ROMANCE IS ALMOST an afterthought in this sweet, charming chick-lit book that celebrates grandmotherly love.

ROLLICKING HISTORICAL MYSTERY adds a salty madam of a heroine to the usual Victorian intrigue.

EROTIC REGENCY gets an A for playful, sexy fun and complex characters, but draws a D for historical accuracy.

DELIGHTFUL HISTORICAL ADVENTURE continues Lauren Willig’s series of spy romps with strong, smart heroines.

BUBBLY ROMANTIC COMEDY as only Katie Fforde can do it, with a deftly imagined and charmingly bookish heroine.

LUMINOUS DEBUT NOVEL about a complicated family is a cut above the usual stories of suburban angst.

LITERATE CHICKFIC with a few new twists: artist heroine, composer hero, grad-school setting. Still, familiar turf. B PLUS

EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL by Katherine Center
New York: Ballantine Books
February 2009