Cover Reveal: Rebellion

REBELLION
by J. A. Souders

Publisher: TOR Teen
Pub. Date: June 9, 2015



About J.A. Souders 

J.A. SOUDERS is the author of the Elysium Chronicles and lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and two children where she spends her time writing about the monsters under the bed, day dreaming about living in an underwater colony, and failing miserably at playing video games.



Giveaway 

1 winner will receive ELYSIUM and book REVELATIONS plus the e-shorts as well as ASK AGAIN LATER by Liz Czukas.. If you have J.A.s books already, she will do an amazon or book depository gift card of the same value. International

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Review: Dangerous Boys

DANGEROUS BOYS
by Abigail Haas


Pages: 336 (paperback)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books
Publication Date: August 14th 2014
ISBN: 9781471119163
Received From:  The author, Abigail Haas.

Summary 

It all comes down to this. Oliver, Ethan, and I. Three teens venture into an abandoned lake house one night. Hours later, only two emerge from the burning wreckage. Chloe drags one Reznick brother to safety, unconscious and bleeding. The other is left to burn, dead in the fire. But which brother survives? And is his death a tragic accident? Desperate self-defense? Or murder ...? Chloe is the only one with the answers. As the fire rages, and police and parents demand the truth, she struggles to piece the story together - a story of jealousy, twisted passion and the darkness that lurks behind even the most beautiful faces ...

Review

I don't even know where to start with this book. I mean, usually I write my reviews straight after I finish reading but with this one I've needed some time to gather up my thoughts. I had heard good things about Dangerous Boys, although with words like 'sociopath' and 'disturbing' being thrown around in reviews I was a little dubious to read it. However, I have now had time to put together my feels and I'm now ready to tell you why you NEED to be reading this book.

Yes, the capitals were necessary.

Dangerous Boys is a thriller packed full of twists and surprises. It starts at the end, with a kind of 'who done it' theme but it slowly takes us back and unravels the parts of the story that lead up to the moment Chloe drags one of the Reznick brothers out of a burning building. Throughout the book it looses said 'who done it' feel and becomes more about the darkness within one girls identity. It becomes a story of twisted discovery and a family’s sordid secret. It's a story about choice and the disturbing depths of human nature.

I really don't know what I can say without giving too much away because I found the beauty of this book was that I had NO idea what was coming. The changes within these characters are pathological and the scenes depicting these changes made my skin crawl. There is a sexy darkness to this book at times that had me hooked and holding my breath. The air of suspense doesn't ever let up and by the end you're practically twitching with anticipation.

I don't feel like I can say anymore. Just that Dangerous Boys is one of the more exciting and thrilling books I've EVER read. It's a book that you all need to read, even if this isn't your usual genre. And I'm not just saying that because I need someone to talk to about all these feels… although that would be nice too.

Time to delve into the twisted realities that is, Dangerous Boys.

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



Being as I couldn't tell you too much about this one I thought I would share some gifs that show MY reactions while reading Dangerous Boys. 
Helllllllo Ethan!
no no no no no no no
WHICH BROTHER IS IT???
I can't cope much longer...
WHAT? HUH? NO FREAKING WAY!!
THAT ENDING!!!


Also I felt a little bad that I couldn't go into quite as much detail as usual so here's my dream cast to help you picture these character's while reading. 
No need to thank me.
Enjoy! x

Alex Pettyfer as Oliver
Steven R. McQueen as Ethan

AND

Imogen Poots as Chloe

Tour Post: Shameless



SHAMELESS

by Nina Lemay


Release Date: August 18th 2014

Summary 
Girls like me don’t get happy endings.
I know what I am. At worst a cliché, at best a cautionary tale. I put an international border between me and my past, only to wind up working in a low-end titty bar. Even my excuse is as lame as it gets: I’m paying for college, getting my art degree from Montreal’s most prestigious school. Although some days it becomes confusing: am I just a student who moonlights as a stripper, or a stripper who masquerades as a student?
But the inevitable happens and my two lives collide. And now there’s one other person who knows both the quiet, antisocial Hannah and the sensual, shameless Alicia. One person who keeps my secret.
He’s beautiful, he’s sophisticated. He comes from the other side of life, the one where I’m not wanted or accepted. But he calls me la petite Américaine, and his hot, hot hands on my skin promise me things I long ago gave up on.
The problem? He teaches my Classic Photography class.
This is a standalone novel, no series, no cliffhanger.



About the Author

Nina Lemay is a YA writer by day and author of sinfully twisted New Adult…well, also by day. She loves all things dark and edgy and never tires of tormenting her characters. While Nina is a fan of all things scary, Gothic, and fantastic, she doesn’t shy away from a gritty contemporary romance when the muse strikes. She lives in Montreal, a city that never fails to inspire, with her partner and her dog.






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My Perfect Cast

by Nina Lemay

For Hannah, I’d go with Rooney Mara. Without the goth makeup! Wow, I never thought I’d say these words. She has that natural look, not Hollywood cookie cutter cutie but very unique. She has thin lips and small features and somehow that only makes her more memorable. Kind of the way I see Hannah—not a classical beauty, but certainly a face that you remember.



For Emmanuel, since he’s Quebecois, I’ll go with Quebecois actor Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge. (It’s pure coincidence that we share part of a last name! Not like I want to have his babies or anything. That’s ridiculous.) He has that scruffy look about him and really nice eyes. Who can resist a cute, scruffy guy with nice eyes and a sexy-ass French accent? No one, that’s who.



For Maryse, it’s hands down Lyndsay Gort. She’s a sassy blonde who tells it like it is and never apologizes for herself. She speaks her mind and doesn’t take s*** from anyone. Maryse and Hannah become closer as the book progresses, Hannah starts to “borrow” some of her unapologetic self-confidence and learns to own it.



For Audrey, the perfect choice is Leighton Meester. I’ll always associate her with bitchy, scheming rich girl Blair Waldorf, a really sweet face hiding a less-than-sweet personality.




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Guest Post: Changes in Teen Fiction

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Changes in Teen/Young Adult Fiction
By Jenny



Let’s start with a confession: I am a woman in my late-ish twenties with a relatively new but rather major addiction to Young Adult fiction.
That was scary.
I expect you’re all wondering now why YA fiction is relatively new to me when there isn’t so much of the young with my adult anymore. Well sit back, relax, grab yourself a cuppa and a choccy biccy or two and I’ll tell you all about it…


When I was growing up, I was a massive bookworm. A 100+ books in 6 weeks MASSIVE bookworm (a summer holiday personal best). My favourite place was the library and I spent as much time as I could with my nose firmly entrenched in a book. As I grew older however, I ran out of things to read. At that point in time I was choosing from the Children’s section but, being older, I went searching for more. What that more was, I didn’t have a clue. I just knew that I had grown up and didn’t want to read about childish adventures where the only mystery was a slight misunderstanding and a half-heard conversation. Therefore I set my sights around the corner of the children’s’ section and came across the mysterious and scary ‘Teen Reads’.

Unfortunately the ‘Teen Reads’ section – as it was named at that time – wasn’t nearly the home of thrills, excitement, fantasy and adventure that the now-named Young Adult sections are. As such, once I was through with Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, Forever by Judy Blume and as much of the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz as had been written, I quickly moved on. For some reason I was never a fan authors like Nicholas Sparks or books like I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I didn’t want the feels and tears – very off-putting at that age. I ended up split between Harry Potter of the children’s section and Terry Pratchett of the adults section (for that last one I can thank my Pratchett-fan father).

It wasn’t until 2005 and the publishing of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer that, to me, young adult fiction really got its kick into my and the public’s eye. I have no doubt there were similar books beforehand but to me, much like E L James for erotic fiction, Stephenie Meyer brought vampires and werewolves to the fore of YA fiction. I will admit to holding out as long as I could to read Twilight; I really hate conforming to popular trends and this was a big’un. In the end though I gave in and I read it. And I loved it. I still refused for years afterwards to watch the films – I couldn’t stand some of the casting (apart from Charlie – he was fab). As book lovers well know, you can’t put into a film every word, action and nuance or find the absolute perfect actor to portray every character. More’s the pity. Make an 18 hour film detailing all x number of pages with the right actors and I’ll be happy.

After Twilight came out, I started to notice more and more YA Fantasy books and I, along with the majority of the population lapped them up! Many will know well The Vampire Diaries by L.J Smith, The Immortals series by Alyson Noel, the Fallen series by Lauren Kate and thousands of others too numerous to name. Along with this popularity for YA Fantasy (and Paranormal Romance) came a boost for other YA genres. Dystopian for example saw a rise with The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins and then the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth. General YA fiction came up again with The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

All of these however are admittedly fantastic introductions to Adult literature. Adult Lite perhaps? The YA genre face hard topics head on. Topics like the end of the world, terminal illness, love, loss, racism, sexuality and more, all in a way that is totally accessible. Something everyone can relate to in some way. I wish now I had tried a few more teen books – really looked at the ones that weren’t Point Horror or Point Romance and gone for something a little harder.

What it all boils down to though is that YA fiction has grown so much – over the last 10 years especially. These books with their difficult topics are no longer restricted to such an age-specific title of ‘Teen’. There is much more of a link too between ‘Child’ and ‘Adult’ and these books are there to teach and guide. But that is the joy of literature. 26 letters, jumbled up with a hint of punctuation and a spot of grammar can bring joy, sorrow, laughter, tears and every emotion under the sun to whomever reads it. No doubt in 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 years’ time there will be new books and new genre fields but for now, teen literature is no more and the title Young Adult (because by golly I’m growing up and I have something to say) is making itself known and extremely well loved.

Tour Post: In A Handful Of Dust


Today I'm taking part in something VERY exciting. Here is my stop on the In A Handful Of Dust Blog Tour! Read on for all the information about this epic companion novel to Not A Drop To Drink as well as a guest post from the author herself, Mindy McGinnis AND a giveaway. 

Enjoy x



IN A HANDFUL OF DUST 
by Mindy McGinnis

Pages: 384
Publication Date: September 23, 2014
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

BUY

Summary
The only thing bigger than the world is fear. Lucy’s life by the pond has always been full. She has water and friends, laughter and the love of her adoptive mother, Lynn, who has made sure that Lucy’s childhood was very different from her own. Yet it seems Lucy’s future is settled already—a house, a man, children, and a water source—and anything beyond their life by the pond is beyond reach. When disease burns through their community, the once life-saving water of the pond might be the source of what’s killing them now. Rumors of desalinization plants in California have lingered in Lynn’s mind, and the prospect of a “normal” life for Lucy sets the two of them on an epic journey west to face new dangers: hunger, mountains, deserts, betrayal, and the perils of a world so vast that Lucy fears she could be lost forever, only to disappear in a handful of dust. In this companion to Not a Drop to Drink, Mindy McGinnis thrillingly combines the heart-swelling hope of a journey, the challenges of establishing your own place in the world, and the gripping physical danger of nature in a futuristic frontier.





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By Mindy McGinnis


Why Yes, Orwell Would Enjoy This

A lot of people ask me how I came up with the idea for NOT A DROP TO DRINK. The scary answer is that I watched a documentary. The scarier answer is that was in 2010, and here in 2014 all I have to do is turn on the news.

Yep. A scant four years after watching a documentary titled Blue Gold which sent me to the ceiling and spawned awkward ice-breaking conversations from yours truly, most people know exactly what I’m talking about whenever I use the word water, followed by the panic-inducing words like crisis, situation, or scarcity.

California is staring down a mega-drought that could last into the next generation. The Colorado River appears to be drying up and the Southwest is depreciating underwater aquifers at a rate that they can never recover from. And that’s all gleaned from one article.

Recently in my home state of Ohio, half a million people lost their water when poisonous algae in Lake Erie made theirs taps unsafe. Ohio residents drove across the Midwest to purchase water, filling their carts Michigan and turning around to drive over 200 miles back home. And in this case, the Wolverines let the Buckeyes have their water because they had some to spare.

But what if they didn’t?

That’s the world of NOT A DROP TO DRINK, and by extension, IN A HANDFUL OF DUST. A world where the one thing that you and every person you care for will die without in three days, is scarce.

Does that make you think twice about picking up the book?

Then you should probably skip the news, too.



 About Mindy

Mindy McGinnis is an assistant YA librarian who lives in Ohio and cans her own food. She graduated from Otterbein University magna cum laude with a BA in English Literature and Religion. Mindy has a pond in her back yard but has never shot anyone, as her morals tend to cloud her vision.
Website || Blog || Twitter || Facebook


GIVEAWAY!!

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Tour Schedule

Week One

9/15/2014- A Dream Within A DreamInterview
9/16/2014- Once Upon a TwilightReview
9/17/2014- Curling Up With A Good BookReview
9/18/2014- Reading with ABCGuest Post
9/19/2014- Addicted ReadersInterview

Week Two

9/22/2014- Library of a Book WitchReview
9/23/2014- Fiction FareReview
9/24/2014- The YA's NightstandGuest Post
9/25/2014- Owl Always Be ReadingGuest Post
9/26/2014- Magical Urban Fantasy ReadsInterview