The Magic of Words

Blogtour & Giveaway: Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

2016-02-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 9th 2016

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

Synopsis:

Blackbeard the pirate was known for striking fear in the hearts of the bravest of sailors. But once he was just a young man who dreamed of leaving his rigid life behind to chase adventure in faraway lands. Nothing could stop him—until he met the one girl who would change everything.

Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.

Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England?

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.

CHAPTER 1

Anne

Bristol, England 1697

After Anne’s father died, her mother often said that sorrow was the only sun that rose for them. Her mother had since followed him into the darkness of death, leaving Anne to face the dawn alone.

That morning was no different, the thick clouds overhead were determined once again to release their pent-up frustration on her. In the crowded marketplace and its stalls, the air smelled of sweet water on damp stone and wood, accompanied by the tang of blood.

Other maids and cooks from the large homes in the city bartered and bought, their weary voices calling for pheasant, venison, and veal. Anne stood in line with her pail of fruits and vegetables, hoping she wasn’t too late to get the better cuts of meat. At last she stepped up to the butcher, the many coins in her pocket reminding her of her errand’s importance.

The butcher winked, his brown eyes almost black. “Good to see you, Anne. What’ll it be today?”

“Master Drummond wants venison tonight,” she said, inspecting the haunches and shoulders hanging from the stall’s center beam. The butcher’s eyes followed her with the same consideration. With his fair hair, some might have called him handsome, but she only saw his yellowed teeth and smelled his rank breath. If Master Drummond hadn’t insisted she buy from this particular butcher, she would have found a different one long ago. He was at least twice her sixteen years, and though his apron was clean, the look on his face was not.

“Aye, his son is coming home, isn’t he?” he said, leaning forward across the table. “Been gone a year at sea.”

Anne took a step back, pulling her shawl more firmly around her, and finally met his gaze. “Yes, which means there’s no time to waste. I must return to the house as quickly as possible. I’ll take that one,” she said, pointing to a fleshy red hindquarter.

The name Drummond was always on someone’s lips, for Richard Drummond was one of the wealthiest merchants in the city. In four weeks’ time one of the largest ships ever built, the Deliverance, would set sail from Bristol. It was Master Drummond’s showpiece.

“Oi, you can’t have that one. This one’ll have to do,” the butcher said, poking a knife into a thin portion of meat in front of him. It was old, the flesh tough and hard, the fat contracted.

Anne’s face flushed with anger, and she wished for the hundredth time that she could purchase elsewhere. “And why would I want that piece?” she asked sharply. “Do you know what the master would do if I served that for dinner tonight?”

The butcher grinned. “I know what I’d do,” he said.

Gritting her teeth, she gave him what she hoped was a haughty look. “What else do you have?”

Unexpectedly, he grabbed her arm, pulling her close so that her pail hit the table, spilling the produce onto the cobblestones beneath their feet.

“Don’t act so high and mighty with me. I’ve already told you. I’ll give you the best cuts, but this time it’ll cost you a little extra,” he sneered. “I’ve been a patient man. If you want to please your master, you’re going to have to please me first.”

Like a dragonfly caught under glass, her heart fluttered. She’d become accustomed to his lewd suggestions, but the grip of his grimy fingers on her arm filled her with a new sense of panic.

“You can please yourself,” she hissed, wrenching her arm out of his grasp. With shaking hands she quickly picked up the fruits and vegetables, not bothering to wipe the dirt from their skins. The butcher laughed, an ugly sound that made her stomach churn. She glared at him, turned on her heel, and barreled through the crowd in an attempt to put as much distance between herself and his stall as possible.

The devil hang him. If Master Drummond wants venison for his son’s return, he should come down here and buy it himself. If the butcher tries to touch me again, I’ll stick him like the pig he is.

Only after she was several rows away did Anne stop and lean against a brick wall to catch her breath, aware of the suspicious glances thrown her way.

Despite the fact that it was a major seaport, most of the inhabitants of Bristol were still unused to Anne’s appearance. She was the illegitimate daughter of a prosperous English merchant and a West Indies slave, and people didn’t know how to react to the mix of her mother’s coppery skin and her father’s blue eyes. It was obvious Anne didn’t fully belong to either race, and others often viewed her with either distaste or distrust.

Wearily she straightened, her fingers reaching for her mother’s small, gold watch hidden in her pocket, a habit whenever she was upset or distressed. She needed to find something else to cook for dinner, and quickly. With rows and rows of stalls, it would not be too difficult to find a new butcher, but she doubted she’d be able to find the same quality.

The church bell chimed the top of the hour, which meant Anne needed to head back to the manor, but there was no decent venison to be found. Desperate, Anne settled instead upon a clean stall near the edge of the market and bought two pheasants from a small, elderly woman with a hunched back and frail shoulders.

The woman took the coins Anne handed her and slipped them into her pocket, watching Anne intently the entire time. Anne ignored it, used to the scrutiny by now, after years of prying glances. “Do you ever have venison?” Anne asked, the poultry safely tucked beneath her arm.

The old woman nodded. “Aye, but we sold out first thing this morning.”

Just my luck.

“I’ll be back in the future,” Anne assured her, before heading into the busy horde. From now on she would buy from the old woman’s stall. Anne was the only one that Master Drummond sent to the market. There was no need for him to discover where Anne acquired his meals—she did not understand why he took such an active interest in his purchases anyway.

Part of her hair escaped her thick braid and cap, and she impatiently stuffed the stubborn black strands underneath, thinking of all the work that had yet to be done. A party of six would be eating dinner that afternoon, and she needed to get the pheasants home as quickly as possible.

Her feet turned in the direction of the harbor. Shrimp was a favorite treat of Master Drummond’s, and she had enough money left over. Although it wouldn’t be a lot, it might be enough to dampen his ire. If she could not secure the shrimp, she feared he might send her back to the workhouse, where she’d have to labor alongside the rest of the city’s penniless inhabitants in exchange for handouts. The thought sent a shiver running down her back.

As Anne approached the docks, the sound of seagulls intensified and the bells on distant boats could be heard more clearly. Her father had sometimes brought her here very early in the morning or late at night, when not many people were about. He’d said that the presence of the sea gave the very skies a special quality, one that could not be duplicated.

There was freedom here. It flowed through the air and lifted the sails of the vessels as they left. How often in the last five months had she been tempted to stow away, sail off, and leave this life behind? Her mother had filled her head with stories of the West Indies, and her father had always promised to take her to her mother’s island one day.

The familiar sights and sounds of the waterfront drew Anne in. It was hard to take a breath without inhaling the scent of salt and fish, and no one could speak without having to raise their voice over the cries of the gulls. Anne managed a smile, her first one all week.

The fishmonger she usually bought from saw her coming and straightened, returning her smile. “Good morning, Anne. You’re a bit late this morning, aren’t you?”

She nodded regretfully. “Yes, indeed. I don’t have much time, but I need some shrimp,” she said, referring to the small barrel behind him, full of the plump, gray crustaceans. “Two pounds should do.”

He flinched. “I’m truly sorry, but those have been purchased.”

Fear sharpened Anne’s voice. “What? The whole barrel?”

“Aye. Someone came in and bought the lot.”

“But I must have two pounds. Surely you can spare some,” she said.

“They’re not mine to spare. Though, you can ask him yourself, if you like,” the fishmonger said, pointing at someone over Anne’s shoulder.

She turned in time to see a large figure approaching. He was at least a head taller than she, with a broad chest, and muscular legs clearly visible in the brown breeches he wore. A cutlass hung from his waist, beneath his short jacket. He was tanned, and the hair on his head and the beard on his face were as black as the thatched roofs surrounding the dock.

She took an involuntary step backward as he stopped beside her. He gave her a cursory glance, his green eyes bright, before turning his attention to the fishmonger. His voice was smooth and low when he spoke. “Instead of taking them myself, I’d like you to deliver—”

Desperation drove Anne to interrupt him. “Please, sir. Might I have a word with you?”

Once again those green eyes turned in her direction. This time he afforded her a more complete perusal, and she swallowed the distaste in her mouth. He was no gentleman. His appearance suggested a simple sailor, someone who could not possibly afford the entire barrel.

“Yes?” he asked.

“It’s about the shrimp. I was wondering if I could take two pounds from the top and pay you for them.”

A woman came from behind and called to the fishmonger. He turned to help her, leaving the shabby sailor and Anne to their conversation.

When he had first approached, she’d thought him much older, for he was taller than most men. On closer inspection, she realized he couldn’t have been more than nineteen. His expression warmed as he considered her. He was interested, clearly, but Anne wasn’t sure if it was her proposal or her appearance.

“There is more than one stall that sells shrimp,” he said.

She was not to be deterred. She’d already lost one battle this morning and could not afford to lose another. The last cook who hadn’t provided the master’s favorite meal for a special occasion had been fired and kicked out onto the streets.

As much as Anne disliked living in the Drummond household, it was preferable to the gutter. And if she went to another household, there was no guarantee she could secure enough funds to begin a new life. “Yes, but this man has the most honest scales and the freshest fish. Since I am unable to buy from him, I have no choice but to ask you. Surely you would not miss two pounds,” she pressed.

The corners of his mouth lifted, and his green eyes twinkled. “Ah, but I would. Have you considered oysters as a substitute?”

Anne pursed her lips. Master Drummond hated oysters. “No, it must be shrimp. Please, I have a very important meal—”

It was his turn to interrupt. “I, too, have an important meal, for which I need the entire barrel.”

No doubt trying to impress some girl and her family. “I have enough coin. How much would it take?” she asked briskly.

He paused for a moment, still considering her. She shifted uncomfortably beneath his gaze but refused to back down. The crowd surrounding them thinned, evidence that time was wasting. Her eyes begged him to comply.

“Perhaps I’ve been too hasty. We could discuss the price,” he said, reaching boldly for her arm.

An image of the butcher flashed before her eyes, but this time there was no table to separate her from her attacker. Jerking free of his hold, Anne brought the pail forward, hitting the sailor soundly between the legs. He dropped to his knees, the breath escaping his lungs with a pained “Ooof,” his eyes no longer twinkling.

“Keep your hands to yourself, you filthy sea rat! Even if you were to offer me the full barrel, I wouldn’t go anywhere with the likes of you!”

For the second time that morning, Anne rushed away from an unwelcome advance, cursing softly beneath her breath. She felt the sailor’s eyes following her, burning a hole into the back of her head, but she didn’t turn around. He was in no condition to give chase, at least not now.

Hurrying from the docks, she reached once again for her mother’s pocket watch. A shiver ran down her spine and she sent up a silent prayer, asking that Master Drummond’s heart would be softened and that she wouldn’t find herself on the receiving end of his fury.

Anne also prayed that her path would not cross again with that of the sailor’s, for if it did, she knew with certainty that she would not leave the encounter unscathed.

I'm so happy to have Nicole Castroman, author of Blackhearts, here today at The Magic Of Words. I asked her a few questions so we can get to know a little bit about her and her new book. And the questions are:

1. I know there must be a lot of reasons why I should read Blackhearts but can you give me the top three reasons?

1) It’s not like anything else out there. I can honestly say there hasn’t been a YA novel written about Blackbeard before he became a pirate. J

2) I picture Aidan Turner as Teach. (If you haven’t discovered the magnificence of Aidan Turner, then I highly suggest you Google him.)

3) The romance is a slow burn, which is my favorite kind.

2. What inspired you to write Blackhearts?

My husband and I planned a trip Charleston, SC. It’s such a fascinating place. I love history, so before we left, I researched everything I could about Charleston and found out that in 1718, Blackbeard held the entire city of Charleston hostage. His one demand was medication for his sailors. I decided to dig a bit more and discovered that only the last two years of Blackbeard's life are recorded. Nobody knew anything about his early life, and so the idea for BLACKHEARTS was born.

Some people might expect Teach to already be a swashbuckler in BLACKHEARTS, but I didn’t want to simply create a younger version of Blackbeard and put him on a ship and say, act like a pirate. I took what was known about him and came up with my novel. Of course, I wanted him to have a love interest who would basically be responsible for setting him on his path to piracy. This is as much his story as it is hers.

3. Would you tell me something about you that we didn't know about?

I love hip hop dance. If I could go back in time, I would sign up for some hip hop classes.

4. Where is your favorite spot/ room in your house? And why?

I always write at my desk in my study. I have the most comfortable chair there and it just feels good to be in that room, with some of my favorite books on the bookshelves.

5. If you had to describe Blackhearts using song lyrics what would they be?

Oh, fun question! Anne and Teach actually have a theme song. It’s haunting and fits their relationship perfectly. I really wanted to write two characters who belonged together and I hope I’ve achieved that. Here is the link.

(It’s Secret Garden, Dreamcatcher. Adagio is the song.)

Thanks so much for having me, Amie!

Thank you Nicole for stoppling by.

Follow the Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Nicole was lucky enough to come with her very own best friend...she has a twin sister who can read her mind and finish her sentences for her.

At the age of 13, she went to Europe for the first time and it changed her life. She loves learning about different people, languages and cultures and speaks fluent German. She knows enough Spanish to get herself into trouble and can still read the Cyrillic alphabet from when she studied Russian.

She received her B.A. from Brigham Young University and has lived in Germany, Austria and two different places called Georgia. One is located on the Black Sea. The other is the state of Georgia where she now lives with her handsome husband and two beautiful children who continue to amaze her.

Blogtour | GuestPost & Giveaway: What's Broken Between Us by Alexis Bass

2015-12-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: December 29th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Synopsis:

Alexis Bass’s heartbreakingly beautiful second novel is a tale of love, loss, and learning to forgive.

Look to the left, look to the right. We’re all going to die. But someone has to do it first. So who’s it going to be?

Tragedy struck Amanda Tart’s town a year and a half ago when a sophomore girl was killed in a car accident on graduation night.

Amanda’s brother, Jonathan, was behind the wheel and too drunk to drive. He’s spent the past year in prison and has cut off all ties. But now Jonathan is coming home. Just as Amanda’s trying to figure out what that means for her family and herself, she’s paired up for a school project with Henry Crane—a former crush, and brother of Jonathan’s ex-girlfriend, who survived the crash with horrible injuries.

Everyone is still incredibly damaged by the events of that night. Can Amanda and Henry finally begin to heal what’s broken and find some peace?

-->

Amanda and Henry's likes and dislikes chart.

Things you didn't know about Alexis Bass.

Soup is my favorite food—any flavor, any season.
If I wasn’t a writer, I would love to be a paleontologist.
My favorite class in college was The Art and Criticism of Dance, in which I was the only business major and got a front row seat to the choreographer power-abuse debate.
My 3 year old golden retriever’s name is Dylan, named after 90210’s Dylan McKay, though my fiance will insist he was actually named after Bob Dylan (except: no).
I lived in Seattle for five years and loved it—the rain, especially.
When I was a teen, my favorite movies were Good Will Hunting, Romeo and Juliet (featuring Leonardo DiCaprio & Claire Danes), Traffic, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Jurassic Park.
I traveled to Paris this past spring, and for me the best part was early in the morning in front of the Louvre, when the dog walkers would let their dogs play off leash on the lawn.

Advice on how to forgive someone.

I’m not sure I can offer great advice on how to forgive someone since every situation is so different, but I can offer some of my favorite quotes about forgiveness, including a quote from What’s Broken Between Us. :)

“Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.”

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”

― Oscar Wilde

“I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.”

― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

“When you forgive, you love.”

― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

“See, forgiveness doesn't happen all at once. It's not an event -- it's a process…It happens in the back of your mind, and then one day you realize that you don't hate the person anymore, that your anger has gone away somewhere. And you understand. You've forgiven them. You don't know how or why. It sneaked up on you. It happened in the small spaces between thoughts and in the seconds between ideas and blinks. That's where forgiveness happens. Because anger and hatred, when left unfed, bleed away like air from a punctured tire, over time and days and years. Forgiveness is stealth. At least, that's what I hope.”

― Barry Lyga, Boy Toy

“Generally after someone says I’m sorry, there’s an exchange in forgiveness. Or there’s closure, plain and simple. But we don’t always get that. We learn the hard way. We do the wrong thing. We pay for it. We regret. We cry. We try to make it up to people. We punish ourselves. We lose, again and again.”

― Alexis Bass, What’s Broken Between Us

Follow the What's Broken Between Us Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Alexis Bass grew up in Washington, went to college in Arizona, and spent her early twenties in Seattle. She currently lives in Northern California with Dylan McKay, her gorgeous and rambunctious golden retriever. She loves good fashion and good TV as much as a good book, and is a huge advocate of the three C’s: coffee, chocolate, and cheese. LOVE AND OTHER THEORIES is her first novel.

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Blogtour | Interview& Giveaway: It's a Wonderful Death by Sarah J. Schmitt

2015-10-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publisher: Sky Pony Press

Release Date: October 6th, 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy, Paranormal, Supernatural, Teen

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old RJ always gets what she wants. So when her soul is accidentally collected by a distracted Grim Reaper, somebody in the afterlife better figure out a way to send her back from the dead or heads will roll. But in her quest for mortality, she becomes a pawn in a power struggle between an overzealous archangel and Death Himself. The tribunal presents her with two options: she can remain in the lobby, where souls wait to be processed, until her original lifeline expires, or she can replay three moments in her life in an effort to make choices that will result in a future deemed worthy of being saved. It sounds like a no-brainer. She’ll take a walk down memory lane. How hard can changing her future be?

But with each changing moment, RJ’s life begins to unravel, until this self-proclaimed queen bee is a social pariah. She begins to wonder if walking among the living is worth it if she has to spend the next sixty years as an outcast. Too quickly, RJ finds herself back in limbo, her time on Earth once again up for debate.

RJ is a snarky, unapologetic, almost unredeemable, very real girl. Her story is funny and moving, and teens will easily connect with her plight. Prepare to meet the Grim Reaper, who’s cuter than you’d expect; Hawaiian shirt–wearing Death Himself; Saint Peter (who likes to play Cornhole); and Al, the handler for the three-headed hound that guards the gates of Hell. This cast of characters accompanies RJ through her time in the afterlife and will do their best to gently shove her in the right direction.

1. What was your first thought when you met Grim Reaper?

You mean Gideon the Gorgeous? That he was hot in a cool, chill way. He had that chiseled cheek thing going on with some seriously black eyes that were like a moonless night. But when I realized I was about to die, it didn’t take long for me to get over that. Pretty sure my second thought was something along the lines of “Oh crap!” Although that’s the censored version. Death sucks but seeing it coming is even worse. Even if it is at the fingertips of a hottie.

2. Name three things that you find interesting about the afterlife.

They have coffee, they don’t have temperature and the whole white fluffy cloud thing is a total myth.

3. What are the things that you miss from the living world?

You mean other than being alive? Hmmmm. That’s hard to explain. I think I missed normal. Like the things you take fore-granted. The smell of fresh cut grass or the way the sun feels on your skin. The silence that comes with the first major snowfall. The five sense are completely under-utilized in the Afterlife.

4. Tell me about the day before the Grim Reaper accidentally collected your soul. (What were you doing, how were you feeling, etc.)

It was the day before the Halloween party at school. Now normally I wouldn’t go to a Friday night school event that didn’t involve cheerleaders or a crown, but this year the school had gone all out, hiring a company to come in and plan this over the top homecoming event. We’re talking fire breathers, an out of this world haunted maze with chain saws and of course the stupid fortune teller who is ultimately to blame for my “accident”. So Thursday was spent getting the finishing touches for my killer costume. My boyfriend at the time was way into Marvel so I was going as the Black Widow. I still needed to find the perfect utility belt. Felicity, my best frenemy, was going as Wonder Woman and still didn’t have her lasso. I should have known what a back stabber she was. Marvel and DC just don’t mix. Anyways, we’d gotten out of school early because this girl that went to our school had died the day before and I think the administration decided no one was learning and we would be better off at home. So shopping and mocha’s it was.

5. What was the first thing people noticed about you?

Tough question. I think it’s between my hair my eyes. My hair if they see me from the back and my eyes if I’m looking at you. I have a wicked glare.

6. Do you have any secrets? Oh yeah. A lot of them. If you want to find them out, you’ll have to read It’s A Wonderful Death. This Sarah J. Schmitt chick spilled all the beans. Which she better hope she lives to regret.

Follow the It's A Wonderful Death by Sarah J. Schmitt Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Sarah J. Schmitt is a K-8 school librarian and Youth Service Professional for Teens at a public library who, in addition to planning a variety of events, enjoys opening up the world of books to reluctant readers. She runs a teen writing program that combines Skype visits from well-known authors and screenwriters and critique group style feedback.

Prior to immersing herself in the world of the written word, Sarah earned her Masters of Science in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs from Indiana University where she worked with first year college students as they acclimated to college life. Sarah lives outside of Indianapolis with her husband, two kidlets and a cat who might actually be a secret agent. She is an active member of SCBWI, ALA and the Indiana Library Federation and is a regular participant at the Midwest Writer's Workshop. Her debut novel, IT'S A WONDERFUL DEATH, comes out Fall 2015 from Sky Pony Press.

One winner will win:

-A signed copy of The Heir by Kiera Cass or a signed copy of HOOK'S REVENGE by Heidi Shultz

-A Handmade bracelet in RJ's favorite color: purple

-A IT'S A WONDERFUL DEATH swag pack

-A Funko Pop! Pocket Keychain (Game of Thrones Daenerys Targaryen)

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Blogtour | Delected Scene: This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee with giveaway

2015-09-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: September 22nd 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Steampunk, Retelling, Historical, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Fantasy

Synopsis:

In 1818 Geneva, men built with clockwork parts live hidden away from society, cared for only by illegal mechanics called Shadow Boys. Two years ago, Shadow Boy Alasdair Finch’s life shattered to bits.

His brother, Oliver—dead.

His sweetheart, Mary—gone.

His chance to break free of Geneva—lost.

Heart-broken and desperate, Alasdair does the unthinkable: He brings Oliver back from the dead.

But putting back together a broken life is more difficult than mending bones and adding clockwork pieces. Oliver returns more monster than man, and Alasdair’s horror further damages the already troubled relationship.

Then comes the publication of Frankenstein and the city intensifies its search for Shadow Boys, aiming to discover the real life doctor and his monster. Alasdair finds refuge with his idol, the brilliant Dr. Geisler, who may offer him a way to escape the dangerous present and his guilt-ridden past, but at a horrible price only Oliver can pay…

-----------------------------

Geneva, 1816

The address Mary gave us was a half of an hour’s walk from our flat—most of it done in driving rain—then another quarter of an hour while the two of us walked circles around the block, trying to decide where we were actually meant to be meeting her because, at the house number she’d given us sat a seedy lodge with green-glass windows and snooker balls clattering from inside. It wasn’t until Oliver spotted Mary standing in the doorway, waving us over, that we realized that Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary, had indeed invited us to a billiard hall.

“We thought we were in the wrong place,” I explained as the three of us stood at the bar waiting for cues, Oliver and I near ankle deep in a puddle as our wet clothes dripped onto the floor rippled by the heat. The room was stifling.

Mary, who had a folding umbrella and a very innocent look, asked, “Why’s that?”

Oliver let out a breathy laugh. “Do you really not know?”

“Do you shoot billiards?” I asked her.

-----------------------------
You can continue reading the deleted scene the following day at Beth's blog - Curling Up With a Good Book. And if you want to read more, check out the tour schedule to continue the story!

Follow the This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Mackenzi Lee holds a BA in history and an MFA from Simmons College in writing for children and young adults. She loves Diet Coke, sweater weather, and Star Wars. On a perfect day, she can be found enjoying all three. She currently lives in Boston, where she works as a bookseller and almost never reanimates corpses. Almost.

Blog Tour Prize Pack (US ONLY):

One winner will receive...

A hardcover copy of THIS MONSTROUS THING

A pair of Frankenstein socks

A copy of the Color Your Own Graphic Novel Frankenstein

THIS MONSTROUS THING postcards, bookmarks, and buttons

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Interview& Giveaway: The Next Together by Lauren James (Bonus an excerpt)

2015-09-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

Series: The Next Together #1
Publisher: Walker
Release Date: September 3rd 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Historial Fiction, Contemporary, Fantasy, Time Travel

Synopsis:

How many times can you lose the person you love?

Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated.

Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace?

Maybe the next together will be different...

A powerful and epic debut novel for teenagers about time-travel, fate and the timelessness of first love. The Next Together is told through a mixture of regular prose, diary entries, letters, "original" historical documents, news reports and internet articles.

PROLOGUE

The last time they were together, it was late evening and they were being followed.

“It’s happening again,” Kate said, and immediately regretted it. Matthew didn’t reply, only squeezed her hand a little tighter, following behind where she led him. She knew what it meant. They were going to die.

They ran. Kate tried to be quiet, but her breath sounded dangerously loud in the silence and as heavy as her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Matthew pressed a palm against the small of her back, urging her on.

She could hear footsteps behind them, growing faster and faster, gaining on them.
They turned a corner and ducked into a room. Matthew locked the door behind them with trembling fingers.

They stared at each other, listening for the sound of their pursuers. For a moment there was silence. They had a few minutes, but that was all. They were going to be found; it was just a matter of whether they could finish their task first.

“Next time, we’re moving somewhere hot and quiet before any of this happens,” she declared resolutely.

“I like Spain,” Matthew agreed and pulled her into one last, slightly desperate kiss.

A Day In The Life Of Lauren James

I start every day by going swimming at my local gym. This gives me time to think through what I’ll be writing that day, and solve any nagging plot holes that I might have abandoned in frustration the night before (this happens more often than I care to admit).

After I’ve done a hundred lengths of front crawl, and soaked in the Jacuzzi until I’m extremely wrinkly, I’ll go home and begin work.

My desk, with a perfect inspirational view of my favourite books!

I spend a few hours answering emails and doing admin stuff. This can range from discussing editorial notes or marketing tactics with my editor and agent, or replying to tumblr asks and writing blog posts.

Surprisingly, a lot more of an author’s time is spent doing things other than writing – something I never realised until I became a writer. I’m lucky that most of my work can be done from home, but about once a fortnight I’ll go down to London on the train for a meeting or event in person. I was recently on a panel discussing Diversity in YA at a conference, which was a lot of fun.

I’m learning to drive at the minute, so then I might have a driving lesson in the afternoon. I’m working on navigating islands at the minute (I’m not very good at it yet!).

When I get home, I’ll finally start writing. I only start writing properly in the evening, because there are too many distractions during the day! I’ll crank up my playlist for the book I’m writing (by the time the book is finished it will usually have reached over 100 plays on iTunes), chew some gum and get started.

After I’ve procrastinated on tumblr, and taken dozens of pictures of my dogs, that is…

Here’s one I took whilst avoiding writing this blog post.

Eventually I’ll force myself to get down to work, and write for about five hours. I try to write between one and two thousand words a day, but sometimes that might be as little as three hundred words or as much as three thousand. It depends on what I’m writing. I don’t worry about not writing enough, as long as I write something. It’s all progress!

Then I might catch up on some TV series like Hannibal or The Great British Bake-Off or read something - right now I’m reading Lockwood & Co by Jonathan Stroud. I’ll collapse into bed about 1am, mind full of plot ideas and character dialogue!

Follow the The Next Together by Lauren James Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Lauren James is a scientist by day, writer by early hours of the morning. She graduated in 2014 with a first class Masters degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Nottingham, where she studied Chemistry and Physics.

She now lives in the village of Berkswell in the UK.

You can find her on Twitter at @Lauren_E_James, which she mainly uses to fancast actors as her characters and panic about all of the overly ambitious plans she has for her PhD, or her website at http://lauren-e-james.tumblr.com.

She likes strong, intelligent women, Dylan O’Brien, and things with plants on them. These are her favourite books: http://www.myindependentbookshop.co.uk/Laurenelizjames.

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Review: Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

2015-08-13T14:56:00.001-04:00

Publication Date: December 27th 2005
Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
Source: Purchased
Rating:  ★★★1/2

Meet Emma Corrigan, a young woman with a huge heart, an irrepressible spirit, and a few little secrets: Secrets from her boyfriend: I've always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken. Secrets from her mother: I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom with Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs watching Ben-Hur. Secrets she wouldn't share with anyone in the world: I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is. Until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger.…Until Emma comes face-to-face with Jack Harper, the company's elusive CEO, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her...

This is my first time reading anything by Sophie Kinsella and I think I'll check more of her books because I've a feeling that she will be my favorite author. A lot of people raved about this book so I had a really high hope that I would love it too and maybe this would be the book that could pull me back into reading again. As you may or may not known I've not read any fiction books for almost a year. Something happened in my life and when I turned to reading for an escape, it failed me. I couldn't get into the story, couldn't feel the characters. So there I was, in the biggest reading slump of my life so far.

Anyway Can You Keep A Secret made me laugh out loud so many times but it also gave me so much rage. I really disliked Emma. I don't know what it was about her but it just rubbed me the wrong way. Actually I could make a list of things that she did from the beginning of the book till the very end that drove me crazy. But doing so means spoilers that's why I keep my mouth shut. Ugh, I really couldn't stand Emma.

This is one of those books that even though you're not a fan of the MC but you still keep reading mainly because it's a light, enjoyable read. The plot was good, characters and romance were not so much. Emma was not a boring character. She was so annoying. The things that she did made me cringe. I don't even want to talk about the romance in the book because it was so cliche and unrealistic. Plus there was no chemistry. I wish it would end differently. If it was I think I'd like the book a little bit more.

To sum it up, yes it did its job of pulling back into the reading world (I know what I want to read next already). Can You Keep A Secret is an easy, quick read. A really funny book.

Interview & Giveaway: The Revenge Playbook by Rachael Allen

2015-06-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: June 16th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

Synopsis:

Don’t get mad, get even! In this poignant and hilarious novel, Rachael Allen brilliantly explores the nuances of high school hierarchies, the traumas sustained on the path to finding true love, and the joy of discovering a friend where you least expect.

In the small town of Ranburne, high school football rules and the players are treated like kings. How they treat the girls they go to school with? That’s a completely different story. Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana each have their own reason for wanting to teach the team a lesson—but it’s only when circumstances bring them together that they come up with the plan to steal the one thing the boys hold sacred. All they have to do is beat them at their own game.

Brimming with sharp observations and pitch-perfect teen voices, fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Mlynowski are sure to fall head-over-heels for this sharp tale—by the author of 17 First Kisses—about the unexpected roads that can lead you to finding yourself.

1. Things you don't know about Rachael Allen, author of The Revenge Playbook.

Oh! I kind of wrote a whole post just about this for another blog, so I’ll link to it here: briansbookthoughts.blogspot.com

2. Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana: their first impressions of each other.

Fun question!

Melanie Jane and Ana: Had a BFFs-at-first-sight moment when they met in 8th grade and were the only two brunettes on the cheerleading squad.

Peyton and Liv: When Peyton met Liv, she thought “Wow, this girl is so cool and an awesome dancer and so much fun, and I want to be her friend so badly!” When Liv first met Peyton, she thought, “Wow, this girl is such a sweetheart and seems like the kind of serious, caring person that I could have a really deep friendship with, and I want to be her friend so badly!”

Peyton and Melanie Jane/Ana: Peyton had seen both of them around school (and Melanie Jane at church), but had never really talked to them. Peyton thought Melanie Jane was flawless and popular and would have been terrified to approach her. She thought Ana looked unbelievably sad and closed off and wished she knew her better so she could give her a hug.

Ana and Liv/Peyton: Ana thought they both seemed like nice girls, but was very hesitant to make friends with girls because she’d been burned in the past.

Melanie Jane and Peyton/Liv: Melanie Jane thought Peyton was super quiet and never talked and thought Liv desperately needed her advice re: The Cyrus-Swift Phenomenon.

Liv and Melanie Jane/Ana: Liv thought they both seemed really cool. Definite tacklehug potential there.

3. Who is your favorite: Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane or Ana? And why?

I don’t have a favorite because I seriously love all these girls, but I will say that Peyton is the most like me in personality (though not in interests and life experiences) and Liv was the most fun to write because she’s so energetic and spontaneous. But even though I don’t really have a favorite, I LOVE when other people tell me who their favorite is, so keep it coming! J

4. Which one of those four girls did you find a little bit challenging to write about?

Ana was challenging to write about for me. I think it’s always challenging when you’re writing about an experience that’s outside of your collection of life experiences. I wanted so much to get everything right as far as what happens to Ana and how she reacts and feels, and I know that’s different for every person, but I wanted it to be right for her.

The other challenging part of writing Ana (and to an extent, the whole book), was the research I was doing. I was reading articles about girls who were raped and then bullied or dismissed when they tried to speak out, articles about football culture, articles about people with privilege doing terrible things to other people. I’m very tender hearted, so reading these articles hurt. But it also made me feel more than ever that this was an important story to share with the world.

5. What are they (Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana) afraid of?

Peyton – Talking to new people/Making new friends

Melanie Jane – Falling in love

Ana – Speaking out/People not believing her

Liv – Giving someone who hurt her another chance

They may or may not conquer these fears by the end of the book J

6. What do you hope readers will take away from reading The Revenge Playbook?

I hate to tell people what to think about any of my books, but I would love it if my book inspired girls (and boys too) to speak up, to make a difference in their community, and to support each other.

On June 16, 2015, use the hashtag #BFFdraft to talk about who you’d want in your ultimate BFF group. You can pick YA characters, celebrities, girls who are doing cool stuff to make the world a better place, girls who are already your besties.

For more information go here or to the Thunderclap campaign. Or you can help us spread the word on June 16th, 2015, by tweeting the following message:

Who would you #BFFdraft (YA character, celebrity, girl you already know) to be in your BFF crew? http://t.co/pbdR1jL7mD #RevengePlaybook
— Patricia Lopez (@TUABFC) June 14, 2015

Follow the The Revenge Playbook Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Rachael Allen lives in Atlanta, GA where she's working furiously on her PhD in neuroscience. When she's not doing science or writing YA, you can find her chasing after her toddler and her two sled dogs. Her debut YA novel 17 FIRST KISSES, is forthcoming from Harper Teen. Rachael may or may not have had 17 first kisses...luckily she doesn't kiss and tell.

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Interview & Giveaway: The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes

2015-06-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publisher: Dial/Penguin
Release Date: June 9th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Retelling, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Thriller

With a harrowing poetic voice, this contemporary page-turner is perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, Julie Berry's All The Truth That's in Me, and the works of Ellen Hopkins.

The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust.

And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too.

Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something—but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of—if she’s willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past.

The Sacred Lies of Minnow By is a hard-hitting and hopeful story about the dangers of blind faith—and the power of having faith in oneself.

-->

1. What five words best describe The Sacred Lies Of Minnow Bly?

Blood, cults, justice, friendship, self-discovery.

2. Tell us a little bit about Minnow Bly.

Minnow’s a pretty complicated character who goes through so much over the course of the book, which made her pretty difficult to write. I had a really hard time nailing down Minnow’s voice for most of the drafting phase of this book. It took me a while to fully appreciate just how much she actually goes through, and how that would affect someone. Minnow’s been raised most of her life in a religious cult, where nearly everything is strictly controlled (girls cant read and are married young) and when she rebels, the Prophet punishes her by cutting off her hands (this is pulled from the fairy tale “The Handless Maiden,” which The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly loosely retells). Eventually the light bulb went off—Minnow’s angry. She doesn’t know what to do with that anger, and she doesn’t necessarily feel entitled to it, but it’s definitely there. As soon as I figured that out, I knew how to write her.

3. What is one of your favorite books from when you were a child?

I’m a huuuuuge Harry Potter fan. I struggled with reading for a lot of my childhood, and even though I liked the idea of books, it was almost impossible to muscle my way through one. My mom bought me the first two Harry Potter books when I was twelve and I thought there was no way I’d be able to read them, but after the first chapter, I was hooked enough to keep pushing until I finished it. The rest is history!

4. Besides writing and reading, what do you like to do in your free time?

I love movies and TV shows, but my ability to keep up with everything I want to be watching has been severely cramped with all of the debut year craziness. I’ve made a massive “To Watch” list for the summer, though. I’m really excited to watch Daredevil and the new season of Orange is the New Black on Netflix.

5. What are you working on right now?

I’m working on a revision for my second novel, The Arsonist, which is another YA mystery but quite different from Minnow Bly. It’s about a girl and a boy in California who are thrust together to investigate the murder of a teenage girl in the 1980s at the hands of the East German secret police.

Follow the The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Stephanie Oakes is a teacher and YA author from Washington State. Her debut novel, THE SACRED LIES OF MINNOW BLY (Dial/Penguin, June 9, 2015), about a girl who escapes from a religious commune only to find herself at the center of a murder investigation, is based on the Grimm fairy tale, "The Handless Maiden."

THE ARSONIST, her second YA mystery through Dial/Penguin, is scheduled for publication in fall 2016.

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Interview & Giveaway: Kissing in America by Margo Rabb

2015-05-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: May 26th 2015

Synopsis:

I loved romances because when you opened the first page, you knew the story would end well. Your heart wouldn't be broken. I loved that security, that guaranteed love.

In real life, you never knew the ending. I hated that.

Sixteen-year-old Eva has never been in love. But when she meets Will, everything changes. With him, her grief over her father's death fades, and she can escape from her difficult relationship with her mother. Then, without any warning, Will picks up and moves to California. So Eva—with the help of her best friend, Annie—concocts a plan to travel across the country to see him again. As they leave New York City for the first time and road-trip across America, they encounter cowboys, kudzu, and tiny towns without stoplights. Along the way, Eva and Annie learn the truth about love and all its complexities.

“Wonderful . . . Margo Rabb has created nothing less than a women’s map of American mythologies, navigating from Emily Dickinson to Barbara Cartland, from the cowboys of the rodeos to the makeup studios of Hollywood, and from the bottom of the Atlantic to the spacious skies of the USA.” — E. Lockhart, New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars

“A wonderful novel about friendship, love, travel, life, hope, poetry, intelligence and the inner lives of girls. Margo Rabb writes with compassion and clarity about lives that are worth telling, journeys that need to be taken, peace that needs to be reached. I loved it.” — Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray Love

“That Margo Rabb can write a story so gorgeous, funny, and joyous that is also unsentimental and honest is a testament to her skill and to her heart. I loved everything about Eva and the supporting cast in this beautiful novel.” — Sara Zarr, author of The Lucy Variations

“Rabb eloquently gets grief right in this compassionate, perceptive, and poignant story, deftly leavened with irreverent humor, of a girl in conflict with her mother. Wise, inspiring, and ultimately uplifting-not to be missed.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“With a full cast of multidimensional characters, this novel explores the complex nature of relationships and the many faces of grief and love with equal parts humor and poignancy.” — School Library Journal

“A smart teen’s novel. [The] characters are authentic and complex. Rabb knows the perfect point to interject humor to diffuse a potentially devastating situation—a leavening of sorts to the reality that death and love inexplicitly alter the landscape of a person’s life.” — Booklist (starred review)

“In this indelible coming-of-age story, Rabb seamlessly weaves together multiple narratives. Sprinkled with the poetry Eva reads and writes, this story makes for a hilarious, thought-provoking, wrenching, and joyful quest.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Humor and depth . . . Often entertainingly snarky” — The Horn Book

“It is a marvel and I love every word of it: the carefully structured plot, the memorable characters, the wholly apposite style and tone. It is funny, sad, wistful, wise, and altogether memorable.” — Michael Cart

PICK ONE

1. Describe Kissing in America in 5 words or less.

Love, friendship, poetry, and self-discovery.

2. Eva and Annie's packing tips for a cross country road trip.

Most Important Tip: Bring as many of your favorite books as possible, no matter how heavy they are.

3. Five things you loved while writing Kissing in America.

I loved writing about Eva and Annie’s friendship, Lulu’s character, the food in Tucson, weaving in the poetry, and of course the cowboys.

4. When did you know you wanted to write?

Ever since I was a little kid! I’ve kept a diary since I was 9 and I still write in it almost every day.

5. What book you want to read again for the first time?

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

6. How do you de-stress? What do you like to do on your day off?

I like to sleep, eat chocolate, read, go running, and to travel. My most recent trip was when our whole family went to Hershey, Pennsylvania, which was so much fun!

Follow the Kissing in America AUDIO TOUR that Epic Reads is hosting. You can win lots of prizes and hear excerpts from Margo Rabb's book. Click on the banner below to start following the AUDIO TOUR!

Follow the Kissing in America by Margo Rabb Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Margo Rabb's stories have been published in The Atlantic Monthly, Zoetrope: All Story, Seventeen, Best New American Voices, New Stories from the South, New England Review, One Story, and elsewhere, and have been broadcast on National Public Radio. She received grand prize in the Zoetrope short story contest, first prize in The Atlantic Monthly fiction contest, first prize in the American Fiction contest, and a PEN Syndicated Fiction Project Award. She grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and two children. A complete list of her published work can be found here.

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Interview & Giveaway: 99 Days by Katie Cotugno

2015-04-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: April 21st 2015
Read an excerpt

Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.

Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”

Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me.

1. Describe 99 Days in 5 words or less.

Two messy, complicated love stories.

2. Gabe and Patrick are brothers so are they very different from each other? And what is one thing that they can't stand about each other?

Gabe and Patrick are definitely about as different as two brothers can be. I think Patrick gets frustrated by what he sees as Gabe's Golden Boy status--the idea that he's had everything handed to him without having to work for it. And Gabe can't stand Patrick's holier-than-thou attitude.

3. What do you think "love" is? Can we love two people at the same time?

I absolutely think you can love two people at the same time--and I think you can be two different people at the same time, depending on who you're with.

4. Why 99 days, not 98 or 100 days but 99 days? Is there any reason behind it?

There are 99 Days of summer, actually! At least, somebody told me there are....

5. What do you like to do in your free time?

I read a lot, and I love to cook and bake. I also watch kind of a lot of TV, truthfully.

6. What's the last book you read that made you laugh?

Julie Murphy's Dumplin', which comes out in the fall. I cackled.

Follow the 99 Days by Katie Cotugno Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Katie Cotugno went to Catholic school for thirteen years which makes her, as an adult, both extremely superstitious and prone to crushes on boys wearing blazers. She routinely finds herself talking about the romantic endeavors of characters on TV shows as if they actually exist in the world.

Katie is a Pushcart Prize nominee whose work has appeared in The Broadkill Review, The Apalachee Review, and Argestes, as well as on Nerve.com. Her first novel, HOW TO LOVE, is due out from Balzer + Bray on October 1st, 2013.

The great loves of Katie's life include child's pose, her little sister, and mozzarella and honey sandwiches. She lives in Boston (and in sin) with her boyfriend, Tom.

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Blogtour & Giveaway: Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein

2015-04-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

Series: Becoming Jinn #1
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: April 21st 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Mythology

Forget everything you thought you knew about genies!

Azra has just turned sixteen, and overnight her body lengthens, her olive skin deepens, and her eyes glisten gold thanks to the brand-new silver bangle that locks around her wrist. As she always knew it would, her Jinn ancestry brings not just magical powers but the reality of a life of servitude, as her wish granting is controlled by a remote ruling class of Jinn known as the Afrit.

To the humans she lives among, she’s just the girl working at the snack bar at the beach, navigating the fryer and her first crush. But behind closed doors, she’s learning how to harness her powers and fulfill the obligations of her destiny.

Mentored by her mother and her Zar “sisters”, Azra discovers she may not be quite like the rest of her circle of female Jinn . . . and that her powers could endanger them all. As Azra uncovers the darker world of becoming Jinn, she realizes when genies and wishes are involved, there’s always a trick.

Chapter 1

A chisel, a hammer, a wrench. A sander, a drill, a power saw. A laser, a heat gun, a flaming torch. Nothing cuts through the bangle. Nothing I conjure even makes a scratch.

I had to try, just to be sure. But the silver bangle encircling my wrist can’t be removed. It was smart of my mother to secure it in the middle of the night while I was asleep, unable to protest.

Though my Jinn ancestry means magic has always been inside me, the rules don’t allow me to begin drawing upon it until the day I turn sixteen. The day I receive my silver bangle. The day I officially become a genie.

Today.

I slam my newly acquired accessory against my bedroom closet, leaving a rounded indent on the wood door. The pristine, gleaming metal mocks me. For the rest of my life, I’ll go where I’m told, perform on command, and do it all without question.

Screw that.

Barefooted, I can’t kick the pile of tools without impaling myself. I settle for shoving the saw, but in the blade, a flash of gold reflects back at me. I’ve ignored the unusual sensation of hairs tickling my bare shoulders all morning . . . the new tap, tap, tap of my nails against the conjured metal . . . the hem of my pajama pants now flirting with my calf. Ignored just in case. Just in case this bangle wasn’t here to stay. But even my talent for denial is no match for my curiosity when it’s been piqued.

Standing at the bathroom mirror, my breath catches in my throat.

The deepening of my olive skin, the angling of my cheekbones, the lengthening of my torso. I’ve seen them all before. On my mother, who wears them like she owns them. Unlike me, who wears them like a rented Halloween costume.

Becoming Jinn in Five GIFs

One of my favorite shows, as many of my Twitter followers already know, is The Vampire Diaries. In fact, I recently wrote an Enzo-based fanfic short story featured on Wattpad. So there’s no better way to encapsulate Becoming Jinn in five gifs than through #TVD!

Becoming Jinn is a modern spin on the traditional tale of wish-granting genies. It follows Azra from the day she wakes up on her sixteenth birthday and is forced to start granting wishes for humans.

But learning to use magic, learning to grant wishes, and keeping it all hidden from humans as she must do, proves much more difficult than Azra imagines. And, the trouble is, the Afrit are watching, waiting to pounce with harsh punishments for screwing up, which of course, Azra does.

There’s strong friendships.

A budding love story.

But the more Azra discovers the more she realizes there’s a much darker side to becoming Jinn.

Click here for more information about the Pre-order giveaway hosted by Lori Goldstein.

Follow the Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

My debut novel, the Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy Becoming Jinn, is a modern spin on the traditional tale of wish-granting genies. It will be released on April 21, 2015, by Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s. The sequel will follow in Spring 2016. I am represented by Lucy Carson of The Friedrich Agency.

Too much of my day involves chatting books, obsessing over The Vampire Diaries, and perfecting the art of efficient writing through Twitter. Find me at @loriagoldstein and follow my blog at www.lorigoldsteinbooks.com or my Tumblr at http://lorigoldsteinbooks.tumblr.com. Like my author page on Facebook for fun book-related photos, tidbits, and happenings as well as news on Becoming Jinn.

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Blogtour | Interview & Giveaway: Pretty Wanted by Elisa Ludwig

2015-03-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

Series: Pretty Crooked #3
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: March 17th 2015

Willa’s string of good-hearted but ill-conceived thefts at her former high school catapulted her into a life she hardly knows. She became a cult hero, but soon afterward, her mom disappeared, leaving only a cryptic message. When Willa hit the California highway to find her, she discovered a dark family secret: Joanne Fox is not who she says she is-and neither is Willa. Now, Willa and fellow trouble-maker Aidan must race to St. Louis, Missouri, Willa’s birthplace. There, they hope to find answers about Willa’s past. But uncovering the truth requires solving a decades-old murder case.

Unfortunately, the perps are still out there . . . and willing to do whatever it takes to keep the case cold. With Willa’s face on the nightly news and the police hot on her trail, it might not matter that Aidan and her friend Tre are there to help. Willa’s only hope is to find the truth before it finds her first.

Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Amie!

Thank you Elisa for stopping by my blog today so let's get started with the questions, shall we?

1. If you could spend a day with Willa, what would you two do, where would you two go?

I would probably go to some thrift stores with her and have her help me pick out some clothes--she's way more fashionable than I!

2. Can you tell us about things that we didn't know about Aidan?

Hmm, well I can tell you that his middle name (never revealed in the books) is Chase, which ends up being a your-name-is-your-destiny type of situation.

3. What is your favorite (non spoiler) scene from Pretty Wanted?

My favorite scene is probably the scene when Aidan and Willa hide out in the library because that pretty much seems like a dream come true for me!

4. Where is your favorite place on Earth?

Wellfleet, MA.

5. What do you do in your free time?

I love to read, cook and bake, do yoga, color with my toddler son, obsess over pictures on Houzz and do anything involving art/music/film.

Follow the Pretty Wanted by Elisa Ludwig Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

My debut young adult novel PRETTY CROOKED (Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins) was released in March 2012, and the sequel, PRETTY SLY, is out in March 2014. COIN HEIST, a YA thriller, is out in June 2014 (Adaptive Studios). I live in Philadelphia with my husband and son.

Visit me on Twitter, Facebook, and my website.

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Blogtour | Playlist & Giveaway: Dead to Me by Mary McCoy

2015-03-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: March 3rd 2015

LA Confidential for the YA audience. This alluring noir YA mystery with a Golden Age Hollywood backdrop will keep you guessing until the last page.

"Don't believe anything they say."

Those were the last words that Annie spoke to Alice before turning her back on their family and vanishing without a trace. Alice spent four years waiting and wondering when the impossibly glamorous sister she idolized would return to her--and what their Hollywood-insider parents had done to drive her away.

When Annie does turn up, the blond, broken stranger lying in a coma has no answers for her. But Alice isn't a kid anymore, and this time she won't let anything stand between her and the truth, no matter how ugly. The search for those who beat Annie and left her for dead leads Alice into a treacherous world of tough-talking private eyes, psychopathic movie stars, and troubled starlets--and onto the trail of a young runaway who is the sole witness to an unspeakable crime. What this girl knows could shut down a criminal syndicate and put Annie's attacker behind bars--if Alice can find her first. And she isn't the only one looking

Evoking classic film noir, debut novelist Mary McCoy brings the dangerous glamour of Hollywood's Golden Age to life, where the most decadent parties can be the deadliest, and no drive into the sunset can erase the crimes of past.

♪ "Penny Nails" - John Murry
This song was in my head whenever I was trying to get a handle on Alice's emotions. All the people in her life who were supposed to love her have let her down. The kind of love they're capable of giving to her isn't healthy or good, but she needs it anyway, and to me, that's what this song is about.

♪ "Time Bomb High School” - The Reigning Sound

“It’s a well known drag, but it brings me down/My folks don’t care cuz they ain’t around”

The first line of this song was in my head from the first draft. In the beginning, I flirted with the idea of making the book kind of a Rebel Without a Cause, 1950s juvenile delinquent film-inspired thing, and this song was right at home there. In the end, film noir won out, though.

♪ “Over the Rainbow” - Judy Garland

There's this part in the movie where Judy Garland says, "I don't think there's anything in that black bag for me," and it just kills me every time. The tone in her voice when she says it, that’s Alice in a nutshell.

♪ “My Funny Valentine” - Ella Fitzgerald

This is one of Annie’s favorite songs, and I imagine that Ella Fitzgerald’s is the performance Annie would have wanted to emulate.

♪ “Swinging On a Star” - Bing Crosby

This is the song that’s playing when pretty much everything in the book goes to hell.

♪ “Stormy Weather” - Lena Horne

Again, this song is a classic and there have been so many beautiful renditions of it, but Lena Horne’s performance was the one that felt the closest to my characters.

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Mary McCoy is a librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library. She has also been a contributor to On Bunker Hill and the 1947project, where she wrote stories about Los Angeles's notorious past. She grew up in western Pennsylvania and studied at Rhodes College and the University of Wisconsin. Mary now lives in Los Angeles with her husband. Her debut novel, Dead To Me, is a YA mystery set in the glamorous, treacherous world of 1940s Hollywood.

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Guestpost & Giveaway: I Remember You by Cathleen Davitt Bell

2015-02-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: February 10th 2015

For fans of THE FUTURE OF US comes an engrossing story of two teens, whose love for each other is tested by time and fate.

Lucas and Juliet couldn’t be more different from each other. But from the moment Lucas sees Juliet, he swears he remembers their first kiss. Their first dance. Their first fight. He even knows what’s going to happen between them—not because he can predict the future, but because he claims to have already lived it.

Juliet doesn’t know whether to be afraid for herself or for Lucas. As Lucas’s memories occur more frequently, they also grow more ominous. All Juliet wants is to keep Lucas safe with her. But how do you hold on to someone you love in the present when they’ve begun slipping away from you in the future?

This is a book that shows you what true love is: heart stopping, mind bending, life changing. I Remember You is unforgettable. - Melissa Kantor, author of Maybe One Day

Well-developed and multidimensional supporting characters contribute to the book’s even pace. This romance novel has elements of science fiction, yet remains true and authentic to the intensity of feelings adolescents experience with their first loves. - School Library Journal

Cathleen Davitt Bell gets all the gorgeous details right in this smart, fast-paced, romantic thriller about the love you choose and the love that chooses you. This extraordinary love story transcends time and space but lucky for us, each moment happens in the hot here and now. I Remember You is unforgettable. - Arlaina Tibensky, author of And Then Things Fall Apart

I was breathless reading I Remember You, wishing I could time travel to the end and find out exactly what happens—and yet, not wanting to miss a minute of the drama along the way. It read like a younger version of The Time Traveler's Wife. - Jen Calonita, author of Side Effects

A unique romance about a girl who is solidly rooted in the present and a boy who "remembers the future" as if he's already experienced it. Is it possible to alter the future and, if so, how? - Lois Duncan, author of Stranger with My Face and Locked in Time

Since I Remember You is told from his girlfriend Juliet’s perspective, I’m going to tell you about Lucas as she knows him:

Lucas:

1. It takes a little while to get that Lucas good looking. He’s got a few hockey-related scars on his face, some scruff and stubble, and at first you’re thinking, “He’d be cute without the nose.” Which looks like he broke it. Recently. But then his eyes crinkle when he smiles in a way that makes you see he is both smart and funny. His cropped blond hair catches the light...a lot. His jaw is square, and he’s got these thin Irish lips and amazing arms--you can tell they’re amazing even when he’s wearing a baggy shirt. Sigh.

2. Something it took me awhile to come to terms with: Lucas isn’t the kind of guy who makes a lot of complex plans. He’s a big believer in “follow your gut.” And also? Not so much into homework. Which makes him really different from me. But he takes hockey seriously. He’s never late for rink times and when coach says pass the puck, he passes it.

3. When his parents are fighting, Lucas puts his little brothers in his clunker of a car and takes them to Carvel for kiddy cups. He always gets one too and he always gets a gummy worm so they can have a gummy worm war. His gummy worm is named Serge and has a European accent. Serge taunts Tommy and Wendell’s gummy worms with long, nonsense insults, like “You are a toad from the Swamp of the Undesirables who has surfaced at the full moon to rain smelly sludge on the innocent.” Serge is trouble.

4. Lucas’s worst nightmare is a) having to ever sit in a classroom again after graduating high school, b) working in an office or c) ending up doing construction because that’s what happens to guys who don’t like school and offices. Conveniently, he’s always known he’s going to be a Marine like his dad and grandpa and uncles and great uncles and just about any man he’s descended from.

5. I really, really love being with Lucas and I don’t know what I would do if he were every out of my life.

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I was born in Princeton, NJ in 1971 and lived there until I was twelve, when we moved with my mom moved to West Hartford, CT.

My dad and mom had been divorced when I was two, and my dad lived in Williamstown, MA. I spent summers and school vacations with him.

I went to college in New York, at Barnard, and stayed in New York after I graduated. I worked as a newspaper reporter for three months, as a salesperson for a multimedia publisher for three years, and as a market researcher, and finally a copywriter.

I’m married and have two awesome kids ages two and five. I lived in Manhattan for sixteen years, but now am in Brooklyn, living downstairs from my sister and her family. I have two dogs named Oscar and Oprah. My favorite food is pizza and, strangely, in my thirties, I’ve developed a great love for playing catch. Slipping is my first book.

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GuestPost & Giveaway: Tear You Apart (Beau Rivage) by Sarah Cross

2015-01-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

Publisher: EgmontUSA
Release Date: January 27th 2015

An edgy fairy tale retelling of "Snow White" set in the world of Kill Me Softly for fans of Once Upon a Time and Grimm.

If you want to live happily ever after, first you have to stay alive.

Viv knows there’s no escaping her fairy-tale curse. One day her beautiful stepmother will feed her a poison apple or convince her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Henley, to hunt her down and cut out her heart before she breaks his. In the city of Beau Rivage, some princesses are destined to be prey.

But then Viv receives an invitation to the exclusive club where the Twelve Dancing Princesses twirl away their nights. There she meets Jasper, an underworld prince who seems to have everything—but what he really wants is her. He vows to save her from her dark fate if she’ll join him and be his queen.

All Viv has to do is tear herself away from the huntsman boy who still holds her heart. Then she might live to see if happily ever after is a promise the prince can keep. But is life as an underworld queen worth sacrificing the true love that might kill her?

Faced with a possible loophole to her "Snow White" curse, Viv goes underground, literally, to find the prince who's fated to rescue her. But is life safe in the Underworld worth the price of sacrficing the love that might kill her?

POP CULTURE CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF TWISTING FAIRY TALES: ABC's Once Upon a Time and NBC's Grimm continue to pull in high ratings. And with the anticipated Angelina Jolie Maleficent (2014), the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods (2014), and Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella (2015), Hollywood is infected with fairy tale fever.

CAMEOS FROM FAVORITE CHARACTERS: Viv, who first appeared in Kill Me Softly trailed by her brooding boy-toy Henley, takes center stage in this new Beau Rivage tale. Other familiar characters including Blue and Jewel are back to help her defy her destiny.

TEENS LOVE THIS FAIRY TALE WORLD: Kill Me Soflty was a 2013 YALSA Teens' Top 10. Readers have been clamoring for a sequel.

A FRESH TAKE ON THE FAMILIAR: Drawing on "Snow White," "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," and "Rumpelstiltskin," Tear You Apart is very conscious of the way these stories have pervaded pop culture, twisting known tropes into an exciting new story that can stand on its own.

After the Ball (Beau Rivage) by Sarah Cross

by Sarah Cross

Let me take you behind the scenes into some of my decision-making processes for Tear You Apart.

Names:

The characters' names have to feel just right (I guess it's the Goldilocks in me) and, often, I like for the names to mean something, too―especially in a world where fairy tales are real.

Viv/Vivian Deneuve – Viv's first name wasn't chosen for its meaning (although it's strangely fitting, anyway). I was reading Sarah Waters' The Night Watch and liked the character Viv so much that I was inspired to use her name. Viv's surname comes from French actress Catherine Deneuve, who starred in an adaptation of the fairy tale “Donkey Skin” (among other things).

Henley Silva – Silva means “forest,” and I think the name book I used said Henley meant “meadow” or something woodsy. This was back when I thought the guy who was sent to cut out Snow White's heart was a woodsman, not a huntsman; once I realized my mistake I was already set on the name. I'm grateful for that mix-up, because otherwise I might have named him something too obvious like “Hunter.” Which brings us to . . .

Regina – Regina means “queen” in Latin, so it was an easy choice for Snow White's “evil queen” stepmother when I was first naming these characters in Kill Me Softly. Of course, that was before Once Upon a Time arrived on the scene with its own evil-queen Regina. Oops. Now it's a little awkward. I always wonder if OUAT fans will think I “stole” it. No, it just means “queen,” I swear!

Jewel – Jewel is one of the many Cursed in Beau Rivage who changed her name to suit her fairy-tale curse (Diamonds and Toads, in this case); her birth name is Renee.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses – the 12DP in Tear You Apart are all named after dances. I'd read 12DP adaptations where the sisters were named after flowers or plants and I wanted to do something different, but still with a theme. And I couldn't resist naming three of the sisters Waltz, Tango, and Foxtrot, a play on “whiskey, tango, foxtrot,” aka “WTF” in the spelling alphabet used by pilots, etc.

The Yearling:

Possibly the worst movie ever for an animal lover (along with Kes and Old Yeller), The Yearling made me swear off boy-meets-animal movies for good―because they all end when the animal dies so the kid can grow up through this brutal “loss of innocence.” I was so upset and angry at the end of The Yearling, I wished I'd never watched it―but then I realized there were parallels with that story and Viv and her stepmom's relationship. So the anecdote about Viv watching The Yearling with Regina? That's in there because I hate that movie SO MUCH that I needed to turn it from soul-crushing experience into fodder-for-fiction so I wouldn't be angry over it for eternity. I was able to let it go after that. But I'm still not watching any more boy-meets-animal movies.

The Title:

Tear You Apart did not have a title right away. My file name was “Viv bk” and I jokingly considered calling the book “Blood Red Delicious,” but I really wanted a title that fit with Kill Me Softly. Now, Kill Me Softly is derived from a song title (“Killing Me Softly”), so when I was struggling to title this book I went to iTunes to see if my magic title was there. And that was where I discovered “Tear You Apart.” I'm not a big fan of the song, but I feel like those words are the perfect description for what these characters are doing to each other, what their curses are doing to them, and what the Huntsman is supposed to do to Snow White. In the fairy tale, the evil queen sends him to kill Snow White and bring back her liver and lungs as proof. I went with the heart instead, because, hey, Disney has an impact, and heart is so much better for a twisted love story.

I hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look into Tear You Apart! Thanks so much for having me, Amie!
Thank you Sarah for this wonderful behind the scenes!

“Not your vanilla retelling, Kill Me Softly combines the darkness of the original Brothers Grimm, a modern cast of characters, and just a twist of whimsy that makes the whole town of Beau Rivage feel so wrong. You know, the good kind of wrong.”—Aprilynne Pike, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Wings

“Smart, romantic, and inspired, Sarah Cross’s Kill Me Softly is storytelling at its finest. She breathes new life into familiar tales, twisting them in fantastically unexpected ways. This book blew me away!”—Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth

“Incorporating suspense and romance, this contemporary, edgy, Grimm-based novel is an entertaining and well-written entry in a popular genre.”—Booklist

“A girl struggles to escape her fairy-tale fate in this suspenseful fantasy…Clever fun.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A paranormal romance that has the girl choosing the nice guy over the broody bad boy is a rare gem these days.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“This modern fairy-tale mash-up will appeal to fans of urban fantasy and is a solid choice for any collection.”—School Library Journal

"After the Ball" is a short story set in Beau Rivage, a city where fairy tales come to life, and ancient stories are played out again and again. You can read more about the cursed fairy-tale characters of Beau Rivage in Sarah Cross' novel Kill Me Softly.

Read and/or download AFTER THE BALL here.

Follow the Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Sarah Cross is the author of the fairy tale novels Kill Me Softly and Tear You Apart (coming January 2015), the superhero novel Dull Boy, and the Wolverine comic "The Adamantium Diaries." She loves fairy tales, lowbrow art, secret identities and silence.

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Interview & Giveaway: Perfect Couple by Jennifer Echols

2015-01-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Series: Superlatives #2

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: January 13th 2015

Amazon paperback | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Bookdepository | Kobo

Perfect Couple is #2 in the Superlatives series about seniors at a Florida high school who are selected for their class's superlative categories in the yearbook, and how the labels change the way they view themselves and alter the course of their lives.

Can your heart be put to a popular vote?

As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for capturing those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents' bitter divorce has left her wondering what a loving relationship would look like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody the “Perfect Couple That Never Was,” her friends have been on her case to ask Brody out.

Brody doesn’t lack in female admirers, but Harper can't see herself with him. He seems confused about why they were matched together, too. They’re total opposites—the last people in the world who would ever be compatible, let alone the “perfect couple.” Yet ever since the class paired the two of them, they've found themselves drawn together--first by curiosity, then by an undeniable bond.

The trouble is, though they're very attracted to each other and both of them admit this, they have a hard time getting along or even communicating clearly. If they’re the perfect couple, this shouldn’t be so difficult! Soon it becomes clear their class was wrong, and they throw in the towel. But after they walk away, both of them feel so changed from making the effort that they can’t forget each other. What if that means this match made in hell is the perfect couple after all?

Interview

1. Describe Perfect Couple in 5 words or less.

You’re not what I thought.

2. Brody's thoughts when he found out that he was matched with Harper.

“What?” Also, “Score.”

3. Which came first the plot or the characters?

Actually, I thought of the idea of the Superlatives series first. When I was a senior in high school, our class voted on “who’s who” titles like Most Academic and Most Talented. I looked around at other titles like this online and chose three that I thought would make great teen romances: Biggest Flirts, Perfect Couple That Never Was (shortened to Perfect Couple in the title), and Most Likely to Succeed. For PERFECT COUPLE, next I needed to figure out why two people who were obviously so perfect for each other had never even considered dating. So the characters came next, and the plot after that.

4. What was the last book you read and loved?

I work as a copyeditor for Harlequin Books. I’m not allowed to talk about my work so I can’t name titles, but so many of those romances are really wonderful, and I’m proud to have contributed a little.

5. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be and why?

I would be in Hawaii, where I eloped. I love the warm temperatures in the South where I live, and I am a beach girl at heart. Hawaii serves up the best of all this. The airport does not have walls. Our hotel lobby did not have walls. That is the best indicator I know that your climate is perfect: your buildings do not have walls. I will make it back someday!

Book 1 Book 3

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jennifer Echols was born in Atlanta and grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama—a setting that has inspired many of her books. She has written nine romantic novels for young adults, including the comedy MAJOR CRUSH, which won the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the drama GOING TOO FAR, which was a finalist in the RITA, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Book Buyer’s Best, and was nominated by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Simon & Schuster will debut her adult romance novels in 2013, with many more teen novels scheduled for the next few years. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and her son.

Author Links:

Interview & Giveaway: Love and Other Theories by Alexis Bass

2014-12-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: December 31st 2014

If you want more, you have to give less.

That’s the secret to dating in high school. By giving as little as they expect to get in return, seventeen-year-old Aubrey Housing and her three best friends have made it to the second semester of their senior year heartbreak-free. And it’s all thanks to a few simple rules: don’t commit, don’t be needy, and don’t give away your heart.

So when smoking-hot Nathan Diggs transfers to Lincoln High, it shouldn’t be a big deal. At least that’s what Aubrey tells herself. But Nathan’s new-boy charm, his kindness, and his disarming honesty throw Aubrey off her game and put her in danger of breaking the most important rule of all: Don’t fall in love.

“Careful, subtle and aching. ” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Warning: Bass’s debut novel will ignite ALL your feelings!” - Wendy Higgins, New York Times bestselling author of the Sweet Evil trilogy

“A bold debut that authentically captures the frenzy of love, lust, and senior year of high school!” - Julie Murphy, author of Side Effects May Vary

1. Can you sum up Love & Other Theories in just five words?
Friendship, love, desire, leaving, regret.

2. What comes first- the characters or the plot?
Characters first, almost always. For me, it usually starts with a main character with a dilemma, and from there it grows into a *hopefully* cohesive plot.

3. What book made you love to read/write?
My love of writing started very young. I had a bundle of favorites including: The Ramona Quimby Books, Where the Ren Fern Grows, and Bridge to Terabithia. I was completely in love with how these stories pulled out such strong emotions, and fascinated by their ability to do so!

4. What else do you love to do other than writing and reading?
I enjoy traveling, swimming, staying up late talking with my friends, going to the movies, and taking my dog for a run.

5. What are you working on right now?
I’m currently wrapping up revisions for my YA novel out next year titled WHAT’S BROKEN BETWEEN US, and drafting a YA romance.

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Just smile

2014-12-01T20:29:00.000-05:00

Hi guys! This post will be a little bit different because it's not anything book related. I just want to have a little chat since the weather is so perfect outside (cold and cloudy all day). When it's cold and I stay cozy inside with a cup of hot cocoa, I just can't stop grinning from ear-to-ear.

Anyway, December is here. My favorite month of the year. First, it's my birthday month! Second, it's the holiday season, Christmas time and New Year. I'm not a religious person but I love Christmas (the music, the giving/receiving presents). I don't know what it is about gift giving but it brings me joy. Maybe because it gives me an excuse to go shopping without feeling bad that I might spend too much. But hey, I love walking around the gift packaging section, all those beautiful gift wrap papers, bows, ribbons, totes. I'm telling you I can stay in there all day.

You might or might not known but I have a sweet tooth. That being said, I will bake, bake, bake and it will make my house smell amazing. The best part is that I will give them all away. I don't mind eating them. In fact I love it but it's not a good idea for my diet. And you probably don't want to know what I'm like when I have too much sugar.

I was like a zombie for the most part of the year. Nothing is forever and there will be a time when we must say goodbye to the ones we loved. I understood that completely but still it hit me hard. It didn't prepare me for the emptiness or the life without them. Sadness did fly away on the wings of time. I'm glad that December made me feel so nostalgic. However it's just not the same as before. This time around I have no family to celebrate with. And I've also come to accept the fact that I'm alone and it's okay, not the end of the world yet. The wonderful holiday season is here so I promise myself that I will do my best to live in the present and to make every moment worth living. In other words: no more sulking.

May all the wishes you wish come true and stay close to anything/anyone that makes you glad you are alive.

Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

2014-11-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

Publication Date: September 2nd 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: The Lone City #1
Source: Purchased
Rating:  ★★★

The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring.

Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.

Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence... and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for.

The Jewel is kind of like a retelling of the Handmaid's Tale so I was really intrigued to read this book. Though I've heard mixed reviews on Goodreads so I was undecided for a while. Then the curiosity got the better of me, I picked this book up at last. I started reading The Jewel without having any expectations on the romance. But still, it irritated me to the point that I had to stop reading for a few minutes. You might or might not known but insta-love is not my forte. Sometimes I can just ignore it and enjoy the story instead. However I had no luck this time. Every time the word "love" or when Violet mentions/thinks about or being with her love came up, I just wanted to strangle Violet. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't be so against that love if I could actually feel the connection, the spark, the chemistry, you name it. I just wanted to feel something that's all.

Anyway, I really liked the first half of The Jewel. It went so well that I thought maybe I'd be a black sheep this time around. No action in the first half but I enjoyed reading about the life in The Jewel, the society and why there's a need for surrogates. And then it came to a part when I felt like wow The Jewel reminded me of Wither by Lauren DeStefano. In Wither though, you are pumped up to be one of the wives. Ok back to the topic, the whole reminded me thing didn't bother me until the romance made an appearance. That's where everything went down hill for me. Just nope not for me.

Will I read the next book? I don't know since The Jewel ends with a cliff hanger and the next book is not coming out until Fall 2015 I believe. So I have a long time to think either I want to continue with this series or not.

Review: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

2014-11-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

Publication Date:November 4th 2014
Publisher: Harper Teen
Series: Firebird #1
Source: Purchased
Rating:  ★★★

Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

*Be aware a wall of rants*

This book, I literally dropped everything and started reading as soon as I got it. I just couldn't resist such a beautiful, breath taking cover and not to mention the story is about multiverse-->LOVE. I had so much hopes for it to be my favorite read of the year. So sad it didn't live up to my expectations. However, I've to admit A Thousand Pieces Of You is a page turner. I kept reading mainly because I wanted to know the answer for the murder thing. Also it's a fast paced read so it didn't take me long to finish it. If the pacing were slow, I'd have DNF-ed out of boredom.

Multiverse, basically there is a universe for every single one of our choices. Claudia Gray has done a good job to make it simple and straight to the point but I wish I could read more about how to use the device to jump between universes or how it actually works. Not like I wanted her to go into every tiny little details but don't just say use this "firebird" and voila you're in a different universe (a little explanation would be great).

Marguerite, her decision to go after the man who destroyed her family is not what I'd call brave or a sense of justice. In my eyes, it's reckless and unthoughtful. Why? because (a) Marguerite has no evidence to know for sure if it's Paul who did all those things (b) Marguerite doesn't know for certain if the device would work, she would have die and cause her mother a great grief (losing both her husband and her daughter in a short period of time). She's acted based only on assumptions (unbelievable!) and she is growing up with scientists, grad students. Seriously it really doesn't need an advance degree, just some logic thinking would do. Oh and when she is in a different universe her actions are once again reckless which can cause harm to the person whom she is borrowing the body from. Irresponsible Marguerite, you borrow someone else's body/life then for god sake don't mess their lives up. All you do is jump to the next universe and let them (the Marguerite that lives in that universe) deal with the mess you've created. I just couldn't be on board with Marguerite's actions.

Now let's talk about the romance. After reading this book, I thought I'm a cold heart person. No tear. How could I suppose to cry or feel sad when I felt nothing about their wonderful, magical love? There's not even a chemistry between them (I saw no sparks).

There are more I want to talk about but I think this review is long enough. And all the main things I already said it so I better stop before writing a novel here.

▂ ▄ ▇ Opposite Book Tag ▇ ▄ ▂

2014-10-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

I was tagged by Lisa from Lisa Love Literature, so thanks Lisa. My first tag, so yay! And if you would like to do it, please do =) And it's a little bit long so here we go.

First book in your collection

Well, I'll go with the first book I bought myself since I don't know or remember what book it was. My mom gave me all of my picture books/ childhood books when I was 7 or 8 so I could start my own collection. So one day I woke up to find a bunch of books in my room (actually my mom had enough of me having books everywhere in the house so she said from now on keep them in your room). Anyway, the first book that I added to the collection was The Arabian Nights (the paperback version).

Last book you bought

It was The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. I bought three of them at the same time so that's why I included all three of them. It's a high fantasy. I'm currently reading the second book right now and so far so good. I dislike those covers though. Look so boring but the books themselves are interesting.

A cheap book/An expensive book

A cheap book. I have so many since I always wait for a sale. Here is the thing about me: I don't like to remember the book price. And I consider the book as expensive when I have to pay full price and I've not read it even once and have no plan to read it anytime soon in the foreseeable future. Anyway here's the cheap book (I think)

I loved the movie. So when I saw this book from a garage sale, I bought it right away and I think it was really cheap too.

and here's the expensive book

It was a reminiscing buy. I've never read the book or watched the movie but I have a general idea of what it is about. Since my dad loved Sherlock Holmes and it was his choice for my bedtime story (he retold the story in his words, not read directly from the book though). So I just wanted to have that book in my collection.

A book with a male protagonist

I have to turn to Goodreads for help. And the answer is Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This is one of my favorite Greek Myth books and I'm telling you Rick Riordan is a great writer. Absolutely love his writing and all his books. It's middle grade but I think you can enjoy reading it at any age.

A book with a female protagonist
Such a hard question because I have so many to choose from. Anyway I guess it'd go to

She is a strong character and I liked her a lot.

Pretty cover

I have so many but none of them can compare to the Barnes Noble classic edition. The picture didn't do its justice =( And I love it when the book comes with the built-in ribbon bookmark.

Ugly cover

If I didn't have to read it for school, I'd probably pass this book without even a glance. Look at it, an old man and that kind of colors combination. I have no idea why they picked this as the cover for such an amazing book.

Non-fiction book

I don't think I've mentioned it before but I'm obsessed with Ancient Egypt. You might think history must be my favorite subject. Nope it's not. It's actually Egyptology that I love. And most of the non fiction books you can find in my house are all about Egypt (the history, the religion, Egyptian Life, the Pharaohs, the pyramids/tombs/treasures, architecture, art, Egyptian hieroglyphs etc). I'm hoping I can visit this magic country soon.

Fiction Book

I picked this one because I can't help looking at it. It is so beautiful and this book makes it easier to understand all the Greek Gods/Goddesses (that stuff can be confusing sometimes.)

A book that made you happy
Define happy. I'm glad that I read the book or the book is hilarious. I think I'll choose the former because I don't think I've read that many hilarious books and I can't recall any at the moment. For me if the book is funny then I read and laugh but after that I feel nothing, no linger happy feeling whatsoever. But a book that I love then I'll always have that happy feeling whenever I think of that book even though reading it had torn my heart into pieces.

So many feels!

One that made you sad

I know the answer for this immediately. Oh how I love the cover. The red, the typography --> absolutely gorgeous. If you've not cried for a while and I want to experience that feeling, you know what to read now don't you?

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Yes that's all (I skipped a few questions though). Thank you and I'm hoping after this you might know a little bit about me. If you'd like to do the tag, feel free to do so or you can leave it in the comment =)

Review: The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan

2014-10-26T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publication Date:January 31st 2004
Publisher: Orbit
Series: The Black Magician Trilogy #1
Source: Purchased
Rating:  ★★★★

"We should expect this young woman to be more powerful than our average novice, possibly even more powerful than the average magician."

This year, like every other, the magicians of Imardin gather to purge the city of undesirables. Cloaked in the protection of their sorcery, they move with no fear of the vagrants and miscreants who despise them and their work-—until one enraged girl, barely more than a child, hurls a stone at the hated invaders...and effortlessly penetrates their magical shield.

What the Magicians' Guild has long dreaded has finally come to pass. There is someone outside their ranks who possesses a raw power beyond imagining, an untrained mage who must be found and schooled before she destroys herself and her city with a force she cannot yet control.

Don't let the cover fool you because the book itself is a gem. High fantasy lovers you probably don't want to miss The Magicians' Guild. And for those who are not really a fan of high fantasy, just a word of warning, be patient. Reading this book, I felt like I was transported to a different world. It was like I woke up and found myself in this fascinating world. Everything is so new and different but so interesting at the same time. I couldn't help but kept reading so I could learn more about the world and the characters.

I liked The Magicians' Guild a lot but I didn't love it. I had a little problem with Sonea (the MC). She has no trust toward the magicians so I thought she'd treat all magicians the same. But no I was wrong. The one she needs to trust, she doesn't and goes on to trust the wrong one.To me, it just sounded wrong for some reason. Sonea is portrayed as smart and can read people since she is from the lower class and she needs that "reading skill" to survive. Then just why she suddenly becomes so naive. And to make it worse, Sonea learns her mistake because the evil person reveals his plan. I was not amused by this at all. Other than that, I did enjoy the book. It has no romance involved yet and I was glad because sometimes some books just don't need romance to make it interesting. Anyway, I'm going to stop here so I can go and read the second book.

Review: The Young Elites by Marie Lu

2014-10-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publication Date: October 7th 2014
Publisher: Putnam Books for Young Readers
Series: The Young Elites #1
Source: Purchased
Rating:  ★★★★½

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

Before I talked about my thoughts on The Young Elites, I just wanted to let you know that the summary had failed to spark my interest. However, I was still eager to read this book because (a) this is written by Marie Lu, I loved her Legend series so whatever she writes I will read it, (b) it's a fantasy, (c) the story is about the villain.

So I bought this book as soon as it comes out but told myself to wait because the release date for the second book is just so far away. Yeah, I failed. I was just going to read a few chapters but I was falling into the story the moment I read the first sentence. Marie Lu just has a way to tell the story that makes readers to feel like they're actually there (living the experiences) and I couldn't stop turning the next page. Her choice of words has touched on all my five senses. I admitted, reading a story that the villain is a main character was so hard for my feelings. One minute, I liked Adelina and was totally on board with her, the next I just wanted to kill her. My feelings toward her started to change at the last few chapters (something unexpected happens!!!) and seriously Adelina is a fool. She has messed everything up to the point that I was speechless. And I have no clue how the next book is going to be like with this big mess.

On the other note, the summary sounds like this might have a love triangle. Nope, no love whatsoever. And for the first time, I'm not rooting for anyone. A little bit break down below to the why but it might contain spoilers so read as your own risk.

Teren, is in love with the wrong person and follows her blindly. So this one is out because I don't see he will change his "great" love anytime soon. Enzo, I thought he would be the perfect one but nah I was wrong. Someone who cannot forget the past love and might still live in the past will have no future. Adelina, I think she is not ready for love yet. She needs to work more on herself (first lesson: start to love herself first).

I was surprised because The Young Elites is much darker than Legend but I liked it anyway. So check it out guys =)

BlogTour: Trust Me, I'm Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summer | GuestPost- Cover Love & Giveaway

2014-10-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: October 14th 2014

Fans of Ally Carter, especially her Heist Society readers, will love this teen mystery/thriller with sarcastic wit, a hint of romance, and Ocean’s Eleven–inspired action.

Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average.

But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal.

“A sexy love triangle and madcap mystery . . . I loved this book.” —Jennifer Echols, author of Dirty Little Secret

“Buckle up! You’re in for a wild and funny ride. I fell in love with the fresh and snarky voice of 16-year-old con artist Julep Dupree. This book has it all: homework and hit men, prom drama and silencers.” —April Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Girl, Stolen

“Julep’s investigations and quick escapes keep the high-stakes story entertaining and readers guessing…” – Publisher’s Weekly

Cover Love

Thanks so much for hosting a stop on the TRUST ME blog tour, Amie! I appreciate the support. So you asked about my thoughts regarding the new cover design, and it turns out I actually have a bit to say about that. Let’s start with a little show and tell, shall we?

For those who don’t know, the final cover of TRUST ME, I’M LYING was not, in fact, its original cover. The first cover had some intriguing elements that fit the book perfectly, and I absolutely adored it. But before I go into it in more depth, let me show you what it looked like…

Julep’s internal struggle in TRUST ME, I’M LYING is all about identity. Is she good or is she evil? Is she real or is she illusion? If you can be anybody, how do you know who you are? The play of dark half versus light half of this cover really showcases Julep’s battle to understand her own nature. That feature was my favorite piece of the original cover, because I felt like it captured the essence of Julep’s conflict perfectly.

Lots of people ask me about the gun necklace, but it’s not part of the actual story. There is a gun in the story (a few, actually), but no necklace. The cover designer for this first cover happened to own the necklace and brought it to the cover photoshoot as a prop. The photographer took a few shots with the model wearing the necklace, and everyone on the shoot that day loved it. Hence, the notorious gun necklace.

But as time went on and feedback came in regarding the cover, the publishing team came around to the idea of changing it (for a variety of reasons, all of which are pretty common in the industry). So a new designer jumped on the project and began work on what would become the cover you see here…

It’s the same image, same scintillating gun necklace, but the dichotomy of light and dark is gone. I was sad to see it go initially, but it didn’t take long for me to accept this shift to a darker, more mysterious tone. For one thing, the book gets pretty dark, so the cover reflects that aspect of Julep’s adventures fairly accurately. For another, the story has many noir, hardboiled fiction elements to it, and this cover embodies that essence so much more than the first cover.

Honestly, I love them both equally for different reasons. The first says so much about who Julep is as a person, and the second says so much about the story as a whole. The first pops out spectacularly from the shelf, but the old Dymo label-maker font on the second is to die for. I couldn’t have gone wrong with either cover, and that makes me pretty much the luckiest author on the planet. I loved not one cover, but two.

Follow the FFBC Trust Me, I'm Lying Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Mary Elizabeth Summer is an instructional designer, a mom, a champion of the serial comma, and a pie junkie. Oh, and she sometimes writes books about teenage delinquents saving the day. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her daughter, her partner, and her evil overlor–er, cat. TRUST ME, I'M LYING, a YA mystery, will be released by Delacorte in Fall 2014.

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Review: Death Sworn by Leah Cypess

2014-10-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publication Date: March 4th 2014
Publisher: Greenwillow
Pages: 352
Series: Death Sworn Duology #1

Source: Purchased

Rating:  ★★★★

When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to spend her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had died under mysterious circumstances.

But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world.

There's something about the word "assassin" that it makes me instantly want to read the book. I guess it must be my siren's song. Anyway I didn't expect to finish Death Sworn in one sitting since it's a high fantasy so I thought it might take some time to get familiar with the world building and the customs etc. Well, the world here is the cave, a big one so no worries you won't get bored. You might even find it interesting. They're caves but they are somewhat like a maze with a lot of hidden passages.

Besides, if the idea of caves and assassins can't hold your interest, then fear not because Ileni is a kick ass heroine plus there's a murder to be solved for all you mystery lovers out there. Though half way in (or 1/3, I don't remember exactly) if you pay really closely attention to the detail then you can guess what happened to the two tutors. You might not know the why yet but at least you know the who. From the beginning, I knew Ileni is a strong MC but her actions at the end still surprised me. I didn't think for one moment she could do it and it somewhat bugged me. I'm not saying that she has made wrong choices. Just a gut feeling that this series probably won't have a happily ever after ending. I'm maybe wrong, hope so. Next book, which also is the last book will reveal everything (who/what the evil really is) and how the story ends.

A good storyline, a bit of mystery, a bit of romance with a good pacing so as the final thought check this book out.