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Is it bad to be a ‘sweet’ romance?
Reviewer Column / October 17, 2021

I was recently reading an author’s newsletter and was surprised to find that she took exception to her romances being called “sweet” by a couple of reviewers. I was a bit taken aback when I read on – she stated that a couple of readers were confused as they seem to take the word sweet to mean clean – no sex. I am guessing they were not happy to find out there was a lot of sex on the pages. As a reviewer, I often use “sweet” in the description of the books I read but now I feel I should explain what I mean by that word. Yes, often “sweet” means a clean read with no sex or little sex that is not written in a graphic format. As a long-time reader of various genres of romance that still holds true, but I find that to me there is more to “sweet” than what most understand. I think of “sweet” as the couple getting to know each other, doing things together, before hopping in bed. If a book is considered erotica or erotic then usually there is little sweet to be had, at least not in the mind of…

Deb Wiley | When Beloved Long-Running Series Come to an End
Reviewer Column / January 10, 2019

The new year is always a time to reflect on the past year while looking ahead to starting fresh. One of the things that stands out about to me from 2018 is the ending of some long-running and very beloved series. However, endings often signal new beginnings as well, so 2019 offers up some new series for me to love. How does one end a favorite series? Well, if you are Simon R. Green you take two beloved series and put all the characters at odds with each other and watch the mayhem that ensues. The hardest loss for me of 2018 was seeing the end of two series by Simon R. Green as he ended his Secret Histories and Nightside series in true Simon R. Green style. NIGHT FALL heralded the end of both long-running series as we saw the Drood family take on the Nightside, with all our favorite characters at risk of dying. Heck, Simon R. Green even throws in the Ghost Finders series, as we bit our fingernails and quickly turned the pages, hoping against hope that all would end well. Iā€™m not going to lie- I cried a little over the ending of Secret Histories…