Showing posts with label Cheeky Reads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheeky Reads. Show all posts

Welcome Tom & Lexie From Ruthie Knox's New Release Ride With Me & Giveaway!

Cheeky Reads is super excited to welcome Tom and Lexie, the hero and heroine of Ruthie Knox's new contemporary romance to our site! I hope you enjoy meeting them as much as I did and don't forget to comment on their interview to enter to win a copy of their story!

How We Met: An Interview with Tom and Lexie

TOM: So what are we supposed to be talking about, again?

LEXIE: How we met, I think.

TOM [scowling]: I don’t want to talk about that.

LEXIE: Why not?

TOM: Because I was a jerk.

LEXIE: Actually, I wouldn’t say you were a jerk.

TOM [hopeful]: You wouldn’t?

LEXIE: No, I’d say you were a dick.

TOM: Oh, thanks, babe. That’s great.

LEXIE: Well, it wasn’t great at the time. It worked out okay.

TOM: I was trying to do the right thing.

LEXIE [smiling a little]: You were. You couldn’t bear to think of what might happen to me if I rode across the country by myself, so you let me ride with you. And then you wouldn’t talk to me.

TOM: You’re the one who gave me the silent treatment for three days.

LEXIE: Only because you deserved it.

TOM [reluctantly]: True. But in my defense, you’re kind of a lot to get used to. All that yammering. [smiles]

[Lexie punches Tom in the shoulder]

TOM: Plus, you were pretty awful to me, too. You told me you were married.

LEXIE: Only because you were so cocky. Like, [pitches voice low] I’m not going to sleep with you, sweetheart, so don’t even think about it.

TOM: So you were, like, Screw you, buddy, and the horse you rode in on.

LEXIE: Exactly. Except you rode in on a bike.

TOM: We both rode in on bikes.

LEXIE [smiling fondly]: Yeah. And you have such a nice ass. That was really my downfall—the view. That, and it turned out you have unforeseen charms.

TOM: I do?

LEXIE: Sure. I unearthed them. I had to dig around in your pants for a while, but—

[Tom covers Lexie’s mouth with his hand]

LEXIE: Mphm-bmbh mm hmubph mbuh.

TOM: We’re done here. They’ll have to read the book if they want to know the rest. [winks at CheekyReads] Thanks for having us.

CHEEKY [blushing]: You’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by.

[Tom pushes Lexie out of the room, keeping one hand firmly over her mouth.]

Curtain falls.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Ride with Me, available from Loveswept on February 13, 2012!


In this fun, scorching-hot eBook original romance by Ruthie Knox, a cross-country bike adventure takes a detour into unexplored passion. As readers will discover, Ride with Me is not about the bike!

When Lexie Marshall places an ad for a cycling companion, she hopes to find someone friendly and fun to cross the TransAmerica Trail with. Instead, she gets Tom Geiger — a lean, sexy loner whose bad attitude threatens to spoil the adventure she’s spent years planning.

Roped into the cycling equivalent of a blind date by his sister, Tom doesn’t want to ride with a chatty, go-by-the-map kind of woman, and he certainly doesn’t want to want her. Too bad the sight of Lexie with a bike between her thighs really turns his crank.

Even Tom’s stubborn determination to keep Lexie at a distance can’t stop a kiss from leading to endless nights of hotter-than-hot sex. But when the wild ride ends, where will they go next?

BIO


Ruthie Knox figured out how to walk and read at the same time in the second grade, and she hasn’t looked up since. She spent her formative years hiding romance novels in her bedroom closet to avoid the merciless teasing of her brothers and imagining scenarios in which someone who looked remarkably like Daniel Day Lewis recognized her well-hidden sex appeal and rescued her from middle-class Midwestern obscurity. After graduating from Grinnell College with an English and history double major, she earned a Ph.D. in modern British history that she’s put to remarkably little use.

These days, she writes contemporary romance in which witty, down-to- earth characters find each other irresistible in their pajamas, though she freely admits this has yet to happen to her. Perhaps she needs more exciting pajamas. Ruthie abhors an epilogue and insists a decent romance requires at least three good sex scenes.

GIVEAWAY - One lucky commenter will be randomly chosen to win a digital copy of Ride with Me. Winners will pick up their copy through Net Galley. Good luck to all!

Happy Valentine's Day Romance Lovers!

Cheeky Reads has multiple contests going on right now where you can win Romance books!

Check out this post here on the blog and comment with why you love to read romances and you'll be entered into the 1st contest.

Head over to my shiny new Facebook Page and enter to win 2 Free Books of your genre choice by commenting on my V-Day wall post.

Lastly, I'll be doing random Twitter Contests througout the day so follow me there!

Win Free Books In The Cheeky Reads Valentine's Day Giveaway!


The First giveaway is right here on the blog and will run until Feb. 14th. Comment below telling me why you love Romance Books and you'll be entered to win. Please include your email address so I can contact the winner.

I'll pick the top 2 comments to each win a book from my personal selection - the romance genre of your choice! If we managed to get over 50 entries, I'll pick the top 3 comments to win! Over 100 and I'll pick 5 winners and up the winnings to 2 books each.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter and Facebook for additional contests!

Contest open to US and Canada Addresses only. Blog winners will be announced Feb. 15th.

Cheeky Reads Launches a Facebook Page - Hell Has Officially Frozen Over

I'm putting my toes in the water over on Facebook and trying it out - I hope you'll stop by and say hi and give me a little advice on what in the world to do! Here's a link to my page.

That Facebook page will feature various links and posts that seemed to fit that format better than here on the blog, so there'll be something different on each site.


And don't forget to chat me up on Twitter - I'm such a twitter fan girl!

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane...To PARIS!

My amazing husband surprised me a few months ago by letting me know that for our 10th Wedding Anniversary he was taking me to Paris! Holy Cow!

Sorry if you've noticed the past week that the blog has been slightly overlooked - I had a million things to both at work and home to get ready and there hasn't been much time for reading or blogging.

It will be kind of quiet around here until after Thanksgiving, but I will have a few posts during the week I'm gone so I hope you'll stop by and check them out.

I'm so excited! It's my first time to Paris or France and I've planned the crap out of this trip. My OCD planning girl gene went full out on deciding what we had to see this time and what could wait if we hopefully ever make it back again.

In the meantime, I hope you are reading something awesome and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I'm taking off on that Jet Plane today and this time tomorrow I'll be wandering the streets of Paris! :)

Happy Reading!
Cheeky Girl Sabrina

BBAW: Blogging Tools & Tips


It's the last day of Book Blogger Appreciation Week and I hope you've enjoyed the posts and hopefully found some new blogs to follow!

Today’s Topic:The world of blogging is continually changing. Share 3 things you are essential tried and true practices for every blogger and 1-3 new trends or tools you’ve adapted recently or would like to in the future.

Out of all the topics this week, I find this one to be the hardest because I think that different tools and tips work differently for each blog and each book niche. I'll share what works for me and you can give it a try to see if it works for you too!

3 Essential Tried & True Practices:

1. Post Regularly - Yes, I'm horrible at this! BUT, when I do post regularly I see my traffic go up and my readers engage with my posts more.

2. Leave Em With A Question To Answer - Give readers a reason to respond to your post or review. Reviews get some of the lowest comments and it's usually because readers haven't read the book yet to comment on! Instead, come up with questions about the trope, what they like about X storyline or plot point, etc. Give them something that they can actually engage with.

3. Respond to Comments - Again, I'm not always the best with this and we are all busy bloggers, but when I do respond to comments I find that those readers are the ones who typically stop by more often and comment again.

My 3 Tips All Have 1 Thing In Common: ENGAGE YOUR READERS!

Now, for the 3 tools or trends I've found recently:

1. Klout - I'm still learning how to use this little bad boy, and it certainly give me credit for knowing about things I've never discussed, but so far I've been impressed with it's twitter tracking stats. What your true reach is with a tweet, how much you engage others on Twitter, etc.

2. TweetChat - I've known about this one for quite some time, but it's seriously awesome for following a #hashtag  on twitter during an event or conversation. Plus, you'll see everyone in real time who's using that hashtag so you can connect with more people who are into the same topics as you are. Likewise, follow certain hashtags on twitter! I can't tell you how much I learn and how many readers and authors I connect with by doing this.

3. Good Old Fashioned Excel - Seriously, recently creating an organizational system for logging print books, ebooks and audiobooks is completely changing my blogging experience. It always me to not only keep track of what I have and haven't read, but what I've posted, if I've emailed the author/publicist, have I asked for an interview/guest post, etc. I'm still getting this all situated, but I can't stress enough how having a system that treats this like a real business is going to do wonders for your sanity.

Again, my best advice - ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE.

What's yours? If you're a reader, what things do you think are most effective for bloggers to do to engage with you and keep you coming back and commenting?

BBAW: Book Blogging Community: Tips & Concerns


Welcome to day 3 of Book Blogger Appreciation Week! Today's topic is a continuation of talking about the blogging community:

The world of book blogging has grown enormously and sometimes it can be hard to find a place. Share your tips for finding and keeping community in book blogging despite the hectic demands made on your time and the overwhelming number of blogs out there. If you’re struggling with finding a community, share your concerns and explain what you’re looking for–this is the week to connect!

My best tips (and they aren't earth-shattering and are sometimes hard for me to follow!) are:

Twitter - Seriously get thee to Twitter and you will be amazed at how much goes on there and how easily it is to chat with other book bloggers in your book niche.

Follow & Comment On Other Blogs - This one is hard when we are all so busy. So, my tip is to pick your top ten that you check out and comment on maybe 1x a week or so. Then, check out new to you blogs say 1x a month and revise your top ten occassionally.

Start A Meme or Host A Blogger Event - This is something I haven't done yet, but I've seen how well it seems to work for other bloggers on creating a sense of personalization and community. I'm brainstorming ideas now!

Mind Your Manners - Seriously the book blogging community itself might be large, but your blogging niche is a place where if you act like an ass on twitter or constantly complain, etc about blogging, not getting books, etc. other bloggers take notice. And won't be as open to helping you or welcoming you to the community. This is a personal one for me - we should be here to help each other in the name of the love of books, not get catty and create drama. I've unfollowed some blogs and on twitter for feeling like everything that happened was something to rage about. Make sure if you do have a legitimate complaint that you are balancing those posts and tweets with other positive things. No one wants to sit next to negative Nancy.

Now for a few concerns (even those that last tip was also a disguised concern):

Not Every Review Needs To Feature The BIG Releases - Yes, I know this gets more traffic but if you are in it for the love of books then sing the praises of that unknown author or mid-list author who really could use the push. Stretch your reading out to more than just the best-seller list. Otherwise, all the blogs seem to be cookie cutter ads for the same books.

Don't Compete, Be Unique - There are so many books out there that there really is room for all of us and we should showcase each other year-round! I'd love to see bloggers hosting guest posts from other bloggers and Q&A's more than just 1x per year.

FOR PETE'S SAKE DON'T SELL ARCS - Seriously book lover. This is a no. Never. Give these away if you don't want to keep them, but respect what they are: a very special gift you shouldn't try to profit from.

So, if you're a blogger what are your favorite tips or concerns? Readers, what do you wish you saw more of on blogs and in the book blog community?

BBAW: Why I Adore Other Romance Book Bloggers

Hi there and welcome to Cheeky Reads if this is your first time stopping by! It's kick-off day for Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW)! Cheeky Reads is a book blog that focuses on all romance genres with a few cozy mysteries thrown in for good measure. But I have to say, Cheeky Reads wouldn't exist if it wasn't for other book blogs.

A few years ago I stumbled across an awesome blog called Smart Bitches Trashy Books and I fell in love. Here was a community of people talking about romance! Romance, the genre that the world likes to ignore and pretend it's helping to keep book publishers in business.

None of my friends were reading romance and I'd finally found *someone* to talk to about the books I loved. It helped that the reviews were written with such a fun and distinctive voice. :)

The only thing that Smart Bitches was missing was well...the books I was reading around that time. To be honest, I wasn't reading the latest releases or the same authors. So I would search for other blogs that had read and reviewed those books. I found some, but no where near the number of romance blogs that are out there today.

You can guess what happened right? I started Cheeky Reads so that I could talk about the books I was reading. Like my own personal community of friends to tell "Holy cow you will love this hero!" or "That heroine got on my last nerve."

After creating Cheeky Reads I was amazed at how welcoming all the other bloggers were, especially on Twitter. I follow and frequently RT other romance book bloggers that I admire all the time. They are a fantastic group and it's always so interesting to see if we agree/disagree on a book.

So, I thought I would share some of their Twitter names with you so you can follow them and check them out for yourself! In no particular order here are some awesome book bloggers on Twitter I highly recommend:

@SmartBitches

@Jane_L

@SmexyBooks

@FictionVxn

@Leotine1976

@Season4Romance

@Janga724

@booksmugglers

@JoyfullyReviewed

@BooksandWine

@Lynette2Cents

@booksilove

I hope you find some amazing new book blogs to follow and will stop back by again to talk romance books with me!

Come Chat With Me At Romance@Random!


Today I'm guest blogging over at Romance@Random, the new website launched by Random House for all things Romance!

I hope you'll stop by and say hi and chat with me and check out the new site!

Please Welcome The Newest Additions To Cheeky Reads!

Recently I posted that I was looking for a few good reviewers to add to the team here at Cheeky Reads. The blog had been a one-woman show since it started 2 years ago, and to be honest I was starting to feel completely overwhelmed.

I was so lucky to be receiving book review submissions from publishers and authors but as they kept coming I felt like my reviews were getting more and more behind as I struggled to keep up all by myself. That also meant that I didn't have time to make enhancements to the site, create community chats or write non-review posts for our readers. Now, I can say all of that will be coming soon!

I'm excited to say that I had a wonderful response to my help wanted post and I'd love to introduce you to the newest Cheeky Girls who'll be reviewing and posting here soon!  I asked them to write just a few sentences telling you a little about themselves and what they love to read:

Kerrie - I am constantly reading so my partner calls himself a book widower! I mainly read supernatural fiction and classics, but I'm am really looking forward to branching out into different genres. My fav authors are Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine and Jane Austin. I hope you like my ramblings!

Lauren - I've had my nose in a book since before I can remember, which motivated me to obtain my Bachelor's degree in English.  I remember my first romance novel - Christina Skye's Overboard - and I still have the battered copy on a bookshelf that I read every summer.  I also love Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and Regency Romance.  Some of my favorite authors are Nora Roberts, Joanna Lindsey, and Kim Harrison...and unfortunately for anyone who has ever helped me move, I buy and keep almost every book I read.  I hope you enjoy my insights into the little worlds we call books. 

Meagan - I love to read and will read almost anything! My favorite genres are: romance, fantasy/sci-fi, young adult, paranormal, and I do read contemporary/literary fiction as well. I am the type of reader that reads just about anything you put in front of me. And I generally like it. Some of my favorite authors are: J.D. Robb, Anne Bishop and Laurell K. Hamilton. These are the ones I can think of right now, and only because I follow their series religiously!

Sharon - I have always loved to read, romance books in particular, any kind of romance, historical, modern, fantasy and everything in-between. Kathleen Woodiwiss is my all time favorite author and I really miss her. I think e-books are incredible because I like having a whole library with me at all times rather than just a single book.

Vicky - I love to read paranormal romance but I also really enjoy contemporary romances, UF and cowboys! I'm a big fan of a series as I enjoy getting to know all the characters as the series goes on. My favourite authors are Christine Feehan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lauren Dane and Dana Marie Bell to name just a few! 

Welcome Ladies - I'm so glad to have you as part of the team!

You'll start seeing reviews and posts from these ladies very soon and I hope you'll give them a warm welcome and chat with us!

Reviewer Wanted: Love to Read & Want Free Books?

It's finally happened. I can no longer manage to read and review (with the amount of time and detail I'd LIKE to be giving to reviews) all the books that I'm contacted about. I've thought off and on about adding a reviewer or two to Cheeky Reads, but it's a hard decision.

When you start a blog, let's be honest, it's all about you. Your opinion on something. The kind of books you love, what you want to talk about and of course in the voice you want to use.

So adding a reviewer is a hard choice for someone who's always done it alone. But I feel like adding a reviewer would bring so much to Cheeky Reads that I feel it's been missing and I want to offer readers more reviews. The only way to get more reviews (and I don't mean lately since you can tell from my DIY post I haven't been on my regular schedule) is to bring in some fresh voices.

So, for now I'm looking for someone who would be interested in reviewing here at Cheeky Reads on a regular basis. The only compensation I can offer are free review books and the ability to have your reviews as clips of your writing. I wish it was more than that, but right now that's all I can offer.

I'm looking for an ebook reviewer for now, but this could turn into print books in the future. UPDATE: This will be for print books too!

If you're interested, please email me at cheekyreads @ gmail.com and let me know what genres you enjoy reading the most and how often you think you could write reviews. We'll take it from there. :)

Happy Reading!
Sabrina

A Little Honesty

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So if you are a regular visitor to Cheeky Reads you might have noticed that I haven't posted any reviews in the past week or so and that most of my posts have been giveaways or guest posts. There's a reason for that and I thought it only fair to be honest with my readers. I've been kinda down in the dumps lately. It didn't feel right to write reviews for books when I knew my dumpy attitude might have a negative impact on what I would say. I also stopped reading review books during this time. Again, I didn't want my mood to creep into my feelings about a book.

Now, I think there is an interesting side point in this. That is, that it's important to remember that every reader brings their mood, experiences, attitude, etc to the reading of a book. So no matter when I read something, it will always be regarded through the lens of all those things. These are things every reviewer and reader brings to a book. But, this time I knew that my circumstances would affect my reading and reviewing more so than ever before and wanted to be fair to those books and authors.

I'm still not feeling as cheerful as my normal self, which I have to say is usually pretty darn chipper. I do suddenly sense the black cloud lifting and can feel the need to find something awesome to read. That lets me know I can do a book justice again. So, I'm happy to say I'm back to reading and you'll start seeing reviews here again very soon along with great giveaways and guest authors.

Thanks for sticking with me and for allowing me a place to express my love of books. My followers kick ass and I always love to hear from you.

So, what do you do when you are feeling a little blah? Is there something that always cheers you up or helps chase away sadness? I could use the help!

Guest Post @ Bria Quinlan's Blog - Real Life Job Description

I'm honored to be a guest at Bria Quinlan's blog today! She asked me to do a guest post about my "real life" job description. Based on some of the past guests, I had a tough act to follow. I LOVED Danielle's Bossy Wench post.

So what is my Real Life Job Description? TREASURE HUNTER!

Head on over to the Bria's blog if you want to check it out. :)

Cheeky Reads Reader Challenge: Reader Bella – Do You Accept This Challenge?

Last week I threw out the first ever Cheeky Reads Reader Challenge. I asked for a volunteer to read and review So Into You by Sandra Hill for a 2nd Chance Review.

You see, I LOVED the hero/heroine, but was really distracted by the Cajun dialogue, the HUGE cast of side characters that didn’t add anything to the story and that I wanted to see the h/h have more time with each other to grow.

Well, all you awesome Cheeky Readers responded, and I’ve selected our very first Reader Challenge Reviewer – Cheeky Girl Bella!

Bella will receive a copy of So Into You directly from me and will have two week to read and write a review for us. Bella will get to keep the copy of the book, but I ask for total honestly, even if she thinks my review was total crap and loved the whole book! That’s why I think 2nd Chance Reviews matter – every reader has their own opinion and it’s a book I was torn over the review and rating I gave it.

So, Bella please email me at cheekyreads @ gmail.com (without the spaces) so I can get your mailing address.

Congrats Bella and we look forward to your review!

Cheeky Reads Featured at The Daily Dose: Spotlight on Reviewers

This week The Daily Dose is putting the spotlight on book reviewers, and first up was CHEEKY READS!

I was honored to be interviewed and had a great time with Heather's questions. Head on over there to check it out and remember they'll have a new reviewer every day this week!