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Theodora Taylor

STAKING HIS CLAIM by Lynda Chance

April 25, 2012 in alpha male, B Reviews, bi-racial heroine, Book Reviews, Hispanic, Hispanic hero, Novella, rancher, self-published, sensual, steamy, white woman latin man, wwlm

Description: When alpha male rancher, Raul Vega, meets innocent nursing student, Elaina Ruiz, he works hard to resist her, believing she’s too young for him. Elaina finds Raul too intense and doesn’t disabuse him of the notion, even though she’s old enough for what he has in mind. But how long can they deny their attraction?

The Good: Chance’s writing has a lot of energy, which is harder to achieve than one might think. You won’t get bored, and you’ll keep on turning the pages. Also, this novella is a bargain at $0.99.

The Bad:

The Hero (Hispanic): It’s a thin line between aggressive would-be lover and judgmental bully with Raul, and if you’re sensitive to that line in alpha males, you might have trouble fully enjoying this story.

The Heroine (white and Hispanic): When dealing with alpha males, the characterization of the heroine has to be even more on point, so that it doesn’t feel like she’s being completely overshadowed by a stronger personality. In this case, Elaina needs considerable character work, as her motivation is unclear and often shaky. She doesn’t know what she wants from life or love, which happens all the time in real life, but in book life it’s hard to give a character these traits without her coming across as wishy-washy and childish as opposed to truly conflicted.

Craft: Contradiction issues. Ex. Elaina was stunned at his agreement and didn’t even think to question his sincerity. He was sincere. She would bet on it. “Are you serious?” [she asked]. Basically, the character is saying she doesn’t question the hero’s sincerity before turning around and questioning his sincerity. There are a few contradictory turns like that.

The Naughty: Sensual>Steamy. Virgin.

Editing issues: Minor. 2 typos found.

Publisher: Indie

Length: 91 pages (Amazon estimate)

Final Grade: C+

Click on the book widget to buy at Amazon for $0.99.

 

 

 

Love IR romance as much as I do? Then pick up THE OWNER OF HIS HEART and HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE, the first two books in my 50 Loving States series!

 

 

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Theodora Taylor

Are Customer/Book Blogger Reviews Better than Reviews by People Who Are Being Paid to Read Your Books?

April 16, 2012 in ebook talk

One of the best differences between reviewing here as opposed to within my critique group is that I don’t have to finish reading anything I don’t want to finish reading.

A lot of writers complain about the age of the customer/book blogger review, but I actually think it’s for the best. I can’t tell you how many professional reviews I’ve read for books I’ve loved that were written by people who wouldn’t have read what they were reviewing if they weren’t being paid to do so.

Many times these reviews are really angry, and the reviewer just goes to town on the author. Having only learned to forcibly divorce my anger about having to read something I didn’t want to read from my critique group feedback a couple of years ago, I somewhat understand their position. While much of a paid reviewer’s vitriol is because he or she didn’t care for the book, some percentage of it also must be due to the fact that he or she had to finish reading the book.

Most of us are allowed to put books down if we wish to do so, but paid readers are basically held hostage by books they don’t like, and when it comes time to write their review, they often have the opposite of Stockholm Syndrome. Trust me, when I have to do something for my day job that I don’t want to do, I become one bitter Nancy myself.

In many ways I think it’s best to have the people who actually want to read your book reviewing your book. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re  going to get good reviews. But it does mean that the bad ones might actually be for more valid reasons than the one written by the magazine or newspaper reviewer whose editor has assigned him a book he wouldn’t ever pick up on his own.

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Theodora Taylor

WAY OF THE WOLF by Netherland St. James

April 16, 2012 in Book Reviews, boss, D Reviews, erotic, menage trois, mmf, office romance, paranormal, self-published, shifter(s), short story, werewolf

Description: Trace and Dustin are best friend and shifter-wolves, and they have a very interesting problem. They’re both in love with the same woman, and she happens to be their employee.

The Good: This is a good situation. And the sex is hot.

The Bad: Almost the entire story is told and not shown. I’m still not sure if Olivia is black or white — the Amazon tags say bwwm, but she’s not described in physical terms outside of the two leads desire. The story has somewhat good bones, but ultimately fails due to really poor execution.

The Naughty: Erotic. Menage.

Editing issues: 2 typos

Publisher: Capri Montgomery Books (Indie author)

Length: 7,000+ words

Final Grade: D+

Click on the widget to buy at Amazon for $1.50.

 

 

Love IR romance as much as I do? Then pick up the first two Amazon bestselling books in my 50 Loving States series, THE OWNER OF HIS HEART and HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE, as eBooks or in paperback!

 

 

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Theodora Taylor

TEMPTING WITNESS by Savannah Stuart

April 11, 2012 in B Reviews, cop, erotic, self-published, suspense, wwlm

Description: When Madison DuBois witnesses a crime, she’s forced to turn to her brother’s best friend, Detective Rafe Jackson, for help and shelter. Sparks fly, but can their relationship survive the people who want to harm her and their own internal reservations?


The Good: Rafe is a sexy and extremely hot hero. The first time they have sex is somehow hot, funny, and really, really awkward at the same time. Great price point for the length.

The Bad: I liked that the majority of the suspense and crime stuff happened off page, but some readers might not. Other characters tell us who Madison is as opposed to her showing us who she is herself. This makes for a rather disjointed characterization overall. I could not for the life of me figure out the race of the heroine. I think maybe she is white and he is Latino. I couldn’t be sure. In general if authors tag a book as an interracial romance, they should let us know the race of both characters. Also, the resolution felt rushed and a bit unearned.

The Naughty: Erotic. Explicit language. Anal play. Virgin.

Editing issues: Three typos found.

Publisher: Indie Author

Length: Novella

Final Grade: B-

Click on the book cover to buy at Amazon for $0.99.

 

Love IR romance as much as I do? Then pick up THE OWNER OF HIS HEART and HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE, the first two books in my 50 Loving States series!

 

 

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Theodora Taylor

THE CONTRACT by Zena Wynn

April 9, 2012 in B Reviews, erotic, married couple, Novella, Phaze Books, scifi, white woman latin man, wwlm

Description: Cecily marries Billy, but is forced by his company to also take Billy’s brother Renardo as a husband and lover after Renardo’s wife dies. Drama.

The Good: Ms. Wynn takes a complex situation and makes it surprisingly simple and extremely hot. The reader feels for her main character, who really put in a tug-of-war situation. Though the drama is plentiful it also feels organic and earned. Also, I loved that the main characters are working class. And Ms. Wynn’s world building is so seamless, I kept forgetting that this was technically a sci-fi romance. She never let the world building overshadow the story.

The Bad: The emotional arc is well-plotted and earned, but it doesn’t necessarily feel like the sexual arc is fully resolved. Also, the cover is somewhat baffling. Not sure what, if anything, it has to do with the actual story.

The Naughty: Erotic. Multiple partners.

Editing issues: 3 typos. Dialogue weirdly formatted on Kindle app.

Publisher: Phaze Books

Length: 47 pages

Final Grade: B+

Click on the widget to buy at Amazon for $2.00.

 

Love IR romance as much as I do? Then pick up the first two Amazon bestselling books in my 50 Loving States series, THE OWNER OF HIS HEART and HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE, as eBooks or in paperback!

 

 

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Theodora Taylor

KNOCKING BOOTS by J.M. Snyder

April 4, 2012 in B Reviews, Book Reviews, co-workers, erotic, gay male romance, latin man white man, self-published, short story

Description: Johnny thinks he’s the only ranch hand who likes guys, but then he catches a Mexican migrant worker named Delfino with the ranch boss. Can Johnny find a way to hook up with the sexy vaquero, too?


The Good: The sex was H.O.T. And Delfino was written very sexy.

The Bad: This story is extremely short for its price point. And the end isn’t particularly satisfying. Though tagged as a gay interracial romance, it isn’t very romantic.

The Naughty: Erotic. Peeping Tom.

Editing issues: No typos found

Publisher: Indie Author

Length: 8339 words (Smashwords approximation)

Final Grade: B-

Click on the book cover to buy at Amazon for $2.99.

 

Love IR romance as much as I do? Then pick up THE OWNER OF HIS HEART and HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE, the first two books in my 50 Loving States series!

 

 

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Theodora Taylor

JUICY by Pepper Pace

April 2, 2012 in B Reviews, bwwm, bwwm romance, older woman younger man, pregnant, self-published, sensual

Description: When, Juicy, a “dark as licorice” hairdresser with anger management issues is unexpectedly saved by Troy, a homeless white man with mental issues, really unexpected sparks fly.

The Good: Let’s start with the fact that Ms. Pace managed to make a homeless white hero with mental issues not only sexy, but appealing. That alone would have blown my mind, but she also manages to successfully throw many of the romance formula rules out the window — which only makes the novel even more romantic in my opinion. Ms. Pace has a strange sense of humor, and this makes for a very fresh novel. In many ways, JUICY is a page turner fueled by its own oddness.

The Bad: This is difficult, because I want to give this odd gem of a novel an A+, but it has quite a few issues that can’t be overlooked, mostly surrounding craft. Ms. Pace has tremendous talent, which is held back by often clunky execution. Her loose narrative walks a very thin line, only narrowly missing a full-on ramble at times. She writes poetically at times, but tends to follow every train of thought, which makes for a bloated story. Also, there are so many typos, I had to detract a full star. Somewhat like Latrivia Nelson, one feels Ms. Pace could go much further, if she engaged a stronger editor for this and future works.

The Naughty: Sensual. Rape (not depicted). Sex in barber chair.

Editing issues: Several typos.

Publisher: Indie Writer

Length: Novel-length

Final Grade: B-

Click on the widget to buy at Amazon for $4.99.

 

Love IR romance as much as I do? Then pick up the first two Amazon bestselling books in my 50 Loving States series, THE OWNER OF HIS HEART and HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE, as eBooks or in paperback!

 

 

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Theodora Taylor

No, I Was Definitely Trolled and Thank You, Amazon!

April 1, 2012 in ebook talk, Troll

So I returned home from an otherwise really nice vacation to find that Amazon had taken down the majority of the one-star reviews, accusing me of stealing from another author (one 2-star one wasn’t included in the initial complaint and another 1-star popped up after it was sent in). However, I took a look at a screen shot of the original one-star reviews, and I was aghast that it wasn’t just people saying I had stolen an idea from Ms. Nelson, but that I had actually plagiarized her work.

Record scratch. #holdupnow

I worked very hard on HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE and I sweated bullets to get that book out of my head and on to my computer. As a writer, this is the absolute worst thing you could ever accuse me of. It makes me want to throw up that anyone would use my name and the word “plagiarize” in the same sentence.

Let me make a few things clear.

1. I have not read any of Latrivia Nelson’s books, save THE GRUNT, which I loved on a story level, but which I thought was technically horribly written.

2. From what I can see, none of these people have actually read HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE. They’re all unverified — which means they didn’t buy the book through Amazon, which is weird, since from what my sales reports are telling me, I’ve sold exactly zero copies of RUSSIAN through non-Amazon sites.Since RUSSIAN is in KDP Select, all of the unverified reviewers must have stolen the book or collectively decided to use accounts they didn’t buy the book with in order to file their reviews. (Spoiler Alert: This isn’t very likely). A couple of reviews even had the exact same language.

3. So basically within a 24 hour period 7 reviews magically appeared from unverified reviewers, accusing me of plagiarism.

4. Every line from RUSSIAN that they’ve quoted to “prove” their plagiarism accusations can easily be obtained from the sample.

As I hope you can tell, I usually have a huge sense of humor in regards to just about everything.

However, I’ve stopped laughing.

I’ve also handed the case over to Amazon, and have been put in contact with Amazon Legal. Amazon tracks IP addresses and credit card numbers for everyone who leaves a review, so I’m really excited to see what they dig up. Either way, I’ll keep you updated.

Until then I’m just going to go back to writing. As it turns out, I don’t really have what it takes to fake beef like Kanye and Fifty Cent — especially when it comes to illegal actions like defamation of my character and libel, which this most certainly is.

 

Still Writing,

Theodora

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