Reviews worth waiting for and an interview

Julie Bonello of cataromance has posted her review of Compromising Miss Milton. And it made my morning. Julie is a very experienced reviewer and enthusiastic supporter of the genre, so I was delighted when she gave Compromising Miss Milton 4.5 stars and said:
Compromising Miss Milton is Michelle Styles’ most exciting book yet! In her stunning new novel for Mills and Boon, award-winning author Michelle Styles deftly combines superb characterization, passionate romance, nail-biting suspense, exciting adventure and heartwarming pathos in an irresistible new story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.


Cataromance has an interview with me up to celebrate both Compromising Miss Milton's release in the UK and An Impulsive Debutante in the US.

In other news:
My eldest arrived home from his first year of university yesterday. It is good to have the house back up to its full complement.

Impoverished Miss Convenient Wife wins CataRomance Reviewers Award

I just found out that Impoverished Miss Convenient Wife won the Cataromance Reviewer's Choice Award 2009 for best M&B Historical! I am over the moon because as readers of this blog will know I really rate the reviewers at Cataromance. They read a lot of romance and try very hard to give interesting reviews. You can see the rest of the list here. Congratulations to all the other winners.

And thank you very much Donna, Ally and Julie. I am really honoured!!!!

Reviews and the Hexham Book Festival

I opened my email today to find a lovely note from Julie Bonello of Cataromance as well as the Pink Heart Society review. Now that the problems with her computer are fixed, Julie has been able to do a review of Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife. And it was well-worth the wait. Regular readers of this blog will know that Julie has reviewed every one of my M&B historicals and that I wait to see what she thinks.

With cataromance she gave Impoverished Miss 5 stars and said:

Michelle Styles is a must-read for readers who are bored to tears of reading hackneyed, clichéd and highly unoriginal wallpaper historical romances. In Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife, her writing is crisp and effortless, her evocation of Regency England superb, her characters believable and authentic, and her ability to tell an emotionally satisfying love story absolutely breathtaking.
Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife is not your typical run-off-the-mill Regency, but a beautifully rendered tale of hope, sacrifice, tragedy and the everlasting power of love.

You can read the full review here.

The Pink Heart Society review said -- Michelle Styles' latest is a beautifully-told, wonderfully written and utterly absorbing historical Regency that I defy anyone to put down once they've read the first page. Imbued with so much style, emotion, humour, charm and intense romance, Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife is outstanding historical romantic fiction at its best!

You can read the rest of the review here.

Both reviews will be printed out and used to combat Crow Attacks. Like most other authors I do suffer from Attacks of the Crows of Doubt. Keeping a scrapbook of good reviews and readers' letters does help.

I know how much time and effort Julie puts into her reviews and thre are reasons why her reviews are so well respected in the romance community.

A reader emailed to say that she could not find me listed on the Hexham Book Festival Programme. Part of the problem is the way the programme is listed and that you have to click on the different times, rather than it being by date. Anyway, here is the blurb and I understand that tickets do remain available. Contact the Queen's Hall box office for more details.

Saturday 2nd May
2.30 - 3.30pm – Mills and Boon panel
Theatre
What could be more universal to the human experience than the thrill of falling in love? There are reasons why the romance genre has consistently proven to be commercially successful. But timelessness does not mean unchanging. As Mills & Boon enters its second century of publishing, three authors, Michelle Styles, Sharon Kendrick, and Natasha Oakley discuss the challenges and pleasures of writing romance in the 21st century with editor Sheila Hodgson

Cost £5.

You can see the full programme on the Hexham Book Festival site.

Cataromance on Viking Warrior , Unwilling Wife

One of my more important rituals when my new paperbacks arrive is to send a copy to Julie Bunello of cataromance and the Pink Heart Society so she can review the book. I then wait with bated breath. Because for some reason the postal service decided to take the s-l-o-w route to Julie's house, Julie did not receive Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife as quickly as she normally does. However, she has managed to review it and the reviews made my day.

I loved: Michelle Styles is an extraordinary writer of historical romantic fiction who can make any period of history her own! Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife is a sensational historical romance that is fast-paced, action-packed, engrossing, emotional and romantic!

You can read the rest of her cataromance review here.

Or if you would prefer to read the Pink Heart Society take, you can read that here.

One thing I do know is that I will be keeping up my ritual of sending Julie my books to be reviewed. It is one of those things that gives me confidence...

Interview on Cataromance

Cataromance published an interview with me. In it, I speak about Taken by The Viking. I do hope you enjoy it. I found the questions were quite challenging to answer.

Cataromance review for Sold and Seduced

Once again Julie Bunello has penned an intelligent and thoughtful review. It is always a joy to read Julie's reviews. Julie takes a lot of trouble with her reviews. She loves series romance, but is also unafraid to express her opinion. It is all a writer can ask for -- an honest reviewer. Reader feedback in whatever form is such a gift.

My favourite bit of the review was:
With Sold and Seduced, Michelle Styles transports her readers back to Ancient Rome with her assured storytelling prowess, her astounding historical knowledge and her wonderful ability to make her readers feel as if they are living the story rather than just reading it. Atmospheric, evocative and entrancing, Sold and Seduced is a compelling romantic novel which captivated me from the very first page!

You can read the whole review here.