Jane Litte's Blog, page 924

How I’m Learning to Live With and Love 50 Shades of Grey

Last week Rosario posted her DNF review of 50 Shades of Grey. It was the pick for her book club, comprised of men and women some of whom are primarily literary fiction readers. There were some who loved the book and some who hated it but it sparked a vigorous book club discussion:

The one good point? The discussion at my book club was fantastic. Given what I’d seen in discussions online, I started out by requesting that people refrain from making assumptions about people who liked the book, bu...

Tuesday News: LendInk killed by false accusations of piracy; Criticisms of Victoria Foyt’s racist story; Supporting agency by Simon Lipskar

Image via Big Stock Photo

Racist Issues in Victoria Foyt’s Save the Pearls: Revealing Eden – “White people as the lowest race are called “pearls,” Asian’s are called “ambers,” Latinos are called “Tiger’s Eyes,” and blacks are called, well, we never actually learn what they preferto call themselves. Even though in press and in defenses to her criticism, Foyt has tried to spin that “Coal” was chosen for blacks because it’s “very useful” in society and pearls were chosen because “it’s a useless l...

Daily Deals: A Matter of Scandal by Suzanne Enoch

[image error] A Matter of Scandal by Suzanne Enoch. $1.99.

From Jacket Copy:

Miss Emma Grenville has had her fill of pig-headed noblemen who believe women exist solely to satisfy men. And her arrogant new landlord, the Duke of Wycliffe, is the worst of the lot! The too-attractive cad wants to triple the rent on Emma’s finishing school for young ladies to help get his newly inherited estate out of debt. Well, he clearly needs educating—about women. And Emma is just the one to enlighten him.

The sinfully hands...

REVIEW: Almost a Scandal by Elizabeth Essex

For generations, the Kents have served proudly with the British Royal Navy. So when her younger brother refuses to report for duty, Sally Kent slips into a uniform and takes his place—at least until he comes to his senses. Boldly climbing aboard the Audacious, Sally is as able-bodied as any sailor there. But one man is making her feel tantalizingly aware of the full-bodied woman beneath her navy blues…

Dedicated to his ship, sworn to his duty—and distractingly gorgeous—Lieutenant David Colyear...

Guest Post by Karen Robards

Sue Grimshaw, formerly of Borders and now an acquiring editor for Loveswept, emailed me and asked if we would be interested in having a guest post from Karen Robards. I said sure. Ms. Robards decided to share her inspiration for the location of her latest book.

Winding waterways stretch out amongst thick forests like tentacles that are constantly writhing and changing their shape, as if they’re searching for something. Predators that have been forgotten by time itself lurk in the hidden depths...

REVIEW: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Dear Ms. Blake,

Last year I read your debut, Anna Dressed in Blood. I loved it. It was a creepy ghost story about a ghost hunter on a mission to track down a violent, bloodthirsty ghost but ends up falling in love with her instead. Sometimes I think the urban fantasy subgenre has made us forget that its supernatural denizens can be very scary. Anna, the titular ghost, while a tragic figure, never let us readers forget the threat she posed. There were some surprisingly gory scenes in that novel...

Monday News: Why I am not in love with the romance documentary; Amazing scientific advancement improving life of children

I wasn’t going to post any news about the Popular Romance organizations’ Kickstarter for $50,000 because a) I am not a fan of Kickstarters in general and b) because I have concerns about the Popular Romance one and did not feel comfortable giving it more publicity at this time. That said, I’ve received emails and tweets asking if I knew about the project; whether it was legitimate; whether I would be posting about it on the site. I’m certainly not against a documentary that is supposed to be...

Daily Deals: Never Stay Past Midnight by Mira Lyn Kelly & others

[image error] Never Stay Past Midnight by Mira Lyn Kelly. $2.99.

From Jacket Copy:

“You are so wrong for me.”

Levi had to agree-he was. He was leaving Chicago in a few short weeks. He didn’t do commitment-ever. But everything about this night, this girl, was so good. So right. Until at 11:59 p.m. she got out of his bed, got dressed and left!

What had he done? Things had hardly started and she was off! Yet he was bored with simpering women he couldn’t get rid of. Elise was a breath of fresh air. How was he goi...

REVIEW: The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand

Dear Ms. Florand,

When Jane said she had a book set in Paris with a romance centered around chocolate, I didn’t see how I could pass it up. I’ve never read anything else by you, but I plan to rectify that omission immediately. There’s really no other way to say it: The Chocolate Thief is a lovely confection of a contemporary romance. It’s well-written, it features an absolutely delectable hero and an admirable, adorable heroine (even when she is committing theft). My one warning to readers: do...

Google Nexus 7 Review

A few weeks ago Google released their first entry into the increasingly crowded Android tablet arena, the Nexus 7. The 7-inch Nexus 7 competes with the likes of the Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, Galaxy Tab 2 and others, as well as older spec’d devices like the Kobo Vox and Nook Color. Google’s Nexus line are generally the first to get updates & new versions of Android and are free of the bloatware many manufacturers pre-load on their devices.

There are two variants of the Nexus 7 available. A $199...