I'm Donna DeFalco, your new reviewer for the Book Reviews Cafe. I'm a relative newcomer to the genre having undergone a conversion to romance in December 2002.

As a reporter for the Naperville Sun, I was covering a story about a group that discussed romance novels at the Borders Bookstore in Naperville. That group of writers and readers happened to be "Let's Talk Romance," founded by Maureen Greene. Maureen and I have since become good friends. I enjoyed reading the books so much that I offered to review them for her LTR newsletter. I then met Melissa Hamilton who invited me to send my reviews to her fabulous Web site. I feel honored by her invitation and hope I can send the reviews as fast as I can read the books!

Began Writing....

I've been a writer since I was 8 years old and the good nuns at St. Raphael Catholic School encouraged my creativity. After attending college at Sangamon State University in Springfield, majoring in literature, I worked for food industry trade magazines for three years. I was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years to raise my children, who are now teenagers, and returned to the work force eight years ago.

If the math doesn't quite add up, that makes me 48 years old. I'm practically a lifelong resident of Naperville (41 years), and I am delighted to work for my hometown newspaper. It was a dream of mine to work there when I attended Naperville Central High School, and we pasted up our high school paper in the back room of the Sun. It took 30 years, but I never gave up on my dream and was hired as a reporter three years ago.

The Books I Enjoy...

I love all types of romance novels, but especially those set in the Regency era in England, contemporary romances and pirate swashbucklers. One of my favorite movies of all time is "Captain Blood," starring the dashing Errol Flynn. The reason I love romances is they have a happy ending. I guess you'd call me a hopeful romantic.

I think what makes a great story is well-crafted characters who have to overcome adversity in order to make their relationship work. Oh, and it never hurts to throw in a few sexy scenes for good measure.

Writing Book Reviews

Writing reviews is somewhat different from writing a news story and I find it's a nice break, but there's still the who, what, when, where and why included in the reviews and if it's a mystery, whodunit.

I have to tell you that I like just about all romances. I'm a fairly positive person, and I don't like to discredit any author or book. I know how hard it is to write. So, I am reading the books as a reader, and I want to impart the sheer joy of finding a really great book to other readers.

I'd also like to open up a dialogue with you. Are the reviews right on the money? What are some classics that are on your "must read" list? What are you reading?

I have found that what romance readers do best is share -- their hopes, their dreams, their ideas and most of all, their friendships.

Happy reading,

Donna D.

Return to Home Page

Return to
Book Reviews Cafe