Category: Goodreads

The Sweetest Game cover reveal!

Today is the day!!!

The cover reveal for the third book in the Southern U O’Brien Brothers series is here! And it is such a stunner!

Thank you so much to my wonderful cover designer, Stephanie Mooney! You did an amazing/beautiful/incredible job!

I can’t even. I love it so much.

Without further ado…

…here is the cover…

…(which, did I mention I love? :))…

…for my new book..

The Sweetest Game <3.

*swoons*

Gorgeous, right?!? *___*

This cover makes my eyes smile every time. I’ve wanted to write June & Baylor’s story ever since I had the idea for the O’Brien Brothers years ago. June is so in love with Bay. She has been for years, and the way she pines for him, her best friend’s brother, just pulls at my heartstrings (and I hope it pulls at yours too <3). And I am so in love with Baylor. He’s cocky yet lovable, beautiful yet flawed, determined to deny his feelings for June and yet…unable to deny his heart. I love her; I love him; I love them together. And I hope, hope, hope readers will love their story.

On that note…we have a release date!

The Sweetest Game will release on September 8, 2022!!!

Woohoo! Book baby #12, you guys!

If you’d like to read the summary, you can find it here. ***This is not a young adult book. It is a new adult sports romance set in college and intended for readers 18+.***

Once more with feeling: Happy Cover Reveal Day to The Sweetest Game!

If you’re a fan of friends-to-lovers, fake romance, tons of pining, flirty banter, falling for your best friend’s brother, soulmates, true love, swoon and spice, I hope you’ll check it out!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

CUPCAKE Goodreads Giveaway

Can you believe it’s October already? Gah, I can’t. September was a busy month which is why I haven’t posted in a while. But there’s so much I want to share with you guys!

Today, I have an awesome giveaway for you!

Entangled is doing a Goodreads giveaway to win a paperback copy of my upcoming YA romance CUPCAKE!!! It ends on November 1st, and there will be 5 winners! Hooray!

Here is the link if you’d like to enter!

Good luck, bookworms!!!

I’ll also be doing a giveaway closer to the release date which is on November 2nd.

Yes, you read that right.

CUPCAKE, Book Baby #9, my first ever traditionally published book from start to finish, my first #OwnVoices book, will come out in less than a month. Ahhh! Trying not to freak out over here (and mostly succeeding…maybe lol).

CUPCAKE is a swoon-worthy, fun and funny YA romance, featuring a plus-sized princess named Ariel who loves baking, movies, and…herself–just as she is <3. It also features Rhys, the golden-boy quarterback who is slightly broody, imperfect, and *sigh* absolutely wonderful.

There are already over 60 ratings/reviews.

Again, freaking out a bit ha!

I’ve never had a book release with that many reviews/ratings.

Several early readers have picked out some of my favorite parts of the story, reminding me why I love it so much, and I’m so grateful for them.

I love that CUPCAKE features a teen girl who just happens to be plus-sized and who loves herself.

I love the swoon-worthy romance/chemistry between Ariel & Rhys.

I love the female relationships. Ariel & Toni. Ariel & her mom. Ariel & Lana. Ariel & all of the girls on Homecoming Court.

I love the supportive mother/daughter relationship.

I love Rhys and that he isn’t perfect.

I also love Zander <3, the movies mentioned, the funny and heartfelt moments. I could keep going, but I’ll stop lol.

Anyway, I so hope readers will love CUPCAKE, too!

Quick writing/life updates: I’ve been trying to write. It’s slow-going, but at least it’s coming, and I love the story so much!!! I hope to post more–life just got busy, and then I started to feel that fear again, like whatever I had to say didn’t matter; no one really wants to hear it anyway *sigh*. I’ve also been trying to stay positive.

And I’ll keep trying.

Whatever you have going on in your life, I hope you are well. I wish you so much joy and happiness. Positive vibes to you! I hope you’re having a wonderful October so far!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. CUPCAKE comes out in less than a month!!! Ahh, so excited! <3

Work In Progress

Honestly, I feel like that title describes my life lol.

Work in progress.

Trying, trying some more, hopefully progressing.

Anyway, WIP probably describes everyone’s life, so at least I’m not alone :).

Here are a few updates on my books and what I’ve been doing recently (I’ll try not to make it too boring ha).

WALLFLOWER is out in the world, and it’s been doing so well! If you’re reading this, I cannot say thank you enough. So: Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart! I love Viola & Dare so much, and people are actually reading their book, enjoying the story, writing such sweet reviews! Ugh, thank you again!

I’ve actually been working on several projects–which is so crazy bc I’m used to only working on one at a time. It’s been…a learning experience lol! And it’s not done yet.

Project #1: Editing my YA romance for Entangled! I just turned in my first pass of the manuscript to my editor and can’t wait to see what she thinks! Hoping, hoping, hoping all of you will love it! The title of the book is CUPCAKE. <3 It’s actually already on Goodreads. I’ll post more about it soon, but I love this book! Ugh, can’t wait to share it with you!

Project #2: Another YA romance for Entangled! Still in the early idea stages with this one. I’m waiting for approval of the summary, but I already am so excited about it!

Project #3: The co-authored project I’ve been writing! It’s YA. It’s awesome. It’s almost finished…maybe. The last time we spoke we said it will likely come out in June/July. Very excited (and nervous) about this ha!

Project #4: The O’Brien Brothers Book 2!!! I’m so looking forward to finishing this one–not because I don’t love it, but because I do! The book is at about 56k words. Still a few chapters to go. I love it SO much, and I’m just trying to do the main couple and this wonderful family justice. Again, I can’t wait to share and hope readers will swoon! *Also, the cover is GORGEOUS!!!! I need to finish the book first, but I can’t wait to put that bit of loveliness out in the world! *

Those are my WIPs!

Besides myself, of course :-).

I was sick last week, so that kind of sucked. FeedBurner is apparently going to stop sending email notifications–like the ones you get when I do a blog post. So, I need to figure that out for the ten people who actually read these posts ;).

I hope you’re all staying safe and that wonderful things are happening where you are!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. Oooh, and ADORKABLE is now available on the KISS app! It came out today! Yayyy!!! I think the publishing model is interesting; it involves tokens/chapters etc. Hope the KISS readers love Sally & Becks! 🙂

Focus on the Good

The other day I sent out a few ARCs for WALLFLOWER, eep! I was so excited—still am. Not going to lie, I was nervous though—still am lol. But it’s a good feeling to know the book is out there.

I think/hope the readers who enjoyed my other YA romances will enjoy this one. That’s not something I say lightly. Doubt comes easy to me; confidence is hard. But yeah, if you’re reading this, I think/hope you’ll love WALLFLOWER.

One important thing to know: This is not a sequel to ADORKABLE.

Viola is Sally & Becks’s daughter—but the book stands alone. This is why there’s no mention of ADORKABLE in the book summary as well. I hope people will love Viola & Dare’s romance regardless of if they’ve read any of my previous work.

Honestly, as I was writing, the parents just were Sally & Becks (at least in my head). Two or three awesome readers picked up on the “Kent” name and asked about it. I probably could’ve made Viola the child of one of the older Kent brothers—but I didn’t really think of that lol! Again, the parents just were Sally & Becks. Viola was the daughter I thought they would create together. I see bits of both characters in her. Her parents have an awesome relationship, and the family loves each other. I truly hope that comes across—along with the funny/swoon-worthy moments—which mostly involve Viola & Dare—because this is very much their book and not a sequel to my debut (both of which I love :D).

I gave up being negative and complaining for Lent (and a couple of other things). It’s challenging, but things are going okay so far! See there, no negativity :).

We’re in the last 24 hours of a giveaway to celebrate ADORKABLE reaching 10,000 ratings on Goodreads. Hooray!!! If you’d like to, you can enter here! Good luck to you!

I never thought one of my books could be that widely read. I always hope all of my books will reach people. I hope readers will love WALLFLOWER. May it find the readers and hearts it’s meant to. Hopefully, it will brighten someone’s day <3. There’s a little over a month before the book’s release on March 25th, gah! Can’t believe it’s coming up so soon. And now, I’ll stop rambling lol.

Whatever’s happening with you, I hope you’re able to focus on the good. Hope you’re doing well, bookworms! Positive vibes to you! Be safe out there!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

WALLFLOWER cover reveal

Today is the day!!!

I’m revealing the cover for my YA romance WALLFLOWER! Yayyy!!! I’ve wanted to share this with you for a while because I love it so much.

I can’t wait to see if you do, too…

…and now…

…here is the cover…

…for my new book…

WALLFLOWER <3.

Apologies if you see this twice lol! I just had to share!

I love, love, love it, you guys! The way they are looking at each other is everything, and the feel is so romantic! Love the colors, pose, and again, that look! <3

I’d love to hear what you think! 🙂

I hope this cover makes your heart glad, and I hope you fall in love with Viola & Dare’s story! WALLFLOWER is coming on March 25, 2021!!!

That’s right, you guys! We have a release date, woop! So excited!

I spent this past weekend reading two books from one of my favorite series, and it was wonderful. *sigh* It reaffirmed my belief that: Books are awesome. 🙂 Hope you’re all well and having a wonderful week so far!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. Be on the lookout for a giveaway soon!!!

One Week

Just one week until the cover reveal of WALLFLOWER!!! Hooray!

Okay, I know I’ve said it already, but…I’m so excited to share this cover (and story) with you and see what you think :)!

The time leading up to a book release is always super exciting. I just want to give Viola & Dare every chance possible to reach readers–and hopefully, crossing my fingers so hard, people will love them as much as I do <3.

Another exciting thing is happening as well!

As of now, ADORKABLE is 12 ratings away from 10,000 on Goodreads! Eep!!!

Isn’t that cool?

I love math and numbers, so for me, it definitely is ha!

Never in a million years would I have thought one of my books would reach that many people. It’s like a little miracle. I don’t have a big family or many friends (though the ones I do have are THE BEST). I’m not good at networking (*see: I suck at networking). I’m an introvert-perfectionist who struggles with putting my work out there. Even my doubts have doubts lol.

Despite all this, ADORKABLE is still being read. It’s crazy–and I’m so very thankful that people are actually finding my books!

I’ve had a hard time writing recently. My mind has felt so mushy/muddled with everything going on in the world. I know I’m not the only one, and I hope it gets better. Little miracles happen all the time. Maybe one is just around the corner for all of us. If you need a little inspiration, here’s a poem by Emily Dickinson that I thought about today, particularly the first stanza :).

Stay safe and hopeful, everyone!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

Hello 2021

New year, new goals, new books! Yay!!!

Hello, my lovely readers! I hope you’re doing well and that you got to read some awesome books over the holidays :). I didn’t get a chance to read, but I did finish writing a book, woop!

This one is for Entangled, and it’s with my editor now (very thankful to work with an amazing editor!). I love it, so I’m very much hoping she will, too! Crossing my fingers!

Just being honest: Sometimes it feels like I get nothing done lol. And with last year being so full of sadness, suffering and scary times, I was surprised to see that I’d reached several of my goals.

Bookish goals achieved last year: I published my 5th book baby and first ever New Adult romance, The Best Mistake, woohoo!!! The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad came out in paperback, and the Hungarian translation Piszkos TĂĄnc was released, yay! I also published my first novella, The Kissing Challenge <3! The ADORKABLE paperback got a second printing! *happy dance* In June, some wonderful people helped me do the #passthebookchallenge with ADORKABLE (still so thankful & would love to do it again)! I attended a virtual writer’s conference hosted by The Writing Gals–which was awesome! Pretty sure I wrote more than I ever have in a year (completed 2 books + 1 novella and started another co-written book!).

I also had a few goals I didn’t achieve…but I’m rolling them over to this year :). Okay, so here we go. Bookish/Writing Goals for 2021: Write a book (or several! 2-3+). Publish a book. Write more and consistently. Send newsletter once a month. Post on blog, FB, Instagram without being scared/freaking out. Participate more in the author/book community; again, don’t be afraid to reach out. Learn how to run ads.

I also have several personal goals, but here are the big ones: Be thankful & focus on the good. Spread love & positivity.

And there you go! No idea if I’ll be able to reach any or all of them–but I’m going to try. How did your 2020 goals turn out, and what are your goals for this year? I’d love to know!

I wish you all the best and hope 2021 is treating you well so far! Be safe and well, bookworms!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. I’ll do another post soon, but in case you’re interested, my upcoming release is on Goodreads!!! This is truly a book of my heart. <3 It’s my first time mentioning it anywhere; I’m already beating myself up that it’s in a post script ugh, but I just wanted to say thank you so much to the 4 people who have already added WALLFLOWER! You rock!!! Be on the lookout for another post soon, you guys! I can’t wait to share it with all of you! 😀

New YA Romance Novella!

Hi everyone!

I hope you’re doing well! I have a new book coming out soon, woohoo! It’s a YA romance novella called THE KISSING CHALLENGE!

If you’re subscribed to The Cookie Jar Newsletter you may have already seen this, but I wanted to post here as well!

Here is the swoon-worthy cover <333.

And here is the summary:

The challenge: Kiss your best friend.

Sixteen-year-old Anne Elliot is in love with Captain.

He’s been her best friend for years. A rising musician with a special smile he reserves just for her, Captain even lets Anne practice her makeup skills on him—though his bandmates give him flack for it.

When Anne gets an anonymous comment challenging her to kiss her best friend, it threatens to reveal her secret. But how can she resist doing the one thing she’s wanted forever? It’s just one kiss. She and Captain’s relationship can stay the same…right?

The real challenge: Kiss your best friend, and don’t let him know you’re in love.

This YA romance novella is fun, fast-paced, and flirty, the perfect story for anyone who loves best-friends-to-lovers. Inspired by TikTok & Jane Austen, THE KISSING CHALLENGE is sure to make you swoon!

Again, I’m so excited to share Anne & Captain’s story with all of you! It’s 20k words, full of YA romance goodness, and I hope it makes you smile and swoon :). You can add THE KISSING CHALLENGE on Goodreads–and I hope you will lol! A few people have added it, and just seeing that really made me glad.

I’ve been feeling kind of tired and down. September is always hard, but I’m trying to stay positive. If you’re struggling, I hope you are able to stay positive, too.

Most of my focus has been on a charity event that I founded and have organized for the past few years to raise awareness & funds for childhood cancer. If you wouldn’t mind, please cross your fingers that it all goes okay. I’d truly appreciate the good vibes.

I hope you are all well, my lovely readers! Virtual hugs and good karma to you! Stay safe out there!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

Hello Again

Hello again!

I hope you’re all doing well! Yes, I’m still here and just…trying, every day trying, like everyone else.

My last blog post wasn’t sent out for some reason—and it was a nice one about a fun ADORKABLE bookish video I was able to do with some truly awesome people! <3 (ICYMI: here it is!)

I hope this one gets sent—and if it doesn’t, I guess I’ll ask the people at WordPress lol? Not really the best with technology, so I’ll definitely need help ha.

But anyway, here are a few writing/book-related updates:

  • I reached 10,000 words on my current WIP yesterday!!! Yay, yay, yay! I’m really in love with this book and the characters. It’s a YA romance with funny and swoon-worthy moments and…ugh, I hope to keep writing, can’t wait to finish and share it with you guys!
  • THE BEST MISTAKE, my New Adult sports romance, is doing awesome! It’s gotten some wonderful reviews, and I’m so thankful for all of them! Here’s a pic from back when THE BEST MISTAKE reached 100 ratings on Goodreads! *sigh* If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you’ll check it out, and let me know what you think of the O’Brien brothers!!!
  • Just found out Sarah J. Maas is writing another book in the A Court of Thorns & Roses series! Literally one of my favorite series ever! And it’s not just any book. It’s for two characters that I love: Nesta & Cassian! <333 Can’t wait to read!
  • A kind person at work got me a Kindle! It happened around Christmas, was totally unexpected and just really thoughtful. Because of this, I now have 3 free months of KU! Very excited to read all the books lol!

Also, on a totally different note, and because I’m a real person who cares about you and your loved ones, and I hope you care about mine: Please, if you have to go out and be around people, wear a mask.

I don’t know how this has become an argument. It’s not about infringing on people’s rights; it’s not even about you protecting yourself. The masks are worn to protect others. It’s about caring for those around you because you could have the virus, be asymptomatic, and spread it to a loved one—or to someone else’s loved one. I’ve had my own experiences, and I’ll share them here.

The first time I ever had to wear a mask was five years ago. It was to protect my best friend who had cancer.

Her immune system was down because of the chemo treatments. I’d caught a cold which of course wouldn’t usually be too concerning. But for someone with cancer and lowered immunity, a cold could turn into something far worse, like pneumonia. My little cold that I knew I’d likely recover from could’ve been life-threatening to her.

So I wore a mask.

To protect her.

Because I love her.

I had to do this a couple of times because I got sick again while she was undergoing treatment. I would’ve done anything to protect her. Wearing a mask was not a hardship. I wish I could’ve done so much more. She was and still is my favorite person of all time.

*And if you at any point while you were reading this thought: “Well, she was dying anyway” or have ever said something cruel like that to a person with cancer, please don’t buy or read any of my books. They are written for people with hearts. And I’m pretty sure you’ve misplaced yours.*

There are still people who I love that I want to protect. So again, when you go out and are around people, please wear a mask.

I hope you’re all safe and healthy, finding happiness during this time. Be well, readers.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

The Best Mistake cover reveal

Hi everyone!

It’s time to reveal the cover of my new book, The Best Mistake! Ahhh, it’s so gorgeous, you guys! I hope you love it! <3 Sarah Hansen, the cover designer, is so incredibly talented! I’m very thankful to her for working with me and making it just…perfect. And thank you so much to Xpresso Book Tours for hosting the cover reveal!

I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting…

…so, here it is…

…FINALLY…

…the cover of my next book…

….my first New Adult sports romance…

The Best Mistake :).

Say hello to Archer O’Brien, everyone!

Isn’t he lovely? *sigh*

I so love this cover! Honestly, I can’t stop staring lol. And I’m so excited for you to meet Archer and all of the O’Brien Brothers (and their sister :D). Not to even mention, my main girl Honor, who is such an awesome, hilarious, smart, book-loving heroine!

In case you’d like to read the book summary, you can find it here! ***Again, this is not a young adult book. It is a new adult sports romance set in college and is intended for readers 18+.***

You can also now add The Best Mistake on Goodreads, hooray!!! And I hope you will! 10 awesome people have added the book so far, and that makes me so glad!

And seriously, we could all use a bit of happy.

This is such a scary, uncertain time. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you are not alone. I’m there, too. Mostly, I’m scared for my loved ones. I don’t care about me. But I do not want to unknowingly get this disease, be asymptomatic and make anyone sick. It is one of my worst fears. I pray the spreading and suffering stops, that someone develops an anti-virus and people begin to recover, that things become less bleak and hope, wellness and most of all love makes a comeback.

Again, I think I write happy stories because the world can be so unbearably sad, and I, like so many others, are all too aware of that fact.

Sorry this got so serious. It seems odd to celebrate a cover reveal at a time like this–but I wanted to share it with you. My readers are so wonderful! I have no idea what everyone’s going through, but I truly hope this brings some joy to your day.

I hope you’re well, bookworms! I hope you stay well and find your happy wherever you can <3.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman