Cover Reveal: The Dating Experiment by Emma Hart

    

1.Get over my best friend’s brother.

2.Remember that I’m over him.

3.Prove I can date other people.

It should be easy.

It’s not.

  Setting up a dating website with the guy I’ve been in love with since I was five wasn’t my smartest idea.

Especially since he’s my best friend’s brother—thankfully, she’s okay with the fact I’m pulling a Sandy and I’m hopelessly devoted to him.

Which is why it’s time to get over him.

So I do something crazy and ask Dominic Austin to find me a date. He does—if I find him one, too.

Since we own Stupid Cupid, it should be easy, right? And it is.

My date is perfect. His date is perfect. Everything is perfect.

Until he kisses me…

  Three dates.

One kiss.

And a big-ass mess…

  

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“The fuck are you doing here?”

“Elliott said you needed help. Here is your help.” Peyton gestured extravagantly to herself before she shut the door behind her. “And I know it’s about Chloe and her date, so cut to the chase.”

Girl-talk. Of course she already knew.

“I need to fill out her application,” I told her. “But I’m stuck.”

She rolled her eyes. “And you can’t ask her to do it?”

I stared at her flatly.

“Right, no, of course,” she drawled, a tiny hint of her New Orleans drawl twanging at every word. “Why would you ask the woman you’re in love with to fill out her own dating record?”

“Can you shut the fuck up and help me?” I threw my hands out to the sides.  “I found her a match. Help me out here, Peyt.”

My sister stilled. “You found her a match?”

“Of course I did. I said I would, so I did.”

“Wow. You’re actually going through with it. Kudos, bro.” She rounded my desk and perched on the arm of my chair.

I glanced at her. “Can you put your chest away?”

She tugged at the neckline of her shirt and pulled it right up. “Put away. Let me see what you’ve written so far.” She snatched the mouse out of my hand and scrolled. “Jesus, Dom,” she said after a minute. “This is basic. This won’t get her laid.”

I didn’t want to get her laid. I wanted to get her a good date, not a fucking orgasm.

“Whatever. Can you make her attractive to a random stranger?”

“You can’t?” Peyton quirked an eyebrow and looked at me. “You’ve been attracted to her for at least ten years. Surely you can do better than this.”

“Peyton. I want your help, not your bullshit.”

“Good luck with that,” she muttered. “All right, move your ass. Let me do this for you.”

“Don’t make her sound too attractive.” My voice was no louder than hers had been as I stood and made way for her to take my seat.

She snorted, deleting everything I’d written except the first couple of questions. “I’m gonna make her so attractive that she has every eligible bachelor in New Orleans clambering for her attention.”

     
By day, New York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to two beautiful little monsters. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of whatever she fancies—usually wine—and writes books.

Emma is working on Top Secret projects she will share with her followers and fans at every available opportunity. Naturally, all Top Secret projects involve a dashingly hot guy who likes to forget to wear a shirt, a sprinkling (or several) of hold-onto-your-panties hot scenes, and a whole lotta love.

She likes to be busy—unless busy involves doing the dishes, but that seems to be when all the ideas come to life.

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Cover Reveal: Carousel of Faults by Mark C. King

Today I’m helping unveil the cover for Carousel Of Faulta, the second installment of Mark C. King's series The Book Reapers, designed by Key of Heart Designs. Without further ado, here is the cover:

Are we defined by our faults?

Naomi Gladwyn’s life went from abominable to amazing. Narrowly avoiding life in a dismal London workhouse, she ended up with an adopted family and dear friends. This new life, however, is not without its thorns.

Much of her time revolves around Dark Books – books that are so emotional, so influential, that a reader cannot help but carry out what is written, often with deadly results. She now hunts these dangerous tomes with her adopted father, Mr. Stafford.

But a past mistake, a torturous secret, haunts her and – when revealed – puts everything she has and everything she ever wanted in jeopardy.

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38313224-carousel-of-faults

Title: Carousel of Faults (The Book Reapers, Book 2)
Author: Mark C. King
Release Date: July 10
Author Website: www.markcking.com
Twitter: @markckingauthor
Instagram: @mark_c_king

Wednesday Chatter: Ratings and Why I Take Them With A Grain Of Salt

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks

WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Hello dear book lovers! Today I want to talk to you about ratings. I was inspired by a discussion I had with Lia over on Twitter, and by one of the interview questions Fanna had for me in her Interview Of The International guest post series.

I've always been a firm believer that while it's good to have rated reviews, because they give some sort of guideline for when you're checking out a book you are curious about, at the end of the day, those ratings are subjective. What I consider a 5 star book some other reader might view as a 3 star book or lower.

At the same time, my 5 star rating and another reader's 5 star rating, ultimately, don't mean the same thing. For example, for one reader it might mean the book had no issues, no little detail that may be seen as problematic. For me, however, a 5 star rating refers to a book that, despite those issues, of which sometimes I'm aware of and sometimes I'm not, has the elements of a great read: good plot, good pacing, great characters, great conflict, AND not a lot of inconsistencies. I accept that in long series there may be some inconsistencies, but not the kind that make me think a character has blue eyes in chapter 3 and then two chapters later that same character has red eyes with black dots. Unless it's some type of shifter and then it's something that makes sense.

Besides the regular rating, I also am a firm believer in half stars, if you use the 5 star rating system. For me, there's a big difference between a 4 star rating and a 5 star rating. Besides the quality aspects in the story and characters, a 5 star book means I'll definitely be rereading it at some point, a 4 star read I might reread, and anything under doesn't usually end up in my reread pile. However, there are subtle details, small things that will make a book better than a 4 star read, but not quite a 5 star read. It's difficult to explain, and it's usually little things that make me go for that extra half star.

Does that mean ratings don't count? No. Ratings definitely count. BUT. I like to take into account what that reader or that reviewer considers a 5 star review and then go from there when trying to decide if the book in question might be something I'd enjoy, based on a reader's rating.

That being said, I am rarely shocked by a book getting certain ratings, be they high or low. Each and every one of us is a single individual with things we like and things we don't like, things we have in common with others and things we don't. It's only natural that a book will find its perfect reader. This is why I have so many erotic novels in my Read shelf on Goodreads. At the same time, we also evolve as readers. For example, if anyone had told me, 10-12 years go, that I would enjoy reading anything other than erotic romance books, I would have laughed in their faces. And yet here I am, reading mysteries, thrillers and YA books and loving them.

While I do believe that ratings are a great way to categorize books and to make you figure out what is popular and what isn't, I think it's important to remember that ratings have always been and will always be subjective, and each and every one of us has different ways to interpret them. It's why we might love an "underappreciated" book or series (take my deep love for Beautiful Creatures) and why we might be the black sheep and dislike "hyped" books (me and ACOMAF).

Let's discuss. Do you think ratings have a universal meaning or do you focus on a combo of rating and review when trying to decide what to read next?