Tour: Beckoning Light Excerpt & Giveaway by Alyssa Rose Ivy
We have are pleased to offer an excerpt from Beckoning Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #1)
As Charlotte steps through the gate, she has a strong feeling that nothing will ever be the same again.
Moving back to South Carolina after three years away, Charlotte knows she’s going to have to face people from her past and adjust to a new high school, but she’s completely unprepared for what else waits for her in Charleston.
Drawn through an old garden gate, Charlotte discovers a hidden world where she meets Calvin, a boy to whom she is inexplicably attracted. As Charlotte is pulled deeper into this hidden world, it’s up to her older brother Kevin to rescue her. No matter how hard Kevin tries, the rescue depends upon Charlotte fighting her intense feelings for Calvin while mastering a set of abilities that she has only just discovered she possesses.
Excerpt
I followed Percy over to the edge of the cliff still unsure of what he was going to tell me to do.
“All you need to do is jump to the other side,” Percy said nonchalantly. I thought I was hearing things. There was no way that I was going to be able to make that jump. The gap between the cliffs must have been nearly twenty feet. Assuming there had to be some sort of trick, I moved closer to the edge of the cliff, but there was nothing between the cliffs for hundreds of feet until the dried riverbed below. There was no way anyone could survive such a fall.
I wasn’t the only one concerned. “Percy, are you sure he’s ready for this?” Monty asked. “Maybe we should wait until he has more experience.”
“If he is going to handle himself at Bellgard, he had better be able to make this jump now. We do not have the luxury of time, Monty.”
I was already nervous, but hearing the doubt in Monty’s voice really scared me. Monty had always been my biggest fan, aside from Charlotte, so if he didn’t think I was ready, then I could be in some serious trouble. I tried to think of a way to get out of it when I looked over and saw Samantha eyeing me. Great, I thought, now I really have to do it. I decided to get it over with. I hoped that Percy had some rescue plan in case I fell, but I seriously doubted it. Logically, I knew that attempting the jump was stupid, but I couldn’t back down from the challenge. I took a running start and prepared to start freefalling.
GIVEAWAY
The author is giving away eBooks of Beckoning Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #1)
To Enter
(Open Internationally)
1) Fill out the Rafflecopter form
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Ends May 23, 2012
Review: Collision by Stefne Miller
Title: Collision
Author: Stefne Miller
Publisher: Tate Publishing
Release: March 27, 2012
Length: 333 pages
Review copy provided by author for an honest review. Part of book blog tour.
Recommend: Julie says, “Oh, King of Glory I loved this book! Finished it in one night.”
Cab Stone has it all—fame, fortune and the adoration of millions of women across the globe. When the constant attention from fans and expectations from his handlers becomes too much, he escapes the craziness of press junkets and movie sets and escapes to Asheville, North Carolina to hide away for the summer.
He expects peace, quiet, and solitude. What he doesn’t expect is to meet a fiery redhead who changes everything he knows about the world.
The daughter of missionaries, Kei Sallee lives a life of service to others. She has little, expects less, and helps heal the hearts of thousands in Uganda, where she grew up. When she finds herself staying in the same guesthouse as Cab Stone, she vows to ignore his Greek god good looks and spend the summer as she had planned—in peace, quiet, and solitude.
Cab and Kei’s lives couldn’t be more different…or more the same.
Despite, or perhaps because of, their vastly different yet startlingly similar backgrounds, Cab and Kei strike up an unlikely friendship that could possibly blossom into something more. But Kei fears that the truth about her past will prevent pretty-boy Cab, who is used to getting everything he wants, from fully committing to her.
When two completely different worlds experience a Collision, can they exist as one?
Review by Julie
Short version: To say I love this book is an understatement. This book goes beyond the YA contemporary romance and brings so much raw emotion to the real world. I adored the romance, got swept away by the story, laughed, cried, and found myself inspired by the characters. This is now one of my favorite YA reads and Stefne Miller a new favorite author. I can not recommend this book enough. If you like contemporary romance but want something with its own brand of YA magic, pick up Collision.
Longer version: The first half of the story involves the two main characters. That’s it. Kei, Cab, an awesome house,a guest house, a pool, and the great outdoors. Kei and Cab are so well developed and interesting that I didn’t even realize there was no other interaction with people until I started thinking about it later. Cab is a hottie Hollywood star taking time off and away from the spotlight while Kei is a nobody in comparison but such a powerful and interesting person I couldn’t help but want to be friends with her in real life. Chemistry: these two have the sweetest flirt, guy pursuing girl, let’s get to know each other romance. No insta-love but real events and time to get to know each other. Great characters!
The backdrop of Africa half way through was amazing for me. How many YA books also bring in socialy conscience issues? This was so seamless as well. Nothing crammed down your throat just the character’s life and experience. The descriptions, the new characters, the events, I yearned to be there experiencing these things with the characters. I literally was so into this book I had no awareness of what was going on around me. Totally absorbed.
There is no teenage angsty drama going on in this book but substance, that I for one, would love to instill in all our real young adults. I’ve often said I wish it was a requirement that before graduating high school or college, there was a way to pay for and send students to another country to really see what the world is like outside the US. Seriously, so much taken for granted and “my rights”, expectations without earning them…ugh. I love how this book takes the reader out of themselves and shows compassion for other human beings. Loved this!
OK, there is a twist. Holy smokes did NOT see it coming. Man, Miller just takes your emotions all throughout this book and scrambles you all up inside. I ran the full emotional gamut from crying, laughing, shocked, sad, you name it. Yes, there is humor in this book too! 
I had the opportunity to ask the author if there might be a spin-off of this book and she said ‘maybe’!!! Go ahead and put some pressure on her if you like. *wink, wink*
This book is so much more than a YA contemporary romance. It is contemporary and there is romance, a great love story in my opinion, but I finished it feeling enlightened and genuinely do not regret any of the 6 hours it took me to read it. I usually give my review copies away on the blog, but nope, I’m going to be stingy with this one and keep it on my shelf. 
I give this book a big shout out of, “Oh, King of Glory!” (Inside joke. Read the book!)
Review: Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowan
Title:Dark Kiss (Harlequin Teen)
Author: Michelle Rowan
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release: May 29, 2012
Length: 348 pages
Review copy provided via NetGalley
Recommend: Leisha says, “The ending of this book is quite satisfactory but the unanswered questions leave the reader knowing there is more of this cast of characters to come and that is a very good thing!”
I don’t do dangerous. Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha-that’s me. But I just couldn’t pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me…something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It’s like part of me is missing-and I don’t know if I can get it back. Then there’s Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he’s keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he’s what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me…. NIGHTWATCHERS When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising…
Review by Leisha
Welcome to Samantha’s life: she’s smart, fairly attractive, very conservative, and being kissed by the hottest guy in the local club. Oh yes, the guy, the one who lives just a few doors down and the one Sam has had a crush on for years. Too bad he’s also sucking out her soul! Balls! Should have known that kiss was too good to be true.
So, what does a high school girl with no soul do with herself? Sam begins to eat uncontrollably though never satisfied, shivers from the intense cold she now constantly feels, and runs into a completely hot yet totally brains-scrambled angel by the name of Bishop. At a single touch, both Bishop and Sam begin to feel some relief from their various ailments: Bishop’s mind clears and Sam begins to feel warm once again. Oh, and Bishop tells Sam he’s an angel sent from Heaven to complete a top-secret, save the world from total annihilation mission. There went that warmth Sam was feeling.
Here’s what I like about this novel:
1) Sam: although she can be a bit angsty at times, Sam always seems to step up to the plate and help in whatever way she can. She is also very determined and willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish her goals and those of the Earth-saving team. Sam has a hidden reserve of strength that makes her the strongest character in the book and as the novel continues you just like her more and more.
2) The Earth-saving team: Bishop is not the only member of the team. There are two other angels, Connor and Zach, and two demons, Roth and Kraven, the last of whom is Bishop’s snarky yet seriously funny brother. Huh? The angel and the demon are brothers? Angels and demons are working together to save the Earth? Indeed they are! Turns out there’s a big bad out there that no one in either Heaven or Hell wants running around unchecked. Because the team is made up of such divergent personalities there is always a palpable tension among the members. The tension just makes the story and the characters more fun and, at times, a bit unpredictable.
3) The amount of unanswered questions: Yes, I liked the unanswered questions. Sure, Rowan ties up some of the loose ends but the questions she leaves unanswered are legion. The ending of this book is quite satisfactory but the unanswered questions leave the reader knowing there is more of this cast of characters to come and that is a very good thing!
I only have one complaint about this book and it’s a very minor complaint. There is a fair bit of high school drama in this novel; I know, it’s a YA novel there should be high school kid drama but as an adult reader, I can do without said drama. With that being said I really do feel this is a minor complaint and barely distracts from the awesome of the book as a whole.
Next up in the series: Wicked Kiss
Review: Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein
Title:Pretty Amy
Author: Lisa Burstein
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release: May 15, 2012
Length: 304 pages
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
Recommend: Julie says, “I’m quite conflicted about this book.”
“A coming-of-age story without the comfort of padding…a relatable and compelling character [with] a lot of wonderful snark.” —New York Journal of Books
Amy is fine living in the shadows of beautiful Lila and uber-cool Cassie, because at least she’s somewhat beautiful and uber-cool by association. But when their dates stand them up for prom, and the girls take matters into their own hands—earning them a night in jail outfitted in satin, stilettos, and Spanx—Amy discovers even a prom spent in handcuffs might be better than the humiliating “rehabilitation techniques” now filling up her summer. Worse, with Lila and Cassie parentally banned, Amy feels like she has nothing—like she is nothing.
Navigating unlikely alliances with her new coworker, two very different boys, and possibly even her parents, Amy struggles to decide if it’s worth being a best friend when it makes you a public enemy. Bringing readers along on an often hilarious and heartwarming journey, Amy finds that maybe getting a life only happens once you think your life is over.
Review by Julie
I’m quite conflicted about this book. For the majority of the time I was frustrated with the main character. She was making so many mistakes that I think I would have slapped her if I had known her when I was in high school. I know Amy was meant to have low self-esteem but I don’t know why? Her parents seem typical and her mom, in my opinion, is the way she is towards Amy because of Amy’s choices. I mean really, if I were her mom, I’d be disappointed too.
Amy’s friends in this story are not a great influence but since she didn’t feel like she fit in with others, she takes what she can get. Even in her dialogue about meeting them she alludes to them not being the best influences. Again, the self-esteem issue here, but sheesh. I was depressed while reading her make one mistake after another with these people. The love interests are a side feature and she does eventually see the light of day. But, all her epiphanies came quickly and at the end.
This isn’t a bad book and in fact, many people like it. For me, it was OK. There is a bit of dry wit that is funny. It is written well and easy to follow. I just didn’t connect with Amy personally. I do tend to like characters that will take the bull by the horns and influence the events around them rather than a more passive role.
Tour: Streamline Character Tweets & Giveaway
A big ‘Thank You’ to Jennifer Lane and the characters in Streamline
TOUR SCHEDULE of all posts and giveaways. There is a great Grand Prize Giveaway going on at Jennifer Lane’s Blog!
*CS and variations thereof refer to Leo’s dad.
Leo’s Twitter Name: @Sprinter_Leo
Audrey’s Twitter Name: @IMAudreyRose
Alex’s Twitter Name: @LadyAlex_Gaga
Leo: Hey @IMAudreyRose Your individual medley race is lookin’ good.
Audrey: @SprinterLeo OMG how are you on Twitter? I thought CS banned you from social networking.
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose Don’t tell Callous Slimeball. I’m at Alex’s studying for Gov class
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo You’re at @LadyAlex_Gaga house? #NoHankyPanky
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose What’s that # thing? Oh, Alex just told me.
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Alex: @IMAudreyRose *butts in* How dare you accuse me of stealing your bf! #NotCuteEnoughForMe
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @LadyAlex_Gaga I can tweet you anytime, Alexis. Put Leo back on. #CravesIntellectualConvo
In reply to @LadyAlex_Gaga
Alex: @IMAudreyRose *sticks tongue out* Whatever.
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Leo: @IMAudreyRose Back on. We got rid of Alexis. #GoodRiddance
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo Good hashtag! Welcome to 2012.
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose Maybe someday I’ll even get a cell phone. #Loser
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo Oh, boy. #TooMuchExcitement Not your fault though. #StrictDad
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose Alex just said the funniest CS. *laughs*
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo What is it? #DyingToFindOut
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose Not sure if I can say it here?
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo I’m waiting. *taps foot*
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose Ok. It’s like Coke Sacker. But it’s not.
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo *snickers* How’s studying going?
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose You think we’re actually studying? Alex keeps trying to show me youtube videos.
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo Of what?
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose You don’t want to know. What are you doing?
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo Chemistry problems—chapter 6.
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose *groans* Gotta do those when I get home. Tweet me the answers.
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo No way, sprinter boy. You’re better at Chem than me.
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose At least tweet what you’re wearing right now.
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo Come over and find out, Mr. Scott #NoPeeking
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose Crap. CS just called Mrs. Bradbury. He summoned me home.
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo Sorry, Leo. #HateCommanderScott See you tomorrow?
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Leo: @IMAudreyRose 5:15 in the a.m., my little breaststroker. Adios, chica!
In reply to @IMAudreyRose
Audrey: @SprinterLeo Adios, Senor Rapido. Hope to see you back on Twitter soon.
In reply to @SprinterLeo
Oh, I think I would like to be friends with these guys. For those of you that haven’t read the book, we are able to giveaway an ebook copy of Streamline thanks to the Omnific Publishing!
GIVEAWAY
(Open Internationally)
To Enter:
Fill out the form
Ends May 16, 2012
a Rafflecopter giveaway
To find the author:
Review: Perilous Light (Afterglow Trilogy #2) by Alyssa Rose Ivy
Title:Perilous Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #2)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy
Publisher: Self-Published
Release: March 29, 2012
Recommend: Leisha says, “I love middle books like Perilous Light, and I am a big fan of character-driven novels and plot lines that are varied.”
Would you sacrifice everything for a world you barely knew?
A year has passed since Charlotte and Kevin first stepped
through the gate into Energo and neither has been able to settle back into their normal lives. Charlotte tries to distract herself from thoughts of Calvin with the antics of James and her growing friendship with Liam. Kevin can’t seem to shake his feelings for Samantha as he adjusts to his new identity as a college basketball player.
When they unexpectedly return to Energo, both Charlotte and Kevin must face their fears and become the leaders they were always meant to be.
*Spoiler Alert if you have not read book 1, Beckoning Light*
Review by Leisha
One year after being forced to leave Energo, Charlotte Calloway is wasting away in Charleston. Like any junior in high school, Charlotte gets up and goes to school, consumes far too much coffee, and fritters away the hours with her friends. However, for those who really know Charlotte, something is wrong. That something is the knowledge that her mother is likely still alive, her soul mate Calvin has yet to come to his senses and return to her, and if Charlotte were to return to Energo, she will be killed. Suddenly, high school doesn’t look so bad, right?
Meanwhile, Kevin Calloway is living his dream playing basketball for Carolina. Like his sister, though, something is missing. For Kevin, what’s missing is serving as one of Charlotte’s Guardians and Samantha, the super-tough warrior he left behind when forced to flee Energo. For the Calloways, life in the “real world” just doesn’t measure up to life in Energo. Then, one night Kevin is abducted, only to be warned that should he and his family ever return to Energo, their lives, and those of their friends serving in the Resistance, will be forfeit. Time to go back to Energo!
Once the Calloways step foot in Energo, the search is on, and the group is forced to separate in order to accomplish all their goals. For Charlotte, that means finding and rescuing her mother and learning to harness her considerable powers. For Kevin, the separation means travelling to yet another foreign land to persuade the heads of each country to support the Resistance against Blake. Once the group is separated, the plot slows a bit, allowing the two groups to travel and work toward accomplishing their respective goals. The action is lessened in this part of the book, but Ivy gets the chance to really dig in and build the back stories for many of the characters. I love this part of the book! Just enough minor action is included to keep the action-junkies happy, and a ton of information for those of us who totally dig the back stories! The action and information are seamlessly blended and move the reader along smoothly toward the tumultuous end.
And what an ending it is! Ivy couldn’t have avoided the great battle at the end. The back stories, the two group’s missions, and the minor action all lead up to the dramatic ending. Once again, Ivy spills a few more family secrets and leaves the reader with a pretty significant cliffhanger. The lives of each of the major (and a few of the minor) characters are yet unresolved, and the final book in the series (Enduring Light) promises to be quite an adventurous ride!
The bottom line: I love middle books like Perilous Light, and I am a big fan of character-driven novels and plot lines that are varied. In many ways, the second book in a trilogy will make or break a series for me. As a curious reader, I need to know more about the characters to which I have become attached: Where have they been? What’s their background? Why do they behave the way they do? Perilous Light has it all for me! Ivy handily deals with each of the characters of interest, gives just the right amount of action, and answers a few of the unresolved questions from book one.
Tour: Night Sky by Jolene Perry ~ Excerpt
We are pleased to have Jolene Perry, author of Night Sky
Okay, so I’m sure most people put in a swoon-worthy kissing scene, but instead I’m putting in one of the scenes that I had the most fun writing – where Jameson is, for the first time, in awkward-land with the two girls he likes. The friend, Sarah, and the new girl, Sky . . .
“I’ll walk you out,” I offer.
She stands up and makes a face. “How long has it been since you felt the need to walk me out?”
“Whatever, Sarah.” I reach over and rough up her hair.
“Hey!” she yells, before carefully smoothing it out. Something she never would’ve done a year ago. She wouldn’t even have done it a few months ago. She would have tackled me back.
We step onto the driveway and I walk her to her car.
“So, I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” she says, opening the driver’s side door.
I start to answer, but catch Sky out of the corner of my eye, just off the edge of my driveway. She’s in my sweatshirt. I love it.
“Hey, Sky.” I wave and smile.
“Hey, Jay.” She waves back. “Nana wanted her dog out,” Sky says, rolling her eyes.
“I don’t know if that qualifies as a dog.”
She’s walking something that looks like a brown pompom with legs.
She laughs.
I glance at Sarah, realizing that I’ve been checking Sky out right in front of her.
“Gonna introduce me?” Sarah asks with a hard stare.
“Oh, sorry.” I wave for Sky to come over. Now that they’re both in view, the problem is clear. Girl I’ve loved, girl I’m falling for. Let’s meet in my driveway and see if we can give Jameson his first heart attack.
I clear my throat twice before I find my voice. “Sarah, this is Sky. Sky, this is Sarah.”
They’re complete opposites. Sky is all tall, dark and angles. Sarah is smooth, short and full of soft curves. And now I know I’m a prick because I’ve checked them both out in less than ten seconds. What’s ironic here is that Sky knows who Sarah is and I’ve known her for days. Sarah doesn’t know who Sky is and I’ve known her for years. How did that happen? Their names are starting to get tangled in my head and on my tongue. I’m in deep ****.
This whole scene is so Jameson. Where he walks himself into a situation, and it becomes really hard for him to be the nice guy 
Thanks for having me here today!!
~ Jolene
As he spends time with Sky and learns about her village, her totems, and her friends with drums – she’s way more than distraction. Jameson’s falling for her fast.
But Sky’s need for honesty somehow doesn’t extend to her life story – and Jameson just may need more than his new girl to keep him distracted from the disaster of his senior year.
Night Sky : website, #NightSky, Goodreads
Jolene Perry: Facebook, twitter, website, blog, Goodreads
Tribute Books website
Jolene Perry’s Bio:
After living in Washington, Utah and Las Vegas, she now resides in Alaska with her husband, and two children. Aside from writing, Jolene sews, plays the guitar, sings when forced, and spends as much time outside as possible.
She is also the author of The Next Door Boys and the upcoming Knee Deep.
Tour: Interview with Stefne Miller, author of Collision
I’m so, so pleased to have Stefne Miller on the blog today! Not only do I love her book Collision
Julie: Where did you get your ideas or inspiration for the characters Cab and Kei?
SM: The inspiration for Cab was the “instant” fame of Robert Pattinson. The first Twilight movie had just come out and he went from being someone who not many people knew of (and most Twilight fans were against playing Edward) to someone very well known with millions of obsessed fans. I found it all interesting and wondered what that might be like. It was almost an overnight change and it didn’t seem like Robert had much time to adjust or knew what to do with it all at first. So I made up a character and put him in a similar situation in terms of the quick rise to fame.
Kei was more of a character that developed completely out of my imagination, but came from my time spent in Uganda and what missionary and humanitarian organizations are doing in that part of the world.
Julie: What was the most difficult part in writing this book?
SM: Writing a story where almost the entire first half of the book only had two characters. The characters had to be interesting enough to carry the weight of the story all by themselves.
Julie: You succeeded in creating interesting characters in my opinion! I never once stopped to think, “Huh, there’s only two characters happening here.” I loved time with them.
What was the most fun part of writing this book?
SM: The most fun was reliving my time in Uganda. Going over my journals and giving Cabot those first hand experiences was a lot of fun. But my favorite part to write was the e-mails between Cabot and Kei.
Julie: Oh, yes. I felt the yearning my self while reading those. It’s like missing someone so much that you crave any news from them. What books have most influenced your life?
SM: I mostly read non-fiction. I love books like “Same Kind of Different As Me” or “Left to Tell” or “Gifted Hands”. True stories about real people who overcame the odds and did amazing things for the world. I’m a lot like Kei in that I believe that one person can accomplish great things and change the world. I love to read true stories that validate that.
Julie: What do you like to do when you are not writing?
SM: I’m a huge OU Sooner Football fan and OKC Thunder Basketball fan- so if they’re on television, I’m glued. I’m newly obsessed with The Walking Dead, so when it comes back on, you can bet I’ll be watching. And I’m addicted to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Julie: BOOMER! And for those of you that don’t know the appropriate response is, “SOONER!” I’ll also throw in a “Thunder Up!” for you Stefne. The Walking Dead…I think I have found my author soul mate. haha Thank you for spending time with us today!
If you are a young adult, contemporary romance fan, I can not recommend Collision
You can catch my review of Collision
Cab Stone has it all—fame, fortune and the adoration of millions of women across the globe. When the constant attention from fans and expectations from his handlers becomes too much, he escapes the craziness of press junkets and movie sets and escapes to Asheville, North Carolina to hide away for the summer.
He expects peace, quiet, and solitude. What he doesn’t expect is to meet a fiery redhead who changes everything he knows about the world.
The daughter of missionaries, Kei Sallee lives a life of service to others. She has little, expects less, and helps heal the hearts of thousands in Uganda, where she grew up. When she finds herself staying in the same guesthouse as Cab Stone, she vows to ignore his Greek god good looks and spend the summer as she had planned—in peace, quiet, and solitude.
Cab and Kei’s lives couldn’t be more different…or more the same.
Despite, or perhaps because of, their vastly different yet startlingly similar backgrounds, Cab and Kei strike up an unlikely friendship that could possibly blossom into something more. But Kei fears that the truth about her past will prevent pretty-boy Cab, who is used to getting everything he wants, from fully committing to her.
When two completely different worlds experience a Collision, can they exist as one?
Book Blogger Confessions: Commenting on Posts
Book Blogger Confessions is a meme that posts the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month, where book bloggers “confess” and vent about topics that are unique to us. Feel free to share, vent and offer solutions. Just keep it respectful – no bashing authors or other bloggers! Hosted by Tiger’s All Consuming Media or For What It’s Worth.
Topic: The holy grail of blogging success! What type of posts do you leave comments on? How do you try to encourage more comments on your own blog? Do you respond to people who leave comments on your posts? How do you handle negative/spam comments? Do you use captcha?
Julie: I love comments as most bloggers do. It lets me know what readers are thinking and I do comment back whenever it’s appropriate. However, I am horrible about leaving comments myself on posts I’ve read of other bloggers. Sometimes I’ve read a post via email and if I want to leave a comment I have to click on that, scroll to the bottom, if it has captcha I have to really like the post to take even more time. If the blog is slow to load due to tons of graphics, etc I leave. Excuses, yes, but with everything else going on, taking the time to comment on every post I read gets very time consuming. So, I never judge a blog by the number of comments they get because I know how I am about commenting and I have seen tweets and countless other New Year’s Resolutions from people “needing to be better about commenting!” haha I do comment though, I just won’t be getting an award for it anytime soon. I do read tons of posts though regardless of commenting.
I also notice people will respond to me on twitter or facebook instead of a blog comment about my blog post or review. lol I’ve done that myself. Guilty! So, maybe the evolution of comments has changed with the onset of other social media avenues.
I don’t know if I really try to encourage comments. I guess because of my own thought and process I figure if someone really wants to comment they will. Usually, it’s people who do frequent the blog, are part of a giveaway, or that I converse with a lot through other social media or connections.
To help with spam I use Akismet plugin and I rarely get spam on my posts. It all gets caught in the spam filter. Yay!! If one does happen to slip by I just trash it and mark it as spam.
I don’t use captcha. As I said earlier it annoys a lot of people and it does take extra time to go through when you factor in how many places you are trying to get to. As long as I have a good spam filter there really isn’t a reason to use it in my opinion.
What about you and your blog?
OK, so I guess sometimes I ask the readers a question to encourage comments. ;P
Tour: Saving You Saving Me ~ 5 Title Giveaway
We are hosting the final stop for the Saving You Saving Me Tour. Below you can enter to win the Grand Prize of 5 titles by Kailin Gow.
Read Jennifer’s review of Saving You Saving Me.
GIVEAWAY
The covers are linked to their pages on Goodreads if you are interested in reading the descriptions.
To Enter
5 winners will be chosen, one for each title
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