Would You BUY or PASS? #FridayFiveChallenge In The Land Of The Long White Cloud by Sarah Lark

Welcome to my Friday Five Challenge

Get yourself a cuppa and give yourself 5 minutes. (Use your own pic or copy mine or anything else like a clock/ stopwatch etc)

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,

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

(then write a little analysis about your decision)

As I couldn’t think of a specific search term this week, today’s inspiration came from Amazon’s daily deals.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Book Description

Helen Davenport, governess for a wealthy London household, longs for a family of her own—but nearing her late twenties, she knows her prospects are dim. Then she spots an advertisement seeking young women to marry New Zealand’s honorable bachelors and begins an affectionate correspondence with a gentleman farmer. When her church offers to pay her travels under an unusual arrangement, she jumps at the opportunity.

Meanwhile, not far away in Wales, beautiful and daring Gwyneira Silkham, daughter of a wealthy sheep breeder, is bored with high society. But when a mysterious New Zealand baron deals her father an unlucky blackjack hand, Gwyn’s hand in marriage is suddenly on the table. Her family is outraged, but Gwyn is thrilled to escape the life laid out for her.

The two women meet on the ship to Christchurch—Helen traveling in steerage, Gwyn first class—and become unlikely friends. When their new husbands turn out to be very different than expected, the women must help one another find the life—and love—they’d hoped for.

Set against the backdrop of colonial nineteenth-century New Zealand, In the Land of the Long White Cloud is a soaring saga of friendship, romance, and unforgettable adventure.

Kindle Price; £1.00 or $1.53

Number of reviews; 358 on Amazon Uk or 1413 on Amazon US

Number of pages; 666 (Book 1 of a 3 book Saga)

Would I BUY or PASS?……..PASS

Analysis

With a really busy blogging week, I left this week’s post until the last minute (yes I can hear shocked gasps from some of you who know how organised I can be) and my mind went blank when I needed a search term. So I let Amazon do the suggesting and I scouted out it’s Daily Deals (As many potential buyers might do)

The green cover instantly stood out with the nineteenth century dressed women and the title grabbed me. I knew this book would be about New Zealand, a place I’ve been to and would love to go again. I’m a fan. So this book appealed for several reasons. It will be historical fiction, but in a place I love reading about. The price is great, the number of reviews quite amazing. The two draw backs are the length of the book, do I have time to read a book that long? Plus the fact it’s book 1 of a trilogy. It’s tempting, but as I run a really busy book review blog, I already have a huge list of books waiting for review. So today it is a PASS from me, but with Christmas just around the corner, I might leave a few large hints that “I wouldn’t mind reading this at a later date”, for the family to trip over.

Here are links to other bloggers taking up today’s challenge

This week Cathy has found a Christmas romance https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/fridayfivechallenge-buy-or-pass-sleigh-bells-in-the-snow-by-sarah-morgan/comment-page-1/#comment-2994

Shelley has gone for a Fantasy http://shelleywilsonauthor.com/2015/10/23/buy-or-pass-fantasy-novel-fridayfivechallenge/

Alison is off to Munich Airport https://alisonwilliamswriting.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/fridayfivechallenge-munich-airport-by-greg-baxter-rosieamber1/comment-page-1/#comment-1563