A special shout-out today to the debut release, DANGEROUS, for my friend Minerva Spencer! She lives in nearby Taos and is an amazing person who’s become a great friend. She is a Vegan for compassionate reasons – most of her earnings goes to feeding her zoo of rescue animals – and has had a remarkable series of careers. She’s owned a bar, a B&B, and has been a lawyer who did pro bono work for asylum applicants. Her interest in history along with her keen intellect and love of romance combine in perfect harmony in this book.
Full disclosure: I read an early version of this book. This can be dicey in the author world – just because you like the person doesn’t mean you’ll like their writing. And this is Minerva’s first book, so I was cautious. Also, while historical romance was my gateway drug to romance, I’ve fallen off of it for quite some time. I’d gotten bored and the subgenre had lost its freshness for me.
To my utter delight, I *loved* it! I loved it so much that I posted a review to Goodreads. Because it was on Goodreads and Minerva hadn’t asked me for a blurb or anything like that, I just raved about how much I liked it, in a chatty, irreverent way.
Shockingly enough, Kensington grabbed my quote and printed on the back of the book.
Just to clarify, it says:
“Georgette Heyer, BUT WITH SEX!”
For those not in the know, Georgette Heyer is one of the great lights of historical romance. She is Austenesque in the exquisite details of the manners she portrays. She is incredible at layering sexual tension into the polite restraints of the eras she sets her stories in. But I can’t read her books because she always closes the door on the actual sex! I end up so frustrated that I can’t stand it. That’s why I was so thrilled to find that Minerva tells a tense, mannered, intelligent story in the same way – but takes me all the way to the hotness I love.
Whew! Is it warm in here?
Anyway, I’m highly amused that, of all my carefully crafted blurbs that I’ve written for fellow authors, it’s THIS irreverent and joyous burble that gets highlighted in all caps.
Says something, doesn’t it?
So, this book is truly wonderful and I advise you to pick it up. You’ll at least be feeding a lot of animals!
