Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Best Reviews Voting

VOTING HAS ENDED. WINNER IS KINDLES AND WINE.

Welcome to the voting round of Best Reviews! Voting will last for one week form July 30, 12:00 AM EST, to August 6, 11:59 PM EST. Please only vote once, do not cheat, and scroll up for the Most Influential category!


Rabid Reads

Sparkles and Lightning

Kindles and Wine

Kindles & Wine was founded in 2012 by Kindle Gal and features six of her bookloving every genre. We only post 2–3 reviews a week (we're all busy with work and family, yo!), so we are fairly selective in what we read for the blog. A favorite format for us and our readers is to include a mini-review of a book (< 600 words), followed by a Q&A with the author about the book. We use an A-B-C-D-F rating system and have graded books across the entire spectrum in our first year. Just for fun, we also include a suggested wine or other beverage pairing to go along with each book reviewed with the all-important disclaimer: Please drink and read responsibly!

Testimonies:
Kindles & Wine is my favorite blog to visit. I have discovered so many wonderful authors and books because of the terrific interviews this site offers. They also have some awesome contests to go along with their reviews. This group makes me feel as if I'm talking to a good friend about a book I need to read."
~ Becka Lynn
I love Kindles & Wine. The reviews are really honest, teamed with great author interviews. All the reviewers are loads of fun, hence the hugely entertaining comments after every review!"
~ Tracey Rogers
Review Snippets:
Let me be honest. Rogue Rider is probably going to knock your socks off. So you may want to remove them BEFORE you get started on this book.
~ Liz on Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione
Hold on a minute here - I just want everyone to take a deep breath. I {crossing my heart} solemnly swear that this book is not dorky Sci Fi. It does not make us speak or read alien tongues or do V-shaped hand greetings. In fact, it is really a great love story about a guy who was dealt a tremendously crappy hand in life.
~ Emily on A Taste of Ice by Hanna Martine
It’s also one of those books chock-full of interesting tidbits, prompting my continued elbowing of my husband, 'Hey, did you know laundry detergents contain digestive enzymes found in our saliva? That’s how they get out food stains!' 'Did you know that the way you chew is as unique and consistent as a fingerprint?' (It is! There are right-chewers, left-chewers, up-and-down chewers, etc.) Presumably, if you committed a crime and then enjoyed a snack that was caught on video, the police could bring you in, give you something to eat and, bam—CSI: Mastication Edition!
~ Laura on Gulp by Mary Roach
The Night Circus has a plethora of supporting characters and secondary story lines. I loved these subplots! They were rich and well developed, almost to the point where they overshadowed the main characters’ story at times for me. But the result was that by the end of the book, I was emotionally invested in EVERYONE! (Nicely played, Ms. Morgenstern.)”
~ Kindle Gal on The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Media Links:

Icey Books

I'm not sure how I got nominated for this category - I've never found my reviews that great! My review of WHAT'S LEFT OF ME, by Kat Zhang, got numerous comments - on the post and Twitter - calling it gorgeous and beautiful. While I did try to imitate the prose of the book itself, I never expected to hear that! A snippet:
Kat Zhang weaves a story with the prettiest of prose, smooth and enchanting. The plot itself, if stripped bare, would resemble that of any dystopian. Zhang's writing takes the skeleton of dystopia and makes it so much more emotional, pulse-pounding. And just as frightening. Because deep inside, Eva's story isn't just fiction. It isn't just a fictitious story about an extra soul. It's about being human. And what we should be grateful for. Full review: WHAT'S LEFT OF ME
One of my favorite reviews was for THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER by Megan Shepherd, which I completely enjoyed. Here's a snippet from that:
Inspired by the tale, The Island of Dr. Moreau, THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER is full of blood and gore. Set on an island full of unknown creatures, the story is unpredictable in the least and had me flipping the pages deep into the night, my breath catching at every creak and rustle. We're saved from insta-love by the fact that Montgomery is her childhood friend and idol from when she could barely walk. And of course there was Edward, dark and secretive where Montgomery was the opposite, whose presence in the story puzzled me until the very last pages. Full review: THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER
My review layout is what I love most - it's clean and easy to catch information at a glance. I copy a previous review's content and replace it with the book's info. Once I read the book, I'll type up my review and simply include it in the template. Voila!


Remember, voting will last a week until August 6, 11:59 PM EST. Please only vote once, do not cheat, and good luck!

2 comments: