Vanessa Riley Explained

Vanessa Riley is an author of historical fiction, romance fiction, and mystery fiction.

Early life and education

Riley's mother encouraged her to read the works of Jane Austen, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau.[1] Riley earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. She started reading romance fiction when she was at Stanford.[2] [3] She lives in Atlanta.[4]

Career

Riley writes multicultural romance.[5] [6] Some of her works are of the Regency romance genre. Her early works were published digitally. Her print debut novel, A Duke, The Lady, and a Baby (2020), was inspired by the film The First Wives Club (1996). Island Queen (2021), a novel of historical fiction about enslaved-turned-landowner Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, was optioned for film by Julie Ann Robinson.[7] Riley has written for The Washington Post.[8]

Critical reception

Riley's books Sister Mother Warrior (2022); The Duke, The Lady, and a Baby (2020); An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler (2021); and A Duke, the Spy, an Artist, and a Lie (2022) have received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Publishers Weekly called A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby a "bewitching Regency series opener". It criticized An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler for its "choppy writing" that "slightly undermines the otherwise riveting romance". Publishers Weekly wrote of the final book in the Rogues and Remarkable Women series, "Riley masterfully plays up the will-they-won’t-they between husband and wife as the emotionally charged romance twists to its conclusion. This sends out the series on a high note."

Library Journal called Sister Mother Warrior a "sweeping, powerful historical novel based on two remarkable real women". Her mystery debut, Murder in Westminster (2022), was reviewed positively by Publishers Weekly, which wrote, "Riley offers a vibrant picture of the roles Black and mixed-race people played in Regency life," though Publishers also noted, "the backstory introducing series characters sometimes feels clumsy and the modern language can be distracting". Carole V. Bell of The New York Times wrote positively of Island Queen: "Though Dorothy’s life is extraordinary, the reason her triumphs and stumbles hit so hard is that Riley does a brilliant job of connecting those events to something bigger... Evocative and immersive, Riley’s narrative bears that weight with grace."[14]

Selected works

Lady Worthington mysteries

Rogues and Remarkable Women series

References

  1. Web site: Lenker . Maureen Lee . Vanessa Riley on how 'The First Wives Club' inadvertently inspired her new Regency romance . 2023-04-24 . Entertainment Weekly . en.
  2. Web site: Saidi . Janet . 2023-04-21 . Author Vanessa Riley on writing Regency romance: 'Romance has always been that happy place.' . 2023-04-24 . KBIA . en.
  3. Web site: Vanessa Riley . 2023-04-24 . HarperCollins Canada . en-US.
  4. Web site: Vanessa Riley . 2023-04-24 . Atlanta History Center . en-US.
  5. Web site: An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler by Vanessa Riley . 2023-04-24 . Publishers Weekly.
  6. Web site: Murder in Westminster by Vanessa Riley . 2023-04-24 . Publishers Weekly.
  7. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . 2021-07-15 . ‘Bridgerton’s Julie Anne Robinson & Adjoa Andoh Team On Screen Adaptation Of Vanessa Riley’s ‘Island Queen’ . 2023-04-24 . Deadline . en-US.
  8. News: Perspective Female-centered historical novels are dogged by questions of accuracy. Hence the author’s note. . en-US . Washington Post . 2023-04-24 . 0190-8286.
  9. Book: Sister Mother Warrior by Vanessa Riley . Booklist Online . subscription.
  10. Book: Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler by Vanessa Riley . Booklist Online . subscription.
  11. Web site: A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley . 2023-04-24 . Publishers Weekly.
  12. Web site: A Duke, the Spy, an Artist and a Lie by Vanessa Riley . 2023-04-24 . Publishers Weekly.
  13. Web site: Sister Mother Warrior . 2023-04-24 . Library Journal.
  14. News: Bell . Carole V. . 2021-07-08 . A New Novel Gives Wings — and a Megaphone — to a Complex Woman . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-04-24 . 0362-4331.
  15. Web site: Unmasked Heart: A Regency Romance by . 2023-04-24 . Publishers Weekly.
  16. Web site: Island Queen by Vanessa Riley . 2023-04-24 . Publishers Weekly.
  17. Book: Island Queen by Vanessa Riley . Booklist Online . subscription.
  18. Web site: Faulkner . Tianna . 2021-08-13 . Vanessa Riley releases New Book "Island Queen" . 2023-04-24 . The Atlanta Voice . en-US.
  19. Web site: Murder in Westminster (audio) . subscription . 2023-04-24 . Library Journal.
  20. Web site: Murder in Westminster . subscription . 2023-04-24 . Library Journal.
  21. Book: Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley . Booklist Online . subscription.
  22. Web site: An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler . subscription . 2023-04-24 . Library Journal.
  23. Book: Duke, the Spy, an Artist, and a Lie by Vanessa Riley . Booklist Online . subscription.
  24. Web site: A Duke, the Spy, an Artist, and a Lie . 2023-04-24 . Library Journal.
  25. Web site: A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby . subscription . 2023-04-24 . Library Journal.

External links

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