Bookish Rant: Reviewing the Review

You take your coffee with cream and sugar. But how do you take your book reviews?

Judging from the proliferation of book blogs and book collection sites like Goodreads and LibraryThing, it seems like folks love a good book review. These resources are seemingly more earnest and “pure” in their origins and aims—after all, no one pays Goodreads users to record their random book thoughts. I assume that, because such (hobby/informal) book reviewers are in it for the love of reading, the reviews are meant to express honest thoughts about one’s reading experiences, free of clever lines deliberately included for just to be blurbs for book covers.

But when one chooses to share their book opinions in a public forum, I’d also think the opinions of the review readers matter.

SO that brings me back to the original question of what characteristics you most favor (or dislike) in your book reviews. As …

Guest Post: Kaily Hart + Giveaway

Good day, dear book lovers! We here at BLI are pleased as punch to welcome romance author Kaily Hart for a visit. Kaily, who writes a range of stories from many different sub-genres, is stopping by the blog today to talk about one of our favorite subjects: love scenes in romance books. We all have our preferences, turn-offs, and levels of reading engagement…and Kaily shares some of her own, as both a writer and reader. Please join me in welcoming her to BLI today!

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How Do You Like Your….Love Scenes?

I write hot. Steamy, burn the bed [or insert alternative] down hot. They’re romances first and foremost though. For me, I really believe the love/sex scenes of a book are crucial to the developing relationship in a romance novel. Yeah, you guessed it. You won’t find any closed doors in my books LOL. It’s during these most intimate moments …

New Releases: Aug. 27 – Sep. 2, 2012

Blades of Winter (Shadowstorm, #1)
by G.T. Almasi
Genre: science fiction/alternative history
Release date: August 28, 2012 by Del Rey

Nineteen-year-old Alix Nico, a self-described “million-dollar murder machine,” is a rising star in ExOps, a covert-action agency that aggressively shields the United States from its three great enemies: the Soviet Union, Greater Germany, and the Nationalist Republic of China. Rather than risk another all-out war, the four superpowers have poured their resources into creating superspies known as Levels.

Alix is one of the hottest young American Levels. That’s no surprise: Her dad was America’s top Level before he was captured and killed eight years ago. But when an impulsive decision explodes—literally—in her face, Alix uncovers a conspiracy that pushes her to her limits and could upset the global balance of power forever.

Read an excerpt of Blades of Winter

. . .

A Dangerous …

My Wishlist: The Spinoff Edition

We all have our favorite series, right? Whether the series is coming to a graceful end (farewell, dear Sirantha) or chugging along merrily for the unforeseeable future (Eve and Roarke, looking great in your 30s–books, that is), those really memorable ones stick with us for a long time, sometimes making us wish we could stay in those worlds forever.

Fortunately, it seems like an increasing number of book series are somehow spinoffs of other popular, beloved works. It’s kind of like the best of both worlds, in my opinion. You get to have some familiar places or faces come up (whether friend or foe), yet you get to experience many things with a fresh pair of eyes. Some of the announced spinoffs have be so excited that I’m positively salivating for them with almost a year left to go. Here’s a smattering of some of the most exciting of these, …

Review: A Scandalous Affair by Karen Erickson

Format Read: E-book, purchased by reviewer.
Length: Novella
Series: The Merry Widows, #3
Genre: Steamy historical romance
Release Date: July 30, 2012
Publisher: Carina Press
Formats Available: eBook, Kindle, Nook
Purchasing Info: Publisher, Authorʼs Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance

Book Blurb:

From the moment Daphne, Lady Pomeroy, meets the mysterious Marquess of Hartwell at a masquerade ball, she’s determined to seduce him. The handsome, charming man cannot possibly be the cold, calculating lord who Society calls “Black Hart.” Risking everything, the lonely widow invites the elusive Hartwell to her dinner party…for two.

Hartwell’s arrogant reputation is built on a lie. For he has a shameful secret that keeps him in the shadows: a stutter–his downfall since childhood. He’d rather keep his mouth shut than look the fool. But he’s shocked to discover that in Daphne’s company–and in her bed–his stutter vanishes.

After one wanton evening together, Daphne is hurt when the lord lives up to …

New Releases: August 20-26, 2012

Widow’s Web (Elemental Assassin #7)
by Jennifer Estep
Genre: urban fantasy
Release date: August 21, 2012 by Simon & Schuster

I used to murder people for money, but lately it’s become more of a survival technique. Once an assassin, always an assassin. So much for being plain old Gin Blanco. With every lowlife in Ashland gunning for me, I don’t need another problem, but a new one has come to town anyway.

Salina might seem like a sweet Southern belle, but she’s really a dangerous enemy whose water elemental magic can go head-to-head with my own Ice and Stone power. Salina also has an intimate history with my lover, Owen Grayson, and now that she’s back, she thinks he’s hers for the taking. Salina’s playing a mysterious game that involves a shady local casino owner with a surprising connection to Owen.

But they call me the Spider for a reason. I’m going to untangle her deadly …

Bookish Rant or Rave: Reading with an E

Commuting on the subway every morning can be quite amusing, if one can take time to notice the little details. I recently had a moment of sudden awareness in which I looked up and down the train platform and noticed that the VAST majority of the countless people waiting for the train were reading from various electronic devices–tablets, phones, e-readers. Of course, there were still many reading the daily (free) newspaper supplement circulated locally, but it was hilarious looking around and seeing how ubiquitous the use of devices was. It really made momma proud.

These days, pointing out that electronic reading (e-reading) is the norm is a boring, unsurprising understatement. However, the fact that it feels like it’s happened in the relative blink of an eye is absolutely fascinating. Not even four years ago (when RIM’s Blackberry was all the rage) was there so much use of portable devices for …

New Releases: August 13-19, 2012

Onyx (Lux, #2)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Genre: YA

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we’re linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there’s this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that’s possible. Against all common sense, I’m falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have …

New Releases: August 6-12, 2012

Pricinct 13
by Tate Halloway

Recent college grad Alex Conner is thrilled to have landed a job as the Hughes County coroner/medical examiner in Pierre, South Dakota. But when her first day on the job ends with a missing corpse, Alex starts to wonder if she would have been better off collecting unemployment…

When the cops made some cryptic comments about being careful with the body they brought in, Alex just thought the boys in blue were messing with her. That is, until something freaky happens that no amount of med school could have prepared her for. By the time Alex gets herself together, the body has disappeared and the other residents of the morgue start talking her ear off.

After working up the courage to report the missing body, Alex is transferred to the mysterious Precinct 13 where she discovers that her new co-workers—including a cute technomage named Jack—are paranormals just like …

New Releases: July 30 – August 5, 2012

Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels, #5.5) by Ilona Andrews

Some people have everything figured out — Andrea Nash is not one of those people. After being kicked out of the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid, Andrea’s whole existence is in shambles. All she can do is try to put herself back together, something made easier by working for Cutting Edge, a small investigative firm owned by her best friend, Kate Daniels.

When several shapeshifters working for Raphael Medrano — the male alpha of Clan Bouda and Andrea’s former lover — die unexpectedly at a dig site, Andrea is assigned to investigate … and must work with Raphael. As her search for the killer leads her into the secret underbelly of supernatural Atlanta, Andrea knows that dealing with her feelings for Raphael might have to take a backseat to saving the world …

Read an excerpt of Gunmetal Magic