A Reviews

GUEST REVIEW: Surprises According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

GUEST REVIEW: Surprises According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

Allow me to engage in some nepotism here.  Yesterday, tot came home and reported that she had started her own review blog pursuant to instruction from the teacher. Instead of the book reports that I used to write as a school child (or perhaps in addition to), tot and her class are learning to write(…)

REVIEW: Lily by Patricia Gaffney

REVIEW: Lily by Patricia Gaffney

Dear Ms. Gaffney, When I heard the news that many of your romance titles were being released as ebooks by Open Road Integrated Media, I felt a pang of jealousy for those newer romance readers who would have the opportunity to discover your work for the first time. When the opportunity came to interview you, Jane(…)

REVIEW: The Bride by Julie Garwood

REVIEW: The Bride by Julie Garwood

Dear Ms. Garwood: Back in 2006, Jayne and I wrote a few reviews of our all time favorite books.  We primarily read and review “new to us” books whether those are new publications or recently republished backlist titles.  Because of that, our archives are thin as it pertains to the books which might considered modern(…)

REVIEW: G-A-Y series by Kim Dare

REVIEW: G-A-Y series by Kim Dare

Dear Ms. Dare. I’ve been intrigued by your writing for a while. Your tagline is “Kink, love, and a happy ending. Do you Dare?” which I think is incredibly cute. Honestly, though, I’ve been put off by your publishers (Total-e-Bound and Resplendence Publishing…who?) and by the fact that your series are quite so long (TWELVE(…)

REVIEW: Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly

REVIEW: Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly

Dear Ms. Hambly, The title of this book is what got my attention. I mean, how could it not? Once I saw it, I knew I had to read it. Who’s the Rat God? Who is his bride? What on earth is going on here? If not for her actress sister-in-law Chrysandra Flamande taking her(…)

GUEST REVIEW: The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne

GUEST REVIEW: The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne

Reader Christine sent me this beautiful review of Joanna Bourne’s book, The Black Hawk, and I am honored to share it with the DA readership. ****** The novel “The Black Hawk” begins in 1818, six hundred yards from number saeven Meeks street where Justine, a former member of the French “Police Secrete,” long estranged from her(…)

REVIEW: Petit Morts 6-10 by Jordan Castillo Price, Josh Lanyon, and Sean Kennedy

REVIEW: Petit Morts 6-10 by Jordan Castillo Price, Josh Lanyon, and Sean Kennedy

Dear Authors, I heard with regret that your Petit Morts series is drawing to a close; although I was late to the party, I have enjoyed these stories very much, and I’m sad to see them end.  Short stories are difficult to write and although short fiction is plentiful in the m/m romance genre, I(…)

REVIEW: Isle of Night by Veronica Wolff

REVIEW: Isle of Night by Veronica Wolff

Dear Ms. Wolff,  Jaclyn says: When I opened to page one of Isle of Night I was expecting a historical romance set in Scotland—presumably on the Isle of Night. The ARC I had didn’t have a cover image and because I have enjoyed your books in the past I did not seek information about the(…)

REVIEW: The Orchard by Theresa Weir

REVIEW: The Orchard by Theresa Weir

Dear Ms. Weir: A while back you posted on Twitter a couple of drawings that your late husband had done, explaining that while he was an accomplished artist, he never felt comfortable thinking of himself that way or having his art made public. At the time I thought it was sad that someone who so(…)

Harlequin Treasury Guest Review: Fletcher’s Baby by Anne McAllister

Harlequin Treasury Guest Review: Fletcher’s Baby by Anne McAllister

I loved Fletcher’s baby. Sam Fletcher(the guy dumped in Finn’s Twins) comes home from Tokyo to find his mother telling him that his Aunt Hattie left him everything, her inn and Josie. Josie came into his aunt’s life at fifteen after roaming from foster home to foster home and is now the inn-keeper. Seven months(…)

Harlequin Treasury Guest Review: Mommy by Suprise by Paula Detmer Riggs

Harlequin Treasury Guest Review: Mommy by Suprise by Paula Detmer Riggs

Prudy & Case’s first marriage ended when Case couldn’t forgive Prue for her deception. She desperately wanted a child (while Case didn’t) that she tricked him into getting her pregnant. She not only lost her baby, but her husband as well. Eight years later Prudy and Case meet again. They let their attraction run loose(…)

Harlequin Treasury Guest Review: Daddy By Accident by Paula Detmer Riggs

Harlequin Treasury Guest Review: Daddy By Accident by Paula Detmer Riggs

Stacy’s life changed dramatically since her husband Len was attacked while on the job. He went crazy, burned her house and then while driving recklessly drove his car into a tree and managed to get himself killed. Now Stacy is in a hospital, pregnant & nearly broke. The one stroke of luck was the man(…)

REVIEW: The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss

REVIEW: The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss

Dear Romancelandia. This is the book. This one started…well, that’s up for debate. It certainly started a new type of romance. Yes, there were romances before TFATF. There were bestselling authors who unabashedly wrote romance, even in the same style as TFATF: The Sheik (1919), Gone With the Wind (1936), Rebecca (1938), Forever Amber (1944).(…)

REVIEW: The Music Box by Cheryl Reavis

REVIEW: The Music Box by Cheryl Reavis

Dear Ms. Reavis, When I checked your website and saw this book mentioned, I got all excited and checked the eHarlequin site for ages waiting for it. Then it appeared and I read the blurb and thought, this sounds familiar. And for good reason as it was previously published as “Tenderly,” the fourth book in(…)

REVIEW: Unlocked by Courtney Milan

REVIEW: Unlocked by Courtney Milan

Dear Ms. Milan: I’ve been chomping at the bit to talk about this book with other readers.  I’ve felt, in the past, that your works were smart and thoughtful but sometimes lacking in emotional engagement.  I particularly struggled to connect with Ned Carhart in Trial by Desire.  But Unlocked packs an emotional punch from the(…)