Blog Tour with Giveaway: The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake

Book info:

Title:  The Last True Poets of the Sea
Author:  Julia Drake
Genre: YA contemporary
Release Date:  October 1st, 2019

Publisher:  Disney-Hyperion
Find it:  Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

Synopsis: 
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.

 
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

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- Review

10/31/2019- That Georgia Gypsy- Review

Release Day Blitz with Giveaway: Blastaway by Melissa Landers

I am so excited that BLASTAWAY by Melissa Landers is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by author Melissa Landers, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a finished copy of the book, US Only, courtesy of Disney-Hyperion and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About the Book:

Title: BLASTAWAY

Author: Melissa Landers

Pub. Date: July 9,2019

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Pages: 304

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

Synopsis:
Kyler Centaurus isn't your typical runaway. All he wanted was a quick trip to the legendary Fasti Sun Festival. Who wouldn't want to see new stars being born? Um, try Kyler's entire family. They couldn't care less about mind-blowing wonders of science.

When an accidental launch sequence ends with Kyler hurtling through space on the family cruiser, the thrill of freedom is cut short by two space pirates determined to steal his ship. Not happening!

Luckily, Kyler bumps into Fig, a savvy young Wanderer who makes a living by blowing up asteroids. She could really use a ride to Earth and Kyler could really use a hand with the pirates.

But when Kyler learns the truth about Fig's mission, the two must put aside their differences long enough to stop the threat of astronomical proportions racing towards Earth.

Exclusive Excerpt!

At some point, I must have fallen asleep.

I say that for two reasons. First, my chin was wet with drool, and I hardly ever slobber on myself when I’m awake. And second, I was no longer on Earth.

I sat bolt upright and stared out the window as distant stars whizzed past in a blur. There were no planets in sight, and judging by the swirling purple nebula ahead of me, this wasn’t the way to Nana’s house. I checked the navigation screen and felt my mouth drop open. The flashing beacon that represented my ship was halfway between Earth and Fasti.

(So you see, it is totally possible to steal a spaceship on accident.)

I guess my hand hit the EXECUTE button when I fell asleep. And because it would take just as long for me to turn around and go home as it would to finish my journey, it made sense to keep going, right? Either way, my parents would ground me into the afterlife, so I might as well earn the sentence, right?

Right.

An electric thrill rushed through my veins when I thought about the possibilities that lay ahead of me. Anything could happen on this trip. Literally anything. I could discover a brand-new element. Or meet a secret race of aliens. Or invent a new energy source. Or eat so much chocolate that I puked. Either way, I had complete freedom to make this journey into whatever I wanted, and once I realized that, there was no freaking way I could turn back. It was like the universe had dropped a gift in my lap, a gift I had no intention of returning.    

I wiped the drool off my chin and smiled.

“Hold onto your stars, Fasti. Here I come.”

About Melissa:

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her kids. She lives just outside Cincinnati in the town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.”

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a finished copy of BLASTAWAY, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life by Rachel Cohn

Book info:

Title:  My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life
Author:  Rachel Cohn
Genre:  YA Contemporary
Release Date:  December 18th, 2018
Publisher:  Disney-Hyperion
Source:  ARC received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis:

"I'm here to take you to live with your father. In Tokyo, Japan! Happy birthday!"

In the Land of the Rising Sun, where high culture meets high kitsch, and fashion and technology are at the forefront of the First World's future, the foreign-born teen elite attend ICS-the International Collegiate School of Tokyo. Their accents are fluid. Their homes are ridiculously posh. Their sports games often involve a (private) plane trip to another country. They miss school because of jet lag and visa issues. When they get in trouble, they seek diplomatic immunity.

Enter foster-kid-out-of-water Elle Zoellner, who, on her sixteenth birthday discovers that her long-lost father, Kenji Takahari, is actually a Japanese hotel mogul and wants her to come live with him. Um, yes, please! Elle jets off first class from Washington D.C. to Tokyo, which seems like a dream come true. Until she meets her enigmatic father, her way-too-fab aunt, and her hyper-critical grandmother, who seems to wish Elle didn't exist. In an effort to please her new family, Elle falls in with the Ex-Brats, a troupe of uber-cool international kids who spend money like it's air. But when she starts to crush on a boy named Ryuu, who's frozen out by the Brats and despised by her new family, her already tenuous living situation just might implode.

My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life is about learning what it is to be a family, and finding the inner strength to be yourself, even in the most extreme circumstances.

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, The Book Depository

My Review:

I really was intrigued by the premise of this one, so excited to get to read it early.  This was a page-turner, and I zipped through it in no time.  I loved learning about life in Tokyo so much.  I'm going to start calling my sodas "dark sugar water".  I mean think about it, it's what they are, and who would think that a dark water would be something good?  Well, I guess everyone loves coffee and tea, and they're dark water in a way.  There was so much about Japan that I think would be awesome, and so much that would be no fun to get used to.  For instance, the way you put money on a tray and hand to the person taking your money.  It was definitely interesting to hear the "rules" for how to eat sushi.  I've only had it once, and wasn't completely impressed with it.  I need to try it again though, I think.  I love the Christmas tradition of KFC and a date.  I love how there is a subway train that is just for women at certain times.  I love how orderly everything was, even when it was as crowded as you would see in places like NYC.  The banter between Elle and Ryuu was really fun.  The dynamic of Elle's family in Japan was very fascinating, and heart-breaking at the same time.  I felt like the end was almost wrapped up really quickly.  But I like how it was done, so I still was happy with how it all ended up.  A fun, sweet, easy to read contemporary YA, that I will definitely be putting in my school library.

About the Author:

Rachel Cohn is the bestselling, award-winning author of many books. She lives in Los Angeles with two very cool cats named McNulty and Bunk.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

Giveaway:

• 3 winners will receive finished copies of MY ALMOST FLAWLESS TOKYO DREAM LIFE, US only.

   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

12/3/2018- Novel Novice- Excerpt

12/4/2018- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

12/5/2018- A Court of Coffee and Books- Excerpt

12/6/2018- BookHounds YA- Review

12/7/2018- A Gingerly Review- Review

Week Two:

12/10/2018- Rhythmicbooktrovert- Review

12/11/2018- Do You Dog-ear?- Review

12/12/2018- A Dream Within A Dream- Excerpt

12/13/2018- Daily Waffle- Excerpt

12/14/2018- The Reading Corner for All- Review

Week Three:

12/17/2018- Lisa Loves Literature- Review

12/18/2018- Eli to the nth- Review

12/19/2018- Dani Reviews Things- Review

12/20/2018- The Pages In-Between- Review

12/21/2018- Sincerely Karen Jo Blog- Review

Week Four:

12/24/2018- Falling For YA- Interview

12/25/2018- Smada's Book Smack- Review

12/26/2018- All the Ups and Downs- Excerpt

12/27/2018- Confessions of a YA Reader- Review

12/28/2018- Wishful Endings- Excerpt

Week Five:

12/31/2018- Under the Book Cover- Excerpt

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ARC Review: The Lying Woods by Ashley Elston

Book info:

Title:  The Lying Woods
Author:  Ashley Elston
Genre:  YA Thriller
Release Date:  November 13th, 2018
Publisher:  Disney-Hyperion
Source:  ARC received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating: 5 stars

Synopsis:
Owen Foster has never wanted for anything. Then his mother shows up at his elite New Orleans boarding school cradling a bombshell: his privileged life has been funded by stolen money. After using the family business, the single largest employer in his small Louisiana town, to embezzle millions and drain the employees' retirement accounts, Owen's father vanished without a trace, leaving Owen and his mother to deal with the fallout.

Owen returns to Lake Cane to finish his senior year, where people he can barely remember despise him for his father's crimes. It's bad enough dealing with muttered insults and glares, but when Owen and his mother receive increasingly frightening threats from someone out for revenge, he knows he must get to the bottom of what really happened at Louisiana Frac--and the cryptic note his father sent him at his boarding school days before disappearing.

Owen's only refuge is the sprawling, isolated pecan orchard he works at after school, owned by a man named Gus who has his own secrets--and in some ways seems to know Owen better than he knows himself. As Owen uncovers a terrible injustice that looms over the same Preacher Woods he's claimed as his own, he must face a shocking truth about his own past--and write a better future.

My Review:
The synopsis of this was definitely one that sounded good, but concerned me as one I wasn't quite sure how much I would like it.  However my doubts were definitely misguided, because I really enjoyed this one.  The author did a great job in throwing in lots of hints and clues throughout the story, including chapters from Owen's father's viewpoint.  Obviously those chapters were there to help you figure things out, or to at least add details to the story that would have been just an info dump from characters in Owen's present day.  Even with those additional details, I was still surprised at some of the twists and what exactly Owen's father was guilty of, as well as why he did the things he did.  It was hard to see just how his mother could be so believing of his father being guilty, based on the entries from his father, and how much they seemed to be in love. But then when you find out just what really was happening, it all clicked into place.  A lot of "A-HA!" moments for me.  

This was very hard to put down as I was reading. Each chapter gave just enough new drama or clues that I had so much trouble putting it down when I wanted to know the answers to whatever new question had arisen, or figure out where those clues could take the case.  I always get irritated with characters being treated poorly for something someone else in their family did, like in this case, Owen getting pushed around because of what his father did.  I liked how the author did bring in the other teens and their opinions and feelings, and how some of them did understand that about him, even if it took them a bit to come to the realization.  And of course I enjoyed all the New Orleans and Louisiana tidbits in the story, since it is one of my favorite places!

Can't Wait Wednesday #44: Umbertouched (Rosemarked #2) by Livia Blackburne

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.  Wow, I hadn't done one of these since last April until last week, and now you're getting two in a row!  I've got another publisher request from Disney-Hyperion for sharing a new book, which comes out November 6th.   Check it out!

UMBERTOUCHED delves into the complex emotions and heart-stopping action of

Zivah and Dineas’ fight to break free from the Empire.

 

The mission was a failure. Even though Zivah and Dineas discovered a secret that could bring down the empire, their information is useless without proof.  Now, with their cover blown and their quest abandoned, their only remaining hope is to get home before Ampara brings the full might of its armies against their peoples.

 

Time is running out for all of them, but especially Zivah, whose plague symptoms surface once again. Now, she must decide how she’ll define the life she has left. Together, healer and warrior must find the courage to save their people, expose the truth, and face the devastating consequences headed their way. 

PRAISE FOR LIVIA BLACKBURNE

“A must read for fans of An Ember in the Ashes.”

—Justine Magazine on Rosemarked

 

“Blackburne’s fast-paced fantasy will please fans of Leigh Bardugo and Tamora Pierce.”
—School Library Journal on Midnight Thief

 

“Put this in the hands of fans of Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth.”
—VOYA on Midnight Thief

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

New York Times best-selling author LIVIA BLACKBURNE wrote her first novel while researching the neuroscience of reading at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since then, she’s switched to full time writing, which also involves getting into people’s heads but without the help of a three tesla MRI scanner. She is also the author of Midnight Thief (an Indies Introduce New Voices selection), Daughter of Dusk, and Rosemarked, the companion to this book. Follow her online at liviablackburne.com, on Twitter @lkblackburne, and on Instagram @lkblackburne.

So, have you read this author, or the companion book to this one, Rosemarked?  Does this sound like one you'd like to dive into?  What book are you looking forward to this week?  

 

Cover Reveal: Blastaway by Melissa Landers

Today Melissa Landers and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover and an exclusive content for BLASTAWAY, her new Middle Grade Sci-Fi which releases Summer 2019! Check out the awesome cover and the excerpt!

On to the reveal! 

Title: BLASTAWAY

Author: Melissa Landers

Pub. Date: Summer 2019

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Find it: Goodreads

Pitched as "Home Alone in space," a young science prodigy who runs away in his family spaceship must team up with a plucky mutant to save the Earth from destruction.

Scheduled for publication Summer 2019.

Exclusive Excerpt!

At some point, I must have fallen asleep.

I say that for two reasons. First, my chin was wet with drool, and I hardly ever slobber on myself when I’m awake. And second, I was no longer on Earth.

I sat bolt upright and stared out the window as distant stars whizzed past in a blur. There were no planets in sight, and judging by the swirling purple nebula ahead of me, this wasn’t the way to Nana’s house. I checked the navigation screen and felt my mouth drop open. The flashing beacon that represented my ship was halfway between Earth and Fasti.

(So you see, it is totally possible to steal a spaceship on accident.)

I guess my hand hit the EXECUTE button when I fell asleep. And because it would take just as long for me to turn around and go home as it would to finish my journey, it made sense to keep going, right? Either way, my parents would ground me into the afterlife, so I might as well earn the sentence, right?

Right.

An electric thrill rushed through my veins when I thought about the possibilities that lay ahead of me. Anything could happen on this trip. Literally anything. I could discover a brand-new element. Or meet a secret race of aliens. Or invent a new energy source. Or eat so much chocolate that I puked. Either way, I had complete freedom to make this journey into whatever I wanted, and once I realized that, there was no freaking way I could turn back. It was like the universe had dropped a gift in my lap, a gift I had no intention of returning.    

I wiped the drool off my chin and smiled.

“Hold onto your stars, Fasti. Here I come.”

About Melissa:

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her kids. She lives just outside Cincinnati in the town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.”

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

Blog Tour with Giveaway: The Life and Death Parade by Eliza Wass

Book info:

Title: THE LIFE AND DEATH PARADE

Author: Eliza Wass

Pub. Date: June 26, 2018

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 256

Find it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, TBD, Goodreads

Synopsis:

One year ago, Kitty's boyfriend Nikki Bramley visited a psychic who told him he had no future. Now, he's dead.

With the Bramley family grieving in separate corners of their home, Kitty sets out to find the psychic who read Nikki his fate. Instead she finds Roan, an enigmatic boy posing as a medium who belongs to the Life and Death Parade--a group of supposed charlatans that explore, and exploit, the thin veil between this world and the next. A group whose members include the psychic... and Kitty's late mother.

Desperate to learn more about the group and their connection to Nikki, Kitty convinces Roan to return to the Bramley house with her and secures a position for him within the household. Roan quickly ingratiates himself with the Bramleys, and soon enough it seems like everyone is ready to move on. Kitty, however, increasingly suspects Roan knows more about Nikki than he's letting on. And when they finally locate the Life and Death Parade, and the psychic who made that fateful prophecy to Nikki, Kitty uncovers a secret about Roan that changes everything.

From rising star Eliza Wass comes a sophisticated, mesmerizing meditation on the depths of grief and the magic of faith. After all, it only works if you believe it.

About the Author:

Eliza Wass is an author, journalist, and the wife of the late musician Alan Wass. Her debut novel, The Cresswell Plot, was published in 2016 to critical acclaim by Disney-Hyperion. She has contributed articles to The Guardian, Grazia, NME, Shortlist and THE FALL.

​

Her second book with Disney-Hyperion, The Life and Death Parade, will be published in June 2018.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway:

• 3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE LIFE AND DEATH PARADE, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/18/2018- A Dream Within A Dream- Review

6/19/2018- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

6/20/2018- Lisa Loves Literature- Review

6/21/2018- Novel Novice- Guest Post

6/22/2018- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Excerpt

Week Two:

6/25/2018- Two Chicks on Books- Review

6/26/2018- Savings in Seconds- Review

6/27/2018- Such A Novel Idea- Review

6/28/2018- BookHounds YA- Interview

6/29/2018- Book-Keeping- Review

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