Jane Litte's Blog, page 901

Daily Deals: A contemporary, crime noir, YA with princesses, and a questionable Lindsey

[image error] Weekends Required by Sydney Landon. $2.99.

From Jacket Copy:

Claire Walters has worked for Jason Danvers as his assistant at Danvers International for three years, and he has never thought of her as a woman until the day she jumps out of a cake at his friend’s bachelor party.

Claire is forced to work a second job at a party planning company to support her ailing mother. She is horrified when Jason not only finds out, but has a front-row seat to the action. With Danvers in the process of merging...

REVIEW: Taking Chances by Molly McAdams

Dear Ms. McAdams:

After this book, I wondered if the new thing in New Adult is love triangles and super selfish heroines. Is this the new *thing*? Is it a result of Twilight’s fake love triangle? Does it feed a wish fulfillment of being the center of all the attention? It could just be Vampire Diary fan fiction. In the book Harper says

I felt like Elena from Vampire Diaries. She has two insanely hot men who are in love with her and would do anything for her. One of which, she would give almost...

First Page: unpublished manuscript (chick lit mystery)

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. You can submit your own First Page using this form.

“Sunny and 52 for a high,” the meteorologist said as I tried not to look too lustily at the screen. I knew many other women across the DMA were gazing upon the same eye candy, but none of them worked with him every da...

Daily Deals: Sardonic hitwoman; classic feminist book; paranormal YA; and a novelization sequel

[image error] Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman by JB Lynn. $3.49.

From Jacket Copy:

Maggie Lee is not your average hitwoman. For one thing, she’s never killed anyone. For another, after hitting her head in the car accident that killed her sister, her new best friend is a talking lizard—a picky eater, obsessed with Wheel of Fortune, that only Maggie can hear.

Maggie, who can barely take care of herself, is desperate to help her injured and orphaned niece get the best medical care possible, so she re...

REVIEW: Once Upon a Ballroom by Caroline Linden, Katharine Ashe, Maya Rodale and Miranda Neville

Dear Readers,

Recently I purchased the self-published anthology, Once Upon a Ballroom: Original Short Stories and Exclusive Excerpts. I was drawn to this anthology by my interest in Miranda Neville’s story, “The School of Wooing for Inept Book Collectors.” I’ve enjoyed everything I have read by Neville, by which I mean the four books in her Burgundy Club series.

[image error]To a lesser degree, I’ve also enjoyed a couple of Caroline Linden’s books, and she too has a story in this anthology. Rounding out the...

REVIEW: Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha

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Dear Ms. Rocha:

The pre publication reviews both intrigued and scared me but I thought I would ask for a review copy, something I rarely do. This book is both erotic and loving but within the confines of a dystopian world where lawless gangs rule outer sectors surrounding a walled city where propriety is the byword and any licentious thoughts can get you banned.

Noelle Cunninghamis a councilman’s daughter wanting to explore the pleasures of the flesh, a forbidden activity. For her subversive ac...

Friday Film Review: The Triplets of Belleville

[image error]The Triplets of Belleville -Les triplettes de Belleville (2003)

Genre: Animation dramedy

Grade: B

If you haven’t seen this film or any stills from it, prepare yourself for a surrealistic animation style radically different from Disney or Pixar. Not better, not worse but very different. Things are heightened, elongated, exaggerated and unforgettable. My personal feeling is that this isn’t a film for children due to the dark tone and early 20th century references. It also has very little dialog an...

Friday Midday Links: Hachette releases unreadable ebook for JK Rowling; Pearson adopts Baen business model for tech books; Online defamation in UK

J.K. Rowling’s new ebook: Literally unreadable – Thursday, JK Rowling’s new book “The Casual Vacancy” was released and digital readers were treated to a poorly formatted, impossible to read file. After a multitude of complaints, Hachette finally delivered an updated file sometime late yesterday afternoon. I can hardly believe that this was so messed up by Hachette and my conspiracy theorist mind is wondering whether this was done intentionally to drive readers to print?

“Yesterday the eBook f...

Daily Deals: Contemporary romance, classic fantasy, and a moving memoir

Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey. $2.99.

From Jacket Copy:

One-night stand + two percent condom failure rate = happily ever after?

Bar owner Kevin Kowalski is used to women throwing their phone numbers at him, but lately he’s more interested in finding a woman to settle down with. A woman like Beth Hansen. If only their first meeting hadn’t gone so badly…

Beth’s tending bar at a wedding when she comes face-to-face with a tuxedo-clad man she never thought she’d see again. She tries to keep her...

REVIEW: Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens

Dear Ms. Stephens:

Thoughtless is the perfect title for this book because all of the main characters act in thoughtless ways. But because the story is told in the first person from Kiera’s point of view, her behavior is what I focused on. My first reaction on completing this book was hell no and then when I sat down to write the review, I wondered if I could be more nuanced than “I hate the heroine”. This is my attempt.

[image error]Kiera moved to Seattle to be with her long time boyfriend, Denny. He asks h...