As some of you might have heard, Hurricane Sandy is affecting the East Coast of the U.S.  To all family and friends, that will be affected, please be safe!!!

Here in RI, we have been preparing.  As of right now, 10:30am Monday, we have all needed supplies, my Kindle is charged, and we are sitting here waiting to see what the impact on us will be.  Locally, they are predicting major power outages, which could be up to a week.   If you don’t see any daily activity, other than my prepared posts, you can assume I am offline.

 Stay safe!!!!

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

Today’s muse:
Do you have people online that you often discuss the books you read with? Not just book groups, but individual readers who share the same taste in books? If so, what do you like best about this? If not, do you wish you did?

My thoughts:
Absolutely.  That was one of the reasons I became involved in this community.  Since I am not surrounded by readers, in real life, I was so excited when I stumbled upon a book blog.  At the time, I didn’t even know what a blog was.  But after stalking a few for some months, I wanted to become a member.

I have found some blogs that our reading likes are very similar.  And other blogs that I feel are very credible, and wait for their reviews, to see if I should add books to my TBR list.  The only problem with that is. since becoming a book blogger and reading the thoughts on books by those bloggers, my TBR list is now called “hopefully in my lifetime TBR list”.

Before blogging, I would read books, and wished there was someone I could start a discussion about it.  Since I didn’t have that option, if I was out and saw a random person with a book, I would start a conversation about their likes and dislikes in books.  Now, after blogging,  I love to read reviews especially if it is of a book that I have read and compare notes.

What about you?   Do you have book bloggers that you discuss books with?

October is being hosted by Parchment Girl 

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her books and is now on tour.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her booksand is now on tour.

According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.”
Click on title for synopsis via IndieBound (I am an IndieBound Affliate)

          

           

Thursday:  Where Angels Rest by Kate Brady ARC  from Forever/GCP

Thursday:  Double Danger by Dee Davis ARC from Forever/GCP

Thursday:  The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman  ARC from Harper Collins

Friday:        Barefoot in the Rain by Roxanne St. Claire from Forever/GCP

Are you like me?  Do you want to read every new book that you see?  Your TBR list is huge? But real life interfere’s in reading time?  Wishing you don’t have to grocery shop, clean the house, bring the kids to activities, etc., etc., and wishing you could just read 24/7?  Well, here is another book to add to your list.  Liz, from Meryl L. Moss Media, contacted me and when I read the synopsis, I knew it was a book I wanted to share with you.  So please help me in welcoming, Ms Lori Foster to CMash Reads.

LORI FOSTER

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Fosterhas become a Waldenbooks, Borders, USA Today, Publishers Weekly and New York Times bestselling author.

Lori believes it’s important to give back to the community as much as possible, so she routinely arranges events among authors and readers to gather donations for various organizations.

GUEST POST

1.      How do you see the romance community as a whole (your readers and fellow authors)? Where do you see it in 10 years? What’s the best part about it?

The romance community has the most wonderful women and men in the entire world! Unique, friendly, open and caring. We love talking books, of course. But it’s so much more than that. It’s a rapport, a connection to the storylines, how they relate and don’t relate to real life romances, situations and circumstances. Many times readers can find a small part of themselves in the stories. That often opens a dialogue about real-life issues, the trials we have, what we survive and what we celebrate. People are so diverse that every day I hear, see, learn something new from my readers.

The current “open to the public” networking can be worrisome. So many people put their hearts out there for all the world to see. Used to be we kept our lives private and only shared certain aspects of ourselves. Now we share everything and only choose certain aspects to keep private. That’s the only downside to an otherwise amazing connection. When people share too much, they leave themselves vulnerable in so many ways. Identity theft has become a #1 worry!

But I believe societal trends are cyclical. Before my end of time, I’m sure we’ll find people pulling back and rebelling against the “tell all” mode of social networking. In the meantime, it’s just fabulous to have a forum for chatting with readers. I feel like I know so many of them, even though we’ll never meet in person.

ABOUT THE BOOK

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR LORI FOSTER goes undercover in steamy new thriller

A police detective goes undercover to investigate a murder, and his target is a mousy young lady he believes is the link he needs to solve the case. But little does he know that his plain-Jane suspect has her own secrets that will turn his case head over heels before it’s over. From award-winning author Lori Foster comes RUN THE RISK (HQN Books; October 2012; $7.99 U.S./$9.99CAN.), the first book in her brand-new original series.

When handsome construction worker Logan Riske moves next door to the dowdy young Pepper Yates, she can’t believe her luck. Her new beau has everything she wants in a guy—looks, charm, style.  He also has one thing she doesn’t even suspect—a badge.

Loganis really an undercover cop investigating the homicide of his best friend and he’s sure that the shy, introverted Pepper is concealing the whereabouts of her eyewitness brother, Rowdy.Loganneeds Rowdy’s testimony to bring crime boss Morton Andrews to justice for the murder, and he’ll go to any lengths to obtain it—even seducing Rowdy’s wallflower sister.

The longerLogan’s seductive charade goes on, however, the more he starts to see through Pepper’s drab exterior to the true beauty beneath. Despite all his training,Logancan’t stop himself from falling for Pepper.  But to warn her now will cost him any chance of trapping her brother and bringing his friend’s killer to justice. Like it or not, Logan’s going to see this masquerade through to the end, even if it costs him what he now values most—Pepper.

But Pepper Yates is no one’s fool. She and her brother have managed to survive on the run by trusting no one, especially a flirtatious neighbor with romantic intentions. Despite her undeniable attraction toLogan, Pepper isn’t about to risk her brother’s life by falling prey to her passions.

But no matter what she does, it may be too late. Rowdy is already caught in the killer’s crosshairs and Pepper knows it’s up to her to do whatever it takes to save him no matter who stands in her way…evenLogan.
Follow Lori Foster’s tour here.

Excerpt:
As if he knew her thoughts, he gave a warm laugh and stepped out of the doorway. “See you later, Sue.”

Not if I see you first. “Goodbye, Logan.” She started to close the door.

And he said, “Now that wasn’t so painful, was it?”

She clicked the door shut in his face, then dropped against it.

Painful? Not exactly.

Book Details:
RUN THE RISK
Lori Foster
HQN Books; October 2012
384 pages; $7.99 U.S./$9.99 CAN.
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-77695-5
www.LoriFoster.com

THANKS TO LIZ AT MERYL L. MOSS MEDIA/THE BOOK TRIB, I HAVE ONE (1)
COPY OF THIS BOOK TO GIVEAWAY. U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my honest review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

*USE THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW
IN ORDER TO BE INCLUDED IN THE GIVEAWAY*
BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL

ADDRESS IN THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM
SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN
*LEAVE COMMENT: FROM READING THE SYNOPSIS,
WHAT  DO YOU THINK PEPPER CHOOSES, FAMILY AND/OR LOVE?*

*U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY*
*NO P.O. BOXES*

 **HONOR SYSTEM**
ONE WINNING BOOK PER HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
WON THIS BOOK FROM ANOTHER
SITE, SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAY
HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN
AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.S. If you are affected by the storm, stay safe.

……of Low Pressure by Sandra Brown

44 Mary Calabrese Leave a Blog Post Comment

An email has been sent to the winner and she has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to all that entered.

http://btt2.wordpress.com

This week’s question:
The flip side of last week’s …
Are there any good books that you read IN SPITE OF the cover and ended up wondering what on earth the artist and publisher were thinking to pair up a cover that so badly represented a perfectly good book?
And … if you didn’t like the cover, what made you pick up the book? The author? Assigned reading from school? A recommendation from a friend?

My answer:
Unfortunately, yes.  And quite a few.  BB (before blogging), I will admit, when purchasing a book, I would first pick up a book because of it’s cover and then read the synopsis.  Unless it was a writer that was on my “authors to read” list.

However, for the past 3 years, since becoming an active participant in the online book blogging community and accepting requests to review,  it’s the synopsis and/or reviews from other bloggers that influence  me.   After receiving said books,  there have been a few times where I have thought, “what were they thinking?”  I also wonder if the cover is any indication of what kind of read it is going to be.  And in those circumstances when the book is a 4-5 star, I then think “the cover is going to hurt the sales of a book” putting myself in a consumer’s “shoes”.  Even though I loved the book, I know I would have missed out on a good read if I saw it on the shelves.

In my opinion, even though you aren’t supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, when I see a poorly designed cover, I automatically think that the caliber of writing will probably be amateurish especially in today’s market where anyone can self publish.

What about you?  Do covers influence you?  Have you read a 5 star novel but hate the cover?   What are your thoughts on poorly designed covers?

….of Televenge by Pamela King Cable

21 Mya Murphy Be a Public Follower of ‘CMASH Loves to Read’

An email has been sent to the winner and has 48 hours to respond with a mailing address or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to author, Pamela King Cable, and all that entered.