The Summer Blogger Promo Tour

AH! That's it lovely people of the interweb! It's been a great summer full of exciting posts from some new and wonderful bloggers. We've had some book tags, guest posts and even a couple of reviews and now it's time to wrap it all up and have a quick look back at what we got up to! 

SJ Bouquet

On the 6th of July SJ and I took on our very own bookish Tri-Wizard tournament! We let you lot decide who the winner was and I'm happy (if not slightly bitter) to announce that SJ won!! It's still up so you can always cast your vote and check out how we took on the challenges in a fine book blogging style. 

You can find SJ on her BLOG and on TWITTER.

The Book Bratz

Next up on the 13th of July we got to know Jessica and Amber a little better with a guest post on why they started blogging. These two girls were the masterminds behind the whole tour and so I think we owe them both a little - if not MASSIVE - round of applause. 

You can fine The Book Bratz on their BLOG and on TWITTER.

Dana Square

The lovely Dana and I took on The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepard on the 20th of July in our very own little book club! We both found ourselves drawn into this rather creepy world were the rules of right and wrong are blurred. Beware the madness and the spoilers!! 

You can find Dana on her BLOG and on TWITTER.

Endlessly Reading 

On the 27th of July we had our only male blogger on the site with a fun little book recommendation in the style of a scavenger hunt! Andrew shared some of his favourite books and I for one wouldn't agree more with him on the majority of his picks! I would tell you which ones but that would be giving the game away. 

You can find Andrew on his BLOG and on TWITTER.

Ana Loves

To start of August on the 3rd we had a little Q&A with Ana to get to know this brain box a little better. She answered some Q's and it was a change to get to know the 17-year-olds bookish ways without having to physically stalk her. Which I don't encourage btw... unless you're staking Theo James, then I can't help but wish you luck ;) 

You can find Ana on her BLOG and on TWITTER.

The YA Club

Okay so this one went up a little later than planned on the 11th of August as I managed to get my dates all muddled up. Don't hate me I'm only a Muggle! Although even a little later we still had a great post where LS from the YA Club shared her top 10 books of all time with us! Anyone else's TBR piles feeling 10 books bigger? 

Find The YA Club on their BLOG and on TWITTER.

Caught Read Handed

Oh this one was fun! On the 17th of August Stefani and I took part in a little boo club were we got to read and devour Everything Leads To You by Nina LaCour. We both loved this one and it's such a great book for summer... even if it is almost over. Again, there are spoilers but if you've read this book then get on over and see if you agree with what we thought!! 

Find Stefani on her BLOG and on the TWITTER.

Ink On The Shelf

And lastly on the 24th of August we had the wonderful Jen. Jen took part in one of my favourite bookish tags at the moment, The Chocolate Tag. Because come on, who doesn't love chocolate and books? These were her sugary recommendations for you. 

Find her on her BLOG and on TWITTER.

THAT'S IT! 8 Bloggers later and the tour is over! I hope you all had as much fun as I did getting to know everyone.

If you missed out on any of the posts I did for the tour here's a list of them and where to find them:

6th July: Summer Book Looks on Ink On The Shelf

13th July: US vs UK Book Covers on Caught Read Handed

20th July: 20 Questions on The YA Club

27th July: Q&A on Ana Loves...

3rd August: Top 5 YA Adaptations on Endlessly Reading

10th August: A-Z Bookish Survey on Dana Square 

17th August: The Diary of a Book Blogger on The Book Bratz

Tour Post: Gypsy

Today I'm taking part in the Xpresso Book Tour Gypsy blog tour. This book is so good and here's everything you need to know about it, as well as my review and a little giveaway thanks to Xpresso. 

Enjoy! x

GYPSY

by Trisha Leigh

Publication date: May 13th 2014

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

BUY: Amazon, B&N

Summary

Inconsequential: not important or significant.Synonyms: insignificant, unimportant, nonessential, irrelevant
In the world of genetic mutation, Gypsy’s talent of knowing a person’s age of death is considered a failure. Her peers, the other Cavies, have powers that range from curdling a blood still in the vein to being able to overhear a conversation taking place three miles away, but when they’re taken from the sanctuary where they grew up and forced into the real world, Gypsy, with her all-but-invisible gift, is the one with the advantage.
The only one who’s safe, if the world finds out what they can do.
When the Cavies are attacked and inoculated with an unidentified virus, that illusion is shattered. Whatever was attached to the virus causes their abilities to change. Grow. In some cases, to escape their control.
Gypsy dreamed of normal high school, normal friends, a normal life, for years. Instead, the Cavies are sucked under a sea of government intrigue, weaponized genetic mutation, and crushing secrets that will reframe everything they’ve ever been told about how their "talents" came to be in the first place.
When they find out one of their own has been appropriated by the government, mistreated and forced to run dangerous missions, their desire for information becomes a pressing need. With only a series of guesses about their origins, the path to the truth becomes quickly littered with friends, enemies, and in the end, the Cavies ability to trust anyone at all.

Review

I don't know what I was expecting going into Gypsy. I haven't read anything by this author before and even though I had seen some pretty great reviews I wasn't really sure what was going to happen. Although I'm thrilled that I gave this book a shot because I loved it. The plot was exciting and full of twists and turns. The characters were all unique and well thought through with their own strengths and weaknesses making them come alive on the page. In general it was just a really fun and intriguing read with some rather dashing book boyfriends to boot!

The book itself follows a group of teens as they are taken from the only home they have ever known and the people they consider their family. These kids, Cavies as they like to call themselves, are no ordinary kids. They all have superhuman powers that at times can be a danger to not just themselves but also the rest of the world. Now away from the plantation this group of kids have to learn to live a normal life with their biological families (if they have them). However, the normalcy doesn't last long and for Gypsy and her friends to find out the truth about who they are and why they were really forced to live on the plantation their whole lives they will have to risk everything. 

This book started off with a really strong x-men feel to it, I was actually kind of waiting for Professor X to come rolling out in his wheelchair at one point. However, this quickly changed as the group of misfit mutants were taken away from their home. 

Gypsy is out main protagonist and out of this bunch of mutants she is the least fatal. She has the power to see when people are going to die. One touch and Gypsy will see the age in which you'll finally kick the bucket, which, even though awkward and challenging isn't likely to kill anyone. Unlike Mole who is a walking detonator! However, when Gypsy starts her new life she accidentally bumps into a boy name Jude seeing his number clear as day in her mind. 18. But here's the question, can she find a way to save him? 

There was one aspect of the story that I really liked and that was the whole 'clubhouse' idea as it constantly connected us as the reader to the idea that these teens are mutants, not that you ever really forget, but I liked that fact that the group were connected in some way even after they got taken away from the only place they've ever called home. 

Overall I really liked this book. It never stopped moving and it constantly gave us as the reader new pieces of the puzzle to digest as the plot thickened. There was never a lull in the story, never a moment wasted with frivolous information. It's action packed and the characters are captivating and easy to get lost in. Well worth the read. 

**I received this book as an ARC from Xpresso Book Tours to read & review. This is a 100% honest review.**

About Trisha

Trisha Leigh is a product of the Midwest, which means it’s pop, not soda, garage sales, not tag sales, and you guys as opposed to y’all. Most of the time. She’s been writing seriously for five years now, and has published 4 young adult novels and 4 new adult novels (under her pen name Lyla Payne). Her favorite things, in no particular order, include: reading, Game of Thrones, Hershey’s kisses, reading, her dogs (Yoda and Jilly), summer, movies,  reading, Jude Law, coffee, and rewatching WB series from the 90’s-00’s.

Her family is made up of farmers and/or almost rock stars from Iowa, people who numerous, loud, full of love, and the kind of people that make the world better. Trisha tries her best to honor them, and the lessons they’ve taught, through characters and stories—made up, of course, but true enough in their way.

Trisha is the author of The Last Year series and the Whitman University books. She’s represented by Kathleen Rushall at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

    

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Q&A with Lily Paradis

A couple of weeks ago you would have seen the GORGEOUS cover reveal we hosted for Lily Paradis' new book IGNITE. I'm thrilled to say that on the 5th of September I will be taking part of the blog tour for this exciting book but until then how about we get to know the author a little better? Here's a Q&A I had with the lovely Lily a couple of days ago.

Enjoy x

Q&A with Lily Paradis
Author of IGNITE

What was the inspiration behind IGNITE?

It’s actually kind of a funny story. I was nannying for three kids overnight for a few days. They lived kind of far away from where I went to school, and there was a LOT of traffic when I’d go over to make them dinner after class. I had a lot of time to sit in my car, listen to Seven Devils (Florence and the Machine), and the idea for the story just kind of popped into my head. I wondered what it would be like if this was my life, and I had to take care of these kids permanently.

This song also inspired the book!

Who was your favourite character to write and why?

Dean Powell, hands down. Is it insane to be in love with a fictional character from your own imagination? If so, I’m certifiable. I think what I enjoyed most was that while I was writing IGNITE, little scenes from Dean’s childhood would make their way into my brain but I couldn’t include them since they didn’t really fit in with the style of the book or Lauren’s narration, so I wrote ARCLIGHT. That way you get to know him even better in his own book!

Where did your love for writing come from?

I’ve always loved writing, but I only started writing because I read so much. My dad would take me to the bookstore every week when I was a kid. I would have an entire stack that he would help me sort through, and then I would come back for the rest the next week. I write the kind of stories that I want to read, and that’s why it’s so much fun!

What three books would you recommend to readers of IGNITE?

Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan, Significance by Shelly Crane, and Striking (Forged in Fire) by Lila Felix and Rachel Higginson.

What’s your favourite part of the writing process?

The creation. I have a love/hate relationship with the birth of a story because I love it when I’m doing something completely normal, and a random scene pops into my head, and then I have to drop what I’m doing to write it down.

Just now as I was answering that question I remembered a scene from VOLITION that I forgot to write, so thanks for the reminder!

Anyway, it’s really exciting, and to be honest I don’t understand how my brain does it. I don’t love it when I can’t sleep, but hey. I’ll take it!

What’s the most challenging part of the writing process for you?

Editing. Editing. Editing.

Did I mention editing?

It’s awful. I hate tearing it all apart, because it takes forever to put back together. It’s kind of like when you get the gumption to clean your room, and mid-way you find something exciting to play with, and you forget all about the rest of it for three days? But by then it’s hopeless because you’ve lost your will to live in a clean environment? Yeah. It’s kind of like that.

Why did you choose to write for this particular genre?

I chose it because it’s what I like to read. I also have a couple of Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Dystopian novels coming up (EQUILIBRIUM, RISE, and RAGNAROK), but this genre is what I read the most!

What are you reading at the moment?

I just read Hard Knox by Nicole Williams and Scoring Wilder by K.S. Grey. I highly recommend both!

Lastly time to sell your book, in one sentence, why should we read IGNITE? No pressure…

Because you need Dean Powell in your life. 

Plain and simple. I need Dean Powell in my life. Can we call Nick Bateman? I wouldn’t mind if this became a Ruby Sparks type situation. I think Colleen Hoover has already claimed him for Miles from Ugly Love... but he can be Dean Powell too, right?

The Book

Title: IGNITE

Author: Lily Paradis

Publisher: Empire Books

Release Date: August 26th 2014

ISBN: 9780990716006

Buy Links: Amazon || Amazon UK

Back Cover 

After her father’s untimely demise in a mining accident and her mother’s abandonment, Lauren Lindsay is no stranger to loss. She’s used to living life for one person: herself. That is, until another family tragedy thrusts three children into her care and uproots her life in ways she could never imagine. Lauren's first instinct is to run, until she meets their striking, mysterious neighbor Dean Powell. Their immediate chemistry and his connection with her late father just might be enough to keep her in town long enough to uncover pieces of her past that she never had answers to. Dean’s shady past and her reluctance to trust him could cost her the life she's always been searching for, but will she run back to her old life? Or will she choose to stay and live the life her father always imagined for her?

   

Review: The Art of Lainey

THE ART OF LAINEY

by Paula Stokes

Pages: 384

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: May 20th 2014

ISBN: 0062238426

Summary 

Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.
And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.
What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?

Review

"Standing up for yourself is about more than flinging barbed-wire insults around. It's about picking your battles, knowing when to fight, knowing exactly what and who is worth fighting for."

What do you do when your seemingly perfect boyfriend walks straight up to you - at work, in front of EVERYONE - and dumps you? Well, I think if that happened to me there would be a sprinkling of anger and a whole heap load of wallowing. But for Lainey Mitchell it's all about getting her boyfriend back. And with a little help from her best friend and a certain warlord it looks like she might just be able to pull it off. But here the thing, does Lainey really want him back?

The Art of Lainey is by far one of my favourite contemporary reads of 2014. I was a little dubious going into it because there had been so much hype in the blogging world about this soccer (correctly known as football) playing protagonist but I'm happy to announce that it definitely lives up to the name it's carved out for itself! The story and the characters were both fun and intriguing to read about. The mix of social circles made for an interesting hook to the plot and the way in which the characters progressed and developed throughout the book was really kind of moving.

Being a devotee of The Bad Boy movement I have to say that this book stole my heart a little. Micah is hot! Full stop end of story hot that makes you wan to head to a heavy metal concert and find yourself your own mohawked boyfriend. He's a sexy punk book boyfriend with a big heart and I couldn't get enough of him. He has his flaws, which I think makes him all the more endearing and his character compliments Lainey's perfectly making them all the more likeable.

"I Just figured instead of obsessing about what is out of your hands, why not control the things you can?"

Lainey has to try and find a way to accept her new reality in this book and that reality is one without her seemingly perfect boyfriend Jason. She has to be able to change and adapt to new friends and opportunities otherwise they might pass her by leaving her to come to terms with all the changes in her life on her own. Lainey's development throughout the story was probably my favourite part. The plot had the occasional cliche but it was the way that Lainey discovered who she was and was able to look outside of little bubble and find happiness and contentment that really made this book special.

"I know what you're saying I guess I'm just wondering how we know when to give up and move on."

This book is about Lainey learning who she is. It's about her gaining perspective on her life and seeing that maybe the way she is isn't the best she can be. Again it's Lainey inability to change that stops her from really enjoying herself and it's a constant threat throughout the book. From a lover of lists myself I get needed to make a plan and stick to it, but if only she had been more susceptible to Micah in the beginning she could have saved herself a whole lot of heart ache.

The Art of Lainey is an enjoyable, funny and endearing book that is perfect for the end of summer. I highly recommend this book and for any of you going through a rough breakup it will help remind you that maybe, just maybe it wasn't the worst thing in the world. Everything happens for a reason right? 

"All the ladies love the mohawk."

GIVEAWAY (UK)

Paula was very lovely and send a large bag of Lainey swag my way and there was plenty to split between a couple of giveaways. SO if you didn't win last time here's your second chance! 

I also have a copy of The Art of Lainey to giveaway too.

ONE winner will win both swag and book! 

Good Luck xx

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Guest Post: Krysten Lindsay Hager

Comfort Food, Comfort Books

By Krysten Lindsay Hager

We all have our favorite comfort foods we run to on a bad day (mine happens to be frozen chocolate dipped bananas), and those movies we turn to during tough times and can watch over and over again…like Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which I’m fairly certain I could recite by heart. But I also have my favorite comfort books. Those are the novels I turn to when I’m having a down day and I just need to escape for a little while. Comfort books never fail to make you smile and, since you’ve read them a jillion times, never surprise you with the ending. Here are three of my favorite comfort YA/MG books.

My first comfort book is My Mother Was Never a Kid by Francine Pascal. It’s also been called, Hangin’ Out with Cici. I read this book for the first time in fifth grade. I found it at the library and the cover intrigued me because it had a vintage flair yet it was about a contemporary girl named Victoria Martin. Victoria is about to turn fourteen and feels she should be treated like an adult, but her mother still sees her as an immature kid. It doesn’t help that Victoria is a troublemaker…well, it’s more that trouble finds her and she doesn’t exactly run away from it. Her mother is about to ground her into the next year and she feels the real problem is her mother doesn’t remember what it was like to be a kid. On her way home from her cousin’s she hits her head and when she wakes up, she’s somehow been transported to a different time and meets a fun new girl, Cici, who is even more of a rebel then she is—and somehow it’s her mom…at age fourteen.

There are so many hilarious and amazing scenes in this book: Victoria going to her mom’s and seeing her grandma as a younger woman and freaking out, the scene where Cici gets caught shoplifting and pretends to be a foreign exchange student to get out of trouble, and there’s another scene that I won’t spoil, but let’s just say we see a different side of Victoria’s strict principal when he was a teen. This book is funny, entertaining, and gripping. I have read it so many times that I had to download it on my Kindle because my paper copies were all messed up. Notice I said, “Copies,” plural? Yeah, I’ve had three over the years. One copy that had so much wear that I had to replace it and then a backup because the second copy was starting to look worse for wear (I still haven’t throw it out yet). And there’s a TV movie of this you can find on youtube, but read the book first because the movie doesn’t hold a candle to the awesomeness. This is also a book Francine Pascal wrote herself unlike the Sweet Valley books she was the mastermind and creator of, but wrote the outlines and not all the novels. I actually went to a children’s writing conference a few years ago where Francine was one of the speakers. I went up to her after one of the sessions and told her how much I loved that book and how it made me want to write YA books myself. I choked up a little talking to her, which was so embarrassing, but it was one of the top five moments in my life.

My next book is Just as Long as We’re Together by Judy Blume. I read this book for the first time in the sixth grade. It was the first day of school and I was so anxious. We had a half-day and my mom picked me up and we stopped at Kmart where I saw this book. I took this book home and finished it that night. I loved the three very distinct characters and felt they each could have been friends of mine. I loved reading about the insecurities they had about starting a new school year (I wasn’t alone in that!), the weirdness of boys at that age (seriously, why did they act so weird when they liked you?), and the first school dance. I remember reading what outfit Rachel picked for their school dance and it sounded so sophisticated. I was dying to find something similar to wear…not that at age twelve I had any need for that type of outfit! The characters were so relatable and even now I find myself feeling safe when I slip back into the story. Judy Blume went on to write Rachel’s story and at one time said there would be an Alison story…I’m still waiting. Seriously, I’d be first in line to buy that book. I bought a new copy of it two years ago because my old copy was starting to get worn. This one’s a keeper.

My third choice is a more recent discovery. My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald. This was one of the first MG/YA books I bought when I moved back to the U.S. It’s about a girl, Lucy, who tries to help save her grandma’s pharmacy from closing forever. Lucy loves cosmetics and wants to be a makeup artist, so she decides to start giving makeovers at the drugstore to drum up new business and give the place a spa feeling. There’s something about the description of the family owned pharmacy that brings up warm, fuzzy feelings in me. Maybe it’s because I spent my preteen years in the makeup aisles of a small pharmacy trying to pick out the lip gloss that would, “change my life.” Seeing how Lucy tries to help her family and pursue her goals is inspiring and heartwarming. It’s a new favorite and I’d definitely recommend it.

I’m so glad I could share a couple of my comfort books with you. I am such a huge YA/MG fan and reading them inspired me to purse my lifelong goal of being an author. My own YA/MG book, True Colors, was just released this summer and it was a dream come true. Please share some of your favorite comfort novels in the comments! I’d love to learn about a new book to add to my own collection.

About Krysten

Krysten Lindsay Hager is an author and book addict who has never met a bookstore she didn’t like. She’s worked as a journalist and writes middle grade, YA, humor essays, and adult fiction. TRUE COLORS is her bestselling debut novel from Astraea Press. You can visit her at her website  and find her on Twitter.

TRUE COLORS Landry Albright just wants to be one of the interesting girls at school who always have exciting things going on in their lives. She wants to stand out, but also wants to fit in, so she gives in when her two best friends, Ericka and Tori, push her into trying out for a teen reality show modeling competition with them. Landry goes in nervous, but impresses the judges enough to make it to the next round. However, Ericka and Tori get cut and basically "unfriend" her on Monday at school. Landry tries to make new friends, but gets caught up between wanting to be herself and conforming to who her new friends want her to be. Along the way she learns that modeling is nowhere as glamorous as it seems, how to deal with frenemies, a new crush, and that true friends see you for who you really are and like you because of it.

Release Day Blitz: IGNITE

 So we've had the cover release and now it's time for IGNITE to make it's way into the world. IT'S RELEASE DAY!!! Whoop Whoop!! Here's all the links you need, also a little excerpt for you lovely lot to sink your teeth into!

Enjoy

IGNITE

by Lily Paradis

Publisher: Empire Books

Publication Date: 26th August 2014

   

Summary 

After her father’s untimely demise in a mining accident and her mother’s abandonment, Lauren Lindsay is no stranger to loss. She’s used to living life for one person: herself. That is, until another family tragedy thrusts three children into her care and uproots her life in ways she could never imagine. Lauren's first instinct is to run, until she meets their striking, mysterious neighbor Dean Powell. Their immediate chemistry and his connection with her late father just might be enough to keep her in town long enough to uncover pieces of her past that she never had answers to. Dean’s shady past and her reluctance to trust him could cost her the life she's always been searching for, but will she run back to her old life? Or will she choose to stay and live the life her father always imagined for her?

BUY LINKS

Kindle

 AMAZON  ||  AMAZON UK

For the next two weeks you can also get your hands on a signed paperback for just $16!! Will post INT, just ask in the doc about postage. ALSO if you add 'Mily' into the notes section of the form you will get a dollar off. 

Don't miss out!!!

CLICK HERE

**EXCERPT**

“I don’t want there to be a pause button,” I said.
“Me neither.”
He leaned in and I thought it was going to happen. I thought he was going to finally kiss me for real, instead of what I think happened last night but was possibly imagined in my delirious, scared brain.
I even shut my eyes in anticipation, but it never happened. I opened them to find him staring out the window behind me. It was finally snowing.Seriously?This was not how I pictured this moment in my head.“Earth to Dean,” I said, slightly annoyed as I waved my hand.
He snapped out of his reverie and smiled bigger than I’d ever seen him smile.“What’s going on?” I asked warily.
He looked like a kid in a candy shop. He stood and pulled me to my feet, and then knelt down before me all in one fluid motion. Whenever this guy proposed to someone, it was going to be smooth as hell. I knew he wasn’t proposing, but I was curious about what he was doing beaming at me from the floor as he clutched my hands dramatically.
“Lauren Annabelle Lindsay.”
He paused for effect.
“Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the Snow Ball?”