Shannon C.’s review of Mean Streets by Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Kat Richardson, and Thomas E. Sniegoski Urban fantasy anthology released by Roc 6 Jan 09 This anthology features four prominent private investigators currently with series in the urban fantasy market. Headlining this book is Jim Butcher, with another Harry Dresden story, and Kat [...]

Here at the Pond, we have an e-mail loop.  In theory, I think Sybil meant for it as a way for all of us to communicate easily, and keep on top of the various goings-on around TGTBTU.  In actuality?  Yeah, it’s pretty much the time-suck from Hell.  Case in point, yesterday Sandy sent a very [...]

Shannon C.’s review of Demon Bound (The Guardians, Book 7) by Meljean Brook Paranormal romance released by Berkley 4 Nov 08 I emailed Meljean asking for an e-arc of Demon Bound before its release date, which was, for those of you paying attention, in November. She graciously sent me the book and then I promptly… [...]

Shannon C.’s review of Moonfire (Pure Wildfire Series, Book 3) by Lynne Connolly Contemporary paranormal romance eBook released by Ellora’s Cave 12 Nov 08 I like Lynne Connolly’s Pure Wildfire books. They’re probably my favorite series she’s got going at the moment, as each of the stories that I’ve read has been consistently readable. Moonfire [...]

Shannon C.‘s review of Becoming Miss Becky by Shannon Stacey Western romance eBook released by Samhain 23 Sep 08 I know I overthink things. I did even before I started reviewing, and it’s just gotten worse. Time was I could read a book like this one, smile in places, and shrug it off when I [...]

Shannon C.’s review of Shades of Dark (Dock 5 Series, Book 2) by Linnea Sinclair Science fiction romance released 29 Jul 08 by Bantam I think I’ve just about resigned myself to the fact that I’ll never be happy as a reader. I want strong heroines. I got one in this book. I want complex [...]

Shannon C.’s review of The Flame (Sons of Destiny, Book 7) by Jean Johnson Fantasy romance released by Berkley Trade/Sensation 2 Dec 08 As I’ve said in my last few reviews of the books in this series, I’ve been a slavish follower of Ms. Johnson ever since I discovered her books. They have a combination [...]

Shannon C.’s review of Burning Spiral by Edita A. Petrick Paranormal romantic suspense eBook released by Cerridwen Press 7 Aug 08 I like science fiction, and I like paranormal stories. Anyone who has read even a few of my reviews knows this. I also like it when an author successfully mixes genres. That being said, [...]

Shannon C.’s review of Enchanting the Lady (Relics of Merlin, Book 1) by Kathryne Kennedy Historical paranormal romance released by Love Spell 1 Jan 08 I harp a lot in my reviews about the heroines in books. I’m a dirty, hippie, liberal feminist, and I’m proud of it. Give me a kick-ass chick any day [...]

Shannon C.’s review of Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, Book 1) by Richelle Mead YA urban fantasy released by Razorbill 16 Aug 07 I’ve been kind of bemused by the taking off of so many books in the YA genre lately, and have found myself thinking on more than one occasion, ‘Where the hell were these [...]

Shannon C.’s review of Retreat by Mari Carr Erotic romantic suspense eBook released by Ellora’s Cave 27 Nov 08 With smaller turnaround times between proposals and release dates, it’s possible for an e-published author to get a very good idea of what readers are buying and write books specifically to that market, whether that’s a [...]

Shannon C.’s review of Secrets of a Summer Night (The Wallflowers, Book 1) by Lisa Kleypas Historical romance released by Avon 26 Oct 04 This year I decided I would try and do a mini reading challenge that I like to call the “Year of the Kleypas.” The idea, of course, is to read 12 [...]

Shannon C.‘s review of Visions of Heat (Psy-Changelings, Book 2) by Nalini Singh Paranormal science fiction romance released by Berkley Sensation 6 Mar 07 I don’t know what it is with me and certain series out there. I start a series of books, adore the first book, and then invariably find something else shiny to [...]

Shannon C.’s review of Seduced by Magic (Magical Seduction, Book 1) by Stephanie Julian Fantasy erotic romance eBook released by Ellora’s Cave 5 Mar 08 When Stephanie Julian e-mailed us requesting that someone review something of hers, I gladly agreed to do so, since her premise looked interesting. Unfortunately, while there were quite a lot [...]

Shannon C.‘s review of Don’t Tell by Karen Rose Contemporary romantic suspense released by Grand Central 1 Jul 03 I knew that Karen Rose was likely to be an author I’d enjoy. Both Holly and Wendy have reviewed her books, and one of my good friends insisted that my not having read Karen Rose was [...]