Hi All,
I have finally surfaced after a wildly successful, albeit exhausting, RT Convention in Daytona Beach and coming back to wrapping up yet another issue of RT BOOKreviews which begins shipping early next week. The August issue features interviews with Sandra Brown, Kathy Reichs and Robin Cook as well as an article on a new category of fiction emerging, Latina lit or Chica lit, as the authors prefer to call it. Our 25 Anniversary celebration continues with a fun article historical fans will love titled, "25 Ways to Catch a Rake," with contributions from some of your favorite Regency authors. I hope you are enjoying all the color as much as we are!
Now on to the September issue.
Since we are now consistently reviewing 250 books a month, which can be daunting to read through, I wanted to come up with a way to make getting through the reviews a little easier so that you don't miss any great books.
So beginning with the September issue the reviews will be set up a little differently. The header is pretty much the same except that we will put the sensuality rating in the header. Also the publisher info will be at the end of the summary and no longer in the header.
The big change is that every review will now begin with the "opinion" paragraph (which normally comes at the end). The "opinion paragraph will be in larger type and bold so it will stand out on the page. The Summary of the book will follow.
Here is a sample although I cannot change type size in this blog format so use your imagination :)
CAPTIVE OF MY DREAMS
Johanna Lindsey
4 1/2 stars, SENSUAL
Setting: Regency England and the High Seas
This is a must for Lindsey fans! It's utterly delightful, fast-paced, witty and sparkling with that great Lindsey repartee and captive/captor plot. Here's everything you adore and expect from this grande dame at the top of her form. Lindsey brings back characters we love and adds a few new ones. There's no better way to spend your time than with the Malorys and a pirate crew -- it's like sailing off to heaven.
Summary: The Malorys return in this long-awaited tale of roguish American sea captain Drew Anderson and Gabrielle Brooks, a pirate's daughter who's his match in every way.
Gabrielle loves sailing with her treasure-hunting father, but when it's time for her to wed, he sends her to his old friend, James Malory. Gabrielle finds navigating society difficult, especially after meeting her host's relative, Drew. Drew has a girl in every port and wants Gabrielle to be his latest conquest. He doesn't count on her high spirits, sharp tongue and rapier wit to draw him into more than a casual relationship.
When an old enemy captures Gabrielle's father, she commandeers Drew's ship and keeps him chained in his cabin. He sets out to turn the tables on Gabrielle, but he's about to get caught in his own trap. (Pocket, Jul., 380 pp., $25.00)
- Kathe Robin
Another change with the reviews, beginning with the September issue, is that there will be sensuality ratings for all the romance sections (except for the Series Romance section) including: Historical, Contemporary Romance and Romantic Suspense. In the past only Historical received sensuality ratings.
The new sensuality rating will be as follows for all three sections:
SCORCHER -- Borders on erotic. Very graphic sex.
HOT -- Most romance novels fall into this category. Conventional lovemaking. Explicit sex.
MILD -- May or may not include lovemaking. No explicit sex
We have been working extremely hard with our reviewers to not only refine our review process but also to make sure that the "opinion paragraph" lets you know why the reviewer loved, or hated, (or anywhere in between) the book. You will also find that the "opinion paragraph" better qualifies the star rating so that readers will know exactly what worked or did not work for that reviewer.
I am very excited about all of these changes and I sincerely hope you will give me some feedback when you actually see the September issue next month.
Pleas know that your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
I look for ward to hearing from you,
Carol Stacy
Publisher
