[Aristides’ Convenient Wife] I am all for using punctuation in book titles, but this one doesn’t really trip off the tongue very convincingly. I guess I should be glad that someone stole the book from our collection and I never have to worry about it again?

[All Spell Breaks Loose] Fantasy: not immune to the weak pun. That title doesn’t even scan very well, but points for effort. I appreciate that she is fully clothed (tight pants and all), turned toward the viewer, and clearly ready to kick ass.

I came across Christine Warren’s Fixed series (currently being re-released with more “friendly” titles) while I was puzzling out my paperback order today. I think the titles are worth seeing as a group:

Fantasy Fix
Fur Factor
Faer Fetched
Fighting Faer
Fur for All
Fur Play 

Let’s hear it for paranormal puns!

[Seduced by a Stallion] There are some mental pictures that you just don’t want to give your readers.

A cooking cozy mystery called Seduced by a Scallion would be a different thing. A strangely appealing thing.

[Men of the Zodius]

The Legend of Michael: “He is sin and satisfaction, lust and damnation…”
The Storm that is Sterling: “He is vice and victory, lust and damnation…”
The Danger that is Damion: “She’s his enemy, and his destiny…”

These sound like hazardous guys to be around. If I were you, I’d go with the Sexiness that is Sylvester or the Regular Paycheck that is Raul.

[Mendoza’s Miracle] Some romance novels get a little too “clever” with their descriptions. Those are my favorites!

From the Desk of Leah Roberts
Review of Patient Case
Name: Javier Mendoza 
Age: 31
Condition: Injured in Red Rock tornado—still hospitalized. Recovering nicely. Too handsome for a hospital bed. Too sexy for his own good.
Prognosis: Likely to cause racing pulse, sleepless nights and hospital gossip.
Course of treatment: Walk away, STAT!

The Fortunes and the Mendozas had been anxiously awaiting Javier’s recovery. Finally he was on the mend, and no one was happier than his nurse, Leah Roberts. She’d been his rock during the ordeal, but now she was having thoughts that weremost unprofessional. She was losing her heart to her flirty, sweet-talking patient.

But did Javier also have a case of true love?

I’d like to take a moment to appreciate not just one punny mystery title, but a series of titles that incorporate the same pun and don’t have an appreciable drop-off in amusement value. It’s not the strongest pun, but it reaps rewards over time.

Sometimes a title will come across my screen that’s ideal in terms of its hilarity, but it’s difficult to figure out how an author could extend that joke value across additional books. Since these sorts of books usually come in series, that can be a real challenge.

Other books in the Ghost Hunter Mystery series include What’s a Ghoul to Do?, Demons are a Ghoul’s Best Friend, Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun, Ghouls Gone Wild, and Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls.

Sicilian Surprise! 

I was going through a cart of discarded paperbacks from one of our branches and discovered a treasure trove of Harlequin Presents titles. Published between 2004 and 2008, they are all about different wealthy Sicilians, but I like thinking of them as a continuous narrative:

At the Sicilian Count’s Command, a woman falls for her exotic boss because he’s “Wolf by name … and a wolf by nature!” This leads to The Sicilian’s Marriage Arrangement, which takes place at a particular time of year (The Sicilian’s Christmas Bride) and then they are both surprised when it turns out she’s a virgin (The Sicilian’s Virgin Bride) because he had married her to get back at a business rival (The Sicilian’s Ruthless Marriage Revenge), assuming that she slept around and never suspecting that he might actually develop feelings for her. 

The protagonists and series, for real:

Count Wolf Gambrelli and Angelica (does not require last name, she’s not Sicilian) / The Sicilians: They seek passion—at any price!

Darkly sexy Sicilian tycoon Luciano di Valerio and Hope Bishop / Ruthless: Men who can’t be tamed … or so they think!

Sicilian tycoon Dante Russo and Taylor Sommer / No particular series, just CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS

Sicilian billionaire Rocco Castellani and Francesca / Italian Husbands: They’re tall, dark—and ready to marry!

Sicilian billionaire Cesare Gambrelli (related to Wolf, above) and Robin Ingram / The Sicilians

[Jewel in His Crown] I would much rather read The Jewel in the Crown, thank you very much. But! For those of us that don’t have time to read that brick, her name is Ruby! GET IT?

Sheikh Prince Raja al-Somari knows that sacrificing his freedom for the good of his country isn’t a choice; it’s a duty. But he’s going to have to use more pleasurable tactics to convince his new bride….

A day ago Ruby Sommerton was an ordinary girl, going to work and gossiping with her flatmate, now she’s found out she’s a princess and waits nervously in the bedroom of the Prince’s desert palace!

Raja’s new bride has a lot to learn about being a royal, most enticingly of all…how exhilarating nights with her new husband can be—and that an heir is top of his agenda!