Paranormal

REVIEW:  Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

REVIEW: Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

Dear Ms. Kemmerer: Sarah Wendell told me about your book when it was chosen for the Smart Bitches Sizzlin’ Book Club. I admit some trepidation because I am not a huge fan of YA and the YA I do read is ordinarily straight contemporary. Storm is book 1 in the Elemental series. I felt like(…)

REVIEW:  Hearts of Darkness by Kira Brady

REVIEW: Hearts of Darkness by Kira Brady

Dear Ms. Brady: I picked this book up randomly from my pile of paper ARCs. I had no preconception of the story. The ARC had a plain blue paper cover and while it may have had a cover flat attached to it at one time, it was nowhere to be found when I began reading.(…)

REVIEW:  Embrace the Dark by Caris Roane

REVIEW: Embrace the Dark by Caris Roane

Dear Ms. Roane: I am a big fan of the Guardians of Ascension series and I was excited to see another volume from you despite it being in a different world. Unfortunately, the quality of the writing in this self published novella (or published with the help of an agency) is just not as strong(…)

REVIEW:  Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost

REVIEW: Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost

Dear Ms. Frost: I haven’t read you in a quite a while but many readers, including those in my “trust” circle thought this was a great story. Given that it was the start of a new series, I felt like I could safely enter the world without being too confused. I was able to rustle(…)

RITA Best First Book 2012 Interviews: Paranormals

RITA Best First Book 2012 Interviews: Paranormals

Romance Writers of America honors authors through the RITAs, awarded each year in a number of categories, including Best First Book. Once again, I’m pleased to host those nominees here at Dear Author. Each of the three installments in this series will feature a different sub-genre. The books you’ll see today finaled in a second(…)

REVIEW:  The Darkest Day by Britt Bury

REVIEW: The Darkest Day by Britt Bury

Dear Ms. Bury In paranormals, I feel like it is go big or go home and thus the book's success relies, in part, on the reader's willingness to buy into the setup and hang her disbelief on the hook of the front page. The Darkest Day felt like a romp to me. A crazy, sometimes(…)

REVIEW:  Liquid Lies by Hanna Martine

REVIEW: Liquid Lies by Hanna Martine

Dear Ms. Martine: The thing I appreciated the most about this book was that it was different. The world building presented a somewhat unique twist. Gwen Carroway is part of a massive corporation known as the Company. They sell a special concoction called Mendacia that works like a glamour, fooling the human eye into believing(…)

REVIEW:  The Demon You Know by Julie Kenner

REVIEW: The Demon You Know by Julie Kenner

Dear Ms. Kenner, When I got your recent email newsletter, I was so happy to see that there’s going to be a new book in the Kate Connor “Demon Hunting Soccer Mom” series. And to whet my appetite and get me back into this world, you also have a short novella – now available on(…)

REVIEW:  Dog Days by Elsa Watson

REVIEW: Dog Days by Elsa Watson

Dear Ms. Watson, Fantasy and paranormal books aren’t usually my thing but after reading another good one earlier this month, I decided that since I was on a (mini) roll, I’d try yours as well. I don’t think a reader has to be a dog lover to enjoy “Dog Days” but it doesn’t hurt given(…)

REVIEW:  The Girl with the Cat Tattoo by Theresa Weir

REVIEW: The Girl with the Cat Tattoo by Theresa Weir

Dear Ms. Weir, When Jane forwarded your email offering this novella to the DA reviewer loop, I will fess up to thinking, “this could be cute/great or it could be a bomb.” Sunita stepped right up and said she would read it, or anything else you had on offer, so I took the coward’s path(…)

REVIEW:  Chaos Burning by Lauren Dane

REVIEW: Chaos Burning by Lauren Dane

Dear Ms. Dane, I have long been a fan of your books, in particular your contemporary voice, which I find works for me on a variety of levels. I read Heart of Darkness, the first of your Bound by Magick series, last year and found that the world building was solid and inventive, and introduced(…)

REVIEW:  Embrace of the Damned by Anya Bast

REVIEW: Embrace of the Damned by Anya Bast

Dear Ms. Bast, I have long been a fan of your books, particularly your Elemental Witches series. I find that your voice lends itself well to building paranormal worlds, and I’ve always appreciated your ability to build a fascinating mythology while never losing sight of the main couple’s romance. Which is why I was disconcerted(…)

REVIEW:  Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman   by JB Lynn

REVIEW: Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman by JB Lynn

Dear Ms. Lynn, Honestly, if someone told me a week ago that I’d be reading a book about a woman with a crappy life who survived a car wreck with only a concussion that now lets her communicate with a pet lizard and that in order to pay the astronomical medical bills pilling up to(…)

Recommended Reads Saturday: Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

Recommended Reads Saturday: Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

The following is an excerpt from Dragon Bound posted with the approval of Thea Harrison When he discovered the theft, Dragos Cuelebre exploded into the sky with long thrusts from a wingspan approaching that of an eight-seater Cessna jet. Modern life had gotten complicated. His usual habit was to focus Power on averting aircraft when(…)

REVIEW:  Kamikaze by Moira Rogers

REVIEW: Kamikaze by Moira Rogers

Dear Ms. Rogers, I saw Kamikaze listed as a free book and an introduction to your new self-published series, Last Call. The cover seemed eye-catching enough and the blurb promised smoking hot action. Sounds good to me. This read did exactly what it promised – it was short and physical. Unfortunately I struggled to connect(…)