Becoming a Book Reviewer

Posted on April 6, 2013 Updated on May 3, 2013

Over the past month I have ventured into the world of ebook reviews.  Not as an “expert,” just as a fan, who is moved by the creative words of women writers.    Looking back, I wrote reviews on books I either loved or hated, anything in the mid-range, got nothing.

Ironically, Facebook has brought me “closer” to one of the authors I’ve followed for many years, Julie Leto.  Before I was married, or even met my husband, I had a subscription to Harlequin books.   The books we all read, in the privacy of our own bedrooms, where the female leads were beautiful, successful, sexy.  And so were the men.

Well, Julie’s heroines were real women, of all shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds.  She knew how to write about women with big, loud, loving families, and she wrote about the Tampa Bay area of Florida.

Imagine my surprise when I “found” her on Facebook and began to learn more about her.   It happened slowly, over the course of the 2012 Presidential Election.  I saw that our views on many subjects were similar.  For example, Julie is part of a closely-knit family with strong ethnic roots, she went to USF and pledged an NPC group.  I could identify with her and it gave me some insight into why I was so drawn in by her characters.  Each one of her female leads shared one, or more, of her personal attributes – championing those less fortunate, loyalty, friendship, fidelity, sexiness, and a distinct sense of self.

One of these days, hopefully in the near future, I will be able to meet Julie, in person, to tell her how much her writing has entertained me.

It was my pleasure to receive a review copy of her latest ebook, and introduction into the world of independent publishing, “Dirty Dare: The Rescue.”  My review can be found here:  http://www.amazon.com/review/RA5CQ46WZ6THA/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_cm_cr_notf_fhv_fbt