Tag: contemporary

ARC Review of Bluff by Julie Dill

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Bluff by Julie Dill

Publication Date: February 7, 2017.

Publisher: Amberjack Publishing.

Genres: Young Adult and Contemporary.

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Purchase here: Amazon

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Chelsea Knowles is surrounded by the privileged. Michael Kors gym bags and designer shoes are part of her daily scene, but the talented cheerleader has a secret: she and her dad can barely pay the bills. Broken by his wife walking out on their family, Chelsea’s father ignores his responsibilities. Between cheer costs, grocery bills, electricity, and other regular financial burdens, it’s no surprise when a cut-off notice arrives in the mail. Chelsea knows it’ll be up to her to keep the lights on.

With the deck stacked against her, Chelsea decides to bet their future on the dubious poker knowledge she learned from her father before he gave up on parenting. Nervous but determined, Chelsea heads to a casino with very little security and wins big. Thrilled by her win, she’s quickly drawn to the casino again and again. She risks it all, especially when the attractive, young pit boss takes an interest in her.

Chelsea’s life, no longer filled with cheerleading, school, and hanging out with her friends, is now consumed by smoky casino floors and the ups and downs of a gambler’s life. True gamblers know when to fold, but Chelsea keeps betting long after her needs are met. The complicated web of lies soon begins to spin out of control, threatening to expose everything. Will someone see through her bluff?

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Thank you, Amberjack Publishing, for my advanced review copy of Bluff. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review; this does not affect my opinion. Any quotes mentioned below are taken from the ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Bluff by Julie Dill tells the story of 17-year-old Chelsea who lives with her irresponsible dad. Every month they can barely pay their bills, and in a moment of desperation, Chelsea goes to a casino in the hopes of making some cash. There she lies about her name and age and starts playing poker. Bluff had a lot of potential, potential to do amazing things. When I first saw the book, and read its synopsis, I thought, finally a book about teenage addiction, specifically gambling addiction. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations.

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Twitter Giveaway for Infini by Krista & Becca Ritchie

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Hi everyone, to celebrate the fact that Infini by Krista and Becca Ritchie is releasing next week on Tuesday I’m holding a giveaway on Twitter. I’m giving away two kindle copies of the book because I want others to read and love this book as much as I have. You can read my full review here, but I promise you that this book will completely mesmerize you and sweep you off your feet.

You can add Infini on Goodreads here, and you can also pre-order Infini on Amazon at the moment. The book is on sale the first week for 3 USD, and if you pre-order and send your receipt to Krista and Becca on their website you’ll get an exclusive short story from the Addicted series universe set during Halloween, 2018. You can read more about it here.

You can enter my giveaway by retweeting the following tweet on Twitter,

Some information, that I also mentioned on my Twitter under my giveaway,

  • There will be two winners in total.
  • The giveaway ends February 2, and winners will be chosen the day afterwards and must reply within 24 hours.
  • The giveaway is international, but you must have an Amazon account since that is the only place I know how to gift ebooks.

That’s it! I really hope you all will love this book as much as I have, it’s absolutely magical and deserves all of the love in the world. If you want something fun while you wait, check out the official Spotify playlist for Infini here, it’s just amazing!

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Cover Reveal for The Paths We Choose by M. Hollis

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Hi everyone and welcome to the cover reveal for The Paths We Choose by M. Hollis, the standalone sequel to The Melody of You and Me by the same author. The publication date is yet to be announced but this book is one you don’t want to miss. Without further ado, here is the cover for The Paths We Choose…

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The synopsis for The Paths We Choose is the following:

Lily Ferrari enjoys having control over every detail of her life. Ever since she left her parents’ house to gain her freedom, she decided to fully own her autonomy. But an unexpected visit from her little brother may change the path she chooses to follow.

Add to that a casual fling with the bright architect Mayte González, and Lily’s summer is turning out more interesting than she expected. It certainly beats the routine of working extra shifts at Johnson’s Bookstore.
A few weeks before her college life begins, Lily needs to figure out if she’s wrong about the past or if she should continue to protect her heart at all costs.

Sometimes moving forward is only possible if you have the right people by your side.

Add the book on Goodreads.

Author Info

M. Hollis could never decide what to do with her life. From the time she was a child, she has changed her ideas for a career hundreds of times. After writing in hidden notebooks during classes and daydreaming during every spare moment of her day, she decided to fully dedicate herself to her stories. When she isn’t scrolling around her social media accounts or reading lots of femslash fanfiction, you’ll find her crying about female characters and baking cookies.

Twitter | Goodreads

What do you think of the cover? Isn’t it just beautiful? Will you be reading The Paths We Choose when it comes out? 

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Zodiac Recommendations #2 Pisces Books

Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Hi everyone, and welcome to my second week of Zodiac Book Recommendations. Every week I’m recommending books for one of the zodiac signs, starting with Aquarius and ending with Capricorn, after chronological order. This week I have three book recommendations for Pisces.

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We are talking about Pisces this week, the zodiac sign that embraces the element water. The Pisces have their strengths and weaknesses, which can be read about in the graphics, and with these qualities in mind I have tried to find suitable book recommendations. I hope that whoever you are, whether you are a Pisces yourself or someone who knows a Pisces, you’ll enjoy these book recommendations.

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For Pisces, the books I’m recommending are the following,

The books I’ve chosen are ones that I think celebrate Pisces qualities in one way or another. I hope you’ll love these books, and maybe even find a new favorite. Check out my book recommendations for the other zodiac signs too. Next week I’m doing Aries, see previous recommendations here.

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Top Ten Tuesday #7 Eight Underrated Books I’ve Read

Olivia Chanel7 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 Ten Underrated/Hidden Gem Books I’ve Read In The Past Year Or So and I honestly think it’s the best topic. I mean recommending underrated books is literally the best thing ever. So down below is a list of eight books that I think don’t get enough love, and that should be on everyone’s TBR. I love these books beyond anything, and you all need to get them as soon as possible.

  1. Plastic Wings by C.T Callahan.
  2. Rumor Has It by Farrah F. Polestico
  3. My Year of Epic Rock by Andrea Pyros
  4. salt. by Nayyirah Waheed
  5. Dreaming of Antigone by Robin Bridges
  6. The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
  7. Complementary and Acute by Ella Lyons
  8. Prep and Prejudice by Miren B. Flores

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

Olivia Chanel1 Comment

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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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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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Waiting On Wednesday #4 Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys

Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

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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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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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