Author: Olivia Chanel

Waiting on Wednesday #5 How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

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Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. This week I’m anticipating How To Make a Wish. The synopsis sounds amazing and the cover is the cutest. I can totally see this book being one of my favorites 2017. I’m grabby hands all over it.

download.jpegHow to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

Expected publication: May 2, 2017

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT

Add to your To Be Read shelf on Goodreads.

Pre-order on Amazon or Book Depository.

Synopsis: All seventeen year-old Grace Glasser wants is her own life. A normal life in which she sleeps in the same bed for longer than three months and doesn’t have to scrounge for spare change to make sure the electric bill is paid. Emotionally trapped by her unreliable mother, Maggie, and the tiny cape on which she lives, she focuses on her best friend, her upcoming audition for a top music school in New York, and surviving Maggie’s latest boyfriend—who happens to be Grace’s own ex-boyfriend’s father.

Her attempts to lay low until she graduates are disrupted when she meets Eva, a girl with her own share of ghosts she’s trying to outrun. Grief-stricken and lonely, Eva pulls Grace into midnight adventures and feelings Grace never planned on. When Eva tells Grace she likes girls, both of their worlds open up. But, united by loss, Eva also shares a connection with Maggie. As Grace’s mother spirals downward, both girls must figure out how to love and how to move on.

What books are you currently anticipating? What was your pick for Waiting on Wednesday this week?

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Top Ten Tuesday #5 Top Ten Favorite Romantic Movies

Olivia Chanel12 Comments

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. If you want to read more about their blog feature and join the fun, you can do it here.

This week the theme for Top Ten Tuesday is Movie Freebie and I chose to pick my top ten favorite romantic movies. I’m a sucker for romantic movies, and romcoms too, and I’ve literally watched so many over the years. I do, however, wish Hollywood would diversify their movies more. We deserve it. Below you can see my picks for this week.

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  1. Easy A
  2. Valentine’s Day
  3. Friends with Benefits
  4. The Longest Ride
  5. Something Borrowed
  6. Barefoot
  7. Two Night Stand
  8. 27 dresses
  9. The Right Kind of Wrong
  10. The Prince and Me

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What are your favorite romantic movies? Have you watched any of the movies I listed? What movies did you pick for Top Ten Tuesday this week?

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Book Review of First Position by Melissa Brayden

Olivia Chanel2 Comments
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First Position by Melissa Brayden

Publication Date: August 16, 2016.

Publisher: Bold Strokes Books.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Adult, and Lesbian.

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Selling points: Diversity in ballet, opposites attract and beautiful character development.

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Synopsis: Anastasia Mikhelson is the rising star of the New York City Ballet. She’s sacrificed creature comforts, a social life, as well as her own physical well-being for perfection in dance. Even her reputation as The Ice Queen doesn’t faze her. Though Ana’s at the peak of her career, competition from a new and noteworthy dancer puts all she’s worked for in jeopardy.

While Natalie Frederico has shown herself to be a prodigy when it comes to ballet, she much prefers modern dance and living on her own terms. Life is too short for anything else. However, when the opportunity to dance with the New York City Ballet is thrust upon her, it’s not like she could say no. Dealing with the company’s uptight lead is another story, however. When the two are forced to work side-by-side, sparks begin to fly onstage and off.

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Thank you, Bold Strokes Books, for my review copy of First Position. I received this review copy in exchange for an honest review; this does not affect my opinion. Any quotes mentioned below are taken from the review copy and are subject to change upon publication.

First Position is a really great book. It’s a book I want to say I love, even if it has its flaws. This book explores the ballet community, injuries, love, emotions, and unexpected change, and it does it so well. First Position is a book about opposites attracting, the passion within, and in the end, it also explores what’s truly important in life.

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Forget Me Always by Sara Wolf Blog Tour

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Welcome to the blog tour for Forget Me Always by Sara Wolf, the second book in the Lovely Vicious series. This a book spotlight where you can read more about the book and the series, and there’s also a giveaway at the end.

forget-me-always-coverForget Me Always (Lovely Vicious #2) by Sara Wolf
Date Released: November 1, 2016
Publisher: Entangled Teen

It’s been three years, twenty-five weeks, and five days since Isis Blake fell in love, and if she has it her way, it’ll stretch into infinity. Since then, she’s punched Jack Hunter — her nemesis-turned-maybe-something-more—in the face, survived a brutal attack by her mom’s abusive ex thanks to Jack’s heroics, and then promptly forgotten all about him.

The one bright spot for Isis is Sophia, the ephemeral girl who shares Isis’s hospital stay as well as a murky past with Jack. But as Isis’s memories return, she finds it harder and harder to resist what she felt for Jack, and Jack finds it impossible to stay away from the only girl who’s ever melted the ice around his heart.

As the dark secrets surrounding Sophia emerge, Isis realizes Jack isn’t who she thought he was. He’s dangerous. But when Isis starts receiving terrifying emails from an anonymous source, that danger might be the only thing protecting her from something far more threatening.

Her past.

Add to Goodreads.

Purchase Links:

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

Link to Tour Schedule.

Other Books in the Series:

Love Me Never Cover (1).pngLove Me Never (Lovely Vicious #1) by Sara Wolf
Date Released: April 5, 2016
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance / Dark Comedy
Previously published as Lovely Vicious, this fully revised and updated edition is full of romance, intrigue, and laugh-out-loud moments.

Don’t love your enemy. Declare war on him.

Seventeen-year-old Isis Blake hasn’t fallen in love in three years, nine weeks, and five days, and after what happened last time, she intends to keep it that way. Since then she’s lost eighty-five pounds, gotten four streaks of purple in her hair, and moved to Buttcrack-of-Nowhere, Ohio, to help her mom escape a bad relationship.

All the girls in her new school want one thing—Jack Hunter, the Ice Prince of East Summit High. Hot as an Armani ad, smart enough to get into Yale, and colder than the Arctic, Jack Hunter’s never gone out with anyone. Sure, people have seen him downtown with beautiful women, but he’s never given high school girls the time of day. Until Isis punches him in the face.

Jack’s met his match. Suddenly everything is a game.

The goal: Make the other beg for mercy.

The game board: East Summit High.

The reward: Something neither of them expected.

Giveaway:

Contest ends November 18, 2016

  • One (1) winner will receive an audiobook copy of Love Me Never by Sara Wolf

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About The Author:

Sara Wolf is a twenty-something author who adores baking, screaming at her cats, and screaming at herself while she types hilarious things. When she was a kid, she was too busy eating dirt to write her first terrible book. Twenty years later, she picked up a keyboard and started mashing her fists on it and created the monster known as the Lovely Vicious series. She lives in San Diego with two cats, a crippling-yet-refreshing sense of self-doubt, and not enough fruit tarts ever.

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Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Cover Reveal for Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett #HollywoodHomicide

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Hi everyone, today I have a cover reveal for a book that looks absolutely amazing. It’s an adult cozy mystery with a black main character, and the cover is breathtaking. You don’t have to take my word for it, just look for yourself and swoon with me. I personally have a huge soft spot for mystery books since I used to read those books way before I ever read YA books as a kid, so I know I’ll be getting my hands on this one. You should too! However, without further ado, I shall now show you the cover for Hollywood Homicide,

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Title: Hollywood Homicide

Book 1 in the Detective By Day Series

Publisher: Midnight Ink

Release Date: August 8, 2017

You can read the book blurb for Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett here:

Dayna Anderson doesn’t set out to solve a murder. All the semi-famous, mega-broke black actress wants is to help her parents keep their house. After witnessing a deadly hit-and-run, she figures pursuing the fifteen-grand reward isn’t the craziest thing a Hollywood actress has done for some cash.

But what starts as simply trying to remember a speeding car soon blossoms into a full-on investigation. As Dayna digs deeper into the victim’s life, she wants more than just reward money. She’s determined to find the poor woman’s killer too. When she connects the accident to a notorious Hollywood crime spree, Dayna chases down leads at paparazzi hot spots, celeb homes and movie premieres. She loves every second—until someone tries to kill her.

And there are no second takes in real life.

Kellye Garrett.JPGAbout Kellye Garrett

Kellye Garrett spent 8 years working in Hollywood, including a stint writing for the CBS drama Cold Case. People were always surprised to learn what she did for a living—probably because she seemed way too happy to be brainstorming ways to murder people. A former magazine editor, Kellye holds a B.S. in magazine writing from Florida A&M and an MFA in screenwriting from USC’s famed film school. Having moved back to her native New Jersey, she spends her mornings commuting to Manhattan for her job at a leading media company—while still happily brainstorming ways to commit murder. Her first novel, Hollywood Homicide, will be released by Midnight Ink in August 2017. It’s the first book in the Detective by Day series.

Connect with Kellye

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Blog

You can pre-order the e-book and print edition on Amazon.

What do you guys think about the cover for Hollywood Homicide? Will you be pre-ordering it? I know I’m just dying to get my hands on it.

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My Latest Book Purchases

Olivia Chanel5 Comments

Unexpectedly, I have bought a lot of books this month. Both ebooks for my kindle and paperbacks, two I bought from Book Depository and the rest I bought in a little secondhand shop in my town. Sometimes, especially when I’m in a book slump, I tend to go on a shopping spree to help me cure that. Also book deals on Amazon are my savior, I mean 99 cents for a book? That is heaven. I thought I’d share which books I’ve bought this month, and if they look interesting you can get them too!

Ebooks Bought in October

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Paperbacks Bought New in October

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Paperbacks Bought Secondhand in October

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I can’t believe I have bought that I have bought this many books, sometimes you don’t realize it until you actually put it all together like this. Most of these were rather cheap, somewhere between a dollar or two so it looks more expensive than it was, but I’m excited to read them all nevertheless. A good book to cozy up with on a cold day is the best feeling.

What books have you bought lately? Have you read any of the books I purchased?

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Cover Reveal for Plastic Wings by C.T. Callahan

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Hi everyone! Today I have a cover reveal for you all for C.T. Callahan’s book Plastic Wings. The expected publication date is November 22, 2016 by Three Little Books Co. Without further ado, I now present to you, the cover of Plastic Wings…

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You can read the book synopsis for Plastic Wings by C.T. Callahan here:

When seven-year-old Evie Weiss discovers a strange, sickly boy in her otherwise familiar forest, she has no idea what it holds for her world. He is a dark angel, one of a race of humanoid beings that feed on humanity and tear Evie’s world down around her. Years later, as humanity mounts a counter-attack against the dark angels, Evie remembers the boy in the forest and finds herself torn between her loyalty to her own people and feelings of compassion for these strange creatures that first captivated her as a child. It is the quest of one girl to unite two worlds so separated by war, but how can she close the gap between two races so determined to hate each other?

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Author Bio:

C.T. Callahan is the author of young adult fantasy, sci-fi, and a weird assortment of short stories. Hailing from a mixed-racial background, she’s pledged her writing to contribute to the spread of diversity in fiction and the fight for equality. When away from reading and writing, you’ll most likely find her engaged in art or snuggling cute dogs.

Learn more at CTCallahan.com.

Are you as excited about this book as I am? Have you added the book on Goodreads yet? What do you think of the cover of Plastic Wings?

The Cover Reveal is hosted by Rich in Variety Tours.

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Waiting On Wednesday #4 Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys

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Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. I’m currently anticipating Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys, it’s a book that looks so amazing and even a little mysterious, which I love.

Krys_9780553508024_jkt_all_r1.inddDead Girls Society by Michelle Krys

Expected publication: November 8, 2016

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller

Add to your To Be Read shelf on Goodreads.

Pre-order on Amazon or Book Depository.

Synopsis: You are cordially invited to participate in a game of thrills and dares. Tell no one, and come alone. If you dare.

Hope is sick of everyone treating her like she’s breakable. Sure, she has cystic fibrosis (basically really bad lungs), but she’s tired of being babied by her mom and her overprotective best friend, Ethan, not to mention worrying about paying for her expensive medication and how she’s going to afford college. And she’s bored with life in her run-down New Orleans suburb.

When an invitation arrives from a mysterious group that calls itself the Society, Hope jumps at the chance for some excitement. This could be her ticket out. All she has to do is complete a few dares and she might win some real money.

But the Society isn’t all it seems . . . and soon Hope finds that playing the game isn’t a choice—it’s a requirement.

What book are you waiting for this Wednesday? Are you also waiting for Dead Girls Society?

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Oh What The HIATUS

Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

41rpectkimlHi readers! I have a little personal update for you. I think maybe some of you have noticed my absence from the blog lately. Life has been hectic, on a lot of fronts. The creative writing class I’m currently taking is a lot of work and I’ve also had one of the worst reading slumps ever. However, I’m slowly starting to feel better, managing time better and also yesterday I started the book Prep and Prejudice that I am falling in love with (bye-bye reading slump). With all of the positive energy I’m currently feeling I believe I’ll soon, though slowly, get back into the whole blogging thing. I still might make fewer posts than I did over the summer, but hopefully you’ll enjoy it nevertheless.

However, before I go, I really do have to tell you all about Prep and Prejudice by Miren B. Flores. It’s a book that takes places in the Philippines, and has a bit of Gossip Girl vibe going on. It’s about a group of rich kids, and one girl, Andrea, who is not rich but has through life ended up in their company anyway. It totally got that enemies to lover thing going on, and I love the angst. I definitely recommend it guys, so much swoon! You can add it on Goodreads, and buy it on Amazon (it’s only 99c, what are you waiting for??).

Are you guys reading a good book at the moment? Which one?

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The Melody of You and Me Blog Tour: Review + Playlist

Olivia Chanel1 Comment

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Hi, readers! Today I have a post for Rich in Variety‘s blog tour for The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis. I have been following the author, Maria, for a while now on Twitter and when I saw that you could sign up to be a part of this blog tour, I just knew I had to do it. When I first read the synopsis for The Melody of You and Me I thought this book sounded great and now that I have read it, I can tell you this. I was wrong, it was better than great, it was amazing! You can read my review below and also see a playlist for this book.

About the Book

Author: M. Hollis
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: September 29, 2016
Genre(s): New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT+
Page Number: 82

After dropping out of university and breaking up with her girlfriend of three years, Chris Morrison’s life is now a mind-numbing mess. She doubts that working at the small neighborhood bookstore is going to change that. The rest of her time is spent mostly playing guitar and ignoring the many messages her mother keeps sending her about going back to college.

But one day, an adorable and charming new bookseller waltzes her way into Chris’s life. Josie Navarro is sweet, flirty, and she always has a new book in her hands. The two girls start a fast friendship that, for Chris, holds the promise of something more. But is she reading too much into this or is it possible that Josie feels the same way?

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I can’t imagine a universe where The Melody of You and Me doesn’t get all the 5 planets (or as mundane people call it, stars) in the world, just for being absolutely fantastic. This story blew me away, in the best way possible. It’s funny, it’s cute and it explores so many topics that so many people just like to ignore instead of face head-on. The Melody of You and Me is about two girls, Chris and Josie, who fall in love over time spent working together in a bookstore. Their story will make your heart swell with love and will have you flailing in your bed, making weird facial expressions, from fangirling over how amazingly cute it is. Don’t doubt this for a single second, that’s just the way it is.

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