Meet the Book Blogger: Adria

**Update 12/31/12: A Breath of Life is now 

Adria's Romance Reviews


Welcome to Adria, from A Breath of Life 

Adria is a sweetheart I met through Danielle at The Book Whore Blog and I was thrilled when she agreed to answer some of my questions. Without further ado...

When and how did you get started with book blogging?
I haven't been blogging for long, only a few months. I love reading romance novels, I love talking about them and I love writing reviews and I don't know why it never occurred to me to start a book blog until recently.

What can readers expect from your reviews?
My honest opinion of course. I always like to talk about things that I want to know whenever I read a review. Is the plot strong? Is the hero too overbearing? Is the heroine weak? If I like a certain author's books will I like this one? I try and give readers the most information about the book without revealing anything that can't be found on the book blurb.

What is your favorite genre and is there anything you won’t review?
Romance. Plain and simple. I love historical, paranormal, contemporary and I'm starting to enjoy erotic romance after being afraid of it for so long. The one thing I don't enjoy is hardcore BDSM or anything like that. Other than that, I'm game to try anything in the romance genre.

Adventure is always a good thing. *grin*

What was your most exciting ‘fan-girl’ moment with an author?
I've had several. The most recent one is when I participated in a chat on GoodReads with Tessa Dare a few hours before her latest book was to be released and she actually remembered me from Twitter! She's one of my favorite authors ever and she remembered little ole me from a few exchanges on Twitter.

Very cool! 

Where is your favorite place to read?
The thing about me is I can read anywhere no one knows me. It can be in the doctor's office, in a car (that's not moving), in the mall, as long as no one knows me and tries to talk to me I can read anywhere.

Yep *raises hand* (though I can read in moving cars)

Paper books or ebooks— and why?
Ebooks and only because I literally have no where to keep them and I don't fancy the idea of carting 5 or 6 with me when I go out just on the off chance I might get a chance to read. With ebooks, I can have hundreds at my disposal without the burden of carrying them or trying to find a place to store them all. I do however, still enjoy a bound copy, especially if it's signed by the author!

Is your significant other/family supportive of your book addiction?
Absolutely. Since it's just my mother and me and she's the one who started my book addiction when I was 5, she's all for it.

My mom was/is very supportive of my reading, too. Yay for moms!!

What is your beverage of choice while reading?
I know a lot of Hispanics might know this one but it's Manzanita Sol, an apple flavored soft drink made by Pepsi. It's so good, not too sweet and not too fizzy.

I've never heard of that. Is it available everywhere?

Do you have a pet who loves to snuggle with you when you read? 
Yes. I am a huge animal lover with 4 cats and 2 dogs. The only one who snuggles with me is my pit mix Paris (aka "Mr. Pud"). He's a terror around the house, grabbing things and making them into his toys but as far as snugglers go, he's one of the best I've ever had.

Adria and Paris, aka "Mr. Pud"

Sassy and sweet. He looks like he's grinning. So cute! 

What does it take in a book to absolutely annoy you to the point where you quit reading or throw the book at the wall?
Hands down a weak female character. I can't stand a whimpering, whining, dumb female character that sits around and waits for a man to tell her what to do or to come and save her. Female characters who can't carry their own weight in a story or who make the story drag are just a huge turn off for me. That is something I have never been able to overlook in any book.

(Taking notes.)

What makes you a fan for life?
Strong characters, both male and female, humor, character chemistry, steamy scenes and a little bit of mystery or danger doesn't hurt either. Also, an author who interacts with his/her fans as often as life permits is someone I'm more likely to become a fan of. It just shows good character when they take the time to hang with their fans.

Have you ever stayed up reading all night even when you had to work the next day, and what was the book you cursed while fighting to stay awake all afternoon?
Yes. Whenever there's a new book by a favorite author that is being released at midnight I will buy it exactly at midnight for my e-reader and stay up all night reading it. Then I pay for it the next day when I can't keep my eyes open. The last one that I did that for was A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare.

What is the most challenging part of book blogging? Rewarding?
The most challenging is definitely writing individual reviews for books. I never want to feel like I'm repeating myself in reviews so I always keep a thesaurus nearby.

For writing in general, a thesaurus is my best friend!

Do you like to hear from an author after a review? How do you and your fans feel about authors following, reading and posting on your blog?
Of course! Who doesn't, especially if they're one of your favorites? I love having authors follow me, either my blog or on Twitter and I would love to have some of my favorites post on my blog someday.

Can you share with us up to 5 authors who are auto-buy for you?
Only 5? That's really tough. Okay here it goes (in no particular order): Tessa Dare, Joan Swan, Stacey Joy Netzel, Laurann Dohner and Lydia Dare. I really had to narrow it down because there are 12 authors on my "A Matter of Life or Death" list.

Thank you so much for including me in that list! (Didn't I mention she is a sweetheart?) And I have to laugh--"Only 5?" is a common response from the bloggers I've interviewed so far.

How much is too much for an ebook?
I don't think that ebooks should cost as much as a bound copy, it just makes no sense to me, so anything over $6 for an ebook is sorely pushing it for me.

Do you know how many books currently reside on your To Be Read list?
I'm afraid to do an exact count but I estimate about 50 books give or take 20.

Sounds a bit like mine, but like you, I'm afraid to count...

Thank you so much for taking time to spend with us Adria!

 Readers, you can find Adria here:

Breath of LifeReviews (Blog)

Twitter: @adria_r

Facebook (asAdriana Reyes)

GoodReads 

Now, anything more you'd like to know? Adria will be visiting to answer questions you have for her!