Heath's Pride Comes Before A Fall is the best of her witty series, Miss Prentice's Protegees.

Historical Romance Review: Virginia Heath’s PRIDE COMES BEFORE A FALL (Miss Prentice’s Protegees #3)

I enjoyed Heath's first two Miss Prentice's Protegees' romances well enough, but had to reread my reviews to recall their bits and pieces, telling me they were pleasant, but forgettable. I think I'll remember Pride Comes Before A Fall, however, because it was the best of the lot. Portia was always my favourite of the four heroines because of her crusading, reforming spirit.

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I’m really enjoying my latest show, The Four Seasons. If I was a privileged American woman, I’d be Kate, the Tina Fey character. Also, we share a name. 🤷🏼

Saw amazing Hadestown. Left cinema awash in tears, though I teach the damn myth every year. We all know how it ends. Never underestimate the power of narrative.

missbatesreadsromance.com/2026/08/01/r... Lavine’s second romance is as good as her first, Any Trope But You, which I loved. @atriabooks.bsky.social

Contemporary Romance Review: Victoria Lavine’s NOT THAT KIND OF PROPOSAL

In her acknowledgements, Lavine writes about the sophomore book curse and how nervous she was about her second romance given the excellence of the first (which I loved and reviewed). As a reader, I…

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So, I have this teensy addiction to acquiring Liberty shirts, which hoisted on petard, I have to iron.

Rant: this is the second time a man, a stranger to me, and store employee, has told me to smile. Costco in this case, Metro Grocer in the previous. I don’t have to help you erase the power of the crone with a smile, dude.

I have *sniffs tearfully* reached the end of Dept. Q and I can only say thank goodness we’re getting another season.

Dept Q is doing nicely making up for the end of season 3 of Blue Lights. My love for Akram is boundless.

Marty’s a Seinfeld fan? I love him, but now my cup of Marty-love runneth over.

Montreal Gazette@mtlgazette.bsky.social · 2w ago

Martin St. Louis’s favourite TV show comes to life in Jerry Seinfeld meeting montrealgazette.com/sports/hocke...

He doesn’t realize the extent of our hatred. Communities are devastated by these fires, especially Indigenous ones. To say nothing of the firefighters.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

Trump: "I think we'll put a major tariffs on Texas-- on Mexico because of the lettuce. And we'll put a big tariff on Canada because of the smoke."

Spelling bee rage: YES, “KINE” IS A WORD. Read your Bible, Bee!

I was sad because I watched the last episode of this season’s Blue Lights. But I started Dept Q and feel quite a bit better. Bonus gnarled Matthew Goode.

Cohen’s “Sisters of Mercy”.

Becky Tyler@beckytylerart.bsky.social · 2w ago

What song did the Sirens sing in The Odyssey? Wrong answers only.

I don’t consume alcohol, but this good news is a long time coming. We must help each other to offset US threats. A united Canada is a strong Canada.

Kara Fagan 🇨🇦 Liberal@fagankara.bsky.social · 2w ago

www.cbc.ca/news/politic... Under a new deal, nine premiers say they are updating rules to allow more Canadian brewers and distillers to sell alcohol directly to Canadian consumers outside of their home provinces.

Given I’m still on the oven “don’ts” in the manual and have yet to learn how to operate the darn thing, I shall have to have a sandwich for lunch. OTOH, Montreal bagel, smoked salmon, cream cheese, squeeze of lemon.

😂Got a new range & have been assiduously reading the “Owner’s Manual”…ta-dum-ta-dum…until I cracked up over “never sit on the oven door”. Who does that?! The doozie was: “Never attempt to dry a pet in the oven”! If it’s there, some idiot, who shouldn’t operate an oven, or have a pet, tried this. 😳

I am grateful to past me who made date bran muffins.

Montreal’s morning sky.

Truth to power, folks.

Effin' Birds@effinbirds.com · 3w ago

open.spotify.com/episode/49LF... If you want to make sense of the “Canadian” wild fires in a GLOBAL context.

The true toll of wildfire smoke

Front Burner · Episode

open.spotify.com

Holiday's Book Club Boyfriend is a heartfelt romance about healing and finding love and, with Thompson's In Every Possible Way, one of the best contemporary romances I've read this year.

Contemporary Romance Review: Jenny Holiday’s BOOK CLUB BOYFRIEND

I hope what follows makes sense because I was up late reading Holiday's Book Club Boyfriend. Yes, it's that good. It also made me think about some things I've noticed about the genre lately. First, Book Club Boyfriend, like many others, is your standard issue cartoonish-cutesy rom-com cover and title, blurbed like a rom. And most of these titles give you what's promised by appearances.

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Canadian Boyfriend is one of the best romances I’ve read. I include it in my romfic class.

Danielle (TBQ)@thebookqueen.bsky.social · 3w ago

Want to grab today's deals from Kobo or Bookshop instead*? Affiliate links used below! 😊 Wednesday’s #romancedeals thread is ready, $0.99 to $2.99 📚❤ Happy shopping! *if available

Look at my beautiful city!

Montreal Gazette@mtlgazette.bsky.social · 3w ago

Montreal weather: Luckily this forecast will disappoint tornado watchers montrealgazette.com/news/weather...

Montreal’s morning sky looks as it does because of the Ontario fires. It was yellowed yesterday afternoon.

Hey, ether, does anyone know of female-centred detective narratives where the “femme fatale” convention is an “homme fatale” flip????

Memory eternal, Sam Neill. You were in My Brilliant Career. That’s enough for me.

Chrystia Freeland has written a book about Canada’s recent relationship with the USA & called it Unreliable Boyfriend. 😂 (It’s like Canada is the rom-heroine who’s just broken up with the “bad boyfriend/fiancé only to meet the hero. Who will be Canada’s hero??!!)

How can “kine” not be a word, Spelling Bee? Haven’t you read your Bible?!?!

A wonderful, funny, heart-warming novel is Daniel Mason's Country People.

Contemporary Fiction Review: Daniel Mason’s COUNTRY PEOPLE

I don't know what inspired me to request Mason's Country People, but I'm glad I did. I snort-laughed through much of it and yet it also had moments of heart-warming pathos and, for contemporary fiction a rarity, a happy ending. Not romance HEA, but happy, content, satisfying, yet believable. And, most important AND, it's third-person narrated! Mason's gift is how gentle he is with his characters, their foibles and weaknesses.

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Daniel Mason’s latest novel, Country People, marvellous and hilarious. I’m at 50% on the Kindle and I don’t see how it could veer off into lyrical badness. It’s not “propulsive”. It’s smart, funny, wry, sly, and third person narrated!!!