The Review Chain: Level Up (Fandom Hearts #1) by Cathy Yardley + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

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Rating: PG-13

Score: ❤❤❤1/2

Genre: Romance, Contemporary

Page Count: 151

Book #1 of the Fandom Hearts series

Publisher: Cathy Yardley

Published: December 30th, 2015

Geeky introvert Tessa Rodriguez will do whatever it takes to get promoted to video game engineer– including create a fandom-based video game in just three weeks. The only problem is, she can't do it alone. Now, she needs to strong-arm, cajole, and otherwise socialize with her video game coworkers, especially her roommate, Adam, who’s always been strictly business with her. The more they work together, though, the closer they get…

Adam London has always thought of his roomie Tessa as “one of the guys” until he agreed to help her with this crazy project. Now, he’s thinking of her all the time… and certainly as something more than just a roommate! But his last girlfriend broke up with him to follow her ambitions, and he knows that Tessa is obsessed with getting ahead in the video game world.

Going from friends to something more is one hell of a challenge. Can Tessa and Adam level up their relationship to love?

Review:

PROS:

1. Upon first reading about this book, I thought it sounded super cute and would be a breeze for me to read since I adore any book that has to do with video games, graphic art and anything nerdy. This book was a combination of all three and I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy and read it. I was really excited for this book going in and I'm so happy I got that chance to read it and review it for you all! Let's get on into the review! 

2. Special thanks to the author for sending me an e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review! To start off, I really loved Tessa's character! Not only was she an introverted young woman working in a heavily male-dominated line of work, she was also an ambitious and determined Latina woman working hard to be recognized for her skills in coding. She wanted to work hard and earn respect for what she did and by continuously pursuing her career, she challenged herself in many ways that were at first hard for her such as being social with people, making friends and getting out of the house and out of her comfort zone.

3. I also liked that the relationship evolved quite nicely in my opinion between Tessa and her roommate Adam. At first, they're nothing more than roommates, not even friends. As they both continue to search for their place in their line of work and hone in on their coding skills, they go from roommates to good friends and eventually, a sweet romance blossoms between them. It was entertaining and swoon-worthy to watch their relationship evolve and made for an easy and fun read throughout the book. The characters were also very fun and lively, showing their support for each other in many parts of the book that I really enjoyed.

CONS:

1. I did have a few problems with this short chick-lit read, however. My first issue was that the initial first kiss in the novel was a bit random. It felt a little out of place, like it was kind of just thrown in and never mentioned afterward. It felt too quick and easy especially since Tessa was very shy and introverted and it felt like too sudden of a move for her character to make at the time it happens. 

2. I also would have loved a bit more fleshing out of the supporting characters as I really enjoyed seeing them pop into the story and wanted a bigger presence from them. They added a lot to the book and I wanted to see more of them as I read. I also would have liked a bit more romantic development. I know I said earlier that their relationship developed nicely, which it did, but the romantic FEELINGS on both their parts felt a little out of left-field, too quick, almost over night. There wasn't that slow simmering build-up of romantic feelings that I personally love seeing in romantic reads. If I had seen more of that, I think I would have absolutely LOVED this book. 

Overall, it was a quick and easy read, perfect to relax with. I think if you're a reader who loves a good geeky romance story, then definitely pick this one up and see what you think! I do plan on reading the sequel to this book, which I will be posting a review of later in the month so stay tuned for that. I did enjoy "Level Up" and I hope more readers out there can enjoy the book either as much or more than I did.

Please Note: I would recommend this book to OLDER readers as it does contain mature content.

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Audible

Barnes and Noble

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About The Author:

Cathy Yardley needs to get out more. When not writing, she's usually lurking on social media, playing Fallout 4, or watching D-list movies and adding to her unnatural mental store of character-actor trivia. She's a fangirl of Supernatural, Doctor Who, Sherock, LOTR,  and too many others to name.  She lives with her family in Seattle.  They are considering performing an intervention for her addiction to pop culture.

Author Links:

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Facebook

Goodreads

Website

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Review: Wesley James Ruined My Life by Jennifer Honeybourn + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everybody! Today is my stop on the blog tour for WESLEY JAMES RUINED MY LIFE by Jennifer Honeybourn hosted by Xpresso Book Tours!

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Down below you'll find my full review of the book, the purchase links, as well the author's social media links, a link to check out the rest of the blog tour and finally, the GIVEAWAY. I hope you all enjoy this one, folks!

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Rating: PG

Genre: Contemporary

Score: ❤❤❤ 1/2

Page Count: 256

Stand Alone

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Published: July 18th, 2017

Sixteen-year-old Quinn Hardwick’s having a rough summer. Her beloved grandmother has been put into a home, her dad’s gambling addiction has flared back up and now her worst enemy is back in town: Wesley James, former childhood friend—until he ruined her life, that is.

So when Wesley is hired to work with her at Tudor Tymes, a medieval England themed restaurant, the last thing Quinn’s going to do is forgive and forget. She’s determined to remove him from her life and even the score all at once—by getting him fired.

But getting rid of Wesley isn’t as easy as she’d hoped. When Quinn finds herself falling for him, she has to decide what she wants more: to get even, or to just get over it

Review:

PROS:

Source

1. First off, I took a liking to the cute little cover this book has and since it's summer time and the season of contemporary romance reads, I thought this would be a good book to add to my summertime TBR. As if I need to make that list any longer than it already is at this point. Anyhoo, I thought the synopsis sounded pretty cute and lighthearted so I took a shot. I mean, who doesn't love a book with a medieval restaurant and a food truck, am I right? Here are my thoughts: 

2. The book ended up being super cute, and funny at times. It is a super quick read so if you want something to keep you entertained that doesn't take up too much of your valuable reading time, I'd suggest picking this one up as it's cute, fun, lighthearted and a little bubbly. It was a breeze to get through and the humorous tone of the story is present from beginning to end, making it a great summer read.

3. I also liked that the book mentions other issues going on in Quinn's life, not just having the story focus on the love-to-hate relationship she and Wesley have going on through most of the book. Quinn's grandmother is suffering from Alzheimer's which Quinn isn't taking so well as she was so close with her grandmother, as was Wesley but she chooses not to tell him about her current condition and the fact that she's now in a home. Quinn's father is also a gambler who is jobless and often takes advantage of people, including her, his own daughter.  Quinn has been having a hard time dealing with all of this, especially since she believes that Wesley was the reason it all happened, the source of all her problems. It was entertaining to see how Quinn chooses to punish Wesley for ruining her life in various ways, such as trying to get him fired from his job.

Source

CONS:

1. While I liked this book, as it was fun and quirky and cute, it didn't do much for me. The lack of swoon made me feel like this book fell a little flat for me as I wasn't really invested in the romance between Quinn and Wesley. There was also little-to-no transition from Quinn hating his guts to her falling in love with him. It felt rushed and sudden like a snap of the fingers. Personally, I like a slow simmering romance, the build-up, the angst even just a touch of it. This one though? Didn't have really any of that. I also thought the ending was too rushed and would have preferred another two or three chapter for the story to take its time to wrap things up in a cute little bow. 

2. I also liked the characters enough. I felt Quinn's character was overshadowed by the fact that she was so keen and determined to get revenge on Wesley that I didn't really get to know her as a character, even though at some points I did think she was funny and feisty. Wesley didn't really get much character development either which is too bad because I found him to be a quirky character and would've loved to have seen more development, interaction, and more time for the romance to build-up. They had a cute and subtle chemistry, but I needed just a touch more to really get me invested.

Overall, it was cute, quick, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary reads that aren't too dramatic but choose to take a simpler route with straightforward characters and fun, entertaining antics.  

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

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About The Author:

Jennifer Honeybourn works in corporate communications in Vancouver, British Columbia. She’s a fan of British accents, Broadway musicals, and epic, happily-ever-after love stories. If she could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, she’d have high tea with Walt Disney, JK Rowling, and her nana. She lives with her husband, daughter and cat in a house filled with books. Wesley James Ruined My Life is her first novel. 

Author Links:

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Facebook

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Review: Internet Famous by Danika Stone + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everyone! Today is my stop on the blog tour for INTERNET FAMOUS by Danika Stone hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. 

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Down below is my full review of the novel, the author links, full tour schedule, purchase links for the book should you fancy buying yourself a copy and, finally, A GIVEAWAY! Cue confetti cannons! Read on, bookworms!

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Rating: PG-13

Genre: Young Adult

Score: 3 1/2 stars

Page Count: 320

Stand Alone

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Published: June 6th, 2017

High school senior and internet sensation Madison Nakama seems to have it all: a happy family, good grades, and a massive online following for her pop-culture blog. But when her mother suddenly abandons the family, Madi finds herself struggling to keep up with all of her commitments.

Fandom to the rescue! As her online fans band together to help, an online/offline flirtation sparks with Laurent, a French exchange student. Their internet romance—played out in the comments section of her MadLibs blog—attracts the attention of an internet troll who threatens the separation of Madi’s real and online personas. With her carefully constructed life unraveling, Madi must uncover the hacker’s identity before he can do any more damage, or risk losing the people she loves the most… Laurent included.

Review:

PROS:

Source

1. When I first stumbled upon this book, I couldn't but think it sounded like probably one of the cutest books ever. Because who doesn't love a book about the one thing that makes this world go round, the internet? This book practically had my name written all over it with the main character running a BLOG and FANGIRLING and the mention of all things interwebs such as vlogging, social media, and the fun and not-so-pretty moments of it all that make internet drama that much more interesting. So, obviously, I was able to snag a spot on the blog tour and was able to read this book only to be left with somewhat mixed feelings. Here's the review: 

2. I thought the premise of the story was pretty cute. It matches the cover perfectly if you ask me. Madi loves her blog more than a lot of things as it provides her an escape from her real life into the beautiful world of fiction in the form of pop-culture entertainment, mainly films such as 80's movies as she blogs about her thoughts on them. She has quite a huge following and with that following comes another set of drama and stress that cause Madi to have to fight yet another world-shattering battle: Internet trolls. I loved getting to see the real life and internet life of our main character as she struggles to keep both as separate as possible. Her life is anything but quiet and calm as her sister (who is autistic) needs Madi's constant watching over to make sure her sister's routine goes UNINTERRUPTED to avoid a freak out, her parents pretty much leaving Madi to "deal" with her sister on her own and also manage to keep up her school grades, getting ready to graduate, apply to colleges, figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life, etc. Basically, the cute premise is only the surface of the story but quickly dives into deeper topics which I appreciated.

Source

3. The book is cute overall, maybe a little cheesy or corny at some points but it killed it with all the 80's movie references and funny dialogue between characters. I was also a big of the layout of the book as it includes snippets of emails, text messages, Tumblr posts, even memes and pictures which was a great addition as the book kind of revolves around social media and pop-culture. It isn't a YA novel about the internet without a meme, am I right? Madi's blog posts were also fun to read and it made me wish that MadLibs was an actual blog as I was really entertained by Madi's choice of phrasing, internet humor and quirky commentary about whatever movie she watched and either enjoyed or wasn't a fan of. It's a book I found to be very current and familiar as I'm a blogger myself and I think that other bloggers, whether book, pop-culture or geeky bloggers alike would really enjoy this book. 

CONS:

1. Even though I was a fan for most of the book, there were times when I was either really annoyed or kind of frustrated while reading. I thought Madi was a nice character and handled stress somewhat well but at times, especially in the beginning of the book, she tended to overreact big time and fly off the handle a bit before thinking about the situation first. At times, she acted immature for her age and her freakouts got a little bit annoying as she overreacted (in my opinion) to her internet trolls giving her a hard time. 

2. Madi also seemed a bit harsh towards her sister Sarah who is autistic and therefore can't help it when she gets incredibly upset. Madi tended to get frustrated easily with Sarah (which I know is a realistic response from people who take care of kids with special needs) but I just felt like Madi blamed her sister a little without feeling guilty about it. Madi tried her best to take care of her sister as best she could since her parents were little to no help and she is young, has been watching over Sarah her entire life and I understand why she would get frustrated and upset at times. She needed help but I was a little wary about how she talked to or treated her sister. 

3. The romance was cute and cheesy as you'd expect from a quick and fluffy read such as this one but the love interest, Laurent, was just a little too overdone. Describing him as a "super-hot anime character come to life" was an instant turn-off for me. Add on the fact that Madi also described him as super-hot and perfect every other page was a little annoying. He was built up seemingly to have no flaws whatsoever and played more of a Superman role in the book than a love-interest, constantly having to "save" Madi from her freak outs. I think it the dramatics had been toned down a notch or two, I would have enjoyed their relationship a bit more than I did. 

Overall, this book was a cute and quick read and I did enjoy it. Would I reread it? Maybe. But not anytime soon. I would still recommend this book to people who maybe like a little more drama to their cute and fluffy contemporary novels and of course, all the pop-culture references to make your little geeky heart happy.

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

iBooks

Kobo

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About The Author

Danika Stone is an author, artist, and educator who discovered a passion for writing fiction while in the throes of her Master's thesis. A self-declared bibliophile, Danika now writes novels for both teens (All the Feels and Internet Famous) adults (Edge of Wild and Intaglio). When not writing, Danika can be found hiking in the Rockies, planning grand adventures, and spending far too much time online. She lives with her husband, three sons, and a houseful of imaginary characters in a windy corner of Alberta, Canada. 

Author Links:

Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Pinterest

Facebook

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•1 paperback copy of INTERNET FAMOUS by Danika Stone
•U.S., Canada, UK ONLY
•Giveaway Runs Through 6/21

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Review: Alone In Paris by Ashley Earley + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everyone! I'm super excited to bring you guys my stop on the blog tour for ALONE IN PARIS by Ashley Earley hosted by THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOK CLUB. I'm so happy I got the chance to read and review this novel and be a part of this blog tour so let's not dilly dally too much.

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Down below is my full review of this book, the author's links, the link to the rest of the blog tour (which you should really check out), the purcahse links for the book should you fancy buying yourself a copy, and finally, a GIVEAWAY! 

NOTE: The giveaway is taking place over on the author's Instagram page which I've linked down below.

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Rating: PG

Genre: Contemporary

Score: 4.5 stars

Page Count: 310

Stand Alone

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: April 1st, 2017

Breathe, Taylor.

Taylor Clay's family isn't exactly perfect. They may look the part with the nice, big house and her dad's fancy job, but that's what's tearing them apart. That, and her dad's sudden recurring drinking problem.
Though her family is close to falling apart, she never wished for something like this to happen. She never wished for her father to drive off a bridge. Especially not while they were on vacation; especially not when her and her mom were in the car with him at the time.

Breathe.

She's devastated after the fact. And it isn't helping that the papers are gossiping about how the pristine lawyer could have driven off the bridge on purpose. And just when she thinks nothing could possibly make things worse, she realizes she's left alone with no relatives to care for her.
So she's alone. Her parents are dead. And she's stuck in the country her family was visiting for their vacation. She's alone in Paris.

Just breathe.
Then Nathan walks into the picture. Funny, snarky, persistent, and sometimes, just flat out rude, he annoys Taylor to no end. He won't leave her alone, but Taylor doesn't know whether or not she should push him away.

Review:

PROS:

1. So . . . that cover. If I hadn't known about the author for some time, the cover would've been enough to get me curious about this novel. I've actually known Ashley for a little while now as we've been Instagram buddies for almost a couple of years. I have no idea how I came across her books and writing but I've been meaning to read her other novel The Darkest Light ever since it's release. It's been collecting dust on my tablet (I tend to forget eBooks are a thing) so when the chance came to review Ashley's newest novel, I couldn't turn down the chance. I was SO EXCITED when I got a confirmation for my spot on the tour, I can't even describe it to you all in words. Having finally been able to read something written by her, I promise my review is NOT biased. Just getting that out there. Okay, here's my review: 

2. As I said, that cover. Upon actually reading the book, I was hooked from the very first page. Our main character Taylor is a girl living all alone with no friends, relatives, or anyone at all to care for her and watch over her in the way that a young girl needs to be taken care of. She's lived on her own for a little while and trusts no one with her secrets or in general. She's not sure where she's going, how or when she'll get there, but she's very closed off from people and doesn't interact with anyone if she can help it. Taylor learns throughout the book how to open up to people, learn to trust people again even if it's just one person, and that life wasn't meant to be lived alone drowning in a pain that she can only escape with someone's help. As an aspiring artist, Taylor is a shy, quiet, and observant character which made her very easy to relate to as the story progresses. Not to mention her character development was quite nice and had a good pace.

3. The story was really deep at some points and very fluffy at others but had a good balance of both. There was a constant underlying tone to the book that kept it from being too heavy or too light and for it to be such a quick, short read, I was impressed with the range of emotions and themes we get in its short pages. Trust and grief are two main themes that we see. Taylor isn't sure if she should trust anyone, let alone a stranger who seems to show too much interest in her for her own comfort and is in a constant roller coaster of grief, pain, and even suicidal thoughts as she struggles to move past the pain of losing her parents. Taylor fights a silent war inside herself and as the story pans out, we get to see her thoughts and deepest, darkest fears and worries as she wonders if her life will ever be different from the aching pain she feels every day.

4. The romance was very sweet and had a very nice development, though I would've liked a little more time for the relationship to develop to allow for just a tad bit more angst. This story is also very character driven which I loved. There wasn't much setting to the book or description of the sights, other than a mention of a few places to set the story up in Paris, France, so if you're looking for a quick read that cuts to the chase and doesn't focus too much on setting, I highly suggest this one. It had just enough set up to place the story in Paris and focused mainly on the characters which was a big reason why I enjoyed this book so much. Overall, I really loved reading this one. It was fast, sweet, heartbreaking yet funny and quirky at the same time. A perfect summer read that I think a lot of people would totally enjoy as much as I did. 

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

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About The Author:

Ashley Earley is a 20-year-old author that is working toward her B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. When she’s not writing, she’s posting on her blog, reading, obsessing over a book character, or spending time with friends. Her obsession with books started at the age of twelve, before developing into a love for writing at the age of fourteen, when she wrote her first novel. 

Her Thriller/Suspense short story, Chasing Hair of Gold, won first place in the 2016 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards.

Author Links:

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Website

Twitter

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Review: The Slope Rules by Melanie Hooyenga + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everybody! Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Slope Rules by Melanie Hooyenga hosted by YA Bound Book Tours and I'm really pumped to bring you guys my review for this lovely novel!

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Down below is my review for the book, links to where you can purchase a copy of the book for yourself, the author's links as well the link to the rest of the blog tour and finally, the GIVEAWAY! Read on, bookworms!

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Rating: 

Genre: Sports, Contemporary

Score:

Page Count: 350

Stand Alone

Publisher: Left Handed Mitten Publications

Published: February 24th, 2017

Fifteen-year old Cally accepted her fate as one of the guys, so when she meets Blake, a hot snowboarder who sees her for more than her aerials on the slopes, she falls fast and hard. But their romance can only last as long as vacation.

Or so she thinks.

A twist of fate—well, her Dad opening another brewery in a new town—lands her in Blake’s school, but the charismatic boy she fell for wants nothing to do with her, and worse, the Snow Bunnies, the popular clique, claim her as their newest recruit.

Cally must learn to be true to herself—all while landing a spot on the ski team and figuring out who she is without her old friends. And when she finds out what Blake is hiding, she learns the rules on the slopes apply to more than just skiing.

Review:

PROS:

1. I'm just going to jump right into reviewing this book because it deserves some love. The first thing I loved about this book was that it had me hooked from beginning to end. Normally, it takes a couple of chapters to really get me hooked and dedicated to whatever is happening in a novel but this one had my attention from the first page. I thought Cally was a very genuine, sweet character that didn't let people control her. She wasn't a follower even when she ends up befriending a group of popular kids in her new school. She remained true to herself while also learning to open up to people about the things she was dealing with such as first loves, friendships, grief and sadness over moving to a new town and starting over with her father and his new business.

2. The themes of Cally still mourning her mother are a nice overlay on the story itself, never feeling too heavy or depressing enough to create a stark contrast to the upbeat and fluffy feel of the book. Cally still struggles with missing her mother even after all the years that she's been gone and has to kind of figure things out for herself and learn from past memories of her mother to help her make decisions, get through the rough patches and handle new experiences.

3. This book also has a lot of drama happening within its pages so if that doesn't suit your tastes, maybe think twice about reading it just to make sure it's the right read for you. Personally, it was an entertaining sort of drama for me, the usual high school drama that deals with cliques, jealousy, and not following the status quo that social high-school life calls for. Cally is her own person and while that doesn't settle well with a couple of her new "friends", she remains focused constantly on her love and passion for snowboarding. Cally knows what she wants and isn't willing to let people stop her or get in the way of her love for the sport which I found to be a really admirable trait for her character.

4. The book is your typical fluffy-soft-cutesy high-school romance book that does get a little cheesy at times but I didn't mind it so much. It was adorable and I couldn't help but love it. The story doesn't just put all of its focus on the two love birds, however, but also shines the spotlight on building that relationship by showing how the two characters interact, support each other, talk through their darkest secrets, and learn to trust each other enough to open up. The characters were really well developed, the book had a satisfying ending and left me with all the feels, not to mention I flew through it. Just yes. 

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Amazon Kindle

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Smashwords

iBooks

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About The Author:

Melanie Hooyenga first started writing as a teenager and finds she still relates best to that age group. She has lived in Washington DC, Chicago, and Mexico, but has finally settled down in her home state of Michigan.

When not at her day job as the Communications Director at a nonprofit, you can find Melanie attempting to wrangle her Miniature Schnauzer Owen and playing every sport imaginable with her husband Jeremy. 

Author Links:

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Review: Fifteen Seconds Of Normal by Alex Marestaing

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Rating: PG

Genre: Young Adult

Score: ❤❤❤❤

Page Count: 294

Stand Alone

Publisher: MyMilou Press

Published: October 11th, 2016

Step 1: Transfer High Schools. 
Step 2: Hide your Tourette’s. 
Step 3: Find your fifteen seconds of normal. 

Kaeya Garay has a plan. And it seems to be working.But when a curious interruption named Thatcher Kelly stumbles upon her “safe” place in the school’s abandoned art gallery, her grand plans for normalcy are suddenly derailed. 

Set over the course of three weeks, Fifteen Seconds of Normal is the quirky saga of a literature obsessed teen on the edge of a meltdown and the hope driven heroine who begins to pull him back. Fans of Eleanor and Park be warned. You won’t be able to put this one down. 

A “Breakfast Club” for a new generation from EPIC Award finalist Alex Marestaing, author of I’m Nobody: The Lost Pages

Review:

PROS:

1. Special thanks to Sara over at YA Bound Book Tours for the review copy. The sound of this novel was just something I couldn't pass on. I love the more melancholy type contemporaries, the kind that are perfect reads for a rainy day. I was pretty excited when I had the chance to review it for you all and I'm so happy that I could relax with this read. I was a little surprised that I ended up liking the book a lot more than I expected. Not that it was bad at first, it's just that I didn't expect that much from it. Always a great surprise if you ask me. Here's the review: 

2. I really liked the characters in the book, Sam being my favorite. He was the fun side-character that I couldn't help but love with his bubbly personality and goofy antics. Our main character was a unique one since I haven't seen any characters in any books I've read in the past who suffered from Tourette's. I think that's why I really liked Kaeya, she was a different kind of MC and struggled to keep her TS a secret from as many people as possible except for Sam and Thatcher, who never made Kaeya feel embarrassed about her TS. Thatcher was also a unique subject since he struggles to overcome a cruel meme made of him at school while also dealing with stresses at home and a broken relationship with his father. 

3. I really loved that the story went back and forth between Kaeya's POV and Thatcher's. We get to see what either character was dealing with and the kinds of stresses and emotions they were sorting through and trying to figure out on their own. I think it made for a nice development between the characters and made their growing feelings for each other a little more realistic. The romance wasn't to forefront of the story but merely an element that helped bring Kaeya and Thatcher closer together as they opened up to each other a little more. 

4. The story had a nice pace to it and while at times the romance did get a little cheesy, it was well written. There were equal parts romance, drama, humor, and grief as well as other subjects that were more raw and emotional. It was a bit of a darker and moodier contemporary that I fully enjoyed and at times, the book had me really feeling emotionally attached to the characters. The ending almost had me in tears even. And I NEVER cry while reading books. Like, EVER. 

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

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About The Author:

Once upon a time, author Alex Marestaing wrote a random letter to the Walt Disney Company asking if they needed any creative help. Fortunately, Disney had mercy on his embarrassing attempt to break into the publishing scene and gave him his first writing job. A lot has happened since then, including four novels, a beautiful wife, three kids, two cats, an extremely mellow dog, an honorable mention at the London Book Festival, a stint covering soccer in Europe and the U.S., and fun freelance work for companies such as Lego, Thomas Nelson/Harper Collins and The Los Angeles Times. Oh yeah, he also speaks at conferences around the country giving people advice such as “Writing letters to random companies isn’t always such a bad idea” 

Author Links:

Website

Goodreads

Twitter

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Review: A Pizza My Heart by Various Authors + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everybody! Today, I'm super excited to bring you all my stop on the blog tour for A PIZZA MY HEART by Various Authors orginaized by YA Bound Book Tours so if you love pizza, stick around!

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour.

Down below you'll find my review of the book as well as the link to where you can purchase a copy of the book for yourself, the publisher's links, and finally, A GIVEAWAY! Read on, bookworms!

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Rating: PG

Genre: Anthology

Score: ❤❤❤❤❤

Page Count: 125

Stand Alone

Publisher: Hocus Pocus & Co.

Published: February 9th, 2017 (National Pizza Day)

Gooey cheese and warm pepperoni, with a side of kissing and murder.

A Pizza My Heart is a quirky and fun anthology that crosses all genres. Fifteen extraordinary authors have united to tell stories of mystery, mayhem, romance, danger, deceit…and pizza.

Sometimes spicy, sometimes cheesy, but always delicious, A Pizza My Heart invites you to explore life, happiness, and the pursuit of pizza.

Stories Include:

A Slice of Adventure by Maria Carvalho
Between Slices by Andy Grieser
Fresh, Hot, and Deadly by Rena Olsen 
KissingDancingPizzaMURDER by Darci Cole 
Kneadful Things by Jenna Lehne 
Love Pizza No. 9 by Vanessa Rodriguez
Madame Miraval’s Pizza Place by Kelly deVos
Password Is… by Jolene Haley
Pizza On the Brain by Emily Simon
Pizza Buddy by Brian LeTendre
Pizzamergency by Brett Jonas
Survival Pizza by Rebecca Waddell 
The Last Stop at the End of the World by Jamie Adams
The Pizza Guy by Jessi Shakarian
Where There’s Pizza by Jasmine Brown

Review:

PROS:

1. Can we just talk about how amazing it is that this is an anthology surrounding pizza? I mean, how could I not read it? I love pizza and the fact that all these stories have the theme of pizza was enough to make me jump at the chance to review it. So, if you're a fan of pizza, anthologies, or both, keep on reading because I'll be talking about my favorite short stories in this collection. Here's the review:

2. It's been so long since I last rated a book five stars but I really felt like this book deserved my praise. I loved that all the short stories were of different genres and even though were only a few pages long each, some of them had me on the edge of my seat. For example, Kneadful Things was just brilliant. I'm such a fan of horror movies and the clever title reference paired with the storyline along the lines of WHEN A STRANGER CALLS just stole my heart. I would easily call that short story my favorite out of the fifteen stories. Another favorite was Password Is . . . because it ends on such a cliffhanger! I was so into the story that when it cuts off, I literally opened my mouth in shock. I wanted more!

3. Some of the stories were also sci-fi and while those weren't my favorite, they were still fun to read about. Some of the stories were also more heartbreaking like Survival Pizza which told the story of a young teenage boy having to dumpster dive for food in order to feed his three younger siblings. They live in the family car and with their father having gone missing, the oldest struggles to hold everything together. I also loved Where's The Pizza? which tells the story of a dog named Moose who loves his human boy and the pizza he brings home for him. It quickly turns into a suspenseful tale which I fully enjoyed.

4. The other stories are more contemporary or murder-mystery. Love Pizza No. 9 was a really sweet and fluffy short story that is honestly perfect for the whole Valentine's Day feeling. As for the murder-mystery ones, I wouldn't say it was a favorite out of the other stories but I did think that KissingDancingPizzaMURDER was the murder-mystery I liked better. It's not a creepy read so I think it would be perfect if you want a short story that won't keep you up at night but will also have you on the edge while reading it. Overall, I just loved this anthology and would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who loves short stories! Or pizza. Always pizza. 

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

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About The Publisher:

Established in 2014, Hocus Pocus & Co. loves to bring unique voices and stories to fruition.

Publisher Links:

Website

Twitter

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