Jane Litte's Blog, page 1053

REVIEW: The Disgraced Playboy by Caitlin Crews

Dear Ms. Crews:

The Disgraced Playboy is the second in the Notorious Wolfe series (or Bad Blood to the UK readers).  The first, by Sarah Morgan, was reviewed here.  The story treads familiar tropes: low self esteem hero plays at being a dilettante so that no one can see how empty he is inside paired with the buttoned up heroine trying to live down her own disgraceful past.  The familiarity, however, does not lessen its impact.

[image error]Lucas and Grace both know shame and have dealt with it differently. ...

JOINT REVIEW & Giveaway: The Rifter Parts 1-5 by Ginn Hale

We're giving away one full subscription to the ten novellas that comprise Ginn Hale's epic m/m fantasy with this joint review by Sunita and Janine. To enter the giveaway, post a comment to this blog post, telling us what your favorite romantic fantasy or science fiction novel is, or why you want to read The Rifter. The contest will close at noon CDT on Saturday, August 6th and we'll announce the winner the following day.

Sunita: I've heard so many good things about Ginn Hale's work, and I...

Author. Authorial persona. Book. It's getting harder to tell them apart.

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Janet/Robin's post on authorial intrusion into the text generated a very lively discussion. I was a little surprised, though, that one point of Robin's was not picked up more: her careful distinction between the author as a person and the authorial persona. Perhaps this is because we have conditioned ourselves not to read disclaimers:

Obligatory Disclaimer: When I refer to the "author," I'm not referring to the person who goes grocery shopping and takes care of her kids, etc. That is, I...

REVIEW: Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison

Dear Ms. Harrison,

As a Paranormal reader and reviewer, the concept of a series is both the blessing and bane of my existence. Ever heard of a stand-alone Paranormal? I've gotta look around and see if they actually occur…but back to the matter at hand. After the first book, it's crystal clear as to whether I'll continue the series. But then I'm faced with worry: will the author's work in the second (third, ninth…what have you) measure up? And if it doesn't, do I pray that the author...

August Recommended Reads

Here are our August recommended reads.  There are a number of category books and no contemporaries.  I think our contemporary needs were sated by the category books we read.  The reviews of these books will posted this week and next.

Series books:

Stand-in Wife by Karina Bliss | Goodreads | Amazon | BN | nook | Sony | Kobo | Harlequin * Recommended by Jane One Good Reason by Sarah Mayberry | Goodreads | Amazon | BN | nook | Sony | Kobo | Harlequin * Recommended by Jane The Man She Loves to...

REVIEW: The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley

Dear Ms. Ashley:

In The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie, Mac says to Ian:

Mac sighed, cutting through the memory. "We're Mackenzies. We don't get happy endings." Ian wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and didn't answer.

[image error]Their father lived by the mantra that sparing the rod spoiled the child. He beat his youngest son, Ian, because Ian couldn't look him in the face.  He beat Mac because Mac was unnaturally attracted to art.  He beat Hart, the eldest, because he felt the heir should be beat...

The Mackenzies (aka Highland Pleasures): Saving a Series by Jennifer Ashley and editor, Kate Seaver

From Jennifer Ashley, author

I'm thrilled to announce the August 2 release of The Many Sins of Lord Cameron, the third book in the Mackenzies series, which began with The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie (reviewed here).

[image error] Not only am I excited to see a new book hit the shelves, I'm also happy that Berkley has picked up the rights to and is re-releasing The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie (book 1), which has been out of print for some time. The book has a new cover and is once more available in...

Buying Books on the iThings Now that the Catalogs Are Gone

As of today, all of the book apps that work on Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, iTouch = iThings)  have been stripped of the their in app catalogs and buy links.  The apps are not to mention why the catalogs or buy links have been removed and the apps cannot mention how to create an account or buy books even the app does not give a direct link.*

So how the heck do you get books onto the app itself?  This procedure is called sideloading and it's fairly easy.

Synching.

Apple has not removed the apps a...

REVIEW: Summer's End by Kathleen Gilles Seidel

"To their respective families, Jack Wells and Amy Legend are outsiders. A free-spirited man-of-all-trades, Jack takes life as it comes—not at all like his supremely organized mother, the admiral's widow, and his methodical lawyer sister. Amy, a professional athlete with exquisite taste and golden beauty, has a glamorous career a world apart from her bookish older siblings and college professor father.

When Jack's mother marries Amy's widowed father, they invite all the children to spend the...

First Page: Unnamed Fantasy

Welcome to First Page Saturday. Individual authors anonymously send a first page read and critiqued by the Dear Author community of authors, readers and industry others. Anyone is welcome to comment. You may comment anonymously.

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The hill went up and down and up and down the hill went a girl. She was tall and pretty and at the moment she was tired to death. Her large, grey eyes were falling shut with exhaustion; her brown, wavy hair plastered itself across her forehead with sweat and fell...