Blog Tour: How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather (Spotlight)

Item: Supergirl at Super Hero High
Rating: 4
Author: Meredith

Hey everyone! I’m really, really excited to be on the blog tour for How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather (July 26, 2016 – Knopf Books for Young Readers). This book looks amazing and I’m so excited to read it! Now, here’s more about the book and author!

It’s the Salem Witch Trials meets Mean Girls in a debut novel from one of the descendants of Cotton Mather, where the trials of high school start to feel like a modern day witch hunt for a teen with all the wrong connections to Salem’s past.

Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?

If dealing with that weren’t enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with The Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it’s Salem. But history may be about to repeat itself.

Goodreads | Amazon
Book Depository | IndieBound | Kobo

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About the Author:

Adriana Mather is the 12th generation of Mathers in America, and as such her family has their fingers in many of its historical pies – the Mayflower, the Salem Witch Trials, the Titanic, the Revolutionary War, and the wearing of curly white wigs. Also, Adriana co-owns a production company, Zombot Pictures, in LA that has made three feature films in three years. Her first acting scene in a film ever was with Danny Glover, and she was terrified she would mess it up. In addition, her favorite food is pizza and she has too many cats.

Twitter | Goodreads Profile | Website

Review: Supergirl at Super Hero High by Lisa Yee (Blog Tour)

Jul25

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: Supergirl at Super Hero High by Lisa Yee (Blog Tour)

Supergirl at Super Hero High by Lisa Yee
Series: DC Super Hero Girls #2
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on July 5, 2016
Pages: 240
Format: Hardcover
Source: the publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-stars

Get your cape on with the DC Super Hero Girls™—the unprecedented new Super Hero universe especially for girls! Readers of all ages can fly high with the all-new adventures of Wonder Woman™, Supergirl™, Batgirl™, and some of the world’s most iconic female super heroes as high schoolers!

Supergirl is the new girl in school—and she just also happens to be the most powerful teenager in the galaxy!

After losing her home planet of Krypton and everyone she knows, Supergirl has made a new home on Earth, but she’s isn’t so sure that Super Hero High School is the right place for her. Wonder Woman, other new friends, and a kindly librarian make her feel welcome, but breached inter-dimensional portals, invading alien armies, and bad dreams shake her confidence. It’s not easy being a super hero and a high school student all at once!

Award-winning author Lisa Yee brings mystery, thrills, and laughs to this groundbreaking series that follows DC Comics’ most iconic female Super Heroes and Super-Villains. Move over Batman™ and Superman™—the DC Super Hero Girls are ready to save the day and have fun doing it!

Hey everyone! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Supergirl at Super Hero High by Lisa Yee (July 5, 2016 – Random House Books for Young Readers) This book was an incredibly fun read, so I’m really excited to be a part of this blog tour! I hope you enjoy my review!

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I loved this book!! It was such a fun, entertaining read. I really enjoyed the first book, Wonder Woman at Super Hero High, but I REALLY enjoyed Supergirl at Super Hero High. Everything about it – the writing, the characters, the plot – was epic!

I really liked Supergirl as a main character. I loved how klutzy and kind she was. These things made her feel very real and relatable. I loved learning her backstory, especially since I know a lot about Superman (and a little bit about Supergirl) from watching Smallville!

I don’t know if it’s just because we saw her through Supergirl’s dotting eyes, but Wonder Woman REALLY came into her own from book one to book two. She was stronger and more confident than she was in book one. Supergirl really envied and admired Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman could do no wrong in Supergirl’s eyes. But I also feel that Wonder Woman has grown and matured a LOT.

I said this in my review of Wonder Woman at Super Hero High, but I’ll say it again: If we don’t get a Harley Quinn story, I’ll riot! Also, if we don’t get a Poison Ivy story, I’ll riot!! I know from watching Batman & Robin that Poison Ivy becomes a villain and I know from seeing the Suicide Squad commercials that Harley Quinn becomes a villain; however, I seriously adore them! At least in this book series, as their teenage selves, I adore them! And I really, really want to get inside their heads and learn more about them.

There was a great quote in this book: “Unlike [Supergirl], they all seemed to fit right in and had everything figured out.” The context is that Supergirl was feeling down on herself and she was feeling envious of her classmates for “having it all together.” But I think the keyword here is “seemed.” From the outside looking in, Supergirl only saw one side of her classmates. She can’t know what they’re thinking or what their fears/vulnerabilities are. Everyone has them, even if we can’t always see them. I think this is a major lesson in this series – and an important one. People can look completely put together on the outside but be totally not put together on the inside. We can’t judge a person based on the face they show society because that face is only part of the story.

The revelations in this book were crazy and the action scenes were completely intense! I also think Lisa Yee’s writing was vastly improved in this book – and that’s not to say her writing was bad in the first book! Not at all. It was really enjoyable, but it was even better in this book. It was like Yee was more adventurous with her writing this time around and there was more “showing” versus “telling.”

The next book (which isn’t out until January – SOB!!!) is going to be Batgirl’s story and I’m REALLY excited! I LOVED getting to know Barbara Gordon in this book and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for her in her book. Plus, we’re almost guaranteed a decent amount of Supergirl, too (because of their friendship), which is awesome!

Overall, I really loved this book! As I mentioned in my Wonder Woman review, as someone who didn’t devour the DC comics, I was definitely a little bit behind on who everyone was and what some of the references were – though it was easier to remember everyone the second time around. But I knew enough and understood enough, so it was still incredibly enjoyable!

This is a short, fast read that I highly recommend to anyone who loves the DC comics, as well as to anyone who wants to get into the comics, but who wants a quick and easy introduction to the characters first!

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About the Author:

Lisa Yee’s debut novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, won the prestigious Sid Fleischman Humor Award. With over two million books in print, her other novels for young people include Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time, So Totally Emily Ebers, Absolutely Maybe, and a series about a 4th grader, Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) and Bobby the Brave (Sometimes).

Lisa is also the author of American Girl’s Kanani books and Good Luck, Ivy, and this year’s Lea Clark novels. Her novel, Warp Speed, is about a Star Trek geek who gets beat up everyday at school. A Thurber House Children’s Writer-in-Residence, Lisa’s books have been named a NPR Best Summer Read, Sports Illustrated Kids Hot Summer Read, and USA Today Critics’ Top Pick.

The Kidney Hypothetical – Or How To Ruin Your Life In Seven Days is Lisa’s latest novel for teens. Lisa’s 2016 books include the DC Super Hero Girls middle grade novel series and the American Girl, 2016 Girl of the Year books.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Blog Tour: How to Disappear by Ann Redisch Stampler (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Jun25

Hey everyone! I’m really excited to be on the blog tour for How to Disappear by Ann Redisch (Simon Pulse, June 14, 2016). This book sounds AMAZING and I can’t wait to read it!!

Check out the excerpt below and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

This electric cross-country thriller follows the game of cat and mouse between a girl on the run from a murder she witnessed—or committed?—and the boy who’s sent to kill her.

Nicolette Holland is the girl everyone likes. Up for adventure. Loyal to a fault. And she’s pretty sure she can get away with anything…until a young woman is brutally murdered in the woods near Nicolette’s house. Which is why she has to disappear.

Jack Manx has always been the stand-up guy with the killer last name. But straight A’s and athletic trophies can’t make people forget that his father was a hit man and his brother is doing time for armed assault. Just when Jack is about to graduate from his Las Vegas high school and head east for college, his brother pulls him into the family business with inescapable instructions: find this ruthless Nicolette Holland and get rid of her. Or else Jack and everyone he loves will pay the price.

As Nicolette and Jack race to outsmart each other, tensions—and attractions—run high. Told in alternating voices, this tightly plotted mystery and tense love story challenges our assumptions about right and wrong, guilt and innocence, truth and lies.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | IndieBound | Goodreads

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Excerpt: Deleted Scene B

Author Note: This scene was an early attempt to capture Jack’s pure anger, expressed directly and through sarcasm, at the fact that his brother, Don, has blackmailed him to track and eliminate a girl who, in an earlier version of the story, was thought to have killed a Russian named Petrov, an orderly at the institution where she ended up.

***

Jack
I am trying to work up some enthusiasm for a gap year.

Because who the hell wants to go to college when he could ride around the country in his lowlife brother’s shitmobile Thunderbird, looking for a cute girl who cuts people’s throats?

Because my lowlife brother is in a corner, back to the wall, dead if he doesn’t do some thug he crossed a favor.

I want to punch him in the face and go “What the hell? Again? Why do you keep doing this?”

But I don’t want him dead.

Bringing us back to the killer girl, the crazy one who killed Ivan Petrov. I don’t care how weasly the guy was, he was becoming a nurse. Besides, I don’t like blood.

And my dad, the king of spilling blood, was fine with that.

Damn Don. Damn stupid Don.

I wake up and I’m sitting up in bed, skin cold to the touch but sweating. I am pummeled with memories I’d rather not have.

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And now for the giveaway! ONE (1) winner will receive a $50.00 gift certificate for The Book Depository, Signed HOW TO DISAPPEAR bookmarks + a Nicolette’s disguise inspired Smashbox makeup kit. ***Giveaway is INTERNATIONAL***

To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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About the Author:

Ann Redisch Stampler is the author of the young adult novels Afterparty and Where It Began as well as half a dozen picture books. Her work has garnered an Aesop accolade, the National Jewish Book Award, Sydney Taylor honors, the Middle East Book Award, and Bank Street Best Books of the Year mentions. How to Disappear (Simon Pulse, 2016), her first young adult thriller, will be released in June. Ann lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband Rick.

WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER
FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | GOODREADS

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Tour Schedule

Tuesday, June 14th:
Book Briefs – Review
BookHounds YA – Author Interview

Wednesday, June 15th:
Ryley Reads – Review
Fiktshun – Review
Becky on Books – Excerpt

Thursday, June 16th:
Just Commonly – Review
Emily Reads Everything – Review

Friday, June 17th:
Such a Novel Idea – Review
Curling Up With A Good Book – Author Interview

Saturday, June 18th:
Here’s to Happy Endings – Review
My So-Called Book Reviews – Author Interview

Sunday, June 19th:
A Gingerly Review – Spotlight
Book Whales – Excerpt

Monday, June 20th:
A Dream Within A Dream – Review
Jessabella Reads – Character Interview

Tuesday, June 21st:
Owl Always Be Reading – Review
The Cover Contessa – Character Interview

Wednesday, June 22nd:
Dani Reviews Things – Author Interview
Fishing for Books – Review

Thursday, June 23rd:
Once Upon a Twilight – Author Interview
Classy Cat Books – Review

Friday, June 24th:
Star-Crossed Book Blog – Review
Lilians Book Stuff – Author Interview

Saturday, June 25th:
Pandora’s Books – Excerpt
Reese’s Reviews – Review

Sunday, June 26th:
The Phantom Paragrapher – Review
In a Bookish World – Excerpt

Monday, June 27th:
Movies, Shows & Books – Review
Wishful Endings – Character Interview
A Bookish Escape – Review

Blog Tour: Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff (Interview)

Jun13

Hey everyone! I’m really excited to have Brenna Yovanoff here for an interview as part of the Places No One Knows (May 17, 2016 – Delacorte Press) blog tour! First, here’s more about the book:

For fans of Lauren Oliver and E. Lockhart, here is a dreamy love story set in the dark halls of contemporary high school, from New York Times bestselling author Brenna Yovanoff.

Waverly Camdenmar spends her nights running until she can’t even think. Then the sun comes up, life goes on, and Waverly goes back to her perfectly hateful best friend, her perfectly dull classes, and the tiny, nagging suspicion that there’s more to life than student council and GPAs.

Marshall Holt is a loser. He drinks on school nights and gets stoned in the park. He is at risk of not graduating, he does not care, he is no one. He is not even close to being in Waverly’s world.

But then one night Waverly falls asleep and dreams herself into Marshall’s bedroom—and when the sun comes up, nothing in her life can ever be the same. In Waverly’s dreams, the rules have changed. But in her days, she’ll have to decide if it’s worth losing everything for a boy who barely exists.

Goodreads | Amazon
Book Depository | Kobo | IndieBound

And now for the interview! Enjoy!

Question: Describe your book in ten words or less. Go!
Answer: Girl who doesn’t sleep magically winds up in stoner’s bedroom!

Question: Places No One Knows sounds fascinating! How did the idea for the plot come about?
Answer: Okay, so I am a huge insomniac and for a long time I knew that I wanted to write a book about insomnia, even if it wasn’t ABOUT-about insomnia. I also knew I wanted to write the kind of love story I would have wanted to read as a teenager, back when I was cynical and over analytical and very, very picky about my love stories. I’ve always been really fascinated and kind of appalled by the way different emotions are often so heavily gendered. As a culture I think we have a tendency to deny or trivialize anger in girls and sadness in boys, and I wanted to explore the idea that even though people can get pretty good at making their “inappropriate” emotions invisible, or at least making them look like other things, that doesn’t stop people from feeling them. Waverly is a character who is very angry, very alienated, but doesn’t feel like she has any real outlet to express that. And for Marshall, in some ways he has it even harder because he’s very sensitive in ways that are really discouraged for boys, and so he’s spent a lot of middle school and high school trying to not to feel those things, and failing that, to at least not let them show. Mostly? I wanted to just get these two people in a room together and see what they could offer each other.

Question: Why do you think readers are so fascinated with dream worlds – and dreams in general?
Answer: While I can’t speak specifically for other readers, I LOVE thinking about and having and reading about dreams. I’m not only a very vivid dreamer but I actually have this thing where I’ll wake up and still be dreaming, so when I open my eyes, my room will be populated with impossible things—birds and vines and monsters and people who want to talk to me about nonsensical ideas or tell me where I left something I misplaced. This has happened to me for most of my life, so at this point it seems very normal, but also kind of magical. I think dream worlds are fascinating because they’re an example of how well our brains can make the imaginary feel completely REAL.

Question: What scene from Places No One Knows do you most regret having to cut?
Answer: Places No One Knows is a rarity among my books, in that almost every scene I included in the first draft made it into the final version intact. HOWEVER. There is one scene I really, really liked and it was completely static and advanced the plot not at all and was basically fanfiction, but written by me-the-author. And my editor, who is both astute and patient, kept gently reminding me to cut it for … pretty much every single draft. And because she is persistent and always right about these things, I eventually listened to her. Eventually. So all I’m going to say is, if anyone wants to write a fic where Waverly and Marshall snuggle in a baseball dugout and talk about their feelings? You have all my blessings. And also I may have already done it once.

Question: Places No One Knows has been on shelves for a few weeks now! What’s the post-publication process like for you? Do you take time off to regroup or dive right into your next project?
Answer: Post-publication, I tend to sort of melt into the couch, play a lot of video games, and cook all the things I like to eat, and try to remember to clean all the things I wasn’t cleaning before, and just generally be more of a human-shaped person. For awhile. Until writing swoops in and takes over my brain again.

Question: You’ve written several books for young adults. How is this one different?
Answer: So, this is my fifth YA novel, and the very first one that has no monsters! It still has a little bit of magic in it, but only a little, and only in this very amorphous, metaphorical way—so even though the whole plot basically revolves around impossible dream-travel, this is definitely the most contemporary book I’ve ever written.

Question: Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
Answer: Okay, I have Googled a lot of terrible things, but no lie, this is probably the worst one: when I was writing The Replacement, I spent a whole afternoon trying to figure out at what stage of decomposition insect eggs laid inside a fresh corpse will hatch into larva. With pictures.

Question: What books would you recommend to a reader who loved Places No One Knows, and wants to read something similar?
Answer: Honestly, I would really love it if everyone in the world went out and read Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart. It’s a strange, magical story about a strange, analytical girl named Gretchen Yee, who is mysteriously transformed into an actual housefly and spends a week buzzing around the boys’ locker room at school. It’s very cool and funny, very smart about body image and gender roles and masculinity, and if everybody reads it, then I’ll have someone to talk about it with!

Question: What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
Answer: Hot drinks, headphones, and preferably a big cozy chair.

Question: Are you working on anything new?
Answer: I’m currently in the middle of another book in the mostly-contemporary/slightly-magical vein of Places No One Knows. It’s about idealism, misanthropy, and the ongoing struggle to become your best self. It has no title yet because I’m terrible with titles, but I’m almost 100% positive it will have one by the time it comes out next year!

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About the author:
Hi, I’m Brenna Yovanoff. I write young adult and speculative fiction. My young adult fantasy novels The Replacement, The Space Between, Paper Valentine, and Fiendish are available from Razorbill/Penguin Group. Here are some things about me (not book-related):

I’m good at soccer, violent video games, and making very flaky pie pastry.

I’m bad at dancing, making decisions, and inspiring confidence as an authority figure. I suspect this is because I am short, and also terrible at sounding as though I have any idea what I’m talking about.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Blog Tour: And I Darken by Kiersten White (Book Two Sneak Peak)

Jun9

Hey everyone! I’m incredibly excited to be a part of the And I Darken (June 28, 2016 – Delacorte Press) blog tour! I’m a HUGE Kiersten White fan and this book looks AMAZING!! So, today I’m sharing a sneak peak of book two with you! First, here’s more about the book:

No one expects a princess to be brutal.

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And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken.

CLAIM THE THRONE.
Visit AndIDarken.com to order now!

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Goodreads | Amazon
The Book Depository | IndieBound

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And now for the Sneak Peak of Book Two! Enjoy!!

A Note from Kiersten:

I’ll admit, it feels a little weird to be giving a sneak peek for book two before And I Darken even comes out. It’s even weirder to be doing promo for the first book while editing the second and plotting the third! It’s a busy place in my brain these days.

I thought I’d give you a sneak peek of the first two passages (subject to change!) for each of our main characters, Radu and Lada. They don’t give away any real spoilers—but they do give an idea of what is in store for our dynamic brother-and-sister duo!

First, Radu:

The tendency to vomit within minutes of setting foot on a ship was deeply inconvenient for someone taking a tour of the Ottoman navy.

Radu leaned over the side of the boat and heaved until his stomach was empty, and then for a little while longer, for good measure. When he wiped his face and turned back around, he caught Mehmed sharing a sneering laugh with the men around him.

Radu felt even emptier than before.

So you can see, things are going great for him! But with dreamy-eyed, beautiful Radu, appearances are always deceiving . . . and in book two, he finds himself playing dangerous games on the biggest and most deadly stage possible, as the Ottomans lay siege to the jewel of Christian cities, Constantinople.

But where is our dear Lada?

It took only three fingers smashed beyond recognition before the would-be assassin screamed the name of Lada’s enemy.

“Well.” Nicolae raised his eyebrows, cut through with a vicious scar that had failed to fade with the passage of time. He turned away as Bogdan slit the young man’s throat. The heat of life leaving body steamed slightly in the frigid winter air. “That is disappointing.”

“That the governor of Brasov is against us, too?” Bogdan asked.

“No, that the quality of the assassins has gone down this low.”

Oh dear, it does look like the siblings Dracul are both in tight spots, doesn’t it? If Radu’s story is about the cost of pretending, Lada’s is about the cost of refusing to pretend. Alliances are formed and betrayed, thrones are won and lost, hearts are mended and broken. Lada and Radu were always meant for big things, and in book two they face the horror of the lengths they’re willing to go to.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek at what’s in store, and that you love And I Darken so much that you, too, are left heaving your meals up over the side of a boat in anticipation of book two! Wait. No. I hope you love it so much that you don’t vomit.

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About the Author:

Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling author of the Paranormalcy trilogy, The Chaos of Stars, and the psychological thrillers Mind Games and Perfect Lies. She has neither magic nor a pet bird, but wants both.

Kiersten lives with her family in San Diego, California.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

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AND I DARKEN Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, May 30th through Friday, July 8th (Mondays through Fridays)

Monday, May 30th: Icey Books, Review
Tuesday, May 31st: Bookiemoji, Guest Post (Character Profiles)
Wednesday, June 1st: Seeing Double in Neverland, Review
Thursday, June 2nd: Alexa Loves Books, Playlist Post
Friday, June 3rd: Awesome Book Nut, Review

Monday, June 6th: Jessabella Reads, Review
Tuesday, June 7th: The Eater of Books!, Top Five Roundup
Wednesday, June 8th: Across the Words, Review
Thursday, June 9th: Pandora’s Books, Sneak Peek for Book Two
Friday, June 10th: Tales of the Ravenous Reader, Review

Monday, June 13th: A Midsummer Night’s Read, Review
Tuesday, June 14th: The Irish Banana Review, Top 10 Guest Post
Wednesday, June 15th: Stories & Sweeties, Review
Thursday, June 16th: Jenuine Cupcakes, Author Mystery Guest Post
Friday, June 17th: The Soul Sisters, Review

Monday, June 20th: Winterhaven Books, Review
Tuesday, June 21st: Two Chicks on Books, Q&A (4-6 questions)
Wednesday: June 22nd: The Book Swarm, Review
Thursday, June 23rd: Read. Sleep. Repeat., Top Five Fantasy Books Kiersten Loves to Re-Read
Friday, June 24th: Please Feed The Bookworm, Review

Monday, June 27th: Comfort Books, Review
Tuesday, June 28th: Fitshun, Q&A
Wednesday, June 29th: Addicted Readers, Review
Thursday, June 30th: Lindsay Cummings, Movie Casting Post
Friday, July 1st: Rabid Reads, Review

Monday, July 4th: Reading Teen, Review
Tuesday, July 5th: YA Bibliophile, Guest Post (Trip to Romania)
Wednesday, July 6th: Carina’s Books, Review
Thursday, July 7th: Mundie Moms, Author Mystery Guest Post
Friday, July 8th: Bookishness and Tea, Review
Friday, July 8th: My Friends Are Fiction, Surprise Post!

Blog Tour: Exile for Dreamers by Kathleen Baldwin (Spotlight + Giveaway)

Jun3

Hey everyone! I’m really, really excited to be on the blog tour for Exile for Dreamers by Kathleen Baldwin, the second book in the Stranje House series. I absolutely LOVED the first book (review here) and the second book has been just as amazing!

Check out more about the below below and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

About the Book
Title: EXILE FOR DREAMERS
Author: Kathleen Baldwin
Pub. Date: May 24, 2016
Publisher: Tor Teen
Format: Hardcover, eBook
Find it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Goodreads

A School for Unusual Girls is the first captivating installment in the Stranje House series for young adults by award-winning author Kathleen Baldwin. #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot calls this romantic Regency adventure “completely original and totally engrossing.”

Tess can’t run far enough or fast enough to escape the prophetic dreams that haunt her. Dreams bring nothing but death and grief, and Tess refuses to accept that she may be destined for the same madness that destroyed her mother. Until her disturbing dreams become the only means of saving Lord Ravencross, the man she loves, and her friends at Stranje House from Lady Daneska and her lover, the Ghost-agent of Napoleon, who has escaped from Elba. Can the young ladies of Stranje House prevail once more? Or is England destined to fall into the hands of the power-mad dictator?

“Enticing from the first sentence.” -New York Times Book Review

A School for Unusual Girls is a great next read for fans of Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series and Robin LaFevers’ His Fair Assassin series.

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And now for the giveaway! Three winners will receive a finished copy of EXILE FOR DREAMERS. US/Canada Only.To enter, complete the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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About the Author:

“I love adventure in books and in real life. I’ve roamed the Rocky Mountains, wandered the desert, enjoyed way too many classes in college, was stalked by a mountain lion, lost an argument with a rattlesnake, fell in love at least a dozen times, finally met and married my very own hero, and together we’ve raised four free-spirited children.”

Award-winning author – Kensington published four of Kathleen’s Regency romantic comedies, including MISTAKEN KISS, a Holt Medallion finalist. DIARY OF A TEENAGE FAIRY GODMOTHER, was a Golden Quill finalist. Her upcoming Historical YA series with TorTeen, A SCHOOL FOR UNUSUAL GIRLS, is a Junior Library Guild Selection and won a Marlene.

Website | Blog | Twitter
Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads

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Tour Schedule
Week One:
5/23/2016 – Once Upon A Twilight – Interview
5/24/2016 – Stories & Sweeties – Review
5/25/2016 – Curling Up With A Good Book – Guest Post
5/26/2016 – Lisa Loves Literature – Review
5/27/2016 – The Cover Contessa – Interview

Week Two:
5/30/2016 – The Best Books Ever – Review
5/31/2016 – A Dream Within A Dream – Guest Post
6/1/2016 – Wishful Endings – Review
6/2/2016 – BookHounds YA – Interview
6/3/2016 – Pandora’s Books – Spotlight

Blog Tour: Beware That Girl by Teresa Toten (Interview + Book Birthday Spotlight)

May31

Hey everyone! Welcome to my stop on the Beware That Girl (May 31, 2016 – Delacorte Press) blog tour. This book looks AMAZING and I can’t wait to read it! So, of course, I’m beyond excited to be on this blog tour and even more excited to be celebrating Teresa’s Book Birthday with her by way of an awesome interview!

Here’s more about the book:

For fans of We Were Liars, The Girl on the Train, and Gone Girl, this powerful psychological thriller with multiple mysteries is set against the backdrop of the megawealthy elite of New York City. Toten delves into the mesmerizing yet dysfunctional world of those who manipulate but seem ever so charming. With its gripping pace and Hitchcockian twists, Beware That Girl will keep readers guessing until the very last line.

The Haves. The Have-Nots. Kate O’Brian appears to be a Have-Not. Her whole life has been a series of setbacks she’s had to snake her way out of—some more sinister than others. But she’s determined to change that. She’s book smart. She’s street-smart. Oh, and she’s also a masterful liar.

As the scholarship student at the Waverly School in NYC, Kate has her work cut out for her: her plan is to climb the social ladder and land a spot at Yale. She’s already found her “people” among the senior class “it” girls—specifically in the cosseted, mega-wealthy yet deeply damaged Olivia Sumner. As for Olivia, she considers Kate the best friend she’s always needed, the sister she never had.

When the handsome and whip-smart Mark Redkin joins the Waverly administration, he immediately charms his way into the faculty’s and students’ lives—becoming especially close to Olivia, a fact she’s intent on keeping to herself. It becomes increasingly obvious that Redkin poses a threat to Kate, too, in a way she can’t reveal—and can’t afford to ignore. How close can Kate and Olivia get to Mark without having to share their dark pasts?

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible

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And now for the interview! Enjoy!

Question: Congratulations on the release of Beware That Girl! What are your plans for release day?
Answer: I suppose a day of prayer and quiet contemplation is out of the question?? I’ll actually be writing all day (deadline) and then off to a giddy dinner celebration with friends and family.

Question: Beware That Girl has been described as Gossip Girl meets Gone Girl, and the kind of book that will appeal to fans of We Were Liars and The Girl on the Train. Think about those comparisons for a minute. What are the first three words/reactions that come to mind?
Answer: Oh. My. God!

Question: What inspired the plot for Beware That Girl?
Answer: Friendship. I know . . . but there really is nothing more complex or beautiful, and in this case terrifying than the relationship of two best female friends. I don’t outline or plot any of my books but for years I had in my head that first scene of two blonde girls in the ICU, one gravely injured and one a bit of a wreck sitting beside her. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I sat down to write to find out which girl was in which position and how they got there. I didn’t know how the book was going to end until I wrote the ending!

Question: According to the synopsis, Beware That Girl is “set against the backdrop of the megawealthy elite of New York City.” Why is this setting significant? Could the story have been told in any other setting?
Answer: I wanted/needed a glittering surreal backdrop of wealth and privilege so that the reader could taste and feel Kate’s intense yearning for it all. That degree of wealth also allows those girls a world of freedom that might not be available to them in another environment. Other cities do of course have strata of tremendous wealth but it’s not as deep and wide as New York City’s. I felt I needed a playground that was that big and that outrageous. Perhaps even more importantly, I lived in New York for a few years. I know the streets, the stores, the restaurants the aromas and the rhythms of the neighborhoods. I felt that “feel” for the city might be critical to the integrity of the story.

Question: Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
Answer: Ha! I had to Google so, so many weird things for Beware That Girl! Google is a life-saving first step, but it usually has to be followed up by steps two, three and sometimes four. I Googled whether it was possible to kill someone with a Le Crueset frying pan and if there would necessarily be blood (I didn’t want blood). Then I had to confirm that with talking to a doctor friend. And then I had to have my poor husband stand with his back to me while I sort of swung the pan at him at various angles so I could get the trajectory and his fall position right.

Question: What are three must-have items when you sit down to write
Answer: Well, to start, nobody can be in the house but my dog, Cheever. I wander around trying out dialogue and reading bits out loud in full voice to see if the rhythm is right and to catch the biggest clunkers. It’s beyond embarrassing. So, I have to start with an empty house. Then I must have espresso coffees followed quickly by huge mugs of tea. In other words, when I sit down to write I’m a lonely, highly caffeinated author who talks to herself.

Question: What book are you currently reading?
Answer: I just finished a new and terrific YA fantasy called Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan and I’m just going to start an old (1956) novel called Peyton Place because it’s calling to me.

Question: Are you working on anything new?
Answer: Yup, I’m in the middle of that must be alone, over-caffeinated talking to myself agony stage.

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About the Author:

My earliest and most fervent ambition was to grow up and take my rightful place among the other mermaids. When cruel and insensitive adults crushed that dream by insisting that mermaids did not exist, I settled on the more mature aspiration of becoming an intergalactic astronaut. Then I realized that math would likely be involved. So, in the end, I went to Trinity College at the University of Toronto where I got a BA and then an MA in Political Economy taking great care not to take a single English or Creative Writing class. The only thing I knew for sure was that I was never ever going to be a writer. That would be silly, fanciful and well, unrealistic. And then I started to write…

Website | Twitter |Facebook

Blog Tour: The Fallen Prince by Amalie Howard (Excerpt + Giveaway)

May31

We hope you’re ready to be transported by Amalie Howard’s THE FALLEN PRINCE, a Young Adult Science Fiction novel and the sequel to THE ALMOST GIRL! Publishers Weekly calls the first in the series “a high-octane thriller.” Grab your copy of this amazing novel today!

Riven has fought for a hard-won peace in her world, and has come to shaky terms with who and what she is—a human with cyborg DNA. Now that the rightful ruler of Neospes has been reinstated, Riven is on the hunt for her father in the Otherworld to bring him to justice for his crimes against her people.

But when she receives an unwelcome visit from two former allies, she knows that trouble is brewing once again in Neospes. The army has been decimated and there are precious few left to fight this mysterious new threat.
To muster a first line of defense, her people need help from the one person Riven loathes most—her father. But what he wants in return is her complete surrender.

And now Riven must choose: save Neospes or save herself.

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Praise for THE FALLEN PRINCE:

“[P]acked with action . . . Imagery is the highlight of this book.” — VOYA

“A parallel-dimension–jumping cyborg soldier must make questionable alliances to save her country from an existential threat in this sequel to The Almost Girl. [O]ffers a solid conclusion.” — Kirkus Reviews

“This sequel to The Almost Girl was everything I wanted: non-stop action, smart science, new and intriguing characters, and a satisfying romance. I couldn’t put it down!” — Page Morgan, author of The Beautiful and the Cursed

“[T]he next step in a dark, clever and thrilling scorched-earth, world-hopping adventure.” — Jet Black Ink

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Goodreads | Amazon | Books-A-Million
Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound

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And now for the excerpt! Enjoy!

Cale and I used to dare each other to go outside the dome as kids, knowing we’d get into trouble if we were ever caught. Leaving the safety zone had been illicit and thrilling. It had been our secret spot, a tunnel in the bedrock carved by a long-dried underground stream when Neospes had fresh running water. I stare at the old access hole, now filled with titanium, as the memories rush back.

It was the first time I’d seen a Reptile. Cale had just turned eleven. Thinking himself braver than ever, he’d dared me to accompany him on an early morning adventure beyond the dome. As much as I hadn’t wanted to go, he was my responsibility.

“Come on, Cale. This is far enough. We need to get back.” We’d turned around only to see a horse standing between our secret exit and us. Only, it wasn’t a horse.

“What is that?” Cale had whispered. 

“Cale, get behind me.” 

“No way.” He’d stamped his foot. “I want to see.” 

Steam had blown from the creature’s distended nostrils, and then it had charged. I remember the rotting smell and the chunks of flesh hanging off its wired frame. It was also the first Reptile I’d ever killed.

Cale became obsessed with Reptiles after that. He would lure and catch smaller ones, keeping them in cages. He studied the creatures, torturing them—ripping them apart and piecing them back together. I’d always thought his morbid fascination was odd, but, in hindsight, it was understandable. After all, he was a clone with a failing body, searching for a way to reconstruct himself.

But Cale is dead. He’d died months ago in the Outers.

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And don’t miss the first book in The Riven Chronicles Series!

Seventeen-year-old Riven comes from a world parallel to Earth, a world that has been ravaged by a devastating android war. As a Legion General, she is the right hand of Prince Cale, the young Prince of Neospes. In her world, she’s had everything: rank, responsibility, and respect. But when Prince Cale sends her away to rescue his long-lost brother, Caden, who has been spirited to modern day Earth, Riven finds herself in uncharted territory.

Armed with the mindset of a soldier and racing against time to bring Caden home, Riven must learn how to blend in as a girl in a realm that is the opposite of all she’s ever known. Will she be able to find the strength to defy her very nature? Or will she become the monstrous soldier she was designed to be?

Goodreads | SKYHORSE PUBLISHING Website

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About the Author:

AMALIE HOWARD grew up on a small Caribbean island where she spent most of her childhood with her nose buried in a book or being a tomboy running around barefoot, shimmying up mango trees and dreaming of adventure. 25 countries, surfing with sharks and several tattoos later, she has traded in bungee jumping in China for writing the adventures she imagines instead. She isn’t entirely convinced which takes more guts.

She is the award-winning author of several young adult novels critically acclaimed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, VOYA, and Booklist, including Waterfell, The Almost Girl, and Alpha Goddess, a Spring 2014 Kid’s INDIE NEXT title. Her debut novel, Bloodspell, was a #1 Amazon bestseller, and the sequel, Bloodcraft, was a national silver IPPY medalist. She is also the co-author of the adult historical romance series, THE LORDS OF ESSEX. As an author of color and a proud supporter of diversity in fiction, her articles on multicultural fiction have appeared in The Portland Book Review and on the popular Diversity in YA blog. She currently resides in Colorado with her husband and three children.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Amalie Howard Goodreads | THE FALLEN PRINCE Goodreads

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And now for the giveaway! To enter, fill out the Rafflectoper below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Amalie Howard’s THE FALLEN PRINCE – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

May 30^th

Movies, Shows & Books – Excerpt

My YA NA Book Obsession – Review & Excerpt

Adventures in Writing – Excerpt

The LitBuzz – Review

Deluged with Books Cafe – Excerpt

WTF Are You Reading? – Review & Excerpt

Rambling Reads – Excerpt

AC Book Blog – Excerpt

Cynthia Bloggs – Excerpt

May 31^st

Dazzled by Books – Excerpt

Comic Book Love – Review

Pandora’s Books – Excerpt

Have Words Will Scribble – Review & Excerpt

Vagabonda Reads – Excerpt

Hannah’s Words – Review & Excerpt

The Romance Reviews – Excerpt

Maari Loves Her Indies – Excerpt

June 1^st

Socially Awkward Book Nerd – Excerpt

Escape Inside the Pages – Review & Excerpt

SnoopyDoo’s Book Reviews – Excerpt

Penny For My Thoughts – Review

Blissfully bookerized – Excerpt

Amy’s Review Obsession – Review

Bookish Things & More – Excerpt

Readers Live A Thousand Lives – Excerpt

June 2^nd

Book it – Review & Excerpt

Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Excerpt

Books Need TLC – Review & Excerpt

BookCrushin – Excerpt

Roxy’s Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Romance Book Nerd – Excerpt

Mes Livres – Review & Excerpt

TMBA Corbett Tries to Write – Excerpt

The Rest Is Still Unwritten – Review & Excerpt

June 3^rd

The book slayer – Review & Excerpt

Fishing for Books – Excerpt

The Recipe Fairy – Review & Excerpt

YA Book Divas – Excerpt

2 girls who love books – Excerpt

Book Lovers Life – Excerpt

Only One More Page – Excerpt

Teen Readers’ Diary – Excerpt

June 4^th

Mama Reads Hazel Sleeps – Review & Excerpt

Hart’s Romance Pulse – Excerpt

The Cover Contessa – Review & Excerpt

Evermore Books – Excerpt

The A P Book Club – Review & Excerpt

The Travelogue of a book addict – The Book Drealms – Excerpt

City of Books – Review & Excerpt

RhiReading – Excerpt

Danielle’s Domain – Excerpt

Blog Tour: Everland by Wendy Spinale (Excerpt + Giveaway)

May10

Hey guys! I’m really excited to be on the blog tour for Everland by Wendy Spinale (May 10, 2016 – Scholastic Press)! This book sounds amazing and I’m dying to read it! Today, I have an excerpt to share with you, plus an amazing giveaway! First, here’s more about the book:

Forget the story of Peter Pan you know. Because in Everland, the only way to grow up is to survive.

London has been destroyed in a blitz of bombs and disease. The only ones who have survived are children, among them Gwen Darling and her siblings, Joanna and Mikey. They spend their nights scavenging and their days avoiding the ruthless Marauders — the German Army led by Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer.

Unsure if the virus has spread past England’s borders but desperate to leave, Captain Hook hunts for a cure, which he thinks can be found in one of the survivors. He and his Marauders stalk the streets snatching children for experimentation. None ever return. Until the day they grab Joanna. As Gwen sets out to save her, she meets a mysterious boy named Pete. Pete offers the assistance of his gang of Lost Boys and the fierce sharpshooter Bella, who have all been living in a city hidden underground. But in a place where help has a steep price and every promise is bound by blood, it will cost Gwen. And are she, Pete, the Lost Boys, and Bella enough to outsmart Captain Hook?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Goodreads

And now for the excerpt. Enjoy!

His face draws close to mine.

“You don’t plan to march into the city and rescue your sister with a couple of dull daggers, do you?”

“I’ll find another weapon on the way.” I grab for my pack, but he brushes my hand aside.

“Do you really believe you and your kid brother can get her back all by yourself? It’s only a matter of time before you’re caught, too.” Pete hands me my bag. “Most survivors have learned the two rules to staying alive. Number one: Don’t leave behind a footprint. Bella and I stick to the rooftops. Others, those that are skilled with weapons and can run fast . . .”

“And have stomachs of steel,” Bella interjects, wrinkling her nose.

“Those Scavengers utilize the sewage systems,” Pete finishes.

“There are other people?” Mikey asks, tugging on Pete’s coattail.

“Of course there are others,” Bella says with exasperation in her voice. “Lots of them. All kids, obviously. You don’t think the four of us are the only ones left in England, do you?”

“Where are the other kids?” Mikey asks, his expression wild with curiosity.

Pete beckons us to the window. Mikey follows and, with reluctance, I join them. In the distance, the crumbledbuildings of Everland rise toward the sky like steel, concrete, and brick tombstones. The navy blue hues of night have faded into lavender as the sun on the horizon chases away what is left of the evening stars. Only two twinkling points remain. He points to the west.

“Second to the right,” he says. “Just below it.”

“You’re telling me there are children hiding in Everland?” I ask in disbelief.

– – – – – –
Copyright © 2016 by Wendy Spinale
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. scholastic, scholastic press, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

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And now for the giveaway! Three winners will receive a finished copy of EVERLAND. Giveaway US Only. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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About the Author:

I must admit, I have lived an extraordinary life and will forever be grateful for the opportunities I have had.

I was the middle of three kids, my older brother being deaf for as far back as I can remember. At the time, I didn’t realize how much that would later impact my life. I was a sign language interpreter for a short time (although I’m extremely rusty now), taught my kids to sign as infants, and now am using that experience in my current manuscript.

During college I was living in southern California working for Disneyland as a Cast Member in the Entertainment Department. I met my husband there who was also a performer. After four incredible years working with the Mouse, we moved to his hometown in the Bay Area.

I eventually got my Bachelor’s in Kinesiology and worked in the fitness industry for ten years before a knee injury ended my career. Not sure what to do with my time, I applied to job posting to be an online journalist. I loved writing, but had no experience. I didn’t hear back so I wrote up a review about a local restaurant and sent it to them to prove I could do the job. Twenty-four hours later, I was a journalist with AOL Media/Pleasanton Patch.

I spent three great years with them before cut backs forced me without a job again. That’s when I started writing my first novel, which went nowhere. Dozens of rejection letters later. I started a second book. A year later I was offered representation by Thao Le from Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and within another six months I was offered a book deal. EVERLAND (Scholastic) is scheduled to debut Summer of 2016!

Today I live in the Bay Area with my husband and three sons who are my biggest fans. While they’re off at work and school, I bounce ideas off my four-legged, furry family members, Odie and Sammy.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:
5/2/2016 – Brittany’s Book Rambles – Interview
5/3/2016 – BookHounds YA – Review
5/4/2016 – Novel Novice – Guest Post
5/5/2016 – A Glass Of Wine – Review
5/6/2016 – Two Chicks on Books – Interview

Week Two:
5/9/2016 – Beauty and the Bookshelf – Review
5/10/2016 – Pandora’s Books – Excerpt
5/11/2016 – Please Feed the Bookworm – Review
5/12/2016 – Once Upon a Twilight – Excerpt
5/13/2016 – 5 Girls Book Reviews – Review

Blog Tour: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi (Spotlight + Giveaway)

Apr28

Hey everyone! Today I’ve got a spotlight post for The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi (April 26, 2016 – St. Martin’s Griffin) to share with you for the blog tour! Sadly, due to a death in the family, I wasn’t able to finish reading the book in time to review it for the blog tour. But what I’ve read so far is AMAZING and I’m very excited to be sharing this spotlight with you!

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…

But Akaran has its own secrets — thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most. . .including herself.

A lush and vivid story that is steeped in Indian folklore and mythology. The Star-Touched Queen is a novel that no reader will soon forget.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks

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And now for the giveaway! Two winners will receive a finished copy of THE STAR TOUCHED QUEEN. US Only. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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About the Author:

Roshani Chokshi comes from a small town in Georgia where she collected a Southern accent, but does not use it unless under duress. She grew up in a blue house with a perpetually napping bear-dog. At Emory University, she dabbled with journalism, attended some classes in pajamas, forgot to buy winter boots and majored in 14th century British literature. She spent a year after graduation working and traveling and writing. After that, she started law school at the University of Georgia where she’s learning a new kind of storytelling.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:
4/25/2016 – Dark Faerie Tales – Guest Post
4/26/2016 – Fiction Fare – Review
4/27/2016 – Once Upon a Twilight – Interview
4/28/2016 – Pandora’s Books – Spotlight
4/29/2016 – Two Chicks on Books – Interview

Week Two:
5/2/2016 – BookHounds YA – Review
5/3/2016 – The Eater of Books! – Guest Post
5/4/2016 – Mary Had a Little Book Blog – Review
5/5/2016 – Brittany’s Book Rambles – Interview
5/6/2016 – Storybook Slayers – Review

Pandora's Books

Archives

Blog Tour: How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather (Spotlight)

Review: Supergirl at Super Hero High by Lisa Yee (Blog Tour)

Blog Tour: How to Disappear by Ann Redisch Stampler (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Blog Tour: Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff (Interview)

Blog Tour: And I Darken by Kiersten White (Book Two Sneak Peak)

Blog Tour: Exile for Dreamers by Kathleen Baldwin (Spotlight + Giveaway)

Blog Tour: Beware That Girl by Teresa Toten (Interview + Book Birthday Spotlight)

Blog Tour: The Fallen Prince by Amalie Howard (Excerpt + Giveaway)

Blog Tour: Everland by Wendy Spinale (Excerpt + Giveaway)

Blog Tour: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi (Spotlight + Giveaway)