The many facets of love

REVIEWS BY BARBARA SAMUEL

At a recent function for librarians, a discussion arose about the vast variety available to readers in the romance genre. This month's offerings show that there is a romance novel for almost any reader, embracing the spectrum of ages, inclinations and, yes, even hipness.

For a book that's ultra-hip and very now, look no further than Marta Acosta's Midnight Brunch, the sequel to Happy Hour at Casa Dracula. The entirely winning Milagro de los Santos is an aspiring writer in love with her ultra hot, ultra-rich boyfriend Oswald, who has an—er—medical condition that makes him sensitive to sunlight and hungry for bloody treats, along with the rest of his family. When she's excluded from a family ceremony, Milagro's curiosity tumbles her into a power play that gets her into trouble. Here's a book that belongs on nightstands in hip downtown apartments everywhere. The delight is in Acosta's clever, fresh voice, which moves the narrative at a rollicking pace.


A bustling city in another century

Another vivid young woman animates Wild Sweet Love, the latest historical offering from the beloved and much celebrated Beverly Jenkins. Notorious train robber Teresa July was captured and spent three years in prison for the crimes she committed with her outlaw gang of brothers, Black Seminoles who live in the wilds of 1890s Texas. Now Teresa has been released on parole to the care of Philadelphia matron Molly Nance, who means to transform the intelligent and spirited—but Western-rough—girl into a lady. Teresa isn't all that sure she wants to be a lady, but she does know she's finished with the outlaw life. She's also intrigued by Molly's polished son, Madison Nance, a banker who is involved in the growing political battle between people of color in the radical and conservative movements. This is a highly satisfying romance told against a fascinating and little-used backdrop.


Juicy modern gothic

Fans of Suzanne Forster will be delighted with her newest novel, The Arrangement. Alison Fairmont Villard tumbled out of her husband's sailboat and was lost at sea for more than three days. Found barely alive, her face nearly destroyed by the rocks that also saved her life, Alison now suffers from transient amnesia. After many surgeries to restore her features, she and her husband live in opposite ends of the house, engaged in uneasy détente while Alison tries to piece together her history, her motives and her feelings. When her mother summons Alison and Alex back to the family home on the shores of the sea, answers begin to work themselves into a picture that's terrifying and confounding. Alex, too, has some dangerous questions to work out. Who is Alison, really? And if this isn't his wife, where is she? Crackling sexual tension, a twisty mystery and some genuinely dastardly villains make this a fast, fun read.


That girl

Liza Weiler, playwright and temporary temp, has not given much attention to love. It seems like a lot of trouble—and you have to give up something of yourself, don't you? In Right Before Your Eyes, by Ellen Shanman, Liza literally tumbles into one man when she nearly breaks her ankle running away from him. He gallantly accompanies her to the ER, where she promptly meets another guy who also seems too good to be true—the doctor who fixes her sprain. The doctor is earnest and sweet and way too nice for her, but if she lets him go, she might have to deal with Bachelor #1, George, who somehow keeps showing up at all the wrong times saying exactly the right thing. Meanwhile, her play is being wrecked by a weird director, and there's a reality show being filmed of the play being made, and a wedding by a roommate—all the challenges that go along with being young, talented and hungry, and ready to take the next step into full-fledged adulthood. A fast, heartfelt and charming read.


Barbara Samuel's most recent books are Madame Mirabou's School of Love and an anthology, Dragon Lovers.

© 2007 ProMotion, inc.