Book Blast: Vial Things by Leah Clifford

Leah Clifford is back with a BLOODY good young adult novel that you don’t want to miss. And at $2.99 – there’s no reason to!  

Vial Things Synopsis:

As an eighteen-year-old resurrectionist, Allie knows staying vigilant means staying alive. 

The blood of the resurrectionists is heavily regulated, only used with the express permission of the group’s leaders for fear of being discovered. She’s taken every precaution--self-defense classes since childhood, extensive weapons training with knives, and even going so far as to befriend a homeless boy named Ploy, who unknowingly trades a few nights a week on her couch in exchange for being a human tripwire to those after her blood.
 
But as Allie and Ploy’s feelings for each other grow, and a hunter starts taking out the resurrectionists of Fissure’s Whipp, Allie begins to realize even her best laid plans won’t be enough to keep both Ploy and herself safe.
 
Protecting a girl he shouldn’t love, from a threat he understands too well, Ploy must face his past to save his future in Allie’s world--a world where bringing back the dead can cost you your life.

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Leah Clifford was born and raised outside of Cleveland Ohio. She has an affinity for all things weird and creepy as made evident by her oddity shop Petite Grotesque and her previous young adult novels, A Touch Mortal, A Touch Morbid and A Touch Menacing.
 
You can find her on Twitter

Pre-Order Event + Giveaway: June 9th by Emha Goliesh

Pick up JUNE 9TH for only $1.99 and be entered to win a goodie bag full of prizes!  

June 9th (Untouch Me #1)
Author: Emha Goliesh
Release Date: October 19, 2016

Publisher: INCLUDAS Publishing 

Description:

June 9th: a night to love or a night to hate? A night to embrace or a night to erase? College freshman, Lacey Shyver, has no clue. Growing up with a neuromuscular disease, Lacey knows people only pretend to be nice—pity her, really, for looking different. That is, until graduating senior, Blake Nivey, enters her life. Breaking down her walls and lifting her spirits with just one touch, he’s not like the others. He cares about her well-being and makes her laugh. He unlocks something within Lacey that captures her soul, yet Lacey’s internal struggles surface. Is she just a charity case for him? Blake can’t possibly like someone with limited mobility when there are prettier girls wrapping their arms around him. Or can he? Just as Lacey begins to see where Blake’s heart truly lies with her, everything changes. Because once June 9th begins, it never ends.

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When I was nine years-old, I was sure I’d be a math teacher. That lasted until I got to middle school, where I realized that that wasn’t in the numbers for me. From there, I fantasized about being an actress. That lasted until high school, where I realized that sticking to a script wasn’t my thing—I wanted to take the characters on their own journeys and adventures. But somewhere between high school and the days of college graduation, I got lost in the pressures of reality. It wasn’t until I took a step back to evaluate my life when I realized I wanted to embrace my true self. To go back to the days of a six year-old kid who hid under a desk, writing about life in a little blue and pink journal. I couldn’t believe it took me so long to fall back into my happy place. Yet, I wouldn’t have had it any other way, because if after twenty years of exploring life, I still ached to create stories, then it must had been true love.

Pre- Order JUNE 9TH and be entered to win $25.00 Starbucks gift card + a tote bag filled with everything you need for summer reading!

Must be 13+ to enter. Open to US residents only.

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Release Day Celebration + Giveaway: City of Spies by Nina Berry

Pagan Jones is back today with the release of CITY OF SPIES by Nina Berry! Join us in celebrating by sharing this post and entering the giveaway!

Description:
Pagan Jones is back!

Celebrating her escape from East Germany and the success of her new film, teen starlet Pagan Jones returns to Hollywood to reclaim her place among the rich and the famous. She's thrilled to be back, but memories of her time in Berlin—and elusively handsome secret agent Devin Black—continue to haunt her daydreams. The whirlwind of parties and celebrities just isn't enough to distract Pagan from the excitement of being a spy or dampen her curiosity about her late mother's mysterious past.

When Devin reappears with an opportunity for Pagan to get back into the spy game, she is eager to embrace the role once again—all she has to do is identify a potential Nazi war criminal. A man who has ties to her mother. Taking the mission means that she'll have to star in a cheesy film and dance the tango with an incredibly awful costar, but Pagan knows all the real action will happen off-set, in the streets of Buenos Aires.

But as Pagan learns more about the man they're investigating, she realizes that the stakes are much higher than they could have ever imagined, and that some secrets are best left undiscovered.

Pick up CITY OF SPIES NOW!
AMAZON | B&N

Also available, May 31, 2016, THE NOTORIOUS PAGAN JONES in paperback!

 

Writer, crypt-explorer, bodysufer, Nina Berry is the author of THE NOTORIOUS PAGAN JONES and the OTHERKIN series. Born in Honolulu, she now writes books for teens from her secret lair in Hollywood. 

ninaberry.com
 
TWITTER: @Ninaberry | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM: @ninaberrybooks | TUMBLR | PINTEREST

(3) Winners will each will win a signed paperback of NOTORIOUS PAGAN JONES + signed hardback of CITY OF SPIES + bookmarks!!

Must be 13+ To Enter | Ships in US only

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My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights Blog Tour: Guest Post + Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for MY SEVENTH-GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS! Today I have a great guest post by the author to share with you - and don't forget to enter the giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour, click on the banner above.

My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights

Author: Brooks Benjamin

Genre: MG/YA Contemporary

Release Date: April 12, 2016

Publisher: Delacorte/Random House

Description:

LIVE IT.

All Dillon wants is to be a real dancer. And if he wins a summer scholarship at Dance-Splosion, he’s on his way. The problem? His dad wants him to play football. And Dillon’s freestyle crew, the Dizzee Freekz, says that dance studios are for sellouts. His friends want Dillon to kill it at the audition—so he can turn around and tell the studio just how wrong their rules and creativity-strangling ways are.

WORK IT.

At first, Dillon’s willing to go along with his crew’s plan, even convincing one of the snobbiest girls at school to work with him on his technique. But as Dillon’s dancing improves, he wonders: what if studios aren’t the enemy? And what if he actually has a shot at winning the scholarship? 

BRING IT.

Dillon’s life is about to get crazy...on and off the dance floor. 

Top Ten Favorite Books and Authors

I'm not one who's usually a glutton for punishment.

Honestly.

But every time a chance to pick my favorite books and authors comes sailing my way, I jump at it. And as soon as I commit to writing the post I inevitably regret it. Not because I can't pick any. Not because I'm tired of answering this question again. No, this topic remains the most absolutely unbearable one for me to discuss because there are just too many to boil down into a TOP X LIST. But still I try. And I somehow manage to pick certain books and authors every single time.

Nevertheless, there remain books out there which didn't make it onto my list, authors whom I've read that should be included but aren't. Titles and characters and stories that go unnoticed by your eyes because of my inability to pass up on this very topic. So I offer my apologies to all the creative works and minds that won't make it onto this one. I'll sleep easy tonight knowing that somehow they'll manage to persevere, they'll find it in their hearts to forgive me, their characters will find others minds to soak into.

*offers up a moment of silence*

And now, with the humblest of hearts and open-widest of arms, I give you...BROOKS BENJAMIN'S NO-REGRET-ADDED TOP 10 FAVORITE BOOKS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER!

1) Better Nate Than Ever series by Tim Federle
These are the books that showed me how brave and honest MG can be.

2) Winger by Andrew Smith
This was my introduction to the humor-heart double punch that is Andrew Smith's writing.

3) The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
I basically live my life by the tenets Roland teaches in this series.

4) Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
There is no book, in my opinion, that perfectly captures the importance of relationships in MG.

5) The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer
This book taught me how intelligent humor can really be.

6) The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
I've gushed about this debut a lot, but Jeff's writing is too gorgeous not to mention every chance I get.

7) The Fudge books by Judy Blume
This series turns me into a ten year old every time I reread it.

8) The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
I still believe Hogwarts is real.

9) The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
I didn't read the book until I was an adult, but the movie was my entire childhood.

10) The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Ultimate good guy, ultimate bad guy, ultimate love story.

So there it is. My (totally incomplete) list of top-ten favorites. But these books deserve it. Just like all the other books I've ever raved about. So now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go apologize to my bookshelf and plead my way back into the lives of all the characters I failed to mention today. 

Thanks for stopping by and sharing some of your favorite books with us today Brooks!

Brooks and his wife, Jackie, live in Tennessee with their 75 pound daughter, LeeLoo, a sweet and severely demented German Shepherd mix.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

(1) Winner will get a signed hardcover of the book + a swag pack 

Must be 13+ To Enter | Ships In US Only Please see Terms and Conditions for more details, some exclusions apply.

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Sale Blast + Giveaway: Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein

 What’s better than a new book? How about a new book that only costs $2.99? If you haven’t had the chance to start the BECOMMING JINN series by Lori Goldstein, or even if you just want to have a eCopy as well, now is the perfect time to pick it up! 

BECOMING JINN (Becoming Jinn #1)
Author: Lori Goldstein
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)

Description:

One of the Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror of 2015 by VOYA Magazine

Harry Potter meets Twilight in debut novelist Lori Goldstein’s magical tale of sixteen-year-old Azra, a teenage girl whose Jinn ancestry transforms her into a modern-day genie. With the power to grant anyone’s wish but her own, Azra pretends to be human, spending her days at the beach, enjoying a budding romance, and evading her Jinn destiny. But when she discovers she may not be like the rest of her circle of Jinn, will her powers save or endanger them all?

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Praise:

"This well-written title . . . will not stay on the shelf." -- VOYA Starred Review

"The only thing it left me wishing for was the sequel!" -- New York Times best-selling author Anna Banks

"A fresh, gently subversive tale with a new strain of paranormal problems at its core." -- B&N Teen Blog

Born into an Italian-Irish family (hence the short temper and the freckles), Lori Goldstein grew up in a small town on the Jersey shore and now makes her home outside of Boston in a place close enough to the ocean that on the right day, she can smell the sea from her back deck, and yet it still takes an hour to get to the beach. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and worked as a writer, editor, and graphic designer before embracing her love of fictional people. When not writing or reading (preferably from a sandy local), Lori can be found chatting books, obsessing over The Vampire Diaries, and perfecting the art of efficient writing through Twitter. www.lorigoldsteinbooks.com

One Winner will get a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card
Open Internationally | Must be 13 + To Enter | Sweeps/Giveaway accounts are NOT eligible to participate.

 

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Girl Last Seen Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Hey everyone! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for GIRL LAST SEEN! Today I'll be sharing my review of the book - and don't forget to enter the awesome giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour, check out the tour schedule at the end of the post!

Girl Last Seen

Authors: Heather Anastasiu & Anne Greenwood Brown

Genre: YA Mystery

Release Date: March 1, 2016

Publisher: AW Teen (Albert Whitman & Co.)

Description:

Kadence Mulligan's star was rising. She and her best friend, Lauren DeSanto, watched their songs go viral on YouTube, then she launched a solo career when a nasty throat infection paralyzed Lauren's vocal chords. Everyone knows Lauren and Kadence had a major falling-out over Kady's boyfriend. But Lauren knows how deceptive Kadence could be sometimes. And nobody believes Lauren when she claims she had nothing to do with the disappearance. Or the blood evidence.

As the town and local media condemns Lauren, she realizes the only way to clear her name is to discover the truth herself. Lauren slowly unravels the twisted life of Kadence Mulligan and sees that there was more to her than she ever knew. But will she realize she's unknowingly playing a part in an elaborate game to cover up a crime before it's too late?

Girl Last Seen is a gripping young adult mystery that will have readers guessing until the end. Mysteries and thrillers are one of my favorite genres, so I knew I had to read this book as soon as I could. Having read other novels by both authors before, I knew that the story was going to be very well written and original. I wasn't sure what to expect, but my hopes and expectations were a bit high. Luckily, I had nothing to worry about in the least - the novel far surpassed anything I could have hoped for. There are a few aspects of the book that really sets it apart from others in the genre and made it an exciting read for me personally.

The first aspect is the way the story is written. If you've read any of my other reviews, you'll know that I'm a huge advocate for the first person point of view writing style. I always come back to the fact that the reader is able to make a much deeper and personal connection with the narrator when the book is written in this manner. The authors took the first person POV and added a few unique twists - the book is written from four separate characters' perspective, three of which are done in the first person style. The last comes as brief videos found on one of the main character's computer, and is told in a third person POV. This gives the book four main characters, all with differing stories and viewpoints. In my opinion, it creates a lot more intrigue for the reader and definitely assists with the twists and turns throughout the book. The further into the story we get, the more we learn about each of these characters and how everyone and everything comes together to solve the mystery at the heart of the book. I loved the creativity and originality that this writing style provided and it made a big impact on my experience as a reader.

All of the other aspects of the novel were incredibly well done - from the rounded characters, the histories and backstories of each character and how they were all connected in one way or another - to the twists and turns thrown into the mix to confuse the reader and make us second guess everything we thought we knew. I love trying to figure out the mystery before the characters in the book do, and as it's one of my favorites genres - I'm often able to do so. Not this time - I would get a theory going in my mind and think I had it all figured out, only to have a huge twist come out of nowhere and put me right back at square one. When I come across a novel that has this ability - I know I've found an author with true talent and real storytelling abilities. This book had me guessing until almost the very end - which doesn't happen often. I found myself drawn into the story from the very beginning and couldn't put it down. I ended up reading it straight through in a matter of hours because I just had to know what in the world was going on and who was responsible for everything. I could keep rambling about how well the story was written or how much I liked (or disliked) the characters - or even talk about parts of the book that bothered me (which there really weren't any), but all of that seems secondary to me compared to the writing style and the obvious talent of the authors. I absolutely loved this book and I can't recommend it highly enough for fans of the genre, along with readers who enjoy suspense, thrillers, action, and contemporary fiction. I know I'll be re-reading this book several times to find little clues that I may have missed before, and I honestly can't wait to be captivated all over again.

Heather Anastasiu is the author of the young adult sci-fi GLITCH trilogy as well as the historical adult duet Tsura and House of Stone. She grew up in Texas but recently moved to Minnesota with her family. She teaches creative writing at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. 

Author Media Links:

FB: www.facebook.com/HeatherAnastasiu 

Twitter: @h_anastasiu 

Website: www.heatheranastasiu.com 

Blog: www.heatheranastasiu.blogspot.com 

Anne Greenwood Brown lives in Minnesota with her patient husband and three hilarious children. She is the author of the LIES BENEATH trilogy, and has her first New Adult book coming under the name A.S. Green from Entangled/Embrace, summer 2016.  

Author Media Links:

Website: http://annegreenwoodbrown.com 

Facebook: http://facebook.com/annegreenwoodbrown 

Twitter: @annegbrown 

Instagram: @annegbrown

(1) Winner will get a $20 Amazon Gift Card + a Signed Copy of GIRL LAST SEEN 

(1) Winner will get a Signed Copy of GIRL LAST SEEN

Must be 13+ To Enter | Ships in US only 

Please see terms and conditions for full contest rules. Some restrictions apply.

 

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Tour Schedule:

March 7th Book Hounds YA REVIEW
March 8th Literary Meanderings REVIEW
March 9th A Leisure Moment 10 RANDOM THINGS
March 10th Dream Within A Dream REVIEW
March 11th Storybook Slayers REVIEW

March 14th Bookish Things And More REVIEW
March 15th In Wonderland REVIEW
March 16th The Hollow Cupboards REVIEW
March 17th The Cover Contessa AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 18th Me, My Shelf and I REVIEW

 

Blood Passage Blog Tour: Tens List + Giveaway

 

 Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for BLOOD PASSAGE! Today I have a guest post by the author to share with you - and don't forget to enter the giveaway! Check out the other stops on the tour (schedule is at the bottom of the post).

Blood Passage (Dark Caravan Cycle #2)
Author: Heather Demetrios
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HaperCollins)

Description:

A jinni who's lost everything.

A master with nothing to lose.

A revolutionary with everything to gain.

When Nalia arrives in Morocco to fulfill Malek's third and final wish she's not expecting it to be easy. Though Nalia is free from the shackles that once bound her to Malek as his slave, she's in more danger than ever before.

Meanwhile, Malek's past returns with a vengeance as he confronts the darkness within himself, and Raif must decide what's more important: his love for Nalia, or his devotion to the cause of Arjinnan freedom.

Set upon by powerful forces that threaten to break her, Nalia encounters unexpected allies and discovers that her survival depends on the very things she thought made her weak. From the souks of Marrakech to the dunes of the Sahara, The Arabian Nights come to life in this dazzling second installment of the Dark Passage Cycle. 

Top 10 Books

1. Little Women (Alcott)
2. Harry Potter (the whole series) (Rowling)
3. Anne of Green Gables (the whole series) (Montgomery)
4. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
5. The Shadow of the Wind (Záfon)
6. The Night Circus (Morgenstern)
7. The Book Thief (Zusak)
8. The Scorpio Races (Stiefvater)
9. Dear Sugar (Strayed)
10. My Brilliant Friend (Ferrante)

When she’s not traipsing around the world or spending time in imaginary places, Heather Demetrios lives with her husband in New York City. Originally from Los Angeles, she now calls the East Coast home. Heather has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a recipient of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award for her debut novel, Something Real. Her other novels include Exquisite Captive, the first in the Dark Caravan Cycle fantasy series, and I’ll Meet You There. She is the founder of Live Your What, an organization dedicated to fostering passion in people of all ages and creating writing opportunities for underserved youth. Find out more about Heather and her books at www.heatherdemetrios.com and www.darkcaravancycle.com, or come hang out with her on Twitter (@HDemetrios) and any number of social media sites. 

Buy Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble 

Giveaway: (5) Winners will receive a finished copy of BLOOD PASSAGE.

Ships in US Only | Must Be 13 + To Enter | Please see Terms and Conditions, some restrictions apply

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Tour Schedule:

WEEK ONEFebruary 22 Such A Novel Idea REVIEW
February 23 A Dream Within A Dream 10’s LIST
                    City of Books REVIEW
February 24 The Cover Contessa EXCERPT
February 25 Adventures of A Book Junkie INTERVIEW
                    Wholly-Books REVIEW
February 26 Falling For YA MUSIC PLAYLIST
                    Bookaholics Anonymous REVIEW

WEEK TWO
February 29 Swoony Boys Podcast REVIEW
March 1 Gone With The Words 10 RANDOM THINGS
              What Sarah Read REVIEW
March 2 Zach’s YA Reviews REVIEW
March 3 Curling Up WIth A Good Book REVIEW
              Wishful Endings REVIEW
March 4 Bookfever REVIEW