Things I Don’t Understand: People Who Are Just After Free Books

I have heard sentences like „Your a book blogger, you don’t have buy books“ or „you get books for free all the time“ countless times and it’s just not true.

Book bloggers work really hard to get to where they are. In the beginning we review the books we own and then publishers and authors get to know us and our blog. It’s a lot of work, it’s time consuming, but it’s what we love. I only started getting contacted about review copies after a few weeks and even after that it’s not guaranteed. Of course there are sites like NetGalley, where you can request books, but it doesn’t mean you get accepted. Publishers also ask on Twitter sometimes, I only answer these requests, if I’m really interested in the book though. Publishers post a lot on Twitter and now comes what I don’t understand: When they just post pictures of book people start asking for review copies, or they ask when they see that someone else has gotten one. Most people do it the direct way, other try to phrase their tweets in a certain way. Of course there is always the possibility to email the publisher directly. That’s ok, I would just like to differ between two things:

-       Honest requests from book bloggers, who put their heart into reading and reviewing

-       People who are just after free books. That can be bloggers or random people.

There are lots of giveaways out there as well and yes I enter them as well. However, I see accounts or people who are just after these and enter every single one of the giveaways. Other than that they barely post anything. Don’t these people have any other hobbies?

I buy a lot of books myself, some because I have reviewed them and loved them so much that I wanted the paperback, other because I just wanted to buy them. I don’t receive a review copy for every book I want to read, but I still want to read it and support the author, so I go out and buy the book. I think I’m speaking for a lot of other book bloggers as well. We love bookstore, we spend hours in them and we also spend a lot of money in them. Our goal is not to receive as many free books as possible, we love books and we are here to support authors and to promote their books.

There are even guides out there explain how you can get free books! What I always find funny are these short reviews you find on Goodreads or Amazon. Yes, we receive books in exchange for an honest review, but there are different ways of reviewing. Sentences like “I absolutely loved the book” or “I didn’t like it” are not reviews. First of all it doesn’t help the author, there are no explanation, no examples. Book bloggers take their time to write down their thoughts and write a proper review. It’s not just “oh well, I will write one sentence and that’s it”. A sentence like that doesn’t even require reading the book and it’s just not fair to us.

What is your opinion on that? Let me know in the comments below. 

The Fifth Letter – by Nicola Moriarty

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Joni, Trina, Deb and Eden.

Best friends since the first day of school. Best friends, they liked to say, forever.

But now they are in their thirties and real life - husbands, children, work - has got in the way. So, resurrecting their annual trip away, Joni has an idea, something to help them reconnect.

Each woman will write an anonymous letter, sharing with their friends the things that are really going on in their lives.

But as the confessions come tumbling out, Joni starts to feel the certainty of their decades-long friendships slip from her fingers.

Anger. Accusations. Desires. Deceit.

And then she finds another letter. One that was never supposed to be read. A fifth letter. Containing a secret so big that its writer had tried to destroy it. And now Joni is starting to wonder, did she ever really know her friends at all?

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Four women, four friends and a special friendship. Joni, Eden, Trina and Deb are in their thirties now, happily married and with a job. Joni is the only one, who doesn’t have children, which makes the relationship to the others difficult from time to time. Joni is the main character in this book, but we also learn about the other women’s lives.

To make them reconnect Joni has an idea. All of them write an anonymous letter, telling the truth about their lives and revealing their secrets. That’s of course when the guessing starts. Can they figure it out by the writing style?! Or maybe somebody knows something already. Deep secrets are revealed in these letters and also things that are not so much fun, like “I have a crush on someone’s husband” etc.

It’s also a great mystery to solve for the reader and it made me connect with all the women. Their husbands are part of the story as well and when a fifth letter comes up, the story gets even more intense (in a good way).

This story is full of exciting twists and turns and Nicola Moriarty has a real understanding of building up characters, connecting their stories and adding some mystery. It’s full of drama, very strong and with a great message. I really like the idea behind it and the storyline was fabulous.

I had to laugh so hard when the Theromix was mentioned and then it came up again and again. We have one as well and it was just so brilliant to see it in a book and included in a story.

The story covers different aspects of friendship and it’s definitely a book you shouldn’t miss!!! Brilliantly written and full of passion!

Rating:

My possible cast:

Nicola Moriarty on Twitter: @NikkiM3

Website: http://www.nicolamoriarty.com.au

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

Fashion Corner - And the Oscar goes to...

I have to say that tis year, I had difficulties picking out my faves! There is not one look that really stunned me, but plenty of NO-GOES. Here are my fave looks first: 

Alicia Vikander: Pretty!

LOVE!

Chrissy Teigen: I like ;)

Matt Damon and his wife: Perfect!

Chris Evans: LOVE!

Taraji P. Henson: Classical and pretty.

Hailee Steinfield: Gorgeous!

Viola Davis: STUNNING, lady in red!!!

Michael Fassbender: Classical!

A lot of looks have something great, but there is something else I don't like, or the styling is terrible: 

Brie Larson: Her hair looks like she's just come out the shower. 

Halle Berry: Her hair is terrible. I really like the upper part of the dress, not sure about the bottom part. 

Emma Stone: Almost perfect! I just don't like the lower part of the dress. 

Sophia Boutera: Don't like the bottom part at all and another styling and jewelry would have been great with this dress.

This looks are good, but nothing more: 

Kirsten Dunst

Emma Stone

Michelle Williams

Felicity Jones

Charlize Theron

And now let's move on the the WORST looks of the evening: 

Jennifer Goodwin: Horrible!

*SCREAMING*

THE WORST!!!

Pharrell Williams: Sorry, no and look at her!

Leslie Mann: Terrible color and too many weird layers. 

Dakota Johnson: OMG, what is this?!

Jessica Biel: Great color and look, but no for the sleeves and the top part. 

Scarlett Johannson: Nope!

Jamie Dornan: No, why these different whites?! And her dress is not pretty at all. 

Ryan Gosling: I'm sorry Ryan, you look handsome, but the outfit...

When you love the first book of an author and then the spark is gone

I think this is something that happened to every book blogger/reader. You read a debut novel or just your first book by a certain author and you just love it!

You are very excited about the book, the author and you can’t wait to read the next book by them.

Then it happens, the next book comes out and you read it immediately. Unfortunately, it was just not what you expected and you are actually disappointed. When you know the author and you call them a friend you also feel bad.

Of course this is not something that happens a lot, but it can occur.

The disappointment lasts for a while, but then you kind of get over it. I always remind myself that tastes are different and you can’t like everything. It might be the storyline, it might be the location or the characters. We relate to some things more than to other and we also have your own opinion about life. What happens in a story doesn’t always appeal to us and that’s natural.

What I think is really important not to give up on the author, give it another go, maybe read another book by them and if the spark doesn’t come back you might stop reading their books for a while.

Taking a break from the author and maybe also the genre can help. You read other things and enjoy reading this way. Book bloggers all know that we read books we don’t like, it’s part of our blogging life. Most authors are very understanding though and if you explain your thoughts they can also learn something for the readers, because in the end we buy the books.

Has this happened to you? What did you do about it?!