Dear Mrs. Hartman,
I’m so glad you offered DA a chance to read your latest release “His Secret Past.” I gotta be honest and say that when I look at current and future offerings from Harlequin lately, I’m desperately trying to find books that don’t feature a cherubic child or knocked up heroine [...]

I have 20!! copies of this great hardcover to giveaway. Drop a comment and let me know why you are interested in reading this book.
Dear Ms. Rose:
Congratulations on going hardcover. It’s a tough time to make the move, what with the cratering economy and all. Even before [...]

Dear Ms. Williamson,
For my inaugural review for Dear Author, I thought it would be nice to review an old favorite (my thinking being that then I wouldn’t have to sharpen my claws right away).
Having been reminded of my fondness for “outsider” romances by a recent read (Meredith Duran’s excellent The Duke of [...]

Dear Ms. Hale,
I first heard of your book, Wicked Gentlemen, when it was nominated in the GLBT category of our DA BWAHA March Madness tournament. Wicked Gentlemen made it to the third round of the tournament, which means it was the runner-up in the GLBT category.
At the time we were [...]

Jane:
At the beginning of Lord of Scoundrels, a book that has been in print since its first publication in 1995, Lord Dain meets Jessica Trent for the first time
She was not classic English perfection, but she was some sort of perfection and, being neither blind nor ignorant, Lord Dain generally recognized quality when he [...]

Dear Mrs Simonson,
I first read “Lady Elizabeth’s Comet” a few years ago when I was lucky enough to score a copy of it through a used bookstore. Ever since then, I’ve touted its merits to those looking for intelligent heroines, beta heroes and wonderful storytelling. I’m delighted that Uncial Press has brought it out [...]

Edited to add: Caution There’s a major spoiler in paragraph 3.
Dear Mrs. Beverley,
When you posted to one of my earlier reviews that your next book would be back in the world of the Mallorens and feature a rake with a ‘nun on the run,’ I started salivating. Me wuvs the Mallorens and Georgian historicals [...]

Dear Readers,
Two more vol 1’s from Viz. But the first is a Vol 1 from CMX, another publisher who brings quality shoujo to the US.
Land of the Blindfolded by Tsukuba Sakura. CMX. Retail $9.99. Not rated, but I’d say high school and up. 9 volumes (complete in Japan and in the US.)
(I should mention [...]

Dear Ms. Duran,
One of my fellow reviewers knows you, but I went into this book without any preconceived notions. I didn’t read reviews (including those here), interviews, cover copy, even your posts here at DA. I knew nothing except Janine thought highly of your work. And while that’s usually a good recommendation for me, sometimes [...]

Dear Ms. Thomas:
I know your debut book, Private Arrangements, has already been reviewed well here and elsewhere, so I don’t know if I can add anything new to the chorus, but this book made such a positive impression on me, especially in your crafting of the heroine, Gigi, that I wanted to review it simply [...]

Dear Ms. Ibbotson,
When Azteclady asked me to review one of your romances, I was both excited and challenged. You pack so many irresistible characters into less than three hundred pages that it is difficult to do justice to these delightful folk. And how would I explain the magic by which you can take [...]

I am having a horrible time writing this review. There’s nothing I can criticize about this book. Not one single thing. How can you write a balanced review when there’s nothing weak or flawed there to balance all the good? So I’m giving up—this is not a balanced review, I’m going to gush [...]

How long does it take for a book to become a favorite? If it’s measured in time, then this book doesn’t qualify, for it’s only been out for seven weeks. But if it’s measured in re-reads, then this book surely has become one for me, for I’ve already read it five times and loved it [...]

Dear Ms. O’Reilly,
As with the first book of your last trilogy, this one is a winner for me. Straight from the beginning and all the way through. I enjoyed all the characters in this book, the plot, the setting…in fact everything. At first I was a little leery about the setting. I mean, an [...]

Dear Mrs. Eagle,
Your books have been favorites of mine for years. When I got back into reading romance novels about 10 years ago, “The Night Remembers” was
one of the first books I read and from there I started to collect everything you’d written. Your latest book, “Mystic Horseman,” reminds me of the best of [...]

Today’s guest review comes from author K.Z. Snow. Ms. Snow’s myspace profile indicates that she is a 100 year old woman from Wisconsin and from this guest review, appears to love Susan Fromberg Schaeffer’s The Madness of a Seduced Woman (Plume).
***
(All direct quotes from the text are taken from the 1991 Plume trade edition.)

The [...]

Today’s guest review comes from author Jennifer Estep. Estep pens funny novelizations inspired by the comic book ouvre featuring Bigtime and the super heroes/heroines (Karma Girl and Fiera, for example) and ubervillians that inhabit the city.
***
Donald E. Westlake is the funniest writer you’re not reading.
Never heard of him? I probably wouldn’t have either, if [...]

Dear Ms. Bray,
Jane is right. The hardest reviews to write are those for the books you love. How can I capture the strengths of an 800-plus page book in only a few hundred words? The task is daunting and I’d be lying if I said I’m not overwhelmed by the thought. There’s so much good [...]

Author Jane Beckenham brings us the following guest review for Sophia James’ Ashblane’s Lady. Beckenham is from down under and has sold books to Red Rose Publishing, Linden Bay romance, and Treble Heart Books.
***
Sophia James knows how to write. She also knows how to hook the reader into the story right from the [...]

Dear Martha,
When Jayne asked me if I would be willing to review one of my favorite books for Dear Author, the trick was choosing which one of yours to review. You consistently create rich, unique worlds, complex heroines and heroes who are both real and extraordinary, and your books are impossible to put down. [...]

Dear Ms. Aguirre:
I’m not sure why I respond so well to urban fantasy stories. I think it has to do, in part, with the escapism factor. These books are often gritty but because of the otherworldly nature, it is easy to take. Easy to lose oneself in an entire other world. [...]

Today’s review is by NatCh who helps run MobileRead. MobileRead is one of the best sources about ebooks, ebook hardware and software on the internet. The site has over 3,000 public domain books in ebook format hand coded by its members and freely available.
***
Ender’s Game
By: Orson Scott Card
A review by MobileRead’s NatCh
Note: [...]

The Crimson Spell by Ayano Yamane. Published by Kitty Media. Retail: $11.99. 1/2+ volumes. Rated: Mature (this title is adult-only, sexually graphic yaoi (MxM).)

Dear Readers,
This is my favorite manga release of 2007. There are some with loftier ambitions that I might admire more, like Town of Evening Calm, but [...]

This special guest review is from author Sherry Thomas. You’ll want to read the entire thing down to the end because Sherry and I are sponsoring a pay it forward Bettie Sharpe giveaway. You see, Bettie Sharpe gave away a fantastic retelling of the Cinderella story. Only we got it in drips [...]

Basara by Yumi Tamura. Published by Viz. Retail: $9.99. Rated T+ for older teens (frank sex and violence. The sex isn’t graphic but the violence can be.) 25/27 volumes published, complete in Japan.
Dear Readers,
Some long running romance manga series are drawing to a close this month, and all deserve mention here. This [...]