Ebook Review Central, Samhain Publishing, June 2012

Posted on August 13, 2012August 11, 2012 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

The wheel has turned back around to Samhain Publishing. This issue of Ebook Review Central features Samhain’s June 2012 titles.

When I collect the reviews for this feature, I always wish I could see the sales figures for the Retro titles. It seems as if by their nature they would be a contradiction in terms; any reader longing for the type of romance represented by the “retro” label would be the ones least likely to be an ebook reader. And I may be absolutely wrong. But the lack of new reviews always makes me wonder.

Most of Samhain’s list did not suffer from a lack of new reviews. So much so that I was spoiled for choices of which titles to feature in this week’s list. In the end, there were three books “out standing in their field”. At least, this particular field!

The author of the first featured title has been featured on Ebook Review Central before. All the way back in December, Lorelei James’ Cowboy Casanova made the list. Her Rough Riders series is a guilty pleasure for a lot of readers, featuring hot cowboys, rough sex and happy endings along with a dose of small-town western ranching life. Her latest entry in the series, Kissin’ Tell, reads like a country and western song, with a woman coming home to face a high school reunion (and her cheating ex) only to find true love with a sexy cowboy and get the last laugh on the man who done her wrong. Even better, she gets that laugh with the one she let get away back in high school.

Howling in the number two position is Wolf Line, the fifth book in Vivian Arend’s Granite Lake Wolves series. Of course they’re werewolves, but who could imagine werewolves on a cruise ship? Even better, an all-shifter cruise! The cruise director and the stowaway would normally make for a fun romance, but when you add in wolfish mating urges, it makes the whole thing even hotter. But before they can act on what their chemistry is telling them, Keri the cruise director has to solve the problem of some thefts on board her cruise ship, and unfortunately her stowaway mate is the most likely suspect. The whole Granite Lake Wolves series is just plain fun, so much so that reviewers say you don’t have to read them all, but you’ll want to!

Devil’s Gate by Thea Harrison is this week’s third featured title. This novella is part of her Elder Races paranormal romance/urban fantasy series, following after the novella Natural Evil. Both Natural Evil and Devil’s Gate are between the full-length paperback Oracle’s Moon and the upcoming Lord’s Fall. Harrison’s Elder Races series is about a very powerful, and very ancient, species of shapeshifters known as the Wyr, which began in May 2011 with Dragon Bound. The Wyr are ancient, which means their politics are convoluted as hell. Some of them seem to shapeshift into dragon-form, which means they hoard. To add to the politics, this world has vampires. Did I mention politics? This series has absolute legions of fans, but start from the beginning.

You wouldn’t think that modern cowboys would have much in common with werewolves or ancient dragons, but these three book do share one thing; they are all the latest entries in continuing, and very popular, series. The anticipation added up to increased attention, and more reviews.

Probably more sales, too.

But that’s it for Samhain for June. Ebook Review Central shifts its attention to a new target next week, the monthly six-in-one post. Does that make it a hex-a-post? A multi-post?

I have a question for you readers out there. What do you think about “retro” romances?

Ebook Review Central, Dreamspinner Press, June 2012

Posted on August 6, 2012August 5, 2012 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

I have one thing to say about the June 2012 titles for Dreamspinner Press. Time is very definitely eternity, and so was this list.

In June, Dreamspinner published their summer “Daily Dose” set of shorter works, short stories, novelettes, novellas, all based around the theme of time travel. It’s a fascinating concept. And reviewers definitely agreed, because every single entry in the set got reviewed, usually by at least two reviewers. (The Advent set didn’t do quite as well with reviewers.)

But the advent (sorry, irresistible pun) of one of these sets increases the Dreamspinner list from the usual thirty titles to an incredible 60 titles for the month! Ouch.

It also seems to do a kind of “vote-splitting” similar to the academy awards. Or maybe attention splitting would be a better analogy. Regular readers (regular reviewers) have so many titles to choose from, that the reviewing attention divides among the larger number of menu choices.

Reviewers only have so many hours of reading time per day, and we all have to sleep sometime. (Darn it!)

But it means that in a month like this one, where there were so many reading choices, the ratings were very, very close.

The first featured title this week is Andrew Grey’s A Foreign Range. While this is the fourth book in Grey’s Range series, reviewers say it’s not necessary to read the other three to get caught up. On the other hand, you’ll want to read the other three, because they’re just that good. Country singer Willie Meadows is so tired of faking everything “Western” in his image that he buys a ranch in big sky country, Wyoming, under his real name, Wilson Edwards. Wilson wants to find some reality behind the glitter his life has become. Along with the ranch he gets Steve, a destitute young ranch hand, on the run from a gay deprogramming cult run by his own father. Steve turns the broken-down place into a real ranch, a real home, and they start to make a real life together. The only problem is that Wilson has been really deep into the closet to protect his career. And Steve’s dad sends the cult to come and get him.

The second featured title is about a different desperate young man and a different rescue. In Amy Lane’s Sidecar, the young man is Casey, and he starts the story as a teen, thrown away by his parents for being caught having sex with another boy. If their attitude seems outdated, it hopefully is, but this story starts out in the 1980s. Casey is picked up by Joe, a nurse (unusual profession for a man in the 1980s, slightly less so now) as Casey is preparing to jump off a bridge. Joe offers him a home, and friendship. The chance to see that it will get better. It takes Joe a damn long time to realize that the boy he offered a hand to in the 1980s has grown up to become a man who loves him.

Last but definitely not least, except for the pint-size of one of the characters in the book, is We Danced by Jeff Erno. In a small-town in Kentucky, Rex Payton is raising his nephew Tyler and keeping his late father’s bar afloat. His parents and sister died suddenly, leaving him with the bar, Tyler and no time for romance. Especially since for the sake of a peaceful small-town life, Rex is firmly in the closet. At least until Josh, the new veterinary intern comes to town. Their instant attraction changes all their lives. Because the most important person in Rex’ life is Tyler. And the most important goal in Josh’ life is finishing vet school, which he can’t do if he stays in their little town after his summer internship is over. And eight-year old Tyler isn’t used to sharing his “dad” with anyone. (Tyra at Guilty Indulgence rated this one as an “Ultimate Indulgence”)

This week’s featured books were pretty much tied. Which made it very difficult to use any sort of Olympic themed medals (darn!) Come back next week for the Samhain June feature and see if we can’t do better at awarding Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.

Ebook Review Central, Carina Press, June 2012

Posted on July 30, 2012July 29, 2012 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

Before I get into this month’s features, let’s talk about the 2012 RITA Awards. I swear it’s on topic.

The 2012 RITA Award Winner for Contemporary Single Title Romance, announced July 28, 2012 by the Romance Writers of America, was Boomerang Bride by Fiona Lowe, published by Carina Press in August 2011. Congratulation to Fiona Lowe, to her editor Charlotte Herscher and to her publisher Carina Press.

An ebook-only title won. The other nominated books, worthy contenders all, were traditionally published print books. I can only say, “Wow” or maybe shout, “WOW!”

But this is the Ebook Review Central issue for Carina Press’ June 2012 titles. Not that basking in the glory of that RITA win isn’t terrific. So, let’s fast forward to June and take a look at the newer titles. Maybe there’s a RITA winner in there, too.

The big winner, and the number one featured title, is Shannon Stacey’s Slow Summer Kisses. Even though this title isn’t in her Kowalski series (more Kowalskis starting in September!) that didn’t seem to matter to her fans. This novella, available separately and as part of the Carina Press Editors Choice Volume 1, contains all the hallmarks of a signature Stacey contemporary romance. Anna Frazier and Cameron Mayfield have been involved with each other before, and they have a second chance, not just at love, but also a do-over at life. The question is whether or not they’ll take it. If you like contemporary romance at all, give Shannon Stacey a try. You’ll be glad you did.

Book number two this week is The Ravenous Dead by Natasha Hoar. There are two things to understand about this book. It is straight-up urban fantasy, and not paranormal romance. Carina Press does branch out into genres other than romance, and The Ravenous Dead, and its predecessor in The Lost Ones series, The Stubborn Dead, reflect that branching. Speaking of the series, read the first book first; backstory for this tale of the Order of Rescue Mediums is required. And it was excellent in its own right. Rachel Miller, the main character and member of that Order of Rescue Mediums, doesn’t just see dead people, she gets the stubborn ones to ease on down the road to wherever it is they go next. The ones that really, really don’t want to go can get pretty nasty. Like trying-to-consume-the-medium nasty. Very dark magic requires very big rescue. Sounds like fun.

Coming in third this week, and appropriately so, is His Heart’s Obsession by Alex Beecroft. Third is ironically appropriate for this title because the story itself is about a love triangle. Three for three. What’s different about this particular triangle is that it takes place during the Age of Sail, the late 1700s, and that all three sides to this triangle are men serving in the British Royal Navy. Two Lieutenants, one Captain. Both of the junior officers are gay in an era when being found out would get them, not just cashiered out of the service they love, but killed in disgrace. The Captain is straight, and has no idea that one of his Lieutenants harbors an unrequited and totally unfulfillable passion for him. And the other LT? He’s in love with his fellow junior officer, a man who thinks he’s a privileged ass. A lot happens in this novella to turn this situation around to the real possibilities. Beecroft is know for his historical accuracy in addition to his ability to tug heartstrings and craft believable characters.

Any month where Shannon Stacey has a book, it’s really easy to figure out which title is number one. Which means that September, October and November probably already have one slot taken, since that’s when the three new Kowalski books are coming out. I’m really looking forward to them!

Picking numbers two and three is often a horse-race. There are always a few books with close numbers of reviews and ratings. Take a look at the list and see if you can spot the runner-up. Leave your guesses in the comments, just for fun.

That’s this week’s feature. Congratulations again to Fiona Lowe and Carina Press on the RITA win!

Be sure to come back next week for Dreamspinner Press’ June 2012 titles. It will be a big list!

Ebook Review Central, Amber Quill, Astraea, Curiosity Quills, Liquid Silver, Red Sage, Riptide, May 2012

Posted on July 23, 2012September 23, 2012 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

This Ebook Review Central issue covers the May 2012 titles for a whole host of publishers; Amber Quill Press (all its bits), Astraea Press, Curiosity Quills, Liquid Silver Books, Red Sage Publishing and Riptide Publishing.

And another month ends. Next week, we’ll start the June coverage and begin inching up on the calendar again, but not too close.

Because of the continuing mess surrounding the “Stop the GR Bullies site” and the whole discourse about whether posting a bad review, even a snarky bad review, constitutes bullying. I’d like to point out a very professional exchange of comments between one reviewer of Rachel Van Dyken’s Upon a Midnight Dream and the author, the publisher and the publicist. The exchange occurred at Books with Benefits and concerned both the book and the cover art. While the cover art review was intentionally snarky, the book review was well-written but not a positive review of the book. However, both reviews referred to the work and not the person and the entire discussion on all sides remained totally professional and positive in tone.

(For those looking for an interesting, well-written and snarky author’s take on this mess, I recommend John Scalzi’s post, “Bad Reviews: I Can Handle Them, and So Should You“)

Back to Ebook Review Central.

The number one featured book was a complete surprise. Curiosity Quills published one title in May. And, as is usual for them, it’s a genre-bender. Part paranormal romance, part urban fantasy, and a touch of YA. And it’s book one in a series, so there will be more. I’m talking about Wilde’s Fire by Krystal Wade, the first book in her Darkness Falls series. The concept is a classic; a girl dreams of a magical world, then leads her sister and her best friend through a portal, and discovers that magical world is real. But it’s not a dream, it’s a nightmare after all. Reviewers were all over the map on Wilde’s Fire, every rating imaginable from 5/5 to DNF (way more reviews on the high side!). But so very many people read it and wrote about it, equally passionately. When 32 reviewers take the time to review something, not including reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, it’s absolutely worth taking a look at.

Featured book number two this week is from Riptide Publishing. All four of the titles Riptide published in May were from their Rentboys Collection, but the one that stood out for the reviewers was Priceless by Cat Grant. This blend of three tropes really pulled at reviewers heartstrings because of the power of the writing. Trope number one is the nerd romance. Professor Connor Morrison is so busy with both his physics professorship and the technical firm that he and his best friend are trying to get launched that he doesn’t have time for relationships. He’s too busy and too driven. Wes Martin is a student at Connor’s college. With no scholarship and no family behind him, Wes does whatever he has to do to graduate, even hooking through a website. But they keep running into each other, some of those meetings orchestrated by Connor’s business partner. Connor doesn’t have time for a relationship, and Wes doesn’t want Connor to find out that some of his johns rough him up. A lot. A major wake-up call about what’s really important in life, and some serious rescuing made this book shine for a lot of readers.

The final book in this feature is Dirk’s Love by Marisa Chenery, published by Liquid Silver Books. Dirk’s Love is book six in the Roxie’s Protectors series, giving it that built-in audience that often has reviewers chomping at the bit for a book. Dirk is a werewolf, and this story is absolutely a paranormal romance, but with a cyber twist. Dirk has created an online matchmaking service for werewolves to find their soul mates. It turns out that his one employee is his soul mate. Looks like the service works. The only problem is that Ryann’s ex-husband has other ideas. And when Ryann discovers that Dirk is a werewolf, it takes her a while to decide that the wolf is not a monster after all.

That’s a wrap for this week’s Ebook Review Central. We’ll be back next week with the Carina Press June 2012 feature.

I have a question for you! Can you think of a great title for this multi-publisher group post? The title up there is a really long mouthful. Please help me out by posting your ideas in the comments.

Ebook Review Central, Samhain Publishing, May 2012

Posted on July 16, 2012July 16, 2012 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

Happy Monday! That means that Ebook Review Central is back. And we’re featuring Samhain Publishing’s May 2012 titles. And what a diverse group of titles they are!

Samhain covers everything imaginable, and this month is no exception. On one side, they have the nostalgic days of yesteryear, with their Retro Romances. And as far on the opposite corners from Retro sweetness as it could possibly get, Samhain has both a Horror imprint on one hand and this month two Science Fiction Romance series; Joely Skye’s Minders series for those who prefer their SFR to be Male/Male Romance, and the anthology series Midnight Justice, for those who prefer Male/Female SFR romantic action. With 35 titles in the list, there was bound to be something for everyone.

Also a few titles that may not have been for anyone. Some things didn’t garner any reviews this month, even on Goodreads and Amazon.

There was one title that seems to have been for just about everyone. At least, a lot of people read it, liked it, and said so. This week’s number one title was easy to pick! Joely Sue Burkhart’s Yours To Take stood out from the very large crowd in the list with 16 reviews, including top ratings on several blogs. Why was Yours To Take so well received? It looks like several factors. This is book three in Burkhart’s Connaghers series, and series books have built-in, or pent-up, demand. Added to that, Yours To Take taps into the ongoing interest in BDSM/Kink stories stirred up by 50 Shades. The Connaghers series should be on a lot of lists for readers interested in stories to read after that, and the whole series (Dear Sir, I’m Yours #1, Take Me #1.5, Hurt Me So Good #2) gets high marks from reviewers.

The second featured title for this week is Hard Tail by JL Merrow. This Male/Male contemporary romance is a sweet love story that deals with some very hard issues. Tim gets laid off and divorced, at just about the same time. That kind of cosmic kick in the pants makes you re-examine which way your life is going. While his brother recovers from some injuries, Tim steps up and manages his bike shop for him. After all, he has the time. Time to discover that he’s a lot happier managing the bike shop than he ever was in the corporate world. And that part of the reason his marriage died is because he’s never let himself think about how far in the closet he’s been. But Matt, the repair tech at the bike shop, reminds him of why. But Matt has some problems of his own. An abusive boyfriend that he needs to free himself from before he can be ready to be involved with someone new. Reviewers loved the humor and discovery in this story. And also Tim’s cat clearly owns the bike shop and everyone in it.

The third and final featured title is the Midnight Justice anthology. This is a superhero romance containing three separate books, Blade of Moonlight by Kimberly Dean (#1), Superlovin’ by Vivi Andrews (#2) and Breaking Bad by Jodi Redford (#3). What you have here is a universe of good versus evil, with secret identities and crime fighters with super powers who fight in masks. Except that unlike the caped crusaders on TV, there’s also a lot of kinky sex involved. There’s also mind-controlling soda. Just in case you ever wondered about the “Secret Formula” for your favorite soft drink. These just read like sexy comic-book style fun to most reviewers.

So there you have this week’s features for Samhain Publishing. Kinky, bike-riding superheroes. Wait a minute, that’s not all in the same book. Maybe someone will have to write that one.

After looking at the Midnight Justice superhero stories, I simply can’t resist the Batman thing. So, we’ll be back next Monday with another exciting episode of Ebook Review Central. Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!

Ebook Review Central, Dreamspinner Press, May 2012

Posted on July 9, 2012July 9, 2012 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

Welcome back to Ebook Review Central. We’ve had two weeks off for the American Library Association, the 4th of July summer slack-off (did anyone really do anything last week?) and the flu, but ERC has returned to cover the Dreamspinner Press titles from May 2012.

This was a “feast or famine” month as far as reviews went. The titles that were reviewed, were reviewed a LOT. On that proverbial other hand, those that weren’t, really, really weren’t.

But my favorite comment is about the cover of Gambling Men by Amy Lane. The reviewer at Insta-Love quipped that the model on the cover “must spend a LOT of money on manscaping”. Or the photographer did a fantastic job of airbrushing.

Some months, the eight good to excellent reviews received by Gambling Men would have been enough to earn it a feature spot in addition to my spit-take on that comment, but not this month. This month three titles had more than fifteen reviews each. It’s hard to compete with a new book in the Cut & Run series and anything by Mary Calmes.

So you’re wondering what the third book is, right?

The number one featured title for Dreamspinner in May is One Small Thing by M.J. O’Shea and Piper Vaughn. Nineteen, count ’em, nineteen reviews, all in the 4/5 or B range, or higher. Everyone loved this book. Why? Because it tugs at the heartstrings. Rue Murray becomes a single dad, after an experimental one-night stand with a woman friend turns into a baby — that she didn’t plan on and doesn’t want. Rue grabs onto his one chance at fatherhood, but managing single-parenthood along with work and school turns out to be more than he can handle. So he gets some help. The only problem is that Erik, the shy and reclusive sci-fi writer he hires fits into his and his daughter’s life in more ways than any of them expected. Baby Alice isn’t the only person in this story who turns out to have a lot of growing up to do.

Mary Calmes’ Acrobat is the number two featured title in this month’s Dreamspinner wrap up. The acrobat in the title is Andreo, a man who is trying to juggle the responsibility of raising his nephew, extracting himself from a very unsavory situation, and starting his own business. He’s also falling in love with Nate, an English professor at the University of Chicago. But while Dreo is trying to convince Nate that he would make a suitable partner, his old connections are looking for ways that he might be vulnerable. That unsavory situation, it’s Family, the underworld kind. Dreo wants out of the mob, and his old connections think there is only one way out of their world. The more Nate is seen with Dreo, the more he becomes a target. Can Dreo juggle things enough to protect the ones he loves.

The final book for Dreamspinner this month is book number 5 in the popular Cut & Run series. The earlier volumes were co-authored by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux, but this latest book, Armed & Dangerous, is a solo work by Roux. The Cut & Run series is mystery/suspense, with two FBI agents, Ty Grady and Zane Garrett as the heroes/protagonists/lovers/crime solvers. This is action/adventure at its finest according to every single reviewer. When I saw this on the list for Dreamspinner this month, I knew the reviews would be off the chart. But don’t start with this one, this series is meant to be read in order, and Roux & Urban’s Warrior’s Cross is meant to be read between Divide & Conquer and Armed & Dangerous.

And I need to carve out some reading time for this series, because every single review says they are awesome.

That’s a wrap for this week! Ebook Review Central will be back next week with Samhain’s May titles.

Ebook Review Central, Carina Press, May 2012

Posted on June 18, 2012June 17, 2012 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

May 2012 may be the one of the quietest months Carina Press has had since I first started reporting with their September titles. Well, unless you count the Christmas anthologies as single titles.

On the other hand, you can definitely see the “Fifty Shades” effect on the coverage in this list.

What do I mean by that? Every publisher, including Carina, is marketing books as being “similar to”, or “just like”, or “what to read next”, for women who loved E. L. James Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. And who can blame them? The story touched a nerve, or should I say, a nerve bundle, and has captured readers’ hearts, minds and dollars. Not to mention the top spots on every bestseller list.

The top featured title for Carina Press in this week’s Ebook Review Central is Let Me In by Callie Croix. Like Fifty Shades, it is an erotic love story that features a BDSM relationship between a dominant male and a submissive female who probably should have known better, especially since she’s a Marine. Also, like Fifty Shades, Let Me In received a ton of reviews, but not all of them were positive. Many readers absolutely adored the story. Some folks thought it was “meh”. But people couldn’t stop talking about it. If you enjoy military romance with a touch of kink, you might want to give this short erotic tale a try. For a taste of the reviews, look to Talk Supe for the big thumbs up and Dear Author for the so/so take.

Feature number two is the third and final book in Ava March’s Brook St. Trilogy, Rogues (personal pet-peeve, the thief is a rogue and not a rouge. Rouge is what you put on your face. Jumping down off soapbox now.) Because Rogues is the final book in this historical male/male romance series, a lot of readers were waiting for it. And the mileage varied. Some folks thought this friends-into-lovers story was the best of the series, some thought it was a little too simple and didn’t have enough angst to make it better than Thief or Fortune Hunter. While readers have different opinions on which book in the series is the best, all agreed that the series on the whole was excellent.

The final featured title this week is Ruined by Rumor by Alyssa Everett. This is a historical romance, and it sounds like a fairly typical plot. The heroine is supposed to marry the man she’s been engaged to for five years. He’s just back from the war. Of course he’s a rake. And he begs off for no good reason. The hero steps in and comforts the heroine, and there’s a witness. They marry to stave off scandal, and their marriage of convenience turns into a real marriage–because the hero has loved the heroine all along. This is apparently one of those romances where the way the characters are written make the story. The reviewers fell in love with the characters as much as those characters fell in love with each other.

This week’s feature certainly shows different shades of romance, even if not quite fifty, all in one week.

Come back for the next Ebook Review Central featuring Dreamspinner Press!

Ebook Review Central, Amber Quill, Astraea, Liquid Silver, Red Sage, Riptide, April 2012

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ebook Review Central> ebooks> ebooks in libraries

Welcome to the Omnibus publisher April wrap-up post for Ebook Review Central. This is always the last post covering the month (in this case, April 2012) and it’s the one covering the most publishers in one swell foop.

This time round, we have five publishers all in one go. The Amber Quill Press coverage includes whichever imprint Amber happens to publish under. Mostly it’s been Amber Allure, their M/M imprint, with the occasional title from either Amber Heat or, this month, Dear Viking by Lori Soard, a historical/inspirational title from their non-erotic imprint, Amber Quill itself.

The other publishers in the omnibus with new titles in April are Astraea Press, Liquid Silver Books, Red Sage Publishing, and Riptide Publishing. The Curiosity Quills database was also updated this month, but they didn’t publish any new titles in April. Don’t worry, they’ve got new stuff in May. (I peeked ahead. I do that with mysteries, too.)

I’m going to do something different with this week’s featured books. There are five publishers in this week’s edition. I am going to try to spread the feature around more.

Going by sheer number of reviews alone, I could feature all three Riptide titles every time. The only time someone else would get featured would be the months Riptide only published two titles. I say this as an observer of the evidence at hand. It’s either good books, good PR, or good both.

But in order to make sure other books get some play, there have to be some other considerations. And one of the reasons I started ERC was to provide a place for librarians to find reviews of ebook-only titles. Some of the featured books need to be from publishers that libraries can get, if those books did well.

Above all the featured books and this featured article, have to be interesting to readers.

So with those things in mind, this week’s featured books are the following:

The number one book was the Riptide title I couldn’t resist, it’s the Josh of the Damned Triple Feature #1 by Andrea Speed. All of the Josh of the Damned books (Pretty Monsters, Peek-a-Boo) just sound like an old-school B grade Sunday movie matinee horror feature, as lampooned by Mystery Science Theater 3000, and the description of the Triple Feature short stories goes it one better. A character in one of the stories is nicknamed “Professor Bobo”, a direct nod to MST3K. One of the other short stories is “I Was Cthulhu’s Love Slave”. Really? Too funny. Josh, the damned guy, who is human, works in a convenience store. His boyfriend is a vampire. But most of the weird problems Josh has working the night shift are human. Of course they are. Well, maybe except for the lovesick yeti.

The second feature story is Cinderella. There’s always a Cinderella. There always has been, and always will be. It’s one of those tropes that has been imprinted in our collective DNA. But the version of Cinderella in Sinders and Ash by Tara Lain is quite a bit different from the usual. Like many modern versions, it’s a bit difficult to figure out who rescues whom. Whether Ashton Armitage, the son of the fifth richest man in America rescues Mark “Sinders” Sintorella from a life working as a housekeeper in a ritzy resort–or whether Sinders rescues Ash from a life of not just hiding in the closet but also stultifying boredom. And it’s still a fairy tale, complete with a fairy godfather this time, of course. The mistaken identity part is even still there, helped by a smidgen of cross-dressing.

I picked the third book because it is from a publisher that is available to libraries and because it received a very favorable review from RT Book Reviews. (And yes, I liked it too.) The Watchmaker’s Lady by Heather Massey is the first book in her Clockpunk Trilogy. Clockpunk is steampunk with very small parts, in case you’re wondering about the term. So instead of big steam engines, think very small mechanical devices, doing very wicked things. The Watchmaker’s Lady is about a watchmaker who uses his skills to make an advanced automata, and uses his watchmaking skills to make clockwork devices for ladies’ intimate pleasures, so he can fund his experiments with his automata. Then things get very, very out of hand. So to speak. The twist at the end of the story is quite a surprise.

That’s a wrap for this week’s featured titles. We’ll be back next week with another edition of Ebook Review Central, taking a look at the Carina Press May books.

I’d love to hear from readers. Do you find Ebook Review Central useful? Interesting? Helpful?

Ebook Review Central Samhain Publishing April 2012

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

And we’re back! Last Monday Ebook Review Central took Memorial Day off to get the calendar back in sync just a little bit.

But this is Monday and not a holiday. And here we are. It’s time for another edition of Ebook Review Central, and it’s Samhain Publishing’s turn at the wheel. Let’s take a look at not just the titles Samhain published in April, but what sort of reviews those books generated.

Before we do that, a couple of brief comments. Most of Samhain’s books receive reviews, usually a lot of reviews. The exception is often the Retro Romance titles, but RT Book Reviews and All About Romance have put up a lot of their backfiles, so sometimes I get lucky. But I think this is the first time I’ve seen a book get an actual “F” review. I’ve seen plenty of DNF (Did Not Finish) reviews, but not “F” as in “I finished and it flunked”. If the book is that bad, or that much not to your taste, stop!

Unlike the last time I looked at Samhain, it was easy to pick the three featured titles. Three books jumped out at me for not just the number of reviews, but also the number of positive and “Top Pick” or “Recommended Read” reviews they received. No DNFs or Fs in this bunch!

(And because of some personal events, it’s almost fitting that two of the books are about cat-shifters, even if the little kitty I’m thinking of would have no clue at all what that meant.)

The third book featured this week is Beneath the Skin by Lauren Dane, the third entry in her De La Vega Cats series. The De La Vega Cats are cat shifters in Ms. Dane’s paranormal romance series, one that started with Trinity and continues with Revelation. In Beneath the Skin the focus is on the possible relationship between Gibson, the enforcer of the clan, and Mia, a woman who saves his life, but whose family was harmed by his long ago. And she is an Iraqi war veteran who has no need to be coddled by the kind of alpha male who winds up as a clan enforcer. The fact that if they let themselves, they’ll become mates doesn’t mean they aren’t both fighting the attraction with everything they have. Sounds pretty hot to me.

The book in the middle position is Cat Scratch Fever by Jodi Redford. And it’s another scorcher about two shapeshifters who should be totally wrong for each other, but instead are so, so right. But in the case of lynx-shifter Lilly and werewolf Dante, they fight like cats and dogs from the opening scenes because, well, they are. Except they also have a couple of problems they can help each other solve. Lilly is in heat, and Dante is, let’s just say, conveniently available. And extremely attractive. And willing. And his uber-alpha father is pressuring him to produce at least a fiance, and Dante wants to honk dad off really, really bad. So Lilly is perfect for that. Meanwhile, Lilly needs to negotiate with Dante to buy back some land from the werewolves for the werelynxes. They make a deal. Fake fiance in return for real land. Until it stops being fake.

And we go from heat to frost for the number one title. A Hint of Frost by Hailey Edwards not only received the most reviews, it was the Reviewer Top Pick for April at Gravetells. A Hint of Frost is a fantasy romance with a wonderfully tortured hero and a sweet couple with a ton of romantic tension. It’s also the start of a series in a beautiful and complex world, the Araneae Nation series. Lourdes becomes ruler of her nation when her parents are killed, and the first thing she has to do is marry a ruthless mercenary so she can get revenge. A dish that will be served very, very cold. By a mercenary she needs to get to warm up to her. Or he might eat her. Wow!

This week’s top picks went from very hot to extremely frosty. Please come back next week for the six-in-one issue covering Amber Quill, Astraea Press, Curiosity Quills, Liquid Silver, Red Sage and Riptide!

Ebook Review Central, Dreamspinner Press, April 2012

Posted on May 21, 2012May 20, 2012 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

In the real world, it’s mid May. Which means that Ebook Review Central is looking at the books published in April. This week, the spotlight is turned on Dreamspinner Press, and the titles that they published in April of 2012.

Before I start on the features, I want to talk about book covers for just a second. In spite of the warnings, we do judge a book by its cover. And using the same stock image multiple times can make readers wonder if they’ve read a book before, when they haven’t.

Dreamspinner uses the exact same cover image for their Day Dream series of, I think they would be classed as short stories. The ebooks are very short, and sell for a very low price. If they weren’t ebooks, they probably couldn’t be marketed except in anthologies. Ebooks have created an entirely new channel for short fiction that hasn’t existed since the golden age of magazines. Using a stock image for the Day Dream series establishes a brand.

On the other hand, repeating a stock image for a novella or novel can give readers a feeling of deja vu. I thought the cover image on Murder at the Rocking R by Catt Ford looked awfully familiar to me. That’s because it’s the same image as the one on the cover on Wilder’s Mate by Moira Rogers, just reversed and further away. Although both Rocking R and On the Trail to Moonlight Gulch are westerns, Moonlight Gulch’s cover looks better because it’s more distinctive. Knowing that Rocking R is stock makes it lose something, at least for me.

But we’re here to talk about reviews.

Book number three this week is First Impressions by Christopher Koehler. They say that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Maybe that’s true, but in this romantic comedy, you can get a second chance at love, if your friends are willing to arrange a lot of painfully funny coincidences. Especially since your friends set you up in the first place and it all went so horribly wrong, when it should have been right. They have to make it better. At a very posh party, Cameron’s friends arrange for him to meet a new man. Unfortunately for him, they also help him dress. First part good, second part bad. They dress him like a bar pickup, and a sleazy one at that. Even worse, poor Henry, the man that Cameron is supposed to meet, is a former, emphasis on former, gay porn actor. Henry left that life behind him, and he wants to make sure it stays behind him. Cameron’s outfit is a reminder of lifestyle Henry left, and Henry spits insults instead of walking away. They trade barbed comments instead of the “meet cute” their friends had planned. The rest of the story is how they past that initial bad first impression, with a lot of help from their friends.

Next up, Frog by Mary Calmes. Frog is a story about city slickers playing cowboys for the weekend. Well, for a lot of weekends. And, it’s a about a lonesome cowboy. Really two lonesome cowboys, but one of them happens to be a city slicker. Brilliant surgeons are often cowboys back in their hospitals (House, anyone), and Cyrus Benning is the city slicker who finds perspective by pretending to be a real cowboy a few times a year. He also finds a real cowboy who, like the desperado in that old Eagles song, had better let somebody love him before it’s too late. Both Cyrus and Weber have been abandoned by fate, and they find what they need in each other.

Final book for Dreamspinner in April is the ebook release of a title that, when it was originally published just a few years ago, won several Rainbow Awards for Gay Fiction including Best Characters, Best Setting, Best Gay Historical and finally, Best Overall Gay Fiction. I’m talking about The Lonely War by Alan Chin.

This is a bittersweet story. It’s a historical story about a gay Asian-American seaman serving with the US Navy in World War II who falls in love with an officer aboard the ship on which he serves. Then his ship is captured by the Japanese and the entire crew become POWs. The final part of the book takes place after the war. No part of this book is an easy journey for the main character. I can’t do this book justice in a brief summary. Read the reviews, especially Leslie’s review at Speak Its Name, and you’ll understand why this book won all the awards.

And why one of the marvelous things about ebooks is the opportunity to bring books like this back and give them new and longer life and a wider audience.

That wraps up Ebook Review Central for this week. And after The Lonely War, a book about World War II, let’s talk about next Monday, Memorial Day in the United States. Although Memorial Day originally commemorated the fallen Union soldiers after the U.S. Civil War (I live in Atlanta now, I’m finding that very interesting) it has come to be a holiday to honor all those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

It also marks the beginning of summer. And it’s a three-day weekend. Ebook Review Central is going to take next Monday off. I need to get another sort of “leap day” in the calendar, and Memorial Day is a good enough reason.

Ebook Review Central will be back on June 4 with the Samhain April feature.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: