Top Ten Reasons I Love My Blogging Friends and Author Cassie Mae

(Images link to Goodreads, Titles link to Amazon)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish in which you make a list of ten to do with a certain topic.  This week’s topic is “Ten Reasons I Love X — could be a certain book, character, author, your indie bookstore, a fandom, a tv show, reading, a hobby, a genre. Honestly anything you want to gush about.”  Curly Carla and I each picked a different X because it’s kind of hard to agree on one thing.  🙂

Curly Carla’s Top Ten Eleven Reasons I Love My Blogging Friends:

1. We have the same interest, books.  We debate them, their stories, how they imitate life and vice versa.  How we identify with the characters or if we just plain hate them. And we never hate on someone who doesn’t love them as much as we do.
2. I love how we support each other.  I’m part of several groups and I have never felt left out or guilty when I disappear for a while.  They understand life happens.
3. They are some of the funniest people I have ever met.  Seriously, a book nerds humor is on a deeper level ya’ll.
4. We share ideas.  Hello, Top Ten Tuesday, you sexy thing you…
5. We are smart.  “Look at that stupid book nerd” Said no one ever!
6. We do this cool online book club thing where we read and compare reviews on the same book.  This is one of my favorite things to do.
7. We are all a bit awkward and wordy.  And we don’t care.
8. We can give real criticism and it’s taken seriously, not as if you are being attacked. But in a respectable, debatable way.
9. I love how they pop in for a quick question on a book and then halfway through the conversation, they are all, “Ok, gotta run, laters.” It’s quirky and endearing to me.
10. And last but not least, I love my blogging friends because when I need advice or have a problem on my site or don’t understand something, I am not afraid to ask.  I’m new and don’t know that much about this world.  And they help answer my questions without making me feel like an idiot.
11. And they are funny.  That’s worth mentioning twice.

Lenoreo’s Top Ten Reasons I Love Author Cassie Mae:

1. My number one repeated phrase on every Cassie Mae book review is that her characters are so real.  Regardless of what makes up who they are, I can relate to them.  I can imagine them actually existing.  They aren’t perfect, they have flaws, but that just makes me love them even more, b/c I feel like they could be my friends.
2. Her characters are ALL unique.  Some authors will have a certain feel to all their characters so that you recognize something in common.  I honestly feel as though each character Ms. Mae creates is so fleshed out that I can picture them all existing, and each one brings something different to the table.  She doesn’t write just one kind of heroine or hero.  She brings something different to each one, and yet they all speak to me.
3. I guess this is sort of related to 1 and 2, but she has created some of my first book *girl* crushes.  I love falling in love with a book boy (who doesn’t?), but I do believe Hayley from Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend was one of the first girl crushes I’ve ever had.  I wanted to *know* her so badly and be her friend.  It isn’t just about relating to a character, it’s about more than that.  And then she did it again for me with Sierra in How to Seduce a Band Geek.  Two of my favourite heroines of all time.
   
4. I don’t think there’s a single book boy of hers that I haven’t fallen in love with (even with the wide range of personalities), but she has created my 2 number 1 book boyfriends of all time.  For so long whenever someone asked me who my number 1 book boyfriend was, I would always respond Wesley from Switched.  Because SERIOUSLY OMG.  And although I love many book boys, I never expected him to have competition.  And then I read Alec from Crazy About Love (coming out June 14th).  And honestly folks, I am just without words.  He gave me so many tummy butterflies, I didn’t even know what to do with myself.  And what’s even crazier?  They aren’t necessarily that alike!!  Wesley is loud where Alec is quieter and shyer.  But they both just make me *swoon*.
   
5. She can write amazingly sweet and innocent and clean young adult novels, and then turn around and write sexy delicious older novels with the right amount of chemistry in each one.
6. Speaking of her older novels, when it comes to the sex scenes they don’t feel all generic and cliche.  They always feel true to the characters in them, and quite often have moments of lightheartedness and fun (and even sometimes hilarity) that I find extremely refreshing.  What can I say, I can appreciate goofiness in the bedroom.
7. Her young adult novels often address very real issues facing teenagers today, and Ms. Mae does so with a lot of heart and respect and realism.  Her How To series (How to Date a Nerd, How to Seduce a Band Geek, and How to Hook a Bookworm) each deal with young adults facing hard choices (from peer pressure to drug parties to feeling “stupid”).  And her most recent release, You Can’t Catch Me deals with the insecurities teenagers face with their changing bodies.  (and quite frankly, I could list even more of her books, including her older novels — Ms. Mae is never afraid to tackle a topic and give her readers things to think about)
   
8. She believes in diversity and writes it naturally!!  Her new adult novel The Real Thing features the deliciously Samoan Eric, her novel No Interest in Love features the Korean heroine Shay (even if the cover by Random House doesn’t quite represent it) and her short story Stroke of Luck in the Get Lucky anthology features the black hero Jensen.
   
9. Her books are, quite frankly, hilarious.  And not in the typical way.  They are nerdy.  Quirky.  Adorable.  Goofy.  And sometimes a little on the dorky side of things (with a hint of immature humour on occasion).  And quite frankly, so am I.  I know that’s not everyone’s thing, but people like me exist, and it’s nice to have books whose mix of humour I can appreciate and snort at.
10. And finally, she writes some of the best dedications (and acknowledgements).  And I’m not just saying that because Crazy About Love was dedicated to me.  Her dedications so often relate to the story itself and it feels like you’re getting a little piece more.

Even aside from her writing, Ms. Mae has become a treasured friend who never fails to put a smile on my face.  She puts herself out there, making you feel like you’re not alone in your day to day struggles.

As always, we hope you’ve enjoyed our Top Ten Tuesday this week!  Let us know what you think and share with us your own lists!!