Author: Kathy Davie

Book Review: Mark del Franco’s Unperfect Souls

Book Review: Mark del Franco’s Unperfect Souls

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Unperfect Soulsin Paperback edition on January 26, 2010 and has 352 pages.Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon Fourth in the Connor Grey urban fantasy series set in Boston and revolving around a powered-down Druid getting disability checks from the Guild. My Take I have really grown to enjoy Connor Grey. We all like underdogs and Franco has given his champion an interesting twist. An arrogant, powerful man brought low who is learning how the other half lives and is treated. Connor is discovering quite a bit about himself that he dislikes and he’s turning it to the good. Along the way, he’s finding people, beings, who think as he does. Some more than others, but with roughly the same goal in mind. He’s also getting quite cocky in his powerlessness. I know, I do seem to emphasize this. It’s a combination of Connor’s own thoughts about himself and the irony that he’s actually learning quite a bit and accumulating power of which he never knew. What I love about Eagan is that he […]

Posted October 30, 2012 by Kathy Davie in / 0 Comments

Book Review: Elizabeth Hoyt’s Wicked Intentions

Book Review: Elizabeth Hoyt’s Wicked Intentions

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Wicked Intentionsin Paperback edition on August 1, 2010 and has 382 pages.Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon First in the Maiden Lane slightly erotic, historical romance series. The couple focus is on Mrs. Temperance Dews and Lord Caire in 1737 London. My Take Well, Hoyt gets kudos for being original in her plot. She’s not particularly concerned with historical accuracy, but she writes well enough that I’m okay with this. I usually get rather pissy. It is rather melodramatic every once in a while — “And he wrapped his black cape about her like the wings of a bird.” As for the “slightly erotic” comment, Hoyt incorporates a bit of voyeurism and some mild bondage which was mildly titillating. I did enjoy Hoyt’s psychological analyses in the story. The story seemed contrived to fit around the psychology and the sex with all the rest as reasons to discuss it. I don’t see any other reason for Lord Caire to be hunting down a murderer himself. Oooh, then there’s Caire’s response to his mother’s […]

Posted October 30, 2012 by Kathy Davie in / 0 Comments

Day 7: Written in the Tombstone

Day 7: Written in the Tombstone

An epitaph, a legend, an elegy, commemorative words, an inscription, famous last words…hmmm…the possibilities… This was a stretch for me. Oh, not in that I haven’t read some really great last lines in some of the books I’ve read. But it’s not a detail I’ve tracked. Nor is it something that’s easy to go hunting for. Not without staying real. So, for the most part, the “last lines” are from what I’ve read in the past week. #1 – …a woman who values truth over treasure. A somewhat obscure explanation by [?] about his mother’s character. From Yasmine Galenorn’s Courting Darkness. #2 – Maybe it is simply that my world has grown much, much larger. I loved this expression [by which character] in David Weber and Jane Lindskold’s Fireseason. #3 – …someone had to make the hard decisions, had to do the dirty work, had to be the bad guy… It’s close enough [14 pages from the end] for me that I consider this the last words in this particular book. And they’re true. Someone does have to make decisions that are unpopular. The key is that those choices are made in the best interests of people as a whole […]

Posted October 30, 2012 by Kathy Davie in Challenges, Reading Books / 0 Comments

Further News on the Penguin-Random House Merger

Further News on the Penguin-Random House Merger

Shelf Awareness posted an article with an update on the Penguin-Random House merger and “Four days after officially confirming that Pearson and Bertelsmann were in discussions about combining their book publishing operations, the companies announced this morning that they are creating a joint venture named Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann will own 53% of the joint venture, and Pearson will own 47%.” There was quite a bit of talk in the article about eBooks and further research reveals that the powers-that-be are interested in countering Internet retailers — Amazon.com was specifically mentioned. I have to wonder if the cost of eBooks will go up… My primary worry about this is the publishing house(s) hunkering down even more and cutting back taking on authors. At the least, payments to authors may well go down. It certainly reduces the number of publishing houses to whom an author can submit a manuscript. Dohle of Random House claims “the combined Penguin Random House would value them” and that its all about the books. This from the publishing house that published the Fifty Shades Trilogy. So, obviously it’s not about the writing.

Posted October 29, 2012 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Publishing / 0 Comments