Promo Post: Re-Release with New Cover - Links by Lisa Becker

 

Just re-released is Lisa Becker's second chance romance, Links, which New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken called "Witty, heartfelt and emotionally satisfying."  

In high school, Charlotte Windham went through a typical ugly duckling phase - glasses and all, while harboring a crush on Garrett Stephens, the school's athletic heartthrob. Fifteen years later, Charlotte and Garrett have a chance encounter at a Los Angeles restaurant. However, this time around, Charlotte has leveled the playing field. She’s a bestselling novelist and no longer “Glasses,” the humiliating nickname Garrett gave her. She’s a catch and, thanks to corrective eye surgery, it’s not just her eyes that see better…so does her heart! Garrett hasn’t fared poorly either, transforming from teen heartbreaker to adult lothario and is now a successful professional golfer suffering from a possible career-ending injury. Can Charlotte forgive Garrett for his past ways, and more recent Don Juan lifestyle?  And, can Garrett change his ways for a second chance with Charlotte, who may just be perfect for him?

Find Links exclusively on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HCSF7G9

My Review:

My rating:  4 stars

I am finding that I really do like books that we get both of the main characters' viewpoints, chapter by chapter, and this fits into that perfectly.  We get both Charlotte and Garrett's thoughts in basically alternating chapters.  Because of this, it makes you a little irritated with Charlotte at being so hesitant.  Although I understand her trepidation, having been in the same types of situations as a nerdy high school girl with crushes on the cute, popular guys.  But you're definitely rooting for Garrett, as he has become a pretty good guy, even to the point of realizing what he did when he was younger was stupid, or at least he knew it was part of being a stupid teenage male.  The grown up Garrett is all about doing what he can to convince Charlotte he is a good guy and truly interested in her, by getting to be friends with her first.  But even when he can tell that the two of them are definitely starting to feel as if they are more than friends, he has to fight to get her to see him that way.  While you can see how she might get the right idea with the last little hang-up at the end, I felt that she definitely overreacted, especially after getting to know Garrett as well as she did, and after how he'd told her how he felt about her and wanted more than friendship.  

Overall it was a very sweet and easy summer read.  It had a little bit of sex, but not a ton.  It really got into a lot of situations, and I feel like Charlotte was pretty realistic in how she handled it all.  I loved when she got to get back at a college frenemy, as well as Chapter 48, and the very last chapter.  If you're looking for a perfect summer read, this is one you should pick up.

If you want to check out the original post, which includes and interview with the author, you can go HERE. 

 

Discussion Post: This Review Should Come With a Warning - Or is it Okay to Review New Adult, Adult, and Young Adult on the Same Blog?

Today I'm doing my 3rd discussion post as part of the 2016 Discussion Challenge hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts at Midnight. My first one was all about if teens are really as dumb as we think, and will expect what happens in books to be real life.  My second one was about giving ratings in your reviews.  You can go read my thoughts and then share what you think on those two HERE and HERE. Today I want to talk about the different age levels of books and how to review them on blogs.

So, recently I've started reading books that I would definitely not recommend to my high school students because of their sexual content.  It's not that in any way I want to censor what they read, I just know what is appropriate for me to suggest, and what isn't any of my business.  The reason I am thinking about this is because up until these past few months, the majority of what I read and blogged about was YA.  Once in awhile I'd throw in a nonfiction, memoir, or a Stephen King type of book.  None of which I would have an issue with a student of mine reading about.  But as I started this paragraph out saying, I seem to have gotten a bit of a trend with the types of books that I'm reading, and it all kind of started with the After series by Anna Todd.

I'm a 43 year old woman, so there's nothing wrong with what I read.  And I don't intend to be very explicit with my reviews.  I plan to talk about the story just like I would with any other book.  But since I usually only review books that I liked and finished, I will be saying good things about them.  So I guess my question to anyone who decides to join into my discussion post here is, should I be worried about who reads my posts?  I've started doing an "NA" in front of the new adult books I read, and then "YA" in front of the teen/young adult books.  Although some of my romances I'm reading aren't necessarily NA, but I feel silly putting the word "Adult" by itself in front of a review title.  I mean, I would have to do that with Stephen King and Dean Koontz, etc.

 

So tell me, what do you think about all this?  Do you think for me to review both types on the same blog is a horrible idea?  Do you think the way I'm differentiating in the titles is a good thing?  Or do you think I need to be worried about any of this if I don't intend to actually put the explicit stuff within my review?

I'm feeling a bit conflicted on this, because as a high school librarian, it is very possible that I might have students who want to follow my blog.  And then I don't know if it is bad for me to post things that I wouldn't tell them outright they should read.  Of course it could just be my silly brain that won't stop dwelling on the thought.

I'd love to hear your thoughts if you'd like to join into the discussion.  And this last gif is because I can't resist a Supernatural one any time I do a post like this.