Cover Reveal for Crawdad by Lisa Cresswell

November 30, 2016 Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Hi everyone, today I have a really exciting cover reveal for you. I’m here to show you the cover of Crawdad by Lisa Cresswell. The book sounds amazing, and the cover is great. See the cover below and read the synopsis.

You can read the book synopsis for Crawdad here:

Seventeen-year-old Jamil Ramos grew up on Alabama’s Gulf Coast believing his mom, Loretta, was his only living relative. She put a trumpet in his hands as a toddler and sparked his love of jazz. But when Loretta drops a bomb on Jamil from her deathbed- she’s not his mama and his daddy is still alive, living in Charleston, S.C. – his world is turned upside down.

Now, with the only mama he’s ever known gone and the Loyola University trumpet audition less than a week away, Jamil has trouble feeling his music. When his band teacher tells him to get it together, Jamil decides to hitchhike to South Carolina over to find his father and get his questions answered. All he has is a name –Leon Ramos.

Jamil relies on the kindness of the strangers he meets-a gay teen kicked out of his home, a runaway prostitute, and a street musician-as he makes his way across Florida and Georgia trying to avoid the cops along the way. But when Jamil is robbed of his most prized possession, his trumpet, his plans go anywhere but where he’d hoped. That trumpet was supposed to be his ticket for a scholarship, the only way to college his mama could give him. Lost and alone without it, Jamil wonders if finding his father is worth risking his future.

What do you think about the cover? Do you want to read this book as much as I do when it comes out?

The Cover Reveal is hosted by Rich in Variety Tours.

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Welcome To The Ballet World (+Book Recs)

November 19, 2016April 3, 2018 Olivia Chanel4 Comments

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Welcome to the ballet world, filled with beautiful dancers, pink shoes, and lots and lots of secrets. Being a ballerina can be both the most wonderful and most rewarding thing, but it’s a vicious world and comes with a lot of darkness as well. If this is something that interests you, let me present to you my first book recommendations for ballet themed books.

Cover Reveal for Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett #HollywoodHomicide

October 24, 2016 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

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.

About 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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Cover Reveal for Plastic Wings by C.T. Callahan

October 20, 2016October 23, 2016 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

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…

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?

Add the book on Goodreads.

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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Oh What The HIATUS

October 17, 2016October 23, 2016 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

41rpectkiml Hi 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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Top Ten Tuesday #4 Top Ten All Time Favorite Diverse Books

September 13, 2016October 18, 2016 Olivia Chanel6 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 Top Ten ALL TIME Favorite Books Of X Genre. Even though this theme is almost like torture, picking favorites is really hard, this list just had to be made. However, I’m putting a twist on it. Instead of picking my all time favorite books in a specific genre I’m choosing my top ten favorite diverse books. These books have amazed me and mesmerized me. I want everyone to know of these books so they can read them too.

1. Interim Goddess of Love by Mina V. Esguerra. Buy on Amazon.
2. Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton. Buy on Amazon.
3. The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock. Buy on Amazon.
4. Crazy, Stupid, Fauxmance by Shellee Roberts. Buy on Amazon.
5. More Than Fashion by Elizabeth Briggs. Buy on Amazon.

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6. Keeping Her Secret by Sarah Nicolas. Buy on Amazon.
7. We Awaken by Calista Lynne. Buy on Amazon.
8. Unicorn Tracks by Julia Ember. Buy on Amazon.
9. Roller Girl by Vanessa North. Buy on Amazon.
10. Far From You by Tess Sharpe. Buy on Amazon.

What books did you pick this week for Top Ten Tuesday? What genre did you pick? Or did you put a twist on the theme like I did?

There is PRIDE 12 months a year

June 30, 2016April 3, 2018 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Today July 30th marks the last day of Pride Month, a month in celebration of the LGBTQIA community. Or more precisely, a month for the celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex and asexual people.

“I am a human being just as deserving of love and happiness as the next person. I tell myself this every day.”

– Dirty London by Kelley York

June has been a month filled with both sadness and happiness, one where we have seen that there is still a lot of hate and ignorance towards the LGBTQIA community but also a lot of love. We have seen people come together to fight against that hate, to fight hate with love. As we exit this month, I think we should all remember that though there are people out there who wish great evil upon the LGBT community, there are thousands more that are filled with love, acceptance and hope. Love is love is love, and love always wins in the end.

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This month has been a great month when it comes to books in correlation to the LGBT+ community. We have had Julia Ember (author of Unicorn Tracks) and her #ReadProud challenge which I think has been an absolute success. You can tell that people have really read more LGBTQIA books with this tag, have promoted more of these books and put them in the spotlight they very much deserve.

However, this brings me to another important topic that I think we should all remember. June, the official Pride Month, is a month once a year where we celebrate LGBTQIA, however, we need to remember that every single month is Pride Month for this community. The ups and downs, the good and the bad, they’re something people in this community face every day and therefore the support for this community and the books connected to this community should be there in the spotlight more than just once a year. The support we have seen this month, we should see it every month. We have to support LGBTQIA authors and LGBTQIA books all the time. Therefore I want to recommend you as many LGBTQIA books as I can, both books that are already published and books that are yet to come. We should also remember that when we support authors, we should put extra focus on books that are #ownvoices, and also have intersectional diversity because these are the books that need the attention the most. These are the books readers need.

The Fruity Book Tag

May 13, 2016October 19, 2016 Olivia Chanel1 Comment

Hey guys! The other week I was playing around with ideas for the blog and potential blog posts and then this idea hit me. A book tag! I have seen a lot of these going around, and though I have been tagged to do two (I think) I just thought it’d be really fun to make my own. It’s pretty simple, there are six different fruits and six different topics. Down below are my choices but I’m dying to know yours. I don’t know a lot of book bloggers yet but I’m tagging Amy at Book, Babbles and Blues, Sil and Mana at The Book Voyagers, Nini and Devon at Some Love Is Infinite and Nashaly at Books After Midnight. However, if you are reading this and would like to join the fruity fun, then you are hereby TAGGED!

APPLES – a book with forbidden love

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Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick is an old favorite book of mine, and you can definitely see how it’s about forbidden love. It is about Patch, a fallen angel, and Nora, who is everything Patch cannot have. Their love goes against every law, oath and basic common sense in their world filled with fallen angels, humans and the immortals.

PINEAPPLES – a book with a latinx character

Crazy, Stupid, Fauxmance by Shellee Roberts is about Mariely Hinojosa, a hispanic girl, with lots of personality and charm. I absolutely love Mariely. She is witty and beautiful, but still insecure about herself from time to time. However, she grows so much throughout this book and no matter what she is faced with, she gets through it due to her strength.

WATERMELONS – a book that takes place in the summer

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The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han is about Belly, Jeremiah and Conrad and the summers they spend together at their families’ shared beach house. Jeremiah and Conrad have been Belly’s brother figures, her crushes and more. However, a lot will happen this summer that’ll change their future ones. It’ll be a wonderful and terrific summer all at once.

BANANAS – a book that is anti-slutshaming

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Rikki by Abigail Strom is a New Adult about Rikki and Sam who have hated each other since junior high. However, when they start college they decide on a truce. The reason why this book is anti-slutshaming is because Rikki and her group of friends are so different in their sexual experience yet always respect everyone’s choices.

MANGOES – a book with non-western setting

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Huntress by Malinda Lo is a fantasy book that has Chinese influences and is inspired by I Ching. I actually haven’t read this one yet but from everything I’ve seen and heard I just know I’m dying to. It is a book filled with action and romance, and two girls that have been set out on a mission to save their people’s survival.

POMEGRANATES – a same-sex ship

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Far From You by Tess Sharpe is one of my favorite books of all time. This young adult is about recovering addict Sophie and Mina. Mina died in what everyone thinks was a drug deal gone wrong, however, Sophie was there and is the only one who knows the truth. Mina was murdered. This is a story filled with secrets, two girls who were in love, a hunt for a killer and the dangers that comes with it.

That was it for this fruity book tag, what would have been your answers? Please let me know below or make a post on your own blog, I can’t wait to hear it!

Disclaimer: These pictures were taken from Freepik, a website that provides free graphic resources to everyone. I do in no way claim ownership and all credits goes to the respectful owners.

Book Review of More Than Fashion by Elizabeth Briggs

April 11, 2016September 8, 2020 Olivia Chanel2 Comments

More Than Fashion by Elizabeth Briggs

Publication Date: July 30, 2015.

Publisher: Elizabeth Briggs Books.

Genres: New Adult, Romance, and Contemporary.

Rating:

Selling points: A reality show like Project Runway, super steamy romance, witty and strong main character.

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository

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.

Book Review of Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

April 8, 2016September 8, 2020 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Publication Date: February 2, 2016.

Publisher: Philomel Books.

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, World War II, and Survival.

Rating:

Selling points: Remarkable characters, important and relevant story, a book that will stay with you once you finish it.

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Synopsis: Winter, 1945. Four teenagers. Four secrets.

Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war.

As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.

Yet not all promises can be kept.

Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II. An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope.

Salt to the Sea is a remarkable book, one I will recommend to friends and family for years to come. The story is about four teenagers who meet on the run searching for an escape from the brutality of World War II. They are all haunted by the horror, tragedy, lies, and secrets that follow them and the war they are all in the middle of.

These four characters – Joana, Florian, Emilia, and Alfred – are all hunted by their own secrets, and their very first line in their own chapters tells us what torments them the most. It gives you an insight to how burdened a young man or woman could be because of the choices, mistakes, and sacrifices they made because of the horrible circumstances brought to them by evil men and war.