Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye.
Love and Other Thought Experiments by Sophie Ward
Why I have it: Because of Bookish Beck’s review.
Summary: One night Rachel wakes up screaming and tells her partner Eliza that an ant has crawled into her eye and is stuck there. She knows it sounds mad, but she also knows it’s true. As a scientist, Eliza won’t take Rachel’s fear seriously and they fight, calling their entire relationship into question.
I’m thinking: No.
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
Why I have it: No idea (but could have something to do with that gorgeous cover).
Summary: Betty Carpenter, born in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother. The world they inhabit is one of poverty and violence, both from outside and within the family. The land becomes a refuge for Betty, but when her family’s darkest secrets are brought to light, she has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills.
I’m thinking: Maybe.
New Animal by Ella Baxter
Why I have it: a new(ish) release that caught my eye because the main character is in the funeral business.
Summary: Amelia’s meeting a lot of men but once she gets the sex she wants from them, that’s it for her; she can’t connect further. Maybe being a cosmetician at her family’s mortuary business isn’t the best job for learning about emotional connections?
I’m thinking: No.
I’m not hugely drawn to any of these (hooray! My TBR is ridiculous) but I agree about the cover of Betty – lovely.
None of these really appeal but I would probably pick Betty up because of the cover.
When I worked in publishing we spent a lot of time arguing about samples – which at that time meant including a chapter of the author’s next book at the end of the current book. Timing-wise, this was usually done in the paperback. But as a reader, I sometimes find it annoying if I think there’s a big section of the book left to read and it turns out to be a teaser from a book I will have to wait a year to read!
Must admit I’ve got engrossed in a sample chapter of a forthcoming book and then been annoyed that it’s still months away!