Tuesday Talks – Comparative Blurbs

February 16, 2016June 4, 2019 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 1 Comment

Hey everyone!

Welcome back to Tuesday Talks, a weekly discussion based on the GoodReads group of the same name, where each week we talk about a different book-ish topic and share our thoughts. Please, feel free to check out the group on GoodReads and maybe even join in on the current and future discussions.

How do you feel about comparative blurbs on book covers?

A lot of books have these things called “comparative blurbs” on book covers. You know, where there are the little snippets about how good the book is, and how it compares to other bestsellers that are similar in nature. Or, it could be a positive comment from the author of another bestseller. Take a look at the books around your house, the books on your bookshelf, almost any book. Is there something there that makes you want to immediately pick it up and dive into its story? That’s the point of these comparative blurbs.

Sometimes I feel like they do help the book sell, especially for those who buy and read books based on the positive reviews. When you don’t have time to read full-fledged, in-depth reviews about books that you are serious about buying, it helps to have a little taste of what other people think about the book. But I do also think that sometimes it isn’t really unbiased, especially since these blurbs come from other authors or compare the book to other popular works. Of course the blurbs on the covers are going to be positive in order to get people to read and buy the books. In order to really get an idea of how the book really is, it’s important to read both types of reviews.

But then again, that can also have a negative effect on your thoughts because then you have preconceived notions on how the book will be based on the reviews you have read. Unless you read the book without paying attention to any reviews before hand, then you will be swayed to either like or dislike the book without even having to open to the first page.

So what do I think about comparative blurbs on the covers? I guess I would say that they have their pros and cons, and they really are interesting for me to read before hand. It’s also nice to have an idea of what the book is about without reading the synopsis in the back of the book, although I would rather read the synopsis than blurbs. I think that if books didn’t have blurbs, I would wonder what people would think about it, which would make me want to look up reviews on GoodReads (it’s a wonderful place to read reviews), which will determine whether or not I do end up reading a book or not.

So… I guess yes on blurbs. But not always. Sorry my answer was so long winded.

Sleeping Tom – Book Review

February 16, 2016June 4, 2019 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, through the GoodReads group “YA Buddy Readers’ Corner”.

“The last week had made her realize something more important than her feelings for him: her true self. She wouldn’t die without him; she would miss him, sure, but it wouldn’t change who she had become.”

In an attempt to change her life, Rebecca transforms herself into a new girl, an alter ego named Caden, in order to escape the abuse that she suffered from her ex boyfriend Sean. In the aftermath of yet another altercation with Sean, Caden finds herself stranded in the middle of a bridge, contemplating on whether she should jump or not. Yes, it reached an all-time low for her at that moment, and if she had ended up jumping, everything that happened in this book would have never taken place. Is that a good or a bad thing, it’s yet to be said, but the main thing for sure is that Caden’s life will never be the same.

When Caden decides that ending her life is not worth it, no matter what Sean did to her, she ends up getting a ride from the mysterious Gabriel, a sarcastic, ill-tempered teenager who decides to end up helping her out with a place to stay for the night. It feels like she may have overstayed her welcome, and even though she has nowhere else to go, she tries to figure out a way to convince Gabriel to take her in. All of a sudden, she wakes up to the strangest noise in the night, and finds someone completely different in the house. He claims that his name is Tom, and his personality is almost one of a child. The longer she stays in that house, the more she comes to realize that not is all as it seems, and that maybe Gabriel and Tom are actually the same person. But which one does she love more? And if they are the same person, will she do whatever it takes to make sure she gets only one of them in her life, even if it means getting rid of the other one?

This book was an interesting one for me, and while I believed that it had a supernatural element prior to reading it, going through it made me realize that not everything has an unnatural explanation. Gabriel and Tom are a prime example of Dissociative Personality Disorder, and it was interesting to see how the author would explain it in the book. Rather than making it seem like it was a disease that made people crazy, Fairfall has Caden do her research in order to understand what’s happening with Gabriel. What I didn’t like about the book was what Caden did to Tom, showing how selfish she is when it comes to what she wants. She may have been abused by Sean and almost killed by him, but what she did to Tom was completely out of line. She made promises to both Gabriel and Tom and yet she couldn’t follow through. The ending of the book really does set up the next book, and I’m really hoping that the second book comes out soon, even if it’s just to see what ends up happening once and for all.

Rated: 4/5 Stars

Tuesday Talks – Favorite Love Stories / Book Couples

February 12, 2016June 4, 2019 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hey Everyone!

I’m so sorry that this week’s Tuesday Talks is really late. It’s almost like I’m going to have two Tuesday Talks right next to each other, but it’s okay. In honor of Valentine’s Day, this week’s Tuesday Talks will have a romantic catch to this, and I’m actually really excited to write about it. Please be sure to check out the GoodReads group “Tuesday Talks”, and don’t forget to check out the other members’ blogs and videos. It’s always fun to see other responses. You know how much I love having discussions.

What are your favorite love stories and/or who are your favorite couples?

I’ve read quite a few books and I will say that there are only a few love stories that have stuck in my mind. One of the ones that I think about that I really liked was the one between Anna and Etienne from Anna and the French Kiss. It didn’t start off as a love story especially since Etienne had a girlfriend in the beginning and Anna respected that fact. I love that they started off as friends, with Etienne really helped her get used to the fact that she was alone in the City of Love. They are also one of my favorite couples because, let’s face it, Etienne was such a romantic character that I couldn’t help falling in love with him.

Another favorite couple that I absolutely love is Rose and Dimitri from the Vampire Academy series. Rose is such a badass who is never the one to fall in love. She is a true heartbreaker, and the only one who is able to actually keep up with the storm that is her personality is Dimitri. Yeah, he’s old enough to be an uncle of hers, or at least too old to be her boyfriend while she’s in high school, but I love how devoted they are to one another, and how they would practically save each other from certain danger, even though they realize that it gets away in their job as Guardians. I still have to read the rest of the series, but I will always find Rose and Dimitri as one of my all time favorite couples, and another favorite love story.

There are probably many more that I’m forgetting, but I’m glad I mentioned two of them. I hope to remember more of them and maybe discuss it in a future post. Hope to hear from you guys!