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2007 RT Award Nominees
Dear Book Lovers, 2007 was another great year for readers. So many fabulous books were published! We reviewed more than 250 books in each issue of RT BOOKreviews -- more than 3,000 titles for the entire year. Our ace reviewers and editors have scoured 12 months' worth of reviews to compile the best of the best for the annual Romantic Times BOOKreviews Career Achievement and Reviewers' Choice Awards. For the Reviewers' Choice nominees, our star team selected only those novels that deeply resonated with them. The Career Achievement nominees are authors who have continuously crafted superior books throughout their careers. (The list of nominees is also printed in February 2008 issue of RT BOOKreviews.) Winners will be announced in the June issue of RT, just prior to our 25th annual Booklovers Convention in Pittsburgh, Pa., April 16 - 20. Winners will be honored at a luncheon on Friday, April 18, and awards will be presented to authors in attendance. Hope you will be there to celebrate with your favorites!
Which Summary Will You Vote For?
It's that time – next round of the American Title Contest! After voting on our favorite heroes and heroines, it's now time to select our favorite story summary. It looks like all the stories are some form of paranormal, my favorite kind. Some are urban, one is futuristic, but they all have some fantastical elements. That makes it a little harder to narrow it down. CURSES! – I love story descriptions that include a lot of things that don't seem to go together. It makes me curious as to how the author plans to make them all work together. VOICE OF THE BARD – I wanted to like this, but I just wasn't that into the idea. But I loved the hero/heroine last time, so maybe overall it works out better. THIEF – As before, intrigued with the premise. Sounds like a fun, beachy read for me. OUT OF SIGHT – I got a little lost in the description, but I sure it's full of action and intrigue. THE MAGIC KNOT – Not sure how this will get played off. While I think the underlying story might be good, the description is a bit… muddled. PRINCE OF DARKNESS – Sounds like a cute fantasy. The blindness could be either a gimmicky plot device or a neat way to handle the story. Just not sure which. I have made my choice, now it's time to make yours. Send in your vote by December 30th. And don't forget, if you attend the 2008 RT Convention, you will get to see the winner announced live. Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday and a stay safe on New Year's Eve! Nicole
A Girl Always Remembers Her First
  When I was a child, every Christmas, many of my family members would send me books. Usually, they were classics like HEIDI, BLACK BEAUTY and ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (still a favorite). But around the time I turned ten, my grandmother sent me four romance novels. I don't remember what the reasoning was at the time, but it was definitely memorable to be in fifth grade and receiving books with heaving bosoms on the cover.    A quick search through my bookcase found three of those books, as well as a slew of favorites from my early explorations into romance. The books my grandmother gave me were DESERT SLAVE by Miranda North, YANKEE MISTRESS by Ashley Snow and A TEMPTING MISS by Janice Bennett. I didn't know contemporary romance novels even existed - historicals such as these were what I had always heard about.    All four books were similar in theme - strong-willed woman gets herself into a jam and the hard-headed (but handsome) man uses sexual tension to get her to do his bidding. I loved these books and while my grandmother's idea of appropriate reading for a precocious ten-year-old might not have been her best, I am still grateful to her for the experience. I also found some of my other favorite first romances - THE RAINBOW PROMISE by Lisa Gregory (still need to find the other book that goes with it, THE RAINBOW SEASON), TO TASTE THE WINE by Fern Michaels (of whom I am still a huge fan) and my first Johanna Lindsey, PRISONER OF MY DESIRE. All of these books will stay on my bookshelves as long as they are in one piece.    Nicole
American Title: Vote on Best Story Summary
American Title Writing Competition: Find out who got eliminated in round two (Hero & Heroine) and make sure to cast your vote for the Best Story Summary. Thank you! Natalie Web Manager
Free Copies of SOUVENIR by Therese Fowler
Offer from Ballantine Books: "Be the first to discover THERESE FOWLER Therese Fowler’s SOUVENIR is the debut novel Luanne Rice calls “tender, touching, and completely compelling.” It’s about love, fate, and the things in life worth holding on to. It’s a reading experience you’ll always cherish. TO REQUEST A FREE PREVIEW COPY (while supplies last), CLICK HEREOn sale in hardcover February 12, 2008 from Ballantine Books."
Method to My Madness
 Some time ago I read an article about this man who claimed he had a fool-proof seduction Method. He would begin usually by mildly insulting the woman he was interested in, then use a series of psychological gimmicks to get her to go home with him. So I had to laugh when I was at RT convention this past year and I saw a book by Naomi Neale called METHOD MAN. I picked up a copy and finally go to read it this week. The premise is that a 29-year-old divorcee named Rebecca gets talked into being the wingman for a player named A.J. A.J. uses his Method for getting girls and offers to teach it to her. The book follows Rebecca as she goes from club to club with A.J., learning the tricks of Method and even turning it around on the men who would attempt to get her into their bed. I love to read books that spoof off of pop culture and that is why this one was interesting to me. And in general, I liked the book. But, something about it also rubbed me the wrong way. Motivations seemed a little off, pacing was inconsistent and at the end, you are still aren't sure she got the guy. Most publishers will tell you that you need to have introduced certain characters by certain points in the book. We met people that served no purpose early on and we didn't meet the guy she ends up with until nearly 1/3 of the way through. But, if you want a fun course in how to be a player, this book will certainly do it for you. I did also reread CHRISTMAS STORIES and I enjoyed it nearly as much as I had when I first read it several years ago. The story I loved most was still Naomi Horton's "Dreaming of Angels." If you can find a copy, I do recommend that story. Also, each story has a recipe with it and Ms. Horton's includes one of my favorites - Nanaimo Bars.  Nicole
Four Times the Holiday Joy
As I have noted before, I recently read HOLIDAYS ARE HELL, a quadology with stories from Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu and Vicki Pettersson. I bought it for a couple of reasons: One, I really enjoy these author; and two, I love the holiday anthologies that come out every year with four stories in them. My first holiday anthology was Silhouette's 1991 CHRISTMAS STORIES with stories from Phyllis Halldorson, Peggy Webb, Naomi Horton and Heather Graham Pozzessere. Looking at this book now, I am happy to see names that still mean something to me 16 years later. This was one of the first romance books I ever read - I think I got it from a garage sale or something. I still remember pieces of the stories and I think it's time for a re-read. However, I was disappointed with HOLIDAYS ARE HELL. I liked each of the stories on their own, but overall the book felt lacking to me. Ms. Harrison's story is part of her Rachel Morgan series, taking place before the first book in the series DEAD WITCH WALKING. Ms. Harrison was wonderful, as usual. Ms. Sands' story is the sequel to her short story in DATES FROM HELL and was just as much fun. Ms. Liu's story was different, but intriguing. And Ms. Pettersson's story filled in some gaps in the backstory from her Zodiac books and was a wonderful addition to her series. Somehow, even with all this, I didn't like the book as much as I wanted to. Maybe it was the combination of the stories that didn't work for me, I don't know. I am still looking for suggestions for books to add to my Christmas wish list. So far, I have had Sally MacKenzie's THE NAKED MARQUIS recommended to me, as well as REQUIEM FOR THE DEVIL by Jeri Smith-Ready and THE OBJECT OF LOVE by Sharon Cullars. Do you have any other books to recommend me? I promise to read them and report back!  Nicole 
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