1st Review Friday

I've held my breath, wondering how a "realistic" women's fiction/romance novel would go over with reviewers. Would my heroine meet with condemnation, as she did with a few uptight critique partners who like to know just what to expect in a book? Would readers hate that they had mixed feelings about the "bad guy" because he had good qualities, too?

Waiting for Revenge got its first review in yesterday, and I'm thrilled. Not only did the reviewer like the book, but she really "got" what I set out to do:

Manic readers review

Happy Friday, ya'all (been working on edits for my next release, filled with Texan cowboys).

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Watcha Readin' Wednesday

Got a nice review link from Google Alerts today:

http://whippedcream2.blogspot.com/2009/05/fantasy-mountain-by-piper-denna.html
Poor thing had a hard time with my name. But it was nice to wake up and find.


Also, doing copy edits on Six Foot Hero, out later this summer from Lyrical Press.

Will post review for Swept Away, by Toni Blake, next week.

On the nightstand (and gathering dust, I might add) Drums of Autumn, of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.

Back to the mayhem,

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Watcha Readin' Wednesday

This week's review title is Mine Till Midnight, by Lisa Kleypas. This book is first in a series (I'd previously read and reviewed the sequel, Seduce Me At Sunrise, and loved it).


Kleypas weaves a gripping story and likeable characters. This is a historical series with an unusually fast pace. I have a confession - which will probably rock the historical readers of the world, but I must get it out in the open: I'm not so big on historical description. Tell me what color dress she wore and maybe the type of fabric and be done. I don't need to know every last detail. Nor do I care about her coiffe. Is it up or down? That's all I want to read. Tapestries, schmapestries. Puhhlies. Get the story moving already! Kleypas gives us a minimum of description and keeps the plot rolling.

Thanks to these books, I now have a bit of a sweet spot for gypsies. And this installment is a perfect opener for book #2, so I feel like now I must go back and read Seduce Me At Sunrise, to properly experience the tension build-up as Kleypas intended.

I love these books. Can't wait to read more about this family. This book is a Keeper. You won’t regret either time or money spent with this book. It has a permanent spot on your shelf. Recommend it freely and lend it carefully to that trustworthy “inner circle” of reader friends. Lisa Kleypas is on my To Be Read list.

On the nightstand: Charlie All Night, by Jennifer Crusie.

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Watcha Readin' Wednesday

This week's review title is Once a Cowboy, by Linda Warren. ** I read it on the Sony Reader, **and guess how much I paid for it? Nada. Zip. Zilch. It was a freebie in Harlequin's big anniversary giveway. And hey, let me be totally honest. I wasn't expecting much from "free" books. In the past, I've read a few stinkers pubbed by the big house that starts with an H with a Q in the middle. In part, I think the shorter length novel isn't my thing because I have a hard time connecting deeply with characters in so few pages. This wasn't a problem with Once a Cowboy, though.

PI Alex is hired to determine whether rodeo champ-gone-rancher is the son of a family whose baby was stolen when just two days old. To say her intrusion is unwelcome in his life would be an understatement. Their chemistry is great, though, and the story is fully developed, complete with well rounded secondary characters. Alex deals with everyday family problems of her own, while feeling a realistic compulsion to help Brodie cope with bigger issues.

Thanks to this nicely written and well-edited novel, I'll give that Harlequin rack a second glance the next time I'm shopping for something new to read. When we don't have many dollars to spend, it's nice to know we have affordable options. And I won't forget that Harlequin titles are all available as ebooks now, too.

This novel is a Nice Bang for Your Entertainment Buck. Worth your time and money, but not necessarily worth a re-read. Pass it on to someone who’ll enjoy it and keep the author on your radar.

Just finishing up: Mine Till Midnight, by Lisa Kleypas

Autumn
Got romance?

Watcha Readin' Wednesday

This week's review is for a book by a friend of mine, Morgan O'Reilly. Halo In Her Pocket is available from Cobblestone Press. It's a novella, perfect length to take along on a short trip.

For any woman who’s had her heart broken, been jilted, or suffered a break-up that left her feeling less confident, this story is a dream come true.

Devyn is a heroine any woman can relate to, as she picks up the pieces after a recent self-image-destroying breakup. Shane is a man any woman can lust after. The “toys” he has at his house… well, maybe not everybody has dreamed of using them, but they are fascinating, right?

Morgan weaves a smokin’ hot, action-packed story set in an interesting locale (summer in Anchorage? Perfect for a looong evening of sex play!). Halo is a fast, fun read for any girl who likes to live vicariously through a very adventurous heroine.

It rates a Keeper. Put Morgan Q. O'Reilly on your To Be Read list.

On the Reader: Snowbound, by Janice Kay Johnson

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Watcha Readin' Wednesday

This week's review subject: Hot Wheels and High Heels, by Jane Graves. **I read it on the Sony Reader.**

I first heard of this book from Dearreader.com and promptly moved it to my To Read List. If you haven't heard of dearreader.com, it's a neato service where you sign up for certain genres and every week day a small excerpt comes to your Inbox - one book per week - for you to sample. I've found several gems through this service. And the beauty is, if the novel just isn't "ringing your bell", you can simply delete the rest of the messages for the week. But I digress.

Hot Wheels is a fun story about a well-kept woman whose husband sends her on vacation and sells everything out from under her, then disappears before she returns. The repo man who comes to take her precious Mercedes is an unlikely candidate for next sugar daddy, while a mega-rich tycoon has everything she could want. When Darcy goes to work for John in the repo business, all sorts of problems arise. The premise is different, characters original, and the writing is clean.

I'd rate this a Nice Bang for Your Entertainment Buck. Well worth your time and money, but not necessarily worth a re-read. Pass it on to someone who’ll enjoy it and keep Jane Graves on your radar.

On the nightstand: Mine Till Midnight, by Lisa Kleypas

Autumn
Got romance?

Watcha Readin' Wednesday - all 3B's

This week I'm happy to review Welcome to Temptation, by Jennifer Crusie.

Welcome to Temptation is a fun, fast read. It starts off with a bang (sisters Sophie and Amy are cruising into small town Temptation, Ohio to make a short film when they have a fender-bender with a local socialite couple), provides plenty of belly-laughs when we get to watch local city council meetings (our Hero, Phin, is a fourth-generation mayor and expected to keep winning elections to preserve the family name but sees the silliness in trivial town politics) and with all the flirting around the movie set, we get plenty of badda-bing (including more than one scorcher between Sophie and Phin). Mysteries abound: Who offed the starlet’s scummy despised-by-all ex husband? Who’s threatening Sophie and trying to kill her? Who attempted to frame her for the murder? Is Phin’s mother a really nasty piece of work who’ll end up Bad Guy #1, or is she just an overprotective mom with her own plans for his love life?

The characters totally pulled me in and the story kept me entertained. This was one of those books that really interrupted my life. I had a hard time putting it down to do anything (including sending Jennifer Crusie an email to tell her how awesome it is, which totally delayed my race to the finish, but I think is important. Surely even a successful author still loves to hear when readers enjoy her work!).

This book is a borderline Keeper - (I’ll probably send it along to very trusted friends who I know will return it, but I’ll make sure to get it back. Or else.) / Get Your Own Copy! - A book you love so much, no way are you loaning it out. Worthy of high praise and frequent recommendations – but trust us, if you let someone borrow this one, they’ll “forget” to return it. Don’t miss the next title by this author.

Piper Denna

Romance is sexy!

Now reading: Hot Wheels and High Heels by Jane Graves, on the Reader

Next week's review: What the Lady Wants by Jennifer Crusie

No Tubes Today

Friends, I am all vehklempt.

I got the nicest email this morning and the most fabulous review.

What a way to start the day!

http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/Fantasymountain.html

Piper
who still believes
Romance is sexy!
even on a teary-eyed Tuesday

Watcha Readin' Wednesday

This week, I’ll review Pigtopia, by Kitty Fitzgerald, published 2005 by Hyperion.

This was another “bargain” book I got on a clearance sale from B&N last January. I liked that it sounded different – fresh.

I was not disappointed. Jack Plum is about as different as they come. Most of the book is written from his perspective. He’s a thirty-something, uneducated man-boy who has a very large head, an abusive mother (who blames his malformation for her being bound to a wheelchair), and a deep kinship and understanding of pigs. Yes, hogs. In fact, between caring for his mother, Jack has created a special place below their house, a walk-out cellar leading to the woods out back, where his pig “tribe” dwells. His pigs are his friends and his family. The only human love Jack has ever known was from his father, who has been gone for years. His mother tells him it’s his fault his father abandoned them. When Jack decides to befriend Holly Lock, a teenaged neighbor girl, things change in ways he’d never expected.

I really enjoyed this book. It took a couple of chapters for me to sink into his jargon and understand him, but once I did, it was amazing. Something like one of those emails designed to show you how your brain can still read with all the letters in words jumbled. This is NOT a romance, in any way. I can’t really call it literary fiction, because, well, I liked it and I don’t generally care for literary pompousness. It’s just general fiction with very deep point of view. Nicely done. A nice change from “the usual” for me.

This book is a Nice Bang for Your Entertainment Buck. Well worth your time and money, but not one you'll have to keep around. Pass it on to someone who’ll enjoy it and keep the author on your radar.

On the nightstand now? Baby, Oh Baby, by Robin Wells.

On the Sony Reader? What the Lady Wants, by Jennifer Crusie

Yes, now that I've got the Reader too, I'll have to do the schizo/balance act thing and read more than one book at a time!

Piper Denna

Romance is sexy!

Watcha Readin' Wednesday - Good Grief

No, I'm not stealing Charlie Brown's catch phrase. That's the title of this week's review selection: Good Grief, by Lolly Winston. (2004 Warner Books)

If you liked P.S. I Love You, then you'll like this novel, too. I came by this book via the post-Christmas deep markdowns at B&N.com last year, and yes - just got around to reading it. Sophie Stanton is recently widowed after battling cancer with her husband and suffering the ultimate loss. The first-person, present point of view plants us front and center as she tries to cope - and at times fails. Instead of a steady uphill climb, Sophie suffers a more realistic up-and-down (and for a while just down down down) ride through grief. While many of the things she goes through are awful, all are realistic and I rooted for her all the way. Her marriage was by no means perfect, which we see as she spends time resenting Ethan's dedication to his job. I cried and cried when she remembered the last time she and Ethan made love (and they knew it was the last time...). When she relocates and joins the Big Sisters program, and tries her hand at a new career, she meets other people whose lives are even more messed up than hers.

I'd rate Good Grief a
Keeper. You won't regret either time or money spent with this book. It has a permanent spot on your shelf. Lend it carefully to that trustworthy "inner circle" of reader friends. Put the author on your To Be Read list.

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Watcha Readin' Wednesday

This week's review selection is Unexpected, by Lori Foster. It was published by Kensington back in 2003. I bought it a Friends of the Library book sale after reading Jude's Law (bought it at B&N) and Jamie (borrowed from library). Since I do love libraries and can't afford to buy everything I read, I like to support my local branch when they have a used book sale.

Unexpected is a fast, fun read. (I finished it in under a week, even with all the extra holiday busy-ness.) Rich-guy-with-an-Average Joe-past Eli hires mercenary tough-chick Ray to help him rescue his younger brother from Central American guerilla kidnappers. The attraction between Eli and Ray is instant, all-consuming, distracting to the point it hampers her performance as a mercenary, and most of all - since she hates rich guys - unexpected. It's one of those attractions the characters deal with on every page, much the way we find ourselves utterly occupied when we're first infatuated.

If you like a kick-ass heroine who isn't afraid to speak her mind (and I do, which is part of why I had a hell of a time selling Lone Star Trouble), then you'll love Ray. If you like a hero who knows what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it - or her - then you'll fall for Eli.

I'd rate Unexpected a Nice Bang for Your Entertainment Buck. Well worth your time and money. When you're done, pass it on to someone who’ll enjoy it and keep the author on your radar.

Autumn
Got romance?

On the nightstand: Good Grief, by Lolly Winston. Loving it.