(Original idea from Rosie Amber  at https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/)

Get yourself a cuppa and give yourself 5 minutes.

In today’s online shopping age, readers often base their buying decisions from small postage stamp size book covers (Thumb-nails), a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they really spend making that buying decision?

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

My Friday Five Challenge is this….. IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description for this book,

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

Inspired by Barb Taub’s post last week (Reasons my Kid is Crying)  I was reminded of a book given to me a couple of Christmases ago on dog shaming, so that is the category I had a look at this week. This was a craze that started, of course, on the internet a few years ago and some bright sparks, otherwise known as enterprising people have gone on to create books so as to make the most of the marketing potential.

The one I chose was Dog Shaming: Canine Confessions by Susan McMullan. I mean just look at that face, how could I not choose it!

For those of you unfamiliar with this particular phenomenon when dogs have done bad things a sign is put around their neck with their particular misdemeanour on it and they have their photo taken looking, their owner hopes, suitably contrite. Some dogs are great at this and look mortified by what their bad behaviour, some clearly couldn’t give a damn…

Here is the blurb:-

Our beloved pooches bring us a world of happiness. They love us unconditionally, they never judge and they’re there for us through good times and bad. But they also chew the sofa, rip up your car seats, bark incessantly when there’s nothing there, steal food, dig up your garden and generally cause mayhem. Now, in Dog Shaming, they own up to the world with some hilarious confessions revealing just why they’re in the doghouse. And they remind us why dogs are the most wonderful, and sometimes the most infuriating, companions!

96 pages

£1.49 ebook price

£6.99 hardcover

There are 28 reviews of all levels though 18 are 5*

Buy or Pass: I would PASS – the ebook price is good but a couple of the reviews said there was difficulty reading some of the signs on the download so if you’re into this sort of thing you’d probably do better on the internet. However as a gift to give someone a laugh the hardcover version might just do the trick.

If you fancy taking a peek here are the links:-

Amazon UK

Amazon US

The post #FridayFiveChallenge – Dog Shaming: Canine Confessions by Susan McMullan appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

(Original idea from Rosie Amber at https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/)

This is my travel mug bought for me by my lovely son – I haven’t dared use it outside the house yet…

Get yourself a cuppa and give yourself 5 minutes for this #FridayFiveChallenge.

In today’s online shopping age, readers often base their buying decisions from small postage stamp size book covers (Thumb-nails), a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they really spend making that buying decision?

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

My Friday Five Challenge is this….. IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description for this book, and any other details.

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

So here goes…

This week I chose Young Adult, Historical Fiction in a roundabout route as I started by typing ‘horses’ into the search bar as I wanted to see what came up, I scanned through and was attracted by this book cover – so I guess that’s the first box ticked!

 Amazon UK

Amazon US

As a horse mad child my bookshelves were packed with books which all had horses on the front of them. I rarely bought the books myself as I had so many given to me as gifts from family members who must have been delighted to have someone in the family who was so easy to buy for. Whilst I haven’t lost my love of horses my book covers do now have more variety to them so I wanted to see what was available to today’s horse mad young person which was why I chose The Winter Horses by Philip Kerr.

The price – £5.31 (ebook price) for me is quite pricey though now the cover is larger I can see that Philip Kerr is a New York Times Bestselling Author so presumably has quite a following for whom this perhaps would not be an issue.

Book Description

It will soon be another cold winter in the Ukraine. Max, the devoted caretaker of a wildlife reserve, must learn to live with the Nazis who have overrun his land. He must also learn to keep secrets – for there is a girl, Kalinka, who is hiding in the park. Kalinka has lost her home, her family, her belongings – everything but her life. Still, she has gained one small, precious gift: a relationship with the rare wild and wily Przewalski’s horses that wander the reservation. Apart from Max, these endangered animals are her only friends – until a Nazi campaign of extermination nearly wipes them out for good. Now Kalinka must set out on a treacherous journey through the frozen Ukrainian forest to save the only two surviving horses – and herself. This sensitive, inspiring tale captures the power of sacrifice, the endurance of the human spirit and the astonishing loyalty of animals.

290 pages

Recommended in the US for ages 12 and up.

There are 19 reviews in the UK, 102 in the US, covering the whole range of opinion and as one who generally doesn’t look at reviews when buying something it’s difficult to know what to think when you read such differences in opinion or how it helps me in my choice. I appreciate we all like different things but how am I to know which of these reviewers I am like and therefore whose opinion I should listen to. Suffice to say the waters of my thoughts have been muddied.

Would I BUY or PASS? Whilst I find the cover appealing and I’m sure Philip Kerr is a fine author I think I’ll pass. The price is too rich for my blood though it’s a shame I don’t still have all those aunts and uncles sending me presents, they would have been all over this. Several reviews put me off as well, particularly the US ones, but it would take too long to go into all the reasons why here.

Analysis

I think the cover depicts the story well and the blurb draws you in. It’s obviously quite a harsh, gripping read with plenty of action and adventure and one US review felt a parental warning would not have gone amiss though others felt it was childish…so what am I to believe!

Would you agree with my decision or not?

I’ll be back next week with another Friday Five Challenge, do feel free to join in.

The post #FridayFiveChallenge – The Winter Horses by Philip Kerr appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

(Original idea from Rosie Amber at https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/)

This is my travel mug bought for me by my lovely son – I haven’t dared use it outside the house yet…

Get yourself a cuppa and give yourself 5 minutes.

In today’s online shopping age, readers often base their buying decisions from small postage stamp size book covers (Thumb-nails), a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they really spend making that buying decision?

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

My Friday Five Challenge is this….. IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description for this book, and any other details.

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

So here goes…

This week I chose Epic Fantasy

I went to Amazon Epic Fantasy books in kindle, it’s not a genre I regularly read so I wanted to see what appealed on a quick glance.

Amazon UK

Amazon US

This book, Taming Fire (The Dragonprince’s Legacy Book 1) by Aaron Pogue caught my eye – it seems to have the requisite font and colouring that many other titles in this genre have, and I did like the dragon!

The price – I didn’t realise until I clicked through to the details but it is £0, I’m guessing probably permanently so as this is the first in a series. It irritates me that authors feel they have to give their hard work away for nothing…

Book Description

Daven Carrickson grew up as a beggar in the filthy alleys beneath the shadows of the palace. He’s the son of a known thief, disgraced and despised. His only real talent is his ability with a sword, and his only real chance at finding honor or a home is a desperate dream of joining the King’s Guard.

Then Daven receives a new future when Master Claighan invites him to study magic at the Academy. The wizard offers to make him into a new kind of soldier: a swordsman equally skilled with forged blades and mystic forces. It only helps that Daven has no home, no family, and nothing left to lose.

But when conspiring forces destroy the wizard’s plans, Daven finds himself wanted for treason and murder. Hunted by a great black beast of a dragon, caught between the King’s Guard and a rebel force led by a rogue wizard, Daven’s only hope of surviving is to become more than he’s ever dreamed possible.

Taming Fire is the first book in the Dragonprince’s Legacy.

361 pages – that’s a lot of pages for nothing!

There are many reviews covering the whole spectrum and it seems pretty popular with those that are fond of dragons and the like. One likened it to Oliver Twist and I can kind of see that from the book description.

Would I BUY or PASS? Well I’ve cheated a bit here because it costs nothing and I’ve downloaded it because of that… So I guess it’s a BUY. I am intrigued as it’s a genre I wouldn’t usually choose but whether I ever actually get it to read it something else.

Analysis

This cover suits the genre and I thought the book description was compelling so if this is where your interests lie then I can see this being a good one for you. I have enjoyed trying out several books from different genre over the last year or so and come across some real gems so I may well give this one a try.

Would you agree, or not?

I’ll be back next week with another Friday Five Challenge, do feel free to join in.

The post Friday Five Challenge – Taming Fire by Aaron Pogue appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.