Archive for the ‘Book news’ Category
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
I can’t believe the end of summer is almost here. We’re already thinking about September 2012 new releases! Tessa Dare and Meljean Brook have both won over plenty of fans among our review staff, so it’s not surprising that their new releases are topping the list of books we are eagerly awaiting. As always, there are plenty of books catching our eyes. What do you plan to read as the summer winds to a close?
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Title and Author |
Reviewer |
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A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare |
Lynn, Blythe, Jean, Lee, Elizabeth C. |
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Riveted by Meljean Brook |
Sandy, Maggie,Jean, Pat |
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The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James |
Jean,Leigh, Lee |
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Delusion in Death by J. D. Robb |
Blythe, Jean |
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The Lovesick Cure by Pamela Morsi |
Leigh,Maggie |
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The Last Renegade by Jo Goodman |
Jean, Lynn |
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Low Pressure by Sandra Brown |
Lea, Maggie |
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Blame it on Texas by Christie Craig |
Leigh |
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With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin |
Maggie |
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Sins of a Virgin by Anna Randol |
Lee |
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How to Drive a Dragon Crazy by G.A. Aiken |
Louise |
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A Sunless Sea by Anne Perry |
Pat |
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Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl |
Lynn |
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Archangel’s Storm by Nalini Singh |
Jean |
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The Good Woman by Jane Porter |
Lee |
Tags: All About Romance, Eagerly Awaited, Eagerly Awaiting
Posted in Book news, Lynn AAR | 4 Comments »
Friday, July 27th, 2012
As always, the Romance Writers of America conference is an almost overwhelming flurry of activity. On the one hand, I love walking through the hotel and hearing snippets of conversations from writers, editors, agents, and others. On the other hand, it can be something of a dizzying whirl. I’ve enjoyed catching up with folks I get to see only once a year, and I’ve gotten to meet some of the authors whose books I’ve loved, which is always a thrill. The sharing of ideas is quite contagious as people exchange information, tips, and gossip. As I’ve spoken to various authors, publishing houses, and agents, a few topics have already come up over and over again.
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Tags: All About Romance, RWA
Posted in Book news, Lynn AAR, Publishing | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, June 6th, 2012
The minute I read Nalini Singh’s Slave of Sensation, I knew we had something special in our hands. In the intervening six, short years, Nalini has published fifteen stories in her thought-provoking Psy/Changeling series, each of them gritty, passionate, and loads of fun.
With this month’s release of Tangle of Need, we took the opportunity to ask Nalini a few questions, and she’s coming along with some free books in tow. Five lucky readers will have their pick of any one book from the previous 10 books in the Psy/Changeling series (not including Tangle of Need – sorry), and all you have to do to enter is comment on this post by Friday, June 8, 11:59 p.m. EST. We will notify winners by email on Saturday morning, and they will have 24 hours to respond. If we don’t hear from a winner within that time, a new winner will be selected. If you review for another Web site or blog, please don’t enter. Unfortunately, only residents of the U.S. and Canada are eligible to enter.
Now, on to Nalini!
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Tags: contest, Giveaway, Nalini Singh, tangle of need
Posted in Authors, Book news, Books, Books with Buzz, Characters, giveaways, Heroes, Heroines, Interviews, Jean AAR | 38 Comments »
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
It’s no news that eBooks caught 99% of the population unawares. (Check out the article link in the next paragraph – boy, have we come a long way.) I’d say most authors got with the times, and most have now been e-publishing current books as well as backlists for a few years.
Except for one writer: Joanne Kathleen Rowling, aka the Woman Who Can Do Whatever the Hell She Wants. Seven years ago, she officially refused to make the Harry Potter series available as eBooks, despite rampant piracy – until last year, when she announced the arrival of Pottermore, a “unique and free-to-use Web site which builds an exciting online experience” around Harry Potter, and produced in partnership with Sony (according to the press release). Ten months later, Pottermore opened to the public, and hoo boy, the windmills start again.
What is Pottermore? It’s two things. First and foremost, it’s an online portal through which you can relive the Harry Potter books, see chapters and scenes gently animated, interact with the Harry Potter universe, discover characters’ backstories and behind-the-scenes tidbits, and engage with others in the Pottermore community. You can go shopping on Diagon Alley, collect galleons, magical artefacts, and Chocolate Frog Cards, duel with other wizards – oh, and you answer two nifty quizzes to get a wand and be sorted into houses. (My wand, by the way, is a 10-inch unyielding ash with unicorn core, and I am now officially in Gryffindor.)
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Tags: harry potter, J.K. Rowling, Pottermore
Posted in Authors, Book news, Books, Characters, E-books, Jean AAR, Online, Reading | 5 Comments »
Friday, March 9th, 2012
Every once in a while, a book will pop out of nowhere and get all kinds of mega media attention. Usually, this is limited to Nicholas Sparks’ novels in which the heroine (and sometimes the hero) usually dies, but this time out it’s linked to a novel that is, unmistakably, a romance. With an HEA and everything.
I’ve read the book – the first two, in fact – and, excuse me, if I just don’t see what the Big Deal is all about. Fifty Shades of Grey flirts with BDSM, but isn’t really, since the focus is on how “wrong” the hero is for his obsession and it seems to me as if the BDSM lifestyle is diminished increasingly throughout the first two books. I haven’t read the last one, yet, but I’d be pretty damn surprised if a BDSM-lite HEA isn’t involved.
Now, for the eleventy-seventh time, I’m not knocking BDSM, but it’s just not my thing, okay? But the BDSM in this book is of the ultra mild variety so, if any of the masses out there are reading it for their secret BDSM thrill, the truth is there really have to be books out there that can more effectively satisfy that desire.
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Tags: Fifty Shades of Grey
Posted in Book news, Books, Characters, E-books, Reading, Romance reading, Sandy AAR | 44 Comments »
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
At long, long last after a draught of one solid year without a book from Lisa Kleypas, her loyal readers catch a break at last when Rainshadow Road is finally released on Tuesday, February 28th. To celebrate, we’ve got Lisa herself to answer a few questions and she doesn’t come empty handed. Lisa has 10 books donated by her publisher to give away to 10 lucky winners. To enter, all you need to do is comment to this blog by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, February 24th. Winners will be notified by email on Saturday morning and will have 24 hours to respond. If we don’t hear from a winner within that time, a new winner will be selected. This contest is designed for readers, so please don’t enter if you review for another Web site or blog. Due to the high cost of international postage, entries are open only to those from the U.S. and Canada.
Now, let’s hear from Lisa!
Lisa, thanks so much for joining us today. Could you please tell our readers a bit about Rainshadow Road?
Sandy, thank you so much for inviting me! Rainshadow Road is the first in a series of contemporary romances set in Friday Harbor, Washington. It’s about a young glass artist, Lucy Marinn, who is dumped by her boyfriend at the beginning of the story–and if that’s not bad enough, she discovers that he’s dumped her for her younger sister! So about fifteen minutes after this happens, she sees this handsome stranger on the beach, who happens to be Sam Nolan, a local vineyard owner.
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Tags: Lisa Kleypas, Rainshadow Road
Posted in Authors, Book news, Books, Books with Buzz, Contests, giveaways, Interviews, Sandy AAR | 258 Comments »
Monday, February 6th, 2012
Some months bring more anticipation than others, but the March 2012 new releases list has just about everyone at AAR very excited. Favorite series authors have new releases coming, and there are some new paranormal and historical romances that we can’t wait to read either. However, contemporaries seem to be big news this coming March. Lisa Kleypas’ newest book, Rainshadow Road has caught more eyes than anything else on the list, and the number of reviewers who can’t wait to read Redwood Bend indicates that Robyn Carr’s Virgin River continues to appeal to fans.
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Title and Author |
Reviewer |
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Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas |
Sandy, Blythe,Lea, Pat, Heather S.,Anne, Maggie |
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Redwood Bend by Robyn Carr |
Maggie, Heather S.,Pat, Leigh |
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Doc by Mary Doria Russell |
Lynn, Dabney,Anne |
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Timeless by Gail Carriger |
Blythe, LinnieGayl, Maggie |
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More Than One Night by Sarah Mayberry |
Pat, Rike, Heather S. |
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The Temporary Wife/A Promise of Spring by Mary Balogh |
Jean, Anne,Pat |
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Oracle’s Moon by Thea Harrison |
Louise, Wendy |
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Fair Game by Patricia Briggs |
Maggie, Heather S. |
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The Needle in the Blood by Sarah Bower |
Anne, Lynn |
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Angels’ Flight by Nalini Singh |
Jean, Wendy |
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The Surrender of Miss Fairbourne by Madeline Hunter |
Heather S., Lee |
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Run From Fear by Jami Alden |
Lynn, Maggie |
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Sisterhood Everlasting(paperback release) by Ann Brashares |
Rike |
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Wedded in Scandal by Jade Lee |
Anne |
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Lessons in Laughing Out Loud by Rowan Coleman |
Lee |
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Lady Folbrooke’s Delicious Deception by Chrstine Merrill |
Rike |
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The Darkest Seduction by Gena Showalter |
Cindy |
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Logan’s Outlaw by Elaine Levine |
Pat |
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I Want Candy by Susan Donovan |
Heather S. |
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Blame it on Bath by Caroline Linden |
Lee |
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Burn Me Deadly (paperback edition) by Alex Bledsoe |
Rike |
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Missing by Shelley Shepard Gray |
Pat |
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The Lawman’s Vow by Elizabeth Lane |
Lynn |
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The Revenge of Lord Eberlin by Julia London |
Anne |
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Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik |
Rike |
Tags: All About Romance, Eagerly Awaited, Eagerly Awaiting
Posted in All About Romance, Book news, Lynn AAR | 8 Comments »
Friday, December 23rd, 2011
The past couple of years have been good in terms of reading. I can think of a few 2012 books here and there that I know people anticipate, but I wasn’t sure what books all of us here at AAR would be wanting to bring in the new year. Julie Anne Long’s Pennyroyal Green has more than a few fans at AAR, so I was not surprised to see it top the list of Eagerly Awaited books. And rounding out the list are a nice assortment of other historicals, paranormals, and some inspirational and contemporary picks. What books are you most looking forward to this new year?
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Title and Author |
Reviewer |
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How the Marquess was Won by Julie Anne Long |
Sandy, Lee,Dabney, Jean, Wendy |
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Colorado Dawn by Kaki Warner |
Lynn, Wendy, Pat, Lee |
|
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The Duke is Mine by Eloisa James |
Jean,Lea,Wendy |
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Hidden Summit by Robyn Carr |
Heather S., Pat |
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Lothaire by Kresley Cole |
Cindy, Heather S. |
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Bride by Mistake by Anne Gracie |
Rike,Lee |
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Trouble at the Wedding by Laura Lee Guhrke |
Lea, Lynn |
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Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly |
Pat,Lee |
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Wild Cat by Jennifer Ashley |
Wendy |
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The Pleasure of Your Kiss by Teresa Medeiros |
Lee |
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Gone West by Carola Dunn |
Rike |
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Gift of Magic by Lynn Kurland |
Louise |
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The Phoenix by Rhonda Vincent |
Pat |
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Born of Ashes by Caris Roane |
Wendy |
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Forever and a Day by Delilah Marvelle |
Lynn |
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A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant |
Lee |
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Born of Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon |
Rike |
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Enduring Light by Carla Kelly |
Pat |
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Midnight Reckoning by Kendra Leigh Castle |
Wendy |
Tags: All About Romance, Eagerly Awaited, Eagerly Awaiting
Posted in Book news, Lynn AAR | 4 Comments »
Thursday, December 8th, 2011
It’s not that the American people don’t think of their veterans all year round. Many of us do, especially when we see men and woman in uniform or hear the news about Iraq & Afghanistan. However there are certain things that cause us to think about them more, like Veteran’s Day or yesterday, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Reading the BelleBooks anthology SEAL of MY DREAMS put them very much on my mind as well. After finishing the book, I thought about how the concept of the book in and of itself is so moving. Belle Books, a company established in 1999 by Debra Dixon, Deborah Smith, Sandra Chastain, Virginia Ellis, Nancy Knight and Donna Ball, and eighteen different authors are donating all the proceeds from this book to Veterans Research Corporation.
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Tags: All About Romance, Barbara Samuel, BelleBooks, Jo Leigh, Leslie Kelly, Stephanie Bond, Tara Janzen, veterans
Posted in Book news, Leigh AAR, Romance reading | 9 Comments »
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
I am really excited about this one, so fair warning.
On November 22nd, The Other Guy’s Bride, the long, long, long(!) awaited sequel to As You Desire will finally hit your Kindle, with the print version following one month later. I’ve read the book and it’s fair to say that’s one of the reasons I’m so excited. I’ll have more to say later, but this new book is a worthy successor to a book so fondly remembered by so very many of us.
You know, there was so much controversy over how this book is being published and now we’re down to what really matters.
We’ll be back in a few weeks with a giveaway, but, in the meantime, Connie offered us an exclusive excerpt from the book to whet your appetite. So, read it, enjoy – and leave a question or your reaction for Connie in the comments.
- Sandy AAR
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Tags: Amazon, Amazon Montlake, As You Desire, connie brockway, The Other Guy's Bride
Posted in Authors, Book news, Books, E-books, Publishing, Reading, Romance, Romance reading, Sandy AAR | 34 Comments »
