Jane Litte's Blog, page 880

Friday Film Review: Different for Girls

[image error] Different for Girls (1996)

Genre: Romantic dramedy

Grade: B-/C+

Frankly, I’d forgotten I had this movie in my Netflix queue until I noticed that it was due to be taken off the streaming option. With a viewing deadline looming, I first pulled up the information to refresh my memory of why I’d decided to save it to my queue and then clicked “play.” Before I begin the main part of the review, first let me apologize in advance for any terminology, descriptions or definitions I use incorrectly. Gent...

Friday News: Fictionwise Shutters Its Doors; Real Readers Read Print; Mills & Boon Meets Bollywood; Readers Unlikely to Pay Substantial Sums for Subscription

From my inbox:

Dear Fictionwise Publisher/Author,

As you may know, Barnes & Noble acquired Fictionwise, Inc. (Fictionwise) on March 3, 2009. Fictionwise runs several eBook websites, including Fictionwise.com, eReader.com and eBookwise.com. Over the past few years there has been a significant decrease in demand for many of the eBook formats that Fictionwise.com sells. In contrast, the new industry standard eBook format supported by Barnes & Noble–ePub–is growing in popularity.

This letter is to n...

Daily Deals: A recommended read and a classic from a master of suspense

[image error] What I Did For a Duke with Bonus Material by Julie Anne Long. $ .99

From the Jacket Copy:

or years, he’s been an object of fear, fascination . . . and fantasy. But of all the wicked rumors that shadow the formidable Alexander Moncrieffe, Duke of Falconbridge, the ton knows one thing for certain: only fools dare cross him. And when Ian Eversea does just that, Moncrieffe knows the perfect revenge: he’ll seduce Ian’s innocent sister, Genevieve—the only Eversea as yet untouched by scandal. First he...

REVIEW: One Night with a Hero by Laura Kaye

Dear Ms. Kaye:

This book is a sequel of sorts to “Her Forbidden Hero” which I started but abandoned. While I enjoyed One Night with a Hero and the characters, the execution of the plot was problematic. This book had three acts. Only the last one felt fully developed and even that one relied upon a reader to fill in the spaces between the text in order to for the character’s actions to be in any way believable.

[image error]Jocelyn Daniels is an orphan who works at an at risk youth shelter. Her dream is to h...

REVIEW: Lord’s Fall by Thea Harrison

Dear Ms. Harrison:

I am a huge fan of your Elder Races series. The fact that your fifth installment revisits Pia and Dragos, easily my favorite couple in the series (I’ve re-read Dragon Bound more than 10 times), made requesting the book a no brainer. Our visit with Pia and Dragos comes at a delicate time in their relationship. Even though he is the unquestioned leader of the Wyr race, Dragos’ Sentinels (his closest advisors and protectors) keep falling in love and leaving him. He’s also got t...

Thursday News: Apple granted a patent for page turns; Bookstore sales fall 8%; Goodreads posts about book discovery

September Bookstore Sales Fell 8% – I guess by now anyone who has ever been interested in reading a 50 Shades book has bought it already. In September the spring and summer’s robust sales due to the trilogy have worn off leaving bookstore sales to droop 8% behind the previous year’s already lackluster numbers. Publishers Weekly

Apple granted patent for ebook page-turning – It’s a good thing skeumorphism* is on its way out the door at Apple (or so says everyone with the firing of Scott Forstal...

Daily Deals: Romances running the gamut from historical to contemporary for 99c and under

[image error] The Cowboy Takes a Bride by Lori Wilde. $ .99

From the Jacket Copy:

Ex-champion bull rider-turned-cutting-horse cowboy Joe Daniels isn’t quite sure how he ended up sleeping in a horse trough wearing nothing but his Stetson and cowboy boots. But now he’s wide-awake, and a citified woman is glaring down at him. His goal? Get rid of her ASAP. The obstacle? Fighting the attraction he feels toward the blond-haired filly with the big, vulnerable eyes.

When out-of-work wedding planner Mariah Callahan...

REVIEW: Scorched by Laura Griffin

“The dead don’t speak, but Kelsey Quinn knows their secrets. As a forensic anthropologist at the Delphi Center crime lab, Kelsey makes it her mission to identify bodies, often using no more than shards of bone. Her find at a remote Philippines dig hints at a sinister story. When Kelsey’s search for answers puts her at the scene of her ex-fiancé’s murder, only one man can help her–the man who broke her heart months before and is also a prime suspect.

Faced with an ultimatum—Kelsey or his job—Ga...

Excerpt and Giveaway: Aftershock by Jill Sorenson

We are continuing our somewhat new feature of posting a chapter excerpt and sponsoring a giveaway. This giveaway is for Jill Sorenson’s Aftershock. PW gave the book a starred review. This “disaster romance” opens with an 8.5 earthquake in downtown San Diego. Jill says that there are some interesting race issues that she included in the book that might be of particular interest to DA reader.

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THERE’S A FINE LINE

As an emergency paramedic, Lauren Boyer is dedicated and highly capable. Until an ear...

REVIEW: All He Ever Desired by Shannon Stacey

Dear Ms. Stacey

I’m not one who really loves big family stories but you make the Kowalski clan so appealing that even I, the curmudgeon, look forward to spending a few hours with them. This story features Ryan Kowalksi, an owner of a custom home building business in Massachusetts. He is spending a month in Maine helping to fix up the family lodge and get it ready for sledding season and his eldest brother’s wedding.

[image error]Back in Maine Ryan is confronted by the uncomfortable fact that at the age of 3...