The Dragon and the Pearl by Jeannie Lin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! What a great follow-up to Butterfly Swords. Jeannie Lin's voice is so unique and ravishing--and has only been growing in depth and power. Very spare, but gorgeous and heart-breakingly emotional without melodrama. I love the characters, the situation, the evocation of a complex culture, the tense plot, and the palpable feeling of watching two people fall truly in love. The minor characters are fabulous, too, and there are many fascinating secrets revealed along the way.....

Lin is really capturing the best elements of the warrior tales/movies she says she loved as a child. If you've enjoyed movies like CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, you'll love this book! Very, very satisfying.



View all my reviews

A Touch of Scarlet by Liz Talley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hurray, another Liz Talley book! These are always so fun to read and lift my spirits--sort of like shorter, more Southern versions of Kristan Higgins books. The chemistry between the hero and heroine--a hilariously uptight (but superhot) cop and a smart-mouthed actress (she plays a vampire queen on TV)--is wonderfully combustible. I laughed out loud, and also really came to care about the couple.

I'm sad to think this is the last of the Oak Stand, Texas books!!!! I've come to love that town, and all its inhabitants. Maybe there'll be more in the future????

View all my reviews

And I'm not afraid to use it.  

 

Hurray! NaNoWriMo is nearly here, and I'm blogging over at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood with some advice!

 

For the past few days, and the next few, the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood has been posting amazing advice for how to improve your Golden Heart entry in each of the categories.  Regency will be going live October 11, but I can't help showing off our banner for that post right now:

 

The winners of the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood's Second Annual Make it Golden Contest have been announced over at the Ruby blog!  Jump over and see what's kept us reading avidly all weekend!!