The reviews are in, and I couldn’t be happier!
Couldn’t be happier with the reviews, anyway…sales on the other hand appear to be sad despite high praise for the story. If the Amazon rank hit even triple digits in a subcategory, I missed it (and the hope of such a lofty goal is now a distant memory).
But the reviews are something to cheer about! As I write/schedule this post, I’ve seen nothing but 4s and 5s on blogs or on either Goodreads or Amazon, and the 5s outweigh the 4s! So woohoo! 🎉
Here are a few of the highlights that give me the warm fuzzies!:
Writer Jackie Keswick said, “I love the world Addison Albright has built for her story.”
Writer Zakarrie Clarke said, “The Best-Laid Plans is an enthralling adventure that seems far more realistic than many a more mundane tale. Characters who are relatable despite their lofty status, crafted with a depth that far exceeds its length.” ~ and ~ “The Best-Laid Plans is the perfect follow up to The Contingency Plan; a thrill ride of derring-dos and developing love that delivers far more than a fairytale happy ever after. I loved it.”
Ashley at Ilovebooksandstuffblog said, “Heart-warming and suspenseful! I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel.”
ButtonsMom2003 at Xtreme Delusions said, “This short novella sure packed a punch. There is mystery, suspense and two new lovers learning about each other. I was practically biting my nails while I read this; I couldn’t wait to see how it ended.”
Mari at Bayou Book Junkie said, “Frankly, I was pleasantly surprised at how resourceful and clever Marcelo was in this particular story, proving that he was more than a worthy match for Prince Efren, despite his reservations. And I just loved the progression of his relationship with Efren. They were sweet and hot and I couldn’t get enough of them together, but at the same time, I loved seeing Marcelo come into his own when he had to.”
Alisa at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words said, “Efren really is sweet with Marcelo and no matter how much he doesn’t really want emotions to get in the way you can quickly see that he is quickly starting to care for Marcelo. It was great to see Marcelo stand up for himself survive when he was in danger.”
Ruthie at Wicked Reads said, “In an adventure worthy of any of the classic fantasy tales of knights errant are derring-do, this story manages to convey the tension, and the environment using sparse words, but plenty of action to give the sense of the time and the place. Where there is description it is used wisely and Albright’s writing imparts all the emotions with perfect emphasis.” ~ and ~ “Writing a really good short story is a skill possessed by few – I am delighted to say that Addison Albright is one of those few.”
Angela at Wicked Reads said, “Marcelo’s ability to constantly surprise others had me grinning more than once, even when the scene wasn’t particularly pleasant. His determination and resourcefulness were sources of major character growth over such a short period of time.”
Sadonna at Love Bytes Reviews said, “Over this short time, they have begun to build a solid foundation for their marriage with a bright future ahead of them – definitely a HFN ending 😊 A lot happens in these two shorter stories of this series but I thought the pacing and the detail were perfect for a quick enjoyable tale.”
Amazon Reviewer, Christopher said, “I read this book in one sitting and did not find one point where I was bored or wanted to skip pages. There was intrigue and mystery surrounding the two princes as they make their way back to Efren’s kingdom of Zioneven. Seeing Marcelo slowly beginning to spread his wings in this book was great, as was Efren’s supporting him.”
For more information:
The Contingency Plan – Blurb, Excerpt, Purchase/Borrow Links
Congratulations on your fabulous reviews!❤😍❤ I particularly loved Ruthie’s and couldn’t agree with her more. I’m sad & so sorry that such well-deserved superlatives haven’t translated into sales and very much wish they had.
It has crossed my mind of late to wonder if readers even consider buying the first book(s) in a series should a sequel catch their interest, when there are so many free books available every day. I’m glad that you are at least able to make yours available on KU..and do so hope you pick up a lot of reads/new readers that way 💞
Thank you! I love Ruthie’s review, too. My new favorite word is “derring-do.” It’s so fun and underused (at least in my part of the world), but I got two of them in these reviews: one from you, and one from Ruthie! 🥰🌺
I wish I knew what it was. I’m thinking in terms of the first book is now in KU, but this one isn’t…yet…and readers have probably figured out it will be eventually. Trouble is, when I ask JM to move them into KU down the road, there’s still never the kind of sales jump I’d like to see. For the final books in the two what-were-originally-one-offs-but-are-now-trilogies, I’m thinking of asking JM to have them go directly into KU upon release to see if that makes a difference, because it would coincide with all the new release hoopla/blitz.
Aw, you’re welcome. It is a fabulous word – I love those oh so English olde phrases. ❤ I’m glad the first book is on KU as that does seem the best way of attracting readers who will buy the sequel should they love the first book. I suspect that the only better bet would be to make the first book available free for a few days (alongside the accompanying release hoopla) but that’s only an option when self publishing. I started thinking all this when pondering who the bejeezus might buy Hangover #3? It would cost £10 to read books 1 and 2 first…even before shelling out another £5 for the third. 😲 I can’t do a darn thing about the price though, nor make them available on KU. 😧 I very much think you’re right: asking JM to put them on KU to coincide with all the release blitzery does seem the best bet. In the meantime, I wish you many more wonderful reviews and hope they impact upon sales.🌹💞🌹
Actually a lot of “only an option when self-publishing” things are very much an option at JMS. JM is very easy to work with and open to all kinds of marketing strategies. Yes, that’s a great idea for the 3rd books. Have book 1 free for a few days, and maybe the 2nd book 99 cents at the same time? Then the 3rd book can be regular price (and maybe, maybe not immediately in KU).
That sounds a great idea to me 😊 It’s wonderful that JMS are open to such strategies…oh, how I wish… 💞Having a few stories available on KU and being able to make them free for a few days is the only reason I decided to self-publish Duke & Dandy.🌺
You had the extra work associated with self-pub, but on the plus side you’ll get 100% of what the distributors pay. 🌷
Yes…although I did it in hopes of gaining a few readers by releasing them for free. That did seem to work…the difference is staggering.😯 I’ve made about $30 in royalties from my published novels in 15 months…whereas each of the D&D books shifted 1,000+ copies during their 5 day free period.😲💐
My annual goal since returning to writing is to earn enough in the year ($600) to get an actual 1099 tax tax form from the publisher. I’ve yet to even get close to that goal. 😕 I’ve yet to actually “make” anything at all, in that the books don’t net me more than what I pay for their release blitzes, let alone offset costs for website, etc.
Actually, back in the day, before my long “hiatus,” I exceeded that goal in a single month. My writing has greatly improved since those early days, yet sales have bottomed out. *sigh*
Wow, 1000+ copies is ᖴᗩᑎTᗩᔕTIᑕ!! 🎉 I guess the key is for them to actually read the stories rather than bury them in TBR piles. That’s why I try to be a little loose with giveaway events, hopefully gaining readers who might then turn around and buy something else.
Aw, thank you…but you’re spot on. I very much suspect that most of those copies will remain ever buried in TBR piles😁 Ah well, it was an experiment & it sort of worked. In theory.😋
Wow…It’s fantastic that you exceeded your yearly goal in that one month. 💞 How I wish you could regain the sales figures your writing merits.❤
Oh blimey, I didn’t even factor in the costs of Office/website/promotion.😲 If I did, I’d be about £500 in the red methinks.🙈Oops.
Even if they don’t read them right away, they’ll filter to the tops of those piles over the months and hopefully bring you sales of your other books along the way! 🥰 I love your writing style and the stories you tell. They deserve all the exposure and love. ❤️
It’s a whole different ballgame now than it was 9-10 years ago when I had those sales. KU and the explosion of self publishing changed everything.
Sad isn’t it, how we’re losing money doing this all the while people complain about the cost of books.
Oh thank you. So much, for your lovely words…they mean more than sales to me🥰
I had no idea what was afoot until I was published, no notion how small a step it was. Publishing a book has become something anyone can do by clicking that very word. We press the same one to ‘publish’ a blog post.😶
It is…and bonkers too. I’ve never known books to be so affordable…and yet, peeps don’t flinch from forking out more for a frothy coffee…😲
Too true. Every time I see that coffee analogy, in my mind I scream “Right!?” And if not a coffee, most of us have something we spend that much on each day. And if money’s that tight and we don’t, and truly can’t afford much for our reading habit, a lot of books are now on Hoopla (all of mine are) where they can be read for totally free. Also, many have figured out that they can get books for free as ARCs in exchange for their honest review. There are many ways to put a little slack in the book budget to be able to pay a fair price for the books we want that aren’t available by those other means.
Every word a gem…I couldn’t agree with you more. 🌺 I suspect that KU, Netflix, Prime, Youtube, Spotify, etc have led people to expect they can access almost anything they wish for ‘free’. Even if they don’t think that way; having paid their subscriptions, I doubt if many are willing to pay more for something those platforms don’t offer. Unless p’raps its part of a favourite franchise or by a artist/author they love.
Too true. Which I guess brings us back to those freebies, hoping the books we giveaway get read and we become one of those authors they love. 🥰
Exactly😘 🥰 (oops, typo..um, ‘an’ author😳)
Congrats on the lovely reviews. They are well deserved because Prince Marcelo is the greatest!! Love him to pieces ❤️
Thank you! I’m thrilled about the review. So far, those who’ve read it have really liked it.