Dear Author » B-Reviews-Category

REVIEW: Ebook Weekly: New Concepts Publishing Review

Jayne — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 09:23:26 +0000

NCP began publishing in 1996. They sell ebooks and also offer some of their books in print.

They have several book categories:

Anthologies, Special Collections
Contemporary Romance
Fantasy and Fantasy Romance
HARMONY™ Romance, Multicultural, and Interracial Romance
Historicals: Medieval, Western, Regency, and Georgian
Historicals: Other Time Periods and Unusual Locales
Love Bites™ Short Stories (SENSUAL to CARNAL), including Short Story Themes and Holiday Themes
Paranormal Romance, Vampires, Werewolves and Shifters (Contemporary)
Time Travel
Thrillers, Mysteries, and Romantic Suspense
Science Fiction and Futuristic Romance

Their sensuality ratings are sweet, sensual, spicy and carnal.

BOOK LENGTH:

Full Novel = 90,000 words and up; 360 pages and up (double-spaced)
Mid Novel = 61,000-89,000 words; 244-356 pages (double-spaced)
Category = 40,000-60,000 words; 160-240 pages (double-spaced)
Novella = 20,000-39,000 words; 80-156 pages (double-spaced)

There is a link to an author information page with links to each individual author. Those author pages have covers for all the author's books at NCP. Some have pictures and bio information. Clicking on the title under each cover takes you to the book. There is information about length, price, sensuality level, cover art, ISBN number, price and rating warnings. There is also another link which will take you back to the author's other works.

NCP does have an email newsletter and does seek submissions from authors. They have a Sizzling Sellers page. You can create an account which keeps you from having to enter your personal information before each purchase. Your customer number is automatically set by NCP so remember to write it down.

Their home page has The Hot Box with information about a yahoo readers group, the newsletter which lists sales and special pricing, and a list of nation and world wide (there's a listing for Australia) booksellers who carry NCP books. It also lists hot new print and ebook romances.

They have links to their FAQ page, NCP news, current staff , contact (email and snail mail). There is also a link
to cover art galleries. When you click on a particular cover, it will link to sales information.

-Navigation- by author, new releases, new from last month, sizzling sellers, special features, upcoming releases, category. I did not find a search function.
-Excerpts- Extensive.
-Reviews-some books have short excerpts from reviews. I did not see a place for reader reviews or grades.
-Series- the one series I know of wasn’t listed as such and no information was on the individual book pages.
-Wordcount – books are rated by range.
-Wishlist- I did not see a place to store information about books I might be interested in buying per se but any book added to your cart will stay there even if you exit out of the site.. However, you have to remove it before making your final purchases. I guess you could buy what you wanted and then go back and add books you’re thinking about.
-Formats-Adobe, Lit, HTML, RTF. The FAQ page mentions that cover art comes with the lit and newer adobe formats but not with HTML or RTF. Buyers selecting those formats will need to click on the cover on the excerpt page and save it to their file.
-Bookshelf-I did not see any place where information about past purchases is stored. Nor any way to redownload past purchases.
-Payments-Credit card, electronic check or paypal. After payment, you will be taken to a screen with purchase information which you can print.
-Downloads-dl links are delivered via email. The email is sent immediately after the purchse and contains a link which must be cut and pasted into your browser. You need to save the file.
-Confirmation-by email immediately after purchase.
-Prices- seem to be in line for epublishers. I’ve seen better and I’ve seen a lot worse.
Irks- when you click on the “buy” button you will be taken to another screen. There you have to click on an “add to cart” button (which is very small) in order to put the book in your cart. It’s easy to miss this step. There is no opportunity to redownload. I did once have to contact customer service about a book which only of which was included in the dl link. The response was prompt and a link for the entire book was resent. I’m not sure if you could contact NCP in the event that your file was ever lost and get another dl link so backup your files.

Overall, I would give this publisher a B- grade.

~Jayne

REVIEW: The Fallen Angels by Bernard Cornwell (aka Susannah Kells)

Jayne — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 10:00:04 +0000

Dear Mr. Cornwell,

Let me say that even though I give The Fallen Angels a B+, I doubt that many people will want to read this one once I’ve finished with this review. How’s that for a ringing endorsement?

It’s 1792 Paris and the full horror of the French Revolution has finally broken. In one week, over 1000 of the hated aristos have been butchered in the prisons and the streets flow with blood. Three Englishmen and a gypsy groom, Gitan, have arrived at a prison searching for the fiancee of one of them, Toby Lazender. They find what is left of her and as his groom gathers her remains, Gitan learns about the horrible way in which she died. He also learns that it was on the direct orders of a man named Bertrand Marchenior, a member of the dreaded Paris Security and a secret member of a group called the Illuminati, ones who are dedicated to republicanism and the removal of monarchies and organized religion. They are ruthless, they are determined and they recruit Gitan to their ranks to act as a spy when he returns to England with Toby. But Gitan is already a spy, working for Toby who works for the English and their monster of a spy-master, Lord Paunceley. Let me pause to be sure readers have got all that.

Toby sends word to his family in England via Gitan that he is staying in France to help further the rebellion against the Revolution and to avenge his fiancee. His sister, Campion, is less than thrilled to learn this as their father is slowly dying, there is no other brother and if Toby dies without issue, their depraved cousin Julius will inherit the Earldom. Lazen is a great house of England and the estates are among the richest in the land. And unknown to the Lazen family, all of it is now under secret siege by the Fallen Angels, a secret group within the Illuminati whose job is to provide funds for their society. They know the old Earl is
dying, that Toby is vulnerable in France and so focus on gaining control of Campion who has been running the estates for her father for years. They hatch an evil plan to render Campion unmarriagable which is thwarted at the last second by Lord Lewis Culloden. Knowing that the estates must be secured in the event that Toby doesn’t return from France, Campion’s father and her French Uncle Achilles (her mother’s brother) urge Campion to marry Lewis, a steady man who appears to love her, even if Campion has fallen under the spell of Gitan, a man she knows little of and who she also knows is totally unsuited by his station in life to aspire to her hand. Still with me here?

Campion has been raised to do her duty by her family and so yields to family pressure to accept Lewis’s proposal. But she can’t keep her thoughts from turning to Gitan and wondering if he might be the man with whom she could find love, even if these thoughts for a servant shame her. The wedding approaches and she tries to abandon all thoughts of love in marriage and steel herself to marry without love and for the good of the Lazen family and estates. But a magical midnight meeting with Gitan begins to reveal to her just what kind of a man he really is and how much he loves her as well. He tells her she is in danger but that he will return to protect her when needed. But Campion’s hand is forced when her father dies suddenly and knowing that she has no choice, the wedding to Lewis takes place.

It is then that the horrific plot against Campion and the estates is revealed to her as she learns that her brother has died in France, the disgusting cousin Julius, who is under the control of the Fallen Angels, has inherited the Earldom and that people she thought her friends are actually in league against her. Campion rises to the occasion, fights back against her oppressors and gains a temporary respite but knows that as long as the Fallen Angels are still alive, she will never be free of their evil designs. Realizing that she must act as the bait to draw them all together, she journeys with Gitan to their meeting place in France at her mother’s family’s old estates and the final showdown with evil begins.

If Raphael Sabatini had written his novels portraying the true evils of the times, he could have written this book. It is more adventure at first and the romance really doesn’t begin to show until the second half. It also accurately depicts the decadence of the upperclasses, the nightmare of the French Revolution gone wrong, and the way the aristocracy was raised to believe themselves
better than the serving classes. Campion is ashamed that she has any feelings at all for a mere groom and has to slowly learn that not only is Gitan worthy of her, but that she is worthy of him. She reacts to the unexpected danger in her life very believably; not as a TSTL feisty idiot but as woman who has never been threatened and who has to draw on her inner strength and learn from her experiences to overcome her enemies. Gitan is a bit more of a mystery and we really only learn about him as Campion does. He’s not perfect but he is strong enough to be gentle when the occasion demands and he’s revealed as a man taking a huge risk when he, a gypsy and a servant, dares to risk all for the love of a Lady. And, thank you God, he doesn’t suddenly turn out to be a long lost Lord at the end of the book. He and Campion will really have to face the disapproval of society.

Now for the warnings. Let me reemphasize that this is not a book for everyone. It has graphic depiction of violence, especially violence against women. Readers might get ticked off at Campion for her early attitude against Gitan and the romance doesn’t truly begin til about half way through the book. The Fallen Angels is also the sequel to another book called A Crowning Mercy. If you stick with it, this is a rousing, bang up action adventure that I recommend with a B+.

~Jayne

REVIEW: Sex with Your Ex by Dakota Cassidy

REVIEW: Strange Brews by Stobie Piel

Jayne — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 09:00:39 +0000

Dear Ms. Piel,

I’ve read a couple of your books before and always enjoyed them though sometimes some improbabilities marred my final grade. Therefore, I was really excited to see a 5 heart review for your first Woodland Mage book. My final thoughts are: not as good as the review but not as bad as I thought it might be when I started to read it.

The opening chapter doesn’t make me fall in love with either main character. Eliana appears to be a little dishonest and up to no good. Damir comes off as a bit smug and condescending. Apparently they’ve been that way for most of their lives. Then Eliana accidentally drinks the potion that wipes her memory clear and Damir’s reaction really didn’t thrill me. He decides to take his
revenge by taking her to his home and pretending she’s his wife. He keeps stating to himself that this is allowed by the laws of the country (for one mage to take revenge on another for past acts) but when he persists even after he realizes she has no memory and that she truly believes she’s his wife, it just seems icky. He ultimately decides not to go through with actual sexual intercourse but the whole idea that he was almost willing to take this revenge on someone who had no memory of anything she’d done to him in the past didn’t endear him to me. It really makes me rethink my views on the “innocent by reason of insanity” plea.

And for the next 100 pages, Eliana comes off as a Stepford wife. She’s sweet, loving, adores her “husband,” listens to everything he says and only wants to please him. She’s too bland and this section is, well in all honesty, a little boring. I wanted some spice and to see some of this famous bickering these two are known for. Luckily, Eliana finally realizes what’s happened to her
and that she’s the woman who the whole country has always thought was a witch (in behavior and not just job description). She still doesn’t have her memory back but she’s pissed that Damir tried what he did. But she also realizes that she still has feelings for Damir and knows she doesn’t want to go back to the relationship they had. He feels the same way and their fight to protect
their country from the evil that stalks it is mixed with their slowly working out their personal future. It’s this last 3/5 of the book that saves it for me.

I think that you’ve done a good job with the secondary characters and in building the Woodland world. You don’t go overboard there and describe it enough for it to be real without too much time spent on that. It’s enough for a romance/fantasy book. I like the open ended resolution. Evil has been defeated but only for the time and the story will be continued in Prince of Ice. B- for you.

~Jayne

REVIEW: Blunder Woman by Dakota Cassidy

REVIEW: Undead Men Wear Plaid By Marie Treanor

Jayne — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 09:38:35 +0000

Dear Mrs. Treanor,

After reading “The Other Sea,” I knew I wanted to read more by you. Keishon’s review of “Undead Men Wear Plaid” decided which one of your other stories to try next. I’m happy to say this book worked well for me.

Once again, your knowledge of Scotland (specifically Glasgow) adds depth and believability to the story. I wasn’t quite sure about this “Centre” for (apparently) paranormal studies and control for which the heroine works. But you did a great job with Karoly, the 500 year old Romanian vampire. He’s hot, he’s sexy as hell and I love him. I’d almost be willing to be lunch for him too.

I loved the humor of the story and have admitted in the past I’m a sucker for a well written first person book. In the two books of yours I’ve read, you’ve presented a totally different style for each. I can’t wait to see what your other books will be like. I do have to say that like Keishon, I found some editing errors (namely questions that should have had question marks instead of periods) but it wasn’t enough to totally pull me out of the story. B for you.

~Jayne

REVIEW: Sex with Your Ex by Dakota Cassidy

Jayne — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 10:00:36 +0000

Dear Ms Cassidy,

And now for something completely different. The other two books of yours I’ve read have been heavy on the paranormal and had more of a humorous feel to them. Though “Sex with Your Ex” has humor and a paranormal element, it’s mainly a marriage in trouble book. It’s also got such an emotional depth to it. Just as your heroine, Melina, does, readers will have to decide whether or not they can forgive a hero who’s committed the ultimate betrayal.

I thought you handled the payoff scene brilliantly. I mean, how many times have I wanted a wounded heroine to really let the hero have it with both barrels only to have her forgive and forget too quickly? Too damn many. And I love how Melina’s actions and feelings are a product of how she was raised. I appreciate that Brady knows he f*cked up, knows how much he hurt the woman he loves so much and is willing to work to save his marriage. Melina’s honesty with herself was refreshing too.

I have one niggle that keeps this from being an A grade and since it’s kind of a spoiler, I’ll cloak it in secrecy. After all the pain of Melina and Brady not being able to conceive and both of them coming to terms with that, you went and gave them the miracle “romance” baby. This just seems to negate everything they’d been through and frankly was unnecessary, IMO. Yes, it’s feel good but my grade would have been higher without it. B+ for you.

~Jayne

REVIEW: Tall, Dark and Dead by Tate Hallaway

Jayne — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 10:00:11 +0000

Dear Ms. Hallaway,

The cartoon cover, the back blurb and lots of the reviews/descriptions at Amazon would lead people to think this is a comedic Vamp Lit. Let me tell readers that it’s not. There are a few humorous jokes and situations but for the most part, you’ve made this book pretty serious.

Garnet Lacey is a witch on the run. The Vatican has a new witch hunting group and they murdered all the other members of Garnet’s Minneapolis coven. Now, she’s relocated to Madison, WI and is the manager of an occult store. When Sebastian Von Traum enters her store looking for mandrake (preferably harvested under a full moon by naked witches, oh and could you get some that was grown under a gallows?) she knows she’s in trouble because he’s gorgeous, he’s available and he’s dead. No aura, you see.

She’s also having to deal with Lilith, the original badass Goddess. Garnet channeled Lilith after walking in on the witch hunters standing over the corpses of her dead coven. Now she’s having trouble keeping Lilith from taking over her body and turning Madison into a slaughterhouse.

Soon Garnet is fighting for her life. The Vatican witch hunters want her dead but more than that, they want the secret formula Sebastian used to turn himself into a vampire 1000 years ago since it allows him to live in daylight and survive on less blood than most vampires. Can Garnet and Sebastian escape the hunters, control Lilith and hope for any kind of life together?

The vampires in this story aren’t cutesy or tortured by their need for blood. They aren’t angst ridden and haven’t discovered a way to totally avoid feeding off of humans. I like that you make them both good and bad. They are what they are and accept it. You also have them display the character traits they had as humans which I thought made them more well rounded characters.

Garnet is a witch and you’ve invested a lot of time to really make her one. She automatically says, “Oh, Goddess,” knows how to cast spells, has her alter set up and truly believes what she practices. Garnet does grow as a person as the story progresses but she has an annoying habit of being wishy-washy about vampires and I think trusts Sebastian very quickly for someone who’s gone through the horrors that she has.

I appreciate the time you’ve taken to make the story feel authentic. I don’t hang around occult stores or know much about astrology so I’m not sure how much of this is made up and how much is accurate. I also like that you don’t force an all around HEA. There are some plot lines that aren’t resolved in a group hug and the story is more open ended. I’m not sure if this means there’s a sequel in the works.

It took me a little while to mentally switch gears and stop looking for humor in this book. I think the descriptions and cover may lead some people to buy the book and end up disappointed while others who might want a more serious story could overlook it. B for you.

~Jayne

REVIEW: Sucks to be You by Sahara Kelly

Jayne — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 10:00:59 +0000

Dear Ms. Kelly,

What a great title! I had gotten this book last year just because of it and my review of Changeling Press made me want to pull it out, or rather pull it up on the computer, and finally read it. I’m so glad I did.

Toni and her best friend Mercedes are having a girls’ night complete with pink coconut sponge cakes, mead, a Ouija board, a scrying bowl and an incantation. It’s when they’re trashed off their asses that Drago shows up, summoned across time and space. Toni thinks he’s a figment of her wishful imagination and she’s happy to find that her made up dream guy is one hell of a f*ck. Except at the end, when the orgasms are flying, the asshole bites her!

The next morning, Toni’s shocked to learn that her figment is real (and still damn good looking), Drago is shocked to learn he’s not in Transylvania any more and that Toni remembers him biting her (that’s not supposed to happen!), and Mercedes is presented with something for her scientific mind to figure out. Who is this guy or more importantly, what is he?

Since this is such a short piece, you don’t have much time for in depth character development but I still feel like you showed enough for me to feel comfortable with these three characters. You did have to resort to a sort of “fated mates” thing to explain the instant love but the story’s fun enough that I’m willing to go with that. I enjoy the biting humor (sorry, no pun intended) and the neat way you ease Drago into his new life (who knew pot could do that?).

People looking for a short, fun and funny vampire TT will want to check this one out. B for you.

~Jayne

REVIEW: Blunder Woman by Dakota Cassidy

Jayne — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 09:30:26 +0000

Dear Ms. Cassidy,

I needed to pick a Changeling Press book for my epublisher review and yours caught my eye. I’m still not quite sure about the cover art (what happened to the heroine’s head?) but the book is great fun. Kind of “The Incredibles” crossed with a romance book.

Kennedy Smith isn’t quite sure what to make of this guy who’s telling her she’s some long distant relative of an Egyptian goddess and that she’s been picked to join OOMPH. The Organization of Magnificent Paranormal Heroes needs her as a positive spin-meister type, kinda person. They’ll supply her with neat magical things that will give her super hero-ish powers after she trains her butt off (really, she does loose come cellulite but no, her ta-ta’s don’t get any bigger) plus a costume. Well, the costume kind of sucks but she gets great boots! The problem? Her trainer, Captain Daring, is the real deal. A born superhero who resents this super heroine wannabe. But he’s got great eyes and is great in bed. And great in the front seat of Kennedy’s Pacer. But when the chips are down, can Kennedy come through in the clutch or will the forces of evil triumph?

Wow, hot sex, fun characters and a plot! Like I said, this one is a treat to read. I like that you let Kennedy use her talents to save the day. I love the humor but also that you reel it in before it gets too sarcastic. The sex scenes are hawt without getting too silly, purple or clinical. Good job. But is there really enough room in a Pacer for those acrobatics? ;)
B for you.

~Jayne