Archive for the ‘reviews’ Category
Hooray, I just found out that Romantic Times has given my February US release, HIS FOR THE TAKING, four stars!
(This is the book formerly known as Driving Him Wild.)
I had a brilliant Christmas. It is so much fun to give toys to a little kid. We left out cake and a drink for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph and everything. Fecklet ate everything in sight, as did we.
I hope yours was just as good.
Now I’m back to work, hard on revisions for Honey Trap. I’ve added two new chapters to the beginning, in order to deepen the heroine’s character. I think I have about five more new chapters to add, plus layering in information elsewhere. Work work work work.
Yesterday I received a package in the post from Headline. I had no clue what it was, since I’d already received my hardback copies of One Night Stand. Imagine my delight when I opened it and found lovely glossy trade paperbacks of Spirit Willing, Flesh Weak, in Dutch!
It’s called Charmante Leugen, which means “Charming Lies” and is very appropriate. I’m not sure where the yoga lady comes from but it’s an attractive cover, and, flipping through the pages, I have discovered that the Dutch word for “llama farm” is “lamafokkerij”.
Cool.
I also had a great email from a reviewer from the French cultural website Onirik (www.onirik.net). She’d reviewed Driving Him Wild (out in France as La maison des amants, “House of Lovers”), and sent me the link. My French is pretty rusty but even I can tell it’s a good review..it’s here.
Wow, this is the worst review I’ve ever got.
That said, it could be worse. She gives 2.5/5 to books she really likes. And she likes my best friend Kathy okay.
Just got an awesome review for All Work and No Play… from Fallen Angel Reviews. Five stars, recommended read, and the verdict Wow! Ms. Cohen is a delight to read. Her characters are realistic and funny and fantastic to get to know.
I’ve had two new reviews for All Work and No Play…
The first is 4.5 stars from Cataromance and I’m going to post the whole thing because I love how it describes my book:
Julie Cohen is back with a brand new Modern Romance Extra that blends the style and sassiness of chick lit with the intensity and drama of romance. Fast-paced, sophisticated and sizzling, All Work and No Play… is another fabulous page turner by romantic fiction’s fastest-rising star!
Five days ago, Jane Miller had it all – a fantastic job, a gorgeous fiancé and great shoes. However, when her fiancé announces that he’s leaving her for a waitress (who sports the most hideous pair of shoes Jane has ever clapped eyes on!), Jane decides to throw herself completely into her work and to forget about men, marriage and commitment. Luckily, she has her old friend Jonny, a self-confessed computer geek, who is always on hand with his witty e-mails and cheerful instant messages to cheer her up and even though she hasn’t clapped eyes on Jonny since she was a child, she feels as if she’s the only friend she’s got in a world which seems to have turned against her.
But things soon begin to look up for Jane when her job demands that she has to look after the most gorgeous male model in the world – Jay is tall, blue-eyed and sexy as hell! Good girl Jane finds herself embracing her wild side as she finds herself having sex with Jay a few hours after meeting him. However, Jane is in for a massive shock when Jay tells her that he is in fact her good friend Jonny and that he is madly in love with her!
What is Jane going to do? Is she going to return to being the good girl? Or will she throw caution to the wind and embrace her inner vixen?
All Work and No Play… is the summer’s hottest romance! Julie Cohen never disappoints and her latest scintillating tale is so sexy that it should be read next to an air conditioner with a tall glass of iced water to keep you cool.
Vibrant, sassy and wonderfully feel-good, if you haven’t Julie Cohen – what are you waiting for?
I also got 4 cups from Coffee Time Romance, and this nifty button: 
All Work and No Play… is still in shops for another week! Go, run, go get it, fast!! 
I’ve had the first reviews back on my June Modern Extra release, All Work and No Play…
And here’s what people have had to say.
Whoah!! This is one seriously HOT book!…the most sizzling Modern Extra that I have read to date. But with Jay/Jonny as the hero how could it not be..? (5 roses)
Romance Reviewed
Julie Cohen pens a delectably sexy story about overcoming inner demons and finding out what matters most in life. Jane’s insecurities immediately endear her to you, and Jonny’s caring and obvious love for her will melt your heart. The sparks practically fly off the page when the two characters cross paths for the first time, and the heat never lessens for the rest of the book. ALL WORK AND NO PLAY will liven up anyone’s dull day.
Romance Junkies
This is my last Modern Extra for this year so I’m glad it’s getting good reviews so far.
And in celebration, I’ll run a contest, for a copy of All Work and No Play…:
Write a six-word novel: an entire story in exactly six words. It can be any kind of story you like. My example is below but here’s one by Ernest Hemingway:
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
Post your entry in the comments to this post (or email it to me, and I’ll post it).
(PS Don’t forget to buy The Sun on Saturday to get my book FREE! You know you want to!!!)
Hooray! Spirit Willing, Flesh Weak is on the Waterstone’s bestselling romance chart!
(This might have something to do with the fact that Waterstones are doing a “buy one, get one free” deal with Little Black Dress books–get yourself down there while they’re cheap! If you go to the one in Reading, all the copies of Spirit Willing are signed…)
Thanks to Phillipa Ashley for telling me–she’s on there too with Decent Exposure.
While I’m celebrating good news, I should mention something I’ve been meaning to, which is that Married in a Rush has been nominated for a Cataromance Reviewers’ Choice Award. Yay!
Later, I have another beautiful picture of David Tennant to post.
This one is from Cataromance, and says, in part:
Smart, funny and absolutely engrossing, Driving Him Wild is a superb story about two wonderfully flawed characters who fall in love when they least expect it. Ms. Cohen possesses a wonderful ability of making her readers laugh and cry – often on the same page – and readers can’t resist liking Zoe, who is feisty and fiery, and falling for the gorgeous Nick Giroux.
Which just goes to prove that everybody likes something different!
I’ve also had some great reviews for SPIRIT WILLING, which I’ll post in the next day or so.
I’m getting to read more these days, because I have to spend so much time sitting around whilst feeding The Boy. In the past week I’ve read Debby Holt’s Annie May’s Black Book (women’s fiction: fun, very readable; predictable, though, and the romance isn’t developed), Maria Headley’s The Year of Yes (nonfiction about a woman who says yes to everyone who asks her out for a year: the stories about the dates are great and the message of the book is empowering, but she’s too fond of her own voice), and I’ve just started Michelle Styles’s A Noble Captive (historical romance: I’m very intrigued by the ancient setting).
I got a review for DRIVING HIM WILD (officially out TODAY!!) from Romance Reader at Heart.
My past couple of books have been Top Picks on this site, and this book didn’t make it. (It still got four roses, which isn’t bad.) I love this review, though. It’s honest and personal, and the reviewer clearly usually enjoys my work.
Entering 2007, Julie Cohen offers February’s DRIVING HIM WILD from Mills & Boon Modern Extra. DRIVING HIM WILD is not my favorite Cohen release, but it features two wounded characters who really need each other to heal, nicely folded into a sensual, sexy short contemporary package.
Set in New York City and Maine, this story is only loosely connected to earlier Cohen books. Nick Giroux is a park ranger from Maine. He goes to New York City to track down his father, who abandoned him when he was young. His father sent him a letter out of the blue, and the return label was a NYC apartment. There, he meets a taxi driver/aerobics instructor named Zoe Drake. Zoe’s eccentric aunt, who owned the apartment, just passed away. Nick and Zoe’s attraction is immediate but so is their hostility. They both have barriers upon barriers because of their pasts. The plot revolves around the aunt’s personal history and the search for Nick’s father.
I enjoyed Cohen’s writing as much as ever, but to be honest, I personally didn’t connect with the characters. To some degree, I believe to love a book you have to fall for the hero and want the heroine to be your friend (or at least be able to fit in her shoes), and I didn’t in this case. I didn’t like hard-edged, rough Zoe or Nick. I felt they could make each other happy, but simply didn’t care for them! Still though, take a look. I do think it’s still a great story.
I’ll agree that Zoe is a prickly character. I was big into Battlestar Galactica when I wrote the book, and I based her looks and some of her manners on the character of Starbuck, who I think is fantastic.
She’s tough, independent, and defensive. She believes she’s a total screw-up and is unworthy of love. The only kind of man she could have is a tough, hardheaded one, like Nick.
But this type of character isn’t for everybody, and I’m glad the reviewer was honest about that. I’m even more glad that she’s willing to give the story a try and appreciate it on its own merits even though it’s not her favourite.
Thanks, Heather at RRAH!
If you’ve read the book, I’d love to know what you think…
I got a review for Spirit Willing, Flesh Weak in The Times of India.
The review, while not bad, isn’t exactly a rave one–but who cares?
People in India are reading my book!
(more…)
Woke up this morning to find that Married in a Rush has been given 4 1/2 stars at Cataromance. You can read the whole review here, but this is the bit I’m particularly happy about:
Julie Cohen is unrivalled when it comes to blending steamy romance, heartfelt emotion, poignant drama and effervescent sassiness and in her latest Modern Romance Extra, Married in a Rush, she once again demonstrates her talent for spinning wonderful stories…Julie Cohen’s books are like a glass of champagne- bubbly, flirty and feel good!
I also got a phone call from my agent saying Spirit Willing has sold in France.
I’m off to work now, but to celebrate these bits of good news (and the fact that I’m writing a sex scene), tonight I will post a photograph of Guy Pearce nude.
Got up this morning to find that Married In A Rush has been given a Top Pick by Heather Heistand at Romance Reader at Heart!
Julie Cohen returns with her October release from Mills & Boon Modern Extra, the international line replacing Harlequin Temptation. Once again she writes the perfect short contemporary romance!
Jo Graham is a friend of the characters from Cohen’s last book, but she’s another unique heroine—a risk-taking commitment-phobe. One minute she’s turning down a marriage proposal, and the next she’s having a sexual encounter in a broom closet in a museum! Is that a bad thing when you’ve met the sexiest man you’ll ever see in your lifetime?
Bruno Deluca has a history of attachment disorder himself, but he’s moved all the way from Boston to London so he can spend time with his fatherless nephew, so you know he’s a keeper. When Jo finds herself pregnant, she knows he’ll want to be a part of his child’s life. It’s obvious to everyone but them that the two are perfect for each other in every way as they negotiate a marriage of convenience.
Despite the title, it doesn’t seem like Jo and Bruno are married in a rush, since they are so right together. Cohen keeps it light and fun and sexy, despite a surprising emotional realism. If you haven’t read her yet, make sure you track down all her books!
What a great way to start the day.
I’m going to London today to give a talk on US contests to the London RNA chapter, and then I am meeting Biddy for cake at a cafe-and-sex-shop. Should be an interesting day…but first I need to write a few pages.
