Dear Author: Romance Novel Reviews, Industry News, and Commentary

Dear Ms. Rowland:

I’ve been stuck in a reading rut for months. Nothing has appealed to me.  Even books I was dying to get my hands on 6 months ago have languished away unread on my bookshelves.  After I explained my situation to Jane, she recommended your work and I’m glad that she did.  I  did have some trouble getting into the story and had issues with the characters, but ultimately it proved to be an entertaining book.

Kara Gillian is a Detective in a small town not too far from New Orleans. She’s also a summoner of demons.  Perhaps because of this, Kara has been fascinated for years by the unsolved Symbol Man murders and what she believes may be the involvement of the arcane arts in said murders.  When a body is found with strikingly similar injuries to the previous victims, Kara is pulled from her detective work in white collar crimes for her first homicide investigation.

While Kara is trying to stay one step ahead, or at least not too many behind, the Symbol Man and his steadily increasing body count, she’s also experiencing some demon trouble.  One night while attempting to summon a lower …

Dear Ms. Andrews:

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of your writing. I was thrilled to beta read Magic Strikes about a year ago. I remember being very impressed by the quality of your manuscript and gave quite a bit of positive feedback. I was happy to discover that the changes made since then have only made it better.

Magic Strikes is the third book about Kate Daniels, kick ass mercenary, and Knight of the Order of Merciful Aid. Book 1 dealt with Kate’s quest to find her guardian’s killer, a search which brought her to the Pack and the Beast Lord’s attention. In Book 2, while Atlanta is gripped by an intense wave of magic known as a flare, Kate’s ties to the Pack continue to grow when she joins up with them to save the city.

Book 3 begins about two months after the events in book 2. Atlanta is still recovering from the backlash caused by the flare. Kate is keeping busy, running from one emergency to the next, and getting very little sleep in between. One such emergency pops up when she is …

Dear Ms. Kleypas:
Sometimes I think I’m the only one who didn’t love your first two contemporary romances.I liked Liberty and Hardy, but I became so attached to them that certain things like Hardy’s uneven characterization and Liberty’s choice in men left me dissatisfied. Smooth Talking Stranger was a chance to start anew with two new protagonists.

Ella Varner is a survivor. She was raised by a psychologically abusive woman who possessed not a single ounce of motherly instinct. She did her best to protect herself and her sister Tara, but both were left with emotional scars. After years of therapy, Ella has managed to achieve a tenuous bit of happiness: she’s got a successful job as an advice columnist, a nice place to live in Austin, a great boyfriend, and friends aplenty.

Her life gets shaken up a bit when she receives a phone call one day. Long story short: her sister had a baby, didn’t want to take care of the baby, won’t tell anyone the baby’s father’s name, left baby with the emotionally damaging grandmother, and grandmother refuses to take care of baby. Ella doesn’t exactly want …

Dear Ms. Phillips:

I count you as one of my favorite romance authors. I practically camp out at my local bookstore whenever your books are released. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to get my hands on this one.

Georgie York is best known for her role as the spunky Scooter Brown on America’s favorite sitcom “Skip and Scooter.” Although she no longer has the bright red Orphan Annie hair or the trademark curls, Georgie still reigns as America’s sweetheart. Even a series of box office flops can’t seem to diminish her public appeal.

It’s not just the poor box office numbers that are plaguing Georgie. She’s also got a Brangelina-esque problem to worry about. Her movie star ex-husband Lance Marks left her for sexy do-gooder actress Jade Gentry. Barely surviving the heartbreak of her husband’s abandonment and the subsequent divorce, Georgie is shattered to find out that Jade is also pregnant. With paparazzi everywhere, Georgie goes to Vegas for a change of scenery.

Bramwell Shepherd is the Skip to Georgie’s Scooter. His career is going nowhere fast, and he’s only got …

Dear Ms. Viehl:

I’ve been a fan of yours ever since I picked up Star Doc about 9 years ago. I haven’t been quite so thrilled by your Darkyn books, but have had some favorites such as 2008’s Evermore. Despite some frustration with the series, I was sad to hear that this was your final novel about the Darkyn and I was eager to see how you would conclude it all.

Stay the Night is Robin’s book. Well . . . sort of. Robin of Locksley-that’s right, I said Locksley- has been stealing from the rich for the last 700 years. With the help of his Darkyn powers of persuasion, he can charm just about anyone into doing almost anything.  The FBI has dubbed him The Magician for his most recent larcenous exploits involving the theft of priceless works of art.

Chris Renshaw is a special agent for the FBI. She was recently transferred to the Chicago office amid a scandal involving her partner’s firing and subsequent suicide. Chris  (you …

Our newest reviewer, Joonigrrl aka Loonigrrl aka Leslie, presents the following list to you. I’ve been an avid follower of Loonigrrl’s reviews on Amazon. They’re smart, articulate, and insightful and I thought wouldn’t she be a nice addition to Dear Author. Luckily for us, Joonigrrl agreed to be part of Dear Author and we will be seeing more of her in 2009 (metaphorically and digitally speaking).

• Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
• Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

Dear Ms. Callen:

I read a book of yours for the first time almost a year ago. It was charming and light although not very memorable. I went on to read one more of your books before this one. I jumped at the chance to review Never Dare a Duke and anticipated another enjoyable reading experience. However, my intense dislike of the story and of the female protagonist, a dislike which I have rarely before felt for a romance heroine, left me wondering how this book could get published. To really discuss why I disliked this book so much, I’ve contained quite a few spoilers. Readers should beware.

You set the stage early on for Miss Abigail Shaw’s quest to ruin a man’s reputation. It seems that her father’s newspaper is losing some of its readership and may be in danger of shutting its doors. In a desperate attempt to sell more papers, Abigail decides to uncover some vague sort of scandal that occurred years ago involving Christopher Cabot, the duke of Madingley. Forget the fact that her father is an honorable man who refuses to publish gossip articles based upon speculation. Forget …

Dear Ms. Summers:

I know you’ve written books for Ellora’s Cave, Kensington and Harlequin, but I was unfamiliar with your work. I was excited to read Red due, in part, to its post apocalyptic setting and I was intrigued by the idea of: “What if Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf turned out to be the same person?” However, as much as I wanted to like this book and its promising female protagonist, I just could not.

Gina Santiago, or “Red”- because of all the blood she spills-is a member of the International Police Tactical Team. IPTT is an elite law enforcement group designed to maintain order within and between the various Republics that make up this futuristic world. While on a patrol mission that goes awry, Gina literally sniffs out the dead body of a severely mauled woman. All signs point to it being a wild animal attack, but Gina has a feeling that there’s something more going on. She requests leave from the team Commander and goes to the nearest town of Nuria to begin her own independent investigation.

Morgan Hunter is the local sheriff …

Dear Ms. Hepsen:

Occasionally, a cover will do more to convince me to try a book than the summary on the back. A couple months ago, I came across this book online and halted in my tracks. The book’s description didn’t strike my “I need to read that immediately” chord, but I do tend to like vampire stories and there was just something about that cover that kept calling to me.

Angelica Belanov is the daughter of an English lady and a Russian prince. She also happens to be a very strong mind reader. So strong, in fact, that the thoughts of everyone around her frequently cause her a great deal of pain and discomfort as she knows of no way to block them out. Until recently, she’s lived a quiet life in the English countryside, reading books and playing her piano. That changes when her concerned brother decides to move to London so she can find a husband. Angelica has no intention of marrying, but unfortunately she receives word that nearly all of the Belanov family funds have been destroyed mid-transit from Russia. To save her beloved brother and …

Dear Ms. Kleypas:

After reading the first two lackluster books in your Hathaways series, I was thrilled to jump back into one my favorites with A Wallflower Christmas. I was a big fan of Secrets of a Summer Night (The Wallflowers, Book 1), an even bigger fan of It Happened One Autumn (The Wallflowers, Book 2) and a crazed-read-it-a-dozen-times-fan of The Devil in Winter (The Wallflowers, Book 3). Scandal in Spring (The Wallflowers, Book 4)? Ehhh . . . not so much. Although not as good as the first three, I found A Wallflower Christmas to be an enjoyable, albeit flawed, story.

A Wallflower Christmas introduces us to Hannah Appleton. Hannah is an intelligent girl of little money who has been acting as the chaperone for her spoiled and self-involved, but generally kind-hearted cousin, Lady Natalie Blandford. The book opens with our former wallflowers discussing the arrival of Lillian and Daisy Bowman’s older brother Rafe, and his prospective engagement to Lady Natalie. Reading this scene with its comfortable charm and easy wit had me reminiscing about the books I enjoyed so well, happy …