September celebrates Freedom
9/1: Reading Challenge - Celebrate Freedom with Shana Galen's LORD AND LADY SPY
Guest Blog at the Reading Reviewer: Claire LaZebnick's FAMILIES AND OTHER NONRETURNABLE GIFTS
9/2: Leigh Michaels' THE WEDDING AFFAIR
9/3: Gillian Bradshasw's KINGDOM OF SUMMER
9/4: Weekly winners plus H.W. "Buzz" Bernard's EYEWALL
9/5: Isobel Cooper's NO PROPER LADY
9/6: Kaylea Cross's DEADLY DESCENT
9/7: Diane Gaston's VALIANT SOLDIER, BEAUTIFUL ENEMY
9/8: Kathryn Ashe's IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS
9/9: Marliss Melton's THE PROTECTOR
9/10: Jill Mansell's TO THE MOON AND BACK
9/11: Weekly winners plus Reflecting upon Freedom
9/12: Alyson Reuben's THE BEAUTIFUL CAGE
9/13: Maggie Robinson's MISTRESS BY MARRIAGE
9/14: 197th Anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner
9/15: Ashley March's ROMANCING THE COUNTESS
9/16: Roy Peter Clark's HELP FOR WRITERS!
9/17: Tess Gerritsen's ICE COLD
9/18: Weekly winners plus US Air Force's 64th Birthday with Pamela Palmer
9/19: FOREVER TEXAS with Christie Craig's DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS and Jane Grave's HEARTSTRINGS AND DIAMOND RINGS
9/20: Jennifer Estep's SPIDER'S REVENGE
9/21: Open
9/22: Heather Lynn Rigaud's FITZWILLIAM DARCY, ROCK STAR
9/23: Open
9/24: Open
9/25: Weekly Winners
9/25 - 10/1: Banned Book Week
9/26: Shannon McKenna's BLOOD AND FIRE
9/27: Victoria Alexander's HIS MISTRESS BY CHRISTMAS
9/28: Open
9/29: Open
9/30: Reading Challenge Wrap Up - Celebrate Freedom with Susanna Kearsley's THE ROSE GARDEN
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| USAF Thunderbirds fly over NY Harbor |
October - Things that go bump in the night
10/1: Reading Challenge - Things that go bump in the night
10/2: Weekly winners plus Diana Cosby's HIS DESTINY
10/9: Weekly winners
10/11: Theressa Romain's SEASON FOR TEMPTATION
10/13: US Navy's Birthday
10/14: Gabrielle Kimm's HIS LAST DUCHESS
10/16: Weekly winners
10/16 - 10/22 Teen Read Week
10/17: Rebecca Ann Collins' EXPECTATIONS OF HAPPINESS
10//23: Weekly winners
10/24: Sara Humphreys and UNLEASED
10/26: Cara Elliott's TOO WICKED TO WED
10/30: Weekly winners plus Jane Austen Day with Regina Scott and Marissa Doyle
10/31: Reading Challenge Wrap Up - Things that go bump in the night
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| US Navy Sail By .... |
November - Semper Fidelis
11/1: Reading Challenge - Semper Fidelis
11/2: Anthony Horowitz and THE HOUSE OF SILK - new Sherlock Holmes mystery
11/6: Weekly winners
11/10: US Marine Corps' Birthday
11/11: Veteran's Day plus
SEAL OF MY DREAM - An Anthology to benefit Veterans Research Corporation
11/13: Weekly winners
11/14: Ashley March
11/16: Lucy Monroe
11/20: Weekly winners
11/26: Thanksgiving
11/27: Weekly winners
11/29: Reading Challenge Wrap Up - Semper Fidelis
11/30: St. Andrew's Day
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| US Marines at Iwo Jima |
December - "Tis the Season
12/1: Reading Challenge - 'Tis the Season
12/4: Weekly winners
12/7: 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor
12/11: Weekly winners
12/18: Weekly winners
12/25: Weekly winners
12/31: Reading Challenge Wrap Up - 'Tis the Season
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| Mighty Mo standing guard over the USS Arizona Memorial |
I'll be writing more reviews of the books featured - what do you look for in a review? One randomly selected commenter will win a book of choice from the RWA Stash! This giveaway is open to all readers. Comments open through Saturday, August 6, 2011. I'll post the winner on Sunday, August 7.
Mahalo,
Kim in Hawaii
I expect a review to be honest first of all, otherwise it is worthless. I want to know what the reviewer liked & disliked about the story. Basically don't hold back.
ReplyDeleteI look for the basic plot points and the review should detail whether the book was enjoyable or not.
ReplyDeleteFor me is important to see what is good or bad in the book, is it interesting and well written or not, are the plot flaws, etc.
ReplyDeleteI like to read what the reader really thought of the book. Find out if it held their attention throughout the book and if it was interesting enough to recommend reading to others.
ReplyDeleteBe honest in your review if the book doesn't work for you tell why. What bothers you as a reviewer may not bother me.
ReplyDeleteDont candy coat it tell us what you REALLY think.
ReplyDeleteTo me books are an investment An Investment in the Author their time My time Is it worthy of paying full price verses loan from the library or from the local UBS.
I prefer to bye New.
So far I have not been disappointed with the reviews & Interviews from Here. This Is my first goto place now & i have not been disappointed.
like everyone else, I expect the review to be honest. But also to provide the what did & didn't work in the book for that reviewer regarding the characters, writing &/or plot w/o giving away the entire story. If the review has certain (hate to use this word but it's the only one that comes to mind) "prejudges" that might influence how they feel about the book (ie: doesn't generally read/like a certain genre, trope, time period, etc or generally loves & can't pass them up) I also appreciate being clued into that as it helps give perspective on the review as well.
ReplyDeleteI always write honest reviews, and I hope that other people write them too. I also like seeing, not necessarily the plot points but if the plot flowed nicely or if it had plot holes. Or if the chemistry was realistic between the hero and heroine or not.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your reviews!
I'm looking for a description of the writer's style - whether the characters were well developed and cinsisten or not and whether the reviewer liked the book or not and why.....that's pretty much it...lol...oh and I would like the reviewer to be honest about any strange plot twists that just don't work
ReplyDeleteI want to know how the reviewer feels about the book and why and if they would read more books by this author.
ReplyDeleteI want the review to be short and to the point. If it's too long, I tend to skip most of it (blah, blah, blah) and just get to the rating. There are other reviews I can be reading. Be honest. I want to know why you did or did not like the book, without including spoilers.
ReplyDeleteOne frightening trend I am seeing now is popular books and authors receiving mostly 4 and 5 star ratings. You can be assured my reviews will state exactly why I did or did not enjoy an author's work.
I look for the basics of the book and what makes it different from other books. Also, if you would read other books by this author. However, I don't like major spoilers.
ReplyDeleteHoly wow Kim! That's quite a schedule. =)
ReplyDeleteFor reviews, I look for whether the reader liked or disliked the book and why. Also, I don't like it when they recap the whole book, scene for scene. Why bother reading the book when I already know what happens?
That's a wonderful schedule and there are so many things to look foward to.
ReplyDeleteI like reviews that are relevant, honest, objective and clear. I want to know what a book is about and the reviewer's reflections on it. If there is a like or dislike, I would like for there to be a reason for it. I'm not a fan of reviews that give away spoilers AND there is no warning.
So much to look forward to as usual on SOS.
ReplyDeleteAs for a review I also look for honesty, is the Author's style consistent in this book as with her or his other books. Did it hold your attention, did you have a hard time getting into the story and relating to the characters ? I'm usually going to buy the book anyway if it's one of my Auto buy Authors but like to have an idea of what you enjoyed or didn't.
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
What I look for in a review is usually a short summary of the plot (without giving spoilers away or at least warn readers if you do) and whether you enjoyed the book or not. It would be great to list reasons or talk about aspects that you enjoyed or what didn't work for you if you didn't particularly like the book. It'll also be great to talk briefly about the characters - main ones as well as any secondary ones that stand out because I find that rich secondary characters can really add to the story. One last thing is, for romance books, it helps to tell readers about the romance and chemistry between the hero and heroine :)
ReplyDelete