Showing posts with label Guardian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guardian. Show all posts

Monday, September 10, 2012

Guardian and ponderings about reviews

Guardian 
is a military romance tale by Catherine Mann that continues her 'Dark Ops' series and pits a JAG lawyer, Major Sophie Campbell, against Major David Berg whose unit was involved in a serious injury to a child.  Their search for the truth necessarily brings them into close proximity and their hostility gradually morphs into something warmer.  This was another of the author's exciting tales and although there were a few odd editing problems (one of which was a magically morphing ice cream bowl, lol) it was an entertaining read.  

My Amazon review is at this link.  I always appreciate a 'yes, this was helpful' vote.


I hadn't been paying close attention to the furor that is going on about reviews lately.  It seems that someone admitted to making quite a nice salary selling reviews and the scandal seems to be growing exponentially.  It must be nice to make money reading and reviewing books!  I think the problem became that, as the business grew, fewer of the submitted books were actually being read and the reviews were all glowing.  This is the link to the NY Times article.  There is also a thought-provoking blogpost by author Jo Eberhardt at this link.

Now, I have a terrible hunger for books (see title of blog, lol) and enter tons of contests to win books and initially started reviewing for Night Owl Reviews as a way of getting more books than I was able to obtain through my local libraries (yes, I patronize two libraries).  Well, the saying is always, 'be careful what you wish for...' and I have certainly found that to be true as sometimes I have about 30 titles waiting to be read and reviewed.  I used to write very casual two line reviews on my Goodreads shelf which tended to hold the library books that I was reading at the time rather than my 'official' reviews but eventually learned that authors LOVE to be cross-promoted (as long as it is positive) so eventually I started posting on Amazon and Goodreads as well as submitting the review to Night Owl.  Of course it takes time to write a decent review and that cuts into my reading time...and then of course there is the problem that I get distracted visiting blogs and entering contests (to win even more books, lol).

Unfortunately, it almost seems to take me less time to read the actual book itself than to sit down and write the review and at this moment I have read but not yet reviewed the following:  Savage Hunger by Terry Spear, Echoes at Dawn by Maya Banks,  Phoenix Rising by Corrina Lawson, Tyler and Dylan by C.H. Admirand, Hush by Cherry Adair, His Every Desire by Shiloh Walker, Warrior's Apprentice by Alysha Ellis and a couple of others that I am torn about reviewing because I didn't really like them.  Anyway, my point is...I do actually read the books that I review...and no, I don't get paid (except for receiving the book itself sometimes...unless it is through Netgalley or Edelweiss...and we are only loaned the manuscript for a limited amount of time from those sites) and shame on those who are writing positive reviews without even reading the book itself, I think it does a disservice to readers who actually want to receive an honest opinion!
   
   
           







Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Fantastic military romances on the way...

In case you missed it, I really enjoyed I Own the Dawn by ML Buchman (post)


and coming soon is Guardian by Catherine Mann (available in early September)
 



and...it will take a few months but be well worth the wait...A SEAL at Heart by Anne Elizabeth will be out in early December.  Put it on your wishlists so you remember to order it!


I will post reviews on the latter two once they are live on the Night Owl site but yum!  all of these were fantastic military romances (0:

I overheard an author at RWA complaining about the lack of authenticity to some of the military romance novels but I as a reader have no problem with authors making up units and branches of the military to feature in their stories.  I actually would rather not inadvertently endanger any of the brave souls putting their lives on the line for us while I enjoy getting a glimpse into the rigorous training and dedication that characterizes these heroes who willingly risk danger.  My heart always hurts at the references to how hard it is for both those who serve and those who are left behind to worry for them but the romantic in me always hopes that each person has at least one person to share their fears, hopes and love with and that is the message very skillfully presented in the aforementioned titles and others like them.  All three were excellent tales and I look forward to more from these talented authors.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Catching up but sabotaged by hiccups

Having been wallowing in books for the past week, it is difficult to come back to Earth after breathing that rarefied air for so long.  I am slowly catching up and will post my reviews of The Lady Risks All by Stephanie Laurens, The Royal Bridesmaids by Stephanie Laurens, Gaelen Foley and Loretta Chase, Guardian by Catherine Mann, A Scandalous Scot by Karen Ramney and I Own the Dawn by M.L. Buchman as soon as they are all live on Night Owl Reviews.  Still to be written are Loving Lady Marcia by Kieran Kramer, If I Were You I (adults only) by Lisa Renee Jones and Cowboy Bad Boys (adults only) by Randi Alexander.

         


     







I am slowly catching up but there are a myriad of titles that are waiting in the wings, yum...BUT I tried to log into my Netgalley account and discovered that everything was EXPIRED!!!  I was really disappointed until I attempted to open the title that I got approved for today (greatly excited that there is a new Michelle Sagara title, Cast in Peril) and discovered that I can't open that one either.  The oddest thing is that when I tried to open my copy of The Royal Bridesmaids...it won't open either and I received that one through Eidelweiss so there is some weird thing going on today.  Oh well, there goes my excuse for not getting the laundry done...guess I'd better do some more mundane things instead of disappearing into the mists of fantasy, lol.  Of course, then there is the challenge of trying to get my pictures from my camera into the blog itself (I am so jealous that Kim of SOS Aloha gets her beautiful photos posted so expeditiously) but I haven't quite gotten a reader for my Mac laptop so I am going to have to use a different computer and that will take me more time than I have today...hopefully sometime this week!