Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Dear Ms. Ione,

I’m not exactly sure what I expected of new Demonica paranormal series, but a story sounded in a demon hospital sounded interesting so I decided to give it a shot. What I found was a read that, for the most part, I found lively and entertaining, even if I sometimes found myself asking, “Wait, did that part really make sense?”

Eidolon is the eldest of three incubus brothers. Although he currently works as a doctor in the aforementioned demon hospital, he is rapidly approaching the final stage of his life cycle, which will result in him becoming a raging sex demon whose sole purpose in life is to get women — no matter the species — pregnant. It doesn’t sound too bad at first mention but then we learn that incubi who reach this stage usually go insane and end up raping everything in sight. As this often results in their being hunted down by the raped women’s enraged family members, Eidolon isn’t looking forward to it. The only way to circumvent this is by taking a mate but Eidolon’s been looking for a long time, …

Dear Ms. Walker:

I know it has taken me a long time to complete this review, but the truth is that it took me a long time to complete Through The Veil. At first I kept thinking it was just that I couldn’t sit down and focus long enough on the story to feel engaged, but after a hundred pages or so, I realized that it didn’t matter what the cause of my underwhelmed response was, because that feeling wasn’t going anywhere, and in fact persisted until the last quarter of the novel.

Lee Ross is afraid she is going crazy. Plagued by dreams of battle in a strange land, and of a compelling man who she only sees in those dreams, she often wakes bruised and battered, as if she has traveled during her sleeping hours to do battle in that realm of her nightmares. Little does Lee know that the land of her dreams is really her homeland, and the realm to which she is connected heart and soul, her existence essential to its survival. As the novel’s titular veil between worlds becomes thinner and thinner for …

Dear Ms. Harris,

Back in the spring of 2004, I was one of those entrenched historical romance fans decrying the new flood of paranormal romances (if only I’d known how much worse it would get, I would’ve paced my ire a bit). A friend loaned me your first Sookie Stackhouse novel, Dead Until Dark, and despite my prejudices against vampires, Southern settings and small town locations, for some reason I picked it up and started reading.

And I fell in love.

In love with Sookie. In love with your writing, and with Sookie’s utterly unique and endearing voice. Even in love with the paranormal world you created, which quickly expanded from vampires to include shapeshifters, fairies and other assorted non-human beings. You portrayed the effect that Sookie’s telepathy had on her life in the medium homogenous community of Bon Temps beautifully, making it both realistic and poignant.

I devoured the first four books in the series, one after another, and never even began to get Sookie-fatigue. Then I settled down, twitching every once in a while, to wait almost a year for the next book in the series.

Because I read the first half of the series in one …

Dear Ms. Showalter,

Even though the prequel and first book of your Lords of the Underworld series failed to impress me, I wasn’t ready to give up on such a great premise. I hoped one of the later installments would work better for me. With this second book in the series, I have to say I’m glad I made that choice.

Times are tough for the Lords of the Underworld. Their bosses, the Greek gods, have been overthrown and locked in Tartarus. Their new overlords, the Titans, are harsh masters. One of their number has been driven insane (more than usual, anyway) by an order handed down by Cronus, the Titans’ leader. Hunters are intent on destroying them by finding Pandora’s Box, the very object that cursed the Lords to becoming demon-holding vessels in the first place. Their only hope is to find Pandora’s Box before their enemies do but that task is easier said than done.

Lucien leads the faction of Lords that live in Budapest. He holds the demon of Death inside him and …

Dear Ms. Ward,

It might be an understatement to say your previous novel, Lover Unbound, elicited some very passionate reactions from readers. I can’t say I disagree with those criticisms. Even though I ended up liking the book because it developed John Matthew’s storyline, the main romance drove me insane for so many reasons, some of which were covered in Jane’s review. You could say Lover Unbound confirmed a suspicion I’ve always had about regarding the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and I was waiting to see if Lover Enshrined would support it. It did.

I have two confessions to make. When I first picked up Dark Lover, I didn’t particularly like it. I was interested enough to pick up the next one in the series, but I never quite understood the reception the first book received. I still don’t. But more importantly, my second confession is this: If I read for the romance, I would never have kept reading this series. The only romance that ever worked for me was that of Zsadist and Bella, and even …

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 collecting votes, K.Z. Snow mentioned that the prose and storyline in the pdf excerpt posted on your site were phenomenal. Since I’m always hungry for the combination of phenomenal prose and storyline, I proceeded to read the excerpt. I was very impressed, and I quickly ordered the book.

Wicked Gentlemen is comprised of two closely connected novellas which blend the genres of steampunk paranormal, M/M romance, suspense and allegory smoothly and expertly. The first novella, “Mr. Sykes and the Firefly” is written in first person and narrated by one of the book’s two heroes, while the second novella, “Captain Harper and the Sixty Second Circle,” is written in third person, in the POV of the book’s other hero.

Both novellas are set in a world patterned after Victorian England, but one in which the descendants of demons, …

Dear Ms. Showalter,

Your Lords of the Underworld series first caught my eye when I came across the cover art posted on a blog. They are very striking to say the least and certainly did their job if my reaction was any indication: find out what these books were about. As I mentioned in my review of the series’s prequel, The Darkest Fire, I was even more delighted when I read the concept. And even though I ended up not liking the prequel as much as I thought I would, I still wanted to give the actual series a chance.

The series revolves around a group of warriors who, offended that their gods chose to entrust the guarding of a demon-filled box to a woman, decided to steal the box and release its contents into the world. Their plan was then to gather up the freed demons and reseal them inside the box, thus showing their prowess to the gods while proving the female warrior, Pandora, incompetent. Not the most brilliant of plans, in my opinion, but pride and jealousy can …

Dear Ms. Holly,

A few years ago, I read your historical romance Beyond Innocence. While I didn’t love the book, I thought it was better than average and I especially liked your writing voice, so much so that I quoted from it in my opinion piece on style. Therefore, when Janet (Robin) recommended Catching Midnight to me, I ordered a copy of the book and took it with me on a recent trip.

Catching Midnight is the first book in a historical paranormal series that features upyrs, immortal, blood-drinking shape-shifters. Set in the medieval era, the book opens in 1349, when ten year old Gillian is cast out of her home by her mother because her baby brother is infected with the plague. Gillian can sometimes sense people’s secrets and her perception tells her that her mother prefers her brother to her. Nonetheless, she follows her mother’s advice and runs to hide in the forest, where she expects to die.

After falling asleep in the woods, Gillian awakens to hear voices arguing over her. The voices belong to Auriclus and Nim Wei, two upyr elders who both want to claim Gillian. …

Dear Ms. Showalter,

Although your previous works haven’t worked as well for me as I’d hoped, I was intrigued when I heard about your new series, The Lords of the Underworld. Pandora’s box? Hell? A horde of ravenous demons? Not only did the premise feature some of my favorite story elements, it sounded fresh and original, and that encouraged me to give your work another try.

In exchange for saving his beloved wife’s life, Geryon sold his soul to Lucifer. Now trapped in a demonic body, he guards the gates of hell, making certain the demons held prisoner cannot escape. Kadence is the goddess (or angel — the labels are used interchangeably, which I found a little confusing because I don’t equate the two) of oppression and was sent by the gods to watch the wall. Over the years, she’s become bonded to it. It’s through this connection that she realizes the wall is weakening and the demons contained within will soon escape.

I know it’s been said before here at DA, but I definitely agree. One of most difficult things about novellas is telling a fully-fleshed out story that fits within …

Dear Ms. Leto:

I’ve been anxiously awaiting this new paranormal series of yours from Signet since you announced it over a year ago. I’m intrigued by the premise and I liked parts of the story but overall, I felt like I was missing something when I closed the story.

Alexa Chandler is an heiress in control of a multi million dollar fortune and a four star hotel chain. She is used to being charge and making decisive decisions. Part of her inheritance is castle on a remote island off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida, that Alex wants to turn into a spectacular retreat for the most fabulously wealthy people ever. The island cannot be penetrated via air but in a flyover, Alexa spots an inland channel and rushes off to hire a charter. (Alex is very resourceful. Me heart Alex).

In her flyover, she also sees a ghostly arm waving from one of the windows of the abandoned castle. This is even more exciting for Alex because she loves ghosts and she thinks this adds some spectacular ambiance for her hotel/retreat. Alex takes a charter to …