|
Changes
in Policies and Why
Young Adult Fiction and Romance
Our
Readers Speak Out
Knight of Darkness by Kinley MacGregor
Angel in a Red Dress by
Judith Ivory
Slave to Sensation by Nalini
Singh
Playing with Fire by
Gena Showalter
Lie to Me by Selah March
The Perfect Man by Sarah
Dobbs
September Heat by
Diana Castilleja
Spellbinder by Melanie Rawn (fantasy romance)
Samhain's
Christmas Project
Chick Lit Review
Juno Books Launches
New E-Publisher: Asylett Press
Changes
in Policies at Romance News
Why Things May Look
Different and More
This
autumn, as our first year of publication came to a close, the
staff at Romance News sat down to review what we've learned.
Monthly
publication started off as a realistic goal but has quickly
become a challenge. As such, we will be switching to a bi-monthly
format. Doing so allows our reviewers a better chance to sit,
think, and rethink books they may find more challenging. In
a rush to get a few books read in a month, sometimes the review
feels forced. Giving staffers more time to consider their reactions,
and to share them with others on staff who have also read the
book, will benefit writers and readers alike.
Shortly
after beginning to publish Romance News we made the decision
to accept ebooks for review. This proved to be a neat new element,
and before the summer had ended Ellie McBride was promoted and
given the position of Staff Ebook Reviewer. We were excited
about this change, since many authors of ebooks contacted us
and indicated difficulty in getting reviews.
Because
of an issue we had with one publisher Ellie may make the difficult
decision to stop reviewing ebooks and return to regular paperback
reviews. We hope this won't happen, but the decision is hers
to make.
We
also ran a few contests. Contests are a blast, and nothing is
more fun than giving neat prizes to readers. Interestingly,
while our traffic has steadily increased, interest in these
contests seems to invariably be tepid. As a result we have none
planned for the immediate future, though we are certainly open
to suggestions or thoughts from readers.
Lastly,
we are publicly stating some of our email policies to avoid
future issues regarding understanding our system. Because Romance
News is a group effort-- and a labor of love shared by friends,
not just colleagues-- we have always had a policy of automatic
copying. Our email accounts at Doteasy, with whom we host, take
mail sent to any @romancenews.org address and forward them to
our personal email inboxes. In other words, if you send an email
to romancenews@romancenews.org,
a copy of that email gets sent to everyone on the staff. Each
individual on staff forwards all correspondence to either Chrissy,
Susan (co-owners), or both. We do this because our administrators,
and some staff, have been involved in online communities for
many years and it avoids "he-said/she-said" syndrome,
as well as covering for absences automatically. Nobody here
has to worry about taking off for a few days because of this
policy.
We
will also be including a section featuring your letters each
month, as requested by many of you via email. If you want to
contact us please use the new form located in the menu (on the
left). Remember when sending via the form you are agreeing to
be published and possibly edited for brevity. We will include
first names and towns only and will not ever share your information
with anyone. Romance News does not require any personal information
besides name and town, but will never publish anonymous correspondence
or those from addresses that can not be verified.
To
allow our servers to operate with faster, more efficient uploads
and downloads we are also eliminating any archives and won't
make them available in the future. They will be stored offline,
and any readers or writers wishing for copies of reviews should
email Chrissy directly at chrissy@romancenews.org.
She will send copies of past reviews to writers and publishers
upon request.
We
are also very pleased to welcome a new member to our family.
Shannon Pierce has been hired by Romance News as our girl-Friday
and support staff, and is proving to be invaluable.
This
magazine is about celebrating books and those who read, write,
and love them. That mission and goal remains unchanged and will
remain so. Any changes that will come as we grow will be in
that interest. We thank our readers for their continued support.
Young
Adult Fiction and Romance
by Christine
Olinger
Romance
News has never reviewed Young Adult Romances. None of our staff
read them, we've never been approached by a publisher of them,
and so far no readers have requested reviews of these books,
which target a very specific age range and audience. But Young
Adult (YA) fiction has been on my mind quite a bit lately.
Recently
a novel I had written some time ago was dusted off and resurrected
as a project worth spending time on. It happened to be young
adult fiction. The book was originally going to be published
by a small press with whom I had done other work (several educational
study guides and cetera). When the small press was sold the
project was shelved. I initially sent it out to a few publishers
in 1994, and got some very nice responses from editors who liked
it, but felt I was writing over the heads of the target audience--
teenagers, young adults, and adults. This was before JK Rowling
changed things, but even then many American authors bemoaned
what was then called the "dumbing down" of literature for young
people in the US. Time marched on and I, frankly, forgot all
about it until recently. In dipping my toe back into the pond
of YA publishing, I did a little research.
I
was aware that YA Romances existed, though they were never something
I was interested in writing. A wonderful article by Marnie Brooks
published a few years ago in The Purple Crayon (see it
here)
seems to sum up a lot of what I feel. But further research revealed
a slightly steamy trend in novels targeting young girls. Things,
it seems, have changed... big time.
Not
a prude, but certainly and advocate for responsible writing,
I was shocked to find books targeting teens and tweens with
actual sex scenes. Had these passages been intended to teach
something, impart a truth, or illustrate something useful to
young women and girls, I would applaud. One author included
an impromptu shag in a closet at a party for a 15 year old character.
An article online described a sexual encounter between two teens
in a department store dressing room in which the young woman's
camisole was torn in a heated frenzy.
Writing
about sexuality for young adults is important. They are bombarded
with images and multiple facets of pressure. I am particularly
encouraged to see literature specifically geared toward gay
and lesbian youth appearing in book stores. But sex for strictly
titillating purposes in novels targeting young adults seems,
to me, both irresponsible and unhealthy. If I had a child in
this age range he or she would be asked not to read this material.
Granted, this probably wouldn't work any more than my mother
telling me to put the Jude Devereaux novels back in her
room, right now worked on me.
My
mother was right, though. I loved every one of those novels,
but I should not have been reading them just yet. Teachers often
encouraged me to read books meant for adults because of the
kind of student I was, and it gave me a false sense of my own
maturity. The Black Lion remains one of my favorite books,
but it was an unhealthy read for a 16 year old girl. Ranulf
rapes Leonine, strikes her across the mouth and rejects her
later, and is pursued by her in a determined quest to win him
back. She falls in love with a man who treats her brutally.
While as an adult I can acknowledge that Devereaux was writing
what was, at the time, trendy, and was writing a fantasy relationship
rather than a real one, as a 16 year old I did internalize confusing
images about losing one's virginity, and what constitutes a
healthy relationship from books like this and others with similar
themes.
Later,
in working with survivors of rape and sexual assault, it was
interesting to me to find how many young women expressed similar
confusion that they casually recognized as learned behavior,
attitudes adopted from movies, books, and television.
Books
with which young men and women can identify are important. Writers
of books targeting the YA audience bear a greater responsibility
than others. Sexuality should be discussed and explored, perhaps
even explained. It should not be handled in a casual, reckless,
or potentially damaging way.
It's
certainly interesting that poor JK Rowling has taken so much
negative backlash from those who dislike her books for celebrating
magic while these books, which may slip under the radar of parents,
seem to be sending out much scarier messages.
Those
of you who are fans of YA Romance are welcome to share your
views with us. Romance News would love to hear about your experiences
with these books, which are largely a mystery to our staff.
"Your
website is great but why do you review so many historicals and
not that many suspense? I never see writers like Nora Roberts
on your page."
-Eileen
in Portland, ME
We
review books by a strange combination of factors, Eileen. First,
the reviewers get to read what they want. Second, publishers
sometimes offer to send us ARC (advance review copies), and
we give these precedence when we accept them (we don't, always).
Last, at least two reviewers have to agree to read the book
as a protective policy, so preferences do come into the mix.
We love Nora Roberts, too, but haven't reviewed her in favor
of less known authors, since her appeal is so widely agreed
upon, and since she doesn't need the press. But we will be happy
to include more suspense in future editions, and will happily
review the next release by Nora for you. Thanks for your input.
-Romance
News
"I
really disagreed with your review of The Hazards of Hunting
A Duke [July 2006]. Julia London is a great writer and it
was a great book! Your writer said the book was 'familiar,'
but all books are in some way."
-Donna
in Disputanta, VA
Mysti
Cassidy's review of the book was not negative, but did indicate
that the novel wasn't perfect. We are glad you enjoyed the book
so much. Cassidy responds below:
I
liked Hazards, too, but I wasn't as enthusiastic
about it as our reader (Donna) was. I still think it
was a good story, but one I have read a few too many times.
Differing opinions are always welcome and certainly worth hearing.
Reviewers
all have their own preferences, just like you. Thanks for sharing
yours, Donna.
-Romance
News
|
Knight
of Darkness
by Kinley MacGregor
Avon
ISBN 0060796626
Review
by Christine Olinger
|
|
The
second installment in her Lords of Avalon series, Knight
of Darkness tells the story of Varian duFey, son of one
of Morgan le Fey's nastiest minions, Narishka. Once again MacGregor's
novel is steeped in a world blending Celtic mythology, Arthurian
legend, and matters of the Fey. Varian, who is also the son
of the ill-fated Lancelot and something of an outsider among
the Grail Knights, must cross over between the worlds of Avalon,
Camelot, and Glastonbury, each existing in alternate planes,
much altered by the darkness of their histories. He encounters
the beautiful Merewyn, and becomes entangled in a dangerous
web as forces of both dark and light wrestle for his allegience.
Merewyn has her own demons to face, and is not all she seems.
In
this second novel MacGregor spends a great deal of time setting
up the story. The introduction is distracting to those familiar
with the world from either previous novels, or capable of following
along with their own background reading. It seems, to a certain
extent, overdone and wasteful.
Once
she actually begins the story we become sympathetic toward both
Varian, who is a classical broken hero, and Merwyn, trapped
by fate and love. The journey they undertake to expose a murderer
and protect the Grail Knights is interesting, but secondary
to the journeys of each lead as they discover their true selves.
MacGregor
deals with Merewyn's self image issues with a gentle and compassionate
hand, writing her gruff hero believably without sacrificing
tenderness in his character where it is needed. Knight of
Darkness is not as humorous as Sword of Darkness,
first in the series, and relies a little too heavily on pop-culture
references. There are definite tones of Princess Bride
clever readers will spot (and most likely enjoy). Monty Python
snippets, while fun for fans, may be distracting for those unfamiliar
with Pythonalia.
This
story struggles somewhat within the series, but the romance
between Varian and Merewyn rescues it from failure. A worthwhile
read for fans, readers new to MacGregor will want to read this
series in order and show patience with the often overwhelming
tide of information that occasionally slows the plot down to
a crawl.
In
a classic tale of the rake and the lady of lesser class, Judith
Ivory hits a home-run with Angel in a Red Dress. Rather
than a typical seducer of innocents, she gives us Adrian Hunt,
a dandy with many secrets. Refreshingly, this hero is not only
vain, but fashionably pretentious (something uncommon in period
protagonists). And while he and Christina Bower do share a passionate
affair, Ivory resists the urge to send them scampering for the
altar.
Divorce
was not unheard-of in the 18th and 19th centuries, though it
was frowned upon. Ivory tackles the issue in Red Dress,
giving us two people who are divorced, but resisting simple
responses to their marital states. Christina and Adrian are
allowed to connect, explore one another, and exist outside the
restraints into which most writers box their characters.
Saturated
with intrigue, Scarlet Pimpernel-style adventure, and
French and English politics of the age, Angel in a Red Dress
wanders a road less often traveled in novels dealing with the
period. There are twists and turns, and amidst it all Christina
and Adrian map out a relationship more realistic than most romances
offer, one with genuine feeling but few easy answers.
A
wonderfully unique spin on the period and its social morés,
Angel in a Red Dress is another triumph for Judith Ivory.
|
Slave to Sensation
by Nalini Singh
Berkley Sensation
ISBN 0425212866
Review
by Maria Alvarez
|
|
Finally!
Many readers of paranormal romance have grown tired of repetitious
series, recycled plots, and predictable stories. For those who
favor the sub-genre, 2006 was a trying year.
Take
heart. Nalini Singh is a bold new voice in a tired wilderness!
Singh's
Slave to Sensation is set in a world dominated by individuals
with astonishing mental abilities. Sascha Duncan inhabits this
world, but not comfortably. She harbors a secret-- that her
gifts are somehow flawed-- and fears exposure. Should the powerful
Psy discover her secret she may face the complete annhialation
of her mind at their hands.
Lucas
Hunter belongs to a segregated and maligned society of changelings,
both human and animal, who live in fear of the Psy's power and
ruthlessness. He must discover who has been torturing and killing
women from the changeling clans, and why. When Sascha arrives
in his world he sees her as a means to an end: the way into
the Psy world and its corruption. But he sees more than that
in this young woman who harbors dark secrets.
Singh
uses her plot to explore such valuable themes as racism, segregation,
and personal identity. There are elements of domination and
submission here, but they are subtle and handled with more caution
and care than so often seen in novels attempting to tackle such
controversial subject matter. Slave to Sensation takes
a more tribal/pack approach, and explanations make sense within
the story rather than feeling like excuses for deviant behavior.
Singh
resists the unfortunately common urge to bite off more than
she can chew, keeping the focus of Slave to Sensation
narrow, while tweaking readers' interest with secondary characters
who are well developed. Tightly plotted, cleanly written, and
visualized in a refreshingly real style, Slave delivers
what paranormal fans crave, and rarely get: wonderful world
building, strong characters, and a great story that keeps readers
pinned to the page.
Readers
should walk past paranormal authors they have been buying out
of habit, only to be disappointed, and find Singh at their local
book seller. She delivers!
|
Playing with Fire
by Gena Showalter
HQN
ISBN 0373771290
Review
by Susan Schulman
|
|
This
month Romance News was lucky enough to review two paranormal
romances worth reading. Maria Alvarez' review of Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh was the first. The second
is not only a great paranormal romance, but a rare treat indeed:
it's funny!
Gena
Showalter's Playing with Fire is a simply delightful
novel with a rare pairing of humor and action.
Belle
can't seem to keep a job, but she's trying. When a mad scientists
wanders through the Utopia café, slipping her a science-fiction-style
mickey, she gets stuck with powers that allow her to manipulate
the four elements. As if this weren't enough, a gorgeous secret-agent
named Rome is either trying to kill her or get her into bed,
and she isn't sure which would be preferable at this point.
Rome
and Belle are caught up in intrigue, and have to wrestle with
their powerful feelings.
Showalter's
dialogue, both internal and external, is brilliant. It snaps
and pops, crisp and funny, in a story that feels one part comic
book drama and one part romantic comedy. Belle is utterly human,
a young woman with whom readers can powerfully identify. Rome
is incredibly sexy, but not without inner conflict. Secondary
characters, including a charmingly dorky teenage superheor sidekick
wannabe, hit all the right notes.
Playing
with Fire
is an absolute delight. Fast paced and funny, this would be
an ideal airplane read or weekend treat. This book is red hot
and loads of laughs.
|
Lie
to Me
by Selah March
Amber
Quill
Review
by Ellie McBride
|
Amber
Quill |
Wise-cracking
MJ Peters has secrets to keep, but Drew Donnelly is shaking
her world to its core. When MJ finds a blood-stained note with
an ominous message, she hopes it isn't meant for her. And when
the handsome Drew shows up he seems to have more information
than he should. In this fast-paced, short novel (112 pages)
from Selah March we get chuckles and plenty of action, a mystery,
and lots of sexual tension.
Selah March definitely has her pacing and dialogue down. Lie
to Me is quick, clever, and jammed with movement. A snappy,
satisfying read.
|
The
Perfect Man
by Sarah Dobbs
Freya's Bower
Review
by Ellie McBride
|
The
Perfect Man
|
Harriet
the coffee gal has been invited to her former fiancé's
wedding, but she is determined to arrive with a date. To complicate
matters, her recently deceased mother hasn't quite made the
journey down the white tunnel toward the light. If being haunted
by a bossy mom isn't enough, she has three new men in her life
and has to pick one: the sensitive guy, the French hottie, or
John... who may be a bit more than the simple, charming guy
he seems.
While
a few of the transitions in Perfect Man were confusing,
the story itself is sweet, witty, and nicely condensed. Considering
several plot changes, this is an impressive accomplishment from
Sarah Dobbs, who delivers a fun read, interesting secondary
characters, and a cohesive whole in a small space.
|
September
Heat
by Diana Castilleja
Forbidden Publications
Review
by Ellie McBride
|
September
Heat |
Rose
is a famous model who has a stalker. Her agent and New York
authorities send her on a forced vacation to Las Vegas when
things get scary. Imagine her surprise when she encounters Gavin,
the guy who was her shoulder to cry on in high school, sitting
next to her on the plane. Is Gavin hiding secrets that might
endanger her, or is he still the guy she can trust and lean
on? And who is this mystery man who sends her chilling letters?
Diana
Castilleja is a rare gem, delivering relationships that develop
more naturally than one generally finds in the tighter constraints
of ebooks. She builds her plot in an unhurried, deliberate pace
that works, engaging readers in both the mystery and the growing
sparks between two old friends who are rediscovering one another
with steamy results. September Heat is hot, but more
importantly, it is wonderfully written. This is Castilleja's
second appearance among Romance News' ebook reviews, and her
work just keeps getting better.
|
Spellbinder
by Melanie Rawn
Tor
ISBN 0-765-31532-7
Review
by Mysti Cassidy
|
|
Spellbinder
is the first novel from Melanie Rawn in a while. Fans of
fantasy with strong romantic elements have long admired her
Dragon Prince and Star Scroll series, and in Spellbinder
find a similar tone, if not the familiar fantasy world she
created with such rich detail in the earlier books.
This
novel is something new for the author, set in contemporary Manhattan
and beyond. Yet the fantasy elements are strong, including witchcraft
and Satanic ritual. Rawn's understanding of-- and respect for--
earth-based religions (whether one wishes to call them wicca,
paganism, witchcraft, or something else) is a rare delight.
Holly
McClure is a writer. But only a select few know that she is
also a witch with a rare gift, that of spellbinding. This unusual
and somewhat mysterious power not only sets her apart from others
of her kind, it makes her a target, for Holly's blood has become
a hot commodity.
Evan
Lachlan is a federal marshall who doesn't plan on falling for
Holly, best friend of a co-worker. He struggles with his attraction
to this powerful woman, the mysteries that surround her, and
the danger she draws like a magnet.
Though
there were a few problems, this is overall an absolutely wonderful
read. Refreshingly superior to most of the paranormal or suspense
novels coming out of the romance genre, Spellbinder blends
fantasy and steamy love scenes in a more controlled, carefully
crafted way. Rawn does stretch reader's willingness to buy into
her world with the financial success her writer enjoys. Few
authors ever achieve that level of wealth through writing alone.
Her characters re-connect after a prolonged parting in a way
that is a bit rushed, but the strength of their connection pulls
it off, if a bit jarringly.
Spellbinder
is a wonderful read, something different that strikes all the
best notes of fantasy and romance.
Samhain's
Christmas Project
Samhain
is planning a Christmas project for 2007 featuring individual
stories released as an ebooks, and be grouped together for a
print anthology.
Chick
Lit Review
The
Chick Lit Review is keeping a genre under fire alive and well.
Visit www.chicklitreview.org
to read more. The site features forums and other interesting
information for Chick Lit fans.
Juno
Books Launches
Juno
Books made it's debut in October 2006. A new imprint of
Prime Books and Wildside Press, Juno Books will be distributed
by
Diamond Distributors. They focus on fantasy publications with
erotic or romantic elements featuring strong female characters.
Visit
Juno at juno-books.com
New
E-Publisher: Asylett Press
Acccording
to press release information, Asylett’s "aim is to
provide our readers with excitement, adventure and romance in
the form of well-written fiction. To that end, we are always
seeking fresh stories, stories with exciting plots or unique
twists, stories that capture, mesmerize and satisfy."
Asylett
can be reached via their website: www.asylett.com
|
