It’s a brand new year! I’ve been blogging actively this year after taking a hiatus in 2019, and as of June 29 I was posting every weekday. In 2021, I decided to post every day of the week! That being said, there were so many more posts this year than I’m use to blogging, and I’m looking forward to creating even more content in 2021. Here are my posts that received the most hits in 2020!
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10. The Ruin of Evangeline Jones by Julia Bennet Review
The plot of this one has so many twists and turns, and while it’s romantic with a guaranteed HEA, it has that creepy, gothic feel to it. The settings are run down theaters and creepy manor houses and apartments in the slums of London. The book starts with Alex making a wager with Evie, one she will benefit from whether she wins or loses: He uncovers her fraud and gives her 500 pounds to walk away with, or he is unable to and she keeps on working as a medium. But while working so closely, Evie and Alex realize a mutual connection is rolling out a rather sinister plot.
9. Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books of 2020
This week’s theme is my favorite books of 2020. I decided to go with my favorite reads this year overall, not just books that were published in 2020. I did not count rereads, and also included one picture book, because I read so many excellent ones this year and this one made the Top 10 for me. I attempted to rank from 10 to 1, though it was a tough call. Also, I wrote this post on December 26, so it’s possible I’ll have a new favorite by the time this goes live, or before the end of the year.
8. A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore Review
I ADORED Evie Dunmore’s debut novel Bringing Down the Duke. It was my favorite read about 2019. Her A League of Extraordinary Women series is about a group of suffragist BFFs in England during the Victorian era finding love. I was so excited to hear about A Rogue of One’s Own, which publishes on September 1. Lucie is my favorite of the four best friends and I needed to see her love story! This read was excellent and even more than I hoped for!
7. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn Review
What I really liked about this book is that Colin and Penelope don’t have to work hard for their Happily Ever After. They have been friends for years, and Penelope always has loved Colin. Finally, Colin has grown up enough to see her the same way, and it isn’t long before they get married. The rest of the book deals with them helping one another through two struggles. Penelope faces the potential unearthing of a major secret of hers that could lead to scandal. Colin deals with his insecurities in that he wants to leave a legacy, and feels unsure about doing so through his major skill, writing. Colin is a little unreasonable dealing with Penelope’s struggle at times, but it all ties back to his own jealousy/insecurity. Because I’m used to reading romances about two people pining for one another and taking ages to be happily in a relationship, it was refreshing to read a book where two people got together, then worked hard to help one another succeed in life.
6. Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey by Abigal Wilson Review
Confession: I was WEARY of historical romance when I cracked open this book. It’s my favorite genre, but it was all I had been reading lately. I was reluctant to start, but had signed up for the blog tour – and I am so glad I decided to start reading it the day I did. I WHIPPED THROUGH this book, reading nonstop until I fell asleep that night, and then waking up and starting work later than usual to finish it the next morning! Because this book is, in my opinion, more of a mystery with a strong romance that lends heavily to the plot, it really got me out of that “over it” funk, and I was desperate to find out what was going on!
5. The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper Review
I love historical fiction. Any time, any place, though I usually focus on the 1700’s-mid 1900’s. I must admit that I have not read any historical fiction books that take place in Australia. The Woman in the Green Dress was my first Australian historical fiction book, and I really enjoyed this dual timeline, triple POV tale.
4. Top Ten Tuesday: Genre Freebie
This week’s topic is “Genre Freebie”. I sat and thought about what I wanted to do for this topic for a while, but eventually decided. So without further ado, here are ten historical romance authors I’ve read and enjoyed – in absolutely no order, I assure you.
3. An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn Review
I started the Bridgertons series by Julia Quinn last year when I heard that there would be a Shonda Rhymes Netflix adaptation. First of all, this series is hugely popular, so I didn’t want to miss out. Secondly, I’m really excited about a historical romance being adapted for television. A lot of times people don’t take the romance genre, particularly “fancy dress on cover” romances, seriously. Shonda Rhymes is incredibly celebrated for what she does, so it’s my hope that this adaptation helps to end that stigma. Anyway, I took a break from the Bridgertons for a few reasons, which I’ll get to in this review, but revisiting them was wonderful and I plan to continue the series.
2. 18 Romance Tropes I Never Want to Read Again
This week I’m talking about romance novel pet peeves. This is a prompt I gleaned from 365 Days Of Writing Prompts For Romance Writers by Kim Knight. Read my review here and check it out on Amazon – it’s free with Kindle Unlimited. Here are tropes I never want to read in romance again!
1. My FAVORITE Underrated Historical Romance Series
One of my favorite romance novel series from this era is the Pink Carnation Series by Lauren Willig. If you like romance with a plot, look no further. The series is about badass spies (and usually the ladies are doing the spying!) during the Napoleonic Wars. And while some of the novels are more tame with a couple of nice make-out scenes, many of them are completely bodice-ripping worthy.
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