has been an avid if often frustrated romance reader for the past 15 years. In that time she's read a lot of good romances, a few great ones, and, unfortunately, a whole lot of dreck. Many of her favorite authors (Ivory, Kinsale, Gaffney, Williamson,
Ibbotson) have moved onto other genres or produce new books only rarely, so she's had to expand her horizons a bit. Newer authors she enjoys include Julie Ann Long, Megan Hart and J.R. Ward, and she eagerly anticipates each new Sookie Stackhouse novel. Strong prose and characterization go a long way with her, though if they are combined with an unusual plot or setting, all the better. When she's not reading romance she can usually be found reading historical non-fiction.Dear Ms. Ward,
I was a relative latecomer to your Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, joining it in progress at, I believe, book three (or was it four?). Anyway, I remember reading online discussions about the series well before starting the first book, mostly related to the unusual names of the heroes (debate, IIRC, raged about whether the names were so silly as to be distracting, or not).
A friend finally convinced me that the books were addictive enough to overcome both my paranormal prejudice and the conviction that the heroes’ names were in fact just too silly to bear. I did become a devoted follower after reading the first book in the series, Wrath’s story, Dark Lover. A devoted follower, but an ambivalent one. There is a lot that I don’t like about the BDB books. Chiefly the slang, which seems increasingly ubiquitous – almost every character thinks and talks in a highly stylized and artificial way. But also the nature of the hero/heroine attachments, which are very animalistic and seem almost biologically-driven. I think the latter is probably a positive for some romance readers, those who prefer their heroes ultra-alpha. Now, it’s …
I’ve been a fan of your drakon series since the first book, The Smoke Thief. I was one of those readers who had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the paranormal romance revolution, but the drakon series are among the books that make me glad I finally (more ore less) succumbed. These stories combine romance with fantasy elements (a village in the heart of 18th century England whose residents can turn from human to smoke and from smoke to dragon) that I have never found to be too heavy-handed or overly detailed (I find the excessive world-building of some fantasy tiresome and confusing). I’ve also found your prose well above-average: lyrical without being purple or overblown.
Jennie: I was very happy when I discovered Megan Hart’s Harlequin Spice books a couple of years ago – I read Dirty and Broken in short order, and liked them both a lot. I was less enamored of Tempted, but figured that not every book is going to work for me, even if the author is one I enjoy. Unfortunately, I had some major problems with Stranger, as well, and I think I’ve identified some aspects of Hart’s writing that I dislike.
This is the first of your books that I’ve read, and when I began reading it last week, I couldn’t remember why I had been interested enough to pick it up, since I’m not hugely adventurous when it comes to new-to-me authors, and I haven’t had very good luck with the Harlequin Historical line. Likely it was the suggestion in the title of a mistress story; I’m always up for a good mistress story. Though the heroine never actually is a mistress, of the hero or anyone else in the course of the book, Kidnapped: His Innocent Mistress ended up being an unusual and worthwhile read.
So, I was the lucky recipient of a shiny new Sony PRS-505, in a very lovely shade of red. I’ve never owned an ebook reader, and in fact my experience in reading ebooks has been fairly recent and rather limited. I have tried both reading on the computer (which is convenient sometimes, but obviously not at others) and printing out ebooks (paper-wasting and cumbersome, but at least I can read them in bed). 
It’s been quite a while since I’ve read one of your books, though I was a fan of several back in the day, specifically the Dangerous books (Dangerous to Kiss, Dangerous to Hold, Dangerous to Love) and the Devereux trilogy (Cherished, Velvet is the Night, Tender the Storm). The latter particularly had a kind of old-romance feel that I sometimes like, with lots of sturm und drang and lush historical detail. I was looking forward to giving your work a try again, but unfortunately, I’m not sure that The Runaway McBride was the best place to start.
Though I remember hearing good things several years ago about your book Lord Ruin, I never got around to picking it up. I did read a subsequent book, The Spare, and though I thought it had some interesting Gothic elements, ultimately I found it uneven and graded it a C+. Still, I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to try your work again and when then opportunity to read Scandal came along, I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did.
In which Jennie and Janine discuss Lydia Joyce’s newest historical romance, Wicked Intentions.
I picked up this book on the strength of a cover quote from Shana Abe and the vague idea that said quote meant that The Flame and the Shadow would bear some resemblance to Abe’s Drakon series, which I’m quite fond of. About one-third of the way through, I was ruing my decision – remembering that cover quotes from authors one enjoys are no guarantee that one will actually like the recommended book. It wasn’t that I actually didn’t like the book so far, mind you – I was just having some definite issues with it at that point in the story, and felt that perhaps it wasn’t for me.
