Life According to a Bibliophile

Five Reasons I'm Excited for Stalking Jack the Ripper

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Sat, 03 Sep 2016 07:24:00 +0000

Hi all! I'm very excited to share my top five reasons for wanting to read Stalking Jack the Ripper. I'm on the street team and we're doing a blog tour to help get everyone as excited for this book as we all are! With out any further adieu here are the top five reasons I'm excited to read Stalking Jack the Ripper!

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #1

Release Date: September 20, 2016

Publisher: James Patterson Press

Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | iBooks | Book Depository

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

One: I love reading stories about Jack the Ripper.

This sounds awful but once I went down the Wikipedia search whole and I ran across something about Jack the Ripper. I spent more hours than I want to admit reading all about this serial murderer.

Two: It's set England in the 1800s.

I mean, you all should know of my love of historical romances and it's a time period I've fall in love with. Plus, I think having read as many historical romances as I have, I understand that aristocracy very well ;)

Three: It's a book about solving a murder case.

I love forensic sciences shows--CSI anyone? I've watched most episodes of every type they have aired--and I love anything to do with solving murder so of course I wanna give them one a go.

Four: I'm here for the main character do become her own person and do her thing.

Y'all I LOVE a story where the MC goes against the wishes of those around her to follow her heart. Sure I think getting involved in murder cases might not be the best idea but I'm still here for it.

Five: The romance to come.

Okay, so I'm mostly here for #4 from above but I love me a romance. And I want to say there's going to be some sort of romance and I hope that there's banter and witty remarks and they might not get along at first. (Can you tell I like certain tropes?)

About Kerri

Kerri Maniscalco grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC where her fascination with gothic settings began. In her spare time she reads everything she can get her hands on, cooks all kinds of food with her family and friends, and drinks entirely too much tea while discussing life’s finer points with her cats. Stalking Jack the Ripper is her debut novel. It incorporates her love of forensic science and unsolved history, and is the first in a new series of gothic thrillers.

What about you all? Why do you want to read Stalking Jack the Ripper? Are any of my reasons your reasons as well?

Blog Tour: Just Kill Me Review + Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 12:00:00 +0000

Hi all! Welcome to the first stop for the Just Kill Me blog tour! I have a review of this fabulous book for you all today!

Just Kill Me by Adam Selzer

Release Date: August 30, 2016

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Source: Publisher via Blog Tour

Megan Henske isn’t one to heed warnings…

When the last letters in her alphabet cereal are D, I, and E, she doesn’t crawl right back into bed. When her online girlfriend won’t text a photo, she just sends more of herself.

And when she realizes that Cynthia, her boss at a Chicago ghost tour company, isn’t joking about making stops more haunted by killing people there, she doesn’t quit her job—she may even help.

But who is responsible for the deaths of prominent figures in the murdermonger industry? Could it be the head of the rival tour company? Or could it be someone near and dear to Megan?

Soon after she learns that she has an uncanny resemblance to a flapper who disappeared in 1922, Megan receives a warning she can’t ignore: the next ghost on the tour might be her…

I'm not really sure what I expected from Just Kill Me but I was thoroughly surprised. If you've been around for a while, you should know that I don't do anything scary. I'm not about ghosts or anything that might make me jump so this was a little outside of my comfort zone. However, I ended up really enjoying Just Kill Me. Adam Selzer has a distinct way of writing this book and it made for a fun read--which is probably really weird for me to say.

Anyways, in terms of characters--which are really important to me--I found the characters to have an air of uncertainty to them which I enjoyed. Instead of giving me a feel of bad writing I felt like many of the characters, include Megan, were unreliable. Megan's was clear and witty and at time snarky which I liked a lot. Much of who Megan is can be developed by the writing and I enjoyed this aspect of the book--even though it's rather weird.

As for the plot, for a book about ghosts and murders, it was a rather safe read. I was more fascinated by the history presented in this book and with the setting--more on that later-- which made this scared-of-anything-remotly-creepy girl very happy. There weren't a lot of gruesome aspects to this book even though I would have assumed there would be. This wasn't a bad thing, per se, but I think a little bit more gore would've been fun. Never thought I'd say that in a review.

As I mentioned about I really enjoyed the setting. Chicago has been on my list of places to visit for a very long time and I really felt like I was there while reading this book. I did some research and looked at the layouts of the city for a even better understanding but overall, I think that the setting was my favorite part of this book. Selzer had a great way of really bringing the setting to life.

Overall, I really enjoyed Just Kill Me. It wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be which I appreciated immensely. The setting was the shining star in this book for me, even though I liked the characters too, and it made me want to go to Chicago even more.

About the Author

His first book was HOW TO GET SUSPENDED AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE (now available in a "Now With More Swearing") edition, his next one is PLAY ME BACKWARDS (for satanic young adults), and his best known is probably I KISSED A ZOMBIE AND I LIKED IT, a Twilight satire that was not marketed as a satire.

He also writes the SMART ALECK'S GUIDE series and has published a bunch of Chicago history/ghostlore books.

You can also find him under the name SJ Adams, the name he used for SPARKS: THE EPIC, COMPLETELY TRUE BLUE (ALMOST) HOLY QUEST OF DEBBIE, which won a Stonewall honor and made the YALSA popular paperback list.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

And here's the tour schedule:

8/29: Bookish Lifestyle
8/30: Life According to a Bibliophile
8/31: I Turn the Pages
9/1: Pondering the Prose
9/2: Never Too Many to Read

Giveaway:
3 Finished Copies of SCARY OUT THERE (US Only)
Enter Here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: Scary Out There Review + Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 12:00:00 +0000

Hi everyone! I'm super excited to be the first stop on the Scary Out There blog tour! This is a great collection of short stories and poems about what scares these authors the most! I had a great time (HA) scaring myself reading this one so I hope you enjoy my review and don't miss out on a chance to win this fabulously scary book!

Scary Out There by Jonathan Maberry

Release Date: August 30, 2016

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Source: Publisher via Blog Tour

Goodreads | Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | iBooks

Multiple Bram Stoker Award–winning author Jonathan Maberry compiles more than twenty stories and poems—written by members of the Horror Writers Association—in this terrifying collection about worst fears.

What scares you? Things that go bump in the night? Being irreversibly different? A brutal early death? The unknown?

This collection contains stories and poetry by renowned writers such as R. L. Stine, Neal and Brendan Shusterman, and Ellen Hopkins—all members of the Horror Writers Association—about what they fear most. The stories include mermaids, ghosts, and personal demons, and are edited by Jonathan Maberry, multiple Bram Stoker award winner and author of the Rot & Ruin series.

Signing up for this blog tour was my way of doing something outside of my comfort zone. I don't read scary books or watch scary movies or shows or anything. I'm a very jumpy person and I get nightmares for weeks simply by watch a trailer. I couldn't even get through one episode of Supernatural before having to cover my eyes. That said, when I got on this tour I buckled up for a wild ride since some of the authors in this collection are known for their scary stories (looking at you R. L. Stine). In the end, after about a week of reading, I finally finished all the stories and I'm proud of myself for only taking a week to get through them.

In terms of the stories, I was, as always, surprised at how Ellen Hopkins can write creepy things into poems. I've read some of her realistic work and I was so excited that she went this route. Her poems were less frightening than others for me but I enjoyed them none the less especially in a format scary stories aren't generally told in. Kendare Blake, whose Anna Dressed in Blood was a fun, creepy read for me shared a story that seriously creeped me out. I'm deathly afraid of water and when I was younger I wouldn't even go into the deep end of swimming pools so Blake's story was rather uncomfortable. R. L. Stein delivered in his normal fashion and his story was one of my favorites. I think, having read so many of his books (especially since I've been reading him from a very young age) I knew what type of "scary" I was gonna get and it was the perfect type of scary-thriller-WTF to get me to question everything that happens.

Josh Malerman's "Danny" was not a story I should've read at night because wow did it creep me out and make me question everything. I don't want to say more as I don't want to give it away but y'all it was not a fun experience (which is a good thing in this case). Carrie Ryan's "What Happens to Girls Who Disappear" had an ending that frankly broke my heart. Nancy Holder's "Beyond the Sea" was my worst nightmare written on paper and it was not pretty. This story took me the longest to finish because I kept getting freaked out and it's my least favorite because NOPE NOPE NOPE.

Overall, I really enjoyed this collection. There wasn't a story I disliked even though some didn't scare me as others did. Of course, there were a few stories in here that left me not wanting to sleep so I think it did its job wonderfully. I hope everyone picks up this book when it comes out! It'll be well worth it!

JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning horror and thriller author, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. His books have been sold to more than a dozen countries.

Website | Twitter

And here's the tour schedule:

Week 1:
8/22: Life According to a Bibliophile
8/23: Take Me Away to a Great Read
8/24: Never Too Many to Read
8/25: Reading Is Better With Cupcakes
8/26: Bookish Lifestyle

Week 2:
8/29: Kara the Redhead
8/30: Here's to Happy Endings
8/31: Books, TV, and More
9/1: Lisa Loves Literature
9/2: The Irish Banana Review

Giveaway:
3 Finished Copies of SCARY OUT THERE (US Only)
Enter Here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 12:00:00 +0000

Hi all! I wanna welcome you all to today's blog tour stop for The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis!

The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

Release Date: July 5, 2016

Publisher: Crown Publishing

Source: Publisher via Blog Tour

Goodreads | Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | The Book Depository

In her debut novel THE WOLF ROAD, author and managing editor at London’s Titan Books Beth Lewis introduces us to a world decimated by an unnamed, apocalyptic event and inhabited by desperate people accustomed to hunting, tracking, and killing to survive. Among them is Elka, the young heroine whose unmistakable voice guides us through the untamed landscape of the area formerly known as British Columbia on her journey to escape the horrors of her own past.

Everything Elka knows of the world she learned from the man she calls Trapper, a solitary hunter who took her under his wing when she was just seven years old. He has taught her how to shoot, track, set snares, and start fires—all the skills necessary to survive in a wild, lawless land where men are at the mercy of the elements and one another. But when wanted posters begin appearing in town, Elka realizes that the man she thinks she knows so well is harboring terrible secrets. The more Elka finds out about him, the less sure she becomes about her own identity—especially as she begins to recover some of the painful memories she’s kept at bay throughout her childhood.

As the horrific facts emerge, Elka makes her escape, armed with nothing but her knife and the survival skills he’s taught her. She sets out in the hope of finding her true parents, who traveled to the frozen north years earlier in pursuit of gold, but Elka can tell by the shadows that follow her that Trapper’s on her trail—and he won’t be letting his little girl go without a fight. As she encounters physical hardships, violence, and loneliness that at times test her sanity, she also strains to distinguish between fact and fiction in her own recollections. Ultimately, she will have to turn and confront not just Trapper but the dark reality of her past.

THE WOLF ROAD is a tautly suspenseful cat-and-mouse tale of justice and revenge, played out against a vast, unforgiving landscape—told by an unforgettable, tough-as-nails young heroine fighting desperately to escape the terrors of her childhood and rejoin humanity.

When I first read the synopsis for the story, I was really intrigued by it. I love reading books about post-apocalyptic worlds in books or movies or TV. My ability to survive during these times is absolutely zero which is why I hope reading/watching about these worlds is as far as I'll get. Admittedly, The Wolf Road was far more ruthless than anticipated and I loved every bit of it. Beth Lewis is a great writer and I think her work as an editor has done her well.

One thing I'd note about the book is that there isn't as much focus on the event that led to this world. There's not much about the event and the circumstances surrounding it because the book focuses more on the details of her survival. I will say that I liked how the "evil" part of this story was done. I won't say too much because I don't want to give away too much about the story but Elka's relationship with Trapper was fascinating and weird and scary and y'all I would never survive in this world.

Overall, I really loved The Wolf Road. My favorite thing about Elka was her dialect. She had a very distinct way of speaking and I actually loved reading about the world and her life through her point of view. I can only imagine what writing this book was like. It's hard to write this review without giving away what else I really liked about this book so we're going to have to go with the vagueness of it.

Beth Lewis was raised in the wilds of Cornwall and split her childhood between books and the beach. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and has had close encounters with black bears, killer whales, and great white sharks. She has been, at turns, a bank cashier, a fire performer, and a juggler, and she is currently a managing editor at Titan Books in London. The Wolf Road is her first novel.

Website | Twitter

And here's the tour schedule:

7/11: The Story Sanctuary
7/13: Dizneeee's World of Books
7/15: Storybook Slayers
7/19: Here's to Happy Endings
7/21: No BS Book Reviews
7/25: I Turn the Pages
7/27: Take Me Away to a Great Read
7/29: A Book & A Latte
8/2: Novel Ink
8/4: Life According to a Bibliophile (You're here!)
8/8: Bookish Lifestyle
8/10: Emily Reads Everything
8/12: Reading is Better with Cupcakes

Please Don't Tell Blog Tour Guest Post + Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Thu, 26 May 2016 04:00:00 +0000

Oh man this book is so intense and I'm really glad I could be a part of the blog tour! Laura Tims wrote a wonderful responses to the question I posed her so lets get right to it!

Since your story is rather dark and has many twists and turns, was it incredible hard to write it? What was that process like going from an idea to a finished book?

I feel like I always learn a lot from reading about other writers’ processes, so I’m happy to write about mine! Writing PLEASE DON’T TELL was definitely difficult – it went through a lot of iterations, and each one was harder than the last.

When you’re writing a book with a complicated plot, it helps to visualize things. Normally I just do a pretty simple series of bullet points, but for PLEASE DON’T TELL, I taped pieces of paper to my wall and wrote it all out. It turns out scribbling on your wall is super fun, so I ended up getting the whole thing plotted in like a day.

Writing the first draft wasn’t too bad. Revisions were the intense part! It’s easy to nail down one part of a book – plot, characters, writing, etc – but what’s really challenging is getting all of them to work successfully together. When I signed with my awesome agent, Sarah Davies, she told me that the plot was working, but the characters needed more development. Later, when I was doing revisions with my ALSO awesome editor, Karen Chaplin, I poured so much energy into character development that the plot and pacing got lost. There was a lot of adding, then taking away, then adding, then more taking away. It’s so hard to find the right balance!

The most important thing I learned was that ups and downs are a normal part of the process. There were plenty of times I thought the book would never come together, or that I wasn’t capable of achieving what I wanted to achieve as a writer. But whenever I talked to other authors, I realized that they’d all gone through the same thing. One of the best ways of getting through stress is understanding that it’s temporary. And chatting with people who’ve come through the other side is the best way to remember that!

And no matter how intense a revision process is, it’s always worth it to know your book is the best possible version of itself. :)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Joy killed Adam Gordon—at least, that’s what she thinks. The night of the party is hazy at best. But she knows what Adam did to her twin sister, Grace, and she knows he had to pay for it.

What Joy doesn’t expect is that someone else saw what happened. And one night a note is shoved through her open window, threatening Joy that all will be revealed. Now the anonymous blackmailer starts using Joy to expose the secrets of their placid hometown. And as the demands escalate, Joy must somehow uncover the blackmailer’s identity before Joy is forced to make a terrible choice.

In this darkly compelling narrative, debut author Laura Tims explores the complicated relationship between two sisters, and what one will do for the other. It’s a story that will keep readers turning pages and questioning their own sense of right and wrong.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Laura Tims is the author of PLEASE DON'T TELL, coming Fall 2015 from HarperCollins.

She's a mental health advocate, a cancer, and a reasonably cute organism. She likes Tumblr, anime, Neko Atsume, Homestuck, Steven Universe, and Undertale. She likes you even more.

She writes books about strange relationships, pain, and people who are scared but good. She loves to talk and if you also love to talk, find her on Twitter @laura_tims

LINKS: Website | Twitter | Tumblr

Tour Schedule:
Week 1:
5/23: Pretty Deadly Reviews
5/24: Princessica of Books
5/25: The Irish Banana Review
5/26: Life According to a Bibliophile (you are here!)
5/27: Little Book Wyrm

Week 2:
5/30: Such A Novel Idea
5/31: Novel Ink
6/1: Resch Reads & Reviews
6/2: Emily Reads Everything
6/3: A Perfection Called Books

Giveaway:
3 Finished Copies of PLEASE DON'T TELL (US Only)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Andi for letting me be on this tour and Laura for the guest post!

100 Days of Cake Blog Tour + Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Mon, 23 May 2016 04:00:00 +0000

When I was given the chance to be on the blog tour for this book, I was so excited! I used to read books in verse in middle and high school all the time but it went down as I entered college. Finding Ask Me How I Got Here was a great surprise! I'll have my review up once I've finished with school but I'm so excited to share the guest post Christine!

Top Ten Images That Inspired The Book

A yellow cake soggy with white sludge

When I was a kid, someone gave me a children’s cookbook of “simple” recipes. The first (and last) thing I attempted was this cake with meringue topping. The cake part came out okay-ish, but I couldn’t whip those egg whites into peaks despite a good half out of trying. Finally, I figured the meringue might just firm up once it was on the cake, so I poured it (it wasn’t thick enough to spread) on the top layer. . .and it just ran off into sticky puddles. This was exactly what I saw when I was envisioning Molly’s mom and her cake mistakes.

Source

A girl in a closet with clothes strewn about

Like Molly, I’ve had bouts with depression. About a decade ago, I was trying to get dressed for some work thing, and absolutely nothing in my closet was right. Everything I tried on made me look too fat or too wrinkled or too sallow too something. Non-depressed me would have put on the first reasonably functional thing, maybe vowed to hit the gym more, and then gotten on with the day. But depressed me just sat there on the floor surrounded by all these discarded dresses and shirts.

When I was thinking how to illustrate what’s going on in Molly’s mind, that image came back to me. I even wrote a scene where Molly has a similar closet meltdown.

Rue McClanahan, Betty White, and Bea Arthur naked behind giant cardboard hearts

Golden Girls has so many amazing moments, but one of the most vivid for me is the episode where Blanche, Dorothy, and Rose accidentally book a Valentine’s Day vacation at a nude resort. After camping out in their room for days, they finally get up the nerve to strip down and go to dinner in the buff. But they’re still embarrassed, so on the way, they pick up and hide behind hide these giant heart-shaped signs. When they finally get to the dining room, they drop them, but of course everyone else is dressed because it turns out they always dress for dinner (as the rude maître de informs them).

I wanted Molly to be obsessed with some old TV shows and that image was the first thing that popped into my head.

Source

A Stuffed Animal Pelt headdress

Friends of mine made Halloween costumes one year by hallowing out old stuffed animals and wearing the shells. It was disturbing, but I always wanted to use that in something I wrote. Elle’s rabid possum of a little brother seemed like the very kind of creative/misunderstood kid who would slaughter a stuffed animal and wear it on his head.

Smaller exhibits at the Georgia Aquarium

Molly and Alex don’t actually go to an aquarium, but when they fix up the store, I envisioned some of their tanks looking a little like those smaller aquarium exhibits that no one pays much attention to because they’re not as sexy as the sharks or penguins. It’s a bit of a shame because they are really beautiful.

Source

An empty swimming pool

A pool without water is a startlingly strange thing to look at—it’s like someone literally pulled the plug on the fun. But for Molly, who associates pools with her freak-out during a sophomore year swim meet, it’s very comforting when she and Elle go to Chris’ end of the year party and see the pool isn’t filled.

Beautiful girl with flour in her hair

I have dark hair; it’s pretty noticeable when you get anything white in it. Right around one of the most intense moments of 100 Days of Cake, V happens to get flour bombed (it makes sense; I promise). It was kind of a way for me to add levity to the scene. You have all this heavy emotion and this big confrontation, but as Veronica is yelling she also looks like some high school drama teacher dumped baby powder on her head so she’d look like an old woman for a play.

Source

A model home created for a fantasy family

A friend moved into a new development (in Florida like Molly!) where the builders had several homes staged to show potential buyers how amazeballs their houses could be. Some of the models were really cool, but I was shocked by how specific they were since I knew the developer would eventually try to sell them. Like one really had a tricked out sewing room, others had nurseries or very gendered children’s bedrooms with wall murals, one had a mini yoga studio.

I kept wondering what it would be for the people who bought those models—to live in a place where everything was beautifully set up, but not for you. So I loved the idea of Molly and her family living in a place like that—someone else’s dream home.

Upscale hair salon bustling with people

I’ve been to so many salons where everything feels rushed. People are thumbing through old magazines as they wait to get shampooed or whatever, and there’s this sort of nervous energy. Occasionally though, you find a place that’s really busy, but everyone seems like they’re actually happy to be there. Customers are talking to each other and the stylists, there’s fun music, the wall art is more interesting than creepy super stylized hair models. Molly’s mom’s salon—Dye Another Day—is one of those places where people actually look forward to going.

Source

Two girls pushing their bikes

To me this just says summer; there’s something relaxing about slowing down and stopping for ice cream, which is exactly what V and Elle do!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Get well soon isn’t going to cut it in this quirky and poignant debut novel about a girl, her depression, an aggressive amount of baked goods, and the struggle to simply stay afloat in an unpredictable, bittersweet life.

There are only three things that can get seventeen-year-old Molly Byrne out of bed these days: her job at FishTopia, the promise of endless episodes of Golden Girls, and some delicious lo mien. You see, for the past two years, Molly’s been struggling with something more than your usual teenage angst. Her shrink, Dr. Brooks isn’t helping much, and neither is her mom who is convinced that baking the perfect cake will cure Molly of her depression—as if cake can magically make her rejoin the swim team, get along with her promiscuous sister, or care about the SATs.

Um, no. Never going to happen.

But Molly plays along, stomaching her mother’s failed culinary experiments, because, whatever—as long as it makes someone happy, right? Besides, as far as Molly’s concerned, hanging out with Alex at the rundown exotic fish store makes life tolerable enough. Even if he does ask her out every…single…day. But—sarcastic drum roll, please—nothing can stay the same forever. When Molly finds out FishTopia is turning into a bleak country diner, her whole life seems to fall apart at once. Soon she has to figure out what—if anything—is worth fighting for.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After serious pursuits of literature at Northwestern (BSJ) and Ohio State (MFA), Shari Goldhagen discovered she had a knack for sifting through celebrity trash and worked as a gossip writer for publications including The National Enquirer, Us Weekly, and Life & Style Weekly. And her articles on pop culture, travel and relationships have appeared everywhere from Cosmopolitan to Penthouse. She has received fellowships from Yaddo and MacDowell and currently lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

LINKS: Website | Twitter

Tour Schedule:
Week 1:
5/16: Swoony Boys Podcast
5/17: Rebelle Reads
5/18: Bookish Realm Reviews
5/19: One Curvy Blogger
5/20: Readwritelove28

Week 2:
5/23: Life According to a Bibliophile (You are HERE)
5/24: YA Indulgences
5/25: Book Stacks Amber
5/26: Here's to Happy Endings
5/27: Reading the Blues Away

Giveaway:
3 Finished Copies of ASK ME HOW I GOT HERE (US Only)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Andi and Shari for letting me be on this tour and Sheri for the guest post!

I Dare You To...| The Unespectedly Epic Morgan Matsoon Week

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Sat, 14 May 2016 04:00:00 +0000

I'm so excited for today's post! If you don't ready know, I love Morgan Matson's books! Even though I've only talked about Amy & Roger's Epic Detour on the blog, I have read all but two of her books! When Tiff of Mostly YA Lit created a week long event to celebrate Morgan's fabulous books, I wanted to get a dare!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create the perfect Morgan Matson Playlist. Have a fave song that just screams Morgan? Do you think of a certain song when you read her books? Do you have a song that would fit perfectly into a scene from one of her books? What are some songs that you think her characters would love? The theme of the playlist is totally up to you! Just make sure it's inspired by Morgan and her amazing books! Have fun!

While I was excited for this dare, I have to admit that I was also pretty worried. See, I don't listen to a lot of songs in English. My road trip songs include a mix of Hindi, English and occasionally Korean songs. Plus, in Amy & Roger, it was obvious that Morgan loves older music! I decided to go with a road trip themed playlist sing Amy & Roger is my favorite Matson novel!

1. Taylor Swift—22

I know that Morgan is a big fan of TSwift and there's just something about this song that screams Morgan's books to me!

Chuck Berry—Route 66

This is an older song I found during my research of good road trip songs. This was my first time hearing it and I can see why it's included in a lot of lists!

3. I can do better than that—Spring Awakening

Morgan, from what I gathered, likes musicals and Amy and Roger have an entire playlist of musical numbers so I chose one I was familiar with!

4. Elvis Presley—All Shook Up

So I had to choose a song from Elvis for Amy & Roger and their visit to Graceland.

5. Taylor Swift—Style

Another TSwift that we can ALL jam out to on a road trip!

6. Rusted Root—Send Me On My Way

Ever since I heard this is Matida, I've been obsessed with this song. I think it fits in perfectly with a road trip song!

7. Tom Cochrane—Life is a Highway

I first head this song in Cars (Rascal Flats cover) and I didn't realize that Tom Cochrane did the original! Even though I would probably choose Rascal Flats cover, I wanted to give the original guy some credit!

8. Taylor Swift—New Romantics

This is one of my favorites on 1989 so I had to add this on the list!

9. Vanessa Carlton—A Thousand Miles

You have to have some angst filled songs and I think this one fits the bill!

10. Arcade Five—No Cars Go

I heard this for the first time when I looked through the book so I decided to add it to the list!

11. Rihanna—Shut Up and Drive

Because you can't have a road trip without Rihanna.

12. Ray Charles—Hit the Road Jack

I think this song is so much fun and it adds that older music vibe to the playlist!

So this is my list! Let me know what songs you'd add to your playlist! And if this was your dare, let me know!

Blog Tour: New Charity Blues Review

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Thu, 05 May 2016 12:00:00 +0000

Hi all! For the New Charity Blues Blog Tour, I'm going to be reviewing the book!

New Charity Blues by Camille Griep

Release Date: April 12, 2016

Publisher: 47North

Source: Publisher via Blog Tour

Goodreads | Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | The Book Depository

In the wake of a devastating plague, two communities emerge as bastions of survival. One is called the City, and its people scrabble for scraps in the wasteland. The other, New Charity, enjoys the bounty of its hydroelectric dam and refuses City denizens so much as a drop of precious water. When City-dweller Cressyda inherits her father’s ranch within New Charity, she becomes intent on opening the dam to all—no matter the cost.

But when Syd reunites with her old best friend, Casandra, a born seer and religious acolyte, she realizes that her plans could destroy the fragile lives they’ve built in order to survive. What’s more, the strange magic securing the dam’s operations could prove deadly if disturbed. Yet when Syd discovers evidence that her father might have been murdered, she is more determined than ever to exact revenge on New Charity’s corrupt.

Pitted against Cas, as well as her own family, Syd must decide how to secure the survival of both settlements without tipping them over the brink to utter annihilation. In this intense and emotional reimagining of the Trojan War epic, two women clash when loyalty, identity, community, and family are all put to the ultimate test.

There's something about a post-apolocyptic world that I love reading about. Maybe it's the fact that I'm always interested to see what the author can imagine the world we live in now to look like years in the future or the fact that I would never survive in a world like this that I love to read them. Living near a dam myself and having the privilege of getting more than enough clean water to drink and live with, I was excited to see what this world that Camille Griep would come up with.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was the fact that it's lead by strong female characters. Sure, they're not perfect by any means and I was annoyed with them on occasion but it was never an act that made me wish it wasn't told in their point of view. The women in this book were layered and led complex lives. While it seems that it should be an easy task to get the City people access to the dam, it proves to be far more challenging forcing our main character and her friends to meet these challenges.

There were, however, some aspects of this book that left me wanting--needing--more. The romance was a little off for me. If you've read my blog at all, you know that romance is something I value in books and I love having them regardless of anything else. But this love for romance has lead to an understanding of a good romance and I'm not sure I was on board with the romance in this book the entire time. I wanted more from this. I know that this is incredibly vague of me to statement and it obviously has a lot to do with personal taste so don't let this get you down! Yet another aspect of this book that I wanted to know more about was the politics. I think that we got a good glimpse of how this world works but as someone studying political science, and someone who has to look in depth about the topics, I could't help but ask many questions.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! Even though I wanted more from the romance, I like the world that Griep created in this world. I had to think twice about my ability to turn on the faucet and how truly fortunate I am to have such readily available source of power. As a political science major, I found this book to be quite intriguing.

Camille Griep lives just north of Seattle with her partner, Adam, and their dog Dutch(ess). Born in Billings, Montana, she moved to Southern California to attend Claremont McKenna College, graduating with a dual degree in Biology and Literature.

She wrote her way through corporate careers in marketing, commercial real estate, and financial analysis before taking an extended sabbatical to devote more time to her craft.

She has since sold short fiction and creative nonfiction to dozens of online and print magazines. She is the editor of Easy Street and is a senior editor at The Lascaux Review. She is a 2012 graduate of Viable Paradise, a residential workshop for speculative fiction novelists.

Her first novel, Letters to Zell, was released in July 2015 47North. Look for New Charity Blues in April of 2016.

Website | Twitter

And here's the tour schedule:

5/1: The Irish Banana Review
5/2: He Said Books or Me
5/3: Charmingly Simple
5/4: The Cover Contessa
5/5: Life According to a Bibliophile (You are here!)
5/6: Pretty Sassy Cool
5/7: No BS Book Reviews
5/8: Who R U Blog

Blog Tour: Ask Me How I Got Here Guest Post + Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Thu, 05 May 2016 12:00:00 +0000

GUEST POST

Ask Me How I Got Here is a very different novel about pregnancy than we've seen before. Since it's ultimately about choices and trying to understand how to cope with them and is very feminist novel. Was this soemthing that you always wanted to write about or did it develop as you wrote the book?

The book didn’t start out as a novel; it started as a series of poems inspired by my Catholic upbringing. I was thinking a lot about the Virgin Mary and imagining how she might have felt about the things that happened to her, starting from when the Angel Gabriel popped into her bedroom and said, “Surprise! You’re pregnant and, oh, by the way? Your child will be the son of God.” For starters, I wondered, what if she had said, “Gee, I’m flattered, but no thanks?” At one point the manuscript was even called The Virgin Mary Files, which sounds like a crime show, doesn’t it? (On the dark streets of Nazareth, one woman and her miracle womb combat the forces of evil…)

Eventually I changed the name to Catholic Girl and combined the Mary poems with a bunch of other, secular poems that dealt with the experience of being female in our culture. An editor—I didn’t end up working with her, but I’m grateful for her advice—pointed out that I had multiple themes going on and should perhaps focus on one or two of them to make an effective book. So I separated out the poems on body image and eating disorders and the beauty industry. That collection grew into Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty.

But what to do with Mary? I knew that I wanted to continue to examine the intersection of religious faith and women’s bodies. After a while I realized that the best way to do that—or one way—was to create a character, Addie, who makes a choice that goes against what her religion has always taught her and is thus forced to reevaluate her beliefs. Some of the poems Addie writes throughout the course of the novel are reworked versions of my Mary poems. I guess you could say that I took my own journey of discovery and gave it to her.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Addie has always known what she was running toward. In cross-country, in life, in love. Until she and her boyfriend—her sensitive, good-guy boyfriend—are careless one night and she ends up pregnant. Addie makes the difficult choice to have an abortion. And after that—even though she knows it was the right decision for her—nothing is the same anymore. She doesn’t want anyone besides her parents and her boyfriend to know what happened; she doesn’t want to run cross-country; she can’t bring herself to be excited about anything. Until she reconnects with Juliana, a former teammate who’s going through her own dark places.

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | The Book Depository

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Christine Heppermann writes fiction, poetry, and criticism. Her books include Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty (2014), City Chickens (2012), and Backyard Witch (with Ron Koertge, 2015). She currently reviews young adult books for the Chicago Tribune.

Christine grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where she attended an all-girls Catholic high school. As an undergraduate she studied philosophy and literature at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She has a masters degree in children’s literature from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Christine lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her two daughters, two cats, and one husband.

LINKS: Website | Twitter

Tour Schedule:
Week 1:
5/2: Ex Libris
5/3: Such A Novel Idea
5/4: Novel Ink - Review
5/5: Life According to a Bibliophile (You are here!)
5/6: Actin' Up With Books

Week 2:
5/9: Who R U Blog
5/10: The Irish Banana Review
5/11: Resch Reads & Reviews
5/12: Don't Fold the Page
5/13: Bookmark Lit

Giveaway:
3 Finished Copies of ASK ME HOW I GOT HERE (US Only)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Armada Tour + Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 23:46:00 +0000

Hi all! I'm really excited to feature Armada by Earnest Cline on the blog today with a cool giveaway! I haven't had the chance to read the book but it sounds so good! My brother isn't a big reader but he wants to get his hands on it as well with this cover.

About The Book

Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure.

But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe.

And then he sees the flying saucer.

Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders.

No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.

It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar?

At once gleefully embracing and brilliantly subverting science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline could, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming of age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one whose every page is infused with the pop-culture savvy that has helped make Ready Player One a phenomenon.

Doesn't that sound like such a great story? I have an excerpt from the book for you all today as well!

I didn’t remember unzipping my backpack, or taking out the tire iron, but I must have, because now I had the cold steel rod clenched in my hand, and I was raising it to strike.

All three of my opponents stood frozen for a moment, their eyes wide. The Lennys threw up their hands and started backing away. Knotcher’s eyes flicked over to them, and I saw him registering that his simian pals had bowed out of the fight. He started moving backward too.

I looked at the curb a few feet behind him, had a nasty thought, and followed through on it by lunging at Knotcher with the tire iron. He lurched backward and—just as I’d hoped—caught a heel on the concrete rise and landed flat on his back.

And then I was standing over him, looking down at the tire iron clutched in my hands.

Off to my left, someone screamed. My head snapped around and I saw that an audience had gathered— a handful of students on their way in to first period. Among them one girl, too young and deer-in-the-headlights to be anything but a freshman, slapped a hand over her mouth and flinched backward as I looked her way. As if she was terrified that I—Zack the school psycho—would choose her as my next target.

I glanced back at the Lennys, who were now standing among the students who had gathered to watch the fight. All of the onlookers seemed to be wearing the same expression of horrified anticipation, as if they believed they might be seconds away from witnessing their first homicide.

A wave of cold shame washed over me as the intensity of my rage faded away. I looked down at the tire iron clutched in my hands and let it clatter to the pavement. I heard a chorus of nervous laughter behind me, along with more than one relieved sigh.

I stepped away from Knotcher. He slowly got to his feet. We stared at each other for a moment, and he looked as if he was about to say something when his gaze shot upward, focused on something in the sky behind me.

When I turned around, I saw a strange-looking aircraft approaching from the east, moving at an incredible speed. The closer it got, the more familiar it looked. My brain still refused to accept what my eyes were seeing—until a few seconds later, when the craft braked to a dead stop and hovered directly over us, close enough for me to make out the Earth Defense Alliance crest stenciled on the side of its armored hull. “No way,” I heard someone whisper. A second later, I realized it was me.

It was an ATS-31 Aerospace Troop Shuttle, one of the ships used by the Earth Defense Alliance in both Armada and Terra Firma. And it was about to land in front of my high school.

I definitely wasn’t hallucinating this time: Dozens of other people were staring up at the shuttle in amazement, too. And I could hear the rumble of the shuttle’s fusion engines and feel the heat from their exhaust buffeting my face. It was really up there.

As the shuttle began to descend, everyone in my vicinity scattered like roaches, heading for the safety of the school.

I just stood there like a statue, unable to look away. The ship was identical to the troop shuttles I’d piloted while playing Armada, right down to the EDA crest and identification bar code stamped on the underside of its hull.

The Earth Defense Alliance can’t be real, Zack, I assured myself. And neither can that shuttle you think you’re looking at right now. You are hallucinating again, only it’s much worse this time. This time, you’re having a full-on psychotic break.

Reprinted from Armada Copyright © 2015 by Dark All Day, Inc. Published by Broadway Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC.

About the Author

ERNEST CLINE is a novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. His two novels, Armada and Ready Player One, were both New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, and Ready Player One is currently being adapted into a film by Warner Brothers and director Steven Spielberg. Ernest lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic videogames. You can find him online atwww.ernestcline.com, on Twitter @erniecline, and on Facebook at Ernest Cline.

Giveaway

Includes a signed f READY PLAYER ONE poster, a signed ARMADA poster AND a copy of ARMADA in paperback!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: His Country Bride Review

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 04:00:00 +0000

Hi all! I'm really excited today to have Deb Caletti on my blog today for the Essential Maps for the Lost tour! I really enjoyed the book (so look for my review in a few days) and I hope you all enjoy this guest post!

His Country Bride by Debra Holt

Release Date: April 19, 2016

Publisher: Tulip Romance

Source: Publisher via Blog Tour

Goodreads | Amazon

Sheriff's Department! Raise your hands above your head and don't move.'

She’s a runaway bride who left her two-timing fiance at the altar. He’s a county sheriff determined to keep the peace in his country and leave city girls alone after his own fiance left him for the bright lights of the city. Neither of them planned on running straight into each other...over a burning wedding dress.

Ellie and Lucas planned on never trusting their hearts to love again. When danger follows her from the city, the sheriff must do his duty to protect her. However, it isn’t long before he discovers the real danger may be to his heart. Ellie just might teach him that even a city girl can be a country girl at heart.

If you've been around my blog for long enough, you know that I love reading books like this. There's something this kind of romance that just makes me happy. Sounds a little morbid I guess especially because Ellie's life is in danger and all but it's something I like.

So, I clearly enjoyed this book. However, I wasn't sure how much I'd like Lucas to be honest. Since this is set in Texas and I got the "strong Texan alpha male" vibe from him--not really my thing I've come to learn--I wasn't sure how I'd like him. But I was so wrong to be worried because I loved Lucas! He's very silent, almost brooding and because both of our characters have had a past, he's guarded with his heart. Ellie, too, has to come to terms with everything that happened to her and what her future is going to be like and I liked that Debra Holt wasn't scared to push her characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There were moments where I didn't think the plot would work but Holt made me a believer. I loved seeing Lucas and Ellie open up to each other. Lucas became less reserved and Ellie gained more of the confidence she had been faking.

Born and raised in the Lone Star state of Texas, Debra grew up among horses, cowboys, wide open spaces, and real Texas Rangers. Pride in her state and ancestry knows no bounds and it is these heroes and heroines she loves to write about the most. She also draws upon a variety of life experiences including working with abused children, caring for baby animals at a major zoo, and planning high-end weddings (ah, romance!).

Debra's real pride and joys, however, are her son, an aspiring film actor, and a daughter with aspirations to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (more story ideas!) When she isn't busy writing about tall Texans and feisty heroines, she can be found cheering on her Texas Tech Red Raiders, or heading off on another cruise adventure. She read her first romance...Janet Dailey's Fiesta San Antonio, over thirty years ago and became hooked on the genre. Writing contemporary western romances, is both her passion and dream come true, and she hopes her books will bring smiles...and sighs... to all who believe in happily-ever-after's. Debra invites you to visit her website at www.debraholtbooks.com. She loves to hear from other aspiring authors or readers via email at debraholtbooks@gmail.com.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

And here's the tour schedule:

Week 1:

4/4: The Irish Banana Review

4/5: Emily Reads Everything

4/6: In Wonderland

4/7: Life According to a Bibliophile

4/8: Emilie's Book World

Week 2:

4/11: Kimberly Faye Reads

4/12: Polished Page Turners

4/13: Books Are Love

4/14: Silk & Serif

4/15: Who R U Blog

Blog Tour: Essential Maps For The Lost Quest Post-Top Ten Images For the Book

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 04:00:00 +0000

Top Ten Images That Describe the Book

Lake Union--Wikepedia

1. Lake Union, Seattle: This is where Mads takes a swim one morning, and bumps into the body of the woman who jumped off the Aurora Bridge.

2. A boy walking WAY TOO MANY DOGS: This would be our other main character, Billy Youngwolf Floyd, son of the woman who jumped, who steals dogs who are being mistreated and brings them to the animal shelter where he works, claiming that they are “lost.”

3. A girl with a baby on her hip: This is Mads, and Ivy, who she babysits. Made has a deep desire to kidnap baby Ivy from her overbearing mother, something Mads knows quite a lot about.

4. A beat-up truck: This is the truck Mads drives, which belongs to her uncle. She gets lost in it A LOT. It has a mind of its own. It has a PLAN for her, it seems. She also uses it to follow Billy, to find out what she can about his mother, and why she did what she did.

5. The Seattle houseboats: Oh, so charming and intriguing – imagine Sleepless in Seattle, although Billy lives with his difficult, intense grandmother in one of the smaller of the 300-plus houseboats that surround Lake Union.

6. An ogre, or a group of ogres: The ogres of depression that Mads fights.

7. The map at the center of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the book that Mads and Billy, against all odds, have in common.

8. A little boy in spaceship pajamas with a library book and a squirt gun: This is Harrison, Mads’ cousin, who is about to blow up her life and her secrets.

9. The typewriter eraser statue by the Seattle Art Museum: This is where Billy and Mads lay on the lawn, where he tells her about his mother, where they kiss and fall more deeply in love.

10. A truck with Mads and Billy and two dogs riding in front: For this one, you’ll have to read Essential Maps for the Lost to find out more.

When Madison makes a startling discovery, the body of a dead woman floating in the middle of a lake, the summer after her senior year becomes more complicated than she ever expected.

Madison (Mads to everyone who knows her) is staying with her aunt and uncle in Seattle after graduating from high school. Being away from her needy, unstable mother who's been pressuring her to take over the family business is such a relief. Now all Mads has to worry about is taking classes, swimming laps, and fighting off the sadness that threatens to overtake her.

That is, until the traumatic moment Mads collides with a body in the middle of the lake. After swimming the body back to shore, Mads becomes obsessed with uncovering the identity of the woman and what drove her to leap off of the Aurora Bridge. Determined to discover more, Mads parks outside the woman's home and sees the woman's son: the sweet and tormented Billy Youngwolf Floyd.

Through a series of not-so-happenstance meetings, Mads and Billy realize that desperate mothers and rescue missions are not the only thing that bonds them. Billy carries a map in his pocket; the one of the museum from The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler; and it's his dream to visit the museum one day. And though book-loving Mads is expected to return home to her already-decided future, her dream is to run away to a life of her choosing.

As the unlikely pair fall hard for each other and as the summer draws to a close, Billy and Mads must decide whose story to follow: their family's or their own.

Deb Caletti is an award winning author and National Book Award finalist. Her many books for young adults include “The Nature of Jade,” “Stay,” “The Last Forever,” and "Honey, Baby Sweetheart," winner of the Washington State Book award, the PNBA Best Book Award, and a finalist for the PEN USA Award. Her first book for adults, “He’s Gone,” was released from Random House in 2012, and was followed with "The Secrets She Keeps" in 2015. Coming this April: "Essential Maps for the Lost," her eleventh book for young adults. She lives with her family in Seattle.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

And here's the tour schedule:

Week 1:
4/4: Such A Novel Idea

4/5: Ex Libris

4/6: Life According to a Bibliophile (You are HERE)

4/7: Kelly Vision

4/8: The Bookkeeper's Secrets

Week 2:
4/11: Stuck In Books

4/12: Who R U Blog

4/13: Between the Pages

4/14: Jenuine Cupcakes

4/15: In Wonderland

The Queen's Poisoner Blitz

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 13:50:00 +0000

**This was supposed to go up last Friday but it didn't so here it is now.**

Hey all! Today I'm here to tell y'all about a really cool book!

About the Book

As usurper of the throne, the rule of King Severn Argentine’s is already highly contested. To keep his power, King Argentine rules with an iron fist and destroys any opposition. In a failed coup attempt the Duke of Kiskaddon loses his son as a permanent prisoner to the king to ensure his loyalty.

THE QUEEN’S POISONER follows the Duke’s young son Owen on his journey for redemption and revenge as he figures out how to survive the court of Kingfountain. In order to keep his head and gain the merciless king’s favor, Owen must delve deeper into the world of mystery and secrecy that surrounds him. Readers will be clamoring for the next installment of The Kingfountain Series.

About the Author

Jeff Wheeler took an early retirement from his career at Intel in 2014 to become a full-time author. He is, most importantly, a husband and father, and a devout member of his church. He is occasionally spotted roaming among the oak trees and granite boulders in the hills of California or in any number of the state’s majestic redwood groves. He is the author of The Covenant of Muirwood Trilogy, The Legends of Muirwood Trilogy, the Whispers from Mirrowen Trilogy, and the Landmoor Series.

To learn more about Jeff Wheeler visit his website: www.jeff-wheeler.com

You can follow him @muirwoodwheeler

And now I'm really excited to have an excerpt for you all!
Excerpt 2: Chapter 17

A sound whispered from the corridor behind him. It was a footfall. Not the sound of a boot in the corridor beyond the wall. The sound of someone approaching within the tunnel. It was coming from behind him.

The queasiness blossomed inside Owen and a cold sweat started on his brow. Going back was no longer an option. The tunnel was narrow and there was no place to hide, so Owen hurried forward, hoping to find an escape into the main palace corridor. It would be infinitely better to be punished for wandering the hall at night than to be caught in the Espion corridor. His little heart started to hammer wildly in his chest and the blackness in front of him became even darker somehow.
He heard the footfalls again, coming closer.

The boy was starting to panic. Ankarette had warned him this could happen. She had told him it was dangerous to wander the tunnels alone and that he needed to be very cautious and always listen for sounds that were out of place. Such as the footfalls behind him.

The narrow pinch of the corridor suddenly filled in ahead of Owen, the walls closing like an arrowhead. It ended abruptly and finally. It was a dead-end.

This sounds like a great book and I'm very excited to be able to read it! And now for a giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lifeboat Clique Blog Tour Guest Post by Kathy Parks + Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 13:00:00 +0000

I am so excited to be part of The Lifeboat Clique tour! I'm going to have my review up next week but I really enjoyed the book!

Back to when you were in high school, what would you do if you were stranded in the middle of the ocean with a group of people you didn't get along with and one person used to be your friend?

That is a great question because I think back then I had more of a black and white view on things. I think I would have quickly labeled myself the hero and underdog and hardened my opinion to the other. I’m hoping now I would see us as more of a group of individuals brought together by circumstance and fate. I would totally hope Mr. Shriek showed up, though.

What inspired you to write a survival story that was equal parts dark and equal parts part instead of going to usual more serious route?

I was told by my agent, and others, to maybe try and write funnier stuff, but there is something dark about my sensibility. So The Lifeboat Clique emerged from that. I think the kind of voice in The Lifeboat Clique is closer to my “true” voice than pure serious fiction. Maybe because I think life is part comedy, part tragedy, but ultimately a dream.

What are some of your favorite survival stories in books, film and television that you think everyone needs to read/watch?

There’s an amazing book called Deep Survival that tells survival stories and gives tips on surviving. Life of Pi was an interesting movie. I never actually saw Castaway with Tom Hanks, but maybe Sonny Boy was my Wilson.

Thanks for the questions!

ABOUT THE LIFEBOAT CLIQUE:

Some people might say that Denver had a death wish. Why else would she have dared to sneak into a Malibu beach party where she’d be surrounded by enemies, namely including her ex-BFF Abigail?

Oh yeah. Croix. Denver never thought in a million years he’d ask her out, but who was she to question this miracle of fate? Well, that wasn’t the only surprise fate had in store.

During the party a tsunami hit the coast of California, wiping out everything in its path. Denver and a handful of others escaped death by holding onto the roof of the house and were swept out to sea. Of course, one of her fellow castaways was none other than Abigail, who could barely stand the sight of her.

Now that she’s floating in the ocean, stuck on a small boat with the most popular kids in school and waiting to be rescued, Denver wonders what might kill her first-dehydration, sunstroke, or the girl she used to think of as a sister?

A hilariously dark and twisted story that sparkles with a remarkably fresh voice, The Lifeboat Clique is Kathy Park’s irreverent yet insightful novel about how to survive in the most unthinkable circumstances.

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | The Book Depository

ABOUT KATHY PARKS:

Hi, I’m Kathy Parks, author of The Lifeboat Clique. (Katherine Tegen Books, March 1 2016)

It’s about Denver Reynolds, an outcast at her high school, who ends up in a lifeboat with the popular kids who hate her.

It’s Mean Girls meets Life of Pi!

I live near the beach in Carpinteria, California with my husband and two cats.

I love questions and meeting other authors.

Hope you’ll check out The Lifeboat Clique!

LINKS: Twitter | Tumblr

Tour Schedule:
Week 1:
2/29: The Irish Banana Review
3/1: That Artsy Reader Girl
3/2: Bookiemoji
3/3: Andi's ABCs
3/4: Novel Ink

Week 2:
3/7: A Book & A Latte
3/8: Reads All the Books
3/9: Actin' Up With Books
3/10: Paperback Princess
3/11: Life According to a Bibliophile (You are here!)

Giveaway:
3 Finished Copies of THE LIFEBOAT CLIQUE (US Only)

Rafflecopter Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Love-a-Thon: An Invitation to Tea

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 22:17:00 +0000

Hosted by the fabulous Alexa of Alexa Love's Books, Cee of The Novel Hermit, Hazel of Stay Bookish and Mel of The Daily Prophecy!

It's a tea party time! Something of note? I only like green tea. Being Indian, I'm used to making tea all the time for my family but I'm not a big fan. So in the spirit of the love-a-thon, I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone.

The setting:

If I were to have a tea party, I would want it near water. There's soemthing about this setting that just speaks to me. It's so calming and beautiful. With the setting by a small body of water, I would want the table setting to be very chic. I love pale colors, especially pink and cream colors with a dash of color. While the table setting would be like the one above, the table cover would be a pale pink color and I love the tea cups.

The food:

I have to have cupcakes at my tea party. I understand that it's not normal to have cupcakes but since it's my tea part, I can do what I like. I'm also a big fan of sandwiches and scones so we'd have those there. The sandwiches would be unconventional and probably be Indian inspired or another type of cuisine you wouldn't think of.

One Fictional Character:

Lizzie Bennet but modern Lizzie! She's so feisty and independent and I would LOVE to have her over. Since neither of us are really into tea parties, I figured why not have her at an unconventional tea party?

Book Blogger:

Keertana of Ivy Book Bindings! I've always wanted to meet her since I began reading her blog. She is an incredible writer and our thoughts generally align when it comes to books. I think having tea and cup cakes would be a great way to get to know her in person.

Author:

Dahlia Adler because duh? She's so much much to talk to on Twitter and I love how vocal she is. I always appreciate how open she is about everything that has to do with books, in terms of representation and everything.

So here's my tea party! What about you? Who would you want to have a tea party with?

Love-a-Thon: Welcome!

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 21:15:00 +0000

Hosted by the fabulous Alexa of Alexa Love's Books, Cee of The Novel Hermit, Hazel of Stay Bookish and Mel of The Daily Prophecy!

Hey all! It's so good to be back to blogging after such a while away! I've been wondering how to come back and the Love-a-Thon seemed liked the best time. For this first post, which is late as I was in an all day conference yesterday and I wasn't feeling well enough to post anything, I'm giving you guys a questionnaire!

What’s your name? Kailia Sage! It's not my real name but it's a little too late to change everything to my real name. I chose this because I was 14 when I began blogging and I wanted to be safe.
Where in the world are you blogging from? Southern region of the United States.
How did you get into blogging in the first place? I had just moved from Atlanta to a small town in the 8th grade and it was hard for me to fit in at once. Reading had always been my escape and I found blogging when I looked for a review for a book I wanted to read.
How did you come up with your blog name? It was actually Reading the Best of the Best but I realized soon enough that it was a terrible name. So I changed it to Life According to a Bibliophile!
What genre do you read and review the most on your blog? When I began blogging, I read mostly Young Adult and Middle Grade. Since the beginning, my reading tastes have changed. I now read and blog about mostly Young Adult and Adult books. I'm trying to get into New Adult books but I haven't found myself liking it that much.
What other types of posts do you do on your blog, apart from reviews? Discussions posts of all kinds. I'm trying to get more personal with my posts and have more discussion posts about the ideas/values I believe in. I've gotten more into voicing my opinions about #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #OwnVoices so I'm hoping for more.
Best blogging experience so far? I can't really pick one but I think when I attended YallFest a few years ago and met Stephanie Perkins. We'd talked on Twitter a good bit and she recognized my name and that was a big deal for me.
Favorite thing about the blogging community? I love how kind and accepting this community can be. No matter how negative the community can be, it is still a place where I can come and talk about anything I want to.
What’s an underrated book or series that you think everyone should read? The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner is one of my all time favorite series but not enough people are talking about it!
Which book boy or girl would be your book BFF? Grace Ivers from The Mistake by Elle Kennedy! I just read this book and I couldn't help but see myself in her. I think she and I would be really good friends in real life.
Which book boy or girl would be your book boyfriend/girlfriend? Um, any of the men from the Off Campus series by Elle Kennedy. Or any of the men from the Wallflowers by Lisa Kleypas. Or Jonah Griggs from Jellicoe Road. So, yes, I have many book boyfriends.
Apart from reading, what are your other hobbies or interests? I love to write and I want to be a published author one day. I also love to cook all kinds of cuisine. Plus, I'm a big nerd of TV and movies and musics and I like listening/watching in other languages other than English (which is my second language).
Pick out either a book you want turned into a film/TV show, or a film/TV show you want turned into a book. Any of the Wallflowers books or the Castles Ever After books. I'm a big fan of romance and historical fiction so it's a great mix for me.
What would your dream library look like? Belle's library in Beauty and the Beast of course!
Author you want to meet and sit down to tea with? J.K. Rowling is the obvious choice but other than that, I'd love to meet Tamora Pierce!

Review: Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 05:00:00 +0000

Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas

Series: Wallflowers #4
Release Date: January 1, 2006

Publisher: Avon

Source: Library

After spending three London seasons searching for a husband, Daisy Bowman's father has told her in no uncertain terms that she must find a husband. Now. And if Daisy can't snare an appropriate suitor, she will marry the man he chooses—the ruthless and aloof Matthew Swift.

Daisy is horrified. A Bowman never admits defeat, and she decides to do whatever it takes to marry someone... anyone... other than Matthew. But she doesn't count on Matthew's unexpected charm... or the blazing sensuality that soon flares beyond both their control. And Daisy discovers that the man she has always hated just might turn out to be the man of her dreams.

But right at the moment of sweet surrender, a scandalous secret is uncovered... one that could destroy both Matthew and a love more passionate and irresistible than Daisy's wildest fantasies.

Oh Daisy, what do I do with you?! Even though Lillian and I are far more similar, I loved Daisy as well. She's just as fun and carrying as all the other Wallflowers but for her, it's hard to find her footing with an older sister as vocal as Lillian. And unlike the three women before her, Daisy has yet to find a man among the English elite so her father gives her an ultimatum: if she can't find a husband, her father will find one for her. And he choose Matthew Swift, his protégé and the last man Daisy would EVER think to marry.

Y'all, I LOVE hate-to-love stories and they're even better when the two love interests have a history. PLUS it's even better when the history isn't all sunshine and daisies (see what I did there?). So basically, I like banter and sexual tension and in a time where arranged marriages often occur, it's even better. After watching Annabelle, Lillian and Evie fall in love, Daisy wants the same thing. Daisy is pretty and sweet and lovable so why can't a man fall in love with her too? Sure she likes to read books and daydreams more than she should but that shouldn't mean she can't fall in love. Matthew Swift is NOT the man for her. He's so much like her father for him to be someone capable of truly loving someone.

But low and behold, Matthew Swift is kind and funny and cares for Daisy. He's not cold or unfeeling and Daisy isn't sure how to handle this new man. Something about him draws Daisy in. I was so ready for Daisy and Matthew to become friends and fall in love but something even better happens: even though their hate does durn into love, we find out that Matthew has been in love with Daisy for a long time. The feelings he's harbored for her leads him to want the best for Daisy which doesn't include him (he's not good enough for her) and I loved every single bit of this book. I LOVED that the focus on this book is about Matthew and Daisy, their friendship and their growing love for each other and less about the drama.

Overall, I loved this book so much. There were so many aspects of this book I loved and it makes me want to have a hate-to-love relationship with someone I have a history with. Daisy's such a sweet character that when Matthew ruffles her feathers and gets her riled up, she's such a spunky character. It's definitely a great story for the last Wallflower and one worth reading.

LYLAS

I love this book like it was family. I know, in case of a fire, I'd save this book. It’s amazing, stunning, and mind blowing. I would re-read this book lots and lots of times. It might even be a favorite. I would recommend this book to EVERYONE, EVER.

I'll be re-reading this one for sure. I love Daisy so much and I can see so much of myself in her. PLUS, PLUS, PLUS it's a hate-to-love relationship where the two people have lots of history.

Y'all this cover is BEAUTIFUL. I'm so in love with the covers for this series. Even though they're very much like other adult romance covers, there's something so beautiful about these covers. And that dress is gorgeous as hell.

Review: Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 05:00:00 +0000

Devil in Winterby Lisa Kleypas

Series: Wallflowers #3
Release Date: October 13, 2009

Publisher: Avon

Source: Library

A Devil's Bargain

Easily the shyest Wallflower, Evangeline Jenner stands to become the wealthiest, once her inheritance comes due. Because she must first escape the clutches of her unscrupulous relatives, Evie has approached the rake Viscount St. Vincent with a most outrageous proposition: marriage!

Sebastian's reputation is so dangerous that thirty seconds alone with him will ruin any maiden's good name. Still, this bewitching chit appeared, unchaperoned, on his doorstep to offer her hand. Certainly an aristocrat with a fine eye for beauty could do far worse.

But Evie's proposal comes with a condition: no lovemaking after their wedding night. She will never become just another of the dashing libertine's callously discarded broken hearts--which means Sebastian will simply have to work harder at his seductions...or perhaps surrender his own heart for the very first time in the name of true love.

So when I found out that Evie and Sebastian were going to be the main focus of the 3rd book in the Wallflowers, I wasn't sure how I was going to like it. Of the four women, Evie was the hardest one to get to know. Her shy nature made it hard to truly understand who she was as a character but I was still excited to see her story. And St. Vincent, y'all, was not a good guy in the last book so why Lisa Kleypas made him the love interest in this one blows my mind. However, there was nothing for me to fear because I loved Devil in Winter just as much as I loved the other books in the series thus far.

Evangeline, or Evie, became one of my favorites by the end of the first few pages. Even though I thought she was so shy--too shy to really do much--the moment she took her life into her own hands blew my mind. Y'all, Evie going to Sebastian and giving him a marriage proposition was one of my favorite schemes of this series. I loved how Evie wanted to change the course of her life and seeing her open up to Sebastian was so much fun. It's also obvious that the other Wallflowers have had a great--positive--impact on Evie. It goes to show just how much having friends around us to support us is so important.

Okay, Sebastian is not my favorite love interest in this series but I did enjoy reading more about him. There's so much to our hero in this book than he's ever willing to show. Even though he was a grade A ass in the last book, Sebastian didn't have any true interest in hurting anyone. The way Evie didn't care about his advances and how the sexual tension between the two came to a head was way too much fun. As shy as Evie is, Sebastian is just as bold and the mix of their personalities made for one hell of a romance book.

Overall, Devil in Winter wasn't my favorite of the Wallflowers but I still enjoyed it just the same. This series is becoming one of my all time favorites and I think I'll be coming back for more. The way Evie and Sebastian begin to shed their guard around each other allowed for lots of sexual tension and their chemistry was evident.

BFF

This book is pretty great but it’s missing something that would make it extremely special. I might re-read this book, possibly more than once. I would recommend this book to lots of my friends.

Y'all if you haven't started this series, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!

Y'ALL THE BLUE. THE BLUE. THE BLUE.

Review: Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 05:00:00 +0000

Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler

Release Date: November 17, 2015

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Source: Beta Reader for Author/ARC

Reagan Forrester wants out—out of her trailer park, out of reach of her freeloading mother, and out of the shadow of the relationship that made her the pariah of Charytan, Kansas.

Victoria Reyes wants in—in to a fashion design program, in to the arms of a cute guy who doesn't go to Charytan High, and in to a city where she won't stand out for being Mexican.

One thing the polar-opposite best friends do agree on is that wherever they go, they’re staying together. But when they set off on a series of college visits at the start of their senior year, they quickly see that the future doesn’t look quite like they expected. After two years of near-solitude following the betrayal of the ex-boyfriend who broke her heart, Reagan falls hard and fast for a Battlestar Galactica-loving, brilliant smile-sporting pre-med prospective... only to learn she's set herself up for heartbreak all over again. Meanwhile, Victoria runs full-speed toward all the things she thinks she wants… only to realize everything she’s looking for might be in the very place they've sworn to leave.

As both Reagan and Victoria struggle to learn who they are and what they want in the present, they discover just how much they don't know about each other's pasts. And when each learns what the other’s been hiding, they'll have to decide whether their friendship has a future.

Y'all, when I was given the chance to Beta read this novel for Dahlia, I was so excited. Not only did it sound fabulous but it had an Indian love interest (YASSSS--also how I got to Beta; I'm all about accurate representation). Just Visiting was my first book by Dahia Adler and it won't be the last. Probably one of the best YA bridge books I've read in a long time--the bridge between high school and college--Just Visiting is all about that time in our lives where we have to make life altering decisions.

So college isn't for everyone. That's kind of a given fact but how do you know it's not for you? Do you have some sort of epiphany or does someone make the decision for you? That's one of the biggest things Just Visiting tackles: when we've only been given one option our entire lives, how do we decide if we can change that? For Victoria and Reagan, their lives are calling for two different things: Reagan's fit in too well and she wants out and Victoria hasn't fit in at all. To be honest, this book spoke to me on so many levels. First, I've wanted to be a lawyer since I was 4. Hell, I thought being a lawyer was all about arguing. But it wasn't until I was in college that I realized that even though college was the right decision for me, maybe the timing was off. Maybe I should have taken time off to figure out my life. That's why I loved how much Reagan and Victoria grew throughout this novel. Both girls found that even though they didn't love their small hometown, it held the key to who they were.

Victoria and Reagan reminded me of a relationship that is very important to me: the relationship between my best friend and me. She stayed in the town we went to high school but I left my parents home. She's at a community college and I'm at a 4 year university. It's such a different time in our lives even though we're best friends. Like Reagan and Victoria, its been tough to get over the distance and allow the distance to get between our friendship. Over the past three years we've grown up and apart but gotten closer too. It was a rude awakening for the two of us to realize that we'd be just as close as we were in high school but like the two girls in this book, we realized that it wasn't a bad thing. I appreciated that Reagan and Victoria didn't always get along. They said things they shouldn't have and did things the other didn't approve of. And that's okay. It's okay, Reagan and Victoria learned to not always get along and to do things the other didn't approve of. It was their way of finding their feet, finding themselves and what they want for their live and it was wonderful to see. Female friendships are important to depict accurately but this doesn't meant that friends don't get into arguments or say things they don't mean. As much as people like to depict female friendships as perfect relationships, they're not and I liked that the imprecations could be shown without the girl on girl hate.

Of course, I want to talk about the cultural representation of this book as well since it's so close to my heart. Something Victoria and I have in common is that we're both legal immigrants to this country. For Victoria, who's Hispanic, people in this southern town often call her family illegals and the backlash is harsh. Like Victoria, I understand wanting to leave a town where we didn't belong to go somewhere new, somewhere more accepting. Reagan, coming from a poor family in the south also faced some of her own hardships and I liked the representation of a socioeconomic background that wasn't rich or even middle class. Reagan's struggle is one that is so like the struggle of children all of this country that we never talk about and I liked that Adler was able to go there. ALSO ALSO ALSO ALSO Indian boy as a love interest and I LOVED HIM. He was adorable and fabulous and nerdy and UGH PERFECTION. I can't say more because spoilers but I totally fell in love.

Overall, I loved Just Visiting. The right amount of heart, friendship, romance, new beginnings, and just a great story made Just Visiting the perfect story. Reagan and Victoria change and grow throughout this novel and I can't really say how or why their chance is so important but it is. I'm not the biggest fan of New Adult but I am more than willing to read more books like Just Visiting that bridge the gap between YA and NA.

LYLAS

I love this book like it was family. I know, in case of a fire, I'd save this book. It’s amazing, stunning, and mind blowing. I would re-read this book lots and lots of times. It might even be a favorite. I would recommend this book to EVERYONE, EVER.

I can't even to tell y'all how much I love this book! I think everyone, and I mean everyone, should read this one!

I'm in love with this cover. It's so simple and beautiful. I also appreciate how Victoria and Reagan are wearing the same type of clothes with their own flair.

In January I Resolve To...

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 13:00:00 +0000

I thought long and hard about making a resolutions list this year and I decided that this year, I wouldn't create one. But I love lists and making goals so I'm going to create a goals post for every month. This isn't like a TBR though! It won't be specific books I want to read or anything. I'm too much of a mood reader for that. Instead, it's going to be a small list of goals I want in each of the categories below that I want to accomplish in that month. I'll be updating this post at the end of the month with everything that has been done!

1) Read 10 books!

2) I've started and fallen in love with the Others series by Anne Bishop so I want to read the first 3 this month!

3) I want to get my hands on Truthwitch and Passenger so hopefully the library has them!

1) Introduce my new feature on movies!

2) Review at least 7 books

3) Write up some discussions posts for this month! I want to publish at least three!

1) Back to school crazy! I'm really excited about going back after almost a month of staying at home.

2) Morning classes. I have 9:30am classes Monday through Thursday and I am not ready for this.

3) Planning a gala for early February for one of the organizations I'm a part of.

4) A new way of thinking: a post later this month is going to tell y'all more about how I'm going to try to have the best year possible!

1) New podcasts! I've wanted to get into them for a while now and I think starting a habit in January would be the best thing to do!

2) Hamilton soundtrack. I think it's about damn time I listen to this musical in full!

1) Civic duty! Since it's election year and it's the first time I'll be able to vote, I'm going to keep up with what's happening in America.

1) Finish my re-watch of Arrow, season 3 so I can start season 4

2) Watch Legends of Tomorrow

3) THE 100 IS BACK THIS MONTH OH MY GOSH SO I WILL OBVIOUSLY WATCH IT

4) Because of Twitter I've started Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and I'm very much in love.

And that's about it for this month! I want to have reachable goals for each month and hopefully I can cross off every one of these this long my list! What about you all? Do you have anything you want to specifically get done this month?

A Thank You and A Welcome to 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Hello, all!

It's been a while since I've been on this blog. I wandered if I was truly on this blog because I loved blogging or I loved the idea of blogging. Turns out, I really love blogging. But I don't want Life According to a Bibliohphile to be just about books anymore and that's been the biggest revelation of this past year: as much as I love books, it's not the only thing I want to talk about anymore.

So 2016 is going to be a turning point for me and for this blog. While I'll still be talking about books and related topics to books, I'm going to add in more personal and lifestyle posts. Some posts will be showing you more about me and who I am (because you're interested in that) and others will be more about lifestyle things!

And I also want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone in the blogosphere, new and old. It's been a rocky 2015 in terms of my mental illness and understadning how to cope with myself and the habits that have negative impacts on my life. On a very dark day in December (2015) I turned to Twitter and the love and support I got from people really helped me understand that I wasn't alone.

So here's to 2016!

Seasons Readings: Springing into Books

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 04:51:00 +0000

Summer shines, Spring blossoms, Winter glistens and Autumn crunches. Seasons affect our lives constantly. As part of Nori’s Book Blogger Creativity Project #BBCreativityProject, the Hot Pink Team are celebrating and honouring the seasons with some special book posts over the next month.

Before I start my post I’d like to introduce you to the Hot Pink Team: Brittany from The Book Addict’s Guide, Debbie from Silk Serif, Erica from Escape Under the Cover, Kj from Birds that Love Words, Let from Other Side of Ordinary, Maggie from The Novel Orange, Nori from Read Write Love, Orchid from The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia, and Veronica from Grounded Wanderlust.

We have all worked really hard and hope you enjoy what we have created.

__________________________________________________________________

Spring is hands down one of my two favorite seasons (the other being fall!) so when the Hot Pink team decided to do seasons, I was super happy with the choice! When I was thinking about what I wanted to do, I was talking to a friend about flowers and what they meant! So, I thought I could take flowers and their meanings and give some book recommendations for them!

When I was coming up with books to recommend, I came up with two different topics I seem to look for the most in books: friendship and romance/love. So for now, those are the two I'm going to give recommendations for!

FRIENDSHIP

Friendship is incredibly important to me and I LOVE reading about friends or people becoming friends. I've spent so many years of my life looking for those friends that I would have for the rest of my life and it's a bigger struggler than I ever anticipated.

Alstroemeria Yellow Rose

MIDDLE GRADE

Breadcrumbs was one of the first books that came to mind when I thought about this topic! A girl who travels to the ends of the world for her best friend? Heck yes!

Liesl & Po was an excellent story and I loved the uniqueness of it!

Where the Red Fern Grows going a little old school for the next few but I LOVED and hated this story when I was younger. I sobbed like it was no ones business.

Shiloh Ah, obviously.

Because of Winn Dixie wasn't this the epitome of a friendship between a child and her or her best friend, even if its a dog?

YOUNG ADULT

Just Visiting is one of the most recnt read for me but I really connected to it!

Open Road Summer is basically about two girls and their friendship and how their future will change.

Welcome Caller this is Chloe is an older read and one I wish more people read! I loved seeing the different people Chloe became friends with!

Emmy & Oliver really showed how a connection between two people can't be broke by time or place.

Code Name Verity is all about strong female friendships and one of my all time favorite books. PLEASE read it!

Harry Potter Series do I need to explain?

Vampire Academy Series the connect that Rose and Lissa have is unexplainable but they're always there for each other no matter what!

LOVE/ROMANCE

I am all about the romance/love stories guys. The die-hard romantic in me loves reading romances and books that have swoony relationships in them. There is something so wonderful to me about seeing two people fall for each other. The more tension in the beginning the better!

Red Rose

YOUNG ADULT

The Crimson Crown has one of the best romances that develops throughout the series without making the books all about the romance. Plus, it's a fabulous fantasy series!

Audrey, Wait! was so cute! I remember reading this book and having the goofiest smile on my face.
The Truth About Forever WES WES WES WES
Just Listen OWEN OWEN OWEN OWEN
Jessica Darling Series MARCUS MARCUS MARCUS MARCUS
The Year of Secret Assignments SEB CHARLIE MATTHEW
Amy & Roger's Epic Detour ROGER ROGER ROGER ROGER
Jellicoe Road JONAH JONAH JONAH JONAH

NEW ADULT

The Re-Arranged Life has a interracial relationship between a white guy and an Indian American girl who is basically me! I don't remember the last time I've connected with a character!
Boomerang was so much fun! I loved seeing Mia and Ethan put their differences aside and fall for each other.

ADULT

Again the Magic has some of my favorite topes when it comes to romance books!

Secrets of a Summer Night Annabelle and Simon are two of my favorites in this series and I love how Simon has been in love with Annabelle for years!

It Happened One Autumn Lillian and Marcus falling in love is basically how I want to fall in love: I want to have chemistry and lots of banter and fun with the man I love.

Romancing the Duke is such a cute story! For me, I love that Izzy and Ransom have to get past their flaws to really be in love.

__________________________________________________________________

And that's it for my post! I hope you all found new books to read that have friendships and romance in them!

The Language of Flowers and Flower Meanings were used for the meanings!

When You Fall Out of Love

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 04:00:00 +0000

Love by Leanna Platts | CC BY 2.0

This is not the post I thought I'd be writing today. I was going to have a book review or another discussion up but not this post. Why? Because writing this post, telling you all what this is about scares me. It's terrifying to think that writing these words will give one aspect to this issues I'm not sure I want: certainty. When I put words down, on a computer or paper, it's far too certain for me. And yet, here I am, typing up these words for the whole world to see. But let me back up a little and explain to you why I'm writing this post. And, I want to tell you a story.

Many, if not all, of the books I read has a romance in it. Whether it be the love-to-hate or best-friends-turned-to-love or any of the numerous types of love stories out there, it can be found in books. But the one thing I haven't seen is what happens when you fall out of love. Now, I understand that this doesn't make for the best book around but I can't help but want a book where the main character decides to be single or go explore the world after her romance ends. This isn't to say that she can't find romance anywhere else but I want a book that really, truly, explores the aspect of falling out of love.

So to make my point, let me tell you a story: In high school, I never dated. It was a mix of lots of reasons none of which included thinking I was better than a silly high school romance. Simply put, I just didn't date. It wasn't something I wanted even though I am a die hard romantic. Fast forward to the fall semester of my freshman year of college and like many New Adult books, I met a boy. We went on a date that last about three hours and I thought it was going places. But in the end, it fizzled out. Around November, I knew it was over and I had moved on. I met this new guy and while I thought he was attractive, he was newly out of a relationship with someone I knew and I considered him out of my league.

So during the next semester, I saw more and more of this guy. He was friends with one of my closest friends and the three of us began hanging out. I let go of anything negative thoughts I had and began flirting with him. Long story short, by March of that semester, I asked him out and we began dating. We dated for well over a year and things were going great...but in January of 2015, as a sophomore in college (aka this past school year), something changed for me. I didn't think about him all the time. I didn't look for his texts or phone calls. I didn't have butterflies in my stomach anymore when he called me "sweetheart" and his kisses had lost their magic. I realized that the next two years of my college career were going to be very, very important for me and I wasn't sure if romance was something I needed. Wanted, yes, but not needed.

I reapplied with a sudden, uncomfortable feeling that I had fallen out of love with this guy. He was my first boyfriend and the first guy I share my kiss with (yes, I was 19 when I had my first kiss) and first date and so many more things. Yet, it wasn't enough. The spark had died out and it made me very sad. We dated for the remainder of the semester to bring that spark back but come May, when I was done with my semester, we still didn't break up. It turns out that no matter how we felt, we weren't ready to let go. But about a week ago, we ended it officially.

What I realized is that he was the perfect first boyfriend. He was kind and considerate and made me very happy but he wasn't, at the end of the day, who I needed in my life. He and I had once shared many things but as we'd grown older, those similarities diminished and went away. I want to see the world. I want to learn new languages. I want to bungee jump and sky dive and many other things that scare me. I want to drink coffee and eat macaroon in Paris or watch a theater version of my favorite Shakespeare play in London or learn about the art in Rome. I want to become a lawyer but I don't know what I want to study. I want to have adventures during my college years and make new friends. I want to go clubbing and dance my heart out.

It's not to say that he had to want all of these things for us to have a good relationship. What I'm saying is, I wanted him to want these things for me. I wanted him to support my love for travel and to see new places and even though he did, it wasn't the right kind of support. It was more of a "I'm glad you want to travel but..." That afterthought was always there and it made me seem like a bad person for wanting these things. He talked about missing me and how it would be hard but in times like this, I don't want someone to tell me that. What I want is for a guy to be as excited for this as I am. And I would do the same for him. While this sounds trivial, what I'm trying to say is that I wanted a guy who would support me regardless of what I wanted to do and understand that it wouldn't change how I felt about him. It's not like I won't miss him or that I don't understand what traveling means. It's just that for one moment, just one moment, I want to live in a blissful world where traveling to these far away places is possible without bringing in our relationship.

Because I am that die hard romantic who believes that there is someone out there for everyone, I think that eventually, my prince charming will come. We'll banter and argue and get angry but come back together again. He might be someone I already know or someone I have yet to meet. But for now, I'm okay with being single. I'm still sad that this happened and even though I will love this guy forever, I'm not stating to become okay with not having him in my life.

I feel like I've rambled on so I'm going to attempt to wrap things up. In the end, I want more books that deal with good to honest falling out of love scenarios. I know that sounds boring but I want one regardless. I want a heroine who simply don't love a guy even though he's nice and kind and supportive. Because sometimes, you just fall out of love.

What do you all think? Am I crazy for thinking/wanting this kind of book? Have you ever been in this situation? How did you handle it?

Image source

Review: It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleyas

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 18:59:00 +0000

It Happened One Autmn by Lisa Kleyas
Series: Wallflowers #2

Release Date: September 27, 2005

Publisher: Avon

Source: Borrowed from Library

Four young ladies enter London society with one necessary goal: they must use their feminine wit and wiles to find a husband. So they band together, and a daring husband-hunting scheme is born.

It happened at the ball...
Where beautiful but bold Lillian Bowman quickly learned that her independent American ways weren't entirely "the thing." And the most disapproving of all was insufferable, snobbish, and impossible Marcus, Lord Westcliff, London's most eligible aristocrat.

It happened in the garden...
When Marcus shockingly—and dangerously—swept her into his arms. Lillian was overcome with a consuming passion for a man she didn't even like. Time stood still; it was as if no one else existed...thank goodness they weren't caught very nearly in the act!

It happened one autumn...
Marcus was a man in charge of his own emotions, a bedrock of stability. But with Lillian, every touch was exquisite torture, every kiss an enticement for more. Yet how could he consider taking a woman so blatantly unsuitable...as his bride?

I can't remember the last series I fell in love with before I came across the Wallflowers Series. After reading each book, I have to get my hands on the next installment and at this point I have four more books in this series. Anyways, when I came across It Happened One Autumn, I was surprised and excited to see that Marcus Marsden was the love interest to Lillian Bowman. I loved him in the prequel and Lillian was the fiery, opinionated Wallflower I connected most to so seeing them come together was a pleasure!

Lillian Bowman was a woman after my own heart. So similar to my own personality, I loved how vivacious, opinionated and open she was. She was always doing something, rarely sitting still which made reading It Happened One Autumn so much more fun! She was in a world where propriety and lady like behavior was expected but being the American she was, Lillian ~~wouldn't~~ couldn't let society dictate what she did with her life. Seeing her and Marcus butt heads was so much fun. And speaking of Marcus, while he isn't my favorite hero, I liked seeing his turmoil about falling for a woman unlike any he'd ever met before. He's just as stubborn as Lillian but his aristocratic upbringing clashed often with Lillian's freedoms.

And of course I can't talk about a romance if I don't talk about how the two fell in love and let me tell you, It Happened One Autumn had one of my all time favorite tropes. Hate to love romances, for me, are THE best kind of romances. Like, there's no room for negotiation. The next closest would be second chance romance but that's not what we're talking about right now! So from the moment Lillian and Marcus meet, they don't get along. Lillian likes to do what she wants and is willing to fight for it. Marcus isn't used to woman offering their opinions freely or doing what they please. Her American upbringing and his English, nobleman upbringing are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. But no one can stop love and Lillian and Marcus can't help but be drawn to each other. There is so much banter and arguing and awkward situations that I had the goofiest look on my face the entire time I read it!

Overall, I really enjoyed It Happened One Autumn. While Lillian is the one Wallflower, thus far, that I've connected to the most, I didn't love her story as I think I'm going to love Evie's or Daisy's. It might have to do with the immense amount of drama at the very end of the novel. It's going to make reading the next book in this series a very interesting experience for sure but I think the suddenness of the events bothered me a little. Otherwise, another win for Lisa Kleypas for sure! I don't understand how she writes such wonderful stories guys, but I love every second of it!

BFF

I LOVE the red! It plays off Lillian's dark hair so well and really like the dress pop!

It Happened One Autumn was such a fun read! I loved the hate to love trope and Lillian is the one Wallflower I connect to the most!

Review: Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas

noreply@blogger.com (Kailia Sage) — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 18:59:00 +0000

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
Series: Wallflowers #1

Release Date: October 13, 2009

Publisher: Avon Books

Source: Borrowed from Library

Four young ladies enter London society with one common goal: they must use their feminine wit and wiles to find a husband. So a daring husband-hunting scheme is born.

Annabelle Peyton, determined to save her family from disaster, decides to use her beauty and wit to tempt a suitable nobleman into making an offer of marriage. But Annabelle's most intriguing -- and persistent -- admirer, wealthy, powerful Simon Hunt, has made it clear that while he will introduce her to irresistible pleasure he will not offer marriage. Annabelle is determined to resist his unthinkable proposition ... but it is impossible in the face of such skillful seduction.

Her friends, looking to help, conspire to entice a more suitable gentleman to offer for Annabelle, for only then will she be safe from Simon -- and her own longings. But on one summer night, Annabelle succumbs to Simon's passionate embrace and tempting kisses ... and she discovers that love is the most dangerous game of all.

So after falling in love with Again the Magic, I was eager to start the Wallflowers series. Kelly and Alexis both loved the series and I was ready to find out what all of the hype was about. Secrets of a Summer Night is one of those books I love to read when I’m bored or in a bad mood: well written, romantic, and a fun read. But I didn’t expect the one things that made me fall in love with the Wallflowers: the friendship between the four women. Secrets of a Summer Night, while not my favorite of the series, is worth a read for anyone and everyone.

It’s hard for me to figure out what kind of romance Secrets of a Summer Night. Even though Annabelle and Simon Hunt have known each other for a while, Annabelle wasn’t in love with him like Simon was with her. So it’s not a second chance romance nor is it a hate to love romance. But whatever it was, I loved seeing Annabelle open up to Simon and allow herself to be loved. Annabelle, like many women in the 1800s, has to find a husband before she becomes too old. Society people talk and it would ruin her reputation. Her family is also in need of money so an advantageous marriage is necessary. But Simon Hunt, no matter what he does to her when he comes close to her, is not the man for her. So Annabelle decides to fight her feelings. But that only goes that far, of course, and soon, Annabelle find that Simon is a wonderful man. The use of one of my favorite tropes, when one of the love interests gets sick and the other takes care of them, allows Simon and Annabelle to fall in love and truly understand each other. There was, however, some drama in about ¾ into the novel and I can’t figure out if I liked the drama or not. I guess that some drama is necessary in any novel and I have a feeling each novel will have a dramatic climax.

I think what I really loved about this novel is something people might find weird: I liked seeing how society in the 1800s still had a focus on birthright and linage. It’s interesting to see that regardless of how much money Simon has and how well known he is in an industry that is growing everyday, the fact that he has no title does not allow him into the home of the nobility. Annabelle, more into the nobility, no matter how low her rank is, has that over Simon. Seeing Annabelle and Simon understand what their love, what their marriage, will mean for their future. Annabelle has to understand that she won’t always be introduced to everyone’s home as she once would have. But in the end, I loved seeing that for Annabelle, her love for Simon was worth more than her standing in society.

Overall, I really enjoyed Secrets of a Summer Night. It was an excellent beginning to the Wallflower series (since Again the Magic is considered a prequel) and I can't wait for the rest of the series. I loved seeing Annabelle and Simon fall in love with each other. Seeing Annabelle find friends in the other three Wallflowers, however, was one of my favorite parts of this entire novel. There are not enough positive female friendships in books in general so I couldn't be happier.

BFF

This book is pretty great but it’s missing something that would make it extremely special. I might re-read this book, possibly more than once. I would recommend this book to lots of my friends and some of my colleagues.

I didn't LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE this so it couldn't get a LYLAS rating. However, I would recommend this series to lots of people and I will re-read this for sure. It's fun, quick, romantic, and just what I need from a historical romance.

Unlike many romance novels, she's doesn't have her back to the camera with her dress undone so that's a plus. However, it's still pretty similar to most romance novels so there's that.

SoaSN had an amazing blend of romance, fabulous female friendships, and a strong woman willing to do what she must for her family.