DNF Reviews

Thursday Afternoon Haiku Moment: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Beware: There May Be Spoilers Ahoy. I’m going in blind Never read your HP fic Bought for hot cover Looking for a fix I need a new series to Get my ‘crack’ fix on Sorry – this ain’t it I tried, I really did try But you soon lost me Here’s a quick recap Clary(…)

Thursday Afternoon Haiku Moment: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith Auto-buy for me Jane Austen and zombies? This is my dream come true. At first, I’m puzzled. Why is Jane Austen sharing copyright with Seth? Public domain book But I read and it is(…)

REVIEW: New Blood by Gail Dayton

REVIEW: New Blood by Gail Dayton

Dear Ms. Dayton, Unlike some of my fellow reviewers here at Dear Author, I don’t try books by new-to-me authors as frequently as I probably should. A lot of that is simply due to the fact that I am a slow reader and it takes a lot of my reading time to keep up with(…)

Harlequin Lightning Reviews: January 2009 Edition

Harlequin Lightning Reviews: January 2009 Edition

Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress by Maya Banks. I laughed a little when I finished this book because it had virtually all the common HP/SD tropes smushed into one small category. We have the secret baby, amnesia, asshole boyfriend with trust issues, evil other woman, and an abduction for added spice (plus the requisite travel to an(…)

REVIEW: Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn

REVIEW: Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn

Dear Mrs. Quinn, I didn’t start reading your books until the publication of the second Bridgerton novel. The hoopla surrounding it was impossible to miss. Once I’d finished it, I had to go back and read the first book and then each of the following books in the series. My favorite remains Colin and Penelope’s(…)

REVIEW: The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne

Dear Ms. Bourne, It’s taken me a while to get around to reading your debut, The Spymaster’s Lady. Back in the winter, Robin asked me if I would review it in a conversational review with her before your next book came out, and I promised that I would. When I got to reading it last(…)

What Happens in Vegas by Jodi Lynn Copeland, Lauren Dane, Kit Tunstall and Anya Bast

Hot for You by Jodi Lynn Copeland. This is a friends to lovers story (the first of two in the anthology). Carinna was a cocktail waitress at The Liege, a resort in Las Vegas. She likes her men like her martinis “dirty as a girl could get ‘em.” The man she want right now is(…)

Manga First Impressions 3: Land of the Blindfolded, I.O.N., Sand Chronicles

Manga First Impressions 3: Land of the Blindfolded, I.O.N., Sand Chronicles

Dear Readers, Two more vol 1′s from Viz. But the first is a Vol 1 from CMX, another publisher who brings quality shoujo to the US. Land of the Blindfolded by Tsukuba Sakura. CMX. Retail $9.99. Not rated, but I’d say high school and up. 9 volumes (complete in Japan and in the US.) (I(…)

Manga First Impressions 2: B.O.D.Y, Monkey High, Haruka

Manga First Impressions 2: B.O.D.Y, Monkey High, Haruka

Dear Readers, Here are some more first volumes of shoujo series coming out: B.O.D.Y. by Ao Mimori. Viz. Retail $9.99. T+ for older teen (kisses, sexual innuendo). 12 volumes (ongoing in Japan, just starting here this month) I’d never heard of this title but I was taken with it from the first page. The drawing(…)

REVIEW:  Wicked by Sasha White

REVIEW: Wicked by Sasha White

Dear Ms. White: I haven’t written a DNF review in a long time. Generally, I don’t like to write them but in this case, I read all but the last 50 pages. I stopped because I felt the relationship depicted on the pages had such an uncomfortable power disparity I couldn’t move forward. I admit(…)

REVIEW:  Mauvelous by Jerri Drennen

REVIEW: Mauvelous by Jerri Drennen

Dear Ms. Drennen, There’s no way to sugarcoat this review. I found “Mauvelous” to be just ghastly. Sorry but that’s the word that comes to mind. This book is bad. It’s supposed to be about some agents from a security firm called Aztec. I have no idea what they do but mention was made of(…)

REVIEW:  Harlequin Present’s One Click Buy, December

REVIEW: Harlequin Present’s One Click Buy, December

One thing that Julie Bindel’s piece has done is peak my interest in Harlequin Presents books. In addition, a few weeks ago, I did a piece on category romances and how I was coming to appreciate the Blazes, Harlequin Historicals, and so forth that I have been reading. A couple people suggested authors in the(…)

REVIEW: The Winter Prince by Cheryl Sawyer

Dear Ms. Sawyer, After hearing great things about your work, you’ve been on my “I gotta try this lady someday” list for a couple of years. I had heard that your books were long historicals filled with facts and details, with great characters and realistic plots. Hey, what’s not to love? I’m in heaven when(…)

REVIEW:  The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

REVIEW: The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

Dear Ms. Hoyt, Many readers (including Jane and Jayne) have fallen in love with your debut, The Raven Prince. I wish I were one of them, but unhappily, I have to report that I closed the book feeling that the fan bus had left the bus terminal without me. As I sit here, figuratively waving(…)

REVIEW:  A Certain Magic by Mary Balogh

REVIEW: A Certain Magic by Mary Balogh

Dear Ms. Balogh, I’ve been slowly reading my way through your backlist, and several of your older regencies have found a permanent place on my bookshelf. Among them are Dark Angel, Dancing with Clara, A Christmas Promise and others. Unfortunately, A Certain Magic won’t be joining these books. A Certain Magic begins when Alice Penhallow,(…)