I envy all who were able to attend and love reading and hearing about it.

I never judge a book by its cover. I know the authors have no control. Sure, a snappy cover might catch my eye, but if the blurb doesn’t catch me, or reading the first few pages doesn’t hook my interest, then I don’t buy the book. Likewise a horrid cover won’t dissuade me if the back blurb and first few pages capture my interest.

HoMF was, IMHO, simply a superior book to the book that won. I just have to wonder, though, if the JR Ward name had any effect. Sure the book was written as Jessica Bird, but all you have to do is look at the photo and you know who it is.

The few I have judged sent me X amount of books to rank either in order and/or against each other. I judged on the content from the author not the cover or title which the author generally doesn’t have much to do with. I have a hard time believing authors would lie and not read a book they were sent to judge. (I am not saying it doesn’t happen or has never happened just as a rule I would hope it doesn’t)

Out of the three I have read, I can’t say I even heard of HoM but have read Gold before. What Harlequin line was it in?

Robin, it wasn’t Abe’s The Smoke Thief that was up for the RITA, but rather her sequel to it, The Dream Thief.

LOL, Janine — I ALWAYS mentally change the date of that book, since I picked it up in paperback and read it in 2006. I was going to blame the upcoming Bar exam on my bran drain, but I can’t in this case, because it’s a mistake I make consistently! I must confess that I only read The Dream Thief twice in a row, so I can’t give it the 4x recommendation, but it’s still the same sense of disappointment, as both those books read as absolute masterpieces to me. And it’s interesting because TDT didn’t even have the same level of controversy attached to it as TST did.

And Robin I am a TOTAL Jennifer Blake fangirl. I recommend Midnight Waltz, Louisiana Dawn, Arrow to the Heart, Royal Seduction and Spanish Serenade.

Thanks, Angela, I will definitely add these to my list — even the titles sound, well, interesting, which is a refreshing change (not a hint of savage love anywhere!).

And Ann Bruce: as I said on bam’s blog, where is this so-called younger generation going to come from when the YA genre offers everything the “adult” genres offer? And I too am of that coveted demographic and have a hard time finding books that wow me from just a blurb these days. (part of the reason why I am deep in back-lists of all sorts of authors).

And Robin I am a TOTAL Jennifer Blake fangirl. I recommend Midnight Waltz, Louisiana Dawn, Arrow to the Heart, Royal Seduction and Spanish Serenade.