Feb 26 2013
Dear Ms. Higgans: When I was growing up, I always got these annoying reports cards that said “Dabney could try harder.” Well, Ms Higgans, so can you. The Best Man isn’t an awful book–in fact I had fun reading it.But this novel has far too many pitfalls. It’s condescending to gays, full of unbelievable emotional(…)
Feb 11 2013
Dear Ms. Lohmann: (Dabney’s disclaimer: I know Jennifer and occasionally attend a book club she runs.) I’d wanted to read this book for quite some time. Jennifer Lohmann entered Harlequin’s “So You Think You Can Write” contest in 2011 and was offered a contract. I’d met Jennifer earlier in that year when I interviewed her(…)
Jan 11 2013
Dear Ms. Florand: I have been eagerly awaiting the next installment in your Chocolate series, and I’m delighted to say that it was worth the wait. You are writing my favorite type of series: all the books are set in the same world, but while the characters from past books make an appearance, they don’t(…)
Jan 9 2013
Dear Ms. Essex: I’m always looking for books with unusual settings, and as soon as I saw the cover and title of your book at Harlequin, I put it into my cart. Back to the Good Fortune Diner is aptly named: Tiffany Cheung escaped Everville, New York and her parents’ Chinese restaurant for New York(…)
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 19 2012
Dear Ms. Burns: I enjoyed your Harlequin Blaze release Relentless Seduction. It’s got just the right blend of humor, sex, mystery, and faux vampires. I picked it up and didn’t put it down until I gotten to the last page. Claire Brooks has coke-bottle glasses, frizzy brown hair, no sense of style, a PhD in(…)
Dec 12 2012
My top ten favorite books published in 2012, ranked (that part was haaaard) and described: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore Review by me. This intricately plotted YA fantasy about a young queen’s heroic determination to uncover buried truths about her father and nation was an almost flawless read. Beloved characters from Graceling return and new ones(…)
Dec 9 2012
When Jane asked for lists of our “Best of 2012,” I got stuck on what best meant. Did it mean the best in terms of quality? The best in terms of most enjoyable? The best in terms of standouts? Did books I called best this year have to be as good as books I called(…)
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.(…)
Nov 30 2012
Dear Ms. Fox: I was interested to read Body Heat–I enjoyed your book, Love, Unexpectedly. Love, Unexpectedly had heat, heart, and smarts. Body Heat, not so much. The book’s heroine, Maura Mahoney, is about to turn thirty and her life is marginally more exciting than watching paint dry. Maura, like so many pitiable leads in romance, was orphaned at(…)
Nov 22 2012
Dear Ms. Lynn: A sports romance! A sexy sports romance! This is my kind of book. Chad Gamble is an all star pitcher for the Nationals whose contract is up. Chad takes full advantage of his star power, cavorting with models, actresses and all manner of female flesh. his antics, however, are not impressing management. (…)
Nov 11 2012
Dear Ms. Frank: I picked up your book on Amazon because I was interested by the cover (which has absolutely *nothing* to do with the actual plot of the book). Dr. Magdalena O’Donnell is grieving. She was driving the car that her 18 year old sister Carly was riding in when she died. Lena is(…)
Nov 3 2012
Warning: The following review contains profanities, graphic language, sexual situations, and rape references. Dear Madeline Sheehan: I read this book in part because of chatter on an online forum. One of the readers said it was a love child of Sons of Anarchy and Kristen Ashley. She was not wrong. In fact, I would go(…)
Nov 1 2012
Dear Ms. Mayberry: Immediately after reading your latest, Suddenly You, I knew exactly what my review of it should say: “Yet another well-done book by Ms. Mayberry with appealing characters and a sweet love story.” However, DA readers expect a bit more. And while their time would be better spent reading your prose than mine, here(…)
Oct 1 2012
Dear Ms. Taylor, Cute cover, crappy book. Finally Home must be what Carina calls “sweet” and, in this case, that means–among other things–no sex. More’s the pity. It’s not I must have sex in my romances–although, in general, that’s my preference. It’s, if there isn’t sex, there’d better be something else compelling in the book:(…)
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