How Do You Choose Which Book to Buy? Annie West

Confession time here. Things have been rather frantic in the West household and I looked on the calendar and realised I was scheduled to post with the LoveCats. What to choose? With my brain scrambled by other things I thought I'd tackle and hopefully get some views on something which all authors, and some readers, wonder about.

How do you choose which books to buy?

Specifically, how do you choose which romances?

Everyone is different so I assume there'll be a variety of views.

I'd love to think lots of readers went shopping looking specifically for Annie West stories (or stories by another particular author they love). But favourite shopping only accounts for part of our buying. I for one often find myself tempted by a new-to-me-author.

Could it be the cover, I wonder? I'm sure this one of Sarah Mayberry's caught the eye of a lot of people. Would you buy based on a cover? Or would the cover attract you to take a closer look?

 

If not the cover, would you buy based on the back cover blurb? Are you a sucker for the boy next door romance or a marriage of convenience or beauty and the beast, or some other romance theme? Do you scour the books on sale to find a back cover blurb to suit your mood?

 

Are you influenced by reviews? I'm particularly intrigued by this as I hear so many different things? I've had readers mention they picked up their first book by me because of a review. On the other hand I've heard from people who seem to ignore them. But I've also had people refuse to read a book because of a review (which made me grit my teeth as the review was misleading, but that's another story).

 

Do you buy based on title? I'm particularly wondering about this as I've noticed sales of my current book, 'The Sinner's Marriage Redemption' don't seem to be doing as well as my other recent titles. I don't think it's the cover (see below). Personally I think this is a corker of a cover, with just the right intensity. Maybe it's the theme or the writing or the title. Who knows? There are so many variables it's just about impossible to pin down to a single factor. Here's the US cover in a gratuitous attempt to give it a plug!

Maybe you buy based on friend's recommendations. I do. Not always, but people who know my reading tastes have been a terrific source of suggestions for new books.

 

Or maybe it's just an ad that catches your eye. Seeing a book at just the right time, or perhaps at a reduced price can be serendipitous.

 

Finally, I know there are readers out there who won't buy without reading the first page - or the last! I've seen them browsing in stores then putting books back before making their final choices.

 

Where do you stand? Are you and impulse cover/title buyer? A dip into the text browser? Or maybe you'd like to comment on things that make you decide NOT to buy. I'd love to hear.



Sunday Smooch - The Sinner's Marriage Redemption by Annie West

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from  Annie West but first 

... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Michelle Sommers.

Can you please contact rachel(at)rachelbailey(dot)com to receive your copy of 'The Nanny Proposition'.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Annie West

North American Cover

 A merciless mission  

 There are three goals self-made magnate Flynn Marshall set out to achieve:

1. A multimillion-dollar business empire

 2. Acceptance in the highest echelons of society

3. A wife to make him the envy of all men!

Flynn’s ruthlessly accomplished his first goal and he’s on his way to the second. As for the third, he will rush stunning, well-connected Ava Cavendish to the altar at the first opportunity.

A trophy bride should complete his plans, but passionate Ava and the desire she inflames in this untouchable CEO threaten to turn his carefully ordered strategy on its head…

UK Cover

Scene set-up

Ava and Flynn knew each other in their youth but went their separate ways. Now they've met again, falling into a holiday romance. Ava is wary of men, her past making her distrustful of them, but now, in her hotel room in Prague, she gives up trying to resist what she feels for Flynn.

Smooch 

Before she could tie herself in knots with nerves, Ava stepped close. Flynn’s hard body drew her and she put her palms on his solid chest, feeling heat sear through the fine weave of his shirt. Yes!

His heart beat reassuringly beneath her fingers. Ava just had time to register that his pulse was far steadier than hers when large hands clamped her hips, drawing her to him. Need rose in looping spirals through her middle as she watched him smile.

‘You look like a cat about to swallow a bowl of cream,’ she whispered.

‘That’s how I feel.’ Flynn’s voice was a bass rumble she felt in the pit of her stomach. His thumbs circled her sides just above the top of her jeans, making her hyper-aware of every stitch of clothing and the fact that she wanted to be rid of them.

‘Does that mean you’ll purr for me?’ She slid her hands up, linking them behind his neck. His skin was hotter than hers, more alive. Enticing.

Something flared in Flynn’s eyes. Something that reminded her he was no domestic pet. Her heart hit an extra beat.

No doubt he was vastly experienced with women. She’d seen their heads turn when he passed. He was a man supremely comfortable in his skin, with an incredibly sexy aura of physical assurance.

‘Try me and see.’

He tugged till she was pressed against him, her breasts rising and falling against his torso. It was delicious.

Rising on her toes, Ava lifted her face, paused, reading the heavy invitation in his eyes, then skimmed her lips along his.

Soft, surprisingly cool. His mouth invited more. She paused, noticing for the first time the tiny tic of a pulse that told her for all his cool, Flynn was waiting, just as eager as she.

Ava tilted her head, planting her lips on his, moving tentatively as she learned the contours of his mouth.

He let her explore, standing passive. Almost passive, for his mouth responded, mimicking her gentle movements, inciting desire that drilled deep.

Ava slipped her tongue between his lips, finding warmth, heat, pleasure. She pressed closer, needing more, letting her body flatten against the intriguing contours of his frame. Bone and muscle and, yes, she twisted her hips, arousal.

Instantly the hands at her sides clamped, drawing her tighter against him. His stance altered and somehow her body was curved into his, his head and shoulders dominating, bowing her back, surrounding her.

The kiss’s tempo changed as Flynn gave up any pretence at passivity and took control, his mouth working hers, sucking, tasting, delving, drawing delight from every caress.

The world spun behind Ava’s closed lids as sensations more potent than any she’d known racked her body.

It was like tasting a burst of fireworks. Luminous delight singed her, detonating at pulse points through her primed body, urging her to enjoy, take more, give everything.

Lost in luscious ecstasy, Ava barely registered the softening of her body, the melting at her core. She only knew she needed more.

Hands sliding up through the thick, pelt-like softness of Flynn’s cropped hair, she dragged his head closer, needily angling her face to his marauding mouth. Clumsy in her haste, her teeth mashed his lip and a sound of frustration broke from the back of her throat.

‘Easy.’ His voice was more vibration than sound.

Then all at once she was moving, pressed against the wall, caught between it and Flynn’s hardness. Long fingers bracketed her jaw, holding her still as he plundered her mouth with an expertise that left her reeling.

Ava felt caged, at his mercy, and she loved it. Foggily she registered how wonderful it was to relax her defences and simply feel. She was intoxicated by him.

She hugged him tight. Muscles flexed beneath her fingertips, making her long for the feel of him naked.

Hunger surged.

She shivered, sensations rioting deep within. The scent of Flynn’s skin, fresh like the outdoors, filled her nostrils and his taste, rich and addictive, made her greedy. Every neural pathway clogged with the awareness of him, the texture of his skin, his heart beating strong and sure against her, the taut strength of his body pinioning her.

Then Flynn slipped his hand between them, moulding one aching breast and her blood caught fire.

 

I've posted both the UK and American covers here as I'm fascinated by the different approaches in them. What do you think? Do you prefer a clinch cover or do you have a weakness for a brooding, lone male?

 

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Amy Andrews will be posted!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver