Rosie Amber’s Friday Five Challenge, involves taking only five minutes to choose a book cover which appeals instantly. So take a few minutes, pour yourself a coffee…..and have a browse.
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?
Trying to get away from the Crime/Suspense that I seem to be drawn to, I looked under the link for 40 Books for £1 Each and found this one…
I love the title and the cover. This is the book description..
Volume 2 in the internationally bestselling In the Land of the Long White Cloud saga
Song of the Spirits continues the soaring saga begun with In the Land of the Long White Cloud, as the founding families of colonial New Zealand experience trials and triumphs of friendship, romance, and unforgettable adventure.
Elaine O’Keefe is the radiant grand-daughter of Gwyneira McKenzie, who made her way to New Zealand to take a wealthy sheep baron’s hand in marriage in In the Land of the Long White Cloud. Elaine inherited not only her grandmother’s red hair but also her feisty spirit, big heart, and love of the land. When William Martyn, a handsome young Irishman of questionable integrity, walks into her life, she succumbs rapidly to his charms. Only to have her heart broken when her sensual half-Maori cousin Kura Warden arrives for a visit and draws William away.
Though both young women must endure hardships and disappointments as they learn to live with the choices they make, each of them also discovers an inner resilience—and eventually finds love and happiness in new, unexpected places. Tested by the harsh realities of colonial life, both girls mature into spirited young women with a greater understanding of the challenges—and joys—of love, friendship, and family.
Pages: 704!
Kindle price: £1
There are just over 140 reviews, 91 0f which are 5* and 40 4*. The remaining 12 are divided between the lower star rating with 8 of them 3*. I think that’s quite impressive. It’s a popular book on Amazon.com too with 521 reviews, with 61% giving a 5* rating and 26% giving 4*.
I had a quick look at the ratings for the first book – 335 reviews with an average 4.3 out of 5*. That one has 666 pages but there were mentions of historical inaccuracies. There is also a third book which is a more manageable 494 pages. The Kindle price of the other two volumes is £3.98.
Ok, so it’s obviously book 2 in a series but honestly, I was drawn in by the blurb. So much so that I would be tempted to start with the first book. There’s enough information to get a real feel for the story and although it sounds epic, the story is appealing. The only stumbling block would be the length of the books. If and when I have a spare few weeks I could see myself reading these.
So would I BUY or PASS? I’d PASS (for now) but I’m making a note of the books for future reading.
If you’d like to enter next week’s challenge check out Rosie’s blog to read about the Friday Five Challenge.
Check out the other Friday Five Challenges
Rosie Amber chose a dog inspired memoir
Lizanne Lloyd‘s choice is social history
Shelley Wilson found a part fantasy/dystopian/alternative history
Barb Taub wanted Amazon to cool her off
I love books about New Zealand, this sounds like a great read, but the length is a biggy. Like you I think I might start with book 1 when I have time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, 704 pages for a quid! The cover is beautiful, very mystical. It’s not my kind of book but I can certainly see the appeal.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely good value but a mega read!
LikeLike
I’m tempted, too.
(Was sure you were going to say ‘buy’, Cathy!)
LikeLike
I was dithering 😀
LikeLike
Don’t think I’ve got time for this one! Perhaps for a (very) long holiday. The whole series sounds really interesting though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, time’s the problem. Thanks for the reblog, Alison 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Alison Williams Writing and commented:
Cathy’s FridayFiveChallenge:
LikeLike
I like the blurb and it’s a real bargain…but I can’t see me tackling anything that long any time soon so it would have to be a PASS from me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It seems the length of the book is going against it in this case.
LikeLike
Looks terrific, I love the cover
LikeLiked by 1 person
That and the title really grabbed me.
LikeLike
I love the cover, and the title would make me look further. The blurb would convince me. I’d buy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for commenting 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am weirdly excited about you finding this book since Sarah Lark is a German author. I don’t know this series yet, but I have all of them as audiobooks. I have tried many of her other books and I really enjoyed them. 🙂 So, I might not be objective enough, but I recommend the author. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, that’s amazing, I would never have thought Sarah Lark was a German name! I’ve made a note of the books, it’s a really epic saga but sounds excellent. I’ll be very interested in your thoughts on the audios. Glad to know you enjoyed her other books 🙂 and thanks for the recommendation.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is not her real name, Sarah Lark is one of her pseudonyms. She has quite a few and they do sound a little more English. Her real name is Christiane Grohl which is quite German 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, I see. That makes sense 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person