With the premiere of New Moon looming, suddenly everyone’s talking about vampires. The diehard Twilight fans I know never entirely stop talking about it, but the chatter grows ever louder. I’ve read all the books and I suspect I’ll end up seeing all the movies, but there is so much more to read once you’ve run through Bella and Edward (and Jacob)’s story. If you’re hooked on vampires, there are a ton of good books out there.
Archive for the ‘Lynn AAR’ Category
Who’s Your Favorite Vampire?
Thursday, November 19th, 2009My Reading Habits Wallow in Shame, Apparently
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
I normally adore Bookmarks magazine. While more than half my reading is romance, I read all kinds of other books as well and Bookmarks gives pretty good coverage of the non-romance world. They tend towards covering mainstream fiction without a lot of pretentious B.S., and their historical fiction articles by Sarah Johnson in particular have given me fantastic reading suggestions. However, when I saw their Guilty Pleasures article in the November/December 2009 issue, I was rather taken aback. The article (part I in a series) goes through types of books the author considers “guilty pleasures” and ranks them as Paradise (practically guilt-free, you could even be seen in public with these), Purgatory (nightstand reading) and Hell (books the author says “shame on you” for reading).
Giveaway News! (Contest Now Closed)
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Though we draw readers from around the world, this site is based in the United States and today is Election Day here in a number of states. So – we have a special little giveaway for you with not one, but two, prizes on the ballot.
First up, we have a copy of Keri Arthur’s latest release, Bound to Shadows, to give away. This is the eighth novel in the Riley Jenson series, which several of our reviewers have enjoyed in the past. If you haven’t read this series, you’re missing some good books!
And your other choice? We have 2 copies of The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens for giveaway. Laurens has created her own world for her characters through the Cynster novels and the somewhat related Bastion Club. Now, with The Untamed Bride, she begins a new series called The Black Cobra Quartet. Though set in the same world as her previous books, these books can be read independently.
To enter, simply comment below and let us know which book you’re entering to win – or whether you’re entering for both. The Untamed Bride can be shipped to US, Canada and UK addresses only. However, Bound to Shadows can be shipped worldwide. This giveaway is open from now until 7:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, November 5, 2009, at which time I’ll turn things over to random.org to get our winners. Many thanks to Keri Arthur and Stephanie Laurens for donating these prizes!
-Lynn Spencer
Anthology Season
Monday, October 26th, 2009
I had planned to blog on something entirely different this week, but reading Katie’s blog last week made me think about one of my favorite times to read category books – the end of the year. As we roll into fall, I get so busy with work and then later with holidays that I don’t always have much time for outside reading beyond my review books. This is the time of year when my anthologies and category romances come out. Some are Christmas-themed, some not, but all are good for a short escape when things are very busy.
I have a big, hefty stack of paranormal series and 400+ page historicals waiting for the perfect winter afternoon, but for now I’m starting to hit the time of year when the perfect short story or category novel will definitely hit the spot. I’m planning to pick up some new anthologies and series books this fall, but I decided to pull out some of my favorites to reread, too.
The FTC Guide Revisions and What They Mean to AAR
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
Earlier I posted about the revisions to the FTC guides which will take effect on December 1, 2009. So, what do these mean to AAR? This site is not strictly a blog, but we are a set of volunteers providing reviews of books. As many of you reading already know, we receive most of our books free of charge from publishers and authors, so we quite probably fit within the FTC’s guidelines on dislosure.
The Great Gabaldon Giveaway!
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
In addition to attending the booksigning with Diana Gabaldon, Blythe has brought back a signed copy of Echo in the Bone for one lucky reader. To enter, simply answer the following, “What medical condition prompts Briana and Roger to journey back to the 20th century with their children?” NOTE: If you haven’t read all the books, be warned that reading the comments will probably spoil at least part of one book for you.
The contest will be open from 8:30 a.m. EST until 7:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, October 1, 2009.
– Blythe Barnhill and Lynn Spencer
Rest in Peace, Kate Duffy
Monday, September 28th, 2009The romance world has lost a giant. Kate Duffy was one of the legendary editors of the genre, and she died today. She started working in publishing in 1974, and worked with several publishing houses, most recently Kensington Books. She edited and mentored many authors during her 35 year career including Jude Devereaux, Judith McNaught, Susan Johnson, and Mary Jo Putney. Kate Duffy has been credited with rescuing the now-famous Whitney, My Love from the slush pile. In addition, the romance world would probably look very different without two of her other major accomplishments – the launch of Kensington’s Brava line of erotic romances and her stint as the first editor-in-chief of Silhouette Books. Ms. Duffy was a strong advocate for authors and for romance, and will be greatly missed.
Many tributes to her can be found online, but Mary Jo Putney said it well, when she blogged, “Kate Duffy was a legend in the romance industry, known for her humor, her directness, her concern for authors, and her passion for the romance genre. I felt honored to be one of her authors. I only wish it had been for much, much longer.” If those of you who knew or worked with Kate Duffy would like to share memories of her, please feel free to do so in the comments.
-Lynn Spencer
Setting the Mood
Friday, September 25th, 2009
So, what about a setting makes it feel romantic? We tend to complain about settings being too wallpapery (the 21st Century Regency) or too cliched (every small town in possession of a fetching heroine must be in want of a sheriff’s attentions to her), but what makes settings great?
You Never Forget the First
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
When I saw Sarah Johnson’s giveaway over at Reading the Past, her request for people to comment with the name of the novel that got them interested in reading historical fiction. Her contest got me thinking not just of historical fiction I have loved, but about the first novel that hooked me on romance. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t pick just one! There have been too many firsts along the way for me.
All Those New-to-Me Books
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
This has been a very good reading year so far. Not only are there a lot of good new books out there, but there are more good reissues than I’ve seen in ages. For the past year or so, I’ve been enjoying the gorgeous reissues that Sourcebooks has been doing of Georgette Heyer’s novels. I haven’t gotten to read them all yet, but I’ve been collecting them and replacing some of my more tattered books. They’ve also reissued some of Laura Kinsale’s novels with absolutely beautiful covers. One of the difficulties of keeping up with romance for me used to be that books had such limited shelf lives compared to other genres. I would find a series I wanted to follow only to discover the first few books were out of print. Very frustrating!
