Felicia Davin

A used paperback romance novel depicting a shirtless, caped man embracing a blonde woman in a white dress. She's holding a rose.

Judy Cuevas/Judith Ivory

French letters and English hats

condoms, romance novels, rivers of forgetfulness, and loving monsters

Four book covers: Love Is A War Song by Danica Nava, Method Acting by Adele Buck, Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy, and The Lord of Stariel by AJ Lancaster

contemporary romance

Hensci

"Hello" in Mvskoke/Muscogee and four recent romance reads

paperback copy of Black Silk by Judy Cuevas, showing a white couple in 1850s clothes undressing and embracing

historical romance

Ticklishly pleasing

Judy Cuevas, tiles, and my new theory of romance novels

three book covers: A Novel Arrangement by Arden Powell, Femme Like Her by Fiona Zedde, and The Spy and The Traitor by Ben Macintyre

food words

Literal and figurative toasts

a toast to romance novels and one of my favorite spies

food words

Pudding eater blues

yeah we're talking about Sherry Thomas again

animal words

Butterfly ties

Butterflies and romance novels

contemporary romance

Chicanery

trickery, urban planning, and romance novels

French history

the devil's hot-bed

spies, romance, and hot beds

sci fi or fantasy

No word, just books

No word this time, just three excellent books.

A sculpture of a Megalosaurus in a park in London. The dinosaur is walking on four feet.

English literature

It would not be wonderful

Dickens, reading comprehension, and romance novels

expressions

Ratatam

nursery rhymes, a romance novel, some fantasy novels, and Graham Greene again

Book covers for Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, Sherry Thomas's Ravishing the Heiress, and Darcy Liao's Make Room for Love

sci fi or fantasy

Answerable

on The Left Hand of Darkness, Ravishing the Heiress, and Make Room for Love

white marble statue of Venus lifting her skirt and displaying her butt

art history

largely composed behinde

statues, butts, romance

an Impressionist oil painting depicting a happy crowd of people eating and drinking and flirting

French literature

Crush and pash

the overpowering violence of infatuations, Renoir and Maupassant, and of course, romance novels

food words

A costly dish

in which I’m perilously out of my depth re: food words (but perfectly at home re: romance novels)

$graphic showing fractions of the covers of the romance novels reviewed$

historical romance

Absolute skulduggery

sneaking around and romance novels

black and white photograph described in caption

fashion

Kamarband

a little fashion history and some romance novels

photo of a brougham (closed 4-wheeled carriage)

historical romance

slaps roof of brougham

some love for Sherry Thomas novels

a sloped cobblestone alley with red brick buildings

US history

Corcas

etymological mysteries and romance novels

expressions

Behind closed doors

shacks, cabins, toilets, cahoots, and a real “one of these things is not like the others” set of book reviews

5 fragments of the covers of the books reviewed

writing process

Calques and loanwords

calques, loanwords, and romance novels

the cover of Graham Greene's The Quiet American, showing a white man in a suit on a red background

expressions

White elephants and quiet Americans

fellas,

an oil painting of a man wearing a cravat

fashion

On cravats

Croatia, must-have historical romance accessories, and romance novels

contemporary romance

Fish, cheese, war

various mongers, and, of course, romance novels

expressions

I do cock a snook, but not at thee

rude gestures, death, and romance novels