What's New in New Adult at the Library

After learning of the success of our New Adult books, I thought I would start a new series on the blog about what books are being offered in New Adult at our local library. If you're local to New Ulm or in the live in the state of MN, you will have access to these books. I thought it was also a great way to highlight how libraries are adding New Adult books to their collections.

First up....

Scoring Wilder
by R.S. Grey

What started out as a joke— seduce Coach Wilder—soon became a goal she had to score.

With Olympic tryouts on the horizon, the last thing nineteen-year-old Kinsley Bryant needs to add to her plate is Liam Wilder. He's a professional soccer player, America's favorite bad-boy, and has all the qualities of a skilled panty-dropper.

• A face that makes girls weep – check.
• Abs that can shred Parmesan cheese (the expensive kind) – check.
• Enough confidence to shift the earth’s gravitational pull – double check.

Not to mention Liam is strictly off limits . Forbidden. Her coaches have made that perfectly clear. (i.e. “Score with Coach Wilder anywhere other than the field and you’ll be cut from the team faster than you can count his tattoos.”) But that just makes him all the more enticing…Besides, Kinsley's already counted the visible ones, and she is not one to leave a project unfinished.

Kinsley tries to play the game her way as they navigate through forbidden territory, but Liam is determined to teach her a whole new definition for the term “team bonding.”

A fun & sexy New Adult Romance (age 17+)

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Then a fan favorite series, the Driven Series. Let's just say I'm super excited to read Raced since I haven't bought it for my Kindle yet.

Driven (The Driven Trilogy #1- which one to start reading first)

by K. Bromberg

I am the exception to the rule.

In a world full of willing women, I’m a challenge to the roguish and achingly handsome Colton Donavan. A man used to getting exactly what he wants in all aspects of life. He’s the reckless bad boy constantly skating that razor thin edge toward out of control, on and off of the track.

Colton crashes into my life like a tornado: sapping my control, testing my vulnerabilities beyond their limits, and unintentionally penetrating the protective wall around my healing heart. Tearing apart the world I rebuilt so carefully with structure, predictability, and discipline.

I can’t give him what he wants and he can’t give me what I need. But after a glimpse beneath his refined exterior into the dark secrets of his damaged soul, can I bring myself to walk away?

Our sexual chemistry is undeniable. Our individual need for complete control is irrefutable. But when our worlds collide, is the chemistry enough to bring us together or will our untold secrets and battle of wills force us apart?

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Then a new series to me by very popular...


Fixed on You (Fixed #1- which one to start reading first)
by Laurelin Paige

Stalking and restraining orders are a thing of Alayna Wither’s past. With her MBA newly in hand, she has her future figured out—move up at the nightclub she works at and stay away from any guy who might trigger her obsessive love disorder. A perfect plan.

But what Alayna didn’t figure on is Hudson Pierce, the new owner of the nightclub. He’s smart, rich, and gorgeous—the kind of guy Alayna knows to stay away from if she wants to keep her past tendencies in check. Except, Hudson’s fixed his sights on her. He wants her in his bed and makes no secret of it.

Avoiding him isn’t an option after he offers a business proposition she can’t turn down and she’s drawn further into his universe, unable to resist his gravitational pull. When she learns Hudson has a dark history of his own, she realizes too late that she’s fallen for the worst man she could possibly get involved with. Or maybe their less than ideal pasts give them an opportunity to heal each other and finally find the love their lives have been missing.

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And to finish off the grouping we have the additional books (books 2-4 in the series) to Tangled by Emma Chase. Make sure you start first with Tangled for reading order.

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If you have any interest in reading these books, make sure to check out your local library to see if they have a copy or can gain access to a copy from another library.

Happy reading everyone!

New Adult and the Library

Yesterday when I arrived at work, I was greeted with good news from our Acquisitions Librarian. After pulling numbers for the year 2014 so far, our New Adult books were performing better than 'traditional' best selling authors. For a librarian, the truth is in the numbers.

They discovered that in 2014 (only 9 months so far) that our New Adult books went out at least 10 times. This is considered a great number since we loan our books for three weeks at a time. But wait, there was more to celebrate in New Adult. Claim Me by J. Kenner went out over 20 times!

I thought I would put this in perspective to those of us not familiar with the library numbers game...

• A popular Harry Potter book placed in the system in 2007 has gone out over 80 times and
• John Green's The Fault in Our Stars has gone out over 50 times since 2012

So, as you can our surprise when the numbers showed that people are reading New Adult books at pace, if not better, that the 'top' best selling authors. In a time when numbers count for libraries and most have seen decrease in readership, this is something to truly celebrate. New Adult readers are reading at large levels and are helping out the libraries!

As promised, here's another question that I was asked in my interview on New Adult books. Very timely considering our good news.

New Adult (NA) and Staying Power

I feel the NA genre has great staying power. I found two categories that people seem to fall in when reading the NA genre. First, those who grew up in the magical world of Harry Potter and then moved on to Twilight and other books in the YA universe as they grew older. Once they hit college and post-college, there seems to be a missing part for them. These readers were split between YA and Adult Fiction but craving something that reflected what they were most familiar with or wanted to read about.

The second category of NA book readers are those of us who are older but prefer to read about college and post-college situations. I might also add that these readers are looking for something a little more “steamy.” What I have noticed about these readers is that for the most part they haven’t been big pleasure readers or hadn’t picked up a book since high school or college. Once they find NA, they seem to fall in love with reading and the people they read about. One of our readers stated, “Why would I want to read about what’s happening in my life (a reference to older adult fiction books)?” I might also add that this person has not read in years and is now at our library all the time asking what to read next.

I also feel the genre has staying power due to the fan base of the books and the authors’ dedication to the fans. Most of the authors highlighted as core collection NA authors started as Indie authors. With that, they dedicated a lot of their time and efforts to build and maintain their readers. I have noticed more with NA than other genre the opportunity to read character interviews and additional scenes from favorite books. One great example of this is Abbi Glines. After publishing Forever Too Far, she mentioned on her Facebook page that if she went #1 (I can’t remember if it was Amazon or NYT Bestseller List) she would write a whole book from Rush’s POV. Glines has very dedicated fans and with that we got Rush Too Far, a book she originally wasn’t planning on but wrote for the fans.

Better When He's Bad by Jay Crownover

Welcome to the Point

There’s a difference between a bad boy and a boy who’s bad . . . meet Shane Baxter.

Sexy, dark, and dangerous, Bax isn’t just from the wrong side of the tracks, he is the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he’s the master of bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Bax is out and looking for answers, and he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to hurt to get them. But there’s a new player in the game, and she’s much too innocent, much too soft…and standing directly in his way.

Dovie Pryce knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. She’s always tried to be good, tried to help others, and tried not to let the darkness pull her down. But the streets are fighting back, things have gone from bad to worse, and the only person who can help her is the scariest, sexiest, most complicated ex-con The Point has ever produced.

Bax terrifies her, but it doesn’t take Dovie long to realize that some boys are just better when they’re bad.

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I typically do a long written review of a book describing the who, what, and why's. It's not needed for this one. First because I don't want to give away any plot spoilers (seriously, don't skip ahead). And second, the books was amazing. For me it was a slow start but worth the five star rating. Crownover created the perfect blend of bad boy, smexy, mystery and plot twists! I loved that I couldn't guess the plot twists. I loved even more that a book was written about someone on the other side of the law. Crownover has a true talent to write about the bad boy and helping the reader find something redeemable in him.

If you're a fan of Crownover or the NA genre, this is a must read for 2014! I was lucky enough to read my copy of Better When He's Bad from the public library.

New Adult in the Library Journal

Something very cool happened to me a while back...I was interviewed about my thoughts on the New Adult (NA) genre. I was actually quoted in a Library Journal article! To read the article in the Library Journal, click the picture above. 

Not much of what I responded to in the interviewer questions wasn't in the article so I plan to post my answers to the blog over the next few weeks. Here's the first part of my interview...a little about myself, the library I work at and how I feel about NA.

A little about myself and the library I work at...

My name is Carolyn Borgen and I work part-time as a library aide at the New Ulm Public Library. When not working at the library I’m a part-time stay-at-home mom and avid reader.

Our library is located in New Ulm, MN. Our town’s population is about 13,000. We are a part of the Traverse des Sioux Library Cooperative. This allows us to easily trade books with libraries in our system, which is especially helpful in the NA genre.

How do I define NA?

I would define NA books as books that feature college-aged women or women who are recently out of college dealing with mature situations. I would go further and say that I would define the NA genre as how the female heroes are defined…women who are faced with mature situations and self-discovery have a strong sense of self and self-worth.

More about the wonderful book group I get to facilitate for the NA genre at our library...

We have a small but dedicated group who are involved in the NA book group that meets monthly. We like to explore “what is NA” and determine if the books we read fall into this category. So far, we have read Easy by Tammara Webber, Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, Real by Katy Evans, The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Losing It by Cora Carmack, Connected by Kim Karr, True Love by Jude Deveraux, and Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines.

I'll post more on my thought about NA and our library in the upcoming weeks. I hope you enjoy the article in the Library Journal. It's a wonderful read!

Preview for Raced by K. Bromberg with exerpt and contest

The Colton Points of View Collection

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author K. Bromberg comes a companion novella to the best selling Driven Trilogy (Driven, Fueled, and Crashed). This novella is a compilation of reader requested scenes from the series retold through the eyes of Colton Donavan.

Colton Donavan lived life in the fast lane, but it took Rylee Thomas to teach him what racing was all about.

Arrogant
Rogue
Broken
Conceited
Dirty-Talking
Rebel
Egomaniacal
Voodooed
Bent
Reckless

You think you know me? 
Think again.

*Raced is not a complete re-write of the Driven Trilogy. This companion explores pivotal scenes as well as some new ones written in Colton Donavan’s point of view that were not previously published in Driven, Fueled, and Crashed. Hear his thoughts, experience his inner-turmoil, and laugh with him on his journey as he overcomes his demons and accepts what it means to love.  

This novella is for the devoted readers of the Driven series. It is recommended that this companion be read after Driven, Fueled, and Crashed.

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Excerpt

It’s more than obvious that we need to say our parting words and have a moment of silence for your dearly departed dick.”

“Becks—”

“Shh!” he responds, trying to hold his pointer finger to his lips but his depth perception is so off I laugh when he tries several times to get it there despite his dead serious face. “A moment of silence is needed to kiss your unvoodooed ass goodbye.”

“You’re such an asshole,” I tell him but know I’m lucky to have him as my partner in crime. 

“Shh!” he says again, and I give up. I take a deep breath and roll my eyes but humor him and remain silent. I swear he’s passed out but he’s still sitting at the edge of the chair and hasn’t fallen over.

Yet.

But his eyes are still closed when a huge-ass grin turns his mouth up and he claps his hands together and rubs them. “Shit, that was easier than I thought.”

“What was?” My buzz is humming now and I’m finally relaxed after a fuck-all day with the Firestone guys and negotiations over shit they’re going to cave on in the end anyway. 

“Getting you to admit you’re a kept man now.”

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About the Author

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author K. Bromberg is that reserved woman sitting in the corner who has you all fooled about the wild child inside of her—the one she lets out every time her fingertips touch the computer keyboard. 

K. lives in Southern California with her husband and three children. When she needs a break from the daily chaos of her life, you can most likely find her on the treadmill or with Kindle in hand, devouring the pages of a good, saucy book.

On a whim, K. Bromberg decided to try her hand at this writing thing. Her debut novels, Driven, Fueled, and Crashed of The Driven Trilogy were well received and went on to become multi-platform bestsellers as well as landing on the New York Times and USA Today lists. Her other works include a short story, UnRaveled, and a companion piece to The Driven Trilogy titled Raced. She is currently working on two stand alones, Slow Burn and Sweet Ache, as well as an untitled novella to the Driven Series.

Visions by Kelley Armstrong

As #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s new Cainsville series continues, Olivia’s power to read omens leads to the discovery of a gruesome crime with troubling connections to her new hometown.

Omens, the first installment in Kelley Armstrong’s exciting new series, introduced Olivia Taylor-Jones, daughter of notorious serial killers, and Gabriel Walsh, the self-serving, morally ambiguous lawyer who became her unlikely ally. Together, they chased down a devious killer and partially cleared her parents of their horrifying crimes.

Their success, however, is short-lived. While Olivia takes refuge in the old, secluded town of Cainsville, Gabriel’s past mistakes have come to light, creating a rift between the pair just when she needs his help the most.

Olivia finds a dead woman in her car, dressed to look like her, but the body vanishes before anyone else sees it. Olivia’s convinced it’s another omen, a sign of impending danger. But then she learns that a troubled young woman went missing just days ago—the same woman Olivia found dead in her car. Someone has gone to great lengths to kill and leave this young woman as a warning. But why? And what role has her new home played in this disturbing murder?

Olivia’s effort to uncover the truth places her in the crosshairs of old and powerful forces, forces that have their own agenda, and closely guarded secrets they don’t want revealed.

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When this book arrived at the library, the book buyer had a good time making fun of me by waving it around, out of reach of course. I've been waiting since the last book Omens came out to read Visions. (Book one in the Cainsville Series is Omens and my review can be found here.)

 

As I patiently, ok not so patiently awaited this book to catalog, I went to Goodreads to read some reviews. Big mistake there. Luckily no spoilers but I read some reviews at the top that didn't like the book. I'm a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong but was still nervous that the book might experience what most series seems to...the mid-book slump. Thank goodness that didn't happen! And thank goodness I didn't listen to the reviews.

 

Visions starts right where we left off in Omens, which was nice. Olivia is at her parents getting cloths when she sees a vision and a dead body. YUCK! This starts off a new storyline and mystery that actually pulls into the previous storyline of "what am I" or "who are they"? The whole dead body thing was tough for me because of the imagery but it was an important part to the story and mystery.

 

With some stories, authors will keep you hanging the entire series to get the big reveal. Armstrong did no such thing to us. We get a lot of answers, more than I thought we would. But we also get more questions...which I would love to pose to you but don't want to give anything away.

 

My favorite character from the last book was Ricky and I was so happy to see him in this book. However, I don't foresee a love triangle happening between Ricky and Gabriel (another thank goodness moment). We learned more about those two in a vision Olivia has about two other gentleman. My theory is that it's related back to Ricky and Gabriel. We'll have to wait and see on that one.

 

We also learn a lot more about Gabriel and what makes him tick. Or more importantly, what makes him the way he is. We get these insights from Rose, himself, and the town's people. The town seems to be pushing for Gabriel and Olivia and I tend to wonder why that is.

 

Olivia's ex-fiancée also makes an appearance throughout the book. I was happy to see Gabriel's association with James come to light and for Olivia to work through that. I was also happy to see the arc continue with James. Let's be clear, I don't like James but I think he really adds to the story. Showing Olivia's past and how she was a cockatoo pretending to be a song bird.

 

What I love most about the books is Olivia's strength and her ability to process. She has a great inner strength and lacks fear with a lot of things. "Oh, am I in a house and having visions and faced with a locked door. Ok, I can handle that." It's so refreshing to read a character like her who is discovering herself without losing herself in the process.

 

If you're a fan of Armstrong's previous work or a fan of supernatural, this is a must read for 2014! Omens did a great job of starting a story in a whole new world and Visions really brought the world into focus with understanding about origin's and playmakers. I cannot wait for the next book in this series...taps fingers...still waiting to hear what that title will be! A ha, found it here, Deceptions. Oh, that does sound good.

 

Happy reading everyone! 

 

 

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

Sometime this last spring our little girl, E, told us she wanted to learn how to read. This has been an on-going theme in our house for probably 6 months. I would tell her it's time for bed and she would ask for one more book. I would tell her that she could look through the book herself and then the, "I don't know how to read" statement would come out. 

I know most of you are aghast that I wouldn't read one more book to her. Here's the thing...in two years we read over 5000 books. I know the exactly number since we participated in a 1000 books before Kindergarten program. Which she finished in three months.So turning down one last book at night was to save us, trying to get her to go to sleep, knowing that we already ready 10 books that day.

So, when the request came from her to learn how to read, my husband first sat down and tried sounding out words in her books. You could just see the frustration coming from her at this technique. After some research, I found this book at the library...Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Of course I ordered it in and decided to give it a try.

Within 10 lessons I had returned the library book and ordered my own because it was working so well. At first we just worked on sounds. Say "a" the short way, the long way, etc. Then we added words and sentences. Her favorite part? At the end of each lesson the child gets to write out letters. She loves the writing part. 

We're now at lesson 81 and E is reading full stories with titles, sentences, and paragraphs. She's spelling words out on her own. When we had our Kindergarten conference before school started, they handed us a sheet with sight words she had to know by the end of the year. On the sheet, she knew 3/4 of the words and could sound out the rest. For that reason alone I thought I would post about this great book.

Our daughter now feels comfortable sounding out words. Now, when I cuddle with her at night for bedtime, she tries to read my books and will point out words like, "the" or "that" or "and". No more steamy novels for me while she's reading over my shoulder! Ha. Ha.