Recommended Reads

REVIEW:  River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay

REVIEW: River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay

Dear Mr. Kay, I’ve been a fan of your books since I read The Lions of al-Rassan and lamented the fact that it was a standalone. While I haven’t read every GGK book published, I’ve read enough to know that they are part of an impressive and imaginative body of work. When I learned that(…)

DUELING REVIEWS:  Untamed by Anna Cowan

DUELING REVIEWS: Untamed by Anna Cowan

Dear Ms.Cowan, Your historical romance debut, Untamed, centers on Kit Sutherland, child of a fortune hunter and an earl’s daughter. Brought up in a shabby country manor, Kit lacks the manners of a well-born young lady. By contrast, Lydia, Kit’s younger sister, is poised, beautiful, and has made a successful entry into society thanks in(…)

Dear Author May 2013 Recommended Reads

Dear Author May 2013 Recommended Reads

This month we are weighing heavily on the contemporary side of the romance genre with a few categories and full length novels.  We are trying to add more paranormal and historical reviewers so as to provide good balance to the review selection here at DA. An Invitation to Sin by Sarah Morgan, recommended by Sunita(…)

REVIEW:  A Prior Engagement by Karina Bliss

REVIEW: A Prior Engagement by Karina Bliss

Dear Ms. Bliss: This was such an interesting plotline.  Juliet Browne has been playing the mournful fiancee to presumed dead SAS soldier Lee Davis.  But Davis comes back to life and confronts Browne because not only is she not his fiancee, she turned him down when he asked her.  And now she is living in(…)

REVIEW: Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

REVIEW: Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

Dear Ms. Harris: Now that I read so much in digital, I don’t pay as much attention to book covers as I used to. But the cover for Dead Ever After says so much about the book itself, that I’m tempted to tell people who wonder how the series ends to take their cues from(…)

REVIEW:  Down London Road by Samantha Young

REVIEW: Down London Road by Samantha Young

Dear Ms. Young: Last year’s On Dublin Street was one of my Top 10 picks of 2012, so I was most eager to read Down London Road. I’m delighted to say that I enjoyed it as much as I did On Dublin Street. Johanna Walker is a young, smart woman who has been handed a(…)

REVIEW:  The Seduction Hypothesis by Delphine Dryden

REVIEW: The Seduction Hypothesis by Delphine Dryden

Dear Ms. Dryden: The Seduction Hypothesis is the sweetest book I’ve ever read involving stainless steel butt plugs and a spreader bar with a set of neoprene ankle cuffs. The hero Ben is just adorable. A few months ago he stupidly broke up with his now ex-girlfriend Lindsay because he’d panicked, an act he’s regretted since(…)

April Book Club Pick: Love Irresistibly by Julie James

April Book Club Pick: Love Irresistibly by Julie James

Today we are hosting the April Dear Author Book Club pick: Love Irresistibly by Julie James.  If you haven’t read Jayne’s A- review, take a gander here.  The following is a Q&A with the author to prime our discussion pump.  If you haven’t bought the book, you can find it at most bookstores or via these(…)

REVIEW:  Love Irresistibly by Julie James

REVIEW: Love Irresistibly by Julie James

  He’s used to getting what he wants A former football star and one of Chicago’s top prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cade Morgan will do anything to nail a corrupt state senator, which means he needs Brooke Parker’s help. As general counsel for a restaurant company, she can get a bug to the senator’s table(…)

REVIEW:  Escorted by Claire Kent

REVIEW: Escorted by Claire Kent

Dear Ms. Kent: I’m not sure where I received the recommendation for your book but I do remember I picked it up because it was free. Ordinarily the premise – male prostitute – wouldn’t appeal to me but from the opening scene I was hooked. The heroine, Lori Addison, is a virgin and she’s having(…)

REVIEW:  Real by Katy Evans

REVIEW: Real by Katy Evans

Dear Ms. Evans: When Jane contacted me and said that there was a new book coming out with an underground fighter hero, I immediately requested the book. I love fighters, and the high stakes physicality of them. Your new book, Real, features Remington Tate, a disgraced boxer, who now is fighting on the Underground circuit,(…)

REVIEW:  After Hours by Cara McKenna

REVIEW: After Hours by Cara McKenna

Dear Ms. McKenna: After Hours is a gritty romance. It’s set in the economic wreck that is much of the state of Michigan. The protagonists work a “high security ward designed specifically for men who suffered from persistent, disruptive psychotic episodes.” The story contains poverty, violence, and people who just barely make it through each day. The(…)

REVIEW:  Lush – Delicious Book 3 by Lauren Dane

REVIEW: Lush – Delicious Book 3 by Lauren Dane

Dear Ms. Dane: After reading this book, I have a new favorite hero trope: I call it, “Hero in Hot Pursuit”. Mary Whaley runs a very successful catering company and a supper club. She has good friends, a loving family and is generally both busy and truly happy with her life. She offers to cater(…)

REVIEW:  Must Like Kids by Jackie Braun

REVIEW: Must Like Kids by Jackie Braun

“Children have a place and it’s anywhere I’m not!” It was one off-the-cuff remark. But when it goes viral, Alec McAvoy is labeled the playboy CEO of Best for Baby–who hates kids! Enter Julia Stillwell, image consultant extraordinaire. The widowed mom of two has a knack for changing public opinion, and she’ll teach Alec all(…)

REVIEW:  Back Across the Styx by Karalynn Lee

REVIEW: Back Across the Styx by Karalynn Lee

“Hades and Persephone have a son, and he’s feeling trapped in the underworld. Bion’s one solace is his friend since childhood, Myrinne, a mortal girl who was adopted by Charon the Ferryman. When Myrinne is kidnapped during a jailbreak from the underworld, Bion’s rescue becomes a chance to experience life in the sunlit lands. He(…)