We’re one day closer to our 10th anniversary on January 31st. Ready for more fun? The other giveaways are still open, but here are two more!
Today we have some special things, including a Kate Spade bag, and a rather rare collectible. I haven’t seen any of these on eBay or anywhere in awhile. Oh – and some books! And treats! And an ARC of an April book, and a hardcover that isn’t out for 2 more weeks.
This is so fun, you guys.
Each giveaway will be open until 31 January 2015, and each prize pack is open to international residents where applicable by law. Must be over 18 to win. Void where prohibited.
Here’s our first prize pack!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Included in this giveaway are: a new (with tags!) Kate Spade Beantown Lene grey and black wool crossbody handbag. If you’d like a slightly better picture, here it is: 
Isn’t it cute? Also included: a Smart Bitches flask, a MAC eyeshadow quad in “An Amorous Adventure” from the True Romance collection, a digital copy of Pride, Prejudice, and Popcorn by Carrie Sessarego, a Moleskine hardcover Book Journal, a hardcover notebook from the Harlequin Notable collection featuring the cover for I’ll Bury My Dead by James Hadley Chase. Ready for the next collection? I bet you are! a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway collection includes a somewhat rare (I haven’t seen very many, that’s for sure) Nora Roberts bobblehead doll, a hardcover copy of Obsession in Death by JD Robb, an address book featuring the vintage cover of You’re Lonely When You’re Dead by James Hadley Chase, a hardcover notebook featuring the vintage cover for Anna by Anneke De Lange (“She lived like a wicked little animal.” Oh yes), a digital copy of Pride, Prejudice and Popcorn by Carrie Sessarego, and a small hardcover Moleskine notebook (to record all of your wicked adventures with bobblehead Nora, of course).
Good luck, and thank you for being here!
Several years ago there was an m/m romance by Brooke McKinley called Shades of Grey, the reviews I read by the reviews all were so postive but I just couldnt get into it.
Yes, but as someone else mentioned, no titles coming to mind at the moment. Maybe the more recent Shannon Stacey books- I don’t think I even noticed the flaws pointed out in the review until I was reading the review.
I generally agree with every review I see on Smart Bitches. ???? I totally didn’t get the glowing reviews of Mr. Pettigrew’s last stand, after reading it.
I do read book reviews, especially for new authors. However, if the author is an autobuy, I will purchase the book despite the reviews.
I have had it happen fairly frequently. I read less than glowing reviews when I’m trying to figure out whether to buy a book I’ve never heard of before. They tend to be more informative. (Less so nowadays, since I can just download a sample of most books.)
Unfortunately, no titles come to mind.
My feelings on Nalini Singh’s books usually accurately reflects the reviews. Sometimes, I like them even more.
I tend to put things on my reading list and then actually get to them months or years later, at which point I don’t remember much about the original reviews. I do recall a few “hits” that I wouldn’t have found without the blog, specifically Lord of Scoundrels and Sarah Morgan’s contemporaries.
There’s some books out there that didn’t seem very original or had annoying heroines (to me), but had plenty of excited, squeeing reviews. I find that happens more if you search for books with a particular niche interest; some people seem to be so happy to finally find a book with X element that they really don’t mind anything else.
As a side note, Dear editor or proofreader, ‘as much sex as humanly possible’ and ‘as much sex as humanely possible’ are not really the same thing.
Alllll the time. Although I tend to find that I agree with your reviews!
Colter’s Woman – I bought that book based on this line in someone’s review “I envy people that are reading this book for the first time”. After reading it I envied people that had not spent money buying and time reading it.
Catherine,
I know what you mean. I know people adore Eloisa James, but the only one of her books I’ve read that worked for me at all (and I think I’ve read five at this point) was “The Ugly Duchess”. “Once Upon A Tower” had a good premise, but the fact that the hero was a blockhead and the heroine was a moron (because rather than standing her ground and yelling out the tower window for the hero to pull his head out of his backside, the heroine barely had time to give him the cold shoulder before he was in the tower using his “manly wiles” to get right back in the sack with her). And then “Your Wicked Ways” gave me Book Rage because the “hero” was a cheating douche bag and nothing could redeem him.
“Did you ever read a review and had a totally different experience with the book? Or find a review that matched your opinion exactly? Which book and how?”
Actually I listened to a recommendation on your podcast once, bought the book, and hated it! The reviewer and I had very different perceptions about what is acceptable to leave me hanging on, and what isn’t. Sometimes I hate trilogies.
My memory is a terrible thing but I remember a book by (I think) Jo Beverly that had a young heroine and I had enjoyed it very much. I read a review that was negative because the reviewer believed the heroine was too young to think the way she did. I believe the heroine was nineteen and I had a daughter around the same age. My daughter worked during the day with special needs children and went to school at night to be a special education teacher and ran a group that had events for special needs teenagers. It annoyed me that the reviewer applied her generalizations to a review.
I have found that with most NA books, ones with rapturous reviews leave me cold. I think I just don’t get the genre–I suspect I am a little old.
I generally read reviews but don’t let them influence my reading choices. I do find that I agree with most reviews here and at DA (especially the snarky ones, cos come on, who doesn’t love the snark?), and that Goodreads reviews are mostly places to find interesting gifs.
Definitely. Both have happened to me.
I frequently disagree with reviews and I frequently agree completely! I can’t remember specifics – very bad memory – but I’ll often wonder if we read the same book when I read some reviews. I try to stay away form reviews of a book I know I will read – I don’t wanbt to go into a book with preconceived notions. But a review can persuade me to read a book – Anne Bishop’s The Others series comes to mind.
I’ve recently discovered the romance genre (after years of avoiding it because prejudice, yikes), and I largely have the reviews on this website to thank for that. So, thank you for making me understand at last that romance books are not all the same and that there’s a little something for everyone of us in there! Also, I confess I’m having lots of fun with the snark 😉
Happy anniversary, bitches!
I disagree with a lot of reviews on Amazon – mostly with those five star ‘This book is awesome! You need this in your life or you’ll regret it forever and eternity!!!’ reviews. It’s why I started looking for book bloggers and now follow specific reviewers whose tastes seem to match mine.
I miss Lisa Kleypas’s historicals. Why oh why did she switch to first-person contemporary!?
I totally agreed with a review of Concealed In Death. It was an off book for Robb. I hope that was just a one off.
The Guild Hunter series. I love the Psy-Changeling books, but for some reason the Guild Hunter series didn’t work for me.
Yes, I have experienced not liking a book after being hyped by all the glowing reviews. There was this book where everyone was just gushing about it on goodreads, with all those gifs and stuff. And it turned out to be just one huge drama at the end because the author killed the hero off for no reason. Like out of nowhere, when everything’s going fine, the lead guy gets sick and dies. I thought it was pointless. And I just really expected more.
I always glance at the Amazon reviews, but generally don’t give them much weight, especially when there are ALL five star ratings. So I have a couple of blogs, including this one, that I check out and see what your review is. If there’s too much WTF going on, I know to skip it and use my time reading something else. Even though I do love reading the WTF reviews!!
I read reviews from a few trusted sources that I know are going to be unbiased, especially if I’m on the fence about a book.
A huge congrats on your 10th year anniversary. I’ve read so many books that reviews don’t match my views.
It was a HABO. The book was a regency in which the young lady in question is at a house party (I think?) and had to “choose” a young man. And her aunt/grandma had a full list of what qualities were best. The Requestor LOVED the book, waxed POETIC about the book.
I got it on PaperbackSwap, cause that’s how we roll here at the Bitchery, someone finds it in their stash and posts it. I read it and am completely SQUICKED OUT! The heroine married her first cousin (ICK!).
Mostly if I am reading a review it is because I haven’t read it yet especially since I rarely have a book before every one else has read it. I mostly shop used or go to the library. Also cause I’m always reading from my huge to be read pile, it’s a perk (and con) or working at a used bookstore.. Mostly reviews are the spark for me to search out a new author I don’t already have on my read list or sometimes to try a genre I don’t typically read like reading Jennifer Cruise’s Bet Me or Judith McNaught’s Paradise, as I don’t read much contemporary romance.
I tend to skim reviews and because I am scared of spoilers and like to just see the number of stars or grad of the book. I usually look at a good number of them to get a general idea so I don’t get to many surprises.
I’ve read many books because of a glowing review, and then was completely disappointed when reading the book. Most recently, this happened with Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett.
In general I find my tastes mesh pretty well with the reviewers on this site (though I’m willing to take RedHeadedGirl’s snarky reviews of books on trust a lot of times 🙂 ). The only one that really pops into my mind, though, was the review for Spymaster’s Lady by Bourne.
Yes, I really enjoyed Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher, but the review here was NOT complimentary, lol. I actually agreed with most of the reviewer’s points, but I still enjoyed the book more than she did. I guess it just clicked for me. Also, I have never been able to finish Laura Kinsale’s For My Lady’s Heart, even though others have raved about it. I can barely get a few chapters in. Meh.
I can’t think of one off the top of my head, but usually when I have problems with a book I go looking for confirmation in the 2/3-star Amazon reviews. The 5 stars tend to gush too much (and to do so uncritically), but the middling reviews usually line up with my opinions exactly.
Yes that happens all the time. I remember feeling that way about “Gone Girl”. I DNF’d that so bad.
I usually read reviews of romances here and then get tempted to go read the book. If there’s a book that I’m really REALLY interested in (say, an auto-buy author or a really fantastic concept), then I will assiduously avoid any reviews until after I’ve read it.
My biggest discrepancy between reviews and my own reading experience comes when I’m reading off-genre. For instance, I’m not a huge sci-fi fan, but I’ll read something occasionally in the genre. However, even if someone raves about a book in that genre, I realize it may leave me cold.
On the other hand, I’ve done a pretty good job at finding the reviewers whose tastes align with mine in the romance genre. For instance, I know I can trust your opinion, SB Sarah!
There was a Dear Author review a long time ago of an ancient Barbara Metzger Christmas book that I ended up picking up on the basis of that positive review. There were four interconnected stories- three daughters get romances, and the parents get a story woven in, which is complicated by the fact that the dad fathered a son with a another woman years ago (but during his marriage). I felt like the review really glossed over how awful the dad was, both in the treatment of the baby mama (there was a lot of “no better than she deserved” kind of attitude) and in his treatment of his wife. It made me rage-y, and I was really surprised the review didn’t mention that at all.
I also basically disagreed with every review of Jill Shalvis’s Forever and a Day. I generally like her books, but I did not want them to get together in that book- my preferred happy ending for that book would have been “Josh scales back his professional responsibilities significantly- and possibly his hobbies like gym time with the guys- to focus on his dependents for a while, and after getting his relationships with his kid and ward in order with the help of a licensed therapist, he eventually adds back in other elements including romance.”
The Crossfire series by Sylvia Day was so disconnected between others’ reviews on GR and my reading. How anybody liked ANY of the characters is beyond me.
@ Selkie: Oh lord!!! *giggling* oh dear, oh dear…
Thank you, I needed that.
I only disagree on details, like a pedant!