Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

RITA Reader Challenge: The Danger of Desire by Elizabeth Essex

This review was written by Katherine This story was nominated in the Best Historical Romance category.

The summary: Captain Hugh McAlden is working on a top-secret mission to bring down enemy spies living in England. After seeing a young woman perform a brilliant bit of pick pocketing on the London streets, he impulsively decides to hire her to help him. The only name she'll give him is Meggs, and she refuses to tell him anything about her background or how she ended up on the streets. But as Hugh tries to unravel her secrets, he also finds her harder and harder to resist...

And here is Katherine's review:

This could have been a really good book, instead of just a better than average book.  It coulda been a...oh wait, it is a contender.  Who's responsible for making these nominations, anyway, and what are they drinking? Still, I liked Danger of Desire enough to read the previous book in the series, Pursuit of Pleasure, which as it happens was a… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge: Slow Dancing on Price’s Pier by Lisa Dale

This review was written by Karyn This story was nominated in the Best Contemporary Single Title Romance category.

The summary: Fifteen years ago, Garret Sorensen's family, trust, and heart were destroyed when Thea Celik betrayed him and married his brother. Now they are divorcing. Garret's ready to finally mend his relationship with his brother. But being back in Newport, Rhode Island, triggers a lot of memories-all leading back to Thea. Thea's not ready to let go of the Sorensens-even if it means being around Garret. As they cautiously circle around each other-finding themselves drawn together-they realize following their hearts could cast them adrift.  

And here is Karyn's review:

I wanted to love Slow Dancing on Price’s Pier, by Lisa Dale, or even like it a lot, I just couldn’t.

RITA Reader Challenge: How a Cowboy Stole Her Heart by Donna Alward

This review was written by Lindlee. This story was nominated in the Best Contemporary Series Romance category.

The summary: Clay Gregory's known Megan Briggs her whole life, and he's been plenty worried about her while she's been getting medical treatment. Now she's back home and hiding away on the family ranch. Knowing the stubborn cowgirl won't accept his help willingly, he invites her to a family wedding to help him avoid his aunt's matchmaking! He plans to remind Meg she's still the girl who can beat him in a horse race! But as she steps out in her curve-hugging red dress, her skills on a horse are suddenly the furthest thing from his mind….  

And here is Lindlee's review:

How a Cowboy Stole Her Heart starts when Megan returns home after going into remission from breast cancer. She lived in Calgary, a few hours away from home, while she was undergoing treatment. Coming back is difficult, but it is during this time that Clay and Megan’s friendship turns… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge: Warped by Maurissa Guibord

This review was written by Sarah Elsewhere. This story was nominated in the Best First Book and the Best YA Romance category.

The summary: Tessa doesn't believe in magic. Or Fate. But there's something weird about the dusty unicorn tapestry she discovers in a box of old books. She finds the creature woven within it compelling and frightening. After the tapestry comes into her possession, Tessa experiences dreams of the past and scenes from a brutal hunt that she herself participated in. When she accidentally pulls a thread from the tapestry, Tessa releases a terrible centuries old secret. She also meets William de Chaucy, an irresistible 16th-century nobleman. His fate is as inextricably tied to the tapestry as Tessa's own. Together, they must correct the wrongs of the past. But then the Fates step in, making a tangled mess of Tessa's life. Now everyone she loves will be destroyed unless Tessa does their bidding and defeats a cruel and crafty ancient enemy.  

And here is Sarah Elsewhere's review:

… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge: Doukakis’s Apprentice by Sarah Morgan

This review was written by Jenny D. This story was nominated in the Best Contemporary Series Romance category.

The summary: With her family business in crisis, Polly Prince does her best to keep calm and carry on. But hard work alone can't save her London company from a takeover by the infamously ruthless Damon Doukakis…or her traitorous body from the lethal sensuality of her boss! As his new apprentice, Polly accompanies Damon to Paris to negotiate the most challenging business deal of her life! Worse still, Polly must at all costs resist Damon in the most dangerously romantic city in the world.…

And here is Jenny's review:

A Review of Sarah Morgan’s Doukakis’s Apprentice in 250 Words Even Though That’s a Really Tiny Amount of Words

Let’s get the bad things out of the way up front:

Bad Thing #1: The title. Seriously. Is it a rule that all HPs have absurd titles that don’t match the plot?

RITA Reader Challenge: Compassion Can’t Wait by Carly Phillips

This review was written by Phyllis. This story was nominated in the Best Romance Novella category.

The summary: In Carly Phillips's Compassion Can't Wait, two high school sweet hearts are reunited years later, as if by fate, and discover that if you believe in yourself and each other, anything is possible.

And here is Phyllis' review:

This is a nice, sexy story of old flames reunited.

As a kindness to a teenage boy whose brother's suffering from advanced leukemia, the heroine, a hospital social worker, contacts her ex-boyfriend, now a star baseball pitcher, to meet the boy.

RITA Reader Challenge: “The Storm Within” from A Royal Engagement, by Trish Morey

This review was submitted by Qualisign, and get ready, for it is majestic. This novella was nominated in the Romance Novella category.

The summary: Dr. Grace Hunter seeks an ancient text beneath the castle of Count Alessandro Volta.

The reclusive count wasn't expecting scientist Grace to be a beautiful woman who stirs his scarred soul. Outside, a media storm is brewing, but inside the count's world the heat between them is sizzling!

And now, Qualisign's review:

Alternate title cum synopsis: “How a scar(r)y Count Count was possessed by the Cookie Monster only to be exorcized by a fame-seeking scientifically-minded Sunshine Bear with scraped-back hair” Seriously. This was horrible. And I paid for it – just so that I could review it for SBTB. AAARRRGGGHHH! It has such promise: a long-lost manuscript containing healing secrets-of-the-ages, a PhD-carrying-manuscript-curator of a heroine, a wounded hero with a title and a castle on an island with secret tunnels, caves and wicked storms. It was SO good – until I… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge: New York to Dallas by JD Robb

This RITA Reader Challenge review comes from Library Addict. This book is nominated in the Romantic Suspense category.

The summary: The number-one New York Times-bestselling author J. D. Robb presents an intense and terrifying new case for New York homicide cop Eve Dallas, one that will take her all the way to the city that gave her her name-and plunge her into the nightmares of her childhood.

When a monster named Isaac McQueen-taken down by Eve back in her uniform days-escapes from Rikers, he has two things in mind. One is to pick up where he left off, abducting young victims and leaving them scarred in both mind and body. The other is to get revenge on the woman who stopped him all those years ago.

And here is Library Addict's review: 

RITA Reader Challenge: The Christmas Child by Linda Goodnight

 Our first RITA Reader Challenge review is from Silver James. This book is nominated in the "Best Inspirational Romance" category for the RITAs this year. 

The summary: In Redemption, Oklahoma, a young boy is found huddled in a Dumpster, clutching a Christmas book. Scared and refusing to speak, he captures undercover agent Kade McKendrick's guarded heart. Kade brings the child home until he can track down his family—and his story. All Kade has is a name, Davey, and the boy's trust of sweet, pretty teacher Sophie Bartholomew. With her kindness and faith, Sophie helps both the boy and the battlescarred cop to smile again. And as they uncover the mystery of a very special child, a family is formed—just in time for Christmas.

And here is Silver's review: 

Sometimes, the hot sexxoring is too much. No. Really. Romance readers get headaches, too. Just sayin’. Sometimes, I just want some sweet romance—a slow build to a boil instead of insta-lust. This Linda Goodnight book is just the recipe. I’m a… read more »

2012 Rita Reader Challenge

The RITA® and Golden Heart nominations have been announced! Congratulations to the nominated authors and editors!

Ready to rustle up some reader reviews?

Last year, I set up a public spreadsheet of all the RITA® nominees, and we reviewed every single one by the time the RITA® winners were announced in July .I would love to do it again - and I hope you're up for reading and reviewing a book!

Now that the nominees have been announced (congrats, y'all!), I've created a 2012 spreadsheet for everyone to use to coordinate the reviews.

Here's the deal: select a book on the spreadsheet you'd like to read and "claim" it on the Google Doc by writing your name/handle in a box to the right of each title. Then, read the book. If you're so inclined, send me a review of 250 words or less, by 10 July 2012. If someone else has claimed a book you want to read, feel free to grab it as well, up to three names per book. Not everyone has the time to… read more »

RWA Photos & Overheard at RWA

So now that the 4th of July is nearly over, and we’ve celebrated the independence of the US (and, if you’re me, bemoaned our lack of universal healthcare and the ridiculous shortness of maternity leave), it’s time to do something sexy LIKE OFFLOAD MY CAMERA. Ready for RWA pictures? Here we go!

I arrived home from ALA (Motto: 25,000 librarians can’t be wrong!) late Sunday, unpacked and repacked. And while I was packing, I got me a FedEx with.. book marks! Holy smoke, I have to make like an author and remember I had them in my purse. Did I remember? Ha. Sometimes. Maybe.

Tuesday morning, my first appointment was with Jill Shalvis and HelenKay Dimon. We got coffee and donuts from a cart and ate in the middle of Times Square. Perfect New York breakfast. And my donut was HUGE (that’s not a euphemism).

RITA Reader Challenge: Thank You

I want to thank all the readers who submitted RITA® Reader Challenge, who pitched in at the last minute to help me post a review for nearly every nominated book. I have to say, I enjoyed having a knowledge of each of the nominees, and it made the awards more fun and exciting for me.

I also want to thank the Romance Writers of America, Inc., for granting permission for me to use the RITA® image and name (over and over and over and over and over again).

I’ll definitely do it again next year - and I’ll try not to post 10 reviews in a day next time! Thank you so much everyone for making this reviewapalooza so much fun!

2011 RITA Winner for Contemporary Single Title Romance

Winner: Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis (Forever; Alex Logan, editor)

Finalists:

▪ And One Last Thing by Molly Harper (Gallery Books; Jennifer Heddle, editor) ▪ Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts (Berkley Trade; Leslie Gelbman, editor) ▪ Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl (HQN Books; Tara Parsons, editor) ▪ Not That Kind of Girl by Susan Donovan (St. Martin’s Press; Monique Patterson, editor) ▪ Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson (Avon Books; Lucia Macro, editor) ▪ One Fine Cowboy by Joanne Kennedy (Sourcebooks Casablanca; Deb Werksman, editor) ▪ Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis (Forever; Alex Logan, editor) ▪ Still the One by Robin Wells (Forever; Selina McLemore, editor)

2011 RITA Winner for Best First Book

Winner: Pieces of Sky by Kaki Warner (Berkley Sensation; Wendy McCurdy, editor)

Finalists:

▪ Enemy Within by Marcella Burnard (Berkley; Leis Pederson, editor) ▪ Firestorm by Kelly Ann Riley (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense; Tina James, editor) ▪ I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan (Scholastic; Cheryl Klein, editor) ▪ The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (Harlequin Teen; Natashya Wilson, editor) ▪ Pieces of Sky by Kaki Warner (Berkley Sensation; Wendy McCurdy, editor) ▪ The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells (Sourcebooks Fire; Deb Werksman, editor) ▪ A Tailor-Made Bride by Karen Witemeyer (Bethany House Publishers; Karen Schurrer, editor) ▪ Wanna Get Lucky? by Deborah Coonts (Tor/Forge; Bob Gleason, editor) ▪ When Harry Met Molly by Kieran Kramer (St. Martin’s Press; Jennifer Enderlin, editor)

2011 RITA Winner for Paranormal Romance

Winner: Unchained: the Dark Forgotten by Sharon Ashwood (NAL/Signet Eclipse; Laura Cifelli, editor)

Finalists:

▪ Enemy Within by Marcella Burnard (Berkley; Leis Pederson, editor) ▪ A Highlander’s Homecoming by Melissa Mayhue (Pocket Books; Megan McKeever, editor) ▪ Immortal Sea by Virginia Kantra (Berkley Trade; Cindy Hwang, editor) ▪ Marked by the Moon by Lori Handeland (St. Martin’s Press; Jennifer Enderlin, editor) ▪ Rebel by Zoe Archer (Zebra Books; Megan Records, editor) ▪ Sins of the Heart by Eve Silver (HQN Books; Tara Parsons, editor) ▪ Unchained: the Dark Forgotten by Sharon Ashwood (NAL/Signet Eclipse; Laura Cifelli, editor) ▪ Water Bound by Christine Feehan (Jove; Cindy Hwang, editor)