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Vanessa Riley

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Vanessa Riley is an American novelist of Caribbean Descent of historical fiction, romance fiction, and mystery fiction.

Early life and education

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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

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Riley writes multicultural romance.[5][6][2] Some of her works are of the Regency romance genre.[1] 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).[1] 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

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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".[11] It criticized An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler for its "choppy writing" that "slightly undermines the otherwise riveting romance".[5] 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."[12]

Library Journal called Sister Mother Warrior a "sweeping, powerful historical novel based on two remarkable real women".[13] 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".[6] 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

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  • Unmasked Heart: A Regency Romance. Gallium Optronics, 2016.[15]
  • Island Queen. William Morrow, 2021.[16][17][18][14]
  • Sister Mother Warrior. William Morrow, 2022.[9][13]

Lady Worthington mysteries

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Rogues and Remarkable Women series

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References

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


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