Prior to RT, Jane and Sarah sat down to talk about a thoughtful and thought-provoking letter from a reader named Sue, who asked about our thought process when writing reviews, and whether we feel self-conscious around authors sometimes (short answer: of course, yes).
Jane also attempts to recommend a book to Sarah – which often does not go well, since they have opposite taste in books.
The book (just one! Eep!) that we talk about in this podcast is The Lucky Charm by Beth Bolden.
This podcast is brought to you by InterMix, publisher of Jeannie Moon’s brand-new romance, THE WEDDING SECRET, available for download as an e-book on May 20th!
Harper Poole’s Harvard MBA and killer instincts have made her a high-powered assistant at a software firm that generates billions. No one would ever guess she’s been keeping a secret: that she isn’t the trust fund baby everyone thinks she is, but was really raised in a trailer park in western Pennsylvania.
Harper has a great life and has everything she wants—except love. But a one-night stand at a wedding with the bride’s brother can help take a girl’s mind off anything.
Kevin Rossi is a superstar major league catcher who can have any woman he wants. So when Harper discovers she’s pregnant after their one night of passion, she has no intention of making any demands on him. It will just be another secret to keep.
But when the two meet again a year later, Harper wrestles with her choice—especially when her heart longs for the father of her baby…
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I loved Jane’s description and enthusiasm for the Bolden book so I just picked it up. Looking forward to reading it!
Hi there! I’m so excited that you featured The Lucky Charm on the podcast, and that you loved it so much Jane. I hoped you liked it too, Sarah! Actually it’s my first published book—the other Beth Bolden isn’t any relation.
I am really awful at promotion! Also it’s so hard as Jane says to stand out, especially as a debut author. What I loved so much about this was how much Jane really “got” and understood what I was trying to convey with the book. I also have books ruined for me by over-depiction of characters. Personality shouldn’t be inferred by looks. I married a shorter guy too, and I guess it didn’t strike me as revolutionary when I wrote Jack but you’re right, I can’t remember the last shorter romance hero I read!
I want to thank Jane again for being such an awesome promoter for this book. I have to admit that I’ve been reading DA for years and after getting to know Jane’s wheelhouse thought she might like it, but had no idea how much 🙂
Beth
I always appreciate that the reviews here and at DA are honest and include what the reviewer likes and dislikes about the book. I don’t always agree with the review, but as Jane said in the podcast the review is a discussion starter for readers.
I’m so glad the authors I autobuy seem to be grownups about reviews and understand not every book will work for every reader. They take negative reviews as part of the business and don’t say readers read the book wrong.
I cringe when I see the “join my street team” type links on an author’s website.
That’s me! You read my letter! YAY!!! Thanks for spending some time answering my questions.
@Sue:
I really appreciate that you emailed us, because that was a really thought-provoking question, and a topic that Jane and I hadn’t really discussed out loud before, even though we’d drawn similar conclusions about how we want to interact. Thank you for emailing us to ask!
Great podcast as usual. I think that most readers really appreciate a thoughtful review. There are many reviewers who give every book either 4 or 5 stars. And while, the vast majority of books are probably a great book for someone, no one loves every book they pick up. I ended up hating a book that had people enjoying winter sports almost exclusively because I was trapped in the house at the time I read it due to a winter storm. Even though I knew at the time that it was the snow, not the story that had irritated me, that’s how I felt.
I also understand feeling weird about an author because you didn’t like a particular book. I was furious after reading If I Were You by Lisa Renee Jones. If I had been reading a paper copy, I would have thrown it against the wall. Thankfully I spared my ereader the drama. I bought the book because of the core mystery involving a journal found in a storage locker and I gladly paid $10.99 for it. However, you don’t get the answer to that mystery in the first book. My rant involved talking out loud to myself in the car the next day on my way to work, and giving the book 2 stars on Goodreads (which I did not post to any other social media site). When I actually met Lisa Renee Jones at RT, there was no way that she could have known about my ranting, but I still felt extremely awkward. She seemed to be a lovely person.
Anyway, keep up the good work even if that means a negative review.
I very much agree with and appreciate your role as reviewers. I read reviews to find out about new books and to determine if I want to read and/or buy them (I use the library a lot, so I don’t always buy the book). Critical reviews like you guys (and others on your sites) provide are so helpful. I don’t share your taste in books, but your thoughtful critiques, whether you like the book or not, provides me with what I need to know to make a decision – so keep it up, please!