I've never watched The Hills and I barely know what Lauren Conrad is about, but there's been so much coverage of "her" book L. A. Candy in the media lately that I just couldn't resist and bought it. The first reviews on Amazon are positive, plus it sounds like an interesting summer read (but the cover is sooo boring).
Furthemore, I've heard so much praise of If I Stay in the past month or so and after reading Dot's review today, I decided to finally order it - I'm sure I won't regret it (plus the cover is beautiful).
The last one has been on my mind for a while so I just ordered it to get it over with, hehe.
ETA: A couple of days after this post was made, I ordered yet another book - Lucy in the Sky! I saw that both Leah and Chloe like Paige Toon so I looked her up on Amazon and this one seems rather interesting and I just couldn't resist clicking the Checkout button. Don't know when I'll have the time to read it, but I hope it'll be fun!
Below are a few more exciting summer releases I'm looking forward to (in no particular order) - this list will mostly be useful to me so that I don't forget to buy the books when they come out, hehe. Feel free to let me know if I've missed any. :) Click on the covers for more info.
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16 comments:
Did Lauren Conrad even write that herself? Would be interesting to know! And Yes, the cover is horrible.
Of your can't wait to read list I want: The Good Luck Girl, Star Struck, Please Forgive Me, Twenties Girl, What Alice Forgot and maybe Don't Tell Eve!
Oh, I seriously doubt that she wrote it herself - that's why I think it might have potential. ;) Obviously, she won't admit to this - I came across an interview where she said her second book will be "even better" because she's learned so much from writing the first one - as if! Plus she recently tweeted how she spend the whole day writing due to deadlines, but I'm 99,9 % that she perhaps contributed a few ideas for the book and that was that. There's no way this silly girl wrote the book herself and I doubt that she even reads, let alone can write something half decent. It's shameful that people with no talent get published because they're famous, but talented writers don't even get a chance ... I do feel a bit guilty about buying L. A. Candy, but it does seem like a remotely interesting read, plus all the publicity was too much for me to handle (shame on me)! In my defense, I'd probably buy it even (or especially) if it wasn't written by her. :) Will report if it's any good when I read it, but that will probably take a few months - there are so many other books on higher priority than this one!
Great picks! I still have If I Stay on my wishlist. I love the covers of What Alice Forgot and It's a Kind of Magic. I'll have to check them out! Thanks for introducing these reads to me. :)
Glad to be of service! :) And yeah, most of the covers are lovely, aren't they? That's the great thing about chick lit, covers rarely disappoint! ;)
I hate that Lauren Conrad and Katie Price et al. get a ghost writer to write their books - that means it isn't their book. If you can't write a novel yourself, don't bother.
I mean lots of people who could potentially be great writers don't get the chance yet Katie Price just has to put her name on it and bam! people will snap it up... It is ridiculous. Doesn't Lauren Conrad get enough money being on The Hills or whatever it is she stars in?!
I love the It's A Kind of Magic cover but didn't really enjoy it. I'm reading Pop Tart at the minute, only 5 chapters in though. Still undecided what I think of it, too.
x
Agreed, but at least Katie Price has the 'decency' to admit her books were ghostwritten whereas LC insists that she wrote it herself. Some people say the book's bad enough for this to actually be true, but I still doubt it. I really don't get any sort of book vibe from her and obviously people at HC only published it because they knew it would sell - and so it does, I've just read today that more than 1000 (!) people showed up at one of her signings!!
On the other hand, the ghostwritter got paid well and their work was published in a way so it's good reference, I guess. Plus whatever gets people reading gets thumbs up from me - even if it's a silly book they picked up because they like the 'author', whatever, as long as they reeeeeaaaaad. ;)
Yeah, I think I remember reading your review of Magic, but I'm still hoping it'll be enjoyable, the premise seems interesting.
Ooh, looking forward to hearing what you thought of Pop Tart! Enjoy reading it - it's fun in a way, just not rewarding enough imho (among other things). Looking forward to the review once you get round to it! :)
Katie Price has admitted her novels are ghost-written so I don't know why she doesn't have "Katie Price & Ghost Writer" on the cover, that would be a nice touch.
1000 people, are you kidding? Talk about ridiculous. She isn't even really a celebrity! I can't wait to see your thoughts on Hard Candy though!
That was Chloe's review of Magic, I read it ages ago so will have to re-read before I review!
I think I'm going to watch a film and then read Pop Tart some more. After all the hype it got and the fact you didn't like it much I can't wait to form my opinion on it!
x
I agree that would be the sensible thing to do, but I guess then the books wouldn't sell as much and that's all the publishers care about. But I'm sure the ghostwriters always get paid enough to keep their mouth shut. Plus they probably do get some credit and recognition sooner or later - I believe that was the case with KP's ghostwriter Rebecca Farnworth, who published Valentine and is being marketed as KP's ghostwriter? Apparently KP's books were quite good so that should help Rebecca Farnworth's sales, I guess. Plus if you search for Rebecca Farnworth on Amazon, you'll find KP's books high on the list. But oh well, I guess she's just one of the ghostwriters who got lucky. I don't feel too bad for the others though as at least they get published and paid for it! ;)
Not kidding (can't decide if that's a good thing or not), here's proof: http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/36437145.html
Apparently far more than 1000 people showed up so they were all given numbers and only the first 1000 got their books signed! It's amazing what good marketing can do, eh? ;)
I was planning to read LA Candy later this year before the second book comes out in February, but who am I kidding, I'll probably start reading it the moment it arrives, lol. I don't know when, but will definitely post a review sooner or later!
Hehe, I am quite curious what you'll make of it, yeah!
So wait, if you're reading Pop Tart, then that must mean that Chloe is the lucky girl twittering about reading Twenties Girl aka THE Book of the Year??? Oooh, she must be having so much fun and I'm sooo jealous!! I can't wait to read her review and then finally read the book myself, I just know I'm going to LOVE it - Ms Kinsella never disappoints, that's why she's my Queen! ;)
Yeah, I mean ghostwriters obviously know they are being paid to ghostwrite so I don't know why I feel so bad. I suppose my problem isn't with the ghostwriters but with the celebrities. Some people actually believe Katie Price actually writes her novels...
Well whenever you read it I'll be sure to read your thoughts. If I spot it here at a cheap price I may pick it up but other than that I won't go looking for it!
Yes, Chloe is reading Twenties Girl. My copy is (hopefully) in the post. Sophie is the queen, none of her books have disappointed.
By the way: PAIGE TOON IS BRILLIANT. Lucy is a great debut, Johnny (Be Good) is just as fab and I can't wait for (Chasing) Daisy (which is in the post to me now!) I really hope you enjoy Lucy as Paige is definitely talented! Her books are just so easy to read... I'm planning to re-read Lucy to review and I've already reviewed Johnny.
Have you tried Annie Sanders, they're a fab writing team, and Jessica Brody's The Fidelity Files is also worth a read. ...I could harp on about great authors all day!
What are you reading at the mo? x
I know, I'm kinda unsure about these books too, that's why I feel guilty for buying LC's book, but I honestly couldn't resist, lol.
Yeah, I was just browsing your site earlier and saw that both of you like Paige Toon so I thought I should check her out, she does seem quite interesting plus the reviews are really good! I look forward to reading it asap, but it might take a while! Thanks for the indirect recommendation though! :)
I'm afraid I haven't read anything by Annie Sanders or Jessica Brody yet (saw them on your site though) ... I'll look them up, but I really really must not order any more books, lol. But yeah, it's a subject that I could go on and on and on and ooon about too!
So will you both post reviews of Twenties Girl?
I'm currently reading the Wedding Girl by Madeline Wickham, one more chapter to go! Wanted to see what pre-Kinsella stuff was like and I must admit Ms Wickham's nom de plume seems a world away from her older books under her real name ... Will review soon, but I'm not too impressed.
Then I'll probably start The Luxe as I've been wanting to read it for aaages. Or I might change my mind, dunno, there are just so many books to choose from! Alas I'm currently really busy out of my mind so I barely get to read these days. :( But I'm definitely planning to catch up during the summer!!! :D
If you don't like them, you can always sell them on, or something. I suppose with a "celebrity" there is always something saying "I must read that!" just to see if they're any good!
You'll have to tell Amazon (or wherever you buy your books) to block you for a few months!
We will both post reviews of Twenties Girl!
I started one of Sophie's under Madeleine but didn't like it. They are definitely different to her Sophie novels!
Yeah, I always say I'm going to read so-and-so next and then read something completely different... It depends what grabs my attention!
True about celebrities, the books seem like such a must have if you're exposed to all the hype that it's just hard to resist. But nonetheless, to me it's always the book that matters, not if author is famous or not. Must put LC to the test soon though, hehe.
Btw, a while ago there was some talk of Cheryl Cole signing a book deal - have you heard any news if that's true or not and if it's actually happening? It was said that she'd be "writing" some Marian Keyes-like books and I'd probably buy that too! I just wonder if it's actually happening ...
If anything, I should be banned from your fantastic site as you two are always providing more and more ideas on what to order. But please don't ban me - I'm a total book junkie and need my daily dose of book news & reviews! ;)
Yes I heard that about Cheryl. Marian Keyes style books may be pushing it - unless of course Marian ghost-writes them!! I'd probably read one of hers out of curiosity.
Oh no, don't ban yourself from our site!!!
I'm struggling with Pop Tart... It's a bit blah. I'm on Chapter 9 and nothing is really happening... It isn't laugh-out-loud funny either. And the whole first-person way it's written doesn't work for me. I'm pretty sure a book like this one should be in third-person...
Have to finish it though otherwise I can't review it... I have to say I'm shocked after all the good comments I read about it!
Don't worry, I won't ban myself, no way, I just hope I don't *get* banned for visiting too much, hehe. ;)
I regret to inform you that nothing will continue to happen. I do hope you didn't actually buy the book? There are many things wrong with this novel, the strange first-person narrative being just one of them. However, I'm glad to hear I'm not crazy or slow or anything and that the book really is pretty horrible, hehehe. Nonetheless, I think it can be useful to read a lousy book once in a while because then you just appreciate the good ones more. :) But people really should learn that not everyone and their monkey can be a writer, it takes more than just words thrown together and a pretty cover ...
Looks like you have lots of lovely books to read! Hope that you enjoy If I Stay!
A few weeks ago I read LA Candy … I think for what it’s plot of the book it was a entertaining and a funny book.
Peace
Michelle
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