Why I Review *and* Write
The blog recently received two negative comments from the same person re my role as both a writer and reviewer of IR romance, which was awesome, in that they reminded me that I had been meaning to write a post about why I both review and write interrracial romance novels. First the comments: There was this one on my B- review of MERRY CHRISTMAS, BABY by Monica Jackson: Isn’t this a conflict of interest? How can you present that you have a professional review site but then you’re pimping your books at the end. You’re piggybacking on other established author’s present readership. And this is tacky. And there was this one of my B+ review of SANTA BABY by Roslyn Holcomb: This is real shady. How can you give unbiased reviews then try to sell...
MERRY CHRISTMAS, BABY by Monica Jackson
Description: After getting out of a terrible relationship, her mother’s new physical therapist, Nick, might be just the person Sharyn needs to heat up her holidays. But will Nick’s secrets tear them apart? The Good: Definitely worth the price. This highly romantic novella enjoys strong structure and plotting — plus it’s a really cute and funny story. I especially loved the two main characters’ family members, who were awesomely dysfunctional and somehow perfectly familiar. Reading the character of Betty “The Dragon” Silvers almost made me want to call my own dragon grandma. Almost. The Bad: The issue with love at first sight is that it can feel like weak character motivation. In this case, Nick goes gaga over Sharyn after...
SANTA BABY by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb
Description: The moment real estate tycoon, Trip Wakefield, lays eyes on blues singer, Arietta, he’s thunderstruck. He wages a campaign to make her his kept woman, but after a reversal of fortune, he must rethink his ideas about love or risk losing her forever. The Good: This was a very charming story with some seriously hot sex scenes. Trip is one of the most realistic portraits of an alpha business man that I’ve seen. I love that he and Arietta both have financial ups and downs and that’s it’s weaved into their romantic storyline. I also loved that they both came from big, funny and ridiculous families. In the end, they turned out to have more in common than one would have thought reading the description. Also, this story is on and...
CHRISTMAS & FOREVER by Delilah Hunt
Description: Aiden, a traumatized and wounded doctor, tries to resist his attraction to, Liya, the much younger receptionist at his clinic. But when they both end up at his cabin for the holidays, even the snow can’t stop them from heating up the winter nights. The Good: Ms. Hunt has a weird way of making me like situations that I don’t normally like. For example, I didn’t think her mute cowboy romance, LOVE UNSPOKEN, would be quite to my taste (I only read it on the strength of an excerpt she posted on another IR site), but it was one of my favorite romances of the year. And, I’ve never been a fan of May/December romances but I really loved this one. It was like watching Dr. House fall in love, even though he was super-resistant to it....
THE PRICE OF PASSION by Stephanie Morris
Description: After one heated night of passion, Kaden and Sierra (who thought she was infertile) discover that they have a a very special Christmas package on the way. Can they overcome their baggage and give each other the love they’ve always longed for? The Good: This was such a sweet, sweet story. It’s always a tremendous treat to watch two nice, but extremely guarded people fall in love. Kaden is a gem of a hero and exceedingly easy to love. My heart was with him from page one. He’s written with great physicality and really gets in Sierra’s space. I loved that he saw his part in his divorce with his first wife — that’s so rare in romance novels. And I also loved that he and Sierra really communicated. There are so many...
Why You Should Always Read the Sample
I’ve learned the hard way to always read samples — especially where IR Romance is concerned. I’ve been burned one too many times by a great book description that leads to just a meh book. Samples also help get me off the fence about whether to download certain books, that I wouldn’t otherwise download. Sometimes a book has a great description but an awful cover. It’s kind of like meeting a handsome man, who dresses horribly. Is his fashion taste indicative of his general nature, or is he a sweet-but-bumbling soul in need of a makeover? Samples help me decide whether or not to judge the book by its cover. Recently I stumbled upon another benefit of reading samples. When uploading my own book, THE OWNER OF HIS HEART, to the Kindle...
NOT FOR SALE by Sandra Marton
Description: Brazillian businessman, Lucas Viera, needs a translator who can pose as his girlfriend and speak Russian, so a co-worker helps him engage the services of Dani Sinclair, a woman who speaks Russian, but also happens to be a high-priced escort on the side. She asks grad student, Caroline, an old classmate of hers, to step in. Passion ensues, despite Lucas’s reservations about falling for someone he believes to be an escort. The Good: This was a funny and sweet story, and Marton is very good at heating up the page without being explicit. She puts her characters in great situations, and there’s a high level of romance. It’s easy to understand why this couple would fall for each other. I also loved that most of the book was from...
PRICELESS by Lena Matthews
Description: While poor newlyweds, Nia and Eric spend their first Christmas together in the cold city where he’s doing his residency, they heat up the winter nights with love and passion. The Good: Ms. Matthews does a wonderful job of making married sex very hot. She sets up great situations for the couple, and the love scenes are very well-executed. Nia is lovely and sweet and easy to root for. I was also a big fan of Eric’s best work friend, Dominic, and Lena’s best work friend, Julia. Can’t wait to read their BW/AM story. Last but not least, this story was a great length for the price. The Bad: The “Gift of the Magi” plot itself doesn’t really kick in for several chapters, so there’s not much but sex and banter...
TRUE MATES by Zena Wynn
Description: A bi-racial woman who works too hard and plays too little is unexpectedly transported to a meadow, where she is literally left hanging for her true mate werewolf. He finds her — oh, does he find her. But will her need for control kill their newfound relationship? The Good: Well, the sex comes fast and hot. But at the same time I completely believed that these two passionate people would hook up from the jump off. Ms. Wynn does a great job setting up the story in that regard. And it’s a great situation, in that they have sex first things first, then spend the rest of the story getting to know each other. The heroine is big-boned, and I really liked the gentle-but-alpha hero. The Bad: The story falls into the same trap that many...
OUTLAW’S DELIGHT by Dahlia Rose
Description: When sheriff Simon Boothe is wrongly accused of a crime and sentenced to hang due to the machinations of the most villainous businessman in town, he escapes and flees to a nearby outlaw town. Here, he meets Delight Blue who also has a serious bone to pick with his enemy. The only thing they become more passionate about than revenge is each other. The Good: Simon and Delight are well … delightful. And Delight makes this book especially worth reading. She’s a great example of how to give your heroine a ton attitude without making her overly prickly and turning off the reader. She has hopes and dreams and moments of awesome fierceness; I was rooting for her and Simon all the way. As a couple, they’re highly romantic and a pleasure to...
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