A Reviews

REVIEW:  The Mad Earl’s Bride by Loretta Chase

REVIEW: The Mad Earl’s Bride by Loretta Chase

Dear Ms. Chase: Thank you for re-releasing your novella The Mad Earl’s Bride. I missed it when it was released in 2009 in the anthology Three Weddings and a Kiss. The Mad Earl’s Bride has the tone of my favorites of your books: witty, smart, and sweetly sexy. It even has Bertie Trent in it–as well(…)

REVIEW:  The Shambling Guide to New York City by Mur Lafferty

REVIEW: The Shambling Guide to New York City by Mur Lafferty

Dear Ms. Lafferty, As a New Yorker, I love reading urban fantasies set in NYC, even if I’m so often disappointed by a white-washed tv-generic setting that you often see in police-procedural tv shows. This hilarious book however, brought to life the diverse spirit of NYC. Zoë Norris is a recent North Carolinian migrant to(…)

REVIEW:  A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter or how I was born with an angst spoon in my mouth

REVIEW: A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter or how I was born with an angst spoon in my mouth

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(…)

REVIEW:  Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

REVIEW: Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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(…)

REVIEW:  Back Across the Styx by Karalynn Lee

REVIEW: Back Across the Styx by Karalynn Lee

“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(…)

REVIEW:  Captive Prince, Volumes 1 and 2, by S.U. Pacat

REVIEW: Captive Prince, Volumes 1 and 2, by S.U. Pacat

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(…)

REVIEW:  The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

REVIEW: The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

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(…)

GUEST REVIEW: Cold Front by Ann Somerville

GUEST REVIEW: Cold Front by Ann Somerville

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:(…)

REVIEW: A Kiss for Midwinter by Courtney Milan

REVIEW: A Kiss for Midwinter by Courtney Milan

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(…)

REVIEW:  Naughty & Nice 3-Story Bundle (Room at the Inn, All I Want for Christmas Is You, and One Perfect Christmas) by Ruthie Knox, Molly O’Keefe, Stephanie Sloan

REVIEW: Naughty & Nice 3-Story Bundle (Room at the Inn, All I Want for Christmas Is You, and One Perfect Christmas) by Ruthie Knox, Molly O’Keefe, Stephanie Sloan

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(…)

Red Hot Holiday: Wish List\I Need You for Christmas\Breath on Embers by K.A. Mitchell, Leah Braemel, and Anne Calhoun

Red Hot Holiday: Wish List\I Need You for Christmas\Breath on Embers by K.A. Mitchell, Leah Braemel, and Anne Calhoun

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(…)

REVIEW:  Ella’s Big Chance – A Jazz Age Cinderella  by Shirley Hughes

REVIEW: Ella’s Big Chance – A Jazz Age Cinderella by Shirley Hughes

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(…)

REVIEW:  Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe

REVIEW: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe

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(…)

GUEST REVIEW: Power Play by Charlotte Stein

GUEST REVIEW: Power Play by Charlotte Stein

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(…)

REVIEW:  Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

REVIEW: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

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(…)