It's Bookish Blog Hops time again!
Bookish Blog Hops: Valentine's Hop
From 1st-15th February I'm blog hopping with the rest of the Bookish Blog Hops crew for our Valentine's Hop. I kicked things off on the 1st with this post about our favourite places to read.
These blog hops are super fun and a great way to connect more with other book bloggers and readers. Collaborations like this always result in more traffic to the participating blogs too, as well as encouraging more engagement. It's a win-win for everyone!
and now on to today's question...
A book with a heart on the cover
About the book: Single mother Charlotte Small's life is falling apart...After flattening a friend's dog, carelessly losing not one job but three, and waving her daughter off to spend Christmas overseas, Charlotte hits the wall. Years of suppressed heartbreak and disappointment overwhelm her and the fine thread of sanity finally snaps. Consequently, having thrown the entire contents of her house onto the street, she's found by the police, lying on her back under a Christmas tree with an empty bottle of Port and a half-eaten lump of Stilton. Charlotte needs to claw her way back from the brink and start again. But can she build a bigger, brighter, and better existence this time around? "The Defrosting of Charlotte Small" is wonderfully observed and genuinely funny, mining the glorious seam of black humour that is fast becoming Annabel Giles' trademark.
Here's what the rest of the Bookish Blog Hop crew had to say:
A Heart of Time by Shari J Ryan. The cover design actually pulled me in and is what drove me to purchase this book. I had never read anything by Shari J Ryan before this, but I've now read several of her books and she is an automatic one-click author of mine.
Brandy Potter
www.brandypotterbooks.com
What? It’s a heart (insert big cheesy grin).
About the book: A short story by Edgar Allan Poe The Narrator murders an elderly man who he claims has a “vulture’s eye”. He then hides the body under the floorboards but the victim’s heart still beats in the floorboards. Or does it?
Sarah Nowicki
www.paranormalpeach.com
It may not be obvious, but there’s a heart on the cover of almost every book in the amazing and addictive Crossbreed Series by Dannika Dark. The “heart” is actually a necklace...a Burmese ruby pendant that has so much significance throughout the series, it’s basically its own character. This heart represents the rocky past of our sexy Vamp, Christian, and a beautiful future when it finally belongs to our kick-ass heroine, Raven.
Follow the rest of the Valentine's Hop:
3rd Who gave you your love of reading? Laura Morningstar
5th A book you bought for it’s beautiful cover that’s just as beautiful inside too Sarah Nowicki www.paranormalpeach.com
7th A loyal sidekick you can’t help but love more than their counterpart. Brandy Potter www.brandypotterbooks.com
8th Full on Romance Books Or Action-Packed With A Few Love Scenes? Brandy Potter www.brandypotterbooks.com
9th Love triangles, yes or no? Brandy Potter www.brandypotterbooks.com
13th An author you would love to interview? Lili Marcus
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Bookish Blog Hops - A Bookish Summer Blog Hop: New Beginnings/Starting Over
Summer is the perfect season for fresh starts, so welcome back to another stop on the A Bookish Summer Blog Hop! Today we’re diving into stories all about new beginnings and starting over—those uplifting, emotional, sometimes messy moments when characters reset their lives and rediscover who they’re meant to be.
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A Bookish Summer Blog Hop: Books That Celebrate New Beginnings and Fresh Starts
The first book that came to mind for this was Starting Over by Sheri Levy (check out my review of the book here). This book is teen/YA and part of the A Trina Ryan Novel series. It touches on building new friendships, and also letting go and being able to move on.
What my book blogger buddies had to say:
Leslie Conzatti
I mentioned it earlier, but when I think of starting over--albeit in a kind of darkly comedic, ironic fashion--I think of the series that has long been my favorite, the Grave Report novels by R. R. Virdi. The series features Vince Graves, a soul whose body died an undetermined amount of time ago, but he’s been selected by the Powers-That-Be to get constantly reincarnated in the body of supernatural-related circumstances, whether somebody cracked the wrong ancient seal, or awakened a dark entity from the netherworld. Chock-full of gallows humor, cynical sarcasm, and a great deal of heart (I mean, it would take a lot of heart to have to live someone else’s life to give their soul and their loved ones closure!) all the way through--and every book is essentially a “new beginning” so I think it counts!
Brandy Potter
Visit her website here: www.brandypotterbooks.com (updated 16/11/2025 no longer active)
I have a toss up, same author, three different books. Nora Roberts. Montana Sky - three sisters who have never met have to discover each other and rediscover themselves. The Liar is about a woman whose husband dies, only she finds out he was a conman. The Witness is about a woman who witnesses a murder as a teenager and has to go into hiding.
Casia Schreyer
Visit her website here:
Traitor’s Hope by Virginia McClain. This is the sequel to Blade’s Edge. At the end of book 1 the main characters achieve their goal and overthrow a manipulative, lying government. Book 2 is about the new beginning for all of them, as individuals and as a country.
Have you read any of these books?
If you love stories about reinvention and second chances, tell me your favourite ‘fresh start’ book in the comments!
A Bookish Summer Blog Hop: Where Do You Buy Your Books?
Today I'm hosting another stop on the A Bookish Summer Blog Hop. This time the question is "Where do you buy your books?"
I get a lot of books for free from publishers and authors. Some approach me directly requesting a review, others I get via Net Galley. I do a lot of reading on my kindle app on my ipad now and get a lot of books from Amazon. Whenever I go back to the UK for a visit I check out the charity and discount shops for bargain books. I have to limit myself though or my hubby moans about my books taking over our home. He prefers it when I get ebooks as our flat isn’t really big enough for a lot of bookshelves. My dream is to one day have a house with a big library like the one Belle had in Beauty and Beast ;)
What the gang had to say:
I actually only buy maybe 2% of the books I own. I’m gifted a lot from publishers and indie authors who reach out to be through my blog, but the majority of books I read are through my library. The only flaw to that plan is when all ten of my holds at random times become available at once and I cry a little bit because I can’t possible read all of them in the two weeks they grace my presence. I usually end up buying books when I have already read them and I want to keep a copy to read again or in case any of my friends decide to enjoy reading miraculously, so I can share a copy with them. The library thing usually works out great though with a book or two coming in once a week and helps regulate and provide an incentive to keep up with my reading because of their due dates.
For the longest time, I would depend on the generosity of others to get books. Especially before I had a job, since that meant I also had no money. As I would review more and more books on my blog, I would get review copies from authors who wanted their books featured, or I would follow an author I was interested in until they posted a discount/giveaway, at which point I would swoop in and make off like a bandit! I have downloaded a lot of books from Amazon, and just recently I discovered the joys of buying books online from Barnes & Noble, so I’ve used that to try and round out my personal library. But the only books I actually buy are books I’ve read before, since I know they’re worth the money I’m spending! I don’t buy a lot of books sight-unseen; if a book looks interesting, I’ll check it out from the library first. If I like it, I buy it. If an author whose ebooks I’ve read and loved offers signed copies for a fair price, I’ll take them up on their offer!
I get most of my classics from yard sales and goodwill. The more contemporary stuff I get from Amazon. However I have the propensity to get them at the library or audible before I buy them. I used to just buy every book I wanted to read and I found that was a waste of books and money. However, I did find a great place to take those books. We have a place here called The Book Thing. It’s in the inner city and allows anyone to come in and take books for free. It burned down just before my wedding and I donated every book that I was keeping just because I can’t bear to part with books to them.
I get a few free books from publishers and I’m always on the lookout for sales on Amazon to buy Kindle books. This year I went to the BookCon in NYC and got a lot of free books there also!
Where do you buy most of your books? Let us know in the comments below.
A Bookish Summer Blog Hop: Bookmarks or Dog Ears?
Welcome back for another stop on the A Bookish Summer Blog Hop. Today's topic has been dividing book lovers for years and caused more than a few arguments... bookmarks or dog ears?
I personally can't bring myself to dog ear a book. It gives me chills if I see someone else do it. Unsurprisingly I'm also not a fan of cracked spines or writing notes in books either. I like to take care of them and keep them looking pretty. Sure I'll stuff them full of paper and post-it notes, but never anything that will damage the book.
Here's a little fun fact about me, I collect bookmarks. I have so many of them! Some have been sent to me by authors and publishers along with copies of books to review, some came as part of a swag pack, some I've picked up at events, and some I've purchased. This doesn't mean I won't use an old bus ticket or random piece of paper as a bookmark though if I don't have my collection to hand.
I've also made a few bookmarks with my kids. We love doing creative craft projects and whenever they make a bookmark they suddenly feel the need to read something so they can use it. #Winning ;)
Here's what the gang had to say on the topic:
Kelli Quintos
I am 100% not an advocate of supporting the dog ear. That hurts my heart a little bit, that people might crinkle their book on purpose. I usually am caught using straw wrappers, ticket stubs, currently a wedding invitation that I still haven’t RSVP'd to. I can always find something to use as a placeholder. I’ve only recently discovered that bookmarks can be gorgeous and not just trash, so I don’t see how anyone could not be excited and choose bookmarks over dog ears. I’ve bought rainbow gorgeous long bookmarks and cute little harry potter themed magnet ones. They come in all shapes and sizes, so go look around and try a bookmark, for the sake of your poor book.
Leslie Conzatti
Umm, why is this even a discussion? Get yourself a bookmark, if you cannot possibly recall the page number. Dog-ears? Are you some kind of monster? I guess dog ears are better than flattening the spine… But still! Marring the book in any way just speeds up the deterioration, and if you read a book enough that the corner eventually falls off, what then? You’re better off using a bookmark.
Brandy Potter
I’m afraid to answer… don’t hurt me ladies. I am playing. I used what I can to avoid doing a dog ear, but if I can’t find something, I would rather dog ear than flatten the spine. I have books from my great grandmother and she definitely dog-earred. She has “The Life of Thomas More” from the 1700’s and aside from the dog ears’ it is in decent shape.
But I also have books from the other and they are falling apart, because she was a lay-it-face-down-on-the-table-and-break-the-dag-on-thing-er. Which sucks because she was WWII nurse and one of the first people to join the Edgar Casey foundation, so they are great insights into that time, but her books are falling apart and I am desperately trying to preserve them and get them fixed one at a time.
I try so hard to use bookmarks, but I always seem to lose them! So I am guilty of digesting my books!
Now it's your turn, bookmarks or dog ears? I promise we won't kill you if you choose dog ear ;)
The schedule:
Join us late? No problem!
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