Book Covers: Are They Important to You?

9 February, 2015 4:26 am , 8 Comments ,

ramblings12

 

 

I am a cover snob.

There I said it. I’m not ashamed to say that I judge a book by it’s cover. After all, we all judge something within the first few seconds of seeing it. So it stands to reason that with there being millions of books out there, the cover is going to be what draws the eye first. If the cover has managed to snag my interest, then I pick it up and read the synopsis. There have been times where I’ve read a book with a less than fortunate cover. So the cover isn’t the be-all-that-ends-all, but it is going to be what draws people in… or at least what draws me in.

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Posted in: Ramblings

Sunday Wrap-Up #42

7 February, 2015 5:15 pm , 9 Comments ,

Sunday Wrap-Up is all about sharing the books and book related items that I’ve picked up recently. I also recap what went on last week and let you in on what’s coming up. I link up my post to Sunday Post, Bought, Borrowed & Bagged, Showcase Sunday, and Stacking the Shelves.

 
 
I know I don’t do these every week but that’s because I’ve slowed way down on review books. I have been wanting to catch up on my books that have been neglected which means nothing new is really coming it. So my Sunday wrap-ups will more than likely only happen once a month unless I get some huge haul in for some reason or another.

If you follow me on Twitter or Tsu you may have saw me talking about this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and how I was successful in getting a slot on the volunteer list. I’ve been trying to get into Comic-Con for two years now and have never been able to snag a ticket. This year I decided to try to get a volunteer slot and I was able to make the cut. Super excited to be going to SDCC this year.

I’ve teamed up with Christina from Christina Reads YA to do a read along for Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs. Our goal is to push each other to read books that have been sitting on our shelf for a while. I definitely need pushing since I keep getting distracted by new books coming out. This week alone had a lot of amazing books that came out. I’m also doing a read-along for the Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs leading up to the upcoming release of Dead Heat with a group of bloggers (link on sidebar).

This week I also posted the sign-up linky for the Lucky Shamrock Giveaway Hop for next month. It’s only my second year doing it but I love the idea that there are no hoops for entrants to jump through in order to enter the giveaway. All they need is a little luck on their side.

”

 
Last week on BSA:
Lucky Shamrock Giveaway Hop (Sign-Ups)
Eleven Weeks by Lauren K. McKellar (Excerpt)
The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski (Review)
Melt Into You by Roni Loren (Review)
One of the Guys by Lisa Aldin (Review)
 

This week on BSA:
Book Covers: Are They Important to You? (Ramblings of a Book Sniffer)
Kiss of Fire by Deborah Cooke (Review)
Some Boys by Patty Blout (Review)
All Over You by Emily Snow (Review)

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Posted in: meme

Review: One of the Guys by Lisa Aldin

6 February, 2015 9:22 am , 1 Comment ,

22957535One of the Guys
By: Lisa Aldin
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Release Date: Feb 10, 2015
Genre: Contemporary YA
Rating:
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Tomboy to the core, Toni Valentine understands guys. She’ll take horror movies, monster hunts and burping contests over manicures. So Toni is horrified when she’s sent to the Winston Academy for Girls, where she has to wear a skirt and learn to be a “lady” while the guys move on without her. Then Toni meets Emma Elizabeth, a girl at school with boy troubles, and she volunteers one of her friends as a pretend date. Word spreads of Toni s connections with boys, and she discovers that her new wealthy female classmates will pay big money for fake dates. Looking for a way to connect her old best friends with her new life at school, Toni and Emma start up Toni Valentine s Rent-A-Gent Service. But the business meets a scandal when Toni falls for one of her friends–the same guy who happens to be the most sought-after date. With everything she’s built on the line, Toni has to decide if she wants to save the business and her old life, or let go of being one of the guys for a chance at love.”

 

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Posted in: YA Contemporary, YA Romance, Young Adult

Review: Melt Into You by Roni Loren

5 February, 2015 8:37 am , 3 Comments ,

15553939Melt Into You
(Loving on the Edge, #2)
By: Roni Loren
Publisher: Berkley
Published: July 3, 2012
Genre: Erotica
Rating:
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After running away from home and the boy who broke her heart, Evan Kennedy has kick-started the perfect new life with her celebrity fiance. So what if said fiance prefers guys? She knew the deal when they got engaged. And with her ticket to The Ranch, an exclusive resort where any fantasy can be satisfied, she can find someone to fulfill her less-than-traditional desires on the side.

She just never expected that man to be Jace Austin, her old heart-breaker–all grown up, hard-bodied, and holding out a collar. She knows it’s a world-class bad idea–especially since Jace has brought along his buddy Andre, who’s every bit as irresistible. But if they can stick to the no-strings rules, so can she.

Too bad Jace has never been so good with rules. Evan is convinced “forever” is a word used only in greeting cards, but Jace and Andre have one last fantasy of hers left to fulfill. It’s time to go big or go home. And neither man has ever been a fan of going home.

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Posted in: Erotica , Tagged: ,

Review: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

3 February, 2015 4:06 am , 2 Comments ,

16069030The Winner’s Curse
(The Winner’s Trilogy, #1)
By: Marie Rutkoski
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Published: March 4, 2014
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:
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As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy

Excerpt: Eleven Weeks by Lauren K. McKellar

2 February, 2015 1:47 am , 4 Comments ,

21797067Eleven Weeks
(Crazy in Love, #2)
By: Lauren K. McKellar
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: Jan. 28, 2015
Genre: New Adult Romance

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Eleven weeks.

Seven tequila shots.

Five siblings.

Two boys.

One heartbeat.

***

Stacey is good at pretending.

She pretends that the boy she’s in love with doesn’t exist.

She pretends that she’s happy to live and die in this small town.

She pretends that her life is carefree while her best friend’s world crumbles before her very eyes.

But Stacey’s got a secret …

And it’s going to ruin everything.

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Posted in: Excerpt, NA Romance

Lucky Shamrock Giveaway Hop Sign-Ups

1 February, 2015 10:56 am , 4 Comments ,

Shamrockgive

You may need to replace the quotation marks if the image doesn’t show.
 

It’s almost time to break out the green and do a little jig.

St. Patrick’s Day is on it’s way! 

 

 The hop will run from March 10 – 17th.

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Posted in: Uncategorized

Review: The Bargaining by Carly Anne West

31 January, 2015 1:12 pm , 1 Comment ,

22456909The Bargaining
By: Carly Anne West
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: Feb 17, 2015
Genre: YA Horror
Rating:
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The fact that neither of her parents wants to deal with her is nothing new to Penny. She’s used to being discussed like a problem, a problem her mother has finally passed on to her father. What she hasn’t gotten used to is her stepmother…especially when she finds out that she’ll have to spend the summer with April in the remote woods of Washington to restore a broken-down old house.

Set deep in a dense forest, the old Carver House is filled with abandoned antique furniture, rich architectural details, and its own chilling past. The only respite Penny can find away from April’s renovations is in Miller, the young guy who runs the local general store. He’s her only chance at a normal, and enjoyable, summer.

But Miller has his own connection to the Carver House, and it’s one that goes beyond the mysterious tapping Penny hears at her window, the handprints she finds smudging the glass panes, and the visions of children who beckon Penny to follow them into the dark woods. Miller’s past just might threaten to become the terror of Penny’s future….

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Posted in: Young Adult

Review: How (Not) to Fall in Love by Lisa Brown Roberts

28 January, 2015 8:05 am , 4 Comments ,

22392967How (Not) to Fall in Love
By: Lisa Brown Roberts
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: Feb 3, 2015
Genre: Contemporary YA
Rating:
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Seventeen-year-old Darcy Covington never had to worry about money or where her next shopping spree was coming from. Even her dog ate gourmet. Then one day, Darcy’s car is repossessed from the parking lot of her elite private school. As her father’s business hit the skids, Dad didn’t just skip town, he bailed on his family.

Fortunately, Darcy’s uncle owns a thrift shop where she can hide out from the world. There’s also Lucas, the wickedly hot fix-it guy she can’t stop crushing on, even if she’s not sure they’ll ever get out of the friend zone.

But it’s here among the colorful characters of her uncle’s world that Darcy begins to see something more in herself…if she has the courage to follow it.

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Posted in: YA Contemporary, Young Adult

Review: Riding the Odds by Lynda K. Scott

26 January, 2015 7:24 am , 3 Comments ,

24467261 Riding the Odds
By: Lynda K. Scott
Publisher: Entangled: Select Otherworld
Release Date: Feb. 3, 2015
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Rating:
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Spaceship captain Tara Rowan has her secrets. One is her Rider, Zie. Zie is an organic symbiote—like a living tattoo—that enhances Tara’s physical abilities, including superhuman strength and reflexes. The other is the past she’s tried so hard to leave behind her. But it’s not until oh-so-sexy Trace Munroe decides to blackmail Tara that she realizes her secrets aren’t so secret after all…

Trace is a Holy Knight who does everything by the book. Desperate to find a missing princess, he’ll do whatever it takes to rescue her and bring her kidnappers to justice. Including blackmail. Yet something about the feisty ship captain draws Trace in and stirs his desire—even if she is a wanted criminal. Because the last thing he needs is any complications…especially when he has his own secrets to hide.

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Posted in: Romance, Sci-fi