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

This week we’ll post the “best of 2008″ list for each reviewer. Feel free to use this as a commenting launch pad but also as a way for you to measure your taste against the reviewer’s taste.

Jennie F is one of our “new-ish” reviewers. She reviews sporadically and has ecletic taste. Her list includes a variety of fiction books, not all of which are romance:

Welcome to the My First Sale series. Each Friday, Dear Author posts the first sale letter of bestselling authors, debut authors, and authors in between. Deirdre Martin writes contemporary romances for Berkley, most of which feature a member of the fictional New York Blades. Body Check, her first sale, is one of my favorite contemporary books and Martin is one of my favorite contemporary authors. While every book in the series hasn’t worked for me, I like her voice and her very smart heroines. Her book 7th book, Power Play, has an official release date of October 7, 2008, but may be in stores now.
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I’ve always written. Maybe it’s because my father was a high school English teacher who encouraged me, or maybe it’s because I loved to read. Maybe it’s a combination of both. But whatever the reason, there have always been stories inside me that needed to be told.

My first foray into fiction was in first grade, when I wrote a book about Linus and Lucy from “Peanuts” that a boy in my class illustrated. By sixth …

Dear Ms. Martin:

I read this on the heels of the Top Chef finale. While I am a decent cook, I am no chef but I love all things food related. The love of food makes this cooking oriented novel hit the right spot for me.

Vivi Robitaille has come to America to open her own bistro and live the American dream with her half-sister, Natalie, providing the funding and Vivi providing the food skills. Vivi is classically trained but door after door is closed to her in Paris because of her sex. I appreciated this touch as it is well known (and hotly debated at the Top Chef forums) that there is a bias toward male chefs.

She chooses to open this tiny bistro across the street from Dante’s Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. Anthony Dante is the owner of the family restaurant and his brother is also a not so silent partner. Anthony and Vivi clash immediately with Anthony dismissing her cooking skills and Vivi bristling with anticipated rejection. Their courtship takes place through the exchange of signature dishes. The flirtation took the form sparring about …

Tony Romo, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, was rumored to be dating Carrie Underwood at one time. Romo was her arm candy at the Country Music Awards and they flew to each other’s birthday bash. Since the football season started up, Romo and Underwood have been apart and in a recent interview, Underwood reveals that Romo was not able to pay attention to both her and football at the same time.

At one point it seemed like that’s where it was headed,” [Underwood] says, ”but point blank, he is about football. I don’t know if it’s that I’m not quite his type or whatever, but I don’t think he’s at the point in his life where he would be willing to sacrifice football. He hated so much that people thought that he was paying more attention to me and that was causing him to not do well.”

I remember last season when the Cowboys played the Eagles and Underwood and Romo were caught by the cameras exchanging a pregame hug. Romo played abysmally and the sports guys were merciless the next day suggesting that if he spent less time playing with …

Dear Ms. Martin:

You are a very uneven author for me. I loved your debut book, Body Check. Moderately disliked the second book, Fair Play, and did not finish the third, Total Rush. I honestly had written you off after Total Rush and wasn’t going to buy another book by you. After reading a review of Penalty Box, I looked the book up at my local library. It was in and I figured if it was a total wallbanger, I hadn’t risked much. After I finished the story, I ran to Barnes and Noble and bought my very own copy.

You, like Marianna Jameson, have a great voice for modern contemporary characters. Your dialogue exchanges were fresh and fun. The courting ritual seemed realistic. I could envision these characters in my head.

Katie Fischer was an unattractive, overlarge high school student who was the brunt of many jokes. She grew up, lost weight (through dieting and exercise), and went on to be a sociology professor. …