Authors on Reviews

Thanks to Reading-Romances for putting this together. 

For reasons unknown to me authors are not supposed to comment on reviews of their books. Personally I don't care. If an author wants to leave a comment on their books review go ahead. 


Sometimes when I finish a book I am left with a question. If the author sees this and answers it, yay. I recently posted a review and mentioned that I enjoy the series but am curious as to who will have the next book. The author answered this. That made me so happy. First of all it answered my curiosity and secondly it let me know that the author noticed and read my review, not just noticed the star rating. 


I have never slammed an author or their work in a review. I truly feel that if I take the time to be rude and unprofessional to an author in a review then by all means that author has every right to be defensive and come after me the reviewer. Authors spend a great deal of time putting together a book. It's just overall wrong and childish for me to completely bash it. There are nice ways in which I can say this book didn't work for me.


If I completely misunderstood something that happened in the book and the author feels like spelling it out for me, once again yay. It might change my thoughts on continuing in that series. 


I've had authors email me with a thanks, or an I'm glad you enjoyed it. This would be one of those instances where I would love to see that comment after my review. 


So overall I think is great when an author comments on their books review. I love comments from my followers. It lets me know that the review I have put out for all to see is helpful and promotes the book I read and enjoyed. If an author were to leave a comment on the review I can guarantee you that this Diva would do a happy dance all over the house. Yes it's a little selfish, maybe conceited but I would like to know that the author noticed my thoughts.


I took it upon myself to ask an author that has discussed this with me to share a few thoughts on this matter.


Jenny Lyn, author of Saving Sydney.

First, I want to thank Vanessa for having me on her blog today. While I’m at it I also want to thank her publicly for reading and reviewing my book Saving Sydney. Notice I didn’t thank her for actually “liking” my book, although I’m very glad she did. There’s a reason for that.

I reached out to her myself and asked if I could send her a copy of Saving Sydney for her to review. She explained that she was swamped with review requests and didn’t know if she could find the time, but said she’d certainly try. If nothing else, she promised to at least post her thoughts on Goodreads, and I was completely happy with that, too.

She read Saving Sydney and liked it a lot. When I saw her very kind words on Goodreads, I sent her a personal email because given the recent hullabaloo over authors commenting in reader’s review threads, I was afraid to say anything there. I simply told her thank you and how much I appreciated her taking the time out of her busy life and blogging schedule to read my work. The fact that she liked it was really just icing on the cake. Honestly, I would have thanked her if she hated it. It would have been tougher, obviously, because no one wants to hear that someone thinks their work stinks, but I feel like it’s important to at least offer my gratitude either way. I think I told her that if I didn’t, my sweet southern granny would rise from her grave and come after me with a switch, just like she did when I was ten and sassed her. There is such a thing as manners. I think that’s what got this whole mess started is some writers forgot theirs. And not knowing when to simply shut up.

Author Jenny Lyn Guest Post and Giveaway

Exciting stuff going on today! A very special Diva has cruised by to talk about her awesome book, hunky hunnies, and she has brought prezzies with her! Please give Jenny Lyn a warm Diva welcome.

First, I want to thank Vanessa for having me on her blog this weekend. I love getting the chance to promote my book, SAVING SYDNEY, and making new friends along the way. 

Now, on to the fun stuff – Hunky Heroes.

Saving Sydney is actually peppered with hunks of various forms. Reece, Sydney’s “hero”, is of course the star of the show.

When I started the book I knew I was going to have a very strong female protagonist in Sydney. She’s well-educated, wealthy, and dreadfully overworked, like a lot of women are these days. Basically, she’s one tough cookie. When it comes to her job and handling her troublesome family, she’s got her act together. Where she falters is in her personal relationships. She doesn’t like to fail, and after trying marriage once and sucking at it, she’s not sure she ever wants to try again.

To counterbalance Sydney, I made Reece a very patient man, which really isn’t your typical “romance novel” guy when you think about it. Most of the time they’re very Alpha and domineering, perhaps even a little pushy, which, don’t get me wrong, can be smokin’ hot too, under certain circumstances. But Reece knew if he was going to stand any kind of chance at having Sydney forever, he needed to show her he wasn’t just there for the sex.

Now, the sex is amazing (of course!), this is after all an erotic romance, and he does turn Alpha in the bedroom. And on the kitchen counter. And on the terrace. Oh, and there’s also the rooftop encounter. ;) So, yeah, the sexy times are frequent and fulfilling.

But, for me, as both a writer and reader of romance, my heroes need to have some flaws as well. Reece is a blue-collar guy who owns a bar that he worked hard to make successful with some help from his best friend, Deke. He’s not rich by any means, but he’s doing pretty well for himself. Sydney’s wealth, however, makes him uncomfortable. Throughout the story you start to see a few cracks forming, but he basically ignores them because he’s crazy about her, until he finds out she’s worth way more than he ever guessed. That makes him insecure. Men don’t like to be insecure, do they? Not. At. All.

You’ll have to read the book to find out the rest. *grin*

I still made him hot as Hell, naturally. Dark hair, blue eyes, broad shoulders – a jeans and boots bad boy. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s not afraid of a stove either. That might just be hotter than all the other characteristics, at least in my household. LOL

I mentioned earlier the book was peppered with hunks. In addition to Reece, there’s his best friend, Deke. Deke’s a big ol’ teddy bear, with blond spiky hair and a smile that makes women’s clothes fall off. Being a bartender, Deke is not shy about handing out advice. He also has a “no sleepover” rule which he never breaks.

Then there’s Sydney’s brother, Jonah. One word for Jonah – trouble. But then again, trouble can be fun sometimes too, right?

I hope I’ve intrigued you enough to want to give SAVING SYDNEY a try. As part of being a guest of Vanessa’s blog, I’m giving away a copy of the book, along with a $20 gift card to your choice of either Amazon or Barnes and Noble to one lucky commenter!

Thanks again to Vanessa for having me, and I hope everyone has a Hunky Hero of their very own.

To enter the giveaway please comment below with email address and tell us who's your Hunky Hero. I will announce the winner on Monday April 23. You do not have to be a follower to participate, but I do love all of my stalkers!

Review: Saving Sydney by Jenny Lyn

Saving Sydney (goodreads.com)

By: Jenny Lyn (author website)

eBook, 170 pages (per Kindle)

Published February 10th 2012 by Breathless Press

ISBN:  9781771010

Source: Author, for the purpose of an honest review

Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance

Stars: 5

Flames: 4
Reviewed by: Vanessa

Some reviews come easier than others and Saving Sydney is certainly one of them. I am so pleased that the author approached me for this review. I can honestly say this is not something that would have caught my eye. I’m not a big fan of contemporary romance. This one leans heavily towards the erotic side of romances, but still I do prefer my paranormals. So, I am shocked that I loved this book as much as I did. It is so far outside of my normal reading box.

I absolutely loved the realism of Saving Sydney. These are very realistic people in very real situations. That has got to be one of the aspects that I liked most about this book. Sydney and Reece are in a realistic relationship. It starts off as two individuals who are attracted to each other. They acknowledge the sexual chemistry between them and begin a no strings sexual relationship.

Reece soon discovers he wants more than just great sex from Sydney. Sydney does not have the same feelings. She believes that she is happy with her life. Reece’s carefree attitude and the pure happiness that shows in his personality soon shows Sydney that there is more to life than what she has. The only problem is can she let go enough to let Reece in.

I loved this book! Books and authors like this make me so happy that I made the decision to blog reviews. I have opened myself and my blog up for authors to approach me, thus I get to share awesome little slices of a fictional couples fictitious life. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a sweet romance, minimal conflict and heavy on the sexy erotic scenes.  

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow for Jenny's guest post and giveaway!