m/m romance

REVIEW:  The Au Pair Affair by Bonnie Dee

REVIEW: The Au Pair Affair by Bonnie Dee

Dear Ms. Dee, I enjoyed your book New Life and the premise of this book intrigued me so I volunteered to review it. Unfortunately, The Au Pair Affair did not have the easy flow or the charm of the earlier book. Hollywood producer Dan Krefman and his ex-wife, actress Crissi Jondalar have two children (Cara,(…)

Gender, power, and m/m romance

[NOTE: I originally posted a shorter version of this post a while back at my now-defunct personal blog. Robin's post on gender and power raised the question of how these issues play out in m/m, so it seemed worth bringing it to Dear Author for discussion.]   If I hear one more time that readers(…)

REVIEW:  Never A Hero by Marie Sexton

REVIEW: Never A Hero by Marie Sexton

Dear Ms. Sexton: When Sarah Frantz stopped reviewing for Dear Author and took a new position as editor at Riptide Publishing (where she is now Acquisitions Editor), we instituted a one-year moratorium on reviewing books from Riptide. The moratorium ended earlier this month, and a Tucker Springs book seemed like a great way to reacquaint(…)

REVIEW:  Want Me by Rowan McBride

REVIEW: Want Me by Rowan McBride

Blurb: Joel Beckett is blessed. He’s popular with the ladies, a star on the football field, and worshiped by everyone on campus. Including Walker Cain. Only Walker’s worship has crossed the line, driving him to invoke ancient magic that binds them together in an inescapable downward spiral. Now reality is shifting, and with each new(…)

REVIEW:  Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

REVIEW: Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Dear DA friends: Many moons ago, Dear Author posted a debut author interview for Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles. That didn’t intrigue me as much as Booksmuggler’s adoration for the book (word of mouth and hand-selling, right?). That got me intrigued enough to use one of my monthly Audible credits to buy the audiobook. So(…)

REVIEW:  The Definitive Albert J. Sterne by Julie Bozza

REVIEW: The Definitive Albert J. Sterne by Julie Bozza

Blurb: Albert Sterne, forensics expert with the FBI, is so obnoxious on the surface that no-one bothers digging deeper. When he’s sent to Colorado to investigate what turns out to be the work of a serial killer he encounters Special Agent Fletcher Ash and they end up reluctantly joining forces to unravel the case. It’s(…)

REVIEW:  Captive Prince, Volumes 1 and 2, by S.U. Pacat

REVIEW: Captive Prince, Volumes 1 and 2, by S.U. Pacat

Dear Ms. Pacat, I thought about reviewing the two volumes of Captive Prince separately, but came to the conclusion that since they are two parts of the same story and absolutely must be read in order, this made no sense. I understand that there will be a third volume out in 2014, and I will(…)

GUEST REVIEW: Cold Front by Ann Somerville

GUEST REVIEW: Cold Front by Ann Somerville

Warning – there is a long and horrible torture scene. I was not able to re-read it when I was re-reading the book in preparation for this review. However, I thought it was an integral part of the story, not gratuitous in any way, but beware if it upsets you. First, a disclaimer for readers:(…)

REVIEW:  Conduct Unbecoming by L.A. Witt

REVIEW: Conduct Unbecoming by L.A. Witt

Dear Ms. Witt, You’ve been reviewed at DA a lot but never by me so when I saw you had a new book out, I grabbed the chance to check out your writing. DADT is history now so what else is there to keep two men in love apart when they’re both in the military?(…)

M/M Lightning Reviews

M/M Lightning Reviews

I read a handful of m/m ARCs over the past month, with varying levels of success. I either DNF’d them or didn’t have enough to say to warrant a full-blown review, so I decided a lightning-review post fit the bill. In no particular order: But My Boyfriend Is by K.A. Mitchell Mitchell is an auto-buy,(…)

REVIEW:  Rock and a Hard Place by Jane Davitt,Alexa Snow

REVIEW: Rock and a Hard Place by Jane Davitt,Alexa Snow

Dear Ms. Davitt and Ms. Snow, I enjoy your contemporary romance collaborations and was interested to see how you would approach an enemies-to-lovers story, especially one with the added twist of an unexpected deserted island interlude. While the romance didn’t entirely convince me, I found the cast of characters were fun to spend a few(…)

REVIEW:  Hawaiian Gothic by Heidi Belleau,Violetta Vane

REVIEW: Hawaiian Gothic by Heidi Belleau,Violetta Vane

Dear Ms. Belleau and Ms. Vane, I really enjoyed the free short story of yours I read and have been on the lookout for your other work. Hawaiian Gothic sounded like something up my alley, even with a ghost angle: an m/m with multicultural characters set in Hawaii with a mystery twist and a gothic(…)

REVIEW:  His Heart’s Obsession by Alex Beecroft

REVIEW: His Heart’s Obsession by Alex Beecroft

“Kingston, Jamaica, 1752 Robert Hughes, a lieutenant–and rogue–in the British Royal Navy, is in love with his gorgeous fellow officer, Hal Morgan. Hal only has eyes for their captain–a man who’ll never share their inclinations. Night after night aboard the Swiftsure, it kills Robert to listen to Hal’s erotic dreams of a man he can’t(…)

REVIEW:  Scrap Metal by Harper Fox

REVIEW: Scrap Metal by Harper Fox

Dear Ms. Fox, I’ve read and recommended several of your books in the past. They feature more angst than I usually like, but the settings are so compelling and the writing is so textured that I wind up enjoying them a great deal. When SarahF recommended your latest release, set on the Scottish island of(…)

REVIEW:  The Saturnalia Effect by Heidi Belleau,Violetta Vane

REVIEW: The Saturnalia Effect by Heidi Belleau,Violetta Vane

Dear Ms. Belleau and Ms. Vane. I found this story by clickingclickingclicking through the various posted responses to our post about M/M romance and Fan Fiction. Heidi gives good blog and then I was intrigued, as I always am with prison stories, by the short she wrote with Violetta Vane. This story is fabulous, I’m(…)