New-York

REVIEW:  Moonset by Scott Tracey

REVIEW: Moonset by Scott Tracey

Dear Mr. Tracey, I have a soft spot for witches. It stems from my traditional fantasy reader background. After all, a witch is often the urban fantasy equivalent of a mage. Though I’d heard lots of buzz about your debut, Witch Eyes, I haven’t had the chance to pick it up. When I heard the(…)

REVIEW:  Hip Check by Dierdre Martin

REVIEW: Hip Check by Dierdre Martin

Dear Ms. Martin: We are back with hockey! Yay! I wasn’t a fan of our walkabout to the tavern and then to Ireland and I really didn’t like the playboy hero of Breakaway. The male protagonist, Esa Saari, is a long time member of the NY Blades. Esa is from Finland and has been enjoying(…)

REVIEW:  Overseas by Beatriz Williams

REVIEW: Overseas by Beatriz Williams

Dear Ms. Williams: I read this book for one reason only. Lydia H, your publicist at Putnam, said I would love it. Lydia H, though, is not a romance reader (but we do share a love for the PJ Tracy series, Monkeewrench) and I’m always a bit leery of non romance reader recommendations. Plus, this(…)

REVIEW:  That New York Minute by Abby Gaines

REVIEW: That New York Minute by Abby Gaines

Dear Ms. Gaines: The book has a very original opening. Rachel Frye is trying to convince her stick in the mud boyfriend not to break up with her. The breakup is bringing out her least favorite trait, shrillness, and is being done in front of her biggest rival, Garret Calder. Garrett is a fellow creative(…)

REVIEW: Trouble at the Wedding by Laura Lee Guhrke

REVIEW: Trouble at the Wedding by Laura Lee Guhrke

Dear Ms. Guhrke: In a way I wish I had read Trouble at the Wedding before the first two books in the Abandoned at the Altar series. The Edwardian setting, pairing of the bourgeois heroine from the American South and the titled but impoverished English duke, and mixed cocktail of the marriage for money and(…)

REVIEW: Busted in Bollywood by Nicola Marsh

REVIEW: Busted in Bollywood by Nicola Marsh

Dear Ms. Marsh, I am always on the lookout for India-set and India-related historical and contemporary romances, so when I saw your new contemporary was forthcoming from Entangled Publishing, I was intrigued. You’ve written a number of well-received category romances at Harlequin, so although Entangled is a new press, you are a proven author. But(…)

Friday Film Review: Everyone Says I Love You

Friday Film Review: Everyone Says I Love You

Everyone Says I Love You (1996) Genre: Musical comedy Grade: B Is there a genre of movie that Woody Allen hasn’t tried? Since I’m not his biggest fan, I can’t say for sure but he certainly has turned his hand to most of them by this time. “Everyone Says I Love You” is another one(…)

REVIEW: Hot Under Pressure by Kathleen O’Reilly

Dear Ms. O’Reilly, I love what you do with your heroes and heroines. They’re not always totally believable (I mean, stranger sex in a stretch Hummer?) but I like these people. I’d like to have dinner with them on a couples night out and just sit and talk for hours. I feel that comfortable with(…)

REVIEW: In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

Dear Ms. Spencer-Fleming, My friend Keishon has been telling me for years to read this book. She’s a huge fan of your series featuring Episcopalian priest Clare Fergusson and police chief Russ Van Alstyne. Now that I’ve read In the Bleak Midwinter, the first book in the series, I can see why. The mystery at(…)

REVIEW: Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot

Dear Ms. Cabot: This is the third in the Queen of Babble series featuring Lizzie Nichols, a wedding dress restorer and designer. I’ve read the first one but not the second (I have no explanation for not reading the second). The book begins with Lizzie confused about an encounter with her good friend, Chaz, and(…)

REVIEW: I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

Dear Ms. Spencer-Fleming As I blogged a couple of days ago, this series has been a long time favorite of friend and fellow reader, Keishon. I trust Keishon’s judgment quite a bit. She’s led me to read some wonderful mystery authors. However, I long held back from reading this series because of the relationship dynamic(…)

Amazon Sues New York for the Sales Tax

I hate online sales tax so I am totally biased against New York’s decision to start charging online retailers to collect state tax. Amazon has decided to challenge this in court arguing that the State of New York lacks jurisdiction to collect sales tax from Amazon on the basis that because of its lack of(…)

REVIEW: Shaken and Stirred by Kathleen O’Reilly

Dear Ms. O’Reilly, As with the first book of your last trilogy, this one is a winner for me. Straight from the beginning and all the way through. I enjoyed all the characters in this book, the plot, the setting…in fact everything. At first I was a little leery about the setting. I mean, an(…)

REVIEW:  Along for the Ride by Michelle M Pillow

REVIEW: Along for the Ride by Michelle M Pillow

Dear Ms Pillow, I’d seen your name while browsing through ebook sites but since most of the books appeared to be paranormals I usually kept right on scrolling. Then Jane sent me a batch of arcs and review books and I saw one was yours. “Oh,” I thought, “I wonder why Jane sent me a(…)

REVIEW: Billionaire Next Door by Jessica Bird

Dear Ms. Bird: One thing that seems a lost art in the new crop of romances is its failure to focus on the development of the actual relationship. Romance, at its best, is character driven with the central plot being the intersecting of two individuals to mesh into one stronger, better unit. A great category(…)