romantic-suspense

REVIEW: Before She Dies by Mary Burton

REVIEW: Before She Dies by Mary Burton

Dear Ms. Burton: Charlotte Wellington remade herself from itinerant carnival fortune teller to high powered and extremely successful criminal defense lawyer.   Her past is one she doesn’t talk about but the circus’ return to town and deaths stalking women related to the occult make it difficult for Charlotte to keep her secret.  Her sometime(…)

REVIEW: Sleepwalker by Karen Robards

REVIEW: Sleepwalker by Karen Robards

Dear Ms. Robards: One of the first AAR DIK books I ever read was one of yours: “Walking After Midnight.” Now here I am, years later, reading another “walking” book that involves a hero and heroine on the run and trying to stay alive. My questions for myself as I started the book were will(…)

REVIEW: Last Man Standing by Cindy Gerard

REVIEW: Last Man Standing by Cindy Gerard

Dear Ms. Gerard: I liked the poetic nature of the title given that this book kind of closes the door on the Black Ops, Inc., or BOIs, crew. Joe Green is indeed the last man standing of the group. The other living members have all fallen in love and had a happy ending. Joe’s done(…)

REVIEW: Sex, Lies & Surveillance by Stephanie Julian

REVIEW: Sex, Lies & Surveillance by Stephanie Julian

Dear Ms. Julian: I liked the blurb for this book.  The heroine is the daughter of famous CIA agents who have retired. Janey DeMarco works in the family agency that does everything from surveillance to retrieval of kidnapped victims.  Their agency’s services are wide ranging, almost too wide ranging in my opinion. I had a(…)

REVIEW: Viper’s Kiss by Shannon Curtis

REVIEW: Viper’s Kiss by Shannon Curtis

Dear Ms. Curtis: This is a fun spy caper book with a great and very competent heroine. It requires a huge suspension of disbelief but if the reader can let go, it is a fun ride. Maggie Kincaid is an information services librarian at a large university whose similarity to another woman who posed nude(…)

REVIEW: Son of the Morning by Linda Howard

REVIEW: Son of the Morning by Linda Howard

Dear Ms Howard: The re-release of one of your only time travel novel provided a perfect excuse for a re-read. Son of the Morning was first published in 1997. It’s an unusual romance in that for much of the story, Grace and Niall, the two main protagonists are separated by the dimension of time. While(…)

REVIEW: True Shot by Joyce Lamb

REVIEW: True Shot by Joyce Lamb

Dear Ms. Lamb: Why hello there. I had no idea you wrote such fun and entertaining characters.  I admit that I was initially put off by the series because it featured heroines with psychic abilities.  While Now You See Her and Dream Man by Linda Howard are two of my favorite contemporaries, psychic characters have(…)

REVIEW: Bad Karma by Theresa Weir

REVIEW: Bad Karma by Theresa Weir

Dear Ms. Weir: I have been slowly working my way through your backlist titles, so when I came across the re-released, reasonably-priced digital edition of Bad Karma at the Kindle store, it shot to the top of my TBR list. I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of the “psychic heroine” trope,(…)

REVIEW: Missing Mother-to-Be by Elle Kennedy

REVIEW: Missing Mother-to-Be by Elle Kennedy

Dear Readers: I ordinarily don’t pick books from the category Suspense line.  Most of what I’ve read in that line has glaring problems in balance between a believable suspense and a believable romance but I like Elle Kennedy books and I wanted to try to get back into the Intrigue game (it sells really well(…)

REVIEW: The Mistress Deception by Susan Napier

REVIEW: The Mistress Deception by Susan Napier

Dear Ms. Napier: When someone on Twitter mentioned that your older book, The Mistress Deception, features a virgin widower, I bolted right over to Amazon to purchase a digital copy, excited at the idea of a Harlequin Presents playing against type in this way. That was not the only pleasant surprise of the book, and(…)

REVIEW: Prey by Linda Howard

REVIEW: Prey by Linda Howard

Dear Ms. Howard: In a recent podcast, Sarah Wendell and I talked about how there are titles we would like to have rebound into collector’s items so that they can sit on our shelves and be read and admired.  Some of your titles would be on that list. After the Night.  Now You See Her.(…)

DA Intro Interview & Giveaway:  Nancy Naigle, Author of Sweet Tea and Secrets

DA Intro Interview & Giveaway: Nancy Naigle, Author of Sweet Tea and Secrets

To start, in the better-late-than-never department, the Intro Interview has winners from the RITA Best First Book series: MaryK #21:  the historical bundle—A Tailor-Made Bride, When Harry Met Molly, and Pieces of Sky (which won the RITA!) Jane Halsall #68:  Marcella Burnard’s Enemy Within Kaya H #44: the YA bundle, with I Now Pronounce You(…)

REVIEW: Snapped by Laura Griffin

REVIEW: Snapped by Laura Griffin

Dear Ms. Griffin, When reading your romantic suspense books, one thing I can count on is that the underlying reason for the suspense plot won’t be too far out in Never Never land. Perhaps there might be a slight lift of my eyebrow or the beginnings of a question on my face but overall, the(…)

REVIEW: The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood

REVIEW: The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood

Dear Ms. Garwood: This review of Lion’s Lady posted at Smart Bitches is fomenting a desire to reread your backlist (I liked Guardian Angel a bit more than Lion’s Lady). However your latest release is a contemporary. The Ideal Man is a solid entry into the Garwood bibliography but I still long for the magic(…)

REVIEW: In a Treacherous Court by Michelle Diener

REVIEW: In a Treacherous Court by Michelle Diener

Dear Ms. Diener, Having recently read and enjoyed a historical novel set in the 16th century and dealing with intrigue and assassins, I was intrigued when In a Treacherous Court fell into my hands. Realizing it was a debut sharpened my interest, since I’m always on the lookout for new authors, especially those whose work is something(…)