BLOG TOUR --- The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julie Drake [Spotlight + Giveaway]

Title: The Last True Poets of the Sea
Authors(s): Julie Drake
Edition: Hardcover, ebook, audiobook; 496 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: October 1, 2019
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Kindle - Audible - Barnes & Noble - iBooks - Kobo - The Book Depository

Tour Schedule

Week One:

10/1/2019- Twirling Book Princess- Excerpt

10/2/2019- BookHounds YA- Excerpt

10/3/2019- Wonder Struck- Review

10/4/2019- Dazzled by Books- Review

Week Two:

10/7/2019- The Layaway Dragon- Review

10/8/2019- PopTheButterfly Reads- Review

10/9/2019- Novel Novice- Excerpt

10/10/2019- Southern Girl Bookaholic- Review

10/11/2019- Fyrekatz Blog- Review

Week Three:

10/14/2019- Jena Brown Writes - Review

10/15/2019- Fire and Ice- Review

10/16/2019- Moonlight Rendezvous- Review

10/17/2019- A Bookish Dream- Review

10/18/2019- Portrait of a Book- Review

Week Four:

10/21/2019- The Pages In-Between- Review

10/22/2019- Lisa Loves Literature- Excerpt

10/23/2019- Two points of interest- Review 

10/24/2019- Do You Dog-ear?- Review

10/25/2019- Nerdophiles- Review

Week Five:

10/28/2019- Novel Nerd Faction- Review

10/29/2019- Book-Keeping- Review

10/30/2019- Eli to the nth- Spotlight

10/31/2019- That Georgia Gypsy- Review

The Summary

The Larkin family isn't just lucky—they persevere. At least that's what Violet and her younger brother, Sam, were always told. When the Lyric sank off the coast of Maine, their great-great-great-grandmother didn't drown like the rest of the passengers. No, Fidelia swam to shore, fell in love, and founded Lyric, Maine, the town Violet and Sam returned to every summer.

But wrecks seem to run in the family: Tall, funny, musical Violet can't stop partying with the wrong people. And, one beautiful summer day, brilliant, sensitive Sam attempts to take his own life.

Shipped back to Lyric while Sam is in treatment, Violet is haunted by her family's missing piece-the lost shipwreck she and Sam dreamed of discovering when they were children. Desperate to make amends, Violet embarks on a wildly ambitious mission: locate the Lyric, lain hidden in a watery grave for over a century.

She finds a fellow wreck hunter in Liv Stone, an amateur local historian whose sparkling intelligence and guarded gray eyes make Violet ache in an exhilarating new way. Whether or not they find the Lyric, the journey Violet takes-and the bridges she builds along the way-may be the start of something like survival.

Epic, funny, and sweepingly romantic, The Last True Poets of the Sea is an astonishing debut about the strength it takes to swim up from a wreck.

(Goodreads)

Excerpt

About the Author

Julia Drake grew up outside Philadelphia. As a teenager, she played some of Shakespeare's best heroines in her high school theater program and their stories would stay with her forever. She received her BA in Spanish from Williams College, and her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, where she also taught writing to first-year students. She currently works as a book coach for aspiring writers and teaches creative writing classes for Writopia Lab, a nonprofit that fosters love of writing in young adults. She lives in San Francisco with her partner and their rescue rabbit, Ned.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE LAST TRUE POETS OF THE SEA, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

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BLOG TOUR --- 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston [Review + Giveaway]

Title: 10 Blind Dates

Authors(s): Ashley Elston
Publication Date: October 1, 2019
Edition: Hardcover, ebook, audiobook; 336 pgs
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Kindle - Barnes & Noble  - iBooks - Kobo - The Book Depository - Audible
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tour Schedule

Week One:

10/1/2019- BookHounds YA- Excerpt

10/2/2019- Odd and Bookish- Review

10/3/2019- Fictitiouswonderland- Review

10/4/2019- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

Week Two:

10/7/2019- PopTheButterfly Reads- Excerpt

10/8/2019- Read. Eat. Love.- Review

10/9/2019- Paper Reader- Review

10/10/2019- A Bookish Dream- Review

10/11/2019- Savings in Seconds- Review

Week Three:

10/14/2019- book briefs- Review

10/15/2019- Shelf-Rated- Review

10/16/2019- Smada's Book Smack- Review

10/17/2019- Do You Dog-ear?- Review

10/18/2019- Wishful Endings- Review

Week Four:

10/21/2019- Southern Girl Bookaholic- Review

10/22/2019- Eli to the nth- Review

10/23/2019- fictitious.fox- Review

10/24/2019-  Fire and Ice- Review

10/25/2019- Two points of interest- Review

Week Five:

10/28/2019- Riddle’s Reviews- Review

10/29/2019- Jena Brown Writes- Review

10/30/2019- Moonlight Rendezvous- Review
10/31/2019- Novel Novice- Review

The Summary

Sophie wants one thing for Christmas-a little freedom from her overprotective parents. So when they decide to spend Christmas in South Louisiana with her very pregnant older sister, Sophie is looking forward to some much needed private (read: make-out) time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. Except it turns out that Griffin wants a little freedom from their relationship.

Heartbroken, Sophie flees to her grandparents' house, where the rest of her boisterous extended family is gathered for the holiday. That's when her nonna devises a (not so) brilliant plan: Over the next ten days, Sophie will be set up on ten different blind dates by different family members. Like her sweet cousin Sara, who sets her up with a hot guy at an exclusive underground party. Or her crazy aunt Patrice, who signs Sophie up for a lead role in a living nativity. With a boy who barely reaches her shoulder. And a screaming baby.

When Griffin turns up unexpectedly and begs for a second chance, Sophie feels more confused than ever. Because maybe, just maybe, she's started to have feelings for someone else . . . Someone who is definitely not available.

This is going to be the worst Christmas break ever . . . or is it?

"This piece-by-piece romance doesn't need its Christmas theme to sell, but it makes it glitter all the more."—Booklist

"In a funny holiday romance that has Sophie dog-sitting in a hockey rink, watching porn at a drive-in theater, and playing the Virgin Mary in a middle school Nativity, Elston cleverly reflects the family members' personalities through their choices of dates for Sophie."—Publishers Weekly

(Goodreads)

My Review

A super cute, light, romantic read that's a perfect cure to the blues, 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston embodies all the things I love about the YA contemporary romance genre.  

While some may find it a little early to read a book set at Christmas, I was so excited when I read the summary.  Christmas is one of my absolute favorite holidays, and growing up in Florida has always made me want a little White Christmas.  Of course 10 Blind Dates, being set in Louisiana, isn't exactly filled with snow flurries and icicles, but the true heart of Christmas, family, is front and center.

While the cast is big, and could've used a Family Tree to keep track of all the aunts, uncles, and cousins, Elston captures what family is: love, acceptance, and security.  Sophie may be experiencing the worst heartbreak, but her family is there for her, whether or not their good intentions come to fruition.

A delight to read, full of heart and humor, 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston is the feel-good Christmas romance that you can read all year long!

Final Rating

About the Author

Ashley Elston is the author of several novels, including THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING (a finalist in the Best Young Adult Novel category of the International Thriller Awards) and THIS IS OUR STORY. She graduated with a Liberal Arts degree from Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Ashley worked for many years as a wedding photographer before turning her hand to writing. Ashley lives in Louisiana with her husband and three sons. 

Ashley is represented by Sarah Davies at The Greenhouse Literary Agency.

Website | Twitter  |Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

3 winners will receive a finished copy of 10 BLIND DATES, US Only.

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BLOG TOUR --- Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia [Spotlight + Giveaway]

Title: Tristan Strong Punched a Hole in the Sky
Authors(s): Kwame Mbalia
Edition: Hardcover, ebook, audiobook; 496 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion: Rick Riordan Presents
Publication Date: October 1, 2019
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Kindle - Audible - Barnes & Noble - iBooks - Kobo - The Book Depository

Tour Schedule

Week One:

10/1/2019- BookHounds YA- Excerpt

10/2/2019- Little Red Reads- Excerpt

10/3/2019- Spoiled Girl- Review

10/4/2019- A Backwards Story- Review

Week Two:

10/7/2019- Lifestyle of Me- Review

10/8/2019- Sometimes Leelynn Reads- Excerpt

10/9/2019- Books a Plenty Book Reviews- Review

10/10/2019- Kait Plus Books- Excerpt

10/11/2019- Kyera's Library- Review

Week Three:

10/14/2019- The Reading Corner for All- Review

10/15/2019- Feed Your Fiction Addiction- Review

10/16/2019- Eli to the nth- Review

10/17/2019- Feed Your Fiction Addiction- Review

10/18/2019- PopTheButterfly Reads- Review

Week Four:

10/21/2019- Savings in Seconds- Review

10/22/2019- Always Me - Review

10/23/2019- Fictitiouswonderland- Review

10/24/2019- Nerdophiles- Review

10/25/2019- Confessions of a YA Reader- Review

Week Five:

10/28/2019- Two points of interest- Review

10/29/2019- fictitious.fox- Review

10/30/2019- Jena Brown Writes- Review
10/31/2019- Fyrekatz Blog- Review

The Summary

Seventh-grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. 

Tristan is dreading the month he’s going to spend on his grandparents’ farm in Alabama, where he’s being sent to heal from the tragedy. But on his first night there, a sticky creature shows up in his bedroom and steals Eddie’s journal. 

Tristan chases after it-–is that a doll?-–and a tug-of-war ensues between them underneath a Bottle Tree. In a last attempt to wrestle the journal out of the creature’s hands, Tristan punches the tree, accidentally ripping open a chasm into the MidPass, a volatile place with a burning sea, haunted bone ships, and iron monsters that are hunting the inhabitants of this world. Tristan finds himself in the middle of a battle that has left black American gods John Henry and Brer Rabbit exhausted. 

In order to get back home, Tristan and these new allies will need to entice the god Anansi, the Weaver, to come out of hiding and seal the hole in the sky. But bartering with the trickster Anansi always comes at a price. Can Tristan save this world before he loses more of the things he loves?

(Goodreads)

About the Author

Kwame is a husband, father, writer, and pharmaceutical metrologist in that order.  His debut middle-grade novel, TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY (October 15, 2019) is published by Rick Riordan Presents/Disney-Hyperion.  A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, he enjoys impromptu dance sessions and Cheezits. 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

3 winners will receive a finished copy of TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY, US Only.

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BLOG TOUR --- Conceal, Don't Feel by Jen Calonita [Review + Giveaway]

Title: Conceal, Don't Feel
Authors(s): Jen Calonita
Publication Date: October 1, 2019
Edition: Hardcover, ebook, audiobook; 320 pgs
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Kindle - Barnes & Noble  - iBooks - Kobo - The Book Depository - Audible
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tour Schedule

Blog Tour

Week One:

9/30/2019 - BookHounds YA - Excerpt

10/1/2019 - Kait Plus Books - Excerpt

10/2/2019 - Starlight Reads - Review

10/3/2019 - EatingbetweenthelinesINC - Review

10/4/2019 - Books a Plenty Book Reviews - Review

Week Two:

10/7/2019 - Eli to the nth - Review

10/8/2019 - Struck by Stories - Review

10/9/2019 - Confessions of a YA Reader - Review

10/10/2019 - Fictitiouswonderland - Review

10/11/2019 - History from a Woman’s Perspective - Review

Bookstagram Tour

Week One:

9/30/2019 - Polish & Paperbacks - Review

10/1/2019 - Odd and Bookish - Review

10/2/2019 - Fictitious Fox - Review

10/3/2019 - A Gingerly Review - Review

10/4/2019 - The Pages In-Between - Review

Week Two:

10/7/2019 - Jena Brown Writes - Review

10/8/2019 - PopTheButterfly Reads - Review

10/9/2019 - Novel Novice - Review

10/10/2019 - The Reading Corner for All - Review
10/11/2019 - Wishful Endings - Review

The Summary

What if Anna and Elsa never knew each other?

As the future Queen of Arendelle, Princess Elsa’s life is full of expectation and responsibility—not to mention, questions. What type of ruler will she be? When will she have to pick a suitor? And why has she always harbored the feeling that some critical piece of herself is missing?

Following the unexpected death of her parents, Elsa is forced to answer those questions sooner than she’d hoped, becoming the sole ruler of her kingdom and growing lonelier than ever. But when mysterious powers begin to reveal themselves, Elsa starts to remember fragments of her childhood that seem to have been erased—pieces that include a very familiar-looking girl. Determined to fill the void she has always felt, Elsa must take a harrowing journey across her icy kingdom to undo a terrible curse . . . and find the missing Princess of Arendelle.

Conceal, Don’t Feel is a stand-alone in the Twisted Tales Series, each one centers on a different Disney Character. Grab the other books now!

(Goodreads)

My Review

Conceal, Don't Feel by Jen Calonita takes the original story of Frozen and turns it on it's head by asking: what happens if Anna and Elsa don't know each other?  Considering the relationship between the sisters is the driving force behind Frozen I was really interested to see how that scenario effected everything.  Of course, with Frozen 2 coming out next month, as well, this was just the perfect time to dive back into this world.

A magical accident erases both Anna's and Elsa's memories of each other, in order to protect them.  Elsa is still raised as heir to Arendelle, but Anna is raised by a Baker and his wife.  So while their lives are different, they both feel as if something is missing.  But neither of them truly know what that is...at least right away.

What I really loved about this book is we got to get even more character development on our favorite characters.  Anna and Elsa are both more developed, along with Kristoff and Hans.  But I loved learning more about the King and Queen.  In the movie, we get a small insight into them, but in the book, they are expanded even more and you really learn how much they love their daughters.  While the journey of the story is great, it is this characterization that makes the story sing.

A great addition to the the Twisted Tales series, if you're a fan of Frozen, friendship, or family, you should definitely pick up Conceal, Don't Feel by Jen Colanita (there's a giveaway for a finished copy below)

Final Rating

Excerpt

“This box was made for your monarchy,” Papa said, and she looked up in surprise. “As you are next in line to the throne and just a few years away from coming of age, your mother and I felt it was time you had your own for safekeeping.” 

“Papa, it’s beautiful,” she said. “But I don’t need one now.” 

“No,” he said softly. “But someday you will, and we wanted you to be prepared. Kai and the staff know the lockbox by sight and know its contents are private. Whatever you put inside this box is for your eyes only, Elsa. Your secrets are safe in here. For now, I suggest you keep this in your chambers.” His eyes searched hers for understanding.

Elsa ran her fingers along the green velvet interior. “Thank you, Papa.” 

He placed his hand atop hers. “It may not feel like it now, but someday your whole life will change in ways you can’t possibly imagine.” He hesitated. “Promise me when it does, if I’m not here to guide you—” 

“Papa—” 

He cut her off. “Promise me that when that day comes, you will look to this box for guidance.” 

Look to it for guidance? It was a box. A beautiful box, but a box nonetheless. Still, it was a big step to be given a lockbox like the ones Papa and the kings and queens before him had used. “I promise,” she said. 

CHECK OUT THE OTHER BOOKS IN THE TWISTED TALES SERIES

About the Author

It's no secret how Jen Calonita knows the inside scoop on Hollywood. A former entertainment editor at a teen magazine, Jen started out her career chronicling backstage life at concerts with Justin Timberlake and interviewing Zac Efron on film sets. It was her work in the entertainment world that inspired her first series, Secrets of My Hollywood Life. The six-book series about a teen starlet named Kaitlin Burke who grew weary of the fame game, but loved being an actress was published in nine countries. Jen's other young adult novels include Sleepaway Girls and Summer State of Mind (since she was a camp counselor as a teen), Reality Check and Belles, which is about two polar opposite girls who share one life-altering secret. Her latest young adult book, Turn It Up, is about a girls' high school acapella group.

In her first middle grade series, Fairy Tale Reform School, readers explore a school run by Cinderella's formerly wicked stepmother. The series (Flunked, Charmed, Tricked, Switched, and Wished) are told from spunky young former thief, Gillian Cobbler. In Jen's companion series, Royal Academy Rebels, which is set in the same kingdom as FTRS, readers follow young princess Devin, an animal whisperer, as she navigates her mysterious new school run by the most famous fairy godmother of all time. Misfits is out now with book two, Outlaws, due fall 2019.

Website | Twitter  |Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads

Giveaway

1 winner will receive a finished copy of CONCEAL, DON’T FEEL, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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