Book Playlist for How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

Hey, galaxy travelers! Today I’m here with another book playlist for you guys and it’s one for the amazing book How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake. If you guys didn’t know this already, I’m in love with How to Make a Wish and if you want to you can read my review here. The story about Eva and Grace is one that will pull you in and it will make you feel a wide range of emotions from beginning to end. If you want to listen to my interpretation of How to Make a Wish you can do so through my playlist.

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ARC Review of How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

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How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

Publication Date: May 2, 2017.

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers.

Genres: Young Adult, LGBT, and Contemporary.

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Selling points: Bisexual representation, explores different kinds of grief and has an interracial relationship.

Purchase here: Amazon | The 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.

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Thank you, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, for my eARC of How to Make a Wish. 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.

Trigger warning for parental neglect and emotional abuse, as well as implied sexual assault (one of the characters implies they were inappropriately touched at a bar, but the scene is not on the page).

How to Make a Wish surprised me, and had a lot of the aspects I want and crave in an excellent book. All of my friends who read this book early swore it was amazing and How to Make a Wish really delivered, and then some. This book has complex and fully fleshed characters that you will instantly fall in love with. I laughed, I cried (more like bawled like a baby) and was filled with utter joy because of this book, because of Grace’s bravery and Eva’s strength, and their shared love for each other. This book really is something special and I would recommend it to everyone who loves a young adult book that doesn’t shy away from the sad and messy parts of life, the beauty that exists between all of it and the complexity of loving someone and still knowing they’re not treating you right.

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Happy Release Day To The Paths We Choose (feat. Author’s Dream Cast)!

Happy Release Day to The Paths We Choose by Maria Hollis!

We have reached the end of this release week and this amazing and enchanting book about Lily and Mayte is finally out. To celebrate this amazing day with you guys I have Maria Hollis’ dream cast of the characters in her book. They are just amazing, and you have to check them out below. You can add The Paths We Choose on Goodreads here and buy it on Amazon here.

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First of all, we have the protagonist of The Paths We Choose, Lidiane “Lily” Monteiro Ferrari who is portrayed by Bárbara Ferreira. She is determined, organized and somewhat rude but loves her friends, her chosen family, more than anything. In The Paths We Choose you will see what happens after Lily and Mayte have a one-night stand at a party at Mayte and Chris’ shared apartment.

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Next up we have the love interest of the story, Mayte Eliza González who is Chris’ roommate (Chris is one of Lily’s close friends) and the fancast for her is Kristina Elise. Mayte is kind and cares deeply for others. She has an architect degree and loves to create art. She is moving to Florida to do her masters, which is why Lily and Mayte keep things very casual between them after their one-night stand.

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{The Paths We Choose Release Week} Interview with Author Maria Hollis

The Paths We Choose Release Week: Day Four – Interview with Maria Hollis

Hi everyone, there’s only one day left now until The Paths We Choose is out and free in the world. To celebrate this I have an interview with the author Maria Hollis as a part of the blog tour for her book. Check out the other blog posts for the tour here. I seriously love her answers to my questions and hope you will too. Exciting things are coming so I hope you’re ready. Now don’t forget to pre-order the book on Amazon here and to add it on Goodreads. To see my earlier posts for my The Paths We Choose Release Week feature, go here.

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1. What was your favorite part about writing The Paths We Choose?

So many things! This is definitely a story that felt so close to my heart. Writing about a Brazilian girl like me was such a nice experience. I could include little bits of things here and there that only Brazilian people would understand. There are so many books written by U.S. authors that just don’t get what being Latinx means so being able to bring all these different characters to talk about themselves was something I loved to do. And I hope to keep doing that in the next books.

The friendship between all the girls was also a really important thing. My friends have been my strength for such a long time and having a story like that is such a gift. We need more books with female friendships as the driving force of a story.

2. What do you feel is the biggest difference between The Melody of You and Me and The Paths We Choose? 

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Waiting on Wednesday #6 The Gallery of Unfinished Girls by Lauren Karcz

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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 The Gallery of Unfinished Girls by Lauren Karcz. This book sounds so good I need summer to come sooner.

28147258The Gallery of Unfinished Girls by Lauren Karcz

Expected publication: July 25, 2017

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT

Add to your To Be Read shelf on Goodreads.

Pre-order on Amazon or Book Depository.

Synopsis: Mercedes Moreno is an artist. At least, she thinks she could be, even though she hasn’t been able to paint anything worthwhile since her award-winning piece Food Poisoning #1 last year.

Her lack of inspiration might be because her abuela is lying comatose in faraway Puerto Rico after suffering a stroke. Or the fact that Mercedes is in love with her best friend, Victoria, but is too afraid to admit her true feelings.

Despite Mercedes’s creative block, art starts to show up in unexpected ways. A piano appears on her front lawn one morning, and a mysterious new neighbor invites Mercedes to paint with her at the Red Mangrove Estate.

At the Estate, Mercedes can create in ways she never has before. She can share her deepest secrets and feel safe. But Mercedes can’t take anything out of the Estate, including her new-found clarity. As her life continues to crumble around her, the Estate offers more solace than she could hope for. But Mercedes can’t live both lives forever, and ultimately she must choose between this perfect world of art and truth and a much messier reality.

What book are you anticipating this week? Are you also excited for The Gallery of Unfinished Girls?

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Cover Reveal for The Paths We Choose by M. Hollis

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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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 #4 Top Ten All Time Favorite Diverse Books

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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.

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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?

The Hayley Kiyoko Book Tag

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Hi readers, and maybe a few music lovers as well!

Are you seeing what I’m seeing? I created a new book tag! This time it’s all about my favorite artist and singer Hayley Kiyoko. I’m not someone who usually loves all of an artist’s songs but Hayley is the exception, she’s amazing and a real blessing to us all. I’m currently listening to her newest single Gravel To Tempo, which was what made me want to create this tag. The idea is that you should choose a book or a character for the singles that Hayley Kiyoko has released. I’m tagging all of you and I really hope you’ll join me on this fun. Creating this Hayley Kiyoko Book Tag was just the best and I can’t wait to share my answers with you all.

More specifically I’m tagging,

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For Hayley Kiyoko’s song A Belle To Remember you’re supposed to pick a character you’ll always remember. For me that’s Daisy Calloway from the Addicted series by Krista and Becca Ritchie, her bright personality and kind soul is so inspiring. Daisy has never been heard, her voice always forgotten, but throughout the series you see her fighting to find her voice again. I love Daisy because she’s kind and makes everyone else smile even if she’s having a very hard time herself. Listen to A Belle To Remember here.

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For the song Rich Youth you’re supposed to choose a character that keeps on fighting despite the obstacles they’ve faced. For me that has to be Sophie Winters from Far From You by Tess Sharpe. She has been through a car accident, her own drug addiction that followed and the murder of her best friend Mina all while fighting for people to believe her about it. Despite all of this Sophie has always kept on going and never stopped fighting. Listen to Rich Youth here.

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For This Side of Paradise you’re supposed to pick a character with bad luck. I’m picking Jessica Bullock from Anything But Love by Abigail Strom. With her reinvention in high school she lost her best friend and later on in life got engaged to her closeted gay friend. However, as Jessica’s luck would have it, she’s left at the altar. When her old best friend comes back and agrees to go to the Bahamas with her, sparks fly and feelings develop but Jessica is yet again met with bad luck due to terrible timing. Though Jessica gets her happy ending, her luck worked against her. Listen to This Side of Paradise here.

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Hayley Kiyoko’s perhaps most famous song Girls Like Girls is just amazing and here the choice is simple, pick a book with a f/f ship. For me the choice is Riya and Courtney from Keeping Her Secret by Sarah Nicolas, a book that really surprised me by how amazing it is. Riya and Courtney used to be best friends before a secret kiss and Riya moved to another town. Later on they meet each other again at summer camp and old feelings return. It’s complicated, a little bit messy but oh so amazing. Listen to Girls Like Girls here.

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For Cliffs Edge you’re supposed to pick a ship that has had a lot of ups and downs. For me that has to be Kami and Jared from The Lynburn Legacy by Sarah Rees Brennan. Their relationship went from hot to cold all through the series, there was heartbreak, loss and somewhat of a love triangle too. Kami and Jared went through a lot, both together and with other people, but somehow in the end all the angst, plot twists and cliffhangers were worth it. If two people are meant to be, they’ll endure endless ups and downs until they both find the place they where need to be. That’s what happened with Kami and Jared. Listen to Cliffs Edge here.

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For Gravel To Tempo, Hayley Kiyoko’s newest single, you’re supposed to choose a female character who finally embraces who she is. Someone who realizes she can be herself without the approval of others. This fits perfectly for Victoria Dinham from We Awaken by Calista Lynne. She has never really been interested in sex, or kissing, and never really understood why. However, with the help of Ashlinn she begins to understand her asexuality and who she really is. I love how hopeful and amazing this story is, and how Victoria really grows to accept herself. Listen to Gravel To Tempo here.

That was it for my Hayley Kiyoko Book Tag! Will you be doing the tag on your blog too? If you don’t have a book blog, what would you have answered? Comment and let me know!

All the headers are made by me and you’re more than welcome to use them for your own blog post. Feel free to grab them and use them however you like!

Waiting on Wednesday #2 Clancy of the Undertow by Christopher Currie

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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 waiting on Clancy of the Undertow by Christopher Currie. This book is Australian which I think is the coolest, it’s sad but the truth still is that most of the young adult books out there takes place in the US which is just sad. This coming of age story seems very intriguing and one I’m dying to get my hands on.

9781925240405Clancy of the Undertow by Christopher Currie

Expected publication: November 16, 2016

Genres: Young Adult, LGBT, Contemporary

Add to your To Be Read shelf on Goodreads.

Pre-order on Amazon or Book Depository.

Synopsis: We’re sitting there with matching milkshakes, Sasha and me, and somehow, things aren’t going like I always thought they would. We’re face to face under 24-hour fluorescents with the thoroughly unromantic buzz of aircon in our ears and endless flabby wedges of seated trucker’s arsecrack as our only visual stimulus.

In a dead-end town like Barwen a girl has only got to be a little different to feel like a freak. And Clancy, a typical sixteen-year-old misfit with a moderately dysfunctional family, a genuine interest in Nature Club and a major crush on the local hot girl, is packing a capital F.

As the summer begins, Clancy’s dad is involved in a road smash that kills two local teenagers. While the family is dealing with the reaction of a hostile town, Clancy meets someone who could possibly—at last—become a friend. Not only that, the unattainable Sasha starts to show what may be a romantic interest.

In short, this is the summer when Clancy has to figure out who the hell she is.

What book are you waiting on this Wednesday? Are you also anticipating Clancy of the Undertow by Christopher Currie?

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