May 12 2013
Yesterday marked the last performance of the symphony in my town. This year my family went to four events. It wasn’t the first time that I’ve been to a symphony but it was the first time that we did so as a family on a semi regular basis. I confess that while I was amazed(…)
Apr 24 2013
Dear DA friends: Many moons ago, Dear Author posted a debut author interview for Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles. That didn’t intrigue me as much as Booksmuggler’s adoration for the book (word of mouth and hand-selling, right?). That got me intrigued enough to use one of my monthly Audible credits to buy the audiobook. So(…)
Mar 21 2013
“Hades and Persephone have a son, and he’s feeling trapped in the underworld. Bion’s one solace is his friend since childhood, Myrinne, a mortal girl who was adopted by Charon the Ferryman. When Myrinne is kidnapped during a jailbreak from the underworld, Bion’s rescue becomes a chance to experience life in the sunlit lands. He(…)
Mar 11 2013
Dear Ms. Pacat, I thought about reviewing the two volumes of Captive Prince separately, but came to the conclusion that since they are two parts of the same story and absolutely must be read in order, this made no sense. I understand that there will be a third volume out in 2014, and I will(…)
Feb 22 2013
Dear Readers, We did a series of reviews of Georgette Heyer novels here last year and it dawned on me just how many I hadn’t read. A recent comment here about this book mentioned that it was funny and when I remembered that it is a Georgian, that made up my mind as to which(…)
Feb 3 2013
Warning – there is a long and horrible torture scene. I was not able to re-read it when I was re-reading the book in preparation for this review. However, I thought it was an integral part of the story, not gratuitous in any way, but beware if it upsets you. First, a disclaimer for readers:(…)
Dec 28 2012
Dear Ms. Milan, I hope you are having a lovely holiday season. This year, as in 2011, you enriched my December by releasing a stellar Christmas tale. A Kiss for Midwinter is not quite as brilliant as This Wicked Gift (mentioned here in my list of favorite holiday stories) but it’s still wonderful. Thank you. The heroine of your novella, Miss Lydia(…)
Dec 13 2012
Dear Ms. Knox, Ms. O’Keefe, and Ms. Sloan: I suspect a conspiracy. Every anthology I’ve read this year, composed of three novellas, contains one novella much weaker than the other two. I can’t figure out if the point is to get the writer of the lesser work to be considered a writer on par with(…)
Dec 6 2012
I came to this holiday anthology in a non-traditional, non-festive way. During a Twitter conversation with another reviewer, I mentioned ménage scenes rarely raise my pulse. She suggested I read Anne Calhoun, an author I’d never heard of. I searched on NetGalley and this collection, Red Hot Holiday, came up. I downloaded it thinking at best(…)
Aug 24 2012
Dear Ms. Hughes, A few months ago, I was looking to buy another retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale and your book, “Ella’s Big Chance – A Jazz Age Cinderella” was recommended to me at the same time. Intrigued by the setting and cover illustration, I bought it as well. Though I love the Cinderella(…)
Jul 8 2012
Dear Readers, When I went to buy a copy of “Princess Furball” at Amazon, several other books were recommended to me as being of possible interest. “Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters” was one of them. It has some elements of the classic Grimm’s version of “Cinderella.” Yet those who dislike that story because the idiot Prince can’t(…)
Jun 15 2012
The following is a guest review from dri who you can find at http://aquandrian.livejournal.com I started pilfering Mills & Boons at the age of nine from a housemate who tactfully pretended not to notice, read every romance novel I could lay my hands on from SuperRomances to Victoria Holt to Barbara Cartland to Catch-22 (there was(…)
Jun 13 2012
Dear Ms. Cashore, While I really liked your debut YA fantasy, Graceling, I was less keen on your second novel, Fire. Graceling had a strong heroine, Lady Katsa, who, along with the man she grew to love, sought to rescue a child princess from an evil king, guarding her independence the whole way, but Lady(…)
May 10 2012
Dear Ms. Mayberry— I think your novel Hot Island Nights is splendid—I love the rapport between Elizabeth and Nathan—and I was happy to learn your new self-published novel Her Best Worst Mistake is a companion/sequel to that tale. Her Best Worst Mistake chronicles what happens between Elizabeth’s wild best friend Violet and Elizabeth’s stuffy ex-fiancé(…)
Mar 14 2012
Dear Mr. Crossman: You had me at “Your head’s on fire.” The first time I read Requiem for Ashes was under its original 1994 title, Murder in a Minor Key. I was working at the now-closed and much mourned Scotland Yard Books in Winnetka, Illinois, where I’d earned a reputation for liking books with quirky(…)
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