The Man of the House, Evelyn Ellis

I found Ellis because she publishes in a consortium with Catherine Lloyd. I thought the premise of this book--a forbidden romance between a governess and the "Mr. Hyde" side of her employer Dr. Jekyll's character--was intriguing. I would love to write a Jekyll/Hyde book someday, but in the style of Wilkie Collins' Woman in White (which I love): a series of Victorian-era court documents.

Love Rising, Catherine Lloyd

This the last book in Lloyd's 4-part "Mandrake Falls" series, and you do need to read them in order because the books build on each other in a really fun way. The couple in Book 1 ("The Jilting") probably moved me the most, but I think Book 4 is the best constructed and most satisfying. I enjoy Lloyd's Gothic romances, but it's the decent men, the considerate, kind men struggling to do what's right who make my knees weak. I love these books!

Windemere Hall, Catherine Lloyd

I really, really enjoyed this (You can buy the complete novel or the serialized three parts). It reminded me of everything I love about Jane Eyre, but with an extra frisson of eroticism.

I LOVE this heroine, who is both vulnerable and has reserves of inner strength, like Jane Eyre, and I loved this hero (reminiscent of both Heathcliff and Rochester) because Lloyd so compelling presents his yearning to love and be loved that all human beings share. Too often a Romance author will convince me that the hero desires the heroine physically--and may even throw in a good deal of language about love--but Lloyd convinces me her men love, that their hearts will break, are breaking, and I can't help but root for these people to find each other.

Mud Season, Bethany Marcello

A small town romance in the honorable mention category. I wanted a little more from the end, but, my god, it had me by the heartstrings all the way there. Would have read it in one sitting if I could have. Interested to read more by this author.

Lie For Me, Catherine Lloyd

While polishing my new manuscript, I've been on a small town romance novella kick. This is hands-down my favorite right now, although there are a couple other honorable mentions.

Lie For Me is one of those hate-love romances, which is not normally my thing, but I liked the main characters so much (sucker for small town sheriffs!), and I just had a blast reading it, rooting for these two. Totally fun and made me go 'Aww' at the end - what more can one ask?

Been writing

On a writing jag.

Murder Bay, David R. Horwitz

A really outstanding historical mystery that combines procedural and paranormal elements. I was blown away by the mastery of two time periods, neither the author's own, of 1862 and 1957. Both were fascinating and deeply researched. Horwitz moves effortlessly from Civil War military history to civilian history of the same period, with enormous detail in geographical locations and the characters' backstories. In the 1950s, descriptions of characters doing even ordinary things, like taking a photo with a camera, were captured perfectly.

My very, very favorite part is a tiny bit toward the end, in one of the 1860s segments, in which the young boy is scared by an apparition of Ben, the 1950s cop to whom these ghosts have been appearing - so that there was kind of a weird time-periods bleeding through in both directions, past simultaneously present. Absolutely amazing.

Regrettably, the book was published posthumously and appears to be the only published novel by Horwitz, which is a great loss.