Categories
Giveaways

SCRATCH giveaway

A lot of people want to be writers. Probably more want to make money from writing. In Scratch, a wide range of authors talk about the side of writing that doesn’t get talked about enough: making cold hard cash.

Here’s the official synopsis:


A collection of essays from today’s most acclaimed authors—from Cheryl Strayed to Roxane Gay to Jennifer Weiner, Alexander Chee, Nick Hornby, and Jonathan Franzen—on the realities of making a living in the writing world.

In the literary world, the debate around writing and commerce often begs us to take sides: either writers should be paid for everything they do or writers should just pay their dues and count themselves lucky to be published. You should never quit your day job, but your ultimate goal should be to quit your day job. It’s an endless, confusing, and often controversial conversation that, despite our bare-it-all culture, still remains taboo. In Scratch, Manjula Martin has gathered interviews and essays from established and rising authors to confront the age-old question: how do creative people make money?

We’re giving away 5 copies of Scratch to Book Riot readers, thanks to our friends at BookBaby. One of these lucky winners will also win  $500 credit on any BookBaby order over $500. 

Go here to enter the giveaway, or just click the cover image below:

 

 

Categories
The Goods

Enamel Pins launch

Treat yourself and all your favorite book lovers to rad readerly enamel pin sets. We’ve got seven new pairs to choose from. Mix ’em, match ’em, and make it work.

Do your shopping by February 12 to enjoy free shipping on all US orders.

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Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships Feb 10

Greetings and salutations, good readers.

As if we didn’t have enough bad news in our lives, physics students have done the math on the zombie apocalypse and we are all doomed. According to their initial calculations, it would only take 100 days before the human population would be unsustainably decimated. Why physics students are working on epidemiological models I cannot say, but I am delighted that these findings were presented for peer-review.

Last week I gave you some short fiction; to balance the scales, have some long series! You’re going to need to stock up on lengthy reading material for your zombie-apocalypse bunker, after all.

If the apocalypse arrives in 2017, it will be EXTRA ironic because then we’d miss Good Omens coming to a screen near us in 2018. The BBC are turning one of the funniest end-of-the-world novels of possibly ever into a six-part series, and I cosign the heck out of The Nerdist’s dreamcast.

Alright, some non-apocalypse news. I have refused to watch Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle for a variety of reasons (JK, it’s basically because I am a jerk-purist about this book), but I was delighted to see this reading list from Teresa — she covers books that are read-alikes, books inside the book/series, actual history, all the angles! It makes my History Major heart grow three sizes. (I am still not going to watch the show.)

The following reviews are certified zombie and/or apocalypse free. (FOR NOW.)

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

Empress of a Thousand SkiesThis is a book about a space princess on the run from a murderous conspiracy, and that is probably all some of you need to hear. For the rest of you, there’s a lot to love about Belleza’s debut. Following the aforementioned space princess Rhiannon “Rhee” Ta’an and soldier-turned-reality-star Aly, Empress introduces us to a galaxy in which a tenuous peace is about to be shattered. Rhee is the sole heir of her dynasty and is pretty sure her family was killed by the current Regent, so she’s spent the last ten years plotting revenge. Naturally! (This is where all those “Arya Stark in space” parallels come up.) Now that she’s turned 16, she’s ready to be crowned and to wreak her vengeance. But on the way to her coronation ceremony, everything goes to hell in a handbasket.

Poor Aly, the sidekick on a reality show about patrolling soldiers (I was initially skeptical of this future-TV spin, but it really grew on me as the plot developed), becomes the center of a new incident and is branded a traitor and murderer. And Aly is where the politics of Belleza’s galaxy really show up, as he’s the reluctant public face of a refugee population. His struggle to prove his innocence leads him into Rhee’s orbit. While they don’t actually meet in this first installment (who wrote that cover copy?), they’re definitely on a collision course.

The action is solid (spaceship fights! Hand-to-hand fights! Assassins! Religious cult archers! Deadly robots!), the world well-built, and the characters endearing. Belleza also neatly avoids a couple of my least-favorite YA tropes, although I’m not telling which because spoilers. For those looking for #ownvoices, this definitely qualifies and the main characters are clearly non-white. In conclusion, read this so we can yell at each other about the big twist, mmkay?

Amberlough by Lara Ellen Donnelly

Amberlough by Lara Ellen DonnellyI promised you cabaret last time, and cabaret you shall have! Donnelly has written a spy thriller set in an alternate world, and I absolutely devoured it. (Technically this is speculative fiction, folks, as there is no magic.) I’ve been trying to come up with my elevator pitch, and keep getting stuck somewhere around “It’s like if The Great Gatsby and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy went through a wormhole and then had a baby.” Baz Luhrmann would definitely be tempted to adapt this.

Cyril dePaul is a spy, and a louche one at that. His lover Aristide Makricosta is a smuggler, dealer, and cabaret emcee. Their arrangement involves them pretending they know nothing about each other’s real jobs while half-heartedly spying on each other, and also definitely not falling in love, not even a little. They live in Amberlough City, center of graft, whimsy, and liberalism. When Cyril falls into the hands of the conservative neighboring province’s spy forces, their relationship has to come to an end — but neither wants to let go. In the meantime, streetwise singer and small-time dealer Cordelia is just looking to keep herself in rent and food, but finds herself sucked into the darkest side of politics as the encroaching One State Party makes its move.

The plot is meticulously paced, as are the switches in POV (close third, in case that matters to you). The parallels to historical and current politics are obvious and, for some readers, perhaps a little on the nose. But what made this book such an incredible read for me were the character arcs. Cyril’s cynicism and self-interest; Aristide’s savvy and force of character; Cordelia’s political awakening; their interactions with the richly imagined and portrayed supporting cast, all held me from the first to the last page. Not to mention the ending! It hit me in the feelings place, I tell you what. This book is so vivid that a month after reading, I was still thinking about it enough to dreamcast it.

 

This newsletter is sponsored by Age of Order by Julian North.

Inequality is a science. Giant machines maintain order. All people are not created equal.

Daniela Machado is offered a chance to escape the deprivation of Bronx City through a coveted slot at the elite Tuck School. There, among the highborn of Manhattan, she discovers an unimaginable world of splendor and greed. But her opportunity is part of a darker plan, and Daniela soon learns that those at society’s apex will stop at nothing to keep power for themselves. She may have a chance to change the world, if it doesn’t change her first.

SPECIAL $.99 NEW RELEASE OFFER

Age of Order by Julian North

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Riot Rundown

020717-BlueMoonNarthex-RiotRundown

Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by The Blue Moon Narthex by N.J. Donner.

Since the beginning of time, Karmanic matter has worked silently, keeping good and evil in balance, until the world’s growing greed made it harder for Karma to keep up. As World War I rages, the Karmanic Sovereign Legion works to help Karma.

A suspicious train accident and an odd stone-shaped object that belonged to his father thrust Cole and two schoolmates into the battle against dark forces. With only the powerful stone, a letter, and grandfatherly Norm, the trio must unravel clues and tap into unknown strengths to discover who Cole’s father really was and keep those they love safe.

Categories
Kissing Books

Each Day is Valentine’s Day – Kissing Books for February 9, 2017

Hey there romance lovers! How’s the love going? I finally got back into my groove—though I never did finish those football romances.

Next Tuesday is Valentine’s Day. Are you celebrating? I love it for all the delicious chocolate that goes on sale on February 15, but I don’t need a holiday to celebrate the people I love. But since I love love, I love indulging in the sickly-sweet darlingness that shows up on my social media feeds and around in general. If you are a Valentine’s lover, keep an eye on Book Riot over the coming days—we’ve got stuff for you. Meanwhile, be sure to give the most important person some love. And if you want to take care of other people, too, here are some Valentines to get for them.

Today’s newsletter is sponsored by The Girl Who Lied by Sue Fortin.

Sometimes the perfect friend tells the perfect lies… In Sue Fortin’s thrilling USA TODAY bestseller, Erin and Roisin were once friends until a fatal accident ruined both their lives. Now, Roisin has discovered a secret—one Erin has kept for over a decade—and she’s determined to make Erin pay for her lies. When Roisin suddenly disappears, suspicion soon lands on Erin. She would do anything to protect her family, but just how far is she willing to go when time is running out?

Have you been reading about the drama happening in romancelandia over the past week or so? To start, the New York Times bestseller list has been macheted to the point where it really is just a practice in futility. They’ve removed the individual ebook and mass market paperback bestseller lists, which could hurt romance authors currently growing their market. It also reeks of disdain (or at least dismissal) of the two categories often made up primarily of women. The Romance Writers of America (RWA) has made a statement about it, and romance hasn’t been quiet about it on Twitter, either (when they weren’t making the #DNFTrump hashtag amazing).

While a lot of us power-readers tend to not bother with the bestseller lists, critics and non-romance readers will have one less resource to access information about the more popular titles. I guess we’ll just have to stick to editorial outlets to make sure we’re up to date on all the new stuff.

Meanwhile, the Great Ms. Bev had a Q&A at The Ripped Bodice and it was, as usual, amazing.

Romance Writers of America wants to know: why do you read romance?

Also, it’s Romance Week on Goodreads!

On Book Riot:

Trisha Brown never expected to find any need to reflect on why romance readers might find Donald Trump appealing. In fact, who would have expected anyone to even consider such a ridiculous possibility? But someone did. And she responded. And how.

On a happier note, she also wrote about the various jobs romance heroes and heroines have on National Job Shadowing Day.

Amanda Diehl couldn’t help but make this list of 100 sports romances to go along with the end of the football season. I’ve read…a surprising number of these, but damn, there’s my TBR, watch it go…

Aisling wrote about falling in love with Outlander (which, yes, I know, is technically not a romance, but romance readers tend to love it) even though she’s not a romance reader. I wonder what we can do to change her mind…

Meanwhile, Jessica Tripler noted a few romance heroines who are not interested in marriage in the most recent Buy, Borrow, Bypass. One of those heroines is actually mentioned a little further down 😉

And if you haven’t seen it, I put together a list of romances featuring fat heroines.

And now, quick reviews!

The Hating Game, Sally Thorne

Lucy spends her days playing hate games with Joshua. Co-assistants to Co-CEOs of a merged publishing company, the pair enjoys one-upping each other, much to the delight of their nosy colleagues and the despair of the entire HR department. When a new position opens up that they both want, the games go into overdrive—but somewhere along the way, Lucy begins seeing each other in a whole new light. Somehow, even though Thorne perfectly Mr. Darcys the way the reader sees many of Josh’s actions, Lucy manages to not be a TSTL heroine. Maybe it’s because she’s so funny in her own right, and all interactions seen through her eyes are therefore hilarious, making us forget about all the things she’s not seeing. This is definitely one to pick up and devour.

Read Harder Bonus: This is Sally Thorne’s first novel! Huzzah!

First Position, Melissa Brayden

Ana is on her way to becoming a household name in ballet, but she’s not quite there yet, much to the distress of her popular dancer/choreographer father. But she’s gotten a chance to show her chops in the upcoming season with the New York Ballet, only to discover they’ve brought in a new dancer using…alternative methods. Natalie, a ballet school dropout with all the passion and very little of the discipline, is fresh blood in the more traditional company. When the two get cast as alternating dancers for the same role, they must not only learn to get along, but also discover what each has to offer the other—as long as they can deal with their growing attraction to each other. While occasionally feeling long, this book has tons of heart and hope. Both women are going after what they believe is their passion, with a few discoveries made along the way.  

Read Harder Bonus: Lesbian romance!

Breathlessbreathless, Beverly Jenkins

Portia Carmichael, niece to Forbidden’s Rhine and Eddy Fontaine, manages her uncle’s hotel in the hills north of Tucson. When an old friend of the family rides in on his horse Blue, calling her Duchess and instilling feelings in her that she would rather avoid, she works her hardest to maintain her decision to never marry. But Kent Randolph is more than she can resist. You don’t need to have read Forbidden to pick this one up (though if you haven’t, get moving!). Beverly Jenkins is the best at her trade today, sweeping readers off their feet with fascinating characters and captivating landscapes. This one is definitely no different, and I’m already bouncing for the next one!

Read Harder Bonus: All point-of-view characters are people of color.

The Lawrence Browne Affair, Cat Sebastian

If you read The Soldier’s Scoundrel last year, Georgie Turner is a familiar character. Outspoken and light on his feet, Georgie is nothing if not one of the best thieves in London. Having moved up from housebreaker to confidence artist, Georgie is now on a new, surprisingly legit mission: act as the Earl of Radnor’s secretary and inform (to his private eye brother Jack) about whether there is anything of madness in him. He finds he’s actually very good at being a secretary, and interested not only in the Earl’s state of mind and being, but also the work he’s doing. The Earl, meanwhile, is sure at every turn he will follow in his father and brother’s footsteps and fall off the brink of madness. But the usually reclusive scientist can’t help but find the young Londoner’s company useful. Even…enjoyable. Cat Sebastian is a new favorite of mine. She writes interesting, well rounded characters who we can see living in their time, even in the situations that many of us would see as more “modern.”

Read Harder Bonus: This one also works as an LGBTQ+ romance.

That’s probably enough for now, though I would gladly continue to share! But as usual, there are a few new titles and some coming out between now and our next meeting, so be sure to get these on your calendar:

Full Court Seduction, Synithia Williams

Beauty and the Wiener, Casey Griffin

Hot Licks, AM Arthur

This is Love (a Valentine’s Day Novella Collection)

Guarding Mr. Fine, HelenKay Dimon

A Millionaire at Midnight, Naima Simone

Pretty Face, Lucy Parker

An Unseen Attraction, KJ Charles

Dating Ryan Alback, JE Birk

Damage Control, Lisa Renee Jones

Well, I’m sure that’s plenty to keep your TBR exploding for a couple weeks, at least. Many kisses and swoons until we meet again!

—Jess

Categories
This Week In Books

Bury the White House in Books: This Week in Books

Bury the White House in Books?

Readers have come together to organize a massive mailing of books to the White House for Valentine’s Day, specifically a mailing of books readers think POTUS 45 should read. It’s a nice statement about the power of reading, and the encouragement to get the books from local independent bookstores is great. But as he’s said in interviews, 45 doesn’t read books and certainly won’t read these. The best we can hope is that the White House staff will gather these up and send them to a school that needs them. Maybe buy a book to send to the White House, but also buy one to donate to a literacy charity while you’re at it?

 

Kim Kardashian And Chrissy Teigen Are Starting A Book Club

Kim Kardashian announced on Twitter that her and her best friend Chrissy Tiegen are starting a book club, and the first pick is Embraced by the Light by Betty J. Eadie. They haven’t seemed to announce any other details other than that the book club is happening and what the title is and that you should join them, but this trend of celebrities starting book clubs (hello, Emma Watson) is pretty neat. Not sure about that first title, but to each their own (book club).

 

Langston Hughes’ Home Saved

You might remember hearing last year about Langston Hughes’ brownstone being for sale and about the art collective that was trying to save it–they’ve succeeded! Through online fundraising, mostly, the I, Too, Arts Collective will be turning the space into a community center for open mic nights and author events in Harlem. Renee Watson, founder of the collective, says that saving the brownstone was about preserving a part of Harlem: “It’s a testament to wanting to hold onto Harlem,” she said. “And just make sure that we also take care of the history here and that we guard it [fiercely].”

 

Thanks to A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom for sponsoring this week’s newsletter.

For Mel Hannigan, bipolar disorder makes life unpredictable. Her latest struggle is balancing her growing feelings in a new relationship with her instinct to conceal her diagnosis by keeping everyone at arm’s length. But when a former friend confronts Mel with the truth about the way their relationship ended, deeply buried secrets threaten to upend her shaky equilibrium.
As the walls of Mel’s compartmentalized world crumble, she fears that no one will accept her if they discover what she’s been hiding. But would her friends really abandon her if they learned the truth? More importantly, can Mel risk everything to find out?

Categories
New Books

February New Books Megalist!

Okay, I think today might be the BEST new release day ever! *wriggle* There are sooooooo many incredible books out today, your brain – and your bank account – might melt from all the excitement. Thankfully, today is a megalist day, so you can check out a whole bunch of them down below. And you can hear about several of these books on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Rebecca and I talked about a few amazing books we loved, such as Pachinko, A Separation, and What You Don’t Know.

This week’s newsletter is sponsored by A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom.

For Mel Hannigan, bipolar disorder makes life unpredictable. Her latest struggle is balancing her growing feelings in a new relationship with her instinct to conceal her diagnosis by keeping everyone at arm’s length. But when a former friend confronts Mel with the truth about the way their relationship ended, deeply buried secrets threaten to upend her shaky equilibrium.
As the walls of Mel’s compartmentalized world crumble, she fears that no one will accept her if they discover what she’s been hiding. But would her friends really abandon her if they learned the truth? More importantly, can Mel risk everything to find out?

universal harvesterUniversal Harvester by John Darnielle

The Evening Road by Laird Hunt

What You Don’t Know by JoAnn Cheney

The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

I’ll Be Damned: How My Young and Restless Life Led Me to America’s #1 Daytime Drama by Eric Braeden

Know This: Today’s Most Interesting and Important Scientific Ideas, Discoveries, and Developments by John Brockman

Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai

Amberlough by Lara Ellen DonnellyAmberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly

Pretending is Lying by Dominique Goblet (Author), Sophie Yanow (Translator)

The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn

Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

Autumn by Ali Smith

Amiable with Big Teeth by Claude McKay

The Stolen Child by Lisa Carey

300 Arguments: Essays by Sarah Manguso

the twenty days of turinThe Twenty Days of Turin by Giorgio De Maria (Author), Ramon Glazov (Translator)

Desperation Road by Michael Farris Smith

Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama (Author), Jonathan Lloyd-Davies (Translator)

The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams

The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola

Schadenfreude, A Love Story: Me, the Germans, and 20 Years of Attempted Transformations, Unfortunate Miscommunications, and Humiliating Situations That Only They Have Words For by Rebecca Schuman

Can’t Just Stop: An Investigation of Compulsions by Sharon Begley

Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction by Derek Thompson

all the lives i wantAll the Lives I Want: Essays About My Best Friends Who Happen to Be Famous Strangers by Alana Massey

The Coming by David Osborne

The Possessions by Sara Flannery Murphy

The Nightwalker by by Sebastian Fitzek (Author), Jaime Lee Searle (Translator)

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge by Helen Rappaport

Darling, I’m Going to Charlie: A Memoir by Maryse Wolinski

hungry ghostsHungry Ghosts by Stephen Blackmoore

Age of Anger: A History of the Present by Pankaj Mishra

The Freedom Broker by K.J. Howe

Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler’s Defeat by Giles Milton

Forever is the Worst Long Time by Camille Pagán

Zodiac by Sam Wilson

This Close to Happy: A Reckoning with Depression by Daphne Merkin

Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street by Sheelah Kolhatkar

A Book of American Martyrs by Joyce Carol Oates

Dance of the Jakaranda by Peter Kimani

the refugeesThe Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O’Neill

Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales: An Anthology by Ellen Datlow

King’s Cage (Red Queen) by Victoria Aveyard

A Perfect Machine by Brett Savory

Nowhere Near You by Leah Thomas

The Clairvoyants by Karen Brown

A Separation by Katie Kitamura

The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso

squirrel girlThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale

The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak

The Burning World: A Warm Bodies Novel (The Warm Bodies Series) by Isaac Marion

Into Oblivion: An Icelandic Thriller (An Inspector Erlendur Series) by Arnaldur Indridason (paperback)

The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing (paperback)

Sudden Death by Álvaro Enrigue (Author), Natasha Wimmer (Translator) (paperback)

The Bed Moved: Stories (Vintage Contemporaries) by Rebecca Schiff (paperback)

High Dive by Jonathan Lee (paperback)

See?!? I told you. SO MANY GOOD BOOKS.

That’s it for me today – time to get back to reading! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Stay rad,

Liberty

Categories
Giveaways

Giveaway: THE GIRL IN THE GARDEN by Melanie Wallace

We have 10 copies of The Girl in the Garden by Melanie Wallace to give away to 10 Riot readers.

Here’s what it’s about:

When June arrives on the coast of New England, baby in arms, an untrustworthy man by her side, Mabel—who rents them a cabin—senses trouble. A few days later, the girl and her child are abandoned.

June is soon placed with Mabel’s friend, Iris, in town, and her life becomes entwined with a number of locals who have known one another for decades: a wealthy recluse with a tragic past; a forsaken daughter returning for the first time in years; a lawyer, whose longings he can never reveal; and a kindly World War II veteran who serves as the town’s sage. Surrounded by the personal histories and secrets of others, June finds the way forward for herself and her son amid revelations of the others’ pasts, including loves—and crimes—from years ago.

In vivid, nuanced prose, Melanie Wallace explores the time-tested bonds of a small community, the healing power of friendship and love, and whether the wrongs of the past can ever be made right.

Go here to enter the giveaway, or just click on the cover image below:

Categories
Riot Rundown

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Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by The Girl in the Garden by Melanie Wallace.

When June arrives on the coast of New England, baby in arms, an untrustworthy man by her side, Mabel—who rents them a cabin—senses trouble. A few days later, the girl and her child are abandoned.
June is soon placed with Mabel’s friend, Iris, in town, and her life becomes entwined with a number of locals who have known one another for decades: a wealthy recluse with a tragic past; a forsaken daughter returning for the first time in years; a lawyer, whose longings he can never reveal; and a kindly World War II veteran who serves as the town’s sage. Surrounded by the personal histories and secrets of others, June finds the way forward for herself and her son amid revelations of the others’ pasts, including loves—and crimes—from years ago.
In vivid, nuanced prose, Melanie Wallace explores the time-tested bonds of a small community, the healing power of friendship and love, and whether the wrongs of the past can ever be made right.

Categories
The Goods

Lift Hardcovers 2 days left

Whether you’re heading out to the gym or staying in to read, you’ve gotta keep your reading muscles warm! There are only 2 days left to 25% off all hoodies and sweatshirts. Shop now!