Jane Litte's Blog, page 1009

Daily Deals, December 7

From Brian:

Enter coupon code rough11 to get 30% off books 1-11 in the Rough Rider series by Lorelei James @ the Samhain store. Good now through December 31st.

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan * $3.99 * Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook: 2,000 Recipes from 20 Years of America's Most Trusted Food Magazine by Editors America's Test Kitchen * $9.99 * Amazon  (couldn't find this book at any other ebookstore including BN)
Don't forget that Avon is conducting an...

REVIEW: The Lady's Secret by Joanna Chambers

Dear Ms. Chambers:

It's always exciting to read a debut book by a fellow blogger, although it can be a bit daunting, too. What if I don't like it? Will that affect the way I read your blog? Fortunately, I enjoyed The Lady's Secret, a book that mixes old and new genre conventions in interesting ways. In one sense it reads like a love letter to many older trad Regencies, but with a progressive streak that updates and adds new dimension to vintage tropes like the cross-dressing heroine and her...

REVIEW: Coming Home for Christmas (Anthology) by Carla Kelly

Dear Mrs. Kelly,

I know that when I start a Carla Kelly book, I'll get a certain number of things. An honorable hero, an unflappable heroine, some idiot secondary characters who may bluster and threaten to cause the hero and heroine some problems but who usually are mainly all hot air and dismissed as the pompous stuffed shirts they are and a gentle love story of two people finding each other – often where they least expected. As this is a linked anthology, here I get this in triplicate...

REVIEW: True Shot by Joyce Lamb

Dear Ms. Lamb:

Why hello there. I had no idea you wrote such fun and entertaining characters.  I admit that I was initially put off by the series because it featured heroines with psychic abilities.  While Now You See Her and Dream Man by Linda Howard are two of my favorite contemporaries, psychic characters have always seemed a bit twee to me and I've never fully climbed on board with that type of paranormal.  I particularly disliked the use of pyschic abilities in romantic suspense, in part ...

Janine's Best of 2011 List

For the purposes of this list, I have excluded reissues, books published before 2011, and books which may present a conflict of interest, either because the author had a story in the Agony/Ecstasy anthology or because she assisted me with my novel-in-progress.

Here then are several of my favorite 2011 releases, listed in alphabetical order by author:

Fate's Edge by Ilona Andrews (reviewed by Josephine)

Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase (reviewed by Jane)

What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne L...

Daily Deals, December 6

I researched the Avon deals. I'm not sure whether these reflect a new pricing schema or whether this is a temporary thing to drive up rankings. Updated: This is Avon's official statement:

These lower prices are an experiment, based in part on reader feedback, and are part of our ongoing, overall strategy on a title by title basis.  Looking at pricing is definitely one way to excite readers and grow authors

The English Heiress by Roberta Gellis * $0 * Amazon | nook | Sony | Kobo Catriona

What's Wrong with Mama?

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A couple of weeks ago the Brookings Register ran an article titled "Not your mother's romance novel." The article spoke to two women who have recently become interested in romances. Two women who had not read older romances, but had formed negative opinions regarding those older romances:

Gill said she believes the romance genre of years ago earned its reputation, though she hasn't read many of the older books. They seemed to feature weak heroines and dominant heroes.

Entangled Pub* announced...

REVIEW: Fate's Edge by Ilona Andrews

Dear Ms Andrews,

I must confess, I am a fan. You are one of those authors I count on to consistently deliver good stories. The presence of your name on the cover of a book will motivate me to buy what I would otherwise pass. I'm hooked on your Kate Daniels series of Urban Fantasy novels. I enjoy the way you twist tired genre tropes in your Kinsmen series of Sci-fi Romance ebook novellas. I adore the excitement, intricacy and interconnectedness of your Edge series of Fantasy Romance novels...

Agony/Ecstasy Anthology: Anne Calhoun and "Transformed"

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I can't recall whether it was Anne's idea or mine to have her write from Cole's point of view, but after I read Transfixed, featuring Marin whipping the heck out of Cole and him enjoying it immensely, I wanted to know more.  As Cole admits at the end of Transfixed, his activities in Marin aren't the only thing that turns him on and "Transformed" explores the other side of the bed, so to speak.  Given that this is a flip book, having both these stories book end the collection made

"Is that...

December Recommendations

Historical

Once Upon a Winter's Eve by Tessa Dare, recommended by Lazaraspaste  | A | BN  Sony | Kobo
Coming Home for Christmas (anthology) by Carla Kelly, recommended by Jayne | A | BN  Sony | Kobo |HQN
Her Rebel Heart by Shannon Farrington, recommended by Jayne  | A | BN  Sony | Kobo
Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer, recommended by Sunita | A | BN  Sony | Kobo

Paranormal / UF

Demon's Lover by Juliet Dark (first in a duology and straight ghost/spirit fantasy), recommended by Lazaraspaste | a