Mar 14 2013
Dear Ms. Thurman, It’s rare that a long-running series can hold my attention. Very few authors have successfully have kept my engagement levels high over extended periods of time. (And one of them I freely admit is done so with no small amount of resentment — George R. R. Martin, I’m looking at you.) Usually(…)
Mar 6 2013
Dear Ms. Benway, I’m very fond of novels about teenage spies and grifters. But while I get a steady grifter fix from series like Holly Black’s Curseworker trilogy or Ally Carter’s Heist Society series, there’s a definite lack of YA spies. So when your novel appeared on my radar, I snapped it up. Maggie Silver(…)
Feb 20 2013
Dear Ms. St. George, Years ago, after reading the DIK review for “A Century of American Romance” at AAR, I tracked down all twelve of the OOP books and read half of them. I can’t recall why I didn’t continue considering how good I thought those six were but, there you have it. Reading a(…)
Feb 19 2013
Dear Gabriella Pierce: I will never fully understand how anyone could claim the short-lived ABC TV series, 666 Park Avenue, was based on this series. They have completely different premises. The TV show was about an apartment building that granted your desires — but for a price. The book series is about a young woman(…)
Feb 6 2013
Dear Ms. Chen: I’m a huge fan of your previous novels. I loved Girl Overboard and I adored the prose and language in North of Beautiful. It’s been a couple years since you last published a novel, and I definitely felt that lack — particularly since I think contemporary YA has come into its own(…)
Dec 2 2012
Dear Ms. Sumners: Grace Barnum’s life is precariously balanced on sensible choices and uncomfortable compromise. She dutifully edits textbooks that, she fears, may be more harmful than helpful to kids. She is engaged to a patent attorney who is steady and reliable. She has a cautious relationship with her fascinating father, a renowned New(…)
Nov 19 2012
“Bronte Talbott follows all of the exploits of the British royals. After all, they’re the world’s most preeminent dysfunctional family. And who is she to judge? Bronte’s own search for love isn’t going all that well, especially after her smooth-talking Texan boyfriend abruptly leaves her in the dust. Bronte keeps a lookout for a rebound(…)
Sep 26 2012
Dear Ms. Cox, The title of your novel caught my eye right away. It’s catchy and I admit the idea of an afterlife detective agency was interesting. The reality, however, was a bit more cute than I think I was expecting. Charlotte is just your average NYC private high school student. She was just minding(…)
Aug 17 2012
Little Manhattan (2005) Genre: Coming of Age Romance/Comedy Grade: B I’ll be honest and say I took a chance on this one. I didn’t recognize any of the actors or the director and frankly given the subject matter, it could have turned out to be a disaster. But “Little Manhattan” ended up sneaking under my(…)
Jun 9 2012
From the words of E: I am recommending this book because Set in the Cosa Nostradamus world HARD MAGIC is book one of the Paranormal Scene Investigations series. It introduces a group of mostly 20-somethings currently who are all very determined, have their own particular skills involving the use of Current (magic), and are invited(…)
May 7 2012
Dear Ms. McMurray. I picked up your book because of a recommendation by someone whose taste I trust and because I liked the excerpt. The story was cute, but the flaws outweighed the cuteness for me. This is a book about Being a Gay Athlete. This was NOT a romance. Oh, it had a love(…)
Apr 25 2012
Dear Ms. Fredericks, I was in the mood for something different when I ran across your novel. A reader can take only so many paranormal and dystopian YAs before she loses it. A YA mystery/thriller sounded right up my alley. Your novel delivered what I needed, along with something more. Rain was once best friends(…)
Apr 11 2012
Dear Ms. Allen, This review is long overdue. I loved this book when I read it last year, so much that I put it on my Best of 2011 list. But I didn’t get the review written in proper time, and then the Dreamspinner Press debacle happened and Sarah and I stopped reviewing DSP’s(…)
Feb 9 2012
Dear Ms. Haimowitz. I’ve been remiss in not reviewing these books. I recommended them in November, but then the end of the semester and the holidays and then the beginning of the semester and and and…caught up with me. But I’ve been dipping into them again and again through the last few months when I needed(…)
Jan 13 2012
Definitely, Maybe (2008) Genre: Romantic Dramedy Grade: B Definitely, Maybe is another film Netflix kept urging on me and I kept resisting. The star ranking was only slightly above an average of 3 and the description didn’t grab me. I like a HEA in a movie that looks to have romance in it and with(…)
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