Recommended Reads

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:  Master and God by Lindsey Davis

REVIEW: Master and God by Lindsey Davis

Gaius Vinius Clodianus is a reluctant Praetorian Guard, with a disastrous marriage history and post-traumatic stress – but he is a hero. Flavia Lucilla has given the imperial ladies a ridiculous hairstyle and makes toupees for the increasingly paranoid emperor – and she is good at her job. A devastating fire in Rome starts their(…)

Dear Author Recommends for June

Dear Author Recommends for June

Contemporaries Bring Him Home by Karina Bliss, reviewed and recommended by Jane Unexpected Family by Molly O’Keefe, reviewed and recommended by Jane About Last Night by Ruthie Knox,  reviewed and recommended by Jane (link live on 6/11) Lucky in Love by Jill Shavis, recommended by Dabney Erotic Romance Chaos Burning by Lauren Dane, reviewed and recommended by KatiD(…)

REVIEW:  Good for You by Tammara Webber

REVIEW: Good for You by Tammara Webber

Dear Ms. Webber: The first time I came across your books was on Amazon when it recommended that I buy Between the Lines, the first in your Hollywood trilogy, after I had purchased a different YA contemporary. I resisted because there are rarely less interesting characters to me that famous people. Fiction often relies on(…)

REVIEW:  Easy by Tammara Webber

REVIEW: Easy by Tammara Webber

Dear Ms. Webber: Warning: Triggers ahead I was looking for a college set romance and author Julie Cross recommended this self published title. The minute I was done, I went and bought another Webber title. That’s how much I enjoyed “Easy”. I like college settings more than young adult because the characters are independent, more(…)

REVIEW:  The Understory by Elizabeth Leiknes

REVIEW: The Understory by Elizabeth Leiknes

  ETA: Bancroft Press is giving away copies of this book and The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns, which I also reviewed and recommended. Enter before tomorrow, June 1st, though! Dear Ms. Leiknes: After reading, reviewing, and greatly enjoying your debut novel, The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns, I was happily surprised to receive an(…)

REVIEW:  A Gentleman Undone by Cecilia Grant

REVIEW: A Gentleman Undone by Cecilia Grant

Dear Ms. Grant: As I read your novel A Gentleman Undone I brooded over words from one my favorite 18th century wordsmiths, the great Alexander Pope: “Honor and shame from no condition rise. Act well your part: there all the honor lies.” Here Pope asserts honor and shame are products of  behavior rather than experience or(…)

REVIEW:  Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

REVIEW: Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

Dear Mr. Aaronovitch, Back in March, I read and reviewed your terrific debut, Midnight Riot (Rivers of London in the UK), an urban fantasy/police procedural narrated by an endearing London police constable named Peter Grant. Peter is a new recruit in a secret (and very small) department of the London Metropolitan Police which investigates supernatural(…)

Dear Author Recommends for May 2012

Dear Author Recommends for May 2012

We haven’t posted any reviews of these books yet, but we will this week so stay tuned. If you have recommendations yourselves, let us know about them. Historical Beguiling the Beauty by Sherry Thomas. Recommended by Dabney and Jennie F (Amz | BN | S | K) The Governness Affair by Courtney Milan.  Recommended by Dabney (Amz | BN | S | K | ARE) Rogue by Ava(…)

If You Like …. Fifty Shades of Grey

If You Like …. Fifty Shades of Grey

More and more people are landing at Dear Author looking for information regarding books like Fifty Shades of Grey. I’ve created this list for readers who enjoyed Fifty Shades in hopes that they will become life long readers of romance. Fifty Shades of Grey is a self published work by a British author using the(…)

If You Like …. Stories About Women Unapologetic About Their Looks

If You Like …. Stories About Women Unapologetic About Their Looks

Courtney Milan asked in the comments for titles of stories with women who were unapologetic about their looks and there were some great suggestions from commenters. Contemporaries Fools Rush In by Kristan Higgins (A | BN | K | S | HQN | ARE) recommended by Janet P In came to my mind. Woman finishes(…)

REVIEW:  A Private Gentleman by Heidi Cullinan

REVIEW: A Private Gentleman by Heidi Cullinan

(This one is addressed to readers, not the author) Dear Readers: As we all know, it’s impossible to be objective about a review. And this is fine, as long as we can be honest about the sources of our lack of objectivity, if we know them. This book has flaws, even major flaws that have(…)

REVIEW:  The Price of Innocence by Susan Sizemore

REVIEW: The Price of Innocence by Susan Sizemore

Dear Ms. Sizemore, I loved The Price of Innocence. And, I expect to get grief from a few for doing so. The relationship between your leads, Jack and Sherrie, begins with what could be called at best forced seduction and what will be seen by some as rape. This trope makes many crazy. Before I began(…)

Dear Author Recommends for April

Dear Author Recommends for April

Historical Confessions from an Arranged Marriage by Miranda Neville, recommended by Janine A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare, recommended by Dabney At Your Pleasure by Meredith Duran, recommended by Dabney Capturing the Silken Thief by Jeannie Lin, reviewed by Jayne and recommended by Dabney Mariana by Susanna Kearsley, recommended by Sunita (review and giveaway to come)(…)

REVIEW: Frat Boy and Toppy by Anne Tenino

REVIEW: Frat Boy and Toppy by Anne Tenino

Dear Ms. Tenino. I loved this book. Just loved it. I read it in one sitting, finally going to sleep at 3am on Friday night, damn you. In retrospect, it has flaws, but I didn’t notice them as I was reading. Brad is a football player and in a frat. I really REALLY love the(…)