Ontario Teen Book Festival Author Spotlight + Giveaway: Jessica Brody!

It's hard to believe that 2 years ago, Jessica Brody was my featured author for this same festival! The OTBF has always been a staple in my reading life, and I'm so excited to feature Jessica again this year.

But first, a little bit about the event:

When: Saturday March 9th , 9 am to 5 pm
Where: Colony High School 3850 E. Riverside Drive, Ontario, CA 91761
The Ontario Teen Book Fest Website: http://www.ontariotbf.org/
THIS IS A FREE AND UNTICKETED EVENT! There is also a FREE lunch provided by Panera Bread!
The event is sponsored by Once Upon A Time. They will have books available for purchase at the event. There will also be t-shirts and posters available for purchase as well.
Their website: http://www.shoponceuponatime.com/

And here's the rest of the tour stops, put together by the wonder Sara Elizabeth Santana:

February 26th 

Spotlight on Abdi Nazemian - What A Nerd Girl Says

February 27th 

Spotlight on Cindy Pon - Bookchelle

Spotlight on Suzanne Young - Movies Shows N Books

February 28th 

Spotlight on Isabel Quintero - Read Now Sleep Later

March 1st 

Spotlight on Amy Spalding - Nite Lite Book Reviews

Spotlight on Julie Buxbaum - My Fangirl Chronicles

March 2nd 

Spotlight on Demetra Brodsky - Adventures of a Book Junkie

Spotlight on Kayla Cagan - Movies Shows N Books

March 3rd 

Spotlight on Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka - BookCrushin'

March 4th 

Spotlight on Jeff Sweat - Movies Shows n Books

Spotlight on Robin Reul - What A Nerd Girl Says

March 5th 

Spotlight on Jessica Brody - The Readers Antidote

March 6th 

Spotlight on Stephanie Garber - Adventures of a Book Junkie

March 7th 

Spotlight on Jennifer Brody - Bookschief Managed

Spotlight on Carrie Arcos - Read Now Sleep Later

March 8th 

Spotlight on Nicole Maggi - Bookchelle

Spotlight on Mary Weber - BookCrushin'

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT ON JESSICA BRODY

What They Don't Know Blog Tour - Guest Post + GIVEAWAY!

So happy I could be the final stop on the blog tour for Nicole Maggi's new book: What They Don't Know! Before I get to my guest post, check out the blogs on the rest of the tour:

OCT 2nd - What A Nerd Girl Says - Guest Post

OCT 3rd - Bookschief Managed - Interview 

OCT 4th - Movies Shows n Books - Guest Post

OCT 5th - Luna Reviews - Guest Post

OCT 6th - Gryffindor Books - Interview

OCT 7th - Knightingale Reviews - Interview

OCT 8th - Starkiller Reads - Interview

OCT 9th - Nite Lite Book Reviews - Guest Post

ABOUT THE BOOK!

Mellie has always been the reliable friend, the good student, the doting daughter. But when an unspeakable act leads her to withdraw from everyone she loves, she is faced with a life-altering choice―a choice she must face alone.

Lise stands up―and speaks out―for what she believes in. And when she notices Mellie acting strangely, she gets caught up in trying to save her...all while trying to protect her own secret. One that might be the key to helping Mellie.

Told through Mellie and Lise's journal entries, this powerful, emotional novel chronicles Mellie's struggle to decide what is right for her and the unbreakable bond formed by the two girls on their journey.

GoodReads / Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository / iBooks / Kobo / Indiebound / GooglePlay

ABOUT THE AUTHOR!

Nicole was born in the suburban farm country of upstate New York, and began writing at a very early age. Of course, her early works consisted mainly of poems about rainbows and unicorns, although one of them was good enough to win honorable mention in a national poetry contest! (Perhaps one of the judges was a ten-year-old girl.) Throughout high school, her creative writing was always nurtured and encouraged.

Nicole attended Emerson College as an acting major, and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Post-college, she worked as an actress in New York City for over a decade, focusing mainly on Shakespeare and the classics. 

Now living in Los Angeles, Nicole balances writing full-time with motherhood. WINTER FALLS, the first in her TWIN WILLOWS TRILOGY (Medallion Press, 2014) is her debut novel. She has a stand-alone novel, HEARTLINES, coming out in February 2015 with SourceBooks Fire, as well as the second and third novels in the TWIN WILLOWS TRILOGY in 2015 and 2016.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / GoodReads

THE GUEST POST!

So, the truth is that I'm very bad at coming up with guest post ideas, so I'm glad Nicole could take the wheel on this one. Me - a post about the relevance of your book and whether you wrote that on purpose because of the climate or if it was a coincidence

I started writing this book in early 2016. The promise of our first female president was ripe in the air, and in June of that year the Supreme Court overturned Texas’s restrictive abortion clinic law that shut down so many clinics in that state and throughout the country. For a moment, I worried that this book would be irrelevant by the time it came out.

Then November 8, 2016 happened.

Suddenly, this book became my most important form of resistance. I didn’t set out to write a political book, but during this process I realized that writing about abortion is inherently a political act. Though I had no idea when I started the book that it would be released into such a politically charged climate, the book was always going to be political. It was always going to be controversial.

I wrote the bulk of the first draft in the months right after the election. I think I had to turn it in the week after Trump took office. That first rough draft was filled with so much raw emotion at what had happened. When I got my first editorial letter, one of the notes my editor gave me was, “Sooo….Lise kind of feels like a mouthpiece for the feminist agenda.” And I was like, that’s ‘cause she is…Ha! Through two rounds of major edits, one round of line edits, and then a last round of copyedits, I carefully fine-tuned exactly what I wanted to say with the book. I made sure the characters were their own people, not just mouthpieces. And I was writing now in our new normal, a world where daily outrage has become exhausting, where the news changes by the hour, and where we are now engaged in an all-out war on women.

On June 27th, when Justice Kennedy announced his retirement, the book was long since finished and on its way to the printer. But I emailed my editor and asked if I had time to make changes. I wanted the book to reflect the future that it would be released into, one where abortion is illegal in half the country, which is what will happen if Roe v. Wade is overturned. She told me I had two days to make changes. I did it in one day. So that is the reality in the world of the book. It’s set about 30 seconds in the future.

So the book is a product of both climate and coincidence. But I’m not really sure I believe in coincidences. Reproductive rights has always been one of my priorities. My mother fought for them, and passed that legacy on to me. I think it was inevitable that I was going to write about this issue some day. And I think deep down, even though I believed that things were getting better for women, I knew that this was still a fight that I was going to have to shed blood for. Even if we had a female president right now. I knew this issue wasn’t going to go away. There’s a scene at the end of the book, where Lise is facing off with an anti-choice classmate, and she says, “the two of us…facing off across a gulf of pro-choice and anti-choice that I don’t think will ever be bridged, at least not in my lifetime.” And that’s how I feel. This is a war that we have been fighting for over 40 years and I don’t think the end is in sight.

I had no idea how timely this book would be upon its release, and I wish it wasn’t so timely. But because it is, I hope that people will read it with an open mind. I hope that even if that gulf isn’t bridged, that people at least start to have an understanding of the people on the other side.

THE GIVEAWAY!

This is a rafflecopter giveaway with 2 prizes: each person will one signed copy of What They Don't Know (personalization will be available, as the copies are coming from Nicole herself!). THE GIVEAWAY WILL RUN FROM OCTOBER 2ND UNTIL OCTOBER 11TH, US ONLY!

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Review: Love & Gelato and Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch

First of all, I’m so glad to be back reviewing books on the blog. I’m going to try to be more vigilant about doing this more often.

I read Love & Luck first because I’d just ordered it from Barnes & Noble and it takes place in Ireland! Not that I don’t LOVE Florence, but I was really feeling an Irish road trip. That being said, it helps a little to have read Love & Gelato before reading this one just to know the characters a little, but, honestly, I didn’t miss much from reading them out of order. Both of these books are cute, fluffy romances with issues that a lot of teens seem to be facing more and more, but with the twist of being in another country for the first time against their will. I really enjoyed the addition of the mom’s journal in Love & Gelato, and the guidebook in Love & Luck; it added that little extra something that just made me devour these books. I think I like Love & Gelato better, but ask me tomorrow and I may have a different answer. Overall, they were enjoyable, quick reads that will definitely satisfy your wanderlust this summer!
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SPOILERS!

So the reason I didn’t totally fall in love with either of these books fully is because LaG ended a little too perfectly with them saying they were in love with each other in less than a week, and LaL ended without the MC even getting to kiss her love interest! If the author had found a balance between those for both books but in slightly different ways, I would absolutely adore these. But each book takes place in a favorite spot of mine, and so I really couldn’t help but love it.

I'm Back! Sort of...

Hi lovely followers. If you've been here for a while, you'll notice that I've tweaked the look the of the blog (I know, surprise, surprise). If you're just visiting from my bookstagram account, welcome! It's a little messy around here right now, but I don't really plan on cleaning it up. I really wanted to give my blog a face lift so that I can refer back to it a lot more, write little reviews for books, etc.

Book blogging used to take up a lot of my life. Now it's more like Netflix, work, writing, reading when I can, married life, hanging with friends who also have a life, and so many other things. I feel bad for slacking on my blog, but the truth is that I have much higher priorities now! That being said, I want to be able to write reviews and some puff pieces, and use my bookstagram as an outlet for those. So stay tuned for possible read-a-longs, more event recaps, and of course book reviews!

Love,
Nicole

Ontario Teen Book Fest: Spotlight on Josephine Angelini

And I'm back! My second author for the Ontario Teen Book Festival is Josephine Angelini, author of the Starcrossed trilogy and the Worldwalker trilogy.

But first! Here's a little about the event once again:

• When: Saturday March 3rd , 9am to 5pm
• Where: Colony High School 3850 E. Riverside Drive, Ontario, CA 91761
• The Ontario Teen Book Fest Website: http://www.ontariotbf.org/
• THIS IS A FREE AND UNTICKETED EVENT! There is also a FREE lunch provided by Panera Bread!
• If you want to post about it on social media, use the hashtag #ontariotbf!

The event is sponsored by Once Upon A Time. They will have books available for purchase at the event. There will also be t-shirts and posters available for purchase as well. You can find out more about them on their website: http://www.shoponceuponatime.com/

Ontario Teen Book Fest: Spotlight on Jessica Cluess

I'm so excited to be able to be a part of the blog tour for this amazing festival once again this year! And I was actually luck enough to get 2 amazing authors to feature. My first is Jessica Cluess, author of A Shadow Bright and Burning.

But first! Here's a little about the event:

• When: Saturday March 3rd , 9am to 5pm
• Where: Colony High School 3850 E. Riverside Drive, Ontario, CA 91761
• The Ontario Teen Book Fest Website: http://www.ontariotbf.org/
• THIS IS A FREE AND UNTICKETED EVENT! There is also a FREE lunch provided by Panera Bread!
• If you want to post about it on social media, use the hashtag #ontariotbf!

The event is sponsored by Once Upon A Time. They will have books available for purchase at the event. There will also be t-shirts and posters available for purchase as well. You can find out more about them on their website: http://www.shoponceuponatime.com/

Ontario Teen Book Festival Author Spotlight: Interview with Jessica Brody

Even though this is a day late, I'm still very excited to be a part of this blog tour, where I'm featuring a long-time friend Jessica Brody! But first, a little bit about the Festival itself:

When: Saturday March 25th , 9 am to 5 pm
Where: Colony High School 3850 E. Riverside Drive, Ontario, CA 91761 

The Ontario Teen Book Fest Website 

THIS IS A FREE AND UNTICKETED EVENT!
Use the hashtag #ontariotbf!

The event is sponsored by Once Upon A Time. They will have books available for purchase at the event. There will also be t-shirts and posters available for purchase as well. Here's their website.

So, if you're in the area, please consider stopping by; it's one of the best festivals in SoCal!

And now, meet Jessica Brody!

Jessica Brody knew from a young age that she wanted to be a writer. She started self “publishing” her own books when she was seven years old, binding the pages together with cardboard, wallpaper samples, and electrical tape.

After graduating from Smith College in 2001 where she double majored in Economics and French and minored in Japanese, Jessica later went on to work for MGM Studios as a Manager of Acquisitions and Business Development. In May of 2005, Jessica quit her job to follow her dream of becoming a published author.

Since then, Jessica has sold over twelve novels for teens, tweens, and adults including 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, The Karma Club, My Life Undecided, and the three books in the Unremembered trilogy, the first of which is currently in development as a major motion picture by the producers of The Vampire Academy, Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pi, and Slumdog Millionaire. In 2016, she will release two new contemporary novels, A Week of Mondays (August) and Boys of Summer (April), and in 2017, her debut middle grade novel entitled, Addie Bell’s Shortcut to Growing Up, will hit bookstore shelves.

Jessica also writes books for the Descendants: “School of Secrets” series, based on the hit Disney Channel Original movie, Descendants!

Jessica’s books are published and translated in over twenty foreign countries. She currently splits her time between California and Colorado.
You can learn more about her books at her website HERE.

Her most recent YA novel is called A Week of Mondays:

The Sanctuary Blog Tour: Interview with Sara Elizabeth Santana + GIVEAWAY

Hello all! I'm so very excited to be a part of the blog tour for The Sanctuary by Sara Elizabeth Santana, which is the second book in her Awakened duology. I just started reading it and can't wait to see how it all ends. In the meantime, I got the pleasure of interviewing Sara for the tour, and I'm going to tell you a little about the book (light spoilers if you haven't read The Awakened).

Zoey Valentine is finally safe, tucked way miles underground in the fortified community of the Sanctuary. She can finally breathe easily. But Sanctuary is far from what she imagined and she can’t help but feel trapped. Razi Cylon may be dead but Sekhmet, her evil corporation that created the Awakened, is still out there and it’s not long before citizens of Sanctuary are disappearing and reappearing, dead and mutilated, each one tagged with a note, a warning, signed by Razi herself. 

Problem is, Razi should be dead and when she starts to threaten everything Zoey has fought so hard for, she’s ready to fight. Sekhmet has existed for far too long and Zoey has had enough. 

It's time to end it all.

FIND IT:

GOODREADS

BUY IT

(in both ebook and paperback):

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

BOOK DEPOSITORY

ITUNES

KOBO

ABOUT SARA:

Flashfall Blog Tour Stop + GIVEAWAY

Hi all. I really wanted to get to this book before my tour stop, but, unfortunately, life got in the way as it often does. But I still wanted to tell you about the book and get the word out there. AND, there are people on this blog tour that did in fact review it already, so please check out the rest of the tour.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Goodreads rating: 4.23

Hardcover, 352 pages

Publication: November 15th 2016 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

Series: Flashfall #1

Genre: YA sci-fi dystopian

Orion is a Subpar, expected to mine the tunnels of Outpost Five, near the deadly flash curtain. For generations, her people have chased cirium—the only element that can shield humanity from the curtain’s radioactive particles. She and her caving partner, Dram work the most treacherous tunnel, fighting past flash bats and tunnel gulls, in hopes of mining enough cirium to earn their way into the protected city.

But when newcomers arrive at Outpost Five, Orion uncovers disturbing revelations that make her question everything she thought she knew about life on both sides of the cirium shield. As conditions at the outpost grow increasingly dangerous, it’s up to Orion to forge a way past the flashfall, beyond all boundaries, beyond the world as she knows it.

TRAILER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenny is the author of YA sci-fi/fantasy FLASHFALL, coming from Macmillan/Holt 11-15-16. She lives with her filmmaker husband and their three boys in Des Moines.  

Find out more at http://www.jennymoyer.com and connect with Jenny on Twitter and Facebook.

GIVEAWAY

PRIZE: Win a signed hardcover of FLASHFALL by Jenny Moyer, a Flashfall t-shirt, exclusive patches from the book trailer, a pair of “Follow your dreams” socks, a carabiner and glow wristbands (US Only)

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Nemesis Blog Tour: Review of Nemesis (Nemesis #1) by Anna Banks + GIVEAWAY

I'm very excited to be a part of the Nemesis blog tour! I've read Anna Banks' other series and couldn't wait to get my hands on her new book. Before that, check out the rest of the tour HERE.

And now for my review!

Goodreads rating: 4.0

Genre: YA fantasy (w/ Egyptian mythology!)

Hardcover, 368 pages
Publication: October 4th 2016 by Feiwel & Friends
Series: Nemesis #1

The princess didn't expect to fall in love--with her nemesis.

Princess Sepora of Serubel is the last Forger in all the five kingdoms. The spectorium she creates provides energy for all, but now her father has found a way to weaponize it, and his intentions to incite war force her to flee from his grasp. She escapes across enemy lines into the kingdom of Theoria, but her plans to hide are thwarted when she is captured and placed in the young king's servitude.

Tarik has just taken over rulership of Theoria, and must now face a new plague sweeping through his kingdom and killing his citizens. The last thing he needs is a troublesome servant vying for his attention. But mistress Sepora will not be ignored. When the two finally meet face-to-face, they form an unlikely bond that complicates life in ways neither of them could have imagined.

Sepora's gift could save Tarik's kingdom from the Quiet Plague. But should she trust her growing feelings for her nemesis, or should she hide her gifts at all costs?

I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this book. It was very unique (anything with Egyptian mythology is bound to be) and engaging for most of the time, but I couldn't help feeling that the author was trying too hard. I've read her other series, and the moment I picked up this book, it was everything but what I'd expected. Her last series was funny and paranormal, while this book felt like the opposite. There were some funny quips, and the characters were very fleshed. But I couldn't help thinking that the author was trying too hard to be a fantasy writer, especially in the beginning. I wish I knew how to explain it better, but it's why it took me so long to read this book. 

The two main characters were very different people, but also the same, something this author does very well. I didn't mind that it was from both of their points of view, but I wish she'd stuck to either first or third. I think the most fun part, though, was the mythology she incorporated. I don't know a lot about Egyptian culture, but the author really made it come to life for me. And while I wish there'd been a little more world-building in a show not tell kind of way, I was glad to see that it flowed pretty seamlessly into the narrative. I also wish there could've been a little more backstory on Sepora's life (like who she was friends with, etc). Her departure, while not sudden at first, began to feel sudden because of who she turned out to be. She believes greatly in loyalty, but left her own country for selfish reasons. Teenagers, am I right?

All in all, this was a gripping read. It was a little slow in the beginning, but there has to be time made for world-building. I also loved the tension that formed between the two main characters, and I can't wait to see how it's all going to turn out!

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads

Pre-Order*:  http://www.booksofwondershop.com/nemesis.aspx

*Pre-orders will receive an exclusive NEMESIS print and a NEMESIS bath bomb.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR!

Anna Banks is the NYT Bestselling YA author of The Syrena Legacy series: OF POSEIDON (2012), OF TRITON (2013), OF NEPTUNE (2014).

Repped by rockstar Lucy Carson of the Friedrich Agency.

I live with my husband and daughter in the Florida Panhandle. I have a southern accent compared to New Yorkers, and I enjoy food cooked with real fat. I can’t walk in high heels, but I’m very good at holding still in them. If you put chocolate in front of me, you must not have wanted it in the first place.

Favorite Books:

Shatter Me, Cinder, Linger, Shiver, Forever, Pushing the Limits, Unravel Me,Shadow and Bone, Enclave, Divergent, Candor, Graceling, Fire, The Hunger Games Trilogy, The Host, Most of James Patterson, and Janet Evanovich makes me laugh through my nose in an unfeminine sort of way.

Visit Anna’s website, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

GIVEAWAY

1 winner will receive a finished copy of NEMESIS. US Only.

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The Vanishing Throne Blog Tour: Review + Guest Post + Giveaway

I'm so excited to be kicking off this blog tour! I recently finished the first book and completely fell in love with the world and its characters. There's a lot of exciting stuff in this post, but first I'm going to review the first book.

Goodreads rating: 3.78

Paperback, 378 pages

Published May 6th 2014 by Chronicle Books

Genre: YA paranormal steampunk fantasy

EXCERPT

She's a stunner.

Edinburgh, 1844. Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title—and drop-dead beauty.

She's a liar.

But Aileana only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. she's leading a double life: She has a rare ability to sense thesìthíchean—the faery race obsessed with slaughtering humans—and, with the aid of a mysterious mentor, has spent the year since her mother died learning how to kill them.

She's a murderer.

Now Aileana is dedicated to slaying the fae before they take innocent lives. With her knack for inventing ingenious tools and weapons—from flying machines to detonators to lightning pistols—ruthless Aileana has one goal: Destroy the faery who destroyed her mother.

She's a Falconer.

The last in a line of female warriors born with a gift for hunting and killing the fae, Aileana is the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity. Suddenly, her quest is a lot more complicated. She still longs to avenge her mother's murder—but she'll have to save the world first.

The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller combines romance and action, steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.

SO GOOD!!! Also, SWOON!

I can't believe I waited this long to start this series. I'd heard good thing about the first book, so when I got the chance to be on the blog tour for the second book, I decided it was time to start this series. And I'm so glad I did! There was nonstop action from the very beginning that held until the very end, something I'm always grateful for in a fantasy. Our main character is such a badass, but also so multifaceted and relatable. I honestly felt like both of these things are what a lot of fantasies are missing these days, and I was so happy to find such wonderful qualities in this book. The writing was witty and fun at times, but with a delicious undertone of what the characters has faced and were going to face. I always find it fun to read when the characters are trying to lead their normal lives while simultaneously doing something extraordinary.

Something else I really liked about this book was that it wasn't just one thing. The story could've fit in any sort of setting, so the author did just that. It's a fantasy, but it's also historical and steampunk and paranormal. And even though this sounds like a lot, it worked so well together. It also helped to have a great cast of characters, although I wish I got to see more of Aileana's friend Catherine. I appreciated how Aileana's character was developed, and also how her relationship with Gavin wasn't a love triangle. At first I thought it was going to be, but I was happy to be proved wrong. Because I completely fell in love with Kiaran! I know he has all these secrets and a long, dark past, but he obviously has some sort of feelings for Aileana. That was such an awful cliffhanger, so I'm so glad that I have the second book in my hands already. I can't wait to see what happens!

Starting the sequel right now!!

This Is Where It Ends 'Every Moment Counts' Challenge

Hi all. This is a bit of a somber post because of the recent mass killing in Orlando, Florida, but this is an issue very close to my heart. And I think, now, close to all of our hearts. What I'm posting about today is a book that should really speak for itself (which I'll let it do in a moment) called This Is Where It Ends, and then I'm highlighting a challenge we should all try to take seriously this summer.

ABOUT THE BOOK + AUTHOR

Goodreads rating: 3.66

285 pages

Published January 5th 2016 by Sourcebooks Fire

10:00 a.m. The principal of Opportunity High School finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m. The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03 a.m. The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05 a.m. Someone starts shooting.

Told from four different perspectives over the span of fifty-four harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Marieke Nijkamp is a storyteller, dreamer, globe-trotter, and geek. She holds degrees in philosophy, history, and medieval studies and is the founder of DiversifYA, and a founding contributor to YA Misfits. She lives in the Netherlands. Visit her at mariekenijkamp.com.

ABOUT THE CHALLENGE

Here's the sign-up page for the challenge, where it highlights what you can have a chance to win if you participate.
Here's how to post about it on social media. This page describing the challenge can do it much more justice than I, so please take a look and consider signing up.

Ivory and Bone Blog Tour: Review of Ivory and Bone (Ivory and Bone #1) by Julie Eshbaugh + GIVEAWAY

Hello lovely followers! I'm very excited to be a part of the blog tour for Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh! I'm slowly trying to push myself back into the blogging world, and these kinds of posts really help.

You can find the rest of the blog tour HERE.

First, here's the book information and my review!

Goodreads rating: 4.00

Publisher: HarperTeen

Expected publication: June 7th 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, Retellings, Fiction

A prehistoric fantasy—with allusions to Pride and Prejudice.

Hunting, gathering, and keeping his family safe—that’s the life seventeen-year-old Kol knows. Then bold, enigmatic Mya arrives from the south with her family, and Kol is captivated. He wants her to like and trust him, but any hopes of impressing her are ruined when he makes a careless—and nearly grave—mistake. However, there’s something more to Mya’s cool disdain…a history wrought with loss that comes to light when another clan arrives. With them is Lo, an enemy from Mya’s past who Mya swears has ulterior motives.

As Kol gets to know Lo, tensions between Mya and Lo escalate until violence erupts. Faced with shattering losses, Kol is forced to question every person he’s trusted. One thing is for sure: this was a war that Mya or Lo—Kol doesn’t know which—had been planning all along.

This book was...weird. And I still haven't decided yet whether that's a good weird or a bad weird. I'm going to attempt to write a cohesive review, but know going in that the negatives are about equal with the positives.

I think the first thing that threw me off was the tag line on the back of the ARC: "a sweeping prehistoric fantasy debut with allusions to Pride and Prejudice." That's a pretty tall order to fill (mostly the P+P part), and once those allusions started to become obvious, I got a little bored. That's always the problem with a retelling, though, and the author did find ways to throw in a couple of surprises. The thing is, a lot of times the ideas in YA are great and the execution of them turn out disappointing, but I don't believe this was much of a doable idea in the first place. Believe me, I know that was harsh; I cringed as I wrote it because I like to believe that there are no bad ideas, just like there are no stupid questions.

Mostly, my beef with this is that the way they spoke was too Victorian, even though it was supposed to be prehistoric. Plus, the customs seemed ridiculous for their situation (though I freely admit to the fact that I haven't studied this time in history except for what they teach in schools and have no idea what life was really like back then). It seems like it was more of a time for a simple life of hunting and gathering rather than high society traditions and drama. I have to try to be lenient with this point, though, because it's not like the author could make them grunt at each other, but if you're going to label it prehistoric... I guess I was just hoping for something different in the speech aspect.

The second thing that threw me off was that it's a story being told to the girl who's a gender-swapped version of Mr Darcy. So when the main character Kol (Elizabeth Bennet) was talking about her, he was always saying "you". Like, you crested over the hill, or you were being a crazy person. It was totally unnerving at times, when I really just wanted to read the story. It also doesn't really fit the P+P comparison because Elizabeth would've never told the story to Darcy, so it made Kol seem like a bit of a lovesick fool from the get-go.

I liked the beginning and the ending a lot because the Pride and Prejudice allusions were few and far between. Honestly, I think the author chose the wrong allusions to focus on--then again, I've watched the BBC version about 5 times, which if you know anything about it, that's a bit of a feat considering I only bought it 6 months ago and the running time is 5-6 hours. But I did fall in love with the landscape, and I appreciated the entire cast of characters. Mr Darcy (I mean, Mya) was a very strong, stubborn woman, and I liked her style! There really were some high points of excitement in this novel, and honestly I think I might have liked it more if I hadn't been told off-the-bat that there were P+P allusions.

I'm not sure how this will be a series, but I might be inspired to read them depending on what they're about. It would be interesting to see if they're still prehistoric but have allusions to other Jane Austen novels, or maybe even the Bronte sisters.

I give the author kudos for this idea, it just fell a little flat for me. But if you're looking for a light fantasy and are really looking forward to a prehistoric P+P, then this book is definitely for you!

Every Moment Counts Challenge Starts June 15th!

Hi all! I wanted to post about it preemptively to give you a chance to brace yourselves, but on June 15th I'll be posting about the Every Moment Counts Challenge, which is in tandem with the NY Times Bestseller This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp. This is a subject very close to my heart, and I hope this challenge helps you, my lovely followers, in some way. Here's where you can find all of the information about the challenge, so be ready to make every moment count!

Official Hashtags: #thisiswhereitends, #everymomentcounts 

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YALLWEST is coming! + RT Convention in Vegas Recap

Long-time no talk, followers! I know I've been extremely quiet recently, and I know that I promised to get back in the swing of things, but I'm doing my best.

First, I want to tell ya'll about Yallwest, which is happening this weekend in Santa Monica, CA! You can find the list of authors/creators attending here, the schedule for the Saturday panels here and the Sunday panels here, and the PDF for the signing schedule here. There's also an event going on on Friday, but I won't be able to make it. I'm hoping it'll be more organized than last year, especially since there will be more authors this time around. Meanwhile, here's a short look at the schedule:

Fierce Friday: YALLWEST Preview Event (Registration required at YALLWEST.com)

Presented by Macmillan Fierce reads and co-produced by the Santa Monica Public Library
Friday, April 29; 6PM - 8PM
Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401

YALLWEST Saturday

Saturday, April 30; 9AM - 6:30 PM
Santa Monica High School, 601 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405

YALLWEST Sunday

Sunday, May 1; 10:30AM - 5PM
Santa Monica High School, 601 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405

This is the second year that this spin-off from Yallfest has been in existence, and I'm so excited to be attending it again. I was able to secure a press pass, which will allow me to go to more panels and tell you all about what goes on. I still need to decide on which ones I'll be attending, and also who I'll be bringing with me to stand in lines. Let's be real, it'll probably be my dad.

Are you going? Which authors/artists are you most excited for?

Ontario Teen Book Festival Blog Tour: Spotlight on Virginia Boecker, author of The Witch Hunter + GIVEAWAY

Hi everyone! I can't believe I'm posting twice in the same week. This is one I'm really excited about because I'm featuring one of the wonderful authors that will be at the Ontario Teen Book Fest, Virginia Boecker! I recently read her book and loved it.

First, here's what you need to know about the event, which is in SoCal:

When: Saturday March 12th , 9 am to 5 pm
Where: Colony High School 3850 E. Riverside Drive, Ontario, CA 91761 

THIS IS A FREE AND UNTICKETED EVENT! Not only that, but it comes with a free Panera Lunch. Honestly, this is one of my favorite book festivals of the year.

The event is sponsored by Once Upon A Time. They will have books available for purchase at the event. There will also be t-shirts and posters available for purchase as well.

Their website: http://www.shoponceuponatime.com/front-page

The Ontario Teen Book Fest Website: http://www.ontariotbf.org/

ABOUT VIRGINIA

Virginia Boecker recently spent four years in London obsessing over English medieval history, which formed the basis of her debut novel, The Witch Hunter. She now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and spends her days writing, reading, running, and chasing around her two children and a dog named George.

In addition to English kings, nine-day queens, and Protestant princesses, her other obsessions include The Smiths, art museums, champagne, and Chapstick. You can visit Virginia online at virginiaboecker.com or on Twitter @virgboecker.

Virginia's Website

Bluescreen Blog Tour: Spotlight on Bluescreen (Mirador #1) by Dan Wells + GIVEAWAY

Hi all, and welcome to my stop on the Bluescreen blog tour. I'm a huge fan of Dan Wells and was really excited to be a part of this tour. Sadly, life got in the way and I wasn't able to finish the book in time for my stop, but I hope to finish it soon and have my review up! From what I've read so far, I'm really enjoying the world that's been built.

Luckily there are other people on the tour that HAVE reviewed it. Check out the rest of the tour HERE!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Bluescreen (Mirador #1) by Dan Wells

Published: February 16th 2016 by Balzer & Bray

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Fantasy, Action, Teen

Los Angeles in 2050 is a city of open doors, as long as you have the right connections. That connection is a djinni—a smart device implanted right in a person’s head. In a world where virtually everyone is online twenty-four hours a day, this connection is like oxygen—and a world like that presents plenty of opportunities for someone who knows how to manipulate it.

Marisa Carneseca is one of those people. She might spend her days in Mirador, the small, vibrant LA neighborhood where her family owns a restaurant, but she lives on the net—going to school, playing games, hanging out, or doing things of more questionable legality with her friends Sahara and Anja. And it’s Anja who first gets her hands on Bluescreen—a virtual drug that plugs right into a person’s djinni and delivers a massive, non-chemical, completely safe high. But in this city, when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is, and Mari and her friends soon find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy that is much bigger than they ever suspected.

Dan Wells, author of the New York Times bestselling Partials Sequence, returns with a stunning new vision of the near future—a breathless cyber-thriller where privacy is the world’s most rare resource and nothing, not even the thoughts in our heads, is safe.

BOOK LINKS

Goodreads

Amazon paperback

Barnes & Noble (B&N)

Bookdepository

iTunes

Kobo

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dan Wells is a thriller and science fiction writer. Born in Utah, he spent his early years reading and writing. He is he author of the Partials series (Partials, Isolation, Fragments, and Ruins), the John Cleaver series (I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want To Kill You), and a few others (The Hollow City, A Night of Blacker Darkness, etc). He was a Campbell nomine for best new writer, and has won a Hugo award for his work on the podcast Writing Excuses; the podcast is also a multiple winner of the Parsec Award.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Facebook

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The Secret to Letting Go Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway of The Secret to Letting Go by Katherine Fleet

I'm so excited to be a part of this tour! I know I haven't posted in a while, but blog tours are my way of trying to get back on the horse.

Check out the rest of the tour here: http://blogtours.yareads.com/2016/01/08/blog-tour-sign-ups-the-secret-to-letting-go-by-katherine-fleet/

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The Secret to Letting Go by Katherine Fleet

Genre: YA Contemporary

Published February 1st, 2016 by Entangled Teen

One summer can change everything…

Haunted with guilt after his girlfriend’s death, Daniel Hudson has no interest in committing to anyone. At the end of the summer, he’ll be leaving Florida for a new start in college. If only he could avoid the mysterious new girl in town, who seems every bit as naive and eccentric as she looks. Trouble is, she’s hard to ignore, with her beautiful piercing eyes, pitiful-looking dog, and unsettling tendency of finding trouble.

Clover Scott lived her whole life off the grid and arrives on the Gulf coast in search of her grandparents. She never expected to nearly drown, or get caught in a hurricane, or fall in love with the boy who rescues her. Now, she has a chance to rewrite her life’s story, to finally fit in somewhere, but Daniel wants answers about her past. When the police start asking questions about the disappearance of her parents, she must make a choice: go to jail or confess her secrets—even if they might destroy her chance at a happily-ever-after.

The Reader's Antidote Best Books of 2015

Well, just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been reading! I read a lot less than last year, but that's because I've been reading a lot more and because of my job. But I couldn't stop myself from telling you all about my favorite books from this year.

1. Oblivion (Nevermore #3) by Kelly Creagh: This was the first book I finished at the beginning of this year, and words cannot express how much I loved it. As soon as I got access to the advanced copy, I devoured it quickly. I was so happy with the ending, but I'm very sad to see this series come to an end, no matter how long I had to wait. If you haven't started this series, I highly recommend it.
2. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven: I hadn't heard too much when I decided to read my review copy of this little book, but it was all good things. This book tore my heart apart, and was the epitomy of "It's better to have love and lost than never to have loved at all." It also helps that the author is a total sweetheart.
3. The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence #1) by Jessica Sorensen: It's funny because I really don't remember much about this book (apparently March is too far away to remember), I just remember loving it. Here's what I wrote originally on my Goodreads pre-review: THIS BOOK WAS SO INTENSE! AND THAT CLIFFHANGER! I was so happy that they had a little sampler of the sequel in the back, because I just had to know! I definitely still want to read the sequel though. DANG! 
4. Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke (Prisoner of Night and Fog #2) by Anne Blankman: I absolutely adored the first book in this series, and I couldn't wait to find out the fate of our two main characters. This book just ripped at me, and there were points I had to put it down because the feels were getting to me. Another highly-recommended series.
5. Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira: It took me so long to pick up this book, but I figured since I'd finally read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, that I needed to read the book that Stephen Chbosky had so highly recommended. And like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, it really brought me back to being a teenager. 
6. Made You Up by Francesca Zappia: Geez, this book surprised me! I'd gotten an advanced copy at a book festival, but I'd honestly chosen it because the cover looked so cool. But this book took me by surprise, not just by how much I loved it, but there was also a huge twist I did NOT see coming.
7. Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens: Books with mental illnesses that manifest in a physical way are always interesting to me because I've never had that sort of problem. But get some awkward teens together, and it makes everything more relatable. Include a twist, and you have this wonderful book.
8. Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson: The main reason I chose this book was because the play that was a big part of the book was Hamlet, which is my favorite play EVER. Needless to say, I loved everything about this book. I bought this book at a book festival, not sure if I'd ever read it, and I'm glad that I did.
9. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon: I'd heard a lot of good things about this book, but sometimes that scares me away because I don't want to be underwhelmed. This book did not disappoint me!
10. Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer: I'm so SO sad that this series is over, but it ended with such a bang! I read this as quickly as the 800-something pages allowed me to, and I loved every moment of it. I'm excited to read Meyer's next book (that is, after Stars Above come out!).

I'll be posting about the reading challenges I'm hosting for next year soon, so look for that as well. I wish I could've read more, but I did get a lot of writing done, and that matters a lot to me. I hope you had a great year in books as well, and let me know if any of these were your favorites as well!

Cover Reveal: The Awakened by Sara Elizabeth Santana!

Hi y'all! I'm so excited to be a part of this cover reveal. Sara is a book friend of mine who has been trying to get this book published for a while, and she finally caught a break! She got even luckier because this cover is gorgeous! Without further ado, here's the cover:

The official release date is December 1st, 2015 and it will be available in Kindle and paperback format! Pre-order is only available for the kindle edition.

SYNOPSIS:

Zoey Valentine is concerned with two things: surviving the multitude of self-defense classes her dad makes her take and avoiding Ash

That is, until the Z virus hits, wiping out a third of the population in a matter of weeks. If that weren’t frightening enough, the bodies of the victims disappear and suddenly reappear, awakened from their dead state. They're faster, smarter, and they work together to get the one thing they crave, human flesh.

The United States is in a panic and then the government decides the unthinkable: to bomb every major city overrun with the awakened.

Now Zoey is on the run, with her dad and Ash, desperate to find a place of safety amongst the ruined remains of the country.

ADD THE AWAKENED ON GOODREADS!

Sara Elizabeth Santana is a young adult and new adult fiction writer. She has worked as a smoothie artist, Disneyland cast member, restaurant supervisor, nanny, photographer, pizza delivery driver and barista but writing is what she loves most. Her first story was written at age nine. She runs her own nerd girl/book review blog, What A Nerd Girl Says. Her favorite books are a tie between Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling and Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce. She lives in Southern California with her dad, five siblings and two dogs. Her debut novel is The Awakened.

CHECK OUT HER WEBSITE HERE: http://sesantanawrites.com/