The Novel Hermit

daydreaming about books

Holy Mother Cover

HOLY, MOTHER COVER! | Snow Theme!

Comments : 5

holymothercover

Inspired by What She Reads, Pure Imagination Blog, and Stacked.

I admit I’m a book cover snob. Who isn’t though?

Book covers are the first thing that attracts readers to a book. A good cover can draw someone is, just as a bad cover can easily draw someone away. It can essentially make or break a book. Holy, Mother Cover! is where I showcase the book covers that stand out (or make me cringe) and discuss cover changes.

(A big special thanks to Georgie at What She Reads for bestowing me this fabulous name and to Charlotte at The Simple Tales for creating the beautiful feature banner you see before you.)

IT’S ALMOST CHRISTMAS, DUDES! *flails arms*

And you know what I want to do? Show off my favorite snow covers! Because it’s almost Christmas. And no Christmas is complete without snow. (Well, I live on the West Coast, so there’s never snow. Whoops.)

THEME: Snow!


Read More

Design

YOU’RE JUST MY TYPE | Holiday Printables Galore!

Comments : 2

yourejustmytypebanner

I love fonts. You can say I’m obsessed with collecting them all. It’s no secret to those who know me. You’re Just My Type is a new feature where I showcase the fonts I absolutely adore and use. And hopefully, you will love the fonts I pick. Add all of them to your font collection! Let it grow!

I interrupt the regular scheduled You’re Just My Type to bring you glorious holiday printables! Do you have gifts that need tags? Either with the person’s name or a “Merry Christmas” or a “no peeking”? Well, I’ve rounded up beautiful lettering ones that are completely free to use! Just download the pdfs, and off to the printers you go! You don’t have to buy anything except the paper. Life saver!

Read More

Lists

Dear Santa | All I Want For Christmas

Comments : 4

Dear Santa, 

You didn’t think I’d forget to make my wishlist, did you? I could never forget! It’s always the most exciting and painful thing to put together my wishlist. Here are a list of things I am hoping will be under my Christmas tree. Everything here is something I desperate want because a. they’re cute, b. it’ll complete my book collection, c. it’s insanely gorgeous, or d. the author or book is a fave. I’m pretty sure I’m missing a lot (like clothing and stuff), but these are off the top of my head.

1. Pick of the Critter Bag | 2. Endsinger by Jay Kristoff | 3. Hello Lucky Letterpress Cards | 4. Happy Mail stationery subscription | 5. Lovely and Lush Bag | 6. One Day Notebooks  | 7. Persuasion (Vintage Classics) by Jane Austen | 8. Picasso Cats Silk Scarf | 9. The Wicked + The Divine Volume 1 comic  | 10. Three Ladies art print | 11. Yes Please by Amy Poehler | 12. The Raven Cycle books by Maggie Stiefvater | 13. The Shadow of the Wind (Penguin Drop Caps) by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Not pictured)

What about you? What’s on your wishlist?

Blog News

Celebrate The Novel Hermit’s Two-riffic Blogoversary! + Giveaway!

Comments : 65

tnh two-riffic blogoversary

On this glorious day two years ago, The Novel Hermit was created.

It slowly grew up, reaching soo many milestones and making new friends. It is what it is today because of you guys, who continue to visit and show your love for it. It will, hopefully, continue to grow bigger and bigger, reaching new milestones. We shall celebrate in style! Let’s party and dance and throw confetti! Because it’s a wonderful day!
Read More

Reviews

REVIEW | The Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik

Leave a Comment

Claire LaZebnik - The Last Best KissThe Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik
April 22, 2014
Harper Teen
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble |  The Book Depository

Anna Eliot is tired of worrying about what other people think. After all, that was how she lost the only guy she ever really liked, Finn Westbrook.

Now, three years after she broke his heart, the one who got away is back in her life.

All Anna wants is a chance to relive their last kiss again (and again and again). But Finn obviously hasn’t forgotten how she treated him, and he’s made it clear he has no interest in having anything to do with her.

Anna keeps trying to persuade herself that she doesn’t care about Finn either, but even though they’ve both changed since they first met, deep down she knows he’s the guy for her. Now if only she can get him to believe that, too….

With her signature wit and expertly authentic teen voice, Claire LaZebnik (the author of fan favorites Epic Fail and The Trouble with Flirting) once again breathes new life into a perennially popular love story. Fans of Polly Shulman, Maureen Johnson, and, of course, Jane Austen will love this irresistibly funny and romantic tale of first loves and second chances.

myreviewFirst sentence: “On nights when I’m honest with myself, I can admit that Finn Westbrook was the best thing about my ninth-grade year.”

I am a big sucker for Persuasion. It is one of my all-time favorite Jane Austen books, and it never fails to gut me, but The Last Best Kiss was just—ugh, I just want to erase it from my brain.

The Last Best Kiss is essentially a retelling of Persuasion. It tells of Anna Eliot, who breaks the heart of the boy she really likes, Finn Westbrook, because she’s worried about what people think of her. Then, a few years later, Finn returns to Anna’s life, and Anna can only regret the decision she made as her friends welcome Finn into their group, not realizing the two have a history. It’s a story that speaks of first loves and regret; one that failed to gain any of my sympathy and failed to connect me with the characters.

Read More

Discussion

2014 YA Book Cover Choice Nominations!

Comments : 11

yabccawards

I have gathered all the suggested award categories. (Thank you to all who submitted.)

AND IT’S FINALLY NOMINATION TIME!

Before I talk about how to nominate, I shall talk about what the YA Book Cover Choice Awards are. Very simple. I love book covers, especially YA ones, and was sadden that there weren’t any posts celebrating the awesomeness of them. The YA Book Cover Choice Awards (aka YABCCAwards) aim to honor all the wonderful (and not-so wonderful) book covers that were published in the past year. It will be nominated and voted by readers (à la Goodreads Choice Awards and the *Book Shimmy* Awards).

I’m keeping the categories simple for now. (Maybe next year, it will be more creative, but we’ll worry about that later.)

The rules:

  • You nominate a maximum of four books for each category.
  • Nominate the book you believe best fits that category.
  • You don’t have to fill out all the categories all at once. You can come back later.
  • Nominations will end 12/14 11:59 PM PST.

I know it’ll be a bit hard to remember the books that were published in 2014, so I decided to make it easy for you. After nearly two agonizing days, I put together allllll of the books published in 2014 into a Tumblr. You get a hugeee gallery of 2014 book covers called “YA Cover Galore!” You’re welcome. ;)

What are you waiting for?

Go share with your friends! Nominate the book covers you want to win for each category!