Category: events

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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ARC August 2016 TBR

Olivia Chanel1 Comment

Today is the first day of August and I’ll be partaking in an event called ARC August created by Octavia and Shelly at Read.Sleep.Repeat. I really couldn’t be more excited, I have quite a few couple of ARCs that I want to get through this month and joining this event will really push me to get those review copies behind me.

So which books will I be reading? Well first of all we should look through which ARCs I actually own. Mostly I have a bunch I got throughout the year on Netgalley, and the ones I currently have on my Netgalley shelf are,

Another ARC I also have, which was given to me by the author is,

All in all I have 9 ARCs that I can choose from and read but considering the fact that August is going to be a pretty busy month for me I’m not sure I’ll be able to get through them all. The goal I’m going to aim for is 4, about one ARC per week. Will I make it? I’m not sure but I’m excited to find out!

Are you partaking in ARC August? Which books are you going to read this month? Let me know in the comments or on my Twitter.

Happy Some Kind of Perfect Release Day!

Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Today, Friday May 20th 2016 marks the day The Addicted Series by Krista and Becca Ritchie ends. The Addicted series starts with Lily and Lo in Addicted To You and as the story progressed we got to know Rose and Connor in Kiss The Sky and Daisy and Ryke in Hothouse Flower. If you still haven’t read the series then you can get the first book for free on Amazon here or on any other retailer. The recommended reading order can be found on Krista and Becca’s tumblr or be seen below.

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In case you missed it, earlier this week I made a blog post for the surprise Addicted Series Lovefest for Krista and Becca and if you want to check it out you can do that here.

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Some Kind of Perfect is a full-length epilogue novel that will include all of the POVs of the six main characters that have been present all throughout the series. You can now purchase Some Kind of Perfect on Amazon. To celebrate the release of Some Kind of Perfect I have decided to hold a little international giveaway on Twitter. The rules are simple, there will be three winners and each winner will get one Some Kind of Perfect bookmark and one bookmark of their choice from the ones in my pictures. Retweet the tweet below to enter.

Now I have to go and continue reading Some Kind of Perfect and die because it’s so perfect, beautiful and sad (because it’s ending). In other words, it’s bittersweet. I hope that when we have all read it we can cry over this amazing, epic and inspiring series together and remember where it all started. After all, falling in love was just the beginning.

Book Blitz: The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver

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I am so excited to help spread the word that THE SECRETS WE KEEP by Trisha Leaver is now out in paperback!

If you haven’t yet added this awesome book to your shelf, now’s the perfect time. Just scroll down to learn more about the book and author, to read an excerpt, and to enter the giveaway for a chance to win an Amazon gift card!

About the Book

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Title: The Secrets We Keep

Author: Trisha Leaver

Paperback release date: April 26, 2016

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) | Square Fish

Pages: 304

Formats: Paperback 978-1250073624), hardcover (978-0374300463), audio (978-1501212222), eBook (ASIN: B00OFKKFFQ)

Genre: YA Contemporary

Ages: 12 and up

Description: Twin sisters. A fatal accident. A devastating lie. Which girl survived?

“A girl takes over her twin sister’s identity in this emotionally charged page-turner about the complicated bond between sisters.”

Ella and Maddy Lawton are identical twins. Ella has spent her high school years living in popular Maddy’s shadows, but she has never been envious of Maddy. In fact, she’s chosen the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined Maddy’s world.

When–after a heated argument–Maddy and Ella get into a tragic accident that leaves Maddy dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy. Feeling responsible for Maddy’s death and everyone’s grief, Ella makes a split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy. And everyone believes her. Caught in a web of lies, Ella is faced with two options–confess her deception and risk devastating those who loved Maddy, or give up her own dreams and live her sister’s life.

Find it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | IndieBound | Goodreads

Praise For The Book

*“Leaver’s story is certainly entertaining and intriguing. VERDICT This should be a primary purchase for any library with patrons who love melodramatic mysteries and romance.” SLJ, STARRED AUDIO REVIEW

Named one of the best YA Novels for Summer by Teen Vogue (2015)

“Watching Ella grapple with questions about life, death, and love makes for rewarding reading.” ~Publishers Weekly

“Leaver’s masterful skill of storytelling and portrayal of sisterly love makes THE SECRETS WE KEEP a lit- erary beauty.” ~Teenreads

“Haunting and beautiful, THE SECRETS WE KEEP, is a gripping, evocative examination of siblings’ complex relationships. It compels us to question what we know, or think we know, about our loved ones and–most of all–ourselves.” ~Karen Rock, Award-winning YA author and co-writer of the bestselling CAMP BOYFRIEND series

Quotes From The Book

“I’d make this up to her, to my parents, to Alex. I’d bury myself and give Maddy my life in return.”

“There was a fear behind his words, a fear that I would change my mind and reveal a secret I didn’t even know.”

“But if you ever want to talk about her…remember who she was and what I loved about her, don’t go to Alex. You come find me.”

Excerpt From The Book

I don’t remember her room being so cold. Even snuggled into her sweater the chill seeps in, settling into my bones like a whisper from beyond. That’s where I will sleep tonight…in Maddy’s bed, surround by her scent. Mom wants to change the sheets, but I won’t let her. The hint of vanilla mingled with Alex’s dark cologne brings a little piece of my sister back to me each night.

The only thing I have left of my old life is a few sketches and a poor replica of the friendship bracelet Josh gave me. It took me days to re-create, to weave the strings into the right pattern. It’s not perfect, but it goes with me everywhere, a tiny reminder of who I once was and what Josh still means to me. The real bracelet is gone, cut off and tossed aside just like my life.

I want to make peace with my choice, but Maddy’s secret haunts me. The dark pieces of her life are hid- den in the back of her closet for no one but me to see. She’s not who I thought she was, but that doesn’t matter. Maddy was my sister, my twin sister, and I’ll do anything for her, including losing myself.

About The Author

TrishaLeaverTrisha Leaver lives on Cape Cod with her husband, three children, and one rather disobedient black lab. She is a chronic daydreamer who prefers the cozy confines of her own imagination to the mundane routine of everyday life. She writes Young Adult Contemporary Fiction, His- torical Fiction, Psychological Horror and Science Fiction and is pub- lished with FSG/ Macmillan, Flux/Llewellyn and Merit Press. Her YA Contemporary, THE SECRETS WE KEEP, was named one of the best YA novels for summer (2015) by Teen Vogue and received starred reviews from VOYA Magazine and School Library Journal (audio). For more details, check out her website at http://www.trishaleaver.com

Find her: Website | Twitter | Tumblr | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

There is a blitz-wide giveaway, courtesy of the author, for:

  • ONE (1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card

***Giveaway is open to anyone 13 or older who can accept an Amazon Gift Card***

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Book Blitz: Unicorn Tracks by Julia Ember

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Hi guys! Today on this lovely Thursday Unicorn Tracks by Julia Ember comes out and I couldn’t be more excited. It’s about unicorns, girls and other exciting things. Down below you can read an exclusive excerpt, see beautiful art and find all the links you could want. Are you as excited as I am for this book?

About The Book

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Unicorn Tracks

by Julia Ember
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: April 21st 2016
Harmony Ink Press

Summary from Goodreads:

After a savage attack drives her from her home, sixteen-year-old Mnemba finds a place in her cousin Tumelo’s successful safari business, where she quickly excels as a guide. Surrounding herself with nature and the mystical animals inhabiting the savannah not only allows Mnemba’s tracking skills to shine, it helps her to hide from the terrible memories that haunt her.

Mnemba is employed to guide Mr. Harving and his daughter, Kara, through the wilderness as they study unicorns. The young women are drawn to each other, despite that fact that Kara is betrothed. During their research, they discover a conspiracy by a group of poachers to capture the Unicorns and exploit their supernatural strength to build a railway. Together, they must find a way to protect the creatures Kara adores while resisting the love they know they can never indulge.

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Buy Links:

Amazon│Harmony Ink Press

Art

Excerpt From The Book

When he reached the baobab tree, the unicorn looked around in confusion. The trance of the moonstone seemed to break with the humans closing in on him. He sniffed the horns around him, squealing and pawing the ground in distress. Three of the riders threw their ropes, catching him around the neck. As he struggled to back away, others advanced. Men taunted the stallion with their whips, making him kick and try to rear. When his feet lifted, they threw more ropes, circling the nooses around his powerful feet. As a group, they wrestled the unicorn to the ground, throwing themselves on top of him the moment his knees touched the grass.

Even with the weight of six on his back, and men all around holding ropes anchoring him to the ground, the stallion kept fighting. His eyes rolled back in his head, his legs thrashed and I could hear his screams from the cliff. I’d never heard a unicorn make a sound before, and hearing it now sent a chill through my entire body. His screams were different than a horse, higher in pitch, with a vibrating tremor that made him sound almost like a singer at the crescendo of a performance.

The leader of the group advanced on the now subdued unicorn, holding what looked like a handsaw. The stallion tried frantically to spear the man with his horn, but three of the followers held the animal’s head in place. Still he tried, snorting and staring his captor in the eye, silver-tipped horn poised like a sword toward the leader’s heart.

Kill him, I found myself praying. Fight them. Kill him and this will all be over.

 The saw began to tremble in the man’s hand as he swiped again and again across the base of the stallion’s horn. Fragments the size of fingernail clippings covered the earth like snow. Beside me, I felt Kara start to shake. Her whole frame quivered with silent sobs. The horn fell to the ground and all at once, the stallion quit struggling. The men climbed off him and loosened their hold on the ropes that bound him.

The group’s leader reached for one of the ropes around the unicorn’s neck. He turned and the stallion followed him, meek as an old broodmare. His eyes seemed to blink back a heavy sadness, the only echo of his proud battle song.

About The Author

julia ember

Originally from Chicago, Julia Ember now resides in Sunny Scotland where she learned to enjoy both haggis and black pudding. She spends her days working as a professional Book Nerd for a large book wholesaler, and her nights writing YA Romantic Fantasy novels.  She also spends an inordinate amount of time managing her growing city-based menagerie of pets with Harry Potter themed names.

A world traveller since childhood, Julia has now visited over 60 countries. Her travels inspire the fictional worlds she writes about and she populates those worlds with magic and monsters.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

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