Blurb Thursday #3 (Blurb critique): Bossy by Kim Linwood

Published on October 8, 2015January 22, 2016 by MM Jaye2 Comments

This week, I’ll present a blurb that takes top marks. Writing a blurb can be a royal pain, but the number one rule is to, first, think about your audience and then about your book.

Kim Linwood writes naughty, sexy stepbrother romances. As not all of you are familiar with this sub-genre let me make clear that the hero and heroine are not blood related; their parents hitch, but the chemistry between the siblings is too much to resist. Bossy
is Kim’s second full-length novel, and it’s shooting up the Kindle charts as we speak—it’s already No.1 in Action & Adventure, No. 2 in New Adult & College and No. 3 in Romantic Comedy. Note that the author offers her previous book, Rebel, together with Bossy (two in one).

Bossy: A Stepbrother Romance: (With bonus novel Rebel!)

by Kim Linwood
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Purchase link: Amazon

Blurb

It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do him.

One night only. No promises, no regrets. He was rich, ripped, inked up, and gone in the morning.

I didn’t even know his name. Not until I read it off the door on my first day at work.

See, I don’t do bad boys, I don’t do troublemakers and I sure as heck didn’t graduate college with a 3.9 GPA by screwing around.

I was never supposed to see him again, but now he’s my new boss, as sexy in a suit as he was between my sheets.

And my new stepbrother.

Having him was a slice of Heaven. Working for him could mean selling my soul. But if the devil looks like Declan Riordan, Hell might be worth the burn.

My take

The title? Indispensable. The audience of New Adult contemporary romances have the attention span of sugar-deprived child in a loaded candy shop. If you don’t grab their attention in the first sentence, they’re off to the next half-naked-guy cover—and trust me, there are a lot! It is a crowded sub-genre. Here, Kim uses a pun that shows that the story will get down and dirty—no sweet-talking those readers!

After the reader knows that the book means business, she’s got to know what kind of hero she’s dealing with. Gorgeous, tattooed with commitment issues fits the bad-boy bill.

Next step is to define the hero and heroine’s relationship. The first complication is their forced professional relationship. Kim here “shows” it instead of telling it.

Now, the conflict has to be founded. The conflict initially stems from the heroine’s personality which has to be at odds with that of the hero for the explosive relationship dynamics to work. Here, our heroine is a good girl, a good student who stays out of trouble apart from that one fated night—but she won’t mince her words.

Conflict fully presented. Not only is the relationship professional, it’s personal as well. And there’s also emotional conflict as the heroine’s heart and logic go their separate ways.

This type of blurb has to end with a bang. In this case, the big dilemma. Kim does an awesome job with heaven and hell puns–good girl vs bad boy–that work like a charm. The good girl is seriously considering allowing herself to burn in the bad boy’s hell.

There’s absolutely no way readers of this sub-genre won’t one-click this title—and its success after just two weeks since it was published proves it.

Kudos to Kim Linwood for a blurb job awesomely done.

MM Jaye

Blurb Thursday #2 (What’s hot and what’s not)

Published on August 20, 2015August 18, 2015 by MM Jaye1 Comment

After talking up the blurb of A. Star’s Wish For Me (which I’ve also raved about here), today I’ll showcase the blurb of a dystopian, young adult novel that grabbed my attention.

Aftermath (After the Fall Dystopian series Book 1)

by Tom Lewis
Publication date: March 28, 2015
Purchase Link: Amazon
Genres: dystopian, yound adult

Official Synopsis

The end of the world came fast. Between the time the warning had sounded on the TV, till when 16-year-old Paige O’Connor awakened sometime later, civilization had been crushed.

The attacks had come by “them” – those things in the ships in the sky that had appeared suddenly, and without warning.

And as Paige would soon discover, the attacks had only been the beginning.

Aftermath is the first book in the new After the Fall dystopian action series, which follows a young girl’s struggle for survival in the wake of civilization’s collapse, and humanity’s domination by an alien race of beings.

My take

First off, the cover is spot on. From the cold color texture to the solid font, it’s an example of excellent dystopian branding. Also,

But,

The blurb is good, but I felt it’s lacking in some ways. Instead of giving an outline of the plot, what it more or less explains is the notion of “dystopia”: “The end of the world came fast” – “civilization had been crushed” – “humanity’s domination by an alien race” (which, apparently, are called “them” in the book).

As a reader, I’m left wondering: What makes this book different from all the young adult dystopian novels out there?

I have noticed that, when writing a synopsis, authors sometimes play up their genre more than the story. When the cover brands the book well, some key words are enough to brand the genre. The rest of the blurb should show the reader why this story stands out from the rest, and vague references such as “the attacks had only been the beginning” and “a young girl’s struggle for survival” are staple notions in a dystopian book (doesn’t everyone struggle for survival when aliens take over?)

I read some of the Goodreads reviews and saw that there’s much more to this book than meets the eye (blurb-wise) that, if added, would give a clearer identity to the plot.

If you’d like more info on this book, here’s the purchase link: Amazon

You can check out its Goodreads page as well.

What do you think of this blurb? Would it make you click its purchase link?

Blurb Thursday #1 (What’s hot and what’s not)

Published on May 14, 2015August 18, 2015 by MM Jaye5 Comments

A new blog category! As you probably know, I’ve been hosting for three book tour companies through my promo blog, MM Jaye presents. I get to read literally hundreds of blurbs each month, and some are strikingly good while others (in my opinion) don’t work too well.

So this is where I’ll present and talk about new blurbs, showcasing what’s hot (and what’s not) about them.

This week:

Wish for Me (The Djinn Order #1)

by A. Star

Publication Date: April 27, 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Steampunk

Official Synopsis

When the snarky Glory St. Pierre discovers the gold mechanical vase in her deceased grandmother’s basement, she has no idea that she has uncovered a priceless treasure: a genie lamp. With a real genie inside. A very sexy genie with a not-so-sexy grudge against the entire human race.

Irving Amir hates being called a genie. He’s a Djinn, and he is none too happy to be in the service of Glory, who is as intolerable, and beautiful, as humans come. Now he owes her his gratitude for freeing him and three wishes. Damn his luck.

But an arrow through the shoulder alerts Irving to the fact that he is being hunted, and after a truce dinner with Glory ends with them both almost being killed, hating each other goes right out the window.

As feelings change and love starts to develop, they must dig through the secrets and lies to find the truth…a truth neither of them will ever see coming.

WARNING: Not suitable for ages 18 and under. A significant source of bad language, sexy times, and dirty jokes. If you suffer from a lack of a sense of humor, take with plenty of wine. If the symptom persists, see a doctor.

My take

First off, the cover is beautiful. Mysterious and inviting. The winding mechanisms brand it as a steampunk novel, and while the romance aspect is not obvious, the title helps. My only objection is with the author’s name. In thumbnail size, it’s barely discernible.

As for the blurb? I loved it! In fact, I’ve picked it up for reviewing (through Xpresso Book Tours). Let’s break this down: