I've seen some disturbing things on social media lately. Lots of BAD advice is being thrown about. Readers are doing things to authors that will NOT end well. The publishing business is really hard, and it's stuff like THIS that might throw a romance author over the edge and make them stop writing at all:

First of all, I binge-watched this series in 2 days. It's that good. Whether you were a fan of the original 1984 movie, or you were a Gen X kid who wants to wallow in some good old nostalgia, this is the series for you. It also helps that it's funny, at times heart-warming, and incredibly well-written. The great writing alone should keep any youngsters who weren't even born when the original movie came out interested. So, that said, this post is a combo Cobra Kai review, and book recommendations list. 'Cause that's just how I roll. You're welcome. Here it goes:   

Look, I try really hard not to let the drama that goes on in the book reviewing world (especially Romancelandia drama) impact anything that I'm doing. The fact of the matter is that someone is always pissed off about something. But there was another HUGE dust-up this past week that got me thinking: why am I doing this again? Why am I putting myself through this? And the decision I ultimately made was that it would be in my best interest to cut WAY back on the number of books I review each month. Not to say that I'll be reading less, because that'd be a big ole lie, but I will not be reviewing every book I read from this point on. Here's why:  

This movie was ALL OVER my Netflix recommendations, I had just finished a binge-watch of Cobra Kai season 2, and I didn't have anything else to watch, OK? That's why I watched The Lost Husband. Am I glad I did? Well...not entirely. But was a complete dud? No. This movie can be enjoyable...if you know what to expect going into it. So, that's what I'm here to do: Tell you what to expect before you watch it. You're welcome. Here it goes:    

Men always want to know: Why do women love bad boys and villains so much? Why don't they ever go for the nice guy? Well, first of all, we DO try to go for the nice guy more often than not. No one wakes up in the morning and says, "Hmmm, I think I'll try to hook up with a dark, tormented guy who's trying to take over the world today." In real life, at heart, we're all hoping for healthy relationships. But why deprive us of the bad boy fantasy? I blame film makers and authors for the bad boy fantasy, frankly. And here's why...  

We’ve all played dump, date or marry at some point in our lives. It never really gets old, does it? With that in mind, we’ve got a good one for you. Which one of these romantic comedy heroes would you dump, date, or marry? We’ve got our answers, even though it was anything but easy to decide ...

Holy crap, y'all...I freakin' LOVED this movie. It's everything I ever could've wanted from a summer blockbuster and a romance novel all rolled into one glorious, ass-kicking, bad ass movie. And on the surface, it might not look like a film that screams "romance", but trust me when I say there is something here for ALL viewers, but ESPECIALLY for romance novel fans. Let me demonstrate...

First of all, let me just start out by saying, yes, you can say whatever the heck you want in your book review. That is your right. But I have seen some things on social media lately, y'all. Things that reviewers have been doing that are just aren't...cool. Things that will get a reviewer called out as an asshat and will  reflect badly on ALL reviewers. So, here are my guidelines designed to help book reviewers NOT get called asshats on social media. And who knows? You might just make friends with some really cool authors in the process. That said, here we go...  

I've read a lot of romance novels. Like, a lot. I've read countless books in every sub category of romance by more authors than I can name. I've FORGOTTEN more about romance books and authors than most folks will ever know. So, when I say that you should be reading a particular author, you can trust me. I know whereof I speak. And here I am, saying loud and proud, that I adore Emma Scott, and if you're not reading her work, you're missing out. Here's why I adore her (and you will, too): 

There's A LOT of hubbub around this movie, which was based on a Polish-edition, bestselling book. Well, I watched it, and I have...feelings and thoughts about it. There's a lot to unpack here, but I think if you know what to expect going on, you can enjoy this movie. Here's what you'll need to know first, though...  

Dear new adult romance, 

It pains me to write this, but I think I'm done with you. Look, I'll admit we had some good times, and I'll be forever grateful to you for introducing me to Meghan Quinn, LJ Shen, Scarlett Cole, Helena Hunting, Tammara Webber, and so many more. But I just can't go on like this. My TBR list is WAY too long to keep adding your books and not getting what I want out of them. I'm sure this comes as a surprise to you, and for that I am truly sorry. I do feel like you're entitled to an explanation, though, so here it goes...  

According to social media and pretty much everyone I follow there, this show, which is based on the series by Sherryl Woods, is a must-watch for romance fans. So, who am I to argue with all of social media and everyone I follow there? I gave it a watch this weekend. And here's what I think you'll probably love (and hate ) about it...

I recently started reading a VERY popular new release. I'm not here to name and shame, so I'm not going to call out the author. But the hero was a complete douchenozzle who treated women like garbage. I couldn't see anything this hero could do over the course of the book that would redeem him. I mean, even if he cured cancer , I'd still of him as that asshat who cured cancer that one time.  But if you were to go look at the reviews for this book, there are HUNDREDS of them gushing about how great this book is and how SWOONY the hero is. So, what do you do when you loathe a book that everyone else seems to universally love? Well, since it happens to me more than I care to admit, I feel particularly qualified to give advice on this matter. Here it goes...  

I will admit that my reasons for watching this movie were completely, 100% shallow AF. I wanted to watch Chris Hemsworth fighting bad guys while wearing a tight T-shirt, OK? I'm not sorry, so I won't apologize. But the movie ended up being way better than I bargained for. It was an intense, gripping action movie that was surprisingly emotional at times. There wasn't any romance (even though there was a nice blink-and-you'll-miss-it chemistry between main character Tyler Rake and Nik, the badass woman who brought him into the mercenary gig), but it wasn't that kind of movie and never pretended to be, so I was fine with the lack of smooching. But the whole thing got me thinking: what romance reader wouldn't love a badass, troubled and angsty ex-military man who has been THROUGH THINGS kicking the crap out of bad guys in an effort to save a cute kid? The answer? None. So with that in mind, I present to you this list of 8 romance heroes you'll love if you, like me, drooled a little over Tyler Rake. You're welcome.     

So my BDSM/erotic romance tastes can be boiled down to two questions: “Are the characters worth reading?” and “Is it a love story powerful enough to linger in my mind?”

You’ll notice neither of those questions is about the sex. That’s because if I’m browsing in the BDSM/erotic romance genre, I expect there will be explicit sexual content. The answers to those two questions tell me if the eroticism was integrated in the story in the right way.

​Back in the 80s, I was a reader who wanted much stronger erotic content, but I wanted it with all the quality elements of an intense love story I’d experienced from reading authors like Kathleen Woodiwiss, Laura Kinsale, Penelope Williamson, and the 1980s-1990s greats like them. Yet when I started writing BDSM romance, the attitude in the romance industry was “sex is lazy writing.” If an author put a lot of sex in their books, it was because he/she didn’t want to put in the time to develop a good story with memorable characters.

However, I believed a great love story could be written with soul-deep eroticism and engage the heart, mind and libido of an intelligent, well-read woman. I’m so happy that time has proven me right, AND made room for a very lovely and diverse genre in the romance section.

So, if you want to give BDSM/erotic romance a try (pause for me to cheer and do a couple backflips – grin), there is so much to offer in this genre. You can ease into the waters at the shallow end or jump right into the deepest part.

When I first told Jennifer I’d provide this list, my thought was to compile a list of my favorites and then ask my readers for their recommendations. I ended up with 160 recommendations (not including my own), and for a while the idea of how best to present this info to a new BDSM/erotic romance reader in a way that would be helpful and not overwhelming stumped me. After I examined the list and noted how often certain authors were referenced, I decided to put together a list of ten authors I and/or many of my readers would recommend to someone wanting to explore the BDSM/erotic romance world.

All ten of these authors are excellent. The order should not be taken as a rating of one over the other, though the authors listed #1-7 take a more mainstream or romantic approach, whereas 8-10 get more extreme on the emotional and physical end of things. I don’t mean extreme as in “hotness.” At its heart, BDSM romance is a pretty profound exploration of Dominance and submission, and how those qualities manifest in the characters. Sometimes that can be a bumpy journey outside of comfort zones. It’s one of the reasons I love this genre – because the authors of it don’t leave a corner of the amusement park untapped, including the shadowy corners.

While I haven’t read all these titles personally, my readers recommending them suggest they live up to those two questions I started with. When I was verifying titles/spellings, I was seeing a lot of high Amazon review ratings, which also seem to support that.

​I hope this list helps you become a fan of the genre. Or, if you are already one, that it gives you some more good reads!