Apr 18 2013
I was curious how the authors of this anthology came up with the idea for it so I queried Ruthie Knox. Here’s her answer: Strangers on a Train started on Twitter, of all places. I ran across a Tumblr called “Hot Guys on the Train,” which consists entirely of Instagram-style cell phone pictures taken (presumably)(…)
Jan 1 2013
Dear Ms. Metzger, When I was scanning my memory for good Christmas stories to recommend here, I remembered reading two of your other holiday theme books but this one didn’t ring bells for me. Turns out that’s because though I have an older OOP paper copy, I’d never read it. Time to rectify that! “If(…)
Dec 20 2012
Dear Ms. Dimon, Ms. Barth, and Ms. Burton: Carina Press’s holiday anthologies are fast becoming autobuys for me. I was sorry there was no m/m anthology this year, but this entry in another favorite subgenre of mine, contemporary romance, made up for it. As is often the case, especially with two out of three new-to-me(…)
Dec 13 2012
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(…)
Dec 7 2012
Dear Ms. Jenkins, Ms. Perrin, and Ms. Smith: I’m a sucker for Christmas stories, and anthologies are a great way to try out new authors, so a Christmas anthology can be a double winner for me. While I’ve read one of the contributors to this volume before, but the other two were new to me.(…)
Dec 6 2012
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(…)
Oct 19 2012
Dear authors, When I first heard the premise of this anthology, I was thrilled. Science fiction and dystopia stories about multicultural characters and worlds written by diverse authors? Sign me up! I say science fiction and dystopia because I’m not entirely sure how this anthology is being marketed and to be fair, the lines are(…)
Oct 11 2012
Dear Ms. Jewel, Ms. Milan, and Ms. Thomas, I’ve been waiting for this anthology since I first heard about it last spring. The authors are among the strongest writing historical romance today and the premise linking the three novellas is clever and unusual: each is set in the same location but in a different time(…)
Sep 28 2012
Dear Readers, Recently I purchased the self-published anthology, Once Upon a Ballroom: Original Short Stories and Exclusive Excerpts. I was drawn to this anthology by my interest in Miranda Neville’s story, “The School of Wooing for Inept Book Collectors.” I’ve enjoyed everything I have read by Neville, by which I mean the four books in(…)
Jul 2 2012
This anthology contains stories by Tessa Dare, Leigh LaValle, Courtney Milan, and Carey Baldwin. The four authors–who call themselves The Bodice Rippers–published this anthology to raise money for the fight against breast cancer. When the women were interviewed by USA Today, Ms. Baldwin said: We are a group of four friends who, inspired by the many examples of(…)
Dec 6 2011
Dear Mrs. Kelly, I know that when I start a Carla Kelly book, I’ll get a certain number of things. An honorable hero, an unflappable heroine, some idiot secondary characters who may bluster and threaten to cause the hero and heroine some problems but who usually are mainly all hot air and dismissed as the(…)
Nov 30 2011
Dear Authors, Steampunk is that subgenre I want to love, that I think has so much potential. Unfortunately, we have a rocky relationship. I’ve attempted to read too many novels in which the steampunk trappings are superficial — put a pair of goggles on someone, mention an airship, and have someone drink some tea seem(…)
Oct 18 2011
Dear Mss. Andrews, Brook, Shinn, and Singh, Are angels the new vampires in romance novels? It seems like the number of books starring angels continues to expand exponentially. When choosing to write about angels (or winged beings, in the case of the Guardians), authors invite introspection from readers about the nature of good and evil(…)
May 9 2011
Oh dear. Yes, that’s what I said when I finished reading this book. During the various stories I also said the following: WTF!?, Shut UP!, No way…, and Huh? Three to Tango is a collection of four novellas all featuring m/f/m ménages and the tag-line on the cover says “sex is best when it’s one-on-one(…)
Dec 6 2010
Carina is putting out three (invitation only) holiday anthologies, one contemporary, one paranormal, and one male/male. It is apparently possible to buy the stories grouped in the anthology, but also separately, individually, which I think is a fascinating choice. I was thrilled when I saw the m/m lineup: L.B. Gregg, Harper Fox, Josh Lanyon, and(…)
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