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

Dear Readers:
It has been five years since we’ve had a new Laura Kinsale book to read, and Lessons in French is quite a departure from her last book, Shadowheart.
Callie, or more properly, Lady Callista Taillefaire, is a 27-year old thrice-jilted heiress who wants nothing more than to live in relative peace – and raise her [...]

Plot summary from Ellen Hartman’s site:

Sarah Finley’s husband left her to marry his boss. Her children have been tossed out of elementary school for a violation of the weapons code. Her friends and neighbors are avoiding her like the plague. Clearly, Sarah is in need of a Plan B.
Enter Charlie McNulty. Charlie is a buttoned [...]

PLEASE NOTE: this conversational review does contain some spoilers.
Jennie: I was one of many readers mightily impressed with Carolyn Jewel’s previous historical romance Scandal, which I read in January and graded an A-.
Janine: Totally with you on that. Scandal was one of the most impressive books I’ve read this year, and it’s stuck with [...]

Janine: When Jaili (Maili) and I recently found out we were reading the same little-known book from 2008, Dru Pagliassotti’s Clockwork Heart, we thought it would be fun to discuss it here at Dear Author. But first, a plot synopsis:
Clockwork Heart takes place in a fictional Industrial Age city-state called Ondinium. [...]

DISCLAIMER: So as to avoid the appearance of impropriety in this conversational review by Joan/Sarah F. and Janine., Joan/Sarah F. says: “I acted as a first-reader for MHT on this story. While I wouldn’t say I was a critique partner or even a beta-reader, MHT did send me this story to see if I [...]

Wherein Jennie and Janet weigh in on Megan Hart’s latest…
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 [...]

Janine and Jennie discuss Alisa Sheckley’s urban fantasy novel, The Better to Hold You:
Janine: The Better to Hold You was one of my most anticipated books of 2009. I’m a big fan of Alisa Sheckley’s wry, satirical chick lit novels which were published under the name Alisa Kwitney. I remember picking up The [...]