Daily Archives: August 22, 2013

You Might Not Like My Book If… by Jessica Martinez

22 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Books, YA Lit

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Everybody say hi to Jessica Martinez!! (Hi, Jessica!) Jessica is the author of VIRTUOSITY (which I loved), THE SPACE BETWEEN US (which is on my TBR), and THE VOW (which comes out October 15 and is the subject of this post)! Her website is down, but because her books are so awesome, I happily offered up some blog space for this post until she can get it back, so without further ado, Jessica!

the vow finalYOU MIGHT NOT LIKE MY BOOK IF…

Hey guys. THE VOW pubs on October 15th, and I would be thrilled if the whole world read and fell in love with it! That said…

You might not like my book if:

  1. You’re looking for your best friend. She/he is not inside my book. Hold up—everyone is looking for a different kind of best friend, so who knows, maybe yours is in here! But statistically it’s unlikely, and it certainly isn’t why I wrote this book. For the record, I like my characters a lot. In fact, I would want to be friends with them, but if that were a requirement for enjoying my book that would be nuts. My readers are way too different for that—one person’s lovable is another person’s irritating. Confession: I enjoyed Twilight, but I think Bella Swan is annoying. I would definitely not want to be friends with that girl. Ever. But before you start sending me anthrax packages, refer to the first part of that statement—I enjoyed Twilight. And that’s the point. I DO want you to enjoy my books, but please, for the love of literature, don’t make your personal compatibility with my flawed characters a part of that equation. Dead horse sufficiently beaten. Let’s move on.

  2. You are dying for a rom com and this one looks cute. I love a sweet contemporary romance as much as the next girl—I really do—but THE VOW is not that. Trust me. The ring and the title and the light blue may lead you to make that assumption (not bashing any of those things—the title fits, and I love my cover because it’s eye-catching and unique) but read the synopsis, and again, trust me. Sure, in some parts you might get the swirly girly feels. But in other parts you should experience something else entirely, so if not hating me forever depends on swirly girly feels from beginning to end, don’t read it.

  3. You don’t want to read about teenagers making bad choices. I understand that you might feel that way. Many people like to read books that reaffirm what they already think and believe. Sometimes I’m not in the mood to read books that have people royally screwing up or living something too close to what I’m going through personally. I get it. All readers cycle through different needs and interests, different reasons for sitting down and devoting hours to another world, and sometimes we do need books purely for escape. That said, I hope escapism isn’t a permanent mindset for any reader, because allowing yourself to be changed by a book is a powerful thing. But I’m not going to lecture you about that. That’s your call. If you think reading about teenagers being selfish or being misinformed or breaking the law is going to sadden you or damage you or make you angry, that’s fine. This just isn’t your book.

  4. You’re going to illegally download it. Come on. COME ON. You’re preventing the authors you love from getting to publish more books. Seriously. It’s not too late to stop being an idiot—I know you can do it. Get an extra job, start clipping coupons, and utilize your local library. It’s what all of us bibliophiles have to do to feed the crazy book-devouring demons inside of us without turning into evil human beings. I believe in you. Now stop being stupid.

  5. You only enjoy/review romance and erotica. I keep seeing THE VOW pop up on TBR lists where it’s the only title that’s not erotica. Huh? I know plenty of people read and review in many genres, and the YA contemp/adult romance pairing isn’t unusual. That’s great. But I do wonder when THE VOW is the only non-erotica title if there isn’t going to be some, um, disappointment. So I’ll just put this out there: If you’re under the impression that it will be the same type of reading experience as 50 Shades, nope. Sorry. Not your book.

  6. You hate teenagers. Okay, it’s ridiculous that I’m saying that, right? But I actually read the following (I’m paraphrasing): 1. I don’t usually read YA 2. These characters are selfish, self-absorbed brats. 3. These characters are a pretty accurate depiction of teenagers today.

    Where to start? Hmm. I don’t hate teenagers, which is why I write about them, and I definitely don’t think they’re any more selfish or self-absorbed than the adults I know, but if you do…yeah, don’t read any of my books. Also, maybe go hang out with some decent teenagers, because they’re everywhere, and it might restore your faith in humanity.

Good news: If you made it this far and fall into none of these categories, YOU MIGHT LIKE MY BOOK! No promises. But you might, and I hope you do. It’s available for pre-order here.

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