Book Blitz: Sun-Kissed Summer by Marta Brown

Sun-Kissed Summer

by Marta Brown
Publication date: July 7th 2015
YA, contemporary, romance

Summer can change everything. 

For shy, bookish Katie Quinn, it just might after an accidental mix-up at the airport on the way to visit her grandparents for the summer leaves her stuck with the wrong suitcase. One full of short shorts, high heels, and absolutely nothing she would normally dare to wear. Until she realizes her newfound look has garnered the attention of Key West’s biggest hottie, Brad-freaking-Garrison, and might just give her the one thing she’s always dreamed of—an epic summer romance. 

A romance her summertime best friend only wishes he could give her. But for Oliver, getting Katie to see him as more than just some dumb jock isn’t going to be easy after he agrees to compete against Brad in a kite-surfing competition. And if Brad has any say in it, the prize is Katie herself. 

With more than just a contest on the line and a friendship at stake, will this be the summer Katie finds her footing, even if it is in someone else’s shoes?  Will Oliver finally get the courage to tell Katie how he really feels and get out of the friend-zone for good? Or, like a kite in a hurricane, will everything they’ve ever hoped for be lost in the storm?

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Author bio

Marta Brown grew up in the Pacific Northwest and was a teenager when Doc Martens, Pearl Jam and flannel were the norm and Dylan loved Kelly forever. (Beverly Hills, 90210 shout out!)

She still lives just outside Seattle, now with her husband and cat, and loves the rain.

When she's not writing about cute boys, first kisses and the magic and wonder of being seventeen, she's watching The CW. And she sleeps in. Late.

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Excerpt

“So, tell me the truth,” I say, staring out at the horizon from Mallory Square as the sun dips below the sea and sets the sky awash in pink and purple, dessert in hand. “Is this your standard swooning date? Or did I get an Oliver original?”

 Lifting his brow, a smile plays on his lips. “That depends.” He takes a slow lick of his gelato while eyeing me. “Are you thoroughly swooned?” 

Am I thoroughly swooned? 

Totally and completely.

“Eh.” I shrug, pretending to be unimpressed, despite having just been on a date that could rival any written in the pages of my favorite romance novels. “I mean, I’ve had better. But I’ll definitely give you an A for effort—since getting good grades is apparently your thing now,” I say teasingly before walking down the boardwalk as the cool, salty air blows against my sun-drenched skin.

“Oh, yeah?” Ollie says, running up behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist, and twirling us around in a dizzying circle until I’m laughing uncontrollably. “You say you’ve had better, huh?” He sets me back on solid ground, but leaves his arms around my waist to hold me steady, keeping our bodies pressed tight against one another. “Good thing this ‘Ollie original’ is a five-parter. Remember? And by my math—you know, since I’m a college guy and all now—we’ve only done four. So…you ready for part five? The swooniest of all?”

The swooniest of all? Is that even possible after everything we’ve done? With a smile as carefree and happy as summer itself, I slip my hand into his, ready to find out. 

“Swoon away, Oliver Hayes. Swoon away.” 

Book Blitz + Giveaway: Aurelious Forty by Dianna Beirne

Aurelious Forty; Volume One

by Dianna Beirne 

Release Date: 12/20/14

252 pages

Aurelious Forty has led a lonely, troubled life. He stays disconnected from the world around him with no family and no friends. He lives merely to exist…to survive.

Aurelious’ life changes in an instant when an impulsive decision forces him to abandon everything he has ever known. Choosing to follow strangers into a new world, he discovers he was born with a gift so strong, so unique; it could give him the power to change humanity.

But the shadows of his childhood are long and dark and run through every fiber of his soul. Can Aurelious break the chains of his past and use his gift for good? Or will the nightmare of his tormentors set him on a path of revenge so fierce it could destroy us all?

Buy Links:
Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo Books

Playlist inspired by Aurelious Forty; Volume One

I think the thing that stands out for me most with Aurelious Forty is how emotional it is. The characters and, as a result, the readers go on an emotional journey that can be pretty extreme at times. Much like our own lives, there are highs and lows for each person that we meet on the pages. 

I listen to music all the time. I mean all the time. Driving, cooking, doing laundry, taking a walk, daydreaming, you name it and I’ll have music on while I’m doing it…even if I’m doing nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I love silence, I think best when there is no noise at all and I can’t write with music on but I often use music to get into the mind or soul of a character. 


When I was writing the last two chapters of Aurelious Forty; Volume One I listened to It Will Rain by Bruno Mars about a million times simply because, to me, it sounded like the intensely emotional scene that I was writing. So anytime that I wasn’t actively writing that scene on the day I wrote it, I was playing that song so I could stay in the mindset of my characters. I’m pretty sure my son thought I was nuts, but the process worked for me, it’s an intense scene to say the least!


So, that song is on my playlist inspired by Aurelious Forty; Volume One along with a whole host of others. The songs are either representative of a particular character or situation they are in and they all evoke some emotion, well for me they do and maybe they will for you too. And in case you were wondering, I listened to a lot of Mumford and Sons while writing Volume Two!


A Simple Man by Shinedown
If I Tremble by Front Porch Step
Too Close by Alex Clare
Sail by Awolnation
Drowning by Banks
Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked by Cage the Elephant
Pompeii by Bastille
It Will Rain by Bruno Mars
Now and Forever by Drake
Jar of Hearts by Christina Perry
More Than Words by Extreme
Round Here by Counting Crows
Centuries by Fall Out Boy
Handlebars by Flobot
Lightning Crashes by Live
The Wolf by Mumford and Sons
Where Are You Now by Mumford and Sons
Timshel by Mumford and Sons
Plain Sailing Weather by Frank Turner
Say Something by A Great Big World
Stay by Rhianna ft. Mikky Ekko
Headstrong by Trapt
Outside by Staind
Just Breathe by Pearl Jam
Uprising by Muse 

About the Author

Dianna Beirne lives in a fantasy world. Okay not really, but part of her wishes she did and, since that’s technically impossible, she writes about fantasy worlds instead. Her first Young Adult novel entitled Aurelious Forty; Volume One quickly turned into her first Young Adult series with the addition of Aurelious Forty; Volume Two and, Aurelious Forty; Volume Three.

When not writing, she’s generally daydreaming which morphs into wondering if that last daydream could turn into a book. She has also recently discovered podcasts but doesn’t exactly understand what they are or why they’re different from regular radio shows. So it’s safe to assume that her next book won’t be about a podcast. Instead she’ll just keep listening to the ones that she finds that hilarious because laughing is one of her favorite pastimes and she finds way too many things funny!

Prior to dedicating her time to writing, Dianna taught undergraduate and graduate courses about using literacy in the elementary, middle, and high school classroom. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, a Master’s degree in Literacy and a Doctorate in Education specializing in Curriculum and Teaching.

Dianna lives in New York and is the grateful mother of a son whom she misses terribly when he is away at college.

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Review: The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman

The Sleeper and the Spindle
by Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Chris Riddell
Published by Bloomsbury
Hardback (borrowed from library)
Fantasy, graphic novel, retelling

A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish.

On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents. 

Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift.

Picking up The Sleeper and the Spindle at the library was a random decision. It looked like a fast read and I have been meaning to read a graphic novel for a time - and it's a retelling so I decided to dive into it right away.

I'm truly happy I picked this one up. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful in a kind of gory way, and I loved how the story entwined two different fairy tales and twisted and molded until it was a unique retelling story. Gaiman is also a master of writing old fairy tale style that brings in mind Grimm Brothers style and all those childhood tales I read when I was younger. The characters were also interesting; the queen, the three dwarfs, the sleeper and the old lady. There were all of the usual character arcs but with twists so it wasn't predictable at all. The story came into the end way too soon, I'd loved to read more.

The Sleeper and the Spindle is truly an enchanting tale with wonderful illustrations. I wish Gaiman and Riddell will work together in the future as I'd love to read more retellings from them. I highly recommend this to everyone in a need of quick and good read!

4 of 5 stars.

The Sleeper and the Spindle on Goodreads.

ARC Review: Bomb by Sarah Mussi

Bomb
by Sarah Mussi
Published by Hodder Children's Books
Ebook (received from publisher via NetGalley)
YA, contemporary, thriller, mystery

When Genesis goes on a blind internet date, she just wants to get over her ex-boyfriend Naz. She just wants someone to like her again. But when Genesis wakes up the morning after the date, she can't remember a thing. She doesn't know where she is, or how she got there. And she can hardly move because she is strapped into some kind of body armour ... 

Before she has time to figure it out, she receives an order through an earpiece stuck in her ear. And then a voice sounds in her head: 'You have been chosen for an assignment ... The vest you're wearing is packed with high explosives. And with one mobile call we can detonate it.' 

To her horror Genesis has become an agent of mass destruction, a walking weapon in the hands of a terrorist cell. 

The countdown to detonation has begun: Genesis must re-examine everyone and everything she loves and make terrifying choices ... in the face of certain death.

Bomb awakened my interest because it had unique concept. A girl strapped in a bomb, a walking bomb who's under the mercy of cult, a terrorist cell? Count me in! What's even better: Bomb delivered everything it promised. It's action packed story with intriguing premise, concept and complex characters. The plot is solid, good, and you can't even guess what comes next as Mussi plays both her characters and her readers.

Firstly I have to praise Mussi's writing style and the execution of the book design. The cover is amazing, it's quite simple while having lots of details and for once the generic girl at the cover actually works. The chapter names are perfection. They're carefully picked up and fit with the story while actually telling another story: it's pure brilliantness, and I couldn't help but be excited about every one of them. Same goes with the one line LIFE IS poems that were all over the story as the main character Genesis made them up. Some were simple, some were poetic, some were odd, but I loved them. It took a little while to get used to seemingly random one line poems written with cap lock, but in the end, I loved them. More importantly, I understood why they were there, and in a way those short poems told a lot about Genesis and her view of world.

There was a lot of characters but a reader will meet only a few of them during the story. Genesis is the main character, a girl strapped in a bomb and the story is about a one day and what happens during it: how Gen reacts the situation, what she thinks and what others do. Gen is a good character with all of her flaws, She's smart but hung up on her ex-boyfriend who become a part of this Brightness cult during their relationship. Naz is huge part of the story even though a reader don't really meet him until the very end, because all we get is what Gen tells about him. It's strange but actually I really enjoyed it - I liked how Naz's character morphed via Gen's flashbacks and stories and how new things came up and how that information changed things. Then there's Dave, Gen's first boyfriend who she broke up with to be with Naz. Dave is Gen's bestfriend's big brother, he's trained soldier, and he has a nature to save people. He's gentle, intelligent and he loves Gen even though she broke his heart. I actually fell in love with Dave during the story, because of his character and how strong he was and how he could face all these obstacles and still maintain the focus on what's important. He was definitely my favourite!

Bomb is fast paced, gripping and edgy story, and it kept me on my toes until the very end, which was surprising and shocking. I definitely needed more! However, there was a few times when it became a little slow paced and some chapters were boring. Nothing major and it really kicked in after those slower chapters. I really liked the story and it's characters, but I especially loved the design and those brilliant chapter names. For me, Bomb is almost a five star story. However, I did figure out the big plot twist really early on so it took some mystery from the story and that with the slower chapters requires me to give Bomb a four stars. I still do highly recommend Bomb to everyone who finds the synopsis intriguing.

4 of 5 stars.

Add on Goodreads.

Thank you, Hodder Children's Books, for giving me a chance to read and review Bomb!

(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)

Book Blitz: Queen of Tomorrow by Sherry D. Ficklin

Queen of Tomorrow (Stolen Empire #2)

by Sherry D. Ficklin

Release Date: 07/14/15

Clean Teen Publishing

280 pages

Sophie—now Catherine, Grand Duchess of Russia—had a tough first year at Imperial Court. Married at sixteen to Grand Duke Peter, heir to the throne, and settled in their own palace, things are finally looking up. As a new day dawns, she thinks only of securing her future, and the future of their country, during one of the greatest political upheavals of her time. Fighting desperately against forces trying to depose the Empress Elizabeth and put the young Prince Ivan on her throne, Sophie soon finds herself in the middle of a war brewing between her beloved Prussia, and her new empire. But even as she navigates the fragile political landscape, she quickly realizes that she has only begun to discover the tangled web of deceit and infidelity woven over the lavish court of Oranienbaum Palace.

When a strange and delicate alliance forms between the young couple, she glimpses a future of happiness, only to see it lost in a moment at the hands of those who still seek to end her life—and prevent her reign. Out of favor with the empress and running out of options, Sophie will have to sacrifice her own innocence on the altar of Russia if she is to save the nation, and herself. To survive, she will have to do the unthinkable, betray those closest to her and become something greater and more dangerous than she ever imagined she could be… a queen.

Buy Links

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo Books

Book One:

Queen of Someday (Stolen Empire #1) Links:

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Sherry D. Ficklin is a full time writer from Colorado where she lives with her husband, four kids, two dogs, and a fluctuating number of chickens and house guests. A former military brat, she loves to travel and meet new people. She can often be found browsing her local bookstore with a large white hot chocolate in one hand and a towering stack of books in the other. That is, unless she’s on deadline at which time she, like the Loch Ness monster, is only seen in blurry photographs.

She is the author of several YA novels and in her spare time she co-hosts Curvy Writer Radio.

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Top Ten Tueday: Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week participating bloggers can create lists of topic given by the host, and share them with others!

All of there are either purchased or got free from Amazon. The last three are paperbacks, everything else is in ebook format :)

1. Boomerang by Noelle August
I love Veronica Rossi and that's not a secret. So it was about a time I got myself to purchase Boomerang, especially since it was sale on Amazon. I can't wait for to cuddle up with this one as I've heard nothing but good things.

2. Rebound by Noelle August
Alongside Boomerang, I thought why not to purchase the sequel when it was on sale and I love Veronica Rossi enough to her be my auto-buy author? So I got Rebound, too.

3. Earth 2788: The Earth Girl Short Stories by Janet Edwards
I was so sad when I finished the Earth Girl trilogy earlier this year, so I'm truly glad there's various short stories about the characters I love so much.

 

4. Frey by Melissa Wright
Wright's books seem to be free from time to time for a short while, so I have like three from her, Frey being latest. I haven't read any of them, but I've heard good things so that's enough for me before I dig in those.

5. From Out In The Cold by L.A. Witt
This has been on my TBR shelf in Goodreads for a long time and when I saw it for free on Amazon, I didn't hesitate. I just had to have it!

6. Insanity by Cameron Jace
It's a Alice in the Wonderland retelling, of course I got it when I saw it for free. I mean, a retelling? Give it to me.

7. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
I've been meaning to read something from Kagawa as one of my friends loves her books and I saw The Iron King as a deal on Amazon so I didn't hesitate to purchase it.

8. Better When He's Bad by Jay Crownover
It's about a bad boy who's really bad and not just a bad boy. A boy from the wrong side of tracks, and all that jazz. For years I've wanted to read a book about really bad boy, not some boy that just has the bad boy imago. I'm hoping this will be what I've been looking for.

9. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
It's retelling about Beauty and the Beast, which is my favourite fairytale. Naturally I've wanted to posses this book since I heard about it. But it took a year for it come out as a paperback after publication of hardback edition. Way too long, but now I have it.

10. The Lovely and the Lost by Page Morgan
I've waited for this sequel to come out as US paperback so that it would match with my The Beautiful and the Cursed paperback. I'm just so mad I've to wait for the last one to come out as US paperback for months. But maybe I manage. Patience is a virtue (except when it comes to books).

What books you've gotten lately?

Review: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

The Fault In Our Stars

by John Green

Published by Penguin

Paperback (borrowed from friend)

YA, contemporary, romance

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

The Fault In Our Stars is nowadays one of those books everyone seems to at least heard of. Many has read and loved it, and I confess that I had a little bit pressure to read it as a few of my friends loved it.

I had high expectations, and while the story was well written, characters had great character development and the plot went along nicely, it wasn't mind-blowing or something that made me emotional at all. Partly because I couldn't truly identify with Hazel as I've been healthy for all my life, so Hazel's struggles didn't feel as my own. Partly because I wasn't swept away by Augustus. For me he seemed a little bit hypocrate, stalkerish and odd in a way I couldn't quite understand, which caused me not to be in some inside jokes the characters had during the story. I grew to respect Augustus but he wasn't love interest that made my heart race or anything like that. From the characters I loved most Isaac. He was adorable, funny and I wanted more of him. Also, Hazel's parents were someone I grew to respect really much. Peter von was someone who might not be pleasant but him I understood. I understood his motives, his reactions and even though he was a little bit rude and cruel with his words, he was someone I found fashinating. John Green managed to write a story with different kinds of characters and even though Hazel and Augustus didn't click with me, there was plenty of other characters I enjoyed a lot and wanted to learn more about them - and there's no doubt that John Green is a talented writer who can tell a story very well.

The Fault In Our Stars was good and I enjoyed it but it didn't blow my mind or make me cry (which I expected because of all that hype). Sadly, I think this one falls in the "overhyped" books category for me. Maybe it was partly because I've read some amazing and mind-blowing cancer stories and I couldn't help but compare The Fault In Our Stars to them. It was good story with great characters but for me, that's all what it was. It has everything that a good story needs but because of the lack of mind-blowing effect I won't give it five stars. I do recommend this but I think so does everyone else.

4 of 5 stars.

The Fault In Our Stars on Goodreads.

Book Blitz: Love In The Gilded Age by Saruuh Kelsey

Love In The Gilded Age (Fissure Chronicles, #1)

by Saruuh Kelsey 

Release Date: 10/28/14

Once in a hidden queendom…

There is an ocean: In the infinite distance, between one hidden world and the next, is an unmeasurable expanse of twenty seas. One sprawling edge of the world to another is filled with waters as beautiful as they are deadly, as miraculous as they are fraught. Treasure and treachery litter their ocean beds, sleeping side by side with adventurers whose travels ended abruptly, lives caught and held under a wave until all breaths fled. 

There is a land: Tucked into a corner where four oceans fold together, land rises up illustrious in a jagged slash of mountains and forests, with secrets and wonders as plentiful as any water. 

There are chronicles: Not of the twenty savage seas but of the fissure of land and the people who sigh life into it.

In an original epic fantasy world, Love In The Gilded Age reimagines the heroes and heroines of Grimm fairy tales as ethnically diverse, LGBT, disabled, and gender flipped. 

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble

EXCERPT:

Xanna drove herself forward, leaning into the run to propel them along. Her mother was trailing behind her but didn’t have an option except to follow as Xanna leapt from the last bit of land and crashed into the pond. She heard Koal’s strangled shout as she broke the surface, gasping and paddling wildly. She fought every bit of tiredness in her muscles as she dragged her mother from the depths of the water; she emerged spluttering and angry. “He will kill you for that,” her mother said without emotion. No fear for her daughter’s life, no regret, no anger, just a blank statement of facts.

“No,” Xanna hissed. “I won’t be the one dying today.”

“Three souls will pass in this last fight.” Her mother dissolved into the senseless chanting of before, only repeated the ominous three souls will pass in this last fight. At least she had the good sense to pump her legs and move her arms to stay afloat.

Xanna had to get the rope off them if her plan was going to work. She pulled at their bound wrists, fearful and frustrated, and the vine uncoiled as if in response to her wish at the same moment the Wolf reached the edge of the pool and leapt in. It loves my mother, Xanna thought, but found she didn’t care. She gripped the rope in a fist as she put three lengths between her mother, watching the Wolf wade sloppily through the water to the woman it loved.

She didn’t have long. Xanna had to act, and she had to be both quick and quiet about it—a impossibility now that her every movement made a splash. Still, she had to try. Koal was shouting at her from the clearing but she blocked out his warnings.

The Wolf only noticed her presence when she wrapped the vine around its neck and pulled it taut. Growling, it fought to face her but couldn’t spin and remain afloat at the same time. Xanna kicked her legs faster, unable to use her arms to keep her from a drowned death as she strangled the animal. She was slipping, on the verge of sinking. Without warning, the Wolf dipped underwater, testing her grip on the vine. She lost the rope.

Xanna looked around for it desperately. It was her only weapon.

The vine didn’t resurface but the Wolf did.

About the Author
Saruuh Kelsey is the author of several novels for young adults, including the free Lux Guardians series and The Legend Mirror series. Her latest releases include THE BEAST OF CALLAIRE, the first novel of a new YA fantasy series, and a collection of diverse fairy tales in LOVE IN THE GILDED AGE. Find her online at saruuhkelsey.co.uk.

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Stacking the Shelves (35)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Purchased

Shadow of the Wolf by Tim Hall
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
The Lovely and the Lost by Page Morgan
Of Neptune by Anna Banks
Scatlet by Marissa Meyer
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Better When He's Bad by Jay Crownover
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

That's a huge amount of books for me, but I used last of my gift cards left from Christmas and birthday since I'll be moving in Scotland next month I had to use them before. And books. I'm so excited to read them, I've especially waited for The Lovely and the Lost and Cruel Beauty a long time to be published in paperbacks with the covers I wanted them. And now the wait it over!