Hi everyone, I hope you’re having an amazing day! I was nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award a few months ago by Holly @ Nut Free Nerd and I finally came around to writing this post. Thank you Holly for the nomination, it was so kind. I hope you all enjoy this post, and my answers!
Thank the person who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
Answer the eleven questions sent by the person who nominated you.
Nominate eleven blogs to receive the award and write them eleven new questions.
List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or your blog.
1. What’s your biggest source of motivation when it comes to blogging?
Amazing books and other bloggers to be honest! I blog because I love books, and I want to get to know other bloggers too. I mean getting to know other people who love books as much as you do, reading their posts, and them reading mine is just the greatest feeling.
2. What inspires you?
Everything. I like to take inspiration from my day-to-day life as much as possible, and bring that into my life and blogging.
3. Out of all of your posts, which one is your favorite?
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?
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.
“Don’t have a best friend that’s a girl” — this was the advice from my older cousin. I didn’t take it. Because he followed with, “friends don’t f*ck friends. And you’ll want to f*ck her.”
It was terrible advice.
My cousin should’ve told me that being best friends with Baylee Wright — since she was twelve — would be the best and worst decision of my life. He should have told me to protect her from what was coming. He should have told me that when a darkness crawled towards us, there’d be no safety net.
Now I’ve signed back on to the same Vegas acrobatic show as Baylee, working together for the first time in years. And she tells me that she’s having trouble in a certain “area” of her life — because of our past.
“You can help me fix it,” she says. And then she hands me a list.
Recommended for readers 18+ for mature content. Luka Kotova is introduced in Amour Amour, and Infini takes place in the same acrobatic world. However, it’s not necessary to read Amour Amour prior to Infini.
Infini by Krista & Becca Ritchie tells the story of Jamaican-American Baylee Wright and Russian-American Luka Kotova and takes you on a captivating and unexpected journey that will sweep you away to the sound of the circus. Infini is nothing like I expected it to be, and everything I needed it to be, and more. It’s beautiful, full of culture, music, raw emotion and battles impossible to overcome. But as they say, the circus is where the impossible becomes possible. This book has a lot more angst than I expected, and with both the bff-to-lovers trope and the forbidden love trope, I’m absolutely certain that this book will move readers just as much as it has me. I was mesmerized from beginning to end, with not a single dull moment in sight. Infini deals with a lot of heavy topics, that are in no way romanticized. It deals with depression, kleptomania, bulimia, and abuse. All of this is mentioned in a detailed trigger warning at the beginning of the book. All of the topics are dealt with in a very respectful manner in the book but should be taken into consideration before reading.
Hi everyone, and welcome to my third 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 Aries.
This week we are embracing fire, the element of the Aries, the one that they carry inside of them. Like every other zodiac sign, the Aries have their strengths and weaknesses, and with these qualities in mind I have tried to find suitable book recommendations. I hope that whoever you are, whether you are an Aries yourself or someone who knows an Aries, you’ll enjoy these book recommendations.
The books I’ve chosen are ones that I think celebrate Aries 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 Taurus, see previous recommendations here.
Today is the cover reveal for Keeping the Distance by Clarisse David. This cover reveal is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. This cover is designed by Daniel Tinagan.
Keeping the Distance (I Heart Iloilo #1) By Clarisse David Genre: Romance Age category: Young Adult Release Date: February 6, 2017
Blurb:
No bets. No fake relationships. Just a very real one that has to be kept under wraps.
Seventeen-year-old Melissa wants to dye her hair cotton candy pink and focus on her ukulele instead of Physics. But she can’t. As the daughter of a Catholic school principal, living up to her model student image 24/7 is a must. Something’s about to give under all the pressure. She only hopes it isn’t her.
Getting involved with a troublemaking basketball player is the last possible thing she needs…
Lance is used to getting what he wants. With a pretty face he uses to full advantage and his role as co-captain of the basketball team, the easy way is the only way he’s ever known. Until the day he notices the prim Melissa he’s known forever is actually hot and decides to ask her out. He has no idea he’s about to learn the lesson of a lifetime.
Not getting what he wants might exactly be what he needs.
About the Author:
Clarisse David is a Young Adult and New Adult author from the land of epic heat waves a.k.a. the Philippines. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and cannot survive without Taylor Swift songs, red lipstick, and books. When not hanging out on Twitter, she can be found working on her latest writing project.
Giveaway
There is a cover reveal wide giveaway for the cover reveal of Keeping the Distance. These are the prizes you can win:
– One winner will win an ebook copy of Keeping the Distance by Clarisse David and an ebook of their choice from #romanceclass. See the whole list of romanceclass books here: http://www.romanceclass.com
– 2 winners will each win an ebook copy of Keeping the Distance by Clarisse David
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.
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.
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.
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.
Synopsis: 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?
Thank you C.T. Callahan for my copy of Plastic Wings. This book has officially become one of my new favorites and I’m truly grateful I won it in your giveaway.
Plastic Wings is one of my new favorite books, and it even sparked my love for fantasy. I’ve only been reading contemporary books for months now, and it’s so refreshing to be reading fantasy again, and one about angels too. I haven’t done that in ages. There are literally so many amazing things to highlight about Plastic Wings; the strong heroine of color that is the most relatable girl ever, the diverse cast and the epic world C.T. Callahan has created, are just a few.
Synopsis: They’re enemies who will do anything to win…including each other.
When Julie Hong wins a spot on a fashion design reality TV show, she celebrates by picking up a hot English guy in a hotel bar. But too many drinks leads to a night of embarrassment and a major hangover, and wow is she glad she’ll never see him again. Until the show starts, and he’s on it too.
Julie quickly realizes she’s out of her league among the other designers, and Gavin Bennett, with his cocky grin and sexy accent, is her biggest competition. Julie can’t decide if she wants to kiss him or kill him. Or both.
After she’s almost kicked off, Julie convinces Gavin to pretend they’re sleeping together for the camera. The ploy works, but as they get closer to the show’s finale their fake relationship starts to become too real. But only one of them can win the show—and they might both end up heartbroken.
Thank you Victory Editing for my review copy of More Than Fashion. I received this review copy in exchange for an honest review; this does not affect my opinion.
“Even though they were my competition, I felt a kinship with them. We were creators chasing after a shared dream. We all wanted the same thing: to win.”
More Than Fashion is a fun, light and entertaining new adult book. The book is a reality show in the form of a contest between a bunch of people who all want to be a successful fashion designer. The construction of the show is very much like Project Runway, and I absolutely love this concept. I personally love fashion, even if I’m not very good at it, so imagining the dresses and outfits was really an extra bonus for me as to why I enjoyed More Than Fashion so much. What I also really liked was how the main character, Julie, was somehow a part of this show even if she had a lot of stuff working against her and how this contest gave her a real chance to fulfill her dream. If only she can win.
Olivia Chanel's Stories in Space 