
	Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale	Lynn, Lee, Rachel, Jean, Anne, Lea, Heather, Rike, Andi
	The Golden Season by Connie Brockway	Sandy, Blythe, Lynn, Jean, Lee
	Blackout by Connie Willis	Rachel, Lynn, Heather, Blythe
	The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins	Lee, Rachel, LinnieGayl
	Archangel’s Kiss by Nalini Singh	Cindy, Andi, Jean
	A Rather Charming Invitation by C.A. Belmond	LinnieGayl, Lee
	Ravishing in Red by Madeline Hunter	Lea, Lee
	The Elusive Bride by Stephanie Laurens	Lynn, Lee
	Dark Angel/Lord Carew’s Bride (reissue) by Mary Balogh	Jean, Anne
	My Darling Caroline (reissue) by Adele Ashworth	Anne, Lynn
	Bound by Temptation by Lavinia Kent	Sandy, Lynn
	Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole	Cindy
	The Cinderella Deal (reissue) by Jennifer Crusie	Katie
	The American Girl by Monika Fagerholm	Heather
	The Viscount’s Betrothal by Louise Allen	Rike
	First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost	Andi
	The Reckoners by Doranna Durgin	Anne
	Slow Heat by Jill Shalvis	Katie