I've been reviewing long enough now that I'm starting to form an opinion on the format of pre-release books that I like. Multnomah and Integrity send out those big spiral bound monstrosities and Bethany House the one that looks like a book, sort of. Every one else I've done sent the completed book even when it wasn't out yet.
I kinda like the monstrosities. Funny, huh? You can just whip it around and leave it open. No bookmark, no dog ears and it garners attention.
Yes, I am important. I do get to read books before you common people.
I sat in a coffee shop with Reluctant Burglar, Jill Elizabeth Nelson's debut novel for something like three and a half hours yesterday. Sure, everyone else in there was typing away on their laptops, but I'm sure they were coveting my book.
I've waited a long time to read this book. I've been in ACFW for just over a year now and on the "loop" I get email from Jill. Not personal, mind you, but they are written by her. And her sig line has this list of books that she's written. When Armchair sent out the list of Multnomah books that needed a review this month I jumped on that one. Lucky me, I was sitting at the computer when the email came through. Otherwise I'd never have gotten it. You gotta move fast with all those bibliophiles on the loose (back off, people, it's mine!). I can't tell you how many great books I've missed out on because I wasn't at my computer at the right time.
So, Reluctant Burglar. Have I mentioned how I don't read Romantic Suspense usually? I ALWAYS know who did it in the first five chapters. ALWAYS. And of course the girl gets the guy. It is usually the guy she hates at the beginning (Okay, so Jill held to this mold). So you know that neither of them will die. It is just fact. And usually the bad guy, the one who ties up all the loose ends in the second to last chapter? He's the non-hero guy who has been painted as the good guy the rest of the book. All the rest of the guys mentioned are bad. Bad guy, bad guy, hero, bad guy, good guy. The good guy "dunnit." Not so. Kudos Jill. If I give you all the other reasons why you'll never expect it, you'd expect it, so I won't. But I will say, I was quite satisfied. She even got my blood pumping.
So, that said. I hope that when book two comes out in my email I'm sitting in front of the computer. I may just like Romantic Suspense, after all.
3 comments:
Girl, you GOTTA read In Sheep's Clothing, by Susan May Warren. I told you about it before, but, don't deny it, you didn't go out and read it, did you? Well, now its a Christy Award finalist. That's right. The Big One.
And I saw the blurb for The Reluctant Burgler and my eyebrows went up. "Hey, that sounds really neat." So now I'm jealous you got to read it before me. (Not really. Well, maybe just a little.)
HA! Wrong again! It is on my night stand. Okay, I haven't read it yet, but it is very high on my TBR pile.
But I still think you'll like Reluctant Burglar.
And everyone else, Mel here got to make me jealous because she got Kristin Billerbeck's "A Girl's best Friend" before I did. But I still got an ARC! (and it's not for sale)
The ARC isn't, I mean. The book is. Go buy it.
Post a Comment