Jan 3 2011
Dear Ms. Dee: One of the great things about NetGalley is that reviewers can browse, and while I was browsing through new Romance releases, I came across your novella, "Like Clockwork," which intrigued me because of the interesting cover, the steampunk aspect, and the female inventor heroine. Although some readers dislike novellas, I think they(…)
Nov 30 2010
Dear Ms. Donovan: It is no secret that I am a fan of your early books, especially Knock Me Off My Feet and Take A Chance on Me. The quirky characters, quirkier animals, semi-farcical situations, and likeable heroines all appeal to me. It is also no secret that I have not been as enchanted with(…)
Nov 29 2010
Dear Ms. Stacey: Earlier this year, on Smart Bitch Sarah's recommendation, I read and enjoyed your first Kowalski book, Exclusively Yours. Your new release, Undeniably Yours, continues the adventures of the dynamic Kowalski family with Kevin's story, an entertaining chronicle of the handsome young Kowalski's unexpected leap into family responsibility. The youngest of a close,(…)
Oct 19 2010
Genre fiction rides a thin line between consistent recognizability and appealing freshness. Often referred to as "a narrative archetype," the form of genre fiction is often denigrated as "formulaic" and derivative (Pam Regis, A Natural History of The Romance Novel, 23). In truth, there has to be something fundamental and formalistic that binds a group(…)
Oct 13 2010
Dear Ms. Schama: I approached Wild Romance: A Victorian Story of A Marriage, A Trial, and A Self-Made Woman with appreciation and excitement at the possibility of an academic study of cultural history crossing over to popular contemporary readership. The volatile story of Theresa Longworth's secret marriage to an Irish peer and subsequent battle to(…)
Oct 6 2010
Dear Ms. Archer: This review is testimony to the strength of the second half of Scoundrel. A strong beginning plus a strong ending almost eclipses a somewhat muddled middle of this romantic adventure. Still, the unique and well-described setting (Greece), likeable characters, enjoyable and fun adventure tale, and the interesting fantasy aspects of the book(…)
Sep 28 2010
Note: I know this is a bit long, but it’s already a drastically shortened version of this argument. Consent at your own risk. When I first started reading Romance, I was stunned by the genre's apparent comfort with sexual force against female characters and uncomfortable with both the contention that it's pure fantasy and therefore(…)
Sep 10 2010
Warning: this review contains spoilers from the last book, which are central to the plot of this one. Dear Ms. Carriger: The cliffhanger to your second Parasol Protectorate book, Changeless, definitely worked its storytelling magic on me, and by the time Blameless was released, I was still dying to find out what happened. It is,(…)
Aug 31 2010
When the latest fracas over the New York Times Book Review's privileged and privileging coverage of "white guys living in Brooklyn" erupted, I reflexively rolled my eyes and sighed. Oh, great, I thought, another go-round in the perpetual media battle between so-called commercial and so-called literary fiction, and one that promises, once again, to regard(…)
Jul 12 2010
Dear Ms. Peters: Not since I discovered the JD Robb In Death series have I enjoyed such a rich reading glom as I am now with the Amelia Peabody books. There is a particular pleasure in discovering a series well after its inception, knowing that you can glut on an enormous amount of story development(…)
Jun 29 2010
Dear Ms. Dahl: Having really enjoyed your contemporary Romances set in Tumble Creek, I was nevertheless looking forward to the change of scene in Crazy for Love. Like my favorite contemporaries, Crazy for Love has smart dialogue, witty prose, and complicated characters. However, I was not ultimately crazy in love with this book, which felt(…)
Jun 15 2010
Dear Ms. Beecroft: When Sarah Frantz recommended this book to me, I knew that agreeing to review it would finally ensure that I read one of your books sooner rather than later (review books take precedence over pure leisure books in my personal hierarchy of reading these days). That it is a contemporary made it(…)
Jun 7 2010
Dear Ms. Stacey: There has been a good deal of buzz around your upcoming release, Exclusively Yours, which is also one of the titles included in the Carina Press launch. Curious on both counts and always looking for a good contemporary Romance, I was anxious to read Exclusively Yours. And while I didn’t love, love,(…)
May 26 2010
Dear Ms. Robb: This is a difficult review for me to write, because something happens in Fantasy in Death that many will likely regard as insignificant, but which for me changed the series in a fundamental way. Several books ago, Jane noted that Eve did something at the end of Creation in Death that seemed(…)
May 6 2010
Dear Ms. Harris: The first time I read Dead in the Family I felt almost hypnotized by the emotional aftermath of the horror Sookie faced in the last book, Dead and Gone. Enthralled by the effects of her trauma and the painfully slow steps she was making toward recovery, I could barely summon my critical(…)
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