children

REVIEW:  Must Like Kids by Jackie Braun

REVIEW: Must Like Kids by Jackie Braun

“Children have a place and it’s anywhere I’m not!” It was one off-the-cuff remark. But when it goes viral, Alec McAvoy is labeled the playboy CEO of Best for Baby–who hates kids! Enter Julia Stillwell, image consultant extraordinaire. The widowed mom of two has a knack for changing public opinion, and she’ll teach Alec all(…)

Dear Author Book Club – January 2013 – One Small Thing by Piper Vaughn , M.J. O’Shea

Dear Author Book Club – January 2013 – One Small Thing by Piper Vaughn , M.J. O’Shea

This is the first book in our 2013 Book Club. I selected the book because I thought it was an m/m romance that even non m/m readers might find enjoyable. It had interesting discussion points about unexpected parenthood, social anxieties, and opposites attract. Moreover, I thought it was a good book. I asked the authors(…)

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: Daddy, Daddy, and Me by Sean Michael

REVIEW: Daddy, Daddy, and Me by Sean Michael

Dear Sean. I like your voice. I really do. After all, it’s why I keep trying your books. I’ve even enjoyed some of your Hammer Club series (Kinky Klub of Kinkiness, ahoy! in which Sarah learns about sexual sounding. O.O ). I just wish you believed in plot a little more strongly. I think I’ve(…)

REVIEW: Not Knowing Jack by K.A. Mitchell

REVIEW: Not Knowing Jack by K.A. Mitchell

Dear Ms. Mitchell. This was not the book I was expecting. At all. Which doesn’t make it bad, at all. It just…threw me a curve ball pretty early on (not that I have any idea what that metaphor actually means) and just kept them coming. That said, I adored it. I adored Tony. I adored(…)

REVIEW: Calling the Shots by Ellen Hartman

REVIEW: Calling the Shots by Ellen Hartman

Dear Ms. Hartman: I’ve really loved some of your past Superromances particularly because I think you do such a great job of creating authentic, believable people in your stories. While the prose was still strong, I felt that the pacing was a bit slow, the ending was a bit too dramatic and the characters weren’t(…)

REVIEW:  The Rustler by Linda Lael Miller

REVIEW: The Rustler by Linda Lael Miller

Dear Ms. Miller: I confess that the last book I read of yours was Never Look Back published in 2004. I really liked that book (the heroine sounded like a real lawyer) but for some reason, I never read the two sequels. I think it had something to do with the fact that between 2004(…)

REVIEW: Sweet Talk by Susan Mallery

Dear Ms. Mallery: July, August, and September sees the release of your Keys’ Bakery sisters series. The series begins with Claire, a piano virtuoso. Claire has been estranged from her family since, well, almost forever. When she was 3 years old, she walked up to a piano and started playing and her life changed forever.(…)

GUEST REVIEW: Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer

I am having a horrible time writing this review. There’s nothing I can criticize about this book. Not one single thing. How can you write a balanced review when there’s nothing weak or flawed there to balance all the good? So I’m giving up-’this is not a balanced review, I’m going to gush and praise(…)

Harry Potter and the Magic Reading Wand

Harry Potter and the Magic Reading Wand

You probably couldn’t miss the business reports of the Harry Potter sales that dominated headlines yesterday. The first run printing was 12 million copies and a reported 8.3 million sold in the first 24 hours according to figures in USA Today. When I look at the Potter mania, partly induced by the media, partly induced(…)

Today is Drop Everything and Read Day; Recommendations for the Tot Reader

Today is Drop Everything and Read Day. Set on the birthday of Beverly Clearly, D.E.A.R., this day is designed to remind families of the importance of reading together on a daily basis. According to some studies, children who read are less likely to do drugs, end up in prison or drop out of school. Some(…)

REVIEW: Lord Perfect by Loretta Chase

Dear Ms. Chase, I haven't always gushed over your books. Captives of the Night failed to captivate me, and it was a struggle for me to finish The Lion's Daughter. I even admit that although I enjoyed Lord of Scoundrels, I've also puzzled over the fact that so many readers consider it the very best(…)

REVIEW: The Seventh Unicorn by Kelly Jones

Dear Ms. Kelly, As an art lover, I have to tell you that your book is a delight. A delight with some problems as a true romance book but perhaps you intended it to be more of fiction with a romance element. I like the way you parallel your idea of the creation of the(…)

REVIEW:  Don’t Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

REVIEW: Don’t Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Dear Ms. Crusie: I have been following your books since the publication of Getting Rid of Bradley. I have pretty much loved all of them except for Strange Bedpersons. But even you acknowledged that story didn’t quite work out as well as you had hoped. My favorite contemporary list includes Welcome to Temptation. I have(…)