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

Mistress to the Tycoon by Nicola Marsh. Ariel Wallace is an artist struggling to fulfill her aunt’s dream of sponsoring young troubled locals into launching an art career. The dream is in jeopardy due to the plans of a rich real estate developer. The straight laced dude v. the free form spirit is a worn trope and there is nothing new to see in this book.

The one thing that elevated this story, however, was the relationship that the hero had with his dad. Cooper Vance wants to close this real estate buy because it is his ticket out of his dad’s firm. The relationship between his father and Cooper has become increasingly strained over the years due to Cooper’s successes. The reader gets glimpses that both cooper and his dad regret the way their relationship has disintegrated but neither really is brave enough to speak out and try to mend it. C+.

This book can be purchased in mass market or ebook format.

The Mediterranean Rebel’s Bride by Lucy Gordon. This book was recommended by Sherry Thomas …

Dear Ms. North:

Ned opens the packages at our house and when he opened the Avon November 2007 box and saw this book, he proffered his opinion on the plot. “This book,” he said holding up the novel with its cover toward me, “is about a guy whose been having sex with a married woman and he just jumped out of the window because the husband got home; he hasn’t even had time to put on his shirt yet, but plans on getting one last smacker in before the husband comes and beats the crap out of him.”

I guess that is one interpretation of it. The cover did imply some type of furtive coupling but I didn’t actually see anything in the book that actually pertained to the scene on the front other than the heroine’s hair is, indeed, short, spiky and dark. The story actually started off strong for me. The heroine is one of those nerds in high school returning triumphant and I like that story. It had a secret baby plot, but it seemed that the heroine had a pretty legitimate excuse for not informing …

Dear Ms. Darcy

I don’t know how you got your book included as the free book in the Sony Reader but you did. And now I have to tell everyone at MobileRead that Italian’s Stolen Bride is not indicative of the romance genre. Your book includes all the hallmarks of a series romance and also a good example of why I no longer read series romances. On the good side, I didn’t have to pay for this book. On the bad side, I spent time reading it. The book contains all the stock characters. Poor girl. Rich guy. Family deems her unsuitable. Secret baby who brings everyone together again.

The story actually starts out fine by having Luciano Peretti learn of the duplicity that drove him away from Skye Summer in the first place. Luc’s brother, Roberto, confesses on his death bed that six years ago, he faked photographs of himself with Luc’s fiance so that Luc would break up with Skye Summer. Seeing photographic evidence of Roberto and Skye together, enrages Luciano and he breaks it off with Syke. Skye, of course, was pregnant …