Reviews of Scandal are starting to show up and I want to share parts of two of them here. There are links to the full reviews if you're interested.

Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books

...there's a richness and a poignancy that elevates the entire book to a whole other level of "good."
...
It's impossible to sum up this book in mere tropes. It's a story of two people who had to grow up to appreciate each other, and it's a story of survival and strength, trust and renewal. The characters are older than the standard hero and heroine you encounter in romance. It's difficult to read at times, and bleak in others, but throughout, both in the past and the present of the story, Jewel weaves a furious sexual tension between Banallt and Sophie that reaches and maintains scorching levels.
...
Banallt, on the other hand, is more than he seems, while also being less than he seems. In the past, he’s a creature with an empty life of drinking, humping and lather, rinse, repeat. Sophie introduces him to the idea that he may have something more to offer, and that he is worth more than the life he's choosing to live. It's not at all a typical, "I see her! Due to her nobility and artless grace, I see my life is meaningless, and without her I am nothing! Commence pining!" type of moment. Banallt is too stone cold cool for that nonsense. Banallt recognizes his own potential and discovers his own worth as slowly as he is revealed to the reader. His discovery is not at all due solely to Sophie; Banallt starts to wake up on his own. That said, he resists behaving honorably as long as he can, and he's ambiguous in a way I'm definitely not used to seeing in a romance hero. He's a character that walks that line between nobleman and nobility, and doesn't eagerly embrace the latter.
...
This book took my breath away.

Read the full SBTB review

Romance Novel TV - Grade: 5 +++++++ stars

WOW. Simply, wow. That is the only word I can use to describe this masterpiece. It has been such a long time since I have read such a rich, emotional and tension filled romance. Not only did Scandal have me hooked from the very first page, but this is the first book, in a very long time, where I had to read straight through into the wee hours of the night because I couldn't put it down. When an author can write such a book, that book is destined for greatness. I wouldn’t be surprised if Scandal becomes one of the favorites of 2009, and perhaps placed on most reader's lists for all time favorite historical.
...
Both Banallt and Sophie are very complex characters who have such intense feelings for one another. What I loved most about Banallt, is the way he sees Sophie. She is known as not being a great beauty, rather petite and very plain looking, but because Banallt has such intense feelings for her, he thinks she is the most gorgeous woman he has ever known. There were times I expected him to fall on his knees before Sophie and kiss her feet because he adores her so. The one thing that makes Banallt so different from other rogues is the deep respect he has for Sophie. Not only does he cherish her body, but also her mind. Their conversations and discussions are when he first fell in love with her. Sophie also respects Banallt and truly does care for him, but she can't get passed her own bias towards men who are unfaithful, she places Banallt in that category, because he too was married, and cheated on his own deceased wife.
...
Usually I tend to look down upon a hero that has so many lovers they're tripping over one another. But the way Carolyn has written Banallt, and they way he treats Sophie and his feelings for her, I couldn't help but feel for him, especially when it came to claiming Sophie. And when Sophie allows him to, you may just break down in tears.
...
Scandal is a must read book that should not be passed by. Carolyn Jewel has written a mature and emotional romance that has everything from passion, love and most importantly respect. The respect that a man and woman can have for one another.
-- Kate Garrabrant

Read the Full RNTV Review

Needless to say, I hope, I am thrilled and really glad to know that my vision of the period and of my hero and heroine worked so well for theses two reviewers. Really.

Labels: Book Reviews, Scandal

Can I start with a Sigh?

Today I finally transferred my paper copyedits for My Forbidden Desire to my document. It took just about all day, but it needed to be done so I'll have an eARC to send when the time comes.

I also finished my RITA reading. Now I'm going to jump back into my TBR.

Can I also say I am tired of this sucky economy? I've had enough of stressing. Seriously. My sister, who works at Home Depot Express, is losing her job in April as they shut down a fairly large number of stores. She has time to get her ducks in a row and figure out what to do, but the uncertainty is no fun. Sigh.

I'm starting to get a bit anxious about Scandal. Reviews are stressful, too, but considering the official release date is February 3, I haven't seen all that many and there are none at Amazon. Like I don't have enough to get me all worked up. Sigh.

But, off to bed with another book. Except, you know, I'm getting anxious about the writing. It may be time to start work on The Dark Elf Project.

Labels: Book Reviews, My Forbidden Desire, reading, Scandal, stressing out

Milestone: Today the WIP reached 50,000 words. Whew! And yes, the story has a shape now. It's now more than just some scenes that are vaguely related.

Confession: Today, in between writing, for some stupid reason I checked the Amazon reviews for My Wicked Enemy and found the usual for me: some hate :: some love. Not too much in between. Probably because those readers couldn't be bothered. One review mentioned another paranormal book as being much better than my horribly boring one.

So I went off and read some reviews on the book that is soooo much better than mine. And guess what? There was some hate :: some love for that one, too.

Hey! Isn't that interesting? It's not that I suck and Author A does not. (I have her book in my TBR and continue to look forward to reading it.) It's that people have different tastes. And just because my writing didn't work for Reader X doesn't meant it won't work for Reader Y.

Because you know, blue is not everyone's favorite color. It's not mine¹ and yet I don't go around telling all the blue-lovers that they are plainly fools, though they may well be for any number of reasons. Or not.

I felt better after that. A bit petty for the schadenfreude over at Author A's book reviews, but oh well. I'm over it now.

So, please go buy My Wicked Enemy read it and then say what you think over at Amazon or B&N or wherever because it's awesome that readers get to share what they think. As an opinionated person myself I am aware that I loathe Madame Bovary and yet also know a lot of fine people disagree with my opinion. And I'm okay with that.

And you know what, major thank you's to all the people who have written to me either at my website or MySpace and even Twitter to tell me how much they enjoyed the book. It's wonderful when someone takes the time to let an author know. Trust me, we get all excited and warm inside. Keep those letters coming! It makes me very happy.

1. Here's another confession for you. Although I like green my favorite color is gray. I think that means there's something wrong with me.

Geek note: The hex code for gray is

#666666

which can be shortened to #666. Kind of scary, huh?

Labels: Book Reviews, My Wicked Enemy, reading, The Next Historical, writing

Acheron.

That's why.

I really really enjoyed Acheron. Enough that I went two nights in a row staying up far too late for a 4:25 am wake up. I'm dragging now. Could I quibble about this book? Yes, but not about very much and not about anything that matters. And to be honest, after reading a few Big Books that were a disappointment, I was thrilled to read one that wasn't in any way.

Sherrilyn Kenyon totally delivers. I expect I'll be re-reading it, too.

I have a final read through of revisions for His Wicked Witch and then it's off to NY. Then I have to write like heck for the book due Nov 15.

Off to it.

Labels: Acheron, Authors, Book Reviews, His Wicked Witch, historical project, reading

OK, so I'm a bit giddy. Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows I've been judging a contest. The entries were long and I had to also judge the synopsis. Oh noes. They were pretty uniformly wretched or just WTF?? Until the last one which was fantastic wonderful sparkling -- publishable right now this minute. And boy, did the synopsis suck. If all I had to go on was the synopsis, I'd have pitched it so fast it would light on fire it was that bad. Which is why nobody ever buys on the basis of a synopsis. Because it's the writing that matters. One other one showed signs of brilliance, but the heroine was certifiably insane. Not charming insane, but lock her up with Norman Bates insane and never ever ever let her near anything sharp insane. There's a problem when your heroine reads like a lunatic. But now the judging is done and I got to read an entry that will be published!

In other news, I got my first review for My Wicked Enemy. It's so early yet that I wasn't expecting an actual review so I opened the email before I realized what it was. Normally, I delete these emails without reading them. I don't care to read reviews. It's a choice I've made. I get too depressed by criticism and not elated enough by praise.

But I was ambushed, as it were. I'm as sick and morbid as the next author, so of course I read it. How could I not once it was there in plain text? Here is is. I'll highlight the phrase that made me laugh and fix a minor error that will be corrected when this posts to the review site.

MY WICKED ENEMY -- Carolyn Jewel
Grand Central Forever
ISBN: 0-446-17823-3
August 2008
Paranormal Romance

San Francisco, California -- Present Day

When she learns how evil her guardian, Alvaro Magellan, is, Carson Phillips runs from him, taking a priceless talisman with her. After fleeing, Carson ends up in San Francisco and runs smack into the one man on earth who would like nothing better than to see her dead, Nikodemus, a man and demon determined to destroy all mages and witches before the fiends are completely taken over and destroyed.

When Magellan's witch literally falls into his hands, Nikodemus can't believe his luck. However, his plan to kill the witch quickly changes when he realizes Carson has no idea what she is or what Magellan has done to her. Magellan has blocked Carson's powers so that he can use them, but eventually this magical block will kill Carson. The pull of Carson's magic draws Nikodemus to her even though he knows he should resist. Witches and fiends are mortal enemies, but something about the helpless Carson makes Nikodemus want to protect her. However, Magellan is powerful and will stop at nothing to retrieve what is his.

MY WICKED ENEMY is a mile-a-minute thrill from the first. I found myself rapidly turning the pages to find out what happens next. Carson is a woman who has lived a lie her entire life, and once she realizes how she has been used and manipulated, trust doesn't come easily. Nikodemus is a Warlord, and his mission in life is to destroy as many witches and mages as he can. But Carson touches something inside him, and he will risk much to save her from Magellan and his evil plans. But can mortal enemies ever become more than just partners against a common enemy?

Author Carolyn Jewel has created a unique paranormal romance with characters who are bigger than life. The writing is smooth, and the plot is exciting. However, while I was engrossed in the novel and couldn't put it down, in the end I was left with some questions unanswered. I'm hoping that this is the first in a series about the fiends so that we can learn more about them. MY WICKED ENEMY is action packed, and the romance is outside the ordinary; actually, some of the sex scenes probably need a warning label. However, even with the somewhat different aspects of the sex scenes, they don't overshadow the story or take over the novel, though they are more prevalent in the latter half of the book. Secondary characters are many, each having an impact on the story, but not overshadowing the focus of the book, the conflicted relationship between Carson and Nikodemus.

MY WICKED ENEMY is sure to appeal to fans of the paranormal, and I don't hesitate to recommend the novel for an entertaining and unique read.

Terrie Figueroa
Romance Reviews Today

So, yes, I'm elated. But if I happen to fail to protect myself against a bad one, I will be more depressed then than I am elated now. Warning lable or not.

Labels: Book Reviews, contest judging, insane heroines, My Wicked Enemy

The thing I love about Dorchester is they do the absolute coolest books. They're not afraid to try new things. I thought the SHOMI series sounded totally awesome the moment I heard about it. My friend Liz Maverick is heading yet another genre-pushing line. This is a Publisher's Weekly starred review.

Wired
Liz Maverick. Dorchester/Shomi, $6.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-505-52724-0
If Maverick's fast-paced, genre-bounding novel is any indication, Dorchester's new imprint, Shomi—which aims to hook a younger generation of readers—should catch an audience quickly. Maverick grabs readers from page one, throwing together romance, science fiction and cyberpunk—a mash-up hinted at in the anime-style packaging— to tell the story of L. Roxanne Zaborovsky, a high-strung freelance computer programmer whose reclusive life gets tossed on its head when two men show up looking for her. Appearing mysteriously one night, the pair immediately set to fighting over Roxanne; before long, she realizes one is an old college acquaintance, Mason Merrick. Taking off with Mason, Roxanne learns that the men are each after a valuable bit of her work—a piece of code she hasn't even written yet. When even stranger things follow— like close friends showing up with entirely different lives—Roxanne discovers that her pursuers are playing with the threads of reality, trying to gain advantage over the other. Maverick's roller-coaster ride doesn't always stay grounded, but it's easy to get drawn into her world of twisting realities and shifting identities, especially with superb heroine Roxanne handling narration. This excellent piece of genre fiction shows much promise for both Maverick and the imprint she spearheads. (July)

Labels: Book Covers, Book Reviews, romance genre

Boy oh boy. I've been seeing a lot remarks lately about reviews. On loops, in blogs, on websites. Since I'm an author I have a fairly author-centric view of the issue. Here's a few of my views:

Any review that trashes a book because of the heroine's name is not a review that should be taken seriously. Such a review is not about the book, it's about the reviewer showing off her nasty chops. Hey, go for it, show off all you want, but readers and authors, don't confuse that with a review that has something to do with literary merit or the enjoyability of the read.

A review is not feedback for the author to take to heart for the next time around. A review is a response to a completed work of fiction. By the time the book is in the reviewer's hands it's too damn late for feedback. And any reviewer who thinks he's providing the author a free critique is too self-involved for polite words.

Authors do NOT have complete control over who reviews her book. Publishers send out ARCS without consulting the author. Please, don't assume that every reviewer got the book from the author.

Not all books are good. Some books are just plain bad. I have myself read books I thought were bad. The same is true of reviews. Not every review is based on a thorough reading of the book. That, my friends, is glaringly obvious. I have read reviews (of my own books and others) in which the characters names are misspelled, and sometimes not misspelled but just plain wrong. Some reviews are based on such a cursory read of the book that the reviewer has failed to grasp (or just didn't read?) key events in the story. Some reviewers confuse their books and review events that happened in some other book. And, I have also read reviews that have been written by someone lacking any knowledge or awareness of the rules of grammar or punctuation.

Authors are a highly neurotic group. They agonize over everything. And their books go out into a world where some readers are guaranteed not to like their book. And, authors don't get to rebut reviews. Don't be all-surprised and annoyed if authors do a little moaning about reviews.

For myself, I try not to read reviews anymore. Good or bad, they upset me and/or distract me from the work in progress. The absolute worst thing any author can do is write to please reviewers. That way lies a really bad book.

Labels: Authors, Book Reviews, Rants