In this Day and Page

           Bringing Down the Duke      Evie Dunmore      Jove Books,  340 p. In this charming historical romance the poor but clever Anabelle Archer enters the first female class at Oxford on a scholarship from the National Society for Women’s Suffrage. In exchange, Annabelle must attempt to convert the influential, and adversarial, Duke of Montgomery to their “radical” agenda.  Eager to escape the drudgery of being her “ignorant yet self-important” cousin’s unpaid “everything maid” the independently minded Annabelle accepts her obligation to the Suffragettes despite the moral outrage it may cause. The upcoming election is a chance to advocate for the repeal of the Married Women’s Property Act and Annabelle quickly makes friends as together the women canvas the streets for “men of influence.” If the Suffragettes could arouse the sympathies of a man with the unquestionable clout of the Duke of Montgomery it would be ...

Ebook only books, which are increasingly popular (especially in the romance genre) see little to no reviews in professional publications unless they have a big name author, and then still it's usually only RT Reviews (formally Romantic Times) or other genre heavy publications.  How does this affect collection development?  The collection development efforts of librarians, who cannot possibly read every potential purchase individually, are dependent on review sources. This leaves some, in fact many, titles out of the running for shelf space. Ebook only publications are often overlooked by reviewers as are self-published works and works from small and independent presses. Publishing is dominated by the “Big 5” (formerly the “Big 6”) and is on its way to consolidating again into, I guess, the “Big 4” with Penguin Random House’s attempt to purchase Simon & Schuster underway. A letter from the Author’s Guild, the National Writers Union, Romance Writers of American, the Hor...