Brandee's Bookish Babble #32 ~ Goodreads & Friends

Welcome to Brandee's Bookish Babble. There are many, many similar posts to this one - but basically I wanted a place to discuss bookish and/or blogging stuff and I needed a title. :) 

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I have a question for y'all. How do y'all decide whose friendship to accept on Goodreads? Do you accept everyone who sends a friend request? Do you compare books before deciding? I know some of you use the "ask a question" function - do you always accept if the person answers? 

I'm asking because I used to accept anyone who asked. But in the last year or so, I've gotten friend requests from people with weird pseudonyms, people with 5000 friends and 3 books on their shelves, people with whom I only have 2 books in common... essentially a lot of people that I'm not understanding their motivation behind requesting my friendship. So I got to wondering how y'all handle it. I have accepted requests from folks who are authors if they write in a genre I'm interested in. I've accepted if we have books in common on our shelves. It's just that I feel the need to be pickier at this point - I want to understand why the request was sent because if we don't read the same things, are we really going to connect? If not, it's just adding clutter to my feed.

How do y'all feel? Am I being ridiculous? Am I even making sense?!?

Brandee's Bookish Babble #31 ~ Goodreads & Comments

Welcome to Brandee's Bookish Babble. There are many, many similar posts to this one - but basically I wanted a place to discuss bookish and/or blogging stuff and I needed a title. :) 

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I have a rather embarrassing confession. For as much as I love and use Goodreads, I'm not very social on it. And - this is the confession part - I was recently trying to "clean up" and discovered I had lots of messages. Unread messages! Some of which were over 3 years old! Gah! And while most were about things it didn't matter I'd missed, there were a few personal ones. Eep! A few were from people who'd started following me because they found my blog (one through Berls)...one was from a neighbor friend. Needless to say, I was mortified. And so very embarrassed. Embarrassed by the lack of attention I gave to this functionality on Goodreads. And even more embarrassed by the perception I'd probably given - that of my indifference. Neither was intentional. I've been on Goodreads for years but no one really interacted with me until I began blogging. So it wasn't that I didn't care - it was simply that it hadn't become a habit to pay attention to these notifications.

I have learned a valuable lesson though. I will be more attuned to people reaching out to me - in all the various way available. I feel terribly that I may have lost a follower or two - maybe even someone who would have been a great book friend - because of this oversight but if you were one that messaged me way back then, please know I wasn't intentionally ignoring you. Each and every one of you is important to me! And I promise I'm paying attention now. :D

What about y'all? Any faux pas perpetrated via Goodreads or other social media outlet? Any valuable lessons you've learned you'd like to share?

Audio Review ~ The Playboy Pilot ~ Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland

Playboy Pilot by Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland
Narrated by: Andi Arndt and Sebastian York
Release Date: September 21, 2016 (audio)
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: I received a complimentary copy from Tantor Media
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: Audio Challenge, #ShelfLove
Goodreads

Synopsis
Money or love? Which would you choose?

You probably just answered the question in your head thinking it's an easy decision.

For, it's not. Did I mention it's a lot of money? A hell of a lot.

I needed to go far away to think it through.

As I embarked on an impulsive trip, I hit a detour when I met sexy Carter in the airport lounge. We struck up a heated conversation.

Then, he left.

I thought I'd never see him again.

But fate had other plans.

Surprise! He was the pilot of my flight.

The bigger surprise was the adventure that followed after the plane landed.

Carter was dangerous and always on the move.

Even though our connection was magnetic, I knew it was only temporary.

He would give me tickets, and I would follow him around the world to exotic places.

A bevvy of flight attendant exes and rumors about Cater's reputation were never far behind.

I didn't know what to believe.

But I was addicted. Nothing else mattered anymore. And I was going to get hurt. Because a part of me wanted to be the one to finally ground the playboy pilot.

At the very least, he was taking me on a thrilling ride.

All good things must come to an end, right?

Except our ending was one I didn't see coming.

This writing duo is the bomb! Their stories are riveting and along with the spectacular narrating, I was loathe to remove my earbuds.

Kendall and Cater meet in an airport bar. She's trying to decide on a place to travel to where she can make an important decision about her life. Carter, well I think he was mostly playing at scoring with Kendall. Their meeting was life changing for them both.

Kendall ends up deciding on a locale at Carter's suggestion. It's only later she finds out he's a pilot. Thus begins their adventure together - getting to know each other as well as themselves.

I enjoyed watching as they evolved both as individuals and as a couple. Kendall is at a crossroads in her life, needing to make a decision that will impact her life in a huge way. I liked her spunk and it said a lot about her that she was considering the decision - it wasn't an easy one. Carter has spent his professional life being a playboy pilot - moving through women and never getting close to anyone. He experienced something in his youth - teen years - that had a profound impact and he's kept himself distant from anything deep. Until Kendall.

I liked how Keeland and Ward had these two find one another an I enjoy how they always surprise me with the conflict - the bump in the road - their couples encounter. I also like where these two end up and how they get there. It's not pretty or clean but it felt authentic.

Andi Arndt and Sebastian York embodied Kendall and Carter - made me feel everything they each were going through. They make a phenomenal narrating duo, not only fleshing out the characters but also keeping the pacing perfect.

Keeland and Ward delivered another entertaining story that was deeper than I anticipated. At this point, I'll read/listen to anything these two create!

Review ~ Dare You To ~ Katie McGarry #BloggerShame, #COYER, #ShelfLove

Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Pushing the Limits #2
Release Date: May 28, 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley. I voluntarily provided a review.
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #BloggerShame, #COYER, #ShelfLove
Goodreads

Synopsis
Ryan lowers his lips to my eat. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to  touch me again...

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does...

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock -with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams - and his life - for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone too close is daring herself to want it all...

I cannot believe I let this languish, y'all. I'd totally forgotten I had it but I'm oh so glad I found it!

As a parent, Beth's story as well as Ryan's, broke my heart. I was a teen once (yeah, a looong time ago but still) and I remember how difficult is was - trying to figure out who you are and to define your place in the world. I'm watching my own children experiencing it. That neither Beth nor Ryan had the support behind them to make these decisions and help the transition to adulthood - yeah, heartbreaking. Things should have been looking up for Beth when her uncle took custody of her but she felt the weight of responsibility for her addict of a mother - something no child should ever have to endure. On top of that, she'd been removed from her normal and Beth has learned, the hard way, to never depend on anyone.

Enter Ryan. The perfect jock boy with the perfect life. He offers Beth a hand - okay, so it started as a dare - but Beth knows the score and that boys like him don't fall for girls like her. But Ryan's life isn't as perfect as it looks from the outside. His brother left and his parents barely speak. And his father has Ryan's life planned for him - nevermind it might not be what Ryan wants.

Watching as these two learn to trust and depend on each other was touching. Ryan had to work hard at chipping away Beth's wall. They both grew emotionally and figured out a few things about themselves in the process.

One trope I'm not fond of in YA is bad/neglectful/absentee parents but McGarry does it well, making the story so realistic and riveting. I felt for Beth and Ryan - understood where they were both coming from, and I wanted to hug them both as well as applaud their decisions and growth.

McGarry also built a great supporting cast and I enjoyed getting to see Noah and Echo again. I'm also eager to see some of the cast get their own story. I don't have the next in the series hiding, unfortunately, but I will be continuing this series soon. It's one I know my library carries. :)

My TBR List Review ~ February ~ Charade ~ Nyrae Dawn

My To-Be Read List is a meme hosted by Michelle @Because Reading. I think it's a fabulous idea because it gets y'all in the game and it helps me knock off some of the many, many books on my TBR list. You're more than welcome to join in the fun! I've included the basic rules below but you can click on the graphic above to hop over to Michelle's site where you can find all the details. 



Charade by Nyrae Dawn
Games #1
Release Date: October 22, 2012
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased on Nook
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Challenges: #COYER, #Goodreads #ShelfLove, #TravelingtotheTerminus
Goodreads


Synopsis
Nineteen-year-old Cheyenne tries to portray the perfect life to mask the memories of her past. Walking in on her boyfriend with another woman her freshman year in college threatens that picture of perfection.

Twenty-one-year-old Colt never wanted college and never expected to amount to anything, but when his mom's dying wish is for him to get his degree, he has no choice but to pretend it's what he wants too.

Cheyenne needs a fake boyfriend to get back at her ex and Colt needs cash to take care of his mom, so they strike a deal that helps them both. But what if Cheyenne's past isn't what she thought? Soon they're trading one charade for another--losing themselves in each other to forget about their pain. The more they play their game, the more it becomes the only thing they have that feels real.

Both Cheyenne and Colt know life is never easy, but neither of them expect the tragedy that threatens to end their charade and rip them apart forever.

I love the fake dating trope. I do. And Charade was a great execution of it. I'm thrilled I went back to the beginning for Cheyenne and Colt's story. I met them in Facade but their story was important.

Despite the title and the games these two engage in - both for their own reasons - there wasn't a lot of fun in this story. The banter between them was often fun though - both so snarky. But they were each dealing with demons from the past and present.

Both Cheyenne and Colt are standoffish - not letting anyone get close or really get to know them. But they each seemed to see straight to the heart of the other and while this left them feeling vulnerable - something neither liked - it also began to chip at the walls they'd each built. The falling wasn't something either intended and it was beautiful to see.

One thing I admired about this story was that both Cheyenne and Colt made decisions and began taking steps to resolve their issues themselves. They weren't "fixing" one another but they were inspired to "fix" themselves because of the feelings they'd developed. I was also, once again, quite impressed with the depth of the story and the emotions evoked, in so few pages. Dawn delivers a well-crafted story with complex, realistic characters. I'm eager to finish this trilogy.

New Release Review & Author Interview ~ Dead Hope ~ Nicky Wells (@WellsNicky) #2017NewRelease

Dead Hope by Nicky Wells
Release Date: February 2, 2017
Genre: Adult, Suspense, Romantic Suspense
Source: I received an ARC from the author. I voluntarily provided a review.
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Challenges: #2017NewRelease, #Goodreads
Goodreads ~ Amazon

Synopsis
DEAD HOPE is the new thriller by Nicky Wells, bringing you a delicious cocktail of crime, suspense, and romance.

Cat Hope doesn't want to go to prison. She needs a job, and she needs it fast; judge's orders.

Kay Mahon, office worker by day and hacker by night, is on the run from a past life that he'd rather not remember.

When their paths cross, they begin to investigate the truth behind the deaths of Cat's parents, the successful rock star couple Jackie and Adam Hope. Little do they know that their quest is putting Cat in grave danger.

I had the privilege of reading Dead Hope early and while I've read Wells before, this was something different. Wells took a new path with Dead Hope - that being the path of a thriller - and she delivered the goods. Dead Hope is compelling with great character development and although you know whodunit throughout, she keeps you turning the pages needing to see how it all shakes out.

Cat Hope is the daughter of a famed rock duo, one who has it all with, the exception of her parents who died tragically, and she's found herself in a bit of trouble. Her punishment, as strange as it is, is to be relegated to a new life - as a "normal" person. That being having no access to her trust fun - working for a living.

Cat starts out as a self-centered, spoiled woman - Wells seems to have a talent for creating heroines that have to win us over - but over the course of the story, she grows emotionally and it was a delight to witness even if learning things about her childhood - the things that caused her to be how she was - were troubling.

Cat meets Kay in her new job and as their friendship blossoms, they come to find they have some things in common in their childhood. This brings about Cat and Kay investigating Cat's parents deaths, opening a whole new can of worms.

The character growth wasn't limited to Cat although she grew the most. Kay, a very smart and talented man, having skills useful to investigating on the sly, was also rather prickly - not allowing anyone in...that is no one until Cat.

Wells did a fine job in creating suspense throughout - what would happen? Would Cat and Kay get caught? Everything flowed together naturally, keeping the pace even, despite knowing who the villain was. There were a few instances where my suspension of disbelief was strained but all-in-all everything worked. There was, of course, a romantic element - Wells didn't completely ditch her roots. And the romance between Cat and Kay was sweet, building naturally from their friendship.

I was rather impressed with Wells' foray into suspense writing. The nods to Bourne and other was a nice touch. Wells laid a nice foundation, used her skills in crafting a good story with characters I became invested in, and succeeded in delivering a thriller worth reading.

Question: You’ve been a bit quiet this past year or so. What’s been happening? Where have you been?

Nicky: After the release of my last novel, the romantic comedy “Seven Years Bad Sex,” I decided to take a little breather and to allow myself some time to think about where I was going to go next, writing-wise. I took a whole six months off, and I spent that time with family and decorating a part of our house. Wouldn’t you know it, six months flew by, and I found myself brimming with ideas for not one but several books, and I got busy writing and planning and writing again.

Question: Tell us about DEAD HOPE. How did you come up with the idea?

Nicky: DEAD HOPE was born with the working title of “Deep Cover”. When the idea came to me, I was still planning to write a romance featuring rock stars, and the key nugget is: what would happen if you transplanted a world-famous rock star into an office job like you and me might hold down? Moreover, what would happen if you removed that rock star from their natural habitat, the glittering metropolis, and placed them into a sleepy rural town? Romantic and comedy ideas flowed galore.

Question: So, DEAD HOPE was going to be a romantic comedy?

Nicky: A romantic comedy-slash- suspense, yes. That was the plan.

Question: How did you get from romantic comedy-slash- suspense to thriller? That’s quite a leap.

Nicky: It might look that way, but it was actually a gradual progression. I’m an OCD planner. I can’t write if I haven’t got the book planned out in minute detail, so I sat down and started weaving all my wonderful ideas together. But there was one central question I couldn’t answer: Why. Why would this whole thing happen? What would bring the rock star to the office job in the middle of nowhere?

Question: And?

Nicky: I did a spider map of all the possible scenarios that could have got the rock star into his unusual circumstances, and I got a bit carried away. I allowed myself to really think out of the box, and suddenly one scenario jumped out at me that turned the plot entirely on its head. Funny how a small idea can prompt a cataclysmic change! My hero turned into a heroine, and while she’s the daughter of a famous rock star couple, she isn’t a celebrity in her own right. But at that point, the romance theme was still dominant.

Question: What happened next?

Nicky: I finished planning and started writing. And as soon as I started writing, the thriller and crime ideas just took off. This baby wanted to be something completely different from what I had envisaged, so I had to abandon writing and re-plan. I went deep on the logistics of my core crime, my mystery, and I learned quite a bit about court and police procedures and forensics, more so than is evident in the story but lots of stuff that’ll come in handy in my next stories. In this way, DEAD HOPE turned from a romantic suspense into a crime thriller with a strong romance subplot.

Question: But there is still some romance?

Nicky: There is still some romance. 

Question: What about blood and gore?

Nicky: That, not so much. I don’t like blood and gore and while there is some—it is a crime story, after all—the novel is all about solving the mystery. I guess I’m trying to follow in the tradition of Agatha Christie and Sue Grafton, not that I could ever hope to aspire to match their genius.

Question: Go on then, sell it to me. What’s DEAD HOPE all about?

Nicky: All right… here goes the elevator pitch!

A unique and delicious cocktail of crime, suspense and romance, “DEAD HOPE” is a compulsive page turner.

Cat Hope doesn’t want to go to prison. Kay Mahon is on the run from a past life that he’d rather not remember. When their paths cross, they begin to investigate the truth behind the deaths of Cat’s parents, the successful rock star couple Jackie and Adam Hope. Little do they know that their quest is putting Cat in grave danger...

About Nicky Wells: Love & Thrills

Nicky Wells writes captivating romance and breathtaking thrillers featuring famous (or infamous!) feisty heroes and extraordinary villains. DEAD HOPE is her eighth book and the first published novel in her “Wake Up Dead” themed thriller series, with the next two books scheduled for release through the course of 2017 and 2018. Nicky has previously published seven works of romantic fiction both with US publishing house, Sapphire Star Publishing, and
independently.

Born in Germany, Nicky moved to the United Kingdom in 1993 and currently lives in Lincoln with her husband and their two boys. She loves listening to rock music, dancing, and eating lobsters. When she’s not writing, she’s hopelessly addicted to reading crime novels by the truck load. 

Nicky’s books: Sophie’s Turn | Sophie’s Run | Sophie’s Encore | Spirits of Christmas | Fallen for Rock | Fairy Tale in New York | Seven Years Bad Sex


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