Category: Heroes & Heartbreakers

What Will Happen with Our Favorite Star Wars Couples in Last Jedi?

(This article was originally published on Heroes & Heartbreakers.)

The new Star Wars trailer is here and all we want to know is—where’s our Rey / Finn candy? Where, oh where, have they gone?

Because if there are no scenes with Rey & Finn together in this movie…

*Pause for moment of emotional collection*

That means…

We’ll be waiting two more years for the next movie to get some? Is that what this is going to turn into?

Rey’s goodbye from Finn in Force Awakens was touching. Which didn’t sound like a goodbye long enough to last an entire Star Wars episode, but that’s sure as hell what it looks like watching the trailer.

Continue reading What Will Happen with Our Favorite Star Wars Couples in Last Jedi?

6 Essentials on Our Afterburn/Aftershock Movie Wish List

(This post was originally published on Heroes & Heartbreakers.)

Sylvia Day’s Afterburn/Aftershock releases Nov. 3rd on Passionflix, and we can’t wait!

For years, I’ve been wanting Sylvia Day characters to get their debut up on the screen. I always hoped it would be the Crossfire series, but alas, it hasn’t worked out so far. BUT, not to despair. Passionflix is to the rescue!

Sylvia Day has been supplying fans with social media and email, building up the hype, from the casting of the characters to the behind the scenes shots, to editing clips, and then the trailer.

Continue reading 6 Essentials on Our Afterburn/Aftershock Movie Wish List

A How-To Guide for Reviewing Romance for the Inexperienced (and Indifferent) Critic

(This was originally published on Heroes & Heartbreakers.)

6 Aspects of Romance You Should Definitely Bring Up When You Review the Genre

Being a critic isn’t an easy job. Especially when it comes to reviewing romance.

It’s such a complex genre with all those predictable endings that are so feel-good. I mean, what’s to critique in that? And all that intricate conflict, carefully crafted plot development, and detailed characterization can be very overwhelming to the inexperienced critic.

I’m here to help you. Continue reading A How-To Guide for Reviewing Romance for the Inexperienced (and Indifferent) Critic

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures… Even in Romance (As In the Dark Romance Series)

(This article was originally published on Heroes & Heartbreakers.)

The lengths we want a character to go for love knows no bounds. When someone they love is threatened, we want to see them do whatever they can to protect them.

In real life, we may have the urge to do violence when a loved one is hurt. Or protect someone from harm in a way that is impossible for us. It’s not civil to go beat up a bully. It’s illegal to seek justice on someone the law doesn’t catch. But in a romance fictional world, all characters good and evil get their due.  Continue reading Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures… Even in Romance (As In the Dark Romance Series)

What Will Be Sansa Stark’s Greatest Revenge? We’re Hoping It Will Be a Happy Ending!

(This post was originally published on Heroes & Heartbreakers.) 

If anyone deserves an epic romance on Game of Thrones, it’s Sansa Stark…

It’s addictive to speculate about what will happen next on Game of Thrones. That’s the appeal. We all have ideas about what we think will happen. It’s endless entertainment to talk about it.

What makes it more fun, we rarely guess right. The show has taught us one thing: expect the unexpected. Continue reading What Will Be Sansa Stark’s Greatest Revenge? We’re Hoping It Will Be a Happy Ending!

Is it Hate? Or is it Love? – The closeness of fear and desire, as in the dark romance series

(This article was originally published on Heroes & Heartbreakers.)

That enemies to lovers trope that so many of us love…

Why does that work so well?

They say opposite personalities attract, but I say opposite emotions attract too. The passion that comes out of a relationship that begins with mutual dislike can turn explosive.

The “I hate you. This changes nothing,” declared during a love scene creates the ultimate experience of the forbidden, which gets a lot of us going and turning pages like mad. I can’t get enough of the high stakes game wondering, when will this shouting match turn into a hot-and-heavy?

But why? From intense hatred comes life changing love? It doesn’t make sense—at first sight (pun intended). Continue reading Is it Hate? Or is it Love? – The closeness of fear and desire, as in the dark romance series

Romance In The Age Of Trigger Warnings: Do Readers Need To Be Warned?

(This article was originally published on Heroes & Heartbreakers.)

The presence of Trigger Warnings has been fast growing. We see them more and more. Sometimes clear, sometimes vague, but always—in my opinion—helpful.

I wish there were more of them.

But not everyone feels the way I do. Some complain they’re annoying, and they’re spoilers. It’s true. They do let the reader know what to expect. But for those of us who need trigger warnings, it sometimes makes it possible for us to read at all.

Many gravitate toward romance because it’s a safe space. We know the happily-ever-after will come. That love will triumph over evil. That no matter how bad it gets, it will all be okay. They provide a security no other genre can give us. In our real world, where HEA is not guaranteed in any part of our lives, romance novels are nothing short of priceless.  Continue reading Romance In The Age Of Trigger Warnings: Do Readers Need To Be Warned?

Every J.R. Ward Fan Should Be Reading Ruby Dixon

(This post was first published on Heroes & Heartbreakers.)

Blue aliens, you say?

My dear friend, romance reader and writer, Alexis Daria, sends me a screen shot of text from her Kindle, with mad giggly faces all around it: Do you know what kinds of private parts blue aliens have?

I must admit I was amused and intrigued.

I’ve been on a contemporary binge for a while now. Years ago, I was hard into paranormal, but I drifted toward new adult then deep into erotic rom, but now…

This blue alien thing—I was hearing it from more and more people—I had to try it. Continue reading Every J.R. Ward Fan Should Be Reading Ruby Dixon