B- Reviews

REVIEW: Casting Samson by Melinda Hammond

REVIEW: Casting Samson by Melinda Hammond

Finding your boyfriend in the shower with another woman isn’t high on Deborah Kemerton’s “best birthday presents ever” list. Her life in London shattered, she retreats to her sleepy hometown to heal her broken heart. There, she’s quickly swept up in planning a pageant to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the village church. Tasked with(…)

REVIEW: Gold Mountain by Sharon Cullars

REVIEW: Gold Mountain by Sharon Cullars

Dear Ms. Cullars, I can’t recall whose blog I was reading when this book was mentioned but I’m glad I found out about it. A Negro heroine and a Chinese hero in 1865? Sign me up. “In 1865, the hope for gold has spurred many to seek their fortunes in California, the place the Chinese(…)

REVIEW: Where There’s Smoke by L.A. Witt

REVIEW: Where There’s Smoke by L.A. Witt

Dear Ms. Witt. I really enjoyed the main characters in this book. I’m…ambivalent enough about the other characters and some of the plot that it affected my enjoyment of the book as a whole. Jesse is running for Governor of California. He has no experience whatsoever in pretty much anything. He comes from acting royalty(…)

REVIEW: The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams

REVIEW: The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams

Dear Ms. Williams: I admit I passed this book over when it first came across my desk. The cover, the story blurb all seemed a little twee to me. It’s largely about the fae and I’ve never really been interested in that fantasy world. Months later (the book was released at the end of October(…)

REVIEW: Time Out by Jill Shalvis

REVIEW: Time Out by Jill Shalvis

Dear Ms. Shalvis: I’ve read much of what you’ve written in the past five years. I’ve found quite a few of your contemporaries irresistible: Animal Attraction and The Sweetest Thing were two of my favorite reads in 2011. I’ve been less enthralled with your Harlequin Blaze books; they seem to me to be more formulaic than your(…)

REVIEW: Nightfire by Lisa Marie Rice

REVIEW: Nightfire by Lisa Marie Rice

Dear Ms. Rice: Sometimes authors and readers have some kind of strange sychronicity where everything that author writes hits all the buttons of the reader and everyone else on the outside looks on in befuddled wonderment.  Objectively I can see that there are things that don’t work very well in this book. There is the(…)

REVIEW: Pure by Julianna Baggott

REVIEW: Pure by Julianna Baggott

Dear Ms. Baggott, With the buzz over The Hunger Games trilogy, YA dystopian novels are hotter than ever right now – even an infrequent YA reader like myself knows that. I’ll admit to being party to the general enthusiasm. I like dystopian novels in general (at least in theory; in practice I’m careful about which ones I(…)

REVIEW:  The Principal’s Office by Jasmine Haynes

REVIEW: The Principal’s Office by Jasmine Haynes

Dear Ms. Haynes: I’ll confess that I had become disenchanted with your work. The grown up hookers with a heart of gold series followed by two dark and somewhat unromantic stories made me gun shy. But a free book of an author I’ve liked in the past? I can’t resist at least giving it a(…)

REVIEW: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

REVIEW: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

Dear Ms. Bridges, I first encountered your debut novel on NetGalley. I admit I’ve always been fond of historical YA, especially if there’s a paranormal flavor. Your book sounded like the ticket. It was a nice change of pace from the urban fantasies and dystopians overwhelming the genre right now. The unique setting was just(…)

REVIEW: Not Wicked Enough by Carolyn Jewel

REVIEW: Not Wicked Enough by Carolyn Jewel

Dear Ms. Jewel, I loved your 2009 book, Scandal, and very much enjoyed Indiscreet, which came out later the same year. So when I learned that you were publishing a new historical called Not Wicked Enough I got excited, and asked Jane if she could send me the ARC. Having now read it, I have(…)

REVIEW: Last Man Standing by Cindy Gerard

REVIEW: Last Man Standing by Cindy Gerard

Dear Ms. Gerard: I liked the poetic nature of the title given that this book kind of closes the door on the Black Ops, Inc., or BOIs, crew. Joe Green is indeed the last man standing of the group. The other living members have all fallen in love and had a happy ending. Joe’s done(…)

REVIEW: The Husband Recipe by Linda Winstead Jones

REVIEW: The Husband Recipe by Linda Winstead Jones

“It started with a baseball… Which shattered Lauren Russell’s perfectly ordered life. Lauren’s new neighbors were about to see the Southern lifestyle columnist’s temper! Then she met Cole Donovan, the sexy single dad. He was not the man from her husband list; he was too tall, too sexy—and definitely had too many kids! But somehow,(…)

REVIEW: The Players’ Club series by Cathy Yardley

REVIEW: The Players’ Club series by Cathy Yardley

This post reviews all three Players’ Club books, two of which are available now and one which is set to be released digitally on February 1, 2012. I will say that if you read one, you’ll have to read them all. Players’ Club: Scott The Players’ Club is an urban legend of men jetting around(…)

REVIEW: Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

REVIEW: Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Dear Ms. Carey, Kushiel’s Dart, your fantasy novel, is the story of Phedre, who begins life in the Night Court of Terre D’Ange. The Night Court is peopled by prostitutes, known in this world as Servants of Naamah, the goddess of such things. Terre D’Ange is modeled on Renaissance France, but with some substantial differences,(…)

REVIEW:  Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

REVIEW: Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

Dear Ms. Rennison, Your Georgia Nicholson series is one of my go-to YA recommendations for a read that makes me chuckle.  I’ve read maybe half of them, but each one was a treat that made me laugh out loud – and though I can appreciate a lot of humor in books – it’s rare to(…)